Triquetra

by Marguerite Labbe

  “And I’ll strive to satisfy when the season starts. Before I say any more, answer me this. Do you know Ghedi Ussier?”

  “We may have run into him a time or two. We have a mutual understanding,” Aderson replied.

  I gave him a tight smile. “No, this is what happened. Sometime in the past, you did something and incurred a favor from him, and he’s had you by the balls since then.”

  Kuykedal grimaced. “What of it? This isn’t a damn Pollyanna world we live in. Ussier owns anybody he wants to own. We help each other out on occasion.”

  “What if I tell you that I can put you in a position so he owes you a favor this time,” Jacob said.

  “That would indeed be a feat,” Aderson murmured. “We’re listening.”

  “Remember our conversation about the serial killer and how he was really targeting vampires?”

  “Yeah, you promised me you’d keep me in the loop.”

  “Well, listen a minute and I’ll give you the update.” I studied Jacob out of the corner of my eye as he talked, and it struck me how much he’d grown up in the year or so since I’d met him. His boyish cockiness had been replaced with the innate confidence of a man who knew exactly what he wanted out of life. I smiled inwardly, warmed by the thought. “There was another attack this morning. Does the name Alette Dupree mean anything to you?”

  Detective Kuykedal began cursing under his breath in a manner that I knew Jacob would appreciate. “She was targeted this morning?” he demanded.

  “I don’t believe she was the actual target, but the killer did manage to drag out her younglings,” I replied, and both men paled. “I see you grasp the significance of that act.”

  “She’s going to destroy the city looking for whoever did it.” Detective Aderson began examining the ground. “Where did it happen? Did they perish?”

  “It was around back. We got them inside, though I don’t know if one made it or not.” Jacob gave me an uncertain glance, and I pondered it.

  “Most likely Tabitha did not make it, but I hold out hope. We won’t know ’til nightfall; if she is still alive then, she’ll survive with care.” I nodded toward Alette’s mansion. “We’ll face that problem at sunset. For the moment, my concern is securing her place until nightfall. Neither Jacob nor I are in a position to do so. Naturally, given your history with him, he thought of you.”

  Detective Kuykedal glowered at Jacob. “Thanks a lot.”

  “No problem,” Jacob said with a smirk. “We’ll leave a message for Ussier that Kristair assures me he’ll get the moment he wakes up. He can get here before Alette goes berserk.”

  Again I nodded as all three pairs of eyes turned toward me for confirmation. “He’s got ways, and Alette has other people who stay with her who will see to her when the sun sets. They’ll be able to control her until he arrives.” I was fairly certain either Artemise or Hugh stayed with her. “I just cannot leave them defenseless during the day when one of the culprits remains free.”

  “How did you get involved?” Detective Aderson asked.

  “Ussier called in a favor,” Jacob replied, his lips twisting into a grimace of disgust. “He needed someone he could trust who could operate during the day. He wanted us to find out who was behind it. With any luck it’ll be over with tonight. The vamps will be satisfied, I’m sure with Ussier’s help you guys could cook up something to explain away the serial killer to your superiors and get the kudos for solving that case. Everyone’s happy.”

  “What’s in it for you?” Detective Kuykedal thrust his chin out toward me. “Everyone seems to have a stake in this but you. You in it for shits and giggles?”

  “That is an interesting way of putting it, and I’ll admit that it has provided a distraction, but no, I’m not invested because of the entertainment value as you so crudely put it. As a matter of fact, I don’t see how my motives are any concern of yours, Detective Kuykedal. After all, you don’t intend on threatening me with arrest as you have Jacob on many an occasion, are you?”

  “Of course not,” Detective Aderson assured me, clearing his throat. I smiled at their discomfort until Jacob jabbed an elbow into my ribs.

  I smoothed my expression, studying the detectives as Jacob finished his conversation with them. I didn’t like leaving Alette’s household in the hands of unknown humans, but I had little choice in the matter. We needed to secure the one culprit we had and find the other before nightfall.

  Once again, necessity dictated my actions. And Aderson and Kuykedal were connected to Ussier. It didn’t mean they were entirely trustworthy, but they seemed intelligent enough to know that failure or betrayal would end in a painful death for them, whereas doing this would ensure them rewards beyond what they dared to dream about.

  We could not stay. I didn’t want Jacob anywhere near this place when Alette awoke. If I could manage it, I’d take him out of the city. I didn’t think my lover grasped the danger that the detectives were in—or we ourselves were in, for that matter. Jacob had had a taste of what it was like to be confronted by a maddened vampire after I’d been hurt, but his mind had been clouded by the unwavering certainty that I loved him and it would be enough to keep him safe.

  Judging from the grim expressions on the detectives’ faces, they knew exactly what they were up against, and that soothed my conscience somewhat. Aderson’s gaze slid from Jacob to me and then back again. “You’re sure Ussier will get the message the moment he wakes up?”

  “I am, but it would be a wise idea to leave the area as dusk starts to descend. Even if they stir early, they won’t be in a position to leave, but anyone wishing to try to finish the job won’t risk trying it.” If they did, well, that would solve one problem for us.

  “We’ll do it on one condition,” Detective Kuykedal said.

  “And that is?” Jacob asked.

  “How much clout does your boy have with Ussier?”

  I raised a brow. I could not remember the last time anyone had ever referred to me as a boy, Jacob’s or otherwise. “I have known Ussier for over a hundred years. I’m not part of his inner circle because I prefer to keep myself apart, but I assure you Ussier will listen to my words if I vouch for you.”

  “Why? You don’t know either one of us,” Aderson pointed out.

  “Jacob spoke for you and that is enough for me. Besides, if I feel it necessary either he or I could read your minds to verify your trustworthiness. It’s not a pleasant experience, but it can be done.”

  They had no way of calling my bluff, and given the way I’d sensed Jacob earlier, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he could do it, though I doubted he would. He had more scruples than I did.

  “But mostly, I trust in your fear of Ussier if you falter.”

  I touched my hand to the small of Jacob’s back. It was well into the morning, and we had quite a bit left to do. Mostly, I wanted him alone so I could uncover what had happened to him. There was an ugly bruise forming on his cheek and new shadows in his eyes that I railed against. When I found that creature, I’d rip his limbs from his body.

  “Are you ready, Jacob?”

  “Yeah, I guess that about covers it. If you need anything, if something new happens, give us a call.” He shook Aderson’s hand, nodded at Kuykedal, and twined his fingers with my own. “Let’s go.”

  I waited until we were back on the highway and Alette’s place was far behind us. Jacob gripped the wheel with both hands, his knuckles white and jaw set. “What happened, mo chroí?”

  “Like I said, she wasn’t working alone. She’s got some dude working with her. I’d seen him before, that night in the woods, but at the time I thought I was you. And when I lost sight of him….” He shrugged. “I just dismissed it at the time.”

  I nodded slowly, searching Jacob’s face, trying to figure out what he wasn’t telling me. “And he attacked you in the house?”

  “Yeah.” He paused. “I think he was trying to make sure the job was done. Get rid of me and bring Tabitha and Bethany back outside while
you were distracted with chick.”

  “And that’s where you got this.” Jacob tensed as I gently touched the bruise on his cheekbone. Neither one of us had escaped unscathed from the morning’s battles. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  There was another long pause, and then Jacob glanced at me, his blue eyes dark and angry. “This guy… Kristair, he looked like you. I don’t think you get that. He could’ve been your fucking twin. He even smelled like you, and—” The rest of what he was going to say was bitten off as Jacob pressed his lips together.

  I could well imagine how that screwed with Jacob, to have to fight someone that looked like me. “And what?”

  Jacob flexed his hands on the wheel. “He drew a gun on me. I’m telling ya, he gave me the heebie-jeebies. Even if he hadn’t been packing I would’ve known it wasn’t you. He felt….” He paused as if searching for the right words. “Wrong… unnatural. When I saw him in the woods the other night I thought he was you and I almost called out to him, but some instinct stopped me. Then he was gone, and I thought I lost my chance to find you.”

  Two attackers… one focused on me, the other on Jacob. What did it mean? More questions flooded through my mind. A copy of me. There were any number of ways a doppelganger of me could have been created. Cloning, though that didn’t make much sense if it was full grown. Magic, even a combination of science and the arcane. But I thought whoever had done it would’ve had to have known me personally.

  I’d never caught even a glimpse of this man, and my instincts told me Jacob was his sole target. I frowned. It all didn’t add up in my head. “Was he trying to kill you?”

  “He had a damn small cannon pointed at my head. What the fuck do you think?”

  “I’m thinking that it makes little sense, even if this thing had counted on you not recognizing it wasn’t really me. Did it think it would make it easier to kill you? Why use my face at all? For an upper hand?” I reached over and laid my hand on Jacob’s arm. There was such tension in his body, and I mourned it. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “Nothing!” Jacob exploded. “Will ya just fucking drop it?”

  Troubled, I fell silent, and the rest of the trip remained that way as I tried to figure out what could have been behind Jacob’s rage and silence other than frustration at having his attacker get away. It wasn’t like him to push me away like this.

  Chapter 15

  THE SILENCE bugged me, but I was too damned keyed up to cajole Kristair out of worrying. I couldn’t tell Kristair what had happened because I knew he’d blame himself. It would eat at him, and at that moment, we didn’t need the distraction. Besides, as bothered as I was by the encounter with that creature and its escape, the thought of trying to sneak a body into our house without being seen by our neighbors seemed to be a more pressing problem.

  Not to mention how the hell we were going to keep her quiet until we could hand her over to Ussier. Or how we were going to find her partner in the meantime. When this whole mess was over with, then I’d talk to Kristair about what happened, if he still wanted to know, but not until then.

  I turned the Z28 into our driveway, grateful for the trees that provided at least some partial screening. I parked my baby and drew in a deep breath. At least it was the middle of the workday. That made it less likely that our neighbors were at home. Still, I couldn’t escape the sensation of eyes on me. All it would take was one person calling 911.

  “Jesus, Kristair, what if somebody sees us dragging in a body?”

  “So?” Kristair said, turning amused dark eyes on me. “What will they do about it?”

  “Need I remind you that you’re human again? There’s no mental hoodoo that you can conjure up that will convince a neighbor or the police to mind their own damn business if we’re caught. Just sayin’.”

  We got out of the car and walked around to the trunk. “Jacob, you must trust me. People will see what they want to see. We’ll be fine.” I popped open the trunk to reveal a squirming blanket, muffled cries coming from underneath it. Great, just great. She would be awake. My heart was about to jump out of my throat and do a fucking jig.

  Kristair leaned in and slugged our captive somewhere in the vicinity of her head, and she went limp again. He picked up the blanket-clad body and slung her over his shoulder. “See? Not a problem.”

  I grumbled, unable to help casting a look around to see if anybody was watching from windows or peeking over the fence, even though it had to make me look as guilty as fuck. “One of these days, Kristair, you’re going to be spectacularly wrong, and I hope I’m there to see it.”

  I moved ahead, unlocking the kitchen door, and breathed a sigh of relief as we got inside without one surprised shout. I tugged the blinds closed and cursed the lack of a basement. “Where do we stash her? And how are we going to look for that doppelwhosawhatsit thing? After the way he managed to escape, I don’t want to take my eyes off of her for one minute, and we can’t carry her around in the trunk all day.”

  “A doppelganger,” Kristair corrected, and then he frowned, glancing toward our bedroom. “It would probably be easiest to tie her to our bed, but I don’t want her anywhere near there.”

  I hid a grin. Kristair got prickly over the oddest things. “How about we tie her to a chair in the kitchen? We can set her in the middle of the floor, and it will be easy to keep an eye on her.”

  Kristair nodded and dragged a chair out, dumping his burden on it. “I’ll get some more rope from the utility room. I’d prefer if we could manage to keep her knocked out for the day.”

  “That last punch should do the damn trick, at least for awhile.” I unwrapped the blanket from around her, keeping her from slumping off the chair as I checked her bonds. I found it hard to believe that I had a woman tied up in my kitchen. Life had certainly taken on a surreal quality. Now, with her tangled, sweaty hair obscuring her face, it seemed hard to think of her as a stone-cold killer.

  I brushed back her hair, wanting to fix those blank, unnatural features in my mind to remind myself what she was, and froze in horror at the sight of Kayla’s face. “HOLY SHIT!”

  “What is it?” Kristair came bounding back into the kitchen looking around for an attacker, and I stared up at him in dismay as his expression became stricken. “No!” he cried out, falling to his knees next to his daughter, gently tipping up her bruised face and brushing back her hair. “What have I done?”

  Fingers fumbling, I scrambled to undo the knots binding her wrists so tightly together. “You didn’t do anything, babe. Someone’s screwing with us. First that creature that looks like you and now dragging Kayla into it. Somehow, the killer must’ve escaped, switched or something. They’re a pair of tricksome bitches.”

  “No, I don’t think so.” I flinched at the haunted tone to his voice. Kristair lifted the bloody hem of her shirt, revealing a jagged, red scar on her side. Kristair let out a despairing soft moan and dropped the shirt to ease it back from her throat instead. There were mottled bruises there as well, and I remembered Kristair’s hands around her throat, throttling her as I ran up to him in the tunnel.

  “She wanted me to kill her,” Kristair breathed. “Oh little one. I thought it odd at the time… I did this to her.” He swept Kayla up in his arms as the ropes fell free. “Get some hot water and clean cloths,” he demanded over his shoulder, carrying her back to our room.

  Shaking from delayed reaction, I turned the hot water on and scrambled for a bowl and the first aid kit. My mind spun as I dumped some peroxide in the bowl and added hot water, grabbing a bottle of aspirin too. It didn’t make any sense. Kayla was supposed to be in Baltimore with Steve. Where the hell had he been when all this happened? Fuck, did that mean the creature was somehow Steve made to look like Kristair, while Kayla was also made to look different?

  I set the bowl down as my hands trembled even more and my stomach churned. Fuck, I could’ve killed him. I couldn’t take having another friend’s death on my hands. I just couldn’t. Drawing in a deep breat
h, I forced myself to continue moving.

  Kristair had laid Kayla out in the middle of our rumpled bed and removed her shirt. His face was grim as he took the bowl from me and began to wash the blood from her stomach and side, leaning over to examine the wound intently. “We should bandage it, just in case,” I said, and he nodded.

  The scar was puckered and raw, as if newly healed. As if she’d only healed herself enough to keep going, to keep fighting. I shuddered, rose to grab her a clean T-shirt, and then watched, helpless, as Kristair cleaned and bandaged the stab wound before moving onto each bite mark, his jaw set.

  “You couldn’t have known,” I said, sitting down beside him once again on the bed, touching his shoulder.

  “Don’t.” Kristair shook his head sharply. “Don’t try to excuse me. I should’ve known. She’s my daughter. There should’ve been some instinct, something.” He eased the T-shirt over her. “You said yourself when I was mad with the need for blood that I wouldn’t hurt you because I loved you, that I would sense it and stop myself. I didn’t then, and I hadn’t recognized it now either.”

  I ran a hand through my hair and fisted it. Damn, he was the most stubborn man I’d ever met in my fucking life. I made a note to knock some sense into him later. “What do we do now, Kristair? Ussier is going to be looking for an explanation come sunset, and we’d better have a damn good one for him.”

  Kristair drew a blanket around Kayla, tucking her in as if she were a baby, and a lump lodged in my throat. He’d never see it, but he made an amazing father, and I could all too easily picture him tucking our son or daughter in for the night. Then my lover turned toward me, his expression stark.

  “You will take Kayla and go. I want you as far away from here as you can possibly drive by sunset. Go to the bank, take out as much cash as you can. I’ll stay here and pack for you.”

  “Like hell I will!” I grabbed Kristair’s arm. “I’m not leaving you to face that rabid bitch Alette by yourself. What if Ussier can’t keep her in check? What if he’s too pissed to listen to reason? I’m staying.”