Courted by the Vampire (16 page)

She gasped, and clutched her head, over her right eye. “I’m going to die.”

“I have been told I am a good lover, but I do not think you will die from my skill.” He buried his fingers in her hair, and then stared into her eyes. “Do you wish me to continue?” Anxiety niggled through his gut. Something was not right. Her eyes clouded with pain.

Crying out, she clutched at his arms in confusion. “Help me.” Tears slid
down her cheeks. “It hurts so much.” Her right eyelid began to twitch.

He
brushed her forehead, which was hot and feverish. “Talk to me.” He tapped into her mind, stunned at the thick fog of opaque blackness.

Gone were the happy colors that usually populated her being. “I sense an
outside presence in your mind. The identity is unknown to me.” Edwin kept his voice low, soothing, and all businesslike as he sat up. He cradled her against his chest. “Hannah?” He dipped into her mind once more, but only saw a great, angry vortex. Her anguish, her pain swirled as she trembled in his arms. Anger built within him to sweep all traces of passion away. “You must fight whatever it is. Do not let it win.”

Tears streaked her cheeks. She pressed her palms to her forehead. “Help
me.” Her whispered words were barely audible.

“
Stay with me.” He railed against the ineffectual part he played. Beneath his fingers, her pulse weakened and fluttered.

She clutched his shirt. “I can’t see. The pain is too much…” Her eyes
stared blankly at his face. “Edwin.” Her breathing was ragged, irregular as she gasped for air. With a high-pitched, anguished cry, she crumpled in his arms.

“Hannah!” He laid her down on the ground, a finger to her neck.

She had no pulse.

Chapter Twelve

White light filled her senses, washed around her, cleansed her. Hannah wandered through long empty corridors—the walls, the ceiling, and the floor were all white. Through the swirling haze that masqueraded as her brain, she thought about Edwin. Where was he? Was he well?

Another long corridor stretched before her, to empty into an open-air
courtyard. she walked down the hallway, her footsteps a silent testimony to her passing. As she entered the courtyard, the impersonal whiteness gave way to mellow sunlight. Emerald green grass tickled her bare feet. A reflecting pool, also of white marble, held prominence in the middle of the oasis, not even a tiny ripple marred the perfection of the turquoise water’s surface. She itched to draw a finger through the inviting water but refrained from doing so. It would be sacrilege somehow.

At its end, an ancient Roman temple gleamed in the sunlight.
She wished for a pair of sunglasses as she skirted around the pool, compelled to reach a set of steps that led to a raised platform within the temple. The white marble of the structures only served to enhance the colors of everything else in the courtyard. It drew the eye to each individual wonder, forcing the beholder to concentrate on nothing but that color.

Brilliant red roses sprang from pale green bushes to frame the building.
Impossibly long stems curled in loving tribute as the flower heads worshipped the light as if in adoration. A huge gilded cage filled with chattering blue birds rested at the other side and elicited a sigh of appreciation from her. A wave of calm swaddled her, soothed her cares. She didn’t wish to leave the calm-inspiring garden. Here she would be safe.

With another sigh, Hannah took a step toward the birdcage.

“Are you absolutely certain you do not wish to depart this place?”

She
was startled out of her reflective mood by the sound of another’s voice. Shading her eyes, she glanced at the raised dais to find a woman reclining elegantly on a white velvet chaise lounge, her lavender eyes alight with gaiety. “Where am I, and who are you?” Hannah half suspected she was having another Alice in Wonderland moment. What was more, that fact didn’t bother her. She was completely at ease.

The woman’s laughter trilled into the air, the sound of it reminiscent of
harp music as she glided lightly down the steps. “Poor lost Hannah. You stand before me, content with yourself, and content with where you are.” A Roman-style gown of a mossy green draped elegantly down from her shoulders to swirl at feet covered with sandals that shimmered of gold. Curling russet hair cascaded along her back and sparkled in the sunlight as if it were the finest spun silk. A plain golden crown nestled in the thick hair to wink in the sunlight. “You remind me of a nymph I used to know.” Alabaster skin framed her beautiful eyes to perfection.

Hannah returned the woman’s gaze with a mixture of confusion and
envy. In her presence, she felt inadequate, cheap, and undeserving. “How do you know my name?”

The woman’s tinkling laughter sounded again. She drew Hannah to the
pool, seating herself on the marble lip. “Sit down. I know much more about you than just your name.” She waited until Hannah settled herself before she continued. “I am the Earth Mother, the Goddess of the Earth. Your grandmother’s people call me Danu.”

Hannah stared at the woman, Danu, and then blinked. It wasn’t as big a
shock to her as she thought to meet the Earth Mother. The actuality that she was, in fact, meeting her, started a curl of worry in the pit of her stomach. She had listened to the stories of the goddess her Gramma whispered before bedtime. She loved to hear about the exotic life the Goddess supposedly led. But nothing in her wildest dreams could have prepared her for seeing Danu in the flesh. “Why am I here? Am I dead?”

Danu grinned. The smile rivaled the brilliance of the sun overhead. “That
depends. The place you now occupy is but a way station between planes of existence. Its purpose is for you to decide how you will proceed with your life. Many races visit me in this sanctuary. Some linger for months—even years—before they decide. Some of the more forthright beings settle on a course of action in mere hours.”

“Will you send me back?”

She shrugged and the action set her sparkling robe to reflect the sunlight. “Do you want to go back to your life?” Curiosity swam in her lavender eyes. “I have read your Life Book. You haven’t had an easy time of it these last five years. You have shunned the Gift I gave you. You break every relationship you enter, and you lack the confidence you need to live a full and complete life. What do you really have to go return to?”

Hannah frowned at the brief summarization of her life, or mere existence
according to the Goddess. She couldn’t go back to her family because that would put them into danger—not to mention she wasn’t exactly welcome in the town. She had probably lost her job, but even that small paycheck didn’t put a dent in the mountain of bills she accumulated. She didn’t have anywhere to live after the goblin destroyed her apartment. “I’m not sure…”

Another thought rose into her brain.
Edwin
. Dark and dangerous, he brought a new spice to her life, a reason to wake up in the morning, or the evening. Awareness tickled her brain as she thought of the bounty hunter. Where was he? Did it matter to him she was dead essentially?

“Would you like to see him?” Danu’s melodious voice cut through
her thoughts. “Yes, I know about him. I gave his grandfather the Prophecy regarding you.” A smile parted Danu’s lips. “I put Fate into motion so he would begin searching for you two years ago. He almost found you three times in those years, but your penchant for moving about the country at the first hint of paranormal activity foiled my plans.”

“Why would you do that? From his own admission, Edwin doesn’t want a
relationship, especially with me. Why would he? The very definition of his world is such that being saddled with a girlfriend would only slow him down.”

“You know that is not true.”

“He has only hinted that he might change his mind.” Hannah frowned.

“You would be a perfect match for him. You are as beautiful as he is handsome
, a natural foil for him.”

As much as it pained her to admit, all the female supernatural beings she
met were a much better fit for him. The exception to that thought would be the Forest Witch. Yet twin spirals of sorrow and depression filled her at the thought of leaving the vampire. Edwin had been the most normal and constant thing in her life in recent days. She couldn’t imagine life without him.

“I am Immortal. I do not plan on relinquishing that status for a toss in the
hay, even for such a half-vamp like Edwin.” Danu’s laughter tinkled across the courtyard to wash away Hannah’s depression. “He is questioning his existence just as you now question yours. Edwin has good reason to hate what he is. Even one small mistake in judgment could let those dark genes in his body take over and turn him into the one thing he despises.” A smile curved her lips. “As much as he fears being alone, it is his choice. He fears more being overtaken by the darkness, abandoned by Fate. There is a difference.”

“Maybe so, though they sound the same.”

Danu struck the mirrored surface of the water with her hand until it rippled in the sun. “You bring light and hope to him, but he is confused and fearful of that hope.” Jeweled rings sparkled on fingers that dripped with moisture. “He doesn’t trust easily.”

Hannah remained silent as she looked into the pool that now acted like a
huge television screen. As the water settled into a glass-like surface, Edwin’s image came into view. Familiar longing etched through her chest. Tears formed a tight ball in her throat when she saw such profound sadness on his handsome face. In the image, he cradled her lifeless body against his. Then after pressing a kiss to her forehead, he laid her on the ground, grief shadowing his actions.

She
averted her eyes. “Please, no more.” She couldn’t bear to see such pain. Tears made her words ragged and muted.

“I must show you what will occur if you choose not to return.” Danu
touched the water and the image changed. “This is two years into the future. After fighting for the right to do so with your family, Edwin buried your body at the foot of that oak tree. He visits often when he’s in the area and wears a lock of your hair in a pendant around his neck to remind him every day of what he’s lost.”

Curiosity compelled Hannah to gaze into the pool.

He had aged quite a bit in two years. Lines creased his mouth and crinkled the soft skin around his eyes. He still wore his dark hair long, but it had lost its luster and sheen, hanging in dull locks about his shoulders. Dressed all in black, his once lean, trim form appeared haggard, the air of confidence lacked, the bit of arrogance she found so annoying wiped from his appeal. “I hardly recognize him.”

H
is dusky face contorted with a snarl. He leered at a woman before him, no joy, or happiness evident in his features. Anger and evilness consumed him now. As he moved toward the woman, pointy fanged canines poked out from curled lips.

“Oh no.”
Hannah put a hand to her mouth even as she knew what would happen next. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the scene—she had no choice but to look. The woman in the picture screamed and her terror echoed through her brain. Edwin bit into her neck. Twin puncture wounds appeared on her skin, the creamy ivory perfection marred by a crimson tide as he fed. Shortly afterward, the woman’s lifeless body crumpled to the ground, the last of her scarlet blood dripped down his chin. His once wonderful blue eyes were now a soulless, never-ending, tortured black.

With a cry, Hannah looked away as tears coursed down her cheeks. Her
heart raced wildly. “How could he do that to himself? What about his quest or finding Duncan? What of them?”

Danu stood and made her way slowly up the marble steps to her lounge
chair. “What of them? Edwin abandoned his quest once you died. He couldn’t have fought Andre by himself. Without your power to supplement his, it was useless for him to proceed. Duncan eventually died in captivity. Andre became more powerful, draining all the magical beings of their energies. “Andre now rules most of the Underworld. The more powerful he becomes, the Immortals in the Eight Realms risk losing their foothold. Even I am not immune to his treachery.” Her brilliant eyes followed Hannah’s every move as she climbed the cool steps. “Edwin’s will to fight the darkness within him collapsed. He allowed himself to be consumed by it.”

“No.”
Hannah scrubbed at the tears on her cheeks. “He fought so hard to become a benevolent bounty hunter. He tries to redeem those paranormal beings that he can and relocates them in the community as functioning members of society. Edwin’s a good man, I just know it. Deep down embedded in the darkness inside him there is hope. I’ve seen it. I’ve felt it.”

The Earth Mother continued to regard her with a sad gaze. “Without you
continually trying to draw out that goodness, he had no reason to keep fighting. He gave up essentially everything that reminded him of you.”

“No. That’s wrong.”
She shook her head and pressed a fingertip to her eyes. “I can’t believe that. I don’t believe he would give up. I’ve only known him for five days. How could I have had such a big impact on his life?” She paced the length of the dais, her mind filled with dread, remorse, and sadness. Their inky blackness clouded her consciousness.

“When a person spends his life searching for that one person he knows
can fulfill him, make him whole, he will do everything he can to live for that moment. It’s when a man has nothing left to live for that he will do anything to forget. He now works for Andre as a hit man. He has no conscience, no soul. He roams the Earth as a shell of his former self, unredeemable, unfulfilled, and unloved.”

Hannah sank to her knees before the gilded cage, her eyes unseeing as
another thought crashed into the heels of the first.
What about me?
“If I die before I fulfilled my own destiny, will that affect him as well?”

Danu shrugged. “It depends. Do you wish to step into that destiny for
Edwin’s sake or for your own? Can you live with your decision if you weren’t in the equation?”

“I don’t know.”
Small birds flew and twittered inside the cage. “I’m afraid.”

“There is nothing wrong with that emotion, but it can also hold you back
from experiencing a full life.”

“If I embrace being an Enhancer, I could kill him.”
Her memories flashed to that long ago day. Screams and accusations whipped through her mind like demented butterflies. “My powers are too dangerous.” She stood and stared at the Earth Mother. “No one wants to explain why I have the abilities. I don’t understand.”

“You don’t want to understand and refuse to listen to the people who
would help you. Stubbornness is just as bad as fear.” The bracelets on her wrist tinkled as she moved. “The choice is yours. Stay here, go back. Either way, if you fail to accept yourself, the life you choose will be unfinished.”

Hannah bit down hard on her bottom lip. Was it true? Had the difficulties
she’d faced thus far been a direct result of ignoring her powers instead of learning to strengthen them? Did she really hold the key to defeating Andre, and if she did and she chose to stay in the courtyard, could she live with the guilt of not at least trying to help save the world? Her gaze never wavered under Danu’s. “You’re right. I owe it to myself to go back. At least if I fail while on this quest with Edwin, I’ll do it on my terms, not anyone else’s. I’ll go back. To finish my life. To make a difference.”