by Kate Sweeney
“What else do you know?”
Elinora stopped walking and faced Grayson. “You thought she was a murderer at first.”
“Well, yes and no. I thought she knew something about the murders. Turned out she did, but she wasn’t the bad guy,” Grayson said with a laugh.
When Elinora did not laugh, Grayson said, “It was a joke. Neala’s a good guy. Phelan’s the bad guy.”
Elinora continued to walk down the path. “And you like Neala.”
“Well, yeah. She’s been through it all with me and Corky. I’m very fond of both of them.” Grayson smiled when she thought of Neala; it was true she was very fond of her.
“Do I sense more with this Neala?” Elinora asked.
Grayson did not respond right away. It was a good question. “I’m not sure. It’s been a long time for me. And since Vic’s death, there’s really been no one special in my life. Now enough about me. Nothing more until you divulge a little of yourself. How did you become immortal?”
Elinora was silent for some time. Grayson felt uneasy in the silence. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Elinora shot a curious look her way. “Why? You did nothing.”
“You didn’t answer. I thought I had overstepped…”
“It is of no consequence how I came to be immortal. You must prepare yourself and work on your mind and not so much on your emotions.”
Grayson laughed, shaking her head as they continued to walk side by side.
“Humor?”
“No. I was just thinking. Back in Chicago, I was told I was too logical and used my mind too much and not enough of my heart. It’s all different now.”
“Not completely different. As I’ve said, there’s some reason why they allowed you to keep your mortality. You just have to work harder to embrace your powers. Perhaps this is part of your destiny, as well. All—”
“I know. I know. All will be revealed. I’ll be old and gray before that happens.”
Chapter 12
“Historian, good morning.”
Corky spilled his coffee down the front of his sweater when he heard Sebastian’s voice. He jumped up and wiped his sweater. “Good Lord, you scared the life out of me.”
Sebastian walked into the room and grinned. “So sorry.”
Corky looked up then. “Why don’t I believe you? Where’s Grayson?”
“Sparring with her immortal. I couldn’t bear it any further. You might want to call the hospital and reserve a room.”
Corky laughed as he mopped up the mess. “For a vampire, you have a very good sense of humor. Now I take it you’re here to continue with the letter from Tatiana.”
“Yes. I want to get to the bottom of this. It seems Grayson and I are connected on some odd level. And it would appear that connection will be further explained in the book Tatiana left, if we ever get to that point.”
“I agree with ya.” Corky sat back down. He put on his glasses and opened the letter once again. “It’s a good thing Grayson understands this ancient dialect. Almost as if…”
“She was meant to see this letter,” Sebastian said absently.
Corky agreed. “Grayson’s mother used to say everything and everyone was connected.”
Sebastian stood in front of the desk. “Tatiana said the same thing. She said this letter and the book will show me what we were before the dawn and how much we are like the mortals. Though I don’t see what it has to do with Grayson.”
“I don’t either,” Corky said with glee. “That’s the fun of it.”
Sebastian watched Corky with a wary eye. “You enjoy this, don’t you?”
Corky laughed. “Grayson asks the same thing. And yes, I do.” He took off his glasses and sat back. “There is so much in this universe that cannot be explained. And those who offer an explanation are dismissed as eccentric or just plain crazy. No one wants to believe the fantastic. It disrupts their nice, neat, orderly lives.” He looked at Sebastian and winked. “I am neither neat nor orderly.” He put on his glasses and continued, “But I am nice.”
“And I have a feeling you’ll find out what this letter means.”
“I hope so. Now let’s get back to this…”
They looked up when Grayson walked into the room. “Hi, kids.”
“You don’t look like you need a hospital,” Corky said, hiding his grin.
“It was a close call.” Grayson rubbed the back of her thigh.
Sebastian looked behind Grayson. “Everything all right back there?”
“I was going to ask the same thing.”
Grayson whirled around to see Neala standing in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest. She then saw Sebastian and frowned slightly.
“Neala,” Grayson said. “This is Sebastian.” She watched Sebastian carefully.
Sebastian smiled and offered her hand to Neala, who walked into the room and took the offering. “It’s a pleasure, Neala. Grayson has talked a great deal about you. I feel as though I know you.”
Grayson could see Neala searching Sebastian’s face; she saw the blush rise from her neck to her face.
Down, Romeo. Grayson knew, by the slightest smirk on Sebastian’s face, she heard Grayson’s thought.
“Well, I’ve heard a great deal about you. Corky is wildly impressed,” Neala said, still holding Sebastian’s hand. “I will admit this is strange, but with all that has happened in the past few months, I suppose nothing is normal.”
“Whatever normal is,” Sebastian said with a grin.
Grayson knew she purposely flashed her canines; she nearly laughed at Neala’s reaction.
“You’ll have to do better than that, Sebastian,” Neala said.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “Is that a request?”
“Okay,” Grayson said quickly and stepped in. “Let’s get this letter from Tatiana translated. Neala, can you stay?”
Neala tore her gaze from Sebastian. “Yes, for a little while, then I need to get back. I have yet another board meeting with the directors of the museum. So what have ya found out?”
Corky rubbed his hands together. “It appears that Tatiana left Sebastian a letter that only Grayson could decipher. I couldn’t. It’s a prophecy of sorts, the same as the one for the residual moon for Grayson.” He took the translation and handed it to Neala.
For some reason, Grayson noticed how Sebastian watched Neala while she read. Grayson tried to gauge what was on Sebastian’s mind; she couldn’t read it at the moment, but she saw what looked like doubt or perhaps a skeptical glance. It confused Grayson as she looked from the sullen vampire back to Neala, who was examining the translated letter.
“What did you figure out so far?” Neala asked.
“Well,” Corky said, scratching his red head. “I’ve been thinking as I’ve read this. I believe that it makes a little more sense to me if you put the first two lines together, then the last two. Now listen to this.” He stopped and cleared his throat before continuing. “In the shadow of the crescent, a mark is cloaked unseen.” He took of his glasses. “We figure the crescent has to do with the residual moon from Grayson’s prophecy, and the ‘mark is cloaked unseen’ more than likely means something or someone is hidden, which of course we haven’t figured out yet.”
Neala concentrated on the paper in her hand; she nodded in agreement but said nothing.
“And the last two lines.” Corky put on his glasses. “The traitor’s song eclipse the moon, Blackheart betrays the queen. We’ve gotten the first line of this. We think whoever is betraying the queen is hidden, or at least we don’t know who it is. The traitor’s song we think is whatever lie is being told.”
“Hmm. What does this have to do with Grayson?” Neala asked.
“The reference to a crescent and the moon. And the mention of a traitor’s song we think has to be connected to my dream and Rose Barry’s dream of Maeve saying ‘liar’s moon.’”
Again, Neala nodded. “But how can, I’m sorry, I forgot her name…” She looked at Sebastian.
“Tatiana. You were about to say, how can she know about Grayson and her crescent or residual moon?”
“Yes, I was.”
“I don’t know,” Grayson said. “But for some reason, Tatiana told Sebastian we mortals were somehow connected with the vampires. How I can’t imagine.”
“Maybe we’re going about this the wrong way,” Neala interjected. “This letter is from Tatiana. Shouldn’t we be thinking of Sebastian’s world, not Grayson’s?”
“You would think so.” Grayson laughed softly. “But with all that has happened, who really knows? We could indeed be deciphering this all wrong. How would we ever know?”
Suddenly, Grayson was filled with doubt. An uneasy, almost queasy feeling swept through her gut. This usually told Grayson something was wrong, out of place, but that was back in Chicago when she was a detective and someone was lying to her. Again, the sick feeling fluttered in her belly. She looked up to see Sebastian watching her. Grayson knew she was reading her mind.
Mendacity is all around you, Grayson. Can you feel it?
Yes.
“How indeed,” Sebastian said, looking at Neala.
Grayson caught the look again from Sebastian. Corky let out a deep sigh and tossed his glasses down on the desk. “Neala could be right. We could be going about this the wrong way.”
“Let’s not get too down here. Something tells me we’re on the right track.” Grayson put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring tug.
“Right then,” he said firmly. “If we’re translating this correctly, then Tatiana somehow knows about Grayson. How, we don’t know. Perhaps as we continue with her letter, we’ll see a clearer connection.”
Neala glanced at her watch. “Saints above, I’ll be late if I don’t leave now. I wish I could stay.” She gathered her coat. “I’ll be back over the weekend. Keep at it, and let me know if you figure out anything else.”
“Sounds good,” Grayson said, and to her surprise, Neala walked over and kissed her cheek.
She turned to Sebastian, who leaned in. Neala smiled and offered her hand once again. “It was nice to meet you, Sebastian. I’m sure we’ll meet again.”
“I’m sure we will,” Sebastian said.
“Call me later, Grayson,” Neala said over her shoulder as she walked out of the library.
“I’ll walk you to your car,” Corky said and followed Neala.
Grayson stared at Sebastian, who was scowling as she watched Neala leave. Suddenly, Grayson didn’t like the look on Sebastian’s face. It was far too serious. “What’s the matter?”
When Sebastian didn’t answer, Grayson pulled on her arm. Sebastian looked at Grayson, then down to her hand on her arm. Grayson would not be intimidated. She held on to her arm. “What’s the matter with you?”
“You can let go of me now,” Sebastian said.
Grayson saw the anger in her eyes and didn’t let go. “Look. I don’t know what life is like as a vampire, and I’m sure you’ve had your share of women, but don’t get any ideas about Neala.”
In a flash that left Grayson pinned to the wall, Sebastian stood nose to nose with Grayson. “Don’t test me. I’ll take whomever I choose, whenever I choose.”
“I’ll kill you first.”
“You may try.”
The anger that stirred deep in Grayson was palpable. With all her might, she let out a low growl and pushed against Sebastian. She was shocked when Sebastian flew across the room and smashed into the far wall.
For an instant, Grayson saw a stunned look; the dark scowl soon spread across Sebastian’s face. “Very good,” Sebastian said.
“What the hell is going on?” Corky called out. “If you two don’t stop this pissing contest.”
Grayson stared at Sebastian, whose eyes were dark and her fangs exposed.
“Grayson, stop this,” Corky nearly yelled.
Grayson’s eye twitched as she watched Sebastian. Both were breathing like bulls. “Just a friendly discussion, Cork.”
“Grayson is afraid I’m going to bite Neala.” Sebastian nonchalantly brushed off the sleeves of her coat.
“Damn you,” Grayson said.
“Is that all?” Corky said. “Sorry, Sebastian. Grayson has first dibs.”
Grayson shot Corky an angry glare. When Corky grinned, then started chuckling, Grayson felt the color rush to her face. She looked back at Sebastian. “I-I’m sorry. I…”
Sebastian took a step back. “You’re not going to hug me, are you?”
“All right, enough clowning around.” Corky pushed up his sleeves. He sat behind the desk and put on his glasses. “Now let’s get back to this letter before you kill each other.”
Chapter 13
The rain that pelted the window made the outside world seem distorted, as if Kathleen were peering through a kaleidoscope. When the car pulled into the museum parking lot, she sighed heavily. She was sure Dr. Rourke would not be looking forward to this meeting. As she looked at the clock on the wall, she realized Dr. Rourke was running late and Kathleen couldn’t blame her. She had rushed to her office, waving a hello to Kathleen.
She knocked on Dr. Rourke’s office before opening the door. “Mr. Bradley just pulled up.”
“Yes, Kathleen.” Neala turned her chair back to her desk and nodded. “I saw him.”
“Dr. Norman is to see him first, I’m told.” Kathleen walked into Neala’s office and sat in the leather chair by the desk. “What will you tell him?”
Neala sighed with a shrug. “The truth. Mr. Tynan took the stone as a safety precaution. He told me he had heard it was going to be stolen. I suppose, given the amount of money he has, he had a right to decide.”
Kathleen couldn’t hide the doubtful frown.
“This is what Mr. Tynan told me, Kathleen.”
Kathleen sat forward. “Then why not bring it back by now?”
“I don’t know. But I’m sure he has a good reason.” Neala angrily picked up a pen and tapped it against her fingers. She glanced at Kathleen. “What else is on your mind?”
“What about the American policewoman that was here the day Mr. Tynan stole, took the stone? Perhaps she can…” She hesitated before continuing, “…persuade Mr. Tynan to return the stone.”
Neala rubbed her temples. “This is for the museum officials to decide. I’m sure they want to keep this as quiet as possible. I know I do.”
“But…”
“Kathleen, please. Enough. It’s out of my hands,” Neala said. “And yours. So let’s just go on about our business and let Mr. Bradley and Dr. Norman take care of this.”
Kathleen nodded and sat back. “Well, how about some lunch?”
Neala smiled and shook her head. “No, thanks. You go on ahead. As a matter of fact, I’ll be tied up all afternoon with this. Why don’t you just take the rest of the day?”
“Are you sure?”
Neala laughed at her incredulous tone. “Quite. You’ve worked hard and you could use the time. Go on now before I change my mind.”
“Thanks, Dr. Rourke. Have a good weekend.”
“You too. We’ll do it all again on Monday.”
Kathleen ran to her desk and grabbed her coat.
“You must be hungry,” Michael Dornan said, looking up from the file in his hand.
“I have the rest of the day off.” She slipped into her coat and picked up her purse. “What are you looking at?” She motioned to the file.
“Oh, nothin’. Just a file on Mr. Tynan,” he said absently and leafed through the pages.
“Why are you looking at his file?” Kathleen buttoned her coat. “Tell me.”
Michael scratched his chin before answering. “It just doesn’t make sense, Kath. Why take the stone? Why not just get more security around it? God knows he can afford it.”
“What are ya thinking?” Kathleen came around her desk and took the file out of his hand and leafed through it. “There isn’t much here.”
“That’s what worries me.”
“Okay, okay.” Michael ran his fingers through his hair and looked out at the rainy day. “We both know Dr. Rourke, right?”
Kathleen stood behind him. “Right.”
“She’s above board and honest.”
“Right.”
Michael turned around then and pointed to the file. “Then why isn’t there more on him being someone with such power and money? Why wouldn’t she have more information about him? Look at the file. It’s barely the basics on the guy. He’s giving over a million euros and we know nothing about him.”
“What are ya saying? That Dr. Rourke—”
“No…” he said angrily. “Maybe she’s been duped by this guy…”
“Should we go to the police?”
“God, I don’t know. Maybe I’m making all this up. I just have a feeling something is terribly wrong here.”
Kathleen looked at the folder once again. There were just a few pages. Michael was right; it was basic information. She had never seen the file, never thought it was necessary.
“I see that look in your eye. You’re about to do something, and you’re scarin’ me.”
Kathleen took a deep breath and shoved the file in the top of her coat. “I think I know someone who might be able to help.”
“Where are you goin’?”
Kathleen smiled and dashed past him. She called over her shoulder, “Don’t worry, I’ll be discreet. Have a good weekend.”
As she ran to the door, she bumped into Neala. Both women let out a small screech.
“Good heavens, Kathleen. Ya gave me a fright.” She laughed and held on to Kathleen’s elbow. “I know I gave ya the day off, girl, but don’t kill anyone.” She let go and walked away. “Have a good weekend.”
Kathleen laughed and scooted out of her way. “Sorry, Dr. Rourke.”
She ran to her car in the back parking lot as the rain soaked her. As she got behind the wheel, she took the file out of her coat and set it on the seat next to her. The windshield wipers sprang to life as she started the car. Just as she put it in gear, she looked through the windshield. There were two people standing far off, out of the parking area, and near the alley.
