“Fuck this,” Blair muttered. She grabbed a crossbow, armed it. With the bow in one hand, the scythe in the other, she began to move cautiously toward the door.

This was Glenna’s area, not hers. Time to call in the witch.

But Lora slid through the wall again, and what she pulled with her had Blair’s blood freezing.

“No. No, no, no.”

“He is handsome.” Lora slid a tongue down Jeremy’s cheek as he struggled against her hold. “I can see why you feel for him.”

“You’re not here.” Oh God, his face was bleeding. His right eye swollen nearly shut. “It’s not real.”

“Not here, but real. Say hello, Jeremy.”

“Blair? Blair? What’s going on? What are you doing here? What’s happening?”

“It was so easy.” Lora clamped a hand on his throat, choking him as she lifted him an inch off the floor. And laughing when Blair charged them, flew through them and ran hard against the wall. “I just picked him up in a bar. A few drinks, a few suggestions. Men are deceivers ever. That’s Shakespeare. ‘Why don’t we go to your place?’ was all I needed to whisper into his ear. And here we are.”

She brought him down so his feet touched the ground, but kept her hand around his neck. “I would have f**ked him first, but it seemed that would take the shine off the gift.”

“Help me.” He choked it out, wheezing each breath. “Blair, you have to help me.”

“Help me,” Lora mimicked and threw him to the ground.

“Why are you wasting your time with him?” Blair felt her stomach twist as Jeremy crawled toward her. “You want me, come for me.”

“Oh, I will.” Lora leaped, falling on Jeremy. Dragging him to his back, she straddled him. “This weak—yet attractive—human broke your heart. Isn’t that so?”

“He dumped me. What do I care what you do to him? You’re wasting your time with him when you should be dealing with me.”

“No, no, it’s never a waste of time. And caring, chérie, is what you do.” Lora clamped a hand over Jeremy’s mouth as he started to scream, then watching Blair, scraped her nail down his cheek to draw fresh blood. She licked it from her fingertip. “Hmm. Fear always gives it such a nice kick. Beg for him. If you beg, I’ll let him live.”

“Don’t kill him. Please, don’t kill him. He means nothing to you. He’s not important. Leave him there, just leave him, you got my attention. I’ll meet you, alone, wherever you want. Just you and me. We’ll settle this. The two of us. We don’t need men getting in the way. Don’t do this. Ask for something in return. Just ask.”

“Blair.” Lora offered her a sweet, sympathetic smile. “I don’t have to ask. I just take. But you begged very well, so I’ll…Oh don’t be ridiculous. We both know I’m going to kill him. Watch.”

She sank her teeth into him, sliding her body down his as it convulsed in an awful parody of sex. Blair heard herself screaming and screaming. And screaming.

Chapter 11

W hen Larkin rushed in all he saw was Blair stabbing a stake over and over into the floor. She was weeping as she did it in wild, screaming sobs, and there was a madness on her face.

He ran to her, but when he grabbed for her, she struck out in a blow that bloodied his lip.

“Get away, get away! She’s killing him!”

“There’s nothing there.” He gripped her wrist, and would have taken another punch if Cian hadn’t dragged her back.

She kicked, twisted to attack. Cian slapped her, twice. Hard enough to make the crack of it echo. “Stop. Hysterics are useless.”

Enraged, Larkin leaped to his feet. “Take your hands off her. You think you can strike her?” He might have charged, but Hoyt pinned his arm.

“Hold on a bloody minute.”

Larkin’s answer was to rear back, smash his head into Hoyt’s jaw even as Glenna sprinted over to stand between Larkin and Cian. “Just calm down.” Glenna held up her hands. “Just everyone calm down.”

But there was shouting, accusations, and Blair’s helpless sobbing.

“Ciunas!” Moira’s voice cut through the mayhem with a cold authority. “Quiet, all of you. Larkin, he did what needed to be done, so stop this nonsense. Let go of her, Cian. Glenna, get her some water. We need to find out what’s happened here.”

When Cian released her, Blair simply melted to the floor. “She’s killed him. I couldn’t stop her.” She brought up her knees, wrapped her arms around her head as she lowered it. “Oh God, oh my God.”

“You have to look at me now.” Moira crouched down, firmly took Blair’s arms and brought them down again. “You have to look at me, Blair, and tell me what happened here.”

“He never believed, not even when I showed him. It was easier to push me away, to throw me away than to believe it. Now he’s dead.”

“Who is?”

“Jeremy. Jeremy’s dead. She brought him here, so I would see her do it.”

“There’s no one here, Blair. No one here, and no one in the house but the six of us.”

“There was.” Glenna passed down the water. “I can feel it.” She looked at Hoyt for confirmation.

“A smear on the air.” He nodded. “A heaviness to it that comes from black magic.”

“She came through the wall, and I thought, now we’ll fight. You and me, French bitch.” Though Blair fought to steady it, her voice continued to hitch. “I threw a stake, but it went right through her. She wasn’t really here. She…”

“Like on the subway. It happened to me,” Glenna explained. “In New York. A vampire on the subway, but no one else could see it. He spoke to me, it moved, but it wasn’t really there.”

“Boston.” Sick to the soul of her, Blair got to her feet. “She went to Boston. I used to live there. It’s where I met him—Jeremy. They were in his apartment. She told me where she was. Cian, do you have contacts there?”

“I do.”

She gave him an address. “Jeremy Hilton. Someone needs to check. Maybe she was just messing with me. But if…They have to make sure she didn’t change him.”

“I’ll take care of it.”