CHAPTER TWO

Lev fled to safety of the home he shared with his brother, Alexei. He couldn’t have seen what he thought he did. Carly was dead and lost to him forever. His broken heart was a testament to that fact. But he’d seen her, hadn’t he? Staring at him from the other side of the hospital window. More to the point, he’d seen two Carlys. One lying prone, unmoving, in the hospital bed; the other at the window, a sad smile on her lips. Could it have been his imagination? He shook his head to clear the cobwebs. No, not his imagination. Grief could do many things, but this was no trick of the mind. He’d seen her!

Alexei met him in the hallway as Lev entered the old Victorian. He leaned his lanky frame against the wall, arms crossed. “Is she…?” His words hung in the air and the slow smile from earlier was back, igniting Lev’s rage.

Lev shook his head in disgust and pushed past his brother making his way through the double doors of the parlor, where he found refuge in the softness of an old chair. The room was dimly lit. A soothing yellow glow emanated from matching Tiffany lamps on antique end tables. There was something about the parlor that brought Lev comfort, perhaps because it was Alexei’s least favorite room of the house.

Alexei followed and settled on the couch in front of the large picture window. He threw a sneer at the stained glass tableau that arched across the top of the window. It depicted an image of St. Francis of Assisi, a crucifix in one hand, the Bible cradled to his chest in the other, and a white dove perched upon his shoulder. More times than Lev could count, Alexei had threatened to throw a rock through the ancient stained glass. It unsettled his brother, but Lev didn’t mind it. Even the crucifix didn’t bother him as long as he didn’t stare at it for too long.

“Why do you do that?” Lev asked, anger coloring his voice. “You smile when I’m in pain. Do you enjoy my agony?”

Alexei’s smile blossomed. “Brother, this is not the first and it certainly won’t be the last time someone you love dies. I smile only because I wonder why you haven’t learned your lesson yet.” He sounded jovial, like a giggle lived just beneath the surface of his words.

Lev’s dark eyes narrowed to slits. “And what lesson is that?”

The giggle finally escaped and, Alexei covered his mouth with a hand. “That love is fruitless for creatures like us. Why do you cling to human emotions? Human frailties like love?” He tucked his long, dark hair behind his ears and crossed his slender legs.

Lev’s brow furrowed, and a grimace replaced his frown. “Because I’m not like you.”

“Another lesson! Wouldn’t it be easier to be like me?”

Lev thought of Alexei’s endless string of lovers. Every evening a new someone was in his bed, usually a young, good-looking man. Occasionally, Alexei would turn them into a creature of the night, but mostly he just fed, though sometimes he slaughtered them. Lev never ceased to be astonished by why mortals were so willing to give themselves to Alexei. Yes, his brother was handsome. Some might even say extremely so, but he, Lev, was also no slouch when it came to looks. They were similar, with their dark hair and eyes, and their tall, lean frames. The real difference was in their characters; where Alexei craved variety and excitement, Lev sought stability. Foolish, he knew, to search for something he could never have.

Carly was different from the other women he’d loved. The others thought of him as a dalliance, a toy, a dangerous plaything, but Carly had something he’d never encountered—something precious. It was innocence, and it compelled him to protect her.

And there was something else, too. To Carly, Lev was just a man, not a monster or a freak. He loved that especially. The irony was that if he wanted to keep her in his life, he would have had to steal from her the very things he loved most. If he turned Carly, her innocence would be shattered. She’d become something not quite human, a creature like him and he’d never be able to forgive himself for being that selfish. As much as he yearned for her to be by his side for eternity, making Carly an immortal would desecrate their love.

The shock of her death clung to him like a guilty conscience. He sighed deeply. He thought they’d have more time. Much more. She was only twenty-five! A mortal could live to be eighty or older, but always the thought was there: could he love her when she was an old lady and he still a young man in his prime? He thought he might. He loved her soul, not just her body.

Alexei broke into Lev’s thoughts. “Would you like to go out?”

For Alexei, going out signaled Alexei was either hungry or horny. Lev shook his head. “Go and leave me be.” He yearned for solitude, but his brother was insensitive, unable to pick up on cues, or maybe he just didn’t give a shit.

Alexei was at his side as quickly as a drawn breath, one long-fingered hand on Lev’s knee. “You need to get out, to take your mind off her. She was just a silly mortal, after all. Nothing to get depressed about.”

Lev flew to his feet, lunged for Alexei’s throat and wrapped a hand around his brother’s neck. With momentum fueled by rage, he smashed Alexei against the wall. Books crashed from the floor-to-ceiling shelves, splatting on either side of the brothers like huge bugs.

Alexei choked out a laugh and peeled Lev’s fingers from his throat with little difficultly. “Perhaps it’s better if we stay in tonight. The day will be breaking in a few hours anyway.” He swatted Lev aside as if he were nothing more than a mosquito buzzing annoyingly around his head.

Lev turned to leave, the fight in him replaced by sorrow. The high pitch of Alexei’s laughter followed him as he made his way to the top step of the basement. A small voice rang out in his head, at first distant and tinny but as it grew stronger, there was no mistaking it was Carly’s.

It came again, an eerie whisper. “There’s no such thing as death.”

He looked down into the dark of basement and saw her standing at the bottom of the stairs. It was Carly, only she was different. Translucent and ethereal, yet still his beautiful Carly, the way he remembered her on the night of their last date when they’d taken a carriage ride through Central Park. They’d kissed their way through the evening, missing all the sights without regret.

He stared hard at her standing there invitingly. Her hair was down; its soft curls cascaded over pale shoulders. Azure eyes held the innocence he loved. She wore a silky red gown as if dressed for a fancy party. He could smell her, too. The lavender scent of her shampoo and perfume, the one she always wore, wafted around him, as she moved closer. He smiled and his heart leapt.

“Carly?” Lev’s voice dropped to a breath. “Is it really you?”

Silence stretched between them like a small forever. She smiled; he smiled. No! Carly was dead and gone. He gave his head a slow shake. But when he looked again, she was still there, floating inches above the ground. The hem of her dress brushed the top of her feet and painted toenails peeked through the front of her strappy heels.

A tremor ran through him. “You’re not real!” Lev lost his footing and tumbled awkwardly down the stairs, until he landed at the bottom. A plume of dust and dirt puffed out from under him in a small cloud.

He sat still as a statue, staring as Carly floated over to join him.