B006P1R39O EBOK

by Lorraine Kennedy

  Dash started for the door, but turned back. “You girls will know how to get in touch with me if you ever need to. You know … like if we are ever headed for another apocalypse.”

  “Bye Dash,” Kathrina waved. “You come and see us when you get some time.”

  Kathrina wouldn’t call on Dash, and it wasn’t because she didn’t want to. It was because out of all the vampires that she knew, Dash still had a heart and he deserved another chance. How could he get that if he were constantly dealing with someone else’s drama?

  Once Dash was gone, Kathrina felt the depression closing in on her. Everyone was gone now but Ethan, and he was already busy trying to solve another strange and unexplainable crime. Ethan had finally told them all why’d gone to Rome. Apparently he’d suspected that some kind of evil spirit was involved with the trouble with Omar; he’d gone to Rome to ask for Father Rovati’s help.

  Maybe she would ask Ethan if she could go to work for him. Nicole wasn’t likely to be back for quite some time.

  It was a good thought, but Kathrina wasn’t really sure that she had the motivation to go to work for anyone.

  Getting up from her bed, she went to the window to stare out into the night. Luciano was out there somewhere, but she was sure she’d never see him again. Knowing that he was gone forever was more painful than she would have ever imagined.

  If it really was such a good thing, she couldn’t help but wonder why it hurt so badly?

  Through her confusion and loneliness a thought occurred to her.

  The Book of Anu! He had left it for her, but she’d forgotten about it in the aftermath of the attack against them.

  Kathrina found her slippers and stepped out into the hall. She had left the book in the guesthouse. As far as she knew, no one had gone in there since that night. She’d made it all the way to the door of the guesthouse before stopping abruptly.

  To get the book, she would have to confront her memories of Luciano, and Kathrina wasn’t so sure that she was strong enough to do that.

  He’d purposely played on her emotions and her desire for him.

  But that wasn’t really true. He’d warned her, and she had still insisted on chasing him. Her desire for him had overshadowed her reasoning to the point that she hadn’t even cared what the outcome would be. It was time to face up to that fact. She had been a willing participant in whatever he’d planned for her. It was just fortunate for her that something had changed his mind.

  Taking a deep breath, Kathrina opened the door and stepped inside. It was dark, and she was forced to grope around until she found the lamp. When she switched the light on, she saw that everything was exactly the same as they’d left it that night. The bed hadn’t even been made yet.

  Her body responded to the sudden memory of his kisses and how wickedly delightful he’d made her feel that night.

  Swallowing hard, she forced her thoughts to the book. Kathrina stepped over to the night table and opened the drawer. It was still exactly where he’d left it. On top of the book was a quickly scrawled note.

  Keep shining my sweet angel. Maybe someday your light will shine bright enough to banish all the darkness of the world.

  That was it. He mentioned nothing about coming back, or that he would like her to reconsider - nothing but a poetic goodbye.

  That was just so like him!

  Why should he care if he ever saw her again? With a simple glance, he could have any woman falling at his feet - more than enough victims to last him an eternity. All vampires bowed before him, making way for their master. All immortals knew that’s what he was. The oldest and most powerful vampire on earth was the master of all vampires.

  It was the first time that Kathrina began to realize who and what her lover actually was. Had they all been right? Was he truly nothing more than the ultimate creature of the night?

  Kathrina’s hands began to tremble and she could no longer hold back her tears.

  * * *

  Luciano closed his mind to the pain he felt coming from Kathrina. For the rest of her mortal life, their souls would be as one. Whatever she felt - he would also feel. Right now he was feeling her heartbreak, and he knew he was responsible for that pain.

  The only way that he could protect her from himself, was to go away. Despite the fact that this was the harsh reality of their situation, knowing that did little to soothe his conscience. There was just no other way. How could he be sure that he would always be strong enough to resist the temptation of the salvation her blood could bring him?

  She had told him to go away.

  Whenever he felt his will weakening, he had to remind himself that it had been her wish that he go away. She didn’t ever want to see him again.

  From somewhere deep within his consciousness he could hear her sobbing, but Luciano closed her out. Kathrina was the only victim that had ever gotten away from him, and he wanted it to stay that way.

  Once the sound of Kathrina’s crying faded, he was finally able to think. In the far corner of the bar he saw his next victim. The petite blond sat alone, nursing a vodka and orange juice. She was middle-aged and lonely.

  Luciano probed her mind, wanting to know more about his next feeder.

  She must have sensed him crawling into her brain because she looked around, as if aware that there was someone watching her.

  Her name was Natalie, but her friends just called her Nat. She was recently divorced, which accounted for the look of loneliness and despair on her face. Those were the type of women that were almost too easy to conquer.

  She had caught her husband cheating on her with the next-door neighbor, and from that moment on, her life had been a complete shambles. Right now she was out to have a good time and forget for a while.

  For a brief moment Luciano considered searching for someone else. He preferred more of a challenge, and the woman had been through enough already. Then Luciano brushed his doubts away. He had been without human blood for several days now and wasn’t in the mood for too much of a chase.

  Strolling over to her table, he gave her the same seductive and charming smile he’d been using for thousands years. It had never failed him, and would work as it always had with this woman too.

  “You are looking so sad. Would you care to talk about it?”

  Nat looked up and gave him a bright smile - happy that she would be given a few moments to forget the tragedy of her life.

  “I would love to,” she told him.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Kathrina brushed her tears away and opened the book to the first page. As she began reading his words, she felt the same bond with him that she had when they made love that night. It was like she could see and feel the same things that he did. His experiences were hers.

  The wolves have finally managed to drive the people away. I see fewer of them now that the others are gone. The wolves have retreated into that dimension that has so far remained inaccessible to us.

  I walk alone in this desolate land. With all of my kind now gone, I am left with only their brood as companions. I prefer solitude to the company of those that should not even be. Ophelia has forsaken me. As she left me to go with the others, I saw none of the love in her eyes that she promised would last an eternity. She was as cold as the death that she has brought to this land. My heart has become an impenetrable shell, and I have sworn that it will remain so throughout my existence.

  The disease is spreading rapidly. There is no hope for a cure, but only that they can be taught some civility, but I suspect that this may be expecting too much of such an uncivilized species.

  Each night I look up at the night sky, losing myself in its endless expanse of stars. It is during these times that I can hear her voice. Not Ophelia’s voice, but the voice of another. She is calling for me, her spirit reaching out to me from across time and space. But who is this woman that I can sense as clearly as if I were her maker?

  Whose blood is it that calls out to me - her heart craving the intimacy of the darkness that is me
?

  One day I will strip her of her soul, and my reward will be an end to this cursed disease that was given to me by the one woman that I loved. I cannot help but wonder how I am being deceived, because I know that I am. Azazel is the master of deception and I am completely aware that there will be a very large price to pay for his favor.

  But I have started my story in the middle. Whoever finds the words that I’ve written will never understand why I must commit such a horrendous act. I must start from the beginning, only then will there be any possibility of understanding and forgiveness.

  Our beginnings are as mystifying to us as to anyone. Like all creatures, the vampire does have a beginning, but all we have are stories.

  The mortals were here, but not before the vampires. At that time they were something less than human. Simple creatures that dwelt in caves, living like animals. Vampires ruled the earth in those days, but they were a species so different than they are today. The vampire lived a long time, but not forever. To live for several hundred years was not so uncommon.

  The secret to living so long was simple. They consumed the blood of animals. Blood contained none of the impurities that were present in the flesh. Life was good for the vampire then. The vampires were not greedy. They would only take what they needed.

  Naturally the creatures that lived in caves feared the vampires, as they were a preferred source of blood. As our population expanded, theirs started to dwindle. Humans began to change, becoming more attractive to the vampire.

  That is when Anu found the woman he called Lilith. He was completely bewitched by this creature. Many found this disturbing because he was our leader. Ophelia was his child, and naturally she was greatly alarmed by the fact that her father had taken one of the creatures as a mate.

  Lilith would give birth to three sons, Donavan, Omar, and Cato. Maybe all would have been well if that had been the end of it, but soon other vampires were taking human mates, and the population of born vampires grew.

  Ophelia believed these born vampires to be abominations, and when her father announced that it would be one of his sons that would take his place as leader, she flew into a jealous rage. Being the brilliant scientist that she is, Ophelia naturally decided that she would find a way to get rid of these abominations. She devised a virus meant to destroy the born vampires, and she secretly infected her brothers. But the virus didn’t do what she thought it would.

  Those infected with it became contagious. If they fed on someone, that person could also be infected, most would die but those that were descended from the vampire would turn into monsters. They became ultra sensitive to sunlight, and if they didn’t feed, they would become psychotic. All of this was just the beginning. The disease began to spread faster than the ancients could contain it.

  I was Ophelia’s lover, but despite my agreement with her about the born vampires, I could not justify what she had done. I had to go to Anu and tell him the truth. When she found out what I intended to do, she infected me with the virus while I slept.

  It was then that the wolves came. There was no longer balance in nature, and these wolf spirits had come to restore that balance. The immortals had become the hunted. Before long the populations had dwindled, but the war with the wolves had made it unsafe.

  Anu decided that it was time to go, but the infected would remain. Eventually the wolves began to retreat to that world that they’d come from, as did the ancients. All that was left were those of us infected with the virus. The born vampires would try to make order out of the chaos by forming their own groups and demanding a strict code of conduct from their followers, but this didn’t always work.

  There was a truce with the wolves and to ensure that truce, they took one of Anu’s sons into their world. Cato was sentenced to live with the wolves for the rest of his existence.

  Because the vampires were outnumbered by humans, and could no longer live in the light, they became known as creatures of darkness. The vampire was destined to dwell just beneath the surface of reality.

  Time passed, and to humans the vampire became a myth. This is the way we wanted it. If people were to know the truth, hunting them would be so much more difficult. But it would do more than that. The truth would rock the very foundation of human society.

  It was agreed that no one should know the truth about the vampire and their beginning, not even other vampires. This secret has remained with the ancients for thousands of years, until now.

  Ophelia’s betrayal has blackened my soul, but that was only the beginning of the monster that I am now. I was tricked into feeding on the most evil and tarnished blood in existence, the blood of a demon. That demon then became my master. It had been his plan to do just that. If I were the master of all vampires, and he were my master, he would then be unstoppable.

  I foiled his plan by retreating into isolation. If I did not take my place as ruler of all creatures of the night, he could not use me to harvest the souls of the living. But then he would use temptation. He is a master of disguises, and at first I thought he was the Gatekeeper of the wolf spirit, promising me that the blood of an angel would cure me.

  An angel would be born among the wolves. If I were to feed on this angel, the disease would be cured and I could finally rest in peace with the dead. Kathrina was that angel. It would have worked if it were not for her falling in love with Donavan. He took her away so that I would never find her.

  But someone did find her, and they killed her, but not before she gave birth to another child. That child would have her mother’s blood; the divine blood of heaven. To feed from her would cure me; it is what Azazel promised, but the demon’s trickery and deception knows no bounds. He did not tell me that she would be a part of me - a part of my soul. To kill her would be like killing a part of myself.

  To take her soul would be a major triumph over heaven, but there is only one way for him to do it. I must disregard the love between us and feed on her, taking her soul as I do. I am his reaper.

  To release my soul from this body it would almost be worth it, but still I cannot bring myself to do this. I must let her go, but he will never let her go. As long as she lives, the demon will stalk her. Only she can end it, and that is what the hellish creature fears most of all.

  Kathrina set the book down, but before closing it, she noticed what looked like quick notes scribbled at the bottom of the page.

  My sweet angel, what happened to you that night in the gas station was real. Because of my disobedience, the demon has taken matters into his own hands. He pulled you into another dimension where he could take physical form. You must never let this happen again. While you are in that world that is known as hell, he can harm you physically. In this world he can only possess and manipulate. It is doubt and despair that will make you vulnerable to him.

  This time Kathrina did close the book. She was forced to clasp her hands together just to keep them from shaking. The terror of that night was still fresh in her mind and now she knew for sure that she wasn’t crazy.

  And that stuff about her mother and herself. Her life had taken on a dream like quality where nothing seemed solid or real. No it was not really like a dream, more like a nightmare.

  While reading the book, she had detected little tenderness from him. Was he really that much of a monster that the only thing that mattered to him was saving his skin or his soul?

  Kathrina couldn’t let herself believe that.

  Luciano was trying to help her by giving her the information that she needed, and then getting out of the way. She had to remember that Luciano was still in servitude to this demon. Kathrina shuddered to think what the demon would do to Luciano for defying him.

  How was she supposed to fight a creature from hell? She didn’t even know that much about demons. Kathrina could count on one hand the number of times that she’d attended Sunday services.

  She could ask her father for help, but she suspected that if Luciano were powerless against the demon, her father would be too. Of course there
was that ornery old priest, Father Rovati.

  Kathrina tucked the book under her robe and left the guesthouse. Once she was back in her room, she hid the book beneath her mattress. She then dialed Ethan’s number.

  “Hello, “ she spoke into the phone. “Ethan … I need to get in touch with Father Rovati.”

  * * *

  Her nerves were fried. Every few minutes she would look up at the digital board to see if Father Rovati’s flight had landed. Flight 1254 from New York had been scheduled to land several minutes ago, but there had been an announcement that the flight would be late due to weather. As far as she knew, the priest’s trip from Rome had gone smoothly and without incident. He’d phoned her from New York before making his connection flight.

  What if something had happened? What if the demon had somehow managed to bring the plane down?

  Though she was practically crawling out of her skin with anxiety, she did her best not to think of the possibilities. If something like that happened, she’d have all those people’s deaths riding on her shoulders.

  Why hadn’t she thought of the consequences before calling the priest?

  Kathrina jumped when she felt someone touch her arm. She looked up to see Chad staring at her. Behind him, his parents looked on in confusion.

  “I’m sorry,” the man told her. “He insisted on talking to you.”

  Chad continued to stare at her, not saying a word. Kathrina could have sworn that there was a spark of recognition in the boy’s eyes, but it was so faint that she wasn’t sure.

  “It’s no problem,” she smiled at them before turning to Chad. “Are you okay? Is there something I can help you with?”

  The boy leaned over and whispered in her ear. “She gave it to me … the angel.”

  As soon as he said that, he backed away from her. It was as if he couldn’t understand why he was standing so close to someone he didn’t know. Turning away, he strode off with his parents without saying another word.

  For just an instant, Kathrina had hoped that he would remember her, but then she felt ashamed. To remember her, he would have to remember the rest of it, and no child should have those kinds of things in their head.