Free Courting the Darkness by Karen Fuller Page B

you back and leave you with Drake.”
    Despite the cold, she suddenly felt warm. “Then don’t take me back to Drake.”
    “If only it were that simple.” He held her tighter. “There are things that you don’t understand about our vampire society. My peers consider me a rogue because I prefer my solitude, and I don’t like to follow orders. Rogues are not generally trusted and barely tolerated. We have to swear an allegiance with the local king and be bound to his service, to do as the king commands. If we refuse the commitment, then we are hunted down and destroyed, or at the very least, run out of the territory. Drake is not only my king. He is also my friend…and my maker. He can be a little selfish and arrogant at times, but deep down, he’s a good man and a strong leader. Even though he is a vampire, he is not generally a cruel sort unless you’re an enemy. If I thought he would hurt you, I’d take you and run.”
    Tears pooled in her eyes again. “I’m afraid he’ll never let me go.”
    He frowned at the desperation in her voice, suddenly concerned that she may have promised more than she could deliver to his king. “Exactly what kind of deal did you make with Drake?”
    “He didn’t give me much choice.” She shrugged. “I agreed to try to cast the spell he wants.”
    “Did he offer you anything in return?”
    “He said that if I could allow him to walk in the daylight, I could have anything I want.” She paused. “He also added if it was within his power to give.”
    “Those were his words?” She nodded in response. “If Drake is anything, he is a man of his word. If it is within his power, he’ll give it to you.”
    Her eyes lit up with a new hope. “I want to start working on that spell.”
    “Right now?”
    “Yes, if I can figure out that spell now, then I can stop worrying about all this mess. Do you have that cell phone on you?”
    “No, it’s in the van.”
    “Good.” She smiled as her plan unfolded. “I have to make a phone call to another witch from my coven. She’ll know about where I can go around here to get the ingredients for the spell. I need you to drive me there.”

CHAPTER TWELVE
     
    With trembling fingers, Desiree dialed her friend Sherry’s number from the cell phone. The phone rang a dozen times before Sherry picked up.
    Sherry yawned into the phone. “Hello?”
    “Hi, Sherry, it’s me, Desiree.”
    “Desiree, do you have any idea what time it is?”
    “Yeah, it’s about two-thirty in the morning.” She suddenly felt guilty about calling her friend at that hour. “I’m sorry about the time, but this is important.”
    “Where have you been? We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
    “It’s a long story.” She sighed into the receiver. “And I don’t have time to go into it now. I need you to get on the computer and pull up our directory.”
    Sherry automatically reached over, turning her computer on. “Why didn’t you do this yourself?”
    She looked at Mica, shrugging. “I’m stuck in a cave out in the middle of nowhere, and I am lucky to have this cell phone.”
    “Okay, the computer’s powered up, and I’m in the directory. What am I looking for?
    “Hang on a second.” She raised an eyebrow at Mica. “Mica, where are we again?”
    “We're in Sevierville, Tennessee.”
    She nodded, speaking again into the receiver. “I need you to pull up Sevierville.”
    “I heard him,” she remarked in concentration. “I’ve got the directory up for that area. Now, Desiree, tell me, you’re stuck in a cave in Sevierville with a guy named Mica? I want every detail.”
    “It’s not what you think,” Desiree remarked impatiently, “and it will have to wait for another time. I’m in a jam and I need ingredients for a spell.”
    “What kind of spell?”
    “I’m not at liberty to say, but it’s a huge spell—one with permanent effects, if you get my drift.”
    “Let me get this straight. You're stuck in a cave in Tennessee with a guy