CHAPTER THREE

 

 

Always prompt, at the same instant his watch read seven PM, Darius knocked on Carolyn’s door.

Leaning against the doorframe, he grinned when she opened it. “You look great, leannan. Are you ready to go?”

“I sure am. I’m starving.”

Carolyn’s soft, intelligent eyes captivated him. He blinked to chase away the image of her naked body wrapped around his, those beautiful eyes filled with desire. He shook the inappropriate thoughts from his mind and gave her a sheepish smile praying he didn’t wear his lust on his face like a neon sign.

“Ladies first.” He motioned her out of the room and placed his palm on the small of her back as they made their way to the elevator. A couple of deep breaths were vital to calm his libido. Big mistake. All the deep breaths did was fill his nose with Carolyn’s patchouli scent and harden him more than he had already been. It didn’t help that his Muierimei's tight jeans hugged her hips perfectly, and her T-shirt fit her like a glove. A glove he wanted to slip his hands into.

When they stepped out of the hotel, she glanced up at him. “Where are we having dinner?”

“Vic’s on the River. It’s a fantastic restaurant, and only a couple of blocks away so we can walk.”

“Do they have seating with a river view?”

He chuckled when her eyes lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning. “Aye. As a matter of fact, I reserved a table next to a window so we can enjoy the water.”

Once they were seated and had placed their order, Carolyn leaned forward and whispered, “So, you know about witches?”

He leaned forward as well and chuckled. “You have no idea. I’ve been around for hundreds of years, and I’ve been protecting witches for the majority of my existence. All magical beings have a symbiotic relationship. We need witches to survive and practice their magic. Without them, the balance of magic is disrupted. I would hate to see what would happen if we lost even one magical species. It could be catastrophic.”

“Your job is protecting witches? From what?”

“Witch hunters.”

Carolyn looked stunned. “That’s still a thing?”

“Oh, yeah. What do you know about the history of witch trials?”

“I’ve heard of Salem. I think everyone has. I don’t really practice witchcraft, so I haven’t researched the history or anything. Mostly, I just read the future for my friends and clients.”

“I’ll give you the short version then. The attack on witchcraft began in Europe around the fifteenth century. The Guild took it upon themselves to create a secret society that would hunt and kill supernatural beings. Mostly they target witches.

“At first, the church governed those accused of witchcraft, and if the witch didn’t renounce their beliefs, they were burned at the stake. In 1604 King James made witchcraft a felony, which put the accused under the jurisdiction of the courts of common law. After that, trials and torture of people alleged to be witches became widespread. Some officials would strip a suspect and search for moles, which they stupidly believed, were a sign of a witch. Others employed swimming or pricking to verify a witch’s guilt. There were too many torture and execution techniques to name them all.

“The sixteenth century brought mass executions throughout Europe. From fifteen hundred to sixteen sixty, an estimated fifty to eighty thousand suspected witches died. We believe that number to be closer to one hundred thousand.

“Then in sixteen forty-seven, the Guild expanded their fanatical quest to the new world. Once here, they chose hanging as their preferred way of doing away with the accused. It’s much easier to hang a woman in the dead of night than burn them on a pyre. Plus, hanging is less likely to be noticed. A fire that large tends to be seen by the local population.

“The Connecticut witch trials were first. Later the famous Salem witch trials that you mentioned took place where over one hundred fifty people were accused of witchcraft.

“By sixteen eighty witch hunting had fallen out of favor with the general public and the Guild of witch hunters went underground to continue their work in Europe.”

Her eyes had grown wider with each fact he laid out for her. “Holy mackerel! I had no idea.”

“After the Salem debacle, witch hunting was less favorably received, and the Guild went underground again. The Guild is still alive and well, Carolyn, and they have you in their sights.”

“What!” She stared at him, her eyes big as saucers. “Why would they be after me?”

“You must have talked to someone or posted something online that caught their attention.” Darius took her hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you. There are several of us in town to protect a handful of witches the Guild is after. As soon as they expose themselves, we’ll take care of them.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Take care of them?” she asked after a pause.

His thumb brushed over her knuckles. “Let’s just say they’ll meet their maker sooner than they expected.”

“Murder?” She shook her head. “I don’t know if I can condone that.”

“Would you rather it were you who were murdered? That’s what it comes down to. You or them,” he explained in a gentle voice.

“I sure don’t want it to be me, but can’t we call the police?”

“And say what? Help me, Officer. Witch hunters are after me? The police won’t get involved until someone is attacked and by then it is too late. The woman will be dead and the hunters scattered to the wind.”

Carolyn glanced away. “There has to be another way.”

“There isn’t. Believe me, we’ve tried everything. I’ve lost too many witches trying to go through legal channels. Putting them down is the only viable option if we want to keep the witch we are protecting alive. I won’t lose you, Carolyn. Not again,” he growled, conviction hardened his tone.

Carolyn paused as she lifted a fork full of salad to her lips. “Again?”

“I met my soulmate once before. We were married only a handful of years when she died in childbirth. Believe it or not, you are my wife reincarnated. I recognized your soul when I kissed your cheek.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “This,” she waved her fork between the two of them, “is all about your deceased wife? I’m not warmed over leftovers! I’m not this Kyra woman. If you’re looking for a do over with your dead wife, think again. You either want her, or you want me, Carolyn Soucek, the woman who is NOT your dead wife.”

She smacked the fork on the table. The salad shot from the tines and stuck to the wall with a slap. Then she crossed her arms and tapped a foot in an irritated rhythm.

He placed his hand on the tabletop palm up. “Please take my hand and listen for a minute.”

She scowled but relented and placed her hand in his.

“You. I want you, Carolyn. I apologize for explaining myself so poorly and insulting you. Kyra is long gone, and I know that. I was drawn to you before I knew you held the same soul Kyra once possessed. Each incarnation of a soul is a uniquely different person. The soul comes back repeatedly to learn predetermined lessons. Have no doubt. I’m interested in you as the person you are today.”

Was he serious? He certainly appeared so. “Are you sure you’re not trying to get a second chance with your wife?”

Darius leaned forward and looked her directly in the eyes. “I have no interest in a second chance with a woman who died over a hundred years ago. I’m interested in a chance with you. I want you, Carolyn. I don’t want you to ever doubt that.”

Carolyn studied him for a long moment. “Good, because I’m interested in you, too.” She ate a few bites and then asked, “How does a person become a vampire?”

“Perhaps I should give you a brief history of how vampires were created. It all began with Ambrogio, a human who fell in love with Selene a maiden of the temple of Apollo.

“When Ambrogio fell in love with Selene and asked her to run away with him, Apollo cursed him. From that day forth if Ambrogio ventured into Apollo's sunlight he would burn and die.

“Ambrogio turned to Hades for help. He made a deal with the God of the underworld. If he delivered the silver bow of Artemis to him, Hades would grant Selene and Ambrogio protection in the underworld.

“Ambrogio provided gifts of tribute to Artemis until he was able to trick the Goddess out of her bow. This, of course, angered Artemis and she cursed Ambrogio to burn when touched by silver.

“He begged Artemis for forgiveness, telling her of his love for Selene. Then he explained the deal he was forced to make with Hades because of Apollo’s jealous curse.

“Artemis is always at war with one of the other gods, and she really has a hate on for Apollo, so she took pity on him and gifted him with near immortality, the speed and strength of a god, and fangs. The catch was, in order to maintain the gifts Artemis offered, he would have to drink the blood of humans.

“The problem was, as a human, Selene continued to age while Ambrogio remained young. Selene was so distressed, Ambrogio petitioned Artemis to make her immortal as well. Artemis agreed, but Ambrogio would have to bite Selene to achieve what she desired. The bite would kill Selene, but from then on, their combined blood would have the ability to create new vampires. The goddess convinced him if they did this, they could stay together forever.

“She also amended Apollo’s curse by allowing all new vampires to walk in daylight after two hundred years in darkness. She then offered Ambrogio daywalker rings, decreeing that any vampires born of Ambrogio’s loins would be able to walk in daylight from birth as long as they wore one of the Sunstone rings.

“Before accepting the rings, Ambrogio bargained for the ability to gift daylight rings to those he deemed worthy. Artemis agreed and presented him with the first daywalker rings.

“Ambrogio was hesitant to bite Selene and lose her, but Selene wanted immortality. That night, as a final act of his love, Ambrogio did as she asked. He took her blood into his body and forever combined their essences. Selene died, and her spirit rose to meet Artemis at the moon. When she joined Artemis, the moon's glow brightened. That was when Artemis made Selene the Goddess of Moonlight.

“Artemis didn’t want Ambrogio to suffer immortality alone, so she taught him how to turn a human to vampire. Through a series of blood exchanges, a human could be turned. Then as a final parting gift, she blessed each vampire with individual gifts. If the vampire were born human and without natural gifts, a gift would make itself known once the conversion was completed.

“Every night Selene reaches down with her rays of light to touch her beloved Ambrogio and all of the vampire children he created. To this day, all vampires carry the blood of Ambrogio and Selene. We all sense her love when the light of the moon touches us.

“Eventually, Ambrogio fell in love a second time. He and his wife, Irina birthed the first of the royal vampire lineage. Sadly, Ambrogio and Irina were slain in a war long ago. As the eldest children of Ambrogio and Irina, Etienne and his twin brother now rule. That’s how Etienne and Ivan became the kings of the vampires.

“Over time we’ve discovered additional abilities that all vampires possess. We can make ourselves invisible to humans by bending light. If several vampires form a circle and become invisible at the same time, it creates a bubble. Anything within the bubble is both invisible and sound proof.

“A few vampires can control minds and program a human to do as they are told. Also, when a vampire takes the blood of a human, he can read that person’s mind if he so desires.

“New vampires have to learn how to use all of these abilities, so they don’t accidentally injure a human. We are incredibly strong and can easily snap a bone if we’re not careful.”

Carolyn sat back. She had leaned forward in rapt attention during his entire explanation. “Wow, that’s a lot of abilities. So if you bite someone, they become a vampire?”

“No,” he chuckled. “A vampire is either born or made. I was made, but that’s a story for another day. Unlike Hollywood horror movies, a human doesn’t die and rise again in three days as a vampire. It requires the sharing of blood three times. A vampire is a magical creature just like a witch or any other species. It’s the magic that changes the human. Since death isn’t required, the vampire can go on to have a family. Thus, the vampires who are born and not made.

“If I bite you, you won’t automatically turn vampire. There has to be an equal exchange of a small amount of blood. This must be done three times. After the first exchange, the human will experience a slight sensitivity to sunlight and a little boost in strength and speed. Once the human has done a second exchange, he or she will have a little more speed, and strength and are no longer be able to endure sunlight. It’s with the third exchange that the human becomes fully vampire and receives near immortality as well as all of the gifts such as healing virtually any wound. Except for decapitation, a vampire can’t come back from that. Each vampire’s additional gifts are different. I received the ability to stop time. But it only works if I concentrate very hard. If there are any distractions, I can’t manage it.”

“Stop time? How does that work?”

“Essentially, I freeze everything within any space of my choosing. As an example, I could freeze everyone in this restaurant and walk out. No one would see me go. I’d simply vanish.”

“Shut up! I bet that comes in handy.”

He laughed at her shock. “On occasion. I don’t use it often.”

Carolyn seemed to mull that over in her mind. “So, what can Etienne do? Does he have extra powers since he’s the king?”

Darius chuckled. “No one knows all of Etienne’s powers. Put it this way, as far as I know, there’s nothing he can’t do.”

Their discussion abruptly stopped when the main course was served. As soon as the waiter walked away, Carolyn leaned forward again and whispered, “How does a vampire do a blood exchange? Do you have to bite a person's neck?”

Darius shrugged. “I could bite anyplace on your body. The point is to take the person’s blood and mix it with your own. We learned quite by accident that slicing the skin deep enough to draw blood of the two people involved and pressing the lacerations together could accomplish an exchange.” He paused and lifted her fingertips to his lips for a tiny nip. “I haven’t decided if I want to bite your neck or a much more intimate location.”

She sucked in a sharp breath. “You plan on biting me?”

“Most definitely. It’s surprisingly sensual. You’ll enjoy it more than you can imagine. I expect you to bite me as well.”

“But that would…” Carolyn’s voice trailed off in a soft moan as he nipped her finger hard enough to draw blood and wrapped his lips around the tiny wound.

“Aye, it would,” he growled as he released her fingers.

They enjoyed their meal avoiding any further discussion of blood exchanges. What Carolyn didn’t realize was the tiny amount of blood Darius had taken from her finger allowed him to read her thoughts. She was both excited and a little apprehensive about taking the next step with him. He could work with that. Reluctantly, he closed off access to his Muierimei's mind. It was wrong to read her thoughts without her knowledge.

Carolyn sat her fork aside and cleared her throat. “I have something to confess.”

Darius placed his napkin over his plate and took a sip of his drink. “Really? I’m intrigued by anything you want to tell me about yourself.”

“When you kissed me I got a glimpse of our future. That’s never happened to me before.”

Darius smiled. “You’ve never seen our future life together, or you’ve never seen your personal future?”

“Both.”

“Was it a good future?”

Carolyn blushed a lovely pink. “I think so. All I saw was the two of us together with a son and a daughter.”

His lips twitched into a mischievous grin. “Excellent. I love children. See, I told you we were soulmates, and you would bite me. I have feelings for you, leannan.” He took her hand and laced their fingers together. “Deep feelings. I know it's insanely soon to say this, but I fell in love with you when I saw you in the hotel lobby.”

“I have feelings for you, too.” She glanced away and then looked him in the eye. “I have something else I should tell you. The reason I came to Savannah was a psychic friend of mine told me that I would meet my destiny here. She even told me to stay at your hotel. And she was very adamant about the way I would instantly feel about you. It looks like Maggie was right.”

“You have a talented friend. I’m glad you followed her advice.” Darius signed the receipt and pushed his chair back. As he helped Carolyn from hers, he whispered into her ear, “Let’s take a walk. I have something to tell you.”

Darius led his Muierimei to the river walk and made sure they were alone before he admitted what he’d done. “I have something to admit to you and ask that you keep an open mind.”

She glanced at him, insecurity stealing the light from her eyes. “All right.”

“To be successful at my job, there are things I have to do. Protecting witches from the Guild requires I collect information on each person in danger. Because you are one of the witches, we are here to protect I had to gather information on you as well.”

Carolyn sucked in a sharp breath. “What kind of information?”

“Photo’s so we could recognize you, and things such as who your employer is and where you live. I’ve looked at your online social pages, and I also have access to your email. That’s how we knew you would be here.”

She was quiet for several long minutes. “I don’t like it, but I understand why you did it. But I don’t want you looking at my emails. That has to stop.”

“The moment I met you I deleted that information. I didn’t want to intrude on your private life. There’s one more thing you should know.”

Carolyn looked suddenly vulnerable. “I’m afraid to ask. What?”

“When I nipped your finger, I drew blood, and I’m able to read your thoughts.” He raised his hands in surrender before she could blast him with her anger. “I’m not reading your mind. I won’t intrude unless you want me to. I live by the code of just because I can doesn’t mean I should.”

She blew out the breath she’d held. “Good. I prefer that you don’t.”

“I won’t. But if you’re in danger, I can’t promise I won’t read your mind. You may be able to give me the information I need to rescue you.”

“If that were the case I would welcome you to read my thoughts. I don’t want to die. I have to warn you though I can’t guarantee I wouldn’t be screaming my fool head off.”

“I can handle screaming as long as you’re safe.”

Carolyn looked at him with a speculative expression. “Did you know ahead of time that I was your soulmate?”

Darius shook his head. “Not at all. I was a little perplexed when your background intrigued me more than the others, but I didn’t know why. It wasn’t until I kissed you that I was sure.”

She shot him a relieved look. “Good, because that would have been creepy.”

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to his side. She immediately responded by wrapping an arm around his waist. Then she pressed her nose into his shirt and inhaled.

“I like this.”

“I do too. My world is perfect when you’re in my arms.”

He planted a soft kiss on her forehead, and when she looked up at him, he captured her lips in a fierce kiss. His tongue sought hers. He’d always liked patchouli. Chuckling in his mind, he pictured himself in his favorite bell-bottoms and tie-dyed T-shirt with a huge peace sign. He had loved the sixties almost as much as he loved patchouli. They were breathing heavily when he pulled back. Carolyn’s expression told him that his emotions were written on his face. He prayed she felt the same sentiments warming her heart and rushing in her veins.

On impulse, Darius got down on one knee. “Please cherish me the way I cherish you. Can you feel my love, Carolyn? Tell me you love me too. Please say you’ll join my world. Do the blood exchanges with me. Be my wife. Tell me you’ll let me love you until the end of days. Allow me to be your hero for the rest of my existence,” he blurted everything he held in his heart in a rush of words.

“I should be afraid, but after seeing our future, I’m not. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Smiling, she pulled him to his feet.

He searched her face, looking for signs of doubt. “Come back to my room, leannan. Let me make love to you and complete the first exchange.”

She placed a palm over his heart and kissed his lips before she quietly asked, “How fast can we get there?”

Darius crushed her to him and kissed her hard, then turned them toward the hotel. Side by side, they walked back, stopping to kiss every so often. If her friends were there, they would tell her she was moving too fast. Carolyn had only known Darius for a few hours, but what they had was right. No, it was perfect.