“Really?” he said, rubbing a hand through his ruffled hair. “Too bad I can’t remember any of it.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
CALMET RAN A hand over his corporeal body and smiled before he waved a hand and his home became visible to the world. “Come inside, my friends. I can’t wait to really touch my things again.” He opened the door for everyone to enter. Morana helped Sinclair to his feet, then supported his weight as he limped inside. Vlad and Veronique hung back.
Calmet turned to them. “Please, come inside. I’m hoping you’ll both pick up the gauntlet and help me lead the olde ones to a more peaceful existence in Paris.”
Vlad frowned. “Why me?”
“You are the only person who figured out how to save vampires from my traps. You are smart, and you’ve been helping Jess and her brother. I trust you and Captain LaFontaine will help me through the next few months while we regain order?”
Vlad grabbed Veronique’s hand and nodded while they exchanged a loving glance. They entered the house, and Calmet shut the door.
Boyer rushed forward, followed by Sampson. “Oh, Monsieur Calmet, finally! I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to have you fully back.”
Calmet patted Boyer’s shoulder. “I agree. It’s good to be back.” He turned to Jess and her sister. Morana had just settled an injured Sinclair onto a soft chair. Calmet ran a hand over Sinclair, his blue light emanating so brightly, Jess had to shield her eyes.
“Thank you, Monsieur Calmet,” Sinclair said, not looking him in the eye.
“Be at peace, Sinclair. I know you were being forced to do the things you’ve done. With time, you’ll be able to return to your old self. The Watchers will welcome you back once you’ve made amends.”
“Thank you,” Sinclair said in a near sob.
“And me?” Morana asked cynically. “What happens to me?”
Calmet touched her head, and for some strange reason, Morana allowed it. “You’ll have to go to prison, I’m afraid. You must pay for killing those women, even though you did it in a drug-induced state that Vasilli orchestrated.” He turned to Sinclair. “I have the feeling you’ll be better off serving your incarceration period in a cell inside your father’s order in Italy. They will keep you comfortable and safe, and after you’ve served your time, you may return to Paris. Sinclair can go with you and watch over you during your incarceration,” Calmet added.
“Dieu Merci!” Sinclair breathed.
“I accept my penance,” Morana said. “It wasn’t my father’s fault, either. He thought he was helping me by giving me the drug. He didn’t realize Vasilli’s magic had tainted the recipe. I’m honestly shocked to learn it was me who killed those women.” She ran a hand over her eyes, and her fingers were actually shaking. “I am unable to remember any of the killings. I really thought it was Diesel.”
“Your punishment will be incarceration, and coming off the drug, I think,” Calmet said. “It will be an arduous, painful thing, but for the first time in your existence, you’ll get to know who you truly are without being manipulated by drugs or magic. And I have the feeling your siblings will also be there to help you, if you want their help.”
“Does that mean I’ll be like Jess?” she asked, and for a second Jess almost thought she sounded wistful.
“Not necessarily. You will have to wait and see who you are without the drugs and manipulation that you’ve taken since you were very young.”
Sinclair burst into tears. “I’m so sorry, Morana. I had no choice. If I didn’t do it, Vasilli threatened to kill you. And I truly believed he would have done it.”
“It’s okay, Papa,” Morana said. “I haven’t been good to you, either. We both have regrets.”
Jess reached out and took Britt’s hand. He squeezed it gently, and his warmth encompassed her. Regent sat in a chair with tears in his eyes while he listened to what was going to happen to Morana.
“Can Regent and I come to visit Morana while she’s incarcerated?” Jess asked.
Calmet looked from Morana to Sinclair. “The monastery where she’ll be kept is cloistered, but I have the feeling you’ll always be welcome.”
It seemed that Morana accepted her punishment. In fact, it looked like she craved it. She and Regent talked to their sister until the wee hours of the morning, until she and Morana had to go into stasis.
They stepped outside, and Jess said, “Good luck, Morana.” It seemed suddenly strange to her that she wouldn’t see her sister every day.
Morana looked her in the eyes for the first time without hate brewing in their depths. “The same to you,” she said, then shifted her attention to a painting on the wall. It couldn’t have been easy for her to say that.
Regent sniffled on the drive back to their places. Jess wasn’t able to console him. There was nothing that could change what had happened to their sister.
That night Morana was sent to the cells in Calmet’s basement. She and Sinclair were to be sent to Italy the next day.
Regent stayed with Britt and Jess while Sampson went to his own place, no doubt to scour his documents to try to make sense of all that he’d seen tonight.
When Jess came out of her room the next evening, the three men were playing cards at the island in the kitchen.
“Evening, Jess,” Regent said, glancing up from his cards and laying one down with a snap.
“Hello, my love,” Britt said, leaning back and waiting for her to kiss him. She did.
“Guess what,” Regent said. “We’re going home.”
“Home? To New York?” Jess asked, butterflies erupting in her belly. Home!
“I got a call this morning. The Vatican just found out I was here, and they said there’d been a mix-up in paperwork. We can go home.”
“Mix-up, my ass,” Jess said, while Regent shook a finger at her language.
Britt winked at her while trying to surreptitiously appreciate her ass. She shook her head and realized how grateful she was to have everything back to normal.
TWO DAYS LATER, everything had been packed and shipped and they were ready to go home. Home!
Vlad and Veronique saw them off at the airport. They both promised to visit New York someday. Veronique and her team had been reinstated, the officers had been found alive in the same building where Regent and Sampson had been taken before Boyer had rescued them.
Vlad was in talks with the olde ones already, and according to the last report, things were going smoother than they’d expected. Calmet’s name still held a lot of sway with the vampires.
It seemed Paris was on its way to better days.
Sampson and Regent boarded the plane first. On her way to her seat, Jess watched the two men chatting, smiling, and looking happy to be going home.
“Three months,” she said to Britt while the plane taxied down the runway. “It felt like three years not three months, but we really helped, didn’t we?”
“We did. It’ll be nice to go home for a rest. I don’t know about you, but I need to sleep for a week.”
Jess raised an eyebrow. “You probably need to sleep for a week just to catch up on what you’ve missed the last few days.”
Britt held Jess’s hand while the plane took off. He actually snoozed for a while.
Sitting on the plane gave Jess a chance to think about everything that had happened in Paris. She’d made some good friends and alliances.
Before she knew it, their plane had started its approach to New York and they were allowed to turn on their phones. Her phone buzzed that she’d received a text.
She looked at it and shook her head.
Glad you’re coming home. We have big trouble here—Jane.
The End
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About the Author
LINA GARDINER, author of the award-winning Jess Vandermire, Vampire Hunter Series has writing in her blood. Living in New Brunswick, Canada, a hotspot for legendary ghosts and tall tales of odd happenings has probably added to her love of a good mystery. That, and the stories her grandfather told in the “parlor” when their grandmother wasn’t paying attention, added to her love of storytelling, and the wonders of imagination.
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