Madison swallowed hard. What was he saying? That she could never leave this house again? Was she a prisoner here? Her heart started pounding again, unsure of his meaning. "Yes, I'd like to hear it."
Shade felt her fear spike. Cory eyed him and put his arms around her. He too was a bit unsure about what was to come.
"Relax, son." Shade looked at Madison. " I wish for you to stay with us this night, with Cory, in his room. You are protected, nothing will harm you. But you can’t leave this house right now. This is not a threat, just a chance for you to think about what you have learned, talk with Cory, be together, and decide, together, what you want. I am not a vampire that can be in the sun, and at sunrise, I will be pulled into my death slumber. But Luca, Kate and Cory are day-walkers, they can be in sun, and need little sleep. When I arise tomorrow evening, we will discuss your decision and go from there. Do you accept this offer?"
Her head was spinning again. Day-walkers, death slumber, what the hell? Then she remembered her first visit, when Lorenzo asked if she was a day-walker. She wasn’t sure what that meant, but she and Cory could talk at length. "Yes, I'll stay. We have a lot to discuss."
Cory pulled her into his arms, knowing she must be so confused and scared. "Madison, I know it’s a mess, but we’ll talk, I’ll tell you whatever you need to know, explain as much as possible. Come on, we’ll go upstairs and talk."
As they left the room, Shade looked at bel and winked. "It is way too much for her to take in, but I cannot let her leave until we know her heart, so this is the best way. I think Cory can explain to her better than anyone what is at stake. I can see he loves her, and I want him to have that, mi amore."
53
Cory led Madison upstairs to his room as neither of them said a word. Closing the door behind him, he leaned against the door and took a deep breath. This would be a night neither of them would ever forget and he only hoped Madison could come to grips with what she’d learned, and could accept the situation they were in.
Cory was acutely aware Madison’s fate was still in his father’s hands, but he was at least glad his dad gave them some time to talk. Madison made her way to the sectional sofa and plopped down, looking exhausted. She turned her head and looked up at him with questioning eyes. She knew everything now about who and what he was. He hoped he could convince her he’d always love and protect her, and never hurt her.
"I’m sorry, Maddie. I wanted to tell you, but not like this. Not this way." She looked back at him, like she was seeing him for the first time. "Say something, please."
Madison was trying to absorb everything she’d learned. "I'm not afraid, Cory. I’ve felt your gentleness from the beginning. I'm just, you know, trying to sort all this out. My view of the world has just shifted. I'm trying to figure out where this fits. There are so many things in this world that some people believe, and others reject. You know what I mean? I know we talked about this a little, and I believe in ghosts. I believe spirits can stick around sometimes. And witches, people who feel a connection to the power of nature and call on those powers. I never really thought much about vampires. I had accepted them as myth, so it’s just taking a bit to adjust. Kate said they weren’t the undead, they were born, but they did have the power to turn mortals. That she was turned, and Shannon would be turned, eventually.”
Cory pulled her into his arms, kissing her and holding her. "You’re going to have so many questions, and I understand. Believe me; my mom didn’t know what I was when I was born, so she had to figure it out by herself. I haven’t been totally truthful with you about my life. I had to make up these white lies, so I didn’t expose you to any of this until I thought you were ready. I’m so sorry."
Pulling back, he looked into her eyes and felt bereft of her already. He needed to help her make sense of all this and get them back to where they were. "I’ll answer all of your questions. Do you want a drink or some food? Do you want to stay here on the sofa, or lay in bed? Maddie, please understand, I want to make this as easy as possible. You can borrow a pair of my sweats and a tee shirt if you want to get more comfortable."
Madison leaned back against the sofa. “Just sit next to me on the sofa for now. And I don't think I should drink anymore wine for a while. Kate and Shannon kept me pretty lubricated while they were talking to me. Can we do that? Just talk a while?"
Smiling, Cory curled up next to her. He’d wait for her to make the next move, indicating when she was comfortable and relaxed, if that was possible. "We can talk for as long as you like. I’ll answer anything, and if I don’t know the answer, we can ask Kate or my dad to help us once we go back downstairs."
Cory blew out a long breath, pushing his hair back from his face. "This isn’t how I wanted this to happen, Maddie. I wanted to tell you on my own terms, to gradually expose you, test the waters. I’m so sorry you were frightened. Damn my dad."
Madison shook her head. "It wasn't his fault. I got turned around. I wasn't meant to see what I saw. Kate told me your story, about Shade and your mom, and a little about how you grew up, how Shade met you and brought you to work for him but didn't know you were his son. So, I get that part, I think, at least for now. Kate said some things I didn't quite understand, like day-walkers? What is that?"
Cory was glad to have some questions he could answer for her. “Every full-blooded vampire is born with a gift, something unique that helps with their survival, as well as the survival of the coven. Being born a day-walker is one of those gifts. It means you can be out in the day. The sunlight won’t destroy you. They also don’t need as much rest. They can choose when they want to sleep, unlike my dad. Does that make sense?"
Madison nodded slowly. "So, there are vampires who have to avoid the sunlight, just like in the stories?"
Cory nodded. "Yes. My dad doesn’t have the gift of day-walking. Most vampires born in the past few hundred years do have this gift and everyone thinks it’s just an evolutionary change. In centuries past, being able to only move around in the dark was an advantage. But in this more modern culture, in order to blend in with the mortals, day-walking is a valuable gift. My dad has lived for a very long time, and without this gift, he can’t be exposed to direct sunlight. It also means he must sleep during the day. It’s called a death slumber, even though he doesn’t die, but the slumber is deep and pulls him under. He could be aroused from his slumber if there was an emergency, if Kate called to him or something, but otherwise, he must sleep. All the windows here have electronic blinds that are light sensitive. They are programmed to automatically close when daybreak begins and open again at dusk."
Madison nodded. “Yes, death slumber, that’s what Kate called it. She said they were immortal, to a point. She said they age slowly, but could be killed. Does it take a stake through the heart? Like in the movies?"
Cory chuckled, how the hell did he explain this? "Sorry, I know this is serious, and I don’t mean to laugh. The myths you’ve heard and read about for centuries were created by vampires to protect themselves from the mortals. It helped them survive. You can kill a vampire by all the same means you can kill a mortal, with a gun, a knife, a sword, a bow and arrow and with your bare hands. The vampires are stronger, and heal faster, so unless the first strike is a fatal blow, they can survive easier. Some of those things might just slow them down, but it would be enough to give you leverage to make another attempt to kill them. Pretty much any means that can be used to kill a mortal can be used to kill a vampire. I have seen some strange ways to kill vampires since meeting my dad."