Blood Ties

Everything was ready for the ritual. The three golden goblets sat on the sheet-covered altar along with the dagger that was to be used for the ceremony. The white handkerchief lay loosely coiled around the base of the middle goblet. Candles and torches surrounded the chapel, casting it in a warm golden glow. Garlands of black and dark red roses hung on the walls and coils of ivy hugged every stone pillar. I paced the room nervously, worried that my bride had changed her mind and decided not to show. If my kind could only sweat, I would have been sweating bullets by then and my shirt would have been drenched. To be fair, the guests hadn’t arrived yet either. When we moved our covens from Europe to America, I decided to build a castle up in the Adirondacks away from the loud hustle and bustle of New York City. It was an exact replica of my ancestral home in Donegal, Castle O’Donnell. That name… O’Donnell… How strange that a descendant of a family whose motto is “In Hoc Signo Vinces”, and whose family crest bears the Cross of Christ, would be a vampire. But I did not choose this life. It was chosen for me by my Maker—our Maker—Janus.

My lieutenant and best man, Callum, broke through my thoughts, effectively putting an end to my reverie. He cleared his throat.

“Jack!” Callum said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “You’re not even dressed yet! Hurry up before the bridal party arrives.”

“What if they don’t show up?” I said with a sigh. “You know how much Alexei was opposed to this union and how much he hates me.”

“He’s just protective of his dear sister,” Callum assured me calmly. “That’s all. Didn’t he consent at the end? Had he not, you wouldn’t be here tonight. Besides, as a soon-to-be leader, it would be foolish of him to pass up on solidifying our covens’ alliance.”

That was true. As members of the Council of Six, we already were allies. But a marriage between members of two covens would make that bond even stronger. It would be unwise for Alexei to turn down such a great opportunity. With my marriage to Nikolina, her brother and second-in-command would rise to the position of leader, as Nikolina joins my coven. Alexei will then be the new representative of the Yahontov Coven in the Council. Long ago, the Council of Six set a law of balance in place—a coven must always be forty in number, no more, no less. If a member of the coven dies or is married off, there are two ways to fill their ranks. Either Turn another human or marry a vampire from a neighboring coven. A Turning must be approved by the Council and no human can be Turned against their will. To do so would mean death. We were civilized men and women here, not feral monsters of the darkness—though some of our kind still act disgustingly so.

There was a recent vacancy in our ranks and Nikolina and I thought it best to marry. She was to join my coven as a new member. Even as a vampire, I find the idea of Turning quite abhorrent. Knowing Alexei, however, he would choose Turning any chance he gets. Suddenly, the chapel doors burst open and one of my groomsmen, Eamonn, rushed in.

“They’re here,” he said, out of breath, his sharp pearly fangs gleaming in the candlelight as he smiled. “They’re finally here!”

“Go! You have to get ready,” Callum said, pushing me in the direction of the groom’s ready room. Too bad mirrors are ineffective. What I would give to see my reflection in a mirror once again! It has been two centuries since I last saw my reflection. All the others, they’d already gotten used to it. I still haven’t. I’m still not used to the idea of being unable to see my own reflection.

While the lads helped me get ready, Nikolina and her sisters were doing the same in the bride’s ready room next door. Curious, I listened in on their conversation. The thick stone walls of the castle did very little to prevent their voices from drifting through the air and into my excited ears.

“He’s a lucky man, Nikolina,” Irina said with a giggle. “He better treat you right.”

“I’m a lucky woman,” Nikolina said with a happy sigh. If my heart wasn’t dead, it would skip a beat.

“You were destined for each other,” Olga said. “I tried to stop it, but it seems Fate had other plans.”

I chuckled. Olga and Alexei tried to stop our union for two different reasons. Alexei loved Nikolina dearly and didn’t want her to get married. Olga wanted me for herself and was jealous of her sister. But neither of them could stop it. Just as Bram Stoker once wrote, “I suppose it is thus that in old times one vampire meant many; just as their hideous bodies could only rest in sacred earth, so the holiest love was the recruiting sergeant for their ghastly ranks.” I considered my love for Nikolina and her love for me to be the holiest of loves and nothing or no one could ever stop it.

Just then, a knock sounded on the door and Callum opened it. My butler Eoghan stepped inside the room and bowed.

“The guests have arrived, sir,” he said.

“Thank you, Eoghan,” I said with a smile. “You may go.”

“It’s time,” Callum said with a smile.

“How do I look?” I asked, nervous.

“Like a blushing groom,” he teased, adjusting my tie.

I shook my head and chuckled. True to Eoghan’s word, the guests had arrived. All my friends were there and every vampire from the Six Covens were in attendance. Catalina was there in all her proud Spanish glory. She was the head of the Benavides Coven or the Spanish Coven. There was also Danton, my French friend, the leader of the French Coven, elegantly dressed as usual. There was Joel Goodwin of the Texan Coven and his twin brother Jesse Goodwin, head of the Arizona Coven. There were members of the Yahontov Coven or the Russian Coven in the audience but no sign of Alexei anywhere. I stood with my groomsmen and best man at the altar, nervously awaiting my beautiful bride.

Suddenly, the chapel doors opened, revealing Alexei, Nikolina on his arm. So he was the one walking her down the aisle. It actually made sense. Nikolina’s mortal father was long gone by now. The next best choice was Alexei. Behind them, Nikolina’s bridesmaids marched single file, with her maid of honor, Irina, at the head. While Alexei and Nikolina walked down the aisle, one of Nikolina’s bridesmaids, Alina, sang a beautifully haunting rendition of Red Is The Rose. It sounded as though I was listening to some Irish fairy singing in the woods. When they stopped in front of the altar, Alexei handed Nikolina over to me and I stood in his place as we prepared to exchange our vows. The hooded priest began the ceremony and I took Nikolina’s small white hands in mine.

“Do you, John Mackenzie O’Donnell, take this woman to be your wife?” the priest asked. “To live together in matrimony, to love her, to honor her, to comfort her, and to keep her in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, so long as you both shall live?”

“I do,” I said with a firm nod.

“Do you, Nikolina Anna Maria Yahontova, take this man to be your husband?” he asked Nikolina. “To live together in matrimony, to love him, to honor him, to comfort him, and to keep him in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, so long as you both shall live?”

“I do,” Nikolina answered, the sharp points of her fangs glinting in the candlelight.

“Repeat after me,” our officiant said. “I, John Mackenzie O’Donnell, take you Nikolina Anna Maria Yahontova, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do us part.”

I repeated his words, never taking my eyes off my bride’s beautiful ruby eyes.

“I, Nikolina Anna Maria Yahontova, take you John Mackenzie O’Donnell, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do us part,” Nikolina said, repeating the officiant’s words

Then came the wedding rings.

“I give you this ring as a token and pledge of our constant faith and abiding love,” I said, slipping the ring onto Nikolina’s ring finger. She then slipped the ring onto my own finger, repeating the vow.

“By virtue of the authority vested in me by the State of New York,” or officiant said. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

We kissed, devouring each other hungrily with years and months of pent up passion, forgetting everyone else in the room. In that moment, there were only two of us. The ceremony wasn’t over just yet, however. There were still some things that needed to be done. We broke the kiss and I nodded to Callum. He stepped forward, took the dagger from the altar, and asked for my hand. I willingly gave it and he sliced my wrist, a crimson river flowing into the goblet on the right. Nikolina gave Callum her hand and he did the same, catching her dripping blood with the goblet on the left. He then tied our hands together in a tight knot with the white handkerchief, hand to hand, blood to blood. After tying our hands together, Callum poured the contents of each goblet into the empty middle goblet.

“Blood calls to blood,” I said. “Adam to Lilith. You are now blood of my blood and flesh of my flesh. The Circle is complete. I am yours and you are mine for time and all eternity.”

I drank from the cup in the middle.

“Blood calls to blood,” Nikolina said. “Lilith to Adam. You are now blood of my blood and flesh of my flesh. The Circle is complete. I am yours and you are mine for time and all eternity.”

Nikolina reached for the cup with her free hand and drank my blood mixed with hers.

“May it be unbroken,” Callum said solemnly.

That night, we feasted for hours, up until just about dawn. And then I brought Nikolina to my chambers.