The Cold Kiss of Death

‘It’s a good job the egg wasn’t still here then,’ she said, throwing the cloth into the sink. ‘People have killed for much less than that.’

I snorted. ‘Tell me about it.’

Luckily, the egg was locked away in a bank vault rather than cluttering up my flat, otherwise I’d probably not have seen it again in this life—or much else, once Ha

Fae might be hard to kill, we might live for centuries, but we’re not immortal, and certainly not where thatamount of money is involved.

Grace dried her hands and then shoved them into her short, curly hair and shook her head. ‘Grrr, I hate it when things like this happen to you.’ She dropped her hands and narrowed her eyes at me. ‘So, what are you going to do about it, Ge

‘I’m not sure yet,’ I said, keeping my tone casual. ‘I suppose try and find out who the egg really belongs to now the Earl’s dead and take it from there.’

‘Which means talking to that vampire, Malik, doesn’t it?’ She pressed her lips together and gave me her concerned look, the one that had disapproval skirting round its edges.

‘Grace, I can’t survive on these.’ I poked at the G-Zav tablets sitting on the counter between us. ‘You know what I was like before I bought the Disguise spell—some days I couldn’t do much more than sit and shake, the cravings got so bad. And I can’t use the spell any more, not now I know the truth about it.’

She gazed at me for a moment, indecision wavering on her face, then sighed. ‘I know you can’t, Ge

‘And Ha

‘I’m not disagreeing, not now. It’s just—Oh heck, Ge

‘I’ve told you!’ I gave her a teasing smile, trying to lighten her mood. ‘Not much different from any other child’s whose father is still living according to eighteenth-century Russian aristocratic traditions, with na

‘Exactly.’ She laughed, sounding slightly dismayed, and crossed her arms. ‘There’s just no way I could everimagine di

‘Okay, I admit it,’ I said drily, ‘I was the only one whose meals turned up on a plate instead of on two feet, but hey, I was a kid, I didn’t know any different, so to me that was normal.’

And okay, occasionally someone would get too enthusiastic over their ‘food’, but accidents happen—as Matilde, my stepmother would say—and then the ‘accidental meal’ would continue to walk around—looking confused and a bit misty—even after the ‘leftovers’ had been ‘disposed of ’ ... but nearly everyone has phobias, don’t they? Spiders are Grace’s, mine just happens to be ghosts.

‘And di

‘Yes, it was so civilised that you ran away when you were fourteen,’ Grace said, her voice still concerned, but with a thread of reproach for my teasing.

‘Yeah, well,’ I sighed, instantly apologetic, ‘as I told you, it wasn’t so much to do with my father as with a mistake he made.’ Like arranging for me to marry another vampire, a future I was utterly happy with, until the vamp turned out to be a psychotic sadist.

‘Are you sure that you’re not making the same mistake with this Malik?’ Her forehead creased with worry.

‘I’m not pla

‘What about Fi

‘Fi

‘Rubbish! Of course he is—why else would he keep quiet about your father and go up against the Witches’ Council if he wasn’t interested? He’s being careful and considerate, Ge

Hope flickered inside me. Was she right?Had Fi

‘Of course,’ Grace carried on, ‘with him backing off like he has after hearing your secret, it means you’ve lost your trust in him too. Which is probably why you blew up at him earlier.’ She squeezed my hands. ‘You like him, Ge

She was right on both counts. I did like him, a lot... andI didn’t trust him. How could I when I wasn’t sure what he wanted? But maybe if I talked to him?

Then she lifted my left hand up between us in accusation; half-faded bruises encircled my wrist. ‘You’ve had thesefor over a month, Ge

Because I’ve finally accepted, regardless of what I want, or you want, I don’t have much choice. I need him, or some vamp anyway, and—not even trying to fool myself here—some part of me wantshim . More importantly, once given, I know his word is his bond.

Only I didn’t say it out loud; it wasn’t what Grace wanted to hear. But if she didn’t understand about Malik, she wasright about talking to Fi

‘You’re right.’ I smiled ruefully. ‘I’ll have a chat with Fi

‘Good, now we’re getting somewhere!’ She wrapped her arms round me in a hug.

‘Don’t get too excited,’ I said, hugging her back and breathing in her familiar floral perfume with its faint antiseptic tang. ‘I’m not ruling the vamp option out yet. And talking about going somewhere—’ I glanced up at the clock. Dawn was still a couple of hours away, but I was itching for my next G-Zav dose, and with the amount of amphetamine the pills contained, I wasn’t going to be sleeping any time soon. ‘I’m going for a run.’

‘Run! It’s wet and cold and dark and—’ She gave a very un-doctor-like squeal of horror, but then, Grace is more a fair-weather type of girl, and she wouldn’t be seen dead in ru