Cody would marvel at the sight, but right now, all he feels is dread. He gingerly sifts through the backpack’s contents. Nothing he finds is a surprise. Wooden stakes. A flask marked with runes—real holy water. Silver bullets. A handgun, unloaded. A black ski mask.
Cody holds the last item up. “These are the mask and gun from the attack in the parking garage. I recognize the scent, now that it’s clear. From that time, and from before.”
“You know who it is?” Simon asks.
Cody re-zips the bag, and with a deep breath rises to his feet. “Lawrence’s roommate.”
“Erica?” Simon’s face is stark with shadow and flame. “But she was so normal! She was just… someone.”
Someone with bright red hair, floral overalls, and a kind face. Someone who was worried about her roommate. Someone who didn’t move like a fighter.
“Lawrence was just someone too, until he became obsessed with vampires,” Cody points out. He’s starting to doubt his own assessment. “Or was she faking it when we visited?”
“No,” Simon says immediately. “Or she was the best actor I’ve met in centuries. My kind is good at catching tells. Hearing heartbeats and all that. If Erica was lying to me, she was a professional.”
“She wasn’t.” Cody thinks back to the security footage. His brief glimpses of the attacker, memory sharpened by pain and protective instincts. “Her aim was terrible, and she held her gun like an amateur. But she didn’t hesitate to shoot. What could change someone’s personality like that?”
Simon crouches, peering at the weapons and supplies without touching them. “Some sort of spell, perhaps. Maybe the same witch Lawrence got the poison from? But the only thing I’ve ever seen change someone like that is…”
Silence crashes and echoes.
Cody’s heartbeat quickens, and he knows Simon will hear it. “What’s wrong?”
The fire extinguishes as Simon straightens up. Fluid and strong, just as he’s been since drinking Cody’s blood. But his eyes are wide and fragile as ice.
“I light fires,” Simon says quietly. “Tania turned into bats, and Francisco turned into fog. Dima enthralls people to do his bidding.”
Chapter 29
Simon
The idea is a stone falling into water, each ripple a tidal wave. Simon struggles to surface.
“Dima is behind this,” he says, and it feels true. Human attackers without any connection to the paranormal. Dima refusing to call the treaty council to investigate.
But other details don’t make sense. Who killed Erica? If it was Dima, why would he kill his own puppet—just tying up loose ends? Why hire Cody to protect Simon?
Why not just kill Simon by his own hand?
It would have been easy.
“That doesn’t make sense.” Cody echoes Simon’s thoughts. “He hired me to protect you. Why the fuck would he wantto kill you?”
“I don’t know.” Simon lifts a hand, then drops it, uncertain of what he’s doing. Flame sparks around his fingertips before extinguishing. “I don’t know him anymore. Maybe I never did.”
“Shit, Simon.” Cody’s hand heats Simon’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”
The touch is too comforting. Simon wrenches away. He can’t stand the admission of being hurt. “Give me a second. I need to think.”
“We don’t have a second,” Cody says, gentle yet urgent. He pulls out his own phone. “Dima is on his way here. Doesn’t matter if he’s involved or not—we can figure that out when we’re somewhere safe.”
Safety is ephemeral. A flame smothered by the rippling water. Simon clings to details to keep himself in the present. “Who are you calling?”
“Tobias,” Cody answers. “He’ll send a car to meet us on the road, so we don’t have to go back to the house.”
“Don’t call him,” Simon says, paranoid reflex faster than thought.
Cody cancels the call without question. The instinctive trust would be gratifying if Simon wasn’t still in shock. “What’s wrong?”
