Pamela Palmer - [Vamp City 02]

by A Kiss of Blood

  Amanda’s voice warmed. “I just want to check your temperature and take a quick look at your eyes.”

  Quinn’s gaze sharpened. “Why are his eyes silver like that? He’s not . . . ?” The thought made her stomach clench. “He’s not turning Slava already, is he?”

  “Not Slava, no. Only the hair glows once we turn Slava.” She held up her hand, her expression kind. “Let me grab my things. I’d like to do my examination before I offer a prognosis.”

  As the doctor hurried off, Neo ushered them forward. “Have a seat and help yourselves to the food. We have much to discuss.”

  “What is this place?” Quinn asked.

  Arturo pulled out a chair for her. “Sit, cara.”

  She did, and the others took their seats around the table, Arturo on one side of her, Zack on the other.

  “I do not easily give up my secrets, sorceress.” Neo shrugged. “But perhaps if we trust you with our secrets, you will find it easier to trust our motives in return.” He glanced at Mukdalla.

  The Trader female nodded and turned to Quinn, clasping her hands on the table in front of her. “Most vampires and Traders capture humans and bring them into Vamp City. Neo and I have made it our life’s work to funnel as many of them back out again as we can.”

  Quinn stared at her, then at Neo. In their eyes, she saw a passion, a crusader’s zeal for a cause they believed in. She turned to Arturo. “Weren’t you the one who told me a vampire might play with his food but he never sets it free?”

  His brows flicked upward and down again. “I told you many things that I did not necessarily believe.”

  “So you set people free?”

  “I help where I can. As you can imagine, there are many who would destroy Neo’s operation were they to learn of it. We must be very careful not to draw attention to the work done here.”

  She stared at him, feeling as if she were seeing him for the first time. So many untruths and half-truths hiding facets of the male. Facets that her instincts had recognized. She’d trusted him too many times because of that, because despite his glibness, she’d sensed honor in him. And maybe she hadn’t been entirely wrong after all.

  “At one time,” Neo told her, “our work was far less than it is now. Before the magic began to fail, many of the humans brought into Vamp City against their will were the miscreants—the murderers and rapists and wife-beaters. The drug addicts and gangbangers. Those we will never free back into D.C. society. The humans would not thank us if we did. But now, with the magic failing, those who trolled for the human dregs are trapped here and can no longer hunt for them. As the city crumbles, the demand for blood grows, and the consciences of the vampires who need it disintegrate. The Traders grab whomever they can, and many of the vampires who once cared do no longer.”

  “Neo and I run an underground railroad to free as many of the innocents as we can,” Mukdalla continued. “Amanda treats the injuries many of the fresh slaves arrive with. We feed them, heal them both physically and mentally, stealing their memories of this place, then smuggle them out in Traders’ carts.”

  “Those who’ve not yet turned Slava. Those who can still escape,” Quinn clarified.

  “Yes.”

  Quinn glanced at Arturo, and she found him watching her, his eyes dark and deep.

  Amanda returned, claiming her attention as Zack swiveled in his chair to face her. The doctor pulled a thermometer out of her doctor’s bag and slid the nodule into his ear. When it beeped, she removed it, then grabbed her penlight and flicked it into first one eye, then the other.

  “How are you feeling, Zack?” she asked, putting the light back in her bag.

  “Fine.”

  “Only for the last few hours,” Quinn qualified. “He had no energy or appetite until we brought him back to V.C.”

  “How long have you been ill?”

  “I don’t know. A week.”

  “He was fine when we left Vamp City ten days ago. At least I think he was. But he spent several days in Pennsylvania and started feeling dead tired almost immediately.”

  Amanda listened, nodding. “His temperature is over 101.”

  Quinn frowned. “I thought he was better.”

  “He’s feeling better, from what you describe. Which is not unusual with magic poisoning.”

  Her stomach sank. He wasn’t well. Not yet.

  “I feel fine,” Zack repeated.

  The doctor nodded. “And you’ll probably continue to. Once the magic of V.C. is renewed, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” She moved around the table, taking a seat beside Mukdalla. But her gaze flicked to Zack, the small creases between her eyebrows telling Quinn there was more she wasn’t saying. And it wasn’t good.

  Her stomach tightened.

  “Let’s get started,” Neo said. “We have much to discuss.”

  Clenching her jaw against the need to question the doctor further, Quinn forced her attention on Arturo as he began to fill the others in on the situation—that she was the only sorcerer the vampires had found who might be able to renew the magic. That he believed she had power but that she could not access most of it and could not control what she could. He told them what he’d told her, that his plan was for her to renew the magic without Cristoff’s being the wiser. That her life and theirs depended upon it.

  “The Blackstone brothers will have to be involved,” Arturo told them. “They were there when their father renewed the magic the first time after attempting to spring the trap and destroy us all. Sheridan is the only one who remembers the ritual.”

  “Can they be trusted?” Neo asked, his expression making it clear he doubted it.

  “I do not know,” Arturo admitted. “They have no love for Cristoff, but the hold he has over them is prodigious. It is impossible to know whether they will help Quinn without being forced.” He lifted a brow. “But I am happy to force.”

  “It may be a moot point if we can’t free the sorceress’s magic,” Neo countered. “And we have little time. The equinox is only a few days away, and it’s unlikely Vamp City’s magic will last until the winter solstice. The next strong power day,” he added for Quinn’s benefit. He glanced at her. “I would read your magic for myself, sorceress.”

  “What do you mean ‘read’?”

  Arturo’s hand covered her arm, squeezing lightly. “Where I taste magic, Neo feels it through touch.”

  “I’ll barely touch you, Quinn,” Neo assured her. “And only your face.”

  God, she was tired of having to trust vampires. But when Neo reached her chair and motioned her to stand, she complied, turning to face him. He was a tall man, a couple of inches taller than Arturo, and smelled pleasantly of Mediterranean spices and warm climates. As he reached for her face, she instinctively tensed, then forced herself to relax. The last thing she wanted to do was call up her power in this place filled with humans. Zack wasn’t the only one she might injure.

  Taking a deep breath, she eyed Neo. “Tell me what you’re going to do.”

  His blue eyes were kind. “I will touch your face, Quinn. Just that. Through my fingertips, I’ll be able to read your magic. Yes?”

  She’d never been comfortable with strangers touching her. Or friends, for that matter. It wasn’t in her nature. And there was no telling what a powerful vampire could do with a touch. Micah had changed her entire appearance. But she needed to understand her magic.

  “Yes. Do it.”

  Neo watched her a moment longer, as if he were as cautious about touching a sorceress as she was about being touched. Finally, he lifted his hands again and pressed his fingers lightly against her cheekbones, his thumbs resting on her chin. Dark lashes dropped, hiding those incongruously blue eyes. After a moment, his lashes rose again.

  Releasing her, he stepped back, his brows drawing together. “You have power, sorceress. And yet . . . I don’t know. There’s something odd about it. As if it’s been caged.”

  “Kassius said the same,” Arturo told him.

  “I know of s
omeone who may be able to tell you more,” Mukdalla said. “A fae by the name of Tarellia. Do you know her?” she asked Arturo.

  “We’ve met, but I’ve not seen her in decades. Tell me where she lives, and I’ll fetch her.”

  Mukdalla shook her head. “She’ll not leave her house—you’ll have to take the sorceress to her—but she lives in the Nod, not far from here. It’s a safe enough journey.”

  “There are no safe journeys, my friend. You know that. Quinn will remain here. I’ll bring the fae to her.”

  “You will go to the fae, Arturo,” Neo said, his tone brooking no argument.

  Arturo smiled a smile that didn’t reach his eyes as his voice turned Obi-Wan. “It will be fine, Neo.”

  But Neo only shook his head. “You’ll not sway me, Arturo. You bring too many to my home. You’ll compromise all our safety. No more. You must go to the fae. There is too much at stake.”

  Arturo’s jaw hardened, but to Quinn’s surprise, he didn’t argue further or attempt any more mind control. “We’ll go tomorrow. I do not wish to run across York’s vampires again. Not with Quinn.”

  Neo nodded. “We are in agreement, then.” He motioned to the platters of food. “Eat. Enjoy. Now that the sorceress is here, we have a chance. This is cause for celebration. If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do upstairs.”

  Once Neo left, Micah and Arturo moved off to one side of the room to talk in private. While Zack refilled his plate, Quinn placed a couple of finger sandwiches on one of her own, then joined the vampires. She was through being left out of discussions.

  “I’m going to have to report to Cristoff in the morning, first thing,” Arturo said, as she approached. He met her gaze, apology in his eyes. “It’s been several days, and he’ll have someone out looking for me if I don’t.”

  The thought of him with Cristoff curled her stomach.

  He either felt her uneasiness or saw it in her face, for he said, “It will help us not at all for Cristoff to know I’m his traitor. He’ll send his troops after me to get to you. And he might well succeed.”

  “I know.” And she did, logically. It didn’t mean she had to like it. “When will we visit the fae, then?”

  “Afterward. My visit with Cristoff will be short.”

  “I’m staying here,” Micah added. He cocked his head at her, a smile lifting his mouth, a kind Mike smile. “You look . . . lighter, Quinn. Like the weight of the world is no longer weighing you down. I’m glad. It’s Zack, isn’t it?”

  It amazed her that, despite all the revelations—that he was a vampire, that he’d been spying on her—he was still Mike. He was still her friend. Either he was a heck of an actor or he’d never acted with her at all. She was inclined to believe the latter.

  She found a smile for him. “I was worried about him. I still am, but far less now that he’s threatening to eat Neo out of house and home.”

  Micah grinned, then gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze and turned to walk away.

  Quinn glanced at Arturo as she picked up one of the finger sandwiches. “I need a word with you.” She took a bite, the sandwich melting in her mouth.

  A gleam entered his eyes. “You can have whatever you want of me, cara, you know that.”

  She snorted. “You say that so glibly.”

  His mouth quirked up. “It was, perhaps, meant to be suggestive rather than glib.”

  She chose to ignore that. “I want to take Zack with us to see the fae tomorrow.”

  “It is too dangerous.”

  Her spine stiffened. “Your only interest might be in my magic, but my primary concern is his health. I need to know why my magic’s hurting him and if there’s some other way to help him.”

  He reached for her, lifting a lock of her hair, studying it as if the glamoured color fascinated him. His gaze slowly lifted to hers. “We will put the question to Tarellia. Perhaps she will sense the connection as Kassius did. If we are fortunate, she’ll understand what she senses as Kassius did not. If she wants to see Zack, then we will take him to her. But it will be far safer for both of you if we don’t have to do that. Your brother will be fine here.”

  She didn’t like the idea of leaving Zack behind. But the last thing she wanted was for Cristoff to figure out he was her brother. Cristoff already knew she had one and had threatened to hurt Zack in order to force her hand.

  Quinn set down her plate on a nearby table. “All right. He’ll stay here.” She turned to him. “What about Lily?”

  He frowned. “Freeing her will not be easy, cara.”

  “Vampire . . .”

  “I did not say I cannot free her, cara. I simply said it will not be easy. The master of Castle Smithson, Lazzarus Nica, is no friend of Cristoff’s. We have no diplomatic ties with that kovena whatsoever. I cannot step foot on his land. Nor can any member of Cristoff’s kovena or those in alliance with him, which eliminates Neo, before you ask. I have already sent word to Kassius. He will enlist the aid of an ally in another kovena.”

  “He won’t know what she looks like.”

  “Her name is Lily. She is young. She will know of you and Zack. If she is there, and he can get in, he will find her.”

  “How long will it take?” She’d come to realize things took time in this place without cell phones or public transportation, where most travel of any kind was fraught with danger.

  “I hope no more than a few days.” His gaze deepened. “I will find her, cara. I promise you.” He lifted his hand, stroking her cheek briefly with his knuckles. “And then, perhaps, you will begin to trust me.”

  Chapter Eight

  The sound of fighting and a chorus of cheers carried from deeper in the basement of Neo’s safe house. Quinn glanced at Arturo warily, but he seemed unconcerned as he motioned her to follow.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, as they approached the table where Mukdalla and Amanda sat sipping coffee and chatting. Across from them, Zack continued to eat though more slowly than before.

  To Quinn’s surprise, Amanda smiled. “Training. Mukdalla’s husband and a few of the others are working with the escapees, teaching them to defend themselves in case we can’t get them out cleanly. There’s little they can do against vampires, but with proper training, they can learn to fend off Traders.”

  Quinn glanced at her brother. “Zack, why don’t you go have a look?”

  He gave her a baleful look. “I’m tired.”

  “Zack . . .”

  “I said I’m tired,” her brother snapped, then pushed himself to his feet, shoved his hands in his pockets, and turned away.

  Quinn stared at him in hurt surprise. Her once easygoing brother had changed during his captivity in Vamp City. And while she understood, his occasional harsh words toward her—so alien—still took her aback.

  Amanda gave Quinn a sympathetic look as she rose. “I’ll show you to your rooms.” She walked toward one of half a dozen hallways that led off of the main room like spokes of a wheel.

  Quinn waited for Zack, then followed as Arturo brought up the rear.

  “Either the house is bigger than it looks, Dr. Morris, or you’ve built tunnels down here,” Quinn commented.

  “Amanda, please. And yes, there are tunnels. An entire barracks, for that matter, with kitchens and living quarters. Most of the house is hidden underground.”

  “This is where the escapees hide?”

  “Yes. We accept only the freshly caught. Those who’ve turned Slava can never return to the real world and are therefore turned away.”

  “Except you.”

  She glanced back with a soft smile. “I’d not yet turned Slava when I arrived here.”

  “So you could have escaped. Neo would have helped you.”

  “He tried to, yes.” Her expression turned inward. “I decided I was needed here more than I was at home. Not everything can be cured with a vampire bite.”

  “You fail to mention the main reason you stayed,” Arturo said, his voice almost teasing.

  Amanda la
ughed. “Oh, him.”

  Quinn smiled. “A man?”

  “He’s my husband, now.”

  “A vampire?”

  “A Slava. He was already involved in helping Neo. Now we do it together.”

  Quinn wondered at the depth of emotion that would make a woman give up life in her own world to remain in this place of perpetual dark. Especially when the object of that emotion could so easily die, leaving her trapped for eternity.

  She couldn’t imagine ever feeling that strongly for anyone. Except Zack. What if renewing the magic didn’t work, and he had to stay here? Could she leave V.C., leave him behind in a perpetual battle for his life, while she flew to another part of the world, never to see him again?

  No. And she prayed it never came to that.

  The hallway Amanda led them down emptied into a living area where half a dozen people sat reading or playing chess by the light of several oil lamps. None were Traders or had the phosphorescent hair peculiar to Slavas, but whether they were humans or vampires, she couldn’t tell.

  All six turned when they walked in, eyeing her and Zack curiously. One man eyed them warily, tensing as if he were preparing to run . . . or fight, if he had to. The word traumatized came to mind. A couple of them smiled, but none said anything, nor did Amanda speak to them as she led Zack and her through the room and down yet another hallway, this one lined with doors on either side. Some of the doors were open and Quinn saw one or two twin beds in each, a bedside table, and little more. Spartan, but clean, and since the occupants were free to come and go as they wished, and free from attack by vampires, a luxury hotel couldn’t be any more welcome to most who arrived here.

  Several doors down, Amanda stopped, motioning to an open doorway on either side of the hall. “These are your rooms.” The doctor entered one, using a Bic to light an oil lamp on the bedside table. “The bathroom is at the far end of the hall. It’s a community bath, but there are several shower stalls, and the water is warm enough, if not as hot as you might like.”

  Quinn glanced back the way they’d come. “Those people . . . Are they all escapees?”

  “Yes. They’ll be out of V.C. by week’s end, if all goes as planned, with no memory of where they’ve been.”