by Becky Allen
So, he could either stay here with Kaitlyn and make the best of it, or head back to Tahoe alone. He thought about the casino. Scherry could run it without him for as long as necessary.
Zack snorted softly. Like it or not, he figured he would be staying here for the duration, however long that might be.
Stepping out of the shower, he toweled off. One of the best things about being a vampire was how quickly he recovered. His wounds were already healing. Once he fed, the healing process would speed up; by tomorrow night, he’d be as good as new.
He donned the black pants and dark blue sweater Kaitlyn had left for him. While pulling on a pair of soft black leather boots, he had the discomfiting feeling that the clothing belonged to her father, since he and Drake were roughly the same height and weight. He seemed to recall Katy mentioning that he reminded her of her father.
After running a comb through his hair, he left the room. His footsteps made no sound as he made his way to the library. He found Kaitlyn inside, reading a book.
She looked up when he entered the room, a smile of welcome lighting her face.
“You look much better.”
“Thanks. I feel better.” He’d feel more like his old self again once he’d fed, but that would have to wait.
“Would you like a tour of the Fortress?” Kaitlyn asked, setting the book aside.
“Sure.”
“Come on, then,” she said, taking him by the hand.
He had already seen the main floor. The other levels were all downstairs. And underground. Being a vampire, he could appreciate that.
The first floor down held the kitchen, a dining hall, and a laundry room. A low hum of conversation filled the air. Two women were in the kitchen preparing dinner; another woman was folding a load of wash. They all smiled at Zack and Kaitlyn. They were all human and seemed remarkably happy.
As Zack and Kaitlyn were leaving, a woman with curly brown hair and brown eyes entered the dining room.
“Hello, Kaitlyn,” she said pleasantly.
“Hi, Northa.” Kaitlyn hesitated, then said, “Zack, this is Northa. She’s been with us for a long time.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Zack said. He stared at the woman. Her name sounded vaguely familiar. And then he remembered why. This was the woman who had offered to satisfy his thirst.
Kaitlyn and Northa exchanged a few pleasantries, and then, with a last glance in Zack’s direction, Northa excused herself and disappeared into the kitchen.
“I take it she knows I refused her offer,” Zack said dryly.
Kaitlyn shrugged. “It’s no big deal. It’s probably just as well.”
“Oh?” He lifted one brow. “Why is that?”
“Because she couldn’t keep her eyes off of you.”
“Don’t tell me you’re jealous?” Zack exclaimed, grinning.
“Of course not.” She moved past him, walking quickly to the stairs. “This floor has been remodeled,” she remarked when they reached the next level.
There were no windows down here, since this level was underground, but plenty of overhead lights to turn away the gloom.
“There used to be dormitories here and two large recreation rooms,” she said. “Of course, that was before my time. The dorms and one of the rec rooms were turned into individual bedrooms when my father took over.”
“You don’t have any reason to be jealous, you know,” Zack said when she refused to look at him.
“The second rec room is now a combination TV room and playroom.”
“All right, have it your way,” he said, amused by the fact that not only was she jealous of a mortal woman, but she refused to discuss it.
Zack peered into the playroom. There were rugs on the floor, boxes overflowing with toys, shelves filled with books and DVDs, a wall-mounted TV, several sofas, chairs, and tables, as well as a crib in one corner.
All the comforts of home, he thought as he followed Kaitlyn. Yet it still amazed him that there were humans willing to live among vampires, to trade their blood for a place to live. Bizarre. Totally bizarre.
“Our people live here,” Kaitlyn said when they reached the fourth level down.
There were no overhead lights down here. The corridor was dark. As dark as a tomb, Zack thought. Which, in a way, was what it was, at least when the sun was up. He glanced at the narrow door at the end of the long hallway and shivered in spite of himself, knowing it was the door to the dungeon below. How many people had died down there in ages past? It was obvious the vampires no longer kept prisoners locked up, since there had been no scent of fresh blood—other than his own.
When they returned to the main floor, Kaitlyn’s father was waiting for them. A woman with long black hair and beautiful brown eyes stood beside him. She looked enough like Kaitlyn to be her older sister.
The woman took a step forward, her hand extended. “Hello, Zack. I’m Kaitlyn’s mother, Elena.”
He shook her hand, his mind automatically brushing hers. He was surprised to find a mental block between them. Apparently, her husband had taught her how to shield her thoughts. “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Sherrad.”
“Just Elena. We were on our way upstairs to watch a movie. Would you care to join us?”
Zack glanced at Kaitlyn, hoping she would decline. The thought of spending the evening with her father was less than appealing.
Unfortunately, Kaitlyn smiled at her mother and said, “Sure.”
“Come on,” Kaitlyn said, taking Zack by the hand. “Wait until you see this.”
He slid a wary glance in her direction as they passed through the narrow doorway that led up to the tower.
“Don’t worry,” she said with a reassuring smile.
Right, he thought. What was there to worry about?
As they climbed the stairs, he caught the sound of excited conversation and laughter, and the scent of . . . buttered popcorn?
He couldn’t hide his amazement when they entered a room filled with not only vampires, but men, women, and children. The room itself was something to see. Three of the walls and most of the ceiling were made of glass, affording a splendid view of the valley below and the star-studded sky above. A long table held bottles of wine, cans of soda, a variety of candy bars, and an enormous tub of popcorn. Rows of chairs took up most of the floor.
Standing there, Zack overheard conversations in several languages, including English. It wasn’t surprising. Vampires lived a long time. Learning new languages was a good way to while away the hours. He, himself, spoke Spanish, French, and German.
When the lights dimmed, people quickly took their seats.
Kaitlyn guided Zack to a pair of chairs in the back row. “This whole movie thing is a new addition,” she whispered. “My mom’s idea.”
Zack nodded. The sound of so many beating hearts didn’t bother him. He was used to it from spending his nights at the casino. But he could have done without the combined smells of popcorn, candy and soda, not to mention the stink of urine that came from an infant girl sitting on her mother’s lap in the row ahead of him.
Someone hit a switch. Sliding doors opened on the room’s one solid wall, revealing a large movie screen. A projector descended from the ceiling. The lights went out. And the movie began.
It was all Zack could do to keep from laughing out loud when he read the title. It was the old black-and-white film, Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi as the infamous Transylvanian count.
When the movie was over, the humans hustled their children off to bed. The vampires clustered around the table, uncorking the wine bottles which, as it turned out, didn’t hold wine at all.
A few of the vampires went off with the humans, apparently in the mood for something straight from the source.
“You’ve got an odd look on your face,” Kaitlyn remarked. “What are you thinking about?”
“How bizarre this all is.”
She glanced around the room. “Is it?”
“I wouldn’t expect you to think so, seeing as how you gre
w up here,” Zack replied. “But believe me, this is like some kind of... I don’t know . . . a fever dream, maybe.” He shook his head. “It just isn’t natural.”
“No,” she said slowly. “I guess it isn’t.”
Zack took her arm and they moved to the side as a couple of male vampires quickly folded up the chairs and put them away. The doors closed over the screen, the projector slid back up into the ceiling.
A woman with long red hair took a seat at the piano and began to play a waltz.
Drake took his wife into his arms and swept her onto the dance floor. Several other couples followed their lead.
Zack looked at Kaitlyn. “Shall we?”
“I’d love to.”
It felt good to be in his arms, but it was hard to relax when her parents were nearby, surreptitiously watching her every move. Determined not to let it bother her, she smiled at Zack, her stomach doing a crazy flip-flop when he smiled back.
“It’s like dancing among the stars, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Yeah. I thought the Skylight Room was pretty amazing, but this place beats everything I’ve ever seen.”
“You aren’t . . . you’re not going to leave, are you?”
“Not unless you go with me.”
“I love you, Zack.”
“I know, Katy darlin’.” Bending down, he kissed the tip of her nose. “I love you, too, although I don’t think your father will ever approve.”
She couldn’t argue with that, not when her father was scowling at her from across the room.
“Come on,” she said, taking Zack’s hand in hers. “Let’s go for a walk.”
It was a beautiful, clear night. Hand in hand, they strolled along a winding narrow path behind the Fortress that meandered through a copse of trees and opened into a lush green meadow.
Zack glanced back at the Fortress. It perched on the top of a craggy mountain like some medieval giant bird about to take flight. “Looks like Dracula’s castle,” he muttered. The only things missing were a full moon and a couple of wolves howling in the distance.
“It does not!”
“No? Take a good look. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Bela Lugosi peering out of one of the upstairs windows.”
“That’s my home you’re talking about,” Kaitlyn said, punching him on the arm.
“Ow!” He lifted his head as the breeze shifted, carrying with it the scent of prey. It aroused his innate instinct to hunt and stirred his hunger. “Katy, come hunting with me.”
Chapter 24
Kaitlyn stared at Zack. “What?”
“You heard me. Let’s go hunting together.”
She stared at him, speechless. Was he serious? A part of her was excited by the idea, another part was repelled. It was one thing to share blood with Zack in the intimacy of their relationship, quite another to feed from someone with him there, watching. Aside from sexual intercourse, which she had not yet experienced, she couldn’t imagine anything as intimate or private as hunting.
“Come on,” he coaxed, tugging on her hand. “It’ll be fun.”
“Fun!” she exclaimed. “You think hunting is fun?”
“Don’t you?”
She shook her head. It was necessary, it was satisfying, but it had never been fun.
“Have you ever gone hunting?” Zack asked. “Aside from those times with your father?”
“Rarely. It seems so . . . undignified. So . . . feral.” Truth be told, it embarrassed her.
He laughed softly. “Feral? Yeah, I guess hunting does tend to bring out the beast in me.” He stroked her cheek with his forefinger. “You don’t like that feeling of power, of being in total control?”
“Well, I’ve never really thought of it like that.” Hunting with her father had been remarkably civilized.
“And you call yourself a vampire!” Zack chided gently. “Come on, Katy, give in to your wild side.”
Hunting with Zack. How could she refuse? Just thinking about it awakened something buried deep within her, something that had been dormant for far too long.
He grinned, seeing the excitement in her eyes. “Stay close, Katy darlin’.”
“Zack, wait.”
“Come on, don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind?”
“What if . . . what if I can’t control myself? I don’t want to kill anyone.”
“Trust me. I won’t let that happen.”
“Some vampires turn into savage killers. How do I know that won’t happen to me? Alcoholics don’t know they’re going to be alcoholics until they take that first drink.”
“Believe me, Katy, you’re not the type to turn into some ravenous monster. For one thing, you’re only half vampire. I don’t think you were born with a killer instinct.”
“When I drank from you, I didn’t want to stop.”
“That was different. You’ll see.” He squeezed her hand again. “Are you game?”
“No, I’m the hunter.”
He laughed. “Great. Let’s go.”
Still uncertain she was doing the right thing, she trailed behind him as he moved through the meadow, as silent as smoke. She had expected him to head for the houses clustered in the valley, but he glided past them and moved on.
It took her a moment to realize he was headed for the small town located a few miles away.
“Open your senses, Katy. Feel the darkness around you. Let it become a part of you. Smell the trees, the grass. Listen to the heartbeat of the night. Do you hear that? There’s an animal in the brush just to your left. Can you hear its heartbeat?”
Katy did as he said, surprised at how different the world was when she concentrated on using her vampire senses. Her preternatural power was something she had never fully tapped into, preferring to think of herself as human.
It was as if someone had removed blinders from her eyes and unstopped her ears. The world was alive with sounds and sights and smells she had never truly appreciated until now. Everything seemed brighter, more alive. She saw things more clearly—each individual leaf on the trees in front of her, each blade of grass beneath her feet, each rock, the cricket chirping on top of the rock. Even the air seemed to smell different, fragrant with the scent of foliage and earth and meadow. Why had she suppressed this side of herself for so long? Why hadn’t her father told her it could be like this?
Lost in thought, she was surprised to see the town ahead. Only then did she realize how fast Zack had been moving, and how easily she had kept up with him.
“Close your eyes and concentrate,” he said, slowing to a stop. “What do you hear?”
She frowned at him, but did as he asked. “I hear a dog barking. A man snoring. A baby crying. Music coming from down the street . . .” She licked her lips. “Hearts beating,” she murmured, and felt her own speed up with anticipation. Why had she never noticed before how seductive that sound was? The scent of fresh blood moving through veins and arteries, the rhythmic beating of hearts, jolted through her like electricity.
Opening her eyes, she stared at Zack.
He grinned at her, as if he knew exactly what she was feeling. And maybe he did.
“Come on.” Taking her by the hand, Zack led her down the dark streets. With each step she took, the steady thrumming grew louder, stronger.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“There’s an after-hours nightclub on the next block. Easy pickin’s.”
They were passing by an alley when Zack came to an abrupt halt.
“What is it?” Kaitlyn asked.
“Hear that?”
She cocked her head to the side. “Someone’s crying in the alley.”
Zack nodded. “It’s a woman.”
“We’ve got to help her,” Kaitlyn said.
Before he could stop her, Kaitlyn darted into the passage.
With a shake of his head, Zack followed her.
The woman was curled up in a ball in front of two Dumpsters about halfway down the alley. Judging from the smell, neither Dumpster had b
een emptied lately.
Kaitlyn hurried toward the woman. “Are you all right?” she asked, kneeling beside her.
“He beat me up,” the woman sobbed.
Kaitlyn looked up at Zack. “We have to do something.” “Yeah.” Zack darted forward, one hand closing around the throat of the man who had stepped out of the shadows behind the nearest Dumpster, his other hand plucking the gun from the man’s fist.
The woman sprang to her feet and took off running.
“Get her!” Zack said.
Kaitlyn stared at Zack, speechless. “What?”
“Go after her.”
With a grin, Kaitlyn broke into a run. The woman was fast but she was no match for a vampire. Kaitlyn passed her easily, then stood in the mouth of the alley, blocking the way. The woman shrieked and began backpedaling.
Not certain what to do, Kaitlyn grabbed the woman’s arm and led her back to where Zack stood.
“Dinner is served,” he said, grinning.
Kaitlyn glanced at the woman, who stared at her through wide, frightened eyes. “You mean . . . ?”
He nodded. “Which do you want? The man, or the woman?”
Kaitlyn blinked at Zack. Did he mean for them to feed here, in the open? “What if someone comes by?”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll hear anyone coming long before they see us. So, the man or the woman?”
“The man.” He was of medium height, with short blond hair and brown eyes. And he was AB negative.
With a nod, Zack took the woman into his arms. She murmured, “Don’t, please don’t,” as he brushed the hair away from her neck.
He stared into the woman’s eyes. “Relax,” he told her, then looked at Kaitlyn. “I mesmerized the man. He won’t fight you. Just do what comes naturally, Katy. You’ll know when to stop.”
She couldn’t stop watching Zack, noticing how gently he held the woman, how he spoke a few reassuring words to her before he bent his head to the woman’s neck.
