DanceoftheVampires

Cornelia Amiri

One of Ian’s six brothers kicks over the stones of an
ancient cairn, unknowingly freeing Sorcha and her six sisters from underhill.
The seven handsome Scots are enchanted by the voluptuous temptresses until they
turn on the men. Ian captures Sorcha, giving his brothers a chance to escape. With
the dark fey woman still in his grasp, Ian is saved by the rising sun.

Her sisters vanish with the light of dawn and Sorcha is trapped
in the mortal realm. The seductress can’t resist Ian’s attentions as he stirs
throbbing urges she’s never felt before. Ian is bewitched by the wild delights
offered by this vampire siren. He can’t get enough of her. Still, her wicked
sisters and his highland brothers want nothing more than to attack and kill
each other. Will Sorcha and Ian’s sizzling passion prove strong enough to
overcome the differences between the dark fey and humans?

Publisher’s Note: This story was previously published
elsewhere under the title
Vampire Dancer,
and has been expanded and
revised for Ellora’s Cave.

Ellora’s Cave Publishing

www.ellorascave.com

Dance of the Vampires

ISBN 9781419939532

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Dance of the Vampires Copyright © 2012 Cornelia Amiri

Edited by Raelene Gorlinsky

Cover design by Syneca

Photography by Shutterstock.com

Electronic book publication March 2012

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Ian wobbled out the door of the pub ahead of his six
brothers. Focusing as hard as he could, pushing one foot in front of the other,
he stumbled across a field in the moonlight. A clump of gorse and heather
brushed against his jeans.

“Brother, be careful not to step on a thistle in the dark,”
Lachlan yelled in slurred speech.

“I have my boots on,” Ian snapped.

“Are you sure, little brother?” Malcolm, the oldest, called
out. “You usually run barefoot and cry like a girl when you get a thorn in your
foot.”

“I was five years old the last time that happened.” Tired of
the lot of them, he stomped ahead. “I’d go off by myself and leave all of you
here, but someone has to lead you home.”

Well past midnight, silence engulfed the field until Calin
burst out laughing and couldn’t stop.

“Shut up,” Angus, the middle brother, yelled.

“He’s hammered.” Errol nodded his head toward him. “He
cannot help it.”

“Well, I do not know what’s so funny or why we had to leave
right when I spotted the pretty women in the pub.” Tavish kicked a stone with
his foot as he tromped through the grass with his brothers.

“Because we are all drunk.” Lachlan’s body wavered, leaning
forward then back. “That is why the lassies started looking so bonny to you.
Those were the same ones you called old and ugly when they first came in, you
bampot.”

“They were old, that was Liam’s mother and aunt.” Angus
grabbed Tavish’s head and jostled it back and forth. He ducked out of Angus’
way.

“Ooch!” Ian jumped back.

“What is wrong with you?” Malcolm set his hand on his hip.

Ian pointed to the ancient mound of stones caked over with
dirt and grass. “I almost stepped on a fairy mound.” His stomach knotted.

“Brother, are you afraid of a pile of old stones?” Calin
threw his head back and rocked with laughter.

“It’s a cairn.” Ian’s heart still thudded from the near
miss. “Any who disturb it will be cursed.”

“I dare you to knock it over.” Errol crossed his arms over
his chest.

Ian stepped back, a horrified look on his handsome face. “I
will not.”

“I will.” With long, sure strides, Tavish stepped toward the
ancient gravesite.

“Do not do it.” Ian’s belly clenched even tighter, until he
felt sharp jabs of pain.

Before the other six could stop him, Tavish drew back his
foot and crashed it into the sacred cairn with a hard kick. A loud, sharp gasp
from each of his brothers hung in the air. One lone stone rolled free of the
mound.

Malcolm’s mouth dropped open. “You disturbed the fey.”

“You’ve done it now.” Lachlan stepped back, attempting to
separate himself from the sacrilege.

“He dared me.” Tavish pointed at Errol. “I had to do it, now
didn’t I?”

“Errol’s a turnip-headed bampot,” Calin shouted. “You too,
Tavish.”

“I do not like it.” Ian shook his head. “It’s sacred. It’s
cursed.” The knot in his stomach froze, growing as cold as ice.

“This is bad.” Angus shook his head.

“Let’s keep walking.” Calin slid his foot forward with a
confident stride.

Malcolm bobbed his head. “We should hurry home before
something happens.”

“We are,” Errol snapped. “We’re in this field taking a
shortcut, remember?”

“Come on.” Malcolm headed away from the disturbed monument.
“Walk faster.” He took the lead as the others followed.

“Look.” Ian came to an abrupt stop.

His brothers froze as their gazes turned to where he pointed
his finger. Seven women, all in odd dresses of green tartan silk, stood beside
the cairn. Their lush, scarlet lips curved into smiles as seductive as warm
kisses.

Ian’s pulse hammered.

Errol stepped up to them, stopping right in front of the
fairy mound. “Why are girls as pretty as you wandering around McLeod’s farm
this late at night?”

All seven answered in turn.

“Something disturbed our sleep.”

“So we came to look about.”

“Then we got hungry and decided to pick up something to
eat.”

“When we ran into you seven handsome men.”

“Nice to meet all of you.”

“We like to dance.”

“Dance with us.”

Ian gazed at the last woman who spoke. Her complexion was
radiant, skin as smooth and luminescent as alabaster. Every line of her body,
her long legs to her dainty feet, her ample hips to her tiny waist and
curvaceous bust, her long, firm arms, slender neck, and flowing raven hair,
reminded him of the lines that swirled and looped in Celtic tracery and
knotwork. She was a work of art.

Her gown was a silk plaid, squares of vibrant green, like
the hills, crossed with stripes of beige and ivory, like the sea coast. As if
sculpted to her body, the dress enhanced her curves. Gathered at the neckline
with a round Celtic brooch, it was belted at the waist with a triple-corded
belt of gold. The flowing silk exposed the long calves and the slender ankles of
her creamy legs. She sauntered toward him with fluid strides. Her arms, hips
and breasts swayed in an entrancing rhythm. As she moved, he could see her
erect nipples beneath the veil of thin fabric.

His mouth went dry. He couldn’t speak. Ian couldn’t touch
her. If he touched her, he would never let her go.

“I am Sorcha. What’s your name?”

Ian’s head spun from the whisky and he wanted to look at her
and hide at the same time. His palms were sweating and his stomach lurched. He
turned his head to avoid dumping the contents of his shaky belly on her. He
retched.

Sorcha leapt back. “What are you doing?”

“Sorry, I did not mean to.” Ian shook his head. “I had one
too many pints.” Humiliated, he looked away.

His gaze latched onto his brothers and their dance partners.
The women were doing more than dancing. Savagely, they pulled his brothers’
clothes off. Raking their nails down the men’s bare flesh, they licked and
suckled their skin. It looked as if his brothers and the strange women were
going to have an orgy right here in the field. He stood there gaping. He had to
be dreaming.

Tight pressure gripped his swelling groin as a jolt of heat
shot through him. He imagined Sorcha’s tongue on the fiery bulge of flesh
between his thighs. His pulse hammered, causing his breath to catch in his
throat. Then a coppery smell drifted in the air.

Ian tried to block out the buzz from the whisky. He
squinted, peering closer at the wild escapades in front of him. He watched as
Angus dropped to the ground with a thud. Where desire flamed inside him just
moments before, now icy fear coursed through Ian. A woman just stood over
Angus’ still form, refusing to help him. Fresh, crimson blood dripped from her
full mouth and her long, sharp nails.

“This isn’t an orgy.” The realization hit Ian full force.
“It’s murder. They’re
baobhan sith
, dancing vampires.”

His shock turned to fury. He grabbed Sorcha, who still stood
between him and the smelly puddle of vomit. He dug his fingers into her flesh.
He didn’t care if he hurt her or not. She wasn’t human. He slammed her to the
ground and leapt on her back. He couldn’t stop all of them, but he wouldn’t let
this one hurt his brothers or him. He pushed with all his might, holding her
arms down. She couldn’t suck his blood.

A shivering wail like a cat in heat blared from her open
mouth.

He pushed his body onto her as hard as he could. His
brothers. He had to save them. What could he do? If he got up, he’d have to let
go of her and she’d kill him. Claw him to death. No. This couldn’t be
happening. He wanted to fight, to help his brothers. What could he do? Really
do? He’d stop this one. He could do that.

“Mortal, unhand my sister.” A
baobhan sith
released
one of his brothers to leap through the air and land on Ian in attack mode.
Fighting to free Sorcha, she fiercely clamped down on Ian’s flesh, digging her
nails and teeth into his vulnerable human flesh.

With all his might, he held Sorcha as if his arms were steel
restraints. His full weight like an anvil crushed her prone body. He’d never
let her go. If he couldn’t save himself, he would save his brothers.

Her six vampire sisters cawed like a flock of ravens. They
swooped down, hungry, winged scavengers who found a corpse to ravage. Ian held
on to Sorcha, even with all six creatures piled on top of him. They pecked and
clawed but didn’t feed. Their frenzy to free Sorcha drove them more than their
hunger for his blood.

Ian twisted his head toward his brothers. “Get Angus to the
hospital. Run.”

“No,” Malcolm shouted. “Not without you.”

“Then we will all die.” He couldn’t keep the pain from his
voice. Raw, stinging cuts and bites covered every inch of his body. “Go now. I
do not know how long I can hold on.”

“We’ll get help for him. He’s lost a lot of blood.” Tavish
lifted Angus’ still body over his shoulder and met Ian’s gaze. “We’ll come back
for you.”

His six brothers fled. The
baobhan sith
let them go.
They were all clawing and grabbing at Ian.

He shut his eyes and grappled at Sorcha with all his might,
but his body weakened. His muscles screamed from the strain and the pain as the
six vampires continued to attack him. He’d die before he’d let them pry him off
her.

Sorcha’s muffled screams and threats aimed at forcing him to
free her fell silent, as she must have grown too tired to shout. Exhaustion
engulfed him and it was a trial just to breathe. Still he held onto her,
resisting the assault of her sisters with every last ounce of strength he
possessed. It seemed as if all was still, as if he didn’t breathe or hear
anything. He felt as if he was looking on, watching the attack.

This is how people die. This is it. Any moment I will
meet my death.

He had no idea how much time had passed, but his mind and
body were overcome with the vampires’ abuse. He felt his fight against them had
gone on much longer than one night. The sadness of knowing he was dying
overcame him, like being buried alive in an ice-filled bog. They were killing
him, and there was nothing more he could do to stop his death.

The sky grew brighter. The weight of their bodies lifted off
of him. He raised his head as the deadly enchantresses vanished as if they’d
never been there. Except for Sorcha, still struggling beneath his hard body.
The sky was ablaze with a pink, orange and saffron sunrise.

“I’m alive. Saved by the sun.”

* * * * *

His spirits soared as he heard the sound of an automobile
engine. Then Malcolm called to him. “Ian, are you all right?”

“You came back.” He stayed on the ground with Sorcha beneath
him. The only thing keeping her alive was him. If the sun shone directly on
her, she’d turn to ash.

“We would never leave you behind, brother. Let the
baobhan
sith
up so the sun will fry her.”

“I cannot let her die like that.”

Her sisters were gone. She posed no threat alone with five
of his brothers here.

“My sisters shall avenge my death. All your brothers will be
killed,” Sorcha managed to yell as he lay on top of her.

“I am trying to shield you from the sun’s rays so you will
not die, you fool.” He could barely speak, he was so drained of energy, and he
would not stand for both her and his brothers fussing at him. He needed rest
first.

“What are we to do with her?” Lachlan swaggered forward with
Errol, Tavish and Calin following him.

Ian held onto Sorcha. “First, tell me about Angus.”

His brothers each answered in turn.

“He’s at the hospital.”

“He lost a lot of blood.”

“They gave him a transfusion.”

“To heal him.”

“They’re keeping him today for observation.”

“He’ll come home tomorrow, maybe tonight.”

“Good.” Ian sighed with relief. “One of you get a blanket to
wrap around her. It’ll keep her safe until we get her home.”

“What will we do then?” Tavish rolled his shoulders back.

“She needs to sleep. My bedroom’s dark enough with the
blinds drawn.” A voice in his head said it was a bad idea, keeping a vampire in
his bed, while another part of him thought,
It could be fun
.

“I don’t know how Mum’s going to feel about this.” Tavish
shook his red head.

Soon one of them draped a blanket over him and Sorcha and he
slipped out from beneath, leaving her covered. His brothers rolled her up in it
and carried her to the truck. They laid her inside.

Her voice reached beyond the layers of blanket wrapping.
“What are you going to do with me?”

“We’re saving your life, though I don’t know why.” Errol
clambered into the bed of the truck.

“I don’t know either. You damn vampires nearly killed
Angus.” Calin climbed in with them and sat next to her.

Lachlan and Tavish settled in the back with her and their
other two brothers as well.

With Ian in the passenger seat, Malcolm took the wheel and
drove to the house. Once Malcolm pulled the truck to a stop, everyone climbed
out except for Sorcha. Ian's brothers pulled her out, still captive in the
blanket, and carried her to the front door. Once inside, careful not to let
their mother or father know, they sneaked her into Ian’s room and dropped her
on the bed.

When his brothers left, Ian shut the door to his room, and
with one fluid motion yanked the blanket off her. Her skin was red as if she
had begun to burn.

“You are safe here. There’s a wee bit of light coming
through the windows, but it’s dark enough. You’ll find the bed comfortable,
it’s mine.”

“Am I? Safe here?” She pushed herself to a sitting position
and put one hand on her hip. “Why here?” She looked at him intently. “Why not
leave me in the sun to die?”

His brothers had asked him the same thing. “I could not
leave you to burn to a crisp. Even if you are a
baobhan sith,
I would
not do that to anyone.” As he gazed into her gleaming eyes, he knew he could
never hurt her. He felt an unexplainable need to protect her. He didn’t know
why. “I had to give up my bed for you, I couldn’t ask one of my brothers to do
it.”