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CHAPTER FOUR

 

  Roland woke at full dark, feeling the rush of tingling awareness sizzling in his every nerve ending. He quickly unfastened the complex locks on the inner lid, using his mind to scan the immediate area, before throwing it wide. He leapt to the floor with ease, landing soundlessly on the cold stone.

  His rest had not been peaceful. Often he'd found himself hovering on the verge of consciousness, while images flitted to and fro in his mind. He was troubled, and not just on Jamey's behalf. The images had been of Rhiannon, more often than not. Beautiful, desirable, reckless Rhian-non. Had he no more sense than a rutting mortal? Could he not distinguish common, vulgar lust from true feelings of affection?

  Could he not banish the temptress from his mind?

  He moved slowly through the crumbling passages of the dungeons in utter darkness, his extraordinary vision showing him the way. Blind, he'd have known the way. It was embedded in him. Every niche of this castle was. It had been his home in boyhood, his curse in adolescence, his prison as a young man. It had beCome the purgatory of the immortal, the place in which he would serve the sentence for the sin he'd committed against the family he'd adored. Yes, adored, but adored too late.

  And what earthly good was done by dwelling on it now?

  He tugged at an iron ring mounted in what appeared to be an immobile stone wall, using a great deal of his yarn piric strength to move it. No mortal could hope to achieve the same feat without the help of some explosive or other. He slipped into the passage, and mounted the perpendicular spiral stairs of rusting iron.

  His every step echoed a thousand times in the darkness. There had once been a ladder here as the sole entrance to the dungeon's lowest level from the castle keep. When the ladder had needed replacing, the set of spiral stairs had seemed more apropos.

  At the entrance to his chambers on the castle's ground level, he opened the door and emerged into his wardrobe, shoving hangers and suits of clothes aside. These, of course, he carefully rearranged to cover the entrance.

  Then he chose a fresh suit, and emerged into his chambers in the west wing.

  He moved directly to the antique desk and took a long wooden match from the holder there to light the oil lamp. He repeated the ritual, lighting several more until the room glowed with a soft, golden hue.

  Looking around him now, he supposed Rhiannon would scoff at the place he called his home. The draperies that covered the tall, arched windows were heavy and faded with time. They smelled of dust and age.

  Their color was green, once brilliant as emeralds, but now dull, as if one were seeing them through a heavy fog. The windows themselves, a concession to modern times and added long after the deaths of the castle's rightful barons, were streaked and dirty. Looking through them was like looking through the filmy eyes of an old man. But wasn't that what this castle was, after all? An old, old man, whose every beloved friend had left him to wither and die alone?

  The brocade upholstery on the antique set tee had lost its luster long ago.

  The fireplace was a cold, dark cavity, holding the ashes of a fire long forgotten. The hardwood chairs, once throne like and imposing, sat like sad witnesses to the end of an era, their wood grain and hand-tooled designs barely discernible through the years of neglect, their embroidered cushions worn and faded. High above, the chandelier, with its tier upon tier of candles, hung dark and brooding like a ghost of the past. Draped with cobwebs and shrouded with dust, it watched in silence as Roland served his eternal death sentence in the rooms below.

  Rhiannon would hate these rooms.

  And what did he care what Rhiannon thought of anything?

  She's here, now.

  The realization came to him with sudden clarity. She was here, on the grounds. He felt the vivid colors of her aura, and sensed the mad vibrations in the air, the snapping electricity that always announced her presence. In spite of himself, Roland hurried through his nightly bathing and dressing.

  Not because he was eager to see her again, he told himself. Not that at all.

  He only wished to be present to keep her in check. God only knew what she might do left to her own devices.

  He followed his sense of her, moving soundlessly and quickly through the echoing corridors and finally into the great hall. Still she was not in sight. He sensed Jamey's presence now, as well, and Frederick's . and the cat's. Not within the keep, but without, in the courtyard.

  Beyond the heavy plank door, he saw her in the darkness. Surprising him was something she did well and often. Why had he not grown used to it by now?

  She raced over the grass less brown earth, her path illuminated by silvery moonlight, keeping a spotted ball moving along between her feet. She was clad in a pair of black denims, which had been cut off midway up her shapely thighs. Small white socks barely covered her ankles and her feet were encased in black, lacing shoes with garish red stripes and mean-looking cleats protruding from their soles.

  As Roland stood, transfixed, Jamey raced toward Rhiannon thrusting one foot between her two and snatching the ball away. Rhiannon tripped and tumbled head over heels in the dirt, rolling to a stop with a cloud of brown dust rising around her. Roland lunged, but stopped himself when he heard her deep laughter. She stood and brushed the dirt from her derriere.

  "Very good, Jamey. "Again she laughed. She pushed the ebony hair from her face, leaving a dirt smear on her cheek.

  "Show me again, I want to learn this. "

  Roland cleared his throat, and Rhiannon turned, spotting him.

  "Don't look that way, love,"she cooed.

  "I'm not going to hurt him. "

  For a shocking instant, Roland realized he'd been more concerned about her hurting herself. Imagine! He'd been afraid the most powerful immortal he knew might hurt herself playing soccer with a young boy. Damn strange. True enough, immortals felt pain more keenly than mortals did, and Rhiannon would be especially sensitive. But any injuries Rhiannon might sustain would heal as she rested by day.

  Still, it stunned him that the thought of seeing her in pain should shake him so.

  "See to it you don't,"he told her, unwilling to admit the true path of his thoughts.

  "He does have that match tomorrow night. "

  "Does this mean you've decided to stop arguing the point?"

  He nodded, but reluctantly. Rhiannon strode baldly up to him and threw her arms around his neck. Her embrace resulted in his starched white shirt and tailored jacket be coming as dirty as she was. Yet he withstood it well enough, even though her body pressed tightly to his that way sent his pulse racing and caused his eyes to water. "There are conditions, Rhiannon. "

  She gazed up at him, for though she was tall for a woman, he was still a good deal taller.

  "Conditions?"Her eyebrows furrowed, showing her displeasure.

  He cleared his throat. He was about to anger her. Seemed to him everything he said angered her. Still, he had to speak his mind. A ball of foreboding about this excursion had lodged somewhere in his stomach and he couldn't shake the feeling that she was about to put herself at risk. "yet again.

  "At this match, you will behave with a modicum of decorum. "

  "Oh, will I?"

  "You will try, for once in your existence, not to draw undue attention. You will be polite, soft-spoken and unobtrusive. "

  Her eyes glittered.

  "And just why will I transform myself this way?"

  Roland sighed. He only wanted to keep her from being discovered by Roers or another one like him. Why did she have to be so defensive?

  "Because I have asked you to, Rhiannon. And because it is the wisest course to take. Rogers isn't stupid, nor is he the only agent in the area. Anyone who's learned Jamey's identity will know enough to look for him at that match. "

  For once, her chin dropped rather than thrusting upward into his face. She gave an almost imperceptible nod, and Roland felt a mingling of surprise and relief.
He'd been certain she would argue.

  Protecting Rhiannon was going to be as much a challenge as protecting Jamey, he thought grimly.

  "Ready?"Roland asked the following evening, an hour before the match was to begin. He stood near the huge, empty hearth in the great hall.

  Rhiannon closed the heavy door, causing its hinges to groan in protest, and crossed the cold, dusty stone floor to join him.

  She chewed her lower lip.

  "I'm not sure. I don't have the benefit of a reflection by which to judge my appearance. "

  He fought the urge to smile.

  "Must be a damned nuisance to a woman of your vanity. "

  She met his gaze, her own flashing.

  "Quite right. You ought to paint my portrait, so I can see what I look like when I wish it. "

  "You know I don't paint anymore. "

  "Perhaps it's time you started. "She glanced around her, and he knew she was noting the absence of any decoration adorning the gray stone walls. There were only torches mounted in brackets, and here and there the mounted antlers of one of his brothers' kills.

  "This place could use it. Whatever became of the portraits you'd done of your family?"

  He shook his head. The subject was not open to discussion. Having the faces of those he'd failed looking down at him would be too much agony to bear.

  "In answer to your initial question, Rhiannon, you look fine. "

  "That, my dear Roland, is no answer at all. "She stood before him, hands at her sides.

  "Look at me, darling. Describe to me what you see. I am so tired of going out and about wondering if everything is in place. "She waited a moment.

  Roland's gaze moved over her, and he found himself unable to form a coherent thought.

  "I'll help,"she offered.

  "Begin with my hair. Is it all right?"

  She turned slowly and Roland nodded.

  "It gleams like satin, as you well know. "His eyes traveled the length of it. She wore it long, and unencumbered by barrettes or dressings of any kind. She'd combed it all to one side, as she was prone to do, thus leaving the bare length of her swan's neck visible to the point of distraction. She had braided a tiny, silken lock on the left side of her face; from the crown of her head all the way to her waist. It had a petite charm that lured one to touch it.

  Rhiannon, catching his gaze, lifted the braid in two fingers. "You like it?"

  "Yes. "He licked his lips, then caught himself.

  "Yes, it's just fine.

  Are you ready to go now? "

  "But you haven't finished. "Her pout was utterly false. She leaned forward.

  "What about the blouse? Does it show too much cleavage?"

  Against his will, his eyes were drawn downward to the plunging neckline of the satiny, emerald-colored garment. The swell of her creamy breasts filled the lowest part of the V, and Roland felt a twisting sensation in his stomach. "When do you not show too much,"

  he asked, trying for a sarcastic tone.

  She shrugged, straightened and struck yet another pose, this time hands on her hips.

  "And the skirt? Do you think it's too short?"

  It was tight, molded to her hips like cling wrap, black and made of suede.

  It buttoned down the front, and as if the garment had not already been daring enough, Rhian-non had left the bottom two buttons agape. Her thighs, shimmering beneath silk stockings, extended from the skirt's edge. As she stood there, turning first to one side, then the other, Roland's gaze affixed itself to her legs. "Perhaps it's simply that your legs are too long,"he suggested. But instead of sounding dry and uninterested, his voice came out hoarse and none too loudly.

  "These stockings are wonderful, don't you think?"She stepped nearer and bent one knee, propping her foot on low stool.

  "So soft against my skin. Touch them, Roland and you'll see what I mean. "

  She caught his hand in her,. and pressed his palm to the front of her thigh, then rubber it up and down over the smooth, cinnamon-tinted silk.

  He swallowed.

  "As I've mentioned before, you lack certain degree of subtlety. Why do you not simply tea my clothes off and attempt a forced seduction?"H snatched his hand away, more angry with his own responses than with her childish attempts to lure him.

  He saw the hurt in her eyes before she covered it, an he regretted his words at once. She truly couldn't hell herself, he supposed. She was simply being Rhiannor He'd allowed his anger at himself to spill out onto her "I'm sorry, Rhiannon. I didn't mean"-- She tossed her hair.

  "Of course you did. You'd pre fe me to become what you consider a true lady, to sit on a embroidered cushion and bat my eyes until you take the initiative, and ask me to dance. Hah!

  I'd be coated in mot cobwebs than this great hall by the time you made u your mind. "

  She turned her back to him.

  "I was going to the match with you, but now I believe I will ride in the car wit Frederick and Jamey. Enjoy your walk, Roland. And it God's sake, change into the clothes I brought for you before you leave. If you think attending a schoolboy soccer match in such formal attire is inconspicuous, you better think again. "

  He glanced down at the bag she'd dropped near the door as she whirled and walked through it.

  He did not enjoy his walk. It turned out that he wash quite hard-hearted enough to hurt Rhiannon and take ar sort of pleasure from it. He hadn't meant to insult her, b she was getting to him, dammit. Any man would be le than cheerful and charming when feeling as frustrated as he'd been.

  To resist her overt sexual overtures took every bit of will he possessed.

  But to give in to them would be foolhardy, to say the least. Not only would she never let him forget that she'd won this particular battle of wills, but she'd probably flit away like a summer breeze when the act was done. He might not see her again for years. And in the process, she'd have loosed the beast he'd battled for so long.

  No. This . thing that sizzled between them was purely physical in nature.

  It's overwhelming potency . well, he could attribute that to the vampiric state. Every sensation was felt more keenly by immortals. Desire was simply magnified by his nature.

  That explanation firmly established in his mind, he used his preternatural speed to arrive at the stadium before the little car he'd purchased for Frederick. He much preferred travel by his own power or by horse, to being helplessly hurtled through space by three thousand pounds of manmade scrap metal.

  At the stadium, he felt more conspicuous in the attire Rhiannon had chosen for him than ever he had in his own overly formal clothing.

  The blue denim hugged his backside and clung with unaccustomed tightness to his groin. The sweatshirt was black. That part did not disturb him. But the blaze of neon paint across his chest, proclaiming him a fan of something called the Grateful Dead, had him at the end of his patience. He was not amused by the skull and crossbones, or by the not so subtle irony in her choice. At least he blended in with the crowd.

  In contrast, Rhiannon, seated just to his left, was anything but unnoticeable. She shouted encouragement, not to mention a few obscenities when the opposing team made progress. She was in constant motion, wriggling in her seat, leaning forward or standing or both, when she wanted a better view, much to the delight of the males in the seats near her, Roland noted with a rush of inexplicable anger.

  Still, in the seats below, near the team's bench, he saw that Frederick was nearly as animated.

  Jamey, looking fierce in his uniform and with black smudges under his eyes' to fight glare from the overhead lights, raced across the artificial turf with the ball. Rhian-non shouted encouragement, getting to her feet as he neared the goal.

  Roland scowled. Was this supposed to be unobtrusive behavior? My God, he couldn't take his eyes off her, nor could several other men in the immediate area.

  Roland forced his gaze back to the field of pl
ay, just as another lad thrust a leg in Jamey's path, tripping him so he tumbled head over heels, hitting hard. Roland caught his breath. Jamey got to his feet, though, and charged after the brat. When Jamey regained possession of the ball, Roland stood.

  He had no idea he'd done so, but there he was, upright. When the bully approached, Jamey skillfully passed the ball to a teammate, and when the teammate was similarly accosted, he passed back to Jamey.

  A moment later, Jamey planted one foot and slammed the ball with the other, driving it into the goal with impressive speed. Roland applauded as loudly as anyone. Rhiannon released a piercing whistle that probably damaged some human ears. He touched her arm. She looked at him, her half smile a full-blown one for a change.

  "You're forgetting yourself. "He nearly didn't remind her. He didn't want to see her brilliant smile die. "So are you,"she told him. But she did sit down again.

  Jamey's team won by a slim margin. Rhiannon felt drained from the excitement of the match. She and Frederick walked to the parking lot, while Roland waited outside the locker room to escort Jamey out.

  Rhiannon was certain no DPI operatives had been in the stadium. She'd kept her mind attuned throughout the match, and had caught not the faintest sense of a threat. Still, she remained watchful, and she scanned the minds of everyone who passed, in search of belligerent thoughts.

  Frederick got into the car and started the engine, letting it idle as they waited for Roland and Jamey. Rhiannon stood near the driver's door, one arm propped on the car's roof. Others began to leave, a few at a time.

  Within a short time, the lot was deserted. The moon's light this evening was more often than not obliterated by inky clouds. The concrete field became eerily silent, save the occasional sounds of vehicles passing on the street nearby. Time passed with leaden feet.

  "The game was wonderful, wasn't it, Freddy?"

  He nodded enthusiastically.

  "I practice with Jamey sometimes. But I'm not much good at running. "

  Rhiannon-frowned slightly.

  "Your leg?"Again, he nodded.

  "Do you mind if I ask what happened to it?"

  "No, it's all right. It happened when I was in the city, when I didn't have anyplace to live. It was wintertime, and I guess it just got too cold. "

  Rhiannon suppressed a shudder at the thought of gentle Freddy, freezing his limbs on a frigid winter's night. "Does it hurt you very much?"

  "Oh, no. It hardly bothers me at all, anymore. "

  "I'm glad. "She looked toward the rapidly darkening building.

  "They're taking too long. "

  "Maybe we better go back and check on them. "

  A warning prickle of danger danced over Rhiannon's nape. She sent the probing fingers of her mind in search of the source, but there was nothing tangible.

  "I think you should wait here, in the car. "

  Rhiannon shook her head, still unable to pinpoint the source of her precognition. "Lock the doors,"she added.

  "Rhiannon, is something' wrong with Jamey?"Fear made Freddy's voice hoarse.

  ""Cause if there is, I'm going with you. "

  "I don't know,"she said truthfully.

  "But it really will be better if you wait here. In case Jamey comes out and I miss him. Okay?"She tried to sound unconcerned, and for a moment it surprised her that she should care to ease the mind of a mortal. Then again, Freddy was no ordinary human. When she saw the car doors were locked, she gave him an encouraging nod and hurried across the blacktop toward the entrance.

  The thrill of foreboding grew stronger and her fear for Roland and the boy grew with it. Her quickened steps snapped loudly over the lot, and then the sidewalk. She rounded a corner and reached for the doors.

  A heavy arm came around her from behind, jerking her off balance and into the shadows.

  Fool! Did this human think he could hope to do battle with her and win?

  She prepared to pull free, turn around and wring the idiot's neck, when pain split through her consciousness like a piercing cry. The blade tore the flesh at her waist, only a small cut, surely. Yet the scalding pain paralyzed her. And when she felt she could move again, his voice gave her pause.

  "I know your weaknesses, Rhiannon. Loss of blood, exposure to sunlight, direct contact between your flesh and an open fire. . "and pain. "The blade pressed to her rib cage, but didn't cut.

  "Pain,"he went on, his voice a rasping serpent in her ear.

  "The more severe, the more it weakens you. Isn't that right?"The blade's point pressed into her sensitive skin.

  "And the older the vampire, the more keenly she feels it. "More pressure on the blade. A trickle of blood ran beneath her satin blouse, over her abdomen. She sucked breath through her teeth.

  "So this must be just about maddening, isn't it?"

  Teeth grated, she forced words through her lips.

  "What do you want?"

  Again the blade poked, twisting this time. She cried out, then bit her lip.

  She wouldn't summon Roland, not until she knew what he would be facing.

  "What do you think?"he rasped.

  He was not Curtis Rogers. He was not anyone she'd ever encountered before.

  He was strong for a human, and un stintingly cruel. The first wound, the one in her side, still pulsed hot spasms of pain as well as blood. She felt herself weakening. A vampire as old as Rhiannon need lose very little to meet her demise. She needed help. Damn, but she hated to admit that. She'd never found herself lss than able to deal with adversity. It infuriated her that this human had identified her few weaknesses, and used them so skillfully against her.

  Her knees began to tremble and she forced them rigid once more.

  "Who are you,"she growled, "and why do you court death so eagerly?"

  "Not death, Rhiannon. Life. Eternal life. Immortality. You have it. I want it. "

  The man was insane!

  "You have no idea what you're talking about.

  You're not. "She paused, dizziness swamping her brain. She blinked it away.

  "Release me. I must . . . sit. "She pressed her free hand against the hole in her side, hoping to slow the flow of her life from her body.

  "If I release you, lady, you might just find enough strength to kill me.

  That is not my goal. "

  "If I die, so does your chance of getting what you want. "

  "Not really. There are others. "His grip on her tightened. His pinpoint blade pressed harder, and the end twisted slowly. She was breathing hard now, in broken, ragged gasps. A response to the pain.

  Tears blurred her vision.

  "Give me what I want and I will let you go. "

  "And if I refuse, you'll let me die?"The words came slowly, and her speech was slurred.

  "I choose death, then. "

  "Not death, Rhiannon. Something far worse. There are DPI agents all over this place tonight, waiting for that boy of yours. But they'd consider you a greater prize, don't you think? The vampiress who murdered one of their most highly valued researchers all those years ago? I'll just give a shout and bring them running. You're too weak to fight them. Getting weaker all the time. "

  She closed her eyes and focused her thoughts on Roland. Take Jamey out of here. Be careful. They're watching, and. Before she completed the thought, the bastard twisted his blade again, and Rhiannon couldn't stop the gasp of pain that escaped her.

  "Well? Are you going to give me what I want?"

  Her legs gave out. The loss of blood combined with the pain was simply too much. She went to her knees, causing the man's blade to rake up over her rib cage, and nick her throat.

  At that moment, the man flew backward for no apparent cause, landing with a heavy thud on the ground.

  "You've just ended your life, human. "It was Roland's voice, and it was quivering with a rage she'd never heard in him before. He reached for the man, who lay on his back, staring defiantly
up at him.

  "Here!"the mortal yelled at the top of his lungs. "They're here! Hurry! "

  "That won't save you. "Roland lifted the man by the front of his shirt, and Rhiannon knew he was about to crush his larynx. She'd never seen Roland so angry. He'd forgotten his well-schooled caution, his carefully cultivated calm. She felt it in his every thought, saw it in every line of his face.

  He would kill the man, and anyone who tried to stop him. The force of his anger shook her to the core. She hadn't known he was capable of such explosive violence.

  "Roland, they're coming,"she managed to say.

  "We must go. Think . . . of Jamey. "

  He pummeled the man's face with his fist, and slowly lifted him again.

  "Let them come. They'll soon wish they'd kept their distance. "

  She put every ounce of strength she had into her voice. "Roland, please!

  I'm bleeding"-- All at once, it Seemed, his fury dissipated. Roland dropped the limp form to the ground. Then he whirled, bending over Rhiannon and lifting her easily into his arms. He searched her face, his eyes wide with fear now, rather than narrow with a barely suppressed rage. She felt him stiffen as he realized the extent of her blood loss and the weakness of her body. In a burst of preternatural speed, he left the parking lot and the sounds of running feet behind.

  "Where . . . is Jamey?"

  "We had to sneak out a window and duck through the brush. There were DPI agents watching all the exits. I put him in the car with Frederick and saw them safely off. They're fine. "

  She sighed, but it was broken by pain.

  "Good. "

  "You're still losing blood. "He stopped, and settled her on the ground.

  She glanced upward, seeing only the black outline of gnarled tree limbs against the paler gray of the night. They were in a wooded area.

  She heard the tear of fabric as Roland hurriedly opened her blouse.

  Then there was more pain, even at his gentle touch, as he pressed a handkerchief firmly to the wound. "Hold it there,"he instructed.

  "Hold it tightly. Ignore the pain. "

  She did, but cried out.

  "Easy for you to say. You're less than ten centuries old. I'm more than twice that. "

  "With age comes strength,"he replied in a hoarse voice as his fingers touched the smaller 'wound. She winced.

  "And weakness. "She drew a shaky breath.

  "You well know that I'm far more vulnerable to pain and blood loss, sunlight and fire, than you are. "Her head fell backward, her neck suddenly incapable of supporting it.

  "I'm not certain I'll make it to dawn, Roland. "

  Again, he slipped his arms beneath her, lifted her. This time, he pressed her face to the crook of his neck.

  "You will, Rhiannon. I won't allow it to be otherwise. You only need to drink. "

  She stiffened, unsure of his meaning. His hand at the back of her head pressed her nearer, his fingers moving softly through her hair as his palm held her to him. Her lips touched the skin of his throat, tasted its salt.

  "Drink,"he said again. And she did.