Vampire - Dead By Dusk Part 22

"I'd be a soprano for you!" the man told her solemnly, causing a rise of laughter.

Soon, they were taking their last bows. Their audience was on its feet, clapping and laughing as they exited the theater. Waiters from the restaurant saw to it that the group filed out-not rushed, but moving along.

Back in the eaves stage left, Stephanie found herself lifted and whirled around. Drew was delighted. Once again, they were on a high of excitement.

"It was fabulous! Who ever would have believed it!" Suzette exclaimed.

By then, Grant and Lena reached them. Again, hugs and kisses went around the group. Arturo burst in on them, and joined in the hugging and kissing. He had brought several bottles of champagne, and they were quickly popped.

"What an opening night! Wait until Reggie hears!" he said.

"You know, I could have sworn that I saw Reggie tonight, in the back of the house," Stephanie said, accepting a gla.s.s of champagne. "Did you see her-or the woman who looked just like her, Arturo?"

Arturo stared at her blankly. "Reggie, no. A woman who looked like her... no, I don't think I saw anyone like her."

"Grant, did you see who I'm talking about?" Stephanie asked.

He shook his head. "Sorry, my attention was on the stage."

Stephanie shrugged. "Well, anyway, there's someone here who looks an awful lot like Reggie. Maybe I'll see her again tomorrow.""Strange," Grant said.

"What?" Stephanie asked him.

"Reggie is so unique, that's all," he said.

He was right. And still... she had to have seen someone who resembled Reggie to some extent. She felt a slight irritation. Reggie should have been here for tonight. The cast had really performed magnificently.

Laughter, champagne, and happy comments about each other's ad-libs and audience members continued for a while. Everyone was thrilled. But at last, they realized that they'd stayed backstage very late, and that there was a lot of work to do in the morning.

"Lena," Liz asked, "think you'll be taking your role back soon?"

"I hope so. But probably not tomorrow. And you were wonderful."

"Thanks," Liz said. "Well, we're going black on Sunday and Monday, so probably by Tuesday, you'll be ready."

"I hope," Lena said. She stared at Liz, then gave her a hug. "Thank you. You were a G.o.dsend!"

"Let's just be thankful you're doing so much better. I've had fun," Liz said.

They started out the backstage doors to the beach.

"Hey!" Grant said, suddenly somber. "Let's not forget the stick-together rule here."

"Right!" Drew said. "Okay, Grant, I take it you're escorting Stephanie. Clay, you'll walk Liz to her place. I'll get Lena back safe and sound, and Doug, that leaves you with Suzette."

"Sorry," Doug grimaced at Suzette.

"Hey, you're like a knight in s.h.i.+ning armor, okay? Good night, all." She caught Doug's tie, and started walking him.

"Good night, everyone," Stephanie said. She walked ahead of Grant. At her door, she paused.

"You know I won't go away," he said softly.

She opened the door, and let him follow behind her. She walked into the kitchen, trying to be casual. "You know, I'm not sure that I thanked you for all you've put in."

"It was nothing, ma'am."

"But seriously, you came here because of your fascination with archeology-the old, the ancient, and the Crusaders and knights."

He didn't answer her right away. "I think I'm here because I had to be here."

She felt a slight chill. "I don't know what you mean."

"I can't explain. And it doesn't really matter." There was something more that he could have said, but she knew Grant; he had decided he'd said enough.

"Grant, I'm still very worried about you," she murmured."And there you go, backing away again. In a thousand years, Stephanie, I would never hurt you," he told her.

She sighed. "You've talked about something strange going on here. But Maria was killed by animals-that's what doctors, men of medical science, had to say. And Gema... well, the wolves would have had to have packed up for her. So there has been a very tragic occurrence, but nothing so terribly strange, Grant."

"Um. Right. Well, I'm not leaving, so where do you want me sleeping?"

She realized that she might be acting as strangely as he was, pulling him close one minute, pus.h.i.+ng him away the next.

There was still something about the way he was acting... his thought processes, even, that was very, very scary.

But that minute, in the seclusion of her little kitchen, it didn't matter. He was there. She was there. And when she was with him...

Same as always. She felt that she breathed him in, that she drowned within him.

She poured a gla.s.s of water and drank it quickly.

"Steph, where am I sleeping?"

"Wherever you want," she told him, setting the gla.s.s down. She started up the steps to the bedroom, and a slight smile of antic.i.p.ation teased at her lips.

As she walked, she began shedding clothing, leaving her shoes on the first step, casting her s.h.i.+rt off to lie on the fourth step, then her skirt on the seventh, her bra on the ninth.

At the loft landing, she skimmed out of her jeans and thong. She turned back, and saw that he was mounting the steps in the same fas.h.i.+on, loafers on the second step, s.h.i.+rt on the fifth, jeans on the eighth.

She met his eyes, and the night became electric. She let out a little cry as he reached her, swept her up, and caught her lips with fierce pa.s.sion as his stride brought them both cras.h.i.+ng down in the bed.

Night...

There were no dreams. Only the reality of him.

When she heard the knock, Suzette a.s.sumed that Doug had come back to say something; she had barely gotten in her cottage when she heard the sound.

She opened the door.

"Suzette."

She heard her name. It was like the sweetest caress, a sound that touched and evoked and hypnotized. She heard the sound, a pleasant breeze that wrapped around her, soft as me brush of a flower petal. And then she saw the man.

She was dimly aware that he had no right to be there, certainly not at that time.

Then she heard the whisper of her name again.

"May I come in?" he asked."But... of course," she whispered.

And it seemed that the night wrapped around her.

Carlo Ponti met Grant in the restaurant at the breakfast buffet. He was frustrated, and yet excited.

"We've been asked to hold back again," he explained to Grant, "but there was a piece of metal armor that Heinrich had found before all this happened, and we sent it off to the museum to be studied. I just got a call back this morning, and the markings definitely indicate the house of de Burgh. And if that is the case, I believe we will shortly discover the remains of Conan de Burgh himself."

"That's wonderful," Grant said.

"Yes, we will be able to piece together a bit of history, prove what occurred here. And, of course, every time we are able to do something like this, we make the area more historical, and more exciting. I've been talking with the Discovery Channel, and they are interested. It's all more than we might have hoped. Except, of course, there is the sadness of Maria."

"Yes," Grant mused.

"If the stories pa.s.sed down through the ages are accurate, we should find other bodies as well. The great clash of the Norman lords that occurred, right here!"

"We've already found a number of bodies," Grant reminded.

"Yes, yes... we know that the earthquake that broke up the cliff definitely happened. Exact dates are a bit sketchy. Those we have found already belonged to the local people. This little piece of metal is a tremendous find. Somewhere in the rubble, Conan de Burgh was buried, along with Valeria, and Francois. Others, yes, those who wanted her executed."

"Wait, wait, who?" Grant said.

"Valeria-the women with whom de Burgh fell in love. She must have been truly something. Wicked to no end, since she apparently forced her own people to war-we're a.s.suming that the 'demons' or 'devil dogs' of legend were her own forces. She rode with Francois, and they were the ones who ravaged the countryside. Conan de Burgh won the last battle, but was then killed himself by the earthquake. He might have survived, had he not been trying to save Valeria's life."

Valeria.

That was the name.

Stephanie had claimed that he'd cried it in his sleep, cried it when he was awake.

When he was with her.

Coincidence?

He sipped his coffee, trying to keep a grip on the frightening sense of destiny, of the feeling that he'd had to come here-and that something was very wrong here. It was so hard to accept that he, who had so often scoffed at anything out of the ordinary, could have this strange sense of destiny. Stephanie had put it all into simple perspective last night. Gema had packed up and left.

Maria had been attacked by wild animals. There was nothing so bizarre in any of it. So they all had dreams. They were in a foreign country. They slept to the sound of the waves and the sea breeze rustling through local palms.

"Grant?""Yes, yes, sorry."

"Are you still with me?"

"Of course."

"Come out tomorrow. The crime scene people have said that they will be out of the way by then. It's so very, very exciting!"

"Yes, of course. Sunday. We're going to be black, out of respect for the community," he murmured.

"I must go. I want to be there. I don't intend to get in the way of the detectives, but I must also guard my own interests. A domani!"

"Tomorrow," Grant said.

When he rose, he felt unsteady. He gave himself a mental shake. The last two nights... back with Steph. Incredible nights. He loved her so deeply. He believed she loved him. But now she was uneasy about him as well.

And why not? He wondered sometimes if he wasn't going crazy himself.

"I'm really beginning to feel so, so much better!" Lena said. She was lying on the sand, dark sungla.s.ses s.h.i.+elding her eyes. "Well, maybe not great. And man, that sun is bothering my eyes today! But I think by Monday... well, we may not need Liz anymore.

She has been great, though, huh?"

"Don't get rid of Liz so quickly," Suzette murmured.

On a towel next to Suzette, Stephanie frowned. "Are you feeling ill now?"

Suzette shook her head. "No, not really. Just tired today. I had the strangest dreams last night."

"Nightmares?" Lena asked sympathetically.

Suzette shook her head. She was wearing dark gla.s.ses as well, but it was apparent that she was flus.h.i.+ng.

"No... not nightmares," she murmured.

She glanced at Stephanie, then at Lena. "I dreamt that I was with someone. And it was... I was... wild. Absolutely indecent.

And yet... I was thrilled. It's rather embarra.s.sing. Made me wonder what... well, maybe it's just sad."

Lena was silent. "You know, they say that we dream about being naked in a crowd, or find that we're giving a speech in the nude, because we're insecure."

"You've had dreams like that here?" Suzette asked her.

Lena shook her head. "I think... then I got sick, and then I started getting better, and you know... now this is really weird." She looked at them both and giggled. "I think I might have grown up too Catholic. We have all that guilt thing going, you know.

But... I honestly think I feel better since I started wearing my cross."

"Oh, Lena! Faith is great and all that, but do you really think that wearing a cross could make you feel better?" Suzette said.