His pale skin reddened. “She can send her voice way farther than any of us can. She’s only a baby, but she can change quicker, fly faster and do more fancy flips and stuff than us older kids.”
“But is she safe?” Marika asked urgently. “She’s only two. Who is watching over her?”
“An older girl named Lucy. I think she’s fourteen. She was still looking for her parents, too. She thought they were being held prisoner by some old lady vampire. She was on her way to try and set them free. And until Dani found her mother—you—Lucy was going to keep her by her side so she’d stay safe.”
“What about Addie?” Beck interjected. “She should have been with Dani. She’s an older woman, with short red hair.”
“I know. She stays with Dani all the time. But a few days ago, she got sick. A man took her to the hospital.”
“She let him?” Narrow-eyed, Marika chewed on one long fingernail. “I’m surprised, especially since Dani was in her care. She wouldn’t just abandon her.”
Again Eli looked down at his feet. “She was too sick to choose, ma’am. The man said he left her at a hospital so she could get some help.”
“What hospital?” Beck asked, his voice sharp. He already had his cell phone out, ready to call.
Eli gave a one-shoulder shrug. “I dunno. It was a big one. More than one story. I can’t remember the name of the town.”
“Try.” Speaking through clenched teeth, Beck had to force himself to rein in his impatience. “I need to find out where she is so I can make sure she’s all right.”
The boy looked crestfallen. “I’m sorry, mister. I really can’t remember.”
“Where were they—?” Marika started to ask. A look of horror spread over her beautiful face as she slowly climbed to her feet. “Brigid.” She looked at Beck. “Sweet blood of Bast, they’re going to Brigid.”
A quick glance at Renenet proved she was right.
“That’s what I bring to the table,” Renee said, a note of smugness in her tone. “If we get there before the children, we might have a chance to save them. I know Brigid’s fortress inside and out. Without me, you’d be lost.”
“But Brigid isn’t there, right?” Beck interjected. “You said she’s out searching. And—” he indicated the still frozen crowd “—the fact that she was able to influence all these people to try to capture us proves she must be somewhere close by. Or at least in the general area.”
“True. But if she learns the children are coming to her, she’ll simply pack up, go home and wait.”
“If. There are a lot of ifs here. Too many variables.”
Renee didn’t reply, but then, what could she say?
Tilting her head, rubbing her temples, Marika considered. “What else, Renenet?” she asked, her voice hoarse. “Do you have magic at your command also? Magic we could use to help us if we fight Brigid?”
“I do.” Renee’s smile widened. “You definitely need me.”
Hell, no. Beck trusted Renenet about as far as he could throw her. “What’s in it for you?” he asked bluntly. “Why are you so eager to take on the most powerful vampire in the universe?”
At his harsh tone, Eli moved closer to Renee, standing so his side bumped hers. He trusted her. Interesting.
“Because I want to right a wrong.” Renee crossed her muscular arms. “I’m tired of being used.”
“Plus,” Marika said as she watched her closely, “I suspect you want to stage a coup, to take Brigid’s spot. You wish to become High Priestess, don’t you?”
Lifting her chin, Renee didn’t look away. “Maybe. Can you blame me? For five hundred years, I’ve observed that witch. She shows no sign of growing tired, of stepping down. Instead, her hunger for power increases daily, and Goddess only knows what she’ll do if she can gain control of the griffons. I suspect she wants to make them her own personal army and eventually use them against the Pack.”
Beck thought the same, though he didn’t agree with her entirely. Instead, he watched Eli intently. “Boy, you’ve yet to give your opinion on what we’ve talked about.”
A flash of surprise crossing his face, Eli cocked his head. “I’m only a kid. Since when does what I think matter to an adult?”
Beck had to hide his smile. The boy had wisdom beyond his years. “Since now. I need your thoughts. Do you think the other children are going to Brigid?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “It depends on how she calls to them.”
“Calls to them how?”
“You know. Magic. She can make them feel warm. Safe. Happy. Sometimes that can be kind of nice.”
“With magic? Have you heard her calling?”
“Not in a while,” Eli admitted, shuffling his feet. “But she did once, a while ago. I didn’t like the sound of her, but the other kids, especially the younger ones, seemed to really like it.”
He slid a glance toward Marika. “I think it reminded them of their mamas.”
“That’s okay, Eli. You did well.” Ruffling his hair, Renee then looked at them and cleared her throat. “You two need to decide what you want to do.” Her colorless gaze touched on Marika before lingering on Beck. “If we’re going to head to Brigid’s, we need to get going soon. We need to arrive before the children do.”
Marika crossed her arms. “I’m still not sure I completely believe this. The consequences…”
“Brigid cares nothing about consequences.”
“Do you really think Brigid is eager to start the wars up again? Even knowing the possible result—annihilation by the humans once they learn of us?”
Renee thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yes. Brigid is not in her right mind.”
Impatience surging in him, Beck decided he’d had enough. “Marika.” He grabbed her arm, cutting off Renenet before she could say anything else. “We need to talk. In private. Alone.”
Steering her away from the other vampire, he opened his mouth, then glanced at the still-frozen crowd surrounding them. “How long will they stay like that?”
“Until I release them.”
“Can they hear?”
“I don’t know.” Marika frowned. “Why?”
He looked back at Renenet, who still watched them intently. “Do you think anything she says is the truth?”
Her frown deepened. “I don’t know.”
“Do you trust her?”
“Again, I’m not sure.” She swallowed. “Though I’m relatively sure that we’ve got to go to Brigid’s. And while I’m inclined to agree with you that it’d be better if we continue alone, we might need her help.”
“Probably,” he conceded. “I don’t like it.”
“Me, either, but we can’t take a chance. There’s too much at stake.” She glanced at the other vampire, who patiently waited. “I want to be clear on who’s in charge.”
“She’s going to want to be the leader.”
“I know. But this is my daughter. Once we rescue Dani, if Renenet takes down Brigid, she can have her spot. I really don’t care.”
Hearing the truth in her words, he nodded. “Do you want to tell her, or shall I?”
“I will, but I’m leaving things open. I don’t want to piss off an ally.”
“Speaking of allies, I’m worried about Simon.”
“Why don’t you try and get in contact with him again, while I talk to Renee?”
He waited while she returned to Renenet, speaking low. Finally, the other vampire nodded and waved at Beck.
“I’m going on ahead,” she said. “See you two tonight at dusk?”
“Why dusk? It’s not even noon yet.”
Renee and the boy exchanged a glance. “The lights,” she said.
“The Marfa ghost lights?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand,” Marika said. “We don’t have time for that.”
“Wait and see.” Renee’s smile was warm. She waved at her escorts to follow and took Eli’s hand, leading him away.
Marika cursed under her
breath.
Beck put his arm around her, and she leaned into him, as though taking comfort from his warmth. For his part, he found being near her was like a powerful drug, an opiate of sorts, addictive and as necessary as breathing. He couldn’t help but wonder how she’d react if he told her this. Someday, he would. When the timing was right.
Pushing herself away from him, Marika sighed. “That settles that. We’ll meet up with them in the morning on the road east of here, near Mitchell Flat.”
“What about them?” Beck indicated the still-frozen townspeople. “If we leave town now, once we’re clear, can you release them long-distance?”
“I don’t know.” She gave him a wry smile. “Remember, I’ve never done this before. Maybe once I’m out of the area, the spell won’t hold them anymore.”
Walking over to a small group of people on his left, Beck circled them. Though their chests rose and fell with their breaths, they didn’t even blink. “Maybe, but we can’t take that chance. I don’t want to leave them like this indefinitely.”
“Me, either.” She came up to stand by his side, close enough that her arm brushed his. “But I’m not going to release them while we’re still in town. After all, they were going to capture us for Brigid.”
“Or worse,” he said grimly. “Come on, let’s get our truck.”
They hurried back to the hotel, moving swiftly through the streets crowded with immobile people, retrieved their vehicle and headed in the same direction Renee had gone on foot. Though he’d figured they might catch up to her, they saw no signs of her or her entourage.
On the outskirts of town, Beck pulled over.
“See if you can release them now.” He couldn’t resist touching her, a light touch, her skin soft and cool under his hand.
Her eyes dark, she rolled down her window and leaned outside, closing her eyes. Her mouth moved as she spoke silently, either casting a new spell or removing an old one.
A moment later, she sat back up and looked at him. “Done. Now we’d better get going. There are a bunch of really confused people in Marfa right now. Some of them might come looking for answers.”
He nodded, keeping his hand on her shoulder, unwilling to let her go just yet. Finally, he had to, and as he put the shift into Drive and pulled out onto the highway, he glanced sideways at her.
“What do you think of Eli?”
She gazed straight ahead rather than at him, catching her bottom lip between her teeth. “I don’t know. He seems a nice enough kid. Why?”
“He appears to trust Renenet. Shifter children don’t usually take to vampires so easily.”
Her mouth curved into a smile. “He’s not an ordinary shifter.”
“Still.” He couldn’t stand having her so close and not touching. Barreling down the road, he could only glance sideways at her, wanting a kiss and knowing he’d have to settle for a touch instead.
“Come here,” he growled, patting the seat next to him. As she scooted over, he pulled her close and smoothed back her hair, tucking it behind her ear. “I don’t like this. I’m still not sure about Renee, though she does have Eli to lend her story some credence.”
She relaxed against him, letting him put his arm around her shoulders. “Me, either, but it’s the first time we have anything concrete about Dani. And Renenet’s story explains a lot of things. If the children are going to Brigid, that explains why she’s made no effort to locate us.”
“True, but I figured that was because she was looking for the children. I can’t picture Brigid waiting in her lair for them to come to her.”
“I can. She’s like a spider hiding in her web.”
“Maybe. But I still can’t shake the feeling something’s wrong. What if Renee is lying?”
“Why would she be?” She gave a one-shoulder shrug. “And wild as it seems, I like having a plan. It’s better than doing nothing.”
Once, he would have been the one making that statement. When had he become the man who opted for the safe way over the impetuous one?
Still, this was Brigid they were discussing. Powerful, ancient Brigid. Infiltrating her place would be like trying to sneak into the White House and play tag with the president.
“This could be a good thing,” she repeated. “One thing I’ve learned over the centuries is that action is always better than inaction.”
Hellhounds, he remembered when he would have been the one to make that statement. Now, with his experiences behind him, he had no choice but to urge caution. Running in place worked only for the very young and naive.
“Maybe, but what good are we going to be to Dani if Brigid reduces us to Jell-O?”
“True.” Grim-faced, Marika turned to him. “If you have another option, then tell me.”
She had him there. “I don’t.”
“Then I guess we have no choice but to get ready to get on the road with Renee and her group.” She looked him over, her liquid gaze dark and unreadable.
“True, but she said she’d meet us there at dusk. We’ve got some time to kill. What do you think? Should we check out a few more water towers before we hook up with her?”
Licking her lips, she nodded. “We’ll have to drive past the flats to get to Alpine.”
“Yeah.” He shot her a smile, hoping for one in return. “But what else are we going to do?”
“I’d like to try to contact Dani again.”
“We can do that.”
“We’ll wait until we’re close to town.” Settling back in the seat, she turned her head to gaze out the window again. Cactus and scrub pines, dry earth, gulches and arroyos. And the mountains, their edges worn smooth with time.
He understood how one could lose oneself in a place like this.
When he felt her gaze on him again, he glanced at her.
“Why here?” he asked. “Why the desert?”
She rolled down her window, letting the hot, dry breeze blow her hair. “Can you not see the beauty? I love the dry earth, the cactus and the tumbleweed, and the rugged soft edges of the earth and the mountains.”
“I do, too. It’s stark but haunting.”
“Exactly.” She smiled.
With a hard look, he challenged her. “Quit skirting the truth. It’s pretty scenery, true. But there must be another reason you decided to buy a home here. Why did you choose this place to raise our daughter?”
Slowly, the smile faded from her face. “Beauty isn’t enough?”
“For anyone else. But I know you. You had another reason.”
Chapter 14
Marika bit her lip so hard she tasted her own blood. Dare she tell him the truth? Such a simple reason, but so revealing.
Another quick look at his rugged profile and she decided he needed to know. If Beck really wanted to be in Dani’s life, he’d be in hers also.
“There’s only one reason I chose to live in west Texas,” she said softly. “You.”
“Me? I don’t follow.”
“I met you here. Fell in love with you here. And, though I knew you traveled all over for your job, you always came back here to see Addie and to visit Juliet’s grave.”
“Me?” Disbelief threaded his voice. “You stayed here because of me?”
Face heating, she nodded.
“That makes no sense.” He sounded angry. “You kept my daughter hidden, you made no move to contact me. Don’t try to backpedal now.”
She supposed she deserved that. “I have no reason to lie to you, not now.” Swallowing, she found herself blinking back unexpected tears. “I have nothing left to gain.”
“True.” His harsh tone softened. “But I still don’t understand why you’d choose to stay in an area for someone whom you spent the last two years avoiding like the plague.”
“Maybe I was subconsciously hoping to rectify that.”
“Why are you telling me this now?”
Reaching to touch him, she reconsidered and with drew her hand. “You said you wanted truth between us, so that’s what I’m giving yo
u.”
“But why now?” Honest confusion colored his voice. “In the middle of all this.”
“Because,” she said simply, “it needs to be said.”
She took a deep breath before continuing. “Before I met you, I was dead. Yes, I know all vampires are literally dead, but my insides, my emotions, had gradually begun to fade away. I was in true danger of becoming an automaton. Several times, I thought about ending my life—you have no idea how the years can stretch out endlessly when you have nothing to live for.”
She shook her head in frustration. “I’m not doing a good job of conveying what I want to say.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Such sadness in his tone. “You’ve just described me to a T. And I haven’t even lived as long as you.”
This time, she reached out and squeezed his shoulder. She couldn’t help but offer comfort, however small. “You used to tease me all the time, remember? You made me understand that closing yourself off from the rest of the world is no way to live.”
“But you had a reason, a purpose.” The words exploded from him. “You had your daughter. What about the rest of us?”
“All things come in time.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“No. It’s not.” She leaned closer, wishing she had the soul of a poet, so she could put her thoughts into words so beautiful they couldn’t help but resonate in him.
“I need you,” she said, meaning the words as she’d never meant anything else before.
“Marika,” he groaned. “Don’t do this to me. Not now.”
“Then when?”
“When I’m not driving, so I can kiss you properly.”
Heat rippled through her at the molten look he gave her.
Quivering, she reached out and tentatively stroked his arm.
Then, muttering a curse, he pulled the truck to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes.
As he reached for her, she met him halfway.
It was only a kiss, but oh, so much more. In that hard claiming of her mouth, he made promises and she accepted them. As his lips moved over hers, and no words passed between them, he both aroused her and gave her hope. Hope for a future untainted by hurt and hate and pain. Hope like that which she hadn’t known since the first time they’d gotten together.
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