Sire Read online

  Contents

  Cover Page

  Copyright

  Praise for Sire

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty One

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Chapter Twenty Five

  Errata

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Jacket Copy

  Sire

  The Vampires of St. Troy - Book One

  a novel

  by Thomas Galvin

  Copyright

  Sire: The Vampires of St. Troy - Book One is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2011 by Thomas Galvin. All rights reserved.

  Cover image Copyright © 2010 Larysa Dodz

  Cover design by AJ Wiswell

  Published by St. Troy Press

  ISBN:978-0-9847697-0-4 (Digital) 978-0-9847697-1-1 (Paperback) 978-0-9847697-2-8 (SmashWords)

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced to a retrieval system, transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher, except as allowed by law.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. This book is made available to you without restrictive Digital Rights Management, and your support of the author's rights is appreciated.

  A note on fan fiction:

  The characters in this novel are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. The most important feature of this license is that fan fiction is explicitly allowed, as long as:

  You credit the original author,

  You don't sell your fan fiction or attempt to make money off of it, and

  You release your fan fiction under the same Creative Commons license.

  For a more detailed overview of this license, visit:

  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

  And for the full text of the license, visit:

  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode

  Praise for Sire

  If you are thinking now that this is just another 'teenage girl falls in love with a vampire' story, you don't know Thomas Galvin yet .... Sire takes the best elements of urban fantasy, mixes it with believable characters, sensuous and frightening vampires, suspense and unexpected twists, and tosses in a dash of romance and a lot of action. As it ends, it leaves you for craving more ...

  - Amazon.com review

  You know that feeling you miss when reading the same genre over and over? You remember the thrill it gave you when you first got swallowed up by this universe of vampires, werewolves, witches and the rest of the supernatural, but you just read too much and the spark is gone? Well, the spark can still come back and surprise you .... For me this is the novel I never wrote.

  - Amazon.com review

  I loved this novel; I'll definitely read it again while I wait (im)patiently for more!

  - Barnes & Noble review

  Dedication

  To The Fiancée, for encouraging me in my writing, putting up with my fanboyism, making me a cover, editing my work, and agreeing to becoming the Lady of my Manor.

  And to Amber, Candice, and Lindsey, founding members of Vampires and Wine.

  Chapter One

  The vampire was right behind her.

  The vampire. It was crazy. It was insane. It was something out of a dumb movie or a stupid book.

  And it was real.

  She ran as fast as she could, down the rough path that ran through the woods between the Student Life buildings to the dorms. Her heart pounded in her ears. Her breath came in ragged gasps. Her legs were on fire.

  Tree branches reached out to snatch at her clothing and scratch at her face. Roots snaked up to snare her feet. Gravel and dirt crunched as she ran, crying out, here she is.

  The blue light was just ahead. The blue light with its panic button, and the call box to the campus police. She almost collapsed when she saw it. She glanced behind her, making sure the vampire wasn't there, then made one last push.

  She leaned against the light pole and let it bear her weight, and smashed the panic button repeatedly. The blue light kicked on, and the path was filled with a sapphire glow, punctuated with white flashes. The speaker crackled to life. "Campus PD, what's your emergency?" The voice sounded bored.

  She fought to draw in enough air to respond. "I need help," she gasped. "There's a—"

  She was cut off by the sound of tearing metal and hissing electricity. Her voice died in her throat, and she looked helplessly at the call box, lying on the ground in front of her. It was marred by four parallel gouges.

  The vampire was there, calmly studying his hand as his talons retracted. He looked up at her with cool gray eyes. Studied her.

  "Keep running," he said.

  She did. Down the winding path, across the bridge. She stepped on a loose stone and crashed to the ground. Fire lanced through her leg. She threw another harried glance behind her, then struggled to her feet. Her ankle gave out as soon as she put weight on it, and she winced, tears blurring her vision.

  She hobbled forward as fast as she could. Down the empty sidewalk. Across the empty quad. Past empty windows in empty dorms, waiting for the Freshmen that wouldn't arrive until tomorrow.

  She fumbled for her key card. Swiped it through the reader. It made an angry little noise, and flashed red. She swiped again, same result.

  "Come on, come on," she said, and swiped again. Again, the red light flashed.

  "Damn it!" she screamed, and slammed her hand against the door. "Please, just let me in." She leaned against the door, and tried to breathe.

  "So close."

  She whirled around. The vampire stood a few feet away, just outside the pool of light that illuminated the doorway. The key card fell to the ground.

  "Please, don't," she said.

  "Please, don't? Is that really the best you can do? You're pleading for your life, girl. Put some energy into it. Make me feel it." He stepped forward, into the light. He was every bit as beautiful as he had been the night they met.

  "My, my roommate is upstairs. She'll hear you," she stammered.

  "Do you think she'd like to join us?" the vampire asked. He reached out and brushed a lock of hair back over her ear; she flinched away. He touched her chin, raising her head and forcing her to meet his eyes. A small, cruel smile played at the edges of his mouth.

  "What do you want from me?" The world spun around her. She felt like she was going to collapse.

  The vampire's eyes traveled down her body, slowly, hungrily. He leaned in, his face
right next to hers, and inhaled deeply. A small moan escaped from his lips. "I think it's pretty obvious what I want, isn't it, Lauren?"

  "Liam, please! Let me go!"

  The color drained from the vampire's skin, leaving it chalk-white. Red rings appeared around his corneas and expanded to fill his eyes, and his irises became as black as the night. His teeth pointed, and the canines grew into a pair of wicked fangs. He rested his hands on the door, one on each side of her, pinning her in place. His talons screeched down the metal, ripping it open.

  "No."

  She tried to scream, but the vampire struck before she could make a sound.

  ***

  The campus was beautiful. Caitlin had seen it before, of course, in the brochures and on the web site and when she took a tour last year, but she was still just a little bit overwhelmed. The whole place was surrounded by trees, which were just starting to turn red and gold. A gentle breeze stirred the leaves, and the sunlight made them glitter. She could hear the river that cut the campus in two running somewhere close by.

  And the dorms? Calling them dorms didn't even seem fair. They were more like apartments, like somewhere a real, grown-up person would live. There were twelve townhouses in front of her, arranged in a rectangle, and that was only one of the four quads.

  And this was her home. She lived here now.

  The cab driver looked at her impatiently, then at the meter, which was still running. "Oh, sorry," she said. She grabbed her bags out of the trunk—her father had been right, she'd packed way too much—and dropped them on the ground, then counted out money for her fare.

  "You can keep the—" she started, but the cab driver pulled away before she could finish. "Okay, then," she said, watching him drive away. "Thanks for everything."

  The guy at the check-in desk was nice enough, but he looked flustered. He stuffed a blue folder and a keycard into her hands, and before she could even say "Thank you," he was already saying "Welcome to St. Troy University" to the next girl in line.

  She looked at the map that was included in her welcome packet, slung her duffel bag over her shoulder, grabbed the handle on her rolling luggage, and headed for her dorm.

  The campus was swarming with new students, dragging their luggage—and sometimes their parents—toward their assigned housing. Caitlin walked to the center of the quad, waved to a group of boys that were playing Frisbee, and looked at her map again. Her dorm was straight ahead.

  Two maintenance men were taking the big metal door off its hinges, and a small girl was standing nearby, hands on her hips, tapping her foot.

  "Alexis?" Caitlin asked. "Alexis Dupree?"

  The small girl turned, and cocked her head. She was about five foot one, and light as a feather. Her skin was just a beautiful mocha, and her hair hung down her back in tight little ringlets. She was wearing dark blue skinny jeans with a loose white top and a collection of gold bracelets.

  "Caitlin!" Alexis ran over and threw her arms around her. Caitlin was nearly bowled over, and took a half step back. "Great to finally meet you! How was your flight in?"

  Caitlin disentangled herself from Alexis' arms, and returned the girl's smile. "It was so long. LAX is a nightmare, and we had two layovers. But I'm here now." She looked back at the maintenance men. "What are they doing?"

  Alexis followed her eyes. "They're replacing the door. Said something about the latch not working right, and not being able to get it open. They should be done soon."

  "Actually, we already are," one of the men called. He was leaning out the window of their truck. "You girls should be all set."

  "Hey, did one of you cut yourselves? There's blood on the door frame," Caitlin said.

  The maintenance men looked at each other. "Nah, one of the RAs did that trying to pry the door open or something. We'll send someone over to clean it up." The truck pulled away.

  "Okay then." Alexis took a deep breath and let it out in a puff, then looked at the duffel bag lying at her feet.

  The thing was huge, nearly as long as Alexis was tall, and probably a couple of feet across. It was made out of heavy-duty green canvas. It was stuffed full, and must have weighed a ton.

  "My brother's," Alexis said.

  "He's in the army?" Caitlin asked.

  "Marines. Was. He was in Afghanistan. This came home." Alexis glanced away for just a second. "He didn't."

  "Oh, God, I'm so sorry," Caitlin started.

  Alexis waved her hand. "Yeah, I know, thanks. I'm okay, really, it was a couple of years ago." She made a visible effort to look cheerful. "Come on, let's go see our new place." Alexis bent over and grabbed her bag with both hands, and started dragging it backwards. It made a scraping sound on the sidewalk.

  "Do you need help with that?" There was a guy just coming out of the dorm. He was tall, maybe a hair over six feet, with blond hair, sparkling blue eyes, and perfect white teeth. His eyes crinkled when he smiled. He was wearing blue jeans and a tight red t-shirt that revealed all kinds of muscles.

  Alexis let go of her bag and turned. "No, I ..." Her mouth dropped open a little, and she just looked at the boy.

  He smiled. "It's no problem, really." He bent over and grabbed the bag, and slung it over his shoulder like it wasn't a giant canvas sack stuffed with all of Alexis' earthly possessions. "Which suite are you in?"

  "We, um, I," Alexis said.

  "2B," Caitlin finished.

  The guy smiled again. "Great, we're right across the hall, 2A." He turned and disappeared into the dorms.

  "He, um, arms," Alexis said, and followed him.

  Caitlin smiled, grabbed her own bags, and headed inside.

  ***

  The suite itself was amazing, like pretty much everything else on campus. There was a living area just inside the door, with a couch, two chairs, a coffee table, and a television. A set of cupboards and a bar lined with stools separated the living area from the kitchen, which had a refrigerator, stove, microwave, and coffee maker. Everything was new and clean and fancy. It almost didn't feel like college. Of course, that was one of the things that had attracted Caitlin here in the first place.

  A girl was standing behind the counter, putting some boxes into the cupboards. Her brown hair was pulled back into a pony tail, and her eyes were hidden behind a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. She was wearing a simple, floral-patterned top.

  "Hi," Caitlin said. The girl jumped, and threw her hand over her heart.

  "Sorry!" she said. "I didn't hear you come in. Bethany Lourdes. Are you staying in this suite, too?"

  "Yep! Caitlin Manning." She walked to the counter and stuck out her hand.

  "It's nice to meet you. Did you travel far?"

  "California. You?"

  "Oh wow, no, nowhere near as far as that. I'm like two, two and a half hours away, New Hampshire." She looked at Caitlin for a second, then looked down at her feet.

  "We tried to talk to you over the summer, so we could get to know each other a bit, but ..."

  "Oh, yeah," Bethany said. Her cheeks were turning red. "I don't ... really go on line very often. Not my thing."

  "Oh, okay." Caitlin sat on one of the stools at the bar. "So, what are you studying?"

  "I'm, uh, I'm a sculptor. I'm studying sculpture. Well, I guess fine arts, but my emphasis is in sculpture."

  "Oh, that's so cool! Maybe we can use a couple of your pieces to decorate the suite."

  Bethany blushed, and smiled. "You think so? I mean, I'm not that good."

  "Oh come on. This place is so hard to get into, you have to be amazing. I thought I was going to cry during my portfolio review."

  "Oh right, I'm sorry, I never even asked what you're studying."

  "That's okay," Caitlin said, laughing. "So yeah, photography. My father kind of wanted me to go into photojournalism, said it was more practical, but I really think I'm going to focus on art." Caitlin shrugged, and laughed again. "I guess I just like making pretty things."

  The front door banged open, and a stunning blond girl walked
in. She was tall and lean, wearing white shorts that revealed a mile of tan leg, a white top that showed at least a C-cup worth of curves, and big, brown sunglasses. She walked down the hallway that led to the bedrooms without saying a word to the two girls. A tall, muscular guy with brown hair followed her, carrying her luggage.

  "That must be Olivia Cross," Caitlin said. "She's the only one I haven't met yet."

  "She seems kind of ... fierce." Bethany replied.

  Caitlin chewed on her lip. "Yeah, I think she kind of is."

  "Okay, who took the corner room?" Olivia called from down the hallway. "I do not plan on listening to all of you tromp down the hallway all night, every time you have to pee or something. Jordan, just put those out in the hallway, and put my stuff on the bed."

  Caitlin's mouth fell open, and she walked over to the hallway. Sure enough, Olivia's little boy toy was stacking bags out in the hallway.

  "Oh, it's all right," Bethany said in a low voice. "I mean, I didn't have my heart set on that room or anything. It's just the one I happened to pick because I got here first, and I had to pick one."

  "That doesn't make it okay," Caitlin said. "I can talk to her, if you want ...?"

  "No, no, let's not stir anything up." She grabbed her bags and dragged them into the third bedroom.

  Caitlin watched her, and debated whether or not to say something anyway, but decided to let it go. If Bethany didn't want to make trouble—even though Olivia was really the one making it—Caitlin wasn't going to force her.

  But she still didn't like it.

  Anyway, it was time to get settled. Caitlin grabbed her stuff and took it into the only remaining bedroom, the first one off the entryway.

  The furniture was basic, but it wasn't spartan. There was a desk for her computer, and a dresser. The closet was surprisingly big, which Caitlin was excited about, because she had a lot of clothes to hang up, and there was a full-length mirror hanging on the door. Caitlin sat down on the bed and bounced a little. Sunlight streamed in through the window, which looked out at the forest surrounding the campus.