When Twilight Burns (3 page)

“Something that I'm certain you'll be fascinated to see,” he said from behind her, suddenly very close. “Perhaps you'll even wish to reward me for showing you.” His breath was warm on the side of her neck, which was exposed by the long, single braid she wore tucked into her coat.

“Unless it's Lilith's dust, I highly doubt that,” she replied. Her heart beat a bit off as he moved behind her. “But you can certainly continue to hope.”

Since they'd left Rome, Sebastian had made it abundantly clear he'd be delighted to return to her bed—not that he'd really ever been there, for they'd only been intimate twice, and neither occasion had been in anyone's bedchamber.

And she wasn't quite ready to let him, for a variety of reasons—not least of which was that she still wasn't quite comfortable with the idea of trusting him.

At the top of the ledge, which was perhaps six feet above the tumbling waterfall, Victoria reached the opening. The entrance, camouflaged by the shiny darkness of the damp walls, and difficult to breach due to its position over the falls, was also at an angle. No one would notice it in this unpleasant, inky environment unless they were looking for it, or unless it was a vampire who could see in the dark.

Victoria wasn't certain what she was expecting when she stepped through the crevice, but it wasn't the narrow space she beheld. After her initial survey to ensure no one was waiting for them in the darkness—no chill at the back of her neck heralding the undead, nor the faint, putrid death-smell of a demon, nor even the presence of another human—she stepped in and looked around.

With its stone walls and single flickering torch, the chamber reminded her immediately of the Consilium, the subterranean warren of chambers and corridors in Rome that served as the center of knowledge, history, and communication for the Venators. Created among the catacombs of the old city, where the first Venator had been called to serve in the fight against the undead, its location had been kept secret for centuries. This place, though much darker and colder, was similar in that it was obviously man-made, and not a natural cavern. And somehow, even the stench of the sewage below was filtered out. Or perhaps Victoria was simply becoming used to the smell.

Sebastian stepped in behind her, and then brushed past as he started further into the darkness where Victoria could see an archway of stone and the outline of a massive wooden door. “As you can see, this was built long ago, around the time my gran—Beauregard was turned undead. It was originally beneath a Carmelite abbey, if you can believe the irony—although monks never actually lived down here. That's a story in itself.”

“Which I'm certain your grandfather told you as he dandled you in your leading strings on his knee. What a terrible choice for bedtime storytelling.”

“Bedtime story? Now that you mention it, I have a few I'd like to share with you.”

Victoria heard his soft chuckle as she followed him across the small antechamber, her lips twitching in spite of herself. At the looming door, he paused. Although his body blocked her view, she heard the faint clunks of something tumbling into place. “You know the way to unlock the door to a vampire lair. It is a vampire lair, I presume. Why should that not surprise me.”

“Well, dash it all. My plan to fascinate and mystify you into a more accommodating mood is obviously not working. And yes, it is a vampire lair. One of the oldest in England.” He turned to look at her, their faces close in the small yellow light. His eyes glowed like a hungry cat's. “No vampires around?”

“None that I can feel,” she replied.

“Good.” Before she could wonder why he had to ask, he grasped her by the shoulders, pushing her back against the rough wall. He followed the momentum of her movement, lining his warm body against hers as he lowered his face.

She met his mouth, her body pressed between Sebastian and the wall as their kiss eased into a long, loose tangle of lips and tongue. Heat seeped through her clothing, into breasts and belly and thighs as he pressed against her, just as the cold ooze from behind chilled her. She closed her eyes, let her knees give a little. It was good…good to be held, good to feel the spiral of desire curling through her, good to know that she was still alive. Still human and able to feel her own heartbeat lift and pound.

But the kiss dug up memories, frightening and dark images that threatened to overwhelm the pleasure of the moment…of needle-sharp fangs piercing her skin, the chill and warmth of the undead's lips as they mauled at her flesh, seducing and culling her consciousness…luring her into a funnel of malevolence and darkness…

She nudged the unpleasant images away and delved more fiercely into the taste of Sebastian, reveling in his smoky, clove smell and the heat—heat, uninterrupted by chill or pain.

He pulled away, tugging her lower lip gently between his teeth in a little nick of surprise, then surging back to fully cover her mouth again, leaving her breathless. And then he eased back, releasing her from the kiss. She felt the curve of his lips as he smiled faintly against her, and the soft whisk of his clove-scented breath.

“Ah, then,” he murmured, loosening his hold on her shoulders. “You haven't forgotten.”

“No, of course not.” Her voice was too husky, and, by God, her knees felt much too unsteady. She straightened them and stepped away from the supporting wall.

“I'd begun to wonder.” He moved back, looked down at her. She hadn't even noticed when he slid the torch into a holder near the door, and now its light embraced them and their uneven breaths. His smile was crooked and his eyes burned amber, leaving no mistake about what he wanted.

“What's behind the door?” she asked briskly, to break the mood. “What are you looking for? Although it wouldn't surprise me to learn I was wrong, I'm fairly certain you didn't bring me here merely for seduction purposes.”

“Of course not, but I couldn't resist the opportunity. You've kept me at such arm's length these last two months, since…since you woke up.” His voice faltered in a rather un-Sebastian-like manner. She felt him draw in a breath and then he cautiously pushed the door inward. “And you're right, of course—I am looking for something,” he said over his shoulder.

“And you needed me to help you.” She followed him, shifting out of his way when he reached to close the door behind them.

“Well, it might get a bit messy, and you know how I deplore drawing blood or exploding ash.”

Her lips quirked in a smile as she looked around the room. There were no torches in here but she was able to discern more than shadows and shapes in the darkness before a tiny light flared to life in Sebastian's hands.

“Using the little light sticks Miro created, I see,” she commented. “Do you carry them in your boot heel as Max did?”

“If I had,” he replied, lighting a sconce near the door, “they'd be wet and sloppy after slogging through that mess. I did have the foresight to keep them in a dry place, my dear Victoria. Much as it might surprise you that I think ahead—”

“Oh, there's no doubt that you think ahead, Sebastian—usually about where to disappear to when things get dangerous.” And that was why, even though she knew he was a Venator, Victoria couldn't quite trust him. He'd been too unreliable in the past.

As Victoria scanned the dark chamber, she saw the influence of the monks in the simplicity of what must have been some sort of main hall. The floor was uneven beneath her feet, and she could see some old furnishings—broken chairs, an upended table—near one end, as though they'd been tossed there during a bout of cleaning. Other than that, the room was empty but for a few tattered tapestries hanging from the wall, and a dozen scattered stones. The walls were the same charcoal and black shade as the sewer tunnel, slate discolored by years of dirt and smoke. There were, of course, no windows, and only a small fireplace that must have some sort of chimney.

There was only a single door, this one also made of stout wood, beyond the one through which they'd come.

She followed him as he made his way across the abandoned room toward the door. And just then, the ruffle of a chill slipped over the back of her neck. Victoria readied her stake. Perhaps the place wasn't as abandoned as it appeared.

Sebastian didn't have to unlock this door and, when it cracked open, Victoria wasn't surprised to see a warm glow of light bleeding through. The chill on her neck had intensified slightly, yet she didn't think the undead—perhaps one or two of them—were in close proximity.

“Are you going to tell me what you're looking for before the vampires appear?” she asked.

“Perhaps. It may take a few moments. I'm not sure exactly…” Sebastian said this as he prodded the door open further, and Victoria saw a much more inviting setting than the chamber behind them. Though it might not be as comfortable as a parlor in St. James, with its upright chairs, tables covered with a variety of objects, and several torches, this smaller space was obviously occupied. Or had been recently, if the bundles of clothing and blankets littering the room were any indication.

Victoria followed Sebastian in, closing the door behind her to act as a warning for new arrivals—undead or mortal—as much as to keep the warmth and light contained within. Now that she had stepped inside, the first thing that struck her about the chamber was the smell permeating the air.

Blood.

Sharp, thick. Like iron.

Something hitched at the back of her throat, and her stomach lurched as she remembered being inundated with it—the taste, the odor, the heaviness on her tongue, the thick slide down her throat. Victoria gagged; yet even as she did so, her nostrils flared as though to drag in the smell, and saliva pooled in her mouth.

Her vision blurred, and a rosy haze filtered over the room as she forced herself to draw in a deep, blood-scented breath. Closing her eyes, she exhaled long and slow, pushing the smell away, then pulled in another breath, deep and easy. By this time, the sharp smell had softened and the nausea ebbed.

She opened her eyes. The red tinge was gone, and she stood steadier. The brush of chill at the back of her neck hadn't changed, indicating the vampires weren't yet in near vicinity. Looking over at Sebastian, she was gratified that he was too busy to have noticed her lapse. Or whatever it had been.

What
had
it been?

Tightening fingers that felt weak, she gripped her stake as if it were a talisman and walked toward Sebastian as he knelt at the base of a large stone chair in the center of one wall. With its dusty, torn cushions and white marble arms, it put her in mind of a masonry throne. Its white and red marble gleamed coolly in the light.

When she got close enough, she planted herself next to Sebastian, shiny muck still clinging to her boots. She looked down at the back of his thick, curling hair, watching the flex of shoulders beneath his coat as he worked. It wasn't until she stepped aside that she saw he was unbolting the chair's two front feet from the floor.

They weren't really bolts, she realized when he handed them up to her, but more like thick stone plugs that had been fitted through the clawlike curls of the marble feet and down into the stone-and-dirt floor. Cleverly designed caps on the bolts, when sunk into place, camouflaged them as part of the chair's design.

“The chair must hide something Beauregard told you about,” Victoria said, rolling the finger-width cylinders in her palm. As they bumped together with a dull clunk, she realized the heavy bloodscent was threatening her again. She shook her head sharply, and concentrated on breathing steadily as the feeling passed.

“As usual,” he muttered as he pulled gracefully to his feet, “you surprise me with your insight. If I thought we had the time, I'd kiss you senseless right here. Or perhaps”—he grinned lasciviously, glancing at the behemoth chair— “we could find other uses for this.”

Victoria stepped back as though to put herself out of his reach, then felt ridiculous for doing so. He noticed, and although his smile remained fixed, the jest faded from his eyes. “Well then, since that's not your preference, let us see what lies behind this bloody thing.”

Despite the great weight of the stone chair, it was easy for Sebastian, who of course wore the
vis bulla,
to move on his own. With a dull, gritty scrape, he shoved it aside so he could approach the wall against which it had stood. Victoria heard his small sound of satisfaction just as the chill on the back of her neck exploded into a blast of cold.

“They're coming,” she said, spinning to face the door from which they'd entered. “Two or three, I think. I'll take care—”

But her words strangled in her throat as Sebastian leaped into place beside her, stake in hand.

An odd thing. So odd, after their debates time and again about the finality of sending a vampire to his death—to eternal damnation—and how Sebastian refused to be the one to pass such judgment on the creatures. So odd to see him holding a stake, ready to use it, instead of running the other way.

It was almost like being with Max.

The chill intensified and was now accompanied by deep, guttural voices just beyond the door. Sebastian whispered, “Get them before they see the chair has been moved.”

Victoria was only too happy to oblige. She was waiting when the first undead stepped through the door, and the element of surprise along with the fact that he was turning to speak to someone behind him made it easy to turn him into a pile of ash.

His companions, a woman with long blonde hair and a man sporting a shiny head and a red beard, weren't quite as easily dispatched. However, the element of surprise and Victoria's quick decision to push between the two undead, back into the previous, darker chamber, at least brought the battle out of sight of the dismantled throne.

When she turned back to face the vampires, who had whirled after her, Victoria saw Sebastian emerge from the entrance behind them. The creatures rushed at her, fangs bared and eyes gleaming red, fairly glowing in this dark room.