* * *
The three of us rounded the corner and stepped outside into the crisp night. The patio was empty.
I took two big steps forward. Where was the body?
I opened my mouth to curse when suddenly the blood slick pavers blinked into view. I stood on the edge of the pooled red, the toes of my shoes just barely touching. I jumped back.
Thomas dropped into view. Literally, he dropped. As if he’d been perched high above us on the roof and had suddenly stepped off to join us on the ground.
I swallowed my yelp. If it was possible for vampires to have a heart attack, these guys would figure out a way to give it to me.
Liam ignored my jumpiness, but Nathan gave me a long look. I looked back and raised an eyebrow daring him to say anything.
His lips twitched with humor. So glad he found my agitation amusing.
“It took you long enough to bring him,” Thomas said. His voice was neutral but lurking beneath was a thread of disapproval.
“What can I say, the appetizer tray was just irresistible.”
Liam squatted next to the body, careful not to touch anything. I stepped to his side and leaned over his shoulder.
The wounds at Robert’s neck were clean and precise. His blades had been very sharp. They had done their job efficiently and effectively. There had been no hesitation.
“Severing the spine is what killed him,” Nathan said crouching on the other side. “He would have survived if the blade had missed his spine.”
“Severing the carotid and jugular arteries wouldn’t have killed him?” I asked.
Liam shook his head. “Vampires can heal wounds such as that fairly easily. It’ll slow them down, cause them to be susceptible to the sun, but for the most part it’s just a nuisance. We’ll heal as soon as we get new blood in our system.”
It was a little odd to think of myself as being able to survive a wound of this magnitude. Liam had helped me heal a few major injuries, including significant damage to my spine, but it still shocked me when I was confronted by the possibilities.
He shifted and pointed to the spine. “Severing the spine, on the other hand, is fatal in all but the very oldest of vampires. Even the ancients will need significant time to heal a wound of that magnitude. Robert was far from an ancient.”
He looked up at Thomas and me. “Did you see what happened?”
I folded my arms across my chest.
Thomas looked no happier than I felt. Guess I wasn’t the only one disturbed.
When it appeared he was lost in thought, I said, “We were there.”
Liam stood, his face intent. I paused, not knowing how to explain the rest of what we’d seen. Hell, there was every chance Liam wouldn’t believe any of this. I certainly wouldn’t if I hadn’t witnessed it firsthand.
“What did you see?”
My eyes dropped to the headless body. My voice was haunted as I said, “He did it to himself.”
Nathan’s head popped up as his eyes swung to me, “What are you talking about?”
“He cut his own head off,” I said.
“Bullshit.”
“It’s true,” Thomas said coming out of whatever fog he was in.
“How is that even possible?” Nathan asked in an incredulous voice.
Liam bent back to the body, examining it. He picked up the blade with a cloth, holding it up to the light. The blood was still wet and slid down the steel. He set it back in the body’s hand before reaching over to do the same with the other.
