Immortals After Dark 09 - Pleasure of a Dark Prince

when I’m a widow.
    Now, in a matter of days, she could return to the Scot—free at last. Free of Skathi
and
Cruach. “How much longer until we get back?” Lucia asked.
    “Four days. Max.”
    “You know the way?”
    Izabel glared. “Better than anybody on this river,” she answered. “So
Capitão
told me about your night. Damiãno really attacked you? I knew he was
louco
!”
    “In a big way.”
    “Travis said the robed men were religious fanatics after some relic you and MacRieve found.”
    “That’s it exactly. I’m just glad we made it out alive.” Lucia pulled up another stool. “So, last night was revealing in a lot of ways.” Rossiter was a hero, Schecter a criminally irresponsible scientist, Izabel part… guy. “You want to tell me what’s going on? Are you human?”
    Izabel gazed around as if she were being pranked. “Uh, yes. I am. Is there another option?”
    Lucia answered with a question: “So do you know why you’re… like you are?”
    “I was cursed by what I can only figure was an evil woman. Voodoo, Santeria, who knows?” She frowned. “How come you’re not freaking out?”
    “I was rattled at first. But I’ve always believed in the supernatural, so I got over it soon enough,” Lucia answered. “So when did Izabel Carlotta became Isabel and Charlie?”
    Izabel sighed. “Two years ago, I’d just gotten dumped by my first love, and I was drinking and wished with all my heart that I knew why men thought the way they did. This strange, mesmerizing woman told me she could answer my question. The next morning I woke up hungover. Oh, and a man.”
    Evil sorceress, had to be.
    “I came to the Amazon, hoping to find a cure or an explanation.”
    A cure wasn’t likely. Sorceress spells tended to stick, unless lifted by another one of equal or greater power. Lucia knew a witch—Mariketa the Awaited, a party-hearty mercenary of the Wiccae—who could possibly nullify it, but she’d had her hellacious powers bound for fifty years, until she could better handle them. Izabel was doubtless stuck like this for the duration.
    “Can you switch back and forth at will?” When Izabel nodded, Lucia asked, “Are you going to tell Travis? It’s only a matter of time before he figures it out.”
    Izabel’s eyes watered. “He’ll never understand. I’m leaving as soon as I get him to the hospital.”
    Poor girl.
Before she would’ve been thrilled that Izabel was leaving Travis. Now Lucia resented the fact that the girl felt she had to.
    What’s with all the sympathy I’m feeling for humans?
Maybe Lucia should open up a stray shelter for mortals. Feed them kibble. “Iz, you need to give him a chance. He might surprise you.”
    “It’s not that easy. You see, ‘Charlie’ needs love, too. And Travis… there’s just no way.”
    “If you can change back and forth, then just stay in your female form.”
    “It makes me sick when I don’t change into Charlie enough and vice versa.”
    “That’s why Charlie was often pale.” Now that Lucia thought back, she recalled both twins had dressed in the same plain T-shirts and cargo pants. Iz had worn baggy clothes in case she’d had to transform into him without notice. “Can you change into Charlie right now?”
    “Yes, but I don’t take requests,” she quipped, wiping her nose on her sleeve. “You won’t tell
Capitão
, will you?” She looked utterly distraught at the idea of him knowing.
    Lucia raised her brows. “You really think he’d believe me?”
    “No, not in
um milhão de anos
, a million years,” she answered. “So are we still… friends?”
    “Yes, we’re still friends, Chiz. Though I’m not going to change in front of you anymore or anything.”
    Izabel gasped. “Oh, like Charlie would have your skinny ass, skank!”
    “No, because Chuck digs the drunk dudes like his low-hanging-fruit sister.”
    Izabel choked out a laugh, her expression startled. “First time I’ve ever been able to laugh about this!”
    Then my work here is done.
“Listen, if you’re ever in New Orleans, I want you to look me up. There’s some crazy stuff in that town, maybe we could find someone who knows what happened to you.”
    Her eyes went wide. “Do you mean that?”
    “Yeah. I’ll get you my number before we make port….”
    As she exited down the companionway steps, Lucia met up with Rossiter. He’d showered and dressed—and still hadn’t slept.
    “I was just looking for you,” he said. “Are you sure you