Dark Child of Forever

by S. K. Ryder

  Dominic was already at the door when Garrett added, “But don’t consider too long. I haven’t got forever.”

  Chapter 18

  A Simple Plan

  At sundown Cassidy was packed and ready to go. The plan was simple. Drive as far as they could get toward their destination in the Rocky Mountains—a solid nine hours away—during the not-quite-nine-hours-long night, pull Adilla out of his hole while the sun was high tomorrow, and have Dominic set him straight come night. Another day after that, two tops, and they’d be home again resuming their not-so-ordinary lives.

  Simple.

  What could possibly go wrong? she scoffed to herself as she zipped up her overnight bag. According to Jackson—not to mention history—plenty. He had emptied the jet of the tools of his trade today—full-spectrum torches, canisters of silver, serrated daggers, body bags—all now loaded in the back of the rented SUV. She guessed that he shared this with her to make her feel better about how prepared he was.

  He was also under the impression she would stay in Vancouver.

  Fat chance.

  Not after the day she had.

  The days right after she and Dominic renewed their bond were never pleasant. But now, with her hormones agitating like popcorn in a microwave, she felt even more like she had been hollowed out with a rusty spoon while the sun was up. Part of her soul collapsed once Dominic became unconscious, leaving her empty and incomplete. Like missing an arm or a leg or both. And today she didn’t even have the luxury of having him physically near her. On learning that the vampire his life depended on slept in a hotel room closet, Isao had invited Dominic to spend his days in Vancouver safely tucked away in his own downtown lair. The samurai did not take no for an answer.

  So Cassidy spent the soggy gray morning in Jackson’s protective custody as he collected supplies for their trip. Along the way Samantha called. “I thought you should know. Étienne is part of the club now.”

  “What club?”

  “Our club. The world of night club.”

  “Oh, good God. What happened?”

  “Serge happened.”

  Of course. What else? Samantha explained how the pirate vampire had been on a short fuse since Étienne’s arrival, but it took her and Étienne getting amorous in the pool that finally triggered an explosion. “He went all fangs and eyes on him. Told him that he didn’t see a future for him with me and, I swear, was going to compel him to go away and forget me then and there. I stopped him just in time.”

  Cassidy lowered her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. Beside her, Jackson cursed. There was still enough of Dominic’s blood in his system to allow him to hear both sides of the conversation just fine.

  “Serge was crushed. He disappeared, and I haven’t seen him since. I’ve never seen him so hurt.”

  “How did Étienne take it?”

  “About how you’d expect. Shock, questioning reality, etcetera. Ryan and Natalia were a great help in convincing him that he wasn’t losing his mind. I think he’ll be okay.”

  “So he knows about Dominic then?” Cassidy asked, exchanging a look with Jackson.

  “He put that together, yes. Once he did, I wasn’t going to lie to him by denying it. But, well, I’ll let Dominic fill in the blanks for him. Assuming he’ll let Étienne remember any of it,” she added under her breath.

  That was a big if. Dominic’s blood-drinker history was not for the faint of heart—or his family. Which was why spending so much time with his mother presented such a problem for Cassidy. For all that she liked Francesca—French manners and no-nonsense sensibilities included—the more time she spent with her, the more Cassidy exhausted her ability to spin. There was so much she couldn’t talk about to the mother of the man she loved. So much she couldn’t even hint at. So much she knew that would at best break Francesca’s heart, and at worst, destroy her.

  She got plenty of practice holding her tongue that afternoon when Garrett, after making good his escape from Vancouver General, shepherded her and Francesca around Granville Island. In an effort to curtail conversation as well as appease her appetite, Cassidy made a solid attempt at eating her way from one side of the food, art, and shopping mecca to the other. By the time she returned to her suite, she was ready to pass out in a carb and sugar-induced stupor.

  The weather had not improved by the time she woke from her nap. Outside, the gray sky had succeeded in smothering the gray bay. Two more hours until sunset. Instead of giving in to the urge to curl up and bawl, Cassidy checked on the denizens of the V-zette, which turned out to be even more depressing. Waiting for her were several inquiries about Aubrey’s whereabouts. With a heavy heart, she wrote a post announcing the gentleman vampire’s death, though she kept the details vague, saying only that Dominic was handling the situation and everything was under control. Or would be. Soon.

  She took a shower and packed, and watched the night creep in until at last she sensed Dominic waking in Isao’s condo several blocks away. As he made his way toward her, he absorbed her recollections of the day. And when he finally walked through the door, smelling of wet leather, city streets, and the incense Isao apparently favored, he embraced her without comment, needing her in his arms as much as she needed to be there. Night had come, and for a precious few moments they basked in each other and the illusion that the world was safe again.

  Then came the knock at the door. Dominic let in the visitors while Cassidy fetched her jacket.

  Jackson’s voice carried from the living room. “Everything is set. All we have to do is start driving.”

  “I spoke to Francesca and told her you’ll be out for a few days to meet a new client in Alberta,” Garrett added.

  “Merci,” Dominic said. Cassidy felt him ruminate as he watched the two hunters standing at the ready, both of them dressed in jeans and Gore-Tex jackets. He examined Garrett’s thoughts in particular. Curious, Cassidy hung over his virtual shoulder. Nothing but an unfaltering commitment. Garrett still wanted what he had asked for the night before. He was also more than a little beguiled by Francesca, of whom he had been especially solicitous this afternoon. All in the name of ‘security.’ “Garrett, you will stay here and provide protection during the day. Isao will be downstairs at night.”

  Garrett’s hesitation was slight. “If that’s how you feel I can be of most use.”

  “I do.”

  “Okay. Then do you think I could get a little more magic juice before you go? Just in case?”

  “Just in case,” Dominic agreed. When he cut his wrist, Cassidy felt an echo of the slicing pain in her own flesh and smothered a gasp.

  She waited until Garrett had downed his serving of ‘magic juice’ before joining the group, travel bag in hand.

  “That hit the spot. Thank you,” he said as he set down the empty glass with an air of bravado Cassidy recognized for the show it was. Their afternoon outing had exhausted him, and even the powerful blood could only take him so far. Though she had been careful to conceal her knowledge of his condition all day, his expression told her she hadn’t been able to keep the pity off her face now. She averted her gaze.

  “Careful there, Garrett,” Jackson said, eyeing his uncle askance. “You’re turning into a junkie.”

  Garrett ignored him.

  Dominic looked at Cassidy, his thoughts conflicted. “You will stay here, mon amour,” he said the moment that decision crystallized in his mind. The words and the thought created a disorienting echo effect.

  “What? You can’t mean that.”

  “This could become a very dangerous situation. As long as I do not have complete control over Adilla and his followers, I do not want you anywhere near them.”

  Indignant, she let her bag clunk to the floor and walked up to him. Jackson and Garrett squirmed where they stood, pretending not to hear, even though surely
Dominic was using spoken words for their benefit.

  “Non, chérie. It is for yours,” he said. “I want there to be no misunderstanding. Much as I need you near me, you must remain here where you will be safe.”

  “Oh, come on. How complicated can this be? Jackson pulls this guy out of his hole tomorrow, and tomorrow night you show him who’s boss. Then we go home. End of story.”

  “Not quite. This ‘hole’ is a repurposed mine deep enough to lessen the sun’s effect. Plus, there will be humans compelled to guard it. It is not a place I will let Jackson enter on his own, regardless of his impressive skills.” And you know why I cannot send Garrett.

  He’s doped up on your blood. He could probably take the place down with his bare hands.

  He is doped up on my blood to be the best guard for you and Francesca that he can be. But he is too fragile to face what we are likely to find.

  The realization dawned on her with terrifying suddenness. “You’re going to take the suppressant again, aren’t you?” she said, all the air going out of her. “You’re going to walk into that mine with Jackson. In the middle of the freaking day.”

  Dominic lowered his gaze. Behind him, Jackson looked aghast. Apparently this was news to him, too.

  “I retain my strength during the day.”

  “But you don’t know you have it,” she burst out, gesturing with both hands. “Plus, your daytime self hasn’t seen Jackson since the day he tackled you in Mrs. Havashand’s yard. I’m the only one he trusts. You can’t let Jackson wake him up without me around. You just can’t.” She inhaled to say more, but then snapped her mouth shut and leveled a glare of pure challenge at him. And you sure as hell can’t be five-hundred-plus miles away from me. The link can’t possibly stretch that far. I’d go out of my mind not knowing what was going on with you.

  Dominic pulled her into his arms. “I know,” he said, answering both her words and her thoughts. “But Jackson will have to make him remember, whether he wants to or not. And you cannot be anywhere near these blood-drinkers. Please understand.”

  She twisted her fingers into his shirt. An unsettling sensation stole over her, a feeling of being placed in a box and having a lid close over her head. A padded box for weak and precious things, locked up and guarded. What was she really compared to Dominic or Jackson? Compared to all the forces at play here in the kingdom of night?

  Nothing but an ordinary human woman. A pregnant human woman, God help her.

  A liability.

  His arms tightened around her. Non, he whispered in her mind. You are my queen, the single most important person in all of this madness. Without you, there is no me. And no kingdom.

  Chapter 19

  The Element of Surprise

  Jackson woke from the kind of deep, dreamless sleep he never experienced anymore. His demons, chained deep in the basement of his soul, wouldn’t let him. On some level he always heard them howl and whine whether he thought of them or not.

  Not tonight. Tonight, though he couldn’t say how, they had been silenced by a vampire.

  While driving east on the Trans-Canada Highway, they had discussed Dominic’s birthday gift. Jackson didn’t trust it. Dominic proved it by trying to compel him to sleep against his will. Sure enough, Jackson was awake for another two hours, thinking more than talking, aware all the time that Dominic could tune into his every thought and no longer caring. Sometimes Dominic even responded to questions Jackson dwelled on. After a while, he dozed off, feeling safer than he had in a long time.

  An unfamiliar sense of peace lingered in him now as Jackson blinked out at the traffic flowing around them in the predawn gray. Further out, hulking, jagged shadows loomed. The Rocky Mountains.

  He stretched, his body stiff and uncooperative with sleep. Dominic didn’t look at him. He stared straight ahead, maneuvering the car with one hand. No radio. Only the sound of the engine and the wind rushing past outside.

  Jackson considered his profile, the sharp bone structure softened by the untamed dark hair. A study in contrasts and air-brushed perfection. So easy to see how his victims fell in love with him on the spot—the way Jackson had. In a strictly bromancy sort of way, of course.

  A tiny smile tugged at Dominic’s mouth, and Jackson busied himself adjusting his seat into an upright position. “How long do we have?”

  “An hour before sunrise. Two until the lair.” He glanced at Jackson. “You slept well?”

  Only the best damn sleep of my life, he thought, but he didn’t say so. He rolled his shoulders to limber them. “Get me some coffee, and I’ll be ready to go.”

  “In the console.”

  A thermos sat in a receptacle between their seats. When he unsealed it, the heavenly aroma of fresh brewed enveloped his head. “Oh God. Thank you.”

  “There is some breakfast there for you as well. The best I could do with drive-through service.”

  The tidy paper bag was still warm. A biscuit stuffed with scrambled egg and a slab of sweetly salted bacon. The meal was a far cry from his usual protein shake, but under the circumstances he wouldn’t quibble. That Dominic thought about his mere mortal needs at all was amazing enough.

  While he ate, Jackson checked his phone. A text message from Olivia, annotated with smiley faces, party hats, and hearts had come in an hour ago and made him smile.

  “Bon anniversaire,” Dominic said, echoing the message’s sentiment. “Happy birthday.”

  “Thanks.” Jackson waved the phone. “Do you mind if I . . .?”

  “Please do.”

  His call to Ollie was brief but exactly the balm he craved right now. His sense of peace deepened at the sound of her voice. They made plans for a celebratory dinner when he returned, an event he thought might work well to share certain things with her. Assuming he could figure out how to talk to her about vampires without sounding like a lunatic.

  “I will join you, if you like,” Dominic said when Jackson was done with his call.

  “What?”

  “Your birthday dinner. You will need proof for what you plan to say to her, non?”

  Jackson couldn’t hide his astonishment. “You would do that? You would be okay with this?”

  “You love this girl. So I am okay with you doing the right thing, oui. Very much okay.”

  “And let me guess. You’ll compel her to be okay with it, too?”

  “If you think I would need to do that, why do you want to tell her?”

  “I don’t think that at all.”

  “Then I will not.” He waited a beat before adding, “But if she is not okay with the truth, it will be as if you never told her.”

  Jackson hadn’t even thought beyond proving the supernatural to Ollie, but Dominic was right. The only thing worse than her not knowing would be her falling into an existential crisis over it.

  “Fair enough,” he agreed and finished the breakfast sandwich. When he was done, he wiped his fingers on the paper napkin and reached for the coffee again.

  “We will need help today,” Dominic said.

  “Yeah. I was wondering when you were going to figure that out.”

  “I knew this before we left. But my options were limited.” He paused a beat before adding, “I have reason to believe that we have lost the element of surprise. They know we are coming.”

  “How?”

  He rubbed his chin and stared at the road disappearing beneath the hood of the SUV. “It doesn’t matter. But we need to take more precautions. I don’t know what going underground will mean in terms of how much the sun affects me, so we should go when it is straight overhead.”

  What aren’t you telling me? Jackson thought. He remained quiet, giving the vampire every chance to answer that question. But Dominic ignored it, instead turning his head and raising an inquiring brow. “Agreed?”<
br />
  Jackson toyed with the idea of asking out loud, realized that he probably still wouldn’t get an answer, and looked away. “Agreed.”

  “But we will be only one and a half men walking into the lair of hundreds, some of them exceedingly powerful.”

  “We have torches,” he suggested.

  Dominic shot him a cynical look. “Useless against human guards. Also, these people are compelled to protect their masters at all costs.”

  No arguing that. “Okay. So what’s your plan?”

  Dominic flipped on the emergency flashers and moved the car into the outside lane. A devious smile played on his mouth. Jackson could have sworn he saw the tips of fangs in it.

  The car rolled to a stop on the shoulder. “You should call 911,” Dominic said.

  “Why?”

  “Obviously you are having an emergency, non? Perhaps a hit-and-run?”

  “Oh?” The vampire looked at him expectantly. “Right. Guess I’m having an emergency.”

  Chapter 20

  Wilderness

  Jackson packed away the empty syringe in its case, straightened Dominic’s shirt and waited. The sky brightened. The vampire’s skin remained unmarred. For another minute he looked peacefully asleep.

  Then he woke.

  His eyes widened in alarm as he sat upright, hands pressed flat against the door and center console.

  “How do you feel?” Jackson ventured from the driver’s seat.

  “Fils de pute! Where am I and what am I doing here with you?”

  Jackson pointed to Dominic’s phone propped on the dash. As it had for the last six or seven minutes, it still recorded their every word and action. “The answer to all your questions. Right there. Go on. We have time.”