Page 31 of Twilight Longings

“So, what do you think she has to retrieve?”

“I haven’t the slightest idea.”

“Are you really going to take her to bed?”

“I gave her my word.”

“Damn. I hope you know what you’re doing. I’m not sure Kadie will ever forgive you if she finds out.”

“Me, either, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.” He’d rather have Kadie well and hating him than not have her at all. Saintcrow glanced around the crowded room. “Do you feel that?”

“Feel what?” Kincaid looked at the crush of people. It was Saturday night and Abner’s Ale House was doing a brisk business. There wasn’t an empty seat in the place. “I don’t …Shit. He’s here, isn’t he?”

“Behind the bar,” Saintcrow said, his voice low.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Kincaid swore under his breath. “Ideas?”

“Just one. We’ll mesmerize the whole damn room. You take the right side, I’ll take the left. If we’re lucky, our combined power will affect Luca, too.”

“And if not?”

“We’ll play it by ear.” Saintcrow summoned his power, felt Jake do the same. In moments, everyone in the room had stopped talking, moving.

Everyone but Luca, who cackled. “You fools. Did you think you could take me so easily?”

“Keep your guard up, Jake,” Saintcrow warned as he felt Luca’s foul presence trying to infiltrate his thoughts.

Kincaid let out a harsh gasp as Luca unleashed a wave of power that sent him to his knees.

In a flash, Saintcrow picked Kincaid up, laid him over his shoulder, and willed the two of them to Blair House where he dumped Kincaid on the living room sofa. “You okay?”

“No, dammit! I’d forgotten how powerful that SOB is.” Jake blew out a long, shuddering exhalation, then sat up.

“Oh, hell,” Saintcrow muttered. “We’ve got to go back and release all those people.”

“You go. I don’t think I can stand up.”

Saintcrow didn’t argue. He smelled the blood before he reached the saloon. Luca was gone but he’d left a nightmare scene of carnage in his wake. He had also left a note on the bar top. The words, written in blood, were short and succinct. You’ll never find me now. But I’ll find you.

Overcome by a sense of despair, Saintcrow slumped on the nearest barstool. Luca had eluded them yet again. He had little hope that Romar would find the Methuselah Stone. And he had a horrible feeling that Kadie’s time was running out.

His gaze swept the club. What had Luca hoped to accomplish by killing all these people?Dammit. Sasan might have killed them but their blood was on his hands, justas Kincaid’s blood might have been if he’d tried to subdue Luca. Tomorrow morning, the papers would be filled with lurid stories and photos of what had happened here tonight. Of course, the media would jump to the obvious conclusion. Vampires. For once, he didn’t give a damn if the whole world knew vampires existed. What difference did it make when Kadie might be lost to him forever?

Suddenly overcome by a sense of hopelessness and a rare sense of sorrow at so many needless deaths, Saintcrow left the building.

Luca laughed as he dropped the invisibility spell that had shielded his presence. So, Saintcrow and Kincaid were after the Methuselah Stone. He hadn’t thought about the artifact in a century or more, not since it had been taken away from him. Of course, Saintcrow and Kincaid wanted the Stone. If used properly, it could vanquish the curse which he had intended for the two of them and had affected all the young vampires in Wyoming instead. If he could remember the spell he’d used, he could remove the spell himself, but bits and pieces of his magical knowledge had been lost during his entrapment in that damn soul-catcher.

Of course, there was always a chance his lost memories might return, in time. There were still days now and then when he wasn’t sure who he was, days when all he could remember was being locked in darkness, wracked with pain. Other days when all he could think about was seeking revenge on those who had caused him such anguish. And always, no matter his state of mind, he retained the memory of losing Katya, the only woman he had ever loved. The vampire, Kincaid, still had to pay for that.

He had hoped to exact his vengeance tonight, but the other vampire, Saintcrow, proved to be even stronger than he remembered. He had time, Luca thought, time to prepare, time to hunt them down. He smiled into the darkness. His revenge would be all the sweeter for the wait.

With a wave of her hand, Eleni unlocked the huge floor safe located in the depths of her lair. It held remnants and souvenirs from the hundreds of years of her existence—gold bars minted centuries ago, rare jewels, a gold crucifix that had belonged to a priest, a tiara that had once graced the head of an English queen, an ebony box that held an assortment of ancient currency, figurines made of ivory and jade, a few art masterpieces thought lost. A sword that had belonged to a knight. To Saintcrow, perhaps?

After opening the heavy iron door, she reached inside and withdrew a small metal box. Lifting the lid, she gazed at the contents. The Methuselah Stone, sometimes known as the Methuselah Medallion, was not a stone at all, but a solid gold medallion suspended from a thick, gold chain. Nestled in the middle of the medallion was a small glass ampoule that sparkled like a diamond but was not. A sickly-green liquid was housed within the vial.

She had taken the medallion from its previous owner over a century ago. Luca Sasan had been younger then and nowhere near as powerful as he was now. She felt the medallion’s power fill the room as she lifted it from the box, but she lacked the knowledge to control it. Only a black witch or a wizard could unlock the medallion’s secrets.

Lucky for Saintcrow that he knew a witch, Eleni mused with a smile, should she decide to keep her word.

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