Not Another Vampire Book (34 page)

*****

Dear Vlad,

Had to go save the world.  Be back soon.

Love, Kara

He
blinked down at the words, trying to process what the letter meant.  Trying to
make it mean something different than he
knew
it meant.  Karalynn had
definitely written the note.  No one else would own a pen that wrote in sparkly
lavender ink, first of all.  Secondly, no one else could compose something so
flippant and insane.  And lastly, the handwriting was large and looping, full
of unconventional, feminine curves.  It wasn’t a forgery or Vampire trick.  It
could only belong to Kara.  His eyes slipped down to the bottom of the note,
where the letters got faster and more emotional as if she couldn’t stop herself
from writing the final words.

P.S.-- Don’t be mad.

P.P.S.-- Come on,
please
don’t be mad,
Beloved?

P.P.P.S.-- Seriously, I
had
to do this
alone.  I can’t risk you dying.  You’d do the same thing in my place.  You know
you would.  Stop scowling at me.  I’ll be fine.  I have a plan.  Almost.  I’m
working on some of the details, but it’s gonna work.

P.P.P.P.S.-- Small question:  Even if we
did
accidently
get married and I missed it –which I’m sure isn’t legal, anyway, especially
without a ring-- but if we
were
sort of maybe married, what would my
last name be?  Do you even
have
a last name?  And, no, Warlock doesn’t
count.

P.P.P.P.P.S.-- I love you.

Damien’s
jaw got tight, his thumb tracing over the last sentence.  She’d added a heart
after it.  His Beloved.  His
cari
.  His beautiful, odd, softhearted,
innocent, sneaky, reckless mate.  Who gave him such peace.  Who he would lay
down and die for without a second thought.  Who he loved more than all the
other beings who’d ever existed in the history of the universe combined...

…And
who he now planned to horribly murder.

The
edge of the note crumpled in his hands as his fingers tightened.

She’d
gone to the Vampire Isle without him.  He had no idea how she’d managed it
without his help, but he didn’t doubt for a minute that she’d thought of something
crazed and somehow carried it out.  Karalynn was too smart for her own good.

He
shouldn’t have left her alone, even for a few hours.  Damien had spent the
morning in the Wizard Warlock’s deserted library ransacking the dusty shelves,
looking for answers.  His grey homelands were more desolate than ever, now that
he was the only one left to wander through them.  He never went to that
dimension unless it was an emergency.

Learning
he was trapped inside a bad novel qualified as an emergency.

His
people had been the foremost experts on magicks.  There had to be some book
that explained the reality altering spell that was trying to control him.  Had
to be some reasonable, ordinary, supernatural explanation.

Except
he couldn’t find any.

This
was his reality.  He knew all of it.  It
existed
.  Yet, Karalynn was
right.  There was a fog overlaying it, forcing him to think and do things that
he would never do and think.  This was all some kind of ill thought-out book. 
He couldn’t explain it.  But, it was definitely happening.  Someone was trying
to manipulate him for their own ends and Damien planned to stop them.

This
was all part of romance story.  He accepted that.

Slade’s
romance story.  A bit harder to stomach, but still doable.

Slade’s
romance story, where Damien would die at the end and leave Kara alone.

No. 
Unacceptable.

He’d
fight that with every bit of his powers.

When
he’d laid his hand on Kara’s stomach and realized that she might’ve been
carrying his child, something cleansing had swept through him.  His mate was
his second chance.  She’d been given to him by fate, sent from her own time to
be with him.  That wouldn’t happen if he was supposed to die.  Kara wouldn’t be
here if he didn’t have a future with her.

He
would never leave her.

Damien
wanted Slade dead.  He wanted it so badly it still threatened to blind him.  It
wasn’t just the fog controlling his feelings.  No, the hatred was very real. 
But, if he couldn’t kill Slade
and
have his mate, then there was no
choice to make.  He’d let Slade live and keep Karalynn.

Damien
hated very deeply.

But,
his love went even deeper.

He’d
sacrifice anything to keep Kara’s curly head on his pillow at night.  Slade had
ruined too much of his life.  The Vampire wasn’t going to spoil his mating,
too.  He wasn’t going to cause Damien to lose his Kara.  If this was a book, then
Damien
was the star of it. 
He
would control his actions.

After
hours of fruitless searching to undo or explain why he was trapped in someone
else’s fantasy, Damien had come home to check on his mate and bring her food.

Only
to find her gone and this ridiculous note propped up on the bed.

She’d
gone to the Vampire Isle.  Alone.  Except for those idiot humans, apparently,
which was even worse than being alone.  Madison was like a fainting goat.  The
slightest noise might send her into a complete incapacitating swoon.  As for
the male... Well, Damien just didn’t like any man near his mate.  Not even one
so useless looking.  If the Vampires didn’t slay the boy, Damien just might.

And
Karalynn would be lucky if she survived long enough to face Damien’s wrath. 
When To’kel caught her, he’d kill her.  After which point, he may or may not
turn her into a Vampire.

Karalynn
would hate being a Vampire.

And
that was the best case scenario, at the moment.

“Shit.” 
How could he possibly follow her?

If
it was easy to get to the Vampire’s homeland, he would’ve gone there long ago
to kill Slade while the bastard slept.  Teleporting to the Isle didn’t work and
no sorcerer could fly.  It was impossible to swim there or use a boat, since it
existed in some kind of magical dimension thing that not even Damien fully
understood.  So how could he come up with a...

Damien’s
eyes narrowed.

Wait...

He
didn’t have to think of a plan.  His devious little mate had already given him
one.  A good one, too.  Simple and direct.  Damien appreciated simple, direct
paths to his goals.  He’d been stuck inside this fucking book, following
someone else’s idiotic ideas for far too long.  He wanted his freedom and he
wanted his mate, and he’d take the quickest, straightest route to both.

He
stalked downstairs into his office, grabbing up the phone and dialing the dragons’
lair from memory.  He had no idea why he knew their number, but it saved him
the time of looking it up.

“It’s
Damien.”  He said, flatly when one of them answered.

“You
have a lot of nerve calling us here, sorcerer.”  The voice was a venomous
hiss.  Probably Xim.  They’d never been close.  In fact, Xim’s annual attempt
to kill him was almost a tradition.  “You slaughtered Nestor over a
human
.” 
He spat out the word.  “The dragons will see you dead, if...”

“Forget
Nestor.  He’s gone, and we’ll just have to somehow go on without him.  This is
about business.  I want to hire you.”

“Ha!” 
He actually said “Ha!” like it was a word.  “The Dragons would never work for a
Wizard Warlock.”

“Really? 
Even if you boys could make... Oh...” Damien started up at the ceiling and did
some calculations.  What was the absolute maximum his magicks could create in
an hour?  “Twenty-six boxcars full of rubies?  Big ones?”

Xim
paused, his death threats giving way to shock.  “Twenty-six
boxcars?
” 
That was more money that any supernatural being had ever paid them.  Possibly
more than any supernatural being had ever paid
anyone
.  “Like boxcars
for
trains
?”

“Yes. 
Ready and waiting for you
today
.  All I need is a ride.”

Xim’s
tone became an accommodating purr.  “Keep talking, my friend.”

“
You are defeated, creature.”  Slade eyed Damien
through the golden bars of the dungeon.  “I have rescued my beautiful bride from
your fortress from Hell and have taken you prisoner here in my impenetrable golden
castle.  Now you shall be executed and the vile Wizard Warlock race shall be
wiped forever from the face of the earth.”

“Or so you’d think.”  Damien smiled, evilly.  “Except,
all this had been my real plan, all along.  For To’kel wasn’t the only one
working with me to see you destroyed.  You have just walked right into my
elaborate trap, Vampire.”

Slade gasped as someone suddenly snuck up behind him
and held a diamond sword to his manly neck.  His eyes fell on Damien’s henchman
with anger and surprise.  “You!”

Eternal
Passion at Sunset- Chapter Seventeen

The
Vampire Isle looked more like St. Thomas than Transylvania.

Slade’s
homeland was a tropical paradise, right out of a travel brochure.  It was
bathed in eternal moonlight, but that didn’t diminish the brilliant turquoise
of the sea or the golden color of the beach.  The castle sat on the edge of an
alabaster precipice above the shoreline that Tanya must have copied from
photographs of the White Cliffs of Dover.  It stood up there, lights streaming
out of its many turrets, illuminating the darkness and reflecting off the
waves, like something straight out of the Magic Kingdom.

Kara
pushed the wild curls back from her face, her eyes never leaving the insanely
magnificent oceanfront property she’d almost been queen of.   It was so
beautiful that it didn’t seem real.  Obviously, it
wasn’t
real, in the
strictest sense of the word.  But it was still there, right in front of her.  Her
feet sank into the pristine sand as she crossed the beach.  Her gaze swung
around the magical landscape, the warm breeze caressing her face and the gentle
scent of jasmine filling the air.

Huh.

Kinda
crazy that she much preferred the cobwebby Haunted Mansion Damien called home. 
Or maybe not so crazy.  She’d always been the kind of girl who preferred horror
movies to fairy tales.  Who voted for the monster over the white knight and for
the bad guy to get away in the end.

Her
mouth curved.  Of course, that didn’t mean she’d object to a certain sorcerer
creating a nice little seaside chateau for them to summer in.  Or maybe she
could just make one herself, if what Damien said about her new superpowers
turned out to be true.  There could definitely be an upside to Damien’s
“Surprise!  You’re now a mystical sorceress and also my wife” revelation.  She
was still going to kick his ass, obviously, but things could work out okay.

Assuming
they both survived past page 260, anyway.

“This
land must be worth millions.”  Eugene murmured from beside her.  “If we were to
build houses here, do you have any idea the money we could make?”  Kara could
see dollar signs flashing behind his monocle, but not the panic you’d expect in
the eyes of someone so recently flown to another realm via Vampire.  All in
all, he seemed to be taking this whole thing pretty well, in fact.  Maybe she’d
underestimated Professor Boring.

“We’re
not selling my lands.”  Melessa sounded appalled.  “Every scenic and valuable
acre belongs to my precious Slade.  Right, Fibos?”  She fluttered her eyelashes
over at her loyal Vampire lapdog.

“Yes,
my lady.  This is your rightful home.”  Ever since he’d first laid eyes on her,
Slade’s faithful follower had been one hundred percent Team Melessa.  It was
kind of insulting how thrilled he was to have traded-up on the royalty front.  He
was visibly relieved to have Miss America as his predestined queen, instead of an
unappreciative, size twelve, book editor with a thing for bad guys.  He
actually bowed every time Melessa walked passed, utter worship on his face.

Whatever.

Kara
rolled her eyes and looked over at the other four Vamp soldiers who Fibos had
recruited to help her save Slade.  They were typical members of the Vampire
brain trust.  Tall and muscular, with shiny hair and pirate-style shirts.

And
they all watched Kara like she might spontaneously grow a second head, at any
moment.

Her
relationship with Damien must have been front page news in the
Vamp Herald
today. 
To the Vampires, Kara was some kind of sideshow attraction now; a creature to
behold with a mixture of frightened pity and horrific curiosity.  Kara had the
almost irresistible impulse to yell “Boo!” just to see if they’d scatter in
terror.  So far, they’d kept a nice safe distance between her and them, clearly
anticipating some kind of attack.  If not from her, then from Damien.

They
were terrified of her “husband.”  God knew, he wasn’t the most popular fella anyplace
in this make-believe world, but to the Vamps he was like the boogeyman or
something.  They honest-to-God whispered his name.  She made a mental note
never to tell him that, though.  It would just go to his head.

Good
thing they hadn’t gone for the traditional wedding.  Aside from that damn raven
and maybe some of his beloved spies, Damien’s side of the church would have
been pretty empty.

And
she needed to stop thinking about the stupid idea that they were married,
because…

“Witch?” 
Fibos got as close to her as he dared and adopted what he must have thought was
a conspiratorial tone.  “The secret entrance to the dungeons is over there in
that wall.”  He pointed to one of the massive slabs of alabaster stone.  “That
is where they’re holding King Slade.”

Why
would anyone build trapdoors in their own dungeons?  It just didn’t make any
sense.  Although, you’d think she’d be passed the point of trying to find logic
between the covers of this book.

Kara
shook her head in general annoyance and made her way through the ankle deep
sand.  The rock surface looked smooth to her, but what did she know about
hidden doorways?  She doubted Fibos would make a mistake about anything
involving his precious Commander-in-Chief.  Besides, there were bigger problems
with the plan.  “You’re sure that the other Vampires are going to side with us,
once they see Slade’s free, right?

It
still seemed sketchy to pin her hopes on people
wanting
to keep that
dumbbell in charge of their country.

“Yes. 
Once we’ve freed our glorious king, the rest of the royal guard will rise up
and help us to crush To’kel.”  Fibos assured her as if reading the doubt on her
face.  “Our people love our beloved Slade.”

“Uh-huh.” 
Somehow, she still wasn’t convinced.  Her best hope was probably someone
killing To’kel quickly, forcing his men to scatter and causing his whole plan to
collapse.  Either that or some kind of magic spell.  Kara was becoming a big
fan of fixing problems via magic spells, all of a sudden.  Well, not ‘all of
sudden.’  It started right around the time she started dating a sorcerer.

Funny
how that worked.

“Of
course
, our loyal subjects will help us free Slade.”  Melessa chimed
in.  “They know what sort of kind and benevolent leader he is.  And handsome. 
With our genes, can you imagine how incredible our children will be?”

Karalynn
was so sick of listening to Mel’s prattle.  The girl talked
constantly
. 
Mostly about herself.  And Slade.  And their epic love story.  Picturing the
two of them procreating was just the final straw.  Bad enough she had to read
all those love scenes, in the first place.

Kara
rounded on the book’s useless heroine, poking a finger into her chest.  “Number
one:  Keep your voice down.  Number two:  I don’t think genes have been
discovered, yet.  Three:  You’ve never even
seen
the oh-so-handsome Slade. 
And four:  Once you have kids, your waistline goes kaput.  Think about
that
,
before you start buying baby furniture.”

Melessa’s
eyes widen in horror, her gaze going down to her teeny tiny midsection. 
“Really?”

“Yep. 
Just ask Scarlett O’Hara.”

“But,
then none of my dresses would fit!”

Eugene
sighed loudly, his fingers coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose.  How he
managed to do that without disrupting his monocle was anyone’s guess.

Fibos
ignored the byplay.  He pushed on an innocuous group of rocks and a narrow slit
opened in the stone wall.  He and the other Vampires pulled on either side of
it, until the rock walls slid apart revealing a doorway.  Very
Fellowship of
the Ring
.

Inside,
there was a long hallway filled with atmospheric dripping sounds and flickering
torches attached to the stone walls.  Because, --sure-- everybody left
unattended torches burning 24/7 in their dungeon.  How else could you find your
secret exits?

Hopefully,
her mother had been wrong and rolling your eyes
didn’t
get them stuck
like that, because Kara was pushing the limits of how far they could go without
spinning right around in her skull.

Fibos
stuck his head into the dim corridor, his eyes narrowed like something out of a
ninja movie.  “Okay.”  He stage whispered.  “It looks clear.”  He gave an
elaborate hand gesture, motioning his men forward.

The
four of them went slinking in behind him, their heads darting around, diamond
swords jabbing at the shadows.

Kara
puffed out a long breath and stalked in after them.  God, she missed Damien.  Not
just because he was hot, and smart, and protective, but because he
got
her. 
They just understood each other so well.  He would completely sympathize with
her frustration towards these morons.  If he were here, he’d mutter some snarky
put-upon comment to make her laugh and she’d feel… safe.  She
always
felt safe with Damien and she needed a little bit of security, right now.

She
had a bad feeling about this whole thing.

It
was a trite line, worthy of good ol’ Tanya, but there was no other way to
describe her increasing anxiety.  Kara still believed that saving Slade was the
only option open to her and she knew that Damien couldn’t be around when it
happened.  Not if she wanted Slade to survive his liberation, anyway.  But, the
farther she went into this whole ‘Heroically Free Slade by Herself’ deal, the more
her feeling of unease grew.

Melessa
was a dingbat.  No surprise there.

Dimwitted
Vampires made bad partners.  Kara had certainly anticipated that.

There
were some missing steps to her rescue plan.  She’s was aware of that, too.

But,
this feeling was… more.  Bigger.

Crazy
as it sounded, it seemed to come from the book itself.

The
more Kara pushed forward, the greater the pull against her became.  She could
feel something watching her as they neared the end.  Something that wasn’t
going to just let her rearrange the plot without a fight.  Something beyond the
words on the page wanted to drive the action.  Like in
Terminator
, when
all the machines became self-aware, it seemed as if
Eternal Passion at
Sunset
was devising ways to stop Kara from completing her rewrites.  Like
it was concerned with goals of its own.

Well,
it was in for a big damn fight, because Kara
would
fix the damn finale
of this book.  This SkyNet crap didn’t work for Schwarzenegger and it wasn’t
going to work…

Wait. 
Kara frowned.  Didn’t the machines
win
in
Terminator
?

“This
way, Witch.”  Fibos hissed, cutting of Kara’s thoughts before she could exactly
remember why the cute guy from
Aliens
went back in time.  She refocused
on the Vampire and saw him and the rest of the cast of
True Blood
scampering
along, close to the moldy wall ahead of her.  Their super stealthy bank heist
maneuverings were pretty pointless, though, considering the sound effects from
the rest of the party.

“Oh
my God!”  Melessa’s voice reached an octave only dogs and zombies could hear. 
“Did you see that?  It was a centipede as long as my arm!”  She shuddered and
pressed closer to Eugene.  “Oh, the trials I must go through to save my heroic
Slade from this degradation.”  Her eyes cut around the stone hallway searching
for more insects lying in wait.  “Don’t let the bugs touch me, Eugene. 
Remember, I’m a queen.”

“Believe
me, this entire day is not something I’m liable to forget.”  Eugene muttered. 
“Say, do you think your father will still let me do his bookkeeping, even
though we’ve broken our betrothal?  His account is worth…”

“Shut-
up
.” 
Kara ordered.  If she wasn’t afraid of drawing even more attention, she would
have dug the flashlight out of her purse and threatened to zap them both with
it.  It was like the whole incursion was being carried out by fifth graders.

Up
ahead, Fibos led them down another maze-like hallway.  Typical that Slade’s
palace would be built on top of the Temple of Doom.  They did seem to be
getting somewhat closer to the jail part of the dungeon, though, if the moans
and screaming were any indication.