Fatal Fascinations

Chapter 5: Kingdom Come

Rose skirted across the uneven gravel into the parking lot of Harrison River Park, almost hitting Luca's motorcycle in the process.

Climbing out of the car, I could hear Luca's shouts from yards away.

"Hit my bike and I'll hit you right back!"

Rose laughed and slung a casual arm around Caspian's waist. He tensed and his eyes flicked to me.

"Come on boy toy," she said, pulling Caspian towards the river's edge where Luca and Alex were waiting.

"Secret spot?" Alex asked when we finally reached her.

"Secret spot," Rose and I agreed.

Using our phone flashlights, we led the boys down an old beaten path, trailing through a woodsy area until we reached a massive boulder the size of a car. A dense thicket of trees lay to one side, while the path continued on the other. Jumping and slithering through the thicket, we came to a small clearing by the river. A circle of small rocks and sand lay a step down from the fallen tree trunks guarding our secret spot.  The tide was about ten feet away, slinking farther in land. In a few hours, our spot would be underwater.

The circle was hidden from every point of view, including the ships and boats passing on the river. Not only did the darkness conceal us from view, but two large trees on either side of the circle acted like temple pillars, blocking the rest of the world from entering.

"Impressive," Luca murmured to me.

Next to Luca, Alex shivered from the chill of the river.

"Fire," Caspian interjected. "We need to get wood. Give me a few logs," he told Rose, which she obediently fetched for him.

Throwing the logs on the ground in the center of the circle, Caspian snapped his fingers. A brilliant red flame appeared hovering over his thumb, flickering in the breezy night.

"Holy fuck," Alex breathed, mezmerized by the flame which matched her fiery hair.

Flicking the flame from his thumb to the meager pile of logs, Caspian smirked at our shocked expressions. More confident now, he held out his hand and soon a large ball of fire encased his palms. Gently, he bent down to the dry logs and coaxed the flame through the wood.

The flames danced off his green eyes, casting a dark glow across his defined face.

"Show off," Luca snickered, flopping lazily onto the ground.

"How..." I started, but trailed off. The three of us were speechless, entirely impressed by Caspian's ability.

"Seriously?" Luca asked, propping himself on his elbows, "you immediately accept the existence of vampires, but a fancy fire trick leaves you silent?"

"Do it again," Rose whispered excitedly, leaning forward. Cassian's mouth quirked up. He snapped his fingers several times, first lighting and then extinguishing the flame.

After several fire tricks, Caspian stopped, sitting back onto the stones.

Rose turned her head to Luca.

"What can you do?" She asked him.

Luca shrugged.

"Fuck like a god."

Rose bit her lip, giving Luca a suggestive look as if she were going to ask him to demonstrate.

"So tell us more about the families," I said, attempting to distract both of them.

Instead of Luca answering, however, Caspian took the lead.

"There are five major families. The Ducari currently sit on the throne," Caspian explained.

"We're next," Luca said, peeling his eyes away from Rose's body.

"Next in line for the throne?" I asked.

"Yes," Caspian clarified. "Every turn of the century, the next family in line will take the throne for the next hundred years, creating their new dynasty. The Queen or King and their descandants will reign until the century's end unless-"

"-the other five families deem the dynasty unfit to rule," Luca finished.

"Hence the importance of alliances."

It all seemed very simple. My giddiness overtook me as I learned more about the underground world of vampires.

"So how does one become a vampire?" Alex asked, looking as if she was ready to take notes.

Luca and Caspian glanced at each other, communicating telepathically.

"You don't," Caspian said with finality. He did not take his eyes from Luca's.

"But in the books-" I started.

"The books lie. Authors don't know what they are talking about. They know people like us exist, but they don't know anything about us." Luca stared at me, a serious expression on his face.

He doesn't look at me the way he looks at Rose and Alex. I immediately pushed the thoughts aside.

"You are born a vampire. Or at least, with vampire blood in you." Caspian sat up, staring intently at the fire.

"When you turn seven, there is a ritual performed by your clan," Luca cleared his throat, "you undergo the Change. Not everyone survives..." Luca's voice suddenly seemed to trail off quietly. The look in his eyes told me he was very far away.

"We lost our younger brother about ten years ago to the Change," Caspian explained quietly.

The noise around us died down save for the cracking of the small fire. Even the warmth from the fire seemed to have dimmed significantly at Caspian's words.

"He would've been our age," I murmured, thinking out loud. I looked up sharply, realizing the words I had been thinking slipped out.

Luca glanced at Rose again, looking at her saddened and downtrodden face. She was picking at the stones by her feet, oblivious to the vampire's attention. Is he into her or Alex?

"I'm sorry," Alex said, looking directly at Caspian with apologetic eyes.

"Past is in the past," he shrugged.

"So..." Rose dragged out the word, thinking of something to say in the awkward silence.

"How do we know if we have vampire blood in us?" I blurted.

Caspian and Luca exchanged yet another long glance. The embers of the fire were slowly dying, casting even more prominent dark shadows on their faces. Both Acari boys looked like monsters of the gods. They stared at each other for awhile, my question the furthest thing from their minds.

Caspian nodded solemnly.

Luca looked at me with an expression of sorrow and pain. Against his full pink lips, two white incisors slid out silently.

I opened my mouth to scream but was cut off by Luca's hand suddenly clamping over my mouth and his teeth at my neck.