“Why?” she asked. Her blood would run cold right now if it wasn’t already ice.
“It was as if I was somehow drawn there. I had to go. I looked the alcove over. There might have been a crucifix hanging in there at one time, if the lighter shade of stone was an indication. Maybe there’d been a shelf below it? Someone had prayed here. But why? Why there, when the magnificent church was so close?”
Jess couldn’t sit still any longer. She started pacing around the room while she continued to listen.
“I was just about to leave when I spotted a tiny flaw in the dark corner of the alcove. It seemed out of place. And yet, I felt as if I’d been led to that spot. I don’t know why, because, really, it looked the same as every other part of the stone. But when I touched it, a tiny door opened, and an ancient book slid forward just far enough that I could grasp it and pull it out.”
“Really?” This was a surprise. Regent had often had a sixth sense when it came to vampires. Maybe his gift was more encompassing than she realized. He’d felt there was something behind the wall and he’d found an opening. The odds of that happening were astronomical.
“It was lucky I’d worn my priest’s robes. I slid the yellowed book inside my vestment and, without a second thought, turned to leave. I decided that if there was nothing special about this book, I would return it to its rightful place later. After I closed the door, the opening disappeared immediately, as if it had never been there. I’ve never seen such good camouflage.”
“And yet you managed to find it,” she said. “I guess that explains why your heart rate is elevated and your cheeks are flushed,” she said. “Was the book that exciting?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t looked at it yet,” he said. “I waited for you.”
“But . . . ?”
“This is the weird part, Jess. You know I’m not one for hocus-pocus, but I’d swear I was led to that place and shown the secret button that opened a door to this.” He pulled the book gently from his vestment, and ran a hand over the aged burgundy cover that sandwiched yellowing, archaic-looking pages. An odor filled the room suddenly, an aroma of history.
“I can’t believe you actually stole it,” she said, not trying to mask her admiration. “And, from the Pope’s Palace, no less.”
“It’s not the Pope’s Palace any more, but you could put it that way,” he said, not sounding as guilty as she’d have expected. “The thing is, I think it was meant for me.”
“I’ve never known you to hint at anything even remotely connected to things that border on the paranormal . . . unless it’s a vampire.” She laughed. “Maybe there’s hope for you yet. Let’s see what’s inside.”
His hands virtually shook as he cracked open the first page. The lettering was beautifully written in quill pen. There was colorful scrollwork and hand-drawn images at the beginning of each paragraph. But the language was completely unknown to both of them.
“That’s weird,” she said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Is it Cyrillic, do you think?”
Jess shook her head. “No. I don’t think so.”
Regent thumbed through the rest of the book before gently placing it on the coffee table. “Great. How am I ever going to figure it out?”
“You’ll find a way, brother. Of that, I have no doubt.”
He pulled off his collar and set it on the table. “I need a drink,” he said.
She frowned. She hated to see disappointment stabbing at him. He thought the book had been meant for him. If it was, why couldn’t he read it?
“I mean lemonade.” He pulled a pitcher from the fridge and poured himself a glass. “Where’d you say Britt was?”
It was a weak attempt to take his mind off the book, but Jess wasn’t fooled.
“I didn’t. You didn’t ask,” she said, forcing a teasing note into her voice. She’d do anything to help her brother get over his disappointment. He’d had such hopes that finding this book meant something big. And maybe it did. It just might take him a while longer to figure it out. “You’ll be happy to hear Britt’s off the hook. There’s been another murder. So now, he’s helping the French police find the serial killer.”
“Serial killer? That doesn’t sound good.” Regent lowered himself onto the chair next to her. “As dangerous as New York is, Paris seems to have more darkness than we realized.”
“Maybe we’re just opening our naïve eyes for the first time,” Jess said. “We’ve lived in a fairly young country our whole existence. Even though we knew vampires existed in Europe forever, we didn’t really understand their place in society here.”
“And we still don’t,” he said. “They seem to be the least of the troubles here. It’s the shadow creatures the church is worried about—not the vampires.”
“True,” Jess said. She’d never admitted it before, not even to herself, but she felt their evil pull whenever she saw them. They were dark, powerful entities and they seemed to be building in number. No wonder the church was frantically searching for a way to stop them.
“From what I’ve learned, they’re believed to be demons,” Regent said. “And it gets worse, my love,” he said. “I’ve been invited to observe the two priests who’ve been possessed by them.”
Jess crossed her legs and leaned forward. “Demons. That’s a new one for us. Like demons from hell?”
“Where else?” Regent said seriously. “The committee I’m on is working to find a way to eradicate them, but so far, they haven’t even been able to help the possessed priests.”
Jess cringed. She didn’t like Regent being on the front lines of anything so menacing.
“If these things take hold of the city, it won’t be long before there won’t be anywhere safe on the planet,” he said.
“Great—another potential apocalypse. All in a day’s work for us, I guess. Are you going to be doing research again tomorrow, or will you have time to focus on figuring out that stolen book? It might very well be the key to stopping all this.”
“I didn’t steal it,” he mumbled. “It was shown to me.”
“Sure. Sure,” she said, trying not to crack a smile. “I’m proud that you’d do something this daring. I didn’t know you had it in you.”
He rolled his eyes. “What would I do without you, dear? You never let me get away with anything. Okay, I stole it. I’ll say a few extra prayers tonight for forgiveness.”
“A few?”
“A lot,” he said.
Jess stood. “Keep me posted on anything you learn about the shadows. I’m going to do a little searching of my own tonight.”
“Without Britt?”
Jess smiled at her brother, but inside, she felt hollow. Regent was well aware that she’d grown used to working side-by-side with Britt. But right now, she felt cut out of the action. “Of course. I’m more than capable of looking after myself.”
“I know,” he admitted, grudgingly. “Better than most.”
Jess looked around his tiny apartment, looking for anything that could initiate a change of subject. “I’m thinking of getting a bigger place for the rest of the time we’re here. Would you like to share with Britt and me?”
Regent paused for thought, then replied, “Thank you, but no. I have a feeling the church is keeping an eye on me. If I were to stay with you, it would put you under their scrutiny, too.”
Okay, so he’d just validated a concern she’d had about him being watched. It seemed he was well aware of what was happening around him. And he had things under control. She shouldn’t have expected anything less. “Why do you think they are watching you?”
“I think they believe I have more talents than I actually do.”
“They might be right,” she said. “I think you’re capable of amazing things, Regent. Look how many times you’ve managed to heal me w
ith your concoction of herbs.”
Regent snorted. “But you always said they did nothing for you.”
Jess’s hands rose questioningly in the air. “Who knows for sure?”
“You’d best leave, dear, since you seem intent on patronizing me tonight,” he said in an unusually serious tone. One that he never used on her. He got up and walked her to the front door.
“It’s only because I love you so,” she said, worried by her brother’s comments. Regent was always the one with upbeat witticisms. Normally, he’d do anything to help her stay positive. Not seeing him being his normal, happy self jarred her to the bone.
With everything he’d learned about the demons, he should, at the very least, be excited to be involved in the fight against them. Regent wasn’t afraid of anything evil. At least, if he was, she’d never seen it. He hadn’t been unnerved by anything they’d faced in the past—and they’d come up against some pretty mean characters.
Maybe he was simply down because he couldn’t decipher the book he’d found.
Regent forced a smile and squeezed her hand. “And I love you, too, dearest.”
But was he afraid of demons? Even though Regent had been a crack vampire hunter in his day, he was an old man on the inside. His body might be capable of fighting, but she wasn’t quite sure his mind was there yet. Maybe it was more of a mental block than a physical one. She wasn’t sure.
She was just about to leave when someone knocked on the door. Stepping aside, she watched as Regent opened the door to a man in his forties, who stood there, a bottle of wine under one arm. He entered without invitation, so he must know Regent fairly well.
“Gaston,” Regent said, his expression brightening. “I’d like to introduce you to my sister, Jess.”
Gaston took Jess’s hand and shook it. Normally, she didn’t allow people to touch her, but she didn’t see a way around it without being rude. This man held her hand long enough to be curious about her, but he didn’t react or comment on her cold flesh.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jess,” he said in a mild French accent. “Regent and I have been enjoying each other’s company since he arrived in France.” Gaston smiled. “In fact, he’s the only chess partner I’ve had in a long time who can occasionally outwit me.”
“Occasionally?” Regent already sounded lighter than he’d been a moment ago, and that made Gaston okay in her books. His lack of concern about her cold flesh was a worry, though.
Regent had a friend in Paris. Except for Sampson Case, he usually avoided personal friendships over the years because of her lifestyle. Maybe she’d only imagined his low spirits a moment ago.
She stepped outside into the sultry Parisian night where lights glittered along the Champs-Élysée, where cafés and clubs were still running full tilt. She walked toward Pont Neuf, wondering if the shadows would be lurking there again tonight.
From what they’d observed so far, the shadows seemed to stay low to the ground. So, if she stayed above them, she might be able to check them out without putting herself in danger.
She crossed the pont and then the sidewalk before checking to make sure no one was watching. Then, quickly, she scaled halfway up the brick wall. It was enough, though, to see the shadows roiling out of the cracks of the brick below her. They must be able to sense when there were people in the vicinity. So why hadn’t they bothered the man who had walked straight through them the other night?
Or maybe they had?
What if they’d possessed him?
Jess’s gut churned as she watched them pooling below her on the sidewalk, unformed shapes that reminded her of mercury in their fluid movements. If they were demons, she saw no profile that would make her think that.
A piece broke off from the writhing black pool then slithered and crawled a short distance away. A single entity on its own? She moved along the walls, jumping from one building to another, following the lone shadow that continued to move away. It didn’t interact with pedestrians, and it unnerved her to think it had a destination in mind.
Before long, she had a good idea where the shadow demon was going. It turned and melted into a crack near an opening to the catacombs, the one closest to where the first young woman had been murdered. It was also the place where people entered to go to the bar.
She watched and waited outside. It didn’t return.
Crap. She had to know what that thing was up to, so she dropped to the ground and entered the cavern opening, completely aware that she’d never be able to see the damned thing in the dark, even with her vampiric vision. She leaped down the stairwell into the tunnels, avoiding the ladder completely. The minute her feet hit the tunnel floor, she moved toward the site where the woman had been killed. She’d been here twice, so she knew the layout.
A minute later, she heard a familiar voice. It was Britt. That meant that the latest victim had been found around here, too. She strode toward his voice, watching very closely for the demon. So far, there’d been no sign. But then, given the darkness down here, the place could be crawling with shadow creatures.
She met Britt and Veronique on their way out. Britt smiled when he saw her. “Jess, this is a surprise.”
Veronique scowled. “I thought you weren’t interested in helping?”
“I changed my mind,” she said.
Britt watched her closely and got quiet. He knew something was up. Of course, he had no idea what, but his instincts were that good.
She wished she was as good as he was at reading signs.
“Welcome aboard, then,” Veronique said, oblivious to the vibes Britt had so quickly picked up on.
Jess sighed. “Since we’re here, I’m curious to know where the body was found.”
“Back there.” Britt indicated the direction with his head. “It was obviously the same psycho, though, this time, he didn’t finish. One arm wasn’t slit open all the way.”
“Weird modus operandi,” Veronique said. “Not many serial killers work in this way. It’s certainly not a copycat.”
“Thank God,” Britt said. “It takes a maniac to do what this perp is doing.”
“Absolument,” Veronique agreed instantly.
“Was there any DNA on the first body?” Jess asked.
“Rien. Not a hint, other than the victim’s,” Veronique said. “Very frustrating. And, once again, this victim had been patronizing the bar. I’m thinking of shutting that damned place down.”
Jess instinctively balked at that suggestion. “If you do, this maniac will just begin killing somewhere else. At least here, we have a chance to catch him.” Out of the corner of her eye, a shadow writhed from the wall to the ground and slithered away. Had it been listening all along? Was it capable of that?
This situation was getting more menacing by the minute.
Chapter Eleven
JESS AND BRITT left Veronique behind in the cavern consulting with her forensic anthropologist, a woman who was probably very competent, but she’d have nothing on Sampson.
Britt cleared his throat. “I think we should be together from now on, Jess. We work better as a team.”
She didn’t get the sense that he was worried about her. He actually thought they’d do better if they worked in tandem. “I suppose you’re right—we should stick together. Especially since we don’t have a handle on what exactly is wrong here.”
“Good. I think you’ll be able to withstand the catacombs. You managed well enough tonight,” he said.
She hated to tell him she’d most likely just been distracted by the shadow. But for now, she’d let him believe she could do it.
They left the catacombs, and were back on the street, when suddenly Morana stepped out from a recess in the wall. “What do you think is going on down there? Do you think it has anything to do with vampires?”
Jess raised an ey
ebrow and didn’t respond to her questions. “Hello, Morana,” she said, not hiding the fact that she didn’t like that Morana had obviously been listening to them.
“I know what you are, just as you know what I am,” Morana said. “Isn’t it strange that we are both vampires and yet our brother is not?”
“If we are your siblings,” Jess said, wondering why, all of a sudden, Morana was talking as if she believed it was true. “If we are sisters, how did we manage to be turned at approximately the same age?” Unless Morana was much older than she looked. And thank God she didn’t question Regent’s age.
Morana shrugged and chose not to share anything else. Jess suspected Morana knew exactly why they were the same age, or at least why Morana appeared to be her age. “How old are you, Morana?”
“Twenty-nine. And you?”
“Twenty-nine, forever.”
Morana grumbled something Jess couldn’t make out. It was probably in French. “Morana, if I told you I have the world’s foremost specialist in vampire physiology on my staff, would you believe me?”
Morana stared hard at Jess. “Maybe.”
“His name is Dr. Sampson Case. If you agree to have your VNA tested, we’ll have our answer once and for all,” Jess said, finally.
“VNA? What’s that?”
“It’s like DNA, only for vampires,” Jess said.
“Interesting,” Morana said, pausing to think about it. Finally she said, “Let’s do it then.”
“Good.” Jess took a slight step back and bumped into Britt’s chest. She should have realized he was there. He was always there for her, and for the umpteenth time, she thanked her lucky stars that she had him in her existence.
She couldn’t call it life, because she didn’t have one of those. She was death. But when she really thought about it, death actually defined her. She’d become something positive. And, as hard as everyone on her team worked to help her achieve those things, they deserved everything she could give them.
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