“Just some guy who comes in now and then,” Morana said, but her expression wasn’t so disinterested. “He seems to be staring at you, Jess. He must have the hots for you, too,” she said irritably, then glared at Britt.
“Since you and I look almost exactly alike, maybe it’s you he’s interested in,” Jess said.
“Merde. That’d be the last thing I’d want. He’s a powerful individual in Paris, and it’s best to stay off his radar. He’s not the kind of . . . person you’d want to make friends with.” Morana stole a glance at Vlad again. “Don’t say I never do anything for you. That was one important tidbit of information that you can take or leave. I suggest you take it.”
Diesel gasped and yanked Morana aside. “What are you doing? Do you want to get yourself in more trouble?”
Maybe Vlad was far enough away in this raucous room that he hadn’t heard the conversation. Maybe.
Jess and Britt shared a glance. Vlad had just become person of interest number one. What was it about him that made the French police and vampires alike react so obviously around him?
Jess checked her watch. “Let’s go.”
Britt nodded and downed the last of his Scotch. They made their way home, avoiding Pont Neuf, as well as the other places they’d seen the shadows. It had been a long enough evening. They didn’t need any more drama.
They didn’t talk much before Jess went into stasis, because the dawn was almost upon them when they arrived. She crawled into her nightgown, blew him a kiss, and shut her door.
She heard him lock it after she crawled onto the bed.
AS USUAL, SHE HAD no sense of time passing when she woke the next evening. For all intents and purposes, it felt as if she’d closed her eyes and opened them again. Expecting to find herself alone in the apartment, she didn’t bother dressing right away after her shower. Wearing nothing but her filmy black bra and panties, she wandered into the kitchen and went straight to her special refrigerator.
She must have been concentrating awfully hard because she hadn’t sensed Britt in the room until she heard keys clicking on the computer.
At least he had been working on the computer . . . until she strode into the room nearly naked. Now his eyes were glued to her form, making her feel very sensual and desired.
“I thought you’d still be out,” she said glancing down at her lack of attire. Lately, he only arrived home an hour after she rose.
Hell, her own libido ramped up in reaction to the way his gaze raked over her. She glanced at her watch again, wondering if they’d have time. Britt was not a fast lover—he took his time. She closed her eyes for a moment, contemplating the possibilities.
“Well, if this is the way you dress when I’m out, I’m never going to tell you when I’ll be home again, just in case I get another lingerie show.”
“Funny, Britt. It’s not like you haven’t seen me naked.” She turned from him to drink her blood and felt his gaze staring at her ass.
“Like what you see?” she asked after she downed her sustenance and safely discarded the refuse.
“You’re damned right I do. Holy hell, you need to either come over here right now, or throw some cold water on me and get dressed.”
She laughed out loud. “You’d better grab a cold shower then. Because, as much as I’d like to go over there, I need to talk to Regent tonight. We need to find out what happened when he went to see the two priests who’d been demonically possessed.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that,” he grumbled, as he got to his feet.
Now it was her turn to ogle him, in his tight jeans and T-shirt that clung to his muscles in all the right places. The worst part was, he had no idea how appealing he was. His actions weren’t a play to get her to change her mind about having a romp in the sack, though it almost worked anyway.
“Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” she said reluctantly, turning away from him.
“Wait, what about my cold shower? I thought you might join me.”
“Funny man. Let’s go.”
Britt’s eyeballs were still glued to her, she could feel them. “Ahem,” he said.
“What?” She frowned.
“You really must want this information very badly,” he said.
“Why are you saying that?”
“Because you’re about to leave the apartment in your most desirable little black outfit.”
She glanced down at herself and mouthed a very nasty curse word that made Britt grin from ear to ear. That didn’t happen very often.
“I’ll be right back.”
“NEED ANY HELP?” Britt asked, while trying to wipe that lascivious smile off his face and before she caught him still staring at her frilly panties and curvaceous rear.
He should have known better. She retaliated by bending over slowly, removing her shoes and setting them back down, the whole time arching her back and extending her posterior in a centerfold kind of way that made him instantly sorry for his smartass comment. She’d very effectively shut him up . . . mainly because his mouth was so dry right now, he could barely swallow.
He watched her the whole time she walked toward her bedroom. Then she blew him a kiss and shut the door.
When she returned a few minutes later, she was all business.
“Want me to drive?” he asked.
“No. Let’s walk.”
Once outside, he knew why she’d decided to walk. She was monitoring for demons, checking the crevices in the walls, looking for shadows. But all was quiet on their way to Regent’s place.
Jess rapped twice on Regent’s apartment door before they walked in, only to find her brother looking deeply distraught.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I’m fine.” His eyes lacked the sparkle of mischief often evident in their depths. Obviously, whatever he’d seen had been traumatic.
Britt touched the small of Jess’s back. He knew nothing devastated her more quickly than her brother’s pain.
Sampson was busy working in the corner on his laptop, his glasses on top of his head, seeming oblivious to Regent’s state of mind, but more likely trying to do something to help him.
Regent picked up the remote and shut off the TV that no one had been watching. “Jess, you won’t believe what I saw,” he said. “Those poor priests are completely possessed. And they have powers that are unholy!”
“What do you mean by ‘powers’?”
“The demons have completely taken over their minds. Somehow, they have telekinetic abilities that allow them to send inanimate objects shooting across the room. They are scarred with horrible wounds that seem impossible for their bodies to handle.” His hand was shaking when he rubbed his chin. “It’s horrific.” His eyes appeared haunted.
“Can’t they do something to help them?” Jess asked. “After all, exorcism is one of the church’s specialties.”
Regent let out a breath. “Considering the afflicted men are the best exorcists within the church, it’s not looking good. It’s as if the demons sought out the exorcists first to get them out of the way. One priest’s mind has been warped to the point that he may never be the same again. Apparently, he can’t sleep unless he’s been heavily drugged and even then, he screams.”
“What is the church going to do?” she asked.
“They’re calling in anybody who’s ever been involved with demonic possession, specialist or not, in case someone might have some idea what to do for these men. It’s not looking good for their salvation.” Regent eyed Britt, and a flicker of hope crossed his features. “Maybe we’re all here for a reason. It’s looking like the only way we’re going to get to the bottom of this is by using the special abilities we each possess.”
“It’s looking as if we’re involved, whether we want to be or not,” Jess said, moving
closer to Sampson and glancing at his computer screen. “What are you working on?”
Sampson glanced up quickly, almost as if he hadn’t realized she and Britt had arrived. “Before I left New York, I scanned all of the ancient vampire scrolls and saved a copy on my hard drive. Since the words influence vampires, I’m hoping they might have some effect on demons. I’m looking through them for any reference to shadows.”
“It’s worth a try,” Jess said, then placed a hand on Regent’s shoulder. “Why don’t you rest, brother? You look exhausted. And you can’t do anything if you’re ill.”
“I know. It’s just that I didn’t sleep very well last night.” He turned away and stared out the window, his expression haunted. “We have to find some way to stop those shadows before they move on to possessing ordinary citizens. But how will we be able to help them, if we can’t even help our own priests?”
“I have bad news on that front. Apparently there have already been other possessions in Paris.”
“Where did you hear that?’ Regent asked, carefully grabbing Jess’s arm.
“From the French police,” she said in a low voice.
“Saints protect us!” Regent stared right through her. “It’s truly started.”
Chapter Sixteen
NO DOUBT EVERYONE thought she’d gone mad when Jess marched into the kitchen and hauled the kitchen table into the center of the living room.
“We haven’t lost yet,” she said. “We are going to stop those demons. From now on, this is our war room. We’ll plan our strategy here.”
Everyone talked at once, discussing what they knew . . . and what they didn’t, until a rapping on the door broke up the conversations.
“Who could that be?” Regent said, starting toward the door.
“Wait.” Jess slipped past him. “I’ll go. From this point on, you need to be careful. So far, the demon shadows have been targeting anyone who has the ability to wipe them out. I hate to say it, but that puts you in even greater danger than the rest of us.”
Regent quickly stepped out of the way, allowing Britt to flank Jess as she opened the door.
Just about to knock again, Morana stood there, dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt.
Jess gritted her teeth. Morana looked more like her than ever before. If her hair hadn’t been short and blue-tipped, it’d be hard for anyone to tell the difference.
Rather than invite the vampire in, she simply said, “Yes?”
“Can I come in?” Morana asked in a peevish voice, while peering into the room. Spotting Regent inside, she called, “Hey, brother. How’s it going?”
“Morana. So nice to see you,” Regent said, pushing forward and smiling for the first time tonight.
“Why are you here?” Jess asked, still holding the door from opening fully.
“I’ve come to help.”
Jess frowned. “Help with what?”
“Don’t play coy, Jess. We both know the shadows are building. Soon, they’ll be strong enough to take over. And I can’t let that happen any more than you can.”
“And how do you intend to stop them?” Jess asked, thinking that, if faced with the shadows again, Morana would likely run away the minute things got tough. It seemed to be her M.O.
“I know you think I’m a coward. But you’re wrong. Those bastards aren’t going to get the better of me again,” she said.
That speech sounded a little bit too rehearsed. What was she up to?
Regent gently shoved past Jess and took Morana’s hand. “Come in, dear.”
Jess’s gut twisted. Not a good idea, brother. But it was too late, he’d already let her in.
Regent wanted to help this vampire he thought to be his sister . . . even if doing so meant letting her put him in danger.
“Actually it’s getting worse out there,” Morana said. “The shadows have switched from attacking the occasional person, to attacking anything that stands in their way. They’re taking vampires out as fast as humans. I had a couple of close calls myself on the way here.”
Regent gasped and crossed himself.
“Someone had better turn on the news. Maybe we can find out more about what’s going on,” Sampson said from his position on the far side of the kitchen table.
“This is Sampson Case, Jess’s Forensic Vampirologist. He’s the one who’s going to prove you and Jess are twins,” Regent told Morana.
Jess’s teeth scraped over her bottom lip and she fought back the urge to spew a few curse words.
Meanwhile, Sampson looked back and forth between them, then whistled between his teeth. “I’ve never seen twins so identical before.”
“But you haven’t done the tests yet, Sampson. You can’t say we’re twins, not yet,” Jess argued a little too strenuously.
Sampson instantly looked contrite. It wasn’t like him to make a statement with no science to back it up.
“You’re right, of course,” he said. ‘I’ll hold off on observations like that until we have a definitive answer.”
With her hands fisted at her sides, she wanted to punch something. At least she was being the consistently inconsiderate, unfeeling vampire bitch that she was.
Regent’s disappointment in her was clearly evident, too. Given everything she’d put him through, he deserved better.
“Time to get this show on the road,” Britt said in a loud voice, drawing everyone’s attention away from her.
Morana moved around the living room, until she could see the screen on Sampson’s computer. Jess noted the way she frowned as she tried to read over Sampson’s shoulder. Did she recognize any of the ancient vampire text?
“What’s this?” Morana asked.
Sampson snapped the computer closed and ran a hand over his smooth head. “Just something I’m working on.”
Jess’s insides relaxed just a little. Her faithful scientist didn’t trust Morana either.
“What about holy water as a deterrent?” Regent asked, seemingly unaware of the undercurrents of tension.
Jess nodded. “Maybe, but it didn’t seem to do anything to help the priests,” she said. Regent had told her that holy water had been the first thing the church had tried.
“That’s true,” Regent said with a sigh.
“Who is inflicted?” Morana asked, looking suspiciously at Jess.
Hell! Did her supposed twin really expect them to spill everything they knew, just because she wanted to join their little group? Jess ignored the question and planted her hands on the table. “Maybe the first thing we should do is set up a street watch. Let’s get people scanning the streets, watching the shadows from a safe distance. If we understand where they’re coming from and where they’re going, it might give us an idea about what they’re up to.”
“That’s a fantastic idea,” Britt said, while the others nodded in agreement.
“Morana, is there any chance you can organize the vampires? I mean, could you get them to pass along that type of information to you?” Regent said.
“I think I can,” she said. “I’m sure some of them will help me.”
“And we’ll provide information from our end,” Jess said.
Morana frowned at that, making Jess wish she knew more about this peace treaty.
She turned to Britt. “You and I will work together in the field. Together, we should come up with something. And if Morana does the same, we should have enough to get Regent and Sampson started. If we can find a pattern, maybe we’ll be able to figure out what they’re planning.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way, doll,” he said.
“And as much as I’d like to be out there in the field, I think data gathering is a good place to start,” Regent said, disappointment evident in his voice. “And that way, you won’t be worrying about me, Jess. You can concent
rate on what you have to do,” he said.
She nodded, then glanced at her watch. “I’m also going to call Veronique into this meeting,” Jess said. “Does anyone have a problem with that?”
Jess watched Morana’s irritated expression, but the vampire didn’t comment. Nor did she ask who Veronique was. Interesting, and not in a good way.
Jess quickly dialed Veronique’s number. “Hi Vee. Britt and I have put together a team to work against the shadows,” she said. ‘We’d like you to be part of this.”
“When?”
“How does right now sound? We’re at my brother’s apartment.” She gave the address.
“I’ll be right there,” Veronique said, hanging up instantly.
Jess shut off her phone. “She’s on her way.”
When Britt rose and stretched, making his muscles ripple, Jess noticed that Morana seemed to enjoy the show a little too much.
How much more of this new sister could she take?
Jess hated petty jealousy. It wasn’t her style. So she dug deep and did her best to ignore Morana’s obvious interest in Britt. Besides, he didn’t even notice.
In the meantime, Regent had pulled out a tourist map of Paris and taped the edges to the table. As a group, they used a red marker to pinpoint the sections of the city where the shadows had been spotted so far.
There were several red circles in the Champs-Élysée area, and a few seemed to be branching off toward the Arc de Triomphe.
Jess wasn’t surprised that the shadows had been drawn to the memorial. The Arc was a stunning piece of architecture, constructed to honor those who died in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. It was the perfect place for the demons to gather their troops, and stomp on everything good in this city.
“Maybe we can make the Arc de Triomphe our point of eradication?” Regent said.
“How?” Sampson asked.
“I think it’s a bit too early for us to say that that’s their target for sure. Who knows where they’ll end up?” Britt said.
Jess frowned. “More importantly, we need to find out what caused them to rise up in the first place,” she said.
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