"I know this place. We used to live just around the corner."
"It looks like an old store."
Shay struggled to sort through her vague memories. It had been so many years ago. And the neighborhood had changed so much. Still, she was certain she was not mistaken.
"Yes, a bookstore. My father used to bring me here." She grimaced as she gave a shiver. "Damn, my shoulder is burning."
"I suppose we should go look around." Turning Viper took her hands and lifted them to his lips. "Shay ..."
"What?"
"Promise me you won't do anything stupid."
She jerked her hands from his grasp. Why the ... ass. As if she were the one who had stayed and tried to fight the Lu with nothing more than a sword. Or stomped and snorted because a ridiculous car had a few dings.
Stupid, indeed.
"Excuse me?"
He grimaced at her cold tone. "Maybe I could have phrased that a little better."
"You think?"
"What I mean to say is that I don't want you taking any risks. The devil only knows what might be waiting for us."
"Do you sense something?"
He glanced toward the darkened shop. "No, and that's what is bothering me."
Shay heaved a sigh. He had a point. Whatever was hunting her was still out mere somewhere. Waiting. Biding its time. She would almost prefer another attack to this sense of brooding unease.
"Me too," she softly agreed.
He gently pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to the top of her head. Down the dark street the muffled sounds of a brisk drug trade and the shrill calls of hookers could be heard, but Shay barely noticed them. She was in the arms of a vampire. Gangs, muggers, or rapists were not a problem.
"We can return to Dante's," he murmured against her ear. "We don't have to go in there."
For a moment she allowed herself to lean against his strength. Saints above, but it would be wonderful to simply hide behind Viper and pretend that he could keep her safe. It had been so damn long since she had been able to depend upon anyone but herself.
Then firmly she was pulling away.
No. She was no weakling to have to cling to another.
Jeez. The day she became so spineless she would toss herself from the nearest bridge.
"Yes we do." Her chin tilted. "At some point we have to go in. It might as well be now."
He studied her for a long beat, as if he could sense her pulling back behind her shields of protection.
At last he offered a wry smile and moved toward the store. Ripping apart the iron grating he pushed open the bolted door with obvious ease.
Show off.
"After you."
"Boy, having a vampire around can be handy," Shay murmured as she swept past him.
Without warning his hand shot out to grasp her arm. He bent close to her ear.
"Pet, if only you would allow me, I could take handy to a whole new level."
Her stomach clenched and she hastily dodged into the darkened shop with far more haste than grace. Okay. Don't tease dangerous vampires in the future.
Halting in the center of the uneven floorboards she glanced around with a wrinkle of her nose. The interior was narrow with several shelves still loaded with crumbling books and collection of strange objects that were impossible to recognize beneath the layers of dust and spider webs.
Toward the far wall there was a long counter with a handful of stools, and behind it another shelf with ceramic pots that looked oddly sinister in the shadowed light.
Or maybe it was just the fact she had learned to distrust those tiny pots, she acknowledged with a tiny shiver. Being at the mercy of witches could do that to a girl.
"It looks like it's been abandoned for years."
Viper stopped at her side. "Yes."
She gave a faint shake of her head. "Why would the mark lead me here?"
"I'm not certain." A frown touched his brow. "Perhaps we should look around. There might be something here to assist us."
Shay swallowed a sigh. She had no desire to poke around the dingy shop. Not only was it filthy, but it made an odd chill prickle over her skin. There were memories here. Memories of her father when he was still alive. Memories she didn't want stirred among the mold and decay of this place. Unfortunately, Viper was right. The pain in her shoulder had led her directly here. There must be something.
Now if she just knew what that vague something was.
Moving toward the shelves she skimmed her fingers over the forlorn books. Nothing there but the usual children's classics and a few philosophers. Not a curse book among them. She shifted to the lumps of odd shapes that consumed the nearby shelves. Her hand reached for something that looked to be a crystal ball only to step back with a muffled scream.
As fast as a strike of lightning Viper was at her side, his hands grasping her shoulders in concern.
"What is it? What happened?"
She swallowed hard as she battled back a shudder of disgust. "A spider."
A beat passed. "A spider?"
"Don't mock, I hate spiders. They're creepy."
The full lips twitched. "Oh yes, very creepy."
She stepped back with a huff. It had been a huge spider. And hairy. Who wouldn't have screamed?
"Fine. Just go back to doing what you were doing," she muttered.
He leaned against the shelves, folding his arms over his chest. "Why don't you tell me what you remember of this place?"
She hesitated, her gaze unwillingly straying toward the distant counter. The stir of ghosts brushed over her skin.
"Not much. I remember sitting at that counter and reading books while my father would talk to the woman who owned the store." Her expression softened. She could almost feel the warm, strong touch of her father's hands as he would lift her onto one of the high stools. "Books in that time were far more rare, and each one was a treasure to me."
"Did you ever speak to the woman?"
Shay had the misty recollection of a round face and kindly smile. "She would sometimes give me candy, but I don't remember any specific conversation."
Viper gave a pointed glance toward the ceramic pots. "Could she have been a witch?"
"It's possible." Shay struggled to dredge up the past she had buried so long ago. "She never seemed to question how... different my father or I was. And there were always customers coming in to purchase those small pots. At the time I just thought they were pretty bits of clay."
"Potions," he muttered, moving toward the counter with cautious steps.
"That would be my guess."
"Hmmm..."
With a frown, Shay watched as the vampire pushed aside the various pots and began rapping on the wall behind them.
"What are you doing?"
Without turning around Viper continued his strange taps on the wall as he moved down the wall.
"If she was a witch she would have a secure room to perform her spells. A place where she could establish a stable circle and ensure she wouldn't be disturbed." He paused and rapped several times in the same spot. "Ah."
"Viper?"
He ignored her for a long moment. Long enough for her to consider tossing a book at the back of his head. Then, doing something with a small plaque set in the wall, he abruptly turned to flash a smug smile.
"Here it is."
Moving forward Shay realized that a portion of the shelves had slid open to reveal a narrow flight of steps.
"Oh my God."
"Shall we have a look?"
She swallowed before giving a reluctant nod of her head. She would go, but she intended to wait for Viper to take the lead on this occasion. There was a decidedly nasty stench wafting from the lower darkness. She had no desire to step into whatever it was making that smell.
They moved in silence. Well, Viper moved in silence. Shay was not blessed with the same night vision, and managed to stumble on a half dozen occasions before they reached the bottom of the stairs.
Thankfully for the safety of her neck Viper managed to discover a switch that turned on a single bulb hanging from the rafters above. Shay blinked as her eyes adjusted and then she froze in shock.
"Viper..."
His hand reached out to grasp hers, his cool touch offering a sense of security that allowed her to breathe again.
"The cave," he murmured, his gaze skimming over the roughly carved dirt walls and the circle clearly chiseled into the floor. "This is where you were cursed."
"Yes. I remember the markings." She gave a shiver. "This is the place."
"So where is the witch?" he murmured.
Taking back her hand Shay forced her feet to carry her toward the circle. The memories were still hazy, but she was absolutely certain that this was the place where she had been taken and given the mark.
Unconsciously, her hand reached out. She wasn't sure what she was reaching for until the tips of her fingers touched the invisible wall of power that surrounded the circle. She gave a faint gasp as the air seemed to shiver, and then without warning, the ground beneath her feet began to shift and she fell to her knees. The spell that had surrounded the circle was broken and suddenly she could see the pile of bones that had been hidden behind the clever shield.
