Brimstone Blues

  “Really?”

  “I chased her for a year before she finally said yes.”

  “Love at first bite?”

  He started to continue, realized what she meant, and laughed. “My story to tell.”

  “Sorry.”

  “I married her when I was seventeen. She was sixteen.”

  “You were babies!”

  “Not back then. Remember, it was a long time ago. We were nearly middle aged by then.”

  “True.”

  “I didn’t know about my family history. My father was waiting to tell me. He was away visiting family. We married while he was gone.”

  “Oh, naughty!”

  He sighed. “I was seventeen, a horny teenager.”

  “Let me guess, she was more than willing to let you ravish her?”

  “Father was very upset when he returned, but what was done couldn’t be undone. Not that we would have annulled the marriage even if we could. Needless to say, I didn’t believe him at first.” He paused to collect his thoughts. “Then he gave me a demonstration that convinced me.”

  “If it was anything like the demonstration you gave me with the waitress at Gardiner, I bet it was a doozy.”

  He nodded. “I am my father’s son. Let’s just say Sarah wasn’t hurt, and he got his point across.” Boy, did he.

  “Did she know? About you being a vampire?”

  “We did tell her. She was willing to keep my secret. She loved me.”

  She didn’t want to ask about the children, but she didn’t have to. He willingly continued. “Michael was our firstborn. He lived one month. I suppose now it would be called a SIDS death, but it’s difficult to say. Mary, our second child, lived two days, was very weak at birth.” He grew quiet. “Sarah died during childbirth with Thomas, our third. He was a breech birth and she hemorrhaged very badly. A lot of women died during childbirth back then. Even more children never made it to their first birthday.”

  “I’m so sorry, Matthias.”

  He hugged her. “It was a long time ago. Over five hundred and fifty years ago. I went to live with Father’s parents for a while. My grandfather, Tobias, especially, kept me going. He helped me develop and hone my skills. Eventually, I found my will to live. And here I am.”

  “And here you are,” Taz whispered.

  She dozed in his arms, and now that those memories had been stirred, he couldn’t help revisiting them.

  Yes, he truly was his father’s son.

  * * * *

  Livid didn’t begin to describe Michael Hawthorne’s mood when he returned and found his only child had married in his absence. At first, Matthias thought it was because his father didn’t like Sarah.

  “You are a bloody idiot! How could you be so irresponsible?”

  “You never told me when you were returning, Father. I didn’t know if you’d be gone a month or a year or ten. You left me in charge, and if you trusted me with our land and holdings, how can you deny me this?”

  “Because—” Michael Hawthorne dropped his voice when he realized he was screaming. “Because, Matthias, we are not like other people. We cannot go randomly marrying whomever we choose.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “We have a unique bloodline in our veins. We are not like other people.”

  Matthias didn’t like the look in his father’s blue eyes. “What are you saying?”

  Michael moved in close, his face inches from his son. “We are vampires,” he whispered. “Did you not think it odd on your wedding night that you bit your bride?”

  Matthias’ face registered shock and disbelief. How could he have known? “What?”

  Michael nodded. “You need a demonstration? Fine.” He hooked his hand around his son’s arm and dragged him through the door to the dining room where Sarah sat at the table waiting for them. She’d been crying, and the sight nearly broke Matthias’ heart.

  “Son, you sit there and don’t you move.”

  His father’s eyes blazed. Matthias felt compelled to obey.

  Michael turned to Sarah and fixed his vivid blue eyes on her. “Stand, girl.”

  Her full attention was on her father-in-law. As if dreaming, she slowly rose to her feet.

  Michael held out his hand. “Come here to me.”

  Matthias wanted to stand, his heart pounding, but found he was unable to move from his chair. Michael looked at his son.

  “I am about to show you why I am so upset. To prove to you what I am saying so you understand. I was going to tell you upon my return, but unfortunately you have complicated our lives.” He returned his attention to Sarah, who now stood before him. “Do you love Matthias?” he asked.

  “Yes, Father.”

  “Would you do anything for him?”

  “Yes, Father.”

  “Would you hold secrets that could mean your death if you didn’t reveal them?”

  “Anything.”

  He nodded. “Kneel before me.”

  Matthias struggled to stand when his father fixed his eyes on him again. “You stay right there, Matthias. You will learn what your lack of self-control might have cost us all. Perhaps in the future you will remember this lesson and it won’t bear repeating.” He looked at Sarah, who was now on her knees before him. “Have you lain with any man besides my son? Tell me the truth.”

  She blushed but shook her head. “No.”

  “What you learn in this household, you must never repeat to anyone, not even your own blood kin. To do so will cost us our lives. Are you prepared to bear that burden?”

  “Yes.”

  “Stay where you are, girl.” He walked around her to stand behind Matthias. Sarah’s back was to them. “Matthias, we are vampires. Whether you wish to believe it or not, it’s what and who we are. Fortunately we do not feed on blood to live, but as you yourself experienced on your wedding night, sometimes there is a desire we cannot slake except through our true love. You have powers you’ve never dreamed of, boy, and with those powers come great responsibility, to protect those around us, those we love, and to never abuse others beneath us.”

  “You’re mad!”

  “Then why not stand and prove me wrong?”

  Matthias struggled to stand and couldn’t. “What have you done to me?”

  Michael’s eyes narrowed. “I am demonstrating to you just a small fraction of what we are capable of.”

  “Is she going to turn into a hideous creature because of what I did?”

  Michael’s smile was sad. “No, son. The legends are just that. We are born the way we are. Sunlight does not harm us, as you yourself are proof. Those like you and I are very strong and can chain people to our will. Some of your children, should you have any, might be born with some of the traits.”

  Reality tried to reassert itself, and Matthias struggled against the chair but still could not stand. “I don’t believe you! You’re insane!”

  “Am I?” He leaned in close. “Do you think your wife would ever willingly approach another man?”

  Matthias’ heart went cold. “No. Never! She loves me!”

  His father’s eyes were two hard, narrow slits. “Yes, she does, but even love cannot overcome the type of power you and I wield over others.” He straightened. “Sarah, remove your frock.”

  Matthias gasped. “No!”

  Michael stilled him with a look, and now Matthias could neither stand nor speak. His father’s eyes remained on him while Sarah began working on her garments.

  Horrified, Matthias could only watch as his wife undressed. Not eagerly, the way she had when they were in bed together, but as if struggling against the command. From the way her shoulders shook and her head was bent, he suspected she was crying.

  Matthias frantically shook his head and Michael straightened, his eyes never wavering from his son. “Sarah, stop.”

  Her movements immediately stilled, but she still silently cried.

  “You can move and speak, son.”

  Now that he could, Matthias
had no words to say. Michael leaned in again. “I cannot honestly say if she loves you or not. I pray that she does. The fact that it took her a year to say yes to you is proof she has an incredibly strong will. It is far too easy for us to accidentally enslave an unwitting heart to our desires. I am over one hundred years old, and you will most likely live at least as long. When you lose her to time, you might one day wish to love again and you must remember to never use the powers you have to force someone to love you. Ever. And you must ensure she understands that she holds our very survival between her lips if her tongue wags.”

  Michael stood and walked to the door, his back to the young lovers. Without turning, he said, “Sarah, this never happened. I have not yet returned. You and Matthias were preparing to retire for the evening.” With that, he left.

  Matthias slumped in his chair, his head in his hands. Sarah looked around, confused. When she saw Matthias she rushed to him.

  “What is it? Are you ill?”

  He looked at her, her deep-green eyes, and knew he was the one enslaved, not her. He pulled her into his lap and kissed her deeply, loving her, his father’s words ringing in his ears.

  Chapter Twelve

  After Taz’s nap they ate an early dinner, then returned to their cabin. Exhaustion had finally caught up with Taz. With Matthias there to look after her, all she wanted to do was rest and talk.

  “What, exactly, is the Tribunal?”

  “Over the centuries, the different Clans decided they needed a governing body to keep the peace and settle disputes. For our united survival, if nothing else. We couldn’t have it getting out that what we are is real, not legend. Leaders from the different Clans formed a partnership of sorts, sharing information and meting out justice as appropriate. Over the years it became a quasi-judicial board. Obviously no written records, but no member of the Clans would dare cross them. Especially not now in modern times, when our existence is jeopardized more than ever.”

  “Rafe mentioned the Tribunal follows up on people who are marked.” It still creeped her out that there were some people who willingly wanted to enslave themselves to someone else, regardless of the reasoning. That wasn’t a consensual BDSM relationship where one could just walk away and the other could go on with their lives. Someone marked would, literally, die if the one who marked them died or chose to move on and mark another.

  Matthias nodded. “It would be too easy for an unscrupulous, stronger vampire to take advantage of humans and weaker hybrids. We vigorously pursued and eliminated rogues because their selfish narcissism put us all at risk. While I’ll be the first to admit there are those I’m not fond of amongst the Clans, they know it’s far safer to abide by Tribunal rules than to risk bringing the weight of it down upon them.”

  “You told me you were the oldest in the States.”

  “I am.”

  “What about your grandfather?”

  “He doesn’t call the States home. He’s a bit of a wanderer. He technically affiliates himself with the Western European Clan, and he has a home outside of Paris, but he doesn’t permanently live here. When he is here, he stays with me if he’s not busy gadding about.”

  “It’s going to take some getting used to, that I’ve gained an eight-hundred-year-old grandfather.”

  Matthias smiled. “You’ll like him, never fear. And he’ll love you.”

  She decided to switch to a slightly less depressing topic. “So how does a vampire know what to do?”

  “I don’t understand the question.”

  “I mean, how did you figure out what you can and can’t do?”

  “My grandfather told me a lot, and then others, as I grew older and made contact with members of the Clan.”

  She was frustrated, not getting the answer she wanted. “But where’s the instruction manual? The Vampires for Dummies book?”

  He laughed. “There is no such thing, Taz.”

  “Then how do new vampires know?”

  “Before, early on, parents would know to instruct their child depending on their powers. Remember, there are far fewer of us now than there ever were before. We can’t risk records like that.”

  “You said yourself no one believes in them, except Hollywood and crazy people.”

  “Not entirely. I also told you if the government became aware of us, of what we are, they might try to use us.”

  “What about now?”

  “That’s why we keep track. The Clans keep tabs on those who might be of the line. When someone shows the propensity, they are approached.”

  “Yeah, because that worked sooo well with me.”

  “I have apologized for that Taz, I don’t know what you want me to do.”

  She sighed. “I’m sorry.”

  He hugged her. “It’ll get better. I promise.”

  “Can’t get too much worse.” She fell quiet for a few minutes. “Matthias, when is your birthday?”

  “May eighteenth.”

  “What year?”

  “Every year.”

  She looked at him, laughed, and playfully shoved him.

  “Hey, you shouldn’t pick on a man whose birthday falls on the same day Mount St. Helens exploded.”

  “No?”

  “You should have heard the jokes.”

  Taz smiled, certain Albert had come up with a few doozies. She gave Matthias credit, he hadn’t mentioned leaving Yellowstone once. Curled against him, breathing in his scent, she closed her eyes. “Can we leave tomorrow?”

  He kissed the top of her head. “If that’s what you want.”

  Taz took a deep breath. “After breakfast. Let’s get all the bullshit behind us. Get the London stuff over and done with.”

  He propped himself up on one elbow. “Taz, we can hold off on that. They will wait until you’re ready.”

  “That’s just it. If you give me an out, I’ll never be ready, never want to do it. Running isn’t going to solve this. Let’s get it over with.”

  He kissed her. “All right, sweetheart.”

  * * * *

  “I have to get the oil changed in the Mustang,” she said at breakfast after they’d packed and checked out. “It’s overdue from the drive out.”

  “There’s a garage at Fishing Bridge. I’ll call when we’re done, see if they can do it this morning. If not, I’m sure we can find a place in Cody.”

  Taz started to nod when she felt a rumbling in her brain and had to bite back a snarky comment.

  What the hell is wrong with me?

  Matthias frowned. “What’s wrong, Taz?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. I just got this weird feeling when we were talking about the oil change—”

  “NO!”

  Her eyes darted around the restaurant. “Did you hear that?”

  Matthias’ eyes narrowed. “Hear what?”

  She looked around and shook her head. “I’m just jumpy.” She forced a smile. “I’m going to say something you won’t hear me say very often, big guy.”

  “What’s that?”

  She reached across the table and touched his hand. “You all warned me a couple of weeks ago, before we came out here, that I wouldn’t feel like myself.”

  He nodded.

  She took a deep breath. “You. Were. Right.”

  He laughed and squeezed her hand. “Cara, thank you, love.”

  “No, ‘See, I told you so?’”

  He crooked his finger, and her heart melted as she leaned across the table. He kissed her. “It doesn’t matter as long as I have you to love. My reason for living is to make you happy. You’re the first thing I’ve had to live for in a long, long time.”

  * * * *

  The jumpy, edgy feeling didn’t abate. In fact, it worsened the closer they drove toward Fishing Bridge. Thank goodness Matthias was behind the wheel. Taz had a feeling if it was her, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from turning around.

  He let her out at the gift shop complex and she forced herself to sit on a bench in front on the porch an
d not chase after him.

  “No! NO NO NONONONO!”

  What the hell was wrong with her? The constant, worrying drumming in her brain would drive her nuts if it didn’t stop soon. It was like the phantom voice had gone as psycho as she’d felt a few weeks ago. It was an oil change, and yet she felt like someone was going to get murdered.

  Matthias walked up five minutes later, looking concerned.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked. “You don’t look good.”

  “I don’t feel good.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to call the jet? We can be in Gardiner in a little over an hour.”

  “No, I’ll be fine. I’m just—”

  losing my mind

  “—jumpy, that’s all. Going through one of those weird phases.”

  He offered his hand, and she took it, squeezing hard and enjoying when he squeezed back. They strolled through the gift shop and ate ice cream. It almost felt like being a normal couple.

  Normal.

  Whatever the hell that was.

  When they picked up the Mustang an hour later, something akin to relief washed over her. She found herself bending down to look at the ground underneath the car.

  Matthias watched her with an amused expression. “What are you doing?”

  She looked at him as she straightened. “I don’t know.” That’s what worried her—she didn’t.

  “That’s not a comfort, love.” He held the passenger door open for her.

  Without any ability to stop it, the words tumbled from her mouth. “Did they use synthetic oil?”

  What the fuck? Great, let’s hope I don’t start swearing uncontrollably.

  Matthias raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “Yes. I had them use the brand Rafe always used. Why?”

  Yet another uncontrollable verbal tic. “Did they put on a new drain plug washer?” She clapped a hand to her mouth. What the fuck?

  Matthias froze. “What?”

  Taz swallowed hard and forced the words out, this time through her fingers still over her mouth. “A drain plug washer?”

  The half smile curled his lips. “Yes, I made sure they did. Rafe was always adamant about that. It’s the least I could do for him.”