Sex and the Single Vampire do-2 Page 17

  "As I was saying, I'm afraid you represent too great an asset to the Trust to allow you to go traipsing around damp basements on mere whims. If you had cleared the site through the Trust, we would, of course, be happy to have you investigate it after the proper preliminary work was completed on it. You must allow us to be overprotective of our little charges," she added with a horribly insincere smile.

  "Of course," I answered, my stomach knotting with concern. I could feel the waves of hostility rolling off her. Once again she tested the guards on my mind, but they held without the slightest bit of give.

  "If you will just sign these few papers, everything will be official and we can pay you your first honorarium."

  "Oh? How much is that?"

  She glanced at Eduardo. "Five thousand pounds for the first month's work," he answered smoothly.

  I just about dropped my purse. That was almost $7,500! Just for one month?

  "Gark," I said, then suited action to thought and dropped my purse.

  Right on top of a small bud vase containing a perfect yellow rose. The vase was knocked over, breaking the delicate glass and sending the water racing toward Eduardo's hind end. He leaped up off the table with a nasty word.

  "Oh, I'm so sorry!" I gushed as I turned my body sideways and quickly traced the last ward. "How clumsy of me! Such a pretty rose, too."

  "Never mind, leave it, it's quite all right." Guarda's mouth was white with tension, but it was nothing compared to what I was feeling. Now that I was protected, shielded from the influence of Guarda's power, I could feel the threat in the air. It was positively thick with malevolence. She held the pen out to me, but I shook my head and backed away, clutching my purse to my chest.

  "I'm sorry, I couldn't. My contract with UPRA says I can't work for any other organization without their consent. I will have to contact my boss to get permission to join you before I sign anything."

  "We will call him now. Anton Melrose is his name, yes? Give me the number and you may speak with him."

  The power rolling out of her manifested itself in me as nausea. I swayed a little, then moved slowly backward until I had the chair between me and her desk. "No, it's… uh… Wednesday! Anton always plays golf with the Archbishop of… um… Fresno on Wednesday. He won't be in the office today."

  Eduardo fairly snarled at me. I stepped backward again. "Then you will resign your position. We will see to it that you are more than adequately compensated financially."

  "Oh, I couldn't do that," I lied as I took another step backward, praying the wards would keep him from reading my lie. "I owe Anton everything. I couldn't possibly just quit like that. I couldn't!"

  The air behind me stirred. I whirled around, blinking with surprise at the woman who entered the room.

  "Is there a problem?" the hermit Phillippa asked, giving me a large berth. "I can feel your anger all the way down the hall, Guarda. What is amiss?"

  She stopped next to Eduardo and the three of them looked at me. I collected my jaw from where it was hanging around my knees, and thought fast and furious. If Phillippa was here and on friendly terms with Guarda, that meant she was a part of the Trust. It also meant that Guarda was likely to know that I had Esme and Mr. Woogums as part of my entourage, and that I hadn't figured out how to Release them.

  All of which added up to some pretty bad trouble for Allegra the Summoner.

  Beloved? Christian's voice was sleepy, but infinitely reassuring in my mind. I wasn't alone! You are frightened?

  Very, I answered, twisting my fingers into my purse. I've done something stupid.

  I felt his sigh even before his words caressed my mind. Foolish, perhaps, but never stupid, Beloved.

  "Um, Phillippa, what a surprise. I hadn't expected to see you here."

  I'm in Guarda's office. With Eduardo and the hermit I told you about. I think they want to force me to go live in their town house. They don't seem to be inclined to let me walk out of here, Christian.

  His silence was almost as loud as his second sigh. I believe I will withdraw my objection over the word stupid.

  "Indeed." The hermit turned to Guarda. "She is speaking to someone who is at a distance from us. With whom has she had contact?"

  My eyes widened. How did she know I was talking to Christian? And could she tell who he was? The need to protect him was very strong, strong enough that I closed down my mind to him.

  I understand, Allegra. It is still daylight; I cannot come to rescue you.

  I swallowed hard. Christian seemed so normal to me, I'd forgotten that he couldn't go out in daylight.

  I will send help.

  Just the touch of his mind in mine reminded me that I was not a victim; I was a woman in charge of her life. I raised my chin a notch and stared down my nose at Phillippa.

  "Really? How very interesting." Guarda looked at me with speculation, then edged around her desk and approached me. I backed up until she stopped a few feet away from me. The ward I'd sketched in the air suddenly flared to life, glowing a shimmering gold in the pale, watery light of a rainy November afternoon.

  "Wards!" Guarda hissed, then shot me a look of loathing that I won't soon forget.

  Phillippa walked a circle around me. As she reached each ward, it burst into light, fading when she passed its range of protection.

  "She is guarded," Phillippa acknowledged. "Still, there may be a way."

  Uh-oh. I didn't like the sound of that. I prayed Christian was going to summon the fire department or other emergency service, because I had a worrisome notion that whatever Phillippa was planning, it wasn't going to be fun.

  "Um. You know, I think I'll just be leaving. We can talk about this whole Trust thing another day. My fiancé will be waiting for me."

  They ignored me to huddle together and speak in tones so quiet I couldn't hear them. I knew as soon as I neared the door that Guarda had done something to it, had warded it so that it would not allow anyone to pass through the door whom she wished to remain within, but I gave it a shot anyway. None of the three even bothered to as much as look my way as I struggled to press through the invisible wall that denied exit to me.

  "Hell's bells," I snarled to myself, and took a step back to collect myself. A ward could be undone if you studied it and determine how it was made. Every person who drew wards did so by following a basic format, then personalizing it, adding a word here, a gesture there, something that didn't interfere with the basic function of the ward, but which made it unique and impossible to remove unless you had the time and leisure to examine it closely. It wasn't actually the ward itself that provided the power; it was the belief the person drawing it had in his own abilities. That was why infrequently drawn wards, like the one I used on Christian at Joy's house, were likely to dissolve after a short amount of time. I hadn't used them enough to have complete faith in my ability to draw them.

  Guarda's ward, however, glowed silver when I pushed myself into the doorway, and was of such a complex design that it would take me hours to unravel.

  Allegra.

  The voice was loud in my head, compelling, demanding, filled with absolute authority. It was not Christian's silken tones.

  Against my will I turned around slowly. The four wards around me glowed gold, but I ignored them to blink at the scene before me. Guarda and Phillippa stood together, unmoving as they watched me with eyes that were empty, as if they were looking inward on themselves. Behind them Eduardo sat on the desk, his head tipped back, his eyes closed, his hands stretched forward to hold… I gasped and tried to back up. I couldn't; my feet were frozen, locking me in place as I stared in horror at the three of them. Eduardo's fingers were pressed to the base of both their necks.

  They had formed a triumvirate, the most powerful force known to modern psychics.

  And they had breached my defenses.

  Chapter Twelve

  You will cease struggling against us.

  I tried to take a deep breath, but the protective crouch I'd assumed as the triumvirat
e's joined mind slammed into mine made it impossible to breathe deeply.

  You will recognize that we are stronger.

  I took lots of tiny little breaths instead, and struggled to focus my attention on something trivial and innocent, something that couldn't be used against me or be corrupted by the power flooding into my mind.

  You will tell us what you have done with the ghosts you have in your possession.

  The bits of broken bud vase erupted into powder.

  I forced my attention to my shoes. The toes were scuffed. I wondered how it was possible to scuff the top of the toes when it was the soles that made contact with the floor.

  A small muted green pillow on the love seat beneath the etched black picture exploded in a flurry of foam bits.

  The triumvirate's power was increasing, small tendrils of it leaking out into the office.

  You will tell us with whom you were speaking.

  I pushed the bits of foam away from my feet. It wasn't as if I had made a habit of scraping the upper part of my shoes against things. Yet it was the tops of my shoes that were scuffed.

  Allegra Telford.

  There was power in a name. Pain shuddered through me as I fought to resist their unspoken command and tucked my head between my knees, praying help would arrive soon. I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold out against the triumvirate's strength.

  Books began flying from a glass-fronted bookcase. Straight through the glass.

  Help will not arrive to save you. You must yield to us. You cannot do anything but yield.

  My inner voice screamed in agony at the sheer volume of power that was being thrown at me. It was like standing directly in front of a jet engine's fan, shards of power piercing me and weakening both my mind and body. Shoes, I desperately told my screaming self. Shoes were what was important. What did they call the little plastic tips on the ends of shoelaces?

  Books struck my body. The triumvirate was directing the power leaks, forcing them into a pattern that would help them and weaken me further. I couldn't believe anyone had enough control that they could direct the leaks, and yet with every blow I had proof.

  I started to wonder if I was going to make it.

  It is no use. You are not strong enough. You are not good enough to resist us. Until you came to England you were a failure, unproven, tested and failed. Do not destroy yourself trying to prove you can best us. No one can. We are all powerfull.

  For one moment I listened to the words shouted in my mind, and in that moment I found myself walking toward the threesome.

  No! I screamed, grabbing the back of the chair to keep from moving closer to them, flinching every time a book slammed up against me. Another power leak had manifested itself as a whirlwind inside the office, bits of paper and foam from the cushion whirling around us, occasionally hitting me in the face. I clung to the chair and tried to lecture myself. If I gave myself up to them, if I answered their call when they summoned me, my wards would be dissolved and I would be at their mercy.

  I am strong, I grimly told myself. I lived through hell in my life, and I've overcome it. I could last here a little bit longer, just until… I erased the image of Christian my mind had wanted to draw even before it formed. I wouldn't give him to them.

  You will tell us who you believe will save you.

  The little plastic shoelace thing has a name, I screamed to them. I know it has a name; I just can't remember what it is.

  Two windows looking out onto the street below shattered, the faint tinkle of glass hitting the pavement sucked up by the howling of the wind within the room.

  We have run out of patience. We will tolerate this no longer. You have brought this upon yourself, Allegra Telford, the forces of life shine strong within us.

  Panic filled me as I clutched the chair even harder. Those were the first words of grounding, of the way a Summoner bound a spirit. Why were they saying it to me? It couldn't work on a living person, could it?

  The power of life binds you to us.

  I looked down on myself. It felt like a hundred little ropes were tied to various points on my body, and were slowly snaking outward to form a solid connection to the triumvirate. I started slapping at the invisible ropes, breaking them off, terrified that they really had the power they claimed over me, but as each rope snapped, another formed.

  You are lost, my inner voice screamed. Give in now while you still have your mind!

  Until you are released, you will heed our command.

  A heavy book flew into the back of my head, making me see stars. I fought desperately to stay conscious, to keep the remainder of my strength focused on the wards, but I knew it was a lost cause. The wards burned brilliant gold now, filling the room with warm light that seemed to be instantly absorbed by the blackness that seeped out of the triumvirate. Cracks started to appear in ancient symbols, showing a bright, blinding white through the gold. I had no idea how they had twisted the words of grounding to affect me, but I wanted out of there, out of that room and away from the power that was being thrown at me. I knew the limitations of my abilities, and they couldn't stand much more.

  Suddenly Eduardo's eyes opened, the gray of his irises glowing with an eerie inner light. I clung to the chair, knowing that the second he turned those eyes on me, I was a goner. I could feel that the grounding was unfinished, but I knew he was about to say the last words, to bind me against my will to them. I just didn't have the strength needed to feed power to the wards and keep my mind focused away from their control.

  You can do anything you want, a soft voice soothed me.

  Christian?

  Ah, it is her fiancé she speaks to.

  Oh, hell, they'd heard me!

  It is all right, Allegro. You are not alone. They cannot harm you. I would not allow that.

  He poured power into me, draining himself to give me the strength that I needed to face Eduardo and fight the grounding, filling me with strength and reassurance and a belief in me that warmed my heart. I pulled on his power, reinforcing the wards until they were whole again, and the hundreds of little cords stretching from me to them were dissolved.

  By the triumvirate, you are thus bound.

  I braced myself, but the final words of Eduardo's grounding couldn't penetrate the reinforced wards. I almost cried in relief.

  Your connection to Christian has doomed him. We have seen your thoughts. We know now what he is. You have sealed his fate.

  I fell to my knees at the smug satisfaction in the triumvirate's voice, the wards once again glowing gold and white. Despair filled my heart at their words because I knew that what they said was true, knew that I had failed. My dream wasn't a warning; it was a glimpse of the future.

  A future I had just made sure would come true.

  Beloved, you have more faith in yourself than this. I do not believe you have doomed me. I know you are my salvation. You are everything light and good; you take my darkness and you make me whole. You have more power than you will ever realize. Do not listen to their lies. You know what is within you. Hold tight to that.

  I shut out the triumvirate's voice that was screaming in my head and focused on Christian's words. He was right; I was strong. I'd done amazing things. I had survived my own hell, I had Summoned ghosts, I had taken darkness and made it light. That was not the description of a woman who would buckle before a triumvirate.

  With grim determination, I got to my feet and faced them, the air full of paper and bits of debris, the wind howling its fury that had a source within the three people facing me.

  You have no future without us. If you do not join us, we will destroy you. We will destroy everyone you care about. We will damn you to an eternity of suffering.

  "Been there, done that," I ground out through my teeth as I pulled more of Christian's power to keep from giving myself over to them, slowly, painfully restoring my wards. Loud noises outside of the room finally penetrated my consciousness, blessedly also drawing a bit of the triumvirate's attention. I wrapped my
arms around my stomach, trying to catch my breath in the moment of respite.

  Someone pounded against the door; then it splintered and was kicked aside, the ward guarding it shattering as the triumvirate's focus wavered. Several policemen poured into the room, stopping almost immediately at the scene that met their astonished eyes. Books still flew around the room, caught now in the whirlwind generated by the three people forming a triangle. Two policemen didn't duck in time and were struck by books; another just escaped being beaned by a small potted plant.

  A hand reached out from the mass of blue-suited bodies and pulled me backward, out of the room. I looked up. The hand belonged to a very large man with glittering yellow eyes.

  Christian had sent Raphael.

  "I think I'm going to be sick," I told him. I assume I must have been green, because he immediately shoved me over to a chair in the hallway and pushed me down so my head was between my knees.

  "Stay here."

  I mumbled that I wasn't going anywhere.

  Beloved?

  Thank you, Christian. Thank you for everything. I appreciate it more than I can ever tell you.

  Allegra, I hear your thoughts. You cannot protect me from Guarda and Eduardo. You cannot leave me. Without you, I have no life.

  Reluctantly I closed Christian out of my head and stayed in the chair, rocking with pain and sorrow and the knowledge that my heart had been healed just in time to fall in love with a man whom I would lead to destruction if I didn't give him up. Sometimes life really sucks.

  "Thank you for taking me home with you," I told Raphael later as he drove through the rainy, crowded streets of London. "I really appreciate it."

  "Joy was nearly out of her mind with worry. She'll want to make sure you're okay. And besides, it's still daylight; Christian…" He made an odd little abrupt gesture.