Claimed by Shadow Page 0,65

to the whiskey-colored eyes and charm to the expression. When he laughed, he was handsome.

"That's not what she says.”

"As you should know better than anyone, Consul, some women are prone to exaggeration… and fits of temper.”

"The more passionate ones," he agreed. "Although they are frequently worth the trouble. Speaking of passionate shrews, how is your Consul?”

"She is well. I wondered that you did not ask before.”

"Your news fair drove all else from my mind.”

"Shall I tell her so?”

That produced another chuckle. "Only if you wish to incite a war, my friend." The vampire hadn't so much as glanced at me, which I'd assumed was due to my status as party snack. But his eyes suddenly slid in my direction. "And who is this? Are you beginning a collection of dainty blondes, Mircea?”

The Consul smiled at me, but it didn't reach his eyes. Mircea's grip tightened a fraction. "Are we not permitted to bring guests, Consul?”

"Guests, yes. As long as they are one of us, or human.”

He tilted my chin up with a finger. Something shifted behind his eyes, a killer peeking out from behind the jovial mask. "Very pretty. And very powerful. You will answer for her actions, of course.”

Mircea bowed slightly and the Consul left to work the room, chatting and talking, back to charming in a blink. I repressed a shiver. "They don't seem to like magic users here," I said weakly.

"They can complicate matters. Different precautions must be taken than are needed for our people.”

"I'm surprised he let me stay, then.”

"You caught him in a good mood. Augusta and I recently removed a problem for him.”

"I'm not planning to cause any trouble," I assured aim fervently. Mircea just looked at me, a wry quirk to his lips. "I'm not!”

"Why would I doubt you? Merely because the first time we met, I was almost poisoned, and the second, I came very close to a duel?" His smile broadened. "Fortunately, I don't mind trouble. If, as the Consul said, the reward is worth it.”

I didn't know what to say to that so we watched the women for a while. I still couldn't tell what they were doing, possibly because they had their backs to us. The brunette was in pale blue, the icy color embellished with too much lace, but Augusta wore a gorgeous off-the-shoulder champagne satin gown with a gold and cream brocade train. I might not like her, but there was no question that she knew how to dress. The full skirts blocked my view for a moment; then something tore through the middle of them, coming straight at me.

"Oh, no! He's loose!" Augusta 's voice rang out over the room, shaking with laughter. A wild-eyed, naked creature scrabbled on hands and knees for the edge of the circle, leaving a trail of droplets behind him. They were black and oily looking against the deep green. Right before he could reach me, something snapped his head back, throwing him twitching onto his side.

Augusta had a leash in her hand as she walked towards him, one end of which was looped around his neck. He lay on his back, quivering in terror, as she stood over him. "Up," she said impatiently, tugging on the leash.

It forced his chin up, and I got a glimpse of his face through a snarl of greasy black hair. His mouth worked with pain, then tightened into a rictus of rage, distorting his features beyond recognition. But I knew those beetle black eyes. I'd seen them in more than a few nightmares. "Jack," I whispered, and he stared up at me blindly. "What's wrong?" the brunette called. "I thought you liked to play with women!”

"I think he prefers the helpless kind," Augusta said, trailing her long fingernails down his chest, hard enough to leave red welts among the sparse hair. "So they call you the Ripper, do they?" she crooned. "By the time I'm done with you, you'll truly deserve the name.”

The man curled into a ball in a vain attempt to protect himself from those daggerlike fingernails, and I gasped when I saw his back. It had been lacerated until the skin hung in strips, what little there was of it. Mircea noticed as well. "If you don't let him rest soon, Augusta, he'll die and spoil your fun," he observed mildly.

She laughed. "Oh, I don't think so," she said with a coy look.

Mircea frowned and knelt by the man's side. He looked up after only a moment. "You've made that madman