A long slow hiss escaped him, and then he caught Joshua by one leg and held him over the cliff’s edge. “Since you like freedom so very much, I will release my hold on the child’s mind so that he can see and hear and know what is happening.” The fangs gnashed and clicked as he uttered the words in a precise, icy tone.
His words propelled Alexandria forward once more. She stumbled to within a couple of feet of the monster, reaching for Joshua. “Oh, God, please, don’t drop him! Give him to me!” There was pain in her voice, real fear, and it fed the monster’s excitement.
He laughed softly as Joshua suddenly came to life, screaming, his face contorted with fear. He screamed for his sister, his eyes on her face, his only salvation. The monster fended Alexandria off with one hand as he easily held Joshua over the cliff with the other.
She forced herself to stand perfectly still in front of the man. “Just give him to me. You don’t need him. He’s only a child.”
“Oh, I think he is very necessary—to ensure your cooperation.” The madman smiled at her and moved Joshua back to the relative safety of the cliff’s edge. He waved a hand, and the child ceased to fight or scream, once more under the man’s demonic control. “You will join with me, become what I am. Together we will have power such as you cannot imagine.”
“But I’ve never wanted power,” Alexandria protested, edging closer to try to snatch the boy from him. “Why do you say I’m the one you’ve been searching for? You didn’t know I existed until tonight. You don’t even know my name.”
“Alexandria. It is easy to read young Joshua’s mind. You persist in thinking me a mere human, but I am so much more than that.”
“What are you?” Alexandria held her breath, afraid of his answer, knowing this creature was somehow more than human, was the powerful beast from legend. He could read minds, control others, draw his prey to him, even from a distance. He had ripped out Henry’s heart. He had broken a woman’s neck and drained blood from another right in front of her. Whatever he was, he was not human.
“I am the nightmare of foolish humans, the vampire come to feast on the living. You will be my bride, share my power, my life.”
He said it perfectly seriously, and Alexandria was torn between needing to cry and hysterical laughter. Thomas Ivan could not have written more bizarre dialogue. This man believed what he was saying, and what was worse, she was beginning to believe it, also.
“It… it really isn’t my kind of lifestyle.” The words came out in a husky whisper, and she could not believe she was pleading for her life, for Joshua’s life, with such a silly answer. But how did one address such insanity?
“You think to mock me and get away with it?” His hands closed so hard on Joshua’s shoulder, she could see his fingers nearly meeting.
She shook her head, stalling for time. “No, I was serious. I like the sunshine. Vampires hang out at night. I seldom drink wine, let alone blood. But I do know a bar where you can find lots of girls who are into kinky things. They wear black and worship the devil and say they drink each other’s blood. But not me. I’m ultra-conservative.”
How could she be having such a strange conversation with a killer? Wasn’t there a security guard around? Hadn’t anyone found Henry’s body yet? Where was everyone? How long could she stall, keep this creature talking?
His laughter taunted her, low and insidious. “No one will come to save you, my dear. They cannot. It is a simple matter to keep others away, as easy as it is to draw them to me.”
“Why me?”
“There are few like you in existence. Your mind is very strong, which is why you cannot be controlled. You are a true psychic, are you not? That is what my kind requires in a mate.”
“I don’t know about that. I sometimes know things others don’t,” she conceded, pushing a nervous hand through her hair. “I knew you were here, if that’s what you mean.” Someone had to come and rescue them soon. Surely Thomas Ivan was looking for her. “Please, let me take Joshua home, somewhere safe. You don’t need him, only me. I’ll give you my word, I’ll come back tomorrow night. And if you’re so powerful, you can always find me if I don’t return.” She was desperate to get to Joshua. It was terrible to see him so limp and lifeless, his eyes glassy. She wanted to gather him up and hold him close, to keep him safe, to know this creature could never touch him again. If she could save Joshua, nothing else would matter.