A Guardian's Salvation

by Stein Willard

  She almost sighed with relief when she saw the waiter approach their table. With the bill settled, Jessica came to her feet. Clarissa followed suit slowly, her eyes on the door leading outside to the darkness. Noticing how dark it had become, sudden apprehension filled Jessica at the thought of leaving the soothing safety of the restaurant. She chanced a quick look at Clarissa and found that the woman had not taken her eyes away from the door. Something was definitely not right. It was evident in the set of Clarissa’s tense shoulders and the darkening of her eyes.

  “Is everything all right?”

  Clarissa looked at her and, for a moment, her eyes held yet another strange look which caused a frisson of fear to run down Jessica’s spine. Clarissa gave her a tense smile and nodded slowly.

  “Yes. Let me escort you back to your hotel.”

  The hotel! Jessica felt a fresh onset of panic. What was going to happen once they were back in her hotel room? Especially now, with so many unanswered questions and emotions gaping between them. What if Clarissa wanted to make love to her tonight? Would she be able to allow Clarissa to touch her with all these frightful thoughts running through her head? This time, a noticeable shudder ran through her. Jessica saw Clarissa’s brown eyes darken even further.

  She looked away quickly, feeling guilty for her thoughts. As much as she’d wanted to be with Clarissa again after so many years apart, she unexpectedly wished she was far away from her at his very moment. Maybe that was what she had to do. But first, she needed to get to her hotel. Tomorrow she could try and get an early flight out. Howard would be able to take care of the rest of the crew.

  Clarissa rounded the table and without looking back at her made for the door. Startled, Jessica realized her mistake. Could Clarissa have read her thoughts? With a quick nod at the waiter, she rushed after Clarissa and found the blonde waiting for her outside. The narrow cobblestoned street was empty and it was easy to spot the tall blonde. Jessica was a little unsettled by how lonely Clarissa looked, standing there in the darkness. It was too dark to make out the expression on Clarissa’s face, but strangely enough, Jessica could sense the sadness radiating from the other woman. She couldn’t help noticing the way the darkness seemed to settle gently around Clarissa, almost embracing her, taking her in, making her part of it. If possible, it made Clarissa look even more alone, distant, deserted. Taking in the poignant image before her, something inside clicked, like a puzzle falling into place.

  Did it really matter that Clarissa could read her mind? Did it matter at all that for a brief moment, she felt as if she didn’t know the beautiful woman standing there, looking so infinitely lost? She felt her heart jerk inside her chest, as if it was rebelling against her mind, her thoughts. My heart knows Clarissa. It knew that Clarissa was still the woman she loved. The One. My only One! In the past twenty-four hours since Clarissa had reentered her life, Jessica had never felt so alive, so cherished. Was she going to let something so insignificant stand in her way of true happiness? That moment of fear she’d experienced earlier was irrelevant now. She knew, deep down, that Clarissa would never hurt her. Even though nothing was said since that night at Cleaver Keep, Clarissa had feelings for her, strong feelings. That was enough for Jessica. She was going to fight for her woman. Startled, she blinked as she tasted the words on her tongue – my woman. She glanced back at the ramrod straight back of Clarissa. Yes, her woman. That gorgeous, mysterious woman was hers. Knowing that, a small smile touched her lips, as she approached Clarissa.

  “You seem in a mighty rush to take me to the hotel,” she stated softly, as she came to stand in front of Clarissa. Close up it was easier to read the dark eyes and she felt ashamed at the uncertainty she saw there. She lifted her eyebrows questioningly.

  Clarissa gave her a gentle smile and held out her hand.

  “I thought you would be tired after such a long day.”

  Once again the blonde looked and sounded like the old Clarissa, the attentive, gentle woman she’d met a few years ago. Jessica slipped her hand into Clarissa’s.

  “The shoot went well and that’s all that matters,” Jessica said, as they walked in the direction of her hotel. When there was nothing forthcoming from Clarissa, she stole a quick glace and found the brown eyes piercing the darkness ahead of them, anticipation in every muscle of her body.

  “Are you sure you’re OK, Clarissa?”

  The brown eyes didn’t look her way when she replied.

  “Yes. I too, am a little tired that’s all.”

  They walked the rest of the way in intimate silence, but Jessica could feel the tension radiating from the tall, quiet blonde walking next to her.

  †

  Clarissa was very tense. She could sense Mary close by. She needed to get Jessica to her hotel room as quickly as possible. She didn’t want her caught in the middle of a possible confrontation with the renegade princess. Mary was aptly known as Bloody Mary. Clarissa felt a slight pressure in her hand and felt her heart melt, as she looked down to her hand clutching Jessica’s. She had been privy to Jessica’s internal struggle and her heart rejoiced at the outcome. Jessica was willing to try and accept her for what she was and to fight for her. Yes, I am Jessica’s woman, she thought with a slight smile. She belonged to someone again. She cast a quick glance sideways, only to find Jessica looking at her, concerned.

  “I am really okay, Jessica. I just had a very taxing day and have quite a few things I need to work through in my mind. However, I need to apologize for thinking of work while in the presence of such a beautiful woman.” She brought Jessica’s hand to her lips. “There is an ice cream parlor on the way. What do you say? Shall we?”

  She felt her heartbeat exhilarate at the animated look that crossed Jessica’s beautiful face.

  “Lead the way.”

  With a much lighter heart, Clarissa made a mental note to strive to get Jessica to look at her like that more often, in the future. Their first date seemed to have been a roaring success. But then, the night was still young.

  There was more than enough time for so much to go wrong.

  †

  The blue eyes surveyed the scene critically and a cold smile formed on full lips. This was good news –very good news indeed. Sashaying closer, she gently tapped the tip of her boot on the blood-stained chest of the corpse. The thick smell of death hung heavy in the air, arousing her. Death and, more precisely, the thrill of the kill had always been exhilarating for her. She loved it all – the terror of the victim, the ensuing relief at her fake assurance that she wasn’t going hurt them, and the final act — the arousing feeling of warm blood as it soaked into her parched organs, the slowing heartbeat of the victim and then the glassy eyes frozen in a death stare.

  She inhaled sharply at the shaft of lust that shot through her body. It had been quite a while since she’d been this aroused. Sex and killing were her two most favorite sensations.

  Her eyes took in the blood-soaked scene. It seemed that she was finally coming around. Her apprentice, her beautiful pet. She’d almost given up hope. She studied the corpse at her feet. Nice work, my dear.

  “This one seemed to have been personal,” she muttered to herself. “It’s evident in the brutal way she ripped through his throat. She wasn’t feeding. She wanted more.” The thrill! She looked up and a dark shadow stepped closer.

  “Should we get rid of the bodies, my Queen?”

  Mary shook her blonde head and walked over to carefully study the two other bodies. “No. The Royals are in town. Let them clean up their own mess.” She looked up from where she was studying the lifeless body of a young woman; her pale-blue eyes were smoldering. “The bodies have been out here for a few minutes now; we need to get away before the hunters get here. Tell Geoff and the others to keep tracking her. I want to meet with her.”

  The man nodded and together they dissolved.

  Mary only took on form once she was back in the dungeon of her castle. Her eyes pierced the dank darkness of the prison and she smiled at th
e smell of fear. What a glorious scent, she thought, as she walked closer. With a wave of her hand, the candles flickered to light, allowing her to have a better view of the grimy faces looking back at her from behind rusty bars. She kept her own blood cows and milked them regularly, but tonight she wanted more than blood. She needed a thrill… a kill. She grabbed the woman closest to her and peered into her eyes. She took in the dirty blonde hair and fear-filled brown eyes. She wasn’t the real thing, but she would do just fine.

  “Get her cleaned up and bring her to my suite,” she barked out the order and two dark shadows immediately stepped forward. “Make her look pretty for me.” With a thin smile, her cold gaze swept over the other cowering humans. Their fear was turning her on and she quickly looked back at the girl. She would definitely do for tonight.

  She disappeared in a cloud of mist and materialized in front of the big fireplace in her bedroom. She stared into the fire dispassionately, numerous thoughts flitting through her mind until it settled on one. Her face pulled into a rarely seen mask of regret, as one name echoed through the corridors of her mind. Tristan. Pain, anger and loneliness merged as they did every time she thought of him. The fact that he was no more hurt immensely, for he had been the only other being she could relate to. He reveled in the act of violence as much as she did. There were so many other commendable characteristics attributed to him, but their love for violence made them compatible. They were supposed to be together forever – love each other forever. A slow trickling down her cheek made her catch the errant teardrop and bring it to her lips. She didn’t cry. It was a wasteful and messy way of dealing with emotions. She used violence to expunge needless emotions. But for Tristan – only for him – she allowed a blood tear, every now and then. He was worthy of her tear. If only he could’ve realized her worth more instead of chasing after that scrawny little chambermaid he had obsessed about. She turned away from the fire and walked over to where a decanter of wine stood to pour a glass. She drank deeply from the wine. Fortunately, all was not entirely lost. Tristan was gone, but he'd left a piece of himself for her. Clarissa was still here. Her eyes glazed over, as she remembered a conversation she’d once had with Tristan.

  “Who is she and why do you feel so threatened by her?”

  Tristan’s handsome face screwed up in a mask of hatred, as he fixed her with a cold stare.

  “All you need to know is that I want her locked away until I say otherwise. You need not know more.”

  Vexed by his attitude, she refused to leave it there and returned his stare with a cold one of her own.

  “On the contrary, my dear Tristan, if I am to babysit her for the next few centuries, I believe it is my right to know why she is to be kept in a dungeon in my castle.”

  The moments ticked by as they stared at each other in a silent, angry duel.

  “She is my sister.”

  Shocked, she had looked from Tristan to the young, gangly girl, shackled to a wall, her rich blonde hair hiding her face. When Tristan had asked her to collect a parcel at Cleaver Keep, she was mildly surprised to have found the girl locked up in one of the dungeons, near crazy with bloodlust. Her instructions were clear. Get the parcel and take it with her to Germany until Tristan showed up. The moment she saw how pretty the girl was, she almost went mad with jealousy. Was she not enough for him that he had to go around turning little virgins into bedmates?

  Seething with jealous anger a month later, she waited for Tristan and pounced on him the minute he materialized in her reading room. He looked exhausted, but wore the smug face of a well-satisfied man. He had been with someone. She could smell the woman on him. She would deal with that later, but she first needed to find out about the girl in the dungeon.

  And she did, to her great shock. Tristan was immoral. She’d known that even before he was turned into a vampire. But to turn his own sister and keep her locked up was even beneath Tristan himself.

  “Why are you doing this? It obviously had nothing to do with your brotherly love.” She looked down at him where he had thrown himself in a chair, looking at the points of his shiny, black boots. “You have no inkling of what love is.”

  Not in the least infuriated by her jab, Tristan grinned.

  “I know why I am doing it and that should suffice, my dear.” He came to his feet in a fluid movement and his dark eyes were gleaming as they settled on her cleavage. “It will still be a while before the others show up. Why do we not find something mutually rewarding to while away the time?”

  She had allowed him to seduce her, but the girl was never far from her mind. For hundreds of years afterward, she had found herself going down to the dungeon, studying and watching the girl’s innocence peeled away, layer by layer, every time she had to kill to appease the beastly hunger inside. But still the girl refused to break. The genuine remorse she showed after every kill had even tugged at Mary’s cold, shriveled up heart, at times. Her failure at turning the girl into a monster had weighed heavy on her, but still Mary kept at it – diligently.

  For Clarissa Vermont represented everything Mary wasn’t and could never be: young, beautiful, and humane. The girl made her feel inadequate, made her feel more than the monster she already was, as a human and as a vampire.

  Clarissa still made her feel that way, she thought wryly. Her obsession with the girl intensified over the centuries and she was absolutely livid when Clarissa escaped. Tristan was beside himself with fury and slaughtered almost all of the guards for their incompetence. A scuffle in the hallway made her turn, just as the door opened.

  The guards dragged the girl to where she stood. Cleaned up, the girl was exceptionally beautiful and Mary smiled, a cruel twisting of her lips. The girl was shaking with terror and, as expected, Mary felt herself becoming aroused. She placed a finger under the girl’s chin and lifted her face up, so she could look into the girl’s eyes.

  “You will do just fine, my little Clarissa.”

  †

  The bed suddenly seemed too big for the room. Or was it the room that seemed too small for the bed, Jessica thought as she entered her hotel room. She heard a soft click as Clarissa closed the door behind her.

  She needn’t look at Clarissa to know that the brown eyes rested on her with burning intensity. She could feel them burning a hole in the back of her head. Since leaving the ice cream parlor, they had not spoken a word to each other. Instead, Clarissa had restlessly scanned the dark streets, her hand clutching Jessica’s tightly.

  Now here they were, the big bed in the room screaming at them. Was Clarissa going to try and seduce her now? Or was she waiting for Jessica to take the initiative?

  She was still arguing the facts out in her head, when she felt strong arms slipping around her waist from behind. She hadn’t even heard when Clarissa moved to come up behind her. The arms tightened around her and she sighed softly. Clarissa’s touch was so achingly familiar to her that her body leaned back against the wiry frame of the other woman out of its own volition.

  “We need to talk.” The husky voice murmured in her hair and Jessica nodded. The grip around her waist loosened and she was turned gently to look into the serious brown eyes. There was something in the brown depths. Anxiety … or was it fear? Whatever it was, it was so out of place when it came to this usually composed woman.

  She lifted a hand and gently cupped the cool cheek.

  “Tell me.”

  The brown eyes narrowed slightly, before Clarissa took a step back. She put even more distance between them by walking over to stand at the window.

  “I am not who you think I am, Jessica.”

  No surprise there. Since they had sat together in the restaurant earlier that evening, it had become abundantly clear that she didn’t really know her dinner date as well as she thought. Clarissa was holding something back. Something very, very big. Jessica could sense it.

  “Who do you think I think you are?”

  Pensive, brown eyes swung her way and Jessica saw the confusion in them.

&n
bsp; “I do not know. Who do you think I am?”

  “The woman I love.” The reply came fast and without any hesitation. She reveled in the astonished look that came over Clarissa’s face at the bold declaration. “But, I sense there is something you’re not telling me.” She moved closer to Clarissa, but the brown eyes flashed in silent warning, stopping her in her tracks. “I also know that whatever it is you are hiding might be the decider for us with regard to whether or not we will be able to make ‘us’ work.”

  The brown eyes stared at her in mute appreciation. With a deep sigh, Clarissa turned back to gaze out of the window.

  “I love you. You need to know that before I tell you anything else.” Clarissa looked at Jessica with breath-taking adoration. “I am a …”

  †

  Clarissa’s eyes narrowed suddenly. Damn! She vehemently cursed her lapse in concentration. Knowing she didn’t have the time to explain to Jessica, she made a quick jump for her. Jessica let out a shocked squeak, her eyes wide in stunned surprise. Giving the startled woman an apologetic look, Clarissa pinched the sensitive nerves in Jessica’s neck and rendered her unconscious before sinking her fangs in the soft, warm neck.

  Please, forgive me for this, my love, she pleaded softly.

  She only lifted her head again when the door flew open, admitting two burly men followed by a thin blond man. The thin man’s dark eyes were cold and lifeless, as they flickered from her to the unconscious woman in her arms.

  “We meet again,” he said in a low, raspy voice.