Not Another Vampire Book

by Cassandra Gannon

  He just didn’t care.

  “But Slade’s grandma said…”

  Damien cut her off. “Do not worry about some woman’s prophesy, cari. I know more about my fate than she does.” He pressed a kiss into her hair. “You would never intentionally hurt me. We both know this.”

  Kara let out a shaky breath. “Of course, I wouldn’t hurt you, Damien. Never. You’re right. But, this old lady was really convincing.”

  “Vampires always are.”

  “Yeah, but she knew about Amalie.” Kara swallowed. “She said your sister sent me here to find you. I mean, I know that sounds crazy. Why would your sister send you a girl who was destined to kill you? But, still, there was a crystal ball and… it all just really seemed real for a minute.”

  Damien stared at the wall over Kara’s head, his mind racing. “She claims that Amalie sent you to me?”

  “Yeah. I guess Slade’s grandma thinks Amalie’s spirit –like-- played matchmaker. But the more I think about it, the more I think you’re right and granny is just nuts.” Kara sounded like she desperately wanted to believe that. “Even if she could exert powers from the other side or whatever, your sister loved you. She wouldn’t do anything that might get you killed. She wouldn’t want you mating with a girl who was your ‘doom.’”

  Damien’s mouth curved at the realization that his little sister was somehow still with him. “Amalie would always want my happiness.” He murmured. And she’d understood him so well. She’d know that he’d want Karalynn, no matter what the cost. A short time with his cari was worth any price. Even death.

  “Are you sure?”

  Although Kara hadn’t heard his silent assertion, Damien answered as if she had. “I have never been more sure of anything in my entire existence.” He leaned down to kiss her gently. “You are the love of my life, Kara Lynn. If Amalie brought you to me, it was because she knew you would bring me nothing but joy. And you have.”

  She relaxed a bit. “Lair. I drive you crazy.”

  “Yes. But, it a joyful craziness.”

  Kara gave a misty smile and stood up on tiptoe to hug him. “I love you so much. If you ever feel like I’m dooming you, say something and I’ll stop, okay?”

  “I will be very vigilant about reporting it.” He needed to change the subject before she pressed him for answers that he couldn’t sidestep. If Karalynn thought she might hurt him, she would try to leave. He knew that. Damien really would prefer death to a life without her in it. She was the only thing in the world that gave him peace. “So, since we’re here anyway, I don’t suppose we could sneak into Slade’s execution and watch the fun.”

  “No. We’re still going to save him, wiseass.” Kara made a visible effort to refocus her attention, like she didn’t want to think about what their ultimate destiny might be, either. “Or at least, I’m going to save him. Which reminds me… How do you kill a Vampire?”

  “Diamond sword.” Damien answered, instantly. “Or… wait.” He frowned. “Does it have to be blue diamonds? Am I remembering that wrong or has something changed here?”

  “No. It’s changed. Just wanted to make sure grandma wasn’t lying to me.” She pulled out a wicked looking blue blade and held it up. “This is what I need to kill To’kel with. The Hope Diamond Knife, I guess. Or Smurf Blade.”

  Damien arched a brow at the elaborate weapon. “Very subtle.”

  “I know, right? The Vamps like their stuff blinged out like Liberace. Still, it’s sharp, so I figure it can’t be too hard to skewer To’kel with it. I just gotta find him first.”

  Damien debated for a moment. “I will tell you where he might be, if you let me kill him.”

  “No!” She hid the knife behind her back like he might try to grab it and run off. “I don’t want you fighting Vampires, Damien. That’s why I came here without you. If you and Slade get into a death match, it could end this whole world. Or worse. It could end you.”

  Damien met her concerned eyes, squarely. “I give you my word, cari. I will not harm Slade.”

  Kara bit down on her lower lip. “What if he hurts you?”

  “If I’m stupid enough to allow that idiot to injure me, I might stab myself in shame. That’s really the gravest danger I could face.”

  She made a face at his attitude. “The book wants to kill you, Damien. We can’t take the risk that something will go wrong and it’ll succeed. Don’t you see? You need to go home, where it’s safe, and let me handle this.”

  “No.”

  She swore at his inflexible expression. “You’re being really difficult here. I hope you know that.”

  “Well, if it would make things any easier for you, I do have about two dozen armed men who can act as my faithful bodyguards. They’re waiting down on the beach for my next order.”

  “You have –what?-- goons working for you, now? Aren’t you trying to be less villainy inclined?”

  “I hired the dragons for the day.” Damien shrugged. “It turns out they can fly, so they brought me here.”

  Chocolate brown eyes widened in outrage. “Wasn’t that my idea?”

  “Oh, I doubt it.” As bizarre as it seemed, given the circumstances, Damien was actually enjoying himself. Now that he’d found Kara, he didn’t particularly care what else happened today, so he might as well have some fun with her. “Enlisting an army of henchmen sounds like a plan only a dastardly evildoer would conceive and you’re just an innocent human girl. What’s Slade’s line, again? Ah, yes. ‘Like a flower in a storm.’”

  Kara gave his chest a poke with her index finger. “If you ever plan on sleeping with me again, Vlad, I suggest you restrict yourself to quoting Shakespeare or something.”

  His mouth twitched. “‘But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Kara Lynn is the sun.’”

  She arched a brow. “‘Romeo, thou art totally a villain.’”

  Gods, but he loved this woman.

  No matter what the future brought, Damien was just so lucky to have found her. He owed his sister more than he could ever repay for guiding him to Karalynn Donnelly.

  He cleared his throat, before he really did start reciting poetry about her. “You know, speaking of villains, dragons like to smash things for the sheer destructive pleasure of it. If the bodyguard idea won’t work for you, I’m thinking they might be a useful distraction. Say, if someone was trying to stop an execution and stage a glorious Vampire coup, for instance. Even if you won’t accept my help outright, I could rent them out to you at a fair price.”

  Kara gave in with an annoyed sigh. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the fair price to sublet you’re minions?”

  Damien gave a slow smile.

  Kara arched a brow, correctly interpreting his lascivious expression. “You think I’m going to barter for henchmen with sexual favors?”

  “Maybe.” He leaned closer to her ear. “What if I offer to let you tie me up this time?”

  She considered that, her tongue touching her bottom lip. “Alright, fine, your troops can come along.”

  Damien nearly purred. What a woman.

  Kara wasn’t giving in completely, though. “You need to go home, though, Damien. The dragons and I will save Slade on our own.”

  “No.”

  The simple answer had her scowling. “You have to.”

  “No. I will stay with you. Always.”

  Silence stretched between them, but Damien had no intention of budging. He wasn’t going to leave this island without her. Nothing she said would change his mind and they both knew it.

  She made an aggravated sound. “There’s no way I can get rid of you is there?”

  “Many have tried. None have succeeded.”

  “Fine. Alright? Fine. You can stay, but you can’t do anything, understand? Nothing. You just need to stay safely out of the way and absolutely no killing Slade. I mean it.”

  “I’ll certainly try my best.”

  “Wise ass.” She muttered again and started off down the hall. “Jus
t remember I’m running this mission, so you and the dragons have to follow orders or else.”

  Damien started after her in amusement. Waiting.

  It only took Kara about two steps before she stopped and glanced back at him, ruefully. “I’m going the wrong way, aren’t I?”

  “Yes.” He pointed over his shoulder. “We’re headed in that direction, General. Towards the beach, so we can gather your men. I saw To’kel’s loyal idiots erecting a guillotine down in the courtyard and I can only imagine its part of Slade’s birthday present.”

  Kara rolled her eyes at the phrasing. “You’re such a sensitive soul, Vlad.”

  “Hey, I just recited Romeo and Juliet to you, didn’t I? What’s that if not sensitive?”

  She backtracked, giving him a stern frown as she passed. “You’re not taking this rescue mission seriously enough.”

  “Nonsense. I’m incredibly interested in saving Slade and Matilda.” He fell into step beside Kara, his hand finding hers and squeezing her fingers. “You know I just adore those crazy kids.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “You cannot escape destiny, sorcerer.” Slade called as he was led towards the guillotine. “Enlist the aid of the necromancer, if you must, but you shall still never defeat me. It is my destiny to rule this kingdom with my beautiful bride, just as it’s yours to let your hatred destroy you.”

  “Oh, shut-up.” Damien commanded.

  “You know I speak the truth. That is what will always separate us, Creature. You live for your vengeance, but I die for my heart!”

  “That doesn’t even make any sense.”

  “Love never does.” With that, Slade cut free of his golden bonds, using the Blue Blade of Banderouse, and sprinted across the courtyard. The crowd cheered to see him free. He leapt towards Damien. “Prepare to die, you ungrateful demon!”

  “No,” said Damien.

  “Oh, Slade.” Melessa rushed to his side. “Kick his ass, my prince.”

  “You cannot defeat me, Slade!” Damien roared.

  “Of course, I can. I am the mightiest swordsman of my people. I always win.”

  Eternal Passion at Sunset- Chapter Nineteen

  “I find it demeaning to take orders from a human.” Xim, the head honcho dragon man, hissed from his spot behind some hedges shaped like dolphins. Like the rest of the dragons, he had green skin, red hair, and a lousy disposition. Kara’s motley crew of mercenaries had positioned themselves behind dozens of fancifully shaped bushes. Vampires were apparently into topiary. “If it wasn’t for the money Damien’s paying us, my men and I would refuse to go along with your bossiness, woman.”

  “Luckily, he is paying you, so shut-up.” Kara muttered.

  The Vampires’ outdoor garden overlooked the palace courtyard, making it the best place to stage their assault. She peered down at all the Vampires assembled for Slade’s execution, trying to figure out what to do next. One of these days she’d figure out how to strategize a plan before she was stuck right in the middle of it.

  She studied the action below, scanning for all the major players in the crowd. To’kel was seated on a golden throne, flipping through the manuscript for Eternal Passion at Sunset. Eugene stood at his side, the Uzi looped around his shoulder like he was Jesse Ventura in Predator. Melessa, clad in a Princess-Leia-visits-Jabba’s-Palace style bikini and collar get-up, stood next to him looking sexy and useless. She wept pretty tears, although it was impossible to tell if her grief was for her soon-to-be-beheaded Eternal-One or the ruby crown she wouldn’t get to wear.

  Meanwhile, none of the other Vamps looked willing to rise up against To’kel and free Slade. Not that Kara was particularly surprised by that. One, he was Slade. And two, most of them were just extras in the book. Without someone to tell them what to do, they were just blindly following the rewrites. The only ones who still seemed pro-Slade were Fibos and the other Vamps who’d been captured in the dungeon. Unfortunately, they were currently tied up in golden rope, waiting their turn to be Marie Antoinetted.

  Right.

  Kara blew out a “now what?” sort of breath.

  Whatever she was going to do to rescue Slade, she needed to do it fast. The shirtless wonder was being dragged towards a wooden guillotine heroically screaming, “Witch, where are you? Save me! Saaaaavvvve me!”

  “Do you think To’kel knows that the blade on that guillotine needs to be made of blue diamonds, now?” Damien murmured, coming over to crouch beside her. “I have the urge to shout down a helpful reminder.”

  He was so not taking this seriously. “Did you find a way for us to get down there without running into the guards?” To’kel had men waiting for her at all the courtyard entrances. She’d sent invisible Damien to look for a weak spot in the defenses and find them the best attack route. That was the extent of what she’d allow him to do on this mission and even that had tied her stomach in knots.

  She only sent him on the assignment because she’d been sick of hearing him complain about the Slade statue. Big and gold, it sat in the middle of the courtyard smirking out over the landscape. The giant sized Slade stood there with his feet braced apart, his hands on his hips, his chiseled jaw glinting in the moonlight. He even had a crown.

  Damien found the horrible spectacle of it hypnotic. His eyes stayed fixed on it in aghast fascination, braced for it to somehow come to life and start a rampage. A different rampage. He tore his gaze from its shiny surface long enough to nod at her. “Absolutely I found a way down, cari. The dragons will fly down. I will teleport down. And you will stay here. See how simple it is?”

  “I told you, you’re not fighting!”

  “Wiiiiiiiiiitch!!!!! Hurry! Hurry!”

  Neither one of them glanced down at Slade’s plaintive cry.

  “You told me not to fight Slade and I won’t. But, there is no reason I can’t fight the other Vampires.”

  “No! You can’t fight anyone.” Kara didn’t want him anywhere near crazy Vampires or necromancers with automatic weapons. The word ‘doom’ kept echoing in her mind. Damien’s doom. If she could have figured out a way to wrap him up in bubble paper until the epilogue, she would’ve done it already. “I told you, you are staying out of this.”

  Damien just smiled.

  Kara ground her teeth together and glanced over at Xim. “He is not in charge of this, so don’t let him participate in anything.”

  “Do you honestly think the dragons could stop me?” Damien drawled.

  She smiled at Xim determinedly. “He’s not even here, right now, okay? Ignore him. So, here’s the plan. You guys fly down and create a diversion. To’kel’s men will all rush towards the action...”

  “You understand so little about the Vampires’ natural instinct for self-preservation, Kara Lynn.”

  She disregarded that, too. “When To’kel’s men all rush towards the action, Xim, I will sneak down there and untie the good guys. And steal the book back from To’kel. And get the gun from Eugene.”

  “How exactly do you plan to do all that by yourself, cari?” Damien inquired, pleasantly.

  “I’m working on a plan, right now.” She flashed him warning glare, not the teeniest bit fooled by his calm tone. The last time he’d sounded that rational she’d found herself tied to a bedpost. “Am I in charge of this mission or not?”

  Damien held up his palms like the innocent bystander he wasn’t. “By all means. However you choose to save that imbecile is fine with me. I bow to your expertise. I’m just here to make sure you don’t get yourself killed in the process.”

  Kara regarded him, worriedly. He was so unpredictable when he got protective. “Don’t interfere in this, Damien. I mean it. No matter what happens do not fight anyone. The book is trying to kill you and you can’t give it an opening.”

  One large hand came up to cradle her face. “Whatever my destiny, Kara Lynn, I promise you… I will choose it. Not this book.”

  Kara’s heart sank. He wasn’t going to listen to her. If she didn’t do something,
Damien was going to be right in the middle of this fight and it would destroy him. She would destroy him.

  “Can we go, yet?” Xim whined. “I just want to kill someone, already. Besides, I don’t think Slade can last much longer.”

  Kara glanced down and saw To’kel’s Vampire guards were trying to wrestle Slade into the guillotine.

  “Wiiiiiiitttttch!”

  Shit. It was now or never. “Alright. Start the diversion.” She ordered distractedly and looked back over at Damien. “We’re out of time. You need to promise me that you’ll stay here and let me do this.”

  Down below she heard shouts of panic and clanking swords as the dragons swept down on the unsuspecting Vampires. She’d never thought in a million years that she’d ever be part of a battle. But then so much of her life had veered into craziness since she’d met up with this sorcerer.

  “I can’t promise that. I would not lie to you about such a thing, Kara Lynn.”

  She mentally cursed. Words weren’t going to get through to him. She needed to think of a quick, sneaky way to keep him out of the fight. Her mind whirled for an idea. Maybe she could pepper spray him. Not even Damien would rush in to a sword fight blind.

  Probably.

  Damien took hold of her hand and brought it up to his mouth for a gallant kiss that she totally didn’t buy for a second. “I am sorry to do this, my love, but I can see you scheming to leave me behind, again. I cannot allow that.” From out of nowhere, a pair of handcuffs appeared around her wrist, the opposite side secured around Damien’s.

  “Son-of-a-bitch!” Kara gave the modern looking metal an ineffectual twist, trying to free herself. “Damien, take this thing off of us, now!”

  “I cannot take the chance that you’ll rush off without me.” He shook his head. “You are too clever for your own good, Kara Lynn. You’ll find a way to prevent me from helping if I allow you the slightest opening.”

  There was probably a compliment in there someplace, but she was too pissed off to care. “You don’t even want to help Slade, remember?!”