by Debra Dunbar
The sob turned into a torrent of tears that drove my headache into migraine proportions. I felt like I was either going to pass out or throw up. It embarrassed me, a Templar not-quite-a-Knight crying from fear and relief in a dark cell. Dario seemed to realize my shame and instead of comforting me, just waited out my flood of emotion with a steadying hand on my arm.
Finally I gulped, regaining control.
“You okay? He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Dario’s hand caressed the side of my face. I winced as his fingers traced cuts and bruises. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that the vampire who’d locked me down here hadn’t hurt me nearly as much as he had.
“He was going to come back and drain me. That’s why I attacked you. I thought you…”
Dario pulled me close and I breathed in his cinnamon and myrrh scent, so comforting now that I knew it belonged to him and not some other vampire. “Yeah. Well, that’s not going to happen.”
There was a fierce possessiveness to his voice that warmed my heart as well as other, more hormonal parts of my body. Slowly my panic receded and I felt more like a Templar and less like a woman afraid for her life.
“How many of your Balaj are injured? Will they be able to heal before dawn?” I didn’t dare ask how many had died. I didn’t want to know. And I didn’t want to think about who the vampires would retaliate against for this night. I wanted to tell them about Russell, to keep innocent people from suffering for tonight’s events, but I saw the necromancer as an innocent, too.
But was he? Yes, his family had been slaughtered, but did that give him the right to kill vampires who hadn’t even have been turned at the time his parents and siblings had died? There had to be a better way to deliver justice—on both sides of this issue.
Sitting there wounded, in the dark, in the arms of a vampire, I came to a sort of epiphany. Well, an epiphany for a Templar, anyway. There was no good guy or bad guy in this thing. Both sides had made horrible decisions, and both were somewhat justified in their stance. This gray area was why our Order had backed away from society so long ago and become the obsolete caretakers of the Temple that we now were. Gray. And where there was gray, we could not judge.
I couldn’t be like that. But I also couldn’t pick sides in this war. There was no clear right or wrong, but there had to be a better way to resolve this than watching Russell and the vampires battle it out until Baltimore was painted red with blood.
“Too many were injured tonight.” Dario sighed. “I’m sorry about this, but I can’t sneak you out of here with an open wound. We’ve got so many hurt and hungry upstairs. Every vampire in the house would come running if they scented fresh blood.”
Dario’s words filtered through my thoughts. I felt him let go of my arms and sit up, pivoting me so I was sitting on his lap, resting my shoulder against his chest. Hands gently turned my head and cradled my jaw as he ran his tongue across the gash on my head.
It felt far more sensual than someone licking my scalp should have. The pain vanished immediately, and a warmth trickled through my veins. I heard myself sigh and I snuggled closer, wiggling my rear end. His arms tightened for a brief second before he released me and helped me stand.
I was pretty turned on right now and judging from the response I’d felt under my ass he was, too. It wasn’t anywhere near the blind lust I’d felt when he’d tried to enthrall me in the dragon bedroom. I felt happy and floating, like I’d just had a big glass of wine.
“Here.” I felt something thrust into my arms and wrinkled my nose as I realized it was the nasty blanket from the corner. Dario chuckled. “I sealed your wound, so don’t worry about germs. I just need you to cover your head with this and wrap it around you as best as you can to hide the smell of blood. We’re going to duck out the back door to my car in the alley.”
I’d worry about the fallout from this evening later. Right now I was just thrilled that Dario was helping me escape.
What price would he pay for his actions, though? Who was the vampire who’d locked me down in this cell as his midnight snack? I realized that I didn’t really know Dario’s position in the hierarchy of his Balaj. Yes, Leonora seemed to look to him as a senior member, but perhaps that was just due to his connection with me. Could he be punished for sneaking me out the back door? Would the other vampire lodge some kind of formal complaint against him? I reached out a hand to touch Dario’s arm, tracing my fingers along the curve of his muscles. Once we were out of here, I needed to arrange for some kind of protection for him.
But where? Would he ever be accepted into another Balaj? Would he become one of the family-less rogues that wandered the perimeter of the city?
Ugh. Why was I worrying over a vampire like he was a lost puppy? Dario had survived hundreds of years wandering with his Balaj. He could certainly survive a disagreement with his family over what they probably saw as a midnight snack rather than a Templar consultant at this moment. Still, I worried.
Dario opened the cell door and I blinked at how bright the scant light in the basement seemed. I could barely see with the blanket like a shawl over my head and wrapped around under my chin and across my shoulders. It stank like sweat, mold, and urine, making me thankful I only needed to use it for a brief escape and not as regular bedding.
The house upstairs was silent as we crept out of the basement and through the back door. Dew from the grass soaked through my shoes and socks as we ran. I heard the sounds of my breathing echoed back from the blanket around my head, the faint noise of distant cars, the yowl of a tomcat, and then the crunch of my feet on the gravel. I slid the blanket back to see that we were in an alley, Dario’s SUV ahead. Then I ditched the smelly thing on the ground.
The vehicle beeped and flashed its lights as the vampire unlocked it. He turned, letting go of my hand to help me in. That’s when I first got a good look at him…and him at me.
We both gasped.
I had beaten the crap out of him. His shirt had holes streaked with reddish-black blood from where I’d tried to impale him with the chair leg. Crucifix-shaped burns dotted the fabric. But that wasn’t the only damage his body had sustained tonight. Pores along his arms and neck were spotted with blood from the battle with the specters. Long gashes marred his face. I stared, wondering how long it would take him to heal—if he ever would heal from some of these wounds.
Dario turned his back to me and yanked the shirt over his head. My brain detoured to admire the well-defined muscles covered with dark brown skin. There were scars alongside the fresh wounds, but he was still a damned fine specimen of manhood…of vampirehood.
He walked to an alleyway garage, dunking his tattered shirt into a rain barrel poised under the downspout. That’s when I saw the mark—a perfect impression of my chair-leg crucifix in raised pinkish flesh on his chest.
“Will that heal?”
He twisted the shirt in his hands, wringing it out before walking toward me. Under where I’d singed his shirt I’d seen additional, small pink marks—burn marks—across his shoulders and arms.
“I don’t know. I’ve never been smited by a Templar before. Hold still.” He brushed the wet shirt over my face and I shivered both with the touch of the cold wet fabric and the thought that I may have permanently marked his skin.
“It’s not a smite, just a blessing to protect me.” Technically it translated into a plea to be protected from unholy beings. My mixed feelings for Dario aside, I felt rather badly that the divine spell had lumped him into the “unholy” category.
Unaware of my guilty thoughts, Dario scrubbed at my face and neck with his damp shirt.
“What are you doing? I can take a shower when I get home.”
“You look like an extra from a horror movie—the extra that gets killed off in scene one by the axe murderer. I’ve got to get this blood off your face and neck.”
“Why don’t you lick it off,” I teased.
Yeah. He’d most likely been accessory to multiple murders. I’d decided not an hour ago to never spe
ak to this vampire again. And now I was flirting with him. Conflicted? I think so.
Dario continued to scrub. “Dried blood doesn’t taste all that great. Once it clots, it’s kinda bland.” He leaned in, licking my neck in a quick, smooth motion that made me shiver. “I might make an exception with you, though. You’re pretty tasty.”
And now I was speechless, continuing to hold still while he rubbed my face raw then tossed his shirt aside to land next to the nasty blanket in the alley. Reaching into the back seat of the car he pulled out a fresh shirt and yanked it over his head while I watched.
“Your sword is in here. Let me tell you, picking that thing up was one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life. That thing makes my skin crawl.”
I’m sure that was less about the weapon and more about the considerable amount of spells and runes it held. And there was that whole holy weapon thing. If I could give him third degree burns with a chair-leg crucifix, I’m sure I could slice him like luncheon meat with my sword. No wonder none of them had wanted it in the house.
Then he reached into the SUV once more and handed me something.
“My purse!” I’d put it aside in the hallway as I’d prepared for the fight, then later dropped my key chain and knife. Glancing inside I saw everything had been put back inside. In the aftermath of a bloody battle, he’d not only tracked me down but remembered to retrieve my stuff.
“Yeah. I might be a vampire, but I remember how women are about their purses.” His voice was teasing as he motioned toward the car. “Hurry up and get in. I’d really like to be out of here before one of my injured brothers or sisters heads out here in search of a snack.”
Good idea. It wasn’t until I was snug in his SUV, heading toward my apartment, that I realized there was a faint gray tinge to the skyline in the east, heralding the sunrise.
Chapter 19
DARIO HAD INSISTED he walk me up to my apartment, which turned out to be a good decision on my part, probably not so good on his. Whatever pain-relieving, aphrodisiac had been in his saliva had started to wear off, and I’m not sure I could have made it up to the third floor without his assistance. I made a mental note to ask him later about this. Vampire bites held quite a punch drug-wise, and there was anywhere from a one to two week detox from just one encounter. There was either less of the chemical in the saliva than in their fangs, or I was somewhat immune.
And I was foolish even to consider the second explanation.
Once inside, the vampire left me sitting on the sofa to get me aspirin while I stared out the window at the lightening sky. “How long until dawn? I mean, how long until you’re in trouble?”
“Twenty minutes, give or take a few.”
He didn’t sound overly concerned about this, but my heart sped up. If he left now and didn’t hit any early traffic, he could be back at Leonora’s house in time. But could he even go back there?
“Where can you shelter here and be safe?”
Dario didn’t answer until he’d handed me two aspirin and a glass of water. “Maybe your bathroom. It doesn’t have a window. There or the closet should be okay if you wedge a towel around under the door.”
I couldn’t make him sleep in the bathroom or in my closet! But there wasn’t anywhere else in my apartment that would be light-proof. I guessed if I put some blankets and pillows in the tub it wouldn’t be horribly uncomfortable. I could even close the shower curtain and drape my comforter over the rod, just in case some light leaked in around the door edges. I really needed to come up with something that would be more vampire-friendly for the future—like an enclosure in the bedroom. Not a coffin or anything crude like that. More like a light-safe bed.
What was I thinking? He was a vampire, quite possibly a murderer, and I was planning a guest room for him. He did save my life tonight, though. He’d protected me from one of his own blood brothers, snuck me out of the house. And he’d taken the time to pull me out of the middle of battle to send me to safety.
“Do you still think the gang is behind this?” My head was throbbing, my clothes and hair were sticky with blood, but I needed to know.
Dario sat next to me on the couch, his thigh brushing mine. I resisted the urge to lean against him as he placed his hand on my leg. “Well, it either wasn’t the gang at all, or the warning we gave them wasn’t sufficient.”
“I want to help. I really think I can help, but I need to know how you guys got this symbol and specifically why you were so positive that it was the gang who attacked you.”
He sighed. “I told you they’d employed magical methods against us in the past? Ten years ago there was a tainted blood incident that we traced back to them. We cleaned house, but last week one of their blood donors roofied his vampire and proceeded to rob us. We tracked him down. Upon interrogation, he gave us a paper with the symbol on it and told us a man paid him to steal the items. The description fit one of the gang members, and they do have motive for revenge.”
But it wasn’t them—not unless Russell was somehow connected with the gang. And blood slaves as a front for a theft? How was all this tied together? What the heck was the necromancer doing? Stealing items from the vampires seemed a strange thing to do when he had the ability to summon murdering specters. Was the robbery a misdirection for something else he had planned?
I felt guilty letting the vampires continue to pin this all on the gang when I knew the true culprit, but I didn’t want them killing Russell until I had a chance to make things right. They might continue to kill gang members in the meantime. It was enough for me to feel the need to hurry up and talk to Russell.
“So what’s your next step?”
Dario glanced out the window at the gray sky. “Get in the dark before daylight. We have associates who will track this all down during the day. Depending on what they find, we’ll take action right after nightfall.”
Which gave me today. Not much time at all.
“Are you going to abandon Leonora’s house?” It made sense. Now that Russell knew to attack there, he’d no doubt strike again tonight.
“That’s up to Leonora.” He sighed and rubbed his hand along my thigh. “I hate the thought of us running away like scared children each time they attack, but unless we can take out the person responsible or find a better way to kill these ghosts, we may not have a choice. And then there’s the issue of Leonora herself. She’s had some challenges to her authority lately, and she won’t want to look weak by leaving the house.”
I snorted. Yeah, like she hadn’t looked weak having her personal bodyguards rush her while the members of her Balaj fought, and died, in her stead.
Before I could reply Dario turned to me. “But none of this is your problem. You’ve done what you were paid to do. Now it’s up to us to take care of the problem.”
There was my out, my chance to walk away. Russell had a right to want revenge. The vampires had a right to defend themselves. Any other Templar would turn their back on the whole thing.
But I wasn’t any other Templar. And I wasn’t about to tell Dario of my plans.
The vampire looked again at the window. “Sadly, taking care of things will need to wait until nightfall. Will you be okay? I need to take sanctuary.”
I nodded, regretting the motion immediately, then rose. “I’ll get you some blankets and pillows.”
“No need.” The vampire was already at my bathroom door. He faced me, a crooked smile on his handsome face. “I’ll sleep like the dead.”
I dozed on the sofa for a few hours, completely comfortable with the fact that there was a vampire in my apartment. It’s not like he could do much during the daylight hours, and besides, I sort of trusted him. Who was I kidding, I did trust him. Murderer or not, Dario was my friend. And maybe a little bit more, if I was being completely honest with myself.
When I got up to get ready for my morning shift at the coffee shop I realized my dilemma. There was a vampire, for all intents and purposes a dead guy, in my bathroom, probably in my tub, and I was filt
hy with blood-streaked hair and breath that would fell a gargoyle. Even my go-bag was in there, in the cabinet under the sink. I couldn’t even sneak in for fear that some stray beam of ambient light would filter through.
Which left me washing myself in the kitchen sink, shampooing with dishwashing liquid, and heading to work with a knotted mess of wet hair and no make-up. It wasn’t until I’d punched in for the day that I remembered I hadn’t checked my phone once I’d come out of the basement at Leonora’s, and that I still had it off from last night.
My mother had called to remind me about the birthday party for Ajax at Roman and Hilda’s place in Leesburg next month. Oh, and to ask me once again when I was going to take my Oath. The next message was the one I’d hoped for—Russell, responding to the note I’d left for him at the house. He wanted to meet, but at noon, at a pizza place in Mount Vernon.
I had no money for pizza, barely enough gas to make it through the week, and I was supposed to work until two this afternoon, but somehow I was going to make this meeting.
“You look like you haven’t slept in weeks.” Sean handed me a double-shot latte. One of the advantages of working at a coffee shop was drinking on the job.
“I’ve been running on two to three hours a night the past week,” I confessed. My shoulder and head were also killing me. I was beginning to realize that vampire saliva might close open wounds but it didn’t do anything for a concussion.
“You know, a little herb would clear that insomnia right up.”
Sean smoked weed and didn’t care who knew it. According to him it was the cure-all for everything from hangnails to hangovers. My problem wasn’t insomnia though, it was a lack of time to sleep.
“You don’t think I could get Anna to come in early do you? I’d be willing to take the last two hours of her Thursday shift.” The more I thought about it, the more it sounded like a good idea. Thursday night was usually ladies’ night, and Anna loved to soak up the cheap drinks, discounted food, and male attention. Not that it took a pub special for her to get dates with her red curls and mile-long legs. The girl needed a personal assistant just to keep her date nights organized.
