Forever Yours Read online

  Thinking about his family, he felt great remorse for the way he had left poor Rachel. Mayhap he should nay have listened to Cousin Sam. Deaf ears would have seen Vincent plowing a field mayhap at that very moment. He pictured Rachel and many imagined children.

  Loveless, aye, but nae lonely.

  His thoughts turned to his very religious father. No doubt there would be disapproval from that direction. His father would scowl for certain if he knew his son's true vocation. He wondered how many bible verses his father would demand for the major sin of thievery. At least Vincent could honestly claim that he had only killed one soul on his long journey, and God knew how oft he had repented that mortal sin.

  Thoroughly depressed, Vincent lay on his back and stared heavenward. Tis true. One does reap what one sows. My time to pay the price has come to term.

  Closing his eyes, he swallowed over the lump in his throat. Then he began to recite the Thirteenth Psalm.

  "How long wilt thou forget me, Lord? Shall it forever be? O how long shall it be that thou wilt hide thy face from me? How long take counsel in my soul, still sad in heart, shall I? How long exalted over me shall be mine enemy?"

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  Five

  "Well lookee ‘ere, Jacob. If it aint Cap'n Vincent Bellamy hisself."

  A shadow fell over Vincent's sleeping form. He had spent the night on the beach, as usual, and dreaming of home. He lay curled on his side, oblivious to the pirates above him.

  The black-haired pirate named Jacob scowled at his former captain. Then he silently motioned for his comrade to follow him out of Vincent's hearing. “The dog looks like he's been here awhile. Think ye he been marooned?"

  The other man looked around, shaking his head. “No sign of any supplies, cap'n."

  "Aye, but no tellin’ how long he's been here,” Jacob whispered. He eyed his former captain like he was a sack of goods, noticing Vincent was still well-muscled. “I've an idea."

  * * * *

  Vincent first felt the warmth of the sun on his skin, and he sighed. It felt good for the moment, and sleepily, he rolled onto his back, stretching. He opened his eyes and stared into the end of a pistol. He froze, wondering who the hell was at the other end of it. Unfortunately, the sun was in his eyes, blocking the person.

  "Well well well, Jim me lad, look a’ wha’ the sea done spit out. Me ole cap'n."

  Vincent squinted into the sun, still unable to see who stood over him. He was at a complete disadvantage but dared not move for fear of being shot.

  "Good sir,” Vincent said quietly, “my ship is at the sea's floor. I'd be most grateful to you—"

  "Good sir?” The man snickered at Vincent's choice of words. “Ye've never called me sir afore.” Captain Jacob hesitated briefly. “I like it. I hereby decree afore all that this here slave continue calling me sir. All in favor?"

  A chorus of hearty “aye, ayes” followed. Vincent's eyes widened at the word slave. He started to rise, but a booted foot pressed against his chest, keeping him pinned to the ground.

  "See hear, I demand to know the meaning of this,” Vincent growled.

  The man with the pistol stepped between the sun and Vincent. Almost instantly, Vincent recognized the man as one he had marooned two years hence for breaking ship's law.

  "Slaves do not demand anything,” growled Jacob.

  Wisely, Vincent kept his mouth shut. He looked at the men surrounding him, recognizing many with whom he or Sam had been in past disagreement with. It would do no good to argue. He was vastly outnumbered.

  Jacob removed his foot and kicked Vincent roughly in the ribs. “Let's go. Me ship's on the other side of the island, and I ‘ave much to accomplish on this fine day."

  Slowly, Vincent rolled to his knees and started to get to his feet. Jacob kicked him in his back, and Vincent fell flat on the sand.

  "Who said ye could walk?” Jacob growled. “On yer knees, ye scurvy dog. Ye'll crawl the entire way."

  Refusing to feel humiliation, Vincent did as he was told. The other pirates fell in behind Jacob as he prodded Vincent across the island.

  * * * *

  Katherine had watched Vincent sleep, and when the sun crept close to the horizon, she had taken refuge in the cave. Her senses had alerted her to the arrival of the ship on the other side of the island, and she knew the men were up to no good. However, the sun had just risen, and there was naught she could do to help Vincent. A single tear slipped from her eye as sleep claimed her.

  * * * *

  The island was small, and it only took Vincent and his captors two hours to cross it. His hands and knees were sore from crawling through the foliage, and more than once, he had crawled on a pile of red ants.

  Red, itchy bumps covered his arms and feet. His captors, of course, had found his predicament amusing. Trying to be a good Christian, Vincent fought the urge to daydream about killing them.

  A few small boats took the men to an awaiting ship, and once on board, Jacob placed a hand on Vincent's shoulder and forced him back on his knees. Vincent's eyes narrowed as he again fought the urge to fight back. Then Jacob introduced his newest slave to the crew.

  "Let it be Ship's Law that this slave here abstain the use of his feet whilst onboard. His knees shall serve quite well for any task demanded of him."

  "Aye aye, Cap'n."

  Jacob turned to his first mate and instructed him to bring Vincent to the kitchen where he would serve whilst at sea. Jacob would decide later whether or not to sell Vincent with the other slaves or keep him for his own personal vengeance.

  * * * *

  Katherine woke the minute the sun set. Using her vampiric senses, she searched the island but found no trace of Vincent and his captors. Fuming, she searched the sea and found the ship at the border of her capability. If she had been a second later, she'd have lost contact with Vincent.

  Using the wind to carry her, Katherine took to the sky. She swore if a hair on his head was harmed, she was going to wreak a mighty vengeance.

  * * * *

  Vincent bit back a scream as the cat-o-nine tails dug into his flesh. He had earned this reward when a dish of meat had slipped out of his hands. Of course, it didn't help matters that he'd been pushed from behind. Vincent knew that Jacob had been itching for an excuse to punish him.

  Gritting his teeth, Vincent took another blow to the back, straining against the ropes that bound him to the mast. To make matters worse, Jacob stood in full view of his captive, gleefully watching every strike.

  "Ye'll do good to remember not to waste food, slave,” Jacob growled. “Or it'll be an additional thirty lashes to the forty yer getting."

  As the last blow was dealt, Vincent sagged wearily against the mast. Sweat dripped down his face and into his eyes. His strength was gone. He was close to losing consciousness, and he struggled to remain alert.

  Jacob knelt close to his former captain and yanked Vincent's head back by his hair. “Mayhap next time ye'll think twice about marooning a man. I spent one year and twenty-three days on that damn island, and everyday, I dreamt of my revenge. Full circle at last, Captain Bellamy."

  Jacob snapped his fingers, and one of the crew brought forth a bucket of seawater. With a malicious grin, Jacob poured the water slowly over Vincent's lacerated back.

  Vincent's body stiffened as the salt lent fire to his open wounds, and he bit through his lower lip. He would not give Jacob the satisfaction of screaming.

  To further humiliate Vincent, Jacob placed the tin bucket atop Vincent's head and gave it a pat. Leaving Vincent tied to the mast for the night, the sailors clamored below deck to drink themselves to sleep.

  * * * *

  Quaking with rage, Katherine slipped aboard the ship using darkness as her shield. Her darling Vincent still hugged the mast, and she cursed softly at the sight of his bleeding wounds. Gently, she removed the tin bucket from his head and tossed it over the side of the ship.

  Vincent was barely conscious. He looked at Katherine thro
ugh slatted eyes, and she easily read his mortal mind. “Shhh,” she whispered. “I've not come to torment ye."

  Through Vincent's cracked lips came the word “mermaid,” and Katherine didn't have the heart as of yet to correct him. He slipped back into the soothing pit of sleep before Katherine had a chance to utter another word. Her heart aching for his pain, Katherine brushed a lock of sweat-dampened hair out of his eyes and freed him from his bonds. She swore he'd never again be at the mercy of any man.

  Rising slowly to her feet, Katherine turned regally to the steps leading below-deck. Blinded by love, Katherine took to the task she had avoided since the first night of her vampiric life—the taking of human life.

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  Six

  Vincent moved in and out of dreams and nightmares alike. He first dreamt of a great plague that claimed the lives of his tormentors. Dead and diseased bodies were thrown overboard one after another. Then, his mermaid appeared magically before him, and he couldn't take his eyes off her shapely legs. He wondered what happened to her tail as she released him from the mast and carried him deep into the hold of the ship. Her strength surprised him, but he was too weak to object. After all, he thought he was dreaming.

  Stretching out on his stomach, Vincent rested his head on his arms and sighed as the mermaid licked the wounds on his back. Her careful administration cooled the fire that ate him alive, and he eased back into a dreamless sleep.

  When he finally woke with a clear head, Vincent realized he was in the hold of the ship. He was surprised to find that he was no longer bound, and he wondered why Jacob had allowed such a thing.

  Standing, he remembered the ship's law that he use his knees for his feet. He sneered. Jacob was in for a fight if he tried to enforce that upon him again. Vincent was through with playing the good Christian.

  Listening for sounds of his captors, he carefully made his way through the darkened hold. The other slaves were gone, and he figured Jacob had already sold them. Mayhap the ship was so quiet because they were at a port. Now would be a perfect time to escape.

  Vincent threw open the hatch, again surprised that it was unlocked. Was Jacob laying a trap?

  The evening sun flooded over Vincent as he climbed on deck. His mouth slack, he turned in a complete circle. The ship was still at sea. There were no other ships in sight, and there were no sailors to be found on deck. Vincent then searched the entire ship. He even went back down into the hold, but there was no one.

  His heart pounding, Vincent turned to the captain's cabin. He had saved it for last and wondered if Jacob kept any sort of captain's log. He doubted it.

  Standing before the door to the captain's quarters, Vincent hesitated. He looked over his shoulder as the sun slipped into the ocean, heralding the onset of night.

  His left hand gripped the now-lit lantern he had swiped from below deck. Nervously, he pulled open the door and stepped into the captain's cabin. A chilling breeze whipped around Vincent, blowing out the lantern's flame. His heart jumped wildly. He turned to leave, but the door slammed shut in his face.

  Dropping the lantern, Vincent grabbed the doorknob and shook it furiously, but his effort was fruitless. His fist slammed one last time against the door in desperation. His fear choked him as he slowly faced the dark cabin.

  The eerie quietness set Vincent's nerves on edge. Something felt dreadfully wrong. His instinct screamed at him to run. Then, he heard a muffled sound, and he tilted his head, listening.

  There. He turned to his left. In the corner, someone's still alive but sounds hurt.

  He took a step forward, but firm hands gripped his upper arms from behind. He tried to wrench free, but the person's strength far surpassed his own.

  Then, his heightened senses tuned in to the unmistakable scent of a female, and it dawned on him that it was a woman who held him immobile. The image of his dream-mermaid tugged at his memory.

  Stunned, he let her guide him across the room to the bed. A strange calmness had descended upon him, and like the sacrificial lamb on the altar, he waited patiently for whatever was to come.

  The bed dipped as she sat beside him. Her touch was gentle as she ran her hands up and down his arms. Then, she cupped his face and kissed him. Unable to resist such a sweet assault, his lips parted, and tongue met tongue.

  Suddenly, she bit his lower lip viciously, drawing blood. Her husky laughter chased away Vincent's brief pain, sparking desire. She licked the blood from his lower lip before kissing him once more. The taste of his own blood was slightly metallic, but he concentrated on the divine taste of her.

  He reached to pull her on top of him, but she resisted. Forcefully, she turned Vincent's head, baring his neck for her pleasure. He waited in anticipation as her breath heated his skin. Tingles raced over him as she lightly stroked her tongue along the madly thumping vein on his neck.

  Pleasure turned to pain as she bit through Vincent's skin and into his artery. His scream rang through the room, and he placed his hands on her shoulders. He tried to throw her off, but she was no ordinary female. She remained above him with her mouth to his open wound, and she drank the flowing blood.

  "What are you?” he managed to whisper as the pain finally eased. His strength was gone, and the silence pressed down as the creature sucked the life from him.

  Euphoric, he felt his heartbeat slow to almost nothing. His limbs were lifeless, and he couldn't move an inch. Death hovered closed, waiting to escort his soul to the other side.

  The creature lifted her head and whispered in Vincent's ear. “Get ready, love, this ride will change you forever."

  Wearily, he closed his eyes, preparing for death. Then, a small drop of liquid splashed against his mouth. Automatically, he licked the substance from his lips.

  Spiced rum? For a dying man?

  His eyes flew open as his mouth widened to receive more. Her throat was inches above him. Blood dripped from a gapping slash into his mouth. By the time he realized what it was, a terrible thirst was upon him, and he no longer cared. He latched onto her self-inflicted wound and drank.

  Her blood flowed through him as he drank with no other thought but to quench his thirst. Almost at the last minute, he pulled back, instantly realizing that he took too much from her. Her fists quit beating against him, and she jumped to her feet.

  Vincent started to stand but fell back on the bed as a sudden weakness washed over him. His eyelids became heavy, and he struggled to remain awake.

  What's going on? Why am I so tired?

  The woman's cool hand pressed against Vincent's forehead, and she touched her lips to his. “Sleep, my love,” she whispered. “Sleep while thy body dies."

  He wanted to protest, but darkness caught him in its net.

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  Seven

  When Vincent woke the next evening, the mermaid's face loomed over his. He blinked, realizing the room was clear as day though he somehow knew it was night. She kissed him briefly before pulling him to his feet.

  "Yer name,” he demanded.

  Hesitantly, she pulled her hands out of his and took two steps back. Her hand went to the necklace around her throat, and she took a deep breath. “Katherine, Katherine de Minsky."

  Vincent crossed his arms as a distant memory nagged at him. “Ye be no mermaid."

  "Nay, sir, I am not.” Her lips trembled as the truth escaped. “I am vampire."

  A smile played on Vincent's lips. Surely the lass was toying with him. Such things were old wife's tales, but then, so were mermaids.

  The seriousness in her lovely brown eyes caused his smile to fade into the pit of his stomach. He knew her words to be true.

  "Then I am dead?” Vincent asked quietly.

  "Nay, not dead. More alive than ever."

  Vincent's head snapped up as a strange scent touched his nose. His stomach growled in response to it. He looked past Katherine to the pitiful human cowering in a corner. Fear permeated from the man, and Vincent felt the
pull of human blood for the first time.

  Vincent's eyes briefly met Katherine's before he walked toward the bound and gagged man. He remembered the night before when he had heard muffled noises in the room. It had come from this mortal.

  He towered over the man, seeing things he'd never noticed before. Dark colors swirled through and around the man. Nasty parasites clung to his skin, invisible to the ordinary human eye. Vincent saw through flesh and bone to the center of this evil being, whose heart was black and shriveled and echoed the soul entombed within the body.

  Vincent's movements were quicker than even he realized. As soon as he thought it, he had pulled the man to his feet by his throat. He pushed his face close to the man's.

  Vincent smiled grimly. “Full circle at last, eh, Captain Jacob?"

  Fear caused the man to defecate in his trousers. Vincent shook his head in repulsion. “You can't even face death like a man,” he sneered.

  "Ye seem to ‘ave fergotten why ye were marooned, Jacob. Murder is a serious charge,” Vincent growled before sinking his teeth into Jacob's neck. The man screamed, and Vincent fed off his fear as much as off his blood. Indulging in vengeance, he drained Jacob of every ounce of blood. Then he dropped the bag of bones and faced Katherine.

  Her pale face was flushed, and her succulent lips beckoned for a kiss. Vincent closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. He pulled her close and tasted her lips’ ripeness. She gave into him, letting him explore her mouth at leisure.

  Abruptly, Vincent let her go and stepped back. His face held a look of shock as one memory after another flooded into his brain. His eyes locked painfully with hers.

  "Ye were my wife. My beloved Katherine. Ye left me for dead."

  Katherine's heart twisted and tears sprang to her eyes. She had dreaded this moment. She took a step forward, but Vincent backed away from her. She twisted the cross necklace in consternation.

  "Please let me explain,” she pleaded. “Do nay run from me."

  Vincent's blue eyes were clouded with hurt. “They burned me body. They had no idea that I could feel. They thought me dead and sought to keep it so. Then they pulled my teeth from me lifeless body."