Page 5 of Twilight Longings

“Right.” With a grimace, he rolled up his shirt-sleeve and bit into his right wrist.

Izabela conjured a small glass container and held it under his arm. Her eyes sparkled as dark-red blood filled the container. When the vial was full, she capped it with a cork.

Kincaid grunted as he licked the wound in his wrist, sealing it.

“I will contact you if I discover anything,” she said. “Good evening.”

With a curt nod, Kincaid left the house, wondering, as always, what she did with his blood.

Chapter Four

The battered spirit of Luca Sasan floated down a long dirt road. There were days when he couldn’t remember who he was, or where he was. And days when he burned with hatred for the vampires who had destroyed his body and trapped his soul in a small, black box. His memories were fragmented—a tight place, darkness, distant voices, a sudden sense of freedom, of being no more than a drifting shadow …

He had instinctively sought shelter inside the nearest living being—a young man who was easily manipulated and who, by a stroke of luck, was a chemist. In a brief moment of clarity, Luca had gathered his power and concocted a powerful spell meant to strike down the two vampires who had stolen his life and trapped his spirit inside an enchanted black box.

Unleashing the spell had killed the young man, leaving Luca with no physical host and no way to know if his spell had been successful before the young man died. Had the enchantment destroyed the two vampires it was intended for? Dissolved into the ether? Unraveled with the man’s death? Struck some nearby, unwary bloodsucker? Likely, he would never know the outcome.

With his spirit growing weaker, Luca had wandered aimlessly, losing more of himself, of his memories, with each passing hour until, at the last possible moment, he hadjumped into the first living host he saw—a small female with long, red pigtails who was playing in a plastic pool in her front yard. He had intended to transfer into the woman sitting on the porch, but she’d been too far away and he had been afraid to wait a second longer, fearful that his essence would disappear for good.

He had spent most of the last month resting inside the child’s tiny body, trying desperately to piece together his past, to hang onto each fragment he remembered. His dreams were filled with disjointed images—a dungeon, a guillotine, unbearable heat, being confined in a small, dark space. A woman. Katya.

In his sleep, he reached for her, and even though she eluded his grasp, he heard her voice in his mind, endlessly repeating the same four words—Avenge me, my love.

Chapter Five

Kadie Saintcrow searched the darkness for Rylan. She knew he was there, knew he would never leave her alone in hell, but try as she might, she couldn’t find the blood link that bound them together. That fact frightened her more than anything else.

Her mind wandered to the past, when she had still been his prisoner, when she had refused to admit that she wanted him. She relived the night when she had called him a vampire, as if that would make her want him less. She heard his reply in her mind, sweeter than honey warmed by the sun.But first a man, he’d said.A man who wants you. Who burns for your touch. Who hungers for your sweetness.

Rylan. The most handsome of men. Piercing dark eyes. Broad shoulders. A massive chest. Long, long legs. Large hands … She longed to feel those hands moving in her hair again, stroking her skin, to feel the hard length of his body pressed against her own, his tongue ravaging her mouth. She cried his name, but silence was her only answer.

She tried to reach out for him, to open her eyes, but to no avail. She was trapped in a web of utter darkness, utter silence, with no sense of herself, of where she was, or how long she had been there. A day? A year? Terror was her only companion, that and a horrible, burning hunger. She screamed his name, but no sound emerged from her throat.

Where was he?

Where was she?

So many questions with no answers.

Time had no meaning in this netherworld. She had no sense of time or place, of day or night. No sense of herself, only a constant, burning pain that she feared would consume her body and soul until there was nothing left.

A horrible thought flickered through her mind. Maybe Rylan didn’t know where she was. Maybe he wasn’t even looking for her. Maybe she would spend the rest of eternity locked in this impenetrable hell, with no way out.

Her mind screamed in useless denial before she fell into oblivion and even the endless darkness was gone.

It was the most frightening sensation of all.

Chapter Six

Saintcrow sat at the bar in the tavern located in the Morgan Creek Hotel. Years ago, he had given Ethan the green light to renovate the town. Between them, they had turned an old ghost town into a popular resort with a luxurious hotel and campground, not to mention a movie theater and a library, a market, shops, and a swimming pool.

After the curse hit, Saintcrow had announced an outbreak of influenza, given everyone vacationing in the town a full refund and sent them away. When the last guest had departed, he locked up the town, warded the bridge and the mountains that surrounded Morgan Creek against any and all intruders, man or vampire, save for Kincaid. After the last four months, Morgan Creek was again, for all intents and purposes, a ghost town.

He glanced up as Kincaid materialized on the barstool beside him.

“I didn’t expect to see you tonight,” Saintcrow remarked. “What’s up?”

“Nothing. I just thought you might like some company. How are you doing?”

---