Shadows of A Vampire

by Guida, ML

He’d thought he was the one seducing her. But his little witch had turned the tables and he could not deny her. Raw, savage, hunger built inside him until he was desperate to be inside her heat. She was hot and slick, ready for only him. She wrapped her thighs around his hips and locked her ankles, pushing his hips closer to hers. William kissed her and rocked his hips fast and hard, thrusting his flesh deep inside her womb.

  * * *

  Mariah’s hunger was as great as William’s. He was thick, hard, and stretched her muscles, filling her. The fury of him taking her drove her to new heights of wild abandonment. She moved her hips, matching his rhythm, the friction of heat between their bodies, sweet pleasure. Her breasts brushed against his smooth, hard chest.

  Overwhelming feelings pulsed through her. The texture of his skin, his warm breath against her skin, the definition of his muscles, then the sweet orgasm sweeping over them. William tossed back his head and screamed, collapsing onto her, burying his head in the crook of her neck. White light bathed them like a cocoon.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  She stiffened. Regret again? “Why?”

  He lifted his head and stared at her with half-hooded eyes. “I wanted to love you slow, not rushed and hard.”

  Love? She wanted to ask him what he meant. Sex? Or something more? Muscles relaxed, she stroked his silky hair and smiled. “I am not complaining.”

  He brushed his lips against hers. Sweet. Soft.

  The decoction pulsed through her veins, and power swept over her, urging her to close her eyes. She yawned. How wonderful it would be to sleep in the safety of the dragon’s arms and not be waking in a dream, facing dangers.

  He lifted an eyebrow. “I made you drowsy?”

  “No, ’tis the decoction and the magic. ’Tis time to dream.”

  William’s face turned grim. “You’ll bring me with you?”

  “Oui.”

  “Don’t lie to me.”

  Mariah trembled. His words warned of consequences if she did not fulfill her promise. He began to pull out of her.

  She shook her head. “No. We must be joined for me to bring you.” She slowly caressed his back with her finger-tips. “You must trust in the magic for it to work.”

  He nestled against her neck. “Don’t leave me behind. I couldn’t bear to lose you.”

  ’Twas more of a plea than a command. Mariah bathed in the concern of his voice. Maybe her dragon did care about her, at least a little bit. She would take any warmth he would give her.

  “Shut your eyes, my dragon.”

  She caressed his back and breathed deeply. William followed her leisurely rhythm and sighed in her arms. His muscles calmly relaxed. His steady heart imitated her own slow beat.

  “I call upon Mother Isis. Deliver us both to Lark.”

  Mariah blocked out all sensations and released the tension in her muscles, enjoying the sweet bliss she had with William. Warmth spread over her, and she clutched her wand that lay beside her. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she passed over into a mindless slumber.

  She wore a dress and walked alone in the night through heavy fog. Her pace was slow due to the poor visibility. The rolling mist moistened her skin, and a cold chill seeped down her spine.

  Waves rushed over her bare feet. White sand pulled in between her toes. She glanced over her shoulder and gazed into the sky. No William. Her heart quickened and she could not move.

  She closed her eyes and silently called for William.

  Are you here?

  The rushing of waves was her answer. The sex magic had failed. Had Lark become more powerful than her? Was there a barrier that prevented other magical creatures from crossing into this dream world?

  She would face Lark alone. Grand-mère had said she was powerful enough to confront a warlock. But could she?

  “So, you came to see me, witch?”

  Lark approached, armed with a sword strapped to his hip and a wand in his hand. A black aura radiated around his body. His ebony eyes held her gaze, and his red lips crept up into a jeer.

  She could do this. She was a Fey woman. She believed in her magic.

  She fought the urge to run. Lark would only hunt her down. She had entered his dream. He had not entered hers.

  “Oui, I came to talk.”

  He raised his eyebrow. “Talk about what?”

  She tilted her chin and clutched the wand in her hand tight. “I wanted to talk to my brother.”

  “Brother?” He laughed. “You have come to the wrong dream, mademoiselle. I have no sister.”

  “Oui, you do. Your name is Lark Fey, and I am your sister—Mariah Fey.”

  Lark’s aura flickered to gray. He lowered his wand and shook his head. Hope swelled in Mariah. “Your Grand-mère is Morgana Fey. Our parents were—”

  The black aura returned, and a bitter wind blew. Mariah stumbled backward and fell onto her bottom. Her wand flew out of her hand, and the waves took it out to sea. Water rushed around her, soaking her dress. Lark towered over her; loathing fumed in his eyes. “Silence, Mademoiselle.”

  The fog grew thicker, and she could not make out her brother’s face, only the outline of his shape. “Lark, you must—”

  He held up his palm. “You are vexing me, and if you continue, I will punish you. I suggest you leave my dream world now.” He pointed his glowing silver wand at her. “While you still can, oui?”

  “How did you get your wand? I have it.”

  “Vous êtes imbécile, mademoiselle? My mistress gave this to me. I have no other.”

  “That is not true! Papa made you one before he died.”

  He glanced at his wand, and a slow smile spread across his face. “You are trying to trick me, oui? Trying to get me to give up my wand. It will not work, mon chérie.”

  Mariah crawled onto her knees. “You have to remember your past. Your family. You are a witch. Not a warlock.”

  “No?” He grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her off the sand. He shook her hard.

  Agony seized her, and she slapped at his hands. Tears formed in her eyes. She thought he’d ripped her hair out by the roots.

  “You doubt my abilities?”

  She tried to pry his fingers off her hair. “You are not evil.”

  He tossed her onto the beach. “Oui, I am.” He strolled around her. Malevolence radiated off him, and any hope she had about saving him died. She could not feel any goodness within him.

  “You must fight this. Look into your soul. Come back to us.”

  He grabbed her arm and pulled her against him. “Look into my eyes, mademoiselle. I have no soul.”

  Mariah focused and forced herself to stare into Lark’s eyes. She tried to find his essence, his memory. Only blackness and malice swirled in the depths of his eyes. Death. Horror. Hate. His magic warred with her own. Powerful. Twisted. She recoiled, and bile formed in her throat. She had lost her wand, and he had his. He planned to kill her, and she was helpless.

  Fire blazed through the fog and swirled around them.

  “Merde!” Lark swore and dropped her onto the ground. “Where did that come from? What kind of magic is this?”

  The outline of a man appeared through the fire. “Mariah?” A familiar voice cried, “Where are you?”

  “William,” Mariah choked. “Here.” She needed his strength, his comfort.

  “I do not like this invasion.” Lark yanked on her hair. “’Tis your fault, mademoiselle. You shall suffer the same fate as Mademoiselle Knight.”

  Fear seized Mariah’s hammering heart. Her breath came out rapid and harsh. She gasped for air. Breathe. Breathe.

  She kicked Lark’s ankle, and his hold on her hair loosened. She dragged herself to her feet and ran. “William?”

  “Mariah?”

  The fog had thickened. She could not tell where his voice came from. Red glows burst and whooshed into the gloom, but from all different areas.

  “You cannot escape, mademoiselle,” Lark warned.

  She glanced over he
r shoulder. The mist parted, and Lark trailed after her. His face paled and then melted away, leaving nothing but a terrifying skull. She gasped as flames burst in the black voids of his eye sockets. This was not her brother’s face anymore ’twas the face of a demon.

  Lark sped after her with his wand high over his head.

  Her bare feet sank into the sand, and with each step, she struggled to slog through. Lark closed the distance between them. She trembled. Had she pushed her brother too far?

  “William, Help me!” Her voice shook with terror.

  “Mariah,” William called back. “I can’t see you. Where are you?”

  Lark laughed. “I’m coming to get you.”

  Her foot slipped in slimy sand. Thick blood mingled with the waves. Brown hair floated in the red water. A woman lay in the surf, her throat slit. Hannah.

  Mariah screamed.

  * * *

  William raced through the black haze. Mariah’s scream froze his heart. He exhaled again, and fire burned through the darkness. As soon as he stopped, the heavy fog returned.

  “Mariah, damn it. Answer me!”

  He ran blindly through the murkiness. Luckily, he was clothed in the dream and more important, he was not weaponless. He had his sword and pistol.

  “Lark, you devil. I’ll kill you,” he yelled. “Leave her alone.”

  Maniacal laughter turned his blood cold. Soulless. Evil.

  He could not breathe, and his heart threatened to shatter into a million pieces. This was worse than Sharon’s death. He could hear the fear in Mariah’s voice. She was here. He was here. And he could not get to her.

  “Drakon!” William cried.

  “You must trust in magic,” Drakon said.

  “I do.”

  “No, she is your mate,” Drakon said. “More than a mate. Your true love.”

  “I care for the lass.”

  “You’re a fool, and your denial will kill her.”

  Another blood-curdling scream shot power through him. His heart thundering in his chest, he raced through the black cloudiness. The scream was different, not filled with her fear, but pain. Was she hurt? Dying?

  He exhaled again, and fire flared in front of him. Another steady sound caught his attention. Waves? Fire flashed again, and this time, waves rushed over white sand. The fog appeared less dense, and he hurried forward.

  Footprints appeared in the sand. Hungry waves slowly washed them away, and he cursed the sea for betraying him. He prayed that if he followed the outline of the beach he’d find Mariah.

  Two set of footprints appeared in the sand. Lark?

  Mariah had fulfilled her promise and brought him to this place. Why the hell had they been separated?

  “If you would have told her your true feelings,” Drakon said. “You’d be by her side.”

  William’s heart raced, and he nearly choked on his fear. “I don’t want to hear it.”

  “Love is the strongest magic,” Drakon said. “And if—”

  “Silence.”

  ’Twas true that his feelings for Mariah ran deep and if she died she’d leave an empty shell. Was this love? Could he be in love with a witch?

  Another scream propelled him to change into the dragon and fly across the sandy beach.

  Aye, damn it. He very well could be in love with a witch, a witch that could be dying because of his foolish pride.

  Below, he spotted Mariah running. Relief flooded him that she was alive. He transformed into a man, and Mariah raced toward him, her violet eyes huge. Blood sullied her dainty feet. “William, Mon Dieu!”

  A man with no face, only a ghastly skull rushed toward them. Fire flamed in his eye sockets, and darkness engulfed him. The power radiating from him smashed into William. He exhaled, and fire blazed over the man. Running around in circles, the man screamed.

  William choked on the stench of burnt flesh. Fiery heat blazed. William wrapped his arms around Mariah and turned his back toward Lark to shield her. She collapsed in his arms.

  The fog blanketed them, and William fell into blackness. “Mariah!”

  * * *

  He woke with a start. “Mariah.” Softness and warmth was cradled beneath him. Mariah breathed onto his face. Her brows were knotted, and her lips tight. He was still embedded inside her. His heart pounding, he stroked her pale cheek. But she did not move. He swallowed hard, rolled off her, and pulled her into his arms.

  She wore a diamond choker around her neck. The yari. “God, no!”

  Adrenaline spurred through him. He tried to remove the yari, but it refused to budge. Damn it!

  This was all his fault. Why hadn’t he listened to Dragon? This was Sharon all over again.

  How could her bloody brother bind her powers? To enslave his own flesh and blood? His stubborn heart shattered. She’d be in pain, and there wasn’t a bloody thing he could do to thwart it.

  Chapter 26

  William caressed her cheek with his shaking hand. “Mariah, sweet witch, wake up.”

  Her eyes fluttered, and she moaned. He gripped her shoulders tighter. “Mariah, come back to me.” His voice was more of a whisper and tears slipped down his face. God, he had failed again. Failed to save the woman he loved.

  “There you admitted it.”

  “William,” she whispered. She flung her arms around his neck. “My brother. He is gone.”

  He held her tight, not knowing what to say. Her brother looked like a walking corpse and was in league with the devil.

  “Shh, you’re safe now.”

  Tears glistened in her soulful eyes. “You do not understand. I will be forced to kill my own brother.”

  He kissed the top of her head and cradled her in his arms, relieved they were back aboard the Phoenix. This was the last time he’d let her visit her brother in a dream.

  Mariah suddenly pulled away and her hand flew to her throat. “Mon Dieu, William, do you know what this is?”

  The fear in her eyes could crucify him. If he only he had the power to destroy the damn thing. “’Tis the yari.”

  “I cannot utilize my powers. He’s bound me.”

  He clasped her hands. “Your Grand-mère said you would be able to defeat a warlock. You’ll find a way to break the spell.”

  “No, I cannot. It binds my magic. I have failed. Grand-mère said that we would be able to defeat a warlock. In my foolishness, I have condemned us all.”

  “Mariah, we are not defeated yet.” He kissed her trembling hand. “We need to pull together. Hope is what helps us continue the fight. Without it, we will be defeated.”

  She glanced at the canvas door and leaned closer. “Hannah is dead. He killed her.” Her voice choked.

  William’s heart stopped beating, and acid boiled in his gut. It couldn’t be true. Not Hannah. The old pain rushed over him. The anguish, the lust for revenge. The hate. He refused to have Kane experience the same despair. Not until he was sure Hannah was gone. He grabbed Mariah’s shoulders and stared into her wide eyes. “Are you sure?”

  Her lips quivered and she lowered her head, her hair falling around her. “I saw her, William. Her neck was slashed.”

  “But it was a dream. It wasn’t real.”

  She raised her head. “No, you do not understand. Warlocks have the power to show what happens outside the dream. He told me he killed her.”

  How would he tell Kane that the woman he loved was dead? Could he tell him? “Why? Why would he kill her?”

  “Because she kept telling him that he had a sister.”

  “That’s nonsense.”

  “He showed me his soul. No part of the brother I knew was there. He’s pure evil. Bent on destroying all of us. Hannah was his first victim.”

  “I can’t believe she’s dead.”

  “We have to tell the capitaine.”

  He gripped her shoulders tight. “No.”

  “But—”

  “I’ll not put my brother in such agony until I’m sure that she is dead. That I have proof. You don’t understand t
he grief he will endure. It will murder his spirit.”

  She cupped his cheek. “Is that what you went through with Sharon?”

  “Aye.” He leaned against her palm and turned and kissed it. “Promise me you’ll not tell him.”

  She lowered her shaking hand. “William, he’ll never forgive you.”

  “I’m willing to risk it.” He took her hands and pulled her off the floor as he stood. “Will you do this for me?”

  Doubt filled her eyes, and she bit her lip.

  “We need to discover whether she’s alive before we rip out my brother’s heart.” He held his breath, willing her to see it his way.

  She sighed and released his hands. “Oui, I will wait until we have proof.” She picked up her dress and held it close to her, covering her nakedness. “You are gambling with losing your brother.”

  “Hannah is his whole life.” He smiled. “She almost tore us apart.”

  “Why?”

  He put on his trousers. “We were both vying for her attention.”

  She cocked her eyebrow. “Like you and Ronan are with me?”

  “Aye.” He rubbed his chin. “You saw Hannah dead on the beach?”

  “Oui, why?”

  He pulled on his shirt. “Zuto’s island?”

  “I presume so. Why?”

  She slipped into the dress and struggled to lace the back, but her arms flailed, and she wiggled those sexy hips as if doing so would help her tie the laces. Desire surged through him, but he fought it down. There was not time for any coupling. He had to find out about Hannah. Alone.

  “Let me.” He quickly helped her dress. “I must go there and see if she is dead. Then, and only then, will I bring the news of her death to Kane.”

  She furrowed her brow. “You?”

  He pushed her hair away and stared at the dreaded choker around her neck. What other horrors could happen to her? “Aye, you are not going anywhere near that island.”

  Mariah shivered and clasped William’s hand. “I made a mistake and tried to take on Lark by myself. If you go alone to Zuto’s island, the same will happen to you. Grand-mère said we had to combine our powers together to save Lark and defeat Natasa.”