The way he finished the explanation made me suspect a lot had happened between finding me in my apartment and me ending up at the hospital.
But instead of asking about it, I scanned the room. I didn’t see my uniform or any of my weapons, which put me at a severe disadvantage. Since I don’t have my gun or daggers, what could I use in lieu of them? There must be a sharp instrument somewhere in this room.
The cream cabinet on the wall probably just had linens, but there was a lamp I could maybe use as a bludgeon.
“Your team has been informed you’re here,” Considine said.
The announcement shocked me so deeply I stopped looking for potential weapons and gaped up at him.
“They’re on the way. Someone should be here shortly,” Considine continued.
“D-did,” my voice wobbled, and I licked my lips. “Did they get Gisila?”
“No.” Considine sat back down in the chair and rested his elbows on his thighs, his posture relaxed. “The mercenaries have a geas on them, and she never personally attacked you or your teammates.”
I clenched my hands into fists.
All of that, and we still didn’t get her!
Even more frustrating, even if the Cloisters couldn’t charge her, technically, Tutu could go after Gisila. There was enough suspicion that the dragon shifter would be well within her rights to attack her sister. But for whatever reason, so far Tutu hadn’t done more beyond strengthening her defenses.
Maybe they’re in cahoots and this is all an elaborate insurance scam. Except Tutu’s reputation would be ruined, so that makes no sense.
“All of the mercenaries have been arrested,” Considine said.
“W-what happened to my team?” I cleared my throat and wished I had water.
“Ah, yes. That.” Considine leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing. “Apparently, they entered a human apartment building using an alleyway entrance. They’re fine.” His voice dripped with disdain and an anger I didn’t understand, but I was glad Brody, April, and Tetiana were okay.
“Gisila…she saw your face,” Considine said.
I flinched remembering how the werewolf had yanked my mask off. “Yeah.”
Considine tilted his head back, his red eyes glowing in the low light. “She’s going to come directly for you.”
I sighed. “Yeah.”
“What will you do?”
I glanced over at the vampire. “I’m not sure. I’m more concerned about whether I’ll make it out of this room alive.”
Considine blinked. “You think I’ll hurt you? When I went through the trouble to drag you here?”
“You’ve beaten me up before.” I said. “Badly.”
He shrugged. “Not recently.”
“You’re Considine Maledictus.”
“And you’re Jade O’Neil of the O’Neil slayers,” Considine said.
I wasn’t sure if that was a threat or if he was being factual, but his expression was too neutral to give me any kind of clue.
He glanced at me, then heaved his eyes up. “I’m not going to beat you up when you’re helpless like this. First, where’s the fun in that? Secondly, I will repeat, I have gone through a great deal of trouble to get you here and voluntarily signed myself up for new sources of aggravation in the process. I’m not going to waste all that effort.”
“Why?” I asked.
Considine leaned back in his chair again, and I saw a flash of metal on his belt—of course, he had a weapon on him. That was just my luck. “Why, what?”
“Why go through all the effort to bring me in?” I struggled to sit up in my bed. My muscles protested, but it also felt good to move again.
He shrugged. “I’ve said it from the beginning: You’re entertaining.”
Entertaining. Right. And I have a pet unicorn.
He had to have some other motive. Entertainment was rare for a vampire—particularly as they grew old and apathetic towards living—but it wouldn’t be enough to make a vampire of his caliber pretend to be a young vampire and let himself get dragged around to festivals and cafes, live through potential baking hazards, and act like…
Friends.
It hurt to even think it. I really had let Connor in—deeper than I’d been aware.
Stay focused. This is a dangerous situation, no matter how benevolent Considine is acting. I can cry later.
Spooked by the realization that I was going to cry over this—later, once I knew I was safe—I cleared my throat. “You knew who I was from the start?”
Considine studied me for a long few seconds, and I wondered if I’d gone too far. “No,” he finally said. “I figured it out after our fight with the snake.”
“Ah,” I said. When I shifted in my bed, my hand hit plastic. When I looked down I saw a remote that had labeled buttons that controlled my bed, the TV, and a button to call the nurse.
This is a very nice hospital.
“I assume that was approximately when you realized I was Considine?” he asked. “That was roughly when you became even more cautious when facing me at night, anyway.”
There can’t be any harm in telling him, right? I don’t think he can use it against me.
“Yes,” I said, slowly, as if I was afraid to part with the word. “I saw you turn into a bat, then did some research into what vampires are old enough to have that power and are still awake.”
“That would make it rather easy,” Considine said. “Although I am disappointed with myself. I was sure you hadn’t seen that.”
“I probably wouldn’t have noticed if I wasn’t a slayer,” I admitted.
Considine laughed—it was Connor’s laugh, which had my heart aching all over again. “Am I really so pathetic that you feel the need to reassure me…” He trailed off, blinking a few times, then turned around in the chair to peer in the direction of the door.
A second later the sensation of fire and spicey food brushed my mind—dragon shifter magic.
“Gisila?” I whispered.
“Probably.” Considine stood up and casually leaned closer to me, so his side pressed into my bed.
“Already? Even if she knew my face, she couldn’t have figured out my name,” I said.
“She likely figured out you came to the hospital—I wasn’t exactly covert in moving you here. From there it would be easy enough to figure out your room. The staff is shocked to be dealing with a supernatural, even a human one,” Considine said.
I mentally chewed on Considine’s offered explanation. For a moment I wondered if maybe he had told her—he’d been standing with her, after all, when I saw them in the alleyway.
No, that’s not feasible. He went through a lot of trouble to get me here. If he was working with Gisila he wouldn’t have bothered.
“Shall we set her up and see what she wants?” Considine asked.
I weighed out the options. Considine had said my team would arrive soon, but I didn’t have a way to contact them in the meantime. Considine would have no problem crushing Gisila, but that didn’t mean he wanted to.
Given his offer, though, I think he’s willing to exert himself.
“Okay,” I agreed.
Considine turned, his eyes scanning the room as he searched for a place to stand out of sight.