Carpathian 09 - Dark Guardian

Lucian walked them to the door and watched them leave. He was firmly entrenched in their minds. They would remember only his orders. They would experience them as a great need, always uppermost in their minds.
    He turned when he sensed Jaxon's approach. She had always been light on her feet, but now, with his blood running in her veins, she was as quiet as a born Carpathian. She was carrying an enormous tray with four cups of coffee on it. She was so small, the tray looked as if it overpowered her. He took it from her. "What are you doing?"
    "You know what I was doing. Getting fingerprints. But you hurried them out of here as soon as you realized I didn't buy your ridiculous story. If you're planning on fooling me, Lucian, you're going to have to get better at lying."
    He grinned unrepentantly. "I did not tell an untruth."
    "No, you had them do the lying and even went so far as to make them believe their absurd story."
    "You were not planning on drinking coffee with them, were you?"
    "Naturally, I would have been polite."
    "You cannot drink this stuff. Jaxon, you are not human. Your body would reject it. You cannot do things like this."
    "I figured it might make me sick. But you've eaten meals before, haven't you?"

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    Where had she learned that? Lucian turned away from her large brown eyes and glided back to the kitchen. She was learning things far too fast. She wasn't ready yet. He wanted to ease her into his world gently, slowly. She was already immersed in violence and death. She didn't need her initiation into the Carpathian way of life to be as bad. Most of their people lived calm, productive lives. She was moving easily within his mind, picking out random memories. He wasn't ready for that. He had things, terrible things, in his past. How could someone in modern times ever understand what it was like in those horrible times? Enemies everywhere. Blood and death and sickness surrounding them. Women and children murdered. How could Jaxon understand the depravity of the true vampire, the evil it was capable of inflicting on humans? The threat the undead held for the species that was Carpathian?
    The same way I know the other things, I see them from your memories . Her voice was soft and beautiful, almost loving. Certainly caressing. It nearly stopped his heart and took away his breath.
    "Do not drink coffee or eat any human food. You have recently undergone the conversion, and your body would not simply rid itself of the contents. Instead, you would feel tremendous pain." He could not allow such a happenstance. It was difficult enough to watch her endure the things outside of his control.
    Jaxon watched him place the tray on the counter. "So tell me what you don't want me to know. Who were those men, and why did they come here?"
    Lucian dumped the contents of the coffee mugs into the sink and rinsed them out. "What does it really matter? They are gone, and I doubt they will return."
    "It matters if you placed yourself in danger for me." She touched his arm because he wasn't looking at her. Lucian was always so straightforward.
    He looked down at her hand against the thickness of his arm. She held quite a bit of power in such a delicate hand. He covered her fingers with his palm, holding her to him, keeping the physical connection between them. "They are human, Jaxon, and I am of ancient blood. It would be difficult for me to place myself in a position of danger. I have knowledge and skill and gifts far beyond their capabilities. No, I did no such thing."
    "But they were a threat to me." She made it a statement.
    "We are leaving this house, honey. I do not wish to have any of your belongings lost to you, should there be an intruder while we are away, so I will remove the things you value highly and place them in the sleeping chamber. Antonio will keep an eye on the house while we are gone."
    "Those men were a threat to me," she insisted stubbornly.
    He transferred his hand to the middle of her back, applying pressure to move her out of the kitchen. "We have only the night to make this departure. We must find a place that will be safe from the sun and one that is easy to defend. The idea is to lure those who wish to pursue us into a trap, not to get caught out in the open."
    She went with him, fitting easily beneath his shoulder as he moved, her walk matching the rhythm of his.
    "We can talk while we're moving my things."
    "Persistence is