by Ashlyn Chase
Anthony watched and waited, realizing the couple must be communicating telepathically.
At last, Morgaine sighed. “I can’t. I’m sorry, but the ocean is one of those wide-open spaces I’m afraid of. Jeez, it doesn’t get any wider and more open than that.”
“But with astral projection, you wouldn’t really be there,” Sly protested.
“I know, but it doesn’t work that way, honey. My mind has to be convinced I am there for astral projection to work. I’d still see what’s there and what’s not there. No land. Nothing familiar. Nothing safe—”
“Are you saying that a person who knows how to astral-project might be able to find her?”
Morgaine’s gaze dropped to the floor. “Yes, but I can’t. Maybe my cousin could help. If you have a picture of Claudia…”
“No need. I have Sadie. My niece can astral-project.” Anthony rose and strode over to Morgaine. He took out his wallet and handed her all his cash. “Thank you. I have a way to look for her now.”
“I’m glad I could help, but this is too much.”
“How about another bottle of Vampire Vintage? Is there enough to cover that?”
“More than enough.” Morgaine rushed off to the kitchen.
“Please let us know when you find her,” Sly said. “And if there’s anything else we can do…”
“I won’t hesitate.”
Morgaine hurried back with a shopping bag and added his two bottles to whatever she’d put in the bag. It had some heft to it, so she must have given him four or five bottles of the stuff.
“Drink a glass of it now and before you go into the sun.”
“Don’t overdo it, though,” Sly added. “It’ll still get you tipsy.” He smiled at Morgaine as if he had firsthand experience.
Anthony thanked the couple profusely and hurried down the stairs.
***
Now that he had the precious Vampire Vintage, Anthony didn’t have to go back to his lair in the morning. He could stay up for twenty-four hours and concentrate on finding Claudia.
It was incredible to see the sunrise again.
Until Sadie had some news, he could fill in for Claudia at the tea shop. He couldn’t wait to see Sadie and tell her what he’d found out. He also couldn’t wait to see the expression on her face when he showed up at her door during the day.
He was on his way there when he spotted Kurt.
“There you are. I’ve been looking for you.”
Kurt halted and stared. “Anthony?”
“Why haven’t you been returning my calls?” he demanded.
“I lost my phone. It’s the damnedest thing. I’ve looked everywhere for it. I was just on my way to the store to get a new one.”
“At least you weren’t ignoring me.”
“I wouldn’t do that. So, what’s up? And speaking of that, how are you up? It’s daylight!”
“I’ll get to that later. Claudia’s still missing. I was hoping you knew where Ruxandra’s lair is.”
“Uh, yeah. I do. But she invited me in last night and Claudia definitely isn’t there. Are you sure Ruxandra is behind it?”
“I can’t think of anyone else who’d want to harm her.”
Kurt tucked his hands in his pockets and gazed at the pavement.
“What?” Anthony asked.
“I think you might want to consider other possibilities. Ruxandra and I have spent a lot of time together recently. I really don’t think she has Claudia.”
Anthony didn’t want to give Kurt too much information in case he accidentally tipped off Ruxandra—or she compelled him. But his buddy defending the mother of all jealous ex-girlfriends gave him pause.
“Are you two getting close?”
Kurt smiled. “As a matter of fact, yes. I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time. I think she is too.”
“That’s great, but are you sure she didn’t compel you to think that?”
“She can’t compel me. She tried it three times last night and it never worked.”
“Why was she trying to?”
“I asked her to. She wasn’t up to anything sneaky. We were just curious about why it didn’t work and tried a few experiments.”
Could Kurt be Ruxandra’s beloved? The thought startled Anthony.
“Can you read her mind?”
“Uh…that’s not something I can do as far as I know.”
“Hmmm… Have you been intimate with her yet?”
Kurt recoiled. “That’s kind of personal, isn’t it, bro?”
“Yeah. Sorry.” Whatever Kurt and Ruxandra are to each other really isn’t important. Stay on task.
“I was about to see Sadie. Maybe we can all meet at the shop. Nick and Brandee too. Maybe by putting all our heads together, we can come up with something.”
“How about Drake and Bliss? Bliss is Claudia’s best friend.”
“I’d thought about that, but I didn’t want to worry her. Maybe I can ask Drake to come by himself.”
“I don’t know about that. From my experience, husbands and wives as close as those two share everything.”
Anthony sighed. “You’re right. I’ll wait until and unless there are no other options.”
“Uh, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m not sure I can be of much help, and my priority is finding that damn lab. Can you handle the Claudia situation without me?”
Anthony caught himself a moment before he let out a growl. Kurt was thinking of the greater good. It was understandable that his own thinking might be skewed toward finding his beloved, but Kurt had been trying to find missing paranormals, including his best friend.
“Are you getting any closer?” Anthony asked.
“Yeah. Nick and I are pretty sure we’ve got the right neighborhood.”
“Then you should follow up.”
“I can let you have Nick for your meeting. He might have some insight as a PI that I wouldn’t have. I won’t try a bust without him and a vamp or two, though. Ruxandra has already promised to help, and I think Sly and Morgaine would lend a hand.”
“Ruxandra is helping?” Anthony asked incredulously.
“Yes. She was happy to volunteer. I don’t think she’s as selfish as she was in the past. Either that or she never was, but you didn’t see it because of her singleness of purpose.”
“Good. I wish you luck, my friend.”
“You too,” Kurt said. “We’re going to need it.”
Chapter 15
Anthony welcomed each person or para as they arrived for the meeting at the tea shop. Fortunately, it wouldn’t open for another two and a half hours, so they had time to talk privately.
Sadie brought two pots of hot tea to the table where Anthony had already set out cups and some cookies he’d found in the kitchen. Nick and Brandee, Sly and Morgaine, Sadie and himself just fit around the two square tables he’d pushed together.
“Thanks for coming, everyone. I hope that by putting all our heads together this morning, we can come up with a way to locate Claudia and bring her safely home.”
“Before we begin,” Nick said, “I have to ask the obvious. How are you here? The sun has been up for a few hours.”
Anthony nodded to Sly and Morgaine. “Through the generosity of friends. Again, I can’t thank you two enough for sharing your cure with me.”
“It’s only temporary,” Morgaine reminded him.
“Still, I’m humbled and grateful that you trusted me with it.”
Sly smiled. “I can’t think of anyone more trustworthy. Look what you’ve done here.” He made a sweeping gesture to include the whole tea room. “You had a dream of creating a safe place for paranormals, and you’ve done it.”
“I love the idea of a tea shop,” Morgaine said. “It feels so much safer than a bar. I’m going to make it my goal to
come here by myself in the future.”
“That would be wonderful,” Sadie said. “Good for you and good for us. If you’d like to do some tea-leaf readings, let me know. I can’t keep up with the demand some days. Perhaps if you had appointments…” Apparently the other psychic knew about Morgaine’s challenge with agoraphobia, but didn’t know if others were aware.
Morgaine smiled. “I’d like that.”
Anthony cleared his throat. “And now for the matter at hand. Morgaine did her locator spell and discovered that Claudia is somewhere far off the East Coast. Has that changed, Morgaine?”
“No. I double-checked it a few minutes ago. She’s still somewhere between forty and fifty degrees longitude, and forty-two to forty-three degrees latitude.”
Sadie’s brow wrinkled. “I’m afraid I don’t know much about nautical terms. Can you show me on a map?”
“Yes.” Morgaine dug a map out of her purple satchel and spread it across the table. “Here,” she said and pointed to an area, tracing her finger in a circle about an inch in diameter.
“I’ll bet it’s a lot more territory to cover than it looks like,” Nick said.
Brandee piped up. “If you can pinpoint her location, I can bring her back.”
Anthony’s heart leaped. “You can?”
“Yes. I’m not supposed to tell you how but I will, if I can trust all of you to keep this in the strictest confidence…”
“Absolutely,” Anthony said, and the others added their resolute affirmations.
“I’m a muse,” Brandee said. “The powers-that-be needed a new one to handle some of the modern technologies that have come into existence since ancient times. I can zap myself to an exact location if someone calls out for help.”
Anthony scratched his head. “Zap?”
“For lack of a better word.” Brandee shrugged.
“Has Claudia called out for help?” Sly asked.
Brandee’s brows knit. “Unfortunately, no. I haven’t heard any pleas from the middle of the Atlantic.”
Sadie sighed. “So, it’s up to me to find her with astral projection. But how do I relate the exact location to you?”
Nick rubbed the stubble on his chin. “It sounds like she might be on a ship. Can you interact with the captain if you’re in astral form?”
“No. Unless there’s a spirit on board, I won’t be able to communicate with anyone.”
“If you can get to the bridge, you may be able to spot the location with their instruments,” Anthony said hopefully.
“I can certainly try,” Sadie said.
Anthony didn’t want to push her, but he couldn’t wait much longer. “When can you go?”
“Well, I need total peace and quiet. May I use your office?”
“Please do,” Anthony said.
***
Claudia had given up on communicating with anyone onboard. No one could ignore a damsel in distress so completely. She had to conclude that they couldn’t see or hear her. Well, okay, she wasn’t exactly a damsel. She’d even kicked the captain, and he rubbed the sore spot but blamed the ache on his “old bones.”
“Fuck it,” she said. She located “the head,” which was what they were calling the bathroom, and used it. “Finally. Ah…”
If only the thing flushed like a regular toilet, one of the four guys onboard might investigate the noise. Fat lot of good that would do. Everything I’ve tried to get their attention is just spooking them into thinking they have a ghost onboard…and we’re still bobbing out in the middle of nowhere. If only I could figure out how to use the radio and send out an SOS or a Mayday or whatever…
She finally had her “sea legs” and managed to get to the cockpit of the boat—or whatever it was called—without her stomach roiling. Inspecting the instruments, she grew even more frustrated. She saw rectangles labeled GPS, Horn, Anchor Light, DC Outlet, Trim Tabs, Spreader Light, Spotlight, Overhead Light, Navigation Lights, Bilge 1, Bilge 2, Bilge 3, CB, and Radio—which she tried to use without success. Also VHF, Deck Light, Wipers, Depthfinder, Radar, Fishfinder, Windless, Fresh Water, Transom Light, Downriggers, Livewell 1, Livewell 2, Livewell 3, Cockpit Light, Baitwell, Salt Water, Washdown, Accessory, AMP, Spare, Toilet, Underwater Lights, and four dials that were labeled RPM, MPH, Volt, and Fuel, which looked as empty as her hopes.
Maybe an old-fashioned fishing boat would have had low-tech equipment she could figure out, but the instrument panel on this boat looked as confusing as any airplane cockpit she’d seen in movies.
Shit.
From out of nowhere a stray thought surprised her. She wondered if one of the guys had a bottle of rum stashed somewhere.
***
Anthony watched as Sadie lay on the thick Oriental rug in his office. Brandee said she’d stay with her but promised not to interfere. The others waited in the tea room. He didn’t know where he should be. Here, in case Sadie needed him? Or in the tea room, out of the way? Just then, the phone rang.
Anthony grabbed it and said, “I’ll take this in the other room.” Closing the door behind him, he answered.
“Anthony, it’s Kurt. Are Nick, Sly, and Morgaine there?”
“Yes. Should I put you on speaker?”
“Yeah. I think I found the place.”
Anthony halted. “You found the lab?”
Nick shot to his feet and demanded, “Where?”
“Hang on.” Anthony pushed the speakerphone button and let everyone in on the conversation.
“It’s here in Central Square. We walked right past it a dozen times.”
“Jesus.” Nick breathed. “Which building? How do you know it’s the right one?”
“Well, I’m not positive it’s the right place yet, but I’d bet a thousand bucks on it. I’ve watched a couple geeky types come and go in shifts. They carried some equipment into a white van a few minutes ago. The basement windows of the building are covered in newspapers from the inside and a corner of one came loose. I could see a couple cages but nothing in them.”
“I remember that place. I tried shifting and sniffing those windows with my heightened sense of smell. I even waited across the street in my other form, but there was nothing suspicious that I could see or sniff out.”
“If that paper hadn’t come loose, I’d never have had a clue. The place looked abandoned.”
“Yeah, it did. Someone obviously went to a lot of trouble to make it look that way.”
“Anthony, I should go,” Nick said.
“Of course. Can you two wait until I can join you before you rush in there?”
“The more backup, the better,” Nick said. “But tomorrow night is the full moon. If they have wolves, as we suspect they do, we’ve gotta get to them tonight. Kurt? What do you think?”
“I figured we’d do the bust during the night. There’s apt to be less staff on, and we can include Ruxandra. So, tonight it is.”
Nick gasped. “Ruxandra? Psycho, unpredictable, homicidal Ruxandra? Uh…no offense, Anthony.”
“None taken. Every word is the truth. Kurt, are you sure you want her along?”
There was a long pause on the other end.
Suddenly a loud thump and cheers sounded from Anthony’s office. “Excuse me, everyone,” he said. “I think I should look into—”
The door burst open and Sadie shouted, “Come quick. Claudia’s back!”
Anthony forgot all about Kurt, Nick, and the lab. He charged into his office and saw a damp, confused Claudia, wide eyed and open mouthed, gaping at her surroundings.
“Darling!” he shouted out and rushed over to her. He grasped her and hugged her hard, yet she didn’t react as he would have expected. She went stiff and didn’t embrace him back.
She must be in shock.
When Claudia could speak again, she said. “I know this is a dream, because a moment ago it
was broad daylight and Anthony’s here. Also, a moment ago I was on a fishing boat stranded in the middle of the ocean. But I don’t remember falling asleep.”
Brandee hit the side of her head. “Jeez! The guys on the ship need rescuing too. I’ll be right back.” And she disappeared before everyone’s eyes.
Claudia took a step back and shivered.
Anthony gently rested his hands against her arms and rubbed to warm her. “You’re not dreaming.”
“Then how…”
Sadie said to Anthony, “Claudia used the radio and sent out a Mayday.” Then she faced Claudia. “That’s how Brandee located you.”
“But I couldn’t make the radio work.”
Sadie smiled, but a look of concern crossed her face. She turned to Anthony and asked, “Is it all right to tell her about Brandee?”
Anthony nodded. “I think Claudia deserves the truth.” He tucked her damp hair behind her ear. “And I want the truth about how you got on that ship in the first place.”
“Ruxandra found a way around Kurt’s spell, using physics. She surrounded me with her arms and flew. I don’t know how she flew, but…well, I figured it must be another vampire thing.”
Sadie glanced up at Anthony. “So, she knows?”
“Yes,” he said. “She’s been incredibly understanding.”
Claudia pushed at his chest until he reluctantly let her go. “I’m not feeling quite as understanding as I did before I was locked up in a windowless room and then transported to a ship whose crew was hypnotized into thinking we should sail to France.”
Anthony balled his fists. “That’s it. Ruxandra will never bother you again.”
He didn’t know if the murderous rage he was feeling showed in his eyes or not, but Claudia backed up another step.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“What I should have done a long time ago.” He grabbed the office phone, hit the speed-dial number for Kurt, and waited a few seconds for him to answer. Then he simply barked, “Where’s Ruxandra’s lair?”
Kurt hesitated, then asked, “Why? What’s going on?”
“She almost killed Claudia—despite your protection. Now she’s going to pay.”