‘No news. None have returned.’
‘Call them back, then.’ Why must she do everything? Could no one function without her step-by-step input? She closed her eyes, tired of looking at his hairy toes.
‘They have been called back. A day ago. None have returned.’
‘Call them again. Perhaps they’ve found good hunting and are too busy gorging themselves to pay attention.’
‘I have called them again. And again. Every hour on the hour for the past six. They are gone.’
Her entire platoon of Nothos? She wrapped the top sheet around her body and sat up. ‘That can’t be.’
‘It is.’
‘Bloody hell.’ Her fist slammed the massage table, causing it to creak. ‘Bloody, bloody hell. I need them. I was going to send them out on a new hunt.’ She’d brought back a piece of lining from Malkolm’s jacket so the Nothos could follow his scent and lead her to the comarré, who was surely with him. Now she was out of Nothos. Only one solution came to mind. ‘Take the plane, go back to Corvinestri, and get more. Your comarré will stay with me. I’ll wire money into your account, but so help me, if you don’t come back, I will stake you to a solar panel and let the sun have its way with you.’
‘But I—’
‘Octavian, Nasir leaves immediately. You will drive him to the airport and inform the pilots of my orders.’
‘Yes, my lady.’ Her dutiful servant bowed.
Her less-than-dutiful companion did not. ‘Now see here, I have no intention—’
She narrowed her gaze at Nasir. ‘You will do as I tell you. I am your Elder. This situation is not open for discussion. Do you understand me?’
‘Yes.’ The word was forced out through clenched teeth and a jaw so tight Tatiana wondered if it gave him pain. She hoped it did. Ingrate.
Nasir stormed from the room, but Octavian had yet to leave. ‘Was I unclear in my directions?’
‘No, my lady, not at all. I was just wondering if there was anything else I could do for you since I’ll be out. Bring you some breakfast, perhaps?’
Octavian might be a bit of a suck-up, but sometimes more was more. ‘No, I’m fine. I have my comar.’ She hopped off the table and tucked the sheet more firmly around her. ‘Get him to the plane as quickly as you can, then hurry back. I have … plans.’
‘Very good, my lady.’ He bowed and scurried out to fulfill her orders.
Octavian was everything she’d ever wanted in a companion. Smart, passably handsome, biddable, willing – nay, eager – to do whatever she asked, regardless of how menial or gruesome a task. There was only one quality he lacked. She smiled and ran her tongue across her fangs. As soon as Nasir returned from Corvinestri and she no longer needed him, Tatiana would remedy Octavian’s problem and finally give him the one thing he craved more than life itself.
Death. Eternal and unyielding. And along with it, all the power that accompanied the Tepes family name.
Dominic had gone down faster and with less fight than Doc had expected. Or maybe he’d misjudged the amount of colloidal silver and laudanum to use. Fi studied Dominic’s prone form like she’d never seen a vampire that close before. ‘Watch out, baby. Never know with vamps.’ Doc cringed. Of course Fi knew that. That’s how she’d ended up a ghost in the first place.
‘Did you kill him?’ Fi hovered over Dominic’s body, the worst of her loop behind her.
‘No.’ At least he hoped not. But wouldn’t Dominic have gone to ash if Doc had killed him? Doc poked at Dominic with his toe. The man was definitely out. Whether from the colloidal silver or the laudanum, Doc wasn’t sure, but the combination had done the job. Even if he had burned his fingers on a few stray drops of the silver.
Fi wavered, biting her lip. ‘What did you do to him, then?’
‘Knocked him out.’ Like a chump.
‘Why?’
Just like always, Fi was full of questions. ‘To get his blood, sweets. Need that to fix you.’
She smiled. ‘I can’t wait to be fixed.’ A second later, she clapped her hands over her mouth. When she took them away, she was frowning. ‘He’s going to be mad.’
‘That’s a sure thing.’ Doc hefted Dominic’s limp body into his arms and swung the vampire over his shoulder. Better to leave him in one of the small sun-proofed cabins than down here in the grungy, rat-infested hold. Dominic would be furious at what Doc had done, but maybe a little consideration would keep Dominic from killing Doc the first chance he got. Or not. Whatever. It was worth a shot.
Fi quivered. ‘Not just mad. He might try to kill you.’
‘Not if I can help it.’ He gave her a quick, reassuring smile. ‘Don’t you worry about that. Now, I gotta go. Probably won’t be back for a little bit.’ He tipped his head against the vampire pitched over his shoulder.
She nodded. ‘Not until he leaves. I understand.’
‘Good girl. I don’t want you to worry. I might be gone, but you know it’s because I’m working on making things right for you, okay?’
‘I know. Okay. Be careful.’
You too, he wanted to say, but what was the point? No matter how careful she was, she was still going to die every night until he got her free. So instead, he said a quick good-bye and left the light of his life alone in the dark with her demons.
After dumping Dominic in a cabin, Doc hustled out to the Glades. At this hour, Slim Jim, the good ole boy Doc rented air-boats from, was in bed. Most humans were. His shop was dark, locked up tight. Mindful of Slim Jim’s itchy trigger finger and bias against trespassers, Doc carefully slid some bills though the mail slot and unplugged one of the boats from its charger. In minutes he was skimming across the shallow water, headed for Aliza’s.