Night's Illusion

by Amanda Ashley

  “Does it bother you?”

  “Only on your breath,” he said with a lopsided grin.

  Cassie stuck her tongue out at him. “What about holy water?”

  “It burns.” Another reason why he was no longer a practicing priest.

  “What about mirrors?” she asked, only then realizing the only one in the house was the hand mirror she had brought with her when she moved in.

  “That myth is true. Vampires cast no reflection. And no shadow, either.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugged. “Some say it’s because we have no soul.”

  “Do you believe that?”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Wait a minute. Don’t people notice your lack of a reflection? Doesn’t it freak them out?”

  “You haven’t.”

  Cassie frowned. Surely when they passed by store windows or were in restaurants with mirrors on the walls, she would have noticed that it looked as if she was alone. But she hadn’t. “Why didn’t I?”

  “You saw me, but it was an illusion.”

  “I don’t believe you.” Pulling her phone from her pocket, she tapped the camera and held it out in front of them for a selfie. “You’re in the picture,” she said as she clicked the photo button. A gasp escaped her lips when she clicked on the photo. She showed up just fine. But it looked as if she was alone on the couch. “That is so weird. Doesn’t it make you feel kind of... I don’t know what.”

  “I think invisible is the word you’re looking for. I have to admit, it was a little disconcerting at first, but you get used to it.”

  “I’m sorry to be such a pest. You’re probably tired of answering all my questions.”

  “You have every right to know what you’re dealing with. Who you’re living with.”

  Cassie smiled at him. But she couldn’t help wondering how lady vampires applied their makeup or arranged their hair.

  * * *

  After Cassie left for work, Giovanni willed himself to a neighboring city. Walking down the dark streets, he thought about her questions as he searched for prey. Was she merely curious? Or was she wondering what it would be like if she became a vampire? He shook his head. He wouldn’t wish this life on her—or on anybody. And yet . . . he gazed up at the vast midnight-blue vault of the sky. It wasn’t all bad. He had watched the world change, seen inventions that were not even thought of in his day. He had traveled the globe and seen wondrous things. He had visited Machu Picchu, located high in the Andes Mountains in Peru, walked along the Great Wall of China, stared in awe at the giant statues created by the ancient Rapa Nui people on Easter Island, visited the monuments at Stonehenge, and toured many other places located in distant parts of the world. Would he want to give all that up for one mortal lifetime? In a New York minute, he thought, smiling, if he could spend it with Cassie.

  * * *

  He was waiting for her at the Winchester when she got off work. “How was your night?” he asked as he opened the car door for her.

  “Busy, thank goodness. Makes the time go by faster.” She grinned at him as she got into the car. “I guess time doesn’t matter much to you, does it? I mean, you’ve pretty much got forever.”

  He shrugged. “Lately, the only time that matters are the hours I spend with you.”

  Cassie pressed a hand to her heart as he walked around the car and slid behind the wheel, thinking that was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. Leaning toward him, she kissed his cheek. “Johnny, I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  Taking her hand in his, he gave it a squeeze. “Good. Because I’m already in love with you.”

  She smiled all the way home. As soon as they were inside, she threw her arms around him and kissed him.

  “What was that for?”

  “Because you’re so sweet and caring and way too good for me.”

  “Hardly.”

  “It’s true. You’re the nicest, most considerate man I’ve ever known.”

  His arms went around her waist, pulling her closer. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever really known,” he said quietly. “And I want to know everything about you.” He kissed her brow, the tip of her nose. “Everything.” His lips slid across her mouth, followed by a long, lingering kiss as his tongue dueled with hers. And then they were staggering toward the sofa, falling onto the cushions, their mouths fused together. Desire spiked within him, hotter than sunlight on preternatural flesh. He moaned low in his throat, certain he would perish from the exquisite agony of holding her but not possessing her.

  “Johnny. Johnny . . .” Her hands moved restlessly over his back, then slid under his shirt to caress his bare skin.

  It was very nearly his undoing. Twisting out of her arms, he bolted to his feet.

  She stared up at him through heavy-lidded eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  “I want you.”

  She held out her arms. “I’m here.”

  He raked trembling fingers through his hair. She was so tempting and he wanted her so desperately, yet fear held him back. What if he disappointed her? What if she laughed at his clumsy attempt? And it was morally wrong, he thought glumly. Vow or no vow, it was a sin to make love to her outside the bonds of matrimony. “Heaven help me, I want you more than you can imagine,” he said, his voice little more than a growl. “But I need more time.”

  She stared up at him, her eyes bright with tears of disappointment. “I understand,” she murmured. He’d been a priest. No doubt it was hard for him to commit what he surely thought was a sin. Shoulders sagging, he slumped down beside her, hands dangling between his knees.

  “It’s all right,” she said, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. “I can wait.”

  He smiled grimly, afraid that, sooner or later, his longing for her would prove stronger than his self-control. He’d once heard an old Jesuit say, Once a priest, always a priest.

  Apparently, it was true, even after all these years.

  Chapter 20

  Filled with rage and betrayal, Alric returned to New Mexico. He had gone to Transylvania. He had located Mara’s castle. She wasn’t there. Had he been able to get inside, he would have trashed the place.

  The Bloody Mary Café was shuttered tight when he arrived. He stormed into the motel office. A middle-aged man wearing a golf shirt sat behind a desk reading a travel magazine.

  “Where are they?” Alric demanded brusquely.

  “Are you looking for a guest?”

  “No, you fool! I’m looking for the owners.”

  “They’ve gone on vacation. I’m not sure when they’ll be back.”

  “Where did they go?”

  The man shrugged. “I don’t know. They didn’t tell me.”

  Furious at being thwarted yet again, Alric sprang over the desk and buried his fangs in the man’s throat. He drank his fill, then tossed the empty husk aside.

  Steeped in anger, high on fresh blood, he prowled through the motel rooms, killing everyone he found.

  After exiting the last room, his hands and clothing covered in blood, he set fire to the café and the motel. He watched them burn for several minutes before he willed himself to his lair to get cleaned up. Edna and Pearl had lied to him, and for that, they would pay dearly when he found them again.

  And find them, he would.

  Chapter 21

  Cassie sighed as she washed her breakfast dishes. Things had been a little tense between her and Johnny since last night and she didn’t know what to do about it. Had he not been a priest, she would have seduced him. Not that she had much practice at seduction. But how hard could it be? He wanted her. She wanted him. All they had to do was let nature take its course.

  She tried to understand how he felt. As a priest, he’d been celibate. No doubt he had preached against sex before marriage, heard numerous confessions from men and women who were tormented by guilt for having broken the law of chastity, or being unfaithful to their spouses. It couldn’t be easy for him to turn his back on the tenets of
his religion. But he hadn’t been a practicing priest for a long time. Surely whatever vows he had once made were null and void by now. Weren’t they?

  Wiping her hands on a dish towel, she told herself to be patient. After all, they had only known each other a short time. It was probably better for both of them to wait awhile. Maybe he was just nervous, she thought with a wry grin. After all, he’d never done it before, but she loved him enough, wanted him enough, to give him all the time he needed.

  Tossing the dish towel aside, she went into the den and turned on the TV. She flipped through the channels and picked an old miniseries set in Australia. To her astonishment, the story involved a priest who had an affair with a young woman.

  Cassie shook her head. What were the odds that she’d chance upon this movie now? Was it an omen? A warning? Or just a coincidence? Watching the movie, she gained a bit of insight into Johnny’s conflicting feelings. Like the priest in the movie, Johnny was fighting years of guilt ingrained in him by his religion.

  Hopefully, she and Johnny would live happily ever after, unlike the priest and his love interest in the movie.

  * * *

  Cassie glanced at the clock. Almost sundown, she thought, and then froze. She knew Johnny was near even before he materialized in the room. How was that possible? Was it because he had tasted her blood?

  Her heart skipped a beat when he appeared in the living room.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked. “You look surprised to see me.”

  “I knew you were almost here,” she said, her voice laced with wonder. “How is that possible?”

  “Because I drank from you. It forms a bond between us. I probably should have warned you about that.”

  “What does it mean, exactly? This bond?”

  He sat in the chair across from the sofa. “It means I’ll be able to find you whenever and wherever you are.”

  She stared at him. “So, it’s like vampire GPS?”

  “You could say that.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I guess I was too caught up in the moment. I’d wanted to taste you for so long, I couldn’t think of anything else. It works both ways, if that’s any consolation.”

  “You mean I’ll be able to find you?”

  “No. But we’ll be able to communicate without words.” He smiled faintly. “Sort of like a vampire walkie-talkie.”

  She mulled that over, then frowned. “So, you can read my mind now?”

  “I always could.”

  That was disconcerting. “Can I read yours?”

  “No. You’d have to take my blood for that.”

  She grimaced at the thought, then decided to see if he could really read her mind. I’m off tonight. What do you want to do?

  “Whatever you’d like to do,” he said with a grin. “Did I pass the test?”

  “That’s amazing.”

  He nodded. There were some good things about being a vampire.

  “Is there a cure for what you are?”

  “Sadly, no,” he said, and then frowned. “You remember I told you about Mara? The oldest of our kind?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Having met the woman, she didn’t think she would ever forget her. “Did she find a cure?”

  “No, but she reverted to being human. No one knows how or why. Some think it was because she had lived so long it was some sort of natural regression, but no one really knows. While she was human, she had a child, and when that child’s life was threatened, she asked Logan, the man who had loved her his whole life, to give her the Dark Gift.”

  “Why?” It was inconceivable that anyone would want to be a vampire.

  “Because it was the only way she could find her son.”

  “So, she willingly gave up her humanity?”

  Johnny nodded.

  Cassie stared at him, wide-eyed. “Was she sorry afterward?”

  “No. I think Mara was born to be a vampire. The most amazing thing is, even when she was a fledgling again, she was just as powerful as she’d ever been.”

  “Would you be human again, if you could?”

  “Maybe I will be,” he said, with a wink. “If I survive long enough.”

  “I’m serious. Would you?”

  Leaning forward, he clasped her hands in his. “If it meant spending my mortal life with you, then yes, definitely.”

  Feeling that she was melting inside, Cassie gazed into his eyes. When he reached for her, she gladly fell into his embrace.

  With a low groan, he lifted her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her, holding her so tightly she could scarcely breathe.

  “What is it?” she asked, her fingers delving into the hair at his nape. “What’s wrong?”

  Not meeting her eyes, he said, “I’m afraid of losing you.”

  “You won’t.”

  “I know we’ve only been together a short time, but . . .”

  “But what?”

  “Do you think there’s any chance you’d ever consider being my wife?”

  Astonished, she could only stare at him. “You want to get married?”

  “Is the idea so repellant?”

  “Well, no, but we’ve only known each other a few weeks. And you really don’t know anything about me.”

  “I know I love you and I don’t want to live without you. As for your past, whatever happened before we met doesn’t matter.”

  “How can you be sure you love me? I mean, you’ve never had a girlfriend. Maybe you’re just, I don’t know, infatuated, and once you get to know me better, you’ll be disappointed or . . . or realize that what you’re feeling is just lust and not love,” she ended breathlessly.

  Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her tenderly. “I know what I feel, Cassie. I know what I want. You don’t have to give me an answer now. But will you think about it?”

  What would it be like to be married to him? she wondered. She had dated a few guys in high school, had a couple of serious relationships since then. Made the mistake of sleeping with her last boyfriend, only to find out Tom was married with two kids and one on the way. She’d thought herself in love with him, but she knew now she’d been blinded by his easygoing charm and Hollywood good looks. Once she’d taken him to her bed, he quickly moved on. Just one more reason not to trust anyone. But Johnny wasn’t like that. He was warm and caring and sincere, easily the most honest man she had ever known. He had probably never told a lie or had an unkind thought in his whole life.

  Nodding, she said, “I’ll think about it.”

  He kissed her again, more deeply this time. And she was lost. Still, she intended to think it over for a week or two at least, even though, right or wrong, smart or foolish, she was sure her answer would be yes.

  * * *

  Later that night, after Cassie had gone to bed, Giovanni went in search of prey. It felt as if he were walking on air as he strolled down the street. He had asked Cassie to marry him, and although she’d said she wanted to think about it, he’d stolen into her thoughts and knew she had already made up her mind.

  He was stalking a young couple when Mara appeared in front of him.

  “I thought I had you blocked,” he muttered as she fell into step beside him.

  “You were broadcasting so loudly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the satellites circling Earth were picking up your thoughts,” she said with a grin, then gestured at the young couple. “Do you want the man or the woman?”

  “What do you think?”

  At a word from Mara, the couple stopped in the shadows cast by a large tree.

  “No killing,” Giovanni warned.

  She made a face at him as she gathered the man in her embrace and ran her tongue along the side of his neck.

  With a shake of his head, Giovanni spoke to the woman’s mind, telling her there was nothing to fear as he bit her ever so gently, wishing, all the while, that it was Cassie in his arms. But she was not prey and the good Lord willing, she never would be.

  When he finished, he licked th
e wounds to seal them, erased what had happened from the woman’s memory, and sent her to join her companion.

  Mara licked a bit of blood from her lower lip. “A tasty morsel.”

  Giovanni grunted softly. “You didn’t come here to hunt with me. What do you want?”

  “As if you didn’t know. You’ve proposed to your little mortal and she’s likely to say yes.”

  He nodded.

  “Did you mesmerize her?”

  “Of course not! You think that’s the only way I could get a woman?”

  She laughed, a deep-throated sound of pure amusement. “No, my old friend. I’m just amazed that you waited so long. You will let us know when you set a date, won’t you? The whole family will want to be there.” She lifted one brow when he didn’t answer. “Giovanni, you will tell us, won’t you?”

  He nodded. What other choice did he have? Mara would likely know anyway, whether he told her or not.

  * * *

  Cassie woke smiling. Johnny had asked her to marry him! To wed or not to wed, that was the question. She mulled it over while she fixed breakfast. She was perfectly happy with things the way they were. But it would be wonderful to be his wife, to know that he was hers, and only hers. Of course, with his track record, she wasn’t really worried that he’d cheat on her, she mused with a wry grin. Marriage wouldn’t really change anything between them, she thought, and then shook her head. It would change everything. He wouldn’t have to worry about breaking his vow of chastity, or feel guilty when they made love, because she was sure that, marriage or not, he couldn’t hold out much longer.

  If she married Johnny, she would never have kids. Cassie considered that during breakfast. She had never really given any thought to being a mother, had never been around babies, or even held one. She had no idea what it would be like to raise a family. Her own childhood had been miserable, her own mother and father poor examples of parenting.

  Cassie remembered thinking once that she never wanted to be a mother. She supposed, if she had a sudden maternal urge, they could adopt a baby. Johnny had mentioned that one of the couples he considered family had done that. But, at the moment, it was the last thing she wanted.

  She was doing the dishes when the phone rang. It was Harris, her boss at the Winchester, telling her he needed her to come in at four that afternoon instead of eight that night.