The Bite of Vengeance (6 page)

An Unexpected Surprise

Roconn arrived back in Venice some time later. After scooping Maria's body from the gondola that took him this vast distance, he carried Maria's body through the hall of The Den. Every vampire knelt as he passed, showing their respects to the death of the clan-queen. He laid her down in a stone coffin that Zaichari had prepared. She would be sent to Roconn's castle by boat, and then horse and cart. He would sit in the boat and the cart with her. It would be covered in a thick sheet so that he could journey in the daylight. Roconn would soon be leaving Venice and he didn't know when he would return. But, he did know that Oceana was a trusted vampire in his court, and that if Klomano ever returned, his life would be very brief, Roconn was sure of this.

‘Thank you, my lord. It's been a pleasure to have you here. I'm truly sorry for the loss of Maria.' Zaichari spoke with deep sincerity, Roconn appreciated the sympathy greatly.

Roconn was ready to leave. The coffin was stowed securely in place on the boat. He bade goodbye to the Venetian clan and, a few minutes later, sat next to Maria's coffin. He took the long route home so that he could ponder on her death. Roconn looked down. Knowing he could trust him, Roconn had the barrel of blood sent to his castle by Zaichari. Whatever happened, he could not let her blood fall into the wrong hands; her blood was more potent than that of any other vampire excluding himself.

‘Maria,' Roconn whispered to the coffin as the captain of the boat set off. ‘My love, I failed to protect you. I tried so very hard. I should not have let you go alone. I should have made sure you were safe.'

Roconn dug his hands into his pocket and felt something cold at the bottom. He withdrew the item, it was Maria's ring. He placed it carefully on the finger of his left hand and whispered, ‘I love you.'

The journey home seemed to take forever, but eventually they docked in Italy, the moon shining bright. Here the carriage was waiting for Roconn, who spared no time in carrying the coffin into the carriage and taking a seat. Here, after the carriage pulled off with a jerk, Roconn wondered how things back in his Italian home had been whilst he was gone, so much seemed to have changed since his departure. The carriage stopped outside the entrance of Castle Blackmoor onto the gravelled path, a few hours later. The horse snorted loudly as he climbed out, stones crunching beneath his feet. The moon was illuminating the castle and its many high turrets. A few of them had collapsed due to the age of the castle but it was mostly intact. It was an enormous size, stretching back into the forest that seemed to swallow it. As Roconn glanced around, he lifted the stone coffin to the ground as Reyjak appeared beside him. He did not speak but stood there solemnly, taking in the sight of the coffin. It was apparent Oceana had sent word to the clans of Italy, informing them of the clan-queen's death. Roconn spared no time in burying his wife, dawn would be visible over the horizon soon. After digging out a hole in the ground, he gently lowered the coffin into the freshly-dug pit. He stared for a moment, taking in the ordeal before covering her with soil and smoothing it over. A headstone had already been fashioned from a slab of granite by Reyjak, a skill Roconn did not know Reyjak possessed. The headstone read:
Here lies Maria Romano, clan-queen of vampires, and loving wife. May you never be forgotten.

Roconn started to weep as he collapsed to his knees, shaking with anger and pain. This was it, his worst fears had come true, he had lost everyone, he was alone, doomed to stay on the earth for eternity without the comfort of his wife or children. The pain worsened as he thought of his children too. Roconn stayed in his rigid position as every member of the clan paid their respects. Zaichari had Reyjak keep aside a note addressed for Roconn along with the letter informing them all of Maria's demise. The note was written in elegant writing, and signed by Zaichari:

To the esteemed clan-king, I have sent out spies, on Oceana's orders, to search for Klomano, I hope we can capture him soon. I am truly at a loss for words regarding the passing of Maria, it must have been very traumatic for you, my commiserations and sympathy. I hope to visit soon. My deepest respect.

Roconn had this note tucked away inside his robes, he appreciated it. As the sky started to lighten, Roconn forced his legs that seem to be weighted with led, to carry him to his chamber, carrying the golden barre where no one could see. He pulled a candlestick which stood beside the fireplace. A loud scraping noise filled his room. Beside the fireplace, in the alcove, two large, grey, concrete slabs pulled apart, revealing a small hidden shelf. Roconn placed the container on the shelf and closed the secret cupboard again. Here it would be left, forever, the powerful blood of one of the first vampires, it's potency keeping it from drying up. It would be protected by her husband who would now lead the vampires alone.

Roconn did not feed for weeks on end. He could not, and would not, leave his wife's side, spending whole nights outside, kneeling by her grave. It wasn't until he was becoming blood-crazed that Roconn decided to feed, his eyes were crazy and darted to the smallest of movements. His ears pricked at the tiniest of sounds. He could not concentrate; he often found his mind wandering and resting on his memories with Maria. The clan members had learnt not to disrupt this state he was in unless it was strictly important; he would often snap at them and order them away. He would not go out unless strictly necessary. He only decided to feed when Reyjak came up to one night, beside the grave.

‘Sire,' he spoke softly

‘What, Reyjak? Is it important you know full well not bothe-' Reyjak cut him off.

‘Sire, I think you need to feed. You're never with us, my lord. You have missed council sessions; some of the others are doubting your leading abilities, sire. They say you are not in full control of yourself anymore. I personally think you should prove them wrong, my lord. For all of us, we need you.' Reyjak did not wait for a response. He was gone without a sound not a split second later.

Roconn pondered his words. Reyjak was right; he should not keep himself from feeding, his clan depended on him, he was still their leader. The night was young and so Roconn slowly rose from a bench that he had ordered to be put outside for the night times Roconn would spend by his wife's side. Roconn sped into the city within minutes, and was soon wandering the empty streets in the moonlight. His ears pricked and his eyes darted; he constantly found himself searching frantically for the source of sounds.

Roconn headed over to a church in the distance, opened the doors, and walked inside. To his surprise there was someone in here. It was a woman. She didn't turn her head, but carried on sitting in silence. He walked over to her and noticed, from the back of her, that she wore a plain white dress which made her brown hair stand out. The slender woman stood up and turned towards Roconn, as if to exit the church. She was beautiful, and young, in her mid-twenties. As she neared Roconn he caught her scent, she smelt sweet. This would be a satisfying kill. But, as she got closer, she looked at him. All of sudden, as he stared into the woman's bright, emerald-green, eyes, memories of Maria flashed before him. He froze with shock. His body would not allow him to make a kill.

‘Excuse me,' Roconn managed to choke out.

She smiled at him, showing him a set of perfectly straight, pearly-white, teeth. The smile seemed to soothe him from his blood-crazed state somehow.

‘My name is Roconn Romano. You look incredibly familiar. May I get your name?'

Her cheeks flushed with colour as she blushed. She spoke with a sweet, soft, calm voice. ‘My name is Sophia.'

Author Profile

Connor Wolf is a young writer from Suffolk, and is currently studying painting and decorating at West Suffolk College. Connor was inspired to write books since early 2009 when a well-known author visited his primary school. Since the age of eleven Connor has experimented with a number of genres, including children's books, horror and historical, and he finished his first fantasy novel in early 2013. After trying many different activities, including song writing and martial arts, he finally found that his passion is writing.

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