wearing the wide smile of a seasoned politician. Keira hung back and watched, thinking these people acted like they were in a cult. Or was it that they were locked in such desperation that it made them willing to follow a madman who gave promises of glory?
Javier stood next to her, one of the few that hadn’t run up to receive the touch of the charismatic leader. “So, bonita. What’d you think?”
Here we go. “I think it’s about time someone says what Stefan said tonight. I’ve been on this planet a long time, keeping my otherworldliness a secret for all but the last three years.” She looked at Javier. “It’s been a relief to finally be who I really am.” She shook her head. “It’s still hard being outnumbered by humans. We don’t have the same rights, and we should.”
A werewolf standing in the row in front of them turned around. “Damn straight.” Before he could say anything more, his attention was drawn to the other side of the room. He muttered an “Excuse me” and headed away from them.
“I’m glad you feel that way.” Javier smiled at her, flashing a bit of fang. He glanced to the front of the room, then looked back at her. “Stefan wants to meet you, but he doesn’t have time tonight. As soon as he finishes with them,” he indicated the group, looking like mindless drones, gathered around the leader, “he has another meeting.” He gave her a second fangy smile. “I’ll see you later, bonita.”
Keira walked slowly down the row until she reached the column at the end. As she started to skirt around it, she heard a man say, “Stefan says the device will be ready in time.”
“He always makes good on his promises,” a woman responded, her tone rife with satisfaction.
Keira paused. She needed to learn more about this, but she had doubts that they’d continue their conversation with a brand-new member, one they didn’t personally know. Taking a deep breath, she called on the Earth energy she had stored deep inside. Her skin began to tingle as if small electric currents ran beneath the surface. She waited until they ran in a steady stream before she stepped out from behind the column.
The two vampires continued on with their discussion as if she weren’t standing three feet away from them. As far as they could tell, she wasn’t.
By extending her empathic abilities, not only could she influence people’s emotions, which colored the way they perceived events that occurred, she was also able to influence their perception of the world around them. It was basic physics, though done through preternatural means, making light bounce off of her body to reflect her surroundings. She was, for lack of a better word, invisible. She rarely used this power because it utilized a lot of energy, which meant she couldn’t hold the illusion very long. But if she could glean some pertinent information it would be well worth the weak knees and exhaustion she’d later feel.
Because the motion of her clothing would make it harder for light to be reflected and thereby increase the likelihood some vague outline of her could be seen, Keira put her back to the wall and held still, taking in slow, silent breaths. A werewolf walked past her and paused, his head lifting as he sniffed the air. His brow furrowed and he looked around then shrugged and went on his way.
That was the other flaw to this ability. She might be able to conceal herself from others’ sight, but she couldn’t mask her scent.
“He said he’s waiting on a special gold filament that fits in the oscillation unit,” the male vamp said. “That jeweler guy over on Scottsdale Road is supposed to have it for him in a few days.”
“That’s cutting it a little close, don’t you think?” the female vamp asked. She kept her voice low. Keira watched as the woman glanced toward the front of the room where Stefan chatted with a few of his followers. When she looked back at her companion, a small frown furrowed her brows. “Why would he wait this long to actually finish the machine?” Worry entered her tone, making it not quite as satisfied as it had been a few seconds before.
The other vamp scowled. “Because of those delays a few months ago when the smaller rift device and schematics were stolen, remember? That pushed production of the larger machine back several weeks. Otherwise it would’ve been done days ago,