JARHARIS (9 page)

Jarharis
bellowed and lunged at him again, only to be struck from the rear by a mighty blow. He wavered on his feet, his eyes bleary, his strength ebbing.

“Carry this warning to the lovely bitch. Tell her to prepare herself for death—or near death.” He laughed jeeringly. “I will soon come to her and she will welcome me with open arms or should I say, open legs?” He laughed again. “After I have fucked her royally, I shall make her my immortal woman. Yes. She will serve me and keep me happy.” He gritted his teeth. “In much the same manner as Lily—before you interfered.”

Jarharis
fought to regain his senses, forcing the fog to clear from his brain. He braced his feet apart, gathering his strength. He clenched his fists at his sides, ready to attack Aston once more.

Aston laughed and disappeared, leaving only his raucous sound on the night air.

CHAPTER
TEN

Jarharis
returned to his sanctuary, his mind consumed with the threat Aston had issued against Selena. His anger knew no bounds when it came to the evil vampire’s threat. And he had little doubt that he wouldn’t try and carry out the menace. He had nothing to lose. He was undead, walking among the living, considered one of them on many levels. And the legion loyal to their master would aid him.

He combed a hand through his hair. Daylight hovered just beyond the horizon. He needed to sleep. Night had escaped and yet there was much more he desired to do. He sighed and sought out his earthly sanctuary. The fragrant soil brought him a measure of peace as he settled into the crypt. He closed his eyes, his last thoughts of Selena and how he would protect her.

* * * *

“Wake up,
Jarharis
. There is much to do.”

Jarharis
opened his eyes. His keen sense of hearing recognized the sound of Mi’s tiny voice and the spinning whir of her fairy wings. He levered himself up, swinging his feet over the edge of the crypt. “Perhaps you would tell me how you could invade my sanctuary without my knowledge, Mi.”

She laughed, flitting across the dark room to the lit foyer and the open spaces beyond. “You sleep soundly,
Jarharis
.”

He shook his head and followed the tiny being through the doorway into the expansive room adjacent to his sleeping chamber. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, spilling its bright luminance across the marble floor. He gazed
about,
looking for the pixie then heard her voice calling to him from another room in the house.

“Your enemy awakens as you do. Thoughts of destroying you are in his mind. Be wary when you venture forth to feed. His legion is nearby.”

Jarharis
gazed at the elf, hovering just beyond his grasp. “Why do you bring me messages? To whom do I owe for your presence, Mi?”

“I have been sent to tend you.”

He chuckled and thought suddenly of the amulet handing about his neck. He grasped its linked chain and pulled the jewel from the confines of his shirt. Closing his hand around the gem, he brought his eyes back to Mi. She had moved since he last looked her way—and changed forms. Once more she assumed the figure of a sleek black cat and hovered near the ceiling, sprawled out on her side, a sleepy expression on her feline face.

He stared at the cat and squeezed the amulet in his fist. He had taken it from the neck of a witch—but he couldn’t remember seeing a cat in the stronghold. Still, he presumed that black cats and witches were synonymous. Or was that just around Halloween? He scratched his head suddenly. His era had no such holiday to his recollection.

He watched the cat lying near the ceiling and held the amulet in his hand. For the past two days he had been aware that he knew various things about the time period he had been transported to and at times questioned how he had come to have such knowledge. He opened his fist and gazed down at the gem. It
glowed
pale amber against his palm. Heat radiated from its glassy surface. He blinked his eyes and raised his hand nearer his face, staring unblinking at the faceted stone.

A murky shadow seemed to form within its interior, drawing his eyes ever closer. The shadow swirled, changed from murky to opaque, swirling as it began to change form. The swirling halted suddenly, suspended within the walnut size amulet then began to separate, spiking long lustrous ribbons that rose upward as though driven on a breeze within the stone. Momentarily the ribbons became arms and the milky swirl centered into a being.

His breath caught up in his throat as he realized he was staring at a picture of Selena, her long hair forming a pale halo around her head. He could see her face, her expression. A fear unlike any he had ever known gripped his insides. He stared as the mirage moved, turned and seemed to look right at him. A slow smile pulled at her mouth, until she was grinning broadly. Suddenly she parted her lips and the unmistakable sight of fangs gleamed forth.

Jarharis
closed his eyes and shook his head. Perhaps he had imagined the vision. His thoughts were consumed with the woman. Perhaps he had lost the ability to concentrate properly. He drew in a long breath and returned his eyes to the gem in his palm.

The vision had vanished. The gem appeared as it had since he first possessed it. He turned it over in his hand as though examining it for the first time.

“You have been shown the future,
Jarharis
.”

He glanced upward, searching the ceiling for Mi. She had resumed her pixie body, hovering in one corner of the large room. She flew closer to him when he saw her.

“Join the vampire club and help Selena.”

“That’s not a very good idea, Mi. They are mortals who profess to hunt vampires. I would not be accepted.”

“You are vulnerable to Aston.
As for Aston’s thinking about the mortal club, he considers their efforts futile.”

Jarharis
contemplated the fairy’s words. Aston had openly jeered at the vampire club the first time he met him. He gritted his teeth. He should have destroyed him on that night. He should have torn him to shreds and left him lying in the alley, bits and pieces scattered about. He closed his fist around the amulet.

“Heed my words,
Jarharis
.” The fairy waved her wings and flitted from the room, leaving
Jarharis
staring after her.

Perhaps there’s something to the pixie’s words. If Aston has no fear of the vampire club—perhaps they could lay a plan for him without him being aware of it.
A doubt stabbed at his mind.

The members of the club are not knowledgeable enough about vampires to properly set a plan and execute it to the end.
For an instant he thought back to his days as a warrior. The times had been brutal and bloody, a deathly trial by man’s strengths. And in the end, many lives were lost, but victory was won. Could he possibly compare going to battle with Aston to that of the Crusades? Surely Aston didn’t have that big a legion on his side.

He considered Mi’s words and the vision he had seen swirling inside the amulet. Its magical powers were still his to discover. He released the gem inside his shirt. His hunger gnawed at his insides. He needed to feed before he turned his thoughts to dealing with Aston.

He left his sanctuary, the search for a victim to quench his thirst filling his mind. He flew into the nightclub district and transformed, strolling along the street as though he were mortal. He spied two females coming toward him on the sidewalk. He ducked quickly into the shadow of a building and waited for them to approach.

He heard their soft voices then laughter as they passed in front of the alley. He sprang forward, taking up a position directly behind them on the sidewalk. A quick wave of his hand and they were under his power.

Obey me!
They halted their feet and turned toward him, their eyes glassy. He circled their waists with his arms, placing himself between them and resumed walking up the sidewalk. To all passersby they were merely strolling along with nothing out of the ordinary taking place. As soon as the next dark alley appeared
Jarharis
steered the pair into the passageway.

He cleared his mind of all else aside from the need for blood that beckoned to him and fed first on the larger of the women then the smaller one, taking his fill before releasing them back onto the street. He transformed quickly and leapt into the air, the thought that he had not harmed either of the women to any great extent solidified in his mind.

As on the nights before, once he had nourished his body with warm blood, his thoughts turned to Selena, and sex. He mentally chided himself for slipping into a rut. He smiled. The fact that all his needs were being met by the magical powers of the witch’s amulet left him free to pursue other pleasures.

Mi’s warning came swiftly to mind. Aston’s legion was nearby, watching, planning to destroy him. He realized that he would have to take the pixie’s advice and aide the vampire club, regardless of how insane he thought their efforts appeared to be. For a brief second he recalled the group’s attempt to destroy the vampire creature they had captured the past evening. They were poorly equipped to do battle with the undead.

He arrived at Selena’s apartment just as she was leaving for the evening, her battle fare tucked safely into her left boot.

“Come with me. The group is hunting on the outskirts of the city. Tanya thinks Aston’s sanctuary is somewhere in that vicinity.”

Jarharis
took hold of her upper arms, halting her steps as she headed down the sidewalk. Thoughts of his encounter with Aston last night came quickly back to mind. “You may be walking into a trap.”

“Tanya said—”

“She may be luring the group into danger, Selena. Remember, she belongs to Aston.”

“She’s just pretending to be with him. She hates him and wants the club to destroy him.”

“You’re too trusting. Aston has immense power over anyone he’s turned.”

“But she’s been keeping us informed of his activities,
Jarharis
. Doesn’t that prove she’s on our side?”

He shook his head. “
I
don’t trust her.”

Selena sighed. “Well she’s the best informant the club has. Just last night, she told us where the vampire was that you ended up helping us kill.”

He contemplated her words. On the one hand, it almost sounded as though Tanya was aiding the club, telling them where to find a lone vampire to destroy, but on the other hand, she hadn’t given them Aston. The poor creature she had directed them to was capable of little more than finding sustenance for his withering body.

He thought about the threat Aston had made against Selena. He didn’t impress him as a vampire who made idle threats. No. He fully intended to carry out his promise of turning her. And then Selena would be his to command. His senses wrenched at the thought of beautiful Selena being the pawn of a ruthless vampire.
“All right.
I’ll help the club.”

She threw herself against his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing him tightly. “I knew you’d see things my way.” She kissed his cheek then his lips, pressing her breasts against his chest and tangling her hands in his long hair.

A shiver of longing coursed through his insides at the feel of her body pressing so tightly against his length. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her, never wanting to set her free. He closed his eyes for a moment, shutting out all else except the warming sensation generated by her body.

“Come on. Let’s go.”

“No. I can’t go with you to meet the others.”

“But—”

“They can’t be aware that I’m helping them, Selena. I have to stay in the shadows and be unknown, except to you.”

She caressed the side of his face with one palm. “You’ll help us kill the vampires—won’t you?”

He caught her hand and brought her palm to his mouth. He kissed it, pressing his lips into her warm flesh.
If anything ever happened to her—

“
Jarharis
, you’ll help us kill the vampires, won’t you?”

“I won’t allow you to put yourself in danger, Selena. Yes. I’ll be there and help if I’m needed.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Armed with a box of wooden stakes and wearing odoriferous leis of garlic, the members of the Vampire Club piled into three cars and headed toward the outskirts of the city, relying on information Tanya had supplied regarding Aston’s hideaway. Against
Jarharis’s
better judgment, he allowed Selena to accompany the group. Transforming into a bird, he raced against time to arrive at the destination that Tanya had supplied. Realizing that her information revealed the exact location where he encountered Aston last night, he was certain that she lured the club members into a trap.

He arrived at the stand of dense foliage and took up a position in a tall willow across the road. From his advantage point, he could clearly see the gravel road where the club would stop their cars. The road gave way to woods and entry could be gained only on foot. Trepidation filled his insides as he perched in the tree and tried to see amid the dense stand of trees. If only he could be certain of what lay within the grove and the definite danger that the group of hunters might be bringing upon themselves.

State your needs.

The voice sounded so clearly within his head that he almost lost his footing on the tree branch. Suddenly the urge to transform into his undead state gripped him. He leapt from the branch and glided softly to the forest floor beneath the tree, immediately assuming his vampire state. His hand went immediately to the amulet hanging about his neck. He clasped it in one fist and tightened his fingers around its faceted shape.

State your needs.

There was no mistaking the voice that time. He glanced around, looking for the speaker of the words, only to feel that he was alone beneath the tree. He contemplated what he should ask for, wondering if indeed, the voice was offering to fulfill his needs to keep Selena safe and to find Aston’s hideaway.

“
Jarharis
, Aston’s sanctuary lies within the trees.”

He jerked his head around, spying Mi. She hovered near a branch on the tree. Taking a seat on the woody bough, she relaxed her gossamer wings, folding them across her back, and stared at him.

Jarharis
blinked his eyes at the tiny pixie. She appeared to be illuminated, as though surrounded by a soft pale green light that allowed him to see her features as clearly as if he were in his own sanctuary and illumination coming from a crystal chandelier. “Did you speak to me?”

The pixie smiled at him and nodded her head. “Aston’s sanctuary lies within the trees.”

Puzzled, for her voice didn’t sound like the first voice he heard, he held the amulet and stared at her.

“Look at the gem. It will reveal the way to Aston’s sanctuary. But you must not tell the members of the vampire club.”

Jarharis’s
brows rose upward in surprise. Mi disappeared as quickly as she had materialized. He looked around, but failed to catch further sight of her. He opened his hand and stared at the amulet. It glowed pale yellow, then drew his gaze to its center. As before, he saw a swirling mist, moving, surging, then it began to clear. A picture began to form. He stared, trying to make out the forms taking shape.

He recognized the woman, Tanya Sills, suspended by her wrists, her legs spread wide. She was dressed in a black leather bra and tight shorts, with stiletto heels. Another figure appeared before her coiling a long black whip in his hand. Tanya’s chest
heaved,
an expression of distress shown on her face.

Jarharis
felt her fear…and her arousal.

He drew back, aware that he was watching Aston and Tanya performing some sort of sexual ritual. Anger wafted through his insides. Why was he being privy to see them play?

Intrigued, and more than a little disgruntled with the sight, he felt compelled to watch the pair. Aston’s chest was bare, though he wore long pants. He watched as he levered the whip across Tanya’s chest, making her grimace in pain.
An evil grin shown on Aston’s face.
Tanya lunged against the ties that bound her wrists and ankles, trying to free herself.

Aston landed the whip across her shoulders again then flung the weapon aside. He released his pants and pushed them along his legs, stepping out of them when they fell to the floor. He walked toward Tanya. Tanya panted and strained against her restraints. Aston took hold of her hair and yanked her head back.

Jarharis
tried to look away, remembering Tanya’s words to him when they met in the nightclub. Aston made her do terrible things. She was appalled at his treatment of her. Surely she had been referring to just such a scene as he was viewing now. He watched Aston release her hands and force her to her knees. His hand tangled in her long hair as he held her head to his crotch, making her suck his long hard cock.

Jarharis
watched, trying to steel his emotions at the sex act. Tanya greedily sucked her master’s cock, caressing his buttocks and stroking his balls. Aston hunched his hips and lolled his head back on his shoulders as Tanya’s mouth brought him to orgasm.

Jarharis
closed his fist around the amulet. Why had he been forced to watch the sex act between Aston and his slave?

“Have you no reasoning?”

He jerked his head up, looking into the tree he stood beneath and spied Mi sitting on a leaf, her tiny wings at ease,
her
pale pink dress fluffed around her little body.

“Tanya is setting a trap for the hunters. She pretends allegiance to Aston in his presence, but she wants him destroyed, as you suspect,
Jarharis
. But there is more to her plan, once her master has met his fate.” Mi vanished as quickly as she spoke the words.

Why would Tanya set a trap for the hunters when she confessed to supplying information about the vampire’s plans to the group? He considered the she-vampire’s plan. Perhaps she wanted rid of the hunters—thinking that he would destroy Aston, given the chance and with the vampire club gone, there wouldn’t be any hunters remaining to search for her. He clenched his fists. Did Tanya know of Aston’s threat against Selena?

He contemplated what had just taken place and tried to determine his next move. He could perhaps, divert the
hunters
route into the woods until he infiltrated Aston’s sanctuary alone. But Selena was suspicious of his agreeing to help all ready. Would she be as easily fooled as the other members of the club?

He tuned his hearing toward the direction the group would be traveling and listened. He could make out the faint hum of the motors as they drew nearer. He returned the amulet to the safety of his shirt and took to the sky, transforming once again into a bird. Flying swiftly across the stand of trees, he spotted the first of the three autos on the road. Veering sharply, he searched the winding road until he spied a hairpin curve then lit on the ground and called the magic forth. Transforming into his vampire form, he set his hand to a tall oak tree and toppled it across the road. It fell with a resounding thud, its numerous branches snapping and twisting as its heavy trunk crashed upon the gravel.

Deciding that the roadblock would be sufficient enough to halt the groups travel plans he hid in the shadows and awaited their arrival.

“What the fuck!”

“It looks like a tree, man.”

“I know a damn tree when I see one! Why is it across the fucking road?”

“I guess it needed to fall somewhere.”

“Shut up!”

Jarharis
looked on as Selena emerged from the vehicle and came forward to inspect the road blockage. He stared at her form in the bright headlights of the car. She raised her hands to her hips and looked the situation over, glancing beyond the tree boughs into the darkness.
Jarharis
felt her suspicion.

“I guess we have to turn back.”

“Really Einstein?”

“Fuck you,
Kaleb
! Why do you always have to be such an asshole?”

“Get back in the fucking car! We’re leaving!”

Jarharis
shook his head, listening to all the arguing among the group. No wonder they never actually caught any vampires—they were too busy berating each other.

The drivers of the cars finally managed to get turned around and soon they were headed back in the direction they had come.
Jarharis
stood in the road and watched the red glow of taillights as the sounds of motors faded into the darkness. At least he had managed to foil the
groups
plans for that night.