Page 1 of Lured

Prologue

Leandro

I kept toward the back of the launch as I watched the other vampires mingle in the dark. I’d never much liked it when the entire Fondatori gathered in one place, but my don, or king as he liked to think of himself, had commanded it, and I had no choice but to obey.

Many true-blood vampires would have considered it an honor, but I tried to stay out of the politics of the vampire world. I’d been living long enough that I wanted very little to do with any of them. My don had been alive longer. My uncle and one of the more interesting of the entire Fondatori.

He was two paces ahead of me and just to one side, also waiting and watching. We weren’t the last to arrive and head to Seafarer’s Island, but not by much. I had been able to see Nikolai’s car pull into the bay not long after we had got on the launch.

The squire at the wheel of the launch had either not noticed another Fondatori arrive, or chosen not to. Either way, I was glad we had gone unnoticed. There were plenty of us on this one.

My uncle, Aldo, was one of the oldest vampires who would be present today and also a true-blood. All the Fondatori were true-bloods. There would be twelve of them arriving tonight, and each one was the had of a mafia family. A vampire family. I was my uncles chosen to take over whenever he decided he was done. I knew this much, but I’d not officially accepted.

Since he’d called me here, I had been terrified that he was finally going to ask me to serve. Thankfully, he hadn’t yet and we were almost at the island.

The launch pulled up to the neutral area. We had been meeting here since our kind had arrived on the new world and no one saw any reason to change it.

I wasn’t a fan of the pomp and ceremony, but I did understand the need for our next encounter. As the squire steered our launch around to the far side of the island and away from the docking area visible to most humans, we came up to a barrier of sorts. A long time ago, magic users close to one of the Fondatori families had added a protection to the meeting place. No one could pass through if they didn’t have vampire blood within them.

I had never enjoyed passing through the barrier, although I had only ever been summoned here with my uncle on a couple of occasions. It took its time to assess all of us, holding each of us stationary and fixed while it did. Being held in place in such a way was far easier if we didn’t resist, but it was instinctive to tense up and try to move. Only a great deal of self control saw me through the process, but I managed it. Aldo, as always, seemed not to notice it had even happened.

As soon as we came through and were out the other side, everyone on the boat visibly relaxed and we slowed to glide gently into the private dock tucked into the back of the island and barely visible until right upon it.

If my uncle knew why we had been summoned, he hadn’t told me, but I got the impression that some of the others were in the dark. “Ashikaga called for us to come,” my uncle said quietly as he leaned toward me. “We will find out why in a few moments. I insist that you hear this out and then I will speak to you when this is over.”

I nodded, not uttering a word as our whispering already drew attention from the others.

With that my uncle led the way for our family up the embankment to the main property. The building ahead was made of stone. A stone from our home country, Italy. It had been dismantled from its original site and then rebuilt here, something I considered an unnecessary expense, but the Fondatori liked their traditions.

As we reached the side entrance of the sanctuary, a safe place for all vampires where no blood is permitted to be shed, my uncle unsheathed a dagger he always had with him. An amethyst adorned the hilt and from my understanding, it held the power of our family within it.

The dagger was considered the most precious possession of the family and it granted the wielder extra benefits. Apparently. I’d never been told what they were and I doubted my uncle planned to. If it was a rumor then It was less worth killing over.

In the past Fondatori kings had been murdered just so they could be the one to control the dagger. It was why I didn’t have a father in this world anymore. My father had been our clan’s don since long before I was born, but when I was still young one of the other don members had rebelled and tried to kill my father. My uncle had gotten there just in time to save the dagger and make the murderer pay for his crimes, but not in time to save my father. Adlo had been like a father to me ever since.

I didn’t want to become part of the leadership if I could help it, but I reluctantly agreed to help my uncle when he had little choice but to ask me. He also had never wanted the power and it suited us both just fine to hold usurpers at bay and carry on the family legacy with as little ruffling of feathers as possible and very little attention drawn to ourselves.

With the dagger out on show briefly, I considered even getting to see it an honor. My uncle cut his hand with it and then inserted the blade into a small slit on the door. At the same time he put his now bloodied palm on a scanner on the other side, the sweet tang of his blood hitting my nostrils only a fraction of a second later.

I ignored the smell, glad I had eaten before I came. I’d made that mistake the first time. I’d had no idea this would take so long or be so taxing and assumed I could have a morsel when I was done. My stomach had rumbled and it had earned me a reprimand from my uncle afterward that I would never forget. Showing weakness wasn’t a good idea here. Not even among Fondatori who had once agreed to share the power.

Since then I had worked out how to appear aloof, confident and ready for any attack that might come my way. It was how we survived.

After turning the blade like a handle, Adlo opened the door and led the way into the hall of the Fondatori kings. Similar to the tales of old kings, the table in the hall was circular with no section bigger, taller or marked in any way other than the twelve identical chairs that sat around it.

Throne would have been a more appropriate description. They were large metal and ornate and too heavy for any human to move. There were seven kings already here including Ashikaga Hikotake. He rules the clan in Kyoto currently and greeted everyone who had come as if they were personal friends, at least, he did each don.

After Adlo returned his bow, our summoner turned to me only briefly. “It is good to see you again, Leandro. It would do your late father proud to see you here among us looking so much like him, I am sure.”

“He does us all proud.”

“He does indeed.” Ashikaga motioned toward our chairs, his palm out, up and flat by way of showing us he meant no harm and was fully welcoming. We’ve set a chair out for you near your uncle’s, Leandro. Please, both of you make yourselves comfortable. The rest of our Brethren will be here shortly.”

I had to stop myself frowning at the vampire king moved away to greet the next. He had given us no indication of why we were here.

If it frustrated my uncle, he didn’t give any hint away either, but moved to his throne. He sat in it and I took up the chair behind and to his right, symbolic of me being his official right hand. I didn’t like having to sit in the so obvious seat and have everyone here think I wanted this position, but for now there was little I could do but behave and wait.

We didn’t have to wait for long before the final set of guests arrived. With that Ashikaga continued his greetings, making it clear he held more warmth for some than others. He briefly glanced across the table to someone on our right, his look far less welcoming and cold than any had been so far.

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