by Nina Bangs
“What about Seir?” Jenna didn’t object when he helped her into her bra and pan ties. She took care of her sweater and jeans herself. But he’d gotten to do the fun stuff.
“What about him?” He didn’t want to talk about the other male. Jealousy didn’t have to make sense. Al was seeing competition wherever he looked, a leftover from his life as a possessive, territorial predator. “He told me where you were. That’s all I know.”
She nodded, clearly distracted.
He paused before entering the hall and scanned the area for danger. Fin’s cleanup crew—all nonhumans—were busy getting rid of any signs of the battle. But they could only do so much. The destroyed entrance, the fallen Diana, and the shoji screen would bear witness to the fact that something had happened.
“They put the paintings back.”
“What?” He looked around for Fin and found him surrounded by Jude, Sara, Ty, Utah, and Tor. Jude’s five super-vamps were nearby, looking ready to go a few more rounds.
“Eight had taken seascapes from the museum and put them up around the hall.”
Al shrugged. “Guess he gets off on looking at the ocean.” He started toward Fin.
She nodded, but she was busy searching the room. “Do you know what happened to the Fae prince?”
Why was she so interested in other men? He took a deep breath. Down boy. She’d tried to save the guy, so naturally she’d want to know if he got out in one piece. “He disappeared. Guess he figured he didn’t have a horse in this race, so there was no need to stay.”
She seemed to accept his explanation. They joined the group around Fin, and for the first time he got a close look at his leader. He sucked in his breath. Fin wasn’t bleeding, didn’t have any obvious wounds, but his face and eyes…
Fin’s face was all sharp angles, as if the skin had tightened over his bones or he’d been starved for a few weeks. And his eyes…They were deep purple, no silver at all, and looked sunken. There were dark circles under them.
“What happened to you?” Jenna’s question was a whisper of horror.
Fin’s eyes gave her his attention, but it looked as though he was having a tough time focusing. As much as he loved to hate his leader, seeing him like this didn’t give Al the satisfaction he’d expected. It also didn’t give him much confidence. The power of the Eleven originated with Fin.
“Zero and I fought to a draw.” His smile looked exhausted. “Sure feels like I lost.” He seemed to make an effort to pull himself together. “We don’t do the physical stuff. Why bother? We can’t destroy each other. So we battle psychically. The point is to drive the other one insane. An insane leader is no leader at all.”
While Fin was talking, Al counted their little group. Then it hit him. “Where’s Lio?”
They all turned their gazes toward Fin.
His words seemed drawn from a deep well of weariness. “Lio came into the museum in human form. He thought he could help. He came in the back entrance. Eight spotted him and materialized just long enough to take Lio with him. I’m sure Eight feels to night was a roaring success.”
“How do you know that’s what happened to him?” Sara seemed pretty subdued. But then she’d lost some of her pack.
Fin shrugged. “I touched his mind before Eight cut him off.”
Al registered Jenna’s small gasp beside him and felt the fury rolling off the two raptors. He asked the question. “Is Lio dead?”
Fin’s gaze grew unfocused. “I don’t think so. Not yet, anyway. I felt the death of Rap’s body. I haven’t felt that from Lio.”
Left unsaid was that Zero was one up in their immortal chess game. Al curled his hands into fists and felt his beast’s need to strike out at something, anything. He’d liked Lio.
Then he felt Jenna wrap her hand around his fist, and he slowly unclenched his fingers. She clasped his hand and held on tight. And no matter that his soul roared for revenge now, he turned from it to accept the warmth and calmness Jenna offered him. He was smart enough to realize that something momentous had just happened to him but too dumb to figure it out.
Jude, cold and contained as usual, bypassed all the roiling emotions to cut to the heart of the matter. “Where do we start looking? Oh, and I hope your cleanup crew is almost done because I can feel the ward weakening. In a little while this place will be crawling with humans.”
The vampire’s expression said that wouldn’t be a totally bad thing. Al noted that the battle had left him extra pale. He probably needed to feed.
Fin seemed to ignore Jude’s question. His eyes still burned purple. He turned to focus on Jenna. “You will return to the condo now. You will go to your room and not come out until you’ve figured out where the bell is. Since you’re fated to ring it, I assume you’re also fated to find it.” He turned his attention back to Jude. “When she finds the bell, we’ll find Eight.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “And Lio.”
Jenna stared at Fin. She looked disbelieving. “Go to my room? Don’t come out?” She glanced at Al. “He’s kidding, right?” Then she shook her head. “Never mind. Men with god complexes never have a sense of humor.”
Al saw the expression in Fin’s eyes and stepped in front of Jenna. “Don’t touch her.”
Fin grew still, as still as any vampire. Was he even breathing? Al wasn’t sure. But the power and threat rolling off Fin pushed everyone around him back a step. Jenna tightened her grip on Al’s hand. But when he tried to keep her behind him, she fought her way to his side.
“Look, I’m sorry, Fin. I didn’t need to say that. This is a hard time for everyone. I’m sorry about Lio. I’m sorry for those dead people lying in the middle of the hall. I’ll do the best I can to figure out which bell will send Eight home.”
Al sensed a “but” coming.
“But never treat me like a child again.”
Uh-oh. Al crouched, ready to defend her. Surprisingly, Fin smiled. And slowly the silver seeped back into his eyes until all the purple was gone.
“Fine. No more godlike orders.” His voice was calm and sounded faintly amused. “But know this, Jenna Maloy, if you don’t find the bell, Eight’s next victim could be any one of us.” He paused. “Even Al.”
Al looked at Jenna just in time to see her face pale. The fear he saw in her eyes rocked him. Fear for him? No one had ever cared enough to be afraid for him. He didn’t expect it. Sure, Fin and the others would mourn him, but it wouldn’t be the same emotion he felt coming from her. He didn’t know what to say, what to do, what to feel.
Fin watched her. His expression turned thoughtful. Then he looked at Al. “Perhaps you should review our mating ceremony with her.”
Al wanted to shove the words back down Fin’s throat. Of all the things Fin could have said, this was the worst.
Chapter Eighteen
Jenna’s stomach plunged ten stories and hit bottom hard. Fin had said the one thing guaranteed to squelch her complaints about his high-handedness. “Low blow.”
Fin shrugged. “I use the weapons I have.”
Al radiated anger on her behalf. “Cold bastard.”
The cold bastard didn’t even bother to look insulted. “Why don’t you take Jenna home so she can get started?”
“I’ll drive them.” Jude looked bored now that the fighting had ended. He nodded at his five killing machines, and they rose to follow him.
Ty spoke for the first time. “Kelly is waiting in the SUV.”
Frantic to see her sister, Jenna didn’t look back as she left the museum. She would always feel conflicted when she thought of it—the horror of the killings, the wonder of their lovemaking.
Jude waited impatiently as she hugged Kelly. “I’m sorry you and Ty had to go through this because of me, sis.” Jenna didn’t try to hide her tears.
Kelly put her hands on both sides of her sister’s face and stared at her. “Let me just look at you. You’re alive. That’s all that matters. Now go home. I’ll wait for Ty.”
Jenna nodded as tears clogged h
er throat. She understood a little better now why Kelly had kept so much from the family. She hadn’t wanted to see the same fear in their eyes that Jenna had seen in Kelly’s just before her sister realized that both of the people she loved had survived.
Everyone was mostly quiet on the drive to the condo. Jenna didn’t know what everyone else was thinking, but her thoughts were a tangled mess—sorrow for Lio, fear for Al, her sister, and all of the Eleven, and worry over how she was going to find that damn bell. Jenna purposely refused to think about where any future relationship with Al would lead. She was already on emotional overload.
When they reached the condo, Jude got out to stand with them for a moment. “When you find Eight, call me, and we’ll come.”
“Appreciated your help to night, but what’s in it for you?” Al didn’t do subtle.
Even splattered with blood, Jude managed to look wickedly sexy.
He smiled, showing just a little fang to make his point. “Self-interest.” Jude shrugged. “Right now I’m in a good place, and I don’t want any upsets in the status quo.” His smile widened. “And I haven’t gone on a good old-fashioned killing spree in about twenty years. You guys make being a vampire fun again.”
Jenna blinked. “There’s such a thing as too much honesty.”
Al didn’t seem to have a problem with Jude’s answer.
Now that the fighting was over, reaction set in. Jenna could hardly put one foot in front of the other as she walked to the elevator.
Al made an impatient sound and simply scooped her into his arms. She didn’t fight him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she rested her head against his chest as he carried her to her room. His familiar scent, the beat of his heart, and his aura of strength calmed her, made her feel safe in a world where danger popped out of every shadow. Once inside, he pushed the door shut and set her down on the couch. He sat beside her.
“You’re not leaving.” She didn’t even try to make it a question.
“No chance.” He leaned back and closed his eyes. “You should get some sleep. Don’t think you’ll be doing much quality thinking until you do. The bell can wait for a few hours.”
“But can Lio?” She tried not to think about what had happened to him.
Sorrow and anger etched lines in his face. “He’s probably dead. He’d be too dangerous for Eight to keep alive.” He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. “If he’s dead, his soul will be lost unless Fin can get to him soon.”
Jenna nodded. “Right. Get me some coffee and my laptop.”
He retrieved her laptop from its case and set it on the coffee table in front of her. Then he left to get coffee. Alone for a few minutes, she tried to put her thoughts in some kind of order. No luck.
Okay, she’d concentrate on just one thing. Bells. She Googled “bells in Philadelphia.” She’d done this before, but there was a chance she’d missed something the first time around.
The Liberty Bell popped up first. She thought about her editor’s tip. Aliens were supposedly trying to steal the symbol of independence. But nothing resonated with her.
With no clues, she could only hope her instincts were in working order and that everything would click into place when she finally found the Bell.
According to Google, there were plenty of bells in Philly, but none of them shouted, “I’m the one.”
She was staring into space trying to think of another search term she could use for bells when Al returned with coffee. He set the carafe and cups on the coffee table.
“Any luck?” He settled down next to her.
The heat and pressure of his thigh against hers provided a potent distraction. “None. What else could I look up besides bells in Philadelphia, famous bells, or bells that’ll send immortal dirtbags home?”
He stirred at least a pound of sugar into his coffee while he thought. “Fin didn’t give me much info about bells.”
“They symbolize a lot of things. We ring them to celebrate. They toll when someone dies. Bells were rung to warn people or just to mark the time.” She tapped her finger impatiently. “We don’t use them much now.”
“Where would you still find bells?”
“Churches…I’m not sure. I guess a few old town halls still have bell towers. Maybe some schools. Ships have bells, but I don’t know anything about them.”
“Fin is a nut about numbers. I bet the number eight fits into this somewhere.”
Jenna stared at him. Duh? Could it be so simple? She put in the words “eight bells” and hit enter. Her fingers almost shook with her need for the right answer.
When the page came up, she skimmed the entries. “There. Ship’s bells.”
Al leaned closer to read with her. “Okay, so traditionally sailors rang eight bells to signal the end of the last watch.”
Excitement pushed aside her exhaustion of a few minutes ago. “They also rang eight bells when a sailor died to symbolize the end of his earthly watch.”
Suddenly, it all made sense. She turned to Al, triumph making her feel giddy. “Eight had paintings of the sea hung all around the Great Stair Hall. He had a seagull in a cage. He said he appreciated anything that came from the sea. The bell is on a ship.” She flung her arms around his neck. “You’re a genius.”
“I try.” Al didn’t waste this opportunity. He covered her mouth with his to show her he was a genius in many, many ways.
Jenna was breathing hard by the time she returned to her laptop. “Where would the ship be?”
“Fin made us read tourist books about Philly. Penn’s Landing has a few ships.”
“Sounds like a good place to start.” It didn’t take her long to bring up images of the ships docked there. She pointed. “Maybe that one. A tall ship. It’s docked farther north than the other ones, off by itself. It’s seaworthy, and Eight would want a ship he could actually sail. We’ll check that one first and then work south. Let’s go.”
He put his hand on her arm, and his touch seared a path directly to her memories of the tea house. Was that the way it would always be? She shook her head. Stupid. There was no always with them. There was only now.
“First we tell Fin, and then we get our team members together.” He frowned. “If Zero came out of their battle looking anything like Fin, then they’re both pretty weak right now. We depend on Fin to take care of lots of details.”
“Like warding areas so you can keep things private?” She remembered the Astrodome. “I guess he’s also your weapon of last resort.”
Al looked as if he hated to say something good about Fin. “No matter how many times I butt heads with him, I never doubt his power to destroy at will.”
Jenna watched Al stand and wander over to the window. She gave him his moment to do some mental messaging. It must be neat to just open your mind’s airwaves and hit send. The phone would’ve been just as quick, but then she didn’t live in his world, so her thinking was more prosaic. Just another reminder of how different they were. The thought made her sad.
Al walked back to the couch. “Fin’s calling the team together. We’ll meet in the media room.”
She stood. Al was only a few inches away, but it might as well have been a million miles. He was focused on death and destruction. She was focused on…him. Jenna reached out to sweep a few strands of his hair away from his face. “The way things are going, you may never braid your hair again.”
“Maybe not.” He smiled, that magic lifting of his sexy lips that turned her heart into Silly Putty. “But if keeping it loose means I’ll be hunting you, then it’s worth it.”
His smile slowly faded, and an emotion she couldn’t identify flashed in his eyes and was gone.
“I need a quick shower and a change of clothes.” It would only take her a few minutes and would give her a chance to regain her emotional center.
Heat flared in his gaze. “Can I come too?”
“No.” She smiled to soften her rejection. “It wouldn’t be a quick shower then.”
Her shower was an
oasis in a desert storm of roiling emotions. She didn’t think about Al. She didn’t think about ringing the bell. She didn’t think about returning to Houston. Alone. She turned off everything in her head and gave herself over to lots of white noise and hot water.
When Jenna came out of the bathroom trailing the scent of vanilla and heat, Al felt like he was seeing her for the first time. It was finally settling in that she was his mate.
But knowing she was his mate didn’t change anything. Al would still have to hunt Zero and the rest of the immortals. And even if she chose to stay with Kelly, once humanity was safe Jenna would head back to Houston and her human family.
And he’d let her go…
Because even if he told her he…What was the human word? Loved her? A foreign concept. But “mate” didn’t quite fit either. His emotions were all wrapped around this human woman with the long dark hair and big blue eyes. He needed a foreign concept to describe his feelings. Anyway, even if he told her that he loved her, she’d probably run screaming into the night when she found out what she’d have to do to claim him.
Al frowned. This reminded him that Fin of the Big Mouth had told him to explain everything to her. Maybe she’d forget.
“Aren’t you going to change?” She walked toward him.
She was near enough now for him to touch, to drag down onto the couch. He wanted to rip the clothes from her body, to bury himself deep inside her, and to buy forgetfulness for a short while.
“No, I’ll only get bloody again. Let’s get moving.” Al didn’t care if he sounded impatient. He had to get out of here before temptation floated him right back to that couch.
Jenna cast him a confused glance, but she followed him down to the media room. They were the first ones there. Damn. He didn’t need to be alone with her now. She dropped onto a recliner and crossed her legs. Their long length in jeans and boots reminded him of what those legs had felt like wrapped around his body as…He exhaled sharply. The others had better hurry.
“Looks like we have a few minutes to kill, so why don’t you review the mating ceremony with me.” She looked away. “I don’t know why Fin thought it was so important for me to know about it.”
