“And in that, I could not agree more.” She found herself enjoying her debate with the man, even as much as the waltz. Sadly, it seemed both were over as the music played down to a stop. They ceased their movement and offered applause to the musicians for their work.
Maxine was surprised to find that she felt disappointed at its end. Her time with the gentleman was over. He would likely now take his fill with women who were far less discriminating than she. Less contentious, for certain.
He took a step back and bowed, and she returned the gesture with a curtsy. She had to glance at the other women in order to copy the action. Her need for assistance did not escape his notice, and his eyes glinted again in amusement with a playful devilishness. For an Englishman who looked all the world like he should be a doctor or a lawyer, he had a strange darkness to him. It was the later that brought warmth to her cheeks, and she cursed herself silently for blushing.
As they walked from the dance floor, she was surprised he did not immediately take his leave of her. As a waiter passed them with a tray, he fetched two glasses of red wine from atop it and handed her one. “If I may be so bold,” he said with a twinge to his lips.
Maxine glanced across the room, catching sight of Bella. She was still with her blond suitor. It seemed they were entirely caught up in each other. They would amuse one another for some time. And still, not a sign of a vampire was to be had.
Eddie and Alfonzo were waiting outside, likely for no reason at all. She was beginning to suspect the vampires would never come. That this was all a silly ploy. She should stay by the window, but she found the thought of Eddie watching her awkward conversation with a man too embarrassing to allow.
And she did wish to speak with him more, she decided. It would be brief. He would find her unsettling like all the others and leave her be in search of more appealing company. Bella is having a grand time. I deserve a little of the same, don’t I?
Maxine finally smiled at him faintly in return. “If you are to torture yourself to more of my unflattering blather, let us do somewhere a little farther away from the ballroom floor.” She took a sip of her wine, nearly saying the words into her glass with a narrow glance at the people who were fawning over each other and laughing.
It was so very loud in this room in more ways than one.
“What am I, if not a masochist?” He gestured his arm toward the large double door that led to the foyer. They walked from the floor until they found a spot against a railing that overlooked the entryway. There were small clumps of people here and there, doing the same as they—looking for a quieter place to socialize away from the hustle and bustle of the ballroom.
You’re here for work, not pleasure, she reminded herself as she leaned on the railing, looking down at the people below them, laughing and enjoying themselves. There will be vampires here tonight. Don’t fool yourself into thinking otherwise. And they are ones who want you captive or dead.
But she had reason to be distracted. Her company was enthralling, she had to admit. There was something in his warm eyes that made her want to stand closer to him. He drew her in. It was not like her to feel such a way about anyone, let alone a stranger.
“There is a darkness that comes over you when you look at others,” came the warm voice next to her. “What is the source of that, I wonder?”
Because I can feel in them all the pain they have suffered or caused others. Because I do not belong among them. She shook away the wave of emotions that crashed over her, pouring in from all those that surrounded her. There were too many to separate. They became like rain in a storm—a collection of solitary drops that blurred into one. She pushed it all away.
“We have known each other for the space of one dance, we have not even exchanged names, and you can see that much of me?” She looked down into her glass of wine and at the reflection. She wasn’t angry at him. Some part of her was pleased that he was as observant as he was handsome. “I’m impressed.”
“Many would see that darkness and mistake it for an inhospitable demeanor—”
“And many do,” she confirmed.
He chuckled. “But I see it as something else.”
She turned to look up at him. The way he said it made her both leery of him and charmed at the same time. There was a darkness in him as well; she saw it plain as day. It was part of his very being, his very nature, hidden behind the welcoming exterior. Something terrible must have befallen him at some point in his life and left him changed. It was stamped into the fabric of his very soul. Perhaps it was that quality that drew her in. She had never been afraid of the dark. “What do you see, I dare ask?”
“Unhappiness. The belief you see something that you will never have.” He sipped his wine, casting his gaze down to the group of people beneath them. A hardness stole over his features for the first time. Hardness, and something like contempt. “You are enticingly beautiful, young, and breathtakingly intelligent. There is no reason I can see to think you would be so cast out from their world. Yet here you stand.”
“You say ‘their’ world. You exclude yourself as well.”
He smiled at her. He seemed to enjoy their repartee, and it gave her hope that this might not be a fleeting amusement for him. “I do. Allow me to introduce myself.” He took her gloved hand and bowed to place a kiss against the back of her knuckles. “I am Jonathan Harker. A pleasure to meet you.”
8
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Harker. I’m Miss Maxine Parker.” She chuckled. “We rhyme.”
“That we do. It must be fate.” He smiled and looked back down to the crowd. “It is clear you dislike being around crowds. Although, for my sake, I’m glad you acted against your instincts and are here tonight. Without such, I would have been deprived of your candor, intelligent words, and your stunning beauty.” He released her hand which was still in his after he had kissed her knuckles.
She hadn’t realized she had neglected to pull it out of his grasp until then. It made her flush again, and she answered her shyness with a sip of wine. It made him chuckle.
She faced the railing to try to hide her cheeks that were still too warm. “I hate to guess, but I take it you are from England?” She tried to desperately speed up the discussion to avoid her making a further fool of herself.
“Yes, I do figure the accent does give it away.”
“Well, allow me to welcome you to our dismal city. I fear you have come at an odd time. Things…have become strange of late.” She glanced out the window in the foyer to the moon that hung in the sky outside. It was red, as it had been every night in the past month. It painted the world around it in shades of crimson. It was unsettling before she knew why it had become that way. Now she knew who was to blame.
“I have noticed. What an odd phenomenon, the moon turning red and never changing shape. Does it frighten you?”
“I admit so, yes. I think only a fool could look up at that and not find it somewhat alarming.” Not to mention the disappearances and the death. No need to make herself less appealing. She wouldn’t need to try before long.
“Then you are wise.” He let out a thoughtful hum. “It shall pass. I have heard rumors of events such as this occurring before. They have lasted for a few months at a time at most, then it ends.”
“I do hope it passes quickly.”
“I think it shall.” He moved closer, and she felt the warmth of him beside her. More proof that he was not a vampire.
The flirtatious movement almost made her weak. It was so rare for her she had no defenses against it. It took her a moment to speak before she was certain it wouldn’t leave her a few octaves too high. “What brings you to the city, Mr. Harker?”
“Please, call me Jonathan. And the same that brings me to this party, I am afraid. There is someone here I would like to meet, and I decided, rather unfortunately, that this was the best opportunity to do so. I think they are a bit skittish, and there is safety in a crowd. I would have far preferred a restaurant or my parlor. But, c’e
st la vie, their needs demand, and here I am.”
“How exhausting.” She sipped her wine. “I fear I find myself in a similar state. I have come to acquiesce to someone’s oddly eager attempts to meet me.”
“And the feeling is not mutual?”
“No. I do not think this person brings me anything but ill will.”
“Well, then, I hope we both have come to find another reason to call this evening a success, even if our primary motivations are not nearly so pleasant.” His hand ghosted by her cheek, and she jolted. She pulled her head back out of his reach quickly. He withdrew his hand. “Forgive me. I did not mean to startle you.”
“It’s all right. I simply—” She broke off at what she saw.
There was passion in his eyes.
It was unmistakable. While she was hardly an expert, there was nothing else it could possibly be. It burned in him like a pyre. He leaned closer to her, and she was certain he meant to kiss her.
She stepped away quickly. “Jonathan—forgive me, but—”
“I thought as much.” He sighed. “You are spoken for.”
“No, I…” She swallowed. “It’s not that.” It’s worse. If you touched me, I would kill you. At best, I would ruin you as I crashed through your mind and left you only a drooling madman.
“The jewel at your throat rather boldly states a man’s claim upon you.” He pointed at the ruby brooch in her choker. “I had hoped it was a memento mori and that was the reason for the morose veneer I see in your eyes.”
“I am not—you misunderstand.” She touched the jewel at her throat. She had begun to become inured to the constant feeling that poured from it, the more time she spent near it. “I do not belong to anyone.”
“That you wear the brooch of a man at your neck tells a very different story.” Jonathan did not seem angry. He did not even seem disappointed. There was a strange and dangerous heat in his words and in his brown eyes. “It tells a very different story indeed.” He took a slow step toward her, and he ghosted his fingers over her cheek again. He didn’t touch her. Something in his gaze kept her pinned there, unable to move. She felt trapped in a spider’s web.
“I—”
“Introducing Lord Walter Northway.” The door attendant interrupted her words.
It was then that Jonathan’s expression shifted to irritation and anger. Maxine took a step back, as if a spell had been shattered, and she turned to look at the figure who walked into the room.
If ever a person were to scream that they were a vampire, it was the man who walked into Arthur Price’s house. He was immensely tall and thin. He had short hair the color of fire and moved with a fluidity that belied an unnatural nature. He looked for all the world like a corpse, and he viewed the room with an emptiness that echoed the coldness of the grave. His skin was as pale as ash.
She felt his presence in the room in the way one might know sickness had come to a home. He was a plague. She shivered and drew back from the railing reflexively. The first vampire had arrived. While it was not Dracula who had come for her, she did not discount that the man was likely any less dangerous. “And so, it begins.”
“Pardon me?” Jonathan asked from beside her.
“There is going to be trouble here tonight, Jonathan.” She turned to look up at him and placed her gloved hand on his wrist. She squeezed it gently but insistently. “You need to leave. I don’t want to see you harmed.” She grieved their time was over. “This has been wonderful. It truly has. But my business here this evening is dangerous—very dangerous. Heed my warning and go, please, before you are caught in the middle of it. The last thing I want is…” She sighed and shook her head at her useless attempts to explain herself. “You have been very kind to me. Very few people have paid me the attention that you have this night. Genuine or ingenuine as it may be, I thank you.”
About twenty expression fought across his face, each one vying for supremacy. It flickered between surprise, incredulousness, amusement, and several others she could not name. Where it landed was where she had not expected—a gentleness that could have been mistaken for affection. “Of course. I cannot argue with that.” He took a step back and bowed. “I hope to meet you again, Miss Parker. I hope you escape your danger safely.”
“Thank you.” She smiled sadly. It never would have worked between them. She was not fit for a normal life. She was not fit for companionship. He seemed intrigued by her unabashed nature and did not seem to find her too eerie or unsettling to be near. She had appreciated that he had been happy and ready to debate with her, an action seen by most as unseemly for women. But he had no place in her world. What kind of relationship could they have, where they could never touch?
He turned to walk down the stairs toward the entrance. That was enough of an indication to her that he was heeding her warning and leaving the party. The vampire would ignore him, she was certain. Mr. Harker was simply another guest to them. Knowing he was safe, she walked back into the ballroom to find Bella.
She found her by the wall, swooning in the presence of the beautiful, amethyst-eyed gentleman. “I hate to interrupt.”
Bella blinked, as though she was waking from a dream, and looked to her. “Hum?”
“They’re here. One of them is, at any rate.”
Bella sighed and looked more than a little disappointed. She looked up to the young man and smiled. “I am sorry, but I must go. You should leave. Things are about to get…uh…messy.”
The gentleman didn’t seem quite sure what to say to that. “Will I see you again?”
“I can only hope so.” Bella reached for his hand and took it. “This has been wonderful, Mordecai.”
“The feeling is mutual.” He smiled and picked up her hand to place a kiss on the back of her knuckles—a slow one.
Maxine looked away for the sake of propriety and cleared her throat.
“Goodbye for now, then.” The gentleman finally took his leave. Bella was smiling, and it was clear she was besotted with the man.
She was also watching the man’s rear as he walked away from them.
“Bella, please focus.”
“Oh. Yes. Sorry.” She shook her head and turned to face her. “So, you say a vampire has—” She broke off and her eyes went wide. “Oh.”
“Greetings, Miss Parker. Miss Corallo. I hope the evening finds you well.”
Maxine turned about to look at who had interrupted them. The tall, red-haired vampire, who was looking down at her with matching crimson eyes, the same hue as those Dracula owned. Good glory, if there were ever a creature on the face of the planet that might wear a sign about his neck that read “Hello, I am a vampire,” it truly was him. He was uncanny by his very nature. The room quieted at his passing. It was as though the others could sense something was awry. She hadn’t figured there were two men like Vlad Dracula, but here she was with proof.
She pulled the revolver from her purse and leveled it at his head, pulling back the hammer. The crowd nearby gasped and retreated quickly from them.
Good. She did not want anyone caught in the crossfire.
The vampire did not flinch.
“What has he sent you to do? This Vampire King of yours? Kill me?” She kept the defiance strong in her voice.
“Were it so simple.” The man’s expression was stoic and empty, but she felt an ounce of annoyance and regret in him all the same. “I am afraid not.” He bowed his head in greeting. “I am Walter Northway. I am to take you to my Master. Please come with me quietly.”
“I think not. And what of her?” She motioned her head at Bella without lowering her gun or taking her eyes off the vampire.
Walter shrugged dismissively. “She is to live or die as she sees fit. If she interferes, she will die. If she does not, she may live to see tomorrow.”
Bella stepped up to stand at Maxine’s side. “You will not take her.”
“You are surrounded and outnumbered.”
“How so? I see only one of you.” Bella scoffed.
&n
bsp; Walter’s stoic expression twisted into a smile. But it was a sad one. “Look again.”
It was as though a curtain was suddenly pulled away. Like her bedroom had been cast in the murky darkness of morning only to have the sunlight stream in. Although perhaps the analogy was backward. For it was not life that was added into the room, but life that was taken away.
The guests in the room.
Every single one of them.
They were all monsters. Pale faces and glinting eyes watched her from faces that were only a moment ago filled with the color of life. Or were now no longer human at all, but twisted creatures of every nightmare a man could have. Horned things, scaled things, furred things. Vampires and demons. A carnival of things both living, dead, and undead surrounded them.
Maxine took a step back in shock and bumped into someone. Whirling, she saw the Vicomte Arthur Price. But as she watched, the illusion fell away, and someone else took his place.
He was beautiful, sharp and wicked features accented by lupine yellow eyes that sparkled with a deep hunger for violence. He had dark blond hair that was swept back from his face but did not fully subdue its curly nature. He would look innocent, if not for the fiendishness emblazoned on him. He took a bow with a deep flourish. “I am sorry for the trickery, my beautiful darling. I am Zadok Lafitte, at your service. They call me The Illusionist. I fear now you see why. You cannot fight. You cannot escape.”
Bella pressed up closer to her. She did not know the magnitude of the telekinetic’s power, but she did not fathom that she could take on a room full of creatures like this. “Maxine…”
They were doomed. “I know.”
“Oh, don’t be so afraid…Come with us, ma chere amie, and you will find there is nothing to fear. Come with us, and the huntress walks free,” Zadok crooned. He had a voice like velvet and quicksand—beguiling and dangerous. The promise of safety that would swallow her whole.
“I repeat—no. Go back to your Master and tell him that he shall have none of me. Tell him to leave me be.” She pointed her gun at Zadok now. She knew she didn’t stand a chance, but she was not going to go down without a fight.
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