Page 13 of Midnight Enchantment

And saw Raedan standing in the shadows, watching her as she drove away.

Raedan swore under his breath. So, the woman claimed she knew what he was because Lily’s grandfather had told her so. Fools! It was old news, at best, and Liliana’s grandfather knew only half the story.

And then he smiled as he recalled how vigorously Liliana had defended him. Heaven bless the girl, her fighting spirit had glowed like that of a warrior priestess of old. There had been damn few—mortal or vampire—who had ever come to his defense, or given a damn if the accusations against him were true or not.

Whistling softly, he continued down the street until he came to a middle-aged woman waiting at a bus stop. Drawing on his preternatural power, he called her to him and took her in his embrace. Bending his head to her neck, he bit her, his eyes closing with pleasure as her blood flowed over his tongue, infusing him with warmth and power. What would Liliana taste like, he wondered, as he sealed the wounds in the woman’s throat. Would she be sweet? Or bitter, as witch blood tended to be?

Someday, he thought. Someday soon, he would find out.

Chapter Six

Lily sat at the breakfast table, an untouched bowl of cereal in front of her. Ava had gone back to Portland this morning to see how her friend’s husband was doing, but had assured Lily she would be home before dark.

Lily grunted softly. Obviously, her great-grandmother didn’t trust her to stay away from Raedan. Ah, Raedan, she thought with a sigh. The mystery man. Was he trapped in the dark sleep during the daylight hours like others of his kind? Did he kill those he preyed on? It occurred to her that that was the first question she should have asked him. Her father’s people rarely killed except in self-defense, but Transylvanian vampires were a blood-thirsty lot, often draining their prey dry.

She sighed as she glanced out the kitchen window. Hours until sundown.

Pouring the cereal down the sink, she rinsed the bowl and placed it in the dishwasher, then went to her room. Pulling her scrying mirror from her suitcase, she sat on the bed and held it up in both hands. After summoning Raedan’s image to mind, she began to chant the words Ava had taught her. “Powers of earth, wind and fire, reveal to me what I desire. Show me the vampire, Raedan.”

When nothing happened, she chanted again, “Powers of earth, wind and fire, reveal to me what I desire. Show me the vampire, Raedan.”

Slowly, the mirror grew dark and then brightened. Vibrant colors swirled across the surface, gradually fading, coalescing, until his image appeared.

He was stretched out on a double bed. She could see him clearly even though the room he rested in was dark. He wore a pair of black sweat pants and nothing more. The muscles in his arms and chest were sharply defined. His feet were bare. Asleep, he looked less harsh, less dangerous. Nothing else in the room was visible.

For a moment, she simply stared at him. Although he wasn’t Hollywood handsome, he was still the sexiest man she had ever met, his body hard and well-formed. She wondered if he worked out and then laughed softly as she imagined him lifting weights in a gym, muscles rippling as he put the puny efforts of mere mortals to shame.

She was about to murmur the words to close the vision when she suddenly found herself staring into his eyes. Startled, she dropped the mirror on the floor and the image vanished.

Lily blew out a breath. Things like that werenotsupposed to happen! How on earth had he known she was watching him?

After some consideration, she called her brother.

“What?” he asked gruffly.

“Oops, sorry. I forgot you’d probably still be asleep.”

Dominic grunted. “What do you want?”

“I met a guy.”

“Yeah?”

Dominic was wide awake now, she thought. “He’s a Transylvanian vampire.”

“What the hell, Lily? Are you out of your mind?”

“That’s not the worst of it.”

“I’m not sure I want to hear the rest,” he said dryly.

“Ava said he’s also a demon, although I don’t know if that’s true.”

Silence on the other end.

“Dom?”

“Are you sure?”

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