Vampire King of New York (4 page)

“I invited her to the opera
La Boheme
on Thursday.”

“That’s all. You didn’t put one of your moves on her like ‘let’s go back to my place for a champagne bath?’”

Max laughed. “I wouldn’t dare. I respect her too much. Maybe another time …”

He chuckled again and sipped his blood.

David poured himself one. “I don’t know. The woman’s a mess. I can barely read her. It’s like a hundred TV channels all scrambled together. Only Laura can read her accurately.”

“When was the death of her husband and child?”

“Last year. J.J. was only seven and the light of her life. Jack, however, was another matter entirely. He cheated on her.”

“She knew this?”

“She found out at the funeral. His girlfriend showed up and in her drunken state proclaimed how Jack loved her and not Evelyn.”

“You saw this happen?”

“No, we arrived very late after most of the mourners were gone. Donovan, Laura’s dad, told us about it later in excruciating detail.”

“Moah!”

The bartender rushed over. “Yes, Mr. V.”

“Call the brothers and tell them I want two dozen wine red roses delivered to Evelyn Cordelais at David Hilliard’s.”

“It’s almost dawn, sir.”

“Good, then she’ll get the roses before work.”

“Right on it, Mr. V.” Moah hurried away and made the call from the bar phone.

Beyond the bar window shadow dissolved into light. “Dawn is coming” David stood up and lifted his hood over his head. “I’m going home. What about you?”

“I’m staying here awhile. I have some errands to run.”

Moah opened the door for David and then locked it afterward. “Good night, boss.” He disappeared through a door to the kitchen.

Max sat there staring into his glass. He closed his eyes and recalled the feel of her leaning against him when they danced. Love never fades, remaining as vibrant as its first day. No matter what any vampire told him, blood was not enough. Without love, eternity was an endless dark pit. He knew the pit too well.

Chapter 4

Evelyn tossed and turned in pain. Every dream tormented her. Either they didn’t make sense, like the ones about Max, or they were replays of the last time she saw Jack and J.J. That woman’s rants at the funeral echoed in her ears. “He didn’t love you. He never did.” Then the screams faded into an engulfing silence. Her little son’s mangled body lay on the cold metal table. He appeared so small, so helpless. His smile would never brighten her day again. Nothing could rip her heart like this.

Just when she couldn’t cry enough, the world grew darker and swirled around with claws that sliced at her, screeching through her, and sucked her under a black tar morass.

“Aaaaaaaaa,” she screamed, clawing at the air. “Get away from me.”

When she opened her eyes, Laura was hugging her. Her pillow and sheets were in tatters around her. David stood in the open doorway.

“Where were you?” she asked Laura. “I needed you.”

“I’ve been trying to wake you up.”

“What time is it?”

“Quarter to nine.”

“Oh, great. I’m going to be late for work.” Laura helped her out of bed. Immediately Evelyn rushed into the shower. Minutes later, she had her blond hair wrapped into a tight bun and was wearing one of her numerous gray suits, when she ran through the kitchen.

“Breakfast?”

“No time.”

“These came for you.”

“What?” Evelyn turned to David who held the huge bouquet of red roses. “From who?”

“Max.”

“Max? Oh, they’re beautiful. I have to run. Laura, please, put them in water.”

Evelyn went out the door and down the steps. She flagged down the first cab she saw and climbed in. Traffic stopped her progress two blocks from the library.

“I’m getting out here.” She paid the driver and joined the multitude of people on the sidewalk trudging to work. Tripping, she reached out and caught herself before hitting the pavement. A dead black bird. It was huge. A crow? No, bigger than that. A raven.

Evelyn turned and headed for the library. She didn’t want to think about it, but her mind kept wandering back to when she and Laura were children in New Orleans. The mambo Brilla used to make spells. There was something bad about finding a dead black bird, but she couldn’t remember what it was. Maybe she would make time to look it up in the library. Maybe.

When Evelyn got to work, she put away her coat and purse, her fingers trembling the whole time. Yes, it meant something bad. She was sure of that.

“We missed you at this morning’s staff meeting.”

Evelyn jumped at the bird-like, high-pitched voice of her supervisor. “Sorry about that, Mrs. Jepsen.”

The thin, silver-haired woman smiled, but Evelyn knew from experience not to count on that smile. She went through the returned pile and loaded a cart with books about Norway.

“I wouldn’t shelve those. There’s a gentleman waiting to see you. He said you agreed to help him find the books he needs for his research.”

Evelyn looked around. “Who do you mean?”

“He needed specific information on Viking weapons.” Mrs. Jepsen frowned. “Oh, he must have already gone to that section.”

Evelyn wheeled the cart down the rows of shelves and turned the corner.

“Hello.”

She gazed into those glacier, blue-gray eyes and everything in her melted. Evelyn grinned. “Hello, Max.”

“Oh, I see you’ve found him.” Mrs. Jepsen nodded.

Weird
, Evelyn thought. She didn’t even feel the woman on her heels. It gave her the creeps. “Yes, thank you.”

The head librarian nodded again, then turned and went off toward the reference desk. Evelyn waited until she was some distance away before returning to Max in the stacks.

“What are you doing here? You of all people don’t need a book on Vikings.”

“I just thought I’d enjoy a little reminiscing.”

“About pillaging and plundering?”

“No, friends and family, remember. I especially miss my family. I had a wife and a little boy. When I left, he was just learning to talk.”

Tears welled in her eyes, and before she knew it, she was sobbing quietly against his chest. His arms were warm and strong, and for the first time in a long time, she relaxed in the arms of a man. After several minutes, she lifted her head. “Thank you for the roses, Max.”

“I’m happy they pleased you.”

Evelyn couldn’t help but smile. Sometimes his speech betrayed him with its old fashioned way of saying things. Most people would think he was a foreigner that had learned English.

“We don’t have to go to the opera, but we could go to dinner. Any restaurant you choose except Italian, of course.” He grinned, and his smile was so appealing, a laugh fell from her lips. Covering her mouth, she said, “I didn’t mean to laugh.”

“Yes, you did. I was trying to make you smile at least.” He shifted in his stance, as if she was making him nervous. “We could go to the movies or for coffee, or just hang out.”

There was something about him that took her breath away. “Yes, Max, I’d love to hang out with you. Nothing fancy, okay?”

“All right. You pick the restaurant. Then we could catch Bergman’s “Cries and Whispers” at the Regal. Or something else. Your choice.”

“I think “Cries and Whispers” is perfect. It’s tragic. We’ve both had tragic lives. It sort of fits.”

“I’ll pick you up around seven at David’s?”

“Yes.” She picked up the books and they headed to the checkout. “These books are excellent choices. If you need any additional assistance, just call.”

As they reached the desk, he waited while each book was scanned and handed to him. “Thank you, Mrs. Beaumont, for your help.”

Max turned and left. Evelyn watched until he pushed through the doors and was gone from her sight. Every second of seeing him gave her pleasure. Then a shadow crossed her peripheral vision. She jumped.

“Do you need something, Mrs. Beaumont?” Mrs. Jepsen asked.

Evelyn smiled. Oh, she definitely needed something.

She hadn’t planned on working late. Time had gotten away from her. It was already quarter of seven when she ran out the staff door.

“Mrs. Beaumont.” An expensively dressed, dark-haired woman stepped up to her. The woman was gorgeous, but strangely she wore sunglasses and the shadows of evening had already fallen.

“We can go inside, and …”

A knife flashed. Evelyn screamed and fell down an open grate.

Chapter 5

“Sleep in a dark place and lose your way …”
As Evelyn dreamt, the words swam over and over in her mind. Long claws stroked her face tormenting her.  To keep from crying aloud, she bit her lower lip until it bled. She refused to give the creature the satisfaction.

A mouth sucked over her face, taking her breath, spinning her into a queasy whirlpool of shattered memories. Evelyn, in one last gasp of air, screamed.

“Evie!”

She opened her eyes. “Laura.” Evelyn reached up and touched her sister’s face, uncertain if she was still dreaming.

Laura held her hand to her cheek. “I’m here. You screamed. I heard you scream. You fell into an open grate.”

“There was a woman. She wore sunglasses. She had a knife.”

Max came into view. “What did she look like?”

“I can’t remember.”

Laura stroked her hair. “Max, I’ve read her mind. There isn’t even an image there. It’s like someone erased it.”

“Do you mean a vampire attacked her?”

“It’s possible,” David said. “We’ll have to do some investigating.”

Evelyn sat up. “Oh, God, my head feels like hell. Laura, where am I?”

“You’re home in your bedroom.”

“Okay, Max. David. Please, take your loud investigating elsewhere and leave me in pain.”

“Very soon you won’t be in pain,” Max said.

Sitting straighter, then almost doubling up with nausea, Evelyn put out a hand to steady herself. “Did you bite me, Laura? Did he bite me?”

Laura hugged her. “No one bit you. I introduced some of my saliva into your wounds. You had several. Your outer injuries are nearly healed. Internal injuries take more time.”

“You licked me?”

“Well, yes.”

“Ick.” Evelyn sighed. “I mean, Okay. Thanks.”

“I’m sorry. I know you don’t like to be licked. It was that or take you to the hospital.”

Evelyn hugged her sister. “Thank you, really.” The idea of going to a hospital made her shudder. All she could think of was going down to the morgue in the hospital to identify her small son’s body.
Oh, God. J.J.
It was all she could think about. Tears streamed down her face. “I love you, Laura. Thank you.”

“I know, Evie. I love you too.”

“I need …” She convulsed. When her body stopped, Evelyn looked up at her sister.

Laura stroked her hair. “Max, what’s happening to her?”

“Her body’s reacting to your saliva. She needs to rest.” Max gazed down at her.

Evelyn wanted to say something but the words never came out. Instead everything went black again. But this time, it wasn’t scary. No voice of doom recited in her head. It was pleasantly quiet, like being blanketed in a warm cocoon, where she felt safe. Time ceased to be important. Evelyn breathed. She cried. She let all the pain wash out of her and fell asleep.

When next she opened her eyes, Evelyn found the source of the warm protection. Fully clothed, Max had lain beside her and hugged her. She rested her head on his chest, and no matter how much she didn’t want to admit it, she enjoyed feeling his arms around her. Evelyn had too many bad memories of Jack, and so far Max was nothing like him. Even though the drapes were drawn, the lack of light around the edges revealed it was still night. She didn’t want to think about the time. It made sense that she was exhausted. Yawning, she fell back asleep.

The dream that took her was different from the others 
A new chapter to a very old story. She stood atop a huge cliff gazing down into the depths of the fjord. Every crevice of blue and white delighted her, as if a sword had cut deep into the earth and found it could not bleed.

“My ancestors know each name.” Max was different; his Armani suit exchanged for the Norse warrior’s garb. His hair longer, the beard she enjoyed pulling when she teased him.

“They have names?”

“This one is the Cutter. He was cursed to stand eternally to protect others, because in life he failed to protect those he loved most.” Her Viking husband dragged her against him from behind. They fell backward into the soft grass of the high plateau facing up and gazed into the blue summer sky.

“Svenna, you are my heart and the breath of my life. Before I found you, I did not see the beauty in the world around me.”

She chuckled and leaned on her side facing him. “What will happen to you when I die? You will mourn me briefly and take another wife like other men do?”

He leaned on his side to face her. “No. You are my one true star. When you are gone, I will be plunged into eternal night, hopeless without love.”

She flung her arms around him and planted a hard kiss on his lips. Then she pushed him away laughing. “Oh, Reynard, you make me laugh with your pretty words.”

“You doubt me, woman!” He grabbed her and held her close. His lips brushed over hers, sending a thousand stars dancing through her veins, nipping her fingers and toes. The sheer excitement her body experienced every time he touched her made her think he might be the son of a god. She was certain he harbored some wonderful power.

He tugged on the new lacing on the collar of her blue gown.

“Someone will see us.”

“No, they will not. Such a high lonely place is only visited by the gods, and our passion will please them.” He bit on the lacing. “What is this bit of foolishness?”

“I thought it would make the dress pretty.”

He pulled it with his teeth until it was loose. Then he tugged the long tunic dress over her head. It floated down among the white and purple flowers in the grass. He slid his own coarse shirt and pants off, and they lay crumpled beside her dress.

The warm sweet air caressed her breasts. All at once, Svenna was excited and shocked, her nipples becoming tight peaks. She covered her breasts with her hands.