“Walk all the way around. There has to be something, right?”
“I hope so.” She did what he suggested, following the wall of bones around, but at the halfway point, she shook her head. “Nothing yet.”
“Keep looking. Or give me the locket if you want, and I’ll try.”
She turned toward him, considering that idea, and found the next sun. “I see it. It’s on the lamp pedestal. And it’s a lot bigger than the others. Our next clue must be in this room. But where?”
He walked around to the same side of the pedestal as her and held out his hand. “May I?”
She took the locket off and gave it to him. The sun disappeared.
“That is a big one.” He crouched down to look at it straight on. “I have an idea.” He got up and handed the locket back. “See if anything shows up.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Apply the kind of effort only a vampire can.” He took hold of the pedestal from behind and tipped it back, grunting a little with the effort.
She gasped as the bottom came into view. “Well done, Greyson.”
“What’s there?”
“I’m not really sure.”
Kora motioned for him to come over. “Have a look.”
He carefully laid the pedestal on its side, then came around to her side again. The shape was recognizable and painted in black so he didn’t think touching the locket was required to see it. “It’s a bull up on its rear legs.”
She nodded. “But what does that mean?”
“I have no idea.” He pulled out his cell phone and snapped some pictures. “But we can search the image and find out.”
“Hang on. I think there’s something else under there.” She went closer to look and picked something out of the dirt. “It’s a little ring set with some gems. Six altogether. Only two are the same. Looks old. I have no idea if it’s part of the clue or not, but it’s awfully coincidental that there was a piece of jewelry under this pedestal.”
“I think so, too.”
She slipped the ring on her finger as she turned to him. “I’m taking it. Better to have it than not, just in case.”
He looked at his phone. “We’ll have to get to cover soon. Sun will be up before you know it.”
She closed her eyes for a moment and looked slightly sick.
“You okay?”
She nodded and opened her eyes. “I’ll be fine.” Then she put a hand on his arm and leaned in to check the time on his phone, then muttered a soft curse. “We should probably make our way out now.”
“Agreed.” Her touch, even through the sleeve of his jacket, set small fires inside him.
She took her hand back. “Did you already get us rooms somewhere?”
“No. But I’ve got it covered.”
She didn’t protest or ask for more information, so he took that to mean she still trusted him.
He righted the pedestal, then she kicked some loose stones, bone fragments, and dirt around the base to make it look untouched.
When she was done, she put the locket around her neck again, then glanced at him. “Ready?”
“Back the way we came in?”
She nodded. “And fast.”
They were so deep in the catacombs that returning to Greyson’s secret entrance took nearly ten minutes, even at the speed they were traveling. By the time they made it back to street level, the sky was beginning to lighten.
Greyson understood Kora’s panicked look. She was probably feeling the familiar prickle of the coming sunrise on her skin. It was an early warning, and as far as he knew, all vampires felt it. Even those who were half reaper. For him, it barely registered, because the sun wasn’t an issue.
“Hurry,” she whispered. Her voice held the desperate edge of panic that was so unlike her, he imagined she was cringing inside.
Greyson wanted to pull her close in a comforting embrace. Instead, he slid the manhole cover back into its spot. “We’re only five minutes away.”
“Good.”
He started down the street opposite the way they’d entered. “Come on.”
She kept pace with him, wringing her hands together once but quickly pulling them apart again.
He led them a couple of blocks away, then walked up the steps of an average-looking apartment building that might best be described as old but clean. Exactly as it was meant to appear.
She stayed close to him as he produced a key and unlocked the door. “You know someone here?”
“I did.” He pushed the door open and went in.
She followed him up five flights of steps. The building was exceptionally quiet. On the fifth floor, he unlocked another door and led them into a beautiful apartment.
It was furnished with the kind of taste and elegance that seemed uniquely Parisian. Opulent and restrained at the same time.
Kora looked around. “Hattie would love this place. Who lives here?”
“No one.” He dropped the key on a small baroque side table. “But I own it.”
Her mouth came open in surprise. “This place is yours?”
He nodded, but her surprise produced no happiness in him. “It was left to me by my sire. This was her apartment.” The bittersweet memories that filled him brought a nostalgic smile to his mouth. “She would have liked you very much, I think.”
Kora didn’t seem to know what to say to that.
Greyson changed the subject to spare her. “The windows are all UV tinted. The whole building is. Only vampires live here.”
“That’s pretty cool.” She was still looking around. “I wonder why I never knew about this place when I lived in the city.”
“Because I keep it quiet. And I only rent to those who agree to do the same.”
Her mouth came open again. “Wait a minute. You mean you own this whole building?”
“Yes. Catherine willed it to me through the Vampire Council.” Sweet, generous Catherine.
Willing it through the Vampire Council was about the only way such things could happen when someone had been alive for centuries and had no way of providing a human will.
“She must have loved you very much.”
The bittersweet feeling returned. “She did. And I her.” He took a breath he didn’t need, but filling his lungs with the scent of this place was an indulgence he rarely got to partake of. “I never expected her to be gone as soon as she was.”
“It must be hard for you to be here. I assume it’s been a while?”
“It has been. But I’m fine. The memories here are overwhelmingly good.”
There was sympathy in her smile. He couldn’t recall ever seeing that from her before. “I’m glad.”
It was kind of her to say, but he was done talking about his past. “We should feed. There’s a butcher shop not far from here that’s been supplying the tenants of this building for as long as it’s been here. I’ll run out and get us something.”
“Okay. Do you want to text me the pictures of that bull? I can work on the image search while you’re gone.”
He took his phone out and sent her the pictures. “Done. There’s Wi-Fi. Connect to Cath1600. Password is Immortal67, capital I. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“See you in a bit, then.”
He started for the door. “Lock up behind me. And make yourself at home. Whatever you need.”
“Thank you, Greyson.”
He glanced at her before he slipped out. She was remarkably beautiful. “You’re welcome.”
Then he shut the door and went down the steps. He heard the lock being turned before he reached the fourth floor.
He wasn’t just leaving to get them sustenance. He wanted to be sure they weren’t being watched.
As he exited the building, he took a long look in both directions. The sky was bright with the rising sun. He squinted into it. Seemed brighter after time underground. The street was empty, but this had always been a quiet neighborhood, which worked well for those who rented from him.
He
turned up his jacket collar and started toward the butcher, but added a few blocks to his route just to see if he could pick up any tails.
The butcher shop was just two blocks ahead, and he was still alone. He’d been sure they were being watched in Dublin, but leaving the way they had must have done the trick.
That was all well and good, but he wasn’t dropping his guard. Not when Kora was in the mix.
He went to the shop’s back door and knocked. It was very early, but the butcher had always started his day around this time.
A couple long minutes later, an older woman in a long white coat and apron opened the door. Not who he’d expected. She looked at him blankly, then hesitant recognition filled her eyes. “You are the vampire?”
She spoke French, so he answered her the same way. “I am. You know me?”
She nodded. “You used to come here when I was a child. But not for many years. Of course, you look the same. I do not.”
Then recognition struck him as well. “Margot?”
“Oui.” She smiled timidly. “You are…Garson?”
“Greyson. Garrett.” He shook his head. He had been gone a long time. She had barely been the height of the shop’s counters when he’d last seen her. “Is Hector still here?”
“My father is retired. He and my mother moved to the coast of Spain.” Her smile took on new strength. “I run the shop now.”
“Very good. Then you know why I am here?”
“Yes. Your tenants all come.” She glanced at the sky. “Not usually at this time.”
He shrugged. “I am one of the rare immune.”
She moved out of the way. “Come in.”
He entered. “Thank you.”
“How much do you need?”
“Enough for two. Your best.” He stayed by the door, not wanting to be in her way.
She went straight to the massive refrigeration units that lined the shop’s back walls. Through a small window in the white-tiled room, he could see the shop front. The cases were dark, as she wasn’t yet open for business.
A slab of meat lay on the central cutting block, an enormous cleaver resting nearby.
A few moments later, she brought him a bleached muslin shopping bag. Inside were two brown paper-wrapped glass jars. Not everything had changed since he’d been here last. “On your account?”
“Oui, s’il vous plaît.”
She smiled. “You’re welcome, Greyson Garrett.”
With a nod, he took his leave. He wound the straps of the bag around his hand. The glass jars clinked softly against each other, the paper muting the sound.
On the way back, he kept the same watchful gaze on his surroundings as he had going to the shop, but this time he took the most direct route to the apartment. He’d been gone long enough.
As he turned the corner toward the building, the sight of a man standing near the door set his internal alarms ringing. Greyson slipped back behind the corner and watched for a moment.
The man was just standing there, hands in his jacket pockets. He made no attempt to hide himself. Instead, he looked very much like he was waiting for someone.
But who? Greyson wasn’t aware of any of his tenants being daywalkers, so the chances that this man was waiting for any of them were slim.
Could he just be meeting someone there?
Then why stand on the small landing in front of the doors? Why not stand on the street?
Only one answer came to mind. The man was waiting for someone. And that someone was Greyson.
He inhaled and picked up the scent of wolf. A shifter. Not the same one from the Dragon’s Hoard, though.
Kora was waiting. Whatever the man was up to, Greyson figured it was better just to find out.
He went around the corner and straight to the building. When he was a few feet away, he called out in French, “Who are you waiting for?”
The man answered in French. “You, I believe.”
Greyson stopped at the bottom of the steps and switched to English. “Why?”
The man hesitated before answering in the same language. “To warn you. What you are looking for? It should not be found.”
Greyson chose his next words carefully. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The man’s eyes narrowed. He slowly descended the steps to stand on the street in front of Greyson. “The power you seek will destroy more than it saves. It could even start a war.”
“Again, I don’t know what you mean.”
The man’s resolute expression was unchanged, but his eyes flared with a wolfen glow. “You have been warned. Do not make us do so again.”
“Who’s this ‘us’ you speak of?”
After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “The Brotherhood.” Then he turned and walked away.
Greyson watched him for a moment, then unlocked the door and went inside. He watched the man through the glass until he was no longer visible, then Greyson sent a quick text to Birdie, asking her for information on the Brotherhood. If anyone knew, it would be her. Or she could find out. The woman was magic that way.
With the text sent, he went up the five flights to Catherine’s apartment, all the while trying to decide what to tell Kora.
Or maybe not to tell Kora at all.
At the sound of the door being unlocked, Kora turned toward it excitedly. Only as Greyson entered did she realize it could have very well been someone else. But she was too wound up to pay attention to safety.
She couldn’t let herself do that again.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
She nodded enthusiastically. “I think I figured out the bull.”
He was carrying a bag. He put it on the table in front of the sofa. “Tell me.”
She pulled up the photos she’d found on her phone. “It could be one of two places. I think. Or it might not be either of these.” Frustration tightened the muscles in her jaw. “Do you know how many places have a bull as a symbol? A lot.”
“How did you narrow it down, then?”
“First, by year. If they weren’t around when Rasputin was, I eliminated them. Next, I tried to think like a vampire who needed to hide something in a very secure spot. Not that hard to do, really.”
“Okay. Let me see what you have.”
She turned her screen so he could see it. “This is a bullfighting museum in Portugal. It was originally a school for bullfighters. See the emblem on the front of the building?”
He nodded. “A bull on its back legs. That’s pretty close. But I don’t know.”
“Well, what’s also interesting about this place is their cook was supposedly Russian. The years are right for it to have been the Romanov maid who escaped.”
His brows lifted. “That feels like a strong lead.”
“I think so, too.”
“Show me the other one.”
She tapped her screen a few more times to bring up the next picture. “Okay, this is the Castillo del Toro. The castle of the bull. It’s been around since the 1800s and was built by the Bragado family. That name has something to do with bulls, too. I looked it up.” She turned the phone his way again. “And look at their family crest.”
“A rampant bull. That looks exactly like the drawing underneath the pedestal. This is in Portugal too?”
“No, this is in Spain. Near Toledo. It’s a historical site now. No one’s lived there for a long time.”
“Spain, huh? Someone I know just retired there.” He shrugged. “Not that it means anything.”
“Unless it’s the universe trying to point us in that direction.”
He gave her a funny look. “Since when do you believe in signs like that?”
“I don’t. Not really. But this is a hard decision to make.”
He dragged a hand through his hair. “Both places are old enough. Both have a lot of hiding places. One might have had a Russian cook.”
She tapped her phone off as she nodded. “I know. How are we going to decide?”
He held h
is hands up. “I don’t want to influence you. It’s your quest. Your decision. But it doesn’t have to be made now. Now all we need to do is get some rest. I’ll text the pilot and tell him we’ll give him an update this evening.”
She nodded, but disappointment surged through her. How was she going to decide? “Okay. I could use the rest. I can feel the sun. Even in this apartment. It’s sapping my energy.”
He pointed to the bag on the table. “Feed before you sleep. It’s cold, but it will help.”
“Thanks for doing that.”
“No problem. I’ll be in the room on the right if you need me. Sleep well.”
“You, too.”
He lifted a brown paper-wrapped package from the bag and disappeared into the bedroom he’d indicated, shutting the door behind him.
She took the other package, a jar by the feel and heft of it, and found her way to the second bedroom. The very feminine space was decorated in rose, cream, and gold. Had this been Catherine’s room?
On a whim, Kora opened the wardrobe. Exquisite gowns of all colors and description filled it, all of them from bygone eras. She ran her hand along the shoulders. Silk, satin, feathers, beads, sequins, velvet…had she the time and energy, she would have looked more thoroughly.
She closed the wardrobe and took her dinner to the bed. She set the jar on the nightstand, then went to the windows and closed the drapes, shutting herself off from the day.
At last, she sat on the bed, took the lid off the jar, and satisfied her cravings. She was exhausted, but her mind was going too fast to sleep just yet.
Spain or Portugal? How was she going to decide?
She lifted the jar to her mouth to finish what was left, and light from the crystal chandelier sparked off the ring on her finger.
After draining the jar’s contents, she put it down to study the ring. Was this thing connected to the hunt they were on? It had to be, didn’t it? She didn’t buy that it just happened to be under the pedestal along with the bull drawing. So what did it mean? What was the point of it? Was it like the locket in that it would help her see what couldn’t be seen otherwise?
She got her phone out again and started searching for gemstone bands, trying to find something that looked similar in hopes it might give her a clue. She searched relentlessly until her head drooped.
The Vampire’s Priceless Treasure Page 12
