“Hey, Ben. I thought I told you not to get into trouble on your little fact-finding mission.”
He tried to smile, half his mouth lifting. “Not my boss,” he whispered.
“Yeah, well, you’re going to be fine,” I said, even though I had no idea if that were true or not. “You just need to rest, and let Jame and the doctors and nurses take care of you, okay?”
“He knows.”
Chills ran over my body, terror bypassing emotional conduits and riding ancient lizard-brain instincts instead.
“Lavius?”
“Yes.”
“What does he know?”
“The moon. The book.”
“Full moon?”
“He will be there. You. You have.” Ben moved his mouth, the muscles at his neck straining, tendons popping.
Jame leaned in, placed his mouth over Ben’s shoulder, then neck and just breathed there, a soft growl that sounded almost like a purr rising up out of him.
Ben’s eyes were wild, frantic. I pet his hand gently. “Easy. Give it a minute. Just relax and feel that man of yours.”
Ben swallowed repeatedly, and Jame just kept on purring, or maybe he was talking in a low grumble. Whatever it was he was doing, it worked. Ben relaxed by degrees, his body, his face, and finally his eyes, which fluttered shut.
I waited. There had to be more Ben wanted to say. More than Lavius knows we had the book because that was old news.
After a full minute, I glanced over at Granny. “Does he need anything?”
But it was Rossi who answered me. “Wait. He’s gathering his strength.”
The vampires in the room all shifted, and it sounded like wings against silk. Only Rossi held perfectly still, a tower in the shifting wind.
I missed Rossi’s laidback hippie, free love vibe he usually strolled around with. But I couldn’t deny that the granddaddy badass vampire thing he was rocking was a not only a better fit right now, it was also totally hypnotizing.
So I waited.
The silence wasn’t uncomfortable. Jame kept making those low, growling sounds. Then finally lifted his head and pressed his forehead to Ben’s temple, his eyes closed.
Ben stirred again, opened his eyes.
I smiled encouragingly. “So far you’ve told me Lavius knows we were planning to meet him at the full moon tonight. You said book, and I know Lavius wants the book. He knows we have it. We’re not going to give it to him.”
Some of the panic drained out of his eyes. “Mansion. Portland. Power. But here…” The words locked up again, as Ben stiffened to silence.
Jame stroked Ben’s arm, easy, steady contact. It seemed to help.
“Weak here. Demon. Possess.” Ben stuttered, then worked his mouth, no words coming out. I could see the pain it caused him. And the frustration, so close to panic.
“He has vampires working for him who are demon-possessed,” I said.
“Wanted me.”
“Wanted to possess you?”
“Marked.”
