Jacqueline took his chin in her fingers. “Hold still.”
The words had been quiet, even sweet, but they hit Callum with the authority of an ancient empress that bordered on godhood. The very idea of questioning her as she stripped away more bandages seemed unfathomable. Callum’s gaze landed on Robert as the last of the bandages came away. He didn’t understand why, but the sight of the man, from his long auburn hair to the delicate curve of his jaw as it met his chin, to the depth of those light blue eyes, his long, elegant neck, cool alabaster skin and the slender but firm contours of a chest now exposed to the third button of his silk shirt… Callum couldn’t look away.
Robert drew nearer and nearer until Callum felt the back of the man’s fingers on his cheek. His lips brushed Callum’s, and against all sense, Callum wanted to taste what lay beyond them. But Robert would not indulge him, instead lifting his lips to Callum’s cut and pressing them there with a tenderness that belied the sarcastic demeanour he’d shown at Eldorado, not to mention the bloodied monster Callum had seen in the alley.
Callum’s heart seized, but his body denied him even the slightest movement as Robert’s tongue caressed his cut. A sweet, tender sensation filled him, like the first touch of a warm razor in the hands of a skilled barber. But instead of drawing blood, Robert mopped it away, a self-satisfied smile on his face as he withdrew, licking the last of his sanguine prize from the corner of his mouth.
He and Jacqueline were smiling.
“What are you?” Callum stammered. “Some kind of Dracula?”
Robert rolled his eyes while Jacqueline stifled a laugh. “That fucking Irishman.”
“The term is Blood Shade,” Frank explained. “Or as you might have heard it, vampire.”
“A pejorative you’d do well to avoid,” Robert cautioned him.
“But what just happened? Are you going to kill me now?”
“But of course! I heal the wounds of every man I intend to kill. Can’t send you into the dirt looking less than immaculate now, can we? Use your brains!”
“All right, that’ll do,” Frank interrupted, giving Robert a look. “Callum, it’s as I told you, you’re far too useful to us, and that’s only if you choose to be. A Blood Shade’s nature goes well beyond an unusual diet. I’ll let Jacqueline and Robert explain if they choose, but a Blood Shade’s kiss can heal most any superficial to moderate flesh wound.”
Jacqueline lowered herself until her face was level with Callum’s. “Feels good, doesn’t it? Frightfully useful when you need to send a companion away into the night, none the wiser for what they’ve just given you.”
“Send them away?”
“Of course, darling. It would be terribly careless to leave a trail of dead bodies in our wake when killing them is entirely unnecessary.”
“Like killing those Brownshirts was unnecessary?”
“Those brutes attacked us first, and it was fun.”
“Fun?”
“We’re getting a little side-tracked.” Frank held his hand up to quiet Jacqueline with a soft smile. “I know you have a lot of questions, and before long, I expect you to have a great many more. But Callum, first, you need to know yourself. BloodShades are just one variety of a vast menagerie that inhabit the night.”
“In English, please?” he muttered.
“Werewolves? Witches?” Robert added, ignoring a look from the silent woman who’d joined them. “Fairies, demons, angels, goblins, gargoyles, elves, pixies, ghouls, even dragons, and any other number of creatures you’ve likely not heard about, from every continent and shadow of the world; they all exist, in some form. You’ve been living alongside them your whole life, without knowing you come from a similar bloodline.”
“Bloodline? Is that right? Midlands born and bred, ye daft prick, just like my father and his.”
“Many whose lineage is touched by the uncanny live their whole lives without manifesting any sort of difference, much less coming into the power you’ve seen Robert and Jacqueline wield,” Frank added. “The power to make you do their bidding? To heal wounds with a kiss?”
“To suck the blood out of people?” he retorted. “Because if that’s what I’m going to turn into, best kill me now and get it over with.”
“See? You do know, don’t you? You’ve known for years. That sense that you’re not entirely there. That people don’t quite see you, or that they forget you as soon as they turn away.” Frank eased closer to him, eyes full with curiosity. “Blood? Not in your case, Callum. Your gift—some would say curse, if we’re honest—is to disappear from mortal sight. Your flesh, your hair, your bones, there’s no physical part of you that won’t be rendered invisible by the time you’ve come into your true self. As I said, it will happen sooner than you think. I’m sure that’s unpalatable toyou, even frightening. But we can help ease that transition. As it happens, you can help us too.”
“I’m not doing a bloody thing for you.”
Frank nodded, thoughtfully. “Very well. If you’d rather go through this alone, we’ll stop wasting your time.”
Before Callum could move, he felt the immutable grip of Robert’s hands on his shoulders again. When Jacqueline levelled her eyes on him, it felt like she could stare into his soul, as if the entire room had been swallowed by those eyes in their cold, tacit confidence. The only other thing he could see was the burning cigarette of the unknown woman, who sat off to one side of the room, watching and waiting.
“This won’t hurt. Just hold still.”
“Let go of me!”
