Dark Magic (32 page)

Gary moistened his lips. "Can I ask a few questions here?"

"Naturally." Gregori was noncommittal.

"Are there any humans that have known of your kind and lived?"

"Of course. There is one family that has lived with one of our people for several centuries, mother to daughter, father to son. One of those closest to Savannah's father was a human priest. They were good friends for nearly fifty years. One couple is raising a human boy."

"So I won't be the only one to know. Because it's a big responsibility to have this knowledge. If you're not vampires, what are you?"

"We are Carpathians, a race of people as old as time itself. We have special powers, some of which you have seen, and we require blood to survive, but we do not kill or enslave those we feed on. We walk in the night and must avoid the sun." Again Gregori's voice was expressionless.

"What is the difference between a vampire and a Carpathian?" Gary asked, excited, interested, feeling a strange elation.

"All vampires were Carpathians at one time. The vampire is a male of our race who has chosen the madness of false power over the rules of our people. When a Carpathian exists too long without a lifemate, he loses all emotion. Colors vanish from his vision. His inner darkness prevails, and he preys on humans and Carpathians alike, not only for blood but for the thrill of the kill. He chooses this evil path rather than facing the dawn and self-destruction. That is why we have the hunters. Hunters rid the world of the vampire and make certain that the existence of our race remains a secret from those who would not understand, those who would perceive us all as vampire and seek out destruction."

Savannah's hand slipped from Gregori's wrist. She took the coffee cup from Gary's hand and refilled it. "It's rather like a B movie, isn't it?"

Gary found himself smiling at her. There was something about her mischievous smile that made anyone near her happy. It was contagious. "So what happens if I let you take my blood and you turn vampire?"

"It is impossible for me to turn now," Gregori said softly, his beautiful voice stating the simple truth. "Savannah is my anchor in the light."

Gary stood there for a few moments, took a swallow of the coffee, and turned to Gregori. "Let's do it." He could believe Savannah was light.

Gregori swept through the man's mind, a slow, gentle touch Gary couldn't detect. He was determined. Convinced. And he was going to help them if he could.
You will come to me, unafraid, unhurt, without any ill effects afterward
. He swamped the human with soothing comfort. Gary moved toward him with the slightly glazed eyes of one under a trance. Gregori bent his head to the prominent vein in Gary's neck and drank. He was careful not to take too much, careful to pass on the blood-clotting agent to ensure fast healing. Before Gregori freed Gary from the hypnotic suggestion, he moved well back into the shadows.

Gary shook his head once, twice. He staggered slightly and felt for the table. He never saw Gregori move, but the larger man was beside him, steadying him, lowering him carefully into a chair. "In a few minutes we should get you something substantial to eat. We arrived last night and have not had time to stock the refrigerator." Gregori glanced at Savannah.
Get him a glass of water to replace his fluid loss
, chérie.

Savannah handed the glass to Gregori, her eyes anxious. Gary touched his neck. He felt a little dizzy, and there was a burning sensation on the side of his neck, but when he touched his pulse, his hand came away free of blood. He glanced at Gregori. "You did it already, didn't you?"

"Drink all of it." Gregori held the glass to his lips. "I saw no reason to prolong the suspense. Your mind was quite made up."

"Welcome to my world, Gary." Savannah was flashing her mischievous smile. "He considers you family and under his protection now, so he's bound to be impossibly bossy."

Gary groaned. "I didn't consider that. Damn. You're right. He can't help himself; it's his nature."

"Do not start, you two. I did not think what it would be like to have the two of you driving me insane." Gregori sounded disgusted, but Gary was beginning to understand him a little. He never really changed expression, and his eyes gave nothing away, but Gary could almost feel Gregori's silent laughter.

"You do have a sense of humor," he accused him.

"Well, do not blame me. It is Savannah's fault. She insists on it," Gregori replied in disgust. "Let us go and get you something decent to eat."

"Am I going to crave blood, raw steak, that kind of thing?" Gary asked, straight-faced.

"Well, actually…" Savannah started.

"I do not have rabies." Gregori silenced her with a look. "I am not contagious."

"All the books say if you drink my blood, I get to drink your blood, and then I'm like you." Gary sounded slightly disappointed.

"Some people grow bat wings," Savannah admitted, her teeth tugging at her lower lip. "That's where Batman came from. And capes, all those swirling capes. A regular epidemic. It's from our blood, a kind of allergic reaction. Don't worry, you would be showing signs already if you were one of those with a problem."

"Is she always like this?" Gary asked Gregori.

"She gets worse," Gregori said truthfully.

The popular restaurant was packed, the line outside long, but Gregori got them a table instantly with a soft whisper in the ear of the hostess. Gary sank gratefully into a waiting chair and immediately drank all three glasses of water provided for them. He had never been so thirsty in his life.

"Where do we start with this mess?" he asked.

"The society you belong to—who got you into it?" Gregori asked.

All around them was the swirl of conversations, some soft and intimate, some loud and obnoxious, others laughing, having a good time. Gregori and Savannah heard it all. It would be all too soon before someone noticed the famous magician in their midst, but Gregori had managed a semi-secluded table and maneuvered Savannah into the darkest corner.

"Everyone at work knew about my obsession with vampires. It was a joke around the laboratory. A few years ago, a man by the name of Dennis Crocket approached me. He was a friend of someone who worked at the lab. He invited me to a meeting. I thought it was pretty hokey, but at least there were others interested in the same subject." Gary was looking around for a waiter, needing more liquid. Waiters were bustling in every direction but his. He gave a little sigh. "At the least, I thought I might find some interesting data. I have quite a collection. In any case, I went."

Gregori glanced at a busboy lounging behind a potted plant, and the kid instantly grabbed a pitcher of water and hurried over to refill all three glasses. "Where was the meeting held?"

"Los Angeles. That's where I work."

"What did you think of the others at the meeting? Were they fanatics? Perverts like those in the storehouse?" Gregori inquired softly, his voice so low that Gary had to lean toward him to catch the words.

He shook his head. "No, not at all. Some people were there for the fun of it. Not really believers, you know, but hoping maybe. It gave them something to do with other people interested in vampire lore. At first the talk was always light—wouldn't it be cool? What kind of powers did they have? Would they be friendly? Then, after I'd been a few times, a couple of men from some other chapter showed up."

Savannah's chin rested in the palm of her hand. She stared with unblinking eyes at Gary, keeping well back in the shadows to protect herself from prying eyes. She was using a simple blurring technique to aid in her camouflage. It didn't really make her invisible to the human eye but caused a strange warp in the air around her so that she was hazy to those glancing her way. "Where was this chapter located?"

Gary wrinkled his forehead in thought. "You know, they have several chapters. In Europe, mostly around the Transylvania area. Romania. Places like that. These guys were Southerners—Florida maybe. I think Florida. In any case, they were much more scientific about everything. They wanted each of us there to provide them with any factual information on anyone who might be a vampire. People we knew who were always pale, who only went out at night. Those who were extremely intelligent, who seemed to be mesmerizing, who were always secretive about their lives and activities."

"Did any names come up?" Gregori asked.

"A few, but none of them really seemed like the real thing. None of us knew anyone remotely resembling what they were describing. We were making jokes and naming friends until we realized they were serious."

The waiter arrived, and Gary hastily scanned the menu while Savannah and Gregori ordered. Gary found himself ravenously hungry. When he would have ordered everything in sight, it occurred to him that Savannah and Gregori probably wouldn't mind sharing their food. Looking up, he caught Savannah grinning at him, that impish, starry-eyed smile that was making him feel a part of a family unit. Like he belonged with them. He was no longer an outcast, poked fun at by those around him.

She reached out to him, hesitated, then dropped her hand into her lap. "You catch on fast," she praised him.

He felt the flood of acceptance from both of them. It was interesting that he could tell it was from both. Gregori reached over, took Savannah's palm, and pressed a kiss into the exact center.
Je regrette, mon amour, but it seems I cannot overcome certain failings
.

There is no need for you to apologize, lifemate. We both are learning to live in the other's world. I don't find it necessary to touch others to be happy.

Gregori brought her hand to the warmth of his mouth a second time, the molten silver of his eyes caressing her intimately.

Gary cleared his throat. "Enough of that stuff."

A brief smiled softened the edges of Gregori's mouth. "What else did these men have to say?"

"I thought you could read my mind," Gary ventured.

Gregori nodded. "That is so, but if I were to examine your memories, I would know them all. Out of courtesy, respect for you, I do not. All of us have things we would prefer to keep to ourselves, painful or embarrassing moments we need not share."

"Even between the two of you?" Gary was beginning to really like the Carpathian. He also realized that whatever it was the couple shared was unique.

"It is different with lifemates," Savannah answered him. "We are two halves of the same whole. What one feels, so does the other. There can be only truth between us."

"The men from Florida." Gregori brought them back to the discussion at hand. Keeping up a wavering haze between Savannah and the rest of the patrons in the restaurant was energy-draining for her, but every time he went to take it over, she resisted. He could see that her pride was at stake. For some silly reason, she wanted to prove to him she was a capable Carpathian. He would only put up with the nonsense so long. Her care came first. Savannah tossed him a murderous look and withdrew her hand just as the waiter arrived with their dinners.

Gary waited for him to leave before he continued in a low voice. "Two of the men told us to look for certain types. Someone whose family traced their eastern European ancestry back hundreds and hundreds of years, often with an estate that has been in the same family just as long. That kind of thing. They threw out a couple of names and occupations. One was some singer with a huge following who only appears in public at night and won't sign a contract with a recording studio. They say her voice is mesmerizing, haunting. They said if you hear her sing, you can never forget the experience. They seemed very interested in her."

"This woman could be in danger. Who is she?"

Gregori shook his head at Savannah's question. No Carpathian woman would ever be allowed to run around unprotected by the males of their race. It had to be a human target whose eccentric ways had caught the eye of the society.

"She uses two different variations of the same name. Desari or Dara. I think the Dara nickname is supposed to mean from the dark or some such nonsense. She probably needed a show-business name, and her real name is Suzy."

"What specifically did they want the members to do about her?" Savannah asked, still afraid for the unknown woman.

At once Gregori sent her a wave of reassurance.
We will put out the word to all of our kind that she is in danger. They will watch over her when she is near
.

There are so few of us in this country. Most of the time she will be without protection
. Savannah passed a hand across her forehead, suddenly tired. She had been involved in the sordid business of vampires and human "vampire" hunters only a short time, and she was already weary of their seemingly endless perversion.

Perhaps this is the very thing we need to keep Julian with us. I will ask him to travel with this performer until the danger to her has passed. Do not worry for the human female. Julian would never allow her to be harmed if he has taken her under his protection
. Gregori examined the weariness in her mind.
I will take over the shield now
, ma petite,
and you will not argue with your lifemate
. Gregori took no chances with her stubborn ways. He thrust his will decisively into hers, blocking any attempt to take the control back. She was tired.

She smiled at him, tender, loving, accepting. Gregori slid his arm along the back of her chair protectively.

Oblivious of the interplay between the two Carpathians, Gary continued the conversation. "They wanted us to watch her, to do research on her, find out what we could about her background. And she wasn't the only one. There was a man they seemed very interested in. An Italian, I think. Julian Selvaggio or something close to that."

Selvaggio
is Italian for
Savage.
Aidan and Julian were born
Selvaggio.
It also means
unsociable person, Gregori's voice whispered in her mind.

Savannah felt her heart slam painfully against her ribs. Julian. Of course it was Julian Savage. She looked up at Gregori. The society was setting its members against Julian. She didn't know him personally, but suddenly it all seemed very close to home.