Lured by her companion’s friendly chatter, and of course, the temptation of cake, Laylah crossed the room to join her next to the bay window that overlooked the sprawling parkland.
“I think the half-Jinn thing has you beat on the whole shock factor.”
“Fair enough. I hope you…” Juliet’s words faltered to a halt as she lifted her head and studied Laylah with wide, startled eyes. “Bloody hell.”
“What is it?” Laylah raised a hand and brushed at her cheek. “Do I have something on my face?”
Juliet shook her head. “Do you have relatives in London?”
Laylah’s heart slammed against her ribs. So this wasn’t just a wild goose chase.
“That’s what I’m here to discover. Levet said that he ran into a Jinn in London. Oh.” Laylah grimaced, belatedly realizing she hadn’t given the poor little demon a thought since she’d awoken. “Where is the gargoyle?”
“Hunting.” Juliet shuddered. “Don’t ask.”
Reassured Levet was safe, Laylah returned her attention to the reason she’d traveled to London.
“So, do you know about the Jinn?”
Juliet cleared her throat, abruptly turning to pace across the room in obvious discomfort.
“I’m afraid I do.”
Laylah frowned. “How?”
“I suppose it must have been two hundred years ago, maybe a bit more,” Juliet said, keeping her back to Laylah. “It was before I was mated to Victor, although he was already making a pest of himself.”
“Obviously a vampire trait,” Laylah muttered, ignoring the pang that tugged at her heart.
She was doing her best not to think of the wild, frenzied sex she’d shared with Tane. After all, what was there to think about?
He’d rocked her world. Hell, he’d sent her into orbit.
And now he was back to being her enemy.
End of story.
“Yes,” Juliet readily agreed. “Anyway, Levet had become a squatter of my current master and one of my few friends. So when he was kidnapped I went to rescue him. I had no idea that he’d managed to piss off a Jinn or I might have reconsidered.”
“You actually met the Jinn?”
“Not precisely.” With a sigh, Juliet turned, her expression rueful. “He wasn’t in a chatty mood. In fact, when we crossed paths he was doing his best to kill me.”
“It was a male?” Laylah stepped forward, unable to believe she could actually find the truth of her past. Not after waiting for so long. “You’re certain of that?”
“Absolutely certain.”
So. Her Jinn blood must come from her father’s side. It was a beginning.
“But you don’t know why he was in London?”
“No.” Juliet spread her hands. “All I really know is that he was beautiful and terrifying and so powerful I truly thought he was going to kill me, not to mention Victor and Levet.”
Laylah heaved a sigh of disappointment. She’d hoped that Levet’s mention of running into a Jinn had included more than a brief moment of violence.
“Damn.”
“Laylah.”
“Hmmm?”
Lost in her thoughts, Laylah didn’t realize her companion had returned to her side until she laid a hand on her arm.
“There’s no easy way to say this. I killed him,” Juliet softly confessed. “I’m so sorry.”
Laylah made a choked sound. Not in distress. How did she mourn a complete stranger, even if that stranger did happen to be her long lost father? But in shock that the slender witch could possibly have survived an encounter with a powerful Jinn, let alone be responsible for his death. “You killed him?”
Juliet looked miserable. “I swear it was in self-defense.”
Laylah grabbed Juliet’s hand, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze.
“You don’t have to explain, Juliet,” she assured the woman. “I’ve done enough research to know that full-blooded Jinns are deceitful, immoral creatures who have loyalty to no one but themselves.”
Her eyes darkened with regret. “That doesn’t matter if he was a part of your family.”
Laylah shrugged, not entirely certain how she felt.
If she were a wide-eyed innocent she might try to convince herself that the Jinn had indeed been her father and that she now had a perfect explanation for why she’d been abandoned. After all, not even the most devoted father could overcome death to keep his child protected.
Well, not unless he happened to be a ghoul.
But she was a demon that had been smacked around by the world and as far as she was concerned fairy tales were for suckers.
“I suppose he must have been if I look enough like him for you to notice,” she said.
“Oh, no.” Juliet blinked in surprise. “You don’t look like the Jinn. Well, maybe a little around the nose and mouth, but you could be the daughter of Lady Havassy.” Her gaze swept over Laylah’s pale face. “It’s downright uncanny.”
Laylah was momentarily speechless.
She’d been so focused on discovering information on the Jinn that she’d never considered the possibility that she might have other relatives dangling about London.
“Who is Lady Havassy?” she at last managed to choke out.
“A local vampire with a nasty temper and dislike for Victor.” Juliet grimaced, clearly not a huge fan of Lady Havassy. “Thankfully she rarely leaves her house near Buckingham Palace.”
“Vampire.” Laylah frowned in confusion. “They can’t reproduce, can they?”
“No, but they’re human before they’re turned,” Juliet pointed out. “Obviously they would have families.”
“But then I would be mortal.”
“Yes. If she mated with a Jinn and had you, then became a vampire.”
“Oh.”
Laylah had never considered the possibility that one of her parents could be mortal. After all, she had talents that had nothing to do with Jinn magic.
She shoved her hand through her still damp hair. She’d come to London for answers, but so far all she’d discovered was more questions.
As if sensing Laylah’s frustration, Juliet gave a hasty wave of her hand, her fey blood evident in her expressive movements.
“It could also be a mere fluke,” she assured Laylah. “We’re all supposed to have a twin out there somewhere, right?”
Laylah nodded, not at all convinced. “I suppose.”
The door flew open, banging against the wall with enough force to make both women turn in surprise. At the same moment, the small gargoyle waddled into the room, his ugly face twisted into an expression of disgust.
“Fog, fog, fog. Who does a gargoyle have to sleep with to get off this soggy island?” he complained, his eyes abruptly widening as he caught sight of Laylah standing near the window. “Ma cherie, you are well?”
“I’m more worried about you,” Laylah said, guilt tugging at her heart as the miniature demon hurried toward her. She’d simply forced the gargoyle to come with her to London. How selfish could she possibly be? “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize the shadow walk would knock you out.”
“Knock me out?” Levet sniffed, his wings twitching in outrage. “Absurd. I was merely resting my eyes. Being a Knight in Shining Armor is a tiresome business.”
“Of course,” Laylah instantly soothed.
Levet tilted back his head, sniffing the air. “Cake. I smell cake.”
Hurrying past the women, the gargoyle set about demolishing the large amount of food left on the tray, ignoring Juliet’s futile attempt to rescue a piece of cake for Laylah.
Grateful for the distraction, Laylah wandered across the room, absently halting at the marble mantel that was lined with priceless Faberge eggs.
She was seemingly at a dead end when it came to the Jinn. At least she was until she could find someone in London who had managed to have an actual conversation with the volatile creature two hundred years ago.
But the vampire …
Juliet had said the similarity between them was remarkable. Surely there must be some family connection? Laylah didn’t believe in coincidences.
There was a light touch on her arm as Juliet joined her, a concerned expression on her pretty face.
“Laylah?” “Yes?”
“Is everything okay?”
Laylah hesitated. She already liked Juliet. In fact, she already considered her a friend. Her only friend. And how pathetic was that?
But the desperation to discover where she’d come from, who her parents were, and why she’d been abandoned was an overwhelming compulsion.
“Actually I have a headache,” she said with a stiff smile, hating herself for the lie. “Do you happen to have any aspirin?”
Juliet couldn’t entirely hide her surprise at the hasty excuse. Demons, even of the mongrel variety, tended to be impervious to the usual human ailments. But, swiftly hiding her confusion, she gave Laylah a comforting pat.
“I have a healing crystal that should do the trick much quicker.”
“That would be fantastic.”
“I’ll be back in a sec.”
Laylah watched Juliet hurry from the room before she jogged into the bathroom where she’d left the oversized sweatshirt. Gods, she felt like a jerk. Juliet had every reason to treat her as a dangerous, unstable beast who should be locked away.
It was how most people reacted once they discovered she was half Jinn.
Instead she’d been kind and welcoming and …
“Um, Laylah?”
She turned her head to discover Levet standing in the door to the bathroom. “Where are you going?”
She shoved up the overlong sleeves before hurrying toward the window. “To see if I can find Mommie Dearest.”
“You’re leaving?”
“I know … I feel terrible.” She threw open the window, climbing onto the stool to sling her leg over the sill. “Please tell Juliet I’m sorry.”
Levet hurried forward, halting only long enough to grab one of the disguise amulets that Juliet had left on a table.
“Mon Dieu. Wait for me.”