Even The Vampires Get The Blues

off, or I will kill the faery.'

'I am not a faery,' Clare snapped, trying to glare at the demon who held her by the throat. 'I am a lingerie model. There is a huge difference between the two things! Why does no one else see that?'

Paen shouted something to Uilleam. The ghosts stopped their ascent, but they weren't happy about it, snarling and waving their swords around in a menacing fashion.

'She's a faery, she's immortal,' I called up to Pilar. 'There's no sense in threatening to kill her—you can't.'

'I am so not a faery!'

'She'll be dead enough if I decapitate her,' Pilar called back.

'Oh!' Clare yelled, looking even more indignant.

'All right, we've stopped the ghosts,' I answered, moving a little to the side so I could have an unobstructed view of Pilar. Paen wrapped an arm around me and pulled me up tight against him. 'Now, let's talk. Why do you want Clare? She doesn't have any powers except the ability to talk to flowers—'

'You are such a liar,' my cousin gasped.

We all ignored her. '—and the ability to wear sackcloth and make it look good. So why do you want her, of all people?'

Pilar laughed. 'I wanted her because I thought you were dead. But as you survived, you will do. I will exchange your cousin for you.'

'You've got a deal,' I said without hesitation, pulling away from Paen.

'Like hell he does,' Paen snarled, pulling me back and stuffing me behind him. 'You'll take me instead.'

'Hey!' I said, slapping my hand on his back. 'Less arrogance, if you please. He wants me.'

'He's not getting you.' You don't honestly believe I'm going to allow a demon to take you, do you?

He can't hurt me, Paen. I'm immortal now, remember?

He can decapitate you just as easily as he can Clare.

But he won't. He needs me.

It's a moot point. I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself.

'You may have your soul, Dark One, but you cannot enter the beyond on your own,' Pilar said, jerking Clare closer. 'Nor can your brother.'

'I don't have a soul now, so neither can I,' I yelled around Paen, up to Pilar.

'No, but you have a cousin who can,' he said. 'You will be a hostage for her.'

'It doesn't matter who can enter what—Sam is here, and I'm not letting her go,' Paen said, stubbornness positively rolling off him.

I thumped him on the back again. Paen, truly I appreciate the anguish you feel at the thought of losing me, but I swear to you I'm not going to let him kill me. Again.

No.

We don't have a choice!

'Then we appear to be at an impasse,' Pilar said, glancing up at the sky. The clouds that had darkened the sky all day were starting to dissipate, little peeps of a quarter moon shining through the breaks. 'It is almost deep night. Do you really wish to continue this stalemate until you run out of time?'

I pulled Paen until he was facing me. 'We're out of options, sweetie.'

His brow darkened, and I could feel the protests he was about to make. I laid a finger across his lips, gently brushing them away. 'I know. I feel the same way. But I will not let Caspar have your mother's soul, not while it's within my ability to stop him.'

His Adam's apple bobbed as he fought to keep his emotions under control. I won't lose you again, Sam. I can't. You made me love you, dammit! You made me give up brooding, and sex without love, and happily going about my way without interference from anyone. You owe me!

I laughed, leaning into him to replace my fingers with my lips, offering him everything I had, pouring into him all the love I felt, accepting in return from him the radiant warmth of his soul, crested by a love so powerful it seemed to rock the world back on its axis. I love you, Paen. I love you more than I ever imagined was possible for one person to love another. You are the sun to me, you warm me and give me life, and I could not exist any longer without you. But I have to do this. We have to save Clare and your mother, and if you can think of another way to do it, I'm all ears.

Pain cut sharply through him, pain and regret, and anger at himself for not being able to save me.

But you did save me, I told him, drinking in his warmth as he pulled me up tight to his body. You didn't let me die before, and I know you won't let me go now. No matter what happens, I know you won't let go.

'I'll see to it nothing happens,' he said grimly, pulling his mouth from mine. He half turned, calling over his shoulder to Pilar, 'Release Clare, and you can have Sam and me as hostages.'

Beppo jumped onto Pilar's shoulder. The demon seemed to consider Paen's offer for a moment before shrugging. 'If you wish to offer yourself as well, I will not object. You may approach us, but only you two. No one else.'

Paen had to have a short talk with Finn, Uilleam, and the ghosts before they would let us climb up to where Pilar and Clare waited. I got the feeling that unlike Finn, the ghosts weren't so much upset with Paen and me putting ourselves in potential danger as they were pissed at being done out of a good fight.

'You can fight later,' I told Uilleam as I scrambled up a large rock at the base of the cliff.

'Do we have yer oath on that?' he asked, fingering the edge of his sword.

I looked in surprise at him for a moment. 'You speak English?'

'We're dead, not daft,' he said with a roll of his eyes. 'We've naught else to do around here but listen to the tourists. At least, not until this lot came.' He indicated the movie crew with a sweeping gesture.

'Oh. Right. Well, then, if you guys can just hold tight for a bit, I promise you we'll find someone for you to battle later. Pretend battle. No killing or anything.'

The ghosts looked disappointed.

'Later,' I said, giving Uilleam a warning look as I reached up to where Paen was waiting to haul me up a big rock.

We reached the outcropping where Pilar and Clare stood without any mishaps.

'Let her go,' Paen ordered, nodding toward Clare.

Pilar smiled and released Clare, who took two steps to the side, then turned and slapped Pilar as hard as she could.

'That's for shooting my dress, you demonic twit!' she told him to his startled face before storming over to Paen and me.

'Her dress?' Pilar asked us.

I shook my head. 'Honestly, you don't want to go there.'

'It was a Versace!' came the outraged reply from where Clare was standing behind me.

Pilar closed his eyes for a moment, wearing an expression that was identical to one I'd seen frequently on Paen's face. I thought about pointing that out, but decided it wasn't something Paen needed to know at that moment. 'If you don't mind, I'm rather anxious to have the Jilin God. Could we get on with it?'

'We can if you answer a couple of questions first,' I said, taking Paen's hand. Just touching him toned down the howl of pain inside me that was my ever-present companion.

Pilar glanced at the sky again and gave another shrug. Beppo gave a little squeak and leaped from Pilar to Paen, quickly scaling his arm, jumping across him to land on my shoulder. I gave the monkey a stern look. 'You didn't tell me you belonged to him,' I said, nodding toward Pilar.

'He is a familiar—he does not speak,' Pilar said, as if I honestly expected the monkey to answer. 'What questions do you wish to ask of me?'

'Where is the Jilin God?' Paen asked, his fingers tightening around mine. Beppo wrapped his tail around my throat and began to pick through my hair, looking for mites.

'Within grasp in the beyond.'

'Why did you zap me into the place between realities? Were you afraid of what I was going to tell