As Twilight Falls

“You mean it?”

The hope in her eyes went straight to his heart—a heart he had thought dead long ago. “I swear it,” he said, his voice thick. “I swear it on my honor as a knight.”

Later, Saintcrow stood beside Kadie’s bed, wondering why she had never told him about her sister. She tried not to think about Kathy too often. Perhaps it was too painful. Or perhaps, with his ability to read her mind, she figured he already knew.

Watching her sleep, he longed to hold her in his arms, to make love to her until the sun came up, but, given all that had happened at the mall, he thought it best to wait a few days. He had never meant for her to see him like that, his skin drawn tight, his eyes blazing like the fires of hell, his fangs dripping blood. She had covered the horror she felt remarkably well, better than he had expected, but he knew it wasn’t something she would soon forget.

Would she look at him now and see only a monster? If so, she wouldn’t be the first. Or likely the last.

He lifted a lock of her hair, let it sift through his fingers. Since becoming a vampire, he had refused to let himself fall in love, had refused to let anyone—vampire or mortal—get close to him. But Kadie, clothed in youthful beauty and innocence, had captured his heart.

He had thought to keep her with him for a long, long time, but now, loving her, he knew he couldn’t subject her to a life with him. He recalled, all too clearly, something Kadie had told him.

Only a monster keeps people enslaved, she’d said, her voice ringing with righteous indignation. And she was right. He was a monster.

A monster in love for the first time in his long, long existence. And so he would let her go.

But not yet.

Surely even a monster deserved a little happiness.

Chapter 22

Kadie woke feeling as if she hadn’t had more than an hour or two of sleep. Her dreams had been filled with red-eyed demons and faceless monsters clad in black. Sometimes they had chased her. Sometimes they had attacked each other. Once she had dreamed she was buried alive in Leslie’s grave. She had pounded on the lid of the coffin, screaming for help until her throat was raw, and all the while she could hear Saintcrow telling her she should have run while she had the chance. And always there had been blood, rivers of blood.

She banished her bad dreams with a hot shower and several cups of coffee. Sitting in the kitchen, staring out the window at a bright beautiful day, she found herself wondering what it would be like to never go out and about during the day. When the vampires slept, was it truly like death? Did they look like corpses, or merely like they were sleeping? What did Saintcrow look like? And why was she so obsessed with finding out? Was it because he didn’t want her to? Still, if she was going to spend the rest of her life with him, then she wanted to know everything about him, including what he looked like when the sun was up and he was dead to the world. No pun intended, she thought with a grin.

Tonight, she would remind him he had promised there would be no secrets between them, then ask him to leave the door to his lair open.

After breakfast, she drove to Marti’s to see if she’d like to go to lunch and a movie later that day. Marti suggested they ask Rosemary and the others and make a day of it.

“Why don’t you go invite the others?” Kadie suggested. “I’ll make some sandwiches and a cake and meet you all at the restaurant at noon.”

“Great idea,” Marti said. “After I invite everyone, I’ll see what I can do about decorations, and we will have an unofficial celebration.”

Kadie had just finished frosting a cake when the other women arrived. Marti had decorated the restaurant while Kadie fixed lunch. She had pushed two tables together and covered them with a bright yellow cloth. A vase held a bouquet of wildflowers. She had set the table with silverware instead of the plastic forks they sometimes used.

All the women were there, except Frankie.

“I invited her,” Marti said, “but she wouldn’t come.”

“I wish we could convince her to spend time with us.” Shirley shook her head. “She’s so alone.”

“I know,” Kadie said. “I never see her unless it’s in the tavern.”

“I think she feels at home with the vampires because she can communicate with them. They can talk to her and read her answers in her mind.”

“Maybe we should have invited the men,” Kadie remarked.

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t. We really can’t indulge in girl talk when they’re here. These sandwiches are delicious, Kadie.”

“Thanks, Chelsea. It’s just tuna with a little pickle and celery.”

Rosemary smiled at Kadie. “This was a wonderful idea.”

“We should party more often,” Pauline said. “Maybe it would make the days go by faster.”

“Sounds good to me,” Marti agreed. “Sometimes I get so bored, I could scream.”

“I’d like to drive a stake into the heart of every vampire here!” Rosemary said, her expression fierce. “I hate them all!”

“They’re not that bad,” Chelsea said. “I mean, they do take good care of us.”

Rosemary scowled at her.

“Well, it’s true. We each have a house of our own, and nice clothes, and food to eat, and . . .”

“We’re slaves!” Hands fisted on her hips, Rosemary glared at Chelsea. “I don’t care if they decked us out in furs and built us mansions and hired servants to wait on us, we’d still be slaves.” She looked at Kadie. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to spoil the mood.”

“It’s all right,” Kadie said. “I understand how you feel. We’d all like to go home.” But even as she spoke the words, she wondered if she really felt that way. If it meant never seeing Saintcrow again, would she leave Morgan Creek?

“So, how was lunch?” Saintcrow asked later that evening.

“It was fun, I guess. Rosemary is very bitter about . . . well, about everything. She’s been here a long time. Why don’t you let her go?”

“Would that please you?”

“Yes.”

He considered it a moment. He knew Kadie was attracted to him, but he wanted more than that. He wanted her love. All of it. Perhaps letting the woman Rosemary go would be a step in that direction. “Very well. I will take her away tonight, when the others are asleep. But you are not to tell them she’s been freed.”

“What should I say?”