Amelia Atwater-Rhodes - Shattered Mirror

Christine . . . did she remind Nikolas of the Christine who had hurt his brother? Had some slight nuance of expression been so important that the girl now refused to respond to her real name?

“But he asked me to dance, and I thought I might just die, because he was so handsome and . . . unearthly. I’d say like an angel but he wasn’t at all, he was like . . . I don’t know . . . seductive, just by existing. ”

Kristin sighed, then continued. “After the dance he held me in his arms a minute longer, and I remember . . . I remember his lips on my throat and I just relaxed, because it felt so good . . .” She gestured to the marks on her arms. “I don’t remember when he made these . . . they didn’t hurt . . .” She paused.

“And then?” Sarah said, and the girl blinked.

“No, I don’t want to talk anymore.”

“You started telling us, Kristin—you have to finish,” Sarah said, meeting her eyes. She wasn’t as good as the vampires at influencing human minds, but Kristin’s defenses were weak.

Kristin nodded. “He . . . he didn’t really take much blood. I remember not wanting him to stop when he pulled away, because it felt so good . . .”

Robert made a sickened sound, but Kristin didn’t notice as she went on. “And he said . . . he said, ’I want to make you mine.’ And I said yes and yes was all I could say for a moment, but then I said no.” She shook her head, trying to clear it. “And he . . . he looked so surprised, and he just asked why . . . and I . . . I said, ’Because I need to go home,’ and he asked why again, and I said, ’Because my brother will be sad if I don’t go home, and he’ll be lonely.’ ”

She put her head into her hands and started to cry. “And he . . . he pushed me away and said, ’Get out,’ and that’s all he would say to me. I didn’t understand and I tried to talk to him, but he pulled some other person over and said, ’Get her out of here.’ ”

“And then?”

“Then . . . the other guy asked, ’And do what with her?’ and Nikolas said, he said, ’I don’t care, just get her home to her brother.’ And . . . no.”

“Go on, Kristin,” Sarah urged, but the girl just shook her head.

“No, no . . .”

Despite Sarah’s encouragement, Kristin would say no more. The block was partially vampiric mind control, but mostly simple, human denial.

ALL THREE OF THEM jumped at the knock on the door.

“Who is it?” Robert called.

“Is Sarah in there? It’s Nissa—I need to talk to her—”

Robert had opened the door before Sarah could tell him otherwise. Sarah fell back into a fighting stance, unsure what Nissa wanted.

“Sarah, I’m glad I tracked you down. Nikolas is calling for your blood. What the hell did you do to Christopher?”

“I did what I needed to do to survive,” Sarah answered, but Nissa’s attention had left her and moved onto Kristin, who was huddled in a corner, sobbing.

“God . . .” Nissa looked at the marks on Kristin’s arms, and then said, “Nikolas didn’t do this to her. These are his marks, but he would never . . . leave someone like this.”

Robert frowned. “If he didn’t, who did?”

“What are you doing here?” Nissa asked, as if just realizing that the human boy was in the room.

“I live here,” he answered. “And since you’re in my house, maybe you should answer my questions.”

Nissa just shook her head. “What happened to her?”

“Why do you care?”

“Why do I care?” Nissa said between her teeth. “I care because she is a living human being, and she’s . . .” She shook her head violently, and then put a hand on Kristin’s shoulder. The girl looked up at Nissa, who caught her eye.

Kristin screamed again, bolting from Nissa’s hold.

“What the hell did you do to her?” Robert demanded.

“I just tried to find the memories of what caused . . . that, ” Nissa spat, looking at Kristin. “I should have known this is the kind of mess Kaleo would leave behind.”

“ Kaleo? ” Robert repeated. “Who the hell is Kaleo?”

Nissa laughed, a pained sound, but she did not answer. Instead, she turned back to Kristin, who was sitting silently in the corner, terrified. “I don’t think I can help her. Kaleo has her blood bonded to himself, and I’m not strong enough to reach her mind through that.”

“You mean someone stronger could help her?” Robert asked, catching the unspoken statement.

“I don’t know exactly what caused this, but if someone could reach her mind through all the mess he’s put in there, they could help.”

Robert stalked over to where Nissa was standing. “I don’t want to know what you are or what relation to Nikolas you have. If you can help my sister, or get someone who can, I don’t care if you’re the devil herself.”

Nissa shook her head. “I don’t think—”

“Please. If you know how to help her, you have to. She wasn’t like this before. She was . . . colorful. Alive. Intelligent. Kind. She had dreams. But the monster who did this took all that away.”

“I know someone who would be strong enough to help her,” Nissa said slowly, but she looked over Robert’s shoulder and met Sarah’s gaze. “But he—”

“Then get him to do it!” Robert ordered, but Sarah was very slowly shaking her head.

“Sarah?” Nissa left the rest of the question unspoken.

“Would he help?” Sarah asked quietly. “Or would he do more damage than Kaleo did?”

“I think he would help,” Nissa answered, and Sarah nodded.

“Fine, then.” She was leaving sanity in the hands of the insane. Since when were the monsters called in to heal the innocent?

Nissa disappeared, and Robert shouted, “That . . . that . . .”

“Was one of the simplest vampire tricks you will ever see. She could be in China now with no more effort than you would use to blink.”

Robert sat down, his legs folding under him.

“Is she gone?” Kristin whispered as she lifted her head.

“For the moment,” Robert answered, still dazed.

While Nissa was gone, Sarah drew the knife from the sheath on her back, unsure what was going to happen once she reappeared.

“What’s that for?” Robert asked, nervous.

“Just in case I need it,” she answered. She moved so her back was to a wall, and crossed her arms. She could defend herself if necessary, but she didn’t want to start a fight if Nikolas was going to help Kristin.

“You just carry that thing around?”

“This and two others,” Sarah answered. “Sometimes more. It depends whether the knife sheaths match my outfit.”

Robert looked at her as if she might be crazy, but then seemed to realize she was making a joke. He didn’t realize that she was also telling the complete truth—she tried to wear as many knives as her outfit would safely hide.

Then Nissa reappeared with Nikolas and everything happened at once.

Robert’s eyes narrowed as he realized who Nikolas must be— black and white.

Sarah and Nikolas locked glares, and he took a step toward her.

Nissa stepped between Nikolas and Sarah.

Kristin vaulted across the room and fell at Nikolas’s feet.

Nikolas’s attention snapped away from Sarah as he pulled Kristin up, looking at her quizzically. Sarah could see recognition in his eyes.

“Christine,” he recalled aloud.

The girl did not argue the name, but instead nodded, leaning against him. Nikolas tensed for a moment, and then put a comforting arm around her, looking over her to where Robert was standing.

“You’re the brother?” Robert nodded. “I sent Christine home. What happened to her?”