of vampires.
"This is spectacular," I said when Jonah joined me at the rail. I glanced up at the ceiling, which was all glass. But that couldn't work in a House of vampires. "How do the trees grow? I mean, don't you have to close up the skylights during the day?"
Jonah made a circle with his hands. "The roof has a parabolic canopy that rotates to close during the day." He swiveled his fingers. "They close just like a camera shutter, so it leaves a gap in the middle for the tree. And the mechanism is photosensitive, so the circle follows the sun as the earth rotates to ensure the tree always has light."
"That is amazing."
"The technology is pretty impressive," he agreed. "Scott's taken the time to try new things, which we can't always say about Masters."
"They do tend to be a little stodgy."
He made a vague sound of agreement. "The rest of the foliage gets light as the shutters turn."
"And if a vamp has an emergency and needs to move through the atrium during the day?"
"They don't," Jonah said simply. "The interior architecture of the House is organized so you never have to cross the atrium space to get to any living quarters or exits." He pointed below. "The rooms on the sides of the atrium are nonessential - offices and the like - and there are shaded walkways in any event."
He turned and began walking down the hallway, and I followed him to an elevator and a basement parking level that was pretty similar to ours: long concrete vault, lots of expensive cars.
I stopped short when we passed a platinum silver convertible. It was small and curvy, with round lights, a hood vent, and wire wheels, and it looked exactly like the kind of car James Bond would drive.
"Is this - is that an Aston Martin?"
He glanced over. "Yeah. That's Scott's car.
He's been alive for nearly two hundred years. A man accumulates prizes in that time."
"So I see," I said, clenching my hands to fight back the urge to run my fingers across the spotless paint. I'd never seen one in person.
Never seen one at all outside the movies. But it was stunning. I didn't consider myself to be a car person, but it was hard not to like long lines and sweet curves. And what I'd imagine was a pretty fast engine.
"Lots of, you know, horsepowers or whatever?"
He smiled and unlocked his hybrid's door, and was still grinning when we climbed inside. "Not much of a car buff?"
"I can appreciate a beautiful thing. But cars are only a skindeep infatuation for me."
"Duly noted."
We drove from Wrigleyville back to Magnificent Mile and my car. And I totally lucked out - my car had been parked in the same spot for nearly twenty-four hours, but while there was a ticket under the wiper, there was no boot on the tire. Street parking in Chicago was a hazardous activity.
"Are you going to get hassled for sleeping over?" he asked through the open window as I unlocked my door.
Only if Ethan thinks I'm sleeping with Noah, I thought to myself.
"I'm good," I told Jonah. "Besides, it's not like you could escort me home. You'd blow your cover."
"True. We should probably plan to talk again.
I expect this isn't the last time we'll hear about what went down last night."
"Probably not." My stomach turned over. I wasn't thrilled at the possibility of heading back into another "rave," if that's what we were calling it. I had the skills for war, but not the stomach for it. It was easy to help someone in need, but it would have been nicer if the need didn't exist in the first place.
"I'll talk to the bartenders at Temple Bar, see if they've noticed anything suspicious. And I'll let you know if I find out anything about the phone number. I'll also talk to them about the drugs. They'll want to know if illegal substances are being spread around, and what the effects are."
"Sounds like a plan. Keep me posted."
"I will. Thank you again for the help."
Jonah smiled thinly. "That's what partners are for."
"Don't jump the gun. We aren't partners yet."
With a final, knowing smile, he pulled away from the curb, leaving me on the sidewalk beside my lonely Volvo. What had Mallory said about not wanting to go back to your life again? And what had I told her? Something about accepting the choices you were presented with and getting the nasty stuff done regardless?
I climbed into