He returned quickly. The glass with red liquid he gave to Marie with a bow, and the round one filled with clear liquid went to me. I hefted it at my host in salute and swallowed in a long gulp. Gin and tonic, no surprise there.

Marie watched me, taking only a sip of her glass. When I was finished, I extended it toward the hovering Jacques.

“That was great. I’ll have another.”

Marie set down her drink and flicked a hand at Jacques, who took my glass and left.

“Your bloodline doesn’t make you immune to all things, Reaper.”

“No, it doesn’t. Still, from what I’ve heard, you have a protocol about killing people, so in that case, I’ll have a keg of whatever you’re serving. And my name is Cat.”

“Do you have any intention of turning into a ghoul?” Marie asked me.

The question was so unexpected, I paused before answering. “No, why?”

Marie gave me another hooded look. “You live with a vampire. Your life is frequently in danger, and you are weaker as a half-breed, yet you haven’t chosen to change into a vampire. I’ve heard it’s because you want to combine your half-breed abilities with a ghoul’s power, making yourself the first ghoul-vampire hybrid.”

What’s in the stuff she’s drinking? I wondered.

“That thought never crossed my mind,” I said.

“A vampire can’t turn into a ghoul. Only a human can. So no one but you, as a half-breed, could combine all the strength of a vampire with none of their aversion to silver. You might have unlimited power. But you’ve never thought of it?”

Open challenge was in her words. I thought back to Fabian saying that there had been a recent influx of ghouls in New Orleans, whispering about a possible new threat to their species. Was this it? Did people actually believe I’d do such a thing out of a twisted lust for power?

“After my father ripped my throat, Bones told me he would have brought me back as a ghoul, if I’d died before his blood healed me. That’s the only time I ever thought about being a ghoul. If one day I choose to cross over, Majestic, it’ll be into a vampire. So you can tell that to whoever’s spouting the rumor that I’m looking to be even more of a freak than I already am.”

Jacques came back with another full glass, but Marie gave him that authoritative flick of her fingers again.

“Our guest is leaving.”

I stood, my mind running through a list of reprimands. Good one, Cat. Pissed her off in ten minutes. Guess you’ll be the one leaping up the stairs, yelling, “In the car! Quick!”

“Always nice to meet a famed historical figure,” I said.

Marie rose as well. She was tall, probably five-ten, and in those heels, over six feet. Her figure was statuesque, and she radiated an odd combination of menace and matronliness.

“You are not what I thought you’d be.”

She extended her hand, creamy mocha and soft. I clasped it and fought not to shake mine afterward to get out the numbness from her power.

“Neither are you. I was so sure about the headless chicken.”

Why not say it? When someone wanted to kill you, you really couldn’t make them angrier.

She smiled. “Of all the things you’d first say to me, quoting a scene from my favorite movie was the last I expected. Go in peace, Cat.”

Jacques held open the door to the tunnel for me. Those long, curved knives slid back into their settings with a hiss. I caught a hazy flash at the end of the tunnel. Fabian on sentry duty. He was gone before Jacques fell in step behind me.

My escort didn’t talk the rest of the way. When we reached the door to the crypt, the upper covering groaned as it slid open. Jacques put his hands out to help me up, but I brushed him off.

“Don’t bother, thanks. I’ll do it myself.”

A quick bend of the knees and flash of concentration, and I cleared the twenty-foot space. With my increasing ability to jump, at least I was becoming more like my feline namesake. If I shed my pulse, I could do a hell of a lot more than jump high.

Bones was waiting by the cemetery gates. When he smiled, leaning into the bars as the lock opened, I suddenly didn’t care about anything but the shape of his mouth. That smooth curve, lips palest pink. The strong jaw and deeply etched cheekbones. Dark brown eyes taking in the surroundings. His hands clasped over mine when the gate opened, vibrating with no less power than Marie’s, but they didn’t leave me feeling numb. I felt safe.

“We might have to take some beignets to go,” I began.

He squeezed my hands. “Don’t fret, I suspected the two of you wouldn’t get on. We’re packed. Liza’s waiting with the car.”

Traffic whizzed by in a blur of red and white lights as we approached the Quarter. This was a city that woke up instead of sleeping after midnight. Jacques stayed behind, apparently not interested in following us back to Bones’s house.

“What was the last thing Marie said to you?” Bones asked, before I could even question him about it.

“Go in peace.’ Does this have a hidden meaning?”

Bones stopped as we were midway in crossing a street. A horn blared at us. He gave the driver a fingered expression of his opinion, then tugged me to the other side.

“You’re sure she said that?”

“I’m not deaf.” Was it very bad?

His smile turned into a full-throated laugh.

“Exactly what did you say to her, luv? I’ve known Marie a hundred years, and all I got was a ‘Be guarded on your journey,’ which is a nice way of saying, ‘Watch your arse, mate!’ ‘Go in peace’ means she’s backing you. You were only down there thirty minutes. What on earth were you talking about?”

Relief washed over me. “Movies. Drinks. Headless chickens. You know, girl stuff.”

Up went his brows. “Indeed?”

We rounded the corner. Four more blocks until his house.

“Good thing for us, she’s a Matrix fan…”

My voice trailed off and I froze in midstride. Bones stopped as well, glancing at me in concern before he became absolutely rigid. He must have felt him, even though I’d barely glimpsed the man three blocks ahead. I wouldn’t know him if I hit him with my car…

But I did know Gregor. At a glance. And I wasn’t dreaming.

EIGHT

GREGOR’S EYES SEEMED TO BURN INTO MINE. Even though I couldn’t see their color from this far away, I knew they’d be grayish-green. His golden hair had darker strands in it, giving it an ash-blond color. It was as if Gregor had been too bright and someone had sprinkled him to tone him down.

“Hopscotch, Band-Aid. To me, at once.”

Bones didn’t raise his voice, so the two vampires must not have been far. They came out from the crowd, taking up position, one on either side of us. Bones jerked his head toward that immobile figure and muttered a low curse.

“He’s almost right outside my home, filthy sod. Did he think he’d bloody ring the door for you?”

His hand tightened on mine. I gave a small yelp. Bones loosened his grip, but not by much. Even with the distance, I saw Gregor’s eyes narrow, flash green, then he started walking toward us.

Bones let go of me. He rolled his head around on his shoulders and cracked his knuckles while advancing with deadly purpose. I would have followed, but Hopscotch and Band-Aid grabbed me.

“Bones!”

He ignored me and kept moving. So did Gregor. It was clear neither one had talking on his mind. I was seized with a sick fear even as I struggled with the two men holding me. They’d gotten a good grip when I wasn’t paying attention.

When Bones and Gregor were less than twenty feet from each other, Jacques stepped between them, holding out his arms.

“Both of you, go no farther.”

They ignored him. Jacques probably would have been shoved to the side, but then another voice cracked through the air.

“You shall not fight in my city!”