Chapter 7: Sebastian
Raven watched the candlelight dance across Abigail's sleeping face. She hadn't wanted to return to the coven with him, wanting to put as much distance between herself and the horrible creature that attacked her as possible. But as was his nature, Raven did not take no for an answer.
Somehow, she knew she could trust him.
The real question was could she trust herself?
To put her mind at ease he hadn't made another advance on her. Instead he lulled her to sleep with his words and his thoughts. Finally her emerald eyes closed and the tension drained from her face. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but had resisted.
He didn't know why he resisted -- he just knew it would be better if he did.
He sat in the chair beside the door, keeping watch. If her attacker returned to find her, Raven would be prepared.
He rested his head against the wall. Who had attacked Abigail -- that was the real question. There was no mystery as to why -- vampires were predators in the truest sense of the word. They were the top of the food chain. Chasing down a scared human in an alley wasn't unlike a lioness attacking a gazelle. It was just the natural order of things, in any way the vampire life could be natural.
But modern vampires tended to feast upon the blood of the willing. There were covens such as this one where they found shelter, havens for those who wished to be fed upon matched only by those who wanted to feed. It was a time in history Raven was glad to he had survived long enough to see.
He remembered the not so distant past when vampires roamed as serial killers of the worst sort. With ravenous appetites that were never sated, no matter how many lives were extinguished in their wake. There was no sex back then -- the act of feeding was the act of sex. Sharp, lengthened fangs would penetrate soft, virgin skin; bodily fluids exchanged in an orgasmic flurry of blood and death.
Now sex rode shotgun to that appetite, and the need to suck a victim dry had abated over the last century. He liked to think he himself was a big reason for that change. He was the one who resisted the label "murderer", and instead used his heart stopping charisma to satisfy a hunger of a different kind.
But the Creature tonight had been angry, not lustful. His, or her, intent had been to destroy rather than just consume. Such motives seemed foreign to Raven, and quite frankly scared him.
He could only imagine the terror a vulnerable human like Abi would experience, face to face with someone who was determined to do her that much harm. Had Raven not come along...
He shuddered. He didn't want to think about it.
A knock interrupted his reverie. He quickly answered so that Abi would not rouse from her peaceful slumber. The door opened to a tall man whose skin was the shade of mocha and whose eyes were the color of amber. It was Sebastian Crane.
Sebastian looked beyond him to where Abi lay. "How is she?" he asked in a low voice.
Raven inched out of the door and into the hallway. "She is resting." He didn't need to ask how Sebastian would know about the Creature in the alley. Sebastian was the most powerful psychic vampire he knew, something he attributed to the fact Sebastian had wandered this Earth for nearly four hundred years.
Sebastian nodded, but looked as troubled as Raven felt. He placed a hand on Raven's shoulder. "Which is more than I could say for you, my friend."
Raven rubbed his eyes. It was true, between all the events of the last few days Raven felt as though he hadn't slept in about a hundred years. He was weary with worry. "It's been a rough couple of days," he stated unnecessarily as they began to pace the hall together. "Have you heard anything else about Sonja?"
Sebastian shook his head. "The last person who saw her was Constantine."
Raven smirked. "And therein lies the problem."
Again, Sebastian shook his head. "If Constantine turned her, he'd wear it like a badge of honor. He's a greedy son of a bitch, but he's also vain. That's one thing you can count on."
Raven agreed with a reluctant nod. It was just easier to blame Constantine than to contemplate there was someone out there -- someone worse.
Sebastian knew what his friend was feeling. All of what his friend was feeling. "It's just better not to get involved," he finally said, his amber eyes leveled on Raven.
Raven met his gaze. "Meaning?"
"You know what I mean. Humans are not our equal. They're our prey. To grow attached to them while we walk the constant tightrope of lover and killer isn't fair to anybody." Raven looked away. He knew what he was saying was true, he just didn't really want to hear it right now. "Deep down," Sebastian told him in a low voice, "We are all that Creature in the alley."
Raven stepped back. He refused to believe that. "I've got to get back," he told Sebastian as he quickly turned away.
"Remember what I said," the older vampire called to his departing back. "To save her life, you must set her free."
Raven slammed the door behind him as he went into the room where he'd hidden Abigail. She barely stirred. The sleep he put her under was deep. He was thankful for that. Maybe she could awaken and forget everything. Forget the incident in the alley, forget the way he'd taken Tracy Lynn -- maybe even forget him.
It would be better, Raven thought to himself as he came to sit beside her on the bed. This time he didn't resist touching her face. He ran a fingertip along the line of her jaw, the smooth silk of her cheek. Her body responded to his touch. Her mouth parted and a soft sigh escaped.
He traced a finger across her virgin neck and then across the creamy exposed skin of her chest. He watched her breasts pucker up to him as the blush rose up her neck and across her face. This time she moaned, and his body responded to the soft, sensual sound.
His finger continued its journey in between her supple breasts and across the curve of her stomach. Her legs opened slightly. He knew he could have her right then and there if he wanted.
"To save her life, you must set her free."
