| Excerpt Dark Blood: Love Like
Blood
By J. J. Massa
Chapter One
“I don’t believe it! Look!” Paul Fieval said to his friend and employer,
Raiden Vagner.
“And what is it I am looking at?” Raiden inquired dryly.
The men were seated at a table in an upscale restaurant atop a four-star
hotel. They were enjoying a drink while Paul waited for his meal. All
the sustenance Raiden would need was in the wine glass in front of him.
Born in the year fifteen hundred and one, Raiden Vagner had been
converted to a vampire after the Ottomans conquered Buda in Hungary
during the year fifteen hundred and forty-one. He was forever the image
of a suave, sophisticated forty-year-old man.
“It’s her!” Paul announced in a low and excited voice. “She’s among that
crowd beyond those doors.”
“I do not see her, Paul.” The lazy amusement was gone from his voice.
“That crowd, Raiden, look at them. Don’t you recognize some of those
faces?” Paul’s voice was urgent now.
Looking intently at the group, Raiden said, “I see Deella Morganette,
Reya Fortuna, and is that…” he waited until the man he was watching
turned. “That is Solomon Stevens, the current king of the horror
genre.” He turned to Paul. “She must be here.”
“All the notable writers of vampire and werewolf fiction, both horror
and romance are there, Raiden. I’m sure I saw her—there!” He
pointed.
“Do not point!” Raiden snapped, following his finger, nonetheless.
“She looks happy,” Paul said in a muted voice.
“She always looks happy in public. She called out to me.” Raiden stared
at the woman they were discussing.
“She is so small. Is that a
wheelchair?”
His eyes were fixed on the diminutive figure of a woman. At five feet,
nine inches, Raiden wasn’t a tall man. But she was a very small five
feet, if that. Her shoulder length hair was mostly dark brown with dark
ash highlights and waved about her heart-shaped face. She had full lips
with dimples on both sides of her smiling mouth.
He watched for a minute as she chatted with several men and women around
her while she sipped at a glass of dark red wine. Her friends, Reya and
Deella, didn’t stray far from her.
She murmured something to one of them and he saw her mouth form the
word, “Up!” A very large chocolate lab moved to it’s feet.
He’d known she was blind but the wheelchair surprised him. Raiden saw
her speak to her friends and then issue a command to the dog. Her chair
turned and he thought she was headed for the Ladies’ room. While her
friends mouthed the word, “Independent”, she turned left and the dog
took her outside to the restaurant’s wide verandah overlooking the
ocean.
“Paul, go introduce yourself to those women and keep them busy,” he
ordered, pushing his chair back.
“Raiden…” Paul placed a hand on the other man’s arm and then let it
slide away.
* * * *
He’d been looking for her for three long years. Ever since that spring
night when he’d heard her soft voice, sobbing in his head.
“Please, where are you? I know you’re real. Make this pain stop. I
don’t want to live this way,” she’d cried.
Those years had seemed longer than every one of the four hundred and
sixty-four previous years that had passed since he became a vampire.
There had been times since then that he’d heard a similar plea from her.
He knew that the only times she couldn’t control that weakness was when
she was truly suffering. He’d heard her wrestle with the pain and
convince herself that she was whining. The frustration he felt at those
times was especially intense.
She began writing shortly after the first time she’d called out to him.
Raiden recognized her when he read her first book. He had made it a
habit to read all of the vampire fiction on the market as it came out.
The books she wrote were uncannily accurate.
____________
Dark Blood: Rubies, Sapphires, and
Ivory
by J.J. Massa
Chapter One
Niccolo Ascosi hung up the telephone and turned, glancing at his
manservant as he entered the room. “Did you book my usual table,
Gianni?”
The man took a step closer to Niccolo, running a lint brush
unnecessarily over the flawless back of the dark dinner jacket Niccolo
wore. “Yes, signore, your usual table in the corner at
Lussuria Di Re awaits you. I also took the liberty of ordering your
favorite wine, signore.”
“Thank you, Gianni. I shall need you to drive me into town, I think,
after my usual glass of wine. I will give you a call when I’m ready.”
Gianni’s compliance was understood. His only role in life was to serve
Niccolo, his employer. A very wealthy man, Niccolo Ascosi liked to spend
his time traveling the world, learning new languages, and meeting
interesting people. He no longer interacted overmuch with the many
businesses he owned. Neither did he date anyone in particular or worry
overmuch about appearances. He’d learned some time ago that the more
money a man had, the less accountable he was to others.
“As it is a Monday night, the clubs will likely be slow. Please see what
venues are most active this evening.” Gianni would know what he wanted
and why.
In this day and age, there were many simpler ways for a vampire to
obtain the sustenance he needed. It was, in fact, as easy for a man of
his means to purchase plasma and platelets as buying a carton of milk at
the supermarket. The truth was, Niccolo considered himself a
traditionalist, even a purist. Aside from that, cold and plastic-encased
blood was unappealing to his discriminating palate. It was sterile and
bland, without any of the fine bouquet and flavor he’d come to relish
and appreciate over the centuries.
First things first, however, and tonight he had a craving for a fine red
wine. He preferred the dark reds, served at room temperature and enjoyed
in elegant surroundings. He straightened his elegant tie and turned to
leave. Gianni held the door open for him as he left his country home,
closing it quietly and preceding him to the car.
Arriving at the exclusive restaurant, Niccolo followed the dignified
maître d’ to his reserved table. The wine, one of his favorites, was
already waiting there. Gianni had called ahead. This particular vintage,
he found after a sip, had a finely poised structure, graceful and
stylish, almost gliding across the palate.
He had discovered some time ago that this restaurant had the best wine
cellar in the district. Anytime he found himself at his ancestral home,
it had become his custom to visit this place and indulge himself. It was
not unusual for him to spend an hour or so at his usual table before
moving on to one of the city’s many nightclubs and finding someone
suitable to satisfy his other cravings.
* * * *
Ivory Allison sank beneath the hot, soapy water with a heartfelt sigh
that sent bubbles drifting lazily upwards to the surface. Reluctantly,
she re-emerged, gathering handfuls of long, slick hair, squeezing a
torrent of excess water from the wet-darkened mass. She was not a small
woman and her emergence caused water to slosh out of the tub and onto
the floor. She sighed, slumping bonelessly against the cool porcelain.
She’d clean up that mess later.
In her opinion, there was absolutely nothing as nice as a long soak in a
hot and fragrant bath to soothe aching muscles. Right now, her muscles
ached more than she’d ever believed they could, especially in her line
of work. As an interpreter for an international agency, this job had
seemed relatively simple compared to most, and had even sounded like fun
to her.
In reality, there had been an awful lot of strenuous physical work
involved, thanks to the active nature of the family who’d hired her as
an interpreter. She didn’t get a lot of exercise usually, though she
would always be heavy regardless. Her ancestors were Nordic and built
for labor, not for modeling the latest fashions on a catwalk.
As a translator for hire, she usually found herself sitting in offices
or courtrooms but seldom running up and down steps of famous landmarks.
She’d taken this assignment because she’d wanted something different and
more active. In fact, she’d certainly gotten her wish--and then some.
Quite frankly, she had also taken this assignment because it paid
handsomely. Her parents had died owing large hospital bills and she was
still buried in student loans. This assignment would cover all of her
bills and payments for a couple of months so she could tolerate a few
aches and pains.
The family she was working for had taken themselves off to a private
dinner with friends so her services were not required this evening. She
had a night to herself and felt like a little company, too. She didn’t
want a date, really—she just wanted to be out among people.
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