Triquetra

by Marguerite Labbe

  “What happened to taking a flight?” Kristair asked.

  “This was faster. I like having multiple travel options. Keeps people guessing. This isn’t my favorite way of doing things, but it works well when I’m in a hurry.”

  “And the night isn’t getting any younger,” Lisabeth said. “And we have quite a bit of work to do. Have there been any other incidents since yesterday morning? Any strange thoughts, fugue states? To your knowledge, has the perpetrator tried to possess you again?”

  “Not even a twitch,” I said. “We kept her tied up for awhile. And then this morning we just figured we’d take them off and keep an eye on her, though she protested us letting her go. With Steve here we could take turns.”

  Ussier studied me, his gray eyes cold, his brown face rock-hard expressionless. I got the impression he knew very well that we were keeping things from him. But even if we could tell him about the Ascended, I didn’t see how it would change the circumstances one bit.

  I glanced at Kristair, whose expression was just as enigmatic. No doubt his damn way of telling Ussier he wasn’t giving up any more info. I didn’t like it. Uneasiness stirred as Lisabeth beckoned Kayla over to the couch with an imperious wave of her hand.

  Steve started forward, and I caught his arm and shook my head. “But—”

  “It might tell us something about who’s behind it,” I said in an undertone. “She’s gonna take a poke at me too.”

  “What about him?” Steve asked with a pointed glance at Kristair.

  “I will submit to Lisabeth as well,” Kristair replied, his voice even, and the ice in Ussier’s gaze softened some.

  He inclined his head ever so slightly at Kristair, and a ghost of a smile touched his lips. “You humble me, old man.”

  “I sincerely doubt that,” Kristair said in return.

  Kayla stretched out on the couch, doing a damn good job of looking nonchalant as Lisabeth sat down next to her. When the vampire child closed her eyes, her expression smoothing, she looked almost innocent. Fucking creepy.

  Lisabeth murmured to herself, her fingertips grazing Kayla’s temples. I was reminded of the time I had had to delve into Angie’s mind to heal the damage I’d done. I reached out to Kristair for reassurance and felt the soothing warmth of his mind. “What if she finds out about Tony and the other Ascended?”

  “She won’t. Tony is far more powerful than Lisabeth. He’s smart enough not to have left a trace of his presence.”

  “What about us? She can find out about them when she reads our minds.”

  “Don’t worry about it so much, mo chroí. If you can block me from certain things you don’t want me to know, then you can block her as well. She’d have to force it out of you,” Kristair said in exasperation, and then his voice gentled. “She won’t pry. She’s only interested in your encounter with the doppelganger.”

  Wonderful, just fucking wonderful. Even as guilt squirmed inside me, I fisted a hand in my hair, trying to figure out how to let Lisabeth, but not Kristair, see my fight with that creature. I sensed him stiffen and withdraw so that only the thread of our link remained.

  “Don’t.” I reached out for him again. “I’m sorry.”

  “I do not understand, Jacob.” Kristair tried to mask his hurt, but I still sensed it. “Do you fear my reaction that much? Don’t you trust me not to do something reckless? What happened that you feel you have to hide from me?”

  It wasn’t that I was afraid Kristair would go stalking off to avenge my honor or anything like that, though I had no doubt he’d destroy this creature anyway if he could get his hands on it. No, I just didn’t want him hurting, and god, it would hurt him when he found out.

  Before I could tell him that, though, Lisabeth cried out in pain and crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

  Before I could blink, both Ussier and Artemise were across the room at her side, and Kayla was scrambling to sit up. “What the hell? Is she okay?” I moved closer to the couch as Kayla rose and they laid Lisabeth’s tiny body on it. Oh shit, this couldn’t be good.

  A worried frown marred Artemise’s brow, and Ussier looked positively murderous, his mouth set in a hard, unforgiving line. Kristair drew Kayla to him, stepping in front of her. “Was it a trap?” he asked.

  Artemise laid Lisabeth’s hand down gently and sat back on his heels. “She will be fine in a few hours. Someone did lay a trap in Kayla’s mind, and Lisabeth received a very nasty stinger.”

  “The fact that someone could catch Lisabeth like that speaks to their power,” Kristair said, his eyes lost in thought. I brushed up against his mind to find it churning, running through possibilities and matching it up against people he knew. It still amazed me how fast he could think, even if it wasn’t as freakish as it used to be.

  “That is a damn good point,” Ussier said, still at Lisabeth’s side.

  “Are you sure she’s going to be okay?” Kayla asked, her expression stark. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t have any idea that somebody was still in my head.”

  “Of course not, how could you?” Artemise gave her a kind smile. “It seems we’re going to have to step very carefully.” He looked at me, his blue eyes penetrating. “You, young man, do you have any reason to believe that there might be a similar trap in your mind?”

  “I’m pretty sure there’s not. Kristair’s puttering around in there, and if there was a trap like that, I’m sure he’d either know or have sprung it himself.”

  Artemise glanced at Kristair, who nodded. “I concur. The bond is deep between us. I would’ve noticed if there was something different in his mind. You should be able to see the events with the doppelganger without interference.”

  I was grateful that it would be Artemise who saw the encounter and not Lisabeth. Just thinking of her poking around in my brain and seeing that made me ill. As I sat down on a chair, I sensed Kristair withdraw and felt a pang of renewed guilt. I’d make it up to him later, when this was all over with.

  As I sat down, I concentrated on inane things, trying not to squirm. I didn’t want anybody else in my head other than Kristair, even if it was Artemise. I rubbed my palms on my jeans and watched Steve lead Kayla over to the window, talking to her quietly. They really did make a good couple. When I saw them together, I felt a surge of rightness.

  Artemise pulled up another chair next to my own, and my gaze darted to Kristair. To my relief, he hadn’t turned away. Instead, he was looking at me, his dark eyes intent, and he gave me a small, encouraging smile. Man, I didn’t know what I had done to deserve him, but I wasn’t going to squander it either.

  I almost reached out with my mind to grab a hold of him and tell him everything right there, but then Artemise was in my mind too, and that just seemed wrong to have him listening in on something so private. Damn, I was building it up to be a bigger deal than it was. Nothing had actually happened. So fucking what?

  “Don’t be so nervous.,” Artemise’s mental voice was just as rich as his other one. “I assure you, the experience will be painless.”

  Before I could argue, I was back in Alette’s house, and the doppelganger was pointing the gun at my head. My heart pounded faster, my stomach churned as I rolled my eyes toward Kristair. Immediately, he was beside me, touching my shoulder in a soothing gesture.

  Impulsively, I grabbed a hold of Kristair’s mind and drew him into the memory with Artemise and me. I sensed Kristair’s love and reassurance on a very intimate level, just between the two of us, where Artemise could not go. There was an acknowledged exchange between Kristair and the ancient vampire, and the memories unfurled, stark and ugly.

  It was so real that once again I tasted the horror of the fight, the sharp bitterness of it in the back of my throat, the fear that the creature would succeed in his intent to rape me, and the worry over how Kristair would react if he did. He’d stop at nothing to hunt the doppelganger down. Nothing would stop him, not even self-preservation, just as he’d reacted other times when either Kayla or I had been hurt.


  Once again I could feel the creature’s hands on me, smell him on my skin, the aura of his mind dark and slimy, like something that grew diseased underground. I was furious all over again for letting it affect me so strongly, and I sensed Kristair burrowing himself even deeper into my being until, like a few other times, we were as one.

  “Are you mad I didn’t tell ya before?” I asked very softly on an aside that Artemise couldn’t hear.

  Mental fingers brushed gently over my heart. “I understand why you felt you couldn’t tell me at the time. Both the reasons said and unsaid. Thank you for letting me in now.”

  I sensed Artemise withdraw from my memories as the ancient vampire sat back. The tension in the room seemed to ease some now that he’d contacted my mind and remained unscathed. “The doppelganger does have a rather strong, unwholesome fixation on our young friend here. It’s almost as if a geas has been laid on him. As long as it’s still in effect, he won’t be able to stop himself from coming after Corvin. The only way to stop the creature would be to destroy it.”

  “So it should be close, then,” Ussier replied.

  “Oh, it’s here already.” Artemise rose. “I suppose we should’ve given them a chance to talk more before we jumped right into things. There has already been an attack this night on the boy.”

  “Um, I’m still here, you guys don’t have to talk over my head.” Boy. Sweet Jesus, I didn’t care how old they were, I wasn’t no damned boy.

  “The attack took place just outside the cabin. Steve managed to wound the creature and make it bleed.” Kristair squeezed my shoulder in acknowledgement of my irritation.

  “Good job,” Ussier said, glancing at Steve with a faint smile. He looked at each one of us in turn, lastly at Lisabeth, who still lay unresponsive, and his expression darkened. “I’ll go put her in a place where she will be safe until we get back. I don’t want to waste any more time this night.”

  “What is he going to do?” I asked Kristair as Ussier gently picked up Lisabeth and strode out of the cabin with her. I’d never seen him look at anyone like he did Lisabeth, and I wondered how long they’d known each other.

  “I suspect he’ll place her in the ground, similar to how I used to hide myself in the walls of the cathedral. She’ll be safe there. Even if someone knew where she was, they’d never be able to dig her up.”

  “So she’ll be safe?”

  “As safe as any of us can be considering we don’t know who’s still behind this.”

  Ussier returned in about ten minutes, his face set. “Okay, everyone is going with us. I’m not leaving you behind, Kayla. Until this is resolved, I want you where I can see you.”

  “Understandable,” Kayla said. “Besides, I want a piece of this guy myself.”

  “Which means you, Mr. Teasia, are going to go as well, and you’re sticking by her side.”

  “You wouldn’t be able to keep me away.”

  “Good to know. Does everybody have a weapon?” Ussier asked, and when we all nodded, he flourished his hand to the door. “Okay, gang, let’s roll.”

  Chapter 22

  THE DOPPELGANGER’S trail emerged from the woods and disappeared on the road stretching back to town. “He must’ve stashed a vehicle here,” Ussier said, examining the tracks on the shoulder.

  “Great, now what?” Steve asked. “He could be anywhere.”

  “It won’t be a problem, he’s not far,” Artemise said thoughtfully. “In fact, Mr. Corvin should be able to lead us right to him even faster than I could.”

  I glanced at Jacob, who grimaced and tugged on his earlobe. “He’s right, you know,” I said softly in his thoughts, sensing his vast reluctance.

  “I’ve touched his mind.” The reluctance changed to a shudder of revulsion. “I’ve been exposed to some really heinous shit, but that thing’s mind is something else altogether. Besides, what if he can sense me? He’d know we’re coming for him.”

  “I doubt the creature can do that, or he would’ve sensed you in Schenley Park.” I could only be grateful that it hadn’t.

  “Then how did it find me in Bellows Falls so damn fast?”

  That was a very good question, and one I didn’t have an answer for. I hoped that all of our questions would be answered by the end of the night.

  “Jake?” Kayla asked, looking at him, her eyes searching. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” Jacob said shortly. “Let’s start with the town. It’s not big, between you and I we should figure out pretty quick if he’s there or not.”

  “Agreed.” Ussier rose from his crouch. “Corvin, your car keys.” Jacob cursed under his breath and fished his keys out of his pocket. Ussier caught them with a grin. “I’ll be right back.” With a blur of motion, he was gone.

  “I swear, if there’s one scratch….” Jacob growled.

  “Do we have any idea of what the hell we’re doing?” Steve asked after a moment.

  “We’re hunting down a dangerous creature that has been at least partially responsible for a number of deaths in the last couple months,” Artemise replied.

  “And then what?” I couldn’t blame Steve for the wariness in his voice.

  “We have a conversation with him,” Artemise said genially.

  Steve raised a brow, and the silent question hung in the air.

  “Then we kill him,” I said as all eyes turned toward me, and Artemise nodded.

  “Avenging my honor?” Jacob asked with a slightly cynical twist to his lips.

  “Let us be honest,” I said to them all. “We will feel far more comfortable once this creature is no longer a threat.”

  “And it will give the other vampires in Pittsburgh a certain amount of satisfaction to know that it has been destroyed,” Artemise added in. “It’ll give us some breathing room to track down the other entity, if there is one. Perhaps the doppelganger and the person possessing you, my dear, are the one and same.”

  “You know, I never thought of that. We never saw them at the same time.” Headlights appeared at the end of the road with the roar of an engine as the Camaro slung around the corner. Jacob stepped out into the street to wave the car down. “I swear, if he puts one scratch on my baby….”

  “You keep saying that like you’ll do something,” Steve said.

  “Just watch me.”

  The Camaro came to a stop in front of us with a low purr. I smiled as Jacob immediately went around to the driver’s side and opened the door, jerking his thumb at Ussier. My lover could be such a possessive man. “It’s going to be a tight fit in the back, but I’m driving.”

  Ussier uncoiled himself from the car with deadly grace. “That’s okay. I’ll run and meet you in town. It’ll give me a chance to scope things out before you arrive.”

  “Maybe I’ll beat you there,” Jacob said. Ussier laughed, and then he was gone, leaving behind only a faint wind to indicate his passage. “I swear he does shit like that just to fuck with me,” Jacob said.

  I indicated for Artemise to take the front seat next to Jacob and then climbed in the back behind him with Kayla squeezed in between Steve and I. “Do you really think it might be the same person?” she asked.

  “We’ll find out soon enough.” Jacob hit the gas once we were all settled, and I grabbed the handle and closed my eyes. “That asshole is going to tell us every last thing he knows.”

  The trip into town was silent, and I pondered the possibility. I didn’t really think they could be the same. For one, I had been chasing Kayla when Jacob was fighting the creature. My instincts said that the doppelganger had been created for a very specific purpose. Most likely to destroy Jacob in slow degrees by torturing him with the face of someone he loved. I’d been considering all this time that whoever was behind all the madness was singling me out specifically, but now that thought altered. What if they were targeting us? That changed things.

  I’d had two thousand years to acquire enemies, Jacob far less. And if it was someone targeting us both, then it would have to be som
eone we’ve enraged in the last year and a half. “That still leaves a whole shit ton of people,” Jacob said. “Everyone from leftover Syndicate members, to possibly dead ones, Angie or her pissed off brother….” He trailed off as he considered that angle. “No, I got the impression that they just wanted to stay the fuck out of it after we left them.”

  “You are probably right.”

  The lights of Bellows Falls appeared as we emerged from another winding bend of the road. “Still think that it’s in this direction?” Jacob asked with a glance at Artemise.

  “I’m sure of it, young man. Let’s check the north side of town first.”

  “How is Ussier going to find us?” Steve asked.

  “I think we’re probably going to find him already there,” Kayla said. “It’s not a big town, Uncle Ghedi should be able to smell the creature out.”

  “He’s almost enough to make the rest of us feel useless,” Steve said under his breath.

  “Ussier is formidable,” I agreed. “It’s far better to have him on your side than not.”

  After wandering down a few streets and conferring with each other in low voices, Jacob and Artemise led us to a street enveloped in shadows. Several of the streetlamps were out, and trees obscured the houses set back and crouched in the darkness. Jacob parked his car at the end of the street near one of the burned-out lights and took a deep breath. “He’s in one of these houses. I’ll get a better sense when we’re closer.”

  “It’s the end one,” Artemise replied. “I’m sure of it.”

  Fingers rapped on Steve’s window, and he jumped, letting out a startled yelp. Ussier leaned down and grinned, beckoning us out. Steve muttered curses under his breath, and Kayla muffled a chuckle. We were all wound tightly, and I’d rather Kayla and Steve not be involved in the ugliness to come, but I had no hope of keeping them out of it either. I knew better than to even consider trying to leave Jacob behind.

  “Here’s the plan,” Ussier whispered when we gathered about. “Corvin and I will go in the back; the two old men will take the front. Girl, you and Steve are the lookouts. Stay in the car, you see anyone skulking about, call my cell and Kristair’s. You do have a cell now, don’t you, Kristair?”