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Khira stirred as she felt Grigori&039;s anger flow over her Snuggling deeper into the blankets, she sht Unless you do as I say, you will never see her again
Feeling pleased and a trifle s, she closed her eyes and fell back into the thick velvety blackness of the Dark Sleep
Ramsey moaned softly, his rest disturbed by the rush of power that flowed over him, painful in its intensity Beside hi In the brief time before the Dark Sleep laid hold on hi in bringing her across
Grigori woke the an its descent He dressed quickly in a pair of jeans and a black sweatshirt, jalasses, and left the house The sun, though not at its zenith, felt like spiders crawling over his skin as he left the shade of the front porch
Marisa!
Try as hesoftly, he willed hied to Kyle LaSalle He wondered if LaSalle had put up a fight or si for hiown of flowing criht of the setting sun
"Where is she?"
"Quite safe For now"
"Damn it, Khira, where is she?"
A lazy s a step backward, she beckoned hiori said curtly
"On the contrary, you have nothing but tiue with her, Grigori entered the house A long hallway done in black-and-white tile led to a large square drawing roo fireplace The walls and carpet hite A fire burned in the hearth, adding a note of cheerfulness to the roo on the wall depicted a stag in full flight frole bloodred rose
"I&039;lasses and slipped them into the pocket of his jeans "What do you want?"
"What I have alanted You"
He al a joke "Why? Why now, after all this tiown trailing behind her like a river of blood "I have ht was like old ti?"
"I reer over his cheek, down his neck, splayed her fingers over his heart "You owe ori I wish to share a part of it, for a time"
He shook his head "Khira, what you want is impossible I love Marisa She&039;s er, his fear "Where is she?"
"As I said, she is well - for now"
"This reeks of blackmail What is it you want of ori I want you to coolo?"
"My companion, mi amour Only a year Such a little bit of tie, does it not, for the life of your wo this year?"
"Asleep, I think, like the princess in a fairy tale" She laughed softly "You can awake her with love&039;s first kiss when you return"
"I want to see her Now"
"Not until we have an agreement" She smiled, then moved across the roo slit up one side It parted now to reveal the s
He stared at her, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides "I can&039;t believe you mean this, that you think I&039;d even consider it"
"You can refuse, of course"
He didn&039;t have to ask what the consequences for Marisa would be Khira was a killer, quick and efficient and without remorse He took a step toward her He could kill, too, if need be
He took another step forward and her power sla the breath from his body Twin flames burned in her eyes, flowed across the space between theh she hadn&039;toff his breath
"All right" He forced the word through clenched teeth "You rasp another o
He felt suddenly limp Had he been alone, he would have dropped to his hands and knees, but he refused to give her the satisfaction
"You alere stubborn," she h, in tier than he is now" She gazed into the distance, considering what she had said "Perhaps when our year is over, mi cara, I will persuade him to be my companion for a time"
"Ramsey can fend for himself Where is Marisa? I want to see her Now"
Khira shook her head "You can be quite wearisohed softly "Very well, you may see her" She stood up "Follow me"
He paid little attention to the rooh, save to note that all the ere covered with heavy black cloth
Khira paused when they reached a narrow door off the kitchen "She is down there You will not be able to awake her"
"What have you done?"
"She is unhar past Khira, he opened the door A long flight of stairs led him into what had once been a wine cellar Dozens of dusty cobwebs festooned the ceiling and corners of the roo away, s wood
He sensed a presence in the rooh he detected her scent, he had no sense of her being there Two heartbeats One very faint One heavy and dull
Hea deep breath, afraid of what he ht see, he opened the door and stepped into the room
It was small and square A man, or what had once been a man, sat in a chair in the corner, his eyes vacant, his expression eori paid him no ainst the far wall, and the wohtly parted Her breathing was slow and shallow A thick chain made of pure silver shackled her left ankle to the fra her up, cot and all, anda run for it But there was only one way out of the cellar, and Khira stood there, waiting He could hear her breathing, hear the slow, steady beat of her heart
He crossed the floor Sitting on the edge of the thin mattress, he drew Marisa into his arms She was limp, almost lifeless No dreams played in her mind
"Marisa" He whispered her name "Marisa"
There was no response He tried to speak to herwhile, rocking her gently as he would a child, his fingers delving into the silk of her hair, sliding over the curve of her cheek Marisa He reht he had first seen her at the carnival She had asked him if he had come to see the vampire, and he had replied yes, and then asked her if she believed in the undead She hadn&039;t believed, not then Had he stayed out of her life, she would not be here now Even as the thought crossed his ht, she would have been dead, or worse, at Kristov&039;s handsthe line of her botto, so innocent still - he could not let Khira take her life Perhaps it was tiive her the time she needed to decide whether or not she hadhis head, he kissed her gently, then laid her back on the cot If she left hilance, a last touch, and he left the roo for him at the top of the stairs "Well?"
"Release her"
"No"
"You can&039;t keep her trapped like that for a year!"
"I can" She held up her hand, cutting off his protest "But I will release her, Grigori, if you will give me your word of honor that you will come withthat tiht, that she would ask for his word of honor when she had none herself "I&039;ll give you a year, but not in Italy"
"And if I insist?"
He glanced at Marisa "Then I will do what you want&039;&039; He looked up at her and forced a smile "But I think you will be better" He took a step forward, his fingertips stroking her cheek, sliding down her neck