In Darkness We Must Abide: The Complete Second Season: Episodes 6-10 (13 page)

“I saw you talking to her.” The ice in her voice reminded him of Aeron.

“We're old friends, you know.” Armando shrugged dismissively.

“Are you?” Lorelei's legs swung back and forth, the heels of her sneakers squeaking against the wood floor.

Armando nodded slightly.

“Huh.” Lorelei leaned her head back, her dangerously emotionless gaze never moving from his face. “Parthenia is dead.”

“I heard.”

“How?”

“I do have my own sources, Lorelei.” He tucked his hands behind his back and leaned against the wall.

The cupid bow of her lips twisted into a scornful scowl. Though she had the appearance of a young teenager clad in her white angora sweater and white jeans, nothing about her manner was childish. She was Aeron's most brutal killer. “The Master wants Vanora in Houston. He'll be there soon.”

Trying to remain calm, Armando nodded. “I'm already working on that.”

“He spoke with you?”

“No. I received word that before she died Althea sent assassins after Vanora.” Armando enjoyed the startled look on the other vampire's face.

“I see. All the more reason for her to return to Houston.”

“I
am
presently working on convincing her to return home.”

“Just make her.”

“What would be my excuse to just
make
her?”

“Are you that weak from drinking animal blood that you can't sway her mind?”

“Vanora is not a common human. You know this. No vampire can sway her mind. Aeron ordered me to protect her, befriend her, and not to reveal my allegiance to him to Vanora and her family. I have to work within that edict.”

Lorelei's frown deepened. “He told me I am not to reveal myself to her.” Looking remarkably like any annoyed teen, she rolled her eyes. “He wants to introduce himself in a grand manner and not have me steal his thunder.”

“Then allow me to do my job,” Armando urged her. “I will get her to return to Houston.”

“How?”

“I don't have to tell you everything, do I?” Armando gave her a mocking smile. “As long as I do my job, what do you care of my methods?”

“I told Aeron she is too attached to this life. I say we kill her family and friends here in Austin. That will make her run home.”

“Or just make her go into hiding,” Armando said, scoffing at her. “This is not days past, Lorelei. If Aeron doesn't want her alerted to his existence, then we can't harm those she loves.”

Lorelei laughed with amusement. “You mean until he decides we
can
hurt them.”

In a flash, he was across the room. Leaning over the chair and gripping the armrests, he glared into her eyes. “Listen to me, little girl, I know what I'm doing. Let me do my job.”

Slightly tilting her head, Lorelei arched one eyebrow. “You have twenty-four hours. Then I
will
find a way to send her back to Houston and our Master. Understand?”

Roughly releasing the chair, Armando gave her a sharp nod. “I'll handle it.”

In the blink of an eye, Lorelei stood beside him. Inhaling deeply, her blue eyes stared up at him. “You smell of human blood.”

“Roman's time is over,” Armando briskly responded. “I don't have to play those games anymore.”

Flashing her sharp teeth, Lorelei nodded. “He'll be dead soon enough. And all his followers.”

“As they should be.”

Senses heightened by the consumption of human blood, he was able to detect when the little vampire moved at supernatural speed and slipped through the crack of the door and was gone. It was the first time in years he had felt so aware of his surroundings. Human blood was power and he had been robbed of it for so long.

Rubbing his face vigorously, then combing his hands through his hair, Armando exhaled with agitation. He was drinking human blood to be at full power. At some point he would find a way around Aeron's edict, and when he did, he would need to be strong enough to defend Vanora.

Vanora slipped into the warm gloom of her apartment, shut the door, locked it, then immediately checked all the protective items she had placed around the apartment to repel vampires. All the wards were in place. Without an invitation, none could enter. And even if Rhonda or her somehow fell to the thrall of a vampire and did issue an invite, the holy relics would repulse a vampire with evil intent. Though, she wasn’t certain if they’d work on Armando if his intention was to seduce her. Not that she planned to invite him inside.

Shaking with a multitude of conflicting emotions, she forced a deep breath into her lungs in an attempt to calm her frayed nerves. The memory of Armando’s near kiss filled her thoughts and haunted her lips.

“
Dammit,” she exclaimed, twisting the pinky ring around her quivering finger.

She started to pull it off, but once it reached her first knuckle she stopped. Tears stole her vision. Why did Armando have to come into her life just as she was finally moving on? If not for her own nightmare about Roman, she would have suspected he was just being jealous and petty and making up an excuse to speak with her. Well, those emotions had probably been a part of Armando’s behavior, but he had seemed genuinely concerned about Roman.

Lifting her gaze, she regarded the window in the dining area warily. A sliver in the curtains revealed a black swatch of night. The darkness reminded her of the night the vampire had crawled through her window. It was thick, heavy and malevolent. For the last few months, the night had been nothing more than another part of the day. Now it was the amphitheater in which her life’s drama was once more playing out before the unseen faces of her enemies.

Vanora hurried over and pulled the fabric closed, blocking out the oppressive gloom. Then she took a few more minutes to make sure all the windows in the apartment were covered before finally slipping out of her coat and hanging it up. Still nervous, she checked the locks on the front door one more time.

Opening her satin clutch, she drew her iPhone out. There weren’t any messages waiting for her. She considered calling Dan, but their earlier conversation niggled at her. The immense amount of worth he placed on her perceived virginity bothered her. In spite of all that had gone wrong between her and Armando, Vanora had no regrets about the night they’d made love. Yet, she’d seen the look in Dan’s eyes when he suspected there was more between her and Armando than mere friendship. It had been disappointment and condemnation.

Vanora sighed. “Dammit.”

Retreating to her room, she sat on the bed, kicked off her shoes, and stared at the bracelet on her wrist. Why did Armando have to make everything so complicated? It bothered her just how much her body was still tingling from their brief interaction. Yet, her conflicted feelings about Armando were not important in the light of the threat against Roman’s life.

Vanora pulled up her contact list on the screen of her phone and selected her sister’s number.

Alisha answered after a few rings. “Snow Pea! What’s up, sweetness?”

Immediately, Vanora knew something was seriously wrong. Her sister was using her fake happy voice. “Alisha, what’s going on?”

Alisha was silent for a long moment. Vanora could hear her sister’s footsteps and a door shutting. “There’s a gathering tonight.”

“
I mean about Roman.” Vanora rubbed the knot in the center of her forehead. “I know that he’s in danger. I dreamed it.”

“
I’ve been painting about it,” Alisha confessed, losing all the fake lightheartedness in her tone.

“
And you showed Roman?”

“
He laughed them off. You know how he is. The eternal skeptic.”

The tears sliding down her cheeks felt warm against her suddenly chilled skin. “Armando was here tonight.”

“In Austin?” Alisha couldn’t sound more shocked.

“
Somehow he found me. He told me Roman is in danger. That I should go home-”

“
No!” Alisha said sharply. “Don’t come home!”

The fear and urgency in her sister’s words sent fresh chills flowing through her body. The quaking of her body made it hard to hold the phone, let alone focus. “Because of the paintings?”

“Yes, otherwise I’d be begging you to come home. You know that.”

“
What did the paintings reveal?”

Alisha’s voice was so faint Vanora could barely hear it. “You’re holding his body in the last one. If you come home...”

“I might bring death with me.”

“
Yes.”

Vanora bit her bottom lip. It was difficult not to let the seeming futility of the situation smother any bit of hope she had to save her brother. “If I tell him about my dream, he might listen.”

The bitterness in her sister’s laugh made Vanora flinch. “When has Roman ever listened to us? He acts like our abilities are all in our minds. He’s a fuckin’ vampire, but disregards our witch heritage. How the hell does that make sense?”

Curling up on the bed, Vanora stared at the curtains covering her windows. The sensation of being watched never truly went away anymore. What if the albino vampire was out there? “In your paintings, does it show the killer?”

Alisha sighed. “No. No. Just you holding Roman’s body. Did your dream reveal who killed him?”

Upon reflection, Vanora realized it hadn’t. The albino vampire had been on the dance floor with her while Carlotta had rushed up after Roman was dead. Armando didn’t make his appearance until the end of the dream. “No, no. It didn’t.”

“You can try talking to him, but if you can’t give him any more details than I can, he’s just going to be a jerk.”

“
What’s the point of having our gift if no one pays attention to it?” Vanora’s lament was one she had heard often from Alisha while growing up.

“
I often wonder the same thing.” Alisha was obviously worried. “In your dream, what did you see?”

It was painful to remember the dream, but Vanora recounted it except for one detail: the albino vampire. She attempted to tell her sister about him, but it was as if her mind wouldn’t allow her to shape a sentence when her thoughts were about him.

“My painting is nearly identical to your dream.” It was obvious that Alisha was crying. “I don’t know what to do.”

“
Armando said he tried talking to Roman because he suspects there’s a threat, but that Roman didn’t pay attention. Alisha, are you
sure
I shouldn’t try to talk to him?”

“
I’m not sure of anything, Vanora. You can try. I just don’t want you to blame yourself if something does happen because he’s too stubborn to listen to us.”

“
I’m too stubborn not to try,” Vanora said at last. “Can you find Roman and give him the phone?”

“
Give me a second to wipe away my tears. You know how he is about crying.” Alisha tried to laugh, but it was a hollow sound.

Rolling off her bed, Vanora walked into her bathroom. Thanks to her tears, her makeup was smeared all over her face. She set the phone down long enough to blow her nose, then picked it back up. Using another tissue, she dabbed at her eyes and tried to swallow her sobs while she concentrated on keeping her composure. She listened to Alisha open a door and walk down the hallway. Vanora assumed the vampires were meeting in one of the bigger rooms. It sounded like quite a large gathering. Then she heard the rich timber of her brother’s voice speaking in the background.

“Yes, of course!” Roman said on the other end. The sounds of the phone being handed off followed, then, “Vanora?”

“
Roman, hi!” She forced a smile onto her face, her fingers nervously tugging the hairpins out of her hair. The white-blond strands unfurled to rest in curls against her shoulders.

“
Vanora, it’s so good to hear your voice.” A door slammed shut and the noise diminished significantly. “How are you?”

“
I’m good. I’m doing very well in school. I’m seeing someone. It’s going...”

She faltered.

How was it going? How could so much have changed in one night? It wasn’t just Armando making an appearance, but the revelation of Dan’s many misconceptions about her. Now she realized how he’d interpreted her reticence to share parts of her life with him as her being a sweet, shy little virgin. That thought did not sit well with her at all.

“
Things are going well here, too,” Roman said, obviously thrilled to hear her voice. “Very well. Alisha has told you about me and Carlotta?”

“
Yes, that you’re together. Are you happy?” Vanora slapped her hand against her forehead, pissed that she was stuck with small talk.

“
Very much so. She makes life very interesting.” Her brother sounded smitten and it made her heart hurt for him. “I am happy to hear your voice. I miss you.”

“
I miss you, Roman.”

“
Are you coming home soon? To visit?” Her brother’s voice was full of hope.