Page 2 of Visions in Blood
Lucas, the more easygoing of Devon’s inner circle, was away on assignment.Simone spent half her time at the mansion.The rest of her time was spent at Oasis, Devon’s hidden residence, where she managed the estate and several of his businesses.Besides not being fond of humans, her fluctuating mood stemmed from being away from her domain.
Sergi managed security and intelligence and was, by nature of his job, serious, deadly, and not much of a talker.Out of everybody, he was probably the least affected by the growing tension.Then there was Anna.The sole human of the group.We’d gotten along well initially, but she took her role as an instructor too seriously, and the many times I invited her to shopping trips or quiet time in the pool, she always had an excuse.
If I bothered to analyze my own emotions, I’d have to admit to being more cranky than usual.Ginger’s week-long vacation with her mother in Seattle was nearly over, and I worried about my best friend going back to our apartment alone.My stepfather, Christopher, still searched for whatever he thought I’d stolen.He’d been so positive I’d taken something of value from him that he’d harassed Ginger and ransacked our apartment.
The bottom line—I was lonely.Devon hadn’t shared what came next in the mission, and the result was days of the same boring routine.The erotic dreams we’d shared had stopped.The last one had been the day of the ball.It had started like the others, intimate moments with Devon until it turned into a nightmare—the premonition of my fall through the second-story window.A fall that should have killed me if Devon hadn’t shared some of his blood with me.
I shook my head and closed the bedroom door, stripping as I headed for the shower, dropping clothes on the floor along the way.When I traipsed down to the dining room, I was surprised to find Simone waiting for me.
“I thought you were on your way to Oasis.”I sat across from her, our salads already served.
Simone, dressed in a purple bodysuit and caftan that matched her lavender-dyed hair, looked amazing.I fingered the edges of my locks, giving consideration to becoming a redhead.
“I’ll head back this afternoon.Sergi wants to review upgraded security measures.”
I glanced at the place settings, but only two had been prepared.“He’s not joining us?”No one had time for shared meals anymore.
“He had a meeting.Besides, the two of us haven’t had time to talk.”She dribbled balsamic dressing over her greens and gave me a quick glance.“I imagine this week has been a struggle for you.”
“I’m not used to just sitting around waiting for the next job.”
“Is Pandora the type of thief to plan them ahead of time?”
I played with the salad, pushed it aside, and tasted the soup.Butternut squash with something spicy added.Her use of my street name made me wonder if she saw me as two individual people—the thief and Devon’s instrument of revenge.“Not really.It’s too stressful.And it’s not easy to get other crews to plan that far ahead, not unless it’s a particularly complex job.But I don’t wait for someone to ask me to join.Not that it doesn’t happen.Harlow called me often with a job, but they weren’t always a good fit for my talents.I prefer to search for my own and then determine which crew would be the best fit.”
“A woman who takes charge.I should have known.”She sat back and grinned.“It’s not the spare time on your hands that annoys you.You don’t like being left out.”
I buttered a roll then dunked it in the soup before taking a bite, refusing to look at her.She knew how much the inactivity was bothering me, but I wasn’t going to show any weakness in front of her.It shouldn’t have been a surprise that I itched to do something more productive.Anything to avoid routine.I hated routine.
“Finish up.We have time for the target range before your afternoon class with Anna.”Her grin seemed at odds with her raised eyebrows, her caftan pushed back, fists planted firmly on her narrow hips.She should be on a catwalk somewhere, dozens of flashes going off as she strode in front of the fashion elitists.It didn’t seem right she could wipe the floor with me.
I scowled in response, pushed my bowl away, and faced her, incapable of doing anything other than mimic her pose with hands on hips and chin lifted in acceptance of her challenge.“Are you suggesting I might have some aggression to resolve?”
She released the tips of her fangs.“Sergi procured a supply of silver bullets, but I’m not convinced you’re worthy of them.I hear your aim is as appalling as your martial arts moves.”
“Those are fighting words.”
“As if you’ll fare any better with that tactic.”
Not able to disagree, I turned and headed for the shooting range located in the basement.Simone, as in everything she did, was far beyond my skill level with a handgun, and after taking a beating in accuracy and distance, I skulked back upstairs.
I made my way to a small room on the first floor that Anna had turned into a quasi-classroom.
Until now, her training had been in the dining room, teaching me how to use the multiple place settings for various vamp events, or in my room, reviewing fashion etiquette with the clothes and accessories Devon had purchased for me.After I survived those mind-numbing lessons, she was finally going to share the secrets of vamps.But when I opened the door and found a table filled with textbooks the size of boulders, I began to back up—right into Anna, who struggled with two more books that had to weigh twenty pounds each.
“There you are.”Anna pushed me into the room and kicked the door shut with her foot.“Letty will be here soon with the coffee service.I know how difficult it is to delve through books in the afternoon.I’m sorry I wasn’t able to join you for lunch, but I had a devil of a time locating these.”She dropped the books on the desk with a resounding thud.“It’s really annoying when people don’t return books to the spot where they found them.”
She ran a loving hand over them before turning to a gigantic whiteboard mounted on the wall.“If you take a seat, we can get started on the origins of the vampire Houses.We’ll have two hours every day, but even with that, it will take some time to get through the material.”She continued writing on the board, making columns and writing names in her tiny scrawl.
I stared at the table and the stack of pens, notepads, and folders.Enough supplies for a class of ten people.I cringed.Should I have brought an apple for the teacher?It was one thing to go through etiquette and fashion to blend in with the aristocrats, but I’d left classroom studies in high school and had no desire to return to it.If she was expecting me to write copious notes to fill all those empty pages, I needed to say something now, but the diminutive wannabe vamp was more intimidating than she should be.
I glanced at the title of the book she’d placed on the table next to the notepads.It was written in Latin.I wasn’t without some education and had graduated school with a perfect GPA, but college hadn’t been for me.I opened the book to the first of what had to be over a thousand pages, thankful they weren’t numbered, which somehow would have made it worse.The title from the cover was repeated on the first page, but underneath the fluid script were the barely readable words—Houses of the Vampire.As I flipped through the pages, sweat broke out on my forehead.The type was tinier than Anna’s writing.
“We’re not going through this entire book, right?”I crossed my fingers in case it helped.
“Of course.The Houses can be confusing, so it helps to start from the beginning.”
“This could take months.”
