Blood Therapy (Kismet Knight, Ph.D., Vampire Psychologist) (28 page)

Alan and I went statue-still for a moment, then he jumped off the bed and stood in front of Devereux.

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you to knock?” Alan said, his hands fisted on his hips.

Devereux ignored him and addressed me, his anger flaring like solar fire. “Is this what happens the first time I leave you on your own? You betray me?”

“Betray you?” I said. I climbed out of the bed, picked up the towel from the floor, and wrapped it around myself as I walked toward him. The fear in the room was as hot and thick as lava. “Listen, mister. We broke up. I seem to recall you saying you weren’t sure if you were ready for a relationship. That maybe we should take a break. You’ve got nothing to say about what I do or who I do it with. You bailed.”

Well, after I told him I was going to rethink everything. Should I tell him nothing happened?

“Kismet, let me handle this,” Alan said.

Devereux flicked his fingers at Alan, who crumpled to the floor.

Shit!

“Hey!” I said, “you don’t get to dispose of my friends. Who the hell do you think you are?”

“You are the one who suggested you needed time away from me. I was simply accommodating you. How foolish I was—now I see you had an alternate agenda.”

“
I
had an alternate agenda? This from the mysterious Master who has some dark, secret reason for wanting me to be his mate—a reason you’ve never disclosed, by the way—and who doesn’t care if my brain explodes as long as he gets what he wants. Don’t make me laugh.” I looked down at Alan. “Did you hurt him?”

Devereux gave a quick downward glance. “No, of course not.”

I tightened the towel around me and tried to focus on the inner hum as I breathed through the oppressive weight on my chest. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

Are you so lost without me you can’t stay away?

“Olivia told me she spoke with you and Alan. I assume you know about my previous involvement with them.”

“Yes. You helped protect Alan when he was a boy.”

“I did it for his mother—she did not deserve what happened to her. And those responsible had to be punished.”

“Did you help Colin get rid of them?”

“I was of some assistance. Tonight she asked me to help her find Colin, so I came to offer Alan my aid.” He slowly moved toward me until he was standing very close. “He was not in his room so I came here to ask if you knew his location.” He scowled. “Apparently, you did.” He reached out a finger and stroked it along my cheek.

Before I could say anything, he vanished.

“If you’re going to pop in without an invitation, you’re going to see things you don’t want to see! And it’s not what you think!” I yelled at nothing, and kicked one of Alan’s shoes across the floor.

“Well, crap!” I said and flopped down on the end of the bed, taking deep breaths to shake off the fear haze. I pressed my palms against both sides of my head, warding off an imaginary impending skull explosion and recalling a time in my life when things had been calm. Boring, certainly, but calm. It wasn’t so long ago that I could actually sit in my living room, eat popcorn, and watch a movie, with nothing stranger to deal with than an occasional suicidal client.

Since I’d met Devereux, nothing was sane. Calm was an alien concept.

But I’d always stunk at relationships with men, so that wasn’t new.

Did I feel guilty for thinking about having sex with Alan? Honestly, I didn’t. Even though Devereux continually talked about our fated, destined connection, in reality we’d only known each other for less than three months. And he’d been out of commission for some of that time. Since he recovered, he’d been too busy to deal with me.

Was I attracted to Devereux? Absolutely. Without a doubt. Even without any of his mind-control. He could make my libido dance the cha-cha and fan my pilot light into a raging inferno. Maybe that feeling could grow into something serious over time, but now that my mind was clear, I had to take advantage of the opportunity to keep my cortex from turning into cerebral slime.

Alan moaned and flopped onto his back. He blinked a few times. “What happened? Did Devereux attack me?”

Should I tell him the truth or save his pride?
I decided to go with the truth. I couldn’t handle any more complications.

“No. He just flicked his fingers and you fell down.”
Maybe that was a little too blunt.

He was silent for several seconds, then leaped to his feet.

“Wow,” I said. “That was a pretty athletic move there, Special Agent.”

“Yeah.” He crossed his arms. “I felt compelled to do something to prove I’m not just an expendable wimp. Much more manly than letting Devereux flatten me by waving his fingers. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that the woman I’d just tried to seduce got to see me drop like a swatted fly.”

I couldn’t even work up a smile at his indignation.

“In your defense, I don’t think there was any ‘letting’ involved. In my experience, vampires, especially powerful ones like Devereux, do what they want. We humans are just around for food and comic relief.”

He sat next to me on the end of the bed. “So Devereux broke up with you, huh?”

I met his gaze. “It’s more complicated than that, but the short answer is yes. He dumped me in the airplane bathroom. How appropriate.”

“What? He was in the airplane bathroom?”

“Yes. He said he tried to materialize on the wing of the plane and missed a few times. He finally arrived inside.” I shook my head. “He looked like a nuclear-blast survivor.”

“But how—? Never mind.” He shook his head. “My brain can’t deal with anything more right now.”

“See?” I wagged my finger at him. “Now you know how I feel most of the time.”

“So he broke up with you. Does that make me your rebound guy?”

“No! You’re not my rebound guy. I’ve known you almost as long as I’ve known him.”

“Yeah, but not in the same way.”

“Well, that’s true, but … I never meant to hurt you or—”

“Hey, don’t sweat it—I’m okay with being your rebound man.” He grinned. “I can definitely live with that.”

“Really?”

“Sure. Who knows what’ll happen? I told you before I wasn’t just going to give up because my competition is a bad-ass vampire.”

“But, Alan, really—I told you I’m not able to have a relationship with anyone right now. I’ve got huge things to figure out. You deserve to be with someone who’s available, who’s—”

“Are you trying to ditch me? Is this the après-almost-sex brush-off?” He narrowed his eyes and frowned.

“No! Of course not. I just don’t want anyone else getting mad at me because I’m not doing what they want me to do.”

“Okay, then—you just go ahead and figure out whatever you need to, and I’ll take care of myself. Deal?”

“Really? You’re not going to lecture me or try to make me feel guilty?”

“Nope. I’m all out of energy for that shit.”

“In that case—deal.”

He looked at the clock. “It’s pretty late. We ought to try to get some sleep—the conference starts again in a few hours. I’ll go back to my room …” He jumped up and started searching for his pants.

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and started. A woman wearing a red satin nightgown ran through the room, her clothes and hair on fire, and smashed through the closed window. The glass exploded, sounding like a bomb-blast. Her screams echoed and faded as she fell.

I stared at the imaginary wind blowing through the hole in the glass. Had I really thought coming to New York would get me away from all the madness? Little had I known this was Weird Central.

“Wait.” I stood and went to him. “I don’t want to be alone tonight. I’d like you to stay here, with me.”

He paused, one leg in his pants. “Are you sure?”

“Completely.”

He can be my human teddy bear.

I straightened the sheet on the mattress, then I gathered the other covers and spread them on top.

Alan shook his leg out of the pants, tossed them aside, and got back in bed. He plumped his pillow. “This is pretty intimate, you know, actually sleeping with someone. Way more private and meaningful than having sex.”

I nestled under the blankets and turned on my side to face him. “Yes. It takes a lot of trust.” I angled over and kissed him. “Good night, Agent Mulder.”

“Sleep tight, Doctor Scully.”

As I turned over onto my other side, the woman in red ran through the room again.

I closed my eyes tight and pulled the covers over my head, hoping that would put an end to the ghostly horror show.

The sound of the smashed glass had barely trailed off when a thin, strongly accented high-pitched male voice said, “Kismet Knight?”

My eyes flew open, and my breath caught. That hadn’t sounded like the woman in red. I slowly nudged the covers down so I could see.

What the hell now?

Standing slightly bent over in a beam of moonlight streaming in through the window was an old man dressed in a dark robe. His long gray hair was pulled back into a braid. He had a thick gray moustache, the ends of which narrowed into points underneath his chin.

He walked slowly toward the bed. “Are you Kismet Knight?”

“Yes,” I mumbled, a jolt of fear slicing through me.

“Good.” He nodded. “I am Zephyr. I understand you wish to speak with me.”

Clutching my rumbling stomach, I sat up and subtly nudged Alan under the covers. He didn’t budge. My heart raced.

Zephyr cleared his throat. “Your companion won’t awaken—my business is with you alone. We must go.”

So much for subtle.

“Go? Go where?” Terror tightened its grip around my throat. I’d never sensed such a powerful vampire.

“That is too complicated to explain, but allow me to diminish your reaction to me and the effects of your overindulgence.” He pointed both his index fingers at me and a wave of relaxation flowed through my body. My muscles softened, and I almost toppled over onto Alan.

“There. I have weakened your ability to sense predators for the time being and healed your hangover. You should feel much better now.”

And I did. Straightening, I took a few breaths and felt myself calm. I glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. Three a.m.

Zephyr and I eyed each other for a few seconds. I didn’t know what the proper etiquette was for a situation like this. Should I ask him to sit while I made tea? My brain was so tired I couldn’t think. The worry and alcohol had taken more of a toll than I thought. “I should probably get dressed,” I said, remembering I was naked. “Would you mind turning your back so I can get out of bed?”

“Please,” he said on a chuckle, “I am so old I don’t even remember what the sight of a naked woman is
supposed
to inspire in a man. I think I lost those urges hundreds of years before I even became a vampire.”

He lived hundreds of years before being turned?

“Yes.” He answered my unspoken question. “I was an alchemist—a very successful one, by the way—and enjoyed my own form of immortality. Had it not been for some idiot vampire … well, that is a story for another day. Hurry now. We do not have much time.

Uh-oh. He read my mind. Does that mean my brain is unprotected?

“No,” he answered, “Anne’s little fix is still in place. I am the one who taught her that trick. No one can mask their thoughts from me—it is simply one of my gifts.”

I glanced out through the window. Stars sparkled in the night sky.

“How do I know you’re Zephyr? You could be anyone.”

“That is true. I suppose you will have to decide if your desire to speak with me is larger than your fear. What does your intuition tell you?”

What the hell? For some reason, I didn’t feel anything particularly threatening about the old man. He felt relatively benign. Although it occurred to me that as an old vampire, he could change his appearance—and his energy—to anything he wished.

He smiled. “I assumed this physical façade because it was what you expected. I hate to disappoint.”

Throwing the covers back, I dashed out of the bed and into the bathroom. I turned on the light, wrapped myself in a large towel, then returned to the main room to pull clothes from the suitcase.

I dressed quickly in jeans and a red sweater and, because my mouth tasted sour, I took a minute to brush my teeth. There was nothing to be done about my wild, tangled hair, so I pulled it back with a scrunchie.

My coat was still in the bathroom where I’d left it before my shower, so I dragged it with me and walked to where Zephyr was sitting on the end of the unoccupied bed.

“Very good. Go ahead and put that coat on—it is chilly out for humans.”

I tugged the coat on as he moved next to me and anchored his arm around my shoulders. Before I could even begin to fret about being so close to a stranger, a few loose strands of hair blew back from my face as we traveled via thought to … where?

Zephyr released me abruptly, and I blinked in the twilight. I was standing on something smooth and hard, and the air temperature had warmed slightly since we completed our quick journey through the stratosphere, so I assumed we were indoors again.

He snapped his fingers, and light burst forth from tall torches spread throughout the huge expanse.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust before I realized we were inside a beautiful Greek temple, complete with soaring columns, statues of gods and goddesses, and gold silk draped along the stone walls. The floor was beautiful gold-flecked marble, and a long, narrow pool ran down the middle of the atrium, complete with waterfalls at each end. A golden dolphin rose out of the vibrant blue water, caught in mid-leap.

Was this the mysterious library?

“No,” he answered, and I realized he’d been staring at me. His voice echoed through the cavernous room. “This is just the entry hall. I designed it eons ago to reflect my country of origin. The sacred texts are protected far underground.”

“You’re Greek?”

He bowed. “I am. I was born as a human in Delphi.”

“Delphi? The home of the Oracle?”

“Yes—a relative. Quite mad. Right up your alley, actually. Not to mention all the gods. Always fighting and killing one another.”