The Vampire Laird (A Ravynne Sisters Paranormal Mystery/Romance)

by Merabeth James

  “Hae a seat, lass. Whar is yer sister? And did ye ever find yer brither, Allyn was it? Thar were those frae the manor lookin’ for him the ither day.”

  Sliding into the closest chair, she watched Tilda plop a teabag into a china cup, pour in hot water and plunk it down in front of her. Murmuring her thanks, she looked around the homey space. More than anything, she wanted to believe the scenario in front of her. Nice kindly Angus...a cup of hot tea...a safe haven if you didn’t mind Tilda’s perpetually bad mood. But she had seen too much over the years to always trust appearances, so she replied, “Meg is up at the manor and we haven’t seen Allyn for some time.”

  “You know...I just don’t believe that. Now tell me why you are really here. You and your sister are inseparable. I don’t think you would be out roaming the night without her,” Angus said over his shoulder, as he opened a tall cupboard and shoved his flashlight inside.

  It took a moment for her to realize what was wrong. Angus had lost his accent...at least the Scottish one. She jumped to her feet, but it was already too late. There was a double barreled shotgun pointed straight at her heart. He didn’t even have to be a good shot to blow her to pieces, she thought, but at least Meg and Allyn were still safe. She studied the man in front of her. “Killing people is not usually part of a minister’s duties, is it?” she asked coolly.

  He smiled mockingly and replied “This village hasn’t had a minister in more than a decade. The ‘minister’ bit was Seth’s idea. Who better than the kindly minister to take newcomers under his wing and make sure they didn't learn more than was good for their health.”

  “And his not so kindly wife,” Tilda added with a frosty smile. “Call Seth and tell him what’s happened. He wasn’t expecting this wrinkle.”

  “What now?” she asked coldly, knowing only too well the there was little hope she could disarm Angus…or whoever he was… without getting her head blown off, but she had to try. The question was when.

  His eyes narrowed as he reached into his jacket pocket and drew out a satellite phone. He punched in a number, as he watched her warily. “Seth...it’s me, you’ll never guess who I have here. Charlie Ravynne...alone. You aren’t missing her sister, too, are you? Call me back after you check.”

  He slipped the phone back in his pocket and smiled thinly. “They’re checking, but you and I both know that’s a waste of time. You wouldn’t leave her behind.”

  Charlie shrugged and said, “She has a sprained ankle. There was no way she could come so...I repeat... what happens now?”

  “We wait for orders. Your timing isn’t the best. We’re rather busy just now,” he said angrily.

  She took a moment to consider what she was about to say. Was she putting herself more at risk by telling him what she knew? Suddenly, she found she just didn’t care. “You, as the ‘Gatekeeper’, would know that of course. I saw the light in the tower and I know who you are.”

  “Then you may know what Seth plans on doing with you and your sister...and Allyn when we find him, if he isn’t dead already...” he was interrupted as the phone rang.

  It was the distraction she'd been waiting for. Charlie swept her teacup off the table and hurled it at him, then made a dive in his direction. He reacted quickly, but not before she had her hands on the shotgun. She had almost wrested it from his grasp, when a stunning blow caught her on the back of the head and she fell into darkness.

  ***

  “She’s been gone an awful long time, Allyn. I’m really worried about her,” Meg murmured as she rubbed her hands up and down her arms in an effort to stay warm.

  “She’s about the last person I’d worry about...usually...but I am beginning to feel a twinge myself,” he replied around a violent shiver. “It’s so cold in here we could see our breath, if we could see anything at all. Dark and cold is not my idea of a good time.”

  Meg tried to keep her impatience out of her voice. “So you’ve said for...is it a hundred times yet?”

  Allyn sighed. “At least...even I am getting sick of hearing me.”

  “If she’s not back by the time I count to fifty, I’m going to look for her.”

  “And I’m coming with you. If I stay here any longer, hypothermia will finish me off. I’m already getting the first....”

  “Sh-h-hh! What’s that sound,” Meg whispered, tugging on her brother’s sweater to quiet him.

  “I don’t hear a thing. It’s probably another one of your damned ghosts that you’ve been babbling on and on about ever since we got here....”

  “Shut up, Allyn and listen. I hear voices...real voices.”

  “Don’t be stupid, Meg. I can’t hear a....” and then he did. There were voices coming from the back of the mausoleum...muffled and indistinct, but unmistakable. “Tell me those are just your spirits naddering on?”

  “If only. No, there are people behind that back wall and they are headed this way. Let’s move someplace where we are less likely to be seen than sitting out here in the middle of the room,” she said, dragging him to his feet.

  She flipped on the flashlight briefly to get her bearings, then pulled Allyn with her as she threaded her way between the rows of marble sarcophagi. “This will have to do,” she whispered, as she crouched down and took him with her.

  “I am not in any shape to hover like this. I need a place to stretch out and.....” Whatever he was about to say was interrupted as the back wall slid aside and a powerful flashlight beam swept the inside of the mausoleum.

  Meg ducked lower and pushed Allyn flat as the light swung their way. “They ain’t here yet. Wonder what’s keeping ’em?” a gruff voice asked.

  Those words had barely left his lips, when the front doors swung open and Meg saw an all too familiar figure silhouetted by the moon. Seth waved off the light the newcomer flashed in his face, then flipped a switch on the wall, flooding the mausoleum with light. Meg’s heart leaped in fright and Allyn clutched her hand painfully. Surely, someone would see them now, she thought. But everyone’s attention seemed to be on Seth as he ordered, “Keep the women below in the pen for now and bring the other stuff up. Some of it is priceless so take care how you handle it or suffer the not very pleasant consequences. Trucks are on the way down now. Your men can help load when they get here. And I want the guy who screwed up last time delivered to me personally, as soon as I get back to the manor.”

  “No can do,” one of the newcomers replied. “He’s dead. Knife wound of unknown origin.”

  Seth’s tone was deadly. “How convenient for you. You better have proof that he’s dead or I will have one of you take his place…understood?”

  “Understood. We only got three women this time and a boy...real pretty lad just the right age and a virgin. None of my men touched him. They know better. Do you want us to keep him in the pen with the others?” the same voice asked.

  “Yes...Orianna may find him a tasty bit. Her last ‘boy toy’ has been chewed to death...or will be when Cerberus catches him. Now get moving. I have something more pleasurable to take care of right now…or should I say someone.” The laugh that accompanied his last words, sent a shiver of unease through Meg. Something had happened to Charlie, just as she feared. Angus must have betrayed her to Seth

  Meg and Allyn listened as footsteps retreated and the mausoleum grew quiet. Lifting her head cautiously, Meg looked around. They were gone, but not for long. “This may be our last chance of getting out of here before someone sees us,” Meg whispered urgently. “Are you strong enough to make a run for it?”

  Allyn was quick to reply. “After listening to the ‘chewing part’ I can leap hurdles.”

  “Okay. I’ll go first and check things out. Wait here for my signal.” Moving quickly, she ducked between the sarcophagi and made it to the open front doors.. Hating the light that made her an easy target, she looked quickly around. There was no sign of Seth, but his Land Rover was still parked outside the gate. He must still be at the manse with Charlie, she thought worriedly, just as headlights comi
ng down the road from the manor caught her attention. They would be there in minutes. Signaling to Allyn, she waited till he joined her, then said, “If we can just get into the shadows under those yew trees, we should be safe...at least for now. Are you still okay?”

  At his nod, they made a run for it, as fast as Allyn could move. They were still in full sight, when the first truck pulled up, but thankfully no one looked in their direction. Dropping down, they crawled forward till they reached the deep shadows under the trees. A few dark clouds had drifted across the face of the moon and Meg said a silent prayer of thanks. She would need every bit of help she could get for what she planned on doing next.

  Allyn was still breathing hard as he knelt next to her in the thick grass, when she told him, “I’m going after our sister now. You will be safe here...as safe as anywhere. I’m...” She was interrupted by the sight of two men coming from the direction of the manse. One was Seth...the other carried a familiar burden over his shoulder. It was Charlie. Even in the uncertain light there was no mistaking her long blonde hair. She reached up and silenced the exclamation on Allyn’s lips, as they heard Seth say, “Put her in the back of the Land Rover after you make sure she’s still tied up. If she gets loose, she could make our ride home less than pleasant.”

  The other man muttered a reply neither heard, as they loaded Charlie inside Seth’s car, and drove away. Meg watched the taillights disappear up the road, as tears welled up in her eyes. She brushed them away angrily. Charlie was hurt and in danger. Nobody did that to her sister! Nobody! Her fists balled in fury and her blue eyes flashed dangerously, as she hissed, “If only there was some way we could signal Zack’s men that we need help....”

  “Zack’s men? What in the hell are you talking about?”

  “Charlie’s friend Zack...works for some government agency...has guys in a fishing boat offshore ready to raid this place if we only had a way of letting them know, which we don’t...”

  Allyn groaned, burying his head in his hands, and then, suddenly, he smiled. “Wait a minute. Listen...I’ve just had one of my way more brilliant ideas. Remember, you were visiting that summer, when that new kid moved up the valley from us? We used to signal each other at night with flashlights. Morse Code. I still remember the SOS. What if I use the tower light and signal Zack’s boat?”

  “But who reads Morse Code these days, except Ham radio guys? Everything’s electronic. They’d never be expecting a SOS signal.”

  He shook her as hard as he could, “Stop being negative, you ninny. It might work. It’s got to work!”

  He was right. Anything was worth a try. “Go ahead. But don’t take any unnecessary chances. Make sure you hide as soon as you signal. Remember ‘chew toy’ is the consequence if you screw up. In the meantime, I’m going after Charlie.” She pulled him into a hug, then rose and slid forward out of the deep shadows.

  Staying low, she moved from headstone to headstone, keeping her eyes on the men carrying the bundles up through the mausoleum and loading them in the two pickup trucks parked where Seth’s Land Rover had been. Finally, the lights were switched off inside and the doors closed. The last box was loaded and the first truck started up. Moving faster than she would have thought possible, she reached the gate just as the second truck started its engine. Hitching a ride on the back of a pickup truck was something she had never tried before, but nothing was going to stop her now.

  The truck slid into gear then began to move forward quicker than she had thought, forcing her to leap for the ball hitch that jutted out from the back and fling her arms over the tailgate. She hung on for dear life, wondering just how long she could dangle there, but every second carried her closer to the manor and every second counted. He would have Charlie back there by now and who knows what he would be doing to her. If only she could find Zack, he would help. He and Charlie were...close...though what they felt for each other she had only just begun to understand since..... Her thoughts were interrupted as the truck hit a pothole and she was bounced off her perch, landing hard on the dirt road.

  ***

  He lay looking up at a ceiling thick with shadows and cursed himself for a fool. He’d been drugged and now lay like a beetle on its back...his limbs useless. Somehow they’d managed it, though he’d been so careful not to eat or drink anything the others weren't served. Then he remembered.

  Orriana had joined them late. Wearing a black gown that clung to her in ways that left nothing at all to his imagination, she took the seat next to him. She was beautiful...there was no denying that...but evil seemed to cling to her like a cloying perfume. He laughed bitterly at his own metaphor...the curse of being a writer.

  Seth had watched them through the entire meal, always the congenial host, but his heavy lidded gaze had been sardonic, his smile humorless, as she’d whispered in his ear and offered him bits from her plate. He remembered shaking off his revulsion, as she’d traced the contour of his ear with a long, red tipped finger, then dropped her napkin and he...being an idiot…played the gentleman and retrieved it for her, while she slipped something in his wine. He’d given her the perfect opportunity and he was supposed to be good at what he did?

  But beating himself up wouldn’t help a thing, he told himself with a grim smile, as he tried wriggling his fingers again. They moved slightly this time and he felt the pins and needles tingle of returning sensation. His legs were another matter.

  Some way to treat a guest, he thought wryly. Just how would old Seth explain all this in the morning? But then, he conceded with a grin, he had given him Charlie. He let his mind drift back over the time he had spent 'taming the shrew'. It had taken super human effort not to take her as she lay before him. Her beautiful gray eyes flashing, her moonlight hair spilling over the black satin sheets, her full lips parted in invitation, her breasts..... "Dammit!" he cried out loud, as he felt that part of his anatomy responding. He was hard as a rock just thinking about her. He cursed himself again for being a fool and not taking what he wanted when he had the chance, then sighed. If that made him a fool, so be it. There would be another time. There had to be.

  Suddenly, he felt something jump up on the bed next to him and heard a rumbling purr, then a cat kiss brushed his chin. "Cloud?" he asked in astonishment. "How in the hell did you get here?" The only answer was the sharp prick of kneading paws, as Cloud settled down next to him.

  ***

  Consciousness returned slowly...just a drifting in and out...as a waiting reality teased her mind. With her head pounding like the devil’s anvil, she swore softly as she tried to move her hands without success.. Lifting her head, she opened one eye and looked around. She was dangling from the wall of a room that looked all too familiar...the hanging lanterns, the divans with their jewel colored pillows, the huge dragon poster bed where... Reality grabbed hold and hung on tightly, as she remembered everything with a hot rush. She had been wrestling for control of the shotgun when someone had hit her from behind. The someone, obviously, was Tilda...whatever she’d used remained a mystery. From the way her head hurt it could easily have been a chair.

  She sighed. So much for saving her family. Now someone would need to save her, unless she could work her restraints loose. It only took her a few moments to realize the futility of that! There was no way she could reach the lock pick she hoped was still in her pocket. She shifted her weight to ease the strain on her arms, as she thought about Meg.

  Would she do as she was told...there was that word again...told. When would she learn there was a better way than bossing her siblings, but she couldn’t help but remember the recent past and shuddered. Meg could have been killed because she hadn’t listened. But they should be safe in the mausoleum until Zack brought in help. They had to be!

  She found herself wondering where Zack was at that moment. Probably trying to figure out a way to rescue them all, believing her safely hid with Meg and Allyn. Her eyes drifted to the bed with the dragon posts and she smiled in spite of herself. He had been so beguiling...so devilishly han
dsome...she had quite melted, as the most exquisite, intense pleasure had nibbled at her from within, demanding...

  She shook her head and laughed self-mockingly, as a throbbing heat began to build deep in her center again. She really had to be crazy. Here she was, hanging from the wall like an old coat on a peg, waiting for Seth or one of his minions to do who knew what with her, and she was getting horny just thinking about Zack. She began to laugh in earnest just as the door clicked open and a tall figure stood there. "I have to wonder just what you could find so funny?" Seth asked with a smile.

  ***

  Allyn watched in amazement as the pickup truck with Meg dangling off the tailgate headed up to the manor. His usually klutzy sister had made the leap of a lifetime, which he wouldn’t have given her a snowball’s chance in Hades of making, and was still hanging on. Now he was totally on his own and both his sisters’ lives may well depend on how well he managed what he would do next. He looked around. It was eerily quiet after all the chaos of just a few minutes ago. An owl hooted from the yew trees overhead and, distantly, a howl reverberated across the moors. That would be Orianna and her hound from hell on the prowl, he thought, quite probably looking for him and Meg. He swallowed the lump in his throat and willed his heart rate back to some semblance of normal.

  “‘Feets don’t fail me now’,” he murmured to himself with a grim smile, as he pulled himself upright, using a headstone for support. His head swam and a wave of nausea made him spasm in dry heaves. Taking a few deep breaths, he waited till his head cleared and his stomach settled, then began to move forward through the tall grass. Across the graveyard, the church hunkered darkly, except for the light that shone from its square tower. He measured the distance with his eyes. It seemed miles away, but he would make it. He had to. Gritting his teeth, he began to move again, darting from headstone to headstone to avoid any chance of being seen.