Sunday Flight/Monday Landing
When we were in the air and we could unlock our seat belts, Bill asked us to take out our laptops and turn them on. I noticed Eric go over and sit next to Chris. It explains why there were 22 of us and only 21 computers. The Viking had no intention of surfing the net or tweeting. The little bit he did on his home computer was enough. He would leave the more complicated stuff to Chris.
Bill showed us the secure email service we would be using, the accounts having been set up by Body Guard, the various helpful maps and the data base. This is what I was looking forward to. This was the mythic database that Bill was taken over in the Connection’s world, but not in the Source’s. Here were nearly all the Vampires in North America and some of the most powerful Vampires in Europe plus any Bill and Eric and Pam could remember from their travels in the old world. I did not have much of a memory anymore for names and faces, but I was determined to study this database and try to submit any new names to Bill as I could. As if he were feeling my intentions, Bill thanked us ahead of time to keep certain Vampires in mind to add to the temporary files so he could eventually add them to the data base later.
After the tour and testing our emails by sending each other messages, we were left alone to play with the features to familiarize ourselves. We huddled into little clumps and compared what we were finding and learned things from one another, as one found things the others had not. Slowly but surely, we got the hang of it and put the computers away to listen to Eric. The only ones with computers out were Chris and myself, as we were the secretaries for the group. I opened the journal feature in word and began to enter date and time and waited for Eric to speak.
“I do not know for sure what we, the Vampires of America have planned to do,” said the Sheriff evenly. “I know that some of us live under very well managed regimes and we are satisfied with the leadership in the kingdoms. Others of us are not. So whether we actually go for a more democratic model of having one Vampire leader or we stay with the old way, we do not know.”
Eric stopped for a moment. He seemed to be considering the next choice of words carefully. My fingers came to rest on the keys, waiting for him to begin speaking again. “I live in an area I think would want to go along with a more democratic model or at least have a new King or Queen to take over the area, one that would invest more into the kingdom than take and take without a thought.” He stopped for a moment and looked around at all of us. I looked at him over the edge of my computer screen. For some reason, Eric suddenly looked very tired. This was weighing heavily on him. I looked at Bill. He was worried too, perhaps not for the same reasons or the same extent. Bill was a young Vampire and he was the low man on the totem pole in all the worlds he existed in. The change in government or its form would not effect him much in the Vampire world. Pam was devoted only to her maker and I could see that Eric’s problems were her problems. She disliked trouble and tension in her maker.
“We will be meeting with some very old Vampires. There is one or two who are far older than me,” said Eric. “But like me, they are very forward thinking.”
“Eric, I hate to bother your line of thought, but…why do you need us here?” asked God Speed. “What can we do, we are human, to Vampires, we don’t have any influence in your world.”
“But that is not completely true God Speed,” said Eric. “As I told you many times, on the old forum and on the one you and Aslinn and the rest of you built, you are not like other humans, and in fact some of you are not strictly human. You are all intelligent and bring something wonderfully unique to any grouping of humans. You know how to interact with us, you know about our taboos and our customs. And there was something I learned from Godric, something I think he had just realized but too late.”
Eric looked away for a moment. Fairy reached out for his hand and he took it. “Godric said we would be able to live in harmony with humans, and I thought he was foolish. But you are all forward thinking and you accept us for what we are.”
“I think, also, so many of our kind have known only fangbangers, slavishly devoted to our species, but never really knowing us as men and women,” said Bill. “You take the time to know us, which is very rare for us. And you all seemed to fight the glamour, even before we stepped out of the solace of Aslinn’s shadows so to speak and stopped glamouring you. You were remembering, not just the intimate moments we shared with you but other things, other times. We found this extraordinary.”
“Eric and I spoke many times about why all of you on some levels were throwing off the glamour,” added Pam. “We were afraid that perhaps we were becoming too fond of you and we could not work up the desire to glamour you effectively, but this was not the case. Eric very much wanted to make sure Aslinn would not remember the hearing she sat for Jessica, but she remembered and even tried to hide the fact from Jessica at the Autumn Solstice party. You were simply remembering and accepting. After consulting with some of our own kind, we came to the conclusion it was simply because you accepted us. Your ability to believe in who we are and not be afraid was a powerful shield against our glamour.”
“So, some of Sookie’s ability to ignore the glamour you all put out is her acceptance of you all,” said Linzy. “Not just her telepathy?”
“Evidently not,” said Bill. “That does not mean you can’t be glamoured, it just means that no Vampire should rely on that ability with you.”
“So, that places us in a dangerous situation, seeing as how Vampires don’t really appreciate our ability to keep from being controlled,” said God Speed.
“It could,” conceded Eric. “So you must always be with a Vampire you are bonded to, so at any moment, we can invoke the Mine rule. The Vampires of the old world are very traditional. They will never break the tradition, regardless of what they learn about you. Just be sure you are never alone...otherwise, we cannot claim you.”
“So that is why we are being given silver weapons,” I said.
“Precisely,” said Bill. “And you must not be afraid to use them.”
“But we honestly believe you will not need them,” said Eric.
“So, why are we going to the Sidhe?” I asked.
“Do you know about the story of how the door to Faerie was closed?” asked Eric.
“I know the tales of the Bard Amergin,” I said. “Amergin was an Iberian, which is modern day Spain, and he and his people, desperate and starving…..” I looked at Eric and he smiled a lop sided smile at me. “My God Eric…you knew, didn’t you? You knew because you were…”
“I was not there, but I heard the story many times,” said Eric. “Please continue.”
“Amergin and his people heard from Viking sailors about a land in the north, an island, covered in a thousand shades of green, uninhabited by humans but ruled by a race of magikal creatures,” I began.
Amergin’s people were starving so they decided better to die in the rough sea than starve to death in Iberia, so they built their own boat and they took off, following the coast until they came to the island the Vikings had spoken of. There they landed and started the process of building a small village. The island was everything the Vikings had told them it would be. What they did not know was they were being watched by the Sidhe. The fae did not appreciate the intrusions of the humans and they began to wage war. Each victory was devastating on both sides, and finally Amergin and the Tuatha came to a treaty, the fae would live in the underworld, away from the eyes of man and men would leave the faery rades and hills alone for the Sidhe and the door to faery would be sealed.
I stopped to see the face of the Viking. He was still smiling at me.
“Were you there?” I asked.
“No, but I remembered the stories told me as a boy,” said the ancient Vampire. “I heard many times of the Bard and his conquest of Ireland against the Sidhe and I even went to Dublin once when my people had made a settlement there. I was young, but I remember it, how wild it was.”
“Eric, does this have anything to do with the Vendetta?” asked Renee.
“Yes, it has something to do with the vendetta. But I need to see a very old fae to hear the entire story and if he will not see me, I hope he will sit down and talk to you,” said Eric.
“With whom do you have a grudge?” I asked.
“I know who did the deed, and know at least one of them survive, but I must know why it happened,” said Eric.
“Was it fae?” asked Linzy.
“No, but the fae know something of it,” said Eric.
“Was it…Vampires?” asked Chris. Eric looked down at her.
“I am not sure if they were Vampires before they attacked my people, or if they became Vampires later. I do know they are Vampires now,” said Eric.
“Are you going to kill him Eric?” asked Barrister quietly.
“My friend, you do not want to know,” said Eric. “Whatever I do to them, I will take my time doing.” Eric smiled and I shivered with the evil in that smile.
“Eric, do me a favor,” I asked.
“What would that be Aslinn?” he asked.
“Never smile like that again,” I said.
The captain announced the coming of dawn and the Vampires were soon moving toward the travel coffins. Fairy was seeing Eric into his coffin for his rest. He laid down and reached up with his hand and pulled her down for a kiss. His other wives covered him with a blanket and kissed him good morning. Renee and I did the same for Bill, with Violet covering him up. God Speed and Barrister did the same with Jessica and Scarlett was tucking Pam in.
We all settled into our seats and began the process of preparation to land. We would remain awake until we got to the estate and then we would imitate our Vampires and sleep away the day to wake later when the sun went down.
We landed safely in Heathrow and we busied ourselves with gathering our computers and having our passports and tickets in hand. Barrister had made all the arrangements for us at his estate and arranged for our transport. Anubis on Avon would take care of our Vampires. After we were seated, God Speed, Body Guard and Barrister would ride with the Anubis people, our friends safely in their day sleep in the stacked coffins in the back. We were on a charted bus. Sure as the world, the Anubis people were efficient with our friends and our baggage as I marked off each piece of luggage and counted them all before we left to insure everything was there.
The ride to the estate was a bit laborious until we got out on the highway. It was an hour away from London proper but it was close to a fabled place in the hearts of the fans of Vampire literature. Bram Stoker spoke of a place called Carfax Abbey and though that place was fiction, the place it was based on was real. Situated in Essex, Lesnes Abbey was the inspiration for Carfax. It had been built in the 12th century and had been a ruin and was further damaged during WWII during the London Blitz. But someone, a fangy someone, had had the abbey and the surrounding estate restored and was used as the base of operations by the Vampire government in Britain. Tonight, we would meet not only the London Vampire contact, but the King and Queen of England in the Vampire world.
The estate that belonged to Barrister’s family had been the land owners since before King George III. It was the way I always imagined an English estate with stacked stone façade and well groomed gardens. The fact I was marrying into such history and wealth was daunting for a little girl from nowhere WV, but I had made my peace with it. We pulled up and the male staff of the estate was waiting for us at the back entrance.
When the bus stopped, I got out and began the process again of accounting for all of the bags and making sure they were put with the people with us. Barrister got out of the hearse and walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me. He kissed me on the shoulder and squeezed me. “Welcome home little girl,” he said.
“It’s lovely,” I said.
“I hope you enjoy staying here with me,” he said. Barrister was a little uncomfortable with my relationship with Bill, but I was completely comfortable with his relationship with Jessica.
“I think we will be fine,” I said. One of the men walked up to us.
“Sir, what are we to do about them great cases in the back of the lorry there?” he asked, pointing at the hearse carrying our friends.
“You are to guide them to the special chambers down in the lower part of the estate, the ones where I asked you to brick up the windows,” said Barrister. When the man walked away toward the Anubis hearse, I turned to him.
“Do they know you are having Vampire guests?” I asked.
“Of course they know, but they don’t care for it really,” said Barrister. “Hopefully, being in contact with them will help them reconsider their attitude regarding our guests.”
“I hope so,” I said.
We walked into the house were shown to our rooms. We would all have our own rooms and they could be made light tight if a lover decided to curl up with their human spouse and spend their day time rest with them. Each room was ensuite and each had a different view of the gardens. Mine and Barrister’s room faced the rose garden.
We unpacked and I plugged in our phones and our computers to get them charged and then showered and Barrister and I, Vampire like, went into our day rest, curled up under the blankets.
I awoke in the dark room and could feel a cool hand on my shoulder and cool lips on my neck. My blood bond told me it was not Barrister but Bill. I turned over in the bed. I stroked Bill’s hair a bit sleepily. “Where is Barrister?” I asked.
“He is up…he sent me to wake you,” he said.
“I am sure this was not what he had in mind,” I said. “Did you wake the other wives up?”
“I did, in very much the same way,” he said.
“Have you fed?” I asked. He nodded. “Then I should get up and get dressed.” He nodded again. He Got up and handed me out of the bed and I got dressed and Bill and I walked down together.
Eric was sitting at the large dinner table holding Butter on his lap, rubbing her belly as he drank a Tru:Blood. Aolani and Body Guard and God Speed and Jen were eating and chatting across the table. Pam and Scarlett and Fairy were sitting together, Pam and Fairy talking about recent purchases they had made in the shoe store and Renee and Chris and Jessica were chatting over their suppers. Barrister came and claimed me from Bill and I sat down with him and a plate was brought to me, prime rib au jus, rare, with salad and potatoes and rich yeast rolls were perfect. I drank wine with supper. Bill came and sat down with us, a bottle of T:B in his hand. He looked at Jessica and pointed his finger at her and she huffed and picked up the bottle and drank some of the synthetic blood. I had a feeling that all of us and the Vampires were the only ones who kept the fledgling Vampire drinking the food she had to have.
After suppers were finished, Eric stood up. We waited for him to speak. Eric was so dramatic. I rolled my eyes at Bill and he gave me a smirk.
“Tonight we are going to Lesnes Abbey to meet Barrister’s Vampire contact. Sometime during our adventure here, we will be attending a masked party and we will be able to meet the Vampire King and Queen of England,” he explained.
“England has both a King and Queen?” I asked.
“Oh yes, and they will be people you will recognize, they inherited it from the former king and queen when they met…their end,” said Eric.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“You will know them when you see them,” said Eric. “So, if you are wearing casual clothes, please go and change.”
“Are we to take our computers,” I asked.
“No, but take your phones, so you and Chris can continue to take notes for us,” said Eric. “Bill assures me you will be able to email your notes to your accounts.”
“They shall,” said Bill.
“What is the name of our Vampire friend we will be meeting?” asked God Speed.
“His name is Edward Markingham,” said Barrister. “He was a lawyer in the court of Henry VIII. He is very smart and very forward thinking. He was the confident of the ill fated Thomas More, the Catholic adviser and representative of the Church of Rome to the court of Henry VIII. Edward became Vampire after Henry died and he went into hiding into the world of Vampire until the Great Revelation.”
“What are we to do here?” asked Renee.
“Just listen to him and see what he has to say,” said Eric. “He is very interested in humans and Vampire Human relationships.”
We loaded into the charter bus and took off into the night. The ride to the abbey was not long and soon we were looking at the 12th century abbey and grounds, all lit up with golden light. We got out and walked up to the door where we were met by a human. Body Guard seemed to sniff him and looked a little suspiciously at him. He looked at Aolani and she nodded. We were ushered into the ante room and he walked into another room presumably to announce us. When he returned he opened the double doors and walked into what would have been the old chapel of the monastery.
The room was beautiful. Long gone stained glass windows had been replaced. They were still portraits of saints, both Christian and non. There was even a stain glass window of a witch. Aolani and I exchanged glances. The walls were covered in huge book shelves and my mouth fairly watered at the sight of so many books. There were large study tables like those you would find in old libraries. Near the huge fire place where the altar would have been was a collection of large chairs and a couple of couches. Eric could have held another tall man standing on his shoulders and walked without stooping into the fire place.
“Please, Barrister, bring your friends closer so we can meet properly,” said the Vampire.
We all took seats and our Vampires remained standing, positioned around us as though to guard us. Body Guard, a werewolf, stood up with them, standing behind Aolani and Butter, per Eric’s request.
“Tell me who you are, what you do in the human world, and to whom you are bonded,” invited the Vampire. He was a thin man, who seemed to have been made Vampire during a terrible illness. He was a grayish white, not simply pale like our Vampires. I decided it could be a mix of age and culture. Eric was a little older than this Vampire but he seemed more robust, healthier. Maybe it was because he was living in America, where people are fatter and richer to the taste.
“I’m Fairy, I am a teacher, and I am Eric’s,” she said. He nodded at her.
“Are you really a fae my dear?” asked the Vampire.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I know very little of my true parents as I was adopted.”
“It would be interesting to discover,” he said.
“I am Raki, and I operate a pub that belongs to my parents, and I am a graphics designer for my forum, and I am Eric’s,” she said.
“What unusual names,” said the Vampire.
“These names are what they call screen names,” explained Barrister.
“Ah, I see,” he said, nodding.
“I am Westexan and I operate a health food store and I am Bill’s,” she said.
“I am Butter, and I am mom to be, and I am Eric’s,” she said.
“Do you like being around pregnant humans, Eric?” asked the Vampire.
“I do enjoy pregnant humans,” said Eric. “Of course I do not taste them and I have made only a slight bond with Butter, as we know very little about what Vampire blood would do to the baby.”
“That is why you have a werewolf standing there with her,” said the Vampire. “I never would have thought you would have connections with American Weres.”
“I am Body Guard and I am in security, and I belong to Miss Pam,” he said, nodding to Pam.
“Did you give him your blood Pam?” asked the Vampire.
“I did,” she said.
“And you didn’t mind aligning yourself with the were?” he asked.
“No, Body Guard is quite admirable,” said the blond Vampire.
“I am Aolani, and I am a witch and married to Body Guard and I am Eric’s,” said Aolani.
“A witch too, Northman,” said the Vampire.
“I am Aslinn, and I am an occultist, writer and a witch practitioner as well, and I am engaged to Barrister and I belong to Bill,” I said.
“Interesting…you would like my library my dear, there are thousands of books, many of them in English, which you and your witch sister will enjoy,” he said. “I will inform Richardson to allow you to have access to this room anytime you wish, day or night.”
“I am Renee and I am a nurse, and I am Bill’s,” she said.
“I am Chris, I am Renee’s daughter, and I am acting secretary for Eric and I am bonded with Eric,” said The Kid.
“So young Eric,” said the Vampire. “I am not sure this is appropriate.”
“Chris is mine only as my ward, I do have a blood bond with her, but out of deference to her mother, I maintain a platonic relationship with her until she is older,” explained Eric.
“I am Minnie, and I am a forum member and a supporter of Vampire Rights,” she said.
“I am Scarlett and I work in accounting for an entertainment/media company, and I belong to Pam,” she said.
“I am God Speed, and I am the forum administrator and developer and I am married to Jen and I belong to Jessica,” said God Speed.
“I am Jen, and I am God Speed’s wife, and I am a nurse and I belong to Eric,” said Jen.
“How do you feel to be married and yet aligned with Vampires as lovers and human companions? Any jealousy?” he asked.
“None that I am aware of,” said Jen.
“Interesting,” said the Vampire. We continued around the room, introducing ourselves, he stopping us to ask questions.
“Then allow me to introduce myself, I am Edward Markingham and I am the lord of this lair and I welcome you to my sanctuary,” he said. “Now, tell me what you want to know, Eric.”
“If the American Vampires move toward something more like a democracy, how do you think the Old World Vampires will react, and what can we expect?” he asked.
“Are you about to rebel against your queen, Viking?” asked Edward. “And go up against the Magister, whom I understand is formidable.”
“The Magister is more of a problem than our queen,” said Eric. “Of course, there will be those who like their King or Queen, and we may be faced with oppositions from other sheriffs and their minions. I would make no moves against my Queen, unless she moves against me, and this she may very well do.”
“Tell me about the problems you are having with your queen,” said Edward.
“We in our area have a queen who needs money, a great deal of it, as quickly as possible,” explained Eric. “She has me involved in a business venture that is distasteful to our kind.”
“And what is that?” asked the Vampire, looking unconcerned.
“We are selling Vampire Blood,” admitted Eric. You could see the look of distaste on the Vampire’s face.
“Is it yours? Or your queen’s?” asked Edward.
“No,” he said. “And I do not know who is giving her the blood. I have a human selling the blood, more or less under my control.”
I looked down. Many of us did. We liked Lafayette and we hated that Eric found it necessary to torment and coerce Lafayette to sell the Vampire Blood. It was damaging to the flamboyant cook and colorful hustler. But it also promoted the evil traffic of V, and the further victimization of Vampires and made humans despicable junkies.
“It appears your humans dislike the situation as well,” said the Vampire. It reminded me to practice my poker face.
“We don’t like it primarily because of what it does to Lafayette, whom we are fond, and we don’t like the negative effects it has on both Vampires and humans, making victims of both communities,” I said carefully. “But we trust Eric to do whatever he can either in the open or by stealth to stop it.”
The Vampire looked at me for a long time, so long that I became uncomfortable and I could feel Bill’s tension through our bond. I felt his cool hand on my shoulder and I felt somewhat comforted.
“And it is because of this singular problem that you would overthrow your queen?” asked Edward.
“No, there is also the matter of taxes and tributes. She is not cognizant of the fact that since the Great Revelation, we are not only paying her due, but taxes and fees to the human government,” said Eric. “She is draining us financially and this, many of us do not appreciate.”
“How many sheriffs are there in your area?” asked Edward.
“There are six, the Queen acts as the sheriff of her own area,” said Eric. “The wealthiest area was once New Orleans, but now, it simply is not, since the hurricane. This is the reason, I am sure, that she gives for strangling us.”
“With whom are you aligning in this endeavor?” asked Edward.
“With the Weres of Louisiana,” said Eric. Edward looked at Eric sharply.
When we were in the air and we could unlock our seat belts, Bill asked us to take out our laptops and turn them on. I noticed Eric go over and sit next to Chris. It explains why there were 22 of us and only 21 computers. The Viking had no intention of surfing the net or tweeting. The little bit he did on his home computer was enough. He would leave the more complicated stuff to Chris.
Bill showed us the secure email service we would be using, the accounts having been set up by Body Guard, the various helpful maps and the data base. This is what I was looking forward to. This was the mythic database that Bill was taken over in the Connection’s world, but not in the Source’s. Here were nearly all the Vampires in North America and some of the most powerful Vampires in Europe plus any Bill and Eric and Pam could remember from their travels in the old world. I did not have much of a memory anymore for names and faces, but I was determined to study this database and try to submit any new names to Bill as I could. As if he were feeling my intentions, Bill thanked us ahead of time to keep certain Vampires in mind to add to the temporary files so he could eventually add them to the data base later.
After the tour and testing our emails by sending each other messages, we were left alone to play with the features to familiarize ourselves. We huddled into little clumps and compared what we were finding and learned things from one another, as one found things the others had not. Slowly but surely, we got the hang of it and put the computers away to listen to Eric. The only ones with computers out were Chris and myself, as we were the secretaries for the group. I opened the journal feature in word and began to enter date and time and waited for Eric to speak.
“I do not know for sure what we, the Vampires of America have planned to do,” said the Sheriff evenly. “I know that some of us live under very well managed regimes and we are satisfied with the leadership in the kingdoms. Others of us are not. So whether we actually go for a more democratic model of having one Vampire leader or we stay with the old way, we do not know.”
Eric stopped for a moment. He seemed to be considering the next choice of words carefully. My fingers came to rest on the keys, waiting for him to begin speaking again. “I live in an area I think would want to go along with a more democratic model or at least have a new King or Queen to take over the area, one that would invest more into the kingdom than take and take without a thought.” He stopped for a moment and looked around at all of us. I looked at him over the edge of my computer screen. For some reason, Eric suddenly looked very tired. This was weighing heavily on him. I looked at Bill. He was worried too, perhaps not for the same reasons or the same extent. Bill was a young Vampire and he was the low man on the totem pole in all the worlds he existed in. The change in government or its form would not effect him much in the Vampire world. Pam was devoted only to her maker and I could see that Eric’s problems were her problems. She disliked trouble and tension in her maker.
“We will be meeting with some very old Vampires. There is one or two who are far older than me,” said Eric. “But like me, they are very forward thinking.”
“Eric, I hate to bother your line of thought, but…why do you need us here?” asked God Speed. “What can we do, we are human, to Vampires, we don’t have any influence in your world.”
“But that is not completely true God Speed,” said Eric. “As I told you many times, on the old forum and on the one you and Aslinn and the rest of you built, you are not like other humans, and in fact some of you are not strictly human. You are all intelligent and bring something wonderfully unique to any grouping of humans. You know how to interact with us, you know about our taboos and our customs. And there was something I learned from Godric, something I think he had just realized but too late.”
Eric looked away for a moment. Fairy reached out for his hand and he took it. “Godric said we would be able to live in harmony with humans, and I thought he was foolish. But you are all forward thinking and you accept us for what we are.”
“I think, also, so many of our kind have known only fangbangers, slavishly devoted to our species, but never really knowing us as men and women,” said Bill. “You take the time to know us, which is very rare for us. And you all seemed to fight the glamour, even before we stepped out of the solace of Aslinn’s shadows so to speak and stopped glamouring you. You were remembering, not just the intimate moments we shared with you but other things, other times. We found this extraordinary.”
“Eric and I spoke many times about why all of you on some levels were throwing off the glamour,” added Pam. “We were afraid that perhaps we were becoming too fond of you and we could not work up the desire to glamour you effectively, but this was not the case. Eric very much wanted to make sure Aslinn would not remember the hearing she sat for Jessica, but she remembered and even tried to hide the fact from Jessica at the Autumn Solstice party. You were simply remembering and accepting. After consulting with some of our own kind, we came to the conclusion it was simply because you accepted us. Your ability to believe in who we are and not be afraid was a powerful shield against our glamour.”
“So, some of Sookie’s ability to ignore the glamour you all put out is her acceptance of you all,” said Linzy. “Not just her telepathy?”
“Evidently not,” said Bill. “That does not mean you can’t be glamoured, it just means that no Vampire should rely on that ability with you.”
“So, that places us in a dangerous situation, seeing as how Vampires don’t really appreciate our ability to keep from being controlled,” said God Speed.
“It could,” conceded Eric. “So you must always be with a Vampire you are bonded to, so at any moment, we can invoke the Mine rule. The Vampires of the old world are very traditional. They will never break the tradition, regardless of what they learn about you. Just be sure you are never alone...otherwise, we cannot claim you.”
“So that is why we are being given silver weapons,” I said.
“Precisely,” said Bill. “And you must not be afraid to use them.”
“But we honestly believe you will not need them,” said Eric.
“So, why are we going to the Sidhe?” I asked.
“Do you know about the story of how the door to Faerie was closed?” asked Eric.
“I know the tales of the Bard Amergin,” I said. “Amergin was an Iberian, which is modern day Spain, and he and his people, desperate and starving…..” I looked at Eric and he smiled a lop sided smile at me. “My God Eric…you knew, didn’t you? You knew because you were…”
“I was not there, but I heard the story many times,” said Eric. “Please continue.”
“Amergin and his people heard from Viking sailors about a land in the north, an island, covered in a thousand shades of green, uninhabited by humans but ruled by a race of magikal creatures,” I began.
Amergin’s people were starving so they decided better to die in the rough sea than starve to death in Iberia, so they built their own boat and they took off, following the coast until they came to the island the Vikings had spoken of. There they landed and started the process of building a small village. The island was everything the Vikings had told them it would be. What they did not know was they were being watched by the Sidhe. The fae did not appreciate the intrusions of the humans and they began to wage war. Each victory was devastating on both sides, and finally Amergin and the Tuatha came to a treaty, the fae would live in the underworld, away from the eyes of man and men would leave the faery rades and hills alone for the Sidhe and the door to faery would be sealed.
I stopped to see the face of the Viking. He was still smiling at me.
“Were you there?” I asked.
“No, but I remembered the stories told me as a boy,” said the ancient Vampire. “I heard many times of the Bard and his conquest of Ireland against the Sidhe and I even went to Dublin once when my people had made a settlement there. I was young, but I remember it, how wild it was.”
“Eric, does this have anything to do with the Vendetta?” asked Renee.
“Yes, it has something to do with the vendetta. But I need to see a very old fae to hear the entire story and if he will not see me, I hope he will sit down and talk to you,” said Eric.
“With whom do you have a grudge?” I asked.
“I know who did the deed, and know at least one of them survive, but I must know why it happened,” said Eric.
“Was it fae?” asked Linzy.
“No, but the fae know something of it,” said Eric.
“Was it…Vampires?” asked Chris. Eric looked down at her.
“I am not sure if they were Vampires before they attacked my people, or if they became Vampires later. I do know they are Vampires now,” said Eric.
“Are you going to kill him Eric?” asked Barrister quietly.
“My friend, you do not want to know,” said Eric. “Whatever I do to them, I will take my time doing.” Eric smiled and I shivered with the evil in that smile.
“Eric, do me a favor,” I asked.
“What would that be Aslinn?” he asked.
“Never smile like that again,” I said.
The captain announced the coming of dawn and the Vampires were soon moving toward the travel coffins. Fairy was seeing Eric into his coffin for his rest. He laid down and reached up with his hand and pulled her down for a kiss. His other wives covered him with a blanket and kissed him good morning. Renee and I did the same for Bill, with Violet covering him up. God Speed and Barrister did the same with Jessica and Scarlett was tucking Pam in.
We all settled into our seats and began the process of preparation to land. We would remain awake until we got to the estate and then we would imitate our Vampires and sleep away the day to wake later when the sun went down.
We landed safely in Heathrow and we busied ourselves with gathering our computers and having our passports and tickets in hand. Barrister had made all the arrangements for us at his estate and arranged for our transport. Anubis on Avon would take care of our Vampires. After we were seated, God Speed, Body Guard and Barrister would ride with the Anubis people, our friends safely in their day sleep in the stacked coffins in the back. We were on a charted bus. Sure as the world, the Anubis people were efficient with our friends and our baggage as I marked off each piece of luggage and counted them all before we left to insure everything was there.
The ride to the estate was a bit laborious until we got out on the highway. It was an hour away from London proper but it was close to a fabled place in the hearts of the fans of Vampire literature. Bram Stoker spoke of a place called Carfax Abbey and though that place was fiction, the place it was based on was real. Situated in Essex, Lesnes Abbey was the inspiration for Carfax. It had been built in the 12th century and had been a ruin and was further damaged during WWII during the London Blitz. But someone, a fangy someone, had had the abbey and the surrounding estate restored and was used as the base of operations by the Vampire government in Britain. Tonight, we would meet not only the London Vampire contact, but the King and Queen of England in the Vampire world.
The estate that belonged to Barrister’s family had been the land owners since before King George III. It was the way I always imagined an English estate with stacked stone façade and well groomed gardens. The fact I was marrying into such history and wealth was daunting for a little girl from nowhere WV, but I had made my peace with it. We pulled up and the male staff of the estate was waiting for us at the back entrance.
When the bus stopped, I got out and began the process again of accounting for all of the bags and making sure they were put with the people with us. Barrister got out of the hearse and walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me. He kissed me on the shoulder and squeezed me. “Welcome home little girl,” he said.
“It’s lovely,” I said.
“I hope you enjoy staying here with me,” he said. Barrister was a little uncomfortable with my relationship with Bill, but I was completely comfortable with his relationship with Jessica.
“I think we will be fine,” I said. One of the men walked up to us.
“Sir, what are we to do about them great cases in the back of the lorry there?” he asked, pointing at the hearse carrying our friends.
“You are to guide them to the special chambers down in the lower part of the estate, the ones where I asked you to brick up the windows,” said Barrister. When the man walked away toward the Anubis hearse, I turned to him.
“Do they know you are having Vampire guests?” I asked.
“Of course they know, but they don’t care for it really,” said Barrister. “Hopefully, being in contact with them will help them reconsider their attitude regarding our guests.”
“I hope so,” I said.
We walked into the house were shown to our rooms. We would all have our own rooms and they could be made light tight if a lover decided to curl up with their human spouse and spend their day time rest with them. Each room was ensuite and each had a different view of the gardens. Mine and Barrister’s room faced the rose garden.
We unpacked and I plugged in our phones and our computers to get them charged and then showered and Barrister and I, Vampire like, went into our day rest, curled up under the blankets.
I awoke in the dark room and could feel a cool hand on my shoulder and cool lips on my neck. My blood bond told me it was not Barrister but Bill. I turned over in the bed. I stroked Bill’s hair a bit sleepily. “Where is Barrister?” I asked.
“He is up…he sent me to wake you,” he said.
“I am sure this was not what he had in mind,” I said. “Did you wake the other wives up?”
“I did, in very much the same way,” he said.
“Have you fed?” I asked. He nodded. “Then I should get up and get dressed.” He nodded again. He Got up and handed me out of the bed and I got dressed and Bill and I walked down together.
Eric was sitting at the large dinner table holding Butter on his lap, rubbing her belly as he drank a Tru:Blood. Aolani and Body Guard and God Speed and Jen were eating and chatting across the table. Pam and Scarlett and Fairy were sitting together, Pam and Fairy talking about recent purchases they had made in the shoe store and Renee and Chris and Jessica were chatting over their suppers. Barrister came and claimed me from Bill and I sat down with him and a plate was brought to me, prime rib au jus, rare, with salad and potatoes and rich yeast rolls were perfect. I drank wine with supper. Bill came and sat down with us, a bottle of T:B in his hand. He looked at Jessica and pointed his finger at her and she huffed and picked up the bottle and drank some of the synthetic blood. I had a feeling that all of us and the Vampires were the only ones who kept the fledgling Vampire drinking the food she had to have.
After suppers were finished, Eric stood up. We waited for him to speak. Eric was so dramatic. I rolled my eyes at Bill and he gave me a smirk.
“Tonight we are going to Lesnes Abbey to meet Barrister’s Vampire contact. Sometime during our adventure here, we will be attending a masked party and we will be able to meet the Vampire King and Queen of England,” he explained.
“England has both a King and Queen?” I asked.
“Oh yes, and they will be people you will recognize, they inherited it from the former king and queen when they met…their end,” said Eric.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“You will know them when you see them,” said Eric. “So, if you are wearing casual clothes, please go and change.”
“Are we to take our computers,” I asked.
“No, but take your phones, so you and Chris can continue to take notes for us,” said Eric. “Bill assures me you will be able to email your notes to your accounts.”
“They shall,” said Bill.
“What is the name of our Vampire friend we will be meeting?” asked God Speed.
“His name is Edward Markingham,” said Barrister. “He was a lawyer in the court of Henry VIII. He is very smart and very forward thinking. He was the confident of the ill fated Thomas More, the Catholic adviser and representative of the Church of Rome to the court of Henry VIII. Edward became Vampire after Henry died and he went into hiding into the world of Vampire until the Great Revelation.”
“What are we to do here?” asked Renee.
“Just listen to him and see what he has to say,” said Eric. “He is very interested in humans and Vampire Human relationships.”
We loaded into the charter bus and took off into the night. The ride to the abbey was not long and soon we were looking at the 12th century abbey and grounds, all lit up with golden light. We got out and walked up to the door where we were met by a human. Body Guard seemed to sniff him and looked a little suspiciously at him. He looked at Aolani and she nodded. We were ushered into the ante room and he walked into another room presumably to announce us. When he returned he opened the double doors and walked into what would have been the old chapel of the monastery.
The room was beautiful. Long gone stained glass windows had been replaced. They were still portraits of saints, both Christian and non. There was even a stain glass window of a witch. Aolani and I exchanged glances. The walls were covered in huge book shelves and my mouth fairly watered at the sight of so many books. There were large study tables like those you would find in old libraries. Near the huge fire place where the altar would have been was a collection of large chairs and a couple of couches. Eric could have held another tall man standing on his shoulders and walked without stooping into the fire place.
“Please, Barrister, bring your friends closer so we can meet properly,” said the Vampire.
We all took seats and our Vampires remained standing, positioned around us as though to guard us. Body Guard, a werewolf, stood up with them, standing behind Aolani and Butter, per Eric’s request.
“Tell me who you are, what you do in the human world, and to whom you are bonded,” invited the Vampire. He was a thin man, who seemed to have been made Vampire during a terrible illness. He was a grayish white, not simply pale like our Vampires. I decided it could be a mix of age and culture. Eric was a little older than this Vampire but he seemed more robust, healthier. Maybe it was because he was living in America, where people are fatter and richer to the taste.
“I’m Fairy, I am a teacher, and I am Eric’s,” she said. He nodded at her.
“Are you really a fae my dear?” asked the Vampire.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I know very little of my true parents as I was adopted.”
“It would be interesting to discover,” he said.
“I am Raki, and I operate a pub that belongs to my parents, and I am a graphics designer for my forum, and I am Eric’s,” she said.
“What unusual names,” said the Vampire.
“These names are what they call screen names,” explained Barrister.
“Ah, I see,” he said, nodding.
“I am Westexan and I operate a health food store and I am Bill’s,” she said.
“I am Butter, and I am mom to be, and I am Eric’s,” she said.
“Do you like being around pregnant humans, Eric?” asked the Vampire.
“I do enjoy pregnant humans,” said Eric. “Of course I do not taste them and I have made only a slight bond with Butter, as we know very little about what Vampire blood would do to the baby.”
“That is why you have a werewolf standing there with her,” said the Vampire. “I never would have thought you would have connections with American Weres.”
“I am Body Guard and I am in security, and I belong to Miss Pam,” he said, nodding to Pam.
“Did you give him your blood Pam?” asked the Vampire.
“I did,” she said.
“And you didn’t mind aligning yourself with the were?” he asked.
“No, Body Guard is quite admirable,” said the blond Vampire.
“I am Aolani, and I am a witch and married to Body Guard and I am Eric’s,” said Aolani.
“A witch too, Northman,” said the Vampire.
“I am Aslinn, and I am an occultist, writer and a witch practitioner as well, and I am engaged to Barrister and I belong to Bill,” I said.
“Interesting…you would like my library my dear, there are thousands of books, many of them in English, which you and your witch sister will enjoy,” he said. “I will inform Richardson to allow you to have access to this room anytime you wish, day or night.”
“I am Renee and I am a nurse, and I am Bill’s,” she said.
“I am Chris, I am Renee’s daughter, and I am acting secretary for Eric and I am bonded with Eric,” said The Kid.
“So young Eric,” said the Vampire. “I am not sure this is appropriate.”
“Chris is mine only as my ward, I do have a blood bond with her, but out of deference to her mother, I maintain a platonic relationship with her until she is older,” explained Eric.
“I am Minnie, and I am a forum member and a supporter of Vampire Rights,” she said.
“I am Scarlett and I work in accounting for an entertainment/media company, and I belong to Pam,” she said.
“I am God Speed, and I am the forum administrator and developer and I am married to Jen and I belong to Jessica,” said God Speed.
“I am Jen, and I am God Speed’s wife, and I am a nurse and I belong to Eric,” said Jen.
“How do you feel to be married and yet aligned with Vampires as lovers and human companions? Any jealousy?” he asked.
“None that I am aware of,” said Jen.
“Interesting,” said the Vampire. We continued around the room, introducing ourselves, he stopping us to ask questions.
“Then allow me to introduce myself, I am Edward Markingham and I am the lord of this lair and I welcome you to my sanctuary,” he said. “Now, tell me what you want to know, Eric.”
“If the American Vampires move toward something more like a democracy, how do you think the Old World Vampires will react, and what can we expect?” he asked.
“Are you about to rebel against your queen, Viking?” asked Edward. “And go up against the Magister, whom I understand is formidable.”
“The Magister is more of a problem than our queen,” said Eric. “Of course, there will be those who like their King or Queen, and we may be faced with oppositions from other sheriffs and their minions. I would make no moves against my Queen, unless she moves against me, and this she may very well do.”
“Tell me about the problems you are having with your queen,” said Edward.
“We in our area have a queen who needs money, a great deal of it, as quickly as possible,” explained Eric. “She has me involved in a business venture that is distasteful to our kind.”
“And what is that?” asked the Vampire, looking unconcerned.
“We are selling Vampire Blood,” admitted Eric. You could see the look of distaste on the Vampire’s face.
“Is it yours? Or your queen’s?” asked Edward.
“No,” he said. “And I do not know who is giving her the blood. I have a human selling the blood, more or less under my control.”
I looked down. Many of us did. We liked Lafayette and we hated that Eric found it necessary to torment and coerce Lafayette to sell the Vampire Blood. It was damaging to the flamboyant cook and colorful hustler. But it also promoted the evil traffic of V, and the further victimization of Vampires and made humans despicable junkies.
“It appears your humans dislike the situation as well,” said the Vampire. It reminded me to practice my poker face.
“We don’t like it primarily because of what it does to Lafayette, whom we are fond, and we don’t like the negative effects it has on both Vampires and humans, making victims of both communities,” I said carefully. “But we trust Eric to do whatever he can either in the open or by stealth to stop it.”
The Vampire looked at me for a long time, so long that I became uncomfortable and I could feel Bill’s tension through our bond. I felt his cool hand on my shoulder and I felt somewhat comforted.
“And it is because of this singular problem that you would overthrow your queen?” asked Edward.
“No, there is also the matter of taxes and tributes. She is not cognizant of the fact that since the Great Revelation, we are not only paying her due, but taxes and fees to the human government,” said Eric. “She is draining us financially and this, many of us do not appreciate.”
“How many sheriffs are there in your area?” asked Edward.
“There are six, the Queen acts as the sheriff of her own area,” said Eric. “The wealthiest area was once New Orleans, but now, it simply is not, since the hurricane. This is the reason, I am sure, that she gives for strangling us.”
“With whom are you aligning in this endeavor?” asked Edward.
“With the Weres of Louisiana,” said Eric. Edward looked at Eric sharply.
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