his ass with an undignified jolt. He’s so relieved to be free, he doesn’t protest.
Leticia turns her wrath on Sophie. “Listen, witch, Jonathan Deveraux is none of your business. You’ve had your fun. Impressed your friends with your little parlor trick. Now send me home or it will be the last spell you ever cast.”
“You’re wrong,” Sophie says calmly. “He is my business. In fact, would you like to speak with him?”
Leticia stares at her. “That’s not possible. He was killed. A year ago. Murdered by his wife. If I hadn’t heard that she disappeared soon after, I would have gone after her myself.”
“All true,” Sophie says. “By the way, you haven’t asked my name.”
“Why would I care what your name is?”
“You should care. I’m the one who helped Jonathan get rid of his wife—his widow. You might say Jonathan and I have been together ever since.”
Leticia shakes her head. “If he was alive, I’d know it. We had a special bond.”
“Because you were his sire?”
Prendergast groans from his place on the floor. “No.”
Leticia ignores him, eyes locked on Sophie. “You wouldn’t know that unless Jonathan told you. Where is he?”
Sophie touches the middle of her chest with a closed fist. “He’s here.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The room is suddenly colder as Leticia moves to stand in front of Sophie. “Explain yourself, witch.”
Sophie is not intimidated. “The name is Sophie,” she says, looking directly into Leticia’s eyes. “Sophie Deveraux.”
Leticia frowns. “You and Jonathan were married?”
“Not exactly.” Sophie closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, exhales slowly. “Come on out, Jonathan,” she says. “We have company.”
Silence. I don’t feel Jonathan’s presence and wonder if Sophie is having trouble bringing him back but then…
Company? Sophie, what do you mean? What did you do?
Jonathan’s voice is muted, his speech slurred as if he’d just awakened from a drug-induced sleep.
Leticia’s shoulders jump, startled eyes widening as she recognizes the voice. “Jonathan?”
There’s a moment when the very air in the room begins to vibrate with the intensity of her confusion. “Where are you?”
“I told you,” Sophie says, repeating her fist to chest gesture. “He’s in here. He’s a part of me.”
Leticia grabs her shoulders. “How did you do it? Can you get him back?”
Leticia
? This time the thickness in Jonathan’s voice is more than being dragged to consciousness.
How is this possible? How are you here?
“The witch brought me. She says her name is Sophie Deveraux. I don’t understand.”
I feel Jonathan’s mystification as he tries to puzzle out Sophie’s motivation for bringing Leticia to Leadville. It’s more than Prendergast, he’s sure of it. He reaches out to me.
What is she doing, Anna?
Before I can respond, Sophie does. “Don’t ask Anna,” she says, breaking into his cloaked thought. “Ask me.”
Jonathan is startled by the intrusion into what he assumed was a private exchange. It doesn’t take him more than a heartbeat to understand.
How long--?
“Long enough. It’s not so hard once you understand which part of the mind to open and which part to close.”
Leticia’s impatience grows with her confusion. She’s fighting to control the vampire’s natural inclination to tear the information out of Sophie. I see her jaw tense, hear her teeth gnash.
“Sophie, you’d better tell Leticia what she wants to know,” I say, trying to ward off trouble. Leticia doesn’t know that harming Sophie will harm Jonathan.
Sophie turns to Leticia. “You and Jonathan want to know why I brought you here? It’s simple really. I want to reunite lovers. I want you to take Jonathan with you when I send you back.”
My spidey sense starts to tingle with alarm. “Sophie, how do you expect to do that?”
Jonathan must be feeling the same panic.
It’s not possible
, he says.
You know it’s not possible,
Leticia turns her wrath on Sophie. “Listen, witch, Jonathan Deveraux is none of your business. You’ve had your fun. Impressed your friends with your little parlor trick. Now send me home or it will be the last spell you ever cast.”
“You’re wrong,” Sophie says calmly. “He is my business. In fact, would you like to speak with him?”
Leticia stares at her. “That’s not possible. He was killed. A year ago. Murdered by his wife. If I hadn’t heard that she disappeared soon after, I would have gone after her myself.”
“All true,” Sophie says. “By the way, you haven’t asked my name.”
“Why would I care what your name is?”
“You should care. I’m the one who helped Jonathan get rid of his wife—his widow. You might say Jonathan and I have been together ever since.”
Leticia shakes her head. “If he was alive, I’d know it. We had a special bond.”
“Because you were his sire?”
Prendergast groans from his place on the floor. “No.”
Leticia ignores him, eyes locked on Sophie. “You wouldn’t know that unless Jonathan told you. Where is he?”
Sophie touches the middle of her chest with a closed fist. “He’s here.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The room is suddenly colder as Leticia moves to stand in front of Sophie. “Explain yourself, witch.”
Sophie is not intimidated. “The name is Sophie,” she says, looking directly into Leticia’s eyes. “Sophie Deveraux.”
Leticia frowns. “You and Jonathan were married?”
“Not exactly.” Sophie closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, exhales slowly. “Come on out, Jonathan,” she says. “We have company.”
Silence. I don’t feel Jonathan’s presence and wonder if Sophie is having trouble bringing him back but then…
Company? Sophie, what do you mean? What did you do?
Jonathan’s voice is muted, his speech slurred as if he’d just awakened from a drug-induced sleep.
Leticia’s shoulders jump, startled eyes widening as she recognizes the voice. “Jonathan?”
There’s a moment when the very air in the room begins to vibrate with the intensity of her confusion. “Where are you?”
“I told you,” Sophie says, repeating her fist to chest gesture. “He’s in here. He’s a part of me.”
Leticia grabs her shoulders. “How did you do it? Can you get him back?”
Leticia
? This time the thickness in Jonathan’s voice is more than being dragged to consciousness.
How is this possible? How are you here?
“The witch brought me. She says her name is Sophie Deveraux. I don’t understand.”
I feel Jonathan’s mystification as he tries to puzzle out Sophie’s motivation for bringing Leticia to Leadville. It’s more than Prendergast, he’s sure of it. He reaches out to me.
What is she doing, Anna?
Before I can respond, Sophie does. “Don’t ask Anna,” she says, breaking into his cloaked thought. “Ask me.”
Jonathan is startled by the intrusion into what he assumed was a private exchange. It doesn’t take him more than a heartbeat to understand.
How long--?
“Long enough. It’s not so hard once you understand which part of the mind to open and which part to close.”
Leticia’s impatience grows with her confusion. She’s fighting to control the vampire’s natural inclination to tear the information out of Sophie. I see her jaw tense, hear her teeth gnash.
“Sophie, you’d better tell Leticia what she wants to know,” I say, trying to ward off trouble. Leticia doesn’t know that harming Sophie will harm Jonathan.
Sophie turns to Leticia. “You and Jonathan want to know why I brought you here? It’s simple really. I want to reunite lovers. I want you to take Jonathan with you when I send you back.”
My spidey sense starts to tingle with alarm. “Sophie, how do you expect to do that?”
Jonathan must be feeling the same panic.
It’s not possible
, he says.
You know it’s not possible,
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