“You know, electricity is a wonderful invention,” I said offhandedly.
Alistair chuckled. “Vampires don’t need light to see in the dark.”
“Fantastic,” I deadpanned. “I was thinking more about your visitors.”
When we finally reached the bottom of the stairs, it felt as if we’d been walking for hours. More torches flickered in gothic wrought iron sconces on the walls, making the large cave we were standing in glow with warm yellow light. The walls flickered, the flames dancing on its smooth surface.
“I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto,” I whispered to myself.
There was a circle of vampires waiting for a us, and I wondered briefly whether there was another collective noun for a group of vampires. A seduction? A flock? I giggled, then sobered almost immediately. But come on, a flock of vampires? I got an image of white feathered birds begging for scraps at the beach. Then I imagined them as a late seventies band with a penchant for Aqua Net. I could go on.
“Something funny?” Sawyer asked softly.
“Just amusing myself,” I replied. “It stops me from having a full-blown panic attack.”
“I suppose laughter is better than screaming.”
“Is that what you say to all your dates?”
Sawyer blinked at me, then turned to face the bigger threat, because although I liked to think of myself as a threat, I was clearly not one. I was five foot four, so I could barely scare a kindergartener.
“Sawyer Phineas Taylor,” someone purred in a throaty voice. I jerked my head up to see a blonde woman stepping away from the circle of vampires, approaching us. She was wearing a dress that matched the era of the house, all frills, corsets, and petticoats. Did she not realize it was the twenty-first century yet?
“Roxanne Monroe, how nice to finally meet you.”
She held out her hand to him, and he kissed it, keeping his eyes on her face. “I’ve heard so many things about you.”
“All good, I hope.” With a wicked smile that matched the wicked gleam in her blue-lilac eyes, she turned her attention to me. My necklace grew a little hotter, and I sensed it was glowing. Thank God I had a thick sweater on to hide that fact.
I shifted uneasily on my feet as Roxanne sniffed me like I was a fine dinner… or a bag of blood. I guessed I was a glorified bag of blood. “And who is this delectable treat you’ve bought?”
“Officer Cat McKenzie,” I told her. “Sawyer’s partner.”
Roxanne turned her attention back to Sawyer. “Well, isn’t she delightful?” she drawled.
“See?” I asked him.
“It was a rhetorical question,” Sawyer shot back, never taking his eyes off the mistress of the kiss. “I assume Alistair has enlightened you on our current situation?”
She waved her long elegant hand through the air, then spun around, her skirts and petticoats kicking out around her ankles. “Yes, yes. Baby vampires running amok in Buxton.”
She glided to a chaise lounge I hadn’t seen pressed against one of the cave walls. Was this place where they hung out when they were entertaining, or was this their full-time living quarters?
“Correct. I was just wondering whether you could share some more information with us.”
She laughed throatily. Damn, talk about a phone sex voice. “Why would I help PIG, or humans for that matter?”
I bristled at the tone of disgust she used when she said ‘humans.’ I understood we were no longer the apex predator, but we didn’t need it rubbed in our faces all the time.
“They’re your food source,” Sawyer countered. “Why wouldn’t you want to protect them from a foreign vampire?”
“Foreign?” she asked, testing the word. “Is that what Ali told you?” She fixed the other vampire with a deadly stare.
Beside me, Alistair shifted from foot to foot. Really, it was quite unbecoming for a vampire his age to fidget. “I told them he was an acquaintance of yours from Italy, Mistress.”
“True enough,” Roxanne replied in a menacing tone. “But not quite the truth.” She looked around the cave, her gaze settling on every single one of her vampires before finally landing on me. I forced myself to stand still. She continued, “I knew him in Italy, but he was more my enemy than a friend.”
“Why did you let him come into your territory then?”
Roxanne narrowed her eyes at Sawyer, the temperature in the cave plummeting. “Leave us.”
I jumped at the command, but it wasn’t aimed at me or Sawyer. As the rest of the vampires moved away, I realized she was giving us privacy…or she was trying to hide something from her minions.
“You too, Alistair,” Roxanne added when he remained at my side. I glanced over my shoulder at him, startled to see his green eyes glowing faintly. There was a heartbeat of time where they simply stared at one another, both his and Roxanne’s expressions shifting ever so slightly as if they were having a mind-to-mind conversation. “Go,” she finally commanded.
Ali bent at the waist, bowing to his mistress. “As you wish.” The words were benign, but the anger in his clipped tone gave away his feelings about being dismissed.
Once Ali was gone, Roxanne said, “Can I get you something to eat or drink?”
Sawyer said, “We’re fine.”
She sighed, but the action looked forced, like she hadn’t done it in a long time. “Draco Vasilli is his name, and I don’t know why he’s here.”
“Yet you allow him to stay,” he said. “Why?”
The glare she gave him made me flinch, but Sawyer absorbed the blow effortlessly. “I don’t allow him anything,” she snipped. “He is more powerful and older than me. Therefore, I cannot stop him from doing as he wants in my territory.”
“You have a kiss at your disposal though. Why not use your force?”
“Because Draco’s particular skills lie in manipulations of the mind. He can force anyone to bend to his will or make them believe any number of illusions he’s spun up to benefit himself.”
“Anyone?” I asked.
She turned her Elizabeth Taylor eyes on me, lilac flames bursting life. “Anyone. Draco is a
