At once the noise and smells assaulted her, jangling and jarring until she managed to turn down the volume in her mind. Nothing could stop the way her stomach knotted and twisted in protest of what she was about to do. Her gaze went unerringly to MaryAnn.
MaryAnn, sitting on a barstool, half turned toward the door. She was laughing at something the woman next to her was saying. Destiny knew MaryAnn so well, she could hear the forced notes of merriment. Destiny didn’t look at the woman speaking with MaryAnn, or try to identify anyone else in the bar. She focused on MaryAnn and willed her to look up, bracing herself for the horror and knowledge she would find in the depths of those soft brown eyes.
MaryAnn turned her head slowly until her dark gaze met Destiny’s. Joy lit her face, banished the worry from her eyes. She jumped from the stool, leaving her companion in mid sentence, and rushed to Destiny. Time stood still while Destiny watched her hurtle across the room like a small rocket.
“You’re alive! Thank God! I was so worried. I didn’t have any idea whom to contact. I checked the hospitals, even the morgue.” MaryAnn nearly flung her arms around Destiny but checked herself when she saw how uncomfortable the younger woman was.
Destiny stood staring at her, her mind numb, a perfect blank. Her carefully worded apology was wiped from her memory; she could only stare dumbly. Twice she cleared her throat.
“Come on, let’s move away from the crowd,” Mary Ann suggested gently, drawing Destiny a few steps out of the crush of people.
“You don’t have a single ounce of self-preservation,” Destiny accused. “Why don’t you ever try to protect yourself?”
“I don’t know. All I could hear was the sound of his voice. It was so melodic—hypnotizing almost. I couldn’t see him clearly until you spoke to me. Then he sounded horrible and grating and he looked…” Her voice trailed off as she sought the right word. “A monster. His teeth, so jagged and sharp. His fingernails were something out of a horror film. But at first he looked handsome. I would have gone to him if you hadn’t pushed me into the church. Thank you, Destiny.”
Destiny could only stare at her in a kind of shock. “I’m not talking about him. You wouldn’t have had a chance with him anyway. He was a vampire. They aren’t easy to defeat, and you don’t have the necessary knowledge or skills. I’m talking about me. You’re happy to see me—”
“Of course I’m happy to see you!” Mary Ann interrupted. “I was so worried, Destiny. I looked for you every day, all the places you might go, but I couldn’t find you anywhere. Don’t ever scare me like that again. You should have come to my house. Didn’t you think I’d be worried?”
“Yes, I thought you’d be worried that I might kill you by draining every drop of your blood,” Destiny said. She could hardly endure the conversation.
MaryAnn was telling the truth; Destiny could read her anxiety. It made no sense, and Mary Ann’s lack of fear, lack of self-preservation, angered her.
“That’s silly. I saw your injuries. I wanted to take care of you.”
Destiny studied her hands. “How can you say that? You must know what I am.”
“What is it you think you are?” MaryAnn asked softly, her voice as gentle as ever. There was no hint of condemnation. No hint of laughter. Just MaryAnn’s quiet acceptance. Unconditional acceptance.
“You saw me. And you saw it. The vampire. You must know I’m one of them.” Destiny couldn’t look at her. She couldn’t bear to see the revulsion looking back at her in those trusting eyes. “I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have allowed our lives to touch. You won’t remember, but I want you to know that I give you my word of honor I will never harm you.”
There was a small silence, and her stomach churned and knotted. She felt MaryAnn’s touch. Light. Her fingers settled on Destiny’s forearm. “Why do you believe you are a vampire?”
Destiny stiffened as if she’d been struck. “He took my blood. He forced me to drink his. I think that’s the accepted way of making a human into a vampire.”