Carpathian 08 - Dark Legend

There was no food in the refrigerator, only beer. The cupboards held a box of crackers and two cans of soup. Francesca touched one of the cracked mugs sitting in the sink.
    She turned to look at Gabriel with tears in her eyes. She could feel the violence locked in the tiny apartment. A child's terror. The brutality a man could impose. She saw flashes of Skyler's life, the father, a huge man, swinging a belt at her in the bathroom. Skyler huddled in a corner while a man approached her with an evil smile.
    Gabriel grasped Francesca and shook her gently. "Leave this evil place. You are too sensitive for such as this."
    "Skyler was, too. That beautiful child was subjected to this depravity. They drove her to the edge of madness, Gabriel."
    The tears in her voice were almost more than he could bear. "She is safe with us, Francesca. We will not allow harm to come her way again."

    "She is a human psychic, a rare treasure to our males. She would have been invaluable to our race, but after such atrocities, I cannot imagine her being able to love one so dominant and wild as any of our males. What are we to do?" There was despair in her voice.
    "That dilemma is a long way off, honey, not something we have to solve at this moment. In any case, we do not know if she is the lifemate to one of our species. Our first duty is to her now. She is our daughter and deserves our protection. Go, I will find her mother's locket,"
    Gabriel assured her.
    She linked her fingers with his, needing the comfort of his closeness. She didn't question why his touch felt so right to her. She only knew she wanted to be held in his arms and feel his enormous strength when all around them was the evil of mankind. Gabriel fitted her beneath his shoulder, instinctively knowing she would rather be with him in this wicked place than outside alone in the clean air. The realization made him humble. He brought her hand to the warmth of his mouth, breathed a kiss onto her skin, his mouth telling her without words that she was the magic in his life.
    They found Skyler's locket and he secured it around his neck as they made their way to the shops. Francesca was in her element there.
    She knew the city, knew the vendors. She often bought thousands of dollars' worth of clothes to donate to the poor. Gabriel twined his fingers with hers as they entered one of the stores. This was not Gabriel's forte, but he was more than willing to share the excitement with her. He watched Francesca blossom, her beauty almost ethereal. She lit up the shop and he couldn't help thinking of their night alone in her friend's boutique. When he flashed her a grin, she blushed and quickly looked away from him, sharing his thoughts of their wild encounter together.
    Closing hour came and went, but all of the merchants Francesca called cheerfully opened their shops for her. Gabriel found he enjoyed watching her move through the stores, examining clothes and furniture, selecting youthful styles appropriate for the newest member of their family.
    "Are you planning on getting her an entire wardrobe?" he teased when she showed him pair of faded blue denim pants. "What is this fascination modern women have with these men's pants?" He rubbed the bridge of his nose thoughtfully. "Must our daughter wear such things? Dresses and skirts would be much more appropriate."
    Francesca's eyebrow shot up, and her mouth curled in a small smile. "Perhaps you're right; perhaps we need to look at more feminine clothes for her."
    It was her voice that warned him all might not be as he would like. He followed her with some apprehension into a different area of the store. Francesca took a navy blue sheath from a hanger and held it up. "This is darling, Gabriel. Don't you love it? You're right, I think we need to concentrate on much more feminine articles of clothing."
    He reached around her and fingered the soft material. "Where is the rest of it?" He was very serious, his dark eyes searching her face for signs she was teasing.
    "This is the entire dress. Girls wear them quite short these days. Haven't you noticed?" Francesca couldn't believe he had never noticed the women in the city and the clothes that often revealed a generous portion of leg.
    "You do not wear such clothes." He made it a statement.
    "Of course I do. Short and long dresses. Anything goes in this age."
    "You wear things like that dress in front of men?" There was a curious churning in the pit of his stomach. He didn't quite understand why he