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“I would be disappointed if it did. Your forthrightness is one of the things I love about you, even if it is also one of your most frustrating traits.”
I laughed, picked up my glass, and lightly tapped it against his. “To us annoying the shit out of each other for decades to come.”
He laughed and took a drink. “Seriously, though, have you discovered an easy means of tracking and stopping the basilisk?”
I grimaced. “Nothing more than we’ve already discovered. But I’ve got Katie tracking the basilisk’s movements. If there’s a visible pattern, we’ve a better chance of trapping the bastard.”
He nodded. “Tala mentioned in the report she made that Joselyn Hankins managed to get a glimpse of some of our vampires.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Was she able to give a description? Because her memories were pretty scrambled at the scene.”
“No, though Tala did mention that Belle was going into the hospital tomorrow morning to see what she could do.”
“Just don’t expect miracles. Belle might be an extremely strong telepath, but if magic or another telepath has interfered with Joselyn’s memories, there might be nothing to retrieve.”
“Exactly what I said to Tala. I think she was hoping to give Joselyn and her family reassurance that it wasn’t another memory-loss episode.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Why would they think that?”
“She’s a diabetic—”
“Really? Wouldn’t have thought so, with all the cakes she eats.”
He lightly nudged me. “Being diabetic doesn’t mean you can’t eat cake. It just means you have to be more careful to test and manage it.”
“And you know this how?”
“A previous short-term girlfriend who had diabetes and loved cake.”
“Ha.” I grabbed another bit of fish and then motioned for him to continue.
“Apparently Joselyn did suffer memory losses a few years ago, though it was before she was diagnosed.”
“The doctors would surely have tested for that and confirmed, one way or another.”
“Blood tests results aren’t immediate.”
No, but the first thing they’d have done is prick her finger and tested her sugar levels. Not that it really mattered right now. “The little Belle could immediately pull from Joselyn’s mind suggests they’re using some sort of transport spell to get around, as nothing in her memories matches where she was found.”
He nodded. “Unfortunately, there are a ton of abandoned houses within the reservation, many of them long-forgotten and barely habitable.”
“A mage or even a capable witch can make a place habitable with little more than a spell or two.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Spells can’t create water or power.”
“No, but vampires don’t really need either to exist.” And while I couldn’t imagine the woman who’d given “birth” to Maelle living in drafty squalor, if they were capable of transport spells then they were capable of getting whatever furniture and other supplies they needed. “Has there been a spate of strange or unusual robberies reported recently?”
“If you’re talking furniture and the like, yes.” He frowned. “But they’re not confined to one area.”
“They wouldn’t be. Our vampiress has been around a very long time, and she isn’t likely to make such an obvious mistake.” I picked up another chip. “But that’s enough shop talk for one night, I think.”
“Agreed.” He draped his left arm around my shoulder, lazily brushing his fingertips across the top of my breast while he ate a fried Dim sim with the other. “Shall we discuss our upcoming nuptials instead?”
“I like that you informed your mother they’d be happening very soon before we’d actually discussed the matter.” My voice was dry, and he smiled.
“That was a statement designed to annoy my mother rather than you.”
“I know, but—”
