Three Kings for Sarah (3 page)

“I’ve never really known. I had a blood bond with Carmen,
her mother. I could feel her fear, her pain… However, by the time I reached her
home, Carmen was already dead.” He went silent, letting his head fall back to
stare with a blank expression at the ceiling. After several seconds, he began
speaking again. “The whole room was splattered with blood, guts and body parts.
Each and every one there was dead. The demons, the wizards who’d attacked them,
everybody
had died. Except her. Only she and the remnant of some
strange, evil power survived. I found Sarah like this. She was bathed in blood
but alive, immersed in this strange state. I never found out what really
happened there. She’s never wanted to talk about it. She was only fourteen
years then; today, she’s twenty-four and dying.”

“Why is she dying? Why didn’t you try to turn her?”

Gedeon’s outraged demand and his suddenly aggressive
attitude toward the other vampire took Duncan by surprise.
What the fuck is
happening to him?

“It’s not her body that’s killing her. It’s her. Since that
terrible day, she has lived in some kind of dream world and she stubbornly
refuses to come back to us,” Samgar explained.

“You can talk with her?” Duncan inquired intrigued.

“Yes and no. She decides if and when she wants to talk with
someone and she’s also the one who controls who is admitted into her world.”

“But—” Duncan said.

“She’s a dream-walker, a very powerful one, in fact,” Xiu
explained. “Not everybody is able to create a parallel world and live there, as
she has done. She inhabits more than a dream world… It’s like another
dimension.” His admiration was written on his face. “However, that’s not what
is debilitating her…” He directed an accusing glance in Samgar’s direction.

“No, you’re right. The evil I sensed that day… She has
somehow captured it in her dreams and is using her power to keep it tied to her
world. That’s the reason she doesn’t return; she fears that if she does,
that…that
thing
will come back with her.”

“Why didn’t you explain to her that once she’s here, you can
protect her and destroy whatever is threatening her?” asked Duncan, confused.

“Because she isn’t worried for herself, and because both of
us are aware by now that I’m not powerful enough to destroy it.”

“What!” Duncan and Gedeon gasped in unison.

“I’ve attempted to do so, of course…and more than once. I
cannot use my powers in her dimension and even if I could, I’m not powerful
enough. The entity, whatever it is… It isn’t from our world… I’m afraid Sarah
is right; we can’t take the chance on allowing that being return.”

“You’re going to let her die so this ‘thing’, as you call
it, dies with her?” Ged shouted, obviously furious.

“No. Actually, I believe the only bond tying the entity to
her world is Sarah herself. Once she dies, her world won’t have the power to
retain the evil and it’ll return to wreak havoc here.”

“So you want us to…?” Duncan asked, seeking a clear goal.

“I want you to go to her world to destroy it.”

“What makes you believe we’ll succeed where you failed? My
strength is more or less the same as yours; we both know that. In a clean
fight, I’m not sure which one of us would come out the winner,” Gedeon stated
plainly.

“First of all, you’re three of the most experienced and
lethal fighters I’ve ever met. Second, you have Xiucatl, who hopefully can
manage to take his powers to Sarah’s world and help you to enhance your own. He
has the skill to be at both places at the same time and to communicate between
both worlds; whereas, you can only enter her world while your body is sleeping
here. Your third advantage is that Duncan is not affected by sunlight as you
and Xiucatl are in a certain way, which means he can protect you all—Sarah
included—during the day.” Samgar continued, answering Duncan’s question before
he’d even thought to ask, “Sarah’s world has her own standards and norms,
although the rules for night folk are usually the same as here. So if you’re
sensitive to the sunlight here, it will be the same there.”

“Smart girl,” murmured Duncan, earning a hard glare from
Gedeon. “What? It’s a security measure for her. In the event night folk attempt
to attack her in her world, she has a basic knowledge about how to defend
herself. You must admit, for a young girl who’s lived most of her life isolated
like she has, that’s a very intelligent move,” he replied, holding Ged’s gaze.

“He’s right. Don’t underestimate her. She’s not just highly
intelligent; she’s also extremely responsible about her world. Rules apply to
you, also, if she doesn’t know anything about you, which she usually does,”
Samgar warned. “You’ll have to put up your barriers in order to keep her from
reading your minds.”

“And what happens if we can’t destroy the evil entity?”
Duncan asked uneasily.

“Then you must convince her to return with you. Once she’s
here, safely tucked away, we’ll try to kill that
thing
with whatever
weapons we have at hand.”

“What makes you think she’ll return with us? You’re like
family to her and you couldn’t convince her,” Duncan pointed out.

“As you said, I’m like an uncle to her. She calls me ‘
Tío
’
or ‘
Tito
’, which means uncle in Spanish. You aren’t. You’re three handsome,
experienced men; whereas, she’s a young girl who has been deprived of male
company.”

What?
Duncan’s knees buckled. Shaking his head to
clear his thoughts, he glanced at Xiu and Sam, both of whom seemed as shocked
as Duncan was. Gedeon seemed to be the only one just standing there, as if the
other vampire had been talking about the weather forecast.
This can’t be
true!

“You want us to seduce her?” Gedeon asked, arms crossed.

“All three of us?” Duncan stared slack-jawed at the ancient
vampire.

“Do whatever is necessary to bring her back. If it takes all
three of you, so be it.”

Duncan was about to protest. Acting like a hired stud wasn’t
in his contract but he didn’t want them to know about his mate. At least, not
now, before he had an opportunity to track her down and claim her as his. “That
still doesn’t explain your motives in having us dress up like your personal
dolls.”

The vampire smirked. “It’s your excuse to enter her world.
She loves Christmas and everything related to it. She’s used to my
eccentricity.”

“And couldn’t we have dressed like Santa? He at least wears
trousers,” Duncan muttered wryly.

Gedeon scowled at Samgar. “That still leaves the fact that
today is the second of January. The celebration of
Los Reyes Magos
is on
Epiphany, the sixth of January. Why are we doing this so early?”

Samgar’s eyes met those of the old woman. She answered
Gedeon’s question, a lonely tear rolling down her wrinkled cheek.

“If you don’t achieve your mission and bring our girl
back…her heart… The sixth of January will be her last day.” The old woman ended
her statement with a sob.

“I’m in,” Gedeon stated, his face expressionless.

Duncan studied Ged with narrowed eyes. Something was off.

Gedeon turned to Xiu, who nodded, and then Ged looked at
Duncan.

He shrugged, letting out a heavy sigh. “How are we going to
do it?”

“I’m going in advance, to prepare her so she lets you enter
her dream. You must be in physical contact with her. Once there, Xiucatl, try
to conjure up—or whatever you do—the camels,” Samgar instructed.

Xiu lifted a brow but didn’t say anything.

“Here are the gifts. I’ve never managed to transport objects
myself, not even my weapons. I’ve only taken clothes and some personal objects
through successfully. It has always been a problem.” Samgar finished and
pressed his lips together in a tight line.

“What about our security here?” Duncan asked, not sure if he
liked this whole dream-traveling, which would mean leaving a part of himself
behind. Not that he didn’t enjoy new experiences… But there were places enough
on Earth he hadn’t visited yet.

“The whole floor is secured by the council’s guards. Your
beta can stay here in the room with you as an extra security measure. If
something happens, Xiucatl will warn you and guide you back immediately.”
Samgar glanced toward the shadow-walker. “The blinds will black out the
windows, in case you can’t make it here before sunrise, and we’ll have blood
donors prepared for you whenever you require them,” he explained, turning to
Gedeon. “The transition from one world to another takes its toll.”

Gedeon nodded. “Let’s do it.”

Samgar sat down in the armchair beside the bed and gently
took Sarah’s hand. In just seconds, he leaned back, his muscles relaxed, and he
stopped breathing in the manner vampires do when they sleep. Duncan exchanged
tense glances with Xiu and Gedeon, while Sam assumed a vigilant pose at the
door.

“I suppose it’s better to get comfortable,” Gedeon proposed
between clenched teeth. He lay down beside the girl and embraced her carefully,
avoiding the IV connected to her wrist. Burying his nose in her hair, he shut
his eyes and inhaled deeply.

By the way Xiu scowled at Gedeon, Duncan expected the
shadow-walker to protest but instead, Xiu sat down at the end of the bed with
his knees bent in a typical Indian pose. Taking her tiny feet, touching her as
if he were afraid of hurting her, he put them on his muscular thighs.

Feeling the uneasiness creeping up his spine, Duncan didn’t
really understand if it was because the huge warriors were touching the small,
fragile woman on the bed or because Gedeon embraced her as if she were the most
precious being on Earth. The only fact Duncan was sure about was that his wolf
didn’t like those men touching her either. Since they’d entered the room, the
wolf had been upset, prepared to pounce at any moment; now, he was snapping and
trying to escape Duncan’s control. Taking a deep breath, he sat down beside
Samgar.
Yup, it has to be my luck to sit beside a vampire who just admitted
he’s going to return bloodthirsty from this little trip!

“Samgar won’t cause you any harm. You’re too relevant to
Sarah’s well-being,” assured the old woman.

Her words startled him. How had he forgotten she was reading
him? She lifted the blanket to expose the girl’s knee. “Now hurry, put your
hand on her leg. You need to go!”

The moment Duncan touched her smooth skin recognition struck
him like a bolt of lightning.
Mate! Mine!
His world went black as he was
sucked into a thick, tense whirl that swallowed him and made him gasp for
air—air that wasn’t there. Panic rose, threatening to consume him, but as
quickly as it had happened it ended. He fell, landing on something in a sitting
position. The something began to move and jump before Duncan had the
opportunity to see where he was.
Ow, shit! It’s a camel! Nobody said I had
to ride a camel! Wolves don’t ride; they hunt!
He tried to reach the bridle
at the same time as the beast bounced again. Somewhere in the periphery of his
mind he was aware of the shrieks and roars coming from the other camels, which
seemed as skittish as his camel was, but he was too occupied with struggling
not to fall from the saddle to pay much attention to his comrades’ predicament.
Before Duncan could fathom his bad luck, he was flying through the air until
his ass hit the hard, rocky ground.
Ouch!
He lay down, trying to regain
the air in his lungs and hearing the sound of hooves disappearing into the
distance. Somewhere nearby, Gedeon muttered some nonsense concerning vampires,
wolves and predators, although he didn’t seem as broken as Duncan felt.

“You scared the poor creatures away!” a female voice scolded
him, upset.

Poor creatures?
Supporting himself with his elbows,
he scowled at the beautiful, almost angelical-looking creature, who stood ten
feet away from him. She was staring, her perfect, sweet mouth hanging open, in
the direction from where the beasts’ fearful shrieks still resounded. With her
curly black hair falling in silky waves to her hips, and her violet-colored
eyes standing out like stars on her cinnamon-colored skin, it was difficult to
believe she was the same woman lying in another place, about to die. All
thoughts of his hurt ass-end forgotten, he gazed at his mate. A warm, sizzling
sensation spread through his body, his muscles tensed in anticipation and his
wolf howled, wanting to take control to claim her.

Gaping back and forth between him and Gedeon, who seemed as
dumbstruck as Duncan felt, the angel ended by asking Samgar. “Are those
supposed to be the ‘wise’ men?”

Duncan scowled. The question sounded insultingly familiar to
what he’d heard not so long ago from the little imp at the hospital. Then, it
had been funny; now, coming from his woman’s lips, it didn’t sound so amusing
anymore. Instead of hurrying to him, ecstatic to throw herself at him and to
embrace him and shower him with kisses, she acted as if she didn’t recognize
him…
and
she’d just questioned his intelligence in front of others.

Samgar scratched his chin. “Well, I’m not sure about the
‘wise’ part, but at least that one seems to be a man,” he muttered, glowering
in Duncan’s direction.

It took Duncan a moment to realize that the sumptuous robes
were wrapped around his hips, leaving him bare-assed and exposed. Everybody
seemed to be staring to his groin, where an extremely proud and happy part of
him gave the impression of saluting the others from between his widely spread
legs.

His woman’s pupils grew larger and a slight pink color
tinted her cheeks. However, she appeared to regain her composure quickly,
adopting a serene expression. She elbowed Samgar. “
Tío!
”

“Cover your crown jewels, pup; I think she already got her
first huge impression about you,” Gedeon stated wryly.

She’s repressing her laugh! She’s fucking repressing her
laugh!
Affronted, Duncan scowled at her as he pulled at the expensive
fabric and covered himself. The twitch of her lips gave way to a shameless grin
that shifted into loud laughter. She put a hand to her belly as big tears
trickled down her cheeks.
And she said she loved me?

Her uncle observed the scene with lifted brows. “Well, if
nothing else, at least this disaster made you laugh. But I’m afraid the camels
also disappeared with your presents.”

“Oh,
Tío
Samgar!” She dried her cheeks and embraced
him. “The presents don’t matter. You’ve already given me this moment.” She
thanked him and then turned to approach Duncan, smiling softly. She reached out
to offer him her hand. “Come on, big boy, stop sulking and get up. You’re
supposed to act like a king.”

He stared at her extended hand, before searching her eyes to
try out their mental link. “
You realize who I am. Why are you acting as if
we are strangers?”

“Hush! My uncle is watching!”
she answered
straight-faced, mind-to-mind.

“You know him too?”

Gedeon’s grim voice resounded in Duncan’s head but the
vampire seemed to be addressing Duncan’s mate.

“What are you doing in my head?”
Duncan glanced at
Ged. Duncan was familiar with Gedeon’s ability to read minds and talk to humans
or other weak creatures but he’d never communicated with Duncan telepathically.

“We’re both connected to her, and through her it seems
we
are also connected to each other.”

“Stop this! Now is not the time!”
she hissed through
their link, giving no sign on the outside that she was speaking with them.

Duncan took her offered hand. “My name’s Duncan. I’m really
sorry about the beasts…I mean,
camels
and your presents.”

The instant their palms made contact, a hot current went
through him, leaving him dizzy and feeble. Sarah’s eyes turned glassy, the
violet hues in her irises becoming silver while her grip on him tightened.

“Let him go! Now!”
Gedeon’s face didn’t show any
emotion, although his voice sounded taut and urgent.

She gave him a bewildered glance but dropped Duncan’s hand
and stumbled one step back. “
What just happened?”
she asked, rubbing her
arms.

Duncan thought to protest—he didn’t want her moving away
from him—but in spite of his head spinning like crazy, he recognized something
was out of order.

“I’m not sure. It felt as if you were draining him.”
Gedeon responded to her question in their minds. He then gave her a formal nod
and spoke aloud. “I’m Gedeon, my lady.” Silently, he added, “
Are you okay,
pup?”

“Oh my God! How…? Why…?”
Even her mental voice
sounded shrill.

“I…yes…I am okay, I guess…”
Duncan swallowed, still
dizzy.

“Greet Xiucatl!”
Gedeon ordered. “
We’ll talk
later.
”

Sarah cringed inwardly. His voice held a note of warning and
his stare promised he’d address her about much more than what had just
happened.

She bit her lip, aware of how angry Ged was about her
relationship with the werewolf. Since the moment Duncan had revealed that he
was at the hospital, she’d realized what would happen, but she wasn’t prepared
for it. Not yet and probably not ever. Her dream world and the real world were
never supposed to get mixed together.

Turning to the third man, she gave him a nervous glance.
Nana had foreseen him when she had forecast the other two. Sarah had been
searching for him too but had never achieved contact with him. Now, at the
worst possible moment, she found herself in front of him, getting lost in his
gorgeous onyx eyes, while the others were watching her every move. “And you
are?” Her voice came out weak and quivering.

“Xiu,” he answered, his seriousness finally giving way to a
slight smile that made her feel warm from her toes to the tips of her ears.

Her uncle finally broke the magnetism. “Nana said to tell
you she’d arrive tomorrow to help you make a
Roscón de Reyes
. She
already has the tiny king figure for the cake. This year, she’ll try to smuggle
it here by using it as a hairpin. I don’t even want to know how she attempted
to bring it here the last ten years,” Samgar muttered, shaking his head.

She turned to him and smirked. Nana always came to make the
traditional, ring-shaped cake with Sarah for Epiphany and, as the tradition
demanded, the cake required a king and a dry fava bean hidden inside the
filling. Whoever found the king was crowned king or queen of the celebration,
and whoever found the bean would be a vassal for one night. The last part about
the bean wasn’t a tradition that existed in the rest of the world but one
Samgar had invented when she was only a child to make the day more special for
her. “You’re right—there are at least three times you don’t want to know
about.” She laughed. “Are you going to come tomorrow too?”

“Of course I’m going to show up. I need to break this damned
curse that makes me find the broad bean every year!”

“Come on, Uncle, I’m old enough to have figured out that you
choose the piece with the broad bean on purpose.

“Why would I do that?” Samgar asked, putting his hands into
his pockets and looking like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth.

“Because if I don’t find my king, Nana would make you pay
for it.” She didn’t even try to hide her grin. They both knew Nana still
considered Sarah a child and that Epiphany was Sarah’s day.

Her uncle groaned, directing his gaze toward the sky. “Don’t
even think about letting her know you’ve discovered that I cheat. I won’t hear
the end of how I destroyed the magic of Three Kings Day.”

“Don’t worry,
Tito
, I love my kings and being the
queen of the night.”

Her laughter died as she caught sight of Gedeon’s
expression, his brows raised under his magnificent crown.
Oh my goddess! Did
I just say kings, in the plural, and queen of the night?
Her face
irradiated heat like a light bulb. Fortunately, her uncle came to her rescue.

“Well, at least I still have this for you.” Samgar reached
behind his neck, took off the pendant he was wearing and showed it to Sarah.

Xiu went pale and took a step forward with his hand
extended, as if he wanted to touch the pendant. He made no sound but Sarah
noticed how the warrior’s hands closed in tight fists and his lips pressed
together, forming a straight line. His shoulders drooped slightly and his
downcast eyes closed for a long moment. When her gaze crossed with Gedeon’s
stern one she knew that he too had witnessed Xiu’s strange behavior.

After studying the perfect geometrical symbols carved in the
dark-blue stone, and the brilliant emerald and the sapphire-like streaks below
the surface, which shimmered as if they were charged with power, she threw her
arms around Samgar’s neck and embraced him with all her strength.