“So you say.” Raven wrapped her hands around her middle, fighting the creeping ascent of nausea. “I heard about what happened in the Middle Ages. How you laid waste to them.”
“Revisionist history. Did the vampyre describe what Europe was like before the Curia was formed?”
Raven pressed her lips together. “Not really.”
He leaned forward in his chair. “Then let me enlighten you. They were like animals, feeding on everyone—women and children, the aged, the sick. And in every case, every single case, they violated the victim sexually. When they feed, they rape. Their victim is never the same.”
Raven shut her eyes and turned her face away. “I don’t believe you.”
“It’s true. They use mind control or force to overpower their victims, then they take what they want, leaving a damaged person behind. They’re horrible, evil beings.”
Raven coughed, fighting the urge to retch. “William doesn’t allow them to feed on children. And he would never do what you described.”
“Raven.” The priest’s eyes filled with pity. “Have you ever seen him feed?”
“He feeds from bottles.”
Father regarded her with what could only be sorrow. “And from you. Tell me, was sexual activity part of the feeding?”
Raven’s skin flamed. She said nothing.
The priest took her hand. “If you’ve fornicated with him, the darkness has been transmitted to you. You may not be possessed at this moment, but you’re under its influence. It clouds your reason.”
“Nonsense.” Raven tossed his hand aside and stood. “You believe a bunch of fairy tales.”
“Careful.” His tone grew sharp. “I’ve devoted my life to those fairy tales. I would die for them. And they’re the only things that can save you.”
“I don’t want to be saved.” She huddled against the kitchen counter, her body shaking.
The priest’s gaze moved to the trio of objects that sat on the table. He touched the disk briefly. “This isn’t the first time I’ve tried to help you.” He spoke gently, without looking at her. “In all the years we’ve known one another, have I ever deceived you?”
“No.”
His eyes met hers. “Have I ever lied?”
She shook her head.
“I swear before God, I am not deceiving you. I’m trying to save you!” His hands began to shake. He stuffed them in his pockets. “The Curia was formed by the Church to keep the vampyre population in check. We protect humanity and keep the vampyres from taking over.”
“If they’re so bad, why don’t you eliminate them?”
“Not even God can eliminate the evil perpetrated by free will.”
Raven rolled her eyes.
“It’s true,” he continued. “We can limit their evil, but we cannot eliminate them. At least, not all of them. To do so, we’d have to eliminate the demon population that spawns them. And that is beyond our capabilities.
“Just like demons, vampyres are allowed to operate within certain boundaries and according to certain rules. When the boundaries are breached, we intervene. They fear us and they are right to do so. We have goodness on our side.”
Raven resisted the urge to scoff, mostly because she happened to believe that the person sitting in front of her was a good man.
The priest changed the subject. “Tell me what happened with your sister.”
Raven leaned heavily against the counter, favoring her injured leg. “What did my mother tell you?”
“I prefer to hear your version.” The priest’s tone grew gentle once again. His gentleness tore through her the way a sword tears through flesh.
“I called Cara and tried to talk to her about our stepfather. I asked her what would give her closure.”
“How did she respond?”
“At first, she was indifferent. Then she got angry. She said I fell down the stairs.” Raven’s lips twisted at the memory.
“That was cruel. It was also a lie.”
“I defended myself. She got upset and yelled at me. Then Dan told me to stay out of their lives and not call again.” Raven bit at the inside of her mouth to keep the tears at bay.
Father gave her a sympathetic look. “Obviously, Cara doesn’t want to remember. But I’m curious why you broached the subject with her now.” His gaze dropped to the gold bracelet on Raven’s wrist.
“I didn’t tell Cara about William. But since you already know . . .” She gestured to the items on the table. “William brought my stepfather to Florence.”
“Why would he do that?”
“He promised me justice.”
The priest frowned. “Vampyres don’t care about justice, especially justice for a pet.”
“Not all vampyres view human beings as pets.”
“Perhaps he was bored and looking for amusement.”
“So he sent someone all the way to California to track down my stepfather because he was bored?”
The priest didn’t respond.
“William gave my stepfather to me as a gift. He wanted to give me the opportunity to kill him.”
The priest sat back in his chair, horrified. “Raven, you didn’t—”
“Of course I didn’t,” she snapped. “Don’t you know me at all?”
“I thought I did.” The priest stroked his beard thoughtfully. “What happened to your stepfather?”
“I asked William to send him back to California and turn him over to the police.”
“And did he?”
“Only because I asked. He wanted to kill him.”
Father Kavanaugh looked puzzled. “Why would a vampyre, a prince, take so much interest in your stepfather?”
“I told you—he loves me.”
The priest turned, facing the talismans on the table. “That’s impossible.”
“For someone who trades in the impossible, you’re incredibly skeptical.”
“I’m not a skeptic about facts. The Prince is the subject of extensive discussion in Rome. I’ll grant he’s more conservative than the other rulers, but that doesn’t make him good.”
“He’s different from the others.” Raven’s voice grew quiet. “If only you knew how much.”
“His control is slipping.” The priest picked up the disk and showed it to her. “We don’t want a repeat of the Black Death, when bodies lined the city streets.”
“William won’t let that happen.”
“Perhaps not.” He cleared his throat. “Finding you here, with him, changes everything.”
Raven crossed over to him. “Please don’t bring the Curia here. William enforces the laws. The others won’t.”
The priest surveyed her expression, noting her clenched fists. “Then come with me.”
She took a step back. “I can’t. I love him.”
The priest sighed loudly. “I am not eager for war. But I am only one among many. Those decisions aren’t up to me.”
“But they’ll kill him!”
“They’ll free him,” Father insisted. “And by association, you. Don’t you think you deserve to be free?”
“I am free,” she hissed. “I never thought anyone would love me for myself. I never thought anyone would defend me. He does.”
A pained look filled the priest’s eyes. “I tried to defend you. I love you, Raven. You and Cara are the daughters I never had.”
Raven looked down at her shoes.
“I love you, too,” she whispered. “I know you defended me.”
“I still defend you. I’m defending you now.”
She lifted her gaze. “Then help us,” she pleaded.
He drew a deep breath. “Perhaps you love him. Stranger things have happened. But the human being you love is possessed by a great evil.”
She shook her head fiercely. “That’s a lie.”
He pulled at his beard in agitation. “If he is a vampyre, the darkness in him is more powerful than his humanity. Even if that weren’t the case, he will still be held accountable for his choice.”
/> “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“A vampyre can’t enter a home without being invited. A demon can’t possess an adult human unless the adult grants it entrance.”
Raven’s mouth dropped open. “You’re telling me he wanted this?”
“I’m not saying there wasn’t a seduction. But if the human rejects the darkness forcefully, the demon looks elsewhere.”
“William is different.”