In the Beginning... (11 page)

“To sleep in my own bed.”

“Very well, then. We will
just have to develop new
habits, together.
I’ll leave you to get ready, give you some privacy. I have a few
more hours’ worth of writing to complete. You can sit with me,
perhaps read a bit, if you like. Or you are free to head to bed, if
you wish.”

Mickey’s gaze flew toward
the back of the suite, where his bed
was
visible through the opened door. Her, him, alone in there... “I’ll
read. I’m not the least bit tired.”

“Too much excitement for one day, I expect.
I’ll be at my desk, if you need me for anything. Or if you have any
questions about what you are reading.”

“Ok...thank you.”

She stood in the center of the small sitting
room, unsure what to do next, where to move to, while he made his
way to the small desk in the corner. It was covered in books, and
sheets of notes written in Braille. Everything was laid out in
perfect order, where he could easily feel his way to the items he
needed.

She watched him for several long moments,
studying the way his hair curled over his unusual eyes, the
strength that was evident in his shoulders. Finally, she grabbed
one of the books off the stack he’d carried back for her. The couch
was close to the desk he occupied, so she settled down on the
opposite end of the cushions. Putting as much distance between the
two of them as possible.

The book was heavy in her lap and quite a
few moments passed before she dropped her eyes from him and turned
them toward it.

The cover was soft leather worn smooth. It
was obviously well cared for. Gold was etched into the spine, and
Mickey knew it was the real thing. This book belonged in a museum,
not casually tucked into the far corner of the blind man’s
office.

Mickey darted a look at him. His hands ran
carefully over the thick book in front of him. Braille. Was it in
English? Three quarters of the books in his office had been in that
strange language. Dardaptoan. But many had been in English, and
he’d told her to take any that she wanted. She’d found two that
were obvious English translations of Dardaptoan law, and she’d
grabbed both of them, hoping there would be something in them to
convince him to let her go.

The third book she’d found
was this small leather one. It was so obviously older than the
others—she’d never seen one like this except
in
museums. Impulse had made her grab
it as they were leaving the man’s office.

She didn’t even know if it was in English,
but somehow she suspected it was. It fit perfectly into her
hands.

“Are you settling in, my love? I can have the
servants bring you something to drink if you wish it.”

Mickey bit her lip, her hands clutching the
book. She forced herself to relax. No use antagonizing him. “I am
as fine as I can be, considering.”

“Considering how you got here? I know. And
it is my sincere hope that one day...”

“One day is a long, long time away.”

“And we have that time now. Together.
Before...we did not.” A momentarily contrite expression crossed his
face. It was a handsome face,

Mickey had to admit that. “I know you do not
understand...”

“So explain it to me
then.
Why
did you
do what you’ve done?” Mickey’s fingers clenched on the
leather-bound book as she stared at the Dardaptoan. “I know you
said it was because of my grandfather, but
I
never hurt you or any of your Kind.
All I do is go to work and spend time with my family. In what
little spare time I have, I volunteer at an animal shelter! It’s
not like I go out hunting for your Kind!”

“Our Kind, now, my love.” He
sighed, and looked toward the glass doors leading to the gardens.
Did he see
anything,
anything at all?
Mickey studied his
face closely. “And I know. I have always known you were innocent of
your grandfather’s sins.”

“Then
why?
Josey, Emily, Mal...me.
None
of us have
hurt
you
or that
king or that monster who hurt my sister. I just don’t understand!”
Mickey took several deep breaths to calm herself down. “Just make
me understand all of this!”

Should he tell her? Would it frighten her too
much? Would she even believe him? “First, you must understand
something...”

“What? Try me. I’ve studied human motivation
throughout the last few years while in law school. And my
undergraduate work was in psychology.

Just tell me your reasons!”

Theo pushed his notebook
aside and stood. Made his way over to the couch where his
Rajni
sat. He knelt beside
her, then covered her hands with one of his. Her skin was soft, the
bones beneath delicate. So fragile, his little once-human
Rajni
. “I am a man of
faith. Our Goddess, Kennera, has led me throughout the last several
hundred years. When she gives me a vision, I do my best to heed
it.”

“Visions? I don’t believe in visions. I
believe in evidence that I can see for myself.”

“Did you believe in vampires, Michaela? Did
you believe that a race of beings existed of which you knew nothing
about?”

“You know I didn’t.”

“Yet here I am before you. I knew the moment
I heard your voice on the night air that you were the female my
Goddess had chosen for me some six hundred plus years ago.”

“
How
did she choose me? I wasn’t even
alive, and I’m pretty certain most of the Taniss family line didn’t
exist back then.”

“Legend has it that when a
Dardaptoan is born, the Goddess whispers their name, followed by
the name of the one individual that Dardaptoan is destined to be
with. Most of the time it is another Dardaptoan. Sometimes, it’s a
Lupoiux—what you would call a werewolf. Other times it is a witch.
Even had a few
Rajni
pairs that I have seen involve Kinds from other realms, such
as an Encantado halfling.”

“That’s it? No thought put into who should be
together, whether they will be compatible? This goddess just says
Dick will be with Jane?”

“In its simplest form, yes.”

“And you all don’t have problems with that?
Don’t you want the right to choose who you spend your life
with?”

How did he make her
understand that the mere
idea
of having that one person you were meant to be
with out there waiting for you somewhere was the only way most
Dardaptoans were able to continue their existences? Existences that
could last more than two or three
thousand
years? That finding
their
Rajni
was
what most Dardaptoans planned for and anticipated? “Don’t you want
to spend your life with someone who is ordained for you, who is
chosen to be the one being on the entire Earth who fits you better
than anyone else?”

“And that’s what you think I
am? I just can’t believe that.” Her hands were taut under his.
Clenched around the book she still held. “If you were destined for
me, you would have known that above all things I respect
choices
.
And
respect people being responsible for their own actions. I don’t
respect someone who hurts someone else because of something a
family member did!”

“Because of what happened to your sister. I
know. And I can understand that.”

“How did you know about
that?
No one
knows
what happened to Mal but our family. And my father made sure of
that.”

“Sometimes, when I touch
someone, I can feel strong events that have happened to them. Or
that will
happen to them. When I touched
your sister earlier, I saw what had happened to her. Could see her
in my mind as she lay there on the pavement beside your uncle’s
green sedan. See the red and mauve team sweatshirt your sister was
carrying before she was attacked. I am sorry that had to happen to
her, and even sorrier still that she had to meet her
Rajni
this way. That
Aodhan had to take her
choices from her as
I have done the same to you.”

Mickey felt her breath back
up in her throat. That sweatshirt would haunt her for the rest of
her life. She’d recognized it the moment she and Josey had stepped
out of the stairwell in the Taniss Industries parking garage almost
nine years ago. It had been hers
,
her sweatshirt that she wore after swim team
practice every day
.
Mal had borrowed it that morning because it had started
raining and she’d been in a hurry. Mal hadn’t wanted to be late for
her classes at the university a county over from where they’d
lived.

The sweatshirt had been
covered in her sister’s blood, and tossed forgotten in the middle
of the parking lot floor. Mickey had bent down to pick it up before
she’d seen her sister lying broken on the pavement by their Uncle
Jason’s car. His green
car.

“How did you know? About the car? About the
sweatshirt?”

“I
saw
it. Just as I
saw
that you and I were for one
another in this life.”

Did she believe him? Could
she? “And what does that mean,
exactly?
That I should give up who I am to spend my life here doing nothing?
I can’t do that. I have a family, I have a plan, goals for my life
that don’t include lazing around a hotel somewhere in the middle of
I-don’t-know-where.”

“In time...”

“If you are such a big proponent of ‘in time’
why did you...make me what you are? Couldn’t you have given me some
of your precious time, to make the decision myself?”

“I...couldn’t.”

“Why?”

“Because if I didn’t there would be great
danger to you coming.”

“Excuse me?”

“I
saw
a danger to you if you remained as
a human for any longer. Danger you would not have survived. The
Goddess led me to know that for your safety I
had
to initiate the conversion. I
never would have taken that choice from you otherwise.” He shook
his head as he spoke. He believed it. Meant it. What did that mean
for her?

“You shouldn’t have taken it from me to begin
with.”

“Michaela, I...have waited for you for
hundreds of years. I could not face the knowledge or threat that I
would lose you so soon after finding you. I hope one day you will
forgive me.”

“I’m tired. Where am I sleeping tonight?” She
would never forgive him.

How could she?

“In my bed, of course.”

“No. I won’t sleep with you.” Ever.

“I will sleep here on the
couch, then. I will neither force nor pressure you. When we are
together as
Rajnis
it will be because you
wish
it.”

“Another one of your vows? Why should I trust
anything you have to say? May I go to bed now, please? I need to be
alone.” Needed to escape him for a while, even if only by being in
another room.

“Of course, but Michaela? You should know
that the entire security staff for this hotel has been alerted to
the situation. Your sister, cousins, you—all are safe here, but you
cannot leave. You are free to explore the hotel as you wish, but
you cannot leave the building. Except for the inner garden, which
you’ve already explored some.”

“A gilded cage, I understand. At least until
my brother and uncle find us. And they will. My brother will not
stop until he finds us.”

The man’s expression tightened, turned
contemplative. Odd for the longest moment. Then he smiled. “Your
brother will find more here among the Dardaptoans than he would
ever have expected.”

“What do you mean?”

“I will introduce you to the woman your older
brother will marry. I think you will like her. You have much in
common.”

“You really are crazy, aren’t you?”

“Maybe just a bit. I am 643 years old, after
all.”

“Uh-huh. Sure you are.”

Mickey walked away, toward
the room where she could see a large, antique bed dominating the
space. It was a beautiful bed, hand carved with gold inlay. The
design on the headboard was the same as that on the cover of the
book she still held. Why was she so reluctant to let go of the
book? She didn’t know, but she was.
This
book was hers, now.

A change of clothing was laid out on the bed
right where he had said it would be. Mickey placed the book on the
nightstand reluctantly and grabbed the clothes, before slipping
into the bathroom. Would he make good on his vow? Or would he wait
until she was asleep and slip into the bed with her? She shivered
at that thought. How would she stop him if he did?

She knew she wouldn’t be getting much sleep.
She hurried through a shower, not really knowing what to do next.
What did most hostages do? Other than try to escape, that is?

She slipped into the white pajamas and
brushed out her hair with the comb she’d found in the first drawer
by the bathroom mirror. The rubies were still around her neck. She
fingered the first stone. It was beautiful. Old. Warm against her
skin.

It looked strange around her neck, clashed
with her hair a little. She leaned closer to the mirror. Slipped
the jewelry aside. Two small puncture wounds, not nearly as large
as those she’d seen on her sister or cousins earlier, were all that
remained of the night he’d made her a vampire. A Dardaptoan. The
marks were so small she could almost believe the whole thing hadn’t
even happened. Could believe that this was all a dream.