He needed an edge...but what?

Rourke dragged a hand across his jaw. He needed some backup, he thought, then grinned, thinking that he sounded like a character on one of the cop shows Karinna sometimes watched on the television. Backup...Ramon Vega quickly came to mind. If he could persuade the vampire to help him, he might have a chance to overpower the wizard.

Ramon Vega answered the door wearing a pair of faded jeans low on his hips, and nothing else. He looked understandably surprised when he saw Rourke standing on the porch.

"Well, well," Vega muttered. "Look who's here. I guess you want to see Ana."

"I came to see you. I need your help."

Vega's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "My help? Doing what?"

"Ramon, who is it?"

Glancing over Vega's shoulder, Rourke saw Ana Luisa walking toward them. She wore a pair of white shorts that made her legs seem three yards long, and a bright red halter top that left little to the imagination. Rourke whistled softly, thinking she had quickly adapted to the somewhat shocking fashions of the time.

Vega slid his arm around Ana Luisa's waist in a blatantly possessive gesture that clearly said, "She's mine."

"Jason," Ana Luisa said, surprise evident in her tone. "What brings you here?"

"I came to ask for his help," Rourke said, frowning, "but maybe I'm asking the wrong vampire."

"What are you talking about?" Ana asked.

"Your father is here."

Ana Luisa's eyes grew wide. "He's here? In America? Are you sure?"

"He's in the city," Rourke replied. "And yes, I am sure."

"What does he want? Does he know where I am?" She moved closer to Vega. "You didn't tell him where to find me?"

"Of course not," Rourke said.

Vega smiled reassuringly at Ana Luisa. "Don't be afraid, chica. I won't let him hurt you."

"You do not know," she said, her voice tight. "You do not know what he is, what he can do."

"Well, suppose you tell me."

"He is a powerful wizard," Ana Luisa said. "More powerful than you can imagine."

"Bring him on," Vega said arrogantly. "I'm not afraid of him."

Rourke grunted softly. "Then you are a bigger fool than I first thought. Vilnius is a wizard to be reckoned with."

"More powerful than a vampire?" Vega asked skeptically.

"Powerful enough to trap me inside a painting for three hundred years," Rourke said curtly. "And his daughter, as well."

"What do you mean, trapped?"

"I mean he cast an enchantment on the two of us, one that was only recently broken."

Vega looked at Ana Luisa again. "Is that true?"

She nodded, her eyes bright with fear.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I do not like to think about it."

Vega's attention shifted to Rourke. "So, what kind of help are you looking for?"

"Vilnius has Karinna."

"Oh, no," Ana Luisa murmured.

"Come on in," Vega said, taking a step back. "Ana, why don't you get us something to drink?"

Rourke followed Vega and Ana Luisa into the house. The place didn't look like much from the outside, but it belied the luxurious interior. Rourke didn't know if Vega had decorated the place himself, or hired someone do it, but the results were remarkable. A curved, plush brown sofa flanked by glass-topped end tables was situated in front of a massive red brick fireplace. The walls were off-white, the floors were polished hardwood, and there was a cathedral ceiling. A grand piano occupied one corner of the room.

Vega gestured at the sofa. "Make yourself comfortable."

With a nod, Rourke took a seat.

Vega sat at the other end of the sofa.

A moment later, Ana Luisa appeared carrying a tray with a bottle of red wine and three crystal glasses. Sitting between the two men, she filled the glasses, handed one to Vega, and one to Rourke.

Rourke swirled the liquid in his glass, his nostrils filling with the scent of cherry, plum, and vanilla.

Vega took a drink and smiled. "Not a bad Pinot, fine acidity."

Rourke nodded. It was an excellent vintage. Vega was apparently a connoisseur and accustomed to the best money could buy. Given their long life spans, many of the ancient vampires managed to acquire a good deal of wealth. Rourke, himself, had once been a fairly wealthy man, though his holdings were all gone now, lost to others while he languished in that damnable painting.

"So," Vega said, settling back against the sofa, "have you got a plan for rescuing Karinna?"

"Unfortunately not."

"I cannot believe he's here." Ana's hand trembled as she lifted her glass. "I had hoped never to see him again."

Vega regarded Rourke for several moments before asking, "How do you suppose he found you?"

"A spell of some kind, I should imagine. It's strange that he hasn't contacted you, Ana," he mused. "I would have thought he would have come to you first."

Vega shrugged. "Maybe he doesn't know where she is."

"Perhaps not, but why not? If he could find me..." Rourke frowned. "Ana, you said the bond between the two of you was broken when Vega brought you across, is that right?"

"Yes."

"Can you feel it now?"

She closed her eyes a moment, then shook her head. "No, there is only emptiness."

"Evidently, the bond was broken when you died as a mortal," Rourke mused. "Your father is not looking for you because he believes you are dead."

Vega looked at Ana Luisa, his head canted to one side. "So, chica, do you know how to do magic, too?"

"Yes, although I am not nearly as proficient as my father. I have seen him do things you would not believe. Impossible things." She shuddered. "Cruel things."

Vega studied the wine in his glass, his expression thoughtful. "I should think that two vampires and a witch would be able to take on one wizard, even a powerful one."

"One can only hope," Rourke muttered darkly. "Ana, what do you think your father's reaction would be to seeing you again?"

"I do not know."

"Maybe it'll scare the life out of him," Vega remarked with a grin.

"Only one way to find out," Rourke said. "Are the two of you with me?"

Chapter 30

Kari wanted to cry, to rail at Fate and unleash her fear and helplessness in a primal scream of rage, but she couldn't move, couldn't even blink, she could only stare at the blank wall on the far side of the room. It was a terrifying sensation, being able to think but unable to move or speak. She had no sense of time passing, no idea how many days or hours had ticked into eternity since Josef Vilnius had shown up on her doorstep. Had it been only yesterday, or a year ago?

Now and then, the wizard passed in front of her, his long gray robes swirling around him like smoke. Sometimes she saw his lips moving, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. Was he conjuring another foul spell, talking to himself, or making a new deal with the devil? She wouldn't put the latter past him. Josef Vilnius was a cruel and vindictive man. It showed in his features, and in his soulless black eyes. Hard to believe that such a man had fathered Ana Luisa. The man was truly a monster, to have inflicted torture such as this on his own flesh and blood. She wondered if Ana's mother was still alive. It was hard to imagine that any woman had willingly married such a man, let alone taken him to her bed.

Karinna focused all her attention on her right hand in an effort to make her fingers move, but to no avail. It was getting harder and harder to think clearly. She had no sense of her physical self. She was neither hot nor cold. She didn't know if her heart was beating. She didn't seem to be breathing. How could she be alive and not take a breath? Was this what it was like to be in limbo, to be caught in that netherworld between life and death?

How had Rourke endured three centuries of such a wretched existence? It was worse than death. Of course, he had eventually gained the power to move about in his painted world. But he possessed supernatural powers and abilities that she didn't have, would never have. No matter how much time passed, she would be forever trapped as she was now, unable to speak, unable to move.

Help me! Somebody please, please, help me!

She screamed the words in her mind even though there was no one to hear her.

Help me!

Somebody, anybody, please.

Help me....

Chapter 31

Ana Luisa took a deep breath as they approached the red brick house located on the corner of Willow and Wade streets. From the outside, the house looked dark and empty. Going closer, she peered through a break in the curtains covering the front window, felt a rush of anger when she saw the man sitting on a tall, three-legged stool in the far corner of the room. He wore a long gray robe over a white shirt and black trousers. His hair, once as brown as the earth of their homeland, had gone completely gray since last she had seen him. For the first time, she wondered just how old her father was. She had asked him about it once, soon after her mother died, but he had refused to tell her, saying only that she needn't worry about losing him, too, because he would be around to care for her for many years to come. Wizards, he had assured her, enjoyed a very long life span.

It no longer mattered to her now. Whatever love she had once held for the man who had fathered her had died centuries ago, suffocated behind the glass wall of her painted prison.

Ramon touched her arm. "Are you ready, chica?"

She nodded.

"We will be nearby if you need us," Jason assured her.

She nodded again. Jason had suggested that surprise might be the only thing in their favor. Vilnius would be expecting Rourke, or possibly the police, should Jason have been foolish enough to involve them. He would not be expecting his daughter.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped into the house.

It was obvious from the astonished expression on her father's face that Jason had been right. She was the last person her father had expected to see.