of them being the guy sitting next to you.”
Jason lifted his head and met Ryder’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “And what would that be that?”
“He sees you as--”
“Ryder!” barked Shannon. “Why go through this now? We’re just going to have to repeat this conversation once we meet up with Matthias. Let’s try not to make this any more boring than it already is, hm?”
“Who is Matthias?”
Shannon’s jaw tightened. “The man who has saved me.”
Jason spoke up then, his words tumbling over each other. “Saved you? Saved you from what? Saved you from vampires? Saved you from humans? Saved you how?”
A dull silence followed his words and I watched the multitude of emotions play across Shannon’s face...from where I could see, that is.
She was not as expressionless, not as heartless as she would have liked to seem.
Was that a good thing?
“I’m sorry, Jason,” she said and faced forward, her eyes on the road swiftly blanketing in white. “Everything will be explained very soon. I promise.”
Trust a vampire?
One could only hope it would not come back to haunt me.
13
The mansion was large.
Perhaps large was a bit of an understatement.
Sitting atop a walled off property that seemed to be at least five acres, it rose from the white grounds like a dark, skulking thing, the snow failing to soften any of its sharp angles, failing to soften any of the harsh, unrelenting dark gray paint of the mansion.
It was with some surprise I noted the large amount of cars parked in front of the double doors that did not look unlike the casino we had just left.
Most of the cars were imported racecars, although a few working class sedans showed like gaps in a line of teeth.
Ryder cut the ignition. “Look, before we go, I really have to give you some advice.”
Jason straightened, put his shoulders back. “Advice? I thought you wanted me here? Am I wrong in assuming this gathering is for me?”
Shannon snorted. “No, you’re not. I see you still haven’t lost your way of sounding like you belong in some BBC period drama.”
“I thought you liked it.”
A corner of her lips quirked up. “I did.”
“Advice,” I said, clearing my throat. “What is this advice you have?”
“Don’t say a thing,” he replied. “Let Shannon and me do the talking. Trust me, this is kind of like those rights the cops always tell the perps. You know, what you say can be used against you? Only it won’t be in court, it’ll be just another strike as to why we shouldn’t keep you alive.”
Jason looked vaguely stunned. “Is this my execution then? Maybe I would’ve had better luck with Vincent.”
“Not quite,” said Ryder. “At least here you have people who will speak on your behalf. With Vincent, it’ll be over quicker than you could blink. Come on. We should go. They’re waiting.”
They’re waiting.
He couldn’t possibly sound any more ominous. “Then we would be fools to keep them waiting, wouldn’t we? Especially since I must now beg them for my Master’s life.”
And through all this, I needed to keep my ultimate goal in mind.
Infiltrate the vampiric circle.
Kill Noir.
And I needed Jason.
He couldn’t die.
I would not let it happen.
Getting out of the car took longer when Jason had a difficult time trying to undo the lever that would push the car seat forward and that only solidified my suspicion that two-door cars were merely death traps.
His fingers shook as he finally pushed the car seat forward. Did anyone else notice? Probably not, as Ryder and Shannon stood waiting for us on the front steps, Ryder with his arms crossed and Shannon with her hands shoved deep into her coat pockets.
I touched Jason on the shoulder and he flinched. Visibly. “Will you be...okay?”
He let out a shaky breath and shook his head. “I can’t have things end here. I have to know.”
“About Shannon?”
His eyes narrowed. “About everything.” His glance slid to me standing by his side. “But don’t worry. I’ll help you achieve your goal. I never go back on a promise. I swear it.”
“I never worried about that for one moment,” I said and meant every word.
Surprisingly.
I had never trusted anyone this much.
Not even Adrian.
Not even the Fellowship.
Best not to think about it. “We should go.”
He nodded. “Let’s go.”
Dressed as though black was going out of style the next night, two vampires stood sentry before the engraved, gilded double doors, arms crossed over their chests as though they were some sort of genies. “Your business.”
A low, sibilant voice whispered past their lower-face mask.