Dark Gold (16 page)

"What are you talking about?" Stefan was looking nervously up at the sky, in his rearview mirror, out the side windows.

"Never mind. Turn on this road. He's near the ocean—no, the other way, down the hill. He's close by." She could barely breathe, the air was so filled with evil now. "The vampire is somewhere close also. I can feel him."

Go back
, cara,
go back
. There was pleading in Aidan's voice.

He is searching for you, Aidan. I can feel his triumph. He thinks he knows where you are. He's in the form of a bird
—
no, something else that flies
—
but he's injured. He's favoring his right side
. Alexandria rubbed her temples; the energy it took to communicate mentally was draining. Her head throbbed, her thigh was burning as if she had somehow incurred an injury there.

Go back, Alexandria. He feels your presence. That is why he is triumphant. He has drawn you out of safety. Do as I say
! Aidan placed one hand carefully over the deep cut on his temple and pressed the other over the wound on his thigh that was draining away his life-force. He had lost so much blood; the precious fluid pooled on the ground, seeping into the soil.

The smell of the blood would draw the vampire to him. But he could also smell, and the vampire's scent was as strong as the disturbance in the earth's natural harmony. He did not need Alexandria's warnings to know the vampire was close. This one held far more power than Yohenstria, and his ability to create illusions was flawless. Aidan had fought others as strong, but not with such a mortal injury himself. With Alexandria so close, he had no recourse but to fight and win. Even had he gone to ground, the vampire probably would have found him before dawn. He forced his protesting body to move, to climb to his feet. He pushed the pain from his mind. He pushed the thought of Alexandria away. He could do no other than defeat the vampire. He stood very still. Waiting. Just waiting.

Chapter Seven

The wind blew up from the bay. Waves rushed toward the shoreline below. The stars glowed overhead. The night itself seemed far too beautiful to hide such a perverted, demented creature as
nosferatu
, the undead. Aidan lifted his face to the wind and inhaled sharply to sort out the information the night chose to share with him.

The vampire was high overhead, winging its way toward him from the ocean side, hoping the spray and sea salt would conceal his scent. Like Aidan, the vampire was wounded, and the blood spoor was easy to follow. Ravenous from blood loss, Aidan's fangs exploded into his mouth at the mere smell. Tainted blood was the last thing he wanted, yet without an infusion of blood, he would die soon. He had made a promise to himself centuries ago that he would never touch a member of the family that served him, no matter what the cost, and he meant to keep that promise. And Alexandria was far too weak; it would be dangerous for her to provide for him. She had no knowledge of the consequences to both of them should he lose her.

He had long ago begun to accept death, greeting the dawn as the only, inevitable choice open to him. But he was not prepared to relinquish his life now, when the possibility of happiness had finally come his way. He would fight. He would at least manage to save Alexandria and Stefan from their own folly. He would take the vampire with him into the dawn if that was his only option.

Standing up had increased the bleeding from the deep wounds on his thigh and temple, and a steady stream ran down his neck and over his shoulder to his arm and chest. A wave of weakness washed over him, and for a moment everything blurred. He blinked to bring things into focus, but it was only after he brushed at his eyes and his hand came away smeared with blood that he could see again. He waited patiently, breathing in and out, because he had no other choice. He had to bring the vampire down to him.

A large bat made a pass at his head, grimacing to reveal tiny pointed teeth. It settled on the ground yards from him, crawling toward him, stalking him.

"Come, come, Ramon, must we play these childish games? Come to me like a man or not at all. I grow weary of your foolishness." Aidan spoke softly, his voice compelling and hypnotic. "All your tricks will not aid you this night. If you choose to continue this battle, we will have done with it here and now. You cannot win. You know it. You feel it. You have come here to die at my hand. So be it. Walk like a man to your death." His golden eyes caught the starlight and glowed with red flames, the flickers of ruby matching the blood on his face.

The bat hesitated, then began to lengthen and grow into a grotesque creature with talons and a razor-sharp beak. The creature moved sideways, approaching Aidan but favoring its right side.

Aidan remained motionless, a statue carved from stone. Only his eyes were alive, flaming with deadly resolve.

His stare stopped the creature, intimidating it until it changed again, reshaping itself into a tall, thin, pale man with cold, pitiless eyes. Ramon regarded Aidan warily. "I do not think you are right this time, Aidan. You are gravely wounded. I will prevail, and I will take the woman for myself."

"It is an impossibility, Ramon. You may bray like a donkey, but no one, not even you, will believe your bravado. Come to me, and accept the justice of our people, as you know you should. You have committed crimes against all humanity."

"I have power! You are weak, a fool. Your life has been dedicated to a false purpose. Where are those you fight to save from one such as me? The humans you protect would drive a stake through your heart if they knew of your existence. Your own people have condemned you to a solitary existence, without even the soil of your homeland to nourish you. They have left you here alone in this place. Join me, Aidan. I can save you. Join with me, and we will take over this city. Do you not believe we deserve to do so? We can have it all. Riches, women. We can rule here."

"I have everything I have always wanted, my old friend. Come to me as you know you should. I will make your end swift and painless." He had to make it swift. Time was running out. His life's blood was on the ground now, his enormous strength draining away.

The vampire was edging closer, attempting to throw Aidan off with the illusion of bats winging right toward the Carpathian's blood-streaked body. Aidan remained still, those red-starred golden eyes never leaving Ramon's gray face.

The vampire launched himself. As he did so, Aidan felt Alexandria merge with him, pouring her strength, her will, her courage, her belief in him, into his mind. It was a priceless gift, and Aidan used it with all the speed of which he was capable. At the last possible moment he simply stepped aside, his arm locking around the vampire's neck, snapping it like a twig. The head flopped to one side, and Ramon began to howl, a high-pitched, agonized cry that went on and on.

Taking a deep breath, Aidan finished it, plunging his hand straight into the thin chest until he reached the pulsating heart. He removed the organ and flung it away from the vampire, stepping back quickly to avoid the spraying blood. Almost immediately his strength gave out, and he found himself sitting on the ground, helpless, open to any attack.

She came out of the darkness. Her scent reached him first. Though the smell of blood was driving him slowly insane, he did not attempt to utilize the vampire's contaminated blood to replenish himself. Then suddenly she was there, fresh and clean and pure in the face of evil. And he had tainted blood on his hands and death surrounding him. He could not look into her eyes and see the condemnation there. He couldn't face it.

"Stefan! Tell me what to do."

Her voice was musical, as soft as an early-morning breeze. To die with her voice in his mind and heart was not so bad. But Aidan did not want her in this place of death. "There is nothing you can do. Walk away, Alexandria. Go to the Carpathian Mountains, as you promised me." His eyes were closing, far too heavy to keep open. "Go to my homeland, and I will feel as if you took a part of me with you."

"Oh, shut up," she snapped impatiently, horrified at the sight of him. She didn't even glance at the fallen vampire. "No one asked you, Aidan. And you're not going to die. I won't allow that, so stop the macho act and cooperate. Come on, Stefan! What do I do for him?" She was already applying pressure to the worst wound, the one in his thigh. She had never seen so much blood spilled. It was a red river soaking into the ground. She concentrated on Aidan, keeping her gaze away from the fallen, disfigured bodies.

"He needs your saliva mixed with soil. Pack the mixture into the wounds," Stefan said quickly, kneeling beside them.

"It's so unsanitary!" she protested, appalled.

"Not for a Carpathian. Do it if you want to save him. Your saliva contains a clotting agent. Quickly, Alexandria."

"Dispose of the bodies, Stefan." Aidan issued the command without opening his eyes. He found himself floating in a dream world.

"Will you shut up?" Alexandria admonished. Spitting was more Joshua's talent than hers, but she did her best, making mud patties while Stefan dragged the vampire bodies to the edge of the curving dirt road and, using the gas can from the car trunk, began a fire.

The stench made Alexandria gag. She closed her mind to everything but what she was doing. She did not have time to examine why she was saving Aidan, why it mattered, but her every bone, every cell, her very soul cried out to her to do so.

Aidan appeared unconscious as Alexandria meticulously packed his deep wounds and lacerations. She knew he wasn't, though, that he was aware of her every movement; she could feel him in her mind. Somehow he had slowed his heart and lungs to impede the seepage of blood to give her time to seal the wounds with soil and saliva. But his hunger was a living thing, crawling through his body with slow, torturous intent. It gnawed at him relentlessly; she could feel it through their mind link. He was very much aware of her living, surging blood, hot and beckoning, so close to him. The demon in him crouched just below the surface, threatening to break free.

Stefan returned to her side. "You must talk to him. Tell him he can't leave you alone. You won't be able to live without him."

"No way! He's arrogant enough as it is. That's all I'd need, to simper like some besotted idiot over him. He'd hold it over my head forever. And he's so egotistical, he'd probably even believe it." Even as she said the words, her fingers were tenderly pushing back clotted strands of hair, wiping the blood from Aidan's face.

Stefan frowned at her but refrained from expressing his opinion. "He needs blood. I will give it to him. You must drive us home. This fire will attract attention from the authorities soon, and we need to be away from here."

No
. Aidan's voice was strong in its protest, but only in her mind. She realized he was too weak to attempt speech.
It is too dangerous. I would kill him. I cannot take from Stefan
.

She believed him. It was in the purity, the honesty of his voice. It was in the alarm in his heart and soul, his mind a raging protest. "No, Stefan, you drive. Aidan refuses to allow you to donate, so I guess it'll have to be me." She brushed back Aidan's hair again with gentle fingers.
That's what you're trying to tell me, right? I can donate but not Stefan. Don't say no; it isn't as if you haven't helped yourself before. Just do it, and don't argue with me, or I might lose my sweet nature
. And my courage, she added silently to herself.

I am not certain you will be safe
.

Big deal. I told you, I don't have a lot to lose. This really isn't my kind of life. Go for it, Aidan. Just don't hurt me, okay?

Never
, cara, he assured her. It took both Stefan and Alexandria to get him into the car.

His face was gray and etched with pain, but he didn't make a sound until they had him settled with his head cradled in her lap. "The spilled blood must be destroyed," he said. Only Alexandria caught the words. He was so weak, he could barely whisper.

"He wants you to clean away the rest of the blood, Stefan." Her heart was beating fast. This was it. She would die this night, giving her life for this man. She didn't know what he was, only that he was the most courageous being she had ever known. She wasn't certain that what she believed about him was true, or that she even liked him, but this was right. She knew it in her deepest soul.

Stefan swore softly. "We are bound to be seen, the longer we stay," he groused, but he hastily went back to the gas can he had left for the investigators and set to work on the pools of blood. It was necessary to remove any trace of Aidan's participation in the battle, and they had little time to do so.

Alexandria laid her head over Aidan's. "You can't wait. Do it now. But promise me you will always look after Joshua. That this insane life will never touch him. Promise me."

Always
, cara mia. The voice in her mind was faint, and she knew they didn't have much time.

She felt his hand move first. His fingers stroked the slim column of her neck, sending a shiver down her spine. His fingers parted the buttons of the silk shirt, his shirt, covering her bare skin. The brush of his knuckles against the soft swell of her breasts sent flames licking through her blood. She relaxed into him, arching even closer so that his warm breath touched the pulse over her beating heart. The touch of his teeth scraping gently, erotically over her skin sent liquid heat pooling in her body, producing a heavy, unfamiliar ache.

She made a sound, a soft moan, as white-hot heat exploded through her when his teeth pierced her skin and sank deep. She cradled his head to her, drowsy with contentment, offering herself up to him. It was a sensual experience, her blood flowing into his body, replenishing damaged cells and tissue, warming cold muscles, bringing him life.

She could feel strength building in him even as it slowly flowed from her. It was like a hazy, erotic dream. And then he was in her mind, murmuring softly, seductively, words of love, words she had never heard, ancient, beautiful sounds. The car was moving, a vague swaying adding to the surreal timelessness.