Night's Master (19 page)

Rafe went inside, and I closed the door behind us. Several large metal filing cabinets lined one wall. They were locked, but that was no problem for Rafe. I stood lookout while he went through the drawers, pulling out the files that looked promising.

He had scanned a dozen or so when he said, “Got it!”

“Someone’s coming.”

Folding the file in half, he shoved it under his shirt, closed the drawer of the cabinet, then grabbed me by the hand. “Shh, not a word.”

Pearl’s voice. The sound of footsteps coming closer.

My heart was pounding a mile a minute when Pearl opened the door and stepped inside. To my amazement, she walked right by us as though we weren’t there.

She rummaged around in the file cabinet a moment, muttered an oath that sounded even worse coming from a grandmother, and hurried out of the room.

“Come on,” Rafe said, “let’s get out of here.”

“Why didn’t she see us? Never mind, don’t tell me. A little Vampire magic?”

“Right, let’s go.”

I stayed close behind Rafe as he searched for the nearest exit. Twice, he stopped as men in white lab coats appeared in the hallway. Both times, the men walked past us as if we weren’t there. A handy trick, I thought, surprised they couldn’t hear my heart pounding.

We finally found a door that led outside.

“Where are we?” I asked.

Rafe shook his head. “Beats the hell out of me. Come on.”

We walked away from the lab until we came to a block wall that must have been twelve feet high.

“Now what?” I asked.

Before Rafe could answer, the wail of a siren split the air.

“Looks like they’ve discovered our absence,” Rafe said. He held out his hand. “Here, get on my back.”

“What?”

“Do it.”

Muttering, “This is a heck of a time for games,” I took his hand and he swung me around until I was riding piggyback. I choked back a shriek as he vaulted effortlessly over the wall.

He landed softly on the other side. I slid off his back, then fell into his arms when he turned around.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I guess so. I wish they’d turn that siren off. I feel like we’re breaking out of prison.”

His teeth flashed in a smile. “Don’t think we aren’t.”

“Do you have any idea where we are?”

He glanced around, then lifted his head and sniffed the air. “We’re in Clear Glen,” he said, “about fifty miles from home.”

I groaned. Fifty miles! Did he expect us to walk? I gasped in surprise when he lifted me off my feet and settled me on one hip, the way a mother might carry a child.

“What are you doing?”

“Going home the fastest way I know how.”

The next thing I knew, he was running, or maybe flying, through the night, so fast that, to my mortal eyes, the world was nothing but a blur.

In less time than it takes to tell, we were at Rafe’s house.

My admiration for Vampire powers was growing by leaps and bounds.

“No one’s here,” I said, and then realized that, unless Cagin and the others could fly, they couldn’t possibly have arrived before we did. “What are we going to do now?”

“Destroy those vials,” Rafe said, “and hope that no one else knows how to make the damn stuff.”

“Do you think that’s what Pearl was looking for in the office? The formula?”

“I don’t know.” He removed the file from inside his shirt and tossed it on the coffee table. “I’m hoping they were too paranoid to give anyone else a copy.”

“Why didn’t it kill Susie? It killed the other two.”

“I don’t know. Maybe it doesn’t have the same effect on males and females. Maybe it affected her differently because she hasn’t been a Werewolf very long.” He ran his hands up and down my arms. “How do you feel?”

“I don’t know. All right, I guess.” I stared at the raw, angry-looking skin on his face and neck. It must have hurt like the very devil. “What about you?”

“Same as always.” His gaze met mine. “Were you hoping it would make me mortal again?”

“I thought about it,” I admitted, “but I love you just the way you are.” I touched his cheek with my fingertips. “Does it hurt terribly?”

“More than you can imagine, but it’ll heal.”

“How long will it take?”

“A few days, a week, maybe longer.” He took my hand in his and kissed my palm. “Stop worrying about me.”

“Somebody has to. How long do you think it will take for Cagin and the others to get here?”

“An hour or so. What do you say we wash away the stink of that place and change clothes?”

“I’d like that.”

Moments later, we were in Rafe’s shower. For a few blessed minutes, as he washed me and I washed him, I forgot all about Pearl and Edna, until I washed Rafe’s face. He flinched at my touch.

“Sorry. Would it help if you…you know?”

He nodded, his gaze intent upon my face.

“Do it, then,” I said, and tilted my head back, offering him my throat.

Murmuring my name, he bent his head over my neck. It was a remarkably erotic sensation, standing in his arms with the water sluicing over us while he drank from me.

He took only a little, then released me.

“That can’t be enough,” I said.

“It will do, for now. I don’t want to weaken you too much after what you’ve been through.”

“What about you? The silver restraints, the drug…how were you able to draw on your powers so quickly?”

“The silver has no after-effects. As for whatever drug they used, it wasn’t long-lasting.”

“Neither was the serum,” I muttered, “unless it killed you.” Except for its lethal affect on the two Werewolves, the serum was a failure. Would Pearl and Edna try again? Would the Supernatural creatures give them a chance?

Rafe caressed my cheek with the back of his hand, and then he lifted his head, his nostrils flaring. “We’d best get dressed. They’re almost here.”

Since I didn’t have a change of clothes, I put on one of Rafe’s T-shirts over my bra and panties, then slipped into his robe, belting it tightly at my waist.

He put on a T-shirt and a pair of sweats.

Five minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

“That’ll be Cagin and the others,” Rafe said, and went to let them in.

The two humans came in first. They set the boxes on the coffee table, then stood there, silent and unmoving. It took me a minute to realize they were under some sort of spell.

Rafe frowned when the two Vampires entered his house. I wondered if he was annoyed because they hadn’t asked permission, and then wondered why they hadn’t. Perhaps the Undead only needed an invitation into the homes of the living.

Jennifer and the other male shape-shifter followed them. She looked at me, her eyes widening with recognition. “I know you,” she said. “The bookstore…”

I nodded.

Cagin came in last, carrying Susie in his arms. He sat on the sofa, cradling her against his chest. No one else sat down.

“Now what?” the male Vampire asked. He was a nice-looking kid, no more than twenty-two or twenty-three, with fine blond hair and sleepy blue eyes.

“How do you feel?” Rafe asked.

“Weak,” the male said, looking confused. “And hungry.”

Rafe’s eyes narrowed. “Hungry? For what?”

“A chili dog and a Coke,” he said, and then frowned.

“What about you?” Rafe asked the female. She was a pretty little thing, with curly black hair and heavily-lashed brown eyes. She couldn’t have been more than twenty or twenty-one at the most.

“I feel empty inside,” she said. “Just…empty.” She took hold of the male’s hand. “Jimmy, I want to go home.”

Rafe regarded the two of them a moment. “How long have you two been Vampires?”

“Only a few weeks,” Jimmy said. “Gina was turned on our honeymoon. I asked her to bring me across the next night.”

Rafe grunted softly. “I don’t think you’re Vampires any longer.”

“Really?” Jimmy asked, his eyes wide. “You mean it worked?”

The girl smiled as if they had just won the lottery. “Human again!” She threw her arms around her husband.

He picked her up and swung her around in a circle, then drew her close to his side. They stood there, beaming at each other, no longer aware of the rest of us. So young, I thought, and so much in love.

Rafe turned toward the shape-shifters. “What are your names?”

“I’m Jennifer,” the girl said. “Jennifer Westover.”

“Gary Linden,” the man replied.

“How did the formula affect the two of you?” Rafe asked.

“It hurt and it made me a little dizzy,” Jennifer said, and Linden nodded in agreement.

“What about you?” Rafe asked, speaking to Cagin.

“The same,” Cagin said, “but it didn’t last long.”

“Can you still shift?” Rafe asked, looking at each shape-shifter in turn.

“I don’t know,” Linden said, frowning. “I think I can.”

Jennifer nodded. “Me, too.”

“I know I can,” Cagin said. “I can feel it inside me.”

Rafe looked at me. “How did it affect you?”

“It burned like acid and left me feeling numb all over.”

Rafe gazed at the two men standing across the room. “How did the serum affect you?”

“It was like she said,” the taller of the two replied.

“Yeah,” the second one agreed. “And then, for a little while, I couldn’t move.”

Rafe swore softly. “So, it works, at least in part. Most effective against Vampires, by the look of it.” He glanced at Susie, who seemed to be sleeping now. “We don’t know for sure what its effect is on the Werewolves. Maybe it only kills the males, or maybe it only kills those who’ve been Weres for a long time,” he mused. “But that doesn’t make sense. You’d think the oldest would be harder to destroy.”

He shook his head, then looked at the two human males. His eyes took on a faint red glow. “After you leave here, you will not remember this night, this place, these people, or anything that happened here.”

The two men nodded.

“Go home now,” Rafe said, “and forget everything you’ve seen and heard.”

Gina regarded Rafe curiously. “Why didn’t it affect you?” she asked after the two men left the house.

Rafe shrugged. He stood unmoving for a moment, and then he moved closer to the two former Vampires, his gaze locking with first one and then the other. “You will not remember this night, this place, or anyone in this room, do you understand?”

Jimmy and the girl nodded.

“You will not remember that you were once Vampires. You will not remember whatever lives you may have taken, or feel any guilt. You will not remember this place or anything that happened after you were turned. Is that understood?”

Again, they nodded.

“Don’t go home. You won’t be safe there. Leave town now, tonight. Do you understand?”

They both nodded.

“Go now.”

Looking a little lost and confused, Jimmy took Gina by the hand and they left the house.

“What about us?” Jennifer asked. “Are you going to take our memories, as well?”

“No. But I wouldn’t advise either of you to go home.” Rafe’s gaze hardened. “Few people who know where I live survive to tell the tale. I hope you’ll remember that.”

“Don’t worry,” Jennifer said. “I’m getting out of Oak Hollow tonight.”

“I owe you my life,” Gary Linden said. “I won’t betray you.”

Cagin waited until the two shape-shifters left the house, then looked up at Rafe. “What do we do now?”

“Destroy the serum we have,” Rafe said, “then get in touch with Mara. I’ve got the formula, but there may be other copies. I’ll give mine to Mara when she returns. She can get in touch with Clive. Maybe they can come up with an antidote, just in case the hunters make another batch.”

Cagin stroked Susie’s brow. “Can you do anything for her?”

Rafe shook his head. “I’m not a doctor.”

“She’s dying,” Cagin said quietly.

“No!” I looked at Rafe. “Please, don’t let her die.”

“What do you want me to do?”

Cagin stroked her hair. “Make her a Vampire.”

Rafe stared at Cagin as if he had asked him to turn a chunk of lead into gold.

“It’s worth a try,” I said. At this point, making Susie a Vampire seemed better than the alternative. Vampire or not, Susie had three children who needed her.

“It could kill her,” Rafe said flatly. “I could kill her. I’ve never brought anyone across.”

“You can’t hurt her,” Cagin said. “She’s already dying.”

Rafe shook his head. “She’s barely accepted being a Werewolf. What makes you think she’d want to be a Vampire instead?”

“I want her to live!” Cagin said, a low growl in his voice. “Dammit, just do it! What have we got to lose?”

Rafe looked at me. “I haven’t fed.”

I knew what he was saying. He was hurting from the effects of the holy water and the silver manacles, but, more than that, he needed to be in control so that he didn’t savage Susie, so that he didn’t take her past the point where she would be able to recover. The small amount of blood he had taken from me hadn’t been enough to restore his strength or satisfy his hunger.

“Take what you need,” I said. “Hurry.”

Rafe swore under his breath. Then, his face set in hard lines, he took me by the hand and led me into his bedroom.

My heart was racing like a runaway train when he closed the door.

“Couldn’t we have a light?” It was so dark in his room, I couldn’t see a thing.

“Sorry, there aren’t any.”

“Why not?”

A soft sound of amusement rose in his throat. “I have no need for them.”

He placed his hands on my shoulders and urged me to take a few steps backward. When I felt the edge of the mattress against the backs of my knees, I sat down, relieved to discover that he did, indeed, sleep in a bed.

I felt the mattress sag when he sat down beside me.

“Relax,” he murmured.

“Right.”

“Why are you so tense?” he asked. “We’ve done this before.”

“I don’t know.” It was the truth. Maybe it was because we were in his bedroom for the first time; maybe I was just too keyed up after all that had happened.

“You don’t have to do this,” he said quietly.

What other choice did I have? If I refused, Susie would die. “No,” I said, “it’s all right, really. Just…just do whatever you need to.”

Even as I spoke the words, I couldn’t help wondering if I was doing the right thing. Would Susie hate me for what was about to happen to her, or thank me for helping to save her life? And how would it affect her relationship with Cagin, whatever that was? Before tonight, they had both been two-natured creatures—both human and Were; now, she would be a Vampire, a blood-drinking child of the night. It would make their relationship more difficult, more like mine and Rafe’s, I thought, and then frowned as I realized I wasn’t sure exactly what our relationship was.

It was a strange sensation, being near Rafe but unable to see him. He caressed my cheek, rained kisses along the side of my neck. I shivered at his touch, stilled as his tongue laved my skin. In a distant part of my mind, I wondered why it didn’t hurt when he bit me, and then all thoughts and fears were forgotten, swallowed up in the waves of sensual pleasure that washed over me. A delicious heat engulfed me, driving everything from my mind but the need to give him whatever he desired, my heart, my soul, the very breath from my body.

I moaned a low protest when his tongue skimmed my neck, sealing the wounds. The bed shifted as he rose, and I reached blindly for his hand. “Don’t leave me.”

“I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“No. I want to be there.”

“I don’t think this is something you want to see.”

“How do you know? You said you’d never seen it done.”

“But I know how it’s done. You don’t, and you don’t need to.”

“Yes, I do.” Feeling light-headed, I rose on legs that were none too steady, and would have fallen if Rafe hadn’t slipped his arm around my waist.

“You’re the most stubborn woman I’ve ever known,” he muttered irritably.

I smiled into the darkness, pleased by his words though I wasn’t sure why. When he opened the bedroom door, I squinted against the light, which seemed brighter than it had before.

Cagin was sitting on the sofa where we had left him, Susie still cradled against his chest. His hand, large and calloused, lightly stroked her hair. She didn’t move, didn’t seem to be breathing. Were we too late?

Rafe settled me in one of the leather chairs. “You sure you’re all right?”

“I’m fine, stop worrying about me.”

“Yeah,” he muttered, “like that’ll ever happen.”

He regarded me a moment more, as if he expected me to collapse any minute, then moved toward the sofa. Wordlessly, he lifted Susie from Cagin’s lap. Shape-shifter and Vampire exchanged glances—Cagin’s yellow eyes filled with suspicion, Rafe’s dark ones narrowed and impatient—then Cagin rose and went to stand in front of the fireplace.

Rafe took Cagin’s place on the sofa. He looked at me over Susie’s head and then, ever so gently, he smoothed her hair away from her neck. For a moment, his fingertips stroked the skin beneath her ear. His lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying.

The air seemed suddenly charged with Supernatural energy. The hair along my nape prickled, and I knew Rafe was gathering his power.

My breath caught in my throat as he lowered his head over her neck. His hair swung forward so that I couldn’t see what he was doing, but I knew. I could smell the scent of Susie’s blood, feel the rush of preternatural energy that filled the room.

Cagin took a step forward, a feral gleam in his amber eyes, his hands tightly clenched at his sides.

I was surprised by the sharp stab of jealousy that swept through me as Rafe continued to drink.

Susie stirred in Rafe’s arms, a small moan rising in her throat. Her hands clutched his arms, her fingers digging deep into his skin, and then she went suddenly limp.

Cagin took another step forward, his face terrible to see.

When Rafe lifted his head, I saw a single drop of bright red blood at the corner of his mouth. His eyes were red and glowing. He looked at me, only for a moment, but it seemed to stretch into eternity. I could hear his voice in my head.

This is who I am,
he said.
This is what I am.

And then, his gaze still locked on mine, he bit his wrist and held the open wound to Susie’s lips.

“Drink.” He spoke softly, yet his voice rang with authority.

Susie obediently licked at the blood oozing from his wrist, once, twice, and then her hands grabbed his arm and she sucked greedily.

Once again, preternatural power flowed through the room. Susie’s cheeks bloomed with color, her hair and skin took on a luster they’d never had before.

Cagin swore softly, his gaze focused on Susie.

It seemed she would drain Rafe dry before he said, “Enough!” and broke her hold on his arm. A flick of his tongue sealed the wound in his wrist.

Depositing Susie on the sofa, Rafe gained his feet. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then looked down at Susie. “Do you know who I am?”

She nodded, though her eyes were filled with confusion. “What happened?” She glanced around the room. “Where am I?” When she saw Cagin, she smiled tentatively.

“What do you remember?” Rafe asked.

“I remember…” She frowned. “I remember some men came to the house. I don’t know who they were. They took me outside and put me in a van….” She worried her lower lip with her teeth. Teeth that seemed much whiter than they had been before. “I don’t recall anything after that.” She looked at Cagin again. “I remember you,” she said softly. “You saved my life.”

Cagin blew out a breath that seemed to come from the soles of his feet. “Go on.”

Susie put a hand to her head. “Why do I feel so funny?” She wrapped her arms around her middle. “I hurt inside. Why? What’s happened?” She looked at me for the first time. “Kathy, what’s going on?”

I wondered again if she would hate me for my part in her transformation.

Cagin moved to Susie’s side and sat down. “I’ll explain it all to you later,” he said, stroking her cheek. “When we’re alone.”

“You two should spend the night here,” Rafe said. “I’ve got a spare room. You won’t be safe at her place, or yours.”

“What happens now?” Cagin asked.

Rafe glanced at Susie, then at me. “Kathy, why don’t you show Susie where the bathroom is. Run a bath for her.”

“All right. Come on, Susie.”

She followed me into the bathroom. I was relieved when she didn’t ask any questions I didn’t want to answer.

Once the tub was full, I turned my back so she could get undressed and then, after assuring her that everything was all right, I went back into the living room.

Cagin was sitting in one of the chairs, staring into the cold fireplace.

Rafe was standing at the window looking out. When I entered the room, he took me by the hand, led me into his bedroom, and quietly closed the door.

I sat on the edge of the bed. “Can’t we please have a candle or something?” I asked. After what I’d seen earlier, I needed the reassurance of light.

Rafe left the room. He returned a few minutes later with half a dozen candles, which he placed on the dresser and the tables on either side of the bed. A wave of his hand brought them flickering to life. The tiny flames cast dancing shadows on the walls, which were painted a lovely blue-gray. The ceiling was white, to match the carpet. A quick look around showed a very large room with a fireplace in one corner. An enormous television screen was mounted on the wall across from the bed. There were no windows, of course.

“Why did you want Susie out of the room?” I asked.

Rafe closed the door, then came to sit beside me. “She’ll die tonight.”

“What? But I thought…didn’t it work?”

“It worked, but there’s more to it than just an exchange of blood. Her mortal body will die in an hour or so, and when she rises tomorrow night, she’ll be Nosferatu. Cagin needed to be prepared for what will happen, for himself, and for her.”

I ran my hand along the edge of the bed. “So, she’s going to die, like, die?”

“In a manner of speaking, but only for a few moments.”

“Why didn’t the serum work on you when it worked on the other two?”

He shrugged. “Probably because I wasn’t made a Vampire in the usual way.”

I supposed that made sense. Technically, he had been born a Vampire. No one had brought him across, there had been no exchange of blood. It was the same with the shape-shifters. They had been born, not made, so there was no disease to cure, nothing to heal.

“Would you have been sorry if it had worked?” I asked.

“Before I met you, I would have said yes, but now…” His knuckles brushed my cheek. “I’m starting to hate what I am.”

“Why?”

“Because,” he said, his voice endearingly soft and sensual, “it’s keeping me from what I want.”

I licked my lips. “What do you want?”

“To spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Rafe…”

“You should get some rest,” he said. “You’ve had quite a night.”

“What was it like, bringing Susie across?”

“I’m not sure I can describe it.” He looked past me, his thoughts obviously turned inward. “You can’t imagine what it was like, the wonder of holding her life in my hands, the rush of power that flowed through me as I took her to the point of death, and then gave her life back to her.” He paused. His eyes, as dark and deep as eternity, burned with bright intensity as they gazed into mine. “I wish it had been you.”

Looking into his eyes, hearing the heartfelt longing in his voice, for that one brief moment in time, I, too, wished it had been me.

At my request, Rafe left the candles burning after we went to bed. I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to sleep in the dark again. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Rafe bending over Susie’s neck. I smelled the coppery scent of her blood, saw the hellish red glow in Rafe’s eyes as he took her to the brink of eternity, and then brought her back. I saw the gleam of insanity in Pearl’s eyes, the madness in Edna’s, the hatred in Travis Jackson’s. I remembered being locked in a cage, the sting of the needle and the helpless terror that had followed, the fear that I would die in that cage, that my parents would never know what had happened to me.

Rafe woke me twice during the night, his touch and his voice soothing my fears, chasing the nightmares away.

He’d been right, I thought, I never should have watched him bring Susie across.

Toward dawn, when he thought I was asleep, he went into the living room. Curious, I slipped out of bed, padded silently down the hall, and peeked around the door frame.

Rafe stood in front of the sofa, his back toward me. “How’s she doing?” he asked.

“She was scared,” Cagin said, “but she calmed down some when I explained what was happening. She even made a joke, saying she’d never been a morning person, and now she wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.”

“How do you feel about it, about what she’s become?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m thirty-five years old and I’ve never been in love until now.” He shook his head. “I loved her from the minute I saw her. If anyone had ever told me that was possible, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

“It happens,” Rafe said quietly. “She’ll sleep until the sun sets. When she wakes up, she’ll be ravenous.”

Cagin nodded.

“She’ll probably attack the first person she sees, which will most likely be you. If she does, don’t let her take too much.”

“What would happen if she…can shape-shifters be turned?”

“I don’t know why not. Might be interesting to find out.”

“Interesting,” Cagin repeated. “Yeah, right.”

“I’ve got some bottled blood I keep for emergencies,” Rafe said. “If you can get her to drink it, it will take the edge off her hunger and help her to control it. It will make it easier on you, too, if she wants to feed off you.”

Cagin grunted softly.

“I’ve never known a Vampire to feed off a shape-shifter,” Rafe went on. “I don’t know what the effects, if any, will be on either of you.”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

“Maybe so. Just don’t let her get away from you. Every fledgling reacts differently to being turned.”

“This just keeps getting better and better,” Cagin muttered.

“If it goes sour,” Rafe said, “just remember it was your idea.”

“Right.”

The two men regarded each other for a moment, then Rafe started to turn away from the sofa.

I hurried back to the bedroom as fast as my legs would carry me. Diving into the bed, I pulled the covers over my head and pretended to be asleep.

I heard the soft click as Rafe closed and locked the door. I could feel him standing there, staring down at me.

He pulled the covers back on his side of the bed. “I know you’re awake.”

Blowing out a breath of exasperation, I sat up. “Is Susie going to be all right?”

“I don’t know. I hope so.”

“Your face…”

“Pretty bad, I guess.”

“No. It’s…I…” In the light of the candles, I could see that the ugly burns were almost gone. Only a rough redness remained in the worst places. The rest of his face was healed, as if he’d never been hurt.

He rubbed his hand over his cheek. “I told you it would heal.”

“You said days, maybe weeks.”

He shrugged.

“It was the blood, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“Was it mine? Or Susie’s?”

He slid into bed and pulled me down beside him. “Yours, of course.”