Nicholas stepped forward. “Just to be clear, I never programmed something like that.”

“And don’t forget when Simon and I were attacked by those ferals,” Jane said. “Not only did it try to ruin Taco Night, but someone set that thing loose on us.”

“And then they used them a second time en masse to try and get rid of me right here on the castle grounds,” I said. “They even tried to dissuade Connor months ago from seeking out Aidan by sending that threatening letter to him.”

“Were they trying to draw me out?” Connor asked. “Or were they hoping to start the war early between our two worlds?”

“I’m not sure,” I said, “but again, they’ve covered their tracks well. My power can’t break through any of it.”

Brandon stood in silence, the lack of human traits such as respiration making him seem statuelike. “So it is to be war, then, between our two sides.”

I held my hands up. “I don’t think we have to jump straight on the blood-running-in-the-streets bandwagon just yet.”

“Then what would you have?” Brandon said, a snarl in his words.

“Frankly, I’d like some answers,” I said, “and I think I know how to get them.”

Everyone in the room fell silent and still, not just the ones who were already dead. I walked over to the fireplace and looked up at the painting above it, Brandon’s lost Damaris. “I got the idea thinking about you, actually.”

“Me?” Brandon asked.

I turned to look at him, nodding. “After I saw the man you used to be and the changed man I know now, I realized how important family is. There’s a strength in family. I’ve seen it in Connor, bringing him back from the edge of madness by getting to know his brother.” I walked over to Jane and took both her hands. “And I have family, too.”

Jane smiled, but leaned close and whispered through it. “That’s sweet, but how does that help us?”

“We can use our powers together,” I said. I looked at all the faces in the room. “Someone in here is responsible for all this chaos. I was able to read Perry down in the labs without much harm to myself because he’s not a living creature. Neither is anyone in this room, technically speaking.” I turned to address the gathered crowd. “So it’s simple. No one’s leaving this room until I read them with an assist from Jane.”

Jane looked uncertain, one of her eyebrows raised. “You sure that’s going to work?”

“Nope,” I said, “but we can try. As I psychometrically read all the vampires, we can link your technomancy to the traces you’ve found in the building systems, hopefully amplifying both our powers over those of the saboteur covering their tracks. Brandon, I’m assuming your little movie-watching room here hooks into the building’s systems?”

He nodded.

“Great,” I said, grabbing three chairs and arranging them by all the home-theater setup. “One for Jane, one for me, and one for our rotating guest of honor.” I looked out across the sea of faces. “Who’s up first?”

No one moved. “Anybody?” I asked.

The vampire Gerard stepped forward. He stared into my eyes, hate rolling off him in a wave. “I will not be subjected to this,” he said.

Brandon stepped in front of him. “You will,” he said. He looked around the room. “You all will.” He stared Gerard down in a contest of wills until the blond vampire turned away and rejoined the group without another word. Brandon looked at his people all around the room. “Only the guilty party need worry themselves. No one is leaving and no one is exempt. Are we clear?”

Brandon was met with silence. Whether it was in cooperation or not, I didn’t know, so I continued.

“Great,” I said. “Who’s first?”

There was another pause of deafening silence while I waited for someone to take action. It was Beatriz who raised her hand and sauntered forward after uncoiling herself from Aidan. “Let’s get this out of the way,” she said.

“I’ve got an unlife I have to get back to.”

“You’re cool with this?” Aidan called out.

“If it’s going to stop all this uncomfortable silence,” she said, spinning around and blowing him a kiss. “Yes.”

“Great,” I said, offering her my hand. “If you’ll just sit down here…”

Beatriz’s hand closed on mine, but she didn’t sit. I wasn’t sure what happened exactly. All I knew was that I was in motion and no longer in Brandon’s chambers.

31

My arm felt sore, and why shouldn’t it? It wasn’t every day that a vampire nearly ripped it out of its socket as she blurred off to her top speed. At least, that was what I thought was happening. The wind whipped into my eyes and I had to close them, missing much of what was passing by me at an inhuman speed. When Beatriz finally stopped, I was thrown to the floor as something slammed shut with a loud click, but what, I didn’t know. I opened my eyes to find myself in a long rectangular room with little in the way of light in it.

“Where are we?” I asked, trying to right myself. I put my hand down and felt it stick to the floor. Thank God for gloves. I looked down. The section of the floor where I had landed was covered in a slick of rusty red ick. Drying blood. That got me on my feet fast. Beatriz stood nearby watching me. “Where are we?” I repeated.

Her face went full-on vampire, leathery and stretched over her features. “A private little chamber that the others shouldn’t be able to find. I guess that’s one of the perks of being around Castle Bran since the beginning.”

In what little light was provided by the faint flickering of the wall sconces, I backed away, searching the room, always with an eye on her. This end looked to be a feeding area for her, and I stepped as quickly out of it as I could, walking to the other end. Civility seemed to rule the décor there-a small study filled with magical tomes and a desk covered with charms and spell components. It looked like Jane’s junk drawer back at the office.

I needed to find a way out of here. If I could find the exit… That was when it struck me. There was no noticeable way out. I looked back over at the stained portion of the floor.

“Is that what I think it is?”

“Want to find out?” Beatriz said, her entire manner changing like she was stepping off a stage. Her voice was different now from how I was used to hearing her. Gone was her modern, unaccented English. In fact, her whole demeanor and way of carrying herself had changed. There was an Old World poise about her now. An angered poise, but an old one.

I took in a deep breath to keep from making any sudden moves, taking my time to sort things out in my head. I angled myself away from her slightly, hopefully turning my bat-wearing side out of her line of sight.

I gave a slight twist of my arm to ready myself for grabbing it, but Beatriz shook her head no. “Can’t be having that,” she said, waggling her finger at me. She blurred toward me, put her pointer finger against her thumb, and then flicked it against my chest. The impact burned from the sheer force of it, even through my jacket, and it sent me across the room, over her desk and into the hard, rough stone of the wall. I slid down it and landed on the ancient heavy chair at her desk, toppling it over and rolling until I found myself pinned beneath it, the bulk of its weight against my ribs.

I struggled to get up, but Beatriz leapt across the room, landing on top of the chair itself and driving it down onto me even harder. All the air left my lungs and I stopped struggling. Beatriz just sat there and looked down at me, shaking her head and giving an evil little smile.

“Do you have any idea how difficult you made it to get you alone to kill you?” Beatriz asked. “You just had to keep on pushing and pushing…”

She jumped down from the chair, picked it up like it was made of tissue paper, and set it down back in place. She grabbed me with one hand by the lapel of my leather jacket and hefted me up until I was standing again.