Ian set two crystal glasses on the coffee table and took a seat on the sofa across from me. I sipped the wine, then closed my eyes and breathed in the flavor. “This is exceptional, Ian.”
“It is very old, from a vineyard in Rome. I save it for special occasions.”
“And what is the occasion?” I drank more.
“It is not every day that a vampire reveals his secrets.”
“Why now, why me?”
“We wish to gain citizenship. We have been hiding for eons.”
“Why hide?”
“The world is not always kind to those it does not understand. We seek citizenship now so it is necessary to share ourselves with the mortal community.”
“Why me?” I took another drink then set my glass down when I realized it was near empty.
Ian picked up the bottle to refill my glass. I placed my hand over the top and shook my head. “Maybe later.”
“Ah,” he said, finishing his glass and refilling it. “Work first.”
He ignored my question but I’d get back to it later. I had others. “How do you do that? I thought vampires only drank blood.”
He took another long drink, his eyes staring into mine over the rim of his glass. “True, blood is what sustains us, and while it’s not necessary to eat or drink anything else, I find it pleasurable to drink and only eat when it’s necessary to blend in with mortals.” He reached his hand toward me.
I tensed.
“Rest assured, my love. I have not taken blood from an involuntary donor in more than a century.” He let his hand fall to his side.
“Why should I believe you?” I leaned closer to him.
“Because it’s the truth. You can feel that it is. Can you not?”
“Yes, although, truth or lie is not my specialty.” Actually, it was Jessica’s specialty, it was part of what made her an exceptional attorney. She was convinced that I had more powers than I was using and I’d always refused her efforts to try and learn to strengthen them.
It occurred to me then that not only did I feel serene around Ian, I also felt more powerful.
Interesting.
“You have more strengths than you allow yourself to acknowledge.” He said it as if he’d read my mind.
Shit. Legends had it that vampires were capable of reading thoughts and mind control.
“Are you invading my thoughts, Ian?” Anger grew inside me in a heated rush.
He didn’t answer but the expression on his face spoke more that words could ever have.
“Get out of my head, Ian.” I jumped out of my seat and paced the room. “You’re reading my mind, aren’t you? I trusted you and you’re reading my fucking mind.” I strode toward the door. In a blur of movement Ian stood before me. I reached my hand to the holster at the small of my back but he grabbed my wrist before it got there. The first thread of fear tingled down my spine. He had no business poking around in my head.
He dropped his hand. I pulled the gun and sighted down the barrel.
Chapter Eighteen
He held his hands up in a surrendering motion. “I can feel your fear, Leah. You do not need to fear me, but there are others who would do you harm.”
I kept my gun aimed at his chest. “Are you threatening me?”
“No, Leah, I am trying to keep you safe. You are more powerful than you know. Your kind of power will attract others who wish to feed off it. I am trying to protect you from them, and, from yourself.” He sighed.
I hadn’t heard that much inflection in his voice since I’d met him. He was usually controlled, almost emotionless.
“I am not the only untrustworthy one here, Leah. You are armed to do battle.”
“I’m always armed to do battle. It’s part of the job.”
“It is more than just part of your job, it is part of you,” he countered.
“I did not come here to harm you. I want to solve this case.”
He dropped his head. “Is that all I am to you, Leah, part of the job?”
“Yes, no. Hell, I don’t know, Ian.” I lowered my gun. “I’ve dealt with supernatural shit my whole life. I live it and I’ve studied it. I have a master’s in parapsychology with minors in both occult science and criminal psychology. I didn’t choose this, it chose me.”
“Why do you think you chose those degrees, chose to pursue the powers in you,” he challenged softly.
“It was all I knew.”
“The good in your heart chose to use your powers to help others. You could have set up shop and read palms or tarot cards for the tourists. You could have used it for personal gain or evil. You knew in your heart that there was more to it than that. You are more powerful than you allow yourself to be.”
“I don’t want it. I never did.”
“Someday you will have to accept who you are, I am sorry for that. Until then…” he spread his arms wide, palms forward, “shall we call a truce?”
“You’ll stay out of my head?”
“My word of honor.”
I nodded and holstered the gun.
“Please, sit down, ask your questions.” He held his hand out to me. I took it and he led me to the sofa.
“I’d rather stand.” I walked to the windows.
“As you wish.” He sat on the sofa, still as stone. Nothing moved except his deep blue eyes. I looked out the window to stare off into the night as I collected my thoughts and organized my questions. I could feel his gaze upon my back and knew that he watched.
I turned to face him. “Okay, so you move really, really fast.” I already knew that but what the hell.
I blew out a long breath. “You can read minds.”
“Yes.” He held up his right hand. “I will honor your wishes, my love. I will ‘stay out of your head’ as you put it. Shall I continue?”
I swept my arm out in a wide gesture. “By all means.”
The corners of his mouth twitched momentarily. He lay back on the sofa and stretched his arms behind him, propping his head upon them. His feet were crossed in a completely relaxed movement as if he was stretched out to relax for the evening. The pale blue T-shirt he wore strained against the muscles of his broad chest. I let my eyes wander lower to his well-defined stomach and where the shirt tucked into the waistband of his jeans. His denim-clad legs stretched out down to the brown leather cowboy boots that extended past the arm of the sofa, accentuating all six foot plus of him. He looked utterly relaxed and undeniably masculine. “Does vampirism enhance your…” I shook my head. “…Never mind.”
“Attractiveness?” He smiled all the way up to his eyes.
I felt the heat of my blush rise up my face. “You promised you wouldn’t read my mind.”
“I didn’t. It is the way your eyes gaze over me, the accelerated beating of your heart. I can hear your blood move quicker through your veins.”
“You can hear my blood, my heartbeat?” I brushed my hair from my face.
“All vampires have a heightened sense of hearing, strength and agility. We can read minds and erase your memory. It is how many vampires feed and still remain undetected.”
“So a vampire can read your mind, suck your blood and completely erase your memory of it? That is, if they don’t kill you first.”
“One vampire cannot consume enough blood to drain an adult human of life. If the human dies, it was more than one vampire and not accidental.”
“How many vampires does it take?”
“Depends on the size of the human, but usually at least three.”
“Well that’s a handy piece of information to have.”
I filed that one away in my mental filing cabinet for future use. A thought sent a ripple of panic through me. “Have you erased any of my memories?”
He sighed.
“You have, you son of a bitch. You’ve messed with my head.” Panic turned to anger. I could see red tinting the edges of my vision.
“I tried, my love. The first night I met you. I could sense your powers and thought it best
if you did not know me. I did not succeed.”
“You’re not powerful enough?”
He laughed bitterly. “Oh yes, I am powerful enough.”
“Then why…”
“I do not know. Perhaps you are too strong-willed. Your own powers are great.”
“So you can’t?” I asked, terrified of the answer.
He took a deep breath. “No, my love. I cannot.”
“Good. Don’t try it again,” I ordered.
“As you wish.”
“Where do you get your blood?”
“I do not take it from unwilling donors.”
“What do you mean by ‘unwilling donors’?”
“Not all blood donated by humans is usable and even if it is usable, it has a shelf life, an expiration date, if you will. Vampires are not susceptible to any disease. I buy the unusable donated blood.”
“I guess I never really thought about what happens to unusable blood.”
“I can also survive on animal blood, although it is not as palatable.”
“Human blood tastes better?”
“Yes, it does, although each has its own unique flavor.”
I remembered the small cut on my tongue from his fang. “How did mine taste?” I couldn’t keep my amusement from showing on my face.
His lips curled into a smile that was either evil or sexual, I couldn’t tell which. He closed his eyes and swallowed as if tasting my blood all over again. “Do you really want to know?”
I waved my hands in front of me. “Never mind. So you have never attacked a human for their blood?”
“I did not say that. It has been many decades since I took blood from someone unwillingly. We are … born, for lack of a better word, like a wild animal. I have learned to control my appetites.”
“So you have killed people.”
“Yes, I have,” he said softly. “I am a vampire. I can only tell you that I have not taken a human life in the generations that still live today. I have learned that it is a choice for me and I choose not to.”
I walked over and sat down. “Why?” I picked up my wine glass.
“So cynical for one so young.” He sighed. “I did not choose to be a vampire. It was a thing of violence and now that viciousness is a part of my world. How I use it, however, is up to me.”
“So, you drink human blood, but only from willing donors.”
“Correct.”
“Holy items?” I sipped my wine.
“Holy items are harmful to us if we have direct contact with them only. If your cross were to touch me, it would burn me and I would be unable to heal myself from it, but it is not fatal.” He lifted his shirt to reveal a cross-shaped scar along his side. “Holy water would have a stronger effect and silver is even more harmful.”
I reached for my cross. “I did not intend to hurt you.”
“And you did not. I actually enjoy the look of crosses and crucifixes. I was raised Christian.”
“Can you be killed by a wooden stake?”
“If you find any being who can survive having their heart ripped out then I would strongly suggest you run in the opposite direction.”
“Then you’re not immortal. All living things die, Ian, even you.”
We had leaned in closer to each other as we spoke. He reached up and tucked a stray piece of my hair behind my ear. The sensation of his cold skin caressing the ridge of my ear made me shiver. “Is your skin always cold?”
He pulled his hand away abruptly. “I am sorry.”
“I didn’t shiver because your skin is cold.”
He cupped the side of my cheek. “My skin is only frigid when I have not fed.”
“Then you’re hungry?”
The look in his eyes said that he was hungry for more than just blood. “Yes,” he whispered, “I am hungry.”
I felt the blush creep up my face and turned away.
“I love the way your body reacts to me, that I can make you blush.”
“You should eat.”
He arched an eyebrow at me. “Is that an offer?”
I smiled back and tilted my head. “Not a chance, vampboy. Use your own supply.”
“Vampboy? Huh.” He smiled mischievously. “I can feed on more than just blood. Like you, I feed on the energy around me, joy, fear, anger,” his voice dropped an octave, “lust … love.”
“Can all vampires read minds and feed on emotions?”
“No, vampires have individual strengths and weaknesses. Only the very powerful can read minds. I can read minds and feed on emotions, but not all of my kind can. Some have abilities others do not. The very powerful can acquire abilities from others.”
“Like you?”
“Like me. I am very old and was considered charismatic even in life. There are many others who are more powerful than I. It is why you are in danger. You are a threat to them.”
“Why would I be a threat to any immortal being?”
“You are so much more powerful than you allow yourself to believe. There are those that are attracted to your power and will wish to take it from you. That is why, I believe, you have received the letter of the runes.”
“How can my power be taken from me?”
“There are two ways to take power from another. You can join forces…”
“Or?”
“…kill them. Some of the powerful vampires have the ability to take another’s powers by conquering them.”
My heart beat faster in my chest, my breath coming shallow. “So you think the others were killed to get to me?” I started to shake. I couldn’t bear the thought of someone else suffering because of me. I’d taken plenty of lives myself but I didn’t want the blood of innocents on my conscience.
“I think they were killed for their powers, and, perhaps, to lure you into the spotlight.”
I slumped onto the edge of the sofa beside him. He put his hand on my back and rubbed slow, comforting circles there. “Do not blame yourself, my love. Zarendia was a shapeshifter; her animal was the wolf. If she was killed by an immortal they could have gained some ability to control the local wolves. Your first victim probably had another power that the killer wanted.”
“So big fish eat little fish.”
“In my world, yes.”
“Why do vamps want citizenship now? Why not just stay in the shadows?”
“The world has changed. The Marquis feels that now is the time to become public, go mainstream.”
“The Marquis?”
“Even vampires have laws to abide by. The Marquis assure that the code is followed. They are the oldest of our kind, and the most powerful. There are seven Marquis, one to rule each continent. They have ruled our world from the beginning. They are our ancestors.”
“They made all of you?”
“We are all descendants of the Marquis, yes.”
“Who made them?”
“There are many theories among us,” he replied.
“Popular theory is that Vlad the Impaler was the first vampire.” It was the most popular theory taught in my college classes.
He made a sound between and laugh and a sneer. “Vlad was a ruthless and vicious warrior, that is true. He was never a vampire. Vampires have resided in the pyramids of Egypt. Our story is much, much older than Vlad. We have been falsely accused through the centuries of many atrocities. Spaulding of Scotland was a murderer in the early sixteen hundreds. He was hung for his crimes; then later crawled out of his shallow grave and back into the village that condemned him. He is, to this day, considered a vampire. The fact that his execution attempt failed and he was simply buried alive was blamed on vampirism. Humans are not known for accepting their own mistakes and ignorance. It is far easier to blame others than to admit your own shortcomings. That which you can’t or don’t want to understand can be easily explained as evil. Even early Christians were accused of vampirism and cannibalism because they drank the blood and ate the body of Christ. Many of the misconceptions of my kind are based on religious extremis
m.”
I thought about all I’d learned throughout college. The textbooks were going to need serious rewriting.
“The Church in the seventeen hundreds did a study on vampires and proclaimed their existence. Governments throughout the world issued lists of symptoms. Many innocent people were killed based on suspicion alone.” I rubbed the tension from my temples.
Sadness softened his voice. “As was the case during the Salem Witch Trials in America. Many innocent men, women and children were accused of witchcraft. Innocent people who were ill from diseases little was known about such as epilepsy or encephalitis were accused of either being witches themselves or inflicted with their illness by a witch. Those who were accused in trial were coerced into confessing. One man who refused trial was stripped naked, a board placed on his chest and increasingly heavy boulders placed on top. He begged for death but still would not confess. After days of refusing to confess, he died under the weight of his burden. Not all of those accused made it to a courtroom, they died in prison or were executed by frightened villagers, people they had once called friends, or even family.”
“So you are saying that witches do not exist.” I tapped my foot nervously.
“No, my love, they do exist. I’m simply stating the reasons why those of us who are different, mortal and immortal alike, have not seen the incentive to come forward.”
“Why now? What makes this generation different from the others?”
“We have, evolved, become more civilized, as the mortals have. Most of the Marquis feel that now is the time to reveal ourselves,” he answered.
“Most?” I questioned.
“Like any great change, not everyone is pleased with the new ideas. That is why I believe that you are in danger. You possess raw, untapped powers. Even you do not know what you are capable of.”
“Neither do you. If someone as powerful as you can’t read my so-called powers, then maybe I don’t have them.”
“I appreciate your confidence in my abilities, but the Marquis are far more powerful than I.”
Nightwalker Page 13
