Eternal Kiss of Darkness

Gorgon came into the bedroom carrying a Styrofoam cooler that he set on the floor.

"This should last until dawn. I'll go back out to get more. Not a lot of hospitals around here, and I'd feel bad if I took their entire supply."

As would Mencheres, though again, the lengths he'd go to protect Kira superseded his concern for the trouble that might cause some unknown mortals.

"Secure fresh blood as well. Fly in some of my property to nearby hotels if need be."

"I will." Gorgon cast a glance at Kira's sleeping form. Mencheres had bathed and re-dressed her again, covering her with the thick quilt over that. It wasn't uncommon for new vampires to feel inexplicably cold as they adjusted to their altered body temperature, and even in spring, it was cooler at this higher altitude than it had been in Chicago.

"The Guardian was right. You do feel something unusual for her. When you're around her, your scent changes, and your shielding slips more than I've ever seen it do," Gorgon said quietly.

Mencheres pulled his emotions back inside the wall that cut off the other vampire's ability to sense them. "After what I've done to her, I would think it matters not."

"You had no choice. Once Kira accepts that and adjusts to being a vampire, she'll stop being angry at you." Then Gorgon smiled. "Though it might be fun to watch in the meantime. You've never had to work to seduce a woman before, have you?" In fact, Mencheres had not previously needed to entice a woman into his bed with sweetened words or passionate pursuit. "Even if I had, considering my long state of celibacy, it would make me very out of practice, to use a contemporary phrase," he noted dryly.

Gorgon laughed. "Like riding a bike, some things you never forget." Mencheres wished the only obstacle between him and Kira was the challenge of winning her. If that were so, he would relish the opportunity to gain her trust, affection, body, and - gods willing - her heart. But once again, that black void in his future was the true obstacle.

"I have larger concerns at present," was all Mencheres said.

Gorgon's smile faded. "Radjedef."

Mencheres sighed, closing his eyes. "I know what he wants, and I must ensure he does not find a way to force me to give it to him."

"You need to tell Bones."

His eyes snapped open. "No. And you will swear to me that you will not." Gorgon looked dismayed, but he nodded. "If you insist. He's going to hear about Kira, though. I bet those three vampires at the club have already burned up the text-messaging and phone lines talking about it."

No doubt Flare, Patches, and Wraith had told others of the events last evening, but Mencheres wasn't concerned with Bones learning about Kira. He would have known of her importance to him as soon as he opened the Legacy envelope Mencheres left him.

Now the only difference was that Bones would hear of Kira before that, but it was imperative that he not learn of Radjedef's increased hostility. Cat had only recently escaped a brush with death from one of the Law Guardians herself. Neither she nor Bones could risk angering another Guardian for a long, long time if they wished to stay alive.

Moreover, this fight with Radjedef had been brewing long before Bones was even born. Mencheres had no intention of letting his co-ruler fight this battle for him. It was his to win.

The currents in the room shifted and began to concentrate over the bed. Mencheres glanced at Gorgon, who wordlessly got out a bag of blood from the cooler.

He picked Kira up with one hand and took the bagged blood from Gorgon with the other, heading for the bathroom. Waking in a blood-soaked bed would do little to all eviate Kira's stress at being a new vampire.

Then again, waking in a blood-soaked bathroom probably wouldn't cause her to fare much better, but it was easier to clean tile than carpet and sheets, at least.

"You want me to wait, or leave now to round up more blood?" Gorgon asked.

Mencheres gave another glance at Kira, who was starting to twitch - the precursor to her roaring into awareness with a burning, mindless hunger.

"You may leave. I'll care for her."

And he would, during whatever time he had left.

Chapter 16

Kira sat in the chair by the fireplace, hearing the crackling of the flames as acutely as if it were trees being chopped down. Still, she'd wanted the fire. Its warmth was a gentle cocoon, and it was softer on her eyes than the glare of the high-hat lighting or table lamps. She might be able to see in complete darkness now, but she didn't want all lights extinguished in order to be reminded of that. It was hard enough dealing with the intermittent chills, fangs stabbing her in the lip without warning, the clamor outside from the woods, and oh yes, her violent blackouts where she'd come to with blood running down her face and a burning desire for more of it.

She only had Mencheres's word that she hadn't hurt anyone during these blackouts.

Well, that, and the cooler of rapidly dwindling blood bags. Mencheres said not to worry, that Gorgon would be back with more by dawn. The thought both disgusted and relieved Kira. No one needed to tell her that she was a threat to anyone - or anything - with a heartbeat right now, but though her body craved that red liquid with a boundless ferocity, Kira's mind still couldn't reconcile the fact that she was drinking blood. Human blood.

She'd consider it a form of cannibalism, except she wasn't human herself anymore.

She leaned back - and the chair crashed beneath her, startling her. Even more surprising was that she wasn't sprawled on the wooden floor right now, but staring down at the broken chair with the afghan still around her shoulders. Had she leapt up before the chair fell? God, was she really that fast now?

A tingling along her skin announced that Mencheres had come into the room. He was almost soundless in his movements; only his scent and the faint rustling of his clothes would have betrayed his presence, if Kira couldn't feel him. She didn't even need to turn around to know how much distance separated them. The stronger that vibration grew along her skin, the closer Mencheres was.

Would all people feel as though they had their own form of an electrified force field around them? Or was that exclusive to vampires? Kira didn't want to ask. She wasn't sure she could handle more information right now.

"I don't know what happened, the chair just broke," she said. So much for getting a little time to herself. She hadn't been alone for ten minutes before the chair self-destructed on her.

"Leave it. I'll attend to it."

Even his voice sounded different than it had before she woke up undead. It was deeper, the nuances from his accent richer - and it seemed to curl around her like a thick, inviting fog.