Page 14 of Because the Night

“A talisman like that might well be possible, but it would take a lot of power to create. I’ve never met a witch who liked me that much, or one who was that powerful.”

“Shocking that they wouldn’t like you.” My head is a mess of thoughts and feelings. It really has been a hell of a night. “You mentioned runes back at that vampire bar.”

“A druid I knew needed some fast cash and agreed to work on this place when it was being built. He etched runes into the stone walls down here to protect and keep. Think of it as casting a spell.”

The bathroom is immaculate black and white, with cool fixtures straight out of the 1920s. In particular, a big, old claw-foot bathtub looks inviting. The shower is suspended over it with a curtain to keep the water from splashing onto the floor.

“There are druids too?” I ask, my brows raised. “The protect part I understand, but what does keep do?”

“This world is bigger than you know. Much more than humans and animals walk the Earth. As for the runes, look around.” He gestures about us. “Notice how these rooms aren’t as stale and dusty as you’d expect after being closed up for seventy years?”

“The ones aboveground are, though.”

“I usually have staff to deal with upstairs. The runes are concentrated down here in my real home.”

“And I was the first person to disturb you in seventy years?”

“You, Skye, either ignore your instincts or have a very strong will,” he says.

Neither sounds like a compliment.

“As far as humans are concerned, the protection tends to discourage the curious and dissuade thieves. The runes will only outright stop another preternatural creature without an invitation. That’s enough questions. Go away now.”

“Just a few more.”

“It’s been a long first night back. Don’t make me decapitate you, too.”

“Pretty please?”

He groans and starts unbuttoning his shirt. “What else?”

“They said you used to rule L.A.? What are you, like the vampire king or something?”

He snorts. “No. There is no vampire king in this country. I never ruled L.A. I was simply the strongest in the city for a time. Perhaps I still am. I don’t know.”

“Have you made vampires before, and if so, where are they now?”

“Not here,” he says. “Though, at least, one of them should be.”

“Can we still eat and drink human food?”

“Why would you want to?”

“Because donuts. Duh. But hang on, you have all of that wine out there.”

“I like the scent.”

“How were you able to kill Archie?” I ask, leaning against the doorframe. “For someone so important, he was dispatched pretty easily.”

“Strength comes with age. I am older and, therefore, stronger. The strength of the one who turned you can also play a part.”

Off comes his shirt, and wow, that’s a lot of muscles for one man. The old suit was doing him a serious disservice.

His shoulders and chest have definition for days. It must have been a while since I saw a man half naked, because not staring at him is harder than it should be. Not that he is the least bit aware of me ogling him. Me and my issues aren’t even on his radar.

“Archie was only turned around 1850. But he was tenacious. Killed his sire early and started building himself a coterie of guards. If he hadn’t gone for size and scariness over actual fighting skills when he made them, they might have been able to defend him from me, and he might still be with us.”

“He was a hundred and seventy?”

---