Dark Rapture (70 page)

“When did you put her in the crypt?”

“It was early in the century. God’s mercy! Sebastian, you must help me find her. Yes, you owe me that much.”

“I owe you nothing!”

“But you do! Catrina is my heart. Surely you must understand the loss of one so dear.” Rico’s eyes narrowed and his voice took on a wicked edge. He slipped so easily into the game. “It’s too bad about your precious Scarlet.”

“You leave Scarlet out of this! This is another of your evil games. You plotted Vince against Scarlet and I. He…he coerced her…in some way.”

“Ah, I wouldn’t be too hasty in my judgments, Signore. Vince was well underway with the seduction before I ever met him. I actually witnessed their coming together,” Rico said slyly. “Such a romantic tryst beneath the willow tree.”

“I won’t listen to this. Leave this house now, Federico, before I—”

“Quite the tart if you ask me. She kissed me, too.”

Sebastian lunged, pushing Rico against the wall, the force of his blow sending settled dust flying about their heads. “You bastard! You lie.”

Rico fought back, smashing his fist into Sebastian’s jaw, though it did little but irk the other vampire. They fought across the room, a misplaced kick from Rico’s boot shattering the wooden leg of the antique divan, their struggles knocking the candelabra from the piano, and finally they fell to the floor where Sebastian repeatedly dashed Rico’s head against the stones.

Venom drawn from centuries of deception flowed freely in Sebastian’s veins. His fingers slipped through the sweat in Rico’s hair, mixing with blood as he felt Rico’s skull crack against the hard stone.

“Very…well,” Rico struggled. “I’ll tell the truth.”

Sebastian unhanded the miserable vampire and sat back on his haunches, waiting as Rico shook the sense back into his head.

Rico swiped a finger behind his ear and examined the blood. He grinned and licked his finger clean. “
I
kissed
her
. I couldn’t help it. I had to know what it was like.” He squinted, pressing against his skull as if to reposition a misplaced bone. There was an audible crack.

“I was jealous of the hold she had on Vince. The way she could so easily attract him without trying, without an awareness of the strong allure she possesses. She is a beauty, Signore, you are a very lucky man. Though I did not lie about her and Vince. I’m sure they have made love. It should have been his brains you were bashing instead of mine.”

“You disgust me.” Sebastian pushed to his feet and brushed away the debris from his scuffle on the floor. “Take your family of blood savages and your pit of rotting bodies and leave me in peace.”

“I will go nowhere until I find Catrina.”

“But you’ll leave if you do?”

Rico jumped to his feet. A thick stream of blood still ran down his neck. “You’ll help?”

Now it was Sebastian’s turn at command. He could turn the tables on Rico and have him cast out of the country! Though he hated the idea of exercising such control over another person. He was not on this earth for vindictive revenge. And he had far better things to worry about, like finding Scarlet.

“If you promise to leave as soon as she is found.”

Rico pondered Sebastian’s request momentarily. “Of course. But I wish to leave immediately. If she is out there somewhere we must find her soon, there’s no telling what sort of trouble she may unknowingly stir up.”

Sebastian nodded, straightening his shoulders. “Very well. I know I am a fool for doing this but I won’t rest either until she is found. I can only take you to the area where I lost her. After that I’ve no clue as to finding her."

Chapter Twenty-Four

Sleep left Scarlet peaceful and refreshed. From where she lay on the sheet-covered couch she could see around the living room. The walls were bare and white, another shrouded chair sat five feet from her, a glass-topped coffee table staking out its own piece of Berber carpet on the other side. That was all. She had never been one with decorating flair, nor the patience to try.

She’d decided against selling the beach house after moving into the castle with Sebastian last year. It was the last remaining memory of her parents. This house had once been her parents no-kids-allowed vacation spot. But they never got a chance to enjoy their last summer away. Five years ago, their plane crashed over Nevada. The first few years had been hard, until Scarlet moved out to California to be closer to Gary. Now memories of her parents made her smile instead of becoming teary.

The sheer white drapes that hung before the patio doors were parted to reveal a slash of cloud-dulled sun wisping across the deck and the visible edge of the covered hot tub.

Resting her elbows on the railing stood Esmarelda. Her hair blew out behind her. A strong wind pressed the soft red sweater to her figure.

Scarlet closed her eyes and lay back. Everything felt right. Even her separation from Sebastian didn’t bother her as much as she felt it should.

“But only for a little while,” she whispered. “I love you, Sebastian.”

Put regret from your mind. You know he will never love another. Step out of his embrace for the moment, free your mind, quiet your soul. Live for yourself first, use his love for the support and strength you will need. He is inside of you
…

Scarlet sat up and looked out the window. Esmarelda returned her lucid gaze. She had actually heard those words spoken inside her head, in Esmarelda’s voice. With a decisive nod, Scarlet went outside.

“I never knew a vampire could communicate that way.”

Esmarelda gestured they walk down the redwood steps to the beach where a large sitting rock had claimed its spot in the gray sand.

“It is a learned skill,” Esmarelda explained as she climbed onto the rock and patted the stone beside her. “It took many centuries for me to discover I possessed the power to communicate with others of my kind. Adriano hadn’t the time to teach me. We can do it with humans to a certain degree.”

“Really?”

“Yes. We can’t put literal words inside their heads as I did to you, but we can
persuade
, if you will. We can create a suggestion, such as you have probably already done. When you leave a victim you leave him knowing he will wake with no memory of you or your bite, do you not?”

“Yes. I guess I never really thought about it before. Hmm.”

“You can also influence a mortal in his decisions. Should I go this way, or shall I go over there where that lovely dark-haired woman stands?” Esmarelda’s fingers slipped through the ends of Scarlet’s hair. “Not that a woman of your beauty needs to persuade any mortal.”

The intimacy of her touch startled Scarlet. But she discovered an incredible peace at the end of her worries. A feeling of acceptance and warmth. And she felt compelled to slip her hand up through Esmarelda’s fingers.

“I feel so comfortable with you. It’s like serenity surrounds you and it embraces whomever you’re near.”

“Over the centuries I have come to a total oneness with my body and mind. And my vampirism. That is the serenity you sense. You can have it, too.

“Vampirism encompasses your body and mind,” Esmarelda said. “Your soul is that of your lover’s. You are many elements combined to form one. Your body is the mortal shell that houses these elements. It protects and embraces, grows along with your mind. Your mind is also of the mortal element. Though it grows and learns from your vampire experiences to become a total entity, your soul is the true vampire. You remember how your mortal soul left your body when Sebastian transformed you?”

“It was an experience I’ll never forget.”

“A new soul was created from Sebastian’s soul. A strong and fierce collection of Sebastian’s life that melded with yours. A vampire. A beast that beats deep inside, an angel that rejoices your satiations. You are a being unlike the mortals, a fantastical creature that depends on the blood of mortals to survive. Without that you are nothing. And yet, you are everything when you find your inner soul—the remnants of your mortal soul that still beats inside you.”

“You make it sound so complex.”

Esmarelda lips wrinkled into a shy smile. “It’s not really. And yet it is. Every living thing is a complex structure of mind body and soul. Most never learn to use their full potential. A shame. Even for the mortals.”

“How did you ever learn so much? You never had a teacher.” Scarlet touched the black satin cord around Esmarelda’s neck. “Adriano never had enough time, did he?”

“He opened my mind. Though he often said it was my choice. I was after all, quite accepting of him from the start. You must have an open mind, Scarlet. With that all things are possible. So, are you ready to learn?”

“Yes.”

***

“I’m going home, this has become a waste of time. I’ll call a cab for us, Anthony.” Sebastian started for the pay phone when Rico blocked his path.

“You promised you would help. You do want to see me leave town, don’t you?”

“Believe me, Federico, that is tops on my list. But right now I can see no way for us to find Catrina unless she shows up in the newspaper or on television. L.A. is a big city. She could be anywhere.”

“Not if she’s weak,” Vince said from his perch on the trunk of his Monte Carlo. “Do you think a starving vampire is going to let the first person she comes upon go?” Sebastian did not turn to Vince. He wanted nothing more than for him to leave, much less have to carry on a conversation with him. “That’s what I mean about the news, if she’s in the manic state Rico described, she’s going to attack someone. And I’m sure she’ll leave a trail.”

“Sebastian’s right,” Rico said. “When I finally locked her away she was out of control. I had to follow her around and clean up her messes. She had no sense of right and wrong. She would leave a mangled body on its doorstep and then would run screaming through the streets as the nightmares took grasp of her mind. But that is why we’ve got to find her. I want to get to her before the police do.”

Vince stepped over to Sebastian. “You’re the one who set her free, this is all your fault, DelaCourte.”

Venom seeped back into Sebastian’s veins. “Get that finger out of my face, unless you want it removed from your body.”

Vince squared his shoulders. “Try it, and I’ll remove your body from this earth.”

Sebastian lashed forward with a punch that traveled super-sonic speed, kissing Vince in the jaw and hurtling the man back onto the tar. Following his delivery, he leapt onto Vince and the two struggled in the parking lot as Rico stepped back to Anthony’s side to observe.

“They’ve got to battle it out,” Rico said calmly.

Anthony slunk away from the towering vampire and slipped inside the car, watching helplessly as Sebastian received a jab in the ribs.

“You bastard!” Sebastian pushed Vince’s head against the pavement. “Scarlet belongs to me! You had no right to take advantage of her weaknesses.”

With one heaving grunt, Vince shoved Sebastian from his body and into the air where he landed with a back crunching sound across the hood of the car. Sebastian shook off the confusion and struggled to his feet.

“She belongs to no one! It was her choice,” Vince said. “She chose to kill. You can’t imagine a woman could ever despise you—”

“Despise?”

Both men stood prepared for battle, their fists bloodied with the other’s life.

“Yeah, she hates you, man. She came running to me, begging me to show her more.” Vince flipped his hair out of his face. “
She
asked me to show her the kill. She wanted to meet Rico and learn about the others.” He pressed a finger into Sebastian’s chest. “She wanted me to make love to her, but—”

“But what?” Sebastian slashed away Vince’s hand from his chest. “You forced her, Vince, didn’t you? She would have never willingly allowed you to violate her.”

Sebastian’s fist met Vince’s jaw.

Rico caught his friend before he hit the ground. “All right, that’s enough. Perhaps it would be a good idea if you went home, Sebastian. You’ve done all that you can.”

Vince spit bloody saliva just inches short of Sebastian’s boots. “You actually think I fucked her?”

Sebastian flexed his fingers into fists.

“Didn’t she tell you?” Vince tossed his hair from his face with a defiant jerk. “Kinda funny that she’d let you believe something like that. Maybe she doesn’t care for you as much as I thought.”

Rico ducked into the car. “Anthony, call a cab for you and your master. Come on, Vince. I’ll be tracking the media, Sebastian, but you must contact me if you hear anything.”

As Rico and Vince drove away, Sebastian flipped the men off and then quickly shoved his hand in his pocket.

You are becoming as vile as them,
he reprimanded inwardly.

Why would Scarlet allow him to believe Vince had made love to her?

***

“Aahh!”

Shuddering horrors. Darkness stained red. Red as a child’s blood that drips from its tiny wrist. Slashed by the surgeon.
No, Cat, you must wait!

Why! Why don’t we do away with them immediately? Why must we wait until they see fit to die? I must!

The surgeon’s lancet flashed in the candlelight. Rico sprang to harness Cat. He screamed. Blood flowed red and violent, dripping to the tiled floor in a splattering puddle.

His hand. Split wide in a sea of blood. She fell to her knees.
Forgive me. I will make it better.
Rico’s blood colored her cheeks ruby.
Yes, lick it clean.

I give you eternal life.

Loud music. So violent.

No! Stop it!

Catrina pressed her hands over her ears to stop the pounding. The blood beat loudly.

The scream pulled from the depths of her heart. “Rico!”