Page 65 of Night of the Vampire
"Funny," she said after a moment. "But I really think you are."
"Glad we got that straightened out," I told her. "Now if there's nothing else I can do for you..."
"Why are you hunting Lizzy?"
"Hunting?" I laughed at that. "I'm not doing any such thing."
"You went to see her at her at Ancient Magicks. More than once. Why?"
"I think you already know that."
"Yes, she told me you asked her to help one of your friends."
I felt her magic touching me, testing me, and a released a heavy sigh and went back behind the desk, taking a seat in the black, leather chair and indicating for her to do the same. The wooden barrier between us would make no difference at all if it came down to it. But at least now I had access to the panic button near my right knee. A quick push was all it would take to bring every vampire in here running to my aid.
Once she was seated across from me, I said, "I would offer you something to drink..."
"I'm fine, thank you," she told me. "Now, tell me what game you're playing with my niece."
Anger filled me, swift and hard. "It's no game, and you know that."
"Don't you bare your fangs at me, vampire. It's rude."
"Don't act like you don't have any idea of what I'm talking about," I countered. "I wouldn't have had to go to Lizzy at all if it wasn't for your coven and your games. You went after one of my own. I think that makes any agreement we had about your safety null and void." I tilted my head to the side as I studied her. "I'm surprised you had the balls to show up here like this. Alone. Outnumbered."
Slowly, she sat back in her seat and linked her fingers over her rounded stomach, but her blue eyes were cold as ice. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about what you, or one of your witches, did to Kenya."
"Kenya?” Her careful expression cracked, replaced by one of genuine concern. “What's happened to Kenya?"
"Don't act like you don't know."
Judy leaned forward, her blue eyes gleaming nearly white as they pierced mine. "Killian, I swear to you, we did nothing to Kenya. If something has happened to her, it was not me or any of my witches who brought it about."
My instincts were telling me she was sincere. Could she be telling the truth?
"Go ahead," she told me. "Dig around in my head if it'll make you feel better."
Without pause, I took her up on her offer and quickly discovered my instincts had been right. "This isn't possible."
If it wasn't the local witch coven, then who the hell had done this?
"She was struck down by a spell. Jamal saw it happen with his own eyes and I, myself, can feel the magic that cursed her every time I'm around her."
"It wasn't us, Killian." She threw her hands in the air. "For the goddess's sake, why would we go after Kenya? She's a sweet girl, for a vampire. I actually like her. If I wanted to cause any one of you misery, it would be you. Or perhaps Elias," she added as an afterthought. "He's too cocky for his own good."
"That's been our question as well."
"Why didn't you come to me right away?"
Disbelief twisted my features. "So you could do the same to me?"
She sat back again. "I see your point."
"Shite!" I leaned back in my chair and studied the priestess. She was telling the truth. Either it wasn't her witches, or someone had gone behind her back. "Is it possible you just didn't know?"
She lifted one eyebrow, her thumbs rubbing one over the other. "Are you asking me if one of my family went behind my back?"
