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one thousand. The transfer was accidental. Unfortunate, but accidental all the same.”
    “Yes.”
    “Do not forget I once had a bride of my own.” Grandfather tossed him another grin. “You could not harm her, and you’d let down your guard. It is always the way. It makes sense. You may also be able to secure your future feeding from her.” His smile faded. “Why was she dressed like that? The mask?”
    “The festival.”
    “Ah.” Grandfather sighed. “Yes. Did some part of you want to bite her to end your suffering?”
    “Wanting is different from choosing. I know the difference. I would have maintained my oath if I had any other recourse. The suffering of one is nothing compared to the destruction of many,” Juliun said.
    “Yes,” Grandfather hissed. “It is how we have lived for centuries, how we must do this together. Now we may have another.”
    “She fought the glamour like nothing I have ever seen.”
    “I noticed,” Grandfather murmured. “The idea that she can resist at all is incredible. She only experienced pain?”
    Juliun nodded. “She knew something was wrong. Did Grandmother have that same ability with you?”
    Grandfather’s face stiffened, and his body froze. “No. This is different. She is different.” He blinked as though he woke from a dream, and then he floated to the liquor cabinet. “Would you like one?”
    “Yes.” Juliun studied the glass ball resting upon a curved stand. Grandfather had the ability to see into the future. What would he see now? No doubt, he’d consult the ball as soon as he was alone. “The Council—”
    “Will think what I tell them to.” Grandfather handed Juliun his alcoholic blood. “I am the one you needed to convince. They will see the memory I hold as your own, but your bride must be brought here immediately. She may not live through the turn.”
    Juliun reverted to using their mind-link. * I have searched so long.* His hands clenched. *I need to make sure she lives. I cannot let her go now.*
    Grandfather looked at the painting on the opposite wall, a gift from when he and his bride first met, but he’d never explained why. The picture showed a child escaping the dark forest, only to be uncertain of the path ahead.
    *I would not ask it of you.* “Life is unpredictable. Your bride knows too much. How do you intend to get her from the hospital?”
    Juliun looked into the depths of his drink. He could make immortals disappear with the mist, however his gift was ineffective with humans.
    “You will have to kidnap her,” Grandfather said.
     
     

Chapter Five
     
     
     
    Subdued lighting hazed the room, and Simone stretched out, straightening her arms above her head, feeling a strange stiffness in the back of her left hand. A strip of white tape covered a catheter. Thankfully, it wasn’t attached to anything so she could move around. Hanging curtains partially framed empty hospital beds, and a pastel painting of children playing on a beach hung on the opposite wall beside a television set. The room had an odd, nostalgic feeling.
    She sat up and threw off the precision-folded covers. To her amazement, they billowed in a white heap against the wall. She frowned. Had she tossed them that hard? She swung her legs over the side, her feet coming to rest on dark blue carpet. Hard and wiry, the texture soothed her bare feet. Her toenails looked bruised. Probably from kicking her mugger. She vaguely remembered hearing that Tammy was in the same room, but Simone couldn’t see her friend. The air tasted terrible. Stale. She longed for a deep breath of fresh air. She stretched again, feeling better with each minute. She padded over to the blankets and pitched them back onto the mattress with a promise to herself to remake the bed later, then she ducked into a small cubicle that hopefully led to a bathroom.
    “Damn.”
    She swung around the small cubicle and sighed. No mirror; only a toilet. Maybe it was a good thing she couldn’t see her reflection