Gold Dust Woman

by Alicia Sparks

  “I do thank you, Sybil. And I hope you and I can meet again.” The sincerity in his voice mirrored the expression in his eyes. Vampires, even newly cured ones, were not supposed to be this tempting.

  Saving herself before she leaned in for a kiss, she pulled away and spun on her heels, calling up all the strength she could summon as she opened the front door. “Not very likely.”

  * * *

  He was free! Canon stepped out into the sunlight and headed down Decateur. This was the first time he’d seen the modern French Quarter in the sunlight, and it was more than amazing. Sun gleamed off the newly washed windows, and the doors opened to the tourists and locals alike. He squinted, reminding himself to stop in somewhere and buy some sunglasses before he went much farther.

  The sunlight felt like a warm blanket against his skin. He breathed in the morning air, filling himself with the possibility of life. He was alive! The reward had come at last. There was so much to do, so much to look forward to. A breakfast of beignets and coffee for one. The French Quarter was known for their French doughnuts, something Canon had loved when he had been alive. Turning on his heels, he headed for Café du Monde, the best place in town to find such a treat.

  Settling into a corner table, he motioned to the waitress and placed his order.

  “What can I do for you?” She smiled down at him, her soft, white neck revealed by her button up shirt. His tongue hit against the teeth that had once been fangs. The urge to drink human blood was completely gone even though he still longed for contact with warm, soft necks.

  “Café au lait and beignets, please.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Canon fisted his hands in his lap, frustration pouring over him. He never should have left Sybil the way he had. He might have been confused last night, in a haze from whatever was happening to him, but she had opened herself up to him. Even if she claimed to be breaking the spell on him for her own purposes, to rid New Orleans of its vampires, he did thank her for allowing him to see the sunlight once more.

  There was more to her than that, though. She held Chloe deep inside her. Last night was still a haze, but he knew he had made love to Sybil, and part of her had been Chloe as she looked up at him with her golden eyes. For the first time in two hundred years, he’d held Chloe’s soft, dark body in his arms, giving himself to her in the way he had longed to do since her death.

  Making love to her had only intensified the mystery. Reincarnation existed, and Sybil was Chloe, he would bet his newfound freedom on it. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of a reason to go back to her, to ask her the questions he hadn’t been able to ask this morning.

  He was about to call the waitress back when he looked up to see Sid standing in front of him, his eyes bloodshot, a look of disbelief covering his face.

  “Canon Helaire. What the hell are you doing in the light?” He sat down with a hard plop and stared into Canon’s eyes.

  “Voodoo. I’ve been cursed.” He smiled up at the waitress as she placed the plate of food in front of him. The French doughnuts looked and smelled better than he had recalled. He bit into one, practically drooling when the powdered sugar hit his tongue.

  “Cursed, huh? Can you explain this?” Sid’s voice was as serious as his face as he tossed the day’s headline onto the table. Twenty People Slain Outside St. Louis Cemetery, the Times Picayune announced. “Where were you, and how the hell did you manage to come out in the sunlight?”

  “You think I had something to do with this?” His fingers shook as he read the grisly account of last night’s massacre.

  “Someone said they saw your brother at the scene. He got away. I thought you were here to keep him in line. Where were you? And what the hell do you mean you’ve been voodooed?”

  “I can’t explain. Something strange happened last night. I was looking for you. At least I think I was. And then I saw her. And… Shit. Pete did this.” Too many things were happening at once. His head reeled with possibilities. If he lost his powers, those he had spawned should have lost theirs, too. Was that what had caused Pete to go off the deep end?

  “They also saw you there last night. Just before the killing started. No one could feed last night. Did you know about this?”

  There were too many questions coming at him all at once, and the only thing he could focus on was the headline. Twenty people. Someone had to stop Pete.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, you need to axe the I’m pretending to eat routine and come with me before someone identifies you. You could be in a lot of trouble if you’re seen out in the light.”

  “I belong out in the light now. Something happened last night. I changed. Do you understand? I changed. I’m me again. See?” He reached out to touch Sid, who acted as if he had just been burned.

  “Your hand is…”

  “Warm. I know.”

  “Let’s go talk.” Sid pushed his chair back and stood. “My place is safe for now, but it may not be for much longer. You know they’ll be gunning for you at sundown.”

  “Who?”

  “The others. If you can’t feed, they can’t feed. So they’re going to kill.”

  * * *

  “You have to find her,” Sid announced after Canon recounted last night’s events and his suspicions that Sybil and Chloe were one and the same.

  They sat across from one another at Sid’s kitchen table as his wife hovered over them, occasionally interrupting with words of disbelief.

  “I know where her apartment is.”

  “Good. She’s put the voodoo on you, all right. Legend has it one of the old voodoo priests had a zombie remedy that he was working on that could affect the symptoms of a curse such as yours.”

  “And you think she got it? That she used some old voodoo cure, that by the way, I have never heard of, and managed to reverse my condition?”

  “That’s the only explanation I have. You said yourself you had been voodooed. Around midnight last night, no one could feed. The hunger was there, piercing them, driving them. But nobody could feed.”

  “And my curse would affect them.”

  “Yep. One way or another, you created them. Good or bad. They are from your line. What happens to the first trickles down to the rest.”

  “And Pete is losing his vampire powers, so he decided to strike out and kill.” Canon stood and went to the window. The sun was fully up now, smiling down at him, mocking his newly found freedom to venture out during the day. He knew what he had to do.

  “He has got to be stopped, Canon. That’s why you were called here, to stop him.”

  “And to do that I need to see her again.” It was exactly what he wanted, just not in the way he had wished. The desire to see Sybil again coursed through him, but he hadn’t wanted to go to her like this. Even if she could reverse the spell, there was no guarantee that she would.

  “Get her to reverse the spell. It is the only way. If you kill him while you’re human, they will hunt you down and destroy you. The others will get to you. They can’t know you’re the reason for last night.”

  “And if I become a vampire again…” He didn’t even want to think about it. He had only been alive for a few hours, and now he was going to lose it again.

  “There is no if here, Canon. You and I both know that. You must do it.”

  “There’s more to this. She looks like Chloe. I swear when I look into her eyes, I see Chloe.”

  “Chloe has been dead for two hundred years.”

  He didn’t need a reminder. But there was something about Sybil that was unsettling, to say the least. She had caused his heart to beat again, and he had to think there was more to this than what appeared on the surface. Who was she that she would want revenge? Why would she be set on rendering him powerless? The more he thought about it, the more he realized Sid was right. He had to go to her, but not for the reasons Sid thought. He needed to see her again. He needed to know for sure.

  “You’re right. Chloe is dead. But I do think t
his girl has her secrets.”

  Chapter Three

  Sybil stared at the morning paper, her stomach churning, threatening to release her breakfast, and a knot formed somewhere beneath her heart. Twenty people had died last night mere feet from where she’d been standing. The exact time of death was unknown, but it was somewhere around midnight. Last night was such a haze for her, and she wished she could remember the exact time she had been at the Lair. Was it possible for Canon to have killed all those people before stumbling into her?

  No. She shook the thought from her head. He was already weakened when they were at the Lair. It wouldn’t make sense. Canon was not the killer. Her potion had rendered him unable to feed, but he could kill with his hands… Again, she shook the thought from her head. He had been with her last night. Those hands that touched her would not have ripped a man apart.

  If that had been the devil she had seen last night instead of an illusion, perhaps his warning to her was real. He’d told her to be careful meddling in his affairs. You sure you want what you want, girly? A chill washed over her, making her wish for a second she could take back the past twenty-four hours.

  According to her research, turning a vampire into a mortal would cause a change in all those he had spawned. What if the change had driven one of them over the edge? What if last night’s massacre was a direct result of her spell?

  “You can’t take it back,” she whispered to her empty kitchen.

  The screen door opened and closed behind her, startling her. She turned to see Canon standing in the doorway, his eyes filled with an emotion she couldn’t identify.

  “Yes, you can.”

  “How did you get in?” Somehow, she had known he would come back.

  “I’ve been sneaking in and out of houses for a long time. I need you to be honest with me and tell me what you did to me and why you did it.” His voice was calm, but she could sense the tension in his body.

  “I gave you what you deserved.” The words didn’t sound as convincing as they had the last time she said them.

  “Did they get what they deserved?” His eyes locked onto the paper with its dreadful headline.

  “I can’t help you.”

  “You did this to me. You and your voodoo powder. I need to know why, and I need to know how.”

  “I did it for Chloe.”

  “Chloe.” He sank down into the chair opposite where she sat. “You look like Chloe.”

  “I know.”

  “I loved her, Sybil. I would never have done anything to hurt her. And I won’t hurt you.” He reached across to cover her hand with his, reminding her of how tender he had been last night.

  She wanted to believe him. “You killed her.” She pulled her hand away.

  “No. My father killed her. He killed so many people. After her death, I was so angry, so filled with the need for vengeance, I made a deal with the devil to seek revenge. That’s when I changed. He was the first and only person I killed. Having his blood on my hands is both a blessing and a curse. I did it for her.”

  “You didn’t stop him.”

  “I couldn’t stop him. You don’t understand. Times were different then. Dangerous. I did what I could. It wasn’t enough.” He stared at her blankly, as if he were remembering a past she only caught in glimpses. He had been there, and she hadn’t. The snippets of the past she had seen in her premonitions could have been flawed.

  “Why did your father do it?” Unshed tears stung the backs of her eyes as she struggled to understand Chloe’s role in her life.

  “I was dead to him. I was the son who fell desperately in love with his slave.”

  None of this was right. None of it was the way she remembered it. Her head hurt from trying to figure it all out. Somewhere, she had gotten the facts wrong, and now the man who sat before her was powerless because of her grief.

  “I can’t fix this,” she managed, avoiding his eyes.

  “You have to.” His hands closed over hers. “You have to, Sybil. My brother is in danger of killing others.”

  “Your brother?”

  “Yes. My blood brother and my creation.”

  “You mean Pete?” She had known Pete was close to falling over the edge and into insanity. The buzz had been all over underground New Orleans. It was how she had known Canon would return.

  “Yes. And I have to stop him.”

  “Why do I believe you?”

  “Because you can look into my eyes and know it is true. I’m not here to hurt you. I do thank you for giving me the gift of seeing the sunlight once more. But I need it to end now. I have to put an end to Pete’s killing.”

  She could see the truth in his eyes, and so much more. He wasn’t a killer. He was a man who had taken on a burden to avenge his lover’s death. He was a man whose arms had felt so good when they had wrapped around her, whose lips had felt like velvet sin against hers. And, damn it all, he was the man she had once loved.

  “What are you thinking?”

  She couldn’t tell him what she was really thinking, that she was falling for him again, that the part of her who had once been Chloe had never stopped loving him. Instead, she let out the breath she had been holding and stood. “I’m thinking I need to go to the attic and get my family’s potion book. I have a lot of work to do.”

  “I will help you.” Again, his hand reached out for her, sending his warmth all the way to her core. She licked her lips before she could stop herself. “I remember, too.”

  “Remember what?” She straightened beneath his gaze.

  “I remember last night. It was a fog this morning, but it has come back to me. I apologize for forcing myself onto you last night. I was not completely in control.”

  “There’s no need to apologize.”

  She pushed away from the table and stood, taking her dishes with her, moving away from him. Turning her back to him, she placed the dishes in the sink. Thoughts raced through her head as she tried to clear her mind of any fantasies about Canon Helaire.

  “What are you thinking now?” His voice was soft against her hair while his hands closed over her shoulders and his hard chest pressed against her back.

  “I’m not thinking.”

  “Neither am I. I am not thinking about anything I should be thinking of. Being near you makes me think things I shouldn’t.”

  “Canon, I…” She turned in his arms. “I have work to do.”

  “I know. We only have eight hours until sundown.”

  “Yes. Then you will return to your former state.” She looked away, unable to bear the disappointment she knew would be in his eyes.

  “Yes.” His soft confession washed over her, filling her with guilt for putting him through this.

  “Let’s get to it, then.” She pushed her hair out of her eyes and looked up, forcing a smile, knowing this could be their last moment together. “Canon, I…” Her teeth latched onto her bottom lip as she struggled to find the words. “I’m sorry.” She wanted to tell him she remembered how much she had loved him in her past life. She wanted to make promises neither of them could keep. Instead, she simply apologized.

  “So am I.”

  Chapter Four

  “You look like her, you know.”

  Canon was still stunned by the resemblance. He’d watched her all day while she flitted around the attic, moving with the same silent grace Chloe had. Her hair swayed against her back with every movement. When the sun settled in through the attic window, he swore it breathed new life into her already glorious mass of golden hair. His hands ached to sink themselves into it, to pull her against him using nothing but the weight of her hair, to sink himself into her body. Just once, he wanted to love her as a man loves a woman. Sex as a vampire was fine, but it was so cold. He needed the heat, the fire of loving as a human.

  “I know.” She didn’t look up from her herbs.

  “Why did you seek me out?”

  “Revenge.”

  “There’s more to it than that.” She hid so much in every sin
gle motion, just as Chloe had. He had watched Chloe so often, he knew how her body language betrayed her words.

  She stopped and glared at him for a second before turning back to her work. “I was convinced you owed me.”

  “I’m sure I do. What I don’t understand is what I owe you.”

  She squared her shoulders and took in a deep breath before turning to him. He watched her chest rise and fall and longed to bury his head between her breasts and hold her close, swearing everything would be okay. “When Chloe died, she was pregnant. She was going to have your child. I know things about Chloe. I feel what she felt. And someone convinced me that the sins of one lifetime carry on to the next. That’s why I can’t…” Her voice broke. “That’s why I can’t have children.”

  Her words were like a knife to his gut. Chloe had been pregnant, and now this girl who stood before him looking exactly like his love was paying the price for Chloe’s life being cut short. And it was his fault. Had he not been away that day, he could have prevented her death.

  He rose and made his way across the attic to her. “I’m so sorry.” Tears slipped down his hand as he caressed her cheek.

  “It doesn’t matter. It’s done now. Here.” She pulled away from him and handed him the concoction she had been mixing. “Now you can get back to your life.”

  “Sybil…”

  “Don’t. Don’t you dare feel sorry for me. I misread the past. I listened to voices that I thought would ease my pain. I caused twenty people to die. I did that. Now drink it. The sun will set soon.”

  He eyed the cherry colored liquid and then placed the vial on the table. She had her back to him, but he could hear the sobs escaping her body. “I want to ease your pain. And I want you to ease mine. I know you, Sybil. Everything about you is familiar to me. Everything. Right down to the way you turn away from me when you cry.”