MoonLife (5 page)

“Sebastian at last, it has been so long. We are honored to have you and your guests here for this wondrous occasion
,
” said the
spiky haired
blonde.
I wondered to myself if he realized how much he looked like Billy Idol?

“Thank you. We appreciate you meeting us today and setting up the binding ceremony so quickly for us.”

“It is not every day that we get to officiate a Mandurago binding ceremony. As you know
,
Mandurago
m
ates are far and few between. You are a truly lucky man to have found your soulmate so early in her life.”

“So true
,
Bram
. Let me introduce you to my
f
iancé
. T
his is Sadie Jones. Sadie
,
this is
Bram, Angus
, Dante and Dario.”

Bram
walked forward and bowed his head to me. The other three followed behind him and then in unison all bowed at the waist before me.

“Princess Kali, it is our honor to be of service to you.”
They were s
till bowing with their heads facing the floor. I didn’t know what to do at this point. Yes, I knew I was the Princess Kali, but I hadn’t been raised as a princess, I was still just some chick from Sacramento. Feeling my insecurities, Sebastian took my hand and told the men that they could rise now. They came back up to their feet, and each waited for me to say something.

“Thank you for meeting with us today. It is a pleasure to be here with Sebastian and my friends in your town.” Trying to sound gracious was much harder than I had counted on. I squeezed Sebastian’s hand a little tighter, not knowing if I should say more or less.

“No
,
it is our pleasure
,
dear
p
rincess. I am
Bram
and if there is anything you should need during your visit
,
please let me know.” He shook my hand and smiled. It was a pleasant smile and I could tell
Bram
was the leader
. He had a deep British accent that went perfectly with his
spiky
hair
ed look
. 
He then stepped to the side so the next Mandurago could step up.
Angus
came forward
and shook my
hand and said hello
, in a very deep Irish brogue
. Next up was Dante
. H
e said hello in a deep Italian accent. He was dressed in a very expensive suit just like his brother
,
whom I met next. Dario was just a little taller than Dante and a little broader
in the
shoulders. He was very cordial,
but I could tell he was very uncomfortable around me. I was beginning to get used to the feeling. Seems being a princess makes some people happy and others want to run away quickly
.

“Thank you, it is very nice to meet you all. I would like you to meet our friends Wendy and Ludwik.”

They all shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. Sebastian and
Bram
started talking about our plan of attack. He told
Bram
about Lars trying to kidnap me at the airport.
Bram
was concerned they would try again and thought we should get to the car sooner rather than later. Sebastian agreed and so did I. I was freezing to death in this weather. All these Magicals aren’t affected by the cold, but I am and so was Wendy. We were literally almost teeth chattering cold, even inside the airport.

“Sebastian
,
do you have a jacket in your bag? I’m freezing
,
” I finally said when it looked like the conversation between him and
Bram
would never end.

“Oh Sadie, I’m sorry I forgot that you were still effected by the cold. I don’t have anything on me, let
’
s head to the car and get you warm.”

“Princess
,
I would be honored if you would wear my jacket
,
”
s
aid Bram as he took his leather jacket off and gestured to place it around my shoulders. I thought Sebastian was going turn all kinds of angry with me wearing another guy
’
s jacket, but he kept in check and even smiled and thanked Bram. It was a heavy leather jacket and exceptionally warm. Dante gave up his sports jacket to Wendy and we headed off to the car.

I was glad to have the jacket when we walked through the glass doors to the loading area. There was a wicked wind whipping through the breezeway, and I had to hold the jacket on
around my shoulders to keep it in place. Thankfully the car was right there waiting for us. There were two hulking SUV limos. Wendy and Ludwik got in one with Dante and Dario. While Angus and Bram got into the other one with us. We followed in tandem while we drove out of the airport.

When we got out into traffic I was again surprised at the size of the town. I honestly expected it to be a big city
,
but it looked just like any other town. It was all spread out and I didn’t see any high rise buildings at all. We drove through toll booths, by the water and through an area that looked as if it could have been old
steel mills
until we hit what I had to assume was an abandoned industrial area. It was a long drive through the empty area, and then to a large roundabout until we came across a vast gated area. The SUVs stopped at the gate and talked with two heavily armed men. Bram spoke with them for a few minutes while the automated gates slowly opened. Pulling up into the facility was unbelievable, the building itself looked as if it was built 100 or more years ago. It was designed in art deco style and humongous in size. The main building was probably six stories high. The front was all glass that formed a rounded facade that reminded me of what the justice league looked like in the cartoons when I was a kid. To the left of the rounded glass area was a large tower of floors that were fifteen to twenty stories high. The building went on and on. Over the top of the rounded glass it read “Buffalo Railway Terminal.” That made so much sense
. T
his must have been the town
’
s old railway station.

We got out of the car and were escorted inside. If I thought the outside was incredible
,
I had no idea what to say about the
inside. I
t was breathtaking
,
vast and spacious, beautifully decorated as if we stepped out of the 1920s. There were signs everywhere stating which track to pick up which train, massive rounded exits for different rooms and areas. It reminded me of New York’s Central Station, but if possible on a much grander level
,
yet it was obvious that the station was no longer in use. There was even a giant brass clock right in the middle of the station that kept the whole station on time. I was in love with this building and knew it was just the perfect place to hold our wedding. I looked to Sebastian and took off my mental metal ski cap.

This place is unbelievable
.
I am in love with it. I can’t imagine a better place for us to be Bound.

I feel the same. This is a truly special location. Chosen and used by the Mandurago’s for generations. We even ran this place when it was originally used as a train station. I had hoped you would like it as much as I do.

It’s magical Sebastian. I am so excited to be bound to you here tomorrow night.

As I am too Sadie, my Kali Princess.
He grabbed my chin and lifted my face up closer to his. His lips touched mine, and I felt that spark start to burn between us. I wanted him and the time was coming that soon I could have him. Feeling my need for him, that special spark started to build between us as our kiss grew stronger. He stopped for a minute and looked down into my eyes.
Soon Sadie it will be you and me forever.
He kissed me tenderly and I melted. I couldn’t wait for that to be my tomorrow.

Chapter Five

The guys showed Wendy and me to our rooms. Originally they had us both in separate
suites
,
but with all the Lars stuff going on and the wedding tomorrow we decided we would rather be bunking together. So they found us two adjoining
rooms that were basically suites attached via a living room,
in the Tower area that were amazing. Each individual room was larger than the whole apartment that Wendy and I shared. I was beginning to think that all Magicals were rich. Everywhere we go
,
they have enormous homes, fast cars and a lot fancy parties. These rooms were no exception. They were accented in rich, lavish furnishings. Large
,
lavender
,
overstuffed fainting couches, chairs with high backs like thrones and the most gorgeous fireplace I have ever seen. It was all straight out of
the 1920s
. I felt as if just walking in the room I had gone back in time. It was incredible and I never wanted to leave.

“Wendy
,
have you ever seen any place like this? I mean
,
these rooms are remarkable, and downstairs was like hav
ing
Grand Central Station to ourselves.”

“I know
.
I was shocked at the scale of the place. I also expected there to be more people in a building this size. It seemed dead downstairs.”

“I thought that too, like they were almost told not to be down there when we arrived. I could totally see Sebastian and Ludwik setting that up.”

“Me too
,
as if they think we are going to get freaked out being in an area with so many
v
ampires, sorry Sadie…Manduragos in one place.”

“I know right, like at this point that matters. You would think they would give us the benefit of the doubt and realize we can handle it. I mean
,
I dealt with a kidnapping attempt today by Dra
ccos
, what are a few Manduragos thrown into the mix?” I laughed to myself. Wow
,
how my life had changed over the last year.

“You know Sadie, tonight is the night, tomorrow you will be a married woman! Can you believe it, it’s less than 24 hours away?! We should be doing a bachelorette party tonight. OMG
,
Sadie you need to have a party. You are going to be married for an eternity; it’s a must that I take you out for some unmarried fun.”

She had a point there. I am getting married tomorrow and I won’t ever, in all eternity, get to have a bachelorette party again. It was late though, already late enough that bars would be closing. Who knows if they have place open past two here?

“It’s late though
,
Wendy
,
and I don’t think it would be terribly smart of us to leave the grounds.” That would be just what Lars and his crew would be watching for
–
a
time to get us alone
,
and I wasn’t going to give him that time.

“Late out there
,
but not on the compound
. I
t’s early to Manduragos. I know, let’s get unpacked and then look around the compound. This place is enormous
. T
hey must have a bar or something here. Maybe we can have some undead bachelorette party fun.”

“Wendy, Sebastian would kill me and them
,
too. We need to be cool about this. Maybe Ludwik would know?”

“Ludwik isn’t a Mandurago
, he’s
an Allazei
protector
,” said Wendy
,
thinking about who to ask. “You know what? I bet Bram would totally know where the wild clubs are here. He looks like a party guy and he’s right outside the room watching over us
,”
Wendy said with that sly smile of hers sneaking out.

Sebastian had asked Bram, Dante and Dario to stand guard over our rooms until the ceremony tomorrow night. The hallways were specially lit to where the sunlight didn’t get in the entire compound. So here the Manduragos didn’t have to sleep during the day unless they wanted to. The three of them would be stationed outside our doors or with us anywhere in the compound anytime day or night. You could say they were our undead bodyguards.

“Wendy, be cool okay. We are supposed to be a
p
rincess and her best friend, not wild bachelorette party girls.”

“I will
,
Sadie
,
but you only get one chance at this, so let’s take it!” She opened the door and looked around. Hanging out down the hall in front of the door to her room was
Dante
. “
Dante
,
could you come in here for a moment please?”