Night's Master (Children of The Night 3)

“All right.” I went to the room's single window and drew back the heavy drapes. Through the thick iron bars, I could see that the sun had gone down. Rafe had said he would rise at sundown. Was he awake? Maybe waiting for me to join him in bed?

While I was deciding what to do, Cagin returned to the living room. “She's gone.”

“Gone?” I shook my head. “How can that be? We'd have seen her leave.”

“Would we?”

I hurried down the hallway to Rafe's bedroom. Opening the door, I peered inside. The sheets were rumpled, but the bed was empty.

I glanced over my shoulder at Cagin, who was standing in the doorway behind me. “Where can they be?”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Susie stared at the young man who stood, unmoving, in front of her, then glanced at Rafe. “I don't think I can do this.”

“Sure you can.”

She looked back at the man that Rafe had mesmerized, her expression doubtful.

“Susie, stop thinking like a mortal. You're a Vampire now, and you need to feed. I know you can feel the hunger inside you. Surrender to it, to what you are.”

“You want me to drink his blood?”

“It's what you're craving,” Rafe said patiently. “It's the only thing that will relieve the pain. And it's natural for you now. Sweet, like nothing else.”

She made a face. “Yuck!”

“Trust me on this. Here, this will make it easier.” Grasping the man's shoulders, Rafe scraped his fangs along the side of the man's neck. A thin ribbon of bright red oozed from the shallow incision. The coppery scent of blood rose in the air.

Drawn by the scent, Susie took a step forward, her nostrils flaring. Slowly, her eyes took on a faint red glow. Her lips parted, and Rafe saw her fangs, sharp and white and ready.

“That's it,” he said. “Take him in your arms, gently now. You don't want to hurt him.”

A harsh laugh rose in her throat. “Why are you worrying about my hurting him? I'm going to kill him.”

“No, you don't have to kill.”

“I don't? But I thought…isn't that what Vampires do?”

“Not all of us. Whether you kill him or not is up to you.”

“What if I can't stop myself?”

“That's why I'm here.”

With a soft cry of resignation, Susie wrapped her arms around the man and buried her fangs in his neck. His head lolled back against her arm, his body quivering, but he made no sound, offered no protest, no cry of pain.

Rafe stood nearby, his own hunger rising as he watched Susie feed. When he judged she had taken enough, he put his hand on her arm and drew her away.

She turned on him with a feral hiss, her eyes blazing.

“No more,” Rafe said. “If you're still hungry, we'll find someone else.”

She stared at him, her gaze fixed on his throat.

“Vampires don't feed on Vampires,” Rafe said, his voice sharp. “They take a drink now and then, but never more than that.”

Rafe spoke a few words to the man, erasing the memory of what had happened from his mind, and then sent him on his way.

Susie stared after him. Gradually, the heat faded from her eyes as her fangs retracted. “I have a lot to learn, don't I?”

“It'll come to you, bit by bit. Or,” he said, grinning, “bite by bite. How do you feel?”

“Wonderful! Like I could fly.”

Rafe grinned. “You will, in time.”

“What about my kids? Will they be safe around me? And what about my parents, my friends? How will I explain my sudden aversion to food and the fact that I can't go out during the day and…” Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Maybe you should have just let me die.”

“Stop it. You've got a lot to live for. And, unless I miss my guess, Cagin will be right there to help you.”

Her expression softened at the mention of Cagin's name. “He asked me to marry him.”

“I'm not surprised.”

“How can I? How can I trust myself to marry anyone, or trust anyone I marry?”

“Do you love him?”

“I don't know. I think so, but…” She shook her head. “He killed Rick, and even though he did it to save my life…how can I live with the man who killed the father of my children?”

“How can you live without him?”

“I don't know.”

Rafe put his arm around Susie's shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “It'll all work out, one way or the other. Now, do you want to go back to my place, or are you still hungry?”

She licked her lips, her eyes glowing. “I want some more.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I was watching the news, or pretending to, when Rafe and Susie entered the room. I hadn't heard them come in and couldn't hide my surprise at seeing them, nor could I stop staring at Susie. She had been a pretty young woman before, but now she was radiant. Her skin seemed to glow, her eyes looked brighter, her hair appeared thicker and more lustrous. Apparently, becoming a Vampire was better than a face-lift or a day at the spa. Of course, there were a few trade-offs, like giving up food and sunshine for blood and moonlight.

Cagin sprang to his feet when he saw her. “Where the hell have you been?”

She looked at Rafe, as though for reassurance.

“We've been hunting,” Rafe said calmly. He glanced around the room, making me wish I had cleared the empty pizza box and plastic coffee cups from the coffee table.

Eyes narrowed, Cagin looked at Susie as if he had never seen her before, and then he sighed. “I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, but, dammit, didn't you think I'd be worried when I went in to check on you and you were gone? For all I knew, those crazy hunters had you again.”

“I'm sorry,” she murmured, moving closer to Rafe. “I didn't think about that.”

“All right, everybody just calm down,” Rafe said. “If anyone's to blame, it's me. I thought it would be best for all concerned if Susie went hunting with me the first time.”

“So,” Cagin said, obviously ill at ease with the idea of his lady love hunting for prey, “how was it?”

Susie smiled up at Rafe. “Not as bad as I thought it would be. Rafe was very kind and patient with me.”

Cagin glared at Rafe. “Is that right?”

“Back off, Cagin,” Rafe said, bristling. “She needed someone to teach her what to do. If I didn't do it, who would? You?”

Cagin clenched his hands at his sides.

For a minute, I thought the two of them were going to fight again.