“Wake up, Roger. The world is already under the sway of the damned and the wretchedly ambitious,” Dmitri replied, exhaustion plain.
“Maybe. But if I can keep these vampires in check, then there might be a little less pain in the world,” Roger said.
Dmitri closed his eyes and leaned forward to grasp the rail. After taking a ragged breath, he said, “God, I forgot what an idealist you can be.”
“Sometimes. They tend to bring it out in me.”
“Your mortals?”
“And Takashi.”
Dmitri opened his eyes and turned to look at the hotel suite. The light made seeing inside possible. Carver was standing, the remote control high in his other hand. Kit was latched onto his shoulder while Zack was clearly trying to figure out the best way to tackle Carver without hurting him. Takashi lifted Kit by the waist and raised them up. The struggle continued.
“He’s been smitten with you since the ’20s,” Dmitri said. “I hated him then.”
“You were through with me, remember? Why were you jealous of a fledgling who wanted to be with me when you had left my home screaming you wish you’d never seen my face?”
“Love and hate tend to mingle until it recedes beyond meaning. I am damned without salvation, and you belong in this hell with me. Any alternative is … maddening.”
That far-off tone in Dmitri’s voice rang alarm bells in Roger’s mind. He lightly grasped Dmitri’s arm. “What are you planning?”
“Nothing,” Dmitri said.
But Dmitri wouldn’t meet his gaze. Roger tightened his hold on Dmitri’s arm. “Don’t lie to me, love.”
“I haven’t been that for you in ages.”
“Because you chose to leave me,” Roger replied.
“You always chose another.” Dmitri motioned at the suite.
“I have a place for you in my heart.” Roger turned to face Dmitri and held on to both his arms. “You don’t have to leave. Stay with us.”
Dmitri took a step back, then another, and slowly pulled away from Roger’s touch. “I’m due elsewhere.”
“Then you are planning something. Please, Dmitri, whatever it is, come inside and share it with me,” Roger said.
“You’ve made your position clear. You wish to kill the king and take his throne. I plan to burn the devil from my life.”
Before Roger could reach for him again, Dmitri skipped to the top of the railing and then dropped into the darkness. Roger spun and clasped the railing. He hunted for Dmitri in the air below and spotted him drifting downward, eventually landing on a building across the street. Dmitri dashed across that rooftop and jumped from the next.
Not quite flight but close. I’m not the only one gaining strength with age. Roger watched the night, but he had lost sight of Dmitri after he jumped from the second building.
The sliding glass door opened, and Takashi emerged onto the balcony. He pushed the door shut and held it closed. There was a hint of laughter on his lips, and he held the controller to his chest. Carver began to bang on the glass between attempts to force the door open. Takashi said, “Sorry if I’m interrupting. Where is Dmitri?”
“Gone,” Roger said.
Takashi opened the door and tossed the controller at Carver. Before he closed the door again, Roger heard Zack’s voice. “Is everything?—”
“Five minutes,” Takashi promised and finished shutting the door.
“I don’t know if I can pull myself together that quickly,” Roger murmured.
Takashi joined him at the railing, one hand resting on it as he surveyed the empty air below. “Did he jump?”
“More drifted from rooftop to rooftop.”
“Flight is rare among our kind.”
