Zamani (22 page)

Chapter
Thirty Four

Christophe didn’t have to
wait long for his sister to come around. Vivienne called Christophe not long
after the night he left her at their mother’s altar, asking him to meet her at
her apartment.
 
When he arrived, she
answered the door with such energy that she seemed possessed by something.
 
It was different, though, than the way
she was when she worked rituals and was mounted by the Loa.
 
She was in total possession of herself,
he realized, which was why her eyes were so bright and the air around her
seemed to crackle with energy.

As they sat, she revealed to
him that she’d dreamt of Rosalie on the anniversary of her death.
 
She was brief with the description of
the dream, mainly focusing on how it led her to turn to Auguste for
answers.
 
During the visit, he finally
revealed he had a box of Rosalie’s things, including the journal Vivienne was
now showing Christophe.

“So, now you believe
me?”
 
He was relieved his sister had
finally come around to the truth about their grandmother, even if it meant
Auguste was involved.
 

“I’m sorry, Christophe, for
not believing you before.”
 
Vivienne
handed him the journal and asked him if he read French. He couldn’t but as his
hand touched the book, he swore he felt a surge of energy from it.
 
Instinctively, he knew when he saw the
journal it held the key Olivia so desperately wanted.
 
He worried it might be difficult to get
the journal away from Vivienne.
 
She
would no doubt miss it immediately, and he had no reason to take it from
her.
 
He knew she would worry if he
took it home that their grandmother might realize they had it.
 
Besides, he couldn’t read French, so
there was no way he could convince her to let him borrow it to read it.
 
It wasn’t like you could just take
something so precious in for translation by a stranger, either.

In his time watching after
Liz, he quickly found she and Vivienne shared a fast friendship.
 
He’d observed them together on a couple
of different occasions and he was able to easily escape their notice because they
were so focused on one another.
 
He
couldn’t blame his sister for feeling kindness toward Liz or for being
attracted to her.
 
After all, he had
to fight against his own affinity for her.
 
So far, the two women were just friends, but he could sense the desire
for more from both of them.
 
Instead
of trying to discourage it, he decided to use their mutual interest to get what
he wanted.

He made sure he was with
Vivienne when she met Liz for a date one night. With his sister dating her, he
realized he’d not only have far easier access to Liz without things seeming odd
or her realizing he was watching her.
 
He was also able to access Vivienne’s house knowing that when she was
out with Liz that he and Olivia would not be interrupted. He left the two of
them at The Ruby having pre-dinner drinks and went to meet Olivia.
 

He and Vivienne had keys to
each other’s houses, and Olivia had no qualms over entering his sister’s house
upon his invitation.
 
One visit was
all she needed to read the ritual instructions and commit them to memory.

Olivia was happier than he’d
ever seen her as she read over the journal.
 
She’s actually kissed him in her
excitement and it was a moment of actual joy for her—the kiss was free of
any artifice and had not other purpose or design than to show her gratitude.

Afterward, she led him to
the Casbah. They sat in the shadows watching a dancer bearing a startling
resemblance to Wren. Olivia handed him a cigarette. “We’re not just here for
entertainment and celebration. While you’ve been following Liz, I’ve been
ensuring that Wren can return.”
 
She
nodded toward the dancer, and as she did, Tiffany slid the duster off her
shoulders.
 
Her back was to Olivia’s
table, and Christophe was able to see her tattoos matched Wren’s.
 
 

Things were coming together
quickly, and Christophe wondered where his place in the tribe would be once
Wren was back.
 
He also wondered why
Olivia was bothering. If she wanted more playmates, surely there were easier
methods.

Later, when he and Olivia
were alone in her bed, he asked, “Why go through with the transfer for
Wren?
 
Since you’re convinced that
Liz is Daniela reincarnated, why bother with the ritual at all?”

Olivia was quiet for a few
moments, letting the questions hang in the air.
 
She kissed him sweetly.
 
“Don’t worry, Christophe.
 
You still have a place here.
 
Your work is just beginning
really.”
 
She slid from between the
sheets and grabbed a robe.
 
He marveled
at the sight of her still, and he wondered if the sight of her would ever
become ordinary to him.

“It’s not that, although I’m
glad to hear that your use of me isn’t over now that you have the ritual.
 
It just seems, though, that you could
have Daniela without freeing Wren or effecting any transfer.”

“If it were so simple, what
a wonderful thing that would be.”
 
She moved to the window, her back to him. “I have looked for this secret
for too long to just give up now.”
 

“So, it’s out of stubborn
determination?”

She smiled at him.
 
“On one level, perhaps.
 
But Daniela is only one part of
Liz.
 
It is as if two souls inhabit
her one body.
 
Her memories of her
past as Daniela are only present when her conscious mind is suppressed. In
other words to simply continue as I have been would be to settle for an
eternity of stolen kisses and trysts only.”

She turned away from him,
gazing out of the window. “The only way to ensure that I have Daniela is to
isolate that part of her psyche. To do that I must separate those two souls
somehow.”

 
“Besides, knowing how to use the ritual
will ensure that I never have to go through this again; even if one of
you—my favored ones—should be killed I would have the power to
resurrect you.
 
It’s not just
Daniela I have mourned for over the lifetimes I’ve had.”

She sat in the chair in the
corner of her room, and he resisted the urge to go to her.
 
He was sure that if he did she wouldn’t
finish what she had to say.
 
He
waited.

“Wren has shown that she’s
worthy of another chance.
 
I didn’t
treat her well, and she could be useful to us.
 
And, while I can enthrall Liz, she has
protection, it seems. She’s not the same as she was before.
 
Your sister has awakened power in her
that I didn’t anticipate. While she is submissive to me in her current state
because she longs to feed and to be with her own kind, she also has a much
stronger identity than she did before she went to Hattiesburg.
 
She had to be alone—without me or
Alex—to realize her own strength.”

He’d sensed a difference in Liz,
too.
 
He wondered if it was simply a
matter of his own sharper awareness that there were Others, or if it was
something about Liz that was truly different.
 

“You mentioned that your
sister blessed The Ruby after Liz returned.
 
When I went to her the first time after
that ritual, I saw in her mind visions of herself during the blessing; it was
as if she were watching herself dancing, spinning. She looked like the people I
saw at Lake Pontchartrain a lifetime ago, Christophe.
 
She was mounted by a spirit.”

“A Loa.
 
Do you know which one?”

She nodded.
 
“Brigitte.
 
Protector of the dead.” She lit a
cigarette.
 
“That’s why the ritual
is so important to me now.”

He understood. Liz, being
undead, had no gravestone for Brigitte to protect—she was her own living
graveyard, now inhabited by two souls—her own and Daniela’s.
 
It made sense that the protection ritual
called upon Brigitte, as well; he knew from his mother that she was often
called upon for protection and Vivienne still wore a St. Brigid’s medal.
 
He’d seen one on Liz’s neck as
well.
 

He realized that Wren was
practice for a simple transfer; to separate Liz and Daniela would take far
darker work.
 
Work that required a
powerful Houngan.
 

Olivia nodded, reading his
thoughts.
 
“Yes, see, as I said, you
have nothing to worry about, my Houngan.
 
You are more valuable than ever.”

Chapter
Thirty Five

Sasha reached out to Liz in
her dreams, trying to warn her.
 
She
knew she was unaware she’d been turned.
 
Sasha was glad Vivienne was with her, as it was clear she cared for Liz
and provided her some protection.
 
She’d also made use of Ai as an information source.
 
After Liz went on the tour, she and Ai formed
a truce and actually were becoming friends. Sasha established a connection with
Ai and not only could feed from her to find out what she knew, but also could
call upon her, much as Dracula used Mina and Harker as conduits for
information. This was how she discovered that Vivienne and Liz were visiting a
clairvoyant together in an effort to determine if Alex had a message from
beyond to deliver.

Sasha wasn’t sure she truly
believed in clairvoyants. But, given the things she didn’t believe in when she
was Alex that clearly were true, she didn’t completely discount them.
 
In this case, she knew if the message
was going to be real for Liz she would have to use Martine to convey it. Ai had
heard the woman’s name clearly and Sasha was easily able to find her home.
 
She was there when Vivienne and Liz
arrived.
 

Martine was easily persuaded
to do her bidding, easier than anyone else Sasha had encountered other than Ai.
 
She fell into a trance immediately when
Sasha looked at her—almost before she said a word.
 
Sasha spoke to her softly and gently as
she explained what she needed from Martine and also instructed her to forget
that she was in her house.
 
She was
to say nothing to Vivienne and Liz about Sasha’s actual physical presence, but
to carry on as normal throughout her consultation.
 
Sasha sensed no resistance.
 
She rationalized that the lack of
resistance was why she felt no need to seal the deal with a blood promise; in
reality she was so confused and astounded by Martine’s openness she was afraid
to feed from her.
 
She was so open
that it seemed like she was an empty space.
 

The plan worked beautifully.
 
She was able to speak through Martine as
if the medium were her puppet.
 
Sasha revealed to Liz that Olivia had turned her. She cried, apologizing
for not protecting her then and being unable to fully protect her now.

In the weeks of training and
consultations with Zofia and Lucy, Sasha had discussed simply revealing herself
to Liz, but all three of them agreed it was too risky to do everything at one
time.
 
Better to help her understand
who she was first, to learn about her new identity than to spring it on her
that her former girlfriend was also a vampire.
 
There was also Olivia to worry about;
she was by far the most powerful vampire any of them knew—she was a
direct descendent of Dracula and the only known vampire who was born, not made.
Not even her father could make the claim that he was born vampire.
Everyone—Zofia, Lucy, Steph, and Sasha—decided that it was not the
time to reveal herself. The risk that Olivia would realize Sasha existed was
too great. Not only did that put Sasha in potential danger, but it would reveal
the alliance they were forming against her.

Through Martine, Sasha was
at least able to give Liz enough information to realize she was turned and to
understand the dangers Olivia posed to her—that was the only true
protection Sasha could offer now.
 
She hoped Vivienne could offer her help in fending off Olivia until the
alliance had a clear plan.

After the session with
Martine, Liz sought out Ai.
 
Sasha
wasn’t surprised at all when Ai’s phone rang and it was Liz asking her to come
over.
 
She knew it was time for both
of them to realize their true natures, so she whispered in Ai’s ear to go to
Liz.
 
She watched through Ai’s sight
as she went to Liz and told her what it meant to be “turned” and about
donors.
 
As Liz thought about what
she assumed were merely erotic dreams of Olivia Holmwood coming to her, Ai
noticed the paring knife on the table. She grabbed the knife and made a shallow
cut on her inner arm.
 
Liz was
unable to stop herself, the attraction of a willing donor too much for her to
resist.
 
For the first time, she fed
in a fully aware state, her tears of sorrow adding salt to the coppery taste of
Ai’s blood in her mouth.