Read Online Tempted in the Night by Robin T. Popp - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Robin T. Popp
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it, feeling almost lost. Moisture collected in his eyes, no doubt from the bite of the wind, and he blinked it back.
As if drawn, he moved toward the front doors. It was time to test another myth, he thought resolutely. Reaching out, he grabbed the handle of the front door, almost sagging in relief when all he felt was the cool metal against his palm.
Pulling the door open, he placed a foot across the threshold. Nothing happened, so he stepped all the way inside and found himself standing in an elegant foyer. The building was old, and the odor of the ages wrapped around him in a welcome embrace.
He continued forward, pushing open the chapel doors to glance inside where he saw lit candles glowing on the altar, flickering and casting shadows across the walls and ceiling. The place was mostly empty with only a few late-night worshippers sitting alone in the pews, absorbed in their worries and thoughts.
When he was younger, he'd attended church with his mother, but that had been so long ago.
Now, Harris moved toward a pew near the back and sat down. For several minutes, he sat there, tense, as if waiting for the heavens to open up or lightning to strike him down. The sanctuary was filled with an overwhelming yet reverent silence. For the first time in over a year, Harris felt an easy peace come over him. He breathed deep, wanting it to last forever.
As the events of the past year intruded, he braced his hands against the pew in front of him and leaned his head down against them, letting the guilt and horror of the things he'd done beat at him.
"No matter what your sins, God loves you," a kindly voice said beside him, causing him to look up.
"I don't think so, Father," Harris replied, feeling suddenly very uncomfortable. "In fact, given my current situation, I must conclude that He hates me." He stood and the priest moved aside to let him pass.
"God has all manner of tests to prove our worthiness. Though yours may seem unusually difficult, His purpose will be revealed—in time."
Harris stopped and turned back to the priest. "Well, Father, I hope He hurries, because I'm not sure how much more I can take."
"Sometimes, living is the ultimate test."
Harris left the church, the priest's words echoing in his head.
Jessica sat on the bar stool in one of the local college hangouts, nursing a Long Island Tea.
She'd had a difficult time sneaking out of the mansion with Beth and Lanie sitting downstairs, but she'd done it, even managing to steal the keys to someone's car so she'd have a way to get into town. Mac and Dirk might have experience killing vampires, but she'd been hunting them practically since birth and was willing to stack her twenty-five years against their twelve months any day.
The key to vampire hunting, she knew, was to make the creature come to the hunter. That was why she was at the bar. She was in its territory, offering herself up as bait by being alone and pretending to be drunk. From what little she'd read in the old newspapers Charles kept stacked in his library, someone like Brody wouldn't be able to resist the opportunity of a vulnerable female college student out all alone.
She took another swallow of her drink and pretended to sway a bit on the stool as she leaned forward to rub her knee, which really did hurt. The second-story balcony of the mansion ran all the way around the outside of the house, but there had been no good place to jump down. Not to mention that the short skirt she wore was not the best for such gymnastics.
In the end, she'd misjudged her landing and ended up on her knees in the gravel, where several tiny stones bit into the unprotected flesh. The wound hadn't been bad enough to change her plans, though.
She checked her watch again. It was almost two in the morning. She had no doubt that by now, she had been missed and the note she'd left explaining her absence had been found. Charles and the others would be worried, but she hoped that when they found out she'd killed the
As if drawn, he moved toward the front doors. It was time to test another myth, he thought resolutely. Reaching out, he grabbed the handle of the front door, almost sagging in relief when all he felt was the cool metal against his palm.
Pulling the door open, he placed a foot across the threshold. Nothing happened, so he stepped all the way inside and found himself standing in an elegant foyer. The building was old, and the odor of the ages wrapped around him in a welcome embrace.
He continued forward, pushing open the chapel doors to glance inside where he saw lit candles glowing on the altar, flickering and casting shadows across the walls and ceiling. The place was mostly empty with only a few late-night worshippers sitting alone in the pews, absorbed in their worries and thoughts.
When he was younger, he'd attended church with his mother, but that had been so long ago.
Now, Harris moved toward a pew near the back and sat down. For several minutes, he sat there, tense, as if waiting for the heavens to open up or lightning to strike him down. The sanctuary was filled with an overwhelming yet reverent silence. For the first time in over a year, Harris felt an easy peace come over him. He breathed deep, wanting it to last forever.
As the events of the past year intruded, he braced his hands against the pew in front of him and leaned his head down against them, letting the guilt and horror of the things he'd done beat at him.
"No matter what your sins, God loves you," a kindly voice said beside him, causing him to look up.
"I don't think so, Father," Harris replied, feeling suddenly very uncomfortable. "In fact, given my current situation, I must conclude that He hates me." He stood and the priest moved aside to let him pass.
"God has all manner of tests to prove our worthiness. Though yours may seem unusually difficult, His purpose will be revealed—in time."
Harris stopped and turned back to the priest. "Well, Father, I hope He hurries, because I'm not sure how much more I can take."
"Sometimes, living is the ultimate test."
Harris left the church, the priest's words echoing in his head.
Jessica sat on the bar stool in one of the local college hangouts, nursing a Long Island Tea.
She'd had a difficult time sneaking out of the mansion with Beth and Lanie sitting downstairs, but she'd done it, even managing to steal the keys to someone's car so she'd have a way to get into town. Mac and Dirk might have experience killing vampires, but she'd been hunting them practically since birth and was willing to stack her twenty-five years against their twelve months any day.
The key to vampire hunting, she knew, was to make the creature come to the hunter. That was why she was at the bar. She was in its territory, offering herself up as bait by being alone and pretending to be drunk. From what little she'd read in the old newspapers Charles kept stacked in his library, someone like Brody wouldn't be able to resist the opportunity of a vulnerable female college student out all alone.
She took another swallow of her drink and pretended to sway a bit on the stool as she leaned forward to rub her knee, which really did hurt. The second-story balcony of the mansion ran all the way around the outside of the house, but there had been no good place to jump down. Not to mention that the short skirt she wore was not the best for such gymnastics.
In the end, she'd misjudged her landing and ended up on her knees in the gravel, where several tiny stones bit into the unprotected flesh. The wound hadn't been bad enough to change her plans, though.
She checked her watch again. It was almost two in the morning. She had no doubt that by now, she had been missed and the note she'd left explaining her absence had been found. Charles and the others would be worried, but she hoped that when they found out she'd killed the
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