Thank you to my editors Griz375 and Aisielynn. I appreciate all that you have done for my stories.
This is the final chapter for this story line and it is long. I had fun, but honestly, I wrote myself into a corner. Because of advice from others, I kept editing out the main antagonist from previous chapters. Therefore, introduction of this antagonist is weak. I do apologize for that.
***
Amy pulled up to the house, the swelling in her eye countered by a previous cold pack, and cosmetics applied to hide the purple bruise. Near the curb, a few yards further, stood Tony and some of his friends. They could see Martin, Gabriel, August, and Marcus. The men were talking.
Rachel said, "I don't think they'll smell the booze on you, but let us go to the house with you. Amy didn't have enough to inhibit her driving and I'm sober, but they don't need to know that."
Rachel pulled a brown bag from under her seat, removed and opened a bottle of whiskey below the dashboard so the men couldn't see it. Then, as if applying perfume, she placed her finger over the bottle opening, tipped it, and dabbed whisky on her neck, lips, and down her cleavage.
She nodded. "There, now I smell like a brewery and Tony won't notice anything lingering on Stephy's breath. Let's go."
The three women exited the car and waved to the men as they walked toward the house. The men looked up and smiled, greeting the women. Gabriel froze, as he could smell something, something that lingered below the scent of booze.
The other vampires focused their eyes on Rachel. They could detect alcohol on the willowy woman. They could even detect exactly where she had dabbed it on her body.
Gabriel focused on the lingering scent and also detected a weak, but unusual taint of magic on all three of them, a rare benign, inner magic. The magic was undetectable when the women were alone, but was noticeable when the three were together. From what he could tell, all of them were descended from nymphs, the magical uninhibited nature deities. The small brunette, Martin's bride, had the strongest source. Even though she had the strongest, it was still weak and barely detectable. The curvy blond had the least amount of the magic touching her. Unfortunately, humans would find it difficult to resist the women no matter how little of the nymph blood they possessed. Yet, he believed vampires should have no problems.
He looked at Martin and hoped his brother would not have any problems. The fact that Stephany's blood called to Martin's inner beast complicated matters, but he shouldn't lose his willpower from her diluted nymph magic, unlike human males who would have difficulty when touched by the women.
Almost in unison, the vampires smelled the distinct scent of sex and the lingering taint on all three women, which they could determine as demon. The demon odor was weak indicating a long lineage from the original demon, yet, it was still a spawn of evil. Gabriel reached for Martin's shoulder giving his younger brother a reassuring squeeze. He hoped to remind Martin not to lose his temper in front of humans, especially since his brother had not made his intentions known to the younger woman.
Martin felt his brother's touch giving him a bit of reassurance. Yet, he feared the demon spawn's near presence to his future bride. Demons and their descendants had a magnetism that attracted humans. Humans desired what they should not. They desired the forbidden fruit, especially sugared with evil.
Martin had to protect her, even from herself. He concentrated and sent a message to one of his generals from his original human army.
Maximilius, I need you to assign sentries to protect Stephany.
Maximilius, known now as Max Uberman, knew about his sire's bride, as did everyone in the clan. The realization Martin had another chance at love, another shot at maintaining his humanity with an anchor against the darkness, caused a great deal of joy and relief. No one wanted to hunt down their greatest warrior and battle the master of strategy if Martin fell into the pit of evil.
Max replied,
No problem, boss.
Martin's men had called him boss for many centuries. Remembering the different titles for a leader of the army in various cultures grew a bit tedious at times, especially when the titles meant different rankings in each place. Therefore, to prevent any insults, some of which could encourage a political figure to demand the removal of the insulter's head, they started calling Martin "boss".
I assume you would like bonded males to protect her?
A bonded vampire would never desire or lust after anyone other than the one he was bonded to. Stephany's virtues would never be in danger with a bonded vampire.
Martin answered,
Yes and I want the men to shadow her around the clock, even when she is sleeping.
Humans believed themselves safe in their homes. They didn't realize that many supernatural creatures roamed the land at night and many had no problems finding their way into a sleeping human's domain. One diminutive group of creatures wandered through homes moving around keys and other items as they curiously explored the terrain. They were harmless entities, but bothersome as people had trouble finding their possessions, later.
Max said,
Sure thing. Your other two generals and I will take shifts around the clock.
Martin replied,
Thank you, Maximilius.
Then he ended their conversation and closed the connection between their minds.
***
Quintin Everheart stood hidden in the shadows of a tree outside the Tinkerton home. He could feel the soft hum of magical protection placed on the house by Gabriel to specifically protect Stephany from demons. He would have preferred Gabriel to add more protections on the house, but often the complicated magical weave reacted in unsuspecting ways when immediately layered upon an object. It would take time for Gabriel to add more protections to keep her safe. However, moving in with Martin would be the safest alternative of all.
Quintin wore only one magical ring on each hand. He was not magically gifted and the rings provided convenient spells. Therefore, one ring had magic that would transport him back to a cavern outside the magically protected chambers where the vampires gathered. The other ring hid his vampire status making him undetectable to those who could detect vampires.
Quintin sat motionless as he allowed his senses to reach out ensuring no dangers neared the Tinkerton home. The clan considered her a special person. None had heard of any vampire granted a second mate and considered this a gracious gift from Magic, their deity.
Many vampires believed Magic to be an immortal creature, living and conscious. They did not believe that Magic was an inanimate object, to be used and manipulated. Martin had won her favor, as shown by his many vampiric gifts. He was so favored that Magic had granted him a second chance at love.
Quintin would do all that he could to protect her for the sake of his commander who was more than just a commander. Martin was his friend and Quintin's sire.
All was calm and peaceful as it had been every night since starting his vigil nearly two weeks ago, yet, he would not allow himself to relax or take comfort in the calm. Danger could arise at any moment. He knew this was a permanent assignment. Even after Stephany joined their clan, they would still guard her. He could not imagine anything that would allow Martin to call of the guards.
Martin often joined his men in watching over Stephany's house. Whenever he wasn't working at his human job or taking care of clan business, Martin was watching over her as well. His guards didn't take it as questioning their abilities to guard the woman. They understood the obsession that came over a vampire after finding his eternal partner.
As dawn began to paint the eastern horizon, Quintin felt a familiar presence. His friend, Tavian Truman, approached. Quintin wouldn't leave until Tavian settled into a secure location preparing to shadow Stephany to and from work.
Unfortunately, Stephany worked in a security heavy building preventing Tavian from entering to keep her safe, but the clan was working on a way for him to infiltrate the employee ranks. Until then, Tavian kept watch from outside ensuring the building would not be in danger from external forces.
Quintin waited until Tavian found a comfortable spot on a nearby rooftop. Then Quintin twisted his ring. He appeared in the underground hollow outside the chambers. Then he walked over to the two-ton door and planned to give his report of an uneventful evening.
Quintin entered the chambers, magically crafted into a modern office building. Some parts were left rough and cavern-like, such as the feeding pits that held the feeders, but the rest had polished floors and doors.
All the doors were around two tons each made from various ores or crystals. The reason for such heavy doors was to prevent accidental entry by a human. Even though the chambers were hidden underground in a depth unlikely for anyone other than them to infiltrate, they preferred to err on the side of caution. Vampires could easily open the heavy doors, a feat impossible to duplicate by humans.
Quintin walked into a large room with a wall of computers and phones, all connected through deep underground landlines. No wireless items existed in this room to heighten security and because the chamber's distance below ground level prevented reception.
Quintin saw Martin in conversation with August and one of August's new men, Able Creed. Quintin almost grimaced. Able joined their ranks nearly the same time Bobby Grant had joined. August never let the number of his men dropped below that of Martin's.
