Part 5 (1/2)
Dominique turned from the bond, just slowly enough to reveal that she was not satisfied with the single blow.
At that moment, however, Heather tossed her head. ”You want me to talk? I could tell you things to give you nightmares. Worse, maybe I could give you happy happy dreams. Would you like to know what it's like when one of them takes you? When you're in their arms and they bare your throat and drink?” dreams. Would you like to know what it's like when one of them takes you? When you're in their arms and they bare your throat and drink?”
Zachary stood very still and fought to keep his mind blank. Blank Blank. Not filled with the images the bloodbond's words evoked. Yet she continued.
”I've been told that Kendra's line is the best at it, though naturally I've never experienced anything else. All I know is that nothing nothing you can do to me here matters for more than a moment. I've had three hundred years, and even if you kill me today, I will always have something you will you can do to me here matters for more than a moment. I've had three hundred years, and even if you kill me today, I will always have something you will never never have: peace. You call me a victim, but I think maybe I am the only one in this room who isn't. Look in my head if you want to,” she said, challenging Jay. ”I have seen hundreds of humans pa.s.s through, willing to die, willing to give up everything, just to experience that bliss. And not just humans. The Vida line isn't immune, is it?” have: peace. You call me a victim, but I think maybe I am the only one in this room who isn't. Look in my head if you want to,” she said, challenging Jay. ”I have seen hundreds of humans pa.s.s through, willing to die, willing to give up everything, just to experience that bliss. And not just humans. The Vida line isn't immune, is it?”
Zachary had been staring, hypnotized, so it took him by surprise when Dominique hit the bloodbond again, this time hard enough to rock her head back and unfocus her eyes.
Heather spat blood onto the floor before saying, ”Sarah liked it enough to die for it.”
Michael was apparently the only sensible person left in the room. He tore off another strip of duct tape and slapped it over Heather's bruised mouth.
”I'm going out,” Dominique announced.
No one questioned her as she left. Dominique's self-control and composure might be perfect, but even she had to be disturbed by such an accusation regarding one of her blood. Of course she would want to get away.
”Sarah's dead?” Robert asked in the silence that followed. No one had told him why why he had been called to Dominique's house. And apparently, no one was in the mood to answer him now. he had been called to Dominique's house. And apparently, no one was in the mood to answer him now.
Zachary looked around, trying to focus on his surroundings and not on his thoughts. He found Jay sitting in the corner, not quite out of the room but as far from Heather as he could get without truly fleeing. Whatever he had seen in Heather's mind in those moments had shut him down.
”We should just get rid of her,” Michael said. ”As long as we are guarding her, we are not out hunting Nikolas and Kristopher, and any secure locations she knows about will be empty long before we pry the information out of her.”
”I thought this was a trap for Kaleo,” Robert said weakly. ”Sarah can't be dead. Heather was messing with us, wasn't she?”
”This being a trap a.s.sumes the ma.s.s-murdering s.a.d.i.s.t cares enough about this particular human to risk his hide,” Michael said, ignoring the human, as they all were. ”We have more important prey to track.”
”She absolutely believes that he will come,” Jay said softly as he pushed himself to his feet. ”Whether or not she is right, I do not know.” absolutely believes that he will come,” Jay said softly as he pushed himself to his feet. ”Whether or not she is right, I do not know.”
”Like it or not, she's one of our only leads,” Zachary said. ”I do do believe Kaleo will come for her, and even if he doesn't lead us to our targets, removing him will make hunting them easier. We also need her in case Adia's trip to the bookstore doesn't pan out. After she gets home, she can decide what we do with this one.” believe Kaleo will come for her, and even if he doesn't lead us to our targets, removing him will make hunting them easier. We also need her in case Adia's trip to the bookstore doesn't pan out. After she gets home, she can decide what we do with this one.”
”'This one'?” Jay echoed. ”You're trying so hard to distance yourself from her mentally, you can't even stand to see her as human, can you?”
”She barely is is human,” Michael replied. ”After a couple hundred years, a bloodbond gets to be a lot more like a vampire. They get strong, and fast, and some of them even feel the bloodl.u.s.t. If we give her a chance, she will kill us all.” human,” Michael replied. ”After a couple hundred years, a bloodbond gets to be a lot more like a vampire. They get strong, and fast, and some of them even feel the bloodl.u.s.t. If we give her a chance, she will kill us all.”
”Not all bloodbonds-”
”Shut up up, Robert,” Zachary snapped.
”Did Nikolas kill Sarah?” Robert asked, gaze level and nearly empty.
Zachary nodded.
”He's got my sister,” Robert said. ”I thought...I thought she was safe with him.”
”The situation isn't quite as clear-cut as it seems,” Jay said.
”Shut up, Marinitch,” Michael advised. ”We don't need you playing shrink with us.”
”I'm just trying to-”
Michael stood abruptly, his chair clattering to the floor behind him as he grabbed Jay by the s.h.i.+rtfront and shoved him back against the wall. ”Trying to what what?” the Arun said, challenging him. ”Make us realize how hard this is? Trust me, we've got that covered. Zachary and I have known Sarah all her life. We trained with her and fought with her. We have watched each other's backs in fights none of us would have survived on our own. You and Sarah have barely even been introduced. You think this is hard? You have no idea.”
He slammed a fist into the wall only inches from Jay's head, as if his self-control was sufficient to keep him from hitting the other witch, but not enough to keep him from needing to lash out. Jay shut his eyes as plaster shattered, and then Michael dropped him, the argument abruptly forgotten as his attention s.h.i.+fted. It took Zachary a moment longer, but then he, too, sensed what had silenced Michael.
The power was faint, even with the wards around the house acting like an antenna. The vampire was lingering at least a block away, not coming closer at that moment, but near enough that they could all feel her there.
Her. Not Kaleo. The power Zachary could sense was not nearly enough for the ancient Roman to be approaching.
Was it Sarah? Could things be so convenient?
It had to be a trap. He stretched his awareness, trying to find more of her kind but knowing it was pointless, since they could appear at any time with no warning. Did she think she could trick them into trusting her and letting down their guard?
Had she come to turn herself in?
He squashed the thought. The vampiric animal always sought survival. He had to brace himself, because he knew that the vampire outside would look like Sarah, and sound like Sarah. But it wouldn't be be Sarah; it would be the thing that had killed her. Sarah; it would be the thing that had killed her.
Maybe, it occurred to him, Kaleo had threatened her. Zachary hadn't considered that obvious possibility before, that the other vampires might have turned on her. The twins were very protective of their sister, and the hunters had threatened her. Kaleo was incredibly possessive of the individuals he considered his his. Maybe they had sent their newest fledgling here as a sacrifice to appease the hunters.
Or it could be a trap.
CHAPTER 8
SAt.u.r.dAY, 7:29 A.M. A.M.
GIVEN THE HOUR at which Heather had received her phone call, Adia was not entirely surprised to find that the Makes.h.i.+ft bookstore was connected to a twenty-four-hour coffee shop. The bookstore itself was closed, but the cafe had its own door to the street. at which Heather had received her phone call, Adia was not entirely surprised to find that the Makes.h.i.+ft bookstore was connected to a twenty-four-hour coffee shop. The bookstore itself was closed, but the cafe had its own door to the street.
Adia damped down her witch aura as she stepped out of the car, and as she crossed the threshold, she mentally donned a mask. Who should she be today? A college student, probably, on the way home from an all-night study session at a friend's house, and not quite ready to go back to her roommate. She was social and friendly, confident, but possibly a little naive about the real world.
In theory, the Vida line was the most famous line of vampire hunters in history and should therefore be the most recognizable. In reality, especially in this generation, there were a lot of blond girls with blue eyes in the world. It meant she could be anyone she needed to be, and while she was lost in that role, she didn't need to think about anything more than the immediate objective. The person she chose to be didn't need to have a sister, or a grim duty to fulfill.
She knew her cheeks would be pink from having driven the last mile with the window down. She let herself s.h.i.+ver as she came in from the cold.
At seven-thirty in the morning on a Sat.u.r.day, the atmosphere was subdued. The two young girls seated at a back-corner booth, eating sweet sticky pastries, both felt like bloodbonds, but there was also an older woman, reading the Boston Globe Boston Globe and sipping coffee, who probably had no idea that the man behind the counter was a vampire. and sipping coffee, who probably had no idea that the man behind the counter was a vampire.
That bloodsucker smiled at Adia, his expression tired but friendly.
”I'm sorry, but if you're looking for a place to stay, you're out of luck.”
The way he had tossed out that information to a complete stranger suggested that enough people had been bothering him for help that he was getting fed up with it. That was only likely to be the case if individuals hiding from the Rights of Kin were coming to him, which would only happen if he was connected to Nikolas and Kristopher.
She flashed her own best long-day smile and said, ”Actually, I was looking for a cup of coffee. Am I in the wrong place?”
His expression s.h.i.+fted as he focused his attention, seeming to draw himself together. ”Sorry,” he said. ”Yes, of course, coffee right away. How do you take it?”