Deep is the Night: Dark Fire

by Denise A. Agnew

  “Okay, I’ll admit again this mind reading is the most incredible thing I’ve experienced.”

  “It happens when people have been attacked by this vampire and survive. They retain many of his powers without becoming a creature of the night. Seeing ghosts and reading minds are two of the things I can do.”

  She smiled, uneasy with his explanation. “You’re starting to sound like that doctor in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Very creepy, Lachlan.”

  His brows pinched together a little, and the corners of his sensuous mouth turned down. “I wish this were a novel, lass. But it is serious business.” He considered her like a man buying a fine car, his gaze perceptive and concluding. “This is coming at you a little fast, isn’t it?”

  “You could say that.” She shifted and his hard thigh brushed against hers. “Okay, let’s back up a bit. What else are you saying?”

  “I’ve been trying to find a way to stop him.”

  She stood and wandered to the fireplace, then touched the small pumpkins she’d arranged on the fireplace mantle to give the house Halloween spirit. Since she moved in a short time ago, she hadn’t decorated with the flair she would have liked. Right now, in the scheme of things, it seemed unimportant.

  Shivering, she rubbed her arms.

  “I’ll start a fire,” he said.

  “Reading my mind again?”

  He smiled. “No. Clear observation. You’re either scared or you’re cold.”

  She sat on the couch and watched him prepare the fire.

  Erin never saw a man so capable of blending human grace with animal prowess. He stirred the wood and turned the tiny flame into wondrous heat. As Lachlan looked back at her, electricity sizzled and danced with each glance. She felt it in her skin and in her soul. Fire blazed in the hearth, and a new conflagration started in her body. She drew in a breath and tried to maintain her composure.

  “Whatever it is about this place, he knows he can draw energy from it as other entities have. He is feeding on strong electromagnetic and spiritual energies in Pine Forest and on the blood of innocent people,” he said as he returned to the couch.

  She shook her head, not believe she was saying this. “I heard that some hauntings may be caused by high electromagnetic energy field.”

  He swept a warm, determined gaze over her. “Many entities and spirits use that energy to come forth and show they are here. Some are pure haunting, the impressions of past events embossed on the place where an event happened or where an entity lived out their life.”

  Erin startled, a long-forgotten thought came to her. “I used to make all kinds of equipment fail. I’d forgotten about that. Microwaves, you name it. My brother’s lap top would go wiggy every time I got near it.” She smiled. “Pretty soon he wouldn’t let me in the same room with it.”

  “Since you’re the skeptical sort, what did you think was happening?”

  “Coincidence.”

  Lachlan looked at his watch and made a face. “Damn it, this thing isn’t working.”

  She grabbed his wrist and peered at the timepiece. The second hand continued to go around.

  She smacked his arm playfully. “Jerk.”

  He chuckled.

  She sighed. “But none of those types of things have happened to me since I moved here.”

  “Perhaps because you’re in a place that already has so much energy, you belong here.” While she absorbed the idea he continued. “Artistic people often have this power whether they know it or not and they are drawn to people and places that are similar in power. When you experienced those headaches, I felt them. Your pain is my pain.”

  She saw the conviction in his eyes and heard it in the strong bass of his voice. Lachlan Tavish meant each word down to the bottom of his Scot’s soul.

  “When you get the headache, it’s a sign of psyche drain,” he said. “Your body is feeling the evil around you and you’re fighting it. I’ll have to teach you how to block the pain so that it doesn’t overwhelm you.”

  “I’d like to get rid of it forever.”

  “I doubt you can do that. Besides, it could be a good tool. It would let you know danger or spirit is near.”

  Amazed, she shook her head. “How do you know all this stuff?”

  He smiled. “I learned from an old man named Dominic. He taught me everything I wanted to know about this stuff as you call it. He also explained that the pain I felt could be my own, caused by the presence of the supernatural. Or the ache could be caused by a connection with another human.” Lachlan’s gaze held hers. “A person I had deep feelings for.”

  He didn’t reach for her, but if he had, Erin knew she couldn’t have resisted him. Instead she let more inhibitions fly out the window. “All this is so outside my understanding. I still have a difficult time believing it. But after what I experienced tonight, I’m not sure.” She pushed her hands through her hair, staying there for a minute, as if she might have to hold her head on her shoulders. “You and Danny almost fought over me in the hospital.”

  “Okay, I’ll admit it,” he said with a light, unconcerned tone. “I get jealous every time I see how territorial he is with you.”

  “Jealous?” His admission sent gratification rippling inside her.

  “Not a very admirable emotion, I’ll admit. I’ll get back to this attraction between us in a moment,” he said with a matter-of-factness that surprised her. “What is important right now is that you understand who and what this fiend is. He can dissolve and reappear by turning into different animals. He can transform into a bat, a hare, a bird and a wolf. The gargoyle form is his most hideous shape, but not the only one.”

  Humor edged into her voice. “So now every time I see a bunny rabbit I should run in terror?”

  A husky, deep rumbling laugh came from his chest. “Not exactly.”

  “Are the other legends about vampires true?”

  “Much of the folklore is real. They must be invited into your house in order to enter.”

  “Then someone must have invited him into the library?”

  “At some time, yes. A stake through the heart is the most effective way to release their tortured spirit. Romanians have a good name for these creatures. Strogoi.”

  “Strogoi,” she whispered. “Even the word sounds evil.”

  “These undead inhabit every country on earth and there are thousands of them. No one knows their exact numbers, but they account for many of the missing persons you hear about.”

  Pondering, she reached for her hot chocolate and tasted it. It had gone cold, but she drank it anyway. “You mean missing children cases?”

  “Some children have been taken and killed, or made into young vampires bound to the one who sired them.”

  “Sired?”

  “Made them strogoi.”

  She put down her mug again, her fingers and the rest of her body going cold. “And other people who go missing?”

  “Some of them as well. There are other monsters in the night, Erin. Most of them are human.”

  “Of course.”

  “I consulted experts on vampirism when I was still in Scotland. They explained this vampire has traveled the world attacking innocents, but he never stays long enough in one place for hunters to track him and destroy him.”

  “So you’ve become a vampire hunter?”

  “Yes. But there are others. There are good vampires who work side by side with humans to protect others from the evil ones.”

  Erin rested her head on the back of the couch and closed her eyes. “This gets stranger every minute.”

  “It is that. A friend of mine is tracking this fiend. He’s also a vampire.”

  Erin opened her eyes and stared at him in alarm. “What?”

  “Like I said, there are good vampires as well as bad. My friend is a master at catching up with the evil spirits of the night. He’s so good at it, he’s called The Hunter. His real name is Ronan Kieran.”

  “Does the evil vampire have a name?”

  “No on
e knows either his name or where he was originally born. Perhaps when I encounter him for the final time, I’ll discover the truth.”

  The final time.

  Fear danced over her as she thought of him in a battle again with the unnamed vampire. “I don’t like the idea of you fighting him. Can’t you ask this Kieran for help?”

  He picked up her hand and kissed it. “Ronan is in Morocco consulting with some tribal elders who’ve had experience tracking this type of vampire. I’ve already spoken with him, and he’s on his way.”

  “This type of vampire?” she asked warily. “There are types?”

  He chuckled. “Sorry, lass. There’s something else you don’t know. The vampires come in different levels depending on how old they are. The one we face now is one of the strongest.”

  “Of course.” She sighed as she sat up straight. “How old is this evil vampire?”

  “A thousand years.”

  “Oh, God.”

  “Ronan is at a disadvantage. He was born in Ireland in 1300.”

  She saw the humor in the conversation, even though a terrible sense of inevitable battle simmered inside her. “Only in 1300. And that’s a disadvantage?”

  “His strength is not as great as this vampire. He’s trained for some time, as well, to learn how to fight with weapons and poisons and other methods. He’s lived in so many places around the world, but he immigrated to the United States during the American Revolution. It was around that time Ronan began hunting the other vampire.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. He’s closed-mouth about it.”

  After a quiet pause where she thought about how insane this would have sounded a week ago, she asked, “So you could see this creature when he was attacking me?”

  “I saw only shadows and not his true face. Shadows where you couldn’t see him at all.” She shivered, and without notice he drew her close. She sank into the comfort his powerful arms gave her. “They are beings of the night. Sunlight will not kill them, but it can drain their power completely after a time. This vampire hides in the shadows and can become invisible at will.”

  “I heard a man’s laugh, very evil and predatory in the library.”

  “Most likely it was him you heard.”

  Another thought occurred to her. “Have some of them tried to turn themselves back into human by staying in the light?”

  His fingers rubbed her upper arm, and the tender caressing almost distracted her entirely. “Some have tried, but most fail. It may or may not work. They may still crave blood. Also, if they are out they must cover themselves in dark clothing from head to toe so there is little sun exposure, and this makes their presence obvious. Because of that, they rarely go out during the day.”

  Curiosity made her press onward. “What else can you tell me?”

  “They can be wounded but not killed with a silver bullet. Ronan is bringing special ammunition with him.”

  She giggled at the insanity of what she’d heard in the last few minutes. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But I thought that was for werewolves.”

  Lachlan smiled. “No, actually, there are no such things as werewolves.”

  She sighed in relief. “Good. I was hoping at least some fairy tales weren’t true. I still have to wrap my mind around this vampire concept and it isn’t easy.”

  “You must try. It’s the only way you’ll survive. This is not a game, lass. My family ignored his legend and it cost them their lives.”

  “Do you have a gun with a silver bullet?”

  “I do. I would have tried to shoot him with it tonight, but you were too near. I couldn’t risk it.”

  She’d never liked guns, never wanted to touch one. But what if she needed to use one to kill them monster that stalked this town?

  I’ll get it. His voice rippled, low and soft in her mind. “I’ll show you how to use it. But there is one thing you must know. This vampire is so powerful that we aren’t sure if the silver bullet will even slow him down. It may only sicken him. Most can’t get near enough to harm him in any way.”

  A new fear invaded her heart. “So you’re saying he’s invincible.”

  Lachlan lifted her hand and kissed the back of it again. “Not invincible. We just haven’t found the right way to destroy him yet.”

  A curious thought came to her mind. “What made him so evil?”

  “No one knows. Legend says the older a vampire gets, the more jaded his soul becomes. Not everyone believes this, but it’s a theory.” He squeezed her hand gently, then stood. “Wait here.”

  She waited on the couch while he went back to the bedroom. When he came back, he held a sleek, modern weapon that gleamed in the low light like pewter. As he showed it to her, she wondered when and where he’d obtained it.

  I had it made. Before I came to Pine Forest. I got it from Amadeus Creed.

  Another vampire hunter?

  A man retiring from vampire hunting. He wanted me to have it. He’s hoping, as I do, that I can kill the ancient one with this weapon.

  He showed her the clip, and she wanted to laugh again. This seemed too beyond, to odd to be true, yet she knew once and for all she couldn’t deny the reality in front of her. When he placed the heavy weapon in her hand and showed her how to fire it, her hands and arms began to tremble.

  His fathomless, compelling eyes reassured her. “You’ll only need to fire it if something goes wrong when you’re with me. I told you I could protect you, and the vampire knows that. With Ronan coming here, though, the vampire will be angry and will attack again. That’s why you’ve got to stay with me from now on until we kill this bastard.”

  “If he is so all-powerful, then why can’t he just thrust you aside and…and assault me?”

  “Because I’ve been watching you all the time.”

  “But you’re human with a few vampire traits. How can that make any difference to him?”

  “Because of your bond with me and your feelings for me. This vampire craves all the horrible emotions in the world, lass. He thrives on war, destruction, murder, and all forms of evil. It’s his life-blood. Women are most vulnerable when they have no hope left. No love within them.”

  Erin was shocked at the thought of Lachlan killing someone.

  Lachlan’s gaze turned from the gun to her. Not killing someone. Killing a thing, lass. I’ve got no choice. The carnage won’t end until someone eliminates him.

  Again she shuddered. He put the gun down on the coffee table and slipped his arms back around her.

  “If he’s been slaughtering people for hundreds of years, what makes you think you can stop him now?” she asked.

  With the confidence of a man who’d determined his course in life long ago, he said, “With Ronan’s help, I think we can combine our strength to put him at a disadvantage. It may not be enough, but it has to be tried. We can’t let this go on.”

  “Isn’t there some other way? So that you won’t have to go near him?”

  “No, lass. There’s no other way.”

  She didn’t like the answer, but she would live with it for now.

  “So you heard of him before your parents were killed?” she asked.

  “There are many legends about him that have been around for centuries. I lived outside Edinburgh, and the village I lived in has long spoken of his dark influence. I heard the tales growing up, but my parents didn’t believe the stories and told me not too, either. It was their downfall. I couldn’t bear it if you were hurt again.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him close. When she pulled back and looked at him, the hunger and tenderness she saw in his eyes thrilled her.

  “You canna know what it felt like to realize I couldn’t save my mum and dad from that bastard,” he whispered into her hair, his accent turning thicker. “So you see, lass, I’ve felt the madman’s grip. I know how you felt when you tried to get away. I’m a strong man, but there was little I could do against him. He bit me on the neck.”

  She pulled b
ack from his embrace a little and glanced at his neck. “The scar.”

  “Yes, lass. When I woke up, the emergency technicians were loading me into the ambulance. I lapsed into a coma for two days, and when I awoke again, I could do and see and hear things I never could before. I thought I’d turned into a vampire, but as the days passed, I didn’t crave blood, nor did I have other symptoms.”

  “How did you escape becoming a vampire?”

  “I think because the emergency personnel came to the fire quickly and the vampire couldn’t afford to linger.”

  “Thank God.”

  She felt his bicep and the incredible muscle structure. “Are you stronger than normal? And that reflex thing you did with the glass. I wasn’t imagining that time slowed down, was I?”

  “I worked out before the vampire attack, but some of the vampire strength transferred to me. I also possess extraordinarily reflexes. The glow you saw in my eyes the other night is an indicator of sensitivity to danger or desire. I felt the vampire’s presence, just as you did outside Ricardo’s.” His palms caressed her back. “Even after the vampire is found and destroyed, it’ll be a good long time before I forget the bastard.” He kissed her forehead. “But I’ll know you’re safe.”

  Erin’s heart triple-timed and they stayed in their close embrace for what seemed forever before she managed to speak. “You said the glow in your eyes is also from desire?”

  “It can be, yes,” he said.

  She snuggled deeper into his arms, her love mingling with wild longing. “This thing between us is unusual, whatever it is.”

  “This thing?” One corner of his mouth turned up in a half smile. “You mean the fact that since the night I met you, I can barely stand to be away from you?”

  She dared to gaze into his eyes and saw nothing but the truth. His words warmed her deep down, excited her in every membrane and brain cell. He leaned closer and demanded she notice him with his sheer size and nearness. Desire gathered in his eyes and built force. He reached up to cup her face, his thumb tender as he touched her cheek. Feelings stood on the surface, tingling like a burn, waiting to ignite.

  “I’ve never felt like this with a woman before,” he said.