by Alicia Ryan
It pierced his side and pain lanced up into his brain. He staggered and fell forward onto his knees. With his feet bound, he was unable to rise, but he continued to swing his arms, even as the rest of the guards assailed him. Blows rained down on his head and upper body. A well-placed kick cracked one of his ribs and sent him over on his side into the dirt. More kicks followed. Still Samson would not stay down.
He propped his weight on his bound arms, trying to stand. Another kick sent his elbow popping in the wrong direction. He felt the tendons tear and bones snap. A dagger followed his broken forearm into the dirt, pinning it there in a bloody pool. Staked to the ground, there was little he could do, but he flailed on, taking blow after blow, until he lost so much blood that consciousness finally, mercifully, left him to his fate.
***
Ash woke before the sun had set. There were no windows in his room, of course, but he always knew the position of the sun. And he always rose early when he dreamed of her.
He dressed quickly and grabbed his PDA from the nightstand. The orange light was flashing, and Ash’s brow furrowed as he listened to the message.
Quickly he returned the call.
“Justin Markham here,” a voice answered on the third ring.
Justin was human, but he was a trusted friend and had worked for Ash for over a decade. His official title was financial advisor, but since he knew what Ash was, he occasionally pitched in and filled more secretive roles.
“Justin, it’s Ash. I just got your message. What’s going on at Hemogen?”
“Hi, Ash,” Justin said brightly. “Are you back in-country?”
“Yes, I’m at the manor. I flew in last night. I hope I didn’t need to stay in New York?”
“No, no,” Justin said. “I’m not even sure there is anything going on at Hemogen. I just figured I should let you know the chief technician out there thinks some notes and samples may have been taken from the lab.”
“He thinks?” Ash asked. “What does that mean? Either we had a break-in or we didn’t.”
“That’s just it,” Justin explained. “There wasn’t any obvious evidence of a break-in; they haven’t even called the police, but Faulkner is positive the samples were not just misplaced. The notebook he’s not as sure about, but I think it can’t be coincidence.”
“Do you suspect corporate espionage or something else?” Ash asked.
“I don’t know,” Justin responded. “Both the notes and the samples relate to the synthetic blood research, which could be lucrative if they ever succeed, but that’s quite a remote possibility at present. I would have expected any thief worth his salt to target the more advanced disease cures Hemogen has been working on.”
Ash was silent while he turned the matter over in his head.
“It’s probably nothing to worry about,” Justin pointed out. “I’m told the notes and samples are unlikely to be of any real help to anyone in making marketable synthetic blood.”
“That may be,” Ash said, making up his mind, “but if anyone went to the trouble to steal them, I’d like to know why. Call Tom Pinkney.”
“Are you sure he’s up to it?” Justin asked. “We’ve never used him for anything more than background checks in the past. He’s been off the force for quite a while now.”
“He’s up to it,” Ash said. “Plus, I want to keep this quiet. Get him contact information, surveillance tapes, whatever he needs to figure out if it was an inside or an outside job. Then we’ll go from there.”
Ash heard a pencil scratching against paper in the background.
“Okay, then,” Justin said, “I’ll give him a call first thing in the morning.”
“Fine,” Ash said, already eager to be done with this conversation.
“Oh, how was New York?” Justin asked. “Did you decide on any new projects?”
Ash waited the space of a heartbeat, wondering if he should tell his friend the truth.
“I did,” he said guardedly, “but not any of the ones we had discussed.”
“Oh?” Justin’s voice registered mild surprise. “Why’s that? Something better come along?”
Ash grinned. He couldn’t help it. “You could say that, I suppose.”
“What’s going on, Ash?” Justin said, clearly unused to the playful side of Ash’s personality.
“You won’t believe this,” Ash said, “but I found her. I finally found her—working at a hedge fund.”
Nothing clicked for Justin. “Found who?” he asked. “I’m afraid you’ve lost me.”
“Delilah.”
The word hung heavy between them for longer than Ash would have liked.
“Are you sure?” Justin said finally. “I mean, you couldn’t possibly be mistaken?”
He sounded hopeful, and Ash suddenly regretted telling him.
“It’s her,” he answered, trying not to grip the small phone so tightly as to break it.
“Well,” Justin said after another long pause, “if she’s as bad as you say,” Ash could hear when he started grinning on the other end of the line, “I can’t wait to meet her.”
Ash frowned. “You’ll get your chance, actually. She’s here.”
There was another stunned silence. “Here, as in London?” Justin queried.
“Here, as in already at the manor.”
“Wow,” Justin said, exhaling loudly. “For a man with all the time in the world, you certainly didn’t waste any. How’d you manage that?”
Ash chuckled. “I hired her,” he said. “I’m going to put some money under the management of her company, Tailwind Investments. She’s going to be managing the transition of funds from here, so I need you to come out tomorrow and bring everything she’ll need to start the process.”
“Tomorrow?” Justin exclaimed.
“Yes,” Ash confirmed. “I told her we’d been discussing this move for some time, so you have to seem prepared.”
Justin snorted. “Lucky for you we had been planning something along these lines. I’ve even heard good things about Tailwind, not that I suspect you care.”
“Not really,” Ash said. No price was too high for the reward he had in mind.
Justin was quiet for a moment, and Ash sensed a change in his friend.
“Tell me,” Justin said, “how does this little scene end?”
“The way I always planned,” Ash replied. “Like for like.”
“So once you’ve won her affections, given her back her memories, and had your long overdue lovers’ quarrel—what then?”
“Then I rip her heart out.”
Justin’s flip tone disappeared. “Ash, I hope you mean that figuratively.”
Ash wasn’t sure.
“Just don’t do anything until I get there, Ash. Okay?”
No reply.
“Ash?”
“She will be here when you get here.”
Ash knew Justin wanted to comment on the weakness of that promise, but he wisely changed the subject.
“Did you ever find out anything about Toria’s missing vampires?” he asked.
Ash frowned into the phone. “No, nothing, but the disappearances seem to have tapered off at least.”
“Good,” Justin said. “With everything else that’s going on, we need to tackle one problem at a time.”
CHAPTER 19
Ariana hit “send” on a final message to Roger just as the expected knock sounded at her bedroom door.
“Hi Nan—” Ariana stopped before getting the last syllable out. “I mean, hi, Ash. I was expecting Nancy.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint,” he said, his voice as low and primeval as Ariana remembered. As he spoke, his eyes raked her from head to toe, and Ariana felt heat trail down her body.
“I trust you had a good trip?” he said, meeting her gaze once more.
Ariana nodded, feeling oddly tongue-tied. “The trip was fine.”
Ash laid his palm flat against the door and pushed it farther open. Careful not to brush against him, Ariana squeez
ed by to join him in the hallway. They walked the length of the hall in silence as Ariana tried to take in the details of the house and the man.
Ash was dressed casually in black pants and a dark blue linen shirt. An expensive watch glittered on his left wrist as he reached up to run a hand through his hair. Dark strands parted, then sprang back into place.
“I love your house,” Ariana said.
Ash looked down at her, his carved face lit by an unexpected smile. “Would you like a tour?”
“I’d love it,” she answered, catching some of his enthusiasm.
Ash showed her through the main part of the house, opening doors to salons, guest rooms, reading rooms, and libraries.
“How long have you had this place?” Ariana finally asked, noting that, for all the interesting contents of each room, there were no tales of guests or former owners.
Ash frowned slightly. “It’s belonged to my family for over 400 years.”
“Wow,” Ariana exclaimed, “that’s kind of amazing. I’d love to hear about them, your family.”
“This,” Ash said, opening a door on the second floor, “will be your work space while you’re here.”
Ariana let the change of subject pass and poked her head into the room Ash indicated. Her eyes traveled over the collection of computers, white boards, boxes, and small desks that surrounded the one large table in the center of the room. “War room, indeed,” she said, laughing.
“What?” Ash asked.
“Oh, nothing.” Ariana shook her head. “I’d love to see more, but I’m sure Nancy is already wringing her hands that we are late for dinner.”
Ash gave her a peculiar look. “Right on the money, as always,” he said. He reached out as if to grab her hand but stopped short. “Come on, then. Down we go.” They went back toward the center of the house and down the main staircase.
On the first floor, not far from the kitchen, a table was laid in what Ariana now knew was only one of at least three dining rooms. This one was very informal, and the table was roughly the same size as the one they’d shared at their previous dinner in Ash’s townhouse.
Once again, the food was impeccable and they passed the meal in companionable conversation, mostly about her work.
It’s torture, Ariana thought. She didn’t want to be companionable. She didn’t know what she wanted, and apparently neither did Ash. One minute he was looking at her with naked hunger, and the next minute he went back to seeming like a casual acquaintance. It was strange to think this was only their third meeting.
“Would you like to finish our drinks out on the terrace?” Ash asked. They had waved off desert, opting for cordials instead.
“Oh, yes,” Ariana exclaimed. “I’d love to see what the stars look like out here.”
“It’s a little chilly out,” Ash commented. “Do you have a jacket?”
Ariana shook her head. “I think it’s still buried in a bag somewhere in my room. No, wait,” she called, deciding she must be a little jet-lagged. “Nancy took the jacket I was wearing when I came in. I don’t know where she put it.”
Ash pushed his chair back. “Wait right here. I’ll go and get it for you.”
A moment later he reappeared holding her short wool coat. Ariana rose and slipped into it, pulling it tight around her. Ash’s hands lingered on her shoulders, but he did not turn her around. Instead, he ran his hands around the collar, pulling her hair free.
“I like you as a blond.”
What an odd thing to say, Ariana thought. She’d been a brunette for a while in college, but she was basically a dark blond and always had been.
She turned and walked past him into the hall, but Ash didn’t follow.
“Aren’t you coming?” she asked.
“I think drinks may not the best idea after all.”
“Lost your nerve?” she asked, smiling at his suddenly serious expression.
“Yes.” His response was blunt, his face oddly pained.
Ariana looked quickly away, suddenly desperate to get back to the sanctuary of her room.
“I guess I’ll say goodnight then,” she said brightly, taking two steps in what she fervently hoped was the right direction. She did not want to have to ask him to escort her.
When Ash said nothing after a few steps, Ariana breathed a sigh of relief that she’d started in the right direction. Of course, one wrong turn and she might still be wandering the halls in the morning.
“Oh,” she said suddenly, “will your other advisors be joining us tomorrow?”
Her rapid shift into work-mode seemed to throw him for a moment, but he recovered quickly. “Yes,” he responded. “Justin is coming up tomorrow afternoon.”
“Great. I’ll come down early and start trying to get a handle on the contents of the work room first thing.”
She left him standing there nodding as she made what she hoped was a beeline for her room.
***
Ash went over to the sideboard and poured himself a full glass of brandy. The sweet burn of the liquor did nothing to dull the ache that had settled somewhere underneath his breastbone.
She’d betrayed him, he told himself. She was the same calculating woman who’d bargained away his life for a few coins. He couldn’t forget that. He’d waited 3,000 years for his revenge. He would make her love him and then take her life. Like for like. He just couldn’t lose what was left of his soul in the process. Then again, he thought, maybe Toria was right; maybe there was nothing left to lose.
CHAPTER 20
Memnon hated the lights of the city. Even more, he hated its infernal noises. After 2,000 years encased in rock, the constant cacophony was unbearable, forcing him to intersperse his above-ground activities with periods of solitude. It had taken some time, but he’d finally found a place both dark and quiet enough to meet his needs.
Taking the grimy steps down into the subway station two at a time, he hopped the turnstile and meandered down to the end of the platform. The station’s only other occupant was a woman of indeterminate age asleep on a bench under an equally indeterminate number of coats. Her eyes didn’t open as Memnon passed, so he walked straight toward the tracks and stepped off the edge.
No train approached, so he walked down the middle of the track bed deep into the tunnel. Dirt and garbage crunched beneath his feet. About 60 feet in from the station, the tunnel passed underneath a grate that was open to the street, and bars of eerie blue light shone down onto the tracks. Memnon kept walking, watching the blue light pass over his white skin and then fade into the distance behind him. Finally, he came to a point where only blackness greeted him, and he allowed his muscles to relax.
A few more feet brought him to an unused tunnel that branched off from the main line. Down that tunnel was a small maintenance closet, with just enough room for him to squeeze in. Crumpling his large, lean frame into the small space took a few moments, but he didn’t mind. The dark confines of his new home comforted him, reminding him of Herculaneum, of all the years he’d lain buried there, frozen in ash and rock.
He hadn’t planned on that, of course. He’d expected to see something extraordinary, or he’d expected to die.
He had first gone to Pompeii, but corruption and debauchery had already drained all the humanity from its inhabitants. He couldn’t stand to be around them, so he’d journeyed farther north to the smaller village of Herculaneum.
It was a fateful choice. The eruption happened in daylight, but the cloud that spewed forth out of the mountain had blocked out the sun. He might have escaped from Pompeii, as it was only covered over by about ten feet of debris, but Herculaneum was on the other side of Vesuvius, where the eruption buried the town under 75 feet of scalding ash. It had felt like the entire inside of the mountain had come down on his head.
Then came the silence. For so long, nothing moved or spoke, just the occasional vibration of the offended earth. It was so quiet it took some time for him to realize he wasn’t dead. It took even longer for him to realize he wasn�
�t going to die.
At first the hunger tormented him, reducing him to the point where he begged the gods to take his life—but they refused. Lack of blood brought insane ravings and threatened his mind, but his body did not die.
Finally, to take his mind off the hunger, he reached out with it into the earth, trying to see. He saw only death initially, the corpses of all those who had perished. Slowly, life returned, beginning with the minutest creatures—the grubs, the worms. Finally, creatures returned that he could sense with his other faculties—a nesting mouse, a scavenging bird; all these were company to him.
For years, they were his only company. The human race abandoned Pompeii and Herculaneum. He could actually feel the collective attention of the world as it faded. When he realized this, he tried to seek it out. What was the world looking at now that it had forgotten the tragedy into which he had been baked like a berry in a pie?
Eventually, he could see what the world saw. Or at least part of it. He could see other vampires. There was only Ash and the one other in the beginning. The other one he didn’t know and could not explain. Ash, on the other hand, was familiar. Ash being alone, being a soldier, being miserable. Same old Ash.
He saw him make first one, then another vampire, and that horrid woman, Toria. Then came still others. From his hole in the rock Memnon watched their entire vampire family bloom like nightshade across the globe.
And for what purpose? To hide in darkness? To assuage the loneliness of creatures who should never have existed in the first place?
What a waste, Memnon thought as he closed the flimsy metal door of his new resting place. No matter, things would soon be made right. This new age demanded a new leader, one who would do more than hide in the dark pretending to be human.
He smiled, delighted to finally be a soldier again.
CHAPTER 21
Ariana woke from a troubled sleep as the sun’s first rays lit the room. For a moment, she didn’t know where she was. Then she remembered Ash’s magnificent home and the pained look on his face last night when he brought their evening to an early end. That look had haunted her dreams.