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K incaid stared at Saintcrow. “And you believed her?” he asked, after Saintcrow finished explaining the deal he had made with Eleni.

Saintcrow shrugged. “Right now, she’s the only hope I’ve got.”

“So, what do you think she has to retrieve?”

“I haven’t the slightest idea.”

“Are you really going to take her to bed?”

“I gave her my word.”

“Damn. I hope you know what you’re doing. I’m not sure Kadie will ever forgive you if she finds out.”

“Me, either, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.” He’d rather have Kadie well and hating him than not have her at all. Saintcrow glanced around the crowded room. “Do you feel that?”

“Feel what?” Kincaid looked at the crush of people. It was Saturday night and Abner’s Ale House was doing a brisk business. There wasn’t an empty seat in the place. “I don’t … Shit . He’s here, isn’t he?”

“Behind the bar,” Saintcrow said, his voice low.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Kincaid swore under his breath. “Ideas?”

“Just one. We’ll mesmerize the whole damn room. You take the right side, I’ll take the left. If we’re lucky, our combined power will affect Luca, too.”

“And if not?”

“We’ll play it by ear.” Saintcrow summoned his power, felt Jake do the same. In moments, everyone in the room had stopped talking, moving.

Everyone but Luca, who cackled. “You fools. Did you think you could take me so easily?”

“Keep your guard up, Jake,” Saintcrow warned as he felt Luca’s foul presence trying to infiltrate his thoughts.

Kincaid let out a harsh gasp as Luca unleashed a wave of power that sent him to his knees.

In a flash, Saintcrow picked Kincaid up, laid him over his shoulder, and willed the two of them to Blair House where he dumped Kincaid on the living room sofa. “You okay?”

“No, dammit! I’d forgotten how powerful that SOB is.” Jake blew out a long, shuddering exhalation, then sat up.

“Oh, hell,” Saintcrow muttered. “We’ve got to go back and release all those people.”

“You go. I don’t think I can stand up.”

Saintcrow didn’t argue. He smelled the blood before he reached the saloon. Luca was gone but he’d left a nightmare scene of carnage in his wake. He had also left a note on the bar top. The words, written in blood, were short and succinct. Y ou’ll never find me now. But I’ll find you.

Overcome by a sense of despair, Saintcrow slumped on the nearest barstool. Luca had eluded them yet again. He had little hope that Romar would find the Methuselah Stone. And he had a horrible feeling that Kadie’s time was running out.

His gaze swept the club. What had Luca hoped to accomplish by killing all these people?

Dammit . Sasan might have killed them but their blood was on his hands, just as Kincaid’s blood might have been if he’d tried to subdue Luca.

Tomorrow morning, the papers would be filled with lurid stories and photos of what had happened here tonight.

Of course, the media would jump to the obvious conclusion.

Vampires. For once, he didn’t give a damn if the whole world knew vampires existed.

What difference did it make when Kadie might be lost to him forever?

Suddenly overcome by a sense of hopelessness and a rare sense of sorrow at so many needless deaths, Saintcrow left the building.

Luca laughed as he dropped the invisibility spell that had shielded his presence.

So, Saintcrow and Kincaid were after the Methuselah Stone.

He hadn’t thought about the artifact in a century or more, not since it had been taken away from him.

Of course, Saintcrow and Kincaid wanted the Stone.

If used properly, it could vanquish the curse which he had intended for the two of them and had affected all the young vampires in Wyoming instead.

If he could remember the spell he’d used, he could remove the spell himself, but bits and pieces of his magical knowledge had been lost during his entrapment in that damn soul-catcher.

Of course, there was always a chance his lost memories might return, in time.

There were still days now and then when he wasn’t sure who he was, days when all he could remember was being locked in darkness, wracked with pain.

Other days when all he could think about was seeking revenge on those who had caused him such anguish.

And always, no matter his state of mind, he retained the memory of losing Katya, the only woman he had ever loved.

The vampire, Kincaid, still had to pay for that.

He had hoped to exact his vengeance tonight, but the other vampire, Saintcrow, proved to be even stronger than he remembered. He had time, Luca thought, time to prepare, time to hunt them down. He smiled into the darkness. His revenge would be all the sweeter for the wait.

With a wave of her hand, Eleni unlocked the huge floor safe located in the depths of her lair.

It held remnants and souvenirs from the hundreds of years of her existence—gold bars minted centuries ago, rare jewels, a gold crucifix that had belonged to a priest, a tiara that had once graced the head of an English queen, an ebony box that held an assortment of ancient currency, figurines made of ivory and jade, a few art masterpieces thought lost. A sword that had belonged to a knight. To Saintcrow, perhaps?

After opening the heavy iron door, she reached inside and withdrew a small metal box.

Lifting the lid, she gazed at the contents.

The Methuselah Stone, sometimes known as the Methuselah Medallion, was not a stone at all, but a solid gold medallion suspended from a thick, gold chain.

Nestled in the middle of the medallion was a small glass ampoule that sparkled like a diamond but was not.

A sickly-green liquid was housed within the vial.

She had taken the medallion from its previous owner over a century ago.

Luca Sasan had been younger then and nowhere near as powerful as he was now.

She felt the medallion’s power fill the room as she lifted it from the box, but she lacked the knowledge to control it.

Only a black witch or a wizard could unlock the medallion’s secrets.

Lucky for Saintcrow that he knew a witch, Eleni mused with a smile, should she decide to keep her word.

Three long days and nights passed by, with Saintcrow getting more and more anxious with each passing day. He tried to get in touch with Eleni but to no avail. He thought it downright odd that she had been so anxious to get him into bed and now she couldn’t find time to talk to him.

He fretted over what Kadie’s response would be if she learned he had gone to bed with Eleni. Would she understand he had only done it to save her? Eleni was beautiful, desirable, there was no doubt about that. How could he convince Kadie he had been forced to bed his sire?

But that wasn’t his biggest worry. It was the curse itself.

If breaking the curse cured Kadie, would it still affect other young vampires, like Rosa?

And how was he to know? He couldn’t expect one of the young ones to willingly come to Wyoming and risk his life to see if the curse was still active.

And what if, after they healed Kadie, she was struck by the curse a second time?

Dammit ! The only logical decision was to implement the cure out of the state.

Kadie, Kadie . He could think of nothing else.

When he couldn’t stand to be away from her any longer, he brought her home from the cemetery.

He bathed her and washed her hair, found a clean nightgown for her to wear and tucked her into bed.

He read to her from her favorite book, left the radio on in the bedroom day and night, kept a light on so she was never in the dark.

It was all for nothing, he thought. She lay there, unmoving, her lashes like dark fans on her pale cheeks, her lips slightly parted. He was losing her, he thought. Where the hell was Eleni?

Eleni grinned as she sensed Saintcrow’s growing impatience. If she waited long enough, he would agree to anything she asked of him if it would spare the woman. Why settle for a night when she could ask for a week, a month, a year?

Tomorrow, she decided. Tomorrow she would summon him, let him know she had the Methuselah Stone, and tell him to get in touch with the witch, Izabela.

Eleni grunted softly. She hadn’t had any contact with a witch save for stealing the medallion from Luca and she was rather curious to see one in action.

Humming softly, she turned her attention to the handsome young man she had brought home with her. She was eager to take Saintcrow to her bed, but until then, this tasty morsel would have to do.

Saintcrow left Kadie’s side when he sensed Jake standing at the front door. He dropped a kiss on her cheek, then went upstairs to let Kincaid in.

“Haven’t seen much of you in the last few days,” Saintcrow remarked.

“I sensed you wanted to be alone,” Kincaid replied, as he followed Saintcrow into the living room. “And it gave me a chance to spend some time with Rosa. How are you holding up?”

“I’m not. Eleni promised to help me with the cure and now she won’t answer my calls and she’s blocked the link between us.”

Kincaid swore softly. “She gets her kicks out of torturing you, doesn’t she?”

“So it seems.”

“How’s Kadie?”

Saintcrow shook his head. “No change. What if we’ve waited too long? What if the cure, if it exists, no longer works?”

“We’ve got enough trouble,” Kincaid chided. “Don’t go looking for more. Rosa and her family are willing to do anything they can to help.”

“I appreciate it, but …” Saintcrow shrugged one shoulder. “Everything hangs on Eleni. Dammit ! If she’s lying to me about having the cure, I’m gonna break her neck.”

“That won’t kill her,” Kincaid said.

“I know, but it’ll give me a lot of satisfaction. Or I could rip out her heart. That would do the trick. But she’d never let me get close enough. Damn, she’s here.”

He had no sooner spoken the words than Eleni materialized in the room. “Is that any way to talk about your sire? Especially when I’ve brought the Stone?” Moving provocatively, she removed the long, black velvet cape she wore.

Saintcrow stared at the gold medallion nestled between her breasts. “Is that it?”

“The Methuselah Stone? Yes. Lovely, is it not?”

“How does it work?”

“I have no idea.”

“What the hell! You said you could remove the curse.”

“A little white lie,” she admitted with a negligent wave of her hand. “You need a black witch to unleash its power. Good thing you know one, isn’t it?”