Cherishing Destiny (A Dangerous Destiny) (5 page)

In a small grove of walnut trees at the far end of the
garden, he saw a shadow beneath the nearest tree.  He sensed the presence of a
predator.  The shadow moved and the shape of a man appeared, stepping forward
into the dim moonlight.  There was only a sliver of a moon that night, and it was
still low on the horizon.  He saw a golden glow in the eyes of the man shadow. 
His own eyes closed, dilated and adjusted for the dim conditions, and when he
opened them, he could see that the man shadow was, in fact, a tall, tawny
haired, Alexander Lake. 

Ryan realized his mistake immediately when he saw Lake’s brow
pull together in a frown and his eyes start to glow red instead of gold.  Lake
must have seen Ryan’s eyes glowing back at him in the moonlight.  Not Vampire
eyes, but still he knew that his eyes would be reflecting brightly even in the
dim conditions.  He immediately lowered his gaze, an instinctive gesture of
submission.  Lake did not move any closer, and Ryan backed slowly toward the
path that led around to the garages.  When he reached the corner that would
take him out of the Vampire’s line of sight, he turned and walked quickly back
to the garages and his room above them. 

For two days afterwards he waited for something to happen. 
Maybe he would be let go on some pretense that was believable. 

“Sorry, things are just not working out,” or “We don’t
really need the extra help anymore,” he imagined the House Manager would say. 
But no one came to fire him, and he began to think that he had imagined the animosity
he saw on the face of the Vampire.

I didn’t imagine the red eyes, he reminded himself silently,
and so he continued to be wary. Then came the disagreement with Sara, and he
began to think it might be an opportune time to leave for a while, find the
others, and relax a bit. 

On the following night, while he was replacing the last
burned-out bulb, a light next to the driveway, he heard footsteps casually
walking toward him.  Alexander Lake strolled out of the shadows across the
pavement further along the length of the drive.  He made as if to pass by Ryan,
who was still kneeling at the edge of the pavement with the light bulb in his
hand, but then he paused and turned back.

“Your name is Ryan?” He made it an inquiry, and from his tone
he clearly expected an answer.

Ryan swallowed and answered, “yes, sir.” 

He chanced a quick glance at the face of Vampire, but then
looked quickly away again, maintaining the submissive posture he had adopted
the night in the garden.  

“You’re Sara’s brother, are you not?”  His questions
remained casual, and he showed no malice.  He gave every appearance of mild
curiosity and no more.

“Yes, sir…Stepbrother,” he added, wanting to make sure that
Lake did not think that Sara shared his blood. 

“That makes sense,” Lake commented without explanation. 
“That is the last light that was out on the property, isn’t it?” He gestured
toward the light at Ryan’s feet.

“It is,” Ryan answered. There were hundreds of lights on
the estate, but he knew that he should not be surprised that Lake knew exactly
when he was replacing the last one.

“Good.  Aurora loves her lights.  She misses the sun, and
she can’t get enough artificial light to replace it.” He turned to walk on, but
over his shoulder he said flatly “I’ll be seeing you, Ryan.”

When he was gone, Ryan let out the breath he was holding. 
Ryan was a big man, but he knew he was no match for a Vampire over a thousand
years old. 

“Oh, he knows our names, Sara,” he muttered under his
breath.  “And he notices a lot more than you think.” He would not be
underestimating Alexander Lake again anytime soon. 

He packed his bags that night and left in the morning.  He
told Sara he would be back, but he knew she would be safer if he stayed away,
at least as long as she was living among Vampires. 

five

Alex walked on down the drive leaving the young man behind
him.  He was not concerned about showing him his back.  He knew that Ryan would
not do anything foolish.  Besides, he could still sense exactly where he was and
smell Ryan’s submission. 

A
Were
on his estate! He shook his head.  The man
was clearly not aggressive and seemed to be mostly interested in looking out
for his sister. Stepsister, he corrected. She was not a
Were,
and she
obviously did not know anything about Ryan either.  He doubted she even
suspected the existence of such creatures. 
Weres
were much more
secretive than Vampires, especially over the last couple of centuries.  Most
humans did not know and would not believe that they even existed. 

There were a few exceptions, mostly scattered among the militant
terrorists that protested against Vampires. They were noted for their hatred of
Weres,
as well as Vampires.   They believed, but few listened to their
claims when it came to
Weres
. 

Vampires, on the other hand, had not survived for millennia
without knowing who they were sharing their world with, and there were more
than just
Weres
out there.  However, those creatures did not interfere
with what had become a Vampire dominated society, and so, the Vampires did not
share the knowledge of their existence with the oblivious humans.

Alex satisfied himself that Ryan would not be causing any trouble,
and he suspected that the
Were
would probably leave soon. 
Weres
never seemed to like feeling weak and inferior, and they certainly weren’t weak
in comparison to the soft humans, but to an old Vampire, they were children,
and they knew it.  It was most likely the main reason
Weres
and Vampires
rarely had dealings. 

He was content that the situation was dealt with, and he
was glad to keep Sara.  She was very efficient in knowing what to do without
being told.  She rarely spoke and was completely unobtrusive.  He smiled and
thought, while she was no comparison to Aurora, she was a pretty little thing for
a human. He had seen her looking at Aurora, and him too, and he thought if it
ever came to it, she would be loyal or at least pliable.

six

Sara carried her bundle to the laundry.  She dropped what
was left of Alex’s shirt and Aurora’s lace panties into the waste basket.  She
left the rest for the launderers to deal with.  She gathered up the shoes and
took the back stairs to the master suite. 

As she entered, she heard the Lake’s speaking softly in the
adjoining bathroom.  The double doors to the bathroom were wide open, and she
had to walk past them to the dressing rooms where the shoes went.  She tried
not to look as she hurried past.  She knew the Alex and Aurora could care less
if she saw them, but she felt a little self-conscious about it, all the more so
because of the fantasies she had about them. 

She caught a glimpse of skin as she passed.  She thought
she saw them standing next to the tub holding each other.  She heard Alex
speaking.  It sounded as if he was saying, “I’m sure it’s nothing.  You’re
tired, that’s all.”

She put away his shoes and wondered what he meant. 
Aurora’s dressing room was on the other side of the balcony, and she glanced
outside as she was headed there.  She stopped suddenly, her eyes wide. 
Aurora’s shoes dangled from the straps in her hand.

∞∞∞

Alex carried Aurora right to the tub and was going to put
her in the water, which he was happy to see was still steaming. 

“Just a minute,” Aurora said. “Put me down, please.”

He did as she asked.  “What is it?” His brow pulled into
his worried look.  Aurora always said it was a good thing he didn’t age because
that worried look would have given him some hellacious wrinkles.

She didn’t say it then.  Instead, she said, “I don’t know
what it is, but I feel a little strange.”

“Strange in what way?” He put his arm around her.

“I can’t explain it exactly.  I feel a little flutter in my
stomach, and I just feel--I don’t know--a little weak, I guess.”  She frowned
at her reflection in the mirror as if she might see what was troubling her
there. 

“Did you drink the wine at the party?” he asked in a teasing
manner.

But, she didn’t laugh. “Of course not,” she replied, still
frowning.

“Why don’t you just relax in your bath for a little while
and I will wash your hair.” He met her eyes in the mirror while kissing her
bare shoulder.

She hesitated, but finally smiled as if to say she felt silly. 
“That sounds like an excellent plan.”

The bath was a colossal, sunken, tiled affair with steps
down into it.  As she stepped down into the water, she stopped at mid calf and
gave Alex a look of shock.

“Oh my gosh!  The water is too hot! I don’t understand. 
What is this?!”  She quickly hopped back out of the tub. 

Alex was confused too.  He knew as well as she did that, as
a Vampire, the temperature of the water should not have been too much for her. 
She loved her baths to be steaming hot. It should not have hurt her.

“What is happening to me?” she sobbed.

He pulled her into his arms. “I’m sure it’s nothing. 
You’re just tired, that’s all.”  But Alex knew that wasn’t it. 

He was holding her tightly to his chest, and she couldn’t
see the worried look on his face.

∞∞∞

Alex put a robe on and wrapped his wife in the fluffy terry
robe she usually only wore after a bath.  He guided her into the bedroom with
his hands reassuringly on her shoulders.  They both stopped in their tracks
when they saw Sara standing at the French doors with Aurora’s shoes still
hanging at her side.

“Sara?” Alex said.

The young woman didn’t respond or appear to hear him at
all.

“Sara!” He called sharply. 

She startled and turned her wide eyes to him. “Sir?” Her
voice was shaking.

Just then a brilliant flash of light backlit her from
outside the window.

“What?” Alex and Aurora both walked to the glass. 

Sara turned back as well, and they all stared in wonder and
a little fear, mostly on Sara’s part, at the spectacle taking place in the
sky.  White flashes of light were everywhere they looked.  It was like
lightning flashing behind the clouds except there were no clouds or lightning
and no thunder broke the quiet.  There was only sky and light.

Sara forgot herself and grasped Alex’s arm.  “What is it?”
She sounded on the verge of crying.

Alex barely noticed that she was touching him.  His mouth
was open, and he didn’t even try to answer her.  Aurora was holding his other
arm lightly.  She too could only stare. 

Alex tried to think of something soothing to say.  He
wanted to be strong for the woman, but like Aurora, he had begun to feel a
little weak.  He was already getting a little dizzy, when the ground shook.  The
floor shifted under his feet, and he stumbled, both women stumbling with him. 

They caught themselves before falling, and Alex just had
time to think that they were nowhere near an area prone to earthquakes, when
another trembler hit them.  He could hear glass shattering all over the house,
and the door in front of them burst from its warping frame, shattering the
panes and showering them with slivers of glass.

An ear-splitting cracking sound boomed in the bedroom, and
the floor tilted beneath their feet.  They fell flat on their asses and started
sliding on the sloping floor toward the interior wall.  Alex grabbed Sara and
Aurora and started back-pedaling, getting a little traction on the hardwoods
with his bare feet.  But as he scooted closer to the opening where the balcony
door had been, his feet started sliding on the bits of broken glass that acted
like razor sharp gravel causing him to lose traction and worse yet, making his
feet bleed so that the floor was now slick with his blood, as well. 

They all instinctively looked toward the opening to the
outside as if it was their only escape.  Just then the entire sky filled with a
brilliant light, not just a flash, but a light that illuminated the world as
far as they could see.  It surrounded them until they could not see anything
else.  They were blinded in pure light and then they lost consciousness. They
slid down the broken floor into the collapsing house. 

seven

Destiny woke to the pain of her injuries.  It was daylight
at the mouth of the cave.  She gingerly probed her ribs and found that although
they were obviously healing they still hurt like hell.  Her wrist felt a little
better though and she flexed it just enough to check the range of motion. 

She shifted a little on the rock to try and relieve some of
the stiffness that had settled on her as she slept. 

She’d been dreaming of her parents, of the night the entire
world changed.  That was the night that Destiny had been conceived and the reason
that she thought that she was probably the first of the Vamphyr to be born.

It made her a little uncomfortable to know every detail of
her parent’s intimacy, but she had fourteen hundred years of her mother’s
memories, so there was no getting around it.  Her Dad was  more than handsome but,
really?!  Ick!
  She might have laughed if she didn’t know it would hurt
so much.