Grady felt a tremor of something skitter up his arms. . . a sort of buzz, a pleasant warmth. . . and he sifted the beads through his hands again. A rosary but not a rosary.
Then he realized the stairs were creaking, and he quickly replaced the rosary, arranging it as it had been. H great-great-granddaughter of Victoriat -e was walking out of Macey's apartment, book tucked under his arm, by the time a puffing Mrs. Gutchinson reached the top step. He squelched a niggle of guilt for inciting her to drag herself up and down the flight of stairs unnecessarily.
"I've got the book. Thank you so very much, ma'am," he said, giving her a tip of his fedora. "Macey will be very appreciative. "
The landlady sniffed and looked at him, then into the apartment. She didn't seem worse for wear with the extra activity. "That young lady needs to learn how to keep house better. Instead of gallivanting off to the dance clubs and a job every day. " She closed the door and locked it smartly, but by the time the bolt shot home, Grady was heading out the front door to his auto.
He had work to do. Research and investigation.
But it wasn't until some time later he actually looked at the book he'd taken from Macey's apartment.
Chas came awake abruptly when someone kicked him in the arm.
Groggy, he blinked and looked around. "What the hell?" he growled at Temple, who stood over him and appeared very riled up.
"I've been looking all over for you. " She glowered down at him. "It's coming onto twilight, and Sebastian wants you guarding Macey. "
Stifling a groan, Chas sat up. The world shifted and tilted a little and he took in the setting, remembering after a minute that he was in an abandoned warehouse. On the floor. His neck throbbed, still pulsing from a recent wound, and the dull scent of undead lingered. He felt Temple's attention shift from the oozing blood, to the stake still in his hand, to his shirtless chest where the vis bulla glinted, and onto the other bites decorating his bare shoulder.
She didn't say anything, but he could feel the shock and revulsion rolling off her. Fuck her.
He pulled upright easily and shrugged into his shirt, buttoning it with agile fingers. "Are you coming too?"
"How much bloody help do you think I'd be if a Guardian showed up?" she snapped. "I'm staying at the Chalice. Sebastian's going with you. "
Chas nodded. He couldn't fault the plan. Despite the fact that he and Vioget had a different perspective on nearly everything, the two of them were a formidable team. That was why Wayren brought him here.
Macey Denton would be safe for
another night at least.
"So, she didn't accept?" Temple asked, shoving his coat at him. the slightest bit of encouragement.
"Not yet. She's thinking about it. "
"Will she?"
"I sure as hell hope so. Hate to see what Vioget will do if she doesn't. And it's only a matter of time till Alvisi or Iscariot dust him. Then they'll have the rings. " He pulled on his coat, shoved the stake in his pocket, then adjusted his extra weapon in its hidden slot in a trouser leg and felt for his gun. "Will you be ready if she does accept?"
"Of course. I've been waiting five years for this chance. "
"Good. Because she's going to need everything you can teach her. Any other news?"
"Iscariot's rned humorless
Chapter EIGHT
~ Of Trying and Thinking and Doing ~
"And so you are ready to take on the vis bulla," said Sebastian in his velvety voice. He smiled at her, his amber eyes warm and intimate.
Macey found it difficult to swallow. She was both nervous and a little intimidated by him-this unaccountably handsome man who looked like a golden angel.
A golden angel with an air of deviltry.
"I will try. . . " she began, but the words stuck in her throat.
"Try? One cannot try to be a Venator. "