Stealing Time (33 page)

“In my right mind, of course I would. From…what, James? A mile? Two?”

“Depending upon the wind but, yes, that’s about right.”

“But with that level of thirst…” I shook my head. Her expression remained dubious and I debated trying to explain what it felt like. It was too recent, though, and the idea of purposely reliving the agony was beyond unappealing.

“The next time I tell you to keep your distance, will you listen to me?” Jack demanded and, while his tone was hard, his gaze was tender.

Kate glared right back at him before turning to me. “No skipping any meals, Evie. I mean it.”

I burst out laughing. “No trying to baby the vampires. You might pull back a stump and a couple severed arteries.”

The tense moment passed and Kate took Jack’s hand where it lay on the cushion next to her, not seeing the quick smile that crossed his face.

Jack caught me studying him and shrugged, ever so slightly, as his cheeks flushed.

“So. Here we are,” Siska said, looking around at everyone with a sardonic expression. “What do we do now?”

“Clearly we cannot remain here,” James answered. “The possibility that Philippe will learn about this house increases with each moment we stay.”

“Yes, you have to assume the worst where he’s concerned,” Jack said. “And you still won’t anticipate the half of it.”

Kate looked up at him. “Why did you have anything to do with him in the first place? I still don’t get it.”

Jack’s eyes went flat. It appeared that he wasn’t going to answer at first and we all waited, watching as he debated with himself. Finally, he sighed. “I’ll be damned if I’m turning this into some kind of group therapy session. But I was mad…no, I was
pissed
for a very long time and Philippe’s approach had a lot of appeal.”

“What were you mad about?” Kate asked.

“I really don’t want to talk about this, thanks,” he retorted, his jaw rigid.

“You’re going to have to, Jack,” James said with steel in his voice. “Unless we understand what drove you to Philippe—and, more importantly, what led you to leave him—you will go no further with us.”

Jack’s black-eyed glare met James’s direct, pale-green gaze.

“Please, Jack?” Kate asked and she touched his arm.

He started and looked down at her hand in surprise before covering it with his own. Gathering his thoughts, he said, “I guess I should start with my human life, since decisions that were made then ultimately led me here.”

It was fascinating to me that, as he spoke, his southern accent faded and his words took on a French cadence.

“I was among the first troops sent to the colonies when war broke out, what you call the French and Indian War. My unit was at Fort Carillon where the bloodiest battle of the war occurred. Over two thousand Redcoats died and the clean-up went on for days. Our troops—every one of us except for the damned officers in their fancy uniforms—combed the woods and dealt with the bodies.” Jack glared at Siska and his words became clipped. “That was when the jackass here decided he was a bit peckish and tried to kill me.”

Siska spoke, deadpan. “I hate French food. Gives me heartburn.”

James and I cracked up, even as Leo chuckled and Nic playfully punched Siska’s shoulder.

At Kate’s dark look, I held up my hands in surrender. “It is funny, you have to admit.”

“Yeah, if you’re not what’s for dinner,” she snapped and we choked on our laughter.

“And then?” Leo asked, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “What happened?”

Jack’s expression twisted into a savage grin. “My comrades found me bleeding. It was their looking for me that drove the sonuvabitch here away before he could kill me. The men didn’t know what to do so they took me to the priest who traveled with our unit. He apparently had seen a vampire bite before because he panicked and raced out of the tent screaming ‘
Aider-moi! Vite! C’est un diable!
’”

James translated, “Help me, quick. It is a devil.”

“Just so. Yes.” Jack nodded, his accent thicker. “By then, I had an idea what had happened to me and I felt sure what was
going
to happen if I was still there when the priest returned with soldiers. So I crawled out of the tent and into the forest as far as I could before the change took over. When I awoke, I realized what I had become. It seemed to me that, if I was going to hell, I would at least have a good time first.”

“Maybe
you’re
going to hell, but don’t dump the rest of us in the ash cart with you,” Siska grumbled. “I can’t believe you’ve swallowed the Church’s shit about vampires having no souls.”

Kate ignored the interruption and raised her eyebrows at Jack. “What do vampires do for a good time?”

Jack said, “I reacquainted myself with our officers.”

“You killed them.” Kate’s a cut-the-crap kinda gal.

“Not all. Just the bastards who took good soldiers off the line to carry their heavy furniture and finery, who dined on delicacies while we barely had enough to eat, who wore silk while we went barefoot.” His grin was fierce. “It was my own version of a field promotion, and I made sure that only the good officers—the ones who knew their business and were not incompetent fools—only those were allowed to live.”

Kate stared at him.

Jack gave a Gallic shrug as if his words were of no consequence, but his gaze was watchful as he took in her expression. “Eventually, I went to New Orleans, which is where I met Philippe. I liked the city, the French feel of it, the music, the wild vibrancy of life there. Over the years, I wandered a great deal, but always returned to New Orleans.” He looked down at Kate’s white-knuckled grip on the sofa cushion. “The most recent trip was about a year ago and, this time, Philippe was more unstable than I had ever seen him.”

James leaned forward. “How did he change?”

“No longer was it enough to exist as a vampire, to hunt and give vent to his instincts in whatever manner he wished. Sometime while I was gone, Philippe allied with an elf king. His name is Reiden and you’ve never seen such an evil son of a bitch—he makes Philippe look like a naughty Cub Scout.”

“An elf?” Siska repeated dubiously.

Leo said, “They prefer fae. Call one an elf only if you wish to cause insult.”

“You’re taking this seriously?” Siska snapped, rearing back in his seat.

“Indeed, I am. As should you, my friend.”

I asked Siska, “You’ve been around so long, how could you not know that fae are real?”

Leo answered, “Fae are of European origins, my dear. It’s only in the last hundred years or so that they’ve come to North America.”

Siska looked thoughtful. “It makes sense they’d be cautious coming here. There are plenty of native preternaturals here already. Seeing what happened to my people, they’d’ve learned not to welcome anybody coming from Europe with an eye to settle.”

“Well, they’re here now,” James said. “Remind us to tell you about our own experiences when time permits. You should also speak with Gage.”

Dumbfounded, Siska just looked at us, much to Nic’s amusement. “I’ve never seen His Smugness without a wiseass comeback,” she smirked.

He growled something in another language and she retorted in kind.

Jack grinned at Siska’s annoyance. “As for Philippe’s elf-fae ally, take my word for it—all that Tolkien crap about them being kind and noble? Dead wrong. Reiden and his people have taken torture and death to an entirely new level, with Philippe an avid pupil. Now he’s causing the most appalling violence he can imagine. And, trust me, he’s one imaginative mother fu—” Jack glanced sideways at Kate and swallowed the rest of it.

“So you decided you’d had enough.” Siska’s voice was flat.

“That’s right.”

“Sorry, I’m just not buying that you simply walked away.” He crossed his arms, his eyes dark and dangerous as he watched Jack.

His retort died on his lips as Jack looked around at our faces and saw Siska’s doubt repeated on each. Then an interesting thing happened—Jack looked at Kate last and, when he saw that she too was unsure of him, his face went white and an expression of incredible pain crossed his features.

I had to speak. “There must be some compelling reason that took you off a path you’ve followed for so long. Help us to understand and to believe you.”

He kept his gaze on Kate’s face, almost as if he were powerless to look away. When he spoke, his voice was rough. “I’d been fed up with Philippe for a while. Things started getting really bad and I was pulling back, but hadn’t made a break yet. Then I met Kate, that night at the art exhibit. We just walked around for a while, talking. She looked at me as if I were a good person. A man worth knowing. And I found myself wanting to be that man, to deserve her faith.” Total silence reigned and Jack shook himself, embarrassed by what he had conceded. “I know. It’s total crap.”

James said, “No. It isn’t.”

Jack’s disbelieving gaze shifted to me and I shook my head.

When Jack looked at Kate, she stood and offered him her hand. Wonderingly, he took it, and she led him through the house and into the backyard.

James’s arms tightened around me and he kissed my cheek.

Leo drew a sharp breath. “Gage.”

Raised voices came from the backyard and I swore under my breath at the sound of my patio furniture falling over. A minute later the backdoor opened and was slammed shut. Jack came into the living room, his jaw tight.

“What is it?” James asked.

“Gage walked around back and chose
this
moment to tell Kate how he feels about her,” he said through gritted teeth. “I would not have tolerated a changeling’s interference. But she asked me to come inside so they could talk.”

I was about to speak when the backdoor opened so hard, it slammed into the kitchen wall.

“Ow! Shit, that hurts!” Kate yelled as she stomped into the living room, holding her hands under her armpits.

Jack was at her side instantly, his eyes blazing. “What did he do?”

Gage slouched into the room, a guilty expression on his face.

“I hit him with a rake,” Kate said, her voice low and angry. “The damn handle broke and my hands sting like hell.”

“Atta girl,” Nic said and Siska shot her a dark look.

Suddenly, Kate sagged and Jack caught her before she could hit the floor.

“What’s going on?” she mumbled.

“Put her on the sofa, Jack,” James said, frowning.

I knelt beside Kate, alarmed to see her golden complexion grow pale. “What’s wrong?” I whispered and took her ice-cold hand. Her scent was noticeably different, less enticing.

Siska and Nic exchanged a look, and Leo joined James as he faced Gage. “Tell me what happened.”

He didn’t quite meet James’s gaze. “She said she cares about
him.
I thought that maybe I could get her to feel that way about me instead, so I kissed her—”

Jack spun from Kate’s side and flew across the room. Siska caught him just before he reached Gage. “Of all the stupid-ass things to do! You initiated the change, you fucking idiot!”

“What? I’m changing?” Kate’s voice was growing more faint. “No! I’m not ready, not yet…”

“You dumbass!” Jack lunged for Gage, and this time, it took both Siska and James to restrain him. “This isn’t how it should be!”

“Damn damn damn,” I muttered.

Gage tried to protest. “How was I to know a kiss would do that?”

Leo chided, “You heard Evie tell Kate about her own change, that it was a kiss that caused it. Gage, what were you thinking? This was very badly done.” Taking the younger male by the arm, Leo led him out of the room.

Jack quivered with fury, but breathed deep several times and got a grip on himself. Tilting his head sideways, he glared at Siska and James. “Let me go. Both of you.” Dropping their hands, they stepped back but were clearly ready to restrain him again if necessary.

“Jack,” I said and waited until he turned to look at me. If I’d had any lingering doubt about the depth of his feelings for Kate, they evaporated when I saw his expression. “She needs you now. She’ll be frightened.”

“Yeah, I know.” Jack shook himself and the wildness in his eyes cleared. “Thanks.” He came to the sofa.

I moved out of the way and leaned into James’s embrace as he came up behind me.

Jack took Kate’s limp hand and sat beside her. “I’m here. It’s going to be okay…”

The rest of us looked at each other, nonplussed.

It was Siska who broke the silence. “Okay. So. This kinda complicates things. At least for the next two or three days until the change is complete, we’re not going anywhere.”

“We can’t leave them, Nic,” Siska said for at least the tenth time, and only James’s calming influence—and his arm wrapped tight around my shoulders—kept me from doing something emphatic to the maddening woman. “If this house is discovered, and Jack and Kate are here alone, especially while she’s so vulnerable…”

“Yeah, I get that. But the group has been here too long,” she snapped. “
We
found them—this bastard Philippe can too.” At my hiss, Nic glanced at me. “Why not load Kate into one of the SUVs and get everybody the hell out?”

“We cannot risk it,” James said, and even his phenomenal patience was strained. “If the car were pulled over or if it broke down or if someone caught a glimpse of Kate through the window, it would be devastating.”

“It would look like we’re hauling a corpse around,” Siska said sharply. “Until she wakes up, that’s what it’d look like.”

I couldn’t stand the conversation, didn’t want any part of it, so I gently disengaged from James and went over to the sofa where Jack knelt. “How is she?”

“She’s out of it now.” Grief saturated his voice. He held her hand and seemed unaware that he was caressing it. “Her heart is already slowing down.”

“What?” I asked in horror. “Our hearts beat faster than a human’s…how can hers be slowing? Is she dying? Is the change not working?”

James came to put his arm around me. “Evie, the change is not a real death. Her heart will slow and eventually come to a very brief stop, then start up again—but much stronger, much faster than before. Her skin will grow pale and cold, but it won’t stay that way. Just as we run hotter than humans so too will Kate. Don’t fret yourself, love. When the change is complete, she will wake.”

Nic came over and stared impassively at Kate’s still form. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking. “Siska?”

“Not now, Nic. I’m really not up for another discussion about…”

She turned and looked at him, her face a mask. “I was going to say that some of us should be outside, at either end of the street at least.”

“You’re right.” Siska sat up from where he’d been slouched on a chair. “Damn me for a fool, I should have thought of that.”

James went still and I felt his escalating horror. “It’s too late. They’re already here.”