Eternal Kiss of Darkness

***Eternal Kiss of Darkness*** is the second book in the *Night Huntress World* series by Jeaniene Frost.

## Plot

The Master vampire Mencheres intentionally confronts ghouls in an empty Chicago warehouse, cloaking his aura to that of a new vampire and asking about a missing vampire. His four-thousand-year-old ability of seeing visions of the future have disappeared into blackness, and his ancient nemesis, the Law Guardian Radjedef, seeks to take advantage of his lost ability to exact revenge once and for all. To prevent having to go to war with Radjedef and add additional pressure to his co-ruler and his people for a personal feud, Mencheres seeks to allow the ghouls to kill him.

On her way home from work, private investigator Kira Graceling overhears the laughter of the ghouls as they torture Mencheres and steps in with her gun. The ghouls overpower her at once, but Mencheres intervenes because he is unwilling that she should suffer for attempting to help him, even though this ruins her plans. Mencheres immobilizes and kills all the ghouls with his power, then heals Kira with his blood. Because Kira has seen to much, he flies her to his residence to wipe her memories of the event before he lets her go. However, Mencheres finds that his mind reading powers do not work on Kira, and he is unable to wipe her memories. He concludes that this is because she has a temporary immunity to his powers after her having drunk his blood for healing, so he is obliged to hold her for a couple days until the immunity wears off. Kira wants to go home, assuring him that she will tell no one, but Mencheres is taking no chances. Kira reluctantly agrees to stay, and Mencheres assures her protection and allows her freedom to wander around the house. During this time, she learns more about vampires and Mencheres. For his part, Mencheres finds that he is developing a growing fascination with Kira, and his thoughts are turning to her more and more often.

On the sixth day of her captivity, Kira has a gut feeling that something is wrong with her sister. She finds out that her sister Tina, who has cystic fibrosis, hemorrhaged and was brought to the emergency room that morning. Mencheres flies them to the hospital to see a dying Tina. On there way there, Mencheres reveals that it is possible that Kira's resistance to his power comes not from drinking his blood, but from natural immunity. Mencheres also offers his blood to heal Tina, but for a price. Kira assumes that this price is permanent captivity under Mencheres in exchange for her sister's life and agrees, provided that he also give Tina enough blood for Tina to have a normal human lifespan. Mencheres gives Kira the blood and they leave. But instead of going to his house, he flies them to Kira's home, saying that he is letting her go and his price for his blood is Kira's silence on everything about the supernatural world that she has learned in the past week.

For a few days, Mencheres watches Kira as she goes to and from work. He finally forces himself to detach himself from her and stop watching, but before he goes, he mesmerizes her strict and generally tightfisted boss into giving Kira salary a much-needed pay raise, the company car so she doesn't need to walk to work, and a requirement to leave the office at 6 o'clock when not on surveillance (Mencheres had noted that she often returned home very late at night). Kira, who has been hoping in her heart to see Mencheres again, takes it as a cryptic sign that Mencheres would like to see her too. She pulls out all the case files from work that have potential for paranormal involvement to look for hints as to how she might contact Mencheres. She also takes to visiting local clubs where potential paranormal activities have once been reported. One one of these nights,