by Mlyn Hurn
“I needed you to come to New York. I didn’t think you would come if I asked you to visit.” Fauster glanced up. AnnaBelle saw his eyes move from her to Iain, at her side. “Maybe we should discuss this back at the loft.”
Iain squeezed her arm. “AnnaBelle, let’s go for now. We’ll go to my place, and talk tomorrow.”
AnnaBelle turned towards Iain. He was looking at her so intently, almost as if he were willing her to agree. She started to nod her head. Iain’s hand tightened and he started to turn. AnnaBelle twisted her arm free suddenly. She saw the surprise on Iain’s face.
“No, Iain. I am not your puppy dog, willing to follow and chase after you!”
Her words seemed to hang in the air. She saw the flare of his nostrils, the dilation of his pupils and the narrowing of his eyelids. Of course, AnnaBelle didn’t need to see these to know that her words had touched off something in Iain. Catching her lower lip with her teeth, she chewed it for a moment. There was a nervous tingle up her spine as she wondered what Iain would do.
“Uh oh,” Pete murmured softly. “Maybe we should take off. Come on, Fauster. I’ll give you a lift back to your place.”
Simon stood, speaking softly. “I’ll leave tonight, AnnaBelle. Just give me the film.” He paused and glared at Fauster. “This is your fault, Fauster.”
Fauster grimaced. “Technically it is Iain’s.”
Four voices replied almost simultaneously. “What?”
“It was something he said at one of his lectures.”
AnnaBelle looked from her uncle to Iain. “You know each other?” AnnaBelle felt Iain withdraw from her. Not once had he intimated that he knew her uncle beyond recognizing his name.
Fauster answered quickly. “He didn’t know I was at the lectures. In fact, I hadn't let Iain know I had moved to the States.”
“Precisely!” Simon interrupted. “If you had stayed in Europe, none of this ever would have happened, which brings me to the other point of why you need to come back with me, Fauster.”
Fauster shook his head. “I know you are still pissed about losing your peace and quiet, but times change. Look at Iain and myself. We are both older than you, but we have adapted to change.”
“It’s not just peace and quiet, Fauster. Perhaps you have gotten used to ‘Mickey Mouse’ everything. But some of us are not happy about a thirty million dollar Dracula theme park in our back yard.”
Pete laughed, and then coughed quickly. Everyone turned to look at him and a little uncomfortable at finding humor in this situation, he shifted his feet. “Since I’m not needed here to arrest anyone, I guess I’ll take off.”
Iain nodded. “We’ll catch a cab home. Thank you for all your help the last few days.”
“Glad I could help. I’ll be in touch, Fauster.”
AnnaBelle watched Pete turn to leave. Suddenly she needed to think. “Pete!”
AnnaBelle opened her mouth to tell Pete she wanted to leave with him. The next moment her mind was blank. Instead, she heard her voice thanking Pete for his help and then saying goodbye. After Pete was gone, AnnaBelle turned back towards the room and met Iain’s eyes. As they looked into one another’s eyes, AnnaBelle couldn’t shake the feeling that Iain was inside her head.
Simon slammed his hand down on the table. “Fine! If you don’t give a damn about the rape of Sighisoara, then let’s talk about AnnaBelle’s awakening. When I found her on the rooftop, Iain had left her without completing the process. I probably could have taken her myself, if I had chosen to do so.”
Chapter 15
AnnaBelle sat quietly in her first class seat for the red-eye flight to Paris. She had left the loft very quietly, after Fauster had gone to the second floor to work on his next project. They had not spoken since leaving the club hours earlier. Fauster had suggested they all get some sleep and tomorrow they could go out for a late dinner after Iain’s lecture.
She had felt an intense need to look at Iain, but she resisted until they were in a cab heading back to the loft. As the cab pulled away, AnnaBelle had allowed herself to turn in the seat and watch Iain. After a few moments, she had been surprised to see him go back into the club. Her mind had raced from one revelation to another on the drive back.
The truth about her uncle had been hard to fathom, but after Iain had awakened her, it had felt almost good to know that her uncle would be able to talk to her parents about what had happened. Learning that her uncle had not been kidnapped had suddenly made everything seem anti-climactic, even though it was for the best. Her uncle’s fury at learning about her awakening had surprised her by its depth. Before she could think of the words to calm Fauster, he had rocked her world again.
Fauster had glared towards Iain as he spoke. “You were only supposed to breed her, Iain, not turn her. Who knows how badly things are screwed up now?”
AnnaBelle had turned to look at Iain. For the first time, the self-assured, accomplished professor-vampire looked discomfited and his cheeks actually flushed a dull red. That look answered better than any words. From the first time they met, he must have known who she was and what his purpose in her life was to be. It was equally obvious that her opinion and what she wanted meant nothing to either of them.
Fauster had tried to explain to her about his plans for her meeting Iain, but each time AnnaBelle had shaken her head and complained of a headache. Fauster had gotten the message, and gratefully disappeared to his inner sanctum on the second floor.
It was very easy for AnnaBelle to reschedule her ticket and get a last minute cancellation. The cab ride to the airport had been quick and uneventful. Settling fully into her seat, she closed her eyes. There were too many issues and facts to deal with at the moment. Like a movie reel that just kept cycling over and over, she couldn’t make sense out of the last few days. Each time she tried to sort the facts and the truth out she kept running into a stone wall.
Her life had been changed forever, in less than a week. What she had thought was the truth had become half-truths and lies. Her uncle was not at all the person she had grown up believing him to be. She was an adult, AnnaBelle reminded herself silently, and she could have accepted learning some things about her uncle. The fact he had been a vampire for all of her life had been hard to deal with, but AnnaBelle knew in her heart she could have accepted that, eventually.
But the one truth she could not accept was that Iain had made love to her, and then awakened her to vampirism, and yet he never let on that he knew her uncle. There had been a lot of yelling that night, as she recalled what they had all been saying. Fauster’s anger had frightened her at first, directed at Iain, and then at her for accepting his act of conversion.
As they had argued loudly around her, Fauster revealed his plan to her, but not on purpose. Fauster was very old indeed, much older she learned than Simon or Iain. He had not revealed his age, but he did admit to being “sire” to both Simon’s and Iain’s parentage. Through his careful planning and breeding of dhampirs, mixing sanguineous and psychic bloodlines, he had created some very powerful vampires who had managed to live for centuries. Fauster reluctantly admitted that one half of his centuries-old breeding plan would reach its goal. AnnaBelle was the integral link he had been striving to achieve.
AnnaBelle recalled that she had turned to look at Iain, hoping, even praying to God, that he would deny her uncle’s words. She knew he wasn’t telling the whole truth. If Iain had even just looked at her so that she could have known he loved her, her uncle’s words probably wouldn’t have mattered. Lots of people came together through unplanned circumstances and they still fell in love. She had fallen in love with a vampire after all.
It didn’t matter that logically she was now one as well. If Iain had said that he loved her, and she was the only thing that mattered, her heart would have been his. No matter how hard she had stared and prayed, Iain had not looked her way. Instead, his gaze had remained on Fauster. She could not read his thoughts, or his facial expressions, and that was why she had turned abruptly
and run out of the room.
In the tense cab ride to the loft, AnnaBelle had finally fought back the tears enough to ask her uncle a question. “Does Hunter know any of this?”
Fauster had shaken his head, and added shortly, “No, and do not tell him.”
* * * * *
AnnaBelle resettled into her Paris apartment. She couldn’t call her parents because underneath everything Fauster had said, was the fact that her parents had known. It was very probable they were in the dark as well when it came to Fauster’s plans for her future. But her parents had known about Fauster’s secret life as a vampire. There were almost too many truths, facts and emotions for AnnaBelle to deal with at times.
She had been home for two weeks when she called Hunter. On the phone, she was crying so hard he couldn’t really understand a word she said. Finally he told her to go to the airport, and he would have a ticket waiting for her. Three days later, AnnaBelle found herself getting off the last and smallest plane in her worldwide journey.
Stepping down onto the tarmac of the landing strip, she looked around the desolate place. AnnaBelle had no idea her brother was so far away from civilization. Everywhere she looked there was dry, cracked earth, split occasionally by some kind of rocks or cactus. And it was hot, damn it! Slinging her carry-all bag over her shoulder, she started walking away from the plane, although where she was to go was unclear.
”AnnaBelle! Over here!”
AnnaBelle turned towards the voice and saw a tall man dressed in khakis and a typical bushman’s hat waving at her. He was standing next to a dusty jeep, and looking the same as he always had, except that he was tanner than she’d ever seen him. AnnaBelle ran the distance and flung herself into her brother’s arms.
“Hey, kid! How was the trip?”
That was all it took for AnnaBelle to start crying once more. Hunter managed to get his weeping sister into the vehicle, her bag stored in the back, and drove the short distance to the small outback town. He led her into the bar, and seated her at a table. Hunter returned a few minutes later with two cold mugs of beer.
AnnaBelle shook her head at the beer, but Hunter nodded his head, removing the hat and setting it on the empty chair. AnnaBelle could see through her tears that his hair was a rich, dark burgundy-brown shade. His green eyes looked even greener against his tan. His white teeth were perfect and when he smiled at her, it was hard to resist.
“Brother knows best, AnnaBelle. Drink up.” When he reached out and covered her hand with his, AnnaBelle finally lifted the mug and took a swallow. She coughed and sputtered a little.
The woman who had just approached the table and was setting down two plates of food smiled. AnnaBelle noted that the woman’s skin was tanned and leathery looking, but her smile was warm and welcoming. “Eat up, Miss Blue. You’ll be feeling better in no time at all. And welcome to William Creek.”
Hunter grinned and pushed one plate closer to his sister. “Gracie is right, AnnaBelle. Don’t ask what it is, just eat.”
Gracie laughed heartily. She slapped Hunter’s shoulder playfully. “Don’t you listen to this bloke’s bit of gab? That’s chicken salad, no matter what he says.”
AnnaBelle laughed and lifted the piled high sandwich and bit into it. She was surprised at how good it tasted and especially at how hungry she was. When she started to speak, Hunter pushed the mug towards her, encouraging her to only eat and drink for now. So she ate in silence, watching her handsome brother.
He had not changed that much, even though it had been over two years since they had met face to face. Hunter seemed to have spent the last few years traveling, and the only times she had seen him in the last five years had been when he had arrived at their parents’ for Christmas. AnnaBelle wondered why he had suddenly gotten the wanderlust. For more than thirty years he had been a very successful hunter, but all this traveling and never staying in one spot for long, naturally made a hunter’s job more difficult.
“Why are you here, Hunter?”
“You mean in the middle of nowhere?” Hunter sipped his beer, his green eyes meeting hers. “Don’t you like my new home?”
“Is this your home? This bar?”
Hunter laughed softly. “No, not here. Look, AnnaBelle, let’s take off and we can talk on the road.”
In the jeep, Hunter reached forward to start the engine when suddenly AnnaBelle’s hand stopped him. AnnaBelle spoke softly as Hunter turned her way. “I’m running away.”
Hunter leaned back in his seat. “From what?”
“I am really sorry about this…” AnnaBelle couldn’t stop the tears from raining down her cheeks.
“Come with me, honey.”
* * * * *
AnnaBelle sat on one of the twin beds in the motel room Hunter had booked them into for the night, or however long it took. Hunter had known it was too damned hot to sit in the jeep, and it was a dry, dusty two-hour drive to his place. His instincts told him this easily could be related to “man troubles.” Perhaps if they talked things out, AnnaBelle would suddenly decide to return to face her troubles. This way they could shower, talk, go to the pub later and eat, and then talk more.
AnnaBelle had showered first and walked out wearing a towel wrapped around her breasts and falling to the top of her thighs. As she sat down, she smiled at Hunter.
“You’re next. I tried to save you some hot water.”
Hunter laughed at his sister. She’d gotten a lot more attractive since he’d last seen her. “I’ll wait for the water tank to refill. How was Paris when you left?”
“Same as it was last time you came to visit, which was more than five years ago.”
Hunter chuckled, watching AnnaBelle as she started to towel dry her hair. “Maybe I was waiting until I could attend your wedding and make it with a beautiful bridesmaid?”
AnnaBelle leaned forward and started to wrap the extra towel around her hair like a turban. She straightened up and started to stand. Hunter had been watching her long hair, lying in ropes around her shoulders. It had taken him a moment, once her neck was exposed, for him to see the marks on her neck. After that it had been total disbelief that he was seeing bite marks that he had seen too damned many times to not recognize them.
The hand that shot out and grabbed her wrist caught AnnaBelle completely off guard. She cried out and fell onto her brother’s bed. Hunter’s hand was already reaching out and touching her neck. Tears began welling up in her eyes once again. As Hunter released her hand, she lifted her hands and covered her face.
“How?”
AnnaBelle looked up slowly. “I’m sorry, Hunter. I feel like I’ve betrayed you and our parents. I should have told you before I accepted your tickets to come here.”
Hunter stood suddenly and walked over to look through the blinds at the window. His thoughts were chaotic as he tried to deal with the fact that his sister had been awakened. He was also sure that meant that Fauster had gone ahead with his plans to…his mind stumbled on the thoughts even now, more than five years after Fauster had talked to him.
“I went to New York to help Uncle Fauster. He had called begging me for help. He had this new film and he sent me to these lectures to take pictures.”
Hunter turned from the window. “AnnaBelle, you don’t have to say anything else.” He realized that he should have told his sister the truth five years ago, when he had first learned their family’s true history. But he had been too disgusted upon hearing the truth, feeling torn between wanting to protect AnnaBelle and needing someone to talk to. He had chosen silence. Now he was facing the fact that his silence had probably led to this. “You aren’t to blame for this, I’m sure.”
AnnaBelle shook her head and crossed to stand beside her brother. “I am to blame though. I begged him to do this.” Her hand lightly covered the healing scar. “He refused at first, and then, well he did it.”
Hunter turned to look at AnnaBelle. “I don’t know exactly what Fauster is up to…”
“But I do, Hunter. Fauster wants
me to get pregnant by a vampire. It was only after Fauster learned out about this,” AnnaBelle half lifted her hand to lightly touch the side of her neck, and then let it fall to her waist, clasping both hands together. “Fauster was very angry with Iain. And I thought vampires couldn’t have children.”
Hunter gently put his hand behind AnnaBelle’s back, steering her back towards the bed. He sat down opposite her. “AnnaBelle, everything about our family is a lie. I should have told you when I first found out, but I needed time, on my own, to sort my own thoughts and feelings out. Now, I wish I had told you.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. I asked Mother and Father why you left so suddenly, but they wouldn’t tell me anything. Every time we talked, you would change the subject.”
Hunter looked away from her accusing eyes. “When I first found out the truth, I couldn’t handle it. I ran away, rather than deal with who I was. Now I know that was wrong. It left you vulnerable, and I can never make up for this mistake.”
“What happened to me is my fault, not yours, Hunter. You are my brother.” AnnaBelle reached over and patted Hunter’s knee. “Seeing you helped me realize that I have to go back to New York and talk with Iain. I am an adult now, and I can’t expect you to fight my battles. That’s why I came, but it was wrong.”
Hunter wondered if he should tell AnnaBelle everything now that she had apparently come to a decision. Telling her probably wouldn’t help her, and it would more than likely hurt her more deeply than even this had done. For her to know the truth would help him and give him someone to share the truth with, but he couldn’t be sure. There was also the chance that it might cause her to end all of her family relationships, since they were all based on lies.