Part 17 (1/2)

Once on the ground, Ryan set out for the alley where she had dumped the body. ”Edward is outside the alley, tell him to pull in here, I'll get this for you,” Ryan instructed over her shoulder.

Susan was dumbfounded. ”What?”

Ryan paused, slightly impatient. ”Bring the car around. I'll retrieve the body for you.”

Susan was astonished. Not only had Ryan committed a crime, she now was nonchalantly returning to the scene to retrieve the body.

Ryan put her hands on her hips, looking at Susan as if she were a dimwitted child. ”You said you wanted to study my Kind. Here's a perfect opportunity for you.”

Susan still did not move and Ryan now left no room for discussion. ”Get the car,” she said firmly.

The command finally had its desired affect and Susan, in a daze, went to find Edward. She hoped Jason wouldn't see any of this.

Once the body was safely in the trunk, the limousine was on its way. Jason was fascinated by the b.u.t.tons, the television, the refrigerator. Edward eyed him with some disapproval.

”Well, how do you expect to get that bo-,” she stopped, glancing at her preoccupied son, ”That *thing' upstairs to my lab?”

Ryan looked at Edward, and some sort of private communication pa.s.sed between the two. Ryan sighed, turning her attention to Susan.

”You won't be going back to your lab. Nor will you be going home.”

Ryan's words were slow to sink in. ”What?” Susan said, ”What are you talking about?”

Ryan spoke with a rare hesitation. ”It is why I sought you out today. Things,” she paused, searching for the words, ”have become much more complicated.”

”What do you mean by more complicated?”

Ryan stared at her. ”The Young One today was not searching for you, but he was here. That means that Others are here, or will be coming.”

Susan shook her head. ”No, you were looking for me before that. What else has happened?

Ryan glanced at the elder man. ”Edward?”

Edward turned to face Susan. ”The men who attacked you the other day were not our Kind. They were employees of an international pharmaceutical company extremely interested in your work. The risk that they will find you is too great.”

”So what if they find me? So what? You don't have to keep protecting me. Jason and I can go somewhere else.”

Edward managed to express his derision of the remark without saying a word. Susan turned to Ryan, who was watching Jason play with the b.u.t.tons on the television ”So you're just going to imprison us?”

Ryan sighed. ”Well, for the time being, yes. My hope is that it will be a temporary situation.”

Jason was finally beginning to follow the conversation. ”What about my puppy?”

Edward turned to him, his demeanor still firm. ”Your dog has already been moved. He will be there when you arrive.” Edward turned to Susan. ”As well as most of your possessions, some of your lab equipment...” He paused as if forgetting something. ”Oh yes, and your housekeeper as well.”

Susan was speechless. ”You kidnapped Neda?” she finally sputtered out.

Ryan seemed almost embarra.s.sed by the admission, but Edward was unmoved. ”In theory, yes. She was not exactly a willing partic.i.p.ant in the move.”

Susan was flabbergasted. Just when she thought that nothing would surprise her anymore, these two managed something new.

CHAPTER 22.

JASON IMMEDIATELY ADAPTED to the opulent surroundings, impressed and curious about everything he saw. He was happily reunited with both his puppy and a frightened and angry Neda. Susan tried to calm her caretaker, telling her it was a temporary move and that she would explain everything later. She left the two in Jason's suite, then stalked into her own. She paced about the luxurious room, but felt her anger dissipating. It was hard to be incensed when surrounded by such beauty, especially when she knew Ryan had brought them here to keep them safe. Susan glanced around the room. They were required to stay here, but Ryan had said nothing about her staying in her room. She started down the hallway. She felt many eyes upon her as she moved through the house, but no one tried to stop her.

Ryan was in the den where Susan expected to find her. She sat in front of the fireplace as she had before. The golden-haired woman glanced up at her. ”Would you like a gla.s.s of wine?”

Susan started to refuse, then changed her mind. ”Why not?” she said.

Almost before the words were out of her mouth, a young man was at her side with an empty winegla.s.s. He held up the bottle for her inspection. Out of habit, Susan looked at the label. She then did a double take.

”This is 1961 Cheval Blanc, St. Emilion.”

Ryan glanced over at her. ”What?”

Susan shook her head. ”Nothing.” She took the gla.s.s of wine from the young man and settled into the chair next to Ryan's. She took a sip of the wine, savoring it. She had a fine appreciation for wine, but she had never tasted any that went for $750 a bottle. She was silent for awhile, enjoying the fire and the drink. Perhaps it was the alcohol giving her courage, but she finally spoke what was on her mind.

”When are you going to tell me what's really going on here?”

Ryan glanced over at her in surprise. ”What do you mean by that?”

”Why did you kill that young man? He didn't know you were there. He wasn't any threat to me.”

”You're not entirely correct,” Ryan said. She took a drink of her wine. ”Granted, he didn't know I was there, nor was he any threat to you. But he did sense me. I couldn't let him live with that imprint.”

Susan wasn't entirely sure what she was talking about.

Ryan sensed her confusion. ”Perhaps I owe you an explanation of sorts since I have so disrupted your life. But I cannot really explain anything about myself unless I explain to you more about my Kind.” Ryan lapsed into silence for a moment, then continued. ”And I really can't do that unless I explain to you how I met the Others for the first time.”

Ryan gazed into the fireplace, a far-away look in her eye. ”I guess I was perhaps a hundred years old. Old for a human, no doubt, but young for one of my Kind. I did not realize there were Others. I thought Victor and I were the only two of our Kind in the world, off fighting our battles and wandering the world. It never occurred to me there might be Others, nor did I realize how meeting them would change everything.”

Ryan whipped the horse harder. Although it was in a lather and on the verge of collapse, she drove the beast on. She considered dismounting and continuing on foot, as she could now run nearly as fast as the horse. But she continued on horseback.

They had only been in France a few weeks and Ryan did not particularly care for it. It had been Victor's idea to leave the rolling hills of England. Although they traveled away on many occasions, it had generally been to fight in some battle or another. She had spent half her life battling the French, and now she was supposed to forget all that and act civil.

Ryan did not know why Victor had chosen to leave, she simply knew he had been watching her thoughtfully one day, and abruptly made the decision. Ryan had not been happy with the decision but did not argue with Victor, indeed, did not even question the reasons behind it.

They traveled without fanfare and without entourage through a land filled with bands of criminals. And they did so without incident. No one stopped and asked them for their papers; no one stopped them for any reason.

And they had arrived in this city, the largest city Ryan had ever seen. It was teeming with life, but the stimulation quickly tired Ryan who was overwhelmed by the sights and sounds picked up by her ever-increasing senses.

To give herself respite, she would take long rides in the surrounding countryside. On this particular day she had been gone since early morning light. Victor had watched her leave, unconcerned at her destination but directing her firmly that she should return by evening as he had plans for them.

Unfortunately Ryan had completely lost track of time and with a certain amount of misgiving realized the sun was going down when she was a long way from home.

She could feel Victor's displeasure from a distance and in her mind's eye, could see him pacing impatiently. She spurred the horse onward and although it whinnied in protest, it picked up its pace.