Hearts In Darkness

Chapter Eleven

Nikki jerked awake. For several seconds she lay in the darkness, wondering where in the world she was. The stars had disappeared from overhead, as had the dancing pearls of light. She frowned and glanced around. So had the trees.

She sat upright. Hot lances of fire shot through her skull like some madman with a jackhammer was loose in her head. Her stomach turned, threatening to leap into her throat. She took a deep breath and gently massaged her temples.

Only to discover that hurt almost as much. She touched her left temple gently. Her head had been cut, and her hair was matted with blood. She must have done it when she'd fallen. Warmth began dribbling down her cheek.

The headache eased slightly but not the sick churning in her stomach. What had happened?

The last thing she could remember was something smashing into her head, but she had an odd feeling a fair amount of time had passed. She reached out for Michael, but the link was dead. And she wasn't sure if that deadness was due to the wall he had raised between them since his return, or something else entirely.

She swept a hand cautiously through the darkness. Stone met her touch, not grass. She licked her lips.

She wasn't in the meadow. Someone had moved her.

Light gleamed briefly in the darkness to her left. It reappeared minutes later, closer than before.

Whatever it was, it was moving toward her. She inched away, but her back hit something solid. She swallowed her gasp and carefully felt behind her. It was a wall of some kind. The stone was as smooth as ice, yet felt almost furnace hot. It burned into her back, easing the chill of her fear.

The light grew closer still. Energy crackled across her fingertips, firefly bright in the darkness. She clenched her fist and waited. There was no sound, no whisper of breathing, nothing to indicate that whatever approached was anything remotely human.

More importantly, though, there was no whisper of evil, no taste of death. Whatever that light represented, it wasn't a vampire.

Another light appeared to her right, dancing brightness through the cover of night. This time she recognized it. The lights she'd seen in the meadow. More appeared, until a semicircular ring of warmth surround her.

Through this warmth walked Ginger.

Surprise rippled through Nikki. There was an ethereal glow to the redhead's skin, and a light in her eye that recalled the heat of flames. She looked very much at home with the stale-smelling darkness and the dancing pearls of light.

She stopped several feet away, regarding Nikki steadily, her head tilted slightly to one side. "You are all right?"

Nikki nodded. There was something not quite right about the way Ginger moved and spoke. In some ways it reminded her of a newborn—or maybe someone just recovering from a major accident who had to learn to control her body all over again. "Why am I here?"

"You saved our lives." Ginger waved a hand around the darkness. The lights shivered in response, their brightness muting and casting shadows the color of rich amber through the night. "We are sorry if we hurt you. We did not mean to."

Nikki waved the apology away. For now, the wound on her head was the least of her worries. "How did I save you when I didn't do anything?"

Ginger smiled. "You felt him coming."

She must mean the evil Nikki had felt approaching before something smacked into her head and the lights went out. "Yeah, so?"

"We felt your fear. It warned us. We hid in your unconscious form, and he did not find us."

Nikki scrubbed a hand across her eyes. This was making less and less sense. "Ginger, what the hell are you talking about?"

"He binds us," she continued. "He captures us, forces us into human form. You must stop him."

The lights behind her shivered and swayed, as if emphasizing her words . I've stepped into wonderland

, she thought, and felt the lump on the side of her head. Maybe this was all just some weird dream.

Maybe she was still unconscious in the meadow.

"Who binds you?" she asked eventually.

Her question sparked feverish activity in the lights. Rainbows splashed across the darkness, reflecting brightly off the black stone walls that surrounded them.

"He does," Ginger said.

Nikki snorted softly. "Yeah, but who is he?"

"He who is accompanied by she."

This was not making a whole lot of sense. It had to be a dream, surely. "And she is?"

"She has the darkness in her. Like the man who accompanies you."

A chill ran through her. She swallowed to ease the sudden dryness in her throat. "What do you mean?"

"She feeds off life. She walks in darkness and knows no light."

Vampire, Nikki thought, rubbing her arms. Perhaps the same vampire that had attacked her in the warehouse. "But what did you mean about Michael?"

Ginger shrugged. It seemed an awkward movement. "He walks the line between light and dark. He has the taste of the woman on him."

Her words made no sense. In three hundred years, Michael had only tasted one human—her. Or was that a lie, too? The chill biting through her limbs increased. "Meaning?"

"We can not trust him. Only you. You must help us."

"How can I help you when I don't understand what it is you want?"

"You must stop him," Ginger repeated, as if talking to a child.

Back to square one, Nikki thought wearily. Maybe she should try a different tack. "What are you, Ginger? What are the lights?"

"We are flame imps. We are of this land."

As explanations went, it didn't help much. But perhaps Michael would know. "And you can take human form?" It seemed an obvious question, yet the awkwardness of Ginger's movements suggested she was unfamiliar with this particular body.

"Only when the new cycle begins. He has forced this form upon us."

Nikki had a feeling that if she asked what 'new cycle' meant, the answer would only leave her more confused. She eyed the lights for a minute. They seemed agitated by Ginger's words. "And he wants to do the same to your friends?"

Ginger shook her head. "Only some. Others he uses in his magic. We die."

The lights muted, becoming gray. Sadness seemed to hang in the air.

"What about Rodeman. Why marry him? What was the purpose behind that?"

"He makes us marry."

"But why?"

"To bring them here."

"Do you know why?" She felt like a CD that had become irreparably stuck on one line.

Ginger shook her head. "We only bring them here."

"So where is Rodeman now?"

"He is with him. In the darkness."

Alarm spread through her. Sparks leapt across her fingers. "This darkness?"

The lights shivered, their glow darkening to purple. "No," Ginger said. "This is our last home. The last place of safety we have."

Nikki didn't ask where exactly that was. Given the heat in the rocks, the deadness in the air and the night's utter pitch, she had a feeling the answer was one she wouldn't like. "Then where has he taken

Rodeman?"

"To the spaces underneath the hotel."

Caverns, she probably meant, though this didn't seem the sort of area that would have much in the way of underground caves. Nikki again scrubbed a hand across her eyes. "What about you, Ginger? What happens to you now?"

"We will die, as others have died. This body will not contain me. It will burn, and we will go with it. No longer will we dance under the orb of life."

The cavern went dark, and sadness washed in waves over her. Tears stung her eyes. "And nothing can stop this?"

"He must die for us to survive."

Then somehow, some way, she had to help make that happen. Not only for the sake of these strange lights, but for people like Rodeman and Matthew—lonely people who were only after company or for someone to understand them. Easy prey for the likes of that woman in the warehouse or the man killing the flame imps. "How many of you does this creep have under his control?"

"Four. Eight will no longer dance in the orb's light."

She meant the moon, Nikki realized suddenly. That's what they had been doing tonight—dancing under the light of the moon. "And you can tell me nothing about the man who binds you?"

"No. We hear his words, but we cannot see him."

Ginger obviously didn't mean he was invisible. He'd had a shape in the images she'd received when she'd touched Ginger's hand—though his form had been little more than a shadow. "Does he wear a mask or something?"

"No. He is not of our world."

Nikki snorted softly. "I'm not of your damn world, but I can see you."

"You have the fire in you. It dances across your fingers as we speak. You can see us. Others, like the one who binds, only feel what we are."

So Michael wouldn't see them, even if they were to appear before him. That wasn't going to make an explanation any easier.

"Will you help us?" Ginger asked. The lights thrummed behind her, pulsing yellow across the walls.

"I'll do what I can." But she wasn't about to make promises. Not when she had no real idea what she was going up against.

The lights danced in brightness. Nikki couldn't help smiling.

"We will return you to the surface now," Ginger said.

Nikki barely had time to nod before the darkness hit her again.

Awareness surged through the link, followed quickly by a flash of red pain. Michael raced onto the patio, wincing at the sun's brightness. It was nine-thirty, and here in the mountains where there were no smog nor high rise buildings to block the sun's heat, he was really pushing his limits.

He didn't care. He headed past the pool and tennis courts and out into the meadow. He found her sitting on the same rock as last night.

She looked up when he appeared, her expression troubled. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be inside, out of the sun?"

"What in the hell do you think I'm doing out here?" He squatted in front of her. The wound on her temple was bleeding again, and there was black dirt on her shirt and jeans. The soil around here was a reddish brown. "You've been missing for four damn hours."

Four hours in which he'd gone quietly crazy, imagining the worst. He'd not only searched the grounds thoroughly but had touched the thoughts of every man, woman, and child currently staying at the hotel—whether they were guests or workers. No one had seen her, not even in passing.

"I'm okay," she said softly. She touched his face, her fingers trailing warmth down his cheek to his lips.

But it was a gentle warmth, not the blistering heat of before.

He captured her hand, brushing a kiss across her fingers before rising. "Let's get back to our room, and you can tell me what happened."

She rose, but again was unsteady on her feet. He picked her up and raced back to their room. He set her on the bed then drew the curtains closed. He could feel the heat tingling across his skin. No sense pushing it to extremes.

"So what happened?" He rinsed the washcloth again and began cleaning her wound.

She sighed and pushed his hand away. "I feel like Alice."

He sat back on his heels, wondering if the knock on her head had addled her brains a little. "Alice?"

She smiled slightly. "Yeah. I've just been to Wonderland."

"Oh, that Alice." He could vaguely remember reading the tale a hundred years or so ago. He handed her the cloth, then rose and walked to the bar. "What hole did you fall into?" he said, pouring them both a drink.

"A big black one." She accepted her drink with a smile and gave him a quick rundown of the events in the cavern. "Have you ever heard of these flame imps?"

He shook his head. "But as Seline often says, fantasy is a reality we walk every day." And they had sure as hell seen more than their fair share of the fantastical, be it good or bad. "Seline's doing a check on what entities are known to be in the area. She may come up with them—if not, I'll get her to do another check."

"What about these caverns?" She hesitated and yawned. "Shouldn't we be looking for them?"

"Not until you get some sleep," he said, rising. "I'll head down to the library and see what I can find about the history of this hotel and the geography of the area."

She raised an eyebrow, a teasing light suddenly in her eyes. "I promise not to make unwelcome advances if you want to lay down with me."

He smiled slightly. That was a situation he had no intention of getting into—simply because her advances would be welcome. Very welcome.

"You need to rest," he said, unsure who he was trying to convince.

"I need you more," she murmured.

She rose and wrapped her hands around his neck, her lips brushing heat across his. He groaned and pulled her close, claiming her mouth. She tasted as warm as sunshine, as rich as honey. Heat flared in the link, a caress that stole past his heart and wrapped around his soul. She was everything he had ever longed for and everything he dared not take.

Her heartbeat pulsed through the silence, an unsteady rhythm that matched his own. His need for her was an ache that sang though his entire being. But deep down, the demon stirred. He dare not embrace what he might just destroy. Until his control was absolute, he would not take the risk of losing himself in her touch.

Even then, it might not be wise. He doubted if he could make love to her and have the strength to walk away from her again.

He pulled back, his breathing a little ragged. "Bedroom tactics will not win the day."

Her expression was a picture of mischief. "We'll just have to see, won't we?"

"I'm going," he said, not trusting her—or himself.

"Like that?" Her gaze scooted down his body, and she grinned. "The staff's female members will be impressed."

He tugged his shirt out of the waistband of his jeans to hide his erection. "Just go to sleep. And don't go anywhere until I get back."

"Only if you promise not to be long."

The low pitch of her voice sent heat racing to his loins and almost shot his control to hell.

He scrubbed a hand through his hair and got out of the room.