“Feel good?” Alex leaned back against the pillows, one arm under his head, a goofy smile on his face. But it was an adorable goofy smile.
I rested my head on his shoulder. “Yeah, I really do. I could get used to this, you know. Sleeping in this bed, beside you.” As I said it, I realized I meant every word. It felt comforting to sleep beside someone, to know there was someone else on the other side of the bed.
He pulled the covers up as I shivered, the glistening drops of sweat chilling against the air. “I forgot to turn up the thermostat for you, love. I’m sorry.” Vampires didn’t need heat, and Alex kept his place at sixty-five degrees, warm enough to prevent mold.
I tucked the blanket under my chin, yawning. Even though I wasn’t ready to go to sleep yet, sex always relaxed me into a dozy state. “That’s all right. I’m not fragile. Besides, the Dragon Reaches aren’t warm—not where I’m from. Oh, when you head into the southern climes, where the golds and the reds live, yes—it gets downright steamy. But we’re at the top of the world. There’s not much room there for heat, you know. And on the edge of the ocean, it’s always windy and cool.”
He stroked my back, kissing my forehead. “You really have led an isolated life, haven’t you?”
I nodded. “The culture shock, coming here, was incredibly difficult. There are people everywhere.” I pushed myself up, sitting against the headboard, my knees up to my chest as I wrapped my arms around them. “I think what surprised me most was how gregarious humans are. Even when dragons congregate, there’s this sense of isolationism. Aloofness, I suppose.”
Alex eased up till he was sitting cross-legged beside me. “Did you mean what you said about being exclusive? Or was that just . . . said under duress?” He softly touched my arm, his fingers cool against my skin. “It’s okay if you say yes. I just want to know the truth.”
I gazed at him, realizing how safe and comfortable I felt. We weren’t at the office; it didn’t feel like a game here. This . . . this felt real. “I meant it,” I said softly. “I don’t know . . . long term, how we will do together. But for now, while we’re good . . . I mean it.”
He thought over my words, his gaze never leaving mine. “That’s good enough for me. I have something for you I’d like you to wear.” As he spoke, he reached over to the nightstand and handed me a velvet box. It was a ring box.
“Alex . . .”
“Not an engagement ring—not at all. But while we’re together, as long as you want to be with me, will you wear this?”
I opened the box, slowly, and found myself staring at a beautiful ring. Platinum, it was a simple band with three stones. The center was sapphire, and the two to either side, diamond. The sapphire was dark as ocean water on a cold day. But there was more to it than the eye could see—I sensed the rush of ocean waves, the siren song of the water calling.
“What magic does this ring hold?” I held it up, gazing at it.
“I had it enchanted. The ring is aligned to the plane of Water. It will enhance your water magic and always tell you when you’re near the ocean or a lake or river.” His smile was so genuine, so caring, that I found tears welling up in my eyes.
“You are a special man, you know that?” I held out the ring and, as I stared at it, it was as though a dam that I hadn’t known was there in my heart began to shatter. Mutely, I leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips.
“You like it, then?”
I nodded, unsure of speaking. Finally, I found my voice.
“I’ve never . . . felt this way before.” I searched his face. How could I shift from being uncertain to knowing—absolutely knowing—in a matter of seconds? It wasn’t the ring, it wasn’t the jewels . . . no, it was that he had cared enough to have something made for me, something that would make my life better.
He took it and, holding my hand, he slid the band on my left index finger. “This means you’re my girlfriend, you know.”
“I know.” And then, before I could help myself, I blurted out, “Alex, I think I love you.”
With a soft laugh, he pulled me into his arms and laid me back against the sheets. “I love you, too, Shimmer. I love you, too.” And then, once more, he entered me, and the world fell away.
* * *
By the time I slipped out of the satin sheets that Alex kept on his bed, he had fallen into that sunrise slumber all vampires fall into. I wandered through his apartment. Leather furniture, heavy wood . . . Alex liked traditional styles. The books were evenly spaced on the bookshelves, the shelves thoroughly dust-free. His desk was neat and tidy, and the kitchen clean. Bottles of blood lined the shelves in the fridge, but he had also stocked food, for me.
I made toast and eggs, then washed the pan and my plate. All the while, the ring felt heavy on my finger. I loved jewelry, but this one—it meant something. As I washed my face and brushed my hair, getting ready to leave for the day, I stared at myself in the mirror.
“I can love . . . I can feel love . . .” I had been afraid the feeling would slip away, would vanish the moment I said the words, but it was more surprising to me that it didn’t. A part of myself that I’d kept walled off for so very long had broken wide open, and now I was stark raving terrified.
What if it didn’t work out? What if he hurt me? What if I hurt him?
What if the world blows up with you and everybody else on it? Anything can happen. Just let it be. Accept it, and let it be. Life will sort itself out if you allow it to.
Tired of worrying, I decided to embrace the new feelings that had opened up. Bette had said Alex liked crossword puzzle books. It seemed a poor gift in exchange for the ring, but if it was what he loved, I’d buy him several on my way home.
I was about to let myself out of his apartment when his phone rang. He had left it on the living room table and at first I was about to ignore it, but then thought that maybe the call was important. Whoever was calling might not realize sunrise had already happened from behind the cover of heavy gray clouds that filled the sky. I picked up his phone and glanced at the Caller ID.
Glenda.
Oh, hell. Should I answer it? Should I let it go to voice mail? After a moment, I set the phone down and let it continue to ring; another couple of rings later it fell silent. Wondering what she wanted, half wishing I had answered, I let myself out, making sure everything was locked tight.
The doorman nodded and opened the door for me as I left. He was from the Supe Community Action Council and I knew he was a werewolf. They had ironed out a treaty with the Seattle Vampire Nexus to exchange guard duties when necessary. The Shrouded Grove Towers was an upscale complex, and Alex paid a pretty penny to live there. I thought about stopping in at Ralph’s place, given he lived next door, to find out if he had discovered anything else about either Jack Skelton or Mary, my ghost. But for the moment, I wanted to just let the newness of my feelings settle in, so I discarded the idea and headed for the bus stop.
I could have called Tonya to come pick me up, but I didn’t want to bother her. Instead, I hopped the bus and was relieved to see that most of the seats were empty.
My thoughts wandered back to the discussion Alex and I had had in his office, about whether I had ever tried to find my parents. Throughout the centuries after I left the orphanage, I had looked for them. But truth was, I had no real clue of where to start. The Lost and Foundling refused to give me any information about where they had found me, or anything surrounding how I came to be at the orphanage. I had asked time and again, coming up against a brick wall each time. Now, I wondered if there was any way I could break into their records. It would have to be legally, given that I couldn’t even go back to the Dragon Reaches at this point. But maybe, just maybe, someone could help me.
I hated owing favors, but Camille D’Artigo was married to a dragon who was considered almost a prince in the realm. Lord Iampaatar and his mother had a tremendous amount of clout with the Council. If I appealed to them, they might just help me. I had a feeling that Iampaatar would be far more unde
rstanding than most of the dragons I had met. For one thing, he was married to a half-Fae, half-human woman. That alone set him apart.
I decided that I would give them a call later on. The worst thing that could happen was he could say no and then I would be no worse off than I was now. Feeling somewhat more settled, I leaned back and stared out at the silvery morning sky as the rain washed down to clean the streets.
* * *
As I walked through the door, Chai took one look at me and smiled. “What happened?”
I blinked. “I can’t get anything by you, can I?”
He shook his head. “Spill it, Little Sister.”
Tonya came up behind him. “Spill what? Shimmer’s got a secret?”
I let out a long sigh. “I guess it shows on my face, huh?”
“Your face, your aura—you’re positively glowing. What happened?” Chai glanced over his shoulder. “We have waffles and bacon, but you don’t get a bite until you level with us.”
With a soft smile, I said, “I told Alex . . . that I love him.”
And that, of course, called for a celebration with a second breakfast. They weren’t nosy about it, but I finally explained how the dam had broken open, and showed them the ring.
“That has some pretty heavy-duty magic on it, Little Sister,” Chai said.
Tonya agreed. “Oh, by the way, Stacy called. She said thanks again for the food. She’s headed to the doctor’s again today.”
We settled ourselves in the living room with our food. Feeling slightly overwhelmed, I said, “Let’s talk about something other than me and my feelings, okay? Why didn’t you tell us about Jack while we were up in Port Townsend? Maybe we could have helped you at that point.” I shoved a forkful of waffles into my mouth and smiled as a burst of maple syrup trickled down my throat. While I preferred protein to any other food, I had to admit—waffles were nature’s perfect sweet.
Tonya looked up from her book. “Because at that point, I wasn’t sure it was a serious issue. I was uneasy, but I thought it might just be my imagination, or that I might just be exaggerating things.” She placed the bookmark between the pages and closed the volume, setting it on the side table. “Human women are often trained to accept bad behavior like that. A lot of men try to get away with it, telling us we’re imagining things, when in fact they’re actually being jerks. I thought I was immune to falling into old patterns, but apparently not. I still don’t understand why my mother didn’t tell me that she had gotten married while I was gone.”
“If you don’t mind my opinion,” Chai interjected, “she might have been embarrassed about it. Or she might have thought you would think she was stupid. Your mother sounds like she was a strong-willed woman, and to mistake an abusive man for a good person might have made her feel like she had failed.”
“You probably have something there.” Tonya let out a little sigh. “Penelope was a very strong-willed woman; that’s why we argued so much. I’m just as stubborn as she is. I doubt if she’d want me to know that she had actually gotten involved with someone who was that abusive. And that she had stayed with him after the first time he hit her. I suppose she was lonely.”
“Loneliness can make us do a lot of strange things.” I shrugged. “When I was back in the orphanage, a lot of the dragonettes let themselves be bullied just because they were so lonely. Friendships were discouraged, and Ser-Rigel encouraged us to turn in any suspect activity. The Ser used the divide-and-conquer method with us. As long as we didn’t unite, we were at risk and more tractable.”
Chai shook his head. “The more I hear about your childhood, the more I want to go back there and break some heads.”
I laughed, the mood breaking. “Sometimes I wish I could say yes, go ahead. But I think even a djinn would have trouble against a dragon. You’re definitely tough enough, but when you’re facing an entire organization of my kind, I doubt you’d have much of a chance.”
He shrugged. “To be honest, Little Sister, you’ve seen very little of my powers. I don’t think you are aware of how capable I am of taking on adversaries much larger than myself. I keep cloaked for many reasons.”
This wasn’t the first time that I wondered about Chai’s background. When we were in Port Townsend he had mentioned being an executioner at one point. I had refrained from asking about that part of his life, partially because the whole thought frightened me and partially because it felt like it would be intrusive. But now and then, Chai came out with something that made me think we should have a long talk. He knew a lot about my background but I really didn’t know much about him.
Tonya seemed to sense the unease and cleared her throat. “My mother had an abusive childhood and I think there were some things she just couldn’t let go of. Whatever the case, I knew nothing about her marriage to George and she didn’t tell me. But that does give me some idea of how Jack got hold of my information. She must’ve talked about me while I was gone, and I left a number of my personal papers there from high school. Chances are, Jack knows far more about me than I thought.”
I could tell that the worry from before had now turned into active fear. I didn’t blame her, either. Obsession was a dangerous thing. It blinded people to reality and made them believe the damnedest things. In some ways, love was more dangerous than hate.
I wanted to take her mind off the subject and I thought I knew just the thing to do that. “Want to go see Mary again?”
Tonya blinked. “Do you really think it safe?”
“Of course it isn’t, that’s part of the fun.” I shook my head at Chai, who gave me a dirty look. I really didn’t think it was terribly risky, not if we were careful and maybe stayed outside the house and looked around the yard. It would take Tonya’s mind off her stalker, and it would take my mind off my morning with Alex, and Bette’s upcoming plan. I had a bad feeling that it would go south, but we didn’t have many options. If we didn’t catch the doppelgänger soon, it would move on, killing its way across the country. That we might be able to prevent further deaths outweighed the risk. Besides which, we could watch out for Bette. She was one of our own and we wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
I waved at the window. “It’s light outside. For some reason, I always think that ghosts have more power in the dark.”
“That’s never been proven,” Tonya said.
“No, but we can hope. Chai, if you’re so worried you can come with us.”
Chai grumbled but pushed himself to his feet. “All right, I’ll come with you. But I don’t see the fascination with a grungy bunch of spirits in a dilapidated house.” He was smiling, though, and I knew he was teasing us.
Tonya winked at him. “I’m glad you’re coming with us. It never hurts to have a powerful djinn on your side.”
“You’re just saying that because you want backup.” But he laughed, joining us.
I shrugged into a jacket. It was pouring out, the rain rushing in rivulets down the sidewalk, clogging the storm drains with cast-off leaves and debris from the trees and gutters.
The Greenbelt Park District was old enough that it still had sidewalks running along the curbs, rather than driveways pulling directly into the houses. I had noticed that in a number of modern suburbs, the notion of sidewalk seemed to be outmoded. I liked my neighborhood, ghosts or not, and it made me sad to see so many houses standing empty. But the aura of decay and abandonment seemed to fill the air around here, and the entire district reminded me of old mausoleums covered in ivy, with oaks hanging low, dripping with moss and bracken.
As we crossed the street I glanced back at my snug little cottage, and once again the sensation that I had found my home hit me. The Dragon Reaches had abandoned me before I ever abandoned them. And I realized that deep in my heart, I hoped it would never be the same over here, Earthside.
CHAPTER 14
I wasn’t sure what I hoped to gain, but now that we knew Mary was the deeply disturbed spirit of a murderess, I hoped we could find a way to put her to rest. Although, she had ki
lled her children and her husband. Was she here as a punishment? Was she supposed to remember what she had done? Or were we missing some other possibility? Perhaps she already did remember her actions and was playing on our sympathies. Perhaps the demons she blamed for the killings had never really existed. Evil was very real, and quite often, extremely conscious and cunning. Whatever the case, I felt drawn to the old house.
Tonya had brought her bag of tricks. She was a powerful witch and had faced down far more spirits than I had. I glanced over at Chai. He had paused by the gate and was staring past the back of the house. There was no real delineation between the backyard and the front yard, no fence to mark the division. The swing hanging on the tree was moving softly, but I put the motion down to the wind.
“Where did they find the bodies?” I turned to Tonya.
She nodded toward the top story of the house. “They found three of her children and her husband up in their bedrooms. The baby, well, they never found the body. But they assume that she killed her baby boy and disposed of him. The cops made a few halfhearted attempts to dig up the yard, but nobody really believed he was alive.”
“It must have been terrifying . . . to be one of her neighbors and discover what had happened. If I had children I would’ve been terrified. Hell, even without children, I would’ve been terrified. Finding out you have a mass murderer in your neighborhood wouldn’t exactly make for peace of mind.”
“There were very few who took her side. Most of them thought the whole demon story was just that—a story. There were quite a few protesters outside the courthouse when she was on trial. Most of them were calling for her life.” Tonya skirted the house and headed toward the back. Chai and I followed her. “I’m not sure how the trial went, story I read wasn’t all that involved, but it ended with a hung jury, and the judge sentenced Mary to life at the Greenbelt Park Asylum. The thing is, don’t you have to be just a little bit crazy to kill your entire family?”