Shadows on the Soul

  The mortals spent the rest of the afternoon rigging the warehouse with a complicated array of explosives.

  Explosives?

  Clearly, they weren’t meant for him. Bartolomeo would want to kill him up close and personal, he felt sure of that. Perhaps this was their plan for dealing with Eli in the unlikely event Camille was right about him and he would actually leave the house on Gabriel’s account. The idea seemed laughable.

  Camille and Bartolomeo returned to the warehouse just before sunset. They inspected the mortals’ handiwork and seemed to find it sufficient. Bartolomeo then ordered Gabriel taken down from the whipping posts. The finger he had lost last night had grown back, up to the first knuckle. Bartolomeo attacked his other index finger, cutting it off one knuckle at a time.

  Gabriel felt Jez wake during the last cut. He felt her reach across the distance that separated them, once more demanding entry into his mind. He just barely managed to block her out.

  When they stretched him out between the whipping posts again, his soul shrank in horror as he realized his defenses were weakening. Jez’s assault on his mental barriers was a constant, nagging pressure. And he knew it was only a matter of time before she got through.

  JEZ DIDN’T EVEN BOTHER to get out of bed. She lay on her back and stared at the ceiling in between bouts of psychic assaults on the fortress of Gabriel’s mind. She wasn’t sure, but she thought for a moment there, right when she first woke up, that she’d been close to reaching him. That little hint of hope was all it took to convince her that the effort was worthwhile.

  Around ten o’clock, the phone rang. Shortly afterward, the air turned frigid again.

  Jez clenched her fists and gritted her teeth against a burst of fury. She didn’t need to go downstairs to know that Eli’d received another “gift.” Not long afterward, she heard the front door buzzer and knew Drake had retrieved the “gift.” Jez felt no desire to find out what part of Gabriel they’d cut off this time.

  Around midnight, Eli came upstairs and bullied her into feeding. She wasn’t sure her stomach could keep anything down, but when Eli argued that she needed her strength if she wanted to break down Gabriel’s barriers, she had to concede the point. She chugged down the blood and milk concoction. When her stomach complained, she snarled at it to quit its bitching. Then she lay down again, closed her eyes, and renewed her efforts.

  She didn’t know how long she’d been at it when Gabriel’s barriers started to crumble. A long time, she was sure.

  She felt the pain, first. A steady throb all through her body. If she hadn’t known it meant she was getting through to him, she would have struggled against that pain. Instead, she embraced it, pushing harder against the doors, even though the pain grew greater with every second.

  Finally, the doors burst open.

  Pain like living flame engulfed her, and she choked back a scream, holding the doors open with all her strength.

  Damn it, Jezebel! Gabriel’s voice shouted in her mind. Stay out of my head!

  No, was her simple answer. Tell me where you are.

  You can’t help me.

  I didn’t ask if I could help you. Tell me where you are.

  She felt his frustration, his fury. I don’t want you feeling this. Please, just leave me alone.

  She didn’t much want to feel this either, but she forced herself to breathe as steadily and deeply as she could, focusing all her concentration on her connection with Gabriel, not on the pain. I’m not leaving you alone, so quit asking.

  I’m not asking. I’m telling you, leave me alone.

  Despite the pain, despite her fear for him, she laughed. A laugh that no doubt traveled through the psychic pipeline. Or what? she taunted.

  Don’t make me beg, Jez. Leave me what little pride I have left.

  I’m not giving up on you.

  I thought you already had.

  As soon as he said it, she felt his rush of remorse, of self-loathing. A lump formed in her throat, and she wished she could be with him physically, could throw her arms around him and hold him close.

  I didn’t give up, she told him. Not really. I just needed a rest. She swallowed the lump in her throat. The pain had taken on a life of its own now, writhing through her body, burning and biting. Sweat soaked through her clothes, but she held on to the connection for all she was worth.

  I love you, Gabriel. She felt his gasp of astonishment. She was almost as surprised as he was. She hadn’t thought she’d allowed things to go that far, had clung to the illusion that she’d kept some small corner of her heart safe. Now, she knew that wasn’t true.

  Then why did you leave me? Gabriel asked, his voice small and frightened-sounding in her mind.

  We’ll talk about that later. In person. You need to tell me where you are.

  Why? So you can come get yourself killed?

  No, dumb-ass. So Eli can come get you out of there.

  This time, it was Gabriel who laughed, and she could hear it just fine. Yeah, like that’s going to happen.

  It is. You should have seen him last night, when they sent … She swallowed hard, the night’s meal making an attempt to crawl back up her throat. I’ve never seen or felt anything like that. He loves you, Gabriel. He doesn’t want to, he doesn’t think he should, but he does.

  Yeah? Well, he has a funny way of showing it. The sarcasm was as thick as heavy cream.

  He might have been able to reconcile himself to seeing you dead—though I doubt it—but he can’t stand to see you suffer. He’s already said he’ll come for you as soon as Camille tells him where to meet her.

  Gabriel was silent a long time, and if it weren’t for the constant pain, she might have thought the connection had broken.

  I understand now, Gabriel said, and she felt both pain and relief in those words. He’s coming to kill me.

  He’s not—But Jez cut herself off before she finished her sentence.

  Gabriel was right. That’s exactly what Eli planned to do. Tears burned the back of her throat.

  It’s all right, Jez. Gabriel’s voice was like a caress in her mind, full of softness. I deserve it.

  You don’t! she argued fiercely.

  Never mind. Just tell Eli to be careful if he comes. They’ve rigged the building with explosives. They caught me with some kind of tranquilizer dart, but by the time Eli comes, I guess they’ll be finished playing.

  Tell me where you are, she demanded for the umpteenth time.

  No, Jez. You are not to come anywhere near me. And I’d rather let them torture me for days than let you know where I am. I won’t risk you, not for anything.

  She cursed him, using every foul word she could think of. When she felt Gabriel’s amusement, she only got angrier.

  Let me close the doors now, Jez, he begged. I’m not going to tell you where I am, no matter what you say. And thinking of you feeling what I’m feeling just makes the pain worse. Please. Let me go.

  Right now, she wanted nothing more than to walk up to him and smack him. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. Also unfortunately, she knew she wasn’t going to talk him out of his position.

  All right, she agreed reluctantly. I’ll back off. But only if you make me a promise.

  What promise? He sounded so suspicious she almost laughed again.

  Promise that if I try to communicate with you again, you’ll let me in.

  Jezebel—

  Promise me, damn it! Even a pig-headed asshole like you has to know there could come a time when I need to talk to you, and the last thing I want to do is spend a million hours fighting and clawing to get through. I won’t try to reach you just to chat!

  She thought she heard the echo of a sigh.

  All right. I promise.

  It wasn’t much, but it was the most she could hope to get out of him. She wanted to tell him again that she loved him, but he might feel guilty that he couldn’t say it back, so she didn’t. Instead, she retreated from his mind, closing the door softly behind her.

 
When her eyes popped open and she was fully back in Eli’s house, the pain now only a horrible memory, she rolled onto her stomach, buried her head in her pillow, and sobbed.

  LATER, ELI ROUSED HER from her bout of misery, giving her a handkerchief and looking away while she dried her eyes. She shared the meager information that Gabriel had given her.

  “Is he right, Eli?” she asked. “Are you going to kill him if you find him?”

  His shoulders sagged and he sighed heavily. “Honestly, I don’t know. I still feel that I ought to—though I don’t expect you to agree.” He offered her a hint of a smile, which quickly faded. “But the last time I tried, I wasn’t able to force myself to do it, no matter my convictions. I’m not sure if anything has changed.”

  She resisted the urge to argue with him, to try to convince him that Gabriel didn’t deserve to die.

  “I’m tired of waiting,” Eli continued. “My vamp-dar, as Hannah calls it, is quite strong. And if that drug has weakened him so greatly, Gabriel shouldn’t be able to mask himself from me. I think it’s time I take a walk through my city. Perhaps I’ll get lucky and find him before Camille and friends are ready for the showdown.”

  Jez’s eyes widened. “So you’re really going to leave the house?”

  Eli nodded, his jaw visibly working. “I’ve broken every vow I’ve ever made,” he said bitterly. “What’s one more?” His tone was so hard and sharp it made her head hurt.

  Before she had any time to offer sympathy, he’d risen to his feet, his face determined. “I need to gather a few things. Meet me at the front gate in ten minutes.”

  “I get to go with you?” she asked, hardly daring to believe it.

  “If by some miracle I do find him, I might need you to communicate with him.”

  She leapt eagerly from the bed, hope making her almost giddy. “I’ll be ready the moment you are!”

  The corners of his mouth almost twitched upward, but his expression was still far too grim to be called a smile. He left without another word.

  Five minutes later, Jez was pacing in front of Eli’s front gate, nervous energy pumping through her. She couldn’t deny how eager she was to locate Gabriel. But she also couldn’t deny how worried she was about what would happen if they did. Would Eli kill him? A better fate than the one di Cesare and Camille had planned for him, perhaps, but that wasn’t much comfort. Somehow, she was going to have to protect him, though what a fledgling like her could do against an ancient vampire like Eli was anyone’s guess.

  Her misgivings rose to epic proportions when Eli strode down the path from his front door. Her jaw dropped, and she couldn’t help staring.

  He was dressed as he always was, in dark trousers with a crisply ironed dress shirt. Except for the sword belted at his side, that is. He stopped right in front of her, standing straight and proud, looking every bit the warrior, his right hand reaching across his body to grip the sword hilt.

  Jez swallowed hard. Was that the sword that had scarred Gabriel’s face? And just who was Eli planning to use it on?

  She didn’t dare ask either question.

  Eli punched a button to set the iron gates swinging open. His knuckles where he gripped the sword turned white, and a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face.

  The gates stopped moving. Eli took a deep breath, then started forward. Still gripping the hilt of his sword, he looked like a soldier marching into battle, a battle that would lead to certain death. Jez felt almost sorry for him, sorry he had to break a vow that obviously meant so much to him.

  She had just started to follow along behind him when Eli seemed to slam into a wall.

  There was nothing there, just the gates hanging open, but Jez could both see and hear the impact as Eli bounced back, letting go of his sword and windmilling his arms to keep his balance. His face was almost white with shock.

  Having no idea what was going on, Jez drew up beside him and gave him a questioning look.

  “I don’t know,” he said in answer to that look. He took a couple of steps forward again, both his hands held out in front of him. When he reached the line where the gates would usually be, his hands stopped moving.

  “Dear God,” he whispered, shaking his head. He slapped the invisible wall with both hands, and Jez heard the impact. This wasn’t his imagination.

  She stepped up beside him, reaching out tentatively, expecting to feel some kind of invisible barrier, thinking it must be some kind of trick of their adversaries, a vampire magic that even Eli didn’t know about. But her hand passed right through the barrier.

  She and Eli stood side by side, both of them trying to cross the plane of the gates, but only Jez could do it. With a roar of rage and frustration, Eli tried to bull his way through, only to be knocked back once more, landing on his butt on the path.

  The humid spring air now held a distinct chill. Jez put a little distance between herself and Eli, watching him warily as he pushed to his feet. He drew his sword, holding it with both hands and charging forward, slashing at the air. And the sword bounced off whatever invisible barrier was keeping him in.

  Jezebel shivered in the sudden arctic cold and wondered if Gabriel’s last hope of rescue had just faded.

  23

  ELI HAD TRIED FOR another ten minutes to get past whatever barrier seemed to be keeping him within the gates of his house, but it was pointless.

  “This is God’s way of telling me that this is one vow I cannot break,” he muttered under his breath when he finally gave up. Frost had formed on the grass and bushes around him. He turned and strode back toward the house, frost coating the path behind him until the warmth of spring melted it away.

  Jez stood by the gates and watched him go. Maybe she should go with him, try to ease his mind somehow, but her feet were rooted to the ground. Despair threatened to overwhelm her, but she shoved it back.

  So, Eli couldn’t leave the house after all. That left Jezebel as the only person in the world who cared enough to try to save Gabriel.

  If only she had some clue how to do it!

  She stepped through the gates onto the sidewalk outside, closing her eyes and groping for Gabriel’s presence in her mind. She found it quickly, but resisted the urge to knock on his mental doors. Instead, she tried to figure out if that feeling of his presence was coming from any particular direction. After all, when Bartolomeo’s goon had ambushed her outside Eli’s, Gabriel had tracked her down via the connection, so maybe she could track him that way, too.

  Try though she might, she couldn’t put a direction to the feeling. But anything was better than sitting around Eli’s house worrying, so she picked a direction at random and started walking.

  She’d gone about three blocks before she decided to stop and try again, hoping the sensation would be either stronger or weaker, hoping for some clue. The moment she reached out with her senses, she found a pair of vampires, not fifty feet behind her. With a gasp, she whirled around.

  Brigitte smiled and waved, looking delighted to see her, as if they were bosom buddies. Standing just a little behind her and to the side, Henri did not look similarly thrilled.

  Jez considered the possibility of running for her life, but decided against it. For one thing, she figured Brigitte’s glamour was enough to stop her in her tracks. For another, Brigitte and her fledgling were predators, and the last thing Jez wanted to do was tweak their instincts to give chase.

  Trying to pretend she was brave, she held still and waited for them to approach. Brigitte gave her a long once-over. Behind her, Henri merely stared at Jez’s chest and licked his lips.

  “What do you want?” Jez asked. She was pleasantly surprised to find that her voice came out firm and bold, without a trace of a quaver. Score one for bravado.

  Brigitte feigned surprise, reaching back and slapping Henri’s shoulder. “Did you hear that, Henri? It speaks!”

  Henri grunted. It might have been a laugh, but then again it might not.

  Jez’s fangs descended, an instinctual
response she couldn’t help. “I do indeed speak,” she said, voice still steady. “Does it?” she asked, pointing at Henri with her chin.

  Henri bared his impressive fangs. Brigitte laughed as if that were hilarious. “Only when spoken to,” she responded. “But then, talking isn’t what I usually want my men doing with their mouths, if you know what I mean.” The bitch winked, still doing the best-friends routine.

  “What do you want?” Jez repeated.

  “Gabriel.”

  Jez’s mouth dropped open. “Huh?”

  “Not very bright, is she?” Brigitte asked Henri over her shoulder.

  “No, but she’s got nice tits,” the fledgling responded, proving that he did indeed speak when spoken to. Jez would have preferred he kept his mouth shut after all.

  Brigitte turned back to her. “Gabriel is the only other born vampire in the world, as far as I know.” She put her arm to her forehead and infused her voice with melodrama. “We are fated to be together!”

  When Jez just stared at her, Brigitte heaved a sigh and let her arm fall to her side.

  “All right,” she said, taking a step forward and hooking her arm through Jez’s elbow. “Let’s take a walk, and I’ll explain it to you in small words, so you’ll understand.”

  Jez had no desire to go along, but resistance wouldn’t do her any good. Gritting her teeth, she allowed Brigitte to steer her toward the riverfront, Henri following about three paces behind.

  “I presume Gabriel has told you that in the Old World, born vampires are outlawed. Slaughtered at birth.” She looked over at Jez, who nodded. “Do you know why?”

  “He said it was something about them fearing your power.”

  Brigitte smiled. “Yes, something like that. Has he told you of Les Vieux?”

  Jez thought about it for a moment, but couldn’t remember him mentioning the term. “No.”