developed over the years of hunting prickled the tiny hairs at the back of her neck, and she shivered. Glancing around her, she saw shadows advancing from the gate. Not shadows. A man and a child. And something about the way the man walked, almost like a graceful glide while the kid skipped along at his side, made her distinctly uneasy. It couldn’t be…
Heart racing, she felt for the stake in her pocket and kept walking. A gust of wind blew her hair across her face and she pushed it impatiently to one side. Moonlight glinted on the child’s white-blond head, allowed her a glimpse of the man’s even, angelic features, half-hidden by his windblown hair.
I don’t eat children…
The blood sang in her ears. For an instant, she thought she would faint under the weight of this.
Jesus Christ, what have you done? What have I done?
Why the hell was he here? Had he come to kill her now he had the strength? Or just to keep his promise about the vampire Gavril? Mihaela felt sick. Perhaps Elizabeth was right about the bizarre nature of vampire honor. Well, there was only one course open to her now, the one she should have taken last night. She just had to pray she wasn’t too late.
She kept walking as if she hadn’t recognized them, gathered all her energy, and tensed for speed. Robbie dived from side to side, touching bits of the building as if he were feeling the shape and texture of the stone. Bizarrely, he seemed as happy as any other child in a sweet shop.
As they drew almost even, the child waved and bolted to her, away from the vampire. Mihaela used the distraction, smiling at Robbie even as she lashed out at Maximilian with foot and stake.
She didn’t see what happened. Her foot never made contact, but abruptly the vampire’s hand was over hers on the stake, controlling it, and he stood so close to her she was afraid he’d feel the battering of her heart.
“You move like the Ancients,” she blurted.
“No.” He sounded regretful. “But I learned from one.” From Saloman, obviously, last of the pure, Ancient vampire race which was older than humanity. Maximilian and all the other vampires of the world were hybrids of Ancient and human.
With shameful ease, Maximilian plucked the stake from her hand. It didn’t matter; she had another. But before she could use it, he presented her again with the first, politely, the blunt end toward her. “You have no need of that.”
She wanted to step back, away from him, away from the memory of his teeth in her neck and her overwhelmingly sexual response. Pride forbade it. “What are you doing with Robbie?” she demanded.
“I brought him to you.”
Frowning, she scanned his strange, silver-glinting eyes, then dropped her gaze to the expectant, upturned face of the boy. He smiled at her as if they were old friends. “Why?” she asked helplessly.
“Because your enemy and his followers want to use him for their own purpose. And I don’t think we should let them.”
****
It felt weird opening the front door of her temporary home, Elizabeth’s home, and inviting the vampire inside. She wouldn’t have done it if she hadn’t felt it necessary to bring Robbie out of the cold and feed him.
“It’s Elizabeth’s flat,” she warned Maximilian, as if the invocation of the owner’s name, Saloman’s acknowledged companion, would confer some kind of protection on its present occupants.
“I know,” the vampire said mildly. And when she cast him a quick glance, he said, “I can smell her.”
“And Saloman?”
He inclined his head. Robbie had wandered into the living room, looking around him with open curiosity. Mihaela walked into the kitchen to find him something to eat and drink, and was very aware of the shadow that filled the doorway, watching her.
She found a can of beans in the cupboard and opened it, shaking the contents into a pan with unnecessary force before switching on the gas and shoving two pieces of bread into the toaster.
As if he’d been
Heart racing, she felt for the stake in her pocket and kept walking. A gust of wind blew her hair across her face and she pushed it impatiently to one side. Moonlight glinted on the child’s white-blond head, allowed her a glimpse of the man’s even, angelic features, half-hidden by his windblown hair.
I don’t eat children…
The blood sang in her ears. For an instant, she thought she would faint under the weight of this.
Jesus Christ, what have you done? What have I done?
Why the hell was he here? Had he come to kill her now he had the strength? Or just to keep his promise about the vampire Gavril? Mihaela felt sick. Perhaps Elizabeth was right about the bizarre nature of vampire honor. Well, there was only one course open to her now, the one she should have taken last night. She just had to pray she wasn’t too late.
She kept walking as if she hadn’t recognized them, gathered all her energy, and tensed for speed. Robbie dived from side to side, touching bits of the building as if he were feeling the shape and texture of the stone. Bizarrely, he seemed as happy as any other child in a sweet shop.
As they drew almost even, the child waved and bolted to her, away from the vampire. Mihaela used the distraction, smiling at Robbie even as she lashed out at Maximilian with foot and stake.
She didn’t see what happened. Her foot never made contact, but abruptly the vampire’s hand was over hers on the stake, controlling it, and he stood so close to her she was afraid he’d feel the battering of her heart.
“You move like the Ancients,” she blurted.
“No.” He sounded regretful. “But I learned from one.” From Saloman, obviously, last of the pure, Ancient vampire race which was older than humanity. Maximilian and all the other vampires of the world were hybrids of Ancient and human.
With shameful ease, Maximilian plucked the stake from her hand. It didn’t matter; she had another. But before she could use it, he presented her again with the first, politely, the blunt end toward her. “You have no need of that.”
She wanted to step back, away from him, away from the memory of his teeth in her neck and her overwhelmingly sexual response. Pride forbade it. “What are you doing with Robbie?” she demanded.
“I brought him to you.”
Frowning, she scanned his strange, silver-glinting eyes, then dropped her gaze to the expectant, upturned face of the boy. He smiled at her as if they were old friends. “Why?” she asked helplessly.
“Because your enemy and his followers want to use him for their own purpose. And I don’t think we should let them.”
****
It felt weird opening the front door of her temporary home, Elizabeth’s home, and inviting the vampire inside. She wouldn’t have done it if she hadn’t felt it necessary to bring Robbie out of the cold and feed him.
“It’s Elizabeth’s flat,” she warned Maximilian, as if the invocation of the owner’s name, Saloman’s acknowledged companion, would confer some kind of protection on its present occupants.
“I know,” the vampire said mildly. And when she cast him a quick glance, he said, “I can smell her.”
“And Saloman?”
He inclined his head. Robbie had wandered into the living room, looking around him with open curiosity. Mihaela walked into the kitchen to find him something to eat and drink, and was very aware of the shadow that filled the doorway, watching her.
She found a can of beans in the cupboard and opened it, shaking the contents into a pan with unnecessary force before switching on the gas and shoving two pieces of bread into the toaster.
As if he’d been
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