A Gentleman and Knight

A Nightwalker Fanfic

by Kate

This story is based on the Japanese anime series, “Nightwalker:  Midnight Detective.”  It’s my one and only venture into the anime universe.  If you’re familiar with the series, be forewarned I have taken some liberties with the characters, weaving my own back story into existing canon.  I have also changed Shido’s love interest to Yayoi, who I thought was far more sizzling and provided more chemistry than his “girl Friday.”  Comments welcomed at veniceplace12@verizon.net

Muttering beneath her breath, Yayoi Harrigan shot an impatient glance at her watch. In a little over an hour the sun would be rising on yet another tepid spring day, shooting bands of orange and gold across the eastern horizon. Normally she wouldn’t be bothered that Shido’s office was empty, but tonight she was anxious for his return. He was often out late, prowling the streets, enjoying the questionable nightlife in the seedier sections of the city. A curious contradiction, he was a refined man who took his pleasure among back alleys and all-night establishments. Yayoi was often puzzled by that behavior. At nearly 200 years of age, he should have had enough excess to last a lifetime. 

Her mouth drew into a tight smile. Or in his case, an eternity.

She huffed out an impatient breath and perched on the edge of his desk. The silky material of her short blue skirt hiked up her thighs, baring long, shapely legs. Distracted, she tossed her hair over her shoulder, barely conscious when the waist-length ebony tresses fanned across her back. A true urbanite, she was the result of a short-lived marriage between an Asian mother and Irish father. If it hadn’t been for her twin sister’s tragic death five years before, she would likely be working as a computer programmer or sales consultant instead of a top level operative for the Night Opts Service. And now that the NOS brass had finally accepted Shido for what he was, she no longer had to worry about partnering with him. As a general rule of thumb, the NOS frowned on using private detectives, but Shido was an exception. For a man who didn’t carry a weapon, he was more lethal to the average nightbreed than her own silver-jacketed bullets.

“Shido, where are you?” she asked the air tersely. 

As if in answer to her query, a tall silhouette appeared behind the frosted glass pane of the front door. Shido’s form briefly eclipsed the neat black lettering proclaiming his detective agency, then he stepped inside.

“Yayoi.” He blinked, neither surprised nor displeased by her presence. He looked a little worn, as if he’d overindulged in something he shouldn’t have. His blue-green eyes, normally striking and vibrant, appeared dull, and his clothing was rumpled. He’d always maintained a deliciously antiquated sense of style, favoring crisp white shirts with tailored vests, string ties, and fitted coats. That gentleman-caller appearance often seemed out of place for a man who looked no older than twenty-five. 

Closing the door behind him, Shido leaned against the frame. His long-lashed eyes swept over Yayoi’s shapely legs. “I wasn’t expecting you tonight. Should I count this as business or pleasure?” He smiled thinly. “Or is that impertinent of me? You’ve got the geneticist—Doctor what’s-his-name for both now.”

“You’re always impertinent Shido.” Yayoi knew his retreat was strictly for show. She swiveled to the side, favoring him with a better view of her legs. It served him right. If he wasn’t so damn good-looking, she might not have cared what he thought. “And it’s Maximilian. Dr. Maximilian Roth.”

“Guess I forgot.” He shrugged and moved closer to the desk. He made no sound when he walked, a quality that had unnerved her on first acquaintance. “Kind of makes you wonder about his ego though. Any man who insists on being called Maximilian -- especially by the woman he professes to love -- has to have some kind of inferiority complex. Or delusions of grandeur. Why not Max?”

Yayoi studied the tips of her long red fingernails. “You just don’t like him, Shido.”

“I’ve never met him.”

“But I’ve told you about him and that’s enough for you, isn’t it?”

Shido moved past her and dropped into his swivel desk chair. “I bet he’s as dull as a bookend. You could do better Yayoi.”

“Could I?” She smiled sweetly and leaned across the desk. Draping her arms over his shoulders she brought her lips close to his ear. “And who could I possibly find to interest me except a long-haired sexy vampire who’s sworn off mortals?”

“Hmm.” Shido slipped a finger beneath her chin and tilted her head up. “I think I could break an oath or two for one night in the bedroom.”

Yayoi chuckled. “Judging by your appearance tonight, I’d say you’ve already broken a few oaths.”

Shido sobered. “It’s getting late. The sun will be rising soon.”

“Yes it will.” Yayoi drew back, sensing the change in him. Whatever had happened tonight, it was obviously something he wanted to avoid discussing. Their teasing sexual banter and flirtation was an intricate part of their relationship. Both knew nothing would ever come of it, but they found it a pleasant past-time. To have Shido shut it down so quickly left Yayoi feeling unbalanced.

Pushing from the desk, she turned her back on him. Any other time he would have made a remark about her short, skimpy skirt, but when she glanced over her shoulder, she found him tiredly rubbing his eyes. 

Is it Cain?

The thought came from nowhere, sending alarms shrieking in her head, her heart thudding wildly in her chest. Cain was the only man Shido feared, and with good reason. An ancient vampire, he was the one who had taken Shido’s life and introduced him to immortality nearly two hundred years ago. Insanely egotistical, he was a sadistic monster who believed humans existed solely to amuse vampires and sate their hunger. In the beginning he had succeeded in corrupting Shido, drowning him in a life of bloodlust and debauchery. 

But Shido’s human heart had never truly abandoned him even in his darkest moments. After a brief time under Cain’s black influence, he’d managed to escape, swearing never to intentionally harm another mortal. Enraged by the betrayal, Cain had vowed to hunt him down. Their unending game of cat and mouse had continued for over a century. For the last three months Cain had randomly manifested in Shido’s life, appearing in the physical world and in waking dreams. Yayoi suspected there was more to Shido’s relationship with Cain than he’d originally told her, but she feared knowing the truth. There was something manically possessive about Cain. He was obsessed with Shido. The only time she had observed them together—a brief occasion when Cain had suddenly appeared outside the office—he had been a strange mixture of sire, tormentor, and lover. For his part, Shido had struggled to hold revulsion and fear in check.

“Yayoi, what are you doing here?” she heard him ask tiredly. 

Her brows drew together as she studied his face. His features were eternally youthful and ethereal, more beautiful than handsome, frozen forever in time at age twenty-five. “I need your help tomorrow night. The NOS is reporting a high number of animal slayings on the southside near Waterfront. It could be nothing more than teenage thugs or gang rituals, but the manner of death suggests otherwise.”

Suddenly alert, Shido raised his head. “Mutilation?”

“More than that.” Yayoi folded her arms across her chest. “Rampant desecration. Organs shredded, partially consumed; throats gutted and ripped apart . . . it’s as if some wild beast went on a killing spree.”

“Damn.” Shido dropped his head into his hands. “Sounds like low-level breeds. In that stage, they’re more aggressive if cornered. It’s going to get ugly before it’s over.”

“That’s fine.” Yayoi’s smile was back in place, silky and teasing. It was time to get her sexy detective back on track and put thoughts of Cain and bloodlust behind them. “I’ll just hang onto you when I need something gorgeous to look at.”

Shido blinked, recovering quickly. “In that case, my bedroom offer is still open.” He grinned indulgently, half rising from his chair, but Yayoi waved him aside.

“Don’t bother. You wouldn’t know what to do with a woman like me in your bedroom, Shido. I’m a handful.”

“Two handfuls, I’d say.” His eyes dropped to her low cut blouse where the lacy edge of her bra was just visible. “I’d be willing to educate you on the finer techniques of the last century.”

Yayoi laughed. “I think I like this Shido better.” She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, glad to see his normal spirits had returned. “Tomorrow night, just before midnight. I’ll meet you here. Maximilian and I are attending the opening of the new art gallery on Fifth, but it should be over by 11:00.”

“All right.” He sounded irritated at the mention of Maximilian, but consented with a sour nod. Lamplight rippled across his long hair, dusting the unusual silvery-gray lengths with beads of amber. 

Had his hair always been that long, Yayoi wondered—sweeping below his shoulders in the front, dipping well past his waist in the back? A single ribbon loosely secured the back well below his shoulder blades, while the carefully shaped tresses in front feathered his face, neck and shoulders. All that silver hair, combined with an impossibly young face and long-lashed blue-green eyes, made Shido a striking man. Striking and gorgeous.   

No wonder Cain is obsessed with him.

“Shido.” Yayoi paused, suddenly uncomfortable. “You haven’t . . .um . . . you haven’t asked me to provide for you in a while.” 

Maybe that’s why he looked so tired. He’d sworn off taking blood from humans by force over a century ago. As a Provider, she was immune to a vampire’s bite. Her blood replenished itself at a remarkable rate of speed, allowing Shido the luxury of feeding almost daily if he desired. But it had been nearly three days since he’d last held her in his arms and coddled her neck. Three days since she’d felt the strangely exhilarating sting of teeth in her throat. It was one thing for him to visit some sleazy nightclub and sleep with a hooker, but he’d never stoop to blood-taking. 

Yayoi slipped her finger beneath her collar with an enticing sideways glance. “If you need—”

“I’m fine,” he said quickly. 

Too quickly. Was it possible he’d found another Provider? How long could a vampire last without food? Surely not much longer than three days.

“I’ll see you tomorrow night, all right?” Suddenly he was at her side, a strong hand cupped firmly beneath her elbow as he guided her toward the door. There was something exhilarating in his touch, even in that simple contact, as if a bolt of electricity shot through her. Her flesh tingled and she wondered if he felt it too. Had he ever had a mortal lover?

“Shido.” She stopped him with a hand on his chest. They were standing much too close, bumped up against one another before the door. He had yet to release her arm, and the feel of his fingers through her sleeve was making her head spin. They’d worked together for five years. Why all of a sudden did she feel like a school girl with a giddy crush—especially when she was involved in a relationship with a renown PhD? 

She was four months shy of twenty-eight years old. She prided herself on a worldly personality and a sharp wit that could trade flirting innuendo as readily as stinging barbs. She was brassy and tough. Wasn’t that what her boss at the NOS always said? How dare this man -- this impossibly gorgeous, sexy immortal man --reduce her to a love-struck fool. They were partners in a joint battle against the nightbreeds. She was his Provider. Nothing more.

Yayoi swallowed, her throat dry. “Get some rest,” she managed at last. “You look tired.”

“Thanks for your concern.” Shido stepped back and held the door for her. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” 

Yayoi hurried outside, anxious to breathe fresh air. Her sleek red sports car waited at the curb, the sharply slanting hood covered with clinging droplets of dew. A faint hum of traffic could be heard from the bay bridge, but the streets were relatively deserted. A lone pedestrian crossed against a flashing red traffic signal two blocks down. Overhead, the sky had faded to pale gray, breaking even lighter to the east. 

Yayoi suppressed a yawn. She needed to catch a few hours sleep if she hoped to help Shido tomorrow. The NOS generally let her log her own hours and shifts, knowing she preferred to work after midnight. It was the best time to hunt nightbreeds, the time when her partner’s strength was at its peak.

Yayoi engaged the keyless entry on her car and slipped behind the wheel. The cool leather felt good against the back of her legs, scattering thoughts of Shido. Starting the engine, she tried to remember the feel of Maximilian’s lips against her own, the hard press of his body when he held her in his arms. Instead she felt nothing.

He was thirty-five, successful, intelligent, on the fast track to success. He might not have Shido’s classical looks, but he was far from average. When they entered a room together, women turned to stare at him as often as men turned to look at her. 

So why do I feel like I’m drowning in a relationship that’s going nowhere? Why do I keep thinking of Shido, and what it might be like if we did more than just tease each other about going to bed?

“Damn it.” Yayoi pounded her fist against the steering wheel. “I’m too tired for this garbage right now.” She muttered a curse in Japanese, something sure to make her mother blush, but her Irish father proud. Forty minutes later when she crawled into bed, she curled onto her side and promised herself she wouldn’t dream of Shido.

Instead she had nightmares about Cain.

**********

Yayoi glanced at her watch. She was making a habit of it lately. It was 10:32, almost time for the evening at the art gallery to come to an end. The elegant black-tie affair had been a nice diversion, but her mind was already wandering ahead to the southside of the city. NOS dispatch had reported two more stray dogs with their stomachs ripped out, their necks chewed to gory pulp. She hadn’t been able to discuss any of it with Maximilian. Not only did most people remain unaware of the existence of nightbreeds, but the few who acknowledged them, found the mere mention distasteful.

Maximilian was all about society dinners, political fund raisers and country club socials. Discussing common city elements such as crime and enforcement was beneath him. Sometimes Yayoi felt he merely tolerated her job. She’d caught him frowning when he’d glimpsed the .9mm handgun stuffed in her evening bag. He’d told her its presence made her less lady-like, less feminine.

Yayoi gave a mental snort. She certainly looked like a lady tonight, dressed in a clinging strapless gown of burgundy silk. Her long jet hair was pulled back from her shoulders, pinned by two delicate jeweled combs and left to cascade down her back like a waterfall. Maximilian had made certain every other man in the room knew she was with him. At first she had resented his possessiveness, then found it merely childish. If she suddenly pulled out her gun, he’d probably disown her in a heartbeat. But as long as she remained elegant and demure, she was his perfect trophy date.

“. . . acceptable evening despite some obvious lack of talent.”

Yayoi blinked, suddenly aware Maximilian had been talking to her. “Pardon me?”

“The artists.” Maximilian rolled one perfectly manicured hand in the direction of the nearest paintings. “Not all of them are of the same caliber, but I’d say it’s a fairly good representation of talent. Of course it lacks the polished refinement of an upscale gallery like Del Donley’s in New York…

“…or Crandenhouse in London.”

Maximilian turned at the smooth intrusion of the new voice. He appeared affronted by the interruption, but more than a little intrigued. Clearly he was having a hard time deciding if he should challenge the observation or feign first-hand knowledge of the elite gallery and agree. He settled for squaring his shoulders and looking the newcomer up and down, more than a little put off by his unusual appearance. “You’ve been to Crandenhouse?”

“I was born in London.”

“Shido!” Yayoi couldn’t keep the surprise from her voice. “What are you doing here?”

“Shido?” The name slipped from Maximilian’s lips with sudden insight. “Ahh, so you’re Yayoi’s partner. The private detective she works with.”

“And you must be Max.” Shido offered his hand.

The older man bristled. “Maximilian.”

“Of course.”

Yayoi wanted to kick him. She knew he’d used the shortened form of her date’s name intentionally, just as he was now making an intentional spectacle of himself. She could sense the interest of every eye in the room, but then all one had to do was look at him to be intrigued. Between the impossible length of his soft silver hair and the old-fashioned romanticism of his impeccable clothing, his very presence was magnetic. 

“Just Shido?” Maximilian prodded. “Is that a first name or last name?”

“Last name. You couldn’t pronounce the first.”

Maximilian chuckled. “Try me. I’m told I’m a fairly bright boy. I’ve even got a string of initials after my name to prove it.”

Shido’s lips thinned in a dangerous smile, but he gave a slight bow, honoring Japanese custom. “I am Tatsuhiko Shido.”

This time Maximilian smirked. “You don’t have a drop of Japanese blood in you.”

“That’s true. I was adopted by a Japanese doctor a few hours after I was born. The same doctor who delivered me. My true parents were both British, but my mother died in delivery and my father died two weeks prior in an accident.”

“How terribly unfortunate.”

“I’ve learned to adapt to circumstance. Some of the greatest minds of the past century had to do the same, Max. I guess that’s what makes them a cut above our current crop of intellectuals.”

Yayoi had the sudden urge to strangle them both. There was nothing sincere about Maximilian’s sympathy and Shido had decided to play dangerous. His jaded personality was a sharp contrast to his astoundingly youthful and ethereal features. The more he goaded Maximilian, the more likely the man was to notice the odd discrepancy. There weren’t many twenty-five year olds who bantered art and history as if they had lived them. She decided to intervene before one or the other did more damage then she could repair.

“Shido, you still haven’t told me what you’re doing here.” She laid one elegantly gloved hand on his sleeve. It was enough to draw his black-lashed eyes and snag his interest.  

He seemed to notice her for the first time. Really notice her. She felt his eyes rake over her body, pausing on her plunging neckline, before lifting almost longingly to her throat. Something unnerving swept through her. A sensation that was both deliciously cold and wickedly hot.

“I thought I’d save us both some time and meet you here,” Shido said calmly, his eyes returning to a tranquil blue-green. “Am I too early?”

“No.” Yayoi spoke quickly, tired of the gallery with its stuffy pretentiousness; more than mildly irritated at Maximilian for his behavior over the course of the evening. “The night is winding down anyway.” She smiled encouragingly at her date. “You don’t mind if I leave with Shido a little early do you, Maximilian?”

“Of course not.” Maximilian’s reply was terse, but Yayoi’s tone had left little room for debate. He gave her a kiss on the lips, short but possessive, making certain Shido understood the message behind the exchange. Then glancing at Shido, he made a show of withholding his hand. “You’ll have to forgive me, Mr. Shido. Your unusual background has me confused as to whether I should offer my hand or bow in parting.”

Shido graced him with a cool smile. “It doesn’t matter to me, Dr. Roth, so long as we part.”

Unable to bear it any longer, Yayoi grabbed his sleeve and steered him briskly from the room. “Since when did you become so lethal?” she hissed.

“Since you started dating men like that.”

“And just what is that, Shido?” She was angry but intrigued. Could he possibly be jealous?

“If you don’t know the answer Yayoi, there’s no sense in me telling you.”

“Really.” She came to a dead halt, forcing him to stop with her. They were in the outer reception area, mostly deserted now but for a few people heading toward the coat room. Yayoi tilted her head, her blue eyes flashing as she gazed up at Shido. He was almost two heads taller, and she felt the intimidating stature of his height for the first time. “Maximilian and I have a lot in common.”

“I can see that. His unwavering desire to rid the city of nightbreeds and your fascination over what color shoes to wear to tomorrow’s tea social.”

“Don’t be sarcastic Shido, it doesn’t suit you.”

“It’s suited me fine for over a century.”

Yayoi snapped her mouth shut. There was really nothing more to say unless she wanted to start babbling about crawling into bed with him. From the looks that had been cast in his direction while in the gallery, there were plenty of women ready to volunteer for the job. More than a few men too. 

“I need to change my clothes,” she said. “I have a bag with some work clothes in the coat room. It will only take me a minute. I’ll use the rest room.”

“You mean you don’t want to change in the car?” Shido grinned. “It’s been at least a decade since I’ve seen a really good strip show.”

“Too bad you’re going to miss it.” Yayoi sauntered toward the coat room, casting a parting shot over her shoulder. “I guarantee I’m better than anything you’ve seen in the last century, Mister!”

**********

Shido stood in front of the mirror just outside the coat room and adjusted his velvet string tie. He remembered the first time Yayoi had seen his reflection, how shocked she’d been. Like many people brought up on folktales, she’d believed vampires didn’t have reflections. It was true young vampires didn’t, but the longer one lived, the more powerful one became, the more elements one could manipulate. Maintaining a reflection was relatively easy. Other skills came at a greater price.

After nearly two hundred years as a vampire Shido could walk in daylight on overcast and rainy days. He could even withstand the touch of the sun for brief periods of time, though the energy required to sustain him was grueling. The last time he’d endured direct sunlight for a fleeting six minutes, it had taken him two full days to recover. Yet the hardest of all was the ability to make love without taking blood.

For a vampire, the act of lovemaking was intricately tied to the sensuality of blood taking. He hated that fact as much as he often despised what he was. As a vampire he was generally immune to the lusts of the flesh, but the lust of blood was another matter. He’d disciplined himself so that it became nothing more than the act of sating his hunger. No different than a mortal sitting down to enjoy a meal. 

In the early days, under Cain’s dark tutelage, it had been all about lust and possession. As much about the hunt and mastery over humans as about sating his need. He’d been responsible for striking fear into the hearts of mortals in those days. He’d caused countless deaths, reveling in a gluttony of blood and flesh. 

“Damn it.” Shido’s fingers slipped from the tie. He presented an elegant reflection in the glass, the perfect image of a Victorian-era gentleman. A man in a tailored black coat and pants, his pristine white shirt set off by a fitted crimson vest and tie. No hint that he had once been a vile demon, roaming the night like a predatory animal. Had there ever been anyone he loved? Anyone he’d wanted to share his life with?

He remembered so little of his existence before meeting Cain. Just fleeting images . . . a younger sister who adored him, a French mother and Japanese father . . . a desire to heal, to follow his adoptive parent into medicine. 

And then there was Cain. So imposing, charismatic and regal. A man who towered over him with the glorious face of an angel, who’d promised him eternity and the fulfillment of every dream he’d ever possessed. A man who singled him out and befriended him. A man who sired his birth as a vampire, who wanted nothing more than to bind Shido to him for eternity.

“Shido?”

He jerked, chagrined to be caught unaware. It wasn’t like him to allow another to approach unnoticed. He turned to find Yayoi at his shoulder, the burgundy gown replaced by a short black dress with tight sleeves and a slinky silver belt. “Those are your work clothes?”

She laughed and slipped her hand through his arm. “I thought you were used to my tastes by now. I’ve adjusted to your Victorian romanticism. You need to adjust to my twenty-first century sense of style.”

Shido tilted his head back, watching the skimpy sway of fabric across her rear end as they walked toward the door. “I could definitely learn to live with this.”

**********

Shido moved through the darkened alley, the soles of his shoes soundless against the cracked asphalt. A watery breeze blew from the bay, ripe with the odor of diesel fuel, brine and rotting garbage. He tried to shield his enhanced sense of smell from the open dumpsters, but the effort was to no avail. Moldy coffee grinds mingled with the reek of decaying vegetables, raw meat  scraps, and fish carcasses. At the end of the alley he could see the twinkling lights of the suspension bridge arcing across the bay, dancing red, green and yellow in the April darkness. Bulky brick silhouettes loomed over his head—the crumbling rear entrances to a pawn shop, all-night eatery and liquor store. To any impartial observer he moved with flawless agility, but his steps felt weighted and cumbersome. Four days without food had left him distracted and weak. He should have taken Yayoi up on her offer to provide for him, but he no longer felt comfortable with that intimacy when she was involved in a committed relationship with Maximilian Roth.

And then there was his own growing attraction for her. The last two times he’d tasted her blood, he’d wanted more of her. The closer they became, the more frustrated he grew with their limited relationship. For the first time that he could remember, he longed for human companionship. He didn’t want a Provider, he wanted a soulmate. He wanted Yayoi’s flesh, her heart and love. An impossible situation for a vampire and a mortal. The sooner he admitted it, the better. The sooner he put things back in perspective, the better it would be for both of them.

But he couldn’t stand to be near her without wanting to touch her. The desire to take her in his arms and bury his face in the rich cascade of her jet hair was overwhelming. He wanted to taste her lips, to feel that petal softness against his mouth, the delicate curves of her slim body pressed to his. 

Shido groaned and slumped against the wall. He wasn’t doing either of them any good with his thoughts distracted like this. He needed to concentrate, to be alert for the presence of a nightbreed. Yayoi was somewhere behind him, criss-crossing the connecting alleyways. Three of the last five animal mutilations had occurred in this area. If Shido was right, the breed involved was feeding nightly. Garbage dumpsters made the perfect bait for stray animals. A breed could sit back and await the arrival of countless dogs and cats roaming the waterfront.

Clearing his head, Shido straightened to his full six-foot-two height. With renewed concentration, he stepped forward. A skittering breeze tugged at his long hair and blew the loose ends back from his face. He caught the passing scent of something sour. Not garbage or even decay, but the unmistakable reek of a nightbreed—a combination of diseased flesh, mildew and blood. 

Immediately his eyes flamed gold, the pupils changing to black vertical slits. A blood-red sword formed in his hand, the blade of an ancient knight. Lethal and luminescent, it was a weapon drawn from his own blood. Shido stepped forward, aware that his teeth had grown fanged, that his eyes glowed demonically in the darkness. He could sense the nightbreed hovering in the shadows, its blood tainted with death and disease. Disgust flowed through him. The need to drive it back to the abyss was overpowering. He longed to kill it, to banish it forever from walking in mortal flesh. Had it taken a body or contrived one of its own?

“Show yourself,” he demanded.

He heard a wet gurgle in answer, followed by a chilling cackle. “And have you destroy my fun? What does a vampire care if I bloat myself with the organs and flesh of a few stray animals?”

“You’re a sick beast that has no place in this world,” Shido snapped. He took another step, honing on sound and scent.

“And you do?” An amused chuckle came from a deep mass of shadows behind the nearest dumpster. “I don’t harm humans, Vampire—”

“That’s only a matter of time.” Shido raised the tip of his sword, directing the point toward the darkness. “You have two choices—surrender or fight. Either way I’m going to kill you.” His voice was cold, deadly. It would have sent a mortal creature crumbling to their knees, but the lump of blackness only laughed.  

“All by yourself? Against so many of us?”

“Against so…” The words caught in Shido’s throat. Too late he realized there was more than one nightbreed in the alley. A sudden flash of his supernatural vision illuminated the narrow passage in a burst of otherworldly light. In that millisecond when time hung suspended, he saw an alley teeming with dark, contorted shapes and oily bodies. With a cry of outrage, Shido drove his blade into the darkness. 

An unholy shriek pierced the air. He felt the nightbreed die on the point of his sword, and yanked the blade free. Pivoting on his heel, he spun to confront the next one, his long black coat fanning behind him. They were all around him, rushing forward, spitting, hissing. He had a sudden grim intuition that the trap had not been set to lure stray animals, but to snare him. 

“Yayoi!”

His blade cut a path of red fire, gouging, shredding. One after another died on the point of his sword. Some fell back, squealing in terror at the raging flame in his demonic gold eyes. Others scampered into the darkness, unwilling to risk their fragile existence in this world. Still others clawed at his legs, gleefully flinging themselves against his body. 

Shido hissed, now certain who had set the trap. He hadn’t felt this kind of possessive rage in over a century. “Yayoi!” Something thick and cold plunged beneath his ribs, brutally gouging his flesh. He felt a slick deluge of blood spurt from his side. The taste of copper flooded his mouth and he dropped to one knee. Razor-tipped claws snagged his long hair and yanked his head back.

“You can’t escape me,” a malevolent voice purred in his mind. 

Shido gasped aloud. Cain’s voice, but Cain was nowhere to be seen. A bullet whistled past his ear and found its target in the thing clawing his hair.

“Yayoi.” Shido allowed his sword to dissolve in the air as if it had never been. Slumping back against the building, he clutched his lacerated side. “Thank God.”

**********

Yayoi had pretty much decided the evening was a waste of time when she heard Shido’s cry for help. She sprinted down the dark alleyway, heart pounding, gun in hand. A simple nightbreed wouldn’t leave Shido sounding like that. Her heart was in her throat by the time she raced around the corner and caught up to him. 

They were everywhere—low-level shapeless breeds, in greater number than she had ever seen. For the most part, breeds were solitary. It made no sense for them to be flocking like this. 

“Shido!” Yayoi’s concern was for the man with glowing yellow eyes and fanged teeth. A man who was slowly losing a battle against an unprecedented number of nightbreeds.

“Get away from him, you scum!” Yayoi pumped shot after shot into the darkness. At the first sting of her silver-jacketed bullets, the breeds scattered, sniveling and yelping as they fled. Shido dropped to one knee and slumped against the nearest wall. 

“Shido.” Yayoi raced to his side. Concerned, she crouched by his shoulder. “Shido, let me help you.” Blood darkened his vest and pooled in his lap. A thin trickle seeped from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were still yellow, the cat-like vertical pupils unnerving. When he spoke, she saw the sharply pointed tips of his teeth.

“We have to get out of here, Yayoi. This is a trap.”

She nodded, thinking very much the same thing. Only one man could coerce so many nightbreeds to act in unison. Wedging a shoulder beneath Shido’s arm, she helped him to his feet. He swayed unsteadily, stooping as he leaned against her. The degree of his dependency frightened her. He’d been injured before, worse than this, and she’d seen him recover. But he’d never felt so weak, almost as if a stray beam of sunlight would spell the end of his existence.

“Can you make it to my car?”

He nodded. His long-lashed eyes phased from demon-yellow to ethereal blue-green. She knew he needed blood, but this wasn’t the place. Not if Cain was lingering somewhere in the distance, watching them. Watching Shido, his chosen soulmate.

Walking quickly, Yayoi led him to the car.

**********

By the time they reached his second-floor office, Shido was leaning almost entirely upon her for support. Yayoi did her best to hold him steady while she fished a key from her purse. She fumbled with a lightswitch just inside the door, then got him to the couch where he folded against the side. Closing his eyes, he wrapped his arms protectively around his lacerated middle. 

“Just give me a minute,” he whispered.

Yayoi nodded, respectfully withdrawing to a corner. She made an attempt to tidy her clothes, fidgeting nervously. She wanted to inspect the hole in his side, make sure it wasn’t worse than she feared. She knew he would recover -- he was immortal, after all -- but that didn’t stop her from worrying. To give him time she busied herself by studying his apartment.

The detective agency was really a one level flat, located above an herb shop. A small living area and Shido’s office comprised the main room, with a small kitchen to the right side. Though he occasionally drank coffee, Shido kept the kitchen stocked mainly for Yayoi’s visits and any guests he might have. He needed nothing other than blood and rest to sustain his own supernatural existence. 

His taste in furnishings was basic—a couch, a few chairs, an old black-and-white television set that rarely worked, his desk, and a row of bookshelves. 

The books were his one true indulgence, Yayoi thought, as her eyes touched speculatively on the numerous spines. Might she find something in one of them to help him now? His taste was eclectic, ranging from ancient histories to science journals and modern speculative fiction.   

To the left of the main room was a bedroom and bath. The bedroom was the only part of the apartment Yayoi had never seen. Sleep was sacred to a vampire, and she respected his bedroom as a sanctuary. If it was anything like the rest of his apartment, it would be stark and uncluttered. She’d never summoned the nerve to ask if he slept in a casket, but couldn’t help wondering.

Turning to the windows, she drew the Venetian blinds. One drooped lopsidedly, the slats skewed at an angle, but she didn’t bother straightening them since they stayed closed. A halting rustle of movement drew her attention and she saw Shido trying to stand.

“Yayoi.” His voice cracked. “Can you help me to the bedroom, please? I need to lie down.”

She was at his side in a heartbeat. In that instant, she realized how much she cared for him, how much she was willing to sacrifice. It was unfair to have fate and mortality separate them. She was certain he had feelings for her as well, though he would never admit them. She’d glimpsed melancholy and desire in his remarkable aquamarine eyes on more than one occasion. 

She opened the door to his bedroom and felt blindly for the light switch. 

“There isn’t one,” Shido mumbled. He waved a hand in the air and the room blazed with sudden light. 

Yayoi gasped. 

The illumination spilled from ornate wall sconces and tiers of candles arranged on marble-top tables. The room was nothing as she’d expected, lavishly appointed with heavy claw-footed furniture and thick embroidered rugs. Dark curtains covered each window, drawn against the slightest infraction of light. In the middle of the room, a king-sized bed was draped with satin quilts and sheets in shimmering hues of amber, topaz and gold. 

The colors of sunrise.

The same colors were depicted in numerous oil paintings adorning the walls. As Yayoi’s eyes skimmed the artwork, she realized each portrayed some element of daybreak. Over and over, in explosion after explosion of color, the sun rose on the candle lit walls of Shido’s bedroom. 

Something in her heart broke. “Oh, Shido.”

“I need to lie down,” he reminded her quietly.

Yayoi led him to the bed, where he folded with a groan against the plump mattress. No sign of a casket anywhere. Silly folktale. She brushed hair from his eyes. “What can I do for you?”

He gripped her hand, his fingertips stained with his own blood. His eyes were half closed, still blue-green. “Yayoi, I . . . I wouldn’t ask you, but—”

“You should have asked me before, you stubborn vampire.” She wasn’t certain if she was angry or relieved. It was her role to provide. She’d known that from the moment she’d met him. She swept her hair aside, baring the long column of her neck. Immediately his eyes flamed yellow, reaffirming her suspicion that he’d been deprived much too long.

Hungrily Shido dragged her to the bed, pinning her with a leg across her thighs. Yayoi moaned at the unexpected weight, feeling blood spike in her head. Satin sheets combined with the tantalizing brush of his long hair against her flesh. Her skin felt overly sensitized, every minute nerve-ending shrieking for attention. There had never been this intimacy when she’d provided for him before. In the past, it was more clinical, each of them concentrating solely on necessity.

But here in his bedroom, surrounded by candlelight and silk, Yayoi could think only of what she truly desired. She felt his lips move against her neck, a soft unexpected kiss before his teeth broke her skin. Her body tingled, thrilling to the hungry pull against her throat. She wrapped her arms around his neck, daring to hold him as he fed.

It was over much too soon. When he drew back, a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. He wiped it away with the back of his hand, his eyes still yellow and demonic, as if daring her to suggest she could love a creature like him. 

“Shido.” Yayoi raised a hand to his face, gently tracing the curve of his jaw. “Go to sleep and I’ll stay with you until the sun rises.”

He seemed ready to protest, to insist he didn’t need her, that all he needed was sleep and blood. Reluctantly, he nodded. He shrugged out of his coat and discarded his soiled shirt and vest. Bare-chested, he curled beside her, content to envelope her in his arms. The hole in his side had already started to heal, but Yayoi knew the blow to his spirit would take longer.

Snuggling against his shoulder, she wondered what she was going to tell Maximilian when he asked why she hadn’t gone home that night.

**********

Warm sunlight bathed his face as Shido stood on the balcony overlooking the courtyard below. His younger sister played in the garden, her golden pigtails as lovely and bright as the dazzling wash of afternoon light. How he adored her! His adoptive father had died three years ago, making him promise he would honor Japanese tradition by providing for his mother and sister. It was something Shido would have willingly done, but to his traditional father, vows bestowed to a dying man were sacred.   

“Ah, there you are, Shido. Your mother said I might find you here.”

Shido turned, a smile coaxed willingly to his lips. He idolized Cain, the mysterious man with the deep voice, golden hair and face of an angel. Independently wealthy, Cain had taken an interest in Shido’s family, caring for his mother and sister while Shido pursued higher education in science and medicine.

Cain had traveled the world, something Shido envied. He spoke with equal ease about the Far East, the dark continent of Africa, the spice of India, even the new nation of America. Mostly though, he talked about Shido, encouraging his interests, promising him a bright future if he allowed Cain to help. 

And Shido wanted help. He wanted what Cain had -- self-possessed assurance, refinement and grace. Shido thought Cain the most elegant and educated man he had ever met. And certainly the most beautiful.

“I have something I want to give you,” Cain said. “But it’s too bright here.” He motioned Shido closer where he stood in the shadows, his gold eyes and cascading blond hair like a hypnotic jeweled beacon. “Come here, Shido.” Cain extended his hand. “You trust me, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.” Shido’s fingers twined with his. He stepped willingly into the shadows.

But it wasn’t shadow. It was darkness . . . cold, black and eternal. A strong hand cupped his throat and forced his head to the side. “I only want us to be together, Shido. You and I for eternity.”

Hot pain exploded in his neck. He felt the slick track of blood against his flesh. Something cold and unholy invaded his mind, his body. “No -- don’t!” He twisted, vainly trying to free himself, but the arms that pinned him were unforgiving. 

“For eternity,” the voice said again.

“Nooooooooooo!” 

Shido jerked upright, an agonized scream dying on his lips. The remembered slash of teeth lingered against his throat, the greedy pull of lips suckling his flesh. He raised a hand, groping blindly for his throat. 

“Shido.”

“Cain was here.” There was blood on his fingers. Blood seeping from his neck, into his hair. His voice trembled, cracked. “He was here in this room. Just now.”

“Shido!” Yayoi’s voice penetrated the raging horror in his mind.

He turned on her, his eyes wide and confused. “I’ve got to kill him, Yayoi. It’s the only way I can have peace.”

She sighed, relenting with a sad shake of her head. “I know.” She touched his shoulder, easing him back against the pillows with gentle pressure. “He’s in your dreams, Shido.”

“Then how do you explain tonight in the alley . . . the blood on my neck? Unless you’ve suddenly lost your immunity to my bite, I’m the only vampire in this room, Yayoi. He was here. I know he was.”

“Then we’ll face him together.”

Shido bolted upright. “I don’t want you anywhere near him.”

“Shido—”

“No!” His voice cracked with rare authority. “You’re not to go near him. Not within five hundred yards.” He gripped her shoulders, shook her hard. “Swear to me, Yayoi. Swear to me you’ll stay far away from him.”

Suddenly irritated, she swatted his hands aside. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Shido.”

“Don’t be stupid. Cain isn’t some low-level nightbreed. He’s timeless and deadly. I know the cruelty he’s capable of inflicting, and I don’t want you subjected to that.”

Her anger melted in the face of his concern. New emotions took hold.

He was still wearing his tailored black pants, but his bare chest was dusted with candlelight. Together in bed, satin blankets tumbled around them, his impossibly long hair loose and tousled over his shoulders, Yayoi found her mind turning from Cain.

“I don’t want to talk about this, Shido. He might have made you, but he doesn’t control you.”

Understanding touched his eyes. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her against his chest. “That arrogant doctor had better appreciate you. You’re a jewel.” His lips brushed lightly over her hair. Releasing her, he pulled the bedcovers above his waist. “Go home, Yayoi. I’ll be fine now.”

She didn’t want to leave. She loved the heady sensation of being held in his arms, snuggled against his flesh. Loved the shared warmth between them, generated despite the fact his blood ran cold instead of warm. She guessed it was still a good two hours before dawn.

“It’s too late now,” Yayoi whispered, resting her head on his chest. “I’ll leave in the morning, after sunrise.” A wicked smile curled her lips. “After you’ve fallen asleep and I’ve had my way with you.”

He chuckled. “Be careful what you wish for, my dear. I’m not always a gentleman.”

Content, Yayoi let her eyes drift shut. “Promises, promises.”

**********

Shido groaned and rolled onto his back. The room was much lighter when he woke, but the heavy black drapes shielding the windows made it bearable for his light-sensitive eyes. His mental clock told him it was somewhere before noon, the sky outside overcast and gray. Yayoi was gone, but he could still smell her perfume on the sheets, a hint of her light floral shampoo on the pillow case. 

Damn, if he didn’t long for the warmth of her body next to his! Cursing softly, he tossed the quilt aside. A vampire in love with a mortal was a disaster waiting to happen. The irony was, she could no more become a vampire than he could become human again. She was immune to his bite, destined to age and die just as he was destined to live forever.

Alone.

The thought sobered him. Immortality wasn’t something he’d wish on Yayoi, even if it were somehow possible for them to be together. Better to just face the facts and get his head on straight. He needed to quit thinking like a love-struck fool and accept her for what she was -- his partner and Provider. A friend, nothing more.

Gingerly, he inspected his side. His flesh had regenerated, the tear almost gone though it still hurt like hell. He was glad Yayoi had nailed the infernal nightbreed that ambushed him, sending it back to the abyss. He only regretted he couldn’t do the same to Cain for setting him up. He knew his one-time mentor hadn’t meant for him to die in the attack, just to be incapacitated. A weakened vampire was more easily controlled, and Cain’s goal had always been to lure him back. To bind them together for eternity. 

Grimacing, Shido massaged his temple. His head was pounding, a disturbingly human ache he was certain the result of Cain’s nighttime meddling. He felt along his throat, seeking puncture holes he only vaguely remembered. Dried blood flaked off beneath his fingertips.

He stared at the coppery crust on his pale skin, suddenly cold, sick to his stomach. Damn, if the bastard hadn’t found a way to intrude here -- his bedroom, his sanctuary. What might he have done to Yayoi while she slept? 

The thought of Yayoi in danger made his eyes blaze yellow. Black rage crackled through him, and the perfect line of his teeth grew fanged. 

Cain would pay. If it was the last thing Shido did, he would make sure his sadistic, unholy mentor met an equally sadistic fate.

**********

Yayoi stooped to inspect the asphalt beside the dumpster. She brushed her fingertips across the surface but felt nothing unusual, just the common blisters and cracks. A few dark splotches—Shido’s blood—were visible, but little proof that a full scale heated battle had taken place.

Biting back a sigh, she stood. Cain had orchestrated last night’s attack, but she saw no way of tracking him. Worse, his obsessive persistence was starting to take a toll on Shido. It had to come to an end, but how did one destroy a creature older than time?

“Playing it kind of reckless aren’t you, Agent Harrigan?”

Caught off guard, Yayoi spun. She’d know that ultra smooth voice anywhere, but she hadn’t expected to hear it before sunset. “Shido.” Her eyes flicked to the sky, quickly digesting the heavy gray cloud cover. An overcast day with rain on the horizon. Dismal enough, and he was wearing blue-shaded sunglasses, a look oddly out of place with his tailored white shirt and embroidered gray vest. A long white scarf dangled against his chest, accentuating an ankle-length overcoat with gold piping. The gambler’s tie he normally favored had been replaced by a jeweled amethyst broach. Yayoi thought he looked like he’d just stepped from the pages of Gentlemen’s Quarterly -- if it had existed in the late 1800s. Frowning, she took a step towards him. “Should you be out -- now?” She waved meaningfully at the sky.

He retaliated with a slow grin. “Don’t blame me. I was a half block away and saw a black-haired woman in a short white dress. I figured I was either going to get lucky, or run into my exhibitionist partner.”

She shook her head. “I’m being serious.”

“So am I. I’m just sorry I missed any bending that went on. The spike heels are a nice touch by the way.”

Yayoi walked up to him. Even with the three-and-a-half-inch heels, the top of her head only reached his chin. “I was trying to find some element from last night . . . a trace . . .anything that might help us,” she explained patiently. “That hardly qualifies as being reckless—unlike a vampire walking around in broad daylight.”

He shrugged. “It’s overcast. My vision’s a little off, but the sunglasses help.” He looked aside, gazing down the alley. In the distance, the arc of the bay bridge was shrouded in fog, barely visible. A cool breeze ruffled his hair, animating the garnet-colored ribbon holding the bulk of it secured behind his back. In the bleak haze, the loose feathered ends dangling against his chest appeared more pewter than silver.

Yayoi scowled, wondering if he realized how conspicuous he looked. If he was able to walk around in broad daylight, odds were a handful of nightbreeds could too. “I’ve been here for over an hour, Shido. There’s nothing to find.”

“Not that I don’t believe you, but even in daylight my senses are better than yours. Humor me if I want to have a look.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “Be my guest.”

As he moved away to inspect the alley, Yayoi watched silently. He knew his own strength better than her, but she couldn’t help remembering how exhausted he had been last night. Her gift of blood had obviously helped, but she found herself disturbed that he hadn’t slept straight through until sunset. She should have stayed with him longer. Maybe then he would have slept. It had been blessedly comforting to snuggle against him during the night. Just thinking about it, brought the sting of heat to her cheeks. Their bodies had fit so perfectly, spooned together, as if made for one another. She could only imagine how much more satisfying the gift of his lovemaking would be. Should she be the one to push their relationship to the next level? More importantly, if she tried, would he let her?

“Yayoi.”

She jerked unexpectedly, embarrassed to be caught while pondering such intimate thoughts. Shido was crouched near the dumpster where droplets of his blood darkened the macadam. She watched as he plucked something from the ground. Something she had overlooked.

“What is it?” she asked, stepping nearer.

His mouth compressed into a tight line. “Cain.” Raising his hand, he showed her the proof—a single strand of curling sun-gold hair. “I want the S.O.B., Yayoi. I want him dead.”

**********

Yayoi picked at her grilled chicken salad. She’d been hungry when they’d arrived at the cozy eatery, but her appetite had taken a downhill turn. Sitting in a restaurant with Shido made her feel strangely exposed. His unusual, exceptional looks always attracted attention, but he hadn’t removed his sunglasses and that made him seem odder still. She kept expecting one of the dining patrons to leap from their seat, stab a finger in his direction and shriek “Vampire!”

“I’m making you uncomfortable.”

“No.” She couldn’t spit the word out fast enough. “Well . . . .” She prodded a plump piece of chicken. “It’s just that . . . .” She lowered her voice, taking a quick, darting glance around the room. “Maybe if you ate something you’d blend in a little better.”

He chuckled. “There’s no O-positive on the menu. I ordered coffee, isn’t that enough?”

Yayoi leaned back in her chair, deciding he was enjoying her anxiety. They’d never been to a restaurant together. Mainly because Shido didn’t eat. Couldn’t eat, if she was realistic. He could ingest fluids—coffee, soft drinks, broth, even alcohol, though the latter had no effect on him. But solid food was abhorrent, guaranteed to make him sick. Just one more reason they were incompatible. “I shouldn’t have let you talk me into lunch,” she decided aloud.

“You were hungry, you needed to eat.” He sent an arch glance to her plate. “Which by the way, you’ve done little of.” He paused. “You want to tell me what’s really bothering you?”

“That’s a loaded question.” 

“I like to live dangerously. Give me a loaded answer.”

His tone was light and bantering, but he seemed sincere. Like he wanted honesty, but was sensitive enough to leave her an out if she chose to play coy. Maybe after last night, she owed him the truth—if he hadn’t figured it out already. Realistically, she couldn’t dance around her feelings forever. Why not spill her guts? There were worse ways to confess than over grilled chicken and romaine. Everything else was out of whack anyway—Shido walking around in daylight, even if it was diluted; Cain playing puppet-master to a horde of back-alley nightbreeds; even Maximilian had taken a turn, growing irate when she hadn’t called him last night. 

“All right, Mr. Private Detective, I’ll tell you what’s really bothering me.” Yayoi pushed her plate away, thankful she couldn’t see his eyes behind the dark blue lenses of his glasses. Odds were she’d never be this bold again. “I’m almost twenty-eight—single, attractive, even sexy you might say—”  

“I would say. In two centuries, I’ve never seen a better pair of legs.”

She tipped her head to the side and flashed a sultry smile, enjoying his playfulness. “Why Shido! And here all this time I thought you liked boys. Maybe now you can explain why we spend two-thirds of our time flirting, and the other third pretending we’re not attracted to one another.”

The humor melted from his mouth. She felt more than saw his eyes drop to his coffee cup. He shoved it aside distastefully. “How’s your salad?”

Yayoi blinked. “What?”

“Your salad,” he said again, quietly. “I hope you enjoy it, because I can’t even remember what food tastes like.” He raised his head. “Does that answer your question?”

“That’s a coward’s way out,” she snapped.

“Precisely.” He stood, gathering his overcoat from an adjacent chair. “Enjoy your lunch, Yayoi.”

He was halfway to the front door before frustration propelled her in his wake. Determined, she caught him in the lobby and yanked him off to the side. “You didn’t let me finish.” Her voice was clipped, tremulous with emotion as if her very future hinged on the moment. She stood looking up at him, her jet black hair splayed over her shoulders. “I’m almost twenty-eight, single, attractive -- and yes, damn it, sexy --but I can’t find a man to hold my interest. In the last five years, I’ve dated a district attorney, a neurologist, a pilot, even a professional race car driver. Right now I’m involved with a geneticist who’s one of the brightest minds in his field. But every single one of them -- every one, Shido -- leaves me feeling empty. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t do this.” His voice came whispered and thin. “I shouldn’t have asked you for such honesty.”

She lifted her chin defiantly. “Are you afraid to hear the truth?”

He closed his eyes, his expression pained. In the limited light, she could see the sweep of his lashes behind his dark lenses. “I’m afraid to admit the truth, Yayoi.” He leaned close, dipping his head toward hers. She felt the brush of his lips against her mouth, the taste of him like exotic spice and midnight skies. Heady sensation streaked through her, bold, almost painful. She raised a hand, gripping the back of his neck, unwilling to let go.     

“Yayoi!” She wanted to swat away the voice. The angry, intruding voice that did not belong to her beloved vampire. Shido started to pull away. Saddened, she made a soft sound in the back of her throat. The voice came again, insistent this time. “Yayoi!”

“What is it?” she spun, infuriated to be summoned so rudely. Lost in Shido’s kiss, she had momentarily forgotten where she was, what she was doing. That reality came crashing back when she realized who addressed her. 

“Maximilian!” She blanched, shocked to find her current steady standing just a few feet away. His face was livid and white, his mouth sandwiched into a rigid line. What had obviously been a spur-of-the-moment business lunch for him and a colleague had turned into blatant embarrassment.

“I think you owe me an explanation,” he demanded stiffly.

Shido bowed his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Damn.”

**********

The office was tomb-quiet and dark, a sensation Shido was personally familiar with. Moonlight bled through the open slats of the Venetian blinds, streaking the walls and floor. Outside the seedier element of the city awakened as the hour crawled past midnight. Any other time he might have wandered the back streets, delaying an hour or two in one of the local clubs. There was always a willing female to flirt with, a pastime to momentarily ease his loneliness. On occasion that need was even enough to lure him into the bedroom. The night he’d found Yayoi waiting in his office, he’d been on a binge with a spike-haired blonde. 

The problem with one-night stands was they did nothing to ease his loneliness and often left him feeling worse than before. Having Yayoi in his bed, if only to hold, made him yearn for a normal, loving relationship. 

Something he could never have.

Soundless, Shido made a slow circuit of the apartment, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his navy trousers. Earlier, he’d discarded his jacket and coat. The sleeves of his white shirt gleamed pearl in the eerie light, his gray vest shot through with silver thread. Preoccupied, he paced closer to the windows. Moonlight washed over him, silently tugging at his heart. A familiar twinge surged through him, resurrecting the hungry desire to belong to the night, to be one with the star-filled darkness. 

Disturbed, he tried to shove it aside, but the siren-song remained. This was where he belonged. Not in Yayoi’s dazzling bright world of warmth and sunlight. Cain had seen to that. He’d taken part of Shido’s humanity and replaced it with something bewitching and fey. How much longer could he fight his own base desires and predatory instinct? How much longer could he pretend to be human?

Human.

The word resonated in his brain, displacing his melancholy. His heart was still human. Cain had never stolen that, despite everything his sadistic mentor had subjected him to. Cain wanted him to feel like he belonged to the night. He wanted Shido to wallow in despair, until defeated by his own demons, he crawled back to the one who had made him. To the monster who professed to love him.

“Never!”

He drove a hand against the wall, forcing the light switch on, flooding the apartment with artificial brightness. It didn’t carry the brilliant glow of Yayoi’s sun—a brightness he would never see again—but it was enough to reassert his distance from the night. 

His eyes shifted to the door just as a comely silhouette appeared behind the frosted glass pane. Yayoi didn’t bother to knock, but slipped quietly inside, her dark blue eyes going immediately to his face. A tangle of emotion threatened to strangle him. 

“Why aren’t you with Maximilian?” he asked. On a scale of 1 to 10 for insensitive questions, he’d probably hit an 8, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say. She was still wearing that skimpy white dress and high heels, a sight that sent his blood soaring. Vampires weren’t supposed to feel the needs of the flesh but lately every time he was around her, all he could think about was making love to her. He shouldn’t have kissed her. Now he was trapped by the memory of her lips against his, the taste of her like cool silk and warm honey.

“Maximilian and I are no longer together.” Yayoi dropped her purse on the couch and crossed the room to face him. Her expression was strangely off kilter, unreadable. “There’s something you should know Shido.”

“Is it because of what happened at restaurant? Is that why you’re no longer together?”

“Partly.”

He didn’t like the sound of that. “Yayoi...”

“No.” Her voice was firm, authoritative. A voice she might have used on the job with a green subordinate. “This time you have to listen, Shido. Maximilian isn’t who we thought -- who I thought. He was an NOS plant.”

He stared but said nothing, his mind racing through a host of possibilities. What did the NOS have to gain by infiltrating Yayoi’s private life? She was already one of their top operatives.

“After what happened at the restaurant, Maximilian and I had a long talk,” she explained slowly. “I told him I should have been truthful with him from the beginning. The feelings he wanted me to have just weren’t there. They never were. I’m in love with you.”

“Yayoi.” He couldn’t stay silent any longer, but she held up a hand stop his protest.

“Hear me out, please.” Gathering her thoughts, she walked toward the window, pausing to stare outside. Night-blackened glass glimmered through the slats of the blind, casting back her reflection. “I expected Maximilian to be upset, even angry, but he wasn’t. He told me he hadn’t been truthful either. That he’d been paid by the NOS to become involved with me.”

Her eyes shot to his face and he saw a flash of anger there. Not for him or even Maximilian, but for the brass who paid her salary. “You’re too valuable to the NOS in their battle against the nightbreeds, Shido. Apparently they can’t afford to have you distracted. Some pencil-pushing head-shrinker told them the potential existed for you and I to become romantically involved. And that would spell all kinds of trouble in their book. So they had one of their own doctors pretend to be someone else. His sole purpose was to keep me occupied and away from you. The NOS figured if I had a love interest elsewhere, our relationship would remain strictly business.”

Shido cursed. It was one thing to be used and manipulated by Cain, but when humans started doing it, he grew belligerent. “They used you.”

“They used us both.” She stepped nearer and laid a hand on his sleeve. “If it weren’t for the fact that a nightbreed murdered my sister, I’d leave the NOS. Either way, I will hold someone accountable for this.”

He drew a breath, mentally setting aside his anger. “What about Max? What happens to him now?”

“I don’t really care.” Her voice was bitter. “I guess he could have gone on with the charade and played the indignant boyfriend, but there really was no point. He told me when he saw us together at the restaurant, he knew things were over.” Her eyes flashed to his face. “I meant what I said, Shido. I’m in love with you.”

His heart thrummed in his chest. His human heart. “Don’t. Be. Ridiculous.” 

He started to turn away, but she caught his sleeve. The touch was electric, crackling through him with the power to resurrect something long dead. He didn’t deserve love. He’d preyed on, and killed humans. How could he even think about loving a mortal woman? He was cursed, and anything he touched was cursed. And yet…

Her eyes pulled him forward. Shimmering pools of dark violet, lashed with impossible lengths of black thread. She was near enough that all he had to do was dip his head to kiss her and taste the sun-streaked warmth of her soul. She shifted marginally, a bare wisp of movement, but it was enough to dislodge the hair from her neck. The sight of her exposed skin slammed through him like a lightning bolt. He groaned, wanting only to kiss her, but the curse of his existence demanded otherwise. Powerless to stop himself, he cupped her neck, awakening a fiery hunger for blood.

“No!” The word broke from his lips in anguish. His eyes flamed yellow, and then his teeth were in her neck. She clung to him, moaning softly—trusting him, loving him as he greedily took her blood.

“So you do still hunger for blood, my pet.”

The lightly-accented voice sliced through Shido’s mind like a cold knife. He jerked away from Yayoi, a thin trail of blood trickling down his chin. The lights in the office had dimmed as if swallowed by night. Something bleak and suffocating fouled the air, twisting his stomach with dread. Fear and hatred rolled off him in waves. 

“Cain!” He spat the name in contempt, sweeping one arm to the side in an effort to shield Yayoi. 

His golden-haired sire materialized like an apparition—tall, broad-shouldered, dreadfully imposing, his face as ethereal and angelic as the dawn. But Shido knew that exceptional beauty masked a dark, barbarous heart. A heart that had subjected him to repeated cruelty and ugly seduction.

“Is that how you greet me, dear one? With such blatant hostility?”

“I’d kill you if I could.” A blood-red sword appeared in Shido’s hand. His eyes gleamed cat-yellow, fed by the twin demons of hatred and fear. He felt Yayoi strain against his arm and knew she was thinking of the .9mm stashed in her purse. It would do no good against Cain, but it would take her a full clip of bullets before she accepted that futility. “Stay out of it,” he hissed.

“So this is your Provider?” Cain glided closer, his movement as sinuous as the flow of darkness itself. Halting just shy of Yayoi, he tilted his head to study her, his bottom lip curling in amusement. “Do you know what I could do with her, Shido? How long I could amuse myself? The delicious thing about Providers is, they can be used again and again and never expire.”

“Bastard!” Shido lurched forward. With a savage curse, he drove his sword into the beast who had made him. The one-time trusted friend who had seduced him. “Damn you! You will not touch her!”

At the stroke of Shido’s blade, Cain vanished. Fleeting laughter bounced through the room, quietly mocking his rage. “Not here, my pet. Come to me before the sun rises. I will wait for you where eternity began. And then I will remind you of your place.”

Breathing heavily, Shido stood in the center of the room. The sword slipped from his fingers, clanged against the floor and dissolved. Whirling, he reached for Yayoi. His voice came in an anxious rush. “Are you hurt? Did he touch you?”

“I’m fine.”

“I won’t let him touch you! Yayoi, I...” His voice broke. Overcome by the thought of what might have happened, he caught her wrist and pulled her into his embrace. Shudders raced through his body, equal parts relief and anxiety. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, crushing her tightly to his chest.

She tried to untangle herself, but his grip was unrelenting. Another time she would have found the sensation exhilarating. Instead, she felt his desperation, magnified by confusion over his feelings for her. His distress was alarming. 

“Tatsuhiko.” She spoke softly, hoping the use of his first name would snap him back to reality. “I can take care of myself.”

“Not against Cain.” 

His lips were against her ear, his breath a warm whisper. How could a man whose blood ran cold, create such delicious warmth? She felt the track of his fingertips against her cheek, a ghostly sensation that left her shivering. “What did he mean by ‘where eternity began’?”

He drew back slightly and she saw that his eyes had returned to familiar blue-green. His gaze was unguarded, bare of the jaded shielding the centuries had layered on him. There was no longer a hunger for blood, a raging desire to sate the darkness that drove him. Moments before Cain’s arrival, he had thought only of satisfying his need, but now he was both gentleman and knight. 

“It doesn’t matter.” The tremor was gone from his voice. “I don’t want to talk about Cain. I don’t even want to think about him.”

“But—”

He placed a finger over her lips. “There’s only one thing that’s going to take my mind off that demon, Yayoi. For however long it lasts, our lives are twined together.” The barest flicker of a smile touched his lips. “What do you say we do the same with our bodies?”

Before she could summon an answer, his lips slanted over hers and she found herself swept into a dizzying kiss. This time there was no hesitation on his part. All the wild, fey elements of his existence combined in the heart-stopping seconds when their lips met. Yayoi melted against him, eager to share the yearning they’d both kept imprisoned. No other man had ever made her feel this way, had left her quaking at the mere stroke of his fingers. Time and eternity stopped, as if somewhere in the universe a force paused to consider their fates. If she was uncertain before, she had no doubt now—they belonged together, and no one would ever convince her differently.

Perhaps the fact that Shido was a vampire was simply a twisted whim of fate. By what other means could a man born in the early 1800's live to meet his soul-mate in the twenty-first century?

Pushing on tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around his neck. The fall of his silver hair enveloped her, a whisper-soft brush that made her shiver. He kissed her hungrily, pulling her to a distant time and space, where her heart melded with his. There was no bloodlust in his passion, just a desire to hold her, to love her, to bind them body and soul.

His lips broke from hers and she heard the ragged intake of his breath. He bowed his brow against her forehead, his voice uneven with emotion when he spoke. “You don’t have to do this, Yayoi. If—” He stumbled on the thought, sucked on her bottom lip until she moaned and snuggled against him. A shudder rippled through his body and she realized it was desire. Human desire. “If you go to bed with me,” he tried again, his voice rasp with longing. “Our relationship is going to change.”

“Hmm, mmm.” She mumbled her answer, too consumed by passion. She’d always known him to be detached, a bit jaded, enforcing distance by choice. His hand shifted behind her head, bunching in her hair. When he gripped her waist and dragged her against him, she knew they had crossed the line. “If you don’t take me to bed, Shido,” she managed to gasp out between kisses, “I’ll haul you there myself.”

He chuckled. “Dear lady, I intend to carry you.”

He bent, sweeping an arm beneath her legs, lifting her easily. Cradled against his chest, she locked her arms around his neck. It was hard to believe they had once pretended this fiery magnetism didn’t exist. She had always thought him attractive—exceptionally so—but she had never allowed herself to embrace this immeasurable head-over-heels hunger. Flesh to flesh, soul to soul.

For eternity.

Whatever came with the dawn, Yayoi knew she would cherish the night forever.

**********

While Yayoi slept, Shido slipped from the bed and dressed soundlessly. He hated leaving her and the tantalizing nest of warmth they had created beneath the satin blankets. He could still feel her bare flesh against his, remember her soft moans of pleasure as they’d made love. He wanted to stay, not just for this moment and the next, but for all eternity.

Unfortunately, there was Cain, and his diabolical sire was not someone he could overlook. He didn’t know what the future held for him and Yayoi. It was too confusing and complex, fraught with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. But he did know if they hoped for any chance at all, he had to face and resolve matters with Cain.

Crossing quietly to the door, Shido paused and turned to gaze at the bed. Yayoi lay on her side, her raven-black hair splayed against the pillows and quilts. Her flesh was not nearly as pale as his, but in the soft moonlight her bare skin looked almost ghostly.

A twinge pierced his heart. Did her life span equate to nothing more than that of an apparition? A fleeting whisper, slipping through his ageless fingers, never to be experienced again? 

I will not think like this.  

He’d made love to her without feeling the need for blood, a tantamount step in separating carnal desire and heartfelt longing. Within the next few days he knew he would crave her blood again, a necessity to sate his hunger. But to love her as a man and not as a vampire had made him feel human, if only for a brief time.

“I love you,” he told her quietly, though he knew she did not hear. It was enough that he’d said it aloud. That he’d challenged fate and the soulless night that made him what he was.

With the stealth borne of darkness and forgotten centuries, Shido slipped outside.                       

**********

Yayoi awakened only to find the bedroom empty. She wrapped herself in a plush quilt and padded barefoot through the apartment. There was no sign of Shido. The delicious glow she’d felt from their lovemaking withered beneath a sudden onslaught of fear.

“Shido?” Her voice reverberated in the stillness, quietly mocking. He had gone to confront Cain. Where eternity began.

“No!” Her heart lurched to her throat. Stubborn, impossible, vampire! He was going to get himself killed. If there was one person who could end Shido’s immortal existence, it was the hateful creature that had made him.

Heart thundering, Yayoi hurried back to the bedroom. She tossed the quilt aside, dressing in a rush, bitterly cursing the antiquated sense of morals and chivalry that drove Shido to confront his sire. Like knights in a joust, or gentlemen facing off over dueling pistols, he intended to kill Cain or die trying. 

“Not in my lifetime,” she vowed. “Not when I finally have you where I want you -- in love with me.” Determined, she hastened to the outer office, rummaging through her purse until she located her .9mm. In one brisk movement she checked the clip. “Time to see how silver bullets and vampires mix.”

She spun toward the door, long jet hair whirling behind her. A nightbreed had taken her twin sister five years ago, slaying Kasumi while she’d watched. She’d vowed then to destroy every black-hearted beast she could. She wasn’t about to stand by and let some vile, debased creature claim the man she loved.     

Once outside, she raced to her car, her mind working frantically. Where had Shido gone? What could possibly signify “the place where eternity began”? It meant something to him, just as it had meant something to Cain. But it was part of that other life. One Shido rarely talked about, one he recalled only vaguely.

Uncertain where she was headed, Yayoi pulled her car into the pre-dawn darkness.

**********

The wind from the bay was cool. It tugged at his long black overcoat, flapping the hem around his ankles with a sound like bat wings. He moved as a shadow within shadow, coat, pants, vest and string-tie the color of onyx. His shirt gleamed in ghostly contrast, vivid white beneath the moon. Pausing outside the city’s oldest church, Shido listened, unwilling to enter. It was God’s sanctuary, a place he considered sacred. 

His waist-length hair was loose tonight. Unbound, it whipped around his shoulders, moon-silver, deeper gray where shadow touched it. Snagged in the wind, the shorter feathered ends scraped his cheek. It made him think of Yayoi lying in bed, her body supple and yielding beneath him. How she’d slipped her fingers into his hair, moaning his name aloud. How the sound of it and the feel of her had made him convulse with release.

“I see your thoughts,” a velvety voice whispered in his mind. “You think you’ve found your soul mate in that fool woman, but she’s nothing more than an entertaining trinket, Shido. A passing fancy. I am your destiny.”

“Cain.” He spat the name. Without a glimmer of conscious thought, his eyes blazed yellow. The blood-forged sword of his heritage appeared in his hand, and his teeth became fanged. “Show yourself. Leave God’s holy place and face me. I will not defile His temple by spilling your blood there.”

The wind shifted, bringing the fetid stench of something dank and ugly. Amused laughter bounced through the night. “But Shido, it was in the shadow of a church that I killed you. Don’t you remember, my pet, how it felt when I tasted your blood that very first day? You died in my arms—”

“Stop it!”

“I only want us to be together, Shido. As we were meant to be.”

He jerked unexpectedly when a presence loomed behind him. Cain’s hand settled on his shoulder, sending a blast of frigid cold streaking through him. He gasped aloud, rooted to the spot by the numbing sensation. It left him shaken and drained, as if his life energy had been sapped in a single, masterful touch. Powerless, unable to move, he watched Cain step in front of him. An elegant pale hand lightly stroked his cheek.

“Would you really kill me with that sword?”

Shido ground his teeth together. “Release me from this spell and I’ll show you.”

Cain made a tsking sound. “What will it take to convince you of my devotion? Of all the vampires I have sired over the centuries, I have chosen you as my soulmate.” His eyes narrowed dangerously. “You should thank me for this honor, Tatsuhiko.”

Shido flexed one finger against his sword. A mere flutter, barely distinguishable, but it was under the power of his own will. He knew from experience Cain could not hold him in stasis long. “I’d rather end up with a stake in my heart.”

Naked anger flared in Cain’s eyes. “Do not tempt me. You are not so comely that I couldn’t find another to take your place.”

“Then do it!”

Just as quickly, the anger faded, supplanted by cold amusement. Cain chuckled. “Ahh, but there is none whose blood is as honied and sweet.” He brushed a light caress across Shido’s throat. His free hand rose, knotting savagely in Shido’s hair.

Propelled by the first true glimmer of fear, Shido strained against the spell-induced stasis. “Release me!” Through sheer will he raised the tip of the sword half an inch, but the blade only hovered above the ground.

“Not until I remind you of your place.” 

Thunder boomed overhead. Within seconds, a forked tail of lightning split the sky from end to end. Shido balked at the flare of demonic red light in his mentor’s eyes. Unlike his own smaller fangs, Cain’s protruded grotesquely from his mouth, oversized and razor-sharp. 

Panicked, Shido tried to wrench free. “Don’t!” 

But the hand already fisted in his hair dug deeper. He felt his feet leave the ground as Cain lifted him nearer. Blinded by fear, he tried to steel himself for the merciless spike of pain certain to follow. It burst over him in rolling waves, coaxed by the sadistic sting of Cain’s pointed teeth. His body shuddered, convulsed. He groaned, sickened by the violation. The sky spun overhead and his knees threatened to buckle. 

“Stop.” He could feel blood on his neck, the greedy pull of lips suckling his skin. It brought back flashes of memory. A church . . .  the dear friend he’d trusted . . . the anguish of betrayal as he lay dying, his head cradled in Cain’s lap . . . the sickening realization that what Cain had felt for him all along was lust.  

Shido choked. “Stop this.” He freed one hand, but could only claw feebly at Cain’s shoulder. The smell of his blood was on the air now, dark and metallic, turning his stomach. He had died like this. Nearly two centuries ago he had died, helpless to stop what Cain did to him.      

“You see.” The lips left his throat, nuzzled his ear. “You remember how it is to be.”

“I remember that I hate you.” He plunged the sword deep into Cain’s chest.

Where he found the strength he couldn’t say. Maybe it was the cross rising in the background, looming above the church, promising redemption and the chance of a new beginning. He felt Cain shudder, saw a crippling streak of shock enter his eyes. The spell-induced stasis shattered. Weak-kneed, Shido dropped to the ground, one hand still clutching the sword.   

“By all that is darkness, you will pay for this outrage!” Cain towered over him, red eyes blazing as he stared down on Shido’s bowed head. The sword lay lodged in his chest, the tip cleanly wedged against his heart. Already his once flawless skin turned chalky and bone-white. Shido’s blood darkened his chin, a ghastly black contrast to his ashen flesh.

Staggering forward, he gripped Shido roughly by the hair. “I am immortal!”

“Tell it to the darkness!” Shido rammed the sword through his back, shattering his heart in a single brutal stroke. 

Cain screamed. 

And the sound, more powerful than a thousand night-bred demons drove Shido to the ground, unconscious.    

**********

Yayoi was running out of places to look when she saw the old church looming at the end of the street, the cross on its steeple silvered by moonlight. She knew Shido felt uncomfortable in churches. He imagined himself unclean, beyond redemption, but his altered life hadn’t changed his feelings for God. He would never defile such a holy place with Cain’s blood, and yet—

As she pulled into the parking lot, she saw a crumbled form on the ground, a mass of long silver hair puddled around it. Her heart rocketed to her throat. “Shido!”

She was out of the car and across the dew-dampened grass before she had the time to collect her breath. The .9mm was in her hand, her eyes darting among pockets of shadow and towering trees. There was no sign of Cain, but she could smell the lingering stench of something demonic and foul. Shido lay motionless, his pale skin nearly translucent. His throat had been brutally savaged, his neck, collar and hair, wet with blood.

“Shido!” Frantic, she tried to rouse him. There was no sign of life behind his closed eyelids. His breathing came faint and shallow, so whisper-thin it seemed an illusion. He was immortal, she reminded herself. There had been no impaling injury to his heart. Nothing to spell the end of his unnatural existence. He simply needed rest and blood. He needed time.

Anxiously, she glanced at the sky. Dawn was only an hour off. She had no idea what had become of Cain, but she knew Shido wasn’t strong enough to survive the sunrise.

“Shido.” Again she tried to rouse him. Fighting tears, she pressed a kiss to his chilled brow, another to his lips. “I won’t let you leave me. Not now. Not after you’ve lived nearly 200 years. Wake up, damn you!”

But he remained unconscious, lost in a limbo she couldn’t reach. Whatever had taken place in the shadow of the ancient church, she knew it was well beyond the scope of a normal battle. He had survived Cain, but could he survive the coming dawn?

Desperate, she gnawed on her bottom lip. Even if she somehow managed to get him to her car, there was no way she’d ever support his weight up a flight of steps to his office/apartment. She really had no choice. She needed help, and there was only one person she could think to call.

Praying she wasn’t making a mistake, Yayoi rummaged for her cell phone and dialed Maximilian.

**********

Shido dreamed.

Beautiful, peaceful dreams of sunrise and sunset. Of cloud-streaked blue skies and rolling hills dotted with wildflowers. He felt warmth on his face, bright and dazzling as the sun he only half remembered. Something tingled through his veins, muting the torturous ache in his throat. Sweet liquid passed his lips, sating the awakening flicker of his unnatural hunger.

Blood. Yayoi’s blood.

He jerked suddenly, his eyes flashing open. She was seated beside him in a chair drawn to his bed. The familiar furnishings of his private sanctuary washed over him. No Cain, no blue skies, no sun-soaked hillside. The latter left him feeling empty and sad for its departure.

“How do you feel?” Yayoi was smiling at him. 

He shifted, aware that he was mostly unclothed beneath a pile of satin quilts. The bed felt warm and slept in, like he’d been there for some time. He tried to collect his thoughts, remembered only scattered bits and pieces. “How long...?” His voice came out hoarse and unused.

Yayoi left the chair and perched on the edge of the mattress. Gently, she brushed the hair from his eyes. “You’ve been asleep for three full days. We’ve managed to get some blood into you, but it isn’t enough. As soon as you’re able, you need to feed, Shido.”

His brows drew together, his thoughts sluggish and disjointed as he tried to make sense of her words. He latched onto the one that disturbed him the most. “We?”

Yayoi’s eyes dipped momentarily. “Maximilian helped me get you here.” She twined her hand with his. “Don’t be angry, Shido. You were unconscious and the dawn was so close. Besides, I think he can help us. And he already knew who—what—you were.”

There was a bad taste in his mouth. “Maximilian,” he repeated in disbelief. He struggled to a sitting position, using his elbows for support until he could fall back against the pillows. His hair was loose, tumbled all over the place, draping him like a veil. He tried to shove it back from his shoulders and encountered a thick white bandage on his throat. Immediately the night poured over him—the ugly sensation of Cain’s teeth in his neck; the rage that drove him to thrust his sword through his sire’s corrupt heart.

“I killed him.” He said the words slowly, speaking to himself, only then realizing the importance of what had transpired.

Yayoi blinked. “What?”

Shido looked at her, barely daring to breathe. “I killed Cain.” After nearly 200 hundred years, he was free of the demon who’d sired him. He swallowed hard, the enormity of the situation making him light-headed. “We struggled. He took my blood . . . and then I killed him. I don’t think he believed I had the strength.”

Yayoi’s grip grew firmer. She wrapped her fingers around his palm, quiet joy flooding her eyes. “When I got there . . . when I saw you . . . I was afraid to learn what happened. Do you know what this means, Tatsuhiko? You’re free of the curse.”

Shido sobered. “I’m free of Cain, not the darkness. It doesn’t change what I am.”

Her eyes danced as if she held a secret. “But Maximilian can.”

He arched a brow. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that. You’d better tell me what’s been going on for the last three days, Yayoi.”

He listened without interruption, silently digesting her words. After finding him unconscious outside of the church, she’d called Maximilian for help. Together they’d gotten Shido back to the office/apartment just as dawn broke overhead. A geneticist, already involved in research with experimental DNA, Maximilian believed that over time he could help Shido become more human. Perhaps even exchange his immortality for a mortal life.

By the time she was through talking, Shido’s hands were fisted in the quilt. His chest was so tight it hurt. A mortal life. A hollow ache lodged in his skull, spreading prickly needles down his damaged throat. “Why?” He forced the word. “Why would he help me and why should I trust him?”

As if sensing his distress, Yayoi laid a hand on his arm. He knew she couldn’t understand what he was feeling. The chance to live in sunlight, to father children and grow old with the woman he loved, to face death with the knowledge and peace of a better, joyful eternity. He looked away, momentarily overcome with emotion.

“Maximilian has severed ties with the NOS,” he heard her explain. “After failing to keep me . . . occupied . . . he was released from his position by the top brass. He has no love for the NOS and nothing to lose by helping you. He’s a scientist, Shido, a geneticist. He needs you as much as you need him, to prove his research. In his eyes, you present the opportunity of a lifetime.”

His gaze slid to the side, narrower this time. “He wants me to be a guinea pig.”

“That’s one way of looking at it.” Yayoi took a deep breath. “I prefer to think of it as giving you a chance. Giving us a chance. He was playing a role earlier. Maybe that was wrong, but I now believe he’s sincere. For the last three days he’s done everything he can to help you.” She touched his lips. “I trust him.”

It was all she had to say. Coupled with her touch, it left him undone. “Come here.” He made room for her in the bed, wrapped his arm around her shoulders when she curled beside him. She smelled divine. A combination of honeysuckle body lotion and afternoon sun. She must have been outside recently, a fact supported by the fragrance of wind in her hair. He was surprised to find his sense of smell so sharp after his ordeal with Cain.

“What’s this?” There was a bandage wrapped around her palm. He traced a finger over the gauzy edge, sensing the answer before she spoke.

“You weren’t strong enough to feed, so we dribbled blood down your throat.” She looked away uncomfortable. “It’s just a cut, Shido. Now that you’re awake—” She started to push the hair away from her throat.

“No. Not yet.” He folded his hand over hers. “Just stay here with me. I’m content to have you in my arms.”

She smiled softly and laid her head on his chest. She was quiet a moment then ventured the question they’d both avoided. “Do you feel differently now that Cain’s gone?”

He smoothed his palm over her arm, enjoying the feel of her. “I don’t know,” he admitted slowly. “I guess I’m having a hard time believing he’s gone. I never thought something that ancient could die so easily. It happened so quickly, I’m almost afraid . . . I wonder if . . . .”

Yayoi raised her head in alarm. “Are you saying he didn’t die?”

“No.” He hesitated, then recanted. “I’m not sure. I saw it happen. I heard it happen. I just can’t believe it’s really over after all this time. I have this strange feeling that he’ll be back, that he really isn’t gone.” His lashes lowered. He studied her face, upturned to his, her lips soft and inviting. “That night outside the church -- I remembered how I’d died in Cain’s arms, how he’d betrayed my trust. He wanted us to be together through eternity.” 

He lifted a finger and stroked her cheek. Her skin was creamy and smooth, as delicate as the blush petals of a rose. “It’s taken me nearly 200 years, but I’ve found the only partner I want. You are my destined soulmate, Yayoi Harrigan. I don’t know what the future holds, or even if we can have a future together, but I’m willing to let Maximilian try for both of us. Even if nothing changes, I want the years we have together. Can you can accept me for what I am now?”

Her eyes welled with tears. “Your heart is human, Shido. That is all that matters to me.”

He wrapped his arms around her and gathered her close. Her words were music, pure and sweet, more beautiful than any sunrise he could imagine. Perhaps someday they would walk hand-in-hand beneath the dawn. For now the moment was enough. 

He bowed his head and kissed her.

*****End*****

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