Lord of the Night Page 7

  When the silence had stretched on long enough, he nodded. “The pact is still in effect until I tell you otherwise. This is my only warning. Next time I find someone has fed off a human, I won’t be as lenient.”

  He walked back toward the doorway leading to the main living area and stopped just before he reached it. “Someone stake that human and dump the body in the ocean.”

  Ty followed him into the other room. “Do you think that was wise?” he asked quietly.

  Michael went to the far wall and stood staring at the painting that hung there. Erik had given it to him years ago and while Michael wasn’t a big fan of art, he used to like this particular piece. “You think I need to worry about Carrington?”

  “Yes, I do,” Ty answered. “I don’t think he’s someone you can beat into submission.”

  “What would you have done?”

  “Killed him. By leaving him alive, you’re giving him a chance to defy you again.”

  “That’s your problem, Ty. You’re always looking for the easy way out.” He heard Ty’s intake of breath and knew he’d insulted the boy. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m feeling a bit edgy.”

  There was a moment of silence as each retreated into his own thoughts. Then from across the room, Ty spoke. “What are you going to do about Erik?”

  “He’s got one more night to bring her to me.”

  “And when he doesn’t?”

  Michael stared at the painting of the big oak tree, its long branches almost blocking the sun as it set over the ocean off in the distance. He thought if he stared at it long and hard enough, he might be able to transport himself back to a happier place and time.

  But he knew that wasn’t possible. With a sigh, he turned and faced Ty. “Tomorrow, if Erik hasn’t brought her to me, then they both must die.”

  Kacie woke up and saw from her dark windows that she’d slept through the day and night had fallen. She wasn’t surprised. After everything that had happened the night before, she’d found it hard to relax enough to fall asleep right away. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw familiar nightmare images from the attack twenty years ago. She’d tried to recall the soothing tones of The Voice, but couldn’t. And she’d refused to use the iPod simply because she didn’t want anyone sneaking up on her again.

  Getting out of bed, she left her room and went downstairs to the kitchen. To her surprise, Erik was sitting at the kitchen table. He seemed very relaxed, sitting bare-chested, wearing a pair of faded jeans and no shoes, reading a paper.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, feeling grumpy.

  “What’s the matter with you? Didn’t you sleep well?” His voice held a touch of irritation.

  “As a matter of fact, I didn’t,” she admitted, looking around to see if by some stroke of luck he’d made a pot of tea. He hadn’t.

  “Welcome to my world,” he replied, a definite smugness in his voice.

  She ignored him while she searched the pantry for instant tea bags, slightly surprised when she actually found some. Next, she dug in the cupboard for a cup and filled it with water. Dropping in the bag, she placed the cup in the microwave and turned it on.

  “So, you didn’t answer my question,” she said, turning to lean back against the counter. “What are you doing here?”

  He waved a hand at two cans of soup and a box of crackers sitting on the counter. “You said last night that there wasn’t any food in the house. I found these downstairs in my apartment.”

  She stared at the food, confused by the gesture. How could she tell him that she’d had her heart set on a big roast beef sandwich at Myrtle’s or that two cans of soup might not fill her up? She didn’t want to be rude. After all, the situation the night before with the two primes would have been much worse if he hadn’t stepped in. “Thanks.”

  He shrugged. “No problem. I didn’t want you to go hungry.”

  She didn’t like the sound of that and stared at him suspiciously. “Because you think I wouldn’t want to go back into town and eat at Myrtle’s?”

  “No, because you’re not going into town tonight.”

  Arms folded, she faced him and cocked an eyebrow in mock surprise. She knew she should be used to Erik telling her what to do—he’d done it ever since he’d started teaching her fencing. “Is that right?”

  Erik purposely set his paper down on the table. “That’s right. Didn’t you listen to anything I told you last night? Michael’s going to have his followers out en masse looking for you.”

  “Good.” She casually flipped a strand of hair over her shoulder. “Let them come. It will save me from having to go look for them.”

  Erik pushed away from the table and came to stand in front of her. His eyes shimmered with an angry glow though his voice was even. “Don’t leave the castle tonight, do you understand?”

  She felt an uncomfortable warmth spread over her at his nearness and though she tried to keep her eyes fixed on his, she couldn’t seem to stop them from taking in the broad expanse of shoulders and muscled chest before her. The hair on his chest looked especially dark against the paleness of his skin.

  Never in her wildest imagination had she thought Erik would look this good, and a different kind of hunger started burning inside her. Unable to resist, her gaze slipped to below his navel where the dark hairs trailed downward, disappearing beneath the waistband of his jeans.

  His hand strayed to his waistband and he undid the first button. Mesmerized, she watched his fingers move to the second button. When he undid it, the fabric parted and she saw he wasn’t wearing boxers or briefs. The dark trail of hair continued downward and if he undid one more button, he was going to be taking their relationship to a whole new level.

  She waited with bated breath to see what he would do and when his fingers moved to undo the third button, she panicked.

  “What are you doing?” She asked breathlessly, her eyes shooting to his face.

  “Giving you a better look, since you can’t do me the courtesy of looking me in the face.”

  She was mortified. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare.” What was she thinking? She was looking at him like he was Matthew McConaughey. Not a bloodsucking killer. “Wh-what were you saying?”

  “I don’t want you leaving the castle tonight. It’s too dangerous.”

  “What about you?” she said, pleased that her voice sounded normal again. “After last night, you’re probably on their hit list as well.”

  “I can take care of myself,” he said, buttoning his pants.

  “So can I,” she shot back.

  “Michael’s not the only threat out there, Kacie. Things aren’t like they were when you were growing up. They’ve gotten worse.”

  That took her by surprise. “How much worse?”

  At first, she wasn’t sure he’d answer her, but she had to give him credit. He never looked away. “Last month, I killed twenty vampires.”

  Kacie was glad she was leaning against the counter because she suddenly felt weak. “Twenty?” The number was nearly incomprehensible. There’d never been more than two or three a week. “That’s unreal. Were all the victims from Hocksley?” The town wasn’t large enough that so many could disappear without alarming the authorities.

  “No. Most were from outside the area.”

  There were enough little towns and villages around that it was possible, but why bring them back here? Unless . . . the lair was here. “It sounds like Michael’s already broken the pact,” she said.

  This time, he did look away. “Maybe. Or maybe one of the other lairs is getting larger and has expanded their hunting ground. In any case, I’m looking into it.” He held up his hand to stop her when she opened her mouth to speak. “The point is, it’s not safe for you to be out roaming about town by yourself.”

  An idea had come to her while he’d been talking. “If they broke the pact first, then the situation here has changed. Not only are we both targets, but now the townspeople are in danger.” She paused to let her point sink
in. “Erik, we have to stop them before it’s too late.” His gaze left her face once more to stare off into the distance, but she knew he was still listening, so she hurried on. “Tell me where the lair is and tomorrow, after the sun comes up, I’ll end this.”

  She waited as he seemed to consider her suggestion. When he turned back to look at her, his expression was hard.

  “You know, I believe you’d do it. Go in and kill them, without conscience or regret. Some of them deserve it, I admit—but do you know which ones? Do you know which vampire is the escaped convict and which is the man who died because he was working three jobs to feed his family and had the bad luck to fall asleep in the wrong place at the wrong time? Do you know which one used to beat his wife every night because he enjoyed inflicting pain and which one is the returned World War II hero who, in trying to build a new life for his wife and unborn child, had the misfortune of being out after dark on the wrong night? I could go on but I think you understand my point. So no, I won’t tell you where the lair is.”

  He shook his head and glared at her, making her feel small and insignificant. “Do me a favor,” he continued. “Give me your word that you’ll stay in tonight so I won’t have to lock you away somewhere.”

  His words shocked her. “I’ll stay inside,” she agreed because she had a feeling he was serious. She refused to look away when he held her gaze.

  Finally, he nodded and walked off, presumably heading back down to his apartment, though she didn’t follow him.

  Instead, she fumed. Where did his loyalties really lie? It was vampire nature to want to feed off humans and yet, for as long as she’d known him, he’d never fed off one—and he’d killed probably a hundred or more of his own kind. Yet he claimed these few vampires were his closest friends and for years now, had had some type of pact with them. She wondered if Gerard was aware of such a pact and guessed he wasn’t, or he would have told her and Jess about it. So, how far could she trust Erik? Would there come a time—in the very near future—when she would have to kill him?

  The thought left her depressed.

  Taking her cup from the microwave, she discarded the bag and took a sip. The hot liquid slid down her throat and warmed her from the inside out. Carrying her cup with her, she left Erik’s apartment and went through the main part of the castle to the family room where she sat in the old recliner to think about the conversation she’d just had with him. Several parts of it bothered her, not the least of which was the number of vampires Erik had recently killed.

  There were only two ways to produce vampires—either by vampires killing people or chupacabras killing people. That meant that someone wasn’t sticking to the no-feed pact or there was a chupacabra colony nearby. For years it had been assumed the colony had died out.

  Erik hadn’t told her whether the vampires he’d killed had been progeny or primes, so she didn’t know which scenario she was dealing with.

  She sighed. This trip was supposed to have been relatively simple. Come home, maybe try to patch things up with Gerard, pack the last of her belongings, and say good-bye. Now it looked like she’d have to save the patching-things-up part until some other time. Finishing the last of her tea, she carried her empty cup into the kitchen to rinse it.

  The house seemed empty without Jess and Gerard around and she found herself strolling into Gerard’s study, off the main room.

  Immediately, she was surrounded by the stale smoky aroma of Gerard’s favorite cigars. It had bothered her as a child, but now the familiar scent was comforting. She walked around the room, gazing at the swords hanging on the walls in between the filled floor-to-ceiling bookcases. Everything here was just as she remembered it.

  Going over to Gerard’s desk, she sat down in the chair. It creaked under her weight, just as it always had when Gerard sat in it. Closing her eyes, she imagined him sitting there. He’d look up and smile when she entered the room. Then he’d put whatever he was working on to the side so he could give her his full attention.

  She missed those days.

  Opening her eyes, she let her gaze scan the surface of the ancient desk. So much history behind this desk. She wondered if it had been in the family as far back as Erik’s time. Had he or any of his three brothers sat at it, writing letters or balancing ledgers?

  She trailed a finger along the wood, feeling the texture of the grain. In doing so, she noticed a stack of letters, rubber-banded together and sitting off to the side. Curious, she picked them up and looked at the return name and address. They were correspondences from Gerard’s cousin Charles, over in the States.

  Charles Winslow was an Admiral in the Navy, retired now that he was working and living with the two Night Slayers.

  Curious, she flipped through the letters and saw they were in order, going back almost three years.

  She opened the first couple and read them. They predated the finding of the chupacabras and weren’t all that interesting. The fourth one she opened was dated about two years ago. She scanned it quickly.

  . . . found two unidentifiable creatures in the Amazon. One is adult and the other is much younger. I can’t go myself, but I’ve talked my friend Clinton Weber into going. You remember him. He will be cautious and let me know if they are, in fact, chupacabras . . .

  She folded the letter, replaced it and pulled another out, dated several months later, after one of the vampires created by the adult chupacabra had tried to assassinate the President. Kacie had heard bits and pieces of the story.

  . . . it was most peculiar. Mac swears that when he got back to the hotel room, Lanie was dead. Thank God he didn’t stake her there and then. I’m not sure exactly how it happened, but the baby chupacabra, which had been in their room, broke free and bit Lanie, injecting her with its venom. Instead of turning her into a vampire or a changeling, it miraculously restored her to life. She made a full recovery. Whether Lanie was really dead or not, we can’t be certain, but there is something about the young chupacabra’s venom that is different from the adult’s. I wish Clinton were here to study it but he has disappeared. I guess he thought that being a vampire, it was too great a threat to his daughter and others . . .

  She read the rest quickly, then put it away. The next letter spoke of the new assistant Charles had hired. Judging from his tone, he was fond of this woman. Kacie continued to read, ignoring the guilt brought on by invading Gerard’s privacy. Despite the façade of indifference she wore, she’d missed her family and eagerly devoured all the news of the things that had taken place while she was away at university.

  Two hours later, Kacie had read all but the last letter and was finally growing bored. She studied the postmark of the last one and saw that it had been received just last week. It was from Jessica, and Kacie opened it wondering if there was anything in it she didn’t already know from talking to her sister a couple of weeks ago.

  She scanned the lines quickly.

  . . . an entire chupacabra colony living in the cemetery behind the old Winslow Manor . . . helped deliver a baby chupacabra . . . so exciting . . . tracked the serial killer vampire to his lair in the cemetery . . . he got away . . . John and his vampire friend Harris set a trap . . . destroyed him . . .

  Jess had already shared with Kacie most of the story of her adventures with the serial killer turned vampire, so there was nothing new. She folded the letter and was just putting it away when a flicker of light outside the window caught her attention. She quickly turned off the desk lamp and hurried over to the window to look out. The full moon was out and its light glinted off Erik’s white shirt as he walked across the lawn toward the wooded path that led to Hocksley.

  Where was he going, she wondered? He shouldn’t be outside any more than she should. About to shrug it off, another thought occurred to her. Maybe he was going to the lair to meet his friends. But Hocksley lay at the other end of the path and it was doubtful the lair was in town. That meant the lair had to be someplace near the town so that it was faster to take the path to get to it than to go th
e opposite way along the road through the countryside.

  The path to town ran closer to the cliff’s edge and so, in a way, that made more sense. There were caves all through the area, she had no doubt. And there was the cemetery.

  Her thoughts ground to a halt. That was it. The lair had to be in the cemetery. Hadn’t Jess told her that when they finally found the killer, he’d made his lair in the cemetery? It was perfect.

  Kacie decided that’s where she needed to focus her attention—but not tonight. She’d go tomorrow, when it was daylight.

  Feeling better now that she had a plan of action, Kacie turned to the books in Gerard’s study. He wasn’t one for popular fiction, so her choices for reading material were limited to wartime history or local history. She chose the latter and settled in for a long evening of reading and soup.

  The evening passed quietly and Kacie didn’t see Erik again before sunrise. Her alarm went off too early in the morning and after a few false starts, she finally dragged herself from bed only to discover it pouring down rain outside. She was anxious to search the cemetery for the vampires’ lair, but resigned herself to waiting and fell back asleep.

  When she woke up later, the rain had stopped. A glance at the clock showed that it was almost noon. That was later than she’d wanted to begin her search, but there were still a good six hours before dark. It was enough to get started, she decided.

  Getting dressed, she went downstairs to the mud room where the family kept a bin of wooden stakes. She was torn between taking enough to stake every vampire she might find versus having her movements hampered by the weight of hauling around too many. She ended up filling a small backpack with twenty stakes. If there were more vampires than that, she would have to improvise.

  There wasn’t time to go into town to eat so she broke her fast with crackers and water. Packing a bottle of water, she made sure she had enough money on her to buy a decent meal in town after she finished. With luck, she’d have much to celebrate.