"Gone?"

Robert's fingers trembled but he continued to brush her hair. "Yes, Ma'am. When I went there earlier, the cave was empty."

Miguel would never abandon her. Never. Out them all, he would be the one to remain. Something had happened.

"Did you see anything?"

"There were several animal carcasses outside the cave. I burned them." He began sliding pins into her hair. "But I saw no other sign that they had been there."

"Something isn't right," she said.

"What's wrong, my love?" Innocenzio asked, stepping into her bedroom. She could see him in the corner of her eye. His gray suit clung to his chiseled body. His hair ruffled but still stylish. And he was hers.

"Miguel and the group with him have vanished."

"Vanished?" Innocenzio walked to her side and sank down onto one knee. "You think they have decided to not join you in your fight?"

"No," she said. "Miguel wants it even more than me. He hates how we have to hide. How we have to be careful while eating our food."

Innocenzio nodded. The first time he bit down on a live creature's neck, he gagged. She held the rabbit to his mouth forcing him to drink, to fulfill a hunger he didn't understand. To her surprise after only a few seconds, he had taken it from her hands and drank on his own. Then, he kissed her.

"What could have happened to them?"

She stroked his cheek, enjoying the feeling of his beard on her skin. "I do not know. But I need you to go and see if you can find any clues."

He took her hand and kissed it. "He was staying at the cave on Don Sebastian's land? We searched for the Fox there when he first appeared."

He still worried about Zorro. "Innocenzio, the past is the past."

"I'm not worried about the past." He leaned down in front of her, resting his palm against her heart. "My concern is for you."

"You wish humans to be locked in pastures waiting for you to pick your dinner, too?" she teased, waiving Robert away. He had finished styling her hair.

"I couldn't care less." Her lover shrugged. "I'll eat what I want to eat and when I want to eat it. I can be careful, and I can play on the humans' fears. I don't care who rules the world. I've come to realize in the last few years that ruling the world is not as pleasant as wanting it. But if you want it, I will do everything to help you get it."

She stood, forcing him to take a step back. "You do not wish to rule by my side."

He stepped forward, wrapping one arm around her. "I just want to be by your side."

The sentiment should sicken her. No one, not even the vampire who had declared her future to be that of a ruler, had ever cared for her. The idea left her unsettled.

"I am going to win the battle."

"Please, don't underestimate Zorro. His drive for justice is extraordinary. You may have to kill him," Innocenzio said.

Ah, here was an emotion she understood. "Jealous?"

His eyes dropped away from hers, and she recognized the signs. She had seen it often enough since they came to Los Angeles. Memories of his past were playing in his mind. She hated it. Hated the life he had led without her.

"No, I'm not," he said, sounding surprised. "Diego de la Vega has nothing I want. Now." He returned his focus to her. "I just want you safe. And I know Zorro is anything but safe to our kind."

"Vampires?"

Innocenzio shook his head. "No. To those of us who don't give a damn about justice."

Z Z Z

"You're whistling."

Diego smiled at the intrusion. "It's a new piece from Europe. I played it on the piano after dinner."

Earlier, Victoria had sat by his side turning the pages as his father had leaned back in his chair, his eyes closed, enjoying the music. Months had passed since they had spent an evening so. After a wonderful dinner, the time spent together had been a perfecting ending of a wonderful day.

"You and Victoria are staring to work out your problems." There was no question in her voice.

"Yes, we are," Diego said, carefully making a notation in his notebook before replacing a test tube. He picked up another and made another notation. If not for this experiment, he would not be in the caves yet. He would have waited for Victoria to get in bed and fall asleep before going out to hunt for vampires.

The hysteria of last night had evaporated, and even after seeing what he had seen, a part of him resisted the facts. It was a nightmare. It was a carefully orchestrated act. Hallucinations from eating a bad piece of meat perhaps. Vampires could not exist.

But they did.

"Did you tell her about us?"

He almost dropped the test tube. "Us?"

She grinned. "Vampire us. Not you and me us."

"Oh. No," he admitted, looking anywhere but in her eyes. The desire remained, but it was muted, distant. And he was beginning to understand what she meant when she told him it was not true lust. She remained more of a puzzle he wanted to solve than a woman he wanted in his bed.

"You should."

Last night, before talking to Victoria, before feeling the strength just being in her arms gave him, he would have argued violently against the idea. "Perhaps. But I want to protect her."

Esperanza looked towards the back of the cave and grinned. "And she wants to protect you. And will."

Diego turned, following her gaze and flinched when he saw his wife holding a musket trained on his guest. He took a step forward. "Victoria, put the gun down."

His wife never looked at him. "No."

"Have you ever shot anyone, Victoria?" Esperanza's amusement echoed off the walls. "Messy business."

"Father taught me how to use this-" she patted the gun stock "-when I took over the tavern. I am a very good shot." Victoria's smile made Diego shiver. "And I'm a bar maid; I know how to clean up messes."

"Father taught you how to shoot?"

She continued to focus her attention on Esperanza, but she answered his question. "I was a woman alone in a pueblo with little security when I took over the tavern. He taught me how to shoot. And he taught me how to fight dirty," she said, a warning to their guest.

Diego looked at the very pregnant figure of his wife holding a musket steady at a woman she considered a threat. To him. And he fell even more in love with her.

Z Z Z

Esperanza admiration for Victoria increased. Only a short time ago, she had felt the usual contempt for Victoria. She let her lazy good-for-nothing cheating husband abuse her, and she had given her heart to a man who had only played with it. In spite of that contempt, she had liked her. Had sensed the passion and dedication and loyalty this woman possessed.

That passion, dedication and loyalty had led her to grab a musket and to aim it at Esperanza. She had to admire the sheer grit the woman possessed. "I'm not going to hurt him."

Victoria continued to hold the gun steady. "You said you were going to kill him."

Esperanza briefly considered lying. Knew it would do her no good. "I had planned on it. But now I don't think he's the problem."

"The problem?"

"Vampires." Diego looked as startled by what he said as she felt.

His wife blinked and actually glanced in his direction. "Vampires?"

"Vampires," Esperanza said with a grin. "Nasty creatures. Real pains in the neck."

Victoria sighed but continued to hold the musket steady. "You are a vampire hunter."

"Oh, no," Esperanza said, shaking her head. "I think they are even more of a pain in the neck. Assumes every vampire is evil, and most of the time the prey they kill are ordinary people. Very few of us have actually been killed by humans."

The gun barrel lowered slightly. "Us?"

She grinned, letting her teeth show. "Us."

Victoria looked to Diego for confirmation. The fact he said nothing seemed to be enough for her. She carefully lowered the gun. Her husband jumped forward and took it from her hands. She didn't spare him a glance. "I will not let you hurt him."

"I don't want to. Not anymore. But I can't guarantee he won't be hurt."

Setting her jaw, Victoria waddled forward and sat down at his desk. Her nose twisted at the smell, and Esperanza hid a smile. Her own nose had protested earlier when she stepped into the cave. Victoria looked at her and Diego. "What do we need to do?"

"We?" Diego was already shaking his head.

"We," his wife said firmly. "I let you hide away from me. I can't stop you from trying, but I've realized that I chased you for ten years, Diego. I can keep chasing you until you're done running."

He blinked. Esperanza knew she was missing huge chunks of conversation that was being silently between the two. To her surprise, Diego nodded and sat down next to his wife. He took her hand in his and kissed it briefly before setting it back on the table. Both de la Vegas looked at her. "What do we need to do?"

Esperanza wished she had an answer to give him.

Z Z Z

"We shall have to begin training soon," Tasia said to the vampires she considered her generals. They were strong, fast, and had the ability to lead. Vampires, as a rule, didn't travel in packs. Petty jealousies and other unimportant issues usually split most groups that had tried. Perhaps it was nature's way of protecting the food sources.

Modestus leaned back in his chair and crossed his ankles. Looking at him, no one would guess what a brilliant fighter he was. The length of his limbs made him appear clumsy, and his natural tallness made him look lean and weak. The face stuck with the youthfulness of the day he was turned made the humans think of a kind little brother. Tasia knew better. The few battles that they had over the years had been bloody and painful. She needed him, and she hated that fact.

Studying her, he swirled his wine in his glass. "Where's Miguel?"

She barely kept herself from reacting. She would not lose. Not now.

"He's not here."

He grinned. "I noticed. Why? He's always been your biggest supporter. Or at least the most desperate for easy hunting," he sneered, his lip curling. Modestus had never had human servants do his hunting for him. He considered it weak, foolish. Tasia thought he was probably correct.

"He is on an assignment." Tasia craned her neck to see Innocenzio walking into the room. Tension crackled in his eyes, but she doubted anyone else in the room noticed. He strolled into the room as if he owned it, took a glass of wine from the credenza, and sat down next to her. "My dear," he said, taking her hand in his and gently kissing it.

"An assignment? Doing what?" Modestus demanded.

Innocenzio looked at her. "Is it any of his business, my dear?"

She grinned at him. "No, it is not."

He nodded. "I'm afraid you have no reason to know, Modestus."

Any hint of ease disappeared. Modestus sat up straight in his chair, his eyes flashing. "I'm not Tasia's puppy like you. I'm only in this fight to get what I want. I don't care what Tasia wants."

"We all want to win, whatever the reason." Innocenzio said, casually taking a sip of his wine. "Nice. Robert made an excellent choice. I'll make sure I tell him."

"Where is Miguel?"

Innocenzio looked bored. "Are you going to tell him, my dear?"

She took his wine glass from him and took a sip. The sound of Modestus teeth grinding made her smile. "You can."

Innocenzio nodded at her before slowly turning his attention back to the vampire-filled room. "He's taking care of a problem for us."

The tension in the room became stifling. Tasia set the glass down before she broke it in her fist. Would all of her plans collapse around her for daring to trust?

Modestus stood. "Problem? There's a problem."

Innocenzio laughed. "Of course there's a problem."

"Really? What problem would that be?"

Her lover's voice turned mocking. "The Dark One. Have you all forgotten the prophecies that brought us together?"

"The Destroyer." Emilia spoke. The tiny-framed lady lacked in physical strength compared to some in the room. However, she had managed to command a group of vampires for over a century by the force of her will and her charm.

"Yes, the Destroyer," Innocenzio murmured.

"You mock him," Modestus said.

Innocenzio dusted some imaginary lint from his cuffs. "He's unworthy of anything else."

Modestus' eyes met hers and demanded answers. "You know who he is?"

Tasia turned to look at Innocenzio. He had found a way to both answer a question that could have created a mutiny in her needed army, and he had found a way to use that answer to distract the generals from their other questions. Looking in his eyes, she trusted him. Trusted him as she had trusted no other.

"Oh, yes," she answered, finally turning her attention back to the lady sitting across from her. "I know exactly who the Dark One is."

"He's a problem?"

"More of a nuisance," Innocenzio answered for her. She smiled her appreciation.

"He is being handled."

The vampires in the room looked at her with an appreciation she had never seen. She basked in it and knew that, with the help of the man by her side, she would soon rule the world.

Z Z Z

"What are you thinking?"

Diego turned his attention from his experiment to his wife. "I'm debating if I should dismantle this or not."

"Dismantle it?" she said. She took a step towards him. Noticing that her hand was pressed against her lower back, he reached around her and began rubbing it. She sighed and relaxed into his arms.

"Science can be so dangerous."

She leaned back to look up at him. "Dangerous?"

"Esperanza didn't explain the vampires to you."

Victoria shook her head and leaned forward. "No, she didn't."

"And you didn't ask. A single question."

"You believed," she said into his shoulder. "That was good enough for me."

"Even after everything?" He had failed her in too many ways.

"Maybe because of everything. Maybe because I sat in our library today reading my journals and noticed so many things about you, about me, about Felipe, and about Father that I never noticed before."

He guided her over to the chair and sat down across from her. Drawing her legs into his lap, he began rubbing them as if she was one of their champion horses. The tiny shudder through her body told him she appreciated the gesture. Tornado snorted his displeasure. "I'll rub you down later, old boy. After Victoria has gone to sleep."

The muscles beneath his fingers tensed. "You are riding tonight."

"Only to give Tornado exercise," he said.

She nodded but her earlier relaxation was only a memory. Glancing at the bubbling test tubs, she asked, "So why are you suddenly thinking that science is dangerous?"

He started to tell her that she needed to be in bed, that the little one and she needed rest, but he saw the yearning in her eyes, the yearning to understand him, to connect with him. He understood that yearning. He wanted to connect with her, too.

Fighting years of self-training, years of fear, he told her what he knew. "Esperanza says vampires were created by science."

Victoria's grin was brief but brilliant. She settled more into her chair. "Science? Diego, I know you have done some amazing feats with science, but-"

"Have you ever heard of Atlantis?"

She giggled. "Don't you remember? You told me about it."

"I did?"

"I was very young. So were you. Your tutor had just introduced you to Plato's works. You found the idea of a lost island fascinating. And you wanted to share it. Even with the tomboyish little girl of your father's friend."

Vague memories played through his mind. He could remember reading Plato for the first time. And, if he really concentrated, he thought he could remember talking to Victoria about it. "I think I remember. We were sitting under the tree in the back of the tavern."

"Yes, we were."

He paused in his ministrations. "Why do you remember?"

"Little tomboyish girls can have tendres for cute older boys."

He grinned. "Really?"

"Really," she replied. "I decided as a very young girl I was going to marry you."

"And you did."

"And I did," she said with pride.

He glanced at his watch and realized it was time to take some more readings. The last one of the day. He carefully placed her feet on the stool where he had been sitting. Gathering his notes, he walked around the table and began observing the changes in his mixtures.

"Esperanza said that scientists on Atlantis wanted to conquer death, so they studied the human body until they could tell if a child would have a disease before they were born."

"Diego, you know-" She stopped and he saw the realization hit her that he was talking about vampires. "I think I liked Old Man Rios' version better."

Making careful note of the color change in the first test tube, he laughed. "Rios: I'd forgotten about him."

He had loved his stories as a child. Enjoyed the chill that crawled up his spine at the old man's words. He spoke of evil creatures roaming the world and of the brave men who defeated them. While his brain had argued that those beings could not possibly exist, his heart had pounded in terror at the chance that Senor Rios' stories, told with such conviction, were true.

Diego had been one of the last to hear him share his tales. A brilliant story teller, he had drowned himself in alcohol until it finally won the battle. A night of hard drinking had led him into tripping over a tree branch and into a swollen creek. His drinking buddy had been unable to save him.

Now that Diego knew the truth about vampires, he wondered if perhaps Rios had known that truth. If the alcohol had been his way of hiding from memories that were destroying him.

"A lot of people have been talking about him at the tavern," Victoria said. "I've enjoyed hearing some of them again. I always had to hide and strain to hear him telling his stories. Mother thought they would keep me awake all night. Ramôn was the one that stayed up all night, stiff as a board in his bed, so sure that something was coming to get him in the night."

"All the whispers of vampires reminded everyone of him," he said. Those whispers had frustrated him earlier, and now he knew them to be accurate.

"Yes," she said. He knew she understood where his thoughts were. "They are real, Diego."

"Yes," he said. "Esperanza said that they found some part of the human body that they could manipulate, change. Even eye color could be changed in a child before it was born. Then they discovered what controlled aging, and changed it, but after the change, they noticed that food didn't satisfy hunger anymore. Their bodies required them to drink others' blood to replenish their own."

Victoria thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Rios said they were demons. From hell. Who preyed on humans."

Diego almost dropped the last test tube when he remembered the feeding frenzy he had witnessed. He shuddered, unable to hide his revulsion. "They are from hell."

Victoria began to move her feet to the ground. "You think Esperanza is lying?"

"No," he admitted, blowing out the candles that had been heating the tubes. "I think that just because they were made by science doesn't mean they aren't damned."

He watched as she carefully scooted herself to the edge of the chair and then used the arms to push herself up. After placing the chemicals where he could easily drain them tomorrow, he walked over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her.

"That's why you are thinking about stopping your experiments?" she said, hugging him tightly to her.

"Science can create such evil."

"Science doesn't create good. Or evil. Diego, the way people use it creates evil or good. You have used your science to save this pueblo and a good number of people." She leaned forward and kissed him. A gentle kiss. One that made his toes curl. "And I'm betting your science will save us again."

Z Z Z

Esperanza followed the scent. Literally. The mass of rotting animal carcasses had attracted her notice earlier. She knew what the scent meant. Another group of vampires. Gathered together as vampires never did.

On the ridge, she looked down at the group of vampires and watched as Emelia arrived and made her demands. A legend among vampires, Emelia had managed to keep several vampires working together for centuries. Somehow she had managed to overcome the natural tendency vampires had for stabbing each other in the back.

Her fingers itched to grasp her sword, but she was outnumbered. She would need Diego's help. How many groups did Tasia have? The number in the last cave had impressed Esperanza more than she wanted to admit. Counting this group, she felt the beginnings of fear. Maybe even with the Dark One's help, she couldn't win. The task was bigger than her.

Tomorrow night she would lead her partner here and they would fight side by side. She hoped that whatever God Diego believed in was on their side.

Z Z Z

"What happened to Miguel?"

Innocenzio gathered her hand in his and walked out into the garden. The sounds of horse hooves were disappearing in the distance. Their guests had left in a more agreeable mood. "I believe they are dead."

Her hand clutched at his. "Dead?"

"There was a lot of ash."

Tasia stared out at the night sky, watching the moon sink away from her. "Robert burned the corpses of their dinner."

"Too much ash was inside the cavern. I think someone burned them." Innocenzio's words were calm. Tasia struggled to maintain her own sense of calm.

"There were over-"

"I know."

She stopped walking. "You think Diego did it."

"I don't know."

He continued to surprise her. "You don't know."

"No, I don't. He's a man of science. He's not one to believe in vampires and ghosts and goblins and all that can go bump in the night," Innocenzio admitted. "And he has a great passion for life."

She sank down on a bench, and looked up at her lover. His eyes remained on hers as he talked about his past. Whatever ghosts used to haunt when his memories were blurs at best seemed to have left him. "I thought he helped kill you, Innocenzio."

"No." He laughed, and she felt her blood sing at the sound. "It was my foolishness that killed me. I remembered that earlier. He, however, has probably taken at least part of the blame. Eaten away with guilt. I love it."

"You really do not like him."

"No, I hate him," Innocenzio said with a shrug. "But I will endure him if it will get you what you want."

"But you still recommend caution."

"He's like playing in the sun, Tasia. It's fun. Makes the blood sing. But we shouldn't be surprised if he burns us."

Z Z Z

"Father just threw his hands in the air and walked away. I don't think he knew what to do."

Victoria laughed. "Did your mother scold you?"

"She was too busy laughing," Diego replied. "I could have burned the entire hacienda to the ground."

Alejandro remained hidden in the shadows. Victoria and Diego were in the library. She was in the chair where she usually rested in the afternoons. In front of her, instead of the usual footstool, Diego sat. His head lay in what remained of her lap. Her fingers were playing with his hair, and Alejandro's heart nearly burst from the relaxed happiness he saw on both their faces.

Even in the early days of the marriage, they had lacked this ease between them. Happiness had shined but neither had acted as if they felt that free. They had been careful. So careful with each other.

Victoria's hair was free from the tight bun. He saw her toes peeking out from beneath her skirt. Diego's shirt was partially unbuttoned and even his boots were missing. Alejandro's smile was spontaneous and free.

Then he recalled why he was standing here. What news he had heard in the plaza. Raul had told him personally. Raul's face had been tight and pinched looking. His hair looked as if he had forgotten to comb it when he awoke, and his shirt had been tucked in at a crooked angle.

Still, seeing how happy they were, Alejandro loathed telling them. They could learn of it later. But he wanted them to be safe, careful, if they left the hacienda, and if Diego was-Well, Diego might need to know.

Stepping forward, he cleared his throat, and to his surprise, Victoria and Diego did not rush to look proper. Diego's head remained in Victoria's lap and she remained relaxing in her chair. The smile both gave him was their only acknowledgment of his presence.

"Diego, Victoria-"

"Good afternoon, Father." Diego yawned. "We were about to go take an afternoon siesta."

The dark circles that had been under both sets of eyes were starting to disappear. Another relief to an old man awaiting the birth of his grandchild. Now if they could only arrive at a solution for the mysterious illness striking their pueblo.

The illness or the twisted human. He really didn't want to believe humans were capable of such evil, but he knew it was possible. "I just came from the tavern."

"Business should be good today," Victoria said with an unconcerned air. "It is market day."

"There were only a few people there," he admitted. Diego sat up, his manner reminding Alejandro of an animal on a hunt. Each movement was precise, done for a reason. His eyes studied Alejandro for clues.

"What's happened?" Victoria was the one that voiced the question.

"Another death."

"I thought everyone was getting used to it," Diego sighed, his muscles relaxing.

"They were. The death of the cattle frightened them, but the numbers have remained low and random."

Diego again looked like he was preparing for a hunt. Or perhaps he was an animal aware of a closing in predator. "It wasn't a cow this time."

"No," Alejandro told him, wishing he could keep the information to himself. "Don Javier was found this morning out in his lower pasture."

"Poor Doña Ivette," his daughter-in-law gasped, showing compassion for someone who had showed her none. "She must be devastated. But what caused the panic?"

"He had two tiny holes-" Alejandro pointed to his throat. "And his family insisted that Doctor Hernandez examine him. He believes Javier was drained of blood as well."

Diego and Victoria stared at each other, and Alejandro was left with the feeling that they knew far more about what was happening than he did. Part of him wanted to demand answers. A bigger part of him was afraid. "They are burying his body as we speak."

"No funeral?"

"They're packing to leave. As soon as his remains are placed in the ground, they will be gone." Alejandro had briefly considered trying to talk to them, trying to make them see reason. He wanted them to understand that their reckless abandonment of Los Angeles might create alarm, an unnecessary panic. But thinking about Don Javier, he didn't know if the panic was unnecessary.

"Thank you for telling us, Father," Victoria said, carefully edging her way out of her chair. "We need to go lay down, Diego."

His son blinked. "I need-"

"To get rest," his wife insisted, standing and offering her hand. "You said it yourself. Rest helps the mind and body work."

Diego's smile was weak, but he nodded his agreement. He stood and took her hand. "We will see you at dinner, Father."

Alejandro watched them go. A small shiver overtook him, and he went to stand by the fire. Unfortunately, its flames failed to warm him.

Z Z Z