chance to say goodbye.
Sarah gave her aunt a weak smile. “Okay,’ she agreed.
* * * *
Hidden in the large oak, Darrien watched her through the kitchen windows. From the expression on her face it was obvious that she was upset, but she seemed to be surrounded by some kind of force that kept him from probing her mind. He could sense her, but he couldn’t read her thoughts.
Why couldn’t he bring himself to snuff out her life?
He’d been so close to doing just that. To sinking his teeth into her flesh and drinking of her sweet nectar. Her fear had been tantalizing, inflaming his hunger even more, but then the memories came back. The memories of another human – another enchanting witch, weaving her spell over him until he was mad with desire. But in the end, she had refused eternity. She had chosen death instead, leaving him to endure an endless existence without her.
While she had loved him, she had also hated what he was. She’d hated him for what he’d done.
If only the witch could have forgiven him. How could he have known what she would become to him, and that she would eventually extract a revenge on him more tormenting than an eternity in the fiery pits of hell? Loving a woman that had been dead for over two hundred years, was a fate worse than any hell that man could dream up.
Since the night that she’d left this world, his soul had known no light. With a heart so black, it was little wonder that he was known among vampires to show no mercy to his victims. But then he’d peered into Sarah’s terrified eyes - eyes so green they appeared to have captured the stormy sea within their depths. There had been that flicker of light that touched his heart, and he had been unable to take her life.
But they would send others!
Someone would come and do what he had been unable to do. Her very existence was forbidden. She was a danger to the ancients. Their world would only go on as it had, if they could be rid of the sisters.
Darrien had been selected for this task because he was so ruthless. What would Omar do when he realized that his chosen assassin had failed? What would he do when they sent someone else to finish the job?
When Omar had sent him to eliminate the witch, he hadn’t known that she was a Fabre witch.
Would it have made a difference if he’d known?
Somehow Darrien doubted it. It might have made all the difference a couple hundred years go, but not today. At least it hadn’t until that moment that he’d been ready to take her life, and found that he couldn’t do it.
Ascending into the dark sky, Darrien let his hunger guide him to his prey, like he had every night for centuries, but tonight he would do so with less enthusiasm. The hunt didn’t seem quite as alluring as it had before - before he had lost himself in those beautiful - bewitching eyes.
* * * *
Sarah and Jeanie waited outside the funeral home until they saw the people begin to leave. The funeral was to be tomorrow. Tonight, friends and family would have one last opportunity to view the deceased before the coffin was closed.
“You ready for this?” Jeanie gave her an encouraging smile.
Nodding, Sarah followed her aunt through the parking lot to the large double glass doors of the mortuary. Like every time she came to one of these places, Sarah felt an ache in her stomach, and with each step she took, the pain grew worse. She knew it was anxiety, but was at a loss for how to control it.
Jeanie led her into the viewing room where Clyde’s family was waiting for them. The metallic gray coffin was positioned between two large flower arrangements. Resting on the top of the coffin was a spray of white roses. The oppressive atmosphere of the funeral home tightened the knot in her stomach. The grief around her was overwhelming. It was like a black fog encircling her, finding its way into her mouth and nose to cut off her breath. She felt as if it would smother her until she was as lifeless as the body within