The recollection of Amaliya whispering to her all that she had endured after rising was vivid in Innocente’s mind. It was during one of her visits to Austin to see her granddaughter that Amaliya had laid with her head on Innocente’s lap and told her all the terrible things that happened before she had finally made her way to her grandmother’s house. Pete’s terrible rejection of Amaliya in the hotel room had infuriated Innocente. Though Amaliya had not gone into great details about what had occurred, she had cried bloody tears when recounting how Pete had panicked and tried to flee from her presence. Maybe she was being unreasonable, but the thought of anyone hurting her granddaughter infuriated her.
Pete visibly paled. “Not right away. Just recently!”
“You hurt her! You made her cry! You abandoned her when she needed you most!” Innocente shouted at him, snatching up a frying pan and heading in his direction.
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” Sergio dove across the kitchen and wrestled it from her grip. “Grandmama, calm down!”
“He abandoned your cousin when she needed him most! How can you forgive him?”
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about!” Sergio protested.
The man called Ethan stood up and the action drew all eyes to him. “The fact of the matter is that Amaliya is a vampire. We all know it. Let’s just cut to the chase. I am trying to find her because I can turn her back to human. Pete’s helping me.”
Silence filled the room as shock registered across the faces of Sergio and Cynthia. Anna Belle gnawed on her fingers thoughtfully as she stared at the adults. Innocente felt the room tipping as her vision narrowed. It was Sergio’s big arms that slid around her and lifted her up. The world dimmed while worried voices echoed around her. Innocente faded into a strange waking dream where her long dead husband kept whispering everything was going to be all right.
When the world came clearly back into focus again and the words spoken to her once more made sense, Innocente found herself sitting in her living room clutching a glass of cold water. Sergio and Cynthia sat on either side of her, the baby cooing on Cynthia’s lap. Ethan and Pete sat across from them in the two recliners. Everyone wore a look of concern, but Innocente felt the pulse of urgency just under the surface.
“You can make her mortal again?” she asked, her voice slightly cracking.
Ethan nodded. “I need to know where her master is. The one who made her. Once I kill him, I will use his ashes to bring her back.”
“He’s dead,” Innocente answered. She set the glass on a coaster on her coffee table. Her hand was trembling.
“We killed him,” Sergio added.
Pete glanced worriedly at Ethan. “What does that mean?”
“What did you do with the body?” Ethan asked, ignoring Pete.
“He was torn apart...by...zombies,” Sergio said, obviously not sure what he should, or shouldn’t say.
“He’s in tiny pieces. When they went back to the grave, they took him with them.” Innocente hesitated, then said, “Why should I tell you any more?”
“I’m a vampire hunter, ma’am. I track down the old ones and kill them. I find the young ones and turn them back to mortals. My family has done this for centuries. I have a ritual from the Catholic Church that allows me to return young vampires to their human selves by using the ashes of their makers. If you can take me to where this vampire died, maybe I can dig up his remains and get what I need.”
“He was in really small pieces,” Sergio said, wincing.
“Very small pieces,” Innocente agreed.
Ethan shrugged. “I just need a small piece for the ritual to work.”
Innocente was surprised at how desperately she wanted to believe the stranger. The thought of Amaliya regaining her life was almost too precious to grab onto in fear of it being an illusion. “Are you sure you can do this?”
“Oh, I’m more than certain,” Ethan responded with confidence.
As the man launched into a detailed explanation of his investigation into Amaliya’s death and her body’s disappearance, Innocente gripped Sergio’s hand tightly. Even though she was still angry at Pete, she could see that the young man was desperate to believe Ethan, too. His expression was almost heartbreaking. Maybe he was an idiot, but Innocente realized he was an idiot who loved her granddaughter.
“So if we can go to where this vampire died and I can find a piece of him, even a fragment of bone, I can perform a ritual that will make her human again,” Ethan finished.
“We need to tell Amaliya,” Cynthia said in an awestruck, but elated voice. “We have to tell her!”
“She’s asleep right now,” Sergio reminded his wife.
“Where is Amaliya?” Pete asked.
Innocente gave both Sergio and Cynthia a warning look, but they had both already clamped their mouths shut.
“Well?” Ethan asked.
“Somewhere safe,” Innocente finally said. “We will help you get what you need for the ritual, but I’m not going to tell you where Amaliya is yet.”
Ethan raised his eyebrows, then nodded. “Fair enough. You don’t know me. I get that. But I am your best shot at getting your granddaughter back.”
“If there is any chance she can come back to us, you have to help him,” Pete urged.
“I agree,” Innocente said shortly. “But she’s my granddaughter and I won’t do anything until I can talk to her. And that won’t be until tonight.”
“But we can go out to the graveyard now,” Sergio suggested. “We can drive down there during the day and get this rolling, right?”
“That we can,” Ethan agreed.
Cynthia nodded her head. “I’ll watch the kids. You can go with them Sergio.”
“It will take us a few hours to get there,” Innocente said thoughtfully.
“You should stay here, Grandmama,” Sergio suggested.
“No,” Innocente snapped, “I shouldn’t.”
“Okay, okay.” Sergio surrendered immediately, knowing better than to rile her up again.
“I know I hurt Amaliya, Innocente, but I promise I just want to save her and make it up to her now,” Pete promised.
The sweetness on his face almost made her feel bad for him, but Innocente shoved the thought away. There was much to think about and the long drive would give her time to do so. With Bianca calling for help, she wasn’t too sure now was the best time to restore Amaliya. But then again, maybe if she was just human again the forces conspiring against her would leave her be.
“I’m going to eat, then get ready,” Innocente announced.
“We should leave soon,” Ethan suggested.
“We’ll leave when I’m ready,” Innocente informed him. She wasn’t about to let anyone tell her what to do when it came to her granddaughter.
If only she could call Amaliya...
Chapter 17
Jeff awoke to see Beatrice staring at him from her perch on the headboard of Samantha’s bed. The tabby narrowed her green eyes at him.
“Uh, hi?” he whispered, reaching up slowly, offering to scratch her behind the ears.
The cat deftly avoided his hand, leaped past it, and landed heavily on Jeff’s stomach. He was positive the cat had increased her mass somehow. When she landed she felt like she weighed a ton, not a few pounds. Flicking her tail, Beatrice settled into the curve of Samantha’s back and began to delicately lick one paw.
“Okay, I get it. She’s yours and I’m in your spot,” Jeff grunted.
Beatrice regarded him for a long moment as if to say, ‘Yes, stupid human.’
The bedroom was freezing cold. The air unit in the window was gusting air, making the flimsy curtains holding back the sunlight billow outward like dancing ghosts. Rubbing his face, he slowly sat up and glanced over at Samantha. She was deeply asleep, curled on her side, her hand tucked under her chin, breathing deeply. The sight of her made him smile and he gently touched her naked hip.
Outside the window, the huge oak tree threw dark shadows over the house and the insects were buzzing contentedly. It sounded like a lazy Sunday afternoon and he was tempted to lie back down and continue his nap. Sadly, there was much work to do before night fell.
Snagging his cellphone off the bed stand, he quickly scrolled through his messages. There were numerous ones from Benchley and Alexia. Surrendering to the inevitable, he swung his legs out from the silky rose colored sheets and winced as the frosty air washed over his flesh. He fumbled for his boxers, shimmied into them, then reached for his prosthetic leg.
Looking over his shoulder, he wondered if he could love Samantha any more than he already did. She had been completely undaunted by the fact one of his legs ended in a stump just below the knee. Other women had responded not too well to that revelation, but Samantha had acted as though it was completely natural for someone to have to remove a limb before making love. Tenderly, he trailed his fingers through her blond hair, cherishing the feel of it against his skin.
The phone vibrated in his other hand, summoning his attention. It was yet another message from Benchley. Shivering, Jeff abandoned the bed and made his way to Samantha’s kitchen. The sunlight was hitting this side of the house and it was substantially warmer. Beatrice breezed past him, sauntering forward with a haughty air. It was obvious that his presence was an intrusion as far as Samantha’s cat was concerned.