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But he couldn’t dwell on his loss, not yet, maybe not until he had Claire safely home. Right now she had to be the focus, as well as the extinction weapon and Zoey.
“Sorry,” Claire murmured. She then rose and jerked the fur from the rack. “So, have you got the tickets?”
He patted the inside pocket of his long leather coat.
She glanced at his chest, then her gaze skimmed him head-to-foot. “This is a different look for you. It’s nice. Your other jacket was shorter. I like this long look, kind of Old West.”
His lips curved. “Yeah, I’m a real cowboy.” For fun, he flashed the tips of his fangs.
She grinned then laughed. “The cowboy vampire. Okay, that just sounds weird.”
“Yeah, it does.” He reached out and caught her arm through the thick fur. “We good, Claire?”
She put a hand on his face. “We’ll always be good, you and me. You’re my kind of peeps.” She nodded several times then drew back. Pulling on her gloves, she added, “So it’s Siberia, then?”
“Yep.”
“Ready if you are.”
“Your timing is perfect.” He held out his right arm, she stepped into him, and as he clamped an arm around her waist, he shifted into altered flight and headed northeast.
* * *
The moment Lucian touched down, Claire was more grateful for Rumy’s foresight than at any time before. It was cold, way too cold for Claire to be comfortable, but the faux fur, lined with down, kept her from freezing her tush off.
The landing area for the River of Lights show went on for at least an eighth of a mile. Lucian slid his arm around Claire then turned back to look over his shoulder.
She looked up at him. What is it?
Jitters. Don’t know why.
Do you think we’ve been followed?
It’s possible.
After that, she marveled at the disguise around the entire built-up entrance. “I’ve never seen so much movement in a shielding disguise before.”
Lucian laughed. “Part of it’s for show—even vampire children can see through it.”
Claire knew that there were children in Lucian’s world; vampires were born into the world just like humans. But their long-life genes were balanced out with the difficulty of procreation. Children were a rare occurrence.
Practicing birth control was unheard of. That Daniel had somehow managed to produce several sons from several human women had been deemed a result of his considerable Ancestral powers and nothing less.
Vampire attendants, for what turned out to be a gondola ride experience, directed the arriving guests into four lanes. The guides wore costumes, with tall colorful hats and fur-lined vests.
Soft orchestral music floated across the lanes. Two female vampires levitated, carrying baskets of single red roses to sell to the guests.
Claire frowned, wondering what was going on, then looked around and noted just how many couples there were, some locked in tender embraces.
Hold on. This is a romantic getaway, isn’t it? Because I can see a hotel through the disguise on the left.
You can see that?
Sure.
You amaze me, Claire.
I don’t think seeing through the disguise is about me; it’s about you. Ever since you took on your Ancestral power, my abilities have kicked up a notch.
An attendant approached with a basket slung over her arm. “A rose for your lady?”
Claire met Lucian’s questioning brow but shook her head.
Lucian reached into his pocket anyway and withdrew a money clip. He handed the woman twenty euros, but she handed it back and in a quiet voice said, “For you, Lucian, no charge. Keep up the good fight, boss.”
He took the flower, and she moved on. He touched the soft petal to his lips then turned to Claire. The good fight. Is that what I do?
She slid her arm around his. Yes, and that defines you exactly, who you really are, boss.
He frowned slightly, then handed her the rose.
She took it, and just as Lucian had she let the velvety petals glide over her lips, but her thoughts had turned to the mission at hand. Of all the places to hide a clue to the whereabouts of an extinction weapon, why in a Tunnel of Love gondola ride?
Lucian smiled. Last place anyone would look?
You may be right.
Once inside the initial cavern, couples could purchase a bottle of champagne, served in a silver bucket with two glasses. If done properly, sipping the champagne would last the entire mile-long trip, which apparently required a full hour to complete.
An hour to go a mile.
Every gondola was self-propelled and ran on a track beneath the water, much like rides at a theme park.
The seats were comfortable and semi-reclined, but Claire had reached the limits of her patience. Lucian, can’t you just fly me along the river’s course until we find the serpent pillar? I think this is going to drive me crazy. We have a weapon to find, a psychopath to trap, and my friend to save.
Unfortunately, no. There’s no flight allowed. An electric webbing throughout would cause serious pain to anyone who levitated.
What are we going to do when we reach the pillar?
We’ll play it by ear. He glanced at her. Is this changing your mind?
Not even a little, but it is making me nervous.
A female voice from a speaker inside the gondola told them to prepare for the magic of the River of Lights, to give themselves fully to the experience, and to be assured that they would have complete privacy the entire trip.
The back of the gondola formed a kind of partition so that they could see nothing behind them. The gondola moved forward and passed through a series of curtains so that when the boat emerged into the first cavern on the river, Claire murmured, “Oh, my God.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“Have you never been here?”
“No.”
Unlike the best-known human caves, in which stalagmites and stalactites formed the greater fascination for explorers, the vampire world had an almost opposite sensibility: Caves were meant to be transformed, kept free from damp, with the richest mineral veins polished to a glow. They had teams working on caves constantly to remove all kinds of mineral buildup within their developed cavern systems.
When the walls of a cave were a simple stone, crystals were added, or various exotic granites and marbles. Sculpture had been perfected as a high form of art.
Music played in the background. As the gondola moved slowly around each intricate turn of the river, lights played over more sculptures, intricate stone carvings, and beautiful crystal mosaics.
In the face of the beauty in front of her, Claire forgot her present struggles. She took Lucian’s hand, overwhelmed.
