valhol part 1 vampin book series

7/31/2019 Valhol Part 1 Vampin Book Series

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Boston in Repair

Chapter 1



The sky over Boston was foggy,

making it hard to see the house

from the air. Normally, she would’ve

never risked exposure, but she

didn’t have time to waste.

She levitated just under a

particularly dense cloud until she

spotted the property.

Gently, she descended

through the salty air and landed on

the moist grass.

Using just her mind, she

looked in and saw several people in

the living room taking aperitifs.

She deeply inhaled; there was

a familiar scent in the air.

Michael was there, too!

That was all she needed to

know. If worse came to be, she

knew he’d always take her side.



She breathed hard and

readied herself to fight them all, if

necessary. But, then, the door

opened, and Mick appeared.

“Starr, we’ll have none of that!

You’re welcome, but don’t think

you’ll be able to flex your powers,

here.”

When she said nothing, he

beckoned her in.

Inside was the same as usual:

cool, dark and crammed with many

paintings, sculptures, photographs

and other priceless antiques.

She walked past the threshold

and stopped dead in her tracks, at

the sight of the people in the living

room.

“Starr,” said an old familiar,not to mention annoying, voice.



But before she could confirm

what she was hearing, a pair of

alabaster textured hands grabbed

her, roughly, and drew her into a

blinding embrace.

Just the strength of his kisses

would have broken a normal

person’s jaw.

When he released her, she

resisted the urge to wipe the slime

from her face. Fernand, who wasLucenzo’s brother – and a

Primordial, was a kind person, even

if he was exuberant to the point of

irritating.

His long hair was as red asLucenzo’s, but, unlike his brother,

he had a softer angel-like face.

“Come,” he said as he grabbed

her hand and led her into the living

room. “Let me guess: a winespritzer, again?”



But Starr was still too stunned

to answer.

From outside, she saw that

there were people in the house, but

she didn’t pay attention to who they

were, exactly. If she had, she would

have never come.

“Now, Starr, you remember

Madam Balaji, head of the Order of

Black,” she inclined her head.

“Bulgari,” he lifted his chin inacknowledgement as he took a long

drag from his cigarette. “Nico and

Kris,” they both rose their glasses to

her.

“And this is Keagan Scamall.”

Starr remained silent as

Fernand went to fix her drink.

Last time they were all

together, they didn’t part on greatterms. While Starr stayed in Madam

Balaji’s and Bulgari’s Castel de



Negru, in Romania, she discovered

they liked to practice barbaric rituals

and games. When Starr walked in on

a human labyrinthine chase, she left

her kindly hosts without a word.

And Nico and Kris: The last

time Starr saw them was when

Credenza killed their long-time

friend, Levi, after she, herself, tried

to kill him.

Everyone was much the sameas Starr remembered them, though.

Madam Balaji with her waist-length

blonde ringlets, and in a white dress

as usual; Kris was still chain

smoking; Nico with his latte

complexion, and Kris the albino,

glowing ghostly white under the

firelight, with his eyes a vibrant

shade of purple.

The only person Starr didn’t

recognize was Keagan. He was a

pale, stocky, dark haired man with a



touch of crow’s feet, and patches of

long grey hair.

He died much older than most

vampires.

“Actually,” he said. “We met

many months ago. You were withthe Council Fleet. You crashed my

St. Patrick’s Day Feast.”

Starr hated mind readers, very

much.

Keagan must have noticed her

discomfort, for he stood up and

insisted that she come sit next to

him.

Starr was hesitant, given whatshe’d learned about the Scamall

clan.

“Just because we are at odds

with the Council, doesn’t mean we

are bad people.”



Lucenzo pushed a wine glass

into her hand and said, “Please, sit

down.”

After a moment of silence,

Madam Balaji said, “Starr, I’m gladto see that you’ve survived those

nasty vampires that that maniac,

Lucenzo, created. No offense,

Fernand.”

“None taken, Madam. Thoughnobody believes me, I had nothing

to do with my brother’s crazy world-

apocalypse scheme.”

“We believe you,” said Nico.

“I’m sure if you were involved, your

father, Vidar, would have

apprehended you, too.”

“My father doesn’t mess a-r-

round,” he said, rolling his R’s,

lightly.



Lucenzo and Fernand had

spent many centuries under the

guise of Northern Italians until

WWII, when the Italians tried to

force them into the army. That was

when they immigrated to the United

States: to Boston.

“So, Starr, you will stay for

dinner?” asked Kris.

“Actually, no, I’d like to talk to

you, privately, and then I have togo.”

“No business before dinner,”

said Fernand in his usual loud and

bossy voice. “And you will stay for

dinner. Mick and Nina are about tobutcher a kid. Michael is here, too.”

When he smiled widely at her,

Starr couldn’t help but smile back;

though not sincerely.

“Ugh, alright,” she agreed,

hitching the corners of her mouth



back. “I’m gonna go say hello to

Michael.”

“He’s in the back.”

She took a sip of her drink and

stood.

Taking in a long whiff, she

picked out Michael’s scent and

followed it to the kitchen.

Immediately, she recognized

the head of housekeeping, fromMadam Balaji’s Castel de Negru,

Nina. Over the high wooden console,

she was cutting up vegetables.

Behind her, the doors to the

patio were open. On which, Michaeland his father, Mick, stood in front

of several strung up kids. Beneath

them, two buckets caught the blood

that slowly spouted forth, from their

necks. Through ties around theirmouths, they bleated, but that was



the way it was done for the freshest

blood.

They both wore long plastic

aprons.

One of the kids, long since

bled out and skinned, Michael took ahand sized rotator saw to its skull,

split it open and pulled out the

brain.

When he realized Starr was

there, he said, “Hey, Starr.”

He placed the brain in a large

white plastic bowl, took off his

apron, walked over and gave her a

hug.

“I sensed you when you

landed in the yard.”

“I don’t understand. You guys

are fairly strong vampires. Why do

you agree to be their servants?

Doesn’t it bother you that they hang



about like royalty, and you’re always

here, in the kitchen?”

“No, it doesn’t bother me at

all,” said Michael, sounding a little

offended.

“Michael, she doesn’tunderstand that it’s part of our 100

years of service contract,” Mick said

as he flung the newly departed fur

from his animal into a plastic

laundry basket. He took off hisapron, grabbed the two buckets of

blood, and came inside. “How do

you like the new kitchen?”

She turned red, but when he

smirked, she felt relieved.

Starr had almost forgotten

that the last time she was there,

she’d destroyed it.

He went to the cupboards andpulled out a couple juice glasses,



into which he poured some of the

fresh blood.

“You have to understand,

those vampires are old world, and

they never do anything for

themselves. Back then, having a

servant was a sign of status,” Nina

added as she sipped from her glass.

“But they can hardly hide their

condition, so they turn people in

exchange for 100 years of service.”

“Considering that Nina and I

were both dying of cancer when they

turned us, it seemed like a pretty

good deal,” said Mick with a smile.

“So, what are you doinghere?” asked Michael.

“I’m just here to visit,” she

said, not wanting to give too much

away.

But Mick looked at her with his

deep, penetrating brown eyes.



“How’s everyone back at Lake

George?” asked Michael.

“Good but cramped in the

house. I was hoping we could all

return to the clinic, but the city is

dead. Everyone’s living like roaches

underground.”

“Yeah, I heard. The city’s

gonna be dead for a while. If you

want to get away from the Lake,

though, I recommend coming here,” said Mick.

“Yes, have you had a chance

to check out the city? It’s nearly

fully functional now, except for

damage here and there. Mostschools are back in, and a couple

grocery stores have reopened,” said

Nina, as she grabbed the bowl of

hearts and started slicing.

“Well, that might be an option,then,” said Starr thoughtfully. “The



kids really need to get back into

school.”

“Starr, can you come out here

for a second?” called Fernand.

“Sure.”

Back in the living room,

everyone looked riled, yet merry.

“Did you, or did you not, beat

Parker, B., at fencing?” he asked

heatedly.

Parker was an English fencer

who lived in Romania.

“Uh, no. Not really. I got a few

lucky shots, but that was all.”

“Yes, but it’s not every day

that a new fledgling gives a crone,

like Parker, such a run for his

money.”

Starr laughed politely. “But if

you could have seen me the next



day, when we fought, you would pity

me.”

For the next thirty minutes,

Fernand dominated most of the

conversation with grand hand

gestures, jumping about the room

like an acrobat.

Starr wanted, more than

anything, to drag him and Kris to a

corner of the room and talk to them

about finding Lucenzo, but she knewit would be impossible to get

Fernand’s attention when he was

receiving so much of his own.

Finally, Nina came in and told

them that dinner was ready.

“Starr, you are my guest of

honor. You will sit next to me!”

“Isn’t this their house?” she

asked, meaning Nico and Kris.



“No, it’s mine and Lucenzo’s.

We bought it together after the

war.”

Fernand grabbed her hand and

led her to her place at a well-

dressed table that could have seated

twenty.

Starr never felt odder than

she did when Michael waited on her.

He scooped a heap of raw brains

onto her arugula salad, and thenNina flanked bits of meat onto her

dinner plate.

They went around the table,

serving the others. After, Mick

refreshed their glasses with wine.

She felt much better when

they took places beside them at the

table, rather than in the kitchen –

like back at the Castel de Negru.

Mick and Nina took seats at the



opposite end, and Michael took the

vacant seat next to her.

Dinner was a long and sleepy

affair. The food was good, but the

conversation was old world.

Fernand, Balaji, Nico, and Kris

bantered back and forth while

Bulgari said nothing, but continued

to smoke in between bites.

Keagan continually watched

Starr out of the corner of his eye.

Down at the other end of the

table, Mick and Nina were deep in

conversation, and Michael continued

to talk about inane things to Starr.

She couldn’t wait for dinner to

be over.

After, Starr tried to escape

them by helping Michael in the

kitchen with dessert, but Fernandinsisted she join them in the parlor.



“Oh, Starr, you look so

beautiful, but plain. Why do you

dress like this?” he asked, eyeing

her blue jeans, black lace up boots

and leather jacket. “In my day,

women wore dresses.”

“Because I’m here on

business, Fernand, and I need to

talk to you, privately.”

“Not now, Darling,” he kissed

her hand. “Later.”

He went off to talk to Nina

about the dessert cart.

“I see you haven’t been

practicing closing your mind,” said

Bulagari, as he swished a brandy.

“He knows what you want.”

“I’m just not good at the mind

stuff. Besides, I’ve nothing to hide.”

Keagan sidled over to them

and said, “I heard about you, and



how you handled the vampires in

D.C. and New York. I must say that I

was impressed. It must’ve been

humiliating for them to be rescued

by a woman.”

“The Council has had women

fight for them before; in fact, they

have a woman on their team, now,”

said Nico.

“I swear,” said Kris. “Some

demons can never let go of old waysand old ideologies.”

“Starr is not your average

teenage girl,” Bulgari said around a

lungful of smoke.

“Of that, I’m sure,” Keagan

smiled and bowed to her.

A sweet scented pheromone,

kind of like honey suckle filled her

nose. Starr knew, immediately, thatKeagan was somewhat attracted to

her.



War Alone

Chapter 2

Next morning she woke to the

sounds of birds chirping in the trees

outside.

Thinking about blood, she got

up and looked out of the window. In

the garden, Kris was sucking out a

pigeon: alone.

She hurried to get dressed.

By the time she’d made it to

the kitchen, Kris was sitting at the

table, reading a paper and drinking

coffee.

“Morning, Starr. Coffee, here;

Cups up there,” he said, pointing to

the cupboard next to her head.

As she sat down and poured a

cup, she asked, “Where’s Lucenzo?”



He folded up his paper, picked

up his cup and nodded toward the

patio doors.

She followed him out.

“I know what you want, and

you’re wasting your time.”

“Why do you say that?” she

said a little louder than she meant

to.

“You just scared off the birds.” He looked hard. “They’re our

breakfast, here.”

“Sorry.”

“Fernand’s not gonna give uphis brother.”

“You make it sound like I’m

after him.” When he didn’t respond,

she added, “Lucenzo’s been sending

me messages all summer. He’s



trying to tell me something

important.”

“Well, I wouldn’t know how to

get to him, anyway.”

“But you do know where he

is?”

“He’s imprisoned; serving a

thirty year punishment, I believe.”

“Are you gonna tell me where?

Or am I gonna have to ask youtwenty more times, only to get these

evasive answers?”

“I told you; I don’t know.”

“Okay, then, you can start bytelling me what you do know,” she

said, taking a step closer to him.

“Credenza is up to something, and

she wants to use Lucenzo. He

doesn’t want to work with her, but

he fears he has no choice. Based on

the visions he’s sending me, it’s bad,



Inside, Michael set out a tray

of bagels and a bowl of blended

blood-butter.

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