Zen and the Art of Vampires

"We will search for other reapers," Christian told the others. "And most importantly, the Zenith. If he is arriving for this ritual, he will come here first."

"I'll go search for the trail of the reaper who got away," Rowan said, starting for the back door.

"I'll search around the ruins, in case any of them are already there," Andreas said as he left.

"Sebastian and I will take the town." Christian put his hat back on. He gave me another piercing look. "Alec, you will stay with the Zorya and the prisoners."

"I don't need a babysitter," I protested.

"I will help Rowan with the one who escaped," Kristoff said, not meeting my gaze as he left.

"Do not fret, my love," Alec said, gently pushing me toward the kitchen. "I am here for your protection, not to serve as your jailer. Help me find something to restrain that woman."

Kristjana regained consciousness just as Alec slapped a piece of duct tape across her mouth. Bound and gagged, she may not have been able to say anything, but if the venomous look in her eyes was anything to go by, she was indulging in a detailed fantasy of just how she'd like to see me die.

We laid her on a bed in a room on the ground floor, closing the door and locking it before returning to the main room.

"There you are. I was wondering what was going on."

I blinked in surprise at the sight of Magda standing over Mattias, who was rolling around on the floor, clearly struggling to get free of his bonds. "Oh, hello again, Alec. Pia, can I ask why your husband is handcuffed?"

"The vampire cavalry rode into town," I said, giving her a little hug as Alec, after greeting Magda, hauled Mattias to his feet, escorting him into another bedroom. "What are you still doing here? I thought the tour was leaving at noon."

"We were supposed to leave, but then Denise disappeared." Her smile, which had been filled with sunny warmth, faded.

"Disappeared?"

"Yeah." She gave me an odd look. "I know this is going to sound crazy, but I've come here to warn you. Sometime during the night, Denise disappeared out of her room. The police think it's suspicious because she left everything behind—passport, money, clothes, everything."

I sat down on the couch recently vacated by Mattias. Magda sat next to me. "Well, that's weird, but I don't see why you need to warn me about it."

She hesitated. "The police told Audrey that Denise left a note, saying that she had seen you in town, and she was going to follow you to see where you'd gone."

A chill swept over me. "Oh, god."

She nodded. "The policeman told Audrey that they think you did something to Denise. They're combing the area for both of you, and have refused to let us leave the country."

My shoulders slumped. "I haven't seen her. I didn't know she'd seen me, and I certainly wouldn't do anything to her."

"I know you wouldn't." Magda patted my arm. "That's why I wanted to warn you. I don't know what's going on with the Brotherhood people, but I'd suggest you get out of town before the police find you."

"I can't leave just yet," I said absently, wondering what had happened to Denise. She had nothing to do with my situation, so it was likely that if some accident had befallen her, it was entirely unrelated. The police, however, would not entertain that thought.

"You can't? Why?"

I explained to her the happenings since I'd last seen her, leaving out the part about having incredible sex with Kristoff.

"Good lord, you certainly have been busy," she said when I finished up. Alec's footstep was audible as he crossed the kitchen. She leaned close to me and whispered, "So do you think you're Alec's whatchamawhosit? Beloved?"

"No, I don't think so," I answered just as quietly. "Kristoff was hungry, so I let him… for lack of a better phrase, dine. He said if I was a Beloved, he wouldn't be able to do that."

"You know, this is really fascinating. And exciting. But what are you going to do about tonight?"

"The ritual, you mean?"

She nodded.

I glanced around the room. Several of the ghosts had drifted off to the kitchen to see what Alec was doing. Dagrun had thrown herself down on the couch opposite, and appeared to go to sleep. Agda demanded to see the inside privy, and the other women had gone with her to see what modern plumbing looked like. Other than Dagrun, we were alone. Quickly, I explained my reasoning regarding the two marriages.

"That makes sense, I guess," she said after mulling it over for a few seconds. "So if Mattias is your real husband, are you going to become Super Zorya?"

"I don't know. I don't want anyone to die, but I made an oath to Anniki."

She was silent for a moment, her fingers absently twisting the material of her linen walking shorts. "You know, I think I'd take what your husband said with a grain of salt."

I cast my mind back to anything that Kristoff might have said that could be in question.

"He said that once you had the power, you wouldn't be able to control it."

"Oh, Mattias? Yes, he did say that. It seems… counterintuitive, doesn't it?"