him as your brother. And right now, he wouldn't care that you're the sister he
loves so much… You'd mean nothing to him." She saw the pain on Darlene's
face and tried to soften the blow. "But I don't think he'll be that way forever. I'll
be able to help him again. Right now I'm helping him by keeping you safe."
Darlene did not want to know any more about this situation than she absolutely
had to. That was fortunate since Meghann was not going to tell her anything…
The less Darlene knew, the better.
Darlene had not argued when Meghann insisted that she and her family leave
their home at the crack of dawn. There was no protest when Meghann gave her the
location of a fixer who would be happy to supply the family with new identities.
Yes, she agreed to send her new address to Meghann at a post office box Jimmy
did not know about. Reluctantly she agreed to accept the money Meghann offered
to start the family's new life.
Charles grinned when he thought of where Meghann got the funds to assist
Jimmy's family. She pointed out that since the deed to Simon's manor house was
in her name, there was no reason for her not to sell it. She'd been lucky enough to
find a buyer quickly, then gave most of the money from the sale of the estate to
Darlene. Hopefully, their new identities—unknown to Jimmy—and wealth would
keep them safe.
The two vampires stood guard over the family until dawn, and Darlene raised
no objection when Meghann told her they would be staying in the cellar.
Charles remembered the last conversation between the two women. The car
was loaded down, Darlene's children and husband ready to leave.
Before she got in the car, Darlene grabbed Meghann. "I want you to promise
me something."
"Anything."
"You say something bad has changed my brother, that he might hurt us, and
he wouldn't be able to help himself."
"Yes."
" Well, let me tell you something. I don't know you all that well, but I do know
Jimmy just about worshiped the ground you walked on. If he's mixed up in
something bad, he'll listen to you if you tell him to quit. So you swear to me that
you and this guy you're with … you swear that you'll both use whatever you've
got to help Jimmy out of this mess he's in."
Meghann grabbed Darlene back, and kissed her cheek. "I swear to you I'll
bring Jimmy back."
"Meghann, how can you tell me, after all you did that night, that you failed?"
She started to speak, but Charles pressed on. "You saved Darlene's life. You
don't think Jimmy would thank you for that if he could? No… one day he will
thank you for it And look at Lord Baldevar—no matter how you enrage or resist
him, he can't kill you. That gives you quite a bit of power over him. Perhaps in
time we'll figure out a way to use that to our advantage."
Meghann shrugged. "Maybe he can't kill me… Maybe that's as close to love as
Simon Baldevar is ever going to get But what good is it? Our strength is nothing
compared to his."
"Right now that's true," Charles told her quietly. "I did not mean we could
rescue Jimmy anytime soon. But in time, Meghann, we'll go home to Ballnamore.
We have to go anyways—explain our master's death to the others. While we're
there… we'll pour over every resource our mentor left behind. We'll do what that
rotten fiend did and develop our power. We're vampires, Meghann, and that gives
us one invaluable resource for our feud with Simon… time."
For a brief moment, Meghann was herself again. Her green eyes glowed with
hope and anticipation. But then her eyes turned apathetic once more. "I'm afraid
Simon has even managed to take that resource from me, Charles."
Charles took her hands. "Meghann, what do you mean? I was sure you were
recovering over the past few weeks—you seemed stronger and I saw that
depression start to alleviate. Then the past two nights—I know you've spent most
of them weeping. Please tell me what's wrong… Let me help you."
Meghann sat down on the cold sand. Charles perched by her, wishing there
were some way to remove that tense, anxious, desperately unhappy look from her
eyes.
"Charles," she said quietly, "I'm not trying to be coy, or keep things from you.
It's just… I don't know how to tell you this. I can't seem to say the words."
Charles put his arms around her. "Take your time."
But Meghann just looked up at him with the strangest expression. He saw pain
in her eyes, pain with fear, embarrassment … and a curious acceptance of
something. Wait a minute! Now he remembered when he'd seen a look to rival
hers… in his mortal days, when he had to tell patients they were dying… Once