Biting the Bullet (22 page)

“Why are you asking me? It’s your ring. You should know why you’ve become disconnected from it.”
From what it represents.

Come on, pal, isn’t it obvious
?

He threw back his shoulders. Determined, it seemed, to soldier on despite the growing evidence against the wisdom of his current course of action. “It does not matter. You are obviously fine. Our mission is still on course for completion. And Zarsa will be ready for the turning by week’s end. Everything is on track.” By the tone in his voice, I thought he was trying to convince himself more than me. Normally I would’ve grabbed him by the shirt and shaken some sense into him. But at the moment I couldn’t find one give-a-crap bone in my body.

“Okay,” I said. I turned to go.

“What did you say?”

I looked over my shoulder. Why would he be mad? I’d just agreed with him. “I said fine. You’re right. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to —”

“I most definitely
do
mind!”

I turned back to face him, always a good choice when dealing with a madman. “Vayl,” I said gently, so as not to push him clear off the deep end, “what is it that you want?”

“I want you to yell!” He stopped, looked surprised at himself, rushed on. “You have been” — he searched for the words — “on my case, how you say, in my face, ever since I took up with Zarsa. Frankly, it has infuriated me to no end!”

“Uh-huh. And now that I’ve stopped, you want me to start again? Aren’t you kind of undermining yourself here just a little bit?”

“Yes! But when I fight you, I do not have to listen to my own doubts.”
Ahhh
. “Well, sorry, Charlie, I don’t feel like sparring anymore.” I tried out a smile, realized I couldn’t quite hack it. “Come to think of it, I don’t feel anything anymore.”

Vayl closed the distance between us so swiftly my eyes barely followed his movements. He pulled me into his arms almost violently.

It was a me-Tarzan-you-Jane kind of embrace. And Jane liked it fine.

His eyes transformed as they stared into mine, changing from amethyst to emerald in a couple of dizzying seconds. “I find I do not like this new, mahghul-inspired you,” he said, running his fingers through my wet hair. He spent some time on the bit that had turned white, twining it gently around his thumb. And I let him.

Hell, if he’d wanted to give me a full-body massage I’d have hopped on the nearest table and invited him to dig in. His powers percolated at their usual level, so I knew he wasn’t using any hocus-pocus on me. But I still felt hypnotized, captivated by his touch, the fascination in his eyes and the possibilities they hid.

“I don’t like it either,” I whispered. “But I seem to be stuck with it.”

“I disagree,” Vayl replied softly. “Creatures who feed on emotions leave a void that can be filled again — over years, with a great deal of patience. Or all at once, with a strong dose of emotion. The trick is to find the proper sensation.” As he looked into my eyes, Vayl smiled. Not his regular lip twitch, which made him look more cynical than amused. Not even his full-faced, ferocious grin. This smile was new. Because it managed a sweetness I’d never seen in him before.

“Vayl?” I never got a chance to ask the question forming in my mind. It couldn’t have been that important anyway. Because the moment Vayl lowered his head, captured my lips with his, I forgot it.

I’d fantasized this kiss a few hundred times since the last time Vayl’s lips had brushed mine. And I’ve got a terrific imagination. But I still hadn’t prepared myself for the rush of desire that tore through me as Vayl’s arms tightened around me, pulling me so close I thought for a second I could feel his heart beating in my own chest.

I know, I know, it was just a kiss, right? Nobody’s ever really heard violins. The only people who’ve been blinded by passion were the ones who couldn’t see that well to start with. I’ve heard all the clichés and called them crap myself. That was before I met Matt, before I learned what a difference real love could make. But, while I knew paradise existed, I’d never really expected to visit it again.

Especially not on the wings of a single kiss.

Still, it was Vayl. Who’d brought me out of the darkness. Who’d stuck with me despite some spectacular screwups on my part.

Who’d given me his ring, his trust, his innermost secrets. And who had nearly become a stranger in the course of a few days. That last bit had terrified me more than I realized. And it made our kiss all the more breathtaking. Because it meant he was back to stay.

When I finally came up for air, Vayl drew his head back and said, “How do you feel?” Realizing for the first time that my arms were around his neck, I let them drop to his chest. His body felt so incredible, my hands just wanted to keep wandering, but I forced them to keep still. I smiled lazily. “Delicious.”

“Excellent.” He slapped me on the butt. “Now, off with you. I still have a great deal to do if I am to turn Zarsa before week’s end.” I watched my hands curl into fists. And if I caught some chest hair in the process, tough. “What the hell did you just say?” He chuckled. “Just checking to make sure your temper is intact.”

“Oh, believe me, it is. In fact, right at this moment, I feel perfectly capable of taking your head off!”

“Then perhaps I will just let this whole pact with Zarsa fall by the wayside.”

“You’re damn straight you will!” I was still pissed, but not so much that I didn’t catch his look of regret as he leaned over and began gathering rocks into a pile. I said, “I am sorry though. I know finding your boys means everything to you.” He stood, let the rock he held slip from one hand to the other and back again as he watched it thoughtfully. Finally he said, “You must know that I will never give up the search. I
have
to find my sons.” He met my gaze. “But I will never again let that desire come between us. What we have . . . ” His eyes warmed to amber. “I cannot imagine losing it. Not for anything.” Chapter Twenty-Two

I never really pegged Vayl for a sweet talker. But damned if the words he said didn’t make me want to jump on him and smother him in smooches. I’d just taken a step toward him, watched his eyes crinkle with pleasure as he realized my plan, when Cole cleared his throat behind me.

“Jaz, I thought you’d want to know,” he said roughly, “I found the home owner.” I turned around, my Lucille smile firmly in place. My alter ego would know how to deal with Cole without hurting him, whereas Jaz would just be blunt. Maybe even mean. “Cool! Who is he?”

“A businessman named Delir Kazimi.”

“Have you got a picture?”

“I’ll print one up for you.”

“Great. Thanks!”

Cole and Vayl traded stares. If they’d been any other species of male, the next step would have been a full-on charge. I started to shake my head.
How do I screw things up so expertly in such a short amount of time?
I asked myself.
I really thought I’d
settled things with Cole. That he understood I didn’t want a relationship. Then, the next thing you know, he’s professed his
love, we’re camel tipping in Tehran, and I’ve let him blackmail me into a date. And that’s going to thrill Vayl like a stake
through the heart.

Meanwhile, the vampire in question, perhaps realizing Cole was no threat, had turned his attention to me. “Why do you want to know who owns this house?” he asked.

I explained my theory that the Wizard had taken control of David and that, perhaps, he even owned the building in which we currently resided.

“I suppose it is possible,” said Vayl, “but the motivation for doing such a thing makes no sense. Why would someone with his power and reach set himself up for assassination?”

“We haven’t quite figured that out,” I admitted. “I think first we need to prove Dave is the mole. Then we have to figure out how to make sure he survives this mission.”

“Jasmine,” Vayl said gently, “you know none of us has the power to do that.”

“Then I’ll just have to talk to Raoul.”

“Won’t that be dangerous?” asked Cole, still sounding somewhat belligerent. “I thought after your showdown with the Magistrate you’d decided to avoid Raoul.” He’d relaxed enough from his stare-down with Vayl to lean against the doorjamb. But he’d managed to bite the ever-present toothpick in his mouth in half, and was now searching his pockets for a replacement.

I looked him in the eye as he patted himself down, wishing I had such an easy-to-fix habit. The need to shuffle was practically burning holes into my palms. But all I said was “That was before my brother’s life was on the line.” Vayl said, “I want to be convinced, and yet . . . if David did not die in training, how do you think the Wizard killed him? I would assume he was always with one of his men, even on leave. Unless he is a complete loner?” I thought about it. Reluctantly shook my head. “No, he’d never take off on his own. He always hung with his friends. And in a place like this, even on leave, it would be too dangerous to wander off by yourself.”

“Which means,” Cole put in, “this dude would’ve had to kill Dave, plant some sort of control device, and bring him back right in front of his men, without any of them ever realizing it had happened.”

“Are we sure there is a device?” asked Vayl.

“According to the Enkyklios, the Wizard either has to see his zombies to control them, or he has to implant something inside them that allows him to control them from a distance,” I reminded him.

That implant would give off some sort of psychic signal, which was why Bergman had sent me to Asha in the first place. Flash of guilt as I realized I still hadn’t clued Vayl in as to his existence. Well, hey, we weren’t married. I didn’t have to tell him every little detail of my day.
Except
, I reminded myself,
when it has some bearing on the job
. But I found it harder than I expected to admit to Vayl that I’d met somebody while stalking him. That the guy was so powerful he knew Raoul. And that he’d shared some of his go-juice with me. I let it be, hoping I’d find a better time and place. Or at least more courage if the timing turned out crappy.

“Maybe we should ask the guys in Dave’s unit,” Cole finally suggested. “One of them would probably know what we were talking about right away. It would’ve had to have been a time when he was at least injured, right? I mean, you can’t kill a guy and bring him back without leaving some trace.”

“That’s it!” I cried. “Cam was just telling us the story! How they captured two of the Wizard’s cohorts. How one of them went for Dave’s throat, left massive amounts of blood all over the place, and Dave without the ability to talk for a couple of days.”

“That’s right!” Cole said. “And come to think of it, doesn’t he scratch his neck quite a bit?” The signs Bergman had told us to look for. They were right under our noses all the time. I hadn’t sensed David’s uniqueness because I’d accepted it to start with. I’d thought he was one of Raoul’s fighters, like me. And I hadn’t noticed his tells because, by bringing up his suspicions about a mole, he’d turned those doubts completely away from himself.

“All right,” said Vayl, nodding slowly. “I am convinced. And yet, I still wonder. Why? What is to be gained by arranging for two CIA assassins to come and kill you?”

We offered him our theories, which he refused to swallow. “I do not believe he wants to die. Especially not at our hands. That would be the height of dishonor for him. So let us assume he wants to live.”

“Maybe he wants to go straight?” Cole hazarded. “Make it look like he’s been killed, when in reality he starts a new life somewhere completely different?”

“And so he has set us up to kill — who — his double?” Vayl asked.

We nodded. It happened all the time. Bad guys sent their patsies in one direction while they went the opposite in the hope that whoever was chasing them would follow the patsy and drop the J-DAM on his head.

I fished the Wizard’s picture out of my pocket and stared at it, feeling a whole new level of bummed for the ladies it portrayed. No way would the gentleman who held them willingly give up his life with them. Which meant he was being coerced. Shit. Not only couldn’t we kill him, now we had to rescue his family before the Wizard’s people found out the game was up, got pissed, and lopped off their heads. At the same time we still needed to locate the Wizard.

Time for Bergman and Cassandra to chime in.

It wasn’t easy to separate Cassandra from David. They’d become kind of indivisible. Like prime numbers. Which broke my heart.

And here I’d thought it was already totaled.

In the end Cole told Cassandra I had girl problems and nobody in the kitchen was interested in hearing any more about it. He lured Bergman out of the room by informing him Pete was on my special specs, something about a glitch in his translator hardware that had caused an agent’s hair to catch fire.

When we were all gathered in the boys’ room with Cole guarding the door against snoops, I gave our newbies the lowdown.

Bergman took it well. Cassandra swayed a little, but she refused help as she walked to the bench, where she sat still and staring. I sat beside her, talking fast.

“I’m going to see Raoul as soon as I can,” I told her. “I will work this out.”

“If it’s possible,” she said, her voice distant, strangely calm. She’d had to dig deep for this strength. Almost to the other side of the world.

“Cassandra, you should have more faith in me,” I said. I sounded composed, but my insides were quaking. The consequences of my failure were so extreme I could hardly bear the thought of them. So, of course, I didn’t. “Did I not save your life on our last mission, despite the fact that you’d had a vision of your own death?”

Momentary pause. “Yes.”

“Shouldn’t that count for something now, especially considering the fact that you haven’t had a single vision since you touched my brother thirty-two hours ago?”

It took a while for her eyes to focus on me. When they did, they managed a smile. “Yes,” she said.

“Well then.” I left it there. Moved on. “We think the Wizard’s link to David is in his neck.” And that’s where I stopped. I looked at Vayl, suddenly helpless. If I had to say another word I’d burst into tears and ruin every bit of credibility I’d gained over the past five minutes. Because I could only pretend my twin being a zombie was no big deal for so long. And then the horror of it would overcome me, leave me speechless.