Michele Hauf - Forever Vampire

L YRIC S ANTIAGO STEPPED into a pair of diamond-encrusted Louboutins. They merely twinkled as if they were paste jewels when compared to the fabric hugging her body. A sexy gown shimmered over her skin with her movement. It felt like a summer breeze had wafted through the closed bedroom window. Lyric smiled at the unexpected sensation.

That was about the only thing that could make her smile today.

Gorgeous, Charish said.

Charish lingered by her daughters bedroom door, observing. The matriarch of the Santiago clan looked as young as Lyric, but had lived as a vampire for over a century. Her blond hair was pinned up in a 1960s beehive hairstyle with a tiny pink bow attached front and center.

No matter how many centuries she lived, Lyric swore she would never get stuck in a fashion decade.

Im so glad you decided to try it on before you leave for the exchange, Charish said.

How could I resist something that is probably a dream to most?

Striding before the floor-length mirror framed upon the closet door, Lyric gasped at her first sight of the gown on her body. It dazzled. She could not see her reflection, but the dress conformed to her shape in the eerie manner shed become accustomed to when viewing clothing on her body.

The gown had been made and was treasured by Faerys Seelie court. Fashioned from thousands of faery-mined diamonds, each of them no larger than an ants head, it had been sewn together with spider silk. The silk was almost invisible, and it looked as though the diamonds that lay upon her skin were droplets of water under the sun, until the skirt swung gracefully about her ankles creating swishy waves of blinding brilliance.

It was rumored to give the wearer unimaginable magic should a faery don the gown. Holes could be torn in the sky to reveal other worlds. Entire faery clans could be leveled. Love (an uncommon sentiment to the fickle sidhe) could be annihilated or made pure.

On Lyric, a vampire, it would grant no such power save the sensual prowess to make men drop their jaws, stumble over their own feet and profess true lust for one promising wink from her.

She turned sideways and looked down her figure. Slender and toned, thanks to her gymnastics hobby, the gown clung to a taut stomach and her lean thigh muscles. The bodice slipped along the sides of her full breasts.

She liked the tease, and yet only wielded it when necessary.

A twist to check her backside showed the gown plunged to just above her derrire. Were the plunge an inch lower it would reveal things even she preferred to keep covered.

The gown, while revealing more than enough, could never keep all her secrets. Tugging her blond hair forward to cover her left ear, she made sure her mother had not been aware of the move.

You should take it off now, Charish suggested in her quiet yet demanding tone. Wouldnt want to muss it.

Of course. It does feelpowerful.

That could be the faery dust. Take it off, dear, before you get a contact high. Leo wore gloves when he handled that thing.

The gown had once belonged to the Seelie court, yet had been stored in a security safe by Hawkes Associates, a firm that represented the paranormal nations and acted as a sort of bank and store-all for their assets.

Priceless, the gown was a huge coup her brother, Leo, had stolen a week ago after her mother had requested he do so. Lyric had been surprised at Leos easy submission to the one person he complained stifled his freedom. Yet at the same time, Charish Santiago could squeeze a tear out of the most stalwart warrior: she was master of manipulation.

Fact was, the Santiago clan was nearly bankrupt. Charish needed money. Fast. Pity, the domineering fianc Charish claimed to love couldnt provide financial support. Lyric thought him worthless, but her mom did seem to genuinely love him.

If it would help her mother, Lyric was in for the ride tonight, even with the danger it promised.

Another glance in the mirror stirred up the frustration Lyric had thought shed long pushed aside. She hadnt seen her reflection in nearly two decades. Sure, shed seen it until puberty, when bloodborn vampires came into their blood hunger, but her memory was of a towheaded young waif whose love for summer camp and horses diametrically opposed what stood before the mirror.

She teased a strand of hair over her shoulder. Nothing good had come of that final summer before shed completely transformed. Tonight brought up memories that she must vanquish once and for all. But would she be successful?

The demon guards are prepared? she asked her mother.

Yes, three of them. Dont worry, Lyric.

Im not. Yes, she was.

The guards will accompany you to the handoff site, and have been instructed not to allow the Lord of Midsummer Dark to take the exchange into Faery. Youll be safe.

Safe? Lyric sighed. If only.

The handoff site was at a known doorway to Faery. One wrong step and Lyric would never return. But she couldnt express her worries to her mother. Shed kept it a secret for so long, it was best she continue. If things went tonight as planned, it would be the beginning of the end.

Give me a bit to get changed.

Certainly. The driver isnt scheduled to leave for another hour, so take your time, dear.

You going to wait with Connor? She couldnt summon enthusiasm into that question. If the fianc would show some initiative toward supporting Charish, she could at least bless her mothers choice.