“Then what if we spread that message over the vampire Internet? And not just the message, I can get names, dates, locations…hell, I could find out where Xavier was at the time of the murder!”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes,” I said confidently. “Xavier’s arrogance has destroyed him. He thinks that after Ford was killed, the murder of Abraham Smith is a closed book, so he hasn’t even bothered to cover his tracks in the mortal world.”
Shadow stared at me, an emotion on his beautiful face I could only describe as awe.
“If you can find solid evidence that connects Xavier to the murder of a priest…there is nowhere he could hide.”
“We can win, Shadow,” I whispered. “We can.”
His flawless marble hands settled on my waist, and I trembled at his touch.
“I do not know for certain if we can, Mercedes,” he said. “But the chance you have given us…you have done something I never dreamed was possible. I swear to you that I will never underestimate you again.” He touched my face. “You will need to spread that message to every server, every terminal in the vampire world. One thing Xavier and I have in common is that neither of us has prayed to the gods for centuries. I have no right to do so now, but perhaps they will have mercy on you. I will beg them on my knees if I must for them to have mercy on you.”
His chiseled, gorgeous features became more tormented as his eyes scanned my face. He gritted his teeth and looked away.
“Mercedes—”
“I can’t deny it anymore,” I said firmly, determination coursing through me. My hands stroked the smooth skin of his face. “I have never met anyone like you, and the way I feel whenever I look at you…whenever you look at me…I can’t describe it. When I touch you, the world falls away. Shadow let me know you. You don’t have to hide from me. I love—”
I didn’t get to finish. He stopped me by covering my mouth with his.
I had told him the world fell away when I touched him.
I surrendered to his kiss, and allowed the entire universe to fall away.
***
Shadow
She was not delicate. I felt no weakness in her at all. She was strong and warm. So very, very warm. I wanted to lose myself in that warmth, and I did.
I tried to resist. I tried so hard. Hope was for the weak, I always told myself. I hated myself for having it to the point where I could not remember a time when I did not wish for death. But with Mercedes in my arms, her lips against mine, I felt strong. I cared deeply for this young mortal woman, and there was nothing I would not do to protect her.
I loved her.
And she loved me. Not only that, she wanted to know me.
That was a concept that terrified me more than how much my feelings for her were changing me.
I pulled away from her. Her face was flushed with that incredibly delicious blood she had allowed me to taste only hours ago. Her eyes reflected every star in the night sky. But the brightness of the stars paled in comparison to the brightness of her smile.
I kissed her again, needing to feel. Needing to let her run her healing fingers over the scars on my soul. Needing to live for something more than my unending hatred for the ones who took such pleasure in torturing me and those I cared for.
This is it, I thought. This is what Brandon meant. I have found something to live for.
And I will protect it.
When we broke apart again, I could see my deep reluctance to return to our separate worlds mirrored in her eyes. But we both had to be strong if we wanted to survive Xavier’s wrath.
“When will I see you again?” Mercedes asked once we were in front of her patio again. She was making a valiant effort to sound calm and controlled, but I could sense her agitation.
“Three days again,” I said, taking her into my arms. “I will do everything I can to placate Xavier, to keep him distracted from finding you. I do not believe we have much time left, but I have every faith in you.”
We shared one more deep kiss before I fled into the night.
***
Mercedes
The cool night air did little to tame my thundering heart or soothe the incessant tingling in my lips. I put my fingertips to them, awed at the emotions rushing through my soul. How had I lived so long without feeling this? All right, I was only seventeen, but still…
I walked back up to my room. It was late and the servants had all gone to bed, so I was alone. My fingers never left my lips as my eyes flickered over to the exotic draperies, paintings, and rare sculptures that passed me by.
I was incredibly lucky, I knew. My family’s wealth was practically endless, and I never wanted for anything throughout my entire life. Or so I thought. Ever since Shadow came into my life, I gradually became aware of a part of my soul that had been starving for a while. Something that no amount of money, material items, platonic love, or friendship could fulfill. Deep down I always regretted not being able to return the affections of wonderful boys like Taylor and Sam. I regretted that something prevented me from being attracted to them. From falling in love with them.
But now I knew I loved Shadow. And the happiness that followed gave that deprived part of my soul all the nourishment it could ever dream of.
I was in love.
And I would protect the one I loved with everything I had.
“Miss Mercedes, it is time for bed.”
“I’m sorry, Lulu, but if you bother me while I’m working now, I’m going to have to shut you off for a while.”
Brief pause. “I don’t understand, Mercedes, but I know you would never threaten to turn me off unless you had a very good reason.”
“I do.”
“Then I will just say that I trust you, and I wish you the best of luck.”
***
Xavier
“My lord Xavier. The Evanescence has just returned with the latest recording.”
I could barely contain my excitement when the Evanescence was brought forth. I seized the beast, and tore into its mind without a second thought. It shrieked and fought like the last one, but nothing would deter me from my goal.
The Harijan and the girl walking through a field during the night. I could not hear their conversation. My invasion of the Evanescence’s mind was far too brutal. It could not focus its memories. But when I saw the Harijan kiss the human girl, when I saw his eyes afterward, I knew I did not need to hear any part of their conversation.
I retracted my mind, threw the dead Evanescence to the floor, and stood up as triumph surged through me.
“Success, my lord?”
“Yes,” I hissed. “Yes. The Harijan has fallen in love. Moreover, he is filled with a hope that he is not ashamed of it.”
“Shall we give him more time--?”
“No. Loathe as I am to admit it, he is very intelligent. He will soon discover on his own that his newfound hope is even more futile than his hope for a better life, and I wish to be the one to inform him. He will have plenty of time to contemplate and agonize over the truth. Now bring him to me.”
***
Shadow
My emotions where still quite chaotic by the time I reached my apartment, but not in a way that threatened my sanity. In fact, my mind had never been clearer. I knew what I felt, I knew what I wanted, and I knew I would do anything to achieve it. Granted, there was still an enormous possibility of failure, but this purpose…this dream…there was absolutely no reason for me to be ashamed of it. My self-loathing had made me withdrawn over the centuries, alienating me from those I would call friend, but I did not hate myself for this. My love for Mercedes was something no one could take from me. And she reciprocated my feelings, so our current relationship was solidified. I cared not that she was mortal, that her senses and physical strength were inferior to my own. Her spirit, compassion, intelligence, and determination made her more worthy to walk the earth than several vampires I could easily name, including Xavier.
Xavier.
The one wh
o wished my love to suffer an agonizing death just to torment me.
My fangs emerged as I paced my apartment. Xavier could not destroy my love for Mercedes, and he would not destroy her. This dream was not unattainable. When Mercedes’ lovely face flashed in my mind, I felt a seemingly unending strength gather in my heart and soul. I would succeed. I would keep her safe forever. There was no maybe. Xavier would die.
Imagining Mercedes in the clutches of that bastard made me want to attempt an assassination right then and there, but I could not. I had to be practical. If Mercedes could find and spread evidence throughout vampire society that Xavier had conspired to murder a priest, we would be rid of him forever.
I soft barking sound caught my attention. Blackhole circled around me, yipping over and over again. I smiled at him without realizing it.
“And what are you so excited about?”
He pawed at my leg. I knelt down and put my hand on his head.
You’re being more open with me. I like that.
Do you, now?
It’s the human that’s done this. I want to meet her.
Are you certain you mean meet and not eat? I asked wryly.
Yes! I want to meet her.
You will undoubtedly get your wish. If she is to spread incriminating evidence about Xavier throughout vampire society, she will have to come here to do it.
Good! I want—
My instincts screamed at me, and I brought my blade to bear before an armored soldier could splash me in the face with garlic. I ducked, rolled, and slashed at his legs, taking both of them off just above the knee. Before he could even think to scream, I used his mutilated body as a shield that took a stake right through the heart from another soldier. Blackhole was already in the process of devouring a third solider, but there were four, five…ten of them in all.
I fought harder than I had ever fought in my life. When it was over, half of them were dead by my hand, and by Blackhole’s jaws. But in the end, they succeeded in incapacitating Blackhole and injecting me with concentrated garlic. As fire spread through my veins, paralyzing me, an image of Mercedes’ brilliant smile exploded in my mind.
My love…
***
Mercedes
For the next two days, I got three hours of sleep at best. There was no time to lose. If Xavier caught onto us, I needed to have the incriminating evidence ready for the whole of vampire society to see. On the midnight of the second day, I struck gold. Maybe I couldn’t understand the mysterious code these elite vampires used, but I could more than understand what their human servants were writing. They tried to twist their words, but with my newfound knowledge of vampire society, I knew exactly what they were saying. They constantly talked of putting a stake through the heart of “His Holiness,” after injecting him with allium sativum.
Apparently, it never crossed any of their minds that they weren’t the only ones who knew Latin. I wouldn’t say my Latin was flawless yet, but my extensive study of the language paid off handsomely here. Allium sativum was Latin for garlic. And I would bet my life that if I found the autopsy report for Abraham Smith, it would include an enormous puncture wound through the heart, as well as large amounts of garlic in his system.
My work was nearly complete. I had names, dates, and locations of all the humans linked to Xavier’s soldiers. Xavier had also done me an enormous favor by having said soldiers killed after Abraham died. That would look incredibly suspicious to the royal family. All that was left now was for Shadow to translate the messages written in elite vampire code. Maybe vampire technology was more advanced than human technology, but I was certain I could upload the evidence to the vampire Internet. I just needed to find a thread. Or maybe Shadow would show me a thread.
Shadow.
For what seemed like the millionth time, I put my fingers to my lips. Even if my memory weren’t nearly perfect, I would never forget the feel of his lips; so cold and solid, but so beautifully alluring, so filled with a love and affection that I knew I would never experience from another.
I was still very confused as to how he could possibly love me in return. While I would not call myself ugly per se, I could never hope to compete with Shadow’s dark, ethereal beauty. He could have had the loveliest of human women, the loveliest of vampire women if he wanted them, but instead he chose me. I didn’t know why, and it was probably best that I shouldn’t question his reasons for loving me. Like Lulu said, love did not care about the rules. It didn’t matter if I was mortal and he was a vampire. It didn’t matter if I could never hope to match his beauty. If I felt a connection between us that we both knew was love…then I didn’t have to know why.
Shadow.
My love.
***
Shadow
When I awoke, the fire in my veins had abated to a dull burning. I was still hideously weak, and I could barely control my muscles. When my mind began to clear, I discovered that I was lying in a cell that contained not a photon of light. With a groan, I struggled to sit up, but I soon realized that any form of movement other than feeble twitching was impossible right now.
The door opened, flooding the cell with light. Though my vision was still blurred, a growl rumbled in the back of my throat. I would recognize Xavier in any form.
He smiled. “Hello, Shadow.”
I didn’t reply. I just subjected him to my most hateful glare.
“How are you feeling today?”
His tone was melodious, pleasant, conversational, as if we were old friends. If I were a naïve youngster, that voice would entice me to trust him.
“Well, I suppose that was a pointless question,” Xavier sighed after a while. “But I know this next one is far from pointless: how is Mercedes Strand doing?”
If I were not already paralyzed by garlic, the terror that seized me would have done the job even more effectively. No. No, Lord Chaos, Lord Order, please, please, no…
Xavier laughed. “Oh, I will savor that look for the next thousand years, Harijan. You can bet everything on that.”
“Where is she?” I croaked. My hatred and terror burned some of the paralysis away, but I hide my growing strength. “Where is she, you bastard?”
“Not here,” Xavier replied. “At least not yet. Don’t worry, you’ll be reunited with her soon enough. But now we must address the other questions that are racing through your mind, Shadow. You want them to be answered so very desperately. The stench of your need is even stronger than the spice in your system. You want to know how I found out. When I found out. Where she is, what I plan to do to her.” He smiled cruelly as he began to slowly pace back and forth. “You love her, don’t you, Shadow?”
I averted my eyes, knowing that no amount of hatred could ever hope to mask my love for Mercedes. But my efforts were futile. Xavier laughed.
“Oh, Shadow, Shadow, you can’t even begin to imagine how pleased I am. I hoped you would fall in love, but I would have been perfectly content if you merely wished to protect her due to your ridiculous sense of honor. This has turned out far better than I ever dreamed possible.”
As he spoke, suspicion began to gnaw at me. He was speaking as if he had known of Mercedes’ identity and location for quite some time. If so, then why not take her prisoner right away? Why wait…?
“Yes, you are beginning to realize the truth, aren’t you?” Xavier said softly in response to the look on my face.
“You,” I hissed. “You’ve known her location since the beginning.”
“Oh, far before that,” Xavier replied. “In fact, you might go so far as to say I’ve known her for years.”
“What are you talking about?”
“There is nothing about you I do not know, Shadow,” the bastard whispered. “But my vast knowledge of your psyche is completely irrelevant thanks to your willingness to wear your weaknesses on your sleeve as if they were medals. You are an Outcast, yet you do not accept your status. Ever since you could remember, you have longed for a life of freedom. But you loathe that
dream even more than you loathe elites like me. You are aware that it is a futile dream, but you cannot let it go. Your shame of not being able to has haunted you for centuries. It is why you desire an honorable death. That was the one hold you had over me. All you had to do was attack me, die fighting me, and you would have gotten what you wanted. And I most certainly could not have that. It is why I was so merciful to you. You may laugh in disbelief, but I could have made your life a nightmare beyond your imagination. Just ask any of your fellow Harijans whose souls are so broken, they could easily will themselves to die.”
He stopped pacing and stared directly at me.
“I could never hand you such a victory. For me to win, you needed to have something I could take. You needed a dream you believed was not unattainable. You needed to care about the safety of something or someone so deeply that every suicidal thought in your mind would dissipate like a drop of water on a hot coal.”
Realization dawned on me. Realization, horror, and incredulity.
“Mercedes is your agent?”
“She is, but she is unaware of it.” Xavier waved a hand. “Do not fear. Whatever feelings of love she has revealed to you are utterly genuine. I know this because I have been watching her for some time. It was not long before I knew she would be the perfect tool for my vengeance against you. She has such an extraordinary amount of compassion and selflessness that is only rivaled by her beauty. And she is human. Her mortality alone would ensure that you would protect her should she ever be in danger…thanks to you.”
My insides were no longer on fire. The garlic had turned into icy shards that were piercing my nerves.
“That day…” my voice was so hoarse I could barely recognize it. “When I was attacked. You never intended to kill me.” My fangs emerged. “You wanted her to find me. You led her to me!”
“Very good.” Xavier smiled. “I had one of my agents ensure that she would come into contact with you in your highly compromised state. You couldn’t help but feed on fresh human blood. But once you were aware of yourself again, you also couldn’t let an innocent girl die by your hands or mine. And you knew what she would suffer if I ever discovered she thwarted my ‘assassination attempt’.” He knelt in front of me. “All I wanted was for you to desire to protect her so much that would no longer wish to die unless her safety was ensured. And you passed all of the tests I set before you. You defeated that Evanescence, you reigned in your desire to kill me, and you did nothing to provoke any of the Kshatriya into challenging you to a duel. All because you now value the safety of one puny human girl more than your desire for an honorable death. The safety…