Blue-Blooded Vamp (15 page)

I pushed her until she rolled over and got out of bed with a disgusted sigh. I couldn’t muster up too much indignation, though. At least I didn’t have to sleep on the couch like Adam.

The night before, Alexis had refused to share a room with a demon and a mage. I couldn’t really blame her. I wouldn’t want to share a room with those two either. But for Alexis, the discomfort came from an inherent mistrust in all magical beings, which was bred into every full-blooded vampire from birth. Adam had tried to suggest Alexis take the couch instead, but I nixed that idea. With the bank of windows facing east, she would have been fried while she slept.

And that’s how I ended up sharing a bed with Alexis and the mancy got the couch. He could have slept with Erron and Giguhl, but he flat-out refused to subject himself to Giguhl’s randy nocturnal activities.

After I grabbed a quick shower, I rudely woke my bedmate and told her she had thirty minutes before it was time to head out. Then I left her and went to join the others. Erron sat on the couch plucking away on his guitar. I greeted him as I passed, but he seemed lost in the song, so I continued to the kitchen. Giguhl and Adam were at the table, drinking coffee.

I grabbed a mug and had just settled in when the demon leaned across the table like a conspirator.

“So… is it just me or did anyone else pick up some
major sexual tension between Alexis and Slade last night?” Giguhl said.

“Totally.” I nodded. “Alexis said his name in her sleep last night, too. Not surprising really. They totally did the deed in New York before we left.”

Adam’s head jerked up. “Really?”

I shrugged. “Yeah.”

“And you’re not upset?”

I set down my coffee and looked him right in the eye. “Of course not.”

He held my gaze for a moment. “Good.”

I nodded. “Good.”

Giguhl sighed and made a clucking sound with his tongue. “Jesus, you two are idiots.”

“Hey!” Adam and I said in unison.

“I’m just sayin’.”

The demon was saved from a cutting retort when my cell phone started jumping around on the table. I picked it up and didn’t recognize the number. My heart picked up its pace. Was Tristan calling to cancel the meeting?

I clicked the button to answer. “Yes?”

“Sabina? It’s Georgia.”

Relief flooded through me. I’d totally forgotten I asked Georgia to check up on Nyx for me. “Hey, Georgia. What’s up?”

“I might have turned up something for you about Nyx.”

I sat up straighter. Adam and Giguhl watched me carefully, their expressions wary. “Okay, shoot.”

“None of the vamps in New Orleans have heard of her, but when I tried some friends in the old country”—the old country in Georgia’s case was France—“I got a couple of hits. Seems there was a vampire who came through Lyon about fifty years ago.”

“That’s a long time ago, Georgia.” Too long ago to be of any help now.

“Yeah, I was surprised, too, but my friend said he remembered her because she was extraordinarily beautiful, even for a vamp. Do you think it’s the same Nyx you’re looking for?”

I pursed my lips. Hadn’t Asclepius said the same thing, although in less gracious terms? “That jives with what I was told, too. Plus, Nyx isn’t exactly a common name. Did your friend give you any other info?”

She sighed. “Unfortunately, no. He said she was only in town for a week or two. Said she seemed real nervous, like she was on the run.”

I frowned. Asclepius hadn’t mentioned when Nyx had asked him to make the vest, but I had the impression it happened more recently than half a century ago. Although, maybe the reasons she was on the run tied into her need for the vest in the first place. “Hmm, well, if it was the same Nyx, she obviously headed to Italy sometime after your friend saw her.”

“I’m sorry, Sabina. I wish I could have turned up more. I even called an old friend in Florence, and she hadn’t heard of Nyx, either. It’s surprising because the vampire population in Europe is a lot smaller than in the States since the Dominae moved their power base to the New World.”

“Well, I appreciate the effort.”

“Does this mean you haven’t made any progress on your end?”

“Not where Nyx is concerned. But honestly, it’s probably fourth on my list of priorities right now.”

“How goes the hunt for Cain?”

Alexis chose that moment to make her appearance. “Hey, Sabina? You got any of that bagged blood Erron scored?”

I covered the mouthpiece to answer her, but Giguhl jumped up.

“I’ll grab it.” While he went to the fridge, Alexis took the last spot at the table.

I uncovered the phone to rejoin the conversation with Georgia. “Sorry about that. We’ve made some progress with Cain, but some new complications have popped up.”

“Who was that?” Georgia asked.

“That was Alexis, actually. You remember her from New York?”

“Yeah, I remember. She’s the bitchy one who worked for Tanith, right?”

My lips twitched at her accurate description. “Yeah.”

“Why is she there?”

I paused, weighing my answer. I’d told Georgia she couldn’t help with the mission because we didn’t need more bodies complicating things, but now I was about to tell her Alexis had joined the crew. “Queen Maeve and Rhea sent her to take point on a side errand they needed done.” I could have explained about Persephone, but that would have taken more time than I had once Georgia started asking the inevitable questions. Plus, the answer I gave was close enough to the truth with the added bonus of assuaging Georgia’s ego.

“Well, I hope you’re all staying safe. Or as safe as is possible when you’re tracking down a psycho.”

I chuckled. “We’re all okay. How are you doing?” I asked carefully.

“Better. I promoted Brooks to bar manager at Lagniappe.”

“That’s great, Georgia. He’ll be a huge help.”

She sighed. “It’s only until I figure out what to do next.”

“You don’t have to make any final decisions yet. It’s only been a few days.”

“It’s true. We’ve got Gender Bender night in a couple of days, so Brooks and the queens have been having dress rehearsals after hours.” She yawned into the phone. “I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to think about Mac.”

A couple of minutes later, I ended my call with Georgia. Before she hung up, she promised to keep trying to track down Nyx’s trail. While I appreciated her optimism, I didn’t expect she’d come up with anything useful. Whoever this Nyx really was she obviously hadn’t wanted anyone keeping tabs on her over the years.

I leaned back in my chair and tossed the phone onto the table.

“No news?” Adam asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing useful.”

“So,” Alexis said, polishing off her bag of blood, “what time do we head out?”

I glanced at the windows. The gray hues of evening had descended over the city, but brilliant orange streaks still flashed on the horizon. “As soon as it’s full dark.”

Alexis took a second bag of blood from the refrigerator. “Where is Persephone staying?” She pierced the silicone with her fangs and started gulping. Adam watched her with a look of distaste. He might be more comfortable with the idea of me taking his own blood, but I guess watching Alexis gulp down cold type O neg wasn’t the most appetizing sight.

I ignored him and wrote down the address on a pad. “I’ve been thinking, and I’d feel a lot better if Erron went with you.”

“Why?” Alexis demanded.

“Because that way if there’s trouble, he can flash you out.”

She laughed, exposing her blood-tinged fangs. “Sabina, don’t be ridiculous. I think I can handle myself.”

“What if Cain decides to use you to get to Sabina?” Adam pointed out.

“I’ll kill him.” Alexis shrugged.

“Not possible. Remember?”

“Shit,” Alexis said. “Okay, fine. I’ll take the Recreant with me. But he better stay out of my way. This is vampire business.”

“Trust me, he may look like a slacker,” Adam said, “but I trust him to get my back when shit goes down.”

Alexis glanced at me for confirmation. “It’s true. He’s a great wingman.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Alexis said, surprising me. When we’d worked together in New York, she’d spent most of her time questioning my skills and accusing me of losing my edge. But I guess we’d made more progress than I thought.

“All right,” Giguhl said, clapping his claws. “Who’s ready to go meet Sabina’s dad?”

T
ourists swarmed across the Spanish Steps like hungry ants. In the piazza below the steps, the lights of the Fontana della Barcaccia glowed on the eager faces of those who tossed pennies into the blue waters hoping for a blessing from Poseidon.

The public location should have added a measure of safety, but I was anxious. I suppose some nerves were understandable given I was about to meet my father for the first time. But this wasn’t your average family reunion. Especially when I expected Cain to swoop in like that creepy uncle no one ever wanted to invite.

Adam lounged on the steps. He’d purchased gelato from a cart in the square and nibbled at it while staring meditatively into the fountain. Despite his fairly convincing ruse, his shoulders were tense and his gaze alert. Meanwhile, Giguhl, in cat form, crouched in a tree on the balcony level below me, ready to get my back should the need arise.

I stood high above them in the upper piazza in front of the Trinità dei Monti church. I’d chosen the location because of the obelisk that rose at my back, preventing a
rear attack. Plus, from this vantage point, I could see the entire steps, the plaza below, as well as the Keats-Shelley House on the left.

After standing in the cold until half past eight, I wondered if Tristan changed his mind. But just as I was about to call the mission, he arrived.

It wasn’t that he stood out in the crowd. Quite the opposite. Among the hunched shoulders, heavy winter coats, and hats of the mortals at the base of the steps, he fit right in. In fact, he blended too well. Instead, it was the overpowering punch in my gut that warned me a real magical threat entered the vicinity. The power vibrated in my molars and made my hackles rise like tiny daggers.

I rose to my full height, raised my chin, and stayed put. If he was making me jump through hoops to get this meeting, he could come to me. He might know more about me than I did about him, but I’d be damned if his first impression of me had any hint of vulnerability.

He’d made it past Adam and had begun his ascent up the steps. As if compelled, the crowd between us parted. Time slowed. Wind picked up the edges of his black coat, which flew out around him like black wings. His pace was confident, unhurried as he climbed. Deliberate. A black hat cast shadows over his face, revealing only a strong jaw and lips set into a hard line.

Closer now. My pulse ratcheted up with each step he took. A wide circle of power surrounded him and reached me well before his body did. Several steps behind him, Adam kept pace with his movements. Far enough back not to raise alarm but close enough to intervene. A flash of gray in my peripheral told me Giguhl had taken position as well. I kept my gaze on Tristan and prayed they wouldn’t jump the gun and spook him off.

Even if I wanted to look away, I couldn’t. Whether he held me in his thrall through magical means or he was really that magnetic, I couldn’t tell. Didn’t matter because my eyes couldn’t, wouldn’t, leave him.

He made it to the top of the stairs and started my way. His chin tipped down, but I could feel his gaze like a spotlight. But then he stopped short. Utterly still and alert. There was no sense of him hesitating or doubting his next move. Instead, I felt more like I was being judged. Weighed and measured. I stayed still, not wanting to betray one hint of insecurity.

You’d better be worth all this fucking drama,
I thought silently at him.

That hard mouth quirked, as if he’d read my mind. He moved forward, his pace determined. My knees locked and a cold chill passed over me that felt a lot like fear.

It’s not every day a girl meets her father for the first time.

He pulled off his hat, revealing a head of thick black hair and piercing blue eyes.

I gasped. He looked exactly like the painting I’d seen of him in the library at the mage compound in New York.

It really was Tristan Graecus. My father was alive. Gods help me.

I opened my mouth to say… something, but a frigid wind rushed through the piazza. Tristan froze, lifted his chin, as if sniffing the air like a predator tensed for flight… or fight.

His head jerked toward me. “I told you to trust no one.”

My first instinct was to get defensive and tell the guy off. What kind of idiot did he think I was to expect me to come here without backup? I put my hands on my hips. “I—”

Before I could say more, he grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the street. At first, I was too shocked to resist,
but then my brain started working again. I dug my heels in. “Wait just a damned minute,” I yelled.

He paused to shoot me an icy glare. “Cain is here,” he hissed.

I jerked my gaze toward the piazza. It took only a second for my eyes to spot the fire-engine-red head at the base of the steps. Emerald-green eyes flashed with recognition. A snake smile spread across full lips.