Luxie:
Dear Readers, please say hello to Amber Kirkwood, a 35 year old University Lecturer who is currently a 'guest' of Malachi Bane, the vampire who is fighting to keep her alive.
Amber:
Hi
Luxie:
So...how are things going since I sat down with Bane?
Amber:
Not good. I know something is wrong but Bane won't tell me what it is. That big lump thinks he should hide the truth from me, but all he does is make me more nervous.
Luxie:
I got the impression he thinks you are blaming yourself for what happened. I think his intentions are good-
Amber:
His intentions are always good, but that doesn't change the fact that I've got a whole army of vampires trying to kill me because of him.
Luxie:
You mean because he started the landslide in an attempt to stop you and David from staying on the island? Are you still angry at him?
Amber:
I...I was, but then I realised he had no way of knowing that I would be on the hill when the landslide began. And nobody could have predicted how David would react!
Luxie:
David deserted you, didn't he?
Amber:
Sure as hell did! I didn't know that at first, but when David came to see me in the hospital after I was rescued, he told me. He was rambling on about some freakishly huge, supernaturally strong guy who had saved me when he let it slip that he'd been watching the events unfold from the dinghy, already out to sea.
Luxie:
I can't believe he just left you there to die...I thought David cared for you?
Amber:
I'm not sure he actually cared at all for me. I do know he wanted an affair. I'd made it clear to him many times in the past that I wasn't interested and that our relationship was purely a professional one, but when I invited him along on the study trip, he thought I was giving him the green light.
Luxie:
Ok, I can understand that his pride might have been hurt by your constant rejections but surely he would not have let any harm come to you?
Amber:
He says he was going for help, and I will never know now if he was telling the truth or not.
Luxie:
That's right - he died not long after your rescue.
Amber:
He suffered a painful, horrific death at the hands of one of Katerina's assassins. He didn't deserve that, no matter what Bane says.
Luxie:
He has no sympathy for David?
Amber:
Malachi thinks he brought it on himself and damned me into the bargain.
Luxie:
I can understand Bane's anger. Thanks to David, the Fratia want you dead and, thanks to the Fratia, the police think you murdered David.
Amber:
Detective Gillion seems to think I did it but he can't figure out how. All he knows for sure is that there are only two sets of prints in that apartment - mine and David's - and that the security cameras prove that we were the only people to enter his apartment in the hours leading up to his death.
Luxie:
So how did Bane and the assassin avoid getting picked up by the camera?
Amber:
Do you know, I've never thought to ask! I don't know how they got in, but I know Bane and I left by the main exit. Maybe that's one of the vampire myths that turned out to be true - you know, that you can't see their reflection or photograph them.
Luxie:
Why were you in David's apartment?
Amber:
The hospital wouldn’t discharge me unless I had someone to keep an eye on me. I couldn't handle the thought of my mother coming down from Kittery and getting all hysterical, so I let David railroad me into staying with him. I guess he didn't want the press getting to me before he'd worked out some kind of deal with them but I was too tired to care. He let me have the bedroom to myself and that's where I was when I woke up and found Bane skulking in the shadows, telling me not to move.
Luxie:
How did he know you were there?
Amber:
Turns out, he'd been trailing us for hours. Once he realised that we were in danger, he hoped to scare David into keeping quiet about what he had seen, but it was too late. The first assassin came that night and Bane couldn't be sure that he'd come alone, so he stayed by my side to protect me.
Luxie:
Weren't you scared? I mean you had no idea who he was back then, right? I've met Bane and, handsome as he is, I wouldn't want to bump into him in a dark alley.
Amber:
No, I didn't remember a thing. Of course, my first reaction as sheer terror - but Bane does this thing...with his eyes. He kind of hypnotises people.
Luxie:
What do you mean?
Amber:
I'm not sure really. All I know is that whenever I am really scared, he looks at me and I just...relax, for want of a better word. In fact, I'm sure he's forced me to fall asleep once or twice. And I know he can use his mind in other ways, like making you feel as if he is touching you when he isn't.
Luxie:
Touching you how?
Amber:
I mean...well, judging by the look on your face, you know what I mean!
Luxie:
Yes, I think I do. How intriguing! So you've been...intimate?
Amber:
Yes, but no thanks to Malachi! Bane is a true , old-fashioned Southern gentleman who just happens to be a vampire. Besides the fact he seemed obsessed with denying himself any pleasure as some kind of penance for what he has become, he just wouldn't believe that I truly wanted him. He thought I was just reacting to a lure, designed to attract prey. I told him that was a crock. He didn't like that much either. Apparently, modern women swear too much...
Luxie:
So why did things become intimate between you? When did you stop being afraid of him?
Amber:
Once I spent some time with him and saw what a decent man he was. Besides, he's a good looking guy...
Luxie:
You can say that again! Sorry... I mean, I've already met him, remember? You were saying...
Amber:
I still don't know if we are going to get through this or not. I may not be able to do anything to stop it but I'm damned if my last few days on earth are going to be spent waiting for death to find me. I wanted Malachi more than I've ever wanted any other man and, despite what he said, I knew he wanted me too.
Luxie:
When I spoke to Bane, one thing was clear. He would rather die than let anything happen to you.
Amber:
Butthat's just it, I don't want anyone else to die for me - especially not Bane. If he dies, then there is no-one left to protect me, and I'm dead anyway. So what in the hell did he die for?
Luxie:
Have you told him how you feel?
Amber:
He tries to take away my guilt by claiming he's doing this for himself, not me. He vows that Katerina never again take away someone he cares for.
Luxie:
So you don't want him to die, and I'm sure you are in no hurry to meet your end, so why are you rejecting the solution he has put forward?
Amber:
What - me becoming a vampire like Bane? I couldn't do that.
Luxie:
Don't you want to stay with him?
Amber:
Of course I do, but not at any cost.
Luxie:
He is offering eternity.
Amber:
And the price of that eternity is allowing him to end my life, at the cost of my soul.
Luxie:
But doesn't immortality mean you will never have to pay the price?
Amber:
So that means I should I forget about God and everything I believe in? Besides, I've seen vampires die a permanent death too.
Luxie:
I never thought of it that way. So what happens now?
Amber:
We wait for the inevitable. Something is coming; I can feel it...although Malachi thinks I don't know. All I ask for is a little more time with him.
Luxie:
Well, I offered Bane my prayers but I just made him angry...
Amber:
I'll take them Luxie, thank you. We need all the help we can get.
