Blood Curse (15 page)

"They won't even see you.” Rialto laughed at her doubtful expression as he guided her out the front door and locked it behind him.

"We're just going to walk out the front entrance?” Aria shook her head as they headed down the hallway toward the stairs which would take them to the apartment building's front entrance.

"Correction,” Rialto said, stopping her with a firm hand. “I'm going to walk right out the front entrance. You're coming along for the ride, just try not to squeal too much if it excites you. I have hypersensitive hearing."

Before Aria could say another word, he scooped her up into his arms and raced down the staircase, out the front doors and through the small group of reporters and photographers at a speed that defied all scientific reasoning. A second later, as he lowered her to the ground six blocks away, his hunger was at a dangerously high level.

He sat on a nearby bench trying to regain some of his spent energy while Aria stood before him turning in a circle, gaping.

"Wow,” she finally gasped. “I've read about vampiric speed, but . . . Wow."

Rialto smiled softly, remembering how in awe he'd been of every new feat he'd discovered and mastered as a newly-turned vampire. He wondered if Aria would be as avid as he was to learn all the tricks and skills.

He closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to shake out the image of Aria as a vampiress. That line of thinking was dangerous.

"Rialto, are you all right?” He tensed as he felt her cool fingertips brush his hair back from his brow. “You're burning up."

"I'm all right. Moving that fast drains a lot of energy. I just need to rest a little.” He eased his head down against the back of the bench and tried not to jump when he felt Aria press herself close against his side. Damn, he wanted to taste her. His stomach was roiling with the need for fresh blood, and he knew without a doubt hers would energize him like none other. Unfortunately, he didn't think he would be able to handle that strength enough to know when to stop.

"You moved fast after killing those punks in the alley and later behind Fat Kracker's when I tried to run away. You didn't need to rest then."

"That was different."

"How so?"

"I wasn't running for a six-block stretch, and I'd just fed behind Fat Kracker's."

"Rialto, your mother—"

"Is too nosy for her own good,” he interjected, cutting her off before she could bring up the topic of soul mates and other such nonsense.

A moment of tense silence passed before she spoke again. “You don't look well, Rialto. I appreciate you promising to find the killer, but I'm making you sick, aren't I?"

No, not sick. Feverish with desire
, he thought, recalling his mother's words.

"I'm fine, just a little overexerted is all,” he said gruffly as he forced himself to stand. His head spun, but he determinedly refused to let that show. “My finding the killer goes beyond the promise I made to you anyway.” He helped Aria to her feet. “This has gotten personal."

"Because it's a vampire?"

Damn, she was stubborn. Yet, it was better for her to think that than to know that it was because he cared for her and couldn't bear the thought of her being harmed. She had already offered herself to him twice, and he didn't know how many more times he could control himself when put into that position. If she knew how strongly he really felt . . .

"Seta thinks the killer is a witch or someone who has a strong knowledge of black magic,” he informed her. “It is possible—not likely, but possible—that the killer is some type of vampire, but he is definitely not a full-blooded one. We don't know what the hell he is, but yeah, what he's doing has really pissed us off.” More than she would ever know, Rialto thought as he remembered the vision Seta had told him about. No man or creature would ever touch his woman, and whether he could have her or not, Aria
was
his woman. “Besides, this is my job."

"Your job?"

Rialto laughed at the way her brow furrowed, as if she was confused by the prospect of him having a job. “Yeah, my job. Vampires need money too, you know. We can't buy cars and houses with our charm."

"So what do you do?” Her brows were still drawn together, her beautiful emerald eyes intense with curiosity.

"I'm a bounty hunter."

Her eyes widened for a moment, then she nodded. “I see, but I never offered you any money to catch this guy. I probably couldn't afford it."

"Some jobs I don't mind doing pro bono. My car is parked up here.” He led her two feet up the sidewalk, where his rental was parked at the curb. “I wanted to make sure we weren't followed by any of the press,” he explained as he opened the passenger door and helped her inside.

Once in his seat, he started the car and turned his head to look at Aria. “Are you getting by all right? Does your art provide you with enough income?” Her apartment was small and not in the best of neighborhoods, but he knew that could be personal choice.

"I do all right,” she answered softly as she gazed out the windshield. “I used to do a lot of pottery and sculpture for this little store near the art district but since my mother died, I've been mostly living off her life insurance. It's not enough to live off of indefinitely, but it'll get me through this period. I just haven't felt like making anything bright and cheerful lately, you know?"

"I understand perfectly,” Rialto answered as he put the Sedan in drive and pulled onto the street. He made a silent vow to himself as he navigated the car through the dark streets. As long as Aria Michaels walked the same earth as him, she would never struggle.

Seta grimaced as she watched Rialto's back shudder from the force of his retching. The moment she'd seen him pull his car into the church's small parking lot she'd known he hadn't let fate guide him. He still refused to share his blood with Aria. And now he was paying the price.

A few hours ago, they'd left Aria in Christian's hands and ventured out into the night, intending to search Baltimore's parks for more clues as to what kind of monster they were up against, but Rialto had needed to feed. His stomach had been practically roaring.

Two victims later she stood behind him in a darkened alley as he vomited his last victim's blood. She had told him he needed to drink from Aria, but he was stubborn, a trait he'd inherited from his father.

Seta bristled at the thought of the man who had planted his seed inside her, whispering words of love as he used her body to produce the one thing his wife could never give him: An heir. No matter how long she roamed the earth, she would never recover from the pain she'd felt the day her tiny son was ripped from her arms by his own father. The wealthy and heartless Count Roberto Garibaldi had informed her that Rialto was to be known as the son of he and his lovely wife, the countess. When she'd fought for her son, the count savagely beat her and then tossed her off a cliff. Twenty-eight years later she'd found Rialto bleeding to death on that same cliff and changed him over.

Seta shook off the memories of the events that had happened on those cliffs. They only served to fuel her anger.

"Rialto, you will find only soured blood until you accept fate's plan for you. Can't you see what is happening?"

"I've listened to enough of this nonsense, Mother!"

"It's not nonsense! Look at all the signs."

"If Aria and I were part of the Blood Revelation, she'd have to be an immortal."

"She will be an immortal if she is changed over."

"She would also have to have some sort of special power. In all the stories I've heard, the predestined mates will each have an ability or genetic trait to pass along to their offspring. I would make sense because I am a vampire. My mate, however, would need a different trait to pass along so there you go. Aria doesn't make sense, even if she were turned into a vampire because then we'd be passing along the same trait. You're desperate and seeing what you want to see."

"Well, it seems as though I know a little something about your soul mate that even you haven't discovered,” Seta responded, grinning victoriously.

"What did you do?” Rialto growled the question, his eyes narrowed into slits.

"I barely probed her psyche, nothing that would cause her harm. However, I saw enough to know her mother was a born witch."

Rialto shook his head. “No."

Seta nodded. “Yes. Apparently, Mary Ayers was so good at keeping her powers a secret that even Aria didn't know, still doesn't, but that's the genetic trait she'll pass on. You know as well as I do that born witches skip a generation. Therefore, any child of Aria's will be a born witch."

Rialto's mouth dropped open in shock, but then he closed it and gave her a smug smile. “It doesn't matter. Any child
I
have will be a born witch, so again she is canceled out of the equation. We are
not
part of the Blood Revelation."

"Darling, why do you think you can read the minds of mortals while you feed from them? Do you think opening doors and windows with a simple wave of the hand, sensing emotions or levitating yourself to the tops of buildings are normal vampire traits? Shall I go on listing your special abilities?"

"What are you saying?"

"When I turned you, it was like I rebirthed you. Since it wasn't an actual birth, any child you have will not be a born witch because you took their turn. So Aria makes perfect sense. The two of you
are
soul mates and you
are
part of the Blood Revelation. All she needs is to be turned."

"That doesn't make sense. Why would she need to be turned? She already carries the witch gene. There's no reason why she'd have to be a vampire."

Seta huffed out a breath, her patience thin. Why did Rialto struggle so hard against his fate? “The child will be born a vampire. Can you imagine the toll a vampire child would take on its mother's womb? Do you really think a mortal woman could possibly be strong enough to carry to term a child with that much power?"

Rialto shrugged. “I don't know. It's not as if vampires are
born
everyday."

"No, they're not, but if they were I'd bet only a vampire mother could carry and nurse one. Only a vampire mother could protect one.” Seta held her breath and hoped Rialto would accept the only explanation she'd been able to come up with. It made sense to her.

"I won't do it,” Rialto said as he rose from his knees and wiped the traces of blood from his mouth. “I won't risk Aria's life."

"She's sick too, you stubborn mule. Sharing your blood can ease her pain as well!"

"She's not a vampire. She'll get over this."

She could lie and tell him that Aria wouldn't get over her need for his blood, but he was too smart for that. And whether he admitted it or not, he believed in The Blood Revelation. He was just too scared to accept that he and Aria were part of it.

"You won't get over yours, Rialto. You need blood to survive."

Rialto lowered his eyes to the ground as he walked past her toward the mouth of the alley. “The night's not getting any younger, and obviously I'm not going to get a good meal. Let's try and find this guy, preferably before he kills again."

Seta stared after her only child, fighting back tears. She'd saved his life two times before. She didn't see how she could save him now. He had to change Aria over . . .

If he didn't, he would die.

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Aria opened her eyes and gasped. She was surrounded by tall trees, tinged blue by the moonlight. There was no breeze, but the air was cold and crisp, sending a shiver down her spine. The coldness seemed to swirl around her, but not a single leaf moved in the trees or on the ground. That was when she realized it wasn't the air that was making her shiver but the knowledge . . . the dark and icy sense of foreboding that something horrible was about to happen.

Aria.

She whirled around as she heard her name called from somewhere behind her. She couldn't see anything except trees, but somebody was out there, somebody who knew her name.

"Seta?” She called out the vampire witch's name even though the female voice didn't sound like Seta's. The call was more of a whisper, but loud enough to be heard clearly, and there wasn't the slightest trace of a Spanish accent. “Seta? Please be you."

Aria, come.

"Oh, hell.” She felt the warning shivers quivering up her body, dotting her skin with goosebumps along the way. “I want to go back to the church."

Wait a minute. She
was
at the church. She was sleeping in a pew. Aria laughed as she realized she was having a dream, a completely realistic, frightening dream.

"Okay, all I have to do is wake up.” She closed her eyes and focused on waking, yet the coldness seemed to intensify. Then she heard the crunching of leaves in front of her.

"Oh, I am so screwed,” she whimpered as the footsteps slowly neared. She kept her eyes closed, too terrified of what she would see if they were open. The louder the footsteps grew the more she shivered. She'd heard that when ghosts appear the temperature dropped to freezing. As cold as she was, it was as if death itself were walking toward her.

Whomever or whatever it was stopped right in front of her, and she felt an icy cold breath blow over her face.
Oh shit. It's right in front of me.

"Aria. Open your eyes.” The voice was deeper now but scratchy. It sounded like the voice of a weak old woman. A hag.

"No,” Aria said, struggling not to scream or cry. She had to think. This was a dream. It was all just a dream. “You're a dream, a nightmare. Go away."

"Open your eyes, Aria. You
must
open your eyes."

"Why?"

"In order to have a future you must understand the past."

"Who are you?"

"A very old witch. They call me The Dream Teller. I won't hurt you."

Aria recognized the name and realized this was the witch who'd sent Rialto to her, but still she couldn't open her eyes. It was so cold. She, this strange woman, was so cold. Cold and scary.

"What do you want with me? Why are you so cold?"

"I am not cold. You are sensing what you are about to see in the realm of your dreams and you are frozen with fear. You are right that this is a dream, Aria, but you can't wake yourself from it until you learn the secrets I have come to share with you. I am here to help you and Rialto. He is dying."