My Wicked Vampire (9 page)

She shrugged. “Maybe. Women understand other women. There’s something still there.”

He was just about to comment on her theory when Stephan stepped into his mind.

“
You know the routine, Dacian. Come back to me. You’ll fight by my side. All my other children are here. We’re waiting for you. Do I have to repeat the threat?
”

Not now! Not with Cinn so close. Dacian had never been so scared in his life. He had to stall his maker while Cinn escaped.

“
I’ve been thinking about it, Stephan. The whole punishment thing is getting old.
”

He reached for Cinn and gave her a hard shove toward the door. “Run!”

Dacian heard Stephan’s sigh whisper through his mind. “
You have someone there who you don’t want to get hurt, so you’re trying to stall me. Can I assume your answer is the usual?
”

Dacian didn’t answer. Instead, he sent a mental warning aimed at Ganymede. He was the most powerful entity in the castle, and he’d handled Dacian before. Dacian’s last coherent thought was a hope that he wouldn’t kill anyone this time.

Cinn ran. She could hardly drag enough air into her lungs as she breathed in panting gasps while her heart pounded out a rhythm of terror.

But she wasn’t running away from Dacian. She was running toward help. She had to reach someone who could stop what was happening to him. Anyone. She wouldn’t be picky.

Cinn knew she’d never forget the moment when she
had looked into Dacian’s eyes and saw true terror there. She’d somehow thought this was a man who feared nothing. Well, she’d been wrong. She didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that Stephan was on the phone.

And as she’d bolted for the door, she’d glanced back. His fangs were fully extended and there was nobody home in those black eyes.

She sobbed as she ran.
Someone, please, someone, help him.

She slammed into a big body and sat down hard on the ground of the courtyard. Cinn stared up at the man she’d run into. He was only a huge black shadow in the darkness. But before she could climb to her feet and start to run again, he lifted her up.

“What’s wrong? Who do you want me to help?”

He’d read her mind. Nonhuman? She didn’t care what he was. A troll or ghoul was fine with her, as long as he could help Dacian.

Fear made her breathless. She pointed toward the greenhouse. “Dacian. Vampire. Needs help.”

She didn’t get the last word out before he was off and running. At the same time, Ganymede came bounding out of the castle, followed closely by Sparkle, Edge, and Bain. Even Holgarth trailed the pack.

Suddenly, the adrenaline drained from her. She sat back down in the middle of the courtyard and put her head in her hands. Roars and shouts filled the air.

Then she realized someone stood over her. She looked up to see Holgarth peering down at her. While she watched, he straightened his hat. Then he smiled at her. Okay, so it was a creaky smile, but it must still be a great effort for the wizard to stretch his lips into that shape. She offered him a weak smile back.

“You did the correct thing. Between all of them, they’ll get him back into the dungeon.”

She slowly climbed to her feet. “What about all the noise? Won’t some human call the police?” The words gave her a strange feeling, almost as if for this moment she wasn’t lining up on the side of humanity. “And how do you explain hauling a vampire complete with fangs and scary black eyes through the middle of the great hall?”

Holgarth’s smile was rusty, but he was trying. “My dear, this is the Castle of Dark Dreams, where fantastical things happen on a nightly basis. What else would you expect in a park called Live the Fantasy? Our customers love the drama. They think it’s part of the fantasy.”

While Cinn watched, horrified, Edge, Bain, and the stranger dragged Dacian from the greenhouse. He was smeared with blood, but from the looks of the men wrestling with him, most of it was theirs. She could see nothing human about the vampire they were trying to control. She didn’t bother to wipe away the tear that slid down her face.

Ganymede and Sparkle led the parade toward the great hall. They stopped when they reached the place where she stood.

“
I could get him into the dungeon a little faster, but there’s just so much fantasy the paying public will accept.
” Ganymede looked up at Sparkle. “
Do we have any ice cream left? I need something to give me strength after that tussle.
”

Sparkle just stared at him. “You didn’t lift a finger to help. You can’t be tired.”

“
Couldn’t help. No opposable thumbs, sweetie. And we didn’t need my immense supernatural power this time.
” He gazed up at her with a fair imitation of a big-eyed kitty.
“
But too much stress makes me tired. The weight of keeping the park running like a well-oiled machine takes a lot out of me.
”

“Hmm. I could swear that Holgarth, Edge, and Bain keep it running. And the only oil in your life is what you get in your daily doughnuts. You use your cat form as an excuse to be lazy, Mede.” Sparkle threw up her hands. “Oh, what’s the use?”

Ganymede moved off to lead everyone into the great hall. “
Holgarth went ahead to lay the lie on the humans. This’ll just be a great fantasy to them. The dangerous and violent vampire finally captured and about to be locked up in the dungeon. Humans love that kind of stuff.
” He paused. “
Guess I’m just one of the common folk, because I like it, too. Breaks up the monotony.
”

Cinn clenched her hands into fists so hard her nails dug into her palms. She welcomed the pain. She hated how they were treating Dacian, even as she understood why it was necessary. It was what he would’ve wanted. But there had to be a way to help him.

“
You
could probably help him, you know.”

Sparkle seemed to have a knack for striking at her weakest moment.

“How? I guess I could talk to him, but—”

“Cinn, Cinn, listen to your good friend, Sparkle Stardust.”

Cinn didn’t trust the sly gleam in her “good friend’s” eyes.

“Sex is a powerful motivator for men. And the promise of sex would probably bring Dacian out of his episode just like that.” Sparkle snapped her fingers.

“I guess so.” It might not snow in Galveston, but Cinn decided she was getting her own personal snow job from Sparkle.

“Trust me. I know men.” Sparkle looped her arm around Cinn’s and led her toward the great hall.

Cinn looked over her shoulder. “My plants.” She was torn. She wanted to be with Dacian, but she was afraid to leave her plants alone. When exactly had Dacian gained equal footing with her beloved plants?

“Wade is already there.” She smiled. “You’re really a big hit with him.”

“But he has to be tired. He was there all day.”

Sparkle shrugged. “Demons don’t need a lot of sleep. And he’s really motivated to help you. Which is strange. Wade has stayed here before, but he never looked twice at any woman. He was into his boat and fishing. Nothing else.”

Cinn knew there was something important in Sparkle’s comment, but she was too distracted right now to think about it.

As they walked down the steps leading to the dungeon, it seemed way too quiet. Sparkle knocked on the door and Edge opened it.

Edge looked like hell. He had cuts and bruises covering every exposed surface of his skin. His eyes blazed with his need for more violence. “When this bloodsucker is back in his right mind, I’m going to rip his freaking head off. I thought the night feeders were the weak sisters of the vampire world. What happened to this one?”

If Edge was expecting an answer from Cinn, he was in for a long wait.

Inside, Cinn only had eyes for Dacian. Once again he was chained spread-eagled against the wall. At least this time he’d kept all his clothes, even if they’d probably have to be tossed once he was sane again. Come to think of it, he didn’t have any clothes of his own, so he must have borrowed these from Edge or Bain.

Almost without realizing it, she moved closer. His black eyes focused on her throat and he bared his fangs at her. She took a deep breath. Should she talk to him? What could she say?

And no, she wouldn’t take Sparkle’s advice. Sparkle might be fine with using the promise of sex as a surgeon’s scalpel to cut away his rage and violence. But Cinn didn’t want to use sex as a weapon.

Dacian hissed at her. He licked his lower lip, a strangely erotic gesture without any erotic intent. Cinn had a feeling he was only anticipating dinner.

His vampire nature terrified her on a primal level, just as it had the first time. But this time she knew the man, knew that this wasn’t the real person.
But what if it is? What if the person he’s shown you is a fake?
No, she wouldn’t allow herself to believe that.

Someone touched her arm, and she uttered a startled squeak. She turned to see Bain by her side.

“I wouldn’t go any closer if I were you.” He might be warning her away, but pure joy and excitement gleamed in his blue eyes. “He’s one of the most physically powerful vampires I’ve ever met. Good thing he’s crazy right now, because I bet he has some serious supernatural powers when he’s in his right mind.” The demon shook his head in admiration.

“Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?” The stranger who’d bumped into Cinn in the courtyard stepped out of the shadows.

Gorgeous, with brilliant blue eyes and long dark hair, he was obviously angry. He was also obviously another vampire, because he was showing fang. At least his eyes were still blue. Cinn decided Dacian’s black eyes scared her even more than his dental display.

“We’re not sure.” Sparkle shrugged as she studied her nails. She frowned at the three broken ones before re
membering that she was building character. She focused her attention on the new vampire. “When Ganymede brought him in he was like this. Then he snapped out of it. Now we’re back where we started. It’s something his maker, Stephan, is doing to him. He can’t control it, and we sure can’t either.”

Ganymede had taken a seat on top of the iron maiden. “
I say we leave him here and let him come out of it on his own.
”

Cinn’s head was spinning with the seemingly constant stream of violence. Where had her simple life of working with her plants veered off track?

Edge started for the door. “Sparkle’s right. Nothing we can do now until he comes out of it. Leave the guy alone. We don’t need to make a circus out of it.”

Cinn watched as Edge, followed closely by Bain, left. Holgarth had stayed up in the great hall to handle business.

Ganymede leaped from the iron maiden and padded to the door. “
Coming, sugar-bucket? Exercise always makes me hungry. I think some of your cookies are still left.
”

Sparkle sighed. “You can stay if you want, Cinn. Make sure Holgarth knows when you leave so he can lock the door. Try to get some rest, and we’ll shop in the afternoon.” She scowled. “Giant whoop.”

As Sparkle closed the dungeon door behind her, Cinn realized she was alone with two vampires. Too bad she couldn’t work up the energy to panic.

Dacian had stopped struggling against his bonds, but his eyes still held no awareness. It hurt her to look at him, so she looked at the strange vampire.

“Who are you?”

“Eric Mackenzie.”

Okay, that told her exactly nothing.

“Why are you here?”

“For him.” He nodded at Dacian.

“And you have a reason for being here for him?” Her temper was fraying, a victim of too much stimulus.

Eric smiled. Beautiful and threatening at the same time. “Yeah. I want to welcome him back to the land of the living, and then I want to knock him through that wall.”

“Gee, I bet he’ll be glad to have an old friend around.” She returned Eric’s smile. “Try to hurt him and I’ll do my best to send you to that great blood bank in the sky.” Cinn was too tired to worry about how Eric might take her threat.

Eric took a moment to study her and then nodded. “Fair enough. Now after you tell me who you are, tell me all you know about what Dacian’s been doing for the last two hundred years.”

Dacian had the sense that he hadn’t been out of it too long this time. And there wasn’t as much disorientation. Both good things. He had the feeling Cinn had something to do with that. Because as he fought free of the rage and the memory loss that went with it, all he could think about was getting back to her.

As usual, along with his returning awareness came caution. He didn’t say anything, didn’t give a hint he was now back in his mind. He looked and listened.

What he saw and heard shocked him. He was back in the dungeon and in chains. All expected. It meant he probably hadn’t killed anyone. But the sight of Cinn and Eric talking to each other was a kick in the gut. What was she telling Eric about him? What was Eric telling her about him? Of the two, what Eric was saying worried him the most. Eric knew what he’d done during the first few years of his rampages, before he’d decided to fake his own death and cut himself off from everyone and everything he’d ever cared about. Cinn already thought of him as a monster; she didn’t need proof that her conclusion was right.

Eric glanced at him from where he sat beside Cinn on the dungeon’s examining table. Dacian couldn’t help his sudden stab of jealousy. He didn’t want Eric anywhere near Cinn. And telling himself that he had no right to such feelings didn’t mean a thing to his primal instincts.

Eric’s casual glance sharpened. “Welcome back, Dacian. If you weren’t in chains, I’d tear your freaking head off. I’ll save that treat until you can fight back.”

Cinn turned wide eyes his way. Then she smiled. He thought he’d fight his way out of the fires of hell just to see her smile at him that way.

“Are you okay? You were only out for about an hour this time. That has to be a good sign.” She hopped off the table and came toward him.

Eric followed her and put his hand on her arm. Dacian hissed. He wanted to rip the other vampire’s arm off.

Eric looked surprised, and then he smiled knowingly. “I see.” He turned his attention back to Cinn. “Don’t get too close until we’re sure he’s completely back.”

“I’ll never be more back, asshole.” Not the best way to greet an old friend, especially one who was already pissed at you. But Dacian didn’t seem to have any common sense when Cinn was involved.

Cinn glanced up at Eric, and Dacian hated that she looked to the other vampire for guidance. At least this time he was able to keep his mouth shut.

Eric nodded. “I think it’s okay to let him loose.” He concentrated on Dacian’s chains, and they fell away.

Show-off. Dacian hated the awed expression on Cinn’s face.

Eric must’ve sensed what Dacian was feeling, because he moved away from Cinn and leaned against the iron maiden. “I brought my wife with me. After I beat your ass, maybe I’ll introduce you.”

Dacian dropped his gaze as he made a big production of rubbing his chafed wrists. He shouldn’t feel so relieved.

He took a quick survey of himself. Ripped and bloody
clothes, but at least he still had them. Then he raised his gaze to the man he’d once called friend. “I need a shower and change. So do you. What room are you in?”

“The one next to yours.” Eric stilled as if sensing something no one else could. “Dawn isn’t far away. You’ll have to talk fast.” Then he held open the dungeon door as they all left.

Holgarth met them outside the door. “The fantasies are finished, and the hotel guests are all happily asleep, so I thought I’d check to see if our resident bloodthirsty vampire had regained his sanity.” He treated Dacian to a dismissive sniff. “I see he has.”

Eric laughed. “Still the same old fun guy, Holgarth. God, how I missed your sarcasm and biting insults.”

Holgarth almost smiled. Almost. “Ah, yes. I still remember fondly those wonderful moments of joyful mayhem you brought to the castle.”

Dacian left Eric laughing as he pulled Cinn into his room. She collapsed onto a chair.

“Why don’t you take a nap on my bed while I work things out with Eric? I’m meeting him in his room. You don’t have to be there.” He didn’t
want
her to be there. He didn’t want her to hear his transgressions paraded past her in living bloody color.

“I’m coming with you.” She looked adamant. “I’ll sleep after you go down for the count. I don’t have to meet Sparkle until noon.”

Dacian didn’t try to change her mind. He needed all his remaining energy to face the man he’d once called friend. He didn’t linger in the bathroom. A short time later he emerged to find Cinn fast asleep in the chair. He thought maybe he could sneak past her, but she woke just as he touched the doorknob.

“I sleep lightly, vampire. I’m tuned in to you, so don’t think you can leave without me.”

Her smile was sleepy and so sexy he wanted to forget about Eric and drag her into his bed. Dacian tried to push aside images of her riding his cock until time stopped.He was only partially successful.

Eric answered on the first knock. He swung the door open and allowed Dacian and Cinn to enter the room ahead of him. A woman waited to greet them. She had blonde shoulder-length hair and big brown eyes. Eric always had attracted beautiful women. Dacian’s senses told him she hadn’t been vampire for long.

Eric closed the door and went to stand by the woman. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her against his side. Dacian wished he had the right to do that with Cinn, but he didn’t. He tried to strengthen the wall around his heart. Probably never would have the right. But that was okay. He’d been alone for a long time. You got used to it.

“This is my wife, Donna. We met here at the castle. She was doing a talk show. Still is. She’s the hostess of
Donna till Dawn.
” Eric didn’t try to hide his pride in his wife.

“Donna, this is Dacian. He’s the cause of all the trouble Taurin gave us.” The glance he threw Dacian wasn’t friendly. “And this is Cinn. Nice lady. Way too good for Dacian.”

Donna made a big deal about wincing, and then smiled. She offered her hand to Cinn and then to Dacian.

Dacian didn’t miss the searching glance she sent his way. “Since dawn is only about a half hour away, maybe we’d better get things moving.”

Eric sat on the couch with Donna. Dacian and Cinn sat in chairs opposite each other.

“You guys can get to know me anytime. I think it’s important that Eric and Dacian work things out first.” Cinn leaned back and prepared to listen.

“Yeah, let’s hear your story, pal.” Eric heaved the ball directly into his lap.
Crap.
Dacian thought about making up some convoluted tale, but in the end he decided everyone needed to know the truth. He didn’t want to stare into Eric’s eyes while he confessed everything, so he looked at Cinn. And surprisingly, he realized it was most important to him that she understand and possibly forgive what he’d done.

She met his gaze, no judgment in her eyes. She’d listen with an open mind. A gift he wouldn’t waste.

“You guys know bits and pieces of the story. I’ll make this short.” He spoke to everyone, but his attention stayed fixed on Cinn. “Six hundred years ago, Stephan made me. No, he didn’t ask my permission. And no, it wasn’t to save my life. A woman I thought I loved lured me into an alley where Stephan was waiting. After draining me, he thought it’d be fun to make a new vampire who’d worship at his undead feet. So I was born. He wasn’t much older than me. I was his first creation, and his most powerful.”

Eric interrupted. “What’s this Stephan’s last name?”

Dacian shrugged. “He’s always had a god complex. Gods don’t need last names. Anyway, two hundred years ago he decided he was powerful enough to pull all of the night feeders together under one banner. His. Alone, night feeders aren’t much of a threat to other nonhumans, but an army of them could do some damage. Stephan is the only night feeder to survive this long, and he’s ruthless. That gives him street cred with all the others. I’m almost as old as Stephan, and for two hundred years he’s built his army at the same time he’s tried to call me home. He says he needs my power by his side.”

“And you won’t go.” Eric looked thoughtful. “Cinn told me what happened when you refused him.”

“Yeah.” Dacian raked his fingers through his hair. “At first I didn’t know what was happening. Literally. And then I found out I killed people while my mind was out to lunch.”

“Including some of the Mackenzies.” Eric didn’t sound mad about that.

“The Mackenzies had always been enemies of the night feeders, so my instinct was to kill them. I didn’t recognize friend or foe.” Dacian remembered Sean Mackenzie. If not a friend, at least someone he had known as a good man. Once again, he revisited his agony from when he’d found out he’d killed Sean.

“So you used our own plan against us.” Eric shook his head in self-disgust.

“You and your friends had captured Taurin and stashed him in the warehouse as bait to draw me in.” He shrugged. “I found out and decided it was a great opportunity to fake my death so I could go somewhere where no one would ever be in danger from me again. I can control fire, so I went in and set the warehouse ablaze. As far as you were concerned, I never came out.”

“But you made sure Taurin and I got out.” Eric had one more question. “How’d you escape?”

“The Mackenzies never thought a night feeder could gain much power. Your mistake. I can dematerialize, as long as I’m not in one of my rages.”

“I can’t believe I was that stupid. So why’d you decide to come out of hiding now?”

“My informant said that Stephan knew Taurin’s location and was going to kill him to punish me.”

Eric nodded. “I guess there’s only one thing left to do.”

He stood, and before anyone could move, he reached Dacian, dragged him to his feet, and punched him in the stomach. “That’s for being a dumbass for two hun
dred years and not trusting your brother and me to find a way to help you.”

Dacian was doubled over clutching his stomach, so he didn’t see the exact moment Cinn brought the lamp down on Eric’s head.

Eric turned to stare at her. He would’ve worn the same expression if a rabbit had hopped up and bitten his nose. “Ouch?”

Donna covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughter.

Cinn glared at Eric. “I warned you.”

Dacian’s stomach had recovered from the blow, but now he was doubled over, laughing. How many centuries had it been since he’d felt like laughing? He couldn’t remember.

Eric was still rubbing his head as he glanced toward the ceiling, toward the sky he couldn’t see. “Dawn. We’ll discuss this when we rise.”

Dacian nodded. “I have to get Cinn to her room.”

Cinn didn’t want to be gotten to her room. She wanted to stay with him. An amazing development after seeing him in full vampire mode.

They’d only reached the top of the steps when Bain met them. “Hey, I’ve been given a chance to redeem myself. Lucky me. I get to guard you and your plants for the day. No sleeping on the job this time.” His narrowed eyes said he wasn’t feeling as lighthearted as he sounded.

Dacian handed her over to Bain without comment and headed back down the stairs. Cinn thought it would’ve been nice if he’d said a little something about how he was going to miss her. But of course, he wouldn’t. He’d be…sleeping. She preferred that word rather than the oh-so-scary
dead.

When Bain and Cinn reached her door, she didn’t in
vite him in. “I’ll only be a few minutes.” And she made sure she kept her promise. No way did she want to step out of her bathroom or turn around while she wore only her bra and panties to find that Bain had beamed himself in because he’d gotten tired of waiting.

Once she left her room, they went out to the greenhouse. Wade waited for her.

Cinn was horrified. “You haven’t been guarding the plants all this time, have you?”

Wade’s gaze never left her. He didn’t bother answering her question. “I can’t think of anything but you. I tried looking over the
Bass Pro Shop Catalogue
and all I could see was you on every page.”

She ignored Bain’s snort. Okay, this was getting too weird. She didn’t know how demons’ minds worked, but a male mind was a male mind. And she’d never attracted this kind of mindless adoration. Didn’t
want
to attract it. “You don’t even know me, Wade.”

Wade looked outraged. “Sure I know you. I know you’re the sweetest, and most loving, and most beautiful, and—”

“No. I’m not any of those things.” She racked her mind for an explanation. “When did you first realize how you felt about me?”

“I fell in love over that pretty little rosebush. You put your hand on mine, and it was like a hundred-pound catfish hitting the end of my line.”

Cinn thought back. She’d touched the rose bloom, then she’d touched Wade’s hand.
No.
She drew in a horrified breath.
Oh no
,
no
,
no.
She tried to keep what she was feeling from her voice. “Well, if you really care for me, you’ll make me feel good by going and getting some sleep.”

Wade looked as though he didn’t know how to argue
with her reasoning. “Okay, but don’t tell me
he’s
going to guard you.” He glared at Bain.

Uh-oh. She hoped her smile looked reassuring. “He’ll keep me and the plants safe. Don’t worry. Go get some sleep.”
Please, please, please don’t give me a hard time.

Suddenly, the good-old-boy demon was gone. Wade’s eyes changed. Was that red creeping into them? “Let me give you a little lesson in demons, Miss Cinn. I’m a Eudemon. We’re a pretty laid-back lot. We don’t go around causing trouble as long as we’re having fun. Only time we give humans problems is when we’re bored. A bored demon is not a good thing for mankind.” He paused to let that sink in.

“Then there’re the Cacodemons. They’re the ones humans have to worry about. They go around looking for trouble to cause. They’re the ones humans have named evil and spawn of the devil.” He nodded toward Bain. “He’s one of those kind. You won’t be safe with him.”

Wade’s words made Cinn feel kind of creepy. She slid a sideways glance at Bain. He winked at her.

She sighed. “Look, Wade, I’m tired. I’m glad you told me about the two classes of demons, but right now I need sleep. No matter what you think Bain is, I don’t believe Sparkle or Ganymede would allow him to stay here if he were that evil.” She looked at Bain for confirmation. “You’re not evil, are you?”