Abigail walked out to Sammie’s garden, seeing the small group sitting at the small stone table. Nickolas had his arm around a young woman and he & Samantha were talking to the others.
Nickolas, Angel & Samantha sensed Abigail at the same time and looked up, smiling. Nickolas was immediately on his feet, apologizing. “I am sorry, m’lady. I don’t know where my manners are this morning,” he said, gently kissing her hand and bowing slightly.
“It’s alright, Nickolas,” Abigail said as Samantha and Angel came forward. Abigail pulled both into a gentle hug, regretting her long absence from her friends. “I am sorry for my long absence, girls. But other things have kept our attention elsewhere.”
“We understand, Abigail. Let me introduce you to our new friends. This is Howard, Selina and Breeze. I assume you have already met Brian?” Samantha said.
“The young priest? Yes, I have. His Faith is strong, he will survive, my dear. It is good to meet you all. I am under the assumption that you all understand what is going on?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the three said.
“Good. Gives us more time to work. If you will excuse me, I would like to talk to Sammie privately. Come, Samantha, let’s walk in the yard. No reason to send them in when it’s so nice out.” Abigail smiled as she linked her arm with her friend, leading her out into the yard.
“You are tense, my dear. Relax. All will be taken care of, you know that,” Abigail said, gently touching Sammie’s arm.
“I know, Abby. It’s not myself I am worried about. It’s the others and Angel. She still will not touch a sword! A staff, yes; sword, no. Last night was too close. The vamp came up behind her. Nickolas & I were able to get her off the dance floor quickly, but it still scared me of how close,” Sammie began as tears started to fall from her eyes.
“Angel is safe now. Now, tell me about the others & then we will be able to move onto other things.”
“Howard is Brian’s cousin. He also has memories of a past life that surfaced when he came here. I was able to help him remember. Selina is a friend of Kevin & mine. We met a couple years ago at the opening of the Garden. She’s a freelance photographer and we just found out last night that she & Howard have known each other for about ten years or so. I believe they got to know each other better last night, by the way that they haven’t let go of each other’s hands since they came down this morning,” Sammie laughed lightly. “Breeze is – was a waitress at the Garden, until last night. She’s a very sweet girl & Nickolas seems to like her very much. They were outside talking after the first fight when Breeze ran inside. She grabbed Kevin & Alex and was out the door before they were. I saw her pull out a silver dagger & throw it. She’s very quick and very accurate. I think with some training, she would be very deadly, Abigail.”
“Do you know if Breeze has any other skills that would be useful to us?”
“I’m not sure. All I remember after the second fight is getting everyone out to the limo, telling Eadon that I would call her soon and saying I was tired. The next thing I know, I’m waking up in bed this morning.”
“I understand. You & I will talk to her & the others. We will see what they have to bring to our ranks,” Abigail said.
The two friends walked around the large yard for twenty minutes, talking. As they walked back towards the Manor, they heard the sounds of swordplay.
“Good, try again,” they heard Nickolas say. As the two women walked up, they saw that Nickolas was in the beginning stages of training Howard. He sensed the two women as they walked closer, but didn’t dare turn his attention away from Howard.
“You know you shouldn’t be pushing yourself like this, Nickolas. You aren’t fully recovered from last night,” Abigail said.
Sammie smiled playfully. “She’s right, Nickolas. If you aren’t careful, you could slip & fall,” she said, making a small movement with her hand. Nickolas’ feet went out from under him & he landed on his back, stunned.
“I’m sorry, dear. It was too easy & way too tempting not to do something funny,” Sammie said, leaning over him slightly, giggling. “Here, let me help you up. No hard feelings, I hope?”
“None at all, m’lady,” Nickolas smiled.
Before he was able to make it to his feet, he & Sammie both blocked the downward stroke of Abigail’s sword.
“Very good, my dears! Tired as hell & still so quick!” Abigail looked at the others, putting her sword away. “Learn quickly & learn well, my young friends. Nickolas & Samantha will train you well.” She looked up as she felt the misting of rain. “But I believe it’s time to go inside. We have some things to talk about.”
“Paul!” Angel & Samantha both said as they walked into the library.
He got up hugging the girls tightly, laughing. “So good to see you two. We will have more time to talk after we talk about this other business. Come, sit, all of you,” he said as he looked at the others.
After the new friends sat down, he introduced himself. “I am Salvatore Paul Erna. I see that you have already met my wife, Abigail. You all know that we are immortals and you are aware now that vampires do exist. You saw proof last night.” He looked at Selina & Breeze as he walked over to them, putting his finger beneath their chins & tilting them to one side, then the other. “You two are not marked. That needs to be remedied immediately. You are not safe with us if you are not marked.”
Paul looked at Nickolas. “I am sure you will be able to mark Breeze.”
“Yes, sir. I can do that,” he said then looked at Breeze, “But only if she allows it.”
“What do you mean, ‘marked’?” the two girls asked.
Paul explained, “It means that you will be under our protection. Any immortal that dares to drink or kill one who is marked forfeits their immortality. It is reason enough for us to kill them.” He then explained to the girls what they would experience when marked. “It is only a mild discomfort; some even find it enjoyable. Breeze, Nickolas will mark you, if you wish, or one of us can do so. Selina, who do you choose to mark you?” Paul asked, looking Selina in the eye.
She looked at Howard, then took his hand. “I choose for Kevin to mark me. He has been a good friend & has helped me out in the past.”
“Then so be it.” Paul stepped back as Kevin walked over and knelt down in front of Selina. She still held Howard’s hand and she was trembling. Kevin reached out & gently touched her cheek. He then looked at Howard and spoke. “Howard, do you agree to this?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t forgive myself if anything happens to her. Do it, Kevin. You let Samantha mark me; it’s only fair that you mark her, because I can’t.”
“Selina, my dear, it will feel like a small pinch. If you feel ill afterwards, Howard will take you to your room, but you will at least be protected,” Kevin explained, putting his hand behind her head. “Are you ready?” he asked against her throat.
“Yes,” she whispered. She gasped slightly as Kevin’s fangs sank quickly. He pulled away almost immediately, closing the wound with his tongue. His features were flushed & his eyes a dark green.
“The bruise will fade in a few minutes,” Kevin explained, walking back to his chair. He took the goblet of wine from Samantha, drank it down in one gulp and then pulled Sammie onto his lap. She could feel his quick heartbeat & heard him take a ragged breath, trying to calm his passion.
“Nickolas, mark Breeze quickly. It may be mid-morning, but I sense our ‘guest’ is restless.”
“Are you ready, sweetheart?” Nickolas asked against her throat. He felt her arms go around his neck and felt her nod.
“Yes,” she whispered.
He held her against him tightly so she wouldn’t move, then sank his fangs quickly, took one small drink, then closed the small wound with a quick flick of his tongue. He then settled her against him, his arms around her, a smile on their faces.
Paul smiled at the sight. He then looked at his wife and Samantha, realizing that they had both seen the auras of the young couple.
