He reached out and hugged me again. “It’s okay. She only worries. Go visit, have some fresh blood, and maybe I can suggest I take you down to visit with the others.”
“Thank you, Jaime, thank you.”
He grinned. “Get dressed. I’ll wait outside for you.” He exited and shut the door behind him, letting me prepare for a visit with the high priestess.
All of my clothing was similar. Long, swooping dresses that reminded me of Ancient Greece. I picked one the color of rust and draped it around me. I then went to my vanity, quickly put my hair up in a ribbon of matching color, and applied some makeup. I looked like death without it.
Finally, I left the room and saw Jaime leaning against the wall, waiting for me. We started down the halltowardthe high priestess’ blood den.
“Jaime, I did have one thing that might be something.” I clasped my hands in front of me and squeezed my fingers nervously.
He stopped short and turned to me. “A memory?”
“Maybe. It was a dream.” I swallowed hard, and my eyes drifted to my feet. “Does the name Desiderio mean anything to me?” I glanced up and saw his face turn from surprise to a scowl in an instant. His jaw tightened, and his eyes narrowed.
“We don’t use that name in this village. Do not speak of him again.” He started forward, but I reached for his arm. I grabbed his wrist and pulled to stop him.
“Hold on. Why? What is he?”
“He’s a monster,” Jaime snarled. He turned to me and pointed to his eyes with his other hand. “He has the mark of the beast.”
“What do you mean?” I let go of him. Jaime didn’t relax his furious stance. I had gone rounds with him and everyone else serving in this house for two months. I was sick of it. I glared right back at him. I refused to back down on this one. I crossed my arms.
“Desiderio is a monster. He is neither welcome here nor in the village where he currently resides. He roams the streets, preying on the innocent. He hides in plain sight. If you ever see him in dreams or in front of you….” he leaned down and got face-to-face with me. “Run.”
He turned then and stormed down the hall. I hurried after him. “He didn’t look evil. He seemed to know me. Surely someone who I was close with couldn’t be evil.”
“No more! Where did you see him?” Jaime demanded without looking back at me.
“In my dream,” I lied and then steeled myself. “No. Tell me exactly what he did to warrant such— such—” I stumbled, looking for the words to describe my normally calm brother’s current state. “Wrath!”
He stopped then and seemed to take a few long, deep breaths. His next words came through gritted teeth and a clenched jaw. “That man has admitted to slaughtering ten thousand people. He is the worst kind of monster.”
I hesitated in responding. My mouth went dry, and I opened and closed my mouth a few times before asking. “What kind?” The words came out so softly that I wasn’t sure he heard me.
“The ones hidden amongst us.”
The conversation ended then. Jaime was done talking about Desiderio and his odd eyes. I walked behind him silently as if walkingtowardmy death. I paused at the entrance to Magdalena’s private relaxing room. The tension in the air between my brother and me was thick.
“I’m sorry. For arguing.”
He blinked rapidly but turned away and headed back to his own part of the house without speaking.
“Julieta?”
I sighed and stepped in. The room was dimly lit, and she sat by the fire as she did almost every night. The room smelled of flowers freshly picked, and blood freshly shed. The fire crackled but other than that, it was quiet.
“I forbid English, and still, you insist on speaking it,” she said in English. I raised my eyebrows, and my heart sped up with nerves. Had she heard Jaime and me? I opened my mouth to reply, but she put her hand up. She still hadn’t turned to even glance at me. “Come sit.”
I did as told, spreading my dress out over my legs. She had chastised me on my tattoos numerous times, despite my memories of getting them were gone.
“You wanted to see me?” I replied, also in English. While I had been working hard at learning, I was still much faster at English. It was as if the accident had completely washed away my knowledge of any Spanish words I knew.
“Yes. I want to talk about your gifts.”
“Gifts?” I cocked my head. The beautifully scary vampire woman finally turned her head. The look on her face shook me to the core. Her eyes were blank as if looking through me, talking to a different dimension.
“Yes. You share my blood. You must have gifts like me.”
