We both looked at Vayl, whose eyebrows shot up.
“The Preserve? It wasn’t on your map, was it?” I asked.
“No,” he confirmed.
“Have you ever heard of Octavia?”
He shook his head.
Dave said, “Well, Disa thought she was important. She waved her hands at the dingy room like it was a personal insult when she said, ‘Hamon should never have kept so many secrets. How am I supposed to keep this Trust from crumbling when I can’t even find his mate?’ And then the blood donor sort of woke up, so she stopped talking and Tarasios took the guy away.”
“I wondered what had happened to the villa since I left,” Vayl said. “It has been so long, I just assumed all this . . . decay . . . had come naturally. But it sounds as if the problem is related to Hamon’s unplanned passing and the mysterious Octavia.”
“Do you think she’s in the Preserve, whatever that is?” I asked, turning so I could see his face better.
He nodded thoughtfully. “And I believe I know how to find them both.”
Dave and I spoke at the same time. “You do?”
Vayl wandered over to the shelves, thought about picking up a book, changed his mind. He looked at me. “We should get rid of these objects. They keep giving me”—he cleared his throat— “ideas.”
“I’ll move them out as soon as possible,” I said.
“Good.” He clasped his hands behind his back. “We know both Blas and Disa have been trying to gain secret information that was privy only to Hamon. We also know, due to his untimely death, that Hamon’s quarters have become sealed from the other members of the Trust. I believe we may find the answers they are seeking, including the location of the Preserve and the identity of Octavia, in those rooms.”
“But how are we supposed to get in there?”
Vayl looked at the covered window. “I have an idea. But since it is nearly dawn, you will have to attempt the entry without me. Only after you get the dog. That”—he gave us both significant stares—“is the priority.”
Dave and I shared a shrug. I said, “Okay, fine. What’s your plan?”
Chapter Twenty
I murmured a swift apology to sun-drenched Patras. Someday I’ll come back when I have time to savor your spectacular scenery, your ancient landmarks, your charming restaurants. But right now—“Jesus, Dave, could you hit another bump, please? I’m sure Vayl won’t mind coming out of this trip with a double concussion.”
Why the hell didn’t I drive? I’m so much better at it than this dumbf—
Because your brother needs to feel useful! Granny May snapped. Now quit complaining and act your damn age!
Why are all the voices in my head so annoying? Couldn’t I, just once, channel someone nice?
Mr. Rogers is booked through the millennium, growled Granny May. Inward sigh.
“How’re you doing, Vayl?” I glanced into the back of the minibus we’d stolen from the Trust. Vayl’s light-impermeable tent took up the space where we’d lowered the backseat. “I am fine,” came his muffled voice.
My twin and I traded looks, still slightly dazed from our initial discovery. It takes a while to get used to the fact that your vampire boss has not gone down for the day and, as a result, must be watched like an escaped convict.
At just after eight in the morning we’d outfitted ourselves for the trip to town and decided a couple of small fires would be the ideal distraction for the Trust’s human occupants. Something to keep them occupied while we joined up with Trayton. I was working up a smoking rage when Vayl opened the bedroom door. Like a couple of executives whose lackey has just walked in late, Dave and I checked our watches.
“Well, stop staring at me as if I had just grown a tail,” Vayl said irritably. “I cannot seem to sleep.”
“But . . . dawn was over an hour ago,” I said.
“Do you think I am not aware of that?”
Dave walked up to Vayl and began studying him like he was a rare specimen just flown in from the Salk Institute. He said, “Bergman is going to be so pissed he wasn’t here for this.” He glanced at me and sobered instantly. “Of course it’s bad. Vampires have to sleep during the day. The ones I’ve heard about who were forced to stay awake have committed some of the worst atrocities known to the species.”
“All of them?” I demanded.
“Well, the ones who escaped.”
“Who has been experimenting on vampires?” Vayl demanded, the threat clear in his voice.
Dave shrugged. “Mostly other vamps. You people have some weird-science guys in your ranks, you know that? One of our units came across a mad tester called Frilam in the sixties who found a way to ‘deny the day-death,’ as he called it. But when he did, the vamps wigged out. Usually in a rip-the-skin-from-the-skeleton kind of way.”
I went to Vayl. Smiled up into his stormy blue eyes. “Hey, if you decide to tear up the town, you can always use the leftover bread from my breakfast in place of your cane. I’m pretty sure it’s hard enough to bust heads.”
To my relief his lips quirked. “You seem unconcerned, considering your own potential for danger. Given the situation, I mean.”
“What situation? So you’re awake. Big whoop. If you get grumpy we’ll sic the dog on you.”
Vayl lowered his voice. “I can feel the Trust’s power, Jasmine. Disa is squeezing it into and through me. That is why I walk when I should sleep. I am holding on to my control, but I can feel its edge now.”
I gulped. “Would it help, uh, if I gave you some of my blood?”
Vayl’s eyes changed to red so suddenly I felt dizzy. “Yes.” He licked his lips. “However, I fear I would not be able to stop myself in time.”
“Have you eaten today?”
“Yes.”
Whew. “Most vamps, I wouldn’t give them a chance in a hurricane to get through this,” I whispered. “But I believe in you.”
He pulled back. Straightened as his eyes bled to brown. “Then I will endeavor not to disappoint.”
Now, as Dave hit another bump, I decided Vayl’s brain damage may have started before the trip. Possibly around the time he ripped Disa. But my brother’s driving wasn’t improving his chances at recovery. “Seriously, are you trying to lobotomize the undead guy?” I demanded.
“I am fine,” Vayl called.
My neck was beginning to ache from craning to see. “Are you okay?” I asked Trayton, who lay on the seat behind me.
“I’ve been better,” he said.
“Did you hear that, Dave?” I snapped. “The werewolf’s been better. Have a heart, will ya?”
“Well, it’s tough to concentrate with somebody yapping in my ear!”
“I’m not a poodle, you inconsiderate jerk! Did you remember the camera?”
“Of course—do I look like a fool to you? Lean forward, like, an inch. Now look at me. It’s hanging from a strap around my frigging neck, ya doink!”
“Well, I couldn’t tell. Your jacket’s in the way!” At least it wasn’t camouflage. He’d chosen a button-down brown suede over a navy blue mock turtleneck and faded jeans. But no way in hell was I gonna tell him how great he looked, especially when he said, “Boy, they really sharpen your observation skills in the CIA, Sis. So impressed with your trainers, lemme tell you. Speaking of which, what the hell is with this piece of crap equipment? Nobody with a clue about photography is going to buy my cover if they get a close enough look at this camera.”
“You know what, next time we’ll risk turning your thousand-dollar Nikon into a really heavy necklace if our plan unravels and somebody puts a bullet through it.”
“At least we’d get some good shots before it all went to shit!”
“That doesn’t even make sense!”
Trayton said, “I’ll bet they fought like this growing up.”
“All the time,” Vayl confirmed.
“How would you know?” I demanded.
“Okay, everybody just shut up so I can hear the directions to Samos�
�s place!” Dave roared.
We lapsed into silence, resentful on my part because I hated having to whisper so the car could be heard. But, as the navigational system’s smooth anchor-woman voice rapped out left and right turns, taking us ever closer to Samos’s hotel, I had to admit it was better than the bad-old days, sitting in the back of the smelly station wagon between Evie and Dave, trying to pretend I cared about Barbie and Ken’s latest fling while I read Dave’s X-Men comic over his shoulder and Albert and Stella fought over the enormous map she had unfolded across her lap.
It always seemed miraculous to me that we ever got where we wanted to go, considering that she could never find the highway we were on, and he tended to navigate by sound. That is, he’d say, “Chippewa Falls, that sounds interesting, let’s go.” And he’d squeal those retreads across four lanes of traffic to get us to a trickle of water running down a rust-colored rock face beside a diner full of truckers and prostitutes. They always had great pumpkin pie though.
“What do you think of my city?” asked Trayton.
“It’s nice,” I said.
He leaned forward, poking me in the shoulder so I’d turn around. “Have you even looked?”
“Not really,” I confessed. “I’ve been kind of distracted.”
Grasping both front seats with his hands, he slowly pulled himself into a sitting position. “Come on, take a peek. You and I are going to have to party before you leave, and I want you to have some idea what the place looks like before I get you so hammered you can’t even see straight.” He began to grin. “Had you there for a second, didn’t I?”
I let my hands fall into my lap. Did he realize how close I’d come to shaking him for even suggesting such a stupid idea when he could barely move? “Do you even know what hammered means?” I asked.
“Something to do with drinking your American beer out of a hole in the side of the can?”
Dave reached back and slapped him on the shin. “Close enough.”
“Shut up,” I told my brother. Turning back to Trayton I said, “So you’ve lived in Patras all your life?”
“Yes. We natives call it Patra.”
“Oh.” I looked out the window.
“So . . . what is your impression?”
“It’s a huge city, yeah? Lots of multistory apartment buildings, flat roofs, balconies everywhere, most of them covered in plants. You guys must really have the gardening bug. And always there on the horizon that beautiful blue ocean. Makes the buildings seem like they’re only squished together temporarily, like a big crowd waiting for the beach to open.”
“Traffic sucks,” Dave volunteered. “It’s like the signs are more suggestions than actual rules.”
Trayton laughed. “That’s how we get where we want to go so quickly.”
We drove past a wide plaza marked by an enormous stone arch so ancient it was easy to imagine curtain-draped Grecians lounging around beneath it, trading the latest god gossip while their slaves pulled off the major chores at market. But now, at nearly nine in the morning, it shaded only a few businesswomen headed to work in dark, tailored coats and high heels.
As the minibus announced, “Hotel Olympia,” Trayton practically stood on his head in his effort to see between the front seats and over the dashboard.
The hotel, a twenty-floor high-rise built recently enough to still shine in the sun, shared the block with an ivy-drenched coffee-house and a nightclub called Dio’s, its darkened neon sign making it look as hungover as its previous night’s patrons probably felt.
“Is this where we’re meeting the pack?” asked Trayton.
I said, “Nope. That’s at some old cemetery. I take it we can be more easily overwhelmed there if we decide to double cross them.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Ask them.”
“Krios is such a paranoid old gnawbones.”
“Which is probably why he’s still the alpha.”
“So why’re we here?”
“We’re helping the Trust with some negotiations here later this evening,” I lied. “We just wanted to take a look at the place before we get to business. Never hurts to be prepared.”
Dave pulled into a vacant space across the street as Trayton snorted in disbelief. “If you’re negotiators, I’m a pussycat,” he drawled. “I can smell the oil on your guns from here. Plus, we predators have a way of recognizing fellow hunters.”
I sighed dramatically. “I believe your near-death experience may have temporarily affected your senses.”
“Come on, Lucille. Whatever you’re up to, let me help. I owe you”—he raised his hands, trying to express the capacity with his outstretched fingers—“well, everything.”
“Vayl?” I asked.
“I will let you decide this one,” he said after a moment’s thought. “Only you can determine who deserves your trust.”
Suddenly I felt like I was about to take a big final. And I hadn’t studied. Plus my alarm hadn’t gone off, so I’d missed the first hour. Dammit!
I twisted in my seat so I could fully face the werewolf who’d wormed his way past my defenses. And, that easy, I knew. This creature, who’d barely left boyhood, was someone I could lean my life on. “Honestly, it’s not that big a deal. We just need to borrow a guy’s dog for a while.” I cleared my throat. “Without his permission. But then we’re giving it back.” What, after you kill him? Has this mission totally separated you from reality? If you intend to off Samos you’re going to have to find Ziel a new owner. One who’s not a complete tool. You know that, right? Right?
Suddenly Trayton was all business. “I can help with that. For instance, I can keep him calm after you take him. Because wolves and dogs can communicate.”
“At what level?” I asked, thinking so fast my tongue could barely keep up with my brain. “Could you, say, give him commands? Like, don’t bite the nice redheaded lady? Or could you—oh, this would be ideal! Could you direct him to a certain location?”
“Not in so many words. I could call him, though. And if he’s running without a pack, he’d be likely to come.”
“He’s alone. That is, he has a master, but that guy’s down for the day. So there’s only a human handler. No other dogs.” I began to get excited. “And he’s big. Like, a hundred and forty pounds. So he could pretty much insist on going anywhere he pleased, and I don’t think his handler would deny him. Samos would be too pissed if he found out the dog had been mistreated. Like, killer pissed. Yeah, this just might have a chance.”
I spoke to the rest of my team. “What do you think, guys? Should we try the plan now?”
Dave checked me out. I already wore the white sundress with red trim and matching jacket we’d decided would be best for this gig. Grief remained hidden in its shoulder holster and my .38 was strapped to my thigh, but I shouldn’t need them. Today my weapons would be the aerosol cans in the black bag at my feet and the lacy red parasol lying across my lap. He said, “I’m ready if you are.”
I nodded. “Vayl?”
“Go ahead.”
I pulled my phone out of the bag and called the hotel desk. “Hello, this is Angelina from the Patra chapter of PETA. Yes, that is the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. You catch on fast. We understand one of your guests has a malamute that has not been walked properly since they checked in. If that animal is not exercised, and we mean at least twice daily, we will have to take very public, loud, and obnoxious action. Am I understood? Very well.” I hung up. “Now we wait.”
“How can you be sure they haven’t already walked the dog?” asked Trayton.
“Dave came down and put cameras on the hotel last night. We have a way of monitoring them from anywhere we happen to be. Nobody’s left that suite since dawn.” I glanced at Trayton. “How much distance can you make your sound carry?”
“A couple of blocks.”
“Good. Dave, as soon as you see them—”
“I know the drill.”
“Fine. Then you can repeat i
t back to me.”
He blew an impatient breath through his teeth. But he said, “I pull out. Stay ahead of them. Lead them to the fortress. Kastro. Whatever the hell these people call that massive ruin on the hill. Where we move into the second stage of our dastardly plan. Do you need to know every little detail of that too, or have you committed it to memory?”
“I’m clear.”
While we waited, I decided to check my messages. As I’d suspected, another one had come from Cole.
Mark’s travel plans delayed him until tomorrow. But guess who showed instead? Cam! Small world, yes? After I catch some z’s we’re hitting the town. Wonder if we should warn the mayor.
I looked quickly at Dave, but he was watching the entrance. And I didn’t want to get into it with him again by asking what his strong right arm was doing globe-trotting when he should be working. So I sent back a message.
Don’t destroy anything you can’t afford to replace. Also tell Cam Dave needs to talk. A lot. Start draining the Wizard out of his system. So if he wants to lend an ear when they’re back together, great.
We only had to wait a few more minutes, then out the front door trotted an enormous dog. If I hadn’t already known, I never would’ve guessed this tail-wagging, ear-twitching monstrosity was Samos’s one vulnerability. Ziel had a white face, chest, underbelly, and legs. Otherwise his coat was gray. He wore a studded harness, which kinda made him look like he was into doggy S and M, and his tongue practically dragged the ground. Honest to God, it looked like he was grinning. His black, intelligent eyes regarded the just-waking city, with its charming antique lampposts, enormous palms, and urns of flowing red bougainvillea, as if he had a master plan and everything was going according to it.
He was towing a guy with hair so blond I had to strain to be sure he had eyebrows. Not a happy camper, but cooperating with the dog’s wishes so far.
Bitten to Death Page 17
