Twilight Dreams (21 page)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Sofia smiled at Jack as he slipped his arm around her shoulders. They were at his place, just the two of them. It wasn't much, just a little three-room rental behind another house, but it was a place for them to be alone. She wanted to tell him about Micah in the worst way, but she had been sworn to secrecy. She could understand that. After all, there were a lot of people who were afraid of vampires, not to mention hunters and fanatics who would try to kill him if they could. She was certain Micah could defend himself. After all, vampires were strong and powerful and supernatural. The way she wanted to be.

But she had promised Micah she would wait. And sometimes, since talking to him, she wasn't certain that she still wanted to be a vampire. Mainly because of the blood thing. Next time she talked to Micah, she was going to ask him more about that. Considering her aversion to the mere sight of blood, it seemed odd she had never given
that
part of being a vampire much thought until now.

“What's wrong?” Jack asked.

“Nothing. Why?”

“You're awfully quiet. Did you have a fight with your old man or something?”

“No.”

“Do you want to go dancing at the club? Cash said he'd be there tonight.”

Cash was Jack's best friend. He owned a tavern on the other side of town. Sofia was a little afraid of him, though she would never admit it. There was something off about Cash, about the way he looked at her, even when she was with Jack. As though he was just biding his time. For what, she didn't know. Sometimes she had the unshakeable feeling that Jack and Cash were talking about her even when nothing was being said.

“Can't we just stay in tonight?” she asked. “It's nice, just the two of us for a change.”

“Sure, if that's what you want.” Drawing her closer, he ran his tongue along the length of her neck. “You smell really good.”

“New perfume. I went shopping yesterday.” She recoiled when she felt his teeth at her throat. “What are you doing?”

“Just taking a little nibble.”

“Well, stop it.” Feeling suddenly uneasy, she forced a smile.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

“No. I was just thinking, maybe we
should
go dancing.”

Jack grinned as he stood and pulled her to her feet. “I knew you'd see things my way.”

* * *

Sofia frowned as they entered the club. Usually, the place was packed on a Saturday night, with couples jammed together on the small dance floor, the music so loud you could hardly hear yourself think. Tonight, the jukebox was silent, the tables and booths empty.

A shiver skated down her spine. “Where is everyone?”

“We're having a private party tonight,” Jack said. “Just you, me, and Cash.”

With a shake of her head, Sofia backed toward the entrance. “I don't think so.” She turned, intending to leave, only to find Cash blocking her path. She stared up at him. He was tall and broad and solid as a brick wall.

“You weren't going to leave, were you?” Grabbing her arm, he dragged her farther into the room. “That wouldn't be polite.”

“Let me go!” She tried to twist out of his grasp, but he only tightened his hold, causing her to cry out as his fingers bit into her flesh. “What . . . what are you doing . . . ?” Her eyes widened when he smiled at her.

Terror shot through Sofia. She had seen fake fangs before. Lots of people who came here wore them. His weren't fake.

“Jack told me you wanted to be a vampire,” Cash said, pulling her toward the door behind the bar.

“Not like this!” She sent a frantic look at Jack. “Help me!”

“I can't,” he said, his voice subdued. “He's my master. I have to obey.”

“Master?” Sofia blinked at him.

“Surely you've seen the movie
Dracula
,” Cash said. “Jack isn't a vampire. He's my Renfield.”

Fear settled in the pit of her stomach like a lead weight as Cash opened the door.

She knew what lay behind it—rooms where drugs were sold, among other things. “Are you going to turn me?”

His smile grew wider.

“No!” She screamed the word as Cash pushed her into a small dark cubicle, then stood in the doorway, his bulk blocking the entrance.

“I was going to drain you,” he remarked. “But if you please me when I return, you can be my number-two man.”

Sofia shook her head as panic engulfed her. Be like Jack, a slave to a monster? That was a fate worse than death.

She screamed again when he wrestled her down on a narrow cot and strapped her arms to the bed frame. “Got a hot date, babe,” he said with a wink. “But I'll be back for you soon.”

She sobbed when he walked away, felt a cold chill run down her spine when he closed and locked the door behind him.

Tugging against her bonds, she screamed Micah's name, screamed until her throat was raw, for help she knew would never come.

* * *

Restless as a caged tiger, Micah prowled the streets of Morgan Creek. Holly was asleep. Saintcrow and Kadie had decided to go off somewhere for a few days—where, he didn't know. Saintcrow had promised to be back by the time the lumber for the bridge arrived.

Micah slowed, surprised to find himself standing outside the cemetery. Passing through the gate, he made his way to Shirley's grave. Standing there, his head bowed, he felt a shiver of unease, frowned when a pale, shadowy figure seemed to rise up from the earth. “Shirley?”

It hovered near him, its mouth moving. No sound emerged, but he heard the words in his mind.
She's in danger!

A moment later, he heard Sofia's hoarse cry, sobbing, pleading for help.

There was no time to wake Holly and tell her he was leaving, no time to explain. Not with Sofia's life in the balance. Certain that Holly would understand his need for haste when she learned the details, he opened the blood bond between himself and Sofia and followed the link.

* * *

Micah followed the connection to a goth tavern on the outskirts of town. He paused outside the entrance, his senses alert. All was quiet inside, save for the muffled sound of his sister's tears. Unless he was mistaken, there was no one else in the place.

He tried the door. It was locked.

Going around to the back, he broke a window and climbed over the sill. Had this been a residence, he wouldn't have been able to enter. But no one lived here.

He waited a moment before padding silently down a dark corridor. He passed two doors before he came to the room he wanted.

This door was locked, too.

He heard Sofia cry out in alarm when he kicked it open. “Sofie, it's me.”

“Micah!”

An instant later, he was at her side, freeing her from the restraints, gathering her into his arms.

Taking her home.

She sobbed the whole way. Not that he could blame her. She'd had a helluva scare.

When they reached home, he carried her around the back and into the kitchen.

After turning on the small light over the sink, he sat her on the counter. “Did he . . . ?” His gaze moved to her throat. There were no telltale marks. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head.

“You're safe now.” Opening a drawer, he pulled out a dish towel, wet it, and wiped the tears from her face. “Shh, stop your crying. Tell me what happened.”

“I . . . I was out with . . . with Jack. . . .” Stammering, crying, she told him what had happened. “Oh, Micah, I was so afraid!”

“I know.” He had felt her fear, her panic, as if it had been his own. He stroked her back, dried the fresh tears from her cheeks. “Come on, I'm going to put you to bed.”

“No! Don't leave me!”

“I'm going to wake Dad and tell him what happened.”

Her eyes widened. “Do you have to?”

“Cash can't enter the house uninvited, but Jack can. If he tries, Dad's shotgun will make short work of him.” Their old man knew his way around guns. The Ravenwood patriarch loved to hunt and he was a crack shot. “Come on.”

Cradling Sofia in his arms as if she were a baby, he carried her up the stairs to her bedroom, turned on the light, then set her on her feet. “Get ready for bed. I'll get Mom to come and tuck you in.”

Sofia grabbed his hand. “Thank you for coming after me.”

He ruffled her hair. “So, little sister, do you still want to be a vampire?”

“No!” She shook her head vigorously. “Not anymore.”

* * *

After waking his parents and explaining what had happened, Micah went hunting for Jack and his master. It was easy enough to track them. Their scents had been all over Sofia. All he had to do was follow their stink.

He found the pair bending over a young policewoman, Jack watching, wide-eyed, while Cash held her down, his fangs buried in her throat. The scent of fear and blood hung heavy in the air.

Micah broke Jack's neck, ripped the heart from the vampire's chest, before they even knew he was there.

For a moment, Micah feared the woman was dead, but then, detecting the faint beating of her heart, he scooped her into his arms and transported her to the nearest hospital. Depositing her on a gurney in the hallway, he shouted for help, then left as quickly as he'd arrived.

Returning to the bodies, he tossed Jack into a Dumpster, then carried the vampire to an open field where the morning sun would dispose of his remains.

Micah stood there for several minutes, feeling the rush of power flowing through his veins. He was stronger, faster, than he'd ever been before. And he owed it all to Saintcrow.

Congratulating himself on a job well done, he dusted off his hands, then returned to Morgan Creek.

A thought took him to Holly's bedroom. He had expected to find her asleep; instead, she was sitting up in bed, her expression tumultuous.

“Where have you been?” she asked.

“How did you know I was gone?”

“I . . . I don't know. I just woke up and I knew you weren't in the house. So where were you?”

“It's a long story.”

She patted the bed. “Then you'd better sit down while you tell it.”

“I was down by the cemetery when . . .” He shook his head. “You won't believe this, but I saw Shirley's ghost. She tried to talk to me, but I couldn't hear her. And then I heard her voice in my mind saying, ‘She's in danger,' and then I heard Sofia's voice calling for help. I'd taken a little of her blood the last time we were there, and I followed the link to a goth club. I found her locked up in a room, tied to a bed.”

Holly's eyes grew wide. “Is she all right?”

“She is now.”

“But who took her? And why?”

“That guy she liked, Jack, took her to the club. Turns out he was a slave to a vampire. . . .”

“Was?”

“They won't be bothering any other young girls. They're both dead.”

Holly tried to feel sorry for the young man who'd been in the vampire's power, but all she felt was relief that he wouldn't be putting any other people in danger. “Does Sofia still want to be a vampire?”

“No. After what happened with Braga and now this incident tonight, I think she finally realizes the reality isn't as romantic as the fantasy. What about you, Holly?” His gaze searched hers. “Is the reality of it going to scare you away, too?”

“I'm still here, aren't I?”

Nodding, he stretched out beside her and drew her into his arms. She was here, he thought, but for how long?

* * *

The next few days passed peacefully. Micah called home several times to check on Sofia. His mother said Sofia seemed to be holding up well, despite the fright she'd suffered. She had discarded all her black clothing and makeup, his mother went on, relief evident in her voice, and she was again dressing like any other normal young woman her age.

“Just one thing bothers me,” Lena remarked. “She's only left the house twice since it happened, and she was home long before dark both times.”

“Can you blame her, Ma?” he asked.

“No, of course not. I just worry about her. She's never been afraid of the dark before.”

She had never been betrayed by a guy she thought she cared for, or kidnapped by a vampire, either, Micah thought, though he didn't say so. “Sofie's had a bad scare, but she's tough. She'll get over it,” he said. “Just give her some time to put it behind her. I'll talk to you soon.”

Micah disconnected the call. One good thing had come out of all this, he mused as he slipped his phone into the pocket of his jeans. His secret was out in the open, and his relationship with his family was stronger than ever.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Saintcrow and Kadie returned to Morgan Creek two days later. Saintcrow picked up the lumber for the bridge the next morning, and they all met down by the ravine at sundown.

Holly and Kadie sat on lawn chairs, watching as their men hauled away the remains of the old bridge.

Holly shook her head in amazement. It would have taken mortal men several days—maybe a week or more—to dispose of the debris from the ruined bridge. Working with preternatural speed and strength, Saintcrow and Micah accomplished it in less than an hour.

Holly glanced at Kadie. “Has Saintcrow ever built anything like this before?”

Kadie nodded. “Once, during the Crusades.”

“Does it ever just blow your mind, how old he is? I can hardly comprehend it.”

“I know. Me, either. Imagine all the things he's done and seen. The places he's been. The women he's known.” Kadie sighed. “I try not to think about that too much. And Rylan rarely talks about his past.”

His past
, Holly mused. What was it like, to watch the world change before your very eyes? To watch the growth of civilization, to live through wars and plagues, to see the advancement of technology, to go from riding in a horse and carriage to traveling across the world in a jet? So many amazing inventions in his long lifetime. It was mind-boggling.

Holly's gaze settled on Micah. He had removed his shirt and his skin seemed to glisten in the moon's light. He was still a young vampire but, barring some bizarre accident or a fatal meeting with a hunter, he could live to be hundreds, maybe thousands of years old. No matter how long she lived, it would be like the blink of an eye compared to him. He loved her. She knew that. But when she was gone, he would still have centuries ahead of him. He might fall in love a hundred times with a hundred other women, and she would become nothing but a distant memory.

“Holly?”

She looked up when Kadie touched her arm. “Did you say something?”

“Are you all right? You look like you're about to cry.”

“I . . .” Holly's gaze settled on Micah again. Her heart squeezed painfully when she thought of him with other women. She wanted to believe that he loved her so much he would never fall in love again, but besides being unrealistic, she knew it was grossly unfair to expect him to spend the rest of his life alone after she was gone.

Micah looked up abruptly, his gaze finding hers, his brow furrowing.

The next thing she knew, he was kneeling in front of her, his hands reaching for hers.

She was vaguely aware that Saintcrow and Kadie were no longer at the bridge.

“Don't go there, sunshine,” Micah said quietly. “You don't know what the future holds. Nobody does. None of us can count on tomorrow. Not you. Not me. Not even Saintcrow. There's only today.”

“I don't want to live without you,” she whispered, her voice thick with unshed tears. “I don't want you to live without me.”

“What are you saying?”

“I want you to turn me.”

“Holly, this isn't a decision to be made on the spur of the moment or when you're overcome with strong emotions.”

“Don't you think I've given it a lot of thought?”

“I'm sure you have, but . . .” Rising, he drew her to her feet and into his arms. “I heard your thoughts a few minutes ago. I don't think you're in any frame of mind to decide right now.”

Sighing, Holly rested her forehead against his chest. “You're probably right.”

“I know I am.”

She nodded, and then she had a terrible thought. Maybe Micah no longer wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Maybe he didn't want her to become a vampire. After all, eternity
was
a very long time.

“Holly.” Placing his finger under her chin, he lifted her head. “Look at me. You don't really believe that, do you?”

“No, but I thought you'd be happier about my decision.”

“I am. But there's no hurry, love. I just want you to be sure.”

She smiled. And then she frowned. “Why is it you're all right with me becoming a vampire, but not Sofia?”

“For one thing, she's only eighteen, way too young to make an irrevocable decision like that, which is why I made her promise to wait until she was twenty-five. But it's a moot point now, since she doesn't want to be a vampire anymore.”

Holly ran her fingernails down his chest and over his washboard stomach. “Twenty-five, huh?” she said with an impish grin. “Well, then, I guess it's lucky that I'm almost twenty-six!”

* * *

They were all back at the ravine at sundown the next evening. As she had the night before, Holly watched Micah and Saintcrow. She envied the easy camaraderie between them, the way they laughed and joked as the new bridge took shape. They didn't seem to be in as much of a hurry to put up the new one as they had been to get rid of the remains of the old one.

One more night, and it would be done.

She couldn't stop watching Micah. The way he moved, muscles flexing and bunching, the power in his arms as he lifted heavy pieces of wood as if they weighed nothing at all. What was it like, to be that strong? Not to worry about getting seriously hurt if something went wrong?

“It's the best show in town, isn't it?” Kadie remarked, grinning. “All that male muscle and beauty. Too bad we can't charge admission.”

Holly laughed, thinking how lucky she was to have Kadie for a friend. At times like this, it was easy to forget that her three closest companions were vampires. In movies, vampires were either monsters ravishing the countryside, or brooding heroes who yearned to be human again. Saintcrow and Kadie seemed happy enough with the way things were, but how was she to know how they really felt, what they really thought?

She had asked Micah if he was happy as a vampire, whether he would be human again, if he could. He had never answered her.

Did she really want to become a vampire, to live by night and drink blood to survive? Did she want to have to worry about hunters? And what about her parents? Would they be as accepting as Lena and Luciano? Or would they be horrified? Did she want to spend the rest of her life just drifting from night to night, contributing nothing to society, not really being involved in the world around her?

So many questions, she thought. Questions to which she had no answers. But the real question was, did she love Micah enough to give up her old way of life and embrace his? It didn't matter if Kadie and Saintcrow were happy being vampires or not. Didn't matter if Micah wanted to be human again or if he was happy as he was.

It was her life. What mattered most was what she wanted.

She just wished she knew what it was.

* * *

“The bridge will be done tonight,” Micah said as they left the house the next evening. “When you get ready to go job hunting, Saintcrow has a car you can use.”

“He's really a nice guy, isn't he?”

“Why do you sound so surprised?”

“I don't know. I guess because he always seems so stern and unapproachable.”

Micah shrugged. “He is what he is.”

Saintcrow and Kadie waved as they neared the ravine.

“I'll work on this side,” Saintcrow said. “You take the other. Once we get the supports in place, the rest should be a breeze.”

At her request, Micah carried her across the ravine so she could keep him company while he dug a hole for one of the posts and filled it with concrete. It would have taken her days to dig a hole that deep; he was finished in minutes.

Saintcrow was doing the same on the other side, while Kadie looked on.

Holly smiled inwardly, thinking how much better it would be if she, too, was a vampire. She would be able to leap across the ravine on her own, hear what Saintcrow and Kadie were laughing at, help Micah with the heavy lifting and set the post in place, though he didn't seem to need any help.

It would likely take some getting used to, being a vampire, but there was really no other alternative if she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Micah, because there was no way she was going to burden him with having to care for her when she grew too old and feeble to care for herself. And if she was going to be a vampire, then she wanted to make the transition while they still looked the same age.

Holly was about to climb down the rocky hillside to tell Micah she had definitely made up her mind when she caught a sudden movement out of the corner of her eye. Before she had time to register what was happening, a strong arm snaked around her throat. She dug her nails into the arm that was cutting off her breath, twisted and fought as best she could but to no avail.

She cried Micah's name as the world faded to gray and then went black.

* * *

“Holly!” Micah leaped effortlessly to the top of the ravine in time to see a tall man in a long black coat drag Holly across the road and vanish from sight.

“What the hell?” Saintcrow appeared beside Micah, his nostrils flaring. “Damn, if I didn't know it was impossible, I'd think Braga had been here.”

“I'm going after her.” Honing in on the blood link that bound him to Holly, Micah took off after the vampire who had taken his woman.