My Lady Vampire - Book Three (24 page)

“Enough to give us the power to withstand her?” Adrian pursed his lips as he considered the idea. “It’s possible, Kat.”

“Or maybe it was as simple as the love that exists between us.” She sighed and ran her fingers down his chest to his navel.

Adrian’s hand did some wandering of its own. “Maybe.” Her body distracted him and he found her wet and hot, a residual effect of their nightmarish experience. “Hmm. It seems I am being an inattentive husband.”

He rolled her on to her back and slipped between her legs. She smelled warm and sensual, a blend of their earlier lovemaking and her own heat. With a smile, he dipped his head to her pussy, seeking out her clit. He wanted to replace the bad memories with good ones.

And he wanted to make her come--just because he loved it when she did.

It didn’t take too long, either. He kissed her and found her clit with his tongue as she moaned out her pleasure. She was ready, swollen and clearly aching for him, since she spread her thighs wide, welcoming him home.

“Adrian, oh God, Adrian…”

They were whimpers of delight and Adrian drank them down as he licked her into a frenzy, her muscles clenching beneath his hands as he stroked her thighs from knee to groin. She was all silk and wet velvet and within moments he felt her spasm her way into an explosion of orgasmic contractions.

“
Adrian
…” Her scream rang around the room and he held her tight, letting her come in wave after wave of ripples around his face.

This
was his heart’s delight. To be able to taste and smell his woman as she fell apart in his hands. This was an experience that outweighed everything he’d done, everything he’d felt and everything he thought he’d lost.

Until Kat.

The dawn was breaking as she eased into a relaxed and limp state, sighing with exhaustion and pleasure.

My wife. My heart
.

Adrian slipped in beside her and hoped he wouldn’t be the cause of her death. Losing Kat would destroy him, he knew.  Without her there would be nothing on earth for him--nothing to hold him here. Somehow he would find a way to follow her if she left him. As he fell into the abyss of sleep he did something he’d not done for quite a while.

He prayed.

Chapter Eighteen

One look at the faces of his son and new daughter-in-law, and Sidney knew something had happened. He had news for them as well.

“Tell me.” He skipped the preliminaries.

“Not good, Father. She’s definitely near. She didn’t mention Arthur Byerly, but I’ll bet anything that she was responsible.” Adrian sighed as he took Katherine to a seat near a low table set with tea and scones.

“She knows where we are, too.” She added, pouring herself a steaming cup. “She’s very angry that Adrian and I are wed.”

Sidney nodded. “I’m not surprised. From what you’ve told me, she wouldn’t take such news easily. This is a creature that relishes the control she has. The victims that now jump at her command.” He stared out of the window. “She can’t stand the thought of losing one. Of surrendering the power she has over you, Adrian, to somebody else. Or even to yourself.”

“She made that clear.” Adrian’s voice was somber. “I am concerned, Father. If she’s here, and if she killed Byerly, then I am afraid more deaths may come.”

Sidney took a breath. “One already has.”

“What?” Katherine’s teacup rattled as she jumped at Sidney’s words.

“A local maidservant. On her way home from the Inn where she worked. She’d been seeing a lad and he’d been delayed. She was alone--a dark path--just the right place for vermin to prey on the innocent.”

Adrian swallowed. “Was she--”

“Yes. Completely exsanguinated. And mutilated too, by the sound of things.”

“Oh dear God.” Adrian rested his head against the window. “It’s all my fault.”

Sidney squared his shoulders. “You take too much responsibility for this, Adrian. Yes, she has come looking for you, but she has been here before. Long ago. I verified that fact while you were sleeping. Old manuscripts confirm what was called a
flame-haired succubus
. It emerged from the caves beneath the Chyne hundreds of years ago to seduce unwary men and turn them into slaves.”

“Good lord.” Katherine’s jaw dropped. “Exactly how old
is
she?”

“I have no idea.” Sidney turned to her. “But it’s quite possible she has some history with our original St. Chesswell. He closed off the caves with a few well-placed rock falls, and sent her back to the depths of the earth. I’m supposing that there are other exits elsewhere, and probably more legends too. How she ended up in Europe is anyone’s guess.”

“Did you find out anything else? Like how to destroy her?” Adrian’s gaze was intense and Sidney felt the agony that lay behind it.

“I’m working on that, my son. Never fear, that is very high on my list of priorities.”

“Should we--is there anything we should be doing?” Katherine asked Sidney.

“I can’t think of anything. Nor can I find anything to protect us in the old documents. Back then, of course, she would have been viewed as a tool of the Devil.”

Adrian snorted. “She still is. I have no problem looking at her that way.”

Sidney crossed to the window and put his hand on Adrian’s shoulder. “She is certainly possessed, Adrian, that is true. Possessed of a great evil that preys on innocent humanity. But…” He paused, searching for the words to express his scientific beliefs. “It’s my opinion that she was once human. That someone did to her what she now does to others. Given that assumption, it follows logically that she can be destroyed. Or at least incapacitated. I just have to discover how.”

Katherine put her teacup down on the tray with a clatter. “Well then, let us help. We can all read, and what we don’t understand you can translate. It will go faster with three pairs of eyes.”

Sidney smiled at her. “A wonderful suggestion, my dear, but these manuscripts are in medieval Latin. I don’t know how extensive your education was, but I doubt it covered this particular language.”

Katherine swore. Fluidly and indelicately. Then blushed. “Sorry.”

Adrian relaxed enough to grin at her. “Well, at least you have
some
language skills, my love.”

“Yes, but talking like a dratted stable hand isn’t going to solve our problem, is it?” She stood and shook out her skirts. “Sir Sidney, there must be something we can do. Some measures we can take to protect ourselves and the residents of St. Chesswell.”

Sidney paced the room. This was a question he’d asked himself over and over again to no avail. There were old wives’ tales, certainly. Wreaths of garlic at the doors, crosses, the usual kinds of things people did to ward off evil witches, spells and so on.  But this power transcended the norm.

It went much deeper than a simple curse.

“I have already suggested that nobody walk anywhere unaccompanied at night. That doors are to be double locked and checked, and that people stay together in groups of at least two or three. From what I’ve heard, Thérèse likes to catch her prey alone. She seldom ventures indoors, unless she is unknown to those within, as she was when you met her, Adrian. She could mingle in that ballroom without occasioning comment. Here, she’d stand out like a sore thumb.”

Adrian nodded. “Agreed. All those precautions make sense, Father. Good thinking.”

“There’s something else.” Sidney reached his desk and lifted a small jar of liquid. “I’m not sure if this will work, but it’s holy water from the font in the Church. The Vicar dropped by today to discuss this business and brought it with him. It’s his only suggested defense, other than prayers, which he is offering up with increasing regularity.”

“I can imagine.” Katherine sighed. “This is so terrible, Sir Sidney. I feel so helpless.”

“Perhaps we could test it.” Adrian stared at the liquid in the jar. “Put some on my hand, Father.”

Sidney hesitated. “Are you sure?”

“What’s the worst that could happen? I will disappear in a puff of smoke?”

Katherine made a distressed sound and rushed to his side. “You can’t imagine that would happen,
can
you?
Adrian
…” She reached for his hand.

“Don’t concern yourself, Katherine dear.” Sidney’s voice was calm. “It would take a lot more than that to destroy either Thérèse or Adrian. I doubt it would
kill
either of them if they took a bath in the stuff.” He uncapped the jar. “No, my hope is that this might serve as a delaying tactic, nothing more.”

Gently he lifted a drop onto his finger and looked at Adrian who held out his hand, palm down. “Go ahead, Father.”

- - - -

Adrian wanted to close his eyes as his father dabbed the drop of holy water onto his hand. He had no idea what to expect--if anything--and wasn’t sure he wanted to watch if the whole exercise was a failure.

But he couldn’t. His eyes, along with those of his wife and his father, were focused on Sir Sidney’s fingers and the shining drip of liquid.

It fell and Adrian jumped a little. “Ouch.”

Sidney tilted his head. “Explain.”

Adrian examined his hand. There wasn’t a mark on it, but he’d definitely felt
something
. “’Twas a tiny pricking sting. Odd really. Sort of tingled through my hand.” He looked up at Sidney. “That was just a drop, and on me. I’ve been taking your noxious potions.”

Sidney nodded, following Adrian’s line of thought. “Yes. A good-sized dash of this on somebody like Thérèse…well, we might just have something here. This is most fortuitous.” He bustled to his desk and jotted some notes in his journal.

Katherine still looked worried, and Adrian smiled at her. He held out his hand. “Want to kiss it better?”

Bravely she grinned back. “Put a drop of that stuff somewhere else and I might consider the notion.”

Adrian coughed back a laugh. “My goodness, Mrs. Chesswell. You naughty girl.”

Katherine blushed. “Yes. It would seem you’re having a rather dreadful effect on my thoughts, Mr. Chesswell.”

Adrian’s body clenched. “I do hope so.”

Sidney rejoined them. “I think you should both carry a small flask of this with you at all times, Adrian. We should expect a visit from our flame-haired evil shortly, I expect. She’ll not want to let you sink deeper into Katherine’s toils.”

“She’s…bloody furious, isn’t she?” Katherine glanced at her father-in-law.

“Yes. I can’t imagine her being anything else. You’ve taken something she considered hers. I don’t even know if anyone has done that before. Challenged her superiority that way.”

“I didn’t know anybody could.” Adrian was thoughtful. “She always seemed so…so in command of everybody and everything in her orbit.”

“Up until now she has been. Which means that none of her other victims have dared to think about taking up arms against her.”

“And none of them have fallen in love.” Katherine rested her head on Adrian’s shoulder. “’Tis truly a blessing we found each other, in so many more ways than one.”

Silence followed Katherine’s words, broken shortly afterwards by the distant mumble of thunder.

“There’s a storm coming. A big one. Been circling all evening.” Sidney narrowed his eyes. “It would make good cover for any nefarious activities Thérèse has planned.”

“Right then.” Adrian straightened. “First we need to ensure the safety of everybody at St. Chesswell. Make sure the doors are locked and barred, that the servants are in groups, and the windows secured.”

Sidney nodded. “Already seen to.”

“Then I think it’s time I went out to take care of Thérèse, face to face. Once and for all.”

- - - -

Katherine snorted. “I don’t think so.”

Adrian stared at her. “What else can I do? I cannot wait here, like a rat in a cage, until she decides to savage some other innocent just to make her point.” He turned to Sidney. “Don’t you agree with me?”

Katherine’s heart thudded painfully in her breast at Adrian’s words. She deeply sympathized with Adrian’s pain, but her own pain was clawing at her as she considered the possibility that he might lose this battle. “Adrian, let’s think before we rush into anything.”

Sidney nodded. “A wise course of action. These storms take time to build and break…we have a couple of hours at least. Give me time to work up some kind of defense--a plan maybe that might stand a chance of success.” He laid his hand on Adrian’s arm. “Give me that much, my son. I need to know we’ve done all that we could. I should not be able to live with myself otherwise.”

Katherine saw Adrian’s throat move as he swallowed. “You have done so much already, Father.” In an unashamedly emotional gesture, he put his arms around Sir Sidney and hugged him. “No one could have done more. If there’s a chance for us to defeat this evil, I know you’ll find it.” He turned his gaze to Katherine. “Take those hours. I will spend them with my wife.”

For a split second, Katherine and Sir Sidney exchanged looks, and Katherine needed no words to read his message. It was time. Time for her to embark on the biggest adventure of her life, and the most difficult challenge.

She had to persuade Adrian to feed.

From her
.

The little group separated, Sidney going directly to his tomes and notes, and Adrian leading Katherine to their rooms. She made no demur, her mind busy with the job ahead of her. Somehow she had to overcome Adrian’s scruples and his fear that he’d hurt her.

Somehow she had to seduce him into taking as much of her blood as he needed.

And perhaps the key was in seducing him. The last time they’d shared droplets of each other’s blood had been during lovemaking. It was a time when Adrian’s resistance to her was low and his need for blood high.

She could capitalize on these two facts perhaps--her thighs were damp at the thought before they’d closed the door behind them. Yes. It
would
work.

It had to.

- - - -