B00528UTDS EBOK (22 page)

She’d pulled her car to the side of the highway. It was the emergency flashers that caught his attention. As soon as he’d approached the car, he’d seen that she had a flat. The right front tire was blown. She stood near the front of the car - wringing her hands anxiously.

Darrien came out of the darkness. “Is there a problem?” he asked, giving the woman his most charming smile.

At first she’d been cautious - backing away from him. “Flat tire,” she explained in a small - uncertain voice.

The battle was won as soon as she peered into his eyes. He pulled her in - disarming her with little effort. The vampire’s eyes were the most useful of his weapons. With a simple glance, he could hypnotize his prey, and they would become as compliant as a child. Like the deer that stared into the headlights of an oncoming car, his prey would become paralyzed - unable to run or even think.

This ability had served him well in the past, and it did so again, but Darrien had hesitated to take her life. Instead, he’d taken only the blood he’d needed, and then put the woman back in her car. His conscience nagged at him, and he’d hoped to ease it by changing the woman’s tire for her.

What good would that do in the end?

He had broken yet another law of the immortals. He had fed on a human, and then let her live to tell about it. Sure, many wouldn’t believe her, but some would. It would get the attention of the vampire hunters, and Omar.

And some people would believe!

The vampire often disguised his victims by tearing out the throat to hide the marks left in the neck. The medical examiner would find it curious that there was little blood left in the victim. Ultimately it would be determined that it was the work of a serial killer with a strange taste for blood. Every once in a while a victim survived, and they would rant about vampires. Of course no one believed, the marks were covered with other injuries.

The woman Darrien had left would still have her marks. He had not added another injury to cover his tracks. Some would believe that the marks were the work of a vampire.

Darrien’s thoughts turned to Sarah. It would soon be time to say goodbye to her, but when that time came, could he do it? He could no longer picture an existence without her, and there was always the possibility that she would not let him leave. Sarah now had full possession of Caroline’s memories and emotions. She had vowed not to be parted from him again.

Suddenly it occurred to him what he must do. It was the only way that he could save her from the pain that his love would bring to her.

Darrien wrapped his arm around Sarah and spent a few moments simply enjoying the sound of her breathing while she slept peacefully. He was thankful that she had returned to him as she had promised, but at the same time, the pain of what he must do was overwhelming. He would have much preferred a cold - emotionless existence, to the agonizing torment of being separated from the one person that made it possible for him to feel anything at all.

* * * *

The small boy ran through the sprinklers, squealing with delight when the water sprayed his face. Like many children, for this boy a hot summer day was a day made just for playing in the water. Finding relief from the heat was just another way to enjoy life. His fair skin was burnt from the sun, but he didn’t seem to notice.

It occurred to Sarah that she shouldn’t be standing in front of this boy’s house to begin with. She was asleep - somewhere on the road to New Orleans. But here she was - watching as the boy soaked himself with the spray of the sprinkler.

Sarah laughed, but then a deep sadness came over her. What happened to this small boy that he should be among the dead? Sarah realized that she was dreaming, and that it was no ordinary dream. Nicole’s brother was communicating with her through her dream.

Suddenly she felt a tingling sensation on her skin. When she looked down, she could see the boy’s hand resting on her arm. “Nicki is so sad. She thinks it was her fault but it wasn’t. You’ll help her feel better, won’t you?”

In that instant Sarah was consumed with a grief so crushing that nothing she had ever felt before even compared. She was feeling her sister’s pain, and her loss.

“Won’t you?” he asked again.

“Yes, I will do what I can,” Sarah told him, her heart crying out in pain. More than anything, she wanted to wrap her arms around this child and bring him back into the world of the living.

“Tell Nicki that the tangled serpent represents the truth that she searches for.” The boy’s words echoed through her head, before dying away.

She didn’t really believe her own words. When she had these types of dreams, it was for a reason. But until she knew more, she thought it might be better to keep the dream to herself.

Father Rovati swatted at an insect that persisted in buzzing around his face. Though the sun was setting, the humidity and heat of Louisiana was unbearable for anyone not accustomed to it.

Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, the priest wiped the perspiration from his forehead. Now he knew why New Orleans was infested with vampires. These creatures needed heat. They had no way of regulating their body temperature. The cold would not kill them, but it would slow them down. It was the reason you would find many more vampires in warmer climates, and so few in places like Alaska. Contrary to popular belief, there were not all that many vampires in Romania, at least not during the cold season. Not that they would not go to colder regions, they just preferred the warmth. The vampire hated extreme temperatures, cold or hot.

The ride from the airport had been comfortable, thanks to the limousine he’d prearranged before leaving Rome. But as soon as he’d left the air-conditioned limo, he’d been hit with a blast of heat.

Staring at the house, Father Rovati was not surprised by its elegance. It was just like Donavan to setup his base of operation in such luxurious surroundings. He’d known the vampire for decades, and had actually tried to kill him once. What he’d discovered was like Alec - Donavan was different.

A vampire was a vampire, he had no doubt about that, but he knew that a few sought redemption - a different way. Though Donavan accepted what he was as the natural order of things, he had a conscience. This was something that Father Rovati found to be different.

It was after his encounter with Donavan that he’d gone in search of the truth, the beginning of the vampire’s curse. What he’d found had shaken the very foundation of his faith. At first he’d been devastated, but then he’d realized that nothing was simply black and white, not even the creations of God. There were always shades of gray between black and white. There had to be negative if there was to be a positive. There were those that lived in the light, and then there were those of darkness - the night breed. It was the law of the universe - the law of God.

From behind him he could hear the two men preparing to move Nicole into the house. One of them would carry her while the other held the IV bag. She was no longer getting blood, but it was necessary to give her liquids to keep her from becoming dehydrated.

At first his companions had hesitated to come with him. But he’d managed to convince them that helping these vampires was for the greater good. Vampire hunters could help control the death that was being spread by these creatures, but they could not cure the problem. That would come from within the ranks of the vampires themselves. Rovati felt that this girl would be part of that.

The walk to the front porch took them through a stunning garden of flowers and fountains. A shiver slid down his spine. He could not help but feel revulsion when he thought of the darkness within, and how such a beautiful garden could so easily mask such darkness.

After climbing the large - covered porch, Father Rovati rang the doorbell. A short time later a blond woman answered the door. Right away he recognized her to be human. Before he could introduce himself and explain his visit, the woman’s eyes strayed to the limp body that one of the men behind him was holding in his arms.

Nicole was placed in a twin bed with an old fashion patchwork quilt. Father Rovati checked her vitals, and then busied himself changing her IV.

“You can wait for me outside,” he spoke to his two companions.

“Are you some kind of doctor? What’s wrong with her? What’s wrong with my daughter?” Vicky asked, as she held her hands together in an effort to keep them from trembling.

“Yes, at one time I was a doctor,” he told her. Her question brought forth troubling memories. He’d been working at the hospital and a girl was brought in. She had been on the verge of death. She was dying from loss of blood, and some type of poisoning that he could not identify. There had been fang marks in her neck, and at first he’d believed the wounds to be inflicted by a snake, but he’d been confused about the loss of blood. Then the girl died.

The other medical personnel had left the room. He was updating the girl’s medical charts. He’d heard a noise and looked up. The girl began moving - coming back to life. He’d thought it was a miracle - that was until she’d come at him like a rabid animal.

The first thing he’d thought of was that she’d turned into some kind of zombie, as unbelievable as that was. Then he saw her fangs. In that instant he knew the vampire myth was true. The mutation had been too much for her body, and as quickly as she’d reanimated, she fell to the floor dead once again.

This incident led him to the church, and his mission to rid the world of the vampire. That was a long time ago. Now he knew that it was not some hellish curse. No it was much more complicated than that.

After the woman left, Rovati studied the room. It appeared so normal, but that was just like Donavan Ashe. It was also like him to take a human mate and sire a daughter. He knew now that was the reason that Alec’s blood had not turned her. Nicole was the daughter of an ancient. The blood of the ancients ran through her veins, and that gave her a built in immunity to the poison. That wasn’t always the way it worked. Some born vampires were very sensitive to the vampire’s poison, and could turn quickly. That didn’t seem to be the case with Nicole Ashe.

Stepping to the window, he gazed out at the garden. Though the sun was gone, the gardens were beautifully lit, the walkway illuminated by small lanterns. The scent of roses drifted in the open window.

“Well it’s my old enemy, the holy slayer. He has come right into the vampire’s lair.”

Father Rovati turned at the sound of Donavan’s voice. While Rovati had aged, the vampire’s sinister good looks had remained the same. This did not surprise him, nor did the fact that Donavan still possessed the same dark charisma that was so useful to the vampire when it came to snaring victims.

Rovati backed away. He still did not trust Donavan completely. “They were searching for the Book of Anu when they were attacked by other vampires, but it was Alec Norwood that fed on her.”

“What is going on Donavan?” Rovati asked, a deep scowl on his face. “They were looking for the Book of Anu … your daughter and that Alec Norwood. You know how dangerous it could be in the wrong hands.”

Donavan smiled and lifted his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “She is a wayward child, I’m afraid.”

“And Omar?”

“My brother and his followers have disappeared from New Orleans. I have no way of knowing where he is, but you should be aware that he plans a slaughter like none you have ever seen before, and it will happen soon,” Donavan added.