BloodPledge Read online

  Bloodpledge

  TIMA MARIA LACOBA

  Editing by Dionne Lister

  Book Cover by JC Clarke [email protected]

  Formatting By Paradox Book Covers & Formatting

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright © 2014 Tima Maria Lacoba

  BOOKS BY TIMA MARIA LACOBA

  Laura's Locket: Prequel to the Dantonville Legacy Series

  BloodGifted: Book 1 of the Dantonville Legacy

  BloodPledge: Book 2 of the Dantonville Legacy

  BloodVault: Book 3 of the Dantonville Legacy

  BloodWish: Book 4 of the Dantonville Legacy

  License Notes

  This book is protected under the copyright laws. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Disclaimer: The persons, places, things, and otherwise animate or inanimate objects mentioned in this novel are figments of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to anything or anyone living (or dead) is unintentional.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1 Keys

  Chapter 2 Jake’s Dilemma

  Chapter 3 - Too Much In One Night

  Chapter 4 - Brethren Politics

  Chapter 5 - The Last Secret

  Chapter 6 - The Blood-Vault Key

  Chapter 7 - Back Up

  Chapter 8 - Gathering Storm

  Chapter 9 - Karelia

  Chapter 10 - Interlude

  Chapter 11 - Prelude

  Chapter 12 - Round One To The Rebels

  Chapter 13 - Lines Are Drawn

  Chapter 14 - The Yacht

  Chapter 15 - Diamonds And Dealers

  Chapter 16 - The Best Laid Plans

  Chapter 17 - Morning To Ourselves

  Chapter 18 - Brunch

  Chapter 19 - Tease

  Chapter 20 - Uninvited Guests

  Chapter 21 - Best Friends And Lovers

  Chapter 22 - Round Two To The Principate

  Chapter 23 - We Meet Again

  Chapter 24 - Wolf’s Head

  Chapter 25 - Jenny’s Problem

  Chapter 26 - Serum

  Chapter 27 - A Very Vampire Christmas

  Chapter 28 - Portrait

  Chapter 29 - Mesmerised

  Chapter 30 - How To Explain A Death

  Chapter 31 - Chase

  Chapter 32 - Complications

  Chapter 33 - Round Three To The Rebels

  Chapter 34 - Duck, Swipe And Slice

  Chapter 35 - Rebels Strike Back

  Chapter 36 - Bad News

  Chapter 37 - Snapper Island

  Chapter 38 - Not Helpless

  Chapter 39 - Close Call

  Chapter 40 - All Better

  Epilogue

  Glossary of Characters And Names

  Note From The Author

  Contact

  Chapter 1 – Keys

  LAURA

  Abandoned. That’s how my apartment looked after I’d been away a week. The police had been. They had even hired a cleaner to wash my ex-boyfriend, Matt’s, bloodstains from the doorframe and wooden floor after the forensics people had finished. He was still in hospital recovering.

  As I sorted through the mail, my fiancé, Alec, casually checked out the framed photos I kept on the dining room buffet. Looking at him, I had to remind myself he wasn’t human. Up until a week ago, the only supernatural creatures I believed in were angels.

  He picked up the one of Matt and myself and looked at it for a long while. I would have loved to have known what he was thinking as his face betrayed nothing.

  ‘Who’s this?’ he asked as he held up another one. It was a silver-framed photo of Jenny and me taken at the Randwick races one Melbourne Cup Day. She had won a pre-cup sweep at work and asked me along.

  We had gone out and bought hats and dresses especially for the occasion. Neither of us won anything on the horses, but it had been a great day out.

  ‘That’s Jenny.’

  ‘The one who phoned you in hospital the other day?’

  ‘Uh huh. My best friend. She helped me pick out the dress I’m wearing in that photo.’ Jenny and I had known each other for years; we taught at the same primary school and had become close friends, almost like sisters. I hated not being able to tell her about Alec – and the vampire side of the family.

  I noticed the way he smiled as he looked at it. I’d worn a knee-length, figure-hugging black pinafore teamed with a jade silk scarf and matching peep-toe shoes.

  His eyes lit up with a devilish glint. ‘I need to think of some excuse for you to wear that dress for me.’

  I laughed and shook my head as I turned and walked into my bedroom to grab some clothes. Even though the walk-in closet in my bedroom at my father’s house was brim-full of the latest designer wear especially selected for me, I still needed some of my old, familiar stuff. To me, it was proof I hadn’t really changed. I was still Laura Dantonville, primary school teacher, but I was also the daughter of Lucien (Luc) Lebrettan, millionaire real-estate magnate, vampire and Alec’s sire.

  As I threw a few things onto the bed, I noticed something odd. On my dressing table, next to another framed photo of me and Matt, lay the key to my unit. It was the spare I’d given him when our relationship had become serious. I’d posted my copy of his apartment key back to him three days ago – after we broke up.

  A cold shiver rippled through me. He must’ve come here – to my apartment, without my permission.

  Alec’s voice came from the living room. ‘Laura, everything all right?’

  ‘Um ... yes.’ I wasn’t sure whether to tell Alec about this. I glanced around. Nothing else seemed different or out of place. Yet, there it was, the unmistakable evidence of my ex-boyfriend’s presence.

  Pushing the memories of our four months together aside, I unclipped the back of the frame, took the photo out and laid it face down on the dressing table. Later, when I had more time, I’d place it in my album. Matt had once been part of my life, even if only for a short while.

  ‘You’re very quiet. Anything wrong?’ I spun around. Alec stood directly behind me. His gaze went from my face, to my hand, then to the key, and I knew I couldn’t keep it from him.

  Loud knocking on my front door interrupted us. ‘Miss Dantonville? Are you in there?’

  I groaned. That slightly croaky but belligerent voice belonged to one of my neighbours, Mrs Henderson, head of the Body Corporate. She knew all that went on, and what she didn’t know, she made sure to find out. In other words, she was the local busybody. And unless I opened the door, there was a good chance she’d walk around the side of the building and press her face up against the windows to see if I was in. Matt and I once hid from her – behind the settee – pretending we weren’t home. ‘Checking up to see if everything’s all right,’ she would say.

  ‘It’s Mrs Henderson, from upstairs. I have to let her in, or she’ll come noseying around the windows.’

  ‘You know there’s a solution for that.’ Alec’s eyes shone in mischief.

  ‘No. Don’t you dare!’

  He chuckled.

  I palmed the key and hurried to the door. ‘Hello, Mrs Henderson. What can I do for you?’

  She was in the process of rapping her walking cane on my front door again and stopped mid-action. Her wide frame filled the doorway, blocking any escape.

&nb
sp; ‘Are you all right, love?’ She said breathlessly. ‘Such a to-do earlier in the week, what with all the police and ambulance and reporters here asking so many questions. We heard you and your young man were hurt ... taken to hospital.’ Her triple chins wobbled in excitement making her look like an oversized ram. ‘Dreadful business, being attacked like that in your own home. Are any of us safe—?’ Her eyes landed on Alec, and she stopped abruptly.

  Her jaw dropped mid-speech, and her hands smoothed down her tent-like dress. Before I had a chance to say anything, nosey Mrs Henderson barged past me into the living room and made straight for Alec.

  If I didn’t know what a big, badass vampire he was, I’d swear he backed up a step as she sailed toward him like a battleship on a mission.

  Her cat, Salieri, on the other hand, took one look at Alec, screeched and arched it back. Its fur stood on end like porcupine quills as it hissed and ran off.

  Mrs Henderson turned to me and said, ‘Strange, that he’d react like that. Did the same, the night the police were here. I hope he’s not getting distemper!’

  That was the night I was kidnapped and Matt had been seriously injured trying to protect me. It appeared Salieri could sense the undead.

  She promptly resumed her advance on Alec. ‘And who might you be?’ she asked in a honey-sweet voice.

  ‘Um ... this is Dr Munro,’ I said. Alec was a doctor and head of Munro Research Labs, a research hospital that specialised in treating blood diseases. I’d been taken there the night I was attacked. Maris, a former lover of Alec’s, had tried to kill me by taking as much of my blood as she could, but in the process it had destroyed her. I’d been shocked to discover my blood was poisonous to all vampires, except those transformed by Lucius – Marcus Antonius’s son – such as Luc and Alec.

  ‘Well, well, a doctor. And how is your nice young policeman chap? He was here this morning, you know,’ Mrs Henderson said without taking her eyes off Alec. ‘Saw him from my window.’ I felt the blood drain from my face. Next to me Alec stiffened. Mrs Henderson continued on her merry rant. ‘Oh, but you have the same eye colour! How unusual ... a brother or cousin then? I had the telly on that night, you see, and didn’t hear anything,’ she turned to face me, ‘till all these flashing lights woke me early next morning. And then a couple of nice policemen spoke to me.’ She turned back to Alec. ‘Are you a GP? You know, I have this mild discomfort, right here.’ She placed her hand poignantly on her ample bosom.

  If I wasn’t so tense I may have giggled.

  ‘Mrs Henderson,’ Alec interrupted, ‘I’m sure it’s only mild indigestion. May I suggest some antacid.’ His eyes paled. ‘But just to be sure, I think it best if you return to your flat and lie down for the rest of the day.’

  ‘Yes, lie down,’ she repeated slowly, her eyes glued to Alec’s.

  He placed his arm around her shoulders and led her to the door. ‘That’s right. A cup of tea and a lie down.’

  I remembered something. ‘Alec wait! I need to give her my phone number, as I’ll be away for a while.’

  ‘Good point.’

  ‘Mrs Henderson, listen carefully.’ He stared into her glazed eyes and repeated my mobile number. ‘Ring Miss Dantonville only if necessary. Now go and have a lie down.’

  She nodded, her eyes vacant and he closed the door behind her.

  ‘All right, this time I agree with the mesmerisation.’

  ‘It has its merits.’ He leaned back against the door, arms folded across his chest. ‘So, Sommers was here. They must have discharged him this morning.’

  ‘And he came straight here.’ I sighed, held out my hand and opened my palm. Even with amnesia, Matt couldn’t stop being a detective. ‘It’s my spare key. Matt had it. I found it on my dresser.’

  Alec’s brow creased. ‘I noticed his scent when we arrived. I thought it must be the remnants of his blood on the doorframe. Damn!’ He looked thoughtfully at me. ‘Why come here? He could’ve sent it. And why your bedroom instead of the kitchen table?’

  I shook my head. ‘Don’t know, but nothing else was touched,’ I said when I saw the questioning look in his eyes.

  ‘Mmmm...’ His lips drew together in a tight, disapproving line, and he glanced at the window. ‘There’s no time for that now. We should get back, so you can have a rest before tonight’s Pledging ceremony.’

  The Pledging. It was scheduled for midnight, when all the Prefects from around the world would swear their loyalty to Alec and myself. It was binding on all the Brethren in their respective countries, and the penalty for breaking the oath was death. The ceremony could take several hours, and I needed to ensure I stayed awake and alert.

  I placed the spare key back on my key ring. ‘If Matt’s got amnesia, how come he knows where I live?’

  ‘Detective Delaney – he probably told him.’

  Detective Chief Inspector Dave Delaney was in charge of the investigation into the break-in at my flat and the assault on Matt and myself. He’d interviewed Alec, and then later me, at the hospital. To Matt he was both mentor and friend. They used to be partners until Matt was promoted to Detective Inspector and posted to the city.

  ‘Of course.’

  It didn’t alleviate my uncomfortable realisation that Matt had been here without my knowledge. Had he hoped to regain some of his lost memory by coming somewhere he thought would be familiar? But why did he have to do it behind my back? Yet the fact he left the key behind was proof our relationship was truly over.

  After locking the door securely, Alec and I headed to his car for the drive back to my father’s old-Victorian, neo-gothic mansion in Vaucluse. Mrs Henderson wasn’t anywhere in sight.

  She must be lying down after her cup of tea, I thought. Salieri hissed at Alec as we strode past then ran and hid in a nearby bush.

  I took a long, last look at my unit as we drove away. Who knew when I’d be back. Luc and Judy were keen to have me stay with them, and as long as rogue elements among the Brethren wanted to seize me for their own purposes, it was safer to remain with them.

  As we drove through the wrought-iron gates of Luc’s palatial residence in Fitzgerald Street, the LEDs that lined the gravel driveway lit our way to the front entrance. The only light emanating from the house was a single porch light, twinkling bulbs on the Christmas wreath on the front door and the glow from the top storey ballroom windows.

  As we stepped into the hall, nobody seemed to be around. Alec flicked a switch. Light burst into every corner, illuminating the stencilled griffins and unicorns that ran the length of the plastered walls and the stuccoed ceiling with its moulded roses picked out in bold Victorian colours of red, blue and gold.

  Luc’s house was a relic of a grander era, when riches found on the goldfields of Swan Hill and Bathurst were poured into the lavish houses of the nouveau riche. It was one of the few stately homes that the National Trust hadn’t been able to acquire, and Luc aimed to keep it that way. Thankfully, he had modernised it where required.

  Well, this is home, for now. I inwardly sighed as we strolled hand-in-hand to the kitchen at the other end of the house, feeling less and less the independent twenty-first century woman I once believed myself to be.

  Chapter 2 – Jake's Dilemma

  ALEC

  The sun had dipped behind the horizon by the time we got back to Luc’s house. Although I didn’t want to leave Laura, I had to speak to Jake and the others about important matters. So, reluctantly leaving her in the kitchen with Judith, I made my way to the gym.

  When my sire bought the place, nearly a century ago, he had a Roman-style bathhouse constructed on the grounds, complete with sauna and swimming pool. For the time it was considered unusual, and even eccentric. But that didn’t bother Luc. I was convinced he enjoyed shocking the neighbours, especially as he and the men swam and exercised Roman style – naked. I chuckled as I strode to the other end of the garden.

  The clash of steel rang out as I pushed open the heavy wooden doors. Terens and Sam were sparring wi
th rapiers. Last week it was cutlasses. A few times I’d joined their sparring matches, to keep my own skills honed, but these men were my friends and I used that excuse to spend time with them. Being the Ingenii’s bodyguard, they never missed training; never stopped being Roman soldiers, and they included me among them. It was an honour I didn’t take for granted.

  As usual Terens was winning, cracking jokes and making Sam laugh until he lost concentration. Cal was pushing weights. He had readjusted the balance by adding more force to the machine to cater for the strength of our kind. A light sheen of sweat covered his upper body, highlighting the Antonine crest of a coiled serpent tattooed on his chest. We all had the same image on our bodies; a symbol of our brotherhood and our shared curse. At my transformation, it had appeared on the left side of my chest marking me as Luc’s man.

  I looked around for Jake. Of the four men, he was the one I regarded as my best friend. A splash, and I saw him plunge into the pool. As his head surfaced, he waved me over. ‘Can guess why you’re here,’ he said, as he swam to the side.

  ‘Can you?’

  He smiled and flicked wet hair from his eyes. ‘Gonna get those clothes off and join us?’

  I sat on one of the marbled benches near the pool. ‘You know I’ve never been comfortable with the full naked bit in public.’

  ‘You prude.’ He laughed.

  ‘Blame the century I was raised in.’

  He laughed again and shook his head. ‘Give me a minute, then.’

  Jake and I had become close friends while I was struggling with my new nature. He was instrumental in helping me accept my transformation – by teaching me to use my enhanced senses, thereby making me a better doctor. He’d been one himself, a long time ago.

  He hauled his body out of the water, strode over to the racks, took a towel from the hook and tied it around his waist before coming back to sit next to me on the bench. Water dripped down his legs and left a puddle at his feet. ‘I assume it’s about the three Eastern European Prefects?’

  ‘I meant to ask you when you got back,’ I replied.

  ‘Things kind of ... you know.’