both went stone still.
“Kassandra,” Millie’s tone held a hint of warning, and I sensed her hand reaching for my shoulder.
I shrugged her off before she even touched me. “No. I want to know.” I hadn’t taken my eyes off the two men. “Who did it? Tell me now.”
The nameless man, the one I had figured for the leader before, answered me. “Neither of us. A man named Dagger carried out the act. It was against orders. He has been dealt with.”
Dagger. What a great name. I felt my face go hot, my muscles tense. I wanted him dead suddenly. I’d never felt something like that before. Not even when I had been told of my mother’s murder. Maybe it was the blood I had dr unk only hours before. “I hope ‘dealt with’ means dead.”
“It does.”
Comforting. But my anger wasn’t quite satisfied. “And he did this alone?”
Another moment of reluctance before I got my answer. “Madge was present, but she couldn’t stop him.”
“Where is she?”
Rhys’s expression shifted from shocked to curiously appalled. A line appeared in his forehead, directly over his right brow. “Absolutely not.”
“Why not?” I put myself right in his space, not tall enough to be nose to nose, but close enough. “Isn’t that what you wanted? For me to embrace my new self and act like the killer I am now?”
“That is not what I want.”
“Well, that’s just too bad. Too bad for you, just like everything is too bad for me. Where is she?”
“And after I tell you, what do you plan on doing about it? You can’t even walk down the stairs without tripping.”
Every thought I had stopped short. He couldn’t possibly know that. Millie had been the only one even close by. Unless…
“Are you spying on me?”
“I’m a vampire. I can hear everything that goes on in this house. Can’t you?”
I didn’t like the way he said that, clearly mocking me. “No, I can’t. My teacher sucks.”
“You have so far proven to be a terrible student.”
“Well , here’s your shot. I’m ready.” He could teach me how to control all these new abilities, and then I could confront Madge about my father.
Rhys stared me down for a moment longer, then smiled. It was an evil smile, as far as I was concerned. “Cade, you wouldn’t mind giving Kassandra a crash course in vampire abilities, would you?”
“Certainly not.”
Crap . I’d always had really good intuition. I mean really good. Mom had been nearly convinced it was some sort of gift. Yeah, right. Knowing when the shit was about to hit the fan just before it happened didn’t constitute a gift, it constituted an irritation. I knew I was in trouble now. I knew I was about to be very sorry I couldn’t control my mouth.
The impact was like hitting a wall, or rather, having a wall hit me with the speed of a car on the highway. The air felt like it had suddenly been forced away, like a vacuum or an implosion. The first thing I noticed was the sunlight, followed by the realization that I had stopped. Glad I didn’t really need to breathe, since the breath would have been knocked out of me otherwise, I hesitantly fingered the grass at my sides and below me.
I was outside again. The backyard this time. A lot more space. The better to teach me with, I was sure.
Cade stood over me, silent and serious. Rhys and Millie were right behind him. I did my best to give them all a dirty, rather than shocked, look. I had no idea how much time had passed since Rhys’s request in the study, but I was fairly certain it hadn’t been more than a few seconds. Cade was fast.
I wanted to be that fast.
If I couldn’t die, I might as well make the best of things. Then maybe I could avenge my father.
“Teach me to do that.”
Much to my satisfaction, Rhys looked utterly stunned. Ha .
“Stand up,” Cade said. I did so quickly. “It’s the same as learning to walk, to run. You have more speed available to you now, and you have to control it.” He turned, and pointed at the huge
“Kassandra,” Millie’s tone held a hint of warning, and I sensed her hand reaching for my shoulder.
I shrugged her off before she even touched me. “No. I want to know.” I hadn’t taken my eyes off the two men. “Who did it? Tell me now.”
The nameless man, the one I had figured for the leader before, answered me. “Neither of us. A man named Dagger carried out the act. It was against orders. He has been dealt with.”
Dagger. What a great name. I felt my face go hot, my muscles tense. I wanted him dead suddenly. I’d never felt something like that before. Not even when I had been told of my mother’s murder. Maybe it was the blood I had dr unk only hours before. “I hope ‘dealt with’ means dead.”
“It does.”
Comforting. But my anger wasn’t quite satisfied. “And he did this alone?”
Another moment of reluctance before I got my answer. “Madge was present, but she couldn’t stop him.”
“Where is she?”
Rhys’s expression shifted from shocked to curiously appalled. A line appeared in his forehead, directly over his right brow. “Absolutely not.”
“Why not?” I put myself right in his space, not tall enough to be nose to nose, but close enough. “Isn’t that what you wanted? For me to embrace my new self and act like the killer I am now?”
“That is not what I want.”
“Well, that’s just too bad. Too bad for you, just like everything is too bad for me. Where is she?”
“And after I tell you, what do you plan on doing about it? You can’t even walk down the stairs without tripping.”
Every thought I had stopped short. He couldn’t possibly know that. Millie had been the only one even close by. Unless…
“Are you spying on me?”
“I’m a vampire. I can hear everything that goes on in this house. Can’t you?”
I didn’t like the way he said that, clearly mocking me. “No, I can’t. My teacher sucks.”
“You have so far proven to be a terrible student.”
“Well , here’s your shot. I’m ready.” He could teach me how to control all these new abilities, and then I could confront Madge about my father.
Rhys stared me down for a moment longer, then smiled. It was an evil smile, as far as I was concerned. “Cade, you wouldn’t mind giving Kassandra a crash course in vampire abilities, would you?”
“Certainly not.”
Crap . I’d always had really good intuition. I mean really good. Mom had been nearly convinced it was some sort of gift. Yeah, right. Knowing when the shit was about to hit the fan just before it happened didn’t constitute a gift, it constituted an irritation. I knew I was in trouble now. I knew I was about to be very sorry I couldn’t control my mouth.
The impact was like hitting a wall, or rather, having a wall hit me with the speed of a car on the highway. The air felt like it had suddenly been forced away, like a vacuum or an implosion. The first thing I noticed was the sunlight, followed by the realization that I had stopped. Glad I didn’t really need to breathe, since the breath would have been knocked out of me otherwise, I hesitantly fingered the grass at my sides and below me.
I was outside again. The backyard this time. A lot more space. The better to teach me with, I was sure.
Cade stood over me, silent and serious. Rhys and Millie were right behind him. I did my best to give them all a dirty, rather than shocked, look. I had no idea how much time had passed since Rhys’s request in the study, but I was fairly certain it hadn’t been more than a few seconds. Cade was fast.
I wanted to be that fast.
If I couldn’t die, I might as well make the best of things. Then maybe I could avenge my father.
“Teach me to do that.”
Much to my satisfaction, Rhys looked utterly stunned. Ha .
“Stand up,” Cade said. I did so quickly. “It’s the same as learning to walk, to run. You have more speed available to you now, and you have to control it.” He turned, and pointed at the huge
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