Undaunted

by HELEN HARDT

  “He’s a powerful vampire elder.”

  “So?”

  “So…” River’s voice took on a strange tone, one I hadn’t heard before. “Maybe he can help.”

  Dante went rigid, his facial expression pensive. “Maybe…”

  “Would the two of you care to let us in on what the hell you’re talking about?” Jay said. “I’m feeling like the odd one out here.”

  “What do you have to offer, Bill?” River asked.

  “Give up your quest to translate the Texts,” Bill said. “And I guarantee you that you’ll find those missing women.”

  I stiffened, my skin going numb. How could he guarantee anything? Unless he knew something.

  I stood. “Damn it. She’s my best friend! Where is she?”

  River joined me. “Erin’s right. You must know something. These are people, Bill.”

  “Sit down, both of you.”

  We both remained standing.

  “Have it your way. I don’t know anything, but I have sources that you don’t.” He turned to Jay. “That the police don’t.”

  “What kind of sources?” River demanded.

  “The council. I’m the eldest member, as you know. I can get their cooperation.”

  “To find missing human women?” River said. “I don’t think so. What could they do anyway?”

  “You’re forgetting something very important, son,” Bill said.

  “Yeah?” Dante said. “What’s that?”

  A voice sounded out of nowhere. “Say one more word, Gabriel, and you’re off the council.”

  “Who was that?” I asked, looking around. No one was near our table. Waitstaff trickled in and out of the room, and other guests were eating and talking among themselves.

  “What was what?” Dante said.

  “Didn’t you hear it? Someone said, ‘Say one more word, Gabriel, and you’re off the council.’”

  “I didn’t hear it,” River said. “Jay?”

  “Nope.”

  “You must have heard it.” I gestured to Bill.

  “I heard nothing.”

  Was I truly going batty?

  “What is it?” River said. “What were you going to say, Bill?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Not nothing. You said, ‘You’re forgetting one important thing, son.’”

  “Nonsense. You misheard me.”

  “Bullshit.” Dante said. “We all heard it. Right, Erin?”

  “Yeah. I heard it. And right after he said it, someone said, ‘Say one more word, Gabriel, and you’re off the council.’”

  Bill’s lips twitched slightly. So slightly that I wondered if I was seeing things. I looked to Dante, and he nodded at me negligibly.

  He’d noticed. Bravo for acute vampire vision.

  Bill had heard the voice too.

  The only question was—why hadn’t the others?

  Chapter Seven

  Dante

  Bill smiled, but something was off. Erin would never lie to me, so either she had imagined the voice, or she had indeed heard it. Judging from Bill’s reaction, I was betting the latter.

  His desire for us to stop our quest for translating the Texts was strong—strong enough that he was willing to let go of some other secret to help us find the missing women.

  Which meant he knew how to find them, or at least had sources that we didn’t know about.

  I’d never imagined I’d have any interest in the council’s secrets. I’d never imagined they had any. But they did, and they most likely all involved the Texts.

  Yes, the council might have its secrets, but Bill had a secret of his own. One he didn’t want the council knowing about.

  He had read a portion of the Texts, a portion that scared him so much he was willing to divulge other secrets now to stop us.

  I opened my mouth to remind him of his own secret but shut it abruptly. If indeed Erin had heard someone, we weren’t alone. Bill’s secret was our leverage. If the council knew about it, they’d most likely ban him, and then he’d be no use to us at all.

  “I need to speak to my father,” I said.

  “Not now,” Bill said through clenched teeth.

  “Why not?”

  “He’s busy.”

  Bullshit. Bill didn’t want him here for one reason and one reason only. He’d be able to see whomever Erin had heard.

  Dad! I called to him in my mind, hoping it would work.

  No luck. He didn’t come.

  Damn.

  “Can you still help us?” River asked. “If we agree to abandon the Texts, can you help us find Lucy and the others?”

  “River, no,” I said, seething.

  “It’s Lucy, Dante. Lucy and other innocent women. Erin’s patients. They need to be our first priority.”

  Erin rubbed my arm. “He’s right.”

  “What makes you think the same people aren’t involved?” I said. “Erin said these patients just disappeared. In a busy hospital like University, how likely is that? Unless glamouring was involved.”

  “I agree that vampires are probably involved with the missing women,” River said. “But why would you think it’s the same vampires?”

  “There are so few of us, and most of us are good people,” I said. “It stands to reason—”

  “Enough!” Bill slammed his palm down on the table.

  Erin and Jay jerked in their chairs, and then their faces went blank.

  A glamour.

  “You fucking son of a bitch.” I rose.

  “Sit down, Dante.” Bill’s voice was stern. He turned to River. “And before you go all animalistic on me, you stay seated too.”

  Instinct. I’d acted on instinct in the courtroom when I’d reversed Bill’s glamour and gotten what I needed.

  I curled my hands into fists and concentrated, trying to conjure the energy necessary to overtake my grandfather. I closed my eyes, focusing. Thinking. Praying.

  And—

  Nothing.

  Fucking nothing.

  You’re overthinking it, son.

  My father! My eyes popped open.

  Don’t. Don’t make it known that I’m here. I’m staying invisible and inaudible to everyone else.

  I nodded slightly.

  “Are you okay, Dante?” River said tentatively.

  I unclenched and tried to relax my body. “I’m fine.”

  “You have no control over your newfound power, Dante,” Bill said. “Let me help you.”

  “Are you kidding? You tried to keep me from my inheritance. I don’t want your help. I have my father.”

  “Your father is a ghost.”

  “He still has his knowledge. He’s already begun teaching me.”

  “He hasn’t done a very good job. You can’t unglamour Erin and Jay.”

  I opened my mouth—

  Let it go, son. Don’t give him any ammunition to use against you.

  Then I closed it at my father’s words.

  “Say what you want to say, Bill,” River said. “Say it and get it over with.”

  “Vampires indeed are involved in the disappearance of the women.”

  “We already had that figured out.” I scoffed. “Staff were glamoured when the women disappeared. There’s no other explanation.”

  “Dante’s right. It’s obvious. What else you got?”

  “I have my knowledge, my wisdom, and my experience. I’ve been around for a century, boys. I’ve seen evil at work before. Don’t underestimate the help I can give you.”

  Tell him you’ll hear him out but not here. You need to go back to his house.

  My father again. I couldn’t let Bill know that he was here.

  “I have two conditions,” I said.

  “Two conditions for what?” River asked.

  “For hearing him out. Feel free to add any more that you want.”

  “What are they?” Bill asked.

  “Number one, you don’t glamour Erin or her brother again. They are part of this, and they ne
ed to be involved. Number two, we go back to your house to discuss this. Discussing it here isn’t safe.”

  “Do you have anything to add, River?” Bill asked.

  “I’m good. I think.”

  “Good,” I said. “Now let them go, and we’ll discuss this at your home.”

  “Done.” Bill waved his hand subtly.

  “It stands to reason… What, Dante?” Erin asked.

  Right. I’d been in the middle of talking when Bill glamoured Erin and Jay.

  “Sorry. It stands to reason that the same vampires that are after you are also involved in the disappearances.”

  “That’s a far cry from hard evidence,” River said, “but you have a point.”

  “Bill, if you truly have information that can help us, it’s probably not a good idea to discuss it here. Why don’t we go back to the Heartsong?” I smiled for Erin and Jay’s benefit.

  “Agreed.” Bill pressed his lips into a thin line. “I’ll meet you there.” He stood and left the Napoleon House.

  Our server brought the check, and I grabbed it. “I got it.” My money worries were over, thank goodness. Being able to treat felt damned good after I’d sponged off Bill and River for so long—even if it was inherited money, not money I’d earned.

  “Nice of you to buy his dinner.” River sighed, rolling his eyes.

  “Yeah, he conveniently left right before the check came,” Jay said. “Let me help you with that.”

  “No, we’re good. You can get the next one.”

  “You got it.” Jay stood. “I’m going to hit the can, and I guess we’ll go to the Heartsong. Why are we going to that old mansion?”

  “That’s where Bill lives,” I said.

  “Why not somewhere else?” Erin asked.

  “I’ll explain on the way,” I said. “Let’s go.”

  “Spill it, please,” Erin said once we were on the road.

  “I heard from my dad while we were at Napoleon House,” I said. “He was speaking only to me. He told us not to talk about this stuff while we were there.”

  “Can he stay invisible to other ghosts?” Erin asked. “Because I know I heard something, and I think your grandfather heard it too. Someone told him not to say anything more to us. Bill was getting ready to divulge some kind of secret.”

  “I’m pretty sure you’re right, baby. We need to talk to my dad before we get to Bill’s.”

  “I’m here, son.”

  Erin jerked in her seat. “Did anyone else hear that?”

  “Yeah, I heard it,” River said. “Where are you, Uncle Jules?”

  Jay sat uneasily in the back. “I hear you too. Uh…Uncle Jules.”

  “I can’t manifest in a moving vehicle, but I’m here. There was a ghost at the restaurant. It was Levi Gaston, an elder I remember from before I was taken. He must have passed away while we were gone, Dante.”

  “Did he see you?” I asked.

  “I don’t think so. I was careful. That’s the voice you heard, Erin. You seem to be well tuned in to ghosts. It’s doubtful he thought about making himself inaudible to you. He just assumed no one else would hear him.”

  “Was Levi Gaston a good guy?” River asked.

  “As far as I know,” my father said. “The elders keep to themselves.”

  “Um…no one else is here in the car with us, right?” Erin said.

  My father chuckled. “No. It’s just us.”

  “Good,” I said. “We have some leverage with Bill. We and only we know that he secretly read the Texts. If the other elders knew, he’d be kicked off the council. We can use that.”

  “Yes, I think we can,” my father agreed.

  “So this elder ghost won’t be able to follow us into Bill’s house?” Erin asked timidly.

  “No. I arranged for Bea to cast a shield around the mansion. The only ghost who can get past it is me.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “Because she used my ashes to help form the shield. Even though I have no further connection to my earthly remains, my energy will allow me to pass through them.”

  “Are you sure it will work?” I asked.

  “It will work. She protected you and River the night you retrieved my body, didn’t she?”

  “True. Or maybe that was just a coincidence.”

  “Dante, for God’s sake,” Erin said. “I know I called her a fraud, but maybe it’s time to start believing in Bea. Her advice is keeping the rogue vampires from smelling Jay and me.”

  “All right. I give in,” I said. “She does seem very wise. Though I have to wonder—if she’s that smart, why does she live on the streets?”

  “Simplicity, like she said.” Erin smiled.

  “You mean like Thoreau said. Wasn’t she quoting him?”

  “The words might not be hers, but she can still agree with them.”

  “Okay, okay. I give up. Again. Bea will keep the elder ghost out.”

  “Bea is a remarkable person. I’ve never met anyone quite like her,” my father said. “I feel certain that the shield will work.”

  “Good,” River said. “Bill can tell us what he was going to tell us at the restaurant.”

  “He might, but he’ll have no idea the house is shielded. That’s not why we’re going there, anyway,” my father said.

  “Then why?” I asked.

  “We’re going to recover the Vampyre Texts.”

  Chapter Eight

  Erin

  “But first,” Julian continued, “you need to drop Erin and Jay off at their places.”

  “Excuse me?” I said.

  “This is vampire business, Erin,” Julian said. “We don’t mean to leave you out, but Bill will glamour you and you won’t be any help anyway. If you’re at home, we’ll know you’re safe.”

  “He’s right, baby,” Dante said. “This could get ugly.”

  “Fine.” I harrumphed. “Drop us both off at my place.”

  “Good idea,” River said. “You two should stick together. In fact, you should move in with me, partner, until this is all cleared up.”

  “What the hell for?”

  “For your own protection. That mixture is working for now, but we can’t take the chance that the thugs won’t sniff you out.”

  “I’m a cop. I can take care of myself.”

  “Not against these types,” I said. “River’s right. You can stay with us if you’d rather. I have an extra bedroom.”

  “Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll take River’s couch. No offense, Sis, but I don’t want to be under the same roof while the two of you…you know.”

  Dante dropped Jay and me off at home.

  I pulled him to me at the door and squeezed him in a giant hug. “Please be careful.”

  He tipped my chin and kissed my lips softly. “We will. This will work, Erin. It has to.”

  I nodded, blowing him a kiss as he walked back to the car where River waited.

  Jay had already gone inside.

  And I had something to tell him.

  It wasn’t every day a person got to tell her brother that he was part vampire.

  Maybe it could wait until all this shit was over.

  I sighed. No. He deserved to know. He had a right to know. Then he and I would decide whether to approach our parents.

  “I think I’m going to need another bourbon.”

  “You’ve already had—” I stood and went to the kitchen. Not a great time to lecture my big brother on drinking.

  We’d all had a lot tonight, but one more wouldn’t hurt. Not when I’d just told him our grandmother had most likely been a vampire.

  “Is it really that surprising?” I said. “Mom works nights. She always has. You and I work the night shift. We both have fair skin that needs a lot of sunscreen. It adds up in a bizarre way.”

  “Why does being descended from vampires make us smell really good to them, though? When they can’t smell each other? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “After everything you’ve seen, you’
ve decided to get logical? None of this makes any sense.”

  “You’re wrong, Sis. A lot of it does make sense. Here. In New Orleans. Remember, I’ve been here longer than you have. I’m a cop who works the night shift. I see a lot of weird shit.”

  “Have you ever seen a ghost?”

  “It’s possible. Almost all the old buildings in the Quarter and in the Garden District have stories of hauntings associated with them. Ghosts are a fact of life here.”

  “Dante said that vampires are taught to believe that ghosts don’t exist. That any manifestations are the result of the strong veil of supernatural energy that covers New Orleans. He was surprised to find out that ghosts do exist and do retain their unique identities.”

  “We’re all taught not to believe in ghosts. We’re taught not to believe in vampires too. Then again, this is New Orleans. Weird shit happens here. Maybe that’s why I like it so much.”

  “I suppose it could be why we’re both drawn here. I never expected to stay after Corey and I broke up, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave.”

  “I couldn’t either when I finished school. Going back to Ohio never entered my mind.”

  “Ohio’s pretty drab compared to this.” I laughed. “But I’m glad I didn’t leave. You were here. And then I met Dante…” I closed my eyes.

  “Please, spare me the mush.”

  “I will. Suffice it to say that I didn’t know a connection like we have even existed. I hope you can find the same thing one day.”

  “Yeah. I don’t think so. Not with a vampire, anyway. Does he…”

  Drink your blood.

  The words were clear, though he didn’t say them.

  “Yeah,” I said. “I don’t expect you to understand. But it’s really meaningful. For both of us.”

  “TMI, Sis.”

  “Hey, you brought it up.”

  “Yeah, sorry. It’s like a train wreck. I don’t want to know, but I had to know.”

  “I get it.” I picked up his empty glass. “You want another?”

  “Nah. I’ve had more than enough. I think I’ll lie down.”

  “Take the couch. Or the extra bedroom. Your choice.”

  “The couch is fine. I’ll just wait here for River to pick me up.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I really hate having to be on the lookout like this.”