Page 9 (1/2)

It was full dark when Raotten used to yet, the sudden lethargy that engulfed hi, the sense of disorientation when he first woke froot used to it? Months? Years? He knew that Chiavari was able to , that he woke before sunset Sorowing older as a va him out of the house and into the darkness

The darkness He had never realized how much he would miss the sun - the feel of it on his skin, the warhtness Like oodness, dark with evil Was he evil now? Candlelight, electric light, firelight: none of them could cos he had once taken for granted: a briskblack coffee, the sound of birds singing Chiavari had stolen them from him just as he had stolen his life, and in return, the vaiven him an eternity of darkness, inside and out

He paused at the corner, perusing the front page of a newspaper in one of the vending e The headline hit hiut

They had found the woht The fact that her body had been almost drained of blood was related in lurid detail It was the kind of story that would have fired his instinct to track down and destroy the ue

Only this ti up to haunt him He had not meant for her to die, had not meant to take so much, but she had been so sweet, so sweet Perhaps, if he had taken her to her ho to drink, she would have lived But the flashing lights of a passing police car had filled him with a sudden panic and he had fled into the shadows Left alone in the cold, the worim determination, he read the details of her family and life A life cut all too short He had not intended to kill her, but she was dead just the saet the look of fear in her eyes, the sudden silence when her heart beat its last No ain No er went unfed and he endured the pains of hell, he would not kill again He thought of Kelly Perhaps he could atone for his sin by seeing that she was returned to vigorous health

He laughed softly, bitterly, at his rationalization The hunter had become that which he had once hunted

He had never hesitated to destroy the creatures of the night when he found them Why had he not destroyed himself? He was no better than those he had hunted What made him think he deserved to live? Sadly he ade to take his own life He was ashamed to ask Chiavari for help But what about Khira?

He disued hi sense of unease She was an ancient vampire, her poithout compare Would he become like Khira in ti whether they lived or died? Once, he would have viewed Khira as the ultimate trophy for the last of the Ramseys - a difficult quarry to be hunted down, staked, beheaded He would have been as indifferent to her fears as she was to the hapless ? Would his rationalizations beco more than a ready source of food? Them In his mind, he had already separated hier a part of their world, no longer human

"Edward"

He swore as Khira materialized beside him "Damn it," he exclaimed irritably, "don&039;t do that"

"Aren&039;t you happy to seeprettily

"Yes, of course What are you doing here?"

She s like sapphires She was outrageously beautiful The ht shimmered in her hair like liquid silver Her hand arm on his arm, her skin flushed, her cheeks almost rosy She had fed recently, he hts," she said, her voice low and sultry

"Did you?"

"Indeed" She tilted her head to one side, her gaze fixed on his "You&039;ve not yet fed"

An ih his rin revealed perfect white teeth "Let us go, then" She slipped her arh his "I find I still have roorunted softly She had already fed, yet she was eager for more Chiavari had told hied It was not hunger that drove Khira, he thought, but the love of the hunt, the chase The kill

Hunt Chase Kill It was easy to get caught up in the excite the dark streets, chasing her prey She was the perfect predator She was not troubled byHer eyes glowed a clear, bright blue during the chase, glittered a hellish red as she sank her fangs into her prey

Her eyes blazed like sapphires in the love that burned between theer claimed them

Later, when their passion had cooled, she smiled at hiry as I," she said softly "Youas I have been without a man!"

"I will not discuss that with you," he said flatly as, unheeded, an i and innocent, a victim of the kind of monster he hiainst his lips, and he knew she was reading his thoughts "We have all had losses, mi aaze turned inward, and soret crossed her flawless features Then she s anything other than a lust for blood And flesh

And then she fixed hi a vampire must learn is to dispose of the remains You were careless with that kill The one reported in the press Did you learn anything froaze with one of his own "Farsigh escaped her lips "Do not spoil this ain?" She stared at hile with your quite active conscience, pay attention to what I say A careless va, blood-red nail down the side of his neck, the implied threat very clear "Do you understand?"

Raain"

She kissed hiraceful as a cat, to slip into her carelessly discarded clothing "See that it doesn&039;t," she whispered - and vanished froot back to his house Though it had grieved him to do so, he had tied her hands to the bedpost to ensure that she would be there when he returned

She stared at hireen eyes when he entered the bedroom "Where aoing to do with ed on the rope binding her wrist "Don&039;t I?"

Moving to the bed, he released her hands, knew a ed her wrists The skin was red and slightly swollen

"I&039;el, are you?"

"A dark angel, perhaps," he reh to stand? I&039;ve brought you so to eat"

"Who are you?"

"Edward"

She looked at hi to fear, Kelly," he said, and hoped it was true

She hesitated a moment more, then placed her hand in his and let hih a living roo chair The end tables were also black There was no light in the roo in the hearth The kitchen was painted white The appliances were mirrored black and looked new A covered tray waited on a s as he uncovered the tray to reveal a bowl of vegetable soup There was a thick steak, rare, andwith butter and honey And a large piece of apple pie for dessert

"I did not know if you preferred coffee or milk," he said, "so I ordered both"

Kelly nodded "Thank you Aren&039;t you going to eat?" She felt a chill slide down her spine as his gaze uous s while he watched He hovered over her, re her of a vulture The steak was very rare, thick, and juicy He licked his lips as she cut into it

She turned her attention to thenearby

Ra a distraction, he went into the living roo in the easy chair, he flipped through the channels, pausing when he heard the naates of athe public that Prince Dracul, well-known rock star, had disappeared

He frowned Dracul was a young vaer&039;s true identity and destroyed him? Was there another accomplished vampire hunter in the area? Or was it hts of Dracul faded, overshadowed by the enticing scent of the girl in the next rooin to beat in rhyther stirred to life within hiain And yet he rose to his feet, unable to resist the siren call of her blood Khira&039;s facetious reirl looked up at him, fear reflected in her eyes "No! No, don&039;t"

But he was past hearing, past caring about anything but the need roaring through hiht her easily He gathered her into his arht hi his cheek, until he bent her will to his

When she lay pliant in his eer The woman had just eaten; there had been no tiiving strength She was still weak He had vowed just this night to exercise restraint and failed Had witnessed the extinction of yet another human life, had shared in its extinction

Khira had said if he wanted to keep his "little human" alive he needed to treat her well, feed her well, ensure she was strong enough for his purpose It was tih to do so No ood on his vow

Gently he carried her to her bed and tucked her in

He stalked the dark streets, his irl&039;s eyes as he had bent over her He had seen enough bloodthirsty vampires to kno he must have looked to her, his skin taut, as pale as old parchry She had screaainst hihts