by Margaret Carter, Crystal Green, Erica Orloff, Patricia Rosemor
She impatiently shook off the memory. She had to concentrate on dealing with Nola. Max had been right all along, Linnet thought, while she dressed as quietly as possible and restored the ankh pendant to its place around her neck. The vampire woman was too dangerous to leave at large, and there was no way the conventional legal system could handle her. Jodie’s programmed attack proved those points. Linnet collected her supplies—gloves, garlic spray, rope, ax, flashlight, tape recorder, spare batteries. She tied each length of rope into a slipknot, grateful for the summer when she’d worked as a camp counselor during one of her “catching up with Robin” phases. She had the security code and the key to the house. Max would be furious, of course, but by the time he woke, the act would be accomplished.
She dumped the personal items from her carry-on bag and stuffed the vampire-hunting equipment into it, except for the miniature tape recorder and the slip of paper bearing Nola’s alarm code, which she carried in her purse. At the last minute she remembered her cell phone, abandoned on the dresser. She scooped it into the carry-on bag. With Jodie’s gun still in her purse, she stepped into the hall, easing the door shut with a click. A minute later she was driving out of the parking lot. Fog shrouded the streets. Shivering in the cool air, she wished she’d brought a sweater. She sipped from a juice box and munched on a granola bar, hoping a little food in her stomach would tame the queasiness. Could she actually kill a woman, even an inhuman murderer? Her lack of firearms training wouldn’t matter when all she needed to do was hold the barrel to the vampire’s head and pull the trigger, but could she force herself to fire? And suppose the police tracked her down afterward and Max couldn’t lull them into leaving her alone? Would wiping out Nola be worth life in prison?
Though Linnet’s mind shuffled the risks over and over, her body kept driving toward Pacific Grove. A part of her brain below the level of consciousness must have decided that, in the unlikely event the authorities connected her with Nola’s death, the penalty would be worth it.
Not used to driving in fog, she found her hands cramping from her tight grip on the steering wheel. Ghostly shapes of trees and other cars loomed up at every curve. The “butterfly tree,” a faint silhouette in the mist, reassured her that she hadn’t made any wrong turns. She passed the waterfront park and crept up the side street Jodie had pointed out. When she pulled over to park near the corner of the dead-end lane where Nola’s house was supposed to be located, Linnet paused for a second to reflect that she ought to give thanks for the fog. Though rapidly turning pearl-white rather than gray, it was still thick enough to hide her from any casual observers.
She suppressed a shiver, wiped her damp hands on her jeans and stepped out of the car, her purse slung over one shoulder and the tote bag over the other. The gabled fronts of Victorian houses loomed across the street. She hoped their inhabitants were still asleep.
As described by Jodie, a single house stood alone at the end of the lane, its lot backing onto an inlet of the bay. The crash of waves drifted to Linnet’s ears, along with the calling of sea otters. A wrought-iron fence surrounded the yard, shadowed by several cypress trees. She drew on the gardening gloves and pushed open the gate, wincing at its creak. Tiptoeing up the brick-paved front walk, she scanned the faintly visible facade of the house. Unkempt shrubbery crowded next to a wide porch. When she got closer, she could make out bay windows on either side of the porch and gables on the top floor.
Nobody challenged her when she walked up the porch steps. She might actually make it inside safely. If Max’s hypnotic power over Jodie, not to mention the girl’s own desire to escape, could be trusted. If she hadn’t lied to them about Nola’s sleeping habits or somehow warned the vampire woman about their plan of attack.
Linnet checked the folded paper with the security code one more time. She got out the key and unlocked the door, then scurried across the foyer to the control panel and punched in the numbers. She leaned against the wall, panting, afraid the alarm would scream out her intrusion anyway. Nothing happened. She closed the door, hitched her bag into a more comfortable position and turned on the flashlight.
Can I actually do this? Now that she’d made it this far, she paused to review her plan. According to Max, Nola had at least ten times the strength of a human woman. Linnet’s idea of disabling her with a squirt of garlic juice suddenly seemed ludicrous. She would probably have to shoot the vampire to immobilize her, the way Fred had done to Anthony. And not being any kind of marksman, she would have to do it while her target lay inert in bed. Sickness welled up in her throat. Who am I kidding? No way will I be able to pull the trigger. Max had a point about goading the woman into attacking first. Wounding or killing someone in the heat of combat had to be easier than doing it when the enemy looked helpless.
Once more she conjured up the image of Deanna’s face, masklike in death. If I have to shoot her while she’s asleep, I will. As for the next step, chopping off Nola’s head, Linnet couldn’t force herself to think of it yet. First, she would get the woman’s confession. Nobody else would ever hear it, not even Robin, Linnet reminded herself, but she needed it for her own satisfaction. Put a bullet in Nola’s chest, tie her up for extra insurance, and keep the garlic handy just in case.
According to Jodie, Nola slept in a finished space in the attic, with the window boarded over. Linnet walked from the foyer into the front hall, careful not to slip on the Persian rug at the foot of the curved staircase. Though her eyes had begun to adjust to the dimness, she still welcomed the flashlight. She crept upstairs, forcing herself to breathe normally. If Max hadn’t awakened when she’d touched him, or when she’d run water in the bathroom and opened and closed the room door, Nola shouldn’t wake just from the sound of footsteps.
The upstairs hall felt a mile long. Plagued by memories of low-budget horror films, Linnet visualized zombies shambling toward her from the shadows of the empty bedrooms. But she reached the end of the hall without incident and found the closed door Jodie had described. Opening it, she saw a steep, narrow flight of steps leading up. The tremor in her hand made the flashlight beam skitter ahead of her. She tiptoed up the stairs, ducking her head to avoid the slanted ceiling. The air smelled stale and dusty but not outright unpleasant.
At the top, she emerged into an open space cluttered with boxes and trunks. An unpainted wooden floor covered the beams underfoot, she noticed. She wouldn’t have to worry about accidentally stepping through the ceiling of the second story. An unidentifiable machinelike noise hummed in the background. She turned in a slow circle, casting light over every part of the chamber. On each end, a plasterboard wall sealed off a section of the attic. The door to each closed-in area was shut. Jodie hadn’t mentioned which end held Nola’s lair.
Linnet took the pistol out of her purse. Earlier she’d examined it and found the safety, which she now clicked off. With the gun in her right hand and the garlic spray lying on top of the items in the unzipped tote bag, she edged toward the door on the right. “Lady or tiger?” popped into her mind from an old story she’d read in college. In this case, the lady and the tiger were one and the same, and neither door hid a prize.
She tugged at the latch. Locked? She pulled harder, with her heart beating so rapidly she felt light-headed. The door sprang open. She stumbled backward into a footlocker and barely escaped a fall. For a few seconds she sat on the trunk, gasping, sure the vampire would come charging out of that dark cavity. Nothing happened, though. She got a fresh grip on her supplies and slipped into the walled-off space.
Her flashlight shone on bookshelves, floor to ceiling. Near the round window sat the source of the noise that had puzzled her. The compact device on the floor looked like a dehumidifier. Besides books, many of them leather bound, the shelves held record albums and eight-track tapes. Some of the records looked like the old 78s Linnet had seen in her grandmother’s house many years before. The musty volumes tempted her, but she knew better than to let herself get sidetracked. She had no guarantee of how long Nola
would sleep.
Backing out, she closed that door and threaded her way between boxes to the opposite one. Unlike the first, this latch opened easily. The flimsy barrier was clearly designed for privacy, not protection.
A queen-size bed almost filled the space under the steeply slanted ceiling. A box-style fan circulated air. The only other furniture was a nightstand with a reading lamp. A thick burgundy carpet covered the floor. Plywood was nailed on the end wall, apparently to block sunlight from another circular window.
On top of rose-colored satin sheets, Nola lay on her back, naked. Creeping into the chamber, Linnet stared at the woman, almost luminously pale against the bedclothes, as thin as a fashion model, with a high forehead and sharp chin. Her black hair, waist length, flared under her like a cape. She brought to mind Sleeping Beauty in the enchanted tower, awaiting Prince Charming’s kiss. Only one detail marred the image, a triangle of silken, dark hair that began under her small breasts and dwindled to a point at her navel.
Linnet propped the flashlight on the nightstand to shine on the bed. Then she quietly set down her bags, tightened her grip on the gun, checked that the coiled ropes weren’t tangled and readied the spray bottle in her left hand. For a second she considered trying to bind Nola’s arms before resorting to violence. She dismissed the idea as wildly reckless. Her…intimacy with Max made it possible to touch him without waking him. She’d better not try that with this creature.
When she pointed the gun at Nola’s chest, Linnet’s hand shook. She drew a deep breath and exhaled it, forced her muscles to relax, and curled a finger around the trigger. She stepped closer to the bed, afraid of shooting off center.
Just as she prepared to squeeze the trigger, Nola’s eyes flew open.
Linnet screamed. Her hand jerked, and the gun fired. The sound reverberated in her head, making her ears buzz.
Nola spasmed, blood spurting from her left shoulder. Her eyes blazed. Roaring like a panther, she grabbed Linnet’s right arm.
With her left hand, Linnet shoved the spray bottle in Nola’s face and squirted. Nola emitted a shriek and curled up on her side, hands over her eyes. Linnet sprayed her again. The vampire convulsed, retching.
Dropping the gun and bottle, Linnet stooped to pick up the ropes. She grasped one of Nola’s arms and slid it into the noose. When she tightened the knot, the woman rolled onto her back.
Nola’s free hand shot up and fastened around Linnet’s throat.
Trying to scream, Linnet felt the pressure squeezing her windpipe. Her vision grayed. She saw the woman’s mouth moving but couldn’t hear the words over the ringing in her ears.
Nola flung her onto the bed, stopped choking her and pinned both her arms. She struck like a snake. Her teeth sank into the inner curve of Linnet’s elbow.
Linnet cried out at the searing burn, nothing like the gentle sting of Max’s bite. Nola clamped on with painful suction.
Within less than a minute, though, the heat faded to a warmth that spread from Linnet’s arm up to her throat and breasts, then through the rest of her body.
No! Mustn’t give in to this! It seemed like a worse violation than the pain, to feel pleasure at having her lifeblood stolen like a deer’s or rabbit’s. Tears prickled her eyes. Max!
She thought she heard the echo of his voice in her head, calling her name. She felt his anguish at her suffering. Before she could cling to the impression, it faded.
After some immeasurable time, Nola rose to a crouching position. She reached to the nightstand for a handful of tissues and cleaned the blood off her own shoulder. The bullet wound visibly shrank as Linnet watched. “Who the hell are you, and how did you get in here?” Nola snarled.
The ringing in Linnet’s ears had subsided by now. “I’m Deanna’s aunt. Jodie told me how to find you.”
“Jodie!” Nola spat the name like a curse. “Where is that treacherous little bitch?”
“Gone where you can’t find her.”
Nola’s eyes captured Linnet’s. “Tell me.”
“No.”
Nola stared at her in evident surprise. “You can’t hide the truth from me.”
“Yes, I can.” Linnet fingered her necklace.
“What’s that?”
“A gift from Anthony.”
“That weakling.” Nola stood up, snatched a burgundy satin robe from the bedpost and shrugged into it, her eyes never leaving Linnet’s face. “Tell me. Tell me everything.”
Her will battered at Linnet’s mind. Anchored by the necklace and, more important, the memory of her time with Max, Linnet fended off the attack.
With an outraged growl, Nola yanked her to her feet. “You couldn’t have planned all this by yourself. Maxwell Tremayne sent you, didn’t he?”
“No, he doesn’t know I’m here.”
“He never struck me as the kind to be soft on ephemerals. But he’s obviously fed on you. Your aura might as well be flashing a neon sign.” She shoved Linnet toward the door. “Go on. Downstairs.”
On the way out Linnet snagged her purse. Nola just gave it an amused glance. “You don’t have another weapon in there, do you? Or a cell phone?”
“No.” Unfortunately, Linnet had left her phone in the larger bag, where it might as well be back in Maryland, for all the good it would do.
“Hang on to it, then. I know human females use handbags like security blankets, and you’ll probably need one.”
“What are you going to do with me?” Stumbling down the attic steps ahead of Nola, Linnet dismissed the fantasy of escape that crossed her mind. She’d had glimpses of how fast a vampire could move.
“Keep you, of course. Max robbed me of my pet. Now I’ve got his.”
“I’m not—” She cut off the end of the sentence. No point in arguing with this creature.
“What happens to you will depend on how long Max takes to come after you and how he reacts when he does. I ordered that halfwitted girl to shoot him. Obviously she screwed up.” On the second floor, she steered Linnet into one of the bedrooms.
“Why did you do that?”
“To even the odds. Max is older and more powerful than I am. It would be stupid of me to face him when he’s at full strength.”
Half-open curtains let in the gradually brightening daylight. Linnet staggered to the bed. Though woozy, she felt no pain from the incision on her arm. She suspected that, like leeches, vampires secreted an anesthetic as well as antiseptics and anticoagulants. A vampire’s venom, though, apparently bestowed pleasure instead of just blocking pain. An elegant adaptation, making the victim enjoy the attack instead of fighting it.
I guess I’m not in such bad shape, she thought, if I can think like a biologist at a time like this.
“Are you planning to fight Max? Try to kill him?”
Nola laughed. “Max must’ve told you it’s taboo for us to kill each other.” She backed through the door. When it was almost shut, she added, “But there’s no rule against killing you, pet.”
Chapter 13
After the door closed, Linnet heard the click of a lock. Nola must have a bolt on the outside of the door. Why would she equip a bedroom that way? To keep her “pets” caged?
A frantic search confirmed that guess. One door led to a half bath with a cramped shower stall retrofitted into a corner. The other door opened onto a closet full of clothes whose dominant black-and-silver motif suggested that Jodie had occupied this room.
Linnet’s heart pounded from her hurried shuffle through the closet and the drawers. She’d found no tools suitable for vampire slaying or jailbreaking. She wasn’t in the mood to enjoy snickering at Jodie’s taste in skull-shaped silver jewelry, bikini panties or black lace camisoles. Crowding up against the single window to peer outside, she prayed for a porch roof to climb onto or at least a network of vines with sturdy stems. She saw nothing like that, only a view of the back lawn and a rocky beach.
She peeled off the gloves and collapsed on the unmade bed in a trembling heap. She felt light-headed an
d thirsty. Bruises showed where Nola had grabbed her. On the inside of her arm, she found a ragged mark like the bite of a cat or small dog. Linnet buried her face in her arms. How could she have hoped to overcome Nola single-handed? She’d had no real concept of a vampire’s strength. Please, God, help me get out of this!
Raking her hair back from her forehead, she reflected that she didn’t deserve to have her prayers answered. Not only had she acted like an idiot, barging into a predator’s lair, she had been prepared to commit murder. Her earlier arguments against killing Nola outright still made sense, and she must have gone temporarily insane to think otherwise.
Max is right, even if he has a twisted way of getting to the conclusion. If she makes us kill her in self-defense, that’s one thing. But chopping off her head while she’s asleep, the way she had Anthony killed…
A shudder racked Linnet, and her stomach lurched. She rushed to the bathroom and gulped a glass of water. Washing the bitten place on her arm, she remembered the moment of Nola’s attack. For a few seconds she had felt Max inside her head, sharing her fear and pain. Or had she?
Linnet closed her eyes and reached for him. She encountered sheer blankness and silence, with no hint of the immersion in his thoughts she’d experienced when they made love. She decided she must have imagined his presence in her mind up in the attic. Wishful thinking. Hadn’t Max estimated that Nola’s bond with Jodie wouldn’t work over a distance of more than a mile or two?