want to bring down. Or I could hire someone else and then get killed a day later through their incompetence. No, it’s better to get such a legend as yourself on my side.”
I shook my head. “I don’t…I don’t understand exactly what it is you plan to do. You plan on entering vampiric society? With me as your bodyguard?”
He looked at me approvingly. I wasn’t sure if I liked it. “You can understand, can’t you?”
So easy and yet… “So once you enter their society, then what?”
“I will petition to find out Shannon’s kidnapper. I will petition for her life. That’s all I care about.”
I drew in a deep breath. “You must have loved her very much. You will put your life on the life for a woman?”
“If that person had once meant the entire world to you, wouldn’t you do the same?” he asked quietly.
“I’ve never felt that way about anyone, so I wouldn’t know.” I pushed a lock of hair out of my eyes. “This is much more dangerous that simply killing someone in front of Noir’s mansion.”
“Don’t you think it’s risky, that you could simply kill an assassin in front of Noir’s eyes and expect him to trust you?” Jason finished his drink and stared at the empty cup in his right hand, let it dangle from his fingertips. “Noir is no fool. He’s walked this world for centuries. He has lived through many an assassination and lived to see another moon. If I don’t put everything on the line, then I will fail.”
I was not quite understanding. “So what is your plan? You can’t just walk into a mass of vampires and tell them you come in peace”
He rubbed at his brow in a distracted manner, eyes somewhere over my shoulder, looking at something that was not there. “You’re right. Humans have no right in the vampire court of, such as it is, law. Were I to petition Noir for the name and head of the vampire who turned Shannon, he would have the right to refuse me. And he would. However, if a vampire were to petition him…”
The bottom dropped out of the stomach and the heady sense of vertigo made it difficult for me to breath.
“A vampire,” I whispered. “You’re going to petition him as a vampire.”
The glass dropped, shattered into a million pieces on the polished wooden floor.
“Yes,” he said, staring at the broken glass. “I am.”
5
It seemed bittersweet, to leave the cat in the very capable hands of the elder woman who lived downstairs.
But Mrs. Graham adored cats (she had four of her own) and Mika seemed to tolerate her well enough.
I didn’t want to give Mika up, not when it seemed as though we had finally come to some sort of arrangement, something involving cans of albacore tuna and occasional petting accompanied by purring. The night I came back from the Eldridge mansion, head whirring from the confession, I laid down in bed and Mika jumped on my chest, promptly purring herself into sleep. I couldn’t remember the last time I had slept so soundly. I didn’t even have to turn on a light.
I was making progress.
And to give that up…
“And you’ll be back…” Mrs. Graham’s rheumy blue eyes widened. “When exactly did you say you were coming back?”
I paid the rent four months in advance. If things went well, I would be back in a week. If not… “I shouldn’t be more than a couple of months. I’m very sorry. This should make things a bit easier.”
She stared at the envelope in my open hand. “What’s this, dear?”
“It should be enough to help pay for Mika’s lodging.” A lump rose in my throat. I would not cry for a cat. “And perhaps some cans of tuna, every now and again. She seems to like Chicken of the Sea the best.”
Mrs. Graham closed my hand, the envelope still in it. “Oh, dear, I don’t need that! My retirement pays me well enough and in any case, I can’t imagine one cat eating so much I would have to spend more money on cats than I already do.” She smiled warmly and I basked in the glow. “They’re all I have left now, so I make sure to take care of them the best I can.”
In a way, it was kind of depressing. “No, please. It would make me feel better.”
The old woman gave me a piercing look. “Well, if it makes you feel better. But don’t be surprised if you come back