Ascension

She couldn’t believe the way her body responded to his scent, as though it belonged to her and no one else, as though she had to have it or die. Which was absurd, completely irrational.

She drew in another deep breath and gestured to the now clean cement. “What did you just do? Where did the woman and the other winged man go?”

He held her gaze. He reached a hand toward her then let it drop away. “I do interdimensional cleanup work when death vampires hunt on Mortal Earth. We work hard not to leave evidence of our world behind.”

Alison nodded as though these words made perfect sense to her. “So, you have a job description, which involves making sure that we, us, this world doesn’t learn of your existence.”

“In part. Every night I patrol the Borderlands and battle more of these night-feeders. Any of this make sense to you?”

She shook her head. “Does any of this make sense? Death vampires? Borderlands? What do you think?” She hated the hysterical note in her voice. She put a hand to her chest, a sense of deep inexplicable yearning still possessing her. She took yet another deep breath. “Okay. So where are the bodies?”

“In a morgue on Second.”

“Second?”

“Second Earth. Same earth, different dimensions. Evolved powers. Shit, you really aren’t in your call to ascension, are you?”

“Since I have no idea what any of that means, I guess the answer would have to be no.”

“But I watched you fold from the catwalk to ground level right in front of me.”

“Fold? Oh, you mean the disappearing–reappearing thing? Yeah, I’ve never done that before in public.”

“But you’ve done it before.”

“Sure. Since childhood, although early on it happened mostly by accident.”

“Anyone else in your family able to do this?”

She shook her head. “My mother is telepathic but that’s about it.”

“Yet you can see me,” he stated. “You dematerialize, you can fold objects, and you slip into my mind easily.”

She nodded, her gaze fixed to his.

He released a heavy sigh and shook his head. “You have a shitload of power, but you don’t have the usual hallmarks of a rite of ascension, so right now you’re a mystery to solve.”

She looked him over. Was he real? Once more, she settled a hand on his bicep, reaching for an anchor. He felt real.

His nostrils flared suddenly. He squeezed his eyes shut like he was in pain.

Okay, she had to open the door. She had to know the truth about him, about what she was seeing and touching. “So, you’re a … vampire.”

“Yes. The ascended world is a vampire world but not in the way depicted in the worst of the Bram Stoker traditions.”

“Except for the death vampire.”

He nodded. “You’re seeing the source of that particular aspect of vampire culture since the one I just dispatched used his fangs for some really hard-core shit. However, most ascenders—residents of Second Earth—use their fangs properly, to take blood and to give pleasure without doing harm.” He searched her gaze for a long moment. “I can’t even read your mind and I should be able to, which means you have powerful shields in place. Who are you?”

Once more, she stated her name. “Alison Wells. I have a counseling practice here in this building. Or had one. I’ve been closing up shop for the last two months. I just saw my last client.”

He narrowed his gaze and lowered his voice. “Was your last client Darian Greaves?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Christ.” He shoved a hand through his thick black hair, which gave her sudden cravings. She drew in another breath and shifted back to his green eyes. “Do you know Darian?”

“Shit. It’s so weird to hear you call him by his first name. No one does that. Not on Second. He’s known as the Commander or Greaves and he’s a major player. He has big plans for our world as well as Mortal Earth—your earth—and these plans involve war, conquest, and slavery. Right now he’s well on his way to succeeding. I take it he didn’t discuss his ambitions with you or his vampire nature.”

She shook her head. “No. But he offered me a job.”

“What?” he cried.

His deep rich voice flowed over her, and she forced herself to take a small step backward. Everything he did, everything he was, sent shock waves of desire through her body. “He wanted me to join his ranks. He said he would give me anything I desired and now I see he really wasn’t kidding, was he?”

“No.”

“I told him I couldn’t work for him. I could never work for such a man.”

“But you’ve been treating him.” Sort of a question.

She sighed. “I don’t think you could ever call what I was doing ‘treating him.’ He had an ability to manipulate the sessions. I often ended up revealing things about myself I didn’t want to, very Hannibal and Clarice. Though he never spoke directly of his wrongdoings, he shared a great many fantasies with me, which generally involved an advanced level of brutality. Of course he would insist he would never think of acting out these fantasies. If … if I truly can believe that you’re real, and that Darian is from Second Earth as you’ve said, then it would explain a lot but oh-my-God saying these things out loud makes me think I’m headed for the loony bin.”

He smiled suddenly. “I didn’t know loony bin was a clinical term.”

She couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “Well, I confess it helps to laugh. But Second Earth. Mortal Earth. Really?”

“Where do you suppose I’m from?”

Once again, Alison shook her head. “I have no idea but for the past fifteen minutes I’ve been trying to determine if I’m going insane or not.”

He smiled. Even his teeth were beautiful, although it was weird to see the tips of his fangs showing, not nearly as pronounced as when he’d been fighting. In fact, they were hardly noticeable.

“You’re not insane,” he said.

“What is Second Earth like?”

His gaze softened, something she hadn’t expected. “In developed areas, where ascenders congregate, the architecture is amazing and there are gardens everywhere.”

“You mean like public gardens?”

“In part. Just imagine a world of gardens, where the most sought-after prizes are given for horticulture and design.”

The image, juxtaposed with leather-kilted warrior vampires, jolted her mind. “Gardens?”

“For miles. But at the same time, these gardens are only allowed within the town and city limits. Beyond designated areas, Second Earth is in a raw state. The Colorado River is still without dams and goes through regular tidal bores since it empties, without hindrance, into the Sea of Cortez.”

A world still full of primitive wilderness yet thoroughly civilized.

She thought he had just described himself, raw, in a wild state, yet civilized. The impression struck a chord. She trembled, and desire once more sent a shock wave through her body. He closed his eyes, flared his nostrils again, and winced as though she had just hurt him.

What returned was his scent, that exotic cardamom smell that once more invaded her body. She restrained a gasp then swallowed hard. She forced herself to the point.

“So why the same place-names, or are they different on Second?”

“Same.” He smiled, just a crooked slant to the side of his mouth and absurdly sexy. “Keeps everything simple.”

She nodded. Made sense. “I have so many questions. Can you stay for a while? Talk to me?”

He searched her eyes but shook his head. His jaw took on a stubborn line, which didn’t bode well for the request. “Unfortunately, Alison Wells, I don’t have a legal precedent to allow you to retain any of what’s happened here this evening.”

“What?” She took yet another step away from him. She shook her head. Her mouth felt suddenly dry. “But what are you saying … exactly?”

Before she could react, he closed the distance in one long impossibly fast stride, clamped his right hand to her forehead and his left to the back of her head. Warm waves of power pulsed through her.

“No,” she cried. “Don’t! Kerrick, please don’t.”

He released her and spoke softly. “Don’t fight me. I have to do this. We have rules. A lot of rules.”

Tears stung her eyes. “You don’t understand. I’m alone here. I mean, I have family, but they don’t really understand me, what my life is like. I want to know more, about you, about this.” She waved her hand to encompass the now deserted courtyard.

“You’re not ascended, and the presence of a warrior in an environment like this is never a call to ascension. Not even Darian Greaves’s presence. As I said, we have careful rules about this. I’m sorry.”

“I want to ascend,” she cried. She felt panicky, like her future had just arrived on a strong ocean wave but an equally strong tide was dragging it back out to sea.

“I’m sorry, this isn’t the way it’s done. There are reasons for the steps we take. You have to be called to ascension. A warrior in a location like this is not a call.”

He caught her head again, a hand before and behind. The strength of these new waves paralyzed her. Tears ran down her cheeks. “No,” she whimpered staring into his eyes. “You don’t understand.”

“I don’t have a choice,” he muttered between gritted teeth. “But for God’s sake relax or this is going to hurt like hell.”

“No,” she whispered. She couldn’t lose this memory, not when for the first time in her life she had actually seen other beings do what she had been able to do since childhood.

“Please stop fighting, Alison. I don’t have a choice.”

The frequency of the waves increased. Knives sliced through her head.

He leaned close. “Relax, beautiful one,” he whispered against her ear. “I don’t want to hurt you, but my God you’re powerful.”