That is most definitely female.
Nothing wrong with my inner bitch’s eyesight, although the fact our visitor was obligingly naked was more than a little helpful.
“Sinisia, I presume?” I glanced over Laycee’s head at Gabriel, who nodded. “And she’s a siren?” Another nod. Uh-huh. No wonder sailors wrecked their ships. They probably would have done so regardless of whether or not they were sung to.
At first glance, the siren appeared to be floating in the air, like a magician’s assistant performing the amazing levitation trick. Except she wasn’t standing on thin air. Water bubbled beneath her foot, connecting her to the pool below in a continuous stream. Tilting her head so her ear touched her shoulder, the siren began to rotate slowly. I confess I thought it was some narcissistic display of vanity, showing the mortals before her a standard of physical beauty they could never hope to emulate. But then I realized I was wrong. The siren was simply enjoying the feel of the warm night air on her skin.
As she spun, the air filtered through the long strands of her hair, wrapping it around her so it covered her perfect breasts and hips. I don’t know if this was a conscious act on her part, but it certainly helped me deal with my own feelings of physical inadequacy. I had told myself it was seaweed or some other type of oceanic vegetable matter tangled up in her locks that gave it the odd color, but it truly was green. And it suited her, as did the scales responsible for the pearl-like iridescence of her skin. I was, however, disappointed not to see a strand of seashells around her neck.
Sinisia slowly descended back into the pool, the slender pillar of water beneath her toes lowering her until she was able to reenter the element without a single splash, bubble, or gurgle. To my mind, it seemed as if the water almost parted at will, caressing her form as she sank to the bottom. She swam lazily beneath the surface, rolling and turning with as much grace and poetry as any aquatic mammal. She surfaced in front of Ryiel, tilting her head to one side and looking at both vampire and baby. With a lazy roll, she moved closer to where we were standing, and reaching the pool edge, she raised her head and shoulders out of the water. She beckoned us to approach.
“I won’t let go,” I whispered, feeling Laycee’s hand tremble in my grasp. She gave me a sick-looking smile as I reaffirmed my grip, and together we walked to the edge of the pool.
Sinisia rose on another column of water until we were all eye to eye. Her expression seemed to be one of curiosity, as if she had never seen human women before. Perhaps she hadn’t. If the Greeks had it even halfway right, the sirens’ only contact with humans had been with males, and seafaring vessels back then didn’t exactly enjoy a stellar reputation regarding the character of their crews. She held out a hand, displaying both the palm and the back, as if to prove she held no weapon and her hand was harmless. I was fascinated by the webbing between the siren’s fingers, Laycee more the aquamarine color of her nails.
She was without a doubt beautiful. Her face could have easily graced the cover of any beauty magazine. It also told me that at some point along the evolutionary path we had shared a common ancestor, but whereas mine had chosen to remain on land, hers had returned to the water. Though she had scales, they did not cover her body completely, stopping above her elbow. For some unfathomable reason I was delighted to see how smooth and white her forearms were. She reached out her hand and stroked my cheek. I don’t know what I was expecting, probably something that felt slimy and wet, but her fingers were smooth, dry, and exceptionally strong. And as she cupped my chin, I had no doubt she could break my jaw with very little effort. So much for harmless.
“Sister,” she said in a voice that sounded the way spring rain felt. Light, refreshing, and oh so sweet. I stared back at her, puzzled. Was Sinisia suggesting the evolutionary gap separating us was actually smaller than I realized?
Her curiosity with me apparently sated, the siren turned to Laycee, giving her far more attention than I had received. Her fingers danced over Laycee’s cheek and forehead and down her neck. She seemed fascinated by the platinum blond of my friend’s hair, threading it through her fingers and pooling it in the palm of her hand. But she made an expression of distaste when she held it to her nose. I imagine the dye Laycee used to keep it that particular shade disagreed with the siren. And then, quite unexpectedly, Sinisia leaned forward and pressed her lips to Laycee’s forehead.
“Thank you,” the siren said in a singsong whisper.
“For what?” Laycee asked, bewildered, watching as Sinisia slipped back under the water.
Ryiel provided the answer. “For being Jenna’s mother, and allowing her to meet you. She has never known a mother before.”
“What about her own?”
“She’s a siren. She has no mother.” Neither one of us knew what to say to that.
Sinisia now rose half out of the water in front of the vampire. Her head tilted to one side, she regarded Ryiel and Jenna curiously. “You have decided?” she asked Ryiel.
“I have.” His voice was solemn and grave.
“And you are sure this is what you want? That now is the proper time?”
“I am.”
Satisfied with his response she said, “Then I am pleased for you.”
“And I am pleased for us both,” he murmured. “I know this has been a burden for you.”
“Not so much as you might think.” She must have seen something reflected in Ryiel’s face, a trace of indecision perhaps, because she hesitated. “You’re certain you have no regret in summoning me?”
He shook his head, and I watched the ends of his hair brush against the small of his back. “There would always be regrets, Sinisia, no matter when I summoned you, but any I have now are ones I accept.”
It seemed to me she did not quite grasp the subtlety of his answer, but after a few moments spent pondering his words, she appeared content. “Trust in yourself, Ryiel,” she told him, “for this is as much my destiny as it is yours.”
She flipped away from him, disappearing below the surface once more and sinking to the bottom of the pool. Now she began to swim in slow, lazy circles that had her pushing off the opposite walls for added momentum. As she picked up speed, she no longer required the aid of the pool walls; her own strength now provided the necessary impetus. Like the centrifugal force of a washing machine on the spin cycle, Sinisia began to swim faster, moving in an ever-narrowing spiral that drew the water to her. Next to me Laycee gasped, and we stared, mesmerized, at the whirlpool being created. As the surface of the vortex widened, it created the illusion that the swirling base was much deeper than the fifteen-foot bottom of Gabriel’s pool.
I’m not sure what happened next, except I think maternal instinct kicked in big-time. Laycee, somehow sensing what was about to happen, made a sound reminiscent of a small animal caught in a trap as she yanked her hand free of my hold and sprinted toward the edge of the pool, where Ryiel was still standing with her baby in his arms. In a blur of motion, Gabriel caught her around the waist. This was the second time in as many days that a vampire had stopped her in mid-stride, but whereas Ryiel had simply held her to him, Gabriel took her down to the ground, pinning himself on top of her to keep her still.
“NOOOOOOOO!” she shrieked at the same moment Ryiel flung himself into the maelstrom and disappeared from view.
Immobilized by Gabriel’s superior strength, Laycee stopped struggling. Instead she began to weep bitterly, her gaze fixed on the moving pillar of water that was now rising out of the concrete and tile structure. I rushed to her side, glad that Gabriel immediately rolled off her and allowed me to take his place. Sitting on the ground with my legs spread open, I pulled Laycee back against me. My arms wrapped around her, and I began swaying gently as we both scanned the water, searching for any sign of the dark-haired vampire and his precious bundle.
A sudden opening, like a door being held ajar, appeared in the wall of water. “Look!” I pointed, seeing Ryiel in the center of the vortex.
Laycee clutched my arm. “Wh
ere’s Jenna?” she asked, her voice so full of anxiety she was barely coherent.
“He has her in his arms.”
“Oh God—he’s going to drown her!”
“No, he won’t,” Gabriel interjected. “Remember, for nine months the only environment she knew was water. It was her world, and as natural to her as air is to you now.” Laycee swiveled her head and stared at him with huge, terrified eyes. “She will not drown, Laycee. She feels no discomfort and will be completely unharmed when Ryiel returns her to you. I give you my word.”
She released her hold on me and reached for his hand, the gesture saying more than words could possibly convey. “But how can she breathe in there?” Laycee moaned, her eyes returning to the small figure nestled against Ryiel’s bare chest.
“I promise you she can.”
The wall of water surrounding the vampire and baby began to undulate as Sinisia continued to move at a frightening pace. I don’t think what she was doing could be classified as swimming anymore, and the increase in her revolutions made her nothing but a pale blur of movement. In response to the siren’s orbit, the whirlpool began to rise, and Ryiel and Jenna were hidden from us once more. Laycee stiffened against me, and I offered what comfort I could, holding her with equal strength.
The moving wall of water climbed above the surface of the pool. A foot, then two, then more. When I gauged the wall of water to be almost six feet tall, Sinisia burst up from the center, hovering on the air like a leaf caught on the updraft of a summer breeze, and began to sing. The absolute purity of each cascading note tumbling from her mouth made me feel a connection to the physical world I never knew was possible. I stared at the huge pot of night-blooming jasmine that Tomas and I had planted only a few weeks ago and felt my skin sizzle as one of the blooms opened. I stared at Gabriel, feeling in his gaze the powerful, almost overwhelming, depth of his love for me.
Without warning, the siren’s song stopped as Sinisia jackknifed her body in the air and dove straight back down through the center of the vortex. Assuming Ryiel was still standing in the same place, a collision was inevitable. Twisting in my arms, Laycee buried her face in my neck, missing the explosion of light that illuminated the column of water and bounced off the now-dry tiled walls of the pool. A golden aura infused with ribbons of iridescent pearl, seaweed-green, and the blue of a tropical sea washed over Ryiel, bathing the vampire with a dazzling glow so bright I was forced to close my eyes in case my retinas fried.
And then the wall of water that had continued to rise suddenly exploded and drenched everything within fifty feet. I don’t know if Tomas and Stavros had been warned about what was going to happen, or if they had witnessed such a spectacle before, but they were prepared. Tomas draped thick towels around our shoulders as Stavros hurried to the opposite end of the pool, waiting for Ryiel to climb out of the shallows. Jenna was immediately swaddled in what looked like a mile of toweling by the sentinel. I made no move to stop Laycee from jumping up and running to her daughter. The lusty wail from the cocoon made us all smile.
Of Sinisia there was no sign.
Picking me up in his arms, Gabriel set me down on a lounger, settling himself behind me and pulling me back to lean against him as he began to dry my hair.
“Where did she go?” I asked, grateful when he didn’t pretend he had no idea who I was talking about.
“You won’t see her again,” he told me in a rough voice. “She has done as Ryiel asked.”
Something in his tone sent a chill running through me. One that had nothing to do with getting soaked or the fact I was wearing wet clothing. He paused in mid-wipe, and we both watched Laycee return inside the penthouse, followed by a fussy Stavros.
“I hope she doesn’t snap at him.” Laycee’s temper, normally on simmer, was known to go to a rolling boil if she felt stressed. I didn’t see how recent events could be categorized as anything less than stress, and I didn’t want to think what might happen if she thought the sentinel was being smothering.
“Don’t worry,” Ryiel said, joining us. “Stavros is very intuitive about when his help is welcome and when it is not. He will do no more than she will allow.” He tilted his head up and looked at the night sky. “There’s just enough time for me to drive Laycee home and return before the sun comes up,” he commented.
“But Jake isn’t back,” I protested. “He won’t be home until the day after tomorrow. I thought you said it was dangerous for her to be alone, especially after the whole vampire imposter thing.”
“As he can no longer use the child to splinter the contract, your demon has no more interest in the mother.”
The quiver of excitement fluttering in my belly was enough to override any annoyance I felt at the bane of my existence being referred to as my demon.
“Are you saying Gabriel doesn’t have to sleep with Jenna?” My voice was suddenly giddy. “That he won’t have to be unfaithful to me?”
“Yes, that’s exactly—” I launched myself at Ryiel, wrapping my arms around his waist and blubbering unashamedly against his sternum. He patted me awkwardly on the back. Whether it was because he was unused to offering such comfort or his actions were due to Gabriel’s watchful eye was difficult to say. Gently he extricated himself from my hold. “Rowan, you really must stop throwing yourself at vampires you’re not bonded to.”
Through tear-filled eyes, I apologized. “I’m sorry, but you have no idea what a relief it is to know that I won’t have to face the Dark Realm in twenty-five years.”
Taking the towel Tomas held out to him, Ryiel gave me a sharp look. “You understand this is only a reprieve. The contract you made is still in place—and, I suspect, in full force. You do still have to face the Dark Realm.”
The euphoria rushing through me turned into a test-crash dummy hitting a brick wall. “Is that why you want to talk to me?”
His face became shuttered. “Yes, but now is not the time. We will talk later.”
I recalled his statement about wanting to deliver his news to me alone, as it would be my decision whether or not to share the information with Gabriel. And also his prediction that I would not. I could feel the curiosity running through my lover as he sat behind me.
“But,” Ryiel continued with a weary smile, “I would like to hear about this most recent visit from your demon.”
“Gaaaah! He’s not my demon!”
Laycee wasn’t the only one who’d had a stressful few days. I blew out a breath and re-leashed my temper under the annoyed stares of the two Original Vampires.
“Why do you want to know about the visit?” It was as close to an apology as either of them was going to get. “I don’t see what difference it makes now that Gabriel’s pledge to Jenna is no longer enforceable.” A shadow moved across Ryiel’s silvery eyes. “It is no longer enforceable . . . right?”
“Gabriel has no tie to the infant,” Ryiel confirmed. “His blood no longer protects her.” He reached for my hand and dropped something in my cupped palm. The size of a grapefruit seed, the gemstone looked a little like the red diamond in my engagement ring, but darker. Almost like a ruby, but not.
“Where did this come from?” I asked, watching the stone twinkle as it rolled across my palm.
“It’s Gabriel’s blood. The child cannot carry the protection of two Original Vampires, and my claim now supersedes any other.”
“As long as she’s protected.”
“Of course, and as your connection to me is nothing but academic, there is no reason for the Dark Realm to look at her again.” I didn’t doubt him, but I was still confused. “Knowing what happened during your last encounter may make a difference in what I tell you as well as how much.”
I opened my mouth to protest at the unfairness of that decision, but Gabriel’s hand on my shoulder made me close it again. “No more talk or it will be too late for Ryiel to take Laycee home.”
Stavros’s sudden appearance couldn’t have been better timed. Clasping Gabriel by the forearm, the silver-eyed vampi
re muttered a few words in their secret language before following his sentinel back through the sliding-glass doors.
“Are you okay?” I asked, concerned by the sudden melancholy on Gabriel’s face. “What did he say to you?”
“That he would miss me.” Pulling me into his arms, he kissed my temple.
“Why would he say that? He’s just driving Laycee home.” And there was no way I was going to allow this Original Vampire to depart until he and I had had our own heart-to-heart. Even though I was convinced his news was not going to make me do a happy dance, I was determined to hear it. All of it.
“He wasn’t talking about right now,” Gabriel said, holding me close, “but soon.”
“How soon?”
“Too soon.”
A chill went through me with enough strength to make me shiver. “What exactly is Sinisia’s connection to Ryiel?”
Gabriel gave a weary sigh. The kind you make when you let go of one burden, only to find there’s another bigger one waiting to take its place. I looked into his eyes. There was a darkness clouding the neon-blue such as I had never seen before, and it took me a moment to recognize it as grief. He was going to lose Ryiel. I gasped and took a step back, finally understanding what Sinisia had meant when she called me Sister. I knew what Ryiel had done, why his claim would supersede all others. And I knew why he would be leaving. Soon equaled twenty-five years.
“Oh my God—he made Jenna his Promise!”
Chapter 22
I thought about the light show in the pool and the siren’s sudden disappearance as a wave of nausea rolled through me. “Are you saying she’s . . . do you mean she’s . . . shit, Gabriel—is Sinisia inside Jenna?”
“Yes . . . and no. It’s not what you’re thinking.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking?”
He made a circular gesture in the air with his hand. “I can see it all over your face.”
“But that’s not how a Promise works . . . is it?” I was suddenly horrified by the idea that I too had hijacked some innocent baby girl’s body, making her live a life that wasn’t truly her own. Who might she have been without my influence shaping her? What different choices might she have made?
A Vampire's Hunger Page 18
