The King's Vampire (3 page)

They slithered, or flew, or crawled nearer, until a denizen of demon-like beings surrounded her. No escape seemed possible. Elizabeth took a step forward, but one of the creatures grabbed her arm. Opening her mouth to scream, no sound came out. She shook her arm free of his bony fingers.

She kicked at another larger, figure that appeared to control the others by his inhuman shrieks. “Who are you?” she managed to cry out, while her heart pounded and sweat dripped down her ribcage.

It lunged at her. She looked around but had nowhere to go. She took a step forward and part of the floor of the ancient church crumbled further into the blackened moss-covered pit. “What do you want from me?”

Clinging to the edge of the floor, she was pulled over the precipice. Her body dangled, while her nails dug into stone crevices, until she managed to use her high heels to dig into indentations along the side of the chasm. The smell of rotting death streamed from the abyss, nearly making her faint, but she remained conscious. Concentrating on her vampire abilities, she clung to the side with one hand, using the other to unfasten her cloak and rip away the satin gown she wore.

All she remained wearing was a low-cut, lace-trimmed smock made of the sheerest of linens, and even with its elbow-length sleeves and a long full skirt, maneuvering was easier. Digging in with her nails, she drew herself up the sides of the slippery, moss-covered chasm, thralling four demon-like creatures when they got too close. Once they became trancelike, she scrabbled back up from the chasm.

The leader of the creatures drew nearer. It gripped her ankle with its claw-like hand, making her ankle burn like fury. She remained laying against the rubble-filled floor, her cheek pressed against a cool stone.

It breathed with a horrible gurgling sound and thick ropes of blood rose and fell from its nose and mouth. Outstretched leathered wings spanned at least eight feet and a residue of evil surrounded the creature, while the smell of decayed flesh emanated from its body.

She felt the power of her thralling aura being siphoned off and felt like she’d been kicked in the chest. She understood what she had stumbled upon. This was a nest of psychic vampire demons, and one was sucking psychic energy from her. If he didn’t release her soon she’d die, and so kicking his claw-like hand away from her ankle, she scrabbled away from the moss-covered floor, and then jumped up and ran down the rubble-strewn nave.

She tried to reach the stone archway that led outside, before he connected psychically with her again. He wasn’t close, but his psychic tentacles extended out and a force pressed down hard on her chest, paralyzing her to the spot while the demon headed toward her. Gasping, she cried out, “What do you want from me? Can’t you speak at all?”

Elizabeth tried to thrall him, but he was too powerful, and she too drained. It was move, or be killed by this vampire demon. At least he couldn’t steal her soul, since she had none to give. Instead of comfort, this thought swept her into the darkest despair, realizing how easy it would be to die before regaining her soul.

She couldn’t understand the flickering throb of her heart or the pressure of someone against her back. It wasn’t a feeling of fear, but rather a sense of relief. She darted a look behind her to see Darius’s broad shoulders straining against a velvet jacket. Even in the semi-darkness, the wave of his black hair and the glint in his gray eyes were visible. He hugged her to his chest with one arm and managed to thrall the demon with the other.

Darius froze the main demon, but the others kept coming toward them, until he lifted one arm and shot scorching flames in their direction. The demons stopped in their tracks. She looked at Darius in surprise. By his expression, she knew he’d surprised himself.

“How did you know where to find me?”

“I felt your danger and followed your scent. Can you hold onto me?”

Her heartbeat quickened when she felt his body pressed against her like a suit of armor. “Try and stop me,” she said, locking her arms around his waist, aware she wore only her smock and was practically naked.

He seemed to realize the fact at the same time. He looked down at her breasts, and gave a wicked grin.

“Darius, we’re in a nest of psychic vampire demons who look none too pleased to have us here.”

“Well then, we’d better get out of here, hadn’t we? Don’t let go.”

She had no intention of letting go. He moved them out of the ruins and through the fog-shrouded night with a speed that left her breathless. Back inside her suite of rooms at the inn, Elizabeth slipped behind the Oriental black lacquered screen in the corner of her room, putting on a chaste, white nightgown fastened up to her chin.

She removed the bodkins that held up her auburn hair, allowing it to tumble down her back. Hands trembling so badly, she found it hard to run the brush through her long tresses, so Darius brushed her hair until it shone like burnished autumn leaves. For the briefest moment, his tender care enveloped her and she smiled.

He gently pulled the brush through the strands of her hair. “What did you get yourself into tonight? Tell me everything that happened.”

Her relaxation ended and she stiffened. “When I got to the ruins of the church, I heard noises. At first, I thought it was the sound of rats, so I followed the noise inside the remains of the church because I wasn’t satisfied.”

“I understand. Go on.”

“I spotted a human-like form near a tomb in the north transept and I followed it. Moss grew out of all the crevices and then several demons appeared. The moss broke up the stone and formed a deep chasm within the floor.”

“You saw an abyss at St. Paul’s?”

The sound of fear in his voice made her pause. She frowned and thought for a moment.

“Continue,” he urged. “How many demons did you see?”

She shook her head, trying to remember. “There could have been eight demons, but there was one larger, more powerful than the others. He appeared to be orchestrating the attack, and when he grabbed me, he started sucking psychic energy from me, making me unable to thrall the demons. He’s the one you managed to thrall on the way out.”

Darius drew in a deep breath. “What else happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did this psychic vampire harm you?” Darius stopped brushing her hair, wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders, and drew her close. “You were in a state of undress when I found you. Did this vampire rape you when he was drawing off your energy?”

Elizabeth struggled to steady her voice, but it cracked anyway. “I ripped off my own dress so I could move more easily. He did rob me of energy so I couldn’t fight him, but no, he didn’t rape me. I asked what he wanted of me, but he didn’t say anything.”

He put his arms around her and pulled her tighter. For just a moment, she let his warmth and strength enfold her. The vein in her neck pulsed to the beat of his heart, and she tilted her head so he’d have a better angle to bite down.

When she didn’t feel anything, she looked at him, feeling a twinge of disappointment. She’d been amazed by her strong response to him when he'd fed on her the first time. He pulled away a little, and this time, she noticed his teeth weren’t elongated. It was his soft lips poised above her mouth.

“That’s not what I want most from you, my darling. I thirst more for your love, rather than your blood.”

Her mouth formed a surprised “o” when his lips pressed down hard on hers. A tingling thrill galloped down her spine while his mouth probed her own with a heated passion that seared through her. The power of his kiss made her blood pulse, throbbing in a constant fashion, almost as though he was drinking her blood. She couldn’t remember ever being kissed like this, or perhaps she’d never been kissed in this way.

The buttons of her nightgown imprinted against her skin when his powerful, muscular body pressed against her, causing her nipples to harden, in the same way the fabric of his trousers hardened, leaving her with a sense of feminine power over his unrestrained reaction to her.

She reminded herself she was kissing an immortal vampire and forced herself to pull away. Her goal for the past hundred years had been to find a way to recapture her soul, and wouldn’t allow herself to get distracted now. She couldn’t let her guard down with Darius again, pushing him away in order to breathe properly. “Love is not possible between us.”

His look of amazement must have mirrored her own surprise. “I understand what you’re saying, but I haven’t kissed a woman for over eight hundred years. I’ve coupled with women in a mindless craving since becoming a vampire, but I’ve never felt the urge to kiss anyone before.”

“Well, Lord Mayor, how did it feel?” She attempted to keep her tone light and teasing, even though her heart tightened in her chest, and she watched and weighed each word he spoke.

“If I’d known that a kiss would feel like this, I don’t believe I’d have waited quite so long,” he said, grinning.

She responded with a smile, but cautioned herself not to get romantically involved with him. “It mustn’t happen again,” she said, forcing a frown onto her face, which caused his smile to die an immediate death.

“Why not?”

“You are the Lord Mayor of the Vampires, and I hope to become human again. It wouldn’t be suitable for us to become romantically attached to one another under these conditions. I’m grateful for our past friendship, and I hope we’ll be able to continue that friendship.”

“Are we just friends to one another?"

She felt a stab in her heart at the way the corners of his mouth drooped when he spoke, and the way the light disappeared from his eyes. She forced herself to look away.

The powerful attraction linking them had to be ignored in order to focus on what truly mattered—and that was to regain her soul—no matter what price. She had to stay strong or else face an eternity without a soul, and this was something she couldn’t accept. When she’d allowed him to drink her blood, she’d created a bond between them she hadn’t intended to form.

Darius changed the subject. “There’s an important meeting of the vampires at the George and Dragon at midnight.”

“I’ll be there.” A veil of tears blurred her vision and she could barely see the features on his sculpted face for a brief moment. And then he left her.

Chapter 2

Elizabeth sat slouched in the back of the pub between the duke and duchess, still wearing her mask, hoping to go unnoticed. An important meeting for the vampires, a hush had descended upon the crowd, disturbed only by one persistent cough echoing throughout the great hall.

Darius’s face came into sharp focus, and everyone else in the room faded to insignificance. Her heart thrummed at the memory of his last passionate kiss. She blotted the memory from her mind, forcing herself to focus on the meeting, knowing he was a dangerous distraction.

A long, lean vampire stood up. His skull-white face and large black eyes glittered in the lamplight when he spoke. “Lord Mayor, you requested we vampires not feed on humans so there wouldn’t be an attack on our own kind.”

“True,” Darius said. “Our survival depends upon not drawing undue attention to ourselves among humans.”

“We have faithfully followed your request for the past five years, but the psychic vampires are killing humans and the evidence always points back to us. How long are we expected to deprive ourselves of human blood, only to be accused of killing them anyway?” He glanced around at the other vampires. “It won’t be long until the humans bring in the vampire hunters to track us down.”

Another vampire stood, but this time it was a slight male with a pointed snout and narrow sunken eyes, reminding Elizabeth of the river rats darting along the wharves.

“Your Lordship, it’s too dangerous for us to suck the blood off another vampire because we might die if our blood’s drained off before we have a chance to feed again.”

The first vampire spoke again. “Godfrey’s right. It’s been ten years since the Great Plague and there are still scarce enough cats and dogs for anyone to drain. I don’t know about the rest, but I don’t fancy hunting down conies to eat.” There was a murmur of agreement among the crowd.

Darius sat on a raised dais and lifted one long white hand for silence. The noise died instantly. Elizabeth admired his tall dramatic form with wide, square shoulders, rippling torso, his narrow tapering waist leading down to lean hips and magnificent legs, which were now crossed at the knee. He looked at her with his burning gray eyes and he raised his eyebrows as though asking a silent question. Bewildered by his expression, she dropped her mask and cocked her head, waiting to hear what he had to say.

“I know the psychic vampires threaten our community. Our goal has always been to survive through the centuries, whereas, they have a goal far more lethal to humans. They want nothing less than to suck the souls of humans into the abyss of the damned.”

“Why should we care what happens to humans?” the small vampire asked. “Once they find us, they’re always in a great rush to burn us or stake us or decapitate us. We lost many of our own in the Great Fire that took place, but do you think any human cared about that?”

“Godfrey speaks truly when he says we’ve lost much of our population.” Darius looked long and hard at each vampire. “We are now only thirty vampires strong in London. That’s why I issued the order to stop killing humans, so we wouldn’t become their target. It has been a successful plan until the psychic vampire demons became involved.”

Godfrey stood up. “Now they are involved, aye? I don’t see a point to leaving the humans alone if we’re blamed for unexplained murders. Remember what the vampire hunters done to the vampires in Eastern Europe? In some places, they’re about extinct, they are.”

“We have no vampire hunters in England, but only witch finders,” Darius said.

“They’re just as bad, aren’t they?” Godfrey said.

Darius frowned at Godfrey. “Thanks to the help of the Duke and Duchess of Denham, we have access to some very important information within King Charles’s court.”

He nodded in the direction of a tall vampire with sleek black hair, and his lady, a blonde woman who sat calmly in a green taffeta gown, her hair pulled up high on her head with a dozen ringlets framing her pale face. The woman bowed her head, while her husband gave a slight nod of acknowledgement, his elegant body held resolute and straight.