Page 48 of Night Pleasures (Dark-Hunter 1)
"He doesn't suck blood."
"How do you know?"
"He said so."
Essie folded her arms over her chest and gave her a piqued stare. "Oh well, that makes it official, then, doesn't it?"
"Would you stop?"
"C'mon, Mandy," she said, gesturing toward the couch. "The man is a killer."
"You don't know him."
"I don't know any alligators, either, but I sure as hell wouldn't leave one in my house. You can't change the nature of a beast."
"He's not a beast."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Still she saw the skepticism in her sister's eyes. "You damn well better be, little girl, or we'll all pay a foul price."
While Esmeralda dressed for work several hours later, Amanda made a small breakfast for Kyrian.
"I appreciate the thought, but I'm really not hungry," he said gently.
She set the plate on the coffee table. Tenderly, she traced her hand down the bandage on his arm where blood had already seeped into it. "I wish you had listened to me and stayed home."
"I can't do that, Amanda. I have an oath and a duty to fulfill."
The job. It was all that mattered to him and she wondered if he protected her because he cared, or if she were just part and parcel of what his duty entailed. "Still, you tell me you believe in my powers and then when I tell you-"
"Amanda, please. I had no choice."
She nodded. "I hope you kill him."
"I will."
Amanda squeezed his hand. "You don't sound quite as sure as you did before."
"That's because I spent the night nailed to a board and I don't feel very well this morning."
"You're not funny."
"I know," he said. "It just bothers me that he really did know where to strike to do the most damage. Right down to-"
She waited several minutes, but he didn't elaborate. "To?" she prompted.
"Nothing."
"Kyrian, talk to me. I want to know how he got you into this condition."
"I don't want to talk about it."
Before she could press him, someone knocked on the door.
"Please," he said quietly, "go let D'Alerian in."
"The Dream-Hunter?"
He nodded.
Curious, she got up and opened the front door, then stepped back. The man on the porch was nothing like she'd expected. Towering over her, the Dream-Hunter had hair as black as night and eyes so colorless and pale, they seemed to glow. Dressed all in black like a Dark-Hunter, the man before her would command attention if not for the strange tendency of her eyes to want to look away from him. It was weird. Really weird. She had to force herself to look at a man who should make any woman gape in lustful awe.
Without a word, he stepped past her and went to Kyrian. The door jerked itself out of her hands and slammed shut to keep the daylight out of the room.
D'Alerian had a sleek, graceful walk as he moved toward the couch where Kyrian lay. He shrugged his leather jacket off and pulled the sleeves of his black shirt back on his arms.
"Since when do you knock?" Kyrian asked.
"Since I didn't want to scare the human." D'Alerian swept a gaze over Kyrian's body. "You're a mess."
"That's what people keep telling me."
There was no humor in D'Alerian's face. Nothing. He was even more serene and calm than Talon. It was as if he had no emotions whatsoever.
D'Alerian held his hand out and one of the armchairs moved to rest beside the couch.
Without paying her any heed, he touched Kyrian on the shoulder. "Sleep, Dark-Hunter." And before he finished the words, Kyrian fell soundly asleep.
Amanda watched as the Dream-Hunter kept his hand on Kyrian's shoulder and closed his eyes. Only then did she see emotions cross D'Alerian's face. He gasped and tensed as if he were the one being tortured. In fact, he showed all the pain she would have expected from Kyrian.
After a few minutes, D'Alerian pulled his hand away and leaned forward in the chair, his breathing labored. He covered his face with his hands as if trying to banish a nightmare.
When he looked up at her, the intensity of his stare made her jump.
"I've never, in all eternity, seen anything like that," he whispered hoarsely.
"Like what?"
He let out a deep, ragged breath. "You want to know how Desiderius got to him?"
She nodded.
"His memories. I've never felt such agonized pain in anyone. When they come upon him, they weaken him. And so long as they do, he will always lose his battle calm."
"Is there anything I can do?"
"Not unless you can think of some way to erase those memories. If they continue to plague him like this, he's doomed." D'Alerian looked at Kyrian. "He will sleep until tonight. Don't disturb him. When he wakes, he'll be able to walk, but he will still be weak. Try not to let him go after Desiderius for a few days. I will speak to Artemis and see what can be done."
"Thank you."
He nodded and was gone in a golden flash of light. Two seconds later, his jacket evaporated, too.
Taking his vacated seat, Amanda looked up at the ceiling and laughed nervously. All she'd ever wanted in her life was normality. Now she had a vampire lover and a Dream-Hunter, whatever that was, poofing in and out of her sister's house while yet another vampire was trying to kill her.
Life was nothing if not ironic.
She turned her head to watch Kyrian. His breathing was easier than it had been before and the stern frown had faded from his features. The marks on his body were horrendous, but even they appeared to have faded out some.
Just what had Desiderius done to him?
Kyrian came awake to the moonlight streaming through the open windows. At first, he couldn't remember where he was, until he tried to move and pain sliced through him.
Clenching his teeth, he sat up slowly and found Esmeralda standing with a huge cross in front of her and a garlic necklace around her neck.
"You stay right there, buster. And don't try any of that mind-meld stuff."
In spite of himself, Kyrian laughed. "You know, crosses don't work on us and neither does garlic."
"Yeah, right," she said, inching closer to him. "Would you still say it if I touched you with it?"
When she came close enough, Kyrian grabbed the cross out of her hand. "Ow, ow, ow!" he feigned, then he held it to his chest. "Really," he said seriously, handing it back to her. "It has no effect. As for the garlic, well, it's garlic and it stinks, but if it doesn't bother you, I can live with it."
Esmeralda pulled the necklace off. "So what is your vulnerability?"
"Like I'm going to tell you."
She cocked her head. "Mandy was right, you are infuriating."
"You should have talked to my father before I ate him."
Esmeralda paled and took two steps back.
"He's teasing you, Es. He never ate his father."
Kyrian turned to see Amanda standing in the doorway behind him. "Are you sure about that?"
She smiled. "Very much so, and you must be feeling better to taunt us." Amanda came forward and checked the bandages on his arms. "Good Lord, they're practically healed."
He nodded as he reached for one of the shirts Nick had dropped off that afternoon while he slept, and put it on. "Thanks to D'Alerian. After another few hours, they'll be gone completely."
