Now he’d partnered with Anita Barrington, who’d been presumed dead for five years. Did she know Giles was supposedly Gilles de Rais? Was he promising his followers immortality? More important, could he deliver?

I’d dug up an e-mail to the agency from a Los Angeles resident who claimed to have been approached by the group for recruitment. He might have met Anita or Giles. Even if he hadn’t we could hope he’d asked more questions than Eloise and might have more answers.

I called and arranged to meet him at a steak house. It was almost nine and I was getting woozy from lack of food. We got there five minutes before the contact—Tim—was due to arrive. We waited fifteen minutes, then I ordered prime rib. Cass got soup and a glass of wine.

Our meals arrived. We ate. I had dessert. Still no sign of Tim. I’d called his cell phone twice and gotten voice mail.

“He’s bailed,” I said. “Decided he didn’t want to get involved.”

“So it would appear,” she said. “I can’t say I blame him.”

thirty-one

We’d parked in a lot a couple of blocks from the steak house, and had walked about half the distance back when Cassandra murmured, “Someone’s watching us.”

I started to glance back, then stopped, took out my phone, and angled it to catch a reflection through the glass. All I could make out was a few people waiting to flag a cab.

“Not them,” Cassandra said. “Someone else has been behind us since we left the steak house.”

I turned before she could stop me. “There’s no one else there.”

“Yes, there is. I’m experienced enough at stalking to recognize when I’m the one being stalked. Now I would suggest—”

I strode back along the sidewalk.

“That was not what I was going to suggest,” she said.

Once we passed the taxi-waiting group, I saw there was indeed someone behind them, following us. Someone I recognized. Anita Barrington stood in a delivery lane. When she saw us coming toward her, she didn’t retreat. Just lifted a hand, as if to motion us closer, then wheeled, staring down the empty street. Without looking our way again, she took off.

“Follow?” I said.

“You’re asking?” Cassandra arched her brows. “A little skittish these days?”

“No, a little careful these days.”

“As long as I can sense her, we won’t get jumped.”

We made it to the end of the lane, then Cassandra lifted a hand to stop me.

“Let me guess,” I whispered. “She’s waiting right around that corner.”

She shook her head. “Farther down. She’s stopped. Someone else is approaching.”

“Where are they?” It was Eloise’s voice.

“I couldn’t make contact. Someone was watching.”

“I’ll phone them,” Eloise said. “I’m sure if I ask them to meet me for a drink—”

“No. Subterfuge will only make them suspicious. I’ll find another way. Giles can’t see me meeting with her and he has spies everywhere.”

Their voices faded as they walked away. Cassandra motioned that we should follow. We did, only to find the alley dark and empty. We proceeded with caution until we reached a metal door. Cassandra stopped there, paused, then nodded.

“They’re inside.”

The door wasn’t locked. We went through and found ourselves in a back hall lined with doors, ending with one that led onto the street front. Cassandra passed by all of them without pausing. Her goal was the last one on the right. Also unlocked.

She opened it. When I peered through, I saw what looked like the darkened stockroom of a restaurant. I remembered passing an Indian takeout that’d been closed for the night.

Cassandra crossed the dark room and reached for the next door handle. I hurried in and grasped her shoulder.

“They’re in there,” she said.

“Um, yes. Inside an empty restaurant. In the dark. Alone. Does this really seem like a good idea?”

She turned to me. “Timidity does not become you, Savannah. Has this loss of powers really had such an effect on your nerve?”

“No. I mean, yes, I’m a little more cautious. But having screwed up and gotten myself kidnapped had a bigger effect. It’s not nervousness. It’s maturity.”

“No, my dear, it’s not. But clearly this isn’t the place to have this conversation, so you will wait here, where I can assure you it’s quite safe. The one who is impervious to harm will continue on.”

She slipped through the door. It closed behind her.

Damn it. Now this wasn’t a matter of maturity. It was a matter of doing what was right, and protecting my partner.

I went through the door. Dark. I took out my phone and activated my new flashlight app. It cast a very weak light, barely enough to bother with. I could survive without magic, but it did make life easier. And safer.

I made it into the restaurant front—a counter for service and a few chairs for waiting customers. A sign pointed to restrooms around the corner. I followed it to a set of stairs. At the top were restroom doors. Farther down the hall, a door was open.

When I peeked through the open door, I found a makeshift apartment.

Ahead I saw Cassandra’s back as she crept through a second doorway. I could hear voices, too. Cassandra disappeared, heading in the direction of the voices.

“Hello, Cassandra,” Anita’s voice said. “I’m so pleased to meet you.”

I froze.

“Anita Barrington,” Cassandra said. “I’ve heard a great deal about you. Good to see you’re alive and well after your brush with death. It’s rather nasty, isn’t it?”

Anita laughed. “They’re right. You are a cool one. Good. That will make our discussion much easier. Would you take a seat, please?”

I crept along until I was behind the open door and could see through the crack into the room. A young man faced Anita, who was at a table. The guy stood by the table. Eloise was over at the window.

Cassandra had sat at the table, her back to me.

“I see Savannah didn’t follow you,” Anita said.

“She wasn’t curious. I am. The curse of a long life. Anything interesting intrigues me.”

“A long life indeed. You’re the oldest living vampire. Your life must be nearing its end.”