Caleb

by McCarty, Sarah

  Vincent waved them ahead, the gesture reestablishing the sense of familiarity. Still she was glad for Caleb’s nearness. When she touched his hand, his fingers curled around hers, warm and strong. Allie held on tightly. There was an undercurrent to the place she didn’t trust.

  Caleb’s energy stroked along her in a definite “I told you so.”

  “Was there a particular reason you decided to accept our invitation?” Vincent asked as they reached the gate.

  At least she wasn’t going to have to hunt for an opening to the subject she wanted to broach. “Yes. I have some questions about conversion.”

  Caleb released her hand as she stepped through.

  “For yourself or someone you want to bless?”

  She blinked. For someone she wanted to bless? “That’s an interesting way to look at it.”

  “We here at Sanctuary feel vampirism is a richer way of life. One where the few select recipients are elevated to a higher plane through their gifts.” He waved them through an archway ahead. “Not everyone can be converted, you know.”

  “No, I didn’t know that.”

  “It’s true. More die than live through it.”

  The same as with the werewolves. She glanced back over her shoulder. Caleb was a few steps behind, the gold swirls in his eyes still vivid. The shrug of his shoulders let her know this was news to him, too. “I guess I should consider myself fortunate.”

  “Oh, very. Especially if you were converted without advance knowledge.”

  She stopped dead two steps past the archway. All around her flowers and lights came together with rock arches and angles to create a glistening, beautiful wonderland that maximized the silver, gray, and white of her night vision. For the first time ever, she enjoyed that aspect of her vampirism. “This is stunning.”

  “Thank you. One of the things we found our members needed was that sense of harmony with nature that was lost when they lost sunlight. Harmony with nature is one of the prime foundations of our beliefs.”

  Beliefs? She glanced away from a shimmering, almost iridescent fern. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled. Most people didn’t just drop a word like that into the conversation. Not without reason. “I can see where harmony would be important.”

  Vincent directed her down the path to the left where moonlight appeared whiter, amplified. It had to be a trick. She squinted into the darkness beyond. A hand touched her shoulder. She jumped and turned her head. Caleb stood just behind her. She usually felt his energy before she saw him, so how had he snuck up on her? “You startled me.”

  “Sorry.” He studied everything around them, paying particular attention to the dark hole. It suddenly occurred to her that maybe he’d agreed to come for reasons that had nothing to do with her. She slowed her steps, letting Vincent get ahead and allowing Caleb to catch up. He rested his palm on her shoulder, his thumb on her nape. She leaned into his hand and spoke to him mentally, shielding as best she could. This place is weird.

  I told you they were a few straws short of a bale.

  Actually, I think you harped more on their arrogance.

  They have that, too. Stay close.

  I’ll try.

  His fingers tightened. Succeed.

  Ahead, Vincent stopped and turned back, smiling as if just realizing she wasn’t following. Something flickered in his eyes as he saw her with Caleb. Something her gut didn’t like, but then it was gone and she was left wondering if it was just an illusion of the weird lighting.

  “Is there a problem?”

  “None whatsoever.” Allie smiled, wondering if she’d seen what she’d thought she had, or if Caleb’s suspicions were influencing her perceptions. She still hadn’t quite managed this mind hook-up thing, and Caleb’s emotions tended to bleed over.

  “Caleb and I were discussing the complexity of this environment.” It wasn’t completely a lie. “How do you get the moonlight so bright in here?”

  Vincent bent down, his hand very gentle on an eerily beautiful fern. He moved it aside. Behind it she could see a mirror. “We borrowed a bit of magic from the ancient Egyptians.”

  Bet he uses smoke and mirrors elsewhere, too.

  Caleb’s mental comment was almost indistinguishable from the hum of insects and the brush of night air across her cheek. Fatigue and her growing hunger must be affecting her perception. Or else the shields she had up against Vincent were bleeding over to Caleb. She rubbed her forehead. She wished she was better at mental speak.

  Vincent straightened, the sigh of his silk clothing louder than any other sound. “Are you not feeling well?”

  The soft squeeze of Caleb’s hand warned her to silence.

  “My wife is hungry.”

  She reached back and caught his wrist in her hand. The plan was for her to assess whether she wanted to proceed, and he’d follow her lead. “I’m fine.”

  “I’m sure we can find her something that will suit her taste.”

  That was an interesting way to phrase things. Maybe he didn’t know she was converted. “Um, I am a vampire.”

  Vincent’s expression didn’t change. “And a very charming one, too. Whom we would be more than happy to provide for.”

  He rang a bell that was attached to a partition. Immediately, a man dressed in the same robes as Vincent came forward. “Our guests are hungry. Please arrange a meal for them.”

  He can’t mean what I think he means.

  The mental thought she sent to Caleb dead-ended at that annoying, buzzing sound she’d previously thought to be insects. She shook her head. She took a step closer to his side, taking comfort from the familiar touch. “That won’t be necessary, but if you could spare us a few minutes of your time to answer some questions, that would be great.”

  Vincent shook his head before she finished. “I wouldn’t hear of it. No one leaves Sanctuary hungry for any kind of sustenance.”

  If he brings me blood in a cup, I’m puking.

  Again, no sign that her message got through to Caleb. The hollow sense of disconnection grew. She waved away Vincent’s offer. “Really, I’ll be fine.”

  “There’s no need for sacrifice.” He motioned to the path that diverged from the one they’d taken. “Our devoted are more than willing to serve.”

  Three men and three women, wearing flowing white robes that glowed with the same silver as the ferns, approached, hands folded in front of them, their heads down, perfect supplicants.

  “Uh.” She took a step back. She didn’t know how to finish the thought. Caleb had no such problems.

  “My wife feeds only from me.”

  For once she didn’t correct him, glad for his support. She studied the humans. They definitely weren’t right. “Are they drugged?”

  Vincent looked shocked. “Of course not.” And then, as if it explained everything, “They’re hopefuls.”

  She blinked. “For what? Sanity?”

  Vincent’s smile became even gentler, more benevolent. Weirder. “There are many humans who would like to enrich their lives with the blessing of vampirism. We provide them with an opportunity for hope.”

  “So you’re really just providing a service.” And keeping a herd of whacked-out humans convenient and at the ready.

  “Yes.”

  “That’s real sweet of you, but I’m truly not that hungry.”

  She’d never be that hungry. She pressed back against Caleb so hard that she felt the bones of his ribs, even through both coats. What she didn’t feel was their mental connection. In its place was that faint, annoying buzz.

  Do you hear it?

  No response. She took a breath, and then another and another, reaching for patience and calm with everything she had while her gut jangled like an old-fashioned alarm. The great vampire empire seemed to be little more than a cult with all the appropriate accoutrements, including brain-dead, self-sacrificing wannabes.

  Hunger twisted harder as one of the men stepped forward, his face classically handsome, his aura dementedly peaceful, as
if he truly believed serving himself up as an hors d’oeuvre was the road to salvation. “Mistress, it would be my pleasure to see to your needs tonight.”

  “No thanks.”

  Another stepped forward, the arch of his brow and the set of his mouth making clear that he was more interested in what came after the feeding than serving. “It is our pleasure to serve you in any way you require.”

  Before she could shake her head, a woman stepped forward, her long blonde hair floating about her like an inviting cloud, every move, every nuance laced with seductive invitation. “If the master would agree, I would be happy to submit to his pleasures.”

  Okay, there was gall, and then there was gall that demanded retribution. Allie ducked under Caleb’s arm, the hair on her arms standing on end with the fury that grabbed her at the woman’s blatant offering. She made it as far as his side before he pulled her up short. Her fangs itched with the need to rip into the woman. Not to feed, but to kill.

  Caleb squeezed her arm in warning. He inclined his head toward the woman, his eyes glowing beneath the brim of his hat. With desire or suspicion. She couldn’t tell, and that just drove her jealous fury higher.

  “Not tonight, ma’am.”

  Allie clenched her fists. Not ever.

  “I have been told that my services please.” The woman’s too-long lashes lifted slowly, suggestively.

  Great. Blood and sex on order. Everything the discriminating vamp could ask for in a club, assuming they wanted membership. Which she didn’t. But what she found distasteful, Caleb might like. Which meant he might just be interested in the little bimbette who probably invested more in artificial eyelashes than she spent on clothes, and had forgotten more about making a man’s head spin than she had ever learned.

  Caleb shifted his grip on her arm.

  Allie raised her chin, even as her spirit sank. She had no claim on him. He was within his rights to accept whatever invitation he wanted.

  “Allie.”

  She didn’t look at him. He’d laugh at her. As if he sensed the emotion tearing at her, he turned her to him and pressed her cheek to his chest. Beneath her ear there was the steady beat of his heart. A little faster than normal, but steady, and in combination with the soothing rub of his fingers up and down the side of her arm, comforting.

  “I’ve got the woman I want, thank you.”

  There was no doubt he meant it. Oh God, she was going to cry again. She wrapped her arms around his torso and pressed close, her relief way too great for the situation, but she needed the connection with him, especially in light of the absence of the mental link she’d come to rely on as part of their bond. On the next pass of his fingers, he overshot her shoulder, the backs grazing her cheek, catching the heat and reflecting it back.

  She accepted it, letting it sink past her fear and insecurity to the bottom of her soul, cherishing the warmth, needing it inside this beautiful place that chilled her so. His fingers lingered, giving her more. He bent his head, the brim of his hat providing a modicum of privacy. His lips on her ear were as light as his touch. His knuckle pressed into the corner of her mouth. “When we get home, you can make that moment of doubt up to me.”

  The blush started in her toes and worked up and out. So did the excitement. “What makes you think I want to?” she whispered.

  “What makes you think you don’t?”

  He had her there.

  “For better or worse, baby.”

  “Saying it doesn’t make it real.”

  He pushed her hair back. “Feeling it does.”

  “But whose feeling it, you or your vampire?”

  She waited with breath suspended, but he didn’t have an answer. “That’s what I thought.”

  She stepped back, his frustration hitting her as hard as her own. Either the man wanted her with everything he had, or she wasn’t hanging around.

  The hopefuls shifted. She waved them away. “We’re not interested.”

  “If you don’t wish to partake at this time, might I suggest we go in where it’s warm, and talk?” Vincent asked in his smooth, well-modulated tones.

  Allie nodded. “Thank you.”

  “If you’ll follow me?” Vincent turned. Like the Red Sea, the hopefuls parted, taking positions on either side of the path. Walking between them was an eerie experience. She could feel their hunger, not like hers for sustenance, but for something deeper. Acceptance.

  At the end of the path, Caleb drew her up short, and frowned at the doorway in front of them. Try as she might, she couldn’t see anything wrong with it beyond more ornamentation than good taste would accept. He shook his head. She strained, sensing he was speaking to her telepathically, but nothing came through. No matter how hard she tried, all she got was that annoying buzz and another twist of hunger. She tugged his hand, just wanting this over, so they could go home. “C’mon.”

  He shook his head. “Wait.”

  She didn’t argue, just planted her feet, trusting his instincts above her own this time. Beyond the archway, Vincent waited. Nothing in his demeanor indicated impatience, which just made her more suspicious that Caleb had the right of it.

  Something was definitely wrong here. No one was that serene. Especially around her. She would have stayed there forever, but with a force that bruised, something collided with her ribs, jettisoning her out of Caleb’s arms into the room. Instantly, the archway flashed with light, then shimmered and hazed. She ran for it, hitting it hard. An electric shock went through her, ripping apart her nerve endings. She flopped on the floor like a landed fish, muscles spasming and contracting in the aftermath. A roar stuttered through the internal scream reverberating across her synapses. It took extraordinary concentration to turn her head. “Caleb!”

  She meant it to be a shout. It came out a whisper. He hit the charged wall before she could warn him back. Sparks showered the spot where he struck, trailing behind him as the charge pounded him back. He flew ten feet before hitting the ground. His big, powerful body bounced awkwardly, coming to rest with his back arched over the pack. Unlike her, he didn’t get up. Vincent caught her before she could charge the barrier again.

  “Don’t.”

  She yanked her arm, not taking her eyes from Caleb. Move. Oh God, move. “Let go of me.”

  “The shock will kill you.”

  Pain shot up her arm as his talons dug into her flesh through the coats. A sharp reminder of what he was. The doorway hazed, obscuring Caleb’s image one particle at a time.

  She could feel Vincent’s stare, an outward extension of his will. She refused to look at him.

  Caleb! Every particle of her being raged against the possibility that he could be dead. She wouldn’t accept it. A two-faced scumbag like Vincent couldn’t take out someone like Caleb. He might try, but Caleb was too contrary to cock up his toes so conveniently. Gathering the scattered bits of her energy, she focused her mental call to a scream.

  “You need to forget about him.” The statement struck her mind a second before it hit her ears. She shook her head to clear the disorientation. “No.”

  The archway blurred more. She strained to see through it. Was that a twitch of Caleb’s fingers?

  Vincent tugged her arm, dragging her away from the entryway. “He’s no longer a part of your life.”

  He would always be a part of her. Shadows moved on the other side of the entryway, barely visible through the hazed edges creeping toward him. The hair on her arms and neck stood on end. Wake up! Caleb had to wake up. She turned on Vincent, biting and clawing with the need to get to Caleb. He defeated her efforts with only minimal exertion. His longer reach and greater strength subdued her wild attack. Smooth fingers grabbed her chin and forced her face around. His long robes wrapped around her legs as he stepped forward, pressing his body against hers. Peace and contentment flowed off him in a demented wave as he leaned in.

  “I sensed your potential the minute I met you. You have a unique energy, my dear. Feminine yet filled with untapped strength. I think
with time and training, you’ll be quite useful to the Sanctuary.” He smiled that unholy, peaceful smile. “Though you defeated my initial attempts to secure you, you were quite obliging this time.”

  “Fuck you.”

  He closed the two inches between them and kissed her cheek. “The goal, my dear, is for you to be fucked.”

  17

  THERE was a reason girls didn’t kiss on the first date, and that was it. Allie scrubbed at her cheek. Vincent’s kiss had the same ick factor as a big hairy spider crawling across her skin. And just like when a spider crept across her skin, no matter how much she rubbed, she couldn’t get rid of the disgusting feeling.

  “You’ll soon see things my way.” Vincent didn’t stop her rubbing and didn’t get angry, just watched her with that unnervingly calm gaze. The buzzing in her head increased.

  Vincent took a step back and relaxed his arm, until her feet touched the ground. His voice was all the more scary for the lack of emotion behind it. A glance through the archway showed a blurry image of Caleb still down and still surrounded. That really wasn’t good.

  “Resisting will only make things more difficult for you.”

  She cut him a glare. “I’m funny that way.”

  “You like pain?” He would have to smile on that question.

  “No, but I have real trouble with the whole concept of forced cooperation.”

  It wasn’t like she was letting out state secrets. Everyone learned that about her sooner rather than later.

  “You’ll soon adjust.”

  She backed up a step. “So everyone’s always telling me.”

  “I’m very good at ensuring cooperation.”

  It was a threat. “Great.”

  Followed by the promise, “And I will have yours.”

  He braced his arm on the wall to the right of her head, blocking her view of the doorway. She bent her knees, sliding down. “I’m sure you’ll give it your best shot.”