Secrets of the Night Special Edition Read Free Page B

drained his mug. "What do you intend to do about this situation, or do you intend to do nothing?"
    Gaderian leaned closer and spoke with resolution. "Oh, I intend to do something, believe me. I aim to gain control of the Guild of the Undead. Our present leader is feckless, can't do a Goddess-damned thing to rid us of this menace. Don't think I haven't heard complaints from other of our kind. And I intend to defeat the bandregas," he said, slashing his hand through the air. "Get rid of them once and for all."
     
    * * *
     
    As daylight changed from gray to blue and touched the hills and valleys with a golden glow, Gaderian rushed back to his cave. The young woman lay where he'd left her, fast asleep, turned on her side, her hand under her right cheek. Fianna, such a pretty name. Silently, he stared at her for a long time as wishes and desires taunted him, yearnings for a mortal woman he thought he'd discarded centuries ago. The low cut of her shift revealed full breasts, the nipples pressing against the fabric. He studied the curve of her hips, her long legs drawn up close to her body, her slim ankles and feet. Passion stirred inside him, a yearning to take her in his arms and make love to her 'til they both lay panting and breathless. Countless desires pulsed through him, like a thousand beating hearts. After several moments, he sighed and walked on, telling himself once more that there could never be anything between them.
    He gingerly eased his way back into the cool cavern, pressing his hand against the limestone as water dripped from overhead. His keen nighttime vision enabled him to detect the sharp dips and drops in the cave's interior. Minutes later, he reached the place he claimed as his own and settled down on the hard, rocky ground. He changed his position again and again as sharp stones gouged into his back. He closed his eyes, but sleep eluded him, for too many thoughts nudged his mind. Shifting his position one more time, he looked forward to the night he could reclaim his own residence and sleep in the cellar, where no sunlight would find him. He surrendered to his insomnia and let his mind drift back to a time, centuries ago, when his life had changed forever, when life as he knew it had transmuted to the life he enjoyed now, an immortality with no fear of death. His thoughts wandered, his reflections centered on the woman he had once loved.  He could remember it all so clearly, as if it had happened only yesterday. . . .
    Allowed a few moments alone with Maeve, Gaderian stood with her in the shadow of a massive oak tree. Here in her family's spacious garden, he tried to take her hand, but she drew back, turning her head away from him. Oaks, elms, and willows surrounded them, the scent of night-blooming jasmine drifting on a light breeze. A few yards away, her family's mansion dominated the land, a splendid home with tall pillars and wide windows, set on a well-manicured lawn, graced with flowering bushes.
    Tears streamed down her cheeks as she gazed up at him. "Best we not even touch each other. There can never be anything between us, so the sooner we accept that fact, the better."
    "But why?" His heart was breaking.
    "We knew from the beginning there could be no future for us. These stolen moments between us–that my father only recently discovered since one of the villagers told on us–that's all they can be, Gaderian. Stolen moments. My father wants me to marry someone else."
    Fury raged inside him. He clenched his hands at his side, his fingernails gouging his skin. "Culann McCabe!"
    She nodded. "Just so."
    "For his money!" Goddess, he wanted to kill McCabe!
    She twisted her hands together. "If only it were different. If only . . ." She stared at the ground.
    He waved his hand. "You don't need to say it. If only I were wealthy, instead of an apothecary." He wanted to shake her. "Don't you have a mind of your own? Listen, Maeve! We can run away together, to Galdina or Elegia, any place far from our