Immortal Sins (16 page)

“Only as long as you can keep it,” Rourke retorted, annoyed by the younger man’s surly attitude. “What is your name?”

“Ramon Vega.”

“Are you the only other vampire in this area?”

“No, there are three others.”

“Did you make them?”

“What if I did?”

In a movement so fast Vega never saw it coming, Rourke’s hand closed around his throat. “I do not like your tone,” he said coldly, “or your attitude. You will change both, or I will rip out your heart.” His hand tightened around Vega’s throat. “Do you understand me?”

Vega nodded. For the first time, there was a faint hint of fear in the vampire’s eyes, along with a healthy dose of respect.

“How long have you been a vampire?” Rourke asked.

“Almost five years.”

“And the ones you made?”

“I brought Maitland across three years ago. Nita about a year ago, and Jan last month.”

“Where are they now?”

“Back at my place.”

“Just so you know, I intend to stay here as long as it pleases me. Do you have a problem with that?”

“No, man. Hell, stay as long as you like.”

With a nod, Rourke released his hold on the other vampire. “I do not want to see you again.”

Vega rubbed his throat. “Don’t worry, you won’t,” he said, and melted into the shadows.

Rourke stared after him, wondering if the vampire had meant his parting words as assurance or threat.

With a shake of his head, Rourke continued on down the street, drawn by the scent of prey.

Ana Luisa stared up at the ceiling, her thoughts muddled. She was happy to be out from under her father’s curse, delighted to be free again, thrilled to see Jason again. At the same time, she was frightened by a world that was totally foreign to her. Thus far, save for a few buildings in Bucharest, she had seen nothing that was remotely familiar. But then, after three hundred years, she supposed that was to be expected. Life went on, people changed, the world changed. It bothered her that she recalled so little of her past life. Would her memories return, in time, or had they been lost forever, wiped out in the void of the last three centuries?

So many changes…

Earlier, she had followed the woman, Karinna, from room to room, her mind spinning as she tried to understand what she was seeing. So many new things to learn. A big white box that kept food cold on one side, yet kept things frozen solid on the other. She liked the box with pictures that moved and talked, although she didn’t comprehend most of what she saw or heard. There was another square box that washed and dried the woman’s dishes, and other boxes that washed and dried her clothes. Truly incredible, as was the metal box that Karinna had called a stove. It had flames in small rings on the top that were used for cooking, as well as an oven that lit itself, making it unnecessary to haul wood into the house. A most amazing thing! Even more astonishing was a rectangular box that heated food in moments and cooked a meal in minutes. In the room Karinna called the bathroom, there was a small round bowl where one relieved oneself, and then, with the push of a lever, it swept everything away. Truly a kind of modern magic, she thought. Imagine, no smelly chamber pots that had to be emptied every morning. There was even special paper to use to wipe oneself. It was all so new, so different from the life she had once known. She wondered if she would ever get used to the world in which she now found herself. It occurred to her that she was trapped here, just as surely as she had been trapped in her father’s painting. Only there was no escape now. Like it or not, this was her new home. She had to admit, there were things she liked. Bathing, for instance, was most pleasurable.

She turned over onto her side, thinking how nice and soft the bed was. The sheets smelled of springtime, the blankets were warm, the pillow was downy soft.

Unable to sleep, she got out of bed and tiptoed into the kitchen. She opened the cold box, pulled out a carton of milk, then poured herself a glass. She had never tasted milk like this, nor any that was so cold. She drank it all and wondered if she dared have any more, and then she frowned. Where did the milk come from? And the meat? She hadn’t seen any pigs or chickens or cattle or goats.

With a sigh, she put the glass into the sink and went back to bed, marveling at the plush carpet beneath her bare feet. Snuggled under the covers once again, she thought of Jason, remembered the few nights they had shared, the way he had made her feel, as if she were the most beautiful, intelligent woman in the whole world when, in truth, she had been nothing but a foolish child who had never ventured out of the village where she had been born. In Jason’s arms, she had been unafraid of the future and of her father. In Jason’s arms, anything had been possible until her father found them. She would never forgive Vilnius for the way he had treated her, for what he had done. He had claimed he loved her, but what kind of father magicked his daughter into a painting and left her there for three hundred years? No, she would never understand him or forgive him.

She huddled deeper into the covers. Her father would already know that the spell had been broken. Would he come looking for her? Her magick could not stand against his. Her anger and indignation, even when fueled by three hundred years of captivity, would be no match for his wrath. There was no one to stand between her and her father’s fury save for Jason. He hadn’t been able to protect her last time, yet he was her only hope of salvation. She had no one else to turn to.

The thought hit her with stunning force as, for the first time, it occurred to her that everyone she had ever known save for Rourke and her father had turned to dust long ago. A wave of loneliness washed over her with the realization that her childhood friends, the sweet lady who had raised her after her mother passed away, the young boy who had delivered wood to their home, the village seamstress, the town crier, the men and women who had peddled their wares in the town square were all gone.

There was no one to help her but Jason. Where was he now? Karinna had said he would be back soon, but he had not yet returned. Was he avoiding her? A single tear slid down her cheek. He was the only constant left in her life, all that was familiar in this strange new world. Without him, she would be utterly lost.

And what of her father? Where was he now? Thinking of him made her shiver. If she had to face her father’s wrath again, she wanted Jason Rourke to be there beside her.

Kari slept until late afternoon. Rising, she padded barefoot into the bathroom, and took a long hot shower. Then, wrapped in a fluffy white robe, she went downstairs and put on a pot of coffee. When it was done, she sat at the table and sipped it slowly, grateful, for the moment, to have nothing to worry about.

After a time, she went into her office and booted up her computer. She went through her e-mail, replying to some, deleting others. Even with a spam filter, it was amazing how much junk she received. When she finished reading her e-mail, she began searching for a coven. She didn’t think it was a good idea to contact the witch she had e-mailed before since neither Rourke nor Ana Luisa wanted Vilnius to know where his daughter was staying, and Kari heartily agreed with their decision. If there was one thing she definitely didn’t want, it was an angry wizard showing up on her doorstep. She had no desire to find herself trapped in a canvas prison for three hundred years!

It took only a few minutes to find a coven located in Oak Bluff, which was about twenty miles away. Kari sent an e-mail to the contact address, informing them that she knew of a young witch who needed a place to stay, as well as instruction about life in the twenty-first century. Taking a deep breath, she hit
SEND
. All they could do now was wait.

After signing off the Internet, she played several hands of Scorpion. If there was a trick to winning the card game, she hadn’t found it yet. Out of 386 games played, she had won only thirty-six. Not a very good record. After quickly losing four games in a row, she went into the kitchen for another cup of coffee.

Standing at the sink, Kari glanced upward wondering if Ana Luisa was awake yet, and what she was going to do with the girl come Monday morning. Leaving her home alone didn’t seem like a very smart thing to do.

When she finished her coffee, Kari rinsed the cup and put it in the dishwasher and then went upstairs to get dressed. After combing her hair and brushing her teeth, she went to look in on the wizard’s daughter, who was sitting up in bed, looking lovely and lost.

Kari went into her own bedroom, then returned a few minutes later with one of her dresses and a pair of panties. The dress she had bought for Ana Luisa to wear on the plane had been too large. She wasn’t sure her own dress would fit the girl, she was such a tiny thing.

“Here,” Kari said, dropping the clothing on the foot of the bed. “Why don’t you get dressed while I fix us something to eat?”

Ana Luisa nodded. “Thank you. I am most grateful for your kindness.”

Kari waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “I’m glad to be able to help,” she said, though taking care of Rourke and the wizard’s daughter was turning out to be more of an expense than she had anticipated. After breakfast, she would have to take Ana Luisa to the mall and buy the girl some more clothes, underwear, and shoes. And then she needed to return the hearse, go to the market and stock up on groceries, pick up her dry cleaning, and fill her car with gas.

“Where is Rourke?” Ana Luisa asked. “You said he would meet us here.”

Kari folded her arms across her chest. “I’m sure he’ll be along later.”

“Are you?”

“I can almost guarantee it,” Kari said reassuringly.

The girl nodded but she didn’t look convinced.

After a late breakfast, they went to the mall. Ana Luisa proved to have very expensive taste in both clothing and shoes, but the girl took such delight in her new attire that Kari didn’t have the heart to ask her to pick out items that were less expensive. Besides, the girl had spent three hundred years wearing the same dress. It wouldn’t hurt to let Ana Luisa splurge a little.

When they left the mall, Ana was wearing a black ankle-length skirt, a black short-sleeved sweater over a white tank top, and a pair of white sandals.

They stopped for lunch at Kari’s favorite restaurant, where Kari introduced Ana to a triple-decker ham and cheese sandwich and a chocolate malt, both of which the girl polished off in record time.

After leaving the restaurant, Kari picked up her cleaning, then stopped at the gas station. She glanced at Ana Luisa from time to time wondering what the girl was thinking.

It was near dusk when Kari pulled into the supermarket parking lot. Shopping with the wizard’s daughter was an adventure all its own. The girl followed her up and down the aisles, though she stopped frequently to examine whatever item caught her eye: a bottle of blue mouthwash, a stuffed animal, a Mylar balloon. Kari spent so much time explaining what each item was, she didn’t think she would ever get her shopping done.

Ana marveled at the variety of fresh fruits and vegetables that were available. She popped a grape into her mouth, took a bite out of a carrot. She was reaching for a pear when Kari grabbed her hand.

“You can’t sample the food,” Kari said.

“But how am I to know if I like it?” Ana asked with perfect logic.

Kari could only shake her head as Ana ran her hands over a head of lettuce, a watermelon, a cantaloupe, a coconut.

In the bread aisle, Ana picked up one loaf after another, unable to believe that bread came baked, sliced, and wrapped in plastic. “This one is not done,” she said, picking up a loaf of white bread.

Kari couldn’t help smiling as she realized that Ana had probably never seen anything in her life except whole-wheat bread.

Moving on, the girl picked up boxes of cereal and cans of vegetables, stared in awe at the frozen-food section, shook her head in wonder as she picked up a carton of eggs. She stopped in front of the dairy section, frowning at the rows of milk contained in plastic bottles.

“But where are the cows?” Ana Luisa asked with a frown. “I have not seen any cows. Or sheep, or goats. Or chickens.” She shook her head. “If you do not keep cows or chickens, where do the milk and eggs and butter come from? I have not seen any fields of wheat or corn, either. How do you have bread without wheat?”

Kari was doing her best to explain how bread and milk and other dairy items were delivered to various markets all over the country when she felt a familiar shift in the atmosphere. Moments later, Rourke rounded the end of the aisle. It took but one look to see that he had fed, and fed well.

Kari glanced at her watch. “You’re up early,” she remarked, keeping her voice low so Ana Luisa wouldn’t hear.

“I was missing you.”

His words, softly spoken, sent a pleasant tingle down her spine.

“Jason!” Ana Luisa hurried toward him, a radiant smile spreading over her face as she threw herself into his arms.

“Ana.” He gave her a hug.

“Where have you been?” Ana Luisa asked, a note of censure in her voice.

“I had some things to take care of,” he replied evasively. “You are looking well.”

She beamed at him. “Thank you.” She grabbed his hand. “This is the most remarkable place,” she said, dragging him toward one of the counters. “Have you ever seen so much food in your life?”

“No.” Glancing at Karinna over the top of Ana’s head, he lifted one shoulder in a shrug that said, “What can I do?”

Kari had a few thoughts on the subject but wisely kept them to herself. She watched Rourke and the wizard’s daughter indulgently as they went from aisle to aisle, wondering how she would ever get the two of them out of the store.

Although Rourke couldn’t eat mortal food, he seemed as curious about the market and its contents as was Ana Luisa. The two of them trailed after Karinna, their heads together as they examined whole chickens, spareribs, fish, and hamburger in the meat department, exclaiming over the way the various items were packaged.

Rourke picked up a package containing a whole chicken, his nose wrinkling with distaste. “How long has this been dead?”

“I don’t know,” Kari said with a shrug. “Why?”

“It stinks.”

“It does?”

He glanced at the package, then at Kari. “I thought mortals did not drink blood.”

“We don’t.”

He lifted a package of steak. “There is blood in here.”

Kari glanced at the juice in the bottom of the container. “We don’t drink that,” she said, thinking she would never look at meat the same way again.

Even though Kari had already visited the produce department, Ana Luisa dragged Rourke over that way, eager to show him the fresh fruits and vegetables.

Rourke had little interest in the food itself, but, like Ana, he was fascinated by the wide variety of produce that was available.

“So many choices,” he mused, studying the items in Karinna’s cart. So many things he had never heard of. He ran his fingertips over the edge of the metal shopping cart, the side of a box that held milk, the plastic wrap on a package of pork chops. His nostrils filled with a multitude of aromas, not all of them pleasant. Some he recognized from having smelled them in Karinna’s house; others were completely foreign to him.

Ana Luisa picked up an orange and began peeling it before Kari could stop her.

“No samples, remember!” Kari exclaimed. “I have to pay for these things before you can eat them.”

“But I am hungry now,” Ana said, popping a segment of orange into her mouth.

“I still have to pay for it,” Kari insisted. Plucking the orange from the girl’s hand, she dropped it in a plastic sack and added it to the items in the cart.

Ana Luisa looked at Rourke. “There is enough food in this place to feed our village for over a year.”

Rourke nodded. In his day, people had raised their own food. True, on occasion they had traded goods with their neighbors, and sometimes, in the summer, an entire village might get together to swap goods. But there had been no markets like this, nor such an abundance of produce. If their crops failed, people went hungry.

He watched Karinna as she bagged and weighed the fruits and vegetables she wanted and added them to her cart. He never tired of watching her, knew he could spend hours admiring the gentle sway of her hips, the way her hair fell over her shoulders, the pink in her cheeks, the soft glow in her eyes.

He followed her to the checkout counter, waited with Ana Luisa while Karinna paid for her purchases. He grunted softly as it occurred to him that he was going to have to find a way to earn some money to support Ana Luisa. He couldn’t keep expecting Karinna to pay for the girl’s food and clothing, though he had no idea what he could do in this day and age to earn a living.

Outside, he helped Karinna load the groceries into the back of her car. Ana stood nearby, looking lost and ill at ease as numerous cars and trucks pulled into and out of the parking lot. He would have to be patient with her, he mused. It was obvious she knew less about this new world than he did.

When the groceries were loaded and Ana was settled in the backseat, he plucked the keys from Karinna’s hand and slid behind the wheel.

Kari couldn’t keep from staring at him as he drove home, thinking how amazing it was that she knew a vampire and that he was nothing like the creatures she had read about in books or the emaciated, bloodthirsty monsters depicted in so many movies, or eluded to in myth and legend.

When they reached home, Ana Luisa went into the living room to watch TV. Ever the gentleman, Rourke carried the groceries into the house, then went to talk to the wizard’s daughter.

Kari had just finished putting the groceries away when she realized she was no longer alone. She didn’t have to turn around to know that Rourke was standing behind her.

“It bothers you,” he said, “having her stay here.”

Kari turned around to face him, her heart pounding a little faster at his nearness. “Not really, well, yes, maybe a little,” she admitted with a shrug. “It’s just that I’m used to living alone.”

“Does that mean you want me to leave, as well?”

“No.” Her cheeks warmed under his regard. “I like having you here.”

“No more than I like being here.” He took a step toward her, his presence seeming to fill the room.

“I found a coven not far from here. I e-mailed them and…” She gazed into his eyes and forgot what she was going to say next.

“Karinna?”

She shivered with delight at the sound of her name on his lips. “Where is Ana Luisa?”

“She is watching something called
Bewitched.
”

“Oh.” In spite of Rourke’s nearness, Kari had to smile at the thought of a real live witch watching Samantha’s silly antics on TV. “What kind of magic does Ana do?” Kari asked, thinking she’d never seen the girl do anything remotely supernatural.

“Let us not think about her now.”

A thrill of excitement shot through Kari’s whole body when he reached for her, his arms sliding around her waist to draw her into his embrace. She went willingly, every fiber of her being yearning to be close to him, to feel his hands sliding over her skin, his mouth branding hers.

“I cannot be near you and not hold you.” His voice caressed her; the look in his eyes made her stomach flutter with anticipation. “Or touch you.” He cupped her cheek in one hand. “Or kiss you.”

His gaze held hers as he slowly lowered his head and claimed her lips yet again.

With a sigh, she closed her eyes, giving herself over to the incomparable pleasure of his touch, the incredible sense of belonging that overwhelmed her whenever she was in his arms. She swayed against him, wanting to be closer, swallowed a gasp when she felt the evidence of his desire, although it wasn’t completely unexpected. Still, she was glad her own desire was less obvious.

She lost track of time as he kissed her again and yet again, might have suggested they go to bed and be comfortable, if someone hadn’t coughed softly to get their attention.

Peering around Rourke, Kari saw Ana Luisa standing inside the open doorway, her eyes shooting sparks of anger and jealousy.

Kari stared at the wizard’s daughter uncertainly. She recalled Rourke telling her that he had seduced Ana Luisa. Did the girl have feelings for him in spite of what he had done? Rourke had also said Ana Luisa had flirted shamelessly with him. She couldn’t help thinking that, although Rourke seemed to have no deep feelings for Ana Luisa, the wizard’s daughter, being young and impressionable, had read more into their relationship than was there.