Seta's Fall

Chapter 11

Seta sat next to her son, waiting for him to awake. The shelter Eron and Christian had carved from within the cliff face still remained but neither vampire appeared to still use it.

"Mother."

"Rialto!" She checked him over as he rose to a sitting position on the bed. "How do you feel?"

"Hungry," he answered, his brow creased as he placed his hand over his stomach. He looked down as his hand connected with the dried blood on his shirt. "I should be dead."

"I saved you. Do you remember?"

He frowned for a moment, then nodded. "Vampire. You said you are a vampire ... and a witch. You ... you turned me into a vampire."

"Please do not be angry with me. You are my son. I had to save you."

"You are my mother." He smiled before enveloping her in his arms. "I always knew on some level. I felt your love and I knew I did not belong there."

"I am so sorry, Rialto. Please know I never left you by choice."

"You never left me at all." He still smiled as he pulled away but as he studied her his eyes grew dark. "I avenged you but he did not fight fair. He must pay."

The rage that had simmered inside Seta for nearly three decades rose to the surface. "He must pay for what he did to you."

They found him on the cliff, searching the ground.

"Looking for something?" Seta asked. "A body, perhaps?"

Count Roberto Garibaldi spun around, his mouth dropping open as he saw her and his son standing before him.

"You're dead! I killed you! I killed you both!"

"You tried. Someone saved me that night so I could be here to save my son, who I never left."

Garibaldi looked between them, his eyes bulging. "No. This is not real. You are dead."

He rubbed his eyes and looked at them again.

"I should beat you and throw you off the cliff," Rialto said, "like you did to my mother. That is far too lenient a death for someone as dark and heartless as you."

Garibaldi stepped backward as Rialto approached but stopped, realizing he would walk himself right off the cliff if he continued. Desperate to live, he ran.

Rialto caught him in two strides, his vampire speed giving his father no chance to escape, and began beating the man who'd attempted to kill them with his fist.

Seta watched as her son repeatedly pummeled his fists into Garibaldi's flesh, finding satisfaction in every snap of bone and every plop of blood. She knew the importance of teaching her son not to give in to the darkness of his vampire curse, but this was one death she had to allow him to take. After all, it was their oath to destroy evil and protect the humans. Count Roberto Garibaldi was a murderer, and he'd attempted to kill his own child. There was no greater evil than that so she did not interfere when Rialto roared with rage and drank his father to death before removing his head from his body.

"This way," he said as he kicked Garibaldi's body aside and led her up the path to the castle.

Taking her a secret route, they avoided his father's guards and easily reached the countess's dressing room without any trouble. Rialto threw open the door and they entered, finding the woman at the vanity, brushing her hair, back turned to them.

"Did you succeed in making it appear as if he had been attacked by wolves?" she asked.

"My body wasn't there," Rialto answered. "I left his to rot."

The countess stilled in fear as recognition of Rialto's voice sank in. She visibly trembled as she slowly turned around.

"I brought you this." Rialto threw Garibaldi's severed head at her feet.

She rose from her chair, screaming.

"Your turn," Rialto said to Seta as he stepped aside and elegantly gestured for her to precede him.

"Hello, Countess," Seta said, unbothered by the screaming. "You took my son from me and now, for that, I must take your life."

The countess attempted to run but Seta swept her arm out, effortlessly pinning the woman to the wall with her magic before reaching through her chest and pulling out her heart.

"You never used this anyway," she said as she crushed the organ in her hand.

"Who are they?" Rialto asked as they neared the two men standing at the end of the path.

"The men who saved my life," Seta answered, bracing for a stern lecture, maybe something worse. She could imagine the thoughts going through Eron and Christian's minds as they saw her and her son approaching them, covered in blood. "They are vampires, and in a way, family."

Eron stepped forward. Christian remained where he was, shaking his head and looking anywhere but at them.

"We found Garibaldi's body," Eron said, looking between the two of them.

"He ran a sword through his own son's back," Seta informed him. "He left him to die."

Eron nodded. "I felt the moment a new vampire was born in my line."

"Are you going to curse us? Send me away again?"

"No, Seta. You saved your son's life as you were always meant to do. You killed a murderer. There is no punishment for that. I never did punish you. I am sorry if it felt that I did."

She looked into the eyes of the man who had saved her life nearly three decades before and remembered looking into them the first night she rose as a vampire. She remembered the instant attraction to him as well as the fear of what danger he posed to her. Both were still there. Her gaze wandered down to his mouth and she remembered the feel of those lips on hers. She ached to taste him once more, but her son still had the blood of the last man she'd foolishly believed in on his clothes, a reminder of what happened when you fell for a lie.

"Why are you here?"

Eron turned toward Rialto. "We are here to welcome you to The Order, Rialto. You have much to learn about your new life and we are here to assist you. There are rules. We are not monsters. We are protectors. As long as you remember that and protect the innocent, we will have no problems."

Rialto looked down at her. "My mother is a good person. She would not allow me to harm an innocent."

Eron looked at her and she could practically see the night she'd killed the guard's brothers play through his mind. He was her sire. He could project his thoughts to her.

I know what I did was wrong, Eron, she thought to him. You were right. I have remembered that moment many times over the years and it fills me with guilt.

I know, Seta. I only wish you had believed in me enough then to listen to me. You could have avoided such pain. I know you do not trust easily, and I understand why. I hope one day you will realize I have never lied to you and I never will hurt you.

"Guards will soon be hunting you as the bodies are discovered," Eron said out loud, withdrawing from her mind. "It is not safe here. We move now."

He turned and started walking down the path, Christian at his side. Seta took her son's hand and walked behind them.

A mile out, she felt Rialto's gaze on her.

"What is it, my son?"

"I do not want to lose you again. Can we trust these men?"

"You will never lose me, and Eron is my sire. He saved my life." She smiled despite her fear and placed her hand over her heart. "No matter where I go he will always be here, as I have always been with you."

Ahead of them, Eron turned his head and met her gaze. He nodded and she knew he felt what was in her traitorous heart because she felt what was in his. Whether she could trust it or not, only time would tell, and they had all the time in the world.

Seta and friends return in BLOOD CURSE.

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