Chosen

I don’t know what Dena said when she left us but suddenly, the music, the voices, the clink of glasses stops as if a switch has been thrown. The living room plunged from party central to morgue central.

Frey goes tense and still beside me. I’m glad he’s here. A vampire and a panther. Should be able to cut a swath through whatever is thrown at us.

We wait. Count off ten, twenty, thirty seconds. Just when I’m ready to unleash the vampire and bring it to them, a familiar face appears in the doorway.

David.

He smiles when he sees me, would probably even give me a hug except that he has a big-breasted blonde hanging off each arm. “It’s about time you got here. Judy said you might not make it until Tuesday. This is a helluva house, A

David’s got a goofy smile on his face and pupils the size of di

Doesn’t seem to be affecting his libido. His right hand has wandered down to grab the ass of the blonde on his right.

Got to hand it to Judy Williams, she treats her kidnap victims well. Don’t know what David’s on, but he’s having fun.

David is a big guy—former pro football player, a bulky, muscular two-fifty on a six-foot-four frame. I carried him once, but he was unconscious and pliable. I have a feeling if I tried to deadlift him out of here now, he’d object.

Frey says, “What do we do now?”

David has moved things along from groping his playmates to kissing them—both, one after the other, with a lot of tongue action and deep-throated groans.

I wish I had a camera.

“Leave him. Let’s go find our hostess.”

Neither David nor the blondes notice when Frey and I walk around them and head toward the living room. It’s still deathly quiet beyond the arched doorway. I have no idea what kind of reception to expect. We pause just out of the line of sight, then, like cops on a drug bust, take a quick step into the room. Frey goes to the left. I, to the right.

Judith Williams is standing in front of the fireplace. She smiles when she sees me and raises a glass in my direction. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I present A

There are seven vampires in the room. And ten humans. The humans have moved back to stand in a knot near the sliding wall of glass that separates the interior room from the outside deck. The young man who opened the door for us is among them. His expression isn’t so contemptuous now that he realizes I’m not part of the kitchen staff. In fact, he has a decidedly nervous look about him. I meet his eyes, glare until he takes a fumbling step backward, then look away, hiding a smile.

May as well have some fun, too.

The wall is open to the night air, and the scent of the ocean mingles with the sweet smell of night-blooming jasmine. Under the natural scents, though is the smell of blood and earth. The smell of vampires.

Very old vampires.

The vampires raise their glasses in my direction.

“To A

CHAPTER 40

The vampires drink their champagne, bow in my direction and resume talking amongst themselves. We are forgotten. Frey and I exchange looks.

I feel like the unpopular guest of honor arriving late for her own birthday party to find her absence had gone u

Judith Williams waves a manicured hand and the six-piece band in the corner begins to play. She fluffs her hair, composes her expression to reflect nothing but cordiality and walks over to us.

“What?” I ask, giving her the once-over. “No widow’s weeds tonight?”

She smoothes a hand over the skirt of her bloodred silk dress. “I didn’t expect to see you tonight, A

“The Chosen One, remember? Hiring a mortal to keep a vampire out is like carrying a rock to a gunfight.”

She doesn’t find the analogy amusing. “Is he dead?”

“I don’t kill humans indiscriminately. That seems to be your thing. Do you realize how much damage you caused to the vampire community by killing those hosts in Beso de la Muerte?”

She sniffs. “If you’d gone with me, it might not have happened.”

She looks at Frey. “He isn’t welcome here.” She gestures to the vampires behind us as if privy to some communication I am not. The vampires are no longer talking, but watching us.

No. Not us.

Frey. It’s as if they’ve suddenly become aware he is neither vampire nor human.

I also realize she’s learned a lot in a few days. Her thoughts are no longer easy pickings for me. But she’s communicating with someone.

“Frey is with me.”

“Then he must agree to the rules.”

“Rules?”

“This party is for vampires and hosts only. Are you willing to share?”

I can see Frey’s expression harden. I know what he’s thinking. To stay with me, he’ll agree. I speak up before he can. “No. Frey will wait for me outside.”

He opens his mouth to object, and I close a steel hand around his arm. “Wait for me by the gate. I will be out with David in ten minutes.”

Frey’s anger burns through his eyes. “I thought we agreed to stay together.”

I loosen my hold a little but not my resolve. “Ten minutes.”

He’s not happy. I don’t care. There is something in the way the vampires are looking at him that makes me know it’s not safe for him to stay. “Please, Frey. Don’t argue.”

There is another shift in the posture of the vampires, a subtle quiver of anticipation, like a cat gathering itself to pounce on an unsuspecting bird.

You must decide. He will stay or go. The others find it troubling that you would argue with a shape-shifter, an inferior being. They see it as a sign of weakness.

Judith’s words are directed right at me. No mistaking it, she’s mastered the art of psychic communication. I look from the vampires to Judith, tempted to challenge them, but it’s Frey this time who touches my arm.

He was not privy to the message, but my reaction is obvious. “It’s up to you.”

“Go. I will be out in ten minutes.”

I watch Frey make his way to the front door. I feel the others watch, too, with alarming intensity. If anyone attempts to intercept him, you will learn how weak I am.

I let the message carry over the music, over the resumed rumble of conversation. There is a heartbeat’s hesitation as if consideration is being given to the sincerity of my threat. Consequences weighed against principle.

Evidently, principle isn’t that important after all. Frey is allowed to leave unmolested.

Judith breathes an impatient sigh. “So much drama over one insignificant mortal. A

Ten minutes. The clock is ticking.

“What did you give David?”

A smile. “Something wonderful. He’s certainly a big one, isn’t he? And so—enthusiastic.”

My shoulders tense. “You seduced him?”

She laughs. “If you mean did I take advantage of him, the answer is most emphatically no. He needed very little persuasion to have sex.”

I get a creepy feeling that there was more to it than sex. “Did you feed from him?”

The tip of her tongue glides over her upper lip. “Of course. Are you trying to tell me you haven’t?”

She looks surprised, which gives way to a smug smile of satisfaction. “You haven’t. You haven’t fucked him, either. How long have you been partners? You sit across from as studly a piece of ass as I’ve ever seen, and you haven’t fucked him.”