Eternal Kiss of Darkness

Mencheres smiled, his fangs stretching to their full length. "So you have spoken, so it shal be decreed. For all eternity."

Chapter 28

The Grand Canyon was ablaze with color in the setting rays of the sun. Rust, orange, vermilion, gold, indigo, and silver seemed to intersperse in an endless mural that was awe-inspiring. If Kira hadn't been so concerned about what the next hour might bring, she would have kept turning in slow circles to try to memorize the astounding beauty all around her.

But, of course, this wasn't a sightseeing trip, even though they were in one of America's most visited tourist attractions. The Grand Canyon was also a good place if they needed to run for their lives. The various caves, fissures, and hiding places were only exceeded by the canyon's enormity. Any pursuing Law Guardians or Enforcers wouldn't know whether to search for them in the skies or below, or so Mencheres had explained.

Kira stood between Vlad and Mencheres, the breeze coloring the air's natural bouquet with the different scents emanating from the two vampires. Mencheres's mix of sandalwood and dark spices was interspersed with Vlad's more unusual aroma of cinnamon and . . . smoke.

"Look," Mencheres said, pointing to the south.

She fixed her gaze in that direction, but all she saw was a blond teenager hiking up a trail about two hundred yards below where they were. She must be ahead of her tourist group, though Kira was surprised that tours ran at night. Maybe she should go down there and mesmerize the group into turning around so there weren't any innocent human bystanders who could get hurt if things got messy with the Law Guardian -

"Mencheres," the teenager called out. "I have come alone as promised."

"That's Veritas?" Kira blurted. The powerful Law Guardian that Mencheres and Vlad had spoken of in such cautious tones? She didn't even look old enough to drive a car!

The pretty young blonde looked right at her then, and even in the distance, Kira could see a flash of bright green in her eyes. Not human, without a doubt.

Vlad leveled his gaze on Kira. "You will quickly learn appearances are the most unreliable way to judge anyone in our world. Take, for example, me." He held up a hand to Veritas, and it burst into blue flames. Kira's eyes widened.

Neither Vlad's fingers nor his palm appeared the slightest bit burnt. The flames coated around his shirt cuff, but somehow that material didn't catch fire. Then when Vlad lowered his hand, the flames immediately extinguished without even a spark or singed hair to show for it.

"Now I know why you smell like smoke all the time," Kira muttered, adding pyrokinesis to her mental list of abilities that some vampires were capable of manifesting.

"Veritas," Mencheres called out. "I thank you for coming."

His voice was calm and confident, but Kira felt Mencheres's tenseness grating across her subconscious. He was braced for this to be an attack, ready to spring her away at the slightest hint of an ambush.

The blond Guardian increased her pace as she came toward them, moving now with a grace and speed up the steep incline in a way that made it obvious she wasn't human.

By the time she was within fifty yards, Kira could feel the energy crackling off her. Power she'd only ever felt in such magnitude before from Mencheres.

"You have one hour to plead your case, Mencheres," Veritas said in a sharp tone. "That is all the grace the memory of our sire and our long association will buy you." This doesn't sound promising, Kira thought. Veritas's Barbie-doll features were a mask of anger, and the energy swirling around her felt distinctly unpleasant.

Mencheres was not intimidated by the Law Guardian's attitude. He bowed his head in a respectful way and proceeded to detail in eloquent and compelling terms how he was in Wyoming with Kira and Gorgon while the club fire and murders occurred. He told Veritas she could pull his cell phone records to determine that calls were made from Wyoming, not Chicago, and that he would never leave behind evidence of their race's existence for humans to find, as evidenced by his destroying the cameras at Disneyland.

He closed with his apologies for thrashing the Enforcers, but said he'd felt it was the only way to protect Kira from Radje's corrupt purposes later. Kira almost wanted to applaud when he was done. If this was a campaign speech, he would've won over every voter.

Except one.

"And do you apologize for murdering an Enforcer, too? Or was that, too, beneath your notice in your zeal to defend your new lover?" Veritas almost spat at Mencheres.

His expression darkened. "What Enforcer? I killed none of them."

"Josephus chased after you in the skies along with six others, but he was later found shriveled on the ground," Veritas replied. Her gaze raked him. "You are indicted for murder of a Guardian Enforcer. Even your many all ies will not be able to sway the council to mercy, no matter how powerful they may be."

She gave a pointed glance at Vlad when she made that comment, but Kira was too outraged to stay silent.

"Mencheres didn't do that! We went right from the skies down into the ocean, not anywhere on the ground. I ought to remember, because it scared the shit out of me."

"Kira . . ." Mencheres began.

"It's true," she replied, more to Veritas than him. The blonde's expression didn't change, but Kira didn't let that stop her. She was so sick of people assuming Mencheres did horrible things without once bothering to consider that someone else might be involved.

"Let me guess, you believe Radje's claim that Mencheres did all these things because he's lost his mind over me, right? And I'm just some wicked bitch who likes to incite him to murder? Could someone at least meet me before thinking that? I thought the human court system was messed up at times, but your vampire system is worse. At least we've got innocent until proven guilty. Not guilty and sentenced before even bothering to look at all the facts."

"Kira!" Mencheres's voice was harsher.

"You dare to insult the laws?" Veritas demanded, holding out her hand to Mencheres after it felt like he'd just snapped an invisible gag across Kira's mouth. "Do not interfere.

Let her speak, or I leave now," Veritas growled.

Kira's lips were released from their sudden immobility. She gave Mencheres a single withering glare that promised severe consequences if he ever did that again, then addressed the steaming Law Guardian.

"I'm all for your laws to seek justice against whoever killed that Enforcer and leaked that tape, but I have to say I'm not impressed with how little investigative work has been done. Radje says Mencheres torched that club, so people just believe it, no matter that I was crazy from bloodlust those first few days and Mencheres was busy taking care of me. Then an Enforcer ends up dead after chasing Mencheres, so obviously, Mencheres killed him. No other explanation is considered even though if the sentence is so severe for one death, why wouldn't Mencheres have just killed them all? It doesn't make sense, especially if you believe he'd suddenly become whipped by a woman who likes him to murder people for her, as Radje keeps claiming."