Night's Mistress (Children of The Night 5)

“That’s wonderful.”

“Yeah.” Giving her an affectionate swat on the backside, he said, “I’ll be famous yet, wife, you just wait and see! Now, what’s for dinner?”

Later that night, after Kyle and the baby were asleep, Mara went into the den and sat at the computer. Lately, when she couldn’t sleep, she had taken to working on her life story, writing bits and pieces as they occurred to her. She supposed, at some point, she would have to arrange her journal in some sort of chronological order, but that could come later.

Sitting there, staring at the blinking cursor, she let her mind wander. It was amazing to remember the things she had seen, the places she had been, the advancements and inventions that everyone in this era took for granted. Communication between foreign countries had once taken months; now e-mails and text messages flew across the country or across the world with the click of a mouse. You could download music, videos, and movies on your phone, as well as send pictures and texts to anywhere in the world. A journey from one coast to the other that had once taken weeks, or even months, by horseback, could now be made in a matter of hours. She had once washed her clothes in a river and dried them on a rock in the sun. She had bathed in streams, relieved herself behind a bush. She wondered if the people of today had any idea how lucky they were to have washing machines and running water, indoor plumbing and toilet paper. At one time, an electric stove, a refrigerator, or a microwave would have been looked upon as miraculous; nowadays they were commonplace. Men flew to the moon, they walked on Venus, they lived on Mars, and yet, in spite of all the new inventions, new discoveries, and new explorations in space, Earth and its inhabitants remained basically the same. She wondered what miracles the future would hold, and regretted that she wouldn’t be there to witness them.

She was contemplating how best to put her thoughts on paper when she heard the baby cry. Leaving the den, she went into the nursery.

“Hear now, young man,” she murmured as she lifted her son from the crib. “Don’t cry. Mama’s here. Are you hungry? Or just lonely?”

Taking a seat in the rocking chair by the window, Mara rocked the baby. Sitting there in the dark, her thoughts again turned to Kyle. Her husband, for better or worse. She knew he was upset with her, and with good reason. He had been wanting to make love for the last week, but she kept putting him off, saying she wasn’t ready, that she was too tired, or pleading that she had a headache, surely the oldest excuse in the world. She knew that, sooner or later, she would have to give in. She owed him that much. One thing for certain, she would be sure they both took precautions before they slept together again, because even though she loved Derek more than her own life, she didn’t want any more babies.

Chapter Thirty-one

Thomas Ramsden stormed out of the house, afraid if he stayed another minute, he would do something he might regret. The sound of Janis’s wailing followed him into the night. Damn the woman! Would she never shut up? For the last six months, she had talked of nothing but wanting a baby. She needed a baby. She didn’t feel complete without a baby. She would never be happy until she had a baby.

Hell, maybe he should just go to the nearest hospital and grab one. He could be in and out of the maternity ward before anyone realized he had been there. The thing was, an ordinary baby wouldn’t do. He wanted Mara’s child, sired by a mortal man on a woman who had once been the most powerful vampire on Earth. Now, there was a child worth having.

Reluctant to go back home, Ramsden headed for his office. He had an emergency lair in the basement. Perhaps he would spend a day or two there. He could use the peace and quiet.

After letting himself into the office, he went downstairs to the lab and opened the refrigerator. He kept several packets of blood on hand for those times when he was too busy or simply not in the mood to hunt. He was reaching for the nearest container when he saw the vials filled with blood he had taken from Mara during her pregnancy. He had done several tests on her blood, hoping to find the secret of her transformation, but to no avail. What had wrought the change in her, he wondered yet again, and where in hell had she gone?

Grunting softly, he picked up one of the vials. Unlike vampire blood, which was dark, the blood inside the glass tube was bright red. Mara’s blood. He removed the cork, his nostrils flaring as the rich coppery scent swirled through the air.

Had he preyed upon her when he’d had the chance, he would have been able to track her whereabouts with ease . . . He stared at the vial in his hand. This was her blood. He grunted thoughtfully. Perhaps there was a way to find her, after all.

Murmuring, “I wonder . . . ?” he tilted his head back and let the thick crimson liquid trickle down his throat.

Now, there was just one more thing he had to do.

Chapter Thirty-two

Kyle stared at the canvas in front of him, but instead of seeing Old Town Porterville, he saw Mara’s face. She was beautiful, so beautiful, but the inner glow, the fire that had first attracted him, was gone. Her eyes were always sad now, except for those times when she held their son in her arms.

He had tried to be understanding and supportive, but how could any mortal truly understand what she was going through? Not long ago, she had been a monster who preyed on the innocent, and now she was human, with a fine, handsome son and a man who adored her, yet it wasn’t enough. Why anyone would want to go back to being a vampire was beyond his comprehension. He had seen what vampires did the night the police drove him to the morgue to identify his father’s body. Having seen that, he was somewhat amazed that he could love Mara, but love her he did. And she wasn’t a vampire now. She was human, the mother of his child . . .

He raked a hand through his hair. A child that might very well be a vampire, something they might not know for years. In talking with Rane, he had learned that Rane and his brother had been like any other boys until they reached puberty, when their vampire natures overcame their humanity. Would that happen to his son? Hard to imagine that his pink-cheeked little boy might one day turn into a blood-drinking fiend. In all fairness, Rane and his brother didn’t seem like monsters, yet he knew they preyed on humans, as did the rest of the family, save for Savanah. How long until she, too, joined the ranks of the Undead? Would she wait until Abbey was grown?

His son, a vampire. Kyle shook his head. He wouldn’t think of that now. Until he knew otherwise, he would believe that Derek would grow up to be like any other child. He loved the boy beyond belief, knew that he would willingly lay down his life for his son. Not for the first time, Kyle thought of taking the boy and leaving his wife. He knew Mara would grieve for the child but he thought that, in the long run, she would be happier. If Derek was gone, Mara would have no reason to remain human. She could get her vampire lover to bring her across and go back to being one of the Undead . . .