He might have agreed, if they’d come across one damned lead as to the identity of their killer. He disliked the way she’d gone overboard on her praise. “I don’t need my ego stroked, Veronique. I want to be a full partner on this team. I want to know that I’m being given all of the pertinent information. If I’m not . . .” He shrugged and stared at the dime he’d left on the ground to mark the location of the foil.
“I understand,” she said. “I’ll do my best to comply. Don’t quit on me, my friend.”
“I do want to see this through, Veronique. It’s important. That blackbird keeps popping up. It means something, and we need to find out exactly what that is.”
Veronique frowned. “Where else have you seen it?”
He pressed his lips together and moved back toward the entrance of the tunnel. She’d have to share what she knew first.
LATER ON THAT morning, Britt grabbed a quick breakfast sandwich from a sidewalk café.
Even though it was barely up, the sun introduced itself by blasting its rays over the city. Heat waves wafted off the sidewalks like mirages. It was going to be a scorcher.
He had a few stops to go before he went home. First, he knocked on Sampson’s door, but there was no answer. So, he rang the bell and waited. A couple of minutes later, footsteps approached and the doorknob turned. Damn it, he’d woken the man. He’d forgotten that Sampson worked nights and needed a normal human amount of sleep, unlike him.
Sampson looked disheveled when he finally opened the door.
“Britt, is everyone okay?” he said, rubbing a hand over the top of his bald head. He was dressed in his doctor’s scrubs, and his eyes were bloodshot.
“Wait a minute. I thought I woke you up, but you haven’t been to bed yet, have you?” Britt asked.
Sampson laughed. “No. I’ve been working with molecule samples from the Paris police. I’m doing up a VNA tracking system for them. It’s been keeping me busy.”
Britt frowned. That meant vampires were being killed in the city, or they wouldn’t have VNA molecules to identify. Why hadn’t Veronique told him this? Surely, she’d know that he and Jess would find this out from Sampson, sooner or later. “How long has this been going on?”
“Not long. Only two days, actually. I was planning on filling you and Jess in tonight.”
“Jess wanted me to ask you to check in on Regent, first chance you get,” he said. “I’d say you need sleep first though.”
“Not if there’s something wrong with Regent. You’d better come in and tell me what this is about.”
Britt stepped inside and told him about Regent’s misadventure. “Regent couldn’t even find his way home from our front step,” he said.
“I’d say you two have good reason to be worried.” Without another comment, Sampson left the room and returned with his kit bag. “Let’s go.”
“Okay, if you’re sure? It’s not so urgent it can’t wait until you get some sleep.”
“My friends come first.”
WHEN THEY GOT to Regent’s apartment building, it was quiet inside. “He’s probably asleep,” Britt said.
“I still have my key,” Sampson said. “We can go in and have some tea while we wait for him to wake up.”
They quietly made tea and sat at the table, discussing the number of vampires Sampson had been cataloguing for the police in the last couple of days.
“I wonder if this means the Peace Pact is crumbling?” Britt said, more to himself than to Sampson.
“The police didn’t seem to be overly concerned about the numbers of dead vampires, unless they were keeping the truth well hidden,” Sampson said.
Britt ran a hand over his eyes. He didn’t like the sound of that. “I can’t wait to go home to New York. It’ll be good to get back to work. It will seem like a day on the playground compared to what we’ve been facing here.”
Sampson laughed. “I have the feeling you’ve got rose-colored glasses on while you’re thinking about home. You do remember the incursions you fought off over the last few years in New York?”
Britt nodded and made a cynical face. “You’re right. I guess I’m just getting a little homesick.”
“Me too. It’ll be good to go home in October,” he said.
“Not long to go, now.”
“Who’s talking in my kitchen?” Regent said, calmly smiling at the men as he entered the room and looked at his watch. “You don’t usually pop in at this time of the day, my friends.”
Mostly because they were usually both asleep by this time, and Regent knew it.
Realization lit his eyes. “Oh, I get it. You’re here to check up on me.”
“We always look out for each other. It’s not checking up on one another,” Sampson said.
“I’m sorry. I’m probably more worried about what I’ve been doing than you are. But please don’t tell Jess I said that.”
“Don’t worry,” Britt said.
“Why don’t I give you a physical, just to cover all the bases? It might make you feel better, too,” Sampson suggested.
“Probably a good idea. Maybe I’m just losing my marbles.”
“No way. There’s something else going on. And we’re going to find out what it is,” Sampson said.
Regent looked at his hands. “I’m not this younger man; you both know it. It might just be my age.”
Britt had considered the fact that somehow Regent had been made young again, but he didn’t believe that was it.
“Have you considered that you might be putting yourself in harm’s way by researching the raven symbols?” Britt said. “Maybe all of this has to do with vampires not wanting you to learn anything more about the ravens?”
“You mean they might be drugging me? Affecting my memory?”
Britt shrugged. “It hasn’t been that long since those vampires impelled you to tell them everything you knew. They might be at it again.”
Sampson dug into his bag and pulled out a piece of tubing and needle. “Let’s take some blood now, before any evidence of a drug is gone.”
“It’s worth a try, I guess,” he said, rolling up his sleeve. “I don’t think I’m being impelled again, though. The way I’m feeling these days isn’t the same. And, I just realized something,” Regent said. “Morana called that vampire who was going to attack me a magpie.”
“Okay?”
“He seemed to take it as an insult. A magpie is a blackbird, is it not? And maybe not the type of blackbird the vampire wanted to be compared to.”
Britt leaned forward. “It’s all about the raven lately, isn’t it?”
Regent held up a hand. “I think I already know what you’re going to say. Someone doesn’t want me to digging into those blackbird images we’re seeing. At least, it’s much better than thinking I’m losing my mind.”
A hard rap on the door brought Regent to his feet. “Who could that be at this hour?” he mumbled as he made his way to the door.
Britt kept a sharp eye on Jess’s brother while Sampson put the blood sample into the fridge and shoved his bag under the cupboard, out of sight.
“I’m surprised to see you here,” Regent said, opening the door wider, without inviting the person inside.
Britt craned his neck, and when he couldn’t see who was at the door, he jumped to his feet to back Regent up.
At the sight of the man standing outside Regent’s home, Britt’s mouth dropped open. “Vasilli!”
It was the bastard Cardinal Marcus Vasilli, the dirty coward who’d brought Uriel to them in New York City as a vampire—a vampire that had once been an angel. As a vampire, Uriel had had terrible strength and his need for blood had grown until they were nearly unable to help him.
It had been difficult, but they’d managed to save the last living full-blooded ange
l on the planet from vampirism, no thanks to Vasilli.
In the end, Vasilli had run for cover when it looked like they might not win the battle. Damned coward. Much to Vasilli’s surprise, they had won and Uriel had been returned to his angelic state. After that, Vasilli hadn’t hung around to thank them. Instead, he’d simply left them to clean up the mess and to help Uriel come to terms with what had happened to him.
Now Vasilli stood there in front of them, without a single shred of shame.
Vasilli turned pinpoint pupils on Britt. “I heard Regent was in France, so I thought I’d stop by and say hello. I didn’t know you were here, Britt.” He said Britt’s name as if it left a bad taste on his tongue. “Is Jess here, too?”
Regent opened his mouth to answer, but Britt interrupted. “It’s none of your business one way or the other.”
Vasilli grinned in that evil way a man of the cloth should never be able to do. “She’s here. Thanks for verifying it.”
“I didn’t,” Britt said.
“Your irritation level made it pretty obvious.” He turned his attention on Regent again. “Aren’t you going to invite me in, Father Vandermire? I am still technically your superior.”
“I thought you would’ve been excommunicated by now,” Britt said, stepping back when the thin-mustached weasel-like features of Cardinal Vasilli sneered at him before he sauntered inside Regent’s place and looked around.
Jess would hate learning Vasilli was in Paris. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Italy?” Britt asked.
“Sometimes. I go wherever I’m needed.”
“And why are you needed in France, Cardinal?” Regent asked, keeping his mannerism professional, even though he disliked Vasilli as much as the rest of them.
“I’m here to do a report on the demon uprising. I heard you were vital in saving the city,” he said to Regent, before he noticed Sampson at the kitchen table. “You’re here too, Dr. Case?”
Sampson nodded to him, his lips in a thin line.
Their obvious hatred didn’t faze Vasilli in the least. He must be used to it.
“I’ve already submitted a report on that incident,” Regent said. “We’re having tea. Would you care to join us?”
Vasilli’s gaze narrowed, and he ignored the offer. “I read your report, such as it was. I’m here for the full account, the truth between the lines that didn’t make it to the paper.”
“Such as?” Regent asked brusquely.
Vasilli flicked a peeved look at Britt. “Such as . . . how did Britt do it? I’ve heard rumors that he was the one who killed the demons. And some citizens saw something in the sky that night, something they’d never expected to see.”
“Like . . . ?” Britt asked drily.
“An angel in full flight.”
Britt just laughed. “People were in shock. Half of them had just been exorcised from their demons. They could have imagined seeing almost anything after that.”
“So, it’s not true?”
“The truth was in the report,” Regent added. “And if you want to question the veracity of my work, I’ll be happy to go before the—”
Vasilli held up a hand. “I want this to be a friendly discourse.”
I’m sure you do, Britt thought, drawing in a calming breath. Better to hold his tongue than to call the man a coward.
Britt was impressed with how Regent had handled Vasilli. He’d told him the truth. The truth that had been in the report, although he had omitted a few details of that night, namely, Britt’s angelic abilities and his role in helping to slay the demons.
“I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing,” Regent said.
“I haven’t travelled far at all. I live in Paris now,” Vasilli said, flicking an imaginary piece of fluff off his black shirt.
“Since when?” Britt asked in a more accusatory tone than he’d meant to use. But since he was on a roll, he continued. “I thought your posting was in Rome. We’d have asked to go home sooner if we’d known you were here.”
Vasilli’s face reddened at Britt’s comment. “I requested this posting when I heard you were here. I wanted to see what you were up to.”
“News travels slowly in Rome, then,” Britt said. “We’ve been here two months.”
“I know,” Vasilli said. “I’ve been keeping an eye on both of you.”
Chapter Five
THE SUN HAD set, and Jess’s body reanimated slowly. It always felt like it took ages for her limbs to become supple after her mind became aware and she’d opened her eyes.
She’d showered, dressed, and found Britt sitting at his customary place in the living room.
Every evening when she entered the room, he’d smile at her and tell her good evening. She paused. There was no greeting tonight.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, sitting beside him on the leather sofa. “Is it Regent? Has something happened to him?”
Britt straightened and offered the slightest wisp of a smile. Something was wrong, because he only used that smile when he was trying to hide something from her. “No, Regent’s fine as far as I know,” he said.
“Did Sampson do a physical on him?”
“He did. He took a blood sample before we were interrupted. He probably finished with the physical after I left.”
Jess pressed her arms across her chest. “What are you holding back?” A vampire could only take so much.
“I’m not holding back, my love. I’m just trying to find a way to tell you that Cardinal Vasilli’s in France. He questioned Regent about the demon uprising this morning because he doesn’t believe Regent’s report was complete.”
She ran a hand over her mouth and thought for a moment. “I’d hoped we’d never see that vile man again. What do you think he really wants from us?”
Britt shook his head. “Lord only knows.”
“Do you still think Vasilli was responsible for Regent’s return to middle age?”
“I think we’re all in agreement that it was more than coincidence that Regent was kidnapped and reverted in age just before Vasilli brought Uriel to us in New York City as a voracious vampire. He knew Regent’s strengths. Regent needed to be younger in order to have the stamina to win over an angel turned vampire. And you needed Regent to be strong enough to fight the monster Uriel had become.”
“But why is he here now?”
“Perhaps he’s here to monitor the effects of whatever has been done to your brother.”
There were no words to describe how repulsive she found the man. He was nothing more than a deceitful coward whose only interest was his own wellbeing. And, the way things were going these days, he might not even be associated with the Church. Given that Regent’s replacement was most likely a phony, it was quite possible Vasilli was one, too.
Either way, the fact that Vasilli was in Paris made it obvious he was up to no good.
The Church must have some inkling about the growing dissention within the ranks of the vampires here in Paris. But did they know of Regent’s presence at Notre Dame?
“I’m probably panicking for nothing. We’ll wait to hear what Sampson has to say about Regent’s tests. In the meantime, I wonder where Vasilli is staying?”
Britt grinned. “I knew you’d be curious about this, so I figured a little reconnaissance was in order.”
“Exactly!”
Britt stood and pulled a piece of paper out of his back pocket. “Since I knew you’d want to track him down, I managed to locate his address while you were in stasis.”
“Good job,” she said, giving him one of her rare full-blown smiles.
“I followed him after he left Regent’s place this morning. He didn’t go home right away.” Britt grinned. “He stopped at a couple of other churches. I guess he had other priests to annoy. But finally, he went t
o an apartment building on the east side and stayed there. I waited for a few hours to make sure it was where he was staying and not just another stop along the way.”
“We need to find out what he’s up to.”
“How do you plan to do that?”
“Ask him,” she said.
“You’re going to confront him?” Britt sounded surprised.
She smiled sweetly at him and tipped her head in assent. “You bet your sweet lips, I am.”
He slid closer to her on the sofa. It didn’t take much to give him the go-ahead. He bent his head and kissed her gently—too gently for her liking.
She was itching to grab his hair, pull him tight against her, and ravage his mouth, but his sullen mood hadn’t completely left him. He’d been more than a little bothered by the Cardinal’s presence.
She kissed him again, but they both let the kiss trail off. There were too many things to distract them tonight.
“We should go,” she said. “No way is Vasilli going to get the better of us this time.”
“I agree.” He kissed the tip of her nose and pulled her to her feet along with him.
Once outside, there seemed to be a different kind of buzz on the streets. It made her pause and monitor their surroundings surreptitiously. There were no vampires in sight, yet the feeling persisted. Throngs of people were on the sidewalks, all going in the same direction. “What’s going on?” Britt asked, as much to himself as to her.
“There must be a concert somewhere. They remind me of Pied Piper’s children following a melodious flute,” Jess said.
“I have the feeling we’re going to put Vasilli on the backburner for tonight,” he said. “You’re curious enough to follow the crowd, aren’t you?”
“We can always confront Vasilli another time. Like tomorrow,” she said firmly. “I still want to grill that bastard until he squeaks.”
Britt raised his hands in surrender. “Whoa, that might be worthy of a concert crowd in itself.”
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