"You're thinking of Sarita," Wlodek stopped pacing and faced his vampire child.
"Sarita loved you," Merrill said. "She was never mine, as you know."
"And you did not want her, as I recall. Nevertheless, you did work well together."
"We did work well together," Merrill agreed.
"And I did love her, just as she loved me," Wlodek sat down in his chair. "That did not prevent her from giving herself to the sun."
"She was three hundred years old," Merrill said. "Not old at all, for one of our kind."
"She always wanted children," Wlodek toyed with his gold pen. "She would never have taken a human child to turn it, but she watched so many children over the years, and I think that's what eventually destroyed her. Perhaps she was turned too young, Merrill. She was barely twenty-three when we found she wasn't susceptible to compulsion. It was either the turn or death for her."
"She lived for three hundred years," Merrill reiterated.
"Old and young, at one and the same time."
"As you say." Merrill inclined his head.
"I worry—not so much about Hancock, he is easily dealt with," Wlodek changed the subject. Sarita was a sore topic for him and he didn't speak of her often. Many times Wlodek wished he'd been the one to turn Sarita, instead of his eldest child. Things might have turned out differently if he had. "What I do worry about is the information I am receiving from my Enforcers and Assassins," Wlodek forced his thoughts away from his last lover. "Radomir questioned Liam before beheading him in Barcelona. Liam could not reveal the name of his sire, but he did tell Radomir that Xenides and others are actively searching for Lissa. Our suspicions are correct; he desires to use her as a weapon."
"If we had been given information by the Grand Master, Xenides might not be completely aware of her talents—and her weaknesses," Merrill agreed. "I understand that Weldon Harper allowed the young werewolf to travel with them in order to keep an eye on him and to follow his contacts, but I would have killed him immediately. This has placed Lissa in much danger. It is fortuitous that she managed to escape the one sent after her in New Mexico."
"Agreed," Wlodek sighed. "Had they captured her, we would now be facing a terrible crisis. Not only can Lissa slip inside any home or building, no matter how well protected, but she can also take others with her. World leaders would die easily and unsuspecting. Others could be captured and turned to add to Xenides' army. This is more frightening than anything I have ever seen."
"Do we need to hide our girl, now, to protect her?" Merrill asked.
"I am afraid this must be so. I cannot have her and Charles followed discreetly every time they go out. We need our Enforcers and spies elsewhere. Everyone I have is out tracking Xenides and his contacts."
"I have a proposition to make in that respect," Merrill said.
"And that would be?" Wlodek asked, a rare bit of curiosity in his voice.
"Griffin is asking for her help."
Wlodek held his breath for several seconds. He knew about Griffin, as well as what he was. "I heard he was retired."
"He is. He wants her to help one of the others, now. There is something of a crisis going on elsewhere, and her talents might be utilized for that."
Wlodek watched his vampire child's face. Griffin was as close as any brother to Merrill, and their friendship had spanned more than fifteen hundred years. Merrill provided assistance to Griffin when they'd first met and now, as a favored friend, Merrill reaped benefits from that friendship. Wlodek only suspected what some of those benefits might be and had never questioned Merrill about any of it. He didn't need to know everything, after all.
"How long?" Wlodek asked. "And will he guarantee her safety?"
""I don't believe he would deliberately place her in danger, and you know time and distance have no meaning to him or his kind. He says he can have her back in a week, our time, if you want."
"Make it a month," Wlodek made a counter offer. "We can hope that Hancock will be satisfied with what he has and go forward with that. Perhaps Xenides will be thrown off the trail as well. We will use this time to decide what to do with Lissa when she returns.
"Hancock's lucky we aren't pulling our vampires away from him," Merrill snapped. "And if Lissa asked, Weldon Harper would pull his wolves away as well."
"Kenneth White drew that to his attention, I believe," Wlodek almost smiled. "I'm thinking about asking Dalroy and Rhett to offer their services. They are my hidden Enforcers inside the U.S., you know."
"I suspected as much," Merrill nodded. "Griffin will come and pick up our girl in two days. He will explain as much as he can to her then. She is curious about him anyway."
Chapter 2
"Lissa, Griffin is coming to see you tomorrow," Merrill informed me the following evening. It was July fourth and Franklin, Greg and I had just had a friendly argument over how tacky it might be to celebrate Independence Day in Great Britain.
"Why is he coming to see me?" I asked. "He's your friend and I'm doing okay, I think."
"He'll explain that when he arrives," Merrill said. "And he's not just my friend. I believe he likes you very much."
Honestly, I had no idea what to do with that information. Griffin seemed like a very nice man in an older, fatherly sort of way. No, he didn't look old; he didn't look any older than Merrill did and Merrill appeared to be in his mid-twenties. There was just something about Griffin that gave off that vibe to me. Not to mention the depth of knowledge and experience in his hazel eyes. I couldn't explain my feelings about him any better than that.
"I've known Griffin all my life," Franklin got in on the conversation. "You can say anything to Griffin. Tell him anything. He'll only have your best interests at heart, Lissa."
"Fine," I said. "At least I won't toss and turn in my sleep, worrying about why he wants to see me."
"Too bad we can't shoot off fireworks," Greg grumbled, turning back to the holiday. He was missing the celebrations back in the states.
"Want to go flying instead?" I asked. Greg stared at me as if I were crazy for a moment before the light came on.
"You can do that?"
"Are you afraid of heights?"
Greg snorted. "Not at this stage of the game," he said.
"What about you, Frank? I can take you both at the same time."