Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2011 19:45:04 +0200
From: Luca Warberg <lucawarberg@gmail.com>
Subject: Tainted Blood Chapter 7

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Hey guys, heres the next chapter... Lemme know!!

Luca.



Ch. 7.

Nico walked out of the small food emporium with some irritation. In his hand
he carried several bags of the freshest, most delicious foods available in
New York, with everything ranging from vegetables such as leeks, potatoes,
roma tomatoes and artichokes to the most tender cuts of meat such as veal
and lamb shanks. He was entertaining Bianca and Christian tonight, along
with Christian's girlfriend, Gabbi. He could have sent a servant to pick up
all the ingredients, but moving around in the food emporium, selecting and
feeling vegetables for their textures and firmness reminded him of the open
air markets he had always visited with the cooks from their estates. It had
been one of the few times he had been allowed to escape from the confines of
the castle before he turned seven. The memories were thus all positive.
Besides, shopping gave him something to do to take his mind off the looming
supper.



He had tried as far as possible to ensure that nothing out of the ordinary
would happen, but given Dante's disdain for humans and the mere fact that he
embraced his eccentric nature as a cambion meant that not all eventualities
could be planned for. And now, to make things worse, Nico noticed that the
huge amount of energy he had consumed on the aeroplane ride to Italy had
caused some serious consequences in his body. It was this more than anything
that irritated him.



While he had been standing in the market, he had noticed people staring
blatantly at him, clearly unable to do anything but drink in his ethereal
beauty. By any standards, sure, he was a breathtakingly handsome guy, but
with the new energy coursing through his body, people would find him so
painfully beautiful that their very souls would ache. He also noticed that
languages came more easily to him. Despite himself, he had found himself
understanding  all the languages being spoken around him, no small feat for
a cosmopolitan city like New York. Even now, he could hear a Chinese woman
shouting at some kids in Mandarin, a tall African man talking in clicks on a
cellphone while headed for the subway. Everywhere he listened, languages
which would have strained his mind to understand them, he could now
understand as if they were being spoken in plain English or Italian. Nico
knew that his other abilities had also been activated, but he was determined
to not engage them. He knew they were addictive and it would be difficult to
once again gain control over them if he started indulging in them. Even so,
there were some of his abilities such as his angelic beauty and the gift of
tongues which he could not control. He resented the intrusion into his
privacy, but even so, this was of minor worry to him. Perhaps the most
disconcerting of all the changes in Nico was the fact that he found himself
craving sex in an almost animalistic way. He had always found the feelings
hard to ignore, but with serious discipline he had managed to control
himself over the years by practicing controlled abstinence. Now that he had
allowed himself to indulge so freely in consuming energy during sex, he
found himself hungering for more. With all the old abilities being awakened,
it was his soul's way of saying it needed more sustenance to sustain these
abilities. *Very much like a stomach demanding to have its hunger filled*,
Nico thought quietly to himself.



As he grew increasingly frustrated with the issues confronting him, Nico had
made his way to the ever-waiting Maybach and had slipped into the
comfortable leather seats at the back. That was another thing, with his
abilities heightened, he was finding it increasingly difficult to maintain
this normalcy of using cars and transport as a part of his daily life. There
was a part of him, a big part, that was crying out to him to simply use his
abilities and to indulge and luxuriate in them. They were there to be used
and enjoyed, not denied and ignored. Shaking his head, Nico realised the car
had come to a smooth halt outside his house. The back door opened and Nico
walked out, thanking Luciano as he walked up the stairs. Heading straight
for the kitchen, Nico placed the new foods he had bought on the counter, and
walked behind the counter to look for the chef. Without thinking, he started
rattling off instructions about how the food was to be prepared for the
evening. It was only when the chef replied with a bow that Nico realised he
had been speaking in Italian. Clenching his teeth in frustration with
himself, Nico strode out the kitchen to his room.



As he walked through the door, Nico pulled his shirt off his torso. He threw
it onto the bed and had taken off his shoes and pants and was standing there
in a pair of Calvin Klein briefs when he noticed another presence in the
room. He had been so caught up in his own emotions and thoughts that he had
seemingly not noticed the other person sitting in the dark by the window.

"Looking good there, little brother. You been working out or changing your
diet?" Dante's eyes sparkled mockingly as he spoke.

"What do you want, Dante?"

"Wow, we are grouchy today aren't we? What's wrong, stressed out about your
little dinner party tonight?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but no, I'm not."

"Well that's a good thing. So you won't mind entertaining another guest
then?"

Nico spun around glaring at Dante.

"What do you mean, Dante? Who did you invite?"

"Well, I didn't realise I needed your permission to eat in my own house at
my own dinner table. I thought we shared this place." Again there was a smug
smile planted firmly on Dante's face.

Nico pursed his lips in irritation. As if the day could go any worse. This
was exactly what he had been worrying about. He had hoped that with some
luck, Dante would be out for the night. He had known better than to ask
Dante to stay away. Doing so would have ensured that his brother stayed
there. He had instead chosen to say nothing. Clearly Dante had found out
about the party anyway.

"What are you playing at here, Dante? Since when do you care about chatting
to humans?"

"Ah, always so sceptical little brother. Can't I just show a little
brotherly interest in the new friends you've managed to make. Spend some
family time together. Show the world a united face, as it were."

"We both know that when it comes to you, there's always an agenda, Dante.
I'm just warning you not to do anything stupid. And stay away from all of
them, they aren't here for your entertainment." Nico had clenched his hands
into fists and was speaking with clenched jaws as he addressed Dante.

"Actually, brother, that's exactly what they are. They're the same as every
other human on this earth: here for the entertainment of those like us. But
anyway, I suppose then supper tonight wouldn't be the best time to let you
know that I heard from the Duchess of North America?"

Despite himself, Nico felt himself growing curious. He wanted to maintain an
irritated appearance towards Dante in an attempt to ward him off from the
night's proceedings, and looking curious about any news Dante may have
received would only serve to weaken the mood he wanted to portray. Finally
losing the battle with himself, Nico found himself asking what Dante had
heard. It was unusual for the two of them to have contact with the Duchess.
Actually, except through the Pontiff, it was unusual for any members of the
Regiorum to have direct contact with each other. It was only in important
matters that it happened. Or in Conclave, Nico thought dimly.

"Well, it would seem that all the other Duchies have managed to decrease
rogue newling activities. Our Duchess, however, despite her best efforts,
remains with an even greater problem than when she began. There have been
other murders in Phoenix, Houston, DC, Miami and Atlanta. All within a few
days together. All fitting the pattern."

"So, she things that whoever are doing these things knows they're being
hunted and are feeding to increase in strength?"

"Well, that is one thought. But she thinks it's more likely that they're
trying to stir things up. No one needs that much energy in such a short
time. Its excess, even if there are two of them."

"And why hasn't she been able to trace them?"

"Well, it would seem that these newlings do not converse with their fathers.
And if they did, it would seem the father is not speaking, so none of the
other Demons know."

"And that doesn't strike you as being strange?"

"On the contrary, it strikes me as very strange, which is why I need your
help in calling our Father. Perhaps if both of us summon him, he may come."

"Dante, you know as well as I do that you do not summon a Demon King. They
deign to visit you. And there's no higher ranking Demon than him, so we
can't even ask the Regiorum to pull rank through their fathers and order him
to appear."

"Yes, I know all that, but I figure that the last time we summoned him
together the last time, he came. I'm sure that if we both do it, he'll
come."

Nico knew that what Dante was saying was true. When he had turned fourteen,
Nico, like his brother, was given his inheritance and was sent to Geneva to
be cared for by the Regiorum. For the next seven years, he had been educated
in all the literature and arts the Cambion Council had thought necessary and
befitting Princes of their lineage. It was on his first day in Geneva that
together, Nico and Dante had summoned their father. It hadn't been the last
time they had seen the father, but it had been the last time that they had
managed to summon him. Apparently life as the King of one of the Circles of
Hell was so demanding that you couldn't spare ten minutes in over a hundred
years for your offspring unless you needed them. Then again, Nico reminded
himself, his father was a Demon. It was to be expected, he supposed.



"I'll make you a deal, Dante. If I agree to this, and you come to dinner
tonight, you promise nothing weird happens. No toying with the humans, no
manipulating them, and you don't use your abilities. You act like a normal
person around them."

Dante's smile widened into a lopsided grin: "I'll be the personification of
etiquette dear brother. And no cambion tricks tonight, I promise."

Nico still felt uneasy about the whole situation, but decided there was
nothing to do about it. Besides, he knew that they would have had to try and
summon their father. If he could get some sort of benefit out of what would
inevitably happen, he should be grateful. Without bothering to turn his back
on Dante, Nico stripped off his briefs, exposing the soft, smooth flesh of
his groin to the cool air in his room. His manhood rested snuggly in its
nest of pitch black hair. His balls were slowly being pulled closer to his
body in an attempt to keep them warm.  Nico heard Dante wolf whistling and
looked up to see his brother give him a wink and then a sarcastic smirk.
With that, Dante got up and left the room. Finally alone, Nico walked into
the bathroom and into the shower.

*****

Nico gave the room one last critical look before heading to answer the
doorbell. The servants had actually laid the table in the formal dining
room, possibly the least used room in the house. It was perfectly set, with
shiny silver cutlery and porcelain plates. Seeing that everything was
perfect, Nico left the room and headed for the entrance. Despite being glad
to have Bianca and Christian over, he wasn't really looking forward much to
meeting Gabbi. Bracing himself, he opened the door to see Bianca's smiling
face beaming at him.

"Hey Raf, how's it going. Wow, Christian wasn't joking when he said you have
an amazing place. We're only in the entrance and I like it already." Bianca
was gushing as she stared at the sparkling entrance hall bathed in soft
golden light. She quickly hugged Nico and then turned back to admiring the
room around her. Nico turned back to the door to meet Christian.



As always, the boy looked handsome. Except today, he was wearing a blue
dress shirt and a pair of black dress pants His hair was styled neatly
instead of its usual tousled style. The effect was breathtaking: how the boy
hadn't landed a modelling contract with some hot modelling agency was beyond
comprehension.  Standing hunched into him was a shortish pretty girl with
mousy brown hair and small, framed glasses. She had light brown skin and
full red lips.

"Hey Raf, this is Gabby. Gabby, this is Raf."

Raf extended his hand to her, trying to be polite. Her handshake was limp,
something that irritated Nico.

"Please to meet you Gabby. Please, come on in guys."

The two walked into the entrance hall and joined Bianca. A servant came into
the room to take their coats. Nico could see that Gabby was interested in
the room's décor. After taking off their coats, Nico ushered them into the
dining room, where they were about to sit down when Dante strode into the
room. Bianca and Christian both looked startled and Gabby was clearly
confused.

"So, you guys must be my brother's newest friends, Bianca and Christian?"
Dante cast a brilliant smile at the two. He shook hands with both of them
before turning to Gabby. "And you must be Christian's girlfriend, Gabby? I'm
Dante, Nico's older brother."

For the first time since entering the house, Gabby gave a genuine smile. It
didn't go unnoticed by either Nico or Dante. After  the greetings were
dispensed with, they all sat down and one of the servants came in carrying a
starter. It was a delicious warm artichoke soup. The conversation slowly
started to build as they all sipped at their soup and wine in equal
measures.

"So, Gabby, what do you study?" It was Dante asking.

"History. I'm actually majoring in European Royalty. I've always been
fascinated by the historical role they played in European history and even
contemporary society."

The news surprised Nico. He hadn't realised that Gabby would be so open
about what she was studying. Clearly Christian hadn't told her anything
about them. Before he could stop him, Nico heard Dante replying.

"Well, we actually have some noble blood ourselves, Gabby."

This time it was Gabby's turn to be surprised. Again before he could say
anything, Christian spoke up.

"Dante's being modest Gabz. They're actually Princes from Italy. They are
royalty."

"But Italy doesn't have a royal family anymore. They were banished after
World War Two for the complicit role they played in the Mussolini
government. The Italian royals renounced their titles and their wealth
before being exiled."

Clearly this girl wasn't joking when she said she was interested by European
Royals. Not many people knew of the Italian Royal Family's exile from the
country. It was an issue that was hard to explain, and it drew suspicion,
which is why Nico never let anyone know  about his titles. Even Dante knew
where to draw the line, and smoothly changed to subject.

"Ah, the infamous Mussolini. I remember an uncle causing a huge scene about
him the day we turned six."

Bianca looked up from her soup, an interested expression on her face.

"What do you mean when "we" turned six?"

`What, Nico didn't tell you? We're twins. I'm a minute and thirty seconds
older than him."

Nico had to bite his tongue to keep from speaking. This dinner was not going
the way he had planned, and clearly he had been right about the volatile
nature of Dante's company. You never knew what agenda he was working at.

"Raf, you never told us you were a twin?" Clearly the news surprised
Christian as well. As they had been speaking, none of them had noticed that
Gabby had been fiddling on her Blackberry. With a look of triumph she spoke
up, clearly oblivious to the course the conversation had taken.

"See, I was right. I just looked it up. It says here that the Italian Royal
family was exiled and they still aren't allowed to return to Italy. They
were stripped of their citizenship, titles and property before being sent
away. You guys are lying."

Christian looked at Gabby as if she had just sprouted horns. He was clearly
embarrassed by her outburst and accusations. Nico looked up and saw Dante's
eyes flashing. He wasn't used to people challenging him and Nico knew he was
going to react badly to the situation. He had to find some way of diffusing
the situation, and quickly.

"Haha, you're right Gabby. We were just joking. Sorry, we have a really lame
sense of humour like that."

The explanation seemed to satisfy Gabby somewhat. They were just about to
resume their conversation when this time, Dante spoke up. Nico looked up at
him and started to worry. He could see the telltale signs manifesting
themselves as Dante began to access his powers. His eyes seemed to glitter
brilliantly, his voice was growing gradually more husky and sensual. Nico
could smell the pheromones filling the air around them, saturating it with
pure sexual energy, all directed at Dante.

"Actually Gabby, my brother is lying. We are exactly who we said we are. My
name is Dante Savoy, and I am a member of the Italian Royal family. I don't
take kindly to being called a liar."

Instead of the atmosphere turning confrontational, Dante's powers were
masking his actions with an aura of raw sexuality, making him look masculine
and rugged. Instead of having a frightening effect on the three humans in
the room, it was serving to draw them all in, making them succumb to the
sheer masculinity and sexual allure that Dante was exuding.

As he had been speaking, Gabby who was sitting between Dante and Christian
had started leaning in towards Dante. Her eyes were riveted to his face,
reflecting sheer lust. Bianca and Christian similarly couldn't take their
eyes of Dante. In a manner, Nico thanked goodness that they were watching
Dante and not him. At least he would be able to communicate to his brother
without them seeing. He held up his hand in warning and caught his brother's
eye, silently mouthing the word `stop'. Dante glanced away and started
increasing the effect he was having on the three humans. His skin was
starting to glow slightly and his smile was devastating to the humans. He
ran a hand roughly through his hair, the action spilling even more
pheromones into the air as well as drawing attention to his clearly toned
physique. Again Nico caught Dante's eye, this time glaring at him and
sending him a surge of mental energy in warning. It seemed to have the
desired effect because Dante started toning down his powers and eventually,
the table was sitting dead silent, everyone looking completely confused.
Blushing bright red with embarrassment, Christian stood up.

"Um, maybe it's time that we leave. Bianca you ready to go? Thanks Raf, the
food was amazing. Dante, it was really nice meeting you. I really hope to
see you again soon."

At his words, Bianca jumped up as well and started saying her goodbyes.
Gabby, however remained in her seat, still looking at Dante.

"Come on Gabby, we're leaving." As he spoke, Christian was pulling her chair
back. Gabby eventually stood up, still staring at Dante who flashed her  a
brilliant smile in return. Nico also stood up and started walking with them
to the entrance hall, where they quickly bundled into their coats before
stepping out the door. Nico quickly hugged Bianca good-bye, before shaking
hands with Christian and Gabby. Just before they turned to leave, Christian
glanced around one more time and mouthed a silent apology at Nico. Nico
smiled back at him before turning back into the house. He bounded up the
stairs back into the dining room where Dante was still sitting, nonchalantly
carrying on with his meal as if nothing had happened.

"What the hell was that, Dante. You promised you wouldn't pull any crap like
that."

"Oh, relax Raf. She was a total bitch and you know it. Besides, I don't
think it's her that you're worried about offending. That Christian really is
quite a looker, although my tastes run more towards his sister. But hey, to
each his own."

The observation stunned Nico into silence. He hadn't realised that his
infatuation with Christian was so obvious. Without another word, he spun
around and left the room.



******************

Lemme know what you guys think... Im interested in any and all comments!!!

A lot of people have asked about the sex. And yes, while there is some hot
sex in the story, that's not the main point of it. But anyway, lemme know!



Luca.

lucawarberg@gmail.com