The world is a dangerous place for Delbeth Sitric. Protected by her vampire father and tempered by her faerie/human mother, Delbeth is an immortal blend that the Croatian Tribunal has condemned to extinction. She is caught between two worlds: the human teenager who wants to attend prom, and the vampire/faerie who is destined to change immortal life. For now, however, she must concentrate on staying alive. In this coming of age fantasy, Delbeth goes to Ireland seeking safety in the Celtic world from the political forces that would exterminate vampire blends like her. However, she becomes part of the Celtic mythology when she weds her protector and shares his destiny.

A Vampire Trilogy: Harbors of the Undead

Book IBy N.E. Tovell

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 N.E. Tovell
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4620-0928-2

Contents

Chapter 1. Meet Delbeth Sitric................................1Chapter 2. An Unexpected Guest................................6Chapter 3. The Family Meeting.................................11Chapter 4. Our Irish Arrival..................................21Chapter 5. Ireland............................................24Chapter 6. The Summit.........................................28Chapter 7. The Morning of Newgrange...........................42Chapter 8. Meeting the FAE....................................46Chapter 9. Kristian Plans with Brian..........................50Chapter 10. Meeting in Newgrange..............................54Chapter 11. Meeting The Croatian Tribunal.....................63Chapter 12. The After-Summit..................................69Chapter 13. To Dublin with Galian.............................75Chapter 14. Sabia Goes Missing................................83Chapter 15. Plans and Promises................................96Chapter 16. Our Wedding.......................................100Chapter 17. The Croatian Surprise.............................104Chapter 18. Under a Full Moon.................................108Chapter 19. The World of Caresses.............................116Chapter 20. A Brief Honeymoon.................................121Chapter 21. Saturday..........................................124Chapter 22. Saturday Afternoon................................130Chapter 23. Sunday............................................133Chapter 24. Departure from Dublin.............................136Chapter 25. Stateside.........................................141Chapter 26. Settling In.......................................144Chapter 27. At the Precipice..................................167Chapter 28. Prom Night........................................171Chapter 29. Graduation........................................176Chapter 30. A Change of Events................................181Chapter 31. Showdown..........................................187Chapter 32. The Plague Rages On...............................191Chapter 33. And the World Turns...............................196

Chapter One

Meet Delbeth Sitric

I had been a vampire for almost eighteen years. Well, actually, I'm a vampire blend because my father is a vampire and my mother is half human and half FAE. (Later, I would learn that FAE, or faeries, stood for Fallen Angels on Earth, but I'll get back to that.) As a part vampire, I had stopped aging, I liked to drink blood—sometimes, and I was really strong and fast. But I was also part human. I slept at night, I ate regular food, and I could cry. It's that last trait that I found really annoying.

The vampire members of my family could experience horrendous feelings with the expression of a stone, whereas I fell apart. I got better at hiding my feelings, but hiding anything from my parents was almost impossible. My mother, Daireann, was what I call an intermittent telepath who could both read and send thoughts—sometimes. She had some trouble reading the minds of very old vampires like my father, but she didn't have any trouble with me. Furthermore, my father could hear anything from miles away, so there was no such thing as mumbling under my breath with him around. Together, they usually knew whatever I was doing, which significantly altered the adventures of my adolescence.

My mother also felt what other people felt, like any good FAE can. She was only half FAE, so her ears weren't pointed, but she smelled and looked like a faerie. My father, Kristian, told me he was enchanted at first whiff. Faerie blood is a vampire favorite.

There aren't very many FAE/humans in the supernatural world, and I don't know of any other FAE/human/vampires like me. In fact, I was pretty much a total surprise to everyone because as far as anyone knew, pure vampires seldom had biological children. I can just imagine the announcement:

Daireann: "Kristian, there's something I need to tell you."

Kristian: "What, my love?" (My dad is centuries old, so sometimes he talks like that.)

Daireann: "We are going to have a baby." Or, "I'm pregnant."

The reaction was probably several minutes of absolute stone like stillness while my dad processed all the ways my entry into the world was possible. Fortunately, within a few minutes, my FAE Aunt Sabia showed up laughing her head off and explained how I occurred.

It seems my father liked to sample my mother's FAE blood, and it activated his daddy cells. Voila! Yours truly, Delbeth, arrived some six months later. Faeries are the exact opposite of vampires—not human, but very much alive. When my father fed on my mother, he evidently took on some of her life. However, he must have started limiting his "snacks," because I was their only offspring.

My Aunt Sabia liked to jokingly tell the story as part of my birthday celebration every year, but my dad never seemed to appreciate the humor. He sat pretty much like a rock, and then after the story was enjoyed by all, he would come up and kiss me on top of my head, saying, "Regardless of how you got here, sweetheart, I'm glad you did."

Everyone notices Kristian Sitric! He's about six foot three with blondish hair, bright blue eyes, and solid muscle. He was turned when he was thirty years old in some Gaelic Viking colony, and he pretty much commands attention wherever he goes.

My mother, Daireann, is his opposite; she's about five foot four with a slim build, long chestnut hair, chocolate-brown eyes, and a remarkable smile. Although she can read thoughts, she doesn't do it well with vampires because most of them are too old—even if they don't look it.

I am a blend of the two: I have reddish-blonde hair, hazel eyes, and am about five foot six. I have my mother's slight body with the ample curves thin girls often don't have. I also inherited part of my mother's "gift." I can project thoughts or pictures to others. However, I had to be careful, especially around my father. He didn't appreciate what he called my "faerie back talk," and I had been grounded for two weeks over my last outburst, which involved sending a picture showing him where to put his "orders."

One morning I was sunbathing on our patio in my favorite blue bikini. It was late April up in the Wisconsin peninsula of Door, and although it was only sixty degrees and the wind was cool, the sun felt glorious. My mother and her twin sister, Sabia, were next to me soaking up the rays, so I come by the love of sun naturally. Kristian was watching us from the balcony while he talked on his cell phone. He was probably admiring my mother and wishing I had more clothes on. Kristian was a little overprotective. By vampire standards, I was mature by age ten, but by Kristian standards, I doubt if I'll ever be. Granted, as a blend I was still aging some, but that would stop soon.

As if I had projected this thought, my mother warned me, "Your father thinks you need to put on a robe so you don't catch cold, Delbeth."

"Cold, my ..." I glanced up at Kristian, who was scowling at me as he continued talking. Oops. I got up and put on my robe. After a minute, I could hear him farther away, so I let the robe slip open and was soon absorbing the warm rays once again. I must have fallen asleep because I was suddenly awakened when Kristian started talking in between us. His speech...