Night Unbound(42)

Chris studied him. “You’ve never mentioned this before.”
Bastien shrugged. “I didn’t think it pertinent. The vampires were all dead, save Vince, Cliff, and Joe. I didn’t think their mistaken beliefs mattered.”
Chris leaned back in his chair. “Well, that could be the answer. Some vampire out there with a lust for power may be telling his followers that they can become faster and stronger if they capture an Immortal Guardian and use him or her as a blood bank. And he’s choosing the humans he transforms very carefully.” He drew a picture out of the soft leather briefcase he often carried with him and held it up for all to see. “Lisette snapped a pic of the vampire she and Richart took out. I had some of my guys do a facial recognition search and came up with a former marine.”
Lisette studied the picture of the soldier. “The two Ethan and I fought last night could have been ex-military as well. They certainly had been trained in hand-to-hand combat.”
Chris nodded. “The vampire we’re dealing with is still lucid and is no moron.”
“We need to identify the source of this uprising,” Seth said, “before it gets out of hand. If you come up against any of these more competent vampires, take them alive if at all possible. Start carrying auto-injectors that contain a vampire’s dose of the sedative if you don’t already do so.”
“Younger immortals,” David added, “should consider hunting in pairs again. For now, it’s voluntary. If the situation escalates, however, it will become mandatory.”
All nodded.
“Étienne and Lisette,” Seth ordered, “read the minds of every vamp you encounter, lucid or manic. Someone knows who the leader is. We need to find that vampire.”
Lisette nodded.
Her brother did the same.
“Anything else?” Seth queried.
Everyone waited expectantly, then shrugged and shook their heads.
“Fine. Meeting adjourned. Safe hunting tonight.”
Lisette rose, intending to make a quick escape.
Seth caught her before she could and motioned Tracy over. As soon as Tracy reached them, Seth touched their shoulders and teleported them to . . .
Lisette looked around. “Where are we?”
“My castle in England.”
“Really? It looks different.” Almost modern.
He smiled. “You haven’t been here in several decades. We’ve remodeled since then.”
She pretended to take in the changes he’d made in the great hall while she wondered nervously why he had brought them there.
“I’d like to apologize for tonight,” he said. “Had I not pressed you to explain your recent absence, Lisette, Tracy would not have had to reveal her secret and . . .”
Tracy sent him a wry smile. “Been thoroughly humiliated?”
He winced. “Yes. Again, I sincerely apologize.” His gaze shifted to Lisette. “I know how concerned you’ve been about Ami. I know you’ve seen her dreams and have grown as protective of her as David, Marcus, and I are. So, when you abruptly ceased visiting, I feared something was amiss. Considering my age, it should come as no surprise to you that I’m a bit old-fashioned and tend to worry a little more about female Immortal Guardians than I do males.”
Lisette and Tracy shared a look. A little?
He offered Lisette a sheepish smile. “Or a lot. There are so few of you.”
Female Immortal Guardians were exceedingly rare. Most female gifted ones suffered torturous deaths at the hands of vampires before they could complete their transformation.
Seth shrugged. “Hell, for all I knew, you could have simply taken a lover and desired some privacy.”
Tracy grinned at Lisette. “That would have been awesome. Do it! I’ll give you all the space you need.”
Seth laughed. “And I shall endeavor to mind my own business in the future.”
Guilt poured through Lisette as she forced herself to smile back. Since he seemed to expect a response, she uttered a simple, “Okay.”
“Hey,” Tracy said, “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to bury everyone’s memory of my dreams, would you? Or at least the subject of them?”
He offered her an apologetic smile. “Regrettably, no. I prefer not to alter someone’s brain unless such is absolutely necessary. Burying memories can be tricky.”
Tracy sighed. “It was worth a try.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “You can’t always judge a book by its cover, you know.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
He winked. “If you look a little deeper, you may find that there is more to Sheldon than meets the eye.”
Both women’s mouths fell open.
“Are you playing matchmaker?” Tracy asked incredulously.