Dark of the Moon

by Amanda Ashley

  “Thanks, I think I will.”

  “Hang on a minute. Sara, I think it’s okay for you to go back to work, as long as Overstreet is there with you.” Picking up the bag he’d dropped on the floor, he handed it to the writer. “This stuff’s for you.”

  “And I didn’t buy you anything,” Carl muttered, peering into the sack. “Damn, are we going to war?”

  “Maybe.”

  “What’s in there?” Sara asked.

  “A pistol loaded with silver bullets,” Travis said with a shrug. “A couple of wooden stakes. Three large spray bottles filled with holy water. And a silver-bladed dagger.”

  Her eyes widened. “Wow. Where did you find all that stuff?”

  “It used to be mine. I had it in the trunk of my car.”

  Sara bit down on her lower lip. She couldn’t begin to imagine how he felt, what he thought, about the-one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn his life had taken.

  “Thanks for the weapons,” Overstreet said as he tucked one of the stakes into the waistband of his trousers and slipped the pistol into his coat pocket. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sara.”

  “Goodnight.” Sara put the popcorn bowl on the coffee table when Travis came to sit beside her.

  Sliding his arm around her shoulders, he said, “I miss you when we’re apart.”

  She smiled up at him. “I miss you, too. I think about you all the time.”

  “Oh?”

  She shrugged. “I keep thinking how hard it must have been for you to go from hunter to hunted,” she remarked. And then frowned. “Has anyone hunted you?”

  “Not yet. I’ve been keeping a low profile. It’s one of the reasons I changed my name. Too many people knew what I was before. The last thing I want is for some old friend to track me down and try to drive a stake in my heart when he realizes what I’ve become.”

  She nodded. “Did you see Ronan tonight?”

  “Yeah. We walked through the town. He thinks there are definitely people being held here against their will, but he can’t locate them, which surprised me. He thinks they’re being kept somewhere underground and I think he’s probably right. It’s the only explanation, unless they’re being held somewhere on the outskirts of town.”

  “It’s all just so bizarre,” Sara murmured, massaging her temples. “I keep thinking it’s a nightmare and I’ll wake up. But then I think about you and I’m glad it’s not a dream.”

  “Sara.” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her lightly. “Do you know how amazing you are?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Any other woman would be scared out of her wits to know she had a vampire in her house. She’d be running for the hills. And yet here you sit, with my arm around you, as if we’re just an ordinary couple. Like I said. Amazing.”

  Sara laughed. And then she sobered. “Not really. What I am is scared half to death. Oh, not of you,” she said quickly. “But that Ronan character scares me right down to my socks.”

  “He scares me, too. But he taught me how to do some remarkable things tonight.”

  “Oh? Like what?”

  “For one thing, he turned into a wolf in the blink of an eye.”

  “He did? Now that is amazing!” She looked at him quizzically. “Can you do it, too?”

  “I haven’t tried yet. But he told me that all I have to do to use my supernatural abilities is to believe that I can.”

  “The power of positive thinking?” she asked with a grin.

  “Something like that.”

  She snuggled against him, thinking of everything he’d said. Why wasn’t she more afraid? She was in a town filled with vampires. There was one sitting beside her on the sofa. And yet she felt curiously untroubled by it all.

  She was still trying to figure it out when she fell asleep.

  Late that night, Jason called the vampire council together. They all looked at him askance, since meetings so close together were rare.

  “I’ll keep this short and to the point,” he said. “In case it’s escaped your notice, there’s a master vampire in town. And it’s not Jarick.”

  Chapter 18

  Sara opened the shop the next day. Overstreet sat in the back corner of her office. Armed with holy water, a stout wooden stake and the pistol Travis had given him, he passed the time by writing in his notebook, or just staring out the front window.

  The supplies Sara had ordered arrived late that afternoon and she spent a couple of hours restocking the shelves and going over the books.

  To her surprise, she had a dozen customers between the time she opened and seven o’clock when she and Overstreet walked down to the café. She remarked on it to Overstreet over dinner.

  “You’re not complaining about having a lot of business, are you?” he asked with a wry grin.

  “Of course not. It just seems odd, that’s all. I don’t think I’ve had that many customers in an entire day, let alone in four hours.” She nibbled on a piece of fried chicken. “Do you think they’re spying on us?”

  “More likely on me. I’ve no doubt they all know why I’m here.”

  “That could be dangerous for you!” Sara exclaimed.

  Carl shrugged. “I’m probably safe enough as long as the sun’s up. After dark, I’m depending on Travis and Ronan to keep the bad guys at bay.” He took a few bites of his steak, his brow furrowed. “Although I’m not sure I can count on Ronan.”

  “He’s scary as all get out,” Sara said. “I wouldn’t put it past him to kill all of us.”

  “Yeah. Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  They ate in silence for several moments, then Sara asked, “How’s your story coming along?”

  “It isn’t.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, until something actually happens, there’s nothing to tell. I need concrete proof that there’s a nest of vampires selling humans to other vampires. All I have now are Joey Cannon’s story and my own suspicions and that doesn’t cut it.”

  “Travis and Ronan seem convinced.”

  “I can’t sell a story on speculation, no matter now certain they seem.”

  Sara pushed her plate away, then picked at the chocolate cake she’d ordered for dessert, while Overstreet wolfed down a large slice of apple pie.

  It was dark out when they started back to the store. Sara didn’t see anyone on the street, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. Grabbing Overstreet’s arm, she said, “Let’s go home.”

  When he didn’t ask questions, she guessed he had also felt those unseen eyes tracking their every move.

  Travis, Ronan, and Shannah were waiting for them on the front porch when they reached Sara’s house.

  “We went by the store and you weren’t there,” Travis said, his voice tinged with anxiety. “Did something happen?”

  Sara glanced at Overstreet. Now that they were safely home, her fears seemed foolish.

  Travis’s gaze searched hers. “Sara?”

  “I …” She shrugged one shoulder. “I just had the feeling we were being watched and it freaked me out.” She unlocked the door and stepped inside.

  Travis followed her.

  Ronan and Shannah remained on the porch.

  Travis tugged on Sara’s hand. “You need to invite them in.”

  Sara stared at him, eyes wide. Inviting the master vampire into her house was the last thing she wanted.

  “We can’t talk out here,” Travis said. “You can rescind the invitation when they leave if it will make you feel better.”

  Sara glanced over her shoulder. Ronan looked like the angel of death itself. Shannah was lovely, with long black hair and expressive blue eyes. She looked very young, probably in her early 20s. With a sigh of resignation, she said, “Ronan, Shannah, please come in.”

  Sara stepped back. She felt a strange vibration in the air as the two vampires stepped across the threshold.

  Leading the way into the living room, she invited her guests to sit
down.

  Shannah sat on the chair by the sofa. Ronan stood behind her, his hands resting lightly on her shoulders.

  Overstreet dropped heavily into the other chair. Sara and Travis sat side-by-side on the couch.

  “You were right to come home,” Ronan said.

  “So we were being watched.” Overstreet said. It wasn’t a question.

  “Yes. There were a number of vampires lurking in the shadows.” Ronan looked pointedly at Sara. “We’re very good at that,” he added, a note of menace in his tone.

  Shannah covered one of his hands with hers. “Ronan, stop it. She’s already afraid of you. Don’t make it any worse.” Looking at Sara, she said, “You’ll have to forgive my husband. His social skills are non-existent.”

  “I can see that.” Sara smiled at Shannah, thinking that, in other circumstances, they might have been friends.

  “We aren’t here to discuss my social skills or lack of them,” Ronan growled. “Travis and I are going out to have a look around. If it’s all right with you, Miss Winters, Shannah will stay here.”

  Sara nodded.

  “All right then.” Leaning forward, he kissed his wife’s cheek, then headed for the door.

  Squeezing Sara hand, Travis said, “We won’t be gone long.”

  Overstreet glanced at Travis. “Do you want me to come along?”

  “Do you want to?”

  Overstreet shook his head. “Not really.”

  Throwing the journalist a grin, Travis followed his sire into the night.

  “So, what’s your plan?” Travis asked as they lingered in the shadows outside Jason Bowman’s house. A single light burned in an upstairs bedroom, but all was quiet.

  “I haven’t decided whether to just destroy the nest or see if I can talk some sense into their leader.”

  “You’d kill them? All of them?”

  “There are unwritten rules for vampires. The first is tell no one. The second is that you don’t leave bodies drained of blood where they can be found. It always alarms mortals, who start seeing vampires everywhere. Sure, there are hunters who know of our existence,” he went on. “And a few people who believe. But if humans start disappearing in large numbers, or bodies drained of blood start turning up, then it becomes a problem for all of us.”

  Travis nodded. Ronan wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know.

  “What this coven is doing isn’t a secret anymore,” Ronan continued. “Not since Joey Cannon escaped. No telling how many people have heard his story by now. Most will ignore it as some drunken fantasy, but a few will pay attention. And then there’s Overstreet. He knows vampires exist. He’ll either write Cannon’s story, or he’ll do a full-blown series on this town, the way he did about vampires in general last year.”

  “Are you going to kill him, too?”

  “I’m not sure. It might be too late for that.”

  “You really are a cold-hearted son-of-a—” His head snapped back when Ronan slapped him hard, twice.

  “Call me whatever you want, but don’t bad-mouth my mother.”

  Stunned by the blow he hadn’t seen coming, Travis licked the blood from his lip, then muttered, “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t do it again.”

  “Don’t worry, I … the door’s opening. What do we do now?”

  “We’re going to grab whoever comes out and see what they have to say.”

  Sara tapped her fingers on the arm of the couch as she searched for something to say, but nothing came to mind. She glanced at Overstreet. His eyes were closed. Whether he was asleep or just pretending, she had no idea. Either way, no help was coming from that direction. Feeling ill at ease, Sara smiled at Shannah.

  “You don’t have to be afraid of me,” the vampire said. “Or worry about entertaining me. I’m just here to keep you safe.”

  Sara worried her lower lip between her teeth, then blurted, “Have you been a vampire a long time?”

  “No, it’s a rather recent event.”

  “Was it something you wanted?”

  “I thought I did. I went looking for a vampire and I found Ronan.”

  “Why on earth were you looking for a vampire?” Sara shook her head, unable to believe anyone would purposely do such a thing.

  “I was dying and desperate. I sought him out hoping he’d change me. Instead, he gave me some of his blood and it strengthened me and prolonged my life for awhile. I lived with him in his house for quite some time. I even pretended to be him at book signings and interviews. But then, when I was on the verge of death, he turned me against my will. I know it’s hard to believe, since that’s why I went to him in the first place. But after spending time with him, I knew that as much as I loved him, I didn’t want that kind of life.” She blew out a sigh. “For a while, I hated him for it.”

  “And now?”

  “When I realized what he’d done, I told him I would him never forgive him. Do you know what he said?” Shannah laughed softly at the memory. “He said, ‘Then may it be a long and healthy hatred’.” I felt so lost and confused, I ran away but I couldn’t hide from him. I couldn’t shut his thoughts out of my mind. He begged me to come home. At first, I refused, but he was so patient with me, so kind and understanding. Willing to let me make the choice. In the end, I couldn’t deny the love between us.”

  “So you forgave him?”

  A faint smile curved her lips. “Love is stronger than hate. He turned me because he felt he couldn’t live without me. And now I know I wouldn’t want to live without him. So, you see, everything worked out for the best.”

  “Everything? It doesn’t bother you that you can’t eat or have children, or go out in the sunlight, or do any of the other mundane things ordinary people take for granted?”

  “Of course there are things I miss. But Ronan means more to me than anything else in the world.”

  Sara nodded pensively. She was falling in love with Travis, a little more every day. But would she ever love him enough to sacrifice everything to stay with him?

  It was a troubling question. One for which she had no answer.

  “You distract him,” Ronan said as Bowman strolled down the street, “and I’ll take him down.”

  Distract him? Travis thought. How the hell do I do that? Stepping out of the shadows, he called, “Hey, Bowman! Are you looking for me?”

  Jason stopped on the sidewalk. “As a matter of fact …” The breath whooshed out of his body as Ronan tackled him from behind. They both hit the cement, with Ronan on top, the fingers of one hand biting deep into the other vampire’s neck.

  “If you try to get away, your wife and children will pay the price,” Ronan warned.

  Jason froze as all the fight went out of him. “What do you want?”

  “Answers,” Ronan said. “I’m sure you already know the questions.”

  “I can’t tell you anything.”

  Ronan dug his fingers a little deeper into the man’s neck, drawing blood. “No?”

  “He’ll destroy me.”

  “I’ll kill your family.”

  Without knowing how he did it, Travis connected with Ronan’s mind. You wouldn’t? Damn you, tell me you wouldn’t kill an innocent woman and her kids.

  Ronan glanced over his shoulder to meet Travis’ gaze. Keep your thoughts to yourself!

  “What do you want from me?” Jason asked, his voice hard and flat.

  “How many people have you got locked up in this place?”

  “Go to hell.”

  “Travis, go get his wife.”

  “She doesn’t know anything!” Jason said, his voice raw with worry.

  “But you do.”

  Travis took a step closer to his sire. “Ronan, we’ve got trouble.”

  “You think I don’t know they’re there?”

  Travis watched as a handful of vampires emerged from the darkness to stand in a loose circle around them. Their eyes gleamed a hideous red in the moonlight.

  Ronan looked at each one in tur
n before he said, “Go home unless you want to watch me rip out his heart.”

  “You can’t fight us all,” said the only female in the bunch.

  “You think not?” Ronan didn’t move, but a wave of preternatural power rolled through the air like an invisible scythe.

  Travis moved closer to his sire as, one by one, the vampires surrounding them were driven to their knees. And held there.

  “I want to know what’s going on in this town,” Ronan said. “And I want to know now.”

  “I’m in charge here,” Jason said, grimacing with pain. “But I answer to someone else.”

  “His name. I want it.”

  “Jarick.”

  “He’s still alive?” Ronan grunted. “I’m surprised no one’s destroyed him yet.”

  “I don’t think anyone can,” Jason muttered. “Can I get up now?”

  “Are you keeping any people here, now, against their will?”

  “A few.”

  “What are you supposed to do with them?”

  “A truck will be by in a few hours to pick them up.”

  “Where are they?”

  “In the cellar beneath the police department.”

  “As of right now, you’re out of business,” Ronan said. “What you’re doing is dangerous. Sooner or later, a hunter will get word of this and Susandale will be covered in blood. Vampire blood. You understand me?”

  “What do I tell Jarick?”

  “Tell him to come and find me if he’s got a problem,” Ronan said, “and I’ll explain it to him.” Releasing his hold on the other vampire, he stood.

  Jason scrambled to his feet, one hand at his throat. “Can we go now?”

  With a nod, Ronan released the other vampires from his thrall.

  They eyed him warily as they stood and gathered around Bowman.

  Travis wondered how long it would take for Jarick to get word of what had happened here and come to town.

  And what would happen when the two master vampires confronted each other.

  “Nothing good,” he muttered, as he followed Ronan down the dark street to the police department. “That’s for damn sure.”

  Chapter 19

  There were no lights showing inside the police department and no one on duty. Travis didn’t recall ever seeing anyone patrolling the town. They found a narrow set of stairs in the back of a broom closet. The door, made of heavy steel, was locked but it was no match for Ronan, who simply kicked it in.