And it didn't. Joie considered herself a very logical woman. She didn't like this out-of-control feeling, a dark dread that stole her good sense and her ability to reason. She lifted her chin. There were changes taking place in her body and mind, but that didn't mean she would give in to melancholy.
I'll be perfectly fine, Traian. You worry about yourself. I'll hang with Jubal and Gabrielle while you're gone. And Gary. He knows both the undead and my people. Stay close to him.
Joie did the mental equivalent of rolling her eyes. As
if. Traian, you're going to have to get over your outdated attitude toward women. It must be your age. That man needs protection. He lives in another world, just like Gabrielle. I can see it in him. He's more at home in a lab than fighting vampires. But he knows vampires. Stay close to him. You might have mentioned your archaic attitude and your stubbornness when you were being so blasted charming this morning.
His soft laughter echoed through her head, and then he slipped out of her mind, leaving her feeling bereft. Determined not to give in to the strange reaction to their separation, Joie took a long, hot shower. It was nearly impossible to stand beneath the cascading water without thinking of Traian, but she concentrated on figuring out how to tell her parents that she was essentially married.
Gabrielle stuck her head in the bathroom. "Hurry up! Jubal and I are getting tired of waiting for you two. And you'd better not be doing anything perverted in that tiny little shower stall." She sounded more hopeful than anything else.
"How did you get into my room, you peeping Tom?" Joie threw a wet washcloth with deadly accuracy. "It was locked."
Gabrielle squealed when the cloth hit her square in the face. "I'm picking up your bad habits. Are you in there alone? Because I don't want to see any naked bodies."
"Traian already went back to the cave."
"If he wasn't so drop-dead gorgeous, I'd be afraid he was a troll, he likes to be underground so much. What are you going to tell Mom and Dad?" This time there was glee in Gabrielle's voice.
"I've been rehearsing," Joie admitted. She emerged from the stall, wrapped in a bath sheet. "It has occurred to me to lie to them. And I thought you preferred skinny men. I saw you ogling Gary last night."
"I don't ogle," Gabrielle sniffed indignantly. "I never ogle. I just thought he was rather on the cute side." She sighed heavily. "Oh, to be model-thin and beautiful."
Joie glared at her. "You are beautiful, you idiot. You're just crazy. Is Jubal hanging out in the bedroom, because I need my clothes."
"I'll get you something presentable." Gabrielle disappeared.
Joie heard her giggle. Gabrielle never did anything so undignified as to giggle. Unashamed, Joie found she could hear just by consciously thinking about it. Gary had joined her brother and sister in her bedroom.
Joie stalked to the door. "Hello! I hate to remind you all, but I'm stuck here, naked in the bathroom. Vacate or toss me some clothes."
Jubal groaned. "You are so sick, Joie. I didn't need that visual. Gary, you ought to try having a couple of sisters bent on tormenting you. They gang up on me like you wouldn't believe."
Gabrielle blew him a kiss. "We keep your life from being extraordinarily dull and boring."
Joie caught the bundle of clothes her sister tossed inside the bathroom. "Thanks for remembering me."
"I remembered. It just didn't seem all that important."
Gary stood up when Joie entered the room. "Traian left already, I take it? I figured he'd rise as early as possible. There were clouds blocking the sunlight. They sometimes arrange the weather to protect their sensitive eyes." He smiled at Joie. "He wants me to get you to drink some juice this evening."
Joie pressed a hand to her stomach. "I don't think that's going to happen, but I'm sure Gabrielle and Jubal are hungry."
"Starved," Jubal agreed instantly. "I thought Joie was going to sleep forever."
"You'll get used to the different hours they keep," Gary said. "I work in the lab and forget the time myself. If I'm on to something promising, I don't seem to need sleep."
"I'm the same way," Gabrielle said. "Sometimes I look up and it's two days later." She exchanged a long smile of complete understanding with Gary.
Jubal threw his hands into the air. "It's getting a bit thick in here. I'm for food. Come on, Joie. Whether you're hungry or not, we need to stick together."
They waited while Joie found her calf scabbard and strapped it to her leg. Gary raised an eyebrow, but Gabrielle just shrugged, her grin sheepish. They were used to Joie, and she was nearly always armed with something lethal.
Joie was aware of the exact moment the sun set. She didn't see the orange and red hues, but in the midst of the laughing conversation going on around her she simply knew. She felt the sudden shuddering of the earth as the vampires rose. Her heart leapt in fear.
Traian!
She reached out to him. Touched him. Felt his immediate reassurance. He had not discovered the resting places of the vampires. They had not gone to ground in the cave of the wizards.
"Joie?" Gabrielle touched her hand. "Are you all right?"
Joie looked across the table at her and managed a smile. "I just wish I was with him." She didn't need to say his name.
A dark shadow passed over the inn, moving fast, so that for a moment silence fell in the dining room and people looked at one another uneasily. Gary reacted instantly. He caught Gabrielle's wrist, rising so fast his chair fell backward. "Come with me, right now." He tugged Gabrielle to her feet and began to weave his way through the tables, dragging her with him.
Jubal looked at his meal with regret as Joie smacked the back of his head. "It might be your last meal if you don't move it," she cautioned.
"It might be my last meal anyway," he groused. But he was on his feet and rushing after Gary and Gabrielle.
"Call him back, Joie," Gary ordered over his shoulder. "Call Traian and get him back here. We don't have much time."
Joie didn't hesitate. There was too much urgency in Gary's voice.
Traian. They are here. The undead are here at the inn. Gary says it's urgent that you return as quickly as possible. Do as Gary says. He will know what to do until I am able to return. They cannot get their hands on any of you. Go for the heart if you have to defend yourself. They often inject poison into the bloodstream, and they are great deceivers and shape-shifters. But ego is their weakness. One of their few weaknesses.