"Of all the stupid things..." she muttered.

You've got that right.

A ghostly giggle raised the hair on her arms.

"How can you be talking to me?"

Do you remember the witch putting her hands on you and whispering something?

Maeve frowned as images flashed through her mind. Mortianna dropping the torch, Gabrielle laughing, cold hands on either side of her head, then a tremendous flash of pain.

She flinched. "Yes."

She gave you the gift of knowing, more commonly called the Knowledge of the Ages.

"What does that mean?"

You'll figure it out as you go. Right now, you need to get out of this hole or all will be for naught.

Maeve blinked, her mind whirling with possibility. Did she have the ability to escape this h.e.l.l? She looked around. The darkness didn't seem to be as complete as before. She held her hand several inches in front of her face. Yes, she could see the pale outline of her fingers. Excited, she scrambled to her knees. Why was it lighter in here?

She blinked again several more times.

Across from her, a section of the wall looked vaguely lighter than the stone around it. She frowned. That hadn't been there before. How could she have missed such a thing?

Was it a trick?

Does it matter?

She jerked as the voice sounded in her head once more. Was it really her sister? She didn't know for sure. Whatever or whoever it was, it was showing her the way out. She got to her feet and approached the new find, careful to shuffle her feet to avoid tripping over objects scattered about the lumpy floor.

Feeling the walls with her hands, she located the lighter area to realize it was a narrow recess in the wall.

She squeezed into the niche. A fresh draft of air touched her cheeks and she took a deep breath.

Excitement tingled down her spine as she examined her ticket to freedom. A narrow shaft led up into the rock and it was definitely lighter in here. Daylight? Had it been cloudy in here earlier and that was why she'd missed it? Was it a way out? If it was, she was in for a climb.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Finding a handhold, she pulled one foot closer to freedom.

Chapter 12.

Quinn stared at the facade of Mortianna's house. She should think of remodeling it. The sheer number of windows on the south side made for a liability when it came to defense. Then again, who would dare face the dragon in her lair? Only a fool.

Guess that makes me a fool.

He a.s.sessed the situation as he exited the Rover. Through the windows, he saw the minions gathered in a circle around the outer edges of the pentagram. Standing two deep, they surrounded Bliss' coffin, resembling a military honor guard from h.e.l.l. Mortianna was nowhere to be seen.

"Aren't we delivering ourselves right into her hands?" Alexandre Saint-Juste asked as they approached the front door of Mortianna's house. The leader of the Council of Elders had met them outside of London, joining forces with them for the coming confrontation.

"You've got that right," Val muttered. "How do we know this isn't a trap engineered by you and your mother?"

"Regardless of what you think, I'm here to rescue Maeve and put a stop to the nonsense my mother started." Quinn stopped at the door, turning to face his companions. "You don't have to enter. This isn't your battle."

"Like h.e.l.l it isn't," Val answered. "That witch threatened the life of my best friend and aligned herself with Mikhail, who is my problem. This battle is mine whether you like it or not."

Quinn nodded then looked at Alexandre.

He straightened. "I'm the head of the Council of Elders." He threw a wry grin to Val. "Such as it is. It's my duty to protect the interests of those I serve."

"I want both of you to know that I'm not sure I can convince her to back down. This could get ugly real fast. We may very well die here tonight."

Val threw up his hands in mock surrender. "Nowhe tells us."

Alexandre grinned and looked up at the clear night sky where thousands of brilliant stars twinkled. "It wouldn't be a terrible day to die."

Taking that as their acceptance of the situation, Quinn nodded and reached for the doork.n.o.b. "Shouldn't we knock?" Alexandre asked.

He shook his head. "Trust me, she already knows we're here."

Before he could turn the k.n.o.b, the door opened wide to admit them. The entry was empty and gaslights flickered in the breeze from the open door.

"I guess we've just been invited in." Val said, stepping through the door.

Quinn followed with Alexandre close on his heels. The door closed silently behind them.

"Parlor tricks." Val muttered under his breath, contempt dripping from every word.

Quinn nodded. He'd warned them earlier that Mortianna would try and throw them off balance with small feats of magic. If anything, she was predictable.

He led the way to the room where Bliss lay in state. Quickly, he scanned the room and saw that neither Mortianna nor Gabrielle were there. Only the minions stood in their silent rings around the casket.

"d.a.m.n," Alexandre hissed, his gaze locked on the coffin.

Val motioned to him and, together, they approached the coffin, shoving minions out of the way with their hands. The little beasts regrouped seamlessly behind them as if nothing were amiss. Both men stared at his stepsister; Alexandre's face carefully blank while Val's expression was troubled.

"Why?" Val asked. "Why didn't Mortianna bury her daughter?"

"Because I couldn't bear to place my child in the cold earth." Mortianna swept into the room. Dressed in her usual black, Quinn was shocked at how old she looked. Deep grooves bracketed her mouth and her hair was heavily silvered. Her magic was fading even faster now. What caused this drain of her powers and why did she seem to be oblivious to it? Was it theA' bhais Cadail ? Was this the price for using it?

She continued. "I realize, being a vampire, you don't understand my reluctance. But, to us, being underground is abhorrent." She walked to the coffin, the minions parting like water before her.

"On the contrary, Mortianna, not all vampires sleep below ground." Alexandre responded.

"The smart ones do." A small woman entered the room dressed in black leather from head to toe. This could only be Gabrielle. She smiled at Alexandre, her fangs catching the light. "Alexandre, so lovely to see you again. I see you've met my new friend, Mortianna."

The witch gave the vampire an indulgent smile before she redirected her attention to the men. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"You know why we're here." Quinn said. "We've come to retrieve Maeve, among other things."

"Maeve?" Mortianna feigned surprise. "She's doing quite well, I a.s.sure you. We've reached an agreement and she's perfectly content where she is."

"I'd prefer to hear that from her," he responded. She shook her head. "I'm afraid that's impossible, she's quite busy right now. She has much to prepare for."

"You gave her the spell?"

"Oh, that and then some." She nodded, a satisfied smile on her face.

What the h.e.l.l did that mean?

"You gave her more than the binding spell?" Val asked.

"I'll say," Gabrielle drawled.

"Where is she, Mortianna?" Quinn pressed.

"Oh, really, trying to spoil my fun." She rolled her eyes. "Her priorities weren't in line with our goals, so I made a gentle suggestion that she rethink before proceeding any further. I feel it's good to have a plan prior to battle."

"She's not on the premises," Val said. "I can't feel her."

Alexandre nodded agreement.

"You're so right, vampire." Mortianna waved her hands as if to signal the end of the discussion. "Let's talk about her later. I have a feeling we have many more stimulating things to discuss." She gave a chilly smile. "I'd like to invite you to partake of some refreshments. However, I have no fresh blood on hand."

She shrugged.

Quinn was reluctant to let the subject of Maeve go, but, for the moment, he didn't see that he had any choice. All he could do was hope she'd remain safe until he could ascertain her whereabouts. "I'd like to talk to you about your plans with Gabrielle." He nodded in the female vampire's direction.

Mortianna laid a hand on her daughter's coffin. With a great show of unconcern, she traced one of the seams on the gla.s.s lid. "Why is this any of your business, myson ?"

"You made it my business when your actions threatened the lives of innocents." He moved through the lines of the minions, using magic to shove them aside so he didn't have to touch them. "Historically, the witches have never chosen sides nor have we partic.i.p.ated on the Council. When Bliss was on the Council, she was careful to never speak for the witches, only the revenants. Now you're about to change all of that by joining with Mikhail and Gabrielle. What do you hope to gain from this?"

"Control of the Council, of course." She spoke slowly as if he were a child.

"What would you do with control of the Council? What do you hope to accomplish?"

She shrugged. "Wealth, more power, the elimination of vampires."

Gabrielle snapped to attention. "Hey, that's not what-"

"Shut up, you twit!" Mortianna snapped. "You're a silly child who should know better than to trifle with awitch of my powers." Her lip curled. "You and your kind sicken me."

As she ranted, Quinn slipped a hand into his pocket and opened the top of a small drawstring bag he'd deposited there earlier. Contained in the bag was a small amount of magical powder he'd created using dirt, a variety of crushed herbs and dried mother's milk.

Dipping his fingers into the talc-fine powder, he pinched a small amount between his thumb and forefinger. Withdrawing his hand, he rubbed his fingers together, disbursing the powder in a small but steady stream as he walked toward Mortianna.

"Vampires," she continued, "prey on humans and innocent little girls like mine. They take and destroy purity, subverting it into something dark and evil. I want no more of your kind to walk the planet."

Gabrielle flinched. "I-"

"Begone, fiend," Mortianna snapped, waving her hand in Gabrielle's direction.

The vampire gave a hiss as four of the minions turned and started in her direction. "You haven't heard the last of me!" With her gaze throwing daggers at them, she ran from the room, the minions hot on her heels.

"What about Bliss?" Val asked. "What would she say about this?"

Mortianna scowled at him. "My daughter can't say anything. She'sdead . Why do you think I'm doing this?"

Quinn continued his slow journey as the conversation ebbed and flowed around him. Careful to keep his movements un.o.btrusive, he divided his attention between his task and the discussion, waiting for the right time to jump in.

"I meant, if she were here right now, what would she say about your plan?" Val's tone soothed.

Mortianna frowned as if confused. Her gaze fixed on a spot on the floor as if something were troubling her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Quinn knew exactly what was bothering her. Already the powder was taking effect. He continued his task, moving in a wide circle around his mother, enclosing them in a circle of fine powder.

"Why do you think I'm doing this?" she repeated. She rubbed a spot between her brows. "My daughter, my beautiful daughter," she whispered.

"Don't you think she'd be upset that you're trying to destroy her friends?" Alexandre asked.

"Well, of course she would be. The silly twit believed she was in love with St. James. He bewitched her.

What mortal could love a blood-sucking fiend?" She began to pace.

Quinn kept an eye on her as he completed the circle. Unaware of the boundaries, Mortianna paced within it. The enchanted powder was keeping her secured without her knowledge. So far so good.

"Mother," he spoke, drawing her attention. He stood across from her, the casket between them. She looked up and he was struck by her grief, etched in every inch of her face. For all her faults, Mortianna had truly loved her daughter. But not him. Never him.

He waited for the pain to come, but it didn't. Only a whisper of bittersweet agony resonated as he thought of the severed relationship between his sister and mother. His biological family certainly took the fun out of dysfunctional.

He shook himself back to the present. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?" she snapped, clearly irritable.

"Bliss loved Sinjin with all her heart." He looked at the serene face of his sister. "And he loved her to distraction." He met his mother's gaze one more. "Vampire or not, your mortal daughter did love a blood-sucking fiend as you put it."

For a second, he thought she'd erupt in flames. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparked before she forcibly calmed herself. "He tricked her," she said.

"How? How did Sinjin trick her into loving him?"

She waved her hand and resumed her pacing. "I don't know. Vampires havepowers that even I don't understand completely.My daughter could have never loved one ofthem ." She indicated Val and Alexandre.

Quinn laid his hand on the casket, the gla.s.s chilly beneath his palm. "You keep ignoring the fact that Bliss did love one of them. She wished to spend her life with him, but she couldn't because you forced her to make a choice. She chose to leave him and keep him alive, rather than allow you to kill him." He stroked the gla.s.s directly above his sister's face.