"She's a vamp, right?'
"Right."
Luci was silent, thinking about it. Cyn could hear television in the background, punctuated by the occasional loud comment. “That's probably not a good idea,” Luci said finally. “Let her see you first, nice human that you are, and then we'll see after that."
"Right. Talk to you then.” Cyn never questioned Luci's instincts when it came to this sort of thing.
Mirabelle was on her as soon as the phone flipped closed. “Liz?"
"She's at Luci's place. I'm heading over there."
"All right! Let's go."
"Um, yeah, about that. Luci thinks, and I agree, it's better if I go alone first. She's safe at Luci's, so there's no reason to push right now. I'll meet with her later and we'll see where it goes from there. She's kind of jittery about the whole vampire thing."
"She knows I'd never hurt her,” Mirabelle protested.
"Not on purpose, no. But come on, Mirabelle, she runs away to California and suddenly here you are. For all she knows, Jabril sent you to find her and take her back to him."
"Oh, right, like Raphael would ever—"
"Liz doesn't know anything about Raphael; she doesn't even know who he is,” Cyn said with waning patience. “She only knows what you told her, and she can't trust that.” She looked up as Alexandra appeared in the driveway. “Nice, Alexandra,” she said, pointing at the topiary garden rapidly taking over the old courtyard.
"Yes, it's going well. I got the inspiration from a book I read while we were in Colorado. One of the other vampires recommended it. The author's name was King, I think."
Cyn blinked, a purely instinctive chill rippling her skin and raising goose bumps. She looked up to find Alexandra studying her with an amused expression and kept her own face carefully blank. Alexandra looked so demure that it was easy sometimes to forget she was old and deadly in her own way. But Cyn didn't appreciate being toyed with by anyone.
"Looks like we've found Liz,” she said instead. “Or she found us. Mirabelle can give you the details.” Her cell vibrated, indicating an incoming message, and she pulled it out, checking the display. “Right. That's Luci, so I'm out of here. I might see you later, depending. If not, then tomorrow.” She looked at Mirabelle. “I'll call you, Mirabelle, after I talk with Liz, and tell you what's up. In the meantime, don't worry."
Chapter Thirty-eight
Cyn hurried up the steps of the house she and Luci had bought and renovated several years ago. It was a fifties-era structure, two-stories with a wide, old-fashioned front porch and wood siding. The half acre lot was in a part of L.A. that had once been the neighborhood of choice for doctors and lawyers. But the city had changed, the doctors and lawyers had all moved south and west, and a lot of these old houses had been divided into apartments for nearby university students. She and Luci had gotten a good price on this one, mostly because it had been in such lousy shape. The elderly lady they bought it from had lived there over sixty years, and hadn't put a dime into upkeep for at least twenty.
She opened the door without knocking and went straight back, passing through a large living area. A wide-screen television was exploding with the color and sound of a movie Cyn didn't recognize. Couches, chairs and floor were filled with teenagers who gave her no notice as she walked by, although she suspected it was more a matter of choice than attention span.
Luci's office was at the back of the house near the kitchen, in a small room that had once been a butler's pantry or something. They'd ripped out the plumbing and put in windows for Luci's many plants which were threatening to overrun the tiny space.
Luci was sitting at her desk, her back to the door. A teenage girl sat in the chair next to her, and the resemblance to Mirabelle was undeniable. She looked up when Cyn entered the room, her eyes weary and suspicious. Cyn gave her a little nod, looked at her friend and said, “Luce."
Lucia spun around, concern dissolving into a welcome smile. “Cyn,” she said warmly, standing and coming over for a hug. Luci was a very huggy kind of person. Cyn really wasn't, but she tried for Luci's sake. Liz watched the exchange closely.
"Liz, this is my very good friend Cynthia Leighton. She and I opened this house together, lo those many years ago."
Liz's big blue eyes studied Cyn carefully, checking her mouth, her hands, even her eyes. Looking for vampire indicators, Cyn thought. Not that she was offended by it. She'd have done the same thing.
"So, you're a friend of Luci's?” Liz asked doubtfully.
Cyn nodded. “From college."
"And you're working for my sister?"
"Not really working for, more like working with. I'm sure Luci told you...” She glanced at her friend for confirmation. Luci nodded, then sat, pulling over a scarred wooden chair for Cyn to do the same.
"Jabril actually hired me to find you,” Cyn continued, reluctantly taking the uncomfortable seat. “But then I met Mirabelle and, well, hell, I met Jabril. I broke Mirabelle out of there and came looking for you. Lucky for me, you decided on L.A."
"There's some other guy looking for me too,” Liz volunteered cautiously. A slight twang became more evident in her speech as she began to relax.
"Yeah. I met him. Beefy guy with short white hair?"