Kissed by Fire by Shéa MacLeod Page A

cemeteries. They were peaceful and empty, except for
the odd necromage. And they were pretty much harmless guys in robes
who had lots of creative ideas about death and magic and very
little actual power.
    I placed my hand atop one of the granite
markers. I knew from memory that most of the markers here were from
the eighteen hundreds. I wondered vaguely who was buried here, but
the vampire’s faint scent trail swirled around me. I had no time
for reverie.
    I approached the grounds keeper’s building
half expecting to find the trail stopped there, but it continued
through the archway that ran through the building and into the
courtyard out front. The gravel crunched under my feet as I
followed the scent trail across the courtyard and out the front
gates of the cemetery.
    I found myself standing on the pavement
staring up and down the street. I inhaled, trying to catch the
scent again. Damn, it was gone.
    I back tracked into the courtyard until I
picked it up again. It was there, near the throughway. I stepped
left. Nothing. Right and I caught it. It led me right to the small
fenced enclosure which held a riding mower and a beat up hearse.
The trail stopped there.
    That could only mean one thing. The vamp had
a ride. There was no way I could track him. He could be anywhere in
the city.
    Snarling a couple of curses under my breath,
I pulled my mobile out of my pocket. It was late and I needed
sleep. The hunt would have to wait. For now. But I promised myself
I wouldn’t leave London again until I finished it.
     
    ***
     
    I was so glad to get back to my hotel room, I
collapsed on the bed fully clothed. It was well past midnight and
jet lag was kicking my ass in a big way.
    I managed to kick off my boots and shrug out
of my jacket but that was about as far as I got. I snapped off the
bedside lamp and curled up in a ball. I was nearly out when my
phone went.
    “What?” I snarled at whoever was on the other
end.
    “Where are you?” Shit. It was Jack. That was
all I needed. My brain was far too tired to deal with Jack and
whatever his deal was. We’d barely spoken since our aborted attempt
at a relationship and I wasn’t about to start now.
    “I’m in bed.”
    “At four in the afternoon?”
    I sighed. “I’m in London.”
    A pause. I could hear the slight hiss and
crackle of background noise. “As in England?” His voice was deadly
quiet.
    “Yes, Jack, as in England. Did you need
something?”
    “Morgan,” there was anger now, “you should
not have left without telling me.”
    “You’re not my dad, Jack. I don’t need your
permission.” That sounded like a whiny teenager, but frankly I
didn’t care.
    He gave a sigh of exasperation. I could
almost see him pinching the bridge of his nose. He did that
sometimes when he was trying not to kill me. “If I am to do my job
as Guardian, I must know where you are. I must be able to protect
you.”
    I wasn’t even going to touch that one.
    “You should have at least taken the amulet
with you.”
    Jack had wanted me to wear the damn thing
ever since I’d activated it, though he wouldn’t say why. I, on the
other hand, was not about to run around with a piece of ancient
Atlantean technology hanging around my neck. Gods knew what it
would do to me. It had already messed my life up enough.
    “Jack, I need some sleep. We can talk about
this later.” Yeah, as in never. This was not an argument I was
interested in having.
    I hung up before he could say anything else,
then I switched the power off. This hanging up on people was
turning into a bad habit.

Chapter Six
     
     
    Slowly the world shifted from black to white.
I realized I had my face smooshed into my pillow and someone was
banging on my door. I made one of those embarrassing snorting
sounds people sometimes make when they first wake up. There were
times I was so grateful I slept alone.
    I managed to haul myself out of bed and
stagger to the door. The security lock baffled me for a minute, but
I managed to get