Not Another Vampire Book (9 page)

He
felt the urge to crouch down beside her and offer comfort, but it was such a
foreign idea that he didn’t know what to make of it.  Instead, he just stood
there a few feet behind Kara and waited.  Watching her.

The
dancing curls on her head mesmerized him, tangling together in the summer
breeze as she sat there.  Wizard Warlocks and most other supernatural beings
had straight hair.  Only the humans were gifted with curls and Karalynn’s were
so lovely.  Exotic.  Special.  Like the girl herself.

His
head tilted, his body aching, his mind trying to process the pull he felt
towards her.

Slade
didn’t deserve such a woman.

“Damien.” 
She turned and looked at him, her eyes damp.  Karalynn hadn’t let any tears
fall, but he could see the sorrow on her face.  “My building’s not here.”

“I’ve
noticed that, yes.”

“You
were expecting this.”  She accused.  “You think I’m crazy, but that’s because
you have no idea what’s going on.  If you knew the truth, you’d know that a
building was supposed to be here. 
Right here!
”

Damien
ignored her anger.  “I trust that you’ll explain the truth to me very soon.” 
He’d made sure of it in fact.

She
sniffed and shook her head.  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”  Now, she
sounded maudlin.  “Oh hell.  What am I going to do?”

The
question wasn’t aimed at him, but he answered it anyway.  “You’re going to
leave this place and allow me to take you home.”

“What
home?”  Her hand came up to swipe under her nose.  “My apartment’s probably not
built yet, either.  I have nowhere to go.”

“You’ll
come back to my lair.”  Damien hesitated for a beat and then closed the last
distance between them.  “You will be safe there.”  Against his better judgment,
he leaned down to touch her hair.  Gods, it was soft.  Softer even than he’d
imagined.  He clenched his teeth against the feel and kept his voice neutral. 
“For as long as this takes, you’ll be my guest.”

Guest
sounded so much better than
hostage
.

He
braced himself for Kara to jerk away from his touch.  Instead, she leaned
closer to him and let out a shaky sigh.  “I don’t know how long this will take
to fix.  I don’t know
how
to fix it.  Am I supposed to live in your
mausoleum forever?”

It
took Damien a moment to process her words through his surprise.  The woman was
letting him stroke her hair with no signs of revulsion.  Was this a ploy?  “I’m
not worried about a timeline.”  He finally murmured.  “I’m immortal.  Years and
decades mean little to me.”

“Well,
I’ve only got eight or nine decades and I don’t plan to spend them here.”  She
bit her lower lip.  “I do need a place to stay, right now, though.  You’d really
just let me crash at your house for as long as I want?”

“Longer,
even.”  Better to let her think she had a choice.

“Thanks.” 
Kara let him help her to her feet and gazed up at him with a tired smile.  “In
case you haven’t noticed, my life is a disaster.  You should be hiding from me,
for your own protection.  But, I’d be lost right now, if you weren’t being so
nice…”  She stopped that bizarre statement short, her expressive eyes focused
on something beyond his shoulder.  “Son-of-a-
bitch
.”

Vampire
.

Damien
sensed it before he even turned around.

Kara
shoved past him as Damien turned to confront the threat.  It wasn’t Slade.  The
energy this Vampire gave off was weaker.  One of his loyal men, then. Slade had
so many faithful followers.  Gods only knew why.

Damien
made it his business to learn the names of his enemies and this one was Fibos. 
Around three hundred years old, he was one of Slade’s younger recruits.  Like
all the Vampires, he was large and blond, with a fondness for open-throated,
white, puffy shirts.

Damien
forced himself to stay still, waiting to see what Karalynn would do.  He could
kill the Vampire or swiftly transport Kara back to the dungeons easily enough. 
There was no risk with this boy.  Damien just needed to know if she’d betrayed
him or if she was in league with the Vampires.  His stomach sank as she
approached Fibos.

“Your
Majesty.”  The young Vampire looked shocked to see her headed his way,
automatically bowing.  “King Slade has all of us searching for you.  Are you
safe…?”

Kara
cut him off.  “Where the hell did you get that?”  She gestured to a square of
fabric in his hand.  “That’s mine!  I recognize it.  It’s not like they sell a
lot of
other
knock-off Louis Vuitton around here.  You stole my wallet!”

“No! 
King Slade found it in the gardens of your home, my lady.”  Fibos was clearly
eager to acquit himself of any theft charges.  “It carried your scent and…”

“Jesus,
you people can follow my
scent?!
”  Karalynn sounded revolted.

Despite
himself, Damien nearly smirked.

 “No,
my lady.  Well, not far, my lady.”

“Stop
calling me that!  How did you even find me?”

Fibos
held out the wallet.  “There were strange cards inside this with your name and
various addresses on them, so we split up to find you, going to the…”

“That
wasn’t my home, you dope.  Or my gardens.  But that
is
my wallet and you
had no business snooping through it.  What else did the Vamp Squad steal of
mine, huh?  Is that my cell phone?”  She gestured to his other hand. 
“Unbelievable.  Damien,” She turned to look at him for some form of redress. 
“Make him give me back my stuff.”

Apparently,
Fibos hadn’t processed Damien standing there.  Blue eye slashed over to
Damien’s still form.

Damien
arched a brow and waited for the show to begin.

Fibos’
didn’t disappoint.  His mouth dropped open in horror, his other hand.  “Run,
you’re Majesty!”  He drew back his hand as if he planned to heave the
‘cellphone’ at Damien in some kind of pitiful attack.

Damien
smirked.

“Don’t
throw that!”  Kara commanded in a panicked tone.  “You’ll break it and I have a
two year contract!”

Fibos
obediently halted his action, switching the pink object to his other hand and reaching
out for her arm.  “My lady, you must come with me.”

“What? 
No.”  Once again, she jerked away from a Vampire and turned to Damien.  Karalynn
backed out of Fibos’ range and came to stand next to him, instead.  One small
palm came up to grip Damien’s sleeve.  He could feel the impact of her fingers
through the fabric as if it was far more than just his arm she was touching.  “Great. 
Damien, now another one’s trying to kidnap me.”  She whispered, nervously.  “What
is it with these guys?”

“He
will not harm you, Kara Lynn.”  All Damien’s emotions were long gone.  He could
only feel vengeance, now.  Still, something like triumph swamped his system as
she stayed at his side.  This bossy, crazy mortal was the first person in
centuries to look at him without dread and horror.

To
Karalynn, he was a protector.  She believed that he’d guard her from the
Vampires as some kind of selfless, heroic act.  For whatever reason, he was in
no hurry to change her absurd opinion.

 In
no hurry to lose her.

“Your
Majesty, no!”  Fibos looked appalled.  “You cannot want this creature over the
righteous glory of King Slade.  He is what every woman dreams of and what every
man longs to be!”

Damien
nearly snarled, mostly because the boy had a point.  All beings admired Slade. 
The men idolized him and the women vied for his attention.  Kara would be no
different in the end.  The idea sickened him and being called a creature just
made it all the worse.  He hated the bitter epithet.

Sometimes
he feared it was true.

“Wow.” 
Karalynn rubbed her forehead like she’d suddenly developed a headache.  “I know
you can’t help the dialogue, kid.  But…
wow
, was that stupid.”

Damien
glanced at her, sharply.

“Your
Majesty,
please
.”  Fibos couldn’t take on Damien in a fight, so he
didn’t attack outright, but he wasn’t forfeiting the round.  “The creature can
give you nothing.  He is the last of his kind.  A hunted animal.  But
we
are
a noble race of dark knights. With King Slade, you will be revered as Karalynn
Donnelly, Queen of the Vampires!”

Kara
blinked once.  Twice.  And then she started laughing.  Really laughing.  As if
that was the funniest thing she’d ever heard.

Fibos
and Damien both frowned at her.

“My
lady, it’s no joke.”  Fibos assured her.  “The exalted title is yours.  You are
King Slade’s Eternal-One.  You shall rule the Vampire Isle at his mighty side,
the Golden Crown of Mikinlouse upon your lovely head.”

More
laughter.  Even harder than before.  Not like the high-pitched, slightly
hysterical laughter she’d given into back at his lair.  No, it was like she
genuinely found Fibos… funny.  Kara’s entire body shook with her mirth.  She
was laughing so hard, Damien had to support part of her weight as she leaned
against him.

Obviously,
she didn’t believe the boy.  Just as well.  Damien was in no hurry for Kara to
start wanting Slade back.  Offering her a supreme seat of power, untold riches,
and her own island to rule were
not
surefire ways to keep her
anti-vampire.

Damien
briefly rested his face against the top of her head, because he knew that Fibos
would be relating every second of this encounter to Slade and he wanted to piss
the Vampire off.

…
And because he wanted to breathe in the honeysuckle fragrance of Kara’s curls. 
Arousal roared through his body as the delicate strands slid over skin.  She
was
so
soft.  Every time he thought he’d processed the softness it
struck him again.  In Damien’s world, no one was soft.  The gentle sensation
made him think random, crazy thoughts.  Thoughts that had nothing to do with
vengeance and everything to do with this woman’s body against his.

Fibos
glowered at him.  “You have stolen our Queen.  King Slade’s Eternal-One.  There
shall be a reckoning!”

The
young were always so righteous.  They had no idea how little justice there
really was in this world.

“He
didn’t steal me.”  Kara wiped at her eyes, still chuckling.  “I asked him for
help.”

“My
lady, you don’t know what you’re saying.  Damien has beguiled you.  You are but
an innocent flower caught in the storm.”

“Oh
Lord.  Tanya already used that line.  Are we recycling it, already?”

Damien
was getting used to comments like that.

Fibos
just looked baffled.  “My lady, I truly fear that the sorcerer has you under a
spell.”

Kara
snorted.  “Oh, he does not.  Do you, Damien?”

“No.” 
Not yet anyway
.

“See?” 
Kara waved a dismissive hand.  “Look, things have just gotten confused here.  I’m
not your Vampire Queen.  That’s the bottom line, alright?  You’re barking up
the wrong heroine.”

“What?”
 Fibos seemed totally lost.

“I’m
not Slade’s Eternal-One.  There was a mix-up.  The Eternal-One you want is
Melessa Fairfaix.  Or possible Fairfield or Fairmont.  Just look for a ‘Fair,’
okay?  She’s off joining
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show
, right now. 
Trust me, she would
love
to wear the Golden Crown of Mickey Mouse for
ya.”

“King
Slade can have only one Eternal-One, my lady.  If you doubt his fidelity, I
assure you, only you hold his heart in your tiny hand.  He has waited centuries
for you.”

“Oh
yeah.  I’m sure he’s
waited
for me.”  Kara rolled her eyes, meaningfully.

“He
hasn’t.”  Damien had no qualms about reporting that.  Perversely, he hoped that
the news broke her heart and she never forgave Sir Galahad.  “He sleeps with
many Vampiresses in his castle.  Sometimes at the same time.  I can supply you
with names, if you’d like.”  He had spies in the Vampire ranks who kept him up
to date on everything that happened there.

“He
has a
castle?
”

Damn. 
Perhaps he shouldn’t have mentioned that part.  “Just a small one.” 

“It
is the largest castle in the universe, my lady, staffed by thousands of
servants who would cater to your every desire.”  Fibos retorted.  “The queen’s
room is decorated entirely with gold and precious ruby encrusted furniture.”

“Sounds
cozy.”  Karalynn drawled.  “Question:  Did Tanya think about how comfortable
solid metal bedding probably
isn’t?
”

Fibos
wasn’t done.  The little bastard was determined to sell his master as the
Vampires’ most eligible bachelor.  Which –sickeningly enough-- he actually was. 
“King Slade has waited for you, my lady.  In his own way.  The scores of other
women he’s pleasured were but sensual training for when he consummates his
Eternal Bond with you.  They mean nothing to him.”

“Oh
gag.”  Karalynn glanced up at Damien.  “I hate how the guy’s always a sexual
tyrannosaurus and the girl’s always a blushing virgin.  Doesn’t that bug you?  It
perpetuates a double standard.”