There were twenty of us stationed on the tenth floor of a condominium complex across the street from Viggo’s. It was a nice, modest space with functional living room furniture and a large table covered with blueprints. Lilly had purchased the condo forty years ago, she explained, as nothing more than an observation spot. To watch her mother’s killer. She claimed Viggo knew nothing about it. I highly doubted that. I’m sure Viggo knew the place down to the paint hues and the abstract print on the curtains. I’m sure he didn’t care. I’m sure he took great twisted pleasure in it all.
“The streets are so quiet,” I said, observing Manhattan from my perch on the windowsill. It was about four-thirty in the afternoon and dusk was settling in. Traffic was lighter than I had seen in the past. The few passersby huddled within burly winter jackets as they rushed down the sidewalk.
“It’s Christmas and it’s cold. Humans don’t like the cold.” I turned to find Lilly’s sharp blue eyes studying my face. She gave me a wary smile and I was suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude. Sofie was gone. Mage was gone. Lilly felt like an appropriate substitute.
“And most are at home, enjoying a Christmas dinner. They’re not staking out a witch sanctuary.”
“This morning’s church attack certainly can’t help,” Galen said from his outstretched position on the couch.
“What attack?” Caden and I asked in unison. I felt him move in behind me, his hand sliding across my waist. Conflict churned inside me. I shouldn’t let him touch me anymore, that voice told me. Stop testing the Fates! I was lucky enough for that one thrilling hour back in France. Every second that I toyed with inevitability after that, I was guaranteeing doom …
Eventually … I would kill him.
But right now, I needed him. My willpower dissolved into a puddle at my feet as I leaned back to rest against him. In answer to Caden’s question, Galen grabbed the remote to the flat screen television. A mannish blond female reporter filled the camera screen, her backdrop a dwindling blaze in the night.
“Police are saying this morning’s Christmas massacre was gang-related, though experts believe the brutality inflicted on the bodies was more that of a vicious animalistic attack. Most of the evidence was burned in the fire. However, the scant remains pulled from the catastrophe are being sent to forensics for further examination. Police believe as many as two hundred people perished in the church when the doors were barred and the building set on fire, in what is being called one of the most brutal Christmas attacks in United States history …”
Blood rushed to my head and drowned out the reporter’s words. Two hundred innocent people, dead. Two hundred men, women … children. My knees folded. Caden’s grip held me up. Two hundred people expecting nothing more than a few prayers followed by a day of celebration with their families. Sickness tossed and turned and rose inside me. It was beginning. “How …”
“Like baby chicks in a pen. Lazy hunting. The sign of a newly turned vampire,” Kait scorned, her bright orange mouth twisted with distaste.
Newly turned vampires. Jonah’s army. I groped for Caden’s hand, entangling my fingers with his, grasping for support. This was a disaster.
“Should we call Viggo and Mortimer? Let them know?” I asked absently.
Kait’s responding snort filled the silent room. “You think they don’t know? Who do you think barred the doors and set fire to the building?”
I was already shaking my head. “No … not Mortimer …” Mortimer wouldn’t have done anything like that.
A wicked laugh mocked me. “You silly girl.”
“Kait,” Lilly warned, her calmness laced with a razor-sharp edge, like her tongue could lash out and cut the flesh off bones. The arrogant smile slipped from Kait’s face, replaced with what one might deem a contrite expression. “Mortimer would be first with the chains if it meant eliminating witnesses,” Lilly explained softly.
I nodded numbly. “No witnesses means no living proof that vampires exist …”
Lilly nodded. “That’s right. As long as Mortimer and Viggo keep their faculties in check, we’ll be fine. I spoke to Mortimer already. They’ve killed a couple of Jonah’s troops. We can only hope they kill the rest before they do something that can’t be hidden.”
“No witnesses.” Caden’s grasp of me tightened until I could feel the ripples of his chest against my back. “Just bodies. Lots of bodies.” I turned my head slightly to nuzzle my nose against the base of his neck.
Lilly nodded, her throat clearing as she stepped away. It had to be so strange for her. I couldn’t imagine living in a child’s body for twelve hundred years. She had the beginnings of a woman’s figure but it would never mature. She would never appreciate what I felt at that moment with Caden. My heart poured with sympathy for the girl. She would never have this love. Her life, though long, would never be complete. For all her wisdom, she could never comprehend what she was missing.