The Accidental Vampire

Elvi woke to find herself in bed once again. Confusion clouding her mind, she peered around, then slowly turned onto her back to peer at the other side of the bed.

Victor was lying on top of the sheets next to her, contemplating the ceiling overhead with a smile on his face. A glance upward proved there was nothing on the ceiling to cause the expression so Elvi supposed it must be his thoughts he was smiling about. When she turned her eyes back, she found his head turned her way, his smile curved into a grin.

"I fainted," she said.

Victor nodded.

"And you carried me up here?"

"Yes."

Elvi shook her head. "I'm sorry. I had two bags of blood this morning, I don't know why I fainted. I-" She stopped abruptly as his chest began to shake with silent laughter. "What's funny here? I'm starting to get concerned. I never faint."

"There's nothing wrong," he assured her, turning on his side to run one hand up her arm. "Fainting is common for the first year when... two immortals get together."

"For the first year?" she asked with disbelief, and then her eyes narrowed. "Did you faint?"

"I briefly lost consciousness, yes," Victor acknowledged.

Elvi rolled her eyes. Leave it to a guy. For her it was fainting, for him, it was briefly losing consciousness. She didn't care, he could call it what he wanted. She felt marvelous. Her body felt marvelous. Her bed was marvelous. Life was just plain marvelous at the moment.

"Is that you and your daughter?"

Elvi followed his gaze to the photo on her dresser. It was she and Casey at the town fair the summer before she died.

"Yes," she murmured quietly.

"And that's your late husband?"

Elvi nodded as her gaze slid over the picture on the other side of the dresser. Harry had been a handsome man. Tall, silver-haired and distinguished-looking. Elvi stared at the picture for a minute, and then glanced at Victor curiously. "Why have you never married? Two thousand years is a long time to remain single."

Victor rolled onto his back and closed his eyes and then admitted, "I did marry. Once. Her name was Marion. She was burnt at the stake in 1695. I was away in London at the time. If I'd been home-"

"You may have been burnt at the stake too," Elvi interrupted and was extremely glad he hadn't been home.

"No," he assured her solemnly. "There were too many for Marion to handle alone, but had I been there..." He let the sentence trail away on a weary sigh.

The memory obviously upset him. Elvi left the subject alone and asked instead, "Did you have any children?"

He opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling. "One. Vincent. He was born in 1590. He is four hundred and seventeen years old."

Elvi winced. Even the man's son was old. "Where is he?"

"He lives in California," Victor said quietly, then blurted, "I don't see him much."

"Well, he's older," she excused. "Once kids grow up and get a life of their own, parents never see them."

"My not seeing him is by choice."

"You don't want to see him?" she asked uncertainly, finding it difficult to even imagine such a thing. If Casey had survived the crash and only Harry had died, the poor girl would no doubt have been complaining to all and sundry because Elvi visited too much. "I don't understand. Why don't you see him?"

Victor closed his eyes again, a little sigh escaping him, "It's difficult to explain. Marion was... my lifemate. I waited so long for her, and was so lonely before she came into my life..." He paused and frowned, then glanced her way, repeating, "It's difficult to explain."

"Try," Elvi urged, really wanting to understand.

Victor looked away and then said, "Without training, I'm sure you haven't learned to read thoughts yet?"

Elvi shook her head. "Will I?"

"Yes. It's one of the extra abilities the nanos give us. You must have noticed that you were more intuitive?"

"Very," she admitted. Elvi had found she was extra-sensitive to feelings and could sense emotions.

He nodded. "Then you have the ability and just need the training to use it."

"I'm not sure I want to," Elvi murmured. "It seems an intrusion."

"You need to learn to do it to avoid doing it," Victor said with confusing logic, and Elvi blinked at him stupidly.

"What?"

He glanced her way to ask, "Do you suffer a lot of headaches?"

"Yes," she said with surprise. Elvi hadn't thought anything of it, she'd had headaches a lot before the turning and had just assumed they were continuing, but now she thought about it and realized, "They come every time I go to the restaurant or any of the local events. They aren't so bad when I'm home alone."

"And yet you continue to go to the restaurant and these local events," Victor murmured.

Elvi shrugged. "It's expected."

Victor looked as if he wanted to say something, but then glanced away. "The headaches are because you're picking up the thoughts of the people around you. They're worse at the restaurant and social events because there are more people there bombarding you."

Elvi shook her head. "I'm sure I don't pick up thoughts. My head just hurts, there are no thoughts with it."

"That's because there are too many," Victor explained. "You haven't been trained to control and focus so you're picking up everyone's thoughts. It becomes like static on a radio or white noise on a television. That's why you suffer headaches when you're around others but not when you're alone. Once you learn to focus, it will be better, but that's draining as well. You'll have to be constantly on guard, constantly blocking thoughts and protecting your own. It's wearying. Most immortals withdraw from society as much as possible because of that, but it leaves us alone all the time. A lifemate eases the loneliness. You don't have to guard your thoughts around them. Or block them. Your lifemate becomes your only safe haven, a cool and soothing breeze on a hot day."

"And Marion was that for you," Elvi murmured quietly.

"Yes... And much more," he admitted, "When she died... I was lost at first, not wanting to see anyone, do anything or go anywhere. I just wanted to curl into a ball and lick my wounds." He smiled suddenly and said with affection, "It was my pain-in-the-ass brother, Lucian, who pulled me out of that. He dragged me back into the world kicking and screaming and gave me a purpose."

"What purpose?" Elvi asked with a smile.

Victor paused and then admitted, "An enforcer for the council."

"What is an enforcer?"

"We hunt rogue immortals. Those who have gone bad and are breaking our laws," he explained.

Elvi nodded. "How did he get you to do it? I doubt asking nicely worked."

"No." Victor laughed. "Lucian came to my house one day with a family portrait; a huge painting of a family; a beautiful woman, a smiling man, and two happy children. The painting immediately infuriated me because my lovely family had been torn asunder. Then Lucian took out his epee and sliced the woman out of the picture and while I sat there, shocked, he told me she'd been taken by a rogue, her family was as devastated as I at the loss of Marion, but I could help stop it from happening to another family."

Victor gave a short laugh. "I pointed out it was mortals who took my Marion so why should I care if they suffered, and he asked if I would blame all for what one church official did? If so, didn't it mean that her family had every right to blame me and everyone of our kind for the loss of their mother and wife."

He shrugged. "I went hunting with him for this rogue, then another and another... It's been my only real purpose since then."

"And your son?" Elvi asked, wondering where he came in.

Victor sighed. "After the first hunt, I went to see Vincent. I hadn't seen him or anyone else but Lucian since Marion's death." Remembered pain flashed briefly in his eyes. "Vincent looks so like his mother. He has my coloring and build but her smile and eyes and... I couldn't bear to look at him. It hurt too much," he admitted, then added shamefaced, "I left as soon as I could and have seen him as little as possible since."

"You must have loved her deeply," Elvi murmured.

"She saved my soul," Victor said simply. "The loneliness was maddening and I was very close to going rogue myself when we met. Her arrival in my life was a blessing." He turned to stare deep into her eyes and added, "As is yours."

Elvi's pulled back slightly on the bed, feeling blind-sided by his words. "Mine?"

Victor nodded. "Some are never so lucky even once. I never thought I would be lucky enough to be blessed twice. But Elvi, you too are my lifemate."

"Calm down," Mabel said firmly. "Elvi, you have to calm down."

"But he thinks I'm his lifemate," Elvi squawked, pacing from one end of the restaurant office to the other. "We hardly know each other and he's talking about forever and-I'm not ready for this," she cried with dismay.

"You looked pretty ready to me in the car," Teddy commented and Elvi turned a glare on her old friend.

After Victor had made his announcement that she was his lifemate, she'd just lain there staring at him for the longest time, then she got up without a word and left the room.

The moment the door closed behind her, she'd broken into a run, flying down the stairs and out of the house in her wrinkled skirt and blouse, headed straight for Bella Black's and Mabel. She was halfway to the restaurant when Teddy's cruiser pulled into a driveway in front of her, forcing her to a halt. Seeing her running down the street "like a mad thing" as he'd put it, he'd stopped to be sure she was all right, but when all he could get out of her was incoherent ranting about lifemates, Teddy had done the sensible thing. He'd ushered her into his car and drove her to the restaurant. Mabel had taken one look at Elvi's face and ushered her into the office, only to be followed there by both Teddy and DJ.

"Listen to me," Mabel took her by the arms and turned her physically away from their old friend. "DJ has explained this all to me. I can help."

Elvi nodded. "Help."

"Yes," she said calmly, then took a breath and said, "Immortals can read everyone, often even other immortals unless they're much more powerful. They can also be read by other older and stronger immortals."

"Victor explained all that," Elvi muttered. "But how does that make me his lifemate?"

"He must not be able to read you," Mabel said simply.

Elvi just stared at her, her mind returning to the garage and his concentrating on her, attempting to read her. He'd said he couldn't. He'd also said the night she caught him outside Mabel's door that Mabel was DJ's lifemate because he couldn't read her. Elvi simply hadn't put the two things together.

"Marion was his lifemate," Elvi protested. "He loves her."

"And Harry was your husband and you love him," Mabel said reasonably. "So what? The human heart is big enough to love more than one in a lifetime."

That was true enough, she supposed, but... "What if it's just a fluke that he can't read me?"

"There are other signs too," Mabel assured her. "Like the fact that he's eating again."

Elvi waved that away as ridiculous. "They're all eating. Even DJ."

The sandy-haired man swallowed the bite of chimi-changa in his mouth and said, "That's because Mabel's my lifemate."

"Well, what about the others?" Elvi asked. "Edward, Harper, and Alessandro are all eating too."

"Yes," DJ admitted. "We're a bit concerned about that. And they're all still here as well, which suggests they can't read you either or they'd have left by now."

"Are you saying she could be a lifemate for any one of those four men?" Teddy asked with amazement, and then turned an impressed gaze Mabel's way. "Damn, you're good Mabel. Care to find me a woman?"

"This isn't funny, Teddy," Elvi snapped.

"Do you see me laughing?" he asked.

Turning away from him, she said, "So you're saying that all four of them could be my lifemate? What am I supposed to do?"

"Choose one," Mabel said reasonably. "I'd guess since you've slept with Victor, he'd be the wisest choice."

"How do you know that?" Elvi squawked with amazement as her face flushed with embarrassment.

"Elvi, your lips are swollen, your hairs a mess, you aren't wearing a bra and you look like a woman who's been well satisfied," Mabel said dryly.

"And we were at the house," DJ added. "Mabel forgot the work schedules for the week and we'd come back for them. When we started into the garage to head back, you and Victor were using the car. We decided to wait until you were finished."

"DJ!" Mabel snapped.

"Well, it's true," he said defensively.

"Oh God," Elvi mumbled, lowering her face into her hands. The car. Why hadn't it occurred to her that the car was there? They did it right there on the damned thing.

"Look, honey," Mabel rubbed a hand up and down her arm. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. We're all adults here."

When Teddy snorted at the comment, Mabel turned a glare his way.

"Don't get mad at me," he said raising his hands. "I'm not the one acting like an idiot teenager."

Elvi lifted her head. "Are you saying I am?"

"Well, if the shoe fits, Ellen."

Her eyes widened at the use of her real name. Teddy hadn't called her that since the turning. No one had. She often bemoaned the fact, but now it sounded like an insult.

"Teddy," Mabel said in warning.

"Well, it's true," Teddy said in the same defensive tone DJ had used moments ago. Crossing his arms, he glared at Elvi. "You like the guy. He likes you. You have great sex in the garage and rather than pull some love 'em and leave 'em stunt, he wants a future with you. And what do you do?" he asked. "You run hell for leather up the street to the restaurant all in a panic asking what you should do."

"What does that expression mean exactly, hell for leather?" DJ asked in the silence that followed Brunswick's words. "And where does it come from?"

Teddy blinked at the immortal, and then said with exasperation, "How the hell should I know. People just use it all the damned time."

"I always thought it meant crazy fast," Mabel commented. "Though, I don't know why. It doesn't make sense when you think about it."

"Not now, but it's an old expression and we used to wear leather shoes rather than rubber soled," DJ murmured thoughtfully. "Maybe that's where it comes from, going fast or hard and being hell on the leather shoes."

"Oh, I never thought of that," Mabel said with surprise, then beamed. "You're so smart, love."

Shaking his head with disgust as the pair began to kiss, Teddy caught Elvi's arm and urged her toward the door. "Come on. You won't get any sense out of those two now. They'll be locking the office door in about three minutes."

Elvi allowed him to lead her out of the restaurant, but tried to pull free as they neared his car. "I can walk."

"Yes, but then I couldn't talk to you and I have some wisdom I'd like to impart," he snapped. Opening the passenger door, he ushered her in, slammed it, and then walked around to his side.

Elvi was silent as Teddy started the car, and left him to get to the point in his own time. It didn't take long.

"Mabel and I arranged this week to find you a mate," he started as he steered out of the parking lot. "We don't like the idea of leaving you here on your own."

"Yes, I know. She told me."

Teddy nodded. "Well, it seems we did good. Out of all the vampires in the world, she picked the four who would be suitable lifemates." He paused, and concentrated on driving for a minute before saying, "Elvi, if you love this guy, don't let fear keep you from him. You'll regret it. Trust me, I know," he added solemnly, and then said, "You're home. Get out."

Elvi glanced around with surprise to see that they were indeed in her driveway, and then turned an incredulous gaze back to Teddy.

"That's it?" she asked with disbelief. "Don't let fear stop me. We're home, now get out? That's your wisdom?"

"The best advice is often the simplest," he said with a shrug, then softened slightly and added, "Elvi, you're scared. I understand that. I've been there. I let it stop me once from asking someone to a high school dance, someone else asked her and she ended up marrying him. Forty years later I still regret it, but my life is almost over. You have a hell of a lot longer to regret it than me."

Elvi recalled Victor's saying Teddy loved her and had for a long time. She suspected she was the girl he hadn't asked to the dance, and wanted to say something to make it better for him, but there wasn't really anything to say.

"Now, do me a favor and get out of the car before Tall-boy tries to beat my brains in. I'd hate to have to deal with the paperwork of arresting him tonight."

Elvi glanced out to see Victor stomping up the sidewalk toward them. Sighing, she opened the car door, and then leaned over to give Teddy a kiss on the cheek before sliding out of the car.

"Where-" Victor began the moment she started up the sidewalk, but Elvi interrupted him quickly.

"Sorry I took so long. I should have let you know where I was going before I took off, but I suddenly remembered something I had to tell Mabel," she lied cheerfully, moving past him on the sidewalk and heading for the door to the house.

Scowling, Victor turned to follow her. "You-"

"Gosh, all that running around did me in and I'm famished. Do you want a bag of blood? Or maybe a steak or something? I could start the barbecue."

Aware that he was following her, Elvi kept up a lively chatter as she led him to the kitchen and began to poke around the refrigerator. Mostly to keep him from asking questions or saying something they might both regret. She wasn't ready to answer questions. She needed to think. She needed time to adjust to all this.

It was all well and good for Teddy to tell her not to let fear stop her, but Elvi wasn't jumping into anything either. She'd only known Victor a couple of days. It was too soon to love him. She wasn't committing herself to anything until she was ready.

The men returned while they were eating and regaled them with their thoughts on the play. For the most part, they seemed to have enjoyed themselves despite its being an obviously amateur event. They'd also enjoyed the company and praised her for having "quite civil and entertaining" neighbors. Elvi suspected this was high praise from these men.

"We were talking about building another fire on the way back," Harper announced as he claimed a seat at the table and snatched a bit of salad from Elvi's plate. "But it's started to rain."

Elvi glanced toward the window to see that this was true and wondered to herself how she was going to entertain these men. She was considering suggesting another game of poker when Victor spoke up.

"I haven't quite finished telling Elvi all our laws yet. We're going to take coffee up to the sunroom and finish it."

Elvi shrugged when the men glanced her way. Victor was telling the truth. She'd only learned one more law today and was sure there must be more than that. It would probably be good to learn them all so she didn't inadvertently break one.

"There are movies in the cupboard in the living room if you want to watch something," she suggested as Victor picked up his empty plate and carried it to the kitchen. "I'm sure we won't be long."

She was being optimistic, Elvi knew, but really, there couldn't be that many laws and if they would just stop getting distracted, they might get through them quickly, Elvi thought as she carried her own plate out and collected two cups for the coffee.

The men were silent at first, but by the time she'd poured the coffee and started to lead Victor out of the room, they'd begun to discuss their options when it came to entertainment.

Elvi led Victor up to the sunroom, and moved to open a couple of windows to allow the cool night breeze in as Victor settled in one of the wicker chairs. Once done, she settled on the wicker sofa adjacent to him and raised her eyebrows expectantly. "So, no biting, only one child every hundred years, and... ?"

"And you can only turn one mortal in a lifetime," Victor said. "Those are the top three."

"You can only turn one?" Elvi asked with surprise.

"I told you, it's all to keep the population down."

"Yes," she murmured.

"Most immortals save that turn for their lifemate."

"Yes, I guess they would," Elvi said, but was frowning. "Then who turned me and why would they waste their one turning, turning me?"

"DJ and I were wondering about that," Victor admitted, then set his coffee cup down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Elvi, would you tell me exactly what you remember about your turning? Maybe we can sort it out from that."

"I can try," she said unhappily. "But it's all pretty blurry."

"Just close your eyes, relax, and take yourself back there," he suggested.

Elvi smiled faintly. "You sound like a hypnotist."

"I wish I was," Victor admitted, then added, "If I could read your mind I could pull the memory from you myself, but-" He paused, eyebrows rising. "DJ might be able to. We can wait for him and-"

"No," Elvi interrupted quickly. The last thing she wanted was someone poking around in her brain. Besides, no one else seemed to be able to read her, what if DJ couldn't either? That was a complication she didn't need, especially not with Mabel so obviously head over heels for the man.

"Okay, we'll do it the hard way, then," he said wryly. "Sit back, close your eyes, relax and just let yourself go back to that day. You said you were in Mexico..."

"Yes." Elvi murmured. "Mabel and I were supposed to stay in a resort, but when we arrived we found there was a problem with their water. Everyone was being moved to other resorts. They'd made arrangements for us too and we got out of our taxi just to be ushered into a van."

"Were there others in this van?" Victor asked.

Elvi nodded. "Three couples and four individuals."

"Describe them," Victor suggested.

"Two of the couples were our age," Elvi said, her brow drawing together as she tried to picture the people in the van. "They were near the front of the van. The other couple was younger. In their forties I think. They were right behind the driver."

"And the other four?" Victor prompted when she paused.

"Three were young women, university students, I think," she began, and then grimaced. "They were seated at the back and complaining about the lack of "action" at the resort and hoping the next one was better." Her voice was surprised as she said that. She'd forgotten all about it, but then she'd spent the better part of the last five years trying to forget that trip.

"And the last person?" Victor asked.

Elvi squinted her eyes more tightly closed, searching her memory for the last man. For some reason, her mind seemed to shy away from him.

"He was seated across the aisle from Mabel and me," she said slowly. "I can't... I have a vague recollection of jeans and a dress shirt. Average looks. He was quiet. The rest of us talked some, but he seemed to want to keep mostly to himself."

"How old would you say he was?" Victor asked, sounding tense.

"Mid to late twenties," she said and opened her eyes with realization. All five of the men in her home this week looked to be in that age range. For that matter so did she.

Victor nodded, and then suggested, "Okay, now tell me about the trip itself."

Elvi closed her eyes again. "They told us it would be a five-hour drive. It started out fine. Mabel and I were tired from the flight and napped for the first hour or so. When I woke up, Mabel was chatting with the German couple in front of us. They were a nice couple," she added sadly. Mabel told her afterward that they both died in the crash.

"So, you were chatting with this other couple..." Victor prompted.

"The accident happened about an hour after I woke up." She paused and frowned. "We were on a narrow mountain road. I think the driver swerved to miss something. The next thing I knew we were rolling. Everyone was screaming and the world was topsy-turvy, baggage was flying everywhere.

"The van ended up on its side, on the side Mabel and I were on. I must've been knocked out; I remember waking up to find I was lying on Mabel. I heard her moan and was afraid I may be crushing her, but when I tried to move, pain shot through my head and I think I passed out again."

"And the next time you awoke?"

"That was in the hotel. We were apparently transported there after we were found," Elvi said reluctantly, then ground her teeth together and admitted, "I woke up to find I had fangs and they were sunk in Mabel's throat while she struggled weakly." She opened her eyes to see Victor was wincing at these words and nodded grimly. "Yes. I damn near killed her."

"To be frank, I'm surprised you didn't. It takes a lot of blood for a turning. More than one mortal could supply." Victor frowned with sudden curiosity. "Where did you get the blood?"

"Mabel bribed one of the maids. The woman's brother worked at a blood bank. She paid a lot of money for it."

Victor raised his eyebrows. "Well, at least she didn't follow the story of Dracula and think you could only drink from the source. Was your biting her the first clue to your having been turned? And how did you end up at the hotel? The turning makes a mortal very sick. Why didn't you end up in a hospital?"

"I think regaining consciousness after the accident to find me with my head in a cooler, lapping up spilled blood from burst blood bags was really her first clue," Elvi said dryly.

Victor stiffened. "You didn't mention that."

"Well, it's not really a clear memory," Elvi explained. "And you said to tell you the next thing I remember. Mostly the blood bag episode at the crash site seems like a dream to me and I'm only sure it happened because Mabel said it did."

Victor frowned. "Tell me your memory of it, dreamlike or not."

Elvi paused to collect the memory, and then said, "Well, as I say, it's kind of blurry. I remember waking up and smelling something that..." She hesitated, unsure how to describe what she'd felt. She'd been in terrible pain, every inch of her body aching, and that smell had driven her into a frenzy. She'd been desperate to get to it.

"I understand," Victor said. "You must have been amazed when you realized it was blood drawing you so."

"Maybe. I don't remember feeling anything at all except relief. I'd caught the scent, struggled to get free of my seat belt, crawled over Mabel, trailing the smell and there was an open cooler there. It must have been in with the luggage that fell everywhere. The lid was off and one of the bags had burst open. And..."

"And you lapped it up, then went after the unburst bags," Victor guessed.

Elvi nodded. "I didn't have anything to open them with, not even fangs at that point, so I was tearing them open with my teeth, getting more blood on me than in me when Mabel woke up and spotted what I was doing. I have a vague recollection of her yelling at me, and then I think I passed out again."

"She said I was already starting to look younger when she found me and that I had a bad gash on my forehead, but an hour later it was gone and I looked younger still. She knew right away something was wrong," Elvi offered. "When someone came across the accident scene and the authorities showed up, they wanted me to go to hospital, but she wouldn't let them take me. She bribed them to take us on to the resort."

Victor was silent for a minute, and then asked, "Are there any other dreamlike memories, prior to that one, that you haven't mentioned?"

"One," Elvi admitted. "But I know that one's a dream."

"Tell me," he insisted.

She closed her eyes, trying to place herself back in the van so that she would remember more clearly, Finally, she said, "The first thing I remember is it was raining."

"Raining?" Victor echoed with bewilderment.

Elvi nodded. "Yes. My mouth was open and filling with water."

"In the bus?" he asked doubtfully.

She nodded. "It tasted funny when I swallowed it. Tinny."

"Like blood," Victor suggested.

Elvi kept her eyes closed. Now that she was examining the memory, it was clearer than it had ever been before. She could actually recall the slow drip, drip, as the liquid hit her tongue and slid down her throat.

"I opened my eyes, and... the lone man in his twenties was hanging over me."

She sensed Victor leaning further forward, his body tense. "Hanging over you?"

"The bus was on its side," she reminded him. "His seat belt had kept him in the seat, but he was dangling over us." Elvi could see him there now and cringed. "He'd been injured in the accident." She opened her eyes, banishing the image. "That's how I knew it was a dream. Mabel said she saw him after the accident and he was just fine. Uninjured."

"Forget about that," Victor instructed. "I want you to close your eyes and picture the scene again. What exactly did you see?"

Elvi reluctantly closed her eyes. She allowed the memory to blossom in her mind despite its unpleasantness. "His eyes were closed. I thought he was dead. There was a large, sharp triangle of glass in his stomach, and another in his upper shoulder. It had pretty much sliced his arm off and there was blood running down his dangling arm and dripping..."

"Into your mouth," Victor said with triumph.

Elvi opened her eyes with amazement. "Yes."

"You really are an accidental vampire," he said with a grin that then faded. "I'm surprised he didn't realize what had happened when he woke up and saw you jonesing for blood."

"I don't think he did," Elvi said with a frown. "Mabel says she got me out of the van and away from the others when she realized something was wrong with me."

"That was very brave of her," Victor said solemnly. "Especially if she suspected what you had become."

"Yes," Elvi agreed. "She's a good friend. She got me to the hotel, arranged for blood for me, and then called Teddy and had him overnight Casey's passport to us in Mexico."

"Your daughter's?"

"Yes. Mabel wanted to fly me home right away, but my passport picture showed me with graying hair and wrinkles..."

"And you didn't look like that anymore," he murmured.

Elvi nodded. "I don't think I would have survived if Mabel hadn't been there to take care of everything. She kept me alive, got me home, talked to Teddy and some others and smoothed it over so they didn't come after me with stakes." She grinned. "Somehow she presented it to the town as a really cool adventure rather than a horror story, and I was the tragic hero rather than a monster."

"But to yourself, you were a monster," Victor guessed quietly.

Elvi eyed him solemnly. "I nearly killed her."

"You were out of your head, Elvi. She knows that. If the situation had been reversed and Mabel had been the one turned that day, or if it had been Casey, how would you feel?"

Elvi released a shaky sigh. She'd carried the guilt of that episode in her heart for five years and it wasn't going to wash away that easily. And she didn't want to think about it. It was time for a change of subject, she decided.

"Are you ready to talk about what happened earlier between us yet?" Victor asked suddenly, and Elvi glanced at him with alarm. This was not the topic change she'd wanted. She was not ready to talk about the possibility of their being lifemates.

When a brief, panicked search of her mind didn't turn up any ideas for another topic change, Elvi simply leaned forward and kissed him. In her experience, that was always a good way to silence a man. At least, it had always worked with her husband.

It worked well with Victor too, she realized when he caught her by the waist and drew her off the sofa to settle on his lap in the wicker chair.

Smiling against his mouth, Elvi slid her arms around his shoulders, and then stiffened when a sudden sharp pain exploded between her shoulder blades and vibrated outward, stealing her breath and consciousness.

"Elvi?" Victor murmured uncertainly when she went limp in his arms.

Pulling back, he used a hand to catch her face by the chin and tilt it back, frowning when he saw her closed eyes and pale, slack face. Concern immediately claimed him. It was one thing for her to faint at the climax of their lovemaking, that was normal for immortals on first joining, but they'd hardly started here.

"Elvi?" he said again and gently slapped her cheek. When he got no response, Victor started to move the hand at her back, intending to lift her and set her on the sofa so he could go get a wet cloth or something, but he froze when his hand brushed something hard.

Tugging her forward against his chest, Victor peered over her shoulder and down, his heart stopping at the sight of the arrow protruding from her back.