The Beckett Vampire Trilogy: Midnight Wine, Lycan and Sanctuary

by Jan McDonald

  Her thoughts were interrupted by the harsh sound of her cell phone. Irritably, she clicked it into life. “Lane Dearing,” she snapped.

  The silky smooth voice that replied did nothing to soothe her. “It appears we are both missing something, my dear. I sense you already know of my interest and are planning to visit me. Come, my dear. I look forward to receiving you.” The line went dead.

  Lane fumed inwardly at the arrogance of Michael Rabb and at her own transparency to him. What the hell did he want with Kat?

  Lane had the distinct feeling of being summoned the headmaster’s office and it irritated her. Her problem was that she had no choice than to obey the summons as Michael Rabb was her immediate superior within the Curia. Well, she would go - but he could wait.

  She turned her attention back to her phone and dialled the number by heart. It rang for longer than normal and she was about to hang up in frustration when a young voice answered.

  “Hello? Paul Beckett’s phone.”

  Recent memory cells kicked in and she recognised the voice. “Oh, it’s you, Darius. Put Beckett on. I’m in no mood for games.”

  “Dr Dearing? Um . . . Beckett is . . . asleep right now. Can I give him a message when he wakes?”

  “Asleep, my arse. Passed out, more like. Shake him, pour water over him, whatever it takes to get him conscious and on this phone in thirty seconds. Starting now.”

  Lane’s foul mood communicated itself immediately to Darius. He was all too well aware of her power and potential fury; he blanched and let the phone slip from his hand. He turned on Becket who appeared unconscious on the sofa and shook him by the shoulders vigorously. There was no response.

  Darius briefly contemplated the water option but, a glance at the size of Beckett’s fist changed his mind. He shook him again. This time Beckett grumbled incoherently. The third shake brought his eyes open, unfocussed initially, then processing his surroundings quickly. His gaze landed on Darius.

  “What? What’s up?”

  Darius nodded towards the phone lying on the coffee table. “It’s Dr Dearing. And, um, she sounds upset.”

  Becket had experience of Lane ‘upset’. He snatched the phone.

  “Lane, what’s happened? Is it Kat?”

  “I’m afraid so, Beckett. I left her for a while …”

  She didn’t finish the sentence before Beckett was down her throat.

  “You left her? You left her? What the hell were you thinking? Were you thinking? Where is she?”

  Lane’s silence said everything. Beckett’s anger morphed into fear. “Christ, Lane. Where is she?”

  “I’m sorry, Beckett. I had to leave her. I’ll explain when I see you, but I didn’t leave her alone. Jane was watching her. I thought she’d be up to it; I was wrong.”

  “What do you mean? What wasn’t she up to? Lane?”

  “Michael Rabb. He turned up just after I left. He must have been watching me, waiting for me to leave. He wouldn’t have risked trying to take her if I’d been there but, Beckett, I had no idea he had an interest in Kat. I can’t imagine what he wants with her. Any ideas?”

  “Michael Rabb? The Proconsul of the Council? I have no idea what the hell he wants with Kat. Unless … didn’t you say that the vampire that made her in Greece was an Ancient and, a powerful one at that.”

  “There’s more to this Beckett. I don’t like it. And I’m afraid for Kat. You see there’s a problem – Rabb doesn’t have her anymore.”

  Beckett ran his hands through his silver hair. “What? What do you mean, he doesn’t have her anymore? Lane?”

  “Look, this is getting us nowhere. I’ve been summoned to Rabb’s house. I’ll come over when I’m done.”

  “You’re not going there alone. Wait for me Lane. I’ll come and get you.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous Beckett; you’re still drunk. I know I can’t die in the normal way of things but getting mangled in a car crash isn’t my idea of fun, no matter how fast I’d heal. Stay there, just in case Kat contacts you. I’ll see you later.” There was a click and she was gone.

  Beckett stared into the phone as if it would give him answers. He shook his head, as though to clear it. It didn’t work. Darius had been silent while Beckett had been on the phone, but as he moved quietly into Beckett’s kitchen his presence became apparent again. He filled the kettle and began searching the rag-tag collection of cupboards for Beckett’s coffee supply. Whatever was going on, it was obvious that Beckett needed to shape up – and quick. He heard the shower running and opened the fridge; he’d have time to get some food into Beckett … if he had any. A quick glance gave him the option of left-over pizza, some suspect looking sausages, eggs, or something that he couldn’t identify wrapped in crumpled tinfoil. He opted for the eggs, and grabbed the milk along with it. A sniff told him that, while it wasn’t the freshest, it was unlikely to cause any lasting damage. He doubted that herbs were ever an item on Beckett’s shopping list but found some dried chilli at the back of one of the cupboards – that would wake him up.

  Beckett appeared in the doorway, his long silver hair wet and tousled but his eyes clear. He looked bemused at the kitchen activity.

  “Coffee and devilled eggs, no pun intended,” said Darius.

  “Coffee’s fine, bin the eggs,” Beckett replied.

  “You need to eat. Something tells me it will be a while before we get the chance again.

  “We? What’s with the ‘we’? I brought you home with me because I thought it would be better than getting drunk alone. You didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. So, there’s no deal and, no ‘we’. Okay?”

  “No. It’s not okay, actually. My brother Andrei is involved in all of this. I know it. I may not be the Hunter I wanted to be, but I’m still going to kill him when I find him. Besides which, you have no idea where to start looking. From what I gathered from your phone call, Kat is missing again. Do you think she’s with Andrei?”

  Beckett was silent for a while, then he said, “You know, I think maybe she is – there’s no-one else that would be able to take her from Rabb. And they have a connection now; he turned her and he won’t want to let her slip away while he can still control her. Come on, you can drive.”

  “After you’ve eaten. Trust me, you need something inside you besides Jack Daniels.”

  Beckett gave a harsh laugh. “Who made you my mother?”

  “Not likely, but the sooner you eat, the sooner I’ll drive you. Where are we going?”

  “We’ll start at the club. I know he wasn’t there earlier but maybe we can find a clue as to where he may have gone. Hey, these eggs aren’t half bad,” said Beckett through a mouthful of chilli and scrambled egg.

  Darius was thoughtful. “She must have something he wants – or can get him something he wants. That’s the way he works.”

  Beckett mulled it over. “If he’s got her, and I think he probably does, her sire would probably be very grateful to have her back, don’t you think?”

  “Her sire?”

  “It’s the vampire term for the one who made her. Made her, not turned her.” Beckett paused and paled as a look of horror crept over his face. “Oh my God, he’s taking her to Greece. We’ve got to go.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Andrei relied on everyone assuming he wouldn’t show up at the club for some time. They knew he was arrogant and reckless, but even he wouldn’t be so foolhardy. They knew him not.

  Once inside his penthouse apartment again, his confidence soared and he turned his attention to Kat, prepared to enjoy her before he took her to her fate; to her sire in Greece.

  His elongated fingernail hooked itself under her chin, lifting her face into the candlelight of his darkened rooms. He looked at her long and hard, and her newly-awakened vampire senses began a dance of their own. His arm was around her waist and he began to slowly turn in a tight circle, never once moving his eyes away from her own. He didn’t speak, allowing the intensity of the moment free rein.


  Suddenly, she felt her consciousness leap into his and become wrapped in his memories and experiences. His earlier promises of exotic places and secret locations viewed from vampire eyes were now a reality. She felt as if she had never lived before; born right then in that moment, all her life prior to that minute erased as nothing. He held her in his power and transferred nothing of it to her, enjoying her for what she was – the most beautiful vampire he had ever seen; her own power still quiescent although hinted at, her potential as yet untapped, waiting for the moment when its release would make her one of the most powerful, among the vampires. And a queen, as her sire took her to himself. At that moment he had no doubts, she held the power of the ancients, her sire had bequeathed to her the ultimate gift: immortality. Power and blood lust would emerge untamed and unquenched. He was going to enjoy her in a way he had never enjoyed a woman before.

  It is said that when two vampires made love, the energy released contained the power of a nuclear explosion. It was why it rarely happened. The two parties would instinctively vie for control over each other and what began as lovemaking would inevitably end in a fight that brooked no mercy. Vampires on the whole found sexual gratification in their victims and not their own kind. But Kat was different; she was a challenge he could not resist, provoking his appetites to action and prodding his arrogance into a blind search for dominance. He knew that while she was still under his influence; her potential was no threat to him, but he was excited by the fact that at any moment she could become a match for him in every way.

  There was no need for seduction. Kat was aware of the power building within her that had little to do with sex; that would simply be the vehicle which would carry her energy outward into the world until she stood alone in her powerful vampire state. Her own potential, unharnessed as yet, thundered like a river in full flood through her veins, needing the merest heartbeat to send it coursing through her. She tore her eyes away from Andrei’s hold, in itself a demonstration of her latent power and searched his throat for the hint of a pulse. Her disappointment exploded as she realised that he was indeed one of the Undead.

  Reading her, he pulled her to him. “Katerini, you cannot drink from me again. It would be your undoing. Drinking once from my veins conferred on you eternal life and unending possibilities. To drink twice would end your life as surely as ripping out your heart.”

  Incandescent light flared in her eyes and, in a single moment, Andrei realised that he had vastly underestimated Kat’s power. Her canines elongated in an instant, leaving her no time to adjust, and the blood lust raged to the surface in a snarl. Her face contorted into a bestial mask and, hissing, she turned on Andrei, pulling free of his vice-like grip. Surprise had given her the edge, but only momentarily. He threw his consciousness over her like a mantle, subduing her just enough to gain control. He grabbed her and pulled her to him, fury replacing lust. His strength, when given full rein, was immense so that he tossed her across the room onto the four poster bed as though she were a helpless kitten and was on top of her, pinning her to the bed by her wrists, before her crazed efforts to gouge his face bore fruit.

  She lay under him, breathless, as tears of frustration welled into her eyes and fell onto the pillow. Sensations and emotions eddied inside her like a demented vortex. Desire, lust, rage, hatred and hunger. Most of all, there was the hunger.

  “Katerini, stop! I cannot feed you without destroying you. Calm yourself and I will take you with me. Together we will hunt and feed and you can feast on the living blood of your prey and live as you were meant to live; not spoon fed half-dead blood from insipid donors, but on blood taken from pulsing veins, still warm, still with the scent of the life-force enhanced by the terror your prey will feel. It is truly the most sensual fragrance in this dreary world, Katerini. Let me share my world with you, and then … then I will take you home.”

  Kat had ceased to fight him, his overpowering physical strength way out of her league despite her newly acquired vampiric abilities. And his voice still had the power to enchant her; to take away any resistance to his demands. She lay quiet, her rage hushed rather than abated, her hunger at a peak that tormented her to the point of agony.

  “I am going to release you now, Katerini. But I warn you; if you try again to attack me I will kill you. You know that I can and will, in an instant and without remorse. Do you understand?”

  She nodded. The fire in her eyes became more subtle, almost muted, but it remained, fuelled by the intense hunger. She turned her face to him.

  “What did you mean, ‘take me home’?”

  “Your true home Katerini. I will return you to your father: in Greece.”

  “My father is dead. He died several years ago. They said it was tuberculosis but I know better now. He died because he carried the vampire gene.”

  “I don’t mean him. I mean your vampire father; your sire – the one who made you.”

  Understanding dawned on her as she pictured the tall, elegant man that had sparked in her the latency, which was now in full bloom, and the night she had fled from the tiny monastery leaving Greg behind her.

  “What makes you think that I need you to take me there? Or if I actually want to go there?”

  “Because Katerini, I know something you don’t. At this very moment, your precious son, Nik, is in the hands of one of the most ruthless vampires I know. And they, too, are on their way to him. He calls you to him from across the oceans, from beyond the tomb that holds him. It will be quite the family reunion. Very touching. And you need me because if Santorini gets hold of you, he will not spare you; he will not flinch at watching you die as he takes off that beautiful head of yours. Now I call that a shame, and such a waste. I can protect you. He will only see you as a distraction for the Ancient One, taking away the kudos of him retrieving the ultimate prize: his son.”

  “Nik? Nikolos is going to him? Why? Why would he do that? He hates the vampire in him and came to me looking for a cure. He wouldn’t go there willingly.”

  “You think so? I should tell you that Santorini is very pleased with his progress. He has made his first kill and has begun the path to refinement. I do not think he will be looking to you for any cure, my beautiful one. Not now. Not ever.”

  “You bastard! How long have you known this?”

  “Only since last night; it was this knowledge that gave me the idea of finding you and taking you to the Old One. He will be delighted with you – any vampire would be. And I expect he will show his appreciation to me for bringing you safely to him.”

  Kat attempted to wrench herself free of his grip once again. He pinned her harder to the bed.

  “Now, did I not just say that I would not be happy if you kicked off again? Do I need to remind you?”

  He let go of her left wrist and slapped her hard across her mouth. Blood appeared at the corner and her tongue was on it in an instant. Her eyes flamed red and the hunger surged inside her, teased by the taste of her own blood.

  He let go of her and she threw herself on him and began kissing him with a frenzy that came from her own tainted soul. He laughed at her from deep within his throat, sending her into the passion that he knew had only just been contained beneath the surface.

  He allowed her to rip his clothing from him and treated her in the same way but denied her full dominion over him. Her senses swam and she was aware of her body rising from the bed in union with his. He held her there in mid-air, caressing her, stroking her hair and murmuring to her, implanting pictures of such beauty they took her breath away, and then replacing them with scenes of carnage that only served to fuel her appetites to the extreme. He took her from the depths of despair at her hunger to the heights of moaning ecstasy, enthralled at her own ascendancy from the pitiful woman she had once been to the awe-inspiring creature she now was. If there had been no going back before this, there would be none now; her transformation only seeking her first raw feeding to complete the circle of her rebirth.

  It may have been the Old One that had c
reated her, but it was he, Andrei, that had transformed her into this awesome vampire and he took her so far into ecstasy that he almost became lost in her wildness as she met him as an equal, energy for energy, raw power for raw power. A volatile cocktail of destruction waiting to happen.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Beckett had grabbed a small hessian bag as they prepared to leave his apartment.

  Darius looked pointedly at it and then at Beckett.

  “Want to know what’s in there, do you?” he growled.

  Darius nodded.

  Beckett threw the bag down onto the hall table and yanked it open. Inside, was a pointed wooden stake, a cook’s knife, and a butcher’s cleaver. Darius paled.

  “That’s serious shit, man”, he said huskily. “Or is it just the stuff of mediocre fiction?”

  “It’s serious shit we’re dealing with, or didn’t you realise by now? And I can assure you there’s nothing fictitious about it, mediocre or otherwise. Get your head around it: there are limited ways to kill these bastards. They won’t burn up in the sun. Not unless they get stuck out in it for extended periods, and even then it’s not like the Dracula movies. Unless they are deeply religious and of the Christian faith, a cross or crucifix will do squat. They have to be separated from their head and their heart, and fire will do it. Now, can we continue with your education as we go? You haven’t done much homework for a slayer, have you? I don’t think you realise how serious this crap really is.”

  “That’s not fair! You know I do. It’s just that knife and cleaver. You know, I guess it makes all this a bit more real.”

  “Lesson number one, Hunter. Sometimes it’s not enough to ram a stake into ‘em. You have to take their heads off. Otherwise, well, not to put too fine a point on it – no pun intended – they just keep coming back. Especially the Undead. They have to have their hearts cut out and their heads chopped off or they’ll be back on their feet and ready to rip you apart before you can blink. So, still fancy yourself a slayer?”