“Are you all right?”
“Yes, ma’am, it’s just that…” He braced one hand on the door frame. “I lost someone I loved recently, and I haven’t felt much like eating the last few days.”
“I know how you feel,” Daisy said. “My brother passed away not long ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, ma’am. I hate to ask this, but could I use your phone?”
“Sure, just let me get it.” Drawing her robe around her, Daisy went into the living room to retrieve her phone. When she returned, the young man was sprawled facedown on the porch.
Kneeling beside him, Daisy rolled him onto his back, then shook his shoulder lightly. “Don’t move,” she said. “I’m gonna call 911.”
“No, that won’t be necessary. I’ll be fine if I could just have a glass of water.”
Daisy bit down on her lower lip. She was alone in the house. He was a stranger. But he was just a skinny kid, not more than sixteen or seventeen. She couldn’t just leave him lying out here on the porch. Besides, she had a Crocodile Dundee–sized knife in her kit. And with that in mind, she helped him to his feet.
“Why don’t you come in for a minute, until you feel better,” she suggested.
“Are you sure it won’t be too much trouble?”
“Of course not.” Slipping her arm around his waist, Daisy helped him inside.
She knew she had made a terrible mistake the minute they crossed the threshold, when the seemingly innocuous young man flung her across the floor. She cried out as the back of her head slammed against the wall.
She stared up at him, mute, her eyes widening with horror when his lips drew back, revealing his fangs. Never show fear. How often had her father drummed that warning into her head? Unfortunately, her courage seemed to have deserted her and all she could think was that she was going to die, and she would never see Erik again.
She cried out when the vampire grabbed her by the throat and jerked her to her feet. “Why?” she asked, gasping for breath. “At least…tell me why.”
“You were there when Costain took her life. Now I’m going to take yours.”
Daisy looked into his eyes and knew it was pointless to ask for mercy. She tried to speak, tried to rescind her invitation, but fear trapped the words in her throat. Knowing it was useless, she struggled to free herself, but her hands and feet were puny weapons against the strength of a vampire.
She was going to die. She gasped for breath as his hand tightened around her throat, and then he was bending over her, brushing her hair away from her neck.
A choked cry of pain rose in her throat as he buried his fangs in her neck. Erik’s bite had been sensual, pleasurable. This bite brought only pain and fear. Darkness ate away at the edges of her vision. The frantic beat of her heart echoed loudly in her ears and then, gradually, slowed. The strength went out of her limbs.
Whispering Erik’s name, she fell into blackness.
Rhys leaned one elbow on the bar as he regarded the man beside him. And then he shook his head. “You look like one of the walking dead,” he muttered.
“Very funny,” Erik replied sourly.
“Come on, snap out of it. The world is filled with young, beautiful women, and they’re all ours for the taking.”
“They aren’t her.”
Rhys muttered a pithy oath. “They’re all the same in the dark.”
“You’ve turned cynical in your old age, haven’t you?”
Rhys grunted softly. “It never works out, you know that. You love them for twenty or thirty years and then they die on you, and what have you got left? Memories and a broken heart.” He shook his head. “I learned my lesson the first time around.”
“Are you ever sorry you killed her?”
Rhys blew out a sigh that seemed to come from the very depths of his being. “Every damn day.”
Erik had never felt sorry for Rhys Costain. The man was diamond hard and bulldog tough. If Rhys had ever had any qualms about being a vampire, ever entertained any doubts, he had never given a hint of it, at least in Erik’s presence. Erik had long suspected that killing Josette was a wound that had never healed. Now, seeing the pain in Costain’s eyes, he knew he had been right.
“You should go back to your little mortal,” Rhys said quietly.
“I thought you said such relationships never work.”
Rhys lifted one shoulder and let it fall in a negligent shrug. “There’s a first time for everything. Who knows? Maybe you’ll break the mold.”
Erik shook his head. “I can’t.”
“Why the hell not? You’ve been pining away for her for days.”
“I’m afraid…” Erik blew out a breath. “The more I’m with her, the more I want her.”
“You’re afraid you’ll bring her across.”
“Exactly. And she’ll hate me for it.”
“Did you ever talk about it?”
“She doesn’t want me. She made me promise I wouldn’t turn her against her will.”
“So make her think it’s what she wants.”
“I won’t do that. I can’t do that.”
“My love is dead. You’ve abandoned yours. What do you say we go find ourselves a couple of good-looking babes and drink until we can’t drink any more?”
Erik snorted softly. “That’s your answer for everything, isn’t it?”
“What else is there?”
He had a point, Erik thought. If he’d been a mortal man, he would have drowned his sorrows in a bottle of booze, but, since he was a vampire, that wasn’t an option.
He was about to accede to Costain’s wishes when a terrified shriek broke through the barrier Erik had erected between himself and Daisy.
Spurred by a soul-deep fear such as he had never known, he left the club, streaking with preternatural speed across town toward a little white house with yellow trim, and praying he wasn’t too late.
Erik burst into Daisy’s house, the scent of human blood almost overpowering the scent of vampire. Erik’s fangs lengthened in response to the threat as he crossed the threshold.
The sight that met his eyes brought him up short. For a moment, he could only stare at the scene before him. Daisy lay on the floor, her face ashen. Damon hovered over her like a bird of prey. He sprang to his feet when Erik entered the room, his hands curled into claws, his fangs dripping blood.
“What have you done?” Erik demanded, the words little more than a snarl. He didn’t wait for an answer. In the space of a heartbeat, he was on the other vampire.
Under ordinary circumstances, he would have taken Damon down without much effort. But Damon was high on the blood he had just consumed. Daisy’s blood. With a hiss, Damon twisted out of Erik’s grasp.
Fangs bared, they came together in a rush. Damon let out a howl as Erik sank his fangs into his shoulder and ripped off a hunk of flesh. Blood sprayed from the wound. Fighting for his life, Damon found the strength to break Erik’s hold. He retreated a moment and then, with a wild cry, he lunged at Erik.
Erik stood his ground. At the last moment, he sidestepped and as Damon’s momentum carried him forward, Erik grabbed him around the throat. A sharp twist broke Damon’s neck; a stick of wood plucked from the fireplace assured that the other vampire wouldn’t rise again.
“Daisy!” Crying her name, Erik dropped to the floor beside her. Lifting her into his arms, he cradled her against his chest. She was dying, her heartbeat slow and irregular, so faint he could scarcely hear it. Her skin was cool beneath his fingertips. “Daisy. Dammit, don’t do this!”
“Erik?” Her eyelids fluttered open. “Erik, are you there?”
“I’m here.”
“Are you holding me?”
“As close as I can.”
“I love you,” she murmured. “I never stopped.”
“Let me bring you across before it’s too late.”
“No…”
She didn’t want to be a vampire.
She didn’t want to die.
She didn�
�t want to leave Erik, but she couldn’t endure the pain that burned through her any longer. With each labored breath she took, the world around her grew darker. In the distance, a faint light grew bright, brighter, beckoning her. Indistinct shadows moved beyond the light.
Gradually, one of them took on shape and substance until it resembled her grandfather. Smiling, he held out his hand. “Come along, Daisy, it’s time.”
“Grandpa O’Donnell,” she murmured, “is that you?”
“Yes, poppet.”
She reached for his hand and as she did so, the pain disappeared.
“Daisy!” Erik’s arm tightened around her. “Don’t leave me! Dammit, don’t leave me here in the dark without you.”
His words, so filled with love and sorrow, pulled her back. How could she leave him when he needed her so? Was this what Grandmother O’Donnell had meant when she said Daisy’s compass might guide her in paths she had never thought to follow? Erik’s arms tightened around Daisy. He could feel her slipping away. “Daisy, hang on.” Perhaps a doctor could help her, yet even as the thought crossed his mind, he knew she was beyond medical help. “Daisy.” He hadn’t wept in centuries, but now, at the thought of losing her, tears scalded his eyes.
Daisy blinked as his tears dripped like red rain onto her cheeks. “Erik…” With a sigh of resignation, she closed her eyes. Hadn’t she always known, deep down, that it would come to this?
“Do it,” she murmured, and went limp in his arms.
Erik choked back a sob. Had he waited too long?
Praying it wasn’t too late, he bent his head to her neck and drank.
Chapter 38
She was drifting, floating. The beautiful bright light had enveloped her grandfather, then faded and disappeared, leaving her frightened and alone in a world of darkness and pain. Had she lost her chance at heaven? Was she in hell? Was that why her blood seemed to be on fire, why everything seemed bathed in crimson? She tried to fight her way out of the darkness but her body felt heavy, lethargic. She willed her toes and fingers to move, felt a sharp stab of fear when nothing happened.
Was this death, this horrible sense of loss?
Of nothingness…
Erik sat at Daisy’s side all through that long, seemingly endless night. Earlier, he had removed her bloody clothing, washed the blood from her neck, then slipped a nightgown over her head. When that was done, he had brought her to his place and put her in his bed. Since then, his mind had been filled with doubts. Had she known what she was asking for? Would she regret her decision when she regained consciousness and realized the full extent of what he had done?
He groaned low in his throat. Had he done the right thing? She would be alienated from her family and friends now. Damn. He could only imagine what Alex would say. Nothing good, that was for sure.
With a sigh, he caressed Daisy’s cheek. Her skin was cool, her face pale, her breathing so shallow, he could scarcely hear it even with his vampiric senses.
Bending down, he kissed her brow. “Fight, Daisy,” he murmured. “I’ve done all I can. Now, it’s up to you.”
With the coming of dawn, he carried her down to his lair. Tucking her close to his side, he stared into the darkness. Tomorrow night would tell the tale. If she awoke at the setting of the sun, she would be his forever.
A voice penetrated the thick darkness, a voice speaking her name. “Erik?”
Daisy fought her way through the smothering darkness and when she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Erik sitting beside her on the bed, his brow creased with worry.
She stared at him. He looked the same, yet different somehow. “Is something wrong?”
He shook his head. “No. How do you feel?” Because he hadn’t wanted her to be frightened by waking in his lair, he had brought her upstairs to the bedroom before she regained consciousness.
“I don’t know. I feel…I don’t know. Why does everything look so bright?” she asked, squinting, and then she covered her ears with her hands. “What’s that noise?”
“Just a truck going by.”
“It sounds like a tank.”
Erik nodded. “Just take it easy. What do you remember from last night?”
“Last night? There was a young man…”
“Damon.”
“He was a vampire!” She lifted a hand to her neck. “He bit me! It hurt more than anything…not like when you bite me…” She frowned. “And then you were there, and…” Her eyes widened as her memory returned. “What have you done? Oh, Lord, what have you done!”
“Daisy…it’s all right.”
“No! How could you?”
“You asked me to, don’t you remember?”
She shook her head. “No…no, I wouldn’t. I never wanted…” She paused, her gaze sliding away from his as another memory surfaced. Erik’s voice, pleading with her. Don’t leave me! Dammit, don’t leave me here in the dark without you. The anguish in his voice had pierced her heart and she had asked him to bring her across, to make her what he was.
She could feel Erik watching her, his gaze wary as he waited for her reaction.
Sitting up, she ran her hands over her arms, her face. She was a vampire now, and there was no going back. She should be furious with him, with herself, yet she couldn’t seem to work up any anger, couldn’t even decide how she felt about what had happened. She wasn’t happy to be a vampire, but she was glad to be alive. Or Undead. She wasn’t crazy about the idea of existing on blood, either, she thought, and then she looked at Erik and grinned in spite of herself. At least she wouldn’t have to drink alone.
Erik frowned at her. “Is something funny?”
“Not really.”
“What are you grinning at?”
“I was thinking how happy I am that I don’t have to drink alone.”
He stared at her, bemused, and then he laughed.
Daisy laughed with him. She laughed until her sides ached.
And then she wept for all she had lost.
At a loss as to what to do, Erik could only sit there. He had never turned anyone before; he had no idea what to expect or how she would react. The main thing he remembered from his first night as a vampire was a horrible thirst, but Daisy didn’t seem to be plagued by that, perhaps because, in desperation, he had given her as much of his blood as she could hold.
He swore softly. He yearned to take her in his arms, but wondered if his touch would be welcome. Listening to her cry was the worst pain he had ever known—worse than the touch of the sun, worse than the agony he had suffered in Costain’s dungeon. Worse, because he had caused it. Had he done what he’d known to be right, he never would have let things go this far. Instead, he had selfishly sought her out, thinking more of easing his own loneliness than worrying about where their relationship would lead.
With a last sniff, Daisy wiped her eyes and face with a corner of the sheet. “I’m sorry, I…”
“Don’t apologize. What the hell do you have to be sorry for?”
She blinked at him. “Are you mad at me?”
“What?” He stared at her, completely baffled. “Why would I be mad at you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Daisy, I…” He raked his hand through his hair. “I’m the one who should be asking your forgiveness.”
“For what? You didn’t do anything wrong. I…I asked you to bring me across.”
“Yeah.” He blew out a breath, remembering how he had begged her not to leave him.
“I knew what I was doing.”
“Did you?”
“Of course.” She tilted her head to the side. “Are you sorry you brought me over?”
“No.” His gaze moved over her face. She had always been beautiful; she was even more so now. Though subtle, changes in her appearance assured that when she called, no man would be able to resist her. “Are you sorry?”
“No,” she said quickly. How could she be sorry when it meant spending an eternity with the man she loved? “Unless you don’t want
me anymore.”
“Not want you? Are you out of your mind?” He had never been less than confident around women before, but this new Daisy put him off his stride. He had expected her to be angry, to berate him for what he had done; instead, she seemed to be waiting for something, though he had no idea what it might be.
“Erik?”
“Yes, love?”
“Aren’t you going to kiss me?”
Was that what she had been waiting for? He blinked at her, and then he smiled. “As you wish,” he said. “But I don’t think I’ll be able to stop at just a kiss.”
Eyes twinkling with merriment, she smiled a seductive smile. “Who asked you to?”
Murmuring her name, he wrapped her in his arms. She was his now, he thought as he claimed her lips with his, always and forever his.
Chapter 39
Daisy shook her head as they neared her parents’ home. “I don’t think I can do this.”
“Of course you can,” Erik said patiently. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“Hah! That’s easy for you to say.” Daisy glared at him. Becoming a vampire hadn’t been nearly as awful as she had expected. With Erik to guide her, she had learned to use her preternatural powers until they were almost second nature. Sometimes, she wondered how she had ever existed without them.
Erik had taught her to dissolve into mist, to scurry up the side of a building as easily as a spider, to leap tall buildings, move faster than the human eye could follow. Most importantly, he had taught her the intricacies of hunting, how to attract her prey and call it to her, how to take what she needed without taking too much or doing any lasting harm to her victim. She had resisted the urge to feed as long as she could, certain that she would never be able to do it. Convinced that existing on human blood would be revolting, she had been shocked to find it immensely pleasant and not the least bit repulsive.
But nothing in the last five months had scared her as much as going to Boston to visit her family.
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