Shadows of Eternity

Chapter Twenty-Three

R ohan stared at the message on his phone. The Troupe’s been offered a gig in San Diego starting this Thursday night. I know this is short notice and you’re on vacation, but do you think you could spare us a week or two? It’s only three nights a week—Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. They’re dark the other four nights. I wouldn’t ask, but the theater manager is a friend of mine and he’s in a jam. The act that was booked had to cancel at the last minute.

Short notice, indeed, he thought, as he read the message a second time. This was Tuesday.

Rohan glanced at Leia, sleeping peacefully beside him. He hated to leave her, even for a couple of days, but he owed Jay Deer Killer a favor. Besides, he had few friends other than those he shared the stage with.

He agreed before he could change his mind. What the hell, he could take Leia with him if she wanted to go. Might be a good idea to get out of town for a couple of days anyway, he thought, what with his sire in the vicinity. Putting a few miles between them seemed like a smart thing to do.

He put it to Leia that evening. “The troupe has a two-week gig in San Diego, and they’ve asked me to meet them there. Do you want to come along?”

“I’d love to!”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” he said, giving her hand a squeeze. “I’m only dancing three nights a week. Do you want to stay there for the run of the show, or just the days I’m dancing?”

“The whole two weeks,” she said enthusiastically. “I love San Diego!” They were sitting side-by-side on the sofa in the living room. Reaching into the drawer of the side table next to the couch, Leia pulled out a small notebook and a pencil. “Let’s see, I’ll need a new bathing suit and maybe a new cover-up, and sandals. A new hat, of course. And sunglasses. How soon are we leaving?”

“Thursday.”

“That doesn’t give me much time!”

“Don’t blame me. I just found out about it this morning.” Grinning, he watched her double-check her list.

“I think I’m done after San Diego,” Rohan remarked.

Leia looked up, her list forgotten. “Done? Do you mean you’re quitting? For good? But … ”

“But what?”

“I won’t get to see you dance anymore.”

“Darlin’,” he said, taking her in his arms. “I’ll dance for you any time you want.”

She giggled as he took the notebook and pencil from her hand and laid them aside, then pulled her down on the floor and taught her some steps she had never learned before.

Wednesday was a busy day. While Rohan slept, Leia cleaned out the fridge, packed the clothes she planned to take, went shopping for the things on her list, and called Janae to tell her she’d be gone for two weeks.

“Two weeks!” Janae exclaimed. “Where are you going?”

“San Diego, with Rohan. His troupe is dancing down there.”

“Oh, I love San Diego,” Janae said, with a sigh. “We haven’t been there since the boys were born. So, I guess things are working out between you and Rohan?”

“You could say that.”

“There was another killing last night,” Janae said, her voice almost a whisper. “Did you hear about it?”

“No.” Leia felt her stomach clench at the news. Was it the vampire who had turned Rohan?

“You’re lucky to be getting out of town,” Janae remarked. “Hang on a sec. Mike, put the cat down. You’re gonna get scratched. You don’t want to take a couple of kids to San Diego with you, do you? Trent’s been so busy lately, I’ve hardly seen him the last few days and the boys are driving me crazy.”

“Sorry,” Leia said. “Not this time. I’ll call you when I get home.”

“Okay. Have fun.”

“You, too,” Leia said, laughing as she heard Mark and Mike arguing over who the cat liked best. And then she sobered. If she stayed with Rohan, she would never hear the sound of her own children giggling or fighting, never tuck them into bed at night, or listen to their prayers.

They left for San Diego late Thursday morning. Because Rohan felt like driving, they took the Challenger. She had to admit, flying down the freeway was exciting.

“Aren’t you afraid of getting a ticket?” she asked as the speedometer hovered near eighty.

He shrugged. “There isn’t much traffic. I’ll slow down if it gets heavy.”

It was a beautiful day, the sky a bright blue, the air clear for a change. Soft rock came over the radio. “Does it ever bother you that you can’t have children?”

Rohan slid a glance in Leia’s direction. “What brought that up?”

She shrugged. “I was talking to Janae yesterday, and I heard her boys fighting, and … ” Her voice trailed off.

“And it reminded you that if you stayed with me, you’d never have kids.”

She nodded.

“It bothered me when I was first turned,” he said. “But I had other things to worry about at the time, things like surviving and finding a safe place to rest during the day, and how to avoid detection by hunters. There were a lot more vampires back then, and a lot more hunters.”

“Sounds scary.”

Rohan made a dismissive gesture. “I had some hairy moments in the beginning.” But she wasn’t thinking about vampires or hunters. She was imagining a future without children. He had told her he loved her, she had admitted she loved him, but they hadn’t made any commitments to each other. Everything had happened so quickly between them, perhaps too quickly, at least for her. He knew what he wanted. After three hundred years, he had been everywhere he wanted to go, seen everything of interest, done everything he wanted to do, and finally found a woman he adored. But Leia was still young, with her whole life ahead of her.

He slid another glance in her direction. Perhaps she wasn’t ready to settle down with someone like him, a man who owned nothing but a car, tended to sleep most days until the sun went down, couldn’t share a meal with her, or give her children. Perhaps he’d been a fool to think loving him would be enough for her, or for any woman who wanted a normal life with a normal man. What right did he have to ask her to give all that up?

Leia felt Rohan watching her. She didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what he was thinking. She was pretty sure she was thinking the same things herself. Maybe they needed to slow down a little, wait until the newness wore off their relationship to see if what she felt for him was strong enough to last.

Leia bit down on her lower lip as she felt an invisible gulf open between them. He was reading her mind, she thought bleakly. He knew she was again having second thoughts about their relationship. Maybe she should have stayed home. It was hard to think when he was so near, when she ached to be in his arms. She loved him desperately, she thought, but was she in love with him? In love enough to give up her dreams of a home and children? To live with a man who could never share her whole life, as she could never share his? He had told her once that she would have to make changes if she stayed with him. At the time, she had wondered what he meant. Now she knew.

Rohan was watching her, his face impassive. “I can take you back, if that’s what you want.”

She turned away so he couldn’t see the tears in her eyes.

“Leia?”

She shook her head.

“If you change your mind, just say the word.”

As usual, Rohan had reservations in the best room in the best hotel in town. Once they were settled in, he said, “I have to go rehearse with the troupe for an hour or two. Will you be all right?”

She wondered if he really had to rehearse or if he just wanted to get away from her for a while. “Don’t worry about me,” she said brightly. “I’ll be all right.”

“I won’t be needing the car,” he said, handing her the keys to the Dodge.

“Thank you.” Warmth engulfed her as his fingers brushed hers. “I do love you, you know.”

“I know.” He drew her into his arms. “I wouldn’t go if I didn’t have to.” He brushed a kiss across her lips. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He kissed her again, and then he was gone.

Leia blew out a sigh, wondering if she would ever get used to his just disappearing like the wind. Wondering if falling in love was always so complicated. She’d had little experience with men. After graduating from high school, she had been so busy working, studying, and attending college she hadn’t had much time for a social life. The few men she had dated seemed shallow and she hadn’t gone out with any of them more than once or twice, except for Jeff. And even that hadn’t lasted.

Staring at the keys in her hand, she thought finding time to go see her folks sounded like a prime idea. Maybe she would do just that when she returned home. Although her parents didn’t live that far away, it was too far to just run over and say hello.

Since she wasn’t in the mood to go anywhere or do anything, Leia kicked off her shoes and turned on the TV. She was half-way through the first episode of a new series on Netflix when her stomach growled. Hitting pause, she called room service and ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate malt for lunch.

After lunch, she started to watch TV again, and then frowned. Why was she sitting in a hotel room when she could be down at the pool, or shopping, or just driving around enjoying the fresh air?

She switched off the TV, grabbed the keys and her handbag, and left the hotel, trying to decide what to do first.

Rohan met up with the other dancers at the theater. After exchanging greetings and the usual teasing banter, Jay Deer Killer said, “Glad you could join us.”

“Happy to do it, but next time, it’ll cost you extra.”

“Uh-huh. Listen, I know you usually perform two solo numbers, but you are the main attraction … ”

Rohan grinned as Angela Gray Horse said, in a teasing voice, “Teacher’s pet,” which made the rest of the company laugh.

“As I was saying,” Deer Killer went on, “I’d like you to do a third solo after intermission.”

“Anything in particular?” Rohan asked.

“Whatever you like.”

“Maybe a strip tease,” Angela suggested, waggling her eyebrows.

Rohan grinned at her. Angela was young and single and sexy as hell. They’d had a brief, torrid affair that had flared like a 4 th of July firecracker and lasted about as long since neither of them had been looking for any kind of lasting commitment.

“Shoot, he’s almost naked now,” Charlie Lone Eagle muttered with a grin. “If that breechclout was any smaller, we’d be raided.”

Rohan laughed along with the rest of the company.

“All right, people, enough chit-chat,” Jay Deer Killer said good-naturedly. “Let’s get to work.”

Two hours later, Rohan headed back to the hotel. He found Leia asleep on the sofa. An empty candy wrapper sat on the table beside the couch. The TV was on. For a moment, he simply stood there staring down at her, wondering where their relationship was going. She was having second thoughts again. What would he do if she decided to leave him? Beg her not to go? Mesmerize her so she would believe she wanted to stay with him even if she didn’t? Or just let her walk out of his life?

Bending down, he brushed a kiss across her cheek.

Her eyelids fluttered open, a soft smile playing across her lips as she pulled his head down and kissed him.

Lifting her into his arms, he carried her to bed and stretched out beside her. Only half awake, Leia clung to him. She sighed when he caressed her, closed her eyes as he undressed her, then shucked his own clothes and gathered her into his arms.

“Leia?”

“Make love to me,” she murmured, her voice husky. “I don’t want to think about anything else.”

He wasn’t sure she knew what she was asking, wasn’t even sure if she knew he was really there, or if she thought she was dreaming, but he didn’t care. She might decide to leave him tomorrow, but for now, she was his.

Rohan had snagged a front row center seat for Leia. She sat there now, glancing around, listening to a couple of Native singers chant softly before the show started. There was something about the music that spoke to her, though she couldn’t say what it was. She didn’t understand the words, had no idea if the chanting even meant anything, and yet it called to something deep within her.

She felt a thrill of anticipation as Jay Deer Killer took the mic to announce the first dance. She had seen the show often enough to know that some of the dances and the costumes were new.

She held her breath as Shadow Dancer took the stage. The lights dimmed, the drumming began, soft and low at first, becoming louder and faster as his steps grew quicker, more intense, more intricate. His skin glistened in the light. Muscles flexing, rippling, his long, black hair whipping around his face and shoulders, he was all man. A warrior from another time. She could imagine him riding a painted pony across the Plains, his handsome face streaked with war paint, an eagle feather fluttering in his hair, a lance in his hand as he swept her off her feet and carried her away.

When he finished, the applause was deafening. Leia smiled when he winked at her.

Rohan exited the stage but lingered out of sight, all his senses alert as he peered through a narrow opening in the curtains, searching the faces in the crowd.

His sire sat in the second row, right behind Leia. Though Rohan hadn’t seen the man in hundreds of years, he still recognized the face of the vampire who had made him.

A muffled oath escaped his lips. What the hell was his sire doing here?

The next dancer had just taken the stage when Leia heard Rohan’s voice in her head. Leia, take my car and go home.

Home? To L.A?

Yes!

What? Why? Are you all right?

Dammit, just do as I say. Go home and lock all the doors and windows. I’ll explain when I get there. Now, go!

Heart pounding, she stood and made her way to the aisle.

From his place behind the curtain, Rohan watched his sire to make sure he didn’t follow Leia out of the theater.