Playing with Shadows (3 page)

It’s what she wanted to do, but she had
promised Christian that she would protect the human. Holding the
athame out in front of her, she concentrated her psychic powers
towards the magical blade. Whispering the words so the magic of the
dagger could take effect, Nikki closed her eyes tightly in order to
get it right. A muttered laugh broke through her
concentration.

Nikki glanced up quickly and met a pair
of blood red eyes hovering beside Carolyn’s form. Her screams had
stopped as if she were too listening to the cold and distant voice
that floated around them.

“
Nicola Burroughs, child
born of witch and reborn of vampire. Why do you care for this
pitiful human life?” The voice spoke. It was a disembodied voice,
but the eyes were still there staring at her with hate.

“
Leave Carolyn alone.” Nikki
growled lowly.

Another laugh. Cold and calculated. It
knew how to play this game and it sent a pang of dread through the
vampire. She was out of her league.

As if the creature could read her
thoughts, the eyes disappeared. “See you soon, Nicola
Burroughs.”

In the next moment, Carolyn and the
smoke disappeared, leaving Nikki and her ghostly counterpart
standing there in defeat.

Chapter 4:

“
Carolyn is gone.” Nikki
said as calmly as she could without shaking Vlad as hard as her
vampire nature would allow her. He was lounging in his king-sized
bed, the blankets and sheets wrapped around his half-naked
body.

“
And?”

“
And we need to get her
back!” Nikki hissed out, grabbing for one of the blankets and
pulling it out from underneath him. “The demon has her. He took her
from right under my nose and I’m going to get her back if it’s the
last thing I do.”

Vlad’s pitch-black eyes
sparkled dangerously. “If you keep going down this path, it
will
be the last thing you
do.”

Nikki screwed her face up at him in
anger. “It’s my existence to put on the line.”

Vlad sat up in his bed so suddenly that
it surprised Nicola. She didn’t let her astonishment show, though,
and kept her expression guarded. “Not when I was the one who
created you. I have every right as your sire and the master of this
line to stop you from going on this suicide mission.”

“
Suicide mission?” Nikki
repeated in disgust. “How is this a suicide mission when I’m trying
to help an innocent woman? I'm not purposely trying to get myself
killed!”

Vlad ran a hand over his jaw which was
now showing stubble. He had been complaining about missing his
beard and had started to regrow it. “Oh my poor confused
child.”

Directing her thoughts back to the
issue at hand, Nikki tossed the blanket at Vlad in retaliation.
“I’m getting Carolyn back and you are going to help me.”

Vlad shifted out of bed and onto his
feet. Nicola’s green eyes met his livid expression. The cool look
in her gaze infuriated him more. “Why are you so
difficult?”

“
Why are you so defensive?”
She countered.

Taking a step closer to her, Vlad
decreased her chances of escaping. Nikki usually didn’t mind being
close to any of her fellow undead friends, but Vlad was different.
He had made her what she was. He controlled what she did and where
she went. She wasn’t supposed to defy him no matter what she wanted
and here she was doing exactly that. The thought of what he could
do to her made her throat close up in fear. “Don’t make me regret
giving you some extra freedom, Nicola.”

“
I have concluded why Nicola
is the only compassionate vampire I’ve met since dying.”
Christian’s appearance in Vlad’s bedchamber had gone unnoticed
until that moment. Nicola had specifically told him to stay in the
sitting room, but apparently he thought she needed his help. He
might have been correct.

Vlad growled and his eyes darkened as
his pupils engulfed the irises in his rage. He didn’t move from his
close proximity to Nicola, but instead focused that unyielding gaze
on the ghost who was drifting on the opposite side of the room.
“And that conclusion would be?”

Christian didn’t seem the least bit
thrown by Vlad’s vicious nature. Of course, Vlad could hardly hurt
the apparition. “Every vampire turns off their emotions to keep
from caring about others so they can’t lose anyone.”

Vlad seethed.

Christian continued as if Vlad wasn’t
about to go on a murderous rampage. “Nicola is young as far as
vampires go, yes I’ll admit that, but she is also trying to hold
onto her humanity, which is something you’ve failed to
do.”

“
I have given up any hope on
keeping my humanity because my human family was killed by demons.
Obliterated.” Vlad seemed to be sobered by the memory, but Nicola
could still sense the fury in him. “It’s the reason I won’t deal
with demons. I won’t have my family’s memory tarnished by
associating myself with those parasites.”

“
We must get Carolyn back.”
Christian pressed upon the vampire master.

“
So your blood line can
survive?” Vlad asked him sardonically. “What of mine? It was ended
the moment my son was killed and I was turned into a
vampire!”

A thought crossed Nicola’s mind. A
similar thought had hit her back in the apartment before Carolyn
had been abducted, but it reappeared once more as she stood in
Vlad’s room. “Vlad?” She asked tentatively, unsure of his reaction
to this new information.

“
What?!” He snapped as he
turned his attention to her. Once he glimpsed her expression,
Vlad’s anger softened to nothing. “What is it?”

“
I think I know why the
demon wants Christian’s line.” Nicola met her sire’s questioning
look. “Carolyn is a psychic and... she's pregnant.”

The statement seemed to change
something in him. “There is a child involved? What could a demon
want with a human and her child? Even if Carolyn is a psychic,
there has to be another reason it'd focus solely on
her.”

Nicola didn’t answer the question, but
instead looked at Christian. He avoided her probing gaze. She knew
he had answers to her questions and she was determined to get
them.

“
Christian?”

The ghost sighed in defeat. “My
bloodline can kindle demon magic. Since our blood can do this, we
are able to do things demons can without the limits of Hell's
leash.” Vlad scoffed in disgust and Christian appeared flustered.
“I swear that none of my family has meddled in the dark arts. They
knew the consequences and refused to be a part of it.”

“
And yet young Carolyn is
mixed up in all of this.” Vlad finished for him.

“
She wasn’t supposed to be
involved. I didn’t get to her in time.” Christian trailed off and
it seemed he didn’t want to speak anymore.

“
I’m not protecting or
saving a woman who can wield demon magic and who is currently under
the control of a demon.” Vlad declared with finality. “I am not
discussing this anymore.” The vampire turned to his favorite child
with a grimace. “I don’t want to hear anymore of demons from you
again. Understand Nicola?”

She nodded her head once. It was enough
for Vlad. He turned on his heel and left from the room before she
could stop him. Christian suddenly flew to her side before she
realized what happened.

“
What the-”

“
You let him leave!”
Christian was obviously upset.

“
Of course I did. This is
his home. He may come and go as he pleases.”

“
I need his
help!”

Nikki shook her head. “We can’t use any
help he might have given us before. He won’t do it now.”

Christian’s silver-blue eyes looked at
her pleadingly. It almost broke the vampire’s heart to see how much
desperation was displayed on his face. “Please Nikki. You promised
you would help me.”

“
That was before I found out
Carolyn was able to wield demon magic and by default, so is her
unborn child.” She snapped out angrily. She hated the feeling of
being used and Christian was using her.

That exact thought was something Vlad
would say to her. Was she really becoming hard-hearted like her
Master?

“
Nikki…”

Christian’s voice appeared near her
ear. She lifted her eyes to meet his ethereal gaze. “Don’t do
this.” She practically begged him. Nicola knew she would give in if
he pleaded with her.

“
I don’t have anyone else to
turn to.” Christian explained gravely. “You were my one and only
hope in this battle. If I don’t have you, then I’ve failed Carolyn.
I've failed her child.”

Nicola closed her eyes so she couldn’t
see his face. She could feel her will crumbling beneath his
scrutiny. The nagging feeling that Christian wasn’t being totally
honest with her crawled into her mind. “Christian?”

“
Yes, Nikki?”

The vampire opened her eyes and
glowered in his direction. The ghost balked at the intensity of her
stare. “You keep leaving out a vital piece of information and I
refuse to continue on this mission until you tell me what is really
going on.”

Christian’s expression turned
thoughtful though he still appeared anxious. He must have decided
Nikki had proven herself trustworthy because he began to speak.
“There is something different about this child. Something that
wasn’t like any of the others I’ve seen born and raised over the
centuries.”

The partial explanation frightened
Nikki. “What are you talking about? Different how?”

“
I wasn’t sure, but now I
know.” Christian’s visage floated away from her clearly distressed.
“It is almost my time.”

“
Your time?” Nikki asked in
concern. “Christian- what is going on?”

“
There is no need to be
alarmed.” He said in his most reassuring voice. His face said
otherwise however. “It’s just- Once the child is born, I will be
reborn.”

“
Are you saying what I think
you are?”

“
I will be given another
chance at a human life.” Christian smiled despite the gravity of
the situation. “I will be
alive
again, Nikki. Do you understand what this will
mean?”

Nicola had a very good idea of what
that would mean. Christian was too interested in saving a possible
way to resurrect himself than what could happen if a child who
could kindle demon magic was born in the bowels of Hell. She
honestly had no idea what to expect, but she knew what she was
going to do. Sighing, Nikki gave the ghost a reproachful look. She
wasn’t sure if any of this would be a wise idea to pursue, but the
hope in Christian’s gaze was enough for her to give in to his
plans.

“
How are we supposed to find
Carolyn?”

***

Nicola found Vlad pacing around the
feeding room a few hours later. He was so lost in thought he hadn’t
even heard her enter. She cleared her throat in order to give him a
chance to speak before she told him why she was really
there.

Vlad’s head snapped up at the sound.
His countenance turned wary at her appearance. “What do you want
now?”

Nicola, putting her hands in the
pockets of her jeans, sighed in defeat. “I wanted to apologize. I
shouldn’t have tried to force you to do this. Especially since you
are my master, but…”

“
But you’re going to do it
anyway.” Vlad finished for her. When she didn’t say anything more,
Vlad put a hand against the wall beside him and leaned into the
cold concrete. “I should have known better than to try to change
your mind.”

Nicola took a small step towards him
then stopped when he leveled a disappointed look in her direction.
“I would appreciate any help you’re willing to give me. I can’t do
it without you.”

Vlad closed his eyes as if he were in
pain. “You’ve really fallen hard, haven’t you?”

Nikki didn’t know what her master meant
by his words, but instead waited for him to make his
decision.

As if her silence was all the
confirmation the old vampire needed, Vlad finally met her eyes with
a look of defeat. “I’ll help you, but only because you are like a
daughter to me. I can’t let you face this alone.”

Nicola felt more than relieved. She was
happy that Vlad understood why she was doing this though she still
didn’t know why herself. “Thank you Vlad. You won’t regret
this.”

He didn’t respond, but instead snorted
in amusement. She could almost hear the sarcasm in it.

Chapter 5:

It had been difficult to get Vlad and
Christian in the same room again after their earlier argument, but
Nicola somehow managed. Now they were standing across from one
another, each man with a look of pure hatred on his face. Nicola
didn’t know how to make them trust one another, but she had to get
down to business. She wasn’t sure how long Carolyn had left before
the demon decided to kill her… or worse.

“
What exactly are we waiting
for?” Nikki asked her sire with a wave of her hand. “We need to get
out there and hunt this thing down before it does any more
damage.”