"Damon, darling." Eva saw him approach in the dim alley, only steps away from the building sheltering her newest creation. "You never really complained when I drank from you. I seem to remember your kisses heating me like flaming coals on a winter's night."

"That was before you left me for your next conquest."

"I've always loved my creations. You're no different."

"All your creations? The hundreds of poor, helpless humans you transformed to satisfy your bloodthirsty needs?"

From the darkness, Eva felt the approach of more vampires set to destroy her. She laughed. "Think you can stop me, little Damon? Oh, and I see you finally met Raife. Now there is a lover I can never forget."

Raife, with a new lover at his side, never looked more tantalizing. Being in love suited him. Eva's eyes slid over the form of his witch-vampire. "I see you brought her along. You know, she is a part of me, too."

"Threaten my mate and you'll suffer long before death grants you release." Raife's eyes glowed with anger.

Eva wanted him. She really had felt something for the English pirate all those centuries ago. "You are a bunch of fools to try and take down your maker. Do you honestly think I'd let it happen?"

"I'd like to see you try and stop us from destroying you." Raife's mate appeared s.p.u.n.ky and courageous, but not all that intelligent.

"Oh, I don't have to stop you," Eva said with a smile.

She called to her loyal servants. Eva wasn't as unprepared as they had likely expected.

The sound of flapping wings filled the dark alleyway as a flock of crows descended. They soared through the air, landed on the cobblestone street, perched along the iron fire escapes that clung to the sides of the brick buildings. Even more glared down from the top of the rooftops. The black birds shifted shape. Soon, vampires of every race and background lined the alley behind the gloating Eva. An army of faithful vampires to do her battles.

Yvette's courage wavered.

Eva obviously enjoyed the moment. "Feeling so sure of yourselves now, my pets?"

Facing this army of servants, Yvette knew they would be lucky if they got out of this with their heads.

"I think we can even the score a bit," quipped a voice.

An Italian vampire, along with more vampires Yvette had never met, came up behind her and Raife. A red-haired woman dressed in a trench coat brandished a large, deadly looking machete. Another Italian smirked as he stood with his attractive mate, who had dressed like a gypsy with velvet scarves. But the large blond vampire with the air of sophistication and dominance, the one who had spoken, made Yvette shiver. He stepped through the street like he owned the town, closely followed by a large gray wolf.

"Lucius, you just don't know when you are beat, do you? Can't you see the odds are against you and your friends?"

"I never play the odds." The wolf at the vampire's side growled when he lifted his silver-tipped walking stick to polish the end. He seemed completely unconcerned of the vampires closing in around them. "If you don't call off your little batboys, I can guarantee they'll never see the moon rise again."

"My pets protect their mistress, just as your pet stands by you."

Yvette reached into her bag, formulating a plan.

"What are you doing?" Raife asked her in a whisper.

"Just stay inside the circle." She pulled out a large container of salt and flicked up the spout. "I can't stop them all, but I can make things a bit more in our favor."

Stepping around the group of friendly vampires, she enclosed them in a circle of salt.

"I can't protect your blond friend and the wolf from my spell," she said in a hushed voice to Raife as she reached into her bag for two gla.s.s vials.

"I don't think any spell will affect Lucius. What are you going to do?"

"As I said, just stay inside the circle."

Eva paid no attention to Yvette, obviously dismissing her powers. But after Yvette's recent and powerful s.e.xual gratification, her magic had grown strong. She murmured her plea to the G.o.ddesses, especially her patroness Bast, for the strength to overcome her foes.

Feeling the answer to her prayers as her body began to glow, she raised her arm holding the vials and tossed them outside the circle.

They hit the pavement, the blue gla.s.s shattering upon contact, and the contents bursting into the air in a smoky cloud.

"Do you really think you ca--"

The cloud cut Eva's words short. It built into a storming presence, becoming larger and larger over the alley, rising into the air above the gathered vampires.

"Just don't move out of the circle," Yvette said to Raife and his friends as they watched in awe.

Then, the storm broke. But it did not rain water droplets. Eva's vampire army began to transform. They screamed and doubled over in pain as their bodies morphed and shifted.

"d.a.m.n you, witch!" Eva yelled. She retreated into the h.o.a.rd of her vampires, now mewling, shrinking, and taking on the characteristics of cats.

They shifted even smaller, becoming a disorganized giant litter of kittens.

Eva ran. Lucius transformed into a great golden owl and flew in pursuit. His mate, however, affected by the spell, transformed into a kitten as well.

Raife turned to Yvette with a questioning look.

"The blond and Eva must be very powerful to avoid the spell. But the others weren't so fortunate."

"How long will the spell last?" asked the redhead holding the machete.

"A few hours." Yvette gazed out at the alley, moving with cute little fur b.a.l.l.s. "But the vampires who are older won't be affected so long."

"Can we move now?" asked the Italian.

"Yes, we can go out of the circle now."

The male vampires shifted into various forms--a wolf, an owl, an eagle--and headed after Eva. The women, obviously fledglings in their own right and unable to shift as of yet, followed closely. The gypsy picked up the wolf-turned-kitten and ran after her mate. Raife did not follow. "There are enough after Eva. I need to protect you on your first night as a vampire. I'd much rather be in bed, plunging into your body, than scoping the streets for her."

"You know, my powers do need to be recharged."

"Oh, torture."

As they turned from the kittens sc.r.a.ping along the alley and trying to find a hiding place, she asked, "Do you think they'll kill her?"

"Not sure. She is too slick to get caught easily. Though, I sense she won't be back in New Orleans for a long time."

"What about the new vampire she made?"

He stopped and gazed at the buildings lining the alley. "d.a.m.n it."

"Fear not, mon amigo. I found where Eva was keeping the senorita," Vince announced inside their minds. "But, it looks as if she is an escape artist. She must have gotten away during the day. I sense she hasn't been here for hours."

"What are we going to do?" Yvette replied through her thoughts.

"I'll try to track her, but I think she probably left New Orleans."

"Where do you think she went?" Yvette asked aloud.

"Don't know. Where would a weak fledgling go?"

"Good question." Raife sounded annoyed at this twist in events.

"What makes you think she is weak?" Yvette asked.

"Because Eva starves her victims."

"She may not be starving now, though."

Vince sighed. "Best follow the bloodless corpses, then..."

They broke contact with Vincente as he proceeded to track the missing fledgling.

"Now, about recharging your powers," Raife said in a teasing tone. "Just how much do you think you need to recharge?"

"Oh, a lot. May take hours, days. We'll have to try and have multiple o.r.g.a.s.ms for me to get back to normal."

"Yep, this is just going to be torture, love."

"Raife?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad it was you who answered the call. I think I fell in love with you the moment you stepped into my store." She wrapped her arms about his waist and peered up into his handsome face. His blue eyes sparkled with mischief and a deeper, tender emotion. "And, I love you for keeping me by your side, even if you had to make me a vampire. I didn't want to lose you so soon after finding you."

"It was quick for me, too, Yvette. I knew you were my mate. I can't help but love you."

They sealed their eternal destiny together with a gentle kiss.

Damon had shifted into a great black wolf when he took off after Eva. He followed her stench of death and evil into the bayou. The other vampires hunting her went off in various directions, hoping at least one could capture the evasive vampiress. In the swamps of Louisiana, the trail proved difficult, due to the moist air. Scents dissipated and scattered. This was why Damon had gone for help in the first place. With the other vampires searching, however, one would have to find her. Wouldn't they?

He sniffed the misty air and took in the different scents of the swamp.

Humans. What were they doing there at this time of night?

He trotted closer to the scents, toward the watery depths. Cypress trees, hundreds of years old, stood among the marshy edges as he drew closer.

In the water, a group of four humans sat in the dark. Sniffing the air again, Damon sensed three men and one woman in the small metal rowboat.

He listened to them whispering to each other, but they spoke too low to hear.

Then a snap echoed through the night. Pain shot through Damon's side. He turned to run, but found his legs could hardly move.

d.a.m.n it, I've been shot! he thought before his world went black... Marianne LaCroix Author Marianne LaCroix aka Shaylee O'Hara dreamed of becoming an author ever since her parents gave her a little typewriter as a child. Luckily, her parents supported all of her creative outlets, be it oil painting or creative writing. When it came time for college, she majored in English and took art cla.s.ses on the side.

In 1994 Mari earned her BA in English, married and moved to Georgia from her childhood home in New Jersey. There she worked in an office for about two yeas before feeling restless. She made a dramatic move and quit the desk job, then returned to school for nursing. She earned a diploma in Practical Nursing then went to work in her local hospital, and eventually to a nursing home. Each night when she got home from caring for others, no matter how tired, she'd sit down and write tales of ghost pirates or roguish vampires.

When Mari got pregnant with twins, she said goodbye to nursing for a while. The twin girls were born in March, 2002, and Mari has been a stay-at- home mom ever since. When the girls would go to bed, Mari would get on the computer and write. She also worked hard on starting and establishing the review site, LoveRomances. Then in early 2003, she decided to write romance seriously, not just as a pastime. Her break came with Lady Sheba, closely followed by Another Chance. Both books have received glowing reviews, and Lady Sheba has been a Road to Romance Reviewer Choice and a selected group read for the Erotic Readers Haven Yahoo Group.

What can readers expect in the future? Marianne's erotic romances are filled with everlasting love and hot encounters, and Shaylee's romances are br.i.m.m.i.n.g with action, adventure and love. More tales of the paranormal with vampires, ghosts and fairies are on the way!

You can visit her website at: http://www.mariannelacroix.com * * * *

Don't miss Lady Sheba by Marianne LaCroix, available August, 2004, from Amber Quill Press, LLC

Kat Felinni is the descendant of the Egyptian priestesses of Bast and gifted with the Powers of the Cat. She uses those powers to become Lady Sheba, a shapeshifting super-heroine. Unfortunately, her life is a lonely one, especially when she longs for her cool-mannered boss, Dr. Seth Malvoy, a curator at the N. Y. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Seth is secretly attracted to Kat, and just when he decides to follow his heart, a dark force turns his life around.

Set, the evil Egyptian G.o.d of Chaos, has been trapped for centuries within The Eye of Horus, a gold vessel on loan to The Met from the Cairo Museum. Intrigued by its beauty, Seth examines it only for a secret compartment to open, releasing Set. Taking over Seth's body, Set plans his revenge for the centuries of entrapment. One force, however, stands in the way--Lady Sheba. Amber Quill Press, LLC