Darlings of Darkness: A Vampire Anthology Part 186

Still reeling from the events of the previous evening, it took me a good ten minutes to even get the coffee started the next morning. I kept stopping in the middle of what I was doing and going over the conversation with Alex. There were more than just vampires out there. I did not want to believe it, but I sensed he had not been lying to me.

With my brain still contemplating the idea of werewolves and shape s.h.i.+fters and other types of unknown creatures, I switched on the coffee maker before I even added the water. When the machine started sputtering unnaturally, I cursed and flipped the power back off. I grabbed the water pitcher from the cabinet above the coffee maker and filled it at the sink.

I wondered if there was something else that Alex might be holding back from me. Pouring the water into the back of the machine, I decided to corner him sometime this morning and demand answers. I hit the power switch again and stood there listening to the water hissing through the pump.

"Good morning."

I jerked in surprise. Alex was standing in the doorway to the back porch. He was wearing a practical plaid work s.h.i.+rt and a pair of rather tight blue jeans. He was also sporting a large purple bruise near his left eye. I groaned in embarra.s.sment and lowered my head.

"It doesn't hurt very much." He said lightly, settling into a stool in front of the kitchen bar. He gave me a funny little half grin, "What's for breakfast?"

I sighed and shook my head. "Alex, I feel horrible about hitting you. It was totally out of line."

"You were a little emotional at the time. I did point a gun at you, you know."

"Yeah." I got out a couple of coffee cups and sat them by the coffee maker. "But you were trying to help. Sort of."

Although, I reminded myself, I had not needed the help at the time. It irked me that Alex had interrupted my time with Michael twice now. Wait-my time with Michael? Where had that come from? I made a mental note not to think about it in that connotation anymore. Seductive vampire. He was making me feel all... girly.

Alex had risen from his stool and was taking things out of the fridge. "How about I make us up a couple of Denver omelets?"

"Sounds delish," I replied, trying for a real smile, "Although I feel like I should be cooking for you."

"No way. I love to cook and it'll be nice to whip something up in this kitchen without having Nelly ordering me around constantly. This is the perfect opportunity." He poured me a cup of coffee, gestured at the bottle of creamer he had left on the counter and grinned, "Take it out on the porch and chill out. I'll yell when the food's ready."

I smiled back at him, feeling a little burst of happiness ignite inside of me. It was so nice to have somebody besides Nelly do something sweet for me. It felt so domestic. It felt right somehow, seeing Alex so much at ease in my home. That was a little frightening, in a way. What exactly was this thing I was feeling for Alex? It certainly seemed different than just friends.h.i.+p. However, with everything going on with Michael, it felt odd to be even considering anything besides friends.h.i.+p.

Making my way to the back porch with coffee in hand, I tried to suppress a frown.

After breakfast, I tried to call Katie's cell again. It went straight to voice mail and I hung up without leaving a message. It was not like her to shut me out like that for such a long period. I was starting to get really worried about her. I called the dorm and her roommate Paige picked up the phone.

"Yeah?"

"Paige, this is Sarah, Katie's sister. Is she there?"

There was a slight pause and an audible sigh, "Oh, Sarah. I was hoping you might know where she had gone. As far as I know, she hasn't been here for a couple of days."

My heart began hammering against my chest painfully. "When was the last time you saw her?"

"She took off on Wednesday. She said she was going home." Another pause, then she said softly, "Sarah you think something's happened to her? Did she make it down to your house?"

"Yes, but she left a few hours after she got here." I sputtered as panic began setting in. "I haven't heard from her in days. She hasn't returned any of my calls or texts at all."

"Should we call the cops?"

That was the last thing I wanted to do, but I needed to say something to placate Paige before she flew off the handle and went to the police on her own. "I'll call them. If she shows up there, please have her call me right away, okay?"

"I will. And let me know if you find her."

I hung up and struggled to control the rising tide of black fear that had begun inside my head. Where could she have gone? Would she have tried to find our mother after what we had talked about that day? I could not get past the idea that she might be hurt or possibly even dead. With my every instinct, I knew absolutely that my sister was in great danger.

Alex was back in the laundry room folding sheets. When he saw the look on my face, he dropped the pillowcase he had been folding back into the basket and reached out to grasp my hands. It had been an automatic reaction-he wanted to help. Again, making physical contact with him brought on a vision.

I saw Katie, sitting on the ground in a dark s.p.a.ce, s.h.i.+vering and dirty. I saw vampires around her, arguing about something. I fell back into reality with a crash. My shoulder was aching and I was lying on my side on the laundry room floor, staring at the floral wallpaper and trying not to recall the look I had seen on Katie's face.

Lifting my head and turning around, I saw that Alex had gone down, too. We really had to stop doing this to each other. It was getting dangerous.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He groaned a little and shook his head, "That was a rough one. I think I almost pa.s.sed out."

"Did you see anything?" I crawled over to his side and peered down at him. He was lying face-up with one arm across his forehead.

"No, it was just a flood of emotions. Fear, anger, worry." His face lit suddenly with a look of horror.

"What?" I asked desperately.

"Vampires."

"I saw them. They have Katie." I wanted him to tell me that everything was going to be okay and I wanted him to wrap his arms around me without the both of us being knocked out by supernatural images. The open fear revealed in his eyes told me that there was little he could do to help me get my sister back.

I rose from the floor, rubbed my sore shoulder, and looked down at him. The last thing I wanted to do was reveal the full extent of my own fear. I decided to play it tough. Even if it p.i.s.sed him off, I needed to jerk him back to the real world.

"When our guests wake up, we need to come up with a plan to get my sister back. I expect you to help, so get your a.s.s up, and stop it with those big, scared puppy-dog eyes."

Turning from him and heading out of the laundry room, I felt a familiar surge of courage pus.h.i.+ng me forward. I recalled the letter that my Dad had left for me. I could not let anything bad happen to Katie, no matter what kind of weird obstacles I came up against. My Dad had faith in the strength I was capable of, and I was going to prove him right.

While we waited for the sun to set, Alex and I made some calls. I was trying to find anyone who had seen Katie since she left the Inn that day. I called Roxanne at the diner. She said she had not seen Katie at all. I asked her if there had been an unusual group of people hanging around town.

"Now that you mention it, there were four that came in yesterday that kind of gave me the w.i.l.l.i.e.s," she said slowly. "They just kind of looked around for a minute and left. There were three guys, tough looking too-, and one woman. We thought it was a little odd that they just walked in and then out, so I called Frank over at the motel and asked him if he'd seen them before.

Frank had seen them hanging around for about a week, not shopping, not going into the bars. Just lurking around at night. They had not been seen during the day at all.

"Why, hon, is something wrong?" Roxanne asked.

"Some guests reserved a room but never showed up. No big deal."

I thanked Roxanne and hung up. Therefore, they were in town. But why kidnap Katie? In the vision I had seen, Katie had not looked like she had been injured. So they were not after her for blood.

I explained what I'd found out to Alex.

"What could they want?"

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, "They want something from you. Money?"

"I don't really have any. Dad did put some into an account for Katie's tuition, but I don't have any access to it. It can't be money that they want." Nibbling one thumbnail, I considered calling the police. Could it do any harm to involve them?

"They don't want money."

Luanna strolled into the kitchen and glanced around dismissively. She was dressed more casually-stylish jeans with a white angora cardigan and wore her hair in a single crystal-encrusted barrette, leaving most of the silken tresses to fall nearly down to her hips. I rolled my eyes at her.

"So, you know what we're talking about?"

She smiled patiently, "Of course. I could have heard you five miles away."

Oh, yeah. The vampire superpowers. How annoying.

"They want Michael."

Alex and I traded shocked glances, and I spoke up before he could, "Why would they want Michael?"

She trailed a finger over one of the countertops in the kitchen and then rubbed her finger delicately, as if to remove any stray crumbs she had picked up. I clenched my teeth together and waited for an answer. Finally, she perched up on the counter and crossed her long legs, eyeing both of us with an exasperated expression.

"Michael is hot property. The Council put him away for many reasons. But most importantly because he is considered too powerful to be left to his own devices."

"Too powerful?" Alex asked.

"He was created by the oldest vampire on earth-that we know of. Not only did he inherit the powers of the old one, but he also developed some of his own that became... troublesome."

I had not met enough vampires to know which were powerful or not, but it did seem like Michael might be what she described. However, she had not answered all my questions. Not by a long shot.

"So these other vampires want his power?"

Luanna licked her lips and gave Alex a sultry look, "They do."

Alex was floundering under the female's scrutiny, so I tried to keep her attention on me.

"So they expect me to release him in exchange for my sister?"

She sighed and uncrossed her legs. "Yes. They have been planning this since your father died. That's another reason Gunter and I have been sent here."

I sighed and turned as Gunter entered the kitchen. His movements were liquid and graceful as he crossed the s.p.a.ce. He moved to Luanna who drew him close to her for a lingering kiss before he turned back to us. His eyes were unusually dark-almost black and his face was set in an expression of grim acceptance.

"They will come soon. Unfortunately, Michael has used his powers to extend the containment field beyond its original perimeter."

Alex nodded, "He came up close to the house last night."

I cleared my throat and gave Alex a dirty look across the kitchen table. Frowning, I turned back to Gunter.

"Michael is strong enough to push the perimeter out? Is it possible then that he could get away?" I asked.

"He could, I suppose. However, it takes an enormous amount of energy to even stretch the edge of the field. Punching a hole through it might get him the freedom he wants, but he would be very vulnerable once he reached the outside." Gunter said.

"These vamps holding my sister, they can't come in, right? They need me to invite them in?"

Gunter's eyes skipped from my face to Alex's, "They will use your sister to persuade you."

My thumbnail went back into my mouth. My thoughts were whirling with the risks we would be taking by letting them on the property.

Luanna hopped gracefully down from the counter and walked over to the windows, "They need your permission to leave, as well. If you allow them to come in with your sister and we can convince Michael to help us, we can defeat them here."

Alex took a ragged breath and shook his head, "I don't see why Michael would help us. He wants out of here."

"We will speak to him." Gunter said.

I held up a hand, "What a minute. I have a lot of questions for you two about this whole thing. I need answers. Now. My grandfather left me a journal that explained some information about meetings he had with the Council, but it was just names and dates and detail that didn't make much sense to me at all."

"Your questions must wait, Sarah. The rogue group is nearly here. Come, darling." Gunter went silently from the kitchen, followed by Luanna, who gave Alex a friendly little wave on her way out.

We both watched them leave and heard the back door open and close. My emotions were running on high alert knowing that Katie was in such danger and what we were going to have to do to make sure she was safe. I might have one h.e.l.l of a right hook, but I would be powerless against any vampire who wished to kill me.

"It'll be okay." Alex said gently.

My cell phone rang and I struggled not to tremble when I saw the call was coming from Katie's cell. I pushed the receive b.u.t.ton and held it up to my ear.

"h.e.l.lo?"

"Come down to the gate, love," said a male voice with a distinct English accent. There was male laughter in the background, and I could hear a car engine running.

"Please just let her go. She hasn't done anything." I squeaked, rising from my seat at the kitchen table and going to the windows.

"Just come on down, will ya? Haven't got all night, now have we?"

There was a click. The connection had been terminated.

Chapter Ten.

"We can't go down there yet, Sarah!" Alex whispered urgently.

He was following me around the walk that led to the garage. I was tired of playing games and just wanted my sister back. I pulled up the rolling garage door with a grunt and then turned to him.

"I have to let them in. They have Katie."

"What if the Council hasn't convinced Michael to help us?"

I went to the pa.s.senger side of my four-by-four and yanked the door open. "It doesn't matter. Whether he agrees or not, we have to make sure she's safe. So either get in or stay here."

He hesitated, his face stormy with conflict. After a moment, he shot a hot glare at me and went to the driver's side. "Fine, but I'm driving."