Undaunted

by HELEN HARDT

  “Oh.” I wasn’t sure why I felt disappointed. I had no desire to glamour anyone.

  “Are you working tonight, Erin?” River asked.

  “I’m supposed to.”

  “Is this Dr. Crown working as well?”

  “Probably. Like I said, we’re shorthanded all the way around.”

  “Good. I’ll come by and check him out tonight while I’m investigating Lucy’s disappearance.” He shoved his hand through his short hair. “God.”

  “Riv, are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah.” He cleared his throat once more. “Like I said. We only had one date.”

  I didn’t buy it. River was visibly upset. Had he fallen in love with Lucy? “I’ll go to work tonight so I’m there when you see Logan. Plus, I want to ask my own questions about Lucy. But then…” I sighed.

  “What, baby?”

  “I hate leaving them shorthanded. I truly do. But I have time off coming. I’m going to take it. I’m going to help you guys figure out what’s going on, where these patients have been going.”

  “Actually,” River said. “You might be able to help us more if you stay at the hospital for now. You can be our eyes and ears there.”

  “Not if someone glamours me, I can’t.”

  “She has a point, Riv,” Dante said. “And I can’t stomach the idea of anyone glamouring her.”

  “Believe me. I’ve been watching all of these disappearances. I even went to talk to Cynthia North when she was returned. I haven’t been able to find out anything by being in the hospital.”

  “But you have access to the records if you’re there,” River said.

  “Doesn’t do me any good if the records don’t exist. All it takes is knowledge of all our backups and archives, and then a glamour, a delete, and poof, no more records.”

  “Another good point, Riv. Plus, I don’t want her anywhere near any of this. I want her safe.”

  “If I honestly thought I’d be more good to you at work, I’d stay in a heartbeat. I’ve already told you how much I hate leaving them in a bind. But this has gotten personal now. Lucy is gone. We need to find her. We need to solve this mystery once and for all.”

  Chapter Four

  Dante

  My father had been noticeably absent since I’d kicked him out of Erin’s place.

  My self-control had taken a beating when Erin’s rage and testosterone had inflamed me with lust.

  Shit. My father. We still had to take his ashes to Bea, as well.

  In that instant, he appeared.

  Erin nearly lost her footing. “Julian. You’ve got to stop doing that.”

  “Sorry. I’m not sure there’s a subtle entry available for my kind.”

  “You can’t kind of fade in, or something?” she said.

  He laughed. “This isn’t Hollywood. It doesn’t work that way.”

  I felt conspicuous. The last time I’d seen my father’s ghost, I’d been in a lust-fueled rage, ready to take Erin violently and forcibly.

  “Dad,” I said quietly.

  “It’s over, Dante,” he said. “Life—no pun intended—is too short to rehash things that don’t ultimately matter. I take it you two are all right?” He nodded to Erin.

  “We’re fine. Dante would never hurt me. I know that.”

  “I know that as well. If I thought otherwise, you wouldn’t have gotten rid of me quite so easily.” He turned to River. “I heard about Lucy. What do you know so far?”

  “Nothing. I questioned everyone I saw at the hospital, but no one knows anything.”

  “A vampire might be behind this, Dad. Someone who’s capable of glamouring a large group of people at one time. Is that possible?”

  “I’ve never heard of such a thing, but elders may be able to do it. The glamouring power gets stronger with age.”

  River sighed. “I guess we go to Bill. Or to the Texts.”

  “Speaking of the Texts,” my father said, “I was able to expedite the probate hearing on my will. You’re my personal representative, Dante. You’ll need to appear in court tomorrow. Everything else has been taken care of.”

  “What about the filing? The documents?” I asked.

  “Taken care of.”

  I nodded. Glamouring did come in handy, though I still didn’t like it. I regarded my father—the man who’d taught me never to glamour unless it was a life or death situation. Emilia and I getting our father’s money was hardly life or death, but the rogue vamps after Erin? Lucy’s disappearance? Those could very well be life or death situations, and my father’s money would make it easier for River and me to investigate.

  “Riv, I hate to ask you this, but—”

  “Yeah. I’ll do it.”

  “You don’t even know what I’m going to ask.”

  “You want me to take a leave of absence from work until we figure all of this out. I’ll do it. I’ll use my glamour. I don’t like it, but this is important enough.”

  “I agree,” my father said solemnly.

  “That’s not what I was going to say. I was going to ask if Lucy said anything to you that might be a clue. You know, the last time you saw her before she disappeared.”

  “No. Believe me. I’ve gone over and over every conversation with her in my head. She slept most of the time. She was recovering from surgery.”

  “And you weren’t in the hospital when she disappeared?”

  “No. I left her room for a while to return a few phone calls. I didn’t want to disturb her. And yes, I know it’s a big red flag that I just happened to be out of her room when she disappeared. Whoever took her must know what I am. If it’s a vamp using glamour, he’d know he couldn’t glamour me.”

  “Precisely,” my father said. “It seems pretty obvious that we’re dealing with a vampire.”

  “What if the vampire was older and had more glamouring power?” Erin said. “Could he glamour a younger vampire?”

  “No,” my father said. “Glamouring doesn’t work against other vampires. At least not that I’ve ever heard.”

  “Do you think it could be the same vampires who are after me?” Erin asked.

  “We don’t have any way of knowing,” I said. “But it could be the same one who’s been feeding from you.” Just the thought had my fangs itching to descend.

  “Control it, Dante,” my father said.

  “What if I don’t want to control it? Someone is taking what’s mine.”

  “Easy,” Erin said. “Trust me when I say I don’t like it any more than you do. It’s happening to me, after all. But it hasn’t happened lately. We can be glad of that.”

  Her voice offered me solace. Not her words, but her voice. The sweetness of it.

  And that’s when I knew.

  Erin.

  Erin was the key to my self-control.

  How had I not realized it before?

  Was this part of the blood bond?

  Had the fact that I’d been taken and hadn’t learned self-control contributed to the forming of the bond?

  So many questions.

  Learn to ask the questions.

  No! Not now. Not in my head.

  “Good, son. That’s it. You can learn control.”

  I nodded. My father was mistaken if he thought his words had had any effect on my teeth retracting.

  It was all Erin.

  “You still have something to do,” my father said.

  “I know. Bea. The ashes.”

  “Yes.”

  “And I’m going too,” Erin said.

  “No. Absolutely not. We had to run like hell out of there the last time. I can’t have you in danger.”

  “What makes you think you can control me?” she demanded, hands on her hips.

  I couldn’t help laughing aloud. She was the key to my self-control. But control over her? In bed, yes. Anywhere else? Not in the slightest. I loved her all the more for it.

  “Baby, I have to know you’re safe.”

  “Dante, I’m not safe as long as tho
se vamps are out there. You know why I want to see Bea.”

  “Yes.” To see if Bea had a potion or something that could mask Erin’s scent. It was for Erin’s own good. But if I couldn’t smell her fragrance…

  “We’ve been through this before, Dante,” my father said. “Erin is not her scent.”

  “I know, Dad. And I know her safety is paramount.”

  “She may not be able to help me anyway,” Erin said, “but I have to try.”

  I nodded. “I know.”

  “We’ll all go.” River patted his shoulder. “I’m armed. No vamp will get near Erin if I’m there.”

  “Thanks, Riv,” I said. “You want to go tomorrow?”

  “I want to go now,” Erin said. “We’re running out of time. Lucy’s gone, and we need to get to the bottom of all of this as soon as we can. We need to get her back, Dante. Please.”

  “So you’ve forgiven your friend for keeping a secret from you?” my father said.

  Erin nodded. “She’s still the same person, right? I can’t let anything happen to her. She’s been a great friend to me. I’m scared silly for her.”

  “We’ll find her, baby,” I said, hoping I was telling her the truth. I couldn’t bear to see Erin so upset. I’d move heaven and earth for her if I could.

  She sniffled. “We will. We have to. Let’s go now to see Bea. Do you have your father’s ashes?”

  I patted the pocket of my jeans. “Right here. I’ve got to tell you, Dad. It feels pretty weird carrying part of you around in my pocket.”

  “We’ve been through this, Dante. Those ashes aren’t me. They never really were.”

  “Back again so soon?” Bea cackled. “And you’ve brought everyone with you, I see.”

  I fished out the bag of ashes and handed it to her. “From my father. Thank you for your help with the shield.”

  She snatched the sealed pouch. “You’re quite welcome. I do what I can.”

  I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “We appreciate it more than you know.”

  Erin cleared her throat. “Bea? I need a favor.”

  “Got any more vampire ashes?”

  “No, but I have money.”

  She sighed. “What do you need?”

  “Evidently, my smell is irresistible to a gang of vampires. Do you have something that could mask my scent?”

  Bea inhaled. “I don’t smell anything.”

  “You’re not a vampire,” River said. “Trust me. Her fragrance is like vampire crack.”

  “You might try some calendula and basil,” she said, “though I can’t guarantee anything.”

  “You don’t have the answer?”

  “I’m afraid not, dearie. Not being a vampire myself, I have no need of such things.”

  “Why calendula and basil?” Erin asked.

  Bea cackled. “Those are common herbs to cover a grow.”

  “A grow?”

  “A grow of cannabis. Marijuana.”

  That got River’s attention. “Are you growing somewhere? That’s illegal in this state.”

  Bea waved her hands. “Where would I be growing cannabis? In the concrete here? Would I be living under a bridge if I had a thriving pot business?”

  “That’s convenient, isn’t it?” River said. “You’ve got built-in excuses already.”

  Bea ignored him. “Go to any herbalist or magick shop. Have them mix you a tincture of calendula and basil. Wear it on your wrists and behind your ears. Let me know if it has the desired effect.”

  “Thank you.” Erin pulled out a twenty.

  I stopped her. “Wait until you see if it works first.”

  “No charge.” Bea patted the bag of ashes. “This is payment enough for a long time. I know I asked for more, but I won’t be greedy.”

  My curiosity got the best of me. “What can you do with my father’s ashes?”

  “What can I not do? These are more valuable than gold to people like me.”

  “Gold might get you a home of your own,” I said.

  Bea laughed. “Do you think I live here because I have nowhere else to go? Think again. I needed to leave everything. ‘What you call bareness and poverty is to me simplicity. Not till we are lost, in other words, not till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves.’”

  “Thoreau,” Erin said. “Two quotes. Is he with you now?”

  “‘It’s not what you look at that matters. It’s what you see.’”

  “Thoreau again.” Erin turned to me. “I think we’re done here. Let’s find a magick shop.”

  “Not yet,” I said. “Bea, the last time we were here, you mentioned something when my father knew the book you were quoting from. You said he was a well-read vampire, and that maybe he had read the most important work of all. What book were you referring to?”

  “‘The library is a wilderness of books.’”

  “For God’s sake,” I said.

  “Wait,” Erin said. “It’s Thoreau again. That’s a quote from his journal.”

  “Very good,” Bea said.

  “What is it, then? What’s the most important work of all?”

  “‘Many men walk by day; few walk by night. It is a very different season.’”

  I looked to Erin.

  She nodded. “Thoreau.”

  “Since when do you know so much about Thoreau?” I asked her.

  “I took a Thoreau seminar during the summer between high school and nursing school. I won a scholarship to attend it. It was a fluke, really. I entered an essay contest. I never expected to win, but I learned a lot. I was always drawn to the sciences, but taking a look at philosophy and literature was fun and educating.” She turned back to Bea. “What are you trying to tell us?”

  “I have told you.”

  “Wait!” Erin tugged my arm. “That last quote. ‘Many men walk by day; few walk by night. It is a very different season.’ Men who walk by night. You’re talking about vampires, aren’t you?”

  Bea smiled.

  “What does that have to do with the most important work of all?”

  “The Texts,” I said. “She’s talking about the Vampyre Texts.”

  Chapter Five

  Erin

  Bea’s smile grew wider.

  “Something in the Vampyre Texts,” Dante continued. “How do you know about that?”

  “I see all. Have I not told you this before?”

  “What’s in the Texts? Why is it the most important work of all? Where do I find it?”

  “That is for you to figure out. As for the second question, you already have that answer. Your father has given you what you need to succeed. He died so that you might live.”

  Julian’s death. His body. His estate. We already knew Dante would use the money to buy the translation from that website he’d found. “You’re telling us something we already know. This isn’t any help at all. You’re using Thoreau quotes and Shakespeare quotes and God only knows what other quotes to make it seem like you’re this enlightened priestess, but you’re a fraud, Bea.” I turned to Dante. “We’re done here. Let’s find a magick shop. Though I’m doubtful calendula or basil will do any good. At least we can make a great pasta sauce with the basil.”

  Dante didn’t move. He stared into nothingness, his eyes focused on something I couldn’t see.

  “Dante?” River said.

  Nothing.

  I touched his forearm. He was cold as ice. “Babe? What’s going on?”

  “She’s talking to him,” Bea said. “He’s fighting it, but she has a grip on him.”

  “Who?” I had to stop myself from grabbing Bea and shaking her. “Who is talking to him?”

  “She is. I’m only sensing that it’s a female.”

  “Dante,” I said, shaking his arm. “Come back to me. I’m right here.”

  River jumped toward him and tackled him to the ground. “Dante, come on, man. Snap out of this!”

  I’d seen him like this once before, when I’d come home and found him on the floor of
my living room nearly in a fetal position.

  He needed me now, and I would not let him down.

  “She knows things,” Bea continued. “She knows his weaknesses. She’ll stop at nothing.”

  Her words. I had to ignore them. Had to help the man I loved.

  River held him down, shaking him, but he still wasn’t back. I knelt down next to his head and cupped both cheeks. “Dante, I’m here. It’s Erin. Come back to me. Please.”

  His vacant gaze locked onto mine, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Thank God,” River said. “What was that?”

  “I don’t know, but I’ve seen it before.”

  “It’s a female. She calls herself the queen.” From Bea. “She’s dark. And very, very powerful.”

  “The vampire who took him,” River said. “It has to be. But vampires don’t have that kind of power.”

  “‘Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,’” Bea said.

  “Shit. Shakespeare again,” River said. “I know that one. It’s from Henry IV.” He looked to Bea. “Who wears the crown?”

  “No one, Riv,” Dante said shakily. “She’s no queen.”

  “Who are you talking about?”

  “The woman. You’re right. The woman who kept me captive. Had me tortured.” He swallowed. “Stole my blood.”

  Nausea welled in my throat. So much I still didn’t know.

  “You’ll find the answers you seek,” Bea said, “in the most important work of all.”

  We got Dante back home to rest. River then left to take care of his leave of absence. I had to do the same thing. I’d go in tonight and work my shift, but I’d talk to admin as soon as I got in and tell them I needed to take a few personal weeks.

  I hated doing it, but I had to. Not for my own safety. That was the least of my concerns. For the women who had disappeared.

  For Lucy.

  Dante was sleeping peacefully, and I hated to wake him, but I didn’t want him waking up to find me gone. “Hey.” I nudged him gently.

  His eyes popped open. “Hey, baby.”

  He looked adorable, his dark hair mussed, his eyes glassy with sleep, his lips full and kissable. I brushed mine against them in a soft peck. “I need to go to work.”