The Last of the Red-Hot Vampires (21 page)

“Oh, for God's sake…Portia, you're a big girl. Just because you're madly infatuated with Theo, doesn't mean you have to be a doormat. You can talk to me about things before checking with him first.”

“Have I ever been a doormat?”

She pursed her lips and didn't answer.

“That's right, I haven't. I'm not waiting to clear the subject with Theo. I simply need to determine if my proof will support the supposition I believe fits the circumstances.”

“I hate it when you talk in that horrible empirical way,” she grumbled, but knew me too well to do more than voice the complaint.

We drove along in silence for a few minutes before she asked, “Well? Did you discuss it with Theo? Does he agree with your supposition or not?”

“Hmm? Oh, no, I can't talk to him right now. He's in the Court, remember?”

“What does that have to do with the price of tea in China? I thought you guys could talk even if you weren't physically near each other?”

“Normally, we could, but there's something about the Court that inhibits mind-talking.”

“Well, isn't that just fine and dandy! Now I'm going to have to wait—”

“Turn left at the intersection.”

“—until Theo comes out so you two can discuss whether or not to reveal to me this supersecret insight you seem to have?”

“Left again, please.”

“I may be just a normal person without special powers or anything, but that doesn't mean you can treat me like…hey. Isn't this taking us around the block?”

“Yup. There's a parking spot right over there.”

Sarah looked to where I was pointing, shooting me a curious glance before pulling in behind a large panel van. “You want to tell me what we're doing back on the street where Milo lives, or is that, too, a big secret?”

“Actually,” I said with a grin, “it's probably better if you don't know. That way it can't be said that you were an accessory.”

Her mouth made an O for a second, then her curiosity—almost as great as my own—got the better of her. “Dish, sister.”

“Taking a leaf from Theo's book, we're going to become kidnappers. Can you see the front door of Milo's house from here?”

“Yes. Why are we kidnapping Milo? I bet if you asked him to come along with us—not that I know where we're going—he'd be happy to do whatever you wanted. He seems like a nice man.”

“Yes, doesn't he?” I rubbed my chin, trying to decide on the wisest course.

“I know you're almost a member of the Court of Divine Blood and all, but you still have to live in this world, and here it's illegal as all get out to kidnap someone.” Sarah had a familiar pugnacious expression on her face. I just broadened my grin.

“I hate it when you do that,” she told my grin.

I sighed and decided it wasn't fair to involve her in something so potentially dangerous. “You're right. It annoys me to admit it, but you are right, Sarah. What I'm about to do is very illegal, and I think that it probably would be best if you weren't involved. I know it's asking a lot, but would you mind leaving me the car? I don't think I can get another one at short notice, and I'm sure there are taxis that can take you back to Newton Poppleford.”

“Oh, no, you're not getting away with that crap,” she said, taking a firm grip on the steering wheel. “We're in this together, if you recall.”

“Our original plans did not call for kidnapping,” I pointed out.

“No, but I'm your friend. A friend's place is at your side when you commit felonies. Oooh! Look! Milo! How do we get him into the car?”

My lips thinned as I watched Milo leave his house, walking around the front to the other side, where I assumed a detached garage sat. “We don't.”

“I think he's going to get his car. Are we following him?” Sarah asked, her hand on the ignition key.

“No. Duck!”

I doubled over in the passenger seat, having seen a white car emerge from the area behind Milo's house. Sarah hunkered down as well, waiting until the sound of the car passing us had faded.

“All right, now I'm confused…Where are you going?” she asked as I got out of the car.

“To get our victim.” My heart was racing as I approached the door to Milo's house, my palms suddenly damp with sweat. “I hope I do this right.”

“Do what?”

“I'm going to Taser Milo's wife Carol.”

“You're going to
what
?” Sarah grabbed my arm as I was about to knock at the door. “Are you crazy? Oh, what am I saying? You don't even have a Taser…”

“No, but I do have a handy little skill that allows me to control lightning.”

Her eyes widened. “You're going to strike Carol Lee with lightning? That could kill her!”

“Not if I can control it properly.” I took a deep breath, pushing aside the doubting thoughts, focusing on what I needed to do. “A Taser is a device which uses a high-voltage pulse of electricity to momentarily shock its target, thereby disrupting the neurotransmitters, and effectively overloading the nervous system. Carol will be temporarily immobilized, but not permanently harmed.”

Overhead, my little cloud formed. I spread my hands about six inches apart, mentally envisioning a concentrated electrical charge pulled from the surroundings. My fingers began to tingle, the sensation spreading up my arms, reminding me of the time I'd touched a low-voltage electrical fence. Sarah watched with open-mouthed horror as a small blue ball of light formed between my hands. The tingling intensified as the ball shrunk into a small blue orb between my palms.

“Knock on the door,” I told Sarah, my attention focused on holding the charge where I wanted it.

“Portia—”

“Please, Sarah. I don't know what will happen if I stop focusing on this.”

“I hope to god you know what you're doing,” she said, shaking her head, but knocking on the door.

It took about sixty seconds, but the door finally opened up a few inches, with Carol Lee's white, expressionless face visible. “What do you want?” she asked.

“The truth,” I told her, flinging the electrical charge directly at her. Her eyes widened for a moment before the charge zapped her, knocking her backward a few feet.

“I knew it! You've killed her!” Sarah pronounced as I pushed open the door and knelt down by Carol's supine figure. My hands were shaking as I checked her pulse.

“No, she's alive. Her pulse is a bit rocky, but fine.” Carol's eyes were open, unblinking, and flat. “Go get the car. We'll get her into it and restrained before she comes out of this.”

Sarah stood above me, her hands on her hips, a warning note clearly evident in her voice. “Portia, I never thought the day would come when I'd find you, the most passive of pacifists, disabling and kidnapping an unarmed, innocent woman—”

“Innocent, my ass. Get the car quick,” I said, hurrying into the kitchen to look for some twine or duct tape I could use to bind her arms.

To my relief, we managed to get Milo's wife securely bound and bundled into the rental car before she came out of her shocked state. After five minutes of non-stop abuse hurled from where she lay on the backseat, the noise abated once we applied a scarf in the form of a gag. She continued to mumble behind the gag, but, thankfully, it was subdued enough to ignore.

“Where are we going?” Sarah asked as I returned to my seat after gagging our victim.

“The Court of Divine Blood.”

Sarah made a soundless whistle, saying nothing more but shooting me frequent questioning glances. Silence and occasional outraged gurgles from the backseat filled the car as we drove to the castle. I knew Sarah was as uneasy as I was over the potentially damning act of kidnapping, but I saw no other solution available to me. The silence bore down heavily on me as I ran over a mental checklist, hoping that I hadn't missed anything important.

“You don't think anyone is going to notice this?” Sarah said twenty minutes later as a huge billow of fog filled the courtyard of the castle.

I prodded Milo's wife forward, ignoring her glare of pure venom, keeping one hand on her wrists bound behind her back. “I'm sure someone will notice the localized fog, but I don't really care. It's difficult enough kidnapping someone—getting them where you want them to go without interference from the public is tantamount to impossible. I'm just taking the easiest way out.”

The fog, my lack of familiarity with the castle, and Carol Lee's repeated, abortive attempts at escape made it take a good three times the normal amount of time it would have taken to find the room that opened into the portal to the Court, but at last we arrived at our goal.

I saw Carol eyeing the windows and grabbed onto her shoulders with both hands, shoving her toward the entrance to the Court.

“Portia, are you sure—” Sarah started to say, doubt evident on her face as we approached the fuzzy portal.

“Reasonably sure. I've examined the evidence and can't come to any other conclusion. Deep breath, everyone. It's showtime!”

“I can't believe the only time I'm visiting heaven is in the pursuit of some crime or other,” Sarah grumbled as we marched to the center of the town square. The usual business prevailed: people talking in small groups around the center well, the shops doing their brisk trade, other people busily hurrying hither and yon. At the sight of us materializing in the center of their activities, everyone froze.

“Hello, again,” I said, recognizing a few (albeit startled) faces from the hearing.
Theo?

An equally startled silence filled my head.
Portia? What are you doing in the Court?

Doing what you asked—resolving one of our problems. Where are you? I think I'm going to need a little help in getting my prisoner to the mare. The people in the square seem to be stunned into some sort of a fugue state.

Theo seemed to share their reaction, at least for a few seconds.
Prisoner?

Yes. I kidnapped Milo Lee's wife and brought her here.

A soft sigh echoed in my head.
Portia, do you have any idea how the Court is going to react to you kidnapping a mortal and bringing her here? As if we weren't in enough trouble—

Carol Lee took advantage of my distraction with Theo to twist herself out of my grip, racing toward the doorway that led back to the land of reality.

“Oh, no you don't!” I took a leap that would do a broad jumper proud, flinging myself at Carol, just catching the heel of her shoe as I fell. She went down just as my head cracked the cobblestones, but I didn't let go of her despite the stars that seemed to weave around in front of me.

“Such an entrance you apparently desire to make,” a male voice drawled as I got to my knees, shaking my head but keeping a firm grip on Carol's kicking foot. “I could almost imagine you were trying to get my attention.”

“Think again,” I ground out as I got to my feet, hauling up my still-struggling prisoner.

Gabriel the cherub pursed his lips as he eyed first the woman bound with silver-grey duct tape, then me. I blew back a strand of hair that was sticking to my lip, and lifted my chin, trying to look poised and in charge of the situation.

“I see you've added abduction to your resume,” he said, the corners of his mouth crooking upward. “As if murder wasn't enough?”

“Portia didn't murder anyone,” Sarah said, coming forward to give me a hand with Carol as she continued to fight her bonds, her eyes wild. “If you knew her, you'd realize that she's incapable of something so immoral.”

Carol flung herself backward, her head knocking into mine as she tried to kick my legs out from under me. I sidestepped the back kick, yanking her bound arms up and hissing in her ear in as mean a voice as possible, “You try that again, and I'll break both your arms.”

Gabriel's eyebrows rose.

“There are, naturally, different interpretations on the word ‘immoral',” Sarah said, looking as if she was about to explain the whole circumstance to Gabriel.

“Don't bother trying to make him understand,” I interrupted. “Gabriel has his mind already made up about me.”

“Gabriel?” Sarah's face took on an awe-struck cast.
“Gabriel?”

“Not that Gabriel,” he said, looking annoyed. “What is it with you mortals? Is there only one Gabriel you know?”

Sarah nodded, disappointment rife in her eyes.

“This Gabriel is a cherub,” I said, catching sight of a familiar form skulking along the edge of a building, staying well into the shadows. “And not a particularly nice one. Come on, Carol, we have a little business with some friends of yours.”

“I could make a comment about your niceness as well, virtue,” Gabriel called after us as we left him. “But I am too much a cherub to do so!”

“What's his problem?” Sarah asked in a whisper, glancing over her shoulder at him.

“He's a bit pissed that I refused to let him seduce me. Or so I gather—honestly, it could be just about anything. I may have breached some sort of Court etiquette or something, and offended him. I've never felt so out of my depths in my life.”

“I wouldn't worry about it.” Sarah gave me a reassuring pat on the arm. “Gabriel may be a handsome devil, but he's no Theo.”

“Indeed he isn't.”

Theo's eyes were shaded by the brim of his hat, but I could see the light color of his irises even before I got up close to him.

Not a good sign.

“I don't suppose you'd care to explain just why you felt it necessary to kidnap someone when we're attempting to clear your name of a murder charge?” Theo asked.

“I told her it wasn't a good idea,” Sarah piped in. “But you know how Portia is—once she has a goal in mind, she moves heaven and earth to achieve it. It must be all that science stuff—she's so linear in the way she thinks.”

“She can be,” Theo said, his gaze darkening into something expressing less displeasure and more thoughtfulness. “Which leads me to believe that I might owe her an apology after all. It's been my experience that Portia doesn't look before leaping, so to speak.”

“Thank you, I will graciously accept your apology. Is there a mare or two around we can speak with? I think they're going to find Carol very interesting.”

Theo gave the bound woman a long look.
Who is this?

Milo's wife, Carol Lee.

Theo waited for more. I smiled into his head.
Don't you recognize her? She's an old friend of yours.

His eyes narrowed as he looked her over more closely. She jerked convulsively, trying to break my hold on her bound arms, her eyes all but spitting hatred at us.

I knew the instant Theo recognized her. His eyes widened as he took a step toward her.

“I think we should let that wait for the mare,” I told him. “Are they in the library, do you know?”

“I have no idea where they are, but we will find out,” he said, stepping past us, careful not to leave the shade of the building as he hailed a young girl passing on a brightly colored bike. He had a few minutes' discussion with her, then gestured to us to follow him. “The messenger says that two of the mare are in the sanctuary.”

Carol flung herself on the ground, shrieking behind her gag. Theo simply hoisted her onto his shoulders and carried her to the area of the Court containing the offices and grand apartments.

“We have an audience,” Sarah said as we marched along. I glanced back to where she was looking. Just about everyone who had been in the town square was following behind us, with others streaming in to swell their ranks as we proceeded to the other section of the city.

This should prove to be interesting,
Theo said as we waited for the same dapifer who had taken care of us a few days before to determine if the mare would see us.
Added to what I found out while you were so industriously occupied, I believe we may have a solution.

Oh, I can't believe I didn't ask you about that! Did you talk to Terrin? What did you find out?

“Their graces the mare Irina and mare Disin have granted you an audience,” the dapifer said, his lips moving soundlessly as he eyeballed the gathered crowd behind us. “I believe the ballroom will be best. This way, please.”

What did Terrin tell you?

Have you ever heard of renascence?

Renaissance? Sure.

No, renascence.
He spelled it for me.
The concept is similar to renaissance in that both essentially mean rebirth, but in this instance its usage applies solely to the Court of Divine Blood.

In what way?
I asked as we were led to an entirely different area of the keep from where we'd been before.

It is the method by which the entire Court hierarchy is remade. The sovereign allows one renascence per millennium.

What happens to the people who are remade?
I asked, my skin crawling as thoughts of concentration camps and ethnic purging danced through my head.

They take new positions under the reformed hierarchy. It is not a mass extermination, sweetling…although the results can be nearly as devastating.

“Do we get to see the sovereign?” Sarah asked in an awe-hushed voice, drawing my attention from the dark path my thoughts had taken.

I looked around us as we made our way into the depths of the castle, noticing the surroundings with growing amazement. The word “grand” was an understatement when applied to the reception rooms. Rich ebony-edged lapis lazuli furniture jostled for room with crimson and gold chairs, settees, and opulent drapery. The walls looked like something out of an art museum, with objects adorning almost every free space: everything from chunks of rocky walls bearing faded cave paintings, to wooden triptychs depicting the medieval idea of religion scenes, to icons, both old and new.

The dapifer leading the way stopped before a pair of rococo double doors. He turned back to us, giving Sarah a frown. “The sovereign is never seen.”

“What do you mean, never seen?” Sarah looked confused. “Not seen without an appointment?”

“No, I mean that the sovereign is never seen. That is, the sovereign does not appear in the Court of Divine Blood. Their graces are waiting for you,” he continued, giving Theo and me a nod.