CHAPTER 24
Soon after the sun set, Vanessa ran into the kitchen. "Another god has come to visit. There'll be another Selecting Ceremony!"
Cook gasped and pressed a soapy hand to her chest. "This could be my night." She glanced down at her damp gown. "I need to change." She dashed from the kitchen.
Lara finished loading the dishwasher. Just what the world needed-another god. Miss Forbidden had returned to the dormitory this morning wearing a red scarf around her neck like a badge of honor. She claimed she couldn't remember anything, but the bruises on her arms spoke volumes. That Zeus had been an almighty abusive pig.
"What are you doing?" Vanessa asked. "You need to get ready."
"I'm coming." Lara trudged from the kitchen. "So which god is here tonight?"
"I don't know. The guards didn't say."
"Well, let me think." Lara glanced up at the clear, starry sky. Jack, this would be a good time to rescue me. "It might be Ares, the god of war."
"Oooh." Vanessa shivered. "He sounds hunky."
Lara snorted. "Or it could be Hermes or Poseidon."
"You're so smart to know their names," Vanessa said. "I wish I'd paid more attention in school. For some weird reason, I thought all that Greek god stuff was made up."
"Yeah. How could we be so wrong?"
"I know." Vanessa brushed her hair back over her shoulder. "It's just so cool that it's real I mean, people back on Earth don't know about it, but we get to know the secret. It makes me feel really special."
"You are special," Lara told her. "You don't need gods to tell you that."
"But it feels so good." Vanessa gasped. "Here we are talking, and you're not ready. Hurry!" She grabbed Lara's arm and dragged her through the dormitory to the bathroom.
While all the maidens were primping in front of the mirrors, Lara took a hot shower. Then she put on a fresh gown and towel-dried her hair.
"The first gong has sounded!" a maiden called from the dormitory, and the maidens rushed from the bathroom.
Miss Forbidden looked back at Lara and grimaced. "What are you doing? Your hair is still damp. You can't go before the gods looking like that."
Lara tossed her towel into the wicker laundry basket. "I know this may come as a big surprise to you, but I don't want to be chosen."
Miss Forbidden gasped and looked around to make sure they were alone. "You mustn't say that. It's a great honor to serve the gods."
Lara grabbed her arm and pointed at a large green-and-purple bruise. "This is what that god did to you."
The maiden's eyes filled with tears. "I don't remember it," she whispered. "I must have displeased him somehow. May the gods forgive me."
"He abused you." Lara pulled the scarf away from Miss Forbidden's neck to reveal the puncture marks. "He bit you."
With a cry, Miss Forbidden pulled away. "I don't believe you. I can't." She ran away.
Lara took a deep breath, then put on her sandals and followed the girls to the temple. They filed inside and took their places behind the red cushions.
The Chosen One Aquila was announced. She strode into the room and sat on her throne. Lara was relieved that she still looked well. Athena was announced. Her smile looked especially malicious tonight. Not a good sign.
Apollo marched in with his escort of four guards. The maidens bowed before him.
"Tonight we are honored by the presence of a very powerful god." Apollo stepped down from the dais. "He will select one of you to be his Chosen One."
"Yes, My Lord Apollo." The maidens remained still, but Lara could feel their excitement mounting.
Apollo stopped in front of them. "I should warn you that this is one god you must never displease. Your eternal fate will be in his hands. His name is Hades."
The maidens gasped.
Lara winced. This was bad. If Zeus had bruised his Chosen One, what would a vampire called Hades do?
Up on the dais, Athena snickered. Lara's hands curled into fists. That damned bitch enjoyed seeing them scared to death. Vanessa was shaking beside her.
Cook whimpered. She probably feared she was next in line to be chosen.
Footsteps approached them.
"Here comes Hades now," Apollo said.
Lara glanced up and caught a glimpse of short blond hair. She tucked her head back down, not wanting to draw attention to herself. She'd already spent the afternoon cleaning the guards' dormitory and bathroom as a punishment for speaking to the delivery man. Would they give her to Hades as a further punishment?
Apollo chuckled. "Which one of you will attend to the god of the underworld? If he's not pleased, he's threatening to take someone to the nine circles of hell."
Lara flinched. She lifted her head. Could it be? He was dressed in a burgundy silk toga. Those broad shoulders looked familiar, but the short blond hair was strange. He turned toward the maidens, and she gasped.
Jack.
His eyes met hers briefly, then looked away. She ducked her head and bit her lip to keep from grinning. Jack was here to rescue her, to rescue all the girls. She wanted to leap around the room and dance for joy.
"You have some lovely maidens here, Apollo."
His accent was different. Lara recalled that he'd spent his first years in Bohemia, speaking Czech.
"Thank you, Hades," Apollo said with a smug tone. "I believe you will find them very accommodating."
"I had better." Hades strolled around the maidens, who were visibly shaking. He stopped beside Lara. "This one looks interesting. You will stand, maiden."
Lara rose slowly to her feet, keeping her eyes downcast and her face blank.
Apollo sighed. "I would suggest another. This one is new and still untrained. She did not behave well today."
"Then she is perfect for hell," Hades said wryly. "It would please me to teach her a lesson."
"Very well," Apollo said. "Maiden, bare yourself."
Oh shit. She was going to have to pretend to be under his control. "Yes, My Lord Apollo." She reached up to unfasten the brooch on her shoulder.
"Not necessary." Hades waved a dismissive hand. "My mind is made up. This is the one."
Oh thank you, Jack. She would gladly give him a private showing later.
Apollo motioned to a guard. "Bring the red robe."
Vanessa and Kristy helped Lara slide the red gown over her white one. They looked at her with tears in their eyes.
She grabbed their hands and gave them a reassuring squeeze.
The gong sounded. Athena left with two guards, while Apollo escorted his Chosen One Aquila to his room. Hades took Lara's hand and led her around the thrones.
She glanced back and saw the maidens huddled around the entrance doors to the temple, all watching her with worried looks. Poor girls. They really believed she was about to be bedded by the god of the dead. She squeezed Jack's hand. She couldn't wait to be alone with him.
He led her down the hallway. Apollo and Athena were already in their rooms. A guard stood in front of their doors.
Jack stopped by a blue door. "This is a guest room." He opened it and ushered her inside. He turned to lock and bar the door.
She glanced around the room. Big canopy bed. Blue sheets and blue gauzy curtains hanging from the canopy. When Jack turned toward her, she flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Oh, thank you, thank you, you wonderful man. You glorious, incredible man."
He chuckled as he held her tight. "I guess you're glad to see me."
She covered his face with kisses. "I'm thrilled. I'm ecstatic. I knew you would find me."
He took hold of her shoulders and moved her back so he could look her over. "Are you all right? I swear, if they have harmed you in any way, I will-"
"I'm fine." She jumped at him again, circling her arms around his neck and squeezing against him tightly. "I missed you so much. Don't ever let me go."
"I was so worried about you." He pressed a kiss against her brow, then glanced over his shoulder. "We should move away from the door," he whispered.
She hung on to him as he maneuvered them to the center of the room and accidentally trampled on his foot. "Sorry. I'm so glad you found me. I tried to escape, but there were wolves in the woods. And I didn't know where to go, 'cause I don't know where we are."
"Northern Maine."
"Oh. Well, thank God you found us. I think one of the girls is dead."
"Shh." He put a finger on her lips and glanced at the door. "Not so loud. There are guards in the hall."
"They're probably waiting for their turn with Athena," Lara muttered.
Jack glanced at the bed, which filled half the room. "These rooms do seem designed for one purpose."
Lara looked at the bed, then at Jack, and a surge of longing swept through her. She wanted him to know that she'd made up her mind. "Jack." She cradled his face in her hands.
A tint of red shaded his eyes, then he closed them.
"We need to talk." He opened his eyes, and they were back to their usual golden brown color. "I need all the information you can give me, so I can return to the guys and formulate our attack."
Her hands dropped to his chest. "You're not taking me with you?"
He squeezed her shoulders. "Cara mia, I can't. It would look too suspicious. But we plan to attack tomorrow at dusk. You'll only have to stay one more day. Can you do that? Will you be all right?"
"Yes. We're fairly safe during the day. We just cook and clean and do laundry." She glanced down at her red robe. "I was really tempted to wash one of these with the guards' white togas, so they'd end up wearing pink."
Jack chuckled. "I'm so glad you're still you, that they didn't manage to brainwash you."
"Oh, there's some serious brainwashing going on around here." Lara pulled the red robe off and tossed it on the floor. "These poor girls actually believe it's a great honor to be a Chosen One." Her eyes filled with tears. "Thank God you found me before it happened-"
"Shhh." Jack pulled her into his arms. "You're all right now. Cara mia." He kissed the top of her head.
She wanted to tell him that he was her Chosen One. She stepped back. "Jack, I need to tell you-"
"Yes, I need to know everything. We have to come up with an attack plan that will eliminate the vampires here without causing any harm to the mortals."
She groaned inwardly. Hadn't they discussed business long enough? He was here, her knight in shining armor who had charged to the rescue. And she was madly in love with him. Shouldn't they be celebrating? She glanced at the bed. Shouldn't he be ravishing her right now? "You need a plan?"
"An attack plan, yes."
"Okay. I'll tell you how to attack." She wrenched the bronze brooch from her white gown and tossed it on the bed. "First, you should start with the breasts." Her gown tumbled down to the ties around her midriff.
His gaze dropped to her bare breasts. "I'm... trying to do business."
"I mean business." She cupped her breasts. "I believe you've met these before."
The gold flecks in his eyes started to gleam. "La-" He halted when a noise sounded outside their door.
Lara figured one of the guards was hoping for a cheap thrill.
"Down on your knees, woman!" Jack thundered. "Bow before me."
"Yes, My Lord Hades," she called out as she dropped to her knees and prostrated herself.
Jack winced and whispered, "You don't have to really do that."
She sat up, grinning. "Oh, My Lord Hades! Please don't hurt me. I'll do anything to please you. Anything!"
He gave her an annoyed look.
"Why, My Lord Hades! Look at you! You're so well endowed! Careful with that. You'll put someone's eye out. Oh, what a mouthful!" She made a loud strangling noise.
Jack's eyes widened as he watched her.
"Oh, yes, yes! Take me, Hades!" She let out a long squeal, lifting her arms in the air like she was riding a roller coaster. "Oh, that was good. Let's take a nap now."
Footsteps moved away from the door.
Jack arched a brow. "Are you done now?"
"Yes, but I feel strangely... unsatisfied."
He chuckled. "So do I. You made me last about two seconds."
"Well." She glanced at the bed. "I'm sure you could do better."
"We still need to talk."
Her Casanova was being terribly unromantic, but she'd fix that. She stalked toward him on all fours. "What kind of attack plan did you have in mind? Full frontal?" She rose up on her knees, rubbing her breasts against his toga.
He closed his eyes with a moan.
She slipped her hands underneath his toga and skimmed up the back of his bare calves. Higher, to his bare thighs.
"Lara." He opened his eyes. They were red. He gritted his teeth. "This is not a good time-"
"Oh!" Her hands had reached his buttocks, and he wasn't wearing any underwear. "Oh my." Tingles spread out over her skin. Her nipples tightened, her back arched, and she succumbed to an urge to press her breasts against him.
She splayed her hands over his rump. Her fingers stroked the skin, so smooth and soft. Suddenly, his muscles flexed, tightening beneath her hands, creating a delicious concave curve. Her knees felt weak. She struggled to breathe. Heat sizzled between her thighs. "Oh my God."
"Talking to me?" He knelt in front of her.
She leaned toward him, but he held her back by the shoulders.
"Lara, I realize you're grateful that I'm here."
"Does this look like gratitude to you?" She fumbled with the linen strips tied at her waist.
"Then it's adrenalin and excitement. But those feelings will pass once you're back home."
"Don't tell me what I'm feeling. And don't you dare say my feelings are temporary." She loosened the strips, and her gown pooled around her knees.
He sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes gleamed red hot. "Then tell me exactly what you're feeling. Because I can't take you just for the hell of it. If I make love to you, I will never give you up. Never."
She gazed into his glowing eyes. "I know that. I'm counting on that."
"Forever is a long time for a vampire."
"I know that, too." Her eyes filled with tears. "I'm in love with you, Jack. Forever. You're all I want. All I need. No matter what happens, I'll never give you up."
His grip on her shoulders tightened, and his red eyes glimmered with moisture. "Are you sure?"
"Yes! Now stop being so dense and make love to me."
With vampire speed, he tossed her on the bed, ripped off her underwear and his own toga, then jumped into bed beside her. He covered her face with kisses. "Cara mia, Lara mia. I love you."
She planted kisses all over his face, too, till their mouths finally met in a hot, urgent kiss. Their tongues stroked, their hands groped, their bodies rolled.
Lara was panting by the time he kissed his way to her breasts. Licking, suckling, tweaking, pinching. She let out a long moan and wrapped her legs around him. His erection pressed against her hip.
She felt hot and wet and aching with need. "Oh God, Jack, let me have it."
He chuckled, his breath tickling her damp, tight nipples. "Are you begging, cara mia?."
"I'm demanding!" She slapped his rump.
He lifted his head to look at her. "What was that?"
"I-it wasn't very hard. Sorta... playful, you know?"
His mouth twitched. "Now you've asked for it."
"Well, duh, yes. I have been asking-" She squealed when he suddenly dove between her legs. "Oh, oh!" All that licking, suckling, tweaking, and pinching had moved to a new location. She made a mental note to slap his rump more often.
"Jack, Jack," she breathed. Pleasure spiked and spiraled, growing more and more tense. She strained, lifting her hips to meet his mouth. He grabbed her bottom and pressed her against him. With another squeal, she climaxed, and he groaned with satisfaction.
She struggled to catch her breath. "Oh, Jack, that was-" He dragged his tongue over her with one long slow lick, and aftershocks rocked her body.
He rose to his knees, leaning over her. "Cara mia."
"Pimm?" She blinked a few times to bring him into focus. The blunt tip of his erection nudged against her highly sensitized skin. More moisture seeped from her.
His eyes gleamed, still red. "I'm going to enter you now."
Like she wouldn't have noticed? She gasped when he drove into her with one swift stroke. And he kept coming. "Wow." He was big. Her inner muscles spasmed with another aftershock.
He winced. "I won't last long with that kind of torment."
Was he actually worried about his performance? "I'm not keeping time. We have our whole lives together."
He kissed her brow. "I love you, Lara."
"I love you, too. Just the way you are."
He smiled. "Then I'm home."
He started slow, but soon they lost all semblance of control. It was as if he couldn't get close enough. He rose onto his knees and grasped her hips, grinding himself against her. She screamed as another climax jolted through her. He let out a long groan, then suddenly threw his head back as his fangs popped out.
Lara screamed again.
He released her and collapsed on the bed. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." He grimaced. "Merda."
She sat up. He looked like he was in pain. "Are you all right? Are you... hungry?"
He shook his head. The fangs were already starting to recede. "I drank plenty before coming here. I-I just lost control. I'm sorry I scared you."
"It was just a bit dramatic, that's all." She decided not to let the fangs bother her. He couldn't help having fangs. He actually had good control, since he hadn't made any attempt to bite her. And he couldn't help being a vampire. She loved him the way he was.
She smoothed a hand over his chest and down his belly. He was a beautiful man. Well-defined muscles. She trailed her fingers down the line of hair that led to his groin.
"You're magnificent." She stroked the length of his manhood. Even relaxed, it was long and thick. She traced a vein. "How did it happen?"
"What?" He lifted his head to look, then dropped his head back onto the bed. "I was born with that."
She snorted. "I meant, how did you become a vampire?" She moved her hand down and cupped his balls.
"I'd rather not talk about it."
"Oh come on." She squeezed his balls gently.
His mouth curled up. "Are you threatening me?"
"No, of course not." She tickled him. "I'm just trying to persuade you to talk."
"Playing with a man's balls does not lead to conversation."
She stretched out beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. "I want to know all about you. Please."
"I'm a bastard."
"That's a given."
He snorted. "My father was a terrible womanizer." He stroked her hair. "I'm not anything like him."
"One woman is enough for you?"
"Definitely." He smiled at her, and his eyes had returned to their warm golden brown color.
"Tell me more."
His smile faded. "I inherited my father's personal papers. Things that he didn't want included in his memoirs. Imagine a twelve-year-old boy reading about his father's struggle with the pox and his search for a cure."
"Eeuw." Lara wrinkled her nose.
"Exactly. Now you know why I don't like to speak of it. My father was in Paris when an attempt was made on the French king's life, and he met the man responsible for saving the king. There were some rumors about Jean-Luc Echarpe. Rumors that he had super strength and was invincible. My father asked him what his secret was, hoping to find a cure for his syphilis, but Jean-Luc refused him."
"This Jean-Luc was a vampire?" Lara asked.
"Yes. My father didn't give up. He suspected Jean-Luc knew a way to defeat old age and disease. Eventually, my father's investigations led him to Transylvania. He took a job nearby at the Castle Dux in Bohemia. That's where he seduced my mother. I never knew her, but I heard she died years later in an insane asylum."
"Oh, Jack, I'm so sorry."
"So was I.I feared my mother had died from syphilis, given to her by my father. And I feared I could have it, too. I was determined not to pass it on, so I decided to become a monk. My uncle persuaded me to go the University of Padua first. Then, when I was twenty-four, something terrible happened."
Lara sat up. "You were attacked?"
He smiled. "I fell in love."
She swatted his arm. "That's not terrible."
"It is if you think you have a disease that could kill. I wanted to keep Beatrice safe, so I used my father's notes to try to find a cure. A year later, my travels took me to Transylvania. I was riding toward a small village as the sun set. Three beautiful women appeared on the road."
"And they were vampires?" Lara asked.
Jack nodded. "I introduced myself, and when they heard the name Casanova, they jumped me. The next thing I knew I was in an old castle with the women biting me. I tried to fight back, but... they were very strong, and I grew weaker as they drained every drop of blood from my veins."
"That must have been terrifying."
"I woke up in a dungeon with a horrific hunger." He grimaced. "I wanted blood. I didn't know what had happened to me. I didn't realize I could simply teleport away. They encouraged me to bite their wrists. I did, but there was always a price for survival. They thought I would be a skilled lover like my father. You can imagine their disappointment to find out I barely knew the basics."
Lara winced. She had been right. Jack didn't realize he was a wonderful lover.
"After a few months, they threw me out in disgust. Said I would never live up to the Casanova name." Jack sighed. "I've never used the name since then."
"Well, they were idiots. If you were any better in bed, I would have had a heart attack."
He smiled. "They would have thought our lovemaking too tame. No swinging upside down from a chandelier or dangling over the parapet of a castle tower."
Lara laughed. "You've got to be kidding." When Jack shook his head, she gasped. "They really did that stuff?"
"Yes. They attacked a circus after I left, and they were much happier with a trapeze artist."
Lara snorted.
"I nearly died again, trying to make my way across Europe to Paris. I found Jean-Luc there, and he taught me how to be a vampire. Then finally, I went back to Venezia, hoping that Beatrice could still love me."
"What happened?"
Jack sighed. "She had died a month earlier during an outbreak of typhoid fever. I have always feared that she died believing I abandoned her."
"Oh Jack." Lara touched his cheek. "I'm sure she still loved you. How could she not love you?"
He took her hand and kissed the palm. "I have always been unlucky in amore till now. Over the years, I fell in love twice more, but the women rejected me when I told them what I was. I was afraid you would reject me, too."
"I love you too much to lose you. And it's about time you found happiness." She frowned at his blond hair. "But I have to tell you I'm not crazy about the new hairstyle."
"I had to change my appearance." He pulled her close, so he could whisper. "Too many Malcontents know about Giacomo di Venezia."
"Malcontents?"
"That's what we call the bad vampires who enjoy killing. They call themselves the True Ones, since they believe they're following the true nature of the vampire-hunting and killing. They were cruel, violent mortals, and becoming vampires has only magnified their brutality."
"So you and your friends are fighting them?"
"Yes. I've investigated so many of them over the years that I know how to act like one. I came here with my new look, speaking Czech, and calling myself Henrik Sokolov."
"Which is your real name," she whispered.
"Yes. I pretended to be an old friend of Jedrek Janow, who died last December, so he can't confirm it. I dropped some other names, and I knew so much, like the location of this place, that Apollo bought it."
"Thank goodness." She raked her hand through his short blond hair. "You took a big risk."
"The others are close by. They would have charged in if I'd put out a psychic message for help. Robby wanted to attack tonight, but I wanted to make sure you were all right first. And I wanted whatever information you could tell me."
"Of course." Lara explained the routines and how many maidens there were, how many guards, and how many vampires. "There was a guest vampire last night called Zeus. We never saw him. A maiden was chosen for him, and this morning she had no memory of him. But she was covered with bruises."
Jack shook his head, frowning.
"When I first arrived, the Chosen One was Brittney Beckford. The next morning, she was gone, and I'm afraid-"
"She's dead," Jack said quietly. "Her body was found."
"Oh no. That poor girl."
"The wolves found her body in the woods."
Lara winced. "I saw the wolves. They scared the hell out of me."
"They won't harm you. And they told me where to find you. They've agreed to help us tomorrow night."
"Whoa." Lara lifted a hand. "They... talk?"
"They're werewolves. Shape shifters."
She gasped. "No way."
"The delivery man who left the Cracker Jack is a werewolf. Works for Mackay S & I, just like me."
She shook her head. "This is getting too weird."
"We're worried that the minute we attack, the guards may be under orders to attack the women."
"What?"
"If the compound comes under attack, Apollo may have the guards programmed to kill all the witnesses."
Lara shivered. "God, I hope not."
"We hope not, too. We need you to help keep the other girls safe. Can you do that?"
"Yes." She would find some reason to get them all into the kitchen. They would have a supply of knives there.
"One more thing." Jack took her hand. "It will look very suspicious if you're here in the morning without my mark on you."
"Your... mark?"
He nodded. "On your neck. I'm sorry, but it will have to be done."
She swallowed hard. "You want to bite me."