“Thank you, Dream Teller.”
“It is my duty as your guide to protect you and lead you in the right direction.”
“With only the bare minimum of information.”
“It is the way,” the old witch said, smiling unapologetically.
“So, what am I to do with Jacob Porter?”
“Find him, set him straight, and then send him to me. I have important information for him, but I cannot get him to fall asleep.”
“Well, I don’t know if I can set him straight, but I can definitely put him to sleep.”
“Seta . . .” the witch said, her tone full of warning.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not going to euthanize the poor bastard,” she assured the older woman, adding with impishness, “Killing someone painlessly just isn’t my style.”
“JACOB.”
Jake raised his head and swiped at dried tears that had left sticky tracks on his skin. “Go away, Seta. I’m not in the mood for you right now.”
“Too bad. You can finish licking your wounds like a beaten mongrel later. Right now, we need to talk.”
“Look, lady . . .” Jake abruptly stopped speaking, noticing how the vampire-witch stood before him in broad daylight with smooth, unburnt skin covering her recently fried hands and arms. The electric buzz of power crackled around her. “How in hell . . .”
“The Dream Teller healed my burns, and I’m not really here. I’m astrally projecting myself.”
“Just what the world needs, a vampire who can be in two places at one time,” he responded with disgust. He sat on the hood of his car and leaned back against the windshield. He’d driven away from the motel as fast as he could, no real destination in mind, until he’d reached the point he couldn’t see through his own film of tears and had to pull over in the woods. Then he’d climbed out of the car and perched on the hood, crying more tears than he’d shed in his entire life. He hadn’t felt so much loss since the night he saw his best friend die before him.
“Quit sulking, Jacob.”
“Stay out of my mind,” he warned the vampiress, wondering why she could read his thoughts so easily when he’d always seemed to be immune to vampire mind intrusion.
“You are immune to vampire mind intrusion, and tricks, for that matter,” Seta said, as though he’d asked the question aloud. “Slayers are born with that measure of defense, but since I mean you no harm—and since we’re all a part of something bigger than us—I’ve been allowed access to your psyche.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You’re a slayer, Jacob. That means that you are not a normal mortal man, and you shouldn’t hold it against Nyla that she isn’t a normal mortal woman. The two of you are more alike than you realize.”
“I’m not an animal,” he snarled.
“Nor is Nyla. It’s just a form she takes on. I saw you battle the vampires the other night. I could say you’re a bloodthirsty killer, but would that be true?”
“I’m a hunter,” Jake said defensively.
“No, you’re a slayer. You possess the psychic ability to sense and read supernatural beings. Along with that ability, you carry a darkness inside you far worse than the darkness inside vampires. Our darkness comes from fear, survival instinct, and the loneliness of existing for decades in the shadows. Your darkness is born of pure, cold hatred. You’re like a ticking bomb, but Nyla counters the darkness inside you. She’s an empath, and she was sent to you the night that your friend was killed because the elders knew you would make a mighty warrior for the side of good, but only if you could control your darkness.”
Jake started to deny everything the vampiress said, but knew in his heart there was a grain of truth to it. Whether in cat or human form, just the slightest touch from Nyla seemed to drain his violent urges. And he knew he’d reached the brink of madness many times before, only to have been brought back after talking with Nyla in one of her forms, of touching her in some way. “You make me sound like the things I hunt.”
“Because you are. Slayers are supernatural beings, just as vampires, shifters, and witches are. And you have the potential to be far more dangerous than any of us. So far, the only thing that has stopped you from becoming the true beast you were designed to be is Nyla’s love and her empathic ability. You need her. And right now, she needs you.”
“She can defend herself, believe me.”
“Perhaps, but you’re supposed to be bonded.”
“What does that mean?”
“The Dream Teller will tell you more, but basically, Nyla was sent to you to keep you on the side of good so you can fight with us in an oncoming war between the supernatural forces of good and evil.”
Jake blinked in surprise. “Fight with you? The vampires?”
“Most of us are good, Jacob. You’ve just had the misfortune of meeting some truly horrific ones.”
“Yeah, and I had the pleasure of killing them. It’s what I do, Seta. It’s what’s inside me. I can’t change that, and I proved that tonight. I almost killed Nyla.”
“Almost is the key word.” She smiled. “You failed because your heart knew it would be wrong. There’s still goodness inside you, and Nyla will help you hold on to it.”
Jake shook his head, not seeing how the things the vampiress was telling him could be true. His whole life he had felt different, and he knew there was something inside him that wasn’t normal, something dark that shouldn’t be there. Now Seta had confirmed it, and he felt completely out of control.
“You can still be a good man, Jacob. You can love, which is unusual for a slayer. It’s why you were chosen.”
“I don’t believe in all this destiny crap you’re spouting,” Jake bit out in irritation. He needed answers, not a bunch of warm and fuzzy Hallmark card crud about fate, love, and destiny.
“Then I suggest you start, because it believes in you,” the vampiress stated sternly. “Rialto, Aria, me—we were all fated to be what we are, and you are fated to be a warrior, not just a bloodthirsty slayer. You only have to follow your heart, and destiny will guide you the rest of the way.”
Jake raised an eyebrow as he studied the vampire-witch. “Do you know how weird that inspirational stuff sounds coming from you?”
Seta’s eyes narrowed briefly before she gave in to the quirk flexing at the side of her full lips, allowing herself a small grin. “I’m not completely ruthless, Jacob, and I know how all of this must sound, but it’s true. Over a century ago I went over a cliff and landed in the arms of a vampire. I allowed him to sire me so I could watch over my son, who’d been taken from me by his father.”
“You’re talking about Rialto?”
“Yes. Then, twenty-eight years to the day after I went over that cliff, I sired my own son in order to save his life. Over a century later he found his mate, setting in motion a prediction that was made over a millennium ago. I was sired so I could sire Rialto, when his time came. And he was changed over so he could be here to sire Aria when it was her time.”
“I hope you’re not saying I’m supposed to become one of you,” Jake said, his heart threatening to burst from his chest. He didn’t exactly fear vampires, but becoming one of them was something totally different. He recalled the feel of Christian’s fangs sinking into his neck and reflexively tightened his hands into fists, ready to fight Seta. All his hunter instincts for self-preservation were on full alert. He knew he couldn’t be changed over by a vampire’s astral projection, and Seta was the only vampire he sensed in the immediate area, but he still couldn’t override his instincts.
“None of us are going to try to turn you, Jacob. Frankly, we don’t think you would survive it without going mad.”
“So if I’m not going to be changed over, what’s all this mumbo jumbo about me being destined to fight with you?”
“You�
��ll find out in time, as we all have. You must go to the dream realm now. The Dream Teller has been trying to bring you to her, and she sent me here to make sure you go to her.”
“I don’t have time to sleep. Those freaks have my cousin, and I have to get him back.” He slid off the car’s hood, ready to go look for his cousin.
“I’m sorry, but I have orders,” the vampiress said, letting power build around her before blowing him a kiss.
Before Jake had time to ask the vampire-witch what she was up to, he found himself standing in the bitter cold of the dream realm, slivers of pale blue light slicing through the silvery trees surrounding him.
“Son of a bitch. Seta!” He screamed the vampire’s name to no avail. She’d put him to sleep, but she hadn’t come with him, he realized as cold wind whipped around his body. “Dream Teller!” he then yelled. He waited for a response, but none came. “Dammit! Let me out of here! I have lives to save!”
After several minutes passed, he realized the whistling wind was the closest thing he was going to get to an answer. He strained to hear any indication that the Dream Teller was near, but the only sounds he picked up belonged to nature. Muttering a choice selection of curses, he began walking, having no idea where he was going, but it beat standing in one spot with his thumbs in his pockets waiting for something to happen.
“If I don’t get to my cousin in time because of this little game you’re playing, Dream Teller, you’re gonna regret the day you met me,” he vowed as he marched on.
He cleared the forest, coming upon a large rock wall. “What’s this?” he asked aloud, gazing toward the sky. The formation seemed to go on forever, farther than the naked eye could see.
A sense of familiarity, warm and inviting, came over him, and he closed his eyes, trying to decipher what he was picking up on. Warmth, security, love—home. “Nyla,” he whispered, realizing she was here, somewhere close to him.
He felt himself being pulled toward her, as if tied to the end of an invisible rope, and his pace quickened when he gave in to the tugging sensation. Then anxiousness suddenly mounted inside him, and he broke into a full-out run. He didn’t know if he’d ever be able to fully digest the truths he’d discovered about Nyla, but he still cared for her safety, and his gut was telling him she was in danger. He needed to get to her, needed to do whatever the Dream Teller wanted so she would release them from the dream realm.
The stone wall began to curve, and Jake careened around the bend, desperate to find Nyla and a way out of the realm. As he rounded the corner, he realized the ground was suddenly ending, and he skidded to a stop, nearly toppling over the edge of a cliff.
He bit out a curse as he held on to a jagged rock for balance and leaned forward, taking in the hundred foot drop. “I am so kicking somebody’s ass before I get out of here,” he muttered before straightening back up and trying to dislodge his heart from his throat.
He felt the pull again, the unmistakable presence of the woman who’d completely turned him inside out in only a few days time, and followed it. Finally, he came upon a dark tunnel, the entrance cleverly hidden among the stones forming the large mountain.
It started out narrow, but widened as he traveled down its length, eventually opening into a large, circular space lit with torches. And there, sitting on the ground with her knees drawn to her chin, was the woman he’d confessed his love to and nearly killed in the same day.
“So, are you really here in the realm with me, or are you a part of my dream?”
“Which answer would make it easier for you to kill me?” she questioned, the sadness in her voice far more cutting than her words.
“I’m sorry about that. I kind of lost it for a moment there.”
“Well, at least you have the decency to apologize. Where’s the Dream Teller? I’m ready to go.”
“Haven’t seen her.” He inched closer to Nyla, slowly and awkwardly, afraid any sudden movements would scare her off.
“You don’t have to creep up on me, Porter. I’m not in panther form. I’m not going to attack you.”
Jake let out a frustrated breath, torn between soothing her hurt feelings and defending himself. He’d said hurtful things to her. He knew that, but she’d deceived him. Surely she had to realize a man needed time to come to grips with what she’d thrown at him. “Nyla, I’m not trying to treat you like an . . . an . . .”
“Animal. You can say it, Porter. The cat’s out of the bag, no pun intended.”
“Nyla.”
“What?”
Jake jumped from the ferociousness she’d put into that single word and tried to think of something to say to calm her. He gazed down at her, taking in the oddly fragile way she held her knees to her chest, the mixture of sadness and anger swirling in her deep violet eyes. She’d always looked so strong, and it hurt him that he’d made her feel this way. He looked into those eyes, which had watched over him for the past sixteen years, and saw the evidence of recent tears. He couldn’t help feeling like an ass, even though his anger had been based on Nyla’s deception.
He lowered himself to the ground, sitting before the woman who’d thrown his world into a tailspin and really looked at her. He took in the angelic face, the eyes which seemed to see right into his soul, and the body which set his aflame, and he realized he had no clue what he was going to do about her. As wrong as it should be, he still cared for her.
“Nyla, I don’t know what to say to you. I’ve never felt this way about another woman, but you dropped a bombshell on me. I look at you, how beautiful and great you are, and I want to hold you. Then I remember all the times I’ve held my pet cat, and now that I know I was really holding you, I just can’t wrap my mind around that.”
“Then don’t. I’m not worth it.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I love you, Jacob, but I don’t want you anymore.”
His mouth fell open, a small sound of disbelief slipping out at the same time a sharp jab of pain speared his heart. For the second time that day, he felt his heart breaking.
“You don’t know who I really am, Jake, and believe me, you wouldn’t want the real me. So let’s just get the hell out of here and move on with our lives.” She raised herself from the ground and turned her back to him, walking a few steps away before Jake was able to scramble up and grab her elbow, turning her around to face him.
“Wait a minute. What are you talking about? I know the shifter and vampire stuff now. And yes, I know you were sired by the bastard who killed my friend, but I’m not holding that against you. I don’t know if you and I can be a couple, but you sound as if you want away from me for good.”
“You tried to kill me, Jake. Why do you care whether or not you ever see me again?”
“Because, whether or not I knew what you were before now, you’re my best friend. In fact, you’re the only friend I have. And maybe eventually we can be . . .” Jake let his voice trail off, confused by his emotions. Part of him wanted to declare his love for her, but the logical part of him kept seeing her as a cat, and he just couldn’t get past that.
“You don’t know everything about me, Jake. If you did, you could have never looked at me the way you looked at me this morning, and if I can’t see love in your eyes, then I don’t want to see you at all.”
“What don’t I know about you? You’re a vampire and a shifter.”
“I’m also a whore.”
“Come again?” he said, not expecting that kind of declaration.
“I’ve been with a lot of men, Jake. Pantherians serve a queen, and she commands her servants to have sex often and indiscriminately, since it’s so hard for us to get pregnant, and she wants the race to continue.”
“And you did this until sixteen years ago?”
“Yes.” Her voice cracked, tugging at his heart.
“But
you haven’t since the night you . . . met me?”
She looked away, her bottom lip quivering as she spoke. “I’ve been away from my family for the past sixteen years, but I haven’t been a much better person. I dealt with the Heat the best I could, and the best I could meant I grabbed random men off the street when the need arose.”
Images of Nyla wrapped around the bodies of assorted men entered Jake’s mind, and he reflexively balled his hands into fists. “Why are you telling me this?”
“You should know who you’ve developed feelings for.”
“So out of the blue, you just blurt out that you sleep around when in heat?” he said, starting to realize what she was doing. “What’s really going on?”
“Nothing,” she answered, but the desperation in her eyes gave her away.
“You’re going after Demarcus alone! Forget about it. I’ll take care of Demarcus”
“It’s not your fight!” Her eyes darkened with determination.
“He killed my friend!”
“Bobby’s dead, Jake. No matter what you do, he’s not coming back, so just go. Let me take care of Demarcus. I’m the one he wants.”
“And I’m the one he’s going to get.”
“No! Bobby is gone, and you can’t do anything for him now. Today you decided that you don’t love me, so defending me isn’t an excuse for you to get mixed up in this. Besides, I can take care of myself.”
“You’re protecting me,” Jake murmured in sudden understanding. “Even after I attacked you in rage, you’re protecting me, just as you’ve done all these years. Why are you so scared for me?”
“Jake, just go away, and let me take care of this.”
“Why? I fight vampires all the time.”
“This isn’t just any vampire.” She licked her lips. “This is Demarcus, the vampire who killed your friend, and he is pure evil.”
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