Brynley regarded her curiously. "And who are you, exactly?"
Vanda shrugged. "No one special."
"And yet Phil seems to be risking his life to keep you safe. Are you some kind of vampire…princess?"
Vanda scoffed. "Far from it."
Brynley picked up the whip Vanda had set on the counter. "You're fighting in the war."
"Only because I have to. The Malcontents want to wipe us off the planet."
Brynley handed her the whip. "Why? What did you do?"
"We invented synthetic blood so we wouldn't have to bite mortals. We took jobs so we wouldn't have to steal money from mortals." Vanda wrapped the whip around her waist and tied it off. "We just want to blend in and pretend we're normal. I guess that sounds strange."
Brynley frowned. "No, not really." She wandered toward the ice chest. "I brought some bottled blood. Would you like one?"
"Yes." Vanda heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you." She accepted a bottle and unscrewed the top. It would be cold, but a whole lot better than biting her hosts.
"All right, Howard." Phil finished relating the news. "Call me if you hear anything." He closed his phone and glanced around the cabin. "The place looks good. Have you been keeping it up, Bryn?"
"Yeah." His sister settled in an old worn armchair and propped her cowboy boots on the coffee table. "I've been coming here every now and then."
"Thanks. I owe you." He began to pace up and down the room.
Vanda sat on the old couch and sipped from her bottle. Phil's sister wasn't so bad after all. She obviously didn't like vampires, but she was loyal to her brother. Vanda couldn't claim any loyalty from her sister Marta.
Damn. She rubbed her brow. How could her sister do this?
"I wonder where they went," Phil muttered. "I wonder how Dougal is doing."
Vanda shuddered. "He must be in shock. And a lot of pain. You don't know where they teleported to?"
Phil shook his head. "It's not like they could tell me when the enemy was all around us."
"Oh, right." Vanda sipped more blood from her bottle. It had been close to dawn in New Orleans, but here in Wyoming she'd acquired more time of darkness. "I heard Colbert tell his coven members to go to their country place."
"He's the guy in New Orleans?" Brynley asked. She'd obviously learned quite a bit from listening to Phil's conversation with Howard.
"He's the Coven Master of New Orleans," Vanda explained.
"And who's your Coven Master?" Brynley asked.
"Roman Draganesti. He's head of the entire East Coast region. And he's the brilliant scientist who invented synthetic blood." Vanda lifted her bottle.
Brynley looked impressed. "That synthetic stuff saves thousands of lives every year."
"They must have gone to Jean-Luc's." Phil pressed a button on his cell phone.
"Who's Jean-Luc?" Brynley asked Vanda.
"Jean-Luc Echarpe. Famous fashion designer."
"Oh, I've seen his stuff." Brynley nodded. "Really nice, but really pricey. Isn't he in Paris?"
"Texas." Vanda sipped more blood. "He's hiding out so the media doesn't figure out he's a Vamp."
Brynley's eyes widened. "Sheesh."
"Billy?" Phil spoke on the phone. "Did the guys come there?" He listened as he paced. "Great. And Dougal, is he going to be all right?" He glanced at Vanda. "They're okay. The sun just rose there."
Vanda nodded. If Dougal was in his death-sleep, he would no longer be in pain. And the wound would heal.
Phil stopped in his tracks. His face paled.
Vanda sat up. She'd never seen him look so stunned. A frisson of fear prickled her skin with goose bumps.
"Are you sure?" Phil whispered.
Vanda's hand trembled as she set the bottle on the coffee table. Brynley set her boots on the floor and sat up.
"Maybe he went somewhere else," Phil said. "Did you check?"
Vanda stood. "What is it?"
Phil swallowed audibly. "I understand. I–I'll get back to you." He closed his phone slowly. He looked at Vanda, his eyes glimmering with pain.
"What is it?" She rushed toward him.
"Robby…he's missing."
Vanda halted as if she'd been knocked in the chest. "He—He teleported somewhere else."
"No, they checked. Zoltan and Phineas called all the major covens in the West. No one's seen him. And besides, he's Jean-Luc's personal guard. He lives there in Texas. He would have gone there."