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Thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading!
THE BOYS OF BELSMEADE
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The ride to the town near Fumaro's estate was quiet. Everyone was worrying about what might happen if we ran into more resistance than the count had anticipated. I sat in Aramis' lap, terrified that we'd get there and storm the house, only to find my father's lifeless corpse buried in the cellar.
I shivered and Aramis rubbed my back. "He'll be okay, El. Please don't worry."
"But everyone else," I said. "What if anyone of your clan dies? It's all my fault. I don't think I can cope with that."
"Eliot," Aristes said. "You cannot think like that. Just have faith."
We parked the cars about a mile from Fumaro's estate and began to walk through the woods to get to the house. I stayed with Aramis and his parents. Benita, Blake and Epp also came with us. Lucia and Blanca went with the countess, Marco, Nero and Giovanni. Beatricia had remained in the states with baby Aristes, safe with her husband and his clan.
With the count's detailed knowledge of his brother's house, staff, and habits, we were able to guess that my father would be held on the second floor, toward the back, where all the guests stayed. But first we had to clear the security. A computer genius from Zurich hacked into Fumaro's system and disabled the security cameras and motion sensors. Then, without speaking, the various clans spread out, each planning on clearing a different area of the grounds and villa. There were guards everywhere, but quickly—ruthlessly—the count's vampires went to work. A knife to the heart to disable guard was followed by a quick twist and pull.
A disembodied head rolled to a stop at my feet and my first instinct was to scream in terror. Aramis clamped his hand over my mouth. Once I got my breathing under control, I nodded to let him know I wasn't going to make any noise.
It was fairly evident that Fumaro really hadn't planned on the count attacking his house. Our vampires cut through his defenses like a hot knife through butter, and we quickly surrounded the villa. I was standing next to Benita when we carefully looked into the window of the sitting room. I was filled with relief when I saw my father alive and well, but I still couldn't believe what I was looking at.
My father sat on a leather sofa, with a young, blond vampire draped across his lap. Her hand was up under his shirt, stroking his chest. He twirled a ring of her hair around his finger and leaned down to kiss her, whispering endearments.
My attention turned back to Benita, terrified of how she would react, but she was no longer standing next to me. The count had hauled her away from the window. He restrained her, and Aristes had a hand over her mouth. She fought and kicked against her captors, but couldn't free herself. Eventually she calmed, but still looked seriously pissed. I wondered if my dad was going to go home with his nuts intact.
I went back to the window to watch. Fumaro came into the room, and the blond sat up, like a teenager getting caught with her boyfriend. As soon as the girl turned, my dad's smile dropped from his face and he shivered. Something was going on. My father was obviously faking his affection for the girl, but why?
The count was standing behind me, and I realized I had to let him know it was all an act. I took a deep breath, crossed my fingers and tapped the count on the arm. He looked down at me and I flashed my eyes into his. He nodded, so I thought to him, "It's an act. Dad's faking it. There's no way he'd act like that. He is completely awkward around women. The look on his face is the one he uses on people that are annoying him, but he has to be nice to."
He smiled proudly and sent his thoughts to me. "Well done, Eliot! Now, do you trust me?"
I nodded. "What are you up to?"
"Stand back."
I took a few steps back. A moment later, so did everyone else. There was a minute of absolute stillness, while the count stood with his head bowed. He raised his arms and rose slowly into the air. Then, he swept his hands through the air like a conductor. Every window in the villa shattered. Sharp shards of glass fell like rain all around the yard.
The count ran in through the window, so fast I couldn't see him move. He collided with Fumaro and the two of them went tumbling across the room. Fumaro roared in fury and fought hard against his brother, but he couldn't win against the count's magic. The count dragged Fumaro outside and threw him into the hands of our guards.
Once he was secure, our vampires stormed the rest of the house. Aristes stepped through the broken window to approach my father, but a sudden shriek of rage made us all wince. Benita charged into the room and slammed into the young, blond vampire. It reminded me of a daisy being hit by a train. They crashed through the wall on the other site of the room and disappeared from view. A bunch of vampires went after them. After a short struggle and a lot of really pissed screaming in Italian, Benita reemerged, blood splattered on her face.
Now that everyone was subdued, we turned to my dad. He backed into a corner with a terrified expression on his face. Aristes walked toward him, but Dad put up a hand and said, "Stop!"
Aristes smiled, but kept moving forward. "John, we're not going to hurt you."
"I said stop!" As he barked out his command, long fangs descended in his mouth.
To be continued...
I shivered and Aramis rubbed my back. "He'll be okay, El. Please don't worry."
"But everyone else," I said. "What if anyone of your clan dies? It's all my fault. I don't think I can cope with that."
"Eliot," Aristes said. "You cannot think like that. Just have faith."
We parked the cars about a mile from Fumaro's estate and began to walk through the woods to get to the house. I stayed with Aramis and his parents. Benita, Blake and Epp also came with us. Lucia and Blanca went with the countess, Marco, Nero and Giovanni. Beatricia had remained in the states with baby Aristes, safe with her husband and his clan.
With the count's detailed knowledge of his brother's house, staff, and habits, we were able to guess that my father would be held on the second floor, toward the back, where all the guests stayed. But first we had to clear the security. A computer genius from Zurich hacked into Fumaro's system and disabled the security cameras and motion sensors. Then, without speaking, the various clans spread out, each planning on clearing a different area of the grounds and villa. There were guards everywhere, but quickly—ruthlessly—the count's vampires went to work. A knife to the heart to disable guard was followed by a quick twist and pull.
A disembodied head rolled to a stop at my feet and my first instinct was to scream in terror. Aramis clamped his hand over my mouth. Once I got my breathing under control, I nodded to let him know I wasn't going to make any noise.
It was fairly evident that Fumaro really hadn't planned on the count attacking his house. Our vampires cut through his defenses like a hot knife through butter, and we quickly surrounded the villa. I was standing next to Benita when we carefully looked into the window of the sitting room. I was filled with relief when I saw my father alive and well, but I still couldn't believe what I was looking at.
My father sat on a leather sofa, with a young, blond vampire draped across his lap. Her hand was up under his shirt, stroking his chest. He twirled a ring of her hair around his finger and leaned down to kiss her, whispering endearments.
My attention turned back to Benita, terrified of how she would react, but she was no longer standing next to me. The count had hauled her away from the window. He restrained her, and Aristes had a hand over her mouth. She fought and kicked against her captors, but couldn't free herself. Eventually she calmed, but still looked seriously pissed. I wondered if my dad was going to go home with his nuts intact.
I went back to the window to watch. Fumaro came into the room, and the blond sat up, like a teenager getting caught with her boyfriend. As soon as the girl turned, my dad's smile dropped from his face and he shivered. Something was going on. My father was obviously faking his affection for the girl, but why?
The count was standing behind me, and I realized I had to let him know it was all an act. I took a deep breath, crossed my fingers and tapped the count on the arm. He looked down at me and I flashed my eyes into his. He nodded, so I thought to him, "It's an act. Dad's faking it. There's no way he'd act like that. He is completely awkward around women. The look on his face is the one he uses on people that are annoying him, but he has to be nice to."
He smiled proudly and sent his thoughts to me. "Well done, Eliot! Now, do you trust me?"
I nodded. "What are you up to?"
"Stand back."
I took a few steps back. A moment later, so did everyone else. There was a minute of absolute stillness, while the count stood with his head bowed. He raised his arms and rose slowly into the air. Then, he swept his hands through the air like a conductor. Every window in the villa shattered. Sharp shards of glass fell like rain all around the yard.
The count ran in through the window, so fast I couldn't see him move. He collided with Fumaro and the two of them went tumbling across the room. Fumaro roared in fury and fought hard against his brother, but he couldn't win against the count's magic. The count dragged Fumaro outside and threw him into the hands of our guards.
Once he was secure, our vampires stormed the rest of the house. Aristes stepped through the broken window to approach my father, but a sudden shriek of rage made us all wince. Benita charged into the room and slammed into the young, blond vampire. It reminded me of a daisy being hit by a train. They crashed through the wall on the other site of the room and disappeared from view. A bunch of vampires went after them. After a short struggle and a lot of really pissed screaming in Italian, Benita reemerged, blood splattered on her face.
Now that everyone was subdued, we turned to my dad. He backed into a corner with a terrified expression on his face. Aristes walked toward him, but Dad put up a hand and said, "Stop!"
Aristes smiled, but kept moving forward. "John, we're not going to hurt you."
"I said stop!" As he barked out his command, long fangs descended in his mouth.
To be continued...
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