"The Eureka Chronicles - Part 3" by Victoria M. Bean

Bernardo never knew quite what brought him back to the tavern that night, but he somehow felt he must return. Something was drawing him there, or perhaps it was someone.<br><br>
He felt the usual icy stares of the other customers as he stepped into the room. They seemed to direct all their hatred for his kind in those stares as though loathing him made them all the more pure.<br><br>
The vampire staked towards the chair by the fire, turning down the drink Minerva had offered him. What he really wanted to do was sit down, to try to figure out what he was doing here. But he found, quite to his surprise, that the chair already had an occupant, Sinza. She was sprawled out in the chair in a most unladylike manner with her long legs dangling over one arm. <br><br>
Sinza looked up, smirking, as though she had been expecting him, her raven tresses falling away from her face. The traveler’s clothing she had worn the night before had been replaced by more elegant attire: a crimson red, velvet corset pressed against a silken blouse enclosed her shapely figure, though the practical britches and boots still remained. “Well, hello there.”<br><br>
Bernardo was struck quite speechless. This ravishing vixen was actually talking to him! His searched his mind desperately for the right words to say to her. But all he found was a voice warning him to stay away from her. She was beautiful, true, but it was a deadly beauty.<br><br>
“You’re sitting in my chair,” he finally managed to say gruffly.<br><br>
“I know,” the young woman replied with a smug air.<br><br>
Bernardo turned his lips back in a scowl. How could anyone be that coy? It was like she was playing a game with him, and he was most definitely losing.<br><br>
Sinza simply grinned, knowing any moment he was going to lose his temper. That’s what she wanted, to show him just how tough she could be. <br><br>
But the vampire was not so easily ruffled. He turned away from her, his cloak following in a liquid movement, and calmly walked back up to the bar.<br><br>
This act was met by stares from the entire tavern, especially Sinza who was quite shocked at finding any man able to resist her allure. Yet his coldness only served to intrigue her more.<br><br>
She nearly jumped out of her seat as a hand touched her shoulder, a hand that belonged to a most irritable looking young man.<br><br>
“So, we meet again,” Don Debasco said smoothly, yet with a touch of bitterness.<br><br>
“You just don’t give up, do you?” Sinza brushed his hand off her shoulder disgustedly. In the brief time since she had met Debasco, she had learned to loath him. She could see right through all those fine clothes and lovely words, right down to the snake he really was, rich, arrogant, selfish.<br><br>
“You must understand my pet,” he grabbed her arm tightly, pulling her out of the chair, “I always get what I want in the end.”<br><br>
“Not this time!” The young woman backhanded him hard, making him stumble, releasing his grip.<br><br>
Debasco rubbed his face, finding blood tricking down his cheek. “You will pay for that, Amazon!” He stood, drawing his sword.<br><br>
Much to his surprise, a dark figure stepped between him and the girl. <br><br>
A solemn face met his. “I advise you to leave before do something you’ll regret.” Bernardo looked at him darkly.<br><br>
The young man glared at the vampire for a moment. At last he returned his sword to its holding, angrily retreating. <br><br>
“This is not over,” were his final words before storming out the door.<br><br>
Bernardo turned to look at Sinza, standing there in astonishment. Their eyes locked, transfixed in each other’s for a fleeting moment.<br><br>
Regrettably, he turned his gaze away, silently making his exit through the tavern’s door.<br><br>
For the first time in her life, Sinza was completely and undoubtedly bewildered. How could any man be so gallant yet so frozen as he? It sparked her curiosity in a way nothing else ever had. <br><br>
She turned slightly, feeling the stares of all the tavern upon her. “And what, pray tell, are you looking at?” she snapped.<br><br>
The patrons quickly went back to their own business as the young woman headed towards the door. <br><br>
Minerva watched her go, knowing she meant to follow Bernardo. She clutched the the bar cloth in her hand nervously. “May the gods help them both.” <br><br>

<hr>

The cold, late-fall wind swept though Sinza hair as she ran down the stone path. Her thin cotton shirt provided no protection, and she cursed herself for not dressing in more suitable apparel. It didn’t matter. All that did was her finding him.<br><br>
But why? Why was she so drawn to him? She barely knew him, yet she felt as if she had known him all her life, as if there were something very strong bringing them together. What, she did not know.<br><br>
Finally, the young woman stopped by the side of the pathway near a crumbling stone wall, unable to go on. Her lungs were burning for oxygen, and the crisp air was only of little relief.<br><br>
Slowly she regained her composure, slumping back against the wall. <i>“How could I have lost him?” </i> she thought.<br><br>
Then suddenly she became aware that she wasn’t the only one breathing. There was someone else there, someone very near. Swallowing the nervous lump in her throat, Sinza peered around the stone wall, the rotting mason crumbling as her fingers touched it. Sitting in the cold shadow of the wall was a dark figure, a cloak pulled over his face to keep out the chill. <br><br>
The pirate held her breath, not wanting to let him know of her presence, but his sharp ears heard her nevertheless. He looked towards her, the cloak falling away from his face to reveal hard brown eyes.<br><br>
“Why did you follow me?” asked Bernardo brashly as he stood, walking into the dim moonlight. In his heart, he wanted her there more than anything, but his mind feared her presence.<br><br>
Sinza gathered her courage. “I came to thank you,” she looked up at him, her jeweled eyes inviting him to draw nearer. <br><br>
The vampire looked away. “I do not wish any thanks.”<br><br>
A soft hand touched his cheek, so angelic he could not resist its warmth. Gently, it brought his attention to its owner’s face.<br><br>
“You did me a favor, and I owe you for that.” The look of desire she wore was unmistakable. “And I always pay my debts.” Sinza leaned towards him, her soft lips pressing tenderly against his.<br><br>
Bernardo closed his eyes. His mind screamed of the danger, told him to flee before it was too late. But every other part of his being cried out its longing to continue. This is what he wanted, this moment, this incredible sensation. He wanted it all. He wanted her.<br><br>
The hand upon his face caressed his cheek delicately. Sinza wrapped her other arm over his shoulder and around his back, pressing her body seductively close to his.<br><br>
The vampire found himself setting his hands against her sides, one moving downwards to grasp her slender waist, the other trailing up her spine almost teasingly. The second hand reached the nape of her neck, slipping up into her raven tresses. Bernardo was amazed, fascinated by the way her silken locks glided between his fingers. He wondered if all women’s hair was this luxurious. But he cared little to find out. This was the only women he wanted at the moment.<br><br>
Sinza could feel his strong arms around her, holding her so affectionately. She let her mind drift away, completely lost in his embrace. She, the woman who had broken the hearts of countless men, at the mercy of her own desire for one. It was almost amusing the way fate seemed to be playing with her.<br><br>
Suddenly, Bernardo’s eyes flew open as his mind once more regained control over his lust. He pushed the young woman away from him violently, backing away but his glaze remained upon her.<br><br>
Surprised, Sinza toppled backwards, staring at him in shock, his pale features seeming even more ghostly to her.<br><br>
Bernardo trembled, his voice barely a whisper, “Forgive me.” He turned away, his heart pounding like a drum, wanting desperately to return to his sanctuary.<br><br>
Sinza got to her feet, anger boiling up inside her. “How can you be so cold?!” she screamed. “How can return my kiss like that and feel nothing? Have you no emotions at all, Bernardo?”<br><br>
He cringed at her words. “There is more to this than you know.”<br><br>
“Then why don’t you tell me? If you cared for me at all....”<br><br>
The vampire spun around, cutting off her sentence. “It’s because I care that I want you to stay away! I won’t see you hurt for my sins.”<br><br>
With no more words, he retreated, disappearing into the cold, uncaring night, leaving her alone with her thoughts.<br><br>
Sinza slumped back against the stone wall. She felt as though a cutlass had pierced through her heart, leaving a wound that neither medicine nor time could ever heal. <i>So, this is how a broken heart feels,</i> she thought to herself bitterly.<br><br>
A light drizzle pelted her face as she slowly make her way back to the tavern. But she was glad for it. It hid the hot tears that had begun rolling down her cheeks.<br><br>
End of part 3.<br><br>