Ivy nodded and relaxed her grip. “All right then, give the man ten minutes, and if you don’t think he can help, you can do whatever you want with him.”
“Hey, wait a minute.” Colin took a step back. “I didn’t agree to that.”
Ivy shrugged. “It was sort of implied when you got in the van.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“You don’t have a choice. I’d suggest you start explaining.” Ivy crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him with an expectant expression on her face. “We don’t have all night, you know.”
Riah raised an eyebrow and stared at him too. Against her better judgment, she’d humor Ivy and give him ten minutes. “That’s a very good suggestion.” She looked up pointedly at the clock on the far wall.
Colin looked from Ivy to Riah, then held up his hands. “Okay, okay. My name is Colin Jamison.”
“And you’re one of the church’s vampire hunters.” Riah didn’t mean to sound bitter but couldn’t help it. Five hundred years of hiding from his kind didn’t exactly nurture feelings of goodwill. Talk about vampires being killers, these guys came in droves and they killed first, asked questions later. They always struck her as more than a bit hypocritical.
“I’m the last vampire hunter,” he said pointedly.
Okay, now that did surprise her. When she was turned, it seemed as though there were as many hunters as vampires. Possibly more. Of course things change, especially when it involves a time period of five centuries or so, give or take. Still, it seemed impossible to Riah the man could be the last hunter. Then again…
“The church having trouble recruiting these days?”
“No.”
She tilted her head and studied him. A handsome man, his eyes told her he’d seen the black side of the universe. Like her, darkness had touched his soul somewhere along the line and left its undeniable mark. Still, she didn’t understand why he now stood alone in a crusade as old as the church itself.
“Explain.” Riah could hardly wait to hear this story.
He told her then of an army of soldiers that the church recruited to hunt down and destroy all who had been turned to the darkness. He told her of the battles and the victories. Some she knew of. Some she didn’t. He held back nothing, including their failures, and by the time his words trailed off, she was astonished.
“You’re telling me your church has wiped out all but two of us?”
Riah would call few vampires her friend, yet theirs was a world insulated because of their fundamental difference to mortals. It made them all a strange sort of family. She’d know if they were all gone, wouldn’t she? Yet, if he was to be believed, they were indeed. Had she removed herself that completely from the world of vampires?
Colin Jamison nodded slowly. “Actually, three, counting yourself. I wasn’t aware of you.”
“What are their names? The other two.” Riah was almost afraid to find out. Though she despised her dark existence, to think so few were left gave her a feeling of loneliness. It was one thing to choose to be alone; it was another altogether to find herself an endangered species.
“The one I’ve tracked here, the same one who killed Jorge, is known only as Destiny. She’s a beautiful woman with pale hair and green eyes. She’s also deadly. The other, we know very little about, other than she was the last child of Henry VII. He announced to the world that the infant, known as Princess Catherine, died at birth. The truth was, his wife died in childbirth and the king, not interested in raising another daughter, willingly gave her up in a game of cards. A favored duke, childless and wanting to please his wife, took the infant and raised her as his own. Catherine was turned after a nighttime raid on her carriage, and we’ve been hunting her ever since.”
The tension in her shoulders returned and a knot formed in her stomach. “Where is she?”
Colin shook his head. “I don’t know. Once I’ve destroyed Destiny, I’ll hunt her down and take her head.”
“And what about me?”
He looked troubled, and it was a moment before he answered. “Again, I don’t know. You’re a surprise in more ways than one. If I’m to believe what Ivy’s told me, we’re on the same team.”
“Yet I’m the very thing you hunt. What you’re sworn to destroy.”
His green eyes narrowed. “Indeed. Let’s finish this hunt, take out Destiny, and see how the universe shapes up from there.”
Riah raised an eyebrow. “Very philosophical for a hunter.”
Colin shrugged. “Hey, it’s the twenty-first century, and although your friend here accuses me of being a closed-minded jerk, I prefer to call myself enlightened.”
She wasn’t sure what to think. At the same time, her heart pushed her toward trust. Truthfully, Riah was tired. Five centuries was a long time. It was about time for something to give, somewhere. Perhaps together with her friends, she’d find what she’d been seeking, or perhaps it was simply time to end her existence on this planet. Colin Jamison might very well take the problem right out of her hands.
She studied Ivy and Colin for a long moment before she made up her mind. It might be stupid but, oh, well. “Let’s get to work.” She headed to the table where Jorge’s body twitched, the black plastic bag moving as though filled with a dozen snakes.
Chapter Seven
“Oh, shit…” Ivy’s stomach took a huge lurch and she quickly made the sign of the cross.
Riah didn’t even look up, her voice tense. “If you can’t handle this, leave now.” She yanked the zipper, the sound machine-gun loud in the tiled room.
Oh, yeah, she so needed to leave and couldn’t. Once upon a time, she’d loved Jorge and married him on a beautiful June afternoon in front of all their family and friends. So handsome in the black tux with the crisp white shirt, he’d smiled radiantly when he looked up to see her coming down the center aisle of the church in her long white gown and filmy veil. How his dark eyes had sparkled. Whatever else might have happened between them, Jorge had loved her, and for that alone she owed it to him to be here.
She took in a huge breath and let it out slowly. “I can do it,” she said firmly, and hoped it was the truth.
“Hey.” A muffled voice came from the other side of the locked door.
“Let her in.”
Colin, the closest to the door, turned the lock. Immediately it banged open and Adriana flew through like a flash of dark lightning. He locked the door again before coming to stand beside Ivy.
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” she said in a rush before skidding to a halt, her gaze flying from Riah and Ivy to Colin. “Did I miss something here?”
“You’ve missed quite a lot,” Riah told her bluntly. “Right now, you need to get the samples and quickly. Explanations will have to wait until later.”
“Sure thing, Boss.” Adriana whirled around to one of the counters and began to unpack her case.
“I can hold him,” Ivy said as she pulled handcuffs from her pockets. The steel felt ice-cold.
Gently, Colin tried to take the handcuffs out of her grasp. “Let me.”
She started to protest, her fingers curling around the metal cuffs so tight that her fingers turned white. “I can do it.”
“Of course you can,” he said softly, still pulling on the handcuffs in her iron grip. “But tonight, I’ll do this one.”
“Let him, Ivy.”
Riah’s words were gentle though commanding. Slowly Ivy relaxed her hold and Colin took the cuffs from her. While she kept her eyes on the quivering black body bag, she stumbled backward until the solidity of the cabinets at her back steadied her. At least something in the world was solid tonight.
Everything else was surreal. Kind of like a crappy B movie where fog rolls in and everyone knows what’s about to happen but pretends they don’t. She’d assisted any number of times securing a body to the table as it began to turn. It was difficult to remember how many times she’d watched as Adriana collected samples and Riah sent a soul to heaven befor
e it could be sentenced to hell. In an odd way, it had become a familiar routine for the three of them. But every other time, it involved a stranger. Tonight this was no stranger on Riah’s sterile table, and as things began to unfold, Ivy’s skin grew cool and her hands began to shake.
Adriana’s needle pierced the wounds on Jorge’s neck and the vials filled quickly with deep crimson blood. Done with those, she moved to his arms where, once more, vials were filled. The faint, metallic scent of blood wafted through the air and, for the first time ever, she had to stifle the urge to gag. Stars flickered before her eyes and her body trembled. Oh, no…she wasn’t going to faint.
The inhuman roar exploding from Jorge’s throat seemed to come from somewhere in the distance. Adriana jumped back and almost dropped the half-full vial in her hand. Only Riah and Colin remained calm. Darkness tinged the edge of Ivy’s vision just as a wooden spike appeared in Riah’s hand.
She came to on the sofa in Riah’s private office. A damp cloth was pressed to her forehead and Colin sat on a chair pulled next to the sofa. His gaze was on her face and he held one of her hands in both of his.
“How do you feel?” he asked her softly.
“Like crap.” No lie there, though totally fucked-up would be more accurate.
He smiled and the worry lines disappeared. “Crap is good.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
“Easy for you to say. You didn’t just watch your undead ex get impaled with a wooden stake.” She shivered and felt like an icy hand squeezed her heart.
“You sorta missed that part.”
“True, I guess I did, but I’ve seen it enough times to know exactly what happened. I can still see it in my head as clear as can be.” She wasn’t sure she’d ever get the image of a stake going through Jorge’s heart out of her head even if she didn’t actually see it.
Colin’s hand was warm as he laid it against her cheek. “If you were feeling better, I could tell you lots of stories that would make what just happened look like a day at the park.”
She shivered again. “I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but I’m not sure it’s working.”
He shrugged and offered her a slight smile. “Kinda new at this comforting thing.”
Ivy pushed up to a sitting position and was surprised to hear her own soft laugh. “Well, you’re not too bad for a rookie.”
The fact was, coming to with this handsome man holding her hand was pretty okay. He calmed her and the warmth of his touch was reassuring. Perhaps, in all the insanity, to have someone else get it made her feel a little less crazy.
Riah and Adriana entered just as Ivy swung her legs around and put her feet on the floor. It felt better to be sitting upright and connected to something solid. Colin shifted and turned toward the incoming duo, the chair legs squeaking loudly in protest as they scraped across the floor. She’d have liked to protest too. The moment he moved away from her, calm fled and nervous energy roared back in. It wasn’t like the arrival of the others rattled her. No, it was more like she needed him close to keep her grounded.
“Did you tell her?” Ivy asked Riah, who nodded. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been out and what she’d missed in the meantime.
“Yeah,” Adriana said. “I’m up to speed on the great white vampire hunter here.”
Colin’s brow wrinkled. “You’re not a very complimentary bunch, are you?”
Ivy put a hand on his arm and liked the way it felt there. “We’ve seen too much strange and dangerous crap to get worked up over one little vampire hunter.”
He tilted his head and looked at Ivy. “Little vampire hunter? Little?”
She just smiled and shrugged. “It’s all relative, you know.”
“Besides,” Riah added. “Despite what I feel about people like you, we can use your help. Provided, however, you don’t try any of your weapons on me. Attempt to take my head, and it’ll seriously piss me off.”
“People like me?” Colin’s voice grew soft, and it wasn’t a comforting sound.
“I thought you guys agreed to a truce?” Adriana looked genuinely scared and Ivy didn’t blame her. All of a sudden, tension seemed to crackle in the room like the air right before a lightning storm.
Colin met Ivy’s eyes and something flickered. She could almost feel him relax. “We did and I’ll certainly honor my word.” His gaze shifted to Riah.
Riah studied him for a long moment, then nodded. “As will I,” she added as she sank to the chair behind her desk and looked over at Adriana. “So tell us what you’ve got.”
Riah’s gaze was riveted on Adriana now, and at first Ivy didn’t think anything of it. At first. She took a second look and narrowed her eyes. Well, I’ll be damned.
Between the time she left here last night and now, something definitely had occurred between the two women. Adriana never hid her feelings, while Riah always seemed oblivious. Sure, they were friends and colleagues in this battle against darkness—just nothing beyond that. Until now. Something in the looks passing between them tonight wasn’t the same as yesterday. Oh, yeah, something was up in River City all right, and she’d so be cornering Riah a little later.
Adriana grabbed an empty chair and quickly pulled it close to Riah’s desk. “Well, I’d like to say I found the cure,” she said in a rush, her small hands moving as she talked.
Riah’s face fell just a little. “You said you’d discovered something promising.”
Adriana patted Riah. Her hand lingered a little too long on Riah’s, or so it seemed to Ivy. Very interesting.
“Hey, don’t be discouraged. I’ve made a lot of important ground by successfully separating the proteins and isolating what I believe is the one responsible for the vampirism. That’s some serious shit, girlfriend.”
“You know what causes this thing?” Disbelief rang in Colin’s voice. The look in his eyes said he was far from being a believer.
“Damn straight,” Adriana said proudly. She sat up in her chair. “Looks can be deceiving, pal. I’m more than just a pretty face and a hot bod.” She gave him a wink.
“Undoubtedly,” Colin murmured, and Ivy thought he looked at Adriana a little differently all of a sudden.
“So what’s the problem?” This was from Riah.
Adriana turned back to her. “Bottom line is, I can find the cause, but I just can’t isolate the cure. I’m now twelve generations in and I really thought I had it this time. At least until I tried it on the blood samples from yesterday’s vic. Every blasted one went south right before I came over here.”
“So nothing,” Riah murmured.
“I’m close,” Adriana insisted. “Really close. I’ve just got to tweak the immunoglobulin a little more and I’m sure I’ll get it. One or two more generations is all. I feel it right here.” Adriana tapped her chest over her heart.
“Let me see if I understand you,” Colin said as he gazed steadily at Adriana. “You think you’re a couple of batches away from finding the cure for vampirism? Is that what I’m hearing?”
Adriana nodded, her eyes bright, her expression confident. “No wax in your ears, hunter man.”
Colin shook his head and muttered, “Son of a bitch.”
*
Riah stood at the doors and gazed out into the darkness. The security lights in the parking lot cast an orange glow over the asphalt, while shadows from the trees danced as the wind blew through the leaves. The air was fresh and clear with just a hint of freshly baked bread coming from the commercial bakery a block or so away. It was quiet now. Only Riah and one security guard.
Ivy and Colin had packed up Jorge’s body as soon as the autopsy was completed, zipping him—or what was left of him—back into the heavy black plastic. Ivy then sealed the bag and initialed it once again. Jorge was ready for the funeral home to prepare him for his final journey. The two were back on the road and heading to Moses Lake well before ten.
Riah’s heart went out to Ivy, who, while truly professional all evening, also failed to completely disgui
se her heartache. Ivy had initiated the divorce from Jorge but, all the requisite hard feelings involved with a divorce aside, she didn’t hate him. Riah even liked the jerk. He might have been a player and he might have done Ivy wrong, but his heart was basically good. Yes, he deserved the divorce. But no, he didn’t deserve to die this way.
Of course, no one deserved to die this way.
Riah shivered as she thought back on the first years of her immortality. God, what a monster she’d been in those days. If turning into a creature of the darkness hadn’t doomed her soul, certainly her actions and dedication to the life did. It didn’t matter that she’d spent hundreds of years trying to make amends. She’d cast her lot the first time she took a human life. Saint Peter would not be opening the pearly gates to let her in when her days on this earth finally ended. No, she’d be walking through an entirely different set of gates.
Riah sighed, closed her eyes, and tried to relax. Instead…she remembered.
Rodolphe was beautiful, and even as frightened as Catherine was the first night, her fear soon faded in the face of his gentle ways. Tender, helpful, and loving, he made her feel like the princess she should have been all along. She bought into his charm without fear or reservation because she loved the life he created for her.
The sound of a door at the back of the manor made Catherine sit up. She patted her hair, pleased with the intricate braids interwoven with flawless pearls. They glowed brilliant against her dark hair.
She smoothed the silk over her firm breasts and smiled. The dress was a gift from Rodolphe and she loved it more than any other. The puffed sleeves were gorgeous over the slashed lower sleeves, and the jeweled girdle at her waist was the prettiest thing she’d ever seen. The emerald green suited her and highlighted her dark hair and hazel eyes. She didn’t need a looking glass to tell her how radiant she’d become since meeting him.
From the dresser, she picked up a delicate glass bottle. The perfume he brought her from Paris was a light, lovely scent, and she dabbed it at her neck and between her breasts. Smiling, she put the stopper back into the bottle and set it once more on the polished dresser.
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