The Vampire's Revenge (24 page)

“We’ve been allied with William since he came to the New World,” Tobey said gravely. “Don’t throw all that away, Jack.”

“Are you threatening to cut ties with me if I go forward with what I must?” I could barely get the words out.

Iban sighed. “Let us all take a step back here. I, for one, trust Jack not to do something we will all regret. Jack, whatever you decide, just go slowly and be careful. Do you agree, Tobias?”

“Yes,” Tobey finally said. “Be careful, Jack.” I almost relaxed, but I sensed he wasn’t finished. “I’m sure I don’t have to remind you what happened when William went against his own policy and made Eleanor.”

“No,” I said. “You don’t. If it wasn’t for her, William might be here right now. I’m not likely to forget.”

“I’m glad,” Tobey said. “Good night, Jack.”

“Good-bye, my friend,” Iban said.

“Yeah. Bye,” I said.

I finally made it to my coffin, but as exhausted as I was, I couldn’t get to sleep. The events of the evening—getting the shit kicked out of me by Seth, witnessing Connie kill Ulrich, having a long-distance fight with Tobey and Iban—kept going through my head over and over.

Being the guy in charge wasn’t easy. I regretted all the times I’d given William a hard time for his decisions. He was barely gone and I already had more understanding of him and what he must have gone through than I’d had in the entirety of my existence while he was alive.

I may have slept for a couple of hours, but I finally gave up on getting a full day’s rest by eight or nine in the morning. I crawled out of my coffin, showered, and found Connie drinking coffee in the kitchen, evidently waiting for Seth to pick her up. Even though it was daytime, Deylaud and Reyha had for some reason chosen to be in human form. Deylaud sat at the table with Connie, politely answering questions about his background.

Reyha, predictably, was more standoffish, leaning against the wall in the farthest corner and twisting her long pale hair nervously. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her and her brother. In a few short weeks they’d lost William, Melaphia, and Renee. They were creatures of habit, and their world had been turned completely upside down. I was the only constant they had left, and I’d invited the woman who killed William into their home.

It would take time for them to accept Connie. When I entered the room Reyha didn’t approach me as she usually did. I’d locked her out of the vault the night before in my attempt to get some rest.

“Good morning, everybody,” I said, trying to sound as natural as possible for the twins’ sakes. I got some fresh blood from the refrigerator and poured it in a glass.

“Deylaud’s been telling me some interesting stories,” Connie said.

I turned my attention to her for the first time and noticed that she had one of her shirtsleeves rolled up and a bandage on her arm. “What happened there?” I asked.

Reyha gave a little cry and bolted from the room. Connie sat calmly, saying nothing. Deylaud was the one who spoke. “Reyha bit Connie,” he said. He couldn’t have any more shame in his voice if he had taken a bite out of her himself.

Anger flared inside me, and I started around the table after Reyha, but Connie caught my arm. “Let it be,” Connie said. “She feels bad enough already.”

“I can’t let her get away with this,” I said.

Poor Deylaud lay his head down on the table and sobbed. “Please don’t hurt her,” he said. “I couldn’t bear it.”

Connie stood up and handed me back the glass I’d slammed onto the table. “Calm down and finish your drink.”

I downed the rest of the blood in the glass, then reached for Connie’s arm. I slid the bandage away from the bite and inspected the wound.

“Wow,” Connie said. “It’s almost healed.”

I’d seen Reyha’s handiwork when she really meant business. This wound was barely a scratch in comparison, but it was probably no thanks to Reyha herself. “You must really be coming into some heavy-duty
dhampir
powers. You’re healing fast.”

Deylaud had perked up again, sensing that the danger to his littermate was over. “
Dhampirs
are supposed to have many of the powers of the blood drinker since they’re half-vampire,” he said.

I’d forgotten what a fount of information Deylaud could be. “How did you know that?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I read some of Melaphia’s texts on the matter, but she took them with her when she left. That’s about all I know.”

Connie asked him a few questions and they compared notes, figuratively speaking. Deylaud didn’t know much more than she did except for the healing thing. When Connie asked him to let her know if he remembered anything else, he gave her a quizzical look. I explained to her that he had perfect recall, and he never forgot a thing. His brain was a treasure trove of information—some useless, some vital.

“If he says that’s all he knows, that’s pretty much the end of it,” I said. “I’m glad the bite’s almost healed, but I still have to talk to Reyha.”

“Let me do it, Jack. Please?” Deylaud begged. “I know I can make her see the error of her ways.”

Connie tossed the bandage into the trash and rolled her sleeve back down. “No harm, no foul,” she said. “I have a feeling that was just something she had to get out of her system. Let Deylaud talk to her. Give her the rest of the day to think about what she did. Then we’ll have a heart-to-heart.”

I sighed. “All right. Deylaud, just make sure she understands that her new job is to protect Connie, not be a danger to her.”

“I’ll make sure,” Deylaud said, and excused himself. “We have to change. We’ve been in human form too long in the daylight. After she bit Connie, I forced Reyha to change into human form so that we could reason things out. She was mortified by what she’d done. But I’ll talk to her again before the transformation.”

“Changing twice in so short a time must be pretty stressful for them,” Connie said.

“Yeah, it’s a brutal process.”

“Speaking of stress, shouldn’t you be asleep right now? Yesterday was a pretty rough one for you.”

“I couldn’t sleep. It was no use. I just had to get up.” I started when she touched my chin again. I was going to have to tell her to stop touching me. Maybe I’d get around to that one day.

“You hardly healed at all last night. Is that because you didn’t sleep?”

“Yeah. We need sleep to heal.”

Suddenly there was a crash at the front door. I could smell gasoline. I ran toward the foyer, but had to stop in my tracks. Light was streaming from the panes around the door, because the drapes were pulled back in the daytime.

I staggered back into the kitchen, helpless as Connie ran out the door past me. The twins, in canine form, flew down the stairs and outside after her. When I heard human screams and the snarling of the dogs I nearly lost it. I stuck my head into the foyer to try and see what was happening on the lawn. I came away with a stabbing pain in my eyes for my trouble.

“Connie!” I yelled at the open door, but the only thing I heard was more shrieking and growling. Thank the gods the human voice wasn’t Connie’s. But neither was the snapping and snarling all the twins either. Who was out there and what the hell was happening?

I tried again to look out the open door, but burned my face and eyes even worse. I ran blindly to the sink to splash water on my face, trying to think what to do. I heard Mole come up the stairs from the vault. He’d evidently had a hard time sleeping as well. He froze when he got to the kitchen doorway.

“What’s happened?”

“I think it was a Molotov cocktail by the smell of it. Since it’s daylight, Diana must have hired some thug to firebomb us. She couldn’t do it herself.”

“Is the house on fire?”

“I don’t think so. The smoky smell is getting weaker.”

When the screams and snarls started again, Mole clasped his hands to his chest. “What’s happening now?”

“By the sound of it, I’d say somebody’s getting their ass chewed off.”

“Is Connie out there?”

“Yeah, and if she doesn’t come through that door pretty soon and tell me what’s happening I’m going to lose my mind.”

I grabbed the end of the linen tablecloth and pulled. A cup and saucer flew across the room along with the salt and pepper shakers. I soaked the cloth in the sink and was wrapping it around me when Seth burst in carrying Reyha. Deylaud followed literally on Seth’s heels and Connie was right behind them.

“Give me that wet cloth,” Seth said as he laid Reyha on the table. I could see now that she was badly burned along her right flank. I quickly spread the cold cloth over the burn. She yelped but quieted quickly, settling into a rapid pant, her eyes wild. Deylaud circled the table, whining.

“She saved the house, and us,” Connie said.

“What happened?” I asked.

“I saw it all,” Seth said. “I parked and got out of the truck just in time to see a guy throw a bottle of gasoline with a rag wick against the front of the house. Reyha ran right through the fire and her coat caught, but she didn’t even slow down.”

Connie took up the story. “Deylaud and Reyha raced past me and jumped on the guy. They were chewing him up pretty good by the time I got there. I ripped down the curtains and beat out the fire.”

Seth continued, “I joined Reyha and Deylaud to finish off that guy.”

“Did you change?” I asked, dumbstruck. “It’s daylight out there. Did anybody see you?”

“I didn’t have to change,” Seth said with a murderous look. “It was over in seconds. Nobody saw. There wasn’t even any traffic. But there
is
a body under that tarp by your back door. It’s in several pieces. You’re going to need a Hefty bag.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Mole said, retreating toward the vault.

“Good,” I said, pointing to the pantry where the garbage bags were. “Put the bag outside the door to the vault that leads to the tunnels. When you get finished, get back in the coffin. You’re going to need your rest. I’ll take care of the body from there.” Mole hurried to do as I’d told him.

“Who the hell was that?” Seth asked.

“That was Mole,” Connie said. “Long story.” She went to Reyha’s side and stroked her head. The injured sighthound licked her hand.

I bent down so Reyha could see me. “Thank you, girl. You’re going to be all right.” I mentally thanked the gods I hadn’t punished her.

Reyha’s gentle eyes fixed on mine for a moment before rolling upward.

Seth felt for a pulse in Reyha’s neck. “She’s in shock,” he said. “We’re losing her!”

Twenty

“Get that cold, wet cloth off her,” Connie said. “She needs to be warm.”

Seth carried Reyha to the den and laid her on the floor. The front door was closed, so I was able to follow them by dodging the sunlight coming from the windows. Connie and Seth wrapped a couple of throw blankets around Reyha and we all gathered around her.

“Do they heal as fast as other shape shifters?” Seth asked.

“Yeah. Especially when they stay in animal form. Just like wereanimals,” I said.

“Good. Then she’ll survive the burns if she survives the shock,” Seth said.

Deylaud hovered over his sister and began to howl. I gathered him into my arms to comfort him.

“What do we do?” Connie asked.

“Look, I know a vet that can be trusted. He’s a werewolf himself. I’m going to take her there.” Seth picked up Reyha, and Connie and I helped wrap the blankets tightly around her. “Can you come with me?” Seth asked Connie.

“Yeah. Jack should go back to, uh, bed anyway.”

“Call us on your cell when you know something,” I called after them. I made a mental note to get a replacement cell phone since mine was still at the bottom of the river.

I held fast to Deylaud when he tried to follow them and walked him back into the kitchen. He whined and fretted while I stroked his head.

I was never sure how much Deylaud understood when he was in dog form, or even if he remembered once he changed back into a human being. I needed to talk to Deylaud the young man right now, but I didn’t know what it would cost him to shape shift yet again. “Deylaud, look at me,” I said, gently cradling his narrow head my hands. “I need to talk to you. Do you understand? I need you to be human now. Can you do that without hurting yourself?”

By way of an answer, Deylaud’s slender body convulsed and the shape-shifting process began. I always had a hard time watching the change. It was brutal, painful. I don’t know how they did it twice a day. I know the twins—and Seth, too, for that matter—considered their dual nature a blessing. I’m afraid I would consider it more of a curse than being a vampire.

When he was transformed, Deylaud opened a cabinet for some clothing, but started talking immediately. “Is she going to be all right, Jack?” he asked as he pulled on his pants and a sweatshirt. “Please tell me she’s going to live. I don’t know what I would do without her.”

“Seth’s going to make sure she gets the help she needs,” I said as soothingly as I could. “I’m sure she’s going to be fine.”

“What can I do?” he asked, still frantic, putting on his socks and shoes. “I should have gone with them.”

“I need you here,” I said. “I’m going to have to go back to the coffin, but I want you to wake me the minute you hear anything about Reyha, understand?”

“Yes, Jack,” he said.

“I need you to stay in human form in case one of the neighbors called the police. If anyone—the police or someone else—comes to the door asking about what happened here, tell them there was a prowler, but you ran him off.”

“What if they ask me for a description?”

“Tell them you didn’t get a good look at him. Act really calm and say everything’s under control. Explain that you work for Mr. Thorne and that he’s in Europe.”

Deylaud nodded. “I get all that, but what if the evil ones send someone else? What will I do?”

“Get on the phone to Tarney down at the docks. Tell him to send one of William’s men over there to act as a security guard. But I doubt Diana will send anyone else. They won’t expect me to stay here.”

“What? What do you mean?” Deylaud looked alarmed. “You’re not leaving, are you?”

“No. She won’t be expecting me to stay here, so that means I can. I’ll use reverse psychology on her.”