Moonlight's Ambassador (Aileen Travers Book 3)(70)

"Don't suppose you have an answer to my problem?" I asked it, only half joking.

It had provided semi-decent information about the demon taint before. Feeling slightly stupid, I waited a moment but nothing happened. Didn't think so. I turned away, somehow bumping the book and knocking it to the floor, though I could have sworn I was nowhere near it. I squatted next to the open book, frowning at it in consternation. That wasn't creepy or anything.

It'd fallen so it was lying open, face down, practically asking for me to pick it up and see what it had to say. I shook my head, knowing I should just walk away. It had tried this trick before, and until now I'd made a point of ignoring it. Not this time.

"This had better be good," I warned it. "Or I'm going to find a lighter. I'm sure a place like this has a fireplace—or a dozen."

Before I could talk myself out of it, I picked it up and glanced at the text on the page. What I found was unexpected. Instead of something that might help me calm a werewolf, or a weapon that might force an angry one to sleep, the book had a hand-drawn picture of a room. I bent closer. Books. Lots of them.

I recognized that room. I'd been in it during my ill-advised excursion to the supernatural bookstore, and I was pretty sure I'd been lucky to escape with my life and this book.

There was no other text on the page, just the drawing and another page with a picture of the bookstore keeper and an empty spot next to him.

"That's not helpful," I told the book before shutting it and tossing it back on the counter.

I didn’t understand. It had always been semi-helpful in the past. Yes, the information was often vague, but it had at least gotten me pointed in the right direction. That picture must mean something, but I had no idea what.

Not ready to leave the room and chance encountering some of the now unfriendly inhabitants of the mansion, I settled on the couch in the living room section of my suite. Nathan, Liam, or whoever they appointed as my babysitter for the night would be around soon. I was actually slightly surprised they weren't already here.

Maybe they figured little Sheila would keep me occupied for a bit, or perhaps they were enjoying a blood-filled companion of their own. Either way, it left me some breathing room. Fat lot of good that did me.

I still had no idea where Caroline was or what I was going to do when I found her. My little chat with Lisa last night had shed some light on why Caroline had pulled her disappearing act, but it didn't change the fact that she was waist deep in shit and sinking fast. The dead bodies complicated things even more. I wasn't even sure what the right thing to do was anymore.

It had all gotten so fucked up, and in such a short time. I'd been here before. Only thing left to do was put one foot in front of the other and hope you were moving in the right direction. Standing still. Questioning yourself. Dwelling on your failure would not solve any problems. Action solved problems, and I'd get to it as soon as I figured out what I should be doing.

My cell phone rang from the bedroom, distracting me from my thoughts. Not that they were good thoughts anyway.

I thought about leaving the phone unanswered but hoisted myself off the couch with reluctance. It could be important. Only way to find out was to see who it was.

I'd put the battery back in last night. The vampires had caught me, so it was pointless to try to keep them from tracking it. The phone was no help, showing a number but no name to go with it. I clicked answer and waited.

"Aileen, are you there?" Caroline's scared voice came down the line.

"Caroline. Where are you?"

Soft sobs filled my ear, making my heart sink even further. "I screwed up. I need your help."

"Okay, Caroline, just stay calm," I said, fighting for that state myself. "I can help you but I need you to stay calm."

"Yeah, you're right. I need to stay calm."

I pressed my palms to my eyelids trying to ignore the prickling behind them.

Caroline started speaking before I could say anything. "It's just, there was so much blood. I've never seen that much blood before, and the bodies—they were both dead. I don’t know what happened. There were so many pieces." Her voice was ragged, and she sounded like she was on the verge of a panic attack.

"Let's not think about that right now. We're staying calm. We can deal with that later." I waited a beat as her breathing slowed, still fast, but she didn't sound like she might pass out or turn into the wolf at any moment. "Where are you? I'll come get you, and we can figure this out together."

Her breath rasped in and out. "Yeah, you're right. I don't think I can do this alone. I need help."

"Yes, you can trust me."

"Do you remember our senior trip in high school?" she asked.

My eyebrows furrowed. "We didn't go on our trip."

"Right, where did we go instead?" she asked. "Be there in one hour, and Aileen?"

"What?"

"Come alone."

The phone went dead in my hand as it fell to my side. I sat down hard on my bed and stared at my hands, feeling cold.

"You get all that?" I asked in a soft voice.

Liam uncoiled from where he rested his shoulder against the door frame and crossed the room. "Yeah."

I nodded, feeling like the worst kind of traitor. "You won't hurt her."