The Becoming

This time, Avery allows himself a smile. “You are a wonder, A

Perhaps I should have."

"Your mistake, I agree. Will you answer my question?"

He blows out an impatient sigh. “I turned Donaldson. He was a fussy, irritating little man who happened to stumble on an impropriety in one of the hospital accounts. He was doing an audit for his company. He made the mistake of coming to me about it.

I convinced him he had more to gain by looking the other way. When he objected, I set up the bookkeeping discrepancy in his own firm. I showed him how easy it was for one with computer savvy to set up such things. When his boss found out about it, Donaldson came over to my side very quickly. He didn't want to go to jail. I gave him immortality and the hospital problem disappeared. He was supposed to leave the country right away. How was I to know he had such a dark nature? It happens sometimes. He found he liked the killing. He left his family to protect them, the last decent thing he did."

He's still smiling at me, but there's no warmth now. He's watching me the same way a cat might watch a mouse, and he waits for my next move with the same placid feline patience. He's not the least bit afraid.

I rest the palms of my hands on the table and lean forward to continue.

"And what about Williams, what he said to me and what happened after? It wasn't me he needed to hide from, was it? He was afraid of you and what you might do when you found out what he told me. He was afraid of your power. Not mine. He retreated because he thought you and I were in league and that somehow threatened him. I still don't understand it."

I look into Avery's dark eyes. “But you aren't going to explain it, are you?"

Surprisingly, he responds. “You would not understand it—the balance of power between old-soul vampires in a community. I think perhaps now you never will."

"That's it? That's all you're going to say?"

A long moment passes. I have to fight back anger and frustration and regain my composure before I broach the subject most important to me—David.

His sharp eyes detect a shift in my expression, his mind probes into my subconscious. “You are very good about hiding your thoughts from me, A

He's turned his back to me, champagne glass in one hand, the velvet ring box in the other, staring out at the horizon. His shoulders slump a little and he adds, “I'm sorry it's come to this. I had such hopes for us.” He fingers the box. “The stone in this ring belonged to my mother. In the past, it's been worn by women, mortal women, good women. When I met you, though, I knew you were the last one destined to wear it. For all eternity."

He slips the box back into his jacket pocket. “But you can't let go. I read it in your heart. Your home. Your friends. Even when I strip them away, you refuse to let go."

I don't move from my place. I'm sure now that Avery knows what I've done. How he will react may determine whether I survive this or not.

He places the glass down on the table. “This is all about your friend, David, isn't it?"

Yes.

He turns to look at me. The candlelight on his face reflects, in icy radiance, an expression both hostile and derisive. He opens his mind and draws me in, daring me physically to come closer.

But I keep my distance because what I feel emanating from him is both frightening and malignant.

There's nothing soft or loving or forgiving left in his heart or his attitude towards me. Those feelings are erased by the enormity of cold fury.

"You found him,” he says simply.

Only his eyes blaze with contempt, flashing the danger.

He's letting me into his thoughts to scare me, and it works.

Chapter Forty

Avery has the ability to stand so still one might think he was made of iron or steel, and at the same time radiate energy so great it stops your heart and freezes your ability to think or to feel anything except sheer terror. I felt it yesterday in the attic.

I feel it again now.

I have to fight it, calm myself, swallow back the fear and stop the pounding of my blood. He may be older than I am, but I've proven myself with Donaldson and Williams. I have used the knowledge passed to me through Avery's own blood, and I can do it again.

He smiles as he reads all this in my thoughts and interprets the rigid bearing of my body. “You are ready to fight me."

It's not a question, nor is it a simple statement. He's making a joke, laughing at my audacity. The fact that he's chosen to vocalize this emphasizes his contempt for the presumption.

If I have to. I want you to explain why you did it. You knew how important David is to me. My house was a thing, you took that without a second thought, but David is a person—a human being. You had no right—

Before my eyes register the movement, before I can move away, he's come around the table and is standing so close, I feel his breath on my cheek. “Don't speak to me with your mind. You are so tied to mortals, you denigrate the vampire heritage. Use your voice, it's all you have a right to."

He's leaning over me, his mouth at my neck. He's gnashing his teeth as if fighting to keep from tearing my throat out. I have to wonder why he doesn't.

He pulls back an inch. “I thought you wanted answers. You've given me a great deal of pleasure in the last few days. I will tell what you want to know before you die. But,” he leans in again, “first, you must tell me. Where did you take David?"

Now it's my turn to let the anger come through. Stubbornly, I send my thoughts out to him. He is safe. And protected. You can't get to him no matter what happens to me.

"Oh you think not?” His hands encircle my waist, pull me close. “I will take the information I need. I will take it with the last drop of your blood."

Every nerve in my body tenses. The adrenaline turns my blood to fire as I prepare to fight. Then I remember Williams. I clear my mind, center myself, let my muscles relax for just the instant it takes to catch Avery slightly off guard. He expected me to lunge or jerk away, instead, I lean in toward him and bring my hands up to rest on his chest. Before he can react, I use every ounce of strength to hurl him away.

He flies back, crashing into one of the wooden patio chairs dotting the pool deck. It splinters under his weight. His eyes widen, then flash. Suddenly, he's on his feet again, a movement so quick it's like an illusion. One second he's on the ground, the next he's coming toward me.

"Very good. I see how you got the better of Williams. Well, I won't make the mistake of underestimating your strength again. Let's see if you are as mentally powerful."

He stops a foot from me, and without warning, his eyes change. I watch transfixed as the pupils elongate, like a cat's, and the color loses depth and becomes translucent. He's using them to bore into my head, to fill my mind with numbing pain that roots me to the spot. I can't even lower my eyelids or raise my hands to ward it off. It's like a laser cutting into my thoughts, seeking out the information and excising it with white-hot efficiency.

Then it stops.

Avery smiles. His eyes morph back into human ones. “Beso de la Muerta. Very resourceful."

No.

"And you've enlisted the help of Culebra. Well. He may prove to be a formidable adversary. But not an insurmountable one."

Leave David out of this.