He cast a disbelieving glance in my direction before asking, "Feel him how?"
She hesitated, and a shadow of guilt flickered across her expression. I wondered what that was about, but showed nothing on my face. I never thought to ask her how she knew. Just took her at her word.
That adorable chin went up in that stubborn way she had. "I just do. I'm…sensitive that way."
Dae studied her for a long moment, then turned his attention back to me. "Does Killian know?" Apparently, he'd decided to take her at her word as well.
I shook my head. "Just found out myself. A few minutes ago."
"If this is true, then we need to tell him."
Esme's hands went to her hips. "What do you mean, IF this is true? I just said it was."
Dae crossed his thick arms over his chest and looked down at her. "Look, sweetheart. No offense. It's just that I don't know you. Therefore, I don't know whether or not to believe you."
"She's not lying, Dae."
Without breaking the stare down they were engaged in, he asked me, "How do you know?"
I knew what he was asking me. "I just do," was my lame reply. But it was the truth. She wasn't lying. I didn't know how I knew that for a fact, but I just did. I felt it all the way to my bones. I didn’t have to go digging around in her head. "How would she know about him…how would she know his name…if it wasn't true?"
Dae cocked his head, looking at her with new interest. “How muchexactlydo you know about Marcus?” he asked.
Esme took a breath and her red lips parted, but before she could answer, the street lights flickered and an icy wind whipped down the nearly empty street, carrying with it the metallic tang of dark magic.
8
ESME
The djinn's magic crawled over my skin, burrowing under my clothes like a thousand slimy centipedes. My own magic instinctively rose to the surface to protect me from this invasion, but I fought it down, afraid it would reveal the truth of what I was if I unleashed so much as a wisp of it.
I didn't know if the vampires could sense magic or not, but my question was answered when I was suddenly wrapped tight in Brogan's arms. The side of my face pressed into the buttons of his shirt with one large male hand, and a deep, possessive growl vibrated against my ear.
I couldn't see Dae anymore, but Brogan was as still as death and as un-moving as stone against me. I turned my head just enough to see Dae appear at Brogan's side, so fast I didn't even see him move. He just suddenly…appeared. "We need to get the fuck out of here," Dae announced. "NOW. And bring her." He pointed at me, and then he was gone again.
Before I knew it, Brogan scooped me up, cradling me in his arms as we raced down the dark street so fast the people and buildings we passed were nothing but a blur of colors. I couldn’t tell if anyone saw us run by, or if we were like a breeze that came and went without much notice. Brogan took a corner and my stomach lurched like I was on a rollercoaster. Burying my face between his neck and shoulder, I prayed to all the gods I wouldn't vomit down his chest.
We ran for what felt like hours, but was probably less than two minutes. I stumbled when Brogan set me down, my head still spinning from the vampire speed travel, and I grabbed his arm and hung on, the other hand braced on my thigh, until the world was still again. Glancing up, I blinked rapidly until my vision stabilized, and saw that we were standing in front of an impressive two-story Creole mansion. As was the style in this part of The Quarter, it was painted a soft pink and had a wrought iron balcony that extended across the entire front of the building.
Brogan's handsome face was suddenly directly in my line of vision. "You okay?"
I started to nod, but stopped when my brain was sloshed around inside my skull. "I'm fine," I assured him. At least, I would be. The oppressive power of the djinn was gone.
"Welcome to Casa de Vampire," Dae said with a perfect Spanish accent. "Where the blood flows freely and the party never stops."
Brogan shot him a look. "Not helping. Also, not true," he told me softly. "The closest we come to a party is when Killian opens the house up at Christmas for the tourists to tour.”
My legs were still a bit wobbly as we hurried through the gate into the back courtyard. The space was larger than I'd expected. There was even a small guest house that was obviously occupied because the inside lights were on. I didn't get to see much more than that though, because Brogan ushered me straight to the backdoor of the main home.
We entered into a short hallway that led to a surprisingly modern kitchen with cinnamon glazed cabinets—some with etched glass fronts—and counters that looked like dark gray stone. The floor appeared to be the original wood, polished to a rich honey oak. My gaze went up and up to the high ceilings, traveling along the crown moulding before falling to the kitchen table and the chandelier that hung above it. On the far side of the kitchen was a sitting room with dark gray furniture and large windows draped with elegant, flowing burgundy curtains.
"Killian," Brogan called out to the empty room. "We have a situation."
A tall man—no, avampire—with intense golden eyes appeared in the opposite hall between one blink and the next, startling me, although I guess I should get used to it now that I'd been let in on the secret of what they were. His expression tightened when he saw me standing there, and those amazing eyes locked in on mine. But what really shocked me was seeing Lizzy from Ancient Magicks following him at a much slower, human pace, with Wiggles waddling along at her heels.
"Esme?" she said when she saw me. "What are you doing here?"
I forced my face to stay neutral despite my surprise at finding my new boss in a house full of vampires. "It's..." I gave her a little smile and a shrug, "…complicated."
