“Maybe I’ll go say hi to him.”
“Good idea.”
The jet skis pulled up beside the dock and Peter grinned up at me. “You ready to lose to me too?”
“Ha! In your dreams buddy!” I hitched a thumb at Roland. “My turn.”
Roland grinned as he nudged his jet ski along side the dock and climbed off, but his face grew serious as I switched places with him. “Be careful and call me if there is any trouble,” he whispered.
“We’ll be back before you know it.” I sat on the seat and murmured, “I’m more worried about you having to deal with the fallout on this end.”
“I can handle them.”
“I know. That’s why you’re staying instead of Peter.” Well, that and the fact that Nikolas and Chris were more suspicious of Roland after our little escapade. I was pretty sure that my cease-fire with Nikolas was going to come to a fiery end after this. But it wasn’t like I had promised never to run off again. In fact, I assumed that was just a foregone conclusion by now.
I pushed away from the dock and followed Peter a short ways onto the lake. We lined up side by side and waited for Roland to play his part.
“Okay, guys, to the other side and back,” Roland shouted at us. “Kick his ass, Sara,” he added for good measure.
We shot forward like we were in a real race. Opening our throttles, we sailed across the wide expanse of water with water spraying up around us. I still remembered my icy dip in the harbor, making me doubly glad for the sun and the layer of neoprene protecting my body from the cold lake water.
According to my research, the lake was a mile across at this point and fourteen miles from Dylan’s to the opposite side of the lake if you followed the shoreline. I hoped that was enough distance to allow us to get away before Chris realized what we were up to. The Mohiri were super fast so I had come up with a plan to outsmart them since I couldn’t outrun them.
I slowed my jet ski as I neared the far shore and eased into a small shady cove with an old dock. Nudging the jet ski against the dock, I clipped it to one of the posts and leapt off, knowing that Peter was right behind me. Our feet pounded the boards as we ran up the short dock to the shed at the edge of the property and found Peter’s backpack right where he had stashed it last night.
So far, so good
, I thought as we peeled off our wetsuits and dressed in the clothes Peter pulled out of the backpack.
We had picked this particular spot for several reasons. First, it was a summer cottage, and like many of the houses on this side of the lake, it was closed up now for the fall. Second, it was strategically located directly across from Dylan’s. And third, it wasn’t far from the home of an old friend of mine – more like one of Greg’s old buddies but I knew him well enough. I hadn’t seen Phil since Greg went away but Greg told me before he left that if I ever needed anything to call Phil. It turned out Phil was more than happy to help me out today.
“I feel like Ethan Hunt,” Peter said with a silly grin as we rolled up our wetsuits and hid them with the backpack.
“Who?”
“From Mission Impossible. We’re like spies on a covert mission.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “I hope not. Doesn’t he get shot at a lot?”
Less than five minutes after the reaching the dock, we ran across the yard and emerged on the street. I wondered if Chris had figured out that something was up yet and decided I didn’t want to wait around to find out.
“This way,” I said, setting off down the road with Peter beside me.
“Are you sure this guy is okay?” he asked cautiously. “He’s not like that guy Malloy, is he?”
I let out a laugh. “Phil is a teddy bear. I told you he’s one of Greg’s friends.”
“Yeah, because those guys were all angels,” Peter said with a snort.
It took us five minutes to reach Phil’s little white bungalow. A few years older than Greg, Phil worked at a dockyard in Portland and lived alone in the house inherited from his grandmother.
He threw open the door as soon as I rang the bell. “Little Grey!” boomed the hefty redhead before he grabbed me in a beefy hug. He smelled of sweat and beer and his arms were covered in tattoos. “You’ve grown up since last time I saw you.”
I grinned as I stepped back. “It’s only been four months.”
“Really? Seems longer than that,” he said, leading us inside. “Not the same here since the boys went away. I remember when you were younger and you used to have the biggest crush on Greg.” He let out a whoop. “Ha! I bet the tables will be turned next time he comes home and gets a load of the beauty you grew into. Not that I’m surprised, mind you.”
I couldn’t help the blush that crept up my cheeks when I thought of the crush I had on Greg in grade eight. “Ugh, don’t remind me about that.”
Phil laughed again. “I gotta say I was surprised to hear from you last night but I’m glad you called me. I promised Greg I’d check in on you and to be honest, I’ve done a piss poor job of that. So you two need a ride somewhere?”
“Phil, this is my friend Peter. And yes, we need to get to the rest stop up by exit 75. You know where that is?”
They shook hands and Phil frowned. “You guys are not running away, are you?”
“No, we’re meeting someone there. It’s kind of hard to explain, but I promise we’re not running away.” I pulled out my cell phone which I’d snuck inside my wetsuit and looked at the time. If Chris was looking for us, it probably wouldn’t take them long to start searching this area. “And we need to go now if that’s possible.”
“Okay, no problem.” He grabbed a set of keys off the kitchen counter. “Let’s go.”
Phil drove a black Pontiac Trans-Am just like the one Burt Reynolds drove in Smoky and the Bandit, except Phil’s was rusted in places and in desperate need of a paint job. But it ran well, which was all we needed. We left the lake area and headed toward the nearest on ramp to the interstate. Once we were safely away I sent Roland a smiley face text to let him know things were going as planned. He replied with a ‘thumbs down’ to let me know Chris was onto us. I bit the inside of my cheek. That meant Nikolas knew and they were both looking for us right now. I hoped I had enough time before they managed to track us down.
“This is a strange place to meet a friend,” Phil said, pulling up to the rest stop diner.
I laid my hand on the door handle. “He’s passing through doesn’t have time to go into town.”
“Alright then. You call me when you’re done and I’ll come get you.”
“I will thanks.” I got out then lifted the seat forward for Peter to climb out. We waited for Phil to pull away before we turned to look at each other. I glanced at my watch and saw that I had ten minutes before I was supposed to meet NightWatcher. I told Peter we should split up now.
Peter’s eyes were anxious. “You sure you don’t want me to come in with you?”
“I promised to meet him alone. It’s busy place in the middle of the day so I’m sure it’s safe.” He did not look convinced so I squeezed his hand. “There’s not a cloud in the sky so you know we won’t run into anyone with UV allergies. Besides, you’ll be right outside. I’ll try to get a table by the window so you can see me.”
He nodded reluctantly and I turned and went into the diner. The waitress told me to grab any table I wanted so I took a booth near the window in the back where Peter could see me and I could see anyone entering the diner. After a few minutes, the waitress brought me a menu and I ordered a milkshake then settled back to wait. My phone rang and Roland’s name came up.
Hope u get back here before he finds u
. I did not need to reply to ask who
he
was.
I was sipping my milkshake when the door opened and in walked the last person I’d expect to run into here. I shook my head in annoyance. Lots of locals stopped here driving to and from Portland but what were the chances of seeing Scott Foley here today of all days?
Scott spotted me around the same time I saw him. He stared at me in surprise and I think he started to come over but changed his mind. I let out a small sigh of relief when I saw him pay for a milkshake and leave. It was one thing having Peter outside. I didn’t think NightWatcher would approach me if I was arguing with Scott when he showed up. I’d worked too hard to set up this meeting to have someone screw it up now.
At two o’clock on the dot, the door opened and a young Japanese man with short spiked hair came in. He stopped and looked around until his eyes landed on me, then he walked purposefully toward my booth.
“You’re a lot younger than I expected,” he said in a low voice as he slid onto the vinyl seat across from me.
I didn’t bother to hide my surprise. “How did you know it was me?”
He smiled, showing off perfect white teeth. “Aside from the fact that you’re obviously not a trucker and you had your boyfriend wait outside for you? Let’s just say I have a way of knowing things about people just by looking at them.”
I looked more closely at his face and spotted a faint gold ring inside his brown irises. “You’re an Emote!” I breathed and he nodded. Emotes are people who can read auras – and not like those fake psychics you see at a carnival. Their perception is so good that an experienced Emote can tell what you’re feeling, if you are lying or if you are hiding something just by seeing your aura. A vampire couldn’t get within twenty feet of an Emote without being detected, which explained why NightWatcher hadn’t entered the Attic that night. It also explained why he’d insisted we meet in person. He wanted to read me.
I knew something else about Emotes. They can tell small lies but big deceptions are very difficult for them which meant I could probably trust what this man had to say.
“What does my aura tell you about me?”
His dark brown eyes studied me. “I can see that you mean me no harm and you desperately hope I have the answers you’ve been looking for. I also see that you are you are running from someone – but you are not afraid of them. Curious.”
“Impressive.” I’d met one other Emote a few years ago and she could only tell if someone was lying. Being able to read beyond that takes a lot of skill. “I guess we should introduce ourselves. I’m Sara, but you know me as PixieGirl.”
“David, aka NightWatcher.” He gave me as small smile as he extended a slender hand. “I have to tell you that I was very curious about you as soon as I heard you were asking questions about Daniel Grey. It’s been a long time since I heard that name. Before I say anything else, I want to know why someone as young as you is interested in a man who has been dead for ten years.”
I met his gaze without blinking. “Daniel Grey was my father.”
David’s eyes widened and his mouth made an O shape. “So you’re Madeline’s daughter.”
“Yes,” I said bitterly. “You knew her?”
“My father knew her.” He quieted because the waitress came over to take his order. He ordered a coffee and waited until she walked away before he spoke again. “Ten years ago Madeline Croix called my father to tell him she was in a lot of trouble and needed his help. I was fourteen and I remember he was not happy to hear from her. I could see his fear though he tried to hide it from me. A few days later, Madeline came to our house. They talked for about an hour and he gave her a leather pouch that he’d apparently been keeping for her. It was full of cash and some papers. She said she had to disappear.”
“Did she say why?”
He glanced around nervously and his voice dropped so low that I had to lean forward to hear him. “Madeline told my father that she had discovered the identity of a Master.”
Goose flesh spread across my arms and an unpleasant tingle ran down my spine. Everything I knew about vampire masters I’d learned from Remy and that was just enough to scare the bejesus out of me. Masters are old and powerful with powers far beyond any normal vampire. You can’t just stake a master, beheading is the only way to kill one. The most frightening thing about them is not their physical strength but their mental prowess. Only a Master can command other vampires and they literally create a small army of vampires to serve them and make them nearly invincible. Because of that, Masters used to live as openly as other vampires but fear of them drove hunters to start killing them off one by one a few hundred years ago. The Masters who survived went into hiding and now it is rare to even hear of one. A Master’s identity is their most closely guarded secret.
The waitress returned with David’s coffee. As soon as she left he said, “I see you know what that means. If Madeline somehow found out the identity or location of a Master, he would stop at nothing to find her, especially considering what she is.”
“You know what she is?”
He nodded gravely. “I wasn’t supposed to hear any of this but I knew something big was going down because my father did not scare easily. I hid upstairs while Madeline was there. Before she left, she said she was going to see Daniel – your father – to warn him. I saw in her aura that Daniel had no idea what she was.”
I felt a stab of pain in my chest at the mention of my dad. “What happened next?”
“After Madeline left, my father panicked and sent me to my grandparents’ house for a week. I never saw Madeline again and two days later your father was killed.”
My throat tightened and I swallowed dryly. “What about your father?” I asked hoarsely. “Did you ever ask him about what you overheard?”