Embrace the Night

Page 178



He drew a deep breath, sifting the thousands of scents that assailed his nostrils, homing in on the one fragrance that was hers, and hers alone.

He felt his rage stir anew as he caught a whiff of Nina's heavy perfume, and mingled with it the pungent odor of unwashed bodies.

It took him less than an hour to find where they had taken Sara. Trust Nina to choose a graveyard for their last confrontation, he mused ruefully.

And then there was no more time to think. Like hulking beasts rising out of the mist, the mindless brutes Nina had created advanced toward him, their sunken eyes dead, soulless. But he was ready for them this time, and in less than a minute all six of them lay dead at his feet.

And then Nina was there, regal in a flowing gown of black silk. Her hair fell over her shoulders and past her waist like a river of darkness. Her skin was pale, luminescent in the light of the full moon; her eyes glowed with power and hunger and an implacable need for revenge.

"I'm here," he said, and his voice echoed off the gravestones. I'm here, I'm here…

He didn't take his eyes off Nina as he let his mind probe the area for Sara's presence. A muscle twitched in his jaw as he caught her scent. He could feel her terror, smell the fear that paralyzed her.

"I am almost sorry you came, Gianni," Nina remarked. "I can't help but feel regret that I must destroy you."

"Change your mind." He let his glance slide over her, his expression insolent, provocative. "Let Sara go and I'll do whatever you wish."

"I told you before, it is too late for that." "For our kind, it is never too late."

"How long, Gianni? How long would you stay with me?"
"As long as you wish."

"A hundred years? A thousand?" "If you wish."

"You went on your knees before. Will you do so again?"
"Yes, bella, if that is what you want."

"I do."

Slowly, his pride rebelling, his soul filling with bitterness, Gabriel knelt at Antonina's feet.
"Speak pretty words to me, Giovanni," Nina demanded, her voice like satin over steel.