The Making of Vampires Ch. 09

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.

Able, unlike Bobby, tended to annoy the older members of the clan and the young vampire had not earned the trust of others. He seemed self-aggrandizing and not a team player. Able was not someone aware of the needs of others, nor did he care to be. Able was a talented kiss-ass and constantly followed August around as a yes-man and stroked the older vampire's ego.

Quintin caught Martin's eyes giving a quick nod to let his commander know the night was uneventful. Then he leaned against the wall behind many other vampires to listen to the brothers' conversation.

August said, "Martin, be open minded. Able Creed is one of my best men and he needs something to prove his worth to the clan and especially to you. Let him take a shift watching over Stephany. I swear on my reputation you will not be disappointed."

Quintin stiffened. The logic of allowing such a young vampire to watch over someone so important was ludicrous. There was more at stake than Stephany's safety. There was Martin's humanity at risk as well, which also meant the continuation of the clan.

Everyone one knew the clan existed because of Martin's leadership over the warriors. Everyone also knew that August was the leader because Martin wanted it so. If Martin ever decided to usurp his brother, none would prevent him. Even if August's men tried to prevent the change of leadership, Martin's men would eliminate any who tried to stand in the way because they were better trained and because they understood who was best for the clan.

Martin's men were taught by the best, Martin himself. Martin didn't allow anyone to pass along his training to his newly turned vampires. His philosophy was only he should train those he sired. His men could train any that they sired. Currently, no one sired any underlings except the Morsus brothers as per Martin's orders. That way, if any proved unworthy of their clan, the Morsus brother that brought the unworthy into the fold would destroy the problem vampire. Careful recruiting prevented unworthy vampires who would draw unwanted attention.

Martin looked around at the gathered vampires. Nearly all his men were in the room as were nearly all of August's. Many of August's men didn't like the proposal their sire offered. Many of August's men didn't like or trust Able Creed.

Martin spoke softly while he looked at the gathered men wanting all to understand the weight of his words. "Dear brother, if I allow your man to guard my bride and if even one hair was messed upon her head, I would kill Able and take command of our clan." He turned to look at his brother to ensure his brother understood. "Are you willing to forfeit your rank and risk civil war just so your youngest can have a boost to his already inflated ego?"

August never paused feeling he had nothing to worry about in this situation. "Of course, I would have it no other way. There is no reason to worry because Able will not allow anything to happen to her."

Quintin stepped forward understanding a bad decision had been made. He waited for permission to speak and received a nod from Martin. "Boss, let us switch our watches into four shifts with Able having the one in the middle of the night, the one where Dr. Tinkerton sleeps. Gabriel has placed magic on the house and Able should be able to send word of needing help if anything should go wrong. Of course, we can always drop in on him to make sure things are running smoothly as well."

Martin nodded and turned to his older brother. "August, you need to understand that I will kill Able and take the leadership from you if anything goes wrong."

Before August could reply, Suwon broke from the gathering and without waiting for permission spoke. "Martin, don't let him. Stephany's safety is far too important to let anyone other than the older vampires watch over her. Able isn't even bonded. What if she stirs his blood and he isn't able to stay away from her?"

Annoyed, Able said, "Just because you are the sire's son's chosen, doesn't make you wise enough to decide such matters. Just remain with your mate and leave the decision making to the men."

Suwon slowly turned a glare at Able. Reaching for her sword, the weapon she always wore when not blending as a human, she felt Marcus' hand over hers. He stood beside her waiting for his father to reprimand the rudeness of an underling. August looked to the floor not wanting to dampen Able's enthusiasm and not wanting to see his son's glare. He knew Able was wrong, but didn't want to acknowledge the younger vampire's mistake at this crucial time.

Martin shot from his chair and his hand snapped around Able's neck. "Apologize. Suwon has proven herself a strong and capable warrior through the centuries. Your one war is nothing compared to how many she fought as a human before joining our ranks. She has saved me many times. I'll rip your head off now if you do not and that will end all of her concerns."

Able felt the vertebrae of his neck begin to crush and he quickly stammered, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Suwon. I should not have been disrespectful." Then his body flew across the room as Martin flung him away.

Marcus continued to wait for his father to chastise the younger vampire, but it didn't happen. Marcus purposely guided his wife until they stood behind Martin.

A few in the chamber gasped. Others stood motionless feeling the tension in the chamber rise. Yet, others such as Quintin, reached for their weapons preparing for a war between the brothers. Marcus had just realigned himself with his uncle declaring publicly the change of his loyalties.

Martin said, "No, I will not allow Able to watch over my bride. He cannot muster the respect for others under his own sire. He surely will not be able to comprehend the importance of Stephany to another vampire such me."

Able quickly rose and said, "Forgive me, Martin. My enthusiasm gets the better of me at times." His chance for advancement slowly slipped from his grasp and he feared an eternity of obscurity.

Having seen many of his men knowingly or unknowingly take a step closer to Martin, August finally spoke. "Martin, Able is one of the most enthusiastic of my followers. His excitement often gets the better of him. Give him a shift and allow him to prove himself to you and all in our clan."

Martin rubbed his chin. "You are a fool. Your most enthusiastic and loyal followers were your son and his wife. You have pushed them away. How many others in your line will you push away?" He turned without giving his brother time for comment and said to Quintin, "Explain the duties to Able...and the consequences. Then prepare the stake that I will use to end him if he fails." Then he stopped and said to his nephew, Marcus, "I need you to prepare the stake to end me when I give in to the darkness if something happens to Stephany. You, Suwon, and my generals will lead my line after my death." Then he left the room.

Martin made a mental connection to Gabriel. I need you to add more protection spells for Stephany, on her, and include her car.

Gabriel answered, Just get me close enough and I'll cast whatever you want. Depending on the power of the spell, I may need to touch her. Powerful spells need contact to prevent misdirection.

Martin said, I'll arrange something.

***

Stephany stopped at her favorite coffee house after work.

When she got to the counter, the barista said, "Hello Dr. Tinkerton. Your usual?"

Stephany smiled, "Yes, please. Nothing tops off my day better than a venti double-mocha double-caramel latte."

She opened her purse to pull out her money, but an arm reached over her head handing a ten spot to the barista and a deep familiar voice said, "Let me take care of that and you keep the change."

Stephany turned. "Hi, Marty. I didn't know you stopped here."

Martin shrugged and motioned with his chin to a table in the corner where Gabriel and August sat. "This is our first time. We've driven past it at times, but never stopped. It's a nice place. Why don't you join us?"

Stephany picked up her cup, tested the heat with a small sip, and after finding the temperature just right, took a larger drink. "Thank you, Marty. I will. I usually sit in here a few moments before heading to my after work life, anyway." As she walked to the table, she asked, "What brings the three of you to this part of town?"

Martin said, "We rarely get outside our precinct. It is nice to go where no one knows us as cops. I'm surprised you let them know you are a doctor. You don't usually use your title, not even at the precinct."

Stephany answered, "At the precinct, I have my last name to deter unwanted attention. Unfortunately, I have had to avoid many of the places I found for coffee because of men trying to play me. So here, I decided to deter men by playing up my brain. The baristas all call me doctor because that is how I introduced myself. Any potential players know up front and they leave me alone."

Martin nodded as if in agreement and when they arrived at the table, August and Gabriel stood from their chairs. Martin pulled out the chair and grasped Stephany's hand gently to assist her in sitting down.

Her cheeks flushed a gentle pink as she sat down. "Wow. Aren't you three the gentlemen?" All three men sat after she did.

Gabriel said, "We are a bit old fashioned that way and unfortunately, it also makes us sexist at times." He remembered the times when women were not allowed out of their homes and were well protected. Women died in childbirth. Women died in war. Women died.

Stephany face registered shock as she asked, "Don't you believe women are equal to men?"

Gabriel said, "If you are asking if we believe women should have the same rights and protection under the law as men, then yes, we do. If you are asking if we believe women should do everything that man can do, no." All three heard Stephany's heart begin to speed, but her expression remained controlled.

Martin smiled and continued the conversation. "I know you can't lift as much as I can so that would prove you can't do everything a man can do."