Amanda Ashley (7 page)
Authors: Deeper Than the Night
Tags: #Vampires, #Horror, #Contemporary, #General, #Romance, #Fiction, #Paranormal
“Wherever you wish, Kara. A movie, perhaps?”
“I'd like that. I've been dying to see the new Mel Gibson flick.”
“What time shall I pick you up?”
“Seven?”
“Seven,” he repeated solemnly. “I should go now. It's late.”
“So soon?”
“I'm afraid so.”
He clenched his fists, afraid to stay longer, afraid the yearning he felt for her would overcome his self-control. The bond they shared called to him, urging him to complete the ritual, to join his body to hers.
Leaning forward, his lips brushed hers in a quick kiss of farewell. “I shall call you at the motel tomorrow night. And don't worry. Everything will be all right.”
“I wish . . .”
“What, Kara? What do you wish?”
“I wish you could take me.” Except for picking
up her car that morning, she hadn't driven since the accident. It was silly to be afraid, but she couldn't help feeling apprehensive.
“I wish I could, too. Unfortunately, I have an appointment tomorrow morning that I cannot break.”
“I understand.” It was like falling off a horse, she mused, and since Nana didn't drive, there was nothing to do but get back on, only in her case, it wasn't a horse but a dark green Camry.
“Good night, Kara.”
“Good night.”
He gazed into her eyes and wondered how she had managed to retain such innocence, such trust, in this day and age.
She was a modern woman. She lived alone. She had a job, and yet he sensed a vulnerability about her that set her apart. Perhaps it was that very trait that reminded him of AnnaMara.
Kara stared up at the doctor. His name was Dale Barrett. He was a tall, middle-aged man, with straight brown hair and pale brown eyes that did nothing to invite her trust. “I don't understand.”
“I'm afraid we don't, either, Miss Crawford. There's an unusual antibody in your blood that we've never seen before. We want to do some extensive tests.”
“More tests?” Kara shook her head. “No.”
“Miss Crawford, surely you can see how important it is that we determine the origin of this antibody. At the moment, we don't know what its effects might be. We must determine if it's contagious. I don't want to alarm you, but there's every possibility that this antibody could prove fatal.”
“Fatal! But how could that be? I feel fine.”
“I understand your concern, Miss Crawford.”
“Do you?”
“Of course. I've already made all the arrangements. Your room is waiting.”
Kara jumped off the table. “Now, wait a minute. I haven't agreed to this.”
“I'm afraid I must insist.”
“Does Dr. Peterson know about this? Why isn't he here?”
“He'll be coming to see you as soon as you're settled.” Barrett smiled reassuringly. “Dr. Peterson is a fine doctor, but he's only a general practioner. He wanted to be sure you got the best of care, and that's why he called me in as a consultant. My field of expertise is hematology.”
Panic rose up in Kara as two men wearing white lab coats and masks entered the examining room. “I want to talk to my grandmother.”
“All in good time.” Dr. Barrett pulled a syringe from his coat pocket.
Kara took a step backward. “What's that for?”
“Nothing to be alarmed about.”
“What is it?”
“Just something to help you relax.”
“I don't want it.”
“I'm afraid you're on the verge of hysteria, Miss Crawford. This will calm you.” Barrett nodded at the two white-coated men.
“No!” She screamed the word as the two men took hold of her, flinched as she felt the prick of the needle in her arm. “No, please . . .”
She stared up at the doctor, her vision blurring. This couldn't be happening. Alexander! Her mind screamed his name as she tumbled into oblivion.
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Lena Corley shook her head. “I don't understand. What are you saying?”
“I'm afraid we've found an abnormality in your granddaughter's blood, Mrs. Corley. We need to keep her here for further observation until we've determined the cause of the abnormality and determined whether it might be contagious. Or toxic.”
“How did such a thing happen?”
“We don't know.”
“Was there something wrong with the blood she received?”
The doctor shook his head. “We screen all of our blood donors very carefully. That's why we're so confused. We have the names of the people whose blood was used. They've all been rechecked.”
Lena Corley stared at the paper in front of her. They wanted her to admit Kara to the hospital for some extensive tests. The doctor, whose name was Barrett, had informed her that Kara had fainted during an examination and that she was still unconscious. They feared it had something to do with the abnormal red cells in her blood. It was urgent, the doctor said, that they find the cause of her problem as soon as possible. Until then, it was imperative that she be kept in isolation.
“Think of your other granddaughter, Mrs. Corley. You don't want to take a risk of infecting her, now do you?”
“No, no, of course not, but . . .”
“I understand, but you mustn't worry,” Barrett said reassuringly. “I promise you that we'll do everything we can for Kara.” He handed her a pen. “Just sign your name there, on the first page, and again on page four. I'll take care of everything else.”
Lena shook her head as she squinted at the fine
print. “So many big words that I don't understand.”
“Of course. All that legal mumbo jumbo. All it says is that we have your permission to keep Kara overnight, and to prescribe treatment for her.”
“I don't know . . .”
“Mrs. Corley, time is of the essence in cases like this. Do you really want to put Kara's life at risk by waiting?”
With a sigh of resignation, Lena signed the papers.
Alex called the Grenvale Motel at six o'clock that evening, but the clerk informed him that Kara had not yet checked in. He knew a moment of concern, and then he shrugged it aside. She was a grown woman. Perhaps she had gone out to dinner or shopping. Grenvale was a big city, much larger than Moulton Bay, and it was still early. He would write a chapter, then call again.
Chapter III
I stared into Lilith's face. “What have you done to me?”
“I have made you immortal.”
I stared up at her, knowing what she was, yet refusing to acknowledge it; knowing, in the very depths of my being, that my soul was damned.
“What are you?”
Amusement flared in her eyes. “What do you think I am?”
“I don't know.”
“You know.”
I shook my head. “It's not possible.”
“We are known by many names.
Vrykalakes, blutsauger, upiry. Vampyr, Vampyre.
” She smiled. “Vampire, Alesandro, that is what I am. That is what you are.”
“No . . .” I stared at her, the embodiment of every nightmare I had ever known, every fear that had tormented me. Vampire. The undead.
“Go outside,” she said curtly. “Empty yourself of bodily fluids. Then come back to me.”
I did as I was told. Numb to everything around me, I did as I was told. I knew it was winter, that the air was cold, but I felt nothing at all.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed when I returned. “When you wake tomorrow, the transformation will be complete.” Rising, she glanced at the window. “It is almost dawn.”
I followed her gaze. The window was covered with a heavy green damask drape that would have kept out the light of the brightest day. How, I wondered, how did she know dawn was approaching?
“You may spend the day here, with me,” she said. “Tomorrow you must find your own place to rest.” She made a sound of disgust when I said nothing, only continued to stand there, staring at her. “Come along,” she said, and taking me by the hand, she led me through a narrow door, up a short flight of stairs, into a small windowless room that was empty save for an ornate casket set upon a raised platform.
Dropping my hand, she climbed the stairs of the platform and lifted the lid, revealing a lining of deep green satin.
And then she held out her hand. “Come, Alesandro. The dawn approaches.”
I stared at her hand in horror. “No.”
“What's the matter?” she asked disdainfully. “Surely you're not afraid of this box?”
I shook my head, too ashamed to tell her it wasn't the coffin I feared, though I must confess I was loathe to climb into it. What I feared was the darkness inside.
“Do as you wish,” she said, her voice tinged with disgust.
Turning her back to me, she climbed into the casket, her movements as graceful as a reed bending in the wind.
I stood there for a long while, and then, without knowing how or why, I knew the sun had come up. I felt myself growing heavy, lethargic. The feeling, so unfamiliar, frightened me, and I ran up the stairs and hurled myself into the casket. Lilith was lying on her side to make room for me. She smiled smugly, and then she lowered the lid on the casket, shutting us in darkness.
A hoarse cry of primal fear rose in my throat, and then I was dragged down into a deep black void, all conscious thought swept away.
When I awoke the following night, she was gone. I lay there for a moment, my body wracked with pain such as I had never felt before. And then, realizing where I was, I bolted out of the coffin and ran down the stairs to her bedroom.
She was sitting on a velvet-covered bench, brushing her hair. I realized then that there were no mirrors anywhere in the house.
“Awake at last?” she asked. “I had rather
thought you'd be an early riser, being a farmer and all.”
“Lilith, help me.”
“What's wrong?”
“I hurt.” I wrapped my arms around my stomach, certain I was dying, only then remembering that I could not die.
“It's nothing to be concerned about,” she remarked. “It will pass after you've fed.”
My gaze darted toward the bed as I remembered the boy she had killed the night before. She had drained his life. That was how she took sustenance. The thought filled me with revulsion, and then, to my horror, I felt my teeth grow long at the thought of the boy's blood on my tongue.
“No.” I backed away from her. “I can't. I won't.”
“You can,” she said coldly. “You will.”
“No, never.”
“You can come with me now, tonight, and learn to hunt, or you can leave my house and learn to survive on your own.”
“And if I don't wish to survive?”
“Then you have only to wait for sunrise. A fledgling such as yourself will burst into flame at the first touch of the sun.”
I shuddered at the thought, at the hideous images her words conjured in my mind.
“There is much you need to learn, Alesandro. I can teach you, or I can destroy you. The choice is yours.”
I had never thought myself a coward until I faced the very real possibility of dying again. . . .
He called the hotel again at eight, and at nine, and again at ten. And always the message was the same: Neither Miss Crawford nor her grandmother had checked in.
Worried now, Alex left the house. Opening the garage door, he pulled his car keys from his pocket and slid behind the wheel of the Porsche. He turned the key in the ignition, listened appreciatively as the engine hummed to life. Backing down the driveway, he headed for Grenvale.
The Porsche flew down the highway. He had grown to love the sense of freedom he experienced behind the wheel. He felt attuned to the car, almost a part of it.
He arrived in Grenvale in record time. Leaving the Porsche in the motel parking lot, he locked the car door, then crossed the blacktop to the motel.
And again the message was the same: Miss Crawford had not checked in.
With a curt nod, Alex left the motel. Standing in the shadows, he let his mind expand.
Kara, where are you?
He waited, listening, and when he sensed no reply, he drove to the hospital. He drove through the parking lot, feeling a ridiculous sense of relief when he saw her car.
He parked the Porsche next to her Camry, then went into the hospital, determined to find out what was going on.
The night nurse listened to him patiently, then shook her head. “I'm sorry, sir,” she said, “Miss Crawford is in an isolation unit. She's not allowed any visitors just now.”
“I want to see her doctor.”
“I'm afraid he's left for the night. He should be back first thing in the morning if you'd like to call then.”
“Can you tell me if she's all right?”
“Are you family, sir?”
“No. Dammit, you've got to let me see her.”
The nurse glanced up and down the hallway, then leaned forward and lowered her voice. “I shouldn't tell you this, but Miss Crawford's fine. She's just being kept overnight while they wait for the results of her tests. She was a little upset, and her doctor gave her a sedative to help her sleep.”
“You're sure she's all right?”
“Yessir. I'm sure you'll be able to see her tomorrow.”
“I can't wait until then.”
“Well, you could wait here a while, if you like. I could let you know if I hear anything.”
“Thank you.”
She smiled up at him. “You're welcome, sir.”
He sat down in one of the hard plastic chairs, aware that the nurse glanced repeatedly in his direction.
Too restless to sit still for long, he paced the hallway for a time, weighing the wisdom of trying to find Kara on his own.
On the pretext of going to the cafeteria, he walked through the hospital's quiet halls. A sign announced that the Isolation Ward was located on the fourth floor.
Taking the stairs, he walked up to the fourth floor, through the double doors marked
ISOLATION UNIT. NO VISITORS BEYOND THIS POINT
.