City of Burning Shadows (Apocrypha: The Dying World) (37 page)

“You’re a sensitive, then,” Mike said, dismissive. Not a question.
 

Rose stared at him and shrugged. Not an answer. She might not be able to read Mike’s inner soul, but she’d known enough men and women of the church to be wary.
 

Alec didn’t seem concerned. “It’s true St. Petersburg isn’t the sort of place you want to be wandering by yourself at night. No different than New York or Chicago in that respect.” He flashed a smile at Ian and Mike in turn. “But the tourist spots—“

Alec stopped as the concierge reappeared in the doorway. “Mr. Rutledge, the final member of your party has arrived.”

Alec rose again. “Thank you, Vasily. Could you make sure we’re left alone for a bit, then?”

The concierge nodded and stepped back, revealing an attractive middle-eastern looking gentleman in a black satin shirt with a mandarin collar and smart black slacks. Rose had to grit her teeth against the sudden dissonance in her mind. Something was… wrong with this man. Very wrong.

Alec’s default smile was back, plastered across his face. Rose wondered that his cheeks didn’t go numb. “Everyone, allow me to introduce Nazeem. He’s the final member of our diplomatic party.”

Nazeem stepped into the room and the concierge closed the door behind him, shutting them in together. Ian sparked friendly curiosity and held out his hand. “Just Nazeem? Like a rock star?”

“No.” Mike’s voice grated over Ian’s welcoming tone. “Like a vampire.”

#

In the silence that followed Mike’s pronouncement, Rose couldn’t stop herself from staring at Nazeem. At the vampire.
 

Who—just like the others—seemed normal enough on the surface. She wouldn’t have given him a second glance if they’d passed each other on the street. He was handsome, sure, and like Ian, Nazeem didn’t look much older than Rose’s twenty-two years. But where Ian’s looks—and presence—demanded Rose’s attention, Rose’s gaze kept sliding away from Nazeem, like her eyes couldn’t find anything to latch onto. Even when she tried, she couldn’t focus. Maybe not so normal after all.

Definitely not to her othersense. He clashed and jangled in a quieter way than Ian, with flavors and eddies of emotion that were like nothing Rose had ever seen.
 

This evening was a crash-course-wake-up-call, no question. Somehow, in all her exploration of her own psychic gifts and research into people like Mike and Alec, Rose had never taken the next leap forward to wonder if things like vampires might also be real. It wasn’t like once you took your first “There are more things on Heaven and Earth, Horatio” step into the supernatural they sent you a manual. All the late-night sci-fi channel and Stephen King stuff—just how much of it did she need to be watching over her shoulder for?

And why was this the first time she’d run into any of this? One truth was becoming clear: none of these people could hide their differences from a sensitive. If there was a whole world of supernatural people running around, why had Rose never met any before tonight?

Mike shoved his chair back as he stood, one hand fisted in his jacket pocket. “Explain this, Rutledge.”

“Explain?” Alec’s eyebrows furrowed. Rose couldn’t feel his insides, but she could see the confusion on his face easy enough.
 

Mike planted his feet, like he was bracing for an attack. “No one told me there would be vampires.”
 

“As no one told me I would be working with a priest. So we are both surprised.” Nazeem’s voice was soft, beautifully accented, and compelling. Rose found herself unable to do anything but listen.
 

Alec stepped between Mike and Nazeem. “Gentlemen...”

Nazeem held his empty hands out to either side. “Please, good Father, we are not enemies here.”
 

“Not enemies?” Mike pulled his hand free of his pocket, revealing a black-beaded rosary with a silver crucifix wrapped around his fist. Nazeem flinched at the sight of it.
 

“Stop it!” Rose snapped, jumping to her feet. Vampire or not, the last thing Rose was about to do was sit by and watch him get bullied. “We’re supposed to be talking.”

Ian also stood, his concern striking Rose with the force of a brick to the head. “Rose is right, and I, for one, want to hear what Mr. Rutledge has to say.”

After a few tense breaths, Mike lowered his hand. Whether from lack of allies in the room or some other reason, Rose couldn’t tell, but either way he returned to his seat. “Fine.” Rather than putting the rosary back in his pocket, he lay it next to his plate, in easy reach. “We’ll all
talk.”
His voice twisted on the word.
 

Everyone settled back into chairs, Nazeem taking the place next to Ian, where he could watch Mike from across the table.
 
The awkward silence grew and Rose gazed longingly at the bowl of herbed potatoes before her. Would they never get to eat? The tangy, buttery smell was irresistible, but she felt awkward about reaching for it while everyone else was so intent on giving each other the hairy eyeball. Instead she took a large swallow of her wine and tried not to stare at Nazeem.

Alec leaned back in his chair, swirling his wine. His mask was good—very good—but Rose could see muscles tensing under the dark skin of his neck. He was more nervous than he wanted to show. “My friends, the world is changing.” His soothing drawl sounded confident enough. “Technology and fear make it difficult for us to go on as we have for centuries, safe from discovery. My employers believe it’s time for us to carve out our own space in the world.”

“Space to do what?” Rose asked.

“To live. To hide without hiding. A place of safety and peace.”

“Just who exactly is
us?
” Mike growled, still glaring at Nazeem.

“Us,” Alec answered in a smooth tone, a wave of his hand encompassing the room. “The supernatural community.”

Mike snorted. “We’re a community now? I must have missed that memo.”

“Of course we are. Voiders, vampires—even sensitives like Rose have special needs that are hard to provide for out in the world. My employers believe there is more that unites us than divides us and it’s time our various factions reach out to each other.”

Alec paused. Rose found some reassurance in the fact no one else seemed to have any idea what he was trying to say. Ian’s confusion was palpable, and while Rose couldn’t read either Mike or Nazeem, their silence spoke volumes.
 

“We brought you here,” Alec continued, “because my employers believe St. Petersburg is the perfect location to put their plan into action.
 

“Forgive me if I’m being slow,” Rose said. “But what plan?”

Alec lifted the silver lid from the large dish in front of him. “Have some stroganoff. It’s a specialty here.”

That was all the invitation Rose needed to reach for the potatoes. And some bread. The butter on the dish beside her plate was real and shaped like little flowers. Food was good. Rose was hungry and everything smelled very expensive. Food made sense. Rose could wrap her mind around the food. Unlike whatever it was Alec was circling around.

Ian also approached the food with enthusiasm. Mike looked as suspicious of the stroganoff as he was of the vampire. Nazeem took nothing.

Alec continued. “My employers need people to be their public face. To be negotiators, diplomats and, when necessary, police.”

“Police?” Rose interrupted as she buttered one of the still-warm rolls. “What do you mean police? What law would we be enforcing?”

“Peace,” Alec said through his Ken-doll smile. “The specifics of the definition and your approach would be yours to work out.”

Rose chewed that over, still unsure what he was getting at. But Alec wasn’t done. “All I’m asking for initially is a month’s commitment from all of you. We’ll cover your expenses plus fifty thousand dollars up front. You can get to know the city, get to know each other, put together a plan. At the end of the month, if you don’t think this is possible or we don’t think it’s possible, everyone walks away friends.”

Rose didn’t miss the sideways look Mike gave Nazeem at the last word. She, herself, was trying not to drool over the idea of that much money. More than she could make in a year! It would mean the end of student loans and credit card debt.

“And after a month,” Nazeem asked, “What then?”

“My employers are prepared to offer each of you a million dollars for a year’s contract.”

Rose stopped moving, a forkful of stroganoff only an inch from her mouth. Had she heard that correctly?

Nazeem broke the silence that had followed Alec’s remark. “I can’t help but wonder who these most generous employers of yours might be.”

 
“They would prefer to keep their identities anonymous for now. But I can tell you they’ve spent years researching—they hand-picked the four of you for your exceptional talents and expertise.”

A million dollars. This couldn’t be real. But Alec was sincere. Rose could see it on his face. “Why are we worth so much to them?”

“Business,” Alec answered simply. “To my employers, this is a small investment to create a safe haven to meet, to work, even to live.”

Mike had pulled back in his chair, arms crossed. It didn’t take a sensitive to see his dislike of all of this. “What gives your employer the authority to do this? What gives them the right to dictate people’s lives?”

“Money and power.” Rose had to respect Alec’s honesty. “We’re all part of the invisible war, one way or another, and no government on Earth has laws that apply. If there are organizations trying to regulate it,” —Rose didn’t miss the way Alec’s eyes lit on Mike, Ian, and Nazeem in turn— “they’re flailing beneath the weight of their own secrecy and ignorance of each other. It’s time to try something new.”

“An interesting proposition.” Nazeem’s emotions were there, pulsing against Rose’s senses, but they didn’t resonate in any way she could understand. Yet.
 

“Is it?” Mike’s gravelly voice demanded. “What interest is this to a vampire?”

 
“As Alec said, the world is changing.” Nazeem’s tone was low and even and impossible to ignore. “Electronic databases, cooperation between governments, watch lists. Travel becomes complicated, especially with your American initiatives against people who look like me. The idea of a safe haven is most compelling.”

“The other vampires in the city—” Alec began.

“Other vampires?” Rose interrupted, remembering Mike’s reaction to Nazeem. “There’s more? Are they dangerous? No offense,” she added quickly in Nazeem’s direction.

“Not all vampires are monsters.” Nazeem’s lips quirked, almost a smile. “No more than we were before we died.”

That earned another disdainful snort from Mike. “I suppose you couldn’t bear the sight of the cross before you died either?” Nazeem gave a mild shrug. “Exactly. Don’t try to tell me you people are no different than when you were alive. I know better.”

“Now Mike,” Alec tried to mediate, “We won’t get anywhere if we can’t—”

“I need a cigarette.” Mike pushed his chair back. He circled wide around Nazeem as he stalked from the room.

Alec sighed. “Obviously, y’all will need some time to think about this.”

Rose still didn’t understand what they were supposed to be thinking about, but she knew she wanted it. The money was one thing. The challenge—the mystery—was too interesting to walk away from. But most of all, this was her way in. This was her invitation to the world that had been hiding from her all her life. And
they
wanted
her.

She studied Ian and Nazeem, tried to figure out what was going on in their heads. Ian was agitated. Nervous and excited and all at a pulsing, screaming volume that seemed more real than anything Rose had ever felt.

Nazeem eluded her. Even his face was inhumanly still. His gaze flickered to hers, caught her looking, and his lips curved to the barest hint of a smile. “I beg everyone’s forgiveness,” he said, standing with an easy grace. Nothing like the hurry Mike had shown. “As we seem to be finished with the meeting for now, I will leave you to your dinner.” He bowed his head to them and left.

Ian only lasted a few minutes longer. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I could use some air.” And he was gone.

Rose wasn’t willing to let the meal go to waste. She spooned up more stroganoff. “I guess I’ve got one question for you, Alec.”

Alec was unsettled, wary. Rose saw it in the crinkle of his eyes. “Go ahead.”

“What’s for dessert?”