"What? That woman's name is Ginger. I've known her for-" Before I could finish, the accuracy of Deylaud's a.s.sertion hit home.

Her scent, the taste of her blood, her style of s.e.xuality, the change in her personality. It all suggested that Deylaud was right.

"How could it be?" he asked.

I began to pace the room. "When Jack came back from the underworld, he was accompanied by a ball of fire that flew up the chimney. It could have been Eleanor's life force escaping from the underworld."

"How did Eleanor's spirit get into this Ginger woman?"

"Ginger worked for Eleanor. Perhaps Eleanor's spirit went to the site of her old home and found Ginger there. It was her home, too."

"If that is what happened, then what became of this poor Ginger's spirit?"

"Poor Ginger is right," I said. "I am loath to think of it. I must go confront Eleanor."

"Confront her?" Deylaud asked, puzzled. "I feel sorry for the other woman as well, but William, surely this is joyous news. Even though she doesn't look the same, we have Eleanor back with us!"

I hated to burden this sensitive creature, but the time had come for me to tell him the truth. "Deylaud, you don't know everything about Eleanor and her death."

"What do you mean?"

"Before she...died, Eleanor betrayed me. She betrayed all of us. It was she who put Hugo and Diana up to kidnapping Renee. It was she who told them the value Renee could be to them through her magic blood. When I found Renee, she was within a hairbreadth of being sacrificed to the Council of old lords. And it was all Eleanor's doing."

Deylaud issued a choking sound and tears spilled from his eyes. "It can't be. She wouldn't have-"

"But she did."

A look of horror crossed Deylaud's face. "You-you killed her, didn't you? You killed her yourself!"

I nodded, unable to bring myself to say the words. I decided to spare Deylaud the most painful part of my tale-the way in which Eleanor had been disfigured and tortured in the underworld.

Deylaud bared his teeth and issued a deep, rumbling growl as if he wished to rip me to shreds. It was a disconcerting thing to see, as he was in human form.

"Deylaud, no!" I showed him my fangs and he whimpered, giving me my due as his de facto pack leader. "Remember your love for Renee, and ask yourself how you would have felt if I'd brought Eleanor back here alive after what she had done. Could any of us ever have trusted her again? Or, even worse, ask yourself how you would have felt if Renee had been murdered in the most cruel way imaginable.

"But most of all, remember how Eleanor led you astray, taking you with her to her brothel when you were sworn to stay by my side or face the punishment of a cruel curse. And think of how she left you behind to die. If Jack had not saved you, you would have. Your sister, Reyha, surely would then have died of a broken heart."

Deylaud burst into tears and came into my arms. I stroked his sandy hair and held him, murmuring words of comfort. After a few moments he stood apart from me and, his head downcast, asked to be excused.

"Of course," I said, and Deylaud ran upstairs, no doubt to seek solace in the arms of his littermate.

I slumped into my desk chair, still plagued by a weariness I couldn't remember ever having experienced before. By the G.o.ds, I thought, she had sapped my strength. Female blood drinkers draw power from their male counterparts during s.e.x. It is the reason there are comparatively few female vampires. Before they become more powerful than their paramours, they are usually murdered.

I had reconciled myself to becoming less powerful than Eleanor one day. I had trusted her that much. But now it seemed that the demon she had become could somehow weaken me much more quickly than was natural.

I remembered then how Eleanor had tried to trick me into a blood exchange in the back room of the Portal. She was making a bid to turn Ginger's body into that of a vampire. She had failed in her attempt to use glamour on Deylaud, so she lacked the full power of a vampire. Yet she still had the ability to weaken me. I could only conclude that the power to benefit from a male blood drinker's essence must reside in the spirit, since her spirit now occupied the body of a human being.

I had to find Eleanor and kill her before she could do any damage-even if it meant that Ginger's body must be sacrificed. What in the world had happened to the poor girl's spirit when Eleanor took over?

I was preparing to go to Ginger's apartment when the phone rang. It was Olivia. "William, I just got Deylaud's message and looked at the fax." She spoke rapidly, and her voice was unnaturally high.

"Do you know who this vampire is?"

"Unfortunately, yes. He goes by the name of Damien, and we have it on good authority that he works directly with the Council."

"Do you know him personally?"

"Again, and even more unfortunately, yes. He tried to join our clan about six months ago. He was on his best behavior at first, and everyone liked him. Then Alger caught him stealing some of his more sensitive doc.u.ments, and they had a row. Damien left, but not before we saw his true colors. He's a very nasty and dangerous character. Surely Alger must have told you about the vicious fight they had."

"No, I'm sure he didn't. I would have remembered."

"Male pride," Olivia muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"Alger probably didn't want you to know how close Damien came to killing him. My sire thought he was invincible, you know. He was convinced no one short of one of the old lords could have bested him in a fight."

"Until one of them did," I said, thinking of how Reedrek lay in his granite sarcophagus, slowly going more and more insane.

"Do you know what was in the doc.u.ments he stole?"

"I wish I could tell you I remember. At that time, I wasn't too concerned with Alger's research. He was secretive about it anyway, and I just didn't make it my business to keep up with it. Of course, I thought my Algernon would live forever, and so did he. Now it seems so long ago that he was here with me..." I could hear the sorrow in her voice. It occurred to me that she must have suffered terribly the other night hearing me recount what I'd discovered concerning a twice-killed vampire's experience in the underworld. I hoped that Alger had somehow managed to escape so cruel a fate, but I didn't see how it was possible.

"I'm frightened for you, William," Olivia said. "If this man is still working directly for the Council, he may have come there on a mission for them."

"I'm afraid you're right. He has impersonated someone in Tobey's clan, someone who's gone missing. The plot took some time to set up. He'd already become friendly with Werm. My guess is that his ultimate plan was to work his way into my inner circle as a spy."

"That must be the way he operates," Olivia said.

"He certainly seemed harmless enough when he tried to join our ranks. I wish I knew of some advice to give you besides-be careful."

"Thank you, we shall. Before I let you go, my dear, may I speak to my son?"

"Uh, Will left here shortly after you did."

"But he told both of us that he planned to stay there with you." I had been glad when he and Olivia had started getting on well, and had hoped she would be a stabilizing influence on him. "Why did he leave?"

"He and Donovan have some blood feud that goes back centuries. I believe that Will might have murdered one or more of Donovan's loved ones. At any rate, Donovan wouldn't let it go, so Will decided it would be best for him to leave before one of them got hurt."

This was troubling news indeed. Donovan was as civilized and intelligent as any blood drinker I'd ever met, but I remembered his reaction on seeing Will the night that I left London. "Did Will say where he was going?"

"No, not specifically. He indicated that he intended to roam around for a while. He's been under Hugo's thumb and under the influence of his mother for so long, I think he wanted to see something of the world and be on his own."

I had wanted for my son the protection afforded by a strong clan of right-thinking blood drinkers. Now that security was lost to him. "It can't be helped, then. If you hear from him, tell him that he is welcome in Savannah." By me, at least. Jack was another story.

"Have your informants reported seeing any sign of Diana and Ulrich?" My wife and her new lover had been buried in a landslide the last I'd seen of them. I liked to think the lance I'd heaved into Ulrich's throat had killed the evil blood drinker, but he'd survived the last time I'd nearly severed his head, so I couldn't count on it.

"No sign whatsoever," Olivia said. "Let's hope they're being tortured in the underworld as we speak."

"Indeed." I bade Olivia good-bye and hung up the phone. Perhaps it had been a mistake to beckon Will to Savannah through Olivia. My city was looking more and more like one of the most dangerous ports of call in the world for vampires.

I made my way upstairs and Melaphia met me in the kitchen. "You're up late," I said. "You haven't been staying up all night researching again, have you?"

"Deylaud woke me with his weeping. I'm sorry you had to tell him about what happened to Eleanor. But what is this about her being back in Savannah? Surely Deylaud became confused in his grief."

As I put on my coat to go out, I caught Melaphia up on the matters with Ginger's possession and Damien the impostor.

"My lord," Melaphia said, and sat down at the kitchen table as if she would faint were she to remain standing. "What are we going to do?"

"Try not to be overwhelmed," I told her, patting her shoulder. "This too shall pa.s.s."

"I don't hear a lot of conviction in your voice," she said wearily.

I shrugged. "I must admit we've had a lot to absorb lately."

"Want to hear some good news?"

"More than you can imagine."

"It's actually one of those good news/bad news situations to tell you the truth," she admitted.

"Start with the good news. Please."

"I hoped you'd say that. I think I've found a way to send the double-deads-to coin a phrase-back to the underworld where they belong."

"That is wonderful news. Well done."

"You haven't heard the bad news yet."

"Tell me."

"The catch is, once they're there, there's no coming back here. Ever."

"I thought you said you had bad news," I said, puzzled.

"Think about it. If you or Jack ever decided to travel there again, the G.o.ds forbid, you couldn't unless you're prepared to stay there for eternity. If one of you gets in trouble and winds up there..." Melaphia shuddered and rubbed her arms. "The other will not be able to save him."

I sighed. "Inasmuch as I have forbidden Jack to visit the underworld again for any reason, and I am certainly not anxious to go back there, I think we can live with those terms. How soon do you think you can accomplish this?"

"I'll have to work around the clock. I haven't nailed down the exact formulas, but with luck and with Deylaud's help I hope I can get the spells prepared by the time we need them."

"Good. I can't thank you enough. But I don't want you working twenty-four hours a day. It's time you got some rest." I kissed her good night on the cheek and left by the front door.

When I entered the hallway leading to Ginger's apartment, I could see that the door was ajar as if she had left in quite a hurry. As I drew closer, I saw that a note had been pinned to the door with a stiletto. I pulled the paper free and read its terse message.

William, by this time and with Deylaud's help, you will have figured it out. Don't try to find me. I'll find you when the time is right. And then I'll kill you. Eleanor.

Jack "You-you tried to kill me? That's impossible! Don't you think I would remember a vampire trying to rip my throat out?" "I used glamour on you. To...anesthetize you."

Connie backed away from me, and the terror and pain in her eyes ripped me apart. I wanted to gather her back into my arms and tell her I was sorry, tell her all the reasons William had given me for why she would have been better off. But I couldn't because of the chance, however so slight, that she might harm herself in order to get back to her son. And because I had to leave her hating me.

She looked wildly around for a weapon. I decided anything was better than the panic I saw on her face. I turned to the table with the little shrine and picked up the wooden cross. I tossed it to her as quickly as I could, but it had seared itself into my flesh by the time I could release it. She caught it and held it up in front of her.

"Good girl," I said softly, gripping my burned and smoking hand with my good one. "I'm not going to hurt you anymore, but that will make you feel safe."

"What stopped you?" she demanded, tears of pain and anger beginning a path down her cheeks. "Why didn't you kill me like you were supposed to?"

I had antic.i.p.ated this question, but with the pain of the cross seared in my hand, I couldn't think straight. "I don't know," I said lamely. "I just couldn't."

"I thought you loved me," she said, choking back a sob. "You said you did."

I do. I do. I do. I nearly doubled over, not so much from the pain as from wanting to tell her how I really felt. Stick to the plan, Jack. "It could never have worked out for us anyway, not in the long term," I ground out through gritted teeth. "I mean, I couldn't have even given you children 'cause vampires are, like, sterile. All chicks want kids, right?"

She blinked a few times as if she couldn't believe her ears and the cavalier att.i.tude I was putting on. "You never loved me at all, did you?"

That question, and my inability to answer it honestly, completed my demolition, molecule by molecule. I couldn't have spoken at that moment if I'd had to. I only shrugged and looked away, hoping Connie would a.s.sume the moisture in my eyes was from the pain in my hand.

"So what am I supposed to do?" she said. "Just wait here for another vampire to come along and kill me? One who's got the guts?"

I felt as if the hatred in her voice had flayed the flesh from my bones. I forced myself to say "My advice is to leave here as soon as you can. And watch your back. Good luck."

Blindly I staggered to the door, crashing into the little table that held the shrine as I went. As I twisted the k.n.o.b with my good hand and slipped out, I heard the little statue of the Virgin Mary crash to the floor and shatter into what sounded like a million pieces.

"I'm sorry, Blessed Mother," I murmured as I ran down the hallway. "Me and my heart are right there with you."

Fourteen.

William I arose from my coffin at sundown feeling out of sorts from lack of sleep. I'd lain awake most of the day puzzling out what to do about Eleanor and the vampire Damien.

Trying to shake off the gloom, I took a walk through the tunnels to where Reedrek was entombed in the cornerstone of the new hospital. Perhaps I could goad some information from the old b.a.s.t.a.r.d yet. Not that I'd had any luck before, but I honestly couldn't think of what else I might do. It was better than just sitting around.

Eleanor and Damien could be anywhere. I tried to reach Eleanor through our psychic sire-offspring connection, but she was either out of range geographically or was successfully blocking my thoughts. As for Damien, I felt there was little I could do other than wait for him to resurface. In a best-case scenario, he might have left the area since we had found him out, but best cases were few and far between these days.

As I reached the tunnel wall behind which Reedrek lay, I projected my thoughts. "Rise and shine."

"Eh?" my sire said telepathically. "What do you want, offspring?"

"I've awoken in a good mood," I lied. "I thought perhaps you might enjoy an outing."

I perceived nothing from Reedrek for several moments, then: "An outing? What do you propose?"