When Andre spoke again, his voice was grim. “Something’s brewing, and I fear you’re at the center of it. Again.”
I lay awake in my bed, staring at the wooden beams over my head. I was supposed to be asleep—I’d even managed to convince Andre to put off visiting me for that very reason. However, as soon as I turned the lights off, my thoughts took off.
My pulse skittered along. Two months ago, I’d solved my first case, and when it began, I’d assumed it had nothing to do with me. Since then, I’d learned that the fates were dabbling in my life, and the devil desperately wanted me. Though I had no idea why these beings took an interest in me, I now knew the signs. Whatever was going on here, I might very well have something to do with it.
My thoughts moved to the case and the young victim. The torn flesh of the girl’s feet bothered me. Why would someone walk until their feet bled unless they were under duress? And if they were, then they wouldn’t willingly give their blood, would they?
I rubbed my temples.
“Siren.”
My head snapped up at the voice. Was that just my imagination? I strained my ears and sat in the silence of my room.
“Come face me.”
The voice sounded like it was coming from outside. I threw off my covers and changed into a pair of jeans and a sweater. While I tugged on my boots, I heard the voice speak again.
“If you dare.”
I left my room and strode down the hallway. No one was in the lobby any longer, but the remnants of the fire crackled in the fireplace, now mostly dying embers.
I crossed the lobby and gazed out a window near the inn’s main entrance. In this section of the city only a handful of dim lights lit the street. That, combined with my ever-improving night vision, allowed me to study the landscape outside.
A shadow flashed between a cluster of trees. I squinted, trying to make out what I saw, but whatever had moved was beyond even my range of sight.
I reached for the handle of the inn’s front door.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I jumped at the voice and whipped around.
Caleb stood behind me, his arms folded. He didn’t look pleased.
I put a hand to my heart. “You scared the crap out of me.” He shouldn’t have been able to sneak up on me. Either I’d been more absorbed in the strange voice, or he was getting better at disguising himself.
His eyes flicked from me to the front door. “Going for a midnight stroll?” He sounded accusing.
I glanced back outside. “I heard something, and I wanted to check it out.”
“There’s a killer out there somewhere.”
“I’m also a killer,” I reminded him.
He flinched. “You could get hurt.” I could smell the adrenaline as it hit his veins. Normally that meant that he was just excited to talk to me, but right now I suspected he was angry.
I rolled my eyes. “Melodramatic much?”
His lips drew down. “No, not really, considering how every time you go rogue you end up putting your life in danger.”
“That’s not fair,” I said, even though his words were absolutely true. But what he’d forgotten to mention was that I often found myself without good alternative choices.
His gaze moved over my face, and he sighed. “Honestly?” he said. “I get it. I get that there are a lot of things in your life that just aren’t fair. I’m not trying to make you feel bad about them. I just don’t want to have to do this every night—babysit you on an official investigation.”
Babysit? I slitted my eyes. “Were you watching me?” A thought blossomed. Had Caleb been in the room with me—or out in the hall—in some other form?
I walked up to him. “Were you watching me?” I repeated.
Caleb stood there obstinately, his arms still folded over his chest. “You really think that little of me, Gabrielle?” he asked, cocking his head. I could see a flash of hurt in his eyes.
“You followed me out here,” I challenged him.
“To make sure you weren’t running headlong into trouble, like you have a tendency to do.”
I clenched my fists. “You don’t know the first thing about my tendencies.”
Caleb stepped in closer and his jaw tightened. “You are a siren, Gabrielle, a type of supernatural cursed with misfortune and untimely death—and that’s not even the worst of your problems.”
His face lost some of its anger. “Do you know what it’s like to worry that one night your friend might just be gone—taken?” he whispered. “Taken by your worst nightmare.” His eyes glittered with some emotion as he gazed at me. “Because that happened to you on Samhain, Gabrielle, and now that’s what goes through my head, over and over.”
“That’s not going to happen again,” I said softly.
“I’m not stupid, so don’t lie to me to make me feel better,” he snapped. “I heard the fate that night. It will happen the next time you die.”
I winced at his words.
He stepped forward, getting in my face. “But more than that, don’t lie to yourself, Gabrielle,” he said, his eyes boring into mine. He’d make a great interrogator one day; he already had me squirming. “Just because we’re no longer at the Braaid doesn’t mean this is over. Far from it.
“I don’t know everything that happened to you that night, but I can tell you this: the more reckless you are, the sooner you’ll have to face that horror all over again.”
Chapter 5
The next morning, after we’d showered and eaten breakfast, Caleb and I loaded ourselves into Grigori’s car. The first event on today’s agenda was visiting the crime scene.
I wouldn’t look at Caleb, and he seemed fine with that. We’d parted on uneasy terms the night before. I didn’t know what to make of him anymore. The boy who once had deep feelings for me now seemed to hate that he cared for me. It made me feel angry and incredibly guilty to think that I somehow did this to him.