Death of Darkness

by Dianne Duvall

  “Yes,” Chris confirmed.

  Then this was the woman whose scent had adorned him when Seth had returned to David’s home.

  Chris froze the picture when Seth left the establishment.

  “Play it again,” David commanded.

  He did so, putting it in a loop.

  Zach stared at the surveillance footage, still trying to digest it. Both Seth and Leah looked as though they wanted nothing more than to doff their clothing and spend hours exploring each other’s body.

  Chris turned, snaring Zach’s attention as David continued to stare fixedly at the screen. “Like I said, we have a problem.”

  Zach nodded. “He’s attracted to her.” Quite an understatement.

  “Yes.”

  Seth had shown no interest in women since the death of his wife. None at all. He had even confessed to Zach a few years ago that he still mourned her.

  “There’s more,” Chris added grimly.

  Zach shook his head. What could possibly be more earthshaking than Seth having feelings for a woman?

  “She’s human,” David murmured.

  Shit. Zach looked at the woman on the screen. The vampiric virus drove humans infected with it insane. So if she and Seth hit it off, she couldn’t safely be transformed and spend the rest of eternity with him. “So was Seth’s wife,” Zach belatedly mentioned.

  “Yes,” Chris said, “Seth’s wife was human, too. And we all know how that ended: enemies who wanted Seth dead brutally murdered her and their two children.”

  Zach frowned. “Surely you don’t believe we should intercede. Seth has been alone for thousands of years. Don’t you think he deserves whatever happiness he can find after all he’s done and sacrificed to help not just the Immortal Guardians but humanity as a whole?”

  “I do,” Chris agreed, surprising him. “That’s why I asked you here.”

  Zach glanced at the man who was closest to Seth. “David?”

  David turned to face him. “You see it?” he asked, his expression unreadable.

  Zach glanced at the couple on the screen, then met his gaze. “I do.” The attraction the two shared was undeniable.

  “We have to protect her,” David said, “at all costs. We have to do everything we can to keep her safe. We cannot let history repeat itself.”

  “I agree.”

  “I do, too,” Chris said. “That’s why the day after I saw this footage, I installed a round-the-clock surveillance team in the building across the street with a dozen of my best special-ops soldiers on every shift. All are heavily armed. And all are silently alerted with a device similar to the ones Immortal Guardians carry when Seth appears, so they’ll know if Gershom gets wind of her and shows up, trying to fool her into believing he’s Seth. I also have the surveillance feed streamed live to the same two sites as the network’s feed to ensure that Gershom can’t mind-control those viewing it so they won’t alert us to his visit if he does. As I said before: the bastard may be powerful, but he can’t be in two places at once.”

  Zach frowned. He didn’t like the idea of Seth’s privacy being violated in such a way, or that of the woman. “I don’t think—”

  Chris held up a hand. “These are trusted men and women who would give their lives to protect Seth and the other Immortal Guardians. They’ll keep his secrets.”

  It still didn’t sit well, but what the hell else could they do with Gershom out there, wanting to strike at Seth in every conceivable way? “Has Seth been back to see her?”

  “No,” Chris said, “which poses another dilemma. I worried that Leah might be targeted by Gershom simply as a result of her association with Ami. I thought Seth pursuing a relationship with her would dramatically increase that likelihood, so—as I said—I installed the special-ops surveillance team. But it’s been a couple of weeks now, and Seth hasn’t returned. I wasn’t sure if I should keep the crew there and wanted to ask what you thought.”

  Zach shook his head. “If Seth hasn’t been back, it sure as hell isn’t because he doesn’t want to. He isn’t letting himself go back. He hasn’t taken any downtime since that night, hasn’t had so much as a fifteen-minute break. If he were human, I’d say he was working himself into an early grave, no doubt because he’s drawn the same conclusion you have: that seeing her will endanger her.”

  David sighed. “At least we know now why he’s been so somber and withdrawn of late.”

  “You noticed it, too?” Zach asked.

  “Of course. He’s fighting his attraction to her.”

  Chris’s gaze ping-ponged between them. “I admit I wondered if perhaps that might be for the best. I mean… she’s human. Even if we keep her safe, Seth will still lose her in the end. She can’t be transformed by the virus without suffering progressive brain damage and going insane. And even as powerful a healer as he is, Seth can’t stop that. Look how hard he’s tried with Cliff. So she’ll have to remain human, and he’ll inevitably lose her to old age.”

  The knowledge saddened Zach. He was so fortunate that Lisette had been born a gifted one and could spend the rest of eternity with him. “Seth can use his healing ability to extend her life. He would’ve done the same for his wife if he’d had the chance.”

  David nodded. “I did it for mine.”

  Surprise lit Chris’s face. He must not have known that David had been married long ago.

  “Their time together would still be short in the greater scheme of things,” David continued, “but if he heals her every day, he can extend her life by a century and a half. Perhaps a little more.”

  A hundred and fifty or two hundred years instead of an eternity. How much of that time would Seth spend dreading the inevitable?

  “Well, I just…” Chris shook his head. “I didn’t know which would be worse—loving Leah and losing her or never letting himself love her at all.”

  “Never letting himself love her at all,” Zach and David responded in unison.

  At last David turned away from the screen. “I still mourn my wife. I miss her every day. But I would never have given up the years I had with her.”

  Zach nodded. “It would be the same for me if I lost Lisette.”

  Chris crossed to his desk and leaned back against it. “Okay then. What do we do? How can we help him?”

  Zach considered it for a minute or two. “You can start by having your tech genius make me one of those devices Seth carries around in his pocket to let immortals know I’m not Gershom. Once you do, Seth will no longer have that excuse to keep me from fielding his calls and can slow his frenetic pace.”

  David nodded. “Have him make one for me, too.”

  Chris withdrew a small notebook and a stubby pencil from his pocket and began to write. “Okay. I’ll get right on it, but I’ll need one of you to erase the memory of it from the technician’s mind again so Gershom can’t pluck the code from it.”

  “I’ll do it,” Zach volunteered, then caught David’s eye. “What do you think about giving Jared one, too, and having him answer some of the emergency calls?”

  David’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”

  Zach shrugged. “He’s been at loose ends ever since he told the Others to kiss his ass.” Jared had only recently joined their ranks. The rest of the ancient Others firmly believed they should not interfere in any way—no matter how miniscule—with the mortal world. They had, in fact, tortured Zach twice before he himself had defected. Once for warning Seth that his cell phone was broken and his Immortal Guardians in North Carolina were trying to reach him, then a second time just for speaking with Seth. “I think Jared may need something a little more challenging than hunting vampires to occupy his time. And sending him to aid Immortal Guardians who are in trouble will help integrate him into the ranks faster. At least, it did for me.”

  Zach had joined the Immortal Guardians at a similarly turbulent time and had fielded Seth’s calls for two days when Seth had come dangerously close to collapsing, though none of his immortals would’ve believed such possible
.

  David pondered the request a moment, then nodded. “We can try it and see how he fares.”

  Chris scribbled some more in his notebook. “Consider it done.” He looked up from the paper. “It also occurred to me that worry over an association with him endangering her may not be the only thing keeping Seth from seeing Leah again.”

  Zach studied him. “What do you mean?”

  “After I finished cleaning up the Times Square incident, my assistant Kate made me take a weekend off.”

  “And?” Zach prompted when he didn’t continue.

  “And I haven’t taken a weekend off since. I’ve worked every day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year, ever since Bastien came on the scene and kicked off so much crap.” He grimaced and crossed his arms over his chest. “Taking time off to relax and have fun, as Kate put it, just felt too weird, too self-indulgent, after working nonstop for so long. I’m guessing it will be worse for Seth.” He looked at David. “I know he likes spending time with Ami and Adira. But he usually only grabs whatever time he can for that between calls. When was the last time Seth actually scheduled time off to do something he enjoys?”

  David didn’t speak, apparently unable to recall such a time.

  Zach hadn’t thought of that. Seth had been solely responsible for the well-being and happiness of his Immortal Guardians for thousands of years, aided only by David. “So Seth will balk at taking time off and delegating.”

  David shrugged as he turned once more to watch Seth and Leah dance on the screen. “I’ll handle his objections.” He was probably the only one who could. “I’ll insist he take some downtime. Then we’ll see what happens. If he goes to her, we will do whatever we can to keep her safe. If he does not…”

  Zach watched Seth throw his head back and laugh at something Leah said. If he did not, Seth would be sacrificing the only chance at happiness that had come along in millennia.

  Zach fervently hoped his friend wouldn’t turn his back on it. “There’s something else we can do. To keep Leah safe, that is. Or safer.”

  David arched a brow.

  “I can do for her what I did for Dana.”

  Chris stiffened. His expression darkened. “Damn it. What is it with you immortals and your love of mind control? It causes fucking brain damage!”

  David held up a hand to staunch his objection and looked at Zach. “Is Chris correct in assuming you wish to mind-control Leah and—how did you describe it—plant a how-to-kick-ass manual in her brain?”

  Zach nodded. “It worked well for Dana. I know Leah would be no match for Gershom. But it would give her a fighting chance against anyone else he might send her way.”

  David considered it a moment. “So be it.”

  Chris glared at Zach. “Seth will disembowel you when he finds out you tampered with her brain.”

  “Not if I help Zach do it,” David countered in his deep, calm voice. “I can heal the damage done in real time. But it’s a step we should take only if Seth decides to see her again.”

  Zach nodded. “Agreed.” He hoped like hell his friend would do it.

  Leah smiled as she handed two bags and a receipt to her last customer. “Thank you. Have a nice night.”

  “You, too,” the woman replied with a tired smile.

  Leah walked her to the door and held it open. Once the woman left, Leah turned the OPEN sign to CLOSED and flipped both locks. She reached for the rod that closed the blinds but hesitated to turn it.

  The sadness that had dogged her all day struck hard. Tears welled in her eyes. Blinking them back, she left the blinds open and pivoted to face the store. She had left the blinds open the night Seth had come by after hours, looking for Adira’s toy unicorn. Dancing and talking with him had been so much fun. She could really use the diversion tonight and wished he would visit again. But three weeks had passed, so she didn’t expect to see him.

  The phone rang.

  Normally after closing time she would let the machine pick up. But she really did need a distraction. Hurrying around the counter, she yanked up the receiver before the machine could kick in. “Little Gifts,” she said as brightly as she could. Damn, she was depressed.

  “Leah?” a man asked. He spoke softly, as though he didn’t want anyone to overhear.

  She frowned. “Yes?”

  “Hi, it’s Sheldon.” He and his girlfriend Tracy had accompanied Ami when she brought Adira to storytime earlier.

  She smiled. “Hi, Sheldon. What can I do for you?”

  “I can’t find Adira’s little pink unicorn and I’ve looked everywhere. Have you seen it?”

  “No, but my last customer just left and I haven’t started tidying yet. Do you want to hang on a minute while I look around?”

  “That would be great, thanks. I really appreciate it.”

  “Okay. Just a sec.”

  She set the receiver down and looked through the lost-and-found box first. Nothing. Rounding the counter, she bent over and scanned the floor beneath the clothing racks but didn’t see anything there either.

  “Brittney?” she called.

  Brittney entered from the back room. “Yeah?”

  “Have you seen a small pink unicorn with a key chain clip?”

  “No. Is someone missing one?”

  “Yes.” She motioned to the phone on the counter.

  “Let me help you look.”

  Together they scoured the store, looking more diligently beneath the clothing racks where children liked to hide and play. On the chairs. On the bookshelves. On the toy shelves.

  “Aha!” Leah cried in triumph when she spotted it snuggled up to a buffalo like the one Seth had bought for Adira. If the buffalo didn’t still have a tag on it, she’d wonder if perhaps that was Adira’s, too.

  Brittney smiled. “Cool.”

  “Thanks for helping me look.”

  “Anytime.” She returned to the back room.

  Leah picked up the receiver. “Sheldon?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I found it.”

  “Great!” he exclaimed with relief. Then… “Wait. Not great. Damn. I didn’t realize how late it is.”

  Leah glanced at the clock. “We’re closed for the night, but you’re welcome to come by and pick it up.” As usual, she had no plans. And Brittney would leave shortly. She had another big test tomorrow and needed to study for it.

  “I can’t. I’ll have to swing by and get it tomorrow.”

  “Okay.”

  He sighed. “Seth is going to kick my butt if Adira has trouble sleeping tonight without it.”

  Leah’s heart gave a little leap at the mention of Seth’s name.

  Sheldon grumbled something beneath his breath. “Oh well. I’ll see you first thing in the morning. Thanks, Leah.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Brittney exited the back room, carrying a coat and purse. “Was that Ami on the phone?”

  Leah shook her head and held the purse for Brittney while she donned her coat. “No. It was Sheldon.”

  “Ooh. Sheldon is so hot,” Brittney declared.

  Leah sent her a wry smile. “And he thinks Seth is going to kick his butt if Adira has trouble sleeping tonight without her favorite toy.”

  Shaking her head, Brittney took her purse and looped the strap over her shoulder. “I wouldn’t want Seth to kick my butt. That man is huge.” She grinned. “Of course, I wouldn’t mind if he spanked me a little.”

  Laughing, Leah nudged her toward the door. “You just focus on your studies and get ready to ace that exam.”

  “I’d rather get spanked,” she quipped as she let herself out of the store.

  Leah chuckled and locked the door behind her, then headed into the back room. Grabbing a small black remote, she aimed it at the iPod connected to the store’s speaker system and paused the music from the Annie soundtrack. Since children frequented the store, she always played music she thought they would like. But she also tried to choose music that wasn’t so candy sweet it would make
her want to pull her hair out after listening to it all day. That usually left her with movie soundtracks.

  She had played the Sing soundtrack the night Seth had visited and put it on now, hoping it would lift her spirits. She hadn’t told Brittney she had danced with Seth that night. The younger woman would’ve never stopped yammering about it, urging her anew to get her cougar on. But Leah had not been able to stop thinking about it. Or him.

  Returning to the store, she began her nightly routine, closing up, tallying receipts, and preparing for another day of business. Though the same music played, her feet didn’t move to it tonight, nor did her hips.

  Her gaze strayed to the calendar on the wall behind the counter. Pain struck as memories surfaced and threatened to suffocate her. Damn it. Why couldn’t Seth have come by tonight instead of three weeks ago?

  She looked at the little unicorn toy sitting on the counter by the phone.

  She really needed a distraction.

  Unable to bear the silence, she grabbed her keys.

  David tapped his fingers on the long dining room table as he watched Zach shovel one forkful of salad after another into his mouth as though he hadn’t eaten in days. “A bit hungry, are we?” he asked dryly.

  Zach just nodded and ate as quickly as he could, trying to work in a meal before the next call came through.

  Beside him, Lisette laughed and ate more slowly.

  “I don’t know how Seth does it,” Zach complained around a mouthful.

  “Does what?” David asked.

  “Manages to eat and sleep and still field so many calls in a twenty-four-hour period.”

  “There have been many times, as you know, in which he couldn’t.” It was not unusual for Seth to go days without sleeping while he guarded his immortal flock. In the past, he had asked David to field his calls or had network heads send other elder immortals to aid those who faced lesser emergencies while Seth snuck in a few hours of sleep. But he had often abandoned that practice since they’d lost Yuri and Stanislav two years earlier.

  Familiar pain settled in David’s chest when he thought of the Russian immortals. Seth had taken their losses hard and seemed to believe that if he devoted even more time to the care and needs of his Immortal Guardians, he might somehow prevent similar losses in the future.