Darkness Clashes (29 page)

Two guys were already there and cast surreptitious glances at me. I might not have thought much of it, but they looked exactly like the guys who’d stood frozen outside the café earlier. Same t-shirts and baseball caps.

Considering this was a tourist area it was probably a coincidence, but something niggled in the back of my mind. I kept going past them and pretended to window shop. Farther along I caught the same brunette woman who’d been taking a picture of her boyfriend by the river. The guy in question wasn’t far from her.

Once again, it probably meant nothing but none of the four familiar people I’d seen so far had a shopping bag in their hands or showed any sign they were actually buying anything.

When Kerbasi found me I pulled him around a corner and out of sight.

“I think we’re being followed.”

His brows drew together. “You’re certain?”

“Not one hundred percent, but I keep seeing the same people in the same places.” I went on to describe what had happened. He hadn’t been around for the previous sightings.

“I will go observe them.” A resolute expression came over his face. “If they are following us, perhaps their thoughts will confirm it.”

He was a mind reader, but he rarely used the skill. According to him, humans were too boring to bother with most of the time.

“Really?” I gave him a surprised look. “You’ll just volunteer to do that?”

“You bought me nice shoes and socks. I am in a good mood for the moment, but do not count on it lasting.” He wagged a finger at me.

“I won’t, but make sure they don’t notice you checking them out. I don’t want them knowing we’re on to them,” I cautioned.

“They will never know.” He turned himself invisible and went back out.

While he moved between the potential spies, I headed over to a trendy shop and bought a shirt I’d been considering getting Emily. After dumping her in Juneau I had to hope the gifts would make her feel better about her exile.

Kerbasi returned twenty minutes later. “Your instincts were right. I heard the woman speaking into her shirt like they do in the movies and the other two men were thinking about O’Connell. They’re supposed to report to him soon. It is likely they are following you.”

Great. DHS had somehow figured out where I’d gone and followed me. Now I would definitely be having that little chat with the agent come Monday.

“Let’s go.” I guided him toward the entrance. “We’re going to have to tell Lucas and the others.”

Chapter Twenty-nine

“They’re most likely tracking you through your cell phone,” Lucas said, pacing the living room. “That’s how I’ve been doing it.”

I’d suspected as much, but that didn’t make me any happier about it. If I was going to have to switch to prepaid phones all the time I was going to be annoyed.

“The sun is about set.” Kariann glanced toward the shuttered window. “As soon as it does I’ll get a new phone for you and see if any of the people you described are lurking about.”

“Just don’t do anything to make them suspicious,” I warned.

Sayer’s lips thinned. “Avoid attempting compulsion on them as well. It is possible for humans to condition themselves to resist it. I would not be surprised if the government has done something of that nature with their agents.”

He had a good point. They’d proved to be rather well-prepared so far.

“I shall take a shower before the women begin preparing themselves,” Kerbasi said, rising from the couch. “After living with the sensors these past few months, I’ve discovered they can spend an inordinate amount of time in there.”

“Says the man who has never bathed for less than thirty minutes.” I cocked my head. “What do you do in there for that long, anyway?”

“Cleanse myself of the filth that comes from being in close proximity to you—and that heathen.” Kerbasi cast an imperious look at Lucas before walking off.

I rubbed my face. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why the guardian thought he was so much better than everyone else.

He paused after grabbing his bag. “Oh, and I expect dinner will be waiting when I return.”

“Of course.” Lucas gave him a malevolent smile. “I ordered the alligator jambalaya for you.”

Kerbasi blanched and hurried to the stairs.

Lucas wasn’t joking. He’d called the order in shortly after the guardian and I returned from our shopping trip. We’d thought it appropriate.

I dug through my purse and grabbed my cell phone. After shutting it off and pulling the battery out, I set it on the dining room table. “I’m leaving this here when we go to the ball. Maybe all of us should?”

“It would be for the best,” Lucas agreed. “Theirn has numerous security measures that should keep them out, but there’s no need to draw attention to his home.”

I went over and slumped into one of the living room chairs. “I can’t believe they followed me here. If they were that suspicious of me you’d think they would have taken me like they did the pixies.”

“Maybe they’re more afraid of you,” Kariann suggested. “That O’Connell guy knows you’ve got military training and if they’ve studied supernaturals as much as it appears, they might think you’re more difficult to grab.”

“Or they’ve figured out you’re the one who stopped their team at Yvonne’s house. Didn’t you mention they tried to use their potions on you?” Lucas asked.

“Yeah. I guess if they figured out I was there they would also know magic doesn’t work on me, but how would they know for sure it was me? I was covered up.”

Sayer gave me a quizzical look. “Were you injured during the attack?”

Lucas must not have fully updated him on things.

“I was shot a few times, why?”

The vampire rubbed his chin. “Is it possible you left some blood on the scene?”

“That’s it.” Kariann snapped her fingers. “With the amount of blood on your clothes when I saw you, there must have been some left at the scene.”

I put the pieces together. “And the military has samples of my DNA. If the agency was able to get hold of it, they could have run a comparison. Assuming it hasn’t changed much since I became immortal.”

She put her hands up. “That’s not my area of expertise, but it’s probably close enough.”

“Are you certain you don’t want me to kill them?” Lucas asked.

He was being only half-serious.

“You’d have to take out their entire task force and anyone else involved,” I said, just in case he hadn’t considered the full scope. “There’s no way that many deaths won’t look suspicious and draw more attention to us.”

Kariann glanced at her watch. “Sunset’s here. I’m off to check things out on the street and grab some new phones.”

She headed for the door, strutting in her cargo pants and orange tank top. I doubted she’d need much time to get ready, but hoped she didn’t take too long. She was supposed to do my hair.

“I must pick up the food. It should be ready by now.” Lucas followed her out.

He could have made one of the vamps do it, but common courtesy dictated it was inconsiderate to make blood drinkers handle food. A sort of harsh reminder of what they could never have again. Lucas had already warned me the ball would only have beverages available.

I headed upstairs to lay out my things. We still had a couple of hours before we had to leave, but it didn’t hurt to get things ready. On the way to the bedroom I heard the shower still running. Kerbasi was going to end up using all the hot water if he didn’t get out of there soon. He’d do it on purpose, too.

My little black dress was in the armoire. I ran my gaze over it as I pulled it out to lay on the bed. It was form-fitting with long sleeves to conceal the band I wore on my upper arm. Humans didn’t notice it due to the archangel magic imbued in the metal, but some of the more powerful supernaturals could see it.

I’d just put out my shoes when the buzzer sounded. With so many vampires running around the French Quarter at dusk I hadn’t been paying close attention. Stephanie—who was Emily’s mom—had come to visit. I made my way down the stairs, preparing for the worst. At least she’d chosen to meet me here rather than Fairbanks.

After letting Sayer know where I was going, I left the condo and headed down to the courtyard. Passing through it and the dark breezeway, I saw Stephanie waiting for me on the other side of the gate. As a vampire, she probably could have scaled it and got over, but that would have drawn attention among humans still out on the streets. Not to mention we would have taken it as an aggressive act.

“What do you want, Stephanie?” I asked, speaking through the gate.

I wasn’t afraid of her, but I wanted her to know she wasn’t welcome.

“How is my daughter is doing?”

“Better now that you aren’t around to abuse and neglect her,” I replied.

The woman used to leave Emily alone for days at a time, forgetting to feed her. When she was injured in a bear attack Stephanie had yelled at her daughter and slapped her. That’s when I’d stepped in and taken Emily away. Not that her mother had fought it very hard.

“I miss her,” Stephanie said in a small voice.

“Do you? Or do you just miss the idea of her? Not once have you tried to call or write. I wouldn’t have stopped her from talking to you on the phone.”

Her feet shuffled on the pavement. “It wasn’t easy after I left. I had to find a new home and master, but now that Theirn has taken me in I want my daughter back.”

“No.”

Her voice became shrill. “You have to give her back to me!”

I jerked open the gate, grabbed Stephanie by the arm and pulled her inside, slamming her against the wall. “I don’t have to do anything. You broke your daughter’s heart and I’m not letting you do it again.”

“She’s mine,” Stephanie seethed, trying to jerk from my hold. “As her mother I have a right to see her.”

I put a hand around her throat. “If you were a real mother, I’d agree—but you’re not. I haven’t seen one sign that you’re even capable of it.”

And at this point I wouldn’t risk putting a young sensor in her hands. Who knew what Stephanie would do once she figured it out, especially since Theirn would love to get a hold of someone like Emily. The first time I’d met him he’d tried to get me to move to New Orleans because of my gifts. We might be feared by supernaturals, but they also wanted to use our abilities for their own ambitions.

Stephanie stopped struggling. “Just let me see her and she can decide what she wants.”

“Forget it.” I shook my head. “The only deal I’ll make with you is once she’s eighteen she can choose to visit you on her own. But it has to be up to her.”

“That’s too long.” Stephanie’s lips trembled.

Great. She was going to use tears as a weapon now, but it wouldn’t work on me.

“It’s a year and a half away. You’ve already been apart from her for two. I’m sure you can survive for a little longer.” And if Emily did choose to see her, I’d make sure it was supervised.

“You’re a real bitch, you know that?” She glared at me.

I smiled. “Only to those who deserve it.”

Letting her go, I waved my arm at the gate. “I’d suggest you leave while you still can. Lucas is on his way back and if he sees you I can promise you’ll find I’m the nice one.”

Her eyes widened. She pushed off the wall and rushed out the gate. With any luck it’d be another two years before she remembered her daughter again.

Chapter Thirty

Theirn’s home was about an hour outside of New Orleans. Sayer drove us along River Road passing several restored plantations, including Oak Alley and Laura, toward the place where the master vampire currently lived. According to Lucas, Theirn had acquired the property shortly after the civil war. Though the original house had been destroyed, some other structures still remained and he’d built a new home where the old one had stood.

Sayer turned the car onto an unassuming road that was spelled to discourage human visitors. After another winding half-mile, a large wrought iron gate appeared. Several vampire guards—each of them about four to five hundred years old—stood next to it, as well as a strong female witch.

The car ahead of us passed inspection and they waved it on. We pulled up next and Lucas rolled down the window, holding out our invitation. One guard looked it over while the other two checked the rest of the occupants of the car, asking us to roll down our windows.

The witch ran a spell. It burned at my senses as she checked for anything malicious we might have brought with us. We had something alright, but Kerbasi must have escaped her notice since she waved us through a minute later.

We drove for another quarter mile past rows of oak trees to a large plantation house. It stood three stories high with white columns at the front and balconies stretching across the second and third floors. The outside was lit up with hanging lanterns rather than modern electrical lights. Through the darkness I could make out several outbuildings beyond the house, but not much of their detail.

An attendant wearing red livery came to open the door when we pulled up to the front. Another ran around to the driver’s side of the vehicle to take over for Sayer. Lucas, looking suave in his tailored black tux and slick blond hair, held out his hand to help me from the car. I was thankful I’d worn a shorter dress. It made it easier getting out and moving up the steps to the entrance.