by Faith Hunter
Page 12
When she arrives back at her house, Jane sees Bruiser out front. She goes in through the back, and then opens the front door to speak to him. He has a very official-looking document from Leo. Bruiser said he did not know anything about Leo’s visit the night before until after the fact, and that if he had known, he would have warned her. Jane opens the parchment, and it states that as soon as her current contract with the vampire council is fulfilled, she is expected to get out of town immediately, and if she doesn’t, she won’t be able to leave at all. Jane closes the door in Bruiser’s face, and Molly makes the observation that Jane likes him. Jane asks Molly to check with some of the local witches to see if anyone is aware of why there would have been witch magic at the vamp rising site, and also shares her Cherokee name with Angelina.
We Invade Her Territory: Jane decides she may get some useful information from chatting with the young women at Katie’s Ladies, as she did before, so after verifying that no prying eyes were watching her, Jane hops the brick wall dividing her backyard from Katie’s and goes to the door. Tom/Troll answers, tells her the girls are in the dining room, making sure he emphasizes that Bliss (the one Jane feels pretty sure is a witch but may not be aware of it) is also there. Jane feels guilty at not having gone to see Bliss since the attack on her in the bar, not to mention having left her to chase after the young rogue in the first place (events from Skinwalker). During the conversation with the girls, Jane learns that a few different times some of them have seen a group of women using a glamour to disguise themselves. Jane asks to be notified if the women are spotted again.
Jane goes to the NOPD, to talk to Rick, whom she has not seen since she saved him from bleeding to death, because she wants to be given access to any files they may have on vamp rogues over the last few years. After some negotiation, Rick takes Jane to a room marked 666, the location for the weird cases. Upon entering, Jane and Rick are greeted by Detective Jodi Richoux, who seems to be trying to tell Jane something as she slips a file into a drawer. Rick tells Jane he will have to lock her in, which neither she nor Beast likes, but she agrees.
I Was Living in a Former Whorehouse: Jane’s research in the files proves useful. She learns that even prior to the big unveiling of vampires in the U. S. (when Marilyn Monroe tried to turn JFK), they were somewhat known in certain parts of the world—including New Orleans. She finds pictures of Katie from the early nineteen hundreds, and discovers that where she is living now used to be a house of ill-repute. Of great interest, Jane finds a partially translated section of the Vampira Carta, and some handwritten notes about Sabina, the priestess Jane observed while tracking the creature in Leo’s son’s body, someone named Bethany, and a group called the Sons of Darkness. Most disturbing of all, it turns out that witch children have been taken recently. Jane photographs what she can, and texts pictures to herself also, but since there is no cell service in the room, she has to pull a fast one on her guard when leaving and send the messages from the bathroom.
Jane takes a nap when she gets home but is awakened by a call from Bruiser. Jane wants to know which of the four vampire parties going on that week Leo will not be attending, and she wants an invitation to at least one. Bruiser tells her that the clans now have an interest in her, and that the last time she attended such a function, she was under Leo’s protection. Jane suggests that perhaps Bruiser could escort her, and he says he will check with Leo, using the excuse that he could keep an eye on her that way.
I’d Rather Be Shot, Stabbed, or Chewed On: After an argument with Beast regarding mates, Jane comes downstairs after her shower to find Rick in the dining room chatting with Angelina. Though most of the conversation seems harmless, Jane warns Rick not to question the little girl again without either her or Molly in attendance, and Rick apologizes. Intrigued when he learns that Jane’s date for the evening is Bruiser, Rick sticks around, having brought steaks that he can’t cook at home because of the power outage, playing board games with Jane, Molly, and Angie. Jane gets a call from Bruiser, saying that a woman who will fit her with appropriate formal wear will be there in half an hour. Rick opts to stay. Madame Melisende does her job well, finding the perfect dress for Jane, even though the experience proves to be a whole different level of agonizing for Jane. When Rick sees the finished product, he is more or less speechless. Jane hides a few weapons on herself as a car pulls into the driveway.
Scent-marking Me: Jane and Bruiser get into the limo, and soon after expressing mutual admiration for each other’s physical assets, Bruiser tells Jane she will either need to stay with him or accept the scent-marking he can give her with blood traces (a mix of him and Leo) on a handkerchief. Jane refuses, but despite that the two end up almost consummating their attraction—until Bruiser finds some of Jane’s hidden weapons. Though she is upset about it, Bruiser also uses the opportunity of their compromising position to wipe the bloody handkerchief on Jane. He tells her that when her current case is over, he will keep her at his home for a week, and Jane says two. Bruiser also explains that Leo has a favor to ask—for Jane to keep her ears and eyes open at the party for any rumblings or plots she may hear in light of the unrest among vampire clans. Despite not being thrilled at doing anything for Leo, given that he tried to kill her, Jane agrees, in order to help avert all-out war that would impact the human population as well.
I Am Not Prey! Jane and Bruiser join the party, and get greeted by Bettina, Blood Master of Clan Rousseau, who leans in closer than Jane would like, seeming to sniff her. Bettina then makes reference to Jane as being claimed by Leo, which Jane bristles at, and reminds Jane that she had asked her before to call upon her, and that she still hopes Jane will do so. It seems to Jane that Bettina is trying to tell her something, but she can’t figure out what. While running her hands over her hair, Jane scents the rogue underneath the smell of Bettina’s perfume, meaning the Blood Master must have shaken the man’s hand. Jane looks around but can’t find anyone who matches the scent. While surveying the room, Jane realizes that alliances between the clans seem to be shifting. Jane and Bruiser discuss the ramifications of Leo dying without naming a new heir. After piling her plate with food, Jane and Bruiser get surrounded by six vamps, with Rafael Torrez of Clan Mearkanis (who does not like Leo) looking on. Just before Jane attacks, Bruiser stops her, and Torrez stops one of the male vamps. Rafael insults Jane by referring to her as Leo’s pet. Bruiser confirms that the episode is very disturbing, since the vamps were from different alliances.
Fast Cars and Money Lead Back to Dames: A female vamp that Jane doesn’t know calls out to George, and when the two of them walk over to her, she grabs them by the arms and yanks them into a storeroom. Though it seems a fight between them is about to begin, the vampire insists that she does not mean to hurt them. Bruiser identifies the vamp as Innara of Clan Bouvier, and she says she has a message from her master. Innara reports that Clans Mearkanis and Rousseau have banded together to join forces with St. Martin, who has broken away from Leo, also leaving other clans vulnerable. Rafael Torrez is trying to drum up support for a rebellion against Leo, and her master will meet with Rafael to pretend cooperation. Innara also mentions the Sons of Darkness, that Rafael has contacted one of them. The reason this whole situation is particularly disturbing and dangerous: Rafael and his followers believe in the Naturaleeza approach to vampirism, where humans are nothing but food, and that all other supernatural beings must be eradicated. Warned that Rafael is coming, and knowing it would not be good for him to find Innara with them, Jane and Bruiser go outside the door and pick up their make-out session begun in the car. Rafael and the other spectators leave, as does Innara shortly thereafter, after offering Jane and Bruiser a good time with her and her anamchara, or bond partner.
While Bruiser explains to Jane what dolore means (the state of grief vampires can enter into, so intense they may lose their minds), Jane scents the rogue maker again. Deciding to mingle to see if she can find him, Jane comes upon Brian and Brando
n, the twin blood-servants of Clan Arcenau in a group. The two men are delighted to see her, as they credit Jane with saving them after the attack from the rogue skinwalker posing as Leo’s son. Jane then has a verbal run-in with blood-servants from Clan St. Martin. Afterward, Jane remembers the look Bettina gave her, and tries to figure out where that fits into the scenario.
Feeding Frenzy: An hour later, Jane goes into the ladies’ bathroom, where the mirrors are set at odd angles and throw off her equilibrium, at which point she gets attacked by two female vamps—the two she saw earlier in the hallway. A third female vamp stands by watching. Jane is able to reach one of her crosses, though her stake and knife have been knocked from her hands, and she burns one of them. Jane is then able to get to her dropped stake and puts it into the chest of the other, but before she is able to get it in just the right spot to kill the vamp, she is pulled away by another vamp—Leo. After confronting the injured vamps and the one overseeing the attack on Jane (Adrianna), Leo calls Bruiser to take Jane to someone named Bethany for healing. On the way, Jane asks Bruiser why Leo saved her if he wants her dead, and Bruiser responds that Leo will kill her himself if he truly wants her dead, and for now he needs her until the power structure issues among the clans gets worked out. Bruiser puts Jane in a Porsche with a dark-skinned vamp, who asks Jane if she wants to be healed. When Jane agrees, the woman licks her throat and then bites her, causing Jane to feel sensations of both pain and pleasure. Too afraid to move, Jane remains still.
Biting Things, Too Small to Eat: Jane feels stronger, and when Bethany moves away, she states that Jane is not human and never has been, but unlike other vamps, she does not ask Jane what she is. Bethany tells Jane that she shared some of her essence with her, though Jane is unclear exactly what that means, but she finds out that she has access to some of Bethany’s memories. She also learns that Bethany, a shaman, was turned by one of the Sons of Darkness in the first century AD, one of the first ten of the Cursed. After their brief conversation, Bethany appears distracted and drops Jane off at home. When she arrives home and showers, Jane calls Derek Lee to see if he wants to go track the young rogue hunting grounds, and he agrees, bringing along some of his men. Jane tells them that a spelled rock helps her detect vamps, but really she is just using her acute sense of smell. After determining that no other young rogues have been hunting or killing there, the group leaves, and Jane goes home to shift and heal.
