Wake of Darkness (36 page)

…Until I showed up,
she
finished his thought.

He nodded.
And it was so
different with you of course, because you meant so much more to me from the
start. It infuriated me to care about you so. It was a weakness that I had
escaped for centuries and then, there you were, in that miniscule college town,
vulnerable to everything, just as she had been. But ultimately I was wrong. You
were not like her. You were so powerful, yet so unaware of your potential. It
sickened me to know that I could lose you just as I lost Abigail, so I resisted
for a time, but I knew I would not be able to avoid you for long. I continually
reminded myself that though I’d survived her death…if anything were to
happen…to you...

He didn’t continue.

She nodded. Everything from those
first few weeks made so much more sense to her now. One minute, he’d looked
like he hated her, and the next minute, there was a subtle, seemingly foreign
kindness in his green eyes. Everything that made absolutely no sense at the
time was perfectly explainable today. He rose to stand by her side.

She looked at him wisely.
So it
has nothing to do with boredom then, does it?

What do you mean?
He asked
with a shake of his head, his emotions keeping him from following her train of
thought.

Hunting vampires,
she
clarified.

No…,
he thought,
but I do
think it is something more than vengeance. There seems to be a deeply rooted
instinct in us all to rid the world of them—clearly you have felt that as
surely as I. For me, it is the innocent human lives I save with the death of
each one of the devils that keeps me pressing onward. It is atonement in a way,
for my sins of killing Abigail and Stephen.

Alex, you didn’t kill your
sister,
she thought sternly.

He sighed resolutely.
My logical
mind tells me so, but I can’t help but blame myself for her tragedy.
He
squeezed her hand.
I simply cannot let the same thing happen to you.

“You won’t,” she vowed. “You’ve
prepared me as well as possible. Jim has trained me in the best way he knows. I’ve
got just as much chance against them as you do. We’ll fight tomorrow and we’ll
live or we’ll die, but we’ll do it together. You’re willing to kill and be
killed for me, and I’m more than willing to do the same for you. For the first
time in my life, I have something to kill and
be
killed for.”

“Please do not think that way,” he
begged in a fierce whisper, shaking his head.

“I can’t help it, Alex. It’s just
how it is,” she replied matter-of-factly. “But we’ll survive tomorrow. I
know
it. I promise. I won’t disappear on you. For the first time in my life, I have
someone to live for.”

She looked earnestly into his eyes
before bringing her lips to his and gently kissing him.

“I love you more than anything,”
she whispered before laying her head on his shoulder in an attempt at
comforting him. “And it’s going to work out.”

His memories were now hers. She
knew after his rampage at Stephen and Abigail’s house, he’d returned to the
site of her murder and gathered her body up in his arms.

He buried her himself, clawing up
the dirt with his own two hands before tenderly laying her there. He
deliberately covered her precious body with the dirt. The pain coursed through
his veins as surely as his blood, and he laid on the mound and wept until his
tears ran dry.

At dawn, he pulled himself from her
grave and turned, never looking back over his shoulder, left Philadelphia, and
traveled to Europe. He vowed to never return to the city.

She felt him stiffen suddenly
despite the calm that had settled around them, and she looked up quickly. Something
had broken the silence, but they both immediately realized that the sound they’d
heard was simply Jim and Dante coming to relieve them.

Is it really three already?
She wondered.

“Three-fifteen, actually,” Jim
whispered, his face solemn as he studied Sophie’s expression. “Everything
okay?”

She nodded and swiped the last
errant tear from her cheek, forcing a smile.

I told her about Abigail,
Alexander
thought to Jim.

Dante rested a hand on his shoulder
and whispered only, “Brother.” He knew.

Without a word, Alexander led her
back inside. She locked the memories that were now hers deep inside her heart,
and would hold them sacred forever. He gently pulled her upstairs and had every
intension of leaving her at her bedroom door until she turned in the doorway
and looked into his eyes.

“Don’t go,” she commanded in a
whisper, gently pulling him by the hand to follow her inside. He followed
without hesitation.

Closing the door behind her, she
leaned against it and pulled him towards her. She found his lips in the dark
hours of early morning. There was that new, deep desire in her soul that
threatened to boil over again; the need to never let him go. She knew that this
could be the last night of their lives, despite what she’d said earlier. They’d
face the unknown tomorrow and the anxiety in the air was tangible. He felt it
too.

He kissed her jaw, her neck and
whispered his devotion in her ear, pulling her fiercely against his own body.

“I love you,” he said, the
desperation catching in his voice.

She simply had to listen to what he
said to himself only, what his emotions expressed privately, to know how he
felt. It was overwhelming. He kissed her more, his lips pressing against her
neck and collarbone, lingering on her lips.

He added, “I do not want to lose
you,” and his voice caught again when he said it, sharing her thoughts and
doubts about the coming fight.

She kissed him again, the passion
and fear burning all at once.

“You won’t,” she tried to reassure
him between kisses, though she was unsure of it herself, terrified of losing
him too. “Don’t think about it.”

His hands slipped to her waist and
then under the hem of her sweater. His hands were suddenly on her bare back. Without
saying a word, he picked her up in one fluid movement and carried her to the
bed. She was on her back in a second as he held her in his arms, kissing her
fiercely on the mouth. His free hand trailed down her side, lingering at her
hip and then caressing down to her thigh. Her breathing accelerated and she
felt dizzy.  Each touch, each caress, sent a current through her body as if
electrically charged, as she clung to him in near desperation.

Chapter 30

The light from the sunrise was
bright on Alexander’s eyelids. He blinked against its shine and looked down to
see Sophie curled against him, breathing steadily in her sleep. He drew her
closer to himself, her body fitting perfectly within his embrace. She sighed
lightly in her sleep, a response to the movement.

He laid his head back on the pillow
and began to listen for the others in the house. It was still too early for
Laney and Catherina to have stirred. He was relieved to know that they were
both still asleep; Laney would need her rest to get through what they were
planning for the night. Dante and Jim sat outside on the porch, drinking
coffee. Dante perused the morning paper, the danger of the night gone with the
arrival of the predawn dew.

Alexander closed his eyes, still
holding Sophie close. He absentmindedly traced the contours of her back with his
fingers, savoring the moment.

“Mmm,” she softly moaned after a
few moments, causing him to open his eyes.

She smiled at him and stretched
forward to kiss his lips.

“Good morning,” he said quietly,
kissing her soft, naturally pink lips.

“Good morning,” she replied, her
voice husky from sleep.

She looked at him dreamily and in
that instant captivated him with her eyes as she so often unconsciously did. She
blinked twice and her expression changed. Suddenly recalling all that had
occurred yesterday, she sat swiftly up in bed and looked frantically around the
room.

“What is wrong?” He asked, watching
her, suddenly concerned. He’d learned quickly to trust her instincts without
question. He was on his feet in an instant.

“Oh…,” she replied with a sigh,
holding her forehead with one of her hands. “I just forgot about yesterday for
a minute there.” She looked up to smile at him. “You’re a good distraction,”
she said, before gliding over to him and planting another kiss on his lips.

He could feel the desire build in them
both, but he pushed her gently away.

“As much as I would love to…,” he
began.

“I know. You’re right,” she
replied, cutting him off with a grave look in her eyes. “Trust me. I know.”

She reached up to kiss him once
more and then was gone. He heard the shower running in the attached bathroom
and he took his leave.

*

By the time Alexander descended from
the second floor, the house was teeming with intensity. It seethed with nervous
energy, but it lacked the usual, joyful feel of morning that he had grown
accustomed to.

Laney was curled up in one of the
living room chairs, her chin resting on her knees. The smile that usually
adorned her face was gone. She was lost in thought, vainly attempting to
foresee the actions of tonight.

He turned away from her and went to
investigate the banging pots and pans in the kitchen. Passing a pacing Jim in
the dining room without a word, Alexander walked into the kitchen to find
Sophie making a huge breakfast, as if her life depended upon the completion of
the menial task. She wasn’t thinking about the meal, but about him. She glanced
up at him from under her eyelashes and he caught a glimpse of a faint blush,
mid-thought, as it spread across her cheeks when she smiled at him.

“May I help?” he asked quietly.

She smiled an affirmative answer. He
worked around her in a natural ease.

Where is Dante?
He asked in
a thought as she swiftly chopped onions for omelets, the knife blade a literal
blur.

            Telling Catherina everything.

How long has Laney been awake?

I’m not sure…
She pointed to
a skillet on the stove.
Will you stir that one please?

Of course...Have you spoken with
her?

Not yet. Here,
she directed,
handing him a spatula.

I did not know you could cook.

Oh, I’m full of surprises,
she
thought with a smile, before turning back to her chore.
I was extremely
self-reliant at one time, you know.

You still are.

…I guess so.

Is it not better to allow others
to shoulder part of the burden?

Better? Yes, probably—will you
hand me the bowl of veggies there?—But, it’s still not easy for me.

I know.

Her thoughts were silent for a
moment as they went about their tasks, before his turned suddenly to the
previous night and a passionate thought sprinted through his mind before he
could stop it. Her cheeks reddened as she heard it, and as her mind jumped to a
scenario along similar lines.

He smiled.
I would never have thought
you were the blushing type
.

Well, apparently, I
am...especially since I’m waiting for Jim to walk in and somehow hear what
you’re thinking.

He laughed silently. She did have a
point.

I’m surprised is all,
she
thought.

You do realize that there is
nothing to be embarrassed about?

She looked at him, amused, took his
hand and placed it over her heart, which raced.
I’m not embarrassed, trust
me…just surprised. I didn’t expect to hear thoughts like those from you. You’re
usually so in control.
She smiled conspiratorially at him.

He walked up to stand behind her
and placed his hands on her hips, nuzzling her neck.
I am not without an
imagination.

She leaned against him and
shuddered with a sigh.

Or desire, apparently,
she
thought and he laughed against the hyper-sensitive skin of her neck.

“Stir that, please, or it’ll burn,”
she said barely above a whisper before turning away from him just as Jim walked
into the room. She looked at her brother before saying, “Please go tell Laney
and the others that breakfast is ready.”

She tried to sound positive, but her
words came out formally and forced. She knew that it may very well be the last
day together as a family. No amount of distractions from Alexander, and no
amount of menial busy work could draw her mind from it for long. There was no
way of knowing if they would all come back tonight, no matter how hopeful she
might be. He smiled sadly at her.