Dark Hearts

by P. L. Midnight

  Raven had no idea why he hadn’t been enthralled with Emma long ago as Vince had been. His attraction to her had been there, but that was all it had been. He’d liked her, but it hadn’t been that difficult to resist her charms. Now, however, that was certainly not the case. He felt bereft when she wasn’t around and recognized the same emotions in the others. His house had become more like a funeral home than a house since she’d been gone. It was depressing. Had she really only been gone a little over a week?

  Raven had a feeling that Victor, too, was already interested in Emma. He’d asked many questions about her. The sooner they got her out of the castle the better it would be for all of them. The thought of sharing her with five others was already pushing his emotions to the limit, and those five were mostly close friends. He wasn’t sure if he could tolerate sharing her with a total outsider. Even though he’d known Victor for a long while and his father had worked with him, he just didn’t know the vampire that well, personally.

  Anyway, who was he kidding, he thought, as he paced the floor in front of the fireplace. There was no guarantee that Emma would want any of them when she realized they wanted to share her. He knew she’d seen all the gargoyles in the garden, too. She probably thought he was too weird to have as a friend, much less as a significant other.

  Another thought occurred to Raven, as he paced the floor waiting for the others to arrive, what happened if her blood enticed all the non-human males she came into contact with? Hell, it could get very messy and crowded. He had to find out what was happening with Emma and soon, before she became a formula for disaster for all of them, including herself.

  Actually, when he truly thought about it, he found it absurd that she could attract every male creature that she met. He knew of a few other non-human males that had already met her. It seemed that they weren’t attracted to her in the least. Some of them had even been about Raven’s age, so that ruled out an age-attraction thing, too.

  He just didn’t know what was going on. Emma would be safe until Vince and he were able to get her. He’d try his best to convince her to return, at least until he could figure out what was going on. After that, well, he knew there’d be no way they could let her leave them. She had to return to them and stay with them, one way or another. They loved her and could protect her, at least he hoped they could.

  Now that Dark Hearts knew Emma was still in the area, their job had become more difficult. They’d have to remove her from the area and soon. He was just glad that Victor had found her. He’d also hidden her car in one of his outbuildings, away from the prying eyes of any Dark Hearts operatives that were around.

  He was also relieved that Victor had thought to check her soaked coat pockets. After he’d finally nursed her body to a state of reasonable health, he went through her things. He’d found her cell phone, charged it and called them immediately. Otherwise, they’d still be going crazy wondering if she was okay. None of them had been able to read her thoughts from the beginning, which he’d found strange, but had foolishly dismissed. You see, all six of them read minds and not just during their individual psychic conversations. However, none of them could read Emma’s thoughts.

  Raven also knew that he’d passed her on the street that one day. Based on the information from Victor, she’d done an amazing job on her disguise. Raven had been so desperate to find her that he figured that was why he’d sensed her presence in the heavy set, black haired woman. He hadn’t recognized the woman and since accosting a stranger at a small-town grocery parking lot wouldn’t be a good idea, he’d left her alone. He’d foolishly walked away from the rotund woman even though Emma’s scent surrounded her.

  He’d stopped pacing for a while as he berated himself for not checking further when he’d sensed Emma so strongly. He was sitting with his head in his hands on the couch. His every muscle was on edge as his thoughts tormented him.

  Dark Hearts could’ve easily killed her or that blasted storm could have destroyed her. It would have been his fault.

  That was how Vince found Raven when he came into the room. At first, he thought something was wrong, but Raven had told him on the phone that Emma had been found. When Raven noticed Vince he’d looked up and smiled. It didn’t quite reach his eyes, but he didn’t look bereft either. He knew Raven well enough that he knew something was occupying his thoughts. He’d share it when he was ready to do so and not before. Therefore, Vince didn’t ask any questions after his initial greeting to Raven.

  Shortly after Vince’s arrival, the rest of them began arriving. Sebastian sat down next to Raven, while Julian, Miles, and Alex sat across the room, occupying various chairs.

  “I’m glad Emma’s been found. Where is she and when can we see her?” Julian immediately asked before anyone could speak. His guilt at letting her put herself in danger was evident in his tone. That started it. They all talked at once until Raven called for order above all the concerned and curious voices.

  “She’s fine. We can see her soon. However, there are a few things we need to discuss before that happens,” Raven said and continued in a voice strained with emotion as he shared the story of Emma’s accident. He left out the part about how close to losing her they’d come. Emotions were already high. There was no need to share that part of the story since they wouldn’t be seeing her for a while. They’d find out soon enough when they saw her. After all, she was going to be okay and that was all they needed to know for the moment.

  At Raven’s suggestion, it was agreed that Vince and he would go to recover Emma. They were to pick up Emma immediately upon arrival at the castle. However, they wouldn’t be able to linger long at Raven’s house with Dark Hearts scouring the area for Emma. Therefore, plans were being made as to where they’d go after they’d retrieved her.

  Raven also briefly mentioned the oddity in her blood. No one was hearing anything about it, except Sebastian, who already believed her blood was different. Everyone else was convinced that they’d just fallen in love with her because she was so special. The rapid romantic feelings they’d developed for her seemed perfectly normal to most of them. There was no point arguing, so Raven let the topic drop. He knew most of the guys were thinking with their hormones and not their brains.

  After everyone left to prepare for their imminent departure, Raven and Vince were to leave for Victor’s place. However, while Vince was preparing to leave, Raven sought a private chat with Sebastian about Emma’s blood composition.

  “It appears that you’re the only one that seems to believe there’s something abnormal about Emma’s blood. Do you have any thoughts about what it is?”

  “I definitely agree with Victor and you. I’ve known Victor for a long time and if anyone would recognize an oddity about someone’s blood, it would be him. He’s one of the ancients. Hell, I think the guy is older than Miles and he’s been around over one-thousand years. I’ve wondered for some time why my own attraction to her seems to have grown so intense in such a short period of time. In further checking her blood, the composition of it seems to be changing the closer she gets to becoming eighteen. I didn’t mention it before because the change was slight and I thought I could’ve been mistaken. Anyway, as we both know, the focus was getting her eyesight to return.”

  “Yes, I quite agree. If only we’d known sooner that her vision had returned, I’d have taken steps to protect her from leaving and putting herself in danger. I’d liked her to have stayed here so I could study her blood more. There is definitely something abnormal here.”

  “If only I’d said something sooner. It seems I’ve been quite lax with Emma’s vision diagnosis.”

  “It’s not your fault, you know. She fooled us all. We were so besotted with her that we overlooked what should’ve been obvious to us. She was indeed a damn fine actress if she could pretend she didn’t see all those intimidating gargoyles in the garden.”

  “Yeah, she didn’t even act intimidated at Miles’ appearance and he could scare a bear at times. The guy’s damn near seven fe
et tall and big as a damn Grizzly.”

  “So true, it’s just a good thing he didn’t decide to shapeshift in front of her. I’m not sure even she could’ve pretended not to see his transformation, which would be terrifying to a mortal. As far as her blood goes, do you have any samples?”

  “Actually, I do. I took a sample every night for the last week when I first noticed the slight difference. Would you care to look at them? I have them on slides. You can look at them under my microscope.”

  “Yes, I’d like to see them.”

  There was definitely a subtle change each day in her blood. Raven agreed with Sebastian, it wasn’t enough to be concerned about, but it was curious. As to whether it affected their emotions towards her, he wasn’t sure, neither was Sebastian. Her healing or Sebastian’s potions could have caused the slight change in her blood. Her blood appeared to be human, but there was something not quite right about it.

  They finished their conversation and Raven went to prepare for his departure. He wasn’t sure how long they’d be gone, but he had a feeling it would be for a while. He limited his packing to one large bag for himself and two for Emma, packing all the things she’d left behind. He wanted her to be as comfortable as possible.

  Vince met him in the garage with his two bags and they left. They’d be taking two automobiles, Vince, Emma, and himself would be using his father’s gray Holland and his Holland Range Rover. Miles would be driving his Harley, which made him look more intimidating than usual. While Julian, Sebastian, and Alex would take Sebastian’s new, black Jeep Grand Cherokee. They were to rendezvous at a small hotel in Columbus owned by a member of the Order. The sooner they cleared the area the safer Emma would be. He just hoped she’d be willing to leave the area now that she’d more than likely spotted her mother from a distance or had heard she was still around.

  Chapter Two-Dark Secrets

  My head felt like I’d tied on a good drunk, but I knew better as I slowly remembered the accident. I remembered the icy cold rain as it had pelted my face. I’d fallen so many times after the accident, trying to get to the castle, I was most likely bruised all over. It hadn’t been a dream and I wasn’t dead. It seemed that someone had finally found me. I vaguely recalled the strong arms that had held me against them, shielding my face from the driving, cold rain. I’d never forget those sapphire eyes, either.

  I tried to move, but realized that I still hurt all over. Moving made me instantly nauseous. I stilled my movements and allowed myself the luxury of snuggling down into the soft Egyptian cotton sheets and down comforter. I looked around the room as much as I could without moving too much.

  I realized I must be inside the castle as everything looked dim, elegant, and quite old. The large dark mantled fireplace dominated the room with its golden flames giving the room a somewhat cheerful glow. The heavy red drapes were pulled tightly closed so I had no idea if it was day or night. I wondered how long I’d slept.

  There seemed to be no one in the room with me, although on the edges of my memory I remembered someone sitting with me until my chills had subsided. I vaguely recalled the man. I’m sure he was the one who’d brought me inside and nursed me back to health. I remembered he seemed immensely tall as he carried me inside. He was strong, too, and carried me as if I were light as a feather. I’d thought I’d heard someone call him Victor.

  I wondered if he was married, but I remembered no one else tending to me. I’d remembered being chilly and then burning up as Victor wiped my face gently with a soft cool cloth. I must have had a fever, but it seemed to have broken, as I was comfortable under the covers.

  Some of my memories were vague. I remembered that man with the sapphire eyes forcing me to drink something that was deep red and tasted coppery. I fought the glass. I had knocked it out of his hands somehow. I remembered what the man, in what was likely my hallucinations from the fever, had forced me to drink from, it was on the fringes of my memory, had it been his wrist? That had to have been caused by the fever, because I remembered only gentleness from Victor.

  I knew that hadn’t actually happened, but I remembered that I did feel much better when I’d finished drinking the liquid. Funny though, I could still taste the copper on my lips, perhaps it had been a powerful hallucination that hadn’t fully left me.

  I strayed from my thoughts and slowly moved my head to look at the rest of the room. I felt weak and like I’d been knocked off a horse and possibly stomped on by big hooves.

  I took in my elegant surroundings. Everything in the room looked expensive, as if someone important and very wealthy now owned the castle. Near the bed was an old-fashioned ceramic bowl and pitcher on an elegant, dark, antique wooden table. A large dresser sat on one side of the room with an exquisite looking Tiffany lamp atop it. It, too, looked as if it was from another era.

  The room wasn’t masculine in the least. It was definitely a woman’s room with the delicate flowered wallpaper and vanity complete with a silver comb and brush set. Strange, there seemed to be no mirror on the vanity and no hand-held mirror in the room. Just a few fancy glass decanters and what appeared to be perfume bottles. Perhaps the man was married or had a grown daughter who wasn’t vain in the least and didn’t require a mirror.

  My thoughts were interrupted as the very person I was thinking about entered the room. I knew it was him, Victor, the minute I saw his eyes. I’d never forget those beautiful sapphire eyes as long as I lived. Today they looked almost black, so deep was the blue, as he looked at me a moment longer than was polite before he spoke. Although he’d saved me, I had the distinct feeling I wasn’t welcomed.

  “I see you’ve finally decided to wake up. How are you feeling?” he said as his intense stare almost bore a hole through me while looking down at me from his high vantage point, seeming to take in everything.

  The man was tall at well over six-feet, probably nearly seven-feet. As he stared at me, I peeked at him from under my lashes. He was so handsome that it almost hurt my eyes to look upon him. I wondered for a moment if he was a fallen angel and I was in some alternate world. As if he could hear my thoughts, his mouth turned up a bit at the corner.

  “I’m afraid I’m not an angel, not even a fallen one.”

  I stammered, embarrassed at my strange thoughts and the sensations running through me caused by his intense stare and glittering eyes, “I’m, um, fine, I think. I think I owe you many thanks. Is it Victor? I thought I heard someone call you that name.”

  “Yes, It’s Victor Negrescu. No thanks are necessary, but I wonder what you were doing out in such a storm in the middle of the night. It was very foolhardy to be driving when all the roads were closed by order of the Sheriff. You very nearly died, young woman.”

  “Yes, I know. Thanks for saving my life. I really didn’t know the roads were closed. When I left, they hadn’t been closed yet. It wasn’t storming either when I started out, just a little rain.”

  “Surely you heard about the predicted storm of the century that the media had been forecasting for days.”

  “No, I didn’t, or I obviously wouldn’t have been out in it.” I became a little defensive at the censure in his voice and the coldness in his eyes. I guess he had no way of knowing that I’d been holed up in a cheap motel with no television. I’d been so focused that I hadn’t even bothered to listen much to the radio in the van.

  “Indeed, I don’t know how you could’ve missed all the warnings, but nevertheless you are here for the time being and you are safe.”

  “Thanks to you, I’m finally warm, too.”

  “Yes, and thanks to me for finding you half frozen in that storm. It was most foolhardy to try to walk in that ice. It’s good that your fever has finally broken. It was a long few nights for both of us.”

  “I’m sorry to have caused you so much trouble. How long have I been here?” I felt like I had to apologize because of the dark, unwelcoming glare I was getting from Victor. He was acting like it hurt him to even talk to me.

  “You’ve been
in bed for over a week now, getting constant care for some nasty cuts and that ungodly fever. Oh, and of course, I wrapped your ankle which you seemed to have sprained in your trek through my yard.”

  “As I said, I’m sorry to have imposed on you and your hospitality. I’d be glad to pay for whatever costs you’ve incurred on my behalf.”

  “It’s unnecessary, unless you’d like to work off your debt by cleaning the house.” There was a twinkle in those dark sapphire eyes that died as quickly as it appeared. Perhaps I’d imagined it.

  When I started to get up, he placed his hand on my mid-section to keep me pinned to the bed. I blushed at the intensity from his touch, even through the thick comforter. Would these feelings never end? I felt the same kind of stomach tingles that I felt with the guys and I didn’t even know this man. I was glad he couldn’t read my mind as my thoughts turned a little more personal as I gazed up at his hard, handsome features.

  He immediately pulled his hand away from me as if he’d been burned. I wondered if he’d been as affected as I had by the impersonal contact. He looked away for a minute as he seemed to catch his breath or something. He sighed, and then spoke again with a slight smirk on his face that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “It’s not necessary to get up. I was only kidding. As you can tell, I’m not without wealth. I have no need of any cash or service from you. The woman’s voice you probably remember is my housekeeper. She stays here during the day and leaves before nightfall. We wouldn’t want you taking her job, would we? Besides, you’re not ready to leave your bed yet. You’re probably still pretty sore. I don’t want to have to nurse you through another fever should you get up too soon and catch a chill. This old place is pretty drafty, you know.”