"No, that was not Molly."
"But..."
"Jocelyn, there is someone trying to deceive you. You must not follow. Molly is dead."
With a wrenching effort Jocelyn forced herself to battle through the fog. "Yes," she murmured with a furrowed brow, recalling the odd vicar who had told her of Molly's death and then the arrival of Mr. Ryan. "I do not understand."
"Let us go back to bed."
Barely aware she was moving, Jocelyn allowed the strange gypsy to lead her back into her chamber and toward the bed. She regarded her companion with a puzzled expression.
"You are the gypsy who gave me the necklace."
A sudden smile touched the weathered countenance. "Yes, my dear. Do you remember my warning of the necklace?"
Jocelyn reached up to touch the amulet about her neck, rather startled to discover that it was warm beneath her fingers.
"You said that I am never to take it off or to give it to another."
Gently helping Jocelyn climb into bed, the gypsy covered her with the thin blanket.
"That is right, dearest. Never take it off for any reason. Not even if you believe it might help to protect someone you care about."
Jocelyn snuggled into the feather mattress, already slipping back into sleep.
"Why?"
In answer the woman reached out her gnarled hand and brushed it over Jocelyn's forehead.
"Sleep, my dear. Sleep in peace."
On cue the darkness rose up and Jocelyn was tumbling into a deep, dreamless sleep. She was unaware of the danger that lurked just out of sight, or of the powerful vampire who guarded her slumber.
For the first time in years she was at peace.
Brooding frustration smoldered within Lucien as he made his way back to Jocelyn's small home. Despite his meticulous search, he had been unable to discover any hint of Amadeus.
There was no scent of the vampire among the endless clutter of buildings or the numerous prostitutes who plied their wares upon every corner. Not even his henchmen had been upon the streets.
At last he had been forced to concede defeat.
He was not destined to discover Amadeus on this night, he had concluded in disgust.
Or so he had believed.
As he neared Jocelyn's cramped neighborhood, he felt a familiar tingle brush over his skin.
Pausing, he allowed himself to consider the sudden sensation. It was the undeniable presence of a vampire.
With a chill in his heart he hurried closer, abruptly realizing that it was the sense of Amadeus that he felt.
Amadeus... here.
It was no wonder he had been unable to discover the traitor among the whores and pickpockets, he thought with grim fear. The vampire had used his absence to approach Jocelyn.
Flowing through the darkness with blinding speed, he entered the house and moved up the stairs. In the beat of a heart he was in Jocelyn's chamber. He stepped toward the bed, only to halt when a shadowy form abruptly appeared before Kim.
His hand instinctively reached for the dagger before realizing that the old gypsy woman was not Amadeus in disguise, but Nefri, the most powerful of all vampires.