“She also told me about the South American Council, explained that they were our governing body, and then she told me aboutthe Enforcers the Council sent out to make sure we followed the laws the Council made. She followed that up with our laws;that we are allowed to turn only one, which is usually saved to change a life mate. That we are only allowed one child everyhundred years. That we are never ever to draw attention to ourselves, and—at that time before the existence of blood banks—thatwe must always be careful not to take too much blood and harm mortals. After making me repeat those laws to her to be sureI understood, she left me to rest.
“The next time I woke up Señorita Ana was there again and she started right into my training. First she taught me to bring on my fangs and make them retract, then she concentrated on teaching me to read mortals, and then on controlling them. Once I’d mastered all of that, she took me out to teach me to hunt for safe donors and so on.” Ildaria paused to take another sip of her cocoa, and then set the mug down with a small sigh before admitting, “But when three weeks of training passed and I still had no memory of how I had been turned or who had done it, Señorita Ana decided my inability to remember was psychological rather than physical. She felt sure the turn should be far enough along by that point that the memories must be there. I was simply refusing to face them for some reason. She wanted to involve the Council. Her father was the head of the South American Council and would surely help if she asked. She felt sure they would be able to get into my thoughts and find the memories I was refusing. She was also sure they would want to know who had turned me.
“The idea of meeting the Council was frightening to a fourteen-year-old girl. The Council passed life and death sentences,but I wanted to know what had happened, so didn’t protest and Señorita Ana said she would send a message to the Council thatnight. She warned me, though, that it might be several days before they could convene to meet with me. Which, to be honest,felt like a reprieve in my mind.
“It was nearing dawn when she left me. I had been up all night training, and was exhausted, so fell asleep the minute I was alone. But I didn’t sleep well or long. I guess the idea of meeting with the Council was more troubling to me than even I had realized.”
Ildaria shrugged. “Whatever the case, I was awake well before noon and went down to the kitchens to visit with my abuela.”She smiled softly at the memory. “I had seen her every day, but not for long. Usually just for a few minutes before she leftat night. But that day we spent all afternoon together. I helped her with the cooking, and we chatted and laughed, and thenbefore she left, she told me that she was glad that I had become immortal. That she would never need worry about me again.No chico malo could take me away from her like my mother had been taken away. And she told me that she loved me, and saw only good thingsfor me in my future.”
Ildaria paused for a minute, recalling her grandmother’s shining eyes filled with happiness and hope that last afternoon.“To her mind, my being turned had lifted me up. I was now one of the immortals, above the rabble to her mind. She was sure only good things could come to me now.” Ildaria sighed at the memory. “Neitherof us could know how wrong she was. I certainly didn’t, and I didn’t know when I hugged her goodbye that it would be the lasttime I saw her.”
Eight
“Tell me.”
Ildaria glanced up with surprise at those quiet words. They weren’t an order or a plea, just a request. And they made herrealize that she’d been silent for a long time, lost in the memories of the last afternoon she’d spent with the woman whohad raised her and been more a mother than her own could ever have been. Those ten years with her abuela had been the happiestof her life.
Sighing, Ildaria gave herself a mental shake and straightened in her seat. “Señorita Ana always came down to the kitchens when she woke up, usually shortly before my abuela left, but sometimes earlier. That day she hadn’t come, though, so after Abuela left I went looking for her, expecting my training to continue. Her fiancé, who I now understood was her life mate, was coming downstairs as I came out of the kitchen, so I knew she was probably awake. I headed upstairs, intending to go to her room to see what she wished me to do,” she explained. “But as I approached her door, one of the maids said Señorita Ana was in the salon, expecting company, and wished for me to join her there now that my abuela had left. So I headed back to the stairs.
“I heard one of the servants opening the front door and greeting someone as I approached the landing. I arrived at the topof the stairs just in time to see a man enter. I recognized him at once. It was Juan. And recognizing him brought everythingback to me. It was like being punched in the stomach. I think I actually moaned and half bent under the impact. Fortunately,he didn’t notice me or my reaction and walked into the salon, saying, “Saludos hija.” Meeting G.G.’s gaze she translated, “Greetings, daughter.”
“Bloody hell,” G.G. breathed.
“Si. The man who attacked me was
