The Dracove (The Prophecy series) (30 page)

“You don’t believe me.”

“No, I don’t. Do you have any idea how crazy this sounds? Vampyres only exist in books and movies,” she said. “And I’ve seen you in the daylight.”

“Those are stories an’ old wives tales; this is reality.” His voice dropped a few tones.

“
Reality
does
not
involve
vampyres
!”

“Then it must be by some miracle I’ve been alive for hundreds of years. Call me Jesus Christ.” His voice grew deeper, damn near to a growl, and he spread his arms out in the crucifixion pose.

Kylie crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him. She opened her mouth, but quickly shut it.

“What’s the matter, ye have no smart retort?”

“I’m supposed to believe you, just like that?” She snapped her fingers.

“Would ye rather I attacked you the first time I saw ye?”

She raised a brow. “And when would that have been? In my studio?”

“A few days before.”

“Is that so? Well then, tell me something, Mr. Vampyre, do you know how my ex-boyfriend died? No one else seems to know. When they found him, there wasn’t any blood in his body or around it. He’d been bled dry.”

God, she was pissed. Kylie kept her arms tightly crossed. She realized that wasn’t a very good defensive position and adjusted her hands to the outside of her arms rather than tucked in the crooks of her elbows.

“Aye, I know what happened. What do I need to do for ye to believe me, to prove I am what I say?”

“Well, for starters, you could show me. If you really are a vampyre, Grant, then show me,” she said.

He sat and stared at her.

“Go on, do it.”

“That could be dangerous.”

“Why, would you kill me too?”

He ignored the sarcasm in her voice, closed his eyes, and tried to think of another way. She was frightened; he sensed it. She used her anger to cover it up. His predatory urges would reach their peak if her fear continued to build.
This isn’t good
. When he’d startled her in her studio, or any other time for that matter, it was different. The sun was up then, and it was a different kind of fear.

He hadn’t felt this type of fear in her. It was also nightfall, the time in which he fed, when his senses were heightened.

And he hadn’t fed for the past three nights.

Shit. Should’ve told her all of this in the morning
.

“Would you?” Her voice trembled.

“No, I would never harm you . . . intentionally.” The last word trailed off into a mumble.

“Then if you’re telling the truth, show me what you are.” Her voice rose to damn near hysterics.

There are no such things as vampyres
slipped through her mental barrier. She tried to convince herself if she believed strongly enough, it would be true.
He’s crazy.

That hurt.

“Are ye sure you want to see this?” He attempted calm in hopes of calming her. “You aren’t prepared—”

“Do you honestly think anyone would be prepared to see something they’ve never seen before?”

She had a point. He nodded, but was reluctant to do it, no matter how much he wanted her to know.

“So, show me,” she said.

“As you wish, my lady.” He reluctantly lowered his head. “But I must warn ye, I haven’t fed in a while . . . .”

When he raised his eyes to her—which were at one time the most beautiful ice blue eyes she’d ever seen—they were colorless, nothing but a dark circle outlining the iris and pupils. Everything else was white, like he had strange Halloween contacts on. A hint of dark blue appeared around the pupils and beyond where the iris had once been. She was drawn in. A three-dimensional effect transformed his iris into a tunnel. Lightning bolts appeared inside the tunnel, shooting from one side to the other and down, electrifying it. She had to force her eyes away from the compelling spectacle. It was no easy feat.

Kylie stared at two sharp fangs gently touching his lower lip when he opened his mouth.

She jumped out of his grasp and scurried backward until the headboard stopped her. Crawling off the opposite side of the bed, she faced him. Her body trembled.

“Oh my God, you’re not joking!”

“Please, don’t be frightened,” he said in a deep voice that sounded
nothing
like the man she’d met.

“Frightened? Are you insane? Haven’t you ever looked in a mirror? Do you have a reflection?” Her breath quickened. “Look at your teeth! You’re a fucking vampyre!”

“Please, Kylie, calm down. If you’re frightened, I can’t control the predator in me. My senses feed on your fear.”

“How can I not be, I mean . . . look at you!”

“Am I truly that much of a monster?” His voice echoed in the room.

She paced, bit down on her fingernail, and tried to think of a way out of this insane nightmare. It
was
a nightmare, right? It had to be. She felt a panic attack coming on and pinched herself to wake up. Didn’t work. She’d had panic attacks before; they weren’t very pretty.
Not now! Oh God please, not now
. She focused on breathing through the panic.

His strange eyes watched her intently, like prey he’d trapped in a corner, hunting her. She was, indeed, trapped in the corner of the room. She cursed herself for jumping off the wrong side of the bed. The more she thought about it, the faster her panic built.

“Please, sit down. It’s takin’ all o’ my strength.” His hands clenched, the muscles in his forearms rippling from the tension.

“To do what, keep from biting me?” She wrung her hands together, unable to hold the fear back much longer.

He glared at her. “Aye.”

The glow in his eyes increased. Fear took over. Kylie darted for the door. He grabbed her arm and swung her around, pulling her to him.

“Where d’ye think you’re goin’?”

She stared into those eyes. Something about them seemed so familiar, yet scared the ever-living hell out of her. “I don’t care as long as it’s away from you. Let go of me!”

“Ye wanted to see. Ye wanted this to be real, more than you even know.”

“Yes I did, and now I wish I didn’t. Let. Go.” She pulled her arm away and ran through the doorway.

“
Kylie! Do. Not. Run. From. Me!
” He threw his head back and howled in anger. It was deafening and echoed through the castle.

She covered her ears and ran around a corner.

The echoes stopped moments later. Kylie pulled her hands away from her ears and continued to run down the corridor. She followed the curve it made, and briefly looked behind her to see if he followed. Her panic rose. His feet slammed to the floor and she couldn’t tell which direction they came from. She stopped at the first door she saw and tried to open it, but it was locked. Kylie slammed her hand against the oak and cried out in frustration and fear, pushing and pulling on the door’s handle.

Just like in her dream.

The footsteps grew nearer and she looked to her left.

Louder and louder they came. She turned her head to the right and screamed. His pace quickened when he saw her struggling with the door.

She froze in terror.

He jumped, but she ducked. Grant clipped the wall and went tumbling down the stone corridor.

She stood as still as the suits of armor in the hall leading to the kitchen. He lay on the floor twenty feet away, not moving, but his immobility only lasted a second. Grant sat up and rubbed his shoulder. Kylie ran in the other direction.

His laugh chased her down the corridor. “Ah, c’mon, darlin’. Isn’t this fun? Isn’t this what ye wanted? Isn’t this what you’ve fantasized about, a vampyre lover?”

A Lover, not a murderous monster.
The thought tripped her up momentarily. She caught herself on the wall and continued to run through the castle, looking desperately for a safe place. She feared there was no safe place, within or without.

“Stop runnin’ from me. You’re making the bloodsong unbearable,” he shrieked.

Go back to Hell.

“How ‘bout I take ye with me?” His haunting laughter crept through the cracks in the walls, surrounding her.

Grant chased her through the corridors; just missing her each time she’d turn a corner. He slowed just short of her running toward the staircase, and she was thankful for the possible advantage.

Kylie stopped at the top of the stairs and looked down onto the foyer. The dream and all of its details abruptly came to the front of her mind. Indecision clouded her. She didn’t know where to turn and stared down, down, down the three flights of stairs. She knew what her fate would be if she ran down those stairs.

He appeared in the archway leading into the maze of corridors.

Her heart raced when she saw him, and she ran for the stairs, not having any other choice.

“Kylie, no,” he yelled.

Ignoring his yells, Kylie headed for the door, and tripped over the large rug at the base of the stairs. Running track in college certainly helped her keep her balance. Of course, she didn’t think she’d ever be running from a monster . . .
that’s not supposed to exist
. Kylie wondered if he truly was a
monster
. Part of her wanted to stop and let him take her, but she had never been more frightened than the moment in the corridor when he lunged at her. He attacked her. Didn’t he?

Slowing down wasn’t an option. He’d have greater speed without obstacles and corners to slow him down. She ran full speed at the large oak door, though no clue where she’d go once she was outside. She didn’t care, as long as she could get away from him. If escape was even possible.

The dream came back to her, showing her once again that fleeing wouldn’t be an option. There was no escape from the monster behind her.

She slammed into the door, the impact taking her breath away for only a moment. In her dazed state, Grant dashed down the stairs and pinned her against the door.

Kylie growled and slammed a fist against the oak. The dream deceived her. The woman had more time; enough time to open the door, had she not faltered. She was trapped against the oak. Her body trembled. Tears fell down her cheeks. She wasn’t going to live through the night.

She never thought in a million years this was how her life would end. Grant brushed the hair away from her neck with a cold hand. His sharp, pointed nails tickled along her skin, making her shudder.