Carpathian 13 - Dark Destiny

it."
    Destiny's brilliant gaze found herself in the oversized mirror above the bar. She looked pale. Startled.
    Frightened. Did that face really belong to her? The last time she had seen herself she had been eight years old. How long ago had that been? She didn't know. She didn't recognize the woman staring back at her.
    Hanging above the bar where deli sandwiches were advertised were various food items, including strings of garlic in nets.
    Afraid that if she took her eyes from her image it would disappear, Destiny watched herself shake her head. "I've never looked before. I was afraid of what I might see, or not see."
    "Honey," MaryAnn continued with great gentleness, "when you pushed me into the church, you went inside with me. I was still struggling toward the man. I didn't have control of myself until you spoke."
    There was a small silence while they both turned her words over in their minds. "I went into the church?"
    "Then you had control of me," MaryAnn mused. "Destiny, whatever you are, you're not evil. You're not anything like that monster." She shuddered, remembering the fangs, the jagged teeth stained with blood.
    She glanced around the bar, spotted a small empty table in a corner and steered Destiny toward it. She was beginning to understand why the young woman had such troubled eyes. How long had Destiny lived with the knowledge that such monsters inhabited the world?
    "Sit down, Destiny." MaryAnn used an authoritative voice. Destiny was so pale, so shocked, she looked as if she might fall over. When Destiny seated herself, MaryAnn took the chair across from her. "Did that man really take your blood and force you to take his?" It seemed a silly question to ask, something out of aHollywood horror film, but MaryAnn had seen the creature, and she had known he was evil and that he was not human. She'd been a witness to the blurring speed Destiny had used in attacking the thing.

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    "Not him." Destiny's voice was so soft, MaryAnn strained to hear her. She sounded far away. "There was another. A long time ago. He…" Destiny trailed off, one hand going to her throat defensively. She covered her pulse, pressing her palm to her skin as if covering a ragged wound. For a moment she looked so vulnerable, so young and fragile, MaryAnn had to force herself to remain silent. "I can't think about it. I don't dare think about it."
    "What do you think would happen if you did, Destiny?" Her voice was neutral. "Burying bad things only allows them to surface when least expected."
    "Sometimes it's the only way to survive. Whom do I tell? The police? They'd lock me up in a mental institution." She met MaryAnn's gaze squarely. "How do you think I live now? You asked me to come home with you and have a cup of tea. For you that makes perfect sense. I'll never have a cup of tea again. Never." She pressed her fingertips to her temples. "My mother drank tea. I remember that now.
    I'd forgotten. Every morning she made tea in a little teapot and put a cozy over it to allow it to steep.
    She'd make mine with milk, more milk than tea really, but I felt so grown-up and close to her when we shared it." She closed her eyes, wanting to keep forever in her mind the memory of her mother's face, her scent and the way she smiled when she handed her the teacup.
    She looked across the table at MaryAnn. "Thank you. I haven't thought of that in years. The last memories I had of my family were… bad. Frightening. I made myself forget everything so I could forget that. My mother was such a beautiful woman."
    MaryAnn smiled. "I'm certain you must look a great deal like she did. What a wonderful memory. Do you have brothers or sisters?"
    Destiny shook her head. "I was the only child."
    "Other family?"
    Nicolae popped into her head instantly when she should have said no. His voice, his presence. Destiny felt him strongly. What was he to her? Mortal enemy. No, never that. Destiny raked her hand through her hair, shaken by the depth of her attachment to him.
    MaryAnn was waiting for her answer, seeming comfortable with the silence. Destiny's life was silence.
    She hadn't talked so much with anyone in years. Other than Nicolae.
    "How do you know when you can trust someone?" Destiny asked softly. "How do you know they won't betray you?"
    "I think sometimes it's instinctive," MaryAnn answered carefully, "although it is always possible to make a mistake. Usually you reserve