Page 36 of Night of the Vampire
"But why?" she asked. "Why live out here when you have such a beautiful home in the Quarter?"
I debated making up some passable excuse, but then reconsidered. I was going to wipe her memory of this place, and that would include anything we discussed since we'd left the highway. There was no reason I couldn't tell her the truth. Truths she wouldn't recall tomorrow. I just needed her to try to heal Kenya, and if being straight up with her would help her trust me, then I was all for it.
"Because we believe it was one of your family who cast this spell on my friend that's killing her, and we brought her here, where they can't find us, so they don't find her and rush the job."
"That's what you meant when you said it was one of my own kind."
"Yes."
"But why would they want to hurt her?"
The old house came into view, and I sighed with relief when I felt the weight of her stare leave me to take it all in. From the front, the weathered wood gave it the impression of being a large fishing shack. And the inside wasn't much better. But it had a big back porch we would occasionally find a gator sunning itself on, and watching Jamal wrestle it away made for some good entertainment.
"We're here," I told her.
She was distracted enough by the unsightly mess that she was quiet as she got out of the car and followed me to the front door. I felt a sense of rightness when she walked into that old swamp house. Almost as though she belonged there. The same thing I'd felt having her grace my home in the Quarter. But that was insane.
Lizzy didn't belong in a place like this. She should be surrounded by expensive things and draped in jewels and clothing you couldn't buy off the rack. Things that would enhance her beauty, not make her the diamond in the rough.
Jamal was waiting in the living room when we walked in. He turned off the crime show he was watching and stood up when he spotted Lizzy. She stopped abruptly as she took in all six foot two inches of him.
"Jamal, this is Lizzy. Lizzy, this is Jamal. My friend." I looked at him as I made the introduction, half expecting him to deny it.
She gave him a timid smile, one he returned. "Good to meet you," he told her. "Thank you for coming here."
"I don't think I can help your friend," she blurted. "But Killian insisted and..." She lifted her hands in a helpless gesture.
"Yeah, he's stubborn like that." He gave me a warning look, which I returned with one of my own. Jamal was one of the few who could get away with something like that with me, and it was only because of our long history. But that didn't mean I liked it.
"Don't sell yourself short," I told Lizzy. "We won't know until you try."
She asked if she could use the restroom and I pointed her in the direction of the hallway. "First door on your right."
"Thanks. I'll be right out." Taking off her sweater, she folded it over her arm as she walked past the kitchen and down the hall.
When she was gone, Jamal stepped in closer to me. "You know she doesn't believe it's a spell. How is she going to heal Kenya if she doesn't even believe in it?"
"I’m well aware of that," I told him. "But I'm hoping that when she sees Kenya she'll... Shite, I don't know. Feel something. Sense something. And maybe she'll be able to work off of that."
Jamal started to say something else, but snapped his jaw shut when Lizzy came out of the restroom.
"We'll talk later," I told him, then joined Lizzy to lead her back down the hallway. "This way."
I placed my hand on the small of her back. The warmth of her skin seeped through her clothing to heat my palm. Before I realized what I was doing, I had her T-shirt gripped in my fist. Quickly, I released what I was doing and dropped my hand before she could notice.
"I apologize for the stench," I told her quietly while we were still in the hall, knowing that Kenya would hear me if she was awake and not wanting to embarrass her.
Lizzy acknowledged my apology with a "there's no need" and waited while I knocked softly on the door. I stuck my head inside. "You have a visitor."
Chapter 14
Killian
Kenya's eyes fluttered open when we entered the room, dazed with pain. It was the only acknowledgment I received. Her face was drained of all color, her lips cracked and dry, each labored breath rattling loudly in her chest.
Momentarily forgetting about Lizzy, I rushed into the room and felt her forehead. She was burning alive from the inside out. "Jamal!"
Kenya reached for me and I took her hand, pressing it to my lips. "I've got you."
