Page 32 of Fangs, Frost, and Folios
A burley human in a ski mask held an older man that Beatrice assumed was the mysterious Barnes. He was dressed in an old-fashioned pair of pin-striped pajamas, and his hair was mussed, probably from being dragged out of bed.
Beatrice smiled at him. “Mr. Barnes, I’m guessing?”
“You must be Miss De Novo,” the dignified man said. “I apologize for making your acquaintance like this.”
“No apologies necessary.” Beatrice finally turned to the dark-haired Elise, who was holding Nick at gunpoint, wearing a black bodysuit and half a smile.
“Madame Vampire,” the woman said. “So nice to meet you properly.”
“Always a pleasure, Elise.”
“Don’t call her that,” René spat out. “Her real name is Emilie.”
Ten
“Hardly my real name,” Elise said. “Just the one you gave me when I was your apprentice.”
Nick was pale and blinking like a deer caught in headlights. “I am so confused. Elise, what is happening?”
Beatrice was definitely going to wipe the poor man’s memory after this. He looked moments away from a heart attack.
“Nick, I promise I will explain everything when we figure out what these people want.” Beatrice sent her amnis out, but she sensed no other threats. Elise had two vampire accomplices and the human holding Barnes.
She could take all four of them herself, but the human hostages gave her pause. Humans were fragile. Also, Beatrice really didn’t want to have to explain to Gemma why her nephew was missing his head.
Her options were limited. There was no water in the library, so her elemental power was muted. She didn’t want anyone dying, and she also hated the idea of blood getting on the books. Blood was impossible to get out of old paper and vellum.
“This was all very nicely played.” Beatrice spoke to Elise, trying to defuse the tension in the room. “How long were you and Nick engaged?”
“Two years,” she said. “I’ve known about the Mortimer treasure for far longer, of course. I heard about it from René.”
She cut her eyes at him. “I knew you were lying. Who are you really working for?”
“Uh…” René looked away.
Elise was more direct. “Arosh.”
Beatrice’s eyes went wide. “You willingly went to work for the Fire King of Central Asia?”
Elise smirked. “He pays well.”
“I hope so.”
“Arosh has numerous gold caches, but he wants this one returned.”
“And his journal,” René added. “I wasn’t lying about that.”
Beatrice rolled her eyes. “Oh no, you’ve been totally up front.”
“The book is not technically part of the treasure.” René skipped his habitual shrug since it would have meant a knife in his spine. “I was helping you and helping myself. There was no need to burden you with information unnecessary for the job. And if I happened to find information about the treasure, you had no reason to know it.”
Elise looked at Beatrice but kept the gun on Nick. “You had to know he was lying to you. That’s what he does. He lies.”
René whispered something in French that Beatrice didn’t catch.
“Shut up,” Elise said. “That doesn’t work on me anymore.”
“Okay, I’ll bite.” Beatrice saw the woman getting more and more agitated. “Where’s the Mortimer treasure? It’s not in the attic. Your friends searched there. It’s not anywhere on the second floor. Nothing but bedrooms and family rooms up there.”
