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He allowed an icy silence to settle between them. He gave her more leeway than any other creature. But he had limits.
“Take care, mage,” he whispered softly.
Peri flushed, smart enough not to provoke the annoyed vampire. “What sort of talent?”
“For tracing the scent of a demon. Or mage. If one was here I’ll be able to follow his trail.”
She blinked, as if caught off guard by his words. Then, abruptly, she turned to walk briskly toward the barn.
“Follow me.”
Chapter 4
Be careful…
Skye’s soft plea before Peri left New Jersey whispered through the back of her mind. Was wandering through a crime scene with a pissed-off vampire at her back being careful? Doubtful. Of course, he wasn’t the only one pissed off, she wryly acknowledged.
Valen’s surprise arrival had happened while she was still unbalanced by her return to the ranch. She’d given away too much personal information. And worse, she’d allowed him to see she remained vulnerable to wounds that hadn’t entirely healed.
Nearing the large barn, Peri grimaced in resignation. From the moment she’d driven onto the ranch, her emotions had been scrubbed raw. It looked the same as the night she’d fled. The long wooden bunkhouses with the rusting tin roofs. The main L-shaped lodge that doubled as the kitchen and dining hall. The stone sheds that held grain for the livestock. The corrals and pigsties and chickens pecking at the hard ground. And the center firepit with a huge caldron used to create spells and potions.
All the same, except that it was eerily silent now.
Only the ghosts remained.
She couldn’t pretend indifference, but she could use Valen’s unwelcome arrival to her advantage.
Stepping over the police tape that acted as a flimsy barrier, Peri pressed open the door to the barn and stepped into the shadowed interior. Then, moving toward the exterior wall, she fumbled for the light switch. She could see better than a human in the dark, but not as well as a vampire. The dull glow from thebare light bulbs hanging from the rafters provided a faux sense of security.
She glanced around, absently noticing the signs of decay. It wasn’t the recent deaths that had caused the warped floorboards or the rotting stables at the back of the open space. It was years of neglect.
The coven had never kept horses, so it was understandable that the stables would be in disrepair, but the barn was used to store the precious herbs and spices that were necessary for their potions. It was also where they cast their most powerful spells.
What had happened?
Reaching the center of the space, Peri studied the ground where the witches had been stretched out like pagan sacrifices. She could see a charred spot on the floorboards. A fire? A weapon from a demon?
Peri lifted her head, discovering Valen inspecting the stables. Her breath stuck in her throat as her gaze swept over his lean form, impossibly elegant in his soft black sweater that clung to his chest and the silky black slacks. His hair shimmered with golden strands in the dull light and his profile was chiseled perfection.
Everything about him is perfection,a voice whispered in the back of her mind.
Peri clenched her hands, battling back her fierce attraction. This male was nothing but trouble. On an epic scale.
“Did you see the picture of the corpses?” She forced the words past her stiff lips.
Valen smoothly turned and crossed directly in front of her. “I did.”
“They looked like they had been drained. Could it have been a vampire?”
He arched a brow at the blunt question. Vampires considered themselves above the law. And certainly they didn’t tolerate accusations of murder from lowly mages.
Surprisingly, however, he merely shrugged. “It’s possible. A vampire could have drained them and left them posed to send a message to Gabriel.”
“That’s why you’re here,” she breathed before she could halt the words. “To make sure there isn’t a rogue vampire causing havoc.”
His exquisite features might have been carved from marble. “As I said, I want the truth.”
Her harsh laugh echoed through the barn. “Wisdom Ranch is a place of lies and deceit. There’s no truth to be found here.”
