Blood Spirit (11 page)

He
arched one eyebrow again and smiled, saying nothing as he stared at her. Ilona
tried to match his stare, but quickly grew uncomfortable and looked away toward
the floor.

"Do
you plan to avoid my gaze for this whole conversation?"

Slowly,
she raised her eyes and saw him smiling at her. He was enjoying this.

"No.
I'm just..."

"Ilona,
we just made love. I can't believe you don't like me enough now to have a
conversation."

There
was something in his tone that Ilona was sure sounded hurt. Why would a man who
could obviously have any woman he wanted care what one thought?

"What
would you like to know? I'm an open book."

"I'd
love to hear about when you were made vampire. I'm so new to this and maybe
hearing about how you handled it would help."

For
a second, a look of sadness crossed his features, but it left as quickly as it
came. Had he felt like she did when he was turned?

"I
became a vampire in 1347. I was turned by a Muslim trader named Amir when I was
a monk."

Ilona
sat back in the chair in disbelief. 1347? Did that mean he was...? Ilona's mind
spun as she worked to add up the years.

"You
look surprised."

"How
old are you?"

He
chuckled at her question, which put her at ease, and said, "Vampires don't
age from the moment they're turned. I was made vampire when I was twenty-eight,
so I'll forever be twenty-eight years old."

Twenty-eight?
Ilona had met men her age before and none of them had the confidence Terek
possessed. "Oh. So you don't physically age?"

He
shook his head slowly. "No and you won't either."

For
a moment, Ilona let that idea settle into her mind. Never aging from this point
on. There were definite benefits to that. Looking down at her body, she thanked
God she'd gotten in shape in the last year.

Looking
at him now, she studied the face of the most erotic man she'd ever encountered.
How on Earth could he have been a monk?

"Were
you really a monk then?"

"I
was. I would have been for the rest of my life if it weren't for Amir."

"Why
would someone attack a monk?"

"Amir
never attacked me, Ilona. I was a willing convert."

"Oh.
But you said you would have been a monk for the rest of your life. Weren't you
happy?"

"I
had been fulfilled as a monk. The monastery had been the only place I could
turn to after the loss of my wife and son."

The
sadness she'd seen a minute before returned to his face and a tiny frown marred
his beautiful mouth.

"I'm
sorry, Terek. I didn't know."

"The
monastery was a refuge for me when I was lost without a soul to care for me in
the world."

Ilona
felt a pall come between them, and she regretted taking Serena's advice. What
she'd hoped would be helpful in understanding him had quickly become a painful
confession that left her feeling sad and uneasy.

For
a long time they sat in silence until the sadness that had enveloped him
lifted. "I was fortunate to be made vampire by Amir. He introduced me to a
world I'd only heard of."

Terek
sat straight up on the bed. "I'm the sire I am because of him."

"Why?"

"Amir
taught me how a sire is to treat his vampires. He had thousands who adored
him."

"Like
you?" Ilona wished the words hadn't come out of her mouth laced with so
much jealousy. Why was she feeling like this?

Terek
smiled and swung his legs off the side of the bed. Extending his hand toward
her, he said, "Come, Ilona."

"Why?
I thought we were talking."

His
hand still out, he repeated, "Come, Ilona." His eyes reinforced his
command, their green color more piercing than before and telegraphing he
wouldn't relent.

Ilona
stood, and placing her hand in his, walked with him out of the bedroom. He said
nothing, silently leading her down the long, dim hallways to the center
courtyard outside.

In
the corner of the yard a tree had tiny colored bottles as ornaments, and the
soft breeze made each one give off a tinkling sound as they touched one
another. The sky was midnight blue with a sprinkling of stars, but in the
distance a tiny light grew on the horizon. Ilona sensed a pull inside that told
her that dawn wasn't far off.

"Terek,
should we go inside? Can't the sunrise hurt us?" Tugging at his hand, she
feared the sun for the first time in her life.

He
looked up to the sky and said in a faraway voice, "I never paid attention
to the heavens until meeting Amir. Even when I was a monk dedicated to God, I
rarely noticed how beautiful the night sky was. I was so focused on life on
Earth that I forgot the heavens."

Ilona
watched an expression of pure joy settle into his features as he gazed up at
the stars, making him even more beautiful than when they'd made love. At that
moment, she was sure the heavens were no match for him.

"Amir
took me on journeys across the world. I've seen the four corners of the map,
but wherever I traveled this was with me."

Terek
looked down, catching her staring at him. "Ilona, I can give you all that
Amir gave me if you'd let me."

His
eyes danced in the faint light of a nearby torch, enchanting her. He was power,
promise, and somewhere deep inside, she wanted everything he could offer.

Ilona
felt her resolve slowly slipping away. Was he hypnotizing her? In fear, she
turned, breaking the connection.

"Don't
turn from me."

There
was no escaping the darkness in his tone. That was a command and one she was
expected to obey. But she couldn't. Pulling her hand away, she began walking
back toward his room. "I've given you all I can. I'm your vampire and my
blood is yours to take. But the reverse I can't do, no matter how much you
offer."

As
she entered the house, her body tensed in anticipation he would grab her and
force her to reconsider her choice, but he remained in the center of the
courtyard staring up at the sky.

An
hour after dawn had broken, there was a knock at the door. Sure she couldn't very
well refuse him entry to his own room, she reluctantly opened the door. Instead
of Terek, she saw Carlie.

"I
was hoping you'd like some company. Can I come in for a while?"

In
her hand she held a deck of cards, but Ilona was in no mood for games.
"Some other time, Carlie."

"Please?
Just a few minutes," she whined as she opened her dark eyes wide.

Great.
Another one with the eyes.

Nodding,
Ilona stood aside as Carlie entered the room and sat on the bed. Looking
around, she smiled. "I see you and Terek have been getting to know one
another."

Carlie's
smile didn't seem forced or fake, and Ilona wondered why only she seemed to
react with jealousy at his behavior.

"I
read tarot cards. Would you like me to do a reading for you?"

Shrugging,
she answered, "I guess there's no point in telling you no, right?"

As
she prepared herself for the reading, Carlie smiled sweetly. "No."

Ilona
sat down on the spot where a short time earlier Terek had lay naked and watched
as Carlie placed a deck of cards in front of her. "I want you to shuffle
the cards until you feel your energy has imprinted on them. When you're ready,
cut the deck into two piles."

As
Ilona shuffled, she listened as Carlie explained how she'd learned to read the
cards. Ilona had never put much faith in this type of superstition, and she
didn't think this reading would change that. But Carlie had been the kindest of
all the women she'd met in Terek's household, and it seemed only right that she
should return the kindness to her new friend.

Cutting
the deck, she said, "Okay. I'm done."

"Great!
Let's begin. I'll do a simple spread since that's what I'm best at. I want you
to think of a question and hold it in your mind, okay?"

Before
Ilona had a chance to consider what question she'd ask, the memory of Terek
standing outside offering her the world appeared in her mind, bringing with it
a question.
Will he ever love just me?

Instantly,
she felt embarrassed. What was she? Some silly teenage girl with a crush on the
popular boy? She was acting stupid.

Carlie
was oblivious to her inner tug of war and continued placing the cards she'd
picked from the deck in a cross formation next to a line of four other cards.

Looking
up, she chirped, "All set. You ready?"

"Sure.
Give it your best shot."

Touching
the two cards in the center of the cross, she smiled. "These are the cards
that tell us the present situation and the challenge you face right now."

So
the eight of sticks means you're in danger of acting like an immature girl?

The
bottom card was the Star card, a beautifully colored picture of a woman gazing
up at one silver star in the night sky. Ilona liked the image, but it reminded
her of Terek.

"Your
present is the Star card. It symbolizes spiritual love. And the Eight of Wands
is reversed, which is showing jealousy around you."

"Maybe
one of Terek's women doesn't appreciate the newest addition?" Ilona asked.

Carlie
raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Hmmm...let's keep going."

Moving
her hand to the card to the right, she touched the Eight of Cups. "This is
the distant past. The Eight of Cups is about loss."

Ilona
studied the card's sad story. A man was walking away from what looked to be
eight gold chalices. The scene seemed neutral except for the moon, which wore a
frown as it watched the man leave his cups.

She
understood loss. No cryptic meaning there. Not an hour had passed since she'd
arrived at this house that she hadn't thought about the life she'd left behind
when he'd made her vampire.

But
that was recent and Carlie had said distant. Ilona let her mind go back to a
year earlier when Alberto had told her he'd met someone new. The memory didn't
hurt as much now, but it was still there—the sting of loving someone who loved
another.

"You
okay, honey? You look a little sad. The Eight of Cups mean something to
you?"

Looking
up, Ilona forced a smile. "Nope. Nothing. But it's a pretty card with the
moon all sad like that."

Carlie
moved to the next card she said meant the recent past. "Another cup. The
Two of Cups this time. This one's easy to figure out. A new love has come into
your life."

Ilona
raised her eyebrows in disbelief this time.

"See
the man and woman pledging their love and Hermes' caduceus above the cups? The
caduceus is positive because it symbolizes health."

Ilona
folded her arms across her chest. "You don't honestly believe that, do
you? A new love? I'm assuming you're speaking of Terek."

"Of
course."

"Well,
that might be your idea of love—it might be every woman here's idea—but it's
not mine. I don't share when I'm in love."

Carlie
gently placed her hand on Ilona's knee. "Honey, don't you think love is
just that? Love? Does it matter how it manifests itself?"

Ilona
didn't have an answer to that. All she knew is that even thinking of Terek with
another woman made her stomach twist into knots.

"And
I know you don't know us well yet, but every single one of us love Terek enough
to want to see him happy. I mean truly happy with that one soul who makes his
own come alive again."

The
way Carlie described him made him sound lonely, but how could that be in a
house full of women who adored him?

Tapping
on a card at the top of the spread, Carlie continued the reading. "This is
the card that shows what you think is the best outcome of the situation. The
Seven of Wands is about taking a stand, defending your cause."

For
the first time, Ilona liked what Carlie had said about a card. As far as she
was concerned, she'd already taken that stand outside with Terek, and she
intended to stick to it. The problem was that there was no denying her hunger.
It pressed on her like a weight, and every minute she put off having blood, she
felt weaker.

"The
next card shows the immediate future. Hmmm...the Queen of Swords. She's a tough
one." Carlie looked up into Ilona's eyes. "Like you."

"Carlie,
I think I need to lay down. I don't feel up to this now."

"Honey,
what's wrong? Should I get Terek? We told you that refusing blood would do
this."

Ilona
desperately reached for Carlie's arm, grabbing it tightly. "No! I don't
want his blood."

"Why?
It's what you're meant to have."

Knowing
she had to have blood, Ilona relented. "Would I feel better if I had
yours?"

Carlie
shook her head. "I don't know about this, Ilona. I think it could help,
but I don't know if Terek would want me to do that. You really should have his
blood."

"But
we're both his vampires. Isn't that enough? I'm sure you've had his blood
recently."

Just
saying that made Ilona cringe with jealousy.

"You're
a new vampire, though. You need your sire's blood."

Dropping
Carlie's arm, Ilona turned her head. "I won't take his. If you won't give
me yours, then I'll just be sick."

She
hated being like that to the only real friend she had now, but the urge for
blood was so strong she might just give in if Carlie got Terek.

Carlie's
face twisted into a fake grimace. "Okay, I'll do it. But don't ask me not
to tell him. And if he's upset with me, I'm blaming you."

She
sat beside her on the bed and smiled. "You're just like my sister was. I
never could say no to her either."

"Thank
you, Carlie. I won't forget this."

Piercing
her wrist with her fangs, she held her arm out in front of Ilona's mouth.
"I just hope it helps. My blood is nothing compared to Terek's. And just
so you know, if this doesn't work, you're going to have to drink his, willing or
not."