After Sundown

Grigori paused in the doorway, watching Khira as she glided across the floor and took a seat on the edge of the bed. It made a pretty image: the shimmering silver hair, the long ice white gown, the velvet black bedspread against the white carpet.

"I think you will be comfortable here." Her hand slid back and forth over the bedspread, graceful, sensual. Suggestive.

He shook his head. "I want a room of my own." He lifted his left hand and wiggled his ring finger. "I'm a married man, remember?"

She laughed softly. "Only mortals are bothered by such foolishness."

"I promised Marisa to be faithful when I took her as my wife. I will hunt with you. I will stay here in this house with you. But that is all."

Khira glared at him, her blue eyes frosty with anger.

Careful to keep his expression blank, Grigori waited, saying nothing. Would she threaten Marisa's life again?

If she did, if he thought it was more than a bluff, he would do what she asked. Anything she asked. Until the time was right... He carefully buried the tag end of his thoughts.

But Khira's flash of anger was gone. She smiled fondly, and he knew she was enjoying her sense of power, knew she was certain that no male, vampire or mortal, could resist her for long.

"One of the things I have always loved about you was your old-fashioned sense of morality. I would have thought you would have outgrown it after all these years." She pouted prettily. "But I won't take advantage of you... yet."

She rose in a graceful swish of white silk. "Come," she said, holding out her hand. "The night awaits."

Marisa moved through the house. What was Grigori doing now? What was Khira doing now? She was angry, angrier than she had ever been - angry at Khira for her outrageous demand, angry at Grigori for acquiescing, angry at herself for being angry at him. He loved her; she knew that without a doubt. Knew that was the only reason he had gone with Khira, and yet...

"And yet, nothing," she muttered. She had no doubt that she would be dead - or worse - by now if Grigori had refused the vampire. But she couldn't shut out the image of Grigori in Khira's arms, couldn't forget how well they looked together, silver moonlight and black shadow.

How could she endure a whole year without him? What would she do? He had suggested she go visit her family for a while, and perhaps she would. And she needed to call Linda. They had been such good friends when Marisa was working at Salazar and Salazar, but since the wedding, she had cut herself off from everyone she knew. It would be good to see her mom and dad again, to have lunch with Linda and get caught up on her life, but not now. Now she wanted to scream, to break things... like Khira's graceful neck.

"Damn!" She sniffed back her tears. She would not cry. She wouldn't! But the tears welled in her eyes, rolled down her cheeks. If she missed him this much after only one night, how would she get through all the ones to come?

Tom Duncan strolled down the town's main street, his mind on his conversation with Ramsey the night before. Ramsey was getting married! It was unbelievable, unthinkable. Vampire hunters never married. It was an unwritten law. He had known Ed Ramsey for almost fifteen years. They had faced death together more times than he cared to recall. He had saved Ramsey's life; Ramsey had saved his. They couldn't have been any closer if they were blood kin, and that was why he knew something was bothering Ramsey, but what?

Duncan paused at the curb. It was more than just Ramsey having a rough time with his last kill. They had weathered bad patches before and come through them smiling. No, something else was eating at Ramsey, something big. Something bad, so bad Ramsey wouldn't talk about it.

Duncan crossed the street, his hands shoved in his pockets. Whatever was bothering his old friend, he would discover what it was, sooner or later.

He swore under his breath. What the hell kind of friend was he? Something was bothering Ramsey, and he meant to find out what it was. Like any good vampire hunter, Tom had connections in high places. It shouldn't be too hard to find out where Ramsey lived, now that he had taken up a permanent residence. Then, too, there would be a marriage license on file...

The following evening, Tom pulled a piece of paper out of his shirt pocket and double-checked the address. Unbelievable. What had Ramsey been thinking when he bought a place like this? It looked like a Hollywood set for one of Christopher Lee's old vampire movies.

With a shake of his head, Tom stuffed the paper back into his pocket and switched off his car's engine. If this was old Ed's idea of home sweet home, then Ramsey had been in the vampire business way the hell too long.

He walked up the drive, climbedthe stairs, rang the bell, and listened to it echo inside the house. Damn, the place gave him the creeps.

He smiled as the door opened and he saw Kelly standing there. "Hi. Is Ed home?"

Kelly blinked at him. "Is he expecting you?"

"No, just thought I'd drop by and say hello. Is he home?"

She glanced over her shoulder, then stepped backward. "Come on in."

He followed her down a dark entryway into the living room.

Ramsey did not seem surprised to see him, which kind of surprised Duncan.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ramsey asked flatly.

Tom grunted. "I'm happy to see you, too."

Ramsey smiled faintly. "Come in. I didn't mean to bite your head off. We weren't expecting anyone; that's all. Sit down."

"But you weren't the least bit surprised it was me." Tom sat on the sofa. Something wasn't right. He glanced from Ramsey to Kelly, wondering if he'd interrupted a fight. They both looked tense. Especially Kelly. She sat on the arm of a chair, one foot tapping the floor while she gnawed on a thumbnail.

"Why should I be surprised?" Ramsey asked. "Finding an address in L.A. should be child's play to an old hunter like yourself. What brings you here?"

Tom lifted one shoulder and let it drop. "I was just bored and thought I'd look you up. There's vampires to be hunted, Ed. You've vacationed long enough."

Ramsey and Kelly exchanged nervous looks.

Tom stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I think I came at a bad time."

Ramsey also stood up. "As a matter of fact, we were just about to go out to dinner."

"Mind if I join you?"

"We would love to have you join us," Ramsey said quickly, "but we're going to a friend's house. Kind of a private party for the bride and groom. You understand?"

Tom nodded. "Sure. Another time, then. Just one thing: do you know where Khira holes up?"

Ramsey shook his head. "Sorry, I can't help you."

"Best guess?"

"I really don't know."

"All right. Sorry to have bothered you."

"Tom, wait. If you find her, be careful. Chiavari is with her."

Duncan raised one brow. "Chiavari and Khira? What brought that about?"

"You might say she is throwing her weight around a little."

"I don't follow you."

"You don't have to. I just wanted you to know that you might be walking into more than you bargained for if you go after her."

"I see. Well, thanks for the tip. It was nice to see you again, Kelly."

Her smile looked forced. "You, too, Tom. Good night."

Kelly watched the two men leave the room. As soon as they were gone, she began to pace the floor. She whirled around when Edward came back into the room. "Do you think he knows?"

Ramsey blew out a sigh that seemed to come from the deepest part of his soul. "I'm afraid so."

Duncan was waiting for Ramsey when he left the house the following night.

"Evening," Ramsey said.

Duncan didn't waste any time. "She's a vampire, isn't she?"

Ramsey nodded warily.

"And you're going to marry her?"

Ramsey nodded again.

"Why?"

"Because I love her."

Duncan shook his head. "Something's not right."

"We've been friends a long time, Tom, but my private life is just that. Private."

Ramsey shoved his hands into his pant pockets, his face impassive under Duncan's probing gaze, though he was anything but calm on the inside. Tom was his best friend. What happened in the next few minutes could change that forever.

"What is it?" Duncan asked. "What aren't you telling me?"

"You're better off not knowing."

"Damn it, I have a right to know! We've been through too much together for you to be hiding something from me now. I already know you're marrying a damned bloodsucker. What could be worse than... ?" He broke off and stared at his friend. "No, it can't be."

Ramsey clenched his hands, his body tense, ready to fight or flee.

His posture was not lost on Duncan. "You're not!" Duncan swore colorfully. "Damn it, Ed, tell me it's not true. You didn't..."

"No, I didn't go looking for it. You know me better than that."

"Then why? How?" Duncan swore again. "When?"

"What difference does it make? It's done."

"Damn it!"

"It happened the night Kristov was destroyed. I was dying. Chiavari saved my life."

"Took it, you mean!" Duncan ran a hand through his hair. He stared at his old friend, the differences obvious now that he knew. Why hadn't he recognized them before? "What's it like, being a vampire?"

"Better than I expected. And worse. So, now that you know, what are you going to do about it?"

"Damned if I know. If it was anybody but you..." Duncan shrugged. "I've never hesitated to do what I had to do before."

Ramsey nodded. Neither of them had ever shown mercy or pity to the vampires they hunted and destroyed, or suffered any pangs of remorse when the deed was done. He wondered if Duncan felt the sudden tension between them as keenly as he did. He had told Kelly that Duncan would not hesitate to destroy him. Not long ago, he would have welcomed an end to his existence. But not now. He silently thanked Chiavari for insisting he give his new lifestyle some time, even as he wondered if he would be able to kill his best friend if it should come to that.

"So..." Duncan said, clearly as ill at ease as was Ramsey. "What do we do now?"

"I guess that's up to you," Ramsey replied. "But we agree on one thing. There are vampires to be hunted in this city. One particularly, and that's Khira. She's more powerful than even Kristov. More evil. She's destroyed other vampires, and who knows how many mortals. Her lust for blood seems insatiable."

"Vampires don't destroy vampires," Duncan remarked. "You know that. It's one of their rules."

"One Khira's already broken," Ramsey said.

Duncan observed his old friend closely. "You'd hunt her with me?"

Ramsey nodded.

"Good vampires versus the evil ones - what a concept!" Duncan shook his head. "The last disrespected minority?" A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. "You're still Ed Ramsey, though, aren't you? Mr. Morality, through and through."

"Thanks, I think," Ramsey retorted dryly.

Duncan banged his fist repeatedly, distractedly, against the fence post. "Damn, I've got a hundred questions running around in my head."

"They will have to wait." He could feel the force of Kelly's hunger, feel his own rising in response. "I've got to go."

Duncan's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

Ramsey looked away, unable to meet the speculative look in Duncan's eyes. "Don't ask."

"You need to feed." It wasn't a question.

"So, are you willing to cooperate with a... with me?" Ramsey asked. "In this Khira business?"

"The greater good for the greater number," Duncan said sadly. "Without you, I don't have a snowball's chance in hell of bagging Khira, and we both know it. And you need to feed to be strong. I know that, too. Hell, I can't believe I'm going to say this, but... good hunting. We'll talk tomorrow..."

Ramsey could wait no longer. He vanished from Duncan's sight. In the house, he grabbed Kelly by the hand and then sped into the night.

He didn't stop until they were far from home.

"What is it?" Kelly asked. "What's wrong?"

"Duncan was waiting for me outside."

"Does he know?"

"Yes."

She stared at him, wide-eyed. "Did he try to... ?"

"No, we just talked."

"What about Grigori? And Lisa? Will they be safe from him?"

Ramsey grunted softly. "I wouldn't worry about Chiavari. If Khira can't protect him, no one can. As for Lisa..." He shrugged. "I don't know where she is. But you are my biggest worry right now."

"Me? Why?"

"You must learn to feed on your own." He held up his hand to stay the protest he read in her eyes. "If anything happens to me, you will need to know how."

"Nothing's going to happen to you!"

"I hope you are right, but you still need to know how. And tonight is as good as any to learn."

They moved silently through the night until Ramsey found a teenage couple in a park, smoking pot. He mesmerized them both, which was remarkably easy, given that their minds were already fuzzy.

He took the girl in his arms, wondering absently what it was that caused such a pretty kid to dye her hair purple. He looked at Kelly. "Take the boy."

She enfolded the boy in her arms, holding him as if he were made of glass.

"I'll tell you what Chiavari told me. You can make this pleasant for those you take, or not. It is up to you. You needn't worry about the boy's blood. If it was unclean, you would know it. And you must be gentle.

Human flesh..." He looked at the girl in his arms. "Human flesh is very fragile."

Kelly nodded.

"Let his blood call to you. Listen to the beat of his heart."

He saw the hunger rise within her, nodded to himself as she lowered her head. The scent of blood wafted through the air.

Watching Kelly feed fueled his own hunger. He spoke to the girl's mind, telling her not to be afraid, and then he unleashed the beast within him, wondering what Duncan would think if he could see his old friend now.