B006P1R39O EBOK (7 page)

Kathrina glanced at Luciano and was shocked that the rage that she’d been expecting to see, wasn’t there. Instead she saw sadness and despair. As much as she wanted to look away and continue to view him as a monster, she couldn’t.

Kathrina took his hand in hers. Startled, he looked down at her, but said nothing.

Encouraged by the fact that he hadn’t pulled away, she squeezed his hand. “There has to be a way to make everyone happy.”

It was then that Luciano appeared to come to some kind of decision. “I can’t let you go after Omar.”

“I have to.”

Luciano retrieved the paper bag with his free hand and then led her out of the gazebo. “After you make your first kill … I will let you.”

“I can’t,” she told him.

“You must or you will die.”

The two of them walked through the French Quarter. Luciano had said nothing since they’d left Donavan’s house. Kathrina felt that if she spoke, she would break the spell that kept him from pushing her away. He still held her hand in his.

When they reached Jackson Square, he led her to a bench that was hidden within the shadows. Only then did he let go of her hand.

“Let’s sit for a while.”

The square was so deserted that it almost made her feel like the two of them were the only people left on earth. Kathrina sat on the bench beside Luciano. She thought that he might be ready to talk, but she didn’t want to push him. Instead, she waited patiently for him to tell her what was on his mind.

After several minutes he still had said nothing so she finally asked, “What will happen to you if you can’t cure your vampirism?”

Luciano smiled. “It isn’t vampirism that is the disease. That is simply part of our nature. We have always needed blood to survive. The disease is what keeps me from going into the light … it is actually a side effect of the virus. So is immortality. The immortals live for a very long time, but not forever.” Closing his eyes, he appeared to drift off to sleep.”

“And you don’t want to live forever?” she asked.

“Forever is too long, especially when you are the object of such fear and hatred … and when you must go through eternity alone, ” he finished, a frown marring his perfect face.

Kathrina rested her hand on his. “I’m sorry.”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with you,” he told her.

“What happened … how did you get this disease?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Kathrina moved closer to him and brushed his lips with hers, kissing him softly.

Luciano reached up to caress her cheek. “Most people would be terrified to be this close to me … even vampires.” His dark eyes peered into hers, searching for the motive that had stirred her tenderness.

“Do you think that killing me will rid your cousin and friend of the curse?” he asked.

“Will it?”

“You read the journal. What did you discover?”

“It was stolen from me before I could get it translated,” she admitted.

“By whom?”

Kathrina found his sudden change in mood unsettling. “ One of Omar’s followers.”

Luciano laughed. “What a fool! He thinks that he will find a way to hasten their return.”

“Are they really coming?” Kathrina asked.

“One day they may come,” he told her.

“And then?”

“I don’t know,” he answered softly.

Kathrina leaned closer and rested her head against his chest. She was a little surprised when she felt him wrap his arm around her and hold her closer.

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

“Sometimes,” she answered truthfully.

“Trust me when I say that you must kill before you will survive a confrontation with Omar. You will have to lose your innocence.”

Though she didn’t like what he was saying, she found the sincerity in his words touching. She sensed warmth in his heart that he desperately tried to hide from everyone, maybe even himself.

His nearness, and the realization that he was not as cold as he pretended, ignited a need in her that she longed to embrace.

Kathrina looked up at him, her eyes misty with passion. “Then take my innocence.”

“I don’t mean …”

She cut off his words with her lips, kissing him with all of the fire that was surging through her body.

Luciano returned her kiss. His tongue danced with hers as he brought his hand up to run his fingers through her hair. Wrapping strands of her hair around his hand, he forced her to lie back on the bench. His lips moved from her mouth to her jaw, and then lower. As his lips caressed her skin, he left a trail of fire. The sensation of his fangs playfully biting at her flesh enflamed her desire and she instinctively arched her hips into him.

His hand slid beneath her blouse, seeking her breasts. Kathrina moaned loudly when she felt him squeeze her nipples between his thumb and finger.

He wanted her. This she knew for certain when she felt his stiff flesh pressing hard against her leg.

Luciano freed her breast from the barrier of fabric and flicked his tongue over her nipple.

“Losing my innocence isn’t so painful after all,” Kathrina gasped.

She knew the spell had been broken when she felt him pause. He didn’t pull away, but instead he rested his head against her bare breast. “I can give you almost anything you ask for, but not that.”

“Why?” she asked, her body trembling with pent up need.

He didn’t answer her, and Kathrina was hell bent on getting an answer this time. No way was he just going to brush her off and leave her burning with need for him.

“Haven’t you ever been with a woman?” she asked.

He lifted his head and looked at her. The amusement she saw in her eyes let her know how absurd her question was. “Of course … but I’ve never been with one I didn’t kill as soon as I took them. Is that what you want?”

“Why do you have to do that?” she asked.

“It is a vow I took long ago.”

“No wonder you’ve been alone for so long,” Kathrina said, pushing him off of her. “It’s because of a certain woman … isn’t it?”

Luciano sat up and began helping her fix her clothes. Kathrina noticed that he avoided looking at her, or answering her question.

“I read about her … Ophelia. Is that the one Summer was talking about?” Kathrina prodded.

“I don’t want to discuss it.” Once again his voice was icy and impersonal.

His mannerism could change so quickly that Kathrina felt as if she were on some kind of wicked roller coaster. Everything about him was confusing, even her own feelings when she was around him. She desperately wanted him to be the person he’d been only moments ago - that part of Luciano she liked and trusted. It was only when the darkness took over that she feared him.

Luciano stood up and gathered her bag of clothes under one arm. He then held out his hand to her. “Come … we have work to do.”

Kathrina took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. “What are we doing?”

“You’ll see,” he told her.

They walked at a casual pace until they reached the river walk. The air was noticeably colder near the Mississippi. It sent a chill through Kathrina’s body until she could no longer keep her teeth from chattering.

Luciano pulled off his long black coat and hung in over Kathrina’s shoulders. “That should help.”

“Why don’t we go back now?” Kathrina was tired of wandering the dark streets of the city. All she wanted was a warm drink and a fire to sit next to. She wished she could talk Luciano into staying at Donavan’s, but she knew that was out of the question. He felt he couldn’t trust anyone.

Luciano stopped and pointed to a night watchman that was walking the docks about a hundred yards ahead of them. “He should be simple. Use your feminine talents and you’ll have him eating out of your hand.”

“I told you no. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“If you don’t … I will,” he warned.

Kathrina took a deep breath and started toward the intended victim. Luciano stayed behind, watching her from the shadows of the nearby buildings. She walked slowly, trying to buy some time.

How could she warn the man without tipping off Luciano to what she was doing?

When she was within a few feet of the watchman, Kathrina called out to him. “Excuse me sir!”

The man looked up from the door he had been checking on one of the many buildings around the dock. A second later he pointed a flashlight in her direction. The beam of light was so bright that it blinded her.

“Can I help you?” he asked with a deep southern accent.

“Where is the nearest place to get a hot cup of coffee?” She was unable to think of anything else to say.

“Well there’s a little café down the road a ways … about a block. It should still be open.”

Kathrina held a hand up to shield her eyes from the light. Only then could she make out more detail. He appeared to be in his fifties - very average, with a little chunk around the middle. The flesh around his eyes was slightly puffy, making it appear as if his eyes were small, but she suspected this was simply lack of sleep.

What kind of life would he leave behind if he died tonight?

That was the only thing Kathrina could think about as she took a couple of steps toward the watchman.

What dreams did the man have that would forever vanish with his last breath? How would his family feel when he never returned home?

Kathrina could not banish these thoughts, no matter how much she tried.

As she drew nearer, Kathrina pretended to trip. The man instinctively reached out to grab her.

Staring into his eyes, Kathrina drew back her lips to show him her fangs. He was startled to the point of being temporarily paralyzed.

“Run,” she hissed. “Get out of here now!”

The man let go of her and backed away quickly, but before he could turn and run Luciano was beside him and had a death grip around his throat. The watchman yelped with fear when he looked into the vampire’s glowing eyes.

“Let him go … please!” Kathrina begged.

Luciano ignored her as he prepared to sink his teeth into the man’s pulsing artery.

“You said you would give me anything I ask for,” Kathrina reminded him, desperate to save the man’s life. “Give me this.”

There was a loud thump when Luciano dropped the man. Kathrina went to him to see if he was still alive. Though he was breathing, he was unconscious.

Luciano grabbed her arm and drug her away from the watchman. “You warned him!” he accused.

“I told you I don’t want to do this.”

“Now you have insisted that I let him live. What stories do you think he will tell?” Luciano snarled.

“I didn’t think of that,” she admitted.

“How are you going to kill Omar when you can’t even force yourself to kill a mere mortal?”

“Killing Omar is different. It’s more like self defense.”

Kathrina did not hear his response because of the abrupt and excruciating pain that ripped through her side. Crying out, she stumbled to the ground.

Luciano was leaning over her and the look on his face alarmed her more than the pain. It was the first time there had been anything close to shock or fear in his eyes. Warm blood was oozing from her body to cover her skin and the wooden planks beneath her.

Panicked, she began to hyperventilate. The harder she tried to get air into her lungs, the less she seemed to get. Kathrina clutched at Luciano’s arm. She was terrified that he would leave her to die alone.

Leaning down, he kissed her forehead and gently placed his hand over her eyes. Then there was nothing but a blissful darkness.

For a vampire, time is mostly irrelevant. The hours - days - years run together in an existence that is never ending. Little differentiates one day from another. The world changed, but it happened so slowly that it is almost unnoticeable.

Luciano’s memory went back to a time before Christ and the pharaohs of Egypt, even before the dawn of mankind, but never in his ceaseless existence had the passage of time been quite so marked. In that moment time seemed to come to a standstill, while at the same time it rushed by painfully fast.

Staring down at Kathrina’s pale face, he thought of the sun. He remembered the warmth of the sun and how its golden light could chase away even the darkest emotion. All of these thoughts ran through his mind in a matter of seconds. By rendering her unconscious, he’d brought her relief from the pain and slowed her heart. This would help the bleeding and give him a few extra moments. It was the first instance in his long existence that he had ever needed more time.

Luciano lifted his head to peer into the darkness. The night watchman still lay on the boardwalk, but now there were two people standing near him - a man and a woman. The untrained eye would have mistaken these people for the typical suburban couple. The man wore blue jeans and a heavy plaid jacket. His short-cropped hair made it easy to see the artery in his neck beating rhythmically with his heart. In her sensible shoes and skirt, the man’s companion looked as if she’d been on her way back from a P.T.A meeting. The two people appeared to be the perfect victims, but Luciano knew they could be as deadly as any vampire.