Dark Enchantment: A Vampire Romance (Immortal Legacy Book 3) Page 4

  They were memories of a different witch. That witch had weaved an enchanting spell over me until I was nearly mad with desire, but in the end, she’d refused eternity. She chose death instead, leaving me to endure an endless existence without her.

  While that witch had loved me, she’d also hated me for what I am, but most of all, she’d hated me for what I’d done.

  If only she’d found forgiveness in her heart instead of loathing. How different things might have turned out.

  But how could I have known what she would come to mean to me and that she would eventually extract revenge more tormenting than an eternity in the fiery pits of hell? Loving a woman who’d been dead for over two hundred years was a fate worse than any hell a man could dream up.

  Since the night she’d left this world, my soul had known no light. I was known as the vampire, Darrien, the black hearted one. My reputation among vampires was that I showed no mercy to my victims.

  But when I looked into Sarah’s terrified eyes - eyes so green they appeared to have captured the stormy sea within their depths, I couldn’t do it.

  But they would send others!

  Someone would come and do what I’d been unable to do. Her very existence was forbidden. She was a danger to the bloodline vampires, and especially the Sires. Their world would only go on as it had, but only if they could be rid of the sisters.

  I’d been selected for this task because Omar believed me to be ruthless. What would he do when he realized that his chosen assassin had failed?

  What would I do when they sent someone else to finish the job?

  When I’d agree to eliminate the witch, I hadn’t known she was a Fabre witch.

  Would it have made a difference if I’d known?

  Probably not. It might have made all the difference a couple hundred years ago, but not now. At least it hadn’t until that moment that I’d been ready to take her life and found that I couldn’t do it.

  Ascending into the dark sky, I let my hunger guide me to my prey like I’d done every night for centuries, but tonight I would do so with less enthusiasm. The hunt didn’t seem quite as alluring as it had before - before I’d become lost in those beautiful, bewitching eyes.

  Chapter Twelve

  Alec

  I stood at the edge of the ancient cemetery, watching as an eerie blanket of fog crawled over the hundreds of headstones of the long-forgotten graves. Behind me was an abandoned church.

  The graveyard was a reminder to the living that life is short and that sooner or later death came for everyone. Well, perhaps not everyone. It rarely came for the Immortals.

  I was damned to prey on the living for eternity. Nicole was my saving grace, but how long would it last?

  Eventually, Omar would turn her or kill her. Even if she managed to escape her murderous uncle, she could not escape time. When she was gone, I would once again walk the earth alone, unless I could free myself of the curse.

  I was sure the ancients knew the secrets. They could even know how the vampire could live in the light and exist without the need to prey on the living.

  Lifting my eyes to the massive black cliffs, I gazed at the place I’d traveled so far to reach. At the very top was a fortress that had occupied the same imposing stance for hundreds of years. Castle Arges stood watch over the empty village nearby. This was how the master of Castle Arges preferred it. Solitude was the vampire’s friend, especially in Romania, a land of legends and vampires.

  Here in this dark land, it was difficult for a vampire to hide. The people were always watchful for the immortals, but few dared confront Luciano. Some believed that Luciano was the oldest of the ancients and possibly even the first vampire, but I didn’t think so.

  No doubt he was one of the Sires, but not the first, and certainly not the only original. There were others, though no one knew where they’d gone. Omar obviously thought he knew the Sires were, and he had every intention of bringing them back.

  Not even Donovan and Omar were Sires or Originals, though they came from the bloodline of the Sires. That’s why they were so powerful.

  But Luciano was different. He was one of them.

  A steep staircase led to the top of the cliffs and Castle Arges, but I didn’t need to use stairs. Slowly, I rose out of the mist and flew through the night toward Luciano’s haven of darkness.

  Confronting Luciano was a fool’s mission and I was no fool. I would search the castle for the Book of Anu, hopefully without the old vampire even knowing I was around.

  That’s where we would find answers. Over two thousand years ago, the words of an Immortal were preserved in this manuscript, but the ancients had kept it well hidden, if it actually existed at all.

  Although I hoped it did, I wasn’t too confident. I’d spent over two centuries looking for the book but never found even a hint that it was anything more than a myth.

  Lex was sure it existed.

  He was a member of the Vilka pack, but I couldn’t help but wonder what the wolves could know of the vampires. The Vilkas were the wolf people of Eastern Europe, and they were ancient, but what could they really know about vampires?

  The courtyard was empty and dark, the perfect place to find a way into Castle Arges. My feet touched down on the stone surface of the courtyard, barely making any noise at all. Normally, I would have little fear of discovery, but this was no ordinary home. This was the home of Luciano, a vampire so powerful that none dared oppose him, not even Omar.

  I wasn’t too surprised to find one of the doors unlocked. There was no reason for Luciano to worry. Someone would have to be mad to want to get inside his domain, especially after dark.

  The large wooden door creaked as I pulled it open, but the noise probably wasn’t loud enough to alert anyone to my presence. I quickly slipped inside and found myself in a long, dimly lit corridor.

  Not much had changed at Castle Arges since medieval times. There was now electricity and probably running water, but it looked almost exactly as it had all those years ago. That was the one thing you could be sure about with the ancients, they didn’t like change, and tended to squash anything that would bring about change or a shifting of power.

  The last time I was at the castle, I didn’t even make it to the lower levels, or any of the hidden passages. That would be the best place to begin my search. I froze when I heard a scream from another part of the castle. After listening for several minutes, I heard another shriek of agony.

  Closing my eyes, I did my best to block out the sound. Someone was playing with their food.

  It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Humans were a source of life, not a toy for cruel amusement. I continued down the corridor, more determined than ever to end the curse of the Immortal.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sarah

  After stuffing the St. John’s Wart into another plastic bag, I sealed it. This was my fifteenth bag in the last hour. Stuffing bags wasn’t exactly fun, but it kept my mind off other matters.

  I heard the front door open and knew my aunt was home from her weekly shopping trip into town. Aunt Jeanie loved her privacy and preferred to stay home, but she also liked to gossip with her friends whenever she got the chance.

  Fraternizing with the others was why she made it a point to go to town each week to shop, even if we didn’t really need anything. Jeanie and the other ladies would gather at the local diner for a little catching up. Of course, many of the patrons of the Grotto would leave when they saw the ladies coming, but the witches of Sutter Point didn’t let that bother them at all. A few even found it amusing that after hundreds of years, so many of the locals still feared them.

  “You’ve been a busy bee,” Jeanie said, setting two overstuffed grocery sacks on the kitchen counter.

  “I’m almost done, and then I’ll start on the rosemary.”

  “Nonsense! You’re young and it’s a Saturday. You need to go out and have some fun.”

  “But won’t it be dark soon?” I raised a brow.

  “T
here’s a carnival in Sutter Point. Wouldn’t that be fun? There will be plenty of people there,” Jeanie pointed out. “As long as you stay with the crowd, you should be fine.”

  “I don’t want to go alone,” I told her, shaking my head.

  “Of course you don’t. What fun would that be?” Jeanie patted my back. “That’s why I’ve made arrangements for Taylor to go with you.”

  “Taylor?” I made a sour face. “No kidding?”

  “Now Miss Sarah Fabre, don’t you be inhospitable.” Jeanie wagged a finger at me.

  “I’m a little older than that.” I frowned.

  “Good, that’s my girl. He’ll be here in an hour to pick you up, so you’ll probably want to start getting ready,” Jeanie informed me.

  It wasn’t that I didn’t like Taylor. It was just that he was always trying to show off what he could do. It never failed, something would go wrong with one of his spells. Last time our families took a camping trip together; Taylor did a spell to keep the mosquitoes away. Instead of keeping the mosquitoes away, our campsite was bombarded with sparrows.

  I loved Aunt Jeanie, dearly. I just wished she’d stop trying to hook me up with Taylor. I was only twenty-one, so I still had plenty of time to think about finding a guy.

  Nevertheless, I was ready and waiting for him by the front gate when Taylor drove up, in his old truck. He still looked exactly the same as the last time I saw him. His sandy blond hair appeared as if he’d forgotten to comb it when he got up in the morning, but his blue eyes had a good-natured twinkle, and I liked that.

  There wasn’t anything wrong with Taylor. He was handsome enough, in a boy-next-door sort of way. He just didn’t make my heart do flip-flops. Besides, I’d practically grown up with him so it would be like dating a brother.

  Taylor jumped out of the truck and ran around to open the door for me.

  “Thanks, Taylor.” I smiled.

  When Taylor got behind the wheel, he turned to me and grinned. “It’s nice to have you back.”

  “Thanks, I’m happy I could spend some time with everyone this summer,” I told him, realizing that it was true. I loved Sutter Point. It was only the bigots that bothered me. The constant staring of the townspeople could be intolerable. Before I’d gone away to school, it got to the point that when I’d go out in public, my stomach would get tied up in knots. The townspeople in Sutter Point had a way of really pissing me off and bringing out the worst in me.

  Taylor pulled onto the road. “Your aunt thought you could use some time away from the house.”

  I nodded. “Yes, my auntie is always thinking of others.”

  Through most of the trip into town, I stared silently out the window, lost in my own little world. There were so many questions and too few answers. What happened to my mother? Where did she go after leaving me with Aunt Jeanie, and why wouldn’t Jeanie tell me anything about her?

  Taylor seemed to sense my mood and didn’t push for conversation. He wasn’t my knight in shining armor, but he was a good friend.

  The sun was already down. I could barely make out the thick pines to the sides of the road as we drove by them.

  What was lurking in the dark forest?

  Now that I knew that there really were vampires hiding in the shadows, I couldn’t help but wonder what other secrets lurked in the shadows? I could almost hear Aunt Jeanie scolding me for being so fanciful.

  One minute I was staring out at the dark forest and the next I was staring into his radiant eyes.

  Almost as soon as I opened my mouth to scream, the image started to fade, like mist beneath the heat of the sun.

  Then he was gone and there was nothing outside the window but darkness.

  Startled, Taylor swerved and I felt the truck tip to the passenger side. Instinctively, I lifted my hands, pressing them against the top of the cab to brace myself.

  The truck was riding on two tires for what seemed like an eternity before the other side hit the road with a thud, jarring my teeth. My heart was beating so fast that I was sure it would burst at any moment. My hand flew to my chest as if the gesture would somehow slow my heart rate.

  Slowing the truck, Taylor pulled to the side of the road. “Are you okay?” he asked, visibly shaken.

  I nodded. “Are you?”

  “Why’d you scream? You scared the crap out of me!” With his shock passing, Taylor’s annoyance came through loud and clear.

  A little smile touched my lips. “Aren’t you the most powerful warlock in Sutter Point?” I asked, unable to resist the urge to tease him.

  Taylor rolled his eyes. “Well, why were you screaming your head off?”

  I opened my mouth to tell him a little white lie, but then closed it again. Why did I feel the need to cover it up? It wasn’t like we both hadn’t experienced stranger things.

  “I thought there was a vampire outside the window,” I confessed.

  The blood drained from his face. “A vampire?”

  Again, I nodded. “But maybe it was my imagination.” I didn’t want to scare him. After all, it wasn’t Taylor he was after.

  Taylor reached into the dash-box and pulled out a bag of salt. Without saying a word, he jumped out of the truck.

  “What are you doing?” I called after him.

  “Getting rid of a bloodsucker!” he said as he started sprinkling salt around the truck.

  I followed him outside. “Wait a minute! Maybe this isn’t really necessary.”

  Taylor motioned with his hand for me to stop. “I know what I’m doing, Sarah. You may want to get back inside. It’s probably not safe out here.”

  Once Taylor had circled the truck with salt, he started chanting.

  “Black as night,

  “Vampire take flight

  “Back to the grave

  “Forever from our sight.”

  Taylor repeated the verse three times before he stopped and looked over at me. “That should do the trick.”

  “I don’t know. It kind of sounded like you might have forgotten a verse. It was a little short,” I told him, but added a smile to soften the blow.

  Really, I had no idea if he’d done the spell right or not. I didn’t know any vampire banishing spells, which was puzzling. If these creatures actually existed why didn’t Jeanie teach me any?

  “No, I’m sure that’s the one,” Taylor insisted.

  Shrugging, I got back in the truck and Taylor did the same, sticking the salt beneath his seat. “Just in case we need it quickly,” he explained.

  “If it was a vampire you saw, he shouldn’t be giving us any more trouble tonight,” he told me. “You just have to know how to handle bloodsuckers.”

  “What do you know about vampires?” I asked.

  “Sarah, if you took a little more interest in the craft you’d know just how dangerous these things can be,” he chastised me.

  “Taylor, what do you know?” I asked again.

  “Well, I know how to banish them. I know that much.” He tossed me a look of reproach.

  Giving up, I withdrew into silence. How could I find out what was going on? I didn’t think Taylor knew as much as he let on and I had the distinct feeling Aunt Jeanie was keeping some very important information from me. Maybe she felt that until I was brought into the coven, I wouldn’t have the strength to protect myself from whatever was out there.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sarah

  When we entered the outskirts of town, I felt my spirits lift at the sight of the colorful carnival lights and all the people on the streets. I’d always loved carnivals. Every summer since I’d come to live in Sutter Point, Aunt Jeanie took me to the carnival. Jeanie would brush off the odd looks as easily as she waved her hand.

  I could almost hear Jeanie’s voice. “It doesn’t matter one bit what others think of you. What matters is what you think of yourself.”

  As part of our yearly trip to the carnival, we’d end the day with ice cream. By that time, I’d already forgotten the ugly looks of the townspeople.
Jeanie had a way of making the stormiest days feel like they were full of sunshine.

  The carnival was being held in a large, empty field on the edge of town. The parking lot was really nothing more than a weed-choked pasture, but walking through weeds wasn’t a big deal. At least I was getting out for a few hours.

  Jeanie was right. I really needed to see some bright lights and just have fun. The walk to the ticket booth only took a few minutes and with so many people standing in line, it was doubtful that anyone even noticed us.

  Once inside, Taylor grabbed my hand. “Let’s get on a ride.”

  “Okay.” I let him lead me toward the Asteroid Scrambler. Though this ride always gave me whiplash, I loved it. It was one of those rides that gave you an adrenaline rush that you just couldn’t get enough of.

  The line was short. Before long we were on the ride. As it started moving a lively tune blasted from some nearby speakers. Grasping the hand bar, I braced myself so that I wouldn’t be thrown against Taylor. He was kicked back like he didn’t have a care in the world.

  Though the ride started slow enough, within seconds we were moving at a breakneck speed. Everything was a blur. The lights and the people passed by so quickly, it was almost dreamlike.

  Looking over at Taylor, I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of his windblown hair sticking straight up. He’d lost his relaxed posture and was now holding on. It felt good to laugh. I hadn’t done enough laughing the past few days.

  Too soon the ride slowed and was over. The world was still spinning when I stepped out of the little cart we’d been sitting in. I tried to focus on a large tree near the fence surrounding the Asteroid Scrambler. As my eyes focused, I saw him leaning against the tree, watching me.

  Turning to Taylor, I opened my mouth to ask if he’d seen him, but when I looked back, he was gone.

  Did I imagine that he’d been standing there?

  “I’m hungry. Let’s go get some dinner.” Taylor rubbed his stomach with one hand.

  “Are you crazy? I’ll vomit if I eat anything right now.” I shook her head. “I think I’ll just find someplace to sit and wait for you.” I pointed to the bench by the tree.”