Chasing The Shadows

was psychically using a young couple in an attempt to kill Nikki.

Seline's amusement shimmered around him. She was well aware he was steering the conversation back to more comfortable topics. And he still lives? Michael, you're slipping.

I never had much hope of finding him in a city this size—he could have been anywhere in a one or two block radius, and his scent was nowhere to be found. But I am meeting him tonight, and if he is our kidnapper, I'll kill him if I can.

If? You sense problems?

A fourth woman has been kidnapped.

Damn.She hesitated, her anger heating the link . Which one?

Her married name is Harris.

Anne Harris, that would be. She's one of the eight I mentioned. Her husband is involved in shipping.

It's not her present that's the problem. It's her past.

Perhaps you'd better talk to Mary some more.

I've probed her memories. As far as she's concerned, nothing unusual happened.

Then probe deeper. Obviously, something else happened either that night or during the year—something that involved these twelve women.

I'll try.When Nikki wasn't around to protest. He wasn't up to any more arguments right now. If you give me the names and addresses of the remaining women, I'll visit each of them and impress upon their minds the urgent need to leave.

Good idea.Seline's thoughts touched his more fully, burning the information into his memory. Though it may drive our killer underground again.

Better us chasing him than him chasing these woman. And at least now we have some idea of who his targets are.

True. And instinct tells me it'll end here in San Francisco, anyway.

He didn't bother asking which way it would end. If she knew, she would have told him. Listen, have you got a charm or spell or something that will stop this vampire using his clairvoyant abilities to track Nikki? We have to use her skills to find these women quickly, but he basically knows our every move, thanks to the lock he has on her.

Seline's frown was something he felt—a wash of darker light through the link. A tricky one. I think I remember a spell that'll create a sort of dead zone around her. He won't be able to track her psychically, but you may not be able to, either.

I don't think it'll matter. The link we share works on a far deeper level than telepathy.

Which only provides more evidence of the merging. Everything I've read on thralls suggests it's a one-way street. The thrall usually only has basic telepathy skills with its master.

We had this link before she became a thrall.

Yes, but now it's deepened.She hesitated. You know, you both really should come into headquarters so we can test what's happening. I've got a feeling it could be very interesting.

And he had a feeling that if he let Nikki anywhere near the Circle's headquarters, it would be the end of any hope he had of stopping her from joining them. Let's concentrate on getting this case solved first.

Do you have a name for this vampire you're meeting?

Farmer.

I'll check through the records and see what we find. I'll also check out that suicide incident.

And the charm for Nikki?

I'll work on it this afternoon and have it couriered across. It'll be tomorrow morning before it gets there, so be careful until then.

I will. Thanks Seline.

The link between them died. He glanced up and met Nikki's gaze. She raised an eyebrow, expression annoyed.

Why do you keep locking me out?

Why do you keep listening in on private conversations?

Heat touched her cheeks, and the thunder in the link rumbled closer. I thought we were going to work together on this case?

We are—though if I had any choice in the matter, I would make you, Jake and Mary leave San Francisco so you'd all be away from this madman's grasp.

Don't I know that. Her retort stung his mind. She considered him for a moment, gaze narrowed. Tell me—were you and Seline ever lovers?

The question caught him by surprise. He barely managed to keep his laugh in check, but his amusement echoed down the link, momentarily drowning the sound of thunder. No, we were never lovers. Why do you ask?

She gave a mental shrug. You don't want me to meet her. You don't want me to listen in on your conversations with her. It's the sort of secretive behavior of two lovers, isn't it?

Perhaps it is. But we are not, have never been, and never will be.They were friends. Good friends.

He trusted her more than any person on Earth, except Nikki. Yet he had never once felt the slightest bit of sexual interest in her. And it was a disinterest that was shared.

Why?

He shrugged. He'd never psychoanalyzed his relationship with Seline. He'd simply enjoyed. After two hundred years of darkness, distrust, and entrenched loneliness, she was the true beginning of his path towards the light. For too many years beforehand he'd walked the knife's edge, not quite falling on either side, yet slowly slipping back into the darkness from which he'd emerged after his years with Elizabeth.

He might never have found Nikki had it not been for Seline.

I do not know, and I do not care. But I think the friendship Seline and I share would not have been as strong had we been lovers.

Because lovers cannot remain friends once the relationship falls apart?

There is always an undercurrent of tension in such situations, whether it is acknowledged or not.

She bit her lip, expression clearly troubled. He could tell her thoughts without having to read her mind or taste the uncertainty in the link. Her fears were evident enough in her eyes.

What hope does that offer us, then?she asked eventually. We are lovers, and we are friends. Are you saying it's inevitable that we'll eventually drift apart?

He sighed. No. We are far more than just lovers, Nikki. We are two minds, two souls, one heart.

But—

No buts. Simply trust in the fact that what I feel is every bit as strong as what you feel.

Tears washed through her dark amber eyes. She bit her lip, blinking as she looked away. But emotion surged through the link, a wash of love that almost drowned his senses. It was a drowning he could have endured forever.

Jake stepped through the doorway as the police began making moves to leave. 'I've arranged for you to be moved back into the other suite. This room won't be useable for a few days yet.'

Though his words were addressed to Nikki, his gaze sought the shadows still haunting the bedroom.

Looking for a vampire, Michael thought with a smile.

She nodded. 'And what about Mr. Harris?'

'Expecting us as soon as the police will let you go.'

'She can go now,' an officer said. 'We know where to find you both if we have any more questions.'

Nikki glanced his way. How are you going to get out of the room?

I am the wind, remember?

Amusement swam around him. So you're going to fart your way free?

Vampires don't get wind.