I conjured some dust in my hand and sprinkled it over my head. Closing my eyes, I searched my body and found a mild concussion and focused on removing it. I felt warmth in the back of my head similar to a blow dryer before the fogginess went away. I opened my eyes feeling no physical pain any longer. “Yep, I’m fine now. Just please, take me home with you.”
Leo helped me stand and Vance had enough common sense to back away from us. Leo hesitated and I could tell that he didn’t want to reveal the hidden door to his home. I looked up at Vance and said, “Vance, I think you’ve done enough damage to me for one evening, don’t you?” He winced but I could hardly give a fuck at the moment. “Please, just turn around and walk out that door. If you ever had any feelings for me, it’s the least you could do.”
“Karli, I---”
“Don’t fight me on this, Vance. Please. I’m done fighting. Just go.” I tucked my face into Leo’s chest so I didn’t have to look at him anymore. After a few seconds I heard him open the door.
With a growl Leo said, “I’ll send you a bill for the damage, Detective.” The door closed.
I looked up at Leo and said, “You ready to head downstairs?”
“Of course, my love.” He opened the panel gesturing towards the stairwell. “After you, beautiful.”
Eighteen
The drive to San Francisco took me about seven hours, giving me plenty of time to think. It should have taken me longer, but I couldn’t resist testing the limits of Leo’s Porche 911. Plus, the closer I got, the more anxious I was to see Irina. She’d moved back here to be with her coven while I’d been in college. I pulled up to her 1900’s Victorian style home and took a deep breath. Her coven had lived here since the manor was first built. It’d been beautifully restored over the years. A fresh coat of golden brown paint covered the wooden siding and the brick red door matched the trim. I climbed the long flight of stairs and rang the bell. When Irina answered, I just collapsed into her arms.
“Oh, draga, whatever has you so upset?” she said with her thick, Romanian accent. “Come in, my child.” She ushered me into the front room and sat me down on the couch. “Tell me what is wrong.”
I spent the next two hours telling her everything about my life with Vance and Leo right up until I’d left town earlier that day. I’d always been close to Irina and felt no need to keep any secrets from her, no matter how intimate.
“Irina, I don’t even recognize my life anymore,” I cried. “How did everything become so messed up? I thought I finally had it figured out, and the next minute I’m more confused than ever!”
“Perhaps it is not as ‘messed up’ as you say.” She paused. “I always suspected it was Vance when they followed him to the desert, but I had no idea there would be another possibility. Especially not a vampire.”
“What are you saying? Are you agreeing with Vance that we were meant to be together?” I asked.
“I’m not saying I agree,” she replied. “Only that maybe this is exactly where you’re supposed to be, my child.”
“Wait a minute…back up. Did you just say they followed him to Vegas?”
“Da, I did. They communicated with him often while they lived here. They would occasionally go there to visit, or he would come here. Your mother insisted on moving there when she found out she was pregnant. She said that he needed them.”
“Did you ever meet him?”
“Da,” she replied. “He brought his new bride on a few occasions. Apparently the little human was fascinated with the supernatural. He would do anything to please her, exposing her to as much of our world as possible, including my coven. I only obliged your p
arents because he was so important to them.” She took my hands into her own. “My dear, there’s something you should know.”
“What?” I asked.
“It wasn’t a coincidence that I moved out to Las Vegas only weeks before your parents passed.”
“What are you trying to tell me?”
“Would you like some tea?” she offered.
“Irina, quit stalling. What are you saying?”
“Copil, I haven’t been very truthful with you about certain matters,” she admitted. I gave her a look that pleaded for her to continue. “When your parents died, I didn’t exactly look for your grandmother as I had told you.”
“What?!?!?” I shouted.
She sighed heavily. “I’ve been wondering when this day would come. Please, calm yourself. Give me a chance to explain.”
I took a deep breath. “Go on,” I said through my teeth.
“You mustn’t be upset with me. I was only doing what was asked of me,” she insisted.