by Lisa Kessler
Staying in San Diego was a risk, but a calculated risk, and he could live with that. He didn’t have the time, or the desire, to flee the city. He needed to wait until Kate returned, or at least until he learned where she had gone.
More than likely Calisto hid her away somewhere. Perhaps he would be a worthy adversary after all. Jose wondered how the Night Walker convinced her she was in danger without revealing too much of the past. Or had he confessed?
She had to be nearby. But where?
Jose tightened his grip on the steering wheel, fighting to keep control over his growing frustration. Tonight should have been his moment of triumph, yet now he found himself retreating into hiding. It pissed him off, and the slut would pay for forcing him to run back to Betty. When he found Kate Bradley again, he would enjoy hurting her.
That thought alone brought a smile.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kate stood on the beach, watching the couple from her dreams walk hand in hand into the water while the waves splashed up their legs, coaxing them deeper into the salted Pacific Ocean. The sun felt warm on her skin. The pain was gone, like it had been a bad dream…
But this was the dream, wasn’t it? The pain had been real… Yes, she reminded herself. This is the dream. She’d seen this beach before.
The jasmine perfume of the Romneya blossom woke her senses, teasing her to remain under the dream’s spell. She smiled, watching the couple dance. The man in black taught the woman with dark hair to waltz as the tide swirled around their calves.
They spun together to the music of the sea, slowing until finally their lips met in a soft tender kiss, and as they drew back, Kate could suddenly see through the woman’s eyes and hear through her ears. And what she saw jolted her from the dream back into the cold darkness of reality.
“Gregorio,” she whispered.
“Kate? Can you hear me?”
Her arms and legs felt weak and heavy. She shivered, her entire body screaming for warmth. The sharp pain she’d felt at the airport had been replaced by a throbbing, empty ache. Forcing her eyes open, Kate blinked, wincing at the light that filled her room.
“Where am I?”
“St. Mary’s Hospital.” The large nurse gave her an empathetic smile as she took Kate’s blood pressure. “You’ll be feeling better in no time, don’t you worry. I’m going to call the doctor and let him know you’re awake. I’ll be right back.”
Kate gave her a drowsy nod, looking up at the IV stand dripping clear fluid into her veins.
“Wait!” She turned her head to find the nurse standing in the doorway. “Is my baby all right?”
“The doctor will explain everything, okay? You just rest and he’ll be right in.”
Kate’s eyes filled with tears as the swishing sound of the nurse’s polyester pants legs rubbing together faded and finally died away when she turned the corner. Her hands moved down to cover her lower abdomen, over the womb she knew was empty.
She didn’t need the doctor to tell her. She remembered seeing the blood, so much blood. She couldn’t still be pregnant, not after that.
The nurse came back with another blanket for her, explaining that the doctor would be in soon. After jotting a few notes on her chart, she disappeared through the door again leaving Kate with the now familiar sound of swishing polyester pants.
She looked out the window, up at the moon, and sighed. Life used to be so simple. She saw no point in telling Tom about the pregnancy. What did she expect him to say?
And she couldn’t go back to Calisto after the way he treated her.
She was alone. As much as she hated that word, perhaps it was for the best.
Her eyes drifted closed again, weighed down by exhaustion, when a single thought pierced through the hazy fog of her mind.
Calisto. He was the man in black. It was his face she had seen through the woman’s eyes in her dream. She was sure of it. But his name was wrong. The woman had called him another name.
Kate struggled to remember, to pull the name from her tired, aching head. It didn’t matter anyway. It was just a dream. Calisto’s face probably showed up because she missed him.
Her breath hitched. She settled back against the sterile pillow, closing her exhausted eyes. The clinical smell of antibacterial cleanser and rubbing alcohol made her uneasy, not to mention the IV stand that resembled some sort of emaciated sentry standing at attention at the head of her bed. She just wanted to go home.
But where was home?
The sun sank below the horizon. Calisto’s chest rose, drawing in a slow breath, while the night restored life to his ageless body. His chest felt tight, and no amount of air seemed to loosen the constriction.
Kate wouldn’t be waiting for him tonight.
And Jose would pay dearly for the pain he caused.
Heaving a sigh, Calisto rose from his resting place and made his way into his small bedroom chamber below the main house. Her scent lingered everywhere, haunting him, daring him to go look for her.
Pulling his hair back from his face, he paced the room in frustration. He wasn’t going after her this time. He tried to keep Tala with him centuries before, and it had ended in her rape and murder. He would not let Kate suffer the same fate. Sending her away was the only way to keep her safe.
And she was pregnant.
Kate deserved to have a family and live the life she always dreamed for herself. She wasn’t Tala anymore. Kate loved teaching, and laughing, eating lunch with her girlfriends. He’d only met Lori and Edie once, but he knew from Kate’s stories they were dear to her, and they loved her. She had a wonderful life full of hope and sunshine.
She didn’t deserve the darkness that came with his love or his blood.
And that was exactly what his blood promised. Darkness.
Memories of the night long ago when he unknowingly made another immortal filled his head. A Russian fur trader named Lukas. Calisto could still remember the hatred in the young man’s eyes when he realized he hungered for living blood.
Calisto hadn’t meant to make Lukas a Night Walker. He’d tried to save his life, not damn him for eternity.
He knew very little about his own conversion. The Old One who turned him into a healer, a Night Walker, had done so after first drowning him in Peyote smoke. His mind had been so polluted with visions, he couldn’t be certain what was real versus merely illusion.
He remembered drinking from a clay goblet, but he never knew what liquid the cup held. It had burned his mouth and throat, while at the same time his body ached for more. He never imagined he swallowed blood from the Old One’s veins. His white-haired maker disappeared before he ever thought to ask.
Lukas’ transformation was accidental, but it didn’t matter. The young fur trader never forgave him. He went insane with bloodlust, and for a time Calisto had hunted him, planning to bind him to a tree to wait for the sunrise, but after the bloody slaughter of an entire family, the young man vanished.
As the years passed, Calisto assumed the other man had ended his own existence.
That night, Calisto learned his blood carried the curse of the Night Walker race. The Old One’s blood filled the goblet the night he changed. He knew that now.
Since that the fur trader’s disappearance, Calisto vowed he would never make another Night Walker.
The power that came with the Night Walker blood required control and heavy responsibilities too great to entrust to another. Calisto would never forgive himself if he unknowingly created a monster and unleashed it into the beautiful mortal world he cherished so deeply.
Therefore, Jose’s lust for immortal blood would go forever unsatisfied.
But forever would not be long for the monk. Calisto would see to that. And he would enjoy killing him, watching the sick, bitter life fade from his hateful eyes. It would not bring Kate back into his arms, but it might help to relieve some of his pain and frustration over losing her.
He clenched his fist and stood. Silence was his only companion now. It wr
apped its arms around him, suffocating him until he thought he might scream with rage. It wasn’t supposed to end this way. But fate denied them happiness again, just as she had before.
Quietly, he pulled Kate’s portrait from under the bed and removed the sheet. He hung it on the wall in its rightful place in his chamber. Her beauty took his breath away, even when it was only oils on a canvas.
Brushing his fingers along the bottom of the frame, his whisper seemed to echo in the thick silence of his room. “I will always love you, Kate.”
Grabbing his leather jacket, Calisto disappeared into the night in search of Jose Mentigo, and revenge.
Jose wrapped his arm loosely around Betty’s shoulder just the way she liked it. He’d kissed her ass all evening to get her to take him back after his sudden disappearance this morning, and it drove him insane.
Swallowing his pride left a dry, bitter taste in his mouth.
He glared at her, watching her giggle at the movie on the television. He wanted to knock the smile from her lips, and blacken her eyes, until she begged him for mercy. Until she learned to show him the proper respect, no, that wasn’t nearly enough. He wanted to beat her until she feared him. He fought to cage the fury smoldering inside of him.
Right now, he needed Betty at all times. She stood as his human shield against his inhuman foe.
“Baby, can you get me a Diet Coke from the fridge?” She tilted her head back to smile up at him.
Jose ground his teeth together, barely controlling the urge to yank her head back and rip her throat out. And he hated being called such an asinine pet name. Baby. Fuck.
He got up with a cold nod and went into her kitchen, grinning when he saw the butcher block full of knives. Wouldn’t she be surprised if he came back with one of those instead? He smirked at the thought and opened the refrigerator. He didn’t imagine she would call him “Baby” if he were holding a knife to her throat.
His fingers closed around the cold aluminum can when a chill shot down his spine. He felt like he was being watched. Clutching the soda tighter, Jose slowly turned around, half-expecting to find someone right behind him. But the kitchen was empty. He stepped closer to the sink, staring out through the window into the night.
Something watched him out there, he felt it.
Jose reached for the switch and turned out the light. The instant that darkness surrounded him, he took in his surroundings. The can of Diet Coke slipped from his paralyzed fingers. Right outside the window a raven, an enormous raven, hovered in the night sky, staring at him.
Adrenaline pumped through Jose’s bloodstream as he fumbled to flip the light switch back on. The thing outside was much too large for a raven. And something about its eyes, the way it glared at him through the glass, unsettled him. Jose snatched the Diet Coke from the sink where he’d dropped it and hurried back into the room with Betty.
“Thanks, baby,” she murmured, taking the soda without so much as looking at him.
Jose hardly noticed. He couldn’t look away from the sliding glass door, from the darkness beyond the glass. The moving shadow still hovered outside, watching him. He struggled to control the fear, telling himself it was probably some sort of large bat. But bats were rare animals in this beach community, and a bat with an eight-foot wingspan would be unheard of.
And yet, if he turned off the lights… A hissing noise and a sudden splash of cold liquid snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Jesus Christ! Damnit, Jose, did you shake this up?”
Between Betty’s sudden outburst and the cold spray of the Diet Coke dousing them both when she cracked open the can, Jose leapt up from the sofa, barely stifling a gasp.
“I might have dropped it once,” he shot back.
“Shit… I’m going to have to soak this blouse or it’ll be ruined.” She gave him an openly irritated sigh and disappeared down the hallway.
He watched her walk away with a hateful stare, but when his gaze shot back to the sliding glass door, his pulse raced so fast he felt light-headed.
Let me in, Jose. The Night Walker whispered into his mind.
The chant. Jose fumbled, trying to get his silent mantra going as he fought the power of the Night Walker’s hypnotic suggestion.
Jose shook his head slowly, reaching inside of his shirt to withdraw his gold crucifix pendant. He watched in horror as the raven landed on the balcony. The air around the bird churned, rippling with electricity while the bird mutated back into a man.
Calisto smirked at Jose and reached for the sliding glass door. Jose lunged to lock the door, but the Night Walker was too fast. The door opened and Jose jumped back, holding up his cross like a talisman.
“Did you really believe I needed an invitation to come in?” Calisto asked with a bitter, cold stare. “I can go wherever I please, and you can put your crucifix away. Nothing can protect you now.”
Jose hoped he sounded more confident than he felt. “You are wrong. Betty would never forgive you for harming me. She would expose you for the blood-drinking monster that you are. You would not risk that. You enjoy your life in this world far too much to jeopardize it.”
“Perhaps. But what if I showed her all of the little messages and photos you have been leaving behind for me to find over the past few weeks? Would she still care for you then, Jose?”
“I would deny it. You have no proof they’re from me, and she would take my word over yours.”
“Can you be certain of that? She has known me far longer than you. And I can convince her of anything I wish, if I choose to do so.”
“You have not used mind control on her before. You won’t use it now.” Jose glanced down the hall hoping he might see Betty return.
Calisto shook his head with a cold smirk as he circled around Jose, walking with his hands clasped behind his back. “Are you really so arrogant? You know nothing of what I can and cannot do.”
“I know more than most,” Jose said, wrestling to bury his fear and bolster his confidence. His eyes followed the predator that circled him.
“Then you must know that I am going to kill you.”
“I know you would like to, but I also know you still cling to some sort of human decency, and that is your weakness. You won’t kill me here under Betty’s roof, and I won’t leave it, so the way I see it, I am perfectly safe.”
Calisto rushed him, knocking the air from Jose’s lungs as they both fell to the floor.
“Jose?” Betty called. “What’s going on out there?”
Calisto’s eyes glowed a dark crimson and without conscious effort, Jose found himself calling back, “Everything is fine, I’m just cleaning up.”
He stared up at Calisto’s smug smile, his heart pounding in his ears as the realization of what had just happened stabbed fear into his heart. He hadn’t answered Betty’s call of his own free will. The Night Walker’s mental suggestion made him speak. And he’d been powerless to stop him.
“You have no idea of my power, Jose Mentigo. And I will kill you.” Calisto stood, leaving Jose sprawled on the floor below him.
He bent down to yank Jose to his feet, but Betty’s footsteps echoed on the hardwood floor of her hallway. “Thanks for cleaning up, baby.”
Jose scrambled to his feet, looking around the now-empty room. The Night Walker was gone. Vanished.
Calisto flew through the night sky, once again in the form of a large raven.
He wanted to kill Jose with every breath, but he wouldn’t harm Betty in the process. With Kate safely hidden, he could take his time and savor the battle. Jose couldn’t be with Betty all the time. Calisto would be patient, and he would enjoy his revenge when the time finally came.
But in the end, he would still be alone.
Calisto fed voraciously, gorging himself with the blood of three gang members, but no amount of blood could fill the emptiness inside of him. His body ached, not for blood or revenge, but for Kate.
But she was something he couldn’t allow himself to have.
Landing s
ilently on the deserted beach, Calisto stormed into his bedchamber. He tried not to think about Kate, to wonder if she’d told Tom that she carried his child. Would she reconsider his proposal of marriage?
The cheating bastard didn’t deserve her.
He sat at the piano, his body tight with emotion, and played Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor. His fingers pounded the ivory keys of Kate’s piano, transforming the emptiness and pain in his soul into an audible yearning; a passionate fever of melancholy that cried out to whatever god might be listening.
A single red tear of blood made its way down his cheek and fell onto the keyboard. The splash of color on the white keys jarred him from the spell of pain that hypnotized him. Calisto withdrew his fingers from the keys, staring at the red stain.
Slowly, he rose from the piano and went to the mirror. He raised his hand to the single trail of blood that ran from the corner of his eye down the length of his cheek. After all of the years since he wept over Tala’s grave, it still shocked him to see blood where tears should be, a visual reminder that he was no longer a man, but a monster.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“You sure you’re okay, lady?” The cab driver helped Kate from the backseat. The noise of other cars dropping off passengers at the Reno airport made it hard to hear the man. “You’re awful pale.”
“I’m fine.” Kate reached for the black leather bag she never unpacked during her brief visit to Reno.
“At least let me get a skycap.” The cabbie took off in search of help before she could stop him.
She must look like hell for a cab driver to go out of his way to help her.
She felt like hell. She ached all over and probably had no business getting on a plane to go back to San Diego, but where else could she go? The hospital discharged her, and there was nothing left for her in Reno anymore. Besides, she was finished running, even when she only left because it was expected.
