Once Neo left, Micah and Arturo moved off to one side of the room to talk in private. While Zack refilled his plate, Quinn placed a couple of finger sandwiches on one of her own, then joined the vampires. She was through being left out of discussions.
"I'm going to have to report to Cristoff in the morning, first thing," Arturo said, as she approached. He met her gaze, apology in his eyes. "It's been several days, and he'll have someone out looking for me if I don't."
The thought of him with Cristoff curled her stomach.
He either felt her uneasiness or saw it in her face, for he said, "It will help us not at all for Cristoff to know I'm his traitor. He'll send his troops after me to get to you. And he might well succeed."
"I know." And she did, logically. It didn't mean she had to like it. "When will we visit the fae, then?"
"Afterward. My visit with Cristoff will be short."
"I'm staying here," Micah added. He cocked his head at her, a smile lifting his mouth, a kind Mike smile. "You look . . . lighter, Quinn. Like the weight of the world is no longer weighing you down. I'm glad. It's Zack, isn't it?"
It amazed her that, despite all the revelations-that he was a vampire, that he'd been spying on her-he was still Mike. He was still her friend. Either he was a heck of an actor or he'd never acted with her at all. She was inclined to believe the latter.
She found a smile for him. "I was worried about him. I still am, but far less now that he's threatening to eat Neo out of house and home."
Micah grinned, then gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze and turned to walk away.
Quinn glanced at Arturo as she picked up one of the finger sandwiches. "I need a word with you." She took a bite, the sandwich melting in her mouth.
A gleam entered his eyes. "You can have whatever you want of me, cara, you know that."
She snorted. "You say that so glibly."
His mouth quirked up. "It was, perhaps, meant to be suggestive rather than glib."
She chose to ignore that. "I want to take Zack with us to see the fae tomorrow."
"It is too dangerous."
Her spine stiffened. "Your only interest might be in my magic, but my primary concern is his health. I need to know why my magic's hurting him and if there's some other way to help him."
He reached for her, lifting a lock of her hair, studying it as if the glamoured color fascinated him. His gaze slowly lifted to hers. "We will put the question to Tarellia. Perhaps she will sense the connection as Kassius did. If we are fortunate, she'll understand what she senses as Kassius did not. If she wants to see Zack, then we will take him to her. But it will be far safer for both of you if we don't have to do that. Your brother will be fine here."
She didn't like the idea of leaving Zack behind. But the last thing she wanted was for Cristoff to figure out he was her brother. Cristoff already knew she had one and had threatened to hurt Zack in order to force her hand.
Quinn set down her plate on a nearby table. "All right. He'll stay here." She turned to him. "What about Lily?"
He frowned. "Freeing her will not be easy, cara."
"Vampire . . ."
"I did not say I cannot free her, cara. I simply said it will not be easy. The master of Castle Smithson, Lazzarus Nica, is no friend of Cristoff's. We have no diplomatic ties with that kovena whatsoever. I cannot step foot on his land. Nor can any member of Cristoff's kovena or those in alliance with him, which eliminates Neo, before you ask. I have already sent word to Kassius. He will enlist the aid of an ally in another kovena."
"He won't know what she looks like."
"Her name is Lily. She is young. She will know of you and Zack. If she is there, and he can get in, he will find her."
"How long will it take?" She'd come to realize things took time in this place without cell phones or public transportation, where most travel of any kind was fraught with danger.
"I hope no more than a few days." His gaze deepened. "I will find her, cara. I promise you." He lifted his hand, stroking her cheek briefly with his knuckles. "And then, perhaps, you will begin to trust me."
Chapter Eight
The sound of fighting and a chorus of cheers carried from deeper in the basement of Neo's safe house. Quinn glanced at Arturo warily, but he seemed unconcerned as he motioned her to follow.
"What's going on?" he asked, as they approached the table where Mukdalla and Amanda sat sipping coffee and chatting. Across from them, Zack continued to eat though more slowly than before.
To Quinn's surprise, Amanda smiled. "Training. Mukdalla's husband and a few of the others are working with the escapees, teaching them to defend themselves in case we can't get them out cleanly. There's little they can do against vampires, but with proper training, they can learn to fend off Traders."
Quinn glanced at her brother. "Zack, why don't you go have a look?"
He gave her a baleful look. "I'm tired."
"Zack . . ."
"I said I'm tired," her brother snapped, then pushed himself to his feet, shoved his hands in his pockets, and turned away.
Quinn stared at him in hurt surprise. Her once easygoing brother had changed during his captivity in Vamp City. And while she understood, his occasional harsh words toward her-so alien-still took her aback.
Amanda gave Quinn a sympathetic look as she rose. "I'll show you to your rooms." She walked toward one of half a dozen hallways that led off of the main room like spokes of a wheel.
Quinn waited for Zack, then followed as Arturo brought up the rear.
"Either the house is bigger than it looks, Dr. Morris, or you've built tunnels down here," Quinn commented.
"Amanda, please. And yes, there are tunnels. An entire barracks, for that matter, with kitchens and living quarters. Most of the house is hidden underground."
"This is where the escapees hide?"
"Yes. We accept only the freshly caught. Those who've turned Slava can never return to the real world and are therefore turned away."
"Except you."
She glanced back with a soft smile. "I'd not yet turned Slava when I arrived here."
"So you could have escaped. Neo would have helped you."
"He tried to, yes." Her expression turned inward. "I decided I was needed here more than I was at home. Not everything can be cured with a vampire bite."
"You fail to mention the main reason you stayed," Arturo said, his voice almost teasing.
Amanda laughed. "Oh, him."
Quinn smiled. "A man?"
"He's my husband, now."
"A vampire?"
"A Slava. He was already involved in helping Neo. Now we do it together."
Quinn wondered at the depth of emotion that would make a woman give up life in her own world to remain in this place of perpetual dark. Especially when the object of that emotion could so easily die, leaving her trapped for eternity.
She couldn't imagine ever feeling that strongly for anyone. Except Zack. What if renewing the magic didn't work, and he had to stay here? Could she leave V.C., leave him behind in a perpetual battle for his life, while she flew to another part of the world, never to see him again?
No. And she prayed it never came to that.
The hallway Amanda led them down emptied into a living area where half a dozen people sat reading or playing chess by the light of several oil lamps. None were Traders or had the phosphorescent hair peculiar to Slavas, but whether they were humans or vampires, she couldn't tell.
All six turned when they walked in, eyeing her and Zack curiously. One man eyed them warily, tensing as if he were preparing to run . . . or fight, if he had to. The word traumatized came to mind. A couple of them smiled, but none said anything, nor did Amanda speak to them as she led Zack and her through the room and down yet another hallway, this one lined with doors on either side. Some of the doors were open and Quinn saw one or two twin beds in each, a bedside table, and little more. Spartan, but clean, and since the occupants were free to come and go as they wished, and free from attack by vampires, a luxury hotel couldn't be any more welcome to most who arrived here.
Several doors down, Amanda stopped, motioning to an open doorway on either side of the hall. "These are your rooms." The doctor entered one, using a Bic to light an oil lamp on the bedside table. "The bathroom is at the far end of the hall. It's a community bath, but there are several shower stalls, and the water is warm enough, if not as hot as you might like."
Quinn glanced back the way they'd come. "Those people . . . Are they all escapees?"
"Yes. They'll be out of V.C. by week's end, if all goes as planned, with no memory of where they've been."
Zack walked into the room and sat on the bed with a sigh. "I wish I had a computer."
"You're not tired," Quinn murmured. That, at least, was a good sign. "Why don't we go watch the training for a little bit?"
The self-loathing in Zack's expression slew her. "Why? So I can add to the catalog of all the things I can't do?"
To Quinn's surprise, Arturo took a seat on the bed beside him. Zack glanced at him with suspicion, then turned to study his hands, where he'd clasped them between his knees.