Prologue 3 страница

us home.”

E ighteen hours later, Maximus and I

arrived in Gibsonton, Florida, also known

as Showtown, USA. The heat and

humidity assaulted me as soon as I got out

of the car. It was only May, but the

temperature had to be near one hundred

degrees. Maximus got out, too, looking at

the homes lined up like splotches of dough

on a bakery assembly line.

“Why do I smell elephant manure? ”

“That’s Betsy, ” I said, pointing at the

gray modular house. “Her trainers keep a

pen for her in their yard...”

My voice trailed off as I looked past the

line of houses. I should’ve been able to

see Marty’s trailer since this was the

shortest route into the RV park, but the

spot where his 1982 Winnebago should be

was empty.

“Oh no, ” I moaned.

Instantly Maximus was on alert, a silver

knife appearing in his hand. “What’s

wrong? ”

“Nothing that knife will help, ” I said,

cursing to myself. “For once, Marty

must’ve decided to get on the road early.”

Both golden brows rose. “He’s not

here? ”

“No.”

I should’ve called, but Marty never

started the season early. Plus, I’d wanted

to tell him in person what happened.

Maximus put his knife away and pulled

out a cell phone. “Call him. Find out

where he is.”

I gave him a jaded look. “You don’t

know Marty when he’s on the road. He’s

doing great if he remembers to bring his

phone, let alone charge it or answer it. But

don’t worry. I know another way to find

out which carnival he’ll be at.”

After a quick stop to talk to some of the

other carnies, Maximus and I got on the

road again. At least Gretchen and

Shrapnel had continued by air after

dropping us off in Florida. If I thought I

had a chance at convincing Maximus to let

me catch a bus, I would’ve, but he

wouldn’t leave until he’d fulfilled his

sire’s instructions to the letter.

Several hours later, in a north Georgia

carnival parking lot, I saw a Winnebago

with our stage names of Mighty Marty and

the Fantastic Frankie painted on the side.

“There, ” I said, pointing at the RV.

Maximus parked as close as he could

get. At this predawn hour, everything was

quiet in the employee section of the

carnival. I got out, so tired I almost

stumbled past the vehicles, tents, and

cages along the way, yet I was also

relieved. I was back to my old life where

Marty and I traveled state to state

performing our act. In a few months, if I

was lucky, my time with Vlad might even

feel like a strange, faraway dream and it

wouldn’t hurt so much. Propelled by that

thought, I banged on the trailer door.

“Marty, open up! It’s me.”

The door opened so fast it bashed into

me. I caught a glimpse of bushy black hair

before Marty’s quick grip saved me from

toppling. Then I was enveloped in a fierce

hug around the waist. I bent until I was

even with Marty’s four-foot height and

hugged him back so hard that a current

made him yelp.

“Sorry, ” I gasped.

He chuckled. “My fault. Forgot to brace

for one of those.”

Then Marty pulled back to get his first

real look at me. He inhaled, and his mouth

thinned into a single slit while green

enveloped his chestnut-colored eyes.

“You smell awful, kid. What

happened? ”

I knew he wasn’t talking about it being

a day since I showered. Vampires could

scent emotions and I was probably serving

up a stink platter of brokenheartedness.

“What you warned me about, ” I

responded with an unconvincing attempt at

nonchalance. “Guess I’m one of those

people who learn the hard way.”

Marty sighed before giving me another

hug, and then he patted my back when he

let me go.

“No one’s died of a broken heart yet, so

you’ll survive. Now come inside, you

look like you’re going to collapse.”

I felt like it, too. Then Marty scowled,

looking past me.

“What’s he doing here? ”

“How do you think she got here? ”

Maximus replied coolly. “Now help me

with this luggage.”

I was about to reiterate that I didn’t

want it when someone else appeared in

the trailer behind Marty.

“Who’s here? ” a groggy feminine voice

asked.

If the moonlight hadn’t broken through

the clouds at that moment, the darkness

would’ve made me miss the sheepish look

that skipped over Marty’s face. In the next

moment, I figured out why. A slender girl

with long black hair blinked sleepily at us,

and she couldn’t have been more than

twenty.

“Marty, you’re a hundred and thirtyeight! ”

I exclaimed before realizing the

hypocrisy behind that statement.

“It’s not like that, we work together, ”

the girl offered, smiling hesitatingly at me.

“I’m the new Fantastic Frankie.”

Chapter 6

M aximus offered to drive me five states

away to Gretchen’s. Marty refused and

said we’d figure this out. I didn’t know

how, but I wasn’t about to involve

Maximus any further. I gave him a hug and

told him I’d be fine. That was getting a lot

easier to say. Maybe soon, I’d even

believe it.

Marty waited until Dawn—the new

Fantastic Frankie’s real name—went back

to bed in my old room before offering his

idea.

“I’ll tell her she can finish this event,

then she has to find another gig. Bill the

Beetle Man could use an assistant—”

“You can’t do that, ” I said, exhaustion

making my voice sharp. “Being a carnie

isn’t most people’s first or second career

choices. Dawn’s broke and desperate,

isn’t she? ”

He nodded glumly. “Yeah, plus she’s

got a warrant on her. Petty theft, multiple

counts. People seem to forget that eating

isn’t free. She could pull a small stretch if

they catch her.”

How like Marty to come to this girl’s

rescue by giving her a job, a place to live,

and safety by green-eyeing any suspicious

cops that came sniffing around. He’d done

the same for me when I was Dawn’s age

and only a little more desperate. I couldn’t

take a young girl’s best chance away from

her, no matter my own crappy

circumstances.

I smiled and hoped it didn’t look like a

grimace.

“See, you can’t fire her. Don’t worry

about me. I, ah, have some jewelry I can

sell that’ll keep me flush for a year or so.”

Good thing Vlad had insisted that I leave

with everything he’d given me. “In the

meantime, I’ll create my own solo act.”

He reached across the fold-down table

and grasped my hand. “You’ll stay here

until you’ve booked some slots for that

act.”

“No, really—”

“Don’t argue, ” he cut me off, squeezing

my hand. “You’re not my daughter by

blood but I love you as much as Vera, God

rest her soul, so shut up and let’s get you a

place to sleep.”

I laughed at that, blinking past tears that

were caused by happiness for a change. “I

love you, too, Marty, and I’ve always

thought the couch was really

comfortable.”

S he’s pretty good, I thought a week later

as I watched Dawn perform with Marty.

Granted, he had added some of the more

complicated flips and tumbles to his part

of the routine, but Dawn had a good sense

of showmanship that made up for her

acrobatic weaknesses. By the time she

landed on his shoulders at the end, I could

almost pretend I’d been watching myself.

We looked alike with our slender builds

and long black hair. Aside from wanting

to shield her from the law, no wonder

Marty hadn’t bothered to change Dawn’s

stage name from the one I’d used. I

doubted any of the spectators who’d seen

our act before realized that I’d been

replaced with a younger, less-electrified

model.

I’d gone to their show to prove that I

was okay with how things had turned out.

Dawn was a sweet girl who needed this

break and I did have other options.

Limited ones, true, but options

nonetheless. Starting tonight, I was

reclaiming my life. Cheering Marty and

Dawn on was step one.

Step two was talking to Edgar. He

might be nicknamed The Hammer for his

fierce negotiating tactics, but he was more

honest than your average pawnbroker.

Despite Marty’s assurances that I could

stay as long as I wanted, the Winnebago

really was too small for three people,

even if one of us was a dwarf.

Most of the crowd left while Marty and

Dawn took their encore bows. I waited in

the uppermost section of the stands,

wanting to avoid as much contact with

spectators as I could. I wore specialized

gloves, but even casual contact would feel

like static electricity to anyone who

touched me. That’s why I had on long

sleeves and long pants though it was

eighty degrees in the tent. The hat, well.

That and my hair were to hide my scar

from nosy onlookers.

When there was no one left in the upper

stands except me and a strikingly

attractive brunette, I rose. She did, too,

still staring at the stage as if waiting for

Marty and Dawn to reappear. They

wouldn’t. This had been their final show.

I was about to say that when the woman

leapt off the top of the bleachers, landing

with more grace than an Olympic

medalist. That, more than the thirty-foot

jump, told me she wasn’t human. She

must’ve realized she’d outed herself

because she glared up at me and her eyes

changed to glowing green.

“You saw nothing, ” she hissed.

I nodded, not bothering to tell her I

already knew about her kind. Or that the

vampire blood I had to drink every week

to keep my inner electricity from killing

me meant I was immune to mind control.

She left and I continued down the

bleachers at my humanly slow pace,

making a mental note to tell Marty he’d

had a vampire in the audience tonight.

From there, I headed to the employee

parking lot. Edgar’s trailer wasn’t far

from Marty’s, but he wanted to do

business at his place. Maybe he was

worried that Marty would green-eye him

into overpaying me for the jewels if Marty

witnessed our transaction. Edgar wasn’t

immune to mind control and he, like a lot

of the regular carnies, knew what Marty

was.

I knocked before a gruff voice told me

to come in. Once I did, I blinked at the

glare. Edgar had every interior lamp on,

all the better to appraise what I had inside

my purse.

“Frankie, ” he said, using the name most

carnies knew me by.

I smiled wryly at the bony, white-haired

man. “One of them.”

Edgar waved at the dinette table. I sat

opposite him and began to empty out the

contents of the velvet pouch inside my

purse. This was the first I’d dared to look

at the jewels, and I silently willed myself

to be unemotional.

It didn’t work. Each piece had a

memory that tore at my heart. How warm

Vlad’s fingers felt when he slid the ruby

and diamond cuff onto my wrist. The

stunning aquamarine earrings he’d said

matched the color of my eyes. His lips on

my throat as he fastened the black

diamond necklace around it. Then the

ancient-looking gold ring with the

dragon emblem...

I froze, clutching it instead of placing it

on the table. Why had Vlad included this

with the things he’d had packed for me?

Edgar didn’t seem to notice my shock. He

was too busy looking at the other pieces

through a magnifying glass.

“No flaws in the stones... excellent

workmanship and design... highest grade

of gold and platinum.” He glanced up at

me while still holding the magnifier to one

eye. “Whoever he was, you should’ve

held on to him a little longer.”

“Some things are more important than

money, ” I replied, still reeling from the

presence of the ring. Vlad said only

vampires in his line had one of these. Had

one of his servants made a mistake

including this with the other pieces? Or

was it a sign that his invitation to change

me still stood?

Edgar finally noticed that I clutched

something. “Whatcha got there? ”

“Nothing.” I’d starve on the street

before I hocked this.

He grinned. “Trying to whet my

appetite by pretending I can’t have it?

Nice try, but I’ve seen every trick before

—”

A deafening roar cut him off. Then the

whole trailer shuddered and the windows

shattered. I didn’t have time to scream

before a wall of fire swallowed us both.

Chapter 7

“W e’ve got a live one! ”

I wish I hadn’t heard the voice. Then I

wouldn’t have felt the pain that followed

as consciousness reared its pitiless head.

In addition to that, something so heavy

was on top of me that it hurt to breathe.

Then I regretted breathing as the scent of

scorched meat filled my lungs.

I really regretted opening my eyes. A

blackened skull wrapped in a hideous

pale cloak was the first thing I saw. It

pressed down on me, crushing my limbs

and sending fissures of agony through me.

I screamed, but it came out as a choked

gasp.

“Don’t move, ” an urgent voice

instructed.

I craned my neck as much as I could. To

the right of the skull, behind the twisted

cloak, was a helmeted fireman.

“We’re going to get you out, ” he went

on, his voice muffled from the breathing

device he wore. “Don’t move.”

I couldn’t if I wanted to. My eyes

burned, but after some hard blinking, I

saw the skull on top of me wasn’t wearing

a cloak. What surrounded it was too thick

and hard, like plastic...

The last vestige of confusion lifted. Not

plastic. It was the white acrylic dinette

table that had been between me and Edgar

when the explosion went off, which meant

the charred skull belonged to Edgar. The

fire must’ve been so hot it melted the table

around him like a grisly shroud. That—

plus something else, from the heaviness—

pinned me beneath it.

“What happened? ” I managed. “Is

anyone else hurt? ”

The fireman didn’t answer. I asked

again, but my only response was an

oxygen mask placed over my face. Then a

flurry of activity began as more firemen

arrived and tried to clear away the debris

on top of me.

“Looks like the furniture melted around

her, ” one of them muttered, disbelief clear

in his tone. “How is she still alive? ”

I knew the answer, but it was the least

of my concerns. Marty and Dawn

would’ve gone back to the RV to change

after their final show. That was only a few

trailers away. What if the explosion had

reached them, too?

“My friend is a dwarf, ” I said despite

how much it hurt to talk. “His trailer isn’t

far. Has anyone seen him? ”

No response, but they exchanged pitying

glances. Then I remembered the words I’d

woken up to. We’ve got a live one! Fear

mixed with pain shot through me. Marty

was a vampire, yet he wasn’t fireproof.

Only I was. What if Edgar hadn’t been the

only person killed tonight?

I angled my head until I moved the

oxygen mask partially aside. Then,

forgetting the pain, I began to scream as

loud as I could, hoping desperately that he

was alive to hear me.

“Marty! Marty, where are you? ”

Heavy hands forced the mask back in

place. Someone said to give me a

sedative. I kept screaming, anguish rising

as only more medical workers appeared.

Marty should’ve come by now. Even with

all the other noises, he should’ve heard

me. I screamed louder in desperation.

Please, Marty, please be okay!

Suddenly a path cleared as the people

clustered around me were shoved aside

with inhuman force. Relief turned to

confusion when I got a look at the vampire

who knelt down next to me.

“Leila, you’re alive, ” Maximus

breathed.

He started to say something else, but my

hearing faded and a cottony taste filled my

mouth. The last thing I saw were his eyes

changing to blazing green as he rose and

turned around.

T his time when I woke up, I wasn’t in

pain. That awful stench was still there,

though, as if someone had overcooked a

roast and rubbed it all over me. I coughed,

relieved my lungs didn’t feel like closed

fists anymore. Then I opened my eyes.

Walls the color of old mustard met my

gaze. Not pretty, but better than a charred

skull. I rolled over, seeing the rest of the

tiny room in that single glance. It made the

blond vampire on the opposite bed look

even larger and more imposing.

I had so many questions, like why I was

naked under the covers, but my primary

concern hadn’t changed.

“Marty. Is he...? ” I couldn’t finish the

sentence.

“He’s gone, Leila.”

Maximus’s tone was gentle, but the

words hit me with more force than the

downed power line I’d touched when I

was thirteen. I sucked in a breath that

ended on a sob. At the same time,

something dark rose in me, causing my

right hand to spark. I wanted to do so

much more than cry. I wanted to lash

Maximus with all the voltage I had in me

for saying such an awful thing that

couldn’t—couldn’t! —be true, yet all I

could do was fight for control while

absorbing the news that my best friend

was dead.

Maximus didn’t attempt to comfort me.

Either he could sense the danger in my

sparking hand or he didn’t care how I felt.

Then my sobs subsided as suspicion broke

through my grief.

“What happened? And what are you

doing here? You were supposed to be

back in Romania by now! ”

His mouth twisted. “I didn’t set the

explosion, if that’s what you’re thinking. If

I had, I would have killed you when I saw

you survived. Your being alive proves I’m

not behind it.”

Currents still throbbed in my hand.

“Who is behind it? ”

“I don’t know.”

Maximus got up and began to pace,

difficult since three of his strides covered

the length of the room. His clothes were

ripped and soot smeared, making me

wonder again why he’d been Johnny-onthe-

spot when the explosion went off.

“The fireman said a gas line ruptured, ”

he continued. “They’re calling it an

accident. Since it ruptured right next to

Marty’s trailer, I doubt that.”

“But why would anyone want to kill

Marty? ” I burst out.

He swung a hard glance my way. “I

don’t think anyone did.”

The explosion was meant for me? If so,

it almost worked. Despite my

fireproofing, I’d nearly been crushed to

death. Maximus must have given me some

of his blood to heal me.

“If someone wanted to kill me, why

didn’t they just shoot me in the head? ” I

asked, grief making my voice dull.

“They must have wanted it to look like

an accident.”

I swiped my eyes. Tears wouldn’t help

me find who’d killed my best friend.

“What does Vlad think? ”

Maximus stopped pacing and turned

around, an inscrutable look on his face. “I

didn’t tell him about the explosion, let

alone that you survived it.”

“Why not? We’re broken up, but I doubt

he’d be happy to hear that someone tried

to kill me.”

Maximus said nothing. Underneath

those closed-off, rugged features, I caught

a glimpse of pity. And understood.

“No, ” I whispered. “He wouldn’t.”

Maximus let out a grim snort. “Oh? You

came as close to humiliating him as

anyone has since Szilagyi faked his death

centuries ago. And you saw how Vlad

reacted to that.”

“ I humiliated him? ” If I hadn’t been so

torn up over Marty’s death, I would’ve

laughed. “I told Vlad I loved him only to

have him make it clear where I’d always

rank in his life, which was just a few

notches above ‘undead bed buddy.’ ”

“True, ” Maximus replied without

hesitation, “but that’s more than he offered

any of his other lovers, yet you turned him

down. Then you had the temerity to leave

him.”

“Temerity? ” I repeated in disbelief.

“No woman has ever left Vlad.

Cynthiana, his lover before you, even

seduced Shrapnel trying to make Vlad

jealous after he ended things between

them.”

“Did it work? ” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Aside from cutting off his protection

for Cynthiana because she callously used

Shrapnel for her own gain, he didn’t

care.”

“How long was Vlad with her? ”

Maximus thought for a moment.

“Around thirty years.”

I was incredulous. “That’s longer than

I’ve been alive! If Vlad walked away

from that relationship without a backward

glance, he’s probably forgotten me

already.”

Maximus slanted a look my way before

resuming his pacing. “Not likely.

Regardless of what he does or doesn’t

feel for you, your double rejection will

burn him for years.”

Enough to incite him to murder me? The

thought made me feel like a drowning

victim who’d been dunked under one more

time.

“Let’s say Vlad does want me dead. I

doubt he’d be so cowardly as to fake a gas

line explosion when he could’ve killed me

while I was still at his castle.”

“Yes, but then he’d have to kill

Gretchen and your father, too, making the

whole business look very emotional on his

part.” A weary sort of cynicism replaced

the pity on his face. “Being emotional is

seen as a weakness among vampires. Vlad

knows his enemies would fall on him like

wolves if they suspected that weakness in

him.”

First Marty’s death, then realizing the

explosion was meant for me, now the

suggestion that my ex-boyfriend might be

behind it. I closed my eyes. How much

more could I take?

“You’re Vlad’s right-hand man” was

what I said after an extended pause.

“Wouldn’t he tell you if he planned to kill

me? ”

Maximus was silent so long, I opened

my eyes. “What now? ”

“I don’t think he would, ” Maximus

finally said. “He’d know I would have a

problem with it, and why strain my loyalty

if he didn’t have to? Instead, he could’ve

ordered someone else to make your death

look like an accident. If I hadn’t been

here, I might’ve even believed it.”

Back to that question. “Why were you

here? ”

He sighed, returning to the bed across

from mine. “Partly because I wanted to

make sure Marty really did let you stay

with him even though he’d replaced you

with that other girl. You need vampire

blood to keep your electricity levels from

killing you. If Marty wouldn’t have kept

providing it, I would have made other

arrangements. But mostly, Leila, I didn’t

go back to Romania because of how I feel

about you.”

If I wasn’t overloaded from grief, I

would’ve been shocked. As it was, I

could only muster up faint surprise.

Maximus leaned forward, brushing my

hair back.

“I told you when we met, you’re

beautiful, ballsy, and your abilities

fascinate me. I’ve also seen your courage,

your loyalty, and your strength in leaving a

man you loved because you knew he’d

never love you.”

More surprise, but that was trivial

compared to my anguish and the growing

need I had to avenge my best friend and

the young girl who’d never had a real

chance at life.

“Maximus, you’re very attractive and

I’m flattered, but I can’t even think about

this right now.”

He leaned back, a hard little smile

curving his mouth. “I know, but we are

having this conversation again.”

I didn’t argue. I was too busy trying to

figure out who was behind that explosion.

I still doubted it was Vlad, but if Maximus

thought it was possible, I shouldn’t throw

caution to the wind by automatically

discounting the idea.

Besides, even if I was right and Vlad

wasn’t behind this, I doubted news of my

alleged death would rock him. He’d gone

out of his way to prove that I didn’t mean

much to him.

I shook off that thought before it brought

me even lower than my rock-bottom state.

“I need some clothes.”

Maximus got up and rummaged through

the suitcase on the dresser. Then he pulled

out a shirt and a pair of boxer shorts.

“These won’t fit, but the fire burned

your clothes off and I haven’t had time to

get you new ones.”

“This is fine, ” I said, accepting the

bundle. As soon as I touched it, colorless

images exploded across my mind.

I stuffed my clothes in the suitcase and

then slammed it shut. Time to take Leila

home. No one expected her to leave Vlad,

yet she had, and soon she’d be an ocean

away from him. I smiled at the thought.

She might have refused me once, but that

was before she realized Vlad couldn’t

give her what she needed. I could, and

now I finally had a real chance to show

her that.

“Maximus, ” I whispered once the hotel

room with its putrid yellow walls

surrounded me once again. “It’s back! ”

Chapter 8

M aximus pulled out a lighter, turning the

flame up. I held my hand over it—and

immediately snatched it back with a yelp.

“That hurts! ”

He flipped the lighter closed. “You’re

saying for several weeks it didn’t,

because Vlad’s aura rendered you

fireproof? ”

“That’s right. Fire skipped over me like

it does with him. How else do you explain

me surviving an explosion that was so

intense, it destroyed the trailer I was in? ”

And killed another vampire, I didn’t

say aloud. If I dwelled on Marty’s death,

I’d start sobbing and wouldn’t stop.

“Being in such intense flames must have

used up the remains of his aura in you, ”

Maximus said in a thoughtful tone. Then he

frowned. “Vlad told me about your

psychic abilities malfunctioning. Why

didn’t he tell me this? ”

I sighed. I didn’t want to think about

Vlad now. “Maybe because he’d never

done it before and he wanted to keep his

ability to render someone temporarily

fireproof a secret? ”

“Perhaps, ” he mused.

I didn’t care why Vlad hadn’t told

anyone. My fireproofing was gone, my

abilities were back, and someone who’d

tried to kill me had murdered my closest

friend, an innocent girl, and many others,

too. Finding that person and making him

pay was my new goal in life.

“Okay, picking up impressions from an

object works. Let’s see if I can still find