“Why?”
He gave her head one final caress and then pulled away. “You’ll find out soon enough. I have some preparations to make before Dylan finds our hiding spot.”
Brett turned and walked away, leaving her alone in the cold, dark room. She shivered on the tabletop and tried to make out the other objects in the room.
Events of the night replayed in her mind. Finally getting Dylan into her bed, which resulted with him biting her. How could he be a vampire? They were real no matter how much she wanted to deny it. And they wanted her powers. Powers she’d repressed when she’d left home. Deny it as she might, it seemed that tonight was a result of her stubbornness. Things couldn’t possibly get worse, could they? Even as she thought the words, she realized what she’d done and wished she could take them back. Things always got worse when someone said something like that.
Closing her eyes, she tried to make some sense of it all. Because of her stubborn nature, she had no idea what to do or how to use these powers everyone said she had. Powers she knew damned well she had, no matter how much she’d prayed for the goddess to take them away. Apparently it didn’t matter how hard she wished for something.
Her mother’s words came back to haunt her. You can’t run from fate. Hiding won’t do you any good, either, Maria. Obviously, her mother was a lot wiser than she’d given her credit for.
“Mom, wherever you are right now, I’m sorry for not believing and not listening.” She opened her eyes and glanced around the room. “Not that it does me a whole lot of good now.”
Where was Dylan, and would he save her? Why should she expect him to? She’d freaked out when he’d bit her. He’d had no right to bite her, so he owed her now, didn’t he?
Closing her eyes again, she tried to remember her mother’s instructions on communicating without speech. Even if she could remember how, it didn’t mean Dylan would hear her. She’d never practiced to see how far she could reach with her mind. It had been necessary to keep her skills a secret when she was a child, and as she’d gotten older there’d been no one to communicate with.
She tried to picture Dylan in her head and whispered the word basement several times until she began to feel dizzy. Realizing she’d managed to suppress her powers enough that they might be lost to her forever, she prayed to the goddess. She prayed for forgiveness and for something to happen to stop Brett before he could make good on his promise. If it were actually possible for him to take her powers and use them himself, then she didn’t know what else the man—monster—was capable of.
When Brett entered the room again, a sense of hopelessness tightened around her.
“You disappoint me, love. I thought you’d surely use your powers to save yourself.”
Maria shook her head and glared at him. “I told you, I have no powers.”
“But you do. That’s what makes this so sad. You are full of all this power. Power you’ve never even used.” He shook his head. “You know, Dylan wants your power, too. He’s using you just like I am.”
Instant heat flooded her body. “You are a fool if you think to use Dylan to hurt me. I already know he’s a lothario. I know all about how he sleeps with a different woman every night of the week. Now that I know he’s a vampire, I can understand his need for it.”
Brett snickered. “He doesn’t need to bed them to drink their blood, sweet, naïve Maria. One of his sheep is always waiting for him. You know, the women he fucks and feeds from? A vampire as old as Dylan gets an added thrill from the blood of a woman in the throes of an orgasm. He fucks them to sweeten their blood. He gets a rush from the endorphins released into their bloodstream during their orgasm. When they are at their peak, he bites them and drinks all that thick, rich blood.”
“You’d know. You’re just like him.”
“Ahh, but we’re different, Maria. I’m upfront about what I want. I don’t use and seduce women, and I don’t change to a new one every day or so. Dylan uses them and then tosses them aside.”
Maria prayed for patience until she realized that his cruel remarks about Dylan really didn’t upset her. Since he was busy badmouthing Dylan instead of coming up with things that might hurt, she decided not to bother enlightening him.
“You’re quiet, Maria.”
“What do you want me to say? That I was in love with Dylan and your words have cut me deep? Sorry to burst your bubble, but all I wanted was a quick fuck, which he was more than ready to supply.”
“No—”
“Yeah. I’m way more shallow than you could have imagined.” So much for keeping my mouth shut.
“So you’re saying you used Dylan?” Brett’s eyes took on an unearthly glow.
Maria bit back her doubt and guilt at the lie. “Yes. I used him. Everything was good until he bit me.”
Color infused Brett’s face. “So you willingly became Dylan’s whore?”
“Whore? We only did it once. Whore seems like such a harsh word.”
The slap came out of nowhere and made her head slam against the tabletop with jarring force. She worked her jaw and blinked until her vision cleared.
“No sense in trying to make you my mate then. When you were of pure heart, that was different. A woman who can fuck someone just to get off isn’t the kind of woman that deserves to be my mate. I don’t understand why your aura didn’t reflect this… I guess we’ll just get on with the ritual then. I’ve already summoned the elements and several deities.”
Brett shook his head as he walked over to what she realized was an elaborate altar. He threw his hands up in the air, and a multitude of candles lit around the room. He picked up a large, ornate knife and bowed his head. As he whispered words of prayer, Maria whispered her own. She just hoped she died before Brett could actually get her powers.
“You better be worth all this trouble. Manipulating the minds of those policemen was a risk I better not have taken unnecessarily.”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you really think the police wouldn’t investigate me after all the stories you told them? I had to fix their memories so they didn’t find me a threat.”
As he walked back to the table, she digested the information. The police hadn’t abandoned her, they’d been brainwashed.
She felt the table shift and then move. It rotated and lifted up so her feet were straight up in the air. All the blood rushed to her head.
Brett walked over. With a wave of his hands, he released her arms from the bindings. He used his magic to force her arms to hang so they were toward the floor. Once again, he waved his hands, and bindings clamped shut on her wrists.
“I’m sorry this will be a slow death, my dear. The alternative would have been eternal life with me.”
“Never!” she spat.
“That’s what I thought you’d say.” He held up the knife again. “I’m going to bleed you so that I can drain your power along with your life essence. Then I will drink your blood and absorb your power.”
“I have no power!” Her protest fell on deaf ears. “If I had powers, I’d have saved myself, you dumb ass.”
Brett ignored her and knelt in front of her. Maria fought the dizziness and roar of blood in her ears and concentrated on him. He pressed the cold tip of the knife against her forearm.
“What are you doing?” She fought desperately against the restraints.
“I’m going to bleed you, Maria. I just explained this to you.” He sliced her arm. Warm hot blood seeped down her wrist and hand. “Since you’re upside down, you’ll bleed faster, but by slicing your veins, you should live long enough for me to complete the ritual. Don’t want you dying too soon on me.”
Before she could form a response, he sliced her other arm, too. Pain was nothing compared to the realization he wanted her to have a slow death.
“I have a few things to do now.” He stepped back.
Maria blinked and tried to focus on him. “Like what?”
“Absorbing your power.”
Maria growled and y
anked on the restraints.
“No, love. Don’t fight it. You’ll just bleed out faster, and I don’t want that. Unless you have changed your mind and decided to join me and live forever by my side.”
“Never!”
He laughed and walked away, his laughter growing faint.
Maria cursed and lay as still as she could. Gravity worked against her, though. She was dizzy and nauseous, and really didn’t want to be hanging upside down anymore.
Images of her family ran through her mind, and the urge to live filled her. She wanted to live. She didn’t want to die. She also didn’t want Brett to take her powers.
As she grew weaker and weaker, she vowed that she’d embrace her powers if she survived. If Dylan found her and saved her, she’d listen to her mother and finish her training. She’d even become a priestess.
Time passed, it could have been mere minutes or hours. She didn’t know and didn’t care. All that mattered was that her life had ended because she didn’t have the power to save herself. Power she’d have had if she’d listened to her mother. Power she’d tried to deny and suppress. The very power she was incapable of using now when she needed it.
* * * * *
Dylan growled as he looked around Brett’s apartment. He’d completely trashed the place but found no sign that the asshole had been stalking Maria. He’d also found no clue as to where the bastard would take her. Why had he left the photographs and his scent behind? He’d been so sure Brett wanted him to follow. Perhaps he’d been wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time.
While he’d searched, he had Caroline at the office do a search on Brett. The bastard had been going under an assumed name all this time, and no one had known it. Least of all him, the great detective.
Brett was really James Buchanan, and he owned the building. He’d bought the place shortly after Maria moved in. Caroline had sent him the schematics for the building, and he’d done some comparisons with what he knew about the place.
There was nowhere in the apartment that wasn’t marked on the architect plans, no secret rooms. There were a couple empty apartments, but other than that, nowhere seemed big enough for him to hide a full grown woman for any length of time.
It was highly unlikely that Brett—James—would take Maria to one of the empty apartments. Not with what he probably had in mind. And now that Dylan had a real name to put with Brett’s face, he was even more worried. James was a vampire gone bad.
Dylan had heard rumors of him over the years. James was older than him, but no one knew by how much. How the hell could he have lived across the hall from him and not realized he was a vampire? Dylan had heard of vamps with powers that others did not possess, but he’d put it down to myths and legends. Boy, was he wrong. He’d fucked up every which way.
He continued to pour over the schematics. There was nowhere else James could have taken her. But where in all the gods’ names was she? Before he could think up more curse words, he realized that over half of the basement was unused. Parts were marked for storage, but Dylan knew damn well the apartment storage closets didn’t take up that much space.
“Where else better for a vampire to go than the basement?”
He ran back to his apartment to grab the one thing he knew might help him defeat James. Without stopping for the key, he broke the glass on the display case of his most prized possession. This knife had been in his ownership for as long as he’d been a vamp. It had been the blade that had nearly killed him. The reason his sire had been forced to turn him or let him die. He’d kept it as a reminder of who he was, and what he was capable of. It had saved him more than once in the past.
The hilt of the knife was carved ivory, and the blade was pure silver. While not many things could kill a vampire, this deadly knife could. Silver and vampires did not mix. At least not with the vampire coming out alive. Every time he handled the knife, he ran the risk of accidentally killing himself, but he knew that tonight this was a necessary risk. Dylan slid it into its leather sheath, careful to avoid the metal despite his hurry. Killing himself now wouldn’t do Maria any good.
He raced out of his apartment and flew down the stairs, bypassing two of his neighbors on the way. With all these people around tonight, how had James managed to get Maria through the building without being seen?
When he reached the basement, the scent of Maria’s blood reached his sensitive nose, and he bit back a howl of rage. He raced to the back, searching for the door he knew had to be there.
He found it and approached with caution. It swung open at his touch, so he knew the bastard expected him. He didn’t know what to expect when he entered the dark, dungeon-like room.
Disgust at how long it had taken him to find this hiding spot vanished the instant he saw Maria chained to the table, her blood dripping into a pair of gold goblets. The bastard was sacrificing her!
A quick glance around the room showed that James wasn’t around, but Dylan wasn’t sure he could trust his vampire senses. Somehow, James had been clouding his abilities all this time, and he’d never noticed. He had to be more than just a vampire.
As Dylan approached Maria, James stepped out of the shadows. “I was wondering how long it would take for you to get here. You disappoint me. She’s almost dead.”
“If you hadn’t been playing head games with me, I’d have been here a lot faster.” He fisted his hands and studied James, trying to see if he had any hidden weapons.
“And ruin all my fun?” James walked closer but stayed out of reach. “I was enjoying playing with your girlfriend. It’s a shame for her that you took so long to get here. She might have enjoyed watching you fight valiantly to save her.”
A million questions raced through his mind, but there was no time for them. He needed to kill James, save Maria, and figure it out later.
“Don’t count me out yet.” Maria’s voice, weak as it was, gave him hope.
Dylan felt the knife press against the small of his back where it rested in its sheath. He slowly inched toward James. Silver could kill a vampire. He’d used this knife successfully in the past, and he hoped his success continued tonight.
“Okay, let’s get this over with,” James said as he moved into a fighting stance. Dylan suspected James hadn’t actually studied any martial arts, because the pose was one he didn’t recognize.
Moving into his habitual stance, Dylan watched as James advanced. He smiled and studied the man’s movements. Though his actions were steady, his inexperience showed. James had probably spent most of his life having others do his dirty work. He must not have even expected him to find them here in the basement.
“You must tell me where you learned the talent to cloud my mind. How did you keep me from sensing who and what you are?”
“Talking won’t distract me, Dylan. But it is an annoyance. I just want to kill you and be done with it. I have a ceremony to finish.”
Dylan didn’t bother responding. He wanted this over with as quickly as James did.
When the vampire began to circle him, Dylan readied for a fight. He needed the right moment to use the knife; otherwise it could backfire on him.
James circled him, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. Dylan turned with him, not allowing the bastard to come at him from behind. He wasn’t sure what James planned and was taken off guard when the vampire pushed both his hands in front of him. A huge fireball shot forward. He dove to the ground, the sizzling heat searing over his head.
Rolling to the side, he looked up and saw James building another ball of flames. Dylan jumped to his feet and tried to rush the man, but James released the ball, and a hot streak of energy slammed into his chest. With a roar of outrage and pain, Dylan flew backward. His head hit the wall with force, and he lost focus long enough for the bastard to fire off another. Luckily, Dylan managed to avoid this one.
A vampire he’d stand a good chance against, but James was some kind of cross between vampire and mage. Dylan grabbed his knife and tried to ignore the burning pain f
rom the silver. He rushed across the room, not taking the chance of throwing the weapon.
James laughed and threw his hands up, preparing to launch more magic at him, but then he must have seen the glint of the silver because his face paled and his mouth opened in shock. James let out a roar and turned as if he tried to get away, but Dylan was close enough that he could grab him.
He slammed James back into the wall as he thrust the knife into the vampire’s chest. He shoved the blade deep, twisting it up under the sternum. James gasped for air, his mouth moving as his hands clutched at this chest. Dylan held him there, knife pinned in place, and ignored the painful burning in his own hands.
The stench of the vampire’s blood made him want to retch. The combination of power and evil tainted the man.
“You’re still too late to save her,” James gasped just before he collapsed.
Dylan released him and rushed over to Maria. James was dead, and for now, not a threat. After she was healed, he could make sure there was no chance of a resurrection for James.
With James dead and his power gone as well, it was easy to free Maria. Once he unchained her, he cradled her in his arms. Her heartbeat was faint and sluggish.
“Come on, baby. Don’t give up.”
Maria’s lips curved in a faint smile. “It’s too late for me, Dylan. The only way to save me now is to make me like you.”
Horror curled in the pit of his stomach. Gods, no. He couldn’t make her like him. He couldn’t taint her or her white power. There was no way he could condemn her to eternal life as a vampire.
“Please, Dylan.” Her eyes closed, and her head fell back. “Don’t let me die.”
“I don’t want you to die, damn it.” He cursed even as he ripped his wrist open with his fangs. “I don’t want to see you live the rest of your life as a vampire either.”
She didn’t respond. Her heart stopped. A faint beat sounded, then stuttered and stopped again.
Dylan pressed his wrist to her mouth and forced his blood into her. He tilted her head back so his life giving essence could flow down her throat. She didn’t want to die, so he wouldn’t to let her.
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