Chapter:   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

His Lady of the Night

Chapter One

He came out of the shadows, a man, yet not a man. He had long black hair tied back with a piece of leather. He wore a shirt with ruffled cuffs that peeked out from the sleeves of his well-cut jacket. Behind him, his black cape moved around him, caressing him with each step he took. On his feet he wore knee-high shiny black riding boots. His face was pale, but what drew Olivia to him was his dark blue piercing eyes.

Instinctively Olivia knew her time had come. All the nightmares she'd had night after night for the last month had been leading to this moment. The intimate knowledge of her own death washed over her frozen form, like an icy wave, filling her heart with dread. Although she had expected the attack, Olivia stood paralyzed. She ordered her feet to move, to run, but they didn't even twitch as the creature slowly approached. Horror filled her heart and fear entered her vivid green eyes as she watched his mouth open and his incisors become more prominent.

The creature smiled evilly, "It's time Olivia," he rasped out. "You knew that I would come. You've dreamed of me, of your death."

His compelling voice filled her mind to overflowing; there was no escape from its insidiously mesmerizing grasp. She tried to command her mind to not listen to his beautiful tones, but even as she tried, her shoulder length auburn hair fell back as she exposed her neck to his gaze. Hunger appeared in his eyes as his gaze feasted on her pulse. His hands gently took her shoulders and he bent his head to her neck.

Before his teeth could graze, a shadow swooped from the sky and landed behind him. A hand reached out and pushed through his body, and when it retreated, it held in its palm the beating heart of the creature.

The creature roared and lost his hold on her, but still she didn't move as he leapt from her side to battle the one who held his heart.

The unknown shadow dissolved into mist and reappeared, his back to her. He threw the creature's heart into the air just as a blue streak of lightning arched down from the midnight sky and struck it; disintegrating it to dust. The creature fell to his knees and flopped to the ground, his unearthly cries hurting her ears. Another streak of lightning appeared and struck the creature, it burst into flames and disintegrated as his heart had.

Olivia swayed and the shadow immediately caught her in his arms. She looked up into his deep, dark black eyes that revealed concern and tenderness. She knew this stranger and yet they'd never met before tonight. The stranger slowly lowered her to her feet and held her as she regained her balance.

A tiny presence in her open mind, the stranger prepared to erase the events just passed.

Olivia shook her head, "Don't erase my memories. I want to remember, so that I'll be prepared for the next vampire that attempts to harm me."

The stranger's eyes widened in shock. He'd thought she didn't know what the creature was. That he'd been able to mask his true self from her. As he thought these things he noticed her shaking her head.

"He couldn't mask his true self from me," she said, "I'm cursed you see. I have the ability to see through any masks a person might project and as you can see, I also read minds."

As she spoke, Olivia wondered why she wasn't afraid of the stranger. She searched her mind and tried to recall if he'd been in her nightmares. He was tall and muscular. His long blond hair flowed behind him and he had the face of one of God's angels. His lips slowly stretched into a sensuous smile as he acknowledged her perusal. Olivia blushed and sent out her senses to his mind, but it was now blank. Somehow he had the ability to block her from reading his thoughts.

 

©2006 Romance at Heart Magazine.

©2000 Angel Young.

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