Bitten to Death

“That must be it. I can feel it working on me even as we speak. Like an itch, but not as strong now that I have identified it. Disa has been plotting, just like the old days. Of course. That is why she bound me! The underhanded little shrew!”

I nodded. “Yeah. Yes, that was it! Remember you told me before we came that we’d have to be careful? Well, you were right. This place is fucking with us, Vayl, I’m sure of it.” Before the thoughts could skitter out of my mind again I told him what I’d realized about the power of the Trust. “That fight we just had, I’ll bet that was part of it too. It’s messing with our heads. Divide and conquer, you know?”

Vayl had begun pacing back and forth in front of the fountain, tapping his fingers against his thigh. He didn’t demand proof, thank goodness. That gut wrencher we’d just been through must’ve been enough to convince him. “We are being manipulated, no doubt about it. Disa wants me to rejoin the Trust, that is clear. But as to the reason—I have no idea.”

“You mean beside the fact that she’s in love with you?”

Vayl’s jaw dropped. He looked so comical that I couldn’t help but smile. “No.” He shook his head. Adamantly. Like a guy who can’t believe Congress has raised taxes again.

“Yeah, I think so.” My hands ached to reach up to that face, smooth out the creases of consternation. I dropped them. Why do I do that? I suddenly wondered. What’s wrong with comforting someone you care for?

My inner bitch put down the mai tai she’d been glugging and winked at the bartender before pointing a wavering finger in my general direction. It’s not that part you’re worried about, ya’idiot. It’s the caring. ’Cause they always end up dead on the floor—or in Studly’s case, poof— before you even have a chance to give them their Christmas presents.

Why should I listen to you? I demanded. What kind of character leads a person in the right direction even as she adjusts her thong and tries to remember if the condoms are in her purse or the glove box of her Corvette?

Why are you asking me? she demanded. You’re the one who’s fucked up!

No argument there.

“So. What next?” My mouth felt dry. As I wished for a beer, I realized Dave had probably gone somewhere to snitch a bottle of booze. Which meant, as soon as I confiscated it from him, I’d have something to wet my whistle with. Unless . . . nope, this round was definitely not going down the drain.

Vayl gazed down at me. “The ball is in your court, as they say.”

“It is?”

His eyes darkened. Oops. Even when I wasn’t trying, I pissed him off. Well, damn, it would help if he’d stop emitting that bone-melting, come-jump-me vibe. How was I supposed to concentrate with the Trust hammering at one side of my brain while a wild woman panted for Vayl on the other, stomping and screaming like the tipsy maid of honor at a Chippendales show?

As I stood there, fighting for balance, gazing at the ring I’d abandoned as it nestled against Vayl’s chest, Dave walked in. I made myself inhale. Concentrated on my lungs filling with clean, clear air. Or the closest I was going to get considering my less-than-antiseptic surroundings.

Okay, just concentrate on the mission. It’s really important you get this right. Think of the lives you could save if you nail Samos. If you keep that in the front of your head, everything else will somehow fall into line. Won’t it? Yeah. Maybe. As long as you don’t panic. I shoved my hand in my pocket, felt Matt’s ring slip around my pinky, quickly followed by a sense of peace. I hadn’t lost that token. And some of him still remained, forever part of me, undiminished by time and distance. I felt myself straighten, realized my chin had lifted as I stared Vayl straight in the eye.

I’ll do whatever it takes to win, I told him silently.

His nod, a barely perceptible bob of the head, gave me his answer. That is what I wanted to hear.

I watched Dave edge into the room, looking from Vayl’s face to mine as he tried to gauge our moods. When I managed a smile he visibly relaxed.

“I didn’t make it far,” Dave said. “Only got to look around the garage long enough to figure out the fire started right in the middle of a huge pool of blood before Tarasios intercepted me and demanded to know what I was doing snooping around outside.”

I considered checking Dave’s breath to see if he’d been sampling the schnapps before he got here. “That makes no sense. How could a fire start in liquid?”

“No clue,” Dave replied. “But that’s where it was.”

“Weird.” A spidery sense of unease navigated my stomach. The fire’s location reminded me of the drippy face, which I still wanted badly to suppress. Could it have had something to do with the blaze?

Dave went on. “Tarasios was really pissed, and I got the feeling it wasn’t just because I was checking out the fire damage. He kept muttering about being taken for granted and just giving and giving and see what he gets?”

“I think he’s just been dumped,” I said as evenly as I could.

“Well, that would explain it.”

Vayl dropped into one of the wicker chairs, making it creak like an arthritic old man. “This is ridiculous.”

“Disa’s crush on you, or the fact that she’s trying to trap you?” I asked.

“Both!”

Dave’s grin doesn’t surface often, but when it appears, the entire room pretty much dances. My own mood lightened by several shades as he said, “Hey, Vayl, if she asks you to prom, I know a great limo service you can