Love Me to Death (Underveil, #1)(92)

A skittering sound drew her attention back to the armoire where the mouse peeked out at her. “You’re not really a mouse, are you?”

It shook its head, which should have creeped her out, but didn’t. Maybe she was adjusting finally…or maybe she was just tired.

The mouse moved out from under the armoire and rose up on its hind legs, still studying her.

“Go ahead,” Elena said, crossing her arms. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Even so, the mouse stretching and a full-grown woman morphing in that spot was still unsettling. The woman was completely naked, the tiny, discarded mouse pelt in a ball at her feet. Wordlessly, she opened the armoire, pulled out a simple frock, and pulled it over her head. “Shall I run a bath, Miss Arcos?”

Be proactive. “Nah, I’ve got this.” She tromped to the bathroom, turned on the faucet in the enormous claw-footed iron tub, and held her hand under the water until it turned warm. “What’s with the bath anyway? I’m not as grimy as he is.”

“Our master will wash when he returns.”

“Where did he go?”

“It is none of our business. Our job is to trust, learn, and obey.”

Like hell.

The water had reached a good level in the tub, so she turned it off and reached up to unfasten the leather halter she’d borrowed from Aleksi. She paused and arched a brow at the mouse girl.

“Go ahead,” the girl said, in a fairly good imitation of Elena’s tone earlier. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Touché. She unzipped the soft leather at her neck and back and pulled the halter off. The pants and boots followed. Mouse girl, despite her words, was transfixed by the markings on Elena’s body. She stepped into the tub. “Who are the people in the big room? No. Better question is what are the people in that room?”

“Some are shifters, but most are vampires. They are the Master’s students.”

“What are they studying?”

“Pacifism.”

And here she’d been thinking it couldn’t get weirder.

She lowered herself into the warm water. “Pacifist vampires.”

“Yes. It is a special order. They are all empaths.”

“Including your…Master?” The word rankled. Nobody should be a Master. She felt like she’d been dumped in the middle ages. She dunked under, wetting her hair.

The mouse girl picked up a small bottle and poured some of the gold liquid in her hand. “No. He took over the job for someone else. He is telepathic with empath tendencies. The previous master was an empath.” She rubbed the shampoo into Elena’s hair, and despite her desire not to, she found herself enjoying it. It seemed so wrong to be here, in a tub big enough for two people, being pampered while Nik was in a cell, enduring torture.

“Where is the previous master?”

“He was murdered.”

So much for pacifism. “What is your name?”

“Lilian. Rinse, please.”

Elena slipped under the water and ran her hands through her hair, removing the shampoo and resurfacing. “I need to get out of here.”

“I am truly sorry, but I cannot help you.”

Elena stood, washed her body, then sat back in the warm water. “Have you ever been in love, Lilian?”

A faraway look crossed her face, her brown eyes going unfocused for a moment. “Yes.”

“I’m in love. And the man I love is in danger. I must go to him.”

“Only at my Master’s wish will it be so.”

“Are you afraid he’ll kill you if you help me?”

She held out a towel. “It is my composition to be fearful. The instincts of my animal form carry over. It is why I remain in my animal form most of the time. My fear in human form disrupts the comfort of the students. Most of the shifters here are bovine. They are much calmer.”

So, the vamps in the hoods were empaths, which probably meant they read emotions, while Vlad and Ricardo were telepathic, which meant they could read minds. Damn. There needed to be a guidebook for all this craziness. And Big, Bad Vlad kept a herd of human cattle. Aw, crap. “Why are there bovine shifters here?”

“In the Underveil, each species assume the jobs for which they are most suited. Slayers are law enforcers. Elves create. Shifters use their unique attributes to their advantage. I move fast. Bovine shifters… Well, they are calm, and the Master…” Her voice dropped off.

The hackles stood up on the back of Elena’s neck. Bossy and bigoted. She thought back on all the shifters she’d met. Yep. Bears were guards. Dogs were stable boys. Mice were servants, and cows were…food?” Nuh-uh. No way. Elena grabbed the towel and wrapped it around her body with shaking hands. Rage billowed inside her like flames as she thought about the poor boy in the barn, his life taken so young. “No!”

Lilian scampered back a few steps. Elena hadn’t meant to scare her, but damn, she was mad. That bastard had locked her up and taken off like nothing mattered but himself. “That’s it!” She grabbed her clothes from the floor and ripped her pants on. “He’s not keeping me here.” This level of anger was not normal for her, but somehow, it felt empowering and liberating. She’d saved his ass. After fastening the halter on, she leaned against the side of the tub and pulled on her boots. “Unlock the door, Lilian.”