Chapter Ten
SEVERAL HOURS LATER, Elizabeth rode nestled against Lukas’s chest through a dimly lit forest on their way to meet someone. A vampire named Arturo. Lukas’s arm curled around her waist, his thumb gently stroking the underside of her breast. The ride itself wasn’t particularly comfortable, but there was no place she’d rather be than here, with Lukas. The thought of saying good-bye to him again filled her with an aching misery.
Forcing her mind on other things, she studied the twisted, gnarled trunks of the trees all around them, trees totally lacking in foliage despite the fact that it was only early September.
“The trees look dead,” she murmured.
“They are dead. They grow that way.”
“That isn’t possible.”
“Magic, dearest,” he said, giving her waist a gentle squeeze.
Magic. The evidence of it continually boggled her mind. And yet this world’s very existence was the greatest evidence that it did. She was glad to be getting the opportunity to see a little more of Vamp City before she left. Assuming Lukas could really get her out of here. As badly as she didn’t want to leave him, neither did she want to make his existence an ordeal, as she could if he were forced to constantly try to hide her. He needed to be able to concentrate on finding the sorceress who would save him so that he could come back to her.
A couple of hours ago, they’d left Georgetown, stopping at a small house in Foggy Bottom that, for a change, had been occupied. Lukas had bought a small loaf of freshly baked bread and . . . of all things . . . a cold can of root beer from the owner. Then he’d given the man a hefty amount of cash to deliver a message.
Afterward, they’d headed back toward Georgetown, this time riding down to the Potomac, where they’d dismounted and wandered around the fascinating ruins of the nineteenth-century waterfront while she devoured the bread and washed it down with the root beer. Mounting again, they’d headed into the woods just north of Georgetown, where they’d been watching . . . and waiting . . . ever since.
Arturo was apparently a friend of Micah’s, the vampire Lukas trusted to help her. Unfortunately, Arturo lived somewhere Lukas couldn’t take her. And without cell phones, hand-carried messages were the only form of communication, as unreliable as they might be. Arturo might never show up. For all she knew, they might have to wait for him for days.
“Do you hear that?” Lukas asked.
The sound of a vehicle, a Jeep, if she wasn’t mistaken, carried faintly on the breeze. “Is that him?”
“I hope so.” He lifted her onto the horse and mounted behind her but stayed within the questionable shelter of the trees.
Down one of the streets, Elizabeth caught a glimpse of what looked like a Jeep Wrangler. Moments later, it came fully into view. Yellow, she thought, though it was impossible to tell for sure with so little light.
As the Jeep came to a stop, Lukas urged the horse forward.
The driver cut the engine and alighted, walking toward them with long, confident strides. He had the look of the Mediterranean—his hair and eyes dark. With a name like Arturo, he was certainly Italian.
“Lukas,” he said.
“Arturo. Thanks for coming.”
Arturo dipped his head. “You claimed it was urgent?”
Lukas tensed slightly. “I need to get a message to Micah. I’m in need of his assistance.”
Arturo looked at him for a long moment, then began to smile. “What is this about?”
“Forgive me, Arturo, but you are one of Cristoff Gonzaga’s most trusted. The favor I would ask of Micah is a task I can only entrust to one I’ve worked with many, many times.”
Arturo watched him for several moments more, then dipped his head, as if conceding the point. “What do you want Micah to know?”
“I need him to meet me at the Boundary Circle. As soon as possible.”
Arturo’s gaze flicked to her, his eyes narrowing in speculation. “I see.” Slowly, he nodded. “Be at the Rock Creek entrance at midnight. Micah will be there.”
“Thank you.” With that, Lukas turned the horse and headed back into the dead woods.
“He’s Gonzaga,” Elizabeth said with disbelief. “And you trust him?”
“Not really, no. But I do trust Micah, who is also Gonzaga. Arturo’s the only one who might be able to get word to him.”
“So this could all go south.”
“It could, yes. But Micah’s our one chance.”
And if Arturo didn’t come through? What if he betrayed Lukas and sent more Gonzaga vampires to kill him, instead?
“I don’t like this plan,” she whispered.
Lukas kissed her hair. “It’ll work. It has to work.”
Elizabeth sighed. The thought of going with any vampire who wasn’t Lukas made her queasy. But apparently only a vampire could set her free. And Micah was the one Lukas trusted.
Her bigger fear was that in his determination to see her safe, Lukas was risking his own life. And that scared her most of all.