Dark Temptation (Immortal Legacy Book 4)

by Kennedy,Lorraine

  Now I fixed angry eyes on her. “You actually let her go with one of those beasts?”

  Jeanie waved her hand, dismissing my words. “Just prejudice, that’s all.”

  “Are you kidding? The wolves are enemies! They will kill her if they haven’t already.” I was so angry that my voice grew loud without me realizing it.

  “Well, she isn’t a vampire. No thanks to you,’ Jeanie told me in a low voice.

  Letting out a loud sigh, I said a silent prayer of thanks.

  A small blond girl popped her head over the chair in front of us.

  “Keep your voice down,” Jeanie whispered to me.

  The girl smiled at us and then turned to talk to someone in the seat next to her. “Hey, Daddy! There are vampires behind us.”

  “Sit down and stop being rude.” The father chastised the child.

  Jeanie giggled. “How do you avoid vampire slayers with such carelessness?”

  “I don’t usually get this angry,” I sighed. “So, who is this wolf and what does he want with Sarah?”

  “Well, not that it’s any of your business,” Jeanie reminded me, “but he works with the Light Seekers.”

  Now I rolled his eyes. “That crazy bunch.”

  “I think they’re onto something,” she said, reaching for one of the magazines.

  I didn’t respond. What could I say? The Light Seekers were responsible for spreading false hope. They were dreamers and would always be chasing something that they would probably never find.

  “So tell me. Why so much interest in my niece? You were going to kill her anyway?” Jeanie asked.

  I struggled to find the right words, but finally decided it was best to say it as simply as I could. “I love her.”

  The expression on Jeanie’s face turned serious. “You know, the love of an Immortal destroyed my sister … Sarah’s mother?”

  “That doesn’t change what’s true,” I said, turning away.

  “What could you offer her but a life of darkness? Children that would hunger for blood, and that is only if you are a born vampire, and I don’t think so.”

  “I just want to be sure she gets through this okay.”

  “Hmm, and you don’t think that the more she is with you, the worse it’s going to hurt her when you are gone?” Jeanie arched her brow.

  There was no way to answer her that wouldn’t sound selfish. It was all I could do to keep his hands off Sarah when she was near. How could I be sure that I wouldn’t pull her further into the despair of my love?

  Closing my eyes, I let my thoughts drift to that long ago night. Even now that I’d found her again, the pain still tore at my soul. I could almost taste her lips and feel her soft mounds of flesh in my hands. I loved the way her perky brown buds hardened at my touch, and how she’d gasp when I pinched them.

  Drifting into sleep, my dreams were a witch that was my soul mate.

  “Caroline, please! I must have you again. I cannot rest until I do.”

  She smiled. “My, your appetites are no different than when you were a man.”

  “I am far more ravenous now,” I said, gathering her in my arms.

  Caroline struggled, but only halfheartedly. When my mouth came down on hers, she parted her lips to accept my probing tongue. The more I tasted the warmth of her mouth, the more I wanted her.

  I had to have her, even if she protested.

  Lifting Caroline into my arms, I carried her to the feather bed near the fireplace. After laying her gently on the bed, I started unbuttoning her dress. Slowly at first, but my hunger was driving me to madness and I ripped the remaining cloth from her body.

  “We can’t,” Caroline whispered. “You killed my husband.”

  “I should have been your husband,” I told her, licking at her budding nipples.

  And then there were no more words. She offered herself to me completely. Just as we joined, the door to the cottage flew open. An angry crowd stood at the door, their torches bathing us in revealing light.

  Someone screamed, “The witch has taken the devil to her bed!”

  In a mindless fury, I flew at the crowd, but there were just too many of them. I felt the flame of the torch ignite my hair, and then I was ablaze, my body melting away. Rolling on the ground, I eventually put out the fire, but I’d already received grave injuries. I was too weak to protect her.

  For years I was haunted by the sound of her screams as they were dragging her away. Although I hadn’t healed completely, within a few hours I was strong enough to go to her, but there was only moments until sunrise. They’d taken her to a local jail where she’d received a mock trial before she burned.

  The witch trials had been for a long time, but in such a religious parish, they would still burn witches in secret.

  Standing outside the barred window, I called to her. “Caroline.”

  There was movement from inside and then I heard her voice. “You still live monsieur?”

  “Yes, but I am still recovering. Let me take you out of there. I can turn you so that you no longer have to worry about this.”

  For a long time, Caroline said nothing. When she finally did speak, she didn’t say the words that I’d hoped to hear.

  “I will suffer my fate, My Lord. If I try to cheat death, it will come to my child. I ask only that you do something for me. Please take my daughter to the Coven of Lazar? They will care for her.”

  “But Caroline, my love, I cannot let you go to your death!”

  “You must! Now go Darrien. The sun is almost up.”

  For the first time since I’d turned, a tear slipped down my cheek. “I love you.”

  “And I love you. It was always you, My Lord.”

  “I can’t go on without you,” I cried, my voice quivering with pent-up emotion.

  “I will return to you someday,” she promised. “You will know it’s me when you look into my eyes.”

  I left her then, left her to a fate that she hadn’t deserved. Yellow fever had taken the lives of many locals, and they had to blame someone. Naturally, it had to be the witch who slept with devils. Never mind the fact that it was Caroline who’d actually nursed many of the survivors.

  Bitterness burned in my heart. I could barely endure thinking about what they’d done to her. The next night, they’d taken her deep into the swamps and burned her. They would have killed the child too if I hadn’t taken her away before the townspeople could find her.

  There was a sharp pain in my side and I jumped awake. Opening my eyes, I saw Jeanie staring at me, ready to poke me with her finger again.

  “We are getting ready to land,” she said. “I didn’t think vampires slept so soundly.”

  I said nothing, but gave her a sour look.

  A perky blond flight attendant leaned down and whispered in my ear. “Sir, you must fasten your seat belt.”

  The flight attendant continued to watch as I fastened my belt, she then moved down the aisle to the next rebellious passenger.

  “I don’t need this thing,” I muttered, my mood dark after reliving Caroline’s death through my dream.

  “You could at least pretend,” Jeanie scowled.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Alec

  My throat was so dry it felt like sandpaper and my skin was on fire. Already, I was so weak from not feeding that I could barely move. My head filled with images of blood - blood gushing into my mouth as I bit into a beating artery, a soft neck. Just the thought of feeding made me insane with hunger.

  I was only lucid for moments at a time. Beyond that, everything was a blur. I remembered a sharp sting and then I blacked out. It was dark. The air was cool and musky. I was somewhere within the catacombs, but I had no clue who my captor was or for what purpose they were keeping me alive.

  Someone stroked my face and I instinctively growled. “Oh Alec! I know you want to feed but your dinner isn’t here yet,” the female voice cooed.

  In the haze of hunger, I struggled to place the voice. Finally, it came to me. The vo
ice belonged to Julia. Somehow they’d tracked me to Rome.

  “Bitch!” I snarled.

  Her dark laughter enraged me and I renewed my struggle with the chains, trying to break free.

  Julia stepped closer, taking care to stay away from my fangs. In my sane moments, I realized that I was suffering from blood deprivation, so I was blind much of the time, but I could still see her, though the image was dim.

  “Alec, would you like to hear a secret?” Julia asked, her voice purring. “If you inject a vampire with liquid folic acid, it will drop his blood count instantly. It will render him unconscious? The vampire becomes blood deprived as soon as it goes through his system.”

  Again, I growled and pulled on the chains. The rattling and clanking of the chains echoed through the tunnels of the catacomb.

  “Don’t fret, dear. Your human bitch will be here to feed you soon,” Julia laughed. “She really is a disobedient child, going against everything her father tells her.”

  Julia’s words reverberated through my head, gradually fading away as I slipped into a blissful abyss of darkness.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jeanie

  I stared down at the name of a coffee shop that I’d scribbled down on a piece of notepaper. The Hole was on the first floor of the mall. An unlikely place to meet a vampire, but it was where Donovan instructed me to go.

  Darrien was still with me. I’d tried to talk him into waiting at the hotel, but he wasn’t having it.

  As much as I didn’t care for vampires, I had to admit that his concern for Sarah seemed genuine enough. I was worried about how Donovan might react to one of Omar’s assassins showing up with me.

  We stood outside the coffee shop instead of waiting for Donovan inside. I wasn’t sure what to expect. It had been years since I’d seen him, and even then I hadn’t been too cordial.

  As soon as Beth had told me about Donovan, I knew the vampire would eventually bring heartbreak into my sister’s life, just like I suspected would happen with Sarah.

  When I caught sight of him, I was struck by his dark charm, just like my sister must have been. He was tall, and his dark eyes spoke of mysteries better left to the imagination. Even though the style was outdated, he still wore his hair long, as many vampires did.

  As he rode the escalator from the second floor, his were fixed on us. Donovan stepped off of the escalator and started in our direction.

  “Miss Fabre.” He nodded without acknowledging my companion.

  “Donovan,” I greeted him, but I couldn’t quite force a smile.

  “Would you care for some coffee?” he asked.

  “Sure.” I followed him into the dimly lit coffee shop. It was different than most cafes, which were usually illuminated with bright fluorescent lights. The coffee shop was probably chosen for precisely that reason. Vampires tended to have an aversion to bright lights, even if it was artificial light.

  When we were settled in an isolated booth and had received our drinks, Donovan turned his attention to me. “I’m assuming this must be about my daughter, Sarah?”

  “It is.” I nodded. “She was forced into hiding because your brother sent assassins to kill her.”

  Donovan shook his head and there was sadness in his eyes. “This does not surprise me. Omar will not stop until he has his way, or is dead.”

  “What do you plan to do about it?” I wanted to know.

  Donovan was silent for a long time and then he asked, “Is she in imminent danger at the moment?”

  I lifted my shoulders, shrugging. “I don’t know. When she went into hiding, I was not told where she would be. A wolf took her away.”

  Donovan’s expression grew dark. “That wasn’t a good idea.”

  “As I told her,” Darrien finally spoke up.

  “And who are you?” Donovan asked. “I know you’re a vampire, but what is your interest in my daughter?”

  Darrien’s eyes locked with Donovan’s “My only interest, My Lord, is that she remain safe.”

  “Is that so?” Donovan smiled, anger radiating from his eyes. “I hope for your sake your words are true.”

  I decided it was time for me to jump in and diffuse the situation before it turned bad. “Where’s Beth?” I asked.

  Donovan looked at me sharply. “What do you mean, where’s Beth?”

  “Don’t you know? She left years ago to find you,” I told him.

  Donovan closed his eyes, a look of defeat spread across his face. “Why didn’t you come to me then?”

  “I thought she’d found you and turned,” I said, an expression of distaste twisting at my mouth.

  “I haven’t set eyes on her since I left,” he confessed.

  If Beth wasn’t with Donovan, what happened to her?

  It must be exactly as I suspected. My sister found a vampire who would turn her.

  “So, you’ve had my daughter all of this time?” he asked.

  I nodded, unsure how to react to the news that my sister hadn’t just abandoned her daughter for this vampire, but was truly missing.

  “Sarah has been with me for over ten years.”

  There were just too many emotions hitting me at once, disbelief, horror, and even anger at Donovan for bringing such tragedy to my family.

  “How would I go about finding my sister, and protecting Sarah?” I asked, my voice trembling.

  Donovan shook his head. “There’s no telling what happened to Beth, particularly as she’s been gone so long. Sarah must come home to New Orleans where I can keep her safe from my brother.”

  “The wolf felt it would be better if she stayed away from New Orleans,” I informed him.

  “Well, he isn’t her father. I am.” Donovan’s voice was hard and unyielding.

  “But Sarah will be safer if they don’t know where she is?” I was apprehensive about bringing my niece to New Orleans, and into the midst of so many vampires.

  “With the wolves, she is in danger of two enemies, instead of just one,” Donovan explained.

  “And Beth?” I reminded him.

  “Do you have a pen and paper?”

  I pulled out my notebook and a pen, handing them to Donovan. He scrawled something on the paper and gave it back to me. “Ethan is a vampire, but he is also a private investigator. He can help you retrace Beth’s movements after she left.”

  “That’s it? That’s all you can do to help find the woman that gave up everything for you?” I was furious.

  Donovan lifted his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “My concern must be for my daughter for now. Beth has been gone a long time. I suspect that you may not like what you find.”

  Narrowing my eyes, I gave him a death stare. “Would you care to tell your daughter that, because I sure don’t want to?”

  “I will go in search of my daughter. When I’ve found Sarah, I will explain the situation,” he assured me.

  “My Lord,” Darrien interrupted. “I will go and bring her back for you.”

  “And why would you do that?” Donovan asked.

  Darrien slipped into silent mode.

  “Let me say it for you,” Donovan frowned. “You are in love with her.”

  Darrien looked down, unable to deny the truth of the ancient vampire’s words.

  “Catching the heart of the Immortal seems to be a talent of my daughters,” Donovan growled.

  “I will protect her no matter the cost,” Darrien promised.

  “If I give you this responsibility, it would mean your end if something happened to her,” Donovan reminded him.

  “I know,” Darrien said, his voice low and difficult to hear.

  “Don’t you think you should tell him everything?” I drew my brows together, unsure if I actually trusted Darrien with Sarah’s life.

  Donovan stared at Darrien, waiting for the other vampire to say whatever it was that I was referring to.

  “Omar sent me to Sutter Point to kill Sarah. I was her assassin,” Darrien told him, and then waited for Donovan’s fury.

>   “So tell me, what changed your mind?” Donovan asked, his voice deceivingly calm.

  “Sarah’s soul is the soul of someone I knew a long time ago. She was and is the woman I love. I could never hurt her.”

  Donovan smiled. “I cannot help but wonder what happened to this woman that you loved? What happened that she should perish to then be reborn as my daughter?”

  Darrien said nothing

  Donovan held up his hand. “Don’t worry. I don’t believe in such things, but as long as it keeps you from harming my daughter, you are welcome to believe it. Maybe you will actually find salvation in your belief?”

  I wanted to defend the concept of reincarnation because I knew it to be real, though I didn’t necessarily believe it to be the case with Sarah. Darrien had fallen in love with my ancestress and saw similarities in Sarah. It was only natural that he would see similarities. After all, Sarah was descended from Caroline Fabre, as all Fabre witches were.

  “You can both get started by contacting Ethan,” Donovan said.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Lex

  The cool night breeze finally brought some relief from the stifling heat of the day. Sitting back on the bench, I watched as a young couple strolled through the square.

  Jackson Square was one of my favorite spots in New Orleans and one that I visited often. It provided a way to step back and watch the world around me. The people were interesting, but what was even more fascinating were all the creatures you could spot while watching from the sidelines. The people went about their business completely oblivious of those creatures. They just didn’t know how to spot them.

  Just as I was ready to glance at my watch, I saw the vampire emerge from the shadows of St. Louis Cathedral.

  If one knew what to look for, there would be no mistaking Donovan for anything other than what he was. He was all that one might imagine a vampire to be.

  Donovan made his way straight to where I was sitting.

  “Please, have a seat,” I told him, motioning to the bench.

  Donovan said nothing. His dark eyes were cutting right through me.

  “So how can I help you?” I asked.