Free Playing with Shadows by Kay Bond Page B

England’s
faith. The King was trying his hardest to divorce Queen Catherine
and marry the harlot Anne Boleyn.”
    “ Anne Boleyn wasn’t a
harlot! She was used as an instrument to get her Uncle in a place
of power.” Vlad spoke out viciously.
    Both Christian and Nicola looked
surprised by the vampire’s sudden ebullition.
    Vlad, realizing what he said, sunk into
the settee with his glass and refusing to meet either gaze,
muttered, “I have strong feelings about history.”
    Nicola was still shocked, but Christian
continued on as if the outburst hadn't occurred.
    “ Yes, um… well, I was a part
of an uprising against the King and his new Protestant regime and
of course, being caught in an act of vandalism, was immediately
executed as a traitor.” Christian took a breath as if to steady his
nerves though he didn’t need it. He was already dead. “I won’t go
into describing my death, but it was painful. I didn’t die right
away and well…” He shuddered as he remembered the day. “It’s not
why I’ve come to you. Despite my death, my wife and son survived.
My son grew, had his own family and so on. I’ve watched this over
the years and tried to protect my line the best a ghost can, but
something has been targeting my family in recent months. All of
them are wiped out except for one. She is young and scared. She
knows something is coming for her and I need to find her
protection.”
    “ So you come for our help?”
Nicola asked, concerned. She didn’t know this man, but his story
touched her heart. She had lost her entire family in a fire and
almost losing her own life to a car accident, Nicola felt the need
to help him.
    “ Yes, I have come to
you.”
    Before Nicola could agree to help him
with his quest, Vlad sat up and set the wineglass on the table in
front of him. Then he spoke, “Do you know what it is that is
destroying your family?”
    Christian nodded eagerly. “I followed
it one night… after it had murdered one of my distant cousins. I
believe it is a fiend from Hell.”
    Vlad’s posture stiffened. “Are you
positive that it was a demon?”
    “ I am.”
    Christian’s words were so strong and
certain. It made Nicola uneasy. She didn’t know much about demons
and their habits, but this seemed a little strange. Why would a
demon target an entire family and wipe them out to the very last
member? What purpose would that serve?
    “ I am not getting involved.”
Vlad spoke sternly, standing from his place on the sofa and walking
towards the door of the study.
    “ Sire?” Nicola called after
him. Something Christian mentioned had spooked him.
    Vlad paused and glanced over his
shoulder at her. “I refuse to put myself or my line at risk for
this. You are on your own, ghost.”
    “ Vlad!” Nicola snapped out
before he could run from the room. “You can’t just leave this to
happen.”
    “ Yes, I can.” Vlad hissed as
he turned from the door and made his way towards her. Once he
reached where she stood, the master vampire grabbed her by the
wrist and met her angry gaze. “And you won’t help him either. I
won’t allow it.”
    Ripping away from his grip,
Nicola, furious, took a step forward and reduced the space between
them to almost nothing. “You won’t allow me to help him? Do you intend to
stop me if I refuse to listen?”
    “ You dare to challenge
me?”
    Nicola had never seen her master so
upset and she realized he was afraid. Afraid of the demon, afraid
of losing his line… afraid of losing her.
    “ I want to do this, Master.”
Nicola said softly, dropping her eyes to the floor in front of her.
“I must help him. If a demon is involved, then it must know he is
asking for our aid. The line is already in danger by his presence
here.”
    Vlad took a moment to mull over her
statements before speaking. Once he did, his voice was calm.
“Nicola- I cannot bear it if anything happens to you. I chose you
for a reason. We’ve only had three short years together. I can’t
lose you