Eternal Damnation

ETERNAL DAMNATION By Ashley Ladd

© copyright December 2004, Ashley Ladd Cover Art by Amber Moon, © copyright December 2004 ISBN 1-58608-313-9 New Concepts Publishing Lake Park, GA 31636 www.newconceptspublishing.com

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

Chapter One

Blood. Not just any blood but gloriously delectable, verdant blood. Billions of strongly pumping vessels lured ‘The Lion’, vampire king Dmitri Leonid. No planet in the galaxy manufactured pure, undiluted blood like the inhabitants of Earth. How he had ached for her bounty. Sensing the harvest even across space, his gums prickled. "Blessed be. Our 300-year fast is almost at an end," Sacha, the ship’s second-in-command said, renewed energy resonating in his voice. Dmitri ran the tip of his tongue over his tingling gums, tracing the edges of the fangs that just broke through the surface. "It’s been an eternity, for sure." And not just to taste the luscious nourishment again, but for a much more important kind of nourishment…. Laser fire slashed through the sky rocking the ancient, barely space worthy ship, knocking him sideways into the control panel. Dmitri cursed the Goddess who was supposed to be their protectress but who hadn’t favored them for the past three centuries. He caught and righted himself and then shook his fist high in the air at his arch enemy’s star ship which closed in on them with preternatural speed. "Shields! Weapons report." Dmitri whirled around to ensure his head security officer heard him and launched an effective counter attack. How he ached to call for reinforcements. Back in the Carpathian Wars more than four hundred years prior, they had numbered in the legions. Now their entire clan consisted of less than three-hundred vampires that manned two rag-tag star ships. Their enemies piloted

at least fifty A-class ships, their soul chilling purpose, to conquer the galaxy. Their numbers grew by the day as they assimilated the humanoid races with whom they came into contact. But their main objective remained Earth, their home planet who had kicked them off world almost five centuries before. Now all-powerful, the Carpathians were ready to return and conquer the gem of the universe. Although raw that his home world had exiled him, Dmitri preferred to quietly slip back and mingle among the unsuspecting humans, not blaze in and destroy the lush planet unlike any other they had encountered in their centuries-long pilgrimage. Lushly green Earth was a treasure to be cosseted and cherished, not ravaged. Not to mention a much more personal agenda…. When a plasma ball hurled at them, Dmitri gritted his teeth as he clutched the captain’s helm. "Hard astern!" His forehead creased and his gums tingled heralding the protrusion of his fangs. Adrenaline pumped fast and furious through his veins and his fingers itched to strangle the captain of the malevolent ship with his bare hands. Mere seconds later, Dmitri was flung to the floor. When Sacha maneuvered the bulky ship hard astern, his head crashed against a bulkhead. When he regained his senses, something wet and sticky flowed down his cheek. He touched his undead flesh gingerly, and lifted back bloody fingers. He licked them and closed his eyes in ecstasy. Excruciating torture. His crew also wrinkled their noses and sniffed. Those whose fangs hadn’t already protruded as they neared Earth, erupted now. Cursing his stupidity, knowing they couldn’t rein in their blood lust any more than he could stop his own. Fresh blood drew out their predatory instinct and it would be suicide to remain in their midst with a raw seeping wound. Quickly he swiped at the blood and gauged its flow as he rose to his full height, and hissed, "Number One take command and take us to safety. I’ll be in hospital chambers." He blinked to the sanctity of his quarters and raised the shields. Blood was in desperately short supply and had been since leaving their true donors on Earth. Diluted humanoid blood from their adoptive planets had drained their former virility. Hopefully coming home to Earth would return them to their former health and strength. They had to be careful not to damage the populace and make it necessary for the humans to drive them away again or all hope would be lost. If their rival clan didn’t annihilate them--or Earth--first. Damn! When his flesh had healed itself, he lowered the shield and marched to the elevator. Precious little exercise was to be had out in space and thus he shunned astral projecting and shape-shifting into winged creatures to walk whenever he could so his muscles wouldn’t atrophy. Red alert sirens split the air a second before blaring lights strafed across the dimly lit corridor and Sacha’s voice blared overhead, "Red alert. Enemy intruders have boarded the vessel. The humans are armed and dangerous." He froze in place. Humans? Not the Carpathians? Having only just arrived in orbit around the planet they hadn’t had time to perform reconnaissance. After

so many centuries, the humans could have created weapons deadly to vampires. The Carpathians had grown complacent after conquering so many worlds, but their arrogance could be their doom. Humans had always been the most resilient, most creative foe. Perhaps Nikolai’s memory had grown rusty. Dmitri snarled. It was more likely that Nikolai felt himself invincible. Having life after death often did that to a being. A platoon of human warriors materialized before Dmitri, blocking his path. Before he could blink away, the warrior woman who led the band of soldiers raised her weapon at his heart. Shockwaves hit him full force making him freeze. Dumbfounded, he was unable to stop staring. Tanya…. Pulling himself up short, he stared at his reincarnated lifemate. "Tanya," he whispered on a wisp of air that tickled his lips. Although he had longed for this moment, he hadn’t envisioned their reunion to be so quick upon his return--or so deadly. Tanya’s warlike stare didn’t waver, just sliced through him. No flash of recognition flickered across their golden honeyed depths. He drank in the vision he had feared never to gaze upon again. Although his great height eclipsed most females of his species, this statuesque beauty nearly stared him in the eye. Spiky, silvery hair was shorn short in a militaristic fashion, totally opposite her long-flowing feminine style that she had preferred in her last lifetime. Brave but not stupid, he tried to diffuse the hostility brimming in the air. The weapon in her hand was unlike any he’d seen on other worlds and unlike the Earth guns of old. Even vampires could die if disintegrated by laser blasts and this could be some form of laser gun or other equally lethal weapon. Or at least their atoms would float disconnected in space through eternity so they may as well be dead. Nor could he lose her again, not after traveling across oceans of time and space to find her. He would not risk her trust--her love--by harming her people. Speaking slowly and carefully, he hoped the humans of this century still spoke one of the ancient languages with which he was acquainted. Absent were the accouterments of twenty-first century Earth, the last century he had inhabited this world. Nothing labeled this band of soldiers as European, American, or Asiatic. He would be amazed if the same governments and boundaries existed, if any of his contemporaries’ ways were still practiced. "We come in peace. We’re friends." He held up his empty hands slowly so as not to provoke the soldiers. "We mean you no harm. We pose no threat." More beast than soldier, the feral beauty snarled at him. She narrowed her darkening eyes at his mouth so that he could smell her menace. "Then what are those?" Venom dripped from her final word. Too late he remembered his protruding fangs. Glancing down cross-eyed at himself, he retracted them. "You’re a vampire," she hissed recoiling. "Our ancestors banished your kind centuries ago. They permitted you to live with the proviso that you never return. Now you bring your wars and bloodlust back into our space. That does not constitute an act of friendship." He bowed regally with a sweeping gesture. Yearning for his succubus assailed him and it took every ounce of his willpower not to take her in his arms and taste of her again. Her lethal blade and loyal troops

told him he dare not. Yet. She would have to be wooed carefully and turned if they were to stop this painful cycle of reunion, re-acquaintance, and separation. "Do you not remember me, my love? I have never forgotten you." She stared at him as if he had lost his mind and he wondered if perhaps he had. But no, he was not mistaken about her true identity. He would know his life mate--his soul mate--even if she had been reincarnated in a male frame. "I know no vampires. None of your kind has been on my world since long before my birth." He would not press the issue at the point of her blade. Later, when she could not impale, disintegrate him, or slice off his head, he would get his opportunity to awaken their eternal love. "Our clan is neutral in the war. Nikolai’s clan launched a surprise attack." Tanya’s eyes narrowed more, barely slits above her high cheek bones. "We know no Nikolai. State your purpose here, vampire." Her finger twitched on her lethal weapon. Obviously humans had reverted to their warlike natures. No one in the band confronting him looked like a computer geek. Any one of them would make a formidable foe. The soldiers resembled Valkyries, not the soldiers and mercenaries of the twenty-first century. Perhaps humans had evolved--or devolved. It was too early to tell. He didn’t feel it wise to admit to sneaking back like a thief to a world that feared and despised his kind. "We were sucked into a vortex and transported from the far side of the galaxy. We were trying to return to our space when our enemy’s ship engaged us in combat." "Try again and this time, no more lies." The ice that seemed to frost Tanya’s heart misted her breath. It formed ice crystals on his own as well. It would take much to melt the ice around her heart and find the woman beneath the soldier, but he resolved to do so. He would bet that the truth would earn him a blade to a vital organ. Death came on swift wings to those who underestimated their enemies. His mind raced for a plausible rationale. "Nikolai’s ships have convened on Earth. They are the enemy, not us. We could not leave you defenseless." Tanya quirked her brow. Gripping her weapon tighter, she jerked it toward his face. "I see no difference. Both fleets are attempting to invade Earth. None of you are welcome." The humans had not forgotten their grudge. Nothing had changed for the better. Fall back. Regroup. Protective instincts kicked in and his muscles corded. With a growl, he thinned himself on the air, sprouting the wings of a raven, and soared toward safety. Laser blasts nearly missed him, but fractured his ship. "Project out, Sire!" Sacha’s voice reverberated in his head. A small security squad materialized behind the human leader, ready to grab her. As they were about to crush the silvery leader, she and her warriors disintegrated into a sparkling mist. Dmitri did a double-take. Interesting.

So now the humans could project and they had vastly improved weaponry. He suspected they would prove most formidable adversaries. He cursed Nikolai’s band of blundering pirates. It would have been much easier to slip back unannounced.

****

Commander Zanna Edwards advanced on her mother and Commander in Chief of Unified Earth’s Defenses, Admiral Nova Edwards. "Why didn’t you let me finish him off?" Steamed that her mother dare pull her out of the conflict without warning, she bit back frustrated screams not befitting her rank. "Live today, fight tomorrow." Her mother eyed her closely. "My sources told me they had the upper hand, that you were in grave danger." "You have a mole in my crew?" Hurt that she didn’t have complete faith in her abilities, she inhaled sharply but kept her ground. She thrust out her chin defiantly, "I’ve fought many enemies. Why is this one so different?" "Have you not committed the Vampire Wars to memory as all cadets are sworn to do? We have been warned to be ready should they ever return. Perhaps you didn’t believe the legend to be true?" Her forehead pounded from the training deeply ingrained in her. "How could I forget? Or take this threat lightly? It’s been instilled in me since the cradle. I’ve lived for this day, to be able to defend our people. "We detected at least five invading ships in our territory and each ship could hold hundreds of these-beings." She couldn’t quite bring herself to call them monsters, especially not the very virile, velvet-tongued leader his people had referred to as Sire, despite his terrifying fangs and deeply ridged forehead. "You must slay the leaders, especially the king. Destroy the commanders, and there will be mass chaos in their ranks. The disoriented masses will flee." Would heavily armed vampires scare so easily? Her gut told her ‘no’. They probably wanted revenge, not to mention a fresh donor base. Chills skipped down her spine. She couldn’t allow them to step foot on Earth again. "I need all Earth’s space defenses at my disposal. Immediately. We’re going to drive them so deep into space they won’t be able to find their way back."

Chapter Two

"You can’t put me under, Doc. Nikolai’s poised to attack." Their only surprising salvation had come from their mutual attackers. The Earthlings had kept the Carpathian ships on the defense. But unless Nikolai himself was destroyed in the battle, that wouldn’t hold for long. But even if Nikolai was destroyed, he had strong seconds, poised to take control. "It is the quickest way to rejuvenate without proper nourishment and we need you on full thrusters. Soon as we have a steady diet of true human blood again, you will not need to undergo this process," Mikhal Dubrovnik, their medic, said as he injected Dmitri’s arm with a syringe. "Sacha is a capable second-in-command. He is strong, loyal, and has a quick mind and he was recently rejuvenated." Dmitri’s eyelids grew too heavy to pry open. His muscles felt as if they were weighed down by rocks. Mikhal’s voice drifted to him from afar. "Remember you can function on the astral plane. Our minds have grown stronger than ever during our exile. Use your special strength. Conquer the enemy on unexpected levels… in the depths of their minds. You are the Lion, the conqueror. Blessed be." "In their minds," Dmitri repeated, his tongue thick and slow. The doctor had read his mind. Thick mist shrouded him and he rose from his body. Then he spied his love, sleeping naked, tangled in sparkly, metallic sheets. Her bite-sized breasts made his mouth water. How could she tempt him so? He couldn’t resist a taste of such delicious morsels. What better way to get her on his side than to seduce her? Once the heart was putty the mind would follow. Dmitri orbed to the Earth Commander whom was delightfully ensconced in a dream world. Hovering over her, he let his eager gaze caress her exquisite face. She was in a deep, rapturous sleep. She was so fair, so beautiful. Moaning, she skimmed her hand down her throat to her pert breasts and then rolled her nipples between her fingers. Then she trailed her other hand down her belly over her mound and rubbed her clit. She writhed as he watched in fascination. When she slipped a finger inside her very warmth, blood boiled in his veins and his cock thickened, longing to move those fingers aside and slide inside. But he kept a tight rein on his desires. His mission was to seduce, not plunder, even if he couldn’t wait to ravage this human delicacy. His love looked so angelic, how could she be a militant soldier? Thousands of soldiers marched to her command, so he knew she had to be tougher than chromium. He focused on her cupid-bowed lips and remembered how she had pleaded with him to kiss her. So kiss her he would. Lowering himself so that only their mouths met, he teased her lips with feathery light kisses. Her lashes fluttered and her eyes opened narrowly. Against his lips, her breath warm and seductive, she mumbled huskily, "Does my dream lover have a name? What shall I call you?" "Dmitri Vladimir Leonid. Do you honestly not remember me, my love?" He licked her neck, holding back his fangs with every ounce of his control. Such succulence shouldn’t go wasted. He could take her to a realm she hadn’t even imagined if he could just bite her….

She purred and gazed deeply into his eyes, breaking his trance. "The Lion." She parted her lips and tangoed with his tongue. When he came up for air, she asked breathily, "Why are you out of your den, Lion? Shouldn’t you be protecting your tribe? Or finishing off mankind?" He gazed deeply into her passion-glazed eyes, assessing her. Half-teasing, half-serious he decided. Just how lucid was she on the astral plane? More than most who assumed themselves merely dreaming. "It is only a name…." "Like vampire is only a word?" Ouch! She went for the jugular and there was still no trace of recognition. "Why are you here, Lion?" Grinning impishly, she lifted his robe and peeked at his throbbing erection. "Dmitri, please, my lovely." She had the benefit of knowing his name, leaving him at a disadvantage. She looked like an Aleksandra, defender of man. Or Akalina, a soaring, glorious eagle. It would be too much to hope she was still known as ‘Tanya’. "Aren’t we going about this backward? Shouldn’t we know one another’s names before you approach me so readily? Before you try to seduce me?" When he drew her finger into his mouth and sucked on it, she grew wet with feverish desires. "My point. So I really should know your name. Another kiss in exchange for it, sweet lady." "A poetic bloodsucker. I never would have expected. A literate being instead of the feral beast? A silver tongue instead of a wicked one? Poetry in the soul mingling with eternal hell fires?" She averted her gaze and licked her lips. "Forgive me but our history not only teaches that vampires prey on the weak and consigns their souls to eternal damnation, but your fleet is poised to destroy humanity at this very moment. I don’t find that fact extremely comforting." Exasperating wench! Even in her dream state she had a steel trap of a mind. He hoped his comrades met with an easier task or they would fail, doomed to wander through space seeking a new home. So she wanted to make a power play? He rose out of touching distance and stared at her, a grin tugging at his lips. "It is not my people who are threatening your world. It is the Carpathians who have returned to attack. We will do all that we can to assist your people in fending them off." He gave her a piercing look, trying to storm her defenses much as Nikolai stormed her world. "But first, your name? Tell me the name of the fair maiden whom I propose to help." Laughing she lifted her leg and tried to touch him with her flexed toes giving him a miraculous view of her glistening treasures. "I’m a warrior, not a maiden. Am I a POW that you want my name, rank, and serial number? Does knowing my name give you special powers over me?" He floated higher and crossed his arms over his chest. "Perhaps. Or perhaps I just want to know what such a lovely vision is called."

She licked her lips and gazed at him coquettishly, tempting him unmercifully. Since when were warrior princesses wantonly seductive? "You’re in my dream. Don’t you have to do as I say?" "Is that in the dream manual? I must’ve skipped that chapter." He thought of a delicious torture to inflict until she decided to cooperate. Turning around, he nestled between her legs and flicked her silky folds with his tongue. "I can’t possibly consort with our mortal enemy." "You’re dreaming. Anything goes in a dream. You can live out your wildest, most decadent fantasies. You can make wild, passionate love to me, master me, and be mastered by me. No one will be the wiser. You won’t even remember our passionate encounter upon your awakening. " Passion flickered in the depths of her eyes and she reached for him. "As long as it is truly a dream." Veiling his eyes so that she couldn’t glean the extent of his lies, he whispered huskily, "This is merely a dream that will evaporate with wakefulness." The lie clawed at his gut, but it was necessary to gain her acceptance, to save not only her, but humanity and their world. They moaned and writhed together. She tasted so luscious, her scent was so exotic, he could barely form a coherent thought or remember his sacred mission. Tanya caressed his head, running her magical fingers through his hair orbing him out of the Third Level of Hell into Heaven. He licked his way down to her swollen labia, parted the pink lips, and slurped her freely flowing juices. He parted her legs wider, spread her lips and drank deeply. Coming up for a breath, he asked, "You ready to tell me?" "Never." Tingling, she wriggled against his face. "Keep torturing me," she commanded. Torture her? She could be sarcastic now, but when he stopped at the critical moment, she would know torture. He prayed she cracked soon as his cock hung full and heavy with his seed ready to burst, yearning to bury itself deep in her folds. She traced the tip of her tongue over her lips. "Zanna." Zanna, God’s gift. Since when did God give him gifts? He had to quell a tremor of trepidation. "I thought we were rid of you, vampire. I told you never to darken my world again." A dark, ominous voice sliced through the sultry night, icing it a terrifying chill. Ashlok, Nikolai’s most heinous minion…. Dmitri tensed and lifted his head, licking Zanna’s juices from his lips. He pulled the sheet over his life mate to preserve her modesty from the monster and whispered, "Prepare to fight." He hoped her warrior instincts kicked in against real monsters. Zanna nodded, almost imperceptibly. The passion in her eyes dulled. Gone was the luscious lover to be replaced by the wintry soldier.

"Ashlok! To what do I owe this monumental displeasure?" Dmitri whirled around, tugging on his pants, his fangs fully bared. Zanna looked about her, squinting in the world of shadows. Her oceanic-colored eyes glowed almost turquoise. "What is this place?" "The astral plane. The realm of nightmares. Be careful. Every nightmare ever conceived runs amok on this plane." "You brought me here?" She glared at him as she floated up from the bed, away from her body. She stared back at it, looked at her astral form, and fingered the silvery umbilical cord that kept her attached to her body. "Not exactly." He hadn’t meant to drag her into this dangerous zone or put her at risk. He needed her alive and well to stop the war and persuade her to allow his people to return home. "You have lifted yourself out of your body." "You called me," she hissed, eyeing the demon. "If the astral body dies, does the physical body?" He let his breath hiss out and chanced a glance at her while trying to keep the fiend full in his sight. "As I’m technically already dead, I can’t die, except for a very few exceptions. I am disappointed that you don’t remember." She opened her mouth to speak, hesitated and closed it. Then her voice vibrated next to his ear. "If this is the nightmare world, will we meet our own nightmares? Or other people’s?" He grimaced, his lips stretching uncomfortably across his fangs. "Both." Anxiety lit her gaze. "You’re one of the worst nightmares." She pointed at his fangs. Dmitri quelled his hurt. Couldn’t she see beyond his outer shell? Look into his soul? Was their no glimmer of remembrance? Ashlok slithered forward while they whispered, his shadow inching dangerously close. "There be monsters here, Missy." Ashlok, already hideous with a gray rodent-like torso, mottled flesh, and human head sprouted snakes from his tail and head. Five inch daggers sprang from its fingers and toes. Zanna visibly recoiled from the repugnant creature. "I didn’t dream him. I’d remember that monster, awake or asleep." Ashlok peered at them with his beady black eyes and twitched his pug nose. His snakes hissed, stuck out their forked tongues, and writhed around his body. "Why do you invade our world? You will regret your transgressions." "Vampires habitually travel on the astral plane."

****

Shocked at the revelation, she hissed. "So I’m not dreaming? You were kissing me--licking me--down there…? This isn’t a nightmare?" Her vaginal walls clenched and she tingled all over. How many other times had her dreams been real? The astral plane had always been a myth, one of the many frivolous pursuits of the zen-loving cults she had thought beneath her notice. "No. Yes. And no." The Lion was so helpful she wanted to strangle him if they escaped alive. He scowled. "At least no one else has ever compared my lovemaking to a nightmare." She grimaced at his reference to his demanding love life. "Why did you invade my dreams?" To kill her? But he’d had ample opportunity before she’d reached lucidity and he hadn’t. He had made love to her, very erotic, sensual love that made her quiver with lust just recalling it. "Why think you? Some great military mind are you?" Ashlok snorted and shook his head, the snakes writhing, flicking their forked tongues. "Not to kill me." She really doubted it was love at first sight although her physical reaction to Dmitri had been swift and fierce, to her complete chagrin. "We wanted to persuade you that my clan is peaceable and presents no danger to you. You wouldn’t let me near you on the Third Dimension." Dmitri stood proud and thrust out his chin regally. Fury flashed through her like wild fire. "You thought you could invade our innermost psyche, seduce us, and that we would welcome you into our beds and our planet? And you claim to be better than your rivals who blatantly threaten to murder us if we don’t bow to their hideous demands?" "Our planet. It’s our home, too. Your ancestors had no right to force us to leave." Pathos laced Dmitri’s voice but she wasn’t going to feel sorry for him. Military leaders did not betray the civilians they had taken oaths to protect. She suppressed shivers. By allowing him into her bed, even if it was in her dreams, had she been a traitor to her people? "You had no right to invade my dreams! And your actions most definitely prove your kind is dangerous. You attack at a most insidious level, below our awareness and you expect us to trust you?" The Lion was a monster as much as the rat creature twisting with snakes. His bite would be just as lethal and she didn’t welcome him or his clan in her world anymore than she wanted this nightmarish creature. Dmitri took a step toward her, his hand out. "My only crime was to make your acquaintance, to show that I wasn’t a threat in an effort to pave the way so that we could discuss matters rationally." "Next time please use diplomatic channels and introduce yourself formally--shake my hand, and then tell me your name and business. We’ll negotiate." Was he a vampire or a caveman? He might as well have grabbed her by the hair and hauled her to his lair. Simultaneously, she thrilled and recoiled. Since when did she thrill to the command of a macho alpha male? She commanded many such men. They answered to her, not vice versa. But this one spoke to her on a deeper level. This one she couldn’t control and order about. This one excited her on a very primal level.

She was a soldier, wasn’t she? As such, she would do her sworn duty. She summed up her enemies wishing she had a weapon. Although she was an expert at hand-to-hand combat and held a black belt, she had never battled a nest of snakes or mastered the secrets of the astral realm. She hadn’t believed the astral realm truly existed and it was difficult to wrap her mind around the concept. Did the same rules of physics apply? If she died here, would she die in real life? She suspected that the answer was yes. Her mother would think she had died peacefully in her sleep, a dishonorable death for a soldier. Although she didn’t fear death, she did not welcome it either. An even more important question bothered her, could her soul die in a dream? "Was that what your weapons were doing? Talking peace?" "Nor were your fangs. She vaulted at him, feet first and flung him several feet into the air. This is your final warning vampire. Leave and take your clan of monsters with you. Forget you spawned from Earth." Dmitri jumped to his feet lithely as if he hadn’t just been knocked half a parsec away. Perspective was difficult on this shadowy plane. "Never. This is our home and we have just as much right to live on this world as you. We were born here." "You mean you were made here." "I was born in Russia in the eighteenth century and migrated to America. I lived here until the Second Carpathian Wars of 2087. This was my home for hundreds of years. You’ve only lived here thirty at most. Perhaps you should leave." He cartwheeled, flew into the air, and landed behind her. Before she could reel around to face him, he had hauled her back against his lithe form. His warmth seeped into her and he spoke huskily into her ear, his breath tickling it. "Earth is my home. My birthplace." "And mine." She blocked out how wonderful his body felt and the memories that rushed back of his powerful lovemaking. He was her mortal enemy. If she reminded herself often enough, perhaps she would begin to believe it. She grabbed his arms, and flung him over her head. Then she flung herself on top of him and they wrestled until he pinned her to the floor as she gasped for breath. She had met many worthy opponents, but none as strong or lithe as him. She grunted her grudging admiration for his skills. "Give your word you will let us stay." He stared at her throat, his eyes passion glazed, reminding her that he would rather drain her of her blood than make love to her. What folly it would be to permit a whole blood thirsty band loose to rampage and pillage Earth’s citizens. To let them wander through their minds and dreams at will. "I do not have the authority," she said between gritted teeth. Which was true. "I’m a mere soldier, not a politician." "But do you have influence on the governing board? Surely they must trust one of their highest ranked military officials." His hands encircled her throat, and he caressed it with the pads of his thumbs. His thumb settled over her carotid artery through which her blood pumped. "Sometimes. I cannot guarantee they will listen to me." More and more lately, she was not finding favor with the council. "Will you give your recommendation?" He straddled her, his robe flapping open. His groin ground against her reminding her of their earlier erotic encounter. She could definitely give him a high rating in the

sexual prowess category but that didn’t prove him to be trustworthy. "If this is a sample of how you will treat us once you are back on world, no." She bent his thumbs backward and then kicked him off, hurling him several feet into the air. A fire breathing dragon with twin heads swooped down and scooped her into its claws. Fire flamed from both heads and its big dick scraped the floor until it gained incredible height. She noticed that her silver umbilical cord tangled around its testicles. She pulled on it with all her strength, strangling the gigantic balls, eliciting a horrific scream from the creature. She almost felt sorry for it until it dropped her from its great height, and she free fell, hurtling into a black void. Cursed darkness closed in on her. She was a creature of light and goodness and abhorred the dark void. Then flames shot from the twin mouths, lighting the nightmare realm, missing her by bare inches, the heat singing her. Steely arms caught her and huddled her against a strong chest with a beating heart. Ragged, her breath tore from her lungs in bursts. She struggled to get free until Dmitri’s deep voice soothed her. "It’s your friendly neighborhood vampire. See? I’m not such a bad sort to have around." She savored the moment in his arms until sanity crept back. Did he take nothing seriously save his return to Earth? "Admit it. I’m not a monster." He smiled down into her face, his eyes twinkling. When she pursed her lips, his grip slipped fractionally as if he was about to drop her. "Oops. You know you should go on a diet. You’re a lot heavier than you look." Self-preservation made her loop her arms around his neck and press tighter against him. She wanted to wipe the sarcastic grin off his pretty face. He was full of shit. She had no hang-ups knowing she was well within military weight regs. "Bite me." He wiggled his brows and lowered her to her feet. "Love to, darlin’. Soon as we outrun these monsters." "Can’t you just orb us out of here? Are we not able to wake up?" "It’s a little more complicated than that. If it was that easy, we’d be out already. Our friends don’t seem to want us to leave the party yet." "Party?" Ashlok’s eerie voice snaked around them. "You mean feast?" Her mouth went dry. Dying with honor fighting demons to save her people she could take. Being the entree, she could not. "There has to be a way. What’s got them so up in arms?" "Why?" A chorus of voices hissed from Ashlok’s hideous body. "Because his army of vampire freaks has invaded our realm." "You’re calling us freaks? Look in a mirror lately?" The import of the monster’s words hit her full in the chest and her lungs tightened unbearably. "Your clan is in here, too? Can’t you call them for help?" Dmitri turned to her, his brows tented further into his forehead. "What? You want the help of demon freaks? You want us to be your allies?"

She gulped hard, swallowing her pride. Digging her clipped finger nails into her palms with sufficient force to draw blood, she said, "Yes." "Say pretty please." She blinked. No soldier had ever said that to her. Granted, he wasn’t one of her troops who she would have put on report for such insolence. The crazy vampire made her feel so impotent among a myriad of other unpalatable crazy desires and sensations, maybe she was the crazy one. "Say pretty please with sugar on it." How could such a joker make her blood boil? And not with anger? She bit back a scream of frustration. No one else drove her so crazy either. "You’re nuts." He blew a kiss to her. "I could also be your salvation and your heaven." She knew all about the heaven part but vampire and heaven--two terms she had never equated together. Preposterous! Yet, deep down, she didn’t doubt it. Ashlok rubbed his paws together, sparks flying off his claws. The coarse hair on his back stood out straight like a porcupine’s. "No one can save you now, Lion. You belong to us." "Ladies first." Dmitri nodded at the vile creature and swept his arm out in deference to her. "I thought you wanted to be my ally?" "You didn’t say pretty please." "Pretty please," she said between gritted teeth, planning to strangle the infuriating vampire as soon as she took care of the other enemy. She had never battled a creature with several writhing heads before. Mortal, snake venom could kill her. Being immortal, Dmitri was the obvious choice. It seemed that vampires could be very helpful. She wasn’t a fool. Dmitri kissed her hand and bowed low as Ashlok advanced stealthily. "Any day now," she mumbled under her breath trying to ignore the wildfire licking her groin. "Get back," Dmitri whispered. Once she had followed his bidding he performed a beautifully powerful back flip and kicked the rat man in the face with his boot heels. Wind stirred her hair and she whirled around expecting to find more dragons. Instead she came face to face with a gross ball of mangled flesh filled with feral eyes and gnashing metal teeth. Was it alive or machine? One of its mouths opened so wide it almost encompassed its whole body and then snapped at her, narrowly missing decapitating her. Nothing had ever looked more demonic, not even the snake-covered rat man. She ducked and rolled out of the way, only to be mired in foul green-glowing goo that tried to suck her into a deep void. "Dmitri! I can’t get out!" She held out her hand to him. The lion whirled around, fear flickering across his silvery eyes. They almost looked human. "Don’t struggle. I’ll be right there."

"What do you mean don’t struggle? It’s sucking me under! I’m going to drown." "It’ll pull you in faster the more you fight it. I’ll get there soon as I finish off this creep." "Who’s the creep?" Ashlok picked himself up and swaggered drunkenly toward the vampire. "You’re invading our territory." "Just turn us loose. Well gladly leave." "Too late. No time to put anything else on tonight’s menu." Ashlok stared at Zanna, licking his gruesome lips. She didn’t breathe or move a muscle and the sucking had slowed but not completely stopped. She willed Dmitri to save her, sending all her psychic energy to him. "How about rat tartar? Before the creature had time to ponder the man’s words, Dmitri snapped his neck with a swift bone-crunching frontal kick. Wasting no time, he sprinted for her. Two feet away, the mangled ball of flesh hurled at him and knocked him unconscious and into the center of the mire. "Dmitri! Wake up!" Forgetting his edict to remain completely still, she tried to wade to him and hold his head up. The muck sucked hard at her feet, and yanked her further into its maw. She had never felt so powerless. Manic laughter filled her head. Above her in the mist, she spied a huge eye watching, waiting. Had it been there all along? Or was she delusional in her final moments? Suddenly, the mist evaporated, she was back in her bed, and both the fiend and The Lion had disappeared.

****

"Sire. Awake. We need you." Sacha’s voice dragged Dmitri back from the astral plane. A heavy hand shook his shoulder, forcing him to return. Fighting to stay and protect his lady love, grouchy, Dmitri bared his fangs and growled. Nikolai had unleashed Ashlok… No good could possibly come of this. "This had better be good." He had left Zanna to Ashlok’s mercy. "I must go back." "You can’t go back into rejuvenation so soon. Your constitution isn’t strong enough." Mikhal shook his head as he clucked his tongue. "We’ve managed to escape Nikolai in the heat of battle. Now he’s decimating New York City. We’re crippled. But if we allow Nikolai to destroy Earth, we won’t have a home to return to." Sacha towered over Dmitri’s prone position, bristling.

Dmitri sat up, then lowered himself slowly when blood rushed to his head, making him dizzy. "Weapons and engine status? Did we suffer any hull breeches?" Mikhal glared at Sacha, his gray bushy brows knitted together, his fangs just protruding far enough to see a glint of light flash off the razor sharp tips. "Go easy on my patient. You also know that a being can’t be safely yanked out of rejuvenation just like that. What am I to do with the both of you?" Scowling, he snapped his fingers under Sacha’s nose. Sacha’s nostrils flared and his eyes glittered, but he remained at parade rest. In his most regal voice that Dmitri knew well, he informed the physician, "I know this. However, if we don’t act now, Earth may not survive. If I do react, we may not." "You’re in command. Make a command decision." The doctor tsk-tsked and shook his gray head. An inkling of an idea sparked in Sacha’s silvery eyes. "I thought perhaps we could fight Nikolai on the astral plane as well…." Dmitri tried to clear his head of the pea soup muddling his thoughts. He had never been able to return to the real world from a rejuvenation session in a mere instant. No vampire could. It took time to merge the body and spirit. His head ached from his sudden return, but he fought to focus. Rubbing his forehead, he stared at Sacha who wasn’t as sullen as the doctor. "As he also has this power, would it benefit us to attack on equal footing?" Besides, little did Sacha know that he hadn’t exactly been engaged in hand-to-hand combat in his last session…. Mikhal snickered behind his hand, and then pretended to clear his throat when Dmitri turned his head to stare at him and let his fangs protrude an additional half inch. "It still may, since we wouldn’t be putting our ships at risk. And as they are engaged in physical combat, we will gain the element of surprise." Sacha’s scheme had merit, but Dmitri was besieged with a delicious twist on his idea. "Your plan has much merit, my friend. But you know how physically weak and vulnerable travel to the astral plane leaves us…." "And them as well, Sire." Sacha helped him to sit up when his arms wobbled and wouldn’t support the move. "They outnumber us at least forty to one, infinitesimally so if reinforcements arrive. We have no additional troops to come to our aid. Our ships are limping now. Our crew is exhausted and disheartened that we have come this far to meet such resistance. These humans have long memories and even longer rancor." "So what do you suggest? Tuck our heads between our collective asses? Ignore the human’s plight? Turn tail and run? Let them blow to bits the only lush planet in the galaxy?" Fire flashed from Sacha’s glowing red eyes. Dmitri rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes, staring off into space. "Not at all my impatient friend. We need to be sneaky and hit below the belt." About three inches below. Sacha frowned. "I don’t understand…."

Mikhal chuckled and clasped his hands eagerly. "Brilliant Dmitri. Bravissimo!" Dmitri bit back a sigh and gazed up at his second-in-command. "As the human flower children would have said, ‘Make love, not war.’" Mikhal sighed deeply and rested his chin on his hand. "How I miss the flower children. They made such good succubus’." Dmitri shot an alarmed look at his friend. Drug-infected donors made for terrible sustenance. Sacha blushed under his swarthy complexion, rare for most vampires but not for the neurotic man. "We will seduce Nikolai and his entire clan? We don’t have sufficient numbers for that. Who will be left to man our ship?" Dmitri cursed lack of vision in his crew, especially his Number One. "We will concentrate on the leaders and sub-commanders. Assemble all officers not on battle stations in the conference room in ten minutes. No time to squander." He managed to stand up without swaying too badly. Damn but that had been a grueling projection to leave him so drained. Sacha placed his hand over his heart, clicked his heels, and bowed in deference to Dmitri. His long braid fell over his shoulder and grazed his worn boots. "As you command, Sire." "Lean on me," Mikhal commanded, curling his arm around Dmitri’s waist and propelled him forward. "I’ll help you there." Mikhal’s wiry head fit under Dmitri’s arm, so that Dmitri felt like a drunken scalawag trying to hang onto the smaller man and as he put one foot in front of the other. The longer they were away from Earth, the weaker they grew. "Thank you." Dmitri’s strength surged back so that by the time his crew gathered in the meeting place, he stood tall and confident again. His near success in the bedroom with his lifemate buoyed his confidence that the plan could work. He was just afraid that rather than seduce her, he had alienated her by leaving her adrift on the brink of orgasm. Women, especially his Tanya, didn’t appreciate callous treatment. He would do his best to make it up to her, just as soon as he briefed his crew. After all the vampires took their seats, Sacha took his place at Dmitri’s side, his hands linked behind his back. Dmitri stood tall, letting power surge through his veins. "As you know, Earth is under attack by Nikolai’s forces." Deathly, silence suffocated the room. "But our fleet is rag tag and our clan minuscule in comparison to the enemy. We must attack on a subliminal level." He paused to allow his words to sink in. Clan members looked at one another, hazarding guesses as to his battle strategy, and then turned back to him with rapt expressions on their faces. One brave soul, Lucius, stood and asked, "Why should we protect the humans who drove us out? When they fight now to send us away again?" Dmitri reached into the depth of his soul to answer. "Because Earth is still our home. We cannot permit Nikolai to destroy our planet." Or his lifemate.

Sacha stepped forward and pounded the podium with his fist. "We have traveled far and wide trying to find a planet like Earth, and none have come close. Maybe if we keep searching we will find her in four hundred more years, maybe a thousand, if our ships don’t disintegrate first. We need to save this planet and find a way to coexist." Lucius glared at both his leaders. He looked as if he wanted to spit but settled for a snarl and full extension of his fangs. "We had no problem with coexisting before. It was the humans who had a problem and who obviously haven’t let go of their resentments." "Perhaps if we save their planet, they will look upon us with more favor and have reason to stop fearing us," Mikhal said, mildly. "Don’t count on it," Natasha said, standing in solidarity with Lucius, her pointy chin thrust forward. "I remember how grateful they were whenever we tried to save one of their necks before. Surely your memory is not so short-lived, Sire." Dmitri’s anger burst forth. "This is not up for debate. We need to move swiftly. Everyone in this room will be given a target to seduce…." "As in sexual intercourse?" Natasha’s silvery-gray eyes widened but a grin curved her black-painted lips which she licked seductively before jutting out her ample breasts. Dmitri raked his hand through his hair and cleared his throat. "Yes, at least in most cases. Distract them. Turn their minds from war." He couldn’t take his eyes off those powerfully seductive lips, although his mind superimposed a much lighter, preferable set over them. "Just keep doing what you’re doing and progress from there." Natasha chuckled wickedly. "Since when were vampires shy about sex? You in particular…." "You will not address your King that way!" Sacha roared, leaning heavily across the podium. Liquid silver blazed in his eyes and he was tensed to pounce across the room and rip out the female’s throat. Dmitri clapped a stilling hand on his adjutant’s shoulder. "De-escalate. Let’s not expend our energy fighting each other." "Make love, not war," Mikhal interjected, the eternal Zen man. Dmitri nudged the doctor. "Make the assignments now so we can send them on their way. You have the enemies’ files. We’ll need you and your staff to remain here in case of emergency." He turned to Sacha. "You’ll remain here, in charge." "And what will you do, Sire?" Butter dripped from the doctor’s mouth. "Rendezvous with Tanya? Don’t think I don’t remember her. One cannot forget such a beautiful rose, even amongst the thorns." Dmitri ignored the question as it was a moot query. He addressed the waiting assemblage. "We need you to seduce the enemy to our side, or at least to cease hostilities. If possible, hypnotize them to disable their ship. If nothing else, distract them long enough to create havoc in the ranks. Armies cannot function without leadership." "And what about the humans?" Lucius asked. "Will they not blow up the ships if they are all screwing

around in bed instead of manning their defenses? We’ll be on those ships and blown up with them." "You’ll be on the astral plane and I will personally take charge of the human threat." But that reminded him that the commander wasn’t the only human of importance. Unfortunately, they didn’t have detailed histories of the human enemies as they did of Nikolai and his clan. "I will need a band of twenty to accompany me to disable the Earth defenses." He selected his most trustworthy to accompany him on the critical mission. "Cook! Serve up our feast." First, his people needed their nourishment to do the job well. He whispered an aside to the doctor, covering his mouth with his hand to prevent lip reading. "Do you have anything to fortify those accompanying me?" He needed a boost, too. It had taken all his self control not to plunge his fangs into Tanya’s creamy neck and feast upon her. As wonderful as it had been to taste of her ambrosia, he longed to sink his cock into her folds. Synthesized blood popped out of the table tops, served in long-stemmed glass goblets. If not for their replicators, they would have starved on their pilgrimage. He lifted his glass in a toast. "I want to commend you for your service beyond the call. I know how much everyone wants to go home. We have come so far. We are so near, and yet so far. I hope that it is not too great a sacrifice to request that you give your bodies in passionate, seductive sex all night long, and perhaps longer." Everyone chuckled lustily. He put his hands together and bowed. "Find a quiet place in your quarters that is free of distractions. May the shadows protect you and the Goddess smile upon you. Blessed be." His crew clinked their glasses in salute and repeated, "Blessed be." Dmitri made his way to his own quarters, adjusted the lighting and room temperature. He removed his clothing and footwear and draped in only a robe. Then he lied down in his coffin and stared at the stars reflected on his ceiling. He stilled his thoughts, quieting his mind, and felt the tension drain from his jaw, his shoulders, and his neck. The relaxation flowed lower, to his arms, and hands, then his torso and hips. Finally every part of his body was at peace and the objects in the room and the stars in the sky became too hazy to see clearly. Focusing on his breathing he inhaled deeply through his nose and held the breath until it became uncomfortable. Then he exhaled slowly through his mouth. He repeated this for several more breaths as he gave himself the mental suggestion to visit his love. Blackness filled the room. After a time, gray-scale light patterns shifted across his closed lids and his body began to tingle. Then he dissociated himself with his physical form and saw himself orbing, a silvery being attached to the prone form by a silver umbilical cord. Detached, he watched himself floating away from his physical body.

****

Zanna awoke slowly, breathing a sigh of relief that the awful Ashlok nor the sexy vampire was present.

They had seemed so real she half expected them to be in her room. The lovemaking before Ashlok had arrived had felt so genuine, so erotic. But the fear had been extremely genuine, too. But dreams weren’t real and the hero of her dreams was her sworn enemy. A vampire. Definitely not a hero. Two things she knew. As a commander in the Unified Earth Defenses she lived for combat. Secondly, that the vampires were not their friends, no matter how handsome, charming, or sexy their leader appeared. She couldn’t allow them to terrorize Earth’s population with their blood lusts and feeding frenzies. Their weapons were locked on the ancient city of New York. They didn’t seem to know that Kuatar where the historical city of Omaha had once stood, was now the Amalgamated American Continents capitol or that Edinburgh was the capitol of the Amalgamated British States. Obsolete technology and unspace-worthy vessels should make them a pitiful opponent, but she wasn’t in the habit of underestimating her foes, especially ones who viewed them as cattle to feed upon. She wasn’t a blood replicator, at least not speedy enough to quench their ravenous hunger. Her hair was layered short so that it was low maintenance and within military regs. After she ran a comb through it and fluffed it with her fingers, she forgot about it. She didn’t need make-up but would have shunned it even had her skin not glowed naturally and if her lashes weren’t thick and dark. She donned battle gear, ready to ward off the demons now that she was refreshed. Lastly, she pulled up her snug knee-high gray leather boots that molded to her legs and matched her uniform. Standing tall she pushed her command bracelet and teleported to morning assembly where her troops were falling in. Reveille sounded and she stood at attention, her hands crossed over her heart as she led her troops in the Oath of Loyalty to the Unified Earth Coalition. She stood beside her mother and her contingent as she addressed the troops, watching their rapt expressions. She made it a habit to know her allies as well as her enemies. Her life depended on them as did the future of their world. "We are Earth’s last defense against these monsters. We banished them once. We can do it again. I won’t delude you that it will be easy. Such fierce, crafty fiends don’t die easily. The ancient oracles tell us that the only way they can be killed is to sever their heads or drive a stake through their hearts." Zanna cleared her throat and whispered in an aside to the admiral, "Or shoot them with silver bullets." The admiral nodded sagely and then spoke loudly to the troops. "Or shoot them with silver bullets. We are not sure our lasers will have any effect against them if ancient legend is to be believed. However, this is untried territory." Her mother moved aside and nodded to her. Zanna took the podium and studied the sea of faces before her. "As the admiral told you, these aren’t ordinary humanoids. They are vampires. Should you fall prey to one of them, it is far better that you sacrifice yourself than let them drink your blood and assimilate you into their clan. That will lead to eternal damnation." Zanna tried not to shudder at the horrifying concept that had lingered on the fringes of her nightmares for as long as she could remember. She prayed that the Eden Project wouldn’t need to be invoked, but this was the only time since the Vampire Wars that Earth had been in such danger. She paused at the expected gasps and whispers until the chatter died down to a hum. Every soldier in this room had studied the Vampire Wars at the Academy and should be well versed in them, but legend

and reality tended to crash headlong. "This is not false legend. We have to exterminate the vampires before they can infest us and feed off our children as if they were cattle. It won’t be easy, but it’s imperative." Then she did something she never did before an assembly—bowed her head and led them in prayer. "Battle stations! May the grace of God go with you." She fingered the Decade Rosary bracelet hiding in her uniform pocket. Then she saluted her mother and prayed she would break fast with her again.

Chapter Three

Dmitri slipped into Zanna’s dream, determined to remind her of their love. "What are you doing here, vampire?" Bristling, Zanna went into an immediately warlike stance eyeing him distrustfully, taking a step back each time he took a step forward. Cursing the circumstances, hating her emotional distance, desperation overcame him. "I came to show you that I’m not a threat. That I meant a lot to you at one time. Nary an eyelash flickered as she watched him warily. "Do you intend to brainwash me? Take advantage of me while my defenses are down?" The venom in her voice threatened to poison him but he squared his shoulders and stared her in the eye. "No. But neither do I wish to be disintegrated and I am not a fool. Even vampires can die from a laser blast. This is neutral territory." "Safe for you, you mean." Zanna anchored her hands on her hips and rocked back on her boot heels. "You’ll understand if I don’t feel so safe" Although he hated her fear, he well understood it. It wasn’t the first time he’d had to contend with her skepticism. "On my honor, you have nothing to fear from me. Didn’t I defend you from the demon, Ashlok?" "On my honor--an interesting phrase from one of your kind, Honor or not you’re not welcome. As for Ashlok…" She paced as a chill shook her body. "Another example of why I should trust your kind? Get out of my dream." He stepped forward, daring her to step back again. "That I cannot do. The stakes are too high." Not only for himself, but for his entire clan. Defiance lighting her eyes, she lifted her chin high. "You can’t force me to trust you much less like--or love--you." A travesty, although one that could be fixed. "But I can show you the truth." With a flick of his wrist, he

took them back to the Confederate Army where the scent of blood stained the scarred land. The poignant fresh scent of undiluted blood made his gums tingle, reminding him of all he had missed for so long. Zanna examined her surroundings and stiffened. "Where are we?" Dmitri took his bearings and soaked in the ambiance. "Gatlinburg." "As in Tennessee? The ancient USA?" He filled his lungs with the lush mountain air as crisp leaves crunched beneath his boot. "Tennessee, yes. But it’s the Confederate States…." She gasped but quickly composed herself with strict military bearing. "We traveled through time? Or is this an illusion?" "No illusion." Never had an illusion been so sweet. Unpolluted air. Harvest fruits ready to be plucked from their vines. A warm palette of rich autumn colors painted the gently rolling hills that gave way to craggy mountains. Humans didn’t realize what a treasure they had in their planet and yet so many generations had taken it for granted. He never would again. Perhaps their answer was escape into Earth’s past. To find a time before their discovery and start over. Rewrite history. Rewrite history…. The idea was so tempting for himself, for his clan, and yet, how would that effect the world? And how would it affect the universe if the Carpathians were allowed to plunder it? Zanna slid a half-way impressed glance at him. "Neat trick providing you can get us back. If you can control where you land." He’d take the hint of admiration in her voice for now. It was a start. "I’ve seen a lot." Heaven and hell. The past three hundred years had been far more hell than heaven Only since they’d left Earth had he truly felt eternally damned. "Too bad such a precious gift is wasted on vampires." He swallowed a sigh. He must’ve mistaken incredulity for admiration. This wasn’t going to be easy after all. "Be quiet and watch." Hopefully she’d learn not to peg people into boxes. Why did his Tanya have to be reincarnated as a soldier of all things? The fates must be laughing at him. Soldier or not, hadn’t she been a challenge in every carnation when she discovered the truth--that he was a vampire? Hadn’t he thrived on the challenge? Before, he hadn’t been so weary, so very ragged and weak from lack of a decent donor base. Donors… He was desperately in need of blood and he new just where to find it. Only he had hoped not to feed in front of her while she was still so leery of him. But if he didn’t feed very soon, he’d be no use to anyone. He listened intently for the sounds of battle, feeling the vibrations before actually hearing the heavy footfall of troops. "This way."

"Where are we going?" "A detour." He trudged forward, following the faint percussion of gunfire. When they got close enough to the battle that gunpowder singed his nostrils and he could almost taste the iron of fresh flowing blood, his stomach growled. The armies had to be over the next rise. Zanna clasped her fingers around his wrist, staying him. "We’re not going into battle are we? Unarmed?" "Only to observe." Almost. "Observe what?" Her brows pinched together and her eyes darkened. "You’ll see." If he had navigated accurately, she’d see momentarily. "You have a frustrating way of avoiding questions. Nothing you can show me will change my opinion." He was determined to prove her wrong. Pursing his lips, he didn’t deign to answer. When they reached the top of the hill, bloody conflict greeted them. Blue and gray uniforms battled and fell alike, many slain many gasping their final, painful breaths. Then he spotted them. A female nurse and male doctor, working side by side. Only while the nurse worked to save those who could be saved, the doctor stopped the pain of those that couldn’t. Pointing at their earlier selves, he asked, "Do you recognize them?" Zanna sucked in a ragged breath as her eyes widened. "It’s another trick." "Let’s get closer." Crouching, he beckoned her to follow him. "Stay behind me." Although the primitive weapons of this century posed no threat to him, they were still deadly to her. He was taking a calculated risk bringing her here but he would safeguard her as best he could. "You can’t be serious. It’s suicide without a weapon." He couldn’t be more serious and it would be annihilation of his clan if he couldn’t convince her of his sincerity and of their love. "Keep your head low. You need to see this is real." "I don’t need to see anything." "Fine. Then stay here. I’m going in." "Alone? Take me back. I can’t afford to be away from my ship. They need me." Not till he completed this mission. He needed her worse and without sustenance soon he wouldn’t be able to take either of them anywhere. Like it or not, she was dependent on him. Grunting noncommittally, he moved forward. After half a mile at most he came across the first fallen soldier, a boy of no more than seventeen who lay prone, bleeding profusely from a gape in his chest. When Dmitri knelt by him and took his hand and felt for a pulse, the soldier’s eyes fluttered weakly.

"Help me," the young man pleaded, his voice barely an audible rasp. "Look at me, son." Dmitri had to look into the depth of his intended donor’s soul to see if death planned to claim him that day. Only if death was imminent would he provide his peculiar brand of help. Judging by his wounds and extremely weakened state he could guess what he would see, but he had to be sure. Death shadowed the pain-ravaged eyes that struggled to look at him. An acute pain that stole Dmitri’s breath. As many times as he met death, even facilitated it, he never became immune to it. Only knowing he could ease the pain and stop the suffering made his mission bearable. "Are you the angel of death come to claim me?" Peace seemed to steal over the dying man as some of the grayness drained from his complexion. What could he say? The lie stuck in his throat so he nodded. He did seem to be death’s partner. An odd expression flickered over Zanna’s face as she clutched the soldier’s hand and stroked damp tendrils off his brow. "It’ll be okay."

****

Angel of death? How could anyone mistake a vampire for an angel in any misshapen form? This generation was supposedly much more superstitious than her own and should be more wary of evil spirits, not less. She recognized death’s pallor and wheezing rattle in the soldier’s words. So if this bit of fantasy comforted this young man, who was she to dispel his peace? Still, she’d never gotten this reaction from any dying man and she’d witnessed more than her share. Then she glanced down at her uniform and grimaced. Of course she wore a uniform so what she was, was apparent. Not that the vampire’s dark, gloomy mode of dress shouted ‘angel’. Then again, did she really know what the angel of death looked like? Her companion would know him well, undoubtedly. The mistake troubled her, but not nearly as much as Dmitri’s partaking of his blood. To her horror, the vampire leaned over the man and sank his fangs into the man’s throat. Fascinated against her will, she watched as the young man’s gray complexion transformed to a ghostly white and as his chest depressed upon his final breath. Part of her raged to stop the monster. Yet her other half flooded with relief that the man’s agony had been abbreviated. Disgusted with herself, confused, she muttered, "Did you take his soul? Will he become one of you?" The vampire didn’t respond immediately. He wiped the blood from his mouth and retracted his fangs

then stood with a leonine grace that caught her off-guard. "His soul is intact. I merely released him from his earthly fetters. The vampire turned back to the deceased and shut his eyes gently. "May you rest in peace." Surprise flickered through her that she quickly tried to mask. She reached inside her pocket and fingered her rosary, trying to gain some comfort from it. She wondered where the priest was to read the young man his last rights. Although it was too late for him now, she was sure there would be others in need of such services. Many others. "You surprise me." He turned a dark, unfathomable gaze on her that sent shivers down her spine "I told you not to judge me too rapidly." She tented a brow. "Did I say you have my trust? You’re just very… peculiar. That doesn’t necessarily make you good." She turned away to survey the ensuing battle and squinted to see through the haze of gunpowder. Such sloppy, stinky substance, gunpowder, not to mention so inhumane. Lasers killed, but mercifully. "Okay, I saw. You can take me back now" When he glanced up, the dawning sun reflected in his coffee-colored eyes. Too bad the old vampire legends weren’t true. Sunlight obviously didn’t disintegrate them. "Other old legends aren’t true, either." He stared deeply into her eyes as he covered her hand with his, and rubbed the pad of his callused thumb over her knuckles. Swallowing a curse, snatching back her hand, she faced off squarely against him. "But you can read minds obviously." She’d be very happy to give him a few choice things to read…. "Tsk tsk, commander. That wouldn’t befit your commanding rank." Before she could spat the scathing retort he nudged her and tilted his head toward a field littered with fallen soldiers. "Tell me--do you recognize the doctor and nurse?" Her forehead pinching, she peered closely, not believing what she saw. An old-fashioned version of herself in a nurse’s cloak was going from soldier to soldier, tending some, offering gentle words of solace to all, and discreetly pointing out the occasional man to the doctor. "What are they doing?" "Watch closely." His words vibrated with gentle but unmistakable command. "Who are they?" Her whisper was almost swallowed by the rattle of gunfire and cannon roars so far distant they could almost be mistaken for the chirp of the crickets. "Can’t you tell?" "Our ancestors?" Somehow, she didn’t think so, but couldn’t voice the alternative. "One of your former selves and me." Her gaze bounced back to the former version of the man by her side. "God, you’re older than sin." "I knew Methusaleh’s mother," he drawled with a scowl.

"In the Biblical way?" she drawled. Legend also had it that vampires were highly sensual. "Aint’ nothin’ Biblical about me." He could say that again. But his other self knelt over the scant form of a blue-coated man and drew a thick black cape over his head, stealing her breath. Seething chills racking her despite the profuse heat and she pushed dry words through her drier lips, "Monster. You’re draining him of blood." Lightning flashed in his eyes. "I only take those who are dying." "How convenient." Rationalizer. "I alleviate their suffering." "What about their souls?" "I’m no threat to their souls." How could that be true? Everybody knew that beings lost their souls when they became vampires.

****

Dmitri jumped on the slight but significant opening in her thoughts. "I have no need to take souls. I don’t want to condemn others to this hell. You think I enjoy this cursed eternal thirst?" Zanna eyed him curiously, compassion flickering across her eyes for such a fleeting second he wondered if his imagination was playing tricks on him. "I thought it a fetish--a drug." "No more so than your body’s need for protein. Face it. You’re carnivorous. How much thought do you give to your diet? I don’t take lives unless they’re already ending." He’d seen too much death. Too much pain and suffering. He’d lost the lust to inflict pain and fear centuries ago. He wasn’t that young, wild vampire anymore. Tanya had redeemed him. Too bad he couldn’t say the same for the Carpathians. He wondered how his crew’s mission was proceeding. He had to get back and check on them even if he’d failed his mission thus far. She was getting her requested reprieve. First, he slaked his thirst and then some, compassion for the dying men making him drink more than his better judgment called for. Back to full strength, energy thrumming through his veins, he wiped the blood on his sleeve before he rose to face his companion. Her narrowed gaze lingered on the fallen heroes. In a thought-filled voice, she said, "Such a shame--so many children filling out men’s suits. I hope my century never sees the day we have to put children into war in order to survive. Why do you and your family want to return to my century where you’re not welcome? Wouldn’t it be easier for you to slip into the past unnoticed?"

Dmitri stared at her, tossing the tempting thought through his mind. On the surface, it seemed the perfect plan. His people would be safe. Humans of this century wouldn’t recognize them as a threat. There would be plenty of nourishment…. "Mouth-watering thought?" Disgust dripped from her voice. This bitter woman wasn’t his Tanya. His gaze drifted to the angel of mercy delivering hope and comfort across the broken field. Even though they looked so much alike, it was hard to believe they shared the same soul. Maybe this was a monumental waste of time trying to save her, their love, or the universe. No one appreciated his help. Just the opposite. He bit back a scowl. The universe still deserved saving, although the idea of him being the self-appointed savior seemed utterly ludicrous. And so incredibly vain. But who else could help the humans defeat the Carpathians? Or at least hold them off? It seemed the ludicrous choice was the only choice, preposterous though it was. "As self-serving as that would be it’s not an option." Yet. He’d save it as a last resort. If the Carpathians defeated them at this, their last stand, he would take his band into the past. If only the Carpathians didn’t follow…. They couldn’t know how far back Dmitri’s clan had traveled, though. He’d have to take his people far, far back, before Nikolai would dream of going and leave behind his legacy to protect the population. The concept boggled his mind and deserved a lot of planning. "What’s self-serving about it, apart from the obvious?" She tucked a stray damp tendril behind her ear and wrinkled her nose as she stepped around a puddle of blood. "This century is a whole lot messier and disorderly than mine. Death’s stench lingers in the air. Although it serves to remind me of the value of life." He rose to his full height and stared her square in the eye, making sure his fangs had fully retracted before he spoke. "If we run and hide in the past, the Carpathians will assimilate Earth. They won’t try to coexist. They conquer and remake worlds into their own vile image." "You and your dilapidated vessels will protect us?" "We’re your only hope, sweetheart." He bit back a moan at that depressing, albeit true, statement. Even if his vessels were first-class, what chance did two stand against forty plus? "So we’re supposed to make a deal with the devil to defeat a devil? Excuse me if I fail to grasp the logic or suspect a trick." What could he do to convince the infuriating female? Pushed beyond his endurance, he hauled her against him and crushed her objections beneath his lips, drinking deeply of her intoxicating nectar. She was a drug to his system and he was addicted against his will. When he got his fix, he broke the kiss and stared down at her upturned face. Oddly at this proximity she didn’t look like a warrior with her lips swollen and bruised from their union.

"I’ve always loved you, that’s why." Even when it threatened his existence. His voice came out more of a growl than anything. "Don’t sound so happy about it. Holding me against my will is a strange way of earning my trust." "How about taking you back?" Eager to check on his crew, he projected them back to her time. "Awake and stay alert till I return." He waited until she was fully awake to leave her so that Nikolai couldn’t attack her subconsciously, and he returned to his ship. Blinking onto the bridge, he joined his first officer. "Mission status." Only a skeleton crew remained aboard but he lowered his voice anyway. "What kind of progress have we made?" "Precious little. They have strong minds with extremely high resistance. They seem to have been anticipating such a move." "Damn!" They didn’t have a Plan B unless they adopted Zanna’s idea to sneak back into time. But he wasn’t ready to abandon this century to join the dinosaurs or to admit to defeat yet. A far away look in his eyes, Sacha tapped his chin. "If we could get their guard down, distract them in order for the human phasers to disintegrate them…." Dmitri paced, his hands linked behind his back. "What are their other weaknesses? Arrogance? Lack of creativity? Single-mindedness? How can we use these against them?" "Nikolai has always coveted Tanya… the Earth commander. His desire makes him weak," Sacha said, no trace of emotion clouding his voice. Just as it made himself weak, Dmitri finished the sentence silently, scowling. Had he led them back to Earth on a fool’s journey merely to find his own soul mate? Maybe the pull hadn’t been Earth’s bountiful treasures. Three-hundred years apart from his lifemate had driven him insane with lust and longing. Obviously, for he had endangered his family more than he had thought of their ultimate welfare, returning to Earth. "We’re here now." Sacha clapped Dmitri’s shoulder with commiseration. "And we all wanted to return so you can lift that burden off your shoulders and stop being a martyr." Homesick vampires. Pathetic, the lot of them. Maybe it would serve them right to be defeated by their enemies, human or Carpathian. Nature had always eliminated the weak and their harsh journey had zapped their strength. Weak? Only if he didn’t snap out of his depression. Self-doubt wouldn’t help his family or the humans. He had to focus and make hard, command decisions. "Tanya could be used to lure Nikolai…."

Sacha’s horrifying words echoed Dmitri’s maudlin thoughts. But to use Tanya--Zanna--that way was unthinkable. But what would happen to her if Nikolai wasn’t stopped? He had no choice. But she wouldn’t cooperate willingly. That she had made crystal clear.

Chapter Four

Pacing her private chambers, Zanna fumed. How dare the vampire hijack her, violate her dreams! Or was it just a very realistic dream? Myth warned they could astral project. But if that was the case, couldn’t they have used mind control to stay on Earth? To defeat their enemies? Logic dictated they couldn’t control thoughts or else they would have dominated the world since their dawn. Still, they were an insidious lot, with powers beyond her comprehension. Powers that made her cringe. Just what other powers had they collected and honed during their exile? How were they to defeat beings that could astral project through time? She called her advisors into an emergency session Standing tall she tried to project an image of cool command despite the raging inferno in her gullet. Every sound made her jump for she expected vampires to appear out of nowhere. How had her ancestors coped with this feeling of powerlessness? More than likely, most generations had been oblivious to the threat. Most people had thought vampires to be legend. They explained away the obvious signs until the latter half of the twenty-first century when the vampires had made themselves known. And then Earth’s government hadn’t officially recognized their existence until the twenty-second century when they’d been declared enemies of the planet and driven off-world. A frown tugged at her lips. How could she rationalize her former selves’ acceptance? And could she, should she, take the blame for any destruction the beasts had inflicted? A practical woman, Zanna pushed thought of blame aside. Blame was counterproductive to the mission at hand. Her goal had to be the safety of present-day Earth and its future. Laying blame on her former selves served no practical purpose and would only serve to cloud present issues and make her less effective in the here and now.

Leaning heavily on the long oval table, she made eye contact with each of her chiefs. Her neck ached fiercely and she longed to assuage the pain but she couldn’t allow herself that luxury. Soon as their powwow concluded, she’d seek medicinal relief. "We face a very serious threat, more so than you may realize. We need options. How can we defeat such invulnerable enemies?" Ananta, the ship’s science officer and the first officer, tilted back in her chair and narrowed her eyes. "What facts do we know about vampires? And have they evolved during the centuries they’ve been off-world? We can’t discount that they’ve continued to evolve physically and technologically." Zanna held back a scowl. "They can project into our subconscious and time travel." "How can we possibly defeat such powerful enemies?" Ananta cursed softly under her breath as she punched data into her hand-held projector. ‘Eden Project’ flashed through Zanna’s mind and she shoved it away, praying it would never be necessary all the while she feared there would be no alternative. No one else seemed to want to speak the words either, lest they open Pandora’s Box. "Why then don’t they travel back in time and infiltrate society when no one will know? Or at least when no one can challenge them?" Jabesh, the chief security officer, doodled on a piece of paper as he peered closely at her. "Good questions." All ones that had been echoing through Zanna’s mind. Ones she had stupidly proposed to the vampire leader, handing him the solution to his dilemma and an even greater nightmare to hers. "As we don’t want them going into our past and changing history--possibly destroying the world as we know it--we should pray they don’t take that course." "How could we stop them?" Ananta swiveled in her chair and flexed her knuckles. "Annihilate them, now. Quick and dirty." Fury flaring in his eyes, Jabesh banged his fist on the table and jumped to his feet. "Which will make us as bad as them?" Ananta asked dryly, squaring her bony shoulders. "You, as diplomacy chief, should be most aware of that." A deep scowl marred Jabesh’s too-pretty face as he glared at the science officer loftily. Ananta’s assertion echoed Zanna’s own sentiments. The time spent with the Lion had only confused matters. He’d surprised her on many levels. He didn’t fit into the monster mold she’d always envisioned. Jabesh paced, clenching and unclenching his fists at his side. "They’re attacking us. They’re predators. We’re nothing more than cattle to them, to be dined on at their leisure. These aren’t diplomatic equals. They’re monsters. Since when do we care about annihilator’s feelings?" He slid a sly, challenging glance Zanna’s way. "With all due respect, Captain, you’re running scared which is no way to approach this mission and lead the crew." Zanna bristled. First the vampire and now her own officers challenged her. Standing tall, she looked the impertinent challenger square in the eye, refusing to cower in the face of his malicious accusations. "Only fools feel no fear when faced with life and death situations. But it won’t paralyze me. Fear

sharpens our senses, kicks in our self-protective instincts. Or have we become machines?" She aimed her attack at the security chief who had a lot to learn to perform his job effectively, it seemed. "We’ll do what’s necessary to save mankind. Perhaps the best route is diplomacy." The Lion’s brand of diplomacy? Shudders skipped down her spine at the unbidden thought. Hardly. Yet she couldn’t erase the images taunting her. He would have her believe he was a compassionate, altruistic vampire. And worm holes were stable. She bit back an unladylike snort. "I’m not scared." Jabesh drew himself up to his full height and puffed out his chest, still a good two inches shorter than herself, if scrappier. Point proved. "I always suspected you got your post through nepotism. Now I know it. We’ll see how long you retain it." Mutiny! "You’re out of line, Commander. Any more insubordination and you’ll find yourself on report so fast your head will spin." She couldn’t afford insurrection now. Only a strong, unified force stood a chance against such lethal enemies. "There seems to be two vampire fleets. The ships are of different configurations. One is definitely larger and in better repair than the other." Ananta narrowed her eyes. Two to be precise, or at least that’s what her source had revealed to her. One far smaller than the other. But she wasn’t ready to reveal that she had inside information. Knowledge was power. "So which faction is deadlier?" Jabesh strolled to the window and gazed into the sky, squinting. "Probably the larger one," Ananta said dryly. "Vampires are vampires. We don’t want either faction anywhere in our quadrant of the galaxy. We should have annihilated the lot of them instead of banning them. It’d have been simpler and a permanent solution." Jabesh paced the floor and stopped in front of a window where the rays of the setting sun cast an eerie glow over him. Ananta scrunched her nose. "Don’t you think our ancestors would have if they could have?" "We’re talking about beings that can astral project into our dreams. Travel through time." A monstrous headache threatened Zanna but she fought to keep it at bay. She just had to hold on a few minutes longer. She could maintain. She had to. Jabesh punched the wall and whirled around. He snarled. "So, are you suggesting we give up? Let them take over without resistance since we can’t prevail? Do you want to hazard any guesses to what their terms would be?"

Anger flamed to life inside her. "Of course not! I’m just pointing out why our ancestors couldn’t vanquish them. They weren’t half as technologically advanced as we are." Jabesh leaned heavily on the table and glared at her. "Perhaps they’re controlling your mind. Perhaps you should be relieved of command." Always ravenous for power, especially her command, the security officer’s feelings didn’t come as a shock to her. But to use such a desperate situation to mount insurrection was unconscionable. Disgust welling in her, she glared back. "They could project into any of our minds--yours as easily as mine." Ananta massaged the back of her neck. "The question is, how do we block them?" Ah, a volunteer… Zanna turned to her second-in-command who would have been her first choice for the job anyway, her anger dissipating. "I’m putting you in charge of finding that solution." "Can a being astral project into someone’s mind when they’re awake? Or only when dreaming?" "We don’t know enough to answer that. There’s so many questions we need answers to. Such as how can they survive sunlight, especially in space? Do their ships filter it out or have they evolved that much in several hundred years?" "Animals evolve." "Humans haven’t. Not physiologically." Zanna had always been a proponent of genetic engineering. It wasn’t enough in her opinion to improve weaponry and technology. Improving the soldiers should be of paramount importance. But her opinion was unpopular for too many of her opponents felt that was God’s job. She felt that a medieval concept as God had allowed them to use medicine for healing. She had always asserted that their enemies held to no such high morals, and one would eventually prove too powerful to defeat. Not that she’d expected it to happen in the twenty-fifth century--until the vampires had returned. "To effectively fight our enemies, we need fuller knowledge. We’re fighting blind." Ananta slammed the table with her fist and the sound reverberated throughout the room. Why had the council not foreseen this eventuality? Or had they? She couldn’t wait to question them, to watch their expressions when she challenged them. Were they so lacking in insight? Or were they that secretive not to warn their military commanders? Even her mother? "We need a spy." Jabesh’s forehead scrunched up. "But how?" Zanna knew how, only she couldn’t divulge that information or they would know she’d had personal dealings with the vampires. Well, only with one vampire. Still, Jabesh would grab any advantage to steal command and heaven help them if he did. Her forehead puckered as she sank deep into thought. No. She’d have to fly solo, get close to The Lion so she could glean their secrets and discover their Achilles heel without her officers’ knowledge. Pure fire. Backdraft would surely be deadly if she landed in its path. Staring into space, mesmerized by the myriad of twinkling stars, she pondered alternatives. Only one

seemed plausible. Sure and certain death for all mankind. Not merely temporal death, but eternal damnation. Wasn’t she risking that walking into The Lion’s arms? But what was her life in comparison to all mankind? The sacrifice may have to be made. Hadn’t she vowed to give her life in service to her country and to her planet, for the protection of innocent civilians? Yes… but she hadn’t pledged her eternal soul. Was it asking too much? Would it be better to self-destruct to protect their eternal kingdom? They might have to stop thinking on a temporal level. "Commander?" Ananta’s face wavered in front of her. "Are you okay?" A few feet away, Jabesh snorted. "The vampires have probably taken over her mind. She should be relieved of command." Zanna snapped and she whirled around to face off against him. "If that day ever comes, not that today’s the day, you won’t be the one to take my place." The fool man got up in her face, waves of anger rolling off him. "When that hour comes, you won’t have any say in the matter." "Is that a threat, Commander? Insubordination is a court-martial offense." She clicked her fingers high in the air above her head, calling the guards to attention. When they snapped to attention and flanked her, she had to suppress a superior grin. "I can have you locked up in the brig indefinitely." Hatred glinted in her enemy’s eyes. And most surely threat. He took a step back and clicked his boot heels sharply. "Merely an observation, Captain. For the good of our crew--and all of mankind." She inhaled deeply, relieved he wasn’t going to push the matter today. "Believe me, Commander. The welfare of mankind is uppermost in my mind." Even if she had to destroy mankind on the temporal realm to save them? Would that make her a saint? Or a crazy demon? The decision wasn’t hers to make. The High Council of Earth had to be brought in on a decision of this magnitude. But before they could make informed choices, they needed hard facts. She had the best chance of acquiring them as she’d had personal contact. But The Lion would be suspicious if she did an about face and changed her demeanor. Of course he was a man, at least he used to be, and men succumbed to feminine wiles. They had rivers of testosterone flowing through them, burning to erupt. If only her feminine wiles weren’t so rusty and underdeveloped, suppressed by the weight of her obligation. Even as a child she’d lived in a militaristic environment, the daughter of a high-ranking military

officer. She’d never had time or patience for frilly, feminine pursuits, preferring ammunitions training and military strategy. While other girls her age had been learning social graces, ballet and playing softball, she’d become a marksman on the range and practicing military drills on the flight line. "Captain?" Ananta yanked her back again. "How do you wish us to proceed?" Zanna sank into her chair at the head of the table. "I want all of you to brainstorm at least ten options, no matter how farfetched, and bring them to the table tomorrow. Get a good night’s rest and we’ll reconvene at ten-hundred hours tomorrow." Jabesh folded his arms across his chest and rocked back on his heels. "What? And let the vampires astral project into our dreams? That’s inviting them to destroy us. Or perhaps that’s what you want?" Annoyance threatened Zanna’s composure. She’d put in to have Jabesh transferred at the earliest opportunity, kicking herself for not having done it long ago. "We’ll have to chance it. As humans, we can’t survive without rest. Our minds grow stale and our bodies weary." "The doctor could give us something to keep us awake--at least key personnel, until the threat is eliminated. Unless of course, you’re anxious to rendezvous with the enemy?" She swore silently but was careful to mask her expression. He was much too close to the truth, if 180 degrees off on her motivation. "And what if we’re not victorious in a day? A week? A month? How long can the doctor keep us awake by artificial means without killing us? We’re animals, not machines." "Then I propose we each have a guard standing by as we sleep. At all times." "Manpower will be stretched…." "Do I detect hesitance? Perhaps you’re eager to let the vampires overtake you?" All gazes bored down heavily upon her. She had no choice. "Very well. For key personnel. Mr. Jabesh, as head of security, set up a schedule to begin immediately." As if a human guard could protect her inside her dreams? But it suited her purpose not to voice that thought. She’d beat Jabesh at his distasteful game. "No one leaves this room without escort. Each of us will be accompanied by two guards at all times until the vampires have been vanquished or driven out of our space." Apparently placated, Jabesh nodded. But he still stood stiffly, watching her closely. "Driving them off-world will only allow them time to regroup to attack again." Several of her officers nodded emphatically and a buzz arose amongst them. She required more data, more ammo, before she could present her recommendations to the council. They weren’t out in deep space where they were autonomous. This matter had to be decided by the ruling factions of Earth, not a handful of commanders and lieutenants. Or even one captain. Was she trying to play God? Hardly. Her mind buzzed. She got paid the big bucks for making the life and death decisions. She had to trust

herself. If only she didn’t harbor an ocean of doubts. But how many leaders ever truly knew if they were making the best decision? Only history could judge with any accuracy and even that was clouded by the historian’s perspective. Since when was she so introspective? So wishy-washy? She was in danger of losing her edge. All because of The Lion…. She slammed down hard on the unwelcome thought. The Lion was merely her portal into the vampire’s insight--nothing more or less. Even if she was his reincarnated lover, that was lifetimes ago….

****

Finally! Dmitri had been waiting impatiently for Tanya--Zanna--to fall asleep. They had much to accomplish in a short amount of time. The Carpathians could strike at any time. He had to wonder why they hadn’t yet. Were they afraid of something? Or so cocky they felt assured of victory even if they waited? Perhaps Nikolai played cat and mouse? Maybe he still desired Zanna and waited to make his bid for her. Too many unanswered questions teased him. He preferred to know his enemies as well as his friends. By now he should know Nikolai well, but the man was an enigma, rarely logical. Enemies and friends… Just which category did Zanna fall into? Judging by her hostility last time they were together, there was no friendship. Not that they had ever been just friends. Nor was friendship his heart’s desire. But it would serve his clan’s purpose--for now. He slipped stealthily into the recesses of her dream, needing to be sure they were alone. Nor did he wish to alarm her. He had to see which way her dream was heading so he could infiltrate logically. Then he could manipulate it. He was shocked to find a shadowy version of himself making sweet, passionate love to her. Obviously she didn’t consider him a total monster--or vile enemy. Quivering lust pushed his shock aside as his shadowy double licked and nibbled his way down her trembling body. Bathed in starlight, her delectable form shimmered, whetting his carnal desires. His cock flexed as heat surged through him. He tried to hold onto the thought that he wasn’t here to pleasure himself or even to romance her, except when it served the greater good of his mission. But he was first and foremost a man. Then a vampire. And finally captain of his vessel and king of his people. Carnal lust was winning out.

Zanna was a forever fever in his blood that raged out of control. The only way to satiate it momentarily was to let it rage out of control until only smoldering embers remained. He couldn’t think straight, couldn’t wage war until he satisfied his base desires. Plus, he reasoned, that he would be softening her heart toward himself and his clan if he made her fall in love with him again, or at least fulfilled her every womanly need. He’d just have to make the grand sacrifice and give himself to her. Jumping into the shadowy image, he replaced it, reveling in Zanna’s sweet embrace. He swept his tongue down the sinewy column of her throat, savoring her heavenly flavors. "Don’t tell me you don’t remember us, Tanya," he murmured against the luscious globe of her pert breasts. He slanted a glance upward to meet her burning gaze as he traveled to her beaded, beckoning nipple. His thumb caressed the twin nipple that arched to his touch. "I’m Zanna," the strong-willed wench said, tensing. But she relaxed so quickly, he had to have imagined the tension. "Zanna," he murmured around her nipple. Tanya, Zanna, or whatever she called herself in this dispensation, didn’t change her essence. She was still the same soul, his lifemate, and he intended to reclaim her. They shared a timeless love that couldn’t be denied. Soon enough, she’d realize that and cleave unto him. But the sooner the better…. Not just for their sakes, but for the good of the world. Only if she trusted him could he and his family help her people. Altruism fled when she quivered intoxicatingly against him and slid her warm fingers around his cock squeezing gently. His need pressed heavily eliciting a growl from deep within. "You’re playing with fire." "And you aren’t?" Her heavily lidded gaze laughed down at him. She thrust her breast deeper into his mouth as she wrapped her fingers more securely around his girth. Not breaking her sultry gaze, she licked her lips slowly, seductively. "Fire fascinates me." As well he remembered. The old flirty, sensual Tanya was emerging, thrilling him. She had been a wildcat in bed and the lion in him was ready to roar. He was ready to spontaneously combust. He responded by sucking her breast deep into his mouth and swirling his tongue around her burgeoning nipple. Groaning against her, he gathered her more securely into his arms, against his heart where she belonged for eternity. If only he could ensure her place there…. There was a way…. But she might never forgive him if he turned her vampire without her blessing. He’d merely cement her assertion of their danger to mankind and her compatriots would never trust them.

The luscious blood pounding through her veins tormented him, making him ravenous. His gums tingled where his fangs longed to push through, but he held them back with every ounce of his will. If only she’d let him drink of her blood again, their lovemaking could be that much sweeter and so very much deeper. But the last thing he wanted to do was to frighten her and drive her away. But this was a dream and thus far, she didn’t seem as lucid as the last time he’d infiltrated this astral realm. Perhaps he could seduce her into permitting him the lusty pleasure, into intensifying her delight a thousand-fold. The symbiotic relationship would not only benefit him, but she would end up being the benefactress by far. Sliding upward against her silken, naked flesh, her pounding pulse called to him. Her body molded to his perfectly, and his cock nestled between her legs, against her heady nest. He was about to explode at both ends, but chose to prolong their pleasure, to draw out the excruciating torment until neither one of them could hold back any longer. Extending his tongue, he lapped at her pounding pulse, her scent invigorating him. Rich iron corpuscles lay just beneath the surface of her translucent flesh, driving him to the brink of insanity. If he didn’t taste of her again very soon, he would surely go mad. "You taste so sweet, dearest one." Her fingertips danced along the delicate vein that teased and tempted so unmercifully as he gazed at it ravenously. Surprising him, she turned her face into his and swept her tongue along his cheek to the corner of his ear and bathed it. "As do you," she whispered huskily against his sensitive lobe. Her body quivered beneath his, and she spread her legs just wide enough so that his cock dipped between them invitingly. The siren tempted him sorely, driving coherent thought from his mind until he was one quivering mass of need. No man could resist such a sweet, hot pussy. No vampire could resist such feverish, pounding blood a mere bite away. She was a tasty morsel, and he had an uncontrollable sweet tooth. This time, he didn’t deny either need, but let his fangs burst through his gums. He coated his chosen place with his saliva and slid his fangs reverently into the delicate flesh of her throat as he spread her legs wider and sheathed his cock with her wet cavern. Zanna groaned and writhed deliciously, but didn’t struggle. "I won’t become a vampire, will I?" "Not from a dream." Not in real life either, unless she drank of another’s blood. The act of becoming a vampire had to be the individual’s choice--at least the way Dmitri’s clan worked. If the humans truly understood that, they’d have nothing to fear--from them. The Carpathians were a far different matter. "So I only have to fear you in real life?" She arched against him, her lids fluttering. Primitive growls arose in his throat. "You have nothing to fear from me--or my family--ever, awake or asleep. Only you can decide to become a vampire. You’d have to take the step of your own free will." She pulled back a tad, her heavily-lidded gaze steady on him. "Why would anyone choose to be a vampire? I don’t understand." With a sigh, he pulled back and leaned on his elbow, facing her, missing her warmth. "Many are lured by

eternal life…." "Eternal death, you mean." He ignored her jibe and continued, "Some are thrilled by the dark powers. And others," he traced a beguiling finger from the tip of one breast to the other, "long to be united with their lifemate, forever." She gulped and her eyes widened fractionally before she veiled her gaze. "Why did you become a vampire? What lured you?" He looked back in time, cursing his foolish youth. "I was wild, a danger-seeker. It seemed thrilling." "Not a lady love?" Her lush lashes veiled her eyes from his probing gaze. With a sigh, he scooted higher and cupped her chin in the palm of his hand and forced her to meet his gaze. He drew a finger below her firm but delicate cheek. "As I told you, you are my lifemate. My only lifemate." The tip of her pink tongue swept over her tempting lips, mesmerizing him. "How many lifemates can vampires have? Aren’t you a polygamous species?" He raised a brow. Species? As in animal? Quelling the flicker of irritation that threatened to flame to life, he traced those luscious lips with his. Although his species was polygamous, he only desired one woman. The one who lay so beautifully in his arms. "You’re my only lifemate. There’s no one else for me." Her eyes widened for an instant. "How utterly charming." He wasn’t sure if sarcasm laced her words. This Tanya--no Zanna--was a tough warrior. ‘Charming’ was probably an insult. But he chose to ignore it. He gathered her close. "Special. Precious. Timeless." He punctuated each word with a kiss. She softened, curling closer against him, practically purring. A radiant smile dawned over her face. "If this is just a dream, why would you want to feast on me? My blood?" Was there a difference? "What is a dream but an enchanted fantasy? It’s a safe place to live out our most treasured desires, to be our most wanton." She slid a sly glance at him and then tilted her head. "But you’re a vampire. You can live out your desires any time you wish…." Such false conceptions! "If you think that, you must live in a fantasy." She should deal with vampire politics for a day, dealing with the insatiable bloodlust, jealousies, and power struggles. The president of the Confederated Planet certainly had far fewer worries.

She shifted sensually beneath him and his tensions were drowned by tidal waves of lust. "You surprise me again, vampire. A poetic soul dwells in you." He gazed deeply into her exquisitely expressive, passionate eyes and snatched at the opening. "Poet, maybe. Soul, definitely." She held his gaze unblinkingly and traced her swollen lips with the tip of her tongue. "I didn’t mean that exactly…." "I did." His heart pounding furiously, he sucked her teasing tongue deeply into his mouth, much preferring to tango with it than words. He could handle her combative nature in this reincarnation but he chose to do so physically. Very physically. Her blood pounding furiously in his ears, her scent super fragrant in his nostrils, coherent thought eluded him. Chaotic emotions battered him from every angle, more deadly exhilarating than enemy fire. Growls rising up from the deepest essence of his being, he devoured her ravenously. Synchronizing his thrusts, he sank his fangs deep into her luscious throat as he buried his throbbing cock into her raging inferno. As her sweet blood poured into his mouth, nourishing him, she arched her neck, quivering wantonly against him. Gloving his cock firmly, she provided the perfect sheath, well worth the agonizing centuries of waiting he’d endured. No other woman compared. No other could enflame his desire or satisfy his incredible needs. Her breathing heavy, she gasped as he drank deeper of her. "This is beyond sex, the heavens, the…." Unable to resist planting the seed in her mind as he wished to plant the seed of his child deep within her womb, he pulled his fangs from her throat. Alarmed when her life’s blood continued to spurt, he licked the wound reverently, sealing it with his saliva. He’d drank his fill for the night and would be guilty of gluttony if he continued feasting, scrumptious as she was. He didn’t want to risk hurting her by his actions. "Love, darlin’." He gathered her closer, heart to heart, so that she could feel the erratic beat for which she alone was responsible. "See what you do to me?" Heavily-lidded, her gaze was seductive. She nodded and burrowed closer still, milking his cock greedily. "You still feel emotion after death?" she asked huskily, raking her fingernails down his back with exquisite torture, drawing blood. Licking and nipping his way up her intoxicating body, he murmured against her tasty flesh caressing her beautifully pert breasts. "One-hundred fold. Death is a relative term. I’m obviously not dead, but rather reborn." He expected another rebuke from his feisty lover, but was pleased when she dragged his head to hers and captured his lips in a long, searing kiss as she pounded her hips against his frantically. Not one to disappoint his lady, he parried her thrusts, penetrating impossibly deep, leaving no doubt they were one. When she broke the kiss, he murmured against her lips, "Our love’s eternal, and I’ll do everything in my power to prove it to you."

A small sad smile played upon her lips and she cupped his cheeks against her palms. "If only reality was as perfect as dreams. But dreams don’t last. I can’t stay asleep forever much as I’d give anything to stay in your arms like this." Love coursed through him for the emerging Tanya he’d cherished so very long. With every spare ounce of self-control left, he reigned in his release so that he could carry her to the heights of bliss with him. He could take no pleasure without her by his side in everything. Sliding, his hand between their sweat-slick bodies, he stroked her clit until she quivered uncontrollably, screaming for mercy. Flinging back his head, he roared victoriously, their voices mingling. His seed blazed forth, filling her, seeking its sacred way to her womb. This woman, their progeny, was predestined and in fact, long over-due. This time, she and their child would live even if it meant the sacrifice of his own life. When her spasms finally subsided, she clenched his cock playfully. With a wickedly intriguing grin, she ran her fingertips over her neck wound. "It’s a good thing this is only a dream." He shielded his gaze lest she read the truth in his eyes that their mating was so much more real than a mere dream. He didn’t want to scare her away just as she was opening up to him again. "Why is it a good thing?" He played along expecting a reference to his feasting on her blood jeopardizing her immortal soul. His blood heating up again, fascinated by her elongated nipples, he rubbed one between his fingers. He covered her hand at the base of her throat with his other hand, preparing to assure her she would not become vampire until and unless she desired it—-at least not by his hands. Of course that was his dearest self-serving wish, more dearly beheld than even that of returning permanently home to Earth. Her grin turned more impish, fascinating for a soul who professed to be so very angelic. "You’ve already set my mind at ease about that--for the dreams anyway. I meant because we’re not using any birth control." Relief flooded him, but not in the way he knew she suspected. In a few hundred years he wouldn’t have been surprised if human females were on permanent birth control which had to be deactivated willingly to permit impregnation. But it suited his purposes to keep his counsel for now so he merely smiled and nodded. She could assume what she wished. Then he kicked himself. He’d lose his head in the whirlwind of passion, unable to resist her call. Didn’t he plan to use her as bait to catch Nikolai off-guard? Stupid! Incredibly, unutterably stupid! Now he not only wagered her life but most probably that of their unborn child. There had to be another way to save their peoples against the Carpathian threat.

Suddenly, he understood what heart breaking choices the God of all gods had made, sacrificing his son. That’s why He was the Supreme Being on high and why he himself was not even so much as mortal any longer. The similarities and disparities boggled his mind, the obscurities far too deep for a mere vampire to fathom. Overwhelmed, furious at himself, he pulled away from Zanna, immediately missing her softness curled around him. A frown marred her glistening forehead where damp tendrils of her silky hair still clung. Reaching out a hesitant hand to him, she asked, "What just happened? What’s wrong?" What could he say A deadly miscalculation? A serious lapse in judgment? Sheer idiocy? That he held back a serious omission? Maybe he was the ogre she’d accused him of being. Disappointed in himself, no new solution on the horizon, he blinked away.

Chapter Five

Beautiful monuments exploded in brilliant flashes of light, almost blinding Zanna. Fireballs shot high into the atmosphere, igniting the historical section of New York City, a treasure that could never be restored. At least few civilians inhabited this area, but the loss remained insurmountable. A chunk of flying debris decimated one of Earth’s Class-A starships directly in front of her small fighter ship, and she had to bank hard to avoid a similar fate. Kicking up the speed, she high-tailed it out of the dangerous zone, and punched the com button and shouted into it, "Retreat! Repeat, retreat. Meet at the rendezvous place." As she piloted toward their home base, she reported into the Admirable. "Status report. The vampires just destroyed the museum section. There are casualties, although we don’t have an estimated count yet. Have the marauders demanded terms?" Her mother’s voice warbled dispiritedly through the com link as Zanna approached command headquarters. "They demand total surrender. We join their legions, accept them as our rulers, and bow to them." Preposterous! Zanna sucked in a deep breath, her lungs ready to burst. She dreaded those two words tripping off her mother’s lips but fully expected to hear them. "And if we don’t surrender?" "They’ll destroy our planet and preserve any survivors in their cryogenics chamber for future…."

She didn’t have to finish her sentence for Zanna to grow queasy. She balled her hand into a fist and struck the console. "Swine. What kind of choice is that? Either way they plan to feed on us. I hope you told them where to shove their demands." "We turned down their offer, if that’s what you mean." Not precisely. She landed the ship and switched the conversation to her com badge. Fuming, she marched into the base headquarters, her boot heels pounding the pavement. "It makes no sense to destroy New York." It wasn’t the same as taking out an important military installation, government stronghold, or high population center. It would be tantamount to taking out Paris of the vampire’s day and age when they left Earth. The Louvre was a cherished museum with irreplaceable works of art, but hardly the target that would place mankind’s existence in jeopardy. "That’s a warning. Their next target will be a very highly populated, strategic area…." Oh no! "Kuatar…" They’d wipe out the council as well as their main military base of operations, not to mention a dense population of civilians. "That would cripple us. We’ve just instituted Project Eden and are transporting the council to their alternative shelters as we speak. We’ll use our backup base of operations. "Remember, it’s better to lose your life than your soul if you can’t escape. Get your ship out into space and start anew if there’s no other choice. Even if our world doesn’t survive, humanity must." Zanna choked back her moans. The Eden Project had finally been invoked. "Roger that." Zanna put a kiss to her fingertips and touched the com button. This was the first time in many years that her mother had been placed in jeopardy. Usually it was she going into the heart of battle, she who faced death headlong, not the admiral. The admiral had been cocooned in the safety of the ruling council chair for the past decade. But now, all of humanity faced annihilation. Weary, exhausted, Zanna swiped at the perspiration on her brow and slicked back her unruly hair. As much as she longed to shed her coverings and step into the dry shower, there was no opportunity. "Good luck, Mom." She never called her mother anything but ‘Admiral’ during official communications, and the endearment threatened to choke her. "And you remember." It was easy to say you’d give your life for the worthy cause in the abstract, but another to be faced with it. As many battles as she’d fought, she still had to make a new determination every time and then follow through. But this was the first time the ante was so very high. My very soul. And the souls of billions of innocent civilians rode on her next move. She couldn’t let them down. Even if that meant ending their temporal lives? Theology had never been her strong point and the burden weighed heavily on her shoulders. Barely a Christmas Catholic, she rarely stepped foot inside a chapel, even her ship’s. So she found it particularly

disturbing that she was struggling with its confusing ramifications now. Perhaps before, she had assumed she would ascend into Heaven. Now that outcome wasn’t so certain. The end held an entirely different meaning. Closing her eyes, she held her arms straight out and stood still while security scanned her and took an imprint of her eyes. She chafed at the two minute wait which felt more like two hours, wishing they’d speed the painfully slow process up. "Signing off, daughter. Take care. Love you." Embarrassed that enlisted personnel overheard her mother’s intimacies, she lowered her lashes and spoke lowly into the com. "Ditto." "Not ditto. Say it this time." Her unspoken "it could be for the last time" propelled her to voice the sentiment. Instead of her normal response of "Roger that," she fought back a tear and uttered a heart felt, "I love you, too, Mom." The troops snickered behind her back as they scuffled around. "I’m human, too." And right now, being human was nothing to be embarrassed about. One way or the other, they may not be human for very much longer. Didn’t they realize that? "Okay, soldiers, the levity’s over. Back to your posts. Today’s not the day to mess with me." Not that she ever had patience for shenanigans and disrespect on duty, but she had no patience whatsoever this day which might be Earth’s last. She stepped into a teleporter and mumbled, "High military command post." Within seconds she was whisked three floors underground to the battle room. Without bothering to excuse her interruption, she barged into the meeting underway, and announced, "It’s imperative we deploy immediately. We need to launch all battle ships and start Evacuation Plan Eden." Several shocked gasps rent the air as all gazes devoured her. "Eden!" "The ruling council is already moving to safer locations. We cannot risk the wait." "But the enemy’s fleet barricades our way, threaten safe passage." Pain stifled her and she massaged her forehead. "We’ll have to fire the canons to clear passage and send armed escort. They won’t be able to follow all of our vessels." An elderly man rose unsteadily to his feet and smacked the table with his titanium cane. "Suicide! We can’t send innocent civilians into space to be blown to smithereens." A woman with striped black and white hair that fanned across her shoulders, glared at her. "Aren’t you being too rash, dear? One ancient city isn’t sufficient cause to raise the panic on Eden. Armageddon must be eminent…." Didn’t they understand? "Annihilation is probable. That is the only way Eden can be invoked. I do not take it lightly nor should you." She didn’t dare add that it might be themselves self-destructing rather than

the vampires blowing them up, but the end would be the same. If they were lucky enough that the vampires blew them up instead of stealing their souls…. "You don’t have the authority to invoke Eden," the old man said glibly. "No. I’m just the messenger. Verify with the council, but don’t waste any time doing it for every second puts your life in further jeopardy. If you want to play Russian roulette with your own lives, remember you’re responsible for billions of others. Do you want that sin to follow you into eternity? I wouldn’t." With that she squared her shoulders and made her way to the closest teleport station where she teleported to her ship. "Captain’s on the bridge." Lieutenant Ananta snapped to attention as the others fell into place and saluted. "Call the crew in. We’re leaving immediately. Code Eden." Several crew members sucked in their breath. Ananta stepped forward. "Permission to speak, Captain." Zanna nodded, her heart heavy. "You may speak, Lieutenant." "The Eden? Is our situation truly that hopeless?" "I wouldn’t announce it if it wasn’t. The alternatives are to accept their terms of complete surrender or complete annihilation. Frankly, people, I don’t care for either alternative. Do you?" Voices buzzed loudly and she sank into her chair, exhausted, but determined to press forward. "How long will it take for the crew to return?" With teleporters, anyone on the planet should be able to reach the ship within four or five hours unless they were deliberately out of communication. "Is anyone on leave?" She hated to abandon anyone, but she couldn’t endanger the entire crew for the sake of a few. "The entire crew’s reported in, Captain. All are onboard except for Conrath and Majeski. Their estimated time of arrival is one hour." She prayed one hour didn’t make the difference between life and death. "Tell them to get onboard in half an hour." She didn’t care if the crew thought her too stringent. It was for their benefit. For humanity’s continuance. "Instructions, Captain?" her second-in-command asked, his glance sliding slyly at her. "Let me address the crew and then we shall prepare battle stations. Intraship monitor on." A high-pitched whine alerted every one onboard to the ship-wide message. She stood, straightened her battle-stained uniformed, and mustered as much poise and confidence as she could. The crew could panic or stand stalwart, all depending on her demeanor in this crucial moment. "I won’t beat around the issue. You all know that we instituted a ship-wide recall. You also probably know that Project Eden has been mandated. For those of you who don’t, the ruling council has launched Project Eden. Hopefully you and your loved ones have taken the warnings seriously over the years and have set your com frequencies and contact stations so that you may reunite once the threat has been

eliminated. Do not, I repeat, do not try to contact them now. The enemy may be monitoring our comcasts. I know many of you have families that you’ll be worried about and that you wish you could be with them during this crisis." She inhaled deeply, trying not to blink too often even though her eyes grew dry and achy from the effort. She well knew the importance of direct eye contact to keep her crew as calm and focused as possible. "The best way to protect your loved ones is to give a thousand percent effort to your duties and fight this menace. Our fleet will be launching at 1600 hours sharp, sooner if further attacks occur." Ananta provided her a glass of water and she took a grateful sip. She set the glass on the podium, and pointedly looked several crew members in the eye. "We will engage the enemy while the Constellation and the Nebula escort the civilian transport vessels to safety." When Majeski tried to slip into the back of the room unobtrusively, she said, "For those of you who arrived late, you will need to replay the briefing on your holomonitors as soon as this session has ended." She let her gaze pinpoint different crew members this time. Most wore expressions of stunned disbelief and grief. "Now is the time for questions." Zanna fielded several questions, most concerning the absolute necessity of abandoning their homes and fracturing humanity. "Project Eden will plant humanity throughout the galaxy, making it less vulnerable. It would not have been instituted lightly and only in the direst of circumstances. Our best scientific minds will be working on solutions to allow us to return home safely." Ananta covered her mouth and cleared her throat discreetly. She slid a piercing look at Zanna. "With the exception of a few strategic outposts which will serve as seeds should any threat to humanity occur again." "Are the planets where the outposts are stationed as habitable and beautiful as Earth?" one of the older crew members asked as he rubbed his chin, worry lighting his eyes. "Will our children and grandchildren know such joys like we knew growing up on Earth?" Zanna delved into her memory and didn’t like the answer but she wasn’t in the habit of lying to her crew. "No. None of the planets have the lush greenery we’ve enjoyed on Earth. But they are habitable and will sustain life. They will provide sanctuary and let us start anew. They are no more harsh than the salt licks of Utah when settlers reclaimed it in the nineteenth century. And we have far superior technology and information to aid us that they didn’t have." A young ensign jumped to her feet, her lower lip swollen from where she had worried it. "We shouldn’t have to leave! We’ll stand and fight to the death!" Several members of the crew jumped to their feet and echoed her sentiments. Zanna nodded to the security personnel who marched to the perimeter of the crowd to maintain order in the room, where they stood at parade rest. "This is not a democracy and we are not voting. Take your seats or do I have to call this assembly to attention?" Once every one sat down again, she took a deep breath. Here goes. "Our eternal souls are in jeopardy if we stay, not just our temporal lives. The vampires have made it clear they mean to turn us into them. Unlike in our ancestors’ day, the vampires have the technological means to assimilate all of us. I can’t

promise every vessel will escape, but it’s our best chance to preserve humanity." Ananta sidled up to Zanna and whispered in her ear. "We have a full crew. Conrath has boarded. The enemy has launched more attacks, on Washington, DC, and Kuatar." Zanna’s heart sank and she nodded. They weren’t just attacking cultural centers anymore. "The signal’s been given from High Command. This time, God willing, we will annihilate the serpent that threatens our paradise. Battle stations!" Zanna sprinted for the bridge followed closely by her senior officers. The ship rocked under an especially ferocious attack, tossing her halfway down the corridor on her ass. Pain slashed through her temples but she scrabbled to regain her equilibrium and stand steady on her feet. Stabbing at her com badge, she yelled to be heard over the explosions. "Status? Shields on full and lift off as soon as the systems are up!" She switched com links and called to the engineer. "Are those engines up yet? If we don’t leave now, we might become a permanent part of the terra firma." "No pressure, right, Captain?" Wyatt’s steady voice almost purred through the lines, and she could envision the engineer’s mocking smile. Even the threat of eternal damnation barely phased him. Although she’d never asked to know for certain, she didn’t peg him to be a religious man. He wouldn’t believe in eternal damnation. "None, just extinction of our planet. Status now, Commander!" "You okay, Captain?" Ananta dashed to her side and put a steadying arm around her waist. Together, they ran for the bridge teleporter. "No broken bones." At least not any important ones--only her skull where she’d just cracked it on the deck. She spoke lowly, but forcefully, into the com badge. "If ever you were to come through for us, this would be that time. How much power can you give me? Enough to get us into space?" "Into space but not to fire more than one or two photons and maintain life support." Holy nebula! She resisted the strong urge to massage her forehead. "Crank her up unless you want your baby to become part of the rubble." Everybody knew his ‘baby’ was the Endicron herself. His grating teeth told her she’d hit the mark. "Full power will be yours in a jiff." She drummed her fingers against her thigh as she emerged onto the bridge and headed for her command seat. "Screen on," she told her com officer. Immediately she wished she hadn’t for a blinding flash of plasma was released from an enemy vessel, directed at them. To the engineer she said, as she gnashed her own teeth and clutched the arms of her chair, "A jiff had better be right this second or we’re going to be one big plasma ball. Full thrusters now!" "You got ‘em, Captain." Wyatt screamed a wild yahoo, almost deafening her and making her jump. At almost that precise instant, the engines roared to life and the Endicron lifted off. The young navigator

maneuvered the vessel out of harm’s way, banking hard astern. Having anticipated his move, Zanna had activated the force field around her chair to keep her in the seat. "Split screen. Get High Command on the line." Her gaze drilled into the enemy vessels. How had her ancestors known that they would return to ravage the planet and herd them up? It had been irresponsible to foist them off on future generations. The Eden Project told her all she needed to know--her ancestors knew the fiends would be back. Right or wrong, she cursed all of them. It was a wonder it had taken the vampires almost three hundred years to return to wreak havoc and ruin. Her mother’s picture popped onto the view screen. Relief alleviated the grief etched over her ashen features when her gaze locked with Zanna’s. "We’d feared the worst. Project Eden isn’t going well. Already, we’ve lost several vessels. Civilian vessels." Zanna fought the urge to bow her head and weep for all the lost souls… No! Not lost souls if they didn’t die in the vampires arms. Or had they? Lifting her head, she tried to give her mother a small smile but couldn’t muster one. "How did they die?" A small smile graced the admiral’s lips and she made the sign of the cross over her chest. "They had a good death." Jabesh snorted. "What’s a good death? Nothing’s good about death, especially when it’s premature." She turned her gaze upon the least favorite of all her officers and explained what should be obvious. "Their souls will rest in peace." So why wasn’t that enough? Her soul wept for the lost children. For Earth’s lost future. How dare the vampires assuage their blood lust on them! Zanna stood tall and lifted her chin regally, gazing into the almost identical eyes she’d known since birth. She berated herself for delaying the Endicron’s entry into the battle, but wouldn’t waste precious energy on that now. "We will do our utmost to ensure that the rest of the vessels escape safely. May God preserve." Her mother veiled her eyes and bowed slightly. "And you." "If the family reunion’s over, we could use some leadership." She ignored the sneering man and delivered the order that had been balanced on her lips. "Engage our old friends. Let’s give them something else to think about. Draw their fire." "So we’re the mouse?" She stared cross-eyed at the supremely annoying man and wondered if it would work to make a sacrifice of him to the vampires. After two seconds she rejected the thought. His blood would probably be tainted so that the vampires wouldn’t want him. Who had ever advanced him to the rank of officer much less commander should be busted to private. "Would you rather be the canary?" she asked dryly.

"May I remind you that this isn’t a joking matter, Captain." "Whose joking? I take soul-threatening matters extremely seriously, too seriously to waste costly energy quibbling with one of my senior officers over trivialities." Senior pain in the ass. "Ah, Captain…" Genco, weapons officer, pointed at the view screen, his onyx eyes wide. "Incoming at two o’clock. Fire the photon cannons?" She didn’t know! She stabbed her com button. "Wyatt, do we have those photons yet? Say yes or you’re terminated--permanently." "Yes. Fire those shooting stars, now. Fry those bastards." Zanna nodded to Genco. "Now!" Swiveling in her chair, she shouted to the navigation lieutenant, "Hard astern." The young officer scowled as his gaze wavered between his console and the view screen. "There’s so many of them I can barely maneuver around them. They must be like freakin’ cats, breeding all the time." Or they had converted several hundred donors to their ranks which seemed more likely, although vampires were reported to be extremely sensual creatures that put great store in mating--like the vampire in her dreams…. Zanna studied the littered spacescape and an inkling of a smile dawned across her lips. "Then we’ll use that against them. Take us as close as you dare to a smaller vessel and draw their fire." "That’s suicide!" Jabesh stomped across the bridge, his arms folded across his scrawny chest. "We’ll be no good to Earth if we’re dead." She bit back a scathing retort. "Don’t worry. I’m not ready to die yet and as long as you’re with me, you’ll be as safe as I am." "Somehow, I don’t find that in the least comforting." Jabesh lifted his nose in the air and huffed off. If only he’d walk away for good, half the strife in her life would be eliminated. That is, in her normal, everyday life, not in this demented version. But she didn’t have time to dream now. Vampire ships blocked her vision for as far as her naked eyes could see. It’s hopeless. The blood in her veins froze. The enemy outnumbered them. There must be several planets worth of them queued up like a cafeteria line, waiting for their turn at the buffet. No planet stood a chance against such evil, merciless forces. Not a single planet. Their only chance was to recruit allies and present a united force. But they had no time to do that. No time….

Chances were so slim they could slip a transport vessel through so many watchdogs, that her spirits sagged. This monstrous force had been three hundred years in the making. Perhaps the ancestors could have prevented this with a truce instead of breeding such violence and hatred. But how did one reason with monsters? The one in her dreams seemed quite approachable…. Stop that! The Lion had his own agenda, and he seemed to have more of a carnal lust than a blood lust. But that was only a dream anyway. A very hot, luscious dream. If only this was a dream--well, a nightmare. But another close photon blast that rocked the ship proved it wasn’t a dream. Another civilian transporter exploded before her eyes. Debris littered space and she closed her eyes. "Dear mother of God…" Humanity was being extinguished under her nose and they seemed helpless to do anything. She fought back very unbecoming tears that stung the backs of her eyes. She’d lost civilians before. Even witnessed the carnage up close. But she could feel thousands of cries for mercy, deep in her soul. "Fire the photons. Ram everything we’ve got down the rotten bastards’ throats!" Genco nodded sharply as his fingers flew over the controls. "Aye, Captain. I just wish I could personally behead each and every one of those brutes. They nearly wiped out my family before they were driven off-world in the twenty-first century. Left my great-grandfather orphaned in a stinking orphanage, they did." They all shared similar genealogy and festered with the bitterness. Humanity had nearly been eradicated then, but they had rallied. There had been far fewer of the enemy, and the adversary had been technically inferior. Then they had sent them away in ships, given them the building blocks of technology and unleashed them on an unsuspecting and undeserving universe. Raw, her heart bleeding, Zanna slapped the console on the arm of her chair. Cursing the lack of vision that put them in this predicament, she pursed her lips. "I think every man here understands your feelings." "Is this the end of humanity, Captain?" Genco asked. "I pray not." But little hope remained in her heart. Another fleet of transports exploded before her horrified eyes. "It’s pretty much hopeless, isn’t it Captain? Humanity’s finished," Ananta said, her voice overflowing with emotion. "We can’t afford to think that way. We can’t give up. As long as we have breath, we have hope." Zanna fingered the rosary beads in her pocket, petitioning the higher powers for salvation hoping they would still listen to her after such a lukewarm relationship with them. If not that, then for a good, honorable death.

"We may all die, but not without a good fight. At least we can spare the universe from as many of those rotten bastards as possible. Get the flag ship in your sights and fire at will." "It’s highly guarded, Captain." "Run a kamikaze mission if need be. Communicate our intent on scrambled sub-frequency to the other commanders and tell them to be ready to take out as many smaller ships as possible during the ensuing confusion." All bridge personnel turned and stared at her, some open-mouthed, others nodding their heads in approval. "Do we have to sacrifice ourselves to further the cause?" Jabesh faced off in front of her, his fists balled on his hips. "Have we determined this is the final hope?" Zanna kept her expression blank, careful not to show her distaste for the ass. "I said that we may have to, not that it is a foregone conclusion. It’s to be used only as a final option." Although in her opinion, they were almost out of options. They had to make a move while there was still some humanity left to save. "That is unspoken always, Captain. You state the obvious unnecessarily." Jabesh bowed slightly and retreated across the bridge to his station. "Incoming! Activate your shie…" the communications officer slumped over his console before he could activate his. Zanna reached for hers as everything went black.

****

Dmitri floated over the vixen, drinking in the sight of her perfect body. Relief flooded him that Nikolai nor Ashlok had made further attempts on her life. But how long that would last, he didn’t know. He feared, not very. Her flowery fragrance fascinated him. Intoxicated, he fixated on her strong pulse. He could hear her blood pump through her veins. He traced her lips with his tongue. Then he licked her throat with a long sweep of his tongue. Closing his eyes in ecstasy, he reveled in her sweetness. He lifted her hand and licked every one of her fingers and then suckled each in turn. She used to tingle when he sucked her fingers and he wished to awaken her soul, her every carnal desire with decadent pleasures. Her fragrant scent, the sweetest he’d ever known, kept luring him back. Hovering a mere fraction of an inch above her, her swollen labia beckoned him and he flicked the reddish folds with his tongue.

In her dream world, she twitched and her clit hardened into a rosebud of desire, inviting him to massage it and pull it into his mouth. His cock grew hard, envious of his tongue, but he wanted to pleasure her, make her hot for him so that she’d beg him to take her. He wondered who was seducing who. His cock kept trying to take precedence over his mind, demanding release. He kept a small but significant hold of this seduction. Ravenous for her honey, he parted her lower lips with his fingers and then delved his tongue inside. Moaning, the vixen writhed against him, opening her legs wide. Her warm exotic fingers encircled his engorged cock and then stroked its length gently, sending ripples of pleasure through him. When she cupped his balls in her palm, he nearly ejaculated prematurely. The Goddess must be laughing at him. His dream woman was also his mortal enemy.

****

Zanna sighed when a delicious tongue caressed her lips and then her fingers. She writhed when each finger in turn was transported to paradise, licked and then sucked into a warm, seductive mouth. When the ghostlike apparition lowered itself over her body, she opened herself wide to her dream lover, safe in her slumberous cocoon, knowing on some subterranean level that it was only a dream. But heavens! What a dream! Shivers coursed down her spine and she trembled deliciously, eager to be held in Dmitri’s arms, to know his kisses, again. But this had to be the last time. When she awoke, she had to drive him away. But for now, his tongue felt so erotically wonderful it had to be illegal. She lifted her hips to better position herself to take him inside her. As spectacular as his tongue felt sliding in and out of her channel, greed consumed her. She wanted his big, delicious cock to fill her, to ram in and pull out, then plunge in again. She longed to feel every inch of him, to have him complete her. She yearned to be held in his strong arms, snuggled tightly against his chest. Most of all, she wanted to kiss him, a soul-shattering, deep-throated kiss that lasted hours. As much as she longed for his cock to slide into her, to know fast, deep, hard-core sex, she craved romance so much more. Deep, erotic, lingering kisses ignited the romance. She hadn’t had a worthy lover in eons, not since her Academy days. Pressure of leadership had been a heavy yoke and she hadn’t found anyone to match her strength on any level. "Kiss me," she said, out of breath, on the brink of orgasm from his finger sliding in and out of her. She held her arms out to him, eager to nestle in his arms, to rub her hardening nipples against his furry chest. Instead, he buried his head deeper between her legs and lapped greedily, slipping a second finger inside, stretching her. Arching against his face, wave upon wave of excruciating pleasure undulated through her.

She raked her fingers through his hair, reveling in its glorious thickness, in how silky and erotic it slid against her flesh. He growled, a deeply guttural, animalistic sound. Her cream flowed swift and heavy despite her best efforts to hold back her climax. Primitive, passionate, and oh-so-hot, he set her aflame. As the rapture subsided, she licked her parched lips and cajoled again, "Kiss me." Her dream lover kissed and nipped his way up her belly to her breasts. He suckled each one in turn and nestled his cock between her legs, rubbing sensually against her mons. When he lifted his face and gazed into her eyes, his glowing fiercely, she inhaled a ragged breath. It was the vampire leader, her arch foe. "You," she said accusingly. His sexy grin made her heart somersault in her chest and she gaped at him. "At your service," he said in a middle European accent, his voice so deep and husky it mesmerized her. He plunged into her folds with a sure swift stroke, all the while holding her gaze, making her shiver, bringing her to the brink of orgasm again. And then he disappeared, leaving her to dangle on the precipice.

Chapter Six

Holy! Zanna snapped out of her dream and bolted upright in bed so fast she wondered if she’d really been dreaming when the foggy mists scattered faster than her covers. Leaping lithely out of her bed, she shoved her sleep-dampened hair out of her eyes and paced the floor. Had he read her mind? Detected her trap? Obviously, she was no actress and not even a decent whore. Although, to her chagrin, she hadn’t been faking very long. At least not the pure unadulterated lust. Even now she still quivered from the awesome power of The Lion’s lovemaking, from the tempest of his soul-shattering kisses. How could she fall in love--lust--so fast with anyone, much less her mortal enemy? Only he wasn’t mortal… And according to him, none of this was sudden, lust at first touch, but a centuries-deep love that had been nurtured and cultivated…. Or harvested? The unbidden thought threw her more than any previous ones. If her dreams were to be believed he

could travel through time. What, then, prevented him from traveling forward? He would have known she would be a threat to him now, so he had played her, set her up, and expected her to be the same wanton, sightless creature he’d wooed through all her reincarnations, easily plied with lusty kisses and sultry, carnal sex. But she had evolved, and she could see clearly now. And to think she’d started to fall for his seductive ways again. She couldn’t let herself forget again that she was a soldier and he was her enemy. It had almost been her undoing and the deadliest mistake of her life. Was she doomed to keep making the same mistakes dispensation after dispensation? Only fools let that happen and she wasn’t ready to write herself off as a fool yet. Close, but not one-hundred percent. She sneered at herself in the mirror as she climbed into the dry shower to cleanse herself of her night sweats. If only it could cleanse soul deep and purge her heart… Her heart? No! She had to cleanse her mind of this nonsense. She allowed only five minutes for recriminations. Soldiers, especially officers, didn’t wallow. After strategic errors, they regrouped to formulate new plans of actions. There was no weakness in falling back to gain a greater position of strength, to gain clearer perspective. She picked up her lire and strummed it, thinking best when she relaxed. Music soothed her inner beast, and calmed her inner turmoil. Playing by rote, she closed her eyes and let her mind drift along the familiar haunting strains. The ancient melody suited her strange mood, lifting her soul out of the vampire’s morass. Her mission had failed. Dissecting her steps, she grimaced. While attempting to seduce her rival, she’d laid herself vulnerable and he’d gained the upper hand. Always in control of her emotions before, even in the height of passion, this beast’s power over her disturbed her immeasurably. She’d not gleaned any important data to help her cause, except one very important one. She had to get a much tighter grip on her emotions. Even if the vampire had meant something to her in a previous life, it wasn’t foreordained that he should be of any personal consequence to her now. Somehow, she had to contact him on a platonic level, dig into his mind, and discover his plans. Perhaps they’d been attacking on a subliminal level, feasting on her people in their dreams. Like The Lion and his band… They didn’t need to blow the Earth to rubble. They really didn’t want to. Locusts, they coveted Earth’s lush green rewards, especially its humans. Sheep…. Zanna suppressed unwelcome shivers and rubbed her arms briskly unable to erase the chill encasing her heart. A shadow fell across hers and she tensed. "Have you no sense, appearing in the flesh? My guards have orders to kill you on sight." She whirled around, expecting to confront The Lion and came fact to face with a hairy giant of a man. Almost comically, her glance slid to the weapon across the room. Wicked laughter danced in the brute’s eyes when she took an involuntary step back. A sneer curled his thick lips. "Expecting someone else? An illicit rendezvous perhaps?"

"Guards!" Where were they? "If you really want to know, say pretty please." The man started to circle her, looking her up and down. "Summon help," she said to the computer, cursing herself for letting down her guard. "I’ve disabled your computer--and your guards. Didn’t you wonder when the intruder alarm hadn’t sounded although I was here?" Zanna turned, keeping him in her wary sights. What kind of game was he playing? His gaze locked onto hers as if he was waiting for something. Finally he sighed, shook his head, and put his hands over his heart theatrically. "You really don’t remember me? Tear out my heart." How many past lives were going to come back to haunt her? And how many psychos? "Obviously not," she said dryly not at all impressed by his melodramatic display. She took up a defensive pose, ready to strike upon the first threatening move. Her uninvited guest bowed low, smiling slyly up at her as fangs peeked out his lips. "Then I shall refresh your memory, lovely lady. I am Nikolai, King of the Carpathians, leader of the largest fleet in the galaxy, conqueror of the universe." Pompous asses didn’t impress her, only the firepower behind them. When her brow started to arch, she quelled it. Sarcasm wasn’t one of her more favorable traits and made for a lousy diplomatic tool. "Ruler of the universe. So why is a lowly captain such as myself graced with your presence? You should be conversing with the ruling council of Earth. I have little influence…." He chuckled and waved a dismissive hand, light reflecting off the gold of his ostentatious rings. "Ah, but your mother sits on the High Council and she takes much store in your opinion." Her pulse fluttered rapidly. How did he know that? Had he been delving around in her subconscious, too? Wouldn’t she remember that? She remembered Dmitri--too well…. Or maybe he hadn’t slipped into her subconscious at all, but into her mother’s… She’d been wrong not to warn her or the council of her suspicions. She’d been more ally to the vampires than to her own people. High treason! "You still haven’t figured it out? Perhaps you need a--reminder." Nikolai hauled her against him with lightning speed, his iron grip impossible to break. Struggling against his superhuman strength, she felt impotent as he held her with what seemed to be no problem. He dipped his head and licked her neck languorously. "Surely you remember this. You belonged to me. You’re mine!" The inconsistencies collided inside her until she was almost dizzy and definitely nauseous. "But Dmitri said…."

Nikolai raised his head and roared. Fiery red embers sparked in his eyes. "He stole you from me. You were my intended lifemate." "No!" Revulsion flooded her and she jerked her neck away from his abhorrent touch. There was no way she would welcome this ogre into her life. The fiend wound his fingers through her hair and yanked her face towards his roughly. "You are mine and you will bow to my will. I conquered civilizations across the galaxy so that I could return triumphant to claim what is mine." "I’m not yours." She spat in his face, preparing herself for the brunt of his fury. Physical blows would be far preferable to his despicable kisses. "Neither is Earth. We’ll die before bowing down to you." Mirth replaced the boiling anger in his eyes and he held her face not even a centimeter from his so that his torrid breath scorched her. "Oh, you will most assuredly die. All of you, so that you may be reborn in our image and unite with our legions." "You’re insane!" She remembered what The Lion had revealed. "We have to choose to become vampire, something I’ll never do." Nikolai’s laughter grew more boisterous. "My old friend, Dmitri, is a liar. We hold the power to turn you whenever we wish." "But…." "But The Lion is weak. He refuses to take life. That is why his band grows weak and sickly while ours thrives. Why they cannot be allowed to infect our super race!" "Do you want me, or sick revenge against Dmitri?" Not that she flattered herself. If he merely wanted her, he could have snapped her neck easily by now, or turned her. Revenge burned brightly in him, and the disease was ugly, mutating into worse and worse nightmares. "Both. Dmitri will be vanquished once and for all, but not before he witnesses the rebirth of my queen." The muted light of her cabin faded into impenetrable light. Only Nikolai’s erratic heartbeat and heavy breathing broke through the oppressive darkness. "What a pity you humans haven’t advanced more in the three hundred years we’ve been gone. We’d rather hoped for more of a challenge. After all, you are our parent race." "Demon spawn," she hissed. "Ah, yes. We were blessed by the demons so that we would no longer suffer your inherent weaknesses." "Why then do you want a weak human for your queen? Why not choose a superior--partner?" She couldn’t bring herself to voice such a vile word as mate in context to him. Her eyes began to grow used to the darkness so that she could make out his shadowy form. "How dare a mere human female question me!" he bellowed, his voice reverberating through the chamber.

Then his sinister chuckle rent the air as his tension ebbed. "I find your boldness refreshing. I tire of simpering females. I enjoy a challenge." Challenge? "It’s a lost cause." Harsh hands clamped around her throat and a menacing voice whispered huskily in her ear. "It’s because of Dmitri isn’t it? He’s poisoned you against me again." No sprang to her lips, but was that the entire truth? "I--our world--has no use for vampires. Leave us in peace. As you say, we’re your parents." The monster’s hands loosened fractionally when he laughed uproariously. "I no longer take commands from anyone. Especially not from humans, parents or otherwise." "What is your obsession with Earth?" "Aside from the fact that it’s our birthright? Or that human blood is the sweetest, most nourishing to be found throughout the galaxy?" She nodded, refusing to shiver when his menu-like description horrified her. "Besides that," she said dryly. "Sweet revenge. Your ancestors tried to murder us, drove us from our homes, and shot us into deep space. In their lingo, we’re royally pissed off!" So her ancestors had angered their mortal enemies and her generation should really be fearful now? If her ancestors hadn’t banished them, her generation would never have been born. At least not as humans.

****

"The captain’s missing!" Dmitri sucked in his breath and spread himself thin on the air as the human soldiers advanced. Following them, he listened intently, cursing himself for leaving Zanna unguarded. He should have assigned some of his men to watch over her but he hadn’t expected Nikolai to strike during her waking hours. "Damnit!" A string of muttered curses rent the hallway as a tall lanky man with patched hair bent over a prone body. "He’s barely breathing--vampire bites…." Dmitri edged closer, the scent of fresh blood making him tingle. Curses sprang to his lips. The bite pattern on the man’s neck belonged to Nikolai. The fiend liked to mark his victims in this hideous, unmistakable fashion. They transported the injured man to the medics. "Oliver’s nowhere to be found." The lanky soldier rose, revealing the insignia of a commander.

The ensign accompanying the commander stopped before a splattering of blood staining the floor. He aimed a tricorder at it and scowled. "Oliver’s blood." "One guess where Oliver is." Lightning flashed through the commander’s eyes as he stabbed at his com badge. "Red alert all decks. Apprehend Captain Edwards and Lieutenant Oliver upon sight. Shoot to stun. Repeat. Shoot to stun Captain Edwards and Lieutenant Oliver on sight. I, Commander Jabesh, am assuming command." "Vampires?" the ensign shuddered and stepped away from the blood. "So primitive." The commander sneered and nodded. "No doubt. Now that I’m in charge, we’ll attack. This is what weakness spawns." "But the High Council has to approve acts of aggression." The commander snorted. "The high council’s been worthless. If left to them, we’ll all become the living dead. "This calls for defense so I don’t need their approval. Dmitri had heard enough. He blinked back to his bridge, his fangs bursting through his gums. "Battle stations. Prepare for attack." "Shields up." Sacha crossed over to him. "What are your orders, Sire?" Dmitri wasn’t ready for his crew to know about Zanna. Since his crew’s super-sensitive hearing would pick up on anything he said, no matter how low he said anything, he said, "In my quarters." To his security officer, he ordered, "Take the bridge. Tell me if they so much as hiccup." Chafing, Dmitri blinked to his chambers. Soon as Sacha materialized beside him he faced his Number Two. "I’m leaving you in charge. Nikolai’s taken Zanna--Tanya." "It’s probably too late…" Sacha’s steady gaze pierced him as he linked his hands behind his back. He didn’t want to hear that, couldn’t give up hope. Suppressing a growl, Dmitri grated his teeth. Although he dreamed of Zanna being vampire so they could spend every joyful moment of eternity together, he couldn’t allow her to become one of Carpathia’s minions. She was his lifemate, not Nikolai’s. "I can’t think that. I’m not giving up on her." Sacha rocked back on his heels. "But your people. Earth. More’s at stake…." No one had to remind him of his duty! The rage boiling inside him exploded and then deflated just as quickly. "I love her. Her eternity’s threatened." "As it is for us all." "This isn’t up for debate. Take charge. If it looks hopeless, get our people the hell out." "Where shall we go? What about you?" "I’m expendable." Dmitri raked his finger through his hair. "Slip into Earth’s past. You take command." Sacha’s brow creased. "Perhaps we should go there now."

Dmitri sank into his chair. "Perhaps… We shall explore this possibility more. First, we have to rescue Zanna." "At the expense of our two civilizations?" Put that way, Dmitri felt very selfish. "I can’t leave her at that worm’s mercy. I’ll go by myself. You take command." "It’s suicide. Surely Nikolai is using her as bait, waiting for you." "Then I shouldn’t keep him waiting, should I? I’ve never been an impolite guest, so I’m not going to start now." Sacha shook his head. "This isn’t a matter to take lightly, Sire." "I take this very seriously. Nikolai knew this would be a fight to the death when he kidnapped her." "That’s a very significant phrase--‘to the death’. Tanya’s been reincarnated before, she’ll be reincarnated again." Dmitri knew this could be the last time, and most certainly would be if he didn’t risk everything to save her. "I have no choice but to try and save her. "Patch me into the human command post," Dmitri roared, glaring at his Number One. "Now!" He gathered his sharpest sword intent on beheading the deadliest predator since Count Dracula. "As you wish, Sire." Sacha called to the communications officer, "Get us a line to Earth Command. Now! We’ll be on the bridge in one minute." Dmitri and Sacha blinked to the bridge and asked in one breath, "Have you hailed them?" "Got them, Sire!" The lieutenant turned to the command screen. "I have introduced you, Sire. You will be speaking to Admiral Nova Edwards, Admiral of Unified Earth Defenses." Zanna’s mother. Dmitri bowed to the woman in the admiral’s uniform. "May I dispense with formalities?" He didn’t wait for her response but forged ahead. "Our mutual enemy has your commander, Zanna Edwards, in his capture. I may still be able to save her if I can get aboard his ship. We do not have your ability to transport ship to ship." Orbing on the astral plane was not the same thing and this time, he could not accomplish his mission in a dream state. Admiral Edwards jumped to her feet and paced, her gaunt face draining of all color. "They have my daughter? Give me the coordinates and I will transport her here." Dmitri frowned. "We do not have that knowledge but you must since your soldiers transported onto our vessel. But it would be better if I was to go there alone." "Negative. I think I’m better suited to protect my daughter than a vampire." The admiral turned to her aid and murmured to him, "Find her and transport her to the hospital."

The man nodded and typed in a sequence of commands. Dmitri wanted to scream at the woman’s ignorance and prejudice. He watched as twinkling stardust solidified into two bodies in the admiral’s chambers. Zanna’s and Nikolai’s hulking form bent over his love’s limp, bloody form. Dmitri’s heart broke when Zanna whimpered and writhed beneath the monster, trying ineffectually to shove him away. "Mother." She held out her hand to her. Then she stared up into the communication screen. "I remember. I love you, Dmitri. I’m so sorry. I so wanted to be with you." Dmitri counted three sets of bite marks on Zanna’s throat, all Nikolai’s. "You are mine!" Nikolai roared, insanity trilling in his voice. He sliced his hand and tried to drip his blood onto her lips. "I told you that you will die before I let him have you." Dmitri lifted his head and howled his pain, his heart shattering. Then he marched to the screen and spoke to Zanna’s mother. "Transport me there, Admiral. Let me be with her. I’m the only one who can stop him and save her." To Zanna, he said, "Hold on, sweetheart. Don’t drink his blood no matter what. Keep your lips tightly shut." If Zanna drank of the vampire’s blood, she would embrace their world becoming one of them. He did not wish that on her much as he longed to keep her at his side for eternity. He felt a strange sensation and materialized into the Earth command post. "She’ll never be yours, Nikolai." Nikolai turned, a wicked grin on his bloody lips. "Wrong as usual, Lion. You’re too late." With another howl, Dmitri lifted his sword and hurled it at Nikolai, cutting off his head in a fit of insane rage. Rushing to Zanna’s side, he kicked the monster’s body out of his path. Cradling her in his arms, he cleansed Nikolai’s blood from her lips and then lowered a kiss to her mouth. Against it he murmured, fighting back acid tears stinging his eyes, "I’m sorry I let you down again. I never wanted this to happen." She coughed and shook her head weakly. "No," she said with a raspy breath. "I want to stay with you. You can make it happen." "No daughter!" Her mother knelt by her side and stroked wisps of damp hair from her forehead. "Don’t damn your eternal soul." "We have to go back. Prevent this massacre, the first war…" Zanna’s voice was a ragged whisper. "Are you sure, darlin’?" Dmitri had longed to hear these words for millennia, but not at such expense. Zanna swallowed hard and looked up at him, love blazing in her eyes. "Positive. It’s the only way." "But Zanna, you know it’s better to die a temporal death than to subject yourself to living hell…" Tears flowed from her mother’s eyes and she aimed a laser at Zanna. "I can’t let you do this. Even if I have to shoot you myself."

"You don’t want to shoot me, Mother," Zanna said, pathos in her voice. She raised soulful eyes to her. "Does he look damned, Mother? He has a good soul. He has more soul and more humanity than anyone I know. I long to spend eternal life at his side. I want us to coexist peacefully on our world." She broke into coughing spasms, her body arching against his. Her time ran alarmingly short. Her mother’s hand wavered. "You don’t know what you ask. Your mind is muddled. I do this for your good, your eternal well-being." Zanna licked her cracked lips, her strength clearly waning. Gasping for breath, her eyes cloudy, she struggled to speak. "We can travel… back in time. Change… history. Prevent this. I have to… do this to save… our people." The admiral nodded, and lowered her weapon to the ground. "Am I able to go with you? Can a human travel through time?" "I can make it so," Dmitri said, moving the weapon out of harm’s way, breathing a sigh of relief. Zanna turned her gaze on Dmitri and raised her hand to cup his cheek. "I tried so very hard to deny it, but I love you. I am in my right mind and I make the choice to be with you, and to make this sacrifice for all the people of Earth. Make me into a vampire." When he hesitated, she said in a stronger voice. "Now, before it’s too late." Dmitri lowered her gently to the floor and bent over her. His fangs protruded and he bit her creamy neck and drank of her blood. Then he sliced his finger and rubbed it against her lips. "Drink of my blood. Become my eternal mate." She gazed deeply into his eyes and opened her mouth. She licked the blood from his finger, swirling her tongue around it. Closing her eyes, she took it into her mouth and sucked on it, moaning deeply. Slowly, she opened her eyelids and they glowed red. Vitality returned to her and she sat up and kissed him hard on the lips. "I’m one with you now. Will you have me?" "Forever, lifemate. Is that long enough?" She smiled up at him and then licked his neck with a long sweep of her tongue. Shivers of delight raced down his spine. Joy flooded his heart, matching that glowing in her eyes. He gathered her close to his heart, smiling into his lifemate’s beautiful eyes. "Not nearly long enough, my love." Sacha put his hand over his mouth and cleared his throat discreetly. "We must go now, Sire. Do we take the humans onboard this vessel with us? I fear they are all that remain of Earth’s population. The Carpathians have destroyed all the other ships and blown up the planet. They have turned their sites on this vessel and will be within firing range shortly." Fierce pain shattered Zanna’s heart. "Earth’s destroyed? Our people are all dead?" Dmitri drew her against his swiftly hammering heart and stroked her hair. "If Sacha reports this, it must be so. But I promise you with my last breath that we’ll change that. We’ll make the world a better place

and Nikolai and his breed won’t be allowed to spawn." Zanna tilted her head back and gazed into his eyes. "So how far back do we have to go in time?" "Before the Egyptians ruled Mesopotamia, when the first vampires first appeared. We can stay sequestered, watch over Earth until the signs appear." "We’re the aliens that visited ancient Earth! Does that mean that Earth was destined to be destroyed?" "I don’t know what it means, darlin’. But this time, we’ll make sure it ends better. We’ve got this much right. The rest will fall into place." Dmitri looked at her mother. "Can you transport all of us back to my ship? We must travel together to ensure we land in the same place and time." Admiral Edwards nodded. "Prepare to transport now. I suggest we take supplies. Ancient Mesopotamia was quite inhospitable. Can you project those?" "No. Just humanoids. But we’ll manage. We’re a resilient bunch." Zanna slipped her hand into his and squeezed it. "That we are. Together, we’re going to save the world." Dmitri smiled down at his lifemate, proud of her transformation, not just into a vampire, but into the most beautiful woman in the galaxy. She possessed a heart of platinum.

The End

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