sanguineangels (24 page)

He glanced at her, his expression thoughtful, considering her query seriously. “How do you see that?”

“Well, you told me you never took a life to live. That must mean something. Everyone knows vampires are wholly evil, living on depravity, yet you never did, and Laney knew it the same as I.”

He swept her up into his chest without warning to carry her over a small stream. Actually floating over it was a better description. Her eyes were huge when they touched down on the other side.

“Could you warn me when you are about to do something like that?” She smacked him on the chest, chastising him.

He placed her on the ground beside him with a slight smirk ghosting over his lips. “Sorry,
cara
. I was thinking about what you said. I will try to remember.” He started walking again.

Within minutes, the trees began to thin, a wide meadow opening up before them. She gasped in appreciation. An expanse of green carpet with softly rolling hills and valleys spread before her. The flowers were asleep, but she could still find their heady fragrance filling the nighttime air.

“Is that your only theory?”

“Huh? Oh no.” She followed his lead easily. “There’s your reflection, the church. What about silver? Can you touch silver? It’s supposed to have a debilitating effect on vampires.”

“That one I do not know. I own none.” He was looking at her with that sinful grin again. A slow burn was building in response.

She frowned. “Quit trying to distract me. I hate the idea that you’ve been alone for so long.” She planted a fist on her hip.

“Honey,” he said, cradling her chin, his touch feather light. “I am not alone now. That is all that matters to me.”

“But what if it’s possible? What if others are out there? What you know could save them, could keep them from becoming what Brakka is.”

He tilted his head, searching her expression. “You are serious? You would wish to actively search for others?”

“Well…” She glanced down, realizing it would be a serious undertaking, and dangerous. “I guess it does sound crazy. But you have been alone for so long. I will do my best to figure this out, but think of the ones who could be like you and don’t have someone like me? How lonely their lives are?”

“It was a living hell,” he agreed reluctantly.

She spread her palms across his chest. “I have seen your memories. Long, endless nights. Not a word spoken. It tears me apart.”

He bundled her into his chest. “You are a compassionate woman.” His gaze flowed over her face, as gentle as a caress. “And I have a feeling you are going to be the largest challenge to my peace of mind.”

“Does that mean we will try?”

“It will be dangerous. Vampires are territorial,” he explained, hesitant.

“You’re not doing too badly with Houston around,” she pointed out with a quirked brow.

“I thought you did not know,” he replied, a surprised question to it.

“I don’t know
exactly
, but I know he is different. Like me, like Laney. Powers attract.” Her eyes widened. “Oh my God! That has to be it.”

“What,
cara
?” His smile widened with her excitement.

“Did you have any ability, anything, before Brakka changed you?” She was almost jumping with excitement.

Broad shoulders rolled. “I could not say. It was so long ago. Now everything is second nature.”

She refused to let his reserve dampen her spirits. “I bet that is it. You must have been born with a gift, something to help combat the darker, persuasive force of being a vampire.”

“Do you realize how rare it would be to find that combination in another? And the decision would have to be made to live honorably, if that is what made this possible. I do not believe there is a margin for error in this.”

“Well, there’s the both of us.”

“And it took me almost five hundred years to find you.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “
Cara
…”

Her excitement ebbed with a concession that he was very likely right. “You’re probably right. I was just thinking. You never gave this life to another, excepting me. It does make sense if you think about it. Power attracts.” She folded against his chest, his arms tucking her close.

He sighed once. “After I know you are safe. Not before.”

“Which means?” she asked hopefully.

“When Brakka and Tenorio have been eliminated. I refuse to let you save lonely vampires with them still looking for you. One catastrophe at a time, please.” He tilted her upward to catch her gaze. “Have you thought about what you will do with these lost souls if you find any? I will not share you.” He locked her against his chest in strong arms to make his point.

“Not really. I don’t know of any others like myself.”

Diego lowered to nibble on exposed skin. Flames rose in his wake. “Then perhaps you should reconsider. Vampires are very dangerous. The Brethren do not congregate out of friendship. It would be very difficult to pursue such an endeavor without having to deal with those I would rather not let near you.”

“All right,” she allowed. “I will rethink this.” Lashes drifted closed when his hands moved beneath her blouse. Sweet heat spread when he cupped a breast in his hand. Desire spiked as he rubbed over a peaked nipple. “Diego?”

“Hmm?” he murmured, nipping along her shoulder.

“Is this kind of wanting normal?” Her hands had tugged his shirt from his jeans, giving room for fingers to dance across smooth skin. “I can’t seem to stop thinking about you like this.” Her head rocked loosely on her neck when he skated down the front of her throat to the hollow, his tongue doing delicious things to the nerves there.

“
Cara
, I want you like this every minute I am awake.” Desire made his voice low, rich, and it wound over her ears. His mouth curved. “Well, not like this. More like this,” he told her with a wicked timbre. The next instant her clothes were gone and she was lying on a bed of grass with him next to her, kissing and lapping at exposed skin, making nerves sizzle.

“That is so not fair,” she cried. “How did you do that?”

“Would this help?” His clothes disappeared.

A sensuous smile found its way to her mouth. “That at least evens the score.” Light laughter was obliterated when his damp tongue found the taut point of her breast.

“I want to know how you fly,” Titania said, contentment settling over her. She lay pillowed on Diego’s shoulder, watching the stars overhead. Moon glow bathed the meadow, creating soft shadows, and blue-black depths romantically enshrouded the woods surrounding them. Fingers tugged easily through the length of her hair while she drew lazy patterns across his stomach. “You don’t turn into a bat, do you?” She lifted partially, seeing his eyes blink, right before laughter erupted from him.

“Do I look like a bat?”

“Well, no.” She sat up, pictured a blanket, and smiled when it appeared around her shoulders. She ran a finger over the stitching. “I can’t believe I did that,” she whispered in awe.

Diego lifted up at an angle on an elbow. “What would you like to try first? I would say you could be able to do as much as myself. You are proving to be quite open to this.”

“How long did it take you to learn?” She propped her forearms on bent knees.

“A long time, but I had no one to direct me.”

Titania thought. “I think I would like to fly. How do you do it?”

“I take the form of an owl in most cases.”

Her eyes rounded into blue pools. “You can actually become that small? An owl?”

“Honey, I can become as small as a mouse.”

“And it doesn’t hurt?” Her fingers touched him, poking at him to test his solidness. He still felt like Diego.

Rolling laughter exploded at her expressions. “No,
cara
. It does not.” He enveloped one of her hands in his and stood, lifting her with him. “Let me show you.”

She stood in silent wonder as wings and feathers took the place of arms, drawing into his body as it compacted. Legs shortened and talons formed. She swallowed as his head changed shape, a beak taking the place of that sinful mouth. He stared up at her with pale, unblinking eyes.

She didn’t move, shocked speechless. The bird hopped once and, with a mighty thrust, became airborne. He circled twice, then landed on a low branch in a nearby tree.

“Fly with me, cara.”
It was a seduction, his voice honeyed and sweet.

“I don’t know if I can do that.” She discovered her mouth was bone dry.

“You made the blanket. Concentrate. I will be here.”

Titania let her eyelids close. She could do this. If she could live on blood, she could do anything. She had to believe that.

Taking a steadying breath, she concentrated on how an owl looked, the soft, downy feathers, the small body, imagined what it would feel like to fly over the treetops.

She felt the contortions begin and fought down the wave of fear. Her eyes popped open, focused on the owl in the trees, keeping herself grounded in what she was attempting. It didn’t hurt, exactly, but it felt downright strange.

She stretched out one arm, now a wing, and stared at the length of feathers.
“
I did it? Diego! I did it!”

He hopped down from the branch with a single flap of broad wings.
“
Yes, you did. And might I say, I have never seen a more stunning owl in my life.”
The words whispered through her mind with a lascivious leer, and she wanted to laugh.

Wings popped out, and she ruffled her feathers at him. Laughter floated between them on the silence of the breeze, but it was bright and clear in her mind.

“Stay close,
cara
.
”

“Let’s see if I can even get off the ground,”
she told him. Diego tensed before her and, with a wide flap of strong wings, launched into the sky. She studied the animal briefly, the feeling of the muscles, then flapped her wings experimentally. Her legs seemed to buckle naturally, and with a push and a flap, she was airborne.

She shocked herself so badly, she almost tumbled right back to the ground.

“Titania!”

Wings beat through the surprise, her heart pounding as shock turned into wonder.
“
I’m fine. We all have to learn to walk. Or in this case, fly.”
She soared, finding a breeze at the treetops. She leveled off into a calm, enjoying the weightless feeling.

“You are doing wonderfully.”
His pride warmed her all over. He neared, flying over her.

Titania was enraptured, seeing the forest floor through the eyes of the owl. Wind sliced over her body, and scents and sounds were accented, accumulating at an incredible rate.
“
This is amazing! I can see the cabin from up here!”

She dipped, her heart pounding with the feeling of freedom. Diego paced her effortlessly. She weaved through a few branches, feeling laughter bubble up inside her. It was like the first time she had ever ridden her horse at a full, wild run. Her first kiss. The feel of the wind in her face on a cold morning. Exhilaration swamped her.

“Cara,”
came Diego’s chiding tones, trying to bring her back to earth.

She did what came naturally. She thumbed her nose at him and became a bullet, racing, soaring, her wings maneuvering her soundlessly through the treetops, too carefree, wanting to enjoy every single breathtaking minute. Leaves fluttered as she swept past.

They played tag, rolling between the trees, swooping down until the grass swayed beneath their bellies with their kamikaze flights. The sky opened up for her, each burst of speed taking her places she’d never dreamed.

Titania heard his sharp warning just as she broke through the trees, zipping wildly out into the meadow. The eagle’s triumphant cry was her only warning before the large bird torpedoed from the sky, talons flexed for its attack. Dark, beady eyes burned into her, red with hatred.

She whirled, racing toward the nearest tree.
“
Diego!”
The other bird missed by millimeters when she twisted to escape, the harsh wind of flapping wings echoing through her ears. Its screech was high and furious, somersaulting to find her again.

Titania spotted a thick branch and aimed for it. She tried to clutch at it and missed, falling to the ground in a jumbled heap. She landed hard, losing the shape of the owl when she knocked the wind out of herself. She screamed, hearing the beating of wings behind her, trying to scramble to her feet.

The thud of colliding bodies was deafening when Diego crashed into the eagle. Feathers rained down as they plunged from the sky. Titania stared frozen with fear as the two birds took their human shapes.

Brakka! Terror coiled within her as she watched the two men stalk each other. Why hadn’t she been more careful?

“This is not your fault, cara. I was lax, enjoying your excitement.”
There was nothing in his expression to show his concern for her, but the caress of his love was in every word.

“Don’t worry about me, Diego. Concentrate.”
She stuffed her knuckles into her mouth to keep quiet.

“I warned you, Brakka. She is not to be harmed.”

“She will die!” he snarled. “And will watch as I destroy you!”

She gurgled on a scream when Brakka struck hard and fast, a blur of movement. Ugly, gashing furrows began to bleed from Diego’s side. He didn’t stagger as blood welled up. He swept a palm down his side, his hand coming away red, but the bleeding slowed almost instantly.

Brakka’s lips lifted, exposing long, garish fangs. “You are getting slow, Diego.”

“And you are too arrogant.” Diego’s expression hardened. “You will not escape. It is time this is over.”

Brakka’s clawed hands curled. “It is. I will enjoy your woman before I kill her!”

Diego smiled, a chilling, mocking threat. “I doubt that. You are nothing.”

Brakka threw back his head and bellowed in rage. Sleeping animals fled from the treetops at the explosion of hatred. In the next instant, a huge wolf lunged at Diego, foam dropping from snapping jaws. But the place where Diego had been standing was empty. He had simply vanished.

Frantically, she searched for him. She didn’t dare move. She was afraid she would draw Brakka’s attention to her hiding place in the shadows of the trees. Fear made it hard to so much as twitch.

The attack came from nowhere. Brakka snarled and snapped at the empty spot, right when a huge black wolf charged from the tree line. Diego launched himself at Brakka, landing squarely against his shoulder, rolling him over several times.

Growls reverberated through the night, a flurry of fur, claws and teeth. Blood matted down black coats in shining splotches of darkness. She was scared to blink. They were both so dark, so fast, it was hard to distinguish one from the other. The fight seemed to go on forever, neither man tiring.

The snap of jaws was loud in the still night air, low growls of anger sounding from both animals. They rose up and charged simultaneously. Teeth rent flesh. She winced, fearing for Diego. They circled mercilessly, each charge hard and deadly.

With fresh blood drawn on both sides, she realized the match was too equal, both men trained warriors of a time long past. Relentless, unwavering. They knew each other’s moves before the blow was struck. They blocked and parried and attacked with equal grace and force. Could she do something to help Diego? Could she do something to lean the fight in his favor? She did the only thing she could think of that could even possibly help. She began to sing.

Her voice was weak, her throat dry, but she refused to let that stop her. Brakka could not escape. She pushed the fearful thought from her mind. She could not envision death. She needed to give Diego a chance, her belief, her support in his own creed and code of honor. He could not die. She focused on him, her voice growing, the notes enveloping the meadow in a beautiful wave of sound. She poured her strength into Diego, into the darkness, her arms opening wide, embracing the night.

As if from a dream, she saw the two heaving forms stop, break apart. Brakka snarled loudly, shaking his lupine head, changing to his human form in a distracted fashion.

Sending all of the love and belief she held in her to Diego, she walked forward, unafraid. She would give anything to keep him alive. In that moment, she knew what it meant to have fallen in love. If she died in that moment, she had loved deeply and completely. Moonlight engulfed her, glowed off skin in a pearly luminescence. Brakka stood entranced, stunned, his dark eyes flaming with hatred and lust. She could see through Diego’s eyes the vision she created. A goddess offering the moonlight to her lover. A creature of nature.

Diego regained his form, claws slicing through skin and bone as he did so, Brakka caught off guard in that instant for the first and last time. It took mere seconds for the advantage to be grasped by Diego. Brakka’s headless body crumpled to the ground, disintegrating immediately. Skin, bone, blood, everything became a fine dust. Silence became deafening in the meadow.

Diego swayed on his feet. “Diego!” She ran to him to wrap her arms around him, and became engulfed in his extreme exhaustion. Brakka had inflicted hundreds of little seeping wounds, draining his strength.

He linked his arms around her waist. “I am fine. However, you are naked,” he stated in his imperial way, his voice raspy.

She looked down.
I am?
She shook her head.
Unimportant.
“You need to rest. You need blood.”

His forehead rested on her shoulder. “In a moment.” He sagged where he stood, determined to prove he was fine when Tani knew better.

“I always knew you needed someone to care for you,” she muttered. Jeans and a blouse appeared on her. “Quit that! You are weak enough as it is.”