Savannah stalked away from him, leaving him standing on the water’s edge as she went back to Gary. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“What happens when the bodies are found? The cops are going to come looking for the last person seen alive with them,” Gary said, reluctantly stepping back into the boat. He was still digging muck out of his nose and mouth.
“No one saw you with them,” Gregori answered quietly. “They saw only two men leaving the hotel, two men walking through the Quarter, and two men getting into the boat. That’s why we cannot take the boat back.”
Gary blinked. “How do you propose we get back? Fly?” he asked sarcastically.
“Exactly,” Gregori answered complacently.
Gary shook his head. “This is getting too bizarre for me.”
“Do you wish me to blank out your mind from experiencing this?” Gregori asked politely, his thoughts clearly on Savannah.
“No,” Gary said decisively. He caught up the laptop from the seat of the boat. “But why don’t you take me to another hotel? You and Savannah could use some time alone. And to be honest with you, I wouldn’t mind thinking things over a bit. There’s a lot to take in.”
Gregori found himself liking the mortal even more. He had no idea a human might be so sensitive to another’s feelings. Raven, Savannah’s mother, had been like that, but she was a special case, a true psychic. His experience with mortals had always been with those hunting him, butchering and murdering his people. He preferred to stay at a distance from mortals. He was not prepared to like Gary Jansen.
Savannah was already dissolving, mist streaming through the tendrils of fog, moving across the water. Gregori caught Gary up and launched himself skyward, streaking after her. Gary squealed, a high-pitched sound suspiciously like that of a piglet. He couldn’t help himself as he clutched at Gregori’s broad shoulders, his fingers clenching the shirt hard. The wind was whistling past his body so fast, he had to squeeze his eyes closed tight, unable to look down.
Wait for me, Savannah, Gregori ordered, his black-velvet voice edged with iron.
She didn’t even hesitate. She continued moving quickly across the river toward the French Quarter.
Savannah! He was imperious now, a flat order delivered in his mesmerizing voice. You will do what I say.
No, I won’t. There was defiance in her voice, a mixture of belligerence and sorrow. He could feel the tears burning in her throat, in her chest. She was running as much from herself as she was from him.
Gregori swore softly in several languages. Do not make me force you into obedience, chérie. It is not safe for you.
Maybe I don’t want to be safe, she hissed at him, forging ahead into the night. Maybe I want to do something crazy for a change. I hate this, Gregori. I hate it.
Mon amour, do not run from what we have together. I know our life has not started out in paradise, that the world we must inhabit is ugly and dangerous, but we do it together.
You hunt. She was crying; he could feel it. I endanger you.
Gregori sent her waves of comfort but knew it wasn’t enough. The mortal clutching at his shirt stirred. “Um, Gregori?” The wind snatched the words from his mouth and blew them across the water.
Gregori’s reply was more of a growl. His body was above the mist now, a protective blanket. “Say what you have to say.”
“I think Savannah is upset.”
There was no answer. Gregori continued to follow Savannah.
“If you don’t mind my saying so, sometimes women just need to cry it out,” Gary ventured.
Savannah went straight to their house. Once she was within the safety of the four walls, Gregori broke off to take Gary to a new rooming house. “You know that you cannot leave until we come for you tomorrow,” he advised. He was a shadow in Savannah’s mind. He could see her clearly, running through the front room to the spiral staircase, toward the precious treasure Julian had left for them.
Savannah tore open the door to the basement, then waved her hand across the hidden door to the chamber. She crawled into the healing soil and sank deep, then curled up and cried as though her heart was breaking. So many deaths. Peter. And what if they had lost Gary tonight? They could have lost him, and she would have been helpless to aid him, because Gregori would not allow it.