A Cat's Chance in Hell (33 page)

“
We’re sorry,” Julius said, sounding anything but. “You know why we did it though. You needed to recuperate, and we know you put in a full day on a filmset; it wasn’t that big a deal. We were going to call you as soon as we returned to discuss what we discovered; you just jumped the gun a little.”

“
Did you drug my wine?” Gabi asked distractedly.

Julius raised his eyebrows in surprise at the abrupt change in topic.

“
No, why?” he asked, his body coming to attention as his eyes ran over her, assessing for danger.

“
I feel strange,” she said, “weightless, and languid.”

“
Drowsy, confused?” Kyle asked, concern colouring his voice.

“
No,” she replied. “Not even tired, and I should be by now. In fact, I even feel quite calm and relaxed. I would say maybe it’s how humans would feel when they talk about feeling mellow after a few drinks.”

Julius suddenly relaxed his anxious pose and smiled ruefully.

“
I think you’re dead on Gabrielle,” he told her, “you are intoxicated.”

She frowned at him.

“
Impossible, I’ve only had two glasses of wine, and I’ve never managed to get drunk, no matter how hard I’ve tried in the past.”

Kyle nodded in agreement with that. “Yep, she’s right, she’s tried hard. She can outdrink me with ease.”

But Julius just shook his head stubbornly. “I don’t mean on alcohol, I mean on my blood.”

“
What?” Kyle demanded, startled.

Gabi felt her mouth drop open in shock, and then form into a little ‘O’ as comprehension hit.

“
Well, a combination, really, of coming down from the Rage as well as my blood,” Julius continued. “I know you didn’t take much, but we may find that Vampire blood will have a different affect on you than it would have on a full human. Quite often a Vampire will collapse after a Red Rage incident; they’ll sleep off the effects for up to two days. You haven’t passed out, so it may be that my blood has helped forestall that, but it hasn’t completely eliminated the effects, and at the same time your body is reacting to having the blood it has craved for years.” Kyle was still looking at Julius as though he was speaking Aramaic, but Gabi found that she was unable to form the words to explain it to him, so Julius went on. “Think of it like a teetotaller suddenly having two or three shots of tequila one after another. It would be a huge shock to their body; the teetotaller would be blind drunk in moments.”

Kyle still stared at him like things just weren’t making sense.

“
What do you mean, by her body craving blood?” he asked, glancing between Gabi and Julius suspiciously.

“
Ah,” Julius said. “Well, you remember I told you that a Dhampir could survive on either blood or human food, but did best on a combination of the two?”

Neither of them responded, but a kind of horror was beginning to dawn in Kyle’s eyes.

“
So, if we take what Gabrielle told me about her blood deficiencies, it sounds to me as though her body needs something more than human food. Taking into account the severe iron deficiency it would make sense that her body is craving blood. What we need to find out is whether it’s craving human blood or Vampire blood.” He said it in a calm, unemotional way, as though they were simply talking about taking a vitamin supplement, but Gabi could still feel the shock frozen on her face.

“
Hold on a second,” Kyle protested shaking his head. “I’m missing something here. When did Gabi get some of your blood?”

Gabi noticed Julius drop his eyes from Kyle’s with the slightest look of guilt.

“
During the Rage, I cut him with Nex,” Gabi explained.

“
Yes, when I was holding her down, my arm was bleeding practically into her mouth, “Julius said chivalrously.

Gabi sighed. “No, don’t prettify it,” she said with resignation. “Your blood just called to me on a level I’ve never experienced before. I couldn’t resist the urge no matter what my personal thoughts were on the issue. I’ve never come across anything so enticing in my life.”

“
You’ve smelled human blood before, I imagine,” Julius asked her, “didn’t it smell enticing to you at all.”

“
Well, I’ve never understood the human aversion to the smell of blood. Blood doesn’t smell bad to me, I guess. But I’ve never been tempted to taste it, or thought of it as appealing.”

“
Could it have been a side-effect of the Rage?” Kyle asked.

“
Well, I guess the rage could have intensified the craving, but I doubt it would have created the craving,” Julius mused. “In full Vampires the only side-effect is the need for sleep, but Gabi is rather unique, so anything I say is merely conjecture or educated guesses at this point.”

“
Well, there is one positive aspect to tonight’s little escapade,” Gabi mused.

“
And that is?” Kyle asked.

“
Jules’ blood fixed all my injuries, so I can be back on patrol tomorrow night,” she said smugly.

Kyle looked sceptical, so she pulled away the collar of her shirt to show him the place where Genevieve’s bite had been. It was completely healed with a small, shiny, slightly puckered scar. And I can tell you that my ribs and collarbone are good as new. Look, even the bruising has gone; she pulled the bottom of her shirt up to just under her bra to show them the flawless skin over her ribs. Alexander re-entered the room just then.

“
No one will talk. They understand the repercussions,” he informed Julius.

“
Good,” Julius said shortly, then filled him in on what they had discussed while he was out.

Gabi sat listening for a while as the men talked things through, she knew they were talking about her, but she couldn’t really bring herself to care. She shifted her body, curling her legs up underneath her and resting her head on Kyle’s shoulder, then she decided to close her eyes for a moment until what the guys were talking about started to make sense. It must have been hours later when she felt someone lift her off the couch and her warm Werewolf pillow, and settle her comfortably against a solidly muscled chest. Her sleepy senses told her it was Julius who was holding her; she breathed in his cool, masculine scent and let herself drift back to a doze. She barely felt the mattress and pillow that Julius put her down on, or the warm comfortable weight of a thick, fleeced blanket that he gently threw over her after taking off her boots and knives. But somewhere deep in her subconscious she was aware of the fact that he spent a long time standing near the bed, just watching her sleep, with something like wonder on his face.

Chapter 17

When she opened her eyes, it was just past sunrise. She knew she wasn’t in her own bed, but the memories of the previous night were so fresh in her mind that she knew immediately where she was. She sat up in the large, unfamiliar bed, stretching luxuriously. She felt wonderful. There was no other word for it. The pain in her ribs and shoulder was a distant memory. But it was more than that; she felt ‘right’, like her skin and bones and muscles had just not fitted together correctly until this moment. Now everything was absolutely as it should be. The world was in sharp focus, and she felt warm and energised.

Wow, could that all be attributed to the small amount of Julius’s blood she had taken? It seemed ridiculous, but it had to be, there was no other explanation. Pizza sure didn’t have that effect on her. If it had, she’d have bought a pizza restaurant years ago. The thought of pizza woke her stomach up, and it growled impatiently. Well, that hadn’t changed, she thought wryly and threw the blanket off to get up and look for a bathroom. She realised her breakfast was going to have to wait until she drove to the nearest bakery or take-away, not much chance of finding breakfast in a Vampire house.

Nex and her other weapons lay on a chair near the door, and her car keys and mobile lay on the nightstand. Force of habit made her pick up the phone to check it. She frowned and blinked, and then padded to the window on the opposite side of the room to pull the curtains back. She peered out at the semi-dark sky in alarm.

“
Damn,” she breathed. “Sunset, not sunrise. Bloody hell! I’ve slept the whole day.”

She spun as she heard the almost noiseless opening of the bedroom door. Julius filled the doorway with his wide shoulders, his head just brushed the top of the door frame. She realised she could smell his scent from across the room; it was a delicious mix of new leather, cinnamon bark and the air after a summer storm. She could also smell the latté in his left hand and the bag of pastries in his right.

“
Is that your idea of a peace offering for leaving me to sleep all day?” she growled huffily.

“
If you want it to be,” he replied. “Would it work as one?”

“
Not until after I’ve used a bathroom.” A sudden feeling of panic swept over her. “You
do
have a bathroom, don’t you?”

Julius restrained a grin, nodding his head towards a door on the far side of the antique dressing table.

“
Yes, they came with the house. We do use the baths and showers, so it seemed unnecessary to remodel completely to our own specifications. The toilets are still in place. Claudia said to tell you that anything else you may need is in the vanity cupboard. I’ll leave you to your ablutions,” he said, moving to set his offerings on the dressing table. “I’ll be in the entertaining room when you’re done, my office is still in the process of being refurbished,” he said with a deadpan expression.

Gabi stamped down on the guilt that threatened to surge through her—it was his own fault.

“
Don’t rush,” he added over his shoulder as he headed back out the door, “Kyle said he would go past your house and make sure the rabid animal was fed and watered, and Byron knows where you are, so there’s no hurry.” He closed the door behind him as Gabi hurried for the bathroom.

After devouring the coffee and pastries, she’d intended to take a quick shower, regardless of Julius’s reassurance. She really wanted to get home; she needed a change of clothes and to check on Razor and Slinky. She also needed to get back on patrol, she’d had enough nights off, and she didn’t want to put too much pressure on the new recruits. But once she stepped into the huge shower with its multiple shower heads and enormous array of gels, body scrubs and shampoos, she couldn’t help herself. She pampered her skin and hair and then stood in the jets of hot water and let them massage the last of the stiffness from her muscles.

As she luxuriated in the heat and gentle pressure, her mind whirled through the revelations of the previous night. While many things didn’t make sense, one thing was abundantly clear; her body wanted blood, and not just any blood, Julius’s blood. That was really going to complicate matters.

By the time she got back into the bedroom, a fresh set of clothes was lying on the bed. They were her own clothes, the sort she’d wear on patrol, so she guessed that meant Kyle was back. She grabbed the hairdryer from the dresser and gave her hair a brief dry using her fingers. She dressed quickly and grabbed her keys, mobile and weapons on her way out the door. She realised, as she strode down the corridor towards the large staircase, that she’d need to grab some more food somewhere before starting her shift, the coffee and pastries had hardly touched sides.

She could hear several male voices coming from the entertainment room and found she could pick out most of them individually. Julius was obvious, as was Kyle and Alexander. Two other deeper tones she identified as Liam and Nathan, and then she felt her heart skip in shock as she recognised Byron’s milder tone. She covered her unease and strode into the room confidently, nodding to each of the Vampires and going to give Byron a peck on the cheek.

“
What are you doing here?” she demanded in an admonishing tone, throwing a questioning glare at Kyle.

“
Don’t glare at me Hellcat,” Kyle said, throwing his hands up in a defensive gesture. “Not my idea.”

Byron quickly caught her hands, bringing her attention back to him.

“
It wasn’t Kyle’s idea, Gabi,” he agreed, “you can stop blaming him. I felt I needed to talk to Julius and Alexander myself after Kyle told me what they had revealed to you last night about their Dhampir legends.”

When Gabi’s grim expression didn’t soften, Julius said evenly, “He has my protection Gabi, he is safe here, and no one in this house will speak of his presence here or his association with you or the Society. I have made absolutely sure of it.”

He emphasised the last words enough for Gabi to know how he’d made sure of it. She relented slightly, and her angry stance eased.

“
Gabi,” Byron said evenly, “it’s not just the Dhampir legends that have brought me here. We’ve had some disturbing news, and I wanted to discuss this with Julius as well. I’ve waited for you, so that we can discuss it together. I’ve asked Julius to include his most trusted lieutenants,” he nodded towards Liam and Nathan.

Byron was keeping his voice calm and moderated, but Gabi could detect the underlying stress in it. She took a deep, steadying breath; this wasn’t going to be pretty.

Gabi was in the mood for a good fight. She was still trying to be mindful of the possibility of the Red Rage returning; Julius had said there was a good chance it would, and she wasn’t going to let it claim her again. It rankled that this was supposed to be simply a reconnaissance mission. When Byron had told them about the Magi Seers picking up a sense of evil emanating from this particular building, he insisted that they were only to find out what was inside and not go rushing in until they knew what they were facing.