Chapter 22

Blood gushed into my mouth. There was so much, it flowed between our bodies and onto the bed. It tasted wonderful.

Powerful.

Lorcan yelled and cursed, struggling beneath me. I held on and I drank as much as I could, but most of it spattered on us. It smelled like rust, like death.

Close. So close.

I heard Lorcan muttering in Gaelic. Prayers. He was going to pa.s.s to the Other Side. Just like I would. We'd be together in heaven. We'd be forever happy.

Then my body lifted upward. I hurtled toward the ceiling but shuddered to a stop before slamming into it. Below me, the luscious, naked Lorcan was covered in blood. Without me to keep it open, the vicious wound on his neck began to heal.

"No!" I cried, flailing toward him. "No! I must end your pain!"

He rolled off the bed. With a few muttered words he was clean and dry and clothed. He stared at me as if I were a monster. As if I had betrayed him.

"Did you want revenge so much that you would seduce me and try to kill me? I believed you, Eva. I believed your words of forgiveness and of second chances. Did you think your final act on this earth would be to murder your murderer?"

"Why would I think that?" I asked, confused. I was trying to figure out why Lorcan was contradicting himself. If he wanted to die, then why didn't he let me finish the job? "You said if I loved you, I would end your suffering. You begged me to do it."

Realization dawned in his gaze. The fury sparkling in his silver eyes turned to horror. And I recognized pity, too. I had seen that emotion in a lot of eyes over the years. Everyone pitied me. They thought a young single mother without an education working as a waitress deserved pity. But I had been happy. My life had been good. Why pity me?

Slowly, I was lowered to the floor. Lorcan shot sparkles of gold at me. When I looked down, I too was clean, dry, and clothed.

I was bound by a winding rope of gold light. Amazed, I stared at it. Why was Lorcan binding me? What was wrong?

"The taint has done this to you," he said. "I let my guilt and anger goad me into a reprehensible conclusion. We almost lost you last night. And tonight I had only hoped to speak with you, and I couldn't believe it when you... Oh, G.o.d. What have I done?"

When I awoke, my head hurt.

Ouch. I thought vampires couldn't get headaches.

The bed on which I slept was narrow and spongy-soft. After a few seconds, the throbbing in my skull relented and I sat up.

I wasn't in my fancy bedroom anymore.

I was in the prison. The real prison.

Terror a.s.sailed me. Why had they put me in here?

Scurrying off the bed, I paced the cell. I couldn't remember anything. Images were vague... fluttering away like fickle b.u.t.terflies.

I had gone to sleep the same as every night. And I had woken up here. I walked to the plastic barrier and pressed my palms against it. "h.e.l.lo?"

No one answered.

I returned to the bed and sat down. I was wearing a pair of white silk pajamas. Lorcan's gold rose sparkled from its spot below my collarbone. My throat knotted. How could Jessica and Patrick lock me in here? How could Lorcan allow it?

Horror slowly infiltrated my fearful confusion.

I couldn't remember.

I vaguely recalled Lorcan coming into my room, but everything after that was a blank. I sure as h.e.l.l didn't remember getting hauled into this place.

Had I done something terrible? Had the taint driven me mad? Then screwed with my memory? Or had someone else gotten inside my head?

These thoughts were beyond terrifying.

I sat on the cot and a.s.sessed the situation. I wasn't tired or confused or frustrated. Suddenly, I realized I felt healthy and normal. But maybe that was the taint lying to me.

"Patient LeRoy, Evangeline L.," said an electronic voice. "Prepare for feeding."

I looked around the too-white room. It was big, square, boring, and spa.r.s.e. Then I heard a whirring sound. A panel near the bed slid up and a small shelf popped out. On it was a plastic tube. I looked through the tiny square. I couldn't see anything; it was as if the tube was part of the wall. I picked it up. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Your donor is prepared. Insert the tube into your mouth, Patient LeRoy."

Temporarily resigned to my situation, I put the tube into my mouth. Blood shot through it. Human blood. Had they determined that donors weren't carriers of the taint? I thought about Bert. Where was he?

After a few moments, the blood stopped flowing. I put the tube onto the shelf. It retracted and the square door shut. I bet dollars to donuts I'd consumed a pint exactly.

"Hey!" I yelled. "Get someone in here. I want to know what's going on!"

n.o.body responded. Frustration nipped at me.

"Where's my daughter? What have you done with Tamara?"

"Please remain calm, Patient LeRoy," said the electronic voice.

"Shut up," I muttered.

"Patient LeRoy is uncontrollable. Initiating measures to subdue."

"What?" I heard a hissing noise. I couldn't see the gas, but I could smell it. The air changed temperature as it filled the cell.

"Stop!"

You would think that a vampire who didn't require breath wouldn't be affected by a gas, but with Dr. Stan Michaels on the job, chances were good that he'd figured out a way to do it. Drowsy, my vision blurring, I stumbled to the bed.

I couldn't believe this was happening to me. This was a bad dream. A nightmare. Lorcan, I sent out, where are you?

When I awoke from my forced nap, I thought immediately of Lorcan. Are you there? Tell me if Tamara is all right.

She is well.

Relief rolled through me. At least he could hear me. My heart clenched as I thought about my daughter. Did she know I was here?

She thinks you are undergoing treatments.

What did I do to deserve imprisonment? Did I hurt anybody? He didn't respond. Anxiety crawled into my gut. I stared out the clear plastic wall. The cell across from me was empty and the hallway was dimly lit. Seconds ticked by without a response.

Lorcan?

You don't remember?

I went to sleep in my bedroom and I woke up here. If something happened-oh, G.o.d. What did I do? Nothing. You didn't hurt anybody. You were confused and a little... violent. We put you in the cell for your protection.

I'm sorry, Eva, but I must go.

Wait! Where is everybody? I'm alone! Help me, Lorcan.

I am.

He left my mind and I knew instantly that no matter how many times I tried to connect with him, he wouldn't answer.

Scrabbling noises echoed down the hallway.

Faustus?

I could almost feel his pause. Then he said, Who are you?

It's me, Eva. I'm glad you are alive and well.

I am alive, at any rate.

The Consortium hadn't implemented their "kind" option of killing him. Or maybe the Committee to Kill Prisoners hadn't convened yet. I wondered if I had made the list of consideration. The very idea that a group who knew nothing about me or what I wanted could decide to a.s.sa.s.sinate me made me feel helpless. And angry.

Is that you down the hall, Eva?

Yes. I woke up in this cell. I don't remember how I got here. I don't remember anything.

I can be of no help in that regard. Do you know what they plan for us?

No.

It does not matter. Death is what awaits me. The only question is by which method I will be dispatched.

Faustus... there is still hope.

He chuckled. Do you know the story of Pandora's box?

Of course. But the box was probably a jar. There is some confusion about the origins of the myth and even about Pandora- Another chuckle caressed my mind. The origin of the tale is unimportant, as are all of its incarnations. Scholars argue over the silliest things. So, to the point-When Pandora opened the box, all the evils were released into the world.

And hope, too, I pointed out. Hope helps us through the disappointments and the sorrows.

Hope is evil, too. Hope gives us false beliefs. It allows us to distort reality and live in denial. Is it not better to face life squarely? To live with honor and to face the truth without flinching, no matter how painful... is that not better than hope?

I didn't want to concede his point, although it sounded uncomfortably close to my mother's philosophy. I believed my mother had decided she would rather pa.s.s from this life than fight an illness that had already won. After her death, I had devoured numerous books about every kind of spiritual philosophy and life-after-death theories. I remember one author saying that we all had exit points-that we decided when to die-we could stay or we could go. I wondered what the same author would think about vampires. Did near-immortals have exit points?I turned my thoughts back to Faustus.

Why are you with the Wraiths?

I am no one's friend and no one's enemy. I felt his sigh ghost across my mind. I contracted the taint. We were told that a lycan-blood transfusion was the first part of the cure. They blackmailed us into doing various tasks to get the second part.

What was your task?

I was supposed to capture you, but both attempts failed. They promised me the final part of the cure if I would bring you to them.

I was surprised to know that he and the others had intentionally sought me out that first night. If I hadn't been looking for Lucky, would they have come to the house? Realization dawned. Oh, my G.o.d. Nefert.i.ti had lured me to her location so that Faustus could take another go at me. She had known about my telepathic abilities. But how?

Why did you go with us? I asked.

Because you wanted me to go. I felt... compelled.

I glamoured you? I didn't mean to do that.

You would do well to learn your powers and harness them.

What's the point? I have the taint, too.

I am sorry. He hesitated. Then, Do you have hope, Eva?

Yes, I lied. I always have hope.

He was silent for so long, I thought he was done speaking to me. Then he said: Eva, do you know where your daughter is?

Chapter 23

Lorcan, why didn't you tell me Tamara is gone?

I didn't want to worry you. We are all searching for her, Eva. You have no need to worry.

You lied to me.