“They might try mass hypnosis,” I suggested without believing it.
“Turn the order.”
I frowned. “Turn the order?”
“Ordinary humans run this world. Think of it run by vampires.”
A shiver of intense dread ran down my back, and she nodded.
“Exactly. If they are exposed, then they will move. Right now they’re careful. They feed in secret and cover their tracks. If they don’t need to…”
“I get it. Nessa might have wanted them uncovered as a way to protect us, but it wasn’t necessarily the right path.”
Isabelle rubbed her eyes and shifted her shoulders. “I’m going to do something against my personal values.”
I smirked. “Meaning you haven’t before?” She must have forgotten we had broken into the house, and she had interfered with police investigations twice with two different dead bodies. Who knew what else the wily woman had done in the past. I didn’t hold any of it against her of course. I had done my share as well.
She waved her hand, her eyes glazed as she thought. “I have never changed the course of Clark’s investigations. He’s good at his job, and I don’t even know if it will work.”
“What will?”
“We need to make this appear to be a ritual killing. A few planted baubles, and Clark will believe it to be the work of a twisted individual—a human individual. Then that will be that.”
“But he’ll think it was Ian.”
She eyed me. “He will clear himself.”
“Isabelle.”
“Libby, what’s more important to me is that we find your body.” She held up a book. “We can’t focus on clearing Ian and get you straightened out. You will have to trust him to clear his own name, unless you don’t think he can?”
She had a valid point, which made me grind my teeth. “All right. I understand.”
“Good.” She gathered her find and stood up. Once she had tucked the books away in a satchel she carried, she brought out a small packet and unfolded the cloth around it. Underneath, a book lay inside a large baggie. I must have appeared confused because she explained. “This is a useless trinket I bought at a book sale years ago. Not very good. The information is nonsense, but it will lead Clark in the direction we want.”
“What about fingerprints?” I glanced around the room to the mess we had made searching the books and then back at her. She wiggled her fingers. “Gloves, and unless I miss my guess, you don’t make fingerprints.”
I had forgotten. She was right. Not long ago, I discovered I couldn’t make fingerprints in my spirit form. I could simulate a normal appearance, but on a microscopic scale, I didn’t really come into contact with the physical realm. My energy manipulated movement, shape, weight, and balance, which was why I ran low so often if I wasn’t around a living being to recharge and why if I stayed invisible, I conserved for longer periods.
I bent to retrieve the diary and handed it to Isabelle to place in her bag. I would get it from her later as I wanted to pass it to Ian. He might find closure to learn more about the original Nessa’s life. At least I hoped he would, and it wouldn’t open new wounds. She had managed to find love and have at least one child, which is the best that anyone could hope for another.
We straightened up the room, and then I let Isabelle leave before I locked up the house and then phased through the wall. When we returned to the car, Isabelle stilled with her hand on the ignition. I remained out on the street at her window because I had no need to travel so slowly.
“Libby, I’ll make you an amulet to wear around your neck. It’ll protect you from vampires, but it won’t distinguish between Ian and Tevin. If you remove it like Nessa did…”
“I understand.”
“Good.” She started the car. “I’ll contact you as soon as I’ve made it. I’ll also let you know about my progress in learning more about your body through Nessa’s books. Please be patient, and stay safe.”
“Of course,” I promised and willed myself to my own home as soon she drove off down the street.
Chapter Seven
A couple days later, a messenger rang my doorbell. I tensed, but then noticed the bright sunlight coming through the window. I had managed to avoid going out at night and had pushed Monica to get her work schedule rearranged at least for a little while. At first she refused to give in to my fears for her safety, but then I shared a little bit about Tevin and his revenge.
“Are you telling me he’s going to try to hurt you to get back at some woman from the past that they both liked and Ian stole?” Monica had demanded to know.
I hated leaving out details that were most crucial, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that Tevin was a vampire because it would mean telling her Ian was one as well. “Yes.”
“Well what does that have to do with Vanessa?” she’d asked.
“She was a distant relative. Tevin seemed to think it would hurt Ian more if he used Nessa’s grand-uh-relative. He’s deranged, Monica. One can’t figure out all the motives of that type of person. There’s too much darkness in his heart to understand.”
“I’ll give you that point,” she had said. “He drained her blood. Who even does that? How did he do it?”
In the end, I got Monica to agree not to go out at night, and I managed to get her to stop worrying about my relationship with a man she assumed was a murderer. Not that all her concern had disappeared.
“So if crazy runs in his family…” she’d begun.
“Monica!”
“Just saying.”
I sent her off to work while Jake played in his room. When the bell rang, I couldn’t imagine who it was, but the carrier handed me the package, and I signed for it. In Summit’s Edge, the local carrier service still used clipboards and paper to sign, so I was in no danger of breaking an electronic signing machine.
I tore open the package when I was alone and discovered Isabelle had returned the diary along with a beautiful amulet. I didn’t sense anything special about it, but I had no exceptional abilities of my own. Well, maybe I did know when evil surfaced, but that might be a product of self-preservation.
The note gave me instructions on wearing the necklace at all times. Isabelle also said she’d come across something interesting and would be in touch. I smoothed my fingers across the diary’s material and sighed. Then I folded the amulet back in the tissue paper it had arrived in and placed both in the top drawer of my dresser. Tonight, I would talk to Ian and give him the diary. I hoped he was okay. He hadn’t been back to his home, but I believed all I needed to do was to call to him, and he would come. Besides, I had the feeling he wasn’t too far from me.
That afternoon, Mason arrived. Medium height, dark hair and piercing eyes, once upon a time he had swept me off my feet. I had been impressed by what I had termed his enigmatic personality but later realized wasn’t hard to figure out. Mason believed himself superior to one and all, and he had never ceased to criticize everything I did. To be forced to turn Jake over to him killed me inside, but what choice did I have?
“Hello, Libby,” he intoned when he stepped into my hall. “You’re looking…well.”
I clenched my hands at my sides. Well he’d said. I knew I looked exactly the way I’d appeared the day I left my body. I’d still been enthusiastic about staying in shape, a habit Mason had cultivated by telling me when I was getting “too fat.” At first jogging had been punishment and then it became escape. I missed it.
Feeling petty and immature at the moment, I refused to compliment him as etiquette dictated. He did look good, but I no longer cared. “Hello, Mason. Come in.”
He sat in the living room while I went to get Jake. I knew as I strode away his gaze already wandered the room, assessing the state of everything. When I reached Jake’s door, I hurried in and shut it behind me. “Jake, your dad’s here. Remember what I said, right?”
“Mooommm,” he moaned.
“I’m serious, Jake. No tales of me being a ghost. It’s simply n
ot true. Got it?”
My son gave a heaving sigh as if it pained him that I underestimated his intelligence. I did my best to look as sure and stern as possible. “Now, stay here a little bit because I want to talk to him, okay? I’ll call you when we’re ready. Do you have everything?”
“Yes.” He moaned again, and I slipped out. Beeps and booms started up from his game as soon as I cleared the doorway.
I strode back into the living room, nervous and clutching my hands together. I sat on the chair across from Mason. “Would you like something to drink? A beer or some ice tea?”
“No, thanks. Why are you so nervous, Libby? Is there something you want to say?”
Mason never beat around the bush. I sighed. “I want you to keep Jake longer than the weekend.”
“What?” His mouth dropped open.
I rushed ahead. “I don’t know for how long, but I need you to keep him. Maybe…” I couldn’t bring myself to say forever. Not now. I might not ever see either of them again, but the words and the explanation wouldn’t come, even though I’d tried again and again to tell Jake. I had hugged and kissed him. He had complained and said he was only going to his dad’s for a little while. I had agreed. All along I knew. Maybe Jake knew too because eventually he had asked if I would be okay without him, and he had made Monica promise to take care of me while he was gone. My heart had swelled all the more for my little monkey.
“Libby?” Mason called, distracting me from my thoughts.
I started and looked at him. I had prepared a lie. “I have a condition that needs treatment. It’s risky, and I don’t want to worry about Jake while I’m recovering.” In a sense, I spoke the truth. Somewhere out there my body was hurt. The procedure involved getting my spirit back inside. The risk came in never finding myself before the connection severed, and who knew how long I had left to figure it out.
Mason surged to his feet, his face a mask of anger. “Is it contagious?”
This time my jaw dropped. “Are you kidding?”
He refused to back down from the insult. “I have a right to know, Libby. For myself and our son.”
I took my time standing. “You’re more worried about yourself than Jake.”
“I’m a human being! Of course I’m worried. Besides, if you die, I have to explain it to Jake and be here for him when he finds out.”
He had a point, even if his words were more selfish than anything. I couldn’t assert that I wouldn’t die. Technically, I was already dead. “I’m not going to tell you the details of my…condition. You don’t have to worry. It’s not contagious.”
He settled down.
“If you need to contact me, call Monica. She will know how to reach me.”
His anger rose again, and he approached me. “I don’t want to discuss this with Monica. Give me your new number.”
I took a step back. “I don’t have one right now.”
He stared. “I’m starting to wonder if it was a good idea for you to have Jake in the first place.”
“You will not question my parenting skills! I’m a good mother!”
He swept his arm out to the side. “Look at this place. It hasn’t been painted in years.”
“If it hasn’t it’s because you never did anything while you were here,” I countered.
To my surprise he grabbed my wrist and jerked me closer to him. His eyes widened and he let go to back up. I didn’t love him anymore, but despite that, his reaction hurt my feelings. I hid it as best I could.
“Touching you is weird.” He seemed more perplexed than anything, his pallor ashen.
“I said I’m sick, Mason. I suppose you didn’t believe me.” I choked the words out around the lump in my throat.
He nodded, saying nothing for a few moments. With his head bowed and hands shoved into his pockets, he paced the room. At last, he looked at me. “Jake will be fine, but don’t die, Libby.”
My heart softened. “I’ll do my best. Thank you.”
With minimal incident, I bundled Jake out the door with his dad while I battled my rage at whoever attacked me and caused me to be in this state. If I let out the ghostly wail that was bubbling inside me, it would call to every night creature in existence.
“Ian.”
I called him once. Then I strode to the window to look out. I had waited until the sun had gone down and then later when I thought he’d already finished with his feeding. After speaking with Monica about letting Jake go—or rather sobbing dry-eyed in her lap—I had sent her home. I wanted to be alone tonight, alone until Ian came.
The curtain stirred from my hand, but I saw nothing outside. Nor did I hear a door open and close. Ian was so stealthy one might think he could pass through walls as easily as I could. I moved away from the window and turned. There he stood in the middle of my living room, handsome, silent, and dangerous.
The amulet sat in my dresser drawer. I had no intention of wearing it until after I talked to him. I didn’t want to hurt him. “You’re okay,” I said, not knowing where to start.
“Of course.”
“But you and Tevin were fighting so hard. Is he…?”
“He has not died.”
I nodded, twisting my hands together. Ian turned his head toward the open doorway and then back to me. “You were in pain earlier, and you are still hurting. Your son is not here.”
I blinked several times but remembered I didn’t need to brush away tears. Still, they fell, invisible. I had been in pain but not in danger. If I were in danger, Ian would have come, even in daylight as he had done before. He knew when I was in trouble. The knowledge made my heart ache for him almost as much as it ached for Jake.
“I sent Jake to stay with his dad for a while.”
Ian registered surprise. I had spoken to him about Mason. He started to respond, but I cut him off.
“Never mind about that right now. I made my decision. I’m going to be okay. I hope.” I cleared my throat and picked up the diary. “I wanted to give this to you. I don’t know if it can help you or if it will make things worse, but you can decide.”
He eyed the book without moving. I imagined Nessa’s scent might be on it. I had no sense of smell in my spirit form. I waited for him to approach, but he didn’t move a muscle.
“Did you kill her, Ian, in self-defense?”
“No.”
“Did—”
“Tevin killed her in my home and left her to frame me. It was more of an annoyance than anything.”
I gasped.
“I thought you cared about Nessa, the original one. That’s why I brought you this diary, but if a human is just an annoyance—”
“Liberty.”
I snapped my teeth together. The curtains blew in the breeze he created as he zipped across the room to take the diary and then moved to sit on the couch.
“Sit down, Liberty.”
I glared at him. He patted the cushions beside him, and I conceded. He took my hand in his, and our fingers laced together. I longed to really feel him. When he opened the book to read, I sat in silence for a while. Just as sure as I sensed darkness and evil in Tevin, I sensed intense pain and regret in Ian. Not a shred of emotion flickered in his gaze as he read. I had been wrong assuming he didn’t care.
When he raised his head, he shut his eyes. “Tevin knows a vampire in trouble with the law means nothing. That is why I said it was an annoyance—to him and to me. I valued Vanessa’s life because she was related to Nessa. I did not say what her death means.”
“I’m so sorry.” I squeezed his hand, and he held on.
“Thank you for this. I am glad to know Nessa knew happiness before she passed. However, she never came back completely, did she?”
“No.”
“I cannot take back what happened, Liberty.”
“I know, but you wish you could. I can tell.”
He didn’t answer.
“Ian, what’s going to happen with Tevin?”
“I will handle him.”
“H
ow? You said yourself you’re evenly matched, and that fight at the police station… No one believes it was a gas explosion.”
“The police do. That is what is important.”
“You didn’t erase their memories though. They’re still looking for you.”
He nodded. “I cannot handle it that way, but I will resolve this situation.”
“How?” I worried my bottom lip. He leaned down and kissed me. I wanted to feel my heart flutter over him and butterflies knotting my stomach muscles. For now, my head said I adored him and he made me want to always be with him.
“You do not have to worry.”
“I am worried.” I drew my courage together and told him what I had been putting off. “Isabelle made me an amulet for protection.”
He stiffened. Well, stiffened more than usual.
“She said it can’t tell the difference between vampires. It keeps them away. When I’m with you, I’ll take it off and—”
“No, you will wear it always.”
“Ian, you’re still insisting we can’t be together? I don’t know how long I have and—”
“I would rather you could not come near me than to lose you to Tevin’s revenge. Promise you will wear the amulet at all times.”
“I can’t make that promise.”
“Liberty!” His expression darkened. “Where is it?”
I sighed and willed myself to my room to retrieve it. I had to stay solid to carry it back with me, and I showed him from the doorway. Just holding it up for him to see seemed to repel Ian. He stood and zipped to the opposite side of my living room as far as he could go. My chest constricted, and I hid the amulet behind my back as if that would help. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
I wanted to ask if it hurt, or did he feel some type of power pushing him back. Could he resist, and if he did, what damage would he suffer? I studied his face and found no fear, but I did see the remnants of pain. Shame washed over me. He’d asked where the thing was, not bring it so he could see. I returned the amulet to its resting place and rushed to Ian. Flattening hands on his chest, I checked to be sure there were no lasting effects.
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