Yet he was as uninvited as one could get. A thief among thieves.
He sat in the dark; an intruder in a world far from his own, waiting for answers he knew wouldn’t be given lightly. He swiped his tongue across his fangs, savoring the remnants of the AB he stole from her refrigerator.
She kept quite a stash. Didn’t take a genius to figure out she was stocking up for something big.
Soon he’d know all her secrets. . . .
Her keys jingled in the lock. The door swung open. In the dim light of the moon, Meridian stood stoic, an unamused expression plastered on her face. She was Queen Elizabeth I, powerfully silent. She was the Goddess Athena, war-minded and unmerciful. She was an all-knowing oracle with everything to lose and nothing to gain.
“Hello, Meridian,” Savage hissed. “Surprised to see me?”
“Wouldn’t be much of an elder if I was, wouldn’t you say?” She stepped into the dark, tripping over the decapitated head of one of her cats.
“Oh, sorry about that. Guess you didn’t see that one coming. Vision a little blurred, is it? I have a tendency to do that, if you remember. Your little pussies just kept getting in my way, so I took the liberty of cutting a few of them apart at the neck.”
The lights flipped on without a touch. Dozens of wide-eyed porcelain cats littered the floor, their heads clumped into a pile in the center of her coffee table.
“You don’t have any idea what you’ve done,” she said, picking up the body of a cat, peering inside.
He held up the burnt fragment of a scroll in his hand. “Oh, I think I know exactly what I’m doing. How much do you think these missing pieces of scroll would be worth to, say . . . oh, I don’t know . . . any Sheik in Crimson Bay? Think they’d be worth the price of your head? Of your precious Slade’s?”
“I don’t bargain with cheats and thieves. You can let yourself out.” She picked up another cat and replaced it on her mantle.
Sliding his coat off his shoulders, Savage laughed. Exposed on his right side was a therian marking, thick as a snake, darker than night. “I’m not going anywhere, Mother, until I get what I came for.”
“If you came for an apology for wanting you dead, you’ll not have it. There is evil in you yet. Seems not even the threat of death by your uncle’s hand could spook it out of you. I’ll never know why he spared you.”
He was on her in a flash, fangs bared. Up close and personal she looked weaker than he’d remembered. Then again, the last time he saw her he was a child and loved her more than life itself
My, how things had changed.
“You don’t know what I want, do you? Why is that, Mother? Why can’t you see my path at all?”
She talked slow, her eyes aflame, her expression still as stone. “You don’t walk a path like the rest of us, Kane; you slither with the dark. Why don’t you tell me what it is you want so you can be on your way?”
“I want the secret to unveiling the Ever After. If I don’t get it, every vampire in Crimson Bay will die . . . starting with Eve and Ruan. You’ve deciphered the scrolls well enough, as I have, thanks to your little hidden snippets here. We both know the critical role they play in the fight for immortality and ruling the light and dark.”
“I suppose it wouldn’t do any good to tell you the role you will play in the end?” she asked, hiding something behind her grimace.
“No.” He moved in close until he could smell her uncertainty. “For as long as I’m unable to access the limitless powers of the Ever After, your precious pawns will continue to die.”
The heartbeat along the side of her neck picked up tempo. “For the first time in your hundred years on this earth, Kane, I believe every word you say.”
“As you should.” Savage grinned, feeling the scar on his cheek pull his lips into a snarl. “Now let’s get started.”
Keep Reading
For an excerpt from
The second book
In Kristin Miller’s
The Vampires of Crimson Bay series
Coming December 2011
From Avon Impulse
San Francisco
Present Day
Dante’s breath came out in thick pants, fogging his mask and damping his face, as he surveyed every dark inch of the makeshift training center. He moved cautiously, his pistol extended, each step slow and deliberate. It was as cold as a meat locker in here, he thought, as he wiped condensation off his mask. Damn cold, even for January.
The run-down warehouse had a vaulted wood ceiling plastered with layer upon layer of industrial insulation. The floor consisted of busted-up pallets covered with chunks of carpet padding that bunched into large mountains of gray fluff, leaving ample room for an ambush to hide in the shadows. Six-feet-thick concrete walls with no windows and a single roll-up metal door created the perfect place to get a hell of a lot of training done without alerting the neighbors that this was anything but a warehouse.
Nothing out of the ordinary from the outside.
But the three vampires circling within, covered head to toe in black, save for the goggles covering their eyes and nose, were far from ordinary. The other two trainees each had a weapon in their grasp, a gun and a set of throwing knives. Eyes wide with awareness, their pulses pounded out of their chests.
This was it. Time to find out if training had paid off.
From the left, a flash of movement caught their attention. Dante popped off two quick shots to the wood beams stretching from one side of the warehouse to the other. Two small blades flew off one of the trainee’s fingertips, sinking into the beam with heavy thuds. All eyes tracked the lightning-quick shadow, guns raised, knives at the ready.
Damn, that sucker was good. Dante could barely see his trainer, let alone get a solid bead on him. But, he remembered as he double-checked the amount of ammo in his barrel, this is why he came here. Ruan was the best at getting in, staying hidden, and escaping without anyone the wiser. He was uncatchable. Seemingly invisible. And a brainiac to boot. Capable of knowing your next move before you did.
Deadly combo. Especially when he was the one doing the hunting.
Watching shadows slant and stretch as Ruan ran around them in dizzying circles was enough to make Dante a firm believer in the legends he’d heard. Rumor had it he was once nicknamed “Ghost” for his seemingly supernatural abilities. That he’d infiltrated a therian hotspot all by his lonesome, killed over thirty experienced guards, rescued the kidnapped Primus, and escaped back to his haven before a single report of foul play hit therian radios.
As Ruan toyed with the trainees, making them frantically search this way and that, knowing he was closing in and there was nothing they could do about it, Dante had no doubt that the most far-fetched rumors were true.
Dante was just glad Ruan was back in action, doing what he was born to do. And that he was on their side, of course. For one hundred years he’d taken a position as a royal guard, adhering to Primus orders, living and working in a local haven. God only knew why someone as talented as he was in the field would retire early. . . . Had to be something major that spooked him.
Only now, Dante was the one who was spooked as Ruan made another pass from one mound to another, right in front of him. Not ten feet away! Dante fired. The slug sank into the nearest pile of padding, missing Ruan by a fraction of an inch. Still a miss, damn it.
Crouching low and out of sight, Dante followed the path he predicted Ruan to be traveling. Before he could get to the next mound, a shot rang out behind him.
Dante spun, gun ready, his stomach in his throat. The bigger of the two vamps on his team dropped his hand to his stomach and came up with a handful of red paint.
“Damn it,” he grumbled. “I’m out.”
As he stalked back to the side wall, Dante took a deep breath. It was two on one now. How hard could it be to find this guy? He’s just a vamp and not a Ghost. Just a vamp. Just a . . .
A small, squeaky sound, almost like a silencer tightening, came from a mound close by. Dant
e dropped flat to his belly, pulling himself around the mound by his elbows. He’d crawled nearly all the way around when he stopped in his tracks, realizing he’d lost sight of the other trainee.
Another loud pop! shattered the silence.
“I’m out!” the second trainee shouted, a dejected tone in her scratchy voice.
Shit. One-on-one with the best of the best.
The sound of his own breathing drowned out everything around him. The long drawls in and out, in and out, made Dante more panicked than when he’d heard the gunfire. Not only was his visibility obscured, but he couldn’t hear for shit either. His heartbeat pulsed in his ears and constricted his chest.
Christ, Ruan really was a ghost. And Dante was just a vamp who used to work for VPSI, Vamp Private Security and Intel, looking to earn some high-ranking clientele by learning kick-ass rules of the trade. He was clearly outclassed . . . but maybe he could outwit him . . . maybe if he played a little dirty, Ruan would underestimate him, giving Dante one clear shot. . . .
Dante took a chance—one that was either going to put his red mark on Ruan’s chest, or get him harassed for the rest of his extended life.
He stood straight up and walked to the middle of the warehouse. He dropped his gun to the floor, yanked off his mask and flung it aside. Feeling his backup weapon tight on his backside, Dante wondered if he’d even have a chance to draw on Ruan when he showed himself.
If he’d show himself at all. Take the bait, Ghost, take the bait.
“All right,” Dante called out, searching the mounds for movement, his trigger finger twitching. “It’s just you and me now. How ‘bout we do this the old fashioned way?”
All he needed was Ruan to walk into the open and take the opportunity to go hand-to-hand. He didn’t really want to do combat that way with a trained killer, especially when he’d never been formally trained himself—unless you’d call street fights extending from childhood training. Dante simply planned on drawing the gun on his back so fast that Ruan’s head would spin . . . or rather, cover with paint.
He reached down to his boot to unsheathe the dagger tied to his ankle holster, when he felt Ruan slide up behind him—as quiet and light as air, as ominous as a rolling thunderstorm. Before he could even think about going for the gun, Ruan had a gun barrel jammed into the small of his back and a butcher knife at his throat.
“I can go for a little hand-to-hand,” Ruan said, a challenge Dante knew the Ghost could win blindfolded . . . with no hands. “But I have a feeling you’d surrender, no matter what your weapon. Weakness has nothing to do with the form of combat. It’s a mental disease. And you’re infected.”
Ruan released him and stepped back, giving Dante room to be humiliated in front of his peers. Okay, so his genius of a plan didn’t work and turned out not to be so genius after all. But dirty fighting was fighting. No matter how you won. As long as you came out on top . . . and alive . . . that’s all that mattered. He may not have come out on top this time, but there’d be a next time. And when there was. . . .
“Damn, Ruan,” the beastly trainee said, marching to the center of the warehouse, removing his gear. “I couldn’t see you. I couldn’t hear you. How did you know where we were?”
“Simple,” Ruan said, his voice flat. “I followed your stench.”
Smirking, Dante turned . . . the wide smile wiped right off his face. Ruan wasn’t at all what he expected.
The bastard was a six-foot wall of solid muscle. His arms were covered with black Under Armor but it wasn’t hard to tell they were ripped like a bodybuilder’s underneath. And his legs! How did he manage to run so fast with leather-clad tree trunks for stompers?
But his sheer size wasn’t what startled Dante the most. He had platinum blonde hair that fell in thick waves to his shoulders. Bright green eyes. A clean-shaven square jaw. Dante wasn’t quite sure what he expected from a vamp with a deadly reputation . . . maybe slick black hair, soulless eyes, a heartless spirit, scars? Certainly not this buff pretty boy who could easily pose on the cover of VampGirl.
Damn, compared to Ruan, he was almost . . . mild. Certainly not a word Dante would’ve used to describe himself before tonight. Bold, rough, and hotter than hell, maybe. Mild? Never. What a difference a few inches and twenty pounds of muscle made. Dante had to admit, though, that his short, spiky brown hair and golden eyes gave him a more menacing first impression than the Brad Pitt wannabe standing in front of him.
Only, to his credit, Ruan didn’t look like a wannabe anything. He held his own with an arrogant glare in his eye and a wide, kick-your-ass stance, yet still managed to give off an air of modesty. A paradox that Dante was sure earned the respect of those around him, wherever he went.
Ruan holstered his weapons, which he seemed to have hundreds of around his belt, and hung his vest on the side wall, then came back to each of the trainees and gave them a thorough explanation about what they did wrong and how to improve.
When he set his eyes on Dante, pressure squeezed his stomach tight. He’d given up in Ruan’s eyes. Failed when he should’ve kept fighting.
Let’s get it over with already. Dante picked his chin up and waited for the bitch slap of a report card.
“You,” Ruan began, his voice a rumble of thunder. “You surprised me.”
In the wake of silence, Dante spoke up. “Is that good or bad?”
Ruan nodded. “Good in theory, as I’m not surprised often, although I still managed to get the jump on you. I could sense your fear escalating with each shot fired on the other trainees. I knew that fear would cause you to do something irrational. When you stood up, it didn’t take but two seconds for me to slip into the dark and steal behind you. Next time you try to lure someone out like that, have someone on your side who’s waiting for your enemy to be brought out into the open. You always need to have someone watching your back, ready to make the kill shot.”
From out of nowhere a shot fired. The trainees’ mouths dropped as their eyes scanned the darkness behind Ruan. When he turned to face the hidden foe who’d shot him in the back, Dante got a good look at the mark. Dead-center on Ruan’s spinal cord was a blue paint slug, splattered into a perfect starburst.
“Fellas,” Ruan chuckled. “I’d like to introduce you to my life mate, Eve.”
The long barrel of a gun extended from a distant shadow on the far side of the warehouse, followed by a delicate hand, and one of the most stunning women Dante had ever seen. She looked trim and tone as she strode toward the group, wearing jeans and a Crimson Bay University hoodie like it was evening attire. Strong but feminine. A determined stride. Able to hold her own if need be. But also soft enough to cradle under your arm on a cold night such as this.
As she came closer, Dante could see the same determination from her walk set in her brown eyes too. When she wanted something, she got it, no questions asked; that much was clear. With slightly rounded hips and perky breasts—noticeable even from under the bulk of a sweater—Dante bet his bottom dollar Ruan latched onto that woman tighter than his weapon.
Rubbing his back mockingly, one of the trainees snorted. “If that’s what life mates will do to ya’, I think I’ll fare better on my own, thank you very much.”
Eve slid to Ruan’s side, a smug look of satisfaction on her face. “So what were you saying about having someone watch your back at all times?”
Ruan snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, right against the wide span of his chest. She fit well there, Dante realized, as she gazed up into Ruan’s eyes and gave him a loving squeeze.
The air in the room crackled from their intensity. It was as if they were in some distant place. Alone. Pulled to each other like complimentary magnets. Without three trainees staring at them in shocked silence.
“All right,” Ruan said, palming Eve’s hip and pulling her as close as she could be without jumping his bones. His knee shoved between her legs as he swung her in front of him. “Lesson’s over,” he said, seemingly unable to tear his eyes away f
rom the seductress in his grasp. “Tonight we learned two valuable lessons. The first, that you can’t turn your back for a second. Not a single one. That may be all the time the enemy needs to hone in and take advantage of an already complicated situation. Second, women are evil, mischievous creatures who will do whatever they can to mess up perfectly good lessons.”
Scrunching her face up, Eve pinched him in the side then turned to bump him with her hip. He laughed and pinched her back, a low, protective growl coming from his chest.
Time to leave the love bats alone before he lost his O+ lunch.
“Next time we meet at a public place,” Ruan growled. “Mirage night club, downtown San Francisco. Reconnaissance will be key. Same time.”
Nodding, they filed out of the warehouse. Ruan closed and locked the door behind them.
Overall, failure or not, Dante had a great night. He’d felt the rush of adrenaline and the heat of battle for the first time in as long as he could remember—all from an exercise in an outfitted industrial warehouse. He’d learned more in one night from Ruan than countless hours studying the Vampire/Elder Protection Manual he received upon Induction into his new khiss.
More than that—he’d learned invaluable knowledge from the best.
How to track down and get into the mind of a ghost.
As he stuck the key into the door of his black 1969 Camaro, he gave the warehouse a sideways glance. He had a feeling whatever was going on inside the soundproof facility was about to get a hell of a lot more heated than an ambush with paint slugs and throwing knives.
“You could’ve gotten hurt.” Ruan locked the warehouse door and stalked back to Eve, circling his arms around her waist the second she was within reach. Pressed against him, he could feel the subtle, tantalizing curves of her body. Pick up on the hints of rose hips and jasmine in her shampoo. She was clean. Soft. Pure. Enough to drive a vamp sick with need. “I thought I told you to stay in my office.”
“Is that what you call the room back there?” Her thumb hitched over her shoulder. “An office? Looks more like a dusty weapons locker to me.”
Intervamption Page 33
