“Trying to wake you,” Bones answered crisply. “I cut you, threw water on you, slapped you, and set a lighter to your legs. For future reference, which one of those do you think worked?”
“Good God,” I hissed. “No wonder I thought you were Death incarnate in my dream, and that made me run toward Gregor at first!”
“Then you remember the dream,” Mencheres stated. “That bodes ill.”
The fear of that made my reply snappy. “Hey, Walks Like An Egyptian, how about for once you drop the formal stuff and talk like you live in the twenty-first century?”
“The shit’s gonna splatter, start buggin’, yo,” Mencheres responded instantly.
I stared at him, then burst out laughing, which was highly inappropriate considering the very grave warning he’d just conveyed.
“I find nothing funny in this,” Bones muttered.
“Oh, neither do I, but that’s still hilarious,” I managed. “Sorry about the carpet, Spade. Blood, burns, water…maybe you should have put us in the stable.”
“As I was saying,” Mencheres continued, “this bodes poorly.”
He gave me a look that dared me to comment. I didn’t, my lips still twitching. “You remembered the dream, and you weren’t susceptible to outside stimulants, which means Gregor is close by. You need to leave at once.”
Bones swung a glance at Spade. “Did you tell anyone we were coming?”
Spade shook his head. “Bugger, Crispin, I barely had notice myself. You’re my best friend, and my home wasn’t that far from you. It could just be a logical assumption.”
“Possibly.” Bones didn’t sound convinced. “Or perhaps we weren’t as careful as we thought and were followed.”
“I’ll have the car brought ’round, mate.”
“Three of them.” Bones cast a measured look at me. “All traveling in different directions, with a human and at least two vampires in each. Let whoever might be watching figure out which one carries her.”
“You’ll need more than evasiveness to fix this.”
The sarcastic part of me had an idea. Let Gregor spend some time with me, that’ll cure him of wanting me in his life. Trouble followed me like a bad smell.
But I just smiled with false brightness. “Spade, love your home. Mencheres…classic. Bones.” The clock showed nine A.M. I’d only had two hours’ sleep, but damned if I was going to get any more shut-eye. “Ready when you are.”
“Right now, luv.” He threw some clothes at me, pulling a shirt over his head without even glancing at it. “As soon as you get dressed.”
FIVE
THE PLANE TOUCHED DOWN JERKILY. IT didn’t bother me, but I saw Bones compress his lips into a thin line. He didn’t like to fly. If he could’ve managed the distance, I think he would have tried to talk me into flying the really friendly skies. The one where I was strapped to his chest with him as my own private airplane. Still, everyone had limits.
We boarded a mere three hours after we left Spade’s house. My uncle Don pulled some strings after I called him and informed him that we had to return to the States right away, so the full flight from London to Orlando suddenly had four more seats. Having a family member with high-up government connections came in handy sometimes.
Mencheres and Spade stayed in London, but two vampires named Hopscotch and Band-Aid came along with us. To kill some time, I’d asked them how they’d chosen their nicknames. Hopscotch, an Aborigine who knew Bones over two hundred years, said that it had been his adopted child’s favorite game. Band-Aid had grinned and said he’d picked his name because he was ouchless. I didn’t press for more details from him on that.
We were the first ones off the plane, ushered outside by the flight attendants. The plane wasn’t even hooked up to the terminal yet. Instead, we got off on one of the tall transport ladders usually reserved for service workers. A limousine was parked nearby, and the window rolled down to reveal my uncle.
I hadn’t seen him in a couple months. When his lined face curved into a smile, it struck me how much I’d missed him.
“I thought I’d surprise you.”
Bones cast a watchful eye around before leading me to the vehicle. Band-Aid and Hopscotch circled, sniffing the air like bloodhounds while we ducked inside. Then they followed after us and took the opposite seats.
On impulse I hugged Don, startling both of us. When I let him go, I heard a familiar voice from the front.
“Querida, no kiss for your hombre?”
“Juan?” I laughed. “Don’s got you on chauffeur duty?”