Terian gave me a nod, satisfied. “You are not to contact Danial. I know Theo, and by now, he’s got an armada on the way. Danial will come. But they won’t be able to make it here until tomorrow night. Neither of them will allow the rescue without supervising it themselves. We’re going to be ready for them when they get here.”
“We? You and who else?”
He came towards me, and I backed up, until I was up against the wall. He put his arms on either side of me, palms flat against the wall, and leaned close. He pushed with his arms, and I felt the wall start to crumble as his hands passed through it. I screamed and he laughed. Then he pulled one hand out and reached for the fox head I wore. His hand was covered in white dust. His eyes were inches from mine. They were red, really red, like blood, not brown at all. I swallowed hard.
“Do you know what this is? What it means?” he asked scathingly.
“It’s custom-made jewelry that serves as protection. It marks me as Danial’s...woman.”
He laughed. I wanted to curse at him but I was too afraid.
“Really? Try to take it off,” he said casually, showing his pointed teeth.
God, he had multiple rows of them, like a shark. I clenched my jaw and forced myself to be calm. “Why?”
“Try to take it off,” he repeated, his eyes gleaming, his smile full of malice.
I tried to remember what sort of clasp the choker had. Hook and eye? Maybe a button or tab release? I fumbled with the back but couldn’t find a clasp of any kind. How could that be? Danial had put it on easily.
“I don’t want to take it off,” I said. “You might be trying to get me to do that so you can plead ignorance to Danial. That you didn’t know I was his.”
“That’s all part of its charm.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” he said with relish, “that you can’t remove it. There’s a spell on it that discourages its removal so you never want to take it off.”
I panicked. This was all too much. I tried to pry it off, but it was so tight around my neck I couldn’t get my hands under it. I ran into the bathroom and tried to look at the back, but I couldn’t see it. I tried to tear it off with both hands but the links held. Burning hands held mine, pulling them away from my neck.
“Leave it. All you’ll do is tear your skin.”
I looked at him in the mirror. “Can you remove it?” I asked haltingly.
“Maybe, but most likely not. Only your master can remove your collar—”
“Collar?” I shrieked, half horrified and half enraged. “Master?”
“Yes, what you’re wearing is coined a collar by most vampires, though I’ve never seen one of gold before, or with jewels in it. Most are made of silver. All are the same design. They bear the personal symbol of the vampire the human belongs to, so any other vampire knows that human is off limits.”
Danial had told me it was for protection. He’d neglected to say I could never take it off or that I’d wear it until he chose to remove it…I felt sick.
“Why are you saying all this to me?” I cried.
“Because you need to hear it,” he said. “And I smell another spell at work here.” He made a move toward the bedroom.
I blocked him. I couldn’t let him find the gun. “Please don’t go in there. My dogs are terrified. Let me keep them confined in there. I promise they won’t bother you—”
“Danial gave you something, didn’t he?” he demanded.
“The necklace—”
“Besides the necklace!” he spat. “Something you might be tempted to wear close to your skin?”
I went into the bedroom and brought him the shirt Danial had given me, handing it to him.
“Ahh,” he said in a voice low and broiling with dark delight. “You smell that scent?”
“Its nutmeg and cedar, along with a few others—”
“Indeed, there are a few ‘other’ ingredients involved in making something like this.”
He came toward me. I backed up until I sat in the chair in front of the wood stove. He stood in front of me, the shirt in his hands, glaring down at me. “This is dosed with what I call ‘L.F.’ It’s a sexy smell to be sure, at least to humans. And that, my dear, is who it is made for.”
He went to his haunches in front of me, still holding the shirt, clearly enjoying this.
“Sarelle, common vampire practice for making the L.F. involves mixing up a rather complex spell. The nutmeg and cedar might have been the essential oils that were used in this, but those are interchangeable. Any oils could have done. What I smelled wasn’t them, but the most important ingredient in this is blood. There has to be several drops of the vampire’s blood included in the mixture. The vampire whose blood goes into the spell is the only one who can feed through that spell.” He paused. “Do you know why I call it L.F.?”
I was hurt and nauseous, but also angry. I didn’t answer.
“It’s for Life Force, Sarelle; your life force. Danial has been feeding off you, draining your life energy to sustain him.”
I wanted him to shut up, shut his mouth, this was hurting too much to hear. I closed my eyes, but he kept talking.
“With the Life Force spell, a vampire can visit you in your dreams. As you act out fantasies, they feed off your life energy. The victim doesn’t notice it like having their blood taken because a little goes a long way for a vampire. Just a taste can sustain a vampire for a week. And sometimes, just for kicks, the vampire decides to mingle his blood with a few other vampires. Then they can feed from the same victim. I saw one girl go from the beauty and fullness of youth to a walking ghost in days.” He smiled. “Have any dreams of Danial lately?”
I swung at him, but he caught my hand. His grip was strong as he pushed me back in the chair and let me go. I curled up in the chair, watching through tears as he took the shirt and tossed it into the wood stove. He tossed a match in and the shirt ignited. Some of the smoke vented up the chimney, but I could smell a bitter, oily odor. I watched it burn to nothing with a hollow feeling in my chest.
“Go in with your pets. And don’t try to leave.”
I retreated to my bedroom, where I curled up in bed and cried some more. Even if some of what Terian said was bullshit, he was telling the truth about the choker not being removable. Given that, why wouldn’t the rest be true? How could Danial do this to me?
I wallowed in my misery, crying it all out. A little while later, I dried my tears and thought about what to do. I was too angry to think clearly, so I envisioned wrecking Danial’s truck with my sledgehammer; Headlight glass flying everywhere, flattening the tires, ripping up the interior. Then I told myself to let that go. Danial was rich; he could buy a new truck. But I felt more rational, having vented a little.
That rationality brought out an interesting point. I only had Terian’s word that most of the terrible things Danial had done were true. He might be lying to get me to turn against Danial, hoping I’d help him get revenge.
I wasn’t giving Danial a pass. If he and I lived through this, he had some things to answer for, like the choker. I remembered how thrilled I’d been to put it on. Another tear slid down my cheek. I wiped it away and got up from the bed.
I had to stop feeling sorry for myself and decide what to do. Crying wasn’t going to help anyone. I thought briefly about getting the gun and taking my best shot. I wouldn’t have to be too accurate. The bullets would explode, and he was only half a vampire, or so he said. But he knew magic—enough to incapacitate the guards. What if he had a protective spell to deflect a bullet? The stump I’d hit in practice had smoldered. I might catch my house on fire if the bullet missed him and exploded in a wall. And what if the gun misfired or it didn’t kill him? If I failed, Terian would have the gun.
In giving me the gun, Danial and Theo had given me the means to destroy them both. I didn’t know what Theo was, but he was something other than human. Was he a werefox? Most likely. Was Danial that overconfident of me that he’d give me the power
to destroy him? I had saved his life, but he didn’t seem the type who’d hand that kind of advantage over to someone he’d just met, not without thinking of the possible consequences. Moreover, Theo didn’t seem the type to just hand me a gun and trust that I’d never use it against him.
Nothing seemed to fit. I didn’t know who to believe. I was betting that everyone had lied to me at least a little, and that pissed me off more than I was afraid. So I did what any brave girl would do. I squared my shoulders and went out to get more information.
Chapter Nine
I stopped with my hand on the doorknob, second-guessing myself. Was this really a good idea, to just go out there and try to talk sense into a killer? Probably not. I took a few minutes to both rid myself of metal fumes and grease, and formulate a plan.
As I put on some sweat pants and a fleece shirt, I noticed that my face was blotchy from crying. I told myself that was good. I wanted to downplay any sexiness or femininity, because if Terian wasn’t thinking about it, I didn’t want to give him any ideas.
Ghost and Darkness were still frightened, along with Jess and Cavity, who were hiding under the bed. I petted them one by one, then shut the door after me as I went out to keep them safe. I left the gun where it was. Until I knew more about Terian’s weaknesses, I wasn’t risking blowing my only ace in the hole.
I found him downstairs trying to access Danial’s computer. He wasn’t having any luck from his annoyed expression and the way he slammed his fingers on the keyboard. Anger came off him like heat, and I could tell he was at his breaking point by his body language. He lifted the laptop as if to throw it.
“Please don’t destroy things in my home,” I said quietly.
He actually paused and looked at me, then got up from the desk, leaving the laptop there. “Did you have yourself a good cry?” he asked sarcastically.
Asshole. “Yes, I feel better.”
His expression softened a bit. I latched onto that. If I could get him to see me as a person with feelings, it would make it harder for him to want to hurt me. At least, that’s what I hoped.
“I told you just hours ago that your lover lied to you and has been draining off your energy. How can you feel better so quickly?”
Steel yourself and say it, Sar. “I don’t like what you’ve told me but I did need to hear it, especially if it’s true.”
“You doubt what I told you?” he asked, affronted.
“I don’t know you at all and you’re accusing someone I’m in a relationship with of awful things. Of course I’m going to be loyal to Danial. What proof do you have of the things you said?”
“He doesn’t deserve your loyalty.”
“Do you have any proof?” I tried to hold his stare but his eyes were hard to look at. The redness was so unnatural and almost glowing in the gloom of the basement. Terian hadn’t turned on the overhead lights. The only light on was the one I’d turned on coming downstairs. Could he see in the dark? Was that from being part vampire? Likely. Danial could. He had seen okay that night we’d been attacked. Theo obviously could, too, wearing sunglasses at night.
“You can’t remove your necklace because it’s not a necklace at all. You don’t think that’s proof of his treachery?”
“He told me it was for protection. I admit, I thought I could remove it, but I might have agreed to wear it anyway. I wanted to be safe.”
“You will never be safe as long as you stay with him,” Terian said darkly.
I’d had enough of his haughty talk and innuendoes. Time to cut to the chase. “Tell me what he did to you.”
“You don’t want to hear it.” His tone was more menacing than ever.
“You’re right. I don’t. But you need to tell me anyway.”
That surprised him. For a moment, he just stood there looking oddly at me. “Do you know Danial’s password?” he said finally.
“No.”
“And you wouldn’t tell me if you did.”
“Right. But I don’t.”
He grumbled and went back to the desk. I decided to give him some time, heading upstairs, into the kitchen.
He got up and followed me. Suspicion clouded his voice. “What are you doing? Don’t try to call for help—”
“I’m not; I’m making dinner.” I caught his eyes. The redness in them still gave me a chill, but I plowed ahead. “Do you eat? Do you want something?”
His expression was priceless. If I hadn’t been terrified, I’d have laughed my ass off.
“I...can eat normal food but I usually don’t,” he said reluctantly.
Maybe he thought I’d poison him. I might have, if I’d known what to use as poison. I didn’t want to know what he ate instead of “normal” food, so I hurried to say my next words. “I’m making pasta with meat sauce. It’s right from the jar there, and the pasta is from that box. You can watch if you want, to see I’m not adding anything to it.”
“Why is the pasta so dark and has flecks on it?”
He’d said he didn’t eat regular food but he knew what pasta looked like? Hmmm. “Because it’s whole wheat. I might have some regular around here someplace—”
“No,” he said hesitantly. “This is suitable.”
After that, the night took on a surreal quality. There I was, making a meal for my captor and myself. The act of cooking comforted me as it usually did, at least until I remembered that I’d let it slip to my mom that Danial and I might stop by this weekend. She’d been irritated that we hadn’t gone there last weekend and didn’t have a lot of patience. She might even convince my stepfather that it was a good idea to drop by to surprise us.
Shit, I had to call them to circumvent that happening. I didn’t want them walking into this. Terian wouldn’t let them leave once they’d arrived. Chris and he would come to blows. My stepfather was an intimidating man, but he wouldn’t stand a chance against a half-vampire.
“Terian, I have to make a call, please.”
“No,” he said, immediately distrustful.
“I have to call my parents,” I said, trying to placate him. “Otherwise, they might show up. They wanted to meet Danial—”
“Ah, so they know you’re seeing a vampire? I can’t imagine they approve—”
Wise ass. “Of course they don’t know, you dolt.” Oops, I hadn’t meant that to slip. “Sorry. Look, please let me call. You can motion me to hang up anytime. They might be thinking of stopping over tonight and I want to keep them out of this.”
“Go ahead,” he said slowly, albeit reluctantly.
I called and reported the days events to my parents, editing out everything since I’d come home. I told them that Danial would not be coming this week after all because of business. They were disappointed but said they could wait another week if I could. Cute.
By the time I hung up, the pasta was done. I dished it out, and handed both plates to Terian. He took them uncomfortably. We went into the dining room, me carrying glasses of water. He sat opposite me in the only other chair. Closing my eyes, I said grace.
“What are you doing?” he asked curiously, yet poignantly. His voice was strained to breaking, as if he were in pain. The moment I heard him, I believed I had a chance to turn this situation around.
“Saying grace.” Praying that I’d get through tonight and wasn’t acting stupid trying to earn his trust enough to survive the ordeal.
We ate in silence. My mind worked furiously to think of a way to engage him. I needed to find out more information. It turned out that my silence while I thought was the best plan of all.
“I’m sorry for what’s happened to you,” he said quietly.
“I brought it on myself. Literally. I brought Danial inside, sheltered him, and gave him my blood to heal him.”
“That’s true,” he pointed out. “Why didn’t you leave him to die where you found him?”
“Did you track him here?” I said, watching him carefully.
“Yes,” he said proudly. “I knew he’d come in this direction but the tra
il ended a good ways from your door. I put a tracking spell on the arrow, and when he tore it out, he left a little of the spell on him. When it touched his skin, it reacted with the poison, leaving me a trail I could follow. But he wasn’t stupid. He knew I was after him and somehow washed it off. There was still some on his shirt, though. It would have led me to him, except for the rain that night. It washed away the trail, and it’s taken me this long to find out where he’d gone. After checking out your neighbors, I knew they hadn’t been the ones to rescue him. It had to be you.”
I’d washed Danial’s shirt. I hadn’t known it at the time, but I’d concealed him better doing that than hiding his truck.
“Water breaks a lot of simpler spells or weakens them. I’d have gotten him that night if you hadn’t helped him. Why did you have to help him?”
He was angry again. I had to diffuse the situation quick. “I don’t know. I’ve thought about that before. Mostly because I didn’t know what he was at first. I usually try to help something when I find it injured at my doorstep.”
“It’s a good trait to have.” He sounded earnest and almost comforting. “It just didn’t work out this time.”
“You know, I don’t get you. You threaten to hurt me in one breath and console me in the next. You say you want me to help you get Danial back for something he did to you but won’t tell me what. Am I supposed to be afraid of you, or trust you? Are you a friend or an enemy?”
“I’m neither,” he snapped. “I’m someone not to trifle with.”
What a piece of work. “What did he do to you?”
“Danial killed my half brother, the only family I had left. Alive, anyway.”
“Why?”
“Who knows,” he said sullenly, “Most likely, Keriam did something to anger him. Or he got in Danial’s way. You’ve seen how ruthless he is.”
Danial might be violent but he didn’t kill casually, from what I knew of him. He’d used violence with Max only after we’d been attacked, as a last resort. That wasn’t the action of someone who killed people on a whim.
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