In the morning, Kadie found the bag with the boxes of Godiva chocolates on the table in the kitchen. She removed hers, then looked around for her phone, hoping Saintcrow had returned it, but it was nowhere in sight. Had he changed his mind about giving it back to her? She had hoped to call her mom and dad and assure them she was all right.
She lingered over a cup of coffee, wondering if she should tell Marti and the others that the vampires might be leaving. Thirty minutes later, she was still trying to decide. Grabbing the bag of chocolates, she drove to Marti's house for a little girl talk.
"Hi, come in," Marti said, smiling brightly. "I just made some cinnamon rolls. Would you like one?"
"I'd love it." Kadie followed her into the kitchen and sat at the table while Marti dished up cinnamon rolls still warm from the oven and poured two glasses of milk.
"So," she said, sitting at the table, "what brings you here so early?"
"I brought you a present." Kadie pulled one of the gaily wrapped boxes of candy from her tote bag and slid it toward Marti.
"A present? Why?"
"No reason." Kadie took a bite of the cinnamon roll. "These are great."
Marti quickly tore the paper off the box, her eyes widening with surprise. "Godiva chocolates!" she exclaimed. "My favorite. Where on earth did you get them?"
"I went shopping with Saintcrow last night. I bought some for everyone." She took another bite of her roll, then licked the sugar from her lips.
"Well, bless you," Marti said. She popped a truffle into her mouth, then closed her eyes, sighing with pleasure.
"You look like you're having great sex," Kadie remarked.
"Oh, chocolate is better than sex," Marti replied with a grin. "Except that sex doesn't go to your hips. So, where did you go? What was it like, to be outside?"
"We went to a mall. Rylan . . ."
Marti's brows shot up. "Rylan?"
"That's his name," Kadie said defensively.
"You're on a first name basis with him now?"
"Anyway, he bought me some new clothes. And he said I could have my phone back."
"He did! Kadie, that's great. Where is it? I can call Brad."
"He still has it. And even if I had it with me, it wouldn't be wise to call for help. Anyone who comes here would be trapped with us."
Shoulders sagging, Marti rested her elbows on the table, her chin propped in her hands. "Then what good is it?"
"It's a victory, of sorts. We can find out what's going on in the world."
"What difference does it make? We're no longer part of it."
"Saintcrow was attacked in the parking lot." She hadn't meant to share that, but the words slipped out.
"What? By who?"
"Vampire hunters. Four of the biggest men I've ever seen. He killed two of them. Tossed them around like they were matchsticks."
"Why didn't you run away?"
"I don't know. I thought about it, but"-she shrugged-"I couldn't leave him."
Marti stared at her. "I don't believe what I'm hearing. You had a chance to get away from this place and you didn't take it?"
"Forget about that. I have something to tell you, but it's a secret. You can't tell anyone else, at least not yet."
Marti leaned forward, her dark eyes alight. "What is it?"
Kadie hesitated. Should she tell? Saintcrow hadn't told her not to. "The vampires might be leaving Morgan Creek."
"Leaving?" All the color drained from Marti's face.
"I thought you'd be happy."
"Happy?" Marti shook her head. "They'll kill us before they leave."
"Why would they do that?"
"So we can't tell anyone what happened here."
"No! No, they won't. You'll all be fine. Saintcrow will still take care of you."
"Why would he do that? If the vampires leave, there's no reason to keep us alive."
"Yes, there is, because I'll still be here."
"So?"
"So you'll all be staying, too." Kadie took a deep breath. "To keep me company."
Marti plucked another chocolate from the box and nibbled on it. "Well," she said, licking the chocolate from her lips. "I guess it's a good thing I like you."
Kadie spent the rest of the morning handing out boxes of candy. She was relieved when none of the women blamed her because Saintcrow refused to let them leave Morgan Creek.
She saved the men for last.
"Well, this is a first," Jeremy remarked when she handed him one of the boxes. "I've never had a lady buy me candy before."
Kadie went to Claude's house last. Grouchy as always, he was scowling when he opened the door. "What do you want?"
Kadie thrust the last box at him. "I brought you a present."
"Yeah? Why?"
Kadie shrugged. "Why not?"
He stared at the box for a moment, as if debating whether to give it back, then with a barely audible "thank you" he shut the door in her face.
Saintcrow laughed when she told him about Claude that night. "He always was a strange one."
"Jeremy said none of the vampires like him."
"That's not my problem."
"Were the vampires happy with the phones?"
"Yeah. They're all at the tavern, exchanging phone numbers and catching up on supernatural affairs."
"I don't remember ever hearing anything on the news about vampire hunters. Or about vampires, for that matter."
"The messages are relayed by encrypted e-mails."
"Oh. Have any hunters ever stumbled into Morgan Creek?"
"Just once."
She waited for him to elaborate. When he didn't, she surmised that the hunter hadn't lasted long. "Are there a lot of vampire hunters?"
He nodded. "And more every day. But it's all under the radar. Most of the population has no idea that we exist, or that there's a whole underground network hunting us."
"It doesn't make much sense to me for the vampires to leave here," she remarked. "Considering what's going on."
He shrugged. "Except for Lonigan and Quinn, they've all been here forty years or more. I guess they need a change of scenery." He didn't see any need to tell her that the real reason they wanted out was to hunt again. He couldn't blame them for that.
"I told Marti the vampires might be leaving, but that she and the others would have to stay."
"How'd she take it?"
"Pretty well, I guess, all things considered. Can I have my phone? I want to call my parents and let them know I'm all right."
She felt his mind brush hers, probing her thoughts, before he pulled her phone from his back pocket and handed it to her. "Be careful what you say," he warned, and left the room to give her some privacy.
Kadie quickly dialed her mom's number, blinking back her tears when she heard her mother's voice.
"Kadie! Where are you? We haven't heard from you in weeks. We've been so worried!"
"I'm fine, Mom. I got a little sidetracked." She forced a laugh. "You know how I am when I'm working, but I'm fine."
"Where are you?"
"Nowhere right now, sort of between ghost towns. I got lost."
"But you're all right?"
"I'm fine. I've . . . I've been getting some great shots. I'll send you some when I can. I'm sorry I waited so long to call, but I . . . I didn't have any cell service." It was hard to lie to her mom. She wasn't only her mother but her best friend.
"How's Dad?"
"He's fine, honey. He's at work. There was a fire at the high school and he's tied up at the emergency room. He'll be sorry he missed your call."
Kadie took a deep breath, afraid to ask the next question. "How's Kathy?"
"Not well. The last infusion has worn off and there isn't any more available at the moment. Your father has been out every night hoping to find a new source."
"I guess she's asleep."
"Yes. You know how tired she gets."
Kadie nodded, choking back her tears. "I'll try to call tomorrow. And Mom? I love you."
"I love you, too, dear. Be careful."
"I will. Good night." Kadie closed the phone, then hugged it to her chest, trying not to cry. She needed to get home, needed to be with Kathy.
She blinked back her tears when Saintcrow returned.
"Everything okay at home?" he asked.
"Same as always. Thank you for letting me call."
"Tell me about your parents."
"My father's a surgeon. One of the best in the world. My mom's a housewife." She smiled wistfully. "One of the best in the world."
"You love them very much."
Kadie nodded. When she was a child, her parents had always come in at bedtime to hear her prayers and kiss her good night. They had shared bedtime stories and hot chocolate on cold winter evenings in front of the fire. Spent their summer vacations camping in the mountains. Her father had bought her her first camera when she was ten. She had quickly filled one scrapbook after another. Every few years, her father had bought her a new and better camera.
Saintcrow watched the play of emotions on her face as she thought about her childhood. He scarcely remembered his own parents. He had only been five or six when his father was killed in battle. His mother had remarried, only to pass away four years later, leaving Saintcrow with a stepfather he despised, and, eventually, a stepmother who tried to seduce him.
When he was sixteen, he'd run away from home and sought refuge in a neighboring castle where a knight took him on as a squire. He had spent the next four years in Sir Edward's service, dressing him in the morning, serving his meals, caring for his horse, cleaning the knight's armor, weapons, and shield. He had accompanied Sir Edward to tournaments and gone with him when he went to war. During this time, he had also learned to handle a sword and lance while wearing forty pounds of armor and riding a horse.
He had been just shy of his twenty-first year when Sir Edward deemed him worthy to become a knight. The day before the ceremony, Saintcrow donned a white tunic and red robes. He had spent the night in his room, meditating, praying for strength and courage, petitioning heaven for the purification of his immortal soul. Thanking heaven for Sir Edward's kindness and patience with a rebellious youth. He had loved that man, respected him as he had no other before or since.
In the morning, the chaplain blessed his sword, and then heard his confession.
Later, attired in his finest clothing, Saintcrow had knelt in front of Sir Edward, his head bowed, as his lord tapped him lightly with his sword on each shoulder and proclaimed him a knight of the realm. It had been the proudest moment of Saintcrow's life. It was one of the few memories he had clung to all these years.
"Rylan?"
"You'll see your parents again, Kadie," he said quietly.
"You mean it?"
The hope in her eyes went straight to his heart-a heart he had thought dead long ago. "I swear it," he said, his voice thick. "I swear it on my honor as a knight."
Later, Saintcrow stood beside Kadie's bed, wondering why she had never told him about her sister. She tried not to think about Kathy too often. Perhaps it was too painful. Or perhaps, with his ability to read her mind, she figured he already knew.
Watching her sleep, he longed to hold her in his arms, to make love to her until the sun came up, but, given all that had happened at the mall, he thought it best to wait a few days. He had never meant for her to see him like that, his skin drawn tight, his eyes blazing like the fires of hell, his fangs dripping blood. She had covered the horror she felt remarkably well, better than he had expected, but he knew it wasn't something she would soon forget.
Would she look at him now and see only a monster? If so, she wouldn't be the first. Or likely the last.
He lifted a lock of her hair, let it sift through his fingers. Since becoming a vampire, he had refused to let himself fall in love, had refused to let anyone-vampire or mortal-get close to him. But Kadie, clothed in youthful beauty and innocence, had captured his heart.
He had thought to keep her with him for a long, long time, but now, loving her, he knew he couldn't subject her to a life with him. He recalled, all too clearly, something Kadie had told him.
Only a monster keeps people enslaved, she'd said, her voice ringing with righteous indignation. And she was right. He was a monster.
A monster in love for the first time in his long, long existence. And so he would let her go.
But not yet.
Surely even a monster deserved a little happiness.
