Last Sacrifice

seemed skeptical.

'Everyone's been all over me about her death,' said Ambrose, 'but nobody questioned Blake very long.'

'Blake?' asked Lissa.

'Blake Lazar. Someone else she was . . .'

'Involved with?' suggested Christian, rolling his eyes.

'Him?' exclaimed Adrian in disgust. 'No way. She wouldn't stoop that low.'

Lissa racked her brain through the Lazar family but couldn't peg the name. There were just too many of them. 'Who is he?'

'An idiot,' said Adrian. 'Makes me look like an upstanding member of society.'

That actually brought a smile to Ambrose's face. 'I agree. But he's a pretty idiot, and Tatiana liked that.' I heard affection in his voice as he spoke her name.

'She was sleeping with him too?' Lissa asked. Adrian winced at the mention of his great-aunt's sex life, but a whole new world of possibilities had opened up. More lovers meant more suspects. 'How did you feel about that?'

Ambrose's amusement faded. He gave her a sharp look. 'Not jealous enough to kill her, if that's what you're getting at. We had an understanding. She and I were close—yes, ‘involved'—but we both saw other people too.'

'Wait,' said Christian. I had the feeling he was really enjoying this now. Tatiana's murder was no joke, but a soap opera was definitely unfolding before them. 'You were sleeping with other people too? This is getting hard to follow.'

Not for Lissa. In fact, it was becoming clearer and clearer that Tatiana's murder could have been a crime of passion, rather than anything political. Like Abe had said, someone with access to her bedroom was a likely suspect. And some woman jealous over sharing a lover with Tatiana? That was perhaps the most convincing motive thus far—if only we knew the women.

'Who?' Lissa asked. 'Who else were you seeing?'

'No one who'd kill her,' said Ambrose sternly. 'I'm not giving you names. I'm entitled to some privacy—so are they.'

'Not if one of them was jealous and killed my aunt,' growled Adrian. Joshua had looked down on Adrian for not 'protecting' me, but in that moment, defending his aunt's honor, he looked as fierce as any guardian or Keeper warrior. It was kind of sexy.

'None of them killed her, I'm certain,' said Ambrose. 'And as much as I despise him, I don't think Blake did either. He's not smart enough to pull it off and frame Rose.' Ambrose gestured to the door. His teeth were clenched, and lines of frustration marred his handsome face. 'Look, I don't know what else I can say to convince you. I need to get back in there. I'm sorry if I seem difficult, but this has been kind of hard on me, okay? Believe me, I'd love it if you could find out who did that to her.' Pain flashed through his eyes. He swallowed and looked down for a moment, as though he didn't want them to know just how much he'd cared about Tatiana. When he looked up again, his expression was fierce and determined again. 'I want you to and will help if I can. But I'm telling you, look for someone with political motives. Not romantic ones.'

Lissa still had a million more questions. Ambrose might be convinced the murder was free of jealousy and sex, but she wasn't. She would have really liked the names of his other women but didn't want to push too hard. For a moment, she considered compelling him as she had Joe. But no. She wouldn't cross that line again, especially with someone she considered a friend. At least not yet. 'Okay,' she said reluctantly. 'Thank you. Thank you for helping us.'

Ambrose seemed surprised at her politeness, and his face softened. 'I'll see if I can dig up anything to help you. They're keeping her rooms and possessions locked down, but I might still be able to get in there. I'll let you know.'

Lissa smiled, genuinely grateful. 'Thank you. That'd be great.'

A touch on my arm brought me back to the drab little room in West Virginia. Sydney and Dimitri were looking down at me. 'Rose?' asked Dimitri. I had a feeling this wasn't the first time he'd tried to get my attention.

'Hey,' I said. I blinked a couple of times, settling myself back into this reality. 'You're back. You called the Strigoi?'

He didn't visibly react to the word, but I knew he hated hearing it. 'Yes. I got a hold of Boris's contact.'

Sydney wrapped her arms around herself. 'Crazy conversation. Some of it was in English. It was even scarier than before.'

I shivered involuntarily, glad that I'd missed it. 'But did you find out anything?'

'Boris gave me the name of a Strigoi who knows Sonya and probably knows where she is,' Dimitri said. 'It's actually someone I've met. But phone calls only go so far with Strigoi. There's no way to contact him—except to go in person. Boris only had his address.'

'Where is it?' I asked.

'Lexington, Kentucky.'

'Oh for God's sake,' I moaned. 'Why not the Bahamas? Or the Corn Palace?'

Dimitri tried to hide a smile. It might have been at my expense, but if I'd lightened his mood, I was grateful. 'If we leave right now, we can reach him before morning.'

I glanced around. 'Tough choice. Leave all this for electricity and plumbing?'

Now Sydney grinned. 'And no more marriage proposals.'

'And we'll probably have to fight Strigoi,' added Dimitri.

I jumped to my feet. 'How soon can we go?'

FOURTEEN

THE KEEPERS HAD MIXED REACTIONS to us leaving. They were usually glad to see outsiders go, especially since we had Sydney with us. But after the fight, they held me up as some kind of superhero and were enchanted by the idea of me marrying into their 'family.' Seeing me in action meant some of the women were beginning to eye Dimitri now too. I wasn't in the mood to watch them flirt with him—especially since, according to their courtship rules, I would apparently have to be the one to battle it out with any prospective fiancée.

Naturally, we didn't tell the Keepers our exact plans, but we did mention we'd likely be encountering Strigoi—which caused quite a reaction. Most of that reaction was excitement and awe, which continued to boost our reputations as fierce warriors. Angeline's response, however, was totally unexpected.

'Take me with you,' she said, grabbing a hold of my arm, just as I started down the forest path toward the car.

'Sorry,' I said, still a little weirded out after her earlier hostility. 'We have to do this alone.'

'I can help! You beat me . . . but you saw what I can do. I'm good. I could take a Strigoi.'

For all her fierceness, I knew Angeline didn't have a clue about what she'd be facing if she ever met an actual Strigoi. The few Keepers who bore molnija marks spoke little about the encounters, faces grave. They understood. Angeline didn't. She also didn't realize that any novice at St. Vladimir's in the secondary school could probably take her out. She had raw potential, true, but it needed a lot of work.

'You might be able to,' I said, not wanting to hurt her feelings. 'But it's just not possible for you to come with us.' I would have lied and given her a vague 'Maybe sometime,' but since that had led Joshua to thinking we were semi-engaged, I decided I'd better not.

I expected more boasts about her battle prowess. We'd learned she was regarded as one of the best young fighters in the compound, and with her pretty looks, she had plenty of admirers too. A lot of it had gone to her head, and she liked to talk about how she could beat anyone or anything up. Again, I was reminded of Jill. Jill also had a lot to learn about the true meaning of battle but was still eager to jump in. She was quieter and more cautious than Angeline, though, so Angeline's next direction caught me off guard.

'Please. It's not just the Strigoi! I want to see the world. I need to see something