“Well, at least not if we can prevent it,” Siljar corrected herself.
Levet tossed his hands in the air. “Why me?”
Chapter 3
Louisiana wetlands
Santiago wasn’t the only predator to prowl through the cypress trees that were painted silver in the moonlight. Alligators, rattlesnakes, and occasional cougars hunted through the swamp along with the far more dangerous water sprites, who could lure a man to his doom, and a rare Dalini serpent, a demon who could transform from serpent form to look human. Always born male, they had to mate with mortal females.
Santiago was, however, the most lethal.
Moving with a grace that was impressive considering the spongy ground and thick undergrowth, Santiago slowly circled the isolated swamp, coming to an abrupt halt as a sensation he hadn’t felt in centuries flared to life.
Dios.
It was his bond to Gaius.
Not all sires allowed a “child” to form a physical attachment. In the good old days, most vampires rarely stuck around to find out if their creation actually survived the process of transformation, let alone continued to feed their offspring to give them the best possible chance for survival.
Gaius had gone a step further by taking Santiago into his clan and into his lair.
A true son.
The blood connection had given Santiago the ability to sense his sire. Or, if he was far away, to sense his general direction.
Santiago had assumed the bond had been destroyed when he traveled beyond the Veil. After all, he hadn’t felt his sire for centuries, not even when he returned to this world. Now he could only wonder if the Dark Lord had somehow kept the older vampire from being discovered.
Holding perfectly still, Santiago allowed his powers to spread toward the distant house, built on brick stilts and painted white.
Large with two stories, it had black shutters and a screened-in porch that wrapped around the side. The roof had recently been replaced, but the nearby chicken coop looked like a stiff breeze might blow it over.
The structure was effectively hidden by the large trees draped in Spanish moss that surrounded it and was set far enough from the path leading to the nearby small town to avoid unwanted interest.
A perfect lair for a vampire seeking solitude.
Confident that nothing was creeping through the shadows beyond the native wildlife, Santiago focused his powers on the house.
It took only a second for a jolt of recognition to blaze through him.
Gaius wasn’t there, but something else was.
Something powerful enough to make the very air sizzle.
So much for being the most lethal predator around, he conceded, his hands clenched as he was slammed by a combination of shock and dark, unwelcomed arousal. The Oracles had sent in the big guns.
Nefri.
No vampire beyond Styx had that kind of juice.
Certainly no other vampire could make him hard by her mere scent.
Jasmine.
Enticing, elusive, dangerous.
And his own personal kryptonite.
His spine stiffened as he moved forward, silently sliding through the front gate and up the wide staircase.