Joshua was furious. He struck the hunter across the legs a second time, swinging the piece of driftwood as hard as could. “Stop hurting my sister! You were supposed to come and save us! She said you would come if we held on long enough. You were supposed to help us, but you’re just like him!”
Tears streamed down the child’s face. Aidan could clearly see that the youth had blond hair and blue eyes. The colors nearly blinded him. He looked down into the ravaged face of the woman in his arms. Her heart was laboring, slow, her lungs fighting for air. She was dying.
“
I
am
here to help you,” he murmured softly, almost absently, to the boy. He reached inside himself, found a calm, tranquil pool to rest in, and sent himself seeking outside his own body and into the woman’s. He could not believe he had found her after all these long centuries. But it must be. Only finding his lifemate could bring about these astonishing changes in him.
She was fading away, not fighting anymore. His will surrounded hers.
You will not leave me. Take my blood, which is freely offered to you. You must drink in order to live.
Her mind moved away from his. Her spirit was still strong enough to evade his compulsion. Aidan changed tactics.
Your brother needs you. Fight for him. He cannot be without you. He will die.
With one fingernail he slashed the heavy muscles of his chest and pressed her to him. She resisted at first, but he was relentless, surrounding her, herding her will, battering at the barrier until, in her weakened state, she gave in to his enthrallment and fed.
“What are you doing?” Joshua demanded.
“She has lost much blood. I must transfuse her.” Aidan planned to erase the child’s memories of this nightmare. A satisfactory explanation would not harm him at this point. The boy was very brave and deserved to hear anything that would ease his terrible fear.
It had taken careful tracking of the vampire to find him. He always left a bloody mess behind yet remained one step ahead of his hunter. The night before, Aidan had arrived too late. He had gone to the restaurant on the cliffs, tracking the disturbances in the air, but Paul Yohenstria had already killed an elderly man, ripping his heart out and leaving behind a corpse too hot to allow the police to discover. Aidan had disposed of the body and made certain the vampire’s three female victims would never be found. But he had lost the undead’s trail just before dawn. Still, he had been certain he was nearing his lair, and finally he had found and destroyed him.
Now he had no choice but to burn the vampire and take these two lost ones back to his home. For this pitiful, disfigured woman was clearly the mate he had been seeking these eight hundred years. His astonishing responses to her proved it. He had no idea what she was like, or even what she looked like, but she had brought his body and heart back to life. This was the one.
“What is your name?” Aidan asked the child. It seemed kinder than merely reading his mind. Not that he had given great thought to kindness before.
“Joshua Houton. Is Alexandria going to be all right? She looks so white and horrible. I think that bad man really hurt her.”
“I am a healer for my people, Joshua Houton. I know how to help your sister. Do not worry. I will ensure that this bad one can never hurt another living soul. Then we will go to my home. You will be safe there.”
“Alex is going to be upset. Her suit is ruined, and she needs that suit to get us a great job and lots of money.” Joshua sounded forlorn, as if he might cry at any moment. He was looking up at the hunter for solace.
“We will get her another suit,” Aidan assured the child. He gently stopped the woman from feeding. He needed strength to transport all of them back to his home, and it also took tremendous energy to heal another. He would have to find time to hunt this night for sustenance.
Aidan placed Alexandria on the sand and pulled Joshua gently to her side. “She is very ill, Joshua. I want you to sit right beside her so she can feel your presence and know you have not been harmed. She will need us to take care of her for a while. You are a big boy. You can handle that, even if she says things that are scary, can you not?”
“Why would she say something scary?” Joshua asked suspiciously.
“When people are very sick, fever can make them delirious. That means they do not know what they say. They can be afraid of people or things for no real reason. We have to stay close to her and make certain she does not harm herself.”
Joshua nodded solemnly and sat down in the wet sand beside Alexandria. Her eyes were closed, and she didn’t respond even when he bent down and kissed her on her forehead as she sometimes did to him. Sand and salt caked her skin. Joshua stroked back the wet strands of hair gently, singing softly as she often did to him when he was sick. She seemed very, very cold to him.
Watching them together brought a lump to Aidan’s throat. They looked the way a family was supposed to look. The way Marie, his housekeeper, had looked at her sons as they grew, the way she looked at him and he could never reciprocate. Sighing, he went about the grim business of disposing of the vampire’s remains. Vampires were always dangerous, even after they were dead. He had extracted the heart, but even now it was pulsating, broadcasting to the undead its location, that the vampire might reunite its form. Aidan concentrated on the sky, built a storm in his mind, and created a whip of lightning that sizzled and danced as it struck the ground. Flames rushed along the path of crimson, leaving behind black ashes. The vampire’s body shriveled. Blue and orange flames whirled together, and a low shriek seemed to rise above the wind.
The smell was putrid, rank. Joshua held his nose and watched wide-eyed as the vampire simply vanished in the black, noxious smoke. He was shocked when the hunter held his hands in the orange flames. The flames didn’t burn him. Aidan tiredly wiped his palms along his trousers before turning back to the little boy trying so hard to guard his sister on the beach. A faint smile softened the hard line of his mouth. “You are not afraid of me, are you, Joshua?”
Joshua shrugged and looked away. “No.” There was a small, almost defiant silence. “Well, maybe a little.”
Aidan hunkered down beside the boy and looked directly into the blue eyes. His voice dropped an octave, became a pure tone, silver notes that entered Joshua’s mind and took possession. “I am an old family friend you have known all your life. We care a great deal for one another and have shared all kinds of adventures.” He sent himself outside his body and into the boy, studying the memories the child had of his young life. It was easy to implant a few memories of himself.
Aidan maintained eye contact with the child. “Your friend Henry had a heart attack and died. It was very sad. You called me to come and get you because your sister was so ill. You and Alexandria have been planning to move in with me. The two of you have already brought some of your things into my house, and you have met my housekeeper, Marie. You like her very much. Stefan, her husband, is a good friend to you. We have been arranging the move for weeks. Do you remember?” He implanted memories and images of his housekeeper and caretaker so the two would be familiar and comfortable to the child.
The little boy nodded solemnly.
Aidan ruffled Joshua’s hair. “You had a bad dream, something about vampires, but you do not really remember it. It is all very hazy. You talked to me about it, and if it ever returns to haunt you, you will come to me, and we will discuss it. You always feel free to talk with me about things that sometimes do not make sense. You want me to be with your sister always. We talk about it together and plot together to make her want to stay with me as my wife, as family. You and I are the best of friends. We always look out for Alexandria. You know she belongs with me, that no one can care for her and protect the two of you as I can. This is very important to you, to both of us.”
Joshua smiled his assent. Aidan held the child’s mind a few minutes longer, letting the boy recognize his touch and feel soothed by it. The child had suffered a terrible trauma. Aidan made cert
ain that the method by which he took them home would be instantly forgotten, and the child would remember a large black car, one he would like.
The trip back was made on the heels of a storm. Swirling black clouds protected the large golden bird and his burdens from any prying eyes as they swept through the sky. Aidan entered the three-story house through the upstairs balcony so no neighbors would see him carry the boy and his sister in.
“Aidan!” Marie, his housekeeper, rushed to help him as he came down the winding staircase. “Who are these youngsters?” She caught sight of Alexandria’s swollen face, the blisters and sores, “Oh, my God. You caught up with the vampire, didn’t you? Are you all right? Did he hurt you? Let me call Stefan.”
“I am fine, Marie. Do not worry about me.” Even as he said it, he knew it wouldn’t change the way she was. She and her husband had been seeing to his needs, to his household, for nearly forty years. Before her, her mother and father had served him. For all his life, members of her family had served him willingly, without the aid of mind control. He had bestowed money enough that none of them ever had to work, but they were loyal to him and his absentee twin brother, Julian. They knew what he was—they were the only humans he had entrusted with the knowledge of his kind—yet it didn’t matter to them.
“The vampire has harmed her?”
“Yes. I need you to care for the boy. His name is Joshua. I have implanted memories of our friendship so he will not fear being here. Stefan must go to their rooming house and collect their belongings and bring them here. Her car remains in a restaurant parking lot.” He told her where. “That must be collected. The boy has the car keys in his pocket. Healing his sister will take some time. The child must not interfere in any way. I will have to go out and feed. She needs much care, and I must keep up my strength.”
“Are you certain she is not unclean?” Marie asked with great trepidation. She reached for Joshua’s hand.
The little boy smiled up at her in recognition and willingly took her hand. He even stepped close and tugged on her apron conspiratorially. “He is going to make Alexandria well. She is very sick.”
Marie shoved aside her own anxiety and nodded at Joshua. “Of course. Aidan is a miracle worker. He will make your sister well in no time.” After settling the child down at the kitchen table with cookies and milk, she followed Aidan across the room, raising an eyebrow at the hunter, silently demanding an answer to her question.
“He did not turn her, but I am afraid I inadvertently may have. She was protecting the child, but I misunderstood. I thought she was going to kill him.” He took two steps away from the housekeeper, then turned back to face her. “Marie? I see colors. You are wearing a blue-and-green dress. You look beautiful. And I feel again.” He smiled at the woman. “I know I have never told you in all our years together, but I have great affection for you. I was so lost, I was unable to feel it before.”
Marie’s mouth formed a perfect O, and tears shimmered in her eyes. “Thank God, Aidan. At last it has happened. We hoped and prayed, and at last our prayers have been answered. This is tremendous news. Go now. Care for your woman, and we will see to all that is necessary here. I am certain this young man is very hungry and thirsty.”
There was such joy on her face that Aidan felt it reflected in his heart. It was amazing to feel. To be able to feel. Without his mate, a Carpathian male lost all wants, needs, emotions after two hundred years. He lived in an abyss, void, and from that moment on he was at risk of turning vampire. The longer he survived, as the centuries passed, the Carpathian distanced himself more and more from his community and all it stood for. Only two things could save him from his empty, desperate fate. He could choose to meet the dawn and end his life, or a miracle might happen and he would find his lifemate.
A handful of very lucky Carpathian males had found the one they searched for. The Carpathian male was by nature a dark, dangerous predator, and he needed the balance of his other half. Needed to find the woman whose soul perfectly complemented his own. Two halves of the same whole, her light to his darkness. There was only one true lifemate for each male. The chemistry had to be just right. And Aidan had finally found his.
Now he moved through the house with his silent, fluid stride. Alexandria’s weight was nothing to him. His lair was located far below the first story, a long underground chamber fully furnished with every luxury. He laid her carefully on the bed and stripped away the remnants of her suit. His breath caught in his throat. Her body was so youthful, her breasts full and firm, her skin beautiful. She had a narrow rib cage and a ridiculously small waist. Her hips were slim, almost like a boy’s. Despite the fact that her face and limbs were covered in sores from long exposure to the pounding of salt water, Alexandria Houton might, after all, be a pretty woman.
He took great care to wash the salt from her skin and hair, then disposed of the damp quilt beneath her. She lay on the sheets, her long hair wrapped in a towel, her breathing labored but steady. She was severely dehydrated, and she needed more blood. While she was in an unconscious state, Aidan supplied her with more. Aside from her fragile state of health, he was certain her body still had to go through the rigors of the change. And it was very necessary to dilute the vampire’s blood. It was easier to access her mind and make the repairs to her damaged body while she was unconscious. She stirred uncomfortably, moaning softly. Aidan began the soft, healing chant, centuries old, in the ancient tongue of his people, while he crushed herbs around the room.
Alexandria’s long lashes fluttered, lifted. For a moment she thought she was in the middle of a bad dream. She hurt everywhere, her body bruised and battered. She looked around the unfamiliar room.
It was beautiful. Whoever owned this place had an eye for elegance and the money to indulge his tastes. Her fingers twisted in the sheet. She found she was too weak to move. “Joshua?” She called his name softly, her heart beginning to pound in alarm when she realized she was awake and not dreaming.
“He is safe.” That voice again. She would recognize it anywhere. It was so beautiful, unearthly, like the voice of an angel speaking to her. Yet she knew the truth. This man was a vampire with supernatural powers. He was able to shapeshift, to kill without hesitation. He fed on the blood of humans. He could read minds and force others to do his bidding.
“Where is he?” She didn’t bother to move. What would be the point? He clearly had the upper hand. She could only wait and see what he wanted.
“At this very moment he is eating a nutritious dinner prepared by my housekeeper. He is safe, Alexandria. No one in this house will ever harm that boy. On the contrary, every one of us would give our lives to protect him.” His voice was so soft and gentle, she could feel the notes soothing her mind.
She closed her eyes, too tired to keep them open. “Who are you?”
“Aidan Savage. This is my home. I am a healer as well as a hunter.”
“What are you planning to do with me?”
“I need to know how much blood the vampire forced you to accept. I imagine Yohenstria was quite stingy, wanting to keep you in a weakened state. You are very dehydrated, your eyes black and sunken, your lips cracked, your cells crying out for nourishment. Still, whatever blood he gave you is tainted, and your body is about to go through the conversion.” Very gently he applied a soothing salve to her tortured lips.
His words penetrated her foggy brain. Blinking, Alexandria stared up at him, horrified. “What do you mean, conversion? I am going to be like you? Like him? I am to become one of you? Kill me, then. I don’t want to be like you.” Her throat was so raw, she couldn’t speak above a hoarse whisper.
He shook his head. “You do not understand, and there is little time to teach you. Your mind is very strong, completely different from that of most humans. You are resistant to mind control. I want to help you through this. You will go through it, with or without my help, but it will better for you if you allow me to aid you.”
She closed her eyes against his words. “My arm hu
rts.”
“I expect it does. I expect most of your body hurts,” he answered, his voice somehow penetrating her skin and reaching into her aching arm to touch the bone. A warm tingle started and begin to spread, easing the throbbing. “Your arm is broken, but I have begun repairs. The bone is in line, and the mending has started without trouble.”
“I want Joshua.”
“Joshua is just a little boy. He thinks you are ill with a virus. He does not need to be frightened and traumatized further. Do you not agree?”
“How do I know you’re telling me the truth?” Alexandria asked tiredly. “Don’t all vampires lie and deceive?”
“I am Carpathian. I am not yet vampire. I must know how much blood Yohenstria has given you.” He spoke patiently, gently, his voice never changing inflection. “How many times did he exchange his blood with you?”
“You’re very dangerous, aren’t you?” She bit at her lower lip, then winced when she painfully scraped blisters and sores. “You have this way about you, making everyone want to do everything you say. You made the vampire believe you could defeat him, didn’t you?” It hurt her to talk, but it was comforting that she could.
“I use the power of my voice,” he acknowledged gravely. “Less wear and tear on the body when hunting vampires, although I have had my share of wounds.” He touched her then, the lightest of caresses across her forehead. “Do you not remember your own story to young Joshua? I am the hunter, come to rescue my fair lady and her brother. Joshua recognized me as such. He told me so. Do you not find it a strange coincidence that you described me so accurately?”
Her mind refused to think about that, so she changed the subject. “Joshua saw the vampire kill Henry. He must be so frightened.”
“He remembers Henry’s death as a heart attack. To him, I am an old friend of the family. He thinks he called me to come and help you because of your illness. He believes you fell ill at the restaurant.”
Dark Gold (Dark Series - book 3) Page 5