The Vampire Pirate's Daughter (16 page)

Sadly, I ask, “Are you saying that she chose
to die, rather than stay with me?”

Callum steps from the shadows surrounding us
and I hear him say softly, “No, she did not choose to leave you.
How could she? She must have loved you very much because you were
created in a moment of absolute love. It is an unfortunate event,
but when a mortal woman gives birth to a child fathered by a
vampire, the mother dies.”

I suddenly realize that they know I am a
half-breed and not because of the softness of my skin or anything
else, but because of my legacy. Because of the lost love between my
mother and father, and the death of a man who is considered to be a
legend. A vampire pirate named William.

I feel a moment of apprehension, but then
Callum softly takes me by the hand and pulls my up from the ground
gently.

I smile down at Edward. “Thank you for
telling me about my mom and my dad.”

Edward smiles amused, while he watches me
walk away with Callum.

When we are a distance away from Edward,
Callum softly says, glancing at me sideways, “I wish I could take
you to a place where we can dance and I would not feel like killing
every human there.” He pauses for a moment. “I would like to hold
you close to me and to taste your sweet lips.”

He stops talking abruptly, when I stop
walking and my hand pulls him back. He turns toward me
frowning.

I look up at him. “You are not supposed to
say these things so casually, you are supposed to …”

He steps toward me and I feel his hands fold
around my waist tentatively. I move into him and his arms around me
tighten. He bends his head toward me and I close my eyes. He
whispers, “I want to lay you down amongst the heather, and then I
want to make you mine.” I feel air whisper above my lips and then I
feel his lips softly brush over mine. He rests his forehead against
mine, and he says, “But I can’t.”

I want to ask why he cannot, but I feel too
inhibited to be so forward. I want to ask if he already loves
another. I thought he liked me, because of the way he made me feel
when I was with him. The shock on his face is greater than mine,
when I hear the words, “Why can’t you?” rush over my lips.

His stunned surprise is quickly replaced by a
smile of mischief, and I look down embarrassed. He brings his hand
up to my head and he buries his hand in my hair, holding my head
tightly to his silent chest. We stand there for the longest time
when he suddenly says, “First impressions about people usually
prove to be the truest, because your essence, that thing that makes
you, is the first to react. From the moment I saw you, I felt
comfortable with you. There is something about you that pulls me
in, something that makes me want to be with you all the time.”

I pull my head away from his chest and I look
up at him. The sincerity on his face makes me hesitate.

He says seriously, “You have had time to
adapt to the different world, to live in sunlight and to integrate
with people, to control your inner demon, whereas I have not. I
cannot make you mine until I have experienced live in the sunshine
myself. I cannot expect you to wait here for me, while I might be
gone for years.” Softly he adds, “And that is why I can’t.”

As soon as the sun sets, we pile into the
car.

Amanda upgraded her rental car to a larger
vehicle. It would have been amusing trying to fit six large men
into her tiny car. She was nervous the whole afternoon, because it
was imperative we leave as soon as the sun set over the horizon and
the delivery people with the car was late. The appointment with the
High Court is for tomorrow night and you did not postpone a
summoning.

We will have to drive a fraction above the
speed limit, if we are going to get to Mont-Saint-Michel before
sunrise. Nobody knows where we would be able to stay during the day
if we could not make it.

Callum, Herman and Justin sit tightly
packed into the back seat. Amanda sits in the front, in the
passenger seat. Peter will be driving. I find it amazing how Amanda
has started to relax. All of us are working hard in the château and
Amanda is pleased that it is livable again – not perfect according
to her specifications, but we are getting there.

Although the car is bigger, I still end up
sitting on Callum’s lap. I feel self-conscious, because his reasons
why he could not love me seem insignificant and the way I feel
about him is obvious.

My legs are stretched across the legs of
Herman and Justin. Claude and Edward are squashed up in the hatch
area at the back of the car. When we pull away from the château, I
rest my back against the door behind me, listening amused to Claude
and Edward complaining continuously.

They all talk, but I stare at the passing
scenery across from me in the opposite window. Every now and again,
I see a house flash past and the moon is hovering on the horizon,
keeping pace with us.

My mind returns involuntarily to Andrew. I
feel down, because although I want to experience the greatness of
love, love does not want me. Andrew is half way around the globe
and far removed from my world. Although he knows me, every dark
secret, it makes no difference in the end.

I could love Callum, I could be with
him
, but he does not
want me.

Tiredly I lean my head back against the
window behind my head and Callum softly pushes his arm in between
my back and the door. He folds his arm around my shoulders tenderly
and he pulls me gently toward him, while I willingly lay my head on
his strong shoulder.

He folds his other arm around me and he
cradles me against his chest. He rests his cheek against my head
and my head fits perfectly in the fold of his neck. After a while,
I close my eyes.

I wake up when I feel him kissing me softly
on my head and he whispers softly, “Wake up, my red-haired girl.”
Although he whispers, I know everybody in the car can hear him and
I sit up quickly. I ask, “Are we there?”

Justin answers, “We are here, and it looks
imposing.”

I lean forward and look out of the front
window. The abbey is on a little island. A giant wall encircles it
and it is completely surrounded by sea, the ocean water crashes
thunderously against the wall. The high towers of the abbey rise
into the sky, like a mountain.

Everybody gets out of the car and I am
about to slide across the seat, when Callum lifts me under my legs
and lifts me while he gets out the car. Gently he puts me down on
my legs.

I suddenly have the urge to burst out. I
want to tell him here and now his reasons for not wanting to love
me are stupid, although it is the most inappropriate moment
ever
.

I say nothing.

Callum takes my hand and silently I walk with
him across the beach and into the waves toward the abbey. When it
gets too deep to walk, we swim.

We reach the wall and we climb up it
effortlessly. We walk through the quiet medieval lanes up toward
the abbey. The sky is starting to lighten and I realize with relief
that we made it here in time.

When we reach the large, rough wooden
doors of an old house, it swings open silently, before we even have
the opportunity to knock.

We walk in and then an old, hunched-over
man guides us toward a richly decorated room. The furnishings in
the room are dark wood and burgundy velvet. The rough stones in the
walls remind me of medieval castles. I notice there are no windows
and the stonewalls must be very thick, the large chandeliers
hanging from the roof are the only light.

Nobody talks and the atmosphere is hushed.
The old man leaves the room pulling the doors shut behind him.

We stand around awkwardly. I see Amanda look
at Callum reproachfully where I am still standing next to him and
my hand is still resting in his large palm.

It feels as if hours have passed, before
we hear the doors open again.

Four cloaked men walk in. They have amused
bored expressions. You can however see that they have lived
far too long. Their skin is
almost see-through. They look very old and tired.

Three of the men have the hoods of their
cloaks hanging over their shoulders, but the man standing closest
to us, has his hood over his head. The hood is deep and his face is
hidden in the shadows.

His voice is deep and resonating and it is
disconcerting hearing his voice, but not seeing his face. “Susanna,
I am pleased to see that you have decided not to pursue your
relationship with the human.”

I feel Callum stiffen next to me and I lower
my head and look at the floor. Fear settles itself in my chest,
because this man frightens me.

He addresses Amanda next, “Amanda, I am sorry
to hear about Shayne. It must be difficult for you. We were closing
in on Ethan and his friends, but you got there before us. Thank
you.”

Amanda nods her head in acknowledgement.

He then turns toward Peter, assuming that he
is the leader of the six savages, Amanda and I had discovered. “I
find it unbelievable that you had to race here at night, because
you were afraid of the sun. I cannot remember when last that was a
problem and we are amused to learn that there are still vampires
like yourself.”

Peter replies, “Your eminence, we were just
as amazed to learn that there were different ways of living.”

The other three men step forward,
interested.

The first man speaks again and I wish he
would remove his hood, “Introduce yourself.”

Peter bows at the waist, “Your eminence. My
apologies. I am Peter.” As he introduces Herman, Claude, Justin,
Edward and Callum, they step forward individually.

One of the other three men step forward, “We
have much to discuss. Please be seated.”

We all sit down. It seems so casual, but I
know one wrong move or sign of disrespect and they will kill us so
fast, we will not even see it coming.

It feels as if we have been here for days
and eventually the Four Judges’ curiosity is satisfied. They leave
the room silently and I turn to Amanda, wondering where the
medication is when the old, hunched man enters the room.

He hands each of them a brown paper bag
with a big yellow smiling face on the outside. He instructs them,
and I notice there is not a tooth in his wrinkled mouth, “You are
to stay here for six days. Drink one pill every morning at sunrise.
On the seventh day you may leave.” He looks up at Amanda. “It will
be your responsibility and only yours to make sure they integrate
into society.”

They say thank you and then the man leaves
the room. We stand around unsure.

Amanda asks softly, to no one in particular,
“Do we stay in this room?”

Peter says, “I suppose so.”

Edward laughs. “My god, I cannot imagine that
in a few short days I will be walking in the coveted daylight.”

Herman and Claude start laughing with him. I
see Justin rush toward Peter and they hug for a long time.

Later a woman brings in a tray with wine and
amused I notice that it is a vintage from my estate. A wine
Francois produced. The Four Judges evidently have a sick sense of
humor.

I walk toward the fireplace and I sit down in
front of the fire. I watch the blue, orange flames lick against the
wood.

Callum walks toward me and when he reaches
me, he hands me a glass of wine and then he sits down next to me.
His knee touches mine and I look at him sadly, but I do not want
him to see that he is breaking my frozen heart, and maybe because
it is unmoving and rock-hard, it hurts excruciatingly more. I smile
at him and he reaches his hand toward mine.

I see him look over my shoulder toward the
others and then he leans toward me. “Susanna I love you, I have
loved you from the first moment I saw you and I will always love
you. I always knew there was someone for me, although after all
these years I have never met her, until I saw you. Hundreds of
years, I have waited for you. We have forever and I want to go and
experience the colors of each city that previously I have only seen
in shades of grey and black.”

“I could go with you.” My voice has a
pleading tone.

“No, you cannot, my red-haired girl. Amanda
needs you.”

I realize that he is talking the truth. I
could not leave Amanda. She has always been there for me. She has
been the closest thing I have to a mother, and love will endure. I
will wait for him, because could I really take the pleasure and
enjoyment of living in the day away from him. I remember my first
years. It was as if I was seeing everything again for the first
time.

He smiles tenderly. “The other night I never
said I could not love you. I said I could not make you mine just
yet.”

I look over my shoulder toward Amanda and she
is staring at me. She does not look at us condescendingly anymore,
she looks sad. I know she can hear every word.

I take a sip of my wine and I look over the
rim of my glass at Callum. I will convince him to love me
completely before he leaves and on his last night I will attempt to
seduce him.

On the morning of the seventh day, the old
man opens the large double doors widely for us.

Herman asks hesitantly, “Is seven days
enough?”

Claude confirms his own hesitation by asking
nervously, “Why is it seven days, anyway?”

Amanda replies solemnly, “It is supposed
to have biblical significance.”

Justin says disbelievingly, “Those four
imagine themselves to be God?”

Amanda hushes him loudly, “Are you crazy? Do
you want to get yourself and me killed?”