Out of the Night

by Robin T. Popp

  “Lanie, baby, can you hear me?” He shook her gently, praying she was only unconscious. She didn’t stir. Across the room, the young chupacabra rattled its cage door, trying to get out, but Mac ignored it as he placed his fingers against Lanie’s throat and felt for a pulse. Nothing.

  “Oh, God. Please, baby, don’t be dead. Don’t be dead.” Growing desperate, he held his finger under her nose, waiting to feel the soft brush of her breath against his skin. When he felt nothing, he placed his head on her chest to listen for a heartbeat. He heard only the pounding of his own pulse and roared in silent denial of the truth.

  She was gone.

  The full horror of it hit him and he gathered her to him, holding her as he’d wanted to hold her earlier that day, his guilt more than he could take. He’d killed her. He’d killed her emotionally when he’d rejected her earlier, and now he’d killed her physically. And the irony was that he loved her more than life itself—would gladly have traded his life for hers. He’d wanted only to protect her—and instead . . .

  He laid her back on the bed, gazing upon her face, so peaceful now, until the pain of loss bent him double to the floor. And though he had no memory of ever having cried before in his life, he wept there in the room.

  A long time later, he gradually became aware of the chupacabra’s near-violent behavior in the cage, and he forced himself to go to it, a kindred spirit in pain. As he passed the desk to reach its cage, he saw the note Lanie had left him.

  Dearest Mac, I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about what Burton did to me. I knew you wouldn’t take the blood you needed had you known. If you are reading this note, then you are safe, Burton is dead, and it was all worth it. There is something I want you to know and I’m sorry to have to tell you in a note, but I love you—with all my heart. If I had to do it all again, knowing the consequences in advance, I would, with no regrets. If you have some small affection for me, I beg you to do me one last favor. Stake me—and let me stay dead. I do not wish to become a vampire. All my love, Lanie.

  He read it through again, his mind numb. Learning that she loved him, as he loved her, only made the heartache that much worse. He clinched his hand into a fist, resisting the urge to put it through the wall. He loved her. He loved her so much, he wanted her to come back, even as a vampire, but did he love her enough to let her stay dead? With a resigned sigh, he walked through the connecting doors to his room and pulled a stake out of his bag. He did love her that much.

  Returning to Lanie’s side, he raised the stake high, but when he would have stabbed her through the heart, he couldn’t. Not yet. There was a little time left, he thought, before she’d rise. He sat beside her and held her hand, gazing upon her face, so lifelike despite its chalklike pallor.

  Behind him, the chupacabra set up a horrific screaming and Mac realized that if he didn’t do something to pacify it, someone would come to check on the noise. He didn’t think he could explain why he was alone in the room with a dead woman and an alien-looking creature.

  Unsure what to do, he raised the latch on the door. Immediately the chupacabra charged out of the cage and before he could even react, it raced past him. When he turned around, he was struck with a new horror. The creature was bent over Lanie’s neck, biting her.

  Though logic told him that she was beyond pain, he roared with anger and rushed at the creature, intending to knock it away. His hand pulled back, ready to deliver the blow, but he paused when the baby looked up and stared into his eyes, filling him with a startling sense of hope and well-being. Caught off guard, he lowered his arm.

  Confused by both the creature’s actions and the strange feeling washing over him, he lost the urge to kill and decided to put the small creature back into the carrier until he was thinking more clearly. When he took a step toward the bed, however, it growled at him, baring its fangs. Surprised, Mac quickly stepped back. For several minutes, he stood in a quandary over what to do. He tried to grab it again, but the creature wouldn’t let him get any closer to Lanie’s body. It stood beside her, a sentry guarding precious treasure.

  As the night’s adrenaline rush ebbed, fatigue pulled at him. Knowing the chupacabra would be stone in a few hours, he decided to wait until then to put it back. Crossing to the large armchair, he sank into it and closed his eyes, wanting to escape the pain of his reality, if just for a little while. Later, after the sun came up, he’d finish what needed to be done and somehow find the strength to say a final good-bye to Lanie and stake the woman he loved.

  From deep within his dreams, an angel’s voice called to him. He recognized her voice and was filled with such longing that he never wanted to wake. The need to be with Lanie, to feel her touch, to hold her, was so intense that he imagined the soft feel of her lips against his. Then they were gone and he didn’t know how to bring her back. “Don’t go,” he begged, his voice little more than a choked sob.

  “I won’t,” her soft voice came to him, and he felt a light touch on his arm. “Not if you don’t want me to.”

  “Never again,” he said. “Promise me.”

  “Never again.” The whispered words caressed his face just before he felt the pressure against his lips again, this time more insistent and much less—dreamlike. Stunned, he opened his eyes—and nearly fell out of his chair. Lanie stood smiling down at him, looking tired and pale, but alive.

  He jumped up and pulled her to him, holding her tightly, afraid that if he let go, she’d vanish into thin air, merely a figment of his tortured imagination. Not normally a devout man, he offered up several silent prayers of thanks. “I thought I’d lost you. It’s a miracle that you’re alive. It’s . . .” He dropped his arms from her as if burned and stepped away. “Stay back.”

  She cocked her head to one side and frowned. “Not exactly the response I was hoping for, especially after such a warm beginning.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, edging closer to the desk where the stake lay. “It’s just that—you’re dead.”

  She smiled and Mac felt his gut tighten. He let his hand fall back to his side. She was beautiful and he loved her so. If she was a vampire, he prayed she’d forgive him, because now that he had her back, he’d never be able to stake her.

  “I don’t think I’m dead,” she said, interrupting his thoughts. “I don’t think I ever was. I heard you come back, but I couldn’t move. Everything sounded so far away. I remember being cold, so cold.” She wrapped her arms around herself, and Mac didn’t know if she was still cold or simply reacting to the memory.

  “There was a searing pain seeping through my body as if it rode my bloodstream, leaving darkness and death in its wake. I was being consumed, and I knew that if it didn’t stop soon, I would die—or worse.” She gave an embarrassed laugh. “I guess that sounds crazy, doesn’t it?”

  Mac wasn’t so sure, but he didn’t say anything, letting her go on.

  “Then I heard Gem,” she continued. “It was like she was crying to me, begging me to hold on. There was a pressure at my neck. It didn’t hurt, exactly. It felt more like warmth and sunshine, spreading through me, easing my pain, and chasing away the darkness. After that, I think I fell asleep. When I woke up a little while ago, I saw you sleeping in the chair.”

  He took a step closer to her, fighting the hope swelling inside him. “Then you’re not a vampire?”

  Lanie placed her hand against his cheek, letting all the love she felt for him show in her eyes. She’d felt so helpless lying there in the bed, unable to move or respond to anything going on around her. When she’d heard him weeping, she’d longed to hold and comfort him, just as she wanted to do now because he looked lost and confused. “No, I’m not a vampire.” She smiled. “I don’t even think I’m like you and Dirk. I’m just me, only more anemic than normal.” At that moment, her knees buckled, and he helped her into the chair as a wave of dizziness washed over her.

  “Are you all right?”

  She waved a hand dismissively. “Just feeling a little weak still. How’s Uncle Ch
arles?”

  “He’s fine, I think.” Mac furrowed his brow. “I sort of left him in a hurry.”

  She nodded. “And Dirk?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t heard from him.”

  “How are you doing?”

  He shrugged and his expression turned worried. “Honestly? I don’t know. I’m so afraid I’ll blow it again.” He knelt before her and took her hands in his, gazing at her with such raw emotion, her heart ached for him. “I don’t know if you can ever forgive me for what I did to you. I wouldn’t blame you if you can’t, but I want you to know this—I love you. More than I’ve loved anyone in my life.”

  Lanie felt suddenly breathless. She wanted to believe him so badly. “Are you sure?”

  “Lanie, when I thought you died, I died. I know I said and did things earlier that hurt you. I didn’t mean them. I thought it would be easier for you to leave if you were mad at me.”

  “Next time, just tell me to go away, okay?”

  He gave her an astounded look. “Would that have worked?”

  She smiled. “I doubt it.”

  He looked surprised at her answer, and then his smile turned into a chuckle.

  “I love you,” she said. “I understand why you did what you did.” She bent her head close to his and kissed him.

  “Will you marry me?”

  His whispered question caught her off guard. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”

  “I’ve never been more certain about anything.”

  Her heart soared. “Yes, I’ll marry you.” He stood and when he pulled her into his arms, her gaze wandered to a spot behind him, on the bed.

  “What about Gem?”

  He leaned back so he could see her face. “What about her?”

  “What will we do with her?”

  He smiled, dropping his forehead to hers. “We’ll keep her, of course. I have a very warm spot in my heart for that little creature,” he admitted. “I think we have her to thank for saving your life. Wherever we decide to live, she’ll have a home with us.”

  Now everything was perfect, she thought. “Do you know how much I love you?” she asked softly.

  “It can’t possibly be more than I love you.” He pulled her close, enfolding her in his tight embrace. “Now let me hold you, Lanie,” he whispered. “Because I never thought I’d be able to again.”

  Epilogue

  The next several days passed in a whirlwind of activity. Mac and Lanie had a private wedding, and though she would have preferred that her father walk her down the aisle, she was content to have Uncle Charles do the honors. The admiral had made a swift recovery from his encounter with Burton, and Dirk had returned the next day. His night had been uneventful.

  Two vampires, Harris and Patterson, remained at large, but no one thought they’d be foolish enough to draw attention to themselves, although sooner or later, they would need to be found. That’s where the soon-to-be-retired Admiral Winslow’s private task force came in. Privately funded, Uncle Charles had some notion that Dirk, Mac, and Lanie would help him on his quest to search for and eliminate the threat of vampires all around the world. Special concessions were given for Professor Weber, as Mac refused to hunt his father-in-law.

  “How are you feeling, Mrs. Knight?” Mac asked as he pulled the car out of the admiral’s driveway.

  Lanie knew the question had double meaning. There’d been no negative side effects to either Burton’s or Mac’s bites and Lanie didn’t think there would be, but she knew her husband would continue to worry. It was his nature, and she loved that he cared so much about her. “I feel just like my old self, a mere human mortal, only happier. Much happier.” She leaned across the center console and they exchanged a quick kiss. It was so nice to be able to do that anytime she wanted, Lanie thought, a contented sigh escaping her lips.

  She thought back to the first two days following her abduction. She didn’t know why the baby chupacabra’s venom would have such healing powers while the adult’s could turn a human into a vampire or a changeling. Maybe the venom changed as the animal matured. She didn’t know and wished again that her father were around. He might have been able to discover the answer. Now, they might never know, and it made her think of all the unknowns that lay ahead of them.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked Mac, studying his profile as he drove. They were going back to Houston for a brief stay. Long enough for Mac to visit with his sister and sign over his half of the charter business to his partner and brother-in-law. Lanie was going to quit her job and sell her house, because they were moving in with the admiral for an unspecified period of time.

  “Yeah, I’m sure. What about you?”

  “Up all night; sleep all day? Yeah, I’m okay with that, as long as I’m with you,” she said honestly.

  He took one hand off the wheel long enough to give hers a gentle squeeze. “That’s good, because I’m never leaving you or sending you away again.”

  “Promise?”

  “Scout’s honor.”

  Lanie laughed. “You were never a Boy Scout.”

  He gave her a roguish smile and a wink. “It’s a good thing, too. Otherwise, Dirk would have gotten that suite of rooms you like so much at the admiral’s house.”

  Dirk was offered an early retirement option, thanks to a few strings the admiral was able to pull and he, too, was moving in with the admiral. They would be one big, happy vampire-hunting family, and Lanie couldn’t have been more pleased. She was going to put her computer and research skills to use helping them. After all, everyone on the new task force couldn’t go around killing vampires.

  She glanced in the backseat where Gem, still in her stone phase, rested inside the carrier. Lanie was eager to learn more about the chupacabra so she’d have much to share with her father when he contacted her, as she knew he would.

  Looking out the window, Lanie watched the scenery pass by. The bright orange sun was beginning to set, and already the shadows were growing darker. Up ahead was the Capitol Building, its dome roof glowing in an otherwise fading light. On the edge of the roof, an object caught Lanie’s eye, and as they drove past the building, she turned her head to get a better look at it.

  A lone gargoyle sat there, looking over the city. Sure she’d been mistaken, Lanie turned around in the seat to get a better look, but by then the sun had set and the gargoyle was gone.

  About the Author

  Robin T. Popp grew up watching Star Trek and reading Nancy Drew, Robert Heinlein, Sharon Green, and Piers Anthony. She loved the daring and romantic exploits of heroic characters on grand adventures in otherworldly places. It wasn’t long before she wanted to write such tales to share with others. Though she was forced to take a thirty-year detour through the real world—which certainly wasn’t without its share of adventures—armed now with two master’s degrees, a full-time job, and a family, she has taken the first steps toward realizing her original dream of becoming an author.

  Too Close to the Sun, a futuristic romance published in July 2003, was her first novel. Out of the Night is her second novel and represents her first foray into another of her favorite alternate realities—the realm of vampires.

  Robin lives southwest of Houston, Texas, with her husband, three kids, three dogs, two frogs, one rabbit, and a mortgage. She is living the American dream.

  More Robin T. Popp!

  Please turn the page for a preview of

  Seduced by the Night

  Coming soon from Warner Books.

  Chapter 1

  On an otherwise still and silent night, the faint noise and gentle breeze barely registered with Bethany Stavinoski, whose thoughts were focused elsewhere. On her way to the office, she walked another half block along the deserted city sidewalk before it occurred to her that a woman alone at night should be more cautious—and alert.

  Spinning around, she half expected a mugger or vagrant to leap at her. She felt both relieved and a bit foolish when she saw that she stood alone. The only o
ther person in sight was a man leaning against the inside wall of a building’s doorway, half a block behind her. The feeble glow of the nearby street lamp touched only the outer half of him, leaving the rest to be swallowed by the darkened entryway. His features were unclear, and a trick of the poor lighting gave his eyes a reddish glow. He wore a long black duster over equally dark clothes. With one leg bent at the knee so he could brace his foot against the wall, he smoked a cigarette, appearing both unhurried and extremely dangerous.

  Having just come from that direction, Bethany wondered why she hadn’t noticed him before. Now, as she watched, he took the cigarette from his mouth to exhale, and his lips lifted in a slight smile as he tipped his head in a subtle greeting. Afraid that her staring might be misconstrued as something more than simple curiosity, she turned and hurried away.

  That’s right, sweet thing. Be very afraid. Dirk Adams watched the look of apprehension cross the young woman’s face just before she turned and walked off. He raised his hand, bringing the lit cigarette to his mouth and took a long drag before slowly exhaling the smoke.

  He waited until she disappeared around the corner before flicking the cigarette to the street, where he watched the tip flare briefly as it bounced and rolled away. It wasn’t even his; Dirk didn’t smoke—not anymore.

  “Thanks for the loaner,” he said conversationally, turning to the creature he held pinned to the door by the neck. “But you know? They just don’t taste as good as they used to. Probably just as well. Those things’ll kill you.” He smiled at his own joke as he studied the creature, more monster now than the twenty-something man it used to be. “I don’t suppose that matters to you, though.”

  “I’m . . . going . . . to . . . kill . . . you,” the creature choked out past the constriction of its throat, sounding harsh and wild. “You can’t . . . stop me.”