And now she’d just had a vision of the future. He could hardly wrap his head around that, or around the fact that she’d seen them together, as a couple.
More than anything else, she’d just confirmed his belief that she could help his world. She had more power than he’d seen in a long time, and she was human, another confirmation that she was the right choice.
But how could he make her understand how much she was needed? The fact that she could see him also reflected the nature of her latent power and that Rumy had been right to send him here to Seattle.
He just had a couple of problems. First, he shouldn’t have left Italy when he did, because he was still recovering from the effects of blood-starvation and the long flight had weakened him.
Second, what he was about to do went against every single one of his principles. He believed in the rights of the individual over everything else. But in this situation, if Shayna didn’t actually agree to come with him, he might have to abduct her.
Even thinking about it made him sick in his gut, but he was out of options. He had an entire world to save, maybe even human earth as well, and Shayna Prentiss was the only woman on the planet who could help him right now.
She just looked so damn young to be the last, best hope for his world.
But Daniel was driving relentlessly through the vampire world, going after the final extinction weapon full-bore. The weapon, through the use of a pre-set decibel, had the ability to kill any vampire within its proximity with just a flip of the switch. If Daniel got hold of the weapon before Marius did, his entire culture was doomed to either slavery or annihilation. Daniel, the psychopath that he was, would take great pleasure in either venture.
Torture was Daniel’s specialty, but mass murder would no doubt have tremendous appeal to his sick mind.
Shayna, according to Rumy’s best information, had a unique, human ability to form a tracking pair with Marius. If she would agree to work with him, together they could secure the location of the weapon before Daniel. The trouble was, Daniel was offering a fortune to anyone who could find the weapon.
And the hunt was on.
Essentially, Marius was running out of time. He’d taken precautions to make his way secretly to Seattle, to find Shayna, and to bring her back to Italy with him. But Daniel was a powerful Ancestral and might have sent his men to watch his movements. He could be under attack at any moment.
Then there was Shayna herself. He didn’t want to intrude in her life in this way, but he had no other recourse. She was the one. The telepathy, that she could see through his disguise, as well as her unexpected vision had confirmed it.
Knowing he had to do everything he could to persuade her, he released his disguise fully, something he hadn’t wanted to do in case he’d been followed. But he wouldn’t just snatch Shayna without trying to talk to her, to persuade her so that he didn’t have to resort to abduction.
He glanced around, but so far so good. He’d know if any of his kind had shown up.
“The wavy lines are gone.” Her light-blue eyes went wide. “Why is that?”
“I just dropped my disguise, which makes me vulnerable, but I want you to be able to trust me. Your vision has confirmed that you’re the right woman, the one I’ve been looking for. Please come with me. Let me show you my world and talk to you in depth about what’s going on.”
“And you really are a vampire?”
He nodded.
She put two fingers to her temple and rubbed in a circle, squeezing her eyes shut. “I feel so dizzy.”
“It’s probably the telepathy. I had to punch pretty hard against your mind to break through, another indication of your level of natural power. I can explain everything later. I don’t want you to be scared, but I need to take you away right now.”
“You don’t want me to be scared? You’re gripping my arms, you’re the size of a tank, and now you’re talking about needing to cart me off somewhere.”
“Shayna, we’ve got a bad guy running lose and he’s trying to take over our world. The thing is, if he succeeds, he’ll be after yours next and there will be nothing you can do to stop him.”
She searched his eyes for a long moment, frowning. “Even if all this is true, what can that possibly have to do with me? I’m an anthropology grad student here at U-Dub. I’m not exactly superhero material. More like an egghead-type who happens to be curious about other cultures.”
“Then maybe look at it this way: You’ll be able to see an entirely different civilization firsthand. Doesn’t that intrigue you a little?”
He saw her eyes flare and knew with just a little more back-and-forth he could persuade her. This could almost work. If only she’d stop looking so pale and shocked out.
She pressed her hands to her face. “I’ll wake up soon. I just know it. This isn’t a hallucination, this is just a really vivid dream. Those crab cakes I had at dinner tasted funny.”
Marius didn’t know what else he could say and his instincts told him it was only a matter of minutes before he was discovered here.
And she’d had a vision in which they’d been together. She’d seen the future.
As he looked at Shayna, as he factored in her vision, suddenly time slowed to a crawl. Though he had seen pictures of her on her blog, a few candid photos from a recent trip to Honduras, he hadn’t seen her close up, not like this, just inches away.
Her complexion was like milk, her hair white-blond, and her eyes a light, unearthly blue. She was so beautiful that he swore his heart stopped beating for a few seconds. When it began again, it was a dull thud against his rib cage.
He hadn’t expected this, to be so drawn to the woman who could save his world.
Her hair was straight, and she wore it past her shoulders. She had a lovely nose with a beautiful curve near the bridge. Her brows were arched slightly.
His gaze drifted to her neck, then down to the notch at the base of her throat. He watched her heart beating and his fangs began to thrum in his mouth. His hunger rose as well, followed sharply by a desire so profound that without thinking he drew her against him. If somewhere in the back of his mind he knew his conduct was completely inappropriate and not at all useful, he couldn’t seem to help himself.
“What … what are you doing?” Her voice was a whisper.
She stilled in his arms as he sniffed her hair and nuzzled along her cheekbone, then toward her ear, smelling what was the softest, most intoxicating scent, a delicate floral. He flicked his tongue over her skin.
You taste like heaven, Shayna. My God, I hadn’t expected this.
What would her blood be like filling his mouth, easing his deepest vampire need?
He slid his lips down the side of her cheek, kissing and tasting as he went.
Then he found her lips and began kissing her, willing her to respond, loving the feel of her mouth beneath his. He had to get inside her, so he traced his tongue along the seam of her lips.
Part of his rational mind knew he was spinning out of control to be kissing the woman he’d have to kidnap if she didn’t agree to come with him. But nothing else seemed more important than making a physical connection with her.
He heard a warbling sound coming from her throat as he began to thrust his tongue in and out. Her scent now filled his nostrils, no longer the light floral but heavier now and sultry as though the flower had just bloomed. She liked what he was doing; she wanted him.
A thrill ran through him, stronger and more powerful than anything he’d ever known. But why?
* * *
Shayna was utterly and completely shocked that she was allowing this bizarre kiss. And not just allowing, but enjoying.
First the vampire had said he needed her help; then he got this funny look on his face, pulled her against his muscular chest, then started sniffing her hair.
After that, she’d moved into some kind of strange enthralled state in which all she could do was let the kiss happen. But what stunned her was how she felt, like she could float,
or sing, or fly. She didn’t want the kiss to end.
Finally, she drew back, the dizziness having returned but for a different reason this time. She placed a hand on his chest and in a soft voice asked, “What was that?”
He shook his head slowly, which told her he was as confused as she felt. “I don’t know. I didn’t mean to do that. I don’t think I’m helping my cause very much right now.”
He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, maybe trying to regain control of himself.
Shayna took a step back. She needed to do the same thing, to find her rational mind. Besides, she still wasn’t sure the man even existed, although he was becoming more real by the second.
But there was one thing she knew for sure, she had her own life, her own plans, and she wasn’t willing to toss them aside for the sake of problems in a world not even her own. “I’m sorry, Marius, but I can’t go with you. I wish you well, even if I’m still questioning your existence.”
He released her right arm, but only enough to rub the side of his head and squint. He looked like he was in pain.
“Are you okay?”
“No. I’m sensing something or someone nearby.”
Movement beyond his shoulder brought her gaze shifting to a new apparition, a much more complex one. This time several men, a dozen by her count, dressed similarly in black leather and big like Marius, arrived about thirty feet away, landing on the sidewalk and in the street, as though they’d been in flight as well.
To a man, they had the look of military, just as Marius did. Had he brought reinforcements in order to persuade her to get on board with his plans?
“So let’s say I wasn’t slipped some kind of hallucinogenic, or a roofie, or anything else—do you know who those men are? I’m guessing by the way they arrived that they’re from your world. So did you bring them to intimidate me, because it’s kind of working.”
Marius turned and, at that moment, everything changed. For one thing, Marius started cursing up a shitstorm, then, “Daniel sent his troops. We are so fucked.”
He said other words, but when he turned to her he looked really upset, even guilty as hell. “I’m sorry, Shayna, but we just ran out of time.”
She didn’t know what he meant by that until he grabbed her, pinned her to his chest, then launched straight up into the air.
For at least two seconds, she didn’t know what had happened. But as Seattle disappeared below her, she realized he’d abducted her and that she now flew toward a heavy bank of dark clouds that streaked lightning like crazy.
She’d get killed by the storm.
Fear shot through her skull, her heart pounding hard.
She started to struggle, but he held her clamped in his arms. He shifted his flight, angling so that she now had a different, more distant view of Seattle. She screamed long and loud.
No one can hear you. I’ve created a disguise. Let’s just hope like hell it holds. His voice again, once more inside her head.
He started flying faster and faster.
But what she didn’t understand was that despite the thunder clouds, the lightning, the rain, she passed through all that mass as though surrounded by a gentle breeze. How was this even possible?
But the next moment, pain pierced her head like nothing she’d ever known before. She writhed and screamed all over again.
Sorry. Altered flight hurts humans, but it can’t be helped. I had to make this happen fast.
Though she had no idea how she was communicating telepathically, the words formed in her head and she responded. Oh, God, I hurt. You bastard, you’re killing me.
Somewhere in the middle of things, the world turned black.
CHAPTER 2
Marius thanked God when Shayna passed out. He knew the pain he’d caused, but it couldn’t be helped. He didn’t have higher levels of power like some vampires, which was the only thing that could have prevented the pain, and he needed to lose the small army that Daniel sent after him by flying at top speed. If they caught up to him, he’d die and so would the woman in his arms.
Then where would his world be?
He had one advantage: He was faster than the men chasing him. His father’s DNA had given him that. All he had to do was get out far enough in front, then shift course, and they’d never find him.
What he wanted more than anything was to get back to Rumy’s place, to The Erotic Passage, because he and Shayna would be safe there. However, he’d bet every cent he had on the likelihood that Daniel had men waiting to intercept. He’d never get within a thousand yards of Lake Como, maybe not even Italy, without being attacked.
As he flew, he glanced down at the Great Plains stretching out beneath him. Shifting slightly to check his back trail, he saw Daniel’s men in the form of a few specks scattered in a long row, essentially on course for Italy and Rumy’s club. They’d lose visual in a few more seconds. But he knew one way to help things along, a trick he’d learned from his surrogate father, Gabriel, a vampire of tremendous power.
Slowly, he built a secondary disguise around himself. Daniel would have been able to see through the disguise, but not his lackeys.
When the shield was complete, he decided to test it out and dropped three hundred feet, straight down, then hovered in the air. He held Shayna tightly against him, keeping her safe.
Slowly, he levitated backward until he semi-reclined in the air. In this position, he could watch the men in flight above him, but still remain levitating in altered flight. Yeah, he had some chops.
Daniel’s men drew closer and closer, but remained in the same horizontal line as well as altitude, eyes forward.
Not one vampire hesitated in the air. No one looked around or down or anything. Besides the fact that they couldn’t see him, they weren’t even looking for him.
He took a breath, then another, and finally heaved a sigh when the warriors disappeared from sight. He could feel their flight pattern as if he’d built it inside his head. He was right. They were all were headed east in the direction of Lake Como.
And that meant Daniel had called them back, no doubt to join a second contingent already waiting to intercept Marius near Rumy’s famous sex-club complex.
Marius remained in position pondering his next move. Now that he knew for sure he couldn’t return to Rumy’s, he had to find shelter elsewhere. He needed to hide out, regroup, explain things to Shayna, and hopefully get her on board.
Like both his brothers, Adrien and Lucian, he had several secret homes scattered around the world, places he could escape to when needed. He had a place in the States, but decided against remaining in North America. Daniel may have left some of his forces behind to search the continent for him.
Keeping his disguising shield tight, he shifted course to the south and formed a mental image of his home in the Andes. He had a residence in the hill caves near General Carrera Lake on the Chilean side.
Once he fixed his mind on the bedroom of that dwelling, he took off, flying on autopilot toward South America, unconcerned about weather, planes, birds in flight, mountains, anything. Traveling in altered flight would allow him to pass easily through anything solid, and his internal vampire guidance system kept him on course.
Fifteen minutes later, after traveling thousands of miles, he closed in on the lake. If he’d been at Ancestral power, like both Daniel and Gabriel, he could have made the trip in a tenth of that time. More than once over the past year of imprisonment and torture at Daniel’s hand, Marius had considered engaging his latent Ancestral power. Yet he hesitated, for the simple reason that he didn’t want to follow in his father’s footsteps. He’d long since made the decision to avoid rising to Ancestral status if he could possibly help it.
He began to slow, and eased through the hills, descending through solid matter as though it were no more significant than heavy fog. His cavern was sealed off from the outside, which made it ideal in terms of remaining secure from human trespassers.
But it had one other advantage. Three hund
red years ago, he’d hired an Ancestral to create an intricate layered disguise over the small private home so that very few vampires would ever know of its existence. With luck, Daniel didn’t know about it, either.
He touched down in the bedroom, dropping out of altered flight, and carefully settled Shayna on his bed. She looked absurdly pale against the dark-gray silk comforter. She was probably cold as well, being human. His own vampire genetics kept him warmed up no matter how low the temperature fell.
He took a down comforter from an adjacent armoire and covered her up. The fact that she released a sigh and visibly relaxed told him that he’d called it right.
Removing his coat and hanging it on a peg next to the armoire, he crossed to the fireplace. He stacked up a bunch of kindling, then created a tepee of smaller logs. Within a few minutes, the fire took hold and started warming up the room.
He’d left almost everything about the cave in a semi-finished state. The original architect had hired craftsmen to square up the walls and to create a rough-hewn ceiling that flowed in a circle, with a portion indented to a peak. But nothing was smooth or polished.
He’d always liked the effect.
With the fire heating the room, he returned to the bed. Two stone shelves, also carved from rock, created shallow bedside tables. He lit a branch of candles, the only lighting in his home. His own vampire vision kept the space in a glow, but he didn’t want Shayna coming to consciousness in a pitch-black room.
He sat down on the bed next to her, frowning. She represented something to him, something he had a hard time placing. Maybe it was her innocence, even though a year and a half ago, she’d made a fairly typical mistake of falling for one of her professors.
Once she’d won Rumy’s online game that identified her as a human with tremendous if latent tracking abilities, he’d had her investigated. Marius knew quite a bit about her, including the fact that she had no immediate family left. Though she’d been on her own for a long time and very independent, her life as an American college student would in no way have prepared for the things she was likely to see and do if she stuck with him.