by Shah, Karin
“You have a beautiful home.” Detective Cole echoed Thalia’s earlier words as she pulled a notepad out of her suit pocket. “We’re sorry to come by so late. You’re probably aware two bodies have been discovered beside 390 in the last few days. In both cases, the last place the victims were seen alive was a Goth club in the High Falls District we believe belongs to you.”
“That’s right. I own the Bell, Book, and Candle.” Gideon gently probed the surface of the detective’s mind. He found a detached amusement at the kind of people she assumed frequented places like his tavern. Beneath that was a rock solid belief that he or one of his regular patrons was a serial killer.
“You were at the club those evenings?” Her tone turned the question into a statement.
“I’m there most nights.”
Cole nodded, her smooth bob sliding forward as she noted the information in her pocket notebook. “What time did you leave?”
He skimmed through her surface thoughts. She’d already spoken to his staff, probably why the pair had arrived so late, and knew the answer. He shrugged, “Too early, apparently.”
Her head came up, hazel eyes intent.
“Or you wouldn’t be here, would you?” Gideon smiled, and the woman flushed, her pupils dilating. He could hear her heart rate speed up. She cleared her throat and checked her notes.
“Where did you go after you left the club Monday night?”
“Home.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“Mmm.” The detective made a noncommittal sound as she made another note on her pad. “And there’s no one who can verify this?”
“I’m afraid not.”
Gideon didn’t have to invade her thoughts to know he had just jumped to the top of the list. Still, they’d no other evidence to implicate him. There was no need to plant an alibi or manipulate them. If things went well, he and Thalia might catch the rogue tonight. This would all be mercifully over and he could return to his quiet life.
“What time would you say you went to bed?” The question seemed irrelevant, but he knew she was trying to get information she could confirm. His next-door-neighbors were going to receive a visit.
A high brick wall with a wrought iron gate guarded his property, but the upper story windows could be seen from the street. He used the lights, although he didn’t need them, and left the aluminum shades up at night. If not, people assumed the house was empty and it became a target for thieves. Not a problem for him, but he didn’t like to eat at home.
“About four thirty.”
Detective Cole raised an auburn eyebrow.
“Owning a bar, I’ve gotten into the habit of working at night.”
“Hmm.” Cole’s tone was neutral, but she and Poole exchanged pointed glances.
“Thank you for your time.” Cole slipped her notebook into her pocket and extended her hand once more.
Gideon took it. He held it firmly, making eye contact, wondering why the touch of Thalia’s hand, no different really from the one he held now, affected him so profoundly, while this woman’s touch did nothing at all. She blushed and drew her hand away, rubbing it on the fabric of her jacket, her eyes still on his face.
Outside, darkness had fallen, and Gideon escorted the detectives to their car.
“Let me know if I can be any help,” he said as Cole got into the black car on the driver’s side.
She smiled. “Don’t worry. I will.”
Gideon waited until their headlights disappeared into the night, then shifted into a large falcon. There was no way Thalia was coming to this interview.
“Why did you do it?” Even to Gideon’s own ears, his voice was gravelly with rage. The other patrons of the sleazy pub he’d tracked Fletcher to cast wary eyes in their direction.
Fletcher looked up from his drink. “Do what?”
Gideon growled and yanked the other vampire to his feet.
A man got up from a nearby table and walked out. Another reached into his pocket for something. A phone to call the police? Or take a picture?
Gideon bared his teeth in a smile and moved away. “Meet me outside.” He left without a backward glance.
By the time Fletcher emerged from the pub, Gideon held onto control by a hair. He took a deep breath. As much as he longed to bury his fist in Fletcher’s face, the other man had occasionally been an ally. The least he could do was listen to what Fletcher had to say.
“What’s this about?” The other man shifted on the balls of his feet as if ready to defend himself. A guilty conscience?
“Thalia was attacked by a revenant last night.”
Fletcher stuffed his hands in his jean pockets. “Thalia? Oh, you mean the Champion. Getting awful chummy aren’t you?”
Fury scorched Gideon’s control. He felt his eyes flame. “Where were you last night around three?”
The younger vampire took a step back, his features contorted with disbelief. “You think I created a revenant?” The laugh that followed was bitter. “I may have been an outlaw in life, but in death, I have always followed the Code.”
Gideon’s rage cooled. Fletcher’s affront was too natural to be feigned. Still, he’d had good reason to suspect the other man. “Your words last night could be construed as a threat.”
“It was a friendly warning. If I threaten you, you’ll know it.”
Gideon hid a laugh of his own. “Typical Fletcher. Always cruising for a fight. Maybe some day I’ll give you one.”
But he wouldn’t. Unlike other men, he didn’t have the luxury of brawling. “For now, how about another drink?”
Chapter 5
Body Found in Local Park, Police Investigate Similarity to Earlier Slaying. The headline of the morning’s paper seemed to move before Thalia’s eyes, a dizzying jumble of black and white that made her stomach dip. She hadn’t had time to read it earlier, but sunset had long faded to black, and Gideon hadn’t shown his handsome face yet.
She closed her eyes and shook her head, quaffing a sip of her herbal tea in the hopes it would settle her stomach. The vampire had struck again. Another family faced the devastating reality that a loved one was never coming home.
She looked out the window. Damnit. Where was he?
Still no word from Gideon? Spirit trotted in from the other room and took the seat she always left pulled out for him.
Thalia shook her head. “There’s been another murder.”
Spirit put his head on the table and looked up at her with dark eyes. I wish your mother were here.
“Me, too.” Thalia gave a short, harsh laugh. “If she were, she would be the Champion.
That’s not what I meant, and you know it. Spirit’s voice was gentle, but firm. I can tell you need another woman to talk to.
“What makes you say that?”
The way you blushed a little when I said Gideon’s name.
Thalia raised a hand to her unblemished cheek. “I didn’t think you could see red, and I didn’t blush.”
Hmm,” said Spirit. Of course not. He paused. I want you to find someone to love just as much as your mother and Lily did, but never forget what Gideon is. Even if witches and vampires got along, you can’t be turned. There’s no future in this. I’m afraid you’re going to get hurt.
Thalia set down her tea. It sloshed onto the table, leaving a dark brown puddle on the pale oak. “This whole conversation is ridiculous. Gideon would never be interested in me.” She attempted another laugh to lighten the mood, but it came out as hollow and bitter as an Easter candy made out of baking chocolate. “Besides, I am very aware of what he is.” Her words seemed to float over them for a moment. She bit her lip. No matter how attractive he was, she could never forget. Lily was dead because of one of his kind.
God, she missed her. And her mother.
Her mother would have skewered Gideon on the spot if she’d thought him guilty.
But this latest murder had occurred while they were together. He was innocent, at least in this. Relief untangled a
knot in her stomach she hadn’t known was there.
Well, someone was guilty and another woman was dead. The thought brought Thalia to her feet. No more waiting for Gideon. She would interview the next person on her list on her own.
A knock at the back door spun her around. Finally.
She sucked in a deep breath and answered the door. As she’d hoped, Gideon stood on the porch. A brief irrational surge of happiness flowed through her.
“Ready to go?” His voice was brusque, and the feeling evaporated.
The temperature seemed to drop twenty degrees in a matter of seconds. She shivered. She’d expected it, deserved it really, but his anger was alarmingly painful. Ignoring the frisson of distress still burrowing through her chest, she nodded, then grabbed her suitcase and the newspaper. After a quick goodbye to Spirit, she followed Gideon out the door.
She slid into the leather passenger seat of his car and handed him the newspaper. He scanned the headline as she fastened her seatbelt, then threw the paper into the small backseat. “I know.”
Thalia searched his closed features. “Did you hear where she was seen last?”
Gideon nodded his dark head curtly. “The Tomb. That’s what kept me. The police tracked me down.”
Relief swept through her. He hadn’t stayed away because of the kiss. “At this time of night? Are you a suspect?”
“I don’t know. Am I?”
Thalia gasped at the sudden attack. “What do you mean?”
“If you didn’t believe I had something to do with Lily’s death, why did you search my home?”
His eyes gleamed in the reflected moonlight. Thalia almost thought she could read something in their liquid depths. Was it hurt? She looked away. It seemed impossible an insignificant creature like herself could injure such a powerful man. “All vampires are suspects.”
“So I am a suspect.”
“Before I found out about the other murder you were.” She put a hand to her forehead and ran her fingers through the strand of hair she’d left out of her ponytail, hiding her face “But you were with me last night. I can tell the police the same if you like.”
“Don’t do me any favors.” Gideon started the car. The large engine growled to life, echoing perhaps, the mood of the driver. He threw the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway. His anger simmered in the car like air rising off sun-scorched pavement.
“Gideon,” Thalia said quietly, dropping her hand and facing him. “I’m sorry. Lily was my best friend.”
The plea hung in the air for a moment, then he glanced at her and seemed to soften. “The coroner has narrowed Lily’s time of death to before I left the tavern that night. And since they believe both murders were perpetrated by the same person. . .”
“You’re in the clear.” The atmosphere between them lightened.
“For now. I may yet have to take you up on your offer of an alibi.”
The watcher drew back into the complicit shadows as his enemy and the Champion got into the flashy black car. The scent of their mutual attraction floated on the air. Neither looked up, apparently too absorbed in each other to detect his presence.
He smiled. His enemy had become weak.
The car peeled out of the driveway in a spray of gravel. As their headlights faded like dying embers in the distance, he burned at the delay. His human slaves were late.
He sighed. He wished it weren’t necessary to use them at all. It was rather like playing with one’s food, but without an invitation, he couldn’t breach the Champion’s walls. His human puppets had no such prohibition.
Dark shapes glided out of the depths of the night. His playthings had arrived.
The rhythmic thump of the tires on the road along with the rumble of the engine filled the silence as Gideon subdued his rage.
As unbelievable as it seemed, she was safer with him.
But he had to keep his distance. She’d taken him into emotional territory he hadn’t charted since he’d been human. Dangerous territory. Territory that could get people killed. Perhaps when this was all over, he should move on. Find a less populated corner of the globe.
He searched for the hard-won calm he had fostered over the millennia. He’d kept the beast chained for thousands of years; surely he could handle one small woman.
“Tell me about vampires.”
Gideon spared a glance at Thalia before returning his eyes to the road. “What do you want to know?”
“Well, I thought vampires fell into a kind of coma during the day.”
Gideon paused. Thalia had already betrayed his trust once. Still, as much as he resented her distrust, he understood her reasons, and in this case, ignorance could be deadly. “The eyasses do.”
“Eyasses?”
“Nascent vampires, fledglings you might say. At my age, I fall into an almost irresistible sleep at dawn, but it soon lightens to a normal sleep. I can be active during the day as long as I stay out of the direct rays of the sun.”
“How old are you?”
Gideon had to think for a minute. “Twelve thousand two hundred and twenty-three.” Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Thalia’s jaw drop. “More or less,” he added. “The calendar has changed several times since I was born. It’s hard to keep track.”
“What do you consider young in a vampire?”
“Five hundred years or less.”
Thalia’s eyebrows twitched over her expressive eyes. Gideon could see her considering her next words. “How can you tell a vampire’s age?”
“It depends on the vampire. The older they are, the more talents they’ve learned, illusion, transformation, telekinesis, and so on. That’s why the older vampires are expected to enforce the Code.”
“The Code?”
“We call the loose set of rules governing vampires the Code. They include unspoken laws, like not hunting in another vampire’s territory. And written laws, such as not taking a life while feeding. But taking a life while feeding has consequences that have nothing to do with the Code. If a vampire takes a life while feeding, he drains more than blood. He receives the life energy of his victim. We call it the Claiming. It gives him a burst of incredible power, but that power has its own price. After a time, the effects wear off, and he begins to age. He has to continue taking lives to sustain himself. The interval between each feeding grows gradually shorter, until he can’t face a sunset without killing.”
A pair of innocent brown eyes flashed into his mind. They belonged to Everett Fale, an eyas Gideon had turned during the American Civil War. In life, Everett had been too young to shave. From Company A of the One Hundred and Fortieth Infantry, he’d been wounded at Gettysburg and deserted when surgeons had threatened to amputate his leg. A native of Brockport, all he could think of was getting home, and he had gotten close, but the infection had spread rapidly, and by the time he’d reached Gideon’s home, he could go no farther.
Gideon remembered finding him hiding, close to death, in one of his outbuildings.
How he’d pleaded to live.
Everett had grasped Gideon’s shirt and begged him to save him, his eyes burning peat in his pale, freckled face. Although Gideon had turned only a handful of vampires in the lengthy span of his life, he had been unable to ignore the boy’s desperate pleas. As the last gasps of air slipped past Everett’s bloodless lips, Gideon had brought him over.
Everett had been pathetically grateful. He’d followed Gideon like a duckling, and Gideon grew fond of the boy. Had begun to think of him almost as a son. But as time passed, Everett had begun to disappear for long periods of time, seemingly distancing himself from Gideon.
At the time, Gideon had assumed it was natural. Eyasses rarely stayed with their mentors for long. Then the rumors started. People were going missing in nearby towns.
The evidence led straight to Everett.
Gideon confronted him as he stumbled up the front walk just before dawn, high on the energy of those he had slaughtered.
Eyes wild, Everett on
ce more pleaded for his life. It had been an accident that first time, he alleged. He could stop. But Gideon knew the truth. The Claiming was a terminal disease. The boy he’d known was gone forever.
But as Everett realized Gideon could not be swayed, he exploded, his face bright red. “You’re just like O’Rorke! Always asking too much!”
“I’m sorry, Everett.” Gideon stepped forward, intending to carry out Everett’s sentence as quickly and as mercifully as he could, but Everett had grown in guile.
With reflexes augmented with stolen power, Everett plunged the sharp wooden stake he’d hidden behind his back toward Gideon’s heart. But Gideon needed no augmentation. At a speed invisible to human eyes, he parried Everett’s thrust, drove his hand into Everett’s chest and removed his heart.
The fight took no more than a second. Everett was still striking out with the stake as he crumpled to his knees, dead. This time for good.
Gideon never knew how long he’d held Everett’s lifeless body while the sky lightened toward the dawn. Grief for the boy he’d known strafed his large frame with bone-rattling shudders.
The monster had destroyed another innocent life.
It would have been better to permit Everett to die the night they’d met, to allow him to meet his god peacefully, with a clean conscience. But the demon was always there, in disguise, ceaselessly searching for new victims.
He was no better than Everett.
He should have faced the justice of the dawn long ago.
But as the sun had peered over the horizon, and the first cruel rays branded his skin, the demon had taken control. It refused to allow him to surrender his life, forcing him to rise to his feet and return to the safety of his room in the basement while Everett’s frail body withered into a pile of ash and swirled away on the indifferent wind.
“Gideon?” Thalia’s voice was husky with concern, and he realized he’d been lost in the past for several minutes.