B006P1R39O EBOK (27 page)

Whoever it was had moved just far enough into the light that she could make out a top hat and a walking stick.

“Who’s there?” she called out. She didn’t like the idea of someone watching her from the dark.

There was no answer so Kathrina took a few steps in that direction. The shadow moved so quickly that it was difficult for her eyes to keep up with it. She tracked it to a brick wall, but then it vanished abruptly.

Glancing back at the door that would take her back to the ballroom, she made the decision to investigate the shadow instead of returning to the party. She knew it might be a foolish move; after all, there could be real vampires among the guests, but she took comfort in knowing that none of them would want to feed on her.

Kathrina walked to the wall where the shadow had disappeared. At first she was puzzled. It just looked like a brick wall. She was about ready to admit that she’d just been seeing things when she noticed a large board lying on the ground near the wall. On closer examination she saw that it had hinges. It was some kind of trapdoor.

Pulling the door open, she discovered a steep staircase. It was dark, but Kathrina thought she saw the glow of firelight at the bottom of the stairs. Stepping down the first three stairs, she turned back to close the door behind her, but thought better of it. Not only would it be darker if she closed the door, but if some maniac decided to murder her, she may not be found for months, or even years.

Even though she left the door open, it was still nearly impossible to see the stairs. She took each step slowly, holding on to the rock wall to help guide her. Finally she was near the bottom of the staircase and could see much better, thanks to a torch that was secured to the wall.

The stairs came out into a small - narrow passage that appeared to go right under the castle, but it was too dark to see for sure. The torch at the bottom of the stairs was the only source of light in the passage.

Kathrina took the torch from the wall and carried it with her. She had gone about one hundred feet before the passage branched off in three different directions. These were obviously the underground tunnels that she’d heard about. If these were the secret tunnels, they would lead to various parts of the castle.

As she stood there wondering which passage the person had taken, she heard movement just up ahead. She started walking in that direction. Kathrina was completely aware that she was announcing her presence by carrying the torch, but there was just no way that she was going to traverse these tunnels in the dark.

“Who are you?” she called out.

She heard laughter at the same time that she felt someone touch her from behind. In that instant, her entire being was enveloped by darkness.

When she again opened her eyes she found herself in a small room. She was aware that she was still underground because of the rock walls, but she saw that there was a small fireplace that had been lit to provide warmth to the room.

She was on a feather bed, and someone had placed a black velvet comforter over her. Pushing herself into a sitting position, Kathrina looked around. Aside from the bed and an old-fashioned chaise lounge, the room was empty. The only light came from the small flames in the fireplace.

Kathrina threw the comforter aside and leaped off the bed. She ran to the heavy wooden door, but when she tried to pull it open, it wouldn’t budge. This surprised her as it looked so antique - like something you would see in an old gothic movie.

Giving up, she stepped away from the door. It was then that she heard the hinges creak as someone pushed the door open. Kathrina turned back quickly and she saw him - the shadow man in the top hat.

“Luciano,” she breathed.

He removed his had and bowed to her. “My sweet angel … so nice of you to pay me a visit.”

The amusement that she heard in his voice raked on her nerves. “What is the meaning of this?”

“I had to see you … I had to talk to you,” he told her, taking a step in her direction.

“Couldn’t you have just said hello like a normal guy?”

Luciano smirked and shook his head. “You still don’t understand do you? I am not a normal guy.”

“But still, it’s not like anyone would know what you are … I mean hell … it is a vampire ball.”

“Such language is not so becoming for an angel,” he clucked his tongue.

Kathrina glared at him, saying nothing. She was ecstatic to see him, but angry with him for scaring her half to death and locking her in this room.

“Now my sweet Kathrina … it just wouldn’t be a good idea for Dracula to actually make an appearance at a vampire ball in Transylvania. Someone might recognize me.”

Kathrina rolled her eyes. “Oh please! Don’t tell me you are into this Dracula thing too.”

Laughing, Luciano pulled her into his arms. His lips were so close to her ear that she couldn’t stop herself from trembling when he spoke. “I am real Kathrina … I have always been real and I have always been waiting for you.”

Alarmed, Kathrina pulled away. “You are serious aren’t you?”

“I am.”

Kathrina could do nothing but stare at him in stunned silence. With the reflection of the firelight dancing in his black eyes, he seemed so beautifully dark.

“What am I supposed to say to that?” she asked, almost paralyzed by the sheer power of his presence.

He held out his hand to her. “Say that it doesn’t matter … that you’ll be with me forever.”

Kathrina hesitated. “You didn’t come back … not even after I killed the demon.”

“I knew you would succeed and that you were more capable of killing him that I was. And remember … you told me not to come back.”

She shook her head. “But still …”

“Now Kathrina … you don’t believe that you are here by accident do you? It was all arrange.”

“Maybe I want something a little more … something normal. Maybe I want to go out to dinner and have my lover get on his knees to propose.”

Luciano laughed out loud. “You know that I will never be normal. If I were, you wouldn’t want me.”

Kathrina’s eyes widened. “And what makes you think that I want you.”

Again she found herself in his arms as he whispered in her ear. “I can feel that you want me. You must remember sweetheart, it was you that seduced me.”

“But you’re a killer … I could never live with that,” she told him.

Luciano groaned. “Unfortunately you do have a point there, but since I fell in love with you, I’ve been good at fighting my urges. I nearly went back to my old ways, but let the lady go because I couldn’t get you out of my mind.”

Kathrina stared up at him, and getting to her tiptoes she brushed his lips with a kiss. “Thank you.”

His mouth came down on hers. Kathrina felt so much yearning in his kiss that any reservations that she had about loving a vampire, faded quickly.

When the kiss ended, she stared into his eyes. “I love you,” she whispered.

Brushing the hair away from her face, he caressed the skin on her cheek. “Kathrina, love is much too mild of a word. You are everything … the stars … the moon … you are my eternity.”

Closing her eyes, Kathrina lost herself in the sensation of being so close to him. When he picked her up and placed her on the bed, Kathrina wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him closer.

“Turn me,” she whispered.

“I cannot do that,” he said in a soothing voice as he was kissing her neck.

Kathrina stopped him. “But we can’t have forever if you don’t.”

Luciano smiled. “We have always had eternity and always will. We are one soul.”

She tried to protest, but he silenced her with a kiss.

When she felt his hands slip beneath her gown, she gave herself over to the utter delight of his lovemaking. He was right. They would always be together through life – death, and spirit.

The End

Excerpt From The New Skinwalkers Series

When love takes you to the threshold of ecstasy … and death.

Mya Reynolds lives a painfully ordinary life - that is until she makes the mistake of looking into the eyes of the
Sinapu
alpha, discovering an all consuming love that threatens to destroy her and everyone near her.

David Bray has sworn to do everything he can to protect the people. But when his duty requires that he kill the one woman that has managed to capture his heart, he is torn between love and what he knows must be done.

The skinwalkers are an ancient race - practitioners of the dark arts and the living vessels of demons. They have the ability to take the shape of animals and humans alike, and never for good.

The Sinapu are the earthly incarnations of the wolf spirit. It is their duty to protect the heart of the people, but the skinwalkers want access to the heart and will stop at nothing to get it.

When Mya Reynolds agrees to take an internship with the tribal police, she unwittingly steps into the middle of an epic battle between good and evil, but too often the lines are blurred and she cannot be sure whom she can trust.

Skinwalkers

Bad Moon Rising

By

Lorraine Kennedy

Copyright Lorraine Kennedy 2011

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

Everyone knows that one day they will leave this physical realm of existence, but only an unlucky few ever actually stare into the eyes of death and know they will probably never see another sunrise.

Mya wondered if she were already dead. Had she met her fate and failed to realize it? If she wasn’t dead, then why was her whole life flashing before her eyes. The years – days – hours, and in fact, every millisecond of her life was replaying in her head like a late night rerun of some classic movie.

The images moved so fast that it would seem impossible to absorb them, but contrary to this, she experienced every feeling - every moment of her life as if she were reliving it all over again.

Before that moment, Mya had never thought about how she would die, though maybe she should have. She’d known the risk of loving him, but had made the fatal decision to ignore that risk.

But was it really her love for him that brought her to this moment?

Even as she went over her every decision from the time she was a young child, she still couldn’t be sure what had brought her to this end. Was it the day that she made the decision to take that internship in Arizona, or was it when she decided to pursue the truth of who she was?

As much as she wanted to blame her fate on these decisions, deep down she knew the truth. She could mark the beginning of the end the moment she stared into his eyes - eyes so wild and untamable that it had been foolish to believe he could ever be anything other than what he was by nature.

Though the shadow of death loomed over her, she placed her bleeding heart before him - hoping the love and passion that they’d shared would overcome his instinct to kill.

But hadn’t this always been their fate?

She’d known almost from the beginning that it was his duty to kill her - she was a threat to his kind. Maybe it was hope that led to her death. She had stubbornly held out hope that they could defy fate and triumph over the evil that had purposely led them down a path of destruction.

* * *

From where Mya stood on the corner, she could see the heat shimmering off the blacktop. A reminder of just how hot it could get in Arizona, as if she needed reminding. The droplets of perspiration that were steadily making their way down the back of her neck were reminder enough.

The light was still green. If they hurried, they could make it across before it turned red. She’d just put one foot into the street when she heard the deafening roar of motorcycles coming right at them. The light was red for the bikers, but it didn’t appear as if they would stop.