She grabbed it by the neck and shook. Its glassy black eyes looked at her in panic.
She squeezed harder until a tear fell from the raven’s eye. It opened its beak. “Stop!”
She let go. “Speak up, or I’ll throttle you again, only this time I won’t quit,” she said, unaware as to why she’d threatened the bird that had just tried to save her from the sun.
“I can’t tell you what the symbols mean. They mean something different to everyone. They’re magical symbols from time immemorial. They are strong and powerful and must never slip into the hands of those who will use them for evil.”
She blinked twice. They were now inside a building, and the hallway behind the raven led off to apartment doors. Each one was open, and she felt that someone was listening in every dark cavity.
“Shh. They’re listening,” she said to the bird, whose head snapped around, and if she hadn’t gone totally crazy, his beady eyes widened in fear.
“Look what you’ve made me do, vampire. You’ve made me give away too many secrets. Now we’re both in danger.”
“From what? Or should I say whom?”
The raven took two steps away from her. “What are you? You aren’t Jess Vandermire, are you? You’re an imposter—”
“Don’t be silly, you stupid bird. Of course, I’m Jess.” She held up a mirror that had appeared from nowhere and looked at the image staring back at her. It was her face, but it was Morana’s soul staring back from the depths of those eyes.
“Jess!”
She screamed and tried to claw at the attacking bird.
“Jess!” She felt hands on her shoulders shaking her. She opened her mouth to scream again, but nothing came out.
“Wake up. What’s wrong?”
It was Britt’s voice. She opened her eyes and felt moisture in the corners. Had she been crying?
She couldn’t move. Wait a minute, it was because she was coming out of stasis.
Holy hell, what had just happened? It still felt so vivid and terrifying.
As her flesh slowly became more supple, she wrapped her arms around herself. Fear still prowled in the darkest cavities of her heart.
“I’m okay,” she said through thick lips. “I think I had a dream, or more likely a nightmare.”
Britt sat on the side of her bed dressed in a T-shirt and boxers. His dark brown hair was tousled, and she realized he must’ve been in bed before he heard her screaming.
“How could you have a dream, my love? I thought it wasn’t possible.”
“I thought so, too. It doesn’t make any sense. The only possible answer is that my mind was frantic when I went into stasis, trying to make sense of everything that had happened to me yesterday. But how could that initiate a real, honest-to-God dream, when I was dead?”
Finally free from stasis, she sat up.
“Can you tell me what the dream was about?” he asked.
“A raven,” she said. “The raven with the weird symbols.” She tried to grasp the rest, but it was fading away so fast, she couldn’t catch it. How had it disappeared from her mind like that, when moments before it had been so terrifyingly vivid? But the raven had said something to her—something very important. She had to remember.
“Yes? What about it?” he asked gently, waiting for more.
“I don’t know. It’s gone. I’ve lost it.”
He nodded as if he totally understood. “That’s the nature of dreams, isn’t it? They fade quickly when we wake. Really, they’re just a function of our minds working out the days’ events, aren’t they?”
“It felt like a message, though. There was something about it, something important I have to remember. Why can’t I?” She pressed her hands on her eyes and focused on the blackness behind her lids. Come back. Come back. I need to remember.
Britt pulled her into his arms and held her tight. Did he notice her hands shaking? Maybe, because he didn’t try to kiss her. He simply held her until her body relaxed.
“Okay now?”
She nodded.
“Come get some sustenance,” he said. “You’ve had a new and trying experience. Maybe after you’ve eaten, things will be clearer.”
She leaned against his chest. “Okay. You might be right. I do feel as if my energy is lower than usual tonight.”
Maybe after she consumed her life force, she could think straight and understand why she’d dream and why it would scare her.
Britt made coffee while she downed two containers of blood. She washed up. He never watched her eat, but tonight, he stayed closer than was comfortable for her.
“I feel better now,” she said. “Having a dream must have sapped some of my usual recharge. Good thing I don’t dream every day.”
He nodded. “Sounds feasible.”
She was still in her silk pajamas. “I’ll be back in a few moments.”
Still more rattled than she wanted him to know, she sat on the edge of her bed and tried to remember. A dream. A real dream? Dreams faded away, but it had been so long since she’d experienced one, she’d forgotten how quickly they left.
She looked at her sheets. She not only slept like the dead, she was dead. But today, her sheets were rumpled where she’d lain. As if she’d actually moved during stasis.
It couldn’t be. Vampires didn’t move during stasis. Then again, they didn’t dream, either.
A sleepwalking vampire would be a nightmare all by itself, she thought. She couldn’t imagine wandering around in a dream state—she might hurt someone. And that someone might be Britt. She pressed her hands against her heart.
After she’d showered, dressed, and had all of her blacker than black emotions tucked tightly away, she returned to the living room and eyed Britt’s questioning glance. “Let’s go out, shall we?”
“If you’re up to it,” he said.
He’d dressed in a pair of beige cotton shorts and a blue T-shirt that clung to his firm body. Definitely distracting.
If he had merely crooked one finger, she’d be all over him. But the fact that he looked at her as if she might break told her he wouldn’t be willing.
If nothing else, walking the streets would relieve a bit of her tension. There were better ways of getting rid of her pent-up energy. Obviously, the first way was off the table, and the second . . . It was too bad she couldn’t hunt vampires. . . .
EVEN THOUGH JESS seemed okay now, Britt chewed his lip. It was crazy, but the fact that she’d managed to dream in stasis scared the hell out of him. It worried him even more that it had drained her energy.
It didn’t help that he felt the presence of the departed souls in this city. Their leftover energy hung heavily around him everywhere he went—he’d felt it since day one in Paris. Some paranormal entity existed here, and he had no idea what it was or if it was dangerous to them.
He’d never tell Jess he had such thoughts, especially after they’d vanquished the demons threatening the city. She wouldn’t be happy that he still felt the presence of dark souls.
But since his angelic DNA had awoken, he’d become somewhat more aware of otherworldly entities. And in Paris, sometimes the departed souls under the city weighed him down.
Jess slowed near the Seine. “How’d it go with the latest victim?”
“Same thing as the others. No trace evidence found. She’d been exsanguinated, as well. Whoever this is, he has a penchant for blondes in their late twenties.”
“It wasn’t another person from that group you met, was it?”
His jaws tightened. “No, thank God!
She suddenly stopped and looked around as if she had no idea where they were. “I’m tired of tippy-toeing around Paris, pretending these vampires are a different breed from those at home. More civilized, my ass,” she said.
Britt looked at her lovely ass at her comment. “Speaking of asses, you’re just drawing my attention to one of your finer points.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m serious, Britt. I feel like we’ve been walking around Paris with bli
nders on.” She slapped him playfully. “And stop looking at my ass!”
He’d nearly made a snappy comment to that when he spotted Regent walking down the sidewalk on the other side of the river.
“Hold up. Isn’t that your brother?” It was three o’clock in the morning. What would Regent be doing out on the street alone at this time of night?
Chapter Eighteen
JESS FOLLOWED BRITT’S gaze and saw her brother wandering down the sidewalk. Her chest tightened.
“Regent!” She shouted again, “Regent!”
He didn’t respond. They hurried along their side of the river until they came to a bridge.
Shuffling along as if he were sleepwalking, Jess called out to him again. “Regent?” She spoke softly so as not to scare him awake. Nothing happened.
“I don’t think he’s asleep,” Britt said in a low voice while he drew up alongside her brother.
Regent didn’t appear to notice when they flanked him. His eyes weren’t as glassy as a sleepwalker’s, but her brother didn’t register anyone around him, either. Jess got an uncomfortable feeling in her gut, not at all sure if she’d been right about her brother’s condition.
“Where’s he going?” Britt said in a low voice.
Jess continued to examine him. It was weird—she and Britt were able to speak back and forth without Regent recognizing they were there.
“We might have just found out why he’s been so tired lately,” Britt said. “We need to see where he’s going.”
“You think this has happened before, don’t you?” Jess said.
“I do.”
Unfortunately, she agreed with Britt’s assumption: Regent was in some sort of trance. They dropped back a few feet, then a little further. He seemed to be going somewhere in particular.
In fact, he continued his pace as if he were alone in the world. He didn’t look for vehicles when he crossed streets; he just kept walking. Good thing there wasn’t much traffic at this time of the morning.
Jess and Britt slowed with his pace until he stopped outside a brick building. He rang the doorbell and waited. The door opened, and he went inside.
Jess was about to rush the door when Britt said, “Wait. I think we should let him get inside, first.”
“I don’t think—”
“Hear me out, babe. I don’t think he’s in danger. In fact, this may have been going on for a while if his fatigue is any indication. But don’t worry, we’ll keep an eye on him. Make sure he’s okay.”
“I’m not sure if he’ll be safe,” Jess said, still fighting the urge to smash that door down and go after her brother.
“We haven’t found a building we couldn’t break into yet. You said you liked being a cat burglar. Well, get ready. We’re going to do some burgling again.”
Britt eyed the roof of the three-story building, and Jess followed his gaze to the escape ladder one story up.
“No prob. We can jump that far,” she said, eyeing him. “At least I can.” I can drop it down for you.”
He nodded. “Let’s go.”
She jumped to the ladder and let it down. It squeaked more than she would have liked since the rusted metal hadn’t been used for ages.
Britt jumped the last couple of feet and pulled himself the rest of the way up. They quickly climbed to the roof where, as expected, they found a door to the stairwell.
It was locked, but Jess snapped the doorknob off with a flick of her wrist, and they entered.
Britt seemed able to see in the dark as well as she these days. Her gut clenched. Would there come a time when his new angelic abilities created a chasm between them?
He silently indicated they go down another level.
On the second floor, they heard muffled voices. They inched down the hall and got as close as they could without being seen. From where Jess stood, she saw Regent in a room much like a classroom. Was this a school? Clothing designs were drawn on blackboards around her brother, and material lay in bundles on tables. A clothing design school?
Two well-dressed vampires were talking to Regent. Not pressing him, not grilling, just asking him for information. He’d obviously been enthralled by them. How long had this been going on?
“How does your sister maintain control over the vampires in New York?” one of them asked.
“She doesn’t,” Regent said, slurring his words slightly. “She kills them.”
One vampire sighed. “Is that all he can say? She’s got to have more abilities than that. Every time we send a vampire to New York to take over, she eliminates them. She has taken out three of our strongest leaders. She’s got to have something else, some special talent, other than the ability to wipe her own kind off the map, surely?”
“Regent,” the other vampire said in a soft, soothing voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard to Jess. “Where does your sister’s strength come from?”
Regent smiled. “From God.”
“That’s not possible,” the bigger vampire said with an irritated sigh.
She lurched forward, but Britt planted a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Damn it, he’d been right. She’d only put Regent at risk.
“I think we’re wasting our time with this one,” the vampire said. “We’ve grilled him for ages, and we’ve come up with nothing that we can use. I think we should just let him go.”
“Maybe he doesn’t know how she does it? Our intel says he plays an integral part in her abilities. I can’t imagine a few prayers doing that, can you?” the other vampire said. “And how’d they stop the demons? They sure as hell didn’t kill them in hand-to-hand combat.”
Jess couldn’t see the second vampire since his back was to her.
“Regent, what about that man with her, Brittain? Does he have any abilities?”
Jess froze and waited for Regent to spill his guts. If these vampires had enthralled him, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself. “Uh-oh,” she whispered.
“He’s an angel,” Regent said, smiling broadly.
The vampire rolled his eyes. “Useless. Totally useless. We should cut him loose.”
The other vampire hesitated. “I’ve never met a human who could hold out the way this guy can.”
“Unless he’s telling the truth,” the faceless vamp said.
“That Brittain is an angel? Really?” He shook his head as if he worried about the other vamp’s sanity. “We’re wasting our time.”
“Agreed, but what do we do with Father Vandermire?” He pointed at a still-smiling Regent, oblivious to the conversation being held, even though he was in the middle of it.
“Kill him,” the brute said, showing his teeth.
Jess readied to charge in.
“Hold on. I think he’s just scaring him into giving them more,” Britt said.
“But he’s in a trance—he wouldn’t know the difference.” She peered around the corner again to monitor her brother.
“Look at Regent’s face. I think they’ve released him from enthrallment.”
Regent’s forehead had wrinkled, and he looked as if he might be in shock. Releasing him was as easy as changing a thought, but doing it that quickly could damage a human’s physiology. And being able to keep a person enthralled for a length of time took skills. Judging by Regent’s recent fatigue, he’d been enthralled for quite some time.
Then again, these were ancient vampires, and they probably had more abilities than she realized.
Regent blinked as he looked around the room. He’d be fuzzy at first, but his mind would register what the vampire had just said. “Where am I?” he asked, jumping off the chair, then grabbing onto it again to steady himself.
The vampire pinned him back onto the chair with one hand. Regent flinched under the pressure.
“If you can’t tell us your secrets, we might as well drain you,” he said.
“Go ahead,” Regent replied. “I’ve lived a full life.”
Jess held her breath. Either Regent was a master at controlling this situation, o
r he had handled it by sheer luck because his brain’s agitated endorphins were affecting his thinking.
The vampire frowned and looked her way. At first Jess thought they’d been spotted, but the vampire began talking again. They were still safe.
“You’re not very old. Why do you think your life has been full?”
“I’m actually seventy-three,” Regent said. “My age has recently been reversed. At least on the outside.”
Britt chuckled.
Jess had been in the grip of panic, but when Britt chuckled, she figured out what was going on. Regent was still spilling his guts—telling the vampires everything. Every single thing he knew. Only, they thought he was either lying or crazy.
Regent pulled out a cross from his neck and held it aloft as if he’d drive them back with it. Of course, that had very little effect. He must still be muddled by being enthralled.
“Let’s go,” the first vampire said. “I don’t even want to kill this guy. He’s already gone mad.” The other vampire remained silent, his arms crossed on his chest. Was it because he didn’t necessarily agree?
That sent instant spikes of fear through Jess. She had to get to Regent in time before either of those vamps decided to rip his throat out.
“I agree we should let him go, but for a different reason. We don’t want to piss off the sister. Not yet, anyway.”
“If you say so.”
Dammit, if only she could see the second vampire. It was then she realized he had a raven symbol tattooed on his inner wrist.
It surprised her when they actually let Regent leave. They got out the way they’d entered and followed Regent home without being seen.
“They might be following him, too,” Jess said. “Let’s hang back, make sure he gets home okay, first.”
They waited outside for an hour to make sure Regent wasn’t being watched.
Finally, Jess said, “I don’t care if the vampires are still out there. Let’s go back a few blocks and approach Regent’s place as if we’re stopping by for a visit. That’s not unusual for us, and it won’t tip them off that we were following him,” she said.
Britt ran a hand down her arm before threading his fingers through hers. “At least they didn’t hurt him.”
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