Demon Moon

have any weaknesses that he hadn’t filed away for reference? “Why didn’t you?”
    “I was tempted,” he admitted, and his grin flashed. “You should be wary, Savi: I may take such a question as the invitation I long for.”
    It didn’t feel like a warning—it felt like a tease, a promise. She couldn’t seem to catch her breath, and she turned toward her window, concentrated on finding an even rhythm.
    He hadn’t truly answered her, but he didn’t need to; he’d had the opportunity to take what he wanted, but hadn’t. He was determined to offer her pleasure in exchange for her blood and psychic scent. She could trust him not to hurt her…unless she asked for it.
    Her breath fogged the glass. Condensation crept around the edges of the windows. He slid the key in the ignition; the engine purred. That she could hear it at all must mean the spell surrounded the whole of the car’s exterior, not just the interior. The heaters blasted, but he didn’t wait until the windows cleared before pulling from the space.
    She couldn’t see. Feeling slightly claustrophobic, she wiped off the steam in front of her as they passed through the gates. Two pale faces stared back at her from inside a black SUV parked across the street. More vampires, probably, but they’d driven by too quickly for her to be certain.
    “Tell me what you think Michael asked me, Savi.”
    She looked over at him. “Why do you want me to tell you ?”
    “You must know even that?” When she nodded, he said with a touch of mockery, “I want to know how much you’ve learned about me before I offer you further information. To feed my ego.”
    She studied his face, watched the grooves form beside his mouth. No evidence suggested that he cared what others thought of him; if he had, surely he’d have taken the role of vampire leader Fia had spoken of. Did he care what anyone thought? If so, that number of people must be very few. And while he obviously enjoyed compliments or anything that gratified his vanity, he certainly didn’t seek approval.
    More likely, he wanted to guide her questions by first discovering what she didn’t know, and then leading her away from anything he didn’t want to answer without appearing to deny her curiosity.
    “Okay. Where do you want me to start?” How much did he think she knew?
    He shot her a disbelieving glance, then his mouth slid into a wide, laughing smile. She bit her lip against her own smile when she realized she’d questioned him anyway.
    “The roads are crowded yet; it will be a long drive to Auntie’s.” He turned and looked out between the seats. “And perhaps longer than typical,” he added softly.
    “The vampires in the Navigator?”
    “They’ve been observing my feeding patterns. I haven’t noted them since my return to the States, but apparently they’ve decided to continue the practice.” He touched the back of her hand. “Do not worry; I’ll not lead them to the restaurant.”
    She sighed and picked up her bag from the floor. “Yet another reason to marry quickly and leave all this behind: protecting Nani.”
    “Yes.” The warmth of his fingers left her skin, and he shifted gears and shot through an intersection beneath a red light. “Tell me about myself, Savitri.”
    She looked down at the infrared detector she’d pulled from her bag. “You don’t appear in reflective surfaces, like polished metals or still water or windows, but in mirrors, you see and hear Chaos. And you’re anchored to that realm by your blood, because of Michael’s sword and the changes it made in you when you were human. And maybe because the nosferatu whose blood Hugh and Lilith used to transform you had been killed with the sword, perhaps doubling the effect. Am I right so far?”
    At his nod, she continued, “Last year, Lilith and Hugh used your blood to send a group of nosferatu to Chaos. Hugh tricked them into drinking it during a ritual, and they gained an anchor to Chaos so that Michael could teleport them there. There’s no escape from that realm, no Gates. And only Michael and Selah can teleport, so there’s no possibility they’d get out. They hoped the nosferatu would be killed and eaten by the dragons and smaller creatures in that realm. But we know they haven’t all been eaten; if anything, the ones who live grow stronger.”
    “Yes.” His voice was flat.
    “But Michael lost his sword, which was his anchor to Chaos. He can’t go there.” A terrible thought occurred to