Keri Arthur - Hearts In Darkness

I'm not sure, and at this stage, it's not them I'm worried about. It's the resort. Whenever I try to do a reading on the place, all I get is darkness. Something evil resides there, Michael, and its influence grows by the day. We have to stop it.

But why me?If it wasn't a vampire they were dealing with, just about any of the Circle's other investigators were currently better equipped to investigate.

Seline was silent for a second. Michael crossed his arms and leaned a shoulder against the window frame. She was trying to decide just how much to tell him. If he played hard to get, she'd eventually open up and explain why she wanted him on this mission rather than the others.

There are two reasons it must be you.

Her mind-voice was hesitant. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. In the century he'd known the old witch, indecision was something he'd rarely heard in her.

And they are?he prompted, when she showed no immediate signs of continuing.

The darkness is linked with your past, Michael. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but it is something you must deal with.

I have over three hundred and sixty years behind me, Seline. Don't suppose you'd like to be a little more specific?

I'm sorry, but no, I can't. My visions are limited in many respects, unfortunately. I just know that it's vital you go to this resort, or more people will disappear.

He sighed softly. It looked like he had very little choice in the matter. And the second reason?

The silence stretched between them once more. He frowned. This time worry, and perhaps even a little fear, mingled with the hesitation coming down the mental line.

It was the fear that concerned him, more than anything else.

Eventually, she sighed . You're not going to like this.

Just cut the dramatics and tell me what the problem is, Seline.

His irritation tingled down the line, and he felt her frown. You must take Nikki with you.

"No!"

His reply was abrupt. Instinctive. Angry. There had been more than enough darkness in Nikki's life already—and he'd caused her more than enough pain in the brief time they'd been together. He wouldn't drag her into a similar situation.

Michael, she's already involved. She walks the path to the resort as we speak. If she is not accompanied by you, she will die.

Fear slammed through his heart. We share a life force, Seline. She cannot die as long as I live.

But the image of her dead, her head torn from her neck, went through his mind. Bile rose, swift and sharp. He pushed the vision away and swallowed heavily.

But she is not immortal, as you are not immortal.Seline's mind voice held an edge of sharpness. Your actions have marked her for others of your kind to see. They will know what she is. Know how to get rid of her.

Only the very old vampires have any knowledge of thralls, Seline. And the term can only be used loosely when it comes to Nikki.

Perhaps. You have yet to test the limits of what you have done, so who can say what control you have over her?

Michael rubbed his eyes. It wasn't control he wanted. It was her heart. But she wasn't willing to risk that again—and certainly not with someone like him.

I have no wish to test the limits. No wish to even see her again.

Do not lie to me, my friend. I can see the truth in your heart.

Then you can also see the resolve.

She sighed. Yes. But the only true option you have right now is whether she lives or dies.

Then there was no choice. Where is she now?

Seline's smile shimmered down the link . Where she always has been—Lyndhurst. The company helicopter is on the way to pick you up as we speak. The files will be on it, and I've made arrangements for a room at Jackson Hole.

So she'd been certain of his response all along. He clenched his fists and somehow managed to keep his mind voice even. Tell me one thing, Seline. Can you see the ending to all this?

All I can see is danger, and much pain. The road you walk will not be easy—for either of you.

He smiled grimly. Danger and pain had been his close companions over the century he'd been a part of the Circle, and were a major part of the reason he could not allow Nikki into his life.

I'll keep in contact, Seline.

Do that. And watch out for the past, Michael. Remember, the memory of love can be potent, but it is nowhere near as satisfying as the reality.

He frowned. What in the hell was that supposed to mean? The mental line went down before he could ask. He punched the window frame in frustration.

It looked like Jake had been right after all. Fate would not let him walk away from Nikki without a damned good fight.

Matthew's scream ripped across the silence, as sharp as the gunshot that followed—a gunshot that had come from outside the warehouse.

Fear squeezed Nikki's heart, and for a moment she found it difficult to breathe. Jake was in trouble.

Every instinct she had said she should go help him. Yet if she did, she'd face his wrath. The client is all that matters. How often had he told her that? Her priority had to be Matthew, no matter how much the decision tore at her.

The air stirred then fell still again. Someone was standing in front her, someone whose very presence made her skin crawl.

It was a taste of evil that reminded her of Jasper.

She shivered and backed away, her fingers aching from the fierceness of her grip on the knife.

From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed movement to her left. Something snarled, and canines gleamed briefly against the cloak of night. It wasn't a dog but a vampire, moving in fast. She flung out her free hand, thrusting him away kinetically. He hit the back wall with enough force to shatter a nearby window and fell heavily to the concrete floor.

Moonlight filtered into the warehouse, filling the night with yellow softness. The vampire didn't move, his head bent at an odd angle to his body. Broken neck , Nikki thought with a chill. She'd killed him without really meaning to.

She spun and ran towards Matthew. The teenager was wrestling with two smaller men. Blood glistened on his skin, mingling with sweat as it ran down his arms and face. She raised her hand, lashing energy at one of the vampires. He yelped and disappeared through the darkness. The second vampire launched himself at her. She slid to a stop and thrust the knife at him. The blade punched into the his stomach a second before his weight hit her. She was slammed backwards, hitting the concrete hard, the vampire pinning her down.

Gasping for breath and blinking back the sting of tears, she heard the vampire snarl. His wild blue eyes were inches from hers, his canines extending and dripping blood onto her cheeks. Getting ready to feed, she thought. Bile rose swiftly. Swallowing heavily and fighting memories of Jasper, she thrust a hand into his face. The teeth aimed at her neck sank into her palm instead.

Agony ran like fire down her arm. She yelled, thrusting him away kinetically, and scrambled up. The vampire was on his feet, a feral look on his face. Silver gleamed in the middle of his stomach—her knife, still lodged in his flesh. Sound whispered behind her. A chill chased its way across her skin, and the hairs at the back of her neck rose. Evil was on the move.

She reached again for energy. Pain slivered though her mind, a warning that she was beginning to push her psychic strength too far. Ignoring it, she focused on the blade, ripping it from the vampire's body and aiming it at the darkness to her right.

It sliced through the air and thudded hilt-deep into the side of a packing crate. Silence washed across the warehouse, chilling in its intensity.