As Twilight Falls

There was a whole world to explore outside of Morgan Creek. If he took her away from there, would she stay with him? Or hasten back to her own home, her old life, without a backward glance?

It would be a risk in more ways than one.

He might lose Kadie.

He might even lose his head.

In the morning, Kadie woke aching in places where she had never ached before, but it was a wonderful kind of pain, a reminder of what they had shared. Remembering the night past had her smiling like a schoolgirl with her first crush.

“Rylan.” She had never spoken his first name. It made him seem more human, somehow.

But he wasn’t human. He was a vampire, hidden away in some secret place, sleeping the sleep of the Undead. Was he here, in the house? And if so, where? She supposed she couldn’t fault him for keeping his resting place a secret. Was he completely vulnerable during the day? How scary would that be?

The other vampires hid out in Blair House when the sun was up. Kadie frowned, wondering again why the people in town hadn’t tried to destroy them.

Kadie shook her head, surprised by her bloodthirsty thought. Even if the vampires could be destroyed, there was no guarantee that that would break the spell keeping Marti and the others in town.

Rising, she showered, dressed, and went downstairs for breakfast. Enjoying her first cup of coffee, she found herself thinking about making love to Rylan. If she had to belong to one of the vampires, she could have done a lot worse.

Needing something to do, she dusted the furniture, did a load of wash, mopped the kitchen floor.

Around noon, she drove into town for lunch. Of course, service in the restaurant depended on who felt like working that day.

She found Marti and Rosemary sitting at a table near the window.

Marti waved her over. “Come, sit with us. We just ordered.”

“Thanks,” Kadie said, taking the chair beside Marti’s.

“We haven’t seen you for a couple of days. Is everything okay?”

Kadie smiled, thinking of the night past. “Everything’s fine.”

Marti and Rosemary exchanged glances.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were in love with him,” Rosemary said.

“Don’t be silly,” Kadie exclaimed, hoping no one would notice the flush climbing up her neck. She was attracted to him, there was no doubt of that. But love? Ridiculous. He was a vampire!

“Oh, Kadie,” Marti said. “Say it isn’t so.”

“Of course it isn’t,” she replied hotly. Hoping to change the subject, she asked the question she had pondered earlier. “Speaking of vampires, why haven’t you just destroyed them during the day?”

“Believe me, the men have tried,” Rosemary said, “but there’s no way into Blair House. The men tried breaking down the door, but that didn’t work. And the windows are all barred.”

Kadie nodded, pleased that her ploy to change the subject had worked.

“Besides,” Chelsea said, coming to join the conversation, “there’s no guarantee that destroying the vampires will break whatever spell is keeping us here.”

Kadie had recently come to the same conclusion herself. Not to mention the fact that, if the townspeople destroyed the vampires, they would have no one to bring them food and drink. Trapped in town with no way out, the inhabitants would all slowly starve to death.

“I’m on kitchen duty,” Chelsea said, “so what would you like this afternoon?”

“A bacon and tomato sandwich and a cherry Coke,” Kadie said. “Thanks.”

“Coming right up,” Chelsea said.

Rosemary waited until Chelsea went into the kitchen, then leaned forward as if she was afraid of being overheard, although they were the only three customers in the place. “You do know that all vampires have a certain sexual allure that’s almost irresistible to mortals, don’t you?”

“No, I didn’t.” Kadie groaned inwardly. So, they were back to that, were they? She bit down on the inside corner of her lip. Saintcrow had assured her that what she felt for him was real. Had he lied to her? Was she wrong to trust him?

“It’s how they attract their prey,” Rosemary said. “Vampires are incapable of love, of human emotions.”

Kadie shook her head. “I don’t believe that.”

“It’s true.”

There was something about the way Rosemary said it that made Kadie look at her sharply. “Are you saying . . . ? I mean, have you . . . ?”

“We all have,” Marti said.

“They took you, against your will?”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Rosemary said, her voice rising. “They can make you want them, make you think it’s your idea.”

Kadie didn’t know why she was so shocked. Saintcrow had told her that he could compel her to do anything he wanted. He had even proved it one night. But it had never occurred to her that the vampires used their preternatural power to seduce Rosemary and the others. Wasn’t it bad enough they took their blood without stealing their will?

Rosemary sat back in her chair when Chelsea appeared with their orders. “Tell her, Chelsea,” Rosemary said. “Tell her what those monsters are capable of.”

Chelsea’s cheeks flushed red.

“So, it’s true,” Kadie murmured.

Chelsea nodded.

Kadie felt sick to her stomach. She’d been a fool to trust Saintcrow. A fool to believe him when he told her that what she felt for him was real. And if her feelings weren’t real, then neither was what they had shared last night.

After lunch, Kadie declined an invitation to go to the movies with Rosemary and Marti. She needed time alone.

Back at Saintcrow’s house, all she could think about was what Rosemary had said. All vampires possessed a supernatural attraction. They couldn’t fall in love. They were incapable of genuine human emotions.

She prowled through the house, too upset to sit still. It was bad enough that the vampires took the life’s blood of the women, but to seduce them against their will . . . that just wasn’t right!

And yet, argued a little voice in the back of her mind, if it was true, if all vampires could attract humans, then why hadn’t she been attracted to Vaughan? Why had she been repulsed by Kiel? Maybe some humans were immune to their allure. For all she knew, Vaughan had tried to compel her and failed. As for Kiel, he hadn’t wanted to seduce her. He had wanted her to be afraid of him, had taken pleasure in scaring her half to death. Why? The answer came quickly. He was a predator. He lived for the hunt, took pleasure in subduing his prey.