Chapter Sixteen
“Danger and death?” Zoe repeated. “But we’re all immortal. Except for…”
They all turned to look at Sierra.
“What’s going on?” she asked suspiciously. That image of evil she’d seen had spooked her and she didn’t spook easily.
“I’m not immortal,” Daniella said.
“Just about,” Zoe said.
Which left Sierra wondering how you could be “just about” immortal?
“Daniella is a hybrid. She’s part druid,” Zoe explained. “So she gets premonitions sometimes. She and Nick are a couple. Yes, Nick is a vampire as well, in case you were wondering. But you probably already figured that out.”
Would it never end? Was no one normal around here?
“My premonition wasn’t about me or about Nick,” Daniella said. “It was about someone in this room.”
Once again all eyes turned to Sierra.
Enough already. Sierra wanted out. She leaped to her feet and nearly stumbled over the cat Bella.
“Watch it!” Bella growled. A talking cat. Of course. Why not?
“Let’s not panic,” Zoe said. “Daniella’s premonitions aren’t always what they seem.”
“That’s true,” Daniella said. “The last one I had warned that Damon and Zoe shouldn’t have sex or Vamptown would go up in flames. Clearly that didn’t happen. Although there were flames involved and fire hazards. Never mind, that’s not relevant now.”
Sierra sat down again. She had to. There was no escape. She was tied to Ronan as surely as if he had her bound with a rope or chains. How convenient for him. How dangerous for her.
She wanted Ronan to read her mind so she opened her thoughts and let them pour out in his direction. She let him know how much she hated this, how deeply she resented it.
She could tell by the set of his jaw that he’d received the message loud and clear.
“I saw ghosts and headstones and graves,” Daniella said with a shiver.
“Maybe that’s because we had a séance here,” Zoe said. “Bruce was able to communicate with Mother.”
“Not directly,” Bruce said. “Sierra communicated with her.”
“How do you know that really happened?” Bella the cat said. “I’m just asking.”
“Why would I lie?” Sierra said. Then something else came to her. “Mother said you were a good kid, Bruce.”
“I never told you that.” Bruce’s eyes welled up. “She used to say that to me. She really was here. I told you so.” His last words were directed at the talking cat.
Sierra was still concerned about that fleeting image of evil. What was that about? Did Daniella’s premonition have something to do with that appearance? Sierra had never experienced anything like it before.
No way was Sierra doing any more séances. This was it. Things were getting too messed up.
“Save me,” a voice whispered.
Sierra looked around, expecting to find Mother even though this woman’s voice sounded very different. She didn’t see anything but she detected a sense of desperation along with the smell of lilies of the valley. Zoe was a soap maker. Perhaps the scent came from one of her soaps? Sierra remembered someone telling her that Zoe had a workroom in the apartment upstairs.
But why smell the floral scent now? Then she saw her. Adele. Barely there. Very weak. With eyes that broke Sierra’s heart. They were Ronan’s eyes. And they were pools of desolation.
Ronan was at Sierra’s side in an instant. “Where is she?”
“We’re working on it.” She directed her words to Adele. “What can you tell me?”
“Nothing.”
Sierra saw the look of terror on Adele’s face before the spirit glanced over her shoulder. Then she was gone.
Ronan was frantic.
Sierra could tell that he’d seen what she had in this particular case.
“What’s going on?” Zoe asked. “Who is Adele?”
“Ronan’s sister,” Sierra said. “She died in the flu pandemic of 1919.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Zoe said.
“Parting is indeed such sweet sorrow,” Bruce said.
“Parting is shit,” Ronan growled.
“Maybe Daniella’s premonition had something to do with Adele’s death,” Zoe suggested.
“Or Mother’s,” Bruce said. “What do you think, Sierra?”
She thought she was going to go mad if she didn’t leave.
“You. Me. Outside now,” Ronan told Sierra.
She barely had time to grab her coat.
Once in front of their house, he started questioning her. “Why could I see her? Why couldn’t I hear her?”