"Maybe it's your approach," Inez muttered, her fingers finding the handle of the kettle and her thumb settling on the lever that worked the lid.
"Do you think so?" he asked idly.
And then he was suddenly rushing her. Inez immediately lifted the teakettle and brought it around, her thumb pressing down on the lid as she sent the contents flying over him. She aimed for his face. The boiling liquid poured over one side of his scalp, face, and neck, bringing a startled roar of pain from his throat as he stumbled back.
Inez immediately whirled and made a run for the open back door, but he caught her from behind. Screaming in frustration, Inez twisted in his arms to face him. The moment she did, he lifted her off the ground. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw his mouth open and his fangs glide out. Realizing he meant to bite her, she instinctively stabbed out with the knife, slamming it into the unburned side of his throat.
Blood began to gush out of the wound the moment she pulled the knife free and Inez was winding up for another stab when a funny thing happened. The hunger she'd been suffering, but had managed to ignore since the bearded blond had appeared, suddenly became unignorable and roared to furious life. It became an almost living thing in her body, as if a million bees were buzzing through her veins...and then Inez felt a strange shifting in her upper teeth and something pricked her tongue, making her mouth open with surprise.
"Jesus," the blond breathed. Freezing with her face inches from his, he stared at her mouth with amazement. "They turned you. Why didn't I pick up on that in your thoughts?"
Inez simply stared at him, her mind gone blank. She'd had no idea. She didn't recall being turned. The last thing she recalled was falling and bits and pieces of nightmares.
"You didn't know," he said with a disbelieving laugh.
It was the laugh that knocked her out of her shock. It rubbed her on the raw. Inez hated to be laughed at. She swung the knife again, ramming it once more into his throat.
The hands holding her tightened briefly in shock, and then he bellowed and threw her furiously away from him, hurling her across the kitchen. Inez slammed into the kitchen counter at the end of the room with such force she heard an ominous snapping sound from her back and then slid to the floor and simply lay there, unable to move. Her panicked mind was screaming that he'd broken her back and she was paralyzed, but Inez was having trouble believing it. She was supposed to be an immortal now. She had fangs. Surely you couldn't break an immortal's back?
Her eyes shifted to the bearded blond. He was still standing at the other end of the room, breathing heavily and glaring at her as he held one hand to the wounds on his neck. He stood like that for a moment and then withdrew his hand, and she noted that the bleeding had stopped. Inez was sure she'd hit the jugular vein, blood should be gushing from the knife wounds on his neck, but apparently he was already healing. Not that the gashes in his neck looked any smaller to her, but he'd healed enough that the bleeding had stopped. It made her wonder if her back would heal.
It might, Inez decided, but not quick enough to save her. The bearded blond had given up his position at the other end of the room and was now striding toward her. He looked pretty pissed, and she recalled his telling her that night he'd taken her from the cafe that he intended to kill her slowly and enjoy doing it. Inez suspected she was in for it now and he would doubly enjoy it.
The bearded man halted in front of her, dropped to his haunches and reached out, but he never laid another finger on her. As he lowered himself, Inez spotted Thomas behind him, his eyes glowing with silver fury. The sight of his head, neck, and then upper chest appearing behind the man as he dropped was as beautiful as the sun after a long night. Inez could have wept with relief as the immortal was suddenly caught by the back of the neck and jerked away. In fact, her eyes did fill with tears, obscuring her vision, and she couldn't raise a hand to wipe them away. She watched through blurred eyes as the two men struggled, blinking her eyes furiously in an effort to clear her vision, but the tears just kept coming.
When silence suddenly fell, Inez was in a panic, ears straining, desperate to know Thomas was all right, but it wasn't until he said her name that she even knew he was still alive. Then he was suddenly there, scooping her up into his arms.
"Inez?" he said with alarm when she lay limp in his hold.
"I think he broke my back," Inez admitted on a sigh. "I can't move."
"It's all right," Thomas whispered, adjusting her in his arms so that her head lay against his chest. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, and then started across the kitchen, assuring her, "It'll heal."
"You turned me," Inez whispered into his chest.
"Yes." His voice sounded uncertain. "You said yes to it. Did you not want-?"
"No, that's fine," she said quickly. "I just didn't realize-"
"Thomas? What's happened?"
Inez recognized Bastien's voice, but didn't try to lift her head to look around.
"I left you a gift in the kitchen," Thomas announced, continuing up the hall toward him.
"A gift?" Bastien asked with bewilderment.
"Yes," Thomas said as he carried Inez past him and then added, "I suggest you get in there and figure out some way to restrain him before he heals if you want to question him about Aunt Marguerite."
Bastien didn't bother to ask further questions, Inez heard his footsteps rush away up the hall and then Thomas was carrying her upstairs.
"Thomas." Terri's worried voice greeted them at the top of the stairs. "What's going on? I thought I heard a scream and Bastien went to check and-What is Inez doing up? Should she be up yet?" she asked fretfully. "Bastien wouldn't let me out of bed for a week after he turned me."
Inez couldn't help noticing those words made Thomas chuckle for some reason. Once the rumbling in his chest died, he asked, "Is there any blood left in the cooler, Terri?"
"A bag or two, I think," Terri answered. "Do you want me to get more from downstairs?"
"Yes, please," Thomas murmured as he laid Inez on the bed.
Terri hurried from the room as Thomas moved to the cooler and fetched the few bags left in it. When he returned to the bed, Inez glanced at the bags and just the sight of the blood made that strange shifting take place in her mouth. She opened her mouth to ask one of the million or so questions suddenly buzzing in her head about being an immortal and found a bag popped to her new fangs.
The bedroom was empty when Inez woke up. For one moment, she lay still in bed, afraid to try to move for fear she might still be paralyzed, but then she set her teeth and tried to raise her hand, her breath rushing out in a relieved sigh when she was able to do so. Thomas had assured her that she would be healed by the time they woke at sunset, but she'd feared something going wrong and finding herself paralyzed and forced to live that way for centuries. It was silly, Inez knew, but fears were rarely rational.
A shout from somewhere on the main floor of the townhouse made her stiffen and she listened tensely for a moment, but when several excited voices followed along with a couple of more soothing ones, Inez decided everything was probably all right. She'd feared for a moment that Blondie had gotten free and hurt someone, but judging by the tone of the muffled conversation she was now hearing, it didn't seem likely.
Sitting up, she glanced around and then leaned to the side to snatch up her robe from the floor. Inez slipped it on before letting the sheets and blankets drop away, afraid that someone might enter before she was properly covered. The townhouse was getting quite crowded with everyone here. Tying the sash of the robe, she got out of bed and moved across the room to her suitcase, but paused as she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror on the closet door.
Eyes locked on the image peering back at her, Inez bypassed the suitcase to stand before the mirror. She hesitated briefly, and then undid the sash of the robe and opened it to peer at herself, curious to see what changes the turn had wrought.
Much to Inez's disappointment, her body didn't seem much different. She hadn't sprouted up six inches, and her breasts were still far too generous in her eyes. Still, she supposed she was a little firmer everywhere, her breasts a little higher, and her skin...Inez leaned closer to the mirror, running her fingers over one cheek with awe. Her skin was now flawless, as perfect as a baby's, and her eyes were now a beautiful golden brown, she saw, but her hair was still a wild halo of curls around her head.
Staring at herself, Inez marveled over the fact that after all the years of trying to diet and exercise her curves away she hadn't been far from her peak physical state after all.
The sound of the door opening made her jump guiltily. She quickly closed the robe and turned to see Thomas entering the room. The smile that started to curve her lips faltered when she saw the grim expression on his face.
"Oh," Thomas said when he spotted her by the mirror "you're up."
"Yes," Inez murmured, and then asked with concern. "What was all the excitement downstairs about? Blondie didn't have bad news when Bastien questioned him, did he? Marguerite is all right?"
"Blondie-as you so kindly call him-didn't say a word. He might have if we'd had more time, but somehow the European council got wind of what was going on and sent someone to collect him. They wanted to deal with him themselves. Our only hope was that they'd be able to get something out of him, but"-Thomas hesitated and then admitted grimly-"we got news a couple hours later that he and his escort were attacked and Blondie lost his head. It would seem someone didn't want him to talk."
Inez frowned over this news and asked, "Is the escort all right?"
"He'll survive but he was badly wounded."
Inez nodded silently and then said, "He said last night that his job was to keep us in York and off Marguerite's trail. He went after me because I kept coming up with ideas that would have led us out of York." She frowned and muttered, "I should have pushed for more information."
"Inez, the man was trying to kill you," he pointed out quietly. "It wasn't the ideal situation for gaining information. Besides, it doesn't matter now anyway."
"It doesn't?" she asked with surprise.
"Nope," Thomas said, some of the unhappiness on his face easing as he added, "Aunt Martine left a message for Bastien at his office, so he called her and-You have no idea who Aunt Martine is, do you?" he interrupted himself wryly as she stared at him blankly.
Inez shook her head.
"Right, well, she's Jean Claude's sister. She was-or still is I guess-Aunt Marguerite's sister-in-law. She lives here in York actually, but was out of town until a couple days ago. Bastien had called her, but she didn't get the message until today. Anyway, she got a call from Aunt Marguerite."
"She did?" Inez asked, eyes widening.
Thomas nodded with a grin. "And she had the number of where Marguerite called from. Bastien, Lucern, Vincent, and Uncle Lucian have gone to Martine's to get the number and then plan to head straight to where she is."
"Uncle Lucian?" Inez asked with confusion.
"Jean Claude's twin brother," he explained. "He arrived with his lifemate Leigh while you were sleeping."
"Oh," Inez murmured and then asked, "Why go over there? Why didn't Bastien just call her to get the number?"
Thomas grinned. "He gave some lame excuse to Terri that she wouldn't even repeat, but I think the truth is he probably did call. I think the guys just wanted to look into it themselves without the women along. Which is why everyone is upset," he continued, "Etienne and the women are up in arms at being left out at this point."
Inez bit her lip as she considered all he'd said and what Blondie had said last night.
"You're not looking relieved or happy to hear that Aunt Marguerite is fine," Thomas pointed out, his own happiness slipping away.
"Is she?" Inez asked.
He stared at her blankly.
"Why hasn't she called any of her children?" Inez asked.
Thomas smiled wryly and said, "It's possible she has. Most of them are here right now, though, and wouldn't get her call."
"Bastien would have," she pointed out quietly. "He got Martine's message."
"Well..." He frowned, but then shrugged and said, "She called Martine. She has to be all right."
"Thomas," Inez hesitated, reluctant to be the bearer of bad tidings, but then sighed and continued, "Blondie was working for someone who was willing to kill to keep us from finding her and possibly interfering in their plans."
"Yes, I know. He's dead, though," Thomas pointed out. "He can't hurt her."
But the person he worked for isn't, Inez thought unhappily, but hesitated to say as much to Thomas. He was obviously relieved and happy to believe his aunt was all right, and she was reluctant to make him worry when everything might really work out all right.
"Inez?"
Letting her own worries on the matter drop for the moment, she met his gaze, noting that the grim expression was back and asked uncertainly, "Yes?"
"Terri tells me that in the coffee shop you were thinking that maybe we should put off the turning until after we found Marguerite," he announced abruptly. "She's worried that you might be upset about my turning you as I did."
Inez felt her eyebrows rise. It seemed like a long time ago, but she did recall having the thought. It had been a brief one brought on by her fear of the pain involved. Obviously she'd been broadcasting her thoughts at the time, because Terri claimed she couldn't read minds. And while she'd forgotten all about it after everything that had happened, Terri hadn't, and had found the thought worrisome, passing on that worry to Thomas.
"Inez, I'm sorry," Thomas said quietly, his expression earnest. "I had no choice. You were dying, and besides you agreed to the turn the night before. Didn't you?" He frowned and muttered, "Of course, it was right after you'd nearly drowned and you might not have really understood what was going on at the time. Do you even love me? You nodded to that too, but..."