Page 49 of Dark Victory

Tabby was so surprise she stuttered. “Th-that is not the case!”

“You don’t sleep around, Tabby,” Sam said. “So if you are not in love, you will be soon. And that, my dear, must be Destiny.” She jerked the coffeepot from the coffee machine, but it was still brewing and coffee went all over the counter.

“I’ll do that,” Tabby said, shocked that Sam was so upset. “I’m not hurt,” she whispered. “I’m fine. I…had a good time.” She felt herself blush.

“Well, that proves my point.”

Tabby turned to Macleod. “Can I speak to my sister alone for a moment?”

“She doesna like me and she doesna want ye to like me.” He walked over to one of the patched-up windows, taking a piece of it down to stare outside at the bright morning.

Tabby started. She knew her sister, and she wasn’t that way. In fact, she’d be happy for her, if Tabby was happy, too. She lowered her voice, then realized how ludicrous that was—he was telepathic. “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” Sam said. Then she said, “He’s not good enough for you!”

“It was one night,” Tabby cried. Sam gave her a look indicating that was simply impossible. “I am not in love,” she tried. “I mean, he is medieval, Sam. I’ve seen him in action. He is very violent and you know I can’t handle that! But I owe him and I let him stay the night. And I slept with him. So what?”

“So you paid him back with your body?” Sam was disbelieving.

“I would never do such a thing!”

“Yeah, no kidding!”

“Why are you upset? It was out of character and I can’t explain it, not really, but I needed last night…I’m sort of confused.”

“You’re in love with Macleod. It’s the only way you could possibly go to bed with him and enjoy it.”

Why was Sam insisting that she was in love, when it was not even on her mind? She became adamant. “He is a million times worse than Randall.” When Sam didn’t speak, appearing doubtful, she cried, “I watched him behead a boy—but you already know that!” She stopped. “How do you know his name?”

“I work at HCU, remember?” Sam said, turning away.

Tabby knew her sister was lying to her. They never lied to each other and she was shocked. She said carefully, “He’s not a threat, Sam, not to us.”

Sam snorted.

Her sister was more than a Slayer. She had the instincts of both the hunter and the pursued, and she was usually right. “He’s not a threat,” Tabby insisted. She suddenly turned. Macleod watched them, not bothering to pretend not to hear. She faced Sam. “What aren’t you telling me? Why do you dislike him? He saved my life.” Could Macleod represent some kind of danger to them? No, Tabby refused to believe it.

“I know you better than anyone. You’re incredibly romantic. You’ll probably follow him back to medieval times, the way Allie did Royce and Brie did Aidan.”

Tabby was horrified. “That’s a joke, right? I am a modern woman. I couldn’t possibly live in the Middle Ages—not for a New York minute—and not with a man who beheads his enemies without even blinking his eyes!” Sam was afraid she would leave her and go back in time with Macleod. “We’re all that’s left of the Rose women. I’d never leave you here to fight evil alone.”

Sam smiled grimly. “Of course you wouldn’t.”

She didn’t believe her. “Sam.” Tabby hugged her briefly, hard. “I am not going back to 1298. Trust me.”

Sam sighed. “I can’t fight Fate, Tabby. What’s meant to be is meant to be. So what happened here last night?”

Tabby glanced at the destroyed loft. “The same evil that I felt at the Met tried to get in here last night. But we couldn’t see it. It was an energy filled with hatred and malice, like a malevolent ghost. It had enough power to break the windows.”

Sam was silent. “Do you remember the Rampage last week, the one that Kit hasn’t been able to stop thinking about? A demonic spirit was there. It was caught on the video and Nick identified it.”

“What do you mean, a demonic spirit?”

“I mean a demon that was vanquished but did not go to hell,” Sam said sharply.

A chill swept Tabby, from head to toe. “Macleod called it a demonic ghost, too. But demons don’t have ghosts.”

Sam was grim. “According to Forrester, once in a while they do.”