Night's Kiss

by Amanda Ashley

  Darting forward, Myra pulled Brenna out of his arms.

  Freed of his burden, Roshan was about to wheel around and see who was behind him when another chain circled his middle, pinning his arms to his sides. With a low growl of rage, he swung around and came face-to-face with Anthony Loken.

  The warlock bared his teeth in a feral smile as he tossed a small bucket of holy water in Roshan's face. The drops penetrated Roshan's clothing, sizzled over his skin, raising huge red blisters everywhere they touched. A few drops splashed into his eyes, blinding him.

  "Got him!" Loken crowed, and with the help of one of the girls, he wrapped several more lengths of thick silver chain around Roshan's body and legs.

  Unable to see, no longer able to stand, Roshan dropped heavily to the floor with Brenna's name on his lips.

  * * *

  CHAPTER 23

  Anthony Loken looked at Myra, his smile victorious. "Got him!"

  "And her," Myra said, a faint note of regret in her voice. "I hope you don't have to kill her, Tony. I've grown rather fond of her."

  "How did you know she was a witch?" he asked. "I've been with her several times and never guessed." He had never suspected DeLongpre of being a genuine vampire, either, but he saw no need to let Myra know. It galled him that her magick was stronger than his, though his expertise in the Dark Arts was growing rapidly. The fact that she was the leader of their coven was equally irksome. But once he had achieved his goal, all that would change. He would have powers far beyond hers.

  "They both veil what they are very well," Myra remarked, glancing down at the vampire, "but then, I'm older and stronger in the craft than you are. Be careful with the vampire," she warned sharply. "Don't turn your back on him. I'm not sure what he's capable of."

  "Don't worry."

  "Do you really think you can create this magic elixir that will allow us to live forever?"

  "I'm sure of it. Carry the girl out to my car, will you? Serafina, go and open the trunk."

  Myra paused in the doorway, looking up and down the street before she carried Brenna out to Loken's car and deposited her on the front seat.

  Serafina opened the trunk and Anthony dropped Roshan, none too gently, inside. He stared down at the vampire a moment, noting the ugly red blisters on his face and hands, the bright red welts that appeared wherever the silver touched his skin. So long as the vampire was bound with silver chains and periodically doused with holy water, he would remain as weak and helpless as a newborn babe. Sort of like Superman when he was exposed to kryptonite.

  Smiling at the comparison, Anthony closed the trunk.

  "Call me if you need me," Myra said.

  Loken nodded.

  "Are you taking them out to the lab?"

  "Just him."

  "Be sure to strengthen the wards and wrap the doorknobs in silver, just in case."

  "I know what to do," he said somewhat testily.

  She smiled disarmingly. "Of course you do. Where are you taking the girl?"

  "To my place. It doesn't seem wise to keep them together."

  "Perhaps you're right. You will let me know as soon as you learn anything?"

  With a nod, Anthony opened the car door and slid behind the wheel. Jamming the key into the ignition, he put the car in gear and stomped on the gas. He glanced in the rearview mirror as he pulled away from the curb. If it wasn't for Myra, he might not have managed to capture both witch and vampire so easily, he thought resentfully, and because of that, she would pay dearly when the elixir was his.

  Roshan regained consciousness slowly, aware that the sun had not yet risen. His body felt heavy. Every nerve and cell shrieked with pain. His eyes were swollen and it was an effort to open them.

  He recognized the laboratory immediately, grimaced when he realized he was bound to the metal table that had once held Jimmy Dugan's corpse, and that he was naked from the waist up. A thick leather strap ran across his chest, securing him to the table. His hands and feet were secured to the table by heavy silver chains fastened to thick silver manacles on his wrists and ankles. The silver seared his skin. His arms and chest, wet with holy water, burned like the very fires of hell.

  Turning his head to the right, he saw a cadaver lying on a table against the far wall. Glancing to his left, he saw Loken watching him, a cloying smile on his face.

  "So," the wizard said, pushing away from the doorway. "Awake at last."

  Roshan licked his lips. His throat, still bound by silver, felt as if it was burning from the inside out. "Where's Brenna?"

  "She's no longer your worry." Loken picked up a syringe from the counter and jabbed it in the large vein in Roshan's left arm.

  "What are you going to do with her?"

  "I tried infusing vampire blood into several people with no success, and when that failed, I tried having them drink it." Loken shrugged. "That didn't work, either. And then I realized that I was using the wrong test subjects. What I needed was—"

  "A witch," Roshan said, his stomach churning with anxiety.

  "Exactly."

  "It won't work," Roshan said. He watched with morbid fascination as the warlock filled a glass vial with his blood, then jabbed another needle into the same vein.

  "I think it will."

  "What… what's the body for?" The silver weighed heavily on his throat, making it difficult to speak.

  "Ah, yes, the body. Well, it occurred to me that diluting vampire blood with the blood from a corpse might make it less potent and thereby less toxic to mortals," Loken replied with a grin. "Mixing dead blood with dead blood, as it were."

  "You can't steal a vampire's powers from his blood. There's only one way to get them," Roshan snarled, baring his fangs. "This way."

  Loken jumped back in spite of himself. Angered by his show of weakness, he jabbed another needle in Roshan's vein. "If I'm right, I'll soon know it. If I'm wrong…" He shrugged. "Your bride will pay the ultimate price."

  A low growl rose in Roshan's throat as he struggled against the chains that bound him to the table. The pain in his body, excruciating as it was, was nothing compared to his fear for Brenna's life. But the holy water combined with the silver did their work all too well. Panting heavily, he fell back on the table. "Damn you—do what you want with me, but let her go."

  "How very noble of you," Loken said with a sneer. "I had no idea vampires were so chivalrous."

  Roshan glared at him, his hands clenching in impotent rage as the warlock withdrew yet another vial of blood.

  Moving to the counter, Loken pulled a tray filled with small glass bottles from the overhead cupboard and proceeded to fill them, mixing the blood he had taken from Roshan with the blood he had taken earlier from the dead man.

  "I think that will be enough to start with," Loken remarked, and capping the vials on the tray, he left the room.

  Roshan stared after him. Hunger burned deep inside him, made worse by the blood that the warlock had taken from him. His whole body felt as though it were on fire. The hunger burned through his veins; the holy water and the silver manacles seared his flesh.

  He tugged against the chains that bound him, groaned softly as the silver bit deeper into his flesh.

  "Damn you, Loken!" he roared. "Damn you to hell!"

  Concentrate. He had to concentrate. He had to find Brenna and get her out of here before Loken performed whatever experiments he had in mind.

  He cursed softly. Never, in all his existence, had he experienced such agony. If he managed to get out of this, Anthony Loken would be a dead man five minutes later!

  Concentrate. Make a friend of the pain. Let it strengthen you. He closed his eyes, willing himself to relax as he endeavored to gather his power around him. But he was weak, so weak. He couldn't concentrate, couldn't think of anything but the agony that leeched his strength and clouded his mind.

  Concentrate! He had to find a way to escape the chains that imprisoned him.

  He had to find Brenna.

  He had to feed before it was
too late, before the hunger engulfed him, blinding him to everything else…

  Brenna glanced at her surroundings. She was in a large room, lying on a four-poster bed, still wearing her wedding gown. The walls were a pale sickly green. Curtains of a similar color hung at the single window to the left of the bed. A small square night table held a Tiffany lamp, which offered the room's only light. There were no pictures on the walls. A triple dresser stood across from the bed. Her veil was draped over a corner of one of the mirrors.

  Where was she? There was a terrible taste in her mouth. Nausea roiled in her stomach. Her nose itched. When she tried to scratch it, she realized her arms were stretched over her head and her hands were bound to the bedposts.

  Fear slammed into her. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was being in Myra's shop, drinking a toast…

  Brenna licked her lips. Had she been drugged? Where was Roshan?

  Dread trapped her breath in her lungs as she heard footsteps approaching. She stared at the doorknob, suddenly afraid that she knew who was on the other side of the door.

  The door swung open and Anthony Loken stepped into the room. "So," he said cheerfully, "how are you feeling?"

  Brenna stared at the tray in Loken's hand, her gaze riveted on the small vials filled with red liquid. It was Roshan's blood; she knew it without doubt.

  She tugged against the ropes that bound her to the bedposts as Loken closed the door and walked toward her.

  "So," he said cheerfully, "imagine my surprise at finding out you're a witch. Why didn't you tell me?" He made a small tsking sound. "And after I shared my secret with you."

  She didn't answer, only continued to stare at him, her horror growing with each passing moment. He had said he didn't practice black magick. She knew now that he had lied to her.

  "I'd like to say this won't hurt a bit," the warlock said, smiling wolfishly. "Unfortunately, I can't guarantee that."

  "What are you going to do?" It was a foolish question. She knew only too well what he was going to do.

  "Research, my dear. You remember? I told you all about it."

  She nodded, unable to draw her gaze from the tray in his hands.

  "I had so hoped to have discovered the secret by now but, alas, I've yet to come up with a successful way to infuse a vampire's blood into a human without killing the human in the process. But," he said, filling a syringe with blood from one of the vials, "I haven't given up hope."

  "You cannot do this!" Brenna cried, horrified at what he was about to do. "Please, I beg of you!"

  "I'm doing you a favor, my dear. You can't have any kind of life with one of the undead. But if my theory works, you'll be able to live with him forever. Not only that, but you won't get sick and if you get hurt, why, you'll heal overnight. And the best part is, you won't have to drink blood to survive. You'll have all the perks with none of the drawbacks." He frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not sure if you'll be able to tolerate the sun for any length of time, but that seems a small price to pay for immortality, does it not?"

  "Are you insane?" Brenna tugged against the ropes that bound her, frantic to free herself before it was too late. "It will never work. You must know that! Please, do not do this!"

  "Ah, skeptics have always tried to halt the advance of science. Where would we be today if Pasteur and Salk and Curie had listened to those who told them they were wasting their time?"

  "I… I do not know what you are talking about," she said, eyeing the needle in his hand.

  "Well, it doesn't matter, does it?" Loken replied absently. He laid the syringe on the table beside the bed, then grabbed her ankle to tie it to the bed frame.

  Brenna bucked and kicked with all her might. Her heel struck Loken in the face, bloodying his nose.

  Muttering an oath, he backhanded her across the mouth. For a moment, she saw stars. When her head cleared, it was too late. She was spread-eagled on the mattress, her ankles bound to the posts at the foot of the bed.

  She watched in horror as the warlock picked up the syringe, screamed as he plunged the needle into her arm. Hot bitter bile rose in her throat. Stomach churning, she closed her eyes. What if it worked? What if it didn't? She didn't know which she dreaded most.

  She moaned, her body convulsing, as Roshan's blood burned through her veins. She was going to die.

  She would never see Roshan again, never feel his arms around her, never hear his voice…

  She cried his name, sobbing with pain and fear and regret.

  Hush, my love… don't be afraid.

  At the sound of his voice, she opened her eyes, expecting to see him standing at her side.

  Instead, she saw Anthony Loken standing beside the bed, watching her carefully through narrowed eyes.

  "How do you feel?" he asked, leaning forward. "Does it hurt?"

  She blinked at him. Fear coursed through her, but the pain was gone.

  Brenna?

  "Roshan?" She glanced around the room, searching for him, then realized that the voice she was hearing was inside her head.

  "Forget him," Loken said sharply. "Tell me how you feel."

  Brenna, answer him. How do you feel?

  "I feel wonderful."

  Loken looked as if he didn't believe her, as if he was afraid to believe her. "Are you in pain? Do you feel dizzy? Sick to your stomach?"

  "No." In fact, she felt stronger than she ever had before. She pulled against the ropes that bound her, wondering if she could break them. "He will kill you for this," she said calmly.

  The warlock laughed. "He's in no condition to do anything to anyone."

  Roshan, where are you?

  In Loken's lab outside of town.

  Are you well?

  No.

  Fear rose within her once again. She glared at Loken, her hands clenching and unclenching. "Where is Roshan? What have you done to him?"

  Loken shrugged. "He's well enough for now. It's you I'm interested in. How do you feel now?"

  Brenna glared at him, felt her anger turn to rage as she imagined Roshan at Loken's mercy. Was he in pain? No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than she felt as if her skin, her very blood, was on fire. There was a terrible gnawing ache deep inside her, a ravening hunger that could never be quenched. With a gasp of horror, she knew she was feeling what he was feeling. She moaned softly. How did he bear such agony?

  Loken's face paled as he stared at her. "Good Lord…"

  "What is it?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

  "Your eyes…" He took a step back, his expression one of growing horror. And then he smiled. "It worked!" he cried jubilantly. "By damn, I knew it would!"

  Grabbing the tray containing the rest of the vials, he left the room, locking the door behind him.

  Brenna stared after the warlock, a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. What had he seen when he looked at her? Was she a vampire now?

  No, my love, you need not worry. Are you all right?

  Yes, he is gone.

  Where are you?

  In his house, I think. Brenna glanced at the window, trying to judge the time. What would happen when the sun rose? Would Roshan be safe as long as he was inside, or did he have to be underground in his lair?

  It's hours until sunrise. Don't worry about me.

  How can I help it? She tugged against the ropes that bound her, but they held fast and struggling only caused them to cut deeper into her wrists and ankles. Defeated, she fell back on the bed. She had to get out of here, had to get Roshan out of the lab and safely into his lair before sunrise, but how?

  Roshan's voice sounded in her mind once again.

  I'm working on it, he said. If you know any prayers, this would be a good time to say them.

  Anthony Loken could barely contain his excitement as he stood at the bar of the Nocturne, sipping a glass of champagne. At last, he had found the secret! Still, he was determined to make one last test before he tried it on himself, and since he didn't have another witch at his disposal, he had come her
e. If it also worked on a woman who was not a witch, then he would be certain that it was safe, he thought, and then he frowned. Perhaps he should try it on a man, as well. Yes, that was the ticket. Better safe than sorry…

  Damn! He knew he had forgotten something. Why hadn't he thought of it before? He had been so elated when Brenna had survived being injected with the vampire's blood he had neglected to see if her powers of healing had increased! If her body healed itself, then he could safely assume that eternal life would also be hers, and therefore, his. He had intended to dispose of the witch but it suddenly occurred to him that he would have to keep her alive a little longer to make sure the results of the injection didn't wear off after an hour or two, or a day or two. And he would also need to make sure there were no side effects.

  He swore softly. Myra was always telling him he was too impetuous. Maybe she was right. Well, no matter, he would take care of all the trivial loose ends later. He would dispose of the witch when he had no further use for her. Witch or vampire, she would not survive the flames. But that was a task for another day. For now, he needed another guinea pig. Luckily, they weren't hard to find.

  He beckoned at a pretty little dark-haired female. She smiled back, and then she was walking toward him.

  Roshan stared at the ceiling. Ignoring the pain that burned through him, he concentrated on summoning his power, drawing it toward him, focusing it on the chain that bound his right wrist to the table. Teeth clenched, he jerked against the restraint with all the force at his disposal. The movement caused the manacle to cut deeper into his skin, but also pulled one of the links apart, breaking the chain so that his right hand was no longer bound to the table.

  He lay there panting heavily for several minutes, and then he jerked against the other chain. Once his hands were no longer bound to the table, he removed the leather strap from his chest and sat up. Moments later, his ankles were also free.

  Swinging his legs over the edge of the table, he stood up, one hand grasping the edge. Though he was no longer bound to the table, the silver manacles still circled his wrists and ankles. Lengths of chain dangled from each one, but there was no time to worry about that now. His first priority was Brenna.