Darkness Rises (Immortal Guardians) (5 page)

A chill skittered through her.

Was the vampires’ madness rubbing off on her? Was it contagious?

She
had
been bitten that one time seven years ago. She had assumed, because she hadn’t turned into a vampire overnight, that there had been no long-term damage. What if she were wrong? What if the madness that crippled vampires had slowly but surely been finding and securing a home in
her?

Fear cut through her veins like diamonds.

Could it be true? Could that be it?

Even if one bite couldn’t do it, she had been exposed to their blood countless times over the years in battle. How many times did it take?

“You okay?” her brother asked.

“Just tired,” she lied.

“Are you sure?” He took his eyes off the road momentarily to study her. “Are you worried about the vampire who helped you?”

She sent him a sharp glance. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “It’s just weird that he helped you. You’ve never encountered a vampire who didn’t try to kill or turn you. I’ve been worried that he might . . . I don’t know . . . come back and finish what he didn’t have a chance to start.”

“If he had wanted to kill me, he had ample opportunity to do so.”

A scowl creased his brow. “How can you be so sure? Maybe he’s screwing with you? He didn’t get into your head, did he?”

Relief and anger overwhelmed her as she realized her brother might have just hit the proverbial nail on the head.

A slew of silent epithets drowned out whatever Sean said next.

That’s it! It
has
to be! Étienne has literally gotten into my head. I mean, if he can freaking teleport, a little mind control really isn’t that hard to believe.

Other vampires could do it. The reason no one knew vampires existed was because victims of vampire attacks who lived could never recall having been bitten or give any description of their attacker. They even laughed outright at the notion that Krysta had saved them from a vampire who had been eagerly draining their blood.

Not one vampire victim with whom she had spoken had retained any memory of being attacked. If that wasn’t mind control, what was?

Anger simmered within her. “I am
so
going to kick his ass,” she growled.

Sean’s eyebrows rose. “The purple and white vamp?”

She had told him about Étienne’s aura. “Yes.”

“What makes you think you’ll see him again?”

“Oh, I’ll see him again. He left me alive for a reason. And I’m going to kick his ass until he tells me what it is.”

His frown returned. “Just don’t go looking for him, Krys. Seriously. I have a bad feeling about this.”

“I won’t,” she was able to say with complete honesty.

If he stayed true to his recent pattern, Étienne would come looking for her. And when he did . . .

She smiled grimly.

He was going to regret messing with her head.

Étienne glanced at his twin as they arrived in David’s large living room. “Are you the smart-ass who changed my ringtone?”

“Someone changed your ringtone?” Richart asked. “To what?”

“Never mind.”

Darnell approached, a tiny kitten in each hand. “Okay, which one do you want?”

Étienne reached for the little gray and white one. “We’re really doing this?”

“Yes.”

A faint, high-pitched scream came from Étienne’s pocket, accompanied by a drumbeat. “There are squirrels in my pants!” a girl cried as
Phineas and Ferb’s
“Squirrels in My Pants” song began blaring from his phone.

Every immortal in the room turned to look at him.

Étienne scowled at his brother.

Laughing, Richart closed his cell phone and put it away. “I didn’t change it. I just wanted to know what it was.”

“Asshole.” He took the ridiculously small bottle of milk Darnell handed him. “As I was saying, we’re really doing this?”

“Every two hours.”

He groaned. He could still be chatting up Krysta if he didn’t have to play feline nursemaid.

“How much has David done for you over the centuries?” Darnell retorted, his shaved, brown head gleaming in the overhead light.

“A hell of a lot,” Étienne answered without hesitation. David was like Seth. He gave everything he had to the Immortal Guardians and those who aided them.

“And what has he asked in return?” Darnell continued.

“Not a damned thing.”

“Exactly. So feed the kitten.”

Étienne cuddled the mewling little bundle of fur to his chest. “Done.”

Richart took the orange and white kitten and did the same.

“Every two hours, guys,” Darnell reminded them again as they crossed the room and sank down beside Lisette on one of the sofas.

Roland and Sarah fed two kittens on another sofa.

Roland was quite possibly the most aggravating, antisocial immortal on the planet. Seeing him cuddle and nurture a black and white kitten that could fit in the palm of his hand was nothing short of bizarre.

Grunts and thumps floated up from downstairs, where Seconds sparred in the training room.

Ami entered, carrying Slim.
That
scrawny little feline didn’t look fully grown either, though it had long since reached adulthood. It also bore several bare patches, scars, and cuts from its most recent fights with whatever woodland creature it had felt ventured too close to Slim’s new territory: David’s property.

“Hi, Ami,” Sarah called with a smile.

“Hi.”

The men all echoed the greeting.

Every male Immortal Guardian in North Carolina adored the two women. They loved Sarah for being the first
gifted one
in history to ask to be infected so she could spend eternity with Roland’s antisocial ass. They loved Ami for . . . well . . . being Ami.

She was so sweet and shy. And fucking ferocious on the battlefield. A mere week after being named Marcus’s Second, she had helped him stand against and defeat thirty-four vampires.
Thirty-four.
No mortal had ever attempted such a feat. Hell, no immortal had either until then. Except, perhaps, for Seth or David. Those two had lived thousands of years. Étienne didn’t know half of what they had done.

“Where’s Marcus?” Sarah asked.

“Out hunting.”

“How did he get out of kitten duty?” Roland asked dourly, even though everyone here could clearly see he had a soft spot for animals.

Ami stroked Slim’s fur. “Slim doesn’t like smelling other cats on him.”

Étienne suspected there was more to it than that, but didn’t say anything. Marcus had been giving off all kinds of stress vibes lately.

“In fact, I’m going to take Slim out for a jaunt until you’re finished in here. I think he needs a break.”

Slim chose that moment to emit a peculiar howl.

Chuckles circled the room as she passed through the kitchen, then exited through the back door.

 

 

Stepping out into the brisk wind, Ami set Slim down on the back deck and gave his skinny little butt a pat. “All right, you crazy kitty. Have fun.”

Perking up, he meowed and trotted down the steps into the darkened yard.

Ami stood still for a moment, enjoying the night.

Quiet engulfed her. Since she didn’t have the superior hearing of immortals, the conversations of those within couldn’t reach her out here. Only the rustling of leaves that fluttered in the breeze broke the silence.

Retrieving the lightweight aluminum ladder kept on the deck, she descended the porch steps and walked around to the side of the house. The ladder was just tall enough to reach the roof. Ami leaned it up against the gutters and gave it a shake to ensure it was steady before she placed her foot on the first rung and began to climb.

At the top, she peered over the edge of the roof, already knowing whom she would find seated upon it.

As usual, he wore black leather pants and nothing else. A pair of beautiful wings, as tan as his skin at their base and darkening to black at their tips, were folded against his back. His shoulder-length, wavy, black hair danced in the wind.

Hi,
she greeted him mentally.

He shook his head.
How do you always know I’m here?
Rising, he strode silently across the roof, took her hand, and helped her the rest of the way up.

His brow furrowed.
I’m glad Seth can’t detect me so easily. I doubt he’d respond well to learning I’ve been . . . visiting.

She thought he might be right on that one. Her husband Marcus wouldn’t either, if he knew.

Seating herself, Ami waited for Zach to reclaim his spot, then withdrew two lollipops from her jacket.

His lips tilted up in a faint smile.
Which one do I want tonight?

She offered him a green one.
Apple.

The smell of fresh fruit—Granny Smith apples and ripe strawberries—filled the air as they unwrapped their treats and let the flavors coat their tongues.

This was the sixth or seventh time she had met him up here. She alone seemed capable of detecting his presence.

She still didn’t know who he was, but sensed he posed no threat to her.

He rarely spoke. That didn’t bother her though. She hadn’t been much of a talker either after Seth and David had rescued her from her torturers. And the first time she had met Zach he had been riddled with wounds and trembling with pain.

Ami understood pain.

She also understood a reluctance to trust.

Wind buffeted her, rocking her on her perch.

Zach unfurled his wings to shield her from the breeze.

So,
he drawled, surprising her,
how are you?

She turned her head and found him studying her intently.
You know?
she asked.

Only a handful of people had been told, so either he had overheard it or he had detected the baby’s heartbeat and, unlike the others, knew it didn’t belong to one of the kittens.

I didn’t ask about the baby. I asked about you. How are
you
doing?

Shrugging, she lowered her gaze to the lollipop wrapper and began to fold and unfold it.
The nausea is pretty bad. Lollipops are the only sweet things I can stand to smell or eat. Anything else makes me throw up.
As did most foods. Marcus was worried that she wasn’t getting enough nutrition, because almost everything she put in her stomach came right back up again.

Are you afraid?
he asked softly.

Ami’s throat thickened. Her vision grew hazy as tears welled in her eyes. Raising her head, she met his gentle gaze.
Terrified.

 

 

Zach’s chest constricted when tears spilled over her lashes and trailed down her cheeks. Ami was the kindest, gentlest mortal he had encountered in his long existence. Ironically, she was also one of the fiercest, most determined fighters. To see her so vulnerable made his heart hurt.

And Zach hadn’t even realized he
had
a heart.

I wish I could see the future,
he said,
so I could tell you how this will turn out
.

She smiled and brushed at her cheeks.
At least you didn’t tell me everything will be all right.

Is that what your husband does?
he asked curiously.

She shook her head.
Marcus never lies to me.
A sad smile tilted her lips.
So he says very little. He asks how I feel and does everything he can to make me happy, help me feel better, keep me from stressing over what might happen, all the things that could go wrong.
More tears welled.
And tries to carry all of the burden himself.

Zach swallowed. There really wasn’t anything he could say to ease her mind and steal away her despair. It surprised him that he even wished to try.

Did you know,
she asked, sniffling,
that before I came here I had never seen a pregnant woman?

No.
He couldn’t imagine it, and sometimes forgot that she was from another planet.

She smiled.
The first one I saw had a belly so huge I thought something was seriously wrong with her.

She must have wondered what the hell was
in
that belly.
How is that possible?
he asked.
Don’t people on your planet reproduce the same way we do?

She nodded.
Visitors came to us from another solar system under the guise of friendship and used a virus as a bioweapon against us. No one died from it, so we thought it was an accident, that they hadn’t known they were carriers, and didn’t think much of it until we realized that almost every woman on our planet had been rendered infertile by it. Those who weren’t usually miscarried. Successful pregnancies that go to term are practically nonexistent now. And female children are just as likely to be infertile. It’s one of the reasons I came here. I hoped to find some Earth women who might like to either serve as surrogate mothers or marry our men and help us repopulate.

She shook her head.
To warn you that the beings who tried to eradicate
us
are on their way to eradicate
you
.

Yes.
She was quiet for a long moment.
I never thought I would be a mother.
Another minute passed.
Marcus never thought he would be a father.

The odds of either were . . .

Well, hell, he would have thought it impossible even
without
knowing her people’s history.

She stared at him. Moisture once more welled in her eyes.

Again Zach’s chest tightened. He cupped his knees in his palms, slid his hands over the soft leather anxiously.
Should I not have—?

She shook her head, lips curling into a trembling smile, and brushed the tears from her cheeks.
I’m sorry. It’s just . . . you’re the first person who has congratulated me. Everyone else . . .

She nodded.

He looked at her stomach, hidden beneath one of Marcus’s large sweatshirts.
May I?

She nodded.

Zach leaned close. Placing a hand on her stomach, which was rounder than he had expected beneath the soft material, he concentrated on the life it sheltered.
The babe seems healthy. Maybe a little large.

She smiled, her face lighting a bit.
That’s what Seth said. Marcus is large, too, though, so that’s the one thing that
doesn’t
concern me.

He hoped that was the explanation. A mixture of
gifted one
and alien DNA with the vampiric virus thrown in . . .

No one knew what the hell to expect.

And all feared the worst. Those who knew, anyway.

You know what I think you should do?
he said, drawing back.

She nodded.
I’ll try.

The front door opened and closed below them.

“Bon soir!”
Lisette called, stepping into view as she donned a motorcycle helmet.

“Good night,” Sarah responded cheerfully.

“Good hunting,” Roland added.

A moment later, the French immortal sped away on the back of her motorcycle.

“Want to run home?” Roland asked as he and his wife strolled into view.

“Do you mean
literally
run?”

He nodded and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her body against his. “I know how exhilarating you find it. And I love anything that lights your beautiful eyes with excitement.” He kissed her.

Her eyes began to glow as she sank into him. “We’ll be all sweaty when we get home.”

He kissed her again. “We’re going to get sweaty once we’re home anyway.”

She emitted a throaty laugh. “Shall we make it interesting then and race?”

“How about we race naked? If I catch you, we make love wherever I tackle you.”

“And risk having vampires catch us
in flagrante delicto?
I don’t think so.”