Blade of Darkness

by Dianne Duvall

  “No,” he told her, returning his gaze to his boots. “I’m okay.”

  He wasn’t really. But with someone out there mimicking his appearance, Aidan didn’t want to teleport away and leave her alone even for the few minutes it would take him to pop home, grab a couple of bags of blood, and infuse himself with his fangs.

  “Do you know what I do need?” he asked instead. “Or what I would like most in the world right now?”

  “What?”

  “To take one of those timeouts I’ve seen American football players do. Stop everything. Put it on hold for a moment and just… lie down. Hold you in my arms. And rest for a bit.”

  When she made no response, he risked a glance at her.

  “I’d like that, too,” she said, surprising him. “I could use the time to assimilate all this.”

  Relief filled him as he rose. “I need to clean up first.”

  Her lips turned up in a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Still worried about staining the bedding?”

  He nodded. “I have a change of clothes in my car.”

  Stepping back, she let him pass into the hallway. “While you do that, I’m going to take a quick shower.”

  She was smeared and stained with a healthy amount of his blood.

  That she didn’t invite him to shower with her neither surprised nor upset him. “As you will.”

  While she ducked into the bathroom and turned on the shower, Aidan headed downstairs.

  The scent of his and Roland’s blood still tainted the air outside, thanks to the lack of a breeze.

  Aidan kept his ears tuned to Dana as he opened his car’s trunk and retrieved the duffel bag Brodie kept there for him. He didn’t think he had ever used it before. Since he could teleport, a shower and clean clothes were always just a heartbeat away, but his Second insisted he keep it in the car just in case.

  Closing the trunk, he headed back inside and locked the door behind him.

  Dana’s shower didn’t last long.

  Aidan waited in the hallway, so concerned about her that he didn’t even ponder how alluring she must look, smoothing soapsuds all over her delectable body.

  The bathroom door opened. Balmy, humid air wafted out and embraced him.

  Dana stopped short when she saw him. Dark, wet hair bracketed a pretty face free of makeup. Her smooth, pale skin glistened with a hint of moisture, much of it exposed by the fluffy white towel she had wrapped around herself sarong style. The end was tucked between her breasts, drawing his gaze to her tempting cleavage. Most of her shapely legs were left bare by the towel, which barely covered her bottom.

  Even as tired and anxious as he was, Aidan felt his body harden, which meant—

  “Your eyes are glowing,” she mentioned, voice hushed.

  Damn it. Bending, he grabbed the handles of his duffel bag. “I’ll only be a minute.”

  Nodding, she stepped aside.

  Aidan felt her gaze as he entered the bathroom but didn’t look at her again before he closed the door. Disrobing at preternatural speeds, he showered equally fast, then donned the black T-shirt, boxers, and cargo pants he found in the duffel bag. His feet he opted to leave bare for now. After taking a moment to drag his hands through his wet hair, he tucked all his bloodstained clothes in the duffel, zipped it, grabbed his boots and opened the bathroom door.

  Dana swore softly, out of sight. A rustle of clothing ensued.

  When Aidan entered the bedroom, Dana stood with her back to him, naked save for a pair of lavender-and-black plaid shorts.

  Aidan’s hand clenched around the duffel bag’s handles as he stared at her back. Smooth and soft he knew from the times he had slipped his hands beneath her shirt, it tapered down from her shoulders to a narrow waist, the sides of her full breasts visible when she raised her arms and hastily tugged a lavender tank top over her head.

  Pulling the hem down to meet the shorts, she turned to face him. “Wow. When you said you’d only be a minute, you weren’t exaggerating.”

  Dana usually dressed conservatively compared to the young women Aidan saw on television and on college campuses who wore pants cut so low you could see their butt cracks, and shirts with necklines that dipped so low he was surprised their nipples didn’t show.

  To see Dana now in shorts so short they barely covered her lovely bottom and a tank top that clung to her form and revealed more cleavage than usual thoroughly scattered his thoughts.

  “What?” he asked belatedly.

  She pulled her damp hair out of the front of her tank top and flipped it around to settle against her back. “I said that was fast. It literally only took you a minute.”

  Wet splotches darkened her tank top in places. The hard beads of her nipples pressed against the light fabric. Sooooo tempting.

  He forced his gaze up to her face. “I’m sorry, what?”

  She grinned. “Thank you.”

  He raised his brows. “For what?”

  “For making me feel normal again. For making this—you and me—feel normal again.”

  He lifted one shoulder in a shrug and sent her a rueful smile. “I can’t help it. You take my breath away.”

  “I could say the same thing,” she responded.

  He glanced down, then up again. “I’m fully clothed, except for my bare feet.”

  “And even fully clothed, you take my breath away,” she admitted with a smile.

  Aidan relaxed.

  The next several minutes were refreshingly domestic. Aidan plunked his bag and boots down on the far side of the bed and laid his coat over it, weapons exposed. Then he and Dana removed the bloodstained bedding and replaced it with fresh sheets and a pretty quilt she said her great-grandmother had made.

  Aidan drew back the covers and motioned for her to lie down.

  She did, curling up on her side.

  After draping the covers over her, he walked around to the far side of the bed and slipped in beside her.

  She started to turn toward him.

  Aidan rested a hand on her shoulder, silently asking her to stay where she was.

  She stilled.

  Slowly, he eased forward and spooned up behind her. When she didn’t protest, he slid one arm beneath her pillow, then curled the other around her waist and drew her against him, snuggling her close. Her back met his chest. Her full hips cradled his erection. The back of her lovely legs molded to the front of his.

  Sighing, he buried his face in her cool, damp, fragrant hair.

  He needed this so much.

  He heard her heart rate increase and hoped it wasn’t due to fear. “I tend to sleep deeply after I’ve been wounded,” he murmured drowsily, fatigue pulling at him despite his desire to stay awake, “so if you want to stake me through the heart, that would be the best time to do it.”

  She rested her arm atop his and toyed with his fingers. “I’m not going to stake you,” she whispered and pressed a kiss to his knuckles.

  Nodding, Aidan clung to consciousness and savored the moment as long as he could.

  Dana’s eyes flew open.

  Aidan’s big warm body still spooned around hers, his front glued to her back. The arm he had wrapped around her was heavy and relaxed. His muscled chest rose and fell with deep, even breaths.

  She frowned. What had woken her?

  The faint illumination that filtered in from the streetlight out front didn’t allow her to see much farther than the bedside table.

  Easing Aidan’s arm off her, she sat up and reached for the cell phone she usually kept by the bed at night but didn’t find it.

  She must have left it downstairs.

  Opening the top drawer in the table, she felt around until her fingers closed around her iPod. Pressing the power button, she slid her thumb across the screen to unlock it.

  Pastel wallpaper lit up the screen, along with the time: 3:57.

  Looked like they’d slept for several hours.

  She glanced at the battery indicator. Red instead of white. Seven percent b
attery power left. That should be enough to help her fetch her cell phone.

  Rising, she tiptoed out of the bedroom and into the hallway.

  The house seemed to slumber, too, encapsulating her in quiet. Even the air conditioner made no sound.

  Moving toward the stairs, she turned on the iPod’s bright flashlight.

  Much better. She hadn’t wanted to turn it on in the bedroom and risk waking Aidan.

  Descending the staircase, she passed the door she had forgotten to close earlier and entered her shop. All seemed quiet there, too.

  Padding forward, toes curling against the cold wood floor, she found her cell phone where she had left it on the counter before all hell had broken loose.

  No new calls or texts had come in.

  Hmm. So what had awakened her? She was usually a pretty sound sleeper and had assumed her phone had chimed.

  Perhaps Aidan had shifted and inadvertently nudged her awake?

  Could be. She hadn’t slept with anyone in quite a long time, so she wasn’t used to having a big warm body in bed with her.

  Glancing up, she froze.

  Faces peered at her through the bay window.

  Sneering, blood-splattered faces that housed long, sharp fangs and glowing eyes.

  Oh, crap. Vampires. A lot of them.

  They smiled in unison.

  Spinning around, Dana raced for the stairwell. “Aidan!” she screamed.

  Glass shattered behind her. Wood splintered. The front door burst inward and flew past her, one corner slamming into the back of her head.

  Stumbling, she managed to remain on her feet as pain erupted behind her eyes. “Aidan!” she cried again, still moving forward, terror engulfing her.

  A heavy weight slammed into her back, taking her down to the floor.

  She threw her hands out to break her fall and ended up bruising her elbows and hitting her chin.

  Her cell phone flew out of her hand and skidded into the stairwell.

  The vampire who had tackled her wrapped a fist in her hair and jerked her head back.

  Crying out, Dana struggled to throw him off, but he was strong. And heavy. And twice her weight.

  His fangs pierced her neck.

  Pain streaked through her as though someone had just stabbed her with two sharp knitting needles.

  A second vampire yanked her left arm hard enough to pull it out of its socket and sank his fangs into her wrist.

  Again she cried out, tears filling her eyes.

  A third vampire did the same with her right.

  They were so strong! Her struggles were nothing to them!

  “Aidan!” she screeched.

  Aidan appeared out of thin air just outside the door to the stairwell, his hair rumpled from sleep, his amber eyes as bright as candles. Anger darkened his features. The cords of his neck stood out as he roared his fury and leapt forward, swinging two swords.

  The vampire at her neck lunged backward, tearing flesh and sending new agony through her. Those at her wrists did the same.

  Movement blurred around her. Feet stumbled over her, kicking her in the ribs. Bodies fell. Men screamed. Weapons hit the floor with a clatter and skidded beneath boots and sneakers.

  So terrified she couldn’t make a sound, Dana brought a hand up to the gaping wound in her neck. Blood gushed from both it and her wrists, making her hands and the floor around her slick and warm.

  A knife fell to the floor, inches away.

  As lethargy pulled at her, Dana grabbed it with her free hand and rolled onto her back.

  Cold seeped in. Breathing grew difficult as bodies and glowing eyes shifted and flowed above and around her in a blur of motion.

  Dizziness assailed her.

  Then Aidan crouched over her, fear in his glowing amber eyes. Moving her hand aside, he covered the wound in her neck with his hand. “It’s okay,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion as he grabbed her wrist with his other hand. “You’re going to be okay.”

  Both of his hands heated. Both also trembled.

  Too late, she thought. It was too late. She had lost too much blood.

  “Dana,” he said, blinking back tears, “I can save you.”

  She shook her head, unable to speak. No, he couldn’t.

  “I can,” he insisted, his beautiful face full of torment. “I can save you. If you’ll just let me…”

  His voice faded as unconsciousness beckoned.

  Dimly, she became aware of a form rising up behind him. A vampire whose face twisted in a malevolent smile as he raised a machete in both hands.

  Her eyes widened. She tried to speak and produced only a choking sound instead.

  Aidan!

  The vampire swung his blade in an arc that would cleave Aidan’s head from his body.

  No!

  Dana jerked awake, breath hitching with a sob, her heart pounding in her breast.

  Adrenaline swam through her veins. Her breath came in short gasps. Tears burned the backs of her eyes as she frantically searched her darkened bedroom.

  Shifting onto her back, she looked at Aidan.

  His head still shared her pillow. His eyes were closed, his face peaceful in slumber.

  Easing his heavy arm off her, she slid out of bed and turned in a circle, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

  All was dark. All was quiet.

  No glowing eyes peered at her.

  Trying to calm her racing heartbeat, she skimmed a hand across the surface of her bedside table but didn’t find her cell phone. Yanking open the top drawer, she grabbed her iPod and turned it on. Tapping the flashlight symbol, she held the iPod out in front of her, directing bright white light all around the room.

  Empty.

  No vampires lurked in the shadows, flashing fangs, waiting to pounce.

  Her fingers shaking, she touched her neck but found no gaping wound. Only smooth, unmarred skin.

  She shone the light down on her pajamas.

  No blood soaked her tank top. The flesh of her wrists wasn’t torn open.

  Had it really been a dream?

  She remained motionless for several seconds, trying to calm her jagged breathing.

  Lowering the iPod, she glanced at the screen. Seven percent battery life.

  She checked the time: 3:57.

  Oh, crap. It hadn’t been a dream. It had been a vision.

  Chapter Ten

  Scrambling back onto the bed, she knelt beside Aidan and shook him. “Aidan.”

  He slumbered on.

  Hadn’t he said something about sleeping deeply after he’d been wounded?

  She shook him harder, damned near shoving him off the bed. “Aidan!”

  Eyes flying open, he jackknifed into an upright position and raised a sword. “What?”

  Dana gaped at him. When had he hidden a sword in the bed?

  He looked at her and blinked in confusion. “Dana? What is it?”

  She shook her head, tears rising as fear pummeled her. “I just had a vision. Vampires attacked. A lot of them. They ripped my throat out and—”

  Eyes flashing amber, he dropped the sword and drew her into a tight hug. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Where will they attack?”

  “Here.”

  Swearing, he released her, threw back the covers, and rose. “When?”

  “Two minutes. Maybe three.” Backing off the bed, she watched him yank on his weapons-filled coat. “In the vision, I went downstairs to get my cell phone and they burst through the windows, knocked down the door, and attacked me. They bit me on the neck, and my wrists, and I couldn’t get to you, so I yelled and—”

  “That isn’t going to happen,” he declared grimly. “I’m going to teleport you to Ethan and Heather’s house. They’ll keep you safe while I come back and fight the vampires.”

  “They’re immortal?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh hell no!” she blurted, her voice a bit strident. “After what I just saw in that vision, the only person with fangs I tr
ust is you. I’m staying here.” Just the idea of being alone with someone else who had fangs terrified her. She’d much rather stay here and take her chances with Aidan. He was the only one she trusted not to kill her. “Or better yet. Why don’t we just get the hell out of here?”

  He shook his head. “They’ll move on to your neighbors down the street and kill them if I don’t stop them.”

  Damn it. She couldn’t let them kill Mr. and Mrs. Crimshaw. Both were in their eighties and had never once complained about Dana running a business out of her home or looked down their noses at her because she claimed to be psychic.

  Turning back to her bedside table, Dana yanked open the second drawer and drew out a 9mm and spare magazine.

  Aidan cursed. He must have read her thoughts and her fears though, because he didn’t try to change her mind.

  Reaching into his coat, he drew out a gun. “Take this.”

  She did, then frowned down at it. “What is it?”

  “A tranq gun. It’s point and shoot just like your 9mm and will drop any vampire in his tracks.” He drew out his cell phone and dialed. A second passed. “Ethan. Are you at home?” He looked at Dana. “I’ll be right back.”

  Before she could blink, he vanished.

  Her mouth fell open.

  Aidan reappeared, his hand on the shoulder of a man who looked enough like him to pass for his brother. Dana guessed the man was about six foot four inches tall with short black hair and brown eyes like Aidan’s. He wore black cargo pants, combat boots, and a black T-shirt that hugged muscles as huge as a professional bodybuilder’s.

  “What the hell?” the man demanded in an American accent.

  “Vampires will attack in one minute,” Aidan told him. “I’ve weapons in my bag. Arm up.” Then he vanished again.

  The man’s eyes flashed amber.

  Fear rising, Dana backed away from him.

  “Where’s his bag?” he asked.

  She pointed to the duffel.

  The man blurred. When he stilled, he held two shoto swords and had several daggers and throwing stars strapped to his body.

  Aidan reappeared, his hand on the shoulder of a woman.

  The woman was about Dana’s height with longish brown hair. She, too, wore black cargo pants, heavy boots, and a black T-shirt. But her shirt hugged a narrow waist and full breasts.