"I'm sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about," I lied, doing my best not to make a face at his closeness. I did try to scoot away from him, but there wasn't much room between me and the delicately carved arm of the sofa.
"Yes you do. You took the tiaras; René knows of this. If you know what is good for you, you will do as I say." He was smiling at me but I'm sure my face must have registered my shock. My body began its inevitable shivering. Aubrey's fangs slipped out. "Perhaps I will taste you, just to make sure René is getting the best for his efforts."
That had me off the sofa in a flash and racing toward the door. Devlin and Jacques were prepared for such an attempt; both of them had their hands on me before I reached the exit. I fought with both of them, earning a slash across my cheek before pulling out my own claws. They turned me loose amid a little howling and I flew down the hallway, heading for the front door and freedom. Another two vampires had the front entrance blocked so I veered away from their grasp, running to the left. I wasn't familiar at all with René's home—I'd only seen the entrance and the hall leading to the sitting room. Blindly I ran through it now until I came to a formal dining room where a very long, heavily carved table took up a great deal of space. Ornate chairs were lined up along both sides of the dark wood behemoth. Situated in front of the table was a window, constructed of floor to ceiling glass panes. With five vampires almost on my heels, I did the only thing I knew to do, running headlong through the window and shattering it in my flight, tearing my skin with shards of glass as I leapt onto the lawn in front of René's home.
The ones following me were now shouting and still running after me, which frightened me more. I was gasping and sobbing as I ran, trying to concentrate on becoming mist while I raced over René's manicured lawns. I had no idea if misting would work; I was moving as swiftly as I could, frightened out of my wits as I ran. I don't know how far I ran or how fast I changed, but I did change. What I didn't count on, once I'd gone to mist and lifted off the ground, was the fact that it was my intention to escape. Merrill's compulsion kicked in while I was mist and my misty particles were suddenly on fire. Not merely the burning from flames but as if I'd been dipped in acid. I had no mouth to scream but I was screaming mentally as I plummeted to earth. I'd been flying high overhead to escape my pursuers before the agony overcame me. Still in the form of mist, I lay next to the ground, convulsing somehow; even I was aware of that. Somewhere, in some small part of my brain that seemed detached from the pain and horror, I knew that I was suffering. Blackness came after only a few minutes.
Chapter 6
"I will kill you, René, if we do not find her." Wlodek had come, along with Radomir and Ian, another of the Council's Enforcers, as soon as Merrill reported Lissa missing.
"It was meant to be a harmless prank," René growled, glaring at Aubrey. Wlodek stood inside René's entry while several others were outside, searching the grounds. "We had no idea she would try to run."
"Through a glass window, René? How badly did you frighten her?" Wlodek didn't expect an answer and received none.
* * *
"She is here," Griffin knelt down by the small patch of dead flowers at the edge of René's property. Lissa had gone as far as she could go before Merrill's compulsion activated, and she'd even traveled a bit beyond that. Merrill knelt down next to his friend. As mist, Lissa was still invisible to Merrill, but not to Griffin's powerfully sharp sight.
"Can you bring her out of this?" Merrill pleaded. Griffin had very strict rules to follow, the strictest of which was that of non-interference.
"I will bring her out, but you will have to take care of the situation past that point," Griffin said, holding his hand over Lissa's mist. A bit of light formed and Lissa's body slowly became solid.
"She's cut to ribbons," Merrill sighed, lifting her up. "Thank you," he nodded at Griffin, who disappeared.
"Mon Dieu," René swore when Merrill carried Lissa's unconscious body inside the house. Merrill was so angry he could have taken on every vampire inside the manor.
"As your punishment, René," Wlodek was looking at Lissa's body, which was bloody, sliced in many places from breaking through the window, "You are going to call your cousin immediately and explain what you did."
"No, Honored One, I beg you," René said, his voice barely a whisper. "He will kill me."
"I can't say that I'd stop him," Wlodek grumbled. "Very well, let us table this for a bit. Merrill, what must we do to take care of her?" He nodded toward Lissa.
"We should clean the wounds and assess the damage," Merrill said. "The rejuvenating sleep may take care of most of this, but if she wakes before dawn, she will be in terrible pain."
"I never meant for this to happen," René walked over to Merrill, reaching out a hand to touch Lissa's forehead. "I only meant to frighten her a little."
"Lissa is terrified of you," Merrill's fangs were slipping out, which happened only when he was as angry as he could possibly get. "I was hoping that by bringing her here, she would find her fears unfounded. And what do you do? She will never want to come within sight of you again."
* * *
I woke before dawn and my multitude of cuts and scratches were all an agony. "It will be fine, Lissa, once dawn comes," Merrill was leaning over me with Radomir standing at his shoulder. Under normal circumstances, I might have told Radomir it was nice to see him. These weren't normal circumstances. Tears must have fallen; Merrill wiped one away with his thumb. "René will not threaten you again," Merrill assured me.
"Dead?" I asked, unsure how I felt about that.
"No. Not yet anyway. If Gavin decides to kill him when he learns of this, I certainly won't try to stop him." My eyes closed and I didn't know another thing until nightfall.
René asked to see me before Merrill ushered me out of his home after nightfall, but I refused. I also told Merrill that Aubrey and the others were now on my shit list, only I didn't quite put it in those terms. He nodded and we walked out of the place. They'd have to drug me or place compulsion to get me to come within a mile of René's estate again. There were still a few scratches left over from my trip through the window and I had no desire to discuss what the compulsion not to escape had cost me. Neither Merrill nor I wanted to mention that.
Franklin was nearly beside himself when we got home and Lena looked like she'd been crying. "I'm all right," I said to both of them, giving them a hug. Merrill made me soak in the hot tub and we didn't have lessons for three days. Wlodek decided not to tell Gavin what happened until he returned from assignment, which occurred a week after my injuries. Wlodek told the story, I suppose, after calling Gavin into his study. Gavin, as a result, was so angry when he arrived at the house that Merrill sent Franklin to his suite while he and I faced Gavin as he walked through the door.