“I get it. They were lovers and she gave him the books,” I said.
“Yes. I’m not sure whether she ever told him what they contained or whether it was just important to keep them safe. He only disclosed the existence of the books when I complained that we had to drag them along wherever we went.”
“Which is why it’s odd that you sent them ahead with all your personal stuff, Vincent. I mean why? Wouldn’t the vampires have tried to steal them while they were on the road?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Well, perhaps I miscalculated in shipping them ahead to my contractor, Lydia but I’ll never know now. At the time, my thoughts were, it would be safer to send them by special messenger, along with other things that were important. I did that on purpose for just this reason. I was counting on the vampires thinking I’d be an idiot to let them out of my sight.” He reached for my hand and stared at me with pleading eyes.
“Romeo, you must understand this. Before modern day courier services, I had to risk taking them with me wherever I went. That was always risky. I thought that by doing it this way and leaving Lydia to be responsible for putting them on the bookshelves in the bedroom downstairs was actually much safer. I should have checked upon my immediate arrival in town, but I was so stupid and caught up when I first got here, I didn’t even realize they never made it to the shelves in my home. Their box was specially shipped to Lydia. I’m not sure why they ended up at the store, but they did. Perhaps she wasn’t at home to take the boxes and the courier just thought they’d drop them at the store instead.”
I felt a stab of guilt. “You’re talking about getting caught up with me, aren’t you?”
He nodded, looking devastated. “It wasn’t your fault. It was my own carelessness. Anyway, when Scott opened the box, whatever the vampires sensed about the location of the books drew them right to the store. They must have been following me and waiting for the opportunity to strike.”
I nodded. “So, Scott called you when they came in inquiring about the books?” I asked.
“Yes. He said he had no idea what price to put on them, since he could see that they were special. I told him it was a mistake and drove to the store as fast as possible. When I got there, things really went south.”
I squeezed his hand. “Tell me what happened, Vincent, from the very beginning.”
“I got the call from Scott and raced to the store,” he said.
I sensed a wave of dread coming off my mate, and it threatened to drown me. “Go on.”
“When I got there, the three vampires were waiting for me. They were threatening Scott’s life and demanding that I sell the books since he’d put them up for sale.”
“But—”
“Let me finish, sweetheart,” he said.
I swallowed. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I have to explain how this works in vampire culture,” he said on a sigh. “A long time ago, another such incident occurred. Sergio Serrano, a vampire even older than me, learned that I had Robert’s books after his death. He demanded I give them to him or at the very least, sell them to him. When I refused, he complained to the Conclave.”
“The older vampires you told me about,” I stated.
Vincent nodded. “Yes. They live in a Siberian castle compound. To put it in modern day terms, these eight vampires rule the vampire race. All vampires have to follow the laws they make, and if they don’t, they are punished.”
“Killed?” I asked.
“Sometimes. It depends on the transgression. In any case, when Sergio made his claim on the volumes, saying they should belong to him because he was the oldest living vampire after the eight on the Conclave, they ruled that he had no claim on them. They ruled that they were to remain with Robert’s progeny.”
“You?”
“Yes. Because they had once been Robert’s property, and as such, after he met the true death, the books would remain in my care and under my protection.”
“But somehow because Scott unpacked the books in the antique store, it meant that he’d put them up for sale?” I asked.
Vincent nodded. “The fact is, under normal circumstances, Sergio would have a legitimate claim. He’s able to say that because they were put up for sale, he had every right to buy the books.”
“Why doesn’t he have that right since Scott opened the box with the intent on making them available for sale?” I asked.
“Because Scott is a human, and every vampire knows humans have no rights when it comes to vampire law,” Vincent said. He looked away and when his gaze returned, he looked slightly embarrassed. “Most vampires think humans are meant only for food. They consider them chattel if they decide to keep one around as a…as a source of sex and food. They don’t give them any credit.”
Romeo laughed. “They consider them to be stupid slaves then.”
“I’m sorry, but yes, that’s pretty much how they think of humans.”
“It doesn’t bother me. I’ve watched vampire series on TV too, you know.”
Vincent blushed. “Anyway, Sergio can and probably will take the claim to the Conclave. He has a case if he chooses to make it. He can claim that I abandoned the books by not caring for them as I should have, and it would be a good claim. I will argue that Scott wasn’t allowed to sell the books, but I might still lose them if the Conclave rules against me.”
“So, what happened after they showed up?” I asked.
“There is an ancient vampire law called the Law of
