In Memories We Fear (20 page)

With a small frown, Rose picked up the toothbrush. “Don’t let him bite me.”

Eleisha kept Maxim leaning over the sink, and she held him there hard. Although she agreed with Rose that he’d had enough, his teeth were so yellow (even brown) in places that no matter what else they did for his appearance, his teeth would give him away.

Rose parted his lips with her fingers and began brushing. This was by far the most difficult task she’d attempted.

Open your mouth,
Eleisha drove into his mind.

He did, but his eyes widened even more.

This went on for a while until Rose said finally, “That’s all I can do with a brush. I’m going to get him dressed.”

Eleisha did not object as her strength was beginning to wane. Holding him like this was growing more and more difficult.

Following the same pattern they’d used to get his clothes off, Rose put a pair of Philip’s jeans on Maxim and then pushed his arms into the sleeves of the sweater before pulling it over his head. The clothes were too large, but at least he was dressed. She combed his hair until it hung in long, damp, clean layers around his face.

While he did not yet fully resemble the beautiful young man in his memories, he did look much improved and good enough to walk around in public.

“These shoes will never work,” Rose was saying as she slipped on her gloves. “They’re too big, and we’ll have to roll up the bottoms of these jeans.”

But Eleisha was beginning to tremble from effort, and she was only half listening. “Turn your gift back on. I’m going to let him go.”

Rose tensed, stepping away, and Eleisha released him. The instant he realized his muscles were working, he darted across the room until Rose called.

“Maxim.”

The sound of her voice and the power of her gift caused him to stop and look back at her. He was still traumatized by the personal invasion they’d just inflicted upon him, but Rose picked up the mirror and walked over, holding it out for him. “Now look again.”

He looked down, taking in the reflection, and he touched his damp hair. Eleisha took this as a good sign—a normal response. That was what anyone would do.

But then Maxim looked over at Eleisha and back to Rose, and his expression changed to sorrow and confusion again.

“Braaaaaandeeen?” he croaked.

Rose jumped slightly. “He’s speaking! What is he trying to say?”

Pity washed through Eleisha. Poor Maxim. He’d forgotten everything for so long, and she was forcing him to remember. Perhaps he had no idea how much time had passed.

“He’s asking for Brandon,” she answered softly. “Someone who loved him. Someone who took care of him.”

 

Mary had no trouble zoning in on two clear signatures—and on one faint signature. She materialized just off Pentonville Road and looked at the graffiti-covered, abandoned building.

Had Philip located the crazy vampire so soon? Perhaps this would all be over tonight. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that. It seemed almost . . . anticlimactic. Afterward, Julian would go back to Wales and order Jasper back to San Francisco, and Mary would simply be waiting for the next vampire Eleisha and Wade managed to find.

It was rather a disappointing adventure on the whole.

Mary often enjoyed this part of the hunt, and although, of course, it would please Julian to have it finished so quickly and easily, without even having to show himself, she wasn’t looking forward to just hanging around the church, watching and waiting again.

Maybe . . . maybe she could talk Julian into letting her and Jasper stay in London for a little while? Didn’t they deserve a reward of some kind? Jasper hadn’t done anything this time around, but there’d been nothing for him to do. That wasn’t his fault. And Mary had worked her ass off.

Yes, she’d tell Julian he’d better give them a little vacation. After all, he needed her, and although they never talked about it, they were both well aware he was blind without her.

She floated a little closer to the abandoned building, making sure she kept to the shadows. Nothing seemed to be happening in there—no noise, no crashing sounds at all . . . no screaming.

And since she was picking up two strong vampire signatures, that meant if Philip was inside, he wasn’t alone. Would Eleisha or Rose just let him take this crazy vampire’s head? That didn’t seem likely, not after some of the things Eleisha had said to Philip back at Westminster Hall.

Frustrated, Mary realized she had to find out who was in there and what was going on. But how? Could she blink herself inside and somehow stay hidden? Probably not.

“What are you doing here? What do you want with us?”

Mary froze at the deep voice and the heavy accent. Slowly, she half turned to see a six-foot, transparent Scottish Highlander standing right beside her.

He didn’t look happy.

 

Seamus had waited outside the abandoned building. He knew the sight of him agitated Maxim, but he remained poised and ready, in case Rose called him. As he was still torn over whether they were doing the right thing, it bothered him to pick sides against Wade, but in truth, Wade hadn’t voiced a side yet. He simply hadn’t disagreed with Philip.

Having Rose along on this journey had been an unexpected relief, and Seamus had remained at full strength most of the time. She was handling the journey far better than he’d anticipated, following him through the dark streets of London without question until they’d reached Eleisha here. Perhaps her belief in the mission was overriding her phobias.

So he’d remained outside and waited . . . until the air wavered near the low, open hole leading inside, and he watched the magenta-haired girl materialize. He froze, just observing her for a few moments. This was the first clear look he’d ever had. The only other time he’d seen her was in an outdoor parking lot in San Francisco when she’d attempted to terrify Eleisha. In turn, Seamus had scared her off that night, and he’d tried to follow when she blinked out, but he’d lost her signature too quickly.

Now he studied her profile. She was younger than he’d first thought, maybe sixteen. Her face was sharp . . . intelligent. But whenever she showed up, violent trouble always followed.

This time, if she blinked out, he wasn’t going to lose her.

He dematerialized and popped back in only a few steps away.

“What are you doing here? What do you want with us?”

Her transparent body tensed, and then she turned to look at him. Her eyes widened.

“Oh jeez!”

She vanished instantly, but he’d locked onto the particular “hole in the world” her presence created, and he followed.

 

Mary was so panicked that she teleported all the way to a parking lot at Heathrow Airport. How could she have been so stupid? She’d been so focused on the vamps inside the building, she’d forgotten to sense for Seamus.

To her horror, the second she appeared in a dark corner of the parking lot, he materialized a few feet away. She honestly didn’t know if he could hurt her or not, but she couldn’t go anywhere near Julian until she’d lost him.

“You stop,” he ordered. “Tell me what you want from us.”

Wow, he was big. He looked like something from a painting in a museum.

Her mind raced. She could go anywhere, and he was tied to Rose. That was his weakness. But his colors were bright, and he didn’t seem to be weakening one bit.

How could she lose him? Maybe distract him for a few seconds and then vanish?

He was standing farther into the light than she was, and a family pulling rolling suitcases was now walking their way.

“Ghost!” Mary screamed. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! There’s a ghost!”

She couldn’t help a moment of glee when his expression switched to surprise, and he jerked his head toward the family.

A little girl saw him and began to scream.

“Daddy! Daddy!”

“Hah!” Mary taunted Seamus, and popped out.

She rushed back toward King’s Cross Station and rematerialized in the darkness behind the British Library, fairly certain she’d lost him but wanting to make sure.

The air shimmered.

“Oh, for God’s sake,” she moaned.

He appeared directly in front of her. “Stop this!” he said. “You tell me who you are and what you want!”

She blinked out, and this time, she could think of only one thing that might keep him busy long enough to lose his hold on her signature. Her cover was blown anyway, and she had nothing left to lose.

In a flash, she materialized inside the abandoned building, quickly taking in the entire scene. Eleisha and Rose were both crouched on the floor, and they seemed to be trying to talk to the crazy vampire—who looked substantially better. He was still paper white, but at least his hair was clean and he was dressed.

Eleisha looked over at Mary and stood up in alarm. She was so pretty. Mary would have given anything to look like that back in life. But now wasn’t the time for regrets. Mary waited only long enough for the first hint of Seamus rematerializing, and then she screamed again—loud.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

She charged the crazy vamp on the floor and watched him shrink in terror as he took in the sight of her magenta hair, nose stud, and transparent form. Hissing and spitting, he darted, trying to get past Rose—who was closest to the exit hole.

“Maxim!” Eleisha shouted, moving after him.

And the whole room exploded into confusion. A huge furry orange cat jumped on Eleisha’s back, and a gray tabby leapt up on a box, spitting louder than Maxim. Rose somehow managed to keep herself between Maxim and the escape hole, and she seemed to be trying to say something, but in all the chaos, she was too startled to get much out.

Maxim charged at her.

“Rose!” Seamus yelled, blinking over in front of her, trying to herd Maxim away by waving his arms.

There it was: the perfect moment.

Mary couldn’t help smiling as she blinked out.

Eleisha had the presence of mind to ignore the enraged cat clawing at her back and to focus every ounce of energy she had left on Maxim.

His slender body jerked to a halt, but his eyes glowed with anger this time. Maybe he was getting tired of having his brain invaded. The cat on her back stopped at the same moment, its mind seemingly connected to Maxim’s—something Eleisha had counted on.

But her back hurt, and she had a bad feeling her shirt had been shredded.

Seamus immediately began turning around, casting his gaze everywhere. “Oh no.”

He blinked out.

“Seamus!” Rose called.

What was going on? Eleisha kept a tight hold on Maxim until he calmed slightly, and then she moved over to him. “I’m going to let you go. Stay here with us. Everything is okay.”

She released her mental hold, and he raised his lips to form a snarl, but he didn’t bolt again. Actually, the snarl was another good sign. He’d figured out that she was the one freezing him, and he was offering an objection.

Another quite normal response.

“Noooo,” he croaked.

She blinked, not sure whether to be glad. He was clearly telling her not to do that again. So his first word was to ask for a long-dead vicar, and his second word was “no.”

Not that she blamed him.

“Oh, Eleisha . . . your back is bleeding,” Rose said.

As Eleisha craned her neck to look, Seamus popped back into the room, his face a mask of fury.

“Damn it! I lost her.”

He rarely swore, but Eleisha was running out of patience. “What is happening?”

“She was outside in the alley,” he answered bitterly, “looking down toward the hole. When she blinked out, I followed, and I kept following no matter what. She must have been desperate and came back here, trying to throw me off.” He paused, and his voice softened. “She’s a quick thinker.” Then his tone hardened again. “But she knows where you are now . . . where Maxim is, and the last time she showed up, Robert lost his head.”

Eleisha just stared at him, trying to take all this in at once. He was right. If the girl ghost was here, Julian wouldn’t be far behind.

“We need Philip,” she said quietly.

“No,” Rose said, moving closer. “Not yet. Eleisha, you didn’t see him after you left us at the hotel. He’ll kill Maxim.”

“But . . . Maxim’s getting better. He looks better, and he’s trying to talk. That should count for something.”

“Not with Philip,” Seamus put in. “I think you’ll need to get a lot further to even give him pause—maybe even to give Wade pause.”

A cold feeling crept up Eleisha’s neck, making her forget about the scratches. “How much further?”

Both Rose and Seamus glanced away, and finally Seamus answered, “I think he’ll need to be able to feed without killing for either one of them to give him a chance. That’s the whole goal here, is it not? I think that’s what it will take.”