will try to destroy you completely. He's always despised me, but what he feels for
you is a different matter. That monster thinks he was in love with you. You not
only spurned what he considers to be love, you escaped him. In the process, you
nearly killed him. Very few vampires have been able to do what you, his protégée,
managed. Please be aware that what he did to those poor souls is mild compared
to what he must have in mind for you."
Meghann shivered, remembering what Simon had done to her the night before
she left him. Jimmy went over to the couch and put his arms around her. She
looked up, smiling slightly.
Alcuin looked grave. "Meghann, you don't know how much I wish I could
protect you from this threat."
"Why the hell can't you?" Jimmy snapped. "I mean, you're older than he is;
Maggie says you're powerful. Why can't you just take care of him?"
"Don't be so rude," Meghann scolded. "And the only way I can see Alcuin
protecting me from Simon is to shadow me every minute of the night. Do you
think I want to live that way—never able to go anywhere or do anything without
looking over my shoulder?"
Stung by the rebuke, Jimmy replied, "All I was saying is maybe he could find
Simon…"
Meghann finished the poison in her glass; she poured more. "Jimmy, if we're
fortunate, Simon will think the same way you do. He'll expect me to be scared—to
hide behind Alcuin's protection. After all, he never gave me credit for being
anything but his little concubine." Fear lessened as anger and thoughts of
vengeance took its place. She turned to Alcuin. "But he'll be surprised, won't he?
With your help, I'm strong enough to confront him. And I want to do this—I owe
him for ruining my life, staining my soul with the evil he made me do. I want to see
him again—so that I can kill him the way I thought I had forty years ago."
Alcuin smiled at the change in her. She was holding her head high and thrusting
her jaw forward in determination. The regal way she held herself, no matter what
the situation, was the first thing he'd ever noticed about her; it was why he called
her banrion. But he could not allow her to be reckless or overconfident.
"Meghann, I have lived for seven centuries and the thought of a confrontation with
Simon Baldevar worries me. He has tremendous power, and when you add to that
his feelings toward you… we must proceed with extreme caution. Now we must
start to plan for his attack."
Alcuin glanced at Jimmy, who frowned. "What?"
Alcuin spoke carefully—not wishing to offend the mortal. "Jimmy, we have a
small chance of defeating Simon. You, on the other hand, have none. We will
offer you our protection, but you will not be involved in this battle."
Jimmy's mouth dropped open. He leaped off the sofa and would have attacked
Alcuin if Meghann had not held him back. "Not be involved?" he yelled. "Who the
fuck do you think you are? Some fucking vampire killed my wife and kid and
you're telling me I won't be involved? Fuck you! What did you think —while
Maggie has to wait for this asshole to come get her, I was just going to sit here
and knit?" Outraged, he was trying to break the iron hold Meghann had on him.
Alcuin observed the thrashing vampire-hunter and sighed. Seeing the way
Jimmy reacted over the thought of Meghann being hurt left no doubt in his mind
that these two were lovers. God help you, young man, he thought to himself, for
Simon will have no mercy on any man who receives from Meghann what she
denied him—love.
Meghann spoke softly. "Jimmy, calm down." She looked at Alcuin.
"Obviously, we can't send him away for fear that Simon will find him. Who knows
how much he's found out about me? Let Jimmy be involved—we might be
fortunate enough to find out where Simon sleeps. If we did, Jimmy's aid would be
invaluable." Her eyes pleaded with Alcuin to go along.
Alcuin knew what she was truly asking—that he not make her mortal lover feel
insignificant. The man needed to feel he was doing all he could to protect her.
At a slight nod from Alcuin, Meghann released Jimmy. Alcuin came over and
shook his hand. "We welcome your assistance."
With that settled, Jimmy hit Alcuin with a barrage of questions concerning his
plans.
Meghann wandered over to the back window, not really paying attention. She
was staring out at the sea, remembering the past—Simon Baldevar and how she
became a vampire.
CHAPTER ONE
« ^ »
April 21, 1944
When Maggie O'Neill came home after pitching for the Hunter College varsity
softball team, she saw that her roommate, Bridie McGovern, was putting away the