Always the Vampire

Ray put himself between his vampire and me. “Are you well, Princess?”


I nodded, bent to snag the remote, and silenced the TV.

“Now that I can hear myself think, what the blazes is going on? And why are the lights off in here?”

I turned to switch on a lamp but stopped at the tone of Ray’s voice.

“Do not, Princess, I beg you.”

I glanced at Saber’s shadowed face. He nodded. “Leave it, Cesca.”

“Okay, but tell me what’s going on.”

“It is la oscuridad,” Ray answered. “The darkness is draining my people.”

“Saber told me the Void had been sapping your energy.”

“But it has grown worse. Far worse.” He raked a hand through hair I knew to be thick and black. “It is disfiguring us now.”

My stomach roiled and breath caught in my abused throat. Ray looked and sounded enough like Antonio Banderas to fire a million fantasies. Then there were the other vampires in the former Daytona nest, now all joint owners in Club Hot Blooded. Cheerleader-pert Suzy, and tall, severe Zena. Middle-aged-looking Coach, and the married couple, Miranda and Charles. If they were each shriveling to shells, their features growing gaunt and discolored— I broke off the thought with a shudder.

“I came to tell Saber,” Ray said, “that I am temporarily closing the club and dispersing my vampires. Tower insisted on guarding me tonight, but I did not expect him to attack you. It is part of the illness, Princess. Un efecto secundario.”

“A side effect. I understand, Ray. I’m not angry with Tower, but where are you all going?”

He shrugged. “Underground. Saber may explain further if he wishes, but we must go.”

Ray turned toward Tower and jerked his head toward the door, but paused to face us again.

“This evil will not stop feeding on us. It is voracious, and humans will be next on the menu. I beg you, Princess. Vaya con la luz and triumph.”

Go with the light? Brilliant idea. Too bad our merry little band of Void hunters had only a bare glimmer in the dark to go on.

The door clicked softly, but the snick of Saber’s Glock as he put the safety on seemed to echo. So did the sigh he exhaled.

I turned to find him carefully placing his weapon on the coffee table.

“Cesca, I’m sorry. I should have listened more closely. I should have heard you come in.”

Without a word, I walked into his arms. The first kiss was a light brush of our lips. The second kiss deepened, a playful dueling of lips and teeth and tongues until Saber hauled me closer. I felt his desperation then and held him tight, reassuring him through touch.

I’m here. I’m fine. I love you.

Saber broke the kiss and buried his face in my hair, his breathing as labored as if he’d run a marathon.

“God, when I saw that Tower had you. He could have ripped your head off in a second, and I—”

“Deke, stop. It’s over. I admit I had a fright, but my defenses kicked in. I could’ve pulled Tower’s aura harder if I’d had to.”

He released me enough to give me a level stare. “You don’t hold back when you’re in danger. Ever. Especially not now when we’re going up against Starrack and the Void. Understood?”

“Got it.”

“Good. Now lie on the sofa while I get the first aid kit.”





“Let me see your neck again,” Saber said half an hour later as he leaned over me.

From my reclining position, propped up by cushy throw pillows on the sofa, I removed the ice gel pack he’d insisted I use and let him inspect the damage. Or lack thereof. My tussle with Tower had left bruises, but they had bloomed and faded ten minutes into the coldpack treatment. Still, it was sweet of Saber to coddle me. It gave him something to do besides continuing to rail at himself for failing to hear me come home.

The living room lamps blazed bright, but he squinted at my neck for any lingering discoloration.

“Saber, you’re acting like a vampire searching for the choicest place to bite me. It’s creepy.”

He quirked a grin, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I think you need another bottle of Starbloods. Just to be sure you’re healing internally.”

“Gag, no. One a day is enough. What I need,” I said as I levered upright, “is to know what Ray said.”

Saber sat beside me and gathered me in his arms.

“You don’t want to know how he looked?”

I tilted my head to see his expression. “How bad?”

“His skin is two shades darker and lined like a road map. The younger vampires are in worse shape.”

Bile rose at the image. God, what would I do if Saber’s gorgeous Latino skin began to blacken and shrivel? I resolutely push the thought away.

“You think he and the others will survive?”

Saber scooted deeper into the cushions and dropped his head against the sofa back. “I don’t know, Cesca. Even if they do, the effects of the life force drain may not be reversible.”