SHADOWLOVE--STALKERS

by Claudy Conn

  “What?”

  “The Blood Orchard.”

  “Explain,” she demanded, picking up on his excitement.

  He laughed. “Give a man a chance, will ye then.”

  “The Blood Orchard—if you please?”

  “You see, we only know who we are and what our situation is—the fact that we are immortals—because of the visions my grandmother has had over the centuries. She didn’t know what she was—had no one to explain it all.” He frowned as though contemplating what his grandmother had endured. “We only know about the Blood Orchard because of a vision m’grandmother experienced right before I was born.” He stopped and studied her face before offering, “Which…was just over two hundred years ago.”

  “Wait—you are two hundred years old?” she screeched.

  “A bit more.” He grinned and chucked her under the chin. “Immortal—remember?”

  “Yes…but…”

  “M’grandmother and father are over a thousand years old.”

  Shawna’s mouth dropped open, her eyes widened, and speech eluded her. It dawned on her…that dizziness she had experienced in their presence. They had used illusion to age themselves, but her magic had tried to see through it.

  He brushed his finger over her bottom lip and dropped a sweet kiss there. “Do ye want me to go on…?”

  She found her voice. “You better.”

  “Right, then…” There was a devilish glint in his green eyes. “M’granny saw it in a vision while m’mother was nearly seven months pregnant.” He shook his head. “Now we have the damn things growing like wildfire in all our residence hothouses.” His green eyes glittered warmly. “Brea believes in covering all bases.” He grew suddenly serious. “Once a month at the full moon, the Blood Orchard releases a nutrient that does any number of things. One, she had hoped, was to give immortality to a chosen human—like m’mother. The other thing it does is curb, and then after time eliminate, the bloodlust.”

  “What? How…?”

  “Hush now, let me go on.” He waited a moment as she controlled herself and then proceeded. “It quenches the thirst—how, we aren’t sure, but it does, and here is where it gets tricky. We know it eliminates any and all bloodlust in someone who is not a fully initiated human blood–drinking vampire, but we don’t believe it would do so for a full-fledged vamp.”

  Shawna absorbed this. “You mean once a vamp drinks human blood—he can’t go back?” She reached for his hand and held it. “How do you know this—any of this? What does all of this mean?”

  He looked at her for a heavy moment and said gravely, “As I said, m’grandmother developed the orchard at first for m’mother. When m’dad married, he was sick with knowing that m’mother’s human years would steal her from him. Then grandmother discovered the orchard and started giving its essence once a month at the full moon to m’mother. She had only been drinking the damn concoction a couple of months when she was killed by a newbie vamp. It was Pentim who chose her for his newbie. Pentim chose her because she was nearly nine months pregnant—he thought the blood of a pregnant woman would give his newbie a special gift.”

  Shawna realized the enormity of what he was telling her and dove into his arms. She wanted to rage and cry and scream. Her monster parent had been at the heart of so much tragedy, her own included. Her voice was muffled against his skin.

  “Oh…Chad…Chad…I am so sorry. How do you know all this?”

  “M’mother had gone into town to do a little shopping. It was late in the afternoon when she started out of the shop…”

  Shawna could see his distress in the telling and put her fingers to his lips. “Never mind. Don’t talk about it now.”

  “No—ye must be told.” He drew on himself and continued. “Pentim had seen her coming out of the shop. She was a beauty and pregnant, and he got it into his head that the newbie would be given a special power because of the baby she was carrying.” He smiled grimly. “He hadn’t counted on m’father. Grandmother saw it as it happened—shouted for m’father, and they shifted onto the scene. M’dad twisted the newbie’s head off, but Pentim was already gone. They didn’t at first know about him. They took m’mother home. She lived long enough to give birth…and lasted a few weeks after that before we lost her. She would have died immediately had it not been for the Blood Orchard, but she didn’t have it in her system long enough to save her.”

  “I am so sorry…he is a monster and has ruined so many lives. I am so ashamed.”

  “Och nonsense, lass—you have nothing to be ashamed of and everything to be proud of…but you must know that I mean to destroy him.”

  “Yes, if I don’t beat you to it.” Shawna frowned. “But…how do you know about the Blood Orchard eliminating a vampire’s need for blood?”

  “The newbie had already sucked enough of her blood to kill her when m’father slaughtered him…and some of the new vampire’s blood had already been transferred through his sloppiness into my mother’s bloodstream. Some of that diseased blood filtered down to me.”

  Shawna snapped to attention, and her silver eyes searched his face. “Chad…what are you saying? Are you part vamp?”

  “I could have been…but m’granny started me on the orchard’s essence immediately, you see…”

  “So then…you don’t have any bloodlust at all? What if you couldn’t get the essence of the Blood Orchard?”

  “M’granny has a theory that the orchard has nearly destroyed whatever diseased blood had started out in my system.”

  “Nearly—what do you mean, nearly?”

  “There are times for no apparent reason when I feel something, not quite a bloodlust, but something, and I know I have to drink the essence that month.”

  “And you can only do so at the full moon? You can’t harvest the essence?”

  “No, it can’t be gathered and saved. It deteriorates during the moon’s waning.”

  “Oh Chad…” She dove into his arms and held him.

  ~ Nineteen ~

  SHAWNA’S INSIDES WERE starting to convulse in pain. A concert of sharp razor blades slithered and slicing through her stomach wall, and she knew she was in trouble. She couldn’t wait it out much longer.

  By the way Chad was looking at her she realized that she must look much like she felt. He frowned darkly just as they had arrived at the butcher’s and told her he was a fool. He should have shifted to get her what she needed. He didn’t realize how quickly she had deteriorated.

  She could remember only once before when she had been forced to go quite this long without her supply of blood. She hated herself at times likes these.

  She was bent in on herself inside the Jaguar waiting for Chad to step out of the butcher’s shop. Tiny needles were pricking her skin, screaming for blood, screaming, screaming…

  He had given her a drink containing the essence from the Blood Orchard, but she didn’t feel any different, and it had not diminished her need for blood. He had explained that it would take time.

  A voice filtered through the pain. “Shawna, what has happened to you? Why did you wait so long?” Damon’s face was at the passenger window, startling her.

  Her mind assimilated that it was ‘friend’ Damon, and she immediately calmed herself to wind down her window and say, “No time to explain that now…what are you doing out in the light of day?” Sick, oh, she felt so sick.

  “If you were feeling better you would have noticed—no sun, it’s overcast and misting up. Felt you in town…wanted to let you know, Shawna, wanted to warn you to stay away from a mutual acquaintance.”

  Trying to get control of the pain, she focused on his dark eyes. “A mutual acquaintance?”

  “Ah, that’s my girl—ever cautious.” He touched her nose. “Yes, the Squire Kenneth MacDunn, and he has a thing for you…in fact, I would call it an obsession.”

  “Nonsense—what are you saying? You know the squire—how?” She was going to upchuck any minute now…

  “We travel in the same circles
at night, which in itself should tell you to be wary of the fellow.” He glanced around, and then Shawna felt the intensity of his stare. “Listen to me—this fellow likes the dark side, and he is dangerous.”

  She was surprised. “Does he?” She did in fact start to gag before she got control. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—throw up in front of Damon.

  “I can’t get a fix on him yet, but, yes…and he is hell-bent on having you. I saw it when he spoke your name.”

  “He spoke my name? Why?”

  “He was looking for information on you.”

  “Why?”

  “There is the question.” He looked up and across the street and then grinned at her. “You’ll feel better presently. I’m off, but, Shawna, remember—he travels on the fringe, and you know what that means. There may not be any vamps in your little village, but Inverness is a whole different story.”

  She watched him vanish in a blaze of speed and looked around to find Chad’s grim expression as he got into the car and quietly demanded, “Who was that, lass, and there is no point telling me he was an old acquaintance from college days…I caught a whiff of his vamp scent before he hurried off.”

  She eyed him and thought as she reached for one of the large bottles of dark blood, My damn life went on a whirlwind spin six months ago and shows no signs of ever leveling off.

  * * *

  Shifting with her has done something unexpected to me. I thought I couldn’t feel any more than I already felt for her, but while we were shifting, in that infinitesimal moment, I melded to her—I felt one with her. The newness of ‘us’ seems to have exhibited itself, blasting me with the realization that we are one and have formed a bond I don’t ever want to break.

  Chad closed his eyes and took in her scent. The fact that he knew she had come to trust him in spite of her mistrust of everything, in spite of the fact that she hadn’t wanted to trust him, drew on his soul and made an inner path that joined them to one another. He knew that now he would be the first person, the only one she would turn to when things went awry, and he knew they soon would.

  He watched her as she pulled out the case that held her ancient artifacts from under the bed. She was mumbling to herself, going down on her jean-clad knees, opening the case and fingering one in particular—an orb.

  She had told him about Damon and the first time she had noticed him in her youth. He had felt a sudden rush of jealousy. She had sensed that and laughed at him. She had repeated what Damon had said to her about the quire, and it had confirmed everything he had felt in his gut. He had always believed that Kenneth had been somehow instrumental in his fiancée’s murder, and now with Damon’s warning, he was sure of it.

  He had sensed ‘black magic’ whenever he encountered Kenneth MacDunn, and his instincts told him that the man did more than dabble in the black arts.

  It was disturbing in the extreme that the squire had been asking around about Shawna. He wanted to go to MacDunn and confront him, put him in the earth, but he calmed himself. No good would come of that.

  If Damon was right, and Shawna believed that he was, the squire traveled on the fringe of the vampire’s inner ‘high society’ circles. If MacDunn was indeed asking about her, it would bring her unwanted attention. She wasn’t ready to confront her father yet…

  He had to equip her with additional skills. He had to help her hone her innate magical abilities. They needed more time to get her fully functional and ready to confront the powerful individuals that were going to come after her.

  He reached for the orb and waited for her to put it in his hand. The purple glow with which it had been pulsating suddenly expanded, turned bright, and they heard a soft humming sound.

  “Look at that Chad—it likes you more than me?” She pulled a playful face. “It must be a female.”

  He puffed up comically. He wanted her to laugh. “Immortal here.”

  “Yes, but my grams gave me this orb. She says it belonged to a Fae princess who was in love with one of our ancestors—a warlock. It has been handed down in our family. I have never seen it behave like that.”

  “It is welcoming me—nothing more.”

  She eyed him thoughtfully. “Well, I’m supposed to know what to do with it when the time comes, but I haven’t a clue. Do you know?”

  “Using Fae artifacts can be very dangerous, even when they are in tune with you. It is said they have a life of their own. We’ll study it—and maybe it will show us how it wants to be employed.”

  “Will we need it, do you think, Chad?”

  He did. He thought they would need it very soon, but he wasn’t sure how. For a sudden moment, he felt desperate to whisk her in his arms and take her somewhere Pentim would never find her. That wasn’t going to happen. The only way he could keep his beloved safe was to send Pentim to the hell he deserved. His beloved? How odd that the word had come so easily, so swiftly to his mind. All these years of cavorting and loving, never had he felt this way…

  He reached for her, pulled her off the floor, and held her in his arms. “You and I will finish Pentim, and then we will make our own future.” He kissed her then, slow and sweet, and afterwards she rested her head on his chest.

  “Come on, love…I don’t feel comfortable here…I want to get you home.” He released her, but as he bent to close the lid, she stopped him and dove inside. She pulled out two silver wrist cuffs and slipped them on, saying, “I had forgotten about these.”

  He laughed. “Pretty…what do they do?”

  “They can produce potent light rays against vamps.”

  “Okay…come on then.”

  Earlier they had shifted to the cottage, collected all her belongings, and shifted them back to his suite of rooms at Darby. She wanted her chest of artifacts and her leased car on hand, so they shifted back to the cottage with the intention of putting the chest of magical weapons into the car and driving back to Darby Gray.

  A knock sounded at the door, and they stopped to look at each other.

  * * *

  Shawna bit her lip and put a finger to Chad’s lips, for she could see he was about to curse. She reached out for his arm and stroked him. What is wrong with me? She couldn’t seem to stop touching him, as though his touch alone could make all things right.

  The front window gave her a view of the squire’s car parked outside. The day was quickly waning…and it looked like rain.

  She eyed Chad and then without a spoken word walked purposely towards the door. There she hesitated, turning to see that Chad had her back and that his green eyes were full with promises—promises to support and protect.

  Bolstered by this, she swung the door open—ready to pull the squire inside and find out why he had been gathering information about her.

  The squire stood very still. He glanced from Shawna to Chad and then back to Shawna, and he appeared as though someone had just punched him full in the face.

  Shawna watched him struggle to speak. When he did, his voice sounded strained.

  “Shawna…forgive me, I had not realized you had company…”

  She put on a cold smile. She wanted him to know that something was wrong between them. She wanted him off balance. “Come on in, Kenneth…I am so happy you stopped by.”

  She knew her movements were as rigid as she felt. She could almost feel the coolness of her gaze when she looked at him, but she managed to keep her voice low and quiet. “Come in then…won’t you?” She stepped aside and waved him inside with her hand.

  He took a step back. “No…no…it is clear that I intrude.”

  She was furious with him. He had been investigating her, and she meant to find out why. He wasn’t escaping her now. “Oh, but I insist,” Shawna said and reached for his hand. She clasped it firmly and then not too gently, controlling her vamp strength, pulled him into the narrow hallway.

  Chad’s lips had already formed a smirk as he moved out of Shawna’s way. Her eyes looked into his and told him that this was her show, and she felt a wave of pleasure to find
that he meant to allow her control. She knew that wasn’t easy for the man that he was, always used to having the wheel in his capable hands.

  Shawna could see that Kenneth was hesitant and wary. Good—that was just what she wanted. “Sit…we’ll chat,” she offered as she continued to hold his hand and draw him into the living room. She let go of his fingers there and motioned him to be seated.

  He remained standing, and it was obvious that he was ill at ease and ready to bolt. “I…I don’t think…”

  “No, you didn’t think…I know, so we’ll discuss what I think,” Shawna stuck in quickly, softly. “Yes…that’s right.” She sucked in her lips, licked them slowly, and glanced over him from his mussed, thick locks to his leather boots. “What I think is that a person who has offered a friendship…does not win that friendship by investigating the very person he wishes to befriend.” She turned to Chad. “Do you agree?”

  “I do,” Chad said, offering the squire a cold smile.

  “I…I don’t know what you mean?”

  She made a clucking sound. “No…? Well of course, you never dreamt it would get back to me that you were…er…what shall we call it? Ah—I know, investigating me.” She smiled sweetly as she pushed him backwards and into the winged leather chair. She watched him sink into its dark fold. “What I want to know now is—why?”

  “I don’t know who you have been speaking to or what they told you, but it was nothing like that. Honestly…I may have mentioned that you were leasing my cottage…and perhaps asked a casual question or two of one of your countrymen…”

  Shawna had watched his face turn various shades of red. She watched as the temper he was trying to suppress gathered and blew a storm into his brain.

  And then, all at once Shawna felt something suddenly in the atmosphere, as though it was seeking out elements within itself and revving up.

  Something was wrong.

  She glanced at Chad and realized that he was also aware of the sudden change in the airwaves and something else—a certain drop in temperature.