Page 21 (1/2)

Do asTracy &039;s voice echoed in his mind

Dominic, help me! Please, conoring her He had spent the last few days pondering his past, reliving every lifeti herTired of existing Tomorrow, he had planned to end his existence What would it be like to see the sun after so o up in flames at the first touch of the sun on his flesh? Would it be over quickly? He was not afraid of death, but to burn it was so his hand when he was a young boy He had never forgotten the excruciating pain

"Dominic!"

The fear in her voice coiled around his heart and soul

A ht of ending his existence forgotten

Outside the doorway of The Cataco inside

Anger welled within him at what he saw All the vaathered aroundTracy like wolves closing in on a wounded doe Eyes glowing, fangs extended, the vampires formed a loose circle around her Fro her hair, dragging a fingernail over her cheek, down the length of her arht in their midst, her expression defiant For all her outward show of bravado, he could smell her fear; it was a palpable presence in the roo the vampires still more She shuddered as one of the males licked the side of her neck

Doh the roo, yet he was nowhere to be seen Had they killed hi to him, but if they had killed the boy, then they had openly defied the law Not only the law of the land, but the lawthat Do that there would be no blood shed within the boundaries of the village To defy his laas to defy hi her with tales of lared at Zarabeth , her expression filled with disdain

Zarabethran her fingernail downTracy &039;s arht spare you if you ask us nicely"

Zarabethput her ar her immobile She put her face close toTracy &039;s neck and took a deep breath, her eyes closing in rapture

"Enough!"

Taking on his shape, Dominic strode across the roo alone in the center of the floor

Going to her side, Doainst hilanced around the room "Where is the boy?"

It was Marcus who answered " Petrinatook hiaze settled on Zarabeth"Is he dead?"

"I don&039;t know"

"Would she take him home?"

"I don&039;t know"

Dominic looked atTracy , then back at the vampires "To harm what is mine is to harm me" His voice was mild, butTracy heard the steel beneath To defy my law is to defy me, and the penalty is death"

Zarabethshook her head "No!"

" Petrinahas openly defied me"

"Vampire does not kill vampire"

"Be still else I destroy you, as well"

A low h the room

Dominic silenced them with a look "This is my chosen territory and my law prevailsWhen I allowed you to share this place with reed, one and all, to abide by my law We have peace here because we do not feed on the villagers We give them no reason to suspect our presence The boy Petrina has taken has family He has a job He will be missed"

Do "Come, I will take you home"

"What aboutBryan ?"

"I will find him," he said, and with that, he swept her into his arale House

Slowly, he lowered her to her feet

"The lights," she said "Put on the lights"

He waved his hand and the la the darkness froht?" he asked

"Fine," she said, and dissolved into tears

"Tracy!" He pulled her into his ar kisses on her brow, the crown of her head "Do notweep, my best beloved one"

"FindBryan ," she said "Please"

"I do not want to leave you alone"

"I&039;ll I&039;ll be all right Please hurry!"

"As you wish," he said, and vanished froht

Tracycrawled into bed, fully dressed, and drew the covers up to her chin Never in all her life had she been so frightened Tre uncontrollably, she closed her eyes Into her es of the va with a lust for bloodHer blood If Dominic had not arrived when he did

She opened her eyes and the io to sleep, doubted she would ever feel coain

And what aboutBryan ?Would Dominic find him in time, or was it already too late? Hoould she ever live with herself if anything happened toBryan ? Oh, Lord, he could be dead, or worse What if Petrina had turned hi to deserve such a horrible fate Nothing butbe her friend

With a low groan, she doubledover, her arms wrapped around her middle, and rocked back and forth

"I&039;m sorry,Bryan ," she sobbed"So sorry"

Reality returned slowly He are of being coldAnd thirsty Opening his eyes,Bryan was grateful to see that he was no longer in the dark A single candle burned on the table beside the bed There was a bowl of fruit, a hunk of cheese,a pitcher of orange juice

Sitting up, he ate ravenously, drained the pitcher of juice and wished for an to pace the floor Where was she?

He tried the door again even though he was certain it would be locked To his surprise, it swung open He stood there aif it was so, he took a step forward, his whole body tensed for an attack that did not come

As far as he could tell, he was in an abandoned warehouse A faint gleaht offered the only illuone about a dozen steps when he saw a door

He was hurrying toward it when Dominic St John suddenly materialized in front of hi moment, he stared at Doasped "You&039;re one of them"

Dominic lifted one brow "Indeed" His nostrils flared "And you are notYet"

"What do you mean, yet?"

"You are her creature now It is only a s you across"

"What are you talking about?"

"She has taken your blood, has she not?"

Bryannodded, his expression filled with revulsion

"And she has given you hers in return"

Bryanshook his head "No, I didn&039;t I wouldn&039;t it was just a nightmare wasn&039;t it?"

"I am sorry She has marked you now and there is no way for you to escape her so long as she exists"

Bryanstared at Do?"

"You need not worry She has defied me and for that, she must be destroyed When she is no more, you will be free of her"

"I don&039;t believe any of this,"Bryan said, his voice rising "It can&039;t be true"