Phantom Embrace

by Dianne Duvall

She and Yuri reached the hallway at the same time.

  As they passed the infirmary, she glanced inside and saw the winged man, sans wings, sitting beside a bed, clutching the hand of a slumbering Lisette. Seth sat at Lisette’s head, his hand resting on her shoulder and glowing.

  Cat followed Yuri downstairs to the basement. Though he was taller and walked with much longer strides, she had no difficulty keeping up with him. Another peculiarity about her existence. No matter how slow her steps, she could progress forward as quickly as she wished.

  As soon as they were ensconced in the privacy of his room and could not be overheard, he swung around to face her.

  “What happened?” they asked simultaneously.

  She bit her lip.

  “Me first,” he insisted. Even that defied the norm. Yuri had not been born in this century and still bore the ladies first mind-set.

  “All right.”

  “What happened?” he repeated. “Where were you?”

  The questions only heightened her confusion. “What do you mean? I was upstairs.”

  “Not just now,” he said, raking a hand through his hair. “Before. Where have you been since Zach arrived? I’ve been so worried about you.”

  “Who is Zach?”

  “The winged immortal who tossed two vampires through David’s bay window, then dove in after them with Lisette in his arms.”

  “I don’t understand. That just happened while I was upstairs. While we both were.”

  Yuri frowned. “What?”

  “That just happened,” she repeated, bewildered. “Minutes ago. It just happened. But . . . I don’t . . .” She glanced up at the ceiling, recalling how normal the room and its occupants had appeared, then met his gaze once more. “How did you get it all cleaned up so fast? I didn’t see . . .” She trailed off. Immortals could move fast, but they couldn’t move that fast. They couldn’t have cleaned it up so quickly that she wouldn’t have seen at least some of it unfold.

  Yuri stilled, his iridescent amber gaze sharpening.

  Didn’t his eyes only glow when he was gripped by strong emotion?

  “You think Zach just arrived?” he said.

  “Well, yes. Didn’t he?”

  A quiet moment passed while he considered her. “Tell me what you remember.”

  Anxiety rose. “We were sitting in the living room. Together. On the love seat you’d claimed. The bay window shattered when two vampires were tossed through it. Then the winged man leapt in after them with Lisette cradled in his arms. Richart and Étienne tried to attack him and failed to get close enough to wound him. You, Stanislav, and Roland tried to attack him. And then . . .”

  “Then?” he prompted.

  She shook her head. It didn’t make sense. “Then everything was back to normal.”

  He continued to stare at her, the amber glow fading from his brown eyes.

  “Yuri?” The longer he went without speaking, the more worried she grew. “Yuri, I don’t understand. Is that not what happened?”

  “Cat,” he said finally and took a step toward her, “Zach shattered David’s window three nights ago.”

  “What?” Gaping up at him as he drew closer, she shook her head. “That’s not possible.”

  “When Stanislav, Roland, and I attacked him,” Yuri continued, “Zach hit everyone in the room with a blast of power so great it knocked all of us—every immortal and mortal present save Seth and David—off our feet. When the blast of power hit you, you screamed and disappeared. Your form appeared to short-circuit or shatter like glass.”

  Cat had no memory of that, but knew Yuri wouldn’t lie to her.

  “I haven’t seen you since that blast wave hit you,” he told her. “Not until now. I thought . . .” He shook his head. “I didn’t know what to think. I feared Zach had . . . I don’t know . . . exorcised you or banished you the way Seth and David can when they choose.”

  She watched him with wide eyes. “I’ve been gone for three nights?”

  “Yes.” His voice grew hoarse with emotion. “For three very long nights.”

  She took a step toward him. “I’m so sorry, Yuri. I didn’t know.” How she wished she could touch him then. Smooth the furrow from his brow. Burrow into his arms and remove that look of anguish from his handsome face. “I don’t even know where I was. To me, it’s as though only minutes have passed.”

  His shoulders slumped. His head bowed. Closing his eyes, he took the last step that separated them.

  Warmth raced down the front of her where their bodies merged.

  “I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered.

  Her eyes burned with tears. “I’m sorry.”

  He shook his head. “It wasn’t your fault. I’m just so damned glad you’re here.”

  She lowered her own head and wished she could rest it upon his chest, feel his heart beating beneath her ear.

  “How I wish I could hold you in my arms,” he murmured.

  The words mirrored her thoughts so closely he might as well have read her mind. “As do I.”

  Sighing, he backed away and sank down on the foot of his bed. “Sit with me for a moment.”

  Cat sat next to him, so closely that heat from his hip seeped into hers.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, voice gentle.

  She nodded. “A little scared, perhaps. It’s a bit frightening to know I vanished and to have no memory of where I went or know why I went there.”

  He nodded.

  She thought of the men and women upstairs. “Marcus almost looked happy to see me.”

  “He knows how worried I’ve been.”

  “He knows I disappeared?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you think he would know where I went?”

  He shook his head. “Marcus is even more strict about avoiding contact with spirits than I am. He did help me look for you, though.”

  “Really?”

  “I didn’t want to leave longer than it took to hunt vampires because I didn’t want to miss you if you returned. So he searched network headquarters for me to see if you were there.”

  “That was kind of him.”

  “Yes.”

  “Would you thank him for me, please? I don’t think he would want me to do it myself.”

  A faint smile touched his lips. “I don’t know. I think he may be coming around.” Something new sparkled in his eyes. “In fact, he said something to me while you were gone that made me think.”

  “About what?” she asked, uncertain what that new light in his eyes reflected.

  “You were born with psychometric abilities.”

  “Yes.”

  “Have you acquired any others since you . . .”

  “Died?”

  His face tightened. “Yes.”

  “No.”

  “None at all?”

  “Not that I’m aware of, aside from being able to walk through objects. Why?”

  “Have you ever tried to visit someone in their dreams?”

  She frowned. “No. I wasn’t born with that gift.”

  “But you exist in a different realm now. Physically, you’re as intangible as dreams. And I’ve heard that ghosts who delight in frightening people can sometimes infiltrate their victims’ dreams and twist them into nightmares. At least, they do in movies. Maybe you could find your way into that other realm and visit me in my dreams.”

  “I already visit you here. Why would you—?”

  “I could hold you in my dreams,” he interrupted, voice deepening.

  Her breath caught.

  “I could touch you in my dreams.”

  Excitement sizzled through her.

  And how she wanted him to touch her, wanted to discover if she could find the same passion with him that paranormal romance heroines found with their heroes.

  She swallowed. “I don’t know how to enter your dreams,” she whispered.

  The hope in his eyes began to fade.

  “But,” she hastened to add, “I think I may know some
one who does.”

  “Who?”

  “A spirit like those you mentioned. One who enjoys frightening the living. One who may very well haunt both people and dreams.”

  A troubled frown drew his brows down. “Cat, I don’t want you to place yourself in danger. If anything were to happen to you—”

  “It won’t,” she assured him, but already dreaded the confrontation to come. “I can handle this particular spirit.” She drew phantom fingers along his cheek and hoped she would soon be able to feel the rough rasp of his beard stubble. “If all goes well, I will see you in your dreams this morning.”

  His throat moved in a swallow as his eyes darkened with the same longing that had been her constant companion since she had first spoken to him.

  Rising, she thought of the estate she wished to visit.

  Yuri’s bedroom disappeared, replaced by sunny English countryside.

  Cat stared up at a sprawling three-story home and willed away the trepidation that threatened to crush her.

  Thinking of Yuri helped, filling her with purpose and courage.

  Striding forward, she scaled the wide steps that led up to a pair of imposing double doors and passed through into the home.

  It had changed over the centuries, had been remodeled many times over.

  Servants went about their daily chores and paid her no heed as she strode past them, searching one room after another until she found herself in what had formerly been the library.

  It still boasted tall bookshelves, but had been transformed into a modern home office.

  A man with short, auburn hair lightly peppered with gray sat at a large oak desk, typing away at a computer. The current homeowner, she assumed.

  Another man—a spirit like herself—with tousled dark blond hair slumped in one of the two chairs that faced the desk, singing a bawdy tavern song under his breath as he watched the other man work. The spirit leaned forward and reached a finger toward a coffee mug that rested a foot or so away from the computer. A grin splitting his face, he jabbed his finger into the side of the mug.

  The mug skidded a couple of inches across the wooden surface, sloshing coffee over its rim.

  The man behind the desk jumped and gripped the arms of his chair. “Shit!” His wide eyes fastened on the mug, then swiftly searched the room. Had she been able to hear it, Cat was certain his heart would be pounding a rapid rhythm in his chest.

  A long moment passed while the man eyed the mug warily.

  When nothing more happened, he pulled a tissue from a box on the opposite side of his desk and reached toward the spilled coffee, every movement stiff with anxiety.

  The spirit’s grin widened. When he again stretched a finger toward the mug, Cat spoke.

  “Hello, Blaise.”

  The spirit jumped even more violently than the homeowner had when the mug had seemingly moved without assistance. Leaping up, he spun around and regarded her with wide eyes, his gleeful smile vanishing. “Catherine.” Her husband’s face filled with unease and shame and she-couldn’t-identify-what-else as she studied him.

  Cat had been there the night Roland had slain him. Hers had been the first face her husband and murderer had seen as his spirit had left his body. And as the madness with which the vampiric virus had infected him had fallen away, a new sort of madness had taken its place as he faced the truth of the atrocities he had committed.

  He had begged her forgiveness for all he had cost her. Had wept over killing their babe.

  Cat had felt nothing but bitterness, and wondered if bitterness was what drove him to torment the living as he did now. Bitterness or boredom, she supposed, and thought he really couldn’t disappoint her more.

  “W-what are you doing here?” he asked.

  “You owe me a great debt,” she told him.

  His gaze fell. “Yes.”

  “You have knowledge I require.”

  He looked up, curiosity erasing some of his unease. “What knowledge?”

  Chapter Five

  Stretched out in his king-sized bed, Yuri stared up at the dark ceiling.

  Cat was going to try to visit him in his dreams. And damned if insomnia hadn’t chosen to rear its head.

  He swore.

  When was the last time he had had difficulty sleeping? During his transformation? Certainly not since he had become immortal. Immortals possessed tremendous control over their bodies. They could control their temperature, their pulse, their metabolic rate.

  And they could damned well fall asleep whenever the desire struck them.

  Hell. Maybe he was just too excited to sleep. Just the idea of finally being able to hold Cat . . .

  Or maybe he was afraid to fall asleep. Afraid she might not be able to find him in that realm. Afraid of losing the hope Marcus had given him.

  He sighed.

  “Just suck it up and do it,” he grumbled.

  Closing his eyes, he slowed his breathing, relaxed his body, and let sleep claim him.

  * * *

  A crush of people surrounded Yuri, buffeting him alongside a crisp winter breeze. Noses and cheeks glowed red in the cold. Warm breath formed puffs of white fog in front of smiling faces. Excitement filled the air, as did sparkling lights, the noise of hundreds of thousands of voices all talking at once, and the scent of alcohol.

  Times Square on New Year’s Eve. What a thrilling place to be. Masses of individuals all eager to ring in the new year, emitting so much positive energy one could practically get high on it. If, that was, one didn’t have to weed out the vampires that slithered through the crowd, preying upon humans who remained trapped in place by the throng.

  Yuri eyed one such vampire who had buried his face in a human woman’s neck. Had he bitten her yet?

  Her head fell back, her eyes closing as her lips parted in apparent pleasure.

  Yeah, he had bitten her.

  When vampires and immortals transformed, glands formed above the retractable fangs they grew. Under the pressure of a bite, those glands released a chemical that behaved much like GHB, leaving the victim sluggish and willing to accede to anything the vampires wanted to do to them. Tomorrow morning, the woman would have no memory of this.

  Palming a dagger, Yuri shouldered his way through the throng, nodding and smiling at those he passed even as he dodged their big blue top hats. He glanced at the clock.

  Perfect timing. They were about to begin the ten-second countdown to eleven o’clock.

  Yuri bumped into the vampire.

  As expected, the vamp removed his fangs from the woman’s neck and spun around to snarl at Yuri.

  Yuri buried his blade in the vampire’s heart and twisted it to ensure the wound wouldn’t heal before the vamp bled out.

  Gripping Yuri’s shoulder to help him remain on his feet, the vampire gaped up at him.

  Yuri withdrew his dagger and drove it into the vampire’s abdominal aorta just as the countdown began.

  The vampire tried to draw a weapon.

  Yuri snatched it from his hand and pocketed it.

  The vampire staggered, then sagged against Yuri, any sound he made going unheard amidst the shouts of the revelers.

  The woman the vampire had bitten teetered a step or two to one side.

  “Dana?” the woman next to her shouted over the noise, frowning up at her and gripping her arm to steady her. She looked past Dana to Yuri and the vampire, whose face was pressed to Yuri’s chest.

  Yuri grinned and shook his head. “Too much to drink!” he shouted over the noise.

  She laughed. “This one, too, it looks like!”

  Rolling his eyes in feigned amusement, Yuri started to make his way through the crowd. Not an easy task in this crush of humanity, particularly while supporting the vampire’s weight until the virus that infected him went to work. It didn’t take long for the vampire to deteriorate completely and leave Yuri holding only a jumble of clothes.

  Fortunately, everyone in the crowd was so busy cheering and admiring the pyrotechnic displ
ay while they shouted into their phones, took selfies, and blew whatever the hell those annoying noisemakers were called, that they didn’t notice. The few who did notice Yuri just thought he was, at first, taking a drunk friend home and, moments later, carrying a spare coat.

  As Yuri neared the edge of the crowd, he felt a tug on his coat sleeve.

  Glancing back and down, he halted. Pleasure and surprise filled him. “Cat.” Wadding up the vampire’s coat, he tossed it at the nearest building so no one would trip on it, then turned to face her. “What are you doing in New York?”

  She smiled up at him. “You invited me.”

  He shook his head. “What—?”

  “This is a dream. You asked me to visit you in your dreams.”

  “Check it!” a guy beside Yuri yelled to his friend. “This chick is so wasted she thinks she’s dreaming!”

  Laughter erupted.

  Someone bumped Cat from behind.

  She stumbled into Yuri.

  Yuri grasped her arms to steady her . . . and stilled. “I can feel you,” he murmured.

  “What?” she called over the noise.

  “I can feel you!” he shouted, joy and amazement rising within him.

  Nodding, she grinned up at him. “Marcus was right!”

  Yuri drew her into a crushing embrace, hugging her as close as he could get her and resting his cheek on her hair.

  She didn’t wear a coat and felt small and delicate against his taller, broader form, her head only reaching his shoulder.

  Loosening his hold, he eased away just a bit.

  Tears glistened in her eyes when she tilted her head back to look up at him.

  Yuri cupped her face in his hands, smoothed his thumbs over her soft, soft skin. Lowering his head, he did what he’d fantasized about doing ever since he had first glimpsed her in David’s home. He brushed his lips against hers.

  Fire flashed through him at the contact. His heart began to pound in his chest.

  Cat surprised him yet again, sliding her arms around his waist and increasing the pressure.

  Yuri deepened the kiss, tasting those pink lips with his tongue before delving within. He tightened his arms around her, locking her against his hardening form. Damn, she felt good. And he had wanted this for so long.

  Somewhere a male laughed. “Dude! It’s not midnight yet!”