“I don’t off people.”
“—but throw a couple of ghosts into the mix and you squeal like a baby.”
“Listen fairy boy . . .” My voice died away as I caught sight of the fire. A form flickered within the flames.
I came to a stop on the makeshift dance floor. It had to be my eyes playing tricks on me. That or Samhain was messing with reality.
Someone bumped into me and pressed a piece of paper into my hand. I glanced up at the individual, but between the masks, the moving bodies, and the disorienting play of light and shadow, I couldn’t tell who’d slipped me the paper.
I moved to the edges of the dance floor and unfolded the note.
Come to the Braaid. That is where your friend and your future wait.
Oliver extricated himself from the crowd of dancers and came over to me. “What are you doing?” he asked from over my shoulder.
I glanced up from the note. “Where’s Leanne?” I asked him. I couldn’t keep the tremors out of my voice.
Oliver shrugged. “Beats me. Probably making out with some seer dude she has the hots for.”
“I don’t think so.” I handed him the note, and watched as he read it over. “We both know she’s been foreseeing some weird stuff, and I haven’t seen her since we arrived. Now I think . . . I think someone may have kidnapped her.” Saying the thought out loud made it sound all the more ridiculous, but I couldn’t argue with the facts—Leanne had been acting strange lately and the letter looked a whole lot like a ransom note.
He looked up from the slip of paper. “How do you know the note’s referring to her?”
“I don’t, but seeing as I can count my friends on a single hand, and considering that you’re here and she’s been foreseeing some disturbing stuff, I think it’s a pretty solid assumption.”
“Point made.” Oliver pulled his cell phone out of his little Speedo, making me cringe, and dialed Leanne.
We stood in silence as the rings changed to her voicemail. Oliver ended the call before we could leave a message. “She probably just didn’t hear her phone,” he said.
I caught Oliver’s gaze. “Do you really think that?” I asked, my voice hushed.
He stared into my eyes before glancing away. “No. I think she’s in trouble.”
I thought over the nightmares, the long silences, the Last Rites she’d uttered. What she had seen had been haunting her.
I cursed. “I think whatever she saw convinced her that she’s going to die.”
Oliver nodded, looking as serious as I’d ever seen him.
“And this has something to do with me,” I added. The letter hinted at it, but between it, the murders, and the devil’s earlier promise to find me this evening, I knew in my bones that I was part of the reason.
“You know what this means,” Oliver said. “We’re going to have to save her ass.”
Chapter 20
“Should we wait for your honey pie?” Oliver asked as I searched the party for one particular person. I made a face at the endearment.
“I don’t think we’ll have to wait,” I said, pulling out my phone and checking the time. “He should be here any minute. When he gets here, I’ll ask him to come with us to the Braaid.” It was the one place I was supposed to avoid tonight, but now that Leanne had gone missing, my guess was that it was just the place I’d find her.
“He’s not going to like that,” Oliver said.
I slipped my phone back in my pocket. “An angry vampire is the least of my concerns.” The fact that I could honestly say that greatly disturbed me. “How about Rodrigo?” I asked.
Oliver sighed. “I haven’t been able to find him. I’ll just send him a text that something came up. He’ll live.” But Leanne might not. The sentence lingered in the air, unspoken but still heard.
“I need to speak to Caleb for a second,” I said.
I watched the dancers twist and turn alongside the ghosts. The colors blended together as people moved. Amongst the bright colors I caught sight of a head of gold, curly hair. That head of hair could only belong to Caleb.
I darted through the packed crowd of partygoers, never losing sight of the blond locks. When I was within reaching distance, I grabbed Caleb’s arm.
He turned around and lifted his mask. “Hey,” he said, grinning, “just the lady I hoped to run into.”
He eyed my outfit, and for the millionth time I wished I couldn’t smell or hear so well. Not even all the swirling scents and noise could cover up Caleb’s reaction. Knowing that I turned him on made it so much harder to act normal around him. “Want to dance?” he asked.
“Caleb, Leanne’s gone missing.”
His expression turned serious. He glanced around at all the masked students. “Are you sure about that? She probably just stepped away for a little bit or you missed her in the crowd. There’s a lot of people—”
I thrust the slip of paper I received into Caleb’s hand. “This note was given to me just a few minutes ago.”
“Who gave it to you?” Caleb asked, his eyes glancing down at the paper.
“I don’t know, I didn’t see them.”
Caleb read over the message, a frown spreading across his face. He looked up. “Did she get kidnapped?”
“I think so.”
He looked back down at the paper. “What do they want in return for her?”
“Me.”
He furrowed his brows. “What?”
I pulled Caleb to the edges of the party. “The serial killer is a demon.”
Caleb nodded. “The Politia informed me.” Caleb’s expression brightened. “Which means that the vampire truce won’t dissolve and you can start working again.”
“Caleb, that’s not the point. I’m supposed to be the next victim,” Caleb gave me a strange look when I said that. I guess even supernaturals normally weren’t aware of exactly when and how they were supposed to die.
Caleb rubbed his temples. “Okay, what can I do to help stop that from happening?”
I almost sagged against him in relief. “The murder is supposed to take place at the Braaid—it’s a stone circle, located between here and Douglas,” I explained. Considering how much he and I goofed off in our history class, I figured he might need the extra information.
He nodded. “I’ve heard of it.”
“Can you call the Politia and see if they can send over as many people as possible?”
“Sure, I can do that. Err . . . you wouldn’t happen to know when this murder is supposed to happen, would you?”
“No clue, but I think we should assume it will happen sooner rather than later.”
Behind him a figure emerged from the darkness. The light of the distant fire illuminated the dangerous planes of his face and the wicked glint of his eyes. Sometimes I forgot just how terrifying Andre was. And then times like this reminded me that he was a being that hunted humans.
“I got to go,” I said.
Caleb glanced over his shoulder to see what I was staring at. He groaned. “Not him.” He turned back to me. “Promise me you’ll be safe.”
I gave him a sad smile. “You know I can’t make that promise.”
His eyes wandered to my lips. “If I kissed you . . .”
I laughed. “Then I’d have to worry about your safety.”
My gaze flicked back to Andre. He’d stopped walking, and he watched Caleb and me with narrowed eyes. “I really do have to go.”
“I’ll see you at the stone circle,” Caleb said.
“Thanks again, Caleb.”
He nodded and watched me as I left.
Those standing on the outer edges of the party whispered to each other as they caught sight of Andre.
I walked up to him, his face all hardened edges.
I couldn’t tell whether Samhain brought out Andre’s darker side, or whether Caleb did. “I notice the shapeshifter still likes you as much as ever.” Okay, so Caleb brought out the worst in Andre.
“First, his name is Caleb. Second, I was asking for his help, and third, jealousy is not an attractive feature in a guy.”
His eyes flicked to mine. “I am not jealous of a boy. Merely protective of what is mine.”
My hand itched with the need to smack the chauvinism out of Andre. Instead I tried a couple breathing techniques until I could control what I said and did.
“Leanne’s been taken, and she’s being held at the Braaid.” The words came out a lot more raw than I meant them to. “I have to go save her, and I need you there with me. You know all about human nature, the supernatural world, and the devil. If anyone could help me rescue my friend, it’d be you.”
“Gabrielle, no.” Andre’s eyes looked sad, but he didn’t sound moved by my speech. At all.
“Please Andre. You know more about this world than I do. Oliver and I can go there alone, but I don’t know how we’ll save her.”
Andre took my hand, threading his fingers through mine. I thought this was a good sign until he spoke. “I’m not just refusing to come along,” he said, “I’m refusing to let you go.”
Suddenly his grip felt like a vise.
“Leanne is only there because of me,” I said.
“All the more reason why you should not go. It’s a trap, and you know it.” The grim set of his face didn’t reassure me. It looked as though he was steeling himself for any reaction of mine that might try to convince him.
“Andre, whoever’s taken her will probably kill her if I don’t show up.”
“How about you and I go to Bishopcourt for the evening, and I send out some of my men to save her.”
“No,” I said stubbornly. I needed to show up at the Braaid if only to give off the appearance that I was coming to barter myself for my friend. No kidnapper with any sense would give up their hostage without believing their demands had been met. They’d lose their leverage if they did so.
Andre’s face darkened. “That wasn’t actually a question. That’s the best offer you’re going to get from me.”
I tugged against the hand that held mine. Rather than loosening his grip, it tightened. The muscle in Andre’s cheek jumped. Uh oh.
I could already see exactly where this entire exchange was going. And this felt a whole lot like that night at Bishopcourt, when Andre refused to let me risk my life to save Caleb’s. It was happening all over again.
“Hey G, should we just take a taxi?” Oliver shouted from down the street, where he leaned against one. Even from here I could see his eyes widen when he noticed just who I was talking to.
“You were going to leave without me?” Andre asked. The lethally calm tone in his voice and the fact that his jaw kept clenching and unclenching were not good signs.
I wasn’t planning on leaving without him, although now that I thought about it, if I did, he’d follow me to the Braaid. It was actually not a bad plan.
I stepped back, and that’s when Andre snapped.
He grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder, my least favorite place to be. “Andre, put me down!” I pushed against him and noticed with some satisfaction that now he actually had to put in some effort to keep his hold on me.
“I am not going to let you get yourself killed,” he said. “Especially not because of some half-baked idea you have about saving your friend.”
I was beginning to see red. But I never got the chance to use my siren abilities on him. From the edges of the crowd, a really, really big creature slammed into us.
I toppled out of Andre’s arms as he and the creature hit the ground. I crawled out of the way while the two rolled around on the grass, slamming fists into each other.
“Don’t touch her!” the creature ground out. Based on the costume that hung in tatters across its body, I knew the thing was Caleb in disguise.
But it fooled everyone else.
“Goblin!” someone screamed. More screams accompanied it and the music died off. Students began running in all directions.
I didn’t waste the distraction. I pulled myself up off the ground and bolted for the taxi Oliver still stood in front of. Oliver saw me running and slid in. I followed behind him.
“You always seem to know just how to ruin a perfectly good party,” he said.
“Shut up.” To the taxi driver I said, “Can you take us to the Braaid?” I glanced out the window. Andre, who had already managed to shake off a now dazed-looking Caleb, stalked over to us. Ho, did he look pissed. “Uh, and if you want to keep all the doors on your taxi, I’d suggest flooring it now,” I added.
The driver didn’t waste another second; the car shot forward and, after dodging a few students who’d darted across the street, we took off into the night.
Guilt sucker punched me in the gut. I knew what I was doing was stupid and dangerous, but I couldn’t leave my friend. Andre would understand.
At least I hoped he would.
***
“I still cannot believe you managed to provoke Andre into taking you hostage. Not to mention riling up Caleb so much that he shifted into a goblin,” Oliver said after we paid the driver and got out of the car.
“Can we please stop talking about it?” I asked, smoothing out my costume. I rubbed my arms. Without a large bonfire to warm my skin, I was quickly getting chilled.
“Oh boy, once Andre arrives to rescue your ass, things are not going to be pretty.” Oliver readjusted his leaves, completely at ease in the cold weather.
“Well, he’s just going to have to learn about anger management then.” My words didn’t contain a lot of righteous indignation in them like they once might’ve. After all, Andre had been sticking his neck out for me this whole time. And this was how I repaid him. Tricking him into coming here.
Oliver snickered. “I don’t think it works that way with the king of vampires.”
Up ahead of us I could make out the Braaid. It seemed to glow from within, as though the magic of this evening brought out its otherworldliness.
Out here the night was eerily silent and devoid of artificial light.
Next to me Oliver reached down into his crotch and pulled a tiny metal device out of his costume. “Flashlight,” he said, holding it up triumphantly.
“Ugh, Oliver, seriously? You stashed that thing in your crotch?” He was like Mary Poppins tonight with that costume of his. First the cellphone, now the flashlight.
“I also have my ID and keys in here,” he said.
“No wonder your junk looks so large and lumpy.”
Oliver’s eyes thinned. “My junk always looks this big.”
“Uh huh.”
“Several men can vouch for me.”
Too. Much. Information. I ignored him and instead strained my eyes toward the Braaid, which was still a ways away, trying to see if Leanne was nearby. I could hear a faint heartbeat in the distance, but I had no idea whether that was Leanne’s or someone else’s.
Behind us I could hear the engines of several cars. If I had to guess, I’d say that Andre, Caleb, and the Politia were arriving. That was faster than I expected.
“C’mon Oliver. Let’s not linger.” I grabbed his hand and we began moving towards the stone circle.
“Remind me to stick around you during all important events,” Oliver said. “They never disappoint.”
I heard the sound of a roaring engine shut off. Andre had wasted no time getting here.
“Gabrielle!” The anger in that voice could freeze hell over.
“Well, there’s your honey pie,” Oliver said a little too gleefully.
I looked over my shoulder in time to see Andre slam his ca
r door shut. If Andre tried to throw me over his shoulder again, then I only had a few short minutes.
Using that logic, I began running towards the Braaid. “Hey!” Oliver said. “Gabrielle, wait up!” Rather than listening, I ran fast. If Oliver could catch up to me, then Andre surely could.
In front of me the Braaid grew larger as I closed the distance between it and myself. The inside of the circle glowed brighter than its surroundings. A white shimmering form came into focus ahead of me. Leanne.
She’d been laid out in the shape of the cross in the middle of the field. In her white and gold costume she looked angelic—and possibly dead.
“Leanne!” I screamed. She didn’t move.
Footsteps pounded behind me in the distance, and I pushed my legs to run even faster than before.
It wasn’t fast enough.
Hands wrapped around my torso and lifted me off my feet.
“Let me go!” I thrashed against the man holding me.
“Gabrielle,” Andre said, his voice so much gentler than it had been a minute ago, “It’s a trap.”
I stopped fighting him. I knew the truth when I heard it, but I was still in denial. “No,” I said against his chest, where he pressed me to him.
Andre brushed my hair back. “It is. It’s not even a very brilliant one.”
“But what about Leanne?”
The shadows long Andre’s face seemed to deepen. “You’re going to have to let someone else get her.”
I slumped against Andre and bowed my head. “But they might die.”
He pulled me tighter against him. “That’s true.”
I laughed in spite of my dark mood. “Can’t you just lie to me about something like that?”
“Not to you, no.”
I glanced over at Leanne; from here I could hear the sluggish beat of her heart. The sound brought on a new wave of despair. “Why can’t I just grab her? I’m harder to kill than most other people here.”