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This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

Montenegro Book One: Cemetery Candles  
All Rights Reserved.  
Copyright © 2015 Estela Vazquez Perez  
v2.0

Cover image by 99designs. All rights reserved - used with permission.  
Cover designed by Erika Gizelle Santiago

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

## Montenegro

On a gray-blue night illuminated by an infinity of stars and guided by a bright-red moon, the black Rolls-Royce Phantom drives at a respectable speed on the elegant path through acres of dark-green lawns and towering trees toward Montenegro. It's too dark for Valentina Santa Cruz's eyes to see the splendor of Montenegro. It is the coldest summer ever recorded, and Valentina accepts the chill in the air as she wrestles with doubt. In the back seat of the Phantom, trepidation creeps into her soul as she prepares to meet her new employer, Victor Montenegro.

An hour before midnight, Valentina is escorted into the grand receiving hall of the sprawling mansion. Victor Montenegro walks down the two flights of stone stairs past tiered rows of huge, bare, arched windows flooded with moonlight. As Valentina watches him descend, she notices that his walking stick is tucked underneath his arm. He has strong, handsome features. Victor is elegantly dressed in a black tailored suit with a striped black-and-beige vest and matching tie. Valentina is glad she arrived dressed professionally in a black suit and red silk blouse.

Craig Arquette had advised Valentina that his client Victor Montenegro, while eccentric, was professional and respectful. Craig had also told her that he had all the confidence in the world that Valentina would be fine under Mr. Montenegro's employment.

"I am Victor Montenegro. Ms. Santa Cruz, welcome," Victor says, extending his hand. Valentina shakes his gloved hand, which holds hers firmly.

"Thank you, Mr. Montenegro," Valentina says, smiling. Victor returns her smile.

"I am sorry for arriving at this hour."

"No need to apologize. I keep odd hours; I stay up very late," Victor says. "I imagine your trip was tiring, and it is late. I will show you to your apartment."

"Apartment?" Valentina asks as the butler picks up her bags and follows them up the stone stairs.

"Yes, it is like an apartment. You have a bedroom, living room, office, and private bathroom. As for meals my staff will take care of that as well as the housekeeping. I want you to feel at home," Victor says.

Victor unlocks her apartment door and hands her the key. "Have a good night, Ms. Santa Cruz. Tomorrow you'll meet your young charge, and we will talk about your job. Is there anything I can get you?"

"No, thank you, Mr. Montenegro."

"If there is anything you need, dial three, and it will ring the butler," Victor says as the butler places her luggage in her bedroom.

Victor smiles and departs. Her apartment is on the east side of the mansion, her living room and bedroom windows face the manicured backyard, which has a huge garden maze with a fountain in the center and flower gardens on each side of the maze. The grand scale and elegance of the estate could have been overwhelming, but Valentina feels sheltered in its sprawling size.

After brunch the next day, Valentina is informed that Mr. Montenegro and his nephew, Teo, are in the library. The door is open, and Valentina quietly enters. Victor is facing the door, and Teo is standing in front of his uncle at full attention. Victor's hands are shuffling a deck of cards with poise and ease. After the mesmerizing shuffling, the cards slowly cascade from Victor's right hand to his left, and in midstream the cards freeze in midair. Teo's eyes are glued on the cards suspended between his uncle's hands. Victor slowly glides his hands around the cards frozen in midair. Victor then stops his hands. The cards delicately dance and tumble in the air between Victor's still hands. Valentina observes silently in awe. Victor then slides his hands sideways, and the cards suspended in the air between his hands also turn sideways. Then slowly the cards collect themselves against the palm of his left hand. Teo gives his uncle a hearty round of applause. Victor hands him the cards.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Santa Cruz. Did you rest well?" Victor says, welcoming Valentina.

"Yes, thank you. That was quite a card trick. I've never seen it," Valentina says as she watches Teo inspect the deck for strings.

"It's an illusion," Victor says.

As Valentina's eyes scan the deck in Teo's investigating hands, Victor eyes' study her over his dark, round glasses. Valentina is dressed professionally in a burgundy skirt and blazer that complement his burgundy tie. Teo's attempt to duplicate his uncle's trick is a disaster, and as he bends down to pick up the scattered cards he bemoans his failure. "I will never be as good as you, Uncle Monty."

"I could not do it at your age either. It requires years of practice," Victor says.

Victor is rare in his abilities as a magician and master illusionist. But most would argue that, while a talented magician and illusionist, his true gift is to intimately know everything about those around him while guarding his own privacy. A highly respected diplomat, his personal life is shrouded in mystery. What is not a mystery to Valentina is that his family wealth is built on gold, silver, steel, and his treasure of rare coins and precious stones scavenged during his lifelong hobby of locating sunken ships. Craig, Victor's financial advisor, had once accompanied Victor on one of his treasure hunts. Craig told Valentina every exciting detail about that hunt. While finding a treasure can be exciting, Valentina, an anthropology aficionado, is more interested in excavating details of the lost souls who manned the doomed ship than its imperishable treasure.

Valentina, on Craig's insistence, took on the job as Teo's teacher. Teo is a gifted student with a love for magic and an aptitude for mathematics. Teo's parents died in a fire when Teo was three years old. Victor Montenegro, his only living relative, is his guardian.

As Teo squares all the cards into a deck, Victor announces, "Son, Ms. Santa Cruz is your new teacher."

Teo hands the cards back to Victor, shakes Valentina's hand, and says, "Pleased to meet you; you look like a nice teacher."

"Nice to meet you, Teo. I am very happy to have you as my student. How old are you, Teo?"

"I am seven years old, Ms. Santa Cruz."

"Tomorrow you'll begin your lessons with Ms. Santa Cruz. Now I need to talk to Ms. Santa Cruz; go play," Victor says to Teo.

"Yes, Uncle Monty. See you at dinner, Ms. Santa Cruz," Teo says as he leaves the library.

The burgundy drapes on the library's four huge windows are closed. The dim light gives the library an intimate late-afternoon ambience. Victor's dark glasses sit securely on his defined nose.

"I suffer from migraine headaches. Light is a trigger, especially sunlight. During the day, I spend most of my time in my apartment and this library," Victor says as he holds the chair for her.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Montenegro," Valentina says as Victor takes a seat across from her.

"Thank you. Fortunately for me, I am a night creature. I only require four hours of sleep. I sleep until around midmorning while Teo is in class. I conduct most of my business late in the afternoon and well into the night so I can accommodate the international committee," Victor says.

Valentina scans the built-in dark wood bookshelves that cover the octagonal library.

"You have quite a library," Valentina says, impressed.

"Thank you," Victor says.

With his gold-encrusted wooden walking stick, Victor respectfully points toward a section of books on the bookshelf closest to the fireplace, which is framed by two massive, winged lions. "In anticipation of your arrival, I acquired sixty books on anthropology for your pleasure. Craig tells me it is a passion of yours," Victor says.

Victor's gesture stuns Valentina. "That is very thoughtful of you, Mr. Montenegro. Thank you."

Victor takes a moment to appreciate the light in her eyes, and then, in a sincere tone, he says, "I want you to feel welcomed and at home. You come highly recommended by my trusted advisor. I want my nephew to have as stable and structured a life as possible. He lost his parents and then his teacher."

With compassion Valentina recalls Craig telling her that Teo's teacher passed away. "I appreciate your welcoming me into your home and as your nephew's teacher. I love children, and structure is also very important to me."

Victor gently sits his walking stick on the table. He removes his dark glasses, sits them next to his walking stick, looks at Valentina with firm but gentle eyes, and says, "You are welcome to make yourself at home throughout the estate. My apartment, which is on the other side of the mansion, is private. The only person that enters is Mrs. Walker."

Mrs. Walker, the head housekeeper, is a stoic older woman who takes her charge seriously and guards Victor's apartment and maintains it. Victor's hands and Mrs. Walker's dutiful hands are the only hands that give life to what many in the house secretly refer to as "the tomb"—Victor's apartment.

Victor continues. "I sleep, think, and work in my apartment. It is important to me that it maintains an exclusive energy so that I can be productive and feel—" Victor pauses, smiles, and then says, "It is the only place in the mansion that I can call my own; as an international diplomat, I routinely receive into my home dignitaries of governments and churches from all around the world, and I need my private space, where I can feel like an individual."

"Of course I understand," Valentina says.

Valentina is a loner by nature and would rather have the company of the anthropology ghosts she studies, tracing them back to time immemorial. This is why, in part, she has accepted the teaching job at Montenegro, far away from the bustle city life on an estate that will keep out the noise of the present so that she can focus on the past—when she is not teaching her only student.

"If you need me while I am in my apartment, you can call my cell, use the intercom, or send word with Mrs. Walker. Teo has never been in my apartment. Aside from my bed, it is not homey; it's more like an office. I do my best to keep my work away from Teo so he can feel he lives in a home, not an embassy," Victor says.

Valentina finds Victor very interesting. She appreciates his independence and individuality. Valentina finds his work as a diplomat curious for a man who accumulates his wealth finding the treasures of doomed ships where souls perished. His track record for his finds is applauded, envied, and even suspect within the treasure-hunting community.

Victor sits across from Valentina with a posture of security and confidence. Yet in his captivating eyes she sees a profoundness and emptiness. Valentina spends countless hours gazing into the painted portraits and photographed eyes of people who have passed centuries ago, trying to connect to their souls. In Victor's eyes she sees the same mystery as those pictured eyes. Victor sits against the high-back leather seat with his arms relaxed on the armrests. His head is slightly tilted with a relaxed smile, and his enchanting eyes are on hers.

"Also, there is an indoor Olympic-size pool that is locked. It is not for use; not even Mrs. Walker has permission to enter. You are very welcome to the rest of the estate. You have your apartment, but I encourage you to make use of the rest of the mansion. You'll find the entertainment room, living rooms, halls, and parlors very welcoming. I want you to feel at home and breathe life into these ancient walls. The rest of the staff, whom you will meet shortly, make themselves at home, and it is my hope that you will too. There are two beautiful gardens and a garden maze. You are welcome to explore the estate on your own, or if you prefer my assistant, Mr. Escobar, can show you around," Victor says in a warm tone.

Valentina's back is straight; her folded hands rest on the cool black mirrored table. The library's low light would have bothered her if it were not for the warmth of the crackling fire in the huge fireplace. She scans the library's catwalks and wrought-iron ladders ready to roll in any direction.

"You are very welcome to the library and all the books. There are no hidden rooms or compartments. The fireplace is gated to keep Teo out. One cannot trust a live fire around curious children," Victor says.

The fact that the alluring library is void of secrets is surprising to Valentina. The built-in bookcases are constructed of dark, solid wood with space between them. There is a parade of stained-glass windows with maritime depictions, which rim the vaulted ceiling.

"It is a wonderful library," Valentina says.

"Thank you; it is one of my favorite rooms in the mansion. Next door is the study where you will instruct Teo. Your predecessor arranged it so it would feel like a classroom; there is a blackboard, a suitable child's desk for Teo, a huge table for arts and crafts, school supplies, and a monitor for educational videos. If there is anything else you need, please let Mr. Escobar know. It is important that Teo continues to be proficient in reading and writing. Teo excels in math and needs to be challenged. On Tuesdays and Fridays, his nanny takes Teo to the civic center for homeschool students to play sports, swimming, martial arts, and drama classes," Victor informs Valentina.

"Do you ride, Ms. Santa Cruz?" Victor asks, studying her.

"Ride?"

"Horses," Victor says.

"Yes, I do. I've been riding since I was a little girl."

"I will make sure that Mr. Escobar shows you to the stables. You are welcome to ride any of the horses, expect for Legend. Legend is my horse. I am the only one he will allow to ride him. He has thrown off just about everyone else; he is not a gentle animal. I rescued him. His previous owner was about to put him down because he stomped one of his handymen to death. Please stay away from him," Victor says.

A gentle knock on the door echoes through the library. "Montenegro staff is ready to meet you," Victor says as he rises from his seat. Valentina stands up as Victor lifts his walking stick and places it under his arm. "After you, Ms. Santa Cruz," Victor says, motioning toward the open library door.

In the grand receiving hall, the staff is lined up to meet Valentina: Carlos Escobar, Victor's assistant; Mr. Thompson, the butler; Mrs. Walker, the head housekeeper; Nancy Peterson, Teo's nanny; Jules Simms, the driver; Monica, Liz, and Cindy, the servants; and Trinity Ruiz, the cook. Not present are Delia Summers, the nurse, and Nick Sans, the gardener, and his brothers, Joe and Frank, who take care of the stables.

The staff warmly receives Valentina. Valentina appreciates their warm professionalism toward her. Valentina did not expect Montenegro's staff to be older. All of them are in their sixth decade of life. Valentina, thirty-five years old, speculates that, by Mr. Montenegro's appearance, he is no older than forty.

As Victor and Valentina ascend the grand stone stairs, Victor kindly says, "Trinity Ruiz has an open-door policy to the kitchen. However, when present in the kitchen, she reserves the right to serve you. She feels no one else can present her culinary masterpieces as she can. You will find that she is a gifted cook. You are welcome to have breakfast and lunch with the staff in the small dining room next to the kitchen, or you can sit with Teo and his nanny in the paneled dining hall. Or have breakfast and lunch alone in your apartment, like I do. At dinner, I would like for you to dine with Teo and me in the paneled dining hall. For dinner his nanny enjoys dinning with the staff. Teo enjoys taking his snacks in the kitchen so he can watch Ms. Ruiz cook," Victor says.

Valentina smiles; she likes the warm, traditional, yet individualized meal routines. But she does find it odd that Victor would rather take his day meals in his apartment than sit down with Teo.

Valentina takes the afternoon to get acquainted with the mansion that will be her home while she teaches Teo. The massive stone-and-marble twenty-thousand-square-foot Second Empire mansion was built in the city of Montenegro, California, in 1851 by Victor's great-great-grandfather Cesar Montenegro, who also founded the city of Montenegro. Cesar Montenegro had made his money buying and investing in Mexican silver and California gold. The mansion's seventeen-foot ceilings are lit by elegant nineteenth-century crystal and bronze light fixtures, the walls are adorned with gilded mirrors and exquisitely detailed carved moldings. Life-size historic and family paintings warm the stone-and-marble walls. The mansion has original period furnishings that belong to the Montenegros. The mansion is a time capsule devoid of the marvels of the twenty-first century. However, the entertainment room, formerly a small ballroom, is loaded with the high-tech marvels of the twenty-first century: desktops, Wi-Fi, big-screen television, a landline, and an assortment of handle gadgets and electronic arcade games. Valentina walks out onto the entertainment room's marble balcony, and she stands in the middle of two marble statues, a woman and a man, planted on top of the elegant marble railing. Valentina follows their gaze, and her eyes fall on a grand neo-Gothic church built out of black lava stone. The church's twin spires, which are 96.2 meters tall, caress the heavenly horizon. The church's long nave is guarded by gargoyles that extend out between seven huge arched stained-glass windows. The church sits on a well-groomed green lawn dotted with circular gardens of colorful flowers, and at the side of the church is a large lily pond with ducks. The weeping willow and the trees dripping with feathery foliage are dwarfed by the church's towering elegance, and the vibrant colors of the encompassing lawn and surrounding gardens heighten the black color of the lava-stone church. Valentina is spellbound by the magnificent church and its opulent surroundings.

Late that afternoon, Valentina stands at the side of the church, basking in the setting sun's golden rays. They penetrate the stained-glass windows on the west side of the church and filter through the stained-glass windows on the east side. The now pastel-colored rays wash over her.

"Beautiful," Victor says, standing behind her.

"Good afternoon," Valentina says, turning around to greet him. "Yes, it is very beautiful."

"I did not mean to sneak up on you. I like to take a stroll before dinner, and this is one of my favorite paths," Victor says with a warm smile.

Victor is dressed in a smoky gray suit and a gray tie and is wearing his circular sunglasses under a gray fedora. His walking stick stands tall next to him. Victor is not dressed for a stroll, Valentina thinks to herself, but for an eccentric dignitary always on call, he is well dressed. Valentina had been eager to visit the church, and she did not change out of her suit, but she had stopped long enough to exchange her pumps for low heels so she could dash to the beautiful church.

"Well, we are dressed for church. Would you like to go inside?" Victor kindly asks.

"Who built this church?" Valentina asks.

"My great-great-grandfather Cesar Montenegro built the church, the town, and the mansion," Victor answers.

Valentina studies the dragon gargoyle that spews fire from its mouth. Looking at the gargoyle as well, Victor says, "Gargouille, the fire-breathing, long-necked dragon with bat-like wings. Saint Romanus delivered Rouen by subduing and capturing that creature with a crucifix. The monster was burned, its body cremated. But, tempered by its own fiery breath, his head and neck would not burn. Saint Romanus mounted his head on the walls of a recently built church to scare off evil spirits, thus the commencement of guarding gargoyles."

Victor follows Valentina into the heart of the church, removes his hat, and respectfully bows as Valentina, standing in front of him, makes the sign of the cross. The coolness and silence of the inner church comforts Valentina. The light of the setting sun floods through the stained-glass windows. The pastel rays color the black lava interior with soft hues of pink, purple, green, marigold, teal, and violet. Vases of colorful flowers on the small altars bring life into the quiet church. Looking at the fresh flowers, Valentina asks Victor, "How often is mass celebrated?"

The flickering flames of the candles reflect off the circular dark glasses that conceal Victor's eyes. Victor stands next to Valentina, devouring her profile with his hidden eyes as she admires the altar's stained-glass windows. "The church is open to those that wish to commune with God and pray. We do not have a resident priest, as it is a private church, owned by me. But during the holidays Father Peter will celebrate mass here, perform weddings and baptisms," Victor says.

At the altar stands an eleven-foot fleur-de-lis wrought-iron cross. Valentina studies the beautiful centuries-old cross. With his gaze still fixed on Valentina's profile, Victor says, "The fleur-de-lis cross is a family heirloom. It is here to replace the twelve-foot wooden family crucifix that was stolen over a hundred years ago. It is my hope that one day that crucifix will be returned to the altar."

"It is a beautiful cross," Valentina says.

"It is almost dinner, Ms. Santa Cruz. I do not want to make Teo wait," Victor says.

The crackling of the fire in the fireplace and the dancing flames on the three huge candelabras welcome Victor, Valentina, and Teo into the long paneled dining room. As Teo bounces into his seat to the right of the head of the table, Victor holds the seat for Valentina on the left. Victor takes his seat at the head. Monica and Liz serve them steak, salad, and mashed potatoes. Teo smiles at his plate, his steak already cut, and he has an extra helping of mashed potatoes.

"Mashed potatoes," Teo says with hearty delight as the servants retreat to their own dinner in the kitchen.

"You love mashed potatoes?" Valentina asks the smiling Teo.

"Yes, Ms. Santa Cruz," Teo says giddily and turns to Victor and he pleads, "May I please have some gravy, Uncle?"

Victor lifts the porcelain gravy boat and holds it over Teo's plate. Victor slowly removes his hand from the gravy boat's handle. The gravy boat is now suspended in midair over Teo's plate. Victor's hand pushes against air two inches away from the gravy boat, the gravy boat tilts over and pours gravy onto Teo's mashed potatoes as Valentina watches, stunned. Teo's excited eyes watch as the suspended gravy boat tilts back upright and sails back into Victor's waiting hand. Victor, holding up the gravy boat and smiling, asks Valentina, "Would you like some gravy on your potatoes?"

"Yes, please, I would love some gravy."

Gravy pours down onto Valentina's plate as Teo watches with giggling amusement. The gravy boat tilts back upright and sails into Victor's hand, and he manually serves himself some gravy and then places it back onto the table.

"That is amazing. How did you do that?" Valentina says.

"A true magician never tells," Teo says between bites.

"Do not talk with your mouth full; it is poor manners, and you can choke," Victor reminds Teo.

Teo swallows his food then says, "Excuse me. Uncle Monty was offered a lot money to write a book to share his magic tricks, but he said no."

Despite sitting at a long, dark wooden dining table in a cavernous dining hall where a whisper would echo, Valentina feels the warm bond between Victor and Teo. And Victor's welcoming energy toward her assures her that she made the right decision to come to Montenegro. After dessert Teo's nanny enters the dining room.

Teo sighs. "Can I stay up late, Uncle Monty?"

"It is a school night. I want you to be your best tomorrow for your first day of instruction with Ms. Santa Cruz."

"Fine." Teo exhales.

"Tomorrow after you do your homework, we can go for a ride," Victor says as Teo follows his nanny out of the dining hall.

"Homework?" Valentina asks.

Victor pours more wine into Valentina's glass and says, "Yes, I want him to gripe about homework like any other child."

Valentina smiles and says, "The dinner was delicious."

"I hope you do not mind dining with us. The more warm bodies in this dining hall, the more livable it becomes. As for the menu, you are very welcome to give a list to Ms. Ruiz of what you would like to eat. While Teo and I are carnivores, you not need be."

"Thank you. Ms. Ruiz is an excellent cook, and I look forward to her dishes," Valentina says as the butler enters to announce the arrival of a visitor.

Dr. Mario Luque enters the dining room. Victor stands up to warmly greet the doctor as he removes his black homburg hat. Victor invites him to sit down, and the butler serves Dr. Luque a glass of wine.

"Ms. Santa Cruz, this is our family doctor, Mario Luque," Victor says.

"Pleasure to meet you. I am Valentina Santa Cruz." Valentina greets him from across the table.

"Ms. Santa Cruz is Teo's new teacher," Victor informs Dr. Luque.

Dr. Luque studies Valentina's eyes as he greets her. "I am pleased to meet you. I hope you feel at home. Teo can use stability after suffering the loss of his parents and his last teacher."

"Ms. Santa Cruz dabbles in anthropology," Victor says.

"How very interesting, the science of humanity."

"While not one of his specialties, Dr. Luque has a good grasp on pathologies and knows his way around bones," Victor says.

"I am at your service," Dr. Luque says.

"Thank you, Doctor," Valentina says.

"I find it interesting that you study dead peoples' articles, while Victor loves to salvage dead peoples' articles. You both love living with the dead. The two of you will have a lot to talk about," Dr. Luque says. He seems amused.

While Valentina would not have put it in those words, she does finding it fascinating that she and Mr. Montenegro have something in common outside of Teo's education.

"Next summer I plan on joining a group of anthropologists and pathologists on a trip to Europe to see what we can further learn about the lives and deaths of those buried in the catacombs in Paris, and we are seeking permission to study the ancient Roman catacombs," Valentina says excitedly.

Dr. Luque discreetly studies Victor's face as Valentina talks about her future trip to the catacombs. He can see in Victor's eyes excitement and trepidation. Dr. Luque then looks at the fire that is crackling and swaying in the huge marble fireplace, and he hopes that Valentina's stay is long and uneventful.

"The Paris catacombs are a maze of obscure, narrow corridors and galleries of bones arranged in a romantic-macabre display, with poems, series of sentences, and religious texts written by once-alive hands that are now at rest. The poems, series of sentences, and religious texts keep the dead company and their memory alive. The persecuted Christian corpses of ancient Rome were spared being incinerated but were buried with their art. Their buried art is a well of history," Victor says to the enthralled Valentina.

"And saints are also at rest in the Roman catacombs," Dr. Luque reminds Victor.

"Saint Callixtus and Saint Sebastian," Valentina confirms.

"Saint Callixtus, patron saint of cemetery workers, and Saint Sabastian, declared patron of plague sufferers because of his reported cures of those afflicted with many diseases," Victor adds.

Dr. Luque lifts his glass of red wine, tilts it, and studies the color of the wine. "It will be a fascinating trip, Ms. Santa Cruz. Please bring back a lot of footage."

Dressed in pajamas and holding a deck of cards, Teo enters with his nanny.

"Teo wants to say good night," Ms. Peterson says, brushing his hair away from his eyes.

"One more trick before bed, Uncle," Teo asks as he hands Victor the deck of cards.

Victor takes the cards and as he shuffles he asks Teo, "Do you have a request?"

"Guess my card!" Teo says with an excited jump.

Victor smiles at Valentina and Dr. Luque to excuse the interruption.

As Victor dovetails the cards in midair he says to Nancy, "Have Mrs. Walker trim his hair."

Nancy nods as Valentina keeps her eyes on Victor's magical hands. Dr. Luque admires a portrait of a woman on the wall.

Victor fans out the cards in midair and directs Teo to pull out a card. Teo pulls out the card, and he holds it close to his chest.

Victor directs Teo. "Show the card you selected to Ms. Santa Cruz."

Teo does as instructed, then places the card back into the deck. Victor shuffles the cards three more times and then steps back from the group. He cups the cards with both hands, and with a rush of wind the cards fly out of his hands and scatter in midair in front of Victor and freeze. All the cards are facing Victor except the card that Teo selected, the two of hearts, which is facing them. As Teo laughs and claps, Valentina, shocked in amazement, stands as still as the cards in midair. Victor then raises his palms at the sides of the cards and, using the air between his palms, he rotates the cards so that now only the two of hearts faces him. Valentina studies the suspended cards and sees it is a full deck. Dr. Luque studies Valentina as she claps. The cards collect themselves back into a deck, then Victor takes the deck and hands it back to his nephew saying, "Good night, Son."

Teo takes the cards, gives his uncle a hug, and says, "Good night, Uncle." Teo fist bumps Dr. Luque and says good night to Valentina.

While the trick amazed Valentina, she is surprised that Dr. Luque is not as affected by the trick as Teo and she are. Reading her mind, Dr. Luque says, "I have seen it a thousand times."

"Excuse me, I am going to retire to my apartment. It was a pleasure, Dr. Luque," says Valentina.

"Likewise. Good night."

"If there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to ring service," Victor says with a smile.

"That was another amazing trick; I enjoyed it," Valentina says, still spellbound.

"Thank you, Ms. Santa Cruz. Good night."

"Good night, Mr. Montenegro," Valentina says.

From the balcony of her bedroom she can see the magnificent church outlined against the night sky. Valentina picks up a book that she borrowed from the Montenegro library and returns inside to sit down on the cozy bay window seat in her living room. She looks out the window and sees a bell tower at the horizon. "Montenegro has interesting treasures," she says to herself as she admires the majestic Gothic bell tower. As she looks down to open the book, her eye catches what looks like a greenhouse outside her window. She opens the window, and she looks out. It is not a greenhouse, as she thought, but the Olympic-size pool encased in huge ornate windows that are fogged up and semicovered by the crawling periwinkle plant _vinca minor_. "The forbidden pool," she says with a sigh as she closes the window and opens her book.

In the kitchen Teo enjoys his afternoon snack as he works on his homework while delighting in the warm, enticing aroma of Ms. Ruiz's dinner preparations. Comfortable that Teo is busy with his homework in the company of his nanny and Ms. Ruiz, the cook, Valentina exits the kitchen with a glass of iced tea and heads toward the grand master stone staircase and her apartment to get ready for an afternoon stroll. As she approaches the stairs, she finds Mr. Thompson is waiting for her with packages that were delivered minutes earlier. With a hopeful smile, Valentina asks Mr. Thompson, "Are those packages for me?"

"Yes, Ms. Santa Cruz. Should I take them up to your apartment?"

"I will assist Ms. Santa Cruz. Please call Mr. Escobar and have him wait for me in the library," Victor instructs as he walks down the stairs.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Montenegro," Valentina says as she watches the well-dressed and rested Victor walk down the stairs without his customary walking stick.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Santa Cruz. I trust my nephew was a good student on his first day of class," Victor says, walking up to her with a smile.

"Yes, Mr. Montenegro."

Victor studies the fifteen square packages, each two and a half feet tall, lined up against the wainscoted wall. Victor picks up five under each arm, and Valentina picks up the last five and heads up the stairs as Victor follows her.

"Identical square packages must be pictures from your archaeological trips," Victor says with interest.

Valentina stops on the grand stone stairs, turns to face him, and in a light tone she says as she holds her packages closer to her, "Some people find these quite creepy." Valentina takes advantage of their close proximity to slightly brush her arm against his arm. "Do you get easily unnerved, Mr. Montenegro?"

Victor gives her an assuring smile as he firmly says, "It must be over a hundred years since the last time I was unnerved, and I find nothing creepy."

Valentina gives him an approving smile and says, "I find nothing creepy either."

The overcast sky dims the light filtering into her living room. Victor confidently enters and with care places the packages he carries against the built-in bookshelves. Valentina puts hers on the long wooden coffee table. She sits down on the couch and invites Victor to sit next to her. Lovingly and with much care, she opens one of the packages and gently slides out the picture frame and hands it to Victor. Valentina has received varied responses to her work, from the very interested to the most dreaded. Valentina is astounded by the way Victor gazes at the gravestone rubbings with deep appreciation and awe. "This is beautiful, Ms. Santa Cruz," Victor says. He seems enthralled as he continues to study the rubbing of a gravestone of a departed soul that has been at rest for over a century.

"Some call it tombstone rubbing; others call it gravestone rubbing. Most people find the practice morbid. I feel that they cannot handle the intimacy of their own mortality," Valentina says as she wonders on what side Victor stands on the practice.

"Yes, I understand it can be intimidating. However, I embrace and respect mortality. The macabre is misunderstood by those who remove it from the light," Victor says without hesitation.

Valentina exhales; in him she feels a kindred spirit.

"Each frame contains a rubbing of a different gravestone?" Victor asks with an approving smile.

"Yes, it is an old family cemetery plot. The caregiver of the plot knows of my gravestone rubbing, and he asked that I rub all the gravestones, tombstones, footstones, and slab stones before they crumble," Valentina informs him.

"It is well done and handsomely displayed. The gray tone of the rubbing and the burgundy wood frame is very complimentary," Victor says.

"I had loaned them to a friend so she could display them in her café. Now she is featuring another artist," Valentina says, delighted with Victor's response to her gravestone rubbings.

Victor warmly looks at Valentina and with an inviting smile says, "I would like you to visit the Montenegro family plot. It is a half a mile from the house. Several generations of Montenegros are at rest there. I would love it if you would rub all the stones. I will compensate you for your time."

To study the framed gravestone rubbing, Victor had removed his signature dark glasses. Valentina dives into the depths of his gray eyes. She can feel a pull in his eyes that she finds strangely mesmerizing. By voluntarily diving into his eyes, Valentina has given Victor permission to latch on to her soul and study her spirit.

Through her eyes Victor can sense a desire in her to explore his soul and excavate his secrets. "I imagine by the very nature of your archaeological and anthropology interests you have a natural ability to connect with others on a spiritual level," Victor says.

Valentina breaks away from his eyes, looks down at the frame still in Victor's hands, and admits, "It is unavoidable at times, and I imagine it could be unsettling to some people."

Victor gently puts down the frame on the thick wooden table. He sits back and says, "Before I unearth a treasure, I take a moment to study its tomb, which is sometimes a hull of a ship, a chest, or buried underneath dirt, not disturbed for decades. While most would be more interested in the contents of the treasure, I find myself thinking about the people who last touched and saw the treasures. I try to imagine who they were, how the treasures came into their hands, what power did they have over the treasures, what power the treasures had over them. And, as they perished, were their thoughts about their hidden treasures."

Valentina feels very connected with Victor; Victor's thoughts are the same as Valentina's when she studies burial sites, ruins, and faded portraits. "You and I seem to be more fascinated with those that preceded us than future humanity. Craig is writing a futuristic novel, and he cannot understand my fixation with history. He says there is no mystery to the past, while the future is a treasure trove of possibilities," Valentina says.

Victor is warmed by Valentina's pleasure in his interests and intrigued by her mention of Craig.

"Craig?"

"Craig Arquette, your private banker and financial advisor who recommended me to you," Valentina says, smiling.

"Right. Mr. Arquette. He is a brilliant money manager. And he has advised me well on all accounts." Victor locks his eyes on hers and then adds, "It is a bit amusing to think that my historical riches are affording him the time to write his futuristic novel."

Valentina looks around the beautifully decorated living room, and she looks at a couple of spots on the wall that will work well to showcase a couple of her gravestone rubbings. "Would you mind if I hang a couple of my rubbings on the wall."

"Not at all; this is your home," Victor says encouragingly.

"Thank you," Valentina says delightedly.

"Ms. Ruiz roasted chicken for dinner. I'll have her pack a picnic, and you, Teo, and I can have supper at my family plot. That way you can survey it for your gravestone-rubbing project. It has been awhile since Teo has picnicked near his parents' resting place and played between the beautiful marble angels. He really loves to play at the cemetery. I told him it is a beautiful garden where people sleep eternally," Victor says with an inviting smile.

"Yes, cemeteries are beautiful gardens. And for centuries cemeteries were the parks that people picnicked at, a practice that ended over a hundred years ago when city parks came into fashion and cemeteries were mostly moved out of cities," Valentina says.

Victor's suggestion delights Valentina. Valentina loves cemeteries for their peaceful ambience that excludes the world and silences the noise of science to keep spirituality alive. Valentina passionately connects to Victor's romantic reverence that some grasp as macabre.

"Should I have Ms. Ruiz pack the picnic?" Victor asks.

"It is a lovely idea. I would be delighted," Valentina says, trying hard not to come across as overjoyed.

Sitting between them in the Phantom, Teo is bubbling with excitement. Valentina too, is excited. She loves the iron-and stonework in cemeteries, and she is looking forward to Victor's beautiful garden that awaits his final rest.

As they approach the beautiful turn-of-the-century iron gates, Valentina can see the cemetery blanketed with a neatly manicured green lawn and small islands of colorful blooming flowers. The setting sun is now a red disk among floating clouds. Looking through the ornate gates, Valentina falls in love with the three towering, majestic weeping willows anchored among angelic statues and gravestones carved out of alabaster, marble, limestone, granite, and slate.

"Beautiful garden!" Teo says excitedly, peering through the locked gates as Valentina nods in agreement.

Victor teases Valentina. "If you fancy a derelict plot, I know the locations of quite a few."

"Well kept or derelict, they are all symbolically beautiful," Valentina says.

Victor warmly gazes at her as she feasts her eyes on the Montenegro Cemetery.

"Open the gates with your magic key!" Teo pleads.

Victor pulls out a skeleton key from his breast pocket and, a few inches from the keyhole, he releases the key. The key slowly glides into the hole and turns the lock. The gates slowly open. Victor pats his breast pocket, and the key in the hole vanishes.

As the butler spreads out the picnic in the center of the cemetery directly under the red sun, Victor and Valentina tour the cemetery as they are followed by the fragrant scent of the flowering queen of the night. Valentina stops and searches for the origin of the fragrant air.

"Queen of the night. It is a nocturnal plant also known as the lunar flower," Victor says.

Victor escorts her to a flower bed between two guarding alabaster angels and lowers himself to caress the queen of the night as he says, "She slowly begins to bloom early in the evening, and by midnight she is in full bloom. Each bloom will last for one night; by sunrise the flower dies. While in full bloom, her coveted fragrance is carried by the balmy winds throughout the cemetery."

"Such a beautiful flower," Valentina says.

"It will not be the last you see of her; she blooms twice a year," Victor says.

Valentina contemplates the beautiful flower, grateful to be there to see her bloom in the gentle winds of the early night.

Teo runs up to them and, as he playfully crashes into his uncle, he announces that the picnic is ready.

After an enjoyable dinner hastened by Teo's desire to play in the cemetery before it got too dark, Valentina and Victor sit at the picnic site against one of the majestic weeping willow trees, enjoying their wine. The dark green of the manicured lawn, the deep browns of the thriving trees, and the rich colors of the flowers in the cemetery are more vibrant in the twilight. Victor quietly enjoys his burgundy to give Valentina space to connect to the consecrated and beautiful ground. Valentina, encased in the splendid, surreal evening, looks over to see Teo come to a complete stop in front of two tombstones and gaze at them for a while and then skip away toward two huge, winged marble angels. "That is where his parents are buried," Victor says.

"Does he remember them?" Valentina asks.

"He holds only faint memories of them. I have been in his life since he was born. His parents lived with me in Montenegro. I am not an estranged uncle he was shipped to; I have always been in his life. Everyone at the house dotes on him. He has a lot of love. In fact, he is downright spoiled."

Valentina watches Teo, now surrounded by lightning bugs that dot the air with a warm glow. Teo gleefully studies them and tries to touch them as they appear and disappear before him. As Valentina watches Teo spellbound by the lightning bugs, she marvels at how they both enjoy a lovely evening in an unusual, beautiful setting in comforting silence. Valentina appreciates Victor's accommodating, strong presence, which makes her feel connected to him.

"I really need to spend more time with Teo; he is at an age where he needs more attention from a father figure," Victor says.

Valentina smiles at the thought of Teo growing up to be a confident, worldly, charismatic, and independently industrious man like his uncle Victor Montenegro.

"I feel Teo is very much a Montenegro," Valentina says confidently.

"Indeed. Teo reminds me a lot of my father," Victor says.

The shadows in the cemetery began to grow longer, and the lightning bugs dance in the cemetery like ghost lights. While touching each stone marker and marble angel in his reach, Teo runs toward Victor and Valentina. With rosy cheeks Teo reaches them, plops down next to his uncle, and, contentedly spent, he leans into his side.

"Should I call the Phantom?" Victor asks Teo.

"Yes, call the Phantom."

Valentina looks at them, puzzled.

"Teo likes to refer to the house car as the Phantom," Victor says as he reaches for his cell phone.

In anticipation Jules the chauffeur was already parked at the cemetery gates. As the butler collects the picnic items, Victor, Valentina, and Teo wait in the backseat of the Phantom.

"I love how the Phantom smells and feels," says Teo. His eyes are sleepy.

"Did you enjoy the picnic, Ms. Santa Cruz?" Victor asks Valentina.

"Yes, I did. It was a pleasure."

"Good. We will picnic at the beautiful garden again and again, right Uncle Monty?" Teo asks excitedly.

"Yes, it would be a pleasure to have Ms. Santa Cruz picnic with us in the beautiful garden," Victor says invitingly, smiling at Valentina.

"It would be my pleasure," Valentina says, warmly smiling.

As they drive back to the house, Teo falls profoundly asleep against Victor's arm. Victor looks down at his nephew in a peaceful sleep and smiles.

"They look like angels when they sleep," Valentina says, gently brushing his hair to the side.

"After his parents died, he couldn't sleep, and the lack of sleep did not help his emotional state. For a year I would sit next to his bed and read to him all night. If he did not hear my voice, he would wake up and cry out for his parents. And, now, a day of activity and play cradles him to sleep."

Valentina is moved. Her heart goes out to Teo as a toddler, adjusting to life without his parents. Valentina's respect for Victor grows, and so does her esteem for him.

"Reading to him is how you built up your tolerance for long nights, and it's why Teo is a gifted student," Valentina says.

"In part, yes," Victor answers as they pull up to the mansion.

Valentina looks up the stairs, and she can see that Teo's nanny is not happy to see Teo return completely asleep. It will be a battle for her to get him to brush his teeth and change. While she can understand Nancy's displeasure, it warms Valentina to watch Victor carry the sleeping Teo up the stairs. Once he reaches the top, Nancy, like an overbearing mother, examines the sleeping Teo. Victor says to her, "Let's rejoice the lad is slumbering peacefully, Ms. Peterson." Nancy, remembering the long, sleepless nights, nods. Victor then turns to look down toward Valentina and says, "Good night, Ms. Santa Cruz."

"Good night, Mr. Montenegro." Valentina returns a friendly smile to Nancy Peterson.

## Moving waters

Cradled in sleep, Valentina's body gently drifts downward in the tepid water. She can feel her long hair swirling in the soft waves above her head. She opens her eyes and looks up and sees the rays of the full moon reaching down to her as it lights up the clear water around her. His arms stop her from descending farther down. Valentina looks at Victor holding her underwater. Victor keeps his gaze on Valentina's eyes as he gently lowers her. Valentina now stands before him, gazing into his reassuring eyes. Valentina can feel the warm water eddying around them. She can hear elegant music. Valentina can feel they are not alone. In her soul she knows she is in a world like no other. Victor's attentive, warm eyes and tender caresses keep fear away from her heart. Valentina graciously smiles at Victor, he unlocks his eyes from hers to bow, and her eyes search for a derelict ship, but instead of a lost treasure, she sees around them a grand ballroom filled with elegantly dressed guests; they all are aware of her, and she can feel their respect for her as Victor's distinguished guest. Valentina looks up to see that the opening that she floated down is now hidden behind a huge, ornate candelabra lighted by stars. Valentina feels Victor take her into her arms and guide her into a waltz. Her flowing white nightgown and hair gently swirl in the caressing water as Victor tenderly guides her among the guests. Some of the guests waltz around them, while the rest visit, as it is done at any other ball. At the magnificent fireplace, lit by a glowing fire, stand a couple basking in the heated water; the man's eyes acknowledge Valentina's presence, while his lady friend glares at her. Valentina does not notice the woman glaring at her; all of Valentina's senses are devoted to her intimidate waltz with Victor in a body of water that sensually embraces their bodies.

A cool breeze caresses her face, her eyes open, and she finds herself in bed, warm and dry. Ignoring the sun filtering in from her open window, she holds on to her dream. A surreal dream of a beautiful ballroom underwater, waltzing with Victor, a captivating dream in which Valentina and Victor connected on an emotional level. Intuitively, Valentina understands that dreaming of water represents emotions. She reminds herself, however, that Victor has traversed the sea bed not to look for love but treasures. "But he was very present in my dream. I felt his caresses. I felt how his arms accommodated me. My spirit was lucid, and I could hear the music, feel his embrace, and I inhaled his scent. I allowed his eyes to lock onto my soul. I was completely aware that he kept me from drowning in fear, and, despite a ballroom filled with guests, he was completely devoted to me," Valentina thinks to herself. She ignores the question of why she dreamed of Victor in the first place. Yes, she is fascinated with him as an illusionist. She admires him for his industrious spirit. His eccentricity speaks to her. She finds his Gothic romanticism comforting, and she has great respect for him as a parent. But she had never put much thought in him as a man. She blinds herself to his attractiveness by looking at him as her employer. But her dream of him appeals to her as a woman. Perhaps, she now fears, her dream was a warning that she could drown emotionally if she looks at him as a man instead of her employer.

It is Saturday; there is no school. Teo is in the excellent care of his nanny and the rest of the staff. She will ring for her coffee, breakfast, and lunch. The dream clings to her, and she does not want to see Mr. Montenegro until she can release the dream, so he does not detect a shift in her spirit toward him.

Valentina's phone rings.

"I'm calling to see how you are settling in and how you find the two Mr. Montenegros," Craig Arquette says.

Ignoring her lunch, Valentina sits on her living room sofa and studies the frame of the grave rubbing on the wall. "Everyone makes me feel at home. The young Montenegro is a gifted student and a loving child," Valentina says.

"And Mr. Victor Montenegro? I hope you are not put off by his eccentric ways or he tries to make you magically disappear," Craig says.

"I find Mr. Victor Montenegro very refreshing," Valentina says.

"Oh?" Craig says feeling alarmed.

Craig had encouraged Victor to hire her while encouraging Valentina to accept. It is no secret that Craig is in love with Valentina, and he knows that the plain truth is that Valentina does not have romantic feelings for him. All along it was Craig's secret master plan to send her to Montenegro, an isolated estate with an eccentric owner, to prevent Valentina from moving abroad to chase archeological projects, sheltering her away from the world to prevent her from falling in love with someone else before he could woo her heart.

"Yes, you are right; he is eccentric, professional, and respectful. I find Mr. Montenegro's eccentricity refreshing, and I appreciate that he indulges my passion for anthropology and preserving the memories of the dead," Valentina says.

By the tone of her voice, Craig can tell that she is not talking in jest. He can sense Valentina's smile as she talks about Victor. "Do not entomb yourself in Montenegro; the arrow of time points to the future. I did not procure you a job at Montenegro to distance you but in hopes of earning your trust as a true friend."

"And you know me very well, dear friend. You know what moves me, and you knew that in Montenegro I would feel at home. And for that I am deeply grateful," Valentina says.

"One of these days, I will come up to visit you in your new home and take you out to dinner," Craig says.

"I would love to see you for afternoon tea instead of dinner," Valentina says.

Masking his disappointment, Craig adds, "Tea sounds great too, and then we can take a stroll and get fresh air."

Valentina says good bye to Craig, and as she finishes her lunch, she thinks about Craig, an attractive and independent man who goes out of his way to connect to her. "I find him appealing and there are times when the physical chemistry between us is magnetic, but emotionally he does not ignite me. I do not want to hurt Craig," Valentina reminds herself. And then her thoughts go to Victor, and she thinks about their waltz and how in his arms underwater she had felt an emotional stir that invigorated her dormant heart.

Dr. Luque is called to the mansion before dinner; Victor is not feeling well. Victor's current state mystifies the seasoned doctor, who was born into a family of generations of doctors.

"I cannot explain it," Dr. Luque says to Victor.

"How I miss your father," says Victor, teasing the physician in an attempt to put them both at ease.

"When did you first notice the sensation?" Dr. Luque asks. He is clearly concerned and mystified.

"I am not sure. But it is a sensation that leaves me breathless," Victor says.

"Your diet needs to be fresh and less processed," Dr. Luque says.

"If Trinity hears you she will roast you. Red wine at times numbs it, and at times seems to exacerbate the sensation," Victor says, looking into his gold-rimmed wine goblet.

"Cut down your wine intake," the doctor says.

"Milk is for children," Victor says as he scans the dining room, looking away from Dr. Luque's compassionate eyes.

"Water is as toxic to my system as the black plague," Victor adds.

"Grape juice?" Dr. Luque suggests in jest to lighten the tone.

In the corridor Valentina hears Victor laugh in response to Dr. Luque, and she slows down her pace. Worry washes over her and she feels that his laugh was not provoked by humor but by a foreboding uneasiness.

Before Valentina reaches the dining room's entrance, she pauses to compose herself. Her dream has cultivated in her being a deeper connection to Victor. While she accepts her place in Montenegro and respects Victor professionally, she fears that Victor will sense a shift in her that would disengage him. Despite her confused feelings, Valentina wants the energy between them to remain the same. For a minute she thinks of Teo, her bright and enthusiastic student, and she pushes the memory of the dream further back in her mind.

His eyes stare down at his feet, and his face is marked with concern. It is clear to Valentina that Dr. Luque is desperate for an answer. Victor stands, tranquilly gazing into his wine goblet. Victor respects Dr. Luque's passion and dedication to medicine. Dr. Luque's mind works the same as his late father, Dr. Mario Luque Sr. When faced with a medical mystery, they both would retreat into their minds and go over every mental note and medical study and move the symptoms around like a puzzle to get the right diagnosis. "Medicine is an art. Studying a painting closely, you will only see the strokes of the artist's hand. If you pull back and look at the whole canvas, the strokes will map out what will be recognizable to you," the late Dr. Luque Sr. would say.

"There is no rush; do not strain to see the whole picture. I am sure I will outlive you," Victor says.

"In that case I will need to procreate and raise a child to be a doctor to carry on with our work," Dr. Luque says.

"That will require less time in the laboratory and more focus on your love life, or rather lack thereof, Doctor," Victor says with a laugh.

"Good evening," Valentina says, announcing herself as she enters the dining room.

Victor places his wine goblet on the dining table and says, "Good evening, Ms. Santa Cruz."

Valentina shies away from Victor's studying eyes and says, "Dr. Luque, a pleasure seeing you again. I hope it is not a house call that brings you to Montenegro."

"I am afraid it is," Dr. Luque says, still baffled.

"The good doctor exaggerates; it was a migraine that got the best of me," Victor assures her.

"Are you feeling better?" Valentina asks warmly.

"Yes, thank you," Victor says as he approaches her, and then he inquires, "Are you well? I understand you took your meals in your apartment today." Victor looks over to Dr. Luque, who is also studying her. "Dr. Luque can take a look at you," Victor suggests.

"No, thank you. It is not necessary. I was catching up on my reading."

Standing close to Valentina, Victor's energy submerses her into her dream and back to their aquatic waltz. Valentina feels that she is not revisiting her dream but reliving it with Victor. His energy, his posture, his warmth, and the same depth in his eyes was also present in her dream.

A black figure streaks past them, breaking their trance and pulling them back into the dining hall. Nancy enters a minute later with a disapproving grin.

"Teo refuses to change for dinner."

"Ms. Walker cut my hair too short, and I do not like how it looks and feels," complains Teo as his unpleased eyes look at Victor through his Batman mask.

"And just wearing the Batman mask and cape alone would be disrespectful to Batman," Dr. Luque says, amused that Teo is in full costume.

"That is right, Doctor," says Teo, standing proudly in his full Batman costume.

To hear Dr. Luque joke about Teo's Batman costume fills Valentina with peace, as it makes her feel that Dr. Luque must not be that troubled about Victor's health.

"Ms. Peterson, I appreciate that it is ill-mannered to sit down to the table with a covered head. But I will allow it this one time," Victor says.

"As you wish, Mr. Montenegro," Ms. Peterson says, giving up.

Teo, feeling victorious, bows.

"Table manners are important; it is what distinguishes us from the beasts," Victor reminds Teo.

"Well at least he is not dressed like a monster," Dr. Luque jokes as Victor holds the chair for Valentina.

"Please join us for dinner," Victor says as he makes his way to the head of the table.

"I was planning to; I am not going to pass up the opportunity to dine with Batman," Dr. Luque says, sitting next to Teo.

Valentina smiles; she is relieved that Dr. Luque will stay for dinner. She is concerned about Victor's health, and having the doctor in the house calms her. As they dine, Valentina begins to fear that Victor, robust in appearance, is in denial about suffering the affliction that has Dr. Luque's mind preoccupied and his spirit restless at the dinner table. Her concern for Victor has banished her appetite, but she eats so that Dr. Luque's attention as a physician remains on Victor.

Victor pours more wine into her glass. Valentina bows with a smile and says, "Thank you."

Victor touches the back of her hand as she raises her glass and says, "You are quiet tonight. Are you feeling unwell?"

"I am fine," she says. She assures everyone, but fools no one.

Teo eats the last morsel on his plate and then eagerly suggests, "How about a magic trick, Uncle Monty?"

Victor asks the butler to bring crystal pitcher with clear water. He positions the pitcher so it is clearly visible to all. He glides his finger around the rim of the pitcher and it starts to play Juventino Rosas's waltz, "Sobre las Olas." Dr. Luque sits back in his seat. Valentina has heard glass music before on the street and onstage, but never from one glass vessel playing a complete melody. After a few seconds, the waltz is playing in complete orchestral beauty throughout the dining hall, one of the few rooms that is not wired with electricity. Huge ornate candle chandeliers and three sets of candles on the dining table are the only light source. Valentina, still haunted by her aquatic dream, gazes at his hand over the pitcher, which in her dream held hers. As "Sobre las Olas" continues to play, she is pulled back into the sensation of being in his arms, waltzing underwater. A whirlpool begins to gracefully swirl and swirl in the center of the water pitcher, following the direction of Victor's gliding finger. The whirlpool swirls at a dizzying speed, Victor lifts his hand up, and the music stops, pulling Valentina back from her aquatic dream. In the quiet dining hall, Dr. Luque sips his wine as Teo, leaning into the table, stares at the powerful whirlpool in the center of the pitcher. Intrigued, Valentina silently studies the whirlpool that has not slowed down or spilled out of the pitcher. The whirlpool turns into a dark red, and it begins to slow down. Dr. Luque puts down his red wine and studies the red whirlpool. Under the gaze of Victor, the red hue slowly dissipates to reveal a Castilian red rose in full bloom. The flower, directed by Victor's motioning hand, rises from the depth of the water and stands in midair without a drip of water. Victor plucks the rose from midair and, with his bare hand, swipes off the thorns.

"Madame," Victor says, offering Valentina the rose.

"Thank you, Mr. Montenegro."

Valentina graciously takes the rose, and her hand accidently brushes over his. What happens next does not escape Dr. Luque. Victor looks dazed, and he pushes away from the table, retreating into his mind.

"Are you all right, Victor?" Dr. Luque asks, standing up.

"Please sit, Mario. I am fine. I'm just surprised that my illusion, which has taken years to perfect, finally works."

"It was amazing," Valentina says.

"The rose is completely dry. But I saw it rise from the water," Teo says.

"An enchanted rose that can waltz underwater," Victor says.

Victor's comment makes Valentina's heart flutter and wonder if his elaborate illusion was a reference to her dream. Her heart debates her mind. In her heart their waltz was as real as the rose she holds. But in her mind their waltz was an illusion, like the red whirlpool that hid the rose.

"Are you fine, Ms. Santa Cruz?" Dr. Luque asks as he studies her mystified eyes that gaze at the rose.

"Yes, Doctor," Valentina answers, offering a smile.

Dr. Luque pulls out his father's pocket watch.

"What time is it Dr. Luque?" Teo asks.

"It is time to mark the hour that your uncle and teacher are not quite themselves," Dr. Luque says as Teo looks at him through his mask.

"I hope you do not become afflicted," Dr. Luque says.

"Afflicted? What does that mean?" Teo asks.

"Not being your usual self," Dr. Luque says.

"Well, I suffered a bad hair day," Teo says, patting his head between his Batman ears.

"Your hair will grow, champ," the doctor assures him.

"Say, good night hero," Victor says as Teo's nanny enters.

"That was the best trick. Good night, Uncle Monty," Teo says, giving Victor a tight hug.

"Good night, madame," Teo says, giving his teacher a hug.

Teo bumps fists with Dr. Luque and says, "Good night, Dr. Luque. I hope that my hair grows soon."

The surreal dinner comes to an end as the candles' flames delicately dance to the crackling fire in the fireplace. And all three sit in silence, their minds preoccupied by their observant hearts and overwhelmed souls.

Valentina gently touches a petal on the rose, and she says, "You are a unique illusionist, Mr. Montenegro."

"Your performance was unique indeed. Thought provoking," Dr. Luque says as he scans Victor's face.

"The rose is enchanted; if you keep it in fresh water, it will live longer than a fresh-cut flower," Victor says.

Valentina, gently cradling the rose, smiles with gratitude.

"It has been quite an evening: great company, food, and entertainment," Valentina says as all three stand up from the table.

"Should I spend the night?" Dr. Luque asks.

"I am not up for a card game," Victor says.

Valentina understands they are talking around her. Instead of excusing herself, she stays out of concern for Victor. Her worried eyes plead with Dr. Luque.

"Send for me if you experience—" Dr. Luque is halted by Victor's discreet eyes. "If you suffer other symptoms with your migraine," Dr. Luque says.

"I do not feel it will be necessary. Please have a good night," Victor says.

"Good night," Dr. Luque says as he takes his coat and homburg from the butler. He puts on his homburg, and then Mr. Thompson helps him with his blazer.

"Good night, Mr. Montenegro. Good night, Dr. Luque," Valentina says.

As Valentina is about to pass Dr. Luque, she discreetly glances at Victor, and she says, "I appreciate your attention, Dr. Luque."

Dr. Luque tips his homburg hat and says, "Good night, Ms. Santa Cruz."

Valentina retires early. Comfortably in bed, she closes her eyes, trying to summon the sleep that hopefully will transport her back to the aquatic world for another dance with Victor. But, instead of an underwater waltz, she dreams that she is buried alive in an ancient archaeological site. She can smell the scent of the freshly carved wood coffin saturated with the wet soil that has not been aired out for centuries. In the morning, she tries to make sense of her dream, which, while disturbing, may have been trying to tell her something about her anthropology work. As she writes down her dream in her dream journal with great detail and fascination, a part of her laments she is not writing about another sensual underwater dream.

As Teo recites his nine times table, Valentina listens for movement in the library next to them. And from time to time her eyes looks away from Teo out into the grand hall.

"It is too early for Uncle Monty," Teo says to her.

"Yes, I know," Valentina says with a smile.

Yes, she is looking out for a sign of Victor. She had retired the night before, worried about Dr. Luque's call. She wants to see Victor to know if he is fine.

"You will see him at dinner, Ms. Santa Cruz," Teo promises her.

Valentina does not want to shut herself in her apartment. She needs to be in the heart of the mansion. She had lunch with Teo and the staff in the kitchen. After lunch, she took a stroll around the church. No matter where on the grounds in Montenegro she visited, her thoughts were not far from Victor. In the late afternoon, she takes her tea in one of the gardens next to the maze. A very beautiful garden that is home to every flower species that is native to California. As she cradles her tea, she inhales the aromatic air of the garden and soaks in the warmth of the setting sun. She looks at one of the flower beds, and she notices that the dirt is freshly tilled, and she thinks back to her dream of being buried under freshly tilled dirt. Dirt has two functions: to bring forth life and to devour the dead. The cycle of nature is life, then death, but death is not the end. Mother Nature takes death and reincarnates it into another life form. Any scientist worth his or her salt knows energy never dies but evolves. Yet many refuse to study the soul. "What is the purpose to live if you are going to simply die?" she thinks to herself as her teacup cools in the palm of her hand.

"I love the aromatic floral scent over freshly quenched earth," Victor says, announcing himself.

"Good evening, Mr. Montenegro," Valentina says.

"I did not expect to run into you here. I've come to make sure the garden was watered. My gardener is on holiday, and I want to make sure his staff is not neglecting my grounds," Victor says apologetically.

"You have such lovely gardens," Valentina says in awe.

"Yes, these gardens were my mother's passion. God rest her soul. I keep her garden alive as an homage to her. She was just as lovely and delicate as her flowers, these flowers. And my guests love to spend time here, and they find great excitement in getting lost in the maze," Victor says as he surveys the gardens.

"Very enchanting gardens," Valentina says.

Victor gives her a tender smile. Valentina is glad he is wearing his sunglasses; it gives her an excuse not to face him directly. Her dream with him makes her feel timidly uneasy, and she does not want him to read it in her eyes.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Montenegro?" Valentina asks with concern.

"I am well, thank you," Victor answers, and he looks to the sun that is almost hidden by his magnificent maze.

"I am happy to hear that," Valentina says, relieved.

"Have you walked the maze yet, Ms. Santa Cruz?" Victor asks, looking down at her.

"I was afraid that I would not find my way out in time for dinner," Valentina admits.

"We still have time before dinner. Let's walk it together. I never get lost."

Valentina sets her tea on a wrought-iron table, stands up from her cushioned seat, and inhales the perfumed air and the gentle aroma of damp soil that she too loves.

As they enter the maze, Victor tells her the key to not getting lost is to always turn right when she sees a garden angel, and then he swears her to secrecy.

"You and I are the only ones that know how to correctly navigate the maze. I trust you will not tell anyone and deprive them of the time-honored excitement of getting lost in the Montenegro Maze," Victor says in jest.

"I will take it to my grave," Valentina promises.

The maze's isolating scale can be very intimidating on a bright sunny morning. At dusk the shadows grow, and the grand garden statues look as if they are poised to come alive and dance a minuet on the rich, green, cool lawn. As she strolls side by side with Victor, he attentively ushers her to the right when they pass an angel, and they discuss Teo's education. Before long they arrive at the heart of the maze, where there is a small but stunning fountain; the water cascades with light. Surrounding the fountain are four stone benches.

"A plaza in the middle of your maze," Valentina says, admiring the beauty of the lighted fountain.

"Yes, most stop here to rest and reflect. Others stop or return here to await the search party," Victor says.

As Valentina circles the fountain to admire it, Victor counter circles it. Victor removes his sunglasses and places them in his breast pocket. Valentina looks at him through the cascading water, and she is unable to escape his mesmerizing eyes. Victor is wearing a black suit with a charcoal tie that highlights his gray eyes. Valentina, while she admires the color of his eyes, wonders how many women have fallen in love with him through his eyes. While studying the color of his mesmerizing eyes, she fails to see how he tenderly admires her.

Valentina worries that Victor's magnetic eyes will read in hers the dream she had with him, and she lowers her eyes and looks at the clear, cascading water. Victor steps away from the fountain and her. Valentina finds comfort in the soft cascading sound of the illuminated water. Victor looks out to the horizon, and his eyes are marked with concern.

"Forgive me, Ms. Santa Cruz. I suddenly was reminded by the twilight of international business," Victor says, hoping to excuse his sudden distance.

"A very beautiful twilight," Valentina says.

Victor jumps onto a stone bench as wide as a full-size bed and, offering his hand to her, he says, "I want you to see this."

Valentina walks up to the bench and pauses for a moment.

"Take my hand," Victor pleads.

Valentina puts her hand in his, and he carefully helps her up onto the bench. Standing securely behind her, he points to the horizon. Between the splendid church and the bell tower, the moon gloriously shines, illuminating Venus, the only other heavenly body visible in the twilight sky. As Valentina devours the beautiful sight of the moon and Venus between the two majestic structures, she leans back into the warmth between their bodies. She can feel the electric charge of his guarding posture behind her. Valentina keeps her eyes on the moon and Venus to prevent her from turning around and looking in his eyes.

The maze grows dark, and the light of the fountain brightens up under the effervescent moon.

"There is nothing more beautiful than light streaming through darkness," Victor says, admiring Valentina's profile as she looks at the horizon.

Charismatic and magnetic are two of his prominent spellbinding traits. And Valentina loves having the full attention of the otherwise eccentric magical diplomat. Reading her mind Victor says, "In your company, perhaps due to the nurturing educator side of you or the sensitive anthropologist in you, I'm inspired to live in the moment and celebrate the reality that embraces us simultaneously."

His words fill her with an undeniable joy. Her silence pulls Victor closer to her, and he says in a low voice, "You breathe life into Montenegro."

Valentina looks over her shoulder and into his eyes and says, "As an educator, I see now that my place is here in Montenegro."

"And as an anthropologist?" Victor asks, holding on to her gaze.

"As an anthropologist I am enchanted with Montenegro."

Victor tenderly smiles at her. Then a wind tunnels through the maze, and the gust thrusts her hair to the side of her face. Valentina observes as Victor tenderly raises his hand to assist her in brushing her hair away from her face, but he stops himself. His affectionate impulse moves her, but his restraint confuses her.

Victor jumps off the bench and stands in front of her. The height of the bench puts them at eye level, and for a moment they share a warm gaze. Victor holds out his hands and says, "Ms. Santa Cruz." Valentina places her hands in his, and though it is balmy air that circulates around them and not warm ocean waves, his hands are still very familiar. She holds on to them as she remembers the waltz in her dreams. Valentina takes note how Victor patiently indulged her by not pulling away as she slipped back into her dream, and just as quickly she steps back to their current reality, and she reluctantly steps down from the bench, firmly holding on to his supporting hands.

Teo's bubbly presence in the opulent dining hall is a very welcome diversion for Valentina. Valentina was not disingenuous when she told Victor that she felt it her place to educate Teo. But their stroll in the maze is still with her, and she knows that she will not be able to hide the reliving, so she focuses on Teo. Valentina smiles at Teo, who tries to mind his manners while dining with antique gold utensils that challenge his small, child's hands. As Teo keeps his hungry eyes on his plate, he forks food into his small mouth, as Valentina watches with affection.

"He manages better now. When he was just a tot, he insisted on using gold utensils on his own, and he would miss his mouth. It would take thirty minutes to get a proper meal into his stomach. He had a very active afternoon and refused a snack," Victor says to Valentina as Teo focuses on his food.

"I am glad he is enjoying his meal," Valentina says in a motherly tone.

"I really enjoyed our stroll in the maze," Victor says to Valentina.

Valentina looks at Victor's eyes and smiles. "The maze is very beautiful; I enjoyed our stroll also. I appreciate your showing me how to navigate it so I will not get lost," Valentina says.

Victor holds her gaze and assures her. "I am sure you will not get lost, but if you do, wait for me by the fountain," Victors says.

## A Thousand Candles

The coldness of the aged marble bleeds through the rice paper as she reverently rubs the headstone with a maroon crayon. Under a distant moon, a playful wind breezes through the locked cemetery. The rice paper rustles loudly in the dead of the night. She rubs the last letter in _Montenegro_ then drops the crayon. With her finger she caresses each letter on the headstone. Valentina is aware that she is the only living human in the cemetery, but she does not remember how she came to be in the cemetery in her nightgown. She is doing what she loves: acknowledging those at rest, and with her own hands, transferring their names etched in stone onto a warmer medium—her rubbing. She looks up from the headstone to see the cemetery illuminated by a sea of flickering candle flames. Each headstone is adorned with lit candles and covered in marigold flowers—the flowers of the dead. The golden marigolds glow rich and warm among the candle flames that waltz in the air. Valentina looks down at the headstone she was working on, and it is now adorned like the others. "All Souls' Day," she says to herself.

"Yes, Day of the Dead," Victor says as he circles around the tombstone to stand in front her.

"Yes, like you, Mr. Montenegro, I am of Mexican descent. I am very familiar with the beautiful tradition of the Day of the Dead," Valentina says, inhaling the strong aroma of marigold and melting wax.

Standing before him, Valentina timidly shivers in her long white silk nightie. Victor removes his silk dress coat and wraps it around her.

Valentina, grateful, briefly closes her eyes to indulge in the warmth of his body emanating from his coat, which caresses her bare shoulders, "Thank you," she whispers.

Victor's gray eyes, captivated by Valentina, are blind to the surreal beauty of the illuminated candles and colors that honor the gravestones of his ancestors.

Victor escorts her to a marble bench on a knoll overlooking the cemetery. Mesmerized, Valentina sits down in silence and contemplates the illuminated scene. Victor sits down next to her. He keeps his eyes on her, treasuring the reflected candlelight in her eyes. Valentina can feel his warm gaze. She does not look at him. She keeps her eyes on the beautifully lit cemetery. Each flame waltzing in the balmy air is beautiful to Valentina.

"The flames sway like the tides of an ocean," Victor says.

Victor's reference brings memories of their oceanic waltz flooding back to her. "An illuminating ocean of candles that must be visible in the heavens," Valentina says as she turns to face him.

Victor gives her an endearing smile. "Beauty is always visible in the heavens," Victor says.

She can feel his sensual silk collar pressing against the side of her neck as she studies his admiring eyes. She inhales his scent and thinks to herself, "This is not a dream; all my senses are aware of him."

Valentina turns to face the illuminated cemetery. She focuses her gaze on the glow of the candles illuminating the dark horizon.

"Do you believe there is a hell?" Valentina asks.

"Yes, I do," Victor answers.

"What makes you so certain?"

"Light illuminates darkness; darkness illuminates light. One cannot exist without the other," Victor says.

The thousand candles' light overpowers the darkness between them. "Light is even more beautiful surrounded by darkness," Valentina says.

"Indeed. Light is beautiful. But we cannot have light without darkness. It is our dual reality. We live in a dual universe where one depends on the other: love and hate, suffering and happiness, sweet and bitter, cold and hot, sleep and awake." Victor pauses and lovingly admiring her he adds, "Beauty and the beast."

"Do you think in the depths of hell love is remembered?"

"I would think not; torment does not afford you pause to think about love. Whereas in purgatory your suffering is from the deprivation of love, and you reflect on your failure to bestow love while alive," Victor says.

Valentina looks at the headstones she is yet to rub, and she wonders if the late Montenegros were alive, would they approve of her.

"How many of your dead are visiting us tonight?" Valentina asks.

"All of them, many generations deep," Victor says.

Victor scans the illuminated cemetery. Between the tombstones he sees the ghosts of his dead relatives warmly greeting one another and periodically acknowledging him by looking at him lovingly. Valentina is gladdened by the love in his eyes, and she follows his gaze and sees his joyful dead relatives. A woman beautifully dressed in a nineteenth-century gown pulls at Valentina's attention. Valentina looks at her and their eyes meet. The woman gives her a kind smile, and Valentina can feel her overwhelming approval. As Valentina studies the lovely woman Victor says, "Love survives death."

A cool breeze enfolds Valentina's bare shoulders. Searching for Victor, she jolts awake. Another breeze streams through her window to greet her, but she is struck with sadness upon realizing that her moment with Victor was yet just another dream. Dream or not, her connection to the lovely woman stays with her. She closes her eyes and remembers the woman standing to the side of the cemetery, away from any marker. This frustrates Valentina; scanning the names of the populated cemetery for a clue will be meaningless. She can feel it was important for the woman to convey her approval. Valentina gets out of bed, and in the overwhelming brightness of her bedroom she looks at the window and scolds herself for her foolish, futile attempt to remember details in her dream that will help identify the lovely woman.

With a canister filled with iced tea, a green salad with smoked salmon, and all her rubbing supplies, she climbs into the Phantom, which has been warmed by the sun.

"It is another beautiful day, Ms. Santa Cruz," Jules says.

Valentina thinks, "But it is too beautifully bright for Victor to venture out without suffering a migraine."

"Yes, a beautiful day," Valentina says to Jules.

All morning long she rubs tombstones, gravestones, and other markers. At midday, with the sun high in the sky, Valentina rests against one of the regal weeping willows as she eats her lunch and drinks her tea. The cemetery has a different beauty during the day; the well-manicured knolls and beautiful flower beds invite all living creatures to repose over the bodies at eternal rest. In her dream, the night draped the cemetery with an ethereal light that was charmingly seductive. Despite the bright day Valentina can still see the nocturnal cemetery of her dream, which was illuminated by an ocean of candle flames.

After lunch she continues her rubbing, taking care to capture the uniqueness of each tombstone. When rubbing a woman's name, she pauses and studies it, wondering if it is the woman in her dream. Shadows begin to outline the stones and stand behind trees. Valentina's fingers are now hot and cramped from rubbing the cold marble outlines of the surname Montenegro. The coolest of the marble soothes her tired hand. She hears the Phantom approach the cemetery gates. She stands up to collect her supplies, ready to quit for the day and return to the mansion. The sun is now on the horizon, and it is almost time for Victor's late-afternoon stroll.

Valentina lovingly places the ten Montenegro rubbings on the long console table against her bedroom wall. After changing and freshening up, Valentina goes back downstairs in hopes of running into Victor. The main hall is quiet and empty. Valentina decides to visit the library, hoping that she will find Victor there. The library has not been disturbed all day. The library is one of the warmest rooms in the mansion. "It is undeniable how books can warm up a room," Valentina thinks to herself as she caresses the books on the shelf next to the unlit fireplace. Outside, the estate is basking under a cold summer sun. Most of the mansion is as cool as a mausoleum due to its stone and marble walls and floors. Valentina's hands, still tired from rubbing gravestones, pets one of the fireplace's winged lion statues as she wonders if Victor's bedroom, "the tomb," is as warm as the library, where he too enjoys spending a lot of time. Accepting that she's missed Victor, who is probably already on his stroll, Valentina decides to read one of the archeology books Victor bought her as she waits for dinner.

## Suzette

Valentina studies them as they, elegantly dressed, descend the stairs. The woman's territorial hold on Victor's arm fills Valentina with a sense of betrayal. Victor paces himself to accommodate the train of her dress that snakes after her. Victor's bent arm is at her command. But his eyes look ahead, his posture reserved and his thoughts elsewhere. As they arrive at the bottom of the stairs, their eyes meet, Victor warmly smiles at Valentina and tips his top hat and says, "Good evening. Meet Suzette Savarit." With his eyes still on Valentina, Victor introduces Valentina to Suzette. "Ms. Valentina Santa Cruz, Teo's teacher."

"Ah yes, Teo's teacher. I am pleased to meet you, Ms. Santa Cruz," Suzette says, extending her hand.

There is a chill in the air between them as Valentina shakes Suzette's cold, thin hand. Valentina feels a foreshadowing fog creeping around the three of them. "You feel familiar to me, Ms. Savarit. Have we met before?" Valentina asks.

"Perhaps in another lifetime?" Suzette answers.

Valentina's focus on trying to place Suzette's face is halted by the three-layer heart-shaped gold collar necklace draped over her cleavage. The necklace is bejeweled with different gems and diamonds. But it is the Spanish gold coins among the jewels on each layer that chilled Valentina's emotions.

Suzette's free hand caresses her necklace, and she proudly informs Valentina, "This necklace is over five hundred years old. And for five hundred years it rested on the seabed next to its doomed ship, the _Flor del Mar_. Thankfully this beautiful necklace was rescued from its watery isolation." Suzette looks at Victor and presses closer to him and adds, "The great sentimental value exceeds the value of these treasured jewels."

"It is the most beautiful necklace that I have ever seen. I am glad the jewels were found and they can be admired again. You are not afraid to wear them out?" Valentina asks, proud of her cool outer composure as she quakes inside.

"Thank you, dear. When I am with Victor, I do not have any reason to fear," Suzette proclaims.

"Of course," Valentina agrees.

"It was very nice meeting you, Ms. Santa Cruz. I would love to have tea with you"— Suzette pauses to glance at Victor—"But Victor and I are on our way to the opera."

The Phantom drives up to the open door, rescuing Valentina from Suzette's company.

"Have a lovely evening," Valentina says.

"You too, dear," Suzettes says, gliding past her.

At the threshold Victor turns around, looks at Valentina, tips his hat, bows his head, gives her a loving smile, and warmly says, "Good evening, Ms. Santa Cruz."

Mr. Thompson promptly closes the door at the sound of the Phantom driving away. He turns and is surprised to see Valentina still standing there, dazed. He asks Valentina, "Is there anything I can get you, madame?"

"No, thank you," Valentina answers.

Teo darts out of the living room and runs to Valentina and asks, "Did Madame Suzette leave?"

Valentina is intrigued by Teo's hopeful tone. "Yes. Dona Suzette and Mr. Montenegro will not be dining with us," Valentina says.

"Madame Suzette does not like to be referred to as Dona. She says it makes her feel old," Teo says.

"Thank you for informing me," Valentina says.

"You probably will not run into her that much anyway; she comes over late," Teo says.

"You do not like Madame Suzette?" Valentina asks.

"Not really; she is very odd."

"I see," Valentina says disapprovingly. Valentina bends down to Teo's eye level and says, "It will be just you and me for dinner."

"We can eat with the others in the kitchen. That way you can visit with Ms. Ruiz and my nanny," Teo says.

Trinity's kitchen transcends time with its style and ambience. Her open hearth is always at her command, fully equipped to roast, barbecue, grill, stew, bake, and fry. "The open fire is what makes food taste richer, with a beautiful crust that melts in your mouth," Trinity says to Valentina as she watches Trinity baste the two large turkeys roasting in front of the fire. Trinity has also grilled corn on the cob, zucchini, asparagus, mushrooms, and baked potatoes in the hearth as the six-burner gas stove sits idle. Trinity is also warming up her famous chipotle salsa and cranberry sauce in hanging pots. Near the open window sit an apple pie and a peach pie.

"Can I help you with anything, Ms. Ruiz?" Valentina asks.

"Yes, you can teach Teo," Trinity answers as she bastes the turkeys with the drippings, which are caught in a pan placed below the spit.

Valentina smiles as she remembers that Trinity is the proprietor of the kitchen and the sole artist and presenter of the meals.

"It smells and looks exquisite," Valentina says, getting her bearings back. "Mr. Montenegro is not home for dinner; Teo and I will dine with you all," Valentina announces to the staff as Teo sits down at the large wooden table in the kitchen.

"Yes, I know. This is why I roasted turkey. Madame Savarit does not like fowl," Trinity says as she begins to carve the turkey at the hearth.

"She does not like pork or lamb," says Cindy as she sits down at the table.

"Madame Savarit will only eat meat and fish, and she likes it rare," adds Monica as she fills the glasses with water.

"She dines here often?" Valentina asks.

"No. I have only served her six times over the years," answers Liz, placing the grilled-vegetable platters in the center of the table.

"Madame Suzette has a history spanning many years with Don Victor, and out of respect for him, we must be mindful of our tone and not disrespect Madame Suzette, even when she is not present. The walls can hear," Mrs. Walker says.

Valentina is grateful for the warm company and the delectable dinner. Teo's nanny has graciously allowed Valentina to read Teo a bedtime story until he falls asleep. Restless, Valentina goes to the main library afterward. Her fingertips caress the handsome, leather-bound anthropology books that Victor procured for her. She selects the thickest book and sits down on a Queen Annie armchair next to the fireplace and opens the book. The book she selected is dedicated to the biological study of the causes of disease and early death. Her hand caresses the cool pages of the open book as she stares at the huge fire, the only source of light in the room. Her thoughts go to Victor, and she wonders how his evening is going with Madame Suzette, and with that thought she feels ill. It bothers her that she cannot remember where she has seen Madame Suzette; she is further disturbed that Teo is not close to her and the staff seems not to care for her. She wonders exactly what type of history they share. She thinks back to their interaction at the bottom of the stairs and analyzes their body language. Madame Suzette was territorial in the manner in which she held on to his arm, and she stood tall with her head high. "Victor, although reserved toward Suzette, connected effortlessly with me," she assures herself.

Madame Suzette's visits are late at night, which explains why they have not met until tonight. Valentina feels she has the right to know about Suzette and Victor's clandestine history. Valentina's anthropologist's spirit prohibits her from keeping secrets from her own self. While she may not understand what it is her heart is trying to tell her, she cannot deny that there is a message. In her dreams they share another reality. The spiritual bond and the chemical current that fuse their souls together in her dreams transcend their waking hours. Valentina has not found the courage to speak to Victor about her dreams with him, because she fears it will be completely foreign to him and thus compromise her position in Montenegro, which keeps her near Victor. However, she cannot ignore that his captivating eyes, his engaging tone, and the attentive manner in which he warmly greets her is more in line with that of a suitor than a simple employer.

"Ms. Santa Cruz," Victor gently calls out to her. Exhausted, Valentina does not hear him. In a deep sleep she waits to be reunited with Victor in spirit. Victor sits down on the footstool in front of her, his dark glasses hanging from his breast pocket. He removes his leather gloves, and he gently places his hand over her hands, which rest on the book in her lap, and calls out to her again, "Ms. Santa Cruz."

Valentina slowly opens her eyes.

"Good morning, Ms. Santa Cruz," Victor says as he removes his top hat and puts his gloves in it. He leans closer to Valentina as he places them on the end table next to her.

"Good morning," Valentina says, happy to see him.

Victor stands his walking stick in front of him and leans on it with both hands, and he tenderly looks at Valentina.

"Am I dreaming?" Valentina asks.

Victor gazes into her eyes, and with a tender smile he says, "No. You feel asleep in the library while reading."

Valentina straightens up and focus her eyes on his tender gaze, and she asks, "Did you have a nice evening?"

"It was a cool night. I am glad you fell asleep near the fireplace," Victor says.

"It was a pleasure meeting Madame Suzette," Valentina says, studying him.

"She was pleased to meet you too. She is quite impressed with your academic background, especially your passion for anthropology," Victor says, gesturing at the book he procured for her that she cradles in her lap.

"Perhaps Madame Suzette will have tea with me, and we can talk about anthropology," Valentina suggests coolly.

Victor's nod does not convince Valentina that Suzette would be interested.

"You must be very tired, Ms. Santa Cruz. The Queen Annie armchair is a poor substitute for a bed," Victor kindly says.

"I've never heard of the _Flor del Mar_ ; was it your crew that recovered the _Flor del Mar_?" Valentina firmly asks.

Victor leans closer to admire her in the low light and admits, "Yes, I was involved in the recovery of the _Flor del Mar_."

Valentina's chest tightens; she pulls her eyes away from his and inhales.

"Ms. Santa Cruz, are you fine?" Victor asks.

"Yes, thank you. You are right; the Queen Anne armchair is a poor substitute for a bed. For a moment I felt as though my circulation were restricted," Valentina says.

"You should retire to your apartment so you can fully rest," Victor says.

"Madame Suzette's necklace is very beautiful," Valentina says.

In his eyes Valentina can see that her comment has stirred him. The warm affection and chemistry between them flows effortlessly to the intimate melody of the crackling fire.

"It is a very romantic and generous gesture on your part," Valentina says with a slight smile to mask her jealously.

"I did not give her the necklace," Victor says in a matter-of-fact tone.

Valentina studies his eyes, which are transfixed on hers.

"I did not recover the treasure alone; I had a partner," Victor explains.

Victor stands up and holds out his hand. "Let me see you to your apartment, so you can rest comfortably."

Valentina tenderly closes the book and holds it near her as she places her hand into his. Her legs, which had fallen asleep, tingle intensely as she pushes firmly against the thick rug to wake them up. As the tingling subsides, Valentina becomes aware of how Victor holds her hand with a tender grip to help her regain her balance, and then he slowly lets go of her hand as she takes her first step.

As they walk up the stairs Valentina asks, "Tell me Mr. Montenegro, what is more beautiful to you, sunsets or sunrises?"

Victor stops. Valentina halts her steps. Victor gazes up at her as the sunrise, visible through the huge windows, is breaking through soft clouds. Valentina turns to face the windows, and she smiles as she admires the soft glow of the purple, red, and orange hues of the sunrise. "I find them both romantically beautiful. Today's sunrise is the most beautiful I have ever seen," Victor says, gazing at Valentina.

## The Bride Suzette  
Arrives in New Orleans

France is where Suzette was born. Her parents were farmers. At the tender age of eight, Suzette, followed by her mother, runs toward the sound of her father trying to fend of his attacker, a transient whom her parents had let sleep in the barn. Frightened, Suzette hides behind the door as her mother rushes to pull off the transient who is over her father, stabbing him with such anger that the blade breaks into two. With the other half of the blade, he kills her mother. The transient stands over them as they bleed onto one another. Suzette, frozen with fear, is unable to move, and she prays that the transient won't turn around and follow the stream of her urine back to her. After tearing her father's purse off his person and taking another knife from the opened drawer, he runs past her, unaware that his boot has splashed her urine onto the door that conceals her. Suzette, silently crying, stands behind the door, peering at her dead parents through the crack in the door. After thirty minutes of complete silence, Suzette walks over to her parents and nestles between them. As soon as the sun rises, Suzette, with her parents' blood caked into her hair and dress, runs a half mile to the neighbors.

Now an orphan, Suzette is taken in by the Ursuline nuns. With the kind care of the nuns—she never experiences hunger, is academically enriched, is medically cared for, and is daily reminded that she is loved by God—Suzette survives her childhood, though, now, as a young woman, nightmares of her parents' murder still rob her of sleep. Suzette remains close to the nuns who raised her and helps them run an Ursuline school for impoverished girls.

In 1721 the King of France began to offer young women free voyage to the New World to find husbands. The Ursuline nuns will give them room and board in the New World and guide them into marriage. In 1727, once Suzette is of marriageable age, Sister Maria, hoping that the New World will help Suzette leave her suffering behind, encourages Suzette to take the King's offer.

The seven-week transatlantic voyage is harrowing. Amid the horrible stench and blinding fumes, vomiting and bodily waste, Suzette witnesses many fellow passengers and crew members suffer seasickness, dysentery, pounding headaches, suffocating heat, and bone-rattling cold. Their thirst, inflamed by the salted meat, cannot be completely quenched by the foul water. Suzette suffers the voyage as the rest but is spared by the dysentery and manages to stave off the lice that clothes the others by sleeping in a sitting position and making herself as small as possible to avoid sharing space. A ten-year-old girl loses both her parents, and she watches as they are dumped into their watery grave. Suzette and the sisters who accompany the seventy-eight sponsored Frenchwomen take the child under their care. The child's crying for her parents brings back the agonizing day she lost her parents, so she leaves the crying child in the arms of one of the nuns and walks out onto the deck and cries as the ocean sprays her with salted mist.

In early June of 1727, Suzette Savarit and the seventy-eight women arrive in the New World, and as they walk through the muddy terrain of New Orleans, they thanked God for allowing them to reach land with their lives. The waves of seasickness still pounding in their insides make it more challenging for the women to settle their legs, which tremble from exhaustion and dehydration. Despite their ill health, they hold tightly to their _casquettes_ , which contain their few belongings and government-issued wedding dresses. The seventy-eight women are quickly identified as casket girls by their casquettes and are received with enthusiasm by the whole town. Their pale faces, thin frames, and gaunt eyes reflect the suffering they witnessed and endured during the voyage. Their ill appearance and worn-out dresses do not diminish the fact that these casket girls, like the ones that arrived before them, are reputedly good women from convents, orphanages, or poor homes, and future generations will proudly proclaim themselves descendants of these casket girls.

Most, with the assistance of the Ursuline nuns, marry quickly, while others, not too happy with the mudhole of a town lacking in wine, cheese, wheat, and meat but overflowing with seafood, will not marry until they decide if the New World is for them. The ones who have not yet decided to remain or return to France help the small contingent of Ursuline sisters run orphanages and schools for girls.

Suzette is homeless; although she was born in France and loves her mother country, she does not have any relatives there. In the New World she can escape the murder of her parents, reinvent herself, and start a new life. And while she agreed to come to the New World as a bride-to-be, she wants to get to know New Orleans intimately before she decides on a groom. And as she explores New Orleans and learns about the New World, she will remain with the nuns and help them run the school for impoverished girls.

## Nicolas René Gravois

"Pardon me, miss." A tall, thin, dapperly dressed man with fine, light hair walks past Suzette, who is on her knees scrubbing the floor. The man, carrying a twenty-pound sack over his shoulder and a twenty-pound sack under his other arm, approaches Sister Maria, who is walking toward him.

"Good morning, Sister," the man says as he places the sacks on top of a wooden table.

"Good morning, Son," Sister Maria says gratefully.

The man hands the sister a large leather purse filled with gold coins. "For the construction of the convent and for the school."

"God will repay you, Son."

"What is in the sacks?" Suzette asks, kneeling upright while still holding the dripping brush.

"Sugar in one—" the man says as he turns to face her, and he is instantly mute. Kneeling before him is the casket girl whom he, on several frustrated attempts, has tried to meet, but each time he would race to her while she was about town, he would lose sight of her in the crowd. His visit this morning to the Ursuline sisters was not just to bring sugar, rice, and funds for the convent and children but to also inquire about the casket girl who won his heart from afar and who he wishes to marry.

"And in the other sack?" Suzette asks the stunned man.

"Rice, my lady," he responds as he removes his hat and bows to her as if she were royalty.

"My child, this is Mr. Nicolas René Gravois, patron of the convent and this school."

"My son, this is Suzette Savarit."

"Suzette Savarit," Nicolas lovingly repeats. Offering his hand to help her up, he says, "It is my pleasure to meet you. Please permit me, Ms. Savarit."

Suzette accepts his help to get back on her feet.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Gravois," Suzette says, now standing face-to-face with him. Nicolas is of average looks, but his asymmetrical smile is charming, and his blue eyes are kind.

Nicolas looks at Sister Maria and Suzette and then begs, "Sister Maria and Ms. Savarit, please forgive my desperate forwardness." Nicolas turns his attention to Suzette and confesses, "On several occasions I tried to meet you while you were in town, but you would vanish before I could get to you. I know you are here to marry. I want to marry you." Nicolas looks at her simple dress worn out from scrubbing floors and he promises, "As Mrs. Gravois, you will be provided with a very comfortable life, and you will not want for anything."

Suzette is not shocked by his urgent proposal. Nicolas is the tenth man to ask for her hand in marriage since she arrived in New Orleans a year ago. She declined them because she was not ready to marry, but now she is. Suzette glances at Sister Maria for guidance. Sister Maria's calm eyes and encouraging smile speak volumes about Nicolas's character.

Nicolas, determined not to be rejected adds, "I am a man of means, and I love to travel and socialize. I will ship in anything you dearly miss from France. I am a creature of the night with a passion for operas and fine dining. I have everything in life, yet it is meaningless without you as my wife."

"I have never been to the opera," Suzette says as she looks at his waistcoat embroidered with gold. Suzette continues, "I will accept to marry you, if you procure for me fine dresses embroider with gold and fashioned with jewels so that I can accompany you to the opera. And you and I, as husband and wife, we'll financially support the Ursuline sisters."

Overjoyed, Nicolas says, "I will write that into the marriage contract, and anything else you request. I will be back this afternoon to bring you the engagement ring I purchased after the first time I saw you, and we can have lunch and talk about our nuptials, and you can ask me anything you want and request anything you desire."

Suzette smiles at her future husband and offers her hand. He graciously and gratefully takes her damp hand and kisses it. Nicolas turns to face Sister Maria and humbly asks, "Do I have your blessings, Sister?"

Sister Maria blesses him. Nicolas smiling with joy, excuses himself, and leaves the convent.

Two hours later a woman arrives to see Suzette. She is accompanied by two men carrying a long and wide leather trunk. The woman is the owner of one the finest dressmaker shops in New Orleans, and as the men place the trunk on Suzette's bare and aged wooden table, the woman says, "Your fiancé, Monsieur Gravois, sent me to take your measurements and to ask you what types of jewels you wish for me to embroider on your wedding dress." Stunned, Suzette looks at the woman. The woman opens up the trunk and informs the speechless Suzette, "In here there are twenty dresses your fiancé asked me to select for you, the latest fashion of Paris." The woman studies Suzette's frame and proudly says, "I am sure they will fit. However, I can adjust them if need be. I also brought twenty-five fashion dolls so you can pick the designs for the rest of your wardrobe, and five wedding-fashion dolls."

"I was not serious about my wardrobe demands. I wanted to see how he would respond," Suzette says, moved by Nicolas's prompt gesture of goodwill and awed by the fabric, color, and embroidery of the beautiful dresses that she would see on other women as they would keep their distance from her and her ghastly rags.

"Monsieur Gravois is serious about acquiring his wife-to-be a new and complete wardrobe. He gave me a small fortune as a down payment and asked that everything be shipped in from Paris."

After the men return to escort the dressmaker and her trunk of fashion dolls back to her shop with Suzette's measurements and design requests, Suzette, now back in her old working dress, runs to Sister Maria.

"Sister Maria, my fiancé sent me a trunk of dresses," Suzette says, seeking guidance.

Sister Maria does not stop watering the flowers in the flowerpots that circle the statue of Mary as she says, "The orphan children would not have clothes if it were not for the generosity of your fiancé, Monsieur Gravois. New Orleans now knows that you, a casket girl, are engaged to Monsieur Gravois and you will be married in seven days. As a grown woman, you can chose to wear the dresses your fiancé provided for you or wait to wear them as his wife. But if you wear the dresses while engaged, you must marry him."

Suzette receives Nicolas wearing the finest dress of the twenty he sent. Nicolas had been very pleased that Suzette did not reject the dresses. He kneeled down and placed the engagement ring of diamonds and rubies on her finger and kissed her hand. Over a lunch that included cheese and wine, two French staples scarce in New Orleans, Nicolas informs Suzette that he owns three sugar plantations in Saint-Domingue that are being run by family members, and he feels blessed to have completed the construction of his fourth sugar plantation in New Orleans in time for his future bride. Nicolas discloses that he is a widow, his late wife a victim of yellow fever.

On the eve of her wedding night, Suzette gives her government-sponsored wedding dress to a poor woman for her wedding. Suzette is the envy of the town for marrying the richest man in New Orleans while wearing a Parisian wedding dress embroidered with gold, diamonds, and pearls custom designed for her. Suzette has accepted his marriage proposal because Sister Maria was supportive of the union. Suzette married Nicolas for his kind regard toward her, his charming eccentricity, and his love for her. Nicolas is now her family, and that is what is most important to her—to have a family, if not by blood but by law. Suzette's wedding day is a joyous occasion for her; her world is as complete as it can be.

Nicolas values Suzette's education and encourages her to handle business transactions and run the plantation when he is traveling between New Orleans and Saint-Domingue. Suzette treats the slaves as if they are family employees. As the parents work in the fields and inside the home, the slave children attend school on the grounds. Suzette, well indoctrinated in medicine by the Ursuline sisters, administers the care of her slaves and serves as a midwife when needed while she attends school to get licensed as a doctor.

Her husband, true to his word and marriage contract, maintains Suzette's wardrobe, which is up to date and overflowing with the finest fashions embroidered with jewels and threaded with gold. Fashion dolls are no longer consulted, as the local women now consult Mrs. Nicolas René Gravois's wardrobe. And in her finest dresses, Suzette accompanies her proud husband to the opera. They travel the Eastern Seaboard and, on occasion, visit Saint-Domingue.

On their fifth wedding anniversary, Suzette's world crumbles down around her. Her husband, Nicolas, succumbs to yellow fever. At twenty-five years old, Suzette becomes one of New Orleans's young widows. What parts her from the other young widows, some of whom are fellow casket girls, is her wealth. Suzette is extremely wealthy, young, and without any children. Three years into the marriage, unbeknownst to Suzette, Nicolas amended his will to instruct that Suzette inherit 90 percent of his New Orleans wealth; the other 10 percent he left as bonuses to his slaves and employees. He also willed her 50 percent of his assets in Saint-Domingue; the other 50 percent he willed to his brother. In a letter he left to Suzette, he stipulated that, in addition to 90 percent of his wealth, New Orleans plantation, 50 percent assets in Saint-Domingue, and his investments, he also had set aside a small fortune for her wardrobe. Suzette, knowing her late husband's heart well, knows that it is an affectionate tribute to her for marrying him. Her late husband also wrote that he would be at peace knowing that he would continue, through his investments, to provide for her after death, but with a heavy heart he lamented that he, as a sterile man, was not able to provide her with children and leave her with a family.

Nicolas's death is a blow to Suzette that equals the pain of losing her parents. She had once again lost her family. Suzette regrets that she was not in love with Nicolas as he was in love with her. Suzette loved her late husband and had great affection for him, but she was not in love with him. It was Suzette's prayer that in time she would passionately fall in love with Nicolas as he had passionately fallen in love with her. But death came between them and stopped her love from flowering.

Once again she is alone, but this time she is not a lost child. She is the head of one of the most flourishing plantations in New Orleans, exporting sugar to the Old World. On her plantation none of her slaves' flesh is ever cut with cow-skin. Owning humans beings is deplorable, but she owns them to protect them from being sold to cruel owners. She is in agreement with Spanish slave owners who practice that a "happy slave is a productive slave," and she goes above and beyond the Black Code of treating slaves well. The slaves on her plantation are well taken care of; the children are educated. And despite the slaves having a big provision ground, Suzette make sure they have plenty to eat, which allows the slaves to sell what they grow for themselves at the open market on Sundays. The slaves on her plantation are treated with humanity and dignity. The slaves feel fortunate that the Gravoises are the plantation owners at a time in history when equality is a century away. Because of Suzette's humanity, she had no cause to fear mutiny on her plantation, and she feels well accompanied and protected on her grounds.

Running the plantation surrounded by hundreds of souls, being available as a doctor, reinvesting and financially supporting the Ursuline sisters, keeps Suzette delightfully busy and blissfully exhausted.

Suzette is not in a hurry to remarry; she wants to navigate the New World on her own. Suzette, the wealthy independent Mrs. Nicolas René Gravois is fascinated by how New Orleans is slowly turning into the Paris of the West, and she is eager to learn more about her new home. As a doctor she is very involved in the community, and she is seen frequently around town. To discourage ardent suitors, she wears huge wide hats, carries colored parasols, and holds embroidered fans at the ready to use as a partition against the pleading eyes of the men and their desperate proposals.

Five years after her husband's death, on an early evening, Suzette visits a patient in the French Quarter. As her carriage waits, Suzette wishes one of her fellow casket girls and her husband, who are passing by, a good night. Suzette turns to face her coach, and just as she is about to board, she notices a man standing across the street, gazing at her under the low light. Suzette is surprised by her attraction to the well-dressed stranger. Suzette feels exposed. Even if she had had the forethought to divert her eyes or conceal them with one of her fashion accessories, she is keenly aware that his gaze would have penetrated her fan and captured her eyes. It is the voice of her coachman that tears her from her fixation on the stranger.

Suzette has just had an encounter with Ivan Ortiz, and it will not be her last. For the next few weeks, during the early mornings, late afternoons, and evenings, Suzette would get glimpses of Ivan Ortiz. Her encounters with him are similar; Ivan would be standing a few feet away, looking at her. Suzette finds it curious that she runs into him as often as she does. More curious still to her is that she doesn't run into him during her busiest hours from high noon to early supper. Suzette does not fear the man, as she is surrounded by an entourage that consists mainly of men who work for her. And the whole of the South knows who she is, and for a monetary reward or to win her hand in marriage, any of the townsmen would race to defend her against a stranger. Getting kidnapped is not a concern to her; what does concern her is her attraction toward him.

At a ball in early spring, Suzette, seeking a break from the warm ballroom, walks out into the courtyard and sits down by the water fountain. As she fans the spray of the water from the fountain toward the back of her neck, she notices she is not alone in the quiet courtyard. Standing with his back against one of the ivied columns is an impeccably dressed man smoking a cigar in the privacy of a shadow. As Suzette relishes the misted air, she recognizes the man's silhouette. Despite the balmy, warm wind, his silky gray smoke spews upward and away from her. The balconies above the courtyard are now teeming with guests. The man steps out of the shadow into the moonlight. Suzette recognizes him as the man she has been running into the last few weeks. Apologetically, as he extinguishes his cigar with his fingers, he says to her, "It's a habit I picked up on the Acapulco–Manila route."

"You are a merchant marine?" Suzette asks as he approaches her.

"I was. But now I am the owner of Plantation Dulcina," he says, stretching out his hand to her.

Suzette puts her hand in his, and he bows and kisses her hand as he introduces himself. "Ivan Ortiz, here to serve you."

"Suzette Gravois. I am pleased to meet you."

"I know who you are, Madame Gravois. I've seen you around town. My plantation is a half a mile from yours. Your business is sugar, and mine is tobacco."

"You are Spanish?" Suzette asks.

"Yes, I am from Seville. The original owner of Dulcina was a fellow Spaniard; he sold the plantation to me and returned to Spain. The New World no longer holds an interest for him," Ivan answers.

There is depth in Ivan's eyes. As he respectfully keeps eye contact with her, Suzette gets the sensation that he is trying to enchant her with his eyes. Despite being shadowed by his presence around town in the last few weeks, the depth in his eyes inspires confidence in her toward him. His confident but guarded posture is like the poise she holds.

"I am willing to wager that life circumstances compelled you to come to New Orleans," Suzette says.

"I do not tend to be in one place for too long. I like reinventing myself. My travels are driven by economics, exploration, or adventure. I am not married, nor do I have children. It is just me and my long shadow."

"So is it economics, exploration, or adventure that brought you to New Orleans?"

Ivan smiles at Suzette, takes a moment and then answers, "Economics, the opportunity to run a plantation in the New World is what allured me to New Orleans. But I can say with confidence that exploration and adventure will be what keeps me here longer than economics."

Suzette smiles at Ivan. She appreciates his economical and adventurous spirit. The depth in his eyes is mesmerizing. She feels consumed by them. Suzette unglues her eyes from his and scans his face. Ivan's facial features are not as chiseled as she likes; he is pleasant looking, like her late husband. It is his eyes that have a hold on her, and his magnetic spirit. What appeals to her the most is his entrepreneurial spirit.

"If you ever wish to sell your plantation, please keep me in mind," Ivan says.

"Well, you may need to wait centuries, as I have no plans of selling my plantation," Suzette says, standing up.

Ivan quickly takes her hand and respectfully kisses it and then says, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Madame Gravois."

"Pleasure meeting you, Senor Ortiz," Suzette looks at him directly in the eyes, and then she returns to the great hall to join the other guests.

The hostess runs to Suzette and she hungrily asks, "Did Senor Ortiz propose?"

"No, he is interested in buying my plantation," Suzette answers, intrigued. Since the death of her late husband, it has been a daily chore to dodge and deflect suitors who want nothing more than to marry the young, attractive, and independently wealthy Madame Gravois. Ivan confuses her. Reading him is difficult, as he hides behind his magnetic eyes. Despite failing to fully grasp Senor Ivan Ortiz, she cannot deny the undercurrent force pulling her to him. Yet it does not alarm her but intrigues her.

A couple of weeks go by without any sightings of Ivan. Suzette wonders if he is out of town. Suzette cannot stop thinking about him. New Orleans is never settled; there is always an influx of people coming and going. Because New Orleans is a new town, the welcoming inhabitants quickly learn about all the newcomers. Currently, Ivan Ortiz is the only stranger in town. Yet very little is known about him; he hails from Seville and he is the owner of one of the most profitable tobacco plantations. Ivan stays close to home, taking care of his plantation; his sightings are brief and mostly after dusk.

## Death of Sister Celeste

Suzette crumples to the cold floor. Dressed in black and concealed by a black veil, she sobs into a white handkerchief next to the casket of the late Sister Celeste. Once again death has prematurely robbed her of another human being she loves. Sister Celeste was the nun that had helped raise her. It was Sister Celeste's motherly nurturing that helped Suzette deal with the murder of her parents. Sister Celeste was the closest she had to a mother. For hours Suzette remained by the casket, sitting on her knees as she cried streams of tears for her beloved Sister Celeste, for the memory of her parents and late husband. Failure unmercifully taunts Suzette. Sister Celeste had taught Suzette all she knew about medicine, but Suzette could not save her from the black hand of yellow fever. "It is easier to save someone from a mortal wound than it is to save someone from that horrendous disease," she cries.

Her legs can no longer bear the cold stone floor, her eyes are spent from crying, and her hoarse throat demands water. Suzette stretches out her hand to signal for her coachman, but the hands that hold her hand and support her other elbow are not the hands of her coachman. Suzette turns to thank the person that helped her up, and she is met by the enchanting eyes of Ivan Ortiz, who looks at her with compassion. Respectfully, Ivan raises her veil and settles it behind her head. He compassionately studies her tears as he says, "I am sorry for your loss. I understand Sister Celeste, rest in peace, was like a mother to you."

Suzette collapses onto his chest and weeps onto his black velvet vest. Resting her head on his chest lessens the headache caused by her heavy, trailing black veil. A pillar of her community, doctor to the sick, patron of the poor, yet she needs his strength to hold onto and his aid to keep her on her feet. She is grateful that Ivan, a stranger to her, tenderly holds her with a reassuring compassion that inspires her confidence in him.

"The serene look on Sister Celeste's face gives me peace. She has gone to sleep and will awake in a paradise that our minds cannot even begin to fathom," Ivan says, embracing Suzette.

"Good evening." Mother Superior announces herself.

Suzette turns to embrace Mother Superior as she apologizes. "I am sorry I could not save her."

"My child, it is God's will," Mother Superior says, comforting Suzette.

"Good evening, Mother Superior. I was on my way to see you," Ivan says as he pulls out of his pocket a leather pouch filled with gold coins and hands it to Mother Superior. "My monthly for the children."

"God repay you, Son," Mother Superior says gratefully. And then she turns to look at the distraught Suzette and says, "Death is not an end to a soul but the entrance to eternity."

Mother Superior's kind words do little to comfort Suzette. The death of her loved ones sentences her to a life of suffering and solitude.

"Your coachman drove Sister Ana to visit an injured man," Mother Superior says.

"Can I be of help?" Suzette offers.

"Sister Ana is good at caring for wounds; Sister Celeste taught her well," Mother Superior says in a sad tone.

"I have my coach waiting for me. I would be happy to see you home," Ivan offers.

"Yes, thank you," Suzette says.

Even though Suzette does not have an appetite, she invites Ivan to stay for dinner. During dinner they talk about the politics of running a plantation in the New World and what they envision of the future of the infant New Orleans.

Ivan Ortiz is now part of Suzette's social circle. They are often seen at dinners and balls together. Ivan often accompanies Suzette to the opera. Their friendship disheartens many of her wishful suitors, and whisperers around town are consumed by the friendship between Ivan and Suzette. Many agree that Ivan is in love with her, and the same whisperers agree that Suzette will not marry him to hold on to her plantations and wealth.

"Tobacco and sugar is not a sweet combination," Suzette tells the nuns who encourage her to marry Ivan after months of friendship.

Suzette appreciates the nuns' concern. The sisters are not comfortable that Suzette, a wealthy widow, lives in a frontier town alone, save her slaves. Since the death of her parents, Suzette has no other choice but to concede to solitude, and even though she does not like feeling alone, she is not afraid of having to stand alone. And as long as she has money, she has security. An astute businesswoman, she knows how to protect her wealth. She is aware that she can stipulate in the marriage contract that the money she inherited from her late husband is nontransferable into her new marriage. The truth behind her refusal to marry is that she does not want to bury another husband.

"Death will not knock on my door again," Suzette says to Ivan after he builds the courage to propose to her six months into their friendship.

"Marry me, my love, and I assure you, as God is my witness, death will not rip me from you," Ivan implores.

"I am cursed. All those that I've cared about have died. Death greets me every day. I became a doctor to help the sick, but death trumps medicine more often than not. Death is a force greater than life. The purpose of life is for the consumption of death. Death rules over us; we can predict birth but not death. I will not accommodate death. I will never marry. It is senseless for me to aspire to having a family. I am not selfish; I will not love someone to death," Suzette says defiantly.

"Not being at your side is a fate worse than death," Ivan says, brokenhearted.

"Please do not speak that way. Death is always at the door to avenge those that mock him," Suzette says with her face drained of blood.

"You care about me." Ivan rejoices as he caresses her neck with the back of his hand.

"I do care about you. I have great affection for you. And I am afraid of losing you too. I will not marry you, so that I can protect you. My parents did not survive because they were my parents. My husband survived the New World and its diseases, the open sea and Mother Nature's wrath. He married me, and before long his life was sucked out of him by yellow fever," Suzette says.

Ivan lives for Suzette, and he is careful not to upset their relationship. Her refusal to marry him to outwit death torments him. For now he basks in her company while never letting her forget with his words and actions that Suzette breathes life into him.

Ivan's arms comfort Suzette. His insatiable passion for her is always manifest in the way he makes love to her. "You ravage me as if I were a forbidden fruit," Suzette says, deliciously pleased. Nicolas, her late husband, was a passionate lover, but his hunger for her was more tender and romantic. Ivan is tender and romantic too, but his kisses consume her. Suzette quivers each time he affectionately but firmly holds the back of her head and with his other hand caresses the side of her neck while he passionately kisses the other side of her neck and bosom. Suzette encourages his lust for her by wearing dresses that accentuate her neck and bosom. In public they carry on as they did when they were friends. The passionate moments are reserved for the balcony of the opera house, inside the coach, and their homes. While Ivan professes his love for Suzette to the nuns, they keep their passion private out of respect for them.

Two years pass, and Ivan and Suzette live passionately devoted to one another. A day does not go by without Ivan telling Suzette he loves her. Never once has Ivan questioned why Suzette is not in love with him.

Suzette is not blind to the fact that Henrietta Laurant, Ivan's friend whom he met in New Orleans when he first arrived from the old country, is in love with Ivan. Suzette and Ivan run into Henrietta at the opera. When Ivan introduces Henrietta to Suzette, he does so with an air of confidence, and it is clear to Henrietta by the way Ivan looks at Suzette, that Ivan is in love with Suzette. But that does nothing to impede Henrietta's territorial attitude toward Ivan, because she was in his life first. And when given the opportunity, Henrietta loves to embellish to Suzette that she and Ivan are close friends.

"You are incapable of falling in love," Henrietta says to Suzette. Suzette is surprised at how well Henrietta, practically a stranger, knows her. Suzette has never been in love despite being a relationship with two men who treasure her like a soul mate. Henrietta's icy look unnerves Suzette. With pain Henrietta declares, "I am in love with Ivan; I can be there for him in more ways than you are capable. If you do have a heart, release him. Do not deny him love." Henrietta returns to her coach.

After Henrietta leaves, Suzette takes a moment to compose herself before she climbs back into her own coach. Suzette realizes that Henrietta deliberately has gone out of her way to ambush her with her declaration.

"Are you in love with Henrietta?" Suzette asks Ivan during dinner at her plantation.

"No," Ivan responds firmly as he locks his eyes onto hers.

"She is in love with you," Suzette proclaims, studying his eyes as he looks at the flames of the candles.

"So I understand," Ivan says, compassionately.

"I am not in love with you," Suzette says, regretfully.

"Yes, I know," Ivan answers in a whisper filled with pain.

"I want you to be happy," Suzette, tormented, says as tears escape her eyes.

Ivan pulls Suzette up from her chair and wraps his arms around her and, looking into her eyes, he passionately says, "You make me incredibly happy. You are the light of my life. I want to remain at your side for the rest of eternity."

"I want to be in love with you," Suzette says, at odds with her heart.

"It is not your fault; we cannot rule over our hearts. I am the selfish one. I am fortunate to have at my side the woman I am in love with. Your happiness matters the world to me. The day your heart falls in love I will step aside. The day you tire of me, I will step aside. And I will step aside with a full heart. Because of you I know love," Ivan says, holding her.

"How did you meet Henrietta?" Suzette asks

"I was new in town and I lost my way, and she guided me," Ivan says.

"Did you have a relationship with her?" Suzette asks.

"No. When I discovered she was in love with me, it was the day I first saw and fell in love with you," Ivan says, tenderly caressing her. "I regret that mutual love does not fill our hearts. Despite what our minds wish for, it is our hearts that rule us. We do not rule over our hearts. And while I wish your heart loved me and for Henrietta's sake her heart did not love me, it is impossible. It is fruitless to argue with our hearts."

Ivan is right; it is fruitless. But the fear in her grows. The gift of love is not equal to the blessing of being in love. Ivan fulfills her, but he does not complete her. She wonders if in her soul's quest to outwit death, she is being penalized with a heart of stone.

"Time is the only thing that money cannot buy," Suzette laments. Her days are consumed with running the plantation, helping the nuns, and seeing patients. Her windows of time to see Ivan are early morning before sunrise and nights. She does not question why Ivan does not protest that he can only see her at such godless hours. Ivan, like her, is just as busy running his plantation and accommodating his fellow Acapulco–Manila route merchants.

## Henrietta and Ivan

"You cannot deny who you are, who we are. In time, your beloved will judge you for the monster you are. Your light will not be enough for her to ignore your darkness. I love you completely. I embrace your light and darkness," Henrietta pleads as she makes herself at home on Ivan's lap.

Weighted down with a heavy heart, Ivan rests his arms on the arms of the chair. In his dark soul, he knows Henrietta is right. But he refuses to walk away from his love—Suzette.

"The love I feel for Suzette is my light. If I walk away from her I will be buried in complete darkness," Ivan says to Henrietta as Henrietta delicately traces the side of his face, covered in shadow, with the back of her hand.

"You are my light, and, as you can understand, I will not walk away from you. I also do not wish to be consumed by complete darkness," Henrietta says.

With a lancet fashioned to the tip of his finger, he cuts the side of his neck. Henrietta hungrily feeds off him while treasuring the intimacy of having her bosom rest against his wide chest as she hugs his neck, drinking him in.

## Devastating Death

Death's continual devastation haunts Suzette. In the last four days, Suzette, helpless, watches as hundreds die from cholera. The deaths of children haunt her most. She can still hear the wailing of their mothers as she handed the lifeless bodies back to them. Exhausted, Suzette sits on a chair, staring into her fireplace as Ivan prepares drinks for them. Next to the comforting warmth of the fire, she questions why she got into medicine. Her arrogant and defiant attitude toward death has been called out over and over.

"There is an unbearable coldness in the shadow of death. When someone passes, your bones rattle and your infinite soul is reduced. You realize you have no power against death. Death is a reality; life is a dream," Suzette says.

Ivan hands her a drink and kindly says, "Death is an awakening. Life is a journey toward death. Death is a blessing to the suffering." He sits down across her.

"Do you have a death wish?" Suzette asks, alarmed.

"I do not want to live forever; it is a crime against nature and an injustice to your soul," Ivan says.

"An injustice how?" Suzette asks.

"Death is not an end, but a passing to reconcile with your soul," Ivan says.

The profoundness in his tone is not lost on Suzette. And while they differ in their opinion about death, Suzette feels there is more to Ivan's peace with death.

## Saint or Monster

On a night illuminated by a gorgeous full moon, Suzette, on her way home from seeing a patient, decides to visit Ivan. Suzette is escorted to the stables by his butler. Ivan is in a heated argument with an overseer from a cotton plantation. The overseer's dogs had tracked a runaway slave to Ivan's plantation. Ivan had hidden the slave in an underground basement beneath the stables. But the hunting dogs, never failing at tracking runaway slaves, excitedly bark as they circle and scratch the floor. From a distance Suzette recognizes the cruel overseer and she is worried for Ivan. She knows that the overseer will not leave without the runaway slave. A fight ensues as Ivan tries to physically evict the overseer from his plantation. Ivan, having a physical advantage over the overseer, manages to wrestle him away from the hidden room that now has the hunting dogs whipped up into a frenzy. Defiant and losing ground, the overseer reaches for his dagger and plunges it toward Ivan. Ivan maneuvers away, but the dagger manages to slash the side of his abdomen; his white linen shirt near the cut quickly turns a soggy red.

Suzette furiously screams at the overseer. The overseer sees it is Suzette who is protesting. Frustrated, he calls off his dogs and takes off. As Suzette runs to Ivan, she yells to the butler to fetch her doctor's bag from her coach.

"It is not necessary. It is just a nick, and I am fine," Ivan pleads.

"A nick does not bleed like that; I must attend to your wound," Suzette says.

The nervous butler hands Suzette her doctor's bag. Ivan gives the butler a reassuring smile and orders, "Leave us."

Suzette removes Ivan's shirt and wipes away the blood in time to witness a five-inch slash heal in front of her eyes. Ivan's unfazed demeanor further terrorizes Suzette. Suzette slumps down to the hay-strewn ground in fear and disbelief. Her scientific mind races as her soul shutters. Ivan kneels down in front of her with pleading, reassuring eyes.

"Are you a saint or a monster?" Suzette asks.

"I am not a saint. I beg you, you must hear me out. I love you," Ivan implores.

Suzette is frozen. As a doctor she wants answers; as a human she fears learning the truth.

Ivan tenderly looks at her and pleads, "I will answer your questions, Doctor. But I beg you; do not leave my side, Suzette." Ivan looks down at the concealed door where the runaway slave is hiding, and he says, "But first, I must secure the safety of that man." Ivan calls out to his overseer and opens the concealed door. The slave, hungry, exhausted, and scared, climbs out. Ivan looks at the overseer and instructs," take this man to the kitchen give him plenty to eat and drink. And then take him to my cousin's plantation. Ride all night and guard his life." Ivan looks at the slave and says, "You can stay at my cousin's plantation. I will send a check to your old master to buy your freedom."

The slave looks at Suzette, whom he knows is well regarded in New Orleans and has influence, for reassurance. Suzette kindly smiles at the slave and says, "You are in good hands, and you know where to find me if you ever need anything. Godspeed." The slave, now a free man, and the overseer leave.

Suzette's attention turns back to Ivan's blood-soaked shirt. As she studies the color of his blood on his white shirt, anxiety builds in her as her scientific mind fails to comprehend what her eyes have witnessed.

"It is the overseer's blood that soaked your shirt. He was wounded, not you," Suzette desperately says.

Ivan's expressionless face stares at Suzette.

"Pray, tell me I am correct Ivan," Suzette pleads.

"It is my blood," Ivan says.

"You are not a saint," Suzette says.

"No," Ivan confirms sadly.

Suzettes does not know what to feel. The moments they have shared as a couple tell her he has a kind heart, but she wonders about his soul.

"In the name of us, I beg you to hear me out," Ivan says as he directs her toward the house.

Sitting down across from Ivan, Suzette's senses are on alert. She focuses on his eyes and his breathing.

"I am a monster," Ivan confirms with a heavy heart.

Suzette inhales and straightens up without taking her eyes off him. With her attentive eyes, she signals him to continue.

"On a cross-Atlantic voyage, I was attacked by a hungry fiend while I slept. The pain was great. As I tried to make sense of what had happened, she flew out of my cabin window, hiding her face from me. In the morning I dismissed it as a nightmare brought on by seasickness. But the pain was real, and so was the blood that stained my collar."

Within the medical community, there has been much talk behind doors about vampirism. Suzette realizes that she has been sleeping with a vampire, who has never fed of her.

"And when you are hungry?" Suzette asks in her doctoral tone.

Ivan gratefully looks at her. For months he has lived in torment, wondering how Suzette would receive the news that he is a vampire. Her eyes do not look at him with horror; her voice does not tremble. She does not run or take cover. She remains across from him, looking at him with the eyes of a compassionate doctor. He hopes that her soul will still have him.

"How do you feed?" Suzette asks again.

"I mostly feed off rats. At times my drive for human blood is so great that it becomes painfully unbearable. I haunt the city to see who is undergoing bloodletting. I go to the patient, hypnotize him, and raise his blood pressure and tunnel his blood into a cup. At times I feed off recently passed people, but only when the body is still warm so I will not suffer malaise from the deceased's blood. And when all fails, I feed off live rats."

"When were you attacked?" Suzette asks with compassion.

"In 1650, when I boarded a ship to the New World to flee the great plague of Seville that devoured my family and friends," Ivan reports.

Suzette is stunned into silence; the magnitude of Ivan's existence on earth dumbfounds her.

"You have lived on this planet for 123 years. You were bitten at the chronological age of thirty, and you outlived the life expectancy of all."

Ivan studies her with fear of losing her; his love for Suzette is the true miracle of his existence.

"Often my colleagues have talked about experimenting with vampire blood," Suzette says in wonder.

"I refuse to partake in such experiments; my blood is cursed and unholy. I am a living monster. I will not contribute to the damnation of others!"

"You fled the plague; you were bitten while in the process of trying to preserve your life," Suzette reminds him.

"Yes, I was a coward. I did not want to suffer as my family and friends did. But I ran to live, not to be damned," Ivan says.

"What is wrong with being immortal? What is wrong with not wanting to suffer death? What is wrong about being immune to a deadly wound and diseases? What is wrong with wanting to live as long as the world exists?" Suzette argues excitedly.

"We are immortal; our souls are indestructible. But our bodies are destructible. A silver dagger to the heart will destroy my body. Decapitate me with a pure silver sword, and it will kill my body. Impalement on wooden stakes dusted with pure silver will kill my body. As long as I avoid those scenarios, my body, the vehicle of my indestructible soul, will live," Ivan says solemnly.

Suzette studies Ivan's conflicted eyes. She can see in his face how tormented he is as a vampire.

"You are a vampire due to no fault of your own. Embrace it! Your body will not suffer and be killed by diseases or age. You will be a witness to time. You will belong to the past and you will belong to the future as much as you belong to the present, for the whole existence of the world," Suzette says.

"I am a prisoner of my disease-free and ageless body. I will not suffer from diseases or age, but my heart is cursed, and my soul is trapped in this hell on earth. I wish that the plague had consumed me rather than existing in the shadows," Ivan says.

"Do you want to die?" Suzette asks, confused.

"I do want to die. However, I refuse to die by my own hand. I cheated death in an ungodly way; I will not have an ungodly death. I pray that God will have mercy on me and destroy this body and free my soul," Ivan prays.

Suzette's compassionate eyes study him. His body, beautifully ageless, still maintains the youthful blossom and glow of a thirty-year-old man blessed with vigor. And in the depth of his eyes, she can see the wisdom of a hundred years.

"Now that you, as a doctor and human being, know my true nature, I must know if you have had a change of heart. Are you repulsed by me?" Ivan asks.

"As a doctor I am fascinated; as a human I do not judge you. I am not repulsed by you. You sequestered your inner monster; I was never fearful of you. As a woman I am still attracted to you, and my affection for you has not changed," Suzette says kindly.

Elated, Ivan lovingly looks at Suzette and he says, "In time I am sure I will answer all your questions, Doctor. In time you will personally know more about me. But at this time, I want to cherish the woman I love." Ivan lifts her into his arms.

For two years Suzette studies the magical way Ivan's body can heal both the slightest scratch and mortal wounds. Ivan allows her to witness the healings and record the sensations within his body as it heals itself. But Ivan refuses her pleas to collect more than a few drops of blood that seep out of his body. "My blood is unholy and should be boiled in the fires of hell," Ivan says as he organizes the burning logs in the fireplace with his bare hands. His unscathed hands then warmly caress Suzette as he says, "If you are cut and you expose yourself to more than a few drops of my blood, it can burn you or make you gravely ill. Vampire blood attacks human blood," Ivan warns, putting an end to her pleas for a pint of blood for medical study.

## Hurricane

Warm water and furious winds of the violent hurricane thrashes down on New Orleans as the inhabitants hold on for dear life. For what feels like an endless night, the hurricane's fury brutalizes the young city. The next day Suzette and her colleagues fight to save the lives of the cruelly injured. Suzette had the grim task of amputating limbs of men, women, and children who were shredded by debris propelled by savage winds. The storm saturated Suzette's fields and destroyed her crops. Exhausted and caked with fresh and dried blood, she fights through the debris and mud to get to the convent to help the nuns with the injured, hungry, and those mourning. And on her desperate way to the convent, she stops to check if there is life in the bodies strewn about like rag dolls.

It is not until midnight that Suzette returns to her plantation after twenty-four hours administrating to the sick and dying. Twenty-four hours of a sea of dead people.

Suzette sits next to her roaring fireplace, her hair saturated with the scent of death. Her clothes are stained with the blood of hundreds of people. Her shoes and the edge of her dress are weighted down by mud. Suzette stares at the flames of the fire as she fights of the images of suffering and tries to silence the memory of the pained cries of her patients as she sawed off limbs.

Worried about their mistress Suzette, the butler and the cook send for Ivan. "She will not eat or drink. She will not change her blood-soaked dress or remove her eyes from the fire. We have heated water for a bath," the butler says as he gratefully receives Ivan.

"Not one tear or sound. It is as if she has died inside," the cook says, crying.

"Please prepare the bath," Ivan kindly instructs as he leaves them and enters the parlor.

"The trillion stars in the night sky paled against the grasp of death. The balmy winds could not carry away the stench of death. Soiled water could not mask the color of blood. Even during their indescribable pain, people prayed they would live. And as they collect the bodies of their dead relatives, in their sorrowful eyes you can see their gratefulness to be alive," Suzette says, not looking away from the fireplace.

"You are a great doctor, but you are not a miracle worker," Ivan says, kneeling down in front her.

"We lost two doctors within two days. The nuns are overwhelmed with the sick, lame, and dying," Suzette says.

"You must rest. You cannot care for the sick while suffering exhaustion," Ivan says as he lifts her up and carries her to her quarters where a copper bath filled with warm water is ready for her.

Ivan lovingly undresses Suzette and hands the clothes to the cook and instructs her to burn them. More water is heated as Ivan lovingly sponges her off and delicately washes her hair. The cook is relieved that Ivan is there to help bathe her; the bath, polluted with mud and blood, has to be drained and refilled. Ivan refills the bath as he gently pours the water over Suzette.

The warm bath revives Suzette's soul. But her body aches, her hands are stiff and painful from hours of sawing off limbs. She plunges her hands into the warm water as tears rain down her cleansed face. Seated on a stool next to the bath, Ivan lovingly looks at her.

"I became a doctor to help the nuns administer to the sick. I became a doctor to help those injured and suffering. But as a doctor I am constantly battling death. Death is winning brutally, suddenly, and at times silently," Suzette laments.

"You could not have saved your parents; you cannot save every one. Death is as natural as being born," Ivan tenderly says.

Suzette climbs out of the bathtub, her dripping long hair no longer reek of death but roses. Suzette sits on Ivan's lap. She can feel the heat of his body soak into her wet skin. She rests her head against his shoulder and says, "I am exhausted."

"You need sleep, my love," he says as he wraps her in a towel and towels off her hair.

"It is not sleep that I need. I need a drink," Suzette answers.

Suzette sits down on her bed, her feet still aching and her hands are throbbing, sore, and blistered. As Ivan pours wine for them both, Suzette fights to silence the agony of her patients in her head.

Suzette takes a couple of sips of wine, and she locks her eyes onto Ivan's and asks, "Do you love me?"

"Deeply," Ivan says lovingly.

"Do not let me die. Do not let the darkness of death blind me from the light of this world. Do not deny me life," Suzette pleads as she desperately grasps as his shirt.

Ivan firmly and gently pulls her hands away from his shirt, kisses them both, and stands up and steps away from her.

Suzette looks at her cramped, red, and blistered hands and says, "My hands are wretched and weak; right now I cannot do more for patients. If I were exempt of the constant threat of death and a weak body, I would be able to do more for my patients."

"You are asking me to play God," Ivan says.

"You said you deeply love me," Suzette reminds him.

"It is because I love you that I do not want to condemn you, my dear," Ivan says.

"Would you rather watch me die as you live on? Are you fine with burying your love for me in my grave?"

Ivan looks away from Suzette's pleading eyes; the torment in his eyes is great, and sorrow marks his face.

"I would rather bury my love with you in your grave than give you damnation. You are not a monster," Ivan says.

Suzette gets out of bed and walks over to Ivan standing next to the fire. She looks at him and passionately says, "Bury my love in your garden of righteousness. I cannot be with someone who refuses to honor my wish. You do not suffer from illness or injury. You do not have a death date. You have the power of the elements in the palms of your hands. You profess your love for me, yet you refuse to spare me from the human condition. Do not cry into my casket. Do not soak my grave with your bloody tears. Forget that you love me, since I will not survive your love."

Ivan's brown eyes cloud over in protest. His vampiric eyes stare at the flames. He resents Suzette for putting him in a corner. But his love for her prevents him from walking away from her.

Tears of frustration cascade down her face. Ivan raises his hand to wipe away her tears. Suzette grasps his hand and without saying a word thrusts his hand into the huge fireplace's tall flames. She pulls his unscathed hand from the fire, releases it, and locks her eyes on his. With her right hand Suzette reaches toward the flames. Ivan quickly takes hold of both of her hands and holds them against his chest.

"Let go of my hands, Ivan," Suzette demands.

"No, I do not want you to hurt yourself my love," Ivan pleads.

"Will you always be able to shield me from harm, block every disease that can kill me?"

Ivan presses his lips on her hands. Suzette tries to pull away. Ivan pulls her in even closer. Suzette pounds against his chest, crying.

Ivan stands there and absorbs each blow. Tears run down Suzette's face.

"Fine. I will free you from my demand. It was my hope that you, the man who loves me, would be the one to sink your fangs into my throat." Suzette caresses her throat as she lovingly adds, "That you so tenderly cherished over the years."

The thought of another vampire drinking from her burns his soul. The first vampire bite burns more than liquid silver, and he wants to hold her through it. Ivan gazes at her tenderly as he caresses her face and collects her tears into his hands. "Your tears are blessed as holy water. It painfully torments me that you would rather bleed tears."

Suzette's pleading eyes stare into his as she implores, "I would rather bleed a lake of eternal tears than drown to death in a pond of tears."

Ivan's eyes turn red, and he pulls Suzette into his chest as he fights to control his emotions. Suzette can feel the conflicted anxiety in his body as she presses closer to him and she pleads, "I want to share your eternity."

Ivan gently breaks from her and walks to the bar and fills a glass with rum, and, with a mourning knot in his throat, he puts the glass in her hand and says, "Please drink this; it will help numb the pain."

Suzette's grateful eyes look into his sad eyes and she says, "The pain of your loving bite will hurt a thousand times less than what my poor patients suffered as I sawed off their dead limbs so they could live."

Ivan raises her hand that is holding the cup and he whispers, "Drink. Drink it all at once." Suzette drinks down the burning rum as if it were sweet wine. Ivan takes the glass from her and fills it again and lovingly feeds it to her. Suzette drinks the last drop of the rum, and she looks at him with hope. Devastated with what he is about to do, Ivan throws the empty glass into the flames of the fireplace.

Ivan sits her on the bed against the huge bedpost and sits opposite her so that he can study her eyes as he caresses her face and throat, waiting for the rum and exhaustion to carry her away. Suzette welcomes his attentive caresses as she relaxes her body. "I will forever be grateful to you, Ivan," Suzette tenderly says as her eyes try to stay open. Ivan takes her into his arms and embraces her for a long time, knowing that the next time he embraces her she will be a creature like him, and that fills him with sadness.

Slowly he drapes her hair to one side of her neck, and he caresses her exposed neck with his fingertips as he gently kisses her neck over and over again. "Hold me tight, my love; strike against me to help deal with the pain. Know that I am doing this against my soul's protest and with a heavy heart because you begged me." Lovingly and firmly holding her, he cradles her head and, in an instant, sinks his fangs through her soft skin into her vein filled with warm blood. The pain is numbed by the euphoria of knowing his bite will gift her eternal life. Suzette, grateful, lovingly embraces Ivan as his mourning heart pumps into him her blood and his blood flows into her vein. Aghast with the reality of what he has just done, he releases Suzette from his arms. Suzette slowly falls back against the bedpost and closes her eyes, wonderfully intoxicated with the immediate change in her body. Ivan fights the sadness as he wipes the blood off his lips.

Suzette, filled with ecstasy, rushes back into his arms and passionately kisses him. Leaning on him she says, "My body does not suffer the slightest malady, but sleep is weighing me down."

"Sleep is still needed; we still have a body," Ivan says, tucking her into bed.

Ivan cannot be comforted by sleep; his guilt keeps him up all night. Alone, he sits on the loveseat in the bedroom, keeping vigil over Suzette as she sleeps soundly. She looks more refreshed than he can remember.

Sunrise brightens the closed bedroom curtains. The heaviness in Ivan's soul torments him as a new day begins with them both now damned. Ivan is very aware of the changes in Suzette's body and the awakened awareness in her soul. His prayer now is that she retain the humanity that he fell in love with.

Blissfully, Suzette opens her eyes and her hand reaches out to Ivan's side of the bed and the cold sheets alarm her. "Good morning, love," Ivan calls out to her. As quickly as Suzette thinks about it, she finds herself sitting on his lap. "I see you already put into use one of your abilities," Ivan says, embracing her.

"I just thought about going to you, and an instant I was on your lap," Suzette says, amazed. "My hands feel reborn—not a cramp or discomfort. My feet feel rested. My body feels light and incredibly well. You honored my wish; I will forever be grateful to you. I will never leave your side," Suzette promises.

"I love you; I do not own you. You are not indebted to me. I did the unimaginable because you insisted upon it. I am blessed that because of you I can feel love. What is left in me that is not corrupt is the purity of the love I feel for you. And I do not want to deny you love; when your heart falls in love, I will respect that love and support you," Ivan says, caressing her.

In an instant, Suzette understands. Instinctually, her soul awareness fills her conscious mind, and she feels a deep loss. "My spark for you never ignited into love because it is against the Vampiric Code. As a vampire you cannot love someone back. We are denied mutual love due to the very nature of our monstrosity," Suzette says, heartbroken. She tenderly looks at Ivan with sad eyes and adds, "I was angry at my stubborn heart for not falling in love with you. I struggled with the confusion as to why I never fell in love with you—a man I enjoy having in my life. You fulfill my every need and my every desire, and while the love in my soul for you flourished, passionate love never ignited in my heart for you. And now, I understand, as long as you are in love with me, I cannot be in love with you. Our hearts will never unite in love," Suzette says as her eyes well up with blood. The iron in her blood burns her eyes, but greater is the burning in her soul for the two of them to be a couple.

It torments Ivan to see Suzette shed bloody tears; she is now and forever a vampire, a monster, just like him.

"Put me in the Amare trance," Suzette begs.

Ivan gently waves his hand across her face, and in an instant Suzette feels truly and completely in love with Ivan. Her euphoria alleviates the painful truth as to why she never fell in love with him. And while Ivan appreciates how the trance comforts her and fills her eyes with love for him, it is a small gift compared to the treasure of true love.

"I love feeling in love with you, my Ivan," Suzette says, caressing him. She knows that the trance is fleeting and will break soon.

"How is your head?" Ivan asks with concern.

"Like I have not slept, and my neck feels constricted," Suzette says.

"That is because you need your first feeding and soon, otherwise—"

"Otherwise, I will go wild with determination to devour blood. Is that why I am craving rats?" Suzette says.

With the tip of his razor ring, he slashes his neck and blood pools out. Suzette hungrily feeds off him, appreciating that she will not have to hunt for rodents to eat.

Now more than ever, Suzette needs Ivan at her side to help her navigate the changes in her body and learn how to manage her vampiric instincts. Most importantly, her focus is on maintaining her human nature to deflect any suspicion. Her parasol and signature hats provide the much-needed shade. At night she will see the ill, and during the day she will encourage patients to see her at her plantation. She feeds on rodents, and she has daily access to human blood. When patients need bloodletting, she puts them in a trance and laps up the blood from their arms. She feeds off the wounded. Suzette is not a monster; she will not fang a patient. She would rather bite into rodents than bite into patients and turn them into vampires when they seek her medical help. Like Ivan she will drain the recently dead and store their blood in a cool and hidden place for feeding. For a decade she relishes her robust health and extraordinary abilities.

"The true challenge of a vampire, my dear, is being a nomad and reinventing new identities. Your beautiful, youthful appearance will raise alarms. We must leave New Orleans for a decade," Ivan urges her.

Ivan knows how dear New Orleans is to Suzette, but they have no other option. "We will entrust our plantations to our trusted slaves to run, and we will administer the books from abroad, and after ten years we will return as relatives to claim the plantations."

As Suzette waits for identity documentations to be forged, she is in her New Orleans plantation, leaving instructions for the persons that will run her plantation. Suzette is interrupted by her butler. "Excuse me, madame. Maximus Flynt wants to see you."

"A patient?"

"No, madame. He is the slave you helped free."

"Please show him in."

Dressed in fine garments, healthy and standing tall, Maximus walks in, takes Suzette's hand, and gratefully kisses it.

"How are you, Mr. Flynt? I trust you are being well taken care of at Mr. Chavez's plantation."

"Please call me Maximus. Indeed, they regard and treat me as family."

"It greatly pleases me to hear that. How can I help you, Maximus?" Suzette asks.

"I wish to help you, madame," Maximus answers respectfully.

"Pray, tell me. Help me how?" Suzette asks, confused.

"With your daily needs and watching over your plantation during your absence. Handling your silverware."

"My practice is mainly at night, and I have gold utensils," Suzette says.

"I am indebted to you and Senor Ortiz. You saved me from a wretched existence. And thanks to Senor Ortiz, I am free, and that freedom affords me the ability to live as I am. And I know Senor Ortiz, a kind and generous man, will not accept my assistance, as it will feel to him as if he bought me not my freedom. And this is why I am here; the best way I can repay him is by taking care of what is most important to him, and that is you, Madame Suzette," Maximus says.

Maximus's sincerity is not lost on Suzette, but his comment about the silverware and being able to freely be himself piques her interest.

"Please take a seat, Maximus," Suzette says.

Maximus takes a seat in front of her desk. "Mr. Ortiz and I will be leaving to Saint-Domingue to take care of my plantation, and we do not know when we will return. I would like to hire you to keep watch over the administration of Mr. Ortiz's plantation and my plantation. Do you accept?"

"Yes! It will be an honor to work for you and Mr. Ortiz. Thank you for your confidence in me. I will watch over the plantations as if they were my own. I will have my young son work alongside of me so he can learn the administration, so when you and Mr. Ortiz return, it will be under his care when I am entombed in my grave," Maximus says.

Suzette studies Maximus. His extensive plan surprises her, as she did not say how long they would be away. And yet he is confident that he will need to hand over the administration to a younger generation.

Maximus kindly and respectfully looks at Suzette and then says, "Part of who I am gives me the ability to look into the future of others and see them for what they are, Madame Gravois."

"Pray, what am I?" Suzette asks.

"You, my lady, are a vampire. And Mr. Ortiz is a vampire."

Suzette sits up and studies Maximus and then asks, "And you are?"

"I am a werewolf, madame," Maximus says, relieved to be able to voice it without fear of death.

Suzette kindly looks at Maximus, and then she asks, "Isn't silver also deadly to werewolves?"

"Indeed, but not when we are in human form. What we only maintain in human form is the strength of a werewolf. I was educated in my old country and in the New World by your slaves, and as you know you educated them well. I can read and write, and I have an aptitude for math."

"Who turned you into a werewolf?"

"Back in my old country, the wife of a _bouda_ —sorcerer—and I fell in love. Enraged, the evil sorcerer turned me into a werewolf and sold me into slavery."

"I am sorry to hear that, Maximus," Suzette says tenderly.

"It has been hell being away from her. But being a werewolf has been a plus. In our community we are all the same, regardless of level of education or where we were born. We are all werewolves, and the acceptance is strengthening."

"But werewolves and vampires do not see themselves as blood brothers," Suzette says as she remembers Ivan's strong warning not to consort with werewolves.

Maximus respectfully bows his head and with a smile assures Suzette. "To a certain degree that is true amongst the male werewolves and vampires. However werewolves have an appreciation and love for female vampires, and this is why there is bad blood amongst male werewolves and vampires. In truth we support and defend one another from the persecution from humans and the walking dead."

"The first thing I would like you to do is sell the remaining silver in my plantation and replace it with gold or steel," Suzette says, welcoming him into her coveted circle of confidants.

With notarized documentation stating that she is Monique Savarit, Suzette Savarit Gravois's cousin and power of attorney, Suzette and Ivan move to her sugar plantation that is currently run by a distant relative of her late husband.

Ten years later they return to New Orleans, posing as their spitting-image younger cousins, also named Suzette Savarit and Ivan Ortiz, romantically involved as are their cousins who are still living in Saint-Domingue. They are greeted by Anthony, the now-adult son of Maximus. Maximus had left the plantations under Anthony's care, as Maximus left for a spell and then returned with a new identity as the cousin of Maximus, also named Maximus. While Ivan and Suzette were lying low in Saint-Domingue, Maximus fell in love with Agnes, a vampiressa whose initial attraction to Maximus was his werewolf strength. In time, Agnes relented to Maximus's pleas and bit him, turning him into a werevamp—a small but growing intermonster species. Suzette and Ivan are happy that their trusted friend's vampire side will keep him alive and in their circle for centuries. Ivan will continue to grow and sell tobacco. Suzette, while administering her plantations, will return to medical school to keep up with medical advances. She will continue her practice over the centuries as she explains that it is her family tradition to encourage female doctors in honor of her ancestor Suzette Savarit Gravois.

Because New Orleans is an unsettled, bustling gateway to the New World, Suzette's and Ivan's close acquaintances never stay long enough to raise the suspicion that they are vampires. The nuns who raised her are now elderly and have returned to the old country to retire to lighter duties.

Another ten years whisk by, and, reluctantly, Ivan, Suzette, and Maximus must reinvent themselves. The plantations are left in the care of Maximus's son and grandsons.

For a decade the three of them roam around South America where they indulge Ivan's passion for treasure hunting. With Ivan's and Maximus's monster sixth sense they find gold, silver, and gems that spill over coffers into the fertile earth.

On New Year's Day, 1781, they return to their beloved New Orleans, again posing as the descendants who by family tradition were also baptized Suzette and Ivan, and claim ownership of the plantations. Maximus, posing as their new employee, also returns and reunites with his love, Agnes. Suzette is happy to be back home; she loves her life as a vampire but hates having to reinvent herself.

## The Great Fire of 1788

On the afternoon of Good Friday, Vincente Jose Nunez, the army's paymaster, stands in front of the altar he has erected in his home on Charles Street in the French Quarter and lights candle after candle until fifty flames bathe the altar with a heavenly glow. The heat of the fifty candles prove to be too much for the wooden shingles above his private chapel, and the roof catches on fire. The fire, fueled by a strong southerly wind, becomes a hellish inferno, quickly consuming New Orleans.

The frequent explosions of uncovered private and illegal supplies of gunpowder startle Ivan and Suzette, who are in their midst of their nightly stroll. They look up to see the horizon awash with dark smoke, spiked with licks of orange-red flames. "Hell has opened up, my dear," Ivan says, taking ahold of her hand.

Terrorized families choke on the smoke as they scramble to save their loved ones and any goods they can carry. The fear of death streak their sweaty and ashen faces. Suzette stands frozen against the wall of fire quickly making its way toward them. Suzette feels for the humans around them, and she feels a pang of guilt that she does not share their terror, as fire does not destroy souls in hell, fire cannot kill vampires.

"We must take cover; if anyone sees fire moving through us without consequence, they will know we are vampires." Ivan pleads as he pulls at her hand.

"No, as a doctor I must help!"

From down the road, racing toward them is a wolf, a dark wolf with a shiny coat of fur, icy-blue eyes, and blood-colored tongue.

"It is Maximus!" Suzette says.

All those around them, terrified by the raging fire and fearing for the welfare of their loved ones, do not notice the awesome wolf stand up on its hind legs and morph back into the human body of Maximus. Suzette fights back her tears as New Orleans burns as if it were the end of the world; there are no firemen to form a bucket brigade.

"The fire is enchanted!" screams Maximus.

"Enchanted?" Questions Ivan.

"Yes, a werewolf paid a chest filled with gold coins and his soul so that a maiden of the devil enchants the fire that is now consuming New Orleans to also kill the vampires as if the flames were hot silver. We must find sacred ground that the devil cannot touch, or this will be the century we perish," Maximus says with worried eyes.

"The convent! Let's take sanctuary on the third floor. The Ursuline sisters use the third floor for archives; no one will know we are in there," Suzette says as a bat approaches them.

The bat morphs into Agnes, and as Maximus gratefully embraces her, she informs them. "I warned as many with vampire blood as I could find, and they are passing the word. We are ready to fly, but we cannot migrate too far before losing our bat ability. All vampires are watching the sky for the gathering."

The colony of bats high above and away from the licking fire speed through the clouds of smoke and dive through the windows into the third floor of the convent. In eerie silence they huddle together against the archives, listening to the fearful screams and crying of the populace outside running away from the inferno.

"If the convent is devoured by the fire, so will our souls," Agnes says what the other vampires hunkering in the convent are thinking. For the first time, Suzette feels completely forsaken by her own hand. She knows she does not have the right to pray for salvation. Her salvation was no longer in God's hands when she took the decision to become a monster and go against the nature of God. Her only prayer now is that the convent's walls, which house, love, forgiveness, mercy, compassion, and hope amid so much holiness, be their safety as she clings to Ivan.

The heat of the fire is threatening to melt the windows they stare out from. The strong winds grow with impunity and push the fire close to the convent.

"I will be consumed by the fires of hell in a holy vessel," Suzette says as she buries her face into Ivan's chest.

As the terrified vampires huddle on the third floor, Mother Superior orders the nuns and children to evacuate the building, and the nuns hurry the crying and terrified children out of the convent. Sister St. Anthony grasps a twelve-inch statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor and walks upstairs to the second floor of the convent. Sister St. Anthony opens the shutters of a window overlooking the burning inferno, and as the smoke snakes into the window, carrying in the cries of the populace, Sister St. Anthony places the statue on the windowsill and then falls on her knees and loudly begins to pray. The vampires on the third floor above Sister St. Anthony fearfully stare at the crackling fire approaching the convent, and they hear Sister St. Anthony cry out, "Our Lady of Prompt Succor, we are lost if you do not come to our aid!" Instantly the wind changes direction and pushes the inferno back on the devastated city, and the fire dies out. The vampires watch with their hearts beating loudly as they realize Our Lady of Prompt Succor has saved the convent and extinguished the inferno.

Amid a charcoal atmosphere, the survivors fight with anguish to locate their loved ones and come to grips with the devastation in their beloved city. A few survivors look up to the heavens and witness a dark colony of bats slowly fly out of the third-floor windows of the convent. The witnesses could not reconcile that vampires were protected in a house of God.

Ivan's and Suzette's plantations were spared by the fire. Suzette survived death. The enchanted inferno was no match for divine intervention.

"That evil werewolf is now poor, his soul damned and left without his revenge," Ivan says.

"Yes, but we were saved because we were in the convent," Suzette says, refusing to fool herself.

"I am thankful to God; if ever I wanted to be alive, it is now. Now, that you are in my life, and it is because of you my heart, which pumps poisonous blood, is filled with true love."

Suzette tenderly caresses him as she thinks that even though her heart is incapable of true love for him, her soul needs him.

Later that morning they receive an official order from Governor Esteban Miro and Intendant Martin Navarro, preventing anyone from raising the price of provisions above their former value. The same order has been sent to planters up and down the Mississippi River from New Orleans, and it directs plantation owners to send crops to market to be distributed among the newly poor. Suzette sends three wagons filled with sacks of rice and sugar to feed hundreds. While she administers to the injured, Ivan, in his private ship, follows three ships that Governor Miro has commissioned to Philadelphia to help purchase flour to prevent famine.

## Hellish Sentence

When Ivan returns with his ship filled with flour and other provisions, he learns that the Vampire Tribunal has condemned the werewolf to a violent death for consorting with the devil to kill the vampires of New Orleans by enchanted fire. It is also discovered that his killing rage for revenge was because a vampire fell in love with and seduced his wife.

On a full moon, a posse of vampires and their human helpers capture the werewolf in the woods. The vampires shave off his silver fur with machetes and rip his beating heart from his chest. Then the human helpers dip the dying werewolf into a cauldron of melted silver and quarter him, and each quartered part, encased in silver, is staked in the four gate entrances of a werewolf lair that materializes during the full moon. And they staked his head in the public square of the lair as a warning to the rest of the werewolves.

After dusk Suzette and Ivan go into town to administer to the sick so they can feed off the bloodletting patients. Between patient visits, in the dark corners they hear whispers from people concerned about vampires in their midst. The colony of bats in the convent during the fire has raised gossip that it was the vampires that ignited the inferno, not Don Vincente Jose Nunez's pious altar.

All this talk raises fear in Ivan. For the last hundred years, he has prayed for death. Ivan prays that he suffer a natural death, that a disease torture his body into his last hour of life. He feels that only such a death will help absolve him from being a monster. But for the first time, Ivan worries about death. He does not want to lose Suzette to death. He does not want death to wall him away from Suzette for an eternity. Ivan wants to live now that his cursed heart is able to love.

"It is time for us to leave New Orleans, my love. The bad blood between the werewolves and the vampires has reached a critical mass, plus the townspeople want the vampires to pay for the fire devastation," Ivan says to Suzette as they drink red wine.

Suzette walks to the fireplace and caresses the licking flames and says, "I was afraid of that; I do not want to leave my beloved New Orleans. However, the world is starting to recognize that vampires are not just a legend or myth."

Ivan embraces Suzette and says, "Let's go to Europe and blend into their large cities. We will take Maximus and Agnes with us, and in a half century we will return to New Orleans."

"I think of New Orleans as my birthplace," Suzette says tenderly.

"New Orleans is also very dear to me," Ivan says as he puts Suzette into an Amare trance, and her eyes, filled with love, consume him.

## Sweet Rhubarb

While in England Ivan learns about the Rhubarb Triangle, a nine-square-mile stretch of land in West Yorkshire between Wakefield, Morle, and Rothwell.

"Rhubarb was introduced by Sir Matthew Lister in 1620, it was coveted for its medicinal qualities, and it is used in pies in lieu of fruits. Rhubarb is four times more expensive than opium. A technique called forcing makes the stalk grow magically fast, and it produces a much sweeter stalk. Forcing is done at night by candlelight," Ivan says excitedly to Suzette.

In a large, dark, heated shed with a few candle flames to warm up the stalks of rhubarb, Suzette and Ivan listen with awe to the buds cracking and watch as the blood-red stalks grow before their eyes.

"Rhubarb, like us, flourishes at night; the crackling sound they produce as their stalks grow in the shadow of a candle's light is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard. Life is miraculous. To see the energy of life is fascinating," Suzette says, enchanted.

"After two years out in the fields, rhubarb soaks in the sun, storing the sun's energy in its roots. The sun's energy turns into carbohydrates, and in the heated shed, in complete darkness, the stored energy makes the stalks grow large and sweeter," Ivan says. Ivan can feel a sadness wash over Suzette. "What is it, my dear?"

"The sun is miraculous," Suzette says with a smile.

Ivan is not fooled by her smile. "You miss the sun, my love?"

"Yes, I do. At times living in complete darkness in the shadows feels like death," Suzette admits.Ivan lovingly holds her and says to her, "I miss the sun too, my love. If it were not for the glorious moon, we would be forced to live in an ocean of darkness."

Suzette leans against Ivan's chest and listens as his heart beats, as the warmth of his arms filled with love envelop her. Her sadness intensifies. The only warmth her soul can embrace comes from love. There is no question in her heart that Ivan loves her. She can feel it in his touch, hear it in his words; she can sense his love for her entering the room before he does. Listening to his heartbeat and the crackling melody of the sweet, red stalks growing comforts Suzette, because even though she is devoid of the sun, she is surrounded by love and life. Ivan tenderly caresses her hair and another wave of sadness torments her. She becomes wracked by the emptiness of not being able to reciprocate his love with love, and she is tortured with the thought that she may never feel romantic love, like the beautiful love that Ivan lives for by her side.

After 30 years Ivan and Suzette switch Rhubarb plantations with Maximus and Agnes, and they continue in the Rhubarb trade for another thirty years, and then they return to New Orleans with a fortune they raised in England's rhubarb trade.

Suzette and Ivan return to their respective plantations in New Orleans as the legal descendants. Maximus and Agnes, independently wealthy, continue their charade as employees of Suzette and Ivan. Suzette returns to medical school, and Ivan continues his hobby of treasure hunting.

## The Night Suzette Meets Victor Montenegro

The huge candelabras holding hundreds of candles descend from the ornate ceiling, which is decorated with white clouds, colorful flowers, and cherubs smiling down from an ocean-blue background, to announce the end of act 3. Suzette fans herself as the amorous Ivan relishes her with his eyes. But Ivan's magnetic eyes cannot contain Suzette's soul. Without warning a profound sense of awakening rocks Suzette's complete being; as she labors to make sense of her beating heart, she averts her eyes to the next balcony. Suzette's eyes fall on a man whose attention is focused on the stage, and her heart begins to race. A euphoric wave floods her with a sense of being greater than she has ever experienced. Suzette begins to fan herself excitedly as the curtains descend and drape the stage. The draft from Suzette's fan chills Ivan's soul.

"Are you all right, my love?" Ivan attentively asks.

Suzette, crippled with a racing heart, does not answer. As Ivan moves in closer to Suzette, his eyes are pulled across the theater by Henrietta's eyes. Henrietta locks her eyes into his, pledging support; Henrietta's support confuses and alarms Ivan. Ivan turns his attention back to Suzette.

"I need air; I can't breathe," Suzette says, placing her shaking hand in his.

Ivan escorts her to the grand balcony with a view of the full moon. Suzette grasps the balcony, trying to make sense of what is happening.

"Is the opera too disturbing?" Ivan asks, wracked with sympathy. In the last scene, a young couple was killed in front of their daughter.

"A glass of wine, please," Suzette pleads, wanting to be left alone.

Ivan goes inside for wine. Suzette looks at the moon, her only source of light. As a doctor and a vampire, she cannot make sense of exactly what she is feeling, and it fills her with anxiety. She puts her nervous energy into her fan to pull in the floral-scented fresh evening air. As she focuses on the moon, Suzette feels the warmth of his body come closer and stand next to her. Suzette feels an electrical spark between them. Excitable fear fills her, and she keeps her eyes on the moon, hoping that Ivan quickly returns. The heat from her excited, pulsating neck veins is making her hairline sweat. She begins to fan her bosom and neck. Her beloved porcelain fan, which also serves to shelter her face from unwelcoming eyes, slips out of her excited, sweaty hand and tumbles over the balcony. In her panicked plight to rescue her beloved fan from plunging and shattering into a million pieces on the cold, paved stones below, she stumbles over the balcony. A quick hand grabs her arm. Hanging over the balcony, she looks up to see the silhouette of the stranger. He leans over and says to her, "Put your arms around my neck." Suzette wraps her arms around his neck, and he then presses his hands on her waist and with a single swoop lifts her over the balcony. Her dress balloons in the air and then caresses his leg as he helps her balance herself on her feet. As Suzette breaths in the air between them, she sears his face into her mind and devours his soul through his eyes. "I am sorry you lost your fan, madame," He says regretfully.

Still shaken, she slowly lowers her arms from around his neck as her hands slide down and over his chest. Soaking in the warmth of his body she whispers, "You saved my life, thank you monsieur..."

"Victor Montenegro, at your command," he says.

Suzette, still feeling faint, presses her feet onto the balcony floor to balance herself. "Thank you Senor Montenegro; you are a godsend. I am Suzette Savarit," Suzette says, offering her hand.

Victor graciously kisses her hand and says, "I'm glad I caught you; I would not want to live with the guilt of not being able to save you," Victor says, relieved.

Suzette's soul is revived by his presence, and she steps back to get a better look at Victor. Under the glow of the moon and the flickering of the oil lamps, she recognizes the man her eyes had fallen upon in the next balcony. His thick, dark Regency-style hair brings out his blue-gray eyes, which attentively look at hers. In his eyes she can read a profound sadness that he is wrestling to bury.

Without her fan Suzette feels exposed. She focuses her green eyes on his hairline, and as she continues to look up at him she inquires, "Passing through town?"

"Yes, I am on holiday visiting my cousin Pablo Montes and his family," Victor says.

His voice penetrating into her makes her feel a lightness that she has never experienced before. Her fanless hand presses down on her chest, and she tries to balance herself. Victor respectfully takes ahold of her bended arm and asks, "Are you all right, madame?"

"Are you all right, my dear?" Ivan asks walking to them, holding a glass of red wine.

Suzette pulls her gaze from Victor to look at Ivan. "Yes, I am fine. This gentleman saved my life!" Suzette exhales.

"Saved your life?" Ivan asks utterly confused as he looks around for what could have possibly put her in danger.

"In an attempt to rescue my falling porcelain fan, I lost my balance and went over the balcony. Senor Montenegro, within seconds, caught my arm and helped me back over the balcony."

Ivan gives Suzette her glass of wine and shakes Victor's hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Senor Montenegro. I am Ivan Ortiz, owner of a tobacco plantation, merchant, and treasure hunter. If there is anything I can do to repay you for saving Madame Savarit's life, I pray you, do not hesitate to ask me."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Senor Ortiz. Thank you, but no repayment is necessary for saving a life. My family owns silver and gold mines. I recently moved to California. However, I am very interested in treasure hunting; perhaps you will let me join you on your next treasure quest," Victor says.

"It would be an honor!" Ivan says.

Suzette does not approve. For reasons that she cannot explain to herself, she does not want them to become friends and certainly not a brotherhood of treasure hunters. Suzette desperately wants Victor for herself, and her desire for his company must exclude Ivan. Suzette shivers at how selfish she is being about Victor.

"My dear, you are shivering," Ivan says, feeling her quaver next to him.

"I left my shawl inside," she explains. She is confused as she does not feel cold.

Ivan wraps his dress jacket around her.

"We should go back inside. The next act is about to commence," Victor says, excusing himself as he kisses Suzette's quivering hand. Victor then shakes Ivan's hand and says, "We will be in touch. I know the location of your plantation." Victor tips his hat to them and walks away and enters the building.

Suzette takes ahold of Ivan's arm to go back inside. Ivan studies her. Suzette does not look up to meet his eyes.

"My love, I am concerned and confused about what happened, and you are out of character," Ivan says.

"I thought I was alone when I went for my fan; I would have employed my bat wings to get back over the balcony. Senor Montenegro grabbed my arm just as I went over the balcony. That fan was a hundred years old, and it is now lying on dark stones, shattered into a million pieces," Suzette says sadly.

Ivan's worried eyes filled her with guilt. "In future I will take great care to ensure that there are no witnesses when I resort to my vampirism," Suzette promises.

Ivan presses his warm gloved hand on top of Suzette's quivering hand and says, "I am also worry about how upset you were during the opera and how your hand is quivering; it is not cold enough to make you quiver so," Ivan says.

"You are right; the last scene did upset me, and I am quivering because Senor Montenegro could have discovered I am a vampiressa," Suzette proclaims, trying to convince them both.

Ivan lets it go as he escorts her back to their opera balcony. In his heart he can feel that Suzette is not being completely truthful, and he fears it is to protect him.

Suzette gives Maximus a week off so that she can focus more on the plantation, and she also extends her hours for patient calls. Suzette desperately buries herself in work to avoid spending too much time with Ivan. By cutting down the time she spends with Ivan, she gets a reprieve from dealing with the guilt that rises in her when she sees Ivan. Suzette is failing miserably at shutting out Victor from her thoughts. Without warning Suzette becomes lost or distracted by her overwhelming desire to see Victor again. Suzette realizes that her depth of attraction toward Victor is beyond what she felt for her late husband and what she now feels for Ivan. When her thoughts lock on both Ivan and Victor, she is tormented by the confusion in her heart. Her spirit is conflicted between her undying devotion to Ivan and her incurable need to be in the presence of Victor.

## Heartbroken Ivan

With less time with Suzette, Ivan finds more time for himself to wallow in a fear that he refuses to name. His dark study is now his chamber of depression, with an endless supply of rum to dull his mind and medicate the heaviness in his heart.

Henrietta stands wrapped in a shadow in the corner of his study, and she studies Ivan slumped down on his high-back chair and staring at the rum in his glass. Without the desire to live, Ivan has been surviving on rum alone. His sunken cheeks, dark, hollow eyes, and gray skin tugs at Henrietta's heart. With his guard down, drunk and lacking iron, it is easy for Henrietta to hear Ivan's thoughts.

"I shower her with love. I blanket her with protection and support all her needs. I do not understand why she will not look me in the eyes nor have the desire for me to put her in an Amare trance. Why has she been avoiding me?" Ivan says to himself.

"His name is Victor Montenegro," Henrietta says out loud from the darkness.

Ivan does not have the strength to look up from his glass at Henrietta, who is now gliding toward him.

"What of Victor Montenegro?"

Henrietta sits on his lap. "Victor Montenegro is why she is avoiding you. It is because of Victor Montenegro that she cannot look you in the eyes and has not requested you to put her in an Amare trance. It is because of Victor Montenegro that she is tormented and conflicted," Henrietta says, caressing his dry skin.

Ivan glares at Henrietta. Henrietta can feel the fear rising in his heart. "What are you saying?" Ivan forces himself to ask.

"Your Suzette is in love with Victor Montenegro," Henrietta says with compassion for him and joy for herself. Ivan says nothing. The knot in his throat is suffocating him; he stares at the corner.

"I understand how you are feeling, my love. To know that the one you are in love with is in love with someone else, it feels like being impaled by three silver swords," Henrietta admits.

Ivan looks at Henrietta with compassion as she tenderly places her hand over his heart. "Are you sure?" Ivan asks, shaken.

"Yes, I watched from across the opera when her eyes fell upon him and how the space between them crackled with a spark that hit her hard. It was love at first sight for her. From her reaction I can confirm that this is the first time she has ever been in love," Henrietta says, tenderly caressing the skin over Ivan's heart.

Ivan stares into nothing as he sinks into a darkness as cold as ice. Desperate for heat, Ivan finishes the rum in his glass. Out of compassion for Ivan, Henrietta struggles with the joy she feels, knowing Suzette is in love and obsessed with another man. Looking at Ivan's lifeless eyes, Henrietta feels pity for Ivan and for herself as she understands the pain he is feeling. "I desperately love you as you desperately love Suzette as she desperately loves Victor. Find comfort in knowing that Victor will never fall in love with her, and she will run back to you to feel loved. Suzette is now suffering the same curse that you and I are suffering. It is the nature of who we are. It is the human side of us that can fall in love, but it is the monster side of us that prevents mutual true love," Henrietta says, caressing his face, now hideous from pain and lack of iron. Henrietta takes her lance and slits her throat and pulls his head to her gashing wound. Ivan hungrily feeds off Henrietta and then pulls away and reaches for the bottle of rum sitting on the table next to him. Henrietta takes the bottle from his hand and violently throws it down onto the floor, smashing the bottle into a million pieces, and as the spilled rum gushes away from them, Henrietta passionately kisses his lips quenched with her blood as his face is slowly replenished.

What is apparent to Henrietta and Ivan is not as clear to Suzette. Suzette is aware of feeling more alive than ever before. She sees beauty in creation, and darkness is illuminated. Suzette is experiencing life without the suffering from her past. There is lightness to her being she believes she never would have experienced as a mistress of darkness. While she thrives in this awareness of her lightness, the joy in one side of her heart struggles against heaviness in the other side of her heart. A heaviness born out of the fear that being completely transparent could lead to rejection that will kill her spirit. Suzette believes that going over the balcony after her fan and being saved by Senor Montenegro herald in her a new sense of self and of the world. Living in the shadows while fighting against death to save lives is taxing to her spirit. To be saved by a stranger from what he perceived as the clutches of death was invigorating to her spirit. The risk of death was not present that night, but to Victor it was a clear danger that he was willing to risk in order to save her as she went over the balcony. Through Victor's humanity Suzette feels the rebirth of her soul. Victor acted because he values life as much as she does. A monster gifted her immortality, and a human being restored in her a sense of humanity. Suzette tells herself that she is in love with Victor's unselfish act that could have easily caused his own injury.

It is an early evening; pink clouds stretch over the sunset. Needing solitude, Victor Montenegro steps out of his cousin's home and stands under the flame of a lamppost. Staring down at the moist cobblestones, he mechanically smokes his cigar.

Suzette glides out of her patient's home to wait for her coach. The evening sun does not pose a threat to her but serenades her eyes with a glorious sunset of pink clouds and golden hues that illuminate the moon that is delicately draped by a passing pink cloud. Suzette is grateful that her patient's wound is healing, and she is also grateful that an earlier bloodletting provided her with a feeding so that she will not need to feed off rodents or Ivan. Suzette's spirit soars as she worships the sunset. The melody of horseshoes prancing down the cobblestones calls Suzette's attention, and she turns to see if it is her coach approaching. Suzette sees his silhouette and the delicate dance of smoke rising from underneath his hat. As her coach gaily rides toward the sunset's horizon Suzette appears in front of Victor.

"Good evening," Suzette says pleasantly.

Respectfully he raises his head, and his eyes confirm to Suzette that indeed it is Victor. Suzette extends her hand to him. "It is a pleasure to see you again, Senor Montenegro," Suzette says warmly.

Victor removes his hat, bows, and kisses her hand and says, "Pleasure to see you too. How are you Madame Savarit?"

"Stupendous! My patient is recovering, and we are blessed with a beautiful sunset," Suzette joyfully says.

Despite Victor's smile, Suzette is struck by the sadness in his eyes.

"How are you?" Suzette asks, concerned, and then adds, "I am a doctor, are you well?"

"Yes, I am. Thank you."

Suzette gives Victor a warm smile and she says, "I feel indebted to you for saving my life. Pray, accept my invitation to dinner tomorrow night at my hacienda Senor Montenegro, "Suzette pleads. "It is the least I can do."

"It will be an honor. I am familiar with your plantation, Dr. Savarit."

"I am delighted that you accept, and please call me Suzette. Will seven o'clock work for you?" Suzette asks as the same coach that pranced past them is prancing back toward them.

"Yes," Victor answers.

The coach stops in front of them. "Is this your coach?" Victor asks.

"Yes," Suzette answers.

Victor opens the door and holds out his hand; she places her hand in his, he kisses it, and helps her into the coach. Closing the door firmly he says, "Have a good night, and I will see you tomorrow night."

Suzette, flushed with emotions, sits against her burgundy cushions in her coach lamenting the hours between now and seven o'clock tomorrow night. As the night grows she listens to the horses' hooves melodically thumping on the ever-changing terrain back to her plantation as she fights off the fear that Victor will discover she is a creature of darkness. Suzette thinks about her limited options: tell him the truth upfront and risk losing him or allow for the fate of discovery. She decides not to tell him. Her priority is to endear herself to him, and she hopes that her enchantments as a woman will charm and captivate him. As the melodic thumping of her horses begins to slow down as they approach the front of her plantation, she says to herself, "He will not be able to fall in love with me, but he can be enthralled by me." That statement heralds the terrifying realization that she has fallen in love with Victor. Suzette the vampiressa has fallen in love. Suzette laments true love's cruelest timing, but she refuses to torment herself by thinking about what could have been if Victor had been her contemporary and she had met Victor before she met Ivan. The past is gone—dead. She cannot resurrect the past and change history. Suzette is utterly surprised and confused. Before the sight of Victor, her belief had been that she would fall in love with a vampire whom she could cherish within every shadow as they danced around the light. But her love for Victor, a human being, will bring a whole host of challenges that will test his manhood and redefine his spirit. As she disembarks from her coach with the bittersweet blessing of true love, she is met by an icy presence.

"Why are you here?" Suzette asks.

Henrietta comes out from the shadow of the porch and meets Suzette on her plantation steps. "Such an icy reception, my dear," Henrietta answers with levity in her tone.

"State your purpose," Suzette demands.

"Really, is that tone necessary? One would think you are threatened by me. You damn well know there isn't an angel in the sky or a demon in hell that can give me the power to rob Ivan's affection from you. While you own his heart, I can only conquer his lust and bank on his pity for me," Henrietta says as she glides around Suzette.

"State your purpose," Suzette demands again.

Henrietta stands before her and says, "I come to congratulate you. You have met your true love—Senor Victor Montenegro. I am also here to let you know that you do not need to worry about Ivan. I know he will encourage you to neglect him so that you can dwell in the state of true love with Victor. And while you frantically busy yourself in figuring how you will cage your true love, I will blanket Ivan with my love. I will keep Ivan warm from the coldness of your disinterested heart," Henrietta says with ironic glee.

A stab of regret pierces through Suzette's heart for Ivan; she does not want to hurt him but at the same time she does not want to deceive him. She understands his heart, and she understand Henrietta's heart. Like all vampires they are destined to live only on one side of true love.

"Our hearts are like the moon. One side of the moon is illuminated. The other side of the moon is dark, icy, and lifeless. Mortal hearts are like the sun, fully illuminated with a fire for love. Now that your moon is half-illuminated, Ivan's heart will die," Henrietta says.

"Leave my property, or I will throw you out."

"Is it something I said?" Henrietta says with a smirk on her face.

Suzette steps onto her porch and looks at the illuminated moon.

"Senor Victor Montenegro heralds from one of the few very wealthy Californian families; your money will not bind him to you. His broken heart made him flee California to distance himself from Clara," Henrietta gladly informs Suzette.

"Clara?" Suzette asks.

"Victor and Clara were betrothed and were due to marry in three months. But alas, Clara broke off the engagement and broke his heart. My advice to you, dear Suzette, is to nurse his broken heart, deploy all your female enchantments, which should work for a while to distract his mind and heart from his dear Clara, and before he tires of the empty relationship with you in favor of dwelling in his broken heart while pining for Clara..." Henrietta's eyes turn vampiric gray, her fangs elongate, and with a delicious smile of irony she continues, "When you lose his attention in favor of his broken heart over Clara, bite him!"

Henrietta then laughs at Suzette's conflicted eyes.

"You cannot continue to live, let alone deserve to be called a vampiressa, if you have not bitten anyone. You are dependent on your patients and rodents; you selfishly feed off Ivan. If ever there is a good reason to use your fangs, it is for true love," Henrietta says.

Suzette swallows the bitter taste in her mouth. Henrietta is relishing Suzette's anguish and fear at possibly losing her true love—Victor. Suzette is not amused by Henrietta's ridicule, but she takes pity on Henrietta's heart, which is heavy over Ivan. Thus Suzette says nothing.

"Why did Clara break off the engagement?" Suzette asks.

Henrietta laughs and then answers, "Raul."

Suzette's heart fills with compassion for Victor's broken heart.

"Seduce him. Put him in an Amare trance. He is a man of flesh and blood with a broken heart; it will be pathetically easy to seduce him. Seduce him into ravishing your body so that in his heart he will feel he betrayed his love for Clara."

Suzette glares at Henrietta.

"Don't be foolish, Suzette. Selfishness is permissible when it comes to true love that only has one path," Henrietta strongly advises. Henrietta then begins to twirl, transforming herself into gray smoke, then disappearing from Suzette's porch.

Suzette remains on the porch for the rest of the night, admiring the freedom of the bats flying in and out of the rows of Spanish moss–covered trees as she thinks about what Henrietta advised her. Suzette understands that Henrietta's advice was born out of a selfish ploy to further pull Ivan's attention away from her. But now that she is in love with Victor, Suzette appreciates Henrietta's desperation. Suzette's guilt for desiring Victor Montenegro is unforgiving and heavy. She appreciates all that Ivan has done for her, and she will never desert him. "It is not our fate to be in love with one another, Ivan," Suzette whispers into the cold wind circling her on her porch, hoping it will carry that message back to him.

## Dinner with Victor Montenegro

Victor arrives exactly at seven o'clock. Suzette is elated and relieved that his timely arrival spares her the agony of waiting for him, wracked with worry that he will be a no-show.

Suzette receives Victor wearing an emerald-colored gown to call attention to her green eyes. Her strawberry-blonde hair is pulled away from her face and cascades down the middle of her back in rows of ringlets. Victor's dark suit and gray neck cloth brings out his eyes.

"It will not replace your lost beloved fan, but I hope this fan will serve you well," Victor says, spreading a fan in his hand. The fan is carved, gilded, and painted mother-of-pearl, gouache and gilt on vellum, metal with red stones.

Suzette, visibly moved by the unexpected gift, studies the masterful illustrations of stringed instruments against beautiful skies and the couples reposing against lush landscapes. Grateful, she takes the fan from his hand, and she says, "This is the most beautiful fan I have ever seen. It will certainly serve me well. Thank you so much for such a beautiful fan. I appreciate your thoughtfulness." Suzette lovingly closes the fan, and then she looks up at Victor's eyes and holds the fan over her heart, and she says, "You saved my life, and replaced a fan I thought was irreplaceable. Thank you."

Victor lifts up a bottle of champagne and says, "This bottle of Dom Pérignon has been my travel companion as I've roamed around three continents looking for an occasion to toast. Escaping the grasp of death that night at the opera certainly is king of all toasts in this world where the shadow of death is longer than the night." Victor places the bottle on the dinner table and holds a chair. Suzette sits down and, holding the fan against her heart, she looks up to him and says, "A toast indeed. Thank you Senor Montenegro."

"Please call me Victor."

Suzette had sacrificed sleep during the day to ensure that the dinner would be memorable for Victor. She made sure the table was set with her finest china and crystal glasses. She instructed that only one oil lamp be lit. She wants candlelight and the soft fire in the fireplace to illuminate them. She instructed that their place settings be directly across from one another, and once they are served the staff must leave them alone. The absent help afforded Victor the gentlemanly duty of replenishing the wine.

During dinner she devours every word he says and consumes him with her eyes. Victor talks about life in California, about his family and his love for the sea. But he makes no mention of Clara, nor does he allow his eyes to speak about the pain in his heart.

"I am very pleased and honored that our paths crossed. You are a charitable soul. I am a patron of the Ursuline nuns, and Sister Angela informed me of your very generous donation. I also know you have an adventurous spirit and a passion for magic. And, like you, I am not afraid of the sea," Suzettes says.

"I see this town is very well informed. It must be a form of sport to learn as much as possible about the new arrivals. Yet very little is known about you. I am probably the only one that knows you are not afraid of the sea. I do know that your great-grandmother was an orphan, and, as a very young lady, she arrived on these shores as a casket girl and married a sugar tycoon. Ivan Ortiz's grandfather was your grandmother's gentleman friend, and it seems both families are still very united," Victor says.

"Treat me to one of your magic tricks," Suzette sweetly asks.

Victor gets up. "May I borrow your sword, my lady?" he asks as he looks at the sword sitting on the fireplace mantel.

"Please," Suzettes says, gesturing at the sword with the fan he gave her.

Victor pulls out the sword and then lifts up the champagne bottle, and with one clean swoop, he uncorks it with the sword. Very impressive, but Suzette has seen it done many times before. Victor holds up the open bottle, and then he quickly turns the bottle upside down. Suzette's heart jumps, but not a single drop or bubble drains out from the uncorked bottle. Victor holds it upside down for a few more seconds, and he watches Suzette stare at the bubbles climbing up inside the bottle. Still holding the bottle upside down, with his free hand he lifts a cherry from the fruit bowl and slides it into the opening of the bottle. The cherry, carried by the bubbles, floats up the bottle without a single drop of champagne escaping the bottle. Victor picks up another cherry and places it at the opening of the bottle, and the cherry is sucked up, and it travels to be next to the other cherry. Victor positions the upside down bottle over Suzette's glass, and a cherry travels down from the bottle, carried by a gentle stream of champagne, and fills her glass, and then the champagne stops pouring. Victor moves the upside down bottle over to his glass, then the other cherry drops down into his glass followed by champagne.

Utterly amazed, Suzette places her beloved new fan on the table and joyfully claps her hands. "That was incredibly stupendous. You, sir, are a talented illusionist. Pray that you will always enchant me," Suzette says, enthralled.

Victor raises a glass of champagne and places it in her hand; he takes the other glass and sits down next to her, clinks his glass against her glass and toasts, "To life!"

"To life, indeed," Suzette cheers and then sips her champagne. "How did you do that?" Suzette asks, still in awe.

"Magicians never reveal their secrets," Victor says, pleased.

"What inspired your passion for magic?" Suzette eagerly asks as she enjoys her champagne.

"When I was a very young man, my father took me to see Robert-Houdin's Enchanted Evening show in Paris. I was hooked, and fortunately for me my father and Mr. Robert-Houdin were good friends, and thus Mr. Robert-Houdin was kind enough to take me on as his apprentice for a year."

Suzette is pleased that Victor is engaging and attentive during dinner and as they enjoy the bottle of champagne. But most notable to her are the few moments when he is absent in mind and spirit. Suzette knows he is remembering his ex-fiancée. Suzette uses her fan as a flirty prop accompanied by her witty comments to pull him back from his thoughts of Clara. She can feel his gratitude for pulling him out of his heavy heart.

"How long will you grace us with your presence here New Orleans?" Suzette, desperate to know, asks casually.

"I really cannot say. I am not in a hurry. I suppose duty will order me home in a few months, as it is difficult to mind business out of state. But before I depart New Orleans, I'm planning to go out to sea and explore the Mexican coast for treasures," Victor says.

"As you know, Ivan Ortiz is also an ardent treasure hunter; perhaps you two should join forces," Suzette suggests.

"And a very fortunate one from what I hear. I am sure I could learn a lot from him. Perhaps, you can put in a good word on my behalf so I could join his next expedition," Victor says.

"You will join him on his next expedition," Suzette assures him.

The next evening, Suzette sends for Ivan. She sits in the parlor waiting for him as she goes over the administrative books of her plantation. Maximus is due to return from his vacation, and she wants to make sure all is in order so he can simply take over the reins.

Ivan, happy to see her, pulls her up from the chair, and as the book falls, he hugs and kisses her passionately.

"Good-bye kiss?" Suzettes asks.

"Is it?" Ivan asks, worried.

Suzette, confused, looks at him and walks to the couch and sits down. Ivan sits down next to her and asks, "Is it a good-bye kiss?"

"Are you asking me if I will desert you over my love for Victor?"

"Yes," Ivan answers solemnly.

"I have great affection for you. I am who I am thanks to you. Over the decades you guided me as a vampire, and you are protective of me. Your love warms me, and I never feel alone because you are in my life. You will always have a special place in my heart and life. If it were not for the Vampire Code, I am certain I would've fallen in love with you. But as the cold law dictates, I fell in love with Victor. Victor will never fall in love with me. I will never have a place in Victor's life and heart as I have a place in your life and heart." Suzette states the facts as she conceals from him her heartbreak at the reality that the man she desperately loves can never love her back.

"I brought you a gift," Ivan says in a grateful tone.

Suzette takes the handsome burgundy velvet case and opens it up. It is a beautiful fan, identical to the fan that Victor gave her, in precious materials and craftsmanship but illustrated with beautiful themes of a couple enjoying a garden. Yes, a beautiful fan worthy of the same praise as the one that Victor gifted her but not equal in the sentimental value she holds for Victor's fan. It pains Suzette to even compare the fans' sentimental value.

"It is a beautiful fan. A very thoughtful gift that I will always treasure, my darling Ivan," Suzette says as she taps her lips with the fan.

Ivan showers her with kisses to prevent himself from asking about her dinner with Montenegro.

## Wolf Tower

Dressed in lavender and black, Suzette picks up the fan that Ivan gave her, and as her maid drapes her with her cloak, she looks out of her window to the rising full moon. Ivan will arrive shortly to escort her to Wolf Tower. Wolf Tower is a werewolf realm that opens up every full moon and allows creatures from other realms to enter. Suzette loves spending the full moons in Wolf Tower, where she can socialize freely with werewolves, witches, and vampires without fear of persecution. All werewolves in the world travel to Wolf Tower every full moon, not just to be among their kind, but to socialize with the hundreds of vampiressas that travel there to feed off the robust, blood-pumping werewolves.

## Henrietta and Drake

Drake is standing in the plaza closest to the gray tower, watching the toss-up competition. Henrietta is across from him watching him with gray, glowing eyes and parted lips to showcase her pearly, elongated fangs. Their gray eyes meet, and then Drake looks at her pale lips and gray translucent skin, and he knows she is hungry and dehydrated. Henrietta is attracted to his burly six-foot frame and robust arms pulsating with blood. Henrietta acknowledges him with a smile. Drake approaches her and takes her cool hand in his and kisses it. "I am Drake Forester. Welcome to Wolf Tower," he says as he bows down, lowering his head to her bosom.

Henrietta strokes his shiny, dark fur from his head down to his neck, and she seductively says, "Henrietta Laurant, I am very pleased to meet you, Mr. Forester."

"Please call me Drake."

"Toss me up, Drake," Henrietta says, caressing his arm.

Drake, delighted by her request, says, "Nothing will give me more pleasure, my lady."

He places his hands on the sides of her waist. "With your permission," he says as he lifts her up and with ease catapults her up into the sky.

Henrietta, feeling the air embracing her and the moon close to her, performs her air dance, her body spinning and her arms dancing with the wind, her dress gracefully swaying at her demand. Her majestic twirls and her elegant dance call the attention of the vampiressas as they twirl in the sky around her but not as high as she. When she feels the gravity's pull, she lets herself gracefully fall back into Drake's arms, just for him to toss her back up into the night where she again dances in the sky without her wings, without the fear of being shot out of the sky. The competing ten werewolves tossing up their vampiressas cannot match Drake's strength. Drake effortlessly tosses Henrietta the highest and catches her with graceful ease. Henrietta's sky dance is an art to the judges. Drake and Henrietta win the full moon's toss-up.

Drake, enamored, hands Henrietta the solid-gold trophy and says, "For you, my lady."

They enter the realm's favorite blood tavern across from the tower and sit at the dark wood bar stocked with all the werewolf blood types, foreign and domestic, as well as spirits. When a werewolf enters the realm, he sells bottles of his own blood, which is consumed by vampires or purchased by witches who use it for spells or sell it at a premium to doctors for testing. The barkeep automatically places a crystal glass and lance in front of Drake. Drake removes his leather wristband and positions his wrist over the crystal glass, and, with the tip of the jeweled-encrusted gold lance, he punctures his wrist and quickly fills the glass with his blood. He hands the crystal glass to Henrietta and invites her, saying, "Drink, my lady."

Henrietta, thirsty and hungry for blood, drinks his blood. Henrietta feels the rush of his strong blood pulsating through her as it replenishes her body. After she consumes the last drop of his coveted blood, with a seductive smile Henrietta pushes the glass back to Drake. Drake refills the glass and places his warm blood into her hand. As Henrietta gratefully enjoys her second glass, Drake orders rare steaks and raw oysters for them to feast on.

The tavern is filled with creatures that thrive in the dark. Many of the werewolves do not mind the full moon truce with the vampires who come to buy their blood. But no one can deny the undercurrents of suspicion and rivalry between the werewolves and vampires; most noticeable is the vampires' territorial attitude toward the vampiressas. It is no secret that vampiressas love to visit Wolf Tower to drink werewolf blood for its human taste and robust rush that is not found in vampire blood, which is usually laced with rodent blood. It is not rare for vampiressas to become intimate with werewolves for their blood and physical strength, and the werewolves are attracted to vampiressas despite their monstrous blood, because they pass as fine ladies.

Henrietta is attracted to Drake's delicious blood, his build, and strength. She is also charmed by his notoriety in Wolf Tower for being the strongest, and of legendary werewolf lineage. After they finish dinner, Henrietta, high on his blood and the delicious meal, sits on Drake's lap, enjoying wine and getting more acquainted as she strokes his arm. In her eyes Drake recognizes the torment of an unrequited love. "Is he here?" Drake asks.

"Is who here?" Henrietta asks, confused.

"The man you love?"

"I do not know where he is, nor does it matter. What matters is that you are here," Henrietta says, comforted.

Henrietta's heart is eternally locked on Ivan's heart, even though his heart will never lock onto hers. That is just the nature of their existence, but what crushes her soul is that he does not need or even crave her. When they are together it is because she seeks him out and the generosity of his compassion for her.

Henrietta can feel in Drake's blood, which circulates through her heart that Drake is enchanted with her, and while it is not Ivan's blood that pulsates through her heart, it is comforting to feel Drake's genuine affection for her.

Suzette and Ivan enter the tavern and sit down on the stools that Henrietta and Drake had occupied earlier, before they moved to the back of the tavern. Henrietta and Drake are now sitting in one of the enormous chairs, where Drake is cradling Henrietta on his lap as they enjoy each other's company while they share a bottle of wine.

Suzette, bored with domestic blood, reads the list of foreign blood and orders a glass of Austrian werewolf blood. Ivan orders French werewolf blood, and they also order rare steaks and oysters to dine on.

Drake picks up on Ivan's scent in the tavern. Drake recognizes Ivan's scent because he can smell Ivan's blood underneath Henrietta's skin. "I have interesting news for you, my beautiful lady," Drake says to Henrietta as he strokes the nape of her neck.

"Good or bad news?" Henrietta asks, as she leans closer to him.

"You tell me," Drake says, apprehensive. "I can smell the blood of the man you love, and he is at the bar."

Henrietta looks toward the bar, and in the low light she is able to identity him and recognizes the silhouette of the woman that stole his affection away from her.

"It is neither good nor bad news, but inconvenient. I enjoy being with you, and on this full moon I have no desire to be with him," Henrietta says, caressing Drake.

Drake kisses her hands and he says, "I want to spend this full moon with you and every full moon after tonight and between full moons if you, my lady, will have me."

Henrietta seductively licks her fangs and says, "Yes." She then kisses Drake passionately as Ivan at the bar, with jealous eyes filled with love, guards Suzette from the friendly and attentive werewolves who orbit around them. Henrietta fights to keep her attention away from them by putting all her attention on Drake. Ivan and Suzette are blissfully unaware that Henrietta is at the back of the tavern as they enjoy their meal and happily drink their wine.

Henrietta is utterly glad that she has met Drake. The lust she feels for him is like fire, and the chemistry between them will keep fueling that fire. And knowing that Drake is falling in love with her gives her the warmth that she desperately needs. The passion in Drake's touch and kisses is absent in Ivan. Henrietta refuses to allow the pain of Ivan's loveless touch to torment her while in the presence of Drake's attentive, loving caresses.

Drake knows that Henrietta's body is not trembling for him, and he can sense anxiety in her despite her hunger for his kisses. As he holds Henrietta, Drake looks over to Ivan, and he notices how Ivan gazes at Suzette while territorially standing over her as she drinks her wine, and he understands.

"Would you like to leave, love?" Drake offers.

"No, I am too comfortable on your lap," Henrietta says.

"As you wish," Drakes says, filling her glass with wine.

Henrietta is grateful for Drake's company and affection; it helps numb the pain of jealously at seeing Ivan at the side of Suzette enjoying his dinner. Still, Henrietta secretly hopes that Ivan's envy over Suzette's falling in love with Victor will be more powerful than his love for Suzette, and that powerful envy will make him seek her for comfort.

Suzette loves spending time in Wolf Tower. She laments that she can only visit during the full moon. As a vampire she appreciates the secure comfort to enjoy herself without having to guard herself from revealing her monstrous side. And as a doctor she finds the werewolf community fascinating and worthy of medical study. On the other hand, werewolves are suspicious of the medical community, and they refuse to collaborate in any study no matter how benign the intentions of the doctors. Suzette always makes sure to leave Wolf Tower well hydrated and smuggles a pint of werewolf's blood for study.

## Victor's Surprise Visit

"Last night I went for a stroll, and the full moon illuminated my path to your front door. It was a bright night, and I found myself restless, and you are one of the few people I know in New Orleans. But I was informed that I had missed you, that you had gone out for a stroll with Senor Ortiz. I hope you do not mind that I took the liberty to visit without calling first." Victor greets Suzette as she happily fans herself with her beloved fan that he had given her.

"I am so pleased that you pay me a visit; you are always welcome in my home," Suzette says as the butler pours wine for them.

"You are very kind," Victor says, clinking his glass against hers.

The level of excitement and love Suzette feels flooding through her is deliciously overwhelming.

"I have an excellent idea!" Suzette declares.

Victor smiles at her and says, "You have my full attention, my lady."

"I will host a dinner, and I'll invite top-tier government officials and families so that you can meet them and not feel so alienated here in charming New Orleans," Suzette says.

"That is very thoughtful and kind of you. While I would be honored to be acquainted with more New Orleanians, I am afraid my visit is coming to a close."

It was a struggle to pass the wine through the knot in her throat. "That is very unfortunate for New Orleans," Suzette says, struggling with the pain in her heart.

"If ever you find yourself in California, you are always welcome in my home," Victor says cheerfully.

"You miss California, don't you Victor?" Suzette asks.

"Yes, I do. I miss my California. While New Orleans's rise from a swamp is remarkable, this city gets pummeled with relentless rain that could wash out the fires of hell. New Orleans's humidity makes the constant biting and stinging of the mosquitos even less bearable," Victor says.

Suzette delicately fans herself, relieved that he did not say he is leaving to marry. The euphoria she feels to be in the same room with him cannot dull the painful thought of their living states apart.

"It takes special blood to survive in New Orleans. I am loyal to my beautiful city despite the torrential rain and pestilent mosquitos. I hear California is very beautiful, and despite the threat that the ground will shake, I am sure I will pay you visit."

"I would love that," Victor says with a yearning smile.

Suzette is not sure if he is in love with being visited in California or in love with the idea of Suzette herself visiting him in California. Suzette is resolved to win his affection. She refuses to lose him. There isn't enough treasure below sea, entombed under the ground, or in the streams in California that can break her resolve. The love she feels for Victor is great and priceless. She is determined to capture him no matter what will become of her.

"I hope you do not find me forward for saying this, but it is my hope that we make the most of your time left in New Orleans. I want you to return to California and realize that you miss New Orleans and her habitants. I enjoy your company and would like to spend more time with you and learn more about California, about you and your family. Ivan is planning another treasure hunt, and he would love for you to join him," Suzette says.

"If there is anything I love more than California, it is opera. And I received four complimentary tickets for tomorrow's show. No theater should ever start a show with empty seats. I invite you and Senor Ortiz as my guests, and I was hoping you could direct me to whom I should pass the fourth ticket," Victor says, pulling the tickets from his bill holder.

"Senor Ortiz is indisposed. I love the opera, and I would be honored to accompany you tomorrow night," Suzette says, warmly smiling as she remembers how he gently and firmly hoisted her over the opera's balcony on the night he thought he saved her life. She looks at him warmly and suggests, "The other two tickets I will gift to two debutant young ladies at the orphanage and match your donation with dresses for them to wear."

"Divine plan!" Victor says.

Yes divine, but colored in deceit. Ivan is not indisposed. And she is sure that the orphans will give them space in order to mingle with the well-to-do audience in the hopes that they will meet their future husbands. Suzette smiles at her divine plan to have Victor's undivided attention at the opera where they first met.

## The Opera

The opera's divine aria intensifies the ecstasy Suzette feels sitting next to Victor in the low candlelight of the ornate opera house. Synching into the rhythm of his breathing, Suzette feels completely whole. Suzette fondly thinks about the first time she set eyes on him from across the same booth they both now share, and how the electric soul connection rocked her body. There is no one in God's creation who can make her feel as Victor does, she admits, holding her fan against her heart as she relaxes her arm next to his so that she can lean closer to him. She refuses to let California and Clara worry her. She suppresses the struggle of her guilt and betrayal of Ivan for living in ecstasy with Victor. More importantly, she refuses to allow the fear of death parting Victor from her to torment her. She must be vigilant. In her mind there isn't a human on land, or a creature in the sea that can rip Victor from her grasp. Death is her only threat, a threat greater than God. God gives one free will, but death ends it all. Henrietta comes to Suzette's mind, yes she thinks to herself, Henrietta is right, she must deploy all her female charms and engage her own magic to capture Victor's spirit and make him feel raptured with lust for her.

The two debutant ladies are having the night of their dreams, protected by their godparents for the evening, Victor and Suzette. Suzette can feel how uplifting it is for Victor to see the timid, young debutantes, both seventeen years of age, having what they referred to as their Cinderella evening.

"I commend you; it was great idea to sponsor two young orphans," Victor says during intermission as he watches young, single men introduce themselves and engage with the young orphans under his paternal gaze.

Suzette tenderly smiles at the young women who, with timid smiles and big eyes, are enjoying their evening, as she remembers her arrival into New Orleans and being thrust into a life of opulence.

"Yes, I thought it would be a great way to honor my great-grandmother."

"Right, she was an orphan herself when she arrived in New Orleans. When I return to California, I will make it a monthly tradition to sponsor local orphans to their night of gala at the opera and introduce them to well-to-do, respectable suitors who can give them family and security," Victor declares.

"I will also make it a monthly tradition to continue to sponsor orphans to a night of gala and meeting respectable suitors here in New Orleans or whatever city my travels may take me to," Suzettes says, moved that she has inspired Victor to sponsor orphaned young ladies to Cinderella nights and introduce them to high society and respectable suitors.

Suzette lovingly opens the fan he gave her and begins to seductively fan air toward the nape of her neck and bosom.

"Shall we enjoy our wine on the balcony?" Victor suggests as he offers his hand to her.

Suzette gladly anchors her fingers over his, and the warmth of his fingers penetrating her bare fingers makes her feel alive. As Victor escorts Suzette out onto the balcony, Suzette's heart races with desperation to seduce Victor.

Victor stops a few feet away from the balcony railings. Suzette anchors her fingers into his arm and directs him to the balcony railing.

"Be careful, my lady," Victor cautions as she sets her wine glass on the balcony.

Suzette hooks her hand back into his arm, and with a tender smile she says, "I have nothing to fear; I am standing next to the man who saved my life."

Victor smiles and tips his hat and says, "I am very fortunate and delighted to have made your acquaintance, albeit in such a dramatic form. I appreciate your friendliness, as it made my stay in New Orleans even more enjoyable than I expected."

Suzette's closes her fan and rests it against her heart, and she says, "Your acquaintance inspires me to view life in a more loving way."

"Any other gentleman would have grasped you from the jaws of death," Victor says.

Suzette draws the heavy dark curtains around her bed. As she rests her head on the pillow, she struggles to relax her joyful heart. Sleep is unattainable; her soul and heart are still with Victor as she relives their night at the opera. Their mutual desire to help those less fortunate than they is soul bonding. Suzette's plight now is to entice him as a man, and get as close as possible to his heart.

## Pere Dagobert

Ivan insists on being Suzette's coachman for the evening while she makes a few house calls. Suzette is grateful that Ivan does not ask about her evening at the opera with Victor. Suzette is grateful to report to Ivan that her patients are doing well, and relieved that the pints of blood she has collected will be enough to help them keep their vitality glowing for a few more days. After her last house visit is completed, they sit in the coach and drink the pints of blood. Her body intoxicated with the life force of others and her heart beating with love, she sits back against her velvet seat. Wanting to conceal the love in her eyes for Victor, Suzette looks out the coach's window and breathes in the moist night air.

"I love rainy nights like tonight, when the rain is gentle and nurturing," she says. "It is miraculous how rain falls down on us from the heavens. Droplets of rain, like droplets of blood, are both miraculous and necessary for our survival. Suffering a drought is as just as bad as suffering a tsunami of rain. Rain like tonight is a blessing, a reminder that humanity is meant to live on."

Suzette looks at St. Louis Cathedral, and she is charmed by its ethereal appearance against the smoky dark sky. The cathedral's three towers remind her of the trinity. She looks at the glass pint she is holding on her lap with a ring of blood on the bottom of it, and she says to Ivan, "Christ's blood washes away our sins."

Ivan looks at Suzette. "Indeed. It has been decades since I last went to mass," he says mournfully.

"It has been decades since I drank the blood of Christ. I wonder if I will ever feel worthy to drink holy blood."

"Would you like to head back home now, my love?"

"No, it is still hours before dawn," Suzette says, still contemplating the cathedral behind a curtain of rain.

The rain drops landing become silent, and the winds become still. The moon pushes through gray clouds. In the quiet night, Suzette hears singing, a heavenly voice ringing out the _Kyrie_. Stunned by the beautiful voice, Suzette opens the coach door and searches the night for the performer. She looks through the rain as the spectral voice becomes closer and more passionate.

"Do you hear him?" Suzette asks Ivan, awed.

"I hear the rain," Ivan answers.

Slowly walking past the cathedral, dressed as a priest from decades ago, he continues to beautifully sing _Kyrie_. Suzette recognizes his walk, his posture, and with much fright now, his voice. She whispers, "Father Dagobert." Father Dagobert stops and turns to face her with kind eyes and then continues his walk and his beautifully haunting singing.

Suzette sits back against the seat; the blood of her face drains. Ivan looks at her with concern and as he crosses over her to close the door. Suzette sits motionless, her face gray with fright. Ivan, troubled, asks, "Are you all right? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Blood tears roll down her face as she says, "I saw Father Pere Dagobert."

"You must have mistaken him for someone else, my love. Father Dagobert died decades ago."

"I'd forgotten how beautifully he sings," Suzette says.

"You heard him singing _Kyrie_?" Ivan asks.

"Yes, as no one else can on this earth."

"You are not the only one, my dear; for decades people have been reporting to hear him sing _Kyrie_ from the cathedral to the cemetery."

"Father Dagobert was the last priest who gave me communion and the blood of Christ," Suzette says mournfully.

"Do not cry out the blood you just consumed; it will make you ill," Ivan pleads, wiping her face.

"Please take me home," Suzette says, fearing daybreak.

They arrived to Suzette's plantation.

"No, do not light the fireplace," Suzette pleads. "Only candles."

Ivan lights the candelabra and sits down next to Suzette, who is staring into the dark opening of the fireplace.

"Your iron is low; I know you feel cold. Why don't you want the fireplace lit?" Ivan asks as he pulls her close to his warm body and wraps her arms around her.

"I did not want to be reminded of the fires in hell," Suzette admits, leaning closer to Ivan.

"What is it, my love?" Ivan asks tenderly.

"Father Dagobert lives," Suzette says.

## Death Is Not the End

Suzette is overcome with the revelation that life does not end after death. The soul indeed goes on. Witnessing the ghostly holiness of Father Dagobert continuing to do in death what he loved in life made it horrifically clear to her conscience that she had committed a sin of vanity in wanting immortality. Yes, she resents the fact that death tears her beloved ones away from her life. At first it was about winning—winning against death. However, in the depth of her soul, due to her religious upbringing, she had expected that life continues in spirit after death. Yet in her vain existence she does not want to part from who she is and all her accomplishments. It is not about death, but rather to continue to exist in the flesh in the material world. "It is only fitting that my desire to live on in the flesh cursed me to live without the gift of mutual love that graces those who respect death," she says to herself.

Father Dagobert, although in spirit, was completely recognizable to her. And in that one moment when his eyes looked deep into hers, there was no veil of death, but the same connection they had had when he was alive. She fears that her quest to live in the flesh will sentence her to hell for eternity. Sitting alone on her bed, staring at her heavily draped windows, she says to herself, "Inconsolable grief has not made me completely evil; I still have a heart that can love. And I must honor, protect, and secure this love I have for Victor. This love will be the only treasure that I can take with me. And I pray that on Judgment Day, purgatory will be my punishment for my immortality, not the eternal fires of hell. I pray that while in my temporal punishment, God will not blind me from my true love for Victor."

## Hunting for Treasures

Ivan's passion for hunting for treasures was born on a tempestuous night, in the early years of his treacherous career as a merchant, when the ship he was on crashed into what they presumed was the coral reef in North Carolina. However, to his good fortune, his ship was not mangled by the coral reef but by the remains of the wrecked sails of the _Queen Marie's Vengeance_. _Queen Marie's Vengeance_ was the flagship of the infamous Pirate Goldendeath, so named because of the numerous deaths he was responsible for during his quest for gold. In 1717, _Queen Marie's Vengeance_ ran aground off the coast of North Carolina, where Ivan's ship ran aground. Ivan's crew abandoned ship on that moonless night, and they waded through the cold water to shore. The immortal Ivan remained on board, not because he was mocking death, but because his senses, like magnets, were pulling his awareness under the water to Goldendeath's shipwreck. Though Goldendeath himself escaped and saved some of his ship's supplies and treasures by transferring them from the sinking _Queen Marie's Vengeance_ into a smaller ship, Goldendeath was not able to save countless gold coins and loose gems.

On that night of the shipwreck, Ivan discovered his heightened sensory ability to smell metal. Ivan's immortality had heightened all his senses, but it was the first time he could smell metal, and he reckoned it was because of the immense volume of gold coins gathered in one place.

Later that night, alone, he returned to the site of his shipwreck and, while fully clothed, he dove into the water and collected as many gold coins and gems as his senses led him to. And it was with that fortune that he recovered that he moved to New Orleans, bought his tobacco plantation – Dulcina. And thus by establishing roots in the New World he met Suzette, the love of his life. If he had not discovered Goldendeath's treasure his existence would have continue mainly on the seas as an incurable merchant.

## Nuestra Senora de Valencia

In 1620, the year that Ivan was born, the Spanish galleon _Nuestra Senora de Valencia_ and her fleet, was on its way back to Spain from Florida when it was caught in a hurricane off the coast of Key West and crushed into a reef. To the horror of the souls of the rest of her fleet, she quickly sank. The fortitude of her crew and _Nuestra Senora de Valencia_ 's grandeur, enormous weight, and craftsmanship were no match for the unforgiving sea and treacherous hurricane. The galleon went down to her watery grave, taking down with her an enormous cargo of forty-five boxes of gold, ten tons of silver bars, forty kilos of emeralds, and 150,000 gold coins of different values.

After settling in New Orleans, for many years Ivan has searched for _Nuestra Senora de Valencia_ 's watery grave off the coast of Key West, to no avail. The crew does not fault him, as they reason that men are limited against the elements, and they also believe that _Nuestra Senora de Valencia_ and her enormous treasure is jealously guarded by her dead crew. While Ivan accepts the crew's beliefs, he is more concerned as to why his senses cannot pick the scent of the _Neustra Senora de Valencia_ 's treasure, which is more enormous than Goldendeath's _Queen Marie's Vengeance_ 's treasure.

Then one afternoon, after an earth-pounding storm that reached into the bottom of the ocean and stirred up the underwater ancient sand, the smell of a rotting concretion, enveloped with the metallic smell of her treasure, beckons Ivan, who is standing at the shore, mesmerized by the force of the storm, to her precise position. Ivan is certain he has found _Nuestra Senora de Valencia_. Once the storm calm down, and under the still and dark-gray clouds, Ivan quickly assembles a crew from the men desperately seeking work on the shore. Ivan hypnotizes his crew and commands them to set sail over to the grave of _Nuestra Senora de Valencia_. As the hypnotized crew fishes for Blackfin tuna and shrimp, Ivan, who is capable of holding his breath underwater for minutes at a time without suffering fatigue, scavenges the gold coins and gems that confetti the sea floor.

Ivan pays the unsuspecting crew handsomely for the seafood they have caught, and he also gives them a percentage of the catch. The grateful and hungry men make themselves available to Ivan without ever questioning their murky memories of working for him. With the same crew, he goes back to _Nuestra Senora de Valencia_ , and while his hypnotized crew again fishes for Blackfin tuna and shrimp, Ivan, not able to locate the bundle of the treasure, collects more gold coins and gems that the swaying sea flushes away from the collective loot.

## Treasure Quest

It is a battle for Suzette to disguise the awkwardness she feels in the company of both Ivan and Victor. She is grateful for the mild dusk as they visit on her porch. Fanning herself while in both of their company is out of the question. Suzette has accustomed Ivan to see her fanning herself with the fan he gifted her. Likewise, she had accustomed Victor to seeing her fan herself with the fan he gifted her. So out of respect for Ivan, she will not use the fan that means the most to her, the one that Victor, the man she is in love with, gave her.

With nervous hands wrapped around the cool glass of her mint julep, Suzette listens attentively as Ivan and Victor discuss their trip to Key West to search for the treasure of _Nuestra Senora de Valencia_.

"The winds are calm, and the waters are still at night. And under cover of the night, there will be no witnesses to our discovery. The moon's light will bounce off the treasure in the dark ocean, leading me to it," Ivan explains to Victor.

Suzette smiles proudly at Ivan for his prowess. Ivan's ability to manipulate the elements and his sharp senses surpass the abilities of most within the vampiric community.

"Ivan is an experienced diver; he can hold his breath longer than the dead, and his echolocation by smell is very impressive." Suzette speaks the truth covered in a jesting tone.

Ivan gives Suzette a tender smile, and he bows his head to her in gratitude.

"That is amazing," Victor responds with a laugh. And then he shares, "I have financed a couple of recovery expeditions in the Mediterranean in hopes of locating the lost city of Atlantis. While we did not find any evidence of Atlantis, we did find the lost world of the Iráklion."

"Iráklion?" Ivan asks, intrigued.

"Iráklion, a once prosperous and thriving city that was engulfed by the sea over a thousand years ago. The Greek writer Herodotus, a fifth-century BC historian, wrote about Iráklion," Suzette says as she smiles at Victor.

"We recovered grand statues, artifacts, and coins that we sold to the British Museum. While my interest has been more on finding the lost cities. I am really excited about starting the new venture of hunting for sunken ships and treasures," Victor says, then, celebrating his excitement, he lifts up his whiskey and takes a drink.

"This will be my third attempt at locating _Nuestra Senora de Valencia_ 's treasure. The last attempts only yielded a few gold coins and gems. I am certain I have the exact location. It is just a matter of identifying which sand mound is concealing the loot," Ivan says, excited and appreciative of Victor's passionate interest.

"Well, gentlemen, as much as I appreciate jewelry from bygone eras, I do not fare well on a stationary ship battling the watery elements under a scorching sun," Suzette says, excusing herself from the maritime adventure.

"This is why it is important, for the sake of discretion and dehydration, that we salvage what we can at night. All I need are lanterns on deck and the full moon's light beams underwater," Ivan says, encouraging her.

"The elements and dehydration can be just as treacherous as the sea," Victor says, concerned for Suzette.

"Indeed," Ivan concedes as he thinks that Victor will find it less suspicious that he can work throughout the night, unscathed by the elements. However, Ivan fears that Victor will find it disconcerting if Suzette stows away below deck, sleeping the day away.

"I will contribute to the expense of the expedition," Victor says.

"How is your diving?" Ivan asks Victor.

"I love the sea; I am an avid swimmer and a great diver. I helped hoist up the treasures of sunken cities we found," Victor says, proud of himself.

Ivan discreetly and lovingly looks at Suzette. Suzette's eyes are on Victor. Ivan puts his attention on Victor.

"In gratitude for saving Suzette, I will sponsor the expedition and compensate the crew. You dive down with me to recover the treasure, and whatever you bring up to the deck is yours. And I what I hoist up is mine. Agreed?"

Victor takes a moment to answer. He appreciates the gesture, but Ivan's goodwill toward him bewilders Victor. He is not sure whether the expedition is a manner of thanking him for saving Suzette, or a ruse to be alone with him to investigate him. However, Victor is intrigued by Ivan, and he wishes to understand the true nature of the relationship between him and Suzette. Victor welcomes the opportunity to be alone with Ivan on the sea, away from the souls of New Orleans, where they can open up as men.

"Fine. But the next treasure expedition we undertake I will finance and compensate the crew," Victor firmly says.

## Murky Waters

Ivan must work alone, therefore he insists that since Victor is his guest, he wait on board while Ivan dives down first to work on locating the treasure. The truth is Ivan needs to work alone so he can confidently deploy his senses without interruption and suspicion.

Luck would have it that this third attempt yields the jackpot. Ivan smells the gold, and he can see the brilliance of the emeralds. Under a mound of sand and sea debris lays buried the bulk of the treasure, a chest filled with emeralds, and next to it lay the forty-five boxes of gold. Scattered around the boxes of gold are countless gold coins that the ocean did not relocate. Missing are the ten tons of silver bars that were rumored to have been recovered centuries ago by pirates who were forced to leave the rest of the treasure resting on bottom of the sea. Legend had it that the pirates feared that by bringing on board the emeralds, gold, and gold coins, which combined were worth less commercially than the tons of silver, they would dangerously add additional deadweight that their ship would not be able to bear. And just as importantly for the pirates, they also decided to leave behind the emeralds, gold, and gold coins to appease the late crew of _Nuestra Senora de Valencia_ , who went down with her to their watery grave.

Ivan is relieved that he does not have to deal with the fatal silver. Ivan unceremoniously waves his arm over the mound to clear away the sand and sea debris. The gems, gold, and gold coins glisten majestically in the soft current, flushed with the full moon's rays. Ivan, with both hands, grabs strands of emeralds, and then his immortal body races up the water.

Once above water Ivan shouts, "Eureka!"

Victor, excited, free dives in, and then he follows Ivan to the undersea treasure. Each man takes ahold of a handle of the chest filled with emeralds of many brilliant cuts and colors, and instinctively they lift the chest up gently as if they were extracting a delicate flower from her flowerbed.

Feeling confident that the chest is still sturdy, they slowly swim back up with it and carefully hand the centuries-old treasure chest to the awed crew. They dive back down into the sea, Ivan retrieves twenty-five boxes of gold, and Victor retrieves twenty. Ivan's ability to hold his breath longer than Victor gives him the advantage to recover more than Victor, and thus he also recovers more coins than Victor.

On Ivan's last dive down, his eyes get a glimpse of a beautiful heart-shaped gold collar necklace with gold coins and beautifully bejeweled with different gems and diamonds, resting against the coral reef as if it were on display. As Ivan picks up the necklace, he instantly recognizes it from a painting. The necklace belonged to the countess Carlota de la Vega from Spain; the countess was traveling to the New World aboard the _Flor del Mar_. Her ship got caught in the crossfire of two warring pirate ships, and the _Flor del Mar_ was struck by cannons. The _Flor del Mar_ quickly went down with her crew, including the countess with her treasured necklace and her cargo of Indian diamonds that the countess was bringing to the New World to be used as engraving tools and as gifts and peace offerings for those in the New World.

The countess also believed in the superstition that the cargo of diamonds would provide protection in battle. The countess was correct about the diamonds' ability to cut, as well as being accepted as gifts and peace offerings. But the countess was dead wrong about their protecting her in battle, as the diamonds did not protect the _Flor del Mar_ against the two warring pirate ships. Unfortunately for the countess and her crew on that now infamous day, the _Flor del Mar_ sank in the midst of choking cannon smoke from the two warring pirate ships, which had missed one another but mortally wounded the _Flor del Mar_. The steady cannon blasts to the once-praised _Flor del Mar_ rendered her souls unconscious as they quickly sank to their watery deaths.

After the _Flor del Mar_ 's mainmast was covered by the murky water, the pirates in the two warring ships caught sight of privateers' flags billowing in the stormy winds. Two privateer ships were approaching them from the crimson horizon. The warring pirates quickly disengaged, and the pirate ships fled, leaving behind the newly sunken treasures of the _Flor del Mar_ , which was aground before the privateer ships reached the site of her demise.

Unbeknownst to the privateers, their ships traversed over the watery grave of the _Flor del Mar_ as they continued their pursuit of the fleeing, wanted pirates. Over the years, the much older and still-wanted pirates of the famous battle that sunk the _Flor del Mar_ returned several times to that part of the sea in search of the _Flor del Mar_ 's grave. As they searched in vain for years for the _Flor del Mar_ , age took a toll on their sight and stamina, and eventually the pirates had to bitterly accept it was not meant for them to find her resting place and recover the treasure. Many treasure hunters over the centuries searched in utter vain for the _Flor del Mar_ , but not one living being saw her again. A legend arose that while the diamonds did not protect the _Flor del Mar_ from battle, they are now protecting her exact resting place at the bottom of the ocean from being discovered.

It is Ivan's good fortune that, by way of the sea or the doing of a sea creature, the collar was relocated onto the reef. Ivan swims a half a mile out, and a hundred feet from him, lying on her side, is the _Flor del Mar_. While Ivan cannot smell diamonds, he knows they are still lying inside the ship, since no one has claimed to find the legendary diamonds of the ill-fated _Flor del Mar_. Ivan swims to her faster than any sea creature capable to claim her for himself.

The _Flor del Mar_ has been overtaken by the elements of the sea. The minerals and sea creatures have made a home out of her. Ivan swims over to the _Flor del Mar_ , which is resting serenely on her side as if she has always belonged to the sea. Ivan peers through one of the holes blasted into her by one of the warring pirate's cannons. Through the blasted hole, now further enlarged by erosion and decay, Ivan gets sight of the eternal diamonds. Ivan swims through the hole into the ship and swims to the chest lying on its side with a stream of glistering diamonds that over the centuries have been pushed out of the chest by the sea. Ivan pauses and studies the diamonds that were created millions of years ago and sank centuries ago. He admires the eternal, youthful brilliance of the diamonds in the moonlit, clear water. And for a minute, as he looks at the diamonds that lie still under the unforgiving current, he feels a sharp pang of guilt that his eternal youth is credited to being a monster and not the hand of God—like the diamonds. With one hand he carefully cups up diamonds and then swims back up to his ship. Once on board he shows Victor the sparkling diamonds dripping with water as he excitedly announces that he has found the legendary _Flor del Mar_ and her diamonds.

" _Flor del Mar_!" Victor repeats, excited.

Ivan then instructs the crew to sail the ship a mile in, and they anchor at the side of her. Ivan and Victor dive into the sea and they burrow into her. Victor collects handfuls of diamonds, coins, jewels, and undamaged china and places them into a large woven sack that drains out the water but not the contents. Victor hoists the sack over his shoulder and swims back up to the ship anchored above. Ivan, with his sack filled with diamonds, coins, china, glass bottles still filled with wine, and other ship's artifacts, burrows deeper into the decaying ship and regrettably stumbles upon where she rests; the countess Carlota de la Vega is lying on her back in the derelict ship. The ship, on its side, is cradling her like a coffin. Her face is facing up toward the heavens. Her emerald-green gown, although stripped and snagged over the centuries, still holds an elegance befitting a countess. On her head she still wears a headband of pearls, diamonds, and sapphires over an aged white-chiffon veil. Secure under her jeweled headband and veil are strands of surviving long auburn hair that caresses her skull in the movement of the ocean. With respect, Ivan gets down onto one knee and bows. Lost for words, he simply studies her. Her decayed state would mortify many, but not Ivan. However, he cannot fathom the terror and despair she and her crew suffered as they were struck with the realization that within minutes they would die. He feels for the countess and her crew who survived the open seas for three months, sailing alone after the devastating misfortune of losing their two escorting ships, the _Perla_ and the _Lindamar_ to storms early on. She undertook her ill-fated odyssey to join her husband in the New World, only to die miles away from him.

But that was centuries ago, and now she rests, cradled by the ship that dragged her down. Her face faces up to the heavens, and Ivan doesn't doubt that the countess, who was loved by all for her charitable works and patronage to those plagued with incurable diseases, is no longer suffering her terror and despair of drowning without saying good-bye to her loved ones. Ivan apologizes to the countess for disturbing her resting place and for taking with him her worldly goods. And he confesses to her that he wishes that he had died centuries ago as bravely as she had. Ivan takes a handful of diamonds from his sack and places the sparkling diamonds, like stars, on her dress. He contemplates her peace one more time and then caresses her skull, wipes away the sea weeds from her headband, then swims away.

## Somber Celebration

In the captain's cabin, Ivan and Victor comfortably sit across from one another at the elegant, golden, etched wooden table. Each man anchors a bottle of wine onto the table, while with the other hand they toast one another for their good fortune.

"I must admit, this is a treasure hunt that I will never forget. We just made history," Victor says to Ivan as he looks over Ivan's shoulder to the still dripping-wet booty.

Ivan gives him a pensive smile and takes a sip of his wine and then caresses the countess's necklace, which is resting in his palm.

"I stumbled onto her," Victor confesses apologetically.

Ivan looks up from the necklace at Victor.

"I was not prepared for that. Seeing the once-illustrious countess wasted away by time and the elements made me feel that I was raiding a tomb, her tomb, not a sunken ship. I said a prayer for her and promised her that most of the money I get from her treasure I will give to charity in her name," Victor declares.

"Yes, I too stumbled upon her. I also talked to her, and I placed some of her diamonds on her," Ivan says.

"Then you stumbled onto her after me, as I did not see diamonds. How harrowing it must have been for her and the rest of the souls on that ship to know they were all going to die on that day. Her crew, thousands miles away from love ones, the countess only a few miles away from her beloved husband. How cruel and ironic was her death; it makes one question everything. To survive the treacherous loss of her escorting ships, and then to have to weather the rest of her odyssey without protection. The joy she must have felt when she saw that she was only a few miles away from land and from her husband. Just to die senselessly miles away from shore, away from the husband she has not seen for months. It is hard not to believe that in her despair of knowing she was about to die, she must have desperately asked God why. History tells us she was well loved and through her title as countess did God's work, and in the end her life was ripped away from her in such a terrifying and ironic manner as if she were being punished," Victor says somberly.

Ivan looks up from her necklace and says, "Not punished; she was rewarded."

"What are you saying my good man?" Victor asks, baffled.

"This world is plagued with suffering. And it is written that in heaven there is no suffering," Ivan says.

"It is sad that she exited this hell on earth in such a dramatic and frightening manner," Victor says.

"If you die in your sleep, no one will remember you. Our entry into this world is dramatic; it is only befitting that our departure is dramatic too," Ivan says.

"And the countess's necklace?" Victor asks.

"When I discovered it, it was beautifully displayed on the coral reef. It was draped on the coral reef as if it were being worn on a delicate neck of a lady. At first I thought that the current or a sea creature relocated her beautiful necklace onto the reef." Ivan lifts it and then continues, "But it is too heavy for a wave to have dislodged it from its demise, carry it over to the reef, and carefully lay it down."

Victor studies how Ivan admires the necklace.

"I believe after so many centuries lost at sea and buried in tragedy, countess Carlota de la Vega wanted her ship and treasure to be found. In spirit she must have watched as the once-mighty _Nuestra Senora de Valencia_ gave up her remaining treasure to us, and the countess wanted _Flor del Mar_ to finally give up her treasure. After all, God did not create such coveted beauty for it to sit at the bottom of the sea. It was this necklace that called to me and helped me identified her watery grave. This beautiful necklace was treasured by the countess and immortalized in many of her portraits. I too will donate most of the money I get for the rest of my loot. But this necklace shall not sit idle in a glass box in a museum; it needs to be worn by a lady who will appreciate its beauty as much as the countess did. The necklace will once again feel the warmth of a fine lady's neck," Ivan declares.

"The lady you decide to give that necklace to will never forget you," Victor says with a smile.

"This beautiful necklace's new owner will be Suzette Savarit. Suzette will do this jewelry justice," Ivan warmly announces.

"I can feel a warm bound between you and Suzette, a bond grown from your respective families going back decades. But I assumed, apparently incorrectly, that the necklace was destined for a woman who you are in love with," Victor says.

Unfazed by Victor's confusion, Ivan studies the necklace in his hand with a loving smile.

"If I may ask, how close are you and Suzette?" Victor asks and then takes a sip of his wine.

"Because of our respective families' incredible history, one can argue that Suzette and I are as close as blood relatives."

"It is rumored that your father was in love with her mother, and likewise your grandfather was in love with her grandmother, unrequited love in both generations," Victor says astounded.

"It is not a rumor; it is true. And in keeping with history—"

"You are in love with Suzette?" Victor asks.

"Yes, but she is not in love with me," Ivan says.

Victor is struck by his own pain over his own unrequited love. And he thinks about his ex-fiancée's betrayal, which shattered his heart. "I regret, my good man, that you are suffering an unrequited love, but believe me it is not as painful as suffering a heart broken by betrayal. I feel the affection Suzette has for you. I feel you have an opportunity to woo her heart. And put an end to your families' unrequited history," Victors says, and then he reaches across the table and encouragingly pats Ivan's shoulder.

"It is unavoidable; history will repeat itself. Suzette is not in love with me, and she will never be. And I can bet all the loot I recover, that is how it will be for generations to come until the end of time," Ivan says as he opens up a bottle of rum and places it in the middle of the table.

Ivan's solemn words are weighted with the utter defeat he feels in his soul.

"Is she in love with someone else?" Victor asks, filling the cups with rum.

"Yes, she is. And I am very happy for her. This is the first time in her life that she has been in love. I respect and support her. It is because of her I know what is true love. Suzette found her true love, and I want her to be happy," Ivan says and then clinks his cup against Victor's and takes a good gulp.

"You are a very generous soul," Victor says as he wishes that Clara's betrayal had been not due to love but lust. Lust Victor could forgive. But Victor cannot forgive Clara for accepting his proposal to marry him while in love with someone else. And despite the time, distance, and her betrayal, like an eternal flame Victor's love for the undeserving Clara stubbornly continues to burn in him. "Do you know who Suzette is in love with?" Victor asks.

"Yes I do, and he has my respect," Ivan says, and then he pulls out a map from his pocket and places the map on the table. Under the warm and bright glow of the gas lamp, they study the map.

"If you are still in town next month, you are welcome to join me on my next treasure hunt," Ivan says. Victor keenly studies the aged map. Ivan caresses the map, and then he excitedly informs Victor. "In 1712, Spain assembled one of the richest fleets ever gathered together. The fleet was christened _Ana Luisa_. By 1715, the fleet had amassed eleven ships filled to the brim with gold, silver, pearls, and jewels that is estimated to be worth millions. A treasure that, with all due respect, rivals all maritime treasures discovered thus far, including _Nuestra Senora de Valencia_ and _Flor del Mar_. To deter pirates and privateers, the _Ana Luisa_ fleet departed Cuba for the mainland just before the hurricane season was due to hit. Departing close to hurricane season was their fatal mistake. Six days after departing from the calm shores of Cuba, all of the ships were belted by hurricanes and sank. Thousands of souls perished in their watery graves and every piece of gold, silver, and jewelry were sentenced to the bottom of the sea. Of all the fleet's ships that sank, the one I am most interested in is the _San Esteban_ —that ship is rumored to have had most of the treasure."

"There is a good possibility that I will be in town; count me in! It seems that finding lost treasures is easier than finding lost worlds," Victor says, now faithfully addicted to questing for treasures.

## Enchanted mirror

Sitting in front of the only mirror in the house that holds the reflection of Suzette's vampiric image, Suzette adjusts her long ringlets in front of her enchanted vanity mirror in her bedroom. Ivan had paid a small fortune to the powerful witch Emily to cast a spell on Suzette's vanity mirror so that she could see her reflection. Ivan quietly enters her bedroom, and in the shadow he admires her reflection in the mirror as she adorns her hair with jeweled pins.

"I missed you; how was your expedition? I trust it was a success," Suzette says eagerly.

As she looks at her reflection she receives her response. Ivan's unseen loving hands carefully drape the neck he treasures with the coveted collar of the late countess. The weight of the collar confirms to Suzette she was not dreaming. Ivan then blankets her neck with kisses.

"My darling, Ivan, you found the _Flor del Mar_!" Suzette says, overjoyed.

Ivan pulls a chair, places it behind her, and sits down on it and wraps his arms around her waist, and showers the back of her shoulders and neck with more kisses. Suzette is mesmerized by the haunting brilliance of the collar, now resting on her cleavage. She pulls her eyes away from the mirror to turn around to face Ivan. But Ivan's arms, locked around her, and his kisses prevent her from doing so.

"My eyes are filled with the beauty of the necklace; now my eyes wish to feast on you," Suzette pleads.

"As a treasure hunter, my eyes have seen indescribable riches. Jewels of such brilliance that bewitch men to guard them jealously, even as they exhale their last breath. I've held in my hands jewels and fine metals that have inspired men to return in spirit to guard over them for centuries, until their souls are mined from this realm. I love to rescue treasures from their watery graves, treasures that are drenched with the sorrow of perishing souls. Decades of finding treasures and holding the gems rich with colors, which God himself created, helped me bemoan less about my sentence in this world. And as I drowned in darkness, I continued to search for the next treasure, for that next diamond to hold up against a candle flame and see in it the rays of the sun. Then on one unexpected beautiful evening, I discovered the true treasure, the only treasure, the one true treasure that fills my dark heart with light. My true treasure is true love," Ivan says as he holds Suzette closer to him.

Suzette is grateful that Ivan is holding her close against him, because her regret and despair that she can never fall in love with him has drained her strength. Suzette leans into him and anchors her head under his chin. As blood tears escape her eyes she says, "As much as my soul, body, and mind want to be in love with you, my heart will not."

Suzette can feel his eyes studying her reflection as he gently wipes the tears from her face. Suzette looks down at his arms around her middle, and she wraps her arm over his arms and then places her hand on top of his.

After a loving minute embracing her, he lifts her hand and gently places it over the collar on her neck, and he says, "I was right; you do this collar justice, and your beauty enhances its elegance. This is my gift to you, my love; it is my hope that it will forever remind you of my true love for you."

"I will forever treasure it," Suzette promises.

Ivan smiles at her reflection, and he says, "You are remarkable. Most women would frown on just owning one piece from the historical treasure."

"I do not demand much," Suzette says with a coy smile.

"Yet you, my love, deserve a lot more," Ivan says, enamored.

He gently pushes her closer to the mirror, and then he proclaims, "It is a beautiful piece of treasure worthy of you, and so are these."

While Suzette admires the necklace in the reflection of the enchanted mirror, loose diamonds, emeralds, pearls, and other precious stones gently rain down on her. As she opens her hands to receive some of the stones, she gasps in delight.

"All these jewels?" she questions with excitement.

"You are the only woman that I've ever showered with jewels," Ivan says, in love.

Suzette pulls her eyes from the mirror showing the jewels raining down upon her, and she looks up and she sees Ivan's hands slowly releasing jewels from his hands down on her. Ivan releases the last jewels in his hands into her cupped hands.

"All these stones"—Ivan pauses to collect stones that have landed on her vanity table and then places the sparkling multicolored jewels into her cupped hands, which are overwhelmed by the jewels she has caught—"These precious stones are yours. You can wear them or give them to charity. But the necklace must remain with you as a reminder of my love for you."

## Fortunate and blessed man

With a victoriously euphoric spirit, from behind her he places his hands on her waist and lifts her up toward the dusky night decorated with stars. And in the dash of that exhilarating moment, she recognizes the hands that lift her up as the hands that lifted her up over the balcony to safety.

He carefully lowers her back down onto her feet and walks around to face her. "Please forgive me if my spontaneity frightened you, my lady," Victor says, then bows down and kisses her hand.

Suzette warmly responds, "I could never fear the hands that saved my life. Besides, my men did not react, and it confirmed to me as you lifted me off my feet that I am in safe hands. It pleases me deeply that I find you in such high spirits."

"Yes I am in high spirits, because I am a very fortunate and blessed man. I have recovered a significant fortune that will help scores of people as I make history," Victor says triumphantly.

Under the warmth of a gas lamp, Victor sees that Suzette's delicate neck and bosom is draped with the late countess's collar necklace. "Beautiful. You are the only woman in modern history who has the beauty worthy of such jewels."

It took every ounce of strength in her to stop her from melting down to the ground. Feeling his hands lift her up in the air had been magical. And his words touched her heart, which is overflowing with love for him.

"I am moved by your words, and I am pleased that you find me worthy of such a prize that you and Ivan recovered," Suzette says, touching the collar to prevent her from caressing Victor.

"I came to New Orleans on a sabbatical from my troubles. Little did I know that I would be making history with Ivan Ortiz," Victor says, still astounded by his luck. "I want history to correctly state that Ivan found _Nuestra Senora de Valencia_ and _Flor del Mar_. I was just a very fortunate witness," Victor says.

"You were more than just a witness; you put your own life in danger by diving down numerous times to help Ivan haul up the treasures into history," Suzette says proudly.

"Are you on your way to see a patient?" Victor asks.

"I just saw my last patient for the night. I am free for the rest of this beautiful evening. Please invite me to dinner; I want to hear in detail about the recovery of the treasures of _Nuestra Senora de Valencia_ and _Flor del Mar_ ," Suzette asks as she seductively fans herself with the fan he gave her.

"It will be my utmost pleasure to dine with you. I was on my way to your plantation to see you, and then I saw your coach. I am happy I ran into you, my lady," Victor says as he offers his arm.

Suzette locks her hand firmly in his bended arm. "It is always a pleasure to see you, Victor Montenegro."

## Cold Diamonds

Ivan's plantation is built like a fortified castle, with hidden rooms and lower levels with vaults. The original owner built Dulcina to hold and guard secrets and preserve in its cooler, dry levels grains and food. The original owner did not trust the government to safeguard his wealth, and did not count on Mother Nature's bounty, but expected her wrath.

The so-called fortified castle below the plantation is not a secret to Henrietta, because being in love with Ivan, she is led by his scent to wherever he is. When she walks into the secret vault, Ivan is not surprised to see her. He is sitting on an overstuffed chair, drinking rum as he stares at his treasures resting all around him, piled on top of wooden tables and in chests on the floor. The treasures are under the protection of one hundred vigilant enchanted candles that will blow themselves out when they detect a heist, and their toxic smoke will choke the would-be thieves to death in the darkness before they could escape.

Henrietta walks over to Ivan, whose veins are now thick with rum, and she leans down and kisses him on the lips, and then she says, "I am hurt that you did not share your good fortune with me." Looking at Ivan, Henrietta shakes with regret for her ill choice of words, as that is not what she meant. "I am sorry; that sounded greedy and pompous. What I mean to say is that I am hurt that you did not tell me about your good fortune of finding the legendary and jealously sought out _Nuestra Senora de Valencia_ and _Flor del Mar_."

"I was planning to tell you when I saw you, and here you are," Ivan says, then he waves his arm over the treasures.

"You made history, my love; once again you find treasures when it is their time to be found," Henrietta says.

"You say it so poetically, as if I am worthy of such treasures. The treasures did not chose me. What treasures of God want to live in my darkness? It is my dark, animalistic sense of smell that helped me find the treasures. Just like your animalistic sense of smell can find me, I can find treasures." Henrietta studies the heaviness in his eyes and the fatigue in his body, and she says, "I understand you, Ivan; here we stand in a room filled with riches that have the power to build lives and destroy lives, yet our souls are empty because our hearts do not belong to us."

Ivan fills a gold chalice with rum and hands it to Henrietta and says, "Let's drown our sorrows."

Henrietta takes the gold chalice, but she does not drink the rum.

"You gave Suzette the most coveted jewel of the treasure—the late countess's collar necklace," Henrietta says sadly. Ivan looks at her, confused. "You did not remember me," Henrietta says, hurt.

"You are right. I did not think of you, because I've been very generous to you in the past with my other treasure finds. And I did not want to cause any trouble with a suitor in your wings. Having to compete with one man is enough," Ivan explains.

"It is not about the riches or the competition; it is about the thought," Henrietta says, releasing a tear.

"Help yourself," Ivan kindly invites.

Henrietta turns away from his poor state to look at the heaps of jewels, necklaces, and gold all around them. While it would be any other woman's dream to help herself to the riches offered to her by the man she loves, Henrietta stands there feeling like a pitiful beggar who walked in from the street. She glances back at Ivan, and his eyes encourage her to select whatever she wants. She looks away from him. Pinned down by the heaviness in her heart, because Ivan did not think about her, all she can manage to do is slightly touch a pearl necklace that is within her reach. Standing among the brilliant colored rays reflecting off the jewels fails to lighten her broken heart. Ivan's forgetting about her among so much riches really scares her.

Hurt, Henrietta decides to tell Ivan that she does not want anything. She turns to search for him, and she is surprised to see him standing close behind her. In his hands he holds a brilliant four-layer bracelet of emeralds and a sparkling headband of diamonds. Without saying a word, he gently slips the bracelet onto her shaking wrist and then delicately places the headband on her head, then gently caresses her hair in place.

"Those jewels suit you, my lady," Ivan says with a warm smile.

Ivan knows her taste well. When her eyes were staring at the jewels in self-pity, he dug for jewelry in the small mountains of treasures that he knew would, aside from the coveted late countess's collar, be to her likening and suit her beauty.

Emotional, Henrietta throws her arms around him. It is not the jewels that move her but his connection to her, and his knowing her more than anyone else. In the end, Ivan realized and corrected his oversight by presenting her with the jewels that represent how he feels for her. Henrietta holds him close. She can feel the weight of the diamond-encrusted headband crowning her head, and she can feel the smooth polish of the emeralds against her skin, and her heart celebrates the personal tokens of his affection for her.

"They are absolutely beautiful; I will treasure them always. You putting in the thought and effort to select the jewels that I would have selected for myself touches my heart, and your hands placing the jewels on my person touches my soul more than the jewels. Thank you, my love," Henrietta says, tightly holding on to him.

"You are very welcome, and I apologize for my oversight," Ivan says as he wraps his arms around her body, which is clinging tightly to his. After a few warm moments, he releases her as he jokes, "When your werewolf finds out I gave you those legendary jewels, he will want to have my blood drained."

Henrietta looks up from her emerald bracelet and shoots a somber glance at him. She does not appreciate his ghastly humor, and she says to him, "It is no secret that I am in love with you, Ivan, and if anyone desires my affection, he must keep his distance from you, or he will risk losing me."

"Yes, love is the ultimate treasure to behold at any cost, including one's self-esteem," Ivan says, understanding the sacrifice.

Henrietta looks up at him and waves her hand across his face, putting Ivan into an Amare trance. Under her spell, Ivan admires her lovingly. "Make love to me, my love," Henrietta pleads.

## Treasuring Victor Montenegro

Enthralled, captivated and feeling more alive than ever, Suzette savors every moment in his presence as he proudly describes in detail the historical recovery of the _Nuestra Senora de Valencia_ and _Flor del Mar's_ respective treasures. Suzette admires the confidence in his tone and his gallant posture. The unique admiration she had held for Ivan's passion for treasures is no longer unique. Victor's passion for hunting treasures, combined with his passion for locating lost cities, now holds the admiration that she felt was forever reserved for Ivan. That revelation makes Suzette emotional. She takes a sip of wine to clear the emotion from her throat; she then places the glass down and says to Victor, "I am beyond impressed with your passion for lost treasures and cities, and I am very proud of your capabilities."

Victor warmly smiles in appreciation and says, "Thank you. I am very grateful to you."

Suzette freezes her fan and asks, "Grateful?"

"It was through you that I met Ivan Ortiz. It was because of your request that he invited me on this historical treasure hunt, and thus I am in the possession of jewels sought out by countless of souls for centuries. Jewels that will now help others," Victor says.

Suzette locks her eyes on his sensuous gray eyes, and she says, "It is because of you that I am more alive than ever. I am grateful to you," Suzette says.

Victor warmly holds her gaze, and he says, "Your eyes are more beautiful than any emeralds I have seen, and I have seen hundreds of emeralds from sunken treasures that I've excavated from lost cities."

"That is the most beautiful compliment I have received. Thank you," Suzette says, deeply moved.

Victor smiles warmly and then refills their glasses with wine. The waitress appears and removes their plates. The flames of the pair of candles delicately sway as Victor moves them and the flower arrangement from the middle of the table to the side of the table. He then takes her hand and cradles the bottom of her hand in the middle of the table. Suzette, intrigued, studies him. Victor then places his other hand above her open hand, which he is gently cradling, and then without Victor saying a word or moving an inch, underneath his hand above hers materializes a five-strand bracelet of green emeralds and diamonds. Without touching the bracelet, his hand commands it to gently lower itself onto Suzette's opened palm.

Suzette can feel the weight of the bracelet gracefully land in her hand; she can feel the coolness of the polished emeralds and diamonds. Speechless, she holds the bracelet as she caresses it with her other hand.

"It is not an illusion, my lady. It is a bracelet from the _Flor del Mar_ 's treasure that I recovered. It is my gift to you as a token of my appreciation," Victor says with a grateful smile.

It took every ounce of her being to hold back the ocean of blood tears. "It is the most beautiful bracelet I have ever seen. I will forever treasure it, thank you."

"Permit me," Victor says as he takes the bracelet from her trembling hand and anchors it around her wrist.

"There is no denying the quality and craftsmanship of the bracelet. Of all the jewels of the _Flor del Mar_ 's treasure, this is my favorite piece, and when I saw it I thought about you. These emeralds are almost as beautiful as your eyes. I pray you wear it in good health," Victor says.

Suzette looks up from the bracelet and looks at his eyes and says, "Your generosity moves me; again, thank you for this beautiful bracelet."

Victor is surprised by how moved Suzette is over the bracelet. As beautiful as the bracelet is, in his mind it cannot compare in beauty, rarity, and value to the late countess's necklace she is wearing.

"The rest of the treasure I will sell to collectors and museums, and the money will go to charities in the great states of Louisiana and California," Victor says.

"Every single jewel you will sell?" Suzette asks, fearing his answer.

Victor pauses, shifts in his seat, and then he says, "I did part three necklaces that will be gifts."

Suzette picks up her fan, and as she cools her face she smiles at him. It is no doubt that the necklaces he has parted with are not just gifts but reconquest jewels to woo back Clara.

"Ivan and I will partner up to hunt for the Spanish fleet that sunk in 1721 next month, when the weather will be more favorable. I do look forward to working with him. There is no denying that Ivan possess an uncanny ability to locate treasures that scores have failed to find. He is a strong swimmer and an impressive diver with strong lungs. I am looking forward toward another historical find," Victor says, thrilled.

"You and Ivan are now treasure legends. Since you two recovered the treasures, there has been much written about you both. And I've read and heard that you are one of the most successful at finding treasures from lost cities and civilization. You are a legend in your own right," Suzette says, beaming.

Victor smiles at her. Yes, he has made a name for himself, but he does not consider himself to be a legend, at least while alive.

"It is nice to hear the word 'legend' attached to my accomplishments while I am still alive," Victors says, inspired.

The blood drains from Suzette's face, and to steady herself she rests her arms on the table and inhales.

"Are you all right, my lady?" Victor asks, concerned.

"That is my fear; that one of you will perish in your quest to find treasures," Suzette admits, shaken. While she knows Ivan's passion will not kill him, Victor's could.

"Well, then it will be said I died doing what I love. It is my hope I die in the midst of discovery than in the midst of my sleep," Victor says peacefully.

The thought of losing Victor to death tears at her heart. But, miraculously, she is able to maintain her composure. The fear of Victor seeing her cry blood tears helps her to control her composure, but she cannot control her words. "I pray that death does not come and claim you soon, that your hour of death is decades away. I am very moved by yours and Ivan's generosity. The treasures will enrich many communities with the resources to support the less fortunate."

Suzette pauses and looks into his mesmerizing eyes, and she warmly says, "I am very proud of you and Ivan."

Victor gives her a smile as he admires her perfect, strawberry-blonde ringlets, which caress her bare shoulders. Suzette can feel his attention, and she sits still to allow his sensuous eyes to admire her, while hoping that he too becomes enamored by her delicate shoulders, neck, and ample bosom. Victor smiles at her timidly and then moves the pair of candlesticks back into the center of the table, a move that disappoints Suzette as she see the flames like a wall dividing their intimate setting.

"Every time I see you, you are a vision of beauty, but I notice that you are not wearing earrings," Victor says, looking at her warmly.

Suzette had felt that none of her earrings could celebrate the late countess's necklace, therefore she decided not to wear earrings.

As if reading her mind Victor says, "The necklace needs its own pair of earrings."

Suzette nods in agreement. But she doubts that there are earrings in the world that will complement her centuries-old unique necklace. "The stones in the necklace change colors with the variation of light," Suzette says.

"One thing I discovered as I was learning magic is that there is no such thing as the impossible, but there is a sea of possibilities. It is not about blind faith but about believing. Our thoughts have the magic to materialize the impossible. However, searching without faith for the possible can take lifetimes," Victor says as he touches the bases of the candles sticks.

Victor looks at Suzette and with an intriguing tone he says, "The flames of these candles are vulnerable. Flames can be extinguished by two elements that are crucial to our own survival, water and oxygen. I can douse the flames with water, and it will extinguished the flames. Depriving the flames of oxygen will extinguished them. Yet no matter how vulnerable these small flames are, they can grow into a powerful raging inferno."

Suzette becomes uncomfortable with Victor's talk about extinguishing flames. Her internal flame is inextinguishable; her love for him will never die. There is no element that can destroy love. Even if she is destroyed, she knows her love for him will survive. The thought of her love for him surviving forever like an eternal flame gives her peace, and she lovingly smiles at Victor. Victor raises his hands over the candles, and the calm flames elongate themselves in an attempt to touch the palms of his hands. Victor raises his hands higher, and the flames grow even taller; the growing flames of the candles cast a very intimate light between Suzette and Victor. Suzette, in awe, stares at the tall flames, which behave as if they were intelligent and waiting for another command from Victor. Victor's ability to grow the flames with is hands into columns of thick fires amazes her. Extraordinary ability that, up to this very moment, she had only witnessed fellow vampires perform.

"Amazing," Suzette whispers, enraptured.

"The flames have your attention. But it is not the flames that hold a gift for you," Victor says.

The elongated flames reaching for Victor's palms burn hot. Suzette can feel the heat across the table. Then she notices the wax underneath the burning flames beginning to rapidly melt. She looks at the flames, and to her astonishment the flames are now detached from the rapidly burning wax and are floating in midair between his palms and the wax. Suzette looks at the two melting candlesticks and then before her eyes she sees jewels becoming visible as the wax melts.

The few diners that remain in the tavern watch the spectacle. The candlesticks had completely melted away without a trace of wax residue. She looks at the jewels that were hidden in the wax, and to her utter glee and amazement she sees it is a pair of earrings made of the same stones and fashion as the late countess's collar, which she is wearing. Like a conductor of a fine symphony, Victor parts his hands and the airborne flames are extinguished in midair, leaving darkness between them. The diners clap at Victor's trick, and then they return to their dinners. The waitress brings over two new candlesticks to their table. Victor thanks her kindly; he then strikes a match in midair.

Suzette is overwhelmed as she stares at the lit match in Victor's confident hand.

"It is just a match; although miraculous, I did not invent it," Victor says.

"No, but you are the only mortal that I know that can strike a match in midair," Suzette says in awe.

"Mortal?" Victor asks, amused as he lights the new candles.

Suzette recovers quickly. "I meant to say magician."

The light from the candles illuminates his attentive eyes. He throws the extinguished match up into the air, and it disappears.

Victor picks up the shiny earrings from the white tablecloth, and he says, "I recovered these from the _Flor del Mar_. Judging by the stones and style of these earrings, I am pretty certain they are the matching earrings to the necklace that now graces your lovely neck," Victor says.

"They are beautiful," Suzette says, amazed that even though they were incased in hot, melting wax, there is no residue on them.

"When I found them securely tucked into a small jewelry box belonging to the late countess, I thought about you. The evening after we recovered the treasures, Ivan had told me that he was going to give you the late countess's necklace as a token of his affection." Victor pauses and studies Suzette.

Suzette fights to neutralize her emotional eyes. Victor looks back at the earrings cradled in his hands, and he says, "As token of my gratitude, I want you to have these; the pieces belong together, and they all belong to you, my lady."

Speechless by his warm generosity, Suzette tenderly looks at him in the eyes, and she says emotionally, "Words fail me. They are beautiful."

"Permit me, my lady," Victor says and reaches across the small, intimate table between them. And with confidence and ease, he gently clasps the earrings on her ears.

He respectfully pulls his hands back and admires them. "Very beautiful."

The waitress brings a vanity mirror and hands it to Victor. He gratefully smiles at the waitress, and she leaves. He holds the mirror up to frame Suzette's image, and as she contemplates her image in the mirror, Victor says, "You are a vision; not many women can do justice to a treasure as you."

Suzette is afraid the mirror will expose her as a vampire. But relief washes over her because of the angle at which he holds the mirror that is facing her. The dining room's low light and the absence of dinners sitting behind her, give her the luxury to feign that she is admiring herself in the mirror, which only reflects the candles' light, but not her image.

Suzette continues to pretend to admire her vision, and she gently pushes away a loose ringlet of hair from one of the earrings, and she says, "They are beautiful beyond words. Thank you so very much."

With a timid posture, she smiles at him and gently takes the mirror from him and lays the mirror down on the table. She looks at the waitress. The waitress with a smile stops to admire Suzette's jewels, and then the waitress takes the facing-down mirror away from their table.

Once at home Suzette remains dressed. She tells her maid Lety that the night is still young, and she might have unexpected visits by patients. The truth is that she does not want to undress and change the image that Victor admired while at dinner. She wants the dress, the dress that his hands pressed against her waist as he delightfully lifted her, to continue to hug her body. She does not want to remove the bracelet, still warm with the heat of his hands, from her wrist. The weight of the earrings on her ears are a constant reminder that the back of his strong hands gently grazed the back of her neck as he delicately clasps the earrings on her ears. It was an evening of wonder, awe, and emotion, and she is not ready to let it go.

## Ivan's Visit Later in the Evening

Lety is on her way down the stairs, securely holding Victor's fan to take it to Suzette, when she hears Ivan's voice travel up to her from the parlor. Lety quickly returns to Suzette's bedroom and places Victor's fan inside the vanity drawer and then takes out Ivan's fan and quickly makes her way back down to the living room.

Ivan stops at the threshold to let Lety in as she says good evening to him. Lety then confidently hands the fan to Suzette. Suzette, grateful, takes the fan from her. Suzette, aware that Ivan is at the door, tenderly brushes the fan over her lips and then opens the fan. Lety stands at attention as Ivan walks up to Suzette, who is sitting in the plush couch next to the fire.

"Good evening, my love," Ivan says, raising her hand and then kissing it. His eyes fall on to the rich bracelet on her exposed wrist. He blinks away the pain of threat and envy and straightens himself up.

"Can I offer you anything?" Lety asks.

"No, thank you, Miss Lety," Ivan says as he walks over to the bar and helps himself to some rum.

Lety excuses herself and leaves the room, closing the doors behind her. Suzette fans herself as she asks, "How was your evening?"

"Long. Can I serve you anything my love," Ivan says.

"No, thank you. I am drinking tea," Suzette answers gratefully.

Ivan takes his drink and sits next to her. Lovingly, he puts his hand under her chin and turns her to face him and then tenderly kisses her on the lips. He pulls back to admire her, and he sees the earrings.

"How is he?" Ivan asks, trying not to sound threatened.

"Who?" Suzette asks, fanning herself.

"I see he found the matching earrings. And the bracelet—he must have recovered it from the _Flor del Mar_ ," Ivan says.

"Yes, they are tokens of his appreciation for the successful recoveries that he feels I was instrumental, because I introduced him to one of the most successful treasure hunters in centuries, and that is you," Suzette says affectionately.

"It is very generous of him," Ivan says.

Suzette looks at him with sad eyes, and she says, "They are tokens of his appreciation, not a declaration of love."

Ivan looks at her. "Forgive me," he pleads.

"You gave me the necklace and the other jewels with love, and for that they mean a lot to me," Suzette says tenderly.

Suzette's statement warms him, but he knows that the sentiments she holds for the jewels Victor gave her will forever outweigh the sentiments she holds for the jewels he gave her.

"Victor's gesture is generous, but platonic. Whereas I am certain that the sentiment with which you selected the highly treasured jewels that you gave to Henrietta is mutually intimate. An intimate sentiment that I will never share with Victor," Suzette says, unable to hide the hurt in her voice.

Ivan understands Suzette's point; his gifts to her were given with love. His gifts to Henrietta were with affection. Victor's gratitude for her is special to her, but Ivan knows Suzette wishes Victor's gifts to her were wrapped with an affection bordering on love.

"Victor knows that I am in love with you," Ivan confesses.

Suzette's porcelain completion turns a ghastly gray.

Ivan does not turn to face her as he also confides, "But he also knows you are not in love with me." Ivan's heavy heart breaks Suzette's heart.

Trepidation grips her as she wonders what Victor thinks about the closeness she and Ivan share.

"I also told him that you are aware of my feelings, and that you are in love with someone else," Ivan says, breaking into her thoughts.

Suzette fan herself nervously as she asks, "Did he ask any questions about us?"

"No."

Ivan goes to the bar and he fills his glass with rum as he shares, "I found the late countess's necklace resting on the reef, and then I found the _Flor del Mar_ half a mile from the reef. We agreed that whoever hauls up the jewels onto the deck will become the owner. Victor appreciates the immense value of the historical necklace. He said that the lady I give the countess's necklace will never forget me. I told him that the necklace will belong to you. He then asked me if I am in love with you, to which I answered yes."

Suzette is not sure how Victor defines her relationship with Ivan. Ivan and she are not officially a couple; what is official to most, now including Victor, is that while it is a relationship of unrequited love, it is still a very close and warm relationship. Because of their warm company to one another, people easily regard Suzette and Ivan as a couple. Henrietta does not have a high public profile as does Dr. Savarit among the townspeople. Only in the vampiric, werewolf and hybrid werevamp communities there is an understanding of the relationship between Suzette and Ivan and the relationship between Henrietta and Ivan.

For years the people of New Orleans have respected what they view as a lifetime of closeness between Suzette and Ivan because of their familial history and Ivan's love for her. Now Victor has entered Suzette's life, and much is said about the friendly trio around town. The talk about town is mostly benign; after all, the public appreciates what they mainly see—Ivan and Victor's philanthropic standing in the community. And the townspeople are fascinated and admire Ivan and Victor's mutual passion for treasure hunting, which has naturally made them treasure hunting partners. However, Suzette worries for Ivan's public standing. She fears that if the townspeople see her get closer to Victor, the townspeople will ruthlessly emasculate Ivan for still being the same loving Ivan to her as he has always been.

"Frankly, I do not care what will be on the tongues of the people around us," Ivan says after reading her thoughts.

Ivan pours himself more rum, and he joins her on the couch. He then turns to face Suzette, who is sitting with her eyes fixed on him and her fan still in her frozen hands as she patiently waits in angst for him to continue.

"I made it clear to Victor that your heart does not belong to me. That I am aware that you are in love with someone else. And he knows that I want you to be happy, even if it means with someone else. He has a perfect understanding of where I stand in regards to you and my pain," Ivan says, then he drinks some of the rum.

Suzette struggles to breathe. The hurt that constantly lives in her because of her inability to be in love with Ivan is burning her soul. As she works to compose herself, she thinks about the impact on Victor upon hearing Ivan confess to him that he is in love with her, and then with the same breath admit that she is not in love with Ivan.

They are struggling with their pain and can respectively feel the suffering in each other, and it is making it difficult for each of them to breathe.

"Immortality does not protect us from pain and discomfort. At times pain can be so deep, and while pain cannot kill us, the pain strangles our soul mercifully that—"

"That only in death we will find peace?" Suzette interrupts.

Ivan finishes his rum and looks down at his feet.

"There is not any guarantee there will be peace in death. Certainly not for me. I am not a victim. But I have no regrets as I live, and all these years I had choices. But, in hell there are no second chances, no do overs," Suzette says.

"Indeed, there are no choices in hell," Ivan warns.

"You regret biting me? You would have rather slept on top of my grave?" Suzette asks.

"Well at least I would be able to sleep, knowing that you are resting in peace in heaven," Ivan says.

"I lament that I forced your hand. I lament that you are suffering over my choice to be part of the darkness. But I hope you find comfort in knowing that I have no regrets sharing my life with you in light and in darkness," Suzette says warmly.

"God is forgiving. We need to use our time on this planet wisely. Put aside our immortality and work on being good human beings while we protect others against our darkness," Ivan says.

"I am the only one you have bitten. And God knows you did so for love," Suzette reminds him.

"No, I did it for selfishness, so that I could keep you at my side, even if it meant condemning you," Ivan says with a painful tone.

Suzette shakes as she waits for him to say what she, herself, is struggling with.

"You have not yet condemned anyone to an existence of darkness. Please be stronger than me," Ivan pleads.

"I would love a glass of rum," Suzette says.

As Ivan lovingly pours her a glass of rum, they both are consumed with desperation and fear in not knowing how Suzette will survive her true love for Victor.

## Gems and Rum

Victor cradles loose gems in one hand and holds a golden chalice filled with rum in his other hand. As Victor stares at the brilliance of the gems in his hand, he takes a drink from the cool gold chalice and relishes how the rum warms his throat. As he admires the beauty of the mixed gems he cradles in his hand, he thinks about Clara. Clara has refined taste, and what she loved about Victor was his talent for finding ancient treasures. Victor thinks about the priceless artifacts that he had given her during their two-year engagement. Victor recalls the glee in her eyes and how her hands shook with joy as she would receive his ancient gifts. He takes another gulp of rum as he realizes that the only times she had ever emoted with such unbridled joy was when he presented to her one of his finds.

Clara did find Victor attractive, and there was enough chemistry between them that their courtship was bearable to her. Clara appreciated, even relished, that there was a handful of women who wished they were in her shoes, not so much for Victor's treasures but because they found Victor attractive and captivating and were developing feelings for him. It was not lost on these women that Clara was not in love with Victor. The women were not discreet in sharing among themselves their dismay and rancor about the loveless relationship between Victor and Clara, and they did this loud enough for Clara's ears.

Victor's attractiveness, charisma, and sensuous gray eyes were not enough to wash away the love Clara had for Raul. Raul was forced by his aristocrat family to marry another woman for political leverage. His family was adamant that his political marriage flourish; his parents demanded that he disown the idea of ever being with Clara, or they would disown and disinherit him.

Clara was heartbroken and angry that Raul caved in to his parents, and out of spite she publicly accepted Victor's proposal of marriage. As the society celebrated what they saw as a match made in heaven, behind doors Clara cried bitterly for being engaged to one man while being in love with another.

Two years into their engagement, Victor went to visit Clara in her home and found her in the arms of Raul, passionately kissing him. Victor stormed out as fast as he could to save Raul from his violent confrontation. The next day, despite a heartache, Victor was grateful he had witnessed them expressing their love to one another. Deep down he knew she was not in love with him, and he did not want his marriage to be a sham. Nor would he stand for Clara and Raul's secret love affair making a public mockery of his marriage to Clara. He was immensely relieved that he discovered their deceit before marrying her.

Now his mind and soul understand and accept why their relationship is and must be over, but his heart still longs for her. He looks at the gems in his hands, and he knows that Clara would love to own them, but the gems will not sway her heart to fall in love with him. He places the rare gems in a velvet sack for charity. He refills his chalice with rum and picks up a diamond headband, and as he admires its rare and ancient beauty, he can imagine the headband sitting on top of Suzette's head, cradled by her delicate curls. Victor knows that Suzette would receive the headband in the same manner as she received the bracelet and earrings he gave her. Sitting there alone with only rum to keep him warm, it dawns on him that Suzette's gratitude for the jewelry he gave her was not solely about the gems but also because he had thought of her. Clara had never expressed the same gratitude that Suzette did. A gratitude that was warm and personal, not simply materialistic. Victor cannot deny that there is an affectionate chemistry between him and Suzette, a much warmer affection than the affection that Clara feigned to have for him. Victor keeps present in his mind that Suzette is in love, and he is still in love with Clara. Victor thinks about Ivan, who has been incredibly charitable and hospitable toward him. Victor serves himself another drink as he feels for Ivan; they are unfortunately both in the same boat of pain. They both are in love with women who are not in love with them.

## A Cracked Mirror

A cracked mirror hangs against a barren wall in the cold and uninviting large room on the lower floor of Suzette's plantation. The cracked mirror, no longer suitable for vanity, is not enchanted. The huge mirror, which almost covers the wall, is divided in two by a diagonal crack. The mirror suffered the crack during the last hurricane as it was being delivered to her plantation. Appreciating its gilt beauty, Suzette could not bring herself to throw out the ill-fated mirror. Despite its crack the mirror still holds beauty. In the cracked mirror she still sees the reflection of light. The mirror is now used to reflect light in her temporary morgue, which she uses when patients die in her home or when she embalms the late bodies of the poor. Suzette and Ivan had learned the mortician trade in order to have access to the recent dead in order to harvest their blood for their consumption.

Ivan assists Suzette in draining the blood of a tall man who died when he was thrown from his horse. They must work quickly to drain the blood while the body is still warm. Ivan glances at the cracked mirror that reflects candlelight onto the table and quickly puts his eyes back on the red blood cascading into a jar, and he says, "I wish you would let me get a witch to enchant that mirror. It is unnerving to see nothing but the dead in the mirror."

Not looking up from her blood-sucking hose, Suzette replies, "I will not risk enchanting a cracked mirror. And I refuse to bring a mirror that is whole into this room and risk torturing and confusing the souls of the dead bodies on my table."

"Are you afraid that an enchanted, cracked mirror can somehow cut you out of your body?" Ivan gently asks.

"Yes, there is that possibility. There is always a price for magic," Suzette says as she looks at the dead man, whose life was senselessly cut short tragically.

## The Other Side of the Moon

Suzette has just left a patient recovering, and she is now on her way back home under a torrential rain. Suzette is traveling by coach with the driver, a male servant, and only a team of four horses pulling her elegant, dark coach. She had miscalculated Mother Nature, as the rain is relentless, and when rushing to see her patient, she demanded, foolishly, to only employ four horses that were already hitched and ready to save time. Her strong team of four Morgans could manage the not-so-steep incline on any dry day. However the torrential rain has reduced the incline to mud. The trapping mud, the wall of wind, and pelting rain has exhausted her strong, black Morgan breeds. Suzette's male servant has left on foot to walk a mile to fetch two more horses to help the other horses to pull the coach from the mud. Suzette does not want her weight and the driver's weight to further push down the coach into the mud, so they stand next to the horses waiting.

From a distance he sees the flickering lights of the coach's candles, and as his own coach proceeds with caution, Victor keeps vigil. As they get closer, Victor is able to see a bright-red cloak against the moonless darkness. As he looks closer, he can see the woman standing under the umbrella, held over her by her coachman, hugging the head of one of her black horses. He looks at the coach, does not see anyone else inside, and then he quickly notices that the coach's wheels have sunk into the muddy incline. He instructs his coach to pull over next to them.

Suzette does not see his coach approach them in the dark rain, or hear it gallop up in the howling wind. Her focus is on the well-being of her horses.

"May I be of an assistance, madam?" Victor asks the stranded woman.

Suzette's heart stops at the sound of his voice, and she slowly turns to face him.

The minute Victor recognizes Suzette, he jumps out of his coach.

"I was two horses short for the incline, and the mud trapped my coach. My servant is on his way to fetch two more horses," Suzette reports as she holds back the joy in her heart to see him.

"My dear lady, you will catch your death in the rain," Victor says, clearly concerned.

"My lady will not wait in the coach," says the concerned coachman as he continues to cover her with the umbrella.

"I am on my way into town for dinner. Please join me, and I will see that you get home," Victor says.

"I do not want to leave my coachman alone to mind the frustrated horses," Suzette says, worried.

"My coachman will stay to assist yours."

As Victor's coachman jumps off the coach and helps Suzette into the coach, Victor buttons up his mackintosh.

As Victor jumps up into the driver's seat, Suzette happily settles into Victor's coach.

Sitting in a nearly empty tavern, they are both happy to be near the warm fireplace as the rain pelts New Orleans, and howling wind crashes into the windows next to them.

"I really appreciate your stopping to assist and inviting me out to dinner," Suzette charmingly says as she holds her head up to showcase that she is wearing the earrings he gave her.

"It is my pleasure, and I am pleased to run into you as I have been meaning to speak to you and Ivan," Victor says, pouring her more wine.

Suzette has caught a chill, and she leans closer to the table to pull in his warmth.

"I hope it is nothing dreadfully serious," Suzette says, worried.

"I do not want to overstay my welcome at my cousin's home. My family has been very accommodating, but I do not want to continue to encroach on their space."

"You are leaving New Orleans," Suzette says with disappointment.

Victor studies her, genuinely touched by her disappointment at the thought of his leaving.

"Eventually I will need to leave. My home and obligations are in California. But I am not ready to leave. I am committed to the next treasure expedition with Ivan. I told him I would invest in the search and recovery of the Spanish fleet, _Ana Luisa_. Therefore, to prevent my family from tiring of me here in New Orleans, I have decided to rent a room at the Maison de Ville for the remainder of my stay. If you are in need of me or I can be of service to Ivan, please call on me at the Maison de Ville as of tomorrow.

Suzette's heart pulsates with happiness, her body relaxes with relief as she settles into her chair, and she smiles at Victor and she says to him, "I cannot express how happy I am to hear you are not leaving town soon. I have grown very fond of you, and Ivan has such esteem for you that we, when you do leave, will dearly miss you."

"My dear lady, I have grown very fond of you, and I also have much esteem for Ivan. I assure you that when I leave it will not be good-bye; we will stay in contact and visit one another. It is my hope that we remain life-long friends." Victor affectionately kisses her hand.

Suzette smiles tenderly and she says, "I promise you it can be arranged, and that is how it will be."

## Dark Fate's Hand

In the shadow of the majestic three-tiered cast-iron fountain, in the courtyard of the Maison de Ville, across from the bachelor quarters where Victor is now a resident, Henrietta sits drinking a Sazerac. Victor steps out of his suite to enjoy the balmy dusk in the courtyard, and he quickly realizes he is not alone. The sheen of Henrietta's peach-colored skirt under a gas lamp catches his eye. He walks over to acknowledge her presence. With respect he removes his hat, bows, and says, "Good evening, madame."

Henrietta tilts her head from underneath her hat and shows her face to Victor and sweetly smiles. "Good evening, Senor Montenegro."

"Good evening," Victor says again as he walks to her and then asks, "I beg your pardon, my lady, have we met?" Victor struggles to recognize her.

"No, I never had the pleasure. I am Henrietta Laurant. You and I have friends in common. Ivan and I are very close, and I am very acquainted with Dr. Savarit," Henrietta says as she extends her hand to him.

"It is a pleasure meeting you, Madame Laurant," Victor says, then kisses her hand.

"Henrietta," she requests.

"Victor."

"Are you expecting someone, Henrietta?" Victor asks.

"I was, but not anymore," Henrietta says with a sly smile. Henrietta flirtatiously points to her drink, and she says, "I am enjoying my Sazerac. Please join me."

Victor sits down across from Henrietta, and he says "I have been meaning to partake in the famous Sazerac."

The waiter brings Victor a Sazerac, and Henrietta clinks her drink against his, and she toasts, "To your longevity."

"And to yours," Victor says warmly, then takes a sip of his drink. The drink warms his mouth with a bittersweet taste. The unusual burn of the drink makes him smile with surprise.

"Like life, it is a drink that should be sipped and enjoyed calmly," Henrietta says with a coquettish smile.

"How well do you know Ivan and Suzette?" Victor asks.

"Very intimately. I am in love with Ivan."

Victor gives Henrietta a compassionate smile.

Henrietta continues, "And because Ivan is in love with Suzette, I tolerate her out of respect for him and for other conveniences."

"Conveniences?" Victor asks, confused.

"We belong to a society that by our nature we must be very supportive of one another, and we do not alienate anyone over love," Henrietta explains.

"New Orleans is a very tight-knit community," Victor says as he wonders if that is what Henrietta means by her explanation.

"Yes," Henrietta says with a sad tone, then she takes another sip of her drink.

"Your ability to accommodate Suzette out of love for Ivan is noble," Victor says, trying to be supportive.

"Ivan is also very noble as he accommodates you."

Victor looks up at Henrietta from his drink, utterly confused.

"I am terribly sorry that he feels he needs to accommodate me. I genuinely believed that I was more than welcome on his treasure hunts," Victor says, embarrassed.

Henrietta reaches over and places her ungloved hand over his; the bracelet that Ivan gave her caresses the back of Victor's hand.

"I did not mean to confuse you. Please let me be clear; Ivan appreciates your passion for treasure hunting and he genuinely loves partnering up with you. In fact, he expressed to me that he hopes you and he continue to explore all seven seas for treasures that have been lost to time."

Victor gives Henrietta a smile, lifts her hand, kisses it, and he says, "I appreciate your telling me this. Yes, indeed the seven seas!"

Victor notices her bracelet, and he says, "This beauty was recovered from the _Flor del Mar_ ; no doubt Ivan gave that to you."

"Henrietta retrieves her hand, and she looks at the bracelet, and with a loving smile she says, "Yes, and I will always treasure it."

"I pray tell me, why did you say Ivan is accommodating?"

Regret and trepidation flash on Henrietta's face, she composes herself and then looks at Victor with defiant eyes, and she explains, "This is extremely delicate, but the suffering is such that I must take the liberty to inform you."

"Yes, please go on, inform me of what?"

Henrietta studies Victor's blank face with dismay. "It is strange that you have yet to realize. Your grief for your collapsed engagement has made you blind to love."

"Love?" Victor asks, very confused and uncomfortable with the subject.

"Ivan is in love with Suzette..."

"Yes, I can see that," Victor answers patiently.

"Ivan will do anything to make Suzette happy, even accommodating the man she is desperately in love with," Henrietta says.

Blood drains from Victor's face. Henrietta nods, and then she confirms, "Yes, Suzette is desperately in love with you."

Compassion for Suzette wraps around Victor, and guilt for Ivan consumes him. He dares not look Henrietta in the eyes as he feels indebted to her for informing him. He has a sudden need to shelter Henrietta from the pain within their small and intimate universe.

In revealing to Victor that Suzette is in love with him, it has lessened the burden of Henrietta's solitary fight to alienate Suzette from her beloved Ivan. Henrietta is banking that Victor will at the very least succumb to Suzette's love for him out a need for comfort and distraction from the pain of his unrequited love. With careful tact Henrietta exhales and says, "I will leave you with your thoughts. It was truly a pleasure meeting you, Victor." Henrietta slowly rises from her seat.

Still in shock, Victor manages to rise, and after kissing Henrietta's extended hand, he says to her, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Henrietta. Let me assist you in finding a coach."

"Very kind of you to offer, thank you. But my coach is outside waiting for me. Good night, Victor."

"Good night."

Victor sits back down and he remains seated for hours in the damp night. And for hours his head aches as he confronts the guilt and pity he feels for Ivan. There is no question to Victor that Ivan's noble generosity to invite him to partake in the historical treasure recoveries has been due to his love for Suzette. However, what impresses Victor is that Ivan, instead of seeing Victor as a rival suitor, has extended his true friendship to him. Victor can appreciate why Henrietta is patient with Ivan. Henrietta bringing to light that Suzette is in love with him clearly tells Victor that Henrietta is desperate for his alliance to help alienate Suzette from Ivan. Victor believes that Henrietta hopes that if he responds to Suzette's love, Ivan will run to Henrietta for solace. The history of unrequited love between the Ortizes and Savarits marches on through the decades, Victor realizes, and Victor does not want to be part of that amorous history.

It is now early dawn, and he is thinking about Suzette. He looks back to his history with her as he dwelled in his shadow of pain, and he realizes that there is not enough light in him to have wooed her heart even if he had the desire. As he looks back to the time they spent, Victor can now see the emptiness in Suzette's eyes. Victor, in his painful fog, had interpreted Suzette's ardent attention and warmth as gratefulness for saving her life. Victor is chilled with sadness at the three suffering hearts around him. He came to New Orleans to heal his broken heart, and he is now intertwined with three suffering hearts.

## Suzette and Victor

"You are present, but with a heavy heart. I know that you are suffering. And I know why you are suffering. Please believe me when I say that I wish it was in my power to banish the suffering from your heart, your soul, and your body. I know the pain you carry in your heart is caused by a woman. I know that you came to New Orleans to escape your suffering, but to no avail. Your eyes speak of your torment at seeing Clara in the arms of Raul. I know you fear that you will live the rest of your days with a shattered heart. I also want you to know that because of you my heart is full, and I can and wish to make your heart feel whole again so that you no longer remember why you suffer," Suzette confesses.

Victor silently curses himself as he stands close to the fireplace staring into the crackling fire. He does not curse the day he met Suzette; he is relieved that he was there to save her. But he is angry with himself for his continual presence in her life. The chemistry between them has solidified, and he now laments that his damaged heart damaged hers.

"I deeply regret that I allowed my selfish need to be in your company barred me from thinking about your heart," Victor apologizes to Suzette.

"I never sent you away; I am the selfish one," Suzette responds, sitting on the edge of the couch studying his profile.

"My heart is not available, Suzette," Victor warns her.

"While I will never have your heart, I can live with your soul and affection," Suzette says.

"I must return to California," Victor says.

"For Clara?" Suzette asks with a painful tone.

Victor's hesitation chills Suzette. Victor turns to look at her, and he answers, "Family responsibilities."

"And for the time being?" Suzette asks.

"For the time being, I need to think of you and let you be. I cannot pretend that I can give you what you richly deserve," Victor says softly.

"I know for you it is not love, but it is deeper than friendship. The energy between us is not extinguishable. Your attraction to me is enough to sustain me. I am not demanding more than you can give me. All I am asking is that you do not deny but honor what you do feel for me. Victor, no one has ever made me feel like you do, and I'll continue to celebrate and cherish that, come what may," Suzette says.

"I beg you to forgive my unresponsive heart. I do not want to hurt you," Victor pleads.

"You risked your life to save me. I know you do not want to hurt me," Suzette says, standing up and walking up to him.

The sudden magnetic pull between them confuses Victor. Suzette's refinement and social grace is admirable to him. Her intelligence is captivating. To his eyes Suzette is beautiful. Her voice is enchanting. The energy between them is addictive. She lives in his mind when he is not with her. But all that fails to resurrect his shattered heart to fall in love with her. Victor looks into the fire as he realizes that all those enchantments made him fall in love with Clara. His mind races with confusion and his body aches to be near Suzette, yet his heart is as lifeless as a stone.

"If I had met you before Clara, I am certain I would have fallen in love with you," Victor says.

"I believe you," Suzette whispers. In his confused state she is able to read his thoughts and feel his body ache to be with her.

"I will return to California at daybreak. I will do that for you," Victor announces.

Suzette feels the blood drain down to her feet. As she backs away from Victor, her foot steps on the tail of her dress. Victor gently places his hand against the small of her back and escorts her to the couch.

Suzette keeps her gaze on the floor, and she pleads, "Please leave now; I do not want you to see me cry."

Victor trembles with regret, and as he lifts her hand to his lips, the coldness of her skin saddens him. "I regret you are not well; I am truly sorry," he says.

Suzette drops her head, and her hair drapes down, barring her eyes from his sight, and she pleads, "Please leave. I must be alone."

"I will never forget you, Suzette," Victor says as he marches out of the door.

Suzette raises her hand and commands the door to the parlor to shut and lock. The burning bloody tears are more bearable than her broken heart. But in her unbearable dark anguish, there is light; her heart finds solace in knowing that her suffering is over true love.

Conflicted, Victor walks through the gentle fog on his way back into town. Victor's indifferent heart frustrates and confuses him. And while his heart refuses to fall in love with Suzette, he cannot deny that having Suzette in his life while suffering Clara's betrayal has been a timely blessing.

At midmorning, Suzette sends one of her plantation workers to investigate if Victor has left New Orleans. Suzette rests the closed fan that Victor gave her against her heart as she stares at the dancing flames in the fireplace. Suzette tries to visualize a life in California, where the climate is mild and her true love resides. She thinks about Ivan, and her heart aches at the thought of leaving him and leaving New Orleans. While Ivan deserves her gratitude, Suzette must accept that her heart belongs to Victor. And her heart demands that she has access to Victor at all cost.

Her worker returns with news she desperately needs to hear. He reports that Victor is still in town, and according to his cousin's maid, there are no plans for him to leave anytime soon. Suzette has her worker extinguish the fire in the fireplace; she thanks him and asks him to close the door on his way out. Light beams filter through the cracks of the long, thick red-velvet curtains. Three light beams filter past her right side. She leans to the left and rests against the couch. Relieved and joyful, she admires the beautiful light beams glittering like jewels in the dark, draped parlor. Her body needs darkness to survive, but her heart needs light to feel alive, and Victor is her light.

"Victor, you are why I was born. My quest for eternal mortality was so that life would bring you to me. In your presence is when I feel I am alive; you ignited in my heart an eternal flame. My heart refuses to release you and be consumed by darkness. Without you, eternal life is not a gift but a curse," Suzette affirms out loud as her hand caresses the dark space underneath the beautiful, forbidden light beams.

That afternoon she goes into town to have lunch with Ivan with the hope of running into Victor. Suzette's joyful spirit beams through her eyes.

"I love when your eyes are smiling. Tell me what is causing you so much happiness, so that I'll ensure that it continues to do so, my love."

Suzette is overjoyed that Victor has not left town. When he announced he was leaving, he said it in a manner that left no room for doubt. Victor's life, his family, the woman his heart stubbornly still loves, and his business are anchored in California. Suzette is hoping that the reason why he has not left New Orleans is because his spirit and his manhood refuse to walk away from her.

"Life is making me happy, and enjoying a beautiful day by your side is making me happy," Suzette says to Ivan.

Suzette presence never goes unnoticed. New Orleans is still a young and intimate town where peoples' pastime is to take note of those they run into and pass on commentary to one another about the people they see walking about town. Suzette holds her head up high underneath her wide and extravagant plumed hat. Ostentatiously, Suzette fans herself with the fan that Ivan gave her. She takes special care to address everyone known to them and strangers with a good afternoon. She wants the populace to remember that on the day Victor presumably returned to California, she was not walled up in her plantation, mourning his departure. That she was happily strolling about her beloved city in the company of the man who would never reject her, looking well and feeling well. With an over joyed heart at knowing that Victor has not departed.

The long afternoon turns into dusk, and Suzette gives up hope of running into Victor. "It has been a beautiful but long day; I am happy we went out. But now I need to go over my plantation's books, and that will prevent me from sleeping the night away," Suzette says to Ivan in her office.

"Do you need a feeding, my love," Ivan offers.

"Yes, but no thank you; I will wait until tomorrow's patient bloodletting," Suzette says.

"You have yet to acquire a taste, let alone a tolerance, for rodent blood," Ivan says in jest.

"Rodent blood is my last resort," Suzette says. She craves human blood and thirsts for werewolf blood.

"I'll limit my rodent intake, so you can feed off me more often," Ivan declares.

"Do not sacrifice yourself for me, Ivan. Your body needs more blood than mine," Suzette says.

"Promise me that you will come to me before you become anemic. It is still ten days before the next full moon to visit Wolf Tower," Ivan pleads.

"I promise. Thank you for a lovely day, and have a good night," Suzette says.

Ivan holds her close and joyfully and passionately kisses her good night. Suzette waits until he exits the main door to ponder over his jubilant good-night kiss as she sits down at her desk. Her delicate, cool hands caress her books as her heart becomes troubled at the thought that Ivan is probably under the impression that Victor has left town. An internal conflict claws at her; while she does not want Ivan to suffer, she cannot imagine that he would have been that openly happy during what could have been a painful period for her.

She rings for Lety and hands her Ivan's fan and instructs her to bring her the fan Senor Victor gave her and a cup of tea. She puts her mind and energy on her administrative duties; she wants to be as caught up as possible so that she can have more time to rein in Victor and seduce him.

Conflicted, Ivan serves himself a goblet of rum, and in the low dimmed light he sits down on his high-back black wooden chair. As he had walked back home at daybreak, he had seen Victor sitting in a coach with luggage strapped on top, headed toward the gulf. Victor had left town earlier than expected, he cheerfully thought. When he had met Suzette for lunch, by her demeanor he summarized that she was not aware of Victor's departure. And while the joy that Victor had left town invigorates him, he cannot ignore the stabbing worry of how it will break Suzette's heart.

The windows violently open, and Henrietta glides in with her bat wings. Ivan takes a couple of gulps of rum and looks at her.

"I know you do not care that I met a werewolf who is showering me with affection and attention that you are unwilling to give me," Henrietta says, hurt.

"Cannot," Ivan corrects her.

"Indeed, you can give me affection and attention. What you cannot do is give me your love. But I have enough love for the two of us," Henrietta pleads.

"What is his name?" Ivan asks.

"Drake. Drake Forester. Why would you care?"

"Is he good to you?" Ivan asks warmly.

"Yes, Drake is in love with me," Henrietta whispers, surprised by Ivan's concerned question.

"And he is a better man for it," Ivan says.

Henrietta kneels down in front of Ivan and looks into his eyes, and she says, "Time is cruel; if I had understood that being a vampire meant sacrificing mutual love, I wouldn't have fallen into the seduction of darkness. I cannot go back in time and undo what I've done. But in a heartbeat I would do the unimaginable for your heart to love me," Henrietta says.

Ivan caresses her face, and he says, "Go back to Forester. If he ever hurts you, let me know."

"Do you say that because you care for me, or because he is a werewolf?" Henrietta asks.

"Why wouldn't I care for you? You have been very supportive over the decades. You were the first vampire I met after my transformation. You counseled me and gave me companionship," Ivan says warmly.

"Give. I still want to give you companionship. If only you could let go of your resentment for me," Henrietta says. She pulls away from Ivan, stands up, and backs away, upset with herself for saying that.

Ivan studies her as he asks, "Why would I resent you?"

"I do not know what I am saying. I am emotionally exhausted. Drake's overwhelming love for me exhausts me. My overwhelming love for you exhausts me. Your underwhelming feelings for me exhaust me. My emotional exhaustion is depleting me and making me lifeless," Henrietta bemoans.

"It is not the first time you suggest that I hold resentment for you. And I want you to tell me why I should resent you," Ivan demands.

"I am emotionally exhausted."

"In this dark existence, we are emotionally exhausted," Ivan says. Ivan gets up and walks to her and says, "You master the art of being a vampire. You are good at throwing up walls to keep me from reading your thoughts. And I am always left with the clawing sensation there is more about our history."

"Our worlds collided in a deserted street in a blinding fog. You were weak, hungry, and bewildered. And while the bite was still raw on your neck, I took you under my wing and guided you as you came to grips with the reality that you were now a vampire. Shortly after that, I fell madly in love with you."

"Shortly after that? No. It did not hit me then, but I know now you were in love with me at the precise moment I ran into you on that godforsaken night. What is it that you are not telling me? What is it that I am not remembering?"

"You are drunk," Henrietta says.

"Do not try to confuse me, Henrietta. If you deserve for me to resent you. I deserve to know why," Ivan says.

"Please do not mistreat me because Suzette is in love with someone else," Henrietta says.

"Was I acquainted with the man who bit you?" Ivan asks.

"No, he was killed by werewolves centuries before I met you," Henrietta tells him.

"Why are you emotionless when you talk about him?"

"I was never in love with him. Rather, I was in love with his way of life, and I wanted to live forever," Henrietta says.

"So to cope with your rejection, he started to see another vampiressa, and the werewolf that was in love with her had him killed. And not one bloody tear from you."

"Damn you; I could not love him back. As you are so painfully aware. Why do you bring up that history? Pray, tell me you will not kill Victor," Henrietta pleads.

"I am not a murderer. And besides, if I kill poor Victor, Suzette will never forgive me, and she will banish me from her side," Ivan says.

"Poor? If Suzette's heart belonged to you, you would consider yourself the richest man in the world. But it is Victor who owns Suzette's heart. No, not poor Victor, but poor you. You are as poor as I am," Henrietta's says, filled with envy over Suzette.

"I hope that the distance between them serves her heart as consolation and—"

"And that she seeks refuge from her broken heart in your arms?" Henrietta bitterly interrupts.

Henrietta looks out the window at the shadowy trees, still in the moonless night.

"You are closing your mind off me again; what are you thinking?" Ivan asks, irritated.

Henrietta turns around and looks up at Ivan, who is now standing close to her.

"If the plague had consumed you, you would have never met Suzette. But you escaped the black death and survived as a vampire, and century later you meet and fell in love with Suzette. You then caved in to her demand to bite her, and decades later she meets and falls in love with Victor," Henrietta says with an ironic tone.

"Speak clearly. What are you trying to say?" Ivan, frustrated, demands.

"Now more than ever she must be grateful that you bit her. As a vampiressa she survived the decades that heralded true love into her heart. Are you grateful that you were bitten to live long enough to meet your true love, Suzette?" Henrietta asks tearfully.

"Why are you hurting yourself, Henrietta?" Ivan asks.

"Have you forgiven the vampire that bit you?" Henrietta asks.

"I was bitten by a vampiressa," Ivan clarifies.

Color drains from Henrietta's face, and she asks, "Who was she?"

"I do not know; like a thief, she entered my cabin, bit me, and flew out the window before I could stop her."

"A thief? You have not forgiven her?"

"Why are you advocating for her?" Ivan asks, frustrated.

"What did she look like?" Henrietta asks.

"I was half-asleep and not feeling well; I do not remember."

"Have you forgiven her?" Henrietta asks again.

"I feel imprisoned. The only light in my cell is Suzette."

Henrietta's eyes bleed over with envy and pain.

"For your sake, Henrietta, I beg you do not discuss Suzette. I cannot deny what I feel for her. But I also do not want you to suffer my words of love for her; please do not speak of her and put me in the situation to speak honestly about her," Ivan says.

"I am love with you. And like you, I appreciate how beautiful love is. I suffer for you. And you suffer for Suzette, and more so now than ever with Victor in her life. Yet you seem to weather the pain of unrequited love better than I. While love is beautiful, a broken heart is the most wrenching pain I've ever had to endure," Henrietta says.

"Forgive me, Henrietta," Ivan pleads.

"It is the price of a vampire; it is not your fault. It is mine."

"How is it yours?" Ivan asks, confused.

Henrietta lips quiver.

"I will always be here for you, Henrietta. I care about you, and I want you to be well."

"You do have a heart, my love. And I want you to promise me that when you are hurting over Suzette's love for Victor, you will come to me," Henrietta pleads.

Ivan's conflicted eyes confuse Henrietta, and then Ivan announces, "Victor left town at daybreak, and I am worried about how Suzette will handle his departure."

"Do not burden yourself with worry for her, because Victor did not leave. I was at the gulf to greet Drake, and as Drake was disembarking the ship, I saw Victor arrive with his luggage. The coachman helped him carry his luggage on to the docked ship, but just as the ship was breaking away from the shore, I heard a whistle, and it was Victor whistling for the coachman to return. Victor tossed his luggage over to the coachman, and then he jumped off the departing ship and walked back to shore. Later that afternoon I saw him hand a letter to a sailor bound for California," Henrietta informs him.

"Are you sure?" Ivan asks, distraught and angry.

"I am afraid so, my love. It was him; I never forget a face or blood aroma," Henrietta says, feeling pity for Ivan.

Ivan stumbles back to his rum and guzzles down a shot. Henrietta rushes to him and takes the goblet from him, and she says, "This why I am here, my love, to help you forget."

Drunk with pain and angry with envy, Ivan surrenders himself to Henrietta, and she places him under an Amare trance. High with love, he passionately kisses Henrietta. Henrietta anchors her arms around his neck, and as he continues to shower her with love bites, she waves her hand, lifting them both off the floor, and flies them over to his bed and then lets him drop down on top of her.

Suzette is not tired, her administrative duties can keep her productive all night, but her body is restless, and her heart beats with anticipation. "I must be patient; time is on my side. Victor is still in town, far away from his love and close to me," she says as she caresses her face with the fan he gave her. Suzette picks up a quill pen and puts her attention back on her books. As she catalogs the sacks of sugar that are due to ship out to France, she hears a carriage pull up in front of her plantation; she looks at the clock—it is midnight. Overwhelmed, she prays it is not a patient calling as she quickly pens in how many sacks of sugar need to disembark to four French ports, respectively.

The double grand doors are thrust open, stealing her attention from her books.

"I am sorry, madame; he did not want me to announce his arrival," the worried butler says.

"Do not worry; please leave us," Suzette says, excusing the butler.

"To what do I owe your abrupt visit? Are you not well?" Suzette asks as her heart madly pounds in her chest.

"I beg your forgiveness, for calling at such an ungodly hour," Victor says, bowing respectfully.

Suzette remains seated, and studying his gray eyes she says, "I am surprised to see you. I assumed that you would be well on your way to California."

"From aboard the ship, I glanced at New Orleans's landscape, which was gently lit by the rising sun, and I realized that I could not leave," Victor begins to explain.

Suzette locks her eyes on his and holds his gaze as she admits, "I am grateful that you are still here."

"I beg your forgiveness for upsetting you last night. I behaved like a stubborn coward. My caprice for my ex-fiancée blinded me from the undeniable chemistry that binds us. My heart is dead; if my heart were alive, I would be desperately in love with you. Despite an unfeeling heart, my body aches for you. My soul, although conflicted, is attached to you. I'm lost and at your mercy," Victor confesses.

While it is an unchangeable law, still Suzette is heartbroken by his heart's inability to love her. The joy she feels over Victor desiring her is dampened by his confusion over his dormant heart. Fear grips at her; she wants to love him openly without the dark secret that he is seducing a monster. The fear of rejection upon his discovering that she is a monster is paralyzing. Her heart is at odds with her conscience as she sits there, lifeless.

"I see that my yearning soul is not welcomed," Victor says, lowering his gray eyes onto the burgundy carpet.

"I am afraid..." Suzette begins.

"Please do not fear me. My heart is broken, yes, but I am sure that with time by your side, it will amend, and I will fall desperately in love with you. You possess all the attributes that my heart desires. It is destined. Fate had a hand in my saving you that night, because you and I are meant to be."

Suzette lowers her head; it pains her that Victor is struggling in the dark to see what exactly it is that holds him to her.

"I feel you belong in California. Your family is there and your true love. New Orleans is beautiful, but she is a dangerous seductress of unknowns," Suzette advises.

"Last night you were emotional about my pending departure. Tonight you want me in California?"

Victor walks to the side of her desk, and looking down at her profile, he says, "Madame, your words are muted by the love emanating from you."

The battle in her is unbearable. It has been her resolve to seduce Victor at all costs. But her heart is overwhelmed with compassion for his vulnerable spirit. She refuses to look at him as she reminds herself that theirs will not be a traditional courtship, but rather a dark masquerade.

"We must stay in our respective worlds, Senor Victor," Suzette gently urges.

"I am not here to disrupt your world, rather I want you to lighten mine," Victor says.

Overwhelmed with internal conflict, Suzette fights to maintain a composure as rigid as death. But, on fire with desire, Victor refuses to accept her cold silence.

Victor swiftly lifts Suzette off the chair onto her feet, wraps his arms around her, and pulls her in close. Suzette does not protest; she releases the guilt of feigning deceit and surrenders herself to being seduced by him.

"I am not certain what it is that has me hopelessly mesmerized by you, but I do know to deprive myself of you would be like depriving my body of a soul," Victor declares.

"Your dynasty and enterprise is well rooted in California. My bloodline belongs here on my sweet plantation," Suzette pleads to him for his sake.

Victor raises his hand and cradles her head and without reservation kisses her passionately. The fear does not let Suzette cherish the kiss; while she will not let herself pull away, she does reject embracing him.

Victor's firm hand continues to cradle her head up toward his, and he professes, "Time will tell that our destiny is sketched in stone. Our romance will flourish, our dynasty will interlock, our bloodline will become as one," Victor promises.

While her heart celebrates that Victor wants a family with her, she cringes with remorse at the desire to have his blood in her veins.

"I have no will but to love you," Suzette confesses.

"I want nothing more than to love you," Victor says as he pulls her closer and passionately kisses her.

In his kiss Suzette senses not only his burning desire but genuine affection toward her. As she leads him upstairs to her chambers, she is grateful the night is still young and she has hours before dawn to bestow to him all the love and affection that overflows her heart and overwhelms her soul. As he wraps his body around her, she refuses to anguish about the darkness between them. Suzette loves him as if it were the end instead of the beginning. And as she lies awake in his arms as he sleeps peacefully, she gazes out her window and watches as the dark night fades as she fights not to surrender to the sadness in her heavy heart, which is beating against his chest. The sadness arises as the sun does, and she fears that their romance will be as short as a night, and that in time his responsibilities will force him back to California, or, worse, he will discover that he is sleeping with a monster and flee from her darkness. His heart does not love her, and there are no guarantees that her love can persuade him to be at her side despite her dark reality.

He rises at daybreak and makes love to her again, and tearing himself away from her arms he says, "I'll leave now, so that you can get a full day of sleep, my darling. I've discovered that your patients call on you mainly in the evenings, and that you are a creature of the night. I am helping my cousin to establish a wine business, and I promised him that I would meet him early."

In the shadow of the curtain, she watches him board the coach, and she weeps as she watches him depart, her bloody tears a cruel reminder that she is half human. For the first time in her vampire existence, she wishes she were a mere mortal. As she crawls into the side of the bed where he slept, she remembers Ivan's words to her: "Being a vampire helped me sail through the century to you, my love." And she must be grateful too that as a vampire, she has sailed through the decades to finally fall in love.

Her body demands sleep. Her head cradled in the pillow still dusted by his scent and now stained with her bloody tears, she falls into a deep sleep.

At dinner, sitting alone, she ignores her steak and stares at the flames in the fireplace as she fans herself with the fan that Victor gave her. Her mind and soul are in turmoil. Her heart wants to reminisce about their night together, but her mind and spirit are fixated with worry about their future. She must figure out the logistics of their romance. They cannot promenade out on days when the sun's glorious beams rain down. She can tolerate days when the dark skies billow with rain. She will make Victor accept that she is a creature of the night who craves late-night dinners and evenings at the opera or socializing in ball rooms flushed with candlelight. She will tell Victor that her porcelain skin is susceptible to painful sunburns, and that warm weather causes her to swoon. That she prefers the cool marble rooms of her mansion and the romantic moon to the heated cobbled streets and burning sun. He will need to become accustomed to love after dark.

Pablo Montes, holding two bottle of wines in each hand, stops and stares at his younger cousin, and he warns him, "The pensive lines etched on your face are making you looker older than I."

Victor lifts a wooden crate of wines and carefully walks over to the handsome wooden rack built into a wall next to the large window. He gently lifts an aged wine bottle from the dark crate and carefully nestles it into the cool wine rack.

"Are you sure you want to showcase these two-hundred-year-old wine bottles here instead of storing them in the basement where they will be safe from thieves and Mother Nature?"

"You cannot always live in fear. Besides, each one of my aged wines is insured, and they are safer being showcased in this cool specially made wine rack that securely embraces each bottle and shelters them from the rising and dropping sun rays streaming in from the window. No one can appreciate them in the basement," Pablo says.

Pablo takes one of his prize bottles, uncorks it, and grabs two wine glasses. He beckons Victor as he pours the wine. Victor grabs two wooden stools, and they sit down. Pablo hands him a glass of wine, clinks it with his, and he toasts, "To your happiness and health."

They both take a sip, and Victor immerses himself into tasting the wine and feeling it coat him inside. Pablo studies him, and then he says, "I do not know what or who is haunting you. You have been a great helper, your attention to detail and tireless help setting up my shop tells me that you are desperate to keep your mind, body, and soul occupied and distracted from what is haunting you. Is it Clara? You are still not over her, Cousin?"

Victor looks up from the open bottle and looks at Pablo, confused. "I still have unresolved feelings for Clara, but I have forgiven her. I understand that she is in love, and who can fault her. Who is to say I would not have done the same if I were in her shoes. But it is not Clara that is on my mind, body, and soul."

"Is this why you plunged into the gulf before dawn instead of sailing back to California, back to hopeless Clara?"

"I do not understand it; I am extremely attracted to Suzette, and the chemistry between us is as magnetic as love," Victor confesses to his concerned cousin.

"You are still in love with Clara; your heart has no room for anyone else, no matter if she is Venus herself," Pablo says.

"I do not know. Perhaps you are right; I must still be in love with Clara. But I love everything about Suzette," Victor reasons.

"My, you fled California to distance yourself from love, and in New Orleans you fall into another romance that is as unstable as the last one," Pablo says.

"Suzette is in love with me," Victor says, conflicted.

"Dr. Savarit is a well-learned and sophisticated woman. I am sure she surrendered herself into your arms with eyes wide open. It is Ivan Ortiz that concerns me; it is no secret that he is in love with her, and he is her devoted shadow who guards her jealously. And who has embraced you as a friend. Prepare yourself, Cousin, for confrontation with Ivan Ortiz.

To Pablo's stunned amazement, Victor does not flinched at his words. Instead, in Victor's eyes Pablo sees compassion, not conflict.

"Ivan knows and respect that Suzette is in love with me. I am sure he wishes it was him she loves, as I also wish Suzette was in love with Ivan..." Victor says.

"You do?" Pablo asks, utterly confused.

"Yes, I know what it is to be heartbroken. And I feel bad for Ivan. There is no greater treasure than mutual love."

"Time is a great enabler; with time you may fall in love with her. And you will once and for all bury the pain and the memory of Clara," Pablo counsels.

"Time is all I have, and I hope you are right. At this point I hold the utmost respect and affection for Suzette. And while I am not in love with her, I am utterly infatuated with her. If I fall in love with Suzette, it will be easier on Ivan, as his suffering will not be in vain."

"So what you are saying is that Ivan will not confront you, and the three of you will continue your respective friendships. However, Ivan is very attached to Suzette—you see one and you see the other. He needs Suzette as one needs air. You will suffocate him to death if he has to limit his time with Suzette," Pablo says.

"It is not my wish to disrupt their routine or interfere in their friendship, and I plan to make that very clear to Ivan while I assure him that I deeply respect and appreciate Suzette," Victor announces.

"You will not disrupt or interfere, because you are not in love with her," Pablo says.

The distinctive knocking rings throughout the house, and Lety instinctively puts Victor's fan back into the open drawer and takes out Ivan's fan, and she hurries down the stairs and meets Suzette at the landing and hands her the fan. Suzette gives Lety an appreciative smile as Ivan enters the foyer and walks up to Suzette. Suzette looks up to greet Ivan. Ivan studies her eyes, and as pain attacks his heart, he lifts both of her hands up to his lips. Suzette, confused by his unfamiliar greeting, steps back to look at him, and before she utters a word, he says, "You look very beautiful," and gives her his arm to escort her to the intimacy of the parlor.

For the first time in decades, fear accompanies them as they sit next to one another; the uneasiness between them is suffocating. Feeling the fear and the uneasiness between them makes Suzette realize that Ivan is painfully aware that she and Victor are now intimate.

Reading her mind he tenderly looks into her eyes, and Ivan says, "The light in your eyes is very beautiful. Since the day I met you it had always pained me to see your beautiful eyes void of the radiance that they hold now."

Suzette warmly smiles to thank him for his lovely words as she fights not to lower her eyes from his. To conceal her eyes would be cruel. Out of respect and high esteem for Ivan, she will not deceive Ivan—he deserves her utmost respect and sincerity.

"The light in your eyes clearly tells me that you made love to Victor," Ivan says, mustering a smile.

"He is not in love with me," Suzette reminds Ivan.

"Regrettably"—Ivan takes her hand in his —"but I am sure he cares about and respects you, and he holds feelings for you that border on love."

"I do not want my relationship with Victor to interfere in our friendship, which is decades strong. I do not want you to feel that you are barred from expressing affection toward me," Suzette says.

"Over the decades you have tolerated Henrietta—" Ivan begins to say.

"I tolerate her because she is in love with you, and I do not want you to live without intimacy that only true love can express," Suzette says with kind eyes.

"Victor knows I love you," Ivan reminds Suzette.

"And we all know that Victor is not in love with me but with Clara, and I can read in him that he has compassion and respect for you," Suzette says.

"I do not want you to ever feel that you are forced to choice. You must choose love. I promised you decades ago that I would step aside when you find true love," Ivan says.

"No. I will not lose you. I will never walk away from the lifetime of love, friendship, and guidance you selflessly and lovingly bestow on me. My life is richer because of you," Suzette declares.

Suzette wraps her arms around his neck and lovingly kisses him as she always had before Victor's kiss.

## Henrietta

"Did you come to New Orleans to escape life or to embrace life?" Henrietta asks from within a doorway to the passing Victor.

Recognizing her voice, Victor stops and walks back to her, and he removes his hat and bows to her, and he excuses himself. "Good evening Henrietta. I beg your pardon; I do not see you."

Henrietta warmly smiles at Victor as her eyes consume him. Victor's dapper style and the manner in which he carries himself is very captivating to her. His confidence and charm is on a par with Ivan's, and in him she sees the quick intellect of her Drake. She looks into his unique, hypnotic gray eyes and she sweetly smiles as she declares, "I can clearly see why Suzette's heart chose you. And I do not understand why Clara's heart is so blind." Henrietta extends her hand to him for a kiss.

Victor respectfully kisses her hand, and then he says, "It is a pleasure seeing you again my lady."

Henrietta can see into his heart and feel his fears and confusion over the two women in his life, Clara who still dwells in his heart and Suzette who lives on the surface of his heart. Henrietta refuses to feel compassion for him, as it will only complicate her goal.

"What brings you here? Can I be of assistance?" Victor asks.

"Yes. Ivan is visiting Suzette, and my Drake is away on business. I am here to enjoy my favorite cocktail. I do not like to drink alone. Please join me," Henrietta says taking his arm.

Sitting in the Hotel Maison de Ville courtyard, they are enjoying a balmy dusk as they drink Sazeracs. Suzette studies Victor's eyes, and then she again asks, "Did you come to New Orleans to escape life or to embrace life?"

Victor's alluring gray eyes stare at her as he ponders her question. After a moment of contemplating, he takes a gulp of his drink, and then he answers, "That is an interesting question. I must say yes to both parts of your question. I came to New Orleans to escape my life, rather my life in California. And due to New Orleans's lively charm, all I have experienced here has inspired me to embrace life despite..."

"Despite your broken heart?" Henrietta gently asks.

"Yes."

"And what of her people, the New Orleans community?" Henrietta eagerly asks.

"The people here are alive, ambitious, and very hospitable. Even though it is a tight-knit community, I feel very welcomed and not out of place. I am very grateful for the welcoming, as it really has helped my spirit."

"One of New Orleans's charms is that it really inspires people to live to the fullest and desire longevity. The majority of us wish to live long enough to see our New Orleans prosper," Henrietta says, studying him.

"There are three certainties in life: poverty, wealth, and death. Of the three only two you can control—poverty and wealth. You cannot negotiate with death. Death is a certainty from the wealthiest amongst us to the poorest," Victor says.

"I agree with you that death is a certainty. But what if you could make a pact with the angel of death to let you live for centuries or until the end of time?" Henrietta asks.

Victor politely smirks at her suggestion, and then he asks the barkeep for another round of drinks. Victor looks at Henrietta's serious brown eyes.

"It would have to be a pact with the devil. The angel of death would never agree to such an unnatural and unholy request. Whereas the devil will, but at price that you will eternally have to pay."

"But if there was another way, would you consent to being immortal?"

"My lady, there is no other way. The only way is through a pact with darkness. Why would anyone want to outlive their loved ones to dwell in darkness? Why prolong our stay in hell on earth?"

## Challenging Darkness

"If he was in love with you, the thought of not being eternally at your side would encourage him to, as he put it, make a pact with the devil. But my dear, Suzette, there is no negotiating with your true love. I know you will not be able to live without him. And any day, today or tomorrow, he can succumb to mortal certainty—death," Henrietta strongly warns Suzette.

"Henrietta, stay out of my affairs! I tolerate you out of pity for your heart and my guilt that I cannot love Ivan like you do. But you have no business with Victor and our relationship," Suzette says.

Henrietta circles Suzette with contempt.

"The fact that you have not bitten someone does not make you an angel. You know that you are cursed, and filled with darkness. Your blood consists mainly of rodent blood and nearly dead blood that does not make you a candidate for hallowed ground for your wretched body. When was the last time you took communion?"

Suzette eyes glow red with fury, and she looks at Henrietta menacingly.

Henrietta howls with laughter at Suzette, and then she mocks her. "Forgive me Padre for I have sinned; it has been decades since my last confession, when I chose darkness over light." Henrietta looks at Suzette with anger, and she says, "You are no different than the rest of us. In fact you are among the darkest in our community, as you were not a victim, but rather you chose this existence. You evil, wretched soul, you forced Ivan to bite you; you forced him to go against his own conscience."

"Listen to me, you bitter, angry, frightened animal. My darkness has nothing to do with Ivan's inability to love you. You can blame your own darkness. Ivan's heart chose me, and at the end of the day it is I that rules his heart. You are too stupid to see that Ivan has you in his life because I never asked him to stop seeing you. Keep out of my affairs, Victor is my—"

"Victor is your what? You cannot say he is your lover, as he is not in love with you, nor is he in love with the idea of remaining in New Orleans for an eternity. It is you who are stupid, because you cannot see that I am trying to help you keep Victor in your life. Yes, I am doing it so that Ivan finds consolation in my arms while you live in ecstasy in Victor's arms," Henrietta angrily shoots back.

"With my permission," Suzette says angrily.

"Perhaps will come a night, when I am hungry and on the prowl. And in a dark backstreet or in a shadowy door, I will run into the love of your miserable existence, and without letting him recognize me, I will brutally thrust my excited fangs into his well-defined manly veins, and after I drink him in, I will gently lick his pulsating wound. After that I will take him under my wings and hold him as he learns to live in darkness," Henrietta says with venomous glee.

## Prosperous Summer

It is summer of 1853, a very prosperous summer for New Orleans. And to date it has been the most prosperous summer of Suzette's whole existence. Never has her sugar plantation yielded such rich returns as in the summer of 1853. New Orleans's levees are receiving millions and millions of products of every kind imaginable, adding to the coffers of Ivan's merchant business. New Orleans's streets are paved with prosperity. Victor Montenegro, a devoted entrepreneur who never passes on a good investment, has invested in another metal—steel. Even though his days in New Orleans are numbered, he will not turn away from the booming railroad business, and he invests in the steel industry to profit from the railroad being built in New Orleans. Where New Orleans people are hard at work, they are tireless in their nightly entertainment; rich with disposable income, they indulge in nightly pastimes and spend freely in the lively rich culture of New Orleans. The most coveted performances of renowned artists can be enjoyed at the many opera houses and theater stages. New Orleans's days of prosperity cultivate in many a false sense of security. But Suzette's medical intuition begins to alert her to calamity.

## Rain and Bad Air

"The driving rain has stirred up the bad air, the filth in the streets, and the scent of the decaying dead dogs that have perished at the side of the corpses of their late owners. The stench of decaying cabbage stalks cannot mask the overwhelming foul air of death. As a doctor, I cannot stop it; there is no doctor that can. I am forced to believe that not even God can halt this deadly pestilence," Suzette bemoans, utterly helpless.

Ivan stares at the corpse they are embalming, and he comforts Suzette. "We are immune. Human illness will not kill us, and bad air cannot kill monsters such as us."

"Yellow fever is the result of miasma, bad air. The decomposing matter and foul odor stewing in the swamps is causing this fatal pestilence. There is nothing we can do but let it run its deadly course. Here we are at the end of July, and Charity Hospital is admitting one hundred patients a day. The hospital is running out of beds, and the poor, wretched souls are spending their last hours on the floor. This fever is forcing thousands of residents to flee the city. The shadow of death is ravishing our community," Suzette says through blood tears.

"We shipped most of our staff and slaves to Saint-Domingue so that they avoid the bad air. We are left with a brave skeleton crew that would not abandon their kind masters."

Guilt and sadness tear into Suzette like a burning silver sword.

"As we are embalmers and you are a doctor, we can explain why we have not fled. I just hope no one questions how we survived," Ivan says.

The weather casts a gloom over New Orleans with so much rain. For ten days it pours in July as if it were January. The bad air is cold; people do what they can to keep warm, and they keep their windows shut to keep out the coldness and the disease causing bad air.

In August the death rate increases, On August 21, 230 people die from yellow fever; it is the blackest day of the plague. Then the weather in August becomes extremely hot and humid. Chemists tell Suzette there is a lack of ozone in the air. The chemists and the board of health order four hundred discharges to be fired from several six-pound cannons to purify the atmosphere, and the thundering of the artillery fatally affects the sick by throwing them into convulsions. They decide to try a quieter mode to clear the air. Throughout the city, officials burn barrels filled with tar. The sunset that Suzette cherishes so much is impaled by the ascending, snaking columns of dense smoke from the burning tar. Tar is also set ablaze around and in the cemeteries, giving the cemeteries a dark, eerie glow. Lime is extensively thrown on the cracked and sunbaked earth to cover the coffins.

The streets of New Orleans are now reserved for doctor's gigs, for cabs transporting the sick to the hospital, and for hearses carrying the dead to the grave. Suzette stands paralyzed in horror as she watches from underneath her ample black parasol the train of funerals crowding the road to the cemeteries, a ghastly, unbroken line of carriages and omnibuses for two and a half miles. The cemeteries are filled with the mournful wailing well into the night, as the townspeople rush to bury their diseased dead. Laborers are in short supply; many have fled the suffering but most have been themselves buried. Slaves are hired to help bury the dead. They are paid five dollars an hour plus plenty of liquor to numb their emotional state and fear of the disease.

Ivan and Suzette spend most of their time in the cemeteries helping to inter the dead. With emotions running high and burial space becoming scarce, there are frequent quarrels that require a strong police presence to force order at the graveyards.

In the dead of night, Suzette, under the cover of her veil, stands quivering as blood tears rain down her face as she and Ivan help to inter the poor who had no friends and family and were left on the ground under the unforgiving sun that caused the bodies to swell. As she dusts their resting ground with lime, she feels utterly grateful that Victor left town for business prior to the bad air.

"This August is the most heartrending August of my whole existence. Is there no end to all this suffering? Death does not discriminate or feel pity. Emigrants who just landed are attacked by the bad air. Whole families die. Young children who survive their parents will grow up without a memory of their parents and ignorant of their names or from what country they came from. The fields are swarming with dead horses, mules, and poultry," Suzette says, standing over a fresh grave crying, while Ivan fills it with rain-drenched dirt.

Emotionally exhausted and spiritually tortured by so much human suffering and death, Suzette stands alone in the street and looks around her. "I am living in a vast charnel house," she whispers to the bad air.

## "Who have dead to bury?"

Men with carts walk around Suzette, and they cry out, "Who have dead to bury?" The brave men push their carts, weighted down with the dead, from door to door, banging and crying out, "Who have dead to bury?"

The stifling and fetid air prevent Suzette from passing out from utter grief for her beloved community. People walk around her in shock, their exhausted eyes tired of seeing death all around them. A woman who has lost her entire family walks up to Suzette and gently taps her on the shoulder. Suzette turns to look at the woman. "Dr. Suzette, thank you for all you have done for my family. I appreciate your efforts, even though it was not God's will for my family to survive. I accept that they are dead and are away from all this suffering and reside in the glory of heaven. I do not know why I am still here. But I do know why you are."

Suzette silently stares at the woman, fearing that she has been discovered as a vampire. The woman fights back her tears, and she continues, "You are still here because you tirelessly help this community, attend to the sick and dying and burying the dead. We need you here, Doctor. Be well and God bless you." The woman turns and slowly goes on her way.

People emotionally exhausted and physically spent do not see the dark cloud next to Suzette that slowly materializes into Henrietta.

"Be well and God bless you." Henrietta mocks Suzette. "That poor, wretched woman does not know that you are not blessed but condemned."

"Leave me, Henrietta, or I will hurt you," Suzette warns.

"I am here to inform you that your beloved Victor has returned."

Suzette's skin becomes translucent with worry.

"Calm down my dear, you will make yourself sick. Victor is fine, a handsome picture of health. He cut his business trip short out of worry for his family, you, and Ivan."

"Do not toy with me, Henrietta! These months have been pure hell. I do not need your pettiness."

"An hour ago we drank to our health. He and I share a mutual love for Sazeracs. He is desperate to see you; he is worried about you. He has been calling on you and he cannot find you. I calmed his worries; I told him the good Doctor Suzette and Ivan are in town helping the dying and the dead."

Suzette relaxes and she says, "Thank you."

"You are very welcome, my dear. We know that you are immune to deadly diseases. But we cannot be so sure that Victor will survive this disease," Henrietta reminds Suzette.

Suzette's animalistic eyes burn into Henrietta's calm eyes.

"An unfortunate truth is that Victor is not a vampire, and death can claim him even on a beautiful day. But you must realize that death can be even more aggressive on a godforsaken day like today," Henrietta says.

Suzette shivers as fear tears through her.

"You stupid and foolish woman. You will lose the love of your life without warning. What point is there to live without love? You, holding on to moral ground that you do not have a right to step on. If you do not bite Victor, the disease will kill him," Henrietta warns her as she starts to walk away.

Henrietta stops and turns around, and she threatens, "Victor is a very intelligent, attractive, and charming man. Our community can use someone like him. Perhaps I will do the deed for you. I will bite him and drink his warm blood laced with our beloved drink, Sazerac."

End of Book 1

The Montenegro Saga continues in Book 2 of the series in which Suzette, Ivan, Victor, Valentina, Henrietta, Drake, Maximus, and Agnes, along with new mystical creatures, will continue their journey of forbiddance as they battle for true love in their macabre worlds.
