Night's Kiss (Children of The Night 1)

I'm working on it, he said. If you know any prayers, this would be a good time to say them.

Anthony Loken could barely contain his excitement as he stood at the bar of the Nocturne, sipping a glass of champagne. At last, he had found the secret! Still, he was determined to make one last test before he tried it on himself, and since he didn't have another witch at his disposal, he had come here. If it also worked on a woman who was not a witch, then he would be certain that it was safe, he thought, and then he frowned. Perhaps he should try it on a man, as well. Yes, that was the ticket. Better safe than sorry…

Damn! He knew he had forgotten something. Why hadn't he thought of it before? He had been so elated when Brenna had survived being injected with the vampire's blood he had neglected to see if her powers of healing had increased! If her body healed itself, then he could safely assume that eternal life would also be hers, and therefore, his. He had intended to dispose of the witch but it suddenly occurred to him that he would have to keep her alive a little longer to make sure the results of the injection didn't wear off after an hour or two, or a day or two. And he would also need to make sure there were no side effects.

He swore softly. Myra was always telling him he was too impetuous. Maybe she was right. Well, no matter, he would take care of all the trivial loose ends later. He would dispose of the witch when he had no further use for her. Witch or vampire, she would not survive the flames. But that was a task for another day. For now, he needed another guinea pig. Luckily, they weren't hard to find.

He beckoned at a pretty little dark-haired female. She smiled back, and then she was walking toward him.

Roshan stared at the ceiling. Ignoring the pain that burned through him, he concentrated on summoning his power, drawing it toward him, focusing it on the chain that bound his right wrist to the table. Teeth clenched, he jerked against the restraint with all the force at his disposal. The movement caused the manacle to cut deeper into his skin, but also pulled one of the links apart, breaking the chain so that his right hand was no longer bound to the table.

He lay there panting heavily for several minutes, and then he jerked against the other chain. Once his hands were no longer bound to the table, he removed the leather strap from his chest and sat up. Moments later, his ankles were also free.

Swinging his legs over the edge of the table, he stood up, one hand grasping the edge. Though he was no longer bound to the table, the silver manacles still circled his wrists and ankles. Lengths of chain dangled from each one, but there was no time to worry about that now. His first priority was Brenna.

CHAPTER 24

Weakened by the silver rubbing against his skin, Roshan made his way toward Anthony Loken's house. Though the holy water had dried long ago, his skin still burned, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered now but getting Brenna away from the warlock before it was too late.

A vile oath exploded from Roshan's lips when he reached the front porch of Loken's house. Pain had dulled his thinking. He was here, with no way to get inside. Had he been at his full strength, he might have tried to cross the threshold in spite of the consequences, but he was too weak to battle the warlock's defenses, and growing weaker by the minute.

Turning, he retraced his steps down the street until he came to another house. He knocked on the front door, waited impatiently for someone to answer his summons.

It was a teenage girl with long blond hair. She wore a red halter top that exposed an indecent amount of skin, and a pair of white shorts that were equally revealing. A small black rose was tattooed on her left shoulder.

"Geez, man, what happened to you?" she asked, looking him up and down.

"I don't have time to explain," he said, trapping her gaze with his. "Come with me."

Without question, she followed him up the hill and onto Loken's front porch.

Roshan handed her a large rock he had picked up along the way. "Break the glass."

She didn't hesitate. Taking the rock from his hand, she tossed it through the narrow window beside the door.

"Now, reach inside and unlock the door."

Again, she did as she was told, her expression carefully blank, even when she cut her hand on a shard of glass. The scent of blood drifted through the air. Without thought, Roshan grabbed her hand and licked the blood from the wound.

"All right,"— he searched her mind for her name—"Jean, I need you to go upstairs and find Brenna. When you find her, you will bring her to me."

"Find Brenna, "Jean said. Opening the door, she disappeared inside the house.

Closing his eyes, Roshan rested his forehead against the doorjamb. He was weary, so weary. In the distance, he heard a woman's voice calling Jean's name. A few minutes later, Jean appeared in the doorway, leading Brenna by the hand.

"Roshan!" Breaking free of the girl's hold, Brenna ran toward him. "What has that monster done to you?"

"I'll be all right. Come, we don't have time to waste."

Brenna glanced over her shoulder. "Who is this girl? What is she doing here?"

"There's no time to explain now. We've got to go. Jean, close the door, then come with me."

Descending the stairs, Roshan started down the hill, closely followed by Jean and Brenna. When they were two doors away from Jean's house, Roshan drew the girl into his arms.

"Brenna, turn away."

"No."

"Do as I say." His voice was low, ragged with pain and a hunger that would no longer be denied. "Please, Brenna."

How could she refuse when he was looking at her like that, his voice filled with anguish and pleading, his eyes already turning red. With a sigh of resignation, she did as he asked, listened as he spoke quietly to the girl, assuring her that he would not hurt her.

Brenna closed her eyes, trying not to imagine him bending over the girl's neck, his lips touching her skin…

A bolt of bright green jealousy shot through Brenna. It was their wedding night! If Roshan needed to feed, why hadn't he asked her? She shook her head, appalled at the turn of her thoughts. She was angry because he was holding another woman in his arms, resentful that he had chosen to feed from someone else.

She heard him speaking to the girl again, telling Jean that all was well, telling her to go home and remember nothing of what had happened.

Brenna turned around when she felt his hand on her shoulder. "Let's go."

"Why?" she asked, her gaze searching his. "Why did you feed off her and not me?"

Roshan stared at his bride, unable to believe that she was jealous. Laughing softly, he took her hand. "This isn't the time or the place to discuss it," he reminded her. "Loken could return any time."