Once Forbidden (9 page)

When
they materialized in her apartment, somehow it didn’t seem like home anymore. Everything
looked foreign to her. Devlin released her hand and she walked to the closet
and pulled out dark clothes, deciding that it was better for night travel. She
wasn’t sure what he had in mind, but decided he’d dressed in black for a reason
so she followed suit.

He’d
left her in the room, and she heard him cursing. She walked to the living room.
“What’s wrong?”

“No
one broke in, Sarah.”

She
frowned. “But how— Devlin, I didn’t let anyone in. I swear I didn’t.”

He
walked to her quickly. “Shh, I know, love. I know. But someone did.” He showed
her the door, where the safety chain was still firmly in place.

Sarah
paled. “Oh God, what is going on? Are there vampires trying to kill me? What
have you dragged me in the middle of, Devlin?” she asked.

Devlin
frowned. As much as he wanted to blast her for blaming him—she was right. This
obviously had something to do with him. The only one who knew that he was with
her was Carina. “Carina!” he snapped.

Sarah
frowned. “Who is Carina?”

“She’s
the one that changed me, Sarah. She knew about you. Hell, she told the Elders
about you.”

“An
old girlfriend?” Sarah said. “Someone almost killed me because an old
girlfriend is upset about me?” She was confused. He’d never mentioned another
woman to her—though of course, he’d had lovers over the years.

Devlin
walked to her and pulled her into his arms. She stiffened and he cursed. “She’s
not a girlfriend, Sarah. She’s never been my lover,” he said quietly.

Sarah
looked up into his eyes. “But it was a man, Devlin. A woman didn’t attack me.”

Devlin
frowned at that. “It still could have been a Hunter. The Elders have suspected
for some time that there were a few rogue vampires with them. A vampire let him
in, Sarah. For all I know, it could have been a human she’d entranced.”

Sarah
pulled back from him. “You mean that a vampire can force someone to try and
kill for them?”

“Yes”
he said quietly.

“And
you’re sure it was this Carina?” Sarah asked carefully.

Devlin
released her to pace. “Hell, I’m not sure of anything, Sarah—except that I’ll
find whoever is responsible. Is there anything you need? We need to keep
moving.”

Sarah
shook her head. “I’m staying here, Devlin. I can protect myself.”

“No,
Sarah. You can’t. Not against Carina. She’s an Elder. She’s got more power than
you do.”

Sarah
sat heavily in a chair. “Why would she be after me?”

Devlin
knew he’d have to explain to her. “Sarah, Carina saved my life. I was in a
carriage accident and near death. She changed me to keep me from dying.”

Sarah
waited, watching him. There was something he wasn’t telling her, she was sure
of it. When he said no more, though, her temper frayed. “Well? What did you
do?”

Devlin
sighed. “It was years before I forgave her. But I could never be what she
wanted. I think she loved me, but I never returned the emotion,” he admitted.

Sarah
laughed bitterly. “But you were angry when I was upset? When you know what it’s
like to wake up and…I guess it doesn’t matter now. So, this is nothing more
than a woman scorned?”

Devlin
considered that. He’d known Carina for a long time. He couldn’t make himself
believe she’d be so viscous. “I just don’t know, Sarah. But I need to find
out.”

“Isn’t
there somewhere safe I can go?”

“No,
not until you’ve learned more. You’d be in constant danger. For now, you’ll
need to stay with me,” he said. “I’m sorry, Sarah, that you’re in danger now.”

“So,
what are we going to do now? Go find this woman? This Carina?”

Devlin
nodded. “In a manner of speaking. It’s time for you to meet the Elders anyway. For
now, we’ll play it by ear. I need to talk to her alone.”

Sarah
stood up and walked to him. “I don’t think I can handle this, Devlin.”

Devlin
took her in his arms and kissed her. “You can, Sarah. Damn it, you walked into
a burning building to save the life of a child. You can handle this.”

Sarah’s
eyes darkened with passion for a moment, but she shoved the words away. “I’m
not brave, Devlin. I’m not the woman you think I am.” She didn’t know that he’d
even known how she’d been burned. “How did you know how I was burned?”

“We
don’t have time for this now, Sarah. We have to go to the Elders.”

Sarah
touched his cheek, relenting. There would be time later for questions and for
them to learn about each other. “Are you going to be in trouble for what you
did?”

He
laughed. “Do you really think that I care, Sarah?”

“There’s
so much we need to talk about, Devlin,” she whispered achingly. “I feel so
confused.”

“We’ll
have time later to talk, love. For now, let’s keep us both safe,” he said. “Take
my hand. Don’t think of where we’re going, just let me take you again.”

Sarah
looked at him, and suddenly wished she was clear across the world. She wanted
to be as far away from all of this as she could be. She needed time to think. Somehow,
she had to make sense of all that had happened to her in such a short time.

When
she opened her eyes, she was totally lost.

Chapter Twelve

Devlin
cursed when he arrived at the Council chambers and realized he was alone. Where
the hell was she? He did a mental search, but sensed nothing.
What the hell?
That had never happened before—not between two connected vampires. He’d
taught her to shield—apparently too well. He hoped that was all it was. It was
too late go search for her. The Elders knew he was here.

Hopefully,
if he didn’t know where she was, though, no one else would either. He walked to
the center of the large room. “I wish an audience,” he said quietly.

In
only a few moments, the Elders were all seated at the large dais.

“Is
it done?” Giles asked.

Devlin
looked at the Elder squarely in the eye. “She did not betray us to the
Hunters,” he said firmly.

Giles
frowned and arched a white brow. “And you know this how?”

Devlin
looked at Carina for only a moment. “Sarah was attacked in her apartment
earlier. She was stabbed and nearly died. She is my mate now. I have sired
her,” he said quietly.

There
was a loud murmur among the Elders. Only Carina remained silent. Giles finally
spoke. “It is forbidden.”

Devlin
nodded once. “It may be forbidden, but it has certainly occurred before. She was
dying. I had to save her—she is my mate,” he repeated. “I could do no less.”

Giles
studied the younger vampire. “You have made her your mate? She understands what
this means?”

“She
does,” Devlin assured him and the others. “She did not betray me to the Hunters.
I questioned her, but I also entered her mind when I was teaching her our ways.
There was no subterfuge hidden there. I’d have known.”

Giles
frowned. “There is a reason why we don’t mix with humans, Devlin. You know this.
The problems it causes far outweigh the benefits.”

Devlin
glared at the older man. “She was in danger before I took her. At least now,
she can protect herself,” he snapped. He looked at each member of the Council. “None
knew of her outside of this room.”

That
caused a murmur to go through the group as Devlin had known it would. Obviously,
there was a traitor among them. It was unlikely that the Hunters had been
simply watching one of the other Chosen—although, he supposed, it was possible.

Giles
spoke again, his voice angry. “We were all here with you, Devlin, when this
attack occurred.” He hadn’t told them when the attack occurred. That made him
wonder if the entire Council knew more than they were letting on. He didn’t
want to believe they would all conspire to kill a human just to keep him away
from one. Was that even possible?

“Just
know this,” he said quietly, his voice holding threat and promise. “I will find
the ones responsible for hurting her and they will pay with their lives—be they
vampire or human.”

“You
can not start a war over one woman, Devlin. We are not going to engage in open
hostilities with the Hunters,” Giles said tightly.

“I’m
engaging no one,” he said. “Other than the one responsible for hurting Sarah.”

“Where
is this new one now?”

He
wished he knew. “Safe.”

That
brought another angry murmur to the group. One didn’t ignore the direct request
of an Elder. “Where?” Giles asked again.

Devlin
smiled. “I sent her on her own. I told her only to remain safe.”

Giles
brushed that away. “If you’ve mated with her, you can find her. Bring her
before us, Devlin. We must meet this new child.”

Devlin
wasn’t about to bring her near them until he knew exactly where the threat came
from. “I’ve taught her to shield, Giles. I can not find her until she wants me
to find her. I thought it the best way to protect her,” he said, assuring the
words sounded respectful. Alienating the entire council wasn’t his goal.

Devlin
watched each of the Elders. Of course, they were very adept at hiding their
thoughts. At least one of them, though, had betrayed him, and despite the
repercussions, he’d have retribution.

Giles
interrupted his thoughts. “Devlin, we can keep her safe.”

Devlin
held his temper in tight rein. “How?”

“Do
not dare to think I will allow your continued disrespect, Devlin. We are allowing
a bit of latitude because this woman was hurt. Be careful.”

“My
apologies, no offense was intended. But, how can the Council keep her safe?”

“We
have guards, Devlin. You know this. But we need to see that she is properly
trained in our ways now that you’ve broken our laws and sired her,” Giles
insisted.

“I
will teach her all she needs to know,” Devlin assured the Elder. “As Carina
taught me.” He watched Carina, but she gave no sign of outward emotion at all.
He still found it almost impossible to believe she would have betrayed him.

Carina
kept her eyes on Devlin, but spoke to the group. “He has the right to train
her, Giles. We can test her, but she is his to train.”

Devlin
was surprised by her support. “Thank you, Carina,” he said formally.

Carina
looked at him for a long moment. “Don’t thank me, Devlin. Go find your lady.”

Devlin
bowed to the Council and left the chambers.

Where
was she?
“Sarah!” he called. He’d gone back to his home. He knew
immediately that she wasn’t there. “Where are you?”

He
went next to her apartment. Again, he knew immediately she wasn’t here. He’d
have sensed her otherwise. Now, he was getting worried. He should have been
able to sense her. She hadn’t had time to learn the ways to prevent him
reaching her so soon.

He
sat on her bed and concentrated. Where would she go? He knew she had no family
at least not that was close. No one had come to her during the time he’d been
visiting her dreams.

Where
would she go? Where would she feel safe? He considered other possibilities. Had
she gone somewhere and been captured? Or, heaven forbid, gone somewhere that it
wasn’t dark? That thought was too terrifying to even ponder. He couldn’t
believe that she was dead. Not when he’d just found her. He was too worried to
remember for the moment that he’d know if she was injured. She’d be too frantic
to shield herself if she were.

“Sarah!”
he called again. “Answer me.”

Devlin
heard it then—the faint whisper in his mind. She was trying to reach him, but
something was barring her. He heard his name. “I hear you, love. Can you tell
me where you are?”

“It’s
dark, Devlin. I can’t see anything.”

Her
voice was so faint, he had trouble making out the words. “What were you
thinking when we left my house, Sarah?”

Her
answer was rueful, which encouraged him. It didn’t sound as if she was in
immediate danger at least.
“I wanted to be half-way around the world.”

Devlin
made a mental note to spank her bottom for that little bit of idiocy, but for
now, concentrated on simply finding her.

“You
can’t, Devlin,”
she said very clearly.

“Can’t
what?” he replied, confused. “I’ll find you, love. I promise.”

“You
can’t spank me,”
her voice came stronger now, and Devlin smiled.

“Are
you inside or out?”

“I’m
in some sort of a room, Devlin. There are people here…I…I can smell them.”

“That’s
a place to start. Can you hear any voices?”

“Yes!
They have accents!”

Devlin
stood up. “Good, love. Now, close your eyes for me. Think of how much you want
to be here with me,” he said aloud and mentally. He wasn’t sure she could get
back to him, but it was easier than him trying to gallivant half-way around the
world looking for her. “You can do it, Sarah.”