Guilt churned in her stomach when he looked at her with hope, curiosity, and hesitation in his icy blue eyes. “I can’t do this thing with you watching me.” Relief showered over her as he settled onto his back, his elegant hands folded over his chest. “That’s slightly better, I suppose.” Though it smacked of the Addams family.
She listened to the steady drum of the rain outside. What would be the cost of knowing? She stared at the dark gray, veined ceiling of the limestone cave and sighed.
“I will keep the secret for you until you are ready to have it revealed,” Edwin said softly. “Trust me when I tell you it is not pleasant. You will not regard me the same once you know what I hide. It is essentially why I conduct my life alone.”
Hannah’s answer was not in words.
In an effort to keep her courage, she concentrated fully on tapping into his thoughts. Like before, she encountered the thick gray wall of resistance at the edges of his mind, but this time she powered through and slipped inside, rather as if she pulled aside a curtain. Now that she had already been in his mind, she had a better understanding of what she dealt with. The swirling mass of colors resembled a road map.
With a bit more concentration, she mentally divided the emotional torrent ahead of her into sections—dark, light, and gray. Figuring Edwin’s hideous and much hidden secret would reside inside the dark neighborhood, she chose to start there. Hannah steeled herself for what she might find. She commanded her mind’s eye to move into the swirling black and deep gray where he housed his stormy thoughts and emotions. She cringed as they closed in and crashed around her. Dark, dull silver and smoky gray reached tendrils out in an attempt to grab her. As the clouds rolled past, some were tinged with carnelian.
Buoyed and buffeted along the dark tide, at first she couldn’t discern anything terrible or terrifying. The normal doubts, inadequacies, and shortcomings floated about her on the waves. She gently pushed aside a lump of self-loathing that had to do with his job, and shivered as she proceeded onward into a deeper and more opaque gloom that floated at the back of his mind. If Edwin had been the owner of a better sense of humor, she could well imagine he would have set this section of his mind up with cobwebs and “beware” signs.
A flutter of warmth sifted through her body. He’d read her thought. She smiled but continued and moved toward the absolute blackness. Frissons of nervousness and fear sparked in the pit of her stomach.
Turn back now if you wish it.
No, I want to see what you’re hiding.
Hannah pushed her emotions away. She walked forward into the darkness, and then pried it open with some force since Edwin kept this part of his thought processes tightly closed and guarded. As she stepped through the prickly, thorn-like guards, ultimate blackness consumed her. It pressed heavily against her mind and threatened to fill every square inch of her being with the engulfing terror.
She hadn’t gotten to the heart of the matter yet, but already the hopelessness and frenzied helplessness that lived within this cloud waited. Plunging further into the darkness, Hannah met with stiff resistance. Whatever you think you’re tormented with, can’t be that bad. Nothing ever is. With one last forceful push, she continued forward to the pulsing inky blue mass before her.
Edwin’s hidden secret was a two-part problem. He craved companionship and a lasting commitment, but he couldn’t achieve it because of the evil that resided deep inside. She turned away from his abject loneliness, leaving it for a moment so she could deal with the bigger issue. The midnight cloud in front of her throbbed with a life of its own. A definite sense of terror and hunger emanated from it, calling to her. The strength she needed to read his mind wavered. She needed to hurry if she wanted to learn the secret before the connection between them snapped.
As Hannah pushed herself into the quivering knot of thoughts, she gasped when the truth behind Edwin’s façade became known. He was afraid his vampire genes would overtake his human genes, and he would become a slave to his darker self.
Images flashed from his mind to hers. She was helpless to stop the torrent.
A much younger Edwin at college gazed after the retreating form of a young woman as she ran from a library, pain etched into the frozen mask of her face.
The scene of a fight between him and another man. Edwin brandished a wicked-looking dagger as a grimace of pain twisted his features. He stabbed the man through the heart then hesitated over the blood that flowed to the snowy ground.
A third image shimmered into view. Perhaps three years before, Edwin wound his way through a throng of people at a party. The thumping of the music echoed in her chest as if she were in the room with him. He escorted a young, black-haired woman to one of the bedrooms upstairs. When they were alone, a bout of heavy petting ensued. Suddenly, he threw the woman to the bed and buried his fangs deep into the pale skin of her neck. When she screamed, he jerked his head up and crimson blood smeared over his lips to drip from his mouth.
Dread flooded into Hannah’s consciousness. Her heart raced in fear as her vision became obscured with a red wave of such intensity she swore she tasted the metallic bite of blood. Pain shot through her. The terror that invaded her mind now coursed through her body as she tried to push the nameless threat away.
Edwin considered himself damned to spend eternity, especially in the endless stretch after death, battling his dark desires and urges. Even though she’d seen bits and pieces of his past, Hannah still clung to the belief he was not an evil being. She felt it buried deep inside and she wanted to bring it to the surface so he could see it, too.
The pain in her mind increased until it was a pounding mass behind her eyes. She couldn’t keep the connection open any longer. Shortly before she wrenched her mind from his, a tiny glimmer of hope flared to life. It shone with a brilliant golden color so intense its thin rays penetrated the gloom and despair in which she explored. She concentrated on that shining beacon, but before she could grasp onto it, she lost consciousness and faded away into nothingness.
Chapter Eight
Hannah groaned. Her head pounded like a Cuban drum rhythm. Licking her dry, gritty lips, she opened her eyes. As her pupils slowly adjusted to the dim light, she listened to the steady drone of the rain. Its sweet, damp scent, pungent with wet earth brought comfort. Remembered images chased each other through her brain. With another groan, she sat up then frowned when she realized she was alone in the cave.
Alone.
Damn! Where was Edwin? Had something happened to him? Panic set in as her heart raced in a rhythm of fear.
Edwin?
Hannah.
Where are you? Are you all right?
There was a suspicious amount of silence in her mind. She rummaged in her bag until she unearthed her cell phone. There was no signal strength, but at least she could get the time. Just past five in the afternoon. She blew out an annoyed breath. Remembered horrors from his mind demanded her attention. A shiver wracked her body.
I will return soon. Do not concern yourself. I am much more worried about how you are faring.
I refuse to talk this way. Come back so we can discuss it face to face.
Soon.
She beat a fist on the cave floor in frustration as silence echoed in her mind once more. Men! No matter what their genetic makeup or temperament was, they were still just men.
A search in her bag procured a bottle of water. How long had he been gone? It wasn’t like him to retreat in the face of adversity. She grimaced at the thought that maybe he considered her an adversity.
Whatever else you may think, I’m definitely not a problem.
Rain drummed outside the simple shelter. The air in the cave was chilly without Edwin’s added body to provide heat. Hannah pulled her dirty, smelly blazer around her then scooted across the floor to lean her back against the wall. His plight troubled her. She knew it couldn’t be a good thing to constantly have to battle your body’s own genetics. She needed more information. Since she couldn’t get that informat
ion from the horse’s mouth as it were, she had to turn to someone else.
After dumping the contents of her bag on the ground, Hannah grabbed the magic jar with the brass lid. She unscrewed the lid to glance inside at the handful of figures. A couple of fairies, one goblin, a few imps and a rather truculent wood nymph rounded out the collection.
“Donella, I Summon thee to me.” The glass jar in Hannah’s hand shook slightly before the fairy shot out in a shower of golden sparks.
“It’s about time!” The diminutive fairy flexed her wings then stalked to the opposite side of the cave, shaking a small fist. Unlike Narcissa, Donella stood a mere twelve inches in height and had a penchant for causing mischief and havoc wherever she went. Apparently, fairies came in all shapes and sizes.
Hannah’s resolve to keep her in the jar strengthened. The fairy had been caught trying to investigate Edwin’s naughty bits when he was asleep last night. “Do you know how long I’ve been cooped up? Too long, I can tell you. Just imagine the conversation in there!”
She smothered a grin as her tiny companion perched on top of a flashlight. “Yes, while I do apologize for the rather cramped quarters of your present living space, I need to ask you a few questions.”
“What do I get out of it?” Donella shook out her golden ringlets, releasing a fine sparkling dust into the air.
“What is it you desire?”
A predatory grin lit the fairy’s petite face. “What every female requires. I want a male to pass the time with. You seriously cannot expect me to converse and make merry with that miserable goblin, do you?”
“I suppose not. I’ll admit I didn’t give much thought to your, uh, needs.”
“Of course you didn’t. You’ve got a nice piece of man meat to keep you occupied.” She flittered her semi-transparent wings then glared. “If you promise to find a handsome young fairy for me, then I will answer your questions.” She slid a mischievous glance at Hannah and winked. “Unless you’d like to give up your vamp? He looks like he could service a woman in a very satisfying manner.”
Hannah snorted. “First of all, he doesn’t belong to me. We’re partners on a job. Second, it’s none of your business whether or not he can satisfy a woman sexually. I’ve never asked him and don’t intend to add the topic to my repertoire of conversational pieces. And third, there’s a huge size difference between you and him, which means you probably wouldn’t be compatible that way.” Ugh. The imagined scene of Edwin together with the fairy left a bad taste. She tapped a battered fingernail on the brass lid of the jar, making a mental note to dig out an emery board. “I promise to find a healthy young play thing for you. So now, will you answer my questions?”
The fairy nodded. Her cheeks bloomed with rosy color.
“As you know, Edwin is part vampire. My question to you is this: would there ever be an occasion for him to be overcome by those genes?” Anxiety rose through Hannah’s chest. She mentally cringed as she waited for the answer.
A shrug lifted Donella’s delicate shoulders. “Every living being has an evil side that can surface and assert itself. I see no reason why your vamp would be any different. I can tell you this though. There is great power restrained within him. Edwin is afraid. He has not made peace with himself regarding his heritage, almost as if he waits for a benediction of some kind. Your vamp fears he will become something different if he exhibits less than strict control in every aspect of his life.” Her glance was shrewd. “He feels any sort of emotion could lead to his undoing.”
“Would it be so bad if he were to become a full vampire?” Hannah didn’t understand the living undead culture enough to see why it would be a problem.
“He is the only one who can say for certain. They live longer than humans and will have the desire to feed occasionally.”
Cold dread formed a lump in her stomach. “Feed?”
Irritation contorted the fairy’s face into a gruesome mask. “Yes, you know, bite someone for their blood? How did the bounty hunter get saddled with one as stupid as you?”
She shrugged and let the comment go for the time being. “Surely he doesn’t drink blood. I’ve never seen fangs on him.”
“Like I said, he will be the only one who can fully answer your questions. There are rumors the Forest Witch favors those men with vampire blood because to be bitten by one while engaging in sexual activity heightens ecstasy.” Donella lifted a shining blonde eyebrow suggestively. “Perhaps you should try it.”
“I’m growing extremely tired of hearing about the Forest Witch’s conquests. If I have anything to say about it, she’ll never get her hooks into Edwin.” Hannah held out the jar and stared pointedly at it. “Visiting hours are over.”
Donella glared. “You would be more pleasant if you would do the nasty with the hunky vamp. If you don’t want him, I do.”
With an exasperated noise, Hannah said the spell that bound the fairy back into the jar and clamped the lid on tight. She was still no farther in her understanding of Edwin than when she started out with him three days ago.
Edwin?
There was no answer to her telepathic question, so she organized her bag. Shutting off the almost dead cell phone to save the remaining battery power, she dropped it into the depths. For the next ten minutes, Hannah replaced things in the bag. When the task was finished, the revelation that she was alone came crashing down on her. Abandoned and chilly in the cave, forced to listen to the unrelenting rain beat into the ground outside the makeshift door.
Edwin, where are you?
Nothing but silence answered her. She tried to tap into his mind but couldn’t break her way past the gray wall of his resistance. He had successfully locked her out.
Please talk to me. Knowing what you are or what you could possibly become has no bearing on my opinion of you.
Whatever he was doing, he certainly wasn’t in a chatty mood. Hannah’s patience wore thin. It was one thing to give someone a bit of space, but it was clearly another if you’re just staying away because you’re afraid of another person’s reaction to news. She glanced at her once white sneakers. She re-tied them, grabbed her bag, and slunk out of her dry sanctuary.
She would hunt the vampire hunter, but she didn’t have the first clue of how to go about it. Hannah secured her trusty bag across her chest, and headed out in what she hoped was the opposite direction of where they had come. She wouldn’t admit to herself she was directionally challenged.
It took two minutes for her annoyed disposition to morph into a raging case of pissed off female. She was soaked from the driving rain, hating that the water dripped down her collar and onto her back. As much as she disliked tromping around the forest in the humidity, she hated being wet more. By the time she had gone a half mile away from the nice dry cave, she couldn’t discern the difference between the wet world and her. Hannah tried to console herself with the fact that now her grimy, sweat-stained clothes might have the chance to get a smidge cleaner.
Edwin, wherever you are, I’m coming to get you, so you’d better be ready because I’m not in a very good mood.
She figured while she was out in the miserable forest, she might as well try to capture a male fairy for Donella. A quick glance around the area didn’t reveal any sort of life, fairy or otherwise. Not even a glimmer of fairy dust.
Hannah plodded along the path, slipping and sliding in the mud and generally cursing her absent companion. Another quarter mile slogged by before she finally got her first big break of the evening.
A dull drab fairy dressed in a brown tunic and brown leggings hunched under a large fern frond. The most interesting attribute about him was his Mohawk haircut of mossy green. Not exactly Donella’s idea of manly beefcake, but he would have to do. Hannah pulled the jar from her damp bag, and then crept up to the fern. She slowly pulled back a frond. “Hello.”
The startled fairy blinked, half-hearted interest in his almond shaped eyes. “What do you want?”
Hannah was wet and miserable. She didn’t see w
hat beating around the bush would do so she got directly to the point. “Here’s the deal. I have two good-looking female fairies in this jar. They’re accompanying me on a quest through the forest and have asked for male companionship. You interested?” She wiped at the moisture on her face. No wonder the poor fairy was hiding out under the flora. This heavy rain could knock the small fellow out!
“I suppose it’s the only option left open to me at this juncture in my miserable existence.”
She rolled her eyes. “Great, a depressed fairy.” She licked at the water that beaded on her lips. “Look, I don’t want to know your sad, pathetic story at the moment. I’d prefer to listen to it when I’m dry. I promise to make some time for counseling later. So, will you come with me?”
The fairy shrugged. His nut-brown skin glistened with moisture. “Yes, I will come with you.” Water droplets burst on the fringe of his Mohawk.
“I need your name in order to bind you.”
“I am called Roosevelt.” He blinked, no trace of sarcasm in his face.
Hannah’s lips twitched with the effort to keep from laughing. “Is that right? What an interesting choice your parents made.” She quickly said the words of the spell. The fairy vanished into the magical jar with a whoosh of sparkling dust. As long as she lived, she would never cease to be amazed at the paranormal world.
After securing the jar into its resting place, Hannah continued with her journey. Obviously, Edwin didn’t want to be found. The one time I really needed to talk to him, he vanishes into the very air. One more trick like this, and he could try to defeat this Andre person by himself.
“Hannah? I told you to wait in the cave.” His voice held an accusation that didn’t leave room for argument or conversation.
*****
Anger flowed through Edwin’s veins, replacing his blood and his ability to think rationally. She was willful, but he had no idea she would risk her life by stupidly strolling through the forest, alone.
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