Persephone Alcmedi 00 - Wicked Circle

only a few deliberate paces into my yard. Slow is good.
    Celia snatched her purse. I pulled Beverley from the seat; she dragged her book bag with her. “You gotta move fast, kiddo. Like in a fire drill.” I led her toward the front door, where I yanked her coat off the peg and carried it with us rather than pause to have her put it on.
    “What about you?” Beverley cried.
    Mountain finally answered his phone. “What’s up?”
    “Someone’s in the backyard,” I said, hating the panic in my voice. “The perimeter guards don’t appear to be doing anything about it.”
    “On my way.”
    I hung up. “I can take care of this, but you need to go,” I said, wanting both Beverley and Celia to believe me. “You have to be safe.” I hugged Beverley quickly and shuffled out the door with her. I saw them to the CX-7, made sure no one was hiding inside and hurried back to the porch. Celia’s tires threw gravel as she backed out of the driveway.
    A hand grabbed my shoulder and hauled me into the house. “Stay shielded,” Ivanka scolded. The engine roared as the CX-7 rocketed up the road. I twisted out of the sentinel’s viselike grip and ran for the kitchen, noting that Zhan was descending the stairs with wet hair.
    The robed figure was about two-thirds of the way up my yard now. Bad thing was, whoever it was had decided to go around the west side of the house—increasing the distance Mountain would have to travel to intercept.
    Then it hit me: The doors to the cellar were on the west side. The only way to get to Menessos’s secret hiding spot was through the cellar.
    Mine to protect.
    Though Mountain was on his way, for all the brute size he possessed, running was not an option for him.
    Because there was no window in the pantry, I had no view of the cellar entrance from inside the house. I scurried through Nana’s new bedroom to the bath we’d added and climbed onto her sink, peering out the transom window that capped her mirror. I still wasn’t able to see the metal door.
    But I might be able to see someone standing there opening it.
    I pressed my nose to the glass.
    Don’t open the cellar doors. Don’t be after Menessos.
    The robed trespasser stepped into sight. Closer, I could see by the way the robe lay flat against the figure’s chest that this person was male.
    Not shabbubitum. Menessos specifically said they were sisters.
    I scolded myself for having thought it might be one of the shabbubitum.
    Menessos said they were vampires. They’d be dead now anyway.
    The path the robed man chose led him around the house. Though relieved, I left the window and clambered into the tub. On tiptoe to see out the window, I hoped the guy wouldn’t see me. As he rounded the corner, keeping close to the house, he idly stroked the wall where I stood.
    I shuddered, feeling about as violated as I would have felt if he’d touched me. My fear shrank away and anger swelled to fill the void.
    Pushing past Ivanka, I hurried through the bedroom and into the living room, my gait faltering as the intruder made his unhurried way past my picture window.
    Zhan, her hair wet and dressed in a short silk bathrobe, was positioned between me and the door. Ivanka was occupying a spot right at the door, but out of sight. I stood there stupefied at how my heart was racing.
    Maybe it’s just some freak with a leftover Hallowe’en costume. No. Some simple freak with a costume wouldn’t get past the perimeter guards.
    Additionally, I had wards. Wards that would keep most people away from the house. Wards I’d been warned to amp up—advice I’d foolishly put off for Johnny’s task and my impromptu lunch date.
    A shadow fell across the glass of my door.
    I held my breath.
    And my doorbell rang.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

    T he customized Gulfstream V-SP carrying Meroveus Franciscus had departed from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport roughly twelve hours ago. He had retired to the windowless “black chamber” within the plane and rested as they’d flown east and into the rising sun, hours before its light would actually reach D.C. However, with the rotation of the world and the fact that Athens was seven hours ahead anyway, he had risen before they’d touched down.
    A customs official awaited him when he disembarked from the plane. By the time his credentials were assessed, a limousine was idling nearby, and the chauffeur opened the door for him. According to his Rolex, it was just nearing noon in D.C. Here, it was 6:55 p.m.