Dark Salvation (4 page)

Kitara’s posture relaxed. “We got off on the wrong foot. Sorry. It’s nice to meet you, Nick.”

“Nicholas.”

“Okay… Nicholas.”

“So, Kit,” he smiled as he said the name. It was adorable, and so was she. But he couldn’t let his mind wander off target. Distraction or not, he did have a job to do tonight. “Do you want to tell me why you’re stalking around this old church… at night?”

She hesitated. Nicholas caught the sudden acceleration in her heart. That piqued his curiosity. Her body language gave away more than her lack of words. This place was of some obvious secret importance to her. But why?

“I’m all ears, sweetheart. Let’s get on with it.”

His taunt was rewarded with a smirk.

“Okay. It’s going to sound crazy.”

She already had naïve and clumsy covered; crazy should be interesting. “Try me.”

Kitara rubbed her hands and sucked in a long breath. Nicholas saw past her obvious attempts to appear calm and collected. Her racing pulse, the tightness of her jaw, they all pointed to her true feelings of anxiety. “Okay. There is this cult…church group… club… ah… I’m not really sure what to call them.”

Nicholas knew what to call them. He knew exactly where this conversation was heading and didn’t like it one bit.

“This group, likes to pretend to hunt down… supernatural things.” She cringed as she delivered the last two words and shot a wary glance at Nicholas. When he didn’t respond, she took another breath and continued. “My boyfriend got caught up with them about six months back.”

Why did the cute ones always have to date assholes? Acta fucking Sanctorum assholes at that!

“Then, two weeks ago,” Kitara continued, “he took off. This church was my only lead.” She stared down and nervously played with a small gold band around her ring finger.

Nicholas tightened his jaw, not sure of what to say or how much to reveal to the woman. He knew very well what group she was looking for. It was the fact that she, a human with obvious power of her own, was looking that perplexed him. If she truly knew what they were about, she’d never set foot near this place.

“You think I’m a nut, don’t you?” She exhaled sharply, and when she finally looked up to meet his eyes, Nicholas saw them filled with embarrassment.

“Yes. But not for this.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

She clearly had no idea the depth of depravity her boyfriend’s
cult
, as she called it, was capable of. Perhaps it was lucky he’d run into her tonight. If the Saints were around, they would not suffer a witch to survive poking around their domain. 

 “Nothing.” A playful grin played across his face.  He loved antagonizing people, and she made it too easy for him. As quickly as the smile came, it fell. “This… ‘group,’ you talk of. They aren’t pretending, sweetheart. They’re the real deal. They hunt… with real weapons. And they kill… real things.” He emphasized the last word and watched her expression to see if she understood.

A small glint of recognition flashed in her eyes. Good. At least she wasn’t surprised by that.

“If your boyfriend got caught up with them, he’s probably dead.” Nicholas realized a second too late that he should have delivered that last line with a bit more tact.

Her brown eyes began to water. “You think they killed him?”

No, I probably did.
“Not exactly. Like I say, they’re not playing games. And neither are...the things they’re hunting.”

Nicholas stared at the pulse ticking away in her neck. It suddenly sped and despite the tear threatening to drip down Kitara’s face, he knew he’d touched on a subject that trumped her mission to save her boyfriend.

“What do you mean, ‘the things they’re hunting?’”

Was she baiting him, or was she really that ignorant? She was hard to read. One minute she seemed to grasp the true nature of the Saints, and the next, she was just as oblivious as the rest of human society. But, her boyfriend was a Saint, for crying out loud. She had to have some understanding of what
else
was out there.

“There are a lot of bad things that stalk the city streets at night. Not all of them human. And this group, the Acta Sanctorum, the Saints. It’s their holy mission to eradicate the world of anything that isn’t human, no matter the cost.”

Confusion washed across her face. Nicholas could see the questions forming before she asked them.

“Not human? You don’t really buy into that supernatural garbage, do you?”

Her response shocked him. He’d felt her power. She’d been able to hold his gaze without backing down. She was certainly supernatural in her own right, and yet she did not act as if she believed. Something was missing.

“I don’t buy into anything. I recognize what’s out there and accept it for what it is, unlike your friends the Saints here, who kill first and allow God to sort it out.”

“So you
do
think Jeremy is dead.” She fidgeted with the ring around her finger again.

“Was that his name, your… boyfriend?”

“Yeah.” Her shoulders slumped.

“Sorry.”

“Why? It’s not like you killed him.”

Nicholas bit his tongue. He’d killed more than his fair share over the millennia. Countless faces and unknown names. He might have killed Jeremy. And if he had, he’d probably enjoyed it.

Kitara kicked at the slushy snow with her boot. “I just thought if I came here, if I could talk to him, I might be able to sort things out.”

“Move on. He’s joined the Saints. If he is still alive, he’s a lost cause.” Nicholas heard the faint sound of her sniffling as she concentrated on the snow covering her boot. “I don’t mean to be so harsh. I just don’t want you to have false hope. These guys are killers.”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.” Everything in her voice said otherwise.

Nicholas growled low under his breath. He didn’t have time for female emotions. But he felt a little responsible for hurting her feelings. “Look, Is there somewhere safe I can take you? Do you have any friends or family here?”

“No, and no. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

He knew better than that. She was trying to put on a brave face, but she was anything but fine at that moment. “You’re all alone, wandering the streets of Boston. You’re not fine.”

“I’m good. I’m a big girl. I don’t need a babysitter. I can take care of myself.”

“You almost got yourself killed twice in the few times I’ve run into you. You’re far from good. Let me at least escort you back to a public place.”

“Oh, going to be a gentleman now?”

Her accusatory tone grated on his nerves. He had been trying to be nice, but she was pushing his limits.

“Better that than read about your death in the morning.”

“You certainly are a morbid one, aren’t you?”

“Practical, sweetheart, not morbid. Between the rapist hiding down that alleyway, the pick pocket wandering the street two blocks back, and darker things prowling in the shadows, you’d be lucky to make it to the Green Line alive tonight.”

“There you go again, hinting at things that aren’t human. You do really believe in them, don’t you?”

He smiled at her false curiosity. “I don’t believe. I know.”

She’d laid her hand on the table already by her body language, and now that he was revealing his fangs she had to admit it aloud.

And there it was, the recognition. Her wide eyes locked on to his fangs. “It
is
true,” she whispered. Her pulse accelerated so much this time he thought she might faint. She clutched at her neck and took an unsteady step backwards.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Nicholas said in as reassuring a voice as he could manage, given his level of annoyance.

Her wide eyes met his again for a brief moment before she turned away.

Great. She has no clue what the Saints actually do, but she’d been told all about the bloodthirsty vampires. Revealing his fangs might not have been the smartest idea on his part. Too late to do anything about that now. “I’m sure Jeremy filled your head with all kinds of crap about my kind. If I wanted you dead, you would be. Quit acting like I’m some kind of monster.”

“I… just… sorry.” Her eyes flashed to his face again. “May I?”

What an odd request. No one had ever asked to touch his teeth before.

“I wouldn’t get too close. I bite.” He teased with a quick snap of his teeth.

“Is that what happened to the guy in the bar?”

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to.”

She lifted her hand and gently touched the corner of his mouth. This small act seemed so intimate, so wrong. Nicholas was not sure he appreciated the confused emotions it stirred within him and jerked his head just out of her reach.

“Do they retract?”

What a stupid question. “Why would they?”

“In the stories…”

“I’m not some fictional character, sweetheart. My teeth don’t magically move around in my jaw. And I don’t sparkle either.”

“Do you… drink blood?”

“You already know these answers. Why do you pretend not to?”

“I don’t know everything.” That, he knew, was the truth. She had a lot to learn about the supernatural world. But he wasn’t the one to teach her. He had neither the time nor the desire.

“You know enough… witch.”

“I’m not a witch.” The way she snapped to attention at the word witch intrigued him. It was as if she loathed the fact she was one. This Jeremy character had really done a number on her if she had learned to hate own supernatural nature.

“You’re not a mundane human either, so you can stop pretending.”

“I’m pagan,” she barked at him. “Not a witch.”

“A pagan with real power.” As if there was any real difference. “I’ve felt it. Is that why Jeremy left?” He stabbed a finger at the small gold band around her finger. “You didn’t fit his Acta Sanctorum Saint image as the perfect wife?”

“How dare you!” Her hand flew fast, but Nicholas was faster. He dodged the smack and she toppled off balance when her intended hit didn’t land.

“It’s not wise to attack a vampire, sweetheart.” Nicholas strained to keep his voice from betraying his annoyance.

She, however did not mask her raw emotions. “Don’t you dare talk about Jeremy or me like that.”

He’d hit a nerve, but angry as he was, Nicholas didn’t have it in him to be sympathetic any longer. “Does the truth hurt that much?”

“It’s not true.” Her voice broke. She fisted her hands, ready to strike again, but this time Nicholas would not be taken by surprise.

“Listen, sweetheart. Your man left you. Don’t take it out on me.”

“He’s confused,” she yelled at him.

“I don’t have time for this. Where can I take you that you can be safe?”

“Nowhere. I’m better off alone than with you.”

“So be it.” Nicholas took off without a second look back. If she was intent on getting herself killed, that was not his problem. He’d already done his good deed for the night.

***

How dare Nicholas talk to her that way! And the things he said about Jeremy. Good riddance! That vampire didn’t know anything about the things she’d gone through. He was a vampire; incapable of feeling anything but bloodlust.

Kitara glanced down to the ring on her finger. The small band of gold with channel-set diamonds and sapphires had only adorned her finger for six months. She remembered the day Jeremy got down on one knee and proposed. He’d told her he was the luckiest man alive to have found her and that he’d do everything in his power to take care of her.

How could all that have changed in such a short time? What had the Saints done to turn his affections? For that matter, what other lies had the Saints told Jeremy?

After becoming a Saint, Jeremy had said vampires and all other supernatural beings were depraved creatures. That had been the start of the end for their relationship. She’d been labeled one of the unnatural creatures for the way she prayed under the light of the full moon.

She’d believed that other creatures could be evil, but not her. She wasn’t a witch or anything like that. And vampires, sure, they would most certainly be on the list of bad things. But now that she’d met one, she wasn’t so sure she agreed with that assessment any more.

Despite his abrasive attitude, that vampire – Nicholas – had showed more humanity than the jerk she’d met at the bar the previous night. He’d saved her not once, but twice, albeit in the most aggravating way possible. He hadn’t tried to bite her either. Though now that she thought about it, his mental attack on her at the club might have been exactly the kind of thing Jeremy had warned her about. Thankfully she’d been able to ward him off. The echo of a headache still remained, a subtle reminder that if she chose to fight a mental attack, she could do it. She’d just need to make sure she could find a safe place to weather the aftereffects.

Perhaps not all Jeremy had told her had been true, but there were kernels of truth there that had her questioning everything she had known.