Promises to Keep - By Amelia Atwater-Rhodes Page 0,42

chastised him.

“When were you changed? Please, um, my lady. It may help me answer your questions.”

“The year 1665,” Brina answered. How was that relevant?

After drawing a deep breath, he asked, “Europe?”

“Italy.”

“Nurse!” Brina jumped as the young man raised his voice to call to yet another man across the room. “We need to get her quarantined and onto antibiotics. The flu is bad enough in a population without a single antibody. I don’t know what happens when a vampire turns human, and I don’t want to test it. From that era, you could be carrying the goddamned bubonic plague.”

Brina wasn’t listening any longer, not since he had said the word quarantine.

Deaf to anything but the heartbeat in her ears, she slammed an elbow into the stomach of the first nurse stupid enough to touch her. The doctor had lied to her, had told her he could help her, just to get the information he would use to imprison her.

She fought tooth and nail, but she was weak. Pathetic. Human doctors and nurses swarmed, irreverent and immoral, intent on trapping her again, confining her with the dead and dying—

She twisted her head with a snarl as she felt a sharp pinch in the meat of her arm. She looked just in time to see the needle in her flesh. Her previous weakness was nothing compared to the way her body now seemed to collapse, her innards folding into origami. Flowers and paper cranes, made of swirling colors and fancy lights.

Foolish girl, something whispered to her as she sank into a drugged sleep. Even more frightened of life than you are of dying. I should hate you … but I suppose I must credit you with hiding my child away, when the hunters would have murdered her. You gave me time. So I will give you time.

Time for what? Brina tried to ask. But the words wouldn’t form.

CHAPTER 18

AS HE DROVE, the pain that Jay could sense coming from Rikai gradually built, until it was taking all his concentration to ignore it and focus on the slick roads. She hadn’t said a word or uttered as much as a grunt, but a few miles out from SingleEarth, Jay couldn’t stand it anymore.

“What is wrong with you?” he demanded.

“That remains to be seen,” she replied, voice perfectly level. All Jay knew about Triste magic was that it relied on total control of mind and body, regardless of pain or other physical ailments. That made it doubly concerning when Rikai’s next words—“We need to …”—faded out, replaced by a sharp hitch of breath. “Let me know when we arrive.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her rest her head on her hands on the window. He resisted the urge to drive faster, knowing that a patch of ice and a car accident could kill him just as surely as magical influences.

Why wouldn’t she talk to him? Was her pain related to what had happened to Brina?

His questions about Rikai were pushed aside by more pressing concerns as he reached SingleEarth and discovered that the parking lot was overflowing. Cars were parked wherever they could find space, many blocking others in.

“Looks like they’re having a party,” he said, feigning levity to cover his rising anxiety. “We’re going to have to hike a bit.” Jay stopped the car as close as he could get to the main building.

For the first time in hours, he got a good look at Rikai. Her face was pale and there were shadows under her eyes. More disturbing were the ropy scars he could see trailing out from her shirt cuffs to cover her hands. Another was starting to emerge from beneath her high collar, snaking up the left side of her throat to her temple.

He clenched his jaw against the echo of her pain and walked around the car to open her door. Rikai glared at him, as if she wanted to refuse his help, but then she reached up and took his arm. She leaned on him heavily as they began an agonizingly long walk to the door.

Halfway there, Lynx came bounding across the snow, his tufted ears back as if he had scented something foul.

What happened here? Jay asked.

Stinks like something spoiled, Lynx answered. Stay out here.

I need to go in to find out what happened.

Lynx hissed, and refused to follow as Jay and Rikai approached the threshold of SingleEarth Haven #2.

“What the hell?” Jay whispered as he stepped inside and discovered that the reception area had