Make Me A Match (The Matchmaker) (13 page)

Owen lifted his arm and a fireball appeared in the air,
hovering over his palm and highlighting the room in an eerie orange glow. “Let
her go.”

“And why would we do that?” The vampire Owen had been
fighting moved slowly around the bed to stand closer to me and his friend. They
were grinning as if they’d already won; perhaps they had. Yet, there was
nervousness in their gazes too, as they glanced at the flames. Did they fear
fire? It would have been nice if Owen had given me a manual on supernatural
beings.

“You know why we want her.” The vampire leaned closer to me
and breathed in deeply. “And she smells so delicious. Can you imagine what
Matchmaker blood would taste like? No one has ever had it before, you know.”

Wait, I thought they wouldn’t kill me? I stopped struggling
long enough to glare at Owen.

He ignored me. “You don’t feed on Matchmakers, so why do you
really want her?”

“Maybe our diet has changed.”

“Harm her and I will kill you,” Owen said quite calmly, so
calmly that I actually believed him. So calmly that in that moment I knew, if
he wanted to, he could easily destroy both of these beings. And in that moment,
I realized how I’d once again misjudged him. He might not like me, but he would
give his life to protect me. It was his job, and he took his job seriously.

The vampire’s grip tightened, my ribs bending, painfully
close to breaking. I bit my lower lip to keep from crying out. I wouldn’t give
the bastards the satisfaction.

“What are you doing?” the other vampire hissed. “We don’t
want to harm her!”

“You’re talented and you’ve been trained, no doubt,” the
vampire holding me said to Owen, ignoring his friend. “But you’re lacking, my
boy.”

His friend moved to the windows. “We’ll be kind. We’ll let
you go, as long as you let us have the girl.”

Kind? He said the word as if he actually meant it. Why the
hell did they want me, if not to suck my blood dry?

He slammed his elbow into the window. The glass shattered,
remnants sucked into the dark night. Wind rushed inside, a roar of protest that
whipped at my hair and clothing. Hell, they were going to leap out that window,
and they were going to take me with them. I needed to pull it together and form
a plan fast. They might survive a jump from a speeding train, but I was pretty
sure I wouldn’t.

“What say you, Protector? Is she worth your life?”

Owen lifted his hand and tossed the fire straight at the
vampire by the window. The ball hit him directly in the chest. The vampire
burst into flames like he’d been doused in kerosene. The vampire holding me
stumbled back, taking me with him as his friend screamed, the sound feral,
raising the fine hairs on the back of my neck. But the man bursting into flames
wasn’t the worst of it. Suddenly his skin melted away and burning pieces of
flesh fell to the floor, revealing white bone.

“Hell.” The vampire holding me let go, his terror almost
tangible.

If I hadn’t been freaked out by the gory scene, I might have
been grateful. The bone crumbled into dust and the fire went out with a sizzle.
Just like that, the vampire was dead, gone, only a pile of ash remained.

Owen raced toward us. “Emma, move!”

He latched on to my arm and practically tossed me aside. The
wooden stake hit the man in the chest as I hit the wall. The vampire cried out,
crumpling to the floor, his body convulsing, trembling. Stunned, I slid down
the wall, falling to my butt. The staked vamp burst into a pile of ash. We were
alone. The only sound was the shrill wind bursting in through the open window,
fluttering the curtains and blankets.

“Get your things,” Owen demanded.

He grabbed his briefcase from the floor and shoved the stake
inside. I still sat there, too stunned to move. Stunned by the fact that there
were actual vampires in the world. Stunned by the fact that Owen was powerful
enough to kill them. Stunned by the fact that this was now my life.
My life!

The train slowed, the whistle going off.

But mostly I was stunned by the fact that Owen hadn’t left
me. He’d stayed and fought. Fought for me. I found his gaze and suddenly he
wasn’t just some annoying hot guy, he was a Protector, a man fated to serve the
Matchmaker…fated to protect me. Everyone in my life had left me. But Owen
wouldn’t…not ever.

He sighed and shoved my carry-on into my hands. “Come on,
Emma. Time to go.”

“My luggage,” I muttered weakly, unsure if my legs would
hold me. The room was empty. No sign of the vampires. Only two small piles of
gray dust stirred by the wind coming in through the broken window. No one would
believe me if I told them what had just happened. There was no proof. I
released a manic laugh as I stumbled to my feet.

“Leave it. We have to go now.”

The train came to a screeching halt as it approached the
next station. He latched on to my hand and jerked me out the door. Silently, I
followed him down the empty corridor, my carry-on thumping against my leg. My
head swam, my body was numb. As if sensing my confusion, Owen took my carry-on.
Cold, I wrapped my arms around my waist. He smiled politely to the assistant
who was waiting to help passengers disembark. It felt like forever before the
train stopped fully and we were finally able to step onto the platform.

I glanced back. No sign of the otherworldly creatures.
Forget snakes on a plane; I had vampires on a train to deal with. I was cold,
shivering, although the night breeze had a pleasant warmth. The platform was
almost empty, only a few people waiting, the surrounding countryside black. It
felt like we were the only two people in the world, but I knew there were more
out there. Things I couldn’t see, beings I didn’t even know existed.

“Why’d they want me?” I asked.

Owen led me into the warmth of the station. “I don’t know.”

The station security guard nodded in greeting, but we were
already at the front door, headed outside. We moved down the shallow steps to
the sidewalk of a town that lay at the bottom of the hill. It was small if the
lack of lighting was any indication.

I heard the shrill whistle of the train preparing to depart.
I’d never been so eager to be stuck in a town with no transportation. “What’s
the truth?” I asked as we started down the sidewalk. “There’s something you
aren’t telling me.”

He paused in the middle of the street, the stars overhead
twinkling on a velvet sky. For a long moment he merely stared at me. “I don’t
think your aunt died naturally. I think someone murdered her.”

The ramifications of his words sank heavily into my gut.
“Oh.”

“I don’t know what’s going on. But it’s obvious you have a
bounty on your head, Emma. And I’m the only one standing between you and
death.”

Owen

We’d barely spoken since leaving Chicago, and after the
major screwup on my part on the train, I had little to discuss. What could I
say? That I couldn’t stand to be near her because she made me forget my good
intentions? My job? My life? That, because I was so focused on kissing her, I
hadn’t sensed the vampires until it was almost too late? Because of my
negligence, I could have gotten her killed.

I hadn’t even tried a halfhearted conversation as we trudged
down the dark road. Although I knew we were closing the distance, albeit
slowly, between us and the Consulate, I felt as if I were standing still. Or
maybe I didn’t want to return, a voice inside my mind nagged. I frowned,
annoyed. What choice did I have? We were unprotected out here. The demons had
wanted her energy, no surprise there. The only surprise was that they had
sensed her so quickly. But the vamps hadn’t wanted to kill her, they’d wanted
her. For what?

“So,” she said. “I take it that was not exactly our stop?”

We’d been walking for two hours and still had a good five
before the sun would rise. I could teletransport to the castle, but to do that
I’d have to leave her alone. At this point, I didn’t feel comfortable doing
that for even ten minutes, at least not out here in the open. Besides, I wasn’t
quite sure who I could trust anymore and if I suddenly appeared, demanding help,
there would be a lot of questions. I needed time. Time to give Seb a chance to
uncover anything he could. The Underworld shouldn’t have known about her powers
yet. Protectors were the first to know, then the Underworld demons. Unless a
demon had told the vamps. But since when were demons and bloodsuckers friends?
And since when did they collect Matchmakers?

“Okay, seriously, I’m freezing and exhausted. There has to
be somewhere we can stay.”

I paused and shrugged off my jacket without even thinking
twice. I was pushing her too hard, too fast, but it was for her own safety. Of
course if I told her that, she’d just claim that she didn’t need my protection.

She sidestepped my offer. “No. I want to rest. I want
something to eat, drink. I want answers, not your jacket.”

But I couldn’t give her answers because I didn’t bloody
know. Of course, I wasn’t going to tell her that. “There’s a house over there.”
I nodded toward the dark field. “I think it’s abandoned.”

At least I hoped. I started through the field knowing she
followed, for I could sense her. Always sensed her whether I wanted to or not.
It had never bothered me with her aunt. But with Emma…hell, it was like she was
a bloody parasite slowly killing me from the inside.

Above, the sky was dark and clouded. There were no stars to
guide me, or tell me the future. Not even the glow from a crescent moon. The
house before us began to take shape, a shadowed mansion a couple of hundred
years old. It was lived in, but empty. Perhaps a vacation home. I could sense
the lack of occupants, the lack of energy.

We climbed up the wide, shallow steps. I could practically
hear the echoes of voices from long ago, their energy still here. Not ghosts,
but almost impressions like in clay. No weeds grew, and there was no buildup of
mail, which meant someone checked on the place from time to time. I bent my arm
and used my elbow to break the pane next to the door. The sound of shattering
glass sent a flock of sparrows screeching from the field.

“Great, breaking and entering,” Emma muttered.

“Got a better idea?” I reached through the gaping hole and
found the lock. No magic here, but within a few seconds I had the door open. I
stepped back, and bowed mockingly. “After you.”

I followed her into a large foyer that smelled of dust and
age. Definitely empty. Someone might have been keeping up the outside, but no
one had been inside in months.

“No lights,” I said as she closed the door. “If there are
neighbors nearby, we don’t want them suspicious.”

She moved slowly across the foyer and into the large sitting
room with the massive marble fireplace. “Impressive. But would be more so if
there was electricity and heating.”

She always had to be a smartarse. “Better than outside.”

I felt guilty the moment I snapped back. Even in the dark I
could see the stoop of her shoulders, had noticed the dark circles under her
eyes. She was on her last leg. She was still human, and could die and tire like
the rest of them.

The fact was I was making small talk, discussing stupid
things so I wouldn’t think about the fact that we were alone. Completely alone.
Did she realize? I sure as hell did. There was no one here to interrupt us. No
grandmothers, no sisters, no demons, no vampires.

“Don’t suppose we can have a fire either,” she muttered.

“No, but I’m sure there are blankets.” Perfect excuse to
leave.

I headed up the steps toward the bedrooms, mostly because I
needed to get away from her and center my thoughts. I can do this, I told
myself as I moved down the hall. I could be her Protector. As soon as I got
used to the fact that she was young and attractive, I’d be fine. It was a job.
A job I’d been raised to do. I found a large bedroom with a massive four-poster
bed, and headed toward the trunk against the far wall.

“Find anything?” Emma appeared in the doorway.

No. Damn it, no. I didn’t want her in the bedroom, didn’t
want her anywhere near me. “Yes, actually.” I snatched the blankets from the
trunk, shoved them into her hands, and left the room as fast as I could,
forcing thoughts of Emma far, far from my mind.

Hell, I was a freaking pervert. I was her Protector, for
God’s sake.

“Gee,” she snapped behind me. “Thanks.”

Better she think I was a rude jerk than to know the truth. I
moved downstairs to the large windows overlooking the massive lawn. But all the
while I was completely aware of Emma.

“Should we check the kitchen?” she asked as she tossed the
blankets on the couch.

I nodded. When the owners returned and found the blankets
and broken window, they’d know it was merely squatters in the area and most
likely wouldn’t bother to report us. As long as we didn’t steal anything other
than food.

We moved into the foyer and headed toward the back of the
house, assuming the kitchen would be there. We were right. We found a rustic
kitchen that hadn’t been remodeled, but it would do. There was no stove and the
refrigerator had been turned off. Emma went to the pantry.

“Cookies, and…that’s about it.” She pulled out a box and
tossed them to me. “So,” she started as she moved to the sink. “Are you cold?
Or do you people not get cold? What are you, anyway? Are you even human?”

I sighed as I set the biscuits down and pulled two glasses
from a cupboard. “Yes, we get cold.” Actually, I wasn’t bloody sure what I was.
But I was sure I was human, just…with a little extra ability. “I’m as human as
you are, I suppose.”

“Oh God, what does that mean? I am human, right?”

Her outrage almost made me laugh.

“Of course you are.” I filled two glasses of water from the
faucet and handed her one.

“That’s a relief.”

Cradling the biscuits in one hand and the glass of water in
the other, she moved back into the hall. Truth was, even though the woman drove
me insane, I liked her, and I liked to be with her.

“I know it’s a shock.”

“Was it a shock to you?” she asked as we moved into the
living room.

Bloody great, she was asking more personal questions. I
should have known it would happen. She settled at the end of the couch and
pulled the blanket over her. She looked like she was settling in for a good
night’s story.

I shrugged, feeling more than uneasy. “I suppose.”

I sat at the other end of the sofa. We were facing each
other, but in the dark she couldn’t see me and fortunately couldn’t read my
expression. I knew she wanted more, but I didn’t know what to say. Her aunt and
I had been comfortably silent around each other. She did her thing, and I was
merely there in the background to protect.

“You’re from England.”

“Yes.”

“But you live in France?”

“I live wherever my Matchmaker lives. Your aunt happened to
be here.”

She grinned, her teeth flashing white in the dark. “So if I
move to, say, the Bahamas, you have to move there too?”

“Yes.”

“Fine,” she sighed. “I can manage to stay here a few months
a year. Whatever.”

I didn’t bother to respond. Why make her upset?

She released a wry laugh. “Have you always been this
serious?”

Had I? “I guess.” One had to be serious when you were
homeless half the time, eating at soup kitchens and begging for money on street
corners. I drank my water, ignoring the taste of rust and earth. I’d had worse.

Frowning, she opened the box of biscuits. I loved the way
her brows drew together, that little furrow above the bridge of her nose when
she was perplexed about something. “My aunt…I don’t even know her, and now
never will.”

“She was a very strong-willed woman who knew what she
wanted. She didn’t think she needed anyone, really. Much like you.”

Seeming almost embarrassed by my comment, as if I shouldn’t
notice personal things about her, she lowered her lashes. But I noticed. I
noticed everything. I noticed how stubborn she was and how it might be detrimental
to her safety. I noticed how tough she acted, but that her left side was weak.
If a demon attacked, he’d go after her there. I also noticed that freckle, a
tiny spot at the base of her neck. I noticed that her lashes were so very dark,
yet tipped with gold. I noticed that when she walked, she almost had a bounce
to her step. And I noticed that
she
constantly noticed everything.

Taking in a deep breath, I forced myself to look away.

“So, you’ve been doing this your entire life?”

“No, actually. I was in foster care until I was ten. After
that, they found me and brought me here to train.”

I sensed her compassion and hated it. It’s why I never
shared my background. Fortunately, she had good instincts and avoided focus on
my childhood. “Found you?”

“Yes. They sensed my power. Sort of like I could sense you.
They look for weird things in the news, odd stories about strange children that
lead them to a certain country, city. Then they use their powers to find the
child. And when the tattoos appeared, they knew for sure.”

She glanced at my arms. “So they just appeared out of thin
air?”

“Pretty much.”
 

“At least you got to avoid the pain. So, you were a weird
kid?” She laughed. “Why am I not surprised?”

“As an orphan with no money and glasses, I’d been an easy
target, and I’d learned to either fight back, or ignore them. Yeah, I guess I
was weird.”

Her smile fell. “Well, that just took the fun out of teasing
you.”

I didn’t want her to feel sorry for me. I sure as hell
didn’t want her to think of me as some pathetic punching bag. “It’s in the
past. It’s over.”

She nodded slowly. “What happened when they found you?”

“It was like a dream come true.”

She sipped her water, then grimaced.

“You need to drink it. It’s clean, just not filtered.”

She nodded and sipped again. “Pretty crappy childhood, huh?”

I shrugged. “They found me, took me in, showed me how to use
my powers. They fed me. Taught me how to protect myself. I lived in a bloody
castle. Most would think it was a pretty awesome childhood.”

“Yeah, I could see how that would be better than foster
care.” She looked at her lap, playing with the edge of the blanket, and
shivered. “For me it was the opposite.”

Was she really going to share? Surprised and a little leery
of what she would divulge, I waited quietly. I had to admit, I was more than
curious.

“Up until around ten, my life was great. Then Dad died, and
not so much.”

We lapsed into silence. I knew better than to question her
further. Besides, what the hell would I say? So sorry about your dad’s death,
have some more shitty water. I wasn’t good with small talk, or emotions. Not
that she was showing much emotion.

“They said he killed himself, but I don’t know.”

I took another drink of water. My interest flared. Could
Clarice’s death be connected to Emma’s father’s? Doubtful, but it was something
to look into. “You don’t think he did?”

“No. I know he didn’t.” She lifted her gaze, as if judging
my reaction, daring me to disagree.

“Why?”

“He was happy, there was no indication…” She shook her head.
“Dad was carefree. Loved life.” The shimmer of emotion sparkled in her eyes.

I shifted, uneasy. If she cried, I’d have to comfort her and
if I touched her, I wouldn’t be able to stop.

“He loved it a bit too much.” She released a harsh laugh.
“He left my mom for his freaking secretary. So cliché.” She shook her head.
“They decided to take a little trip overseas for their new relationship. She
said he felt guilty. She thinks it’s true.”

She was silent for a moment.

“You don’t believe her?”

“No.”

I didn’t know Emma well but she was stubborn, and that could
make a person blind. It could have just been her emotions getting in the way.
But, I realized with some bemusement, I also trusted her instincts. In fact,
more than she did.

“And your mother?”

She sighed. “She relied on my dad a lot. It destroyed her
when he left. When he died…” She shook her head. “She went off the deep end.
Was out partying like she was sixteen.”

In other words, when Emma should have been the one partying,
her mother was. “And she ended up in Florida?”

Flushing, she glanced at me, almost embarrassed. “Yeah.
Followed some guy.”

“But you stayed.”

She shrugged. “It was home.”

And she had to take care of her family, and the business.
She was more emotional than she let on. It was yet another thing that drew me
to her. Every time I thought I had her figured out, she surprised me.