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  Aria stiffened as she felt something behind her, something close enough to raise the hairs on the back of her neck. She started to turn her head, but two hands came from behind her and a rag soaked in something with a sweet, slightly chemical smell was pressed over her nose and mouth.

  She didn't have a chance to see her attacker before the world faded to black.

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  Chapter Sixteen

  Christian ran down the dark alley in search of the woman in distress. The terror he heard in the scream indicated she was in grave danger. He continued on until the screaming stopped abruptly, then turned into howling laughter. A group had formed in the spot where the sound seemed to bounce off the buildings like a reverberating echo, but there was no source for the sound.

  "What the hell?” One of the men in the small group scratched his head, looking up and around, searching the fire escapes and dark shadows for the woman they all heard but couldn't see.

  Christian's heart slammed against his chest as realization punched him in the gut. “It's a trick."

  "Eh?” The man turned toward him. “What's that?"

  "It's a trick. An illusion.” He didn't wait for a response before turning on his heel and racing back to the church. Like an idiot he'd been lured away from Aria, leaving her behind to face who knew what. Since he wasn't drinking living human blood, he wasn't at his full vampiric strength, but he could still run faster than a mortal. He counted on his speed to save Aria, but his hopes were dashed when he entered the church and found her gone.

  He let out a roar of rage so powerful the few parishioners who had started to file back through the door fled in the opposite direction. He searched the remainder of the church, hoping Aria had hidden somewhere. He called her name until his voice grew hoarse, never getting a response. She wouldn't have hidden beneath the church, not with people inside who could see the hidden door. She was gone.

  Christian focused all his attention and energies on Rialto and Seta, trying to call to them, but it was no use. Lack of living blood limited his range of telepathic communication and they were too far away. Neither carried a cell phone. With the situation out of his hands and the weight of Aria's possible death on his shoulders, he fell to his knees and prayed to the only one he knew who could help.

  "Well, look at that. A perfect display of sacrilege. I always knew church was the place to go when looking for hypocrites, but this takes the prize."

  Christian didn't have to open his eyes to know who his new visitor was, but he did anyway, taking in the tall, slender but powerfully built man's angular features, light brown hair flecked with gold, and intense, narrowed green eyes which were burning with hatred. He was dressed in his usual attire of dark T-shirt and jeans, his uniform for night stalking and demon hunting.

  Christian groaned in disbelief of what a bad day he was having. “I do not have time to deal with you tonight, Jacob."

  "My enemies call me Jake, and I suggest you make time. My brother is missing."

  "I have a missing person of my own to locate, and I really don't wish to be your enemy. I don't wish to be anyone's enemy."

  "Too late for that. Your kind killed my best friend."

  "I'm sorry that happened, however, your kind has killed several of my close friends and I'm not holding it against you. Now, please, I need to find an abducted woman. “

  "Aria Michaels?"

  "How do you know her name?"

  "Her mother was killed by someone who left fang marks. My brother is investigating the case. He was following her after he caught sight of your other two vampire friends. Tell me, Christian, what is Aria to you?"

  "None of your concern, Jacob."

  "It's Jake and it is my concern when my brother is involved. He was following her and now his car is sitting out on the street, abandoned. The woman's mother was murdered by what appeared to be a vampire, and now she's involved with one. What's going on?"

  "If you've truly researched my kind, you know a vampire wouldn't have left marks."

  "I know. That's why I'm here. What is it that's killing these women, and how are all of you involved?"

  Christian clenched his fist, frustrated by being delayed. “I'm going to have to ask you to leave now, Jake."

  "I don't think so.” Porter quickly reached behind him and pulled a gun from his waistband, leveling it at Christian's chest. “You're helping me find my brother. Wherever the girl is, he's bound to be there too."

  Christian laughed as he glanced at the gun's barrel. “I thought you were a pro, Jake. You know that thing won't kill me."

  "It wouldn't if it were full of regular bullets. These UV bullets are nasty little bitches though."

  Christian gulped. “UV bullets?"

  Jake nodded, an arrogant smirk spreading across his lips. “Each bullet is full of pure UV, designed to enter your bloodstream and burn you alive from the inside out. It's quick, but I promise you it's painful."

  Christian studied the man's face and determined he wasn't bluffing. “What do you want of me, Porter?"

  "Who took the girl?"

  "I don't know. They believe they've found out who the killer is, but I wasn't told anything except they suspect demon involvement."

  "This they that you refer to are the other two vampires?"

  "Yes."

  Jake's eyebrows furrowed together. “So the killer knows he's been discovered and has taken the woman for revenge."

  "Possibly."

  "So ask your friends who it is. For that matter, why the hell aren't they here? Have they already gone after the thing?"

  Christian shrugged in frustration. “A friend of ours, Eron, was taken a couple months back. His diluted scent was found on the body of one of the victims. We think a mortal has been experimenting with him, stealing his essence."

  "What the hell are you talking about?"

  "I don't know!” Christian yelled in anger. “It sounds insane, but we found a journal written by a man who used to hunt Eron, and we think it has something to do with what's happening. Seta, the female vampire your brother saw, went to Eron's home to find out what she could from his Keeper. We think his Keeper aided in his capture."

  "So why are we standing here? Use your telepathy and see what's going on."

  "I can't. I haven't drunk living blood in nearly a year. I'm too weak to reach them. I've already tried."

  Porter's mouth dropped open, and then he snapped it shut and said, “Are you shitting me?"

  "I'm afraid not. Most of my vampiric abilities are not at full strength. I can't reach Seta and Rialto, and I'm no match for a demon unless, of course, I drink living blood and refuel my immortal strength."

  "Oh, hell no,” Jake said as Christian studied him, licking his lips as the scent of his blood seemed to intensify. He hadn't craved living blood so strongly in a long time, but his body was preparing for battle and knew what it needed. “Do you think I'm stupid?"

  "No,” Christian answered as he noted that Jake had unconsciously lowered the gun, a move the slayer normally would have never been foolish enough to do.” But I do think I'm faster than you."

  He twisted the arm holding the weapon behind Jake's back and plunged his fangs deep into the struggling man's neck while he had the chance.

  Pain exploded through Aria's body as she struggled to regain consciousness. At first her eyes only produced a useless blur, but her nose was more helpful, picking up on a mixture of chemical smells. She tried to rub her eyes, but her wrists were bound to something, as were her ankles. Her back ached from the hard metal beneath her, and she felt something sharp in her neck, like a pair of needles.

  "Finally coming around?” a deep, male voice asked from above her. She blinked her eyes, trying to bring the fuzzy face hovering above her into focus. After her vision cleared, she looked into the face of someone who was so familiar and yet a stranger.

  "I take it you're Curtis's twin?” The man was identical to Curtis except for the absence of bruises on his face an
d the harsh cruelty in his soulless eyes.

  "And you're part of The Blood Revelation."

  Aria's eyes widened in fear. “What are you talking about?"

  "Don't act stupid, woman. I followed Curtis after I figured out he'd stolen my journal. I saw you leave the library as a tanned white woman. Now you're much too dark to be purely white, but I tested your DNA and you're not a vampire. The only way that could happen is if you're mated to the male vamp I saw at your apartment and you've drunk enough of his blood to bring out the full strength of your physical attributes, something that doesn't normally occur in mortals. So don't play coy with me. I know what you are and so do you."

  "You were watching us all the time?” Why hadn't Rialto sensed him?

  "I can follow people without ever leaving my home, a gift from the dark master. I would have grabbed you at your apartment, but your vampire sensed me. After the vampire left you at the church, I went to fetch you and got the man who was following you as an added bonus.” He nodded his head to the left and Aria's eyes followed until she saw Jonah Porter, beaten, bloody, and bruised, shackled on the wall before her.

  "Jonah!” She started to cry, horrified by what she saw, and enraged by the laughter erupting from the vile man who stood beside the table she was strapped to.

  "His torture will be over soon,” the evil twin said. “He will be lunch for a very hungry vampire."

  Aria once again followed the man's gaze, angling her head to look behind her where she was able to just barely see another man imprisoned on one of the stone walls. His head of dark reddish-blond hair fell forward, and his body hung limply from the manacles clamped around his wrists and ankles. His body was built of corded muscle, but she could tell that there was no longer any strength in his limbs.

  "Eron.” Aria spoke the name impulsively, and the pale man looked up, only able to hold his head upright long enough for her to see the pain and hunger burning in his eyes. Huddled on the floor close to him, staring at her with wide, frightened eyes was Curtis.

  "How long have you been starving him?” she asked.

  "It was his own choice,” the man said. “I brought him live girls, but he wouldn't take their blood. Hell, I even brought him a man in case that was his preference, and he wouldn't take that either. Defiant little twit. But he's been smelling yours and your friend's for a while now, and I know it's getting to him. He won't be able to resist much longer."

  The sharp twin pains Aria felt in her neck seemed to intensify, but she couldn't move her head enough to see what was causing it. “What have you done to me?"

  Her abductor laughed. “I'm killing you the same way I killed your mother and the other women. This little gizmo of mine makes what looks like fang holes in your neck and drains out the blood. I developed a blood thinner which makes the blood pour out like water, but I've decided not to use it on you. I want your blood pure. It's going to be a slow process compared to what your mother went through, but it will be nearly as effective. Once your blood stops dripping, I'll burn your body. I have to make sure you never have the chance to bear a child. “

  Aria tried to lunge forward, but the manacles around her wrists and ankles, combined with the sharp pain inflicted by the tubes in her neck, made the act impossible. “Who the hell are you? Why are you doing this? Why did you kill my mother?"

  "My current birth name is Carter Dunn, and I'm doing this as a promise to my father, Lucifer."

  "The devil is your daddy?"

  "Yes."

  Aria decided to let that one go. “So what's with the vendetta against vampires? Why are you killing women and making it look like vampires did it? Why my mother?"

  He shrugged. “I pick the women at random, but she seemed to call to me. Ironic she'd be the mother of a Blood Revelation mate, huh? As for making it look like a vampire's work, I do that for revenge. Eventually, word will leak out about the fang marks. Soon people everywhere will be hunting vampires."

  "Revenge for what?"

  "Trying to kill off my kind."

  Rialto! Seta! Aria has been abducted! I'm sorry, but I have failed you.

  Rialto's heart jumped into his throat and its beat roared in his ears as his mouth went bone dry.

  Christian? What happened?

  It distracted me, tricked me so that I left her unattended for just a minute. That was all the time needed for her to be taken. I'm so sorry, Rialto.

  Rialto closed his eyes as an overwhelming sense of anger and fear rolled through him. He started to will it away so he could remain focused, but realized it was not his own emotion he was feeling. It was Aria's. He felt a mental tug, as though she were pulling him toward her.

  I can feel her. She's calling for me mentally. Can you tap into the link?

  No

  Then keep your senses open. We're on our way back to Baltimore. When we get closer, you should feel us. Follow us. The killer is Carter Dunn. Find out what you can about him.

  I will. Hurry.

  You know we will

  Rialto severed the link and looked at his mother. Seta gazed back at him with unmasked fury in her eyes. “Let's go get this demon,” she growled. She waved an arm, spoke an incantation, and Culla Wasser's body disappeared, along with the blood that had pooled around it, leaving no evidence of her execution.

  They had barely left the manor when Rialto's legs buckled, his energy spent from the run across two states. “Dammit, this can't be happening now! I just drank from Aria a few hours ago."

  "Your body is growing more dependent on her blood, Rialto, forcing you into changing her over. I'll have to carry you if you want to make it to Baltimore."

  Rialto glared at his mother, backing away when she reached for him. “You are not carrying me around like a baby."

  She sighed. “Come on, Rialto. We don't have time for this. Oh, to hell with it, I'll teleport us. It'll take some of my strength away, but obviously Christian has drunk living blood or he couldn't have contacted us. He'll help us fight."

  Rialto stepped into her embrace and leaned against her for support as she closed her eyes and said the words that would zap them back to Baltimore within a fraction of the time running would take.

  Once they arrived, Rialto led the way, following the pull of Aria's emotions, sensing her location from signals she probably wasn't even aware of sending, but they were weakening. “I think the killer is draining her, Mother. Her signal is getting weaker."

  "Then let's hurry or both of you will die."

  Suddenly, Christian's voice was in his head. 216 Rouge Road. The home of Carter Dunn, great-grandson of Alfred Dunn. That seems to be where you're heading.

  Good work, Christian. Are you prepared?

  I have lived this long without killing. I hope to continue, but I will do whatever it takes to save Aria and defend my friends

  We'll see you there.

  Rialto and Seta broke the link to preserve their energies, knowing they wouldn't have time to replenish any by feeding. Besides, feeding wouldn't help Rialto. They trekked on, faster now that they had a destination. Rialto tried to hold it together as he felt Aria weakening, fearing he wouldn't get to her in time.

  They reached the house, a white-brick single story, and quickly crossed the large yard to peer inside the windows. The house looked empty, but there was no denying Aria was inside. Rialto could feel her.

  "Oh, what have they done to you, Eron?"

  "What?” Rialto looked at his mother. She seemed to wither against the side of the house.

  "I can feel him in there, what's left of him. He's nearly been destroyed."

  "We'll save them both."

  "Look!” Seta pointed to boarded-up basement windows which could barely be seen above ground. “That's where they are. I can feel it."

  "Let's go."

  "No!” Seta grabbed Rialto's arm before he made a dash for the front door. “You're not strong enough, and with what we're going up against, I can't fight this battle alone. We have to wait for Christian."

 
; "Somebody say my name?” Christian appeared behind them with a struggling man hog-tied over his shoulders. “Give it a rest, Porter,” he said, dropping the tawny-headed man's body to the ground with a thump and keeping him in place with his foot when he tried to stand.

  "Damn you, you bloodsucking leeches. I'll kill you all!"

  "Oh, great,” Seta muttered. “As if we weren't going up against enough, you decided to bring your own archenemy."

  "I thought it was better we knew where he was,” Christian said with a shrug before turning back to the man who Rialto deduced was Jonah Porter's brother. “Now, Jake, if you want to get your brother out of here alive, I suggest you shut up and forget about all of your pent up anger against my kind, seeing as how we're the only ones who are going to help you."

  "Well, pardon me for being pissed, but when someone decides to suck on my neck I'd prefer they have tits!” Jake spat as he tried to undo the ropes around his wrists.

  "Hey, you were the only thing available or I'd have been choosier,” Christian responded, kneeling down to unbind Porter's ankles. “So, Rialto, what are we dealing with here?"

  "A man named Carter Dunn,” Rialto answered.

  "A man?” Jake laughed. “I can handle this myself."

  "A man who has been reborn, fathered by a demon that was possessed by the devil himself!” Seta snapped, looking down at Jake Porter in disdain. “If you want to survive this night, you will do well to follow commands, mortal. This man has already managed to capture one of the oldest vampires around, and is skilled enough in the dark arts to have blocked his trace from the victims’ bodies, even from me, a vampire-witch."

  "A witch and a vampire, huh? Killing you will be a twofer."

  Rialto issued a warning growl. “We're not your enemy, fool. If Carter has taken your brother, you'll need to be on our side if you want him back. We can't focus on destroying Carter Dunn if we have to be watching for you over our shoulders."