"I couldn't leave her there, Duncan."

"I understand."

"What now?"

"She should return to the estate with me. She needs regular feedings—I didn't exaggerate her malnourishment. Jabril Karim should be staked for what he's done. Unfortunately, few of the lords are as enlightened as Lord Raphael."

"What does Mirabelle want to do? Did you even ask—"

"Cynthia, when will you learn we are not the monsters you think us?"

Cyn drew in a deep breath. She was getting tired of apologizing. “I don't, you know."

Duncan raised a quizzical brow.

"Think you're monsters,” Cyn explained. “I don't trust humans either.” She grinned.

"I am reassured,” he said dryly.

"What's she doing in there now?"

"Changing clothes, I believe. She was quite excited when I showed her your purchases. It was kind of you."

"Yeah, well, I can be kind too, you know."

"Yes, actually, I do.

"Okay, now I'm worried. Why're you being so nice to me?” She was only half joking.

"He will want to see you."

Her good mood vanished. She didn't even have to ask who “he” was. “Why?"

Duncan sighed impatiently, rubbing thick fingers between his eyes, as if he had a headache ... or maybe two of them. “Jabril Karim may indeed be a creep, as you put it, but he is also a powerful vampire lord. He surely knew of your connection to Lord Raphael—” He held up an impatient hand to forestall her protest that no connection existed. “You took blood from him; you had sex with him, more than once."

Cyn felt a rush of embarrassment heat her face, but couldn't deny the truth of what he said.

"For a powerful vampire, the exchange of blood is a way of marking those important to him, particularly human lovers. Jabril Karim almost certainly sensed that connection the moment he saw you. He may even have called you specifically because he knew you were Raphael's lover. The lords are fiercely competitive. The opportunity to take one of Raphael's...” He shook his head. “When we couldn't reach you, we feared the worst."

She didn't know what to say. A part of her felt a little thrill at the idea that Raphael cared enough to worry about her. The more sober part resisted the idea that she was “marked” as anyone's property and resented being nothing more than a game piece between the two vampire lords, valuable only because the other wanted her. Or once had, anyway. “Well, I'm back now,” she said, letting some of her resentment show. “And I'm fine. You can tell him that. There's no need—"

"And then there's the matter of Mirabelle."

She looked at him, her mouth open in mid-sentence. “Mirabelle?"

"I have shielded her for now from Jabril Karim's attempts to draw her back to his side. She would go mad otherwise, but it will not last. This is Lord Raphael's territory, and Mirabelle is the child of another. She is, as you pointed out, over eighteen and free to make her own decisions, but far too young and inexperienced to actually survive on her own. She will need Lord Raphael's permission to remain, and, more importantly perhaps, his protection to survive."

"So?"

He gave her a flat look. “Mirabelle must appear before Lord Raphael and petition him for protection, and I can guarantee that he will refuse to see her unless you agree to stand at her side. You are, after all, responsible for her being here in the first place."

"If it's so important...” And if he's so worried, she thought privately. “...Why isn't he here now?"

"Lord Raphael is otherwise occupied this evening."

"Occupied how?” she asked quickly, ignoring an unreasonable and unwanted flash of jealousy.

Duncan shook his head with a look that was half amusement, half exasperation. He drew a breath and frowned. “He received a call earlier from the human police."

"The murders,” Cyn said almost breathlessly.

He cut her a quick glance. “You know of these murders?"

Cyn nodded. “I called Lucia Shinn when I got back to town. I need to find Elizabeth—Mirabelle's human sister. That's why Jabril hired me in the first place. Her eighteenth birthday's in a couple weeks and he planned to turn her the way he did Mirabelle."

"Thus giving him control over the entire Hawthorn fortune."

Cyn nodded. “Fortunately, Elizabeth isn't stupid; she figured out what he had planned and didn't stick around for the party. Which is where I come in. But once I got there, two things became obvious. First, Jabril only hired me out of curiosity and to piss off Raphael.” She shook her head at his expression. “I'm not totally clueless, Duncan. And two,” she continued, “while I will definitely find Elizabeth Hawthorn, I'll do my damnedest to see she never goes within a hundred miles of Jabril Karim ever again. Because monsters come in all shapes and sizes, Duncan, even vampires."

"Indeed,” he murmured.

"Anyway, Luci told me about the murders here in L.A. She's pissed and thinks not enough is being done to find the killer. So I made a few calls for her and found out the cops think they've got a serial killer vampire on their hands."

"Not just any vampire, Cynthia. Lord Raphael."

Cyn stared. “Raphael? They think Raphael's the killer, but that's ridiculous."

"They claim to have a witness to one of the crimes."

"But, surely. I mean, Raphael ... he's never alone, is he? His security—"

"Precisely, ‘his security.’ The police do not credit any of our witnesses because they are, every one of them, Vampire."

"Well, fuck. I told them it couldn't be a vamp doing this, that Raphael would never—"

"They are questioning him at this moment."

Cyn looked at him in alarm. “Why aren't you with him? Does he have a lawyer?"

"My master ordered me to assist you instead, and yes, both of his lawyers are with him. The police originally wanted to question him at the station, but our people prevailed in that much. Lord Raphael is not without influence."

"Okay. Okay.” She began pacing, thinking hard. “Look, I've already started looking into this for Luci.” She glanced up. “I'm supposed to see the bodies later tonight.” Duncan's face showed his surprise. “I'm not without influence either,” she snapped. “I don't know exactly when, but I'll need to stash Mirabelle somewhere—"

"I've already said—"

"Yeah, yeah, but I've been thinking about it, and she'll be better off with Lucia Shinn. Luci's used to dealing with scared, lonely kids, and that's what Mirabelle is, vampire or not. I'll pick her up before dawn and take her back to my place. She'll be safe there, for now anyway.” She stopping pacing. “You're right, though. She'll need something else in the long run, but I'm not sure Raphael's place is it. You didn't see the Texas testosterone palace. I did. She needs something ... else. I'm not sure ... Dammit. I need to move around if I'm going to follow up on this, and she can't go with me. She's not—"

"Alexandra."

"What?"

"Mirabelle can stay with Alexandra. She is quite a bit older, of course, but their initial experiences are not dissimilar and Alexandra is ... lonely, I believe, since the kidnapping, since Matias died. They were together for a long time and very close. He was perhaps her only real friend. It might benefit her to care for someone else, someone she can identify with."

"But...” Cyn drew a breath, trying to figure out a way to say what she wanted to without offending anyone. “Mirabelle is a modern teenager. Or she was before that asshole raped her and stole her life. She needs to be free, to be young again, and Alexandra...” She sighed, remembering the female vampire's perfect French manor home in the middle of Malibu, with its antique furniture and candlelit drawing rooms, not to mention her elaborate dresses right out of a big budget costume drama. “She lives in the 18th century, Duncan."

"She did,” he corrected. “I believe the recent events were a wake-up call of sorts for Alexandra. She has been experimenting lately with other ways. In fact, she has asked Raphael on numerous occasions if you could visit."

"Me?"

Duncan nodded. “She was quite impressed with your, shall we say, businesslike dispatch of Albin, when you rescued her."

Cyn gave a very unladylike snort, remembering the vampire Albin's death. It had been a contest between the vampire and an Uzi. The Uzi had won. Not that he didn't deserve it. Albin had not only betrayed Raphael and helped kidnap Alexandra, but he had nearly killed Cynthia as well. “Okay,” she said thoughtfully. “Tell you what. For tonight, Mirabelle comes home with me—if that's what she wants, of course, and then—"

"That's what I want."

They both looked up in surprise to see Mirabelle standing in the plane's doorway, wearing the clothes Lucia had picked out for her. For the first time since Cyn met her, Mirabelle looked like what she'd been before Jabril made her Vampire, what she would now always seem to be. A teenager. The faded denims were a little too big and the t-shirt a little too bright for her vampire-pale coloring, but it was clear that with a few weeks of decent feeding, she'd be quite lovely. Her blond hair had been brushed and tied back in a neat ponytail, revealing startlingly large blue eyes and a full mouth.

Cyn smiled at her, delighted. “What say we have a bonfire and burn those old rags, Mirabelle? We can drink champagne and dance around the fire naked."

"Whoa, can I come?” Lonnie was standing in the open door, staring at the girl.

"No,” Cyn said, giving him a dirty look. “Girls only. Come on, Mirabelle, time to blow this joint. I've got a friend I want you to meet and these guys have business to take care of."