The Last of the Red-Hot Vampires Read online

  I thought about washing my hands of her, but Sarah was my oldest friend, and I couldn't leave her to the mercy of such a possibly dangerous man as Theo. I marched into the police station, intent on saving Sarah despite herself.

  A short, balding man was at the reception counter, the only other person in the entryway. Beyond him, walls that were half glass gave the room light, and allowed the occupants to see what was going on in other sections of the station. Two policemen, and one policewoman, sat at desks typing industriously on their keyboards.

  "Hello. You must be Portia Harding," the policeman at the reception desk said, coming around to shake my hand. He had a pleasant smile, and warm, friendly brown eyes that had me smiling back despite my distress. "I'm Terrin."

  "It's a pleasure to meet you. Is Sergeant Reading here? She's the one we spoke with yesterday."

  Terrin glanced behind him at the people in the other office. "Looks like she's stepped out for a bit. Shall we get started? This shouldn't take too much of your time."

  "I'd be happy to, but I've just seen the man who assaulted me outside of town, and my friend has gone off to talk with him. If you hurry, I'm sure you can nab him before he escapes again."

  A slight frown wrinkled his forehead. "Who would that be?"

  "Theo North. You know, the man who assaulted me and kidnapped us?" I slapped my hands on my thighs, annoyed that he wasn't springing to life to capture Theo. "Are you at all familiar with the situation involving myself and my friend?"

  "Of course I am," he laughed, taking my arm and guiding me to the far end of the room. "It's what I get paid to do. So to speak. Theo North. Hmm. The name is ringing a bell, but I can't put a face to it. While I'm thinking on it, why don't we get started?"

  I stared at the policeman in disbelief, marching over to where he stood. "I am not going to stay here and do nothing while my friend is in danger!"

  "The sooner you're finished, the sooner you can help her," he said soothingly, gently escorting me back to the corner.

  "Oh, this is ridiculous. I'm going to go get my friend, and then you can bet I'll be back to complain to your superior about your callous disregard of human life!" I took one step forward and stopped, my skin crawling with horror as the black and white checkered tile floor that filled the reception area melted away to nothing. Everything but the two tiles I was standing on, and the two where Terrin stood across the room, was gone, a black pit of emptiness in its place.

  "Sweet mother of reason," I swore, closing my eyes for a moment in hopes that whatever optical illusion I was seeing would disappear.

  It didn't.

  "All you need do to complete this trial is walk over to me," Terrin said with a happy little smile that I badly wanted to smack right off his face.

  "This is not happening," I told him, shaking my finger at him. "Floors do not just disappear. And since I haven't been around any faery rings to breathe in hallucinogenic spores that don't show up on hospital tests, I doubt if this is a hallucination. Thus, I must be dreaming. An extremely lucid dream, one I want to stop right this very minute."

  I closed my eyes tightly and willed myself to wake up.

  "I'm afraid I don't have a lot of time to give to your trial," Terrin said.

  My eyes popped open at the word trial. He looked at his watch. "This isn't a timed event, but I do have other appointments I must attend to, so I would appreciate it if you could please focus on the matter at hand."

  "Good gravy, you're another henchman?"

  Terrin's eyebrows rose. "Pardon?"

  "You're another one of Theo's henchmen, aren't you? Just like those two ladies? How many of you are there? It must be hugely expensive hiring so many people to play these silly roles. Regardless, I'm not going to do whatever it is he is paying you to get me to do, so feel free to go on to your other appointments." I crossed my arms and tried to look decisive and absolute without appearing bitchy.

  "I assure you, Portia Harding, I am not in the pay of Theo North." Terrin's gaze on me was steady. "Now if we could dispense with the drama, could you please walk over to me?"

  "You have not begun to see drama," I warned, giving him a look that should have singed off his eyebrows. "I consider this harassment of the purest form, and I will have no qualms whatsoever about lodging a complaint with the police about you if you do not cease with this ridiculous persecution!"

  Terrin laughed, genuine amusement in his face. "The police? They have no jurisdiction over me, at least not the mortal sort. Please, time is passing quickly. If you could just walk over to me, we will both be free to go about our respective ways."

  "You are insane if you think I'm going to walk anywhere near you," I told him, glancing at the floor. "Not that I believe your little optical tricks."

  The amusement in his eyes deepened. "I see. You don't believe that I have made the floor disappear?"

  "Absolutely not. This is nothing more than an illusion. It's done with lights and mirrors, or holograms, or some other sort of sophisticated projection."

  "An interesting supposition. Would you care to prove it?" he asked, holding out a hand for me.

  I glanced nervously from his hand to the floor. I knew, I knew that the floor hadn't disappeared into nothing despite the apparently yawning chasm in front of me. It was physically impossible. Thus, what I was seeing had to be an illusion. And if it was an illusion, then it was perfectly safe for me to walk across the floor.

  At least, that's what I told myself. My legs refused to move, however.

  A little bell jangled over the door to the street, heralding the arrival of someone…someone tall, dark, and incredibly handsome, someone whose mere presence had me grinding my teeth.

  "What have you done with Sarah?" I asked before Theo was fully into the reception area. He stopped as soon as he stepped over the threshold, two tiles suddenly appearing beneath his feet. He glanced down at the apparently missing floor, then over to me. "I see the trial has begun."

  "Ahhh," Terrin said, giving Theo a shuttered look. "Now I remember. You are the one who has been petitioning the Court for the last two hundred years."

  Theo made a small bow. "Two hundred and twelve, to be precise."

  "Indeed. And you are also now a champion?" Terrin looked thoughtful.

  "Yes." Theo shot me a quick look.

  "That might just do it, you know," Terrin told him. "Hasn't been done in a few centuries, but there is precedent."

  I mustered up as much of a glare as I could, given the odd circumstances. "Where is Sarah? What have you done with her? And don't tell me you haven't seen her; she drove off to find you, and she's very single-minded when she wants to be."

  "She went back to her room. She wished to see the trial, but I told her that you would no doubt prefer to conduct the trial without an audience." Theo's gaze swept around the room. "Unusual spot you chose to have it."

  "I didn't choose anything! You people keep hounding me wherever I go, and I'm getting sick and tired of it." I carefully turned and waved my hands in the air to catch the attention of the police behind the glass walls. "And I'm going to put a stop to it right here and now. Hey! Hello! Need help out here! Dangerous criminal and his buddy right here in your station!"

  The police people paid no attention whatsoever to either my frantic arm-waving or shouts, not so much as a single person looking up to see what was going on in their reception area.

  "Portia, they can't see or hear you. They can't see or hear any of us until the trial is over," Theo said, holding out a hand for me. "Walk over here and it will be over, and then I can explain to you what's going on."

  "Dream on," I snapped, wondering if they'd drugged everyone in the police station. Maybe some sort of drug in the water cooler that made everyone unaware of what was going on around them?

  "I'm afraid I'm going to have to put this down as a refusal," Terrin said, pulling a small notebook out of his pocket. "This will be the second trial you've failed, I believe. You know, of course, that if you fail a third y
ou will be disqualified and your application denied?"

  "What is it you want?" I asked Theo. "Money? You won't get it, you know. I don't have any, and Sarah's husband is a lawyer who would grind you under his heel if you so much as thought about holding her for ransom."

  Theo dropped his hand. "Is the floor here?"

  "Yes, of course it's here," I answered, avoiding looking directly at the abyss in front of me. I'm not afraid of heights per se, but they did make me a bit nervous. Even though I knew what I was seeing was an optical illusion, it was good enough to make my palms sweat.

  "Then walk over here and prove that you believe what you are seeing is not real."

  I licked my lips, looking from him, to Terrin, to the floor. It's not real, I told myself. It's just an illusion, a very high-tech illusion, but an illusion nonetheless. Things like floors do not just disappear into nothing. If I march over there now, I will be able to prove to both of them that whatever their nefarious plan is, it won't work on me. I will laugh in their faces.

  Despite my brave pep talk, my feet remained rooted to the two tiles.

  "I'm sorry, I have no choice," Terrin told both Theo and me. He made a few notes and gave me a sad look. "I must mark this as a failure. I do hope you do better in your remaining trials, the third of which will commence tomorrow. Good afternoon to you both."

  He turned and walked out the door, each step he made causing the tiles to appear in front of him, slowly rippling out until the entire floor was once again visible. I nudged the newly reappeared tile in front of me with the toe of my shoe. It seemed perfectly normal, perfectly solid.

  "Hello, can I be of help?" a policeman asked as he walked in from the back rooms. He set down a cup of coffee and peered inquiringly over the desk at us.

  "I am Portia Harding. I filed a complaint for assault and kidnapping against this man," I said, pointing at Theo. To my horror, my hand was shaking. "If you could arrest him now, I'd would be eternally grateful."

  "Portia Harding?" The policeman frowned, seating himself in front of a computer. His fingers danced over the keys for a few seconds. "I'm sorry, but I don't have a record of a complaint by you, Miss Harding. What is your assailant's name?"

  "Theo North. Er…Theodore, I assume."

  "It's Theondre, actually," Theo said, walking over to the counter. "You will have to forgive Miss Harding. She has had a trying last few days, and is a bit confused at the moment."

  "I'm sorry," the policeman said again, tapping away at the keyboard. "I see no entry for a Theo or Theondre North."

  "Sweet mother of reason, you bought off the police?" I asked Theo. "I can't imagine how much it must have cost you to do the hologram of the floor, but to buy off police—that's just wrong in so many ways, I can't begin to name them!"

  The policeman looked at me with suddenly wary eyes. "Are you quite yourself, madam?"

  "She's fine," Theo said, taking me by the arm and gently pulling me to the door. "Just a little overset. I'll see that she gets back to her hotel."

  "You're kidnapping me again, aren't you?" I asked him as he opened the door and all but shoved me through it. "You're kidnapping me right in front of a policeman, but because he's part of your horrible scheme, he's not going to stop you."

  Theo sighed and gently pushed me through the door. "You need a drink."

  "That's the first thing you've said that makes any sense," I agreed, looking around quickly for the best route for my escape. It was just starting to get dark, the little town in the middle of the busy hour when everyone was hurrying to the shops, then home. I shivered a little, rubbing my arms as a gust of wind hit me. It was raining slightly, more of a drizzle than a rain, but it was enough to chill me. I didn't relish running the mile through the damp night to the pub, especially with Theo on my tail, but I had no choice.

  My escape plan was squelched when Theo grabbed my hand and held it in a no-nonsense grip as he started up the sidewalk. "Don't even think about it. We need to talk, you and I. And we could both use a drink. We'll take my car—"

  "Over my dead body," I answered, digging in my heels and coming to an abrupt halt.

  He eyed me for a moment. "As tempting as that offer is, I need you alive. We will walk if it makes you feel any better." So saying, he started up the hill to where the pub sat at the crown.

  "Infinitely. Release my hand."

  "No."

  We marched along in silence for a few minutes, Theo looking straight ahead with a grim expression on his face, me desperately trying to catch the eye of townsfolk.

  "Excuse me, could you help me? I'm being kidnapped." The man to whom I spoke glanced at Theo and hurried on his way.

  I spotted a lady with her arms full of groceries. "Pardon me, but could you possibly help me? This large man next to me is kidnapping me."

  "Oooh," the woman said, her eyes lighting up as she gave Theo the once-over. "He can kidnap me any day."

  Theo snorted and continued to haul me up the road.

  "Help—" I started to scream, feeling I had nothing left to lose.

  Before I got more than the H out of my mouth, Theo jerked me toward him, both his arms coming around me in a steely grip. His black eyes flashed with irritation, the last thing I saw for a few seconds as his mouth descended on mine in a bruising kiss that drove everything from my mind.

  Chapter 7

  I would like to think that I'm a rational, relatively intelligent, down-to-earth sort of person, who doesn't get rattled when a handsome man plants his lips on hers. I'd like to think that, in that sort of a situation, I would handle myself with aplomb and dignity. I would like to think that, but the sad reality was that the second Theo stopped trying to shut me up by swallowing my yells for help, and started really kissing me, I was a goner.

  Oh, the analytical part of my mind had quite a pleasant time examining the mechanics of the kiss. It noted that once his lips softened against mine, my breath started coming in short little gasps that had me parting my own lips. It understood that the act of his hands, sweeping down my arms, around to my back, and finally down to my butt, where they pulled me up against his body, were responsible for a sensation that left me feeling as if my entire body was tingling. It noticed that when his tongue touched mine, my knees seemed to be unable to support my weight, and deep within me, sensitive areas started to throb with an almost primal need. It made no judgment when I started kissing him back, sliding my fingers through his hair as I twined my tongue around his. It didn't even care when people walking by us giggled at the sight we made, kissing like crazy on the sidewalk.

  But when Theo managed to retrieve his tongue and lips from where I was nipping at them, the analytical part of my mind pointed out that I had just been necking with a man who only the day before had kidnapped and assaulted me.

  Oddly enough, that seemed to fade into unimportance in the face of what must surely be the world's best kisser.

  "Sweet mother earth," I swore when he stepped back, releasing me.

  "Salus invenitur," he said at the same time, his black eyes mirroring my surprise.

  "What was that?" I asked, ignoring the giggles of three teenaged girls as they skirted us.

  "A kiss. I think." Theo looked just as disconcerted by the experience as I felt. His expression changed to one of annoyance, though. He looked upward for a moment, then frowned at me. "Stop that."

  "I would like to point out that you are the one who kissed me, not vice versa."

  He raised one ebony eyebrow. "Really? So that wasn't you trying to suck my tongue out of my head?"

  "I kissed you back. I did not initiate the kiss. If your tongue gets sucked out of your head, it's no fault of mine," I said righteously, straightening my shoulders and ordering my knees to stop melting at the memory of the kiss.

  Theo walked next to me as I continued up the hill toward the pub, taking my hand again in what was no doubt a precautionary move to keep me from bolting. The fact that escaping him had slid down my top ten lists of things to accomplish i
n the next half hour was neither here nor there. "I would like to think the responsibility and praise for a kiss lies with both participants, not just one. Will you please stop that? It is getting annoying."

  "Stop what?"

  He pointed overhead. "Stop raining on me."

  Good gravy, the cloud hallucination was back, and it was following me!

  I'm not ashamed to say that, for a moment, a wild irrational fear gripped me. "I'm not doing that!" I wailed, then shook my hand free of Theo's and raced up the hill to the safety of the pub.

  "Portia—"

  The damned cloud followed me the whole way, raining harder and harder with each step, so that when I arrived at the pub, my breath coming in big rasping gasps as I clutched the stitch in my side, I was soaked to the skin.

  "Portia, stop!" Theo had been right beside me as I bolted, a look of concern on his face. "You can't outrun it. You have to make it stop."

  I spun around, water flying from my sodden hair. "I cannot control the weather!" I yelled.

  "Yes, you can." We stood outside the pub in the parking lot, which was thankfully unoccupied at that moment. Theo grasped my forearms and looked me deep in the eyes. "You have the Gift. You do not wish to acknowledge it, but you must in order to control it."

  "It's impossible for a person—"

  "Don't you have any faith in yourself?" he asked, shaking me slightly.

  "Of course I have faith in myself!" My teeth started chattering with cold.

  "Then prove it! Prove that no matter what situation you are in, you believe in yourself."

  "This is asinine. I can't control the weather!" Overhead, my cloud rumbled ominously, the hairs on my arms standing on end with the feeling of static electricity.

  "Yes, you can," Theo yelled over the noise. "You can make it stop, Portia! The power is yours. Will it to go away!"

  Rain pelted down on us with such force that it stung my bare skin. I looked around frantically, but there was nowhere to hide from it except the pub itself. "I'll go inside—"