Prologue 16 страница

admonitions to stop or Shrapnel’s

mocking laugh.

There. No louder than a whisper, far

more fleeting than a glimpse, but

something was there, dammit! I

concentrated until all my being was

focused on the stone beneath my hand, and

then I saw it. Gloriously gruesome images

of a charbroiled vampire thudding to the

floor where I touched, his mouth open in a

final, silent scream.

I rose, only now noticing that Vlad knelt

next to me, giving me a look of

exasperation as he drew my hand away.

“Leila, enough—”

Whatever he saw on my face made him

stop speaking. Very slowly, he let me go.

Then he rose while the oddest mixture of

pride and irritation peppered my

emotions.

“Good news is, you get out of torture, ” I

told Shrapnel. “Bad news is, I’m going

after your girlfriend, and now her spell

doesn’t matter because I’m already dead.”

Chapter 39

I wanted to start trying to link to

Cynthiana immediately, but Vlad said

dawn was almost here. I took his word for

it since I had no idea what time it was.

Besides, Cynthiana didn’t know the tables

had turned. Now she was the one who’d

be relentlessly stalked, and once the sun

set tonight, the hunt was on.

We left the lower level and headed for

the secured room on the fourth floor. I’d

been right that most new vampires were

housed underground near the dungeon, but

Vlad had the equivalent of a presidential

suite for vampires he wanted to show

special favor to. Yet as soon as we were

back on the main level of the house, a

plethora of noises assaulted me.

The clamor of footsteps above and

below. Numerous metallic clangs in the

kitchen as pots and pans were used to

make breakfast. Voices from people or

electronic devices, and underneath it all,

the rhythmic throb of multiple heartbeats.

My stomach clenched and little daggers

poked me in the lip. Almost there, I

thought in relief as we passed the indoor

garden and headed toward the grand

staircase. All I had to do was keep from

going blood berserk for a few more

minutes.

“Leila, thank God! ”

My sister’s voice made me groan out

loud. Gretchen ran down the stairs,

looking both relieved and mad.

“His goons said you were too injured

for us to see you, which is a lie since you

look fine—”

Another sound escaped my throat that

made her stop in mid-sentence. “Did you

just growl at me? ” she asked in disbelief.

Vlad glanced at me and then his hands

closed around my arms. “Stay back, ” he

told Gretchen sternly.

Too late. Pain ripped through me,

flipping a switch in my brain that made me

incapable of seeing the little sister I

loved. Instead, I only saw the cure for my

agony inside a flesh package that was easy

to tear.

The next few moments were a blur of

struggling followed by relief as that

impossibly delicious nectar slid down my

throat, extinguishing the burn that made

fire seem blissful by comparison. After I

swallowed every drop, I became aware of

a scream consisting of the same panicked

question.

“What is wrong with her, what is wrong

with her, WHAT IS WRONG WITH

HER? ”

“Nothing.”

Vlad’s voice. Hearing it cleared away

the lingering insanity, as did feeling his

calmness through the fractured layers of

my emotions. He was behind me, his arms

unbreakable bands that kept me from

hurting her or anyone else. I sagged in

relief against him, the mindless haze

finally leaving my vision.

Gretchen stood as if frozen on the

bottom step of the staircase, eyes wide

and expression so stricken I worried that

she might faint.

“It’s okay, ” I said. My voice was

hoarser, but at least it wasn’t that

animalistic growl anymore.

“It’s okay? ” she repeated. “How is it

okay when you just tried to kill me? ”

I had no response to that. Gretchen sat

down suddenly, as if she’d been yanked,

and then she buried her head in her hands.

“I get it now. He had to change you

because you were too far gone to heal.

That’s why they wouldn’t let us see you.”

Unlike her previous screech, her voice

was now almost a whisper. Pangs of a

different kind made my insides twist. I

hadn’t even gotten the chance to tell her

this was something I intended to do in the

future. Now she found out when I tried to

eat her.

“I understand if... if you can’t deal

with this, ” I began.

Her head snapped up, blue gaze bright.

“You don’t get it. You saved me, but I

couldn’t save you.” Her voice broke and

tears spilled from her eyes. “I’m so

sorry.”

Tears welled in my own gaze. She’d

soldiered on through our mother’s death,

my nightmarish abilities, my suicide

attempt, and my leaving when I thought

cutting ties with my family was the kindest

thing I could do. She had her own flaws,

but I should’ve known not even this would

prove too much for her.

“Don’t. Without you dragging me away

from the car before it exploded, I really

would’ve died.”

At that, Vlad let me go. “You pulled

Leila out of the vehicle? ”

Gretchen tensed at his curt tune. “After

she cut my seat belt off, yeah. She was in

bad shape and I was afraid moving her

would make it worse, but it was gonna

blow.”

“You did great, ” I told her, thinking,

Ease up! before remembering he could no

longer hear it.

“Hold her, ” Vlad stated, nodding at me.

“What? ” I gasped.

That was all I got out before two guards

I hadn’t noticed seized me, giving me

faintly apologetic looks as they held me

immobile between them.

“It’s for your sister’s protection, ” Vlad

stated, striding over to Gretchen. She

looked like she wanted to run but she

didn’t move when he loomed above her.

“Hold out your hand, ” he told her in that

same crisp tone.

Haltingly, she did. Vlad grasped it and

then pulled out a knife, his grip tightening

when she tried to yank away.

“Vlad, ” I said, drawing his name out in

warning.

He didn’t glance at me. Instead, he

drew that blade across his hand, coating

my sister’s palm with his blood.

“Drink, ” he told her, “and be known as

one of my people.”

Gretchen gave the blood on her hand a

distasteful look. Then she glanced back up

at Vlad.

“Aren’t I already as your sister-inlaw? ”

His smile was coldly pleasant. “Not in

the vampire world.”

She looked at me next. “What’s the

catch? ”

I remembered when I’d asked Vlad a

similar question before an equally

irrevocable situation.

“If you do this and then betray him in

the future, he’ll kill you, ” I summarized

bluntly.

Instead of being intimidated, she

snorted. “Like he wouldn’t do that now if I

betrayed him. On the upside, if I do this

and then someone messes with me, he’ll

have to answer to Vlad, right? ”

Emerald glinted in his gaze. “That’s

exactly right.”

She looked at her hand and then

clapped it over her mouth as if thinking

about it longer would make her lose her

nerve.

“Yuck, ” she said as she licked the red

smears clean.

I closed my eyes. Gretchen wasn’t a

child and she’d made this decision of her

own free will. That didn’t stop me from

worrying that she’d taken one more step

away from the human world. Not to

mention Dad is going to lose it when he

finds out.

“Wow, that’s like liquid speed, ” she

muttered. Then she stared in amazement as

her scrapes, scabs, and bruises began to

disappear as though wiped away by an

invisible eraser.

“What is going on here? ”

My father’s furious tone cut the air like

a machete. I cringed at how I must look,

blood soaked and restrained by two burly

guards, and that surge of emotion made my

fangs pop out.

Which, of course, was the wrong

reaction.

“No, ” my father whispered as he stared

at me, horror pinching his features. Then

he began to descend the stairs as fast as

his permanently stiff leg would allow.

“What have you done to her? ” he

thundered at Vlad.

Vlad shot my father a scalding look as

he came over and then swept me into his

arms, the guards bowing as they backed

away.

“If you say any more of the thoughts in

your head, I’ll take away your ability to

speak for a week.”

My father’s jaw dropped. I squirmed in

Vlad’s arms. This was not how I’d

imagined breaking the news to my dad,

either.

“Put me down, I’m not feeling bitey

anymore.”

“It’s dawn, ” he replied, still glaring at

my father.

“Okay, so I’ll be tired, but that doesn’t

mean—”

My mouth stopped working. Then so

did every muscle in my body. Before my

father’s next heartbeat, I was completely

unconscious.

Chapter 40

I came awake so suddenly that it startled

me. One second, I was dead to the world,

the next, I was on my feet and hungry as

hell, my gaze darting around in search of

food.

“There, ” Vlad said, pointing to the open

slot in the wall.

I fell on the bag it contained, tearing

into it like the shark from Jaws. When I

was done, blood dripped from my face,

hands, and chest. I only became aware that

I’d started licking myself when Vlad’s

low laugh broke my hunger-induced

trance.

“I must admit, this gives me ideas.”

Embarrassment rose, giving me the

strength to stop cleaning my hands like

some deranged cat. Vlad sat on the

mattress, back braced against the wall and

legs casually splayed. He’d changed since

I last saw him, and though his deep purple

shirt was spotless, as were his ebony

pants, with one whiff, I knew where he’d

been before coming here.

“You went back to the dungeon.”

His smile held more than a hint of

grimness. “Perhaps I’ll have it sprayed

with Febreze after all.”

I ran my hand through my hair after one

final lick. “We agreed I’d look for

Cynthiana the other way.”

“With you asleep, I had some time to

kill.”

His voice was light, but an undercurrent

of tempered irritation brushed my

emotions. I sighed.

“I know you’re not used to explaining

yourself, but that’s marriage. I’m not used

to waking up with an uncontrollable

hunger, so we’re both going through an

adjustment phase.”

Now a different kind of smile curled his

lips. “Yours will only last a week. Mine,

a lifetime.”

I laughed dryly. “If you wanted a wife

who never questioned your actions, you

shouldn’t have married me.”

Something else teased my emotions,

sliding through them like swaths of

sensual fire. A richer, warmer scent filled

the room, reminding me of simmering

spices and wood smoke.

“Agreed. But I wanted you more than

subservience.”

His voice was throatier, tightening

things low within me. I swallowed, hunger

of a different sort making my fangs

lengthen. He looked so polished in his

tailored clothes, so relaxed leaning

against the wall, yet his emotions told a

different story. I might be the one bloody

and disheveled, but I wasn’t the real feral

creature in the room.

And I wouldn’t have him any other way.

Then I shook my head to clear the

explicit thoughts starting to crowd it. I had

a murderous vampire to hunt plus a

traumatized father to calm down. My

dance card didn’t have room for hours of

sex and Vlad didn’t do quickies.

“I need to shower, ” I said, and it

sounded breathless even though I didn’t

breathe anymore.

His smile turned dangerously carnal.

“Afterward.”

“Vlad, really, there’s so much we need

to do—”

“Remember when you said you

wouldn’t accept ranking a constant second

to others? ” he interrupted in a silky voice.

“Neither will I.”

He was beside me in a blink, pressing

an inner button in that retractable drawer.

Another blood bag popped out as if it

were a vending machine. Before I could

speak, Vlad crushed it against his chest,

covering himself in crimson rivulets.

Need rose with such ferocity that it

annihilated my conscience. I wasn’t

embarrassed by how I flung myself at him.

Didn’t care that he tore my clothes off as

savagely as I ripped away his in my quest

for every last drop, and I really didn’t

mind when he backed me into the wall and

yanked my legs around his waist. Then

there was nothing except the taste of blood

on his skin and the exquisite roughness of

his body plunging into mine, over and

over, until the ecstasy searing through me

made me forget about my hunger.

I t was a quarter after ten when I emerged

fully clothed from the bathroom. Vlad was

already redressed and waiting since I’d

made him shower elsewhere. Otherwise,

it would have been even later, which he

had no qualms about. Shrapnel wasn’t

going anywhere, Cynthiana didn’t yet

know she’d been discovered, and our

honeymoon had been ruined enough, he’d

stated.

“Before I get started with Shrapnel, I

need to see my dad, ” I told Vlad. “He’s

pretty freaked out. Can you stay close in

case I get slammed with the bloodthirsties

again? ”

Vlad had been drinking wine, but at

that, he set it down.

“Many humans who know about

vampires have difficulty accepting a loved

one’s transformation. It can cause feelings

of fear, alienation, and helplessness. For

someone used to being in control, like

your father, those feelings are often

magnified.”

His carefully worded statements made

me uneasy. Normally, Vlad was blunt to

the point of brusqueness. Something was

up. “No sugarcoating. What happened? ”

“He doesn’t want to see you right now

and he’s insisting on leaving with

Gretchen, ” he replied with his usual

directness. “I do have other houses where

they’d be safe, but I refused to let him go

unless you agreed to it.”

I now had superhuman strength, but I sat

as though my knees had turned to jelly.

“Gretchen doesn’t want to see me,

either? ” Maybe I’d misread her demeanor

before...

“No, your sister was vehement about

staying here, which only made your father

more determined to take her with him.”

Then Vlad gave me a jaded look. “He

doesn’t realize it, but he’s trying to regain

control where there is none. He still loves

you. If he didn’t, his reaction to you

becoming a vampire wouldn’t be so

emotional.”

I said nothing, thinking how strange life

was. When I was a child, my father’s job

moved us from place to place without

regard for how upsetting those upheavals

were. Now it was my circumstances that

kept uprooting him from the life he’d built.

Karma’s a bitch, Cat had said, yet I didn’t

want my dad to receive any comeuppance.

I wanted him to be happy, and be safe.

“Let him go, but wait until tomorrow

morning. I want a chance to talk to

Gretchen first.”

My voice was soft yet steady. I knew

what it was like to need to leave, if only

to prove to yourself that you could. As for

Gretchen, it was better that she go with

him. With my ravenous new hunger, I

couldn’t trust myself to be around her.

Besides, things were about to get more

dangerous around here, not less.

Then I rose, giving Vlad a crooked

smile.

“Now, let’s see if I can find that crazy

bitch you used to date.”

I thought we’d go back to the dungeon and

I’d pick up Cynthiana’s essence trail from

touching Shrapnel, but Vlad led me to the

Weapons Room instead. There, he handed

me a silver dagger with a Celtic design in

its filigreed hilt.

“Hers, ” he stated.

It took me a second to remember why it

looked familiar. Then I let out a short

laugh.

“It sure was. I touched this when I was

going through your other weapons. Shortly

after glimpsing the woman connected to it,

I started hemorrhaging to death.”

Just as Cynthiana’s linking spell

intended, though she hadn’t counted on

Vlad being there to revive me. Or on

Maximus doing the same the other time

linking to her caused lethal damage. Now

my own inhuman state was all I needed to

protect me.

Karma’s a bitch sounded just fine for

these circumstances.

I pulled my right glove off and touched

the pretty weapon. To my surprise, my

first instinct was to jerk away. The metal

made my skin itch in a way that reminded

me of when I’d fallen into a poison ivy

patch as a child.

“That feels... wrong. Is that from the

silver? ”

His amusement curled through my

emotions. “You’ll get used to it. All

vampires do.”

I tried to ignore how irritated the metal

made my skin feel and focused on the

essence it contained. After a few minutes

of concentrating, colorless images took

over.

We reached my door, but when Vlad

started to leave after bidding me good

night, I caught his sleeve.

“Wait.” Then I drew the knife from the

folds of my coat and extended it to him

hilt first.

“For you, ” I murmured.

He took it, his mouth curling into a

half smile.

“What’s this? An early Christmas

present? ”

“Do I need occasion to give you a

gift? ” I asked lightly.

He flipped the blade before catching

it. “Perfectly balanced. Thank you,

Cynthiana. It’s lovely.”

Then he leaned over, his warm lips

brushing mine. When he started to pull

away, I held on.

“Don’t go, ” I whispered against his

mouth.

He drew back with a frown. “One of

my people is missing. I won’t wait until

morning to search for him.”

“I’m sorry, of course not, dearie, ” I

said, knowing better than to point out

that he could send someone else.

He put the knife away in his coat.

“Good night, Cynthiana.”

“Good night, Vlad.”

I watched him go, masking my

frustration with a smile in case he

glanced back. He didn’t. He never did,

and his visits had become more

infrequent. I hadn’t lived three hundred

years without knowing what that meant.

He was growing tired of me.

My smile turned brittle. I’d been too

long without the protection I deserved

and I wasn’t about to lose my place by

the side of such a powerful vampire.

Risky or not, it was time to employ more

persuasive means to keep Vlad with me.

If I was careful, he’d never know the

cause for his newfound affection.

My link to the memory dissolved and I

returned to reality to find I clutched the

knife so hard, it had cut my hand. Then I

stared at Vlad, a suspicion growing.

“Did Cynthiana move in with you

shortly after she gave you this? ”

His brow arched. “I believe so, why? ”

“Just wondering. Did you know she

was into magic? ”

A shrug. “I knew she dabbled, but

magic is against vampire law so a more

serious pursuit wasn’t worth the risk to

her.”

“Or she was more involved than she let

on.” What if it wasn’t coincidence that

Cynthiana moved in with him shortly after

she decided to use more “persuasive”

means to keep him from dumping her? If

so, then we weren’t dealing with an

amateur who dabbled in the occasional

spell, but a full-blown witch who might be

more dangerous than either Vlad or I

realized.

Chapter 41

I looked at the knife with more wariness

than before. As a vampire, another heart

attack or spontaneous hemorrhaging would

hurt, but they wouldn’t be fatal. Still, if

she was a powerful witch in disguise,

there was the chance that Cynthiana had

rigged her spell to do something lethal to

vampires, too.

“Keep an eye on what I do with the

knife, okay? ”

When I looked up, Vlad’s eyes had

narrowed. He inhaled and then smiled so

pleasantly I should’ve taken it as a

warning.

“Why? ”

“If your ex turns out to be more Wicked

Witch of the West than we realized,

there’s a chance that her spell might make

me try to stab myself, heh heh, in the

heart.”

My little laugh to indicate how remote I

thought this possibility was didn’t work.

His whole face began to darken, though

that charming smile never slipped.

“You might be the cruelest person I’ve

ever met, ” he said in a conversational

tone.

“What? ” I gasped.

“My first wife killed herself. Took me

centuries to get over it and love again, yet

you weren’t going to mention that you

might be compelled to slay yourself in

front of me. ”

His casual tone vanished, replaced by

one of pure rage. That was nothing

compared to the fury that flooded my

emotions, abrupt as a dam bursting and so

forceful I took a step backward.

“Vlad, I—”

“Don’t. Speak.”

Fire erupted from his hands, climbing

up his arms to his shoulders before

haloing his whole body with an orange

glow. I would’ve thought he was trying to

intimidate me, except from the maelstrom

of his emotions, he couldn’t stop it.

“I’ve tried to let you do what you feel

you must because I respect your bravery,

but you push me too far.” Another flare of

fire. “Attempt one more time to willfully

endanger your life, and I swear I will

imprison you.”

Before I could voice my outrage at that

ultimatum, he vanished, leaving nothing

behind except the smell of smoke.

“H ey, kid.”

I glanced up to see Marty in the

doorway of the stone cell. I hadn’t even

noticed it opening. I’d shut myself in here

because I didn’t want to hurt anyone if

another hunger attack struck, plus it had

the plasma bag delivery system. Drowning

my frustrations with blood sounded

disgusting in theory. In practice, it was as

effective as liquor and ice cream

combined.

“Maximus was right when he warned

me about Vlad, ” I said glumly. “Did you

overhear him threaten to imprison me? ”

A pitying look crossed Marty’s face,

which was my answer.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do, ” I

went on, patting the spot next to me in

invitation. “I love Vlad, but sometimes he

is so archaic. Can you imagine how he’d

react if I told him he wasn’t allowed to

risk his life for his people anymore? ”

“He wouldn’t listen, ” Marty said,

sitting by me on the bed.

“Right. So how is that different from me

assuming some risk in order to hunt down

the bitch that nearly killed me three times

and succeeded on the fourth attempt? ”

“He’s a chauvinist? ” Marty offered.

“Exactly.” Then I glanced over, seeing

the wryness stamped on his features.

“What? ”

“You’re the only one surprised by this,

kid. You married a borderline psychotic

who conquered the brutal circumstances

he grew up in by being even more brutal.

Add turning into a vampire and centuries

of undead power struggles, and you have

the crazy cruel bastard you fell in love

with.”

He patted my knee in a companionable

way. “Did you really think someone like

that would let his wife fight his enemies

for him? They call him Vlad the Impaler,

not Vlad the Emasculated.”

I let out a scoff. “I’m not trying to fight

his enemies for him.”

“In his eyes you are, and worse, you’re

ready to die to do it.” Another pat. “Like

you already did once, baby vamp.”

I leaned against him, angling my head

so it rested on his shoulder. “What am I

supposed to do? Let him dictate my every

move because he’s the medieval version

of old-fashioned? I didn’t sign on for

that.”

He chuckled dryly. “No, you signed on

for something harder. Marriage.”

“Smartass, ” I said, but my voice lacked

rancor.

Deep down, I knew he was right.

Marrying a dragon meant dealing with the

times he breathed fire, but I wasn’t giving

up. I was in this for the long haul, so it

was time to quit brooding over how rough

the road was and brace for the bumps

while keeping my foot on the gas.

I kissed Marty on the cheek. “Thanks.”

He grunted. “For what? I told you not to

get involved with him and I haven’t

changed my mind that it was a bad idea.”

“Thanks for being a good friend.”

Then I stood, filled with renewed

determination. Vlad might be a crazy cruel

bastard, but he was my crazy cruel bastard

and we were going to work this out.

“Since you were eavesdropping, did

you catch where he went? Oh, wait, never

mind. I already know.”

I descended the narrow staircase,

wrinkling my nose as the smell got more

pungent. Piss off a modern guy and he’d

likely go to a local bar. Piss off a vampire

with an impalement habit and an in-house

dungeon, and it was a no-brainer where

he’d go.

“Hi, ” I said to the guard who eyed me

cautiously as I approached. “Please tell

Vlad I’d like to speak with him.”

The guard bowed, looking relieved that

I didn’t try to barge past him, I guessed.

Then he pinched something in his collar

and spoke into it in Romanian. Ah, the

wonders of technology. I’d need a fullbody

rubber suit to wear a wire without

frying it.

My new super senses meant I heard the

reply the guard got, but as it was also in

Romanian, I didn’t understand it.

“Please wait here, ” he finally said in

accented English.

I said nothing, wondering if that meant

Vlad was coming, or I was waiting to be

escorted out by someone else.

About ten minutes later, Vlad appeared.

A fine layer of ash darkened his clothes,

skin, and hair, which was cause for

comment since it was impossible for him

to catch fire. The added swarthiness to his

appearance made him look even more

dangerous, as if his expression wasn’t

already foreboding enough.

“What? ”

One word meant to send me on my way

with its curtness, and he’d done that

lockdown thing where I couldn’t feel any

of his emotions. I straightened my

shoulders and planted my feet. If he really