Vampire Betrayed (Vampires Destined) (10 page)

Riding a wave of the purest sensation, Ariana clawed at his shirt as she drank. Her body took on a will of its own, sucking and sucking until Joaquin’s hands clamped onto her shoulders and forcibly broke her away.

She stumbled backwards, horror causing her insides to tighten. What had she just done? Her hands fumbled against her lips. She could still taste his blood on her tongue, and her knees went weak.

Joaquin reached out for her, took her in his arms. She pushed against his chest to put some space between their bodies, but his arms held fast. “Joaquin, please.”

He fixed those dark, sexy eyes on her face. “What’s going on in that mind of yours, Ariana? Talk to me.”

She placed a finger against his lip, an action which only caused him to growl in the back of his throat. Instantly, she removed it. “Don’t. I don’t know what just happened. It must have been the moment. I never should have allowed any of this. I have to go.”

His fingers edged up her spine. “No, you don’t. You can’t walk away from this, Ariana. It’s time to face up to what you are, what we are when we’re together.”

“What I am? I’m a hunter who is supposed to kill your kind.”

“Is that why you enjoyed my blood so much? Think about it, Ariana. When was the last time you drank a vampire’s blood?”

“No! Stop!” She fought so hard he finally let her go. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. Don’t you get that? And I don’t understand why I wanted to taste you, why I couldn’t quell the urge.”

“Because of what you are.” His voice hardened.  

“You keep saying that, like you know more about me than I do.” She held up one hand. “We just need to—”

She didn’t get the opportunity to finish before a scream and a flash of light rent the night air.

Chapter Seven

Joaquin’s instincts kicked in. He shoved Ariana behind him and took a fighting stance. All the muscles in his body tensed, and he focused every ounce of his attention on their visitor.

The brightness faded, giving way to black silk and flowing hair the colour of polished copper. Eyes like twin diamonds blinked at him from beneath heavily accentuated lashes, and a voice as black as sin reached out to him.

“Joaquin Shepherd. You’re looking incredibly well for a dead man.”

Ariana tried to see over his shoulder, but Joaquin effectively blocked every move she made.

It took Joaquin a moment to recognize her. Over ten years had passed since the last time he saw Charon, and she hadn’t looked like this. Whatever sorcery she had her hand in worked too well. She looked downright dangerous which put him on edge even more. “Coming to check up on your protégé, Charon? Don’t worry. She’s still in one piece.”

“I’m not her protégé.” Ariana pushed forward, coming to stand by Joaquin’s side. “Charon, what are you doing here?”

The sorceress shook free of the black cloak and allowed it to slide to the ground to pool at her feet. Wearing a white sheath that clung to her every curve, she sailed forward. “It’s so nice to see you too, my sweet.” The neckline of the dress dipped low, revealing full breasts, a feast for any man’s eyes. But Joaquin knew the evil that lay beneath the dress.

That she’d gotten to Ariana before he could stop her still twisted his insides. But for her, Ariana would still be living a normal life. Instead, Charon had convinced her vampires needed to be eliminated, that she would, no doubt, perform a service for her fellow man. What Ariana didn’t know, couldn’t know, was that Charon’s help always exacted a price.

“I came immediately when I sensed your agitation.” Charon moved forward quickly, and Joaquin shot backwards, putting enough distance between him and her to make it a fair fight.

“Did you know I was with Joaquin?” Ariana’s eyes narrowed.

Charon’s lips pursed. “You’ve never questioned me before.” Her eyes flashed in the darkness, and Joaquin sensed a tension in the sorceress’s muscles, as if preparing for battle.

“You’ve never shown up at one of my kills.”

Charon tipped her head, and the heat of her gaze scorching Joaquin’s skin. Her wrath touched him as tangibly as the rake of fingernails down his arm. He didn’t flinch.

“Obviously, this isn’t a kill,” Charon pointed out with just enough ice in her voice to make Ariana suck in a sharp breath. “Were it a kill, Joaquin would already be dead. You’ve never taken this long to complete a mission before, my dear. Perhaps I underestimated your charm, Mr. Shepherd.”

He gave her a grim smile. “Perhaps.”

“I can assure you. I’m immune.” Charon parted her lips in an evil semblance of a smile.

“Tell me what’s going on,” Ariana demanded, reaching forward to grip Charon’s arm. “You’ve always given me rein to dispose of the vampires on my own. You’re not here because you wanted to make sure I was okay. There’s more to it than that.” The bit to Ariana’s voice caused Charon’s face to frost.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Was it not you who was just tangled up the vampire you’re supposed to kill?” Charon tapped her fingernails against her chin. “Perhaps I was mistaken. Do feel free to enlighten me.”

Ariana turned to face Charon fully. “You were watching us? You had no right.”

“And you had no right to allow this creature to come anywhere near your body!” Charon leaned in, spitting fury. “He’s a worthless vampire, Ariana. Tell me, was his dick as cold as it was hard?”

Joaquin saw the arc of Ariana’s hand, but he couldn’t move fast enough to stop it. Her hand connected with Charon’s cheek with a loud pop, and the red in Charon’s eyes turn to a fiery glow.

Snatching hold of Ariana’s arm, he leapt upwards, jumping to the relative safety of the nearest rooftop. He hoped the sudden movement would catch Charon off-guard long enough for him to get Ariana to an even safer place.

“What are you doing?” Ariana pried his fingers away from his wrist and walked to the edge of the rooftop to peer down into the alley.

“Skipping the death scene.”

“You don’t need to take me with you to do that. Charon wouldn’t kill me. She’s been angry with me before.”

Joaquin’s feet thumped against the concrete, and while his gaze searched the night sky for an escape route, his lips curled upwards in a sardonic smile. “You really think she was going to let you live after you just destroyed her plans and humiliated her all in one night?”

When Ariana only blinked at him, he continued, “You really are in the dark, aren’t you?”

“Ariana,” Charon trilled, but from where, Joaquin couldn’t tell. She could be over his shoulder or ten feet below him.

“Piss on this. We’re getting out of here until you realize you who’ve actually trusted.” He dipped, tossed Ariana onto his right shoulder, and leaped from one building to the next until he saw an opening to land just outside the city. Ignoring Ariana’s protests and fists against his back, he took off, looking for a shelter, a place they could hide in plain sight.

Ariana might think Charon wasn’t dangerous, but he’d seen the look in the sorceress’s eyes. She’d traded her soul for immortality and magic when she’d given her blood to the sorcerer who’d sired her. And now she wanted the ultimate domination, to control vampires too scared not to follow her.

No way in hell would she let Ariana stand in her way now.

“Hell and damnation,” Joaquin shouted when they’d landed safely inside a copse of trees inside Francis Marion National Forrest. The darkness surrounded them, but except for the sound of the wind, it was eerily silent, as if even the animals sensed the danger.

Ariana didn’t see the cause for his anger. If anyone should be angry, it should be her. She’s just been carried like a sack full of potatoes and against her will at that.

“What in the hell is going on, Joaquin, and don’t give me any of this ‘you don’t know who you are’ bullshit. For the first time since I’ve known you, tell me the truth.”

Joaquin raked a hand through his hair, and, in spite of her ire, she admired the way the silky length flowed across his fingers like dark wine. “Fine. I’ll spell it out for you. You drank my blood. I don’t know about your definition, but that says vampire to me.”

Folding her arms, Ariana threw up her wall of self-defense. She didn’t need to explain herself to him, but there was one thing she didn’t want, and that was him thinking she was one of his kind.

“I am not a vampire.” She said the words as sweetly as she could considering his supposition just reignited the desire to drive a stake through his heart.

“Really? What makes you so sure?”

“Not that I have to explain myself to you, but I’ve walked in the sun. I sleep during the night like ordinary people. Well, after I’ve made a few kills. I can hold a cross in my hand, and though I’ve never tried it, I’m sure holy water wouldn’t burn me. Oh, there are the other small things like breathing, eating, and hearing my heart beating.”

“You give Charon far too little credit.” He snagged hold of her arm and began hauling her through the forest so rapidly the wind stung her cheeks. She could run fast, but Joaquin could easily speed past her.

The overwhelming smell of damp earth and wet root assaulted her when Joaquin finally stopped. Several frogs croaked in a chorus until Joaquin struck a fingernail against a dry portion of a tree and a tiny flame flickered from his fingertip. The forest grew silent again.

“Look,” he demanded.

She blinked at him. “Have you gone crazy? So it’s a flame. Big deal. I’ve heard vampires can do that with their fingers. Am I supposed to be impressed?” Her nose wrinkled. “Or scared? Because I’m neither.”

Joaquin took hold of her arm with a much firmer grip than she liked and shuffled her closer to the edge of the lake. “Not the flame. Look down.”

Humoring him, she did. “I see water.”

“Clear water,” he corrected.

“Okay, fine. Clear water. What next?”

Joaquin yanked her lower, pressing her face closer to the tepid waters of Lake Moultrie with a little more force than she liked. “Now what do you see?”

She struggled to catch his train of thought. “I still see the water, Joaquin.”

“Nothing else, do you?”

Growing more irritated by the minute with his high-handed manner, Ariana blinked studied the water as though it were a science project. “No. I see nothing else. Now, do you want to get to the point? You’re hurting my neck.”

He released her instantly. “Ariana, you didn’t see your reflection, did you?”

A cold, clammy sensation swept over her, and she swayed on her feet, one hand clasped over her heart. The beat reassured her slightly. “Th-that’s because it’s too dark.”

Nausea wrapped itself around her intestines. Blood roared in her ears in a desperate attempt to drown out Joaquin’s next words. He was just trying to scare her, keep her off guard. Charon had warned her about these types of tactics. Where was that damned stake? Why hadn’t she carried it with her?

He caught hold of her shoulders to gain her attention. “Sweetheart, no matter what little tricks Charon has used, you’re a vampire.”

Ariana gave an almost hysterical laugh. “You’re crazy. I breathe. I have a heartbeat.” She snatched his hand and placed it over her breastbone, ignoring the flare of awareness in the black depths of his eyes. “See? Don’t you feel it?”

He softened his voice as his palm rested against her breast. “All an illusion. Charon is good at that, but the moment you drank my blood, the magic began to fade. You broke her spell. And eventually, that heartbeat is going away. So is your desire to eat real food and your ability to stroll through the sunlight.” He laid his palm over her breast. “I’m sorry. I know this is difficult to hear, but it’s the truth.”

Panic clawed at her stomach. “No, you’re wrong. I’m not. I’m human. Charon has just protected me.” She’d stood in front of the mirror just that morning, had seen her face, her hair. So what if she couldn’t see anything in a lake. That didn’t make her dead.

 “I don’t know why I can’t see my reflection now, but I did this morning.” The words tumbled over themselves, and her hands clasped together, her knuckles growing white.

Joaquin didn’t know what he was talking about. There was no possible way she was a vampire. Charon would have told her. Hell, Charon wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with her. Why on earth would a woman who loathed vampires want to turn Ariana into one? It didn’t make sense.

Ariana continued to shake her head frantically. “And I was never bitten.”

“There are so many ways Charon could have tricked you, Ariana. It’s the type of magic she has.” He shook his head. “Her sire was a master illusionist who just happened to be a vampire. He taught Charon all his tricks.”

“Now you’re telling me she’s a vampire, too?” She laughed, though the sound was hysterical to her own ears. “This is getting ridiculous. She can’t keep the sun from setting me on fire, Joaquin, no matter how much magic she knows.” Her breaths were growing shorter as the panic took stronger hold.

“When was the last time you actually walked out in the sun?”

The question silenced her. She couldn’t remember. Hadn’t it been today? No. Charon had insisted she rest. Yesterday. That was it. No, not then, either. When?