by Fawn Lowery
Jarharis paused near a dark grove and contemplated all he had seen during the past hours. There were many vampires within the city and beyond. He shook his head in weariness. He hated to admit that he was no better than they were—an undead thing that must take the life force from a living being to remain in the state of limbo that vampirism brought. He hung his head as the curse rose up inside his body. Blood sustained his body in the same manner. His needs were exact.
He sought comfort in the fact that he had a bit more respect for his victims than what he had seen tonight from his fellow vampires. Though, come to trial, he could be viewed no differently by mortal man. Still, he had never taken a life and had no intention of changing that fact. Once he had awakened and found he had the curse, he had vowed never to drain a body and he had managed—so far—to keep that promise.
He pulled in deep breaths to try and steady his big body. His search had turned up little beyond victims either dead or near death from loss of blood. He scanned the sky overhead, deciding how much night there was remaining then turned his attentions to the stand of trees directly in front of him. Recalling that Tanya had divulged that Aston boasted of sleeping inside a crypt that was hidden from all made him wonder if his sanctuary was perhaps inside an unexplored patch of woods in the vicinity. He concentrated his powers of perception on the grove of trees.
He sighed. Alas, there was nothing within that he could discern. He turned to leave the area, ready to call upon the magic and transform into a winged creature when he suddenly heard a movement behind him. He whirled around, glimpsing a shadowy form rapidly approaching.
“So you have been searching for me, Jarharis.” Aston stood before him, his slim body poised as though to do battle.
Jarharis eyed his enemy. “You leave a noxious trail, Aston.”
Aston threw back his head and laughed loudly.
Jarharis sensed Aston’s rage though he tried to cover it with an attempt at humor. And suddenly he sensed the dark woods concealed the legion traveling with Aston.
“You have found me only because I allowed you to find me, Jarharis. You should not become so pompous in your ability to track me down.” He snarled. “What do you want?”
“A word of warning, Aston.” He fought to contain his rage, holding his emotions as best he could. The urge to grasp the young vampire by the throat and tear his veins open gripped his insides though he doubted he could stand against the many loyal to Aston.
“Warning? You dare to speak a warning to me?” He strode forward, his back stiff, and one hand stroking his chin in mock contemplation. “You lay with a mortal whore—”
Jarharis struck without warning, lunging forward and grasping Aston by the neck. He propelled his body upward then slammed him against the ground all so quickly that there was only a gasp of surprise from the vampire’s mouth.
A great roar sounded from within the darkened woods. Aston raised one hand, holding his legion at bay while he bounded to his feet. He stroked his neck, displaying an amused grin. “You did not bring a wooden stake to drive into my heart, Jarharis? Your tactics are lacking, my friend.” He resumed his pompous posture before Jarharis. “And as for your whore—”
Jarharis bellowed and lunged at him again, only to be struck from the rear by a mighty blow. He wavered on his feet, his eyes bleary, his strength ebbing.
“Carry this warning to the lovely bitch. Tell her to prepare herself for death—or near death.” He laughed jeeringly. “I will soon come to her and she will welcome me with open arms or should I say, open legs?” He laughed again. “After I have fucked her royally, I shall make her my immortal woman. Yes. She will serve me and keep me happy.” He gritted his teeth. “In much the same manner as Lily—before you interfered.”
Jarharis fought to regain his senses, forcing the fog to clear from his brain. He braced his feet apart, gathering his strength. He clenched his fists at his sides, ready to attack Aston once more.
Aston laughed and disappeared, leaving only his raucous sound on the night air.
CHAPTER TEN
Jarharis returned to his sanctuary, his mind consumed with the threat Aston had issued against Selena. His anger knew no bounds when it came to the evil vampire’s threat. And he had little doubt that he wouldn’t try and carry out the menace. He had nothing to lose. He was undead, walking among the living, considered one of them on many levels. And the legion loyal to their master would aid him.
He combed a hand through his hair. Daylight hovered just beyond the horizon. He needed to sleep. Night had escaped and yet there was much more he desired to do. He sighed and sought out his earthly sanctuary. The fragrant soil brought him a measure of peace as he settled into the crypt. He closed his eyes, his last thoughts of Selena and how he would protect her.
* * * *
“Wake up, Jarharis. There is much to do.”
Jarharis opened his eyes. His keen sense of hearing recognized the sound of Mi’s tiny voice and the spinning whir of her fairy wings. He levered himself up, swinging his feet over the edge of the crypt. “Perhaps you would tell me how you could invade my sanctuary without my knowledge, Mi.”
She laughed, flitting across the dark room to the lit foyer and the open spaces beyond. “You sleep soundly, Jarharis.”
He shook his head and followed the tiny being through the doorway into the expansive room adjacent to his sleeping chamber. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, spilling its bright luminance across the marble floor. He gazed about, looking for the pixie then heard her voice calling to him from another room in the house.
“Your enemy awakens as you do. Thoughts of destroying you are in his mind. Be wary when you venture forth to feed. His legion is nearby.”
Jarharis gazed at the elf, hovering just beyond his grasp. “Why do you bring me messages? To whom do I owe for your presence, Mi?”
“I have been sent to tend you.”
He chuckled and thought suddenly of the amulet handing about his neck. He grasped its linked chain and pulled the jewel from the confines of his shirt. Closing his hand around the gem, he brought his eyes back to Mi. She had moved since he last looked her way—and changed forms. Once more she assumed the figure of a sleek black cat and hovered near the ceiling, sprawled out on her side, a sleepy expression on her feline face.
He stared at the cat and squeezed the amulet in his fist. He had taken it from the neck of a witch—but he couldn’t remember seeing a cat in the stronghold. Still, he presumed that black cats and witches were synonymous. Or was that just around Halloween? He scratched his head suddenly. His era had no such holiday to his recollection.
He watched the cat lying near the ceiling and held the amulet in his hand. For the past two days he had been aware that he knew various things about the time period he had been transported to and at times questioned how he had come to have such knowledge. He opened his fist and gazed down at the gem. It glowed pale amber against his palm. Heat radiated from its glassy surface. He blinked his eyes and raised his hand nearer his face, staring unblinking at the faceted stone.
A murky shadow seemed to form within its interior, drawing his eyes ever closer. The shadow swirled, changed from murky to opaque, swirling as it began to change form. The swirling halted suddenly, suspended within the walnut size amulet then began to separate, spiking long lustrous ribbons that rose upward as though driven on a breeze within the stone. Momentarily the ribbons became arms and the milky swirl centered into a being.
His breath caught up in his throat as he realized he was staring at a picture of Selena, her long hair forming a pale halo around her head. He could see her face, her expression. A fear unlike any he had ever known gripped his insides. He stared as the mirage moved, turned and seemed to look right at him. A slow smile pulled at her mouth, until she was grinning broadly. Suddenly she parted her lips and the unmistakable sight of fangs gleamed forth.
Jarharis closed his eyes and shook his head. Perhaps he had imagined the vision. His thoughts were consumed
with the woman. Perhaps he had lost the ability to concentrate properly. He drew in a long breath and returned his eyes to the gem in his palm.
The vision had vanished. The gem appeared as it had since he first possessed it. He turned it over in his hand as though examining it for the first time.
“You have been shown the future, Jarharis.”
He glanced upward, searching the ceiling for Mi. She had resumed her pixie body, hovering in one corner of the large room. She flew closer to him when he saw her.
“Join the vampire club and help Selena.”
“That’s not a very good idea, Mi. They are mortals who profess to hunt vampires. I would not be accepted.”
“You are vulnerable to Aston. As for Aston’s thinking about the mortal club, he considers their efforts futile.”
Jarharis contemplated the fairy’s words. Aston had openly jeered at the vampire club the first time he met him. He gritted his teeth. He should have destroyed him on that night. He should have torn him to shreds and left him lying in the alley, bits and pieces scattered about. He closed his fist around the amulet.
“Heed my words, Jarharis.” The fairy waved her wings and flitted from the room, leaving Jarharis staring after her.
Perhaps there’s something to the pixie’s words. If Aston has no fear of the vampire club—perhaps they could lay a plan for him without him being aware of it. A doubt stabbed at his mind.
The members of the club are not knowledgeable enough about vampires to properly set a plan and execute it to the end. For an instant he thought back to his days as a warrior. The times had been brutal and bloody, a deathly trial by man’s strengths. And in the end, many lives were lost, but victory was won. Could he possibly compare going to battle with Aston to that of the Crusades? Surely Aston didn’t have that big a legion on his side.
He considered Mi’s words and the vision he had seen swirling inside the amulet. Its magical powers were still his to discover. He released the gem inside his shirt. His hunger gnawed at his insides. He needed to feed before he turned his thoughts to dealing with Aston.
He left his sanctuary, the search for a victim to quench his thirst filling his mind. He flew into the nightclub district and transformed, strolling along the street as though he were mortal. He spied two females coming toward him on the sidewalk. He ducked quickly into the shadow of a building and waited for them to approach.
He heard their soft voices then laughter as they passed in front of the alley. He sprang forward, taking up a position directly behind them on the sidewalk. A quick wave of his hand and they were under his power.
Obey me! They halted their feet and turned toward him, their eyes glassy. He circled their waists with his arms, placing himself between them and resumed walking up the sidewalk. To all passersby they were merely strolling along with nothing out of the ordinary taking place. As soon as the next dark alley appeared Jarharis steered the pair into the passageway.
He cleared his mind of all else aside from the need for blood that beckoned to him and fed first on the larger of the women then the smaller one, taking his fill before releasing them back onto the street. He transformed quickly and leapt into the air, the thought that he had not harmed either of the women to any great extent solidified in his mind.
As on the nights before, once he had nourished his body with warm blood, his thoughts turned to Selena, and sex. He mentally chided himself for slipping into a rut. He smiled. The fact that all his needs were being met by the magical powers of the witch’s amulet left him free to pursue other pleasures.
Mi’s warning came swiftly to mind. Aston’s legion was nearby, watching, planning to destroy him. He realized that he would have to take the pixie’s advice and aide the vampire club, regardless of how insane he thought their efforts appeared to be. For a brief second he recalled the group’s attempt to destroy the vampire creature they had captured the past evening. They were poorly equipped to do battle with the undead.
He arrived at Selena’s apartment just as she was leaving for the evening, her battle fare tucked safely into her left boot.
“Come with me. The group is hunting on the outskirts of the city. Tanya thinks Aston’s sanctuary is somewhere in that vicinity.”
Jarharis took hold of her upper arms, halting her steps as she headed down the sidewalk. Thoughts of his encounter with Aston last night came quickly back to mind. “You may be walking into a trap.”
“Tanya said—”
“She may be luring the group into danger, Selena. Remember, she belongs to Aston.”
“She’s just pretending to be with him. She hates him and wants the club to destroy him.”
“You’re too trusting. Aston has immense power over anyone he’s turned.”
“But she’s been keeping us informed of his activities, Jarharis. Doesn’t that prove she’s on our side?”
He shook his head. “I don’t trust her.”
Selena sighed. “Well she’s the best informant the club has. Just last night, she told us where the vampire was that you ended up helping us kill.”
He contemplated her words. On the one hand, it almost sounded as though Tanya was aiding the club, telling them where to find a lone vampire to destroy, but on the other hand, she hadn’t given them Aston. The poor creature she had directed them to was capable of little more than finding sustenance for his withering body.
He thought about the threat Aston had made against Selena. He didn’t impress him as a vampire who made idle threats. No. He fully intended to carry out his promise of turning her. And then Selena would be his to command. His senses wrenched at the thought of beautiful Selena being the pawn of a ruthless vampire. “All right. I’ll help the club.”
She threw herself against his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing him tightly. “I knew you’d see things my way.” She kissed his cheek then his lips, pressing her breasts against his chest and tangling her hands in his long hair.
A shiver of longing coursed through his insides at the feel of her body pressing so tightly against his length. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her, never wanting to set her free. He closed his eyes for a moment, shutting out all else except the warming sensation generated by her body.
“Come on. Let’s go.”
“No. I can’t go with you to meet the others.”
“But—”
“They can’t be aware that I’m helping them, Selena. I have to stay in the shadows and be unknown, except to you.”
She caressed the side of his face with one palm. “You’ll help us kill the vampires—won’t you?”
He caught her hand and brought her palm to his mouth. He kissed it, pressing his lips into her warm flesh. If anything ever happened to her—
“Jarharis, you’ll help us kill the vampires, won’t you?”
“I won’t allow you to put yourself in danger, Selena. Yes. I’ll be there and help if I’m needed.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Armed with a box of wooden stakes and wearing odoriferous leis of garlic, the members of the Vampire Club piled into three cars and headed toward the outskirts of the city, relying on information Tanya had supplied regarding Aston’s hideaway. Against Jarharis’s better judgment, he allowed Selena to accompany the group. Transforming into a bird, he raced against time to arrive at the destination that Tanya had supplied. Realizing that her information revealed the exact location where he encountered Aston last night, he was certain that she lured the club members into a trap.
He arrived at the stand of dense foliage and took up a position in a tall willow across the road. From his advantage point, he could clearly see the gravel road where the club would stop their cars. The road gave way to woods and entry could be gained only on foot. Trepidation filled his insides as he perched in the tree and tried to see amid the dense stand of trees. If only he could be certain of what lay within the grove and the definite danger that the group of hunters might be bringing upon themselves.
State your ne
eds.
The voice sounded so clearly within his head that he almost lost his footing on the tree branch. Suddenly the urge to transform into his undead state gripped him. He leapt from the branch and glided softly to the forest floor beneath the tree, immediately assuming his vampire state. His hand went immediately to the amulet hanging about his neck. He clasped it in one fist and tightened his fingers around its faceted shape.
State your needs.
There was no mistaking the voice that time. He glanced around, looking for the speaker of the words, only to feel that he was alone beneath the tree. He contemplated what he should ask for, wondering if indeed, the voice was offering to fulfill his needs to keep Selena safe and to find Aston’s hideaway.
“Jarharis, Aston’s sanctuary lies within the trees.”
He jerked his head around, spying Mi. She hovered near a branch on the tree. Taking a seat on the woody bough, she relaxed her gossamer wings, folding them across her back, and stared at him.
Jarharis blinked his eyes at the tiny pixie. She appeared to be illuminated, as though surrounded by a soft pale green light that allowed him to see her features as clearly as if he were in his own sanctuary and illumination coming from a crystal chandelier. “Did you speak to me?”
The pixie smiled at him and nodded her head. “Aston’s sanctuary lies within the trees.”
Puzzled, for her voice didn’t sound like the first voice he heard, he held the amulet and stared at her.
“Look at the gem. It will reveal the way to Aston’s sanctuary. But you must not tell the members of the vampire club.”
Jarharis’s brows rose upward in surprise. Mi disappeared as quickly as she had materialized. He looked around, but failed to catch further sight of her. He opened his hand and stared at the amulet. It glowed pale yellow, then drew his gaze to its center. As before, he saw a swirling mist, moving, surging, then it began to clear. A picture began to form. He stared, trying to make out the forms taking shape.