Haven (19 page)

“Roland, these sandwiches taste great,” I praised with a grin at my former nanny.

“Thank you, Princess.”

“Why do you call me that?”

“It is who you are.”

“I’m no Princess,” I scoffed, glancing at Thomas for confirmation. He gave me none. I tried Jonas and received an impassive stare. Tessa flashed her fangs and shrugged.

Her teeth distracted me from the royalty comment. “I notice you guys can make your fangs come and go at will.” I also remembered this tidbit from my childhood.

She nodded and retracted her fangs to demonstrate. “But it is not always necessary. Usually a bit of glamour suffices as most human minds are weak. They see what we want them to see.”

I drained my cup, enjoying the warmth of the brandy as it spread through my body down to my toes. “Can all vampires, no matter how old, do the glamour thing? And compel people like they’re puppets?”

“Yes. Some better than others.”

“Let me guess, the older you are, the better you are at it, right?”

She inclined her head. “With age comes power, but not for everyone.”

“But definitely for the four of you,” I included Uncle Zi in my comment and they knew it.

She flicked her fingers. “Gifted in life, gifted in death.”

“Enough about us,” Thomas interrupted. “Let us proceed to the matter at hand.”

“Only if the matter is what just happened to Faith.” I snagged a cheese and chutney triangle, glancing at the closed bedroom door. “Where’s Kai? We were noisy. He should’ve come running.”

“The young man sleeps,” Thomas replied.

“You mean you made him sleep, yeah?”

“Yes.”

“I guess I should’ve expected that.” I polished off my sandwich. “Now spill it. What’s up with Faith’s mega vision? And the black thing? The crazy voice. No, wait. Hold that thought. Roland, may I please have another hot toddy?”

I was enjoying the warmth and slight buzz from the first one so much having another sounded like a mighty fine idea, especially as this conversation was about to ramp up the groovy factor another notch or two.

“Of course, Princess.”

A giggle bubbled up in my throat at the sight of my enormous former nanny interacting with the tiny tea service objects. Vampire theater of the absurd.

“Carina. We have much to discuss, and we lose the night.” An undercurrent of tension marred Thomas’s smooth voice.

“Okay, I’m ready.” I took a generous sip of my new toddy. “Tell me why Faith was trancin’ out all tornado-eyed and why her body was hijacked by evil.”

“You are a person of great interest to our enemies.”

“Oh, right, how could I forget? The target on my back. But, why? Is it the money?” My brothers and I were rich, after all. Affluent Orphans-R-Us.
I bit back another giggle and swallowed more toddy goodness. “It can’t be my power. It’s nothing much compared to you guys.”

Thomas and Tessa exchanged a look. “It will grow, in time,” Thomas replied. “Now, to truly
understand, we must return to the beginning.”

I nodded. “Makes sense. Faith already touched on it, right?”

“Yes. There’s more.”

Faith shook her head at Thomas, shushing him. I admired her courage, but why had she dared? “All right you two, what’s going on now?”

Faith stood but I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to the seat. She sucked in a breath, wincing. I dropped her arm. “What’s wrong?”

Thomas answered for her. “It would appear our protection has resulted in unexpected benefits.”

My eyes widened. “Protection?” Oh, hell no.

Faith expelled a resigned-to-her-fate breath, and slipped off her jacket. Bandages encircled both wrists.

Anger burned the back of my throat.
Uno, due, tre…
I ran the Italian ten-count in my head, holding my body taut to keep myself from hurling my teacup at Jonas’s face and then choking the life out of Thomas. Not that he needed to breathe, but I’d enjoy the violence.

“You bit her.” Venom veined my tone.

Thomas nodded. “The marks protect and sometimes a person’s innate talents are enhanced. As we witnessed this evening with the Seer.”

“You bit her.” You jerks.

“Marked,” Jonas corrected. “It is a gift.”

I snorted. “Of course,
you’d
think that.” I drained my cup and plonked it on the table.

“Rina.” Faith’s slid her dainty hand over mine. “There’s no road back. Only
forward. I saw the fork in my future and I chose to walk the path that included you. This is a step in that direction.”

I wanted to rail against her words, but the conviction in her voice and eyes told me she believed in this. Believed in
me.

“So,” I addressed the room. “You bit my best friend here, and
accidentally
amped up her psychic powers.”

Thomas nodded. “Yes. The Seer has surprised us all this evening.”

“Apparently she gets a fancy new title along with her enhanced abilities.”

“She sees.”

His matter-of-fact tone irritated me. “Thanks, Mister Obvious. Your marks will protect her from other vampires?”

“Our mark is a strong deterrent, yes. But some may choose to ignore it.”

“At their peril,” added Jonas.

I raised a hand. “Fine. You chewed on my friend’s wrists, she’s okay with that, so I guess I have to be okay with it, too. Just don’t do it again, or I might have to hurt someone.”

Silence.

“You’re going do it again, aren’t you?”

Thomas set down his cup. “That, my dearest girl, depends on the choices you make in the near future.”

I massaged my temples. “I don’t understand.”

“No, you do not. But you will. In time.”

My hands dropped to my lap. “I thought were having the Big Talk now.”

“Yes, we were, but the Dark One—”

“Thomas.” Tessa cut him off, voice cracking like a whip.

“Dark what?” The vampires ignored me, frozen in place like seated statues while they conversed mind-to-mind. I tried to bust in, but didn’t know how to crack their mental armor.

Secrets, more damn secrets.
Enough of the exclusion. “
Basta
.”
I pushed to my feet. Dizziness struck and black spots edged my vision. I wobbled but managed to stay upright.

“What happened to
‘
we lose the night,
cara mia,
we must tell you everything’?” I produced my best Thomas imitation. They rewarded me with exasperated stares.

I huffed. “I’m not a child, so stop treating me like I’ll break every time I learn something new. Or old, or, oh, you know what I’m getting at.”

“Sit, child,” Jonas ordered.

“I’m not—”

“Sit.” Jonas’s power shoved me down next to him.

Faith tried to hold my hand, but I waved her off. “I can handle it, you know. And I understood most of Faith’s vision. Well, up until the transfigure-whatever and bloody rituals.”

Roland handed me another hot toddy.

I sipped it in autopilot while I watched the vampires. The toddy was heavy on the brandy, warming and numbing at the same time. If I were home and feeling this loopy, I’d wander to the backyard to soak in our hot tub. When not at my club, we spent a lot of time out back after hours, relaxing in the hot water, drinking sake, watching the stars—or the fog—and chatting quietly so as not to disturb our neighbors.

It was a nice life. Or had been, anyway. I don’t know what my life looks like now. No road back, Faith had said. But did I have to lose everything when moving forward?

I hoped not.

The skin at my nape tingled. All eyes targeted me. I must’ve missed something.

Thomas narrowed his green eyes. “Did you hear me?” Displeasure tainted his tone.

I shrugged. Resisting the urge to sass them proved difficult. The alcohol was to blame, but I also disliked the kid treatment. Even if they were hundreds—or thousands—of years older than me.

“Okay, no, I didn’t. I’m sorry.” Not a shred of sincerity colored my reply.

Thomas’s expression darkened. I crossed my arms and sniffed.

“Let me try,” Faith interjected.

“Sure. Why don’t you tell me so Thomas doesn’t burst an angry vein.” Snarky. I didn’t care.

Stella suppressed a laugh. Thomas and Jonas hit me with twin stern stares.

“I can’t talk about the past or the Dark—” she glanced at the vampires, “um, evil, but Alexander will be here soon.”

I perked up at her words.

“Before he arrives you need to know what I saw of the future.”

“If you say
destiny
one more time,” I warned.

“Rina,
please
. Hear me out. As Alexander has a part to play, so do we all. You must understand we
are
the five-pointed star. You’re the nexus and Alexander is your key, the catalyst for—”

“Can’t he just be my hot, new boyfriend?”

She waved away my comment. “Kai and I, we’re your sentinels. I’m sure you can guess what Mark and Ren are...”

Okay, I’d play. “Ninja assassins?”

She took me seriously. “Your soldiers.”

“Why are you telling me this now?” My mind struggled to stay on point, but after she’d said
Alexander will be here soon
, I hadn’t absorbed much else.

I touched my lips, remembering the blistering kiss we’d shared at the restaurant before Dixon rained on our date parade. I wanted to taste him again right now, lick and nip those full lips and delve inside his mouth, circle my tongue around his gleaming fangs...

Faith snapped her fingers in my face. “Rina, please focus.”

Easy for her to say. She wasn’t sloshed on tea and brandy.

“Three years from now,” she continued. “Saturn returns to the position it held at your birth. This will be a time of great transformation for you. What no longer serves you will fall away and a new you will rise to the surface. A rebirth of sorts.”

“Sounds like a mid-life crisis to me.” Sarcasm saturated my reply.

“In a way. It’s your Saturn Return, but this isn’t about a change of career or relationship. It’s something much more integral, fundamental to who you are. You—” She paused, searching for words. “You will become
more
.”

“Hence the T-word you threw out during your vision.”

“Yes, the Transfiguration.”

I snagged a lock of hair, twisting it round and round. “Will there be a test on this later? Because my retention skills are pretty damaged at the moment.”

“That’s not all,” Faith persisted.

“Lovely.” Would this lesson in My Creepy Future never end? Where was Alexander?

Thomas took over. “Now that you are among us once again, now that we have freed your power, it will continue to grow. Before you reach the apex of your transformation three years from now, you will need to choose. Life or death.”

“Uh-huh.” Thomas’s lips moved but all I
heard was
blah, blah, blah.
I remembered what Faith had called him during her vision. “Were you really
a Celtic Chieftain? Jonas is the Dark Warrior, right? Damn, you guys are old.”

Though they both looked mid-twenties, at most.

“What about Uncle Zi? Is he as ancient as you are? No wait, he’s older, right? Why else would Faith call him the Father? He’s like the boss of all of you bosses.
Si, si, capo di tutti capi,
” I babbled. “You guys are the freaking vampire mafia.”

Yep, color me giddy from alcohol.

Jonas tipped his head and gazed at the ceiling. Thomas’s green eyes flashed.

Tessa rose to her feet, smoothing her dress. “Perhaps the toddy was an unwise beverage choice for this evening. There remains much to reveal, my beloved one, but you are in no condition to hear it.”

“What? No, I can do it. Lay it on me. Who cares if I’m a little buzzed?”
Slurred words. Oops
.

“More than a little.” Jonas’s anger crawled over my skin like sizzling spiders. “You evade the truth even as it awakens in your soul and in your flesh. Even as the Darkness hunts you and abuses those you love.”

I swiped my arms. “Shut up.”
You bully.
“I’m not avoiding anything. You’re the ones doling out info in tiny, cryptic bits. And you’re the ones who put me in a four-day coma, so pardon me if I’m a little off my game.”

He leaned in, eyes blazing. “Insolent child.”

My hands fisted. “Back off, Mister Cranky.”

Thomas leaned over me. “Enough, Jonas.”

Jonas whooshed from the couch, reappearing across the room. Glowering.

Tessa took his spot, petting my hand. “My darling, let us be clear. The human body is a frail thing. You will not survive the transformation without our help. The blood ritual would protect you during your metamorphosis.”

“And beyond,” Thomas added.

“If I don’t want your help? Don’t want this blood ritual?”

“You will die.” Jonas’s glacial tone iced the air.

Great. Whether I wanted it or not, a metaphysical power surge awaited me in the future. It would kill me unless the vampires provided a safety net. Life or death. What kind of choice was that?

“Does this blood ritual involve more arm biting?”

“No.” Thomas’s eyes gleamed, excitement in their depths.
Good, that hurt.
I didn’t want to play chew toy for the vamps again. Yet unease curdled my gut at his eager expression. “That’s it? Just no? What about you, Mister Cranky? Anything to add? Because I’ll tell you right now, ritual or no ritual, I’m not giving up any more body parts to you guys.”

Jonas lashed me with a lethal gaze. “No.”

“Then you’re right, Tessa, I’m not ready to hear more.” I struggled to my feet as fast as the spinning room would allow. Thomas reached for me, but I slapped his hand away. Fear, anger and frustration fought for dominance. I stumbled over Tessa’s legs and knocked the tea sandwich tower off the coffee table on my way to the door.