Vampire Memories #5 - Ghosts of Memories (28 page)

Eleisha stared at his back. Once again, she was placed in the position of changing clothes with him in the room. But there seemed no way she could object or refuse without offending him…or looking like some prudish female mortal who didn’t understand the seriousness of the situation.

So while his back was turned, she dressed quickly, finding this gown preferable to the one from the previous night. It was sleeveless, but the top section covered more. It had an empire waist and zipped up the back to between her shoulder blades.

“Better,” she said. “I can move in this.”

He turned and smiled. “I’m not completely oblivious. I know what we’re up against tonight. Come here, and let me see what I can do with that eye.”

Some of the bruising had faded, but she still looked like she’d walked into a door. Christian seemed different tonight, more matter-of-fact, and his manner put her at ease. She sat down at the dressing table and turned her face up to him without hesitation. He applied some makeup to a sponge and then started dabbing it over her eye.

Without any warning, his easygoing manner vanished.

“Eleisha,” he said, his voice sounding intense. “You know… I mean, you’ve realized by now that although I believe Julian has to be removed, once this is over, I’m not going back to Portland with you. I’m not going to live in some church.”

Suddenly she was aware of his close proximity, how his fingers were touching the skin on her face, blending the makeup. She wanted to pull away but didn’t. An unwanted feeling began growing inside her that she didn’t want to live in the church either. She wanted the excitement of sitting in Ivory’s chair and playing the conduit to Christian’s spiritualist. The pull toward that life was so enticing.

“Yes,” she struggled to say. “I know you won’t come back with us. It’s all right. That life isn’t your life.”

He touched her shoulder with his other hand. “I knew you’d understand. But I hate the thought of losing you now that we’ve just become friends. Ivory and I have been alone for so long.”

The desire to stay with him, to travel and play the conduit at his side, grew stronger, and she fought to push it away. She thought of Philip and Wade and Rose…and Maxim. They were the crux of her home. They were her foundation.

She sat frozen while he brushed her hair quickly, twisted part of it, put it up on top of her head, and held it there with surprisingly few pins.

Light footsteps sounded outside, followed by a knock. “Christian, darling, are you in here?”

“Yes, Vera.” He went to open the door and Eleisha stood up.

Smile,
he flashed into her mind, and it sounded like an order.

She smiled.

Vera swept into the room, wearing a gold and black caftan and enormous silver hoops in her ears. “Oh, Eleisha, how sweet you look. Not all women can wear pink and pull it off like that.” She pressed her palms together cheerfully. “Christian said you wanted me to show you a few of the upper-hall paintings before we go out tonight?”

Christian hadn’t said a word about any paintings, but Eleisha had an idea what he was up to, and her smiled widened. She honestly liked Vera. Who wouldn’t like Vera? She was warm and funny, and for all her wealth, she still enjoyed the little things in life.

“This way, my dear,” Vera said.

Eleisha left the guest room and followed her down the hallway to another set of stairs leading up. Christian came behind. When they emerged into a wide upper hallway, Eleisha could see a number of huge portraits hanging on the walls. She felt quite dwarfed by the sheer size of their frames. But the portraits themselves were interesting, and one of them depicted a man in a tweed suit leaning back against a 1920s black Ford.

“Oh, I like this one,” she said, stepping closer.

“Yes, that’s my great uncle Charles,” Vera said. “He died before I was even born, but Mother said he loved that car.”

“Are all these people your relatives?” Eleisha asked, genuinely interested, but then Christian caught her eye and shook his head. They were not up here to discuss paintings.

Eleisha moved around Vera so that Christian could step up behind, and then she reached out and touched Vera’s arm. “You seem so tired. I think you should sleep…sleep for hours.”

Eleisha had never questioned her own ability to do this. Even though Christian seemed to find it a useful skill, he’d never developed it himself. She was almost positive he could do it if he tried, but he tended to just daze his victim’s mind while feeding, as that was how Bernadette had taught him.

Vera collapsed like a rag doll, and Christian caught her, picking her up as if she weighed nothing. He must be a good deal stronger than he looked.

“This way,” he said. “I know a room up here without a window. It should serve well.” He glanced back toward the stairwell. “Wade and Ivory should be on their way up by now.”

Upon waking that night, Julian strode to the glass sliding door of his hotel room and looked out over the view of Seattle. He was still shaken over how quickly everything had gone wrong the night before.

For one, he hadn’t expected to find himself engaged in an open sword fight on the grounds of the Seattle Center. His method for killing his own kind was normally fast and silent. He just stepped out and swung before anyone knew he was there.

Julian’s first act of putting Eleisha down had gone well.

But Christian had somehow managed to avoid Julian’s first swing. Then he’d pulled his own sword, and the whole world sped up to a hundred and twenty miles an hour. What really troubled Julian were the strange fears and feelings that had come over him in the middle of the fight, that his arms were too heavy to swing…and that his gift wouldn’t work.

Christian’s blade was small and his skills were adequate at best. Julian had been sure things would end quickly, and in his favor, until for no reason, he’d begun to doubt himself, and then Philip had come flying up the path.

He’d had no choice but to run.

Worse, Mary had reported that they’d all holed up in the mansion again, and after his attack, there was no telling when they might come out again. He wasn’t certain what to do at this point.

The air shimmered and Mary materialized. He could tell by the animated expression on her face that something had happened.

“What is it?” he asked.

“When they all woke up, Eleisha told Christian it wasn’t safe here anymore, and that he and Ivory had to go home to the church with her…tonight. Christian said no, and they had a big fight, and then Eleisha told him she was leaving. He called her bluff. She and Wade and Philip took off about twenty minutes ago. They’re already on Interstate 5, heading back to Portland. Christian and Ivory are alone.”

He stared at her. “Eleisha just left them?”

That didn’t sound right, but Mary was good at assessing situations quickly. She always had been.

“I don’t think Christian ever had any intention of going home with them,” she went on, “and Philip can’t stand him. It just all got to be too much. But you need to hurry. Christian isn’t stupid, and he’s already told Vera that they’re leaving soon, too. He may not want to go back to the church in Portland, but he’s not staying here either. So if you want to kill them, you’d better do it tonight.”

Relief washed through Julian. Both his targets were anxious and distracted…and alone at the mansion.

He grabbed his sword and his coat. “Meet me outside the front gate.”

Wade made his way up a staircase he hadn’t seen before, with Ivory right beside him. Tonight she was back in her slinky red evening gown, but if all had gone according to plan, Vera would already be asleep, and there would be no need to continue this ruse.

Still, he’d put on the slacks and sport coat—per Christian’s instructions—and he had his gun in the back of his pants.

Emerging into a wide hallway, he felt somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer size of the portraits on the walls. Several of the frames were thicker than his thigh.

“Over here,” Eleisha called, and he looked ahead to see her waving them onward.

He paused at the sight of her. She wore a simply cut, light pink evening gown that created a different effect from the one she’d worn last night. This one made her look more like a little girl playing dress up. He hoped she wouldn’t try to read his thoughts as that image struck him.

“This way,” she said. “Do you have an extra clip loaded?”

The little-girl illusion vanished.

“Yes,” he answered.

She led them inside a small storage room, full of easels and frames and blank canvas. The place was dusty, as if no one, not even Simmons, had been inside for years. Vera was sleeping peacefully on a pile of blankets, and Christian was kneeling beside her.

Wade still didn’t like this plan, and he would much prefer to just lock Ivory and Vera inside this room and go back downstairs to help Eleisha and Philip.

“I know,” Eleisha said to him softly, perhaps reading his face. “If everything goes well, he won’t get past us…but if he does, I need you in here. Just empty a clip into his face and chest, and then empty another one. That should give you time to get them both out of here.”

He nodded curtly. On some level he knew she was right.

“I’m not helpless,” Ivory said suddenly, surprising everyone. Her tone was different from anything Wade had heard her use before—almost offended. “If Julian is so open to a telepathic attack, I can certainly daze him.”

Christian frowned and stood up. But Eleisha hurried to Ivory’s side. “Of course you can. But we need as few people as possible downstairs to pull this off. You stay and help Wade guard Vera.”

As condescending as that sounded, Ivory seemed grateful and nodded.

“You’d both better get down there,” Wade said to Eleisha and Christian. “Philip wanted some input on the staging, and I don’t know how much time we have left.”

His words had a rapid effect, and both Eleisha and Christian headed out of the room, down the hallway.

Wade tried to smile at Ivory. “Just you and me now.”

“I don’t mind that,” she answered, pulling a blanket over Vera’s legs.

He closed the door, shutting all three of them inside.

Julian parked his rental car in the trees about a half mile from the mansion, and then he walked to the front gates.

Mary materialized beside him.

“Okay,” she began. “The setup isn’t too bad. Both vamps are in the dining room at the back of the house, and the patio doors are wide open. You can walk right up and look inside without being seen. They’ve got the lighting low inside, and they’re using candles. You should be able to step in and take Christian’s head. Once his psychic energy releases and hits the girl, taking her out should be easy.”

Not too bad? This sounded ideal. Perfect.

He’d not had a setup this easy since Italy.

Perhaps his luck was finally turning for the better.

After checking his sword at his belt, he walked a short ways down the fence and jumped up to grip the top, climbing over easily and landing in the courtyard on the other side. Then he made his way toward the back of the house.

chapter sixteen

D
own on the main floor in the dining room, Christian could not have been more pleased with the setup that he, Eleisha, and Philip had mutually arranged. It would serve his purpose well.

The trap was set, and everyone was neatly in place.

Philip was hiding just around the corner, outside the dining room, sword in hand, ready to swoop in.

Eleisha was standing up against a tall table with a glass of red wine, her back to the open patio doors. Christian stood close to her, but just kitty-corner, so that anyone looking in from either side of the patio would see his profile. His sword was placed out of sight, but within an easy distance, leaned up against a wine cabinet.

He was also sipping from a glass, while he and Eleisha pretended to converse in low tones. They didn’t wish to speak too loudly and risk Julian recognizing her voice. They simply wished to resemble two vampires speaking in private—perhaps making plans for an impending journey.

The lights were low and candles burned around the dining room, creating soft illumination. Eleisha looked lovely to him tonight, and he’d done a good job of covering the bruises over her eye. She’d been so agreeable, so concerned for his safety, while they’d been planning the specifics of this trap. Just the sight of her standing there pulled at him, and he could not wait until this unpleasant but necessary event was over and she belonged to him, and they’d be free to engage in real evenings of talking softly to each other over glasses of wine. He enjoyed such evenings, and unlike Ivory, Eleisha liked to please him.

But first he had to complete his own plans for tonight.

So long as Mary got Julian to the patio, Christian knew he could handle the rest.

Everything was in place now, and he decided it was time to set the first phase in motion.

Still pretending to chat softly with Eleisha, he focused his thoughts and sent Ivory a telepathic message, not an emotional impulse, but a crystal-clear chain of words.

Kill Wade right now, and I’ll let you go. I’ll give you your complete freedom and the Wells Fargo savings account. You know I’ve never lied to you when it comes to business. Kill
him, and I promise you’ll be free with enough money to go anywhere you want.