Refuge(67)

The handwriting was elegant and precise with a slight flourish in the D at the beginning of his name, just how I would expect an English lord to write. I sat there for a full minute, staring at the note and marveling that Desmund had actually sent me a gift, before I pushed aside the tissue paper to see two CDs of Beethoven’s and Shubert’s greatest hits.

Touched by his gift, I popped in the Shubert CD before I sat down at my computer again. My good mood lasted as long as it took me to log into my favorite message board and see the flurry of activity there. The vampire watchers were out in full force tonight, exchanging stories of suspected vampire-related disappearances all over the country. Something was up and everyone was on edge. People went missing all the time, but vampires were usually discreet about their involvement, taking care not to hunt openly and attract too much attention. But according to the stories I was reading, missing persons cases had almost doubled in Los Angeles, Vegas, Houston, and a number of other large cities. I chewed my lower lip as I read each disturbing post. Could vampires really be responsible for all those disappearances? If so, why weren’t they being more careful to hide their tracks? Weren’t they worried at all about bringing the Mohiri down on their heads?

An email from David arrived as I was about to log off for the night. It was brief like most of his correspondence, just a note to tell me he thought one of his new leads might pan out and he’d let me know if anything turned up. He also mentioned the increase in vampire activity and told me to make sure I kept my head down. I rolled my eyes as I signed off. As if I need to be reminded of that.

Later, as I lay in bed trying to still my racing thoughts, I felt the softest brush against my mind. It made me think of Nikolas, and a feeling of security settled over me. It was strange how he was still the only Mohiri I could sense that way.

Maybe if I learned to connect with my Mori I would be more attuned to others. What do you think, demon? I asked it as I drifted deeper into sleep. You ready to make some other friends?

It could have been my imagination, but I swear it said, No.





Chapter 11





“WE’RE NOT GOING back to the lake?”

“Not today.”

I followed Nikolas around the corner of the main building, waiting for an explanation that did not come. Scowling at his back, I hurried to keep up with his long strides as I wondered what the hell was eating at him this morning. He’d barely said a word to me since he had shown up in the dining hall five minutes ago, and his stormy expression was even worse to deal with than his mood last night. I’d been laughing at something Terrence had said when Nikolas arrived and glared at us so hard that poor Terrence and Josh had actually cringed and hurried off to their own table. Even Jordan had refrained from teasing me about Nikolas when she caught sight of his expression. I had no idea what was up with him, but surely he wasn’t still upset about the kark incident. We’d been through a lot worse situations and I’d never seen him in such a black mood after any of them.

“Will you slow down? I’m not going to chase you all over creation because you’re too cranky to walk like a normal person.”

I did not expect him to stop and turn so suddenly, and I ran right into him. Stepping back, I rubbed my nose and met his steel gaze squarely. This – whatever it was – might scare everyone else, but I’d felt the brunt of Nikolas’s moods too many times to be cowed by them.

“I don’t get cranky,” he declared as if I had insulted him.

“Really? Could have fooled me.”

He started walking again, but slower this time, and I was able to keep abreast of him.

“So where are we going?”

“The arena.”

“You’re not going to make me fight bazerats, are you? Because I have to say that was not one of my favorite experiences.”

“You are going to work with your Mori some more.”

“Oh, okay.” A small thrill passed through me at the thought of talking to the Mori again after our first conversation – if you could call it that.

When we got to the arena, Nikolas opened the door and I entered the building ahead of him. He flipped a switch, turning on the overhead lights, and casting a bright glow over the large room, which looked a lot less creepy with the lights on.

The center of the arena was bare except for some thick chains and weights on the floor, and I eyed the chains, wondering what they were for. But Nikolas ignored them and led me over to the bottom row of the bleachers. I sat and he took the seat beside me, putting us so close our shoulders touched. Needing a little more space, I moved down one seat and turned sideways to find him watching me with an almost bemused expression.