I felt the blood rush to my face. Everyone must have seen the bite marks during the ceremony, considering standing naked in front of the coven was part of it.
“To tell you the truth, I didn’t think about it at all,” I answered.
“That is quite clear,” Jeanie snapped. “What has he done to you? Have you become his feeder?”
I shook my head. “No, things just got out of hand but it hasn’t gone all the way.”
“Good, because you need to think about it real hard before you let it go any further,” Jeanie said.
“That vampire, Darrien, he told me that my father wasn’t dead. He said that my father is a vampire.” I changed the subject.
Jeanie’s eyes were downcast. “He is telling the truth. I met your father only once, but I can tell you that he was everything that you might think a vampire to be, especially persuasive. Your mother was crazy in love with him.”
“What happened to him?”
“He went away. They had a disagreement and he left. She wanted him to change her, but he refused. Told her that you needed a mother.”
“So what happened to my mother then?” I asked, afraid I might already know the answer.
“She went looking for him.” Jeanie placed her hand over mine.
“Well, what do you think happened to her?”
“I think she was either killed or turned by another vampire,” Jeanie sighed.
“Why would she do that? She promised to come back for me!” I narrowed my eyes; unable to believe my mother would really just abandon me.
“I know, sweetheart, but I just don’t have the answers.” She squeezed my hand.
“I should try and find her,” I spoke up.
Jeanie shook her head. “I’m sure that if she could have returned, she would have. If you go looking for her, you could be facing the same dangers. I know it isn’t something she’d want you to do.”
“There’s something else. Darrien said that he knew me before … when I was someone else. He said I was a witch by the name of Caroline Fabre.”
Jeanie inhaled sharply and for a brief moment, she stared at me as if I were a stranger. Then she waved her hand, dismissing Darrien’s words. “I know you’re different, Sarah. I’ve always known that, but what are the chances you’re the reincarnated soul of Caroline?”
I opened my mouth to tell Jeanie about the vision I’d had in the circle, but changed my mind.
Could it have been a hallucination?
It had seemed real, but it was possible the vision had simply been a figment of my imagination, brought on by Darrien’s suggestion that I was Caroline.
Jeanie patted my hand once more and then got up from her chair and left the room. Soon, she returned holding a large wooden box. It was her magic box. The same box that I’d been so curious about as a child. Finally, I was going to see what Aunt Jeanie kept in that box.
Jeanie set it on the table and lifted the heavy lid. It was positioned in a way that I couldn’t actually see what was inside, but my aunt was pulling something out. In her hand, she held a dagger made of clear crystal.
“This dagger has been in the family for generations. It is a powerful tool that will help to protect its owner from evil. Now is the time you should have it.” Jeanie explained, placing the dagger in my hand.
It was beautiful. The way the prisms of color sparkled through the crystal when I held it up to the light was awesome.
“How do you use it?” I asked.
“Any spell that you work will be twice as powerful, as long as you use this dagger when casting.”
“Thank you.” I smiled. “It is a gift I will always treasure.”
“It can do something else too,” Jeanie told me with a wink.
“What’s that?” I asked, looking back at my aunt.
“It will call your familiar to you. The helper that will be with you throughout your life.”
As soon as I thought about my spirit helper, the name Zaltar popped into my head. “Zaltar,” I spoke the name out loud.
A smoky haze began to gather in front of me, slowly taking on the shape of a man. Fascinated, I watched the outline of his body as it turned solid. His hard body was like chiseled stone, his skin stretched tight against his taut muscles. With his dark skin and male physique, he was pure perfection. His black eyes were magical. That was the only word that I could think of to describe them.
“You called, my lady,” he nodded.
At first, I was too dazed to respond. I knew that witches had familiars, but they were usually cats or some other type of animal. I’d never heard of a familiar being a hot guy.
“I’m sorry, I was expecting a cat,” I muttered.
I can be whatever my lady would like me to be,” he said with a sly smile. Suddenly he was disintegrating and became no more than a puff of smoke before taking the shape of a raven.
“Wow, this is awesome.” I laughed. “What is he, a ghost?”
Jeanie cleared her throat. “He is an earth spirit and will appear in whatever form he can be most helpful. The fact that he appeared in the form of a man suggests that your hormones are running at full speed.” My aunt gave me a disapproving look.
“Oh,” I blushed.
It was true. I’d practically been on fire since our encounter on the beach. I guessed that my familiar would accommodate me in those ways too, if I wanted. That he’d appeared in that particular form made it all too obvious what had been occupying my mind, and now Aunt Jeanie was aware of it.
“Why is it that he has you in such a fever?” Jeanie asked.
I didn’t want to answer. How could I tell my aunt that I wanted a vampire, the same vampire whose purpose had been to kill me?
“You don’t have to tell me, I think I know,” Jeanie said, shaking her head. “He is weaving a spell over you and it’s dangerous. A vampire brought your mother a lot of pain and no doubt it will be the same for you.”
“It doesn’t matter. He said he was going away.”
Worry lines creased Jeanie’s forehead. “Hmm, well we’ll see.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Nicole
The little bell above the door of the Déjà vu tattoo shop jingled as I stepped inside. For the first time since I’d met Dash, he was actually working on a tattoo. A young girl in her early twenties was lying on her stomach in the work chair. It was in a flat position so that it resembled a small bed.
Dash didn’t bother looking up from his task. The small tattoo gun he held in his hand hummed as it moved slowly across skin. Half of the girl’s back was covered with tattoos. I couldn’t make out what the tattoos were, but they were full of symbols that appeared to be some type of ancient writing.
The girl was naked from the waist up, wearing only a tight, black leather skirt. Her dark hair was styled in two ponytails. The look struck me as too young for the girl’s age.
“What do I owe the pleasure,” Dash asked without looking up.
The girl twisted her head around so she could see me and seemed startled that I was standing only a few feet away. “I must be getting rusty, I didn’t even smell her,” she directed her comment to Dash.
Ignoring the girl’s obvious reference to my human nature and turned to Dash. “I wanted to talk with you about your recipe.”
Shocked, he looked up. “You haven’t turned have you?”
I shook my head. “I was wondering exactly how you came up with the idea for it?”
Dash shrugged. “It just popped into my head on the ride back from Wyoming. Why?”
“I met Ethan’s informer. He approached me while I was at the cemetery.”
“And?” he asked, impatiently waving around the hand that held the tattoo gun.
“He said that your recipe was a gift from that other place.”
Dash jumped up. “I knew it! I knew the recipe was important. Now maybe you’ll believe me that we need to do something with it.”
“Yuk.” The girl in the chair scrunched up her face as if the very
thought was nauseating.
“How would you know, Sophia? You won’t even try it.” Dash glared at her.
“Still, it can’t be good. It’s too cold.”
“What is the recipe? What’s in it?” I asked.
“Well now, that’s a secret. If I go giving out the ingredients to my recipe, someone could steal it.”
“I’m not going to steal it.” I was amused.
“Well then.” Dash put a finger to his head as if he was concentrating intently on trying to remember something. “I believe there’s a bit of cow blood, some vitamins, and some liquefied liver. But I can’t tell you more than that.”
“Okay, but I think you are meant to do something with that recipe,” I told him. Spotting a metal chair placed against the wall, I sat down.
“I could have told you that,” Dash said as if it should have been obvious.
“There’s something else. I need to ask you a favor.” I approached the subject of the second reason I’d come to Dash’s shop.
“Oh no! Whenever you need something, it usually means I’m going to be dodging wooden stakes and holy water.” Dash’s face twisted into a grimace.
“Really, Dash,” I laughed. “I know you are much braver than you let on.”
Dash turned his attention back to the tattoo he was doing. “You think so, do you? Well, I have news for you. I can’t even watch a zombie movie. Those things are creepier than hell.”
Again I laughed. “You’re kidding right?”
“So, what is it you need?”
“I wanted to ask if you would go to Romania with me, to the Castle Arges. I need to look for Alec. We haven’t heard from him since he left.”
Sophia started giggled so hard that Dash had to pull the tattoo gun away from her back.
“You’re human and you want to go to the Castle Arges?” The girl’s laughter filled the small shop. “Do you have any idea who lives in that castle?”
I shook her head.
“Well, I’ll tell you,” Dash said looking at me as if I’d completely lost my mind. “Luciano lives at the Castle Arges and he makes Omar look like a schoolyard bully. Besides, have you thought that maybe he just doesn’t have any cell phone reception there? That place is practically at the end of the earth.”
“Still, I’m worried,” I told him.
“You’re just asking for trouble,” Dash frowned.
“You don’t seriously believe that this vampire is worse than Omar, do you?” I was doubtful. I couldn’t imagine anyone being worse than dear old Uncle Omar.
“I don’t know about being worse than Omar, if you are asking if he is as evil, but he is deadly. He can kill you without ever touching you.”
“Oh come on?” I smiled in disbelief.
“It’s true. So, I think I’ll be passing on this trip. I’d prefer to stay home and watch zombie movies all night,” Dash smiled. “Besides, I just don’t get into that whole Dracula scene.”
“Dash, I really don’t want to go alone,” I urged. “If you come with me, I’ll help you market your recipe.”
This caught Dash’s attention. “Really? And you’ll talk to your father about it? Maybe get him to try some?”
I nodded.
“Well then, have you called your travel agent?” He smiled.
“I want to go too!” Sophia jumped up, revealing her small breasts.
I averted my gaze. “As you said, this could be dangerous.”
“Oh, but I love danger and I really want to go to Transylvania so I can meet Dracula.”
Dash shook his head. “Sophia, Dracula isn’t real.”
“He is,” she came back, her face morphing into a scowled.
“No, he’s not. Some dude just made him up a long time ago,” Dash explained.
“But can I go anyway?” she pouted.
Dash looked to me.
“It’s fine with me,” I said.
“Okay, but you don’t bite anyone on the way. Just stay with me,” he told Sophia.
“I promise,” she said with a wide smile.
“We’ll leave tomorrow night,” I announced. “If that’s okay with everyone?”
“Yes, sounds good to me.” Dash nodded.
“I’ll talk to you then.” I got to my feet and started to leave.
“Let me walk you out.” Dash jumped up from his chair. “I’ll be right back,” he told Sophia. “Don’t move from that position.”
He didn’t say anything until we’d stepped outside. “ I really hate that I can’t read you because that means that I have to actually ask you. Are you sure you don’t mind if she tags along? I know she’s a bit naïve. Sophia only turned a few years ago and I don’t think she was all there to begin with.”
“Is she your girlfriend Dash?” I teased.
“Well, I thought that since you were taken …”
“She can go,” I told him. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sarah
Sleep didn’t come easy and when it did, it was full of strange images and the suffocating feeling of being stuck in some kind of quicksand, but that dream didn’t last long before it faded into another dream.
In this dream, I was in Caroline’s body again.
Staring at the blood-covered chicken coop, disgust twisted at my insides. All the chickens were dead. The creature had drained their blood. In a feeding frenzy, he’d spilled as much as he’d consumed. Now there would be no eggs to get us through the winter and no meat to make broth.
“Lord Rousseau!” I called out. “Why do you do this to me? You take my husband, and now you take my livelihood.” I didn’t expect a reply. The predawn sky was already purple with the coming sunrise.
“Come and talk with me, Caroline.”
The deep voice came from the darkness beyond the barn doors, near the chicken coop.
I shook her head. “You are evil, monsieur.”
His dark laughter drifted from the barn. “Evil you say? Are you not the witch?”
“I do not kill,” I screamed at him.
Again I heard his deep laughter. “A witch and a vampire, mademoiselle … two of the most misunderstood creatures on earth. Why can’t we be allies?”
“I would not join with evil,” I replied, hot anger in my voice.
“Come here, Caroline. Let me look at you, or are you afraid that your powers are not strong enough to hold back a mere vampire?”
I refused to let the creature intimidate me. That would be a mistake. To show him that I was not afraid, I boldly walked to the barn door. He was inside, hidden within the shadows, his only protection from the rising sun.
“Do you think it was my choice to become what I am?” he asked, his voice hard and bitter.
“I do not know,” I responded in a steady voice that did not betray my fear.
“I know you hate me for what I’ve done, but I must ask for your help, Caroline. I must hide from the sun.”
“Why would I help you?” I laughed. “Why wouldn’t I just let you perish? It would be a well-deserved fate.”
“Yes, it would be, but I only did it for survival, and for you.” Darrien attempted to defend himself against my judgment.
The self-loathing in his voice gave me pause.
Darrien continued. “I know you didn’t love him, Caroline. I saw him hitting you. I heard your baby daughter scream while he was taking you against your will. Is that not also evil?”
Closing my eyes, I tried to block out what he was saying, but it was no use. His words were true. My love for my husband faded long ago. Almost from the beginning, he’d proven himself to be a monster. Though Darrien had actually released me from a living hell, I could not let my heart embrace the thought.
That would also make me a monster.
“What do you want from me?” I asked.
“Protection from the sun, that is all. A room that will shield me from the day until I can find another place to go.”
His hand came out of the da
rkness to pull me into the barn. I screamed, but he quickly put a hand over my mouth.
Putting his lips next to my ear, he whispered, “I will not hurt you.”
My heart was beating so fast that I could hear it pounding in my ears.
Was it fear or the thrill of being so close to him, so close to death?
His lips were on my throat, kissing me softly “I could not let him continue to torture you, Caroline. When I saw his fists hitting your face, the only thing I could think of was that girl who picked wildflowers from the fields near our château. The girl who watched me as I rode by, as if she wanted to say something but never dared.”
“You killed him purposely!” I said, almost choking on my words.
“Regretfully, I must confess to that slight indiscretion, that darkness of which I cannot contain,” he whispered, kissing my neck.
“You followed me here?” I accused, my voice shaking as I tried to ignore my body’s response to his touch.
“Yes, I have been watching you for a long time. I watched him court you, marry you, and then take you away. I had to know that you were cared for.”
“They all believe you to be dead. I believed you to be dead.” The words caught in my throat.
He laughed. “Yes, my father is quite good at cleaning up messes.”
“I loved you!” I sobbed, emotion finally getting the best of me. “And then I thought you were dead. You never came to me.”
“Regrettably, you now know why.”
I shook my head. “I was just another commoner. Someone for you to play with.”
He lifted my chin so that I was looking into his eyes. “You are many things, Caroline, but common is not one of them. I would have come for you, but I did not want to bring this darkness into your life.”
Then he pulled me close, wrapping his arms around me. The coolness of his body was repulsive, but yet erotic. I yearned for him, even more than when he’d been a living - breathing man.
The stillness was shattered by the terrified screams of a child. My heart leaped into my throat. Pulling away from him, I ran for the house.
Screaming, I sat up and grasped the blanket in both hands. The dream ended so abruptly it took a few minutes to realize that I was no longer dreaming.
Dark Enchantment: A Vampire Romance (Immortal Legacy Book 3) Page 8