Divine Savior (2 page)

When the pain from the wound started to lessen, she realized she was on her own. The strange part was—as if waking up and finding yourself covered in blood with a bump the size of New York on your noodle was not enough—she knew how to survive. Shade knew she needed to get shelter, food and take care of herself. When she thought back on it, she realized that she just assumed she was about ten or eleven, and just kept track of the ensuing years from there. That made her about twenty-five; fifteen years alone for the most part and she still didn’t have any idea who she was. Sometimes, like today, she found that to be so incredibly sad.

Then there was the whole abilities thingy—she was no way going to call them powers, no way, she thought with a shudder. She could do all sorts of things she was pretty sure would get her locked away in a lab somewhere. Shade could read people’s minds and if that was not bad enough, as far as she was concerned, if she wanted to, she could manipulate people into doing things. She had only tried that a few times, just to see how far she could push someone, but it didn’t feel right, so she left it alone. She could also tell when someone was near her and what his or her intent might be. She only used that one when she was scoping out food, or at the warehouse, when she was alone. She never took chances with her safety; Shade was neither stupid nor naive.

Her body could heal quickly and not leave any mark once it was gone. The wound on her head had been a deep gash, and should have required a good many stitches, but within a few hours, it was sealed up like it had never happened, leaving behind the aches and pains of the other injuries to her body. While the wounds would heal, bruises and cuts that were not life threatening would linger like normal.

~~~

If someone would have asked Colin what she looked like, and the police did, several times over the several hours they had kept him, as a matter of fact, he could not have said. She was a blur of dark clothes, sharp body parts, and red hair. He could have told them that she smelled like hydrangeas and vanilla. But he was reasonably sure that they would neither find that helpful nor amusing. As a matter of fact, neither did Colin.

Colin made it back to the mansion just before sunrise. Barely making it to his lair in the sub levels he was staying in at the Master of the Realms’ home, Aaron MacManus. Colin didn’t even have time to tell Duncan, the man servant of the master’s, that he was unable to get any information on the cook Aaron had hoped to hire from the restaurant.

The household had been without a cook since his long time friend, Aaron, the new master, had taken it over nearly six months ago. Aaron had challenged the old master, Carlos Sanchez, for his position and had beaten him, decapitating him in the final moments of the fight. It was vampire law that once a challenge was met and won, the winner would become the new master and inherit all that the previous one had. This would include not only homes and monies, but the subjects as well. Aaron had inherited a large mess, one that he was still working through. Vampires with no means to support themselves, neglected properties, and an office that looked as if it had not been touched in centuries.
And will probably remain that way if Aaron had anything to do with it
, Colin thought with a grin.

Normally, a vampire’s home did not need a cook, just a few daytime servants to see to the things a vampire could not. But Aaron had recently taken a mate, Sara Temple MacManus. Sara could drink from her mate with fangs, as well as eat human food. She, a unique wonder, was a member of the Royal Guard in the magical Kingdom of Molavonta, cousin to the Queen of Magic, and a vampire because she was in love with Aaron. Sara could even stand the sun without any restrictions. Yeah, he thought with a big smile, she was unique all right; she had even kicked his butt on more than one occasion.

Colin arose at dusk. He went in search of Aaron and found him in the study with Sara. They were at it again. Thankfully not sex, although they seemed to do that like rabbits too. No they were arguing again. Not that it hurt their relationship. In fact, it seemed to enhance it. Aaron was a macho vamp who only wanted to protect his mate and she was a Royal Guard, naturally prone to protecting everyone close to her. It was an odd mix. But they loved each other completely.

“
Colin, would you please tell this idiot that, as a true immortal, I should be able to go out without his big bad ass to hold my hand?” Sara had thrown that one at him as soon as he entered the room.

“
Aaron, Sara loves that you love her, but I believe she would like it if you would stop holding her hand.”

Colin was not a stupid man, and he had been on the receiving end of her blades more than once. In fact, she had tried to cut his dick off the first time they had met. Not a good beginning, but they had become friends. He did like her, very much actually, and he respected her a great deal more. While she had tried to unman him once, she had also saved Aaron’s life three times in the space of just a few weeks. But the flip side was, Aaron was Colin’s master, and his best friend, and he so did not want to piss in the corner either. He tried to stay as neutral as possible when dealing with two beings as strong as these were.

“
I don’t want to simply hold her hand. I want her to obey me. I am—”

“
Going to be drained and hung upside down over the bath tub if you try that ‘obey’ shit on me again, Aaron Xavier MacManus,” Sara snapped back at her mate.

Colin watched the steam literally roll off his friend, but Colin wisely kept his mouth shut. For now anyway.

“
I didn’t get you your cook. I ran into a small problem. Well, she ran into me, the little thief. She was stealing bread and apparently some cheese from the restaurant, when she came barreling out, hell bent for leather, and slammed into me. Bloodied my friggin’ nose—twice. She knocked me on my ass and yelled at me for getting in her way.” Colin looked at Aaron when he burst out laughing.

“
Did she hit you with her car? You aren’t exactly a small, movable object, you know.” Colin chose to ignore Aaron.

“
Then when the whole kitchen came out after her, she just scoops up her spoils and takes off without so much as a thank you. The cheeky little lass just tipped right over and bowed like I was a fucking queen or something.”

“
Oh, I like her. So that’s why you missed Penny? Chasing a skirt? Colin, whatever am I going to do with you?” Aaron asked as he sat and pulled Sara into his lap.

“
Me? I dinna do anything to her. I was going to do a job. A job you sent me to do.” Colin stood and started pacing. “The police were called in. I was questioned for so long I dinna think I was gonna make it back before sunrise. They thought we were in it together. Can you believe it? Me with her! If I see the little urchin again, I’m gonna paddle her butt but good.”

Colin was pacing faster by now, throwing his arms up, gesturing wildly and pointing. He knew he was doing it, but couldn’t seem to help himself.

Aaron didn’t say much. Just watched him, and for whatever reason, that made Colin nervous. Then when Aaron spoke, his question caught Colin off guard.

“
So, Colin, what did she smell like?”

“
Hydrangeas and vanilla. Why? Oh no! No, no you are not going down that path. No way in hell. I will not have it, so just get that thought right out of your fucking head right fucking now.”

Aaron laughed for a good ten minutes, tears of mirth running down his face. Colin wanted to pound him and had actually stood to do so when he saw Sara move too. Colin sat back down and scowled. He wouldn’t admit it to just anyone and especially not these two hyenas, but he was a bit afraid of Sara. More so than he was Aaron on some days.

“
You know,” Colin said. “You dinna think it was so funny when it happened to you a few months back, Aaron.”

Aaron simply snorted and pulled his mate closer to him. Colin felt he’d made his point.

Sara was less rude, but no less blunt. “So, you’ve met your mate, huh? What’s she like? Will I like her? I think that is important, but not a deal breaker, seeing as to how you’ll live here with us. Oh, go out and find her, Colin. Bring her home to meet the family. We could get to know each other so much better that way. Waiting for you to come to realize that fate has other ideas than the one you’re entertaining could take forever. So you might as well get it over with and go get her.”

“
No, we will not be living here. I have a place of my...wait. Damn it, I don’t have a mate. I don’t know a thing about her, what she looks like, where she lives or anything. So you can just take that out of your head right now!”

Colin was very sorry he had even brought the girl up; he should have just said he ran into problems and let it go with that. Next time he saw the woman, he was going to cross the street and get as far away from her has he possibly could. Duncan came into the room a few minutes later to see Colin glaring at the master’s mate.

“
What is going on, Sire? Did something happen last evening? I did not see the cook when I went into the kitchen. I do hope that she has not changed her mind. She seemed so happy to get out from over the restaurant and move here.”

“
Colin found his mate late night and got waylaid by her. Oh I can’t wait to meet her. Isn’t this grand, Duncan?” Sara was forever helpful, Colin thought sarcastically.

“
I did not find my fucking mate! I’m going out.” With the proclamation, he stormed out of the house, but not before he heard Aaron burst out laughing again.

~
CHAPTER TWO~

Colin was at the same restaurant again two nights later. It had turned colder throughout the night and snow was supposed to fall again before sunrise. Not that he could really feel it, but his breath was fogging in front of him. Colin waited outside for the new cook, Penny Shelf, to gather up her things to go back to the mansion with him, as she had agreed to be the in-house cook. She’d had an apartment above this place as part of her wages for years, so Sara was offering her a place to stay as well. Plus, a substantial increase in pay. Penny’s cooking was supposed to be what kept the little place running. As most bosses were like, this one felt he had Penny just where he wanted her because she had no other family and lived there practically rent free. But as it turned out, she was working for nothing. Penny barely made it from check to check, as her boss would not allow her a cut in the electric bill. Penny told Sara that she believed she was paying for the entire place to be heated and cooled, and was probably correct in that.

Colin found himself thinking about that woman again. That was how he always referred to her in his mind, “that woman.” She had been stealing food, not money, food. All he could think about was why. Was she stealing for the joy, or was there a more basic need involved? If she was stealing to eat, where was she living? Did she have a husband, family? She had seemed so slight to him when she plowed into him, all angles and sharp points. Well, he mused, not all of her was angles and sharp points. Her body had its softer places as well.

He was going nuts. For as much as he didn’t want to think about her, it seemed as though his mind had a will of its own where she was concerned. And he didn’t want to think about the fact that could be his mate, as Aaron had suggested. The arrogant ass would be hard to live with if he was correct. Again.

It was not that he had a problem with being mated; it was great for all of the other mated vampires he knew. He just didn’t want to be tied down to just one person. And one person for all eternity was a hell of a long time; especially when one did not want to be there in the first place. If he was honest with himself, it wasn’t even that so much as he had seen other relationships go to the crapper so many times it frightened him, and this was even before he had been turned. Admittedly, they had all been humans, but still... And living as long as he had, he had seen more than his fair share of what happened when things went wrong in a marriage. People, humans, had no concept of how fragile their short lives were.

Colin drove Penny back and helped her carry her meager belongings into the little house on the estate that Sara had had cleaned out just for the cook to move into. It was close, within walking distance to the big house, so it worked out well all the way around. The woman fussed and touched everything in the rooms, remarking on the pretty paper, how nice the kitchen was. When she started on about the living room throw that lay across the back of the couch, he made his excuses and left her on her own.

A few hours later, he found himself back at the restaurant. He was sure she would not show up again, but he was there all the same. It had been a couple of days now, but he could still smell her scent lingering in the air. He was following it before he knew what he was doing, much less thinking. He ended up at the apartment complex where she had stopped first that night. Her scent hung heavily near the rear door and then again along the stairwell just inside the door. He noticed she never spent as much time going in and out of the front door to the building as she did around back. When he went into the building, he could sense that she had been there numerous times in the past few days; her smell was stronger here. He guessed that she needed to make several trips out to get food, especially if she only took bread and cheese when she went out. Colin started up the stairs to the second floor.

The door where her scent was the strongest had an odor he was familiar with—drugs. Apparently, she was a frequent drug user, and if the high concentration was anything to go by, he figured she was an addict, using daily. He stepped back from the door and pulled a shadow around himself when a small child came down the hallway.