Captured Sun

by Shari Richardson

  "Should I go? My staying does compromise your reputation, should it become known." He knew I wouldn't ask him to leave.

  "Stay," I whispered.

  Mathias laughed softly, "Until you send me away, my heart."

  ***

  The morning sun streamed through my bedroom window, revealing the empty space where Mathias had lain during the night. Mornings were both my favorite and my most hated time of day. There was always the balance of emotion from knowing he had only just left after holding me through the night followed by the emptiness that filled me when he wasn't near enough to touch, to hear, to see. I knew he left me to feed some mornings. Other mornings, he returned to his home and watched the sun rise over the ocean. Mathias' love of the sun was awe inspiring. Anyone who believed the myths of vampires living in the dark because they loved the night had never seen Mathias standing on the beach, head thrown back, eyes closed, a small smile on his lips. No one who loved the night could worship the coming of a new day as he did.

  This summer had, thus far, been the most precious season of my life. Each day was filled with the usual summer activities of beach, sun, and fun. I'd grown up in Highland Home and I knew that for the rest of my life I would have to live near the ocean. Each night, though plagued with the horrors of my dreams of the killer, was precious because Mathias stayed with me. As long as I could stay awake, we talked about everything from his past to my future. He told me of the people he had met and asked me about the people we went to school with. When it came to my future, however, I didn't know what to say in answer to most of his questions. My senior year of high school would start in two months. Mathias had laughingly agreed to come with me when I'd asked what he'd be doing for the year.

  "I think I can handle one more senior year," he'd said.

  "How many senior years have you had?"

  "Enough."

  He wouldn't tell me the exact number, but I began to understand that he'd often attended high school when he'd been bored or when Alfred had felt the need to stay in one place long enough to be noticed. He'd also already been to and graduated from college a few times. That idea was far more daunting to me than our senior year in Highland Home.

  I'd applied to colleges all over the country before I'd met Mathias. Cecelia and I had planned to find a college where we could go together so we wouldn't be lonely, but her requirement was that the college be far enough from Highland Home that she wouldn't be expected to visit too often. I'd been on board for that plan until the incident on the football field last spring. After that, I had begun applying to colleges closer to home. Mom was ecstatic that I wanted to stay closer to Highland Home. Cecelia, on the other had was furious.

  "What the hell, Maire?" she'd yelled when she found the acceptance letter from the state university campus in the city. "You've talked about nothing but getting out of Highland Home since you were ten. We've applied to every school on the east coast that wasn't in this state. Tell me you aren't seriously considering staying here because of Mathias!"

  "It has nothing to do with Mathias," I said. "Actually, he wants me to go to Princeton. But after my accident, I guess I feel strange about being away from Mom and Kerry and Tawnya."

  "What does your mom say?"

  "She's gotten kind of clingy, actually. She was thrilled when I got the letter from Princeton, but State means I can be near her. I think she's up in the air about how much to push for one or the other, afraid I'll pick the wrong one just to spite her."

  Cecelia had dropped the argument then, but she hadn't given up. I could tell by the way she watched my mail for more acceptance letters and let me know which schools had accepted her. I think she was hoping one would come that would convince me to leave Highland Home with her.

  I hadn't been lying when I told her the "accident" had made me want to stay closer to my family. The battle on the football field had resulted in several strange outcomes. Braden Lambert moved to number one on the werepanther's watch list while Mathias had moved down significantly. Kerry and I had been added to the protection detail the panthers had set up around Highland Home, and more and more supernatural creatures had begun turning up in the area, drawn by me if I were to believe Elise's assessment of the situation. I couldn't just leave my family to face all of that alone. I had to stay, to help protect them if I could. But I couldn't say any of that to Cecelia. As far as she knew, I'd tripped and fallen over the railing at the stadium and broken four ribs. I hated keeping secrets from her, but I knew the less she knew, the safer she would be.

  Braden had continued to watch me and Mathias through the end of the school year, but he'd apparently taken Xavier's warning to leave us and all other humans alone to heart. The quarterback might have been angry about getting beaten but I could see the fear in his eyes when he looked at Mathias. I knew Braden was remembering the sound of Mathias' voice and how close he'd come to being a meal after he'd threatened to kill me. If Mathias hadn't been more interested in redeeming himself in my eyes than killing Braden, the quarterback knew he'd have died on the football field.

  Perhaps because he feared Mathias might change his mind, Braden had kept Stephanie away from me and Kerry, and kept his distance. When summer break started, I'd heard that the Lamberts had decided to take a European tour for the summer. I hadn't seen Braden since. Xavier said the family had really left the country and had taken so much stuff with them that the panthers thought they probably wouldn't be coming back. I knew I wouldn't miss them.

  So instead of a future of avoiding Highland Home unless my sister needed me, I was now beginning to plan a future that kept me close to home. Mathias was supportive of my choice, but I could also tell he wanted to encourage me to take one of the acceptances from the more prestigious schools. He'd even offered to pay for my schooling when I pointed out that there was no way my family could afford Princeton. Not even with the scholarship they'd offered me. I'd refused to take his money and he'd finally stopped offering.

  In the present, I had the best and worst of summers. Instead of the public beach where the Cotes had always been somewhat of an oddity to be watched and laughed at, we stuck to the private strip of beach behind Mathias' home. Even Tawnya had enjoyed having Mathias' beach at her disposal and had stopped huffing every time I mentioned his name. She still refused to spend a lot of time close to Mathias, but she'd willingly planned cookouts and other activities with Mom at Mathias' home.

  And while Braden was no longer a problem, the killer in East Hampton was. It had arrived a few weeks earlier and had been conspicuous in its kills, killing sometimes as many as four men a night. Mathias was beginning to grow concerned about the unwanted attention the killer might draw to the vampire community, though he wouldn't admit it to me. I could see his anxiety and flashes of his fears would sometimes filter into my dreams. So far the visitor had stuck to East Hampton, but I couldn't help but worry that eventually Highland Home would look more appetizing and the killer would change its hunting ground. Not that I didn't have sympathy for the families in East Hampton, but I had to be realistic. I could only do so much and my focus was undeniably my own family.

  In addition to the daily newspaper accounts of the rising murder rate in East Hampton, I had to watch a running, live newsreel of the murders in my dreams each night. I had wanted to stake out the most common locations I saw in my dreams, but Mathias wouldn't let me. He sent the panthers instead, but so far the vampire had eluded them.

  There was no sense dwelling on what I couldn't change. I knew I was doing everything in my power to help the vampires and panthers. It wasn't my fault something about this killer made the premonitions came too late for me to help the victims. I threw on my bathing suit and some shorts and headed for the kitchen. The plan for the day was to take Kerry and Cecelia to the beach at Mathias' house while Mom and Tawnya opened the shop for the annual July 4th street fair. I could hear Mom in the kitchen talking to Tawnya as I padded down the stairs.

  "I don't know where it came from, Tawnya. If I knew, I
wouldn't be asking you."

  "What's up, Mom?" I asked, helping myself to toast from the plate in the center of the kitchen table.

  "Someone left a flower arrangement on the porch. There's no card."

  "Hmm," I nodded. I couldn't imagine what the big deal was about some flowers.

  "It's a funeral arrangement, Loraine," Tawnya said, looking pointedly at me.

  "I'm sure it was just a mistake. You're making too much of this, Tawnya."

  Tawnya said nothing, but I could feel her watching me. I had no idea who would send a funeral arrangement to us without a card. I was ready to side with Mom on this one. It was a mistake, not something sinister.

  "So I'm taking Kerry and Cecelia to Mathias' house today, right?"

  "Unless you want to come to the street fair," Mom said, laughing. She knew I hated the crowds at the street fair. I'd always been uncomfortable in crowds, but since I'd started being able to see auras and know things about people based on their auras, crowds were worse.

  "Um, yeah, I'll pass. You guys are coming to Mathias' place after the fair to watch the fireworks on the beach, though, right?"

  Mom nodded. "Don't forget to take the potato salad when you go. I won't have time to come back for it."

  "No problem. Call me if there's anything else you want me to have for the cookout."

  "It's really so nice of Mathias to host this cookout, don't you think, Tawnya?"

  "Sure, Loraine."

  I could see something wasn't quite right with Tawnya this morning, but she didn't want to share whatever it was with Mom. Tawnya had a lot of secrets she kept from Mom, but since she also kept my secrets, I had decided I couldn't expose hers. "I'm gonna get ready. I'll see you guys later."

  Tawnya leaned into my room a few minutes later. "Mairin, have you seen the newspaper lately?"

  I shook my head. "I try not to read it." What was the point? I saw the murders first hand. The newspaper couldn't horrify me any more than my dreams.

  "Something is killing people in alleys in East Hampton. And now a funeral arrangement shows up on our front porch. Do you have any theories?"

  "Should I have a theory?" I asked.

  "How about a dream to tell me about?"

  I flopped onto my bed. "Yeah, I've been dreaming about the murders in East Hampton," I said. "But the dreams are coming too late for anyone to do anything about them."

  "Maybe the authorities could do something if they knew who was doing it," Tawnya said.

  A chill ran down my spine. "It isn't Mathias."

  "You don't know that, Mairin. He is what he is, no matter how you feel about him. Have your dreams shown you who the killer is?"

  "I can't see the killer's face in my dreams, but I know it isn't Mathias."

  "I know you trust him, Mairin. I've even begun to like him, but we cannot forget for one moment what he really is. To do so is to invite death to the table."

  I was torn. I could tell Tawnya how I knew for certain it wasn't Mathias, but that would mean admitting he spent almost every night with me. I was pretty sure if she knew I'd invited a vampire to stay in our house every night she'd freak out and Mathias would be banned from our home. I knew he'd abide by such an injunction, too. I wasn't willing to risk losing my nights with him.

  "You'll have to trust me this time, Tawnya. It isn't Mathias. I'm certain enough to stake my life on it."

  "You do that every time you're alone with him, Maire," she said. "You don't know how hard it is for me to let you go with him, knowing what he is. Especially after you got hurt last spring."

  "That wasn't Mathias either," I said. "It was the demigod I told you about."

  "But Mathias is the reason you were there. That makes him culpable, Maire."

  I shook my head. We were never going to agree on this issue. I knew Mathias would have died because he believed Braden threatened to harm me and then offered to protect me and my family if Mathias would lose the fight. Braden had then threatened to kill me when Mathias decided I was worth living for. It was only Mathias' desire to remain worthy of my affection that kept him from killing Braden after that threat. Tawnya simply refused to believe there was any good in a vampire.

  "Look, Tawnya, we can fight about this, but it won't fix the problem. I know the killer in East Hampton isn't Mathias. I've been dreaming of it, though it's been staying in the shadows of my dreams and I haven't seen its face yet. I only know it is not Mathias."

  "Just promise you'll be careful, Mairin. And protect your sister."

  "I am and I do. And so does Mathias."

  "Ready when you are, sis," Kerry said from behind Tawnya.

  "I need five minutes Kerr," I said. "Meet you downstairs."

  Kerry left and Tawnya looked at me a moment before following her. I wished I knew how to convince Tawnya that Mathias would never hurt us or allow anything else to hurt us.

  "Come on, Maire. The sun is waiting!" Kerry called. She had no idea.

  Chapter 2

  I pulled the Nova into Mathias' driveway. As it always did when I knew I would see him soon, my heart thumped heavily in my chest. Part of me was distracted and still caught in the arguments I kept having with Tawnya. I knew I would have to find some way to prove to her that Mathias was not evil or keep having the same argument with her for the rest of my life. Who knew angels could be so stubborn?

  "Did Mathias get a new car?" Kerry asked, pointing at a large, red SUV parked next Mathias' sports car.

  "Not that I know of, but I wouldn't put it past him." Mathias' extravagant spending sometimes made me want to throttle him. So far I'd been able to keep him from going overboard with me and my family, but it had taken several screaming fights to get him to return the car he'd bought to replace my Nova. I still had a sneaking suspicion that he hadn't actually returned it, but had simply moved it out of sight.

  Cecelia and Kerry grabbed their towels and headed straight for the beach. I smiled. Cecelia might be pissed that I was thinking of staying near Highland Home, but she was definitely enjoying the benefits of Mathias' beach house. I couldn't fault her for enjoying this summer. We'd had few summers this happy in our lives. The Golden Ones had never hesitated to make our trips to the beach hellish if the opportunity presented itself. A private beach where we didn't have to watch every word we said or step we took meant we could relax and enjoy the sun, sand and sea. I watched my sister and best friend round the corner of the house and then I headed up the front walk, smiling as Mathias opened the front door and waited for me.

  "Mairin," he said. It always amazed me how much love Mathias could imbue my name with. "We have a small complication, my heart."

  "What's up?"

  "I have a visitor."

  "Oh good," I said. "I didn't really want to believe you'd bought that monster truck out there in the drive."

  Mathias smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

  "Are you going to introduce your pet, Mathias?" A thin, pale man leaned against the wall separating the entrance way from the living room. His piercing blue eyes shone in the dim light of the entrance way and I realized the shades in the front of the house were drawn. Mathias always opened every shade so the sun could flood his home with light. Only something significant could have forced my sun-worshiping vampire to pull the blinds. My money was on this new vamp. Though he was an attractive man, Mathias' visitor had a dark, pulsing gold aura, attesting to his less than positive nature. Goose bumps rose on my arms as the vampire assessed me as though I were an entree on display at a restaurant.

  "I've explained Mairin, Alfred. She is not a pet." Mathias' irritation was clear. Alfred's attitude toward me was not something Mathias was going to accept.

  Alfred dismissed Mathias with a wave of his hand. "No matter. I meant no offense." Alfred eyed me again before turning to Mathias. "I do still expect an introduction, boy. I taught you better."

  Mathias bowed stiffly. "Mairin, may I present Alfred Tallmadge, my...father in this life. Alfred, this is Mairin Cote, my heart."

/>   Alfred pushed away from the wall and walked slowly around me. "She is lovely, Mathias, I will give you that."

  "It's a pleasure to meet you, Alfred," I said, offering my hand. He stared at it as though it might bite him before shaking his head.

  "You will forgive me if I do not, um, shake hands, Mairin. I find it more difficult to touch humans than my son does."

  "Of course," I said, letting my hand drop. I had to remember not all vampires were like Mathias. Many preferred to stay away from humans unless they were hungry. Mathias stepped closer to me, leaning down to brush his lips against my temple.

  "Alfred has decided to stay with me for a time, Mairin. We may need to cut back on the family visits for the duration of his visit."

  "Yes, we wouldn't want any accidents, would we, Mathias?" Alfred's laugh was chilling. "Forgive me, Mairin. I find my son's attachment to humanity somewhat amusing. You may rest assured you and your family are in no danger from me. I would not harm Mathias in that way."

  "Um, Kerry and Cece are on the beach and Mom and Tawnya are coming later. Do I need to call them?" Alfred's assurances did not ring true and I was worried.

  "No, my heart. But we will curtail the visits a bit in the future. Perhaps it would be a good time to visit some of the schools where you have been accepted."

  I nodded. I needed to ask Mathias if he thought Alfred was the faceless killer from my dreams, but I couldn't while Alfred watched me so closely. Something about Alfred's scrutiny made me extremely uncomfortable. It was as though Alfred saw me as a threat to him in some way, although how I could threaten a vampire, I had no idea.

  "I will excuse myself, Mathias," Alfred said. "I have an...engagement for this evening."

  "Please remember what we discussed earlier, Alfred. It is important to me."

  "Of course, my son. I am not an animal."

  A moment later I heard the SUV's engine roar to life. Beside me, Mathias relaxed.

  "I apologize, Mairin. I did not know he was coming. He was here when I came home this morning."