Dark Destiny (37 page)

She closed her eyes, turned away from him so he couldn't see the expression on her face. "You took the chance of living the rest of your immortal life as an outcast? Just so I wouldn't feel alone?" She wanted to shake him until his teeth rattled. She wanted to kiss him until they both fell back on the bed senseless. She wanted to weep for the strength of his love and commitment.

"You are my life, my very soul, Destiny. I could do no other."

His simple words shook her. Could someone really love another that much? So selflessly? She let her breath out slowly, trying to regain a semblance of composure. "Who is this paragon of virtue with such a talent?"

"He is called 'the dark one.' He is a descendant of a great line of hunters, and second-in-command to our Prince. He guards our Prince and is a renowned healer. He holds power in his mind and hands. I believe he is the one who will be able to help us. He is called Gregori."

Destiny couldn't prevent the involuntary shiver of fear at the dreaded name. She had heard of Gregori. Every vampire feared him, feared his judgment. She had grown up with the whispered curses of the undead if the name was spoken aloud. She squared her shoulders. "What if he can't help us and he tells his Prince we're vampire, Nicolae? He'll hunt us, and he's said to be very powerful."

Nicolae shrugged his shoulders casually. "I am an ancient, Destiny, older than Gregori. He cannot defeat me. I live by the code of the Carpathian people. He would not condemn me for tainted blood."

"You're always so sure of yourself, Nicolae. This was your decision, and because you took such a chance with your life, I have no choice but to agree. I would never have called this man into my life." Comprehension blossomed. "You took my blood so I would be forced to accept this healer. You knew I wouldn't otherwise."

Nicolae looked unrepentant. Destiny glared at him. "I have things to do tonight. I want to see Sam, and I'm hoping to talk to Velda and Inez about what's going on in the neighborhood. You might undo the safeguards for me." She didn't want to talk to him anymore. Or look at him. Delivering a swift kick might have eased some of her frustration, but she doubted it. He had outmaneuvered her and she knew it.

She had no choice but to accept Gregori's ministrations, although she feared him. She cared nothing about herself, but Nicolae was everything to her. She didn't want the tainted blood to begin its ugly work on him. He might have only a small amount, but eventually the blood would start its corruption, burning like acid. The pain would begin at every rising. He would grow to hate her. He would hold her in contempt. How could he not?

"Because it was my choice, Destiny," Nicolae assured her, easily reading her thoughts. He had not considered that she would think such a thing.

"It won't matter, Nicolae. As time goes on and your people do not accept you, as the pain spreads and the corruption grows so you have to fight it every single moment of your existence, you will forget the why and how of it and only remember you did it because of me."

"I fought the growing darkness, an evil far stronger than this tainted blood, every moment of my life from my two hundredth year. It crouched in me, waiting for one moment of weakness. Why would you think, now, when I have you, that I would succumb to such an abomination?"

She paced across the floor, caught between tears and anger. "I don't know, Nicolae. You shouldn't have done it; you shouldn't have taken such a chance with your life. With your soul. I
lived
with such a monster. I feel like he's reaching for us from his grave, reaching to rip us apart."

"Nothing, no one, will take you away from me," Nicolae stated in his perfectly calm voice. There was no bragging note or false bravado; it was simply a statement of fact.

Destiny looked up at the hard planes of his face. She saw his raw power and complete confidence, and some of her tension melted away. She allowed her breath to escape in a little rush. "I hope you're as good as you think you are, hotshot, because if this Gregori person is coming to pay us a visit, you might need to be." She held up her hand. "I have things to do, places to go, people to see."

"Are you
dismissing
me?"

"You have trouble with separation issues too, don't you? I think you should go visit Mary Ann. I'm going to see Inez and Velda. I suppose you could come if you really insist. They'll love the roses."

He groaned aloud, caught her firmly and kissed her until she was breathless and kissing him back.

Chapter Sixteen

Destiny found the sisters in their usual spot on the sidewalk with their lawn chairs set out and ready for company. They hugged her with far more enthusiasm than she would have liked, especially with the echo of Nicolae's laughter in her mind. Destiny was still uncomfortable with physical contact, but Inez and Velda hugged and kissed her, patting her encouragingly as if she were a child they adored.

You do not dislike physical contact with me
. Nicolae deliberately teased her, knowing she would react, but she would laugh, too, and the exchange would leave her amused and relaxed.

I still want to kick you
, Destiny said, shutting him out firmly. Inez was already attempting to teach her a dance step she'd just learned from a video.

"Come, dear." Inez took her hand, attempting to force Destiny's hips into swaying appropriately to the metallic music screeching from the boom box beside their chairs.

"Sister, she should learn the tango, not that step. It isn't romantic enough," Velda objected. "Your young man is quite fond of you, Destiny. He's learning the ways of true courtship, very rare in this day and age."

"I can't thank you enough for giving him pointers," Destiny said. "He admitted you were the ones who thought of the roses. They were lovely." She moved carefully away from Inez, smiling as she did so. "I'm not much of a dancer, Inez, but you move so beautifully."

The sisters twittered, pleased that Nicolae had taken their advice to heart. "Did you get your chocolates, dear?" Inez asked slyly.

"I'm looking forward to that pleasure," Destiny lied, blushing for no other reason than that the two women had such wicked thoughts in their heads.

Inez looked dreamy. "It will be a memory to treasure," she advised.

"What I really came by for was to get more information about these strange incidents. Nicolae is helping me look into them, and I thought you might have some more information for us," Destiny said hastily. "Do either of you remember similar events happening in the past?" Destiny asked. She seated herself in the chair between the two elderly ladies. "Something weird? Someone acting completely out of character?"

Inez made clucking sounds as she thought it over. "Why, yes, dear, now that you ask. Sister, you remember poor Blythe Madison. She's in the mental institution now. What a sweet girl she was."

"Oh, yes, Inez, I had forgotten that poor girl. We visited her a few times, but she was unresponsive and her husband told us our visits only seemed to upset her. We should have continued to make inquiries, though."

"Sister, how awful we are." Inez's hands fluttered to her throat. She looked distressed. "We haven't even asked about her lately. Poor Harry, he probably thinks everyone's forgotten about her. Poor, dear man, carrying such a burden alone."

"Blythe had no other family," Velda continued. "Just poor Harry. He was so bewildered when she cracked up."

"Blythe was a meek little thing," Inez added. "She would hardly speak without permission. That's why it was so difficult to believe it when she began doing bizarre things. Wasn't it awful, Sister? Why, she ran down this very street waving a butcher knife, threatening everyone."

Velda nodded. "It wasn't the first incident, but it was the one that finally convinced Harry she was dangerous to herself and others. I must go visit her."

Destiny patted her arm. "I'm certain Blythe would appreciate that, Velda, but could you give me a little more detail? What was the first odd thing she did?"

"It was right after they made such a success of The Tavern," Velda said. "Blythe had the idea of making it a deli-bar, hoping to bring in the neighborhood after work and in the evening as a visiting place. It was a wonderful idea. Everyone loved it, and we all gravitated toward The Tavern in the evenings. Her idea turned the entire business around."

"You liked her," Destiny guessed.

"Very much," Velda admitted, while Inez bobbed her head with enthusiasm. "A dear, sweet girl—she'd give you the shirt off her back. She was always rescuing animals and bringing soup to anyone who was sick."

"A lovely girl," Inez reiterated wistfully. "Perfectly sensible. Everyone liked her. We should have continued to visit her, Sister."

Destiny hung on to her patience. "Do you remember what started it all?"

"We were in The Tavern to celebrate Inez's birthday," Velda said. "I remember because we were wearing party hats."

"It was my sixty-fifth birthday, a true milestone," Inez put in.

Velda rolled her eyes. "It was your seventieth birthday, Inez. You're five years older than you tell people."

"Why, Sister! Surely not. I am certain of my age."

"You're two years younger than I am."

Inez looked shocked and began to fan herself. "I am certain you're wrong, Sister. I am at least five years younger."

Velda took a breath, patted her sister lovingly. "Now that you say so, I believe you're right. I was mixed up for a moment, dear, do forgive me."

"You were telling me about the party hats," Destiny said to redirect the conversation, but she was looking at Velda with far more respect. There was genuine love and compassion in the woman's eyes as she looked at her sister.

"Well," Velda went on. "I had tried one of those new perms and my hair was all curly and sticking out from under the party hat. I was looking at myself in the mirror and laughing. Blythe was laughing with me. We pointed to each other in the mirror. She'd had a perm, too, but her hair wasn't sticking out like mine. It looked pretty. Didn't you think so, Inez?" Deliberately she drew her sister into the conversation, taking her mind off the distressing subject of age. "Didn't you think Blythe's hair was really pretty all curled the way it was?"

"Oh, yes, Sister, she looked so young."

"But the mirror shattered. It just shattered. Nothing touched it. I was looking right at it." Velda frowned. "There were slivers of glass everywhere. The mirror must have really meant something to Blythe. Maybe it was an heirloom. She just went for the closest person. She picked up a chair and smashed it over his back. Who did she hit, Sister? Do you remember?"

"That tall friend of Harry's. He isn't around much anymore. I haven't seen him but once or twice since," Inez answered. "Davis something."

"Morgan Davis." Velda pounced on the name, proud of her memory. "Of course. I didn't like him, much too cold for me, but the young girls went for him." She glanced at Destiny. "I didn't like his aura. It was off color. He worked with Harry on and off for a few months and then left town."

"That's right. Davis is very tall, and Blythe smashed that chair right over him." Inez grinned at the memory. "Everyone wanted to laugh, a little thing like her breaking that chair. But then she picked up a piece of the leg and began to hit him all over. She didn't make a sound and she wouldn't stop. Harry restrained her, didn't he, Sister?"

"The next day she didn't remember anything at all," Velda said. "When we asked her about it, she denied it. She cried. I believe she began to think there was a conspiracy against her. None of us could convince her she had actually hit Davis with a chair. She just seemed to give up after a while. She withdrew from everyone, and eventually we rarely saw her. There were four incidents about a month or so apart. Finally Harry took her to the hospital. No one's really talked to her since." Velda's hand trembled as she reached for the talisman hanging on a chain around her neck. "I was her friend. I should have continued to visit her." She looked down at the ground. "I all but forgot her."

"Velda," Destiny said in a soothing tone. "Blythe knows you're a good friend. She's unable to cope at this time, but perhaps we'll find some information that will help her." She was turning Velda's words over and over in her mind.

A mirror shattered, Nicolae. The other night, just before John Paul's strange behavior, the streetlights shattered. There must be a connection
. She reached for him easily, naturally. Nicolae. Her other half.

I knew you felt that way
.

His voice was far too complacent for her liking.
You are my other half, I'll admit, but you're the worst half. The ridiculous, impetuous half that must be monitored continually
.

Ah, that word again. Impetuous. Spontaneous, reckless, a lover without measure.

Destiny laughed out loud.
Where did that come from? You're dreaming again
. "Thank you for telling me, Velda, I know it isn't easy to bring up difficult memories. You're always so generous." Destiny studied the two eccentric women. The pink and purple hair. The flashy tennis shoes. Inez with her overdone makeup and Velda with a cleanly scrubbed face.

"You're extraordinary women." Destiny knew it was true. They gave service to others, watching over and caring for the people they loved. Some thought them busybodies, others thought them silly, but those were the people who didn't take time to know them. To see who they really were. "I feel privileged to have met you."

"We're not extraordinary at all, dear," Velda denied. "We live life very simply, without fear of rejection. Others don't have to understand us." As if realizing they were getting close to the topic of her hidden talents, she completely changed the subject, patting Destiny's hand as if that would distract her. "I heard what you did for that little boy. Father Mulligan came by this morning and mentioned you brought him the child. Inez and I would gladly give him a home, but we're too old." She glanced at her sister. "I'm too old, and Inez must take care of me. She has her hands full with that, don't you, Sister?"