Lilith gave her head a tiny shake and smiled. “Andrei has been accused of many things. He’s a brute, a snob, and he tells horrible jokes that no one finds funny. But a murderer, he is not.”
Of course, she wasn’t certain about the murderer part. Killing villagers wasn't in Andrei’s best interest, but Lilith was the mother of vampires, not the queen. How they governed themselves was up to them. If she’d known her children would have the power to create more vampires, she might not have turned the dozen or so she did in the beginning, but what happened happened. No sense in dwelling on the past, especially not when her future was grinning at her from behind a camera.
Alan spoke, and Spencer turned the lens back to him. “So far, Andrei’s bloodline has been spared the stake, but others haven’t been so lucky. I hear the oldest cemetery in Romania lies on your property and that the people buried there were done so with an interesting ritual.”
Andrei nodded. “The belief in vampires runs backward for hundreds of years. Many plagues have swept through the land that caused unexplainable bleeding from the orifices, jaundice, agitation, and a plethora of other symptoms. Medicine being what it was, the only explanations that made sense to the people of the time were supernatural.”
“What happened when these people died?”
“The villagers feared death was not the end for these sufferers, and they staked them to the ground when they buried them, believing the corpse would not reanimate if it couldn’t leave its grave.”
“So if we were to dig up one of these graves, we’d find a skeleton with a stake through his heart?”
“The heart, the stomach, the throat, and you wouldn’t be the first person to uncover the deceased. People frequently dug up the graves of their loved ones to check for signs of vampirism. Unfortunately, ignorance about the way corpses decay caused even more panic…and more staking of the dead.”
Alan rested his elbow on the arm of the chair, leaning toward Andrei. “Is this still in practice today?”
“Not in my cemetery. This is private property, and I do not allow it.”
“Would you be willing to let us excavate one, so the people at home can learn about this ancient tradition?”
Andrei inhaled deeply, as if contemplating the question, even though he’d already agreed. “In the name of education, yes. I will permit your team to disturb a single grave, as long as it is recovered and left as you found it.”
Alan grinned at the camera. “Get ready, folks. We’re going to find ourselves a vampire.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
At the conclusion of the interview, Andrei rose from his chair. “I did not anticipate your enthusiasm, and I planned a feast for this evening. If you are in a hurry to complete your filming, I can postpone it.”
Spencer’s stomach growled. “I could eat.”
Rebecca scrunched her face. “By feast, I hope you mean food for your guests and not your guests as food.”
Amusement danced in Andrei’s eyes. “I’m sure Lilith has already sampled one of you.” He looked at Spencer, and everyone followed his gaze.
Spencer swallowed hard. What could he say? It was true, but that didn’t mean his friends should be on the menu.
Andrei chuckled. “As host, it’s only fair if I…”
Spencer eyed him warily, trying to discern if the old vampire was serious, and Lilith moved to his side.
“Whoa, man.” Alan raised his hands. “Nobody’s fangs are getting anywhere near my neck.”
“Any vein will do.” Andrei smirked.
Spencer’s feathers ruffled beneath his skin, and Lilith patted his shoulder reassuringly. “That’s enough, Andrei.” She looked at Alan. “Do you see what I mean about his jokes not being funny?”
Alan let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah.”
Andrei smiled, showing fang. “Of course I mean a feast for my guests. It has been ages since the cook has prepared food for the formal dining room, and she is quite excited to exercise her skills.”
“And we aren’t on the menu?” Rebecca asked.
Andrei swept his gaze down her body before meeting her eyes. “Not unless you want to be, iubi.”
She blushed and cleared her throat. “Iubi?”
“It’s Romanian for darling.”
