by Nadia Heaton
“What, exactly, does that mean?”
“Nothing, nothing.”
“Rashid. You’re not telling me something. What do you know?”
“There are a great number of things that I know and you don’t. But you can’t expect me to give up all my secrets in one night! I reserve the right, as host, to keep a few tricks up my sleeve.”
Savion resisted the urge to growl at the man. Jermaine could be seriously hurt, and Rashid thought this was the time for jokes? He struggled for a few seconds to get control of himself. He needed Rashid, and getting himself kicked out of the chateau before gaining Bethany’s address wouldn’t help him or Jermaine.
“Thank you for agreeing to get me the address. Do you think you would be able to get it by tomorrow?”
Rashid smiled smugly at his acquiescence. “Of course. Come, let me show you to your room.”
Savion knew he should sleep. He wasn’t going to wait until tomorrow night to go after Bethany. He’d have to dress carefully to cover his skin, but he could go out in daylight. Besides, she was most likely to be awake in the day. He’d found that waking people up in the middle of the night didn’t do much to make them want to help you.
He suspected that Bethany would help him regardless. Savion knew she loved Jermaine, and she’d want to see him safe almost as much as Savion did. Still, it didn’t hurt to get off on the right foot.
Bekka and Eliane were giggling as Rashid let them try various drinks he’d created. The two of them would regret it come dawn, but that wasn’t Savion’s business.
He just hoped that Rashid didn’t get too drunk to talk to his contacts about the address once the sun rose. Savion tried to sleep, but all he could think of was Jermaine. He was closer to his brother now, he could feel it. Jermaine was likely with Bethany, which meant Savion would find him tomorrow.
The strange thing was that he could also sense Jermaine’s state through their bond. Before, he had felt that Jermaine was badly injured, possibly in a life-threatening way. It made sense that the crisis had passed. He would have had to get medical treatment to live this long.
What was confusing Savion was that he didn’t sense that Jermaine was slightly recovered, as would be expected a couple of days after a severe injury. He was sensing that Jermaine was completely recovered. As far as Savion could tell, his brother was in perfect health.
Not that he was unhappy about that fact, but he didn’t trust it. Was their bond somehow damaged and sending him faulty information? If it wasn’t, how had Jermaine been healed? No human doctors could accelerate healing to that degree, and there were no vampire covens in this area. It was just Rashid, and he was no healer.
Besides, even Rashid wouldn’t dare keep it from Savion if he’d seen Jermaine. As best as Savion could figure, Jermaine had been healed, somehow. The question was, what did he owe in return? Such services never came without a price. Savion didn’t even know who could do a healing of that level, other than witches, and witches would rather die before they healed a vampire.
Giving up on sleep entirely, he started pacing, trying to put his troubled thoughts to rest. He would know tomorrow, one way or the other.
3
Savion’s opulent robes served more purpose than simply to look fancy. They covered almost every inch of exposed skin. He got changed into them and pulled on gloves and a huge hat. As long as he kept at the right angle, he could keep the sun off his face.
He might get caught with a stray beam, but as long as he was quick to adjust, it shouldn’t weaken him severely. Bekka and Eliane were sleeping, and he didn’t wake them on his way out. No doubt, they would be in foul moods from their hangovers when they woke, and he’d happily skip out on that particular scene.
Ready to go, Savion went to Rashid’s office. Rashid was just hanging up the phone, looking annoyed.
“Did you get the address?”
“Good morning to you too. And no, I didn’t get the address. It seems your girl doesn’t want to be found – even my contact can’t dig deep enough to pull the address that goes with the phone number. Or maybe it’s not her. Maybe it’s someone in her family.”
Rashid had that look again, that look that said he knew something Savion didn’t, but Savion wasn’t in the mood to play his games.
“How long until you can get it?”
“Did you not hear me? My contact can’t get it. So unless you have a contact of your own, I suggest you go to plan B.”
Savion didn’t have a plan B, but clearly, he was going to have to come up with one. “Thank you for trying, Rashid.” He did a fairly good job of keeping the frustration out of his voice. If he wasn’t finding Bethany today, he’d still need Rashid’s services as a host.
Of course, he could always stay in an ordinary hotel, but Savion didn’t like doing that if he didn’t have to. Here, he didn’t have to hide who he was. He smiled as he grabbed a bag of human blood from the fridge on the way out. No hotel would have this, at least not one run by humans. There were some exclusively vampire-run establishments that offered similar services to Rashid, but none in a town this small.
Savion headed to town, getting a look for the lay of the land. He was hoping to run into Bethany, or if not, at least find someone who could tell him where she lived. If he was lucky, he could convince them to tell him her location without using his powers. Such things could draw attention, and he tried to avoid doing it when away from areas he was familiar with.
There were a number of small shops, and Savion popped in and out, occasionally buying an item to keep his cover as a shopper. When he could, he started casual conversations with the employees or with other shoppers.
For nearly an hour, he had no luck, until he finally found someone who knew Bethany. The cashier at a nearby hot dog stand nodded absently at his question of whether she knew Bethany, clearly more interested in the next customer than conversation.
Savion glanced back to see a line forming behind him. “Do you happen to know where Bethany lives?” he tried, forgoing subtlety, since it looked like he was going to be kicked out of the line at any moment.
“What? Look, I’m sorry, sir, but there are people behind you, so…” The cashier – Josh, according to his name tag – trailed off.
Right, time for plan B. Savion gave Josh a flirty wink. “Let them wait. I’m not ready to give you up just yet.”
That got a frown. Great, so the guy was straight. Plan C. Savion scanned the menu, looking for the most complicated item there. Unfortunately, the options were pretty simple.
“Actually, I think I’d like a triple chocolate milkshake with banana and caramel, but can you put in one scoop of strawberry ice cream? Also, please hold the extra cream, though I’d love a sprinkling of cocoa on top. Oh yes, and I think I’ll take some more chips.”
Josh heaved a put-upon sigh. “How many do you want?”
“Sixteen large.”
Josh’s eyes widened. “Sixteen?”
“I have friends back at my place,” Savion explained with an apologetic grin.
“I don’t have that many chips ready, I’ll have to put in a new batch. It could take about ten minutes to cook.”
“Perfect.”
Josh turned sourly to the chips, glancing at the long line. Savion tried to think of a way to salvage the situation. Josh was clearly annoyed now and not in the mood to talk.
“That’ll be fifty-two-twenty.”
Savion pulled out a hundred dollar note. “Keep the change.”
Josh’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Of course. It’s the least I can do for all the trouble I’m causing you. By the way, is there somewhere I can leave an employee review? I don’t want to leave without telling your boss what a great job you’re doing.”
That seemed to do the trick. Josh was smiling now, and seemed ready to talk.
“So when did you last see Bethany?” Savion asked.
“Bethany? Oh yes, she was here yesterday. She doesn’t come into town often, thoug
h she sometimes stops by after training.”
“I’d love to drop in on her. I don’t suppose you know where she lives?”
“No idea, sorry. She always goes to one of the shops down that way, though. I’m not sure which one, but she spends most of her time in that area.”
“Thanks, Josh, I’ll take a look.”
Having multiple bags of fries to give away went a long way toward convincing people to talk to him. Savion wandered in the direction Josh had indicated, and eventually got to talking to a group of giggly girls, all of whom were sneaking peaks at him from under their eyelashes.
Now this was something Savion was equipped to handle. “Hello, ladies. So tell me, how did I get so lucky as to run into three beauties like you all in the same place.”
“Hi. I’m Ella.” Ella giggled again and held out her hand. Instead of shaking it, Savion pressed a kiss to the backs of her knuckles.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Ella. Do you live around here?”
Savion flirted with Ella for several minutes, but his heart wasn’t really in it. Not only was she too young for his tastes, but he had a mission. He did the minimum amount of flirting necessary before bringing up the subject he was aiming for.
“I’m in town and thinking of looking in on my cousin, Bethany. We haven’t met in years, not since she moved here, and I’d love to see her.”
“Bethany LeBlanc?”
“That’s right.” Savion just hoped there wasn’t more than one Bethany in this town.
Ella giggled somewhat nervously and glanced at a shop to her left. The sign read ‘LeBlanc’s Magic Mysteries’. Perfect.
“Does she work there?” Savion prodded.
“No, but her sisters do.”
“Thanks, Ella, that’s really helpful. I should go check in with Bethany’s sisters, then.”
Ella batted her eyelashes at him. “Will I see you again?”
“No doubt,” Savion assured her. “I’ll be here for a few weeks, so you’ll definitely see me around.”
She’d clearly been hoping for a phone number, but Ella took it in her stride. “I’ll watch out for you, then.”
Savion didn’t intend to be here long enough to meet Ella or her giggly friends again. He just wanted to get Jermaine and go home. He strode into LeBlanc’s Magic Mysteries, ready for the last hurdle in his mission to find Bethany.
As a vampire, he was blessed with superior reflexes and coordination, but those seemed to take leave of him as Savion’s eyes snapped to a woman standing just inside the door. He stopped so fast that he almost fell forward onto his face. It was like his feet had become glued to the floor.
She was radiant, there was no other way to describe it. She had long, straight black hair, and was dressed in elegant robes similar to his own. Apparently not noticing his slack-jawed gaze, she smiled at him. “Welcome to LeBlanc’s Magic Mysteries. My name is Fleur LeBlanc, how can I help you today?”
Never in his life before had Savion found himself speechless in front of a beautiful woman. This was supposed to be his forte, but his brain couldn’t seem to catch up to that fact. He gaped at Fleur, unable to tear his eyes away.
Savion knew he had to say something. Fleur was looking expectantly at him, and the last thing he wanted was for her to think he was slow.
Man up, Savion! It doesn’t matter if she’s pretty, you have a job to do. The thought of what Jermaine would say if he found out Savion had delayed his rescue because he became entranced with yet another beautiful girl was enough to make him wince internally.
It wasn’t, however, enough to tear his eyes away from Fleur, or to change his intentions for a moment.
Savion took a moment to gather himself, then pulled out his most charming smile. “Madame Fleur, I am Savion. It is my honor to make your acquaintance.”
4
Fleur smiled again, but it wasn’t the smile Savion wanted. It wasn’t flattered or shy; it was amused. She found his efforts funny, but Savion wasn’t ready to give up.
“I must admit, I rather thought the magic of this store would be in this store, rather than in the entrancing woman who runs it.”
Fleur simply raised her eyebrows. “So did you want to buy something?”
Savion didn’t understand. He’d never met anyone who could resist his charm when he was only half trying – and he was definitely more than half trying. He put his full effort into flirting with Fleur, determined to win her over.
“I’ll buy whatever you want, sweetheart. Though your shop is going to have to come up with something good to catch my attention, what with me being all distracted by a pair of sea blue eyes at present.”
“Sea blue, that’s really the best you can do?” Fleur’s nose crinkled in a way Savion found just adorable, and he was visited with the mad desire to kiss her. He couldn’t do that, at least not yet, not if he didn’t want to get slapped.
“So it’s poets you’re into?” One of the benefits of having eternal life was that he had time to read. Reading wasn’t Savion’s favorite activity, but with hundreds of years at his disposal, even he knew enough about literature to get a doctorate by now. He recited the first love poem that came to mind.
“Take, O take those lips away
That so sweetly were forsworn,
And those eyes, the break of day,
Lights that do mislead the morn:
But my kisses bring again,
Bring again—
Seals of love, but seal’d in vain,
Seal’d in vain!”
“Shakespeare? Well, color me impressed.” Fleur may look impressed, but she didn’t look wooed – far from it. Judging by how she was trying to hide a smile, she still found Savion’s efforts amusing.
It suddenly struck him that this was Bethany’s sister. He’d been so blinded by Fleur’s beauty that Savion had forgotten, but as the information filtered back into his brain, he was determined to make good use of it.
“Maybe Bethany will appreciate my poetry more.”
Fleur’s expression suddenly became closed-off. “How do you know Bethany? What’s your name?”
“Savion.” He watched her eyes carefully, unsure whether Bethany had revealed his name to her sisters. It was soon apparent that she hadn’t, because there was no spark of recognition in Fleur’s eyes.
“How do you know my sister?”
“We met up briefly. I was actually hoping to run into her.”
Fleur relaxed slightly. “I’ll tell her to give you a call.”
Great. Sometimes, Savion wished that his coven used cell phones more often. His desire to flirt with Fleur battled with his wish to get to Jermaine as soon as possible. Though he knew Jermaine would scold him for it later, Savion gave in to the desire to gain Fleur’s favor.
“I’ll certainly be giving her a talking-to for not introducing me to her sister before now.”
Before Fleur could respond, another woman who looked to be her sister walked out of the back room.
Fleur spoke over her shoulder to the woman. “Oh, Lisette, could you make sure to add extra stock of the tarot cards? I got a call from someone who wanted a dozen packs for a birthday party.”
“Will do.” Lisette glanced briefly at Savion without interest, then went on to start stacking shelves with merchandise.
“So Fleur, this is my first time in town. You know where a new guy could find a good time?” Savion gave her a suggestive look, only to have his focus jarred by Lisette, who was giggling. Fleur rolled her eyes and chucked a crystal at her sister.
Savion was sure that the crystal would hit Lisette in the fact, but Lisette just waved her hand casually, and there was no impact. She must have some crazy hand-eye coordination to be able to bat the crystal out of the way so easily.
“Well?” Rejection just made Savion more determined.
Fleur sighed, reluctantly bringing her gaze back to him. Savion could see the battle in her eyes. She was tired of his flirting, but she didn’t want to offend a potential custome
r.
“Come on, tell me about what’s good to do here while you show me around your shop.”
“What are you looking for?”
“Oh, anything that catches my eye. Do you have baskets?”
Fleur handed him one, and Savion started strolling around the store by her side. She told him about everything from crystals to tarot cards to spell books. Savion added liberally to his basket, until it was near overflowing. It seemed to keep Fleur happy, and she kept talking to him, albeit, talking about her products.
“Do you make all of this stuff?”
“Some of it. Lisette and my other sister, Tristan, help.”
“But not Bethany?”
“No, she’s too busy with her training. Besides, running a shop would never be right for her. Did you see the crystal balls? We’ve got ones that change colors depending on the surrounding temperature…”
Savion put a crystal ball in his quickly-growing pile of things. Fleur looked doubtfully at his basket. “You plan to buy all that?”
“Absolutely!” Savion didn’t want her to think he was taking things off her shelves just to change his mind and leave her to put them all back later. “In fact, I think I’m ready to pay.”
Fleur boxed up everything for him, giving instructions on some of the items. Savion didn’t plan to use them, of course – he didn’t need any of this to use what magic his kind possessed. Still, it seemed to gain Fleur’s favor.
“I’ll certainly stop in when I’m next in town.” It may be a questionable move, but Savion could use all the help he could get. Hinting to Fleur that he might be a regular customer would keep her from dismissing him entirely.
“So how did you get into this stuff? Girl like you, I’d expect you to be a model or an actress.”
Savion turned when he heard Lisette mumble something. His hearing was acute enough that he should be able to pick it up, even though she was being very quiet. He thought she might be speaking in a different language, which would explain why the words sounded jumbled and incomprehensible.
A breeze suddenly caught Savion’s robes. He glanced around, expecting to see someone coming inside, but the door was closed. A quick look told Savion that there were no windows open. The breeze grew stronger and his robes flapped up, covering his face and exposing his legs.