Survive the Dawn (30 page)

“Good, you remember,”
Nicholae
said. “This is also Sebastian’s handiwork,”
Nicholae
yelled and slammed his fist on the desk once again. “The box is gone. That bitch has it, and I want it back.”

Leigh, controlling her anger, winced as each word from
Nicholae
was louder than the previous. “
Nicholae
, remember your blood pressure. Now not to worry. We shall find her,” she said with a flourish and turned on her heels.

“She’s more than likely back in England by now.”

Leigh whirled around. “Sebastian was in England? Why?”

Nicholae
leaned against the desk. “That mortal concubine of hers is working on a serum.” He looked up at the blank look on Leigh’s face. “Which you obviously don’t remember.”

“Sadly, no. But things are coming back. England…” Her voice trailed off. “
Gaylen
, Kendra. Oh, I do believe it’s coming back.”

“Sebastian must have destroyed Kendra. She was the only one who knew about your resurrection. If Sebastian knew that, then she knew about Nina and Detective Spaulding.”

“Spaulding?” Leigh asked and rubbed her temples. “This is beginning to annoy me. Why does that name sound so familiar?”

“You drove her mad,”
Nicholae
said absently as he looked up at Damien’s impaled body and shook his head.

“I did?”

“Yes, you tied her to a bed. There were bats on the ceiling.”

“Oh, how awful. Yet very clever.” She laughed, then regarded
Nicholae
. “Was I really that evil?”

It was
Nicholae’s
turn to laugh. “Leigh, you were, and still are, the consummate vampire. You existed for the hunt and have said throughout the centuries you love to play with humans.”

“I do, don’t I?”

Nicholae
walked toward the door and beckoned Leigh. “Come with me. I want to show you. Perhaps this will revive your memory.”

Leigh pulled the robe around her. “And I hope wherever this is, there’s a decent wardrobe.”

“This is what I usually wore, eh?” Leigh asked as she adjusted the black cape, letting the hood fall around her shoulders. “I must say, it’s rather dramatic.”

“Do you have any recollections of Sebastian?”
Nicholae
asked.

Leigh thought for a moment; the memory flashed through her mind as she smiled. “There was one time in Paris. It was right before that evil little German invaded.” She walked to the window. “Oh, what a time we had,” she whispered.

“I’m bored,” Leigh said with a pout.

Sebastian laughed. “You’re always bored. However, I believe I’ve found a place that will suit you.”

Leigh rose up and grinned with excitement. “You have?”

“Yes, my love.”

She and Sebastian walked the foggy Parisian night; only the sound of Leigh’s heels clicking against the cobblestone walk could be heard.

Leigh pulled her hooded cape around her. “This looks eerie. I love it.” She slipped her arm in Sebastian’s. “I must say, darling, wherever you’re taking me, I’m getting all aroused. And you look dashing in your greatcoat. We make a handsome pair of vampires.”

“Where we’re going, I believe, no one will care what we are. There are many facets of mortal life that are deemed unacceptable,” Sebastian said as she led Leigh down a dark street. “Many are forced underground and want to be left alone. I think we’ll blend just fine.”

“Will we find our kind here?” Leigh asked with excitement when Sebastian stopped at the door and knocked.

Sebastian looked at Leigh and raised an eyebrow. “I made sure of it before we left Romania.”

“Ah, Sebastian, I adore you. You think of everything.”

“I have to. If I didn’t, you’d be tearing through the population of Paris, bringing with it much unneeded attention.”

Leigh heard the seriousness in Sebastian’s voice and pouted. “Don’t be a dud tonight, darling. This city is buzzing with all the talk of Germany, so let’s have some fun and leave our mark upon the city of love.”

Sebastian rolled her eyes as the door opened. “Not too much of a mark.”

Leigh laughed out loud as Sebastian stepped back and allowed her to enter.

The room was dark and smoke-filled. Candles placed on each table were the only illumination. “I like it so far,” Leigh whispered.

Sebastian followed a man to a small table in the back of the café. “Can I get you something?” he asked.

“For instance?” she asked. Leigh looked at him and realized he was not a man, but a woman. How interesting, she thought.

“No, thank you,” Sebastian said.

Leigh took in the surroundings and realized there were men and women in this bistro. “So this is where the homosexual population of Paris comes?”

Sebastian nodded and leaned in as a spotlight lit up the stage in front. “I have been told this is a very interesting place with no questions asked.”

From behind the curtain, a woman appeared, dressed in black tails and a top hat. She brandished a cane and the music started. Her low sultry voice permeated the quiet café. Everyone was captivated as she sang.

Leigh noticed far off in a corner two women were not paying attention to the singer; they were intimately entangled.

“Stop staring,” Sebastian whispered.

“I love this place,” Leigh whispered back. She pulled on Sebastian’s arm. “Kiss me.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow and complied. She ran her tongue over Leigh’s fangs as they began to protrude. “Not here, darling.”

“Then where?” Leigh said in a hiss.

Sebastian took her by the hand and nearly dragged her into the alcove. “I adore it when you get rough,” Leigh said as Sebastian pinned her against the wall. Leigh slipped her hand down between them and unzipped Sebastian’s trousers. As she slipped her fingers inside, she groaned deeply. Sebastian threw her head back, her fangs protruded as she
arched
into Leigh’s touch. Sebastian’s hands were roughly kneading her breasts when Leigh heard a voice behind Sebastian.

“Is this a private party?”

Sebastian, gaining control of her breathing, glanced over her shoulder and bared her fangs. The woman smiled in kind.

Leigh laughed with delight. “A vampire threesome. Did you plan this too, darling?” She delved deeper into Sebastian’s arousal, causing Sebastian to catch her breath.

Leigh watched as the vampire kissed Sebastian’s neck, then snaked her hand between them and cupped Sebastian’s breast. With the other hand she, along with Leigh’s assistance, slipped Sebastian’s trousers around her hips.

In a matter of moments, they had Sebastian nearly howling with her orgasm. Leigh watched Sebastian’s face; their eyes met, and when Leigh offered her neck to Sebastian, Sebastian obliged.

Leigh remembered how that night was filled with good ole vampire lust. They never did get the vampire’s name, though.

“Leigh, would you please conjure up a memory to arouse your anger more than your libido?”
Nicholae
said, his own anger growing.

She laughed ruefully then. “After five hundred years of Sebastian, it has come to this.”

Nicholae
glared at Leigh as he listened to her wistful tone. “You’d better start remembering how Sebastian left you impaled on that wall to be burnt to a crisp by the sunlight. The way you’re talking now, if you should see Sebastian, you’ll be swooning over her.”

“I never swoon. I was just remembering—”

“Do you remember me, as well, Leigh?”
Daciana’s
voice called out.

Nicholae
groaned loudly and bellowed, “Will you two please get a grasp of the situation we face? And the reason I had you resurrected?”

Daciana
walked fully into the room. “
Nicholae
, with your permission, I think I can get Leigh up to speed.”

“Fine,”
Nicholae
said. “Do it quick. I want Sebastian found and that box returned before it’s too late.” He nearly flew out of the room; the heavy door slammed in his wake.

“Nice exit,” Leigh said and turned to
Daciana
. “Now how are you going to bring me up to speed?”

“Tell me what you remember.”
Daciana
watched Leigh, who rolled her eyes.

“I had something much more decadent in mind,
Daciana
,” Leigh said and flounced on the couch. “All this talk of Sebastian has me on edge.”

Daciana
filled two goblets and handed one to Leigh. She then sat on the arm of the plush leather couch. “First things first.”

Leigh put the goblet to her lips and smiled as she drank the warm coppery fluid from the ornate cup. “Ah,” she sighed. “That hit the spot.”

“Now tell me when your memory ceases.”
Daciana
drank from the goblet. Leigh put her head back against the arm of the couch and sighed when
Daciana
ran her fingers through her hair.

“Well, Dr. Freud, it’s very hazy. The last real memory is England. I was bored out of my mind. Sebastian was brooding.
Gaylen
was merry and Kendra was in the catacombs…” Her voice trailed off.

Daciana
said nothing, allowing Leigh to remember on her own. “Sebastian was still trying to work with the mortals.
Gaylen
was just being
Gaylen
. I did have fun with him. He had such an irreverent outlook. But then Sebastian…”

“Sebastian left,”
Daciana
said.

“Yes. She left. Out of the blue, no word, nothing. Sebastian,” she whispered. “It’s rather blurry after that. I get bits and pieces.”

Daciana
watched her carefully. If she was to destroy Sebastian, Leigh must find that insane rage
Daciana
knew all too well. “You do remember Sebastian leaving you impaled to the wall as the sunlight—”

“Yes, yes,” Leigh said impatiently. “I just can’t imagine why she would do that. Yes, we’ve had our disagreements throughout the centuries. Yes, she was stronger, and Tatiana wanted her at her side. Tatiana…” she said with disgust.

Daciana
raised an eyebrow and nodded. “It’s coming back.”

Leigh sat up then. “Tatiana. I begged her to reconsider Sebastian. I was the one who should have been sitting at her side. I knew what should be done. But no,” she said and jumped off the couch. “She wanted Sebastian, who had no stomach for anything after Anastasia.”

She ran her fingers through her thick hair. “Anastasia,” she said and let out a low growl. “The simpering Hungarian goulash. Sebastian was smitten like some lovesick mortal. I told her it would end badly. I warned her. But Sebastian knew better. And what happened?” She whirled around to
Daciana
. “It ended badly,” Leigh said lightly and laughed. “Sebastian wound up driving a stake through that nitwit’s heart to release her. What a ridiculous vampire she made and what a fool Sebastian had become. She was so magnificent before Anastasia. She lusted and took whatever she wanted. Nothing and no one stood in Sebastian’s way. Tatiana taught her well, and for a time, Sebastian looked as though she deserved to be the chosen one. Do you remember how insanely pissed off
Nicholae
was then?”