Deathless Read online

  Stefan stroked the black soul patch on his chin. He was the newest and youngest member of the High Council—it had been less than four hundred years since that glorious day Ricard turned him—but he had the same rights and powers as the others.

  “And why would I do that?”

  Edwina’s expression grew hard. “Because you owe me, Stefan. You took my feeder from me, for your own selfish purposes. Needlessly, it turned out, I might add.”

  Stefan winced inside. He had made a bargain with the human girl Leesa. She had agreed to become his consort in return for her brother’s freedom. But at the first taste of her blood, he realized he could not turn her. Still, he kept his part of the bargain and allowed Bradley to remain free. Despite his failure to turn Leesa vampire, she still maintained a pull on him he had been unable to break—or even to fully understand.

  “What will you do if I give you the permission you seek?”

  Edwina smiled again. She had him now, she knew.

  “Why, look for another feeder, of course. That’s all. Find a human to replace the one you took from me.”

  Stefan did not trust her smile one bit. Still, he did owe her. He could not deny it, even to himself.

  “And this has nothing to with Leesa or her brother?” he asked.

  Edwina gave him a look that was all innocence.

  No wonder she so easily plays with humans, Stefan thought. No one would ever suspect her true nature.

  “No, of course not. That’s ancient history. I desire new blood.”

  “I am serious, Edwina,” Stefan said sternly. “I do not want you going anywhere near Leesa or her family. Understood?”

  Edwina ran her finger softly down Stefan’s cheek, scraping his smooth skin lightly with her fingernail. “Why, Stefan! Don’t tell me you still have feelings for that girl.”

  Stefan did not know what to make of his feelings for Leesa, but he certainly wasn’t about to try to explain them to Edwina. He took hold of her wrist and pulled her hand away from his face.

  “It is for your safety as much as hers,” he said, keeping a tight grip on her wrist. “She has a volkaane friend—a very powerful volkaane friend. You would stand no chance against him.”

  Stefan thought back to his own confrontation with Rave. The volkaane’s power was undeniable, among the strongest Stefan had ever sensed. Stefan was powerful among vampires, but even he was not sure who would have prevailed had Leesa not stepped between them and stopped their fight before it began.

  He felt the hunger rising inside him. The desire to test his strength against the volkaane was a palpable thing he could feel in his chest. He forced the feeling down. Destiratu was stoking his hunger, he knew. He would not give in to it.

  “A volkaane friend, huh?” Edwina said, thinking. This was important information. She would have to be very careful if she were to go near the girl. “Thank you for the warning, Stefan. And for your concern. But like I said, my plans have nothing to do with her.”

  Stefan fastened his eyes onto hers. “See that your plans remain that way, then.” He let go of her wrist. “You have my permission to go out alone, Edwina. See that you do not abuse it.”

  Edwina smiled and gave him a slight bow. It wouldn’t hurt to show a little gratitude and deference. “Thank you, Stefan. You do not have to worry about me, I promise.”

  Stefan looked at her for another moment, then turned and strode away without saying anything more. As he disappeared, the smile on Edwina’s face turned into a full-fledged grin. Step one of her plan had been achieved—she had permission to come and go as she pleased. And as a bonus, Stefan had given her some very important information about the girl having a volkaane friend.

  The volkaane’s presence meant Edwina had to give up a few of the possibilities she’d been considering. But she was confident she would come up with something suitable that did not endanger her at the hands of this powerful hunter, something that would still give her the revenge she sought.

  12. STATUE WITH A HAT

  Leesa stood behind the top row of the amphitheatre style classroom, surveying the seats below. The room was about half full right now, and more kids were steadily filtering in through the doorway behind her. She wanted an aisle seat, as close to the front as possible. Aisle seats were always in demand, though, and the best one she saw was on the left aisle, only about one-third of the way down from the top. She limped quickly toward the left stairs before someone else nabbed the seat.

  She needed to be on the aisle so she could get down to the stage as swiftly as possible when class ended, to talk to Dr. Clerval about her strange dream. The professor was always surrounded by students wanting to talk to him after class, so it was best to get down there quickly. With their shared history, she knew he would make time for her in any case, but she didn’t want to have to wait while he answered questions from other kids.

  She settled into the seat she had eyed from the back, pleased to be on the aisle. The two seats next to her were empty, and then came three girls sitting together. From the way the three of them were chattering, they obviously knew each other. Leesa heard one of the girls gush, “to die for,” and guessed they were talking about a guy one of them had just met. She knew the feeling.

  Movement in the front of the room caught her eye, and she turned to see Dr. Clerval appear at the right side of the stage. Class did not start for another two minutes, so he stopped to talk to his teaching assistant, who always sat near the edge of the stage, out of the way, but ready to lend any assistance the professor required. Leesa couldn’t remember the guy’s real name, because Professor Clerval always called him Renfield, after Dracula’s assistant.

  Dr. Clerval looked the same at every class. His thin frame was slightly stooped with age, but he moved with surprising ease, given his frail appearance. Long white hair hung limply from his head onto his shoulders, the color a sharp contrast to the rumpled black suit he always wore. Leesa still didn’t know whether it was the same suit each time, or whether the professor had a collection of them. As usual, he had black Converse hi-top sneakers on his feet. The sneakers with a suit look might have been hip on a college kid, but it was decidedly out of place for a man in his sixties. Dr. Clerval had confided to Leesa that the sneakers were the most comfortable shoes he owned, and he’d long since given up fashion for comfort. As Leesa had gotten to know him better, she had learned it was just one of many unconventional things about him.

  Done with whatever business he had with Renfield, Dr. Clerval shuffled toward the lectern in the middle of the stage. The room began to slowly quiet as more and more students saw him draw near the lectern.

  Leesa suddenly became aware of a presence beside her. She turned and found herself looking up into Rave’s smiling face. He looked great, as usual, dressed in dark jeans and a plain, faded red T-shirt worn over a dark crimson long sleeve shirt. The tight shirts showed off his athletic form and the pale red set off his bronze complexion and dark copper hair.

  “You saving that seat for someone?” he asked, nodding toward the seat next to her.

  “Rave!” she exclaimed in a loud whisper. “What are you doing here?”

  She regretted the question the instant it left her mouth. He was here to see her, of course. Why else would he be here? And as always, she was thrilled to see him. She hoped he didn’t take her stupid question to indicate otherwise.

  “Sit, please,” she said. “Of course I’m not saving it for anyone. It’s great to see you. This is a wonderful surprise.”

  It was wonderful, and it was a surprise. For it was in this very room that she had first laid eyes on Rave, way back in September. He had not been back to this class since.

  Leesa remembered the day as if it were yesterday. She had been sitting in the middle of the top row, totally enjoying Dr. Clerval’s unique presentation and outlook about vampires. At the end of class, when Renfield climbed the steps to pass out the reading assignment lists, she had turned toward the aisle, watching him. Rave was sitting at t
he end of her row, partially hidden by the kids seated between them. Something about him caught her attention, and she’d leaned forward to get a better look. She had been stunned by how gorgeous he was.

  As if sensing her gaze, Rave had turned to look at her. When their eyes met, she thought she saw the barest flicker of surprise crease his handsome features, but it was gone before she could be sure. He’d smiled, his eyes holding hers for the briefest of moments, but then he turned his head and rose from his seat, disappearing swiftly out the back of the room.

  Leesa had sat paralyzed for a moment, her heart hammering. She remembered the strange warmth she had felt radiating through her body. She had never experienced anything like the pull she had immediately felt toward him. Guys just did not make her feel that way, ever. She remembered wondering why he’d left so abruptly.

  She had rushed out the back door to find him, but somehow, he had disappeared. She hadn’t known then he was a volkaane, and how incredibly fast he could move. Unable to see him anywhere on the big grass courtyard outside the building, she had almost thought she had imagined him—a gorgeous stranger conjured up by all the talk of vampires during class.

  She had looked for him at the next class, but he was nowhere to be found. It turned out he had been as puzzled as she was by the unexpected pull between them, but of course she hadn’t known that at the time. She also hadn’t known he had been secretly watching her. It wasn’t until Rave saw her talking to Stefan at a frat party that he decided he had to act. He waited until Stefan left, then introduced himself and warned her to stay away from Stefan because he was a vampire.

  Leesa brought her mind back to the present as Rave squeezed past her and settled down beside her. Behind him, she could see the three girls a few seats down staring at him, but Rave didn’t notice. This was another of the thousand or so things Leesa loved about him—he seemed unaware of the effect he had on most human women. When he took her hand, Leesa saw the nearest of the girls frown in disappointment. If you only knew, Leesa thought as his delicious heat soaked into her—you’d really be jealous.

  Rave’s presence erased Leesa’s need to talk to Dr. Clerval after class. She could ask Rave about her dream instead and see if he knew anything about zombies or the dead coming back to life. If there was anything to it, she thought Rave would be more likely to know than the professor.

  For the first time all semester, Vampire Science class seemed to drag. Leesa was sure Dr. Clerval was probably as interesting as ever, but she was having trouble focusing on what he was saying. She wanted class to be over, so she could get Rave outside and begin questioning him. She glanced over at him. His eyes were fixed on Professor Clerval, but he seemed to sense her look. He turned his head and smiled.

  Finally, class ended. Dr. Clerval reminded them about the term paper they had due next week in lieu of a final exam, then walked out from behind the lectern. Students from the first few rows were already hurrying toward the stage to talk to him.

  Leesa grabbed Rave’s hand and stood up.

  “C’mon,” she said. “I need to talk to you.”

  Rave’s eyes widened in surprise at the urgency of her tone. “Is something wrong?” he asked concernedly as he rose to his feet.

  “No,” Leesa reassured him. “I don’t think so. At least, I hope not.”

  It was cold and dark outside, but with Rave close beside her, neither mattered to Leesa. This section of campus was well lit by streetlights resembling old-fashioned gas lamps, but she knew she would be safe with Rave even in the darkest of places. And snuggled close against him with his arm around her back, there was no such thing as cold.

  Rave led her part way across the courtyard, away from the students streaming out of the building, then stopped and turned to face her. He looped his hands loosely around behind her waist, keeping his protective warmth flowing into her.

  “So, what’s going on?”

  “Can we go sit somewhere? This might take longer than a minute or two.”

  “Sure, whatever you want. Where would you like to go?”

  “How about over there?” Leesa pointed to the center of the courtyard where several stone benches surrounded a tall statue of a Revolutionary War soldier. The man’s tri-corned hat reminded Leesa of her dream. With the evening so cold, the plaza was empty. Privacy would not be a problem.

  “Sure. Let’s go,” Rave said.

  They walked across the grass to the nearest of the benches. Before she could sit, Rave grabbed her elbow.

  “Wait a second.” He sat down for a moment, then got up and offered the spot to Leesa. “Sit here.”

  As soon as she sat, Leesa understood what Rave had done. The stone underneath her was as warm as if it had been baking in the summer sun all day. She smiled at him as he sat beside her.

  “Have I ever told you how useful you are to have around?”

  Rave grinned. “Yeah, you’ve mentioned it once or twice, I think.”

  “Well, it’s true, for sure.”

  Rave took her hand. “So, what’s on your mind, sweetheart?”

  Leesa hesitated. Now that she was about to talk about the dream with Rave and had made a bit of a big deal about it, she felt a little foolish. Still, she needed to learn whatever she could, and Rave was definitely her best link to the supernatural world.

  “It’s about a dream I had last week,” she said. “I dreamed some dead bodies dug themselves up out of the ground in an old cemetery and walked around the graveyard like a bunch of zombies or something.”

  “Why does that trouble you? You were probably just remembering part of some movie or TV show you saw. I hear zombies are all the rage right now.”

  “That’s what I thought at first, even though the dream seemed so real. It’s what happened the next day that kinda freaked me out.”

  Rave’s face grew serious. “What happened?”

  “There was a story on the news about someone digging up bodies in a graveyard over in Higganum.” Leesa’s fingers began playing in her hair. “Cali found a video of the place on YouTube. The bodies on the ground looked a lot like the ones in my dream.” She took her hand out of her hair and pointed to the statue in front of them. “One of them was wearing a hat just like that one. So was one of the bodies in my dream.”

  Rave studied the statue for a moment, then turned back to Leesa. “No wonder you’re upset. Has anything like this ever happened to you before?”

  “No, never.” She thought about telling Rave about her recent trouble sleeping, but didn’t want to cloud the real issue, which was her dream seeming to show up on the news.

  “Any idea what it means?” Rave asked.

  “I’m not sure. Maybe it was just a weird coincidence or something. But I was wondering if you knew anything about zombies. Do they exist? Are they as real, like vampires and volkaanes?”

  Rave pursed his lips, thinking. “I really do not know,” he said after a moment. “My people have stories of the dead coming back to life and feasting on human flesh, but I have never seen it or talked to anyone who has. I’ve never really paid much attention to it.”

  Leesa wasn’t sure whether she was relieved by Rave’s answer or not. “So you think that’s all they are then, just stories?”

  “I don’t know. Most of our lore is based on things my people have encountered in the past. It would not surprise me if zombies, or something like them, existed sometime in the past. But if they had been anywhere around here in the last hundred years, I think I would know about it.”

  Leesa thought about it for a few moments, digesting what Rave had said.

  “I guess you’re right. Your people would know.” She stood up and walked over to the statue. Placing her hand on one of the soldier’s cold stone thighs, she stared up at his hat. That one detail troubled her more than anything, because such hats were not something she’d expect to see. So why had she conjured up something so unusual in her dream? And why was one of the bodies in the cemetery wearing a similar one?

  Out of
range of Rave’s warmth, the cold slowly seeped into her, especially into her exposed hands. She tucked them into her pockets and stared at the statue for another moment. If she expected the soldier to give her any answers, she was sorely disappointed. But heck, would a talking statue be any stranger than dead bodies coming back to life? She wondered idly whether zombies could talk. Turning away from the statue, she limped back to the bench and sat beside Rave. The cold immediately vanished.

  “I can’t get past that stupid hat,” she said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Why does the hat bother you so much?” Rave grinned, trying to lighten her mood. “You don’t think it is part of some kind of official zombie uniform, do you?”

  Leesa smiled and punched him playfully on the arm. “No, of course not. I think they probably just wear whatever they were buried in—if they exist at all, that is. I just think it’s strange I’d imagine a hat like that in the first place, and then find one in the video, too. It’s not like I see kids walking around campus wearing those things.”

  “What about the Halloween party? There were lots of pirates wearing hats like that.”

  Leesa’s eyes lit up. “That’s right! I’d forgotten.” She had gone to the party dressed as a pirate herself, but with a red bandana around her head instead of a hat. She felt extra warm inside all of a sudden, and it had nothing to do with Rave’s magical heat. The Halloween party had been the first time she and Rave had slow danced together, and she still remembered how awesome it felt.

  “Maybe that’s where the hat came from,” she said. She paused, her brow knitted in thought. “That might explain the hat in my dream, but it’s still a little weird there would be one in the video, too.”

  Rave shrugged. “We may never be able to explain that. I’m sorry I have not been more help.”

  Leesa wrapped her arms around Rave’s arm. “You’ve helped, for sure. The pirate costume thing, for one. And you’ve pretty much reassured me there aren’t any zombies around right now, even if they may have been here in the past.”