Hungers of the Heart

  Charles hesitated only briefly in the foyer before he threw open the door and dashed outside. As he’d feared, Faith was hailing a taxi, though the cabbie drove past without stopping. Faith put a hand on back of Lily’s shoulder and urged her forward, now they both broke into a jog. Where the hell was the Seigneur?

  Cursing, Charles took off in pursuit, but they more than a block’s head start. He reached out with his glamour, trying to break through Lily’s fragile mortal defenses. She faltered momentarily, then recovered when Charles’s concentration broke. It was still relatively early in the evening, and there w too many pedestrians about. He could pass through them unseen in a cloud of glamour, but not if he drawing attention to himself by chasing a pair pretty women through the streets.

  Faith waved at another taxi, and this time succeeded in hailing it. She looked over her shoulder Charles as she pushed Lily in ahead of her.

  To hell with the watching mortals! She was getting away, and that was unacceptable. All his hopes rest on being able to deliver her to Henri. And all Lily’s hopes, he reminded himself, because surely Vieille would track them down if they escaped. didn’t particularly relish the idea of Faith in Henri tender care, but he’d do anything to keep Lily Faith would understand that, when the time came

  Faith’s taxi pulled away from the curb, Charles glanced frantically around. Directly in front of him, a mortal unlocked his car door and leisurely got in. Charles seized the mortal with his glamour and let himself into the passenger seat. Then, feeling faintly ridiculous, ordered the spellbound mortal to Follow the cab.

  He should be calling the Seigneur, letting him know that the girls were getting away. Should at least inform him that he’d left the house. But right this moment, he couldn’t bear the thought of talking to the man he had betrayed. His stomach turned. Through his actions, he would survive this mission, and so would Lily. But he would never be the same afterward. Guilt and revulsion clawed at his belly, hut even if he wanted to, it was too late to turn back now.

  The cab carrying Faith and Lily eventually came to a stop in front of a train station. No way in hell was Charles letting them get on a train. He’d never find them again.

  With a tug on the psychic leash, he made his driver come to a screeching stop, then dove out the car door, keeping Faith and Lily in sight. The station was busy, still bustling with commuter traffic from the tail end of rush hour. He lost sight of his quarry, so he reached out with his psychic senses in search of Faith’s vampire aura.

  He found her quickly. But hers wasn’t the only vampire aura he sensed. And the second aura looked to be about two-hundred and fifty years old.

  Henri!

  What the hell was he doing at the train station? Charles didn’t have time to worry about that. He had to catch Faith and Lily, not let Henri find them. Somehow, he didn’t think Brigitte would consider his end of the bargain complete if he weren’t dir responsible for turning Faith over. And the thought of Henri putting his filthy hands on Lily...

  Charles shoved his way through the crowd, glamour when necessary to get people out of his desperate to get to Faith and Lily before Henri did.

  ***

  DRAKE COULD NO longer blame hunger for turmoil that swirled inside him. He stood on doorstep of Gabriel’s house, key in the lock, willing himself to turn it. His more cowardly instincts minded him that entering the house meant facing Faith. He didn’t want to see the condemnation in eyes, wasn’t sure he could bear it. Maybe Drake didn’t show up as tainted on Gabriel’s psychic radar but he wasn’t so sure about his own.

  Disgusted with himself, he finally managed open the door and step inside. The house was strangely quiet, feeling almost empty. He did a quick psychic scan that revealed four vampires in residence. No mortals. His heart clenched at the thou that something might have happened to Lily while was gone.

  While he stood rooted to the floor, dread creeping through his system, the Seigneur appeared in t doorway to the den. Drake stiffened, even while let out a breath of relief, for surely Armand would in a towering rage if Brigitte had attacked again.

  “Where is everyone?” Drake asked, pleased with how steady and mild his voice came out. The beast inside him wanted to tear the man’s throat out for what he’d done.

  The Seigneur smiled faintly. “You’ve fed?’

  “Answer my question,” Drake said through gritted teeth, though he knew if the Seigneur didn’t want to answer, there would be nothing Drake could do to force him.

  “I let Faith and Lily go?’

  Drake had to replay the sentence in his head to assure himself he hadn’t misheard.

  “They left perhaps fifteen minutes ago,” the Seigneur continued. “After your dramatic departure, I had a call from La Vieille. It became clear I couldn’t keep them here any longer. I could not risk them falling into her hands.”

  Drake wasn’t sure how he felt about this. On the one hand, he certainly didn’t want them to return to France. On the other hand, sending the two of them undefended into the night seemed insanely stupid.

  “You’re risking them falling into Brigitte and Henri’s hands!”

  The Seigneur shrugged as if it hardly mattered. “There was risk either way. Charles and I couldn’t go with them. We mustn’t have the faintest idea where they could be going, or La Vieille will drag that information from us if we are forced to return home. If I had to choose between La Vieille and Brigitte, I’m afraid Brigitte will always be the lesser of two evils.”

  Drake pictured Henri outside the crematorium, jacking off to the thought of what he would do Faith.

  “You don’t have to agree with my decision,” Ar­mand said. “It’s too late to change it now, right o wrong. For what it’s worth, I offer my apologies for my behavior earlier. Neither you nor Faith deserve that.”

  This was a night full of surprises. Somehow Drake didn’t think the Seigneur was a man much used to apologizing. Still, he didn’t find himself particularly moved. “If you expect me to graciously ac­cept your apology and forget it happened, you’ve got a long wait ahead of you.”

  Again, the Seigneur shrugged. His face gave away nothing, but his body language was more telling. He looked tired. And resigned. Drake might almost hay felt sorry for him in another situation.

  Drake swept the house with his psychic senses again, and realized there still weren’t as many people in the house as there should be.

  “Surely you haven’t sent people out hunting without you.”

  The Seigneur shook his head. “We had another casualty during the day. Louis is dead.”

  No wonder the Seigneur looked so defeated. “Who else is missing?”

  The Seigneur gave him a puzzled look. “What you—” Then he must have performed his own sweep, because he cursed and reached into his pocket, pulling out a cell phone. “Charles isn’t here,” he said as he dialed. “I’ve been too preoccupied. I didn’t no­tice him leaving, and I certainly didn’t send him out.”

  Drake suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.

  ***

  THE TRAIN STATION was loud, echoing with many voices, so Charles almost missed the sound of his cell phone ringing. He was sincerely tempted to pre­tend he didn’t hear it, but he had probably already aroused Armand’s suspicions by running off without telling him he was leaving.

  He answered the phone, still moving toward Faith’s aura. Every now and then, he caught a glimpse of her through the sea of people. He was catching up, but she hadn’t seen him yet. Strangely, the aura that he assumed was Henri’s had not veered in their direction, had in fact headed straight for the exit.

  Charles listened with only half his attention as Ar­mand explained that he’d freed Faith and Lily. He felt a moment of outrage that Armand hadn’t given him the opportunity to flee La Vieille’s wrath, but he knew how his old friend’s mind worked. Knew Ar­mand needed him if he had any hope of fulfilling his mission. Unfortunately for them both, that hope had died long ago.

  “Come back to the ho
use now,” Armand said, and Charles finally paid full attention to the situation.

  He couldn’t go back to the house. Not without... securing Faith and Lily first. The only place he could imagine securing them was in La Vieille’s jet, which would be standing at the ready at all times. Charles obviously couldn’t take them there himself—as his maker, Armand would be able to sense where Charles was, and that he wasn’t coming back as ordered. La Vieille had given him a number for some of her other minions, the ones who had come specifically to make sure the delegation returned in the event of failure. But it would take time for them to get here. Time that Charles would have to explain away.

  “I can’t come back now,” he said, noticing for the first time the sweat that beaded on his upper lip. He hoped his voice didn’t show how close he was to panic as he tried to think of an excuse to placate the Seigneur. Then he realized the vampire aura he’d sensed earlier was perfect.

  “I followed Faith and Lily to the train station. I’m not sure, but I think Henri is here, too. I sense some­one about his age. I haven’t laid eyes on him yet, but I can’t just leave Faith and Lily alone if he’s around.”

  Armand made a sound of frustration. “If he’s around, then Brigitte is there to hold his leash. You are no match for them.”

  “So you would have me just abandon them?” he asked, not having to fake his horror at the idea.

  Armand sighed heavily. “No. No, of course not. Try to keep him in sight. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  Then the Seigneur hung up, and Charles suppress a groan. The aura he’d sensed was long gone, and Armand got here before he could get Faith and Lily away...

  Hastily, he dialed the number La Vieille had given him and prayed that her people would get to the sta­tion before Armand did.

  ***

  FAITH CHEWED HER lip as she and Lily waited in line. The cavernous station echoed with the clamor of too many voices, and the crowd could camouflage any number of hostile vampires. She did a brief psy­chic scan, then cursed when she sensed a vampire presence almost on top of them. She whirled and put herself between Lily and the approaching vampire, then let out a breath of relief when she saw Charles.

  She couldn’t imagine why Charles was following them—unless the Seigneur had changed his mind— but better him than Henri.

  He smiled reassuringly as he approached, but de­spite the friendly demeanor, Faith remained on guard. There was a sheen of sweat on his face, and his eyes darted nervously left and right.

  “What are you doing here, Charles?” she asked as the ticket line inched forward.

  “Armand failed to inform me that he’d freed you, so I followed you.” He took a step closer. “I was going to leave once he called and told me, but... Please don’t panic, but I think Henri is in the station.”

  Faith’s heart skipped a beat, and Lily gasped. Charles patted the air soothingly. “Armand is on his way. We won’t let Henri get you.”

  Faith reached out with her psychic senses, but she felt no sign of another vampire in the area. “I don’ sense anything,” she said, wondering why she suddenly felt suspicious of Charles, of all people.

  He swallowed hard, his eyes a little too wide. don’t, either. Not anymore. He just kind of… disappeared.”

  Now Charles’s fear became more understandable “You think Brigitte’s here, too, and that she can mas1 his presence as well as her own?’

  Sweat beaded on his upper lip as he nodded. reached for her arm and drew her out of line. “Let head for the exit,” he said. She noticed the hand her arm was cold and clammy. “The faster we meet up with Armand, the better.”

  Faith still felt a disturbing undercurrent of suspicion, but since she could think of no good reason justify it, she allowed Charles to lead her and Lily back the way they had come. They were almost to exit when Charles turned to her with a pleading look in his eyes.

  “I’m very sorry about this, Faith,” he said. Her brows drew together in puzzlement as Lily continued past her to Charles’s side.

  “What—” she started to ask, but her jaw snap shut and her voice died in her throat. She tried force a sound out, but glamour held her silent.

  Charles put his arm around Lily’s shoulders drew her close. Her eyes stared vacantly Faith’s chest lurched at the proprietary way C. looked at her sister. All this time, she’d worried at what Armand might do, but it looked like Charles had been the threat all along.

  “I will do everything in my power to keep her safe,” Charles vowed, though he seemed incapable of looking Faith in the eye. “If I could have saved you both, I would have, but I know you’d prefer I save Lily since I have to choose.”

  Tears of anger and frustration burned in Faith’s eyes. How could Charles do this to them? But since he held her voice captive, she couldn’t ask.

  “Let’s go,” he said, and Faith’s feet started moving against her will. “I have to get you out of here before Armand arrives.”

  Unable to resist the pull of his glamour, she fol­lowed him out of the station.

  ***

  AT FIRST, THE Seigneur had balked at the idea of letting Drake accompany him to the train station. But when Drake had pointed out that he’d simply take the next cab if the Seigneur went alone, Armand had re­luctantly agreed.

  So far, Drake hadn’t found it necessary to buy a car, although he knew how to drive. Gabriel and Jez owned one, but Drake decided not to point that out to the Seigneur. It was best to leave the car so Gabriel could follow them. Drake did a quick psychic scan as lie and the Seigneur slid into the cab, but he sensed no vampires other than the Guardians.

  When they were about halfway to the station, Charles called and said he’d lost the trail, claiming Henri must have taken a cab. Armand decided to pick him up at the station anyway. But when they arrived and Charles opened the door to get in, both he and the Seigneur suddenly tensed, and their eyes met. Drake didn’t sense anything, but then his range was considerably shorter than theirs.

  “What is it?”he asked.

  Charles reached into his wallet and threw some money at the driver, while the Seigneur slipped out of the cab without answering. With a shrug, Drake exited, too, hoping Gabriel had managed to follow them.

  The Seigneur was staring at Charles with nar­rowed eyes, and Charles looked pale.

  “I thought you said you’d lost him.”

  Charles stared at the sidewalk with scared-looking eyes. “I had, Seigneur. He disappeared so fast I thought he had to have gotten into a car?’

  “And now he’s come back? Is that what you’re telling me?”

  Once again, Drake performed his psychic sweep, and this time he thought he caught the faintest glimpse of a vampire aura at the periphery of his range.

  “I don’t know what’s going on, Seigneur” Charles said, sounding desperate. “I don’t know why he’s come back.” He raised his head and squared his shoulders. “But he’s getting away.”

  The Seigneur gave his fledgling another long, hard look, then shook his head and without another word started jogging in the direction from which Drake had sensed the fleeting aura. Charles and Drake fol­lowed close behind. Drake’s heart lurched a bit when he realized that he couldn’t sense Faith’s presence in the looming terminal. If she were inside, she should have been within his range.

  But then, that was good news. It meant she and Lily had gotten on a train, and with Henri in the neighborhood they would have been in danger if they’d still been here.

  As the three of them ran, Drake kept his senses stretched for the aura they were following, feeling it growing stronger in his mind. They were gaining, though their quarry had to be moving at a brisk pace or they should have caught up with him by now.

  A flicker of unease prickled the back of Drake’s neck. “Surely he senses us,” he said. “With this big a head start, he could lose us easily if he wanted to.”

  The Seigneur glanced over his shoulder, frowning, but didn’t slow down. “That may be, but Charles and
I have no choice but to follow. You can go back to the house if you’d like. You’ll be no help against Henri or Brigitte anyway.”

  Undoubtedly true, and if the four of them decided to battle to the death, Drake wasn’t sure he cared who won. But he kept following anyway. Maybe it was pride, maybe it was sheer stupidity, but the last thing he wanted was to run from a fight in front of the Seigneur.

  They all came to a sudden halt when a figure stepped out of the shadows and blocked their path.

  Charles cried out in alarm, his hand plunging under his jacket after the tranquilizer gun.

  Drake realized just in time that it was Gabriel who’d blocked their path and reached out to grab Charles’s arm. “Wait!” he barked, and though Charles could eas­ily have broken his grip, he listened.

  The Seigneur panting faintly from the exertion of their jog, drew himself rigidly upright and took a step forward.

  “Gabriel, I presume?” he asked, giving Gabriel a once-over that managed to look both contemptuous and cautious.

  “In the flesh,” Gabriel responded. “And I thought you might want to think for a moment before you run headlong into such an obvious trap.”

  Reaching out with his psychic senses yet again, Drake realized that the aura they’d been following was still in range—no doubt slowing when he real­ized the pursuit had come to a halt. And he also noticed that Gabriel was still masking his psychic presence.

  The Seigneur’s lip curled. “If I kill you now, I’ll have some concrete progress to report to La Vieille.”

  “First of all,” Gabriel said with a malevolent grin, “you’d find me harder to kill than you imagine.”

  Drake knew that was at least partially a bluff. If Gabriel hadn’t been weakened by whatever he’d done to restore Jez to herself after their last encounter with Brigitte and Henri, there was no doubt he’d be able to win a battle, even against two vampires of such age as Armand and Charles. After all, he’d easily defeated