Her eyes narrowed as she glanced around the room a second time. When she looked at him again, he knew that she remembered everything that had happened, and that she despised him for what he had done. Her hatred struck him like a physical blow.
"Why?" she demanded. She fisted her hands on her hips, her eyes blazing. "Why did you do it? I asked you to destroy the painting."
She stabbed a finger at his chest, driving Rourke backward.
Had she been mortal, her touch would have had no effect on him. But she was a vampire now, with a vampire's strength.
"I begged you to destroy me," she went on. "I told you I didn't want to be a vampire!"
Rourke shook his head, amused by her anger, delighted that she was free of the wizard's curse. She could hate him all she liked, but she was in the world again. With any luck, she might forgive him for what he had done in a hundred years or so. And if it took longer, well, he had all the time in the world to wait.
She glared at him, and then her expression turned thoughtful. "The wizard...is he dead?"
"Yes. He will never hurt anyone again."
"And his daughter? Where is she?"
"Ana Luisa is with Vega."
With a curt nod, Karinna brushed past him. She walked through the house as if seeing it for the first time, marveling at how big everything seemed. She ran her hands over her belongings, as if to reassure herself that they were real, that she was really there. She had spent only a few days trapped inside a world of canvas and paint, yet it had seemed ever so much longer. How had Rourke and Ana Luisa endured such torture without going insane?
She came to an abrupt halt in front of the mirror in her bedroom. She could see the wall behind her, the bed, the windows, but she cast no reflection in the glass. Feeling suddenly queasy, she ran her hands over her face and arms. She was flesh and bone, yet she didn't show up in the mirror. It made her feel as if she didn't exist.
Choking back the hot bitter bile that rose in her throat, she turned away from the mirror. She was a vampire. She ran her tongue over her teeth, but she didn't feel any fangs. Shouldn't she have fangs? Maybe they came later, she thought, and wondered how she would explain them to her dentist. Did vampires go to the dentist?
Shaking off her silly thoughts, she went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror over the sink. Her image wasn't there, either. How did female vampires put on their make-up and arrange their hair without being able to see their reflection?
She snorted softly. A minor inconvenience compared to everything else! How was she going to support herself when she couldn't go to work anymore? How was she going to explain this to her parents, to Tricia, and to the rest of her friends and acquaintances? This was all Jason Rourke's fault! She never should have bought that accursed painting, never should have brought it home with her, never should have helped him rescue Ana Luisa....
She blew out a sigh of exasperation. There was no point in dwelling on the past. It couldn't be changed. So, she would find a new job, one where she could work nights, and when the time was right, she would tell her parents that she had come down with some sort of allergy to the sun, and...
She blinked rapidly as tears burned her eyes. She didn't want to make lemonade out of the lemon her life had become. She just wanted to be plain old boring Karinna Adams again. She wanted to be able to lie in the sun on a warm day and get a tan, and drink malts, and eat chocolate, and...
At the thought of food, her stomach knotted painfully. Of course, it was natural to be hungry; she hadn't eaten for days.
Leaving the bathroom, she went downstairs. She swept past Rourke without a glance as she made her way into the kitchen.
He hadn't followed her into the bathroom, but he followed her now, pausing inside the doorway while she opened the refrigerator and withdrew a bright red apple.
"Karinna..."
Ignoring the warning in his voice, she took a bite. The minute she swallowed it, she knew it had been a mistake. Pain speared through her stomach. Hurrying to the sink, she threw it up, then stood there gasping.
When Rourke took a step toward her, she put her hand out to stop him. "Just leave me alone."
"I only want to help you."
A harsh sound of derision rose in her throat. "You've done enough, thank you very much. Just go away."
"As you wish." Knowing there would be no talking to her until she had calmed down and accepted things the way they were, he left the house.
Kari stood in the kitchen, one hand pressed to her stomach as she listened to the front door open and close.
She was a vampire. No more dark chocolate ice cream or candy. No more salty French fries. No more cheeseburgers smothered in onions. No more spaghetti and crusty garlic bread. No more suntans. No more iced tea on a hot day. No more hot days.... She blinked back her tears. No children. No grandchildren. No anything.
The room seemed to close in around her. Without a thought for where she was going, she left the house, turned left at the end of the driveway, and started walking down the street.
And walked into a whole new world. For a moment, she thought she was in the wrong place. Everything looked different and, yet, oddly the same. Though the sun was down and the world was dark, she could see everything around her. The colors of the houses and flowers and trees were as bright and clear as if the sun were high in the sky.
She heard bits of conversations as she hurried down the sidewalk, even though there was no one else in sight. It took her a moment to realize that what she was hearing were conversations taking place inside the houses that lined the road.
She took a breath and her nostrils filled with dozens of scents.
She slowed when she realized she was nearing Ramon Vega's house. How had she gotten here so fast? He lived on the other side of town.
With a shake of her head, she went up the walkway and knocked on the door.
It opened a moment later. "Karinna!" Ana Luisa exclaimed. "You are free. When...how did this happen?"
"Just tonight." Karinna couldn't help thinking that, clad in a pair of slinky red tights and a white T-shirt, Ana looked trim and happy.
Ana Luisa leaned to one side and glanced past Karinna. "Where is Jason?"
"I don't know. I don't care."
Ana Luisa frowned, then stood aside. "Come in."
Karinna followed her into the living room.
"Hey!" Vega said. "Nice dress."
"What?" Karinna looked down at herself, only then realizing she was still wearing the green gown she had been wearing inside the painting.
Ana Luisa gestured at the sofa. "Please, sit down," she invited, taking a place beside Ramon. "Tell us what happened."
"There's not much to tell." Kari sat down, her fingers pleating the material in her skirt. "Rourke came into the painting somehow. Last night, he made me a vampire. Tonight, the painting broke and"--she shrugged--"here I am."
Vega grunted softly. "So, the spell was broken when you died. Interesting."
Kari looked at Vega. "But I don't want to be a vampire."
"I take it he didn't give you a choice," Vega said.
"He knew I didn't want to be a vampire. I told him as much," Kari said bitterly. "For all the good it did me."
"Would you rather still be trapped inside that horrid painting?" Ana Luisa asked with a shudder.
"Of course not. I asked him to destroy it and me with it."
Ana Luisa's eyes widened. "You wanted him to kill you?"
"Yes. It would have been better than this."
"How can you say that?" Ana sprang to her feet, her hands planted on her hips as she stared down at Karinna. "You are here. You are alive. You are in love with Jason, and he loves you. Why would you rather be dead than spend the rest of your life with the man you love?"
Karinna blinked at the girl.
Vega tugged on Ana Luisa's shirt. "Calm down, chica."
With a huff, she resumed her place beside him.
"It's not all that bad, being a vampire," Vega remarked. "Sure, there are things you can't do, but hey, look at the bright side. You won't grow old. You'll never get sick. Your senses are all enhanced." He smiled at Ana as he slipped his arm around her shoulders. "And the lovin' only gets better."
Kari stared at the two of them thinking how perfectly matched they seemed to be and how well they complemented each other.
"I know you both seem to like being vampires, but..." Kari shook her head. "What about the blood?"
Vega shrugged. "You'll get used to it."
Kari glanced at Ana Luisa. "Isn't it disgusting?"
"No, it's quite sweet."
Kari stared at the girl. Blood, sweet? She frowned, surprised that the thought didn't make her sick, and a little disconcerted to find it even sounded...tempting.
"Have you fed since you were turned?" Vega asked.
"No," Kari replied, once again surprised that an idea she had once found completely repulsive now seemed almost...normal.
"You must be hungry," Ana Luisa said matter-of-factly.
Kari nodded, though she was reluctant to admit it.
"Vampires don't normally feed on vampires," Vega said, "but it won't hurt, this once."
"What do you mean?" Kari asked, although she was afraid she knew exactly what he meant.
"I mean if you're hungry, I'm offering."
She stared at him for several seconds, bewildered because the idea, which should have been repugnant, was suddenly vastly appealing. She glanced at Ana Luisa. "You don't mind?"
"As long as you do not make a habit of it," Ana Luisa replied with a grin.
"But..." Kari ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know how."
"It's easy," Vega said, patting the sofa cushion beside him. "Come here."
Sensing Karinna's reluctance to feed with someone else watching, Ana Luisa said, "Please excuse me," and left the room.
