by Shah, Karin
The yellowed parchment he’d had the prophecy transferred to centuries ago had long since disintegrated, but that didn’t matter, the words were imprinted in his brain.
In the new world,
one lake of five shall be the site.
The ancient dead, but living,
shall attain great power
When the marked one dies
and a sacrifice is made
By one who rose long ago
from the grave.
Seers and their prophecies. Why couldn’t Inanna have just spelled things out? There wasn’t even any indication of a time period.
No matter, his internal clock told him this, at last, was the time.
He rose from the rickety bed, smoothing his black wispy hair with one crabbed, pointy-nailed hand. His attention was drawn to his desiccated flesh. His hooked nose wrinkled in repugnance; he could smell his own rot. The surge of power he’d derived from his last kill was fading more quickly than he’d expected. He would have to feed. And soon.
No matter. Feeding was a pleasure not a duty.
He cloaked himself with illusion and swept into the rainy night. The tired blood in his veins sang a little song of anticipation. It would be a little more difficult to find prey in this tiresome drizzle. The Red Wings baseball game at Frontier Field had been rained out, and only the regulars would be at the Tomb.
The Tomb. What a name.
He allowed himself a rusty chuckle. His adversary was nothing if not predictable. Although he supposed more than one hundred years ago, the name might have sounded original.
He found a sheltered doorway not far from the bar and settled in to wait.
Chapter 3
“Going somewhere?” Spotlighted by the twin beams of his headlights, Thalia stood before the hood of his black Jaguar. Rain sheeted off her hooded raincoat. Her hands were fisted on her hips.
Gideon sighed. He’d never doubted she’d find him, but he’d thought it would take her longer to track him down. “Get in.” He waited while Thalia slid into the passenger seat. “How did you find me?” A twinge of admiration at how quickly she’d located him softened his frustration.
“Tracking spell. I figured you’d try to dump me.” She glared at him. She looked like a snow leopard confronting a tiger. A very wet, angry snow leopard.
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m taking you back.” He put the car in gear.
“Forget it. I’ll just find you again. If you’re so worried I’ll get hurt if I come along, think what trouble I could get into on my own.” She smiled sweetly, batting her lashes.
“It’s not you I’m worried about,” he said.
“Gideon, this is an honor.” The slim black vampire with the fifties-style, D.A. hairstyle bowed elaborately at his waist and swept a long-fingered hand behind him, inviting them into the bowling alley. A broad smile creased his narrow face, but Thalia thought she detected a hint of nerves beneath his extravagant welcome, a tinge of tension around his deep-set eyes.
“Richard.” Gideon strode into the cavernous building. His unbuttoned coat billowed behind him, shedding raindrops on the shiny wood floor. He sank into a molded plastic chair at the end of one of the darkened lanes.
Richard scurried to keep up, the rubber soles of his bowling shoes squealing on the wet floor. “And you brought the Champion?” He raised his eyebrows significantly in Thalia’s direction. “Naturally, you’re welcome, Gideon, but to bring a P—witch here?” His lip lifted in a sneer.
Gideon growled. In the blink of an eye, he was on his feet, hands knotted in Richard’s shirt, shaking the other man like a rag doll.
A kernel of warmth unfolded in Thalia’s chest. His anger at the insult made her feel protected, cared for. Something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. She shook her head as if to cast off the feeling.
Don’t be silly, Thalia. He probably didn’t like people questioning his actions. Figures after a few hundred years he’d be stuck in his ways.
She placed a hand on Gideon’s forearm. He freed the other man, who stumbled back, and steadied himself, smoothing the wrinkles Gideon’s fists had crushed into his shirt.
She smiled at Richard, as if she hadn’t noticed his insult or Gideon’s reaction to it. “Richard, is it? I’m Thalia.”
Hoping to defuse the situation, she snuffed an incipient yawn and fell into one of the white plastic chairs, shifting to find a comfortable spot. Gideon re-took his seat.
The air in the empty bowling alley was weighty with the scent of chilidogs and nachos, pretzels and pizza, liberally seasoned with beer and stale cigarette smoke. It seemed some people didn’t care about bans.
Richard came to stand before them, hands clasped behind his skinny back. He looked like a student about to be read the riot act by the principal. Gideon seemed to inspire that reaction everywhere he went, a kind of respectful awe leavened by fear.
Richard dipped his head, the greased ends of his hair brushing the collar of his red bowling shirt. “What can I do for you?”
Gideon gave him a hard look. “A woman was found drained two days ago.”
“Hey!” Richard held up his palms. “I don’t know anyone stupid enough to break the rules. We all know who would come after us, if we did. I didn’t accept the dark gift only to crumble to dust barely fifty years later.” He shook his head. “Besides, who would hunt at the Tomb? Place is full of Poisonbloods, man.” His narrow shoulders twitched, his face an illustration of repulsion. “Like I said, I don’t have a death wish.”
Thalia didn’t need magic to see he was telling the truth.
Gideon must have agreed. He nodded and stood, leaving his chair rocking on its single metal support. “If you hear anything...” The words were spoken in a low tone, as much a threat as a request.
Thalia glared at Gideon and got to her feet. Fear wouldn’t get them anywhere. “Anything at all.” She gave Richard her card and sent him a radiant smile. “Please call us.”
Richard nodded as he escorted them to the door, shooing them out with anxious hand movements, blatantly eager to have them gone. “I’ll contact you immediately. You can count on it.”
He closed and locked the frosted glass and metal door behind them with a decisive click, leaving them standing alone under the thin metal overhang that protected the door from the elements. Rain still spattered the puddled pavement around them. The small shelter forced her to stand close to Gideon. Too close. His exotic scent, a blend of sandalwood, spice, and his own warm clean skin, intoxicated her exhausted mind and she swayed toward him. He placed a strong hand on her arm to steady her, and she came back to herself.
What am I doing? She stepped away and let the cool water dripping over the edge of the roof sprinkle her face.
Gideon reached out and wiped a raindrop from her smooth cheek with his thumb. His dark gaze feasted on her face, fierce and unreadable.
Suddenly, a dark, man-sized shape hurtled out of the night. Gideon swept Thalia out of the way. His hand burned through the nylon and silk of her coat. Their attacker, a long-jawed teenager in a tattered T-shirt and jean-shorts, stumbled past them and pushed off against the wall. Thalia regained her balance and reached into her purse for her weapon. Empty. Damn it! She’d left her stake in the car. It hadn’t seemed polite to bring a stake to a vampire’s bowling alley. She bolted to the vehicle and grabbed the door handle. Locked, naturally.
Gideon surveyed the boy as he dodged a punch. Loose gray skin stretched over jutting cheekbones. The teenager moved fast, but not fast enough. A revenant, then. The mere remains of a human being. He peered into the rain-soaked night, hoping to catch sight of the creature’s master, and the boy attacked again. A knife appeared in his bony hand.
The demon rattled the door to his prison, and Gideon felt a snarl form in his throat. He gritted his teeth. There was no way he was going to allow the demon free reign. He sidestepped the youth and grasped him by the head. With a sharp twist, he snapped the revenant’s neck.
> Thalia glanced over her shoulder to see how Gideon was doing, but it was over. Their attacker lay motionless on the ground, his head tilted at an unnatural angle. She stood stunned for a moment, letting the rain soak her hair and fill her fallen hood, until a dribble of cold water down her neck shocked her back to business.
She walked over, legs rubbery from leftover adrenaline, and crouched by the body. “God, he looks young.”
She wasn’t aware she had spoken aloud until Gideon said, “There’s no age limit for pawns.”
She looked up at him, shoved a strand of hair from her eyes. “What do you mean?”
He scrutinized their surroundings, as if looking for something, or someone.
“You think there’s someone else out there?” Thalia stood.
Gideon nodded. “This is a revenant. Just a husk, really, with some limited intelligence. Someone’s puppet.”
Thalia noticed the knife lying next to the revenant for the first time. A chill that had nothing to do with the rain rolled over her. “He didn’t have a stake.”
“That’s because it wasn’t me he was gunning for.”
The lights from the dashboard highlighted Gideon’s face from below, accentuating the hollows beneath his cheekbones. He looked every inch your not-so-friendly neighborhood vampire.
Neither had spoken since the attack. Thalia had been too absorbed in the implications of Gideon’s assertion. And heavens only knew what Gideon had been thinking.
She thought of the paper she’d found with Lily’s things.
Gideon might not be able to drain a witch’s blood, but if he wanted her out of the way...
She sighed. He would simply kill her himself. Why hide behind a revenant? It made no sense.
Gideon put the car into park, turned the key, and silenced the purring engine.
Thalia rubbed her fatigued eyes and gazed up at the red-brick Georgian mansion visible through the rain-spotted windshield. The driveway continued on to a large detached garage in the same style behind the house.“ Where are we?”
“My house.”
“Why?” The word escaped from her lips like a wild-caught bird from a cage.
“You know why.”
“Listen, I can take care of myself.”
He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes and raised an eyebrow. “If you thought you could handle this on your own, why’d you come to me in the first place?” That shut her up. She could hardly tell him the truth, after all.
He unfastened his seatbelt and left her alone in the car. The door thunked solidly as it shut. Seconds later, her door opened and he leaned over her. “Shall we?"
Thalia hesitated for a moment, then released her seatbelt and followed him up the curving walk to the brick steps leading to his front door. She could smell the lake and hear the soft rush of the waves as they lapped the shore. This must be one of the mansions that lined the lakeshore, probably in the town of Greece or on Beach Avenue in the city.
Gideon unlocked the door and escorted her inside. Wow! Thalia mouthed as he led the way into the vaulted entrance of his home. Everything from the oriental area rugs covering the glowing hardwood floors to the sweeping staircase showed affluence and exquisite taste. It seemed more like the lobby of an exclusive hotel than a private home.
“It’s beautiful,” she couldn’t help saying as they climbed the stairs.
Curiosity darted through her and she spoke without thinking. “You can’t make enough from the B.B. and C. to live like this?”
The broad back froze, and he turned around. His face shocked her as it always did. Lit by the soft light from the chandelier overhead, it had the stark beauty of a mountain landscape.
Her breath caught in her throat, a small animal captured in a trap, not sure whether to advance or retreat.
“When you’ve lived as long as I have, you accumulate many things. It’s important that the tavern be profitable because I hate to fail, but you’re right. I don’t need the money. I do however, need something to occupy my time.”
Thalia paused, stunned by the image his words evoked. What would it be like to live for hundreds, maybe thousands of years? To live longer than the people you loved, longer than civilizations? A wave of insight broke over her, and she sucked in a breath at the incredible loneliness she glimpsed behind his self-assured façade.
He wasn’t as invulnerable as he would like her to believe. That thought turned her mind back to the attack.
“Gideon, why are you so sure whoever sent that revenant was after me? Sure a stake is the recommended...” This word earned her a glare. She faltered and then continued. “...method of killing a vampire, but there are other ways.”
“You don’t kill an elephant with a BB gun.”
Thalia opened her mouth at that statement and shut it just as quickly. She didn’t know how to respond to that.
She studied him for a moment. There was something about the grim lines of his face, something that nagged at her. She felt her eyes widen. “You think you know who it was, don’t you?”
He nodded. “I had a little discussion with another vampire the night we met. He wasn’t too happy I was associating with you.”
“Who is it?”
“His name is Robert Fletcher. I’ll tell you all about him tomorrow.” Gideon turned and continued up the stairs. “It’s almost dawn.” He gained the landing and put his hand on the knob of the closest door. Four more doors stretched ahead. “Take any room you want. I’ll see you at sunset.”
“My Lord, child. I didn’t know anyone was in here!”
Thalia woke with a start. The speaker, an older woman with a sassy modern hairstyle, came to stand at the end of Thalia’s bed. She wore a red T-shirt and blue jeans and held the handle of a vacuum cleaner in one hand. Thalia blinked at the light and ran a hand through her rumpled hair. She sat up. The bright red and green patchwork quilt whispered as it slid to her waist, revealing the gray tank top she had slept in. “I take it Gideon isn’t much for guests.”
The woman shook her head. “He insists these rooms be kept ready, but they haven’t been used since I’ve worked here.”
“How long has that been?”
The woman’s attractive face scrunched as she apparently accessed her memory. “Twenty years or more now.” She tilted her head, dark eyes curious. “You’re not one of them, are you child?”
Thalia didn’t bother pretending she misunderstood. The woman’s meaning was clear. “No, I’m not.” She swiftly introduced herself and held out her hand. “And you are?”
“Camille Delgado. You can call me Cam.” Cam took her hand and Thalia smiled, seized by the absurdity of shaking someone’s hand from the confines of a bed. She dropped the other woman’s hand and scanned the room for a clock.
She’d been too exhausted to see anything but the bed the night before. Now, she saw the room was painted a charming light green and furnished in the mission style. The bed was placed at an angle to the door. She found the clock, an exquisite crystal anniversary clock, on a cherry four-drawer chest beside the door to the hall. Ten o’clock. She’d been asleep for almost six hours.
“I’d better be going.” It was against the plan they’d made the night before, but suddenly Thalia wanted nothing more than to go home and think things over.
“No, no. I’ll go. I can finish the upstairs tomorrow. Make yourself at home.” Cam dragged the vacuum, wheels whining in protest as if begging to complete its job, out of the room, and shut the door behind her. Thalia lay back against the soft pillows. She still felt tired, but she’d feel better once she’d talked to Lily.
Lily. A soft cry escaped her. How could she have forgotten?
She pressed a hand to the ache in chest. Lily was gone. She would never be able to call Lily again. The grinding sorrow returned with her memory, and she stifled a sob.
She quickly mastered her grief with anger. Despite the inner sense that longed to believe Gideon was innocent, he was just as much a suspect as any of the other vampi
res in the community. More, since Thalia had found the paper with his name on it with Lily’s things. She would be a fool not to take this opportunity to search the house.
She slipped out of the high, carved bed and padded across the oriental area rug to the adjoining bathroom.
Freshly showered and dressed in the rather wrinkled khakis and white blouse she’d worn the night before, Thalia ventured cautiously down the stairs.
“Cam?” she called softly. She had no idea whether it was even possible to wake a vampire during the day, but she was taking no chances. There was an elemental wildness about Gideon. A sense that his quiet restraint hid a savage soul. He both drew her and terrified her. She shivered at the idea of being caught. His anger would be terrible.
Come on, Thalia, get some guts! She stuck out her chin. It wasn’t like she hadn’t done this many times before in the course of her job. But then again, none of her other subjects had been super-powerful vampires who could rip a person’s throat out with all the effort it took to squash a bug.
She brushed away that thought with a shake of her head and stepped onto the landing.
The house was curiously dark, much darker than the time of day would suggest, as dark as it would be at night. The weather must still be nasty.
Thalia located light switches and turned on the lights as she went. Despite the apparent age of the house, the rooms were large and airy. Probably remodeled at some point. She passed through spacious rooms filled with beautiful furnishings, stopping occasionally to take everything in. Crown moldings and cove ceilings, area rugs that probably cost more than she made in a year, artifacts from many cultures sprinkled throughout. She wondered if Gideon had decorated the rooms himself. She couldn’t imagine him in a home improvement store, but she could easily see him saving a few of his favorite belongings over the years.
