Excerpt from Chapter 1
England, 1881
He had been observing Sara Jayne for the last thirteen years, watching, from the shadows, as the cumbersome braces on her slender legs were changed again and again. A weakness in the lower limbs, the doctors said. That was what kept her from walking.
He had seen the hope fade from her wide blue eyes as she accepted the fact that she would never run and play like the other girls who lived in the orphanage. Later, as she grew older, he had felt her despair as she realized that she would probably never marry or have children, that she would likely live out her days alone, with no family to mourn her, or remember her.
He was the only one who sensed the true depths of her despair, her heartache, the only one who knew how she yearned to run in the golden light of the sun, to walk in the silver shadow of the moon.
He was the one who heard the sound of her muffled tears in the dark of the night. For others, she put on a brave face, but alone in her room, she wept bitter tears - tears that ate at his soul like acid.
He had never intended for her to know of his existence. Never. He had wanted only to watch over her, an unseen phantom who shared her loneliness and in so doing, eased his own.
So it was that he was lingering in the shadows outside her room late one summer night.
He knew she had spent the afternoon sitting in the park across from the orphanage, watching the younger children at play, watching the couples old and young stroll hand in hand along the tree-lined path.
Watching life pass her by.
She had skipped dinner and gone to bed early that evening, only to lay awake long after everyone else in the house was asleep. A single candle burned at her bedside, its flickering light casting pale shadows over her face.
Because of the difficulty of getting her wheelchair up and down the stairs, Sara's bedroom was located on the first floor. When she'd been younger, a nun had shared her room, but now, because she was the eldest girl in the orphanage, Sara was allowed the privacy of a room of her own.
Now, hovering in the shadows on the veranda, he felt his heart ache. She was talking to herself, her voice low and soft, but not so low he could not hear it.
"You can do it, Sara Jayne," she said, her voice tinged with determination. "I know you can. The doctors could be wrong!"
For the next five minutes, he watched her struggle to inch her way to the edge of the bed, watched as she pulled herself to a sitting position, scooting over to the edge of the bed until her legs dangled over the side, her feet just touching the floor.
"You can do it." Taking a deep breath, she clutched the newel post at the head of the bed and pulled herself to her feet.
For a brief moment, she stood there, her brow sheened with perspiration and then, bravely, she let go of the post.
He bit off a curse as her legs gave way and she dropped to the floor.
"It's hopeless," she murmured, her voice thick with despair. "No one's ever going to adopt me." She dashed the tears from her eyes. "Or love me. I'll spend the rest of my life in this place and never do any of the things other girls do. I'll never marry. Or have children..."
She sat there for several minutes, staring at the floor, her shoulders slumped in resignation.
It grieved him to see her steeped in such anguish. She had always tried so hard to be cheerful, to be brave. She was a beautiful young girl, on the verge of womanhood. Who could blame her for feeling that life was passing her by?
He longed to go to her, to take her in his arms and give her the comfort, the reassurance, she so desperately needed, but he dared not reveal himself.
He was about to turn away when she reached under her pillow and withdrew a small brown bottle. She stared at the bottle for a long moment, a pensive expression on her face.
And he knew, in that moment, that she was thinking of ending her life.
Without thinking of the consequences, he barged into the room.
Master of Darkness
A creature doomed to wander the earth in eternal darkness, he searched the ages for someone to share the endless night of his existence, for that one woman who would recognize the man within the monster.
Mistress of Light
An angel of purity and sunlight, she feared the mysterious stranger whose eyes promised endless ecstasy even as he whispered dark secrets she dared not believe.
They were two people longing for fulfillment, braving the danger of a love like no other. Alone, they faced desolation and despair; together, they would share undying passion, defy eternity, and EMBRACE THE NIGHT.
REVIEWS :
ROMANTIC TIMES said, Sensuous! Mesmerizing! Electrifying! Ms. Baker’s Amanda Ashley pseudonym makes a dazzling debut with a new vampire novel in the tradition of Maggie Shayne and Nancy Gideon. EMBRACE THE NIGHT is a heart-wrenching tale of a tortured hero who loves deeply and the one woman who is not afraid of the beast but adores the man within. This is a "must read" for all vampire romance fans.
AFFAIRE DE COEUR said, EMBRACE THE NIGHT is a fast-paced, delicious vampire romance filled with two fantastic lead protagonists. Amanda Ashley, who, as Madeline Baker, is noted for her thrilling western romances, successfully changes genres and shows that her work remains top rate in anything she does.
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