The Turning of Niccolò

“What is this she has done to me? This woman who had so entranced me has now imprisoned my soul…” It is the fifteenth century in the heart of the Renaissance— Florence, Italy. Niccolò is a handsome young man living life to the fullest, enjoying the changes which have come with the enlightenment, art, music, science, philosophy— as well as pursuing his share of beautiful, young women. That is, until he sets his sights upon the sophisticated Daniela, a striking young Florentine glitterati who exudes confidence and seems wise well beyond her years. What man wouldn’t want her? So, it would figure that she would be the only woman immune to Niccolò’s charms. Little does he know the gift she is secretly waiting to bestow upon him. After his much anticipated night on her bed, Niccolò awakes with a gift, but also a curse. Suffering a brief loss of self-control, and then a long bout of depression, Niccolò is befriended by an older male Vampire who shows him how to reconcile himself with what he is now. One positive of his existence as a Vampire is that it has given him the opportunity to witness firsthand the sensational transformative progression of the Renaissance. After resolving not to allow his bloodthirsty nature to control him, Niccolò enjoys a rather cultured life, including camaraderie with such greats as Machiavelli and Michelangelo. He even has some famous lovers along the way. After the love of his life passes, Niccolò lives centuries in loneliness, certain he will never find that connection again. Sure, he still enjoys the occasional rendezvous, but that does so little to feed the soul of someone so complex as he. When he meets the masculine Vincenzo at Sanguelascivia, an erotic nightclub for the Vampire elite, he feels a connection he has not felt in a very long time. For the first time in two hundred and fifty years, at last Niccolò has hope he will love again…