Chapter 3

Under any other circumstance I would have eaten it up, but I did not want the attention tonight and wished they would go about their business. I spent more time declining invitations to dance than I did in searching for Mr. Rasta man.

As I searched the crowd, I felt a tingling that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I looked around, ignoring the guy who had been leering at me.

Across the dance floor was a man who looked so out of place I'm surprised I hadn't noticed him earlier. This man looked as if he would be more at home at the Country Club, not a dance club.

He had blonde hair and blue eyes and wore dark pants, a white shirt, and a black tie. If he weren't Caucasian, he'd look like a follower of the Nation of Islam. I guessed his age to be mid-thirties, and he was damn pale. His skin was almost translucent, so I knew he had to be a vampire like me. .

"Hey, Sista, where you going?"

I ignored the leering guy and headed across the room. For the first time I felt fear. It was evident that this pale man was all-eyes-on me.

"Who are you?" I asked when I was two feet from him.

He nodded his head slightly in the way of greeting. "My name is not important. You know what I am. We hoped you would return here."

"We?"

"Yes. You have many questions. I have answers. If you will follow me?"

Oh, I had questions, but I wasn't just going to follow Dude. That was what got me into this mess in the first place.

"Look, I need some answers, but I'm not going anywhere. Can we talk here?"

"It's loud here, and crowded. There's much you need to understand ..."

Against my better judgment, I followed him outside. As I cross the club's threshold, someone grabbed my arm.

"Sister, what's up with that? How you goin' to go off with—"

The leering guy dropped to his knees, my Vampire escort twisting his wrist at an awkward angle until it snapped. I hadn't even seen the Vampire move beside me.

"Let's go," the vampire said.

I followed in shock until we were at my car "You drive. I'll tell you where to go."

"Will you please tell me your name?" I asked.

He looked at me. "William."

"William. Who is this we that is looking for me?"

"The Council."

"What Council?"

"The Council of the Neratomay, of course. Please, the hour grows late and there is much to discuss."

I unlocked the doors, and we both got inside.

William had me drive without telling me the location. Were we going to Indian Hills? Norwood? Where? We took many twists and turns, and I had no idea how I would ever find my way back. I shot questions at William, but I only got was his name, rank, and serial number.

After about an hour of driving I noted that we were no longer in Ohio but somewhere in Indiana. We drove up to a huge house. As we got out of the car I paused long enough to stare and felt a strange foreboding. I slipped my purse under the seat and my keys in my pocket and then stood beside the quiet man.

"William, I don't know about this ..."

"The Council is waiting," he said, and then he headed to the house.

The door opened before William knocked. He must have known it would because he kept walking as if he wasn't in jeopardy of cracking his nose. I followed, looking for danger.

"Follow me," he said, as if I had any other choice.

The foyer looked like something out of a movie with its crystal chandelier and marble floors. Somebody was more than rich. This was old money rich. William opened a set of doors that led into a room elegantly decorated in jewel tones. He fit right in here. But all-black me felt totally out of place.

He walked to a wall of books and pressed on one of the shelves. The entire wall swung inward. I held back a gasp. Very James Bond or Underground Railroad—I wasn't sure which.

He turned to me, offering me his hand to help me into this new room. I hesitated before taking his hand. I didn't like the feel of his skin. It was cool and dry. It felt like the hand of a dead guy. I wondered if my hand would feel like that, too.

The new room we entered was dark, but I had no problem seeing.

The floor was hewn of stone. William led me down a set of stone stairs, warning me to be careful. I was on the verge of backing out of this. I didn't like basements, especially in vampire's homes.

"William—"

"Shh."

I clamped my mouth shut.

The three men and three women stopped talking when William and I entered. Two of the men and two of the women were pale white. If I had seen them walking the streets, I would have surely noticed them. The other woman was Asian, dainty but stunning. Her skin wasn't pale, but she could have used a bit of "tan in a can." The other man was black, and for a moment I thought I was looking at Omar Epps. My mouth dropped open before I realized that it wasn't him. Day-um. Brother man had a chocolate complexion that didn't need any enhancement.

"She went back to the club," William said.

"Most of them do," a woman said. She and her flowing gown looked like something out of Greek mythology.

Alarm bells went off like crazy in my head. They were talking about me as if I wasn't there. And worse, I didn't even know where I was. Shit, I was completely at their mercy.

I tried to swallow, but my mouth was dry. "I ... I don't understand what's going on."

"You have no memories of your liege?" the Asian woman asked.

I shook my head. "My what?"