Bound to the Vampire Chapter 11

---

CHAPTER 11

Kayla

What was taking them so long? Minutes seemed to stretch into hours as Kayla stared at the exposed wooden planked ceiling of Marnie’s dark, damp, stone walled basement, waiting for her and Garrick to return.

At first, the basement seemed to amplify what happened upstairs. Their footsteps were like thunder when they’d walked above their heads. Now, while they were in another part of the house, the room remained eerily silent.

Following her father down here was a bad idea.

Her stomach lurched.

Across the room, her father lit a lantern, then moved around the tight space to light another.

He hadn’t said anything to her since pulling her into the basement, but there were a ton of questions she still wanted to ask. But at the moment, all she could think of was the fate of the vampire who followed behind Marnie.

Her gut twisted.

It was clear Marnie didn’t like vampires. Neither did her father. Heck, she’d been taught enough to know to be wary of them. But Garrick was different from the vampire’s she’d been warned of. He saved her and for that, she couldn’t write him off as a bad person. Marnie didn’t harbor those feelings.

He’ll be fine. She tried to calm the panic rising in her chest. They’d said that as long as he stayed in the house, he would remain safe. For all she knew, Marnie would throw him out of her house now that they’d been separated.

He’s stronger than her. She’d seen Garrick take on a pack of shifters. He could take on Marnie too. Right? Either way, fretting over him was only going to give her an ulcer.

Restlessness made her sit up on the cot she’d taken up residence on and look around now that the room wasn’t steeped in darkness.

Clearly, this was some ancient no-tech version of a panic room. Thick walls cordoned them off from the rest of the basement. The home upstairs spanned much wider than the small rectangular box they were currently in.

They hadn’t been Marnie’s first visitors. Several thin well-used cots lined the walls, an old coal stove sat in the opposite corner, and six lanterns scattered about the room were its only dressings.

She should make herself useful. Popping off the bed and over to a stack of thin blankets kitty cornered between two cots, she grabbed them and began dressing three of the beds. No matter how hard she tried to remain focused on tucking the linens, her mind raced.

She was still no closer to the truth than she had been since she’d been taken.

Kayla glanced at her father after tucking in the last corner of the bed she was probably going to sleep in for a long time. No longer would she be sleeping in her own bed at school two doors down from Breanne. A thick emotion caked at the back of her throat as the night’s events set in. A tiny sob left her throat.

“It’s okay, Kay-Kay,” her father said softly, using her childhood nickname. It was meant to be comforting, but it only made her feel worse.

“No, it’s not. Breanne’s gone. Derrek’s dead, and it’s all my fault.” The words came out through choked sobs like her body was going to let loose an ugly cry.

The tears were coming, but she swallowed them down along with the lump forming in her throat. If she started crying now, she wouldn’t be able to stop.

“No, that’s not…” Her father sighed, then raked a hand through his salt and pepper hair with a despair that matched her own. Yet, his despair was shrouded in guilt. He sat on the cot directly opposite of her and pulled her hands into his. “It’s not your fault. It’s mine.”

Yeah, that didn’t make her feel better. She felt worse. He let go of her hands to interlace his fingers together, seesawing them back and forth, watching the motion deep in thought.

“I was angry,” he said with an apologetic look. “But I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. As a father…” He sighed again, suppressing his guilt. “It’s my fault we’re here. I tried everything I could to protect you. Even keep the truth about my past away from you. For a long time, I thought that it was best. The less you knew, the safer you would be. I see now that that wasn’t the case. The truth is—I’ve been on the run for a long time. Since long before you were born. Since, well… since the day I met your mother. Do you remember how we met?”

Kayla nodded. “During Carnevale di Venezia.”

He smiled softly. “Yes. On the night of the masquerade festival. She was wearing the most beautiful elaborate mask, and underneath, I could only see her big beautiful green eyes and a smile that would light a thousand rooms.”

A small smile skirted her lips at the fondness in her father’s face because of the memory, brightening her sour mood just a tad. He’d never really talked about her mom like this. On the few occasions he did, she could always see the deep love he had for her.

Kayla sat on the cot facing him and wrapped her arms around her shins as he continued.

“That night was the most perfect night. As crazy as it sounds, I fell in love with your mother the moment I met her. It was like all the magic in me chose her. I’d never felt anything like it before. Overwhelmed with that feeling, I asked her to marry me right there on the spot.

“Unfathomably, she agreed, but wouldn’t without a ring. She also told me a nearby shop sold costume jewelry and that a ring from there would work for now until I could afford the real thing.

“In a rush, I darted to the shop and in the best Italian I had in me, I asked the owner if I could purchase one of the rings. I told him I’ve fallen in love with the most beautiful woman at the festival and she’d marry me if I gave her one of his rings. He offered me one with a blessing of good luck.

“With the ring in hand, I raced to be back by your mother’s side so I could propose, but when I returned, two men were taking her away from the square. It was so chaotic; I don’t think anyone realized she was being abducted. But, I did. When I saw them tugging her into an alley, I ran after her. What met me on the other end was not a foe I’d ever seen before.”

“The Rogue?” she squeaked, pressing her chin into her knees. Her father nodded; the fondness in his face vanished. At the corners of his eyes, fear emerged again.

“That is what we call him, yes.”

“Why?”

“Because he is both a mage and a vampire.”

She gasped, “That’s not possible, is it?”

“It shouldn’t be. It defies nature. According to the old texts, if a mage becomes a vampire, they lose their power. He somehow found a way to keep his by becoming a syste.”

“H-how do you know?”

“I’ve seen it. By the time I reached the place he’d taken your mother, there were more than half a dozen mages lying dead at his feet. All of them with the signs of siphoning—dark protruding veins, ashen skin, and eyes that seemed several shades paler than normal—like they’d been dried out. But he was more brutal than any other syste I knew of. He ripped their throats out after he’d finished taking their magic. It was his calling card. A way to mark what he’d done.

“Until then, I’d never seen a vampire syste before, but I knew what he wanted. What he needed. He needed magic so I offered mine instead of your mother’s.” He took a deep breath as he continued with a trembling voice. “My plan was to get close enough to touch her and get her out of there. I can travel much farther than most mages. Thankfully, he bought it.

“He called me to him and told me to kneel in front of him while he siphoned from me. It was the most excruciating pain I ever felt.”

Kayla winced. She knew first hand what it was like. But she let her father continue.

“I got close enough to your mom, though. Once my fingertips grazed hers, I took her and we vanished. Except, you can’t run from a syste once they’ve tasted your magic. It’s like a beacon to them. He’d siphoned from me and had been on the hunt for me ever since.

“He hunted us to every corner of the earth. He became obsessed. But I was the target, so we split. I went one way, she another. I took solace in knowing she’d be safe,” her father’s gaze lifted to her, meeting her with watery eyes before they turned angry. “But he got to her anyway.”

“Did he…” her voice cracked, dread and pain, and a matching anger to her father’s flooded her.

“The mages near her said it was from natural causes but I knew better. I knew what was after us. It was then I found out she was pregnant and had given birth to a beautiful baby girl. The moment I held you, you became everything to me. And I would do anything to protect you from the evil I knew would keep coming.”

“So, I had you guarded around the clock. I hid you in plain sight. Used shields and guards and a strict routine to make sure he couldn’t get to you. Despite my best efforts, it wasn’t enough. Somehow, he’s found us again.”

“How?”

Guilt flashed across his face again, but he didn’t say. He didn’t know and that must have terrified him. Hell, it terrified her that there was some psychopath out to get them for what? Because he couldn’t siphon her father to death?

“Why is he still after us?”

Her father’s defeat came out in a burst of frustration. “I don’t know. He’s a syste vampire… an abomination. He wouldn’t see reason. He wouldn’t be rational. Vampires hold grudges for a long time and syste’s lose their mind if they don’t get enough power. I just know he won’t stop until he retaliates.”

The horror on her face must have become more pronounced because her father was already reassuring her. “He’ll never get to you. I promise.”

She wasn’t worried about herself. She was worried about her dad. Her father stood up and crossed the room, offering her an apologetic look. “Tonight has been an ordeal already. We should get some sleep. Tomorrow morning we’ll sort all of this out.”

Sleep was the last thing she needed, but the footsteps above her head prevented her from having to say that aloud.

They’re back! Everything brightened when she saw Garrick’s footfalls making their way down the stairs after Marnie’s.

“You’re back.” She rushed over to him and threw her arms around his neck in a hug before she realized what she was doing.

Garrick stiffened.

This was more awkward than when she’d peed on herself during her second-grade school trip coming home from the zoo and was forced to sit in a pee puddle in the front of the bus two seats down from her crush.

Mortification crept up her neck and settled on her face. She was probably beet-red.

Put your hands down, she ordered her limbs that didn’t seem to want to move. Why couldn’t she let go of him?

“I’m sorry…” she murmured, and as soon as her arms started working again, she forced them to her sides. She took a step back, but he caught her and pulled her body flush against his.

He felt incredible as he buried his face in her neck and drew her close in silence. He was strong; there was no doubt about that as his colossal arms wrapped around her. She felt tiny in them. But there was something in the way he held her close to him. Like he knew exactly the right kind of comfort she needed.

Her father cleared his throat loudly from behind her. Both of them seemed to catch themselves and jumped away. This time when she stepped away, he let her.

Her father glared his disapproval, but it was Marnie who spoke. “Tonight, you can sleep here. Tomorrow, we seek the council of the elders.”

Again, more confusion tightened her eyebrows, and it was Marnie’s turn to look at her father with disapproval. “Have you told her nothing of our ways?”

“I will tell her when it’s time,” her father urged, cupping a hand under Marnie’s elbow and leading her away.

It wasn’t very far. The panic room was only so big. When he saw her staring, he waved his hand at his side and their whispers were silenced.

If only she could read lips.

There was a rogue out to get them, they were holed up in a safehouse, and now there was a council of elders. Could her life get any more complicated?

She looked at the vampire beside her. Yes, apparently it could.

“You seem in need of rest,” Garrick said, drawing her attention away from the pair conspiring in the corner. “I know your kind.” He paused, then corrected himself. “Do mages require as much sleep as humans do?”

“We do, but right now I’m too tired to sleep.”

“Ah, bonlight.” At her questioning look, he explained, “It is the term we use when someone is so tired, it feels like they have lightning in their bones.”

“Yeah, I feel like I can sleep for a year, but at the same time never sleep again.”

“It helps to count until the stars meet your eyes,” he offered.

It must have been the vampire version of counting sheep. She stared at the cot she’d taken up as her own and laid on it. She was exhausted, but was nowhere near close to dozing off.

She looked at the vampire across from her. For the first time since he’d freed her from the airplane hangar, she really saw him. She’d never met one of his kind before, but wondered if they were all just as handsome as he was.

He had conventional good looks. Dark eyes, inset in a scarily symmetrical face, a strong jaw, perfect teeth and swagger that she found completely fascinating. She’d seen soldiers move like him—precise and assured. He did call himself a legion. She’d only heard the term in reference to a group of soldiers from the Roman Empire. Based on his physique alone, it wouldn’t have been far off to think he was a soldier of some sort.

He sat on the cot opposite her and casually let an arm rest on one bent knee. The position displayed his built thighs and hips to perfection. They’d probably do wonders inside of a bed.

Foremages, why was she getting turned on by him in the line of sight of her father?

“You’re not counting to bring the stars.” His brows danced in amusement as if he could read every word inside of her head.

“Not tired, remember?” She looked over to her dad and Marnie still huddled in the corner. She didn’t look pleased by whatever he was telling her.

“The mage thinks you have a right to know the truth,” Garrick explained, seeing her tilt her head to look at the two of them.

“You can hear them?”

“No. I can see the words on their lips.”

“Can they hear us?” she asked, but neither of them looked over so she guessed that was a no. Interesting. Her father’s little force field blocked sound from both sides.

“Doesn’t appear so,” he answered at the same time she’d come to her own conclusion.

“What are they saying?”

“They speak mostly of you. The mage is angry that your father is withholding things from you.”

“What isn’t he telling me?”

“They did not say.”

“What else are they saying?”

Garrick grew quiet and faced her, but she was still gaping at them like a fish. Marnie nodded toward her. They instantly stopped talking. Her head whipped to face Garrick, but the deed was done. They’d caught her.

Her father swiped his hands and the sound from their corner came alive again. Not much by the way of answers, she heard Marnie mutter, “You will fix this,” before ascending the stairs.

Her father stared regretfully at Marnie’s retreating frame as she went.

“No one comes up until I come down to get you in the morning, understand?” she said from the top of the stairs.

“Yes. Thank you, Marn.”

“Uh huh,” was the last thing she said before the wall above them closed and she was gone. Her father turned back toward her.

“Time to go to bed,” her father said firmly, moving to the bed beside her. “After breakfast, we’ll talk with the council.”

He didn’t allow for a discussion. With a wave of his hands, the lights extinguished, leaving them in total darkness.

Okay then. She sighed, then curled into a ball, holding her knees to her chest. Closing her eyes, she tried to count until the stars met her eyes, but could only wonder—what was her father hiding from her?