“Kaiden ...”
He pressed a finger to her lips. “I’m not immortal, you know. You might outlive me.”
She stared up at him. She had never even considered that. Which would be worse, she wondered, growing old while Kaiden stayed forever young and virile, or living without him?
Chapter 36
Sam came awake with a start. Damn, he’d had the most bizarre dream imaginable, worse, even, than the gut-wrenching nightmares that had plagued him when he’d been in Iraq.
Jackknifing into a sitting position, he dragged a hand through his hair as he glanced at his surroundings, annoyed to find that, once again, he had no idea of where he was or how he’d gotten there. He fought off a moment of panic as the thought that he might be going insane rose in his mind once again.
“At least this place beats the last one,” he muttered, and then frowned. Something wasn’t right. The room was totally dark, yet he could see everything clearly—the dresser across from the bed he occupied, the details of the painting on the wall, a hairline crack in the ceiling. And the noise! He covered his good ear, but it did nothing to shut out the steady thump-thump-thump that sounded like a heartbeat coming from the next room, or the din of traffic in the street below.
He shook his head. He must be hallucinating.
He gasped, his hand clutching at his belly as a sharp pain doubled him over. What the hell was happening to him? Had he been poisoned? He groaned as the pain grew worse. Maybe he had a hangover. Even his teeth hurt.
Still hunched over, he rocked back and forth on the mattress. He had never hurt like this in his life. Was he dying?
He looked up when the door opened. Thorne stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. He didn’t bother to turn on the light. “How are you feeling?”
Sam groaned low in his throat. “I need a doctor.”
“No, you don’t. You need to feed.”
That was an odd way to put it. “I’m not hungry.”
“Your stomach hurts, right? Your teeth ache. Your veins feel like they’re on fire.”
“Yeah, I’m probably coming down with the flu or something.”
“Or something. What do you remember about last night?”
Sam stared at Thorne. “What’s that got to do with anything? I’m sick, here. I don’t want to take a walk down memory lane.”
“What do you remember?”
“I had a bad dream.”
“Tell me about it.”
“That guy in the gray cloak. He was in it. He bit me ...” Sam jerked upright. “It wasn’t a dream, was it? He kept us in some kind of dungeon.” Rising, he paced back and forth beside the bed. “He drank my blood! I remember now. He’s a... .” Sam shook his head. “It had to be a dream.”
“No. His name is Desmarais. He’s a vampire.”
If not for the sober expression on Thorne’s face, Sam would have laughed. And then, like a movie unfolding in his mind, he saw everything that had happened last night. Saw it and knew it was true. “Why aren’t I dead?”
“Because of your sister.”
“Skylynn? What’s she got to do with it?”
“It isn’t what she did. It’s what she asked me to do.”
“I don’t understand.”
“When we got to you, you were dying. Skylynn asked me to save you.” Thorne watched Sam’s face as he tried to work it out. It didn’t take Sam long to connect the dots.
“You’d have to be a vampire ...” Sam shook his head. Even when he knew the answer, he didn’t believe it. “That’s impossible. I saw you outside during the day. You ate dinner at our house ...” He groaned, his arms wrapping around his stomach as a fresh wave of pain knifed through him.
“You need blood.” Thorne studied Sam a moment, replaying the boy’s last words in his mind, realizing, as he did so, that Sam had remembered something from the past. Thorne smiled inwardly, thinking how pleased Skylynn would be when she found out.
“Blood? Are you crazy?”
“You’re a vampire now. It’s what you’re craving. The pain won’t stop until you feed.”
“Right. I’ll just call room service and order a pint of O Negative.” Stumbling to the bed, Sam fell back on the mattress, his hands clutching his stomach.
“Kaiden? Is it okay if I come in?”
“No!” Sam spit the word through clenched teeth. “Go away, Sky. I don’t ... Don’t see me like this.”
But it was too late. Opening the door, she switched on the light, then moved quickly to her brother’s side. “It’s all my fault this is happening.”
“Your fault?” Squinting against the light, Sam rolled onto his side, his legs drawn up. “Why is it your fault?”
“I asked Kaiden to turn you.” She pushed a lock of hair from her brother’s forehead, then sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m so sorry, but I couldn’t lose you, too.”
“Sky.” Thorne spoke to her quietly. “Maybe you should go back into the other room.”
She shook her head. “I can’t leave him.”
Sam looked up at her. He could hear the rapid beat of her heart, smell the blood flowing in her veins. His gaze zeroed in on the pulse fluttering in the hollow of her throat, and he didn’t see his sister. All he saw was an end to the pain that tormented him.
With a low growl, he reached for her, his only thought to bury his fangs in her throat and ease the agony burning through him.
But Thorne was moving, too. Grasping Sam by the shirt collar, he hurled him across the room, then stood in front of Skylynn, all vampire glamour gone so that when Sam looked at him, he saw a very old, very angry vampire.
“You will not touch her,” Thorne said.
“I didn’t mean ... I couldn’t stop ...” Sam looked at his sister, his expression filled with self-loathing. “Skylynn, I’m sorry ... I don’t know what’s happening to me.”
“I know,” Thorne said. “Skylynn, go in the other room. I need to explain a few things to Sam. Then I’m going to take him hunting.”
She stared up at Kaiden, a dozen questions running through her mind, but the feral look in his eyes, the harsh tone of his voice, sent her into the other room without an argument.
When she was gone, Thorne closed the bedroom door. “Okay, this is how it is. You’re a vampire and there’s no turning back. You can accept it and learn to live with it, or I can end your life for you here and now. It’s up to you.”
“You’d kill me, just like that?”
Thorne nodded. “There’s nothing more miserable than an unhappy vampire. Or the people he preys on. I’m going to feel responsible for anybody you might kill, and I’ve already got enough deaths on my conscience. So, what’s it gonna be?”
Sam clutched his stomach again, his face twisting in agony. “I don’t want to die.” He forced the words through clenched teeth.
“You’re already dead.”
“Vampire humor. Very funny.” But there was nothing funny about the pain that engulfed him. He had to be dreaming, Sam thought. It was all just too bizarre to be real.
“Trust me,” Thorne said, “you’re not dreaming.”
Sam’s head jerked up. “Don’t tell me you’re a mind reader, too?”
Thorne nodded. “Comes in handy, from time to time. So, back to vampire basics. The three most important things you need to know are these: you don’t have to kill to survive. You don’t have to be a monster. And if you go on a killing spree, I’ll destroy you without a qualm. Got it?”
“Yeah,” Sam muttered. “I’ve got it.”
“Okay, let’s go. The night’s not getting any younger.”
Sam followed Thorne out of the hotel. Staggered might have been a better description. He couldn’t think of anything but the searing pain in his gut. It was worse than the torture his Iraqi captors had inflicted on him.
He listened with as much patience as he could muster while Thorne explained how to call prey to him, how to feed without ripping his victim’s throat out, how to tell when it was
time to stop, how to wipe the memory of what had happened from his prey’s mind.
It all sounded easy until he stood in the shadows with a young woman in his arms. She looked up at him, her eyes glazed, her body limp. Earlier, he had been ready to attack his own sister, but he was thinking a little more rationally now.
He looked at Thorne and shook his head. “I don’t think I can do this.”
“Sure you can. Just listen to her heartbeat and do what comes naturally.”
Sam did as he was told, surprised to find his revulsion waning. He had no way to explain the manner in which her blood called to him, or the way her heartbeat slowed to beat in time with his. He knew the thought of biting into her throat and drinking her blood should have repulsed him. Instead, he licked his lips, willing to do whatever it took to end the searing pain in his gut. Feeling more than a little self-conscious, with Thorne watching his every move, Sam bent her back over his arm, then ran his tongue along the length of her neck.
And did what came naturally.
Chapter 37
Skylynn checked her watch for the tenth time in as many minutes. Kaiden and Sam had been gone for almost an hour. How long did it take vampires to—she swallowed the bile rising in her throat—feed?
She went to the window and peered outside. It was raining. Feeling as though the room were closing in on her, she opened the window and took a deep breath. It hadn’t been this hard to accept that Kaiden was a vampire. Why was she having such a hard time where Sam was concerned? Silly question, when it was her fault her brother was no longer human.
She closed the window when a gust of wind carried the rain inside. She turned on the TV, only to switch it off a few minutes later. How could she concentrate on some silly movie when her brother was out there in the storm, looking for someone to eat?
She blew out a deep breath. Where were they? She needed to talk to Sam, find out if he was angry with her, ask his forgiveness for what she had done.
She told herself there was nothing to worry about. Kaiden had been a vampire for hundreds of years. He knew what he was doing. He wouldn’t let anything happen to Sam, so why was she so worried?
If anything happened to her brother, she would never forgive herself.
Thorne nodded his approval as Sam licked the wounds in the girl’s slender throat to seal them. A few words wiped the memory of the last twenty minutes from her mind, and she left the park, smiling.
“You’re a quick study,” Thorne remarked.
Sam grinned at him. “That was, I don’t know, awesome! So, are all the stories about vampires true? Can I turn into a bat?”
“I don’t know. Is that something you want to do?”
Sam frowned as he considered it. “Not really, but in the movies, the vampires always turn into bats and fly away.”
“I’ve never tried it. I’m not sure it’s possible to change into anything so small. You know, body mass, and all that.”
“What about a wolf? Dracula turned into a wolf. That would be really cool.”
“It is ... cool.” In the old days, he had often transformed himself into a wolf to escape his enemies or elude angry villagers brandishing torches and stakes. “It takes practice, but it can be done. You can also dissolve into mist and move faster than human eyes can follow, so you seem to vanish from sight.”
“Awesome! What about daylight?”
“The sun is your enemy. It will burn your flesh. If you’re exposed to it for more than a few moments, it will destroy you.”
“But you used to go out during the day.”
Thorne nodded. He had ignored the question the first time Sam mentioned it, but there was no point in denying it any longer.
“Why didn’t you burn up?” Sam asked.
“It’s a long story.”
“So? I’ve got nothing but time.”
“Perhaps.”
“What do you mean, perhaps?” Sam asked.
“Not everyone can handle being a vampire. Many don’t last a year.”
Sam shook his head. “Who wouldn’t want this? I feel great, better than I’ve ever felt in my life.”
“But it isn’t life,” Thorne reminded him. “Some fledglings can’t adjust. They long for what they’ve lost, or, after a century or two, they grow discontented with their existence, or they grow weary of watching the world change while they stay forever the same. Some try to mingle with humanity, to pretend they haven’t changed, but after years of watching people they’ve come to care about die, they seek their own destruction. Some get tired of hiding what they are and have to be destroyed before they become a threat to our existence.”
“What kind of threat?”
“We exist on the edge of humanity. If people discover we’re real ...”
“I get it,” Sam said, grinning. “I know the drill. Mobs with pitchforks.”
“It’s no laughing matter. Humans do have the advantage over most of us during the day.”
“Most?”
“As vampires age, they grow stronger physically. Their preternatural powers also grow stronger, so that only an extremely talented hunter would be able to take them unaware. It’s usually fledglings who fall prey to slayers.”
“And that’s what I am? A fledgling?”
Thorne nodded. “You’re stronger than most, as is Desmarais, because you were both turned by master vampires.”
Sam grinned at him, his eyes twinkling. “Gee, thanks, Dad.”
Thorne shook his head, bemused by the boy’s cocky attitude.
Sam shifted restlessly from one foot to the other. “So, Desmarais? Is he the spooky old guy in the gray cloak? The one who kidnapped us?”
“Yes, and he’s a force to be reckoned with. Before he became a vampire, he was one of the best slayers in the world.”
“He was a hunter and now he’s a vampire? That’s a pair to draw to.”
“Indeed.”
“So, how long have you been a vampire?” Sam asked.
“Over four hundred years.”
Sam stared at him, wide-eyed. “Are you kidding me?” “Do I look like I’m kidding?”
“But ... nobody lives that long.”
“Cassandra has existed longer than any other vampire I know of.”
“How much longer?”
“Back to the time of the early Greeks.”
“No way!”
“Way.” Thorne rocked back on his heels. “Do you need to feed again? If not, we should get back to the hotel. We’ve left Skylynn alone too long already.”
“Sky!” Sam smacked his forehead with his palm. “I forgot all about her. Let’s go!”
Skylynn was pacing the floor when Kaiden and Sam materialized in the center of the room. She stared at them for a moment, too startled to speak, and then heaved a sigh of relief. Both of her men were safely home. From hunting. If only they had been stalking game instead of people.
“So,” she said, glancing anxiously from one to the other. “How’d it go?”
“Great!” Sam replied, grinning. “Kaiden says I’m a quick study.”
“Oh. Well. That’s good. I guess.”
“Sky, everything I ever thought about vampires is totally wrong. You should try it.”
Skylynn blinked at her brother, unable to believe her ears. “Try it? It’s not like ordering a new dress. I can’t send it back if I don’t like it.”
“Trust me, sis, you’ll like it. I feel great. Better than great.” He paced from one end of the room to the other. “The power ... I can feel it flowing through me. I’ve never felt this way before. It’s ... it’s indescribable.”
Skylynn looked at Kaiden. “Are all newly made vampires like this? So ... so ... enthusiastic?”
“I really can’t say. I’ve never made one before. But I guess you don’t have to worry about him hating you.”
“Hating you!” Sam exclaimed. “No way, Sky. No way.” He frowned, and then laughed out loud. “Remember that Halloween we went trick-or-treating at Thorne’s and I told
you he was a vampire?” Sam grinned. “Well, hell, I was right!”
“Sam!” Skylynn pressed a hand to her heart. “Sam, you remember!”
“Of course I remember. Why wouldn’t I?” he asked, and then frowned. “What do you know? The doc at the VA was right. It did just come back.”
“That’s wonderful!” Laughing and crying at the same time, she threw her arms around her brother. “What else do you remember?”
“Everything except what happened right after I got hit.” He lifted a hand to his head. “I remember being in a firefight. I was trying to protect our rear when a bomb went off. Things are kind of hazy after that. I woke up in a tent. I don’t remember how long I was there. Hell, I’m not even sure who captured me. I remember waking up in the VA. The doctor told me my captors had traded me and a couple of other prisoners for one of their guys... .” His voice trailed off and then, as if suddenly too weak to stand, he sank down on the sofa and buried his face in his hands.
“Sam, what’s wrong?”
“You told me Granda was dead, but it didn’t mean anything to me then. I couldn’t remember him ... or how much he meant to me.” Sobs shook his shoulders. “How much I loved him.”
“Oh, Sam.” Sitting beside him, she put her arm around his shoulder. “He loved you, too.”
“I didn’t even get to say good-bye.”
“He went quietly, in his sleep. There was no chance for anyone to say good-bye.”
“I want to see him ... his grave.”
“All right. We’ll go when we get home.” She looked at Kaiden, a question in her eyes.
“We can leave tomorrow,” he said. “As soon as the sun goes down.”
Chapter 38
The trip home was uneventful. Sam was ready to feed by the time the plane landed. After cautioning Sam to be quick and careful, Thorne transported himself and Skylynn to her house.
When they arrived, Thorne circled the house. Only after assuring himself that no one was lurking in the shadows did he allow Sky to open the front door. Inside, he took her hand and then went from room to room, making sure no one was there and that no one had been there while they were away. It bothered him that Sky wouldn’t have anyone to look out for her during the day now that Sam was a vampire. Not that Sam had been much help against Desmarais, but at least Sky had had company during the daylight hours.
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