Vampires’ hearts didn’t
beat
. They didn’t need to breathe, much less gasp.
“Brina?” he whispered.
Her eyes opened wide, and they were a brilliant, clear blue, no longer the pure black
of a vampire.
“What has happened?” she asked with a trembling voice. She rose to her feet, then
promptly fainted in his arms.
Jay could feel her heart pounding so quickly that he was worried it was going to burst.
Could it? He had no idea how much strain was suddenly on her body.
He barked orders to the other slaves on his way out of Brina’s studio, commanding
them to take care of themselves until he returned. He didn’t dare take them to SingleEarth
yet. He didn’t know how to save them, and didn’t want to endanger anyone else through
yet
another
impulsive action.
Maybe Brina could help him help them, after she recovered. She had to know more about
Midnight than anyone but a vampire could possibly know.
What
is
she now?
Why am I trying to save her?
Mine!
the cat objected, when Jay carried Brina down the stairs. He prayed as he reached
for the door, and was relieved when it opened without resistance, probably cued to
Brina’s needs. The cat followed them both out into the snow, keeping up a litany of
complaints about the snow, the cold, and why Brina and Jay were ignoring him. It was
doubly offended when Jay wouldn’t let it into the car.
Jay settled Brina’s unconscious body into a calmer state before driving as quickly
as he sanely could back to Haven #2.
She
will
wake up eventually. What are you going to do with her then?
What would have happened if he hadn’t interfered? Would Brina be dead now? How many
others had this happened to?
Brina hadn’t felt like the elemental’s primary focus. For all Jay knew, the trainers
had just been wiped from the map.
Could ending Midnight be so simple?
Thoughts swirling, he pulled into the clinic’s parking lot at dawn and lifted Brina
in his arms. Haven #2 was primarily a medical facility, so they didn’t have many vampires,
but if Jay could get in touch with Xeke … Or, what if Xeke was hurt, too? Jay knew
Xeke didn’t condone Midnight, but he had some connection to it. Would the elemental
be able to tell the difference?
“I need some help!” Jay shouted, flagging down a nurse as he crossed the threshold
of the medical building. As soon as Brina was safe, he could call Xeke.
“Put her here,” the nurse said, gesturing to one of those rolling beds, which had
been left in the hall. “What’s going on?”
“I think she …” He trailed off as he checked out the nurse. She smelled of antiseptic
and gardenia perfume, and her name tag said
Volunteer
. She was probably perfectly capable as a nurse, but Jay didn’t want to dump on her
the impossibility of a centuries-old vampire being revived. “She was having a heart
attack,” he said. “Is Caryn here?”
The wide-eyed volunteer nodded as she lifted the safety rails on the bed. “Is she
able to be transferred to a human hospital?” she asked. “A heart attack is more acute
than our clinic usually—”
“No, she isn’t,” Jay interrupted. He glanced at Brina, not wanting to leave her, but
he needed to talk to someone of higher authority. “I’ll go find Caryn. You should
do whatever medical
things you do for someone having a heart attack,” he said. “My magic put her out,
though, so don’t be worried that she won’t wake up right away.”
He didn’t wait for her response but sought out Caryn, who was just finishing an exam
with a smiling, pregnant shapeshifter. Since the patient obviously wasn’t in immediate
distress, Jay didn’t hesitate to pull Caryn aside to say, “I need your help.”
“You’re back!” Caryn said. By this point, Jay was almost starting to get used to his
empathy being a burned-out blur, but Caryn’s relief was so obvious on her face that
even he could recognize it. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, fine,” he replied shortly. “But I need you to look in on the woman I brought
back with me.” He chewed his lip, not knowing how to begin. “It’s Brina.”
Caryn’s eyes widened. “Brina the vampire? Have you alerted the—”
“No, no, it’s not a matter for hunters,” he interrupted. “She’s unconscious. And she’s
human.” He cut off all questions, speaking rapidly. “I don’t know how. But I need
to find out, which means I need to leave Brina here. I have no idea what kind of shape
she’s in physically. Can you keep her safe and unconscious until I get back?”
Caryn nodded. Softly, she asked, “Jay, how much trouble are you in?”
“Hey, there’s a chance I might not be in any trouble at all,” he replied optimistically.
“Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Caryn looked openly skeptical, but all she said was “I’ll check on Brina, and if it’s
safe, I’ll sedate her. Then—” She
broke off with a sneeze. “That new volunteer’s perfume should be outlawed.”
“I think she’s taking Brina’s vitals right now, so you’ll get another good whiff of
her,” Jay teased, earning a halfhearted glare. “But really, thanks. I’ll be back as
soon as I can.”
It was a little past dawn, an hour when most vampires were settling down to sleep,
but Jay returned to his room and tried to call Sarah anyway. Nikolas and Kristopher
were close to Kendra, who most certainly
was
allied with Midnight, and the same vampire who had changed their sister Nissa had
also changed Brina. They hadn’t been alive during Midnight’s first reign, but would
the elemental know—or care—about that difference?
“Allô, c’est Marguerite.”
“Um … Hi, this is Jay. Sarah’s cousin?” He hoped he had the right number. “Is Nikolas
available?” Sarah was almost certainly asleep for the day already, but the older vampire
might still be awake.
“
Non
, no, he is sleeping. Is there a message?”
If his bloodbond didn’t know of a problem, then Nikolas was
probably
fine. But
probably
wasn’t enough to settle Jay’s anxiety. “Could you check on him?”
“Is there a reason to be concerned?” Intriguing. Marguerite’s French accent disappeared
as worry crept in.
“A magical … thing,” Jay answered vaguely. “Probably nothing, but—”
He broke off, because he heard a door open on the other end of the line, followed
by soft voices. When Marguerite spoke next, she no longer sounded friendly. “He is
fine. Is there
anything else?” The accent was creeping back in. Was it something she did intentionally?
It would be a great way to divert solicitors.
“No, I— Actually, wait. Do you know anything about Midnight?” Marguerite had been
around a long time.
“Très peu.”
Jay had no idea what that meant, but he was pretty sure that the sudden return to
French was her way of evading the question.
“If the vampiric mistress of a household is indisposed, can someone help her slaves
without getting in trouble?” he pressed, thinking of the people he had left behind
at Brina’s house.
No answer, for long enough that Jay glanced at his phone to check that he was in fact
still connected. “Marguerite?”
“It would be … inadvisable for you to do such a thing,” she replied. “Midnight’s laws
are not charitable toward someone of your vocation.”
“What if someone else from SingleEarth did it, someone who isn’t a hunter?”
“No, no,” she snapped. “Any mortal would be seen as a thief. Their freedom would be
forfeit.”
That advice might have been helpful
before
Jay had walked off with the
sakkri
. “But what if—”
“If I ask Nikolas to look into this,” Marguerite interrupted, “will you cease these
questions?”
Jay trusted Nikolas to take care of the helpless people in Brina’s household, and
Marguerite wouldn’t have offered
anything that could get her cherished master in trouble. “It’s Brina’s slaves I’m
worried about,” he said. “I have reason to believe she may not be returning home soon.”
“If she is dead, Nikolas cannot interfere with inheritance laws.” Marguerite’s voice
went soft, and perfectly neutral.
It was a reasonable assumption to make, but in this case it brought a somewhat hysterical
laugh from his throat. “No, not dead,” he gasped out.
Quite the opposite
.
“Then I will speak with Nikolas when he wakes. Can I assure him that you do not intend
to do anything stupid? He and Sarah have expressed concern for you.”
“Anything stupid” was a broad, poorly defined category. “You can let him know I got
home safely, and that I trust him to help Brina’s slaves so I don’t need to do anything
stupid about
them
.”
“Ça suffit.”
“Great.”
He hung up, feeling no more comforted than before. Nikolas was fine. That was good,
but what did it
mean
? Had the elemental targeted only her most recent captor? Or targeted only slave traders,
or trainers?
Rikai
. She had contacts galore, and understood sorcery.
The three-hour drive to Rikai’s home was frustrating to the extreme. He wasn’t sure
she would be willing to meet with him once he arrived, but he didn’t have a phone
number to call. His hopes and fears both rose as he drove into the driveway and found
Rikai standing on her front step, one hand braced on the doorframe, her foot tapping.
She had known he was coming.
“We need to talk again, witch,” she said, “in a little more detail.”
She sounded out of breath, and as he approached, he realized her posture was not casual
at all. She was standing stiffly, as if in pain.
“What happened to you?” he asked, reaching out instinctively with his power—and then
retreating as he felt her magic snatch at his hungrily.
She smiled, though the expression never reached her eyes. “Do you stick your hand
in tiger cages, too?”
“Did someone attack you?”
“Right now I’m more concerned with what has happened to
you
,” she replied. “I have a feeling that you have had an interesting couple of days.
Walk with me, and tell me, what—exactly—did the Shantel elemental say when it spoke
to you?”
“Um …” He followed Rikai back to her study, trying to find the right words. Rikai
didn’t seem to notice his hesitation as she walked with a tightly controlled stride,
not limping but obviously trying to conceal an injury of some sort.
“Well?” Rikai prompted as she settled into one of those ominous chairs and gestured
for him to do the same.
“It said it was going to destroy Midnight,” Jay admitted.
“Exactly that?” Rikai asked.
“I think—” He broke off. What exactly
had
it said?
She will be all I need to destroy those who hurt her
. “Well, it said it would destroy those who hurt her. Which
is
Midnight, right?”
Rikai took a deep, bracing breath, and then let it out in a slow stream.
“A few hours ago,” Jay said, trying to get all the information out before Rikai responded,
“something happened to Brina. I went to her, and I heard the elemental again, and
it offered to protect me. When whatever was happening was over, Brina was human.”
Rikai quirked a brow, but her next question wasn’t for Jay. Rather, she picked up
her phone and dialed a number. When the line picked up, she didn’t waste time with
pleasantries. She just asked, “Is Xeke all right?”
Jay couldn’t hear the reply, but Rikai nodded thoughtfully. After she hung up, she
said simply, “He’s dead. Now, we—”
“Dead?”
Jay interrupted, feeling his stomach drop. He hadn’t intended … And Rikai, sitting
there like it didn’t matter …
I have to call Sarah
. If Xeke was dead, then what about—
“
Still
dead,” Rikai clarified, with an impatient wave of her hand, “as opposed to alive
and human. He
is
a vampire, after all. His partner says he is fine. Get a grip.”
Trying to swallow the panic that hadn’t yet subsided, Jay stammered, “Well, um, g-good.
That’s …” He took a deep breath. Had she done that intentionally? “What is going on?”
“I would like to examine Brina.”
“And I would like you to answer me!” Jay snapped anxiously.
“Of course you would, but unlike you, I try not to blather answers until I know what
they are. Now, where did you leave Brina?”
“SingleEarth,” Jay answered, resigned.
“Excellent,” Rikai said. “I’ll get my tools, and then we will go.”
B
RINA WOKE FEELING
disoriented, thirsty, and heavy. Sunlight was streaming in through a nearby window,
and there was a rushing sound in her ears, impossibly loud. Standing up took a monumental
effort, as if she were moving the weight of a small building.
Her gown started to slip off her shoulders, and she snatched at it with confusion
before realizing that someone had undone the buttons down the back. She couldn’t do
them back up on her own, and standing there clutching brocade was hardly dignified,
so she shimmied out of the heavy gown and stood in only her chemise. She could breathe
more easily that way, anyway.
Why am I breathing?
She tried holding her breath, but doing so made her dizzy, and made her chest and
head hurt. When she stopped struggling not to, her body automatically kept breathing,
as if it always had.
The rushing, pounding, slamming, overpowering noise in her ears, then … was that her
heart
?
She swallowed. Her throat was sore, and she was …
hungry
. She didn’t like being hungry. It reminded her of days she didn’t like to think about.
Brina stalked to the door, which was standing open. Where was she? Someone had brought
her here, and made her alive, and they wouldn’t have done so without anticipating
that she would need them.
The pretty witch!
She smiled, and then frowned, as she recalled him. He had been kind to her at the
party, but then he had stolen Pet. Then he had agreed to help her in Pet’s place,
and then—