I was about to do just that when I turned around to find myself face to face with a vampire I hoped I’d never have to see again.
Michael Gallow.
His brown eyes registered as much surprise to see me as I felt to see him. Then his expression turned cold.
A part of me wanted to bolt, not to even be within a mile of this man, but another part of me didn’t want to show fear or weakness before him. So I stood my ground.
He eyed the bird briefly before raising his eyes to my face again. He looked like he was about to open his mouth and say something, but instead, he just clenched his jaw harder and, turning on his heel, walked away without a word. My eyes followed him as he walked away along the veranda toward the kitchen and disappeared through the door. I assumed he was returning to the upper atrium.
Good riddance.
I wondered what he’d been doing down here. From the look on his face, it was clear that the jinn hadn’t informed him that we had returned—I wondered if they had informed Jeramiah. I knew Ben didn’t want Jeramiah knowing that we had returned here, but now that Michael knew, I was sure that it was only a matter of time before Ben’s cousin found out.
Tearing my thoughts away from the vampire, I continued on my way down to the gardens. I walked through several exquisite flower gardens and stopped when I reached the bank of the glistening lake. I sat down on the soft grass and placed the dove in front of me. Still her feet clung to me, but I managed to detach her from my hand. I remained kneeling so that I would be next to her and she wouldn’t feel like I was leaving, and hoped that she would explore a little on her own two feet. But she didn’t. She didn’t even seem to look around at all. She just remained facing me, and the moment she got the chance, she jumped back into my hands.
I heaved a sigh.
I couldn’t bring myself to carry her back into Nuriya’s apartment and put her in the cage again. Besides, this made no sense. She had looked so desperate to get out of the cage before, the way she had been flapping against those bars.
So I tried more tactics for the next hour. I took her on a tour around the lush gardens, and even tried to place her on a tree, but the dove ended up flying back to me and planting herself on my shoulder.
“You really like me, don’t you,” I muttered.
In the end, I gave up. No matter how much I tried, there was no convincing this dove that the gardens would be a better home for her than my hands. So I saw no choice but to return with her to Nuriya’s quarters.
She had her chance…
I guess at least I’ve got a friend now to keep me company until Ben’s finished with Aisha. Or rather, until she’s finished with him…
The bird fluttered from my hand and perched on my forearm while I made our way out of the gardens and back up to Nuriya’s quarters. On my way down, I had left the door to her apartment slightly ajar, and I was pleased to see that it had remained so. I didn’t have to knock and draw someone’s attention. I clicked the door shut behind me, and, cupping the dove in my hands and covering her again with my dress, I hurried back to the spare room and locked us inside.
I looked around, wondering what I was going to do to occupy myself for the next hour while I waited for Ben to finish. I set the dove on my shoulder and then walked around the room, examining the shelves and looking for something to read. I didn’t find any books at all in here, but I did find a pad of paper along with an old-fashioned quill and ink pot on a desk in one corner of the room. I sat down, tore off a sheet from the pad, and dipped the quill in the ink. I’d never been much of an artist, but I needed something to distract my mind from looking up at the clock every few minutes and wondering how things were going with Ben.
I decided to see if I could draw one of the jinn. My attempt was cut short, however, as the dove flew at the pot of ink and knocked it off the desk.
Damn!
The white floor was splattered with dark blue ink. I grabbed some tissues from the ensuite bathroom and motioned to start cleaning up when again, the dove did something strange. She flew down directly in front of the mess and spread her wings, as if trying to form a barrier between me and the ink. I withdrew my hand and stood up, staring down in confusion at the bird.
What has gotten into this creature’s head?
She stepped right into a thick blot of ink, completely soaking her feet in the substance, and then flew to a patch of floor that had remained untouched by the breakage.
The bird landed and began walking slowly… in a curve, leaving behind her a trail of ink. As soon as she had formed a half circle, she flew up again, and then landed again about half a foot away. She began walking again in a curve—though this time coming full circle. Then she lifted herself into the air and landed a short distance away for a third time. Her movement this time seemed odd. She walked in a straight line, then curved in a half circle, before walking diagonally again in a straight line leaving behind… the letter R?
Any thought that this could just be some wild coincidence soon vanished from my head as the dove finished her trail. I found myself staring down at the word:
CORRINE.
Oh, God.
I’ve found her.
Chapter 20: Ben
Aisha ended up transporting me to a small dim room. At first, I wondered whether we were even still within the jinn’s atrium. The room seemed so bare and unremarkable compared to the rest of their underground palace. I even insisted that I step out of the door and ensure that she hadn’t taken me somewhere else. But she was telling the truth. We were still within the atrium.