Fire Within - By Ally Shields Page 0,13

1000 years, and scary in the extreme. She couldn’t imagine having a date with him.

Her focus drifted back to Andreas. He was another matter, in spite of his two centuries’ head start on her. Despite their many differences, at one point Ari had thought they might…well, it didn’t happen.

She became aware that Claris and Brando were watching her.

“She’s probably a bodyguard,” Brando offered, obviously referring to Ms. Slinky hanging on Andreas’s arm. “Doesn’t Prince Daron have his own secret service? Hey, look there’s the Mayor,” he said. He pointed in the opposite direction. His effort was effective, if not subtle, in changing the subject.

Bless him, Ari thought. She couldn’t wait to get out of the building. She had avoided Andreas for months and still wasn’t ready to meet him. When Claris declared she’d had enough of the auction and suggested they go somewhere to eat, Ari eagerly agreed.

As soon as they were away from the Arts Center, Ari relaxed. She told herself she was glad for the encounter. It was bound to happen, and now it was behind her. She concentrated on the attractive man at her side, and the four friends passed the evening in easy camaraderie at a local restaurant, assisted by the French cuisine and an excellent vintage wine.

* * *

Ari dreamed of Andreas that night.

The dream setting was her apartment. She sensed his presence immediately, the magical power that always surrounded him, and smelled the exotic cologne he used. Strange, how she still recognized those things. A thick, silvery mist hovered in the room, highlighted by moonlight from the window. As the mist parted, she saw him sitting there, dressed in total black. Armani, of course. He wore nothing else. Andreas lounged in her red chair; a slow, lazy smile crossed his face. His unreadable eyes met hers, one eyebrow cocked, as if he waited for something.

When Ari woke, he wasn’t there. It was just a dream, and she stifled a shiver.

It was all too real. The images, past and present, blended in her head. Before the auction, her last sight of Andreas had been a violent scene. In the heat of battle, they had clashed over the right to kill an enemy she-wolf, an assassin sent against them by Sebastian, vampire prince of Toronto, Canada. Andreas had pre-empted the kill, and his primitive reaction, with fangs extended, was a memory Ari wasn’t likely to forget. But she wasn’t kidding herself. It wasn’t the killing that really spooked her into ending their relationship. It was the magic. Earlier that night, during a moment of crisis, her magic had blended with his to rouse him from his vampiric sleep cycle—and he’d seen the images of impending danger inside Ari’s mind.

She was afraid of that magical link.

Ari stared at her empty red chair. She figured tonight’s dream had been triggered by seeing him at the auction, but it wasn’t the first dream. In spite of her best efforts to block them, there had been four dreams, almost identical, two within the last month.

Ari got out of bed and crossed to her cedar trunk. As a general rule, she tried not to call on her witch magic for everyday living. She worked closely with the human community, and magic made humans nervous. These dreams were a different matter. She had warded the windows after the first dream, and that helped for a while, but now the visions were coming more often. Was this some mind thing Andreas was doing? If he wanted to talk, why didn’t he use the damn phone?

She rummaged in the cedar chest until she found the purified water and candles. She performed a cleansing ritual and strengthened the wards with a protection spell.

Gracious Goddess, hear my plea; Take from this room his energy; Hold fast the barriers, lock the key; Deny his presence, so mote it be.

Ari frowned as the candles flickered. It was easy to blame the dreams on Andreas. In truth, she was more worried about the family legend. If the dreams were connected to the old stories, Ari was in trouble. She knew she should visit Rosalina, the family seer. Ask the questions. Find the answers. But for the first time in her life, she wasn’t sure she really wanted to hear them.

Ari sighed and blew out the last ceremonial taper. If the protection charm failed, if he found a way into her dreams again, then she would consult Rosalina.

* * *

By the time Ari reached her office, she had shaken off