I am protecting you. Just as I intend to protect Tamara.

You are failing miserably!

Grief held me hostage. I would not lose my daughter. I was her mother. She was mine to protect, mine to care for, mine to rescue.

d.a.m.n it! Let me out!

I will contact you the minute we have her. I'm sorry, Eva. It is in your best interest to stay in the facility.

He cut off contact. I wanted to scream. If my friends wouldn't help me, I had no choice.

Evangeline.

Lucifer sat on the end of the cot. Stunned, I stared at her. How the h.e.l.l had she gotten in here? The cat watched me for a long moment, then tilted her head.

"Nefert.i.ti," I whispered.

"Meow," she agreed. She leapt from the bed. I watched in amazement as she morphed into a pet.i.te, caramel-skinned beauty.

Her long black hair fell to her waist. Except for the ankh necklace draped around her swanlike neck, she wore nothing.

I pointed at her, embarra.s.sed. "Do you have to be naked?"

"You Americans," she said in a disgusted tone. Her voice was lovely, etched with an accent I couldn't place. "Such a distorted sense of modesty." She wandered around the cell. "Is this how your friends treat you? It appears you don't need enemies."

Too curious to stall the question, I asked, "How could you Turn Johnny, then bind with him?"

"Because it was necessary." She laughed, but the sound was cruel. "I gave him immortality and power beyond imagining." She lifted an elegant shoulder. "I am royalty. He is nothing."

I wanted to tell her that she was selfish and unkind. Johnny deserved better than her. What would she do after the requisite hundred years were over? Probably find another victim.

"The taint worked much faster than we thought possible," she mused. "I hope you are able to serve your purpose before you die."

"Gee, thanks," I said. "But I called you, remember?"

"Did you?" she asked slyly. "They stuffed you into this cell and left you. That's so sad."

"I must've done something. They would never..." My tongue felt thick and unwieldy. I was suddenly glad I couldn't cry because I couldn't bear to show such weakness in front of this heartless woman. I thought getting the taint was bad enough. But losing my daughter and my friends and Lorcan, not to mention my freedom, was much worse.

Smirking, she sauntered toward me. She put her palm on my forehead and looked deeply into my eyes. "You will accompany me."

The words flowed into my mind with cool arrogance. I envisioned each word as a soap bubble and popped every one. I pushed her arm off my head and said, "No."

She stared at me, her expression flabbergasted. "It should not be possible." Then her eyes narrowed. She leaned forward and touched the gold rose. "Lorcan's symbol. He protects you, but does not claim you." She pulled off the brooch and tossed it onto the bed. Cold rushed over me. The chill made me shiver inside and out.

Once again, Nefert.i.ti put her palm on my forehead. I let her because I was curious about her so-called power. I prepared for her glamour, clearing my mind and erecting a psychic barrier."You will come with me," she uttered.

I looked into her dark eyes, a.s.sumed a zombie look, and said, "Noooooooooo."

Rearing back as though I'd slapped her, she looked at me from head to toe. She didn't stay unsettled for long. Her expression turned calculating. "Do you know why Lorcan isn't here? Why everyone is gone?"

"I suppose you're going to tell me."

She smiled sweetly. "They are trying to rescue your precious Tamara."

Nefert.i.ti was manipulative and untrustworthy, but in this case, I knew she was telling the truth. "You took her."

Sighing deeply, as though I had bored her beyond her capacity to tolerate, she sat on the cot and crossed her perfect legs. "The beasties have rebelled. We can no longer control them."

"So you need me to corral the mutants you created?" Zarking fardwarks. A werewolf roundup and me without my cowboy hat.

"A bargain, Eva. What you want in exchange for what I want." She lifted her slim hand and studied her nails. Her gaze flicked to mine. "I, too, once viewed the world as you do. Right and wrong. Good and evil. Cleopatra was my queen. The Romans won Egypt-and she died. They thought they owned us. They thought they could do anything they wanted." She sighed, a little too dramatically. "I was raped and killed by a Roman soldier. When I awoke, I was Turned and abandoned."

I felt a sliver of empathy for Nefert.i.ti. I quickly squashed it. Feeling sorry for her would only lead me to a.s.sume she had the ability to feel sorry for others. Her humanity had been re-shaped by her vampire experiences. Unlike Lorcan, Nefert.i.ti didn't question the morality of her actions. She didn't care if she hurt others to reach her goals.

Lorcan, I sent out, have you found Tamara?

He didn't reply. Argh! I leaned my forehead against the wall and tried to decide what to do next. Other than Lorcan, the only people I could connect with weren't really people. Desperation raked me. Damian, are you there?

Nothing. Not even a whisper of thought from that guy.

My fears about Tamara's safety multiplied a hundredfold. I was her mother. I had relied too long on others to watch over her.

I had to use Nefert.i.ti to get me out of this place and find out what was going on. My problem, of course, was that I carried the taint. For whatever reason, I felt good, but who knew how long that would last?

Indecisive, I paced the cell. Frustration roared through me. I had no one. Not one person to count on or to trust or to... help me.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," quoted Nefert.i.ti.

"I don't trust you."

"That is your prerogative. But every moment you waste debating right and wrong is a second on the clock of your daughter's life."

"You are such a b.i.t.c.h." It might not have been the most original description of a backstabbing, morally bankrupt woman, but it was all I could think of at the moment.

"Aw, now you've hurt my feelings.""You don't have any feelings." I couldn't risk Tamara's safety, which meant I had to risk everyone else's. Once I made sure my daughter was unharmed and protected I would voluntarily return to my cell.

Nefert.i.ti had managed to get inside a secured house, then into an even more secure lab without being noticed. Though she probably had the ability to sparkle in and out of places, she couldn't have gotten into the cells that way. During my first tour of the facility, Stan had explained that the cells were immune to that skill, mostly because of preventive spells cast by Lorcan and Patrick.

She toyed with the ankh necklace. "I will help you rescue your daughter."

That wasn't a good incentive for me. I didn't want Nefert.i.ti anywhere near my child. All the same, I wouldn't be satisfied until I saw that Tamara was safe and sound. And I could use this opportunity to free Faustus. The man deserved to live-or to die as he wished.

"I want to take Faustus with us."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes. "You'll have to get undressed. The spell doesn't work on clothes."

"What spell?"

Gripping the ankh, she whispered incomprehensibly. I expected her to turn into the cat, but instead her body turned translucent.

She offered her hand. "You must hold on to me."

I found myself peeling off my pajamas. As vile as it was to touch Nefert.i.ti, I grasped her hand. It felt squishy and cold. In an instant, my own body turned clear. I felt like a walking blob of Jell-O as we stepped through the cell door. Pa.s.sing through a solid object hit number one on my Top Ten Weird Vampire Talents. It felt like being squeezed through a strainer.

When we arrived in the hallway, we solidified. Nefert.i.ti let go of my hand.

"I need clothes," I said.

"Why?"

"Because I can't put on a cat suit and slink around like you do."

She led me to the entrance to the prison. On the left side of the door was a row of pegs. Each held a long white lab coat. I was getting seriously tired of the color white. "Beggars can't be choosers," I muttered as I took one and slipped it on. I b.u.t.toned it to my chin.

"You have two minutes to convince the lycan to come with us, Eva." Her eyes reminded me of obsidian. I think it riled her to know that she couldn't control me. "Do not betray me."

If I had been a tough heroine in a blockbuster movie, maybe Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider, I might have snapped off "Or what?" But as Eva the animal-loving librarian, my response was... nothing.

The floor was as white and smooth as the walls. My bare feet slapped against the slick surface as I walked to the end of the hall to Faustus's cell.

Faustus waited for us. His gaze flicked to my ankles; he growled menacingly. I looked down and saw Nefert.i.ti, now in the cat form of Lucifer, giving herself a bath. Yuck.

I don't like her, either. But she can free you.

Faustus raised his head to stare at me. You cannot trust her. She never agrees to any pact unless she gains something from it.

You wanted to get out, remember? She says that your friends have rebelled and they've stolen my daughter.

She lies.

Does she lie about you?

His black lips pulled back and he bared his teeth. I was getting better at mind reading. I had seen an image flash into his mind, but that instant gave me all the information I needed.

Revenge is a terrible thing, isn't it? You killed her, so she Turned you.

Laughter filtered into my mind. Ah, so she fed you that bulls.h.i.t story about the Roman soldier who raped and killed her. I never raped her. I loved her.

But you killed her?

Crime pa.s.sionnel. She was f.u.c.king half the Roman army. She made a fool of me! Nefert.i.ti craves power and wealth, just like her b.i.t.c.h queen. At least Cleopatra did what she did for Egypt. There is honor in sacrifice for your people, for your country. Nefert.i.ti serves only herself.

His gaze once again flicked to Nefert.i.ti. She had wandered away to look into the cell next to Faustus's. I had never known anyone as cold-hearted as she.

I will stay here, Eva. I would rather my enemy's sword pierce my heart than my friend's dagger stab me in the back.

I was disappointed by his decision, but it was his to make. Take care, Faustus.

Fac fortia et patere. He put his palm against the barrier. I put mine against it, too, and matched where his palm pressed. Do brave deeds and endure.

Chapter 24

I shed my clothing again so we could liquefy and go through the thick metal door that led out of the prison ward. I found another lab coat draped over a chair and slipped it on.

No one was in the laboratory, not even Stan, who practically lived down here. Uneasiness p.r.i.c.kled my scalp. I followed Nefert.i.ti up the stairs. The security door was wide open.

"Where is everyone?"

"Gone."

So Nefert.i.ti wasn't so much clever as opportunistic. I really did not like her.

The house was dark and had the feel of hurried abandonment. In the foyer, I could see through to the formal living room.

Furniture was knocked over, cushions ripped, gla.s.s shattered.

"What happened?"

"I told you," said Nefert.i.ti. "The beasts rebelled. They attacked your friends and took your daughter."

Lorcan, Jessica, and everyone else must be dealing with the fallout. Had the mutant lycans or the Wraiths attacked? And was Tamara safe-or not?

"Take me to my daughter."

"Or you'll do what?" asked Nefert.i.ti. "You're a librarian, for the love of Isis."

Her smirk grated on my last nerve. Before I could second-guess my actions, I grabbed her chin and stared into her soulless eyes. I seized her mind and demanded, "Take me to Tamara."

"Yes," said Nefert.i.ti immediately. "I will do as you ask."

I released her chin. To make sure I was in control, I pointed to the curtains that framed the windows on either side of the front door. "Wrap one of those around yourself."

Nefert.i.ti yanked off the pretty gold fabric and created a toga for herself. She looked at me, her eyes glazed.

"Very good. Now take me to Tamara."

We left the house and walked down the curved driveway. The bushes that lined the drive shook, and then Bert bounded out of the shrubbery, barking joyously.