Blood Eternal. Toni Kelly

      A biting chill came to Rome early, like it had the year of Victoria’s death. This time, Luke Evans sensed the sting and yearned for the crisp wetness, which would have seeped inside his bones if he were human. He pulled the lapels of his coat up out of habit and started across Piazza del Popolo toward Santa Maria di Montesanto. The church and its twin, Santa Maria dei Miracoli, loomed ahead of him, whispering words of warning. This he believed because it made sense damned creatures would not be welcome within their doors.

      A young girl hurried toward him. The scent of her hunger and desperation, not unlike that of a beggar, reached him first. Holes laced the cuffs of her thin coat. Her slender form was diminished beneath jeans several sizes too large.

      “Signore, stop,” she said, reached up and tugged the arm of his coat, pleading with her dark eyes. “Please help me. A man has taken my purse. Without it, I have nothing.” Her English held a hint of Roman accent. Perhaps a city native?

      Luke would bet his immortality she did not have much within her purse. Not that immortality meant much.

      “Signore?” The girl grasped his hand, her skin warm in comparison to his. “Please.”

      “Luke.” Victoria slipped a hand through his, squeezing it tight. She turned, her pale eyes searching. She was frightened. He needed to soothe her.

      No, he thought. Not real. Not any longer. Victoria was gone. Eyes closed, he tried to separate reality from the images his mind recreated.

      A scream echoed. This time Victoria lay still, cold. Her gray dress reflected the pallor of her skin. A matching handbag rested alongside her, its contents scattered across a growing pool of burgundy. Blood. It encroached upon the cobblestone beneath them.

      “Are you okay, sir?” The girl frowned.

      “Yes.” Luke blinked, letting the image of his dead wife dissipate. The girl shifted with edgy movements. Still, her tale hit too close to home for him to deny her request. He gripped her arm, his firm hold a warning as much as a comfort. “Bring me to where you last saw him.”

      Her lower lip trembled and her moment’s hesitation puzzled him. A possible lie? Perhaps, but curiosity got the better of him. He let her lead him amidst the shadows of an alley. In any case, no predator worse than he awaited them. He scented anxiety, anticipation. Another human being. A male, based on the musk.

      “Reveal yourself,” he said.

      The man’s ragged breaths muffled his thumping heart as he stepped beneath a street lamp’s orange-tinted halo. Longish, straggly hair covered part of his face. He held a knife, the blade shaky in his tremulous grip. “Give us your wallet.”

      Beside Luke, the girl backed away. He turned, disappointment a bitter taste on his tongue even as her gaze held regret. “If I refuse?” he asked. “Do you truly believe you could overpower me?”

      The man stepped forward. “Leave her alone. Do as I say. We only want your cash.” Brows creased, he puffed up his chest. Young, like the girl. Nearly a boy at age eighteen or nineteen, he mistook stupidity for cunning, bravado for courage.

      The predator within hungered for an easy kill. He’d gone too long without taking life. His canines lengthened, but he kept them covered. “You know not what you threaten. Do not make the mistake of playing a fool.”

      The young man squinted, hesitated. His hand lowered slightly as he pressed his lips together. An insecure child pulled within hunger’s grasp. The boy shoved back greasy hair. “We need this. Don’t try to convince us otherwise. You’re free if you give us your money. We don’t want to hurt you, but we will if we must.”

      Damn it. Luke did not have time for children’s games. He attacked with a rush of speed, knocked the knife from the boy’s hand and seized his neck. “You try my patience.” Beneath Luke’s thumb, blood pulsed an almost irresistible tune of temptation. It would be easy, quick. Saliva pooled on his tongue but he could sense the three of them were not alone.

      An audience of one stood amidst shadows. A heartbeat too slow to be human. Broderick. The halfling possessed impeccable timing. Without easing his grip, Luke turned toward the darkness. “What is it you are hoping for? Do you find fault with my judgment?” His resolve wavered as he waited for an answer. None came. “Selfish men are thieves. Do you not see greed manifests itself here?”

      For a moment the weight on his shoulders seemed insurmountable. It was not enough for vampires to drink life’s essence. Only a kill would calm the angst consuming him. How he loathed the animal inside him.

      “No,” the girl cried, tugging at his arm. “We didn’t mean any harm. We’re hungry, desperate. Leave him alone. Please.”

      “How touching.” He growled and pulled away, tossed the boy against a stone wall. A gush of air left the boy’s mouth then he coughed and slid to the ground. The girl came at Luke again and he lifted her, a hand braced against her jugulars. Too thin and delicate. He kept his touch gentle so as not to make a mark. At least she felt regret. “Do you know what I could do? What I should?”

      “No, Giulia.” The young man coughed again and stretched forward an arm. “Please, don’t hurt her. Take me instead.” This time, the scent of sweat emanated from him. It flooded the atmosphere, choking Luke with its potency.

      Interesting, the boy feared more for Giulia’s life than his own. There might still be hope for them. With a sigh, Luke set her down.

      She ran to the young man and helped him up, caressing his face, neck and arms in search of injuries. They were in love. Strange how even in the darkest of circumstances, the emotion blossomed.

      Luke adjusted the cuffs of his collared shirt. Such luck. In search of wrongdoing, he’d found not true wickedness, but young lovers confined within the depths of hopelessness. Standing before him, they possessed a profound slightness, granted not only by their small stature but through life’s cruelty. “Bloody hell.”

      “Who are you?” the young man asked and pushed Giulia behind him.

      Luke hung his head. “I am no one.”

      The boy opened his mouth as if to say something then backed away, taking Giulia with him.

      “Wait.” Luke pointed down a shadowed, cobblestone