Jessica chuckled. The sound warmed Clarissa’s heart. “And what do you have planned for me when you have me alone at home, vampire?”
“You’ll have to wait and find out, my love.” She kissed the sensitive palm and noticed a thrill race through Jessica’s body. “Now it’s time to rest. We can talk some more later.” Having her family so close and the thumping of their rhythmic heartbeats so familiar and soothing, Clarissa closed her eyes and let her mind wander.
“You’re not sleeping,” Jessica said after a while.
Clarissa smiled, her eyes still closed. “Maybe because I’m not really tired and I’m more worried about you.” Crap! That slipped out unchecked. Maybe Jess was right and she needed some rest.
There was a long silence. “Why are you worried about me?”
“I’m worried that you would never believe that Raven is safe with us and that this episode was just a one-off incident.” She opened her eyes and met the tear-filled ones of her lover.
“Was it though? Can you assure me that something like this won’t happen again?” A tear spilled over and ran down her cheek. “Can you, Rissa?”
“I can’t, but what I can tell you, is that we know who our enemy is. We also know what brought this about.” Clarissa sat up and wiped the tears from Jessica’s cheek. “I can also promise you that with what we know, our children…” she cupped Raven’s head. “Raven, will be better protected.”
Jessica turned her face into the pillow and sobbed softly. It broke Clarissa’s heart to see her usually levelheaded partner like this. But Jessica needed to get it out. She needed to untangle the fear that had become knotted inside her body. Crying was a healthy cure. She laid her hand on the dark head and sat in silence as Jessica began to heal. Emotionally drained and with the tension of the past few days taking its toll, Jessica soon drifted off into a deep slumber.
†
Lake raced through the jungle, not caring about the branches that slapped her in the face and everywhere. In truth, she welcomed the sting of the whacks. She deserved the pain, no matter how small. She stopped outside the village. It was quiet, but the guards seemed to be on alert. The shaman stood by the communal fire. To Lake, he looked exceedingly troubled and tired. She stepped out of the forest and noticed him stiffen slightly. His eyes never left her as she walked over to him. The guards began to circle her, but a tired looking hand gesture from the shaman had them fall back.
“How can I help you, senõrita?” he asked quietly. He was a shadow of the arrogant man who had challenged her to battle earlier. The queen was quite effective in adjusting attitudes. She had witnessed it twice in the last few hours. To think that she had dodged that bullet—largely, thanks to an incredibly brave Syria standing up for her. She had tracked the woman with the sole purpose of killing her, only to come face to face with a totally different version of her archenemy. A woman, who protected a group of humans almost to the cost of losing her own life. One, who stood up for her against possibly the deadliest creature alive. Lake swallowed hard. And here she was, trying to take a coward’s way out. If maybe she could be half as brave and selfless as Syria, she could help give meaning to her beloved father’s memory.
“I made a wrong turn on my evening walk,” she said finally and turned to leave.
The moment she entered the forest, she felt the presence. Powerful, but not threatening. She froze. A few feet up ahead, the Golden Prince stepped out of the shadows. For a moment all they did was stare at each other. Lake had not met the man before yesterday evening and bumping into him here in the dark, was rather unsettling. She had felt his eyes on her several times over the past few hours. She had hoped not to find herself in a position like the one she was in with Copernicus. Her intention had been to get close to the man so she could have her revenge, but things had turned out much worse than she had planned. It started with her having to sleep with the brute, which had been the hardest thing she ever had to do. Her plans, disappointedly, ended with her human death. Lake had never thought she would have to go through that again. But the sight of the man standing a few feet away was a grim indication that something was about to go down. The man moved closer and Lake took a battle stance. She knew it was a futile endeavor, since the prince was a very powerful being. He came to stop before her, his eyes unexpectedly warm.
“I will never hurt you, cherie. I give you my word.”
She searched his eyes and only relaxed when he took a step back. Not that it was much of a reassurance. The Royals were exceptionally quick. If he wanted to attack, she wouldn’t see him coming.
“What can I do to make you relax, while I talk to you?”
She blinked. He wanted to talk to her? About what? They didn’t even know each other. But if he wanted to talk to her, then she wasn’t going to do it in the dark, without any witnesses around.
“Can we go back to the cave?”
“Definitely. Shall we walk together?” His eyes were serious. “Or would you rather I meet you outside the cave?”
Before she could respond, several footsteps sounded. They both melted into the shadows. The footsteps came closer and stopped almost right opposite them.
“We shouldn’t go into the village. Maybe we should…”
Lake stepped out the shadows. “Hello, again.” The men spun around with their weapons drawn. She held up her hands. “Remember me?”
A man stepped forward. “Yes, we do. We’re here for Syria. Where is she?”
Lake glanced at Pierre. She blinked when she couldn’t see him. Where did he disappear to? She turned back to the men. “She was injured by those creatures. Friends of ours came to the rescue, but we could do with a boat ride across the river.”
“And Mr. Bohme?”
She shrugged. “He’s staying over at the village with the shaman.”
The soldier frowned. “We can’t leave him here.”
Soldiers and their misplaced loyalty. “What do you suggest?”
He turned to the group and another man stepped forward. “We’ll take you across the river and then we’ll come back for Mr. Bohme.”
She stared at the man. They were not going to make it back alive and she told them so. The men seemed to hesitate before they huddled together. They spoke in low voices and Lake eavesdropped shamelessly. They planned to go in with guns blazing. She sighed as she forced herself to remain silent. The men finally broke apart and the soldier turned to her.
“If you can lead us to where Syria is, we could take you across the river before we go after Mr. Bohme.”
She nodded. She could sense the presence of the others nearby. “It’s not far from here.” They followed her into the forest. “I must warn you though, that Syria looks terrible. Those lizard things had poisoned her when they scratched her.” She turned a corner and came upon the group. Pierre, Leo and Izaura were kneeling around Syria’s prone form. The soldiers immediately approached.
“Oh man, Syria, we were only gone a few hours,” one of the soldiers said as he looked down at Syria. “What the hell did you do to yourself?”
Lake looked on as the man touched Syria with obvious reverence. The other members of the team also joined them.
“It’s good to see you again, Harry,” Syria said with a weak smile.
“We need to get you away from here. The others are waiting at the boat.”
Izaura stepped closer. “Just be careful not to jostle her too much.”
“Copy that, ma’am,” Harry said as he handed his weapons to one of his men and gently lifted Syria in his arms.
†
Tahlia watched as the men carried Syria away. She shook her head at the awe she sensed from the men as they closed ranks around Syria.
“Do you think it will work?”
“I don’t know. I really hope so.” She turned to Jonas. “Do you think I was convincing?”
Jonas shrugged. “Izaura was not happy that you dropped her. I’m sure she will make her displeasure known to me in the very near future. Nonetheless
, I think I’ll survive.”
Tahlia grimaced. “Yes, I stuck around to make sure that I didn’t hurt her too much.”
“You should’ve seen Lake’s face. She was quick to come to Syria’s rescue.”
The sound of soft chuckling made them both glance over at Paloma. The assassin was looking at them with sparkling eyes. “You two tried to play matchmakers?” She shook her head. “I would’ve loved to see you both at work.”
“All we need to do is wait and see,” Jonas said as he followed Tahlia into the forest, Paloma’s taunting laughter still following them.
Maybe she should’ve asked Jemima’s help with this, first. She prayed she wasn’t reading the signs wrong and causing more trouble in the process.
†
“Thank you for coming back.”
Harry grinned. “If needed, we would’ve swum across to come get you.” He looked around and then back at her. “Thank you for saving our lives. We saw you leading those creatures away from us.” His eyes were serious. “You saved all our lives, Syria. We owe you for that.”
Syria didn’t know how to respond to that, so she kept quiet. She closed her eyes, listening to the night sounds around them and trying her hardest to ignore the sound of blood rushing through the man’s veins. She was so incredibly hungry. After losing almost half of her blood, her body was screaming for it to be replenished. The only way to do that was to feed on fresh blood and lots of it. But they would be back to civilization soon. The anonymity of a big town like Iquitos would be great for that. The boat came into view. It was one of the river taxis and could hold up to thirty passengers. The other men came over and Syria recognized Jeremy. He smiled down at her.
“Jeez, Syria, you look like crap. What happened?”
“It’s a long story.”
Jeremy took in the three other vampires. “Uh, who are the other guys?”
“My friends.”
She noticed Jeremy’s discomfort as he took in the towering frames of Pierre and Leo. “They look like they can really take care of themselves.”
She smiled faintly. “They can. I doubt the shaman will bother anyone anytime soon.”
“So, it’ll be safe to go get Mr. Bohme then?” Harry asked as he got onto the boat and helped her into her seat.
Syria frowned. “You want to go back to the village?”
“The man paid for our services and our bosses will expect us to finish the job.”
“Even after what he tried to do?” Not that she wanted to see the man dead…yet, but it wasn’t always that she got a chance to be around humans. Every opportunity was a learning prospect for her.
Harry grimaced. “Even then. To be honest, most of our clientele will never ever win a Congeniality contest, but they pay the bills.”
It was a win-win situation, then. She doubted she would see them again after tonight, but even then, she didn’t think they would be safe walking into a village filled with cannibals. She was too weak to help, but maybe she could ask someone to…
“I’ll accompany them.”
She turned her head and met Lake’s gaze. The woman’s beautiful face was expressionless. “I can see you’re worried about them, so, I’ll go with them to retrieve Copernicus.”
Their gazes held for a moment, before Syria nodded. She didn’t know exactly why Lake offered to do this, but at least having a vampire in their midst, would be a great advantage for the men.
“Thank you for offering, ma’am, but I’m sure we’ll cope,” Harry said quickly. “Now that we know what we’re up against, we’ve come prepared.”
“I know, but my friend has a certain set of skills that will come in very handy. Better to have her with you and not need her; than to need her and not have her.”
The men looked at each other and a long wordless conversation was conducted. In the end, they agreed to take Lake with them. Izaura took a seat next to her, with Pierre and Leo sliding in behind them. With the aisle dividing them, Syria knew that any conversation with Lake would not be private, but there were things she needed to say. She wasn’t sure if Lake would return with them or simply disappear after she had helped the men.
“Thank you for offering to do this,” she said awkwardly.
Lake didn’t look at her as spoke. “No problem.”
The boat began to move. It would take them less than five minutes to reach the opposite bank.
“I have so much I want to tell you…to explain.”
The blue eyes, when they met hers, were unreadable. “Izaura and the Assassin filled me in already.”
“But not everything, I take it?” The blonde shook her head. “I want the chance to tell you everything.”
“Why?”
“Because you deserve the truth. And because I owe you an apology.”
The silence on the boat was rather loud and Syria knew that everyone was listening in on their conversation. She rubbed over her face, feeling the scragginess. Her cheeks were hollowed out and her eyes were sunken deep in their sockets. She couldn’t ask a woman to come to her hotel room when she looked like the reaper. She turned to Lake, having decided to give her and out, when she noticed the woman already looking at her.
“I’ll come find you after we’ve completed the mission. In the meantime, I suggest you rest.”
Syria blinked and then she smiled. “Thank you. I’ll be waiting for you.”
Just then, the motor stopped and Syria realized that they’d reached the opposite bank. As she was helped off the boat, Lake was looking straight ahead, avoiding eye contact. The spurt of joy Syria had felt at that moment, fizzled out and was replaced by a hope that Lake would keep her word and find her later.
†
Inger tested the water and when she was satisfied that it was the right temperature, she pulled her negligee over her head. She walked into the bedroom and scooped Isis up into her arms and carried her to the bath. She lowered them both into the tub and immediately the baby reached for the bubbles.
“I knew you’d like the bubbles, honey. That’s why mommy put a lot of them in here.” Inger placed Isis on her chest and began to heap foam on top of Isis to the delight of the baby. The tot deserved being spoiled after the courageous way she survived the past traumatic hours. “Now we don’t have too much time left before the water turns cold, so we better make the best of what we have.” She reached for the bubble wand and blew a few large bubbles that had the baby squeal with glee as she tried to catch them. A bubble managed to slip through Isis’ messy defense to land on the tip of her nose. The blue eyes grew wide in shock and then became crossed as she tried to look at the bubble. Inger tried to see what her resourceful baby would do. Chubby little hands cautiously began to grab the air in a clumsy attempt to reach the bubble, but to no avail. The baby’s face scrunched up, but an unexpected breeze sent the bubble floating where it smashed against the wall.
Both Inger and Isis turned to the door. A damp-looking Paloma stood in the doorway, watching them.
“Look, pumpkin, it’s your sexy mama to the rescue.” Her eyes took in the form of her wife with interest. It was great to see Paloma again. “Hi, honey.”
“Hi. Is there room for one more in there?”
Inger licked suddenly dry lips. “Always.” She watched with rapt fascination as Paloma started undressing. “You’re dripping wet.”
Paloma glanced at Inger as she kicked off her shoes. “Almost, beloved.” She chuckled when Inger blushed deeply. “Your mother made us swim through the Amazon River.” She stood, fully naked. “Where do you want me?”
Inger leaned forward so Paloma could squeeze in behind her. Almost immediately, Isis clambered over her to get to Paloma. The vampire’s face softened as she kissed the slippery baby and returned the hug. Inger looked on as her two blondes adoringly reunited after thirty-six hours apart.
Her daughter was exceptionally close to Paloma. It reminded her of her own relationship with her mother. Tahlia was an incomparable parent, loving and infinitely patient.
They were both so lucky to have Paloma. She reached out and ran her fingertips down the smooth skin of her wife.
“I love you, vampire.”
The silver eyes sparked and Inger rejoiced in the love she saw in them.
IXX
Copernicus gagged at the sight of the meal and quickly turned his head away. He was famished, but there was no way that he was eating that. Mopi’helma grinned at him as he ate, washing a bit of grilled monkey meat down with Hennessey. What a paradox! And speaking of absurdities, it was time for him to get out of here.
“When can I leave?”
“Why, senõr? Are we not treating you well?” He pointed at the plate with some greenish paste and the monkey meat. “We fed and hosted you.”
He wanted to scream in frustration. Mopi’helma knew what he was saying. Now that his plan had been foiled by none other than the queen herself, he was ready to return to civilization. To his soft Egyptian cotton sheets and 12 000-dollar suits. He didn’t belong here.
“You know what I mean,” he said firmly. “If you want your money, then I need to get to the lodge so I can wire it to you.”
The man nodded. “I understand.” He returned to his meal, leaving Copernicus to fume in silence. Was he a hostage? Was that it? He looked at the shaman with new eyes. It wasn’t about the Royals at all. Had he willingly placed his faith in the hands of a serial kidnapper?
The shaman looked up. “I see you have connected the dots, Senõr Bohme.”
“You bloody…”
Mopi’helma held his hand up. “No need for such language, senõr. You came here of your own free will. There are many people who can attest to you having sought me out yourself.”
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