and she is childless.”
“Is she powerful?”
“Together they could be formidable.”
Frey stirs impatiently, “So where does that leave us?”
“If she describes Anna to George and he connects you to Frey and John-John—”
“Which I’m sure she wil. George knows I’m a v—”
I catch myself. Kayani frowns. “You’re a what?”
I look over at Frey. He gives me an “it’s your decision”
raise of the eyebrows.
I lean back in the porch chair, putting a little more distance between Kayani and myself. “I’m a vampire.”
Kayani snickers the kind of snicker that usual y precedes,
“You’re kidding, right?”
But the seriousness in my face stops him. That and the fact that Frey has not chal enged the claim.
I see the doubt and suspicion build in his eyes. Trust and comradeship evaporate. He glares at Frey. “You knew she was a vampire? You brought her to your son’s home?”
An echo of Sarah’s condemnation. Frey replies in the same heated way with many of the same words. I tune it out.
Kayani wil have to come to his own conclusions. I rise abruptly, “I’l be inside when you decide what to do.”
I pour myself another cup of coffee, glance at the clock. It’s almost dawn. Frey has only given us twenty-four hours to solve the smuggling problem and we are not any closer to a solution than we were twelve hours ago.
Maybe going to George and letting vampire convince him to come clean is the best plan after al. It would keep Kayani and Frey clear and John-John safe.
And if George isn’t involved in the counterfeiting, what then? He stil has the deaths of Sarah and Mary to answer for.
Kayani wil just have to pursue the criminal investigation on his own.
Without George, who wil most likely be dead.
CHAPTER 44
JOHN-JOHN’S SHRILL SCREAM MAKES THE MUG SLIP
from my hand, but before it crashes to the floor, I’m in his room.
John-John is sitting up in bed, his eyes wide, his body trembling. I gather him into my arms, hug him close, rock him.
Frey is beside me then, and I slip away to let him take over.
He talks to his son in Navajo, soft crooning, words whose meaning come through even without the benefit of literal translation.
He is consoling his son, tel ing him he is al right, assuring him his father wil never leave him.
Kayani has come into the room, too. He avoids my eyes, but something he picks up in John-John’s replies to his father makes him cross to the window. He parts the curtains and looks out.
I join him and whisper, “What is it?”
“John-John says he
“A nightmare?”
“Some legends speak of skinwalkers carrying red lights.”
“You think George was here? In John-John’s bedroom?”
Frey has picked up John-John, blankets wrapped tightly around his little frame. “I’m taking John-John in the kitchen for some warm milk.”
We watch until he’s out of sight. I’m shaking with outrage.
“How could he get in without our seeing him?”
“He may not have.” His eyes are troubled. “What John-John saw might be part of a curse.”
“But we destroyed the charm, didn’t we?”
“One, at least.”
“There could have been more?” Each word fans the anger boiling in my blood until I think I wil burst into flame. “I need to get to George and his wife. I can make them talk.”
“You or vampire?” Kayani’s words are sharp.
“Does it matter?” I snap back.
He surprises me by not rising to the bait. To the contrary, his tone softens. “Daniel has great faith in you,” he says simply. “Your kind are not known for their humanity, but I have seen nothing of an evil side to your nature. I have watched you with John-John. He would not respond to you if he sensed danger. You may be the best hope we have to rid ourselv>
“Then I wil go. Now.”
“We need to talk to Daniel first.”
“No. He wil want to come with me. He is too angry. Do you know about Frey’s other form?”
Kayani nods. “Sarah told me. She was afraid John-John might have inherited his father’s curse. It terrified her.”
“It is not a curse. It is a gift to be managed and contained and can be used for good. Frey has helped me too many times to count.” I wave a hand toward John-John’s bed.
“What people like George and his wife do, skinwalkers and witches who work black magic against innocents, they are a curse.”
“And stil, you don’t want Daniel to go with you?”
“If it was a matter of stopping them from attacking John-John, I would send Frey by himself. He deserves revenge.
But if George is also behind the counterfeiters, I am in a better position to extract information in a more—” I hesitate, choosing the word. “
A smile touches the corners of his mouth. “You must be careful. Of both George and his wife. We can’t be sure who is the most powerful.” He dips a hand into his pocket. “Do you want to take my car? A police vehicle may catch them off guard.”
“No. I can cover ground faster on my own.” I head for the window, slide it open. “Stay in here as long as you can. Frey wil think we are stil talking. Once he knows the truth, it wil be hard to convince him not to fol ow.”
I climb out, stretch, cal vampire. Kayani is saying something, but we’re already off, racing the wind, racing toward evil. His words fade like shadows before the approaching sunrise. Freedom, excitement and anticipation send the flush of bloodlust to warm cold limbs.
Vampire looks forward to this meeting. Vampire wil show what it is to be feared.
CHAPTER 45
THEY ARE TALKING QUIETLY INSIDE, GEORGE AND his wife. I hear the words, but it is in a language unfamiliar to me.
I wish they were vampire or shape-shifter so I could understand.
I crouch beneath a window, straighten to look up. They are in the kitchen and they have a wreath of something on the table that they are taking apart and reforming into smal er bundles.
