She backed several steps away from him, retreating as she would have from a dangerous animal, as if she was worried he would suddenly leap upon her and ravage her right here on this cold, Buffalo street. The thought kept him amused as she turned finally and hurried to her car.
She passed him when she drove away, giving a little wave through her open window. Raj smiled. And when she was gone, he punched a speed dial number.
"My lord,” Emelie answered instantly. “How may I serve you?"
Raj winced. He hated that formal vampire shit and Em knew it. She only fell back on the formalities if she was pissed at him, or if someone else was listening. And he couldn't think of anything he'd done to piss her off lately. “Get rid of whoever it is, Em. We need to talk."
"Yes, my lord."
Raj waited, listening as Em moved herself, rather than asking the others to leave. He could hear her steady breathing as she walked, a door opening and closing and then another. “Okay,” she said in a far more casual tone. “I'm in the office. What's up, boss?"
"Congratulations,” he said dryly. “You win. Get some of my people up here. Not an army, not yet anyway. Just some back up. And no one but my own children, people I can trust absolutely."
"Yes,” she breathed in obvious relief. “We're ready to go, my lord. I put out a heads-up right after you left, just in case. If we leave immediately, we can be there before dawn."
"Tomorrow night's soon enough. There's nothing specific yet, but there's a possibility someone from out—of-town is moving in on Krystof and I'm not going to let that happen."
"Only give the word, my lord."
"What would I do without you, Em?"
"You'd manage. Not as well, of course,” she added. “But you'd manage."
"Thanks. One more thing, Em. I want to know everything we've got on the woman who visited Manhattan with Raphael and his mate last week . . . Sarah Stratton. Put Simon on it and tell him to go deep. I already know she teaches at the university here in Buffalo, so that's a place to start, but I want everything Simon can find. If he needs a picture, she should be on the security video from the club."
"Okay,” Em said slowly. “You picking up stray kittens again, boss?"
Raj laughed. Her curiosity was fairly burning through the ether, but Raj didn't feel like saying anything more. Not yet.
"I'll talk to you later, Em,” he said, ignoring her question. He disconnected the call, pocketed his phone and opened the car door, sliding into the comfortable interior. As he drove away in the opposite direction Sarah had taken, he thought about stray kittens and about Emelie. She was always telling him he had a weakness for damsels in distress. And she should know, since the damsel he'd rescued once upon a time had been Emelie herself.
Albany, New York 1918
Raj strolled down the darkened street, drinking in the excitement, the fear. The United States was at war. Men were lining up to go fight in Europe, seeking a glory in battle that would never be found on the streets of their hometowns. Raj could have warned them. Could have told them there was nothing exciting about the stink of a battlefield, the blood and excrement, the screams of your friends dying all around you while you could do nothing but fight to save your own miserable life. But he said nothing. They wouldn't have listened anyway.
Eager young men roamed the streets of Albany, drunk for the most part, enjoying a final fling before Uncle Sam sent them out to become soldiers. By tomorrow, they'd be regretting this last night of indulgence—when their heads were throbbing, their stomachs rebelling, and they were stuck on a hot, crowded bus for the journey to some dismal boot camp.
But for some of them, most of them probably, tonight was their first real taste of freedom, their first time away from the family farm, the small town scrutiny. Fights were common, but the police paid little attention, recognizing the futility of trying to bring order to a chaos that would dissipate itself in a day or two anyway. And as long as the new recruits limited themselves to pounding on each other, no one cared.
He turned away from the main boulevard, seeking the side streets, the dark alleys where fledgling soldiers could be found sleeping or passed out. Either way they were a quick, easy meal for a hungry vampire.
The noise of a crowd drew his attention to what should have been a quiet side street. A rowdy group of men had gathered, shouting encouragements and threats. Yet another fist fight, no doubt. Raj almost turned away. There was nothing for him in these squabbles. But something made him turn back and take a second look. It wasn't the words the men were shouting; he could barely make those out. But the taunts carried a raw brutality, a gutter meanness that burned against his senses. Raj frowned, pushing his way through the crowd until he drew close enough to see what was going on over the shoulders of others.
He swore viciously and shoved the rest of the way forward with a purpose, tossing bodies aside in his fury. A young woman lay at the heart of the circle, half-naked, bloody and beaten, her latest r**ist grunting between her legs. Raj kicked out, his thick boot breaking ribs with a resounding crunch. The man screamed as he flew through the air, the noise cut off with a choked gurgle when he hit a nearby wall.
Raj crouched and spun, ready to fight, mouth open, fangs fully displayed, seeing the faint gleam of blue as his Vampire-enhanced eyes burned ice-cold with rage.
Young men who moments earlier had been full of bravado at the prospect of raping a helpless woman fled before the wrath of Vampire. Screams faded down the alley as they ran, trampling each other in their hurry to escape. To one side, the injured r**ist was struggling to crawl away, whimpering wordlessly. Raj took a step forward, intending to drain him dry, to ensure he never again brutalized a helpless woman, but from behind him came a small, lost sound.
He turned back toward the woman. She'd curled in on herself, thin fingers struggling to pull the tatters of her clothing around her battered body, to cover her na**dness. He whipped off his jacket and covered her, careful not to touch her, letting her grasp the ends of the fabric to her chest as she shook silently.
"Let me help you, child,” he said softly. His voice was deep and melodic, the same voice he used to seduce the unwary, to persuade the unsuspecting to open their veins for him. She stilled, trembling like a small animal beneath the gaze of a predator, refusing to look at him, as if that would somehow save her.
"Do you have family?” he asked.
She started crying then, quiet sobs that racked her entire body. Raj wanted to reassure her, to tell her he could make it all go away. His blood might not be as strong as that of his master, Lord Krystof, and she was very badly injured, but he was Vampire nonetheless. And his blood was stronger than most, strong enough to heal her injuries, strong enough that he could wipe this night from her mind, make it as if it had never happened. But in her present state, she wouldn't have heard him, much less believed something so fantastic.
"Let me help you,” he repeated instead. He laid a single, gentle hand on her back, wincing as she jerked away from his touch, her cries finally finding voice as she grew more frantic.