Undaunted

by HELEN HARDT

“He won’t stop,” I said. “He’s determined in a way I’ll never understand. He’s willing to risk those missing women to protect the secrets in that book.”

  “I know. What do you think is going on with the book? Bea?”

  I nodded. “That’s my guess. Julian must have had her shield it from him.”

  Julian appeared. “That’s exactly right. We have to take precautions now. My father is on a quest to stop us. I promised Bea a little more of my ashes, even though she didn’t ask for payment. You still have them, I hope?”

  Dante nodded. “Yeah. Em and I haven’t had the chance to talk about what to do with them. I was thinking we’d scatter them where Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Simone are buried.”

  “At this point,” Julian said, “I’d advise against scattering them. They’re clearly very valuable, and they can help you.”

  “But they’re—”

  “No. They’re not me. We’ve had this discussion.”

  “I know.” Dante rubbed his temples. “It’s just hard.”

  “I know, son. But right now, they’re a commodity, and we need all the help we can get solving these mysteries.”

  My stomach growled. “Breakfast?” I said.

  “None for me.” Julian laughed.

  “Dante?”

  “Yeah, baby.”

  “Eggs, bacon, and coffee?”

  “Perfect. I’m going to log on to your computer—”

  “Our computer. Everything’s ours now.”

  He smiled. “You’re so sweet. Okay. Our computer. To see if Nocturnal Truth has gotten back to me.”

  “You just sent the request last night,” Julian said.

  “I know, Dad, but you never know. If he’s a vampire, he was probably up.”

  I laid six strips of bacon in a cast-iron frying pan and turned on the stove. While the bacon sizzled, I made a pot of coffee and cracked four eggs into a bowl, whisking them until they were frothy.

  I looked into the living room. Julian stood behind Dante, who was tapping on my laptop.

  “Anything yet?” I asked.

  “The Wi-Fi is slow this morning. It’s taking me a min— Oh, fuck!”

  Chapter Eleven

  Dante

  The domain nocturnaltruth.com has expired. If you are the owner, please log in to your domain manager for more details.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

  “Bill,” my father said. “He must have gotten to them and forced them to take the site down. At least you sent your email before it was down. It may have gotten through to the owner.”

  “And it may not have,” I said. “I sent it through the site.”

  “Try again,” Erin said, coming toward us. “Maybe we can find a cache.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Saved data from a site or page.”

  “How do you know about all that?” Again, being gone for ten years reared its ugly head. Plus, I’d never been a tech wiz.

  “We use them at the hospital. Caches are created so future requests can be served faster. Maybe this Lucien Crown guy created a cache.”

  “It’s worth a try, son.”

  “How do I do it?”

  “Let me try.”

  I handed the laptop to Erin.

  “Watch the bacon, okay?” She began tapping keys.

  I headed to the kitchen and turned the slices of bacon. Then I went back and watched over Erin’s shoulder.

  “Nothing yet.” She continued typing.

  “It was a small site,” my father said. “Not like what you must use at the hospital.”

  She sighed. “Yeah. It was worth a try. I’m sorry. At least we have a name. Lucien Crown.”

  “There could be a million Lucien Crowns,” I said.

  “In New Orleans? Probably not,” she said.

  “We don’t know he’s here in New Orleans,” I said.

  “No, but where else would he be? Where do vampires live?”

  “Everywhere and anywhere,” my father said. “Your grandmother obviously lived in Ohio.”

  Erin sighed. “Well, I know a Logan Crown. Dr. Logan Crown.”

  “You’re not going near him,” I said, my hackles rising.

  “Dante…”

  “Son, it’s a decent lead.”

  “Lead? It’s nothing. I’m sure lots of people have that surname. She’s not going near him.”

  “Maybe I’m not,” she agreed. “He currently thinks I’m on a family emergency in Ohio.”

  “River can go with you,” my father said. “He can glamour the doctor into not remembering you were there, and he’ll be there to protect you if you need it.”

  “Good plan,” Erin said.

  “Good plan? Are you fucking insane? This guy tried to—” I stopped. My father was here.

  “I was a willing participant at the time,” she said. “And River will be with me.”

  “We need to follow every potential source, Dante,” my father said. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll tag along as well.”

  “No. No. Riv will protect her. It just pisses me off that I can’t.” My teeth itched to descend.

  “Control,” he said. “We’ll do some more work on glamouring today.”

  “I was mentally exhausted after yesterday.”

  “That’s good. It means you’re working hard.”

  “Shit!” Erin ran to the kitchen. “I hope you like extra-crispy bacon.”

  “Yeah. Fine.”

  “Coffee’s ready too. Just give me two minutes for the eggs.”

  I walked to the kitchen and poured two cups of coffee.

  “I miss the taste of coffee,” my father said.

  “Do you miss blood?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Blood was just sustenance for me. I lived on bagged steer and sheep’s blood, remember? It fulfilled a physiological need, but the flavor was nothing special.”

  In that moment, I felt sorry for my father. He’d never tasted blood as sweet as Erin’s. Never had a blood bond. Indeed, had probably never fed from a human.

  “How did you do it, all those years? All those smells of the humans around you.”

  “Control, Dante. Simple control.”

  Control. Everything came down to control. I still didn’t possess the control a vampire of my age should.

  I’d come a long way, but the path was far from its end.

  Erin and I had slept off and on the rest of the day. Now she was on her way to the ER with River, hoping to speak to Logan Crown.

  I was alone, staring at the Vampyre Texts.

  The actual Vampyre Texts, not the phony, though we’d decided to keep it in case River and Erin’s original idea ended up having any merit. Something within these pages had scared my grandfather—my strong and powerful grandfather. Had scared him so much he was willing to risk his seat on the council and risk the lives of Lucy and the others to keep us from learning what it was.

  Seek, and ye shall find.

  Stay out of my head!

  Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

  I’d never been overly religious, but I recognized the language. It was from the New Testament, from one of the Gospels, though I couldn’t remember which one.

  She was quoting the bible.

  Unreal.

  How did someone so evil quote the bible?

  Evil is in the eye of the beholder.

  I think that’s beauty, you bitch.

  Good. You’re learning. You’re speaking to me without casting me away and without succumbing. Your strength is increasing.

  Get out!

  I’d show her I could cast her away.

  She said no more, but she was still there. I felt her in my head—that shapeless thought that hung out with me when she wanted to.

  Anger mounted in me, and I screamed silently. Get the fuck out!

  And—

  She was gone.

  Just like that, she was gone.

  I’d enjoy the reprieve.

  For I knew better than to be
lieve she was gone forever.

  Chapter Twelve

  Erin

  “I don’t even know if he’s coming in tonight,” I said to River. “We may be chasing ghosts.”

  “Can you go in and ask?”

  “I’m not supposed to be in town, remember?”

  “I know. That’s why I’m here, remember?”

  “Glamouring Logan is one thing. If we go in there, you’ll have to glamour everyone who sees me.”

  He laughed. “You make that sound difficult.”

  “Isn’t it?”

  “I may not have the glamouring power Dante seems to have, but I’ve got ten years on him in experience. I can handle anyone who crosses your path.”

  “All right. Let’s do it.” We got out of my car and headed into the ER, bypassing the main entrance and sneaking in the staff door. “I just need to check the schedule.”

  I looked down, trying to remain inconspicuous, until I got to the scheduling board. Yes! Logan was on duty tonight, due to come in soon. I signaled to River, and we walked back out just as quickly.

  “That was strange,” I said. “No one seemed to notice me at all.”

  “I didn’t let them.”

  “You glamoured them? All of them?”

  “I just sent out a glamour that made the two of us invisible. Well, not so much invisible as unnoticeable. I can’t actually make things vanish.”

  “Amazing. How exactly does glamouring work?”

  “It’s difficult to explain. Imagine trying to explain to someone how to walk. You’d say, ‘put one foot in front of the other,’ but to someone who has never used his legs in that way, those instructions mean nothing.”

  “Okay… Then what can you do?”

  “There are varying degrees, which are also hard to explain. I can glamour someone into not seeing me. I can glamour someone into forgetting something or into telling me the truth. I can also glamour someone into a catatonic state, so he goes numb and doesn’t know what’s going on in any particular time.”

  “Amazing.”

  “Just a different part of the brain. Humans probably have the ability. They just never needed to evolve into it. We needed it to feed.”

  “I think it would have done humans a lot of good as well, back in the day when they were out in the wild.”

  “They didn’t need it. They could kill their food. We needed to drink from live beings back then, according to our history. Our bodies evolved generations later so we could exist on stored blood.”

  “Oh. I see.” Though I really didn’t. “Logan’s coming. Remember to get a good sniff too. I don’t think he’s a vampire, but you never know.”

  “Logan, hi.” I walked toward him.

  “Hi, Erin. What are you doing here? I thought you were out of town.”

  “I am. But I need to talk to you.”

  “What do you mean you are—”

  “Come with us.” River appeared almost out of nowhere and grabbed Logan’s arm. He inhaled, his expression a conflicting mixture of pleasure and extreme distaste. “My God. Unbelievable.”

  “What?” I said.

  “Get your hands off me!” Logan tried to yank his arm away.

  River held fast. “We’re not here to hurt you. We just need some information.”

  “Who the fuck are you? You look like— Shit. I’m so out of here.”

  “Sorry, but you’re not,” River said. “We’re just going to go back to Erin’s car and get in, and you’re going to answer some questions. It won’t take long.”

  “The hell I am—” His eyes went glassy. “Sure. No problem. Lead the way.”

  I let River and Logan have the front seat. I was happy to sit in back, away from the glamouring. I rubbed my arms to keep from shivering. I was completely freaked out.

  “I have to be at work soon,” Logan said.

  “Don’t worry. You’ll be on time,” River said.

  “What do you want from me?”

  “Do you have any living relatives?”

  “No. My parents are both gone. I’m an only child.”

  “Did your mother by any chance die in childbirth?”

  “What? No. She died two years ago. Breast cancer.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. What about grandparents?”

  “No. All dead.”

  “Do you know anyone named Lucien Crown?”

  He furrowed his brow. “Sounds familiar, actually. I think it was my great-grandfather’s name. On my father’s side, obviously.”

  “Is he alive?”

  “No.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I never met the man, but he’d be well over a hundred years old by now, so yeah, I’m pretty sure.”

  “Do you know where he lived when he was alive?”

  “No. But my whole family is from here. Probably somewhere in Louisiana. Why do you care?”

  River cleared his throat. “Genealogy is a hobby of mine.”

  “My genealogy?” Logan turned around to meet my gaze. “Erin, what is this about?”

  What the hell? He wouldn’t remember any of this anyway. “We think you might be descended from a vampire named Lucien Crown.”

  “A vamp—” He stopped, staring into nothingness.

  The catatonic state?

  “Erin,” River said, “exactly what are you doing?”

  “He won’t remember any of this, right?”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “So let’s find out exactly what he knows.”

  “I’ve been a cop for seven years, Erin. Only twice have I resorted to glamouring when questioning a perp, and then only because I knew the fuckers were guilty as sin. But I’m doing it now because we need the information. There’s something weird going on here. He shouldn’t be able to question what I’m asking.”

  My skin went cold. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m not sure. He’s not responding to the glamour.”

  “River, he’s comatose right now. Clearly he’s responding.”

  River shook his head. “Something’s not right.”

  I swatted at the invisible bugs on the back of my neck. “Have you ever come across someone who couldn’t be glamoured?”

  “I haven’t. But I haven’t glamoured a lot. I’ve heard some humans can’t be glamoured.”

  More chills surged through me. “I’m not sure what to tell you.”

  “We’re in this now,” he said. “I’ll continue.”

  I nodded. “Let’s just see what he knows. He was gone for over a week, and he has B positive blood, just like all the other missing women. He claims he might have performed surgery while he was gone, but he can’t quite remember. There’s something in his head that we need to get out.”

  “He might be playing us, but I’ll try.” River waved his hand.

  “—pire. What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Come on, Doctor,” River urged. “You’ve lived here all your life. This is New Orleans. Surely you know about vampires.”

  “Yeah. Of course. But I’m not related to any.”

  “I assure you that you are.”

  “Why the fuck are you so interested in my genealogy?”

  “Because I can tell you have a vampire in your lineage. I can tell by your scent.” River bared his fangs.

  “Oh, fuck,” Logan said.

  “Hey, wait a minute,” I said from the back seat. “You don’t seem all that surprised to see that River here is a vampire.”

  “He reminds me of— Never mind.”

  “I know,” I said. “He reminds you of the guy who kicked you out of my bedroom that day. That was my boyfriend, Dante. River is his cousin. Their dads are identical twins, so Dante and River look a lot alike.”

  “Yeah, yeah. That must be it.” Logan squinted.

  “So about your great-grandfather,” River continued.

  “I seriously know nothing about the man. He has to be dead. And how do you know I’m related to a vampire?”

  �
�You have a certain scent. I can’t describe it, because you won’t understand it anyway. Trust me, though. You are.”

  “And you think it’s my great-grandfather?”

  “I don’t know. I just know we’re looking for a Lucien Crown who used to have a website called Nocturnal Truth. It was taken down recently. Do you know anything about that?”

  Logan shook his head.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure. Do you really think I’d lie to you, when you’re looking at me like I’m lunch?”

  River chuckled. “I assure you I have no intention of taking your blood.”

  “You’d better not, or I’ll have you arrested for assault and battery.”

  “You won’t, actually.”

  “Want to bet?”

  “I’d bet the moon, except that you won’t remember any of this in about five minutes.”

  “The hell I won’t. Oh, shit.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t remember much about when I was taken. Just bits and pieces. Not memories. More like fragmented images that may or may not have occurred. Do you think…”

  “Vampires had something to do with it?” River rubbed his jawline. “They might have.”

  “Logan,” I asked. “Why are you on lithium?”

  “Mood disorder,” he said absently. Then, “How the fuck do you know that?”

  River waved his hand over Logan’s face, and Logan lapsed into the suspended state again.

  “What was that, Erin?” River said.

  “I checked his medical records at the hospital.”

  “I don’t have to tell you how illegal that is,” River said.

  “I know. But there’s something about him, River. Something off. It’s more than that, even. He knows something. I just don’t know what.”

  “What does any of that have to do with the fact that he’s on lithium?”

  “Lithium is used mostly to treat bipolar disorder or, more specifically, the manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder, including manic rage.”

  “I see what you’re getting at,” River said. “What if he was denied his lithium while he was gone?”

  “Exactly. If he was taken by vampires, and it seems likely that he was, given that he has no recollection, and also given that the other patients disappeared without anyone realizing it, we want to know why. Was it to perform surgery? Probably. He thinks he did. Was it because he has B positive blood? Probably. All the rest of the missing people have it. What if there was a third reason? What if—”