Kiss of the Vampire

by Terry Spear

  Ruric patted Levka on the shoulder. “Got our rooms.”

  “Were they already available?” Levka asked.

  “One of them was. We needed two more to accommodate us this time. Two single beds in each room. For them, I had to wrangle some moves.”

  “What?” Caitlin asked, her eyes wide. “Did you do the same on the other ship? Dylan was furious he got stuck with snoring Michael.”

  Levka raised his brows. “You wouldn’t object, would you?”

  “Not for him. But who did we move on this ship?”

  Arman puffed up his chest. “Just what I like. Someone with a conscience.”

  “A widow and a widower are now sharing a stateroom. They seem very content with the arrangement.” Ruric flashed a toothy grin. “Everyone should be a couple on long voyages, just like in deep space.”

  “That gives us one room. Who else?”

  “We have to have rooms, Caitlin,” Levka said, taking her hand.

  “Two kids had separate accommodations from their parents. The parents needed more family time.” Ruric folded his arms, as if waiting for her agreement.

  “All right.”

  “Good.” Levka pulled her toward the ship’s theater as the ship moved away from port. “If all goes as Vlad plans, he will arrive at Fort Lauderdale and wait for us to appear at the airport.”

  “But instead?”

  Stasio cleared his throat. “The ship will dock at port.”

  “If people die on these cruises, where do they put the bodies?” Caitlin asked, suddenly wondering how they could keep the bodies for so long.

  “In cold storage,” someone behind them said. They turned to see a crewman wink. “We have a storeroom to keep the ice for the ice sculptures and flowers in refrigeration. That’s where we keep the bodies. But we already removed the two we had.”

  “So there’s room for more?” Arman asked.

  “Yep.”

  “What about their traveling companions?” Caitlin asked. “It must be horrible for them.”

  “One was with a tour group. She just went face down in her potato soup. The rest of the guests finished their meal while we took her away. She was widowed. The other was a man. His wife sent him home at St. Martin, but she’d paid for the cruise, and she intended to finish it.”

  “I guess it’s not such a bad way to go, if you like cruises,” Caitlin said.

  Levka rubbed her arm. “I didn’t even ask if it was okay to take the ship back, Caitlin. I’m sorry. I should have asked.”

  She shook her head. “I’m going to get used to the water, one way or another.”

  When they reached the theater, music was playing and couples dancing. Older men serving as dance chaperones were seeking single ladies to dance with.

  “Dance with me,” Levka said, offering Caitlin his arm.

  “You know I’m not very good.”

  “For me, you are perfect.”

  To the dance escorts’ surprise, Stasio, Arman, and Ruric spread out and escorted ladies up to the stage to waltz. Flattered at the attentions of younger men, the older women didn’t hesitate.

  But an hour into the evening, Caitlin leaned against Levka, the strength she had dwindled.

  “What’s wrong, Caitlin?” he asked.

  “I…I feel really tired.”

  “She needs new blood,” Arman said as he danced nearby. “That’s the problem with a fledgling. They need frequent small feedings.”

  “I don’t want her feeding off mortals for now. She’s too newly turned.”

  “We can’t get to a blood bank source right now, and you shouldn’t give her anymore of your blood for another day or so,” Arman warned.

  Ruric smiled. “She can feed off me.”

  She started to pull away from Levka.

  “Not now,” Levka said.

  She hissed, and he clamped his hand over her mouth.

  Chapter 20

  Stasio chuckled at Caitlin as they moved toward the entrance of the ballroom. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen a fledgling’s actions. This should be interesting.”

  “Ruric, get a couple of people to give blood. Arman, go with him and take the blood, then bring it back to me to Caitlin’s stateroom. Stasio, you come with me.”

  “It would be so much simpler if she just fed off one of us,” Ruric said, then headed out of the ballroom with Arman following behind.

  “She is not feeding off anyone this early on.” Levka returned her to her stateroom with Stasio in tow.

  “Quit calling me a fledgling,” Caitlin snapped, then collapsed on the bed.

  Stasio grinned. “Maybe Petroski was right. A mortal who was more controllable…”

  Caitlin glowered at him.

  Stasio chuckled. “Except for Levka’s getting us involved in rescuing mortals from time to time, life has been rather dull. I can see now, that will change. Well, actually, it changed the instant the two of you saw each other. I’m surprised Arman isn’t raising more of a fit about all of this.”

  Levka placed his hands on his hips and studied Caitlin’s mutinous expression. If she wasn’t so exhausted, he assumed she’d be giving him more of a fight. It didn’t matter. What was done was done and could never be undone. She was his to protect for all eternity, and someday when she was strong enough, she could even protect him, if need be.

  Like the trials of training a puppy, accidents would occur, no doubt, and he’d have to call on every shred of patience he possessed and deal with it.

  Half an hour later, Ruric and Arman arrived at the room, blood vials in hand.

  Levka offered the blood to Caitlin, but she turned her head away.

  Arman sat on the desk chair. “She is worse than a new fledgling because we can’t control her actions.”

  She speared Arman with a dagger of a look.

  Arman simply smiled.

  “Caitlin, drink and you’ll feel better.” Levka reached for her chin, but she bared her teeth at him.

  Ruric laughed. She turned her animosity on him. A smile plastered to his lips, he bowed. “She is a live one, Levka. I want one like her, too.”

  “Not me,” Arman said. “If I ever get desperate enough, first, I will get league approval, and second, I will find a girl who is completely brain-washable. I don’t like conflict.”

  “Hmm, for me,” Stasio said, “the girl has to have a love of history. If she doesn’t, it will be a no go.”

  Levka sighed. “Maybe we need privacy.”

  “We’ll see what’s going on in the rest of the ship,” Stasio said, then vanished.

  “Stay with him,” Levka ordered.

  “We’re on it,” Ruric said and disappeared.

  “If you need our assistance, just holler.” Arman bowed to Caitlin. “We’re truly glad you’re part of our family. If you ever need anything from any of us, we’ll come to your aid.” He left with the others.

  “Caitlin, honey, drink,” Levka coaxed, sitting beside her on the bed.

  “I…I can’t. When I did it before, it was because I was terrified of the shark. I told myself that I was doing this because it was going to make me immortal, though deep down I truly didn’t believe it. I thought Vlad was wearing false teeth. I thought it was all a lie, made up in his sick mind. But I wanted to live, and somehow felt if I did as you asked, I’d be okay.”

  “I care for you more than life itself, dear Caitlin. I would let no harm come to you ever. You must believe me. But you need to drink.”

  She sighed, and her eyes shifted from the vials of blood to his lips.

  He leaned over and kissed her, wanting to control her just this once, make her drink the blood so she could see how much she needed it.

  Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled him close and kissed him back. He dropped the vials on the bed and ran his fingers through her windswept curls. “My nymph from the sea.”

  She licked his lips, then extended her teeth.

  He grinned and grabbed up a vial of blood. “Not from me, lov
e.” Opening the vial, he offered it to her.

  For a moment, she stared at the blood. “Your blood mixed with the seawater drew the shark.”

  “Yes, I tried not to drip it in the water, but you wouldn’t drink from me.”

  Her eyes shifted to his. “I’m…I’m a pill, aren’t I?”

  “No. All of this will take some getting used to.”

  She lay back on the bed. “I’m just tired. I’ll sleep and feel better.”

  Shaking his head, he pulled the stopper out of the blood vial. Then he touched the blood to her lips. “You need to sleep after all that has happened. But you need blood, too.”

  She licked her lips and frowned at him, then rolled onto her side. “I’ll drink it later.”

  Touching her lips with more of the blood, he tried again to encourage her to drink. She took in a deep breath, smelling the blood. Closing her eyes, she sighed deeply. Then she swept her tongue over her lips again.

  Groaning, she reached for the vial.

  He offered it to her. “Drink slowly.”

  Caitlin tasted the sweet, coppery taste, but it wasn’t the same as Levka’s. “I like yours better.” After handing him the half-finished bottle, she lay back down.

  “I’ll leave the rest here for now.” He set the two vials on the bedside table. “You’ll sleep.”

  Touching her temple, she stared at him. Levka’s face seemed to blur. “The stuff is doing funny thingsss to my eyesss.”

  “Sleep, Caitlin. I’ll be back in a while.” Levka kissed her cheek, and then he watched over her.

  She tried to focus on him, but the longer she watched him, the more he faded from her sight until she saw no more of him.

  For some time, she drifted in and out of sleep. But even when she was partly aware, she was unaware, too.

  “Invite me in,” someone coaxed. The telepathic voice sounded a million miles away.

  “Come in,” she said, her mind still fuzzy. How long had she been asleep?

  Petroski’s gray eyes studied her. “They drugged you.”

  She stared at him, her mind not at all clear. Who drugged her?

  Reaching down, he turned Caitlin’s head to the side. “Levka’s turned you after all. Know this, fledgling. I’m not just a tracker as Levka and his friends assumed. I’m an assassin. If you persist in staying with Levka, I will kill you both. You don’t have the Dallas league’s permission to be his.”

  “Vlad’s…” She sighed heavily, wondering why the blood hadn’t given her strength like Levka said it would. “Vlad’s the one who forcibly took my blood and left me near death!” She meant to sound as mad as she felt, but her words came out no louder than a whisper.

  Petroski’s brows rose. “So Vlad has claimed you.”

  “No.” She closed her eyes against the swimming sensation in her skull. “Levka saved my life.”

  Petroski shook his head. “The league doesn’t want to lose the princes. They fear the four will stick together in this travesty. But you can’t be Levka’s.”

  Her eyes popped open, but she felt she needed toothpicks to keep them that way. “You…you will kill him?”

  “Easily. Would you wish that on your conscience before you die, too?”

  She stared at the bed. “What am I supposed to do?”

  “You wouldn’t be able to fly invisibly this early after the change. Levka will have to take you to the airport in Fort Lauderdale if he’s to take you anywhere. Make excuses to go to the restroom. Leave a note telling him you wish no part of him now. That you wish to explore your new found freedom on your own. You will be able to turn invisible and leave. But you can’t do this and fly. Leave the airport and you can go anywhere you please.”

  “What…what about Vlad?”

  Petroski shrugged. “Don’t return to Orlando. You’ll be able to tell who is vampire and who is not. Stay away from them. In time, you will gain your own powers.”

  She closed her eyes against the pounding in her head. Nothing in life was ever easy. Why couldn’t it be like before when her family was alive? “How will I survive?”

  “We have a natural instinct for survival, Caitlin. Take what you want, go where you want, just stay away from Levka and his friends.”

  She opened her eyes, but Petroski was gone. The nightmare wasn’t about to go away. With tears in her eyes, she hugged the death out of her pillow. Levka had saved her life.

  Now it was her turn to do the same for him. She had her witch’s powers. Sure. But a fledgling vampire, on her own?

  ***

  Two days later, they were at the Fort Lauderdale airport, just as Petroski had predicted. Would Vlad and his buddies be here, too? But what about Petroski? Was he watching Caitlin’s every move? She’d had a devil of a time pretending to be cheerful toward Levka and his friends, pretending that she planned to stay with them forever. She knew they sensed something was wrong with her, though she’d overheard Arman say he thought it was because she’d been newly turned. They hadn’t been around a fledgling in a hundred years they’d said, so they couldn’t remember how it would be for one exactly.

  She couldn’t help the way her stomach did horrible flip-flops when she headed for the airport ladies’ room. Just turn invisible, Petroski had said. Leave a note for Levka.

  With tears in her eyes, she rested the folded note on the bathroom counter.

  Could she truly survive on her own? With no money, a craving for human blood. She shuddered. She had to because there was no way she was going to put Levka and his friends at further risk for her sake.

  When a woman pushed the door aside, Caitlin concentrated on becoming invisible and slipped out with her.

  She stifled a sniffle as she saw Levka leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets, waiting for her to exit the restroom. I love you, she said silently to herself, and hurried toward the exit, leaving Levka, her love, and her new friends behind.

  ***

  Frowning, Levka sniffed the air, certain the jasmine perfume Caitlin wore had grown closer, then faded away.

  Suddenly, he grew concerned about Caitlin. She’d acted strangely distance all morning, though he’d assured her the best way to get to her foster parents’ house and wipe their memories was to fly out of the airport in Fort Lauderdale. He thought it was because she worried Vlad might still be waiting for her. It was all a risk.

  Vlad might very well be waiting for her at her home.

  When a woman headed for the restroom, Levka said, “Excuse me, miss, can you check to see if my mate…girlfriend is in there? Her name is Caitlin.”

  “Sure.”

  Minutes later, the middle-aged woman came back out. “There’s no one in there. Are you Levka? Here’s a note left next to one of the sinks.”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  His heart thundering, Levka reached for the envelope and ripped it open.

  Dear Levka,

  I thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me a chance at life when I was so near death. I will always treasure our friendship, but I must become my own person. Please understand and let me go. Your friend always, Caitlin.

  Arman looked over his shoulder and communicated the letter to Ruric and Stasio.

  “Find her. She can’t have gone far,” Levka ordered.

  The four headed in the direction of her perfume, but Ruric took off at a run. Of the four, he was the best tracker of the bunch.

  “Caitlin, talk to me,” Levka called to her telepathically.

  Silence.

  “I think she’s headed for the taxi stand,” Ruric said to Levka and the others.

  “Tell me what the matter is, Caitlin. If you need time to adjust, I have no trouble with this. But you’re not safe on your own. Not as a fledgling.”

  “She’s at the taxi stand, but indecisive. Should I attempt to grab her?” Ruric asked.

  “She’ll probably cry out if you touch her. I’m on my way there, but if she gets into a taxi before I reach you, go with her."

  “I th
ink she’s pacing. Her perfume seems to be moving from place to place.”

  “I’m nearly there.” Then Levka said for everyone to hear, “I love you, Caitlin. From the moment I laid eyes on you, you stole my heart. If I have not made that clear to you before…”

  “She’s crying.”

  “Invisibly?”

  “Yes. Should I grab her? Five airline passengers are staring in the direction of her sobs.”

  “Caitlin, please don’t leave me.”

  “I can’t go with you, Levka. I’ll be the death of you and your friends.”

  Levka’s heart stilled.

  “Someone’s gotten to her,” Arman warned.

  “Who says this, Caitlin?” Levka asked.

  Silence.

  “Caitlin, who says this?” Levka asked gently, standing next to her. He felt the connection to her at once, heard the blood pumping rapidly through her heart, smelled her sweet fragrance, felt her slight body’s warmth. “Tell me.”

  “Petroski.” She sobbed louder and two of the people waiting for taxis backed away. Another two headed inside the building. “He’s an assassin.”

  “He’s a tracker, nothing more.”

  “He came to me and told me he’s an assassin.” She sniffled.

  “Did he tell you that you would be safe, a fledgling among our people?”

  Silence.

  “Caitlin?”

  “Yes. I can’t let you and your friends be sacrificed. He said he’d kill us both and your friends would be next.”

  Levka wrapped his arms around her, and she cried out.

  One elderly lady fainted, and another ran back inside the building screaming.

  “We are one. You are mine with or without the league’s permission. I have already said so. Together, we will fight this. But not today.”

  Arman grunted. “What now, Levka? We give up our “guild” and become hunted vampires?”

  “We have thirty-six-hundred and eighteen years between us. Surely four ancients and one sweet fledgling can come up with a plan.” To Caitlin, Levka said privately, “Agreed, love?”

  She wrapped her arms around him and held him close. “I don’t want any harm to come to you.”

  “Communicate telepathically. People will think the taxi stand is haunted.” He leaned down and kissed her lips.