All Souls' Night - Renee Rose Page 0,56

set up surveillance, get a team together, be there at the buy,” Erik says.

“Yes.” I nod. I wouldn’t miss it.

“When are you planning on leaving?” Erik asks me.

“Not until August. Almost a year. She will have to get everything settled here, and I want to give her time to truly commit and understand.”

“That should be more than enough time to take care of business,” Erik answers.

“It has been almost a thousand years, Erik.”

“Nine hundred and fifty-three since we escaped from him, but who is counting?” Erik laughs bitterly.

“Let’s not make it nine hundred and fifty-four.” I pound him on the back. We both want revenge. Erik wants it more.

“One thing is absolutely for certain: this time, Orderic will not get away. He will pay for his crimes and the bastard will die, once and for all.” Erik’s words are clear.

I believe him. Orderic’s days are numbered.

Keri approaches with drinks in her hands, her eyes sparkling. This conversation will have to be tabled. I have a beautiful girl to see to. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that comes before her tonight.

I stare at the collar in his hands. It is beautiful, perfect, personalized exactly to my tastes. White gold, beautiful blue sapphires, so deeply blue they are almost black, just like the ring I pointed out once to him, when I explained that I didn’t want a large diamond like on most engagement rings, but a sapphire, my favorite gem. I’ve always liked white gold over the traditional yellow color. This collar looks like something the Queen of England would wear, not a submissive being collared by her dominant.

“I’ve had a daytime collar fashioned for you, Butterfly. It consists of a white gold butterfly charm with blue sapphire details. I believe you will love it. This will be our dress collar, for occasions like tonight, when we get dressed up and fancy. Do you like it?”

“I love it.” It is the most gorgeous piece of jewelry I have ever seen in my life. It is so much more than jewelry, though—like a wedding ring, it has meaning. It is symbolic of our commitment to each other, of our power exchange dynamic, of the absolute trust and dedication to a lifestyle that many do not understand. It says: you belong to me, and I will take care of you.

“Eternal devotion,” Bentley says, coming closer with it. “This collar represents my eternal devotion.”

“But, you can’t… you are a vampire and I’m a human. You can’t be eternally devoted to me. When I die…” I pause, trying to find the correct words.

“I don’t want you to die, Butterfly. This collar, it is so much more than anything I have ever given to any other woman. I am asking you if you will consider allowing me to turn you. It is dangerous and it is painful. But I will be there every step of the way. I will take you away from here to my castle in Rjukan, a small village in Norway. There, the sun doesn’t strike the valley for six months of the year. It is the best place to turn, as we can do it safely and get you accustomed to being a vampire without the fear of sunlight. It is beautiful, Butterfly. My castle is surrounded by mountains, and we have built the best vampire community, one where everyone is vetted and of the same mindset. It is a lot to ask, but I can’t imagine spending a day without you and what’s more, I don’t want to.”

He wants to turn me. To make me a vampire. To live like they do. To drink blood. To watch everyone I love die, while I continue to live. To feel the deepest sorrow and grief he has ever felt, as he told me. I will also feel all the other emotions deeper: love, passion, happiness.

“I thought… when we talked about this, you said that turning is only done in life or death situations?” I had asked him about turning just the day before.

“That has been Lucius’s rule here, yes. But I don’t follow the same philosophy. I come and go as I please, I don’t really belong to one group of vampires or another, so to speak. It is not done often because of the risks, but, Butterfly, I am nearly a thousand years old. I’m not a new pup. I’ve supervised and turned several. I know what I’m doing. I’ve given this a lot of thought. I’ve set up a convalescence area