Excerpt from Dagger of Aita: Retribution (Assisi, Italy) The streets, similar to Bracciano in so many ways, held the same old world feel. The buildings, aging gracefully, had thus far withstood the test of time. Where Bracciano had been bustling with tourists, Assisi seemed…small town quiet. What did I expect in the middle of the night? The streets teaming with crazed wild beasts lusting for Alimentatori blood? I almost chuckled at that. That was exactly what I’d expected to find. Great…now what? I glanced back to where I’d left Adrien sleeping and smiled. Whatever I did, it had to be away from him. He was going to be one raging bull when he woke up. I meandered through the streets aimlessly for several minutes before coming to terms with the fact that other than ‘go to Assisi’ I’d had no real plan on how to find the Cambiare. What made me think they’d be roaming the streets of Assisi in packs just waiting for some unlucky Aliment to wander into their territory? I paused for a moment to stare up at what had to be the basilica de San Francesco. Flood lights bathed the structure in soft white light. Sandy blonde walls seemed to grow directly from the hill, tall and straight with great arches and a beautiful rose window glowing like a beacon in the night. “Bello, non è?” The feminine voice whispered on a breeze. Beautiful, is it not? Indeed. Without looking, I nodded. “Yes…yes it is.” “Did you come to Assisi to see her?” My brow furrowed as she spoke, a vague memory tickling my brain. “Or to see me?” The first tingle of warning coursed down my spine. I froze not daring to breathe. I drew my gaze from the basilica and turned my full attention to the woman who’d appeared beside me as easily as a wraith. “I came to see you.” I jerked my head toward the basilica. “She was just a stop on the tour.” A wicked looking smile crossed her features as a well-sculpted dark brow rose knowingly above glistening golden eyes. “How unfortunate for her.” She fairly purred as she spoke. The seductive tone accompanied by her delicious scent transmitted a ripple of desire through me. She was the one…the one who’d stood over my bed then approached me at Eros, the one whose scent had caused me to tumble out of control…and sweet Aita, it was happening again. Swallowing, I shook myself mentally. No! Stay away from her claws…don’t let her play with your mind…resist her…charms. The mantra ran through my head as I stared into her eyes. I stepped back in an attempt to break away from her spell. Steeling myself against the onslaught of her pheromones igniting the air around me, I fought for control. I needed to do something…anything to distract my mind from her efforts to control my responses. “Who are you?” She smiled and stepped closer. “It does not matter, Jacen of Samsaveel. What matters is who you are…and who you are not.” “If you know my name and my house…why would you question who I am?” Slowly, without drawing her attention to what I was doing, I shifted my right hand to the palm hold of the walking stick. With my thumb, I pushed down on the release and heard a faint click which indicated the release of the weapon. I waited for the right opportunity to draw the dagger from the confines of the hidden scabbard. She leaned in and her breath brushed my neck as she inhaled. Her whisper touched the nerves along my neck causing them to quiver. “You do not smell like your brother. His smell was not unpleasant. But yours…” she sniffed again as if trying to capture what made my scent so unique, “yours is richer, earthier than his. The difference confuses me.” As she stood close, I shallowed my breathing hoping to avoid the hypnotic effects of her musk. “Don’t all Alimentatori smell the same to you?” She chuckled. “Of course not…all beasts have a different scent trail. However, brothers should be similar. You and Julian are not…so either you are not who you say you are or…” In one swift fluid motion I drew the dagger. Blade grasped firmly, my hand flew to her throat. As I held it there, I expected to see fear. Instead, she smiled. “I see you are not in the mood to talk. More’s the pity…we have so much to discuss.” “Why talk when actions speak much louder than words.” I pushed the blade to her throat. One small drop of blood, almost black in the darkness, slipped down the glinting silver. “Why did you kill my brother?” (two lines of spoiler info deleted) She snarled and stepped back so quickly I could almost feel the rush of air fill the space where she used to be. In the next moment, she darted away disappearing into the shadows as quickly as she’d appeared. Fury burst from me like the roar of a tropical storm. Slamming the dagger back into place, I followed in the direction she’d disappeared. Not this time, my mind screamed as I pushed my feet to move faster.
Posted on: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 19:25:24 +0000
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