"he will cleanse the house and says that the two of you who were directly involved should be blessed. if this is done soon, there should be no lingering effects."

he spoke again, his words rapid and intense. queen lopaka translated for him, "we were most lucky. had the process gone farther-" she gave an elegant shudder and repeated, "we were lucky."

the doctor looked up. "we need to get this woman blessed and to bed as soon as possible. she overstrained her magic badly. she shouldn't be left alone for the next few days. someone needs to be with her at all times. after that, she'll need to take it very easy and not use her powers for the next few months. but ultimately, barring complications, she should be fine. physically."

i felt the knot in my stomach start to unwind a little. pili would be fine. helping me hadn't killed her, hadn't even done permanent damage. thank god for adriana being nosy. if she hadn't been snooping, things would've been so very much worse.

i shivered, thinking again of the demon. he'd marked me, somehow. i needed that blessing, needed it badly. because until i got it, any time there was a weakness in my vicinity he could exploit it to come after me. i'm not a true believer. i don't have a clean enough conscience to withstand the demonic on my own. i shivered hard, feeling as though i might never get warm again.

baker spoke softly to one of the other guards. she lifted her mother by her armpits and her companion took pili's feet. they carried her down the hall to the back of the house, where i assumed there must be a bedroom.

"you were the other party to the vision?" i glanced up. the doctor was standing above me. i hadn't noticed him coming. not a good sign. i was cold. so cold. shock. i was going into shock. maybe my vampire healing would take care of it. i tried to remember when i'd eaten last. lunch . . . i'd had lunch. but i had no idea how long i'd been at pili's.

"yes."

he bent down, shining his little penlight in my eyes. i pulled back, letting out an involuntary hiss that, unfortunately, gave him a really close-up view of my elongated canines.

"ah, so you're the abomination."

if he was trying to make me feel better, it wasn't working. something about being called that just pisses me off. still that little rush of anger and adrenaline seemed to warm me up a little, make me a bit clearer headed.

"i was hoping i'd get the chance to meet you while you were on the island, but i would've preferred other circumstances." he pulled out a tongue depressor. i opened my mouth and stuck out my tongue so that he could take a good look. "you're practically a medical miracle." he smiled. it was a nice enough smile that i almost forgave him the abomination comment. almost. "i'm dr. ryan."

he was good-looking in that clean-cut, middle-aged way. his dark hair was cut short, his features even, pleasant but not really remarkable. he wasn't wearing a lab coat, just khakis and a melon-colored polo. i could easily picture him out on the golf course, playing a round with dr. scott. maybe they shopped at the same stores.

dr. ryan frowned, "you're having trouble focusing, aren't you." it wasn't really a question, but i nodded. "you're a little shocky. you need to get some rest."

"what time is it?" i interrupted him before he could finish his lecture.

he frowned but checked the practical diver's watch adorning his wrist and told me.

i panicked a little. i'd lost quite a bit of time. "shit. i need to eat. now. i'm overdue." fortunately, i wasn't feeling like munching on anybody. maybe it was the shock. whatever the reason, i really couldn't count on it lasting.

queen lopaka was standing a few feet away. when she heard the tension in my voice, her eyes unfocused for a second. "my chef will have everything ready and waiting for you at the guesthouse."

"thank you."

"you are welcome."

stefania crossed the room, stopping a bare inch from queen lopaka, very deliberately invading her space. she was practically quivering with rage and just looking for a fight.

"if my daughter's services are no longer required, we will go." the bitterness in stefania's voice was palpable. she glared up at lopaka, eyes blazing with defiance. for just a second i thought the high queen would call her on it. claim insult the way adriana had against me. but lopaka swallowed her anger, meeting stefania's rage with seeming indifference. "of course the two of you may go."

the room waited breathlessly as stefania opened her mouth to say something. she apparently decided against it. clamping her jaw shut with an almost audible snap, she stormed over to where her daughter stood. she slid an arm around ren's waist and i noticed the withered hand again.

i was slow, probably from the shock. i knew that the damaged hand was important, but it took me a moment to recognize the implications. maybe it was the way she flipped her head, making that shining braid glimmer in the light. for just a moment our eyes met and a spark of something clawed through my chest. the memory of those eyes chilled me to the bone. crap.

it was her. stefania was the one who'd cursed me . . . cursed ivy. but why? it made no sense.

"yes?" the word was almost a hiss. i couldn't know whether she was listening to my thoughts or realized i knew and expected me to confront her or was just being a bitch. it could be any of them. but lopaka was right. now was not the time for a confrontation. stefania was a queen. they'd never believe me if i made the accusation and certainly not without evidence.

so i lied. "i just wanted to thank ren and adriana. they saved us all."

stefania's eyes narrowed. she didn't believe me. but whatever she might have said in response was cut off by queen lopaka's agreement. "yes, eirene, adriana, thank you. you did well."

ren gave queen lopaka a stiff, unhappy bow to acknowledge the praise. with one last look at me, ren and her mother vanished.

i hadn't accused them. without motive and proof, i couldn't. but i could find the motive, get proof. could and would. because stefania's curse had quite probably killed my baby sister. stefania was going to pay for that. one way or another, she was going to pay.

19

rage is almost never a good thing. rage makes it hard to think, hard to plan. now that i'm less than human, it brings the hunger to the surface, makes my powers manifest in ways that are obvious and terrifying. still i could not help but feel a fine, burning rage at stefania. she'd cursed children, one of them an infant. she probably had some sort of reason, but let me tell you, no reason would be good enough. what she'd done was so wrong, so evil, it made my skin crawl. it also made my skin glow. the only thing keeping my vampire side from fully manifesting was the shock and exhaustion of having faced down the demon.

i took the tray of food i'd found in the kitchen of the guesthouse up to my suite, settling down on the couch with the balcony doors thrown wide open to let in the fresh air. the day wasn't that hot, the air conditioner wasn't running, and i was feeling more than a little claustrophobic.

pouring a mug of soup and another of coffee, i tried to calm down, to clear my head.

somebody had to have called the demon onto this plane of existence. working with demons taints a person, alters their thoughts and feelings, subtly at first, then more and more obviously. both stefania and ren had been acting odd and very aggressive. personally, i was thinking stefania was the prime candidate. she'd been with queen lopaka when pili had asked permission to work with me. a woman who would put a death curse on a six-year-old and an infant was capable of pretty much anything.

yes, stefania was my girl. but i was thinking that as quietly as i could. i didn't know how much, or which, thoughts the sirens could/would be listening to. they probably had some social rules about eavesdropping. but good manners weren't going to keep my enemies from rummaging around in my brain. still, now that i could communicate telepathically, there were other people to include in the discussions.

well, not people, per se.

ivy, are you here? the overhead light flicked on and off. am i right? is she the one who cursed us? the light flickered and the temperature in the room dropped like a stone.

you're absolutely sure? a single flicker and frost began forming on my glass of fruit juice.

ghosts are spirits of the dead tied to something or someone they've got unfinished business with. ivy's business was with me. i'd always assumed that she wants me to forgive my mother. if that was the case, she was going to be with me for a long, long, time. but maybe she was bound to earth to find her murderer. not the men who kidnapped us but the person who had cursed her to that fate when she was only a baby.

ghosts were once human, but it's important to remember that they aren't human anymore. they have their own powers, their own agendas, and their own limits. ivy wasn't a terribly powerful ghost. she'd never be able to take over someone's body the way vicki had at the will reading. ivy had never done any really impressive physical stuff. but she had one ability that all ghosts shared. access to knowledge. because the spirits of the dead . . . i don't want to say they "talk" to each other, because it's simpler than that and more profound. it's almost as if they have a shared consciousness. they're still individuals. but what one knows they all know. if ivy was certain stefania was the one who cursed us, it was because she had access to information i didn't.

and ghosts can't lie.

i know you want to get even with her. a single flash of the light confirmed it. i do, too. but we've got to be careful. she's powerful and smart. can you be patient while i handle it?

nothing. no signal at all. which i suppose meant "maybe."

do you trust me?

the answer was slow in coming, but eventually the light flickered once. yes.

will it make you happier if i promise to include you in whatever plans i make? the light flashed almost before i could finish the sentence.