"Feehan, Christine - Dark 13 - Dark Destiny" - читать интересную книгу автора (Feehan Christine)

You have no idea. There was a certain feminine satisfaction in having the last word, delivering her line smartly and breaking the connection between them quickly and decisively. Just that brief communication between them had given her the courage necessary to do what had to be done. She forced herself to leave the safety of the rooftops.
The sounds of music and people talking seemed to burst from the walls of The Tavern. Destiny stood outside the bar, as she had so many times before. Her small teeth tugged nervously at her bottom lip. She never entered but perched instead on the roof, just listening to all the conversations. She always found it comforting, as if she were really a part of the neighborhood.
Tonight MaryAnn was inside the bar; Destiny was certain of it. And MaryAnn would have questions. Lots of questions. Destiny would have to remove the woman's memories, something she was reluctant to do. She liked and respected MaryAnn, and the idea of deliberately removing her memories disturbed Destiny. She had avoided the issue for two risings, preferring to stay hidden in the solace of the earth, healing the wounds on her body and hiding from the ancient warrior hunting her. Hiding her dark soul from Mary Ann. Now she had no choice but to face her.
The door to the bar swung open and two men emerged, laughing, talking together as they walked past her without seeing her. She recognized them. Tim Salvadore and Martin Wright. She whispered their names under her breath, as if greeting them. They lived in a small apartment over the little grocery store on the corner. For business reasons, they tried to hide the fact that they were a couple, but everyone in the neighborhood knew they were more than roommates. No one cared; most liked the two men. Still, no one alluded to the relationship out of respect and courtesy.
Destiny bit her lip harder as she watched the two walk down the street. She enjoyed watching their lives unfold. They were nice, ordinary people who seemed genuinely devoted to one another. They were so much a part of the small community Destiny protected. Her gaze remained on the two men until they turned the corner and she lost sight of them. Then she looked back at The Tavern with a frown on her face.
She would have to go in and face Mary Ann. She was certain there would be revulsion and fear in MaryAnn's soft brown eyes after they spoke. Compassion and friendship would be replaced by the knowledge of what Destiny was. Destiny knew she could erase that knowledge from MaryAnn's mind, should she not be able to accept her as she was, but there would always be a barrier between them. Nothing would ever be the same again. Destiny would never be able to even pretend they were friends, and MaryAnn's friendship was important to her. She wanted MaryAnn's acceptance, but how could anyone accept her when she couldn't accept herself?
For a moment she stood outside The Tavern, her shoulders slumping, her heart heavy with dread. At once she felt him. Nicolae. He stirred in her mind, his touch gentle, inquiring, drawn by her deep sorrow. The ease of the connection surprised her. His gentleness warmed her. The way she craved his touch alarmed her. Destiny slammed her mind closed to him. She couldn't afford to risk his finding out about MaryAnn. It would be a certain death sentence for the woman. He would not allow the continued existence of a human who knew about vampires. Lifting her chin, she squared her shoulders and decisively pulled open the door.
At once the noise and smells assaulted her, jangling and jarring until she managed to turn down the volume in her mind. Nothing could stop the way her stomach knotted and twisted in protest of what she was about to do. Her gaze went unerringly to MaryAnn.
MaryAnn, sitting on a barstool, half turned toward the door. She was laughing at something the woman next to her was saying. Destiny knew MaryAnn so well, she could hear the forced notes of merriment. Destiny didn't look at the woman speaking with MaryAnn, or try to identify anyone else in the bar. She focused on MaryAnn and willed her to look up, bracing herself for the horror and knowledge she would find in the depths of those soft brown eyes.
MaryAnn turned her head slowly until her dark gaze met Destiny's. Joy lit her face, banished the worry from her eyes. She jumped from the stool, leaving her companion in mid sentence, and rushed to Destiny. Time stood still while Destiny watched her hurtle across the room like a small rocket.
"You're alive! Thank God! I was so worried. I didn't have any idea whom to contact. I checked the hospitals, even the morgue." MaryAnn nearly flung her arms around Destiny but checked herself when she saw how uncomfortable the younger woman was.
Destiny stood staring at her, her mind numb, a perfect blank. Her carefully worded apology was wiped from her memory; she could only stare dumbly. Twice she cleared her throat.
"Come on, let's move away from the crowd," Mary Ann suggested gently, drawing Destiny a few steps out of the crush of people.
"You don't have a single ounce of self-preservation," Destiny accused. "Why don't you ever try to protect yourself?"
"I don't know. All I could hear was the sound of his voice. It was so melodicЧhypnotizing almost. I couldn't see him clearly until you spoke to me. Then he sounded horrible and grating and he lookedЕ" Her voice trailed off as she sought the right word. "A monster. His teeth, so jagged and sharp. His fingernails were something out of a horror film. But at first he looked handsome. I would have gone to him if you hadn't pushed me into the church. Thank you, Destiny."
Destiny could only stare at her in a kind of shock. "I'm not talking about him. You wouldn't have had a chance with him anyway. He was a vampire. They aren't easy to defeat, and you don't have the necessary knowledge or skills. I'm talking about me. You're happy to see meЧ"
"Of course I'm happy to see you!" Mary Ann interrupted. "I was so worried, Destiny. I looked for you every day, all the places you might go, but I couldn't find you anywhere. Don't ever scare me like that again. You should have come to my house. Didn't you think I'd be worried?"
"Yes, I thought you'd be worried that I might kill you by draining every drop of your blood," Destiny said. She could hardly endure the conversation.
MaryAnn was telling the truth; Destiny could read her anxiety. It made no sense, and Mary Ann's lack of fear, lack of self-preservation, angered her.
"That's silly. I saw your injuries. I wanted to take care of you."
Destiny studied her hands. "How can you say that? You must know what I am."
"What is it you think you are?" MaryAnn asked softly, her voice as gentle as ever. There was no hint of condemnation. No hint of laughter. Just MaryAnn's quiet acceptance. Unconditional acceptance.
"You saw me. And you saw it. The vampire. You must know I'm one of them." Destiny couldn't look at her. She couldn't bear to see the revulsion looking back at her in those trusting eyes. "I'm sorryЧI shouldn't have allowed our lives to touch. You won't remember, but I want you to know that I give you my word of honor I will never harm you."
There was a small silence, and her stomach churned and knotted. She felt MaryAnn's touch. Light. Her fingers settled on Destiny's forearm. "Why do you believe you are a vampire?"
Destiny stiffened as if she'd been struck. "He took my blood. He forced me to drink his. I think that's the accepted way of making a human into a vampire."
MaryAnn nodded. "Well, of course, from what I've seen in movies. Is that where you're getting your information, too? The movies?"
"You don't have to believe me," Destiny pulled her arm away from MaryAnn. She could hear hearts beating. She could hear the ebb and flow of blood. The whispers of private conversations. "I'm not crazy." She said it firmly, more for her own benefit than for MaryAnn's.
"I know that. I couldn't leave the church, even though I knew you were in danger and I wanted to go help you. I sat there until morning, although I prayed for the strength to leave. But I couldn't. I saw him, Destiny. I saw and heard everything he said." MaryAnn shivered delicately. "He wanted you to call me out of the church."
Destiny nodded her head. "YesЧto share your blood." She said it bluntly, wanting to conclude this conversation. She had forgotten how emotions could tie one up in painful knots. She preferred physical pain.
"Let's go back to why you believe you're a monster. What makes you think so, Destiny? Because this maniac, this vampire, exchanged blood with you?" MaryAnn asked. "I can only go by what I've read in books or seen in movies. I know little of vampires and didn't for a moment believe they existed until I witnessed that horrible man. Now I'm open to the possibility, but I still can't believe you are one. Garlic, for instanceЕ"
Destiny shuddered. "I never go near the stuff. I don't know what it would do to me, but I don't dare try it." She pushed an unsteady hand through her hair. "I haven't looked in a mirror in years. I don't think I have a reflection, but I don't know for certain. I want so much to enter the church, but I can't take the chance."
"SweetheartЧ" MaryAnn caught her firmly and turned her. "Your reflection is just as clear as mine in the mirror there. And you happen to be standing directly under a string of garlic. You haven't even noticed it."
Destiny's brilliant gaze found herself in the oversized mirror above the bar. She looked pale. Startled. Frightened. Did that face really belong to her? The last time she had seen herself she had been eight years old. How long ago had that been? She didn't know. She didn't recognize the woman staring back at her. Hanging above the bar where deli sandwiches were advertised were various food items, including strings of garlic in nets.
Afraid that if she took her eyes from her image it would disappear, Destiny watched herself shake her head. "I've never looked before. I was afraid of what I might see, or not see."
"Honey," MaryAnn continued with great gentleness, "when you pushed me into the church, you went inside with me. I was still struggling toward the man. I didn't have control of myself until you spoke."
There was a small silence while they both turned her words over in their minds. "I went into the church?"
"Then you had control of me," MaryAnn mused. "Destiny, whatever you are, you're not evil. You're not anything like that monster." She shuddered, remembering the fangs, the jagged teeth stained with blood. She glanced around the bar, spotted a small empty table in a corner and steered Destiny toward it. She was beginning to understand why the young woman had such troubled eyes. How long had Destiny lived with the knowledge that such monsters inhabited the world?
"Sit down, Destiny." MaryAnn used an authoritative voice. Destiny was so pale, so shocked, she looked as if she might fall over. When Destiny seated herself, MaryAnn took the chair across from her. "Did that man really take your blood and force you to take his?" It seemed a silly question to ask, something out of a Hollywood horror film, but MaryAnn had seen the creature, and she had known he was evil and that he was not human. She'd been a witness to the blurring speed Destiny had used in attacking the thing.
"Not him." Destiny's voice was so soft, MaryAnn strained to hear her. She sounded far away. "There was another. A long time ago. HeЕ" Destiny trailed off, one hand going to her throat defensively. She covered her pulse, pressing her palm to her skin as if covering a ragged wound. For a moment she looked so vulnerable, so young and fragile, MaryAnn had to force herself to remain silent. "I can't think about it. I don't dare think about it."
"What do you think would happen if you did, Destiny?" Her voice was neutral. "Burying bad things only allows them to surface when least expected."
"Sometimes it's the only way to survive. Whom do I tell? The police? They'd lock me up in a mental institution." She met MaryAnn's gaze squarely. "How do you think I live now? You asked me to come home with you and have a cup of tea. For you that makes perfect sense. I'll never have a cup of tea again. Never." She pressed her fingertips to her temples. "My mother drank tea. I remember that now. I'd forgotten. Every morning she made tea in a little teapot and put a cozy over it to allow it to steep. She'd make mine with milk, more milk than tea really, but I felt so grown-up and close to her when we shared it." She closed her eyes, wanting to keep forever in her mind the memory of her mother's face, her scent and the way she smiled when she handed her the teacup.
She looked across the table at MaryAnn. "Thank you. I haven't thought of that in years. The last memories I had of my family wereЕ bad. Frightening. I made myself forget everything so I could forget that. My mother was such a beautiful woman."
MaryAnn smiled. "I'm certain you must look a great deal like she did. What a wonderful memory. Do you have brothers or sisters?"
Destiny shook her head. "I was the only child."
"Other family?"
Nicolae popped into her head instantly when she should have said no. His voice, his presence. Destiny felt him strongly. What was he to her? Mortal enemy. No, never that. Destiny raked her hand through her hair, shaken by the depth of her attachment to him.
MaryAnn was waiting for her answer, seeming comfortable with the silence. Destiny's life was silence. She hadn't talked so much with anyone in years. Other than Nicolae.
"How do you know when you can trust someone?" Destiny asked softly. "How do you know they won't betray you?"
"I think sometimes it's instinctive," MaryAnn answered carefully, "although it is always possible to make a mistake. Usually you reserve judgment until you've been around someone, until you've seen their true character."
"Is that what you're doing now?" Destiny tilted her chin.