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  “She’s still under his spell,” Jordan tried to explain, speaking as if Kathrina wasn’t there.

  “Excuse me!” Kathrina glared at him. “I was never under any kind of spell. Besides … how would you know anything about my mother?”

  “There’s a lot about the ancients that you don’t know.” Jordan stepped closer to her bed.

  “And why should I believe that you are in a position to know these things?”

  “I have read an entire translated version of the book. He admits that he was part of a campaign to kill all born vampires. He views them … you as an abomination.”

  Kathrina felt the wound to her heart more profoundly that she cared to admit. Could it be true that he’d never viewed her as a woman, only as a means to an end?

  “There’s more,” Jordan continued. “Luciano became friends with your mother … when he failed to make her his feeder, he encouraged her to seduce your father.”

  “Why?” Kathrina still couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

  “Because he knew you would be the result of their union … and he needed you.”

  With every word the slayer spoke, Kathrina felt her heart grow heavier.

  Jordan reached out and took her hand. “After you were born, he killed your mother so that the wolves would not discover your existence. But you were taken away before he could come for you. That’s why you were taken to the wolves … in their realm he has no power.”

  “And all of this is in the book?” Kathrina swallowed hard.

  Jordan shook his head. “No, that part is just information that we have acquired over the years. We have always kept tabs on Luciano because he is the most dangerous of all immortals.”

  “If there is any chance that this is true, and we can end the curse … we must try.” Nicole leaned down next to the hospital bed. “We must try and save them.”

  Kathrina could not dismiss the pleading in her sister’s voice. She knew what Nicole was really saying. They must try and save Alec, Darrien … and her cousin Summer.

  What if he was telling the truth? What if they could save those that she loved from the curse of eternal darkness? Could she kill Luciano then?

  She knew that at least part of what she was hearing was true. Lex, her adoptive grandfather had told her how Donavan left her to be raised by the wolves so that she would be safe, but he’d believed that the danger was from his brother, Omar.

  But Luciano didn’t kill her when he could have!

  That was the part that just didn’t fit.

  “Let’s concentrate on Omar first,” Kathrina directed her words to Nicole. She didn’t want to commit to anything concerning Luciano yet. Not until she knew why he’d kept her alive.

  * * *

  Kathrina rolled over for at least the hundredth time that night. No matter how she tried, she just could not get comfortable. Not only was the bed nearly as hard as the floor, but she couldn’t keep away thoughts of Luciano.

  How could she have been so wrong about him?

  The memory of his touch sent a tingling sensation over her entire body. Squeezing her eyes shut, Kathrina tried to chase away the image of his eyes the first time she’d kissed him.

  Yes there had been shock, but there had also been tenderness. Had she only imagined that warmth because that is what she’d wanted to see?

  The door to her room squeaked as it was slowly pushed open. Kathrina pretended to be asleep so that the nurses would not insist on examining her wound. Forcing herself to breathe slow and evenly, she waited for the nurse to finish her routine.

  The last few nights they had been less intrusive when making their rounds. Since she no longer had an IV, the nurses tried not to wake her. They would check her pulse and gently insert the thermometer in her ear. Within a couple minutes the nightshift nurse would be gone and she wouldn’t be disturbed again until morning.

  Kathrina waited for the nurse to grab her wrist and check her pulse, but there was nothing but the sound of someone moving around in her room. She opened her eyes to slits, hoping to catch a glimpse of the nurse without giving away the fact that she was still awake.

  Kathrina’s eyes flew open. She was instantly flooded with mind-numbing terror. Red luminous eyes hovered just inches from her face. She knew she should scramble from the bed and run, but she was paralyzed from fear.

  Though dressed in nurse’s scrubs, the creature’s furious eyes gave her away. The vampire hissed at her, but Kathrina knew that she wouldn’t try and feed from her. Her blood was deadly to most vampires. It was only Luciano that could feed from her without destroying himself.

  The syringe that the vampire held in her hand was the mode of destruction. They were going to poison her, but their plan was foiled by the fact that she no longer had an IV. The vampire had probably been trying to think of a way to slip her the poison without being noticed, but then Kathrina gave away the fact that she was still awake.

  All of these thoughts raced through Kathrina’s head as she rolled from the bed. She was still weak and in no shape to fight off an attack.

  The vampire moved too quickly to see. She was on Kathrina, the needle poised inches from her throat. Kathrina grabbed the vampire’s arm and tried to hold back the syringe, but she wasn’t strong enough.

  Suddenly the vampire squealed in surprise as she was lifted off of Kathrina. She heard the sound of shattering glass and the building seemed to come alive with the shrill of alarms.

  Kathrina blinked rapidly, trying to digest what she was seeing. Lucinao was there, holding out his hand to her. She grabbed it and let him pull her to her feet.

  Everything seemed to fade away, the sirens - the commotion in the halls - everything but the sight of Luciano silhouetted by the moonlight that was streaming in from the broken window.

  He turned toward the window, ready to flee.

  “Luciano,” she breathed.

  He stopped and looked back at her. Without a word he leaned down and brushed her lips softly with his.

  “They told me bad things about you,” she spoke up quickly, not wanting him to leave yet.

  He stared down at her, his eyes still shining with the light of the immortal. “Do you believe them?”

  Kathrina opened her mouth, but she couldn’t speak. She didn’t know what she believed.

  Without another word, he leaped toward the broken window and disappeared into the night sky.

  * * *

  Every night Luciano hovered outside the hospital window - searching his soul for those elusive answers.

  Should he go away and never return, or should he follow through with his original plan?

  Could he take her life now?

  Each night he would watch her sleep, longing to go to her but knowing that he shouldn’t. Tonight the urge had been so strong that he hadn’t been able to resist. He’d only meant to be with her a few minutes - long enough to touch her angelic face - listen to the comforting sound of her breathing.

  Everything had gone wrong. When he’d opened the door to her room and seen the vampire, he’d been filled with the same black rage that he had on the night she’d been shot. He could have killed the vampire without making such a mess, but his temper had gotten the best of him again.

  He had let her live, and now they would come after her nonstop. By sparing her life and sacrificing his own salvation, he had placed himself in danger, but that didn’t matter. Maybe he should be destroyed; at least it would mean some kind of end to his torturous existence.

  The longer he was imprisoned by darkness, the more putrid and black his soul became. It was just another reason why he should disappear from her life forever. His only other choice would be to feed on her - ingest her life essence and the light that was imbedded in her soul.

  She was being fed lies - and maybe she even believed what they were saying. Regardless, the truth was much darker than any fictitious story they could come up with.

  Chapter Eight

  Kathrina opened the heavy double doors and st
epped inside the old church. The chapel was spectacular, with its massive arches and stained glass windows, but she could sense an undertone of darkness that seemed completely out of place.

  The church appeared to be deserted, but the lighting was so dim she couldn’t be sure.

  Forcing one foot in front of the other, she made her way past row after row of pews. Candles were lit on both sides of the altar - the flickering light of the flames adding to the menacing atmosphere of the empty chapel.

  Suddenly her heart seemed to swell painfully within her chest. She was filled with so much sadness that Kathrina became sure she was feeling every tear that had ever been shed from the beginning of time.

  Kathrina was startled by a soft - feminine voice. “Sometimes even the light of heaven cannot banish the darkness.”

  Her eyes scanned the chapel. At first she didn’t see anyone, but when she looked again, there was a petite form kneeling near the first row of pews.

  Taking a couple of steps closer, Kathrina tried to see who had spoken. It was difficult to make out too much detail. The young woman was draped in a black nun’s habit, but there were wisps of brown hair straying from beneath her headdress.

  The nun lifted her head and looked directly at her. Kathrina found herself being drawn in by the remarkable coloring of the woman’s eyes. They were the eyes of the wolf, but there was something very different about them - a bright ring of blue surrounded the iris of each eye.

  “Who are you?” Kathrina asked, though she already knew the answer.

  The nun smiled. “Evil can take many forms.”

  As she stared, blood started seeping from the woman’s eyes. Startled, Kathrina took a step back, but before she could digest what she was seeing the image changed.

  Where the nun had been was now a monster - a demon. Its skin resembled that of a rotting corpse - its eyes as red as blood. When the creature smiled at her, she saw rows of sharp - brown teeth that almost looked like needles.

  The demon’s arm flew at her. She couldn’t move; it was wrapping its claws around her arm. Kathrina screamed, flailing her arms in an attempt to break free.

  Her eyes flew open. A doctor and nurse were leaning over her bed, holding her down. Realizing that she’d been having a nightmare, Kathrina grew still.

  “Are you okay now?” The doctor asked.

  Kathrina nodded her head. “I need to get out of here,” she gasped.

  “We can’t release you yet.”

  Ignoring him, Kathrina threw the covers off and sat up on the side of the bed.

  “You really shouldn’t leave yet. There could still be an infection.” The doctor tried to reason with her.

  “I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “Where are my clothes?”

  * * *

  Kathrina entered the parlor, careful to shut the door behind her. The room was much like any other room in the house, except it was dark. It was the second door that would lead to the small - windowless room where her father slept. Though it was already midday, there was no sunlight to cut through the thick darkness. Heavy red velvet curtains covered the windows, but it wouldn’t have mattered if they were bare. Donavan had the windows painted black. It was a precaution, just in case someone entered his bedchamber during the day.

  Behind that second door she knew she would find a large mahogany coffin. That was where Donavan slept. She also knew that the door would be locked. In the beginning her father had slept in a regular bed in that room, but it was getting too dangerous now. Their enemies were too close.

  Kathrina pounded on the door. After waiting several minutes for him to answer, she knocked again.

  You’ll wake the dead.

  Her mom had always told her that when she was a kid. Why had she remembered it now?

  “Waking the dead is a lot harder than you think mom,” Kathrina spoke out loud, talking to the woman who had adopted her. Kayla had raised her as her own daughter, and though Kathrina loved her wolf mother, she’d never been able to relate to her. Something told her that her relationship with her biological mother might have been just as strained.

  A nun!

  How would she have related to a mother who was a nun?

  From behind the door Kathrina could hear the sound of the coffin lid lifting. “Donavan … I have to talk to you,” she called out.

  A moment later the door opened a crack. Donavan’s eyes were black; a reflection of his mood, Kathrina guessed.

  Donavan opened the door wider and stepped aside so she could enter. For some reason she had always imagined that the room her father slept in would look different. She had been expecting all of the modern conveniences, a stereo and a TV, but there was none of that. It was so gothic. That was the only word she could find to describe it.

  Of course there was the coffin, but she’d known that. On each side of the coffin were stone gargoyles. Each of the creatures held a candle in their hand.

  The room was sparsely furnished with only a red velvet Victorian couch and a chair.

  The look on her face gave away her thoughts.

  Donavan smiled. “I see that you find the reality of what your father is … somewhat distasteful.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Kathrina said. “I have to ask you about something?”

  Donavan said nothing so she continued.

  “What do you know about my mother … and I don’t mean just the nonsense I’ve been told.”

  “Nonsense!” he said, arching one brow. “And what makes you think it’s all nonsense?”

  “How did you meet her … who was she? Are there such things as demons? Who is Luciano … really?” She fired off all the questions that had been nagging at her since she found the Book of Anu in her mother’s tomb.

  “Slow down Kathrina, or you’ll have a seizure.”

  “Please … I deserve to know.”

  “Why is it that you are asking such crazy questions?”

  “I found the Book of Anu in my mother’s tomb. I know that she was a nun … a nun!” Kathrina repeated it as if she couldn’t quite absorb the fact.

  “You found the Book of Anu?” Donavan seemed on the verge of losing his cool composure.

  “Yes.” Kathrina folded her arms in front of her, determined to stand her ground.

  “So it was you who called Luciano here?”

  “I didn’t know that’s what would happen,” she defended herself.

  Kathrina noticed that Donavan had steered the conversation away from her mother. She had to wonder if it was because he was angry about the book, or if he’d done it on purpose.

  “My mom?” she asked again.

  “Kathrina wasn’t always a nun,” he told her.

  “So how did you meet her … who was she?”

  “I met your mother in Transylvania,” Donavan told her, as he sat down on the couch.

  Kathrina was a little startled to see that her father appeared old and tired. It was just for a split second, but she was sure that she hadn’t imagined it.

  For that small instant in time, she had seen a reflection of what was in his soul? She had no doubt that after an eternity of darkness and heartbreak, the spirit had to grow weak.

  “On one night each year there is a vampire ball at Dracula’s castle. There was a time when I would attend this ball in search of easy prey. It is amazing how many victims carelessly frolic within the shadow of death,” Donavan shrugged his shoulders before adding, “The hunt was easy and always fruitful. It was there that I met your mother.”

  Kathrina shook her head. “You mean Vlad’s castle? Dracula is not real.”

  “Isn’t he?” Donavan asked, a smile touching his lips.

  Kathrina drew her brows together in confusion. “Are you seriously trying to tell me that Dracula is not a fictional character? Everyone knows that Vlad was the inspiration for Dracula.”

  Donavan laughed. “Oh my sweet baby girl … you are still so ignorant of our world.”

  Kathrina scowled, certainly not finding the situation nearly
as amusing as her father apparently did.

  “Smokescreens,” he laughed. “Dracula is certainly real … he was a nobleman. Mr. Stoker had more of an intimate knowledge of vampires than what the world gives him credit for.”

  Kathrina dismissed what her father was saying. She had far more important things to worry about than some old legends and a dead writer. “So you met my mother at this ball?” she asked.

  “I did.”

  “And?” Kathrina pushed him.

  “I had never met a more enchanting woman.”

  Donavan didn’t seem to want to offer too much information about her mother and she was getting very impatient. “Did Luciano kill my mother?”

  “That I don’t know … but it is a possibility. Your mother was a lot like you. There was a light about her that drew the immortal like a moth to a flame. He knew your mother, and I believe he thought that she was a cure, as he believes you are. I took her away from Transylvania. I’m sure that he resented that.”

  “But she was a wolf … a natural enemy. What would she be doing at a vampire ball?” Kathrina was still confused. Nothing about her mother made sense.

  “She was there with the Light Seekers … as a sort of missionary. Kathrina was determined to turn the vampires from their murderous ways. She was really the beginning of the Light Seekers.” Donavan shook his head sadly. “Your mother had a good heart, but it is probably what got her killed. Keeping company with vampires isn’t a good idea.”

  “So you think the Light Seekers might know more about what happened to my mother?” Kathrina asked.

  “They might,” he told her. “But remember Kathrina … be very careful who you trust.”

  “What about demons? Do you believe in that kind of evil?” Kathrina asked.

  “For everything that you see in the world, remember that there is far more that you cannot see.” Donavan stood up, bringing their conversation to a close.

  “Thanks.” She gave him a strained smile. “I’m sorry for waking you.”

  Kathrina hadn’t gotten as much information from Donavan as she’d have liked, but at least she had some idea of where she could go to find out more.