by Brooklyn Ann
Silas closed his eyes, pride rushing through him at her strength. He must get her back. And somehow, some way, he would ensure that Akasha succeeded in whatever she desired. Somehow, he would make her happy.
Once he got hold of himself, Silas checked the garage and was relieved to see that his Barracuda was still there. She had gone on foot. Not only would that make her easier to find, he didn’t like the idea of her driving in the tumultuous emotional state she had to be in.
He got in his car and drove slowly down the road with the windows down, tracing her presence through the Mark. He caught it to the west, towards Xochitl’s house. His hands gripped the steering wheel so tight that he had to fight not to damage it. In moments he would learn how Akasha felt about living with a monster.
Chapter Thirteen
“Xochitl, Mr. McNaught is here to pick up your friend,” Bill yelled down the stairs.
A ball of panic dropped in Akasha’s stomach. He came after me! What is he going to do?
“’Kash, you gonna be okay?” Xochitl compassionate gaze was like warm honey.
She nodded. “I’m sure he just wants to talk.” Does he?
Her legs were as heavy as lead, but she managed to get to her feet. As if she could sense Akasha’s foreboding, Xochitl put a comforting hand on her shoulder before leading the way up the stairs as if she would protect her.
When they got to the kitchen, they glanced at each other, wide-eyed in confusion. Bill, Susan and Silas were sitting at the table, talking as if they were the best of friends.
“Ever since Xochitl’s been around, I’ve seen vast improvement in Akasha’s schoolwork… and her behavior, for the most part anyway. But you know teenagers.” Silas sounded like a character from an old sitcom. “I look forward to having her over again soon.”
Bill and Susan nodded vigorously in agreement.
“I thought they didn’t like Silas,” Akasha whispered even as she wondered if she’d put her friend in danger.
Xochitl frowned. “They don’t. This looks really fucked up.”
Had he hypnotized them? Silas’s eyes fell upon her and Akasha’s breath left her body. Those emerald irises were no longer glowing but the intensity of his gaze was no less fiery. Vampire… Undead. She tried to feel fear and revulsion but all that came was apprehension coupled with a morbid sense of exhilaration. She wasn’t the only freak in this house. She wasn’t alone.
“Hello Mr. McNaught.” Xochitl broke the silence tentatively.
“Xochitl, hello.” Silas inclined his head, but studied her inquisitively. “Did Akasha tell you she is grounded?”
Grounded? What the hell is he pulling? Does he even know what the word means? Akasha’s mind darted around.
“Um… no.” Xochitl gave her a questioning look.
Play along, Akasha, if you know what’s good for you. Akasha heard the vampire’s voice in her head, but his lips weren’t moving. She suppressed a shudder at the intimacy of Silas speaking in her mind alone and did what she was told.
“Uh, sorry. I guess I forgot.” She hung her head in what she hoped was a gesture of shame.
Silas stood. His voice rang with universal authority. “Come along, Akasha.”
Bill and Susan beamed their approval of his “parental” skills and Akasha choked on bitter laughter. If only they knew.
“See ya later, Xoch’.” She bit her lip. At least I hope so.
Once they were outside, tension charged the air between them. Silas turned to her, eyes inquisitive yet still rife with command. “You didn’t tell her about me, did you?”
She shook her head vigorously as her boots crunched on frosty leaves. “Hell, no! Do you think I’m a moron?”
His expression was one of such profound relief that a stab of fear struck her. What would have happened if she had told Xochitl his secret?
The vampire gave a curt nod and opened the passenger door of the Barracuda. He avoided her gaze as she got in. Her heart pounded with trepidation. As the car roared down the road, crackling on newly installed studded tires, Akasha studied his profile, trying to figure out what he was feeling. Silas’s face remained blank as a statue as he watched the road. She hoped he wasn’t angry with her. At least he probably wouldn’t kill her. After all, he hadn’t when he caught her.
As she wondered what he was going to do, a thousand other questions swam in her mind. Akasha couldn’t bring herself to voice a single one. All she could think was: Silas is a vampire... I’m riding in a car with a vampire… I’m going home with a vampire… I live with a vampire…I was kissed by a vampire! On the heels of the thought was: holy shit! That was my first kiss!
They got to the house and she wordlessly followed him in. She shot a glance at Xochitl’s Datsun in the garage and bit her lip. Will I get to finish working on it?
When they entered the living room, the vampire bade her to sit down.
“I’m going to get you a beer.” His voice was just as cordial…and cautious as it had the night before.
Akasha’s hands shook as she struggled to unzip her jacket. A low impatient sound escaped from her throat. Silas returned from the kitchen, set down the can of Coors and reached for her. His long, elegant fingers grasped the zipper of her jacket and pulled it down. Gently, he gripped the leather by the lapels and pulled as she shrugged it off her shoulders. Goosebumps rose up all over at his light touch.
Before Silas hung up her jacket, he reached into the pocket, retrieved her cigarettes and lit one for her. The cigarette looked weird between his lips. She wondered if he could read her mind. She also wondered why he was still being so nice. Surely the gloves were off now.
Silas turned on the gas fireplace then sat down on the couch next to her, folding his hands in a steeple under his chin. His gaze deepened in intensity as he stared at the fire. Akasha tried not to squirm. He’d never sat next to her before. He always sat in his recliner.
Finally, he spoke. “Now Akasha, we must talk.”
Her throat went painfully dry as her eyes met his. Silas’s close proximity made her shiver, though it had little to do with what he was. She took a deep drink of her beer, for once wishing for something harder.
“Well,” he began. “Now you know what I am. Before I decide what to do with you, I wish to know your thoughts on the situation.”
Akasha blinked in surprise at his inquiry. She chugged the rest of the beer for courage, grateful for the warm tingle it sent to her head. He handed her another from the mini-fridge.
“Well… actually…um …I guess it’s okay.” She froze, shocked at her own boldness and the strange yet irrefutable logic in her statement.
Silas gave her a bemused look, brow arched. “It’s okay?”
Something about his expression made her belly flutter. Maybe it was because he seemed so solemn most of the time. Akasha struggled to regain her thoughts. “Well, yeah. I mean, all my friends have fantasized about encountering vampires. And to think, I’ve been living with one for the past month.” Akasha choked back nervous laughter. “What I want to know is why.”
“Why?” the vampire inquired.
He looks just as tense as I am. Akasha shook her head at the thought. “Yeah, what does an immortal all-powerful being like you want with me? What the hell possessed you to bring me here?”
She sucked in a breath as the obvious again occurred to her. Just because there were no marks… Unconsciously, her hand crept up to the side of her neck.
“Not that, Akasha,” Silas said with aching gentleness. “I have never fed from you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why should I believe you?”
He sighed. “I do not blame you for your suspicion. However, I beg you to consider this: Have I ever done anything to harm you? And, more important, have I ever lied to you?”
“You told me you were a financial advisor,” she accused.
Silas laughed, and for once didn’t cover his mouth. She saw his fangs glisten in the firelight. That’s why he covered his mouth. “Oh, but I am, A
kasha. It’s just that most of my clients are other vampires.”
Vampires in finance…Akasha shook her head to clear the muddled thought away and guzzled her second beer. “If you didn’t take me to be a snack, why did you bring me here?”
“As I told you in the first place, I was lonely and desired a companion.” His voice was level, yet it still seemed he was hiding something.
“But why me?” She couldn’t prevent the hysterical note creeping into her voice. The empty beer can was crushed in her grip. “How did you find me in the first place, and what did you know of me?”
Silas’s expression turned so serious that she had an urge to scoot away from him. “Fine, I’ll tell you. I have had visions of you for centuries. When I found you at last, I wasn’t about to let you stay in that miserable group home.”
“Visions?” A chill skittered across her flesh as she remembered his words the first night they met. “Would you believe me if I told you I was psychic?” Then the next day he’d said, “You better wear a coat tomorrow. It’s going to rain.”
Masking her unease, she grabbed a third beer from the mini fridge.
“Yes,” Silas answered the unspoken thought with a slight nod. “I am something of a clairvoyant. I was in my mortal years and my powers have multiplied since I was Changed.”
Akasha frowned as she struggled to digest this new phenomenon. “You had visions of me… what were they like?” The chill intensified. Had he seen my past? Does he know what I have done?
Silas shifted on the couch, his discomfort apparent. “I really did not see much besides your face.” He paused and looked away. “You were crying.”
“I never cry.” She loathed the defensive tone of her voice.
Silas nodded. “I know that now.”
She studied his face, willing him to say more. It was obvious he was still hiding things. But nothing in his attitude showed disgust so she was willing to let it go …for now. Whatever it was, he didn’t know her worst secret.
“So, what are you going to do with me?” She sipped her beer, feigning nonchalance.
Silas studied her. “You will agree to stay here with me, won’t you?”
“Of course,” Akasha replied, not having to think about it. After all, he treated her better than anyone had in her entire life. She wasn’t about to walk out on him just because he was a nocturnal bloodsucker.
“That is good.” He nodded with satisfaction, then looked away. “I really did not want to force you. I’m not about to let you go. I cannot, in fact, because you know what I am and also because I Marked you. It would not bode well for my reputation as a Lord of this city.”
“What is a Lord, and what do you mean, you ‘Marked’ me?” Another tremor of fear trickled down her spine. The word could not mean anything good.
Silas avoided her gaze again. “The mini-fridge is empty. Why don’t you go get another beer from the kitchen and I will explain.”
When Akasha returned, she sat back down next to him on the couch to show him she wasn’t afraid. If only her hands would stop shaking.
“A Lord is a vampire who is older and more powerful than others,” Silas began. “We usually take charge of a territory and either bar it from all other vampires or keep some in our employ to secure the power base.”
Her eyes widened in fascination. “So it’s a political thing?”
Silas nodded. “For the most part. I myself have no interest in politics or power struggles. That is why I chose Coeur d’ Alene as my city. Very few vampires live here.”
“And what about this ‘Marking’ thing you mentioned?” It was hard to keep her voice steady. “What does that mean?”
“I have given you a few drops of my blood.” Again, he looked away. “All of my kind will detect it. To them it means you are my property and to harm you is to incur my wrath.”
Anger flared at his explanation. “So what, you fucking own me now?” she growled.
Silas continued to avoid her gaze. “According to the laws of my kind, yes.”
Akasha glared at him. Vampire laws or no, she was pissed. “What gave you the right to do that? This is my fucking life you’re talking about. I oughtta kick your ass—”
He held up a hand, cutting off her rant. “I did it for your safety, Akasha.” His voice took on a hard edge as his piercing gaze once more locked on her. “Would you rather be a meal to any vampire who encounters you? Or perhaps have another vampire Mark you?” His brow rose in challenge. “One who would not be as kind as I?”
She let out a shuddering sigh as a measure of her pent up rage dissipated. “No,” she said sullenly and punched the arm of the couch. He owned her. “Fuck.”
The vampire sighed and looked at his watch. “Is there anything else you would like to know…about me?”
Grudgingly, Akasha let go of her anger and complied with the subject change. It seemed there was nothing she could do about it anyway. “How long have you been a vampire?”
Silas’s gaze turned distant. “Since 1513. I was defending my clan and country from the English. The battle was lost; all of my family and clan were slain. I had taken a mortal wound in the gut. The pain was agonizing. I was still alive come nightfall when a vampire found me. He offered me immortality and I accepted it eagerly, vowing to avenge my people.” A look of tortured shame crossed his beautiful face. “I will tell you the whole story another time.”
Akasha digested this all silently as she finished her beer and lit another cigarette. “Do you regret it?”
Silas sighed, long and tired. “Sometimes when dawn is about to come and I am tired and alone. For the most part, I do not regret my choice. This is the path I chose and I shall tread it with as much honor as possible.”
With honor… a strange reply. The pain in his voice made her heart twinge in discomfort. She steered her questions to more technical ground. “So, do you have to kill people?”
His shoulders relaxed in obvious relief at the change in topic, though his eyes still swam with guilt. “When I was young I killed at least one English soldier a night, though it is not necessary to kill. In fact, humans have more blood in their bodies than a vampire can drink in one sitting. However, if I happen to encounter a murderer or rapist I won’t hesitate to make a feast out of them, providing I can make the death look like an accident.”
Akasha lit another cigarette. “How do you know they’re murderers or rapists? Can you read minds like the stories say? Or is it more ‘cuz you’re psychic?”
He nodded. “Not all of us have that ability, though when most of us we feed we see all our victims’ secrets.”
She shivered. “Then… can you read my mind?”
He gave her an odd look. “No. Your mind moves far too fast for me to read. And strangely, if I touch you, I see no visions. That is why I have been so curious about you. I am unaccustomed to mortals keeping secrets from me.”
Keeping secrets… Indeed that is what she’d been doing for years. Akasha didn’t know if she was ready to let them go. She changed the subject again, realizing this conversation was becoming a strange evasive dance. “How can vampires be killed?”
He raised a brow, but his smile was teasing. “Are you planning something?”
Her cheeks heated. “No. I mean… I would like to be able to defend myself, but mostly I just want to know which of the stories are true.” Akasha attempted an equally mocking tone, but her voice shook. “Xochitl cooks with a lot of garlic, you know.”
Silas smiled. “I rather like garlic. That myth came from the southern Slavic areas hundreds of years ago. The herb was said to combat witches. Mr. Stoker popularized it in the late nineteenth century.”
Akasha shook her head, awed by his textbook style recital. “What about stakes?”
He frowned and resumed his former seriousness. “Anything that damages the heart can be fatal, though most survive bullet wounds, even silver, which is another myth, unless perhaps werewolves do exist. I, for one, have never seen one. Other myths are the ones
about holy items, running water, and iron.” He rattled off the list with his fingers. “Fire and sunlight are our bane.”
“You won’t come in my room unless invited,” Akasha said, her curiosity rising with everything she learned.
Silas nodded. “Most of us believe in manners, and it is somewhat of a faux pas to drink from someone in their abode.” He turned to her, those emerald eyes seemed to peer into her soul. “I think you know enough about me for now. Let’s talk about you.”
Akasha hid her trepidation with a big yawn. “It’s getting late. I should probably go to bed.” She couldn’t conceal the trembling of her voice.
She stood up and moved to leave, but Silas’s hand locked on her wrist. Electricity flared at the contact. “You think to escape so easily? There are many explanations you still owe me.”
“I know.” She stared at the floor, hoping he couldn’t see her reaction to his touch. “I-I’m just not ready to talk about it yet, okay?”
“Akasha, I know you are stronger than the average mortal” His thumb caressed her wrist.
Panic clawed at her throat. He did know! But he didn’t seem to be repulsed, so he couldn’t know everything.
“Why did you kiss me, Silas?” Akasha cut him off, seeking any tactic to distract him.
He released her so abruptly that she stumbled, barely catching the arm of the couch. The room swam in her vision. She hadn’t been this drunk in awhile. Silas reached out and steadied her, his hands on her hips. Warmth pooled in her belly at his touch.
“You may go to bed.” His tone was guarded and for once he avoided her gaze.
She stepped closer to him. He was so tall that while she was standing they were nearly eye to eye. “Wait. One more thing.”
“Yes?” he asked cautiously.
“Open your mouth.” She didn’t know if it was curiosity that pushed her request or a desire to punish him for his insistence in knowing about her past… her abnormality.
