“I want Hadrian’s word.” Eleanor made the simple statement into a demand. Nothing less than this was going to be good enough. Sabrina did not know who Hadrian was, but if Eleanor thought well enough of him to take his word on the matter, it was good enough for Sabrina. Brandon blanched to an even paler shade of white.
“Hadrian already knows of the situation. There is no need to call him.” For the first time, the vampire was nervous. He was playing poker with Eleanor, and she had called.
“Hadrian’s word that she will be cared for and returned to me in the same condition as I leave her or else we walk.” The elder witch had not only called, she had bet the farm. Clay smiled. Sabrina surmised he was worried about more than her safety.
“Fine. I’ll call him. You will discuss this with him, and I will abide by his decision.” Brandon pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed.
“Ciao, Hadrian! I have someone here who wishes to speak with you.” There was a brief pause. “Yes, it is about the matter we discussed earlier.” Another moment of silence followed. He offered the phone to Eleanor. She took it.
“Ciao, Hadrian,” she started. What followed did not sound like Italian to Sabrina. She guessed it was Latin. Some words were familiar, but mostly, she was just lost. Eleanor gave a laugh, nodded her head, and said her farewell. She held it out to Brandon. He spoke only a few words before disconnecting.
“Satisfied?” he asked Eleanor. They had locked stares. It reminded Sabrina of the blinking game she and Clay had played as children.
“Yes. How soon can you have the decoy here?”
“In about five minutes. She lives in this building.” He dialed another number, speaking in rapid Italian to the person on the other end.
“Well, I’m not satisfied! I don’t understand what just happened, and I don’t like it.” Clay was incensed. Sabrina smelled the light musk of scorching wood that emanated from him anytime he lost his temper.
Eleanor held up one hand to stop his rant. “It is simple. We are going to take a decoy Sabrina out of the city. We will be followed. There are witches and other night creatures waiting for us in a remote location to ambush the people after her. I don’t like this either, but we can deal with the danger and maintain our secrecy. We can’t very well go throwing magic around in a populated area like this. It would cause panic and chaos. The humans must not know,” she explained.
“How do you know you can trust this guy?”
“Hadrian’s word settles it. If Brandon screws up, he will have to answer to Hadrian. I can promise you. Brandon is far more concerned with Hadrian’s good opinion than ours. I would just kill him. Hadrian would make him wish I had.”
“I don’t like it,” Clay repeated.
“It is the best way. A few days here will do her no harm, young fairy. She will have the penthouse and all it offers,” Brandon interjected.
“Does that include you?” Sabrina was taken aback. Clay was not usually so rude. It was out of character. The voice in her head gave it a name—jealousy. Suddenly, Sabrina knew what he was implying.
“Clay Birch! I’m surprised at you! As you well know, I am not that sort of woman. He gave his word and so did this Hadrian person. Eleanor accepted. That is good enough for me, and it had better be good enough for you!” Sparks shot from her fingertips. The crystal glowed to life. Rainbows danced on his skin like a kaleidoscope rotating. He stepped back.
He hung his head in defeat. “You’re right, Sabrina. I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions. I’ll wait in the hall for you, Eleanor.” He walked to the door and left.
As he went out, a young woman walked in with a smooth rolling movement. It was more like a cat or a wolf prowling around than a walk. Her dark coloring and olive skin made her seem exotic. It was like watching sex in heels and a leather minidress. She gave Sabrina and Eleanor a wide berth, stopping in front of Brandon. She rubbed her face on his jacket before addressing him.
“What would you have of me?”
“Camilla, I want you to wear this woman’s clothes,” he directed, gesturing at Sabrina.
“Kinky,” she purred.
“Eleanor will glamour you to look like her niece. You are to go with her. Whatever commands Eleanor issues, you are to take as if you were taking commands from me. Understood?”
Camilla pouted her lower lip and began to strip. “All right, Brandon. I liked the idea better when I thought it was kinky.”
“Uh, I’m not undressing in front of anyone! I need someplace private!” Sabrina knew she had blushed to a deep scarlet hue. Her cheeks burned too hot with embarrassment.
Brandon directed her to a bathroom. On the back of the door hung a white fluffy robe with the initials
BT
monogrammed on the left front breast. Sabrina opened the door only a fraction and gave her clothes a toss. She did not care where they landed. The cracked door served to have a thin woman’s hand reach in and flick the leather minidress into the room.
Sabrina gave them a quick once-over. There was no way these were going to fit. In a way, she was glad. The too-tight skirt coupled with the too-low top was not something Sabrina wanted to wear, ever. Camilla obviously knew nothing of modesty. She opted to keep the robe.
She reentered the room just in time to see Eleanor holding her hand over Camilla’s head, walking in a tight circle around her, and whispering. On the third rotation, a ripple of shimmering air enveloped the woman. When the ripples stopped, Sabrina was looking at a mirror image of herself. The red boat-neck top and white skirt clung to her in the same way. The only thing missing was the necklace. It was both amazing and unsettling. The differences were in how the double held her body and the expression on her face. Her movements were those of the slinking Camilla. The real Sabrina relaxed somewhat.
“There. I think that should do it. What do you think, Clay? A decent decoy?” Eleanor looked at her handiwork with satisfaction. Clay was too busy looking from one Sabrina to another.
Brandon was looking at a security monitor by the door. He cleared his throat and said, “I suggest you take Camilla and the fairy and go. We have a number of interested people waiting outside the building, and they seem impatient. Just don’t crash through the gate. I have to keep them out while you are gone.”
Eleanor walked over to Sabrina, placed a hand on either side of her face, and smiled. “Be good, stay calm, and I’ll be back when this is finished.” She turned loose and strode purposefully to the wide-open door. Clay and Camilla were waiting in the hall. Eleanor made it to the threshold when she stopped, looking over her shoulder. Giving Brandon one final sharp glare, she added, “I have Hadrian’s word.”
Brandon did not flinch but only nodded. “And mine.”
Eleanor turned back to the elevator, raised one hand, and waved at the open door. It closed, leaving Sabrina alone with a strange vampire.
The sound of the elevator going down made everything seem so final. Eleanor and Clay were gone. Sabrina’s slice of home was gone. Homesickness tugged at her. A sense of loss welled up and nearly allowed a tear to spill over onto her check. She caught herself, took a deep breath, and regained control.
“You must be starved,” Brandon said, interrupting her internal grief. “I’m sure Eleanor didn’t stop anywhere along the way. What can I get you?”
“What?” It took Sabrina a moment to realize he was speaking to her. “Oh, thank you, anything will be fine.” She turned back to the open balcony. The broken glass prevented her from walking out, but she only wanted to watch the red and white dots zip along the freeway. Somewhere amongst them was the only family she had ever known. The glass shards vibrated on the ground for only a few seconds before she pushed the sadness back down.
She paid little attention to the male voice behind her or the corresponding replies. A hot breeze swept across her face, blowing a wayward curl or two. Her pendant had grown darker after her earlier outburst. Now it was starting to lighten and show the dark rainbows trapped inside. Looking up, she saw the moon. Watching it rise and trace its path across the night sky had always comforted her. Tonight, without the trees to frame it, it made her feel even more isolated.
Whether she stood there ten second, ten minutes, or ten years staring at the moon and the moving dots, Sabrina neither knew nor cared. She did her best to think of nothing, not the man from the shop, not the bombed building, and not the feelings of being abandoned. It wasn’t until a heavy knock on the mahogany door brought her back to reality that she noticed the glass had been cleared away. The room behind her had changed, as well. The previously bare coffee table had had a cloth thrown across it. On top was a service set complete with a cozy over what was sure to be a hot teapot. Beside the tea were two small plates of sandwiches and a bowl of mixed fruit.
A thin, skittish-looking man wearing outdated plaid pants and a dress shirt with enormous lapels came in carrying shopping bags. His slightly balding head sported a comb-over style right out of the mid- to late 1970s. Pale skin and not so carefully hidden fangs gave him away. His demeanor told Sabrina he was a vampire toady, a hanger-on to more important creatures. He was the skinny kid who made friends with the football players more for protection than friendship.
“I got the clothes you asked for, Mr. Thorpe, sir. All the credit card receipts are in the bags, just like you asked. Will you need anything else this evening, sir?” The man inched his way to the front door slowly.
“No. Not tonight. You are excused, Ferrell,” Brandon dismissed. The nervous man disappeared in a streak of blurred plaid.
Brandon did not speak to Sabrina until he took a seat in his overstuffed arm chair. He gestured at the sofa and the coffee table covered with food. “Please, Sabrina Rivers, sit and eat. If we are to be roommates for the time being, we should make an effort to get used to each other’s company.”
She blinked at him in surprise. Eleanor had mentioned her first name, but had not made any formal introductions. Yet, here was a stranger using her full name. Taking the offered seat, she picked up a neatly trimmed sandwich half and nibbled at it. She was both not hungry and famished at the same time. The homesickness battled with her need for food.
“Aren’t you having anything?” she asked.
Brandon poured her a cup of tea. As he did, he gave her a wry smile. “No. I ate earlier. Besides, I think you have had enough shocks for one evening. Don’t you?”
She nodded. “Thank you for helping us. I didn’t know about any of this until today. I knew Eleanor went to Asheville regularly on business, but it never occurred to me ask why. I forget the world is a bigger place than the little town of Sylva.” She gave a small, embarrassed smile.
“Eleanor is your aunt, correct?”
Sabrina locked eyes with him for only a moment. The same flood of heat washed through her again. No, it was not the same. This time it was hotter. Wetness began to soak her panties. Her nipples tightened. Everything seemed so confusing. She had never experienced anything like this before in her life, and now, it had happened twice in one night. Her heart beat harder, louder. She was sure he could hear the difference, but if he did, he kept the knowledge to himself.
“Yes. She is my mother’s sister. I don’t remember my mother. She died when I was a baby,” Sabrina finally answered.
“And your father?”
“I’ve never met him. Aunt Eleanor never mentions him,” she confessed. Sabrina left out the speculations of the other witches in their coven. Thinking about their scorn and accusations made her cheeks flush warm. To them, she was a magical cull, little more than something to be tolerated.
“I didn’t mean to cause you any discomfort. If it makes you feel better, I never knew my father either,” Brandon soothed.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said. Her face heated to a burn. She knew she was blushing even deeper. It had been her experience that such topics were to be avoided. She opted to change the subject. “You seem to run things here. Is this a business like Hilgari?”
“Yes and no. Hilgari is a legal business entity used as a cover for supernatural creatures who owe their allegiance to the Moon Goddess Diana. We operate like a business and owe nothing to anyone but ourselves. It just so happens to be covert,” he admitted. A playful tone crept into his voice.
“Sounds illegal, since you made the distinction,” she added. Sabrina had the suspicion he was talking about organized crime. She had never heard of a vampire mob boss, but then again, she had never met a vampire until Brandon Thorpe. The thought of his name sent another wave of heat through her, tingling as it spread. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Oh, only a little,” he teased. “I don’t possess the sort of magic they do. Most of us you refer to as Children of Lilith don’t. There is no way I can go out in broad daylight and conduct a business transaction. I can’t glamour myself to look human. I can have a client for dinner but not take him to a business lunch. It would make keeping what I am a secret more difficult. See my point?” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and gave her smile. His fangs were on prominent display. He was eyeing her necklace.
She looked down at it and back up at him. “Now that you put it that way, I guess it would make life a bit hard.” An uneasy laugh slipped past her halfhearted smile. His gazed had moved back to her face. He sat back and casually placed his hands on the chair arms in plain sight. The effect was disarming. She relaxed slightly but was still aware of his interest in the dark stone.