I put the telephone receiver back into its cradle. I’d used a public telephone to call Bruce because we weren’t sure if our own phones were secure. At first, I thought this was a bit paranoid, but after conversing with Shen about the ways of the vampire, we decided there was no such thing as being too careful. We needed time away from the fight so that we could focus on finding a cure for Bruce. The least little thing like a phone call could expose our whereabouts to Dracula’s hunters who were certain to be on the lookout for us in hopes of being led to Charles. There was also the matter of Dracula’s orders to bring the slayers back to him. We weren’t sure, but we assumed it still stood.
Surveying the dining room of the neighborhood’s most popular diner, I scowled. Shen should have joined me by now. What could be keeping him?
I smiled flirtatiously at the beautiful five-foot-five-inch, sinuous hostess as she guided me to a booth. My eyes focused on the richness of her waist length, jet black hair as it reflected the artificial lighting that permeated from the myriad of chandeliers that Greek diner’s seemed so partial to. The cut of her Dolce & Gabanna pantsuit accentuated her slender waist as it hugged her body while giving way to the gentle sway of her curvy hips. Her hair cascaded down the middle of her back in layers of loose, lustrous locks that practically begged to be fondled. I fought the urge to do just that as I moved passed her and slid into the deep seated booth that she’d directed me to. I felt a little heady as I inhaled the exotic scent of her perfume.
As she placed my menu on the table before me, her delicate, long fingered hand grazed mine. It felt cool and firm against my seemingly burning flesh. I looked deep into her large, dark brown eyes and was almost lost in the deep pools that looked to belong to a world so different from the one we occupied. It was a strange sensation and I quickly pulled myself back to reality.
The hostess appeared equally affected as she nervously stepped back from the booth, while briskly informing me that my server would be attending me shortly. As she started to move away, I reached out and grabbed her wrist and once again noted the coolness of her flesh beneath my touch. I stared at her flawless porcelain skin while she watched me warily. Once again I felt as if I was being pulled as if lost in... something... somewhere... I couldn’t explain. It took great effort for me to regain control and not be swallowed up by the sensation.
I cleared my throat.
“You seem familiar in some way,” I said. My voice was raspy. “But, I’m certain we’ve never met. Have we?”
“We’ve never met,” she responded, guardedly.
“I’m Dan,” I said. After a few moments of silence while I waited for a response that never came I added, “And you are?”
“Magdalena,” she uttered in a guttural tone. “I am Magdalena. Now, please excuse me. I must get back to work.”
“Do people call you Magdalena or Maggie?” I asked.
I was uncertain why I was refusing to relinquish her wrist. Feeling her tremble beneath my grip, I reluctantly loosened my hold.
Why had I even grabbed her like that? I’d seen many beautiful women in my travels and certainly many that equaled the exotic loveliness of the beauty I held captive. There was some unseen thing driving me to pursue this lovely creature with the porcelain skin. Something I couldn’t explain, not even to myself.
“Maggie, actually,” she managed as she reclaimed her wrist from my grip and rubbed it absent mindedly, “but I prefer Magdalena.”
I flashed her one of my famous lady killer smiles and nodded as I said, “Then, Magdalena it is.”
The corners of her sensuous lips hinted of amusement as she turned and walked away. My head cocked to the side while I focused once again on the rhythmic swaying of her curvaceous body. I was so intent on watching her as she moved about the room that I failed to acknowledge Shen when he seated himself in the opposite side of my booth.
He picked up the oversized menu and lightly tapped it on the back of my hand.
“Hey, sorry I am late,” he said.
“Which do you prefer, Maggie or Magdalena?” I asked.
I shifted my body to face my newly arrived companion, but my eyes never relinquished the new found vision of beauty.
“What?” he asked as he turned the pages of the menu and searched through the daily specials. “I don’t see them here. What are they?”
“They’re names, not food,” I replied with amusement.
He followed my stare until his own eyes locked with the dark, mesmerizing ones belonging to the hostess across the room.
“I should have known,” he chuckled. “Is that the woman?”
I nodded my head.
“And she...is...in need of a name?” he continued.
I grudgingly turned my attention to him and gave an exasperated grunt.
“She has a name,” I said. “It’s Magdalena, but people call her Maggie.”
“I do not see the problem here,” he mused.
He was already bored with the topic.
“She prefers Magdalena,” I explained, ignoring his obvious lack of interest.
“Then call her Magdalena,” he scowled.
“I prefer Maggie,” I mumbled.
“I am surprised that you are obsessing over the name of our hostess when we have a much bigger problem to work out,” he grumbled as he scanned the menu.
“Sorry,” I said. “It’s just... it’s the strangest thing. She showed me to the booth and it was like I,” I leaned into the table and brought face closer to his while lowering my voice to just above a whisper, “I just don’t know. I became as you say... obsessed with her.” I leaned back into the booth and muttered, “You’d think I’d never seen a beautiful woman before.”
Shen took a moment to look more carefully in Magdalena’s direction. She was speaking intently to a tall, slender male server. She must have been reprimanding him because neither looked happy.
“She certainly is striking,” he muttered as he turned his attention once again to the menu. “Has the server been here yet? I am starving.”
“I’m right here sir. I apologize for the delay. The hostess required my attention for a moment. My name is Garth and I’ll be your server today,” said our server, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
We looked up at the tall server as he stood stoically with pen and order pad in hand. He was the same one who, just seconds ago, was engaged in serious conversation with our hostess.
How did I get across the room so fast? Shen mused.
He considered broaching the topic, but after looking into a pair of flickering amber eyes that hinted of flecks of gold he thought better of it. It was quite possible that we were being served by a super being of some sort; even if there’d been no indication of it so far. These days, we needed to suspect everyone and exercise caution always.
Shen scoped the room for signs of more creatures such as our server, but saw no one. He hurried through his order and urged me to give mine quickly under the guise of his hunger. The truth was that he was anxious to have Garth leave so that he could find out if my impression was the same as his.
The expression on Garth’s face gave Shen reason to believe that he was enjoying the tortuous speed, or lack of it, in which he took our order. When he finally sauntered away toward the kitchen, Shen emptied his lungs of the air he’d been holding.
“What was that?” he blurted.
“You noticed too?” I said.
“I did, and I do not like it,” he said. “Maybe we should leave.”
“We just ordered,” I replied as I stretched my body languidly. I was still coming down from the high I experienced after my encounter with Magdalena and I had no desire to rush it. It had been a long day, or should I say month, and I was tired and hungry. I looked around the ornate and obviously well used dining room.
“It seems harmless enough for now,” I said. “Besides, we can’t live on air. I don’t know when you last ate, but it been hours for me.”
“Me as well,” he said in a hushed tone as Garth moved toward us with our drinks. “I suppose you are right. We will eat first and then get out of here.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I mused as I locked eyes with our mysterious server from across the room.
Magdalena watched the young couple walking in front of her with minimal interest as she followed them down the lazy darkened street. It would be so easy to catch up with them and go unnoticed. She hadn’t seen a car or another person for the last ten minutes. All was quiet.Even if she did succumb to temptation and partake in human blood, it wouldn’t change the fact that she couldn’t get her mind off Shen and me. She was especially taken by me. She found my sandy hair and facial structure strikingly handsome. Although both of us made every sense she possessed alive and alert, it was me who struck her the most. Perhaps it was because of our touch. She rarely touched humans, and for good reason. It brought forth a part of her that she worked hard to suppress.She was born a vympire in the earth year one-thousand-ten BC and saw quite a few changes in the vympire kingdom since then. Many of the changes were those o
The trek back to her apartment was one of the most difficult experiences Magdalena could ever recall. She’d grown accustomed to moving amongst humans and was quite adept at it, but rarely did she touch us; and never for such a long period of time.What made matters even more unbearable was the fact that she was being supported by us. She had one of us on either side of her while we practically lifted her off the sidewalk in order to spare her the weight of her body on her bruised and broken limbs. The steady rhythm of our hearts pumping wondrous and addictive blood through our veins as we carefully positioned her onto her bed brought forth a surge of energy that was almost overwhelming. Her weaknesses were threatening to free themselves of their own accord and overpower her. She’d witnessed this happening to others a few times in her lifetime, but had never experienced it herself; nor did she wish to.She needed us to leave before she lost
“Your friends are back,” Garth muttered as he slid past Magdalena to grab a menu. “Allow me.”Magdalena looked at the entrance of the main dining room as Garth approached the us and scowled. She hadn’t expected us to return so soon. It was going to be difficult explaining her miraculous healing. What was she thinking, coming to work only a day after a fight like that? She should have anticipated the possibility of our return to the diner and made up an excuse to call in sick. She should have stayed home a few days to make it appear like she was still healing. This was bad. This was very bad.I looked in Magdalena’s direction as Garth led us to a booth at the far side of the room. My heart felt heavy as I looked for signs of the injuries she’d received not twenty-four hours earlier. There were none. This could mean only one thing. She wasn’t human.Garth took our drink order in his usua
Magdalena shivered; not from the cold, but from the sheer delight that coursed through her body as she nuzzled close to me while we made our way down the street. It had been centuries since she’d huddled this close to anyone -human or supernatural. The heady, sexual, and exhilarating sensation far outweighed any desire to drink my blood.Our conversation proved light, jovial, and delightful. Magdalena found herself rapidly developing a comfort with me and it felt good. It felt very good.She’d experienced this once before, centuries ago in another time and what seemed like another life when she met and fell in love with Marcus Wexton, Earl of Wetherford. She was touring homes of the wealthiest of the ton in Wales with her cousin, Evelyn, who was a few hundred years her senior. Evelyn had defied the vympire code and taken a human husband. They weren’t far from Marcus’s estate when their buggy lost a wheel. It w
Shen directed the cab driver to stop in front of Magdalena’s apartment building and got out. He watched the cab pull away and instantly regretted not asking him to wait. What if I wasn’t here? Since I hadn’t come back to our motel room he assumed I was with Magdalena, but what if I wasn’t? Where else would I be? He wished we dared use our cell phones.As he started up the set of steps that joined the sidewalk to the front door of the tall, century old brick building, he caught a glimpse of a shadow out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head quickly, but not quickly enough because the shadow was gone. When he focused once again on his ascent up the stairs leading from the sidewalk into the building’s vestibule, his path was blocked. He sucked in air as his mind registered what stood before him. There was no mistaking it was a vampire. To make matters even more intense, he looked familiar. Shen was su
Bruce stood on the porch of his mountain cabin and watched the sun set over the top of the tamarack pines that dominated the hillsides of the Southern Tier, New York. Tonight the moon would be full. He was already feeling the effects of the change his body was readying for. He and Tatyana had prepared the small root cellar beneath the cabin. It took some doing, but he finally managed to convince her to remain in the cabin at night while he was locked in the root cellar. It was difficult to get her to listen to reason, but when he pointed out that they could still communicate telepathically, she grudgingly agreed.Bruce was frustrated; not just because he’d turn yet again in a few hours, but because I’d called him with the news of Shen’s abduction. How could he help? Until the cursed moon surrendered to the sun and he was once again in control and able to function as a man, he could do nothing to help us. Even then, he wasn&rsquo
I adjusted my body behind the steering wheel of the rental car. I hated driving long distances and even though it was only a few hours’ drive from Middletown to Owego, it felt like an eternity when there was so much gnawing at me. Shen was in the clutches of some of the evilest creatures ever to exist. Even if they weren’t the evilest, I was certain they came close. I was at a loss at what to do.After calling Bruce to tell him about the situation with Shen and hearing the desperation and despair in his voice over his feelings of helplessness, I decided to go to Owego to join him. At least with the two of us in one location, the fears of what was happening to the other would be eliminated.I’d brought Magdalena and Garth with me. I had no idea how they could help or what could be done at this point, but the more on our team the better. Garth put up a bit of resistance until I confided in him about what Bruce was dealing w
Tatyana slumped against the back of the seat as the car sped down the highway. They’d blindfolded her to keep her from knowing their destination. Little did they realize that the blindfold prevented them from seeing her close her eyes as she let her abilities to take over. Thinking her asleep, none of the vampires who with gifts were using their limited telepathic abilities to intercept her efforts. She was grateful that they were of Wadim’s lineage and not that of a true vampire. The human DNA dulled much of their senses and, although they could still read minds to some extent, it was limited and they needed to really focus in order to do it; not like the natural, almost involuntary ease in which a pure vampire with telepathic capability would accomplished it.Her first task was to get a message to Elsa. She hoped the woman was fast asleep. It would be easier to get inside her head if she wasn’t awake and concentrating on something e