Page 21 of Obsessed in Blood
One secondthey were in the pit, the next they were at an upscale lounge. The chairs were plush leather, and Colantha sipped a martini. A cold porter was sitting in front of him, and he picked it up, taking a taste.
“That’s good. Where are we?”
“The Buswells Hotel in Dublin.”
“Why there?”
“You looked like you needed a good beer.”
He laughed, then noticed she wasn’t in her caftan anymore. She wore a raspberry-colored silk suit with a blouse a lighter shade of pink. Her hair was in braids, and she appeared twenty years younger. Although, whether it was being a dreamwalker or her genes, she always appeared timeless.
He’d been dressed in a brown tailored suit that fit to perfection. The tie was the same color as her suit. He took a long swallow of beer, unsure of how long they’d be there. “Is this a place you’ve been before?”
“Several times, but only through constructs. This is a favorite hotel of a fellow dreamwalker. He tells me the beer is the best he’s tasted.”
“He’s not wrong.” He waited until she took a couple more sips of her martini. It was apparent she was waiting for his questions.
“Tell me what the connection is between vampires and dreamwalkers.”
Rather than being shocked at his brazen question, she threw her head back and laughed.
“The two of you are peas in a pod. Both want to get to the end of the story without bothering with all the gooey middle. The journey. The education with all the pitfalls.”
“She asked the same thing?”
She shrugged and picked something off her blazer before straightening her sleeves. “It was more about controlling the medallion. But she was interested in the symbols as well.”
“But you didn’t answer her questions.”
“Not all of them. Not most of them.”
“You’ll answer mine.”
Her smile was sickly sweet before the darkness came.
Devon madea slow turn as he searched the darkness. Vampires had excellent vision, but even they required a fraction of ambient light to see. There was none.
He was naked. The deep chill and earthy smell told him he was either deep in a cave or a cell. He reached out and took a tentative step. The dirt floor was scattered with pebbles, but he managed to find a craggy wall.
“Colantha?”
When there was no answer, he followed the wall to see how far it stretched. He counted his footsteps as he went, eventually finding where the wall ended. He turned left and continued counting. By the time he’d made it to the fourth turn, he calculated the room was twenty-by-twenty feet square. He wasn’t disturbed that he was in some sort of cell. No. The troublesome part was not finding a door.
“I get your point. You’re in charge, and you’ll answer what questions you deem appropriate. I’ll listen.”
Bright light hit him,and after being in complete darkness for what he estimated to be thirty minutes, he lifted his hand to block out the blinding sunshine. Kids screamed with laughter. The scents of hot dogs, sugary sweetness, and suntan lotion were overwhelming. But the air was warm, and he glanced down. He wore boardshorts sans shirt.
Once his eyes acclimated to the light, he glanced around. He was at Coney Island if he had to guess, and he sat at a picnic table. The woman across from him was in a strapless white sundress. She held an amused expression as she viewed his chest.
“Now I see why Cressa is so enamored with you.”
“That seems a bit sexist.” It was far from the first time a woman had ogled him. In his early days, he spent most of his time bare-chested while training. But he suspected she was trying to keep him unbalanced. She’d have to try harder.
She tsked but couldn’t seem to stop smiling. “I was talking about your time in the pit. You didn’t panic. Your first instinct was to gather information before proceeding.”
By leaving him shirtless, she’d set him up. He admired her guile.
“I’ve fought many foes over the centuries, and while it’s been a long time since I’ve stood on a battlefield, I’m tested daily by Houses that wish to destroy my Family.”
