Turned

Chapter 5

Sarah left the bathroom as quickly as possible, to find Calvin waiting for her. He’d changed, as well- he was now wearing a black button-up and some dark jeans. A pang of desire rolled through her as she stared longingly at his perfect musculature.

“So, are you ready?” His voice was like honey- sweet and liquid. She wanted to drown in it, but the bigger part of her focused on what he’d said.

“Yes,” she answered, suddenly exited. She was going to meet the vampire High Council, and that was something humans rarely did, according to Calvin. Of course, she wasn’t fully human. That thought sent a pang of hunger down her body- or rather thirst, because she knew she wasn’t hungry for a Big Mac.

“Well, we should be leaving. Our plane arrives in an hour…”

“Plane? The High Council doesn’t live in Pasadena?” Sarah asked, surprised.

“No, their palace is in Europe, in a building that humans have forgotten, on the isle of Pompeii.” Calvin smiled. “The isle has been home to vampires since they were created.”

“So we’re going to Europe?” She had always wanted to leave the US, and now she smiled. She couldn’t wait.

“We’re going to Europe,” he confirmed softly, smiling along with her.

Suddenly Sarah remembered that they were both inhuman. “What about the sun?”

“The sun’s killing rays will not harm me for a couple of hours. At first contact, it will simply be more hot than normal for me. But after about two hours, I would burn. But only direct sunlight can kill me. I am a Nightwalker, but that doesn’t mean I can’t go out in the daytime. I just can’t stay out.” He smiled. “You won’t be affected by the sun at all for a few days now. You’ve only recently began transformation. You’re very early along, even if your Change is progressing quicker than normal.”

“Good.” Sarah was relieved. She hadn’t wanted to say goodbye to the sun quite yet.

Calvin grabbed the keys to what looked like an Escalade in the garage- Sarah knew next to nothing about cars- and loaded her into the car. In a few minutes they were driving to the airport to meet with the Council.

….

When they arrived at the airport, she felt nervous. She knew it would be several days before she actually saw the Council, between flights, but she was still incredibly nervous.

The flight to South America was long but relaxing. It gave her a while to think about how they would appear- beautiful as Calvin, or old like the kings and queens on TV? Once they reached Rio to board yet another plane, she configured they weren’t going to be like anything she’d ever seen before.

After they were in Italy, they had to take a cab to Venice. The cab ride was about an hour long, and she chatted with Calvin- something she hadn’t done on the planes- during the ride. She asked him questions like, “Who are they? Where will we stay?”

For the “Who are they”, Calvin answered, “They’re all vampires, four women, three men. Vampire society is more open to women than human society. It was a female that started the clan.” His lips pressed together, deep in thought. “The Queen and King are called Guinevere and Arthur,” he said after hesitating.

“Guinevere and Arthur?” Sarah cried. “That’s…”

“Yes. The king and queen from Arthurian legend. They are real. The original king and queen. They are immortal. Vampires can age and eventually die if they wish, but vampires who wish to be immortal may if they drink enough blood. It’s almost a stimulator for vampires,” Calvin said.

“So, will they always be the king and queen?”

“Yes, unless they abdicate,” he said. “Then their son, Mordred, and his wife Alina would take their place. They, too, are immortal, and have a seat on the Council as the prince and princess.”

“But didn’t Mordred kill his father?” she said.

“Myth- even if he wanted to, his father cannot die by another’s hands.”

“So are the rest of the Arthurian characters real?”

“Yes. The Knights of the Round Table are actually an organization of warrior vampires, serving the Council. Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, is on the Council as well. She is queen of fairies, so it suited her.”

“Wow.” She noticed that the cab had come to a stop in front of a dock of boats. “We have to drive a boat?” She smiled as she remembered her father’s passion for boating.

“Yes. We need to boat to the isle of Pompeii.” Calvin grabbed the suitcases from the trunk of the cab and paid the driver. They climbed into one of the boats, sleeker and darker than the rest, clearly built for speed.

The boating ride took about thirty minutes. The boat was very fast; it didn’t hesitate in getting its speed level up. Sarah dozed off in the boat. When she woke up, the boat was parked in a dock again. He was smiling at her. “We’re here,” he said.

“Great. So are we meeting them right now?” She hoped not. She didn’t want to meet them, looking so ordinary.

“Of course not. We’ll stay in the palace hotel. We’ll meet them first thing in the morning.” 

Relieved, she stood. Calvin grabbed the luggage all by himself. She was struck again by the beauty of his body. She shook the desire out of her head as they walked up to the gorgeous palace that would be their home for the next three months.

She was stunned by the sense of security that instantly washed over her when she stepped inside the boundaries of the palace. It was like all her fears faded as soon as she was in the palace. She also noticed the beauty of it. It was tall, grandeur, old but tasteful. Silver chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The floors were perfectly polished, though there was no carpet as she’d seen in movies. There was a black stone hanging directly from the center of the palace ceiling. When she saw it, she felt a strong sense of relief. Vampires were walking around, male and female, possibly to be helping the king and queen and their Council. Some of them simply said hello to Calvin and ignored her; some of them stared at her.

She realized she was smiling as they walked to an elevator (and past a DirecTV dish; she was going to love it here). Not only did this place feel safe, it felt like home. It felt deeply right to be here. It felt like this was where she belonged.

Calvin expertly pressed the 38 button on the elevator, and it began to descend instantly. It was a little quicker than a normal elevator, and her heartbeat quickened. Calvin seemed to hear it, smiling.

When they reached the hotel room, she had to admit it was gorgeous. But she was mostly focused on the huge white bed in the center. It looked incredibly comfortable.

And suddenly she realized Calvin would be staying in this room with her.

“Um.” He was blushing. “I’ll go… Change.” He walked off to the bathroom- one of them- and her heartbeat quickened even more. She was immensely scared, scared that this would turn into something worse.

Something…. Romantic.

She walked into the other bathroom and changed as quickly as she could.

When she came out, Calvin was sitting on the bed, back to her. He was shirtless. A thrill went through her at the smooth skin on his bones.

He must have heard her coming, because every inch of tension in his body relaxed. He did not turn, however. Sarah smiled and sat beside him on the bed. “Beautiful,” she said, talking about him, always him.

“Yes, you are,” he said, stroking a strand of hair from her eyes. “Oh, so beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, turning to kiss him. The kiss was every bit as electric as the first one they’d shared. Sarah bit down on his lip, reveling in the taste…. The taste….

Suddenly Sarah was on top of him, breathing hard. “Let’s go,” she moaned. “I have to…” Desire flooded her system.

“Yes,” Calvin groaned. He threw the cover off him; he was naked- and pulled her gently closer to where he was.