Night's Pleasure (28 page)

Savanah woke late the following afternoon. She had spent the night at Rane's side, wanting to be there if he regained consciousness. It was a strange experience, sleeping beside a Vampire, wondering if he knew she was there. Wondering what her parents would think if they knew she was in love with one of the Undead. Of course, she knew what they would think. They would be appalled.

Vampires had killed her parents; she had sworn to follow in her mother's footsteps and yet, instead of taking Rane's head, she had given him her blood, and would do so again and as often as needed to prolong his existence.

After she showered and dressed, she went into the kitchen to fix a late breakfast, surprised at how hungry and thirsty she was. No doubt her increased appetite was due to the fact that she had given Rane her blood the night before. She didn't know how much he had taken, but she had been light-headed and unsteady on her feet when it was over, and terribly thirsty, so much so that she had downed almost a quart of orange juice.

She had just finished putting her dishes into the dishwasher when the doorbell rang.

Savanah couldn't hide her surprise at seeing Mara and Rafe standing in the sunlight on her front porch.

Stepping back, she invited them in. She was glad to see Rafe, less so to see Mara. Preternatural power radiated from the other woman. It was disconcerting, and frightening. Mara carried herself with the air of a queen granting favors.

Taking her courage in hand, Savanah followed the two Vampires into the living room.

Mara took a seat on the sofa and Rafe sat beside her.

“How is Rane?” Rafe asked. “Is there any change?”

“I think he's better.” Savanah perched on the edge of the chair. “I gave him some of my blood last night.”

Mara and Rafe exchanged glances.

Savanah lifted her chin defiantly. “You got a problem with that?”

Mara looked at Rafe and smiled, revealing strong, even white teeth. “Oh, I like her.”

Rafe grinned. “Me, too.”

Feeling as though she had just passed some kind of test, Savanah glanced from one to the other.

“I'm going in to see Rane,” Rafe said, “and leave you two to get acquainted.”

Savanah felt a moment of anxiety at the thought of being alone in the room with the most powerful Vampire in the world, but she quickly shook it off. She was tired of being afraid, refused to be intimidated in her own home.

“You must have questions you'd like to ask,” Mara said, “if not about me, then about Vampires in general, or perhaps about Rane, in particular.”

“How did you get into my house last night without an invitation?”

“All those silly rules no longer have any effect on me,” Mara said. “I come and go as I please, when I please, where I please.”

“Rane said you were truly immortal.”

“As close as you can get,” Mara said with a faint grin.

“So, you can't be destroyed?”

“Are you planning to try?”

Mara's tone was mild, but Savanah heard the steel underneath.

“No, I'm just curious. If you're immortal, then I guess that means that holy water doesn't have any effect on you the way it does on Rane, and that a stake through your heart is just a minor injury.”

“Something like that,” Mara allowed, her grin widening.

“Rane said you were born in the time of Cleopatra.”

“Actually, I was made the same year she became Egypt's queen. I spent my early years as a slave in the house of Chuma, one of the King's advisors, until he gave me to one of his trusted allies. Shortly thereafter, a Vampire brought me across against my will. I killed him for it and gained my freedom. As for Cleopatra, I admired her greatly, and so I arranged to meet her. She was a beautiful, intelligent woman only a few years younger than I when she became the ruler of Egypt. To adhere to the law of the time, she was forced to have a consort while she reigned, either a son or a brother, and so it was that she married her brother Ptolemy when he was twelve. Of course, everyone knows the story, how she refused to share her throne, how she captivated Caesar and bore him a son, how she seduced Mark Antony after Caesar was killed.”

Mara paused a moment, her thoughts obviously turned inward. “It was a sad day when Antony was defeated. Soon after, Cleopatra was taken to Octavian. He informed her that he had no interest in any relationship with her, personal or otherwise. He intended to place her in chains and display her in all the cities she had once ruled over. I offered to bring her across, but the heart had gone out of her. Caesar was dead and Antony was dead and her son, Caesarion, had been killed. And so it was that she chose to die by the bite of an asp, believing, as the Egyptians did, that those who died by snakebite would never be forgotten.” Mara sighed. “In that, at least, she succeeded.”

Savanah stared at the Vampire. If what Mara said was true, she was over two thousand years old. It was inconceivable.

Savanah was about to ask Mara about Rane's parents when Rafe entered the room.

“He looks much better,” Rafe said, taking a seat beside Mara. “The pain is gone. I think Savanah's blood was just what he needed.”

Mara nodded. “Amazing, what love can do,” she remarked, her words tinged with a hint of wonder. “I've never really understood it.”

“Haven't you ever been in love?” Savanah asked in amazement. Surely, in two thousand years, Mara must have been in love at least once.

“Mara?” Rafe looked at her, one brow arched, as he waited for her answer.

“There was a man, a long time ago…” She shook her head, as if to dispel the memory. “I've never let myself care too much for any of the mortal lovers that I've taken in the past. I've never trusted those of my own kind….”

“Not even me?” Rafe asked with a teasing grin.

Mara ignored him. “I'm not sure I'm capable of love, not in the way you love Kathy, or the way Savanah seems to care for Rane, but now…”

Rafe glanced at Savanah and winked before nudging Mara in the side. “Go on.”

“I met a man in Egypt,” she said with a wistful smile. “Perhaps he's the one I've been waiting for. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check on Rane.”

Before either of them could ask her more questions, Mara flowed out of the room. There really was no other word for the way she moved, Savanah thought. It was as if her feet didn't touch the floor.

“She's quite remarkable,” Savanah mused.

“Do you think she's finally fallen in love?”

“You know her better than I do. What do you think?”

“He would have to be quite a guy. So, are you going to marry my brother?”

“I don't know. He hasn't asked me.”

“And if he did?”

“I don't know. I don't want to be what he is, and as much as I love him, I'm not sure we'd ever be truly happy together. We've only known each other a short time.”

And for most of that time, her life had been in danger. They had been on the run, hiding from those who had killed her father. It had added a touch of danger to their lovemaking, made everything seem more urgent. Now that Clive was dead and the books were safe, she couldn't help wondering what effect it would have on her relationship with Rane. Was it really love she felt for him, or just a lingering crush on the magician who had so fascinated her when she'd been a little girl? Or maybe gratitude because he had been there when she needed someone to lean on, someone to dry her tears and help her find her way in a world that had turned upside down?

“I don't know,” she said again. “How did your wife cope with having a Vampire husband?”

“You would have to ask her,” Rafe said, chuckling. “We had some pretty hairy times, ourselves.”

“Of course, the war was going on then.”

Rafe nodded. “We had some close calls with a couple of grandmothers.”

“Grandmothers!” Savanah exclaimed. “You're kidding, right?”

“Not at all,” Rafe said, grinning. “They were Vampire hunters who were also involved in some pretty wild experiments. They invented a drug they hoped would destroy the Undead and cure the Werewolves.”

“What were they planning to do, go from house to house and inoculate the Supernatural community?”

“No, they were going to add it to the water supply. I can tell you from personal experience that it didn't work.”

“What happened to the grandmothers?”

“I brought them across.”

Savanah blinked at him. “You turned them? Against their will?”

He nodded. “And I would do it again.”

“But…”

“Would you rather I had killed them?”

“No, but…”

“If I had let them go, they would have continued their experiments. As it was, they had already killed several innocent people. They had to be stopped. I did it the best way I knew how, short of taking their lives.”

“But you've killed people?”

“A time or two, in self-defense.”

Savanah took a deep breath. “And Rane? Has he taken many lives?”

Rafe regarded her for a long moment, then said, “I think that is a question you should ask him yourself.” He lifted one brow. “I find it curious that you haven't asked him already.”

“I don't think I wanted to know the answer.”

“And now?”

“I need to know. If we're to have any kind of lasting relationship, I need to know everything.”

Rafe nodded. “I only know of one life that he's taken. It happened the night we became Vampires. He thinks no one in the family knows what he did, but I know, just as I know that it preys on his mind. I believe it's his guilt over that death that drove him away from us.”

“Why would he feel guilty? It's what Vampires do, isn't it? I'm sorry, I…” She stared at Rafe. She hadn't meant to speak the words aloud, was surprised by the barely suppressed accusation in her voice.

“Yes,” Rafe said, his own voice tight. “It is.”

“I'm sorry,” she said again. “Please forgive me. It's just that Vampires killed both of my parents and I…I'm supposed to be a hunter, like my mother. It's supposed to be in my blood, and…” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking at Rafe again. “I'm rambling, forgive me.”

“There's nothing to forgive. It can't be easy, loving a Vampire. There are many adjustments that must be made on both sides. Not every mortal can accept us for who and what we are.”

“Nor can every Vampire accept what he or she becomes,” Mara said, entering the room. “Many destroy themselves.” She paused beside Savanah. “Rane will most likely awaken when the sun goes down. He'll need to feed, and he'll need more than you can offer. If you're smart, you won't offer him anything.”

“Because he might not be able to stop?” Savanah asked.

“Exactly. And now I must take my leave.”

“Going back to Egypt?” Rafe asked with a knowing grin.

“Perhaps. It was interesting meeting you, Savanah Gentry. I wish you well, but leave you with this warning: if you hurt Rane, I'll come after you. His family is my family. Do you understand?”

Savanah nodded, unable to speak past the icy lump in her throat. She understood Mara perfectly.

Rafe stood and gave his godmother a hug. “Keep in touch.”

“Of course. Give Kathy and your parents my love when you see them again.”

“I will.”

A wave of her hand, and the Vampire queen was gone.

“I suppose I should also be going,” Rafe said. “Tell Rane if he wants to see me, I'll be close by.”

“All right. Thank you for everything.”

“I hope we will meet again.”

“Me, too,” Savanah said, and then sighed as Rafe vanished from her sight. She would never get used to that, she thought, and went into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee.

 

It was like rising from the depths of hell a layer at a time, Rane thought as he fought his way out of the smothering darkness. He didn't know how much time had passed, how many days and nights he had been trapped in his deathlike sleep, unable to move, unable to speak.

Sitting up, he glanced around. Though the room was dark, he could see clearly, knew he was in Savanah's house, in her father's bed. He took a deep breath, his senses expanding, searching. Mara and his brother were gone; Savanah was in the house alone.

Savanah, with the smile of a heavenly angel and a body to drive him mad. Savanah, whose blood had put out the unbearable fire in his veins. The thought of her blood aroused his hellish thirst. His tongue brushed his fangs. He needed nourishment and it waited for him in the living room.

Hunger drove him from the bed; consideration for Savanah sent him to her father's closet in hopes she had not yet disposed of her father's clothes. He pulled a pair of black sweatpants from a hanger, found a T-shirt in a dresser drawer. The pants were a trifle short, the T-shirt a little snug, but they would do for now. He didn't know what she had done with the clothes he'd been wearing, but wouldn't be surprised if she had disposed of them.