Blueblood: A Dark Southern Aristocracy - 46. Losing Royalty

Marissa looked terrified, but I saw Colin’s face and I would have been terrified if it was me he was looking at that way. I’ve never seen Colin so quietly…furious. Enraged. I knew he was going to kill her. It was in his eyes. She saw it, too.

Marissa was still fighting the sun gun pointing at her as she scooted back from Colin. “I didn’t kill anyone! I don’t need to kill. My family gives me blood.”

“But you did create him!” Colin pointed at Adrian. “It was your bite that made him and you even admitted you disciplined your nephew because he was making money by turning people into vampires for money and you knew Brett Marshall. It is because of you that he was turned. It was because of Brett I was turned into a vampire.” Each sentence he was getting closer. “You are the reason I am a vampire, why my daughter is a vampire!”

“So, I don’t get the serum,” Marissa said shakily.

Colin shook his head. “Oh, no. You will get the serum.” He smiled and waved his sun gun at Adrian. “He will, too.” He chuckled. “I’m going to insist you do. You will no longer be a blood-sucking monster. You won’t be able to give…” he snickered. “…your gift to anyone. The drawback with the serum is it doesn’t make you human. You’ll live a long time, in custody. My custody.”

Marissa’s eyes widened. “What if I don’t want it?”

Colin laughed again. “Oh, you’re getting it. If we have to strap you down, you’ll get it.”

Then I watched as Marissa became less that vampire and became a poor little girl as she looked as if she was crying if she had tears.

I walked to Colin. “This is her talent! It’s what she’s good at. She becomes this innocent little girl. She disarms people with this act!”

Colin grinned, but it was dark and almost sinister. “It won’t work on me.”

I came up and just made contact with him. It was more of a way of telling him, he wasn’t alone in this.

Colin smiled again, knowing what he was going to do. “This is one time; I like the idea of the pain coming.” He said darkly. “And it will hurt a lot.” He lowered himself beside her. “You destroyed my life. I lived in Hell for over a hundred years. In two hundred years there were three bright spots; Josiah, while I was alive, my daughter Gabriella and finding Devon after nearly 180 years.” He said quietly. “Now, I’m going to give you a choice, which I never was given.”

Marissa dropped her little girl act as she glared angrily. “What choice?”

“You accept your reign as First Vampire is over and come with us.” He smiled again evilly. “Or at sunrise, you can be outside to witness it.” He turned to Adrian. “You have the same choice.”

Marissa frowned as she thought. “Where are you taking me?”

“Out of the South,” Colin said standing. “For the beginning, you will be given the serum. You will lose the blood hunger and become capable to be in the sun, but you won’t be able to make anyone a vampire.”

“Where?” Marissa asked again.

“Somewhere the world will be safe from you and Adrian,” Colin said and shrugged. “It doesn’t matter where, but you’ll be alive.”

She glared at Colin. “How dare you do this to ME!”

Colin chuckled. “With the same disregard you do with…” he thought a second, “…everyone.” He shrugged. “…even your own family!” He shook his head.

“And what will you do with them?” Marissa asked about the others here.

“They will spend time in a secure place,” Colin said. “Or run and hide when they hear what happened.” He shook his head. “You won’t be free again.”

Marissa looked furious now. “You can’t do this!”

Colin smiled smugly. “Because wrongful imprisonment is against the law?” Then he chuckled. “It amazes me how quickly we go to that about the law. Why?” He shook his head. “Because it’s convenient?” He sneered and said through gritted teeth. “Our whole existence is against the law. The laws of nature and of man. We should be dead, but we’re not. You should be nothing, but bone now, yet here you are. That is against the law.” He rose with a sigh. “This family and the people here are accomplices. They supported both you and Adrian. You’re both killers and they will be taken in.”

Marissa was fuming.

“Is that moral?” Colin questioned. “If you want, I’ll give you a phone and you can call the police.” He pulled his phone out. “Here, call them. Even if you did, they will come and they will investigate. Devon and I might be held, but we’ll be alive. You will have to go back to this at sunrise or burn.” He shrugged. “If you live through that, there would be blood tests and analysis. They would find out about the venom in your blood. You would become a medical wonder; an immortal they can study. They would want to know how and why.” He looked at Marissa firmly. “So, what’s it to be? You at sunrise in the morning, or do you come with us?”

You could see Marissa’s mind working and she knew she had no options. She sighed. “I’m hungry.”

Colin grinned. “I’m sure we can find a rat or two for you.”

She sneered at that idea. “What changed?”

“I did,” Colin said. “I was thinking of you as an equal victim like me and my daughter, but then I was made to see that you are the cause.” He nodded at Shelly. “We have the containers?”

Shelly nodded. “We do.” She brought out her flexible cuffs. “Hands behind your back, girly.” She ordered holding her gun steady.

Marissa hissed at her.

Shelly laughed. “I’m not on the menu.” She shook her head. “All I need is the slightest provocation and I put a bullet in your brain and heart. You’ll be gone by morning, no evidence will remain.”

The others came to help put them in the containers we had brought that would protect them from sunlight if it rose before we got them to where they were going. They were black boxes that weren’t exactly coffins, but pretty close. He gave them two bags of blood each and shut the containers. The other family members would be gathered at a more leisurely pace as they waited for another van to come and bring them in. Adrian and Marissa were taken from the compound to the airport where they would be flown to the VUN.

All this took most of the night and it was nearly dawn when we finally loaded the last of those at the compound into a van that would also take them to the airport. As we were driving out, Tucker and Gavin Darcy came from their hiding place into the road. They had seen the vans and personnel in vests and holding guns and didn’t interfere with us. Colin slowed as he looked at Tucker Darcy.

“They’re gone now,” Colin told the man. “We’ll take care of it.”

Tucker shook his head. “I don’t understand. How is this justice? They’re vampires!”

Colin nodded. “Yes, they are. There is no justification for their killing. I can’t offer you closure, but they won’t hurt anyone else again. That, I can promise.”

Tucker was shaking his head again. “Who are you guys?”

I chuckled. “We’re the good guys,” I assured as Colin drove off.

Back at Wentworth Manor, we met with Stan.

“They might have been somewhat computer savvy, but Buddy copied the whole hard drive.” He boasted. “I’ve got names and addresses for family members and the other two vampires that are related to Marissa.” He said proudly.

“Good.” Colin smiled. “Were there any problems?”

Stan chuckled. “Well, they had a program designed to cause the whole thing to crash and burn.” He waggled his eyebrows. “But my program kept it up long enough to clone the whole thing to Buddy. We have the names, addresses and now…” he said dramatically. “…the name and web addresses for the other vampire groups in England, throughout Europe, Asia, and South America!”

I grinned. “Really?”

Stan nodded. “They tried to encrypt it, but we got through that.” He patted the computer’s CPU. “Even by remote, Buddy is unstoppable!”

Colin chuckled at Stan. “Wonderful! Now, you and Mark need to pack. We’re going back to VUN.”

Stan almost pouted. “Yeah, I knew this was too good.”

I chuckled again. “You’ll be back, believe me.”

Colin looked at me. “Shelly and Chuck will remain and get the other vampires in Marissa’s family. Then we’ll get the other members that were serving them.”

“Will we have problems with Customs or other government bodies?” I asked thinking of the crates and people being brought.

Colin shook his head. “We’ll have it all documented and escorted by FBI personnel. The planes will land and go to a private area of the airport and they will be flown to the VUN.”

“How many people?” I asked wondering if we had enough room.

“Quite a few,” Stan said sadly. “There are a dozen names on Marissa’s living family.”

“But the families that are still human can be held at a regular prison or holding area for terrorists or other killers. They can’t protest their being held without telling why they are being held. They won’t likely do that.” Colin explained. “We have enough room for the vampires. They will all be on the serum soon.”

We were again leaving for Manhattan, but I noticed something that made me happy, but also a little concerning for me. My mother was packing as well, which didn’t bother me. I didn’t like leaving her here by herself, but I noticed…well…she was getting closer to Willie. The idea didn’t bother me as I knew Willie more now. His mind was clearer and he seemed to be a very good man, but he was a vampire. She wasn’t.

Colin pulled me close to him as he nuzzled my neck from behind. “What are you thinking about?” He looked at my mother laughed at something Willie said to her. “I think I know, but what exactly are you thinking?”

“That this situation is not going to go well,” I said quietly.

“Why?” Colin asked turning me around. “Because he’s a vampire?”

I shook my head. “No, because she isn’t a vampire,” I explained. “She will age and die. He won’t.”

Colin nodded. “And how is that different for her than it was for you when we got together?”

“Because she’s my mother,” I said simply with a shrug. “I knew when we got together; the only thing needed with us was for me to become a vampire as well. If she doesn’t become one, it will be hard for Willie in the future.”

“Your concern is for your mother or Willie?” Colin asked.

“Both!” I waved at them. “For her because she knows without becoming a vampire her time is short with Willie. I worry about Willie because he doesn’t need to lose someone he may care about.”

Colin sighed. “This world I brought you into has its perks, but also heartache. You’re married a vampire. You have a step-daughter who is a vampire. If things work out for Willie and he does become involved with Betty, you’ll have a step-father…maybe…that is a vampire.”

I threw my hands out. “Let’s just turn the whole world into vampires. Problem solved.”

Colin chuckled a bit unsure. “Well, that is extreme, but…” He pulled me into a kiss. “They are both adults. Willie is better now. Your mother is walking into this with her eyes wide open.” He looked at me seriously. “Will it bother you if she, like you did and choses to become a vampire?”

I rolled my eyes. “I would want her to be happy. The idea that I won’t lose her is great, but…”

Colin nodded. “Let’s just see what happens.”

We flew back to Manhattan. Ruben greeted us when we came down the Control Room from the roof.

“I see things were a success in Charleston,” Ruben observed.

“We’re still gathering the others, but yes.” Colin nodded. “Is Marissa behaving? Adrian, is he behaving?”

“They are both locked up here.” He pointed down to the cells below. “The VUN guards are watching them.”

“And the other family members?” I asked.

“They are being held at another location the FBI uses to hold people for questioning,” Ruben replied. “They know why they’re being held.” He sighed as he scratched the back of his head. “We will probably need to expand. Marissa’s nephew or niece…whatever…the one was in Atlanta and the other in Dallas.” He went to Buddy and pulled up the files Stan had sent. “There are more vampires that are serving them and other family they have serving this group.” He frowned. “Stan discovered a failsafe that he tried to stop. There was a warning that was to go out if the system was compromised.” He chuckled. “And it was…but he’s not sure if it had time to send it out. Rounding them up will take some time and manpower.”

Colin nodded. “We can hire more guards if needed.”

Ruben nodded. “We will have to. This is going to take time.”

“Then that’s what we need to do,” I said. “Take the time and do it.”

After we showered and cleaned up we enjoyed a leisurely meal. That evening we went to the floor where Marissa and Adrian were being held in separate cells. It was the same rooms we had brought Willie when we first brought him to the VUN. This time, I wasn’t worried that there was only a bed and a chair. Going to the observation window, we saw Adrian looking somewhat uncertain as he quit looking around for a way out, realizing it was pointless. Marissa was pacing in a circle, her arms folded as she fumed. I watched as the little safety door was slid open and the drawer was turned to give her two bags of blood which she turned instantly to see. She rushed at the blood, grabbed it and began drinking hungrily.

Colin hit the button on the wall to talk to her. “Enjoy it.” He said softly, making her turn instantly to see where the voice came from. “This will be the last meal of blood you will get. In a few hours, you will receive the serum.”

“Where are you?” Marissa shouted angrily. “Where did you bring me?”

“You’re in Manhattan; in a place safe for everyone else,” Colin said. “We flew you from Charleston here. This is where we deal with creatures like you.”

“Impossible!” Marissa said as her eyes widened. “It hasn’t been but a day!”

Colin sighed. “The world has changed since you came here all those centuries ago, don’t you know that? You haven’t changed. I’ve changed since I was turned. You will change soon.”

I frowned. “Did she not pay attention?” I asked Colin. “Didn’t she realize how things are different?”

“Limitedly,” Colin said. “Her world was pretty much all about her and her needs. She was isolated and probably didn’t venture out much.”

“How could anyone be happy with that?” I asked shaking my head.

Colin shrugged. “Everything was brought to her. She was a queen. Now, she isn’t.”

George came into the room where Marissa was held. Colin, Burke, Alex, Willie and I were escorting him in the room.

“Thank god I don’t have to make those placebo discs.” George motioned for us to get Marissa who was cowering against the far wall. “We can strap you down if needed.” He said to Marissa. “You will be taking this.”

“No!” Marissa shouted. “You can’t do this! I am First Vampire!” She tried to pull away.

George shook his head. “Not anymore.”

We each took an arm or leg each and brought her to the bed as she fought us and we held her down. George pulled the gown’s top down, cleaned her chest and inserted the serum. I watched as the plunger pushed the serum into her and she began to scream as the pain came.

Colin wasn’t happy, but he was smiling as he watched her writhe in agony. “This is the first time I’ve seen the serum work where I liked what it was doing.”

I put my arm around him. “We’re doing what’s best.”

Colin nodded. “I know.”