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He pictured himself in that mansion he had seen with the realtor who had talked too much and had a bad facelift.
No… he rather thought, considering everything… he should like to rule the vampire world.
The bolt of purpose that went through him was so vibrant, so powerful, he got hard, the impulse downright sexual in its intensity. And he rode the wave of power and focus back to where he had started his promenade, by the rear entry.
The butler was leaning into the refrigerator, putting something in. Maybe taking it out.
The solution to the unknowns about the precise utility of this incredible discovery was simple: He could just borrow the butler for a little while. And after he got his information? Well, things could just as easily be erased, couldn’t they.
A little Trojan horse in the mix. Just in a penguin suit.
How positively Homer-ific.
The Greco-Roman, not the Groening.
Cupping his hand to his mouth, he called out, “Fritz.”
The doggen instantly straightened and looked to the back door.
When Lash repeated the name, the servant, ever loyal, ever prepared to be helpful, went to the rear entry…
And opened it.
* * *
“Right through here.”
Standing back from a collection of boulders the size of small houses and sheds, Lassiter indicated the passageway that was in their midst. He also lit the fire down in the cave with his will so that Rahvyn had a light source to follow.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
She ducked down even though she had plenty of headroom, and he double checked the vicinity before following along. There was nothing moving in and among the pines, no scents on the air, no sounds except for the wind as it whistled through countless boughs. Indeed, the mountain was quiet in the moonlight, and he decided he was going to take her out to the summit clearing at some point, so she could see the valley.
But not right now. Falling in behind her wake, he had to turn sideways to fit his shoulders, and there wasn’t all that far to go before the cave presented itself as an open area created by a stroke of nature-luck, the confines established by a random fall of enormous rocks that just happened to leave a nice, cozy living space beneath them.
Well, there had been some Town & Country comfort added, of course.
“Oh, this is so… warm,” Rahvyn exclaimed as she went to the smokeless fire and put her palms out. “And luxurious.”
“The latter is a Fritz thing.”
Rubbing her hands together, she investigated the bedding platform that had been made up with Egyptian cotton sheets, a cloud-worthy comforter, and pillows that were soft as a summer breeze. There was also a table and two chairs, and fine china and glassware. A candelabra. A battery-run mini-fridge. A storage box packed with nonperishables and bread.
How Fritz had the time and energy to do everything he did was a mystery.
“There’s an escape hatch behind there.” He pointed to a tapestry that had been hung up with hooks pounded into the rock. “It’s another passageway that penetrates deep into the mountain. So there are options during the day if something uninvited was to show up.”
Pivoting, she met his eyes over the fire. “Can you go out into the daylight?”
“I have to regularly, as a matter of fact.”
He went over to the bed, intending to plump the pillow he’d used so that the imprint of his fat head didn’t ruin the look of it. Except then he decided to leave things as is because he didn’t want to seem like he was taking for granted that she was staying over day—or that horizontal was where they were going to end up.
“Does it recharge you in some manner?” she asked as she bent to check out some books on a mahogany shelf. “Oh, my, I do not recognize these authors, I’m afraid. Sue Grafton? There is an alphabet of them. Lisa Gardner. Steve Berry.”
“Yes, on the sun. And I’m not a big reader, I’m afraid. Now, if there were a TV…”
Well, he’d still be watching her, wouldn’t he.
As she took one of the novels out from the lineup, she had to tuck her hair behind her ear, and he loved the way a little frown of concentration appeared between her brows as she fanned through the pages.
“I was never much of a reader myself.” She glanced over. “Father insisted I learn, however. Many females in my era were not so lucky. The disadvantage to them was substantial.”
“What happened to your parents?”
“They are in the Fade.” Her gaze dropped back down to the words, but he’d have bet she didn’t see anything on the page. “They were left for dead by lessers. My cousin, Sahvage, was tasked with overseeing me, and it was a role he fulfilled very well.” She paused. And then shook her head with a sadness that pierced his heart. “It was not his fault I was captured. He told me to run, you see. When the aristocrat’s guards came for me… Sahvage screamed at me to run, but I knew they were after me, not him. I thought if I stayed where we were, if he was the one to flee instead of defending me, then at least one of us would survive. In the end, however, we both came through.”
