The Dracove (The Prophecy series) (29 page)

Grant never showed or told a mortal his true nature without killing them afterward. He felt a little apprehensive about telling Kylie the truth. Sitting beside her on the bed, he attempted to muster up enough courage to tell her his tale, but the words lodged in his throat. Maybe if he showed her he was a vampyre, everything would be all right. She’d joked about it once before, but finding out vampyres were real was a drastic change in what she knew to be reality. Perhaps she’d accept it and all would be fine, or maybe she’d hate him and his love for her wouldn’t matter. Grant wished he was mortal again and didn’t have to explain this part of his life to her.

If he killed Cianán, he wondered if his soul would be purified. Grant didn’t know if he would cease to be a vampyre once Cianán was destroyed or if he would simply cease to exist.

The rules weren’t written in stone, nor were myths.

No one knew for sure what would happen when a Master died, and with Cianán being Master to all of them, who the hell knew? Maybe it was all a lie, like so many other things he’d told Grant. If he didn’t take the chance on it being a lie, what kind of man would he be? Aside from Cianán, there was nothing he despised more than a coward. Even the slayers held higher ranking. Unfortunately, none of them figured out how to kill the Master Vampyre yet. Of course, it wasn’t like they hadn’t tried. Grant inadvertently saved one of them. Why, he wasn’t exactly sure; he’d have to kill her when she came after him.

If she still lived, that was a definite possibility.

Grant wondered if it could be as simple as taking off the Master’s head. Decapitating Cianán wouldn’t be an easy thing to do. Even as powerful as Grant had become, he was no match for his Master. The scenario was impossible; Cianán never let his guard drop. Even when he didn’t seem to be alert, he somehow knew everything going on around him. Grant had tested it too many times in the past, though there was that brief moment in the Arizona desert . . . .

Perhaps the key to destroying Cianán was in the ritual itself. However, he couldn’t be certain, and the woman he loved was in the middle of it. Grant squeezed his eyes tight against the tears that formed at the thought of Kylie getting hurt. The vision of her lifeless body jumped into his mind. He sighed deeply and opened his eyes when Kylie touched his arm.

“Are you sure you’re ready to tell me this, whatever it is? It doesn’t look like you are.”

“I’m not, but I have no choice. He’ll be comin’ for ye soon.” He stared at her hands. Her fingers intertwined with his, and gently tightened.

“Who’s coming for me?”

“Cianán.”

“Cianán Lorcan?”

Grant nodded.

“You know him?”

“Regrettably,” he replied. “His real name is MacLeer. Lorcan is his middle name.”

She frowned, creases marring her brow, and he never wanted to see them again. “What does he have to do with what you want to tell me, and why will he be coming for me?”

“He has everythin’ to do with this.”

When he didn’t offer further explanation, she sighed and squeezed his hand. “I don’t understand.”

“My hope is that ye will.”

“You’re not making any sense, Grant.”

“I’m sorry.” He lowered his head. His hair fell forward and hid his face.

She parted his hair with her hands. He slowly shifted his eyes upward. The glow of his eyes reflected softly off his hair. It startled her.

His voice came from a place deep within. “Ky, before I tell you these things, things you’ll have trouble believin’, know that I love you.”

She smiled at him warmly, her hand reaching out to touch his face. Kylie pushed his hair back on one side, tucking it behind his ear. Her fingers traced around his ear, softly stroking the lobe. She gently brushed his cheek. “I love you too. Why do you think I won’t believe you?”

“Because it’s human nature to dismiss things that are inexplicable; to turn them into myth an’ legend.”

She tightened her grip on his hand. “This is obviously very important to you. I promise I’ll try to understand.”

“It’s important for both of us,” he said. “That locket ye wear, you must never take it off.”

Kylie looked down; the garnet brightened when she picked it up.

“What the hell?”

“It’s okay,” he touched her hand holding the locket. “I didn’t finish tellin’ ye what it says. There’s more—Duitsa, gus an déan Dia leis a’ bhás ar dealachadh—tha gaol agam ort.” As he spoke the Gaelic, the garnet flickered like a candle flame. Its light danced in her eyes. “It means: ‘To you, until God shall separate us by death. I love you’.”

Kylie pulled her eyes from the mesmerizing gem.

“It’s meant to protect you.”

“Protect me from what?” Her gaze returned to the locket.

“More like who.” He lifted her chin. “I know you’re confused—”

“Who then, Cianán?”

“Aye.”

“Why is he coming for me? Is he going to hurt me?”

He nodded. “Just as he did Siobhán, or was going to, anyway.”

“Who’s Siobhán? The name sounds familiar.”

Grant ran his hand through his hair. This was getting to be too much, even for him. “It stuck in my mind all these years. I made this locket and gave it to the woman I loved—Siobhán. It was a gift just before we were to be married—”

“That’s not possible. This locket is four hundred years old.”

“It’s older than that,” he said. “Please, Ky, let me finish. You’ll understand in a minute, at least I hope you will. It
is
possible . . . if you never die.”

“Immortality? Like in that
Highlander
movie?”

“Not quite.” He smiled at her. “I first saw her at a friend’s wedding, an’ we secretly courted shortly thereafter. Her father wasn’t pleased with her decision to see me. After a while, he found out. He tried to explain everythin’ to me, but I was beyond comprehendin’ the situation because I only had eyes for her. I didn’t want to hear anything anyone said about her unless it had somethin’ to do with me. They say love is blind. Well, I was blinded by my love for her. So blinded, it nearly got me killed. In fact, it
did
get me killed.

“I saw Cianán talkin’ to her one day. No, it was more than that, he was . . . . What are the words? He was—”

“Flirting with her,” she said.

“No, it was more intense. The look in his eyes; it was . . . evil. I could tell he wanted her, but I didn’t know why. It wasn’t the way a man would normally look at the woman he wants. At first, I thought he didn’t know about us. He lived pretty far from town.” He stared into Kylie’s eyes once again. “Have you ever wanted somethin’ so badly, when you look at it, you’re obsessed with it?”

He knew Kylie was trying her best to comprehend, but hell, he wasn’t making any damn sense to himself. How could he expect her to understand?

A few of her thoughts clung to something else he’d said.
How can he be that old?
Is it possible for someone to never die?
He did his best to ignore it, but her mind suddenly went black, blocking him again.

“That’s how he looked at her; with all-consuming obsession. He looks at you like that. I’ve seen it.”

She jerked her head back. The predator in him took notice.

“When have you seen me with him?”

“It doesn’t matter right now.”

“Yes, it does. If you’re going to tell me this, tell me everything.”

“The first night you met him, at the nightclub,” he said reluctantly.

“You were there?”

He nodded once.
She still doesn’t remember seeing me
.

“Did you follow me?” Agitation leaked into her clipped words.

“No, I’d never . . . I was followin’ him. It was only the third or fourth time I’d seen you. I didn’t know you were going to be there, I swear it.”

Kylie nodded. “Continue.”

“After I’d seen Cianán with Siobhán, I went to his home to speak with him an’ let him know she an’ I were engaged. For years afterward, I wished I hadn’t been so stupid. I had no idea what he was.” He gently brushed his hand against her cheek. “We’d had an argument an’ fought—swordfight—an’ well, that’s when I was changed.”

“Changed?”

“Aye, transformed. I’m not quite sure how it happened; it wasn’t done the normal way.”

Confusion crept across her face.

“Aye, there’s a normal way, but any way it’s done is dangerous. Don’t ye see, Ky? Cianán killed me that night. D’ye understand? I
died
that evenin’ long ago.”

Kylie stared at him. If he was dead, he wouldn’t be sitting here in front of her. Right?

“So what are you telling me, that you’re a damn ghost or something? I really don’t see how that’s possible” —she poked his arm— “when I can touch you.”

“There’s no easy way to put this, so I’m just going to say it—”

“Oh no, wait, maybe you’re a zombie, huh?” She frowned. “But then you’d have bitten me by now and I’d be a zombie.”

“Kylie, just listen—”

She stared up at him, unsure of the mix of emotions roiling inside her. Whatever he was about to say certainly wasn’t good. “I don’t know if I want to hear this.”

“Cianán isn’t what he seems, nor am I—”

She placed a hand on his arm, letting him know he could stop now. “This isn’t funny, Grant. Please stop.”

“He’s been on this earth for over two thousand years.”

“Grant, you’re scaring me. Stop.”

“He was once a Druid priest, an’ now he’s a vampyre.”

She pulled back from him, eyes wide. His hands went to her arms, gently holding her in place. Her body told her to run. She wanted to obey.

“I know this is hard for ye to believe.”

“And you? How could you have given this locket to someone over four hundred years ago? I suppose you’re a vampyre too, right?”

“You’ve known all along what I am.”

She blinked. “How could I possibly know?”

“My blood is in you. I can smell it. It was in the locket an’ it’s now in you.”

How did he know about the blood drop in the locket? And how could he possibly smell it in her? Kylie jerked away from him.

 
“Is this some sort of sick prank, because it’s not funny, Grant,” she yelled, but even she heard the nervousness threading through her voice. “I know we joked about you being a vampyre the other night, but come on.” She should have listened to Ana.
Oh God, I’m going to end up on the damn news. ‘American killed in Ireland by Vampyre Psycho’. Shit!
“Shitshitshit!”

“It’s not a joke, Kylie. I speak the truth. I will always tell you the truth.” He reached out to her.

She slapped his hand away. “Not if you’ve kept something like this from me. You
have
lied. In town the other day, if this is story is true. You knew why they were staring . . . they know what you are.”

“Please try to understand. There was no other way—”

“Bullshit.” She slapped his hand again when he reached for her. “Really, Grant, if you don’t want to be with me, you could come up with a better excuse.”