The Fire Within (The Fire of The Soul Series) by Racquel Kechagias Page A

stops spinning us in circles, and although I am glad for
the rest it gives my spinning head, I am shocked to see the man in my
nightmares before me, but it is so blatantly obvious that he is not Christian
that it seems to paralyse me. It isn't until Kayden turns to me that I seem to
be pulled out of my paralysis.
    "Anna, are you alright?" Kayden asks. His
eyes hold concern for me, and I am touched that he feels something so strong
after we have only just met.
    "I'm quite alright, Kayden. Do I know you
sir?" I ask the gentleman that has interrupted our dance. The brunette man
with onyx eyes seems to be slightly put off for a moment, but soon his carefree
smile returns to his lips.
    "Unfortunately it seems that we have not met up
until this moment. I am Shade, a humble vampire simply seeking your permission
for a dance," Shade says, as Kayden steps away from me and Shade. Kayden
gives Shade a manly slap on the back.
    "Don't be modest Shade. Anna, this here is one
of the finest warriors I have ever had the privilege to work with. Shade is my
second in command," Kayden gives me one last crooked smile before walking
away, most likely to either find Victor, or to interact with the other people
in the crowd.
    "Wow you smell amazing and it isn't the cheap
perfume that a lot of vamp ladies wear. You smell human ?" He says,
and his onyx eyes seem to become even darker.
    "I suggest that you don't even think about
it," I say to the man that I am dancing with.
    "Don't worry princess; I don't like drinking
human blood. It reminds me too much of the mortality that I left behind,"
Shade says as we start dancing. Pachelbel's 'Canon' starts to play.
    "Victor gave me a purpose to live. I don't
remember much of my human life but I remember how I died. It isn't pretty so I
won't repeat it in front of a lady," He gives me a grim smile there,
before he continues "Kayden found me just within the Vampire territory, he
was out on parole and he found me and brought me to Victor, begging him to let
me live. He must have known the injustice done towards me or saw that I could
have been something greater than a savage beast, and Victor simply agreed me.
Now, as Kayden said I'm his second in command, his right hand man," Shade
seems to go distant for a few moments before his eyes find mine again and
smiling softly he says,
    "Victor deserves all the happiness in the
world. I doubt that you know very much about him Anna, nor the trials and
tribulations he's been through. He's searched for centuries trying to find the
perfect wife, and now he's found you, and I know that you're all he'll ever
need or want. But if you're not sure that Victor is all you're ever going to
need and want, then you need to find out quickly if he is or isn't, and if he
isn't then you need to leave before he gets too attached," The song ends
and Shade has time to make one last comment "Anna you don't need to give
me an answer, but just think about what I've said." He steps away but
before he walks away he bends down, picking up my hand in his, and kissing it
lightly on the front as he says "It was an honour to met you."
    Before I even have the chance to turn around Victor
is by my side again, beaming as if he's the happiest man alive.
    "Hey, I was waiting for you to finish with Shade,"
Victor says as he takes my hand in his and as "The Girl with the Flaxen
Hair" by Debussy starts playing, he pulls me into a slow dance.
    "He was telling me of how great you are and the
things that you've done for him," I say as I look up into Victor's crimson
eyes. His lopsided smile return to his lips as his eyes softened to extents
that I've never seen before.
    "I did it because Kayden asked me of it, and he
is like a brother to me. Now Shade is like a brother to me as well. If it
wasn't for Kayden, Shade would have died that night. I'm not proud to admit
that fact but it's the truth," Victor says, there is a coldness in his
voice that I cannot identify that terrifies me and makes me wonder if he