B00528UTDS EBOK (14 page)

There was deep laughter. “You will not see me in the mirror. I have no human soul. My life energy is on a higher vibration than what exists in this dimension.”

Sarah reddened. Zaltar wanted to make love to her while he imitated Darrien. He wanted this because that is what he believed she wanted. She was ready to reprimand him for showing up without being called, but then she remembered that he’d helped to save her life the night before, by doing exactly that.

Sarah shook her head. “Thanks for the offer, but I really need it to be Darrien.” As she said those words she realized that it was true. No one made her feel the way he did. It had to be him.

“Sarah,” Jeanie called from the bottom of the stairs. “Dinner is ready.”

Sarah left her room and hurried to the kitchen. Their guest was already seated at the table and Jeanie was serving roast beef and gravy, with mashed potatoes and carrots. Her Aunt Jeanie never failed to amaze her. No matter what was going on, she could still whip up a great meal.

The whole time she’d been upstairs, Sarah had dreaded the idea of discussing her situation with the stranger. However, as soon as she resigned herself to her situation, she began to feel a certain amount of excitement at the prospect of setting off on a new adventure. It would be a new chapter in her life. She was sure that was what it would end up being. When she left Sutter Point this time, she would be entering a different phase in her life.

Sarah had better manners than to approach the subject while they were eating, but she could hardly contain herself until the meal was over.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked.

Lex smiled, apparently pleased with her eagerness to talk. “Your aunt tells me that you have been attending college,” he said, avoiding a direct answer.

Lex shook his head. “That would never work. If they have tracked you here, they likely know that you have been going to school in Portland.”

“Then what?”

“There is a girl I know who is going to school in another part of the country. She is the daughter of a lycan, but she does not possess the ability to change. I have spoken with her and she thinks it would be a great idea if you come and stay with her for a time.”

“How would I be safe there? Especially if this girl cannot change, as you say.” Sarah was doubtful that Lex’s solution was any solution at all. She would probably be safer if she stayed with Darrien.

“Because no one can know where you are … not your aunt, your friends, no one. Omar will not have any idea of where to find you,” Lex reasoned. “Furthermore, from what I gather from your aunt, the two of you have quite a lot in common.”

“What do you mean that my aunt cannot know where I’m going?” Sarah didn’t like this idea at all. If this man turned out to be an enemy, she would be at his mercy.

“The vampire can probe the minds of some people,” Lex explained. “They will try to discover where you’ve gone by doing this with the people closest to you.”

“Well I don’t like the idea of leaving my aunt alone here, especially if there is any chance that she may become the target of these vampires,” Sarah told him, stubbornly folding her arms in front of her.

Jeanie smiled and that spark of good humor danced in her eyes. “Oh Sarah sweetheart, your old auntie is quite capable of taking care of herself. It is you that we must worry about.”

Sarah was not so sure that Jeanie could hold her own against these vampires. They were so much more powerful than what she’d ever imagined. “For how long?” she wanted to know.

“I hope that it will not be long.” Lex stood from the table and looked over at Jeanie. “This was the best meal I’ve eaten in years. Thank you so much Miss Fabre.”

“Well it sounds like the two of you have already worked out all of the details. You promised to tell me why I crave blood,” Sarah frowned.

“We have a long drive ahead of us. There will be plenty of time to talk. I know this may seem extreme to you right now, but you will be much safer,” Lex assured her.

Sarah could not help but wonder.

The dark was full of the sounds of night creatures, and though Nicole should have found comfort in the tranquility of their presence, the hooting of owls and the chirping of crickets made her feel a little edgy. They stood in the same derelict cemetery where Alec had been only days before. Just like Alec, they stared up at the ancient castle.

“Have you ever heard of telekinesis?” he asked, running a hand across the skin on his head, as if he were feeling for hair that was not there.

Nicole nodded.

“Well it’s like that. Only with the vampire, the power is magnified thousands of times. The part of the brain that controls telekinesis is enhanced by the mutation during the changing.” Dash explained patiently.

Nicole smiled, happy that he was finally talking. Dash had been unusually quiet during the trip. She’d taken it for disappointment that Sophia had decided not to join them, but now she wondered. It just didn’t seem as if he’d been very close with the female vampire, and it wasn’t like Dash to be so quiet.

When Nicole switched the light on and directed the beam onto the paper, she saw that it was a picture of a beach, probably somewhere in the Caribbean. “This is a nice picture.”

Dash was still staring up at the dark structure. As Nicole peered at the Castle Arges, a feeling of foreboding tugged at her senses.

“Well let’s go,” he told Nicole. Wrapping his arms around her waist, Dash carried her with him as he flew to the top of the cliffs.

They came down in an overgrown garden at the front of the castle. It looked as if no one had bothered to care for the garden and lawns of the castle for years.

“Well yeah … actually. It just seems the right way to do it. After all, we really don’t want to put this guy in a bad mood right from the beginning,” Nicole told him as she started for the gatehouse, and the entrance to the outer courtyard of the castle.

Nicole ignored the comment and continued to make her way through the weeds to the gatehouse. The tall wrought iron gate that led to the outer courtyard was not shut and locked, like she thought it would be. But then again, it was not as if anyone local would dare to trespass at Castle Arges.

Once inside the courtyard, she could see the main entrance to the castle. On each side of the large double doors were stone - carved gargoyles. The grotesque creatures added to the macabre atmosphere of the castle. Though they had probably stood in the same place for hundreds of years, Nicole thought they were an appropriate addition to the residence of a vampire like Luciano. He was not just one of the ancients, but a vampire that was far more powerful than the mythical Dracula. Luciano could have been Dracula, if such a character had ever really existed. Nicole didn’t know a lot about him, but she did know that he was both feared and respected by the other vampires.

On each of the thick - wooden doors was a brass knocker. Without hesitating, Nicole clasped the cold metal in her hand and pounded on the door several times. Dash stood behind her. She could sense that he was ready to flee, but to his credit he stood his ground, knowing that she might need his help.

After several moments no one had come to the door so Nicole knocked again. Before she could pull her hand away from the knocker, the door swung open. The small woman could have been no more than five feet tall. She was old. Nicole guessed the woman to be at least in her seventies. She wore a black maid’s dress and a white cap on her head. It was not a uniform that you would expect to see on a house servant in the twenty-first century.

“You must be mad to come here … when you are not one of them.” She spoke in heavily accented English. As the woman spoke the last word, she stared directly at Dash. It was obvious that she could tell which of them was a vampire.

Nicole could not help but wonder why a human would be in the employ of a vampire like Luciano, someone that avoided contact with people as much as possible.

Nicole smiled. “It is very important that I speak with him.”

The old lady nodded and stepped aside so that they could enter. She motioned to a door at the left of the entry hall. “Wait in there and I will tell him you are here. Who shall I say you are?”

“My name is Nicole Ashe.” Nicole paused when she saw that Dash was shaking his head. For some reason he didn’t want her to reveal her name. Ignoring him, Nicole continued. “I’m Donavan Ashe’s daughter.”

When the woman left the room, Dash turned on her. “Are you crazy? Have you forgotten that a born vampire is forbidden?”

Nicole shook her head. “No I haven’t forgotten. But if we are to expect any cooperation, I have a feeling we are going to have to be upfront with this vampire. Besides…chances are he would be able to sense what I was anyway.”

“The young lady would be correct.” The deep - soothing voice seemed to come out of nowhere.

Nicole’s eyes scanned the room, but at first she didn’t see him - not until he moved. There was a figure standing at the large window that looked out onto the dark courtyard. Dash was standing near Nicole, his mouth agape with surprise. Considering Dash was a vampire, Nicole had to assume that this was extraordinary, even for an immortal. Luciano had moved so quickly that they had not been aware that he’d entered the room. She was positive the room had been empty when they’d walked in.

Nicole had to catch her breath when she looked at him. He was too perfect to be real. If her heart had not already belonged to another, she could see how it would be too easy to fall under Luciano’s spell.

The vampire’s black hair was long and silky, falling to his waist. His eyes were almost completely black, but with the glowing light of the immortal. His features were soft, but masculine at the same time.

“Is he still here?” Nicole asked, holding her breath. She was happy to finally get some information about Alec’s whereabouts, but terrified of what might have happened to him for angering Luciano.

Luciano eyed her curiously. “Interesting that a mortal would worry so much about a vampire’s fate. But then again Miss Ashe … you are not a mere mortal, are you?”

Dash cleared his throat. “Lord Luciano, Miss Ashe is Donavan’s daughter, so you know what that makes her. We beg that your grace not punish her for the sins of her father.”