by Debra Dunbar
I reached out to push him aside and turned to swing my legs off the bed, well aware that I needed to get out of here and fast.
Touching him was a bad idea. Dario shot forward with inhuman speed. I recoiled, twisting to roll-off the bed. I’ve got good reflexes from a lifetime of training, but there was no way I could evade a vampire this close to me. In a blink, I was on my back with his arms on either side of my shoulders, his legs pinning mine to the bed.
“Boyfriends get certain benefits.” He shifted, his thighs straddling mine, his upper body completely supported by his arms.
“Get off me,” I choked out. “Dario, snap out of it and let me go.”
I felt ready to burst into flame. The nearness of him, the smell of myrrh and cinnamon on his cool skin, the intense way his gaze traveled over my face and neck, lingering on the pulse in my throat. If he’d been human, if I’d had any confidence in his ability to keep this just sexual, then I would have lost myself in the feeling of his body against mine. Instead all I could think of was his fangs sinking into my neck, and how that was beginning to sound like a good idea.
“Words have power,” he whispered. “You’ve called me your boyfriend repeatedly. It is too late for you to take that back now.”
The part of me that was screaming a warning faded away, hidden beneath a fuzzy-headed lust and need. My breath caught as he bent his head, moving his mouth lightly across my jaw and down the side of my neck. His hips brushed against mine and I arched my back upward to touch him, something between a whimper and a moan escaping from my throat.
“Do you want me, Ari?” My hands clawed at him in an affirmative response. I couldn’t think straight beyond my desperate need to feel his naked skin against mine, to have him fill me.
His kisses grew more insistent, teeth nipping along my skin. “Can I share your blood, Ari? You’ve never experienced ecstasy until you’ve had the double hit of coming while I taste the sweet nectar of your gift.”
I was gone. Drunk. High on the equivalent of a vampire roofie. He could take anything he wanted—blood, my body, anything. Just let this liquid pleasure washing over me continue, let me come in his arms with his teeth buried in my neck.
Dario shifted backward, crossing his arms as he stripped off his T-shirt. I couldn’t move. I could do nothing but watch him. Then I reached for him, welcoming the weight of his body on mine, welcoming the press of him between my thighs.
Sharp fangs glinted between his lips. His eyes were dark, expressionless. He moved against me and although my body was completely with the program, my mind suddenly wavered, then rebelled. This wasn’t the Dario who ate Linguini Alfredo with crab meat, who dryly annoyed my mother, who teased me about my love of pastries. This wasn’t Dario, this was a predator. And I was held tight in his grasp.
“No. Don’t. Dario, please don’t do this.”
I’d cast no spell but still he froze, the muscles in his jaw tensing as he stared down at me. Slowly, careful not to brush against me, he rolled away and sat up.
I didn’t say another word, just bolted out, down the stairs and into my room. There I leaned against the closed door, stared at the pink walls decorated with kittens and unicorns, and tried to catch my breath.
Close call didn’t even begin to describe this. I’d been ready to give in. Part of me still wanted to go back up there and let him do whatever he wanted with me. Instead I went into the bathroom across the hall and took the coldest shower I could. Then I lay wide awake in bed until the first rays of dawn crawled across my floor.
Chapter 12
NORMALLY “FAMILY TIME” dragged, but Sunday afternoon went by in a blink. As expected, I slept in until noon, had lunch, then played bridge and swam in the pool as the sun raced toward the western horizon. I dreaded seeing Dario, dreaded being in a car with him for several awkward hours as we made our way back to Baltimore. I prayed there wouldn’t be the usual traffic and that I could speed like a maniac and end what was best case scenario going to be a horrible drive, worst case scenario a deadly one.
I ate dinner, said my goodbyes, packed my bag, and met the vampire as I was throwing the duffle, along with a giant sack full of armor, into the back of my car.
“Ready?” I wasn’t sure what else to say to him. I didn’t even want to look at him directly.
“Mmm.”
That was it. The lack of communication on his part was actually a relief. He could have been a mannequin for all the interaction we had as I drove home. My mind made up for the silence by thinking of last night, of how I would have been completely willing to have sex with this guy if it hadn’t involved the aftermath from the donation of blood. Why couldn’t vampires be like they were in the movies, all sex and little sips from your neck now and then? I could totally get into that if it was just some kind of kink like rubber nun’s suits or ball gags. Booty call, little biting action, then see-ya-later, gator.
I had a feeling it wouldn’t be just a sip if things went that direction with Dario and me. And I worried it would be the beginning of a serious addiction on my part. Whatever was in vampire saliva that made the experience so pleasurable for victims also left the blood donor craving a repeat experience. The need eventually subsided—unless the vampire came back for more, setting up a cycle that resulted in the stereotypical blood slave/master relationship.
I’d seen those one-time victims the day after, dazed and still floating, then seen them later in the week with shaking hands and hungry eyes.
I had no desire to go through that kind of withdrawal, and from what Dario had said in the heat of the moment last night, I doubted his control. If he caved and came back to me, if I somehow managed to find him and talk him into a round two, three, and four, I’d wind up a blood slave. And blood slaves died. His promise of a few months would probably be optimistic.
Dead. I needed to keep reminding myself of that. Dead.
“Remember the hunger I told you about?” Dario’s soft voice jolted me out of my thoughts. “It’s no excuse for what happened last night. I’m surprised you trust me enough to let me come with you back to Baltimore.”
“Well, I was hardly going to leave you there with my family,” I snapped back. I wasn’t really angry at him. Yes, he’d lost control and crossed a line, but I should have seen the signs. Wait, no. That was the equivalent of saying I was almost raped because I’d drank too much and wore a short skirt. Actually, I was angry at him. “What happened to your being able to go a few days without feeding? I thought you had more control than that.”
He flinched at each statement, as if I struck him. “We are careful not to kill our victims, not to overindulge when we take blood, not to draw notice to ourselves by feasting too often. Every one of us constantly hovers on the edge of starvation. It’s no excuse. I should be able to go two days without losing control over my hunger.”
“Why?”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw him turn to face me. “Why what?”
I wanted to ask him why he’d lost control this time, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer, so I asked my other question.
“Why are you on the edge of starvation? There are six hundred thousand people in Baltimore. Are there really that many vampires that you can’t get enough blood without killing?”
Dario sat back and stared out at the traffic for a moment. “We can’t over graze. If we’re careful about tourists, and we take a small amount from only one or two victims per night, then we’ll have enough without needing to go beyond the city limits. We’ll also have reserves if we need to feed heavily to defend our territory.”
It was such a famine mindset. I just couldn’t wrap my head around the logic. “But you don’t have to stay within the city. Baltimore county is huge, and the nearest other Balaj I know of is in Philadelphia. Heck, you all could even pop over to D.C. if you wanted.
He turned to me. “I’m trusting that you will keep this between us.”
I nodded, wondering what he was about to say and if I could keep his c
onfidence or not. Templars were not to judge, but something in me tensed as I waited to hear his secret.
“There are solitary vampires, ones without a Balaj. There are also Balajes that do not have territories. They roam and exist in the fringe areas around claimed cities. Since they have no land to call their own, they don’t care about killing. They’re reckless. If we hunt in the borderlands, we could be killed by these rogues. The only safe way to hunt there is in a pack of our own, which would leave less of us to defend the city if need be.”
I had no idea all this was going on right under my nose. “Do you all police the borderlands for these rogues?”
“Only if they stay and their activities threaten to bring notice to us. Otherwise, we let them be and they quickly move on.”
I had a sudden urge to start checking crime stats and tracking murders in these borderlands, but something else Dario had said struck me.
“When your Balaj came from Haiti, when you all were kicked out of your territory in Florida, you were one of these rogue bands.”
“Yes.” He practically spat out the word. “I’m not proud of what I did to survive, or what my brothers and sisters did either. It was a precarious existence until we managed to take Baltimore. Living like that changes a vampire. Some of us manage to regain control once we have the safety of a territory, but some never do.”
“What happens to those who don’t? Regain control, I mean.”
“We do our best to help them. No one wants to lose a brother or sister. No Sire wants to put down a child of their making. If they are a threat to the Balaj, then that’s what eventually must be done.”
“I’m sorry.” I couldn’t imagine how difficult that must have been for him. I’d never been in the position where I had to make a difficult decision like that about a loved one, and I hoped I never was.
“About last night…if it had been simple blood lust I wouldn’t have tried to take you like that. I don’t spend a lot of time with humans who aren’t my targeted prey for the evening, and I usually only spend a few hours with them at the most. Being with you over these last few days, actually having conversations with you…I’ll admit it’s caused me to have some rather lurid fantasies.”
His tone had turned light, teasing. I knew he meant what he said, but I also knew he wouldn’t attack me. It lifted a burden of anxious fear I’d been carrying since I’d climbed into the car with him.
“You’re not the only one with lurid fantasies. I seem to remember I threw myself at you that first night. Yeah, I didn’t try to bite you, but I guess that makes us kind of even.”
And just like that the tension was gone and we were back to our weird, easy friendship.
Dario tapped me on the arm with his fist. “I want to hear these fantasies. Do they involve me sharing your blood? Biting you in all sorts of sensitive spots?”
I laughed. “More like me having sex with you while wearing one of those whiplash collars so you can gnaw away at my neck without actually biting me. I could even duct tape a pint of bagged blood from the hospital to it so you can pretend you’re drinking from me.”
“Ugh.” He wrinkled up his face. “I tried that stuff once. It’s horrible. Even if you warm it up, it’s flavorless and doesn’t do anything to fill you. Maybe you can have me bite on a piece of wood like they used to do when they amputated someone’s limb. Chain me up to the bed with gold-plated handcuffs so I can’t take it out.”
I recoiled in mock horror. “Dario! What sort of porn have you been watching? Nice Templars like me don’t do things like that. Besides, I like a man to have his hands free, otherwise why bother?”
He smiled at me. Even in the dim light I could see his eyes crinkled up, the white of his teeth, the faint dimple on his left cheek. “If you ever grow tired of this life, Aria, if you ever desire immortality such as mine, or if you want to lose yourself in the life of a blood slave, let me know. I’ll not say no.”
He wouldn’t say “no”. Which is the reason I could never say “yes”.
Chapter 13
JANICE OSWALD WAS a tall woman with a runner’s build and a thoroughbred’s face. I’m very fond of horses, so I took to her immediately, especially after she offered to pay for lunch. Gas to and from Middleburg had taken the last of my cash, and I didn’t get paid until Friday.
She was just as eager to see me as I was to see her. Folder after folder came out of her briefcase until there was barely room on the table for our soups and salads.
“I was originally researching changes in crime statistics in the different parts of Baltimore, but this case caught my attention. A family of five murdered in their home, and no one was ever charged.” She shook her head and made a tsk noise.
“And one daughter who died only a few months before that,” I added. “Were you able to find out what happened to Shay Robertson? I read the missing person’s reports, and the records show the case remained open, but the family obituary said she predeceased her parents.”
Janice tapped one of the folders. “That’s one of the other odd things about this family. Shay was never seen again, and there was never a body found. In spite of that, the family was absolutely convinced of her death.”
“A few months and they’re assuming she’s dead? I thought most families held on hope for years.”
“Every family member I interviewed was convinced she was dead. I got the impression that they’d received some sort of proof.”
I winced, thinking of a finger in a box, or an ear. Although neither of those would necessarily mean Shay’s death. “Did they know who killed her?”
“Yes, and none of them would say. A cousin finally admitted the family believed it was her boyfriend.”
“The older guy? The one she was supposed to have run away with?”
Janice nodded. “Bit of a mysterious character. She’d sneak out at night to see him. None of her friends ever met the man, but they said she was infatuated with him. He was all she could think about, all she could talk about. Teenage love is so obsessive.”
My breath caught, wondering if there was more behind the obsession than just teenage hormones. “Were there any descriptions of this boyfriend?”
“No. The detective on the case thought he might have been into organized crime and when Shay’s parents started figuring out what happened to their daughter they were killed.”
Was I seeing vampires where there were none? From what Dario had said it seemed unlikely that the Balaj would have killed a local family and covered it up. Women certainly turned into fools over human men often enough. But still, I remembered the look in Dario’s eyes as he pressed himself against me…
A vampire bites a young girl, a fourteen-year-old girl, and can’t stay away. Eventually he takes her, and inevitably kills her. If the family discovered who—and what—he was… The Balaj couldn’t risk exposure. They’d need to ensure the family never revealed their secrets. An entire family killed, either with the consent of the Mistress, or without her knowledge, by a creepy, pedophile vampire Lothario.
“Here are the victim photos you wanted to see.” Janice pushed a stack of eight by ten glossies toward me.
I stared at them closely. If vampires had done this, they’d been handy enough with a knife to destroy any evidence of bites.
“There wasn’t enough blood and there was no sign of struggle.” Janice’s laugh was short and bitter. “It’s almost like they were horribly anemic and too weak to do more than sit there as they were killed.”
I wondered about the connection between the symbol and all this. A family long dead, possibly killed by vampires. Was Leonora afraid of what their ghosts might say? Was that why she wanted to know about the symbol? How far would she go to silence the necromancer who dared attempt to air their dirty laundry?
“If only the dead could talk,” I mused. “I wonder who they would accuse.”
“Probably the same person that did this.” Janice tossed a newspaper on top of the folders.
The circled front pa
ge article detailed what police were calling a possible gang related murder.
“I’ve got a source with the Baltimore City P.D.,” Janice continued. “He says the four gang members had their throats slit nearly ear to ear, but the blood at the scene is far less than it should have been. And there was no sign of struggle. Four armed men—suspicious armed gang members—brutally murdered without lifting a finger.”
I felt like time stopped around me. Dario had led me to believe that vampires wouldn’t kill like this, that they’d either dispose of the bodies or send their fang-punctured corpses to others as a warning. With this newspaper article in front of me, I found myself having a hard time believing Dario. The details were eerily similar to the Robertson case, except the family forty years ago hadn’t been involved in any kind of illegal activity. “Why now, after forty years, would the same person strike again?”
“I’m not saying it’s the same person.” Janice nudged the paper. “Could be a gang M.O. Could be they always take out their enemies this way and nobody ever connected the dots before. I’ve got more research to do, but I seriously think we have a connection here.”
Gang. As in gang of vampires. I couldn’t completely rule out death magic but that seemed like an increasingly remote possibility. No practitioner of the dark arts would subdue and drain four gang members when there were far easier victims to choose from. Vampires. Growing up I’d read about their brutalities in history, our justification for what had been genocide. With the truce, I’d come to believe they’d changed, that they had become a kinder, gentler predator. Clearly I’d been a fool.
Even more a fool for trusting Dario.
“I’d love to know what the connection was.” Janice gathered her folders up. “The crime status study on the Robertsons was pretty dry, but if I can link it to other murders in the last forty years… well, breaking open a case like this would make my day. Heck, it would make my year.”
I’ll bet it would. I had every intention of looking on this in more detail myself, as well as holding the vampires accountable for mass murder. Feeding on humans was one thing, intentional killing was another. First things first, though. I needed to discover as much as I could about this symbol and fulfill my contract with the vampires. Then I’d deal with their more recent activities.
