A Vampire's Hunger

by Carla Susan Smith

  “Laycee and Jake have,” I corrected, informing him that I had given the house to them as a gift when I moved in with Gabriel. Still, I was impressed he’d even noticed, considering the circumstances of his only visit.

  Aside from replacing my paving-stone driveway with a proper concrete one, Jake had also re-landscaped the entire front yard. I know that had been Laycee’s idea. She wanted as few reminders as possible of seeing Katja trying to rip my throat open. The psycho vampire bitch had almost succeeded, too. I shuddered to think she was now on the loose, but that particular tidbit I was going to keep to myself for as long as possible.

  I had climbed the three steps and was standing on the porch when the front door was yanked open. Someone who looked like my best friend, albeit a disheveled version, glared at me. And then past me. I didn’t need to be told where Ryiel was now standing. Laycee’s expression said it all. She shoved me hard enough to make me stumble backward and let rip a blood-curdling scream before launching herself at Ryiel.

  Chapter 18

  Ryiel caught the small blonde woman as she hurled herself at him. One arm wrapped about her waist, he held her against his hip like a wrestler about to throw an opponent to the mat. Strong fingers secured her flailing hands at both wrists as she struggled against him. She was like an eel, he thought—no, more like a mountain lion intent on protecting her den and offspring. He was content to let her exhaust herself railing against him, but when she sank her teeth into his arm, he decided he’d had enough. Not that her bite would hurt him, but there was no way to know, if she broke the skin, how his blood might affect her, angry as she was. Tightening his hold, he squeezed until she let go and began gasping for breath.

  “Enough,” he ordered.

  The sight of his silver eyes and dark brows pulled to a sharp V between them was more than she could take. Ceasing her struggles, Laycee brought another, more formidable weapon to bear against him. Tears.

  “I thought . . . I thought . . . you were him . . .” she sobbed. “I thought he’d come back.”

  Ryiel set her on her feet, and she immediately stepped away and began swiping at her face with her hands. He held out a hand to Rowan, who got to her feet, green eyes shimmering with concern as she looked at her friend.

  “It’s the hair,” Laycee continued with a sniff, pointing at him. “It’s black like the other vampire’s, and you all seem to have the same build . . .” The rest of her sentence trailed off as she pulled her lower lip between her teeth. Ryiel had the distinct impression she was taking a mental picture of him from head to toe. “I’m sorry. I should have realized you weren’t him. He was wearing more clothes.”

  He failed to see what difference his attire, or lack of it, made, but he accepted her apology with a soft grunt. “You were watching, from there.” He raised a hand to a window on the upper floor of the house. “I remember Aleksei bringing you out of the house. Your wrists were broken, as I recall.” He reached for her hand and turned it over, the tips of his fingers skimming lightly across her skin. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

  “You didn’t.”

  Rowan brushed imaginary dirt off the seat of her pants as she stared at both of them. “You wanna tell me what the hell’s going on, Lace?”

  As she moved past him, Ryiel caught her scent. She was infused with the perfume of motherhood. A blend of regurgitated formula mixed with the innocence of her infant child, but then he caught the scent of something else. Another fragrance that was not so wholesome or, he imagined, so welcome.

  “What is it?” Rowan asked, seeing his lip curl in distaste.

  “Your friend has the smell of the Dark Realm about her.”

  “The smell of what?” Though Laycee acted surprised, Ryiel could tell she was not. She knew better than she should what he was referring to.

  Rowan came forward and took hold of her friend’s hands, asking, “Laycee . . . where’s Jenna?”

  Realizing Rowan was asking about the infant, Ryiel watched as Laycee turned petulant. He thought it an odd response. Her chin jutted out, and she speared a look of defiance at the Promise. The two women were friends, he knew, but something between them had changed. One held the life of a vampire in her hands, the other that of a child. Each female was prepared to do whatever was required to safeguard the life of the one she loved. Perhaps it was a reluctance to accept the change in the status quo that was causing the measure of distrust he could feel. Or perhaps it was something else. Rowan repeated her question, giving Laycee’s arms a little shake for emphasis.

  “She’s in her crib sleeping,” Laycee snapped irritably, shaking herself free of Rowan’s hold. “You lied to me, Rowan. Both you and Eye Candy. You shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Eye Candy?” Ryiel muttered.

  “She means Gabriel,” Rowan told him.

  He frowned. He might not know Rowan as well as he knew Gabriel, but he did not picture her as a liar. He looked at her friend with renewed interest. Was her statement a result of the taint she carried from the Dark Realm, or was motherhood confusing her? He knew little about new mothers, but it seemed to him the dark circles beneath Laycee’s eyes and her overall agitation were caused by more than natural fatigue. She had not slept well for some time, and while some deprivation was to be expected, this had the markings of something more.

  “Where’s your man?” he asked.

  China doll blue eyes narrowed slightly. “My . . . oh, you mean Jake. He’s away for work.”

  “And when will he return?”

  “Wednesday.”

  “Then you must come with us.” Ryiel was stern. “It is not safe for you or your child to be here alone.”

  “And being with a bunch of lying vampires is so much better?” Her laugh was scornful. “I don’t think so. Besides, I’m not safe anywhere, it seems.”

  Rowan made a spluttering noise of frustration. “What are you talking about? Why do you think we lied to you?”

  The petite blonde went from angry to fearful in a heartbeat. Her face crumpled, and she began to cry again. “You t-t-t-told me no v-v-vampires would get to her,” she sobbed, unable to stop the flow of moisture from her eyes. “Gabriel said his b-b-blood would p-p-protect her.”

  Ryiel started in surprise. “Gabriel agreed to give his protection to the child? Who is standing as surety for the payment?”

  “I think I am,” Rowan admitted, refusing to meet his gaze.

  His surprise was replaced by a stunned awareness. “Why would you do such a thing? Given the terms of your agreement with—”

  Rowan snapped her head up, freezing him with a look. “Yeah well, about that—let’s say I kinda agreed to it without knowing all the facts, okay?” She stepped forward and placed a hand on his arm. Her eyes darkened as she looked up at him earnestly.

  “So it’s true then?” They both turned to look at Laycee. “Gabriel is supposed to sleep with my daughter as payment for his so-called protection?” She stared at Rowan with contempt. “And you agreed to this? You would let him do this—to my daughter?”

  “No, Laycee, you’ve got it wrong. That’s not going to happen—”

  “Damn straight—not if I have anything to say about it!”

  “What were you thinking?” Ryiel said, his words making Rowan round on him.

  “If you can’t be helpful, then shut the fuck up.” She paused, and pulled in a breath, ignoring the ferocious glare he gave her. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d been spoken to with such insolence. Even Katja knew better. “Look, I’m sorry,” Rowan apologized. “I need to talk to you about this, but is there a chance we might be able to talk about it later, in private?”

  “I don’t know why you’re so worried,” Laycee interjected sourly. “The whole thing was a lie. There’s no protection for my baby.”

  “Of course there is,” Ryiel snorted.

  “Oh yeah? Then you wanna tell me how a vampire was able to come inside my house, uninvited?”

  The answer was obvious to Ryiel, but he to
ok his cue from Rowan. This was her friend, and he had no idea the extent of her knowledge.

  “Is it possible you invited him in without knowing he was a vampire?” Rowan asked, offering a possible explanation.

  Laycee frowned and bit her lip. “No, I’d never seen him before, but he knew what Gabriel had done. He asked if I wanted to see how worthless his word was.”

  “What did he do?”

  “What do you think he did? He walked right in as if he owned the place.”

  Rowan turned to look at Ryiel. How was it possible for a vampire to do that?

  It wasn’t . . . unless he wasn’t a vampire to begin with.

  Rowan turned her attention back to her friend. “Did he tell you who he was?” Laycee shook her head and sniffed. The combative attitude was waning, and weariness was taking its place. “Describe him to me, Laycee,” Rowan said in a low voice.

  Ryiel listened as the other woman spoke, but his concentration was on Rowan, watching her body language. The telltale signs told him all he needed to know. He cared little about Armani suits or ruby cufflinks; it was enough that Rowan recognized her demon. How unfair was it that vampires were the only supernatural beings requiring an invitation to cross a threshold?

  “You know who he is, don’t you?” Laycee fixed Rowan with a horrified stare.

  “He isn’t a vampire—”

  “Bullshit!”

  “No, Laycee! You must listen to me—”

  A peal of hysterical laughter trilled on the night air. “Believe you? But I did believe you, Rowan, and it was a lie. The protection you said I had was a lie. If it wasn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to come in, and he wouldn’t have been able to . . .” She clutched her throat, wide-eyed with terror. “He picked Jenna up from her crib and held her in his arms!”

  Desperation fueled Rowan to repeat herself. “Laycee, believe me when I tell you he wasn’t a—”

  “I saw his fucking fangs!”

  The stunned look on Rowan’s face, her uncertainty when faced with the onslaught of her friend’s conviction, propelled Ryiel to act. He called the petite blonde by name three times before she heard him.

  “What?!” she finally snapped, whirling about to face him.

  “Do you believe I am a vampire?”

  Same response, but this time delivered with a puzzled hesitancy. He folded his arms across his chest. For the first time the smaller woman looked at him, really looked at him, seeing more than the physique that she was doing her best to ignore. Now she recognized the strength of his build and the strange tattoos across his chest. He brushed back his long hair and slowly dropped his fangs, but the sharp intake of breath he heard came from Rowan.

  “Yes, I believe you’re a vampire,” Laycee muttered. “Why do you ask?”

  “Because I’m going to show you something,” he paused, “and believe me when I say this is going to hurt.”

  Rowan stared at him and caught his glance at the open doorway. To be fair, she tried to stop him. He saw her mouth form the word no, and a millisecond later he saw her fall to her knees. She reached for Laycee, pulling the other woman down with her as they both protected their ears from the small sonic boom that resonated through the house as he tried to breach the threshold uninvited. Even though Ryiel relaxed his muscles, knowing it was the best way to absorb the force that pushed back against him, he hadn’t been prepared for how much it hurt. He was lifted bodily, sent flying over the porch railing, and landed in a flowerbed of thorny roses a good twenty feet or so from the house. He let loose a string of colorful curses in a half-dozen different languages, ending with an easily understood “Son of a bitch—that hurts!”

  Rowan cleared the porch steps and ran to his side. “You fucking moron! You have the nerve to ask me what I was thinking?”

  Disentangling himself from a particularly prickly rose cane, Ryiel glanced toward the house, where Laycee watched them. Her face was even paler than before as she shook her head from side to side. No doubt she was experiencing some ringing in her ears, but he could sense that her anxiety level was approaching critical mass. “Do you think you can get the baby out of the house?” he asked, lowering his voice.

  “Sure, I think so.” Surprised by his whispering, she added, “I don’t think she can hear us.”

  “She’s not the one I’m worried about.”

  “Oh . . . okay.” Coming to his side, Rowan placed her mouth next to his ear. “Why do you need me to get Jenna?”

  “Your friend is a good mother, and she will follow her child.”

  Rowan pulled her head back and looked at him, her expression betraying her emotions. He reminded himself to tell Stavros not to play cards with her. “And you really think she’s in danger if she stays here?”

  “You know him better than I. What do you think?”

  “We need to get her out of here. If nothing else, she needs some sleep.” She hesitated before asking, “Will she be able to return once Jake is back? It might make it easier to get her to leave now.”

  He nodded. “The demon prefers one-on-one interaction.”

  “Guess that explains his visit to me.”

  “He came to see you? When? What happened?”

  Her face became a mix of embarrassment and worry, the flush on her cheeks becoming. “I told you there was something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

  It was easy to see why Gabriel had become so enamored with her. She had captured his heart the first time he saw her standing in the back of the Warlord’s tent. Did she remember that moment, Ryiel wondered?

  “Are you going to be okay?” Her voice pulled him out of the past. He nodded and rolled his neck, making his cervical vertebrae crack. “I understand why you did it,” she continued. “I just had no idea it would be so painful for you.”

  “Only because I didn’t stick the landing.”

  “Oh, well, if you’re gonna joke about it, then I gotta say as my first flying vampire, you impressed me.”

  He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. “Go see to your friend.”

  As she jogged back to the house, Ryiel dropped to one knee, putting his palm flat on the ground as he took a deep breath. Katja’s loss was still affecting him. He thought about the other times he had crossed a threshold uninvited. He could count the number of times on the fingers of one hand. Each had been accidental. This was his first deliberate attempt, but he had to admit the Promise’s admiration for his foolish gesture almost made the pain worthwhile.

  “Well, that was spectacularly stupid of you.”

  Ryiel turned to see the blue-haired vampire step from the shadow of the trees and walk toward him. He had sensed someone was watching, but thought it might be a minion sent by Rowan’s demon. To see the vampire was an unpleasant surprise.

  “What brings you here, Kartel?”

  “Truthfully? It was my intention to do Gabriel a favor and get rid of that millstone around his neck. Surely even you can see his life would be so much better without her.”

  “I doubt he would agree with you.”

  “Well, it hardly matters now, does it? After overhearing your conversation, I realize my aid is not required.” He gave a short laugh. “Persuading Gabriel to give his protection to a squalling brat, without knowing the consequences? Tell me, Ryiel, is she truly that incompetent?” He shook his head and made a tutting noise. “I’ll admit I was impressed that she managed to make a deal with a demon—especially that particular one—but now I’m of the mind that it was nothing but sheer luck. After all, why bother going to the trouble of saving Gabriel when she unravels everything with a few foolish words? Her deal with the demon will be nullified the moment Gabriel takes the virginity of her friend’s child.” He paused and made a theatrical show of shock. “You don’t suppose she’s grown tired of Gabriel already?”

  Getting to his feet, Ryiel looked at the other Original Vampire with distaste. “How did you know where to find us?”

  “How do you think?” he snickered. “I do hope you’
re not going to hold a grudge about my taking Katja from you. It’s not like you were using her for anything.” A furrow wrinkled his smooth brow. “Of course, I had no idea taking her would nearly kill you as well.”

  He might not have known then, but he did now, and Ryiel could tell he regarded it as an unexpected bonus. “Were those things in the village your creation also?” he snarled.

  “Ah, my human DNA project. I should thank you for disposing of them for me. I really hadn’t thought much beyond proving their worth.”

  “You know Gabriel has your vampire, Petrov.”

  Kartel made a show of looking puzzled. “Who? Oh him, no matter. He stopped being useful some time ago.”

  “You’re not worried he’ll betray you?”

  The vampire sneered. “You spend far too much time with your dusty old tomes, Ryiel. It would do you good to get out in the real world more often. See how the rest of humanity and other vampires live. Petrov can tell Gabriel anything he wants. His words are useless without proof.”

  “You don’t think he could recreate your drug from memory?”

  “Ah, but would it be the same drug, I wonder? That’s always been a problem with re-creating it exactly.”

  Kartel’s smugness confirmed Ryiel’s guess. “He doesn’t know all the components, does he? You left something out, or added something he doesn’t know about.”

  “I’m not stupid, Ryiel. You might want to remind Gabriel of that, although”—he glanced toward the house—”I think he’s got his hands full trying to save his Promise from her own stupidity.”

  “What are you up to, Kartel?”

  He shrugged. “Oh, you know me. I love to dabble in things.”

  “Yes, I do know you, Kartel. Only too well.”

  The sound of raised female voices turned the heads of the two vampires, prompting Kartel to say, “Well, as I doubt my reception with the Promise will be a warm one, you must allow me to be on my way.” He gave the dark-haired vampire a thoughtful look. “You can’t always be there to save Gabriel, Ryiel.” He tipped his head in the direction of the house. “She betrayed him once before, and she’ll do it again, mark my words. I’ll never understand why he made her his Promise.”