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ignore it.
 My apologies, but I think we can all agree
there is no time to waste and Rina insisted she
have the two of you here. Lucas s tone was
anything but apologetic, but none of them could
argue with his statement time was important
here.
 Okay, so now we are all here, wherever here
is. What do we do? We don t even have the first
clue.
 Ahh, but we do, a silky smooth voice
announced quietly.
Rina turned at the voice. A tall, pale vampire
was in the room with them. He wore an old-
fashioned smoking jacket and slacks, his long
black hair tied back in a ponytail and his bright
blue eyes alert, taking in the sight of them all. He
looked right at home in the room they were
standing in. His home she assumed. This must be
Paxton. Rina and her mersisters all took an
involuntary step back as he came further into the
room he was a predator and they were prey. He
eyed the broken light bulb with an amused twist
to his lips, but didn t say anything as he stepped
around it to avoid the glass.
 Worry not, girls, I don t care for the taste of
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Courtney Breazile
mermaid blood. Too fishy, and those voices, I
would never want to take those away from the
world, absolutely hypnotic, if a bit dangerous to
my glass, Paxton said smoothly.
Although she was offended by the fishy blood
comment, she was flattered by the hypnotic voice
comment, and no less worried by the statements.
She kept her distance from the vampire.
 Rina, it is so wonderful to finally meet you.
Paxton extended a pale manicured hand.
 How did you know I was Rina? she asked
skeptically, not offering her hand.
 Ahh, good question, and one I don t feel
necessary to answer at the moment. I am delighted
you have accepted our offer. The council would
not be the same without you. Paxton reached out
with lightning speed and grabbed her hand. He
bowed slightly in a very old-fashioned sort of
way, full of gallantry and respect.
He brought her hand to his lips, which she was
surprised to find almost as warm as her own skin.
Cold dead skin was a myth about vampires,
invented by humans, but she still found the touch
uncomfortable. She felt like dinner under his
assessing blue gaze. Rina looked away. She knew
he could mess with her mind if she looked into his
eyes it was how they fed from humans without
the human becoming any the wiser. Except for
those who still killed their prey and drank in their
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Wet Glamour
fear as much as their blood. Frowned upon it may
be, she knew some still did this and she wouldn t
want to bet on any vampire she met as not being
one who did.
 The first clue has been received? Lucas asked,
changing the subject and stepping forward,
forcing Paxton to break the contact and step away
from Rina.
Rina hated to be thankful to Lucas for anything,
but in this, she was. Paxton made her
uncomfortable and knowing she didn t have her
power of persuasion at the moment made her
completely helpless to the powerful immortals
that surrounded her. It was her only weapon and
she had willingly given it up to keep her dignity
around Lucas. She didn t regret it, yet.
 Just now I was alerted through the V-net,
vampire network. It is how we stay connected,
without having to interact with each other,
Paxton explained.  Some human inventions are
quite convenient.
Rina bit back the rude reply that popped into
her head at his statement, but just barely. No need
to offend her blood-sucking host. She had heard of
their Internet community, ads like V/F seeking
V/M for blood play. It was disgusting.
 Great, what is it and how was it delivered?
Lucas prodded.
 It was delivered to the parents of the vampire
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Courtney Breazile
girl who was taken, Jessica. They said it simply
appeared, much like the original note. It was not
there and then it was, that simple, a wizard one-
oh-one trick. It doesn t tell us what kind of wizard
we are working against here. He could be a
powerful warlock or just a simple wizard
protégé.
 He introduced himself to me as Walker Weston
Wizard Extraordinaire, Rina said, trying to be
helpful.
 You met him? When, where, how? Paxton
and Lucas shouted in unison and turned intense
looks on her.
Her heart sped up and she took a step back.  L-
last night at my house, right before we left to meet
with you, Lucas, he was there to pick up my sister,
Raine, for a date.
 What did he say, exactly, and what did he look
like? Paxton pressed, his blue eyes tingeing red
around the outside as his whole body intensified.
Rina took an involuntary step back.  I didn t
really talk to him. We just said hello to each other,
he wanted to meet Brook.
 What did he look like? Lucas prodded.
Rina relaxed, then scolded herself Lucas was
no less a predator, just a different kind.  He was [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]