Not Another Vampire Book (33 page)

“No. 
But someone has obviously found a way to alter reality.  I must think.”  Any
normal person --or sorcerer-- would be shocked at this news.  Terrified. 
Weeping under a bed.  Damien just looked determined and really pissed off.  He
grabbed up his shoes and a shirt.  “Do not leave the hotel.  I will return.”

“Vlad…”

He
gave her a hard kiss and then stormed out of the bedroom, slamming the door
loud enough to make her wince.

Right.

Well,
that had gone great.

Maybe
he just needed some time to process it on his own.  Who could blame him?  Kara
reached up to rub her temple, doing some thinking of her own.

The
sun was nearly up, now, which meant that Damien only had hours to live.  There
had to be a way to save him.  She didn’t even care if she got home anymore,
just so Damien survived.  He believed her about this being a book, but that
didn’t necessarily change anything.  He could still be headed straight for his
own exsanguination.

How
could she make sure he kept all his blood inside his body?  He was scheduled to
die.  They hadn’t gotten to that chapter, but it was drawing inevitably closer. 
It would pop-up any page now and Kara would…

She
frowned.  Hang on.  To’kel’s death had been written, too.  Part of the script. 
But he’d skipped his date with the executioner… and now he was free.

Free
of Tanya.  Free of the plot.  Free to do what he wanted.

Free.

Kara’s
eyes widened.  Maybe if Damien avoided his death scene, he would be free, too. 
Maybe all she had to do was make sure that Damien missed his showdown with
Slade.  If either he or Slade didn’t show up for it, the story would have to
change.

If
Slade couldn’t kill him, Damien wouldn’t die.  No one but the hero would kill
the villain at the end.  No way.

So
how could she keep the Vampire from murdering her new, if-he-wasn’t-lying-about-Wiz-War-customs-(which-he-probably-was)-and-anyway-it-didn’t-really-count-without-a-ring,
possible, inadvertent husband?

Well…
maybe she should just let To’kel kill Slade.

That
would be easiest.

It
would be also wrong.

Kara
made a face.  No.  She couldn’t do that.  If Damien was real, maybe
all
these characters were.  Slade didn’t deserve an execution, no matter how
aggravating he was.  And besides, Slade’s death might ruin everything. Kara had
no idea how the book would react to that kind of irrevocable event.  Everyone
in the book might be wiped out existence, anyway.

Right.

So,
she had to save Slade, today.

And
she had to make sure that Damien didn’t fight him.

The
pull of the book was like the tide reaching the shore, though.  The strength of
it seemed to get stronger as they neared the end.  What were the chances that
Eternal
Passion at Sunset
would let Damien just walk away from the big battle
scene?  That Damien would be able to resist the current dragging him under?  Could
Kara risk that?

No.

She
loved him way too much.

He
couldn’t be there for the Slade rescue.  She had to keep those boys apart. 
Vlad couldn’t go to the Vampire Isle, at all.

Unfortunately,
Damien probably wasn’t going to see reason on that front, even if she explained
it to him.  He’d been kind of insistent
earlier about her not leaving
him behind anymore, what with the ropes and all.  And Kara couldn’t hire the dragons
to take her to Sunnydale without Damien loaning her their fee.  Asking to
borrow a couple laundry baskets full of rubies might
possibly
tip him
off that she was up to something.  He was quick that way.

Right,
so the dragons were out.  How else could she get to VampLand?

Who
would be willing to help her?

Kara’s
eyes narrowed.

Or
maybe the question she really should be asking was:  Who would be willing to
help that dimwit Slade?

…
And work cheap.

Melessa did not know what to do.  She was trapped by
the vile Damien in his dark and forbidding hotel of horrors.  A delicate hand
went to her mouth, stifling a cry of terror as he stepped into view.  “I beg of
you.  Leave Slade alone.  He is too good a Vampire to be persecuted in this
way.  He did not kill your sister.”

“Some Vampire did and now you all must pay for that
crime.”

“If you believe that Slade will allow this, you are
wrong, villain.  Good always defeat evil.”

As if her words were a magical spell calling Slade to
her side, her dearest love appeared.  He leapt through the dungeon window like
a muscular gazelle and easily defeated Damien with his incredible skill in
martial arts.  One graceful kick and Damien fell.

“Ouch!”  Cried the sorcerer.

“Ha!”  Slade said and swept Melessa into his muscular
arms.  “I’ve come to save you, my sweetest darling.  It was no less than anyone
would do for their Eternal-One, but few would have done it so easily.”

“Oh, thank heavens you came to free me from this
nightmarish kidnapping, Slade-y.”  Overcome with gratitude, Melessa put a hand
to her forehead and sunk against his chest in a graceful and ladylike faint.  “I
never had a doubt that you’d follow me into Hell itself to save me.”

Eternal Passion at
Sunset- Chapter Sixteen

Melessa’s
shiny red lips formed a perfect rosebud of horror.  “So the monster truly
kidnapped you?”

“Well,
only in the loosest sense of the word.”  Kara wasn’t sure that Illinois
statutes would bear it out as “kidnapping” if you let your abductor tie you to
the bedpost and then begged him to make love to you.

And
also maybe married him.

She
couldn’t get that idea out of her head.

The
immortality and superpowers bombshells were so insane that she had no problem
block them out.  They just didn’t seem real.  Maybe they weren’t.  Maybe Damien
was mistaken and nothing would happen.  But, the whole wedded bliss thing kept
slipping into her mind, again and again.  Damien had said ‘
cari
’
translated to something like ‘wife,’ but Kara still hadn’t equated having sex
with him to consummating a marriage.

But
then it wasn’t sex.

It
was mating.

Whatever
she had with Damien went deeper than sex, even deeper than love.  It went all
the way down into her soul.  She’d probably felt that from the beginning.  God
knew, she blindly trusted him, enough.  Her instincts had led her straight to
the supposed bad guy, again and again and she never questioned the faith she
had that he’d keep her safe.  When he bit her neck, when he held her, he’d
connected them on an elemental level.  He’d done something to bind them and it
wasn’t going to go away.

And,
she didn’t want it to.

In
fact, given the opportunity, she’d most definitely let him do it, again.

Kara’s
mouth curved, remembering strong hands pinning her down, teeth scrapping
against her skin.  Oh yeah.  She was going to make sure Damien lived long
enough to keep her captive for a really long time.

“How
terrible it must have been for you, Witch.”  Melessa whispered, in a dire
tone.  “And now he’s kidnapped me, as well.  That’s even worse.  He truly is a
wicked villain.”

Karalynn’s
smile grew dreamy.  “Oh, he’s
very
wicked, alright.”  She cleared her
throat at Melessa’s sympathetic expression.  “Never mind.  Keep reading the
book.”

Kara
plan was pretty simple.  At least, these first parts.  Hopefully, the later
steps would be simple, too, but she hadn’t thought of them, yet, so it was
impossible to know for sure.  For now, she needed some help for the Save the
Slade commando mission and it seemed like his romance novel’s heroine was the
best choice.

Like
Slade, Melessa was supposed to be the star of this book.  He always seemed
eager to get the plot back on track and it seemed likely that Mel would, too.  Especially
with the last page looming closer and her time running out.  Kara was betting
that Mel bought into the idea that she was fated to be queen of her own golden
isle pretty damn quick.

“The
sorcerer has enchanted me, so I’d forget precious Slade.”  Melessa kept
repeating Kara’s cover story, each time sounding more and more certain that it
was true.  Damien wouldn’t mind being the deviant kidnapper in the
new-and-improved version of events.  He loved terrorizing folk.  Melessa shook
her head.  “I should have known something was wrong.  That
Wild West Show
was terrible.  They expected me to clean and work and...” Mel shuddered as if
the horror of it all was just too much to bear.  “Of
course
, it was an
evil Wizard trying to keep me from my beloved.”  She clutched the manuscript to
her chest.  “Oh, how my dearest love must have scoured the globe for me!”

“Sure
he did.”  When he wasn’t trying to sex Kara up with his macho charm.  Thank God
he seemed to be over that phase.  “So, that book is –like-- your magic destiny
and we need to get it back for you.”

“Oh
yes.”  Melessa nodded, vigorously.  “I agree.”  She was wearing lavender silk
and lace today.  Kara had no idea where the outfit came from, but Melessa looked
like a perfect china doll.  Hopefully, hidden under the shiny ebony tresses and
heaving bosom, Mel was a girl willing to fight to get her future back.

“So
we have to go to the Vampire Isle and save your Eternal-One.”  Kara infused her
voice with authority.  “We can do this, Mel.  Are you with me?”

Melessa’s
eyes narrowed.  “The palace is really made of gold?”

“Absolutely.” 
Probably
.  Kara had never seen it, but she wasn’t going to tell Mel
that.  “With rubies.  They’re big on rubies.”

Melessa
smiled.  “For my precious Slade, I shall brave the Dark Vampires and certain
death.  Anything to be reunited with him and be safe in his arms... And
castle.”  Looking satisfied, she flipped through the manuscript so she could
reread one of the love scenes.

Right.

“This
makes no sense.”  Eugene came as close to slouching as the stick up his ass
would allow.  “Why am I expected to sit here and devise stratagems to help my
fiancée run off with a Vampire?”

“Because,
if Mel doesn’t marry Slade, she’s gonna marry
you
.  You wanna risk
that?”  Kara looked pointedly over at Melessa.

Eugene
followed her gaze, watching with barely concealed distaste as his future bride
read about how pretty she was and twirled her suddenly blonde hair around her
index finger.  “Touché.”

“I
thought you’d see it my way.”  Kara needed all the manpower she could get so
Eugene was lending a manicure hand, whether he wanted to or not.  Satisfied
that her “volunteers” were under control, she headed over to Damien’s desk. 
Unlike Melessa, new outfits didn’t just appear for her.  Since Vlad had done a
pretty thorough job of ripping that ball gown right off her body, Kara was back
to wearing her suit, again.  Or at least the bottom half.  She’d put on one of
Damien’s black shirts as a top.  It was as close as she could get to ninja
stealth wear.  Plus, it smelled good.

She,
Mel and Eugene were downstairs in Damien’s office, where he kept his phone. 
Kara had no idea what a nineteenth century sorcerer did with a home office, but
it seemed to require a lot of paperwork.  There were files and books and a
swivel chair; basically all the stuff of an ordinary work space.  The hotel’s
standards of “ordinary” always had a life of its own, though.  And possibly
hidden tentacles.  There were a bunch of dead animal heads mounted and staring
at them from the wall.  Also, the stained glass window over the door featured a
hanged man swinging over an open grave.

Really
swinging.

Kara
swore she could see the glass moving every time she looked at it.  If –God
forbid-- she wound up having to stay in this tomb, the whole place was getting
exorcised by a priest.

She
sat down at Damien’s hearse shaped desk and took a deep breath.  Okay, time for
step two of her plan-in-progress: Get to the Vampire Isle.

According
to Tanya, the only way to get there was through the air, and Delta wasn’t
exactly chartering flights.  So, she needed somebody who could fly.  See, under
any other circumstances she would’ve been screwed with a requirement like
that.  Not in
Eternal Passion at
Sunset
, though.  Nope.  She met
a bunch of flying guys, so far.  The skies were full of them.

Even
one loyal to Slade.

The
same one who just happened to have Kara’s cell phone.

Most
of Kara’s belongings were safely back in her purse.  Everything she’d
specifically mentioned to Damien had been returned, right down to the tampons. 
But, her phone wasn’t there.  The last time she’d seen it, it had been with
Fibos the Vampire back at the Donnelly Building’s not-so-imminent
groundbreaking.

If
Slade’s über-loyal little buddy still had that phone, she could contact him.

Assuming,
of course, that Tanya’s world accepted modern technology.  There probably
weren’t cell towers or satellites around, but nothing much made sense here, so
why not give it a shot?  The cell phone wasn’t part of story.  It had come in
with Kara.  Maybe it was still operating under different rules.  Odds seemed
good that –since the flashlight still worked-- the phone would, too.

Hopefully.

Kara
dialed her own number and closed her eyes in relief when it rang.  Then it
rang, again.  And again.  And again.

On
the fourth ring it went to voicemail.  Kara hung up on her own voice telling
her to leave a message and redialed.  She repeated the process seven times in a
row before Fibos finally answered sounding hesitant.

“...Yes?”

“Fibos! 
Hey buddy, it’s Karalynn Donelly.  Remember me?”

“You
talk to me through this small device.  You truly are a Witch!”

“Don’t
hang up!  I’m a good Witch.  I want to help Slade.  I swear.  I found his
real
bride for him.  There’s still time to get his crown back.  Melessa?”  She
held the phone out to the girl.  “Tell your future husband’s helpful crony who
you are.”

Mel
took the old fashion receiver with a pleased smile.  “I am Lady Melessa
Fairway, destined queen of the Vampires.  To which of my devoted subjects am I
speaking?”

Eugene’s
eyes slid over Kara.  “I’m not sure why I woke-up today believing in Vampires. 
That doesn’t sound like something I do, so I’m still skeptical about much of
your story.  But, I
have
repeatedly questioned why I got engaged to
her.  And truthfully witchcraft
does
seem like the most likely reason. 
So if you say you’re a Witch…  Yes.  I’ll accept that.”

“Great. 
Thanks for the support.”  Kara got tired of defending her non-Witch status.  It
seemed easier just to go along with it.  She snatched the phone back from
Melessa.  “Well, Fibos?  You see what a great queen she’ll be?”

“Oh,
Witch, it is a miracle!  You truly have found King Slade’s Eternal-One.  I knew
his bride couldn’t really be you.  Not after you’re shameless display with the
sorcerer.  Not after the way you allowed that creature to touch you, when Slade
was there offering safe haven in his mighty arms.  No.  Only someone sweet and
pure as Lady Melessa would be worthy of...”

“Yeah. 
Super.  Moving on.”  Kara interrupted.  “So, we need to get Mel onto the
Vampire Isle and into Slade’s bed by midnight.  Otherwise, To’kel gets all the
real estate and Slade loses his pretty little head.  There’s no telling how
long we have.”

“Until
midnight.”  Eugene reported, seriously.  “You just said so.”

Kara
slanted him a glare.  It was impossible to know if he was joking or just being
his accountant-y self.  “The timeline shifts.  We don’t know when midnight will
be.”

He
arched a brow.  “Usually it’s at twelve.”

“Look,
do you
want
to be Mr. Melessa?”

“Gads,
no.”  He adjusted his monocle.

“Then
stop helping until I tell you to.”  Kara turned her attention back to Fibos. 
“Anyway, we have to get to that island as soon as possible.  Is To’kel taking
over, already?”

“Yes,
yes!  He has thrown King Slade in the dungeon.  No one knows what to do. 
Everything seems so
off
.”  Fibos sounded indignant.  “Nothing is going
as it should.  Events make no sense, at all.”

“Uh-huh. 
There’s been an epidemic of that going around.”  Kara didn’t have time for
Vampire hand holding.  Damien would come back to the hotel sooner or later, and
she needed to be gone by then.  Otherwise, he’d insist on coming along to VampVille. 
Kara wouldn’t put it passed him to pull another magic doorknob trick to keep
her in the hotel, if he knew she was leaving without him.  Right now,
everything was all nice and corporeal and she could slip out undetected.  Best
keep it that way.  “So, Fibos, here’s what you need to do...”