Pretty When She Kills (Pretty When She Dies #2)(36)

“I think because they were in a class together when they were mortal. Bianca knows that puto killed Amaliya, too.” Innocente rubbed her head again. “I have such a bad headache now. I was trying too hard to hold on to what she told me.”

Cynthia dug around in the drawer of the bed stand until she came up with a bottle of aspirin. She carefully doled out a few pills and hurried to refresh Innocente’s glass of water. Sergio watched her depart to the kitchen clutching the glass, a sad pang in his heart. He hated seeing his wife stressed and afraid. None of them had asked to be a part of the world of the supernaturals, but they were not the type of people to turn their backs on family. Sergio knew that Innocente would not back down from trying to protect Amaliya.

Finally, the phone finished rebooting and Sergio dialed Amaliya’s number. She answered almost immediately.

“Bianca came again tonight,” Sergio said.

“And?” Amaliya sounded testy, but also anxious.

“I’ll let Grandmama tell you.” Sergio handed over the phone and settled on the bed next to his grandmother. In silence, he listened to her explain to Amaliya what she had told him and Cynthia. When she finished, she handed the phone back to Sergio.

“What are you going to do, Amal?” Sergio asked.

There was a beat of silence, then Amaliya said, “I don’t know. I have no f*cking clue. I have to talk to Cian.”

“Keep us in the loop, okay?” Sergio tucked his arm around his grandmother’s shoulders and she leaned her head against him.

Amaliya sighed. “I will, but you guys keep safe.”

“We’ll do our best.” Sergio clicked off and snuggled his grandmother. “There, we warned her.”

“We should go to Austin,” Innocente decided.

Cynthia returned with a fresh glass of water. Her eyes were red and it was clear she had been crying. “You already helped kill one vampire. Don’t go picking fights with more.”

Innocente frowned as she took the glass and swallowed her pills.

“Listen to my wife, Grandmama. She’s right. We need to stay out of it. Let Cian and Amaliya deal with it.”

“They might need us,” Innocente protested.

“If they do, they’ll call,” Sergio assured her.

With an exhausted sigh, Innocente nodded, relenting. Maybe she was more afraid than she was letting on. In all truthfulness, Sergio hoped that they would never get a call from Amaliya asking for them to go to Austin. After what Sergio had seen the last time they had fought the powerful undead, he wasn’t sure he would survive another encounter.



*



Amaliya shoved her cellphone into her pocket before stalking through the apartment seeking Cian. Frustrated and unnerved by all her grandmother had told her, Amaliya was ready to resume her argument with Cian. She heard him moving about on the second floor of their apartment, so she started opening doors. She rarely ventured into the smaller guest bedrooms. They were tastefully decorated, but rarely used. Her grandmother and Sergio had stayed with them only a few times, but otherwise the rooms remained empty. The maid service that came twice a week changed the bedding, dusted, and swept, but Amaliya didn’t really see the need for even that.

Opening the fourth door, she found Cian standing in the center of the room. The mattress was off the platform bed and leaning against the far wall. Cian was leaning over the base of the bed, which was basically a big flat box made out of polished wood. A secret panel revealed an array of weapons, some appearing quite ancient, tucked into foam inside.

“You and your secret compartments,” Amaliya grumbled.

Cian glanced up at her, slightly smiling. “I’m always full of surprises.”

Leaning against the door jamb, Amaliya rested one hand on her hip and glowered at him.

“We’re still fighting?” Cian asked.

“Yes.”

Squatting next to his secret stash, Cian withdrew a sword and studied the blade. “All right. You go first.”

“Do we have to get physical? My sword-fighting skills aren’t all that great.” She quirked an eyebrow at him.

Cian rolled his eyes at her joke. “Amaliya...”

“I talked to Sergio and my grandmother. She had another visitation.”

“From Bianca?”

“Yeah. From Bianca. The other chick The Summoner killed.”

Cian set the sword down and withdrew a wicked-looking dagger that appeared to be made of black stone. “And?”

“She’s not a ghost.”

Flicking his gaze toward her, curiosity bloomed in his expression. “Go on.”

“She’s a vampire, and she’s astral projecting.”

Amaliya smiled triumphantly as Cian stood up abruptly. His slightly sarcastic demeanor was gone. He looked deadly. “Go on.”

“She’s like me. She’s a necromancer. She raises the dead.”

“How do you know that?” Cian crossed the room swiftly to stand at her side.

“Sergio saw her eyes glowing when her apparition appeared in my grandmother’s room. My grandmother saw it in her dream when she spoke to Bianca. Bianca begged her for help. She said that the woman with the red eyes is holding her and planning to use her to kill me.”

“Rachon...”

“Yeah. Probably. Bianca is terrified and begging for help. My grandmother said that the girl has been seeking her out for months and finally found her.” Amaliya poked Cian in the chest with one finger. “I can’t astral project, f*cker, and she can. What the f*ck, Cian? What is she?”