Invincible (A Centennial City Novel) by Fionn Jameson Page A

taste, don’t you?”
    “He designed this house himself?”
    She nodded. “Yes. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
    I agreed and she gave the room a long, propriety glance that made me wonder just how long she had stayed here. “Well, I’m going to go out for the night, so have a good night. Don’t let the bedbugs bite!”
    With that strangely apt saying, she skipped out into the hallway and I heard her spirited steps as she danced down the stairs.
    The room was heated and for that I was grateful, as I had a rather distressing tendency to run cold, even in warm weather. Upon opening the two closed doors only solidified my suspicion. A small but clean bathroom that smelled not-badly of Lysol and a large closet that had more than enough room for my couple changes of clothes.
    If Jason didn’t have a laundry on the premises, I was going to be in a bit of trouble.
    Unpacking my things didn’t take more than five minutes, most of it spent trying to locate hangers, which turned out to be stowed in the small chest at the foot of the bed.
    But I couldn’t stay in that room forever.
    Sooner or later, I had to go down.
    And go down, I did.
    Jason had not moved from his seat on the dark amethyst armchair, one foot propped up on a matching low ottoman. “Did you find everything to your liking?”
    “I did. Thank you.”
    He waved a hand in the air in a nonchalant manner. “Don’t thank me. I did what I had to do. You are, after all, in this with me. If I can provide for you, I certainly will. Won’t you sit down?”
    It wasn’t so much as a question than a command and I followed, taking a seat on the loveseat adjacent to him. The fireplace felt good on the right side of my body and I turned my body enough to feel that delicious warmth down my entire body. “Who is the…girl?”
    A grave mistake on my part to call Reiko a girl.
    “Reiko…yes,” he said quietly, eyes turning crimson in the leaping firelight. “A comrade in arms, I suppose you could say. She will be one of the pieces that will allow me entrance into Noir’s inner circle.”
    “Hard to believe she would help you.”
    He made a small sound of agreement. “Indeed. However, it seems as though she too harbors somewhat of a grudge. Not against Noir, but a member of his House. She will help me in exchange for his life. She can’t kill her enemy. I’ve promised her you would kill him.”
    “Ah,” I said, somewhat bitingly. I refused to linger on the thought as to how I was going to kill something a four hundred year old vampire couldn’t. “How thoughtful of you.”
    Either he didn’t hear the sarcasm in my voice or didn’t care. I thought it was more the latter rather than the former. “Yes, I didn’t think you would mind. A killer kills, doesn’t she?”
    Said in such terms, it was rather offensive. “You make it sound like that’s the only thing I know how to do.”
    The dark eyes watching me were like that of a python. “Isn’t it? What other use do you have to the Fellowship?”
    I couldn’t answer and satisfaction gleamed in Jason’s eyes.
    “Tomorrow, everything begins.”
    A lock of dark hair fell over his forehead as he turned his gaze to the fire. I was grateful for that tiny respite. There was something incredibly unsettling about being in his vision. “What will you do? Will Reiko be the one to turn you?”
    He nodded. “Yes. Once she does, I will be incapacitated for three days. During that time, I will be almost dead, unable to defend myself. Reiko is strong, but while she feeds me her blood, she’ll be greatly weakened and will not be able to help me. You will have to keep watch over us.”
    A frightening thought. To actually ally myself with a vampire and protect him from harm…this almost seemed like a bad dream. “You’re ask a great deal from me.”
    “Do I?” He gave me his not-smile. “On the contrary. I don’t think I am asking enough. After all, you’re not the one turning into a monster. I do this, so that