They spent the rest of the day driving through the town, stopping whenever they saw what looked like an abandoned building. They saw a few vagrants, a couple of teenagers hitchhiking on the main road, but no sign of the Undead.
At dusk, they turned and headed for home.
And found Edward Ramsey waiting for them on the castle's front steps.
Vicki studied the vampire while Duncan made the introductions. Ramsey was tall and lean, with short blond hair and ice blue eyes. It was hard to judge his age but she guessed he had been somewhere between thirty-five and forty-five when he was turned. A thin scar ran along his right cheek. He wore a light blue turtleneck sweater and a pair of dark blue slacks. When he shook hands with Duncan, she noticed there was a cross tattooed on his right palm.
Vickie stood there while Duncan quickly brought Ramsey up to speed, wondering what she should do. She wasn't exactly sure just what vampire protocol dictated she do in a situation like this. Should she invite Ramsey inside? How would Antonio feel about having another vampire in the house?
She was still debating what to do when Antonio materialized at her side, attired in his ubiquitous black.
The conversation between Duncan and Ramsey stopped abruptly. Ramsey stepped away from Duncan, his gaze focused on Antonio. The two vampires regarded each other for several long moments, almost as if they were sizing each other up, Vicki thought, and perhaps they were. She looked from one to the other. Antonio was a little taller and a little broader through the shoulders. He had been younger than Ramsey when he was brought across, but Antonio had been a vampire hundreds of years longer than the former hunter.
Power arced between the two vampires, as though they were testing one another. It made her skin prickle and the hair raise at her nape.
"Antonio Battista," Ramsey said. "I've heard of you."
"And I have heard of you." Antonio glanced at Victoria, then back at Ramsey. "Why are you here?"
"I asked him here," Duncan said.
Antonio looked at Duncan. "What gave you the right to invite him to my home?"
"He's my friend. And the best vampire hunter in the business, as you well know. I thought we could use the help."
"And when Falco has been destroyed, what then?"
"Then we'll all go home," Duncan said. "Right, Edward?"
Ramsey nodded. "I have no quarrel with you, Battista. I'm only here because Duncan asked for my help. If you don't want it, I'm gone."
Battista considered Ramsey's words, then looked at Duncan. "Perhaps you are right."
Turning, he opened the door and stepped inside. "Welcome to my home."
Vicki breathed a sigh of relief as she followed the men into the house. It looked like there was going to be a truce, at least for the time being.
She listened quietly as Duncan, Antonio, and Ramsey spent the next hour proposing and dismissing a dozen plans for destroying Dimitri Falco.
"If we want to trap him, we need bait. And we all know there's only one kind of bait he'll fall for."
Vicki went cold inside as all three men turned in her direction.
Antonio shook his head. "No."
"I think Edward's right," Duncan said. "I've spent weeks looking for Falco. So have you.
We haven't had any luck. He kidnapped Vicki. You were almost killed. I don't see as how we have any other choice."
"I will not risk Victoria 's life."
"In the meantime, he's killing another woman every night," Duncan said "How long do you intend to let that go on?"
"I said no."
Vicki laid her hand on Antonio's arm. "I think Tom's right. I should be all right with the three of you there to protect me."
"She can wear a thick silver collar around her throat," Ramsey said, "and bracelets on her wrists. I see that she already wears a crucifix. Even if he gets near her, he won't be able to touch her if she doesn't panic."
"I need to do this," Vicki said. "It's my fault all those other women are dying. Falco said it himself. He said he'd kill thousands if he had to."
"He will kill them regardless," Antonio said. "I will not risk your life."
Vicki lifted her chin defiantly. "You can't stop me. It's my life, and my decision."
Antonio glared at her.
"It's settled, then," Ramsey said.
Duncan grinned, amused that, in spite of being a vampire himself, Ramsey so easily fell into the role of vampire hunter.
" Victoria should go into town tomorrow afternoon and stay until dusk. Is there a road that isn't traveled often?"
"There's a back road that leads to the castle," Antonio said.
"Good. Victoria, you take that route. Drive slow. You need to be on that road… " He paused and looked at Antonio. "How soon can you rise?"
"As soon as the sun starts to go down."
"What about Falco? Do you have any idea when he rises?"
"He is an old vampire," Antonio said. "He probably rises the same time that I do.
Perhaps a little earlier. What about you?"
"I can rise as the sun sets, same as you."
"Such a thing is unusual in one so young," Antonio remarked, obviously impressed.
"I have good blood," Ramsey said, grinning.
Antonio lifted one brow.
"The blood of Alexi Kristov and Khira runs in my veins, as well as that of Grigori Chiavari."
"A potent combination," Antonio remarked.
"So I'm told," Ramsey said. "All right, we need to time this perfectly. Victoria, you need to be on that road twenty minutes after the sun goes down. Antonio, you and I will follow her. Duncan, you'll be in the backseat under a blanket. Victoria, I want you to get out of the car and pretend there's something wrong with it. If Falco's anywhere in the area, he'll find you. As soon as you see him, you'll throw holy water in his face." Ramsey looked at Duncan. "I'm assuming you've got some handy?"
"What do you think?" Duncan replied.
"Right. It should distract Falco long enough for Battista and me to take him down. We'll hold him. Duncan, you stake him and I'll take his head."
"Just like the good old days," Duncan remarked.
Ramsey nodded, his expression wistful. "Exactly."
"I do not like it," Antonio said. "Too many things can go wrong. If Falco finds Victoria before we get there, Duncan and Victoria could both end up dead, or worse."
"It's a chance we'll have to take," Duncan said, his eyes gleaming in anticipation of the hunt. "Right, Vicki?"
"Right."
"My warrior woman," Antonio murmured.
"I need a drink," Duncan said. "I don't suppose you've got any whiskey here?"
Vicki shook her head. "No, sorry. The strongest thing I've got is Coke."
"Then Coke it is."
"Do you want it in the can, or in a glass with ice?" Vicki asked, rising.
Duncan rose. "I need to stretch my legs. I'll go with you."
Antonio watched Victoria and the vampire hunter leave the room, aware that Ramsey was watching him.
Slowly, Antonio turned his gaze on the other vampire. Not counting his confrontations with Falco, it had been years since he had been in the company of another of his kind.
Vampires did not normally associate with one another. They tended to be solitary creatures. Most were fiercely protective of their hunting grounds. Antonio knew little of Edward Ramsey other than that he had once been a relentless hunter who had been turned and was now married to a vampire. He had heard of Kristov and Khira, of course.
And of Grigori Chiavari. Like Grigori, Ramsey had brought his mortal lover across.
"Your woman," Antonio said. "Has she fully accepted the Dark Trick? Does she regret being turned?"
"No. She seems content."
"And Grigori's woman?"
"It was her choice." Ramsey regarded him for several moments. "You're in love with Victoria, are you not?"
"If I am, it is not your concern."
"You're wondering what kind of vampire she'd make."
"Were you a mind reader as well as a hunter?"
Ramsey shook his head. "It doesn't take a genius to know what you're thinking. You love her. She obviously loves you. It's the only way you can truly be together."
"I would not ask her to make such a sacrifice."
"It should be her choice, not yours."
"I am making it mine. I love her as she is. Warm, human. Filled with the frailties and foibles of mortality. I would not change her."
"I used to hunt vampires," Ramsey reminded him. "I thought they were the scum of the earth, not fit to live. In many cases, I was right. Kristov was a monster much like Falco.
But then I met Grigori, a vampire with honor. Eventually I realized that becoming a vampire doesn't make a man evil. A good man will remain a good man no matter what form he takes, just as evil remains evil."
"Do you have a point to make?" Antonio asked impatiently. "If so, make it."
"The point is, she would still be the woman you're in love with, only more so."
"I would not rob her of the chance to marry and have a family. It is something she wants, something I can never give her. I have taken her blood. I have put her life in danger. I will not deny her the one thing she wants above all else."
Ramsey nodded. "As you said, it's your choice."
"What's your choice?" Vicki asked as she entered the room.
"Whether to allow Ramsey to spend the night in the castle," Antonio replied smoothly.
"He has declined."
"Well, I hope you don't mind if I stay," Duncan said.
"Not at all," Antonio said, "so long as Victoria approves."
"It's all right with me. I'd welcome the company."
