EPILOGUE II

Florence

Part II

Karou noted every detail of her Sire as he stood at the bar, just a little way through the blue double doors. Regardless of him having his back to her, she was so close yet so far. Regrettably, she was still tethered to Eamon; he was holding her hand yet she felt no comfort from the gesture. Although as a fellow nephilim he was warm, she felt no warmth from holding his hand. Instead, it was oppressive and she found herself wishing to let go of him and go take a hold of Warren's cold but safer hand as he tucked his wallet back away. In fact, she didn't care if Eamon noticed who she was distracted by, and since Warren had walked past her just moments ago she hadn't get taken her eyes off of him. She held her sunglasses up near her chest as if she had intended to put them back on but hadn't gotten around to it yet.

Physically Warren barely ever changed. He hadn't during the thirty years they hadn't seen each other so he definitely hadn't in the year and a half since she had last seen him in Brazil. Eamon still didn't know about that, although he had suspected something due to her mood on her return.

Dressed in light beige chino's, rolled up his ankles a little way and leather sandals he was dressed for a warm Italian summer, yet even when he was more casually dressed he still looked purposefully put together. The loose cream button-down he wore tucked into those chino's had been rolled to his elbow's to show how sun-kissed his forearms were. The lithe muscles that flexed under the skin of his forearms as she watched him pluck cash from his wallet hinted that beneath his shirt laid even more athletic muscle and a tanned complexion, imagining it made Karou bite her lower lip. When he finally turned away from the bar he smiled politely at the staff and swept his free hand back through his brown bangs on his way back towards the doors.

Out in the sunlight, he could see Karou, waiting and still looking at him. He flashed a friendly, toothless smile and came to pause in the doorway before her. "Hello." Warren greeted. He was speaking directly to Karou and his eyes completely ignored Eamon for now even though he had noticed that the pair was holding hands. He had already surmised that the guy was Karou's husband; he didn't even need to spot their wedding bands.

"Hello." That was all Karou could muster to say back.

Hearing his wife greet someone disturbed Eamon from his conversation with the waitress instantly and he looked over to Karou to assess the situation. When he found a man stood before her his brows arranged in a perplexed sort of way.

Immediately he found the man's hand extended in his direction. Being anything other than polite to strangers was unacceptable and so even though he was taken aback by the suddenness of the gesture he took the man's hand and shook it.

"Warren Howard, a pleasure to meet you. Eamon is it?"

As if being approached by a complete stranger wasn't odd enough being confronted by none other than your wife's estranged Sire while on a 'romantic getaway' was less than ideal. The cool touch from the Vampire's hand was enough to send Eamon recoiling his hand in discomfort as if the introduction wasn't. Warren Howard was the last person on earth that Eamon ever wished to meet. What was more; this Warren fellow seemed to already know his name... Why? He wondered. "Yes. Eamon Tourmaine."

"You've picked an excellent establishment to dine at." Warren could tell Eamon didn't want to talk to him but he knew that he'd have to win over the Enochian husband if he was going to get even a moment longer in Karou's presence.

So far she had been silent but hadn't taken her eyes from Warren. Eamon had already noticed; it made his skin crawl and his hand squeeze tighter around hers. He hoped that the gesture would stir her from her gawping but it didn't.

Perhaps it was Fledgling instinct or just the fact that she was so thirsty and there Warren stood only a foot from her looking so delicious. Her eyes bore into his neck intently.

"They don't have what will quench your wife's appetite on the menu yet, unfortunately."

"Eat here often do you?" Eamon asked, he glanced to his side hoping that the waitress's presence might interrupt their conversation and get rid of his Howard fellow... but she was gone. She had scuttled off the moment the snobby celestial was distracted; she'd had a lucky escape to her mind.

It seemed that her thirsty eyes hadn't gone unnoticed by her Sire. She smiled faintly only to mask that she was slightly ashamed that he'd happened on her for the second time; thirsty. The fact that her vampiricy was neglected couldn't have been any more obvious now.

"Yes, daily. I still haven't managed to put a proposition to supply the restaurant with my products attractive enough before the owner. He's playing hard to get because he knows I supply another local establishment and they get a better deal." Warren explained as he gestured to the crate he held in his hand.

"Perhaps he's aware that he could lose certain patrons business if he were to have that on his menu," Eamon suggested. He had noticed the crate in the vampire's hand but hadn't taken anything from the gesture.

"I doubt it. This is Florence." The vampire shrugged.

"How curious. I wonder what you mean?" Eamon took the bait.

"Seventy per cent of Italy's current population is one breed of vampire or another."

"Funny, the tour guides failed to mention that..." Eamon felt it was now a good time to ask, to sate his curiosity. He hoped his assumption was wrong. "Might I ask what's in the box?"

"Oh, of course, they'd never tell a celestial that. They presume prejudice like everyone else."

"Blood," Karou answered out of nowhere. It seemed that that was currently the only thing on her mind. When Warren found her eyes he just nodded and smiled at her warmly.

"Surely you don't walk around in public with that amount with you?" Eamon attempted to make a joke out of his mild discomfort.

"Oh no, I've just had a business meeting with one of my employee's. She kindly brought me a sample." Warren read Eamon's expression and chuckled himself. "Don't worry it hasn't been stolen from anyone. It's grown, in a laboratory."

"Fascinating-..." The nephilim man sneered obnoxiously.

"Does it taste different than fresh?" Karou chimed in, her head tilting to one side curiously. It was one of Warren's favourite Karou mannerisms and he grinned down at her; showing his teeth this time.

"Surprisingly no, that's what the meeting was about," Warren answered. "Here, why don't you take this with you? A gift? I have plenty at home." He offered the crate towards Karou, who looked to Eamon before shaking her head.

"She can't go walking around in public with a box of blood."

Ironic because our rental car is packed with boxes of wine and cheese that I couldn't give a damn about. Karou found herself thinking. Warren must have caught the stray thought as she chuckled and they both shared a smirk.

"Well, I ought to be heading home now. You're both welcome to join me at my villa. It would be nice to catch up with Karou about what she has been up to. It's been some time since I last saw her and of course, become with more acquainted with her husband..."

He won't let me talk to you if he can help it... Karou thought to Warren, her eyes looking more desperately thirsty by the moment.

"We appreciate the invite but we've been planning to eat here all day." Eamon lied; exactly as Karou had implied; anything to refuse Warren's invitation. "We're waiting for the restaurant dining to open, you see."

"You still have at least another hour to wait before you can order from the dinner menu. As exquisite as the food is here I could have the lady that looks after my villa's kitchen, cook something for you, I'm sure, and... Karou could attend to her thirst out of the public eye."

Hmm, that last part might sway him. Karou thought and did something that put the nail in the coffin of the decision for Eamon. Without even looking in his direction she just grinned at Warren and allowed her fangs to spring free of their confines in her gums.

"Uh- Yes there aren't many modest environments for Karou to tend to her needs around here.... and, uh, if as you say this establishment doesn't yet serve the sustenance she requires I'm sure she'd love to take up your offer of dinner... How about it, darling?"

Karou's trick worked! Sometimes she could manipulate Eamon when she wanted to too. Flustered now, he looked between Karou, Warren and the crowd hoping that no one had witnessed his nephilim wife bare her fangs. Fangs that to his mind she shouldn't even have. To Warren, they made her perfect and he grinned down at her with an unbridled look of 'something' in his blue eyes that made Karou's neck feel warm and her stomach clench into a tight knot too. Lust, perhaps.

Eamon never let go of Karou's hand as they followed Warren back through the streets of Florence. It was only a short walk, ten minutes perhaps and all the while the odd trio remained silent. Eamon was taking in the area; eying over the other homes that lined the streets until they came to a small hill that they climbed. Karou never took her eyes from Warren's back, every now and then her eyes would involuntarily flicker to his neck where the brown hair thinned at the nape of it. Decades of barely visible bite scars glistened in the low light of sundown under Karou's vampiric gaze. In the middle of her thirsty voyeurism, she touched her own neck. Her own scars were covered in thick concealing makeup. Even though she knew it was even more unlikely than their last encounter, due to Eamon being there, she still couldn't help daydreaming about the prospect of being bitten that night.

The buildings that lined the cobbled road until now disappeared and tall evergreens took their place to create a thick hedgerow that was eventually interrupted by the wide opening of a gravel driveway that swept on further up the hill towards the facade of Warren's villa. It was a crisp and charming addition to the landscape it sat in. When they began the short walk up the driveway they would have beheld the property; off-white stone, set with an ample amount of windows and a terracotta tiled roof was traditionally Italian in style. You might say it was flamboyant in a charming sort of way, with enough elegance to inspire a romantic vibe. Stepping up the marble steps towards the front doors was as if entering a Shakespearean play. The balcony above was supported by a trio of vine-covered arches. It wasn't hard to imagine a Juliette calling down to her Romeo before the fountain that sat like a jewel in the middle of a tame lawn.

At the front door, a person was waiting on their arrival or at least Warren's, and slowly she came into focus. A woman, tall in stature and slender with raven black hair that hung in straight strands down either side of her tanned face. She was beautiful in a typically Mediterranean way, twinkly deep brown eyes and full lips that called out to Warren as he approached the front steps.

"I thought you had died." She exclaimed dramatically in her thick Italian accent. "I was going to send someone looking for your body." Her hand flared out to her side to accompany her passionate rant.

"Hello to you too, Paloma," Warren muttered as he stepped past her and into the villa's foyer. "We have guests, no dramas please." He was obviously embarrassed by her little outburst but like the flip of a switch, at his request, her mood instantly changed and she shot Karou and Eamon a pearly smile and clasped her hands together with a quiet clap.

"Si. Bonjourno! Do come in and make yourselves at home." Once the couple were indoors she made her way over to Warren who was unloading his pockets onto a small side table that sat by the winding marble staircase. The two shared a short, muffled conversation which ended with the woman wandering off, presumably to one of the villa's other rooms.

"You're home is very nice." Eamon praised 'credit where credit was due'. Karou knew that he would have genuinely meant what he said as he could appreciate luxury when he saw it and he'd spent the last little while marvelling at the villa's interior. Although she was a bit surprised that Warren had chosen to live somewhere like this, the style wasn't what took her aback but the sheer size of the place seemed a little grandiose for the man she knew as her Sire. Then again, he apparently didn't live alone, the woman named Paloma probably lived there too.

"Ah, thank you. I brought it as a summer getaway but I've ended up staying because of work." Warren turned from emptying his pockets with an amicable smile. Picking up the crate of blood he'd left at his feet he gestured to one of the side rooms. "Should we head to the dining room? Paloma is going to prepare us something delicious to eat. She's excellent in the kitchen."

"Thank you. It's very kind of you to offer us food at such short notice." Eamon smiled too, Karou knew it was just his mask though. It amused her that this evening would be interesting for sure, if nothing else she'd get to watch her husband's ego face off against Warren's calm facade.

"You're very welcome. I don't often get the opportunity to entertain." Warren held open the dining-room door for them and Eamon guided Karou inside.

So far he had barely let go of her hand for a moment, it was his way of letting her know who she belonged to in this situation. He was well aware of the pull, and effect her Sire could have on her and would strive to keep her behaviour in check in any way possible. With this hand pressed into the small of Karou's back she was ushered towards a chair, pulling it out for her with his free hand he gestured for her to sit. By now Karou was used to this sort of oppression and obediently did as she was told; it was just easier that way.

Before Eamon could get comfortable in his seat next to Karou, Warren spoke up again. "Feel free to have a peruse through my liquor cabinet and help yourself." The vampire had noticed that the nephilim man had already admired the antique cabinet on their entrance to the room. At the other side of the table, Warren had set down the crate and was going about unfastening the wooden lids metal clasps before unsealing the plastic container inside that held the packets of blood. While Eamon went about pouring himself a drink, Warren's blue eyes flickered over the table to Karou. From under his heavy-set brow, he stared at her intently and watched how she swallowed deeply.

Karou didn't take her eyes from Warren's as he gathered two opaque glasses from the dining rooms buffet and set them onto the table before him. The moment he opened one of the packets her fangs sprung down onto her lower lip and she felt herself involuntarily lean forwards against the tabletop and closer to Warren and the meal he was providing with her. There was something carnal about a Sire feeding his thirsty Fledgling even if the method was rather sterile.

Eamon had turned from the liquor cabinet with his drink of choice in hand, just in time to watch Warren slide the brimming glass towards Karou over the table. Her hands reached out for it eagerly and she didn't spare a moment in getting it to her lips. His silver eyes flittered between the two of them in disgust. The purity of Karou's celestial aspects were once again shattered before his very eyes as she unashamedly let her vamperic instincts get the better of her. When he heard her stifle back a moan at how delicious her beverage was, how thirst-quenching and how gratified she was now; she had needed it so desperately, Eamon cleared his throat awkwardly. The atmosphere was thick and he couldn't help but noticed that all while she drained the glass of every last drop of its thick contents Warren didn't take his eyes from Karou and even grinned when she expressed her pleasure in drinking it. It was sickening to him. Vampires; such dark, twisted creatures, slaves to their bestial instincts, how unrefined and shameful. He thought.

"Feel better?" Warren asked when Karou set down the glass. She lapped the remains of her feed from her lips.

"Mhmm, thank you, it really does taste almost as good as fresh." Karou evaluated, not that she often got fresh blood these days... It was the most she had said since she had first spotted Warren back at the Cafe.

He held his hand out to take the empty glass from her; intending to refill it for her. Her eyes weren't quite blue enough yet. "The science of making leaps and bounds these days," Warren said pushing another full glass towards Karou as Eamon reluctantly took up his seat. Turning his attention to the uncomfortable looking husband Warren smiled. "So, what brings you both to Florence?"

"We’re on vacation. A romantic get-a-away you could call it,” Eamon explained as the repulsion quickly faded away in favour of looking like a happily married couple. His hand reached out to Karou and stroked down her upper arm as he look at her with forced affection that was incredibly convincing.

“Italy is the perfect place,” Warren noted, sipping at his own bloody beverage as he took a seat at the table across from the two nephilim.

“Yes, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed it so far, haven’t we darling?”

“Oh yes. Eamon has kept our schedule busy so that we haven't missed a single tourist trap.” Karou smiled through her discomfort. She knew that Eamon would probably lay it on thick if he felt remotely threatened by Warren, which she found pathetic but didn’t expect any less. She would do everything in her power to cunningly undo all of his efforts.

“I thought we could get all of the sightseeing out of the way so we could relax and enjoy the hotel.”

“It’s tempting isn’t it to go to all the honey pot locations once you’re here.” Warren agreed and chuckled along with the conversation. He could already sense that Eamon wanted to play games which meant that there was something to hide.

“We’ve been to a dairy, a vineyard and a Castle, just today,” Karou commented as she took a long sip from the glass of blood she’d been given.

“The Castle was my favourite. The gardens were stunning, quiet and secluded-...” Eamon demonstrated just how good he was at giving Karou his bedroom eyes. Karou hadn’t time to react to the way her husband was looking at her but she didn’t blush in the slightest as Paloma came through the door with a large steaming pot of pasta between her hands. She quickly went about setting the table around them and placed at the centre of the table a spread of delicious looking Italian cuisine. When she was done she rubbed her hands together and bid everyone a good evening.

“Won’t your partner be joining us Warren?” Eamon asked, innocently enough.

Paloma chuckled and lent down to Warren and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “No. I have to get home...” She grinned and pulled away from his face and took her hands from where she had set them on his shoulders.