Blood and Kisses(27)

“Unfortunately, it takes a lot out of me. After you show me what you’ve found, I’ll have to feed.”

Thalia concealed a shiver. His words evoked an image of his dark head bending over the pale neck of a woman. She closed her eyes against the sharp pang of envy she felt for the unknown woman and forced her attention back to the immediate concern. She started forward, only to have Gideon drag her back into the deep shadow of a tall hedge. “The police have staked out the place.” He indicated a small silver car with a jerk of his head. “We can’t just walk in.”

“Sorry. I’m not used to being a fugitive.” Thalia uttered the last word of an invisibility spell, covering them both. “Come on.”

Once inside, they made their way upstairs. Thalia choked on the putrid stench. She held a hand to her nose and tried to breathe through her mouth. Dim light filtered in through the boarded up windows from the streetlights outside, but it was difficult to see. An illumination spell or a flashlight would be seen from the street. Her eyes grew accustomed to the inadequate light and she could make out black marks spattered on the light-colored wall. She forced down the lump in her throat. “Is it...?”

Gideon’s eyes glowed red in his shadowed face as he nodded. “Blood? Yes.”

“Why would a vampire waste all that blood?”

Gideon circled the room. It was clear he was having no problem seeing. “Maybe it’s a game to him. He staged this crime scene to draw the police.”

“Where were Cole and Poole attacked?”



At the top of the wobbly stairs leading to the black hole that was the cellar, Gideon scented the musty air. He could detect every molecule of aroma in the room. He sorted past the revolting smell of rancid blood floating down from upstairs, the odor of the people who had passed through the room, familiar and unfamiliar, the myriad scents that composed the reek of an abandoned house, rotten garbage, fly dirt, mildew. He identified urine, drugs, and fast food, as well. There had been squatters in the house at one point. “He’s gone. The only woman here before us was Cole.” Unless she’d stayed shifted the entire time she was here, which he doubted, Inanna wasn’t the rogue.

He ventured down the stairs. Somehow Thalia’s small hand had become lodged in his. It felt good, right. He should pull his hand away, but couldn’t seem to find the will power. He could see well, but Thalia shuffled along behind him, feeling her way. “There are no windows. I think we can risk a light.”

Thalia muttered a few words and light flared. She moved forward to examine their surroundings and dropped his hand. His hand felt more than empty; it felt cold. The chill seemed to travel up his hand to his arm and invade his chest, centering in his heart. He longed to have her hand again.

He rubbed his palm against his chest to dispel the feeling and swept the cellar with his keen gaze. “There’s nothing here.” Disappointment pressed against his chest. He’d hoped to find some clue that would lead him to his mysterious enemy. Being close to Thalia day after day, smelling her unique fragrance, feeling the heat of her body, and yet being unable to make love to her was constant torture.

“We’ll have to go back to watching the B.B. and C., but it’s not going to be easy to dodge the police.” As Thalia walked back over to the stairs, her cell phone rang.

“Hello.”

He recognized Mina Shaw’s mature voice on the other end.

“Thalia. I’ve called a meeting. The council requests your attendance.” Her tone implied it wasn’t a request at all. He couldn’t see Thalia’s face. Her back stiffened.

Distress seemed to pour off her in waves, but her voice was steady as she answered tersely, “I’ll be there.”





Chapter 16



Thalia was too nervous to ask how Mina had rented a hall on such short notice, or at such a late hour. The building was little more then a huge room with a cement floor and a small kitchen. It didn’t look like a gallows, but the decisions made that night could spell the end of her life as she knew it.

Gideon placed a hand at her back, lending her his strength. She smoothed her features. She wouldn’t give them the pleasure of seeing her nerves.

He’d fed before they came. Feeling another confrontation with the rogue was imminent, he’d found several energetic youths playing basketball under the lights at a nearby park and gorged himself on their potent young blood, making sure to take just enough to leave them dazed, but otherwise healthy.

Thalia eyed her wristwatch. Almost midnight—the witching hour. She’d never felt its approach so acutely.

The thirteen-member council occupied seats behind a long laminate table at one end of the vast room. Metal folding chairs had been set up auditorium style in front of the table. The seats filled rapidly; most of the witch community was present. Thalia had been offered a seat to one side of the table, but the butterflies dog-fighting in her stomach wouldn’t let her sit.

Refreshments were available, and Thalia could see people drinking punch and could hear the occasional burst of laughter. She felt like a guest at her own wake. Voices blended together, bounced off the high metal ceiling and formed a low hum, reminding Thalia of flies buzzing over a rotting corpse, further enhancing the sensation.

Mina clapped her hands for attention like an elementary school librarian, which oddly enough was what she’d been for thirty years, and a hush fell over the room. Heath stood. He paced in front of the crowd like a lawyer addressing a jury. Drops of perspiration adorned his bald head.

Why was he so nervous?

He glanced back at Mina before beginning to speak. “Those of you who attended the preliminary discussion at my house know why we’re here.” He gestured toward Thalia who struggled to keep her expression composed while her stomach twisted and her throat constricted.

Anger seethed beneath the hurt and fear. How dare they question her ability to be the Champion? Who were they to decide she was unfit for the job she’d been born to perform? “Some of us have had doubts as to the ability of our Champion to protect us from what is coming.”

Two-thirds of the room erupted into excited speech, and the noise rolled through the crowd like a shock wave. Some people leaped to their feet. A crack of thunder sounded directly overhead, ricocheting off the cement block walls of the hall. All sound ceased and every eye turned back to the head table. Mina stood, arms raised, palms out, the vigor of her stance belying her age, which Thalia knew to be past eighty. “If you’re all finished?”

Sheepish looks were exchanged. Those who had gotten to their feet sat.

“Continue, Heath.”

“Thank you. As I was saying, we’ve always known that Thalia lacks the strength of her predecessors, but until now, her powers have always been enough. The omens are clear, however. A great evil is coming and our Champion may not be powerful enough to protect us. We believe it is time to throw tradition aside and choose a new Champion.”

Once more, the crowd burst into agitated discussion covering Thalia’s gasp as Heath’s words pierced her chest like a dagger, making it difficult to breathe. This was everything she’d feared and worse. For a moment she wished she could just disappear. She had the skill. But there was no running from this fight. She had to stay and see it through.

The noise of the deliberations increased in intensity with every second until Thalia thought she would have to shout to be heard over the clamor. Before she could try, Gideon took over.

“Enough!” His voice resonated through the building, and the crowd fell silent. “I know Thalia has helped many in this room. Your ingratitude disgusts me.” It was true, but she didn’t know how he knew that. Perhaps Spirit had told him.

“You’re not a member of our community, Damek.” Heath attempted to regain control of the gathering. “You have no right to interfere.”

“Thalia approached me and asked for my assistance with apprehending the vampire who has been preying on mortals in this area.”

“An example of poor judgment, if I ever heard one. The Champion should be able to handle anything on her own,” Heath sneered.

“That’s ridiculous. It is my responsibility to enforce vampire law in this country. Her actions were entirely correct.”

A mottled mixture of red and purple rose up Heath’s thick neck and stained his cheeks. He spoke through teeth gritted with rage. “Be that as it may. The fact remains that many of us have questions as to Thalia’s suitability to serve as the Champion.”

“Many of us, or you? I don’t know what the usual procedure is for solving problems in the witch community, but in the rest of the world holding secret meetings to discuss an individual is considered rude to say the least.” It didn’t seem that Heath’s face could get any redder, but it did. His face looked like an overripe cherry tomato. A vein in his forehead became so distended Thalia feared it might pop. A soft murmur rippled through the crowd. People shifted in their seats. They were uncomfortable.