Eternal Kiss of Darkness

It seemed like the screen tightened to show a close-up of Mencheres's face. "I promise you."

The image faded to show the news anchor again. She asked anyone with information about the identities of the people on the video to contact the Chicago Heights police department, CrimeStoppers, or the news headquarters.

Kira still couldn't seem to form any words. My sister might have seen this, she found herself thinking in a frozen, detached way. Or her brother. Or her boss, or Lily, any of the other people at her office - hell, the cops who had been at Pete's trial years ago might recognize her. In less than five minutes, all of her chances to return to some semblance of her former life were torched with the same ruthless efficiency as the fire that destroyed the strip club.

"Radje," Mencheres spat. "This is an unpardonable crime, even for him." Gorgon gave him a steady look. "The Law Guardian's claiming you killed those people and burned down the club."

Mencheres stared at Gorgon, absorbing that information. His arms stayed around Kira, feeling the fine tremor that went through her.

"Was this all the footage recovered?" she asked in a raspy voice. "The video from that night is several days old. Wasn't there more recent tape available, maybe one that showed the real murderer and arsonist?"

Mencheres didn't need to see Gorgon shake his head to know the answer to that.

He'd guessed that the rooms in the club were videoed. Radje obviously had as well, and the Law Guardian would have made sure nothing that incriminated him would have been left at the scene. No, Radje had only left images that looked very damning for Mencheres to anyone in their world who saw them.

"No footage was found dated later than this, and what you saw was an abbreviated version. The full clip isn't on the news-station site, but it's up on YouTube and various other places."

"Show me," Kira said at once.

Gorgon glanced at Mencheres. He gave him a barely perceptible nod. After a few clicks, the YouTube version began to play. It was significantly longer, starting when Mencheres first arrived to heal Kira and ending with him carrying her newly dead body from the room.

The cold part of him could admire Radje's cleverness. Saved on tape for all the world to see was Mencheres's veiled threat to the three vampires who'd injured Kira, his clear displeasure with the Law Guardian's sentencing, and his open threat to Radje at the end.

brilliant.

"Look at the comments." Kira's voice was hollow. "They're critiquing my death." He scanned the commentary below the video box. Phrases such as "OMG that's so fake!" "Shoulda had more blood" "Worst actress ever" and "WTF is up with the lame glowing eyes?" were all he read before he shut the laptop with a flick of his mind.

Kira tugged at his arm and Mencheres released her. "I need . . . I don't know. I should call Tina. If she wakes up tomorrow and sees this, she'll freak, but what am I supposed to say?" she mumbled as she began to pace.

"You should get dressed," he said, gentling his voice to take out the anger and bitterness he felt toward Radje.

"Yeah. Dressed." Kira wandered out of the room, still plainly shaken. Mencheres could not fault her. He knew Radje had sabotaged more than his life with this ill deed.

He met Gorgon's blue gaze. "This is bad," Gorgon said, stating the obvious. "With Flare, Patches, and Wraith dead, plus the strip club burned, most vampires who see this video will believe Radje's assertion that you made good on your threats." That wasn't the real concern, as Gorgon knew. Killing three Masterless vampires and a few humans wouldn't rouse the Guardian Council's interest. Leaving behind evidence of the vampire race for any human to download on the Internet? That would concern all vampires.

"Certainly, it would be easier to believe I did this than to believe a Law Guardian endangered the secrecy of the race this way." Mencheres's mouth twisted. "Nor do I have adequate proof of my innocence. The only people who know I was here during the fire are you and Kira."

The same ones involved in the crime. Radje had chosen his attack well.

"We need to leave at once," he stated. "Radje may have gambled that I was tending to Kira myself in her early days, away from most of my people and any alibi for the fire, but he also may have spies watching us. Even now, Guardians or Enforcers could be coming."

Gorgon gave him a somber look. "It's better if none of us were brought before any Guardians until you have means to prove that Radje did this. Radje wants something from you, but he has no use for me or Kira, and we're the only ones who could back up your claims of innocence."

Yes, the two of them would be Radje's first targets. Mencheres calculated their chances if they stayed together. He didn't like the odds. It was better if they split up while he rall ied his all ies. Otherwise, if one of them were caught, all of them were caught, and the truth might never be made public.

"Go," he said softly to Gorgon. "Do not tell me where. Stay hidden until this matter is over."

Gorgon clasped him by the shoulders. "You have all ies who will urge the Guardians to listen to you. When the day comes that you need me, I will be there." Mencheres briefly touched his friend's hands, the gesture encompassing the words he had no time to say.

"Go," he repeated.

Gorgon left without taking anything or looking back. Wise. Time was of the essence, and what couldn't be carried in one hand wasn't worth the delay of taking.

He quickly pulled on some clothes, gathering only his mobile phone, his laptop, and his coat. Along with Kira, that was all he intended to leave with.

Chapter 20

Kira awoke to the sounds of people screaming and the whoosh of a train as it barreled closer. She shot upward in blind survival instinct to avoid the train's oncoming path, but hard arms seized her.

"Do not fear. You are safe."

Mencheres. How many times had she heard those words from him? A lot, it seemed.

She came awake enough to notice that they were in a bare room with several pieces of large equipment stacked against the walls. The machines hummed with their own internal racket while somewhere above them, that cadence of screams followed by the sounds of a freight train rose and fell again.

"What the - ?" Kira managed.

He glanced at the ceiling. "We are underneath a roller coaster. Big Thunder Mountain, I believe it is called."

For a second, Kira didn't know whether to laugh or ask if he was kidding. Disneyland?

That was where Mencheres decided it would be safe for them to flee to after leaving in such a hurry? He hadn't told her where they were going when he flew them away from the house, and falling asleep at dawn had prevented her from seeing where they were headed after several other stops and starts.