Hair Of The Dog

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Dangerous Cravings: Hair of the Dog Kate Hill

All rights reserved. Copyright ©2005 Kate Hill

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ISBN (10) 1-59596-187-9 ISBN (13) 978-1-59596-187-7 Formats Available: HTML, Adobe PDF, MobiPocket, Microsoft Reader

Publisher: Changeling Press LLC PO Box 1561 Shepherdstown, WV 25443-1561 www.ChangelingPress.com

Editor:Sheri Ross Carucci Cover Artist:Karen Fox

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Chapter One

New York City, Present Day

In spite of the thunder rumbling outside the building’s brick walls, not even a hint of lightning brightened the dark chamber. The faint aroma of incense and smoke from the recently used fireplace hung on the air.

Ariel stood at the foot of the enormous bed, staring at the sleeping man and woman entwined beneath the black sheets. His gaze roamed lovingly over the man, noting the strong lines of his face that revealed courage and power even when softened by sleep.

Though Ariel believed he should not favor any of his children above the others, he had always felt particularly close to Zigor. Perhaps that was the reason he’d come to Burgundy Peak, the haven Zigor had created for their kind. Ariel had an open invitation to the club since its beginning in the late eighteen hundreds, but he’d never set foot in the place. The decadence of the club offended him. The idea of vampires indulging in such pleasure worried him, especially when there was still so much work to be done.

Still, he could not impose his standards on everyone. Each vampire and mortal had to make their own decisions and Zigor had never been shy about exercising his free will.

For thousands of years Zigor had fought with a single-mindedness that raised Ariel’s pride. Zigor had learned most of his Master’s lessons well, yet hadn’t always shared his views or done his bidding.

Ariel’s gaze drifted from Zigor to the attractive woman wrapped in his arms. Like her lover, she exuded physical power. He looked forward to meeting her, since she was part of the reason he had decided to visit Burgundy Peak. Ariel had heard Zigor had recently taken a wife. He was interested in seeing the woman who had claimed the heart of his most solitary offspring.

He probably should have awakened them when he’d arrived, but he needed time to collect his thoughts. It was now past sunset and he guessed Zigor and his mate would arise soon. Actually, the woman had already begun to stir.

She moved slightly, then her eyes opened. Her heartbeat quickened as her gaze met Ariel’s and she reached for her husband, shaking him hard. “Zigor!”

Growling, Zigor sprang to a sitting position, his eyes gleaming in the darkness. They widened in surprise upon seeing Ariel.

“How the hell did you get in here?” the woman snapped, the scent of her fear and anger filling the room. From what he’d heard she was not easily frightened, but she obviously recognized a superior creature when she met one. To her, Ariel emanated danger. She was right to feel wary.

Once again she glanced at her husband, then made a sharp motion as if to attack Ariel. Zigor stopped her with a gentle tug backward and whispered in her ear, “It’s all right.”

“Who is he? How did he get past security? Zigor?”

The tall, bearded vampire slipped naked from the bed and approached Ariel. Taking one of his Master’s hands in both of his, he knelt at his feet.

From the corner of his eye, Ariel noted the woman’s stunned expression. He didn’t doubt this was the first time she’d seen her husband kneel to anyone. Usually Zigor brought others of their kind to their knees, but Ariel wasn’t quite like other vampires. He was something more.

By his wife’s reaction, Zigor had apparently kept his promise to Ariel regarding a secret disclosed to him

long ago -- a secret Ariel had only revealed to a chosen few. He often wondered if he had done right in telling them. Freedom of choice was the most important gift bestowed upon any living creature. By revealing this particular truth, Ariel worried that he’d influenced those he’d told. Zigor had been among those who had pressed so hard for knowledge Ariel finally relented, knowing that obsession could be a far worse burden than the truth.

“Come.” Ariel tugged Zigor’s hand and the taller vampire rose, enfolding his Creator in a tight embrace. For a moment Ariel allowed himself to enjoy his offspring’s closeness. He tightened his arms around Zigor, feeling the throb of his heart and inhaling his fresh, much-loved scent.

It was like being swept back in time to when things were far less complicated, when the selfish thoughts he’d been having of late didn’t plague him, diverting him from the duty he’d been created for.

“Zigor, what’s going on?” the woman asked.

“Melinda, this is Ariel, my Master.”

She looked stunned and remained frozen for a few seconds before standing, the sheet wrapped around her, and bowing her head. Glancing from Ariel to Zigor, she said, “Am I supposed to curtsy or something?”

Resisting the urge to smile with amusement, Ariel said, “Not necessary.”

She tucked the sheet more snugly around her and edged closer to Zigor’s side. “I’m so glad to meet you. Zigor speaks of you often.”

Holding her gaze, Ariel used his psychic power to look inside her and was pleased by what he saw. Courage. Loyalty. A sense of honor. His son had chosen his mate well. “I look forward to getting to know you, Melinda.”

A quirky smile touched her lips. “Most people call me Mel, but if you’re anything like Zigor that nickname will never pass your lips.”

“Melinda.” Zigor glanced at her, a slight warning in his voice. He had always been a domineering child. Ariel had taught him to appreciate discipline and Zigor had adapted every part of his life to the art of control.

“If I had known you were coming, I would have greeted you when you arrived,” Zigor said.

Turning, Ariel strode across the room, glancing at a framed replica of a cave drawing of a hunter and huntress. The sight of it hurled him back thousands of years and he nearly shivered.

“Ariel?” Zigor said quietly.

Focusing his attention on his offspring, Ariel said, “It was a spontaneous decision to come here. If it’s a bad time --”

“Never,” Zigor said.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll have housekeeping prepare a room for you,” Melinda said, sweeping through the archway to the adjoining room.

“No electric lights and be sure there is an adequate supply of candles, Melinda,” Zigor ordered.

This time a slight smile touched Ariel’s lips. Apparently his offspring remembered his preferences.

“Will you be joining us for breakfast?” Zigor asked, studying his sire carefully. “Or perhaps you would like to rest first?”

By the discerning look on Zigor’s face, Ariel must have looked as tired as he felt. “I’ve had a long journey and at the moment sleep is preferable to food, though I look forward to spending time with you and your wife, if convenient.”

“You know it is, Master.” Zigor bowed his head. “I have asked you to visit many times before.”

Melinda stepped into the room and said, “Your room will be ready in a few minutes. I’ve started a fire in the sitting room and put some wine on the coffee table. Please make yourself comfortable, Master Ariel.”

Nodding, Ariel walked to the adjoining room, leaving the couple to dress.

After pouring a glass of wine, he walked to the enormous black fireplace and stood in front of it. Staring at the flames and sipping his drink, he allowed his thoughts to drift to ages past.

***

The Dawn of Man

In spirit form, Ariel had no comprehension of what it would mean to become flesh and blood. It was like asking fire to understand ice or telling the ocean to explain how the desert feels.

He had looked upon the mortal world and wondered about it. Perhaps that was why he was among those selected for the task. Clearly he recalled the Pure One, the spirit of good to whom all other spirits bowed, calling him aside.

With the birth of man, the essence of evil has discovered new torments, the Pure One said.It has given corporeal form to thirteen of its most evil minions. They walk the earth, killing, terrorizing, and spreading their wickedness in the form of a plague .

Ariel replied,I have seen this, Pure One. Rather than kill, this plague bestows an eternal life of suffering

on all who touch those infected .

Mankind cannot heal itself. Though they can kill the victims of the plague, the thirteen carriers are beyond their defenses. The evil one collects their ashes when they are scattered and breathes life into them. No earthly form of destruction can destroy the thirteen, but we can.

I will send forth twelve of my spirits to rid the earth of the evil one’s thirteen and those infected by their plague. These twelve will possess all the powers of the thirteen. Their strength will surpass even the most powerful human’s. They will see in the dark and possess the ability to communicate without words as well as control others’ minds.

Though they will retain the same basic form, their appearance will alter to reflect the changes in mankind. I shall give them three additional strengths that the thirteen and their offspring do not possess. Though the twelve will lust for blood, they will not depend on it to survive, nor will they be subject to the madness caused by the lack of it, though their children cannot be spared that burden. When the twelve bite it will be to create children to assist them or to kill the evil ones.

Yes, these twelve will possess the ability to drain the evil ones to death from which even their wicked master cannot resurrect them. The twelve will walk by day, giving them an advantage over the evil ones who cannot endure sunlight. Last, the twelve shall not fear objects that symbolize good. The children of the twelve shall possess the latter advantages.

In spite of his eagerness to please the Pure One, Ariel asked,You wish to give your loyal spirits characteristics of the evil ones? Won’t this tempt them ?

I have faith in my spirits. They will retain their will and choose the right path. If they grow weary of their duty and wish to return to my realm, all they need do is ask another of the twelve to drain them to death and they will be returned to me. I am telling you this, Ariel, because I want you to be one of the twelve. You have always been loyal yet possess the strength to question me when you feel it necessary. I need your courage for this task, but the choice is yours.

A strange feeling swept over Ariel, one that he didn’t recognize then but would all too quickly come to know as fear. In spite of it, he was honored to be called upon for this duty.I will do whatever you ask of me, Pure One .

You are the first I have asked because I hoped you would agree. I want you to arrive first and greet the others. You will need to support one another, Ariel. In spite of your powers, when you take corporeal form, you will in many ways become human. Though nothing except the draining bite of a true vampire, not their offspring, can destroy you, you can experience death. You will feel pain, joy, desire, sadness, and every emotional and bodily sensation a human can feel. It is not that I want you to suffer, but because I want you to know what it is to be mortal, to identify with humans and consider them your kin. And remember, even the evil ones can feel bodily pain. That is unavoidable for anything in corporeal form.

***

Ariel’s thoughts were interrupted by Zigor’s approach. He took a swallow of wine and turned toward his offspring.

Holding his gaze, Zigor asked, “Is something wrong, Master?”

Yes, there is something wrong, Ariel wanted to shout.The balance in my life has been utterly destroyed and for the first time I don’t know what to do about it .

Instead, he shook his head slightly and took another sip of wine before handing the glass to Zigor.

“Your room should be ready by now. I will escort you.” Zigor placed the wine glass on the mantle and led the way down the steps, through the club that his employees were preparing to open, and up a flight of stairs to the hotel area. Ariel was given an end room on the third floor. Though spacious, it was sparsely decorated, with only a bed, dresser, two chairs and a breakfast table on which rested several assorted candles. The walls, carpet, and bedcovers were black. A heavy black curtain was drawn back from the glass doors leading to a balcony. The city lights glistened outside in the moonlit night.

Already Ariel missed the countryside where he spent his time when not chasing descendants of the evil ones.

“If the room is adequate and you require nothing else, I will leave you to rest,” Zigor said.

Nodding, Ariel approached the glass doors. He sensed rather than heard Zigor leave the room, closing

the door silently after him. Taking a deep breath, Ariel fixed his gaze on the stars and remembered the first time he had seen them with vampiric eyes.

With a sigh, he drew the curtain, cloaking the room in utter darkness. Though he could still discern the shapes of objects, the lack of light soothed him. He had been running for what seemed like ages, though in reality it had only been a few centuries -- a drop of rain in the ocean of time.

Slowly he undressed and draped his clothes over a chair. Naked, he slid between the bed’s cool, soft sheets and stared at the ceiling. Though aware of the scents and faint sounds of others in the building, he was too tired to be disturbed by such distractions. After several extended blinks, his eyes remained closed and he drifted into slumber.

Chapter Two

The first thing Ariel became aware of was something hard beneath him. It was a completely foreign sensation, since he had always existed in spirit form and impressions of such things as cold, hot, hard, and soft had meant nothing to him. He had observed living creatures and knew they experienced such things, but until this moment he had been unable to identify with them.

His hands moved slightly, running over the rocky ground on which he was sprawled, facing the moon and stars. Pushing himself upward rather awkwardly, he glanced around, finding himself outside a cave, surrounded by an endless stretch of wilderness. His sensitive hearing picked up the scurrying of tiny animals and the trickle of water running in a nearby brook just visible through the trees.

Though excited and curious about his new existence, he suddenly realized he was completely alone. His heart pounded in momentary panic, then he drew a deep breath, feeling his chest expand, and released it slowly. What had the Pure One said?I want you to arrive first and greet the others .

More memories flooded him. Before he took on this mortal form, the spirit of good had told him everything he needed to know about the world and how to survive in it. He spent the day gathering food, knowing instinctively which berries and plants were edible, and gathered wood for a fire. He brought his meager possessions back to the cave where he would await the others.

For some reason, he’d thought they would arrive soon, but after several days alone, he began to wonder if the other spirits had actually refused the Pure One. Was he the only one who had accepted the task?

Late one night, he sat by the fire in his cave, his arms wrapped around himself, shivering. The weather had grown steadily colder and he knew he would need to find a way to keep warm, not because he could die of exposure but to alleviate the sheer discomfort of freezing.

A powerful scent struck him and he sat stock still, his vampiric senses straining. He had never smelled anything like this before. Was it another wild animal, or had his companions finally begun to arrive?

The thud of heavy feet crushing branches and low growls made him tense, his heart pounding. Then it stuck its enormous brown head inside the cave. It roared, revealing enormous teeth.

Springing to his feet, Ariel glanced around for a weapon since he knew this animal meant to fight. The cave bear charged him fast. Ariel screamed in pain as the enormous claws slashed his flesh. Had he been mortal, his bones would have been crushed, but his vampiric body was even more powerful than the cave bear’s.

Blinded by the instinct to defend himself, he used his fangs and superior strength to battle the wild creature, only to find that he was wilder than the cave bear. At the first taste of blood, something inexplicable overcame him. It was then he sensed and smelled the animal’s fear, yet it didn’t stop pounding him with its massive paws and biting deeply with its powerful jaws.

Ariel’s fangs finally sank into its throat and he tore. The beast collapsed and he crouched atop the body, panting, drenched in blood and sweat, his entire body throbbing with sensations he couldn’t explain. He

felt triumphant.

Closing his eyes, he drew a deep breath and released it slowly, overcome by the realization of what he had done, but also knowing this had been an act of survival as well as a test of strength. The cave bear was one of nature’s strongest creatures and a worthy opponent. To kill without purpose violated the very laws Ariel was meant to live by. He would eat the meat and use the skin for warmth.

With a knife he had fashioned from a piece of stone, he set to work gutting and cleaning the carcass.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed between that first kill andher arrival. All he remembered was lying in the cave one morning just before dawn, when the night was still and dark. He had been thinking about leaving the cave and seeking out the thirteen on his own. It was long past time for his task to begin and it seemed the others might not come at all.

Then the scent wrapped around him. This time he knew it was not another wild animal, but one of his own kind. It was an unimaginably wonderful aroma, strong yet soft, like an endless field of the headiest flowers.

He rose, the bearskin draped around him, and left the cave, following that delicious scent. When he saw her, he almost forgot to breathe. Tall and lithe, with smooth dark skin, she stood by the brook, her long, black hair draping her luscious body. Her arms were wrapped tightly around herself and she shivered in the cold. Staring at him with large, dark eyes, she exuded strength, curiosity, and a hint of apprehension.

Removing the bearskin, he felt a shiver run down his spine when the winter air touched his naked flesh. Simultaneously, he and the woman stepped closer to one another. When he draped the fur around her, his hands brushed her soft skin and her scent filled him, almost making him dizzy with an emotion he couldn’t explain.

He guided her back to the cave where the fire burned brightly. The sun would be rising soon, but they were deep enough in the cave to sleep unhindered by the light. He offered her food and water that she accepted eagerly.

How long have you been here?

Ariel’s heart nearly stopped from both the pleasure and the surprise of hearing a spiritual voice for the first time since his arrival in the mortal world. It was her voice, so musical and lovely.Many days and nights , he replied.

She paused in eating and held his gaze, sympathy in her dark eyes.I cannot imagine being alone here for that long .

Unsure how to reply, he occupied himself with keeping warm. Edging toward the fire, he rubbed his hands over his arms. She immediately moved closer, opening the large fur cloak and draping half of it over him. Her lush body pressed close to his, one of her soft, full breasts pushing against his arm, the hard little nipple rubbing provocatively against his skin. Her thigh rested snugly against his and her hair, soft and carrying the scent of cool, woodsy air, caressed his flesh. His body’s response was fast and uncontrollable. His cock swelled and felt almost unbearably tight. By all that was sacred, if a bit of her flesh so much as grazed it he thought he might shatter.

He glanced at her sharply, the sound of his heartbeat filling his ears, or was it her heartbeat? Her scent had grown stronger and she stared at him, her lips slightly parted. The urge to cover her mouth with his almost overwhelmed him.

Then it struck him. All the temptations and pleasures of the mortal world would affect their kind as well. He could not allow this to happen. It was not right. Not when…

Her slender hand, now warm from the fur and the fire, came to rest on his side. Slowly she ran it over his ribs and across his taut abdomen. Turning slightly so she could better reach him, she placed both hands on his chest and stroked the expanse of it. Surely she must feel his heart pounding? Her eyes closed halfway and she leaned closer, her lips touching his. The kiss was gentle and chaste, yet it sent his desire racing to fevered heights.

One of her long, sleek legs draped over his and she straddled him, his cock trapped between their heated bodies.

Moaning softly, she buried her fingers in his hair and used her tongue to trace the shape of his lips. Instinctively his mouth opened and he gently thrust his tongue into her mouth. His eyes closed, he wrapped his arms around her and explored every warm wet corner and crevice of her delectable mouth.

She squirmed against him and he felt something warm and damp on his thighs. Her pussy was drenched with desire. If his hard, aching cock slid inside it, the pleasure would be --

“No,” he grunted, grasping her by the waist and pushing her away.

She landed on her rump by the fire, staring at him with frustration and hurt that he couldn’t succumb to. This was the temptation they were meant to avoid. They had not taken human form to serve their own needs, but to fulfill their duty.

His breathing ragged, he tossed the fur to her and stalked out of the cave, hoping a walk in the chilly morning air would chase away the throbbing erection inspired by her sensual beauty.

***

Ariel sat up straight in the bed, gasping, his pulse racing, and sporting an erection powerful enough to harpoon a whale.

“No,” he whispered. “I cannot get her out of my mind. It’s like she has claimed a part of my soul and I don’t know how to free it.”

His blood pounding with need for a woman he had spent his life desiring, he walked to the bathroom. For several moments he stood, his hands braced against the sink and his head lowered as he struggled to control his body’s demands.

Finally he raised his chin and stared into the mirror. His pale face and intense eyes almost seemed to glow in the unlit black tile room.

His chest rose and fell with excited breathing. The urge to wrap his fist around his near painful erection and satisfy at least some of his desire almost overwhelmed him. Why had Adira always managed to destroy the self control he had spent millennia perfecting? Even when she wasn’t physically present she never left his tortured thoughts.

Snarling with self-disgust, he stepped out of the bathroom and opened the travel bag that he’d left in a corner of the room. He was in dire need of discipline. If he could not redirect his thoughts one way then he would find another method. He removed a leather flogger from the bag and knelt in the center of the room.

Grasping the tool of punishment firmly in his hand, he drew a cleansing breath and released it slowly. He spared no force with the first blow. The leather hissed through the air, soaring over his shoulder and landing with a resonant smack against his back. The sting grounded him a bit, just a bit, but not nearly enough to rid him of the erect and aching symbol of his emotional failure.

He let the flogger fly again and again in a rhythmic pattern. His eyes tightly closed, he transcended the pain, hoping to rise above the nagging desire for Adira.

***

Soon after Adira arrived in the mortal world, the rest of the twelve followed.

Including Adira and himself, the twelve consisted of six male and six female vampires. The males were called Yigal, Vivek, Sofian, Bakari, and Yong. The females were Rashida, Urania, Lysandra, Bathsheba, and Veda.

Ariel welcomed them into the cave and taught them what he had learned about surviving in corporeal form. He showed them which plants and nuts to gather for food, how to hunt fish using spears made from animal bones. No part of the creatures they killed went to waste. Antlers were used to make weapons and ornaments. Skins, stitched together using bone needles, became clothing.

Together, they discovered other ways to make their lives more pleasant, and though Ariel’s main concern was fulfilling their duty, he had to admit he rather enjoyed their company to the loneliness he had endured prior to their arrival.

Perhaps because Adira had been the first of his kind he had met, she affected him more than the others. Only she inspired desperate, aching desire within him. Worst of all, the feeling didn’t fade, though he did his best to bury it.

After his initial rejection, she kept her distance from him, choosing to accept the embraces and pleasant conversation of others while deliberately snubbing him.

In spite of the way her attitude stung, he had more important matters to consider. After all, they hadn’t been chosen to mingle amongst themselves, but to perform an important task among mankind.

Ariel wasn’t sure how long the twelve remained in the cave, living off the plants and animals in the surrounding area and perfecting their physical strengths and powers of the mind.

Though the Pure One had never appointed one of them as a leader, in many ways the others seemed to look to Ariel in that capacity. He took that sign of respect seriously and threw himself into training to track down and destroy the thirteen. His companions joined him with enthusiasm.

Only one thing troubled him. As dedicated as Adira and the others were to the cause, they also seemed bent on enjoying many of the temptations of their corporeal forms. They ate and drank with relish, frolicked in the rivers and forest, and during their sleeping hours sought the warmth of each other’s bodies.

One evening when Bathsheba approached him with an intimate embrace and invited him to join their group of hot, mingling flesh, he lost the final shred of his heretofore formidable self-control.

Grasping her arms, he snapped, “We are not here to enjoy ourselves, but to fulfill our duty.”

She and the others stared at him, some in fury, some in amusement. The amusement angered him more. Didn’t they understand the seriousness of their duty?

Adira stood and approached, her beautiful naked form glowing in the firelight. He forced himself to look away from the smooth, pendulous breasts, the dark rose nipples standing out defiantly. He tried not to imagine how it would feel to bury his cock in the warm, forbidden place between those rounded thighs and run his fingers through the enticing thatch of dark pubic hair.

“Whoever said we are not meant to enjoy ourselves?” she asked, her gaze meeting his. “When asked to take this form, I was not told I shouldn’t enjoy it.”

“We were told we would be tempted,” he said.

“Explain how what we are doing is wrong,” she demanded.

“We were not made to indulge in --”

She interrupted, “Just because you interpret our duty as some sort of punishment, some test to prove that we can refuse all comfort and pleasure, doesn’t mean we must agree with you. I respect you. I am grateful for what you have done for us, but we are all of equal power and need not follow you blindly. You are not the Pure One.”

Anger and a touch of embarrassment rose in Ariel. Was that what they thought? That he considered himself the Pure One’s equal? Such vanity would never enter his mind. “I never claimed to be the Pure One. I am merely attempting to fulfill my promise.”

“As we are.”

He tore his gaze from hers and looked at the others, sensing their agreement with Adira’s comments.

“She’s right,” Vivek said. He stood and approached, a sympathetic expression in his large blue eyes. Reaching out, he placed a firm yet gentle hand on Ariel’s shoulder, but Ariel shrugged it off. “We care for you as much as we care about each other, Ariel, but it is our nature to disagree in some matters.”

“I see.” Ariel sighed. “Perhaps this is a sign that we have hidden here long enough. Our powers are strong, but unless we continue testing them outside this safe place, they will go stagnant and we will not fulfill our duty.”

“He’s right,” Bakari admitted.

“I agree,” Adira said.

“Then it is time for us to part,” Ariel stated, his gaze fixed on Adira.

She stared deeply into his eyes. Though they had grown adept at blocking out one another’s thoughts, he knew by her expression she would miss him as much as he would miss her.

“Come, Ariel.” She reached for his hand and tugged gently. Her grasp was warm and loving and he wanted to melt into her embrace. “Please spend the night with us?”

She moved closer, her nipples scraping his chest, their pelvises brushing. Sliding her hands over his sides and up his back, she stood on tiptoe and touched her lips to his.

The blood roared in Ariel’s ears. His fangs ached to sink into her tantalizing flesh. The scent of her enveloped him, making him throb with desire. Between their bodies, his cock swelled. The urge to wrap his arms around her, fill her with his erection and sate his desire, just as the others were now doing, was almost irresistible.

I can’t. He spoke to her in his spirit voice.I can’t . Gently disentangling himself from her, he stalked out of the cave.

Racing through the trees, he willed his body into submission. Stopping abruptly, he chose a slender yet flexible branch from a tree and tore it off. If pleasure sought to overpower him, then it was only logical to fight it off with pain.

Standing in a clearing, he began lashing his back with the branch, his jaw tightening with every stinging blow. He wasn’t sure how long he remained there, only that the sun rose high in the sky and his body dripped blood and sweat, yet the need for Adira never faltered. It was a torture from which there was no relief.

His failure.

As if fate itself decided to mock him, he caught her scent. She stepped into the clearing, disgust and pity in her eyes.

“Why?” she asked, reaching out to rest her palm against his sweat slicked chest. He glanced at her hand, longing more than ever for her touch yet furious that she held such power over him. He would not allow it.

“Without discipline, we will become as evil as the thirteen, wallowing in pleasure without regard for anyone or anything,” he said.

“You can’t really believe that.”

He dropped the bloody branch and grasped her wrist, glaring into her eyes. For the first time since he’d known her, he saw a hint of fear in her expression. “I know it. Deep inside, so do you.”

“No, Ariel. I don’t. We were given the same sensations as mortals not as a punishment but as a gift.”

“That is the simple thing to believe, Adira. Nothing worthwhile is ever simple.” He released her and turned his back to her. “Leave me.”

Her arms encircled his waist and her soft, wet tongue began lapping the blood from his rapidly healing back. Ariel’s pulse leapt and his cock felt ready to burst. He would not succumb to her. Never. Never…

***

Ariel lowered the flogger and sat, panting, his body wet with sweat. He ignored the rivulets trickling from his forehead, into his eyes, and down his face.

Since that first self-punishment so long ago, he had become a master of pain and control. For the first time in ages, he was unable to stifle the flames of his desire. Glancing down, he noted his erection was bigger and more ferocious than ever.

Past the point of endurance, he hurled the flogger onto the bed and stalked to the bathroom. He turned on the shower and stepped beneath the stream of hot water. Wrapping his hand around his cock, he began stroking, relieving some of the delicious tension that threatened to rob him of his sanity. With each stroke, he imagined pumping into Adira’s tight, wet pussy. Memories of her scent and touch filled him.

His heart pounding, he slowed his pumping hand then quickened the pace, tormenting himself even more. Several times he hovered on the edge of fulfillment only to stop himself by clamping his hand on the base of his cock and trying to repress the thrusting of his hips.

Clenching his buttocks tightly, he began stroking again, faster and faster until his panting breath resonated in the steamy shower. Arching his head back, his legs trembling from the strain of repressed desire, he finally surrendered and rubbed himself to climax. He resisted the urge to cry out and listened to his essence splatter the tile.

As he caught his breath, he leaned his back against the wall and sank to the floor, his eyes still tightly closed.

“Adira,” he murmured, longing for her more than ever yet dreading what such a meeting would bring.

Chapter Three

England, Present Day

Adira had never found love difficult. She didn’t fear giving or receiving it to humans and vampires alike. Beingin love, however, was quite another story. Being in love conjured deep-rooted fear, because the only man she had ever truly been in love with had spent his entire life making himself completely unlovable.

After countless centuries, she had decided it was long past time they faced the emotions burning between them. The problem was, he seemed to be deliberately avoiding her. She had spent the past few hundred years tracking him throughout the world, but had found no trace of him at any of his old haunts. The church she was on her way to was her last idea before she began turning over every stone on each little uninhabited island from Alaska to South America.

Ariel had been difficult from the beginning but from the moment they met she had wanted him desperately. She recalled the first time she saw him walking through the forest like a savage creature with alabaster skin and long raven hair. His tall, lithe body draped in a bearskin, he had held her gaze with his piercing, fathomless eyes and she had been lost.

When they touched, the sensations that crashed over her had been too magnificent for words. In the first kiss they had shared, she had sensed he returned her desire. The flesh of his lean yet powerful body, hairy in places and smooth in others, had turned feverish against hers. The feeling of his hard, velvety cock pressing against her sent her heart pounding out of control. She wanted him to put that cock where she was so wet and aching. Instead he had pushed her away, looked at her like she was something evil, and stalked off.

Eventually, she came to realize it wasn’t her he considered evil, but his own emotions. No matter how he interpreted their duty, she would not believe the Pure One intended them to live a life of loneliness, their only purpose to kill the evil ones and their minions. Yes, she understood that was their duty, but to waste the gift of life they had been given was, in her view, a far worse sin than giving in to harmless pleasures.

Though each of the twelve took their vocation seriously, Ariel was single-minded in a manner that bordered insanity. Adopting a life of intense training and self-deprivation turned him into a creature that even his own kind couldn’t understand, or rather didn’t want to understand. She knew the other

members of the twelve respected, even admired him, but they quickly stopped trying to coax him into the family niceties they shared.

On the evening they agreed to part and go forth into the world to fulfill their duty, they decided, without consulting Ariel, to travel in pairs. Sofian and Rashida asked Adira to join them as a threesome, but she declined, saying she would travel with Ariel.

“He will not agree,” Rashida had said.

“Yes, he will,” Adira had stated. If just to annoy him, she would follow Ariel like a wolf on a blood trail until he gave in, because in spite of his remote manner, she knew that deep inside he felt with as much passion as everyone else, perhaps more. During that first kiss and exchange of their spiritual voices, she had felt such need in him, such desire.

Ariel fascinated her and she had to indulge that fascination.

***

Adira followed Ariel’s scent through the forest, torn between sadness and excitement. The twelve had just said their goodbyes and set off to fulfill their duty to the Pure One. Already she missed her companions, but the thought of traveling alone with Ariel made her tingle with anticipation. Convincing him wouldn’t be easy and she braced herself for the battle to come.

His fresh, wonderful scent grew stronger and she found him standing in a clearing, his arms folded across his chest, a piercing expression in his dark eyes. “Why are you following me?” he demanded. “Is something wrong?”

“No.” She approached, forcing herself to look and sound as haughty as he did. “Last night after you stalked off in anger we decided on a new approach to the task. Rather than go off alone, we thought it best to travel in pairs, at least for a while.”

“For what purpose?”

Frustrated, she spread her arms wide and said, “Simple companionship.”

“You fear your duty.”

“Don’t you, even a little?”

“That is not a reason to shirk our responsibility.”

“Did you ever stop to think that perhaps we could do more good in pairs than alone? This way we can watch each other’s back and learn more about our existence in the company of someone who shares the same thoughts and fears. We resemble man, but they cannot yet express themselves as we can. Without a like companion, the loneliness will consume us.”

He held her gaze for a long moment before a wary look crossed his face. “Why have you come to me?”

“Obviously because I decided to travel with you.”

“You hate me. Why would you choose me as your companion?”

Raising her eyes to heaven, she struggled to keep her temper in check. How could the man be so stupid as to think she hated him? He stirred her emotions in a way no words could properly express. Just looking at him made her heartbeat quicken and her legs weak, yet he dared to suggest she hated him.

Of course she had learned how to block her innermost thoughts from him. She had grown tired of his complete rejection of what he consideredtemptations . “I don’t hate you,” she said.

“We would not make good traveling companions.”

“Why?” A slight smile flirting with her lips, she moved closer, her breasts just brushing his chest. “Do I tempt you?”

“If you insist on accompanying me, at least make an effort to control your baser instincts.”

She laughed. “Primitive instincts, you mean. Look around you, Ariel, and look at me. We are in a primitive world and part of us is also wild. Don’t you want to explore that?”

Once again his gaze swept over her, contemptuous yet with underlying hunger. Turning his back, he said, “Join me if you want to, but don’t fall behind.”

“Unless you’ve forgotten, my form is as powerful as yours.”

He moved so swiftly even she didn’t have time to react before he pinned her against a tree, his fangs snapping just under her chin, though not near enough to draw blood. His pelvis thrust against hers and he pinned her hands to the tree trunk in an unbreakable hold.

“Maybe not as strong,” she admitted, “but just as indestructible.”

Not if I drain you.

His thoughts mingled with hers, sending a jolt of rage and fear through her. “And you talk about temptation? Are you so self-righteous that you would use your power against another of the twelve just to satisfy your temper?”

“Of course not,” he snapped.

She relaxed and wriggled, thrusting her pelvis against his, pleased to feel the stiffness of his cock. “Then perhaps you have pinned me to this tree for another reason?”

Releasing her abruptly, he stalked through the woods. Still smiling to herself, she followed close behind him, swearing that she would make more of an effort to develop her fighting skills. The next time he decided to use force against her, she would be better prepared.

She had no idea how soon she would have the chance to start fulfilling her vow or how nearby their enemies lurked.

Two nights later they caught the scent of mortals mingled with something much more sinister. Breaking into a run, they came upon a small clan of mortals desperately fighting off three vampires, the fiercest being one of the thirteen.

Without hesitation, Ariel dove into the battle.

Her pulse racing and vampiric senses taking over, Adira joined him. Ariel had chosen to attack the evil one first. Seeing their Master engaged in battle with another vampire, the minions turned away from the mortals to aid him. Shouting for the humans to run, Adira leapt upon one of the vampires, dragging him away from Ariel. By the time she had destroyed him by shoving a broken tree branch through his heart, Ariel had killed the other minion and stood, the evil one crushed in his embrace as he gulped his blood.

Adira watched, fascinated yet horrified, as Ariel drained the evil one to a death from which he would never resurrect. Dropping the lifeless body, Ariel stood, his eyes glowing with bloodlust and his lips stained crimson. Her pulse raced with a strange need and even a hint of jealousy. Ariel had truly begun to fulfill his duty. He had taken one of the thirteen.

Turning to her, Ariel growled, a savage, seductive sound unlike any mortal animal could make. Distinctly vampiric and thoroughly arousing, it made Adira’s clit ache and her nipples harden with desire. Stalking nearer, she shivered at the predatory look in Ariel’s eyes. Was he finally going to claim her like she dreamed he would? Was he going to take her in his powerful arms and fill her with his thick, beautiful cock?

Almost purring with need, she stepped closer, splaying her hands against his chest and licking blood from his lips. Grasping her shoulders, he held her at arm’s length, his chest rising and falling with each excited breath, his gleaming eyes holding hers captive.

Please, she asked in her spiritual voice.I want you, Ariel. You want me, too. I can sense it. I can --

Growling again, more fiercely this time, he shoved her away.

“What are you going to do?” she shouted after him. “Flog yourself again for the horrible sin of nearly acting on your nature?”

Ignoring her, he disappeared into the trees.

Her teeth clenched with frustration, Adira tried to will her aroused body into submission. A noise from behind her caused her to turn and face several of the mortals who huddled together, watching her with wary eyes. After a moment, the oldest female extended her hand and Adira took it, allowing herself to be guided to the cave where the clan dwelled.

Adira had never known such a stubborn man could exist. Though she often caught the scent of his desire when they were together, he refused to acknowledge any feeling for her other than basic kinship. They spent ages traveling among the mortal clans, long enough to see what would become known as the Ice Age come and go, giving birth to a new race of human that, in spite of many changes, shared many characteristics with their forefathers. As the Pure One had promised, Adira and Ariel’s physical forms underwent subtle changes. Their facial features became finer and their bodies more graceful. Even their height changed subtly throughout those years and the ones to come.

They spent their days and nights hunting and gathering with the mortals, sharing their simple dwellings fashioned from animal skins. Curious about the mortals, Adira enjoyed spending time with them in between tracking down minions of evil. Though Ariel seemed to care for the mortals’ welfare and Adira’s as well, he refused to succumb to the basic emotional needs they shared. Even after the most intense battles or on the coldest nights, he would not seek the warmth and comfort of her body. For this she sorely resented him. She often turned to the mortals for touch and developed friendships with them.

During an attack, several members of a clan they had been living with were killed. After the burial, Adira walked to the river, wishing for some time alone to mourn. She caught Ariel’s scent before she saw him.

She didn’t turn when he stopped behind her, so close that she felt the warmth of his body. His shadow fell over her, dimming a bit of the brilliant sunlight.

“What do you want?” she demanded, trying in vain to keep the tears from her voice.

“I was concerned --”

“Since when?” She turned, glaring at him.

“I have always cared for you and the rest of the twelve, Adira.”

“Because you think you’re our clan leader?” She cast him a scathing look. “Because you were here first?”

“I know you think I am beyond feeling, but as you must now understand control is necessary.”

“Why, because I’m mourning the deaths of these men?”

“I am also sorry for their loss, but they are now with the Pure One and that is not something to mourn, but to celebrate.”

Overcome by rage, she leapt to her feet, her fangs bared. “Everything is so simple to you, isn’t it, Ariel? You think you understand everything, but you have misunderstood the Pure One. You think that giving in to temptation is a failure of the test, but experiencing these emotions could very well be the test itself. To learn from mankind and share its losses and triumphs is much more difficult than surrounding your heart in ice and caring for nothing except your duty.”

“Adira.” He reached for her, but she shoved his hand away.

“No! I do not need the touch of ice right now. My grief has left me cold enough.” Choked by tears, she turned and fled. He followed and she increased her pace. Their vampiric speed carried them for many

miles before he finally caught her. They tumbled onto the rocky floor of a ravine, but he protected her with his body, making sure his back bore the brunt of the hard, dry ground.

She struggled for a moment, then surrendered to his heated embrace. Their bodies were damp with sweat and their harsh breath mingled. Gently rolling her onto her back, he brushed tangled hair from her face and gazed into her eyes. For the first of what would be a precious few times in their long lives, his expression thawed completely. His eyes softened yet glistened with underlying fire. Adira stilled, staring at him, spellbound by this side of him.

Ever so gently, he brushed his lips across her forehead. Closing her eyes, Adira lost herself in sensation as he kissed her temples, cheeks, even the tip of her nose. Then his mouth covered hers. His lips, firm yet tender, moved slowly against hers before he used his tongue to part them. Adira welcomed him into her mouth, using her tongue to stroke and explore. Clinging to him, she floated on a haze of passion, engulfed by his taste, scent, and touch. This is what she had wanted from the first.

Adira, his spiritual voice caressed her mind.

Ariel, please don’t stop. Don’t leave me this time. Not now. She felt she couldn’t bear for him to turn her away again.

He tore his mouth from hers only to kiss his way down her neck and across her collarbone. His hand rested on her waist then gently moved over her ribs and rested against the curve of her breast. Positioning himself alongside her, he left a trail of kisses between her breasts down to her belly. The tip of his tongue dipped into her navel, teasing gently.

He ran his thumbs over her nipples and Adira gasped, her entire body tingling with desire. The sensations he evoked turned her into a creature of lust yet beyond the passion a deeper need was fulfilled. He was touching her with all the affection and tenderness she had wanted from him since the moment they met and he was giving it on his own, without seduction or petty games.

Adira buried her hands in his hair, loving the feel of the thick black tendrils sliding through her fingers. His tongue slid over her belly and outlined her ribs. When he took one of her nipples in his mouth and caressed it with his tongue, she moaned and arched her back, trying to force even more of her breast into his warm, wet mouth.

A low groan escaped him as he sucked more deeply. Adira had never felt anything so wonderful. She had made love with other men, but nothing compared to being kissed and caressed by Ariel.

His mouth left her breast to move to the other where he licked and sucked her nipple, using the very tip of one fang to tease it. “Oh please, Ariel,” she panted. “Please!”

His tongue spiraled around her nipple, then teased the sensitive flesh beneath her breasts. Moving down her body, he cupped her soft mound and rubbed. Other than her wriggling hips and hands clutching his shoulders, Adira lay still, entranced by his carnal magic.

The pleasure almost overcame her when he grasped her buttocks and covered her swollen nub with his mouth. He licked and sucked upon it just as he had done to her lips and breasts.

“Oh!” Adira cried out, every muscle in her body tense. “Yes, Ariel, yes!”

He lapped and stroked, then shifted position slightly and thrust his tongue into her pussy. Swirling it inside her, he explored with frustrating slowness that pushed her to the very edge of her control.

No sooner had he begun licking the ultra sensitive nub than she exploded. Her head thrashed back and forth and the entire world faded except for the wonderful stroking of his lips and tongue.

Ariel held her bottom tightly, keeping her pressed to his tugging lips and flicking tongue. He didn’t stop his exploration until she lay spent on the ground, her heartbeat slowing to normal and every part of her thoroughly satisfied.

She felt his arms slip around her and she was cuddled against him, her cheek pressed against his chest where she felt the staccato rhythm of his heart.

Opening her eyes, she tilted her face to meet his gaze. The lust burning in his eyes looked almost painful in its intensity.

“Let me give you the same pleasure you’ve given me,” she whispered, her hand straying to his rock-hard cock. His eyelids fluttered and nostrils flared slightly when she stroked the velvet skin over hard muscle.

“I’m sorry, Adira,” he said, his voice strained as he gently grasped her wrist and held her hand away from his erection. “I can’t.”

“Why?”

He brushed her lips with a chaste, tender kiss before disentangling his body from hers and standing. “I made a vow, not just to the Pure One, but to myself.”

“What is wrong with you, Ariel?” she demanded, her anger stirring again.

“I will not argue about this, Adira. I cannot place anyone or anything above the task I was sent to complete.”

Though she didn’t agree with him, she finally began to understand him. He feared taking a mate because if he ever needed to choose between her and his duty he would follow his heart rather than his ideals. “All right, Ariel,” she said, her voice just above a whisper. “I will not bother you again.”

Holding her gaze, he nodded. Before he could fully block his thoughts, she heard his spiritual voice say,I’m grateful, for I don’t know how long I can continue to deny you .

Adira sighed, wishing she hadn’t tried to infiltrate his thoughts at that moment. Knowing he desired her, too, would make giving up her pursuit harder than if she still believed him to possess a heart of ice.

“Would you prefer that we no longer travel together?” she asked.

“The decision is yours. If we can avoid temptation --”

“Don’t worry, Ariel. I said you need not worry about me trying to seduce you.”

“I never said you were the one doing the seducing. You certainly didn’t initiate what just happened between us.”

She stood, brushing dirt off her legs. “Nothing of importance happened between us, Ariel. You won’t be damned like the evil ones. It was a mere lapse in control to fill a bodily need.”

“I suggest we leave this place soon. The clan is safe and there is other prey for us to hunt elsewhere.”

A slight, sad smile touched her lips and she brushed past him on her way back to the clan. The magical moment was over and it was back to duty. She had no one to blame but herself. From the beginning Ariel had made it clear he had no intention of wasting his life on pleasures of any kind.

***

Adira approached the little English church but knew long before she reached the doors that Ariel had not recently been there, as she couldn’t detect even a trace of his scent.

Inside she was greeted by an elderly priest who had been a friend to both of them for decades. He had no idea about their true nature or the existence of vampires, and she and Ariel were glad. At least some mortals still retained their innocence.

“It is good to see you again.” Father Lang grasped Adira’s hand firmly, welcoming her with a smile. “How is Ariel?”

“I’m afraid we haven’t seen each other for quite some time,” she replied. “I was hoping perhaps to find him here.”

“You’re about two weeks late, I’m afraid.”

A tingle shot through Adira. “He was here?”

“He stayed for about three days and spent most of his time praying. Though he wouldn’t confide in me, I believe something was troubling him.”

“I see,” she murmured. Whatever troubled him was probably what kept driving him away from her. The last time she had approached him, hoping to try one last time to convince him they should be together, he had literally fled.

Sighing, she wondered what sort of self-destructive characteristic drove her to seek out a man who couldn’t even satisfy himself, let alone a lover. The only time she had ever seen him display any sort of affection was for his vampiric offspring.

The first time they had ever made love had occurred after a tragic incident with one of his offspring. She had come to him at a particularly vulnerable moment. She had been so moved by his grief that her intention hadn’t been to seduce him. Strangely, lovemaking was at that time the only way he could find release from the grief.

“Is something wrong, Adira?” Father Lang asked, his lined face filled with concern.

Forcing a smile, she shook her head. “No, but thank you for letting me know Ariel was here.”

If Ariel had appeared upset to the priest, he must have been deeply troubled, for he was a master at disguising his true feelings. In such a state, she would have to take the chance that he had gone to one of his offspring where he could indulge in a measure of the comfort and companionship he so often deprived himself of.

Though he cared deeply for all his vampiric children, there was one who had shared most of his viewpoints as well as his appreciation of pain and discipline. This offspring was his favorite, in spite of how they had grown apart over the years, both headstrong with unbreakable wills.

Disheartened by the turn the world had taken, Zigor had begun to grow away from his warrior’s ways. He decided to create a haven where their kind could live, indulging their nature without fear of discovery. Ariel had shown his disapproval of Zigor’s Burgundy Peak by refusing every invitation his offspring had sent since the club’s opening well over a century ago.

Something told her that perhaps Ariel had finally relented since no one had ever understood him like Zigor.

After sharing a meal with Father Lang, she returned to her hotel and phoned long distance to Burgundy Peak.

Chapter Four

After talking to Zigor on the phone, Adira undressed and stretched out on the bed, unable to sleep though she had scarcely any rest over the past several weeks. Her conversation with Zigor confirmed that Ariel was indeed staying at Burgundy Peak, though for how long remained a mystery.

She intended to leave on the first available flight with the hope that she would arrive before he decided, yet again, to move on. It was as if he had found a way to infiltrate her thoughts without her realizing and stay just beyond her reach. Why was he trying so hard to avoid her? She knew Ariel feared nothing and no one. If he was keeping away from her, the reason had to be logical, certainly not emotional.

Sighing, she stared at the ceiling, watching the pattern of plaster upon it and seeing sand dunes from a desert long ago.

***

Adira and Ariel had arrived in Egypt several months before, following the trail of one of the thirteen. In the thousands of years of their existence, the twelve had thus far succeeded in destroying eight of the thirteen and thousands of their minions. Though Adira had done her share of fighting and killing, she had yet to claim the life of one of the thirteen, but longed to do so, if just to prove to Ariel that she took her duty seriously.

By what would eventually be known as the Bronze Age, Ariel had perfected self-control to an art form. His entire life was dedicated to destroying evil and maintaining discipline.

His tall, lean body was as strong and flexible as the floggers he used in sessions of self-punishment. Even the rare moments when he revealed a hint of softer emotions had faded to almost none.

She was growing tired of traveling with such an icy companion, yet something kept her with him. She hated to admit it could possibly be fear. A fierce warrior, she had suffered nearly as many wounds as he. Like him, she had died several times only to resurrect in her vampiric form, ready to do battle again. During those moments of death, she floated in darkness.

The comfort of the spiritual world where she had once dwelled was such a distant memory that she often had to strain to recall how it felt to be safe in the Pure One’s presence. Those moments of death were so terribly lonely she found herself desperate to return to her corporeal form, just so she could know the touch of a hand or the comfort of another’s presence, even Ariel’s.

When she returned, she longed to be held. He would oblige her, but only in the purest manner. There were none of the deep kisses or intimate touches they had shared so long ago.

The times when he had returned from death, she tried to touch him, hold him, but he wouldn’t have it. It seemed the only time she could embrace him, clutch his head to her breast and run her hands through his hair was during the moments after he died and his body waited for his vampiric spirit to return. But it was not the same then. He was empty and in spite of everything, Adira still wanted him, not his shell.

Now she walked through the garden in Pharaoh’s palace, admiring the fig and nut trees and the variety of flowers -- jasmine, narcissus, poppies, and lotus. Pausing by a rectangular pool, she sat on the edge and thought about the task she had set for herself. The evil one was hiding here under Pharaoh’s protection. Playing the part of a trusted advisor, he called himself Ahmose and through manipulation and mind control, wielded nearly as much power as Pharaoh himself.

Adira’s glossy black hair and lovely dark skin resembled that of the Egyptian women. With her beauty as well as her power of mind control, she quickly became one of Pharaoh’s favorite forms of entertainment. Very soon she would persuade him to share her with the evil one, then she would kill the creature.

Pausing, she inhaled deeply, her nipples growing hard when she caught Ariel’s scent. Though she knew he was approaching, she didn’t turn to him. He stopped so close behind her that she felt the warmth of his body and his breath on her neck.

“I thought I warned you to be careful,” he whispered, his voice as cold as the desert night. “If we wish to kill the evil one while causing as little distraction as possible among the people here, you must act --”

“Stop telling me how act.”

“I think you are enjoying your role too much.” His voice took on a low yet sinister tone that she had come to know meant he was burning mad.

She repressed the urge to smile. Making him angry was at least an emotion. It was unhealthy, how she was so often reduced to goading him just to gain some type of reaction. “The better I enjoy my act, the more believable it will be,” she purred.

“Just don’t forget your duty.”

She spun, her gaze locked on his. “As usual duty is all you’re worried about, or is it? Do I detect a hint of jealousy in your eyes, Ariel? Does it bother you that every night my lips and tongue satisfy Pharaoh while you are nothing more than his scribe?”

“As such I could simply use mind control and do in a moment what has taken you ages.”

“Impossible without upsetting the delicate balance you are so bent on preserving between our kind and mortals. The evil one keeps Pharaoh’s guards around him day and night. He knows he’s being hunted, Ariel. I see fear in his eyes when he looks at me and it excites me. You wouldn’t know because he will not allow you near him and has been trying to convince Pharaoh to do away with you. Did you know that?”

He curled his lip slightly, an expression of blatant disgust on his face yet a spark burning deep in his eyes. “I know everything that goes on here, Adira.”

“My name is Neferet now.”

An evil smile twisted his lips. “Yes. Neferet. Pharaoh’s most favored concubine. His Great Wife is angry with you because Pharaoh prefers you to her. As much danger as I am in, you are as well.”

For the first time jealousy wound its way through Adira like a snake that squeezed her insides and sank its fangs into her heart. “What do you know about the Great Wife?”

“Do not stray from the matter at hand. The longer we remain here, the greater our chances of being discovered.”

“Then go!” She waved her hand in annoyance. “I don’t need you here.”

Folding his arms across his chest, he cast her a knowing look. “If you’re so excited by the evil one’s fear, then why the hesitation to kill him now?”

“I’m enjoying the chase. The scent of his terror. The power. The impending taste of his blood --”

“Yes. Yes. You’re not making any great revelation. I have after all tasted the blood of two of the thirteen already. You have yet to claim one.”

How she would love to slap him at the moment, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing his words affected her.

“Do you know how I plan to kill this evil one, Ariel? I’m going to fuck him nearly senseless then take his life.”

Grasping her upper arms, he shook her, the tip of his nose touching hers. “This is not a game, Adira.”

“Neferet,” she snarled through clenched teeth. “About Pharaoh’s Great Wife. Have you fucked her?”

He glared. “You know how I feel about temptations of the flesh.”

“Pathetic. You are a several-thousand-year-old virgin.”

“Better a virgin than a whore. Now I expect you to complete your task within the week, or else I will do it.”

“Release me or I will do far worse than fight you, Ariel. I’ll scream and Pharaoh’s guards will be here in an instant. You will either be forced to flee or fight and even with all your power their sheer number would still overtake you.”

“Your threats mean nothing to me, Adira. I am giving the evil one to you. Providing you with a chance to prove you are worthy to fulfill the task set for us.”

The self-righteous look on his handsome face was too much to bear. Hissing, her fangs exposed, she lashed out, striking him in the face. When she tried a second time, he blocked her blow.

“You are wasting time,” he said.

Panting with rage, she balled her hands into fists, squeezing until her knuckles threatened to tear through her flesh. After a moment, she realized that in spite of his collected appearance, his scent was almost overpowering, a combination of lust and fury. Knowing this made it easier to regain her composure. Grinning wickedly, she brushed past him and stalked away, leaving him to whatever pitiful method he now used to subdue his desire.

The argument with Ariel must have made her reckless, for that very night she subtly suggested that Pharaoh share her with the evil one. She didn’t fully realize his misunderstanding until he sent for the evil one to join them in his private chamber.

“This will prove most interesting,” Pharaoh said and sent for Ahmose.

Her heartbeat thrumming with anticipation, Adira glanced around the spacious room with its painted walls and tile floors. The few pieces of furniture, a stool, table, chest, and bed, were intricately decorated, some in gold, others made of sweet-smelling imported cedar.

While awaiting the evil one, Pharaoh approached Adira with a wolfish smile on his chiseled face, his dark eyes fixed on hers. He cupped her bare breasts. His long brown fingers pinched the nipples and pleasure-pain darted through her. If only those were Ariel’s hands touching her --

No. She could not think about him. Not now. If her thoughts were filled with Ariel there was no way she could endure Pharaoh’s touch or that of the evil one.

“I want you on your knees, Neferet,” Pharaoh said close to her ear, his breath sending a quiver down her spine. Though not a particularly handsome man, he was skilled in the ways of love even if his methods were rougher than she preferred. Perhaps Ariel had been right. She enjoyed playing the part of his lover, of having a man openly display his affection and desire for her.

Slowly she sank to the ground, positioning herself on her hands and knees upon the tile floor. She heard the rustle of fabric as he undressed, then felt the warmth of his mortal body hovering over her. Grasping her hips, he pulled her toward him, entering her so swiftly she nearly lost her breath.

“I have never seen a woman as beautiful as you, Neferet. You are like an exotic flower, a savage cat,” he panted, pumping into her so hard and fast that, unless she decided to use her vampiric strength against him, all she could do was brace her palms against the floor and accept the force of his body.

His cock was very long and thick, though not as magnificent as Ariel’s. Again her thoughts drifted to the pale, remote vampire she longed for. Closing her eyes tightly, she imagined it was Ariel’s hands on her body and his cock filling her pussy. A ripple of desire coursed through her and she felt herself growing wet, alleviating the initial discomfort of Pharaoh’s powerful entry. She moaned, arching her back and thrusting her bottom closer to him.

“You like this, my beauty?” he purred, his fingers sinking into her flesh as he thrust faster. “You are usually such a silent partner, even when your body soars in ecstasy. I like to hear you. Continue.”

“Oh!” she cried, now thoroughly aroused from imagining Ariel claiming her body and soul. “Yes, yes! Don’t stop.”

“As if I could, Neferet,” he said jerkily. She knew by the rhythm of his breathing and the furious pounding of his heart that he would climax at any moment.

Then Ahmose’s scent grew strong, his voice mingled with that of the servant sent to fetch him.

With a frustrated groan, Pharaoh pulled out.

Adira glanced over her shoulder and saw him kneeling behind her, struggling to control his breathing, his face and chest misted with sweat. He ran a hand over her satin-skinned bottom and said, “You’re a fiendish kitten, trying to ruin the night by making me spill my seed too soon.”

He stood just as Ahmose entered the chamber. It was only the second time she had seen the evil one up close, since he made a point to avoid her from the moment Pharaoh took her as a concubine.

Tall and slender with dark skin and piercing brown eyes, Ahmose glanced at her then turned to Pharaoh

with a forced smile. “You sent for me?”

Pharaoh dismissed the servant with a gesture of his hand while replying to the evil one. “Yes, my friend. I thought you would enjoy the evening I have planned with Neferet.”

“The most beautiful woman in your household.” Ahmose inclined his head graciously, his cold gaze upon her. He approached, holding out a hand close to her hair yet avoiding even the merest touch. “Her eyes are like nothing I have seen in this world. It is as if they can read a man’s soul.”

“If he has one to be read,” she replied.

Pharaoh chuckled. “One thing you will learn about Neferet is that her will is as strong as her face and form are lovely.”

“I believe you,” Ahmose said, turning from Neferet to Pharaoh. For a long moment, the men stared at one another.

Adira knew Ahmose was using mind control on the mortal. This surprised her so much that she didn’t try to interfere. Finally Pharaoh turned as if in a trance and exited the chamber, leaving Adira and the evil one completely alone.

Her vampiric senses sprang to life and battle instinct kicked in as he approached her. They circled one another slowly, two predators awaiting the opportune moment to attack.

“I have been wanting a moment alone with you, Neferet,” he said in a deceptively smooth voice.

“I wonder why you have been avoiding me, then?”

“You’re one of my kind, yet I sensed danger from you.”

Curling her lips, she said, “I am not quite one of your kind. You answer to the evil one.”

“You should not speak so contemptuously of the ruler of all.”

“He is the ruler of a tiny portion of the universe that worships the wicked. He has no power over me and neither do you.”

Ahmose bared his fangs, his eyes glowing with rage. “Don’t test me, little girl, or I will show you my power.”

Their predatory circles grew smaller and between spoken words their growls filled the chamber.

“If you have guessed so much about me already, then you must know it’s you I’ve come for,” Adira said.

“And the scribe? If you sensed me then you must know he is also one of our kind. Why not vent your temper on him? Or is he, perhaps, your lover, your Creator?”

“He is neither --”

Before she could finish, Ahmose sprang at her, his fangs and claws tearing and slashing her flesh.

Adira reacted with animal swiftness, shifting her weight and throwing the evil one off her, some of her skin tearing off in his fangs as he fell.

He sprang to his feet and she met his attack, better prepared this time. Though she had spent thousands of years perfecting her warrior skills, she had never fought one of the thirteen. With each of his savage bites and blows, she fully understood the difference between true vampires and their much weaker offspring.

Somewhere beyond the battle lust, she felt the pain of each savage wound the evil one opened on her body.

The bitter taste of his blood filled her mouth as her fangs ripped his flesh.

She didn’t know how long they fought before her strength began to wane.

Growling, her naked body and his robed one covered in blood and sweat, they broke apart and circled each other. Adira saw the fear in his eyes had increased and he looked as tired as she felt. Somehow this invigorated her and she sprang at him. Her fangs sank into his throat. No matter how he struck, scratched, and struggled, she refused to let him go.

Slowly they sank to the floor, Adira completely supporting the dying vampire’s weight. She drained him dry, sensing the very moment when his existence ceased.

Only then did she become aware of the sound of fighting outside the door.

She stood, completely rejuvenated by the taking of Ahmose’s blood.

Ariel’s scent mingled with that of the mortals she recognized as members of Pharaoh’s guard.

During the fight, the evil one’s power must have lost its hold on Pharaoh, who had obviously summoned his guards. Ariel had kept them at bay while she fulfilled her task, but by the sounds resonating through the palace, he could use some assistance. She dressed quickly then opened the door.

Ariel and several guards practically fell inside. Dozens more pressed closer, their swords drawn. A glance at Ariel’s bloodstained face and torso told her he had already sustained several wounds.

“Go out the window,” she shouted to him.

They backed their way toward the window and leapt from a height that would have killed mortals. She and Ariel landed in a crouch, their vampiric bodies unharmed. With scarcely a moment’s hesitation they took off at a run, leaving the palace behind.

They hid in a garden where they caught their breath and cleaned the blood from their flesh.

“We must hurry. They’ll catch up to us soon if we stay here,” Adira said, quickly washing in a pond at one end of the garden. Surrounded by the beauty of trees and flowers, the bloody battle that had taken place earlier seemed like a distant nightmare, yet she knew they would be in danger until they left Egypt.

“You did well,” he said.

Glancing at him, she wrinkled her nose. “If not for your interference I might not have succeeded.”

“And that upsets you?”

“It makes me think that maybe I’ve come to depend on you too much when I should be using my own tools to advantage.” Killing one of the thirteen had raised her confidence yet also increased her sense of competition regarding other vampires. Until tonight, it hadn’t occurred to her that she had actually been jealous that Ariel had already destroyed two of the thirteen.

“We have fought at each other’s back many times,” he said.

“And each time you do your best to prove that your skills are superior to mine.”

“If I wanted to prove I’m superior, I would have fought Ahmose tonight and let you take the guards. Better yet, I would have destroyed him far sooner than this, like I wanted to in the first place.”

“Letme take the guards?You would have destroyed Ahmose? Why is it you think you have the right to make all the decisions? It was the same when all twelve of us were together. Everything had to be your way. Let me remind you, Ariel, I am also one of the twelve. I am not your offspring or your subordinate.”

“I never implied that.”

Her fists clenched, she resisted the urge to shout at him, but the last thing they needed was to draw attention to themselves.

Folding his arms across his chest, he held her gaze, a hint of exasperation in his eyes. “What exactly are you trying to tell me, Adira?”

“I think it is time for us to part our ways.”

Though she hadn’t thought it possible, his cool expression turned even colder. “If that is what you want.”

She stared at him, unable to believe that after so many years together he was willing to let her go without even the slightest argument. It seemed she meant even less to him than she had imagined.

For a long moment, she gazed at him, unblinking, imprinting on her memory every line and plane of his face -- his sharp cheekbones, aquiline nose, and piercing gray eyes. She resisted the urge to cover his slender pink lips with a goodbye kiss and bury her fingers in his thick black hair.

“Adira…”

“Yes, Ariel?” Her pulse quickened and she wondered if he noticed the desperation that must be gleaming in her eyes. Was he going to ask her to stay? Perhaps he would admit he loved her, even a little?

“Be careful,” he said.

Those meaningless words stung more than the evil one’s fangs on her flesh. Silently, she turned and left the garden without looking back.

Chapter Five

Ariel descended the steps to the foyer at Burgundy Peak. From behind the closed door leading to the club area drifted the sounds of people talking and music playing softly. A variety of scents wafted on the air -- the aroma of mortals and vampires, alcoholic beverages, and delicious food.

The general feeling of happy, lustful vampires both annoyed and intrigued him. Didn’t they have better things to do with their time? Yet what could be more alluring than the promise of intimate contact with another living being? Strange how he still longed for contact after so many years of isolation.

The club’s security chief, a tall powerfully built vampire with ebony skin and eyes that could out-stare a hungry snake, stood by the door. He bowed his head to Ariel and said, “Master Ariel, it is good to see you. You have been missed.”

A slight smile touched Ariel’s lips, as he knew such an admission was rare from Onan who tended to be as remote as Ariel himself. A former Nubian Pharaoh, Onan was one of Zigor’s favorite offspring.

When Zigor created Onan, he and Ariel had still been traveling together. It was soon after Adira had left

Ariel standing in that garden in Egypt following her first destruction of an evil one. He hadn’t stopped her from leaving, though a portion of his heart went with her.

If she felt the need to hunt on her own, it would not be right for him to try to stop her simply because he had grown attached to her. She had a right to develop her skills and live her life as she saw fit. After all, as she often brutally pointed out, he was not the Pure One, not her Creator or her superior.

Still stunned that she had actually left, he had wandered from Egypt to Sumer and Akkad. This was just before the Hittites came. Zigor was among them -- a young warrior filled with such strength for a mere mortal. His thirst for power and tendency for violence was tempered by a righteous soul buried deep beneath the savageness of his upbringing.

After overpowering Zigor in battle, Ariel offered to make him a vampire. Though stubborn and self-assured, Zigor was eager to learn and quickly adopted the Pure One’s crusade. He willingly fought against evil, choosing his sides in battle carefully.

Zigor also shared Ariel’s taste for discipline. When not fighting evil, they devoted much time to testing themselves through fasting, flogging, sleep deprivation, and intense physical training.

Centuries later, when he and Ariel traveled back to Egypt then to Nubia, Zigor met Onan. In the Pharaoh he found someone even more like himself than Ariel. Seeing the closeness developing between Master and offspring, Ariel decided to let them be. In spite of their protests, he left the Nubia behind and traveled to Rome.

“Will you be joining Master Zigor tonight?” Onan asked.

Ariel glanced toward the door leading to Zigor’s version of Sodom and Gomorra. His jaw tightened a bit. “No. If Zigor wishes to speak with me, he can make other arrangements.”

“He expected such a reply. If you would wait a moment, Master, I will summon him. He instructed me to send for him as soon as you made an appearance.”

Ariel inclined his head slightly and stood off to the side as several patrons stepped in. Onan opened the

door leading to the club area and allowed them to pass, then waved his hand to the bartender. Before the door closed, Ariel saw the bartender walk to a corner booth where Zigor and Melinda sat, their hands joined across the table.

Moments later Zigor strode into the foyer. “Master, may I speak with you?”

“Of course.”

“Shall we step outside?”

The men left the club and walked a short distance from the entrance.

“As you can imagine word of your visit has spread quickly and several of my offspring residing nearby have expressed a desire to see you again. I don’t know if you’re up to having visitors, but if you are, Melinda has suggested we plan a family dinner this week.”

The idea of spending the night with his extended family pleased Ariel greatly. He hadn’t seen many of Zigor’s kin in years.

“I would not miss it,” Ariel said.

“Excellent. I will arrange for it to take place the night after tomorrow at one o’clock. We will close the club early if it would not offend you to celebrate here, even in the off hours.”

Ariel held Zigor’s gaze. “That will be fine, and I think you understand the reason for my disapproval of what this club stands for.”

“I understand, Master, but I do not agree.”

Nodding, Ariel turned and walked away. He paused, glancing over his shoulder. “Thank you for your hospitality, Zigor. I want you to know it is appreciated.”

“You are always welcome, Master.”

Ariel drew a long breath, unsure of whether or not he could properly express his feelings. “Zigor, you do realize I care for you very deeply.”

“I know that, Ariel. I always have.”

Ariel’s lips flickered into a slight smile before he turned away. Sliding his hands into the pockets of his long black coat, he strode down the sidewalk.

***

By Rome’s Golden Age, the thirteen evil ones had been destroyed. Ariel had claimed seven of them himself. Adira and Sofian had taken two. Yong and Rashida killed one each. Though not all of the twelve had destroyed a true vampire, they all had done their part in subduing the evil ones’ offspring.

In spite of their devotion to weeding out the world’s evil, wickedness still festered, weaving its way through the lives of mortals and vampires alike.

One night before Ariel planned to leave Rome to travel east, he was surprised when Sofian and Adira appeared at the flat where he had been living. Like most large cities, Rome was filled with evil. Fighting it left Ariel little time to earn a decent living, not that he required or even desired the luxurious accommodations enjoyed by Rome’s decadent upper class.

He caught Sofian and Adira’s scents long before they knocked on his door. Knowing she was nearby sent his heart pounding so hard that he felt momentarily dizzy. He glanced at his trembling hands, anger rushing through him. Even after so many years of separation she still affected him deeply. He drew a sharp breath and willed himself to regain his composure.

By the time his visitors arrived, he had reclaimed his self-control and answered the knock on his door calmly.

Though he was aware of Sofian standing beside Adira, for a moment all he saw was her. Their gazes locked and her lovely brown eyes engulfed him. The white stola made her skin appear even darker and smoother and left one of her beautifully shaped shoulders bare. He longed to touch his lips to it and kiss his way up her neck to her full lips.

“Adira,” he said, inclining his head slightly, then turning to her companion. “Sofian. What brings you to Rome?”

“You do,” Sofian replied. “May we come in?”

“Of course.” Ariel stepped aside and extended his arm, gesturing for them to enter.

Adira glanced around the tiny, sparsely furnished room that was one of many similar flats in the multi-family house where he dwelled. “Honestly, Ariel, how can you justify living in such splendor?” Adira asked, her voice mocking.

“I don’t require anything more than what you see,” he replied.

Standing in front of him, she folded her arms beneath her breasts and shook her head. “You haven’t changed a bit, have you, Ariel?”

“I like to think I have improved upon my weaknesses.”

“Not your greatest weakness.”

“Did you come here to insult me, Adira, or is there another reason?”

“She doesn’t have a reason for coming other than to accompany me,” Sofian said.

Ariel studied him for a moment, noting the desolation etched upon his smooth-shaven face.

“What can I do for you, Sofian?” he asked.

Closing his eyes, Sofian sighed deeply. “You know that Rashida was killed a century ago.”

“I heard she was killed by the last of the evil ones when you tracked him to Britannia. He killed her, but you destroyed him.”

“Yes,” Sofian said, his jaw tightening visibly. “We had never been parted before. From the time we twelve split, she and I were inseparable. She was the best thing in my life.”

Sofian’s pain and loneliness were almost tangible. In spite of himself, Ariel felt a rush of compassion for the grieving vampire.

“The past hundred years I have continued tracking down offspring of the evil ones, but our own offspring can kill them just as well as we can. Sunlight. A stake through the heart. Silver weapons, if the injury is severe enough.”

“What are you saying, Sofian?” Ariel asked.

“I’m tired of fighting. I’m tired of living. Since Rashida’s death, everything has lost its meaning.”

“Even your duty?”

A slight, sad smile touched Sofian’s lips. “Duty pales when compared to love.”

“Duty is performed because of love,” Ariel replied.

Adira snorted in exasperation. “You were right, Sofian. He is the one to ask.”

“Ask what?” Ariel glanced from one to the other.

“I want to die, Ariel. I want to return to the Pure One and be with Rashida again. We have known from the beginning that the only way for one of us to die is to be drained to death by another true vampire. The thirteen are dead and no longer a threat to us. Adira and the remainder of the twelve would take my life if I asked them to, but through the ages they have been my friends. Killing me would cause them pain. You have trained yourself to transcend such pain, Ariel. My death will not truly affect you, so I ask you to fulfill yet another duty and drain me to death.”

Ariel sighed and walked to the window, gazing out at the streets of Rome. Men, women, and children went about their daily life, most of them blissfully unaware of the vampires in their midst.

“Perhaps you should take more time to consider your decision,” Ariel suggested.

“I have taken one hundred years to consider my decision. When we agreed to take corporeal form and destroy the evil ones, we also swore to return our brothers and sisters to the Pure One should they request it.”

Ariel closed his eyes for a moment. “I remember.”

“Are you, the man so devoted to duty, turning your back on my request?”

“I am not.”

“Then you will take my life?”

Ariel met Sofian’s gaze. He saw no room for persuasion. “I will take your life.”

Turning his gaze to Adira, Ariel noticed sadness in her eyes, yet she forced a slight smile and nodded at him.

That night, Ariel, Adira, and Sofian traveled to a secluded area outside the city. There, Ariel took Sofian in his arms and sank his fangs into his throat. Closing his eyes, he drank deeply, feeling Sofian’s life blood flow into him. Memories of the first years, long ago when the twelve lived and trained together, sent a wave of sadness breaking over him.

In spite of the emotions rushing through him, he didn’t once consider stopping the killing. He had sworn to return any vampire who asked to the Pure One. His own feelings on the matter meant nothing.

Finally Sofian lay still in his arms. Ariel released the lifeless body and swallowed the lingering taste of the other vampire’s blood.

“Ariel,” Adira said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He jerked, so lost in thought that her touch had startled him.

“You’re not showing it, Ariel, but I know you feel terrible about this. I know you do.”

Gazing into her sympathetic eyes, he nearly flung his arms around her and surrendered to her soothing embrace. Instead he stood and carried Sofian’s body to the funeral pyre they had assembled before the bite. After burning the body, he and Adira buried the bone fragments and stood by the unmarked grave.

“It was good of you to come with Sofian to support him,” Ariel said.

“That’s not the only reason I came. I know Sofian believed you wouldn’t mourn his death, but in case you did… What I mean is, if you needed someone to talk to or just be with afterward…”

Drawing a deep breath, he fought the urge to accept her offer and finally succumb to the emotions he had spent his life controlling. He couldn’t. It was no longer something he wouldn’t allow, but something that had become so foreign to him that he wasn’t sure how to express it.

“I’m fine, Adira. But thank you for the thought.”

She nodded, staring into his eyes. “I see.”

“I was on my way out of Rome, but if you need a place to spend the night, you may use my flat.”

“No. Thank you. I have a villa. Don’t say anything. I already see the disapproval in your eyes that one of us should indulge in such decadence.”

“I don’t judge.”

Raising an eyebrow, she said, “I see you have been working on your faults, then. Would you care to spend the night at my villa, then perhaps travel together? It will be like old times.”

“If you’ve decided you don’t mind being with me again.”

Her smooth brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing.”

“So would you like some companionship? I’m sure we have much to catch up on.”

The thought of spending his days and nights with her again sent a rush of excitement through him. He had missed her so much it was almost painful. So many days he had lain awake, wondering where she was and what she was doing.

“Where are you headed?” he asked.

“Wherever you are.”

He returned to her villa but they spent the day in separate rooms. The following night they left Rome and headed east, falling into the same routine as in their early years. They talked and fought while ignoring the passion smoldering between them. He often wondered what he would have done had she initiated a kiss or embrace. It had been so long since he desired anyone this badly. He had almost forgotten how raw and painful a sexual ache could be.

During their travels, they encountered their offspring many times and created several more. With his offspring, Ariel allowed himself to lavish some of the affection locked inside him. Sometimes he caught Adira watching him as if seeing him for the first time, an expression of wonder in her eyes.

Though most of those years together were good, they had their share of dark moments. Sofian was just the first of their brothers and sisters to seek death. By the fourteenth century, he and Adira were the last of the twelve left in the world.

Each of them had come to Ariel and asked him to take their lives, usually for the same reason Sofian had given. Apparently they all thought him so heartless that only he could drain their lives without hesitation or remorse. He should have appreciated their faith in his devotion to duty. Strangely instead of gratitude, he felt a hint of anger and more remorse than he could ever admit.

With each of their deaths, a terrible fear grew within him. One day Adira might come to him with the same request and he would not be able to deny her. Her death would be unbearable to him. Even when they were separated, he knew she was alive somewhere and their paths would one day cross again.

The only other option would be to ask her to kill him, but he wouldn’t. Not only did he believe there was still too much evil in the world to give up the fight, but he didn’t want her to experience the emptiness he had endured each time he took the life of one of the twelve.

For years he thought the only life he would deeply grieve ending would be hers, but he was wrong. There was another that caused him insufferable pain.

Chapter Six

Two nights later, Ariel stepped into the club section of Burgundy Peak at quarter to one. Even without the usual hustle and bustle of patrons and staff, Ariel could understand why vampires migrated to the place. Dimly lit and tastefully decorated, it carried the subtle aroma of incense and blood-laced wine.

Several of the polished wood tables had been pushed together so the extended family could share their meal. Already seated at the table were Onan and his wife, Elizabeth. Ariel had actually been pleased to learn that after many difficult years apart, they had finally surrendered to the passion that had always burned between them.

Also at the table, laughing together over a shared glass of wine, sat Zigor’s favorite vampiric daughter, Tavia, and her husband Ash. They made an attractive yet unusual vampiric couple since they had been Changed in the later years of their human lives.

Most of their kind Changed the young, but Zigor had never selected his offspring for their physical

appearance. Instead he sought strength of character. He had Changed Tavia and she, in turn, had given Ash the gift of immortality.

Ariel glanced toward the bar where Mel was serving drinks to another of Zigor’s unique vampiric children, Woodrow. Born blind, even the Change had not provided him with sight.

Over the years so many people had made the mistake of thinking his blindness made Woodrow vulnerable and an easy target for other vampires. Time and again he had proved them wrong in many painful, embarrassing, and occasionally fatal ways.

Still, like the others assembled for tonight’s dinner, he was dedicated to good. He had earned a reputation as an excellent trainer of young vampires, gently yet firmly teaching them about the privileges and duties that accompanied their newfound power. Standing beside him at the bar, her head resting against his shoulder, was his young wife, Dechrista, a lovely vampiress known as one of the finest vocalists of the modern age.

The vampires’ conversations stopped and their gazes fixed on Ariel. Tavia approached first, kissing him on both cheeks. The others joined her, offering greetings, handshakes, and an occasional embrace. For the first time in ages, he let his worries slide to the back of his mind and enjoyed this rare closeness shared with others of his kind.

While waiting for dinner, he engaged in conversation at the table. Soon after, Zigor stepped into the club accompanied by his offspring Charles and his wife, Mary. Of all Zigor’s children, Charles seemed to have such a clear vision of the Pure One’s task that Ariel sometimes wondered if he didn’t know the truth about vampires’ history.

Changed in what humans now called the Middle Ages, Charles had dedicated his life to a personal crusade against the evil of their kind. Even Zigor, a man of great daring, had often reprimanded him for defending mortals to the point of recklessness.

From where he was seated at the table, Ariel couldn’t miss the horrific scars marring Charles’ once incomparably handsome face. Zigor had told him how the younger vampire had sustained the injuries while aiding a mortal who was being attacked by an evil vampire. Hunters had stumbled upon them and doused Charles with molten silver, a substance deadly to all but true vampires such as Ariel and Adira.

Ariel stood and joined Charles before he and his wife reached the table. “Master Ariel, it’s so good to see you again,” Charles said, clasping Ariel’s offered hand in his much larger one. Considered a giant in his time, Charles was as fit and strong as a proverbial bull.

“You as well,” Ariel said.

“I’m afraid I’m not as easy on the eyes as I once was,” Charles said, a slight smile twisting his deformed lips.

“Your scars were sustained battling evil. You should wear them with pride.”

This time Charles’ smile appeared genuine and he glanced at Zigor. “Hear that, Master? And you reprimanded me for risking my life.”

Zigor grunted in reply and walked toward the table, though Ariel sensed if he hadn’t been present he would have argued with his offspring. Zigor had never been able to completely disguise his pride in Charles, but the two vampires had always butted heads like he-goats.

“Master Ariel, this is my wife, Mary.” Charles touched a hand to the lovely, rounded woman beside him. Her eyes were soft and kind, yet held a hint of apprehension. Ariel resisted the urge to smile. Part of her was like a frightened little rabbit, yet to be Charles’ woman he didn’t doubt she possessed courage. Her combination of softness and pluck was most refreshing.

“Sir,” she said, dropping into a nervous curtsy.

“Mary.” He held her gaze and offered a slight smile. “Such a lovely name.”

“Thank you,” she murmured.

The delectable aroma of food grew stronger and two maids stepped from the kitchen, carrying trays of roast beef, vegetables, and freshly baked bread.

“Shall we?” Ariel gestured for Charles and Mary to have a seat at the table. Following behind, he glanced at Charles’ broad back and long, dark hair and was hurled back in time.

***

Norway, 1348

Ariel’s shredded back and shoulders stung each time he raised the lash and let it soar through the air. It landed with a smack against the broad expanse of Zigor’s back that gleamed with blood and sweat. Seated on his knees in front of his Master, Zigor remained still, his posture straight in spite of the searing agony of his lacerated flesh.

After several centuries of separation, Ariel and his beloved offspring had recently crossed paths again. Zigor had accepted the invitation to spend some time with Adira and Ariel who had been living in Norway off and on since the end of what would eventually be known as the Viking Age.

The reunited vampires had much to discuss about their travels and both Ariel and Zigor were pleased to once again test each other’s control through disciplinary sessions, such as the one that was now drawing to a close.

Familiar with each other’s limits yet more than willing to push one another to the brink, Ariel had first allowed Zigor to flog him, then he repaid the favor. Always skilled in the art of discipline, Zigor had grown even more adept at both giving and receiving punishment.

Throwing all his concentration into one last strategically-placed blow, Ariel heard Zigor draw a sharp breath, the first sign that he was about to reach his limit. Still, for a mere offspring to endure such an extended session with a true vampire was in itself to be commended.

Adira’s scent, which had been steadily growing stronger, now filled the clearing in the woods where the men had gone for privacy.

“I don’t believe it,” Adira snapped, approaching with her arms folded beneath her breasts. Rather than typical feminine attire, she wore boots, hose, and a tunic with slits up the sides, a sword dangling at her hip. Her lip curled as she glanced from Zigor’s bloodied back to Ariel’s equally ravaged torso. “It’s bad enough you do this to yourself, Ariel, but you had to drag this poor creature into it as well.”

Zigor’s jaw tightened and his eyes flashed with anger, but out of respect for the ancient vampiress, he kept his silence.

“You pity someone with the courage to test himself to his limits?” Ariel replied. “I will never understand the workings of a woman’s mind.”

“It has nothing to do with being a woman, but with being sane,” she retorted, then shook her head. “If you two wish to spend your days hurting one another instead of enjoying yourselves between battles, there is little I can do about it.”

“There is nothing you can do about it,” Ariel corrected.

“Fine.” She glared, extending her hand in which rested a piece of folded parchment. “This message arrived for you.”

Ariel broke the seal and read the bold handwriting. A horrible, sick feeling washed over him and he didn’t doubt that for a brief moment his self-control slipped, revealing his turmoil.

“Ariel?” Adira said softly, stepping closer and touching his hand. “What is it?”

Zigor approached and Ariel sensed he was as concerned as Adira.

Quickly regaining his composure, Ariel said, “Zigor, the message is from your offspring Charles. He is

back in England and has captured a vampire who has been terrorizing mortals all over the countryside. A vicious killer. He has not yet put him to death.”

“Why?” Adira demanded.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Ariel willed his heartbeat to slow. His face burned with shame and regret. How he hated showing such weakness in front of witnesses. He crushed the parchment in his grip and stalked out of the clearing. “I must go to England.”

“Ariel, tell us what else is in the message,” Adira said, she and Zigor following at his heels.

Stopping so abruptly that his companions nearly crashed into him, he spun and said, “The vampire he has captured is Perene.”

“Who is Perene?” Zigor asked. “An enemy?”

“I didn’t think so.” Ariel sighed. “He’s one of my offspring.”

Turning, Ariel continued walking out of the forest. Zigor tried to follow, but Ariel held up his hand and growled, “Leave me.”

“Zigor,” Adira murmured. “Stay here with me.”

Ariel’s thoughts spun as he made his way to the house he and Adira shared. He had met Perene just before Rome fell. He had been a warrior, one of the few Romans who hadn’t given in to the decadence of the age. A great master of control and fearful of nothing except the spirit world, he had eagerly accepted the Change and became one of Ariel’s finest students.

Ariel could scarcely believe Perene had turned into the sadistic creature described in Charles’ letter. How could he have been so mistaken about one of his offspring? How could he have brought more evil into the world by giving the gift of immortality to a fiend who tore out the throats of women and children

in their sleep and slaughtered men for amusement?

He threw his few belongings into a sack, intending to leave for England directly. When Charles had learned Ariel was Perene’s Master, he had refrained from killing him, thinking it more honorable to allow the prisoner’s Creator to decide his fate. Some part of Ariel prayed that Charles was mistaken and it was not actually Perene, but an imposter.

He was writing a message to Zigor and Adira, telling them where he had gone, when the two arrived at the house.

“We’re going with you,” Adira stated.

“That is not necessary,” Ariel said.

“You may travel with us or not, but one way or the other we are going to Charles as well.”

“Do what you like. Catch up if you want to. I’m taking the southern path.” Ariel slung the sack over his shoulder and left the house.

Throughout the trip, Zigor and Adira had spoken little to Ariel, as if sensing his struggle to keep his emotions in check. Only once did Adira directly confront him about his impending task.

They were traveling by ship. Late one night while he stood at the rail, recalling every moment spent with Perene and wondering where he had failed as a mentor, she approached. Standing so close that her body brushed his, she stared up at him, but for the first time found he couldn’t meet her gaze.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked softly.

“What is there to discuss? I have created that which I sought to destroy. The innocent blood Perene shed is on my hands as well as his.”

“Stop it, Ariel!” she snapped. “It’s difficult enough being responsible for your own actions without taking the blame for another’s. You gave Perene a gift and he chose to use it for evil. You taught all your offspring the way of the Pure One. If they turn away from the right path it is no fault of yours.”

“Perhaps if I had told him the truth about our origins, as I told Zigor…”

“Perene is not like Zigor. He never asked the same questions or showed the same spirit. Besides, one of the few things the original twelve agreed upon was that we would allow our offspring to make their own choices regarding good and evil and not try to influence them by openly revealing the truth about our origins.”

Ariel sighed. “I know. I did not make the decision to tell Zigor about our past lightly.”

“I agree it was right to tell him.” Adira gently grasped his forearm. “Zigor needed an answer to his questions.”

“If Perene --”

“It wouldn’t have made a difference for him. If he has turned to wickedness now, what do you think he would have done if he knew that an ultimate force of evil does indeed exist?”

“He would also know an ultimate force of good exists.”

“It wouldn’t matter. Not to a vampire like that. Ariel,” she whispered, slipping her arms around him.

The urge to embrace her almost overcame him, but if he surrendered to her now he would lose the fragile hold he had over his self-control. He needed to remain strong for the days to come, for the destruction of his offspring.

He stepped away from her embrace and walked to the opposite side of the ship.

***

Now he stood with Adira and Zigor in the great hall of Charles’ manor house. The initial shock of discovering one of his children had turned to evil had worn off, replaced by intense sorrow and dread.

Their host greeted them with a serious expression on his chiseled face. Taller than most men and so handsome he had earned the nickname Sir Charles the Handsome Giant, he took his vocation as a knight very seriously, devoting his life to a code of chivalry ignored by many.

“Masters.” Charles nodded to the three ancient vampires. “I am sorry your visit is under such unpleasant circumstances.”

“Where is Perene?” Ariel asked without preamble.

“He is being held in a nearby church,” Charles told them.

Ariel’s heart sank. His hope that perhaps it wasn’t Perene but a descendant of one of the evil thirteen was crushed. Like the thirteen evil ones, their minions could not endure places and objects that symbolized good, such as churches, crucifixes, temples and holy books of almost all religions throughout the world. If the vampire was being held in a church, then he was without doubt an offspring of one of the twelve.

“I will take you there,” Charles continued.

The knight turned to a servant and ordered four horses to be saddled for their journey. When they arrived at the church, a worried-looking priest met them.

“Sir Charles, we cannot hold that madman much longer. Day and night he rants and bellows like an animal. The people have refused to come to church out of fear. You must --”

“I told you I was sending for a special executioner,” Charles told the priest. He gestured toward Ariel. “Please take him to the prisoner.”

Executioner. Ariel had always taken pride in ridding the world of evil. Now he felt almost dizzy with grief as reality fully struck him. Unless Perene was able to convince him otherwise, he would be forced to destroy his own offspring.

“Shall we accompany you, Master?” Zigor asked.

“No.” Ariel dismounted, his posture rigid and his face expressionless. He glanced at Adira. “All of you will stay here until it is finished.”

Ariel followed the priest to a small room at the back of the church. Perene, a sinewy blond vampire, was secured to the stone wall by silver manacles and heavy chains.

Upon seeing Ariel, he smiled, a cold gesture that didn’t reach his flashing green eyes. “Master.”

“Leave us please,” Ariel said to the priest who wasted no time in hurrying from the room, locking the door behind him.

“Have you come to free me or kill me?” Perene sneered.

“I have come to try to understand why you have chosen this path.”

“I am a vampire.”

“And responsible for your actions. You have been given a gift, Perene, but you must use it for --”

“Good? So you said, but what is your idea of good? Self-deprivation? Starvation? Flogging?” Perene laughed, a mocking sound. “Tell me, Ariel, in all your years of life have you ever truly enjoyed the hunt? Have you ever doused yourself in blood and drank until you could hold not a drop more?”

“Yes, but not at the expense of innocent people. I told you to hunt wisely. I never told you to act like a savage.”

Stepping closer to Ariel, Perene balled his fists and bared his fangs. “We are all savages.”

Ariel’s brow furrowed as he struggled to understand why Perene had changed so much. “If you were given another chance at freedom, what would you do with it?”

All sarcasm and anger faded from Perene’s face and he seemed to relax. “Oh, Master, I would mend my ways. I swear by all that is holy. I --”

Ariel held his gaze, slipping into Perene’s thoughts so skillfully that his offspring had no idea he was there.Lies. Emptiness. A thirst for the blood of the innocent .

Had Perene always been like this or was he a vampire whose otherworldly strength had overtaken him? Sometimes their kind became delusional because of their powers and began to consider themselves godlike.

Regardless of his reason, Perene was no longer fit to live among mortals.

“Are you going to set me free, Master?” he asked, straining against his bonds, his expression pleading.

“Yes,” Ariel told him. “I am.”

Ariel grasped Perene’s chains and ripped them from the wall. At the display of strength even his

offspring looked stunned. Using the chains, Ariel tugged Perene closer.

“The others would destroy you by fire or a stake through the heart,” Ariel continued. “A horrible way to die, even for a killer like yourself.”

A hint of fear gleamed in Perene’s eyes. “But you won’t let them do that, will you, Master?”

“No. I promise you, Perene, there will be no pain.”

Before the vampire could fully comprehend Ariel’s intention, he pulled him into his arms and sank his fangs deeply into Perene’s throat. The vampire struggled for mere seconds before his grip tightened on Ariel, holding him closer as waves of pleasure coursed through him. Ariel drank deeply while weaving a lovely illusion that kept Perene in complete surrender until the life drained from his body.

Slowly he released his snug grip on Perene and placed him on the stone floor. For several moments he gazed at the dead vampire’s face, peaceful in eternal sleep, and wondered how he could still love Perene yet at the same time be disgusted by what he had become. Sweeping his fingertips down his offspring’s pale cheek, he felt overwhelmed by shame and grief. It had been so long since he had lost control of himself that he wasn’t exactly sure how to cope with the sudden onslaught of emotion.

“Ariel?” Adira called from outside the door.

Ariel fought to regain his composure. It took several moments before he trusted himself to reply without the telltale waver in his voice. Finally he stood and said, “It is done.”

He opened the door yet didn’t glance directly at Adira, Zigor, or Charles.

“I will arrange for the burial,” Charles said.

“Thank you.” Ariel swept past them and out of the church. He had intended to remain to pray for forgiveness and Perene’s soul as well as the spirits of those he killed, but found he couldn’t at the

moment. Perhaps later. Though he knew he couldn’t hide from the Pure One, he could hide from himself, even for a short time.

Back at the manor house, he took several articles from his bag of belongings and traveled into the nearby woods. Finding a secluded clearing, he undressed and took out his flogger. No matter how intensely he focused on his punishment, he couldn’t stop thinking about a mistake that had cost innocent lives and forced him to reclaim immortality from one of his vampiric children.

After several hours with the flogger, his back felt like a raw mass of pure, horrific sensation. The physical pain did nothing to subdue the emotional turmoil of destroying one of his children turned bad. Dropping the instrument of self-mutilation, he walked into the brook, his legs trembling a bit from pain and blood loss. Even the cool water did little to soothe his stinging flesh, yet he began healing rapidly. By the time he stepped out and dressed, the physical pain had significantly diminished.

Sitting under a tree, he caught Adira’s scent. Moments later she entered the clearing.

“Well,” she said, stopping in front of him and folding her arms beneath her breasts, “at least I waited long enough so that I didn’t have to witness you beating yourself bloody.”

“No one asked you to come,” he replied quietly.

“Did it help?”

His gaze flickered toward her in question.

“Punishing yourself. Did it help?”

“Not really.”

“Maybe discipline isn’t what you need for this particular problem. Maybe this will help more.” She knelt beside him and drew him into her arms. Strangely, her embrace did what no amount of punishment could.

He felt a slight release of pent up emotion and for the first time in his long life gave in completely.

He wrapped his arms around her and she tenderly ran her fingers through his hair.

“Ariel,” she murmured, brushing her lips across his temple.

Unable to fight off the need burning inside him, he covered her mouth with his. His lips moved sensuously against her soft, moist ones. Adira opened her mouth to his searching tongue. Hers met it, caressing with languid strokes that pushed his desire to fevered heights.

Please. Please. Her spiritual voice spoke to him.

Yes, yes, he answered.I want you, Adira. I need you . How he did need her! The only way to dull the raw, gnawing grief seemed to be through her. She was giving and taking in a way he never dreamed possible.

“Take me,” she whispered against his lips. “Ariel, please take me.”

A low growl of desire escaped his throat. He instinctively began to undress her with surprising deftness for a man who spent his life abstaining from carnal pleasure. While he removed her clothes, she tore off his, her hand seeking his bare flesh beneath. The heat of her palms on his skin was too wonderful for words. He groaned with pleasure.

Within seconds they were wrapped naked in each other’s arms. Still seated on the ground, Ariel grasped Adira by the hips and pulled her atop him. She grasped his thick, straining cock and guided it inside her. Closing her eyes, she clung to him tightly, rocking atop him. She was so hot and wet that he wanted to scream with passion. Indescribable pleasure rolled through him, yet somewhere beyond the scarcely controllable lust he knew he had to hold on. He had to please her.

Cupping her head, he plunged his tongue into her mouth, tasting every sweet corner and crevice. Her internal muscles began clamping around his painfully stiff cock. Tearing his mouth from hers, he gasped, his heart pounding, and pushed her onto her back. Still buried inside her, he began thrusting, straining to maintain at least some control long enough to feel her come.

It’s all right, her spiritual voice echoed in his mind.Take me. Take your pleasure. Just let go, Ariel. Feel how good it is .

Ripples of pleasure coursed down his spine. The pressure in his loins was almost frustrating in its intensity yet at the same time the most wonderful physical sensation he had ever experienced.

“Yes, yes, oh yes!” she began to chant, her body arching against his, her silken legs wrapped around his waist.

“Adira, oh, fuck,” he growled, his entire body trembling. “I need, I need --”

“Yes, Ariel. I’m yours.”

Several more fast, hard thrusts and her pussy clamped tightly around him. Her rhythmic spasms shattered his control and he came in a blinding haze of pleasure.

He collapsed atop her, sweaty and panting. After a moment he rolled onto his back and tugged her close. She rested her head against his chest and gently stroked his ribs with her fingertips.

“Where do we go from here, Ariel?”

Her question weighed heavily upon him. In his weakness, he had broken his vow to forgo the pleasures of the flesh. He had sated his lust with her lovely body, had turned his grief onto her and she had willingly accepted it. There was no way he could repay her and no way to atone for this lapse in control.

“We will go wherever you want,” he said. “I can deny you nothing.”

Sitting up, she gazed at him in surprise. “Why?”

“I would not dishonor you by taking pleasure in your body then abandoning you.”

Rage and hurt flashed in her eyes. “I see. You don’t want to be with me out of love, but out of penance.”

“It’s not that, Adira.” What was wrong with her? When a man and a woman made love, didn’t she expect him to stand by her afterwards?

For a moment he couldn’t tell if she was going to scream at him or cry. She did neither. A cool look settled over her face and she disentangled her body from his. She picked up her clothes and began dressing.

“Have you forgotten what I am, Ariel? I don’t need a male to save my honor. If and when I take a mate, it will be because I love him and he loves me. No other reason is good enough. If you want me, Ariel, you know how to find me. Otherwise, you’re as free as you ever were.”

***

“Master, would you like more wine?” Melinda asked, jerking Ariel back to the present.

“Yes, thank you,” he replied, for the first time noticing everyone had yet to begin eating though the food was already on the table. They stared in his direction and Zigor offered him a knife to carve the rare roast beef.

Soon the group was eating and talking. Allowing his memories to fade, Ariel engaged in the conversation. By the time dinner ended with the last drop of wine drunk and the final crumb of spiced rum cake devoured, Ariel had begun to relax. Just before dawn broke, Zigor’s children and their mates bid him good day.

He had just excused himself to retire when Zigor said, “Master, I must speak with you in private.”

“Of course.” Ariel made his way to his room, Zigor beside him. When they reached their destination, Zigor closed the door behind them.

“I spoke with Adira on the phone earlier,” Zigor said.

For a moment Ariel almost forgot to breathe. His heartbeat quickened yet when he spoke it was with practiced calm. “Did you?”

He knew Adira had kept in touch with Zigor over the years, so Zigor’s statement shouldn’t have taken him by surprise.

“Yes. She’s on her way here.”

“From where?”

“England.”

“I see.”

“She wants to talk to you.”

Ariel nodded. “Thank you for the message. Now, the sun is up and I’m tired. Good day, Zigor.”

“Good day, Ariel.”

“Thank you for an enjoyable night. It was good to be among family again.”

“The pleasure was ours, Master.”

No sooner had Zigor left than Ariel began packing his few belongings. He intended to be long gone before Adira arrived at Burgundy Peak.

Before he’d finished, Zigor once again knocked on the door.

“Are you leaving?” Zigor asked, glancing over Ariel’s shoulder at the partially filled travel bag on the bed.

“Yes.”

“Adira told me you would most likely go if I mentioned she was coming. I didn’t believe her when she said you were running from her.” Zigor stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

“Don’t be insolent, boy,” Ariel snapped, leveling his coldest stare on Zigor.

“I mean no disrespect, Master.”

“You’re interfering where you don’t belong.”

“She is concerned for you.”

“Is she?” Ariel couldn’t keep the sarcasm from his voice. He strode to the balcony and gazed out at the city, noting how different it looked in the light of day.

“There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about, Master,” Zigor continued. “I want to tell Melinda the truth about our kind.”

Ariel turned, squinting in the sunlight, and gazed at Zigor who had joined him on the balcony.

“You love her that much?” Ariel asked.

“Yes, I do.”

“Then you must do what you feel is right.”

“A soulmate is the rarest of gifts, Master. Someone to completely share your darkest secrets and your most glorious moments.”

Ariel snorted. “Since when did you develop such flowery speech?”

“I didn’t think of it myself. Adira once told me that, but she was right.”

Sighing, Ariel closed his eyes for a moment, then glanced at Zigor and gestured for him to follow him inside.

Ariel closed the balcony door behind them, though for a moment he remained staring outside.

“I didn’t tell you the entire reason for my visit here, Zigor. I came because I need your help.”

“You need my help?” Zigor sounded a bit surprised.

“I’ve recently been afflicted with a weakness, one that you share, one that you may indulge and enjoy, but I may not. Therefore I believe you might be able to guide me.”

“Weakness?”

Ariel nearly smiled. Being associated with any sort of weakness stirred Zigor’s anger like nothing else. In some ways the younger vampire had changed so much over the years, but in others he had remained exactly the same.

“I’ve -- become attached to someone, or at least I’ve admitted that attachment, though I’ve struggled against it for quite some time.”

“Who is it?”

“Adira.”

“Does she not feel the same?”

Ariel drew a deep breath and turned to the window, though instead of gazing out, he closed his eyes for a moment and attempted to regulate the wild thumping of his heart and will his rebellious loins into submission. “I believe her weakness is in the drives of the body rather than the desires of the heart.”

“I see. Perhaps if you take her to your bed, she will fall in love with --”

Ariel spun, his fangs bared, a savage growl rumbling in his chest.

“Forgive me, Master, if I have offended you.” Zigor bowed his head.

His anger once again slipping beneath his calm veneer, Ariel sighed. “It is not your fault. You must have

forgotten much of what I told you so long ago about my kind and our mission.”

“I have forgotten nothing.”

“I do not name favorites among my children, but you and most of your offspring have embodied the true essence of our nature. In spite of all you’ve endured over countless centuries, you have followed a path nearest to the one meant for us by the one who gave us life.”

“Ariel, you know me, the things I’ve done, the battles I’ve relished --”

Ariel grasped his offspring’s shoulders and gazed into his eyes, noting the strength and courage that shone in those blue depths and knowing yet again he had chosen well in bestowing the gift of vampirism on Zigor.

“I know that when choosing sides in those battles, you looked for justice. You sought out the blood of the wicked to quench your bestial thirst. You fought and killed the worst among vampires and are still alive today to do battle when you feel the calling again.”

“If I ever feel it,” Zigor stated. “I was young when I did the deeds you remember. I have seen the world change. Slaughter was once executed man to man, hand to hand. Now mass destruction rules. There is no longer any pride in a battle well fought.”

Ariel sighed and shook his head. “The one lesson I taught that never penetrated your thick skull is that there is no pride in any battle, only in seeking out justice. If we could do what we must without causing pain --”

“This life is full of pain,” Zigor stated. “You taught me how to master pain, how to use it for rather than against myself.”

“It was a brutal lesson, but you always handled brutality well, Zigor.” Ariel cupped his offspring’s face in his hand, once again searching those hard blue eyes. “I am thankful you have at last surrendered to something gentler. Does Melinda know exactly what she has done for you?”

“Melinda knows everything about me, even that which I have too much pride to tell her in words. She feels what I feel, Master, and she doesn’t judge.” Zigor held Ariel’s gaze in a manner that was half taunting, half affectionate. “Adira does that for you. I remember how well she knows you.”

“If you remember that far back, then you must recall what I told you about the existence of the twelve.”

Zigor nodded slowly, his pulse quickening with a spark of fear Ariel knew was still buried deep inside him. Allowing Zigor to see the truth about the twelve had been a harsh lesson, one that left its mark on both of them.

“For the reasons you just described, the despair and weariness of fighting evil in a world determined to nurture it, ten of the original twelve wished to die. We had long since hunted and killed the thirteen evil ones, but their offspring, like ours, have populated the earth. My brothers and sisters believed our offspring could continue the battle on equal footing with the children of the evil ones. When they requested it of me, I claimed the life of each of the ten. Now only Adira remains, but I’ve sensed a change in her. My fear is that when she asks for death, I will not have the strength to give it. My feelings for her have made me weak. I want to place my desires above my duty.”

Zigor’s brow furrowed. “That’s not such a terrible thing. You are not some infallible being. You’re not a god, Ariel.”

“I know that.”

“Do you?”

Glaring at Zigor, Ariel fought to control his temper. “How dare you suggest otherwise? Unlike my present company, I have always known my place. Try as I might, I could never break you of your arrogance.”

“Forgive me, Master, but to place yourself above emotion is arrogance in itself.”

Ariel smiled sadly. “Perhaps you’re right. This obsession I feel for her might be some sort of punishment for my pride.”

“Maybe it’s a reward for so many ages of unquestioning service. You aren’t certain she’s going to ask for death. Unless you see her you will never know.”

Chapter Seven

It had been a couple of years since Adira had lasted visited Burgundy Peak. Since the club opened, she had visited every so often. Unlike Ariel, she thought Zigor’s sanctuary was a wonderful idea. It provided their kind with a safe place to enjoy their nature without damaging the lives of unsuspecting mortals. Though humans worked for Zigor, some as escorts and blood donors, they were paid well and offered the same protection and privileges as the vampires on his staff.

Often during her stays at Burgundy Peak, Adira hoped Ariel might overcome his silly boycott of the establishment and decide to visit at the same time she happened to be there. She should have known it would take some crisis or extended depression for him to come calling on his favorite offspring. She only hoped Zigor had somehow convinced him to stay, for she knew that asking the younger vampire to keep her impending visit a secret would be pointless. He would never keep such knowledge from the Master he worshipped.

A slight smile touched Adira’s lips when she thought of the strange yet close relationship between Ariel and Zigor. Ariel was the only vampire in existence who could bring his headstrong offspring to his knees. This wasn’t only out of respect for Ariel’s age or because Zigor knew the truth about his origins, but because Ariel was probably the only earthly being who could endure more physical punishment than his

formidable offspring.

Adira’s smile faded. At least Zigor had found something that meant more to him than discipline. After so many millennia of mimicking Ariel’s solitary lifestyle, he had taken a wife. Though Zigor remained as serious and arrogant as ever, she had noticed subtle changes in him brought about by his love for Mel. The changes were good and Adira sensed he was more content than she ever thought possible for the most sullen of Ariel’s offspring.

She knew that if Ariel allowed himself, he could find such happiness. Most women would have stopped pursuing him after so many millennia, but no matter how Adira told herself to forget him, she knew that deep inside he possessed the ability to love her as deeply and powerfully as she loved him.

Just twice in their long lives had he possessed her completely, filled her with his magnificent cock and exposed every raw corner of his soul. If only they could make love like that again, but under better circumstances, because he wanted rather than needed her.

Gazing out the window of the taxi carrying her to Burgundy Peak, she watched the city roll by in a dreamy haze of sparkling lights muted by pouring rain. She caught Ariel’s scent just before they reached the club. Her pulse raced and she tingled with anticipation. Other than a few brief encounters with him over the past few centuries, she hadn’t touched him intimately since the early seventeen hundreds. It was a memory that troubled her in spite of how she treasured it, for it was the second time she and Ariel had made love.

***

After the incident with Perene, when she and Ariel had made love for the first time, Adira had waited one day at Charles’ manor house, then left. In spite of her suggestion that Ariel could find her if he pursued, she spent the next century making sure he could not track her down, even if he wanted to.

Perhaps it was because she didn’t want to know if he had decided not to follow her after all. She didn’t want to know if he had chosen his life of pain and deprivation over one with her.

In 1702 she was again traveling the English countryside when she caught his scent and followed it to a lone cottage resting in the shadow of a monastery.

Nearing the tiny one-room structure not much larger than a woodshed, she glanced in the window. Though he wasn’t home at the moment, she knew by the strength of his aroma that Ariel lived there.

It was nearly sunrise, so she didn’t have to wait long before he arrived. Dragging a sledge laden with firewood, he stared at her as he approached.

“Adira.” A slight smile flickered across his lips, then faded.

“Ariel.” She had hoped that after so many years she would have finally lost some of the gnawing desire for him, but by the euphoric sensation washing over her, she knew he affected her as much as ever.

His unkempt black hair was fastened at his nape with a piece of rope. Though almost too thin, his tall form looked as sleek and graceful as ever beneath peasant attire -- loose, dirt-stained trousers and a work-worn shirt damp with sweat. His long, slender feet were bare, the pale flesh streaked with mud.

He stopped in front of her and held her gaze, his gray eyes consuming her. “It’s good to see you,” he said. “I searched for you, but --”

“Don’t.” She touched a fingertip to his lips. “Don’t talk about the past.”

Her hand slid to the back of his neck. Standing on tiptoe, she kissed him, surprised when he didn’t try to move away. His eyes slipped shut, his tongue darting out to meet hers. He tasted of herbs and warm, lustful male.

She moaned softly when he buried his fingers in her hair and gently sucked on her tongue.

When the kiss broke, both were slightly breathless.

“I’m filthy, Adira. If you stay in my arms, you’ll soil your clothes.”

“But I like being in your arms.” She smiled, glancing toward the cottage. “Aren’t you going to be a gentleman and invite me in?”

He opened the door and stepped aside for her to pass. Inside, he squatted by the hearth to build a fire. By the time he’d finished, Adira had discarded her clothes and stood naked by the small wooden table.

His gaze swept her, hungry yet annoyed.

“No bed?” she asked, glancing around the room.

“I find the floor to be suitable. After all, we didn’t have beds in the early days.”

“Things have changed since then.” She approached, laughing a bit. “At least some things have.”

“Adira,” he breathed, placing his hands on her waist and stroking her flesh. That slight touch sent her pulse racing. Looping her arms around his neck, she kissed him and pressed her body closer to his.

He groaned, a sound of pleasure-pain, and splayed his heated palms against her back. One hand strayed to her buttocks, stroking and kneading the smooth flesh.

Adira’s clit throbbed with need. Already she was wet for him, longing for his cock to fill her.

“Ariel,” she breathed, tearing her mouth from his to cover his neck with kisses. She sucked and licked his throat, her tongue lapping its hollow. Reaching between them, she cupped the bulge in his trousers and squeezed rhythmically. She heard his heart pounding, keeping time with hers. While she continued kissing and stroking, he trailed his lips over her face, brushing them across her cheeks and over her temples.

“Adira,” he murmured.

She purred, stroking him harder through his trousers. Slowly she became aware of the quick, almost strained rhythm of his breathing and of a thickness beneath his threadbare shirt.

“What’s this?” she asked, tugging far enough away to pull up his shirt. Beneath was what appeared to be a horrible looking animal hair belt that swathed him from chest to waist. She had heard of similar devices of self-torture and shouldn’t have been surprised to see Ariel had adopted them in one form or another.

“Something you wouldn’t understand,” he said, grasping both her wrists in one hand and tugging down his shirt with the other.

She jerked away and snarled, tearing the peasant shirt from his body.

“Are you mad?” he snapped. “It’s the only shirt I have!”

“Take this off,” she demanded in a low, deadly voice, reaching for the hair belt. When he restrained her hand again, she hissed, “Don’t stop me.”

A strange look crept into his eyes, a cross between rage and lust.

His hold loosened and she unfastened the belt. It peeled away bloody, revealing skin rubbed raw. The part of the belt resting against his flesh was woven with spiky metal wire.

No sooner had she discarded the despicable device than his breathing deepened, reflecting normal arousal that matched her own.

Taking his hand, she guided him to the table where she tore off a piece of her dress, then poured water from a pitcher into the basin beside it. She began cleaning blood, sweat, and dirt from his rapidly healing torso.

“Adira,” he said in a warning voice that she ignored. While she washed his heated flesh, she kissed the clean areas. She ran her tongue over his nipples and ribs. Her lips pressed gentle kisses over his muscle-ridged stomach.

His hands tangled in her hair, stroking faster as his passion grew. When she tugged down his trousers, his breathing became more excited and by the size of his erection, he wanted her as desperately as she wanted him.

After tearing off another piece of her dress, she dipped the piece of cloth into the fresh water remaining in the pitcher and washed his cock and balls. She discarded the cloth and grasped his staff and took the ruby head between her lips. Closing her eyes, she swirled her tongue over it then sucked deeply. He groaned, a sensual sound that sent a quiver of passion down her spine. Clutching her head, he thrust his hips slightly, pushing his cock further into her mouth.

She accepted him greedily, feeling his cock head brush the back of her throat. Sucking and stroking with her tongue, she teased him until his powerful thighs shook with impending climax, then pulled away.

“Adira, I want you so badly,” he panted, grasping her shoulders and tugging her to her feet. He kissed her, thrusting his tongue possessively into her mouth.

Without breaking contact with her lips, he guided her to the mat in a corner of the room where he pushed her onto her back. He knelt by her feet and began kissing first one leg then the other from ankle to thigh. His tongue lapped her inner thighs then flicked over her clit.

“Oh!” Adira cried, almost overwhelmed by pleasure.

When he began sucking her clit, it took only seconds for her to climax. He continued licking and tugging with his lips, pushing her toward a second orgasm before the first one seemed to fully end.

When she was about to come again, he swiftly covered her body with his, the tip of his cock prodding her wet pussy. He entered her so slowly that by the time he reached the hilt she came again.

“Ariel, oh Ariel,” she cried, clinging to him tightly.

“Yes, oh, yes,” he gasped, pumping into her fast and hard, stirring yet another climax deep inside her. His pace was so quick that she wasn’t sure he could hold back long enough for her to reach a third peak, but she needn’t have worried.

Wrapping her legs around his waist, she closed her eyes and let him take her on the most intense ride of her life.

Unable to resist, she sank her fangs into his shoulder. At the taste of his powerful blood, she came so hard that the world turned black.

Somewhere in the haze of desire she felt his fangs pierce her flesh. His entire body stiffened as he came, growling with lust.

By the time they completely sated their passion, both lay panting on the floor, their bodies damp and languid.

“What have you been doing these past years?” he finally asked, stroking her hair.

“Just traveling. Thinking. It’s strange knowing the rest of the twelve are gone.”

“Yes.”

“We’ve lived for a long time, Ariel.”

He shifted position so their gazes met. “What are you saying?”

She sighed. “I don’t know. I was just thinking about the past and about what it was like with the Pure One before we took corporeal form. I had no idea what it would really be like.”

“Do you regret becoming corporeal?”

“No. I mean, I have regrets, but that’s not one of them.”

“I’m glad.”

“Pleasant dreams, Ariel.” She brushed his lips with a chaste kiss before curling up beside him and falling asleep.

When she awoke at dusk, he was gone. That was the last extended visit she had ever spent with him. When their paths crossed several years later, he fled after a brief exchange of greetings. She had sensed something was desperately wrong because for the first time she saw a hint of fear in his eyes. Fueled by curiosity and concern, she pursued him, but he always managed to stay just beyond her reach.

***

“Adira.” Onan bowed his head in greeting when she stepped into the foyer at Burgundy Peak.

“Onan,” she replied. “How is Elizabeth?”

“Very well,” he said, pressing a black button on the wall beside him.

Moments later, a bellboy appeared to take her luggage.

“Enjoy your visit,” Onan said.

“I plan to.” She smiled, following the bellboy up the stairs to her room.

Once she was alone, she poured a glass of complimentary wine that awaited her on the table. While she sipped, she wrote a note and sealed it with wax, an archaic yet elegant practice she still enjoyed.

She sent for a maid and asked her to deliver the message to Ariel.

Once the note was on its way, she drew a deep breath and released it slowly, her entire body tingling with anticipation.

Would Ariel accept her invitation or ignore it? The very fact that he hadn’t yet fled Burgundy Peak made her think he would accept.

“Well,” she said, glancing at her reflection in the full-length mirror in a corner of the spacious room. “I’d better get ready.”

Chapter Eight

Wearing only black boxers, Ariel sat in a chair he’d dragged onto the balcony of his room and stared at

the nighttime city. He watched the flickering lights and listened to cars’ engines, distant sirens, and bits of mortals’ conversations. Many scents, some pleasant, others offensive, drifted on the air, but Adira’s delectable aroma overpowered them all.

His thoughts focused on the letter resting in his hand. The message was from Adira, written with the arrogance of an ancient vampiress, telling him to join her in the club area tonight. She was again trying to goad him into something he didn’t want to do.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he shook his head. That was a lie. He did want to accept her invitation, not to see the club in all its decadence, but to be with her again. Her presence stirred memories that made him ache with both pleasure and sorrow yet at the same time comforted him like nothing else could. Worst of all was the fear that if he saw her this time it would be the last.

When they had made love in his cottage centuries ago, he had been concerned by the conversation she initiated afterward. He had watched her endure horrible tortures and losses but had never felt such weariness from her as at that moment. She had spoken of the past with a sad, dreamy look that he had seen in the eyes of the other members of the twelve just before they asked him for death. All of them had told him the same thing. He could drain them and go on with his life. He was cold, strong, and devoted to duty.

The thought of Adira asking him to take her life and send her back to the Pure One terrified him. Once she was gone, he would indeed live forever or until the Pure One changed the rules and took him back. There would be no true vampire left to drain him to death and give him relief from his corporeal life, if he ever grew weary of it.

Still, he couldn’t run from her forever and he had made a promise long ago that if any vampire should wish it, he would claim their lives. If this is what Adira wanted, he could not deny her.

He stood and walked inside. After placing the letter on the table, he dressed in his usual attire -- shoes and trousers and a shirt buttoned severely to the neck, the entire outfit black. Using a black elastic, he bound his hair tightly at his nape, then made his way to the club area of Burgundy Peak.

In the foyer, Onan nodded in greeting and opened the door for him.

The dim light and soft music was perfect for vampiric ears. Guests and staff, both mortal and vampire,

mingled, some at tables and the bar, others on the dance floor. Their scantily-clad bodies undulated to the music in the most indecent fashion. The scent of blood and alcohol hung on the air. Resisting the urge to curl his lip in disgust, Ariel glanced around for Adira, as her scent was strong and he knew she was here. She was seated at Zigor’s booth and had already fixed her gaze on Ariel.

Just looking at her sent his heartbeat out of control and accelerated his breathing. Her thick black hair hung loose down her back and her curvaceous body was exposed to advantage in a ridiculously short black skirt and a black and silver beaded bra. Her smooth, dark legs were crossed, one sandal-clad foot swinging to the rhythm of the music.

She certainly didn’t look like a woman about to ask for death.

His jaw tightening, Ariel approached the table.

“Good evening, Master,” Zigor said. Though his facial expression didn’t change, deep in his eyes Ariel detected a hint of surprise.

Adira and Melinda exchanged feminine smiles and Ariel had the distinct impression their amusement somehow involved him.

“Ariel. It’s good to see you again.” Adira extended her hand. He took it, squeezing it gently. “Are you going to be a gentleman and ask me to dance?”

“You know I don’t dance, Adira.”

“Yes. You don’t dance or sing or play games. You rarely laugh and constellations change more often than you make love.”

“Adira!” he growled.

“Ariel,” she purred, holding his gaze, a smile flirting with her painted red lips.

Sighing, he grasped her hand and tugged her toward the dance floor, thanking heaven a slow song was playing. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her luscious curves so close to his body that he was certain she felt the bulge of his erection. Feeling unusually clumsy, Ariel rested his hands on her waist. Her flesh was so warm and inviting and her scent filled him, making him almost dizzy with desire.

“This is nice, isn’t it?” she whispered in his ear, their bodies swaying to the slow, sensual love song.

“Too nice.”

“There’s no such thing.” Her wet tongue traced the shape of his ear and Ariel’s cock swelled even more.

“Zigor didn’t think you’d actually set foot in here during business hours,” she said, gazing into his eyes, her fingers stroking the back of his neck in a soothing gesture. “I told him you wouldn’t refuse me.”

Ariel’s lip curled slightly. “So sure of yourself, aren’t you, Adira?”

Her coquettish expression faded a bit. “Most of the time, but not always. You know, Zigor would never admit it, but I think he was a little hurt that you never visited his club.”

“I’m here now. Besides, he understands what I think about this sort of --”

“Decadence? There’s nothing wrong with pleasure, Ariel. No one is getting hurt by it. Zigor has created a haven for our kind and he protects New York from evil vampires. He’s still following your lessons. He’s just found his own way of doing it.”

“I know.”

“Then you must realize that there is a sensation as wonderful as pain is horrible. Why can you accept the difficulties that accompany our nature but not the pleasures?” Sighing, she said, “Let’s go upstairs, Ariel. There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

He hoped she didn’t notice the shiver that darted through him. This was the moment he had been dreading. Thrusting aside his desire to flee, he said, “Your room or mine?”

“Ariel,” she grinned, her eyes glistening, “I never thought I’d hear those words from you. Your room will be fine, unless you’re still sleeping on a mat on the floor?”

“The room is furnished.”

Taking her hand, he guided her upstairs. In his room, he closed the door with a thud that seemed to echo with such finality he nearly winced. “Adira, before you speak, I want you to know that I will do whatever you ask of me. No more running or avoidance, no matter how painful facing the task might be.”

“Painful?” She wrinkled her nose. “I had no idea I was truly so abhorrent to you. If I had known, I wouldn’t have wasted my time coming here. I suppose you’ve given me enough signs over the years. I’ve been stupid when it comes to you, Ariel.”

“Abhorrent?” His brow furrowed. “Adira, you’re the greatest temptation of my life. You are the least abhorrent woman I have ever known.”

Her sullen expression turned to a smile and she touched his cheek. “Ariel, I think you just tried to give me a compliment. If you do feel for me, then why have you been running away? Is it because you still believe you’ll somehow be breaking your vows?”

Drawing a deep breath, he released it slowly and began pacing the room. “All my life I worried about loving one particular person too much because I feared that if it came between them and my duty, I would follow my heart. The truth is, Adira, I will fulfill my duty, but taking your life will destroy me in a way far worse than true death. The thought of existing alone in this world without you in it is unbearable.”

“Take my life?” She stared at him, aghast. “You think I’ve been chasing you down because I want to

die?”

“Why else?”

“Because after so many years of foolishness I want to finally know the truth. Do you love me, Ariel?”

“I just said I couldn’t bear to exist without you.”

She closed her eyes, her fists clenched at her sides. “I need to hear the words.”

“Yes, Adira, I love you.” He pulled her into a crushing embrace and buried his face in her fragrant black hair. “I love you so much it’s painful. I’ve wanted you so desperately that no matter how I try to deny it nothing and no one can keep my heart from you.”

Gazing up at him, she took his face in her hands. “I have never begged for anything in my life, Ariel, but I’m asking you to please not make us endure another moment apart. I enjoy living. I’m proud to fight evil in this world, but I want you beside me always.”

Covering her lips in a searing kiss, Ariel severed the last fragile string of self-righteous pride dividing him from the woman he loved. When the kiss broke, both were slightly breathless.

“Adira, my soulmate, my heart, will you be my wife?”

She smiled. “Officially, yes, but in reality I always have been.”

The significance of her words struck him hard. In her mind, she had always been his, just as he had always been hers.

“Tell me, you’re not still wearing hair shirts or barbed wire under this, are you?” she asked, her deft

fingers unbuttoning his shirt.

“I gave that up.”

“Good.” She parted his open shirt and ran her hands over his chest and abs. Bending, she teased one of his nipples with her fangs and tongue.

Ariel unfastened her bra and slipped it off. Cupping her breasts in his hands, he sighed with pleasure.

“Oh, Ariel.” She wrapped her arms around him, her soft breasts crushed against his chest. Enfolding her in a loving embrace, he felt renewed, like a young vampire again.

Sweeping her into his arms, he carried her to the bed and proceeded to remove her skirt and sandals. All the while she stroked every part of him she could reach. He left her only for a moment to shed the remainder of his clothes. Stretching out on the bed, his body partially draped over hers, he covered her breasts and belly with kisses. He took one of her plump nipples between his lips and switched between flicking his tongue over it and sucking it. The tender flesh tightened and swelled. Only when she squirmed with pleasure-pain did he move to her other breast.

While sucking her nipple, he slid his hand between her thighs, parting them and dipping his fingers into her pussy. She was so hot and wet with passion. Slowly he withdrew his hand and used one slick finger to circle her clit.

Mewling with pleasure, she thrust her hips and tangled her fingers in his hair.

Ariel’s heart pounded with the thrill of being with her. It had been so long since he’d plunged his cock into her that he could scarcely wait a moment longer. He moved up her body and braced a forearm on either side of her head.

“Look at me, Adira,” he said.

She opened her eyes and stared at him with the same love and desire he felt for her. Inch by inch he slid his almost painfully tight erection into her wet sheath. Her hot flesh clamped around him and she thrust her hips upward in an attempt to make him quicken his pace.

Kissing her, he began a slow, steady rhythm, pulling out almost to the tip then swooping back in to the hilt.

“Ariel, oh!” she cried when he broke their kiss to draw a ragged gulp of air. She clung to him, meeting him thrust for thrust. “I want you. I need you. Oh, Ariel!”

“Adira,” he panted, thrusting faster and pushing her over the edge. She squeezed him so tightly that for a moment he nearly lost his breath, but he didn’t care. It felt marvelous. She pulsed and quivered beneath him, driving him to ecstasy.

With a savage cry he came, filling her with his essence, their bodies and souls entwined.

Epilogue

Two weeks later, Ariel and Adira were married in Burgundy Peak. Zigor closed the club for the entire night. The ceremony was performed in the club area and afterward they celebrated with their extended family, including Ariel and Adira’s offspring and their children as well.

The newlywed couple had stolen a moment alone in a corner of the room when Melinda approached and said, “Zigor told me everything. Your secret is safe with me.”

“I know.” Ariel offered one of his rare smiles.

Zigor called to his wife and Melinda joined him at the bar.

Ariel glanced after her. Now there was another vampire who finally understood the truth about their kind, who knew why some could walk by day and others couldn’t, why some feared religious objects and temples of worship while others didn’t. Even if she one day told a favored offspring or trusted friend the story of vampires’ origins, the truth would fade to nothing more than a fable because that was how the Pure One wanted it.

Adira took Ariel’s face in her hands and tilted it toward her. Gazing into his eyes, she smiled tenderly. He kissed her, enjoying the warmth of her body and the gentle caress of her spirit voice mingling with his.

I love you, Ariel.

I love you, Adira.

Without guilt or question, he swept her into his arms, carrying her out of the club and up the stairs to their room, where he began catching up on too many wasted millennia.

The End

Kate Hill

Kate Hill’s fiction and poetry have appeared in publications both on and off the Internet. When she’s not writing, Kate enjoys reading, working out, and spending time with her family. Visit her online at http://www.kate-hill.com.