Page 8 of Bishop's Flight
Carwyn continued. “I had the pleasure of meeting your mate nearly one hundred years ago, and I’ve never forgotten her voice.”
The woman on the couch raised her voice. “Carwyn, darling, how are you?”
“I’m grand, Miss Rose.” He turned to the couches. “It’s good to see you well.”
“But we’re not well at all.” Rose swung her legs to the floor and gently set her daughter’s head on a pillow. Her blue eyes shimmered with blood-tinged tears that matched her pink satin robe. “It’s been three days, and we’re running out of time.”
Brigid looked at Agnes, then at the little girl, who was staring into nothing and petting the cat. Her hand never stopped moving, and her eyes were unfocused.
“Something’s wrong.” Brigid met Agnes’s eyes. “What’s happened?”
“Three days ago, we received a ransom note from Zasha Sokholov.” Agnes drew a picture from inside her jacket pocket. “They sent us this picture.” She handed over a photograph of a teenage boy, blindfolded and holding a newspaper. “Proof of life for our son, Lucas.”
Carwyn’s normally jovial expression fled; she saw his jaw tighten and his chest expand.
Her husband knew what it meant to have a child taken.
Brigid touched Carwyn’s arm and reached for the picture. “What are their terms?”
Rose walked over. “They want our city.” There was fire in her eyes. “We leave Las Vegas and turn over our operations to Zasha, or they kill our son.”
“But that’s not going to happen.” A small voice spoke from behind Rose. Every eye in the room swung toward her.
The little girl was sitting up on the couch, her huge brown eyes turned to Carwyn. “You’re going to find Lucas. Rose told me.”
He walked over and knelt beside the girl. “My name is Carwyn. What’s your name?”
“Anna.”
“I am going to do everything I can to find your brother.” His eyes were locked with Anna’s. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” She crossed her legs and dragged her cat into her lap. The animal purred as the little girl began to stroke its fur. “You’re going to find my brother, and then Rose is going to cut off the head of the vampire who took him.”
Three
Lucas stared at the wall across from the narrow bed where he’d woken up the day before.
You haven’t spent much time on boats.
The thought entered his mind; he examined it, then filed it away like Agnes had taught him. He took in as much of his surroundings as he could. Small room, mild rocking, but not enough to make him ill. There was fresh air coming in from the vents.
What does the air smell like?Agnes’s voice whispered in his mind.
It smells like… nothing.
It smelled like any other air he would smell waking up in the morning and walking out to the garden. It was dry and a little dusty.
What does that mean?
I’m in a boat but not on the ocean.
They’re keeping you from us.
Agnes and Rose were both earth vampires, so the boat made sense. If he was anywhere on land, they’d be able to track him. When he was a child, they’d pricked his fingers, tasted his blood, and told him it was for his own safety.
At the time Lucas had been terrified, but he’d looked at Anna and his sister had smiled. She held out her hand and watched Rose intently as the blood welled and her vampire mother tasted her little finger.
Once we’ve tasted your blood, if you’re ever lost, we’ll be able to find you.
