“I couldn’t take you to my house. Too many questions.” Taneasha looked around as though to assure herself that they weren’t being followed. “Don’t worry, Miss Miller. They’ll take care of the gargoyle.”
Unease trickled through Larissa. “Who is they?”
“My Master’s other students. They were told to look out for the gargoyle.”
“You never mentioned anything about that.”
Taneasha looked out the side window, her attention away from Larissa. “I’m getting you to safety, so don’t worry about anything.”
Maybe it was because she was in the very unfamiliar position of being out of control around a student, but Larissa’s spine began to tingle, waves of warning electrifying her nerve endings and making their presence known. “Let me out at City Hall, Taneasha. There are people there I know can help me.”
“None like my Master, though.”
“Yes, your master is very kind to offer… his?... services, but I want out.”
“We’re already where you need to be.”
At her words the car stopped and Taneasha started to open the door. Larissa put her hand over Taneasha’s arm to stop the girl from leaving. “Taneasha, where are we?”
“We’re going to meet my Master.”
“I want to go home.”
Taneasha’s face changed, and the bright, studious, shy girl she knew from class was replaced with this sly creature before her. “But Miss Miller, it took so much to bring you here.”
Taneasha jerked her arm away and left the car.
Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. How stupid could one woman be? Gods, she never thought Taneasha could betray her, but she should have known better. She should have called her brother.
Larissa drew in a deep breath, using the exhale to center her thoughts. She looked around but nothing in here could be used as a weapon.
“Come out, Larissa Miller.”
The voice was male, though not as commanding as it wanted to be. She didn’t want to be in the position of having someone or something reach in and pull her out, so Larissa exited the car.
It was the vampire from the sphere, the one who offered Terak power in exchange for her. Taneasha was at his side, a little puppy who awaited praise.
Without taking his eyes from Larissa, the vampire ran his hand over Taneasha’s long braids. “Excellent, Taneasha. You have done well.”
Taneasha preened under this praise, her eyes slit and her neck arched back so now the puppy was asking for a scratch under its chin.
“Larissa Miller, I am Garof. You have been a very difficult woman to find.”
The driver’s side car door opened, and a young man came out. Probably human, but his size and the gun at his shoulder said disregarding him would be a mistake. She focused her attention on the vampire. “Can’t say I’m sorry about that.”
“No, I don’t suppose you are.”
Breathing helped center her. She had power, meager as it might be at this moment. These things needed her alive for some reason. They had not gone to all this trouble and suffered all those losses to kill her now.
The vampire held up a ring. “I need you to hold out your hand, Miss Miller. I need to try something on you.”
“Don’t think you’re coming anywhere near me with that.”
“You can hold out your hand and I shall put this on you in a very simple process, or you can resist and I shall use force to make this happen. Is this truly the time to make your stand?”
When put like that, no, it wasn’t. Larissa held out her hand, fingers spread wide to let him put on the damn ring.
Without touching her he slid it over her forefinger. Only when darkness hit her vision did Larissa realize she had closed her eyes against whatever this ring was supposed to do to her. She opened them, to see a plain silver band which rested on her finger, comfortable and quiet and so innocuous a vampire should not have it in his possession.
But while the ring looked innocuous, the smile on the vampire’s face was anything but. His sick joy radiated out from him, and a shower was nowhere enough to make her feel clean again.
She ripped the ring off her finger and threw it at him. “There. Whatever you needed to know, you know.”
“Yes, I do, Miss Miller. You are perfect for what we need.”
“Shove it, I’m not helping you. I know what you are trying to do, and I will not take part in that.”
The vampire sneered at her. “You think not, a pitiable excuse for a human like you?” He laughed, contempt the only emotion the sound held. “You amuse me. You espouse such grandiose statements, but at the first pressure you’ll break. All your kind do.”