In the Dark Page 4

  “What are you going to do about all this?” I asked in a thick voice.

  “Stop her. I thought we had established that.”

  “How are you going to stop her? Throw her in jail?”

  He met my eyes with an icy stare I did not like. He’d made me nervous up until now. Now he scared me.

  “I will find this woman,” he said, “and I will kill her. By committing murder against one of our kind she has forfeited her life.”

  It would have had the same effect if he’d slapped me. I stared at him, mouth falling open. He watched me, waiting for my next question.

  I didn’t want to know more. Not the details. Not how he thought he would do this. I had a feeling he’d tell me, if I asked.

  And still he waited . . . not for me to ask anything, I realized with a chill. Waiting for me to decide. He wouldn’t go through with anything if I didn’t want him to.

  I opened my mouth to say no, to tell Sebastian to back off. No sound came out. I tried to say it again, but I found myself closing my mouth. I couldn’t tell him I didn’t want his help.

  “You may leave,” he said off-handedly. “This matter does not involve me unless you wish it to.”

  Telling me I could still change my mind. I didn’t answer. He scared me. And I still wouldn’t open my mouth and tell him to back out.

  I must have pulled in tighter on myself, because he looked at me again. Cocked an eyebrow. I shifted in the chair, trying to be small. He kept looking at me with that blank face, thinking at me, thinking –

  He thinks I’m smart to be afraid of him.

  A cold shiver went up my spine. I didn’t know that, how could I? It was only a guess. But it felt like such a good guess.

  He looked away. “Make yourself comfortable if you like. If not, the elevator will take you to the first floor.”

  And he walked out, his boots thunking away down a hall. I heard a door open and shut. Then nothing. He’d left me all alone. I couldn’t even hear Seattle from this side of the thick windows.

  How could all this happen in a few hours?

  What am I going to do?

  Nobody answered.

  BEDROOM

  Despite her fear, she did not leave. She was smart enough to fear him and smart enough to know she had little choice if she wanted help. Sebastian had been nothing but honest with her: he intended only to help her because her situation interested him. She, however, had no way of knowing that. He could tell it bothered her.

  Sebastian sat cross-legged on his bed, in the innermost room in the penthouse. No windows. No way to sneak in while he slumbered, no way to expose him to sunlight. He listened as the girl walked around his home, examining things. He could just hear the hiss of her fingers sliding over various objects if he listened hard enough. She touched, but left things lie.

  He had had very few people in his home, vampire or mortal. He wanted to ask her what she thought, what she made of him from what she saw – he knew she lacked the training to pick up information about him from his home. She would gain some clues, of course, but not what he would in her place.

  The whisper of skin on metal told him she’d found a blade – probably the one he carried on him. The smaller one-handed sword hung in plain sight. She ran her fingers along the metal, letting out a brief gasp. He kept the blade sharp. She had likely cut herself. Sebastian continued listening. Whatever wound she had acquired would heal.

  Ian moved on, coming down the hall toward the bedrooms. He tensed momentarily, though he had locked and barred his door securely.

  A doorknob rattled gently, then turned with a soft squeak. A room further down from his. One of the guest rooms he had never thought he’d use. The door creaked open. He heard her feet pad in and the door close behind her. Sebastian strained his ears to hear beyond both doors, to trace her footsteps across the floor. She stretched out on the bed, springs squeaking. Her boots thumped to the floor. In a moment he heard the sharp breathing that meant she had begun crying again.

  How long would that go on? he wondered with minor irritation. Hours? Days?

  How long has it gone on . . . ?

  As quickly as it had formed the irritation vanished. She had every right to her grief.

  He listened carefully until her sharp breaths slowed and finally stopped. Once he was certain she had cried herself to sleep, he stretched out, closed his eyes, and slept himself.

  IAN

  A voice floated into my dreams. A woman, far away. Or maybe just very quiet. She sounded upset. I rolled over in bed, half-asleep. No woman. Just a dream.

  The woman drifted back into my dream. “Sebastian, I don’t know what to do, Evan hasn’t been home in two days . . .”

  My dream changed to focus on her. I found myself standing beside her while she fought tears, facing Sebastian’s chill expression. My name was Emily. I lived with Josephine and Evan, loved them both very much. I missed Evan. He’d been gone for too long and this solid stone man that Josephine had said would help just looked at us, like we didn’t matter.

  My eyes opened, lying in Sebastian’s dusty, untouched guest room. Very real tears wet my cheeks. The dream feeling of loss and sadness seemed to follow me into the waking world, so close that I nearly cried again. I scrubbed at my face with one hand, turning my fingers red.

  I rolled off the bed – stopped as an ache went through my neck. I slapped my hand to it with a groan. The muscle under my skin had turned into a hard knot. I looked behind me on the bed and saw one of the hair needles I used to hold my bun lying on my pillow. I gave it a dirty look.

  Massaging my neck, I turned back away from the bed – a clean set of clothes sat folded on the armchair. Men’s jeans and a button-up shirt like the one Sebastian had on last night. Apparently, he’d slipped in before I woke up. I tried to feel paranoid and uneasy about that, but gratitude for fresh clothes won out. It didn’t take me long to change. His clothes were big on me, but nothing fell off when I walked. After running my fingers through my long black hair to straighten it, I left the room.

  The sound of a real woman’s voice down the hall made me pause. The voice sounded just like the one in my dream.

  I must have heard her talking and made up the dream about me being there. I decided to chance being an intruder and crept into the living room.

  Two women stood in front of Sebastian. I jumped when I saw them. One speaking, the other standing beside her, watching Sebastian nervously. They both looked at me as I came in.

  The talker was petite and beautiful. She looked around thirty, with long auburn hair artfully framing a dainty pixy face. Her eyes looked blood-shot, except the blood dripped out of them.

  My eyebrows twitched up. Another vampire? How many others were there?

  I glanced at the woman behind her, also small, this time with gold waves and rich brown eyes I could have lost myself in. She was beautiful, too, square face, full lips, long lashes . . . crying. With the watery tears of a human.

  I stepped backwards while my eyes widened. Human? What about hiding, never reveal yourself?

  Sebastian must have heard me come in. He waved a hand in my direction without turning. “Josephine, this is Ian,” he said to the red-headed woman. “Kent’s get.”

  Josephine? That startled me for a second. Someone must have said her name, and I heard it in my sleep. I bet the other one’s name is Emily. With that explained to my satisfaction, the other thing Sebastian said caught up with me.

  “Kent’s what?” I asked.

  “Daughter,” Sebastian said.

  This night had more surprises than I knew what to do with. Now I was Kent’s daughter? Kent had never called me that – not without teasing, anyway.

  “Hello,” the woman with the red hair said. She had a voice like silk, even choked with tears.

  “Hi,” I said. Her attention made me suddenly conscious that I had on jeans two sizes too big for me and a man’s button up shirt, barefoot. I didn’t feel too much better when she gave me a small smile and t
urned back to Sebastian. I shoved my hands in my pockets and stood off to the side like an awkward teenager at a family reunion.

  The blond woman smiled at me. More of a sympathetic, “we’re in this together” sort of smile, supportive and a little friendly. I smiled back, hoping she might talk to me or give me the opportunity to talk to her.

  “. . . Ian,” Sebastian said. I jerked my eyes away from the blond woman to look at him. He had his back to me, facing Josephine. Talking about me, not to me. “I don’t see what I can do beyond that,” he finished.

  Josephine’s delicate hands clutched at her sleeves. “I don’t know who else to turn to. And now you tell me Kent’s dead, as well. Why won’t you help me?”

  He had refused to help her? I frowned and paid closer attention to the conversation.

  “As I said, I am looking into this matter for Ian,” Sebastian said. “That will have to do.”

  I didn’t want to be his scapegoat!

  Josephine’s bottom lip trembled as fresh red tears escaped her eyes. The blond woman put her hands over her face.

  “Can’t you at least keep her posted?” I asked.

  Sebastian gave me a dark look.

  “I have made my decision.” His voice was steel. “Josephine, if you don’t mind, I have work to do. Good night.”

  My mouth dropped open. Sebastian turned on his heel and left, stalking back down the hallway. Josephine watched after him, then squeezed her eyes shut.

  “Look.” I closed the distance between Josephine and me. “I don’t know what his problem is. If you want, I can let you know what’s happening at the very least. Would that help?”

  It startled her for a second. Then her expression changed and I though she might kiss me. Not that I would have minded.

  “Oh, would you? I didn’t know who else to ask for help, and when I told him about Evan he said Kent was gone as well, and I just – oh.” She reached a hand out for me, eyes gone wet again. Mine had too. “Oh, no. Kent. I’m so sorry, Ian. I’m sorry.”

  I nodded and looked at the floor, letting her take and hold my hand. “I’m sorry about Evan,” I managed. It seemed like the thing to say.

  “Kent was a wonderful man,” Josephine said, still squeezing my hand.

  I looked up. “You knew him?”

  She nodded. “We met sometimes, to sit and talk. I don’t suppose he would have mentioned me. He always said he hated watching the young ones get rushed into things. He didn’t want to introduce us for a while yet.”

  “Oh.” The young ones? How many of us were there?

  “I really think we’re making Sebastian terribly uncomfortable,” she went on when I didn’t say anything else. “Let me give you my number, and we’ll go.”

  When I realized again that I didn’t have my cell phone with me, we found a pen and some paper – or rather she did – and she jotted down something from the Seattle area.

  “In case you need anything,” Josephine added as she pressed the number into my hand. I tucked it into my pocket with a mumbled thanks. Maybe later I’d have to pick her brains about Kent.

  Josephine squeezed my hand once more, then headed for the elevator. The mortal woman followed without being asked. I walked them over to it, only partly aware I should see them out. The blond gave me a shy, sad smile. I tried to return it. When the doors closed, leaving me alone in the quiet of the penthouse, I broke down in fresh tears.

  With my back against the elevator doors, I slid down to hit the floor with a bump. Oh, Kent. I hid in my crossed arms and sobbed until my face ached with the effort, and kept sobbing. My heart hurt. I hurt all over.

  “Ian.”

  I wiped my eyes on my sleeve. Sebastian’s sleeve, I realized, too late. “Sorry,” I said, holding the reddened fabric up.

  He shrugged. “I will get you a clean one, if you like.”

  I did like. He brought one, and I ducked into the hallway to change. If I took a little longer than that in order to compose myself, Sebastian didn’t complain when I came back into the living room. Feeling a little wrung out, but ready to move forward, I asked the question I wasn’t sure I wanted answered.

  “What’s the plan?”

  “We’re going to the Half-Moon.” Sebastian picked up his coat.

  “Now?” I asked.

  “Why not?”

  I didn’t want to walk into the mouth of danger, but if he came with me it might be okay. “No reason, I guess. All right. Why are we going there?”

  His eyes flashed a smile. “To see if a criminal really will return to the scene of a crime,” he deadpanned.

  “Oh.”

  He belted on his sword, pulling his long coat over it. Once he had the coat on, I couldn’t see the sword unless I looked very hard. Like it was part of him.

  I didn’t have a coat. Or keys. Or a sword, for that matter. I went and found my boots. Lacing them up without Kent to help me was a pain in the ass and nearly started me crying again. Sebastian just waited for me, then hit the call button for the elevator when I stood. It reminded me of the two I’d just walked out. And the sweet smile one of them had given me.

  “Who was the blond?” I asked.

  Sebastian shrugged. “One of Josephine’s. Emily, I think. I’m not certain.”

  “Ah.” Emily – I was right. My eyebrows puckered. “Why won’t you help Josephine?”

  We got on the elevator, me watching Sebastian, Sebastian paying attention to nothing in particular. I still got the feeling he noticed every move I made.

  “I see no need,” he said. “I am looking into this as a diversion. If she can offer information I did not have before, I will ask her for it.”

  “It would make her feel better. She just wants to be included.”

  He didn’t answer.

  “What would it hurt?” I pressed.

  His eyes darkened. “What would it accomplish, besides making Josephine feel better?”

  “Isn’t that enough of a reason?”

  His eyes went darker. “I have made my decision, Ian.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t agree with it.” I crossed my arms.

  “You have that right.”

  I sighed and let it go for now. This argument was far from over, though.

  The elevator let us out in the garage, and we left for the Half-Moon.

  IAN

  We left the car and headed for the club, both of us staying as silent as we had on the trip over. As we got closer, the people in line started noticing us – and then promptly pretended they hadn’t. We weren’t dressed for the Half-Moon. I focused on my boots, too tired to even feel embarrassed. We made the door without getting openly harassed, but once we got there the bouncer crossed his arms like he thought we were joking.

  I bit my lip, trying to make up reasons the guy should let us in. Telling him there’d been a murder wasn’t one of them. But before I could start stammering bull, Sebastian stepped in front of me and gave the guy one hard, flat look. The bouncer’s face suddenly went slack, like his brain had lost contact with it.

  “Step aside,” Sebastian said quietly, but very firmly. I almost obeyed.

  The bouncer took one wooden step out of the way. As if this happened all the time, Sebastian walked past him and went in. I couldn’t make myself follow. I stared at the bouncer while my stomach wrung itself up in a knot. He didn’t stare back. It seemed like he stayed that way for a long time, but before I could even swallow uneasily, his face came back to life again and his eyes started to focus on me. That almost creeped me out more. I ran in behind Sebastian.

  The club was still dark inside and still packed. Saturday. The noise, the smell, the crowd all suffocated me. I thought about walking right back out. I settled for hunching my shoulders and stayed close to Sebastian.

  We found an out-of-the-way booth against one wall. Sebastian slid in on one side, I took the other. My stomach grumbled loud at the thick smell of sweat and blood warming the air. I’d eaten only a day or two ago; I shouldn’t have been this hung
ry so soon.

  Of course. All the blood I cried had to come from somewhere. I needed more.

  That realization was a little disturbing.

  Sebastian watched the dance floor. I shifted in my seat, getting more and more hungry and wondering how to excuse myself politely. With Kent, just slipping off told him enough. Finding a way to tell a near-stranger that I needed to go drink someone’s blood didn’t come so easy. Was there some sort of vampire etiquette?

  I squirmed. The music didn’t seem so loud suddenly. In fact, I started feeling better. My hunger was distracting me, giving me something simpler to worry about. And if I thought about that too hard, I might start hating myself.

  “I’m gonna go dance,” I said, looking away from Sebastian. It was the best “excuse me, I gotta go drink some blood” I could come up with.

  A slender man walked by the booth, done in tight black so thin I could see the rings in his nipples. I ran my tongue over my fangs. They weren’t long at all, but razor sharp.

  Sebastian nodded. I slid out of my seat before he could change his mind. Without another look around, I followed the man in black.

  His skin had the color of coffee-with-cream, striking with the black and silver. I could smell him from ten feet away: clean, salty, a hint of musky cologne. He walked up to the bar and I slid up beside him, as close as I could without being utterly rude. He glanced over as my arm brushed his – so warm. I smiled, narrowing my eyes. Felt my pupils dilate as less light fell on them, watched his widen in response. I had that effect on people. Whether I had dressed for the Half-Moon or not, he was interested.

  Not half as interested as me.

  “Hi.” I said it low and looked away, letting my eyes linger almost indecently before I did. I pretended to watch the door, then turned back to him. Caught him looking at me. I met his eyes with another smile.

  “Hi.” His voice flowed over me like melted chocolate, thick and dark.

  A delightful shiver trailed its finger up my spine. I met his eyes and leaned toward him less than an inch. His body would notice. “Come here much?” I asked. He stood a little taller – letting me get a better look.