* * *

Ari was early to the rendezvous point. Five o’clock, Goshen Park. She’d asked Andreas how he could meet so early, but he’d brushed it off, saying the ability to resist the sun grew over time. Ari knew it couldn’t be that simple. She was betting others as old were still snoozing.

However he did it, Andreas strode down the path, precisely on time. He looked ready for a special ops mission in black jeans and a black, turtleneck sweater. The fabrics looked expensive, and she figured they were Armani too.

He looked her over and grinned. “My compliments.”

He’d suggested she dress for the occasion, feminine but official. That meant her white Guardian jacket. Not a bad choice since it emphasized her lingering summer tan. She paired it with white skinny jeans, a silk blouse open at the throat, and ankle boots.

They looked like yin and yang, a symbolism she chose to ignore.

Before they left the park, he insisted she remove the silver charm bracelet. “The nest leader won’t allow you to enter with a cross and holy water.” He watched as she slipped it into her pouch.

“Why don’t the charms bother you?” she asked.

“What makes you think they don’t?”

“You haven’t turned away or shaded your eyes.”

“One develops a certain tolerance…”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, over time. So don’t tell me. Let’s get on with this.”

Andreas led the way through Olde Town’s winding streets, gradually moving beyond the vampire clubs, beyond the tourist district, and into unfamiliar territory. The slope of the land grew steeper as they descended from the high cliffs to the lower banks on the southeast side, where the Oak River met the Mighty Mississippi. Within twenty minutes, they reached an area of thick brush. As Andreas pulled the branches aside, she saw crude steps fashioned from bolted logs that led over the edge and down the bank, disappearing from view. Vampire territory.

She froze for an instant, uncertain of her decision to be there. “Do you know where this ends?” she asked.

Andreas just looked at her. She climbed over the edge.

They reached the bottom and stepped onto a rocky area with pathways branching in four directions. A strong fishy smell saturated the air. The soft lapping of the river murmured nearby. Andreas chose a trail on the right, and they began walking again. Dusk had deepened into dark, and the path was becoming hard to see. Vines and brush encroached from both sides and grabbed at her jeans.

Andreas stopped. “Wait here.”

When he disappeared into the shadows ahead, Ari glanced around, wondering what spiders or other creepy crawlies might lurk in the brush. She didn’t like bugs. Brando had ruined their charm at age ten when he dropped a grasshopper in her shorts.

She shifted from one foot to the other, tired of waiting already. She almost decided to explore on her own when she felt Andreas return.

He held out a white bandanna. “You must wear this. Only vampires are allowed to see the paths beyond this point. Our friends are very nervous about this.”

“It’s fine,” she said. It wasn’t fine, but she knew her objections wouldn’t change things and might be viewed as a sign of weakness. She didn’t want to say anything that could be overheard by the wrong ears.

Andreas must have had similar concerns. He placed a finger against her lips. After tying the blindfold securely, he grabbed her hand, wrapping it with his long fingers. Ari braced for a flood of awareness at the physical contact, but it didn’t happen. Andreas was blocking her out. He tugged on her hand, and she crept forward.

It was a long four or five minutes before they stopped. Ari tensed as her skin prickled with the Otherworld energy of other vampires. She battled an urge to rip off the blindfold when she heard movement around her. Andreas spoke softly with someone then took her elbow, and they moved forward.

“Watch your step,” he cautioned. “The ground is uneven.”

The surface sloped under her feet. Harder now, broken stone at first, and then smooth. A cool dampness coated her skin. The breeze was gone, the air stale. Ari suspected they’d entered a cave. The cliffs were riddled with hidden fissures. They navigated a series of turns, more voices, then Andreas pulled the blindfold away.

Ari blinked in the sudden light. Two hanging lanterns revealed a rocky passage with protruding surfaces, moist walls, and six unknown vampires.

Three vamps stood before them, three behind. A male vamp in casual blue jeans and a muscle shirt, transformed in his late thirties, looked Ari over. He didn’t look friendly. Two female vamps, skimpily attired, one in red, the other in black, flanked him on either side. Neither woman looked at her or spoke. Maybe they were only eye candy.

The guy in jeans spoke to Andreas. “Why are you here? And with this female?”

“You appear to have misplaced your hospitality, my friend.” Andreas’s voice was cool but without censure. “Perhaps it will return if I introduce the Guardian, Arianna Calin.”

“Her status doesn’t explain the intrusion. Why are you here without an invitation?” The other vamp wasn’t backing down.

Andreas ignored the challenging tone. “A vampire of yours is missing. A young man named Gordon.”

The nest leader’s jaw tightened. “What do you know of this? Is he being held by the court?”

Well, this wasn’t off to a good start, Ari thought.

“Absolutely not.” Andreas appeared unruffled. “A young employee of mine is also missing. I hope to locate both of them after talking with your nest members.”

The other vampire snorted. “If we knew where he was, we’d have retrieved him. What information do you think we have?”

“I will know that when I’ve spoken with them. Two of your young men are acquainted with my missing friend. I will share everything with you once I have the facts.”

The leader frowned and digested this. Clearly Andreas held some position that made the other vamp reluctant to disregard him. “Who do you want to talk to?”

Now that was a good question. Knowing Andreas didn’t have the names, Ari waited to see how he would field this one.

“Young friends of Marcus, my missing vampire. They were with him the night he disappeared.”

“These two have names?”

A little sarcasm always helps. Ari wondered when Andreas would lose patience. He never showed this restraint with her.

“I presume they do,” he said pleasantly. “But I don’t know them.”

The two vampires stared at one another, then the nest leader blinked. “Find them,” he ordered the female in red. She left without saying a word.

After tense minutes in which the leader and Andreas exchanged desultory comments on an upcoming vampire meeting and the rest of the group eyed them in silence, the female vamp returned, bringing two young men. The newcomers’ body language telegraphed their desire to be somewhere else, anywhere else. They kept their heads down and shuffled their feet.

“Reno and Lorenzo,” the woman announced and fell back into silence.

“You are friends of Marcus?” Andreas asked.

The boys glanced at each other and nodded, shuffled some more.

Ari nudged Andreas. “We need to talk with them alone.”

“No,” the leader replied, glowering at her.

She started to protest, but Andreas spoke first. “My friend, I understand your reluctance. We live in tense days. But you know me, and I give you my word, this will bring no injury to your nest. We wish only to find the missing men. We’ll finish our business and leave more rapidly if you allow some privacy.”

Scowling, the leader thought it over. In the end, he sent the guards back to the entrance and took the two women with him when he left. His parting shot, “You have ten minutes. Even you, Andreas, can’t expect more.”

Even you? Indicating he had some special privilege. She’d already figured that, but it was something more for her to think about at a later time.

Andreas spoke in her ear. “Your turn. Be quick.”

He stepped away, leaning against a wooden brace at the turn of the passage. Ari knew he could still hear every word. The young vamps would know it too, if they thought about it. But his actions gave them their own space and the illusion of privacy.

Ari studied the boys, teenagers. Nestlings really, transformed within the last year. Awkward and lanky, never to outgrow those uncertain years. She shrugged off a touch of sadness. “Which of you is Lorenzo?” The skinny kid with his dark brown hair cut in a butch waved a hand. “Then you must be Reno,” she said to the other.

Reno nodded, his eyes peeking out from a chocolate brown face.

She smiled to put them at ease. “Look, you’re not in trouble. We’re trying to find Marcus and Gordon, and we need your help. I was told you were with Marcus the night he disappeared. Is that true?”

“Earlier,” Lorenzo admitted. “Didn’t see anything happen to him. Honest.”

“That’s fine. Just tell me what you can.”

The boys looked at one another, clearly intimidated with the situation. Lorenzo shifted his feet and stared at the ground. Reno stood stiff as a board.

“Lorenzo, look at me.” Ari made it a gentle command. He was used to obeying orders. She added a little magical projection of empathy, and he slowly relaxed enough to give her a shy smile. “You could save your friend.”

“We weren’t supposed to be there,” he blurted. “Not in a bar. It’s not allowed for the first year.”

“I don’t care about that. Nobody’s going to care if we save Marcus.” She hoped that was true, that Andreas could protect these kids from any punishment for breaking the rules. “Why don’t you tell me which bar, and we’ll go from there?”

“The Bloody Stake,” Lorenzo mumbled with a furtive glance at Andreas. “Just that one night.” Once the admission was made, the rest of the story came pouring out, with Reno adding details Lorenzo missed.

The three young friends had spent the night drinking and playing pool. At some point a group of wolves joined them and showed particular interest in Marcus once he mentioned working at Club Dintero.