Night Walker (28 page)

collapsed on the floor, weeping, and the lingering unmistakable scent of blood surrounded her.

“Kate?” He kneeled at her side and searched for any sign of an injury. Thankfully, he didn’t find any wounds. Stroking her hair back from her face, hoping to soothe her, Calisto leaned closer and placed a tender kiss to her hair. He stopped cold when he heard her whisper.

“Gregorio?”

Calisto sat beside her and withdrew his hand from her hair. When her dark eyes, so full of pain and confusion, finally met his, he knew.

Kate remembered.

“That’s your real name isn’t it?” Kate whispered.

Calisto nodded slowly.

“Oh God... ” She backed away from him. “Then it’s all true. My dream. It’s real... It was me!”

Tears gathered in her eyes, and fear. The fear tore at his heart and made him wish he had never intruded upon her life. He offered his hand. “Please do not be afraid. I would sooner die than hurt you.”

“But let me guess, you can’t die, right?” Kate sniffled, making no attempt to take his hand. “What does all of this mean? How can you still be alive?”

He slowly lowered his hand, realizing she had no intention of touching him. “Does it matter?”

“Don’t answer me with more questions. Not now. I need answers.

Please.”

Calisto sat beside her, leaning against the corner of the bed.

“Where would you like me to start?”

“It’s me in my dreams, and up there,” she pointed. “In the painting. It’s me, but it’s not me.” Kate paused. He watched her struggle to understand. “Who was I back then?”

“Your name was Tala,” Calisto answered quietly, staring up at the canvas. “You were a member of the Kumeyaay tribe here. We met on the beach on a summer afternoon. I had never seen an angel until the moment I saw you with the wind in your hair and a Romneya behind your ear.”

“Gregorio doesn’t sound like a Kumeyaay name.”
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He stared into her eyes. “It is a Spanish name. I was Father Gregorio Salvador back then. I was a priest at the Mission de Alcala. I helped build it.”

“That’s why you were wearing black.” Kate said.

“Black?”

“I had a new dream. Instead of the woman... ” She hesitated and corrected herself. “I guess it was me. Anyway, instead of running, she learned to dance with a man dressed all in black. She called him Gregorio. I didn’t see his face until last night. It was you.” Calisto’s eyes brimmed with tears he wouldn’t allow to fall.

Knowing she remembered a precious moment they had once shared together, one of the moments he had treasured in his heart for centuries, touched him deeper than he ever could have imagined.

He nodded slowly. “You taught me the language of your people, and in trade I taught you to waltz.” A soft smile warmed his features.

“Learning to waltz in the waves was all your idea.” Kate smiled faintly. “We were smiling and laughing... Then we kissed.”

“I fell in love with you.” He paused, wishing she would look at him. “I had pledged my life to God, but I gave my heart to you.” She pressed her lips together, eyes downcast. “Were you the man chasing me in my nightmare? The man on the horse, was that you?” Calisto froze, too stunned to speak. He had thought about this day ever since the Old One told him she would live again, but never in all his years on this earth did it occur to him she might believe he was her attacker. Why would she suspect him?

“No... I love you. I always have. Why would you think otherwise?”

“I never saw the killer’s face in my dream. I always woke up before... But she... I was pregnant. It makes sense. A priest would get into big trouble for that kind of thing. Wouldn’t a secret pregnancy be motive enough?”

Calisto’s expression darkened. He wished he could spare her the details surrounding Tala’s death, but he saw no other way. She wanted to know, and she had every right to know.

But would she ever forgive him?

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“I knew about the baby. Knowing you carried my child made me happier than I had ever been. But I was also an innocent fool.

I trusted Father Jayme, my superior. I believed he was my friend. I wanted to marry you and raise our family together, so I confessed my sins and told Father Jayme of my plans to give up the priesthood.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I never dreamed he would pass judgment on you for my decision.”

“She... I was killed by a priest?”

“Not physically, but he ordered it.”

She shook her head slowly. “How did you find out?”

“I searched for you, to share my news and ask your father to let us marry. One of the guards from the mission rode past me.” He choked back the lump of emotion tightening in his throat.

Kate glanced at the portrait. Her hair, usually so vibrant, was dull and lank. Yet she was still so beautiful.

He forced out his next words quietly. “He had my signet ring, the one you used to wear around your neck. It dangled from his wrist while he rode away. Then I knew. Father Jayme had betrayed me.

He had no intention of allowing me to give up the cloth or marry a native woman. Something terrible had happened, and I ran, searching everywhere for you.”

He had never shared this memory with another soul, and even with the passing of lifetimes, the pain still felt fresh. “I found you lying motionless, your dress shredded, your body covered in blood. I was too late.”

A tear rolled down Kate’s cheek. She moved forward and wrapped her arms around him, weeping softly as they held one another on the floor. “I don’t know how any of this is possible, but I love you, Calisto.”

He tightened his arms around her and stroked her hair. “My beloved Kate. You should not have come back here.” Kate pulled back from his arms and stared at him. “How can you say that?”

“Because you are in danger here.”

“I don’t understand.”

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Calisto shook his head and rose from the floor. She watched him as he paced, trying to find a way to convince her to leave. “There is no time to explain. Please remember I will always love you, and go.

Leave me and this place, and never look back.” She stared at him for a moment, her mouth parted and disbelief clouding her expression. She stood slowly and shook her head. “You know me better than that. I love you, and until you tell me what is going on, I’m not moving from this spot.” He opened his mouth to speak, but she raised her hand. “I’m not finished yet.” Kate walked toward him and took his hand. Her brow pinched as she glanced down at their joined hands. He realized his flesh was still cold, since he had not yet fed.

She looked into his eyes, her gaze questioning him before she uttered the words. “How can you be the same man who helped build the Mission de Alcala, who loved Tala, and still be standing here holding my hand?”

“I cannot answer that” He pulled away.

Her touch felt like fire against his cool flesh. His thirst clawed its way through his strong will, aching to be quenched. He couldn’t tell her the truth. Even if she believed him, he couldn’t bear to see the disgust that would surely follow.

“I would rather have you hate me as a man, than fear me as a monster.”

Kate sighed with exasperation. “Enough with the noble riddles you call answers. Talk to me. You tell me you love me, and then you send me away? That’s not love. Trust me with the truth. I can’t accept anything less.”

He shook his head and turned away. “Save yourself and your baby and go.”

“There is no baby. I... The baby...” Her voice trembled. “I lost the baby when I got back to Reno.”

Without a word he turned and drew her into his arms. He should have realized what had happened when he caught the scent of blood around her and found no wounds. It would also explain why he’d never heard the sound of another heartbeat. Maybe the baby never 220 LISA KESSLER

had one.

Again she had needed him, and again he wasn’t there for her.

Calisto closed his eyes, kissing her dark hair. He was through pushing her away. For better or worse, he would embrace her into his secret life.

He needed her.

“I am so sorry, Kate. I thought you would be safe, and have the life and the family you have always wanted.”

“All I want is you.”

He held her tightly, whispering into her hair. “Holding you in my arms again has made every lonely night of my existence worthwhile. I gave up my humanity to hold you again.” She frowned, shaking her head, and he pulled away to look her in the eyes. “I don’t understand.”

“I am a Night Walker, Kate. I live only after the sun has died.” Confusion clouded her eyes when she gazed up at him, and finally he forced himself to go on. “After I lost you, I could not face another day. I abandoned the God I served, and His church. Your tribe took me in and brought me to the Old One in the cliffs over the ocean. He was a wise healer, but even he could not mend my ailing heart. What he offered instead was a chance to stay alive until you lived again.”

“But how is that possible?” Kate asked. “No one lives forever.”

“I will, until the day I decide to watch the sunrise.”

“Impossible. Are you telling me he cast some sort of spell on you?

A hex or something?”

“No. He gave me his blood and it changed me. I was no longer a man. I became a Night Walker.”

“Gave you his blood?”

“I drank it, Kate. Blood is what keeps me alive now.”

“Like a vampire?” Doubt filled her eyes. “You expect me to believe vampires are real, and I’m in love with one? That’s insane. All of this is crazy. It can’t be true.”

He took her hand in his and brought it to his cold cheek. “My flesh is cold because I have not yet fed. I was not on business trips or out of the country during the daylight hours. I slept far below this
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room, deep inside a cave along the cliff, safely hidden from the sun.

My kitchen sat empty when you came to my home because I do not eat. Not food, anyway.”

He paused, gauging her reaction before he went on. “I
am
an immortal, Kate, a Night Walker, but I am
not
a vampire. I do not kill for pleasure or sport. I do not make minions of blood-drinkers to keep for my companions. I have no fear of garlic or crucifixes.” A hint of a smile sparkled in his eyes. “And I certainly do not turn myself into a bat.”

She stared up at him for a moment. A soft smile warmed her lips, followed by a chuckle until it finally bloomed into laughter. She didn’t believe him. He didn’t blame her.

Calisto lowered her hand with a tentative smile while he waited for his words to settle in her mind. He loved the sound of her laughter.

Seeing her smile and hearing her laugh was the most precious gift he would ever receive.

Sadly, it was short lived.

She lifted his hand, examining it closely. He wondered what she searched for. But he didn’t ask, and he made no move to draw back from her inspection. He asked her to believe the unbelievable. The least he could do was give her time to accept it.

Her gaze moved back up to his face without making eye contact.

He watched her eyes move slowly over his features until she finally met his stare. “I’m trying to understand, but it can’t be true. There must be some other explanation.”

“I wish there was.”

§

Tears came to her eyes. She lifted her hand to caress his cool cheek. None of this could be real, just part of a twisted nightmare. But deep inside she knew she wasn’t sleeping. Her thumb brushed over his skin and a tear rolled down her cheek.

“I can’t accept this, Calisto.”

“How else can you explain that I still live?”

“Maybe you aren’t as old as you think you are. You’ve probably been having dreams about your past life too. You just caught onto 222 LISA KESSLER

yours sooner than I did, and you remembered me.” He shook his head, taking her hand to walk her closer to the painting on his wall. “I painted this picture of you, Kate. The G.S. in the corner is for Gregorio Salvador.”

She didn’t want to believe it. Believing his story would mean accepting the world around her held much more than she ever realized. Beings she only dreamed of might be real, lurking in the shadows. She looked up at him, searching for some other explanation.

Calisto cupped her cheek in his hand. “I am telling you the truth.

I helped build the Mission in 1769, and I led the attack and burned it down in 1775. I fell in love with you when I was a man on this beach, and I have loved you as an immortal ever since.”

“Stop it,” Kate stammered. “Just stop it. I don’t want to hear anymore. I don’t want to believe this. It can’t be true.” She looked up at the painting again, warring with herself. He knew too many details, and when he told her about his time with Tala, the memories played out in his eyes. He had been there. But if she accepted that much to be true, then she had to accept his entire story.

Calisto wasn’t a man at all.

Not anymore.

Her heart raced, and her fingertips tingled. It felt like her lungs couldn’t find any air in the room. She swallowed the lump in her throat and started for the door. “I can’t handle this right now. I need some time to think.”

“Wait, there is more you should know.” He reached for her, but Kate kept walking.

“I’ve heard more than I can believe already, Calisto. Just give me some time to think, okay? I won’t tell anyone if that’s what you’re worried about. Everyone would think I’m insane anyway. Maybe I am.”

Before he said another word, she walked out the door. He went after her, catching her arm as she reached the steps to the main house.

“You are in danger, Kate.”

“Don’t.” She pulled away. “You can’t scare me into staying with you. This is
my
life. I’d like to have some control over it. Just let me
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think all of this through. I’ll be back tomorrow night. If you’ve really loved me for over two centuries, then what’s one more night?” She bit back her tears and turned away. “Now leave me alone.” 224 LISA KESSLER

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Jose had searched Kate’s house as well as Calisto’s home, and still hadn’t found any sign of her. After spending another day searching for her, his frustration level peaked. He had no choice but to return to Betty’s condo and wait until tomorrow. The risk of being without her once the sun went down and the Night Walker awoke was far too great. His life insurance rested on Betty’s shoulders for now.