Abe is still a mess, and he keeps asking to drink from me.

I almost feel sorry for him, because in my mind he’s as much a victim as Carver. To me, helping Abe was the same as helping my love, but surprisingly, Lucian held me back.

“He may look decrepit but he has more power even in his present state than you do. He could be compelling you to give up your blood, but he just wants to suck on your power. Don’t let him.”

Abe’s eyes flash and glow with a green-gold light that betray a strength of presence. “Leave her alone, fledgling,” he snarls.

“No. She is mine to protect and that I will do. We brought you enough bags of blood so that you shouldn’t be hungry.”

“Hunger!” Abe laughs, “You do not know what hunger is unless you spent hundreds of years without food.”

Reina comes up behind us. “Dude, you’re old and you’re not supposed to want to feed, so don’t give us that crap. My girl here has done more for you in a single night than any of your followers for the past few hundred years, so lay off her and her blood. There might come a time when you need her protection again, so keep the well filled and she’ll be able to do that.”

“Who is this human?” Abe sneers.

“Sam to my Frodo,” I say, “And in case you didn’t catch the movie, it was Sam that carried a weak-as-fuck Frodo up the slopes of Mount Doom so Frodo could destroy the one ring of power and save the world. So don’t diss my girl.”

The thing with older than dirt ancient being is that you can’t speak normally to them. Just like Lucian and Row screw of colloquialisms, they just don’t have the cultural frame of reference to understand what we are saying. And I didn’t think that an older than dirt vampire could pout, but this one did. He turned his face into a corner and spent a few hours muttering to himself about baby vampires and a lack of respect.

Too damn bad. We brought him out of the crypt for a reason. If he wants to be king again, then he damn well better hop on the “Destroy Morana” train real fast. So far he’s ignored our attempts to speak to him about it to the point where I wonder if a vampire could suffer PTSD.

There were no psychology books to consult on the effect of traumatic events on vampires and the internet was no damn help. And it makes me worry about Carver, and the torture Morana put him through. The vision of Morana slicing his skin to shreds with her nails haunts me at night, to the point that Lucian can’t let go of me at all. I doubt he’s slept either, but I’m still young and need to. But each time I close my eyes the pain that Carver endures plays like a horror movie in my mind.

I’m losing patience with the crotchety blood sucker. He’s stubborn and stinking up his room because he refuses to shower and get the musty smell off him. He refuses clean clothes too, and I’m really, really worried this guy is hiding in the happy cuckoo land to avoid further pain. We need to find Carver but Abe who probably knows more than God about Morana, won’t talk. I decided to put on my big girl panties and force the vamp to cooperate. Yeah. I know. Sometimes I’m more flash than cash, but fake it until you make it, right?

“Abe,” I say, “Look at me.”

He turns haunted eyes toward me. “You going to let me drink?”

I shake my head. He didn’t need my blood more than I did.

“Look, we need to find Morana and Carver. All that we have done so far will mean nothing if we don’t destroy her. So give it up.”

He shakes his head. “I’ve been imprisoned too long. I don’t know anything about Morana that will help you.”

“Well, then, who does?”

My spidey senses tell me he’s holding out. I’m not sure why, because it is to his benefit that Morana finds her unnatural end.

“Tell me, Abe, or I swear on Carver’s life that I’ll find a way to end you myself.”

A shadow of fear passes over his eyes and I get the hint that in someway I do present a threat to him. Or maybe it’s not just me, but me and the other two Dria we haven’t found yet. Instead of one Vampire Queen there will be three. What will that mean to Abe? How will he fit in the New World Order?

He might not know and it scares the hell out of him.

“Abe,” I growl. And I have to admit that a vampire growl is a mighty scary thing and it got his attention.

“My daughter, Lyra. She’s been in and out of Morana’s court for years. She even spent some time as one of those damn Le Tiere of Morana’s. If anyone knows anything about the bitch, she does.”

I wonder if this a wild goose chase Abe is giving me to take pressure off him, but I bring this to Lucian who nodded his head. “I’ll get my men on it.”

It still blows me away still that Lucian has “men” at his beck and call. But this, finding the daughter of the deposed vampire king who burrowed deep into hiding was a job worthy of the CIA, NSA, FBI and NCIS combined. Okay, maybe not NCIS, but I enjoy binge watching the New Orleans episodes. I had a secret crush on Scott Bakula since I watched Quantum Leap as a child and I don’t mind watching an older dude that is still hot as hell.

Heck, you could say I’m really into older guys.

And they are into me. And in me. Oh boy!

Reina and I sit our latest hotel room for the night, and Reina kept a running commentary on how much about New Orleans the show got wrong. But there is a wistfulness in her voice too and I can tell she misses home.

I would too, if I had a home.

Because as much as I wish New Orleans was still home, it’s not. When all this nonsense is over, Carver back in my arms and Morana destroyed we’ll have to figure out this whole home base thing. And that’s what I hold onto, despite the separation from Carver that is tearing me apart. Don’t get me wrong. I love Lucian, and that love grows stronger each day, but when I’m with him I feel that there is something missing. We, both Lucian and me, are like puzzles that are missing pieces. We fit together, but not quite, and the place that is reserved for Carver is the most missing of them all.

Reina hands me the popcorn, which the bitch mostly scarfed for herself, but for once in my life I am not hungry. And now I’m missing Carver big-time, and homesick for a home I don’t have and handsome leading men that I will never have don’t fill the hole in my gut. That’s when, thankfully, Lucian walks in, looking tired after a long day of whatever he does all day.

“Hey, babe,” I say

He sinks down next to me on the floor, which was unusual, and put his arm around my shoulders, kissing my cheek.

“Hey,” he says before his eyes flick to the television.

“I see you’re cheating on me again.”

“I am not.”

“With the way you drool over that human, you certainly are. At least you lust in your heart.”

“Baby, no. My heart belongs to you, and Carver—”

“And a man we haven’t met yet.”

Techinically . . . we had. I just hadn’t fully accepted him yet.

He looked so tired and I realized how much of the burdens he’s been carrying for us.

“Hey, Dude,” say Reina. “Have you fed?”

He shrugged.

“You cannot go without your iron supplements. Damn it, woman, aren’t you taking care of your man?”

“It’s my job to take care of her.”

“Great, wonderful. Because you are so busy taking care of her you forget to eat and when she really needs you, you’ll pass out from hunger.”

“I will not do that,” Lucian said peevishly. “I’ve been hungry before.”

“Well, there is no need. Especially with the fresh supply of meal supplements Row brings in.” She hopped up and dashed to the refrigerator leaving us alone in the living area.

“She’s right. Whatever is eating at you, don’t let it keep you from taking care of yourself.”

“Yes, well, I suppose I should listen to the women.”

“Wait. You? Taking us seriously.”

“Yes. Because we found Lyra and she’s dying to give us info on Morana.”

“Really? When?”

“Row’s bringing her in from the airport now.”

I jump up excited as hell and kept jumping. “I love you, I love you, I love you!” I screech.

“What’s all this?” said Reina returning with a couple bags of what she euphemistically calls “meal supplements.”

“Lucian found Lyra. She’s on her way here! Isn’t he awesome!”

“It wasn’t hard. The whole vampire world is buzzing with rumors that Abe is free. Lyra’s been reaching out to whoever she can and we made contact.”

Reina handed Lucian a bag and he took it and sunk his fangs through the plastic and sucked up the blood. It was gone in two seconds.

“Well, I thought our girl would want one too, but go ahead.” She handed the second bag to Lucian who took it sheepishly.

“Okay, I will listen to the women,” he said.

“Damn straight,” says Reina. “I’ll go see if that nasty vampire has taken a shower yet.”

“I’ll go with you.” Reina seemed to have a calming effect on Abe, because, damn it, she just has this way of getting people to listen to her. But no way would I let her alone with a hungry as fuck vampire, and certainly not with Abe.

“I’ll be right back, babe.” I say to Lucian.

“That’s okay,” he says around his fangs sinking into another bag. “I’ll take this more slowly.”

Reina knocks on Abe’s door.

“Come in,” he growls.

“He getting more personable,” she says.

“Uh huh,” I reply.

She opens the door. “Hey, dude,” she says, “We’ve got good news. Lyra is on her way here. Maybe you want to take that shower and get cleaned up for her. I know we’d all appreciate that.”

“I don’t know how,” he mutters.

“What?” Reina aks.

“All those shiny things in what you call a bathroom. I don’t know how to work them.”

“What the hell?”

“Come on, old man,” I sy gripping his arm. “Enough of this. I’m sorry you are dragged kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century, but you need to learn to deal with it.”

“Can’t a servant just bring a basin of water?”

“Twenty-first century, remember? We don’t have servants, and the only basins we use are in the bathroom.”

I pull him into the bathroom, which he allows, because he is still a strong vampire, and show him the ins and out of modern plumbing.

“This is the soap. Use it. You smell like an invasion of black mold. Here is the shampoo.”

“Shampoo?”

“Soap for your hair. And this is the conditioner, used after you rinse out the soap in your hair. Helps to loosen the tangles, which,” I lifted his hair and got a little nauseous, “You can forget. You need a full on buzz cut. Reina, go find Row’s clippers, eh?”

“Clippers?”

I put the seat down on the toilet. “Sit down, shut up and don’t make a peep.” Reina returned with the clippers and I plugged it in and turned it on.

“What!” said Abe and he pulled away from the clippers.

“I said shut it. It makes a hellava noise but trust me, it’s going to make things easier in the long run.”

In ten minutes I had his head and beard shaved and damn it if the old vampire almost looked handsome. I turned on the water for the shower and showed him how to work it.

“After you are done, towel off and put on those clothes Lucian bought you. Trust me, the man buys only the best, so you can’t complain about them.”

The front door opened and I caught the whiff of a different vampire.

“I think your daughter is here, so you might want to hurry.”

I walked out to the living room and see a female vamp standing next to Row. Every one of her muscles are tight as if she expected a fight.

“You can sit,” I said.

She growls. “I didn’t appreciate being brought here with a hood over my head.”

Row nods slightly. He was only taking the precautions he thought appropriate.

“Too bad,” I say. “Every one of Morana’s goons are after our asses, so forgive us for taking precautions.”

She snorts “You are the new Vampire Queen.”

“So they say. We’ll see. First we need to take down Morana. All bets are off until then.”

“I understand you freed my father.”

“So the rumor goes.”

“Where is he?”

She seems eager to know, and this was the only leverage I had with her. But I had to work fast, because I don’t know how long Abe would stay in the shower. But advantage, Aura, at least the shower was masking his smell. She looking around, licking her lips, trying to catch a taste of his scent. I’m hoping Abe is loving the shower and stays in a little longer.

“You first. What do you know about the ring Morana has?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because is a ring of protection and she uses it to keep herself out of hot water. If we have a hope and a prayer of sending her to hell, we need to destroy it.”

She licked her lips again and I guess it is because she still trying to locate Abe.

“It makes sense then. I thought it was a momento of an older lover or someone she killed on her rise to the top. I should have known she’s not the sentimental type.”

“Do you know where it is?”

“I don’t know where she keeps it. There are days where she wears it. There is a pattern to her wearing it. It is as if every few days or so, Morana has to make sure the charm is still there by wearing it again.”

So it’s back to catching Morana wearing the ring. Or finding when she takes it off. Either way it was an almost impossible task.

“Do you know then, where Morana is now?”

Lyra nodded. “Yes, I do. And I’ll be glad to tell you. That wretched bitch treated me worse then shit because I’m Abe’s daughter. She treated my loyalty with distrust. I want nothing more than she her head ripped off and her immortal body quartered and thrown to the four winds.

I’m not sure we’ll get that dramatic. But what was dramatic was when Abe opened the bedroom door and stood there.

An unreadable expression came over her face, and then, she actually leapt across the entire room. Rowe pulled his gun immediately and Lucian raced toward her then stopped. Lyra knelt at her father’s feet sobbing.

“I’m sorry, so sorry. Please forgive me.”