My everlasting appreciation to Pgal for donning her beta cap and cleaning up my atrocious grammar. And she did it in short order too.
This is my answer to the prompt: "Sometimes the past doesn't just catch up with you; it haunts you." I hope you enjoy.
Torches
As the couple stepped up to the door it was swept open. The tall, dark-haired vampire tightened his hold around the waist of his petite companion.
Beth threw Mick an inquisitive glance. His answering smile was tight.
"Stay close. Don't wander."
Blue eyes rolled dramatically.
"Beth...."
"I already promised twice." The smile that spread across her rose-tinged lips was mischievous. She spared the uniformed man holding the door a brief glance before leaning in and whispering, "Come on Mick. This is as close as I'm going to get to that vampire clubhouse you said doesn't exist."
The dark vampire frowned and scanned the inside of the house and then back over their shoulders towards the line of ostentatious cars parked along the drive. "I really don't think this is a good idea." Beth felt his fingers tighten against the black silk at her waist. And stepped out of his grasp into the shadowed coolness of the Kostan mansion's foyer.
"We're staying."
Mick closed his eyes and shook his head but squared his shoulders against his better judgement and followed his heart inside. Accept the inevitable. Doing so was pretty much necessary being with Beth. His hand found her lower back and he guided her into the depths of the vampire den. More than once he had to apply additional pressure to usher Beth along as the investigative urge would have had her wandering off the beaten path.
At the end of the hall Mick took a deep breath before pulling open one of the double doors leading to the grand room. If Beth's going to be a part of your life then vampires are going to be a part of hers. It's only a matter of time. The reluctant vampire nearly grinned as his soul-mate's heart quickened in anticipation and her fingers worried the jet beads of the gold choker at her throat. His chest swelled and a smile did finally break across his face as he realized he was feeling more pride than fear as heads turned to take in the blond human eager to be among them.
His pride, however, wasn't going to make him foolish. Mick wasn't about to let her leave his side.
Together they descended the trio of stairs that brought them abreast of the milling crowd. Several acquaintances stepped forward to be introduced and the minutes passed as attention was paid to the amenities of social gatherings ingrained in vampire and human alike. After a couple of scotches while watching Beth enjoy herself and charming Josef's guests, Mick's tension began to ease.
"How dare you?!" The hissed accusation came from behind. Before Mick had a chance to turn around, there was a blur and a gasp. Beth clutched her bare throat, scratches beginning to bloom crimson.
"Traitors!" An enraged vampire, clenching the delicate necklace in his fist, circled around the couple.
With a growl, the P.I. urged Beth behind him. He wanted to check to see if she was okay, but he didn't dare take his eyes off of her swarthy-skinned attacker. Nor could he ignore the rising tension around them as the fresh scent of blood permeated the air.
"Live entertainment and no one called me?"
"Josef!" Heads snapped around and bodies parted like the Red Sea as their host descended on the crowd.
Cognac eyes settled on Beth. Josef frowned as he pulled a silk handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to her. "If you don't intend to share, here, take this."
Fighting against his fury, Mick straightened, snatched the folded cloth and coaxed Beth closer to inspect her neck, not daring to turn his back on her assaulter. The scratches weren't too bad, only one was deep, trailing across her collar bone leaving a bloody welt. Intending to blot the wound, he raised his hand only to be halted by a small fist that shook with outrage.
"That's mine. Give it back."
She made to move forward but a restraining hand from Mick stopped her. "Beth..."
Auburn brows rose in surprise and lethal eyes turned to the angry thief. "The lady says you have something of hers, Omar."
Ebony eyes burning with vehemence, the questioned vampire punched his fist out, his hand opening to reveal the necklace, the red-enameled, jet-beaded medallion dangling from his fingers. Chin pointing towards a seething Beth, he spat, "She dared to wear the mark of a traitor here. HERE to your HOME, Josef."
"Traitor? Josef, what the hell is he talking about?"
Dazed, Josef held out his hand and the necklace was yielded to him. Staring at the jeweled medal pooled in his palm everything around him blurred, the noise becoming a mere background hum.
You're an abomination. To my dying breath, I will hunt you down and destroy you.
"Josef?" Mick's voice dispelled the haze.
Josef looked up and smiled. "Show's over, folks." His fisted hand slid into his pocket and with the other he swiped a fluted champagne glass from a nearby tray and held it up before taking a sip. "Everyone, please, continue to enjoy yourselves and...excuse us." Setting the glass down he turned on his heels. "You three follow me."
Omar obediently turned and shadowed his host.
Bewildered, Mick stood still and watched them until hands slid around his arm and he looked down into apprehensive azure eyes.
"Mick?" She only spoke his name but, clear as night, he could hear everything she wanted to ask. Should they leave? Should they follow? Was it safe?
He had no idea. He didn't understand what was going on, but the truth was, if Josef wanted something he was a force to be reckoned with and it was better for everyone if he was not kept waiting. Leaving would only delay the inevitable. There was that word again. Inevitable.
Mick knew that Beth would follow his lead, trust him to protect her. Although that knowledge made him proud, it was also scary as hell. Mick gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile and led her forward; the couple followed in Josef's wake.
Their brief delay had them trailing behind, the other two vampires already out of sight. But Mick knew where they headed - the office - Josef's personal lair. Leaving the grand room behind, they entered a long hallway lined on one side by floor to ceiling windows that overlooked a dark hillside that sloped downward into a light be-speckled city below. The other wall was punctuated by closed doors that muffled but could not extinguish the mellifluous notes of sighs and groans.
Beth faltered. As understanding dawned her hand flew up to cover a mouth opened in astonishment. Eyes big as saucers, she turned to Mick for confirmation. "Are they.....?"
Frowning, he leaned down to whisper. "Come on. Let's..." A female's sinuous moan interrupted him and had him chasing after the blond as she rushed to put her ear against the door.
"Beth!" Mick looked up and down the hall to make sure no one saw them before carefully prying her hand from the knob and shepherding her towards their destination.
This is exactly what I was afraid of. Beth and vampires just don't mix.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"The female human should be drained and burned for wearing that here. Is St. John out of his mind?"
The tirade fell on deaf ears. Josef sat at his desk, staring at his reflection in the window, looking through it into a different place and time. Hundreds of years fell away and he was a newly Turned vampire, high on his own strength and immortality.
It is not a curse, my brother. We can be the leaders of our country that we've always wanted to be.
Brother? You are no longer my brother. You are a monster. A hideous creature that must be destroyed.
Long fingers traced the outline of the jeweled medallion, the pressure increasing until gold prongs pierced the padded flesh. The blood coating the red enamel gave the illusion that the piece was melting, liquefying in his hand.
Let me say goodbye to her. Let me explain.
The haunting echo of a deranged laugh lingered as Josef turned to watch Mick and Beth enter his office.
"Let me drain her, Josef." Omar moved toward Beth, licking his lips, anticipating the juicy morsel.
The hedge-funder gave a weary sigh as Mick, ever the protector, stepped in front of his damsel, vamping and crouching, ready to defend.
"Omar."
The anticipation in the dark eyes that answered was extinguished at the look on Josef's face.
"Out."
The dark vampire scowled at the couple as he skirted them. Hand on knob, he leaned in and bit at the air in front of Beth's face. Before his mouth snapped shut, he was pinned to the door, Mick's arm crammed against his neck.
Josef forestalled his initial reaction to interfere. Instead, he waited, and watched Beth's reaction, weighing it. Her fear was genuine. He could smell it. But it was not for herself, he knew. It was for Mick. She did not consider herself threatened. She felt safe in the belief that if Mick were unable to protect her, his best friend would step in.
Mick was not the one in danger, however. It was Omar who was about to lose his throat, and Josef couldn't have that. The endangered vampire might be obnoxious but he was loyal.
In a nanosecond Josef was between the two vampires. "Mick, let him go." When he got no response from a snarling Mick, Josef snickered and tried again. "How about...Mick, not in front of Beth."
Sanity returned to the hazel eyes. With a shove, he let Omar go.
Omar glanced at Josef, nodded and let himself out.
Josef fixed Mick's lapel, ignoring the dark scowl burning into him. "Feeling better?" He patted the tux-covered chest. "Yeah? Good." With a nod he spun on his Italian leather oxfords and headed to the liquor cabinet. "You two. Sit."
Mick waited for Beth to move in front of him and followed her to the aged brown leather chairs facing the windows.
"Beth?" Josef held the liquid gold filled snifter aloft in silent question.
With an uncharacteristic quietness, the blond shook her head and busied herself looking around the room.
Handing Mick a glass, Josef made his way around his desk and seated himself.
"Josef, have you lost your mind?" Mick disregarded the expensive scotch, placing the glass on the desk.
"May I have my necklace back?"
He pointed to each of them. "No. And no."
The P.I. was up on his feet, leaning over the desk, arms braced. "Josef, I don't take kindly to being called a traitor, or having one of your hounds threatening Beth. I want to know what's going on."
Both vampires looked down at the blood-speckled piece of jewelry lying between them.
"That, my brother, is what I'd like to know." There was no doubt in Josef's mind that Mick was innocent, had no clue what the medallion represented, but he wasn't so sure about the intrepid ex-reporter. A betting man would have said she was as clueless as Mick. But Josef wasn't a betting man.
I and mine will hunt you down. Even if it takes an eternity.
"Why would Beth wear the mark of our enemy into my home?"
Mick reared back, placing his hands on his hips. "Our enemy?"
Distressed but curious, Beth's gaze bounced from one to the other. "Mark? If they have a mark they'd be some kind of organized group? Is there such a thing?"
"Is there?" Mick seconded. "Wait." His face contorted with disbelief. "You don't mean the Legion, do you?"
"Give this man a prize! Yes, as a matter of fact, I do."
"Who are the Legion?" Beth grasped the arms of the chair and shifted closer. "And what do they have to do with us?"
Steepled fingers bounced against pursed lips. "That would be the million dollar question. That and why..." Josef lifted and dangled the gold choker, "a guest of mine would be wearing their crest."
"It's not their crest." Beth leaped from her chair and would have snatched her necklace but a cold hand slammed it down and covered it.
Gold eyes had turned to a glacial blue. Cold. Calculating. "Oh, but it is." Inch, by slow inch, Josef rose from his chair, his stare burning into the woman who stood across from him, chest heaving in anger.
Mick broke the standoff by wedging himself between Beth and the desk. "You can't be serious, man. You think Beth is some kind of spy for the Legion?" His lips twisted in disgust. "Think about it, Josef. Even if she were, would she wear proof of it to your party?"
The 'she' in question stepped out from behind her protector, too infuriated to be scared. "I want it. Give it back to me, Josef."
A tuxedo clad arm intercepted Beth as she moved forward, intending to gain her property. A scathing hazel glare raked the senior vampire before returning to her with an imploring look. "Beth, please."
"No." Beth raked both vampires with furious eyes. "That is not some anti-vampire group's symbol. It's a family heirloom. And you're going to give it back to me."
Josef felt himself ease as he regarded his human guest's struggle to regain her property. She was definitely spitting mad, a veritable she-cat, but there was no guilt, no duplicity in her. With that question settled in his mind he was even able to take some pity on his friend who was evidently at a loss as to how to keep the love of his life from committing certain suicide.
"Actually, it's both." A graceful arm swept forward, prompting his guests to sit. "I'll explain."
Once a reluctant Beth took a seat, face set in aggravated lines, Mick reclined in the chair next to her. Both turned to Josef, expectant.
The metal under his hand burned into his cool flesh as Josef looked off between his guests, to the back wall swathed in shadows.
Banners, deep red but blackened by darkness stood out against the torches. Only the gold, woven into an intricate circle, could be clearly seen. The quiet of the forest was invaded by angry shouts and barking dogs. Panic and chaos reigned as the hunter became the hunted, brother became enemy.
Remembered fear clawed at the vampire's chest. Panic nearly had him bursting from his chair. And there was pain, heartache that burned through his veins and tasted like bile on his tongue.
Who could love something as unholy as you? We'll all be better off with you gone from this earth.
Some betrayals haunted for eternity.
"Josef!"
The impatient call brought the vampire back to the present. He gave the unhappy couple a mock smile before proceeding.
"I know you've always thought me paranoid, but I have reason. This....," Josef raised the medallion in his hand, "being the main one." Frowning down at the piece, he continued. "It's an ancient crest dating back to the seventeenth century. It belonged to....a powerful family."
"Seventeenth century? Did you know this family?" Mick rubbed at his mouth. The question was asked with quiet concern. Josef's difficulty with the subject was evident and the P.I. could empathize with how hard it was to divulge secrets better kept buried.
"You could say that, yes."
"Wait. So this powerful family is behind the same Legion that's around today?" Beth's head tilted and eyes creased as she tried to make sense of what she was being told. "And their symbol resembles the one on my necklace?"
"No. Not resembles. It is one and the same."
Ever the investigator, Beth wasn't satisfied with that answer. Besides, how could they possibly be the same? "How can you be sure? Hasn't it been a long time since you've seen it?"
You think she could love a weak creature such as you? She'd be better off dead.
Our banner shall ever be right behind you brother, running you to ground. We shall overturn every rock you and your Godless monsters scurry under.
Josef upended his Baccarat tumbler and grimaced at the burn. "Believe me, Sunshine, I'm not likely to forget my family coat of arms."
Mick's watch caught the overhead light with a quick flare as he covered his lower face. He kept silent, knowing that the story wasn't over. Beth, in contrast, sat forward, her mouth forming a small 'O'. Her shock didn't last long. "You were part of the Legion?"
"No. I wasn't part of it. You could say I was the cause of it." Josef ran a slender finger around the mouth of the empty scotch glass and watched as the other vampire leaned forward to grasp his own forgotten glass and down a hefty sip.
"You'd been Turned. They came after you."
Josef looked off toward the windows banking the wall behind him and nodded.
Her scent was even more heavenly with his heightened senses. Her hair richer, her eyes greener. He wasn't sure he'd be able to love her after the Turning. But he did. His body ached with it. Her tears left him vulnerable. With all his newly gained strength, she left him powerless. They only had seconds, his brother's mob was fast on his heels. "Come with me." She caressed the medallion at her throat, his gift and promise, and shook her head. He grasped at her hands as she backed away. "I cannot. Forgive me, my love, I cannot." The mob was closer, in the halls just below them. She tried to stifle the sobs that convulsed through her body. "Go. You must leave before they find you." The darkness was broken by torchlight crawling along the stone walls, ever closer. "Go!"
"We were from a wealthy, powerful family." He shot Mick a glare when he heard the vampire snicker. "And like most, we were Calvinists. My brother was fanatical, a young Hungarian Prince who was going to cleanse the country of evil." His smile was bitter. "I became a vampire and screwed up his plans."
The dark vampire leaned back into his chair, one hand bouncing on the armrest and shook his head. "So your brother started the Legion to save the world from you."
A lone figure stood at the parapet searching the surrounding woods. His voice carried on the cool dusky air. "I know you're out there, Kristof. You cannot hide forever. May God smite you. And if not, I will. I will not rest until you are destroyed." He knew his brother, Jozsi, hated to be thwarted. The retaliation for his, Kristof's, close escape would be swift.
"Yes. You and he would have some great conversations. He considered us monsters too. The scourge of the earth."
"MmHmm." Mick glanced at a silent, fascinated Beth before looking back towards the elder vampire, his expression becoming pensive. "I can't believe it was that easy, even for you. No regrets, Josef? No moments when you felt like a monster?"
"The nature of the beast." Fingers made a quick swipe of auburn bangs. "I was blessed at birth with an accepting nature." He smirked but it was followed by a frown as memories long buried resurfaced.
"Come with me, my bogárkám. We'll be vampir and live forever, side by side for eternity." Eyes the color of soft moss looked up at him with a sadness that pierced his heart. Her soft palm cupped his cheek. "No, my darling. It is not for me, that life. Fate...has different plans for me." Plump tears wet dark, thick lashes before they dropped to her cheek. "I know how much you want this." Her smile was wistful. "I could never deny you anything but in this I must." His arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. No she'd never denied him, always endeavoring to make him happy. He knew she'd come around. After she saw how liberating it was. How wonderful it would be to live endless years and watch the future unfold for them together. But he couldn't smile nor could he hold her close enough.
Josef could now admit that deep inside he had known that she wouldn't join him. He had not been able to accept it then because accepting it would have meant he'd either have to say goodbye to the one person he thought he couldn't live without or choose to stay human. With the short sightedness of youth he could not believe he'd be denied the two things he wanted most.
But he had. Here he was, four hundred years later. Alone. He'd learned to grab happiness where he could. But there was always an ache that haunted him. Like a phantom limb. An emptiness.
"I never had an aversion to the monster." Josef cleared his throat and straightened his collar. "But there are regrets."
Always so selfish, brother. You would destroy our family. You took your own life, for an undead existence. You, Kristof, have shamed and damned the woman you proclaimed to love.
"Ahhh." Mick raised his glass to Josef. "It was a woman. A human woman, wasn't it, Josef?"
After a moment of silence, Josef pursed his lips and gave his head a bob.
"I knew it." The satisfied outburst earned him two pointed glares.
A contrite Mick sank back into his chair with after giving Josef a sideways nod of apology.
"I guess I deserve that. And you're right. We were both human when we fell in love. I wanted to be Turned and she didn't." One corner of his mouth lifted in memory. "I called her my bogárkám. My little bug. The sweetest thing I've come across in almost half a millennium. I thought she'd change her mind." One shoulder lifted in a shrug.
"I can't believe it! That's it!" Beth jumped to her feet.
Both vampires turned to her with questioning expressions.
"You're him!"
"Who?"
"The guy in the story."
Josef sighed and counted to three. "Beth, I haven't got forever. Oh, wait. I do. But my patience isn't limitless."
Beth, excited, waived his words away.
"The medallion is so old..." Beth wrinkled her nose at Josef. "Sorry."
Josef repeated her gesture and waved it away. "No offense taken."
"Well....not much is remembered but there's just a little bit of a story that's told when the necklace gets passed down." Beth reached over Josef's arm and grasped the necklace. "Look..." She flipped it over and held it up for him.
Josef was surprised to find an inscription and read it aloud. "Verus amor aeternus est."
"True love is eternal." Beth translated with satisfaction. "The woman who passed it down was in love with the man who gave it to her. He left her but she had his child and never forgot him, never loved another man. He was her 'eternal love'." A smile spread across her face and lit her eyes. "Eternal. Vampire. It was you, wasn't it? You had to leave her because you were Turned." A quick mind sorted through whatever other knowledge she might have of the lovelorn woman and remembered a fact that would prove she was right. Her grandmother, a romantic, had used the woman's name as her own daughter's middle name. Beth's hand covered the vampire's arm, her touch soft. "Her name was Alina, wasn't it Josef?"
The smell of the newly dug earth singed inside his nose as the unshed tears stung his eyes. He didn't deserve to mourn her. Dropping to his knees, his head fell back, his hands fisting on his thighs. He rocked, unable to be still. The pain was unbearable. They wouldn't even bury her on consecrated ground. His sweet Alina, branded a consort of the devil, left in a shallow grave with a crudely made wood marker that bore her name and date of death. Nothing more, nothing to tell of the life she lived. For no other had ever been as enlivened as she. For a moment he thought of shearing the grave-marker and staking himself but he could not do that. He could not defile her grave. Her memory.
"I left because I thought she was dead. There was a grave."
"She didn't die." Beth frowned in thought. "Is it possible your brother just wanted you to think she did. To punish you?"
For a moment Josef felt faint. If he'd been standing his knees would have given out on him. It wasn't often that life could throw him such a curve ball. If what Beth said were true, Alina had lived and given birth to their child. The crest he'd given to her in promise to marry her, to cherish her, was now Beth's family heirloom. His family's heirloom.
The soft brown eyes that looked into hers were hopeful. He wanted to believe. He needed to. "It's possible." His chest rose and fell with a deep sigh. "It's even likely. He probably hoped I would end myself." His eyes narrowed as he looked back down at the necklace. "I nearly did."
A small hand covered his fingers. "She never stopped loving you." And curled his fingers around the necklace. "It's yours. I think she passed it on, hoping it would find its way back to you so you'd know that."
Beth sniffled and gave a warm laugh. "She gave you a different kind of eternity. She gave you a family." Human and vampire stared at each other as understanding dawned. "I....I guess I'm it."
Mick unfolded himself from the chair and stood, looking on in amazement as Beth reached up to place a kiss on the frozen vampire's cheek. He could tell, when she took a step back and looked at him, that she was overwhelmed; her face flushed and eyes bright. She was also quiet and fidgety. Josef looked just about the same. Mick smiled to himself; he guessed it was a family trait. For now he'd take her home so she could relax and Josef could have a moment alone. He pressed forward and stroked a soothing hand down her back. "Come on. I'll take you home."
Beth gave him a dazed smile and nodded before turning and heading for the door.
The two vampires stood together and contemplated her retreating back.
"She's something else, isn't she?"
"Of course she is. She comes from good stock." Josef looked through the open door. "You're not going to let my nosy, human descendant roam my halls unescorted?"
"No." Mick shot the empty doorway a worried look. "That would be bad. You have no idea how bad."
"Then get to it." As the vampire turned to leave Josef called out. "Make sure she has those scratches looked at. Oh, and Mick? If you see Omar, send him in. I need to have a little discussion with him about his manners."
Mick's gait quickened at the reminder of Beth's antagonist being out there while she was alone. And had to ask himself who he was more afraid for. Her. Or him.
* * * * * * *
After the office door closed, Josef returned to his desk, his mind racing. He felt both tired and exhilarated. An odd combination, but at once his heart felt light even as he felt the weight of every single year of his existence weighing on his shoulders.
Feeling a little weak in the knees, the vampire fell into his chair and stared at the family heirloom. Family. His family. The one his precious Alina gave him. Even through the grief of her supposed death there had been the niggling feeling of desertion because she'd refused to join him. That was gone now. She had not become a vampire. Instead, she'd given life to their child.
With a heavy exhale, Josef reclined, resting his head on the back of the chair and closed his eyes. For four hundred years he'd been haunted by the guilt of leaving Alina and of causing her death. The war with his brother had paled in comparison to the pain of losing her. Every time the Legion surfaced Josef figured this would be it, his time to pay the piper. Justice would finally be served and his brother would win.
Picking up the medallion, Josef traced the inscription with reverent fingers. For the first time since he could remember, the vampire let the tears come. They were a silent tribute to the one person who'd loved him unconditionally. He'd left her and she'd continued to love him. She'd raised their child and passed on his gift in hopes that it would, one day, be gifted back to Josef. No. Kristof. Her Kristof.
The light hint of human blood teased his nose and Josef frowned. With his nail he scraped off the residue from a sharp prong, the one that had left the wicked scratch along Beth's throat. She'd been furious. The woman was a force to be reckoned with and he respected her for it. Yet, like his Alina, she could be soft-hearted. And generous. Beth had no family left either and this last link to her ancestry was obviously important to her - yet she'd given it to him.
His lips lifted into a slow smile. His past had finally caught up to him in the guise of a pretty, feisty, blond. Thanks to Alina, his past was part of his future.
And it no longer haunted him.
