Cool fingers caressed my cheek as warm breath whispered against my ear, "So beautiful, ma cherie. Je reve de toi, every night, everyday. And you dream of me as well. Ah, you are the one. Your time in Paris is over. I need you in New Orleans. Please, ma petite cherie. It is time. I need you to come to me in New Orleans."

A delicate caress drifted faintly across my bare breast. Did I really feel it? Was he here with me, touching me like I wanted him to? I tried desperately to escape the tangled web of sleep and catch him before he was gone. He wasn't just a dream. He was real, touching me now, if I could ... only ... wake ... up...

Chapter One

As soon as I stepped off the shuttle bus from the airport, I felt like I was home. I hadn't been to New Orleans since I was a child, but the place was stuck in my soul. New Orleans had been my grandmother's childhood home. I grew up listening to her amazing stories about it.

There is no place on earth like New Orleans. The sights, the sounds, and the smells all assaulted my senses. The fragrance was like a drug. A mixture of seafood, gumbo, exotic spices, and rich chicory coffee floated in the moist air, which mingled with the sweet sounds of jazz coming my way. Add to that the feeling of fun and excitement that the city was exuding, and it was truly a unique experience. New Orleans hummed and crackled with an energy all its own.

It was the week before Halloween, and the New Orleans Halloween festivities were already in full swing. New Orleans is a city that loves Halloween, and treats the holiday almost like a second Mardi Gras.

The residents love to party, and even a week before Halloween people were already running around in costume. The haunted city, full of magic and ghosts, kicked everything into high gear for the tourists. I saw signs and posters for Boo at the Zoo (for the kids), the Moonlight Witches Run, the Anne Rice Vampire Lestat Extravaganza and the Voodoo Music Experience in City Park. Nearly everywhere I went, there were haunted history tours taking place: the Ghost Tour of the French Quarter, the Haunted Garden District Tour, the Spellbound Tour, the Voodoo and Cemetery Tour and the one I was most interested in--the Vampire Tour.

Oh, I know, it all seems so cliché: vampires in New Orleans--at Halloween! But I think that was the point. He seemed to have a sense of humor, and irony was something he used to his advantage.

Walking through the dark streets of the French Quarter was like taking a step back in time. The lacy wrought iron work that defined New Orleans architecture and style, and the old fashioned flickering gas lamps made me feel nostalgic. I wondered whether it looked much the same when he strolled along these streets over 200 ago.

I barely listened to the guide during most of the Vampire Tour. Instead, I was thinking about the real reason I was there. As always, it was him. It was Quillon. He was the reason I did most things. Almost every choice I'd made for the past fifteen years had been because of him--even the career I had chosen. No, I wasn't crazy or anything. Nope, not obsessed either. Yeah right.

The day before, I had been in Paris working on a case involving witchcraft. I had heard his whispers beckoning me to go there, where a witch was in trouble and needed my help. The next morning, he had called to me in my dreams. He'd wanted me to come to New Orleans, but gave no reason. He'd just said, "It is time." I wondered what he had in store for me in New Orleans.

Somehow, with each paranormal case, I learned a little bit more about his world--and got to experience a lot of strange and exotic things along the way.

Since I was ten years old, Quillon had been just a shadowy figure in my dreams, whispering of longings and ancient secrets. I never saw his face, but his voice lingered in my soul. He was an invisible guardian, calling to me, leading me around the world and watching over me wherever I went. I could feel his presence, at times lurking in the shadows around me, but why I never saw him, I don't know. Why did he choose to stay hidden from me?

I followed that voice all over the world, wherever he beckoned. Everywhere I went, I learned about ghosts, ghouls, demons, witches and him, Quillon, the vampire.

Sometimes, I felt like it was all a game. Other times, I felt he had a purpose for me. I had to admit it was an interesting life even if it was lonely. It was definitely not a life that many people had access to, or would believe.

Even I had my doubts, sometimes. I wondered if I was just crazy. I chased an invisible vampire around the world; talk about obsession. Sometimes, I just wanted an ordinary life. I'd considered getting married and settling down, with 2.5 kids, a dog, and a white picket fence. Then, a ghost would start whispering in my ear, or a demon would decide to start causing some serious damage in some part of the world. And I'd be back to work, the American dream just a lingering desire, never to be obtained.

I hadn't met a human guy yet who would be too fond of a girl who talked to ghosts, sent demons back where they belonged and followed an invisible vampire around the world.

Not that I had really tried to find Mr. Right. I was convinced from the start it would never be an easy endeavor. So I stuck to casual affairs, mostly with non-humans; they were less likely to get attached and more open to my career. So far, I had dated two fey, a male witch and a werewolf--but never a vampire. Too bad. Legend has it that to be with a vampire is the ultimate seduction, an erotic experience like no other.

Usually, I just relied on my battery-operated boyfriends, which I took along wherever I went. They never complained or needed more from me than I could give.

I think I knew right from the beginning I was different, right along with my eccentric grandmother, who had whispered her stories of Quillon to me when I was a child. Some people said she was crazy, but I knew she was sane. If she wasn't, that meant I was crazy too, because I could also see the ghosts, and I could also feel his presence. She told me he was a guardian of our family, and legend said he was one of our ancestors. He watched over and protected our family, and he was the reason many of our family members were rich, successful and lived long lives. He'd even saved my Great Aunt's life when she fell from a balcony. That was just one of grandma's interesting stories about Quillon. I had loved listening to Grandma's tales of her life in New Orleans. It is no wonder I felt so at home here even though I had only been here a few times as a child.

As I grew older, I became obsessed with Quillon. In addition to the information I could get out of Grandma, I studied our family's history. But I could never find any trace of him. I had no idea how old he was. According to Grandma, he'd been around for centuries, but how many centuries? And how far back does our family history go? Not far enough that I've found any trace of him. Our family bible dates back to the late 1700s, and he's not in there.

I'd become somewhat of an expert on the supernatural, especially vampires. I'd read every book I could find on vampires, whether it was myth, legend, or fiction. I'd also watched almost every movie made about them. There are so many myths and legends about vampires, who knows what is real? Someday soon I hope to learn the specifics from a real vampire, I thought, hopefully from Quillon.

I became a paranormal researcher so I could make a living with my unusual knowledge and the special gifts that I have. Since I was already using my knowledge and skills to search for Quillon and other supernatural entities, I'd decided it made sense to actually make money doing it. A girl has to eat and pay rent, you know.

During my research, I'd come face to face with ghosts, witches, faeries, demons, a couple of werewolves and some humans with strange talents. I had even come face to face with several vampires, but never my elusive Quillon.

I once met a big group of militant vamps outside of Los Angeles; they called themselves the Vampire Vigilante. They only preyed on and killed humans who were criminals: rapists, thieves, drug dealers, and that sort. I trailed several vampires who were not so kind, but I never got close to them. I only got close to the many blood-drained and mangled corpses they'd left behind. The Vampire Vigilante also took care of those rogue vampires. I just wish they had been chattier. I would have loved to have gotten some firsthand knowledge about vampires, but they were focused on their mission, not me.

And always, there is my shadowy Quillon. He has haunted my dreams since I was a child. He has always been there. Even before my grandmother started telling me the stories, he had lurked in the shadows, whispering to me. I felt him close to me in my times of need. He was my protector, my dark guardian angel, my passion. As I got older, he became something much more to me, something ... erotic. He became a fantasy that seemed out of reach. Maybe that is why I didn't bother with human men much; they could never compare to my vampire dream lover.

I know he's real; my grandmother and many others have confirmed that. But I wonder if I have obsessed about him too much, and made him out to be more than he really is. For someone to control so much of my life--someone whom I've never seen in the flesh--made me start to feel a little crazy. Why the mystery? I thought. Why does he hide in the shadows? Is he afraid to show himself to me? Is he hideously deformed? Or are the dreams and the voices in my head just my imagination romanticizing the tales my grandmother used to tell me?

In the real world, the supernatural community knew Quillon very well. He was top fang, a master vamp who called the shots in many places. He was rumored to have owned quite a bit of property and run several businesses, including a synthetic blood business. Sybline, his mix of synthetic blood and wine, was actually becoming quite popular in the vampire clubs in Europe. I was told he was hoping to get some vamps to come off the vein and to provide a product that would be nourishment to vampires when they couldn't feed normally. How entrepreneurial!