First, I had to come back to corporeality and take the bag from around my neck, setting it aside gently on the black granite island that held the tiaras and ruby necklace. Then (and this is where the big risk came in), I concentrated on turning back to mist. My hands and my feet always turn to mist first, and they're the first things to reappear when I come back to corporeality. Once I was completely turned to mist, I concentrated once more on turning back but only until I could see my hands. Hastily I snatched up the bag while my body was still mostly mist and raked both tiaras inside, drawing the string. I figured I had minutes at the most, seconds at the least, and I was gambling with my life when I accomplished what I did next. I turned back to mist and like a miracle, almost, the bag turned too. The alarm tripped the moment I'd swiped the tiaras into the bag, their weight removed from the electronic pad, which set off the warning bells. Consequently, the moment I was completely turned to mist I hovered as near the ceiling as I could, waiting for the master of the house to reappear.
He did, punching the code in with fingers moving faster than lightning. He then rushed inside the vault, eyes red, fangs extended and claws out, ready to fight. If he'd seen me, no way would I have lived over that. As it was, I zoomed invisibly through the open vault door, leaving a cursing vampire in my wake. If he'd had any sense at all, he might have closed the door behind him; there was another keypad on the inside of the door.
The vampire was now raising everyone inside the house seconds behind me. I was scooting up the stairs and through the house as fast as I could go, my mist rushing toward the kitchen vent. Once through that and on the outside again, I sent desperate mindspeech to Radomir. He wasn't parked far from the Chateau—not for a vampire, anyway. I was warning him as I fled in his direction.
Leave Now! I shouted mentally. Open a window—I'll catch up to you! I was halfway to the car but our pursuers weren't far behind; we were parked on the only road leading to the Chateau.
Go, Radomir! I'll catch up. I'll let you know when I'm inside the car. My mental voice held frightened urgency and I was almost praying as I closed in on the now speeding automobile. I saw them moving away; thankfully, Radomir didn't need the lights to see as he hit the accelerator. It took another minute or so to catch up, although I was moving as swiftly as I could. And I can't describe my feeling of relief as I was sucked inside the window Russell left open for me. I have no idea what, if anything, our pursuers saw when the car got away, but we didn't need to take any chances. I concentrated on turning back to myself.
"Well, look who's here," Russell said, peering over the back of his passenger-side seat. I heaved a grateful sigh and handed the velvet bag over to him. He looked inside briefly before flashing a beautiful smile. "Nice work," he said.
"It wasn't easy," I grumped, brushing my windblown hair away from my face. "Everything was alarmed."
"Save it for later, the plane's waiting. We already had someone pick up our bags and load them in," Radomir said. "We don't need to stay if we have what we came for. Father was worried it might take a while."
"I see," I said, even though I didn't. Once again, I was flying blind, completely out of the informational loop. I wondered briefly if I would ever be in it.
Another hour went by before we found our way to the airport. Russell tucked me under his arm and ran me up the steps to the jet like a football. Radomir took charge of the velvet bag, slipping it inside a locking case that he placed at his feet during the ride home. We arrived in England barely two hours before dawn; a vampire waited for us there with a car. We loaded up in no time flat and were whisked away to Wlodek's mansion.
Radomir carefully placed the velvet bag on Wlodek's desk once we were inside his study. Wlodek opened it up, lifting each tiara out and examining it solemnly. "Very nice," he commented. "Very, very nice." He looked at me over his desk, his dark eyes enigmatic. "You must tell me how you did this, but not until after you rise for the evening. Merrill has already been informed that you're spending the night. Congratulations on a job well and swiftly done." Wlodek shocked me a little by smiling slightly.
Charles led me to the same bedroom I'd occupied before after Wlodek dismissed me; the suite with the sky blue walls and white trim waited expectantly for my arrival. My bag was already there and I wanted a bath badly. "I'll see you when you get up," Charles promised, closing the bedroom door behind him. My bath was quick—I didn't have much time before sunrise and I scarcely made it into my pajamas and under the covers before I was out.
* * *
"René, I warned you that she might succeed when we arranged this test," Wlodek spoke softly into his cell phone as he prepared for the rejuvenating sleep.
"Honored One, I did not expect such swift results," René muttered, working to hide the anger in his voice. He'd placed a wager with his two vampire children and now he owed them a great deal of money as a result. He'd insisted that no mister could get into his vault. Or, having accomplished that, might get out again, once they were locked inside. This new one did both and in very little time. He was still puzzled over how a mister might turn so swiftly; less than thirty seconds had passed before he was opening the door of his vault once the alarm sounded, expecting to find a mostly corporeal female vampire inside. Instead, there was nothing and he'd lost the items he'd taken so much trouble to steal.
"René, when I asked you to steal something, I had no idea it would be such important and high-profile items. These will be returned to their rightful owners."
"Honored One, you left that option open to me. You know I enjoy a challenge."
"Then perhaps you will appreciate another. The girl will be brought out in this year's annual meeting. Take a look and tell me you might not desire that as well." Wlodek hung up abruptly. René muttered an obscenity in Latin and went to bed.
Chapter 3
"Lissa? Wake up, angel."
I was swimming through molasses—at least that's what it felt like. Somebody was talking to me while sitting on the side of my bed.
"Whuh?" I finally managed to vocalize something, whether it made sense or not. I lifted a hand to my head; it felt as if it were stuffed with cotton.
"You're sleeping late this evening," the voice came again. It sounded familiar, but my eyes wouldn't open and my ears weren't connected to my brain so I might determine who it was. Rolling over on my side with the hope that it would go away only brought hands to me—big hands that gripped my body near my hips and pulled me toward the edge of the bed.