“We talked to Chris,” Sarah said, her blush lingering. “He seems a little worried about the vampires you guys saved.”
Nietzsche meandered into the room, trilled a greeting when he saw Seth, then trotted over and leaped into his lap.
Seth smiled and stroked the small furry body with oversize hands. “Lacking the freedom to come and go at will is a little tougher than they had expected, but I think they’re adapting well. They’ve settled into their new apartments and are already pestering our doctors and scientists, wanting to know how and when they can begin helping them.”
Roland wondered how many of the men and women at the research facility had ever actually met a vampire face to face. Those who worked the day shift had probably never even met an immortal. “What do the doctors think of them?”
“They’re understandably wary—the whole staff is—but everyone seems to be getting along.”
“Have they found the biochemist yet?”
Montrose Keegan had disappeared before the network had had a chance to confront him. Apparently his brother, one of Bastien’s vampires, had managed to call and warn him before he was killed in the attack at the farmhouse.
“No. Reordon has tagged his cell phone, social security number, bank account, and credit cards, but there’s been no activity. He’s living off the grid.”
Great. “I understand Tanner fit in instantly and is well-liked.”
Sarah glanced up at him. “Which one is Tanner?”
“The human Chris inducted into the network.”
“Oh, right.”
Seth nodded. “Once Sebastien and Tanner have both been trained, I intend to assign Tanner to be Sebastien’s Second.”
It made sense. The two were already friends and worked well together.
“How is Bastien?” Sarah broached hesitantly.
Roland was still fuming over Bastien hurting her, so she tended to avoid mentioning his name lest she set off another rant.
“Not good.” Seth paused while Nietzsche sprawled on his side, then twisted his upper body so that his head was upside down and his chest, front paws, and chin all faced the ceiling. “He doesn’t eat. He doesn’t feed. He is consumed with anger.”
Sarah frowned. “Anger at whom?”
“Everyone, I think.”
Roland brushed his fingers across her black T-shirt–clad shoulder. “Did you show him the memories you took from his vampires?”
Seth nodded. “It only infuriated him more, knowing they had found a way around his gift and lied to him, perpetrating such atrocities while he was trying to save them.”
Roland glanced down when Sarah rested a hand on his thigh and looked up at him.
“Maybe you should go see him,” she suggested.
He gazed at her in disbelief. “What?”
Reaching up with her free hand, she laced her fingers through his at her shoulder. “Who better for him to talk to? He’s going through the same thing you did, only on a larger scale. Maybe you could help him.”
“You’re delirious, aren’t you?”
She smiled, hazel eyes sparkling. “Come on, Roland, think about it. You were betrayed by your wife and brother. He was betrayed by his brother-in-law and best friend.”
Seth held up a finger. “Who was the one who turned him, by the way. He told Sebastien it was an accident, that he hadn’t known feeding from him repeatedly would transform him, but—considering his other lies—I have my doubts.”
“You see?” Sarah said as if that proved her point. “Then you were betrayed again by Mary. Bastien was betrayed by—what—seventy of his closest friends?”
“What’s your point?” Roland asked, hardening his heart against the sympathy that threatened. It must be Sarah’s influence. Normally he wouldn’t have felt anything for Bastien but contempt.
She rolled her eyes. “That you had Seth and Marcus to help you through it, unappreciative though you may have been, and Bastien probably feels like he has no one.”
Roland glanced at Seth, who was watching him with a neutral expression. “I appreciated it,” he admitted.
Seth shifted his gaze to Sarah. “You’re good for him.”
She squeezed Roland’s thigh and tossed him a teasing glance. “I know.”
“Actually, Roland, I agree. That’s one of the reasons I dropped by. I think it would help if you spoke with Sebastien.”
“No. He hurt Sarah.”
“It was unintentional and he regrets it. He expected her to come along docilely, not shoot him in the hamstrings and stab him in the ass.” He smiled at Sarah. “That made it to the message boards.”
Roland was guilty of that one himself. When speculation had arisen on the boards regarding Sarah and the role she had played in the battle, he had posted a message for the first time ever, boasting of her quick thinking and bravery.
“Please, Roland,” Sarah entreated, unfairly irresistible.
“I’ll think about it,” he grumbled, knowing he’d cave in the end. He could deny her nothing. “You said that was one of the reasons you came by,” he told Seth before she could elicit a solid “yes” from him. “What was the other?”
The older immortal was quiet for a moment. “Chris told me you took Sarah to the lab to have her blood tested.”
Roland stiffened. Every immortal he had ever heard of had either been transformed forcibly against his or her will or accidentally, as Étienne and his brother, Richart, had been. If Sarah, against all the odds, turned out to be a gifted one, she would be the first to actually ask to be infected.
Did Seth intend to forbid it?Roland’s heart thudded loudly in his ears. “And?”
Seth focused on Sarah. “You wish to be transformed?”
“Yes,” she answered somewhat nervously.
“Why?”
Her grip on Roland’s fingers tightened. “I want to be with Roland. Always.”
“You love him that much?”
“Yes.”
“Has he explained the negative aspects of his existence?”
“Yes.”
Seth studied her intently.
Too intently.
“Stop reading her mind,” Roland snapped, wrapping his other arm around her protectively, as though that could stop it.
Her eyes widened.
Seth shrugged. “I had to be sure she understood, that she was certain.”
“And?” he demanded shortly when Seth said no more.
“She does and she is.” Scooping Nietzsche up, he rose, then lowered the sleepy feline to the cushion he had just vacated.
Roland and Sarah rose as well.
It was like waiting for a judge to hand down a sentence.
Sarah’s arm crept around his waist. His tightened around her shoulders.
One corner of Seth’s lips tilted up. “You need not wait for the lab results. She’s a gifted one.”
For a moment, Roland couldn’t breathe. “What?”
Seth smiled fully. “She’s a gifted one. I don’t need the blood test to be sure.”
Sarah squealed and hugged Roland, jumping up and down until he laughed, though he was still afraid to believe it.
“But she doesn’t have any gifts.”
“Of course she does. Her dreams foretell the future.”
Sarah stopped jumping and stared at Seth. “They do?” she asked incredulously, continuing to cling to Roland.
“Yes, you simply haven’t learned to decipher them. Contrary to popular belief, prophetic dreams are only literal in the most powerful of the gifted ones and immortals. For the rest, there are symbols that must be learned and deciphered and the meaning of the dreams can be vague. For example, a week or so before you met Roland, you dreamed there was a large cockroach in your living room that you had difficulty killing. The living room represented daily activities, such as work. The cockroach, due to its size, represented a substantial irritation. The next day, your student went to the head of the department and lodged a complaint against you.”
Which had been a major irritation, she thought.
“A few days later you dreamed of tornadoes.”
“I did,” she said, amazed. “It was like in that movie The Day After Tomorrow, when all the tornadoes spiraled down and hit Los Angeles. They were all around me. And one even seemed to be chasing me. It was terrifying.”
“Tornadoes represent great emotional turmoil, danger, and, at times, death … all the things that accompanied Roland when he entered your life shortly thereafter.”
Wow. She had never paid much attention to her dreams beyond wondering why so many people believed dreams only came in black and white when hers were always in vivid color.
“I can aid you in learning how to interpret your dreams, if you wish.”
Realizing her mouth was hanging open, Sarah hastily closed it. “That would be great. Thanks.” She looked up at Roland, who was frowning. “My dreams foretell the future.”
“So I heard.” He grimaced. “Sorry about the turmoil, danger, and death thing.”
She smiled. “It was worth it.”
Roland looked to Seth. “What about the physical characteristics?”
“They’ve begun to weaken a bit in the last century or so. Nothing dramatic. Dark brown hair instead of black. Hazel eyes instead of brown. Even those changes are still extremely rare.”
“So I can be safely transformed?” Sarah pressed, just to be certain.
“Yes.”
Roland’s hold tightened. “You don’t object?”
“This is Sarah’s decision to make, not mine. If she wishes you to transform her, you may do so whenever you choose.”
Now that she knew it would happen, Sarah felt both excited and nervous.
Seth’s features softened. “It won’t be too bad. Roland will drain you until you are near death, then infuse you with his own blood. You’ll feel like you have a bad case of the flu for a few days. Then all will be well.”