Much Ado About Vampires

before six months were up, I knew I’d made a mistake.

“That’s all and well, not that I mean to make light of your relationship with your ex-husband, Cora, but what, exactly, do you expect Cora to do to get her friend out of the Akasha?” Pia asked Terrin. “Are you going to . . . for lack of a better word . . . use her?”

“Would that I could,” Terrin said, looking even more tired. “But although one Tool by itself is powerful enough to pull most people from the Akasha, a member of the Court is beyond its power. Two Tools, however, should do the trick.”

“Are you saying that the Tools can work together?” I asked. “That they can . . . what, chain power or something?”

“That is a very apt way of phrasing it.”

“So if two of the Tools together are enough to yank Diamond from the Akasha, what would all three be like?” Pia asked.

Terrin shuddered and closed his eyes. “The three Tools wielded by one person would rock the mortal world. They could cause irreparable damage to any being, mortal or immortal. It would, in short, have a devastating effect the likes of which have not been seen by this world since the creation of Abaddon.”

Pia looked at me as if I were a walking time bomb. I knew just how she felt. I looked down at my hands, panic and fear swamping me.

I will let no harm befall you, mi querida. No one will use you in such a way—that, I swear.

But they could, Alec. I could be part of something seriously, unimaginably bad.

I would not allow it, he reassured me, but there was a shadow in his mind that made me feel sick to my stomach.

“So you need us to summon Ulfur in order to get Diamond out, yes?” Pia asked as I was trying to come to grips with my emotions. She glanced at Kristoff. “We’ll have to find another lichmaster.”

“There is one in France. We will contact her,” he answered.

“Won’t it be dangerous for Ulfur and me to be together?” I said slowly, leaning into Alec when he sat on the arm of the couch next to me.

“Normally I would agree that it would not be in any way ideal for you to be within close proximity of another Tool, but this is an extraordinary situation.” Terrin glanced at his watch again. “The time of acclimation is almost upon her, and that would be most tragic.”

What’s an acclimation?

I have no idea.

I hate to always be the one asking questions. Your turn.

“What is the time of acclimation?” Alec asked just as Kristoff did the same thing.

“The Akasha was created by the Sovereign as a place of punishment for members of the Court who deserved such treatment. Later, others were allowed to be banished to its confines, but since it was created to hold former members of the Court, it deals with them particularly harshly. There is a period of time during which the individual sent there may be resummoned to the Sovereign’s presence if it should so desire, but after that period is over, the individual loses his or her powers and becomes mortal.”

Did he just call God an it?

The Sovereign is not God, and it is commonly referred to by a gender-neutral pronoun, yes.

“What’s wrong with being mortal?” I asked, letting that point go for the moment.

“Nothing,” Terrin said, getting slowly to his feet. “For one used to such a thing. But for a member of the Court to be stripped of his or her powers in the Akasha is a life sentence. Not even the Sovereign itself could change that.”

“A life sentence? But nothing can die in the Akasha,” I argued.

“Exactly,” he said, his eyes suddenly serious.

“But why couldn’t she simply be summoned later, even if she was mortal?”

He shook his head. “I wish she could, but Diamond is immortal. If she loses that quality, she ceases to exist in any plane mortals touch. She would exist in the Akasha, but”—he spread his hands—“nowhere else.”

“Oh, my god.” I looked at Alec as I realized what he was saying. “She’ll be trapped in the Akasha forever.”

“How long do we have?” Alec asked as Kristoff pulled out a cell phone.

Terrin gave us all a long look. “Two hours and thirty-three minutes.”

Alec swore as Pia leaped to her feet, exclaiming loudly, “There’s no way we can have Ulfur summoned in that time!”

Alec? What are we going to do?

Be patient, love. Let Kris determine if the lichmaster will help us before you think about panicking.

Kristoff turned his back on us, speaking rapidly in French into his cell phone.

“I’m afraid there is no other choice,” Terrin apologized.

“But the lichmaster is in France! There’s no way we could fly there in time,” Pia wailed, moving over to her vampire.

Could a private jet—

No. Do not worry, mi corazon. If Kristoff can locate a lichmaster, we will be there in time, he said, obviously listening to Kristoff.

How?

We will take a portal.

To where?

To wherever we need. Ah. This sounds hopeful. Alec moved over to Kristoff, asking a question in French that Kristoff repeated.

I looked at Terrin, whom I was unnerved to find watching me. “You couldn’t have told us this earlier?” blurted out of my mouth, making me blush at the rudeness. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out that way, but really, a little more time would have been nice. Not that I’ve been proactive about getting Diamond out, so I’m just as guilty as you, but still. You, at least, knew the truth about her.”

“I began tracing your whereabouts as soon as Mare Disin realized what happened to her descendant,” he said gently. “You appeared to have traveled quite a bit in what is a very short amount of your time.”

“Yeah, but you’re some sort of an angelic bureaucrat, aren’t you? Couldn’t you just tune in your magic TV screen or whatever you guys have up in heaven, and see where I was?”

He gave a soft, but genuine, laugh. “I would give much to have a magic TV screen. Alas, the Court does not work that way. I traced you by means of bribery and several acts that I would prefer not bandied about.”

“Thank god,” Pia said, smiling at Kristoff. “We got the lichmaster, Cora. Very nice work, Boo.”

He rolled his eyes as Alec held out his hand for me. I expected him to look a bit happier, but he looked worried.

Is there something wrong with the lichmaster that Kristoff found? I asked as Pia and Kristoff dashed upstairs to toss a few things into a bag, and alert Eleanor to our change in plans.

No.

Then why do you look so worried? If the lichmaster will summon Ulfur, we can get Diamond out. Oh, do you think he will do the same thing that Brother Ailwin will do, and try to use us?

No.

I moved around to his front, examining his expression. His eyes were a pale, seawater green, his brows pulled together. Then what? I asked as I put my hand over his heart.

It’s what comes after, he said after a few minutes’ silence.

After?

Yes. His gaze slid over to where Terrin was examining the pictures on one wall. But I believe I see a way through it.