Night's Master

Mara shook her head. “Since we are not truly alive, I have no idea.”



On that troubling note, Rafe bid Mara and his grandparents farewell, dissolved into mist, and floated out the window of the hotel.



Materializing inside his car, he pulled away from the curb. What Mara had said about ending the war before the humans ended it for them made good sense; he just hoped Clive and his Weres were smart enough to see that. The Vampires and the Werewolves had been waging open war among themselves for less than a year with heavy casualties on both sides. Rafe had no idea which side was winning. As far as he knew, no one had ever taken a census among the Werewolves. It was rumored that a Vampire hunter had a record of many of the known Vampires, but as far as Rafe knew, it was only a myth. Still, it was unusual for Supernatural creatures to disappear without their kind being aware of it.



As for some miracle drug that would cure the Werewolf community…Rafe shook his head, wondering again what kind of effect such a concoction would have on the Vampires and the shape-shifters, if any. That thought was followed by another, far more troubling one. Before the humans could drug the water supply, they would have to test it, not only on humans to make sure it was safe, but on Werewolves to make sure it worked. Would they think to test it on Vampires, as well? Maybe they were testing it already. Maybe that accounted for the missing Werewolves and Vampires.



He swore softly. There was nothing he could do about that. Putting the thought out of his mind, he let himself think about Kathy instead. He had never been one to believe in karma or fate, but in the deepest part of his being, he knew she had been born for him.



When he was with her, he could almost forget he was no longer human. Almost. He was amazed that she had so quickly accepted him for what he was. Her curiosity about his lifestyle and his paranormal powers amused him, her nearness aroused him, her blood was the sweetest he had ever tasted. A few sips had satisfied his craving in ways nothing else ever had.



And she loved him. That was the most amazing thing of all. But did she love him enough, was she brave enough, to spend the rest of her life with him?



Only time would tell, he mused ruefully.



And that was one thing he had plenty of.



Chapter Sixteen



Friday morning dawned cold and wet. Dark clouds hung low in an angry gray sky. My first thought was for Susie. Picking up the receiver, I called the hospital and gave the operator her room number.



A man answered the phone.



“Hi,” I said. “This is Kathy McKenna. Is Susie there?”



“This is her husband. She's not taking phone calls just now.”



“Oh.” I didn't like the tone of his voice at all. “Is she feeling any better?” I heard Susie's voice in the background. It sounded like she was crying. “Mr. McGee, please, if I could just speak to her for a minute.”



“Perhaps another time,” he said curtly.



“Excuse me, Mr. McGee, but I'm the one who found her. I think I have a right to speak to her.”



There was a pause, the sound of muffled voices that told me Rick had his hand over the receiver, and then Susie's voice came over the line.



“Kathy, I'm sorry, but I really can't talk right now.”



“Are you all right?”



“Not really.”



I had the feeling her husband was standing over her, listening to every word. Before today, I'd never said more than three or four words to the man, but I was starting to hate him. “I understand. Why don't you call me when you get home, or when you can talk?”



“I will.”



“Promise?”



“Yes, thank you for calling,” Susie said politely, and hung up the phone.



I stared at the receiver, wondering if I dared call back. She had sounded so…I don't know, so completely forlorn, so lost. I had hoped her husband would comfort her, but I didn't think the man had it in him. He had sounded angry, as if what had happened to Susie was her own fault.



But there was nothing I could do about it now, not while he was there. If he didn't want me to talk to her on the phone, I was pretty sure he wouldn't want me coming to visit.



After a quick breakfast, I showered, got dressed, and went to the bookstore.



In spite of the rain, or maybe because of it, a number of people came into the shop to browse. Even more surprising, they seemed in no hurry to leave, and most of them actually bought books.



“I'm going home to curl up in front of the fire,” one woman remarked. “A good book and a cup of hot chocolate—I can't think of anything that sounds better on a day like this.”



An image of Rafe flashed through my mind. I could think of several things I'd rather do on a day like this, I mused, imagining the two of us curled up on my bed. I didn't say it out loud, of course, merely nodded in agreement.



Shortly after two o'clock, things went back to normal, as in, no customers. I closed up for thirty minutes and went to lunch, then returned to the store. Shortly after three, the Were-girl I had seen once before entered the shop.



She picked out a couple of paperbacks. Ringing up her purchases, I wondered what would be the best way to start a conversation with her and decided on a simple, “Hi, Jennifer, it's nice to see you again.”



She looked at me, her violet eyes wide and suspicious. “How'd you know my name?”



I held up her credit card.



“Oh,” she said, blushing, “of course.”



I smiled as I returned her card, then bagged her books. I wanted desperately to question her about what it was like to be a shape-shifter, but the words stuck in my throat. She didn't look like she was anxious to talk about it, and I wasn't sure it was a good idea to let her know that I knew what she was. Besides, she probably couldn't answer my questions anyway, since being a shape-shifter wasn't the same as being a Werewolf.



“Come again,” I said.



She smiled uncertainly as she picked up her bag and left the store.



With a sigh, I stared after her, then picked up the phone and dialed the hospital. I asked for Susie's room, only to learn that her husband had already taken her home.



The hours seemed to drag by. And it was Friday, which meant staying open until nine. Of course, I was the boss. I could always close up early. Heck, I could close up now.



Moving to the door, I stared out into the gloom. Jagged bolts of lightning speared the clouds; thunder rolled across the lowering skies. The sidewalks were empty; there was little traffic on the street.



I'd stay another half an hour or so, I thought, and then I was going to go home and, like the woman who had been in earlier, I was going to curl up in front of the fire with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book.



The prospect was so appealing, I decided not to wait any longer. With that thought in mind, I turned away from the window and felt my heart skip a beat when I saw Rafe standing by the counter. He wore a long black leather coat over a pair of black jeans and a dark green shirt.



“Oh!” I pressed a hand to my heart. “You startled me!”



“Sorry.”



I studied him for a moment. He was as handsome as ever, his appearance impeccable, his long black hair framing a face worthy of a Botticelli, but something wasn't right. And then it hit me. “How come you're not wet?”



He shrugged. “Vampire magic?”



I grunted softly. It seemed to be his standard answer for anything related to his Supernatural status. “Susie went home today.”



“She's better then?”



“I don't know. I didn't really get to talk to her. I'm worried about her, Rafe. Her husband seems so unsympathetic and, well, I'm just worried about her.”



“You don't think he'd hurt her, do you?”



“I don't know, but I can't believe they let her go home already. I mean, she lost a baby and…and, you know.”



“We can stop by there later, after you close up,” Rafe said.



“I'm closing now,” I said. “Let's go.”



Rafe parked his car a block away from Susie's house. I looked askance at him. Did he expect us to walk in the rain? Maybe he wouldn't get wet, but I would.



“I'm going in alone,” he said.



“What?”



“The best way to find out what's going on is for me to go in there, unseen.”



“How are you going to…oh. Can you really do that? Make yourself invisible?”



He winked at me. “Yes, ma'am.”



“I don't believe it.”



“No?”



Before I could say anything else, Rafe's body shimmered and dissolved into a faint silver mist, kind of like shimmery specks of dust. I stared at him in astonishment, all the while wondering what other Supernatural powers he possessed, and then the mist was gone.



“Be careful,” I murmured, but there was no one there to hear me.



Staring out the window, I listened to the rain beating down on the roof of the car. Lightning flashed in the distance. I was wondering what was going on in Susie's house when the strangest thing happened. One minute I was watching jagged bolts of lightning flash across the skies, and the next it was like I was inside Susie's house. It took me a minute to realize I was seeing things through Rafe's eyes, hearing what he heard.



Susie was sitting up in bed, her hair pulled back into a ponytail. It made her look like she was about fifteen years old. Her husband, Rick, sat in a rocking chair beside the bed. I suppose he was a good-looking man, though it was hard to tell, his expression was so grim. His eyes were gray and as hard as iron; his hair was blond and he wore it cropped close to his head. I couldn't say how tall he was, since he was sitting down, but from his physique, it was obvious that he worked out.



“…don't know what we're going to do about this,” he was saying. “If you think I'm going to leave you here alone with my sons while I'm at work, you really are out of your mind.”



“I'd never hurt them,” Susie said, though her voice lacked conviction. “This isn't easy for me, either, you know.”