A Whisper of Eternity - By Amanda Ashley Page 0,53
under my protection."
"Both of them?At the same time?"
" Zarabethis young in the life. It is not uncommon for new vampires to seek to align themselves with one who is strong until they gain power of their own."
"And Petrina ?I'd think that after five hundred years, she would be old enough to take care of herself,"Tracy remarked dryly.
Dominic laughed.
"I take it she finds you attractive."
"So she says."
"And do you find her attractive?"
"Yes, my best beloved one, but it is you, and only you, that I desire."
"Did you make her a vampire?"
"No."
Tracyglanced around the bar. Now that her eyes had adjusted to the dimness, she saw faces more clearly. There were perhaps a dozen men and women in the room, some sitting at tables,some standing at the bar. Most were clad in black. She noticed that they all seemed extraordinarily beautiful, with clear skin and lustrous hair, and they all moved with a kind of unconscious grace, almost as if they were floating above the floor.
A few weeks ago, she hadn't believed in vampires; now she was in a room surrounded by them. She looked up at Dominic. "Who made them all?You?"
He gazed briefly at the pulse in her throat. "I have never brought another across."
"But, there are so many."
"There are hundreds of us," he replied."Perhaps thousands throughout the world. I doubt anyone knows for sure."
Several couples moved onto the small dance area.Tracy stared at them. It seemed incongruous, somehow, to see vampires dancing together as if they were ordinary people.
She glanced at Dominic. He was watching her, a faint smile playing over his lips.
"Would you care to dance?" he asked.
She shook her head.
He regarded her for several moments,then asked, "What are you thinking?"
"It just seems weird, seeing them dance."
"Why is that?"
"I don't know, it just does."
"Because they are vampires?"
"I guess so."
"We are not, after all, that much different from you."
'Yeah, right."
"Ah,Tracy , we were human before we were vampires. Our lifestyle may have changed but in most of us, our humanity remains."
"So, vampires are just people with a peculiar lifestyle - is that what you're saying?"
"More or less."
"Except for the blood part.And the fact that you can't go out in the sun.And that you sleep all day."
He shrugged. "You knew all this before we came here."
She looked at the dancers again. They didn't really look all that different from normal people. If she hadn't known they were vampires, she would have thought them to be just ordinary people with a penchant for wearing black.
She turned her attention back to Dominic. At first glance, there was nothing about him to suggest that he was a vampire, at least not from a distance. But, close up, she was ever aware of the aura of power that clung to him, the deep inner stillness that sometimes came over him.
Rising, he held out his hand. "Come," he said. "Dance with me."
She hesitated only a moment before she put her hand in his. He pulled her gently into his arms, his dark gaze intent upon her face as he guided her around the floor.
They danced together as though they had done it hundreds of times. His hand was cool, firm against her back. She stared up at him, once again smitten by his bold good looks. For a time, she lost herself in the joy of being in his arms. He gazed down at her, his eyes warm with affection. His breath was whisper-soft against her face.
"This is a pretty song,"Tracy remarked. "I don't think I've ever heard it before."
"It is called 'Vampire's Lament'. Marcus wrote it for his mortal woman."
"Do you know the words?"
Dominic listened a moment, then began to say the words, his voice moving over her, soft and seductive as a sigh.
"Open for me, this creature of the night, let me ease my pain in the warmth of your light. Come, walk with me, share this moment in time, open your heart, your soul, now mine.
"My laugh is hollow as I walk these darkenedhalls, time is nothing but a tick upon the wall. I am life, eternity and forever, alone in my despair, reaching toward never.
"Shall I find the one? Is there one to find? Will I know the soft light that will flow from her soul into mine? Is it possible to feel? Is it possible to know? If her touch is the water, is my answer the flow?"
She found the words oddly touching. The lyrics could have been written for the two of them. She was sorry when the music ended.