In Darkness We Must Abide: The Complete Second Season: Episodes 6-10 Read online

  “Armando, listen carefully. I don’t want you in my life ever again. Do you understand that?”

  “Too late. I’m here,” Armando said with a taunting smile, throwing out his arms dramatically. “Let’s be friends, shall we? We were such good friends when you were a child.”

  Vanora snorted. “All you want to be with me is friends?” Crossing her arms over her breasts, she stopped and stared at him.

  Leaning toward her, hands behind his back, his amber eyes peered into hers. “Don’t believe me?”

  “I know what you are, who you are. You don’t want to be my friend.” Vanora hated to admit it to herself, but she had missed their sparring.

  “I know you have that little cross around your neck, and I promise to be a good boy.” Armando extended a hand to her.

  Vanora glanced disdainfully at his long, slender hand, then walked on.

  “Such a small gesture of friendship and you deny me,” Armando taunted as he matched her strides.

  “If I give you an inch, you’ll bulldoze me,” Vanora replied, keeping her hands firmly tucked into her coat pockets.

  Armando stepped in front of her, forcing her to stop. Slanting his upper body toward her, his lips tantalizingly close to hers, he said, “You don’t even dare touch me. Maybe you’re afraid of what you’ll want if we do.”

  Vanora tried to look away from his handsome face, but found it difficult.

  “Or are you too busy playing the virgin?”

  “Bastard!” Vanora struck at him.

  Armando caught her wrist with unexpected ease, his smile sly. “I knew I could get you to touch me.” He forced her hand open, pressing his palm against hers before intertwining their fingers. “Wearing the ring and bracelet I gave you, I see.”

  Vanora tried to jerk away, but his grip was unyielding. “Let me go, Armando.”

  Eyes fluttering closed, he raised her hand to his face and rubbed her knuckles against his cheek.

  Vanora’s breath caught in her throat and she lost the ability to speak.

  Opening his eyes, he stared down at her. “You are going to need me more than you know,” he said darkly, the mockery abruptly gone from his eyes and voice.

  Vanora felt weakened. The thrill that was lacking from Dan’s kiss pulsated through her with just the simple touch of Armando’s hand. She was so angry at her weakness. “Let go!”

  “Only if you want me to,” Armando responded, his tone soft and seductive. “And I don’t think you do.”

  Trembling as his cool lips barely traced over hers, Vanora fought the urge to respond.

  “One kiss,” Armando whispered, the lightest brush of his mouth against hers.

  “One kiss is never enough,” Vanora whispered.

  Armando’s amber eyes glowed slightly in the lights around the pool. “Not between us. No.”

  The darkness was swallowing her whole. Already her body was craving his touch, the memory of his kisses making her lips tingle. How easy it was to remember how hard and thick he had been inside her. Yet, how impossible was it to forget all that had followed? The blood, the killing. He was a vampire. He was darkness, death, and desire.

  “Let go of me, Armando!” Vanora ordered, finally finding her voice.

  Dropping her hand, he stepped sharply back from her. “Go home. Warn, Roman.”

  And then he was simply gone.

  With his presence still sizzling on her skin and his hazel eyes still haunting her thoughts, Vanora pondered the words that Armando had spoken in his silky Spanish accent.

  Hugging herself, she gazed into the darkness surrounding her, wondering if Armando still lingered in the shadows, observing her. That he had sought her out both thrilled and terrified her. When she had first seen him standing on the lighted path of her apartment complex, the mere sight of his enigmatic smile had set her heart aflutter. But now that he had slipped back into the darkness, her heart beat with fear.

  Could she go back to Houston and face all she had run from? Could she forget the evils she had beheld on her eighteenth birthday? Could she just abandon the life she had meticulously created for herself over the last two years and return to the mansion that was haunted by death and pain?

  You must go home.

  Armando’s words echoed in her mind.

  Vanora lifted a hand to brush away her white-blond hair and turned to face the dark waters of the swimming pool that glimmered in the moonlight.

  To go home meant she would at last cast aside her trepidation and face the monsters of her nightmares. Was she strong enough to do so? Was she strong enough to go home and save the ones she loved?

  With a surrendering sigh, she admitted to herself that it was time to return to her childhood home. It was difficult to concede, but her reluctance to return was partially because she feared allowing Armando into her life once more. Though the creatures that dwelled in the darkness were terrifying, it was Armando who surely frightened her.

  Only he could truly steal away her heart and soul…

  Armando watched from the balcony of his apartment as Vanora finished her trek home. He had been overwhelmed by Vanora’s presence and acted foolishly. She was so lovely and strong. When he had looked into her lavender eyes, he’d felt her power calling to him. It had weakened him and made him impulsive. Looking down at his hand, he could still feel her soft skin pressed against his.

  Anger still pricked at him. He'd been entranced by Vanora, seeing that at last she had fully embraced her beauty and become the woman he always knew she would be. In a daze, he had almost not moved swiftly enough to avoid her seeing him. He’d always watched Vanora and Dan from afar, confident that their relationship would peter out and die, but tonight, watching them in the restaurant had been hell. The couple had looked so happy together, it had made him feel utterly wretched. It had been his intention to stay out of sight until he’d heard the ridiculous conversation between Dan and Vanora. That Dan would put so much value on something as insignificant as Vanora's supposed virginity instead of all the other wonderful things about her had agitated the vampire. Dan could be with Vanora in a way Armando never could, yet he appeared more interested in a check list for a future bride than Vanora herself.

  At last, Vanora unlocked her apartment door, looked about with her keen lavender eyes, then slipped inside to the safety of her home. With a grunt, he opened his balcony door and stepped into his own apartment.

  Lorelei sat in his desk chair with it positioned so she could see him enter. Blond hair framing her tiny face, her eyes were cold and deadly. “Where were you?”

  “Performing my duty,” Armando answered in a calm voice, attempting not to show his surprise at seeing her. She'd been gone for weeks, helping Aeron in his war against Parthenia.

  “I saw you talking to her.” The ice in her voice reminded him of Aeron.

  “We're old friends, you know.” Armando shrugged dismissively.

  “Are you?” Lorelei's legs swung back and forth, the heels of her sneakers squeaking against the wood floor.

  Armando nodded slightly.

  “Huh.” Lorelei leaned her head back, her dangerously emotionless gaze never moving from his face. “Parthenia is dead.”

  “I heard.”

  “How?”

  “I do have my own sources, Lorelei.” He tucked his hands behind his back and leaned against the wall.

  The cupid bow of her lips twisted into a scornful scowl. Though she had the appearance of a young teenager clad in her white angora sweater and white jeans, nothing about her manner was childish. She was Aeron's most brutal killer. “The Master wants Vanora in Houston. He'll be there soon.”

  Trying to remain calm, Armando nodded. “I'm already working on that.”

  “He spoke with you?”

  “No. I received word that before she died Althea sent assassins after Vanora.” Armando enjoyed the startled look on the other vampire's face.

  “I see. All the more reason for her to return to Houston.”

  “I a
m presently working on convincing her to return home.”

  “Just make her.”

  “What would be my excuse to just make her?”

  “Are you that weak from drinking animal blood that you can't sway her mind?”

  “Vanora is not a common human. You know this. No vampire can sway her mind. Aeron ordered me to protect her, befriend her, and not to reveal my allegiance to him to Vanora and her family. I have to work within that edict.”

  Lorelei's frown deepened. “He told me I am not to reveal myself to her.” Looking remarkably like any annoyed teen, she rolled her eyes. “He wants to introduce himself in a grand manner and not have me steal his thunder.”

  “Then allow me to do my job,” Armando urged her. “I will get her to return to Houston.”

  “How?”

  “I don't have to tell you everything, do I?” Armando gave her a mocking smile. “As long as I do my job, what do you care of my methods?”

  “I told Aeron she is too attached to this life. I say we kill her family and friends here in Austin. That will make her run home.”

  “Or just make her go into hiding,” Armando said, scoffing at her. “This is not days past, Lorelei. If Aeron doesn't want her alerted to his existence, then we can't harm those she loves.”

  Lorelei laughed with amusement. “You mean until he decides we can hurt them.”

  In a flash, he was across the room. Leaning over the chair and gripping the armrests, he glared into her eyes. “Listen to me, little girl, I know what I'm doing. Let me do my job.”

  Slightly tilting her head, Lorelei arched one eyebrow. “You have twenty-four hours. Then I will find a way to send her back to Houston and our Master. Understand?”

  Roughly releasing the chair, Armando gave her a sharp nod. “I'll handle it.”

  In the blink of an eye, Lorelei stood beside him. Inhaling deeply, her blue eyes stared up at him. “You smell of human blood.”

  “Roman's time is over,” Armando briskly responded. “I don't have to play those games anymore.”

  Flashing her sharp teeth, Lorelei nodded. “He'll be dead soon enough. And all his followers.”

  “As they should be.”

  Senses heightened by the consumption of human blood, he was able to detect when the little vampire moved at supernatural speed and slipped through the crack of the door and was gone. It was the first time in years he had felt so aware of his surroundings. Human blood was power and he had been robbed of it for so long.

  Rubbing his face vigorously, then combing his hands through his hair, Armando exhaled with agitation. He was drinking human blood to be at full power. At some point he would find a way around Aeron's edict, and when he did, he would need to be strong enough to defend Vanora.

  Vanora slipped into the warm gloom of her apartment, shut the door, locked it, then immediately checked all the protective items she had placed around the apartment to repel vampires. All the wards were in place. Without an invitation, none could enter. And even if Rhonda or her somehow fell to the thrall of a vampire and did issue an invite, the holy relics would repulse a vampire with evil intent. Though, she wasn’t certain if they’d work on Armando if his intention was to seduce her. Not that she planned to invite him inside.

  Shaking with a multitude of conflicting emotions, she forced a deep breath into her lungs in an attempt to calm her frayed nerves. The memory of Armando’s near kiss filled her thoughts and haunted her lips.

  “Dammit,” she exclaimed, twisting the pinky ring around her quivering finger.

  She started to pull it off, but once it reached her first knuckle she stopped. Tears stole her vision. Why did Armando have to come into her life just as she was finally moving on? If not for her own nightmare about Roman, she would have suspected he was just being jealous and petty and making up an excuse to speak with her. Well, those emotions had probably been a part of Armando’s behavior, but he had seemed genuinely concerned about Roman.

  Lifting her gaze, she regarded the window in the dining area warily. A sliver in the curtains revealed a black swatch of night. The darkness reminded her of the night the vampire had crawled through her window. It was thick, heavy and malevolent. For the last few months, the night had been nothing more than another part of the day. Now it was the amphitheater in which her life’s drama was once more playing out before the unseen faces of her enemies.

  Vanora hurried over and pulled the fabric closed, blocking out the oppressive gloom. Then she took a few more minutes to make sure all the windows in the apartment were covered before finally slipping out of her coat and hanging it up. Still nervous, she checked the locks on the front door one more time.

  Opening her satin clutch, she drew her iPhone out. There weren’t any messages waiting for her. She considered calling Dan, but their earlier conversation niggled at her. The immense amount of worth he placed on her perceived virginity bothered her. In spite of all that had gone wrong between her and Armando, Vanora had no regrets about the night they’d made love. Yet, she’d seen the look in Dan’s eyes when he suspected there was more between her and Armando than mere friendship. It had been disappointment and condemnation.

  Vanora sighed. “Dammit.”

  Retreating to her room, she sat on the bed, kicked off her shoes, and stared at the bracelet on her wrist. Why did Armando have to make everything so complicated? It bothered her just how much her body was still tingling from their brief interaction. Yet, her conflicted feelings about Armando were not important in the light of the threat against Roman’s life.

  Vanora pulled up her contact list on the screen of her phone and selected her sister’s number.

  Alisha answered after a few rings. “Snow Pea! What’s up, sweetness?”

  Immediately, Vanora knew something was seriously wrong. Her sister was using her fake happy voice. “Alisha, what’s going on?”

  Alisha was silent for a long moment. Vanora could hear her sister’s footsteps and a door shutting. “There’s a gathering tonight.”

  “I mean about Roman.” Vanora rubbed the knot in the center of her forehead. “I know that he’s in danger. I dreamed it.”

  “I’ve been painting about it,” Alisha confessed, losing all the fake lightheartedness in her tone.

  “And you showed Roman?”

  “He laughed them off. You know how he is. The eternal skeptic.”

  The tears sliding down her cheeks felt warm against her suddenly chilled skin. “Armando was here tonight.”

  “In Austin?” Alisha couldn’t sound more shocked.

  “Somehow he found me. He told me Roman is in danger. That I should go home-”

  “No!” Alisha said sharply. “Don’t come home!”

  The fear and urgency in her sister’s words sent fresh chills flowing through her body. The quaking of her body made it hard to hold the phone, let alone focus. “Because of the paintings?”

  “Yes, otherwise I’d be begging you to come home. You know that.”

  “What did the paintings reveal?”

  Alisha’s voice was so faint Vanora could barely hear it. “You’re holding his body in the last one. If you come home...”

  “I might bring death with me.”

  “Yes.”

  Vanora bit her bottom lip. It was difficult not to let the seeming futility of the situation smother any bit of hope she had to save her brother. “If I tell him about my dream, he might listen.”

  The bitterness in her sister’s laugh made Vanora flinch. “When has Roman ever listened to us? He acts like our abilities are all in our minds. He’s a fuckin’ vampire, but disregards our witch heritage. How the hell does that make sense?”

  Curling up on the bed, Vanora stared at the curtains covering her windows. The sensation of being watched never truly went away anymore. What if the albino vampire was out there? “In your paintings, does it show the killer?”

  Alisha sighed. “No. No. Just you holding Roman’s body. Did your dream reveal who killed him?”

 
; Upon reflection, Vanora realized it hadn’t. The albino vampire had been on the dance floor with her while Carlotta had rushed up after Roman was dead. Armando didn’t make his appearance until the end of the dream. “No, no. It didn’t.”

  “You can try talking to him, but if you can’t give him any more details than I can, he’s just going to be a jerk.”

  “What’s the point of having our gift if no one pays attention to it?” Vanora’s lament was one she had heard often from Alisha while growing up.

  “I often wonder the same thing.” Alisha was obviously worried. “In your dream, what did you see?”

  It was painful to remember the dream, but Vanora recounted it except for one detail: the albino vampire. She attempted to tell her sister about him, but it was as if her mind wouldn’t allow her to shape a sentence when her thoughts were about him.

  “My painting is nearly identical to your dream.” It was obvious that Alisha was crying. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Armando said he tried talking to Roman because he suspects there’s a threat, but that Roman didn’t pay attention. Alisha, are you sure I shouldn’t try to talk to him?”

  “I’m not sure of anything, Vanora. You can try. I just don’t want you to blame yourself if something does happen because he’s too stubborn to listen to us.”

  “I’m too stubborn not to try,” Vanora said at last. “Can you find Roman and give him the phone?”

  “Give me a second to wipe away my tears. You know how he is about crying.” Alisha tried to laugh, but it was a hollow sound.

  Rolling off her bed, Vanora walked into her bathroom. Thanks to her tears, her makeup was smeared all over her face. She set the phone down long enough to blow her nose, then picked it back up. Using another tissue, she dabbed at her eyes and tried to swallow her sobs while she concentrated on keeping her composure. She listened to Alisha open a door and walk down the hallway. Vanora assumed the vampires were meeting in one of the bigger rooms. It sounded like quite a large gathering. Then she heard the rich timber of her brother’s voice speaking in the background.