Bound to Shadows

"Because I had no idea how long the man at the door had been using the camera or how much of the house he might have seen." She shrugged. "It was safer to hide."

"If these things can come through mirrors," Rhoan asked. "Why would he be using someone to take images through a keyhole?"

"Because they ca

Which explained the housekeeper's observation that the second man had carried a camera but wasn't using it. It also suggested our two female victims had a tryst with the wraith before he'd started visiting them nightly.

Yet their friends and families had claimed that neither women had lovers. And while you mightn't tell your family that sort of stuff, most women did gossip to friends.

"How come you know about these things and Jack doesn't?"

"Because we come from two very different parts of the world. There are always regional evolutionary differences in species." She shrugged. "The question is, why would the wraith come after me?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Don't suppose you've been having seriously sexual dreams of late, have you?"

She glanced at me. "This is the first time the wraith has attempted to get into my house. So, no, I haven't."

"What about the Melbourne vamp council? Are you on that?" Rhoan asked, moving to the nearest window and looking out. He still held the gun ready, too, though I doubted our felons would risk coming back so quickly. Then I noticed his hand was still near his ear and realized he was in contact with Jack.

"No, I'm not." She frowned. "Although I did a short stint a while ago, when a friend of mine went overseas. And I have to say, most of the councilors are arrogant jerks."

Coming from Sal—who could be as arrogant as the best of them—that was saying a lot. I leaned back against the kitchen counter and crossed my arms. "Those jerks are currently being murdered."

She nodded. "I'd heard, but I really didn't think it would involve me, given that my tenure was only brief."

"How come Jack didn't know?" He mustn't have; otherwise he would have mentioned it. Jack was many things, but he wasn't cavalier with the lives of his people, and he would have at least arranged protection for her.

"Because I only attended a few meetings, and my name never actually went onto the permanent roster."

"And how long ago did you stand in for your friend?"

"Nearly six months ago." She let the little dog down again then moved across to the percolator and began lining up cups. "As I said, it was mostly boring, everyday stuff. You know, someone wanting permission to set up a nest, someone else wanting help with a fledgling—" She paused and frowned as she pressed a button on the percolator. The machine began to spit and hiss, and the rich aroma of coffee filled the air. "There was one request the council refused. A man came to them requesting their help with several fledglings that were having trouble with coping with the turn. As it happens, he hadn't actually asked the council's permission to set up a nest, so he was punished. He was severely reprimanded, and the nest was destroyed."

"And how are nests usually destroyed?" The answer was pretty obvious given the method being used on the councilors, but it was a question that still had to be asked.

"Beheading, then the bodies left to burn in sunlight."

"That would certainly be enough to piss someone off."

"Yeah." She handed me a coffee, then walked over to the window and gave the other to Rhoan. "But it was six months ago. Surely if he was going to seek revenge, he would have done so before now?"

"If I've learned one thing in this job, it's that the bad guys never do what you expect," Rhoan said. "And six months isn't a long time when you basically live forever."

"Point taken," she agreed, and took a sip of her own coffee. "He didn't seem particularly angry at the council's decision, though. And he stood by and watched the destruction without saying a word."

"Maybe he was so damn angry he just wasn't able to react." I breathed deeply, savoring the divine smell emanating from my coffee cup, then took a sip. It lived up to the promise of its aroma. I might even be tempted to say the fresh fruitiness and creamy coconut flavor was every bit as good as my old favorite, hazelnut. "What happened to him after that?"

"I don't know. He just disappeared off the radar."

"And the council didn't find that alarming?" Rhoan asked.

Sal's smile was wry. "If the council got alarmed every time a vampire decided to make himself scarce, they would very quickly become nervous wrecks."

"I thought vamps tended to stick to their own territories?"

She arched an eyebrow. "If we did that, then there would be none of us in Australia, would there?"

That was certainly true. Australia didn't have the same history as England, Europe, or even the U.S. And when it came to white settlement—and the subsequent inflow of supernaturals—it was certainly one of the last places to be populated.

"So," I said, after taking another drink. "This man that went before the council, what sort of vamp was he?"

She shrugged. "I have to admit, I was bored and wasn't really taking that much notice of proceedings. But his name was Ammon. Ammon Nasser, I think."

It was a start, at least. I pulled out the photo taken from Kye's computer from my pocket and showed it to her. "Is this Nasser?"

She frowned at the printout, then shook her head. "Nasser is tall, with spikey brown hair and odd colored eyes."

"Odd how?"

She hesitated. "It's almost like the color is unstable. It shifts hue constantly. It's very weird."

It sounded it. "Are mirror wraiths vampires?"

"Generally no, but like any other person born to this world, they can chose to become one." She took a sip of coffee, her expression considering. "And he uses the mirrors extremely well, so I'd say he was a fairly old wraith when he changed."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because wraiths have certain restrictions when it comes to mirrors, much like vampires with sunshine. The ability really to use mirrors only becomes honed to a true skill as they age."

"How come you know so much about wraiths?" Rhoan asked, voice full of curiosity.

Her smile was bitter. "Because many years ago, one of them killed my family. It took me a very long time to track it down, but I eventually did."

Which was why she'd become a vampire. She didn't say it, but she didn't have to. "So how do you kill them?"

"The best way is to catch them in human form. Then you can dispatch them by any means that would kill a normal human. In smoke form, however, they are virtually unstoppable—though I have been told if you can hold them within the surface of one mirror, then smash that mirror in sunshine, you will destroy them."

"That doesn't exactly sound easy."

"No, which is why I chose the more old fashioned method." Her gaze skated down my body and she smiled when she saw I was wearing wooden heeled stilettos. "I would suggest stronger stakes. Those would not penetrate the heart of most vamps."

The weren't actually designed to do anything more than cause great discomfort, but Sal knew that. She was just getting back to her normal snarky self. Which was a good thing. "Are you able to give Jack a list of the councilors?" I added. "We really need to give these people protection."

Or, at the very least, warn them to get rid of the damn mirrors in their houses.

She hesitated, then nodded. "As long as Jack promises to keep his source confidential. They'd kick my ass if they found out it was me."

I couldn't help gri

An eyebrow winged upwards. "Why, Riley, is that a compliment?"