Embrace the Night

Page 168



sprawled on the raw plank floor, and then hurried outside.

There were more frightening beings than vampires lurking in the dark, he thought, and fates worse than death.

Chapter Twenty-six

Sara felt better by the time they reached her apartment. She made Gabriel sit down in the kitchen while she removed his cloak and shirt, then washed the blood from his wounds, shushing him when he tried to tell her she was wasting her time, that he was in no danger, but she refused to listen. He was hurt and she needed to care for him, to assure herself that he was all right.

Maurice, still silent, made sure the doors and windows were locked, that the strings of garlic were in place. He sprinkled fresh holy water across every entrance, and then, feeling that he had done all he could, he stood in the kitchen doorway, watching Sara tend Gabriel's wounds. Incredibly, the wounds looked as though they were already healing.

"You're very quiet," Gabriel remarked, glancing up at Delacroix.

Maurice shrugged. "What is there to say? Nothing in my life has prepared me for anything like this." "I wouldn't think so," Gabriel allowed with a faint grin.

"Do you think we can truly protect Sara from that… that woman?"
"I don't know, but I intend to try."

"Are there more of those creatures out there?"

"As many as she cares to make." Gabriel stood up. For a moment, he gazed at Sara, his fingers caressing her cheek. It was all so impossible, he thought, their love, the problems they faced, not only now, but in the future. Should they find a way to defeat Nina, they would have to find a way to weave their lives together.

He kissed her lightly, then turned toward Maurice. "I have to go out."

For a moment, his words, and what they meant, hung in the air. Sara and Maurice exchanged glances: hers, resigned but accepting, Maurice's filled with condemnation.

A muscle clenched in Gabriel's jaw. "I won't be gone long. Lock the door after me and don't open it for anyone." He fixed Maurice with a hard stare. "Do you understand?"

Maurice nodded.

"Gabriel, please don't go."

"I wish I could stay, cara," he replied, reaching for his cloak, "but I cannot change what I am, not even for you."

Sara placed her hand on his arm. "If you're in need, then take from me, but please don't go out."