The fact that she had completely changed subjects and was back to hounding him about China was not lost on Colt, but put him on the defensive nonetheless. He straightened, turning back to face the fire, trying to resist the urge to reach out and touch Lilly. “Close enough to know better, and distant enough not to care.”
“So it’s worse than I thought.”
His gaze darted to her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“The shape-shifter fancies you.”
“What?”
She waved her hands in a fluttering motion as if stirring curls of incense to disperse them. “The air was simply saturated with the smell of it. Only now she loathes you as well. Which makes her attraction to your brother even more complicated.”
Colt’s shoulders sagged a bit. It was true. All of it. How was it possible she had guessed? “You got all of that out of one sniff?”
Lilly crossed her arms, making her bosom swell in dangerous proportion over the top of her gown. Colt tore his gaze away from the soft swell of creamy skin and deliberately focused on the flickering blue parts of the flames dancing in the fireplace. “Call it a gift, or a curse, depending on what side you’re on.”
“And what do you call it?”
“Doesn’t matter, because I can tell all the same exactly what’s going on.” She turned and walked away from him, avoiding the windows on the opposite side of the dirigible, to sit in a chair as far from him as she could, her back ramrod straight.
Colt knew better than to follow. He just stared at her graceful silhouette outlined by bright light streaming in the windows, feeling completely out of his element surrounded by supernaturals, suspended in the air over the desert.
There were things about Lilly he just didn’t understand. How could she read him so easily when she’d only been in the room with him, China, and Remington for less than a half hour? Besides seducing men to surrender their immortal souls, what other powers did she possess as both a demon and a woman? And exactly how tied to Rathe was she?
While he felt he could trust her, given she’d been completely blunt about Rathe’s intentions and stayed with him thus far, he wasn’t absolutely sure. He hadn’t trusted anyone other than his brothers and Marley in so long that just contemplating it seemed foreign. And if that weren’t all enough to confuse a man, his interest in her had turned from one of mere lust-fueled attraction to wanting to protect and help her in her quest to become human and find her sister. He actually cared, dammit.
Then a thought burned through him faster than a lightning bolt: he might actually love her.
Colt turned away, clenching and unclenching his hands, totally unsure of how to handle the situation, and went searching for Winn. When in doubt it was best for a Hunter to focus on his work.
The airship was divided into three different decks, each dedicated to a different purpose. He took the stairs and went from the upper observation and dining deck down below to the secondary deck divided into long halls leading to what he guessed were individual sleeping cabins, and ended in a cargo hold where he found Tempus secured to the floor by ropes.
Beneath that, at the base of the gondola, he found the gas jet fires that heated the air inside the balloon for lift and ran the steam turbines for the steering props. It was so loud and hot, beads of sweat trickled down into his eyes. Colt swiped them away with the sleeve of his shirt.
“A marvel, is it not?” He turned to find the Contessa. The light from the flame shooting upward over the gas jets made the row of highly polished gold buttons along the left side of her gown glow.
“Is this where the fire comes from in the fireplace on the upper deck?”
She smiled. “Very astute of you.”
“But don’t you find hot air more limiting than the lifting aether?”
“More limiting, perhaps, but far less flammable.”
Even though the conversation was totally benign, Colt was getting uncomfortable around the vampire. He’d had one too many close encounters where his neck had been on the line, literally. “Do you happen to know where my brother is?”
“Of course. I shall show you.”
As they walked, the Contessa’s skirting and bustle shushed with each step. “Tell me, Mr. Jackson, why is it you detest vampires so?”
He stiffened slightly at the direct nature of her question. “I guess for the same reason all Hunters do. You feed on humans.”
“But we were all human once. Does that not count for something? Surely we can find common ground,
da
?”
Like hell. Finding the Book wasn’t going to change a vampire’s diet. But then he and his brothers couldn’t be picky about allies at the moment. “It depends.”
“On what?”
“On if you’re serious about keeping the Gates of Nyx closed.”
The Contessa came to a stop before a dark wooden door with a round brass porthole in it. “Mr. Jackson, you must understand. The Chosen are as much our salvation as they are for your own kind. Surely you can see that we need one another. We have been guarding Europe’s part of the Book for six centuries. If we didn’t want to help, we wouldn’t.”
“I suppose that’s true enough.”
She stepped to the side and clasped her black-gloved hands before her. “Your brother is through that door.”
Colt swung open the polished mahogany door with caution, still not trusting what might be on the other side. As the Contessa had promised, Winn sat at a table cluttered with charts and maps muttering to himself as he took notes.
“Am I interrupting?”
Winn looked up at him. “Of course you are. You always do. Sit down anyway.”
His brother had stripped down to a shirt with a vest over the top and discarded his coat, collar, tie, and Stetson.
Colt ran a finger along the inside edge of his own shirt collar. “Doesn’t your neck feel a little exposed?”
Winn grinned at him. “She’s not that kind of vampire.”
Colt snorted. “What, the kind that don’t drink blood?”
His older brother shook his head. “I don’t have time to explain it all to you. Look, I’ve got an idea where Pa might have stashed his pages. If my calculations are right, Waltz’s mine should be somewhere close to this military road, practically in sight of it.”
“You really think Pa stashed the pages in the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine?”
“Why not? Waltz was a Hunter from the old country. Chances are he’s got it hidden well enough nobody would find it if they didn’t know the Hunter lore.”
“How do you know that’s not some wild-goose chase?”
“You have any better ideas based on the clue he left us?” Colt shook his head. “Good. Then listen up, little brother. This ain’t going to be easy.”
Chapter 16
Lilly couldn’t stop bouncing her booted foot. She perched on the edge of a very comfortable settee covered in deep plush burgundy velvet, one of several cushiony chairs and sofas scattered about the large and luxurious lobby of the airship. Sitting in the middle of the settee, she was as far away from the windows surrounding the room as she could possibly be.
Saying she was not fond of heights was an understatement. Beyond the expansive windows, the cerulean blue of the sky seemed almost serene, until one contemplated the distance between the insubstantial cloth-and-metal framework of the airship and the rocky earth far, far, far below.
She closed her eyes and breathed out slowly, trying to calm her quickly beating heart. When she managed to slow it down enough to qualify as somewhat normal, she opened her eyes to find the Contessa headed toward her.
Lilly envied her poise and grace. She seemed to float on air as she crossed the thick black and burgundy Turkish carpet. Considering where they were, the thought of floating on air made a bubble of hysterical giggles tickle the back of Lilly’s throat. She giggled, then coughed, covering her mouth with her hand to mask her nervousness as the Contessa took a seat on the settee beside her.
The woman fairly breathed nobility. Her straight posture, her demure grace, even the fine, smooth quality of her pale skin all made her seem larger than life to Lilly. But it was the cool, assessing, superior gaze of those tawny eyes that made Lilly understand why vampires were among the most deadly and independent of the Darkin.
“Are you enjoying air travel, Miss Arliss?”
Lilly hesitated. She’d never been comfortable around people from high society, and the Contessa seemed to be from the highest echelons. She always felt that they’d see the dirt and ragged hems from her disreputable childhood no matter how far she’d removed herself from her beginnings. She didn’t want to offend the elegant lady vampire. “It’s smooth. Much better than a stagecoach or even a steam train, but—”
A spark of kindred understanding twinkled in the Contessa’s eyes, relaxing Lilly’s tension. “But it makes you sick to your stomach,
da
?”
Lilly placed a hand to her overheated cheeks. “Does it show that badly?”
The Contessa offered her a warm, kind smile. “You just look the way I feel when I am on a sea vessel—a bit green.”
It was socially not what one would normally say, but honestly, Lilly liked it. It made the Contessa seem more real to her rather than some untouchable vampire princess.
“Just the thought of how much space there is between the bottom of the airship and the earth makes me nervous.” Lilly didn’t tell her that thinking about it made a fresh surge of panic spark along all her nerve endings making her skin prickle and itch all over.
“I think tea is in order.” The Countess held up her black-gloved hand and materialized a small, cut crystal bell between her fingers. She shook the bell, and the light tinkling sound of it brought out a uniformed crewman within moments. “Tea for Miss Arliss and myself.” He nodded and whisked away before Lilly could manage a thank-you.
The nervous knot in Lilly’s stomach was still growing larger. She didn’t know how to make polite conversation with a Contessa and she’d certainly never taken tea with a vampire before. The closest she’d ever come to conversing with nobility had been when she’d been begging for a coin or two as a child, or when she’d surreptitiously entered a ball using a forged invitation in hopes of stealing the lady’s jewels while the party went on below stairs.
“I hope you don’t misunderstand me, Lady Drossenburg. Your dirigible is amazing.”
The Contessa waved her hand in the air. “Do not think on it any longer. I understand this feeling. You are not meant for the air as I am not meant for the sea.”
“Is Miss McGee going to be joining us?” Just thinking about China McGee made Lilly squirm uncomfortably in her seat.
“No. She left via her own means back to Tombstone.”
Lilly chanced a guess. “She turned into a bird?”
Like a hawk or an eagle or some other bird of prey?
she added silently to herself.
The Contessa smiled, her teeth very white and very even. Not a fang in sight. “
Da
. She makes a very impressive raven.”
Lilly suppressed the urge to comment about exactly how obvious Miss McGee had been in her attentions to Colt and how unwanted they were. It wouldn’t be ladylike, and she was already feeling awkward enough.
Thankfully, their conversation was interrupted as two crewmen returned with tea. One carried an ornate golden object that looked rather like an elegant brass teapot balanced precariously atop a large brass urn emblazoned with the enameled image of the Drossenburg crest. There were two metal handles sprouting out of the sides of the urn, a twisting tap on the front, and a little coal chamber beneath it.
The second crewman carried a silver tray bearing two translucent white china cups rimmed in gold and an assortment of elegant little rounded tea cakes covered in powdered sugar, various finger sandwiches, and matched silver pots of honey and bright yellow lemon wedges. They placed both on the table and vanished.
Despite her discomfort with air travel, Lilly’s stomach grumbled with interest at the tart citrus of the lemon and the slight almond fragrance drifting up from the tea cakes. The Contessa filled her cup first from the teapot at the top, a dark, thick, fragrant brew, then from the tap on the urn, which produced steaming hot water. She added both a wedge of lemon and a generous dose of honey to her tea.
The Contessa gave her a brief glance laced with gentle amusement. “It is a samovar. The tea is strong, so add the water to it as you wish.” Having never seen such a tea apparatus, Lilly followed suit. She helped herself to a small sugar-coated tea cake and several small sandwiches, then used the delicate etched silver spoon to add a lemon wedge and a generous dollop of honey to her steaming tea. She took a bite, and the soft subtle flavor of powdered sugar was accented with almonds in the cookie-like tea cake.
Mouth a little too full, Lilly glanced up to catch the Contessa’s tawny gaze on her face. She flushed with embarrassment when she noticed that the other woman hadn’t taken any food of her own.
“You are a supernatural like me, are you not, Miss Arliss?”
Lilly nodded as she reluctantly placed the tea cake on the little plate provided, licked the trace of powdered sugar from her lips, and took a sip of the fragrant tea. The warmth spread out from her stomach to her limbs, and for the first time since she’d been in the air she relaxed slightly.
“What do you know of the Chosen, Miss Arliss?”
“Only what I’ve discovered by reading their archives and from Darkin lore.” Even before she’d been turned to a succubus, books had been Lilly’s sanctuary.
The Contessa’s amber eyes lit with interest and she leaned slightly forward in her seat, her raven-colored taffeta skirts and bustle rustling slightly with the movement. “And what do you know of the oldest, in particular? Does he have any weaknesses I should know of?”
“A few.”
“Would you mind if I summoned some key members of my crew to hear as well? Anything we can learn to protect them during our mission could make the difference.”
Lilly was uncomfortable with sharing what wasn’t even hers to share, but wasn’t exactly sure how to refuse the request. For one, she was a guest on the Contessa’s airship and, two, vampires weren’t known for being terribly tolerant of other Darkin, whom they felt were somehow inferior, and, three, she was nobility. One simply didn’t refuse them anything. “If you wish,” she answered simply.
Within a moment six vampires materialized in a curl of dark particles like smoke in the room. They clustered behind the Contessa’s settee. They all shared the same whiskey-colored eyes as the Contessa, but unlike her, those eyes were filled with avid male interest. Inwardly Lilly smiled and relaxed. These were common male vampires, not highborn like Lady Drossenburg.
Lilly batted her lashes slowly at them, letting a subtle, coy grin spread across her lips. They leaned forward ever so slightly, and she knew she had their undivided attention. She suddenly felt far more in control than she had since Colt had summoned her.
Colt returned to the upper deck to find Lilly surrounded by a bevy of male vampires that looked like they were lined up at a buffet. The crewmen, all wearing identical uniforms of black, accented with highly polished golden buttons and the Drossenburg crest embroidered in red and black on a field of gold on the right chest pocket, seemed to be totally fixated on her.
He cleared his throat, and her gaze swiveled in his direction. “Are you ready to get off this thing?”
She nodded, which made the red waves of her hair bounce in a way that was far too alluring, just begging a man to slip his fingers through the fiery silk. He had no doubt from the looks of the crew that every one of them was thinking the same damn thing.
Colt eyed the vampire crewmen. He didn’t want to take them all on, but he would if one so much as showed a fang. “Don’t you gentlemen have duties to attend to? I’m sure the Contessa wouldn’t be pleased if she were to see you all here.”
A few looks passed between them, as if they all shared some little secret he wasn’t privy to, which irritated the hell out of him. They bowed to Lilly, said their good-byes, and shuffled off in different directions.
“What were they doing here?”
She sighed, swirling a ringlet of her red hair around her finger into a tight twist matching the twist in his gut. “They just showed up.”
“I see that, the question was why?”
“I’m a succubus.”
“Yes, but they’re vampires. Your charms shouldn’t affect them.”
Her sigh came out an irritated quick exhale. “You Hunters think you know everything. But you don’t. There’s still more you haven’t discovered about supernaturals. Vampires still retain something of their humanity. Therefore what’s left of it is just as affected by the demon powers as any mortal man.”
Colt reached out and slipped a ringlet of her hair around his finger, sampling the texture. His pupils dilated slightly. “Just like there’s some humanity left in certain demons?” He was still wearing his rough frontier clothing—the denim pants he favored, the rumpled cotton shirt, the long brown duster, and the well-worn brown Stetson. Something about that rugged exterior made her tighten and coil with longing.
She stood, bringing them face-to-face. The strong edge of his jaw was rough with stubble, at odds with the smooth, sculpted firmness of his mouth. Lilly’s body eagerly supplied her with all the details she remembered of how he could kiss. She inhaled at the thought and was hit with the scent of long, cool nights in the desert, and leather, which clung to him.
He leaned in just a little closer, close enough to kiss her, making her heart resume its faster-than-normal pace, this time from desire rather than fear. “That’s more by accident than design,” she replied.
Colt released the curl and she could tell his reserve had been firmly put back in place. Her heart contracted. Every time he seemed on the verge of declaring his real feelings to her, he backed away. He glanced out the windows, where the peaks of the tallest mountains were now level with the ship’s windows. He took off his hat, smoothing the brim of it between his fingers. “Winn said we should be landing outside McDowell in about ten minutes.”
“I thought we were going to Phoenix.”
“This is closer to the mountains.”
All the better for crashing into them.
Lilly chastised herself for being so negative. “Do we have to climb down the ladder?”
Colt settled his hat back on his head. “No. We’re gonna unload Tempus out of the cargo hold, so they’re taking the ship all the way down this time.”
Lilly weakened with relief. “You have no idea how much I was dreading the climb down.”
He grasped her hand and held it. This time the look in his eyes wasn’t one of desire, but of protection and concern—as close as she’d ever been to love. “I think I have a pretty good idea.” His gesture wrapped her in a kind of warmth she’d never experienced before. The kind of warmth that came when someone genuinely cared for you.
Heartened, Lilly threw her arms around him in a hug.
He stiffened slightly. “You aren’t going to start crying, are you?”
Lilly laughed softly into the collar of his coat. Colt might not have been ready to say the words, but his actions spoke volumes. He cared about her. “No.”
Colt pulled out of her arms as he straightened. “Want to go for a walk around the deck before we leave?”
Lilly shook her head. “No thanks, I’m perfectly happy to stay safe and sound in here until we stop.”
He tipped his hat. “I’m going to look around a bit, then see what needs to be done to unload Tempus.”
Lilly remained firmly entrenched in her burgundy velvet settee while the airship slowly descended. The hiss of hot air being released from the vents had the same impact on her as that of a snake. A shiver followed by the quick dip and roll of her stomach made her queasy.