Elle Jasper - Darklove

The park is deserted, and I’m chasing this vampire into the shadows at the far end when suddenly, he has stopped, turned, and is facing me. I stop, too, and stare, peering into the shadows obscuring his features. I see his silhouette, though, and my insides feel sickened. Six feet. Broad shoulders. Muscular thighs. Arrogant stance.

The grass crunches behind me, and I turn my head. It’s Noah.

“Riley, I asked you not to take off alone,” he says, distracting me for a half second.

I glance back at the figure. The vampire that has just killed a young girl.

He’s gone.

I feel my knees go weak, and I want to sink to the ground, maybe even scream. I inhale instead and take off in the direction the vampire disappeared. Vampire. Killer. Bloodsucker who’d just stolen a life, ruined others because of it. That girl’s family will never be the same, always a hole ripped in their lives. I hate it so much it makes my insides roil with rage. I hear Noah swear and he’s right behind me again.

Without thinking, I crank up the speed, and I’m bounding over parked cars, rebounding off buildings, and next I’m leaping rooftops again. I scan the shadows, searching for the least amount of movement. I startle a flock of roosting ravens, and their wings sound like drums going off in my head. They slow me just enough for Noah to get his hands on me and yank me to a halt.

“Riley!” he says harshly, and snatches me toward him. Both of his hands grip my shoulders. “Stop!”

I look at my partner’s face, and shadows fall across most of it. It’s Noah, though. I know that. For a second, I’m dazed. What the hell’s wrong with me?

Who was I just chasing?

I shift my gaze across the city’s skyline. Down the river, the castle lights are still on. Dawn is close to breaking, and I see the river Ness moving like a black eel below me. I look at Noah, who is studying me with a cautious look.

“I’m losing my mind,” I say, barely above a whisper. “It has to be residual from entering that alternative plane.” I shake my head and lift my gaze to meet Noah’s. “Why do I keep seeing Eli?”

Noah’s brow furrows. “You thought that vampire back there was Eli?” He shook his head. “Come on, Riley. Eli Dupré? Your fiancé? My closest friend? Original guardian of Savannah? Entrusted by Preacher and Estelle? Forsake his parents? Eli, turned dark?” Again, he shakes his head and lets go of my shoulders. “No fucking way, Riley. It wasn’t him. Your mind’s playing tricks on you.”

“Then what’s wrong with me?” I ask. “Why, ever since St. Bueno’s, am I seeing him, Noah? Am I crazy? Am I being tormented?”

Noah looks down at me, his silvery eyes soft. “I don’t think you are seeing him, darlin’. I think . . . ,” He grabs my chin and lifts it closer to him. “I think he is consuming your mind right now. You know Arcos made it out alive, and you want more than anything for the same to happen to Eli. I get that. And he may have. But he’s not killing innocents.” Noah’s eyes hold mine. “He’s just not.”

The sun is just cracking the horizon. What were shadows and darkness are now haze and fuzzy light. I see Noah’s face clearly. He’s probably the most sincere soul I know. “Then why,” I say to him, “am I seeing him in a bad way? Killing people?”

One corner of Noah’s mouth lifts. “Now, that I can’t explain, Ms. Poe. But you need to relax. Concentrate. And let’s get this job done. Then we’ll work on Eli.” He taps my nose. “Together. With Andorra.”

I heave a sigh. “Yeah. Okay.”

Noah inclines his head toward the ground. “You ready to hop off this rooftop before we draw a crowd?”

“Guess we’d better,” I say, and leap the two and a half stories to a side alley. Noah lands beside me, and we walk toward the river. Early-morning businesses are opening up. Bakers, butchers, tourist shops. It’s Friday morning, and there’s a certain feel in the wind. Maybe it’s coming from the youth, looking forward to a little fun? Kids out of school? Whatever it is, I know the streets of Inverness are no longer safe. Three rouge vampires killed already. One on the loose, and I have no idea who that one is.

Despite Noah’s insistence that it wasn’t Eli, I pray for it to not be.

It’s only a matter of time before the local police discover the bodies being drained of blood, or minus a very important organ, are more than a fluke. Nothing screams serial killer more than a few dead bodies piling up.

Makes me wonder if that guy, before I put the mind whammy on him, knows just how lucky he is. That he was a half second away from having his blood sucked from his body. Maybe it’s best that he doesn’t know. Sometimes I wish I didn’t.

“Let’s walk the city today, in the daylight,” Noah suggests. “Arriving here after dark, taking off on a blind hunt.” He shakes his head. “I don’t like to work that way. Inverness isn’t too big. Let’s head back to the guesthouse, get the maps Andorra gave us, and hit the streets.” He drapes an arm over one of my shoulders. “Come on.”

I meet Noah Miles’s encouraging gaze. If anyone can make you believe in yourself, or a cause, it’s Noah Freaking Miles. Must be left over in his human DNA from the Revolutionary War.

“Damn straight it is,” he says, reading my mind. “Let’s go.”

We slip into the streets of Inverness, mingling with the mortals walking to work, to school, tourists checking out St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Inverness Castle.

All completely incoherent to the fact that an immortal killer, the very top of the food chain, stalks them. Probably more than one.

Police sirens echo close by, resonating off the stone and brick of the buildings. I can tell where it’s headed. The park. To that poor dead girl we left there.

Yeah. No matter who is responsible. They have to be stopped.

Even if it kills me.

The rest of the morning is spent first going over the map of Inverness, spread out on the kitchen table. Noah and I hunch over the creased, new map, shoulder to shoulder, studying. Inverness isn’t very large, so we then head out into the city itself. We hit every main artery road, close, and dead-end street in the City Centre on foot, and fan out to the river and industrial park by cab. I suspect to most onlookers, Noah and I are just another touring couple on vacay. What they don’t know won’t hurt, as the saying goes. Rather, possibly, won’t kill.

Yet despite Noah’s encouraging words to get my mind in the game, my thoughts stray to Eli. I just can’t help it. He was taken from me, and I want him back. Badly. Why can’t he be here now? Why did Vic make it home, but not Eli?

As my eyes take in the Scottish city, I daydream about what it’d be like to be here just as a regular couple in love, touring the city. The Highlands. Taking a boat out onto Loch Ness and searching for Nessie. Walking the hillsides, and traipsing through ancient castle ruins. A ping of jealousy roils inside me at all the regular people living regular lives. Wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, socialize, come home. Normal stuff. Jesus Christ, I’m about as far from normal as I can possibly fucking be.