It was a little anachronistic, actually.
These days people didn’t normally dress their kids so fancy. Then again, Pamphrock hailed from another era—an era where little girls of a certain class always had to look like little princesses.
I felt that familiar hum of recognition as I neared her, my blood sensing her sameness. I sat on the couch a few feet from her, just taking her in. When she lifted her head and saw me, her big brown eyes lit up.
“Tegan! Daddy said you were coming. I’ve been so excited.”
She rose and gave me a small, tight hug. I froze a little since I wasn’t used to being around kids. I didn’t know how to act around them.
Finn and Pamphrock stepped out onto the large balcony to chat, while Ira sat down beside me on the couch. Rebecca stared at him with wide eyes, in the way kids did when they saw someone who seemed different. Or, in Ira’s case, big and scary.
Ira stared back at her, then looked at me. I wondered if he could sense that Rebecca and I were the same.
Rebecca twisted a lock of hair around her finger and asked, “Who are you?”
Ira tilted his head at her but didn’t reply.
“His name’s Ira,” I answered. “He doesn’t speak.”
Rebecca gasped and grew excited at this piece of information. “Why not? Did he lose his voice? Did a bad person steal it like Ursula stole Ariel’s voice in The Little Mermaid?”
I laughed, and Ira continued to study Rebecca.
“I don’t think so. I’m not sure why he doesn’t speak, but I think maybe he just doesn’t want to.”
I turned to look at Ira as his eyes landed on mine. For some reason, I turned away and flushed. I still couldn’t get my head around the fact that this man and the dog I once cuddled and slept with were one and the same. It would certainly be a whole different ball game if we snuggled while he was in his human form.
“That’s strange,” Rebecca said, picking up one of her dolls and brushing its hair.
“How have you been since coming home?” I asked. I wasn’t really sure how to talk to a ten-year-old, so I decided to simply address her as I would an adult. I hated it when people spoke all weird and babyish around kids anyway.
Rebecca smiled. “Much better. And I get to see Daddy every day.”
“You didn’t before?”
“No. He was always busy. He told me he’s gonna be spending a lot more time with me from now on.”
Well, I supposed if there was one good thing that came from Rebecca’s kidnapping it was that it drove Pamphrock to make more of an effort as a father. I glanced at her selection of toys, then picked up a fawn-coloured teddy bear and sat him on my lap.
“I like this guy,” I said. “He’s got nice fur. What’s his name?”
“That’s Harold. I sleep with him every night. Aside from Daddy, I missed Harold the most when I was away.”
I momentarily wondered how isolated Pamphrock kept her if the person she missed the most wasn’t a person at all, but an inanimate object.
“What about your mother?” I asked, without really thinking.
“She’s with the angels,” Rebecca replied, matter of fact. “That’s what Daddy says. I thought you were an angel, but Daddy said you’re just a very special person, same as me.”
I set Harold down and lowered myself to the floor to sit beside Rebecca. On instinct, I took her small hand into mine. It felt so incredibly calming to touch her, and I got this overwhelming feeling of being kindred. Tingles ran from her palm into mine.
“That’s true. We’re both the same. A little different from everyone else,” I said.
She smiled up at me and giggled. “You feel sparkly.”
She pulled her hand away and rubbed it on her stockinged knee. But just before she pulled her hand away, I’d gotten an odd sensation in my mind, like a book opening that I didn’t even know was there. I tried to get it back, but it had disappeared. I needed to hold her hand again.
“Can we do that one more time?” I asked.
She shook her head. “It tickles.”
“I know it does. Did your daddy tell you anything about how I’m going to help you?”
She nodded, suddenly solemn. “He said you have to make it so that the scary people won’t take me away again.”
“That’s right, but I’m still figuring out how to do that. If you let me hold your hand again it might help me find some answers.”
“Okay then,” Rebecca replied, a little hesitant.
She held her hand out to me, and I took it. Closing my eyes this time, the book came flooding back. It was like I could flick through its pages with my mind. It landed on a page, and all the words were indecipherable, like they were written in an ancient language, except for one line, which was lit up almost like a lamppost.
In order to hide the blood of the daughter, you must use the blood of the mother.
I opened my eyes with a start and let go of Rebecca’s hand. That was it! My mother used her blood in the spell to hide my blood, which meant I needed Rebecca’s mother’s blood to hide hers. My joy was short-lived, however, because Rebecca said her mum was with the angels. Obviously, that meant she was dead. Just when I thought I was making headway, a big, hulking roadblock appeared.
I stood and walked over to the sliding doors that led out to the balcony where Finn and Pamphrock were deep in conversation. They were probably planning their strategy for the next strike from Whitfield. He’d been suspiciously inactive ever since we got Rebecca back.
I rapped my knuckles on the glass to get their attention, and Pamphrock motioned me through. I glanced from Finn to the governor as I joined them.
“I think I know one of the things I need for Rebecca’s spell.”
Pamphrock’s eyes lit up. “Go on.”
“I need her mother’s blood.”
Pamphrock studied me a moment, his jaw tightening. “That’s not possible.”
“I know,” I said sadly. “Rebecca told me her mother passed away.”
Pamphrock’s expression turned serious. “She’s not dead. It’s just better for my daughter if I tell her that. It means she won’t live her life waiting for the return of a parent who’s never coming back.”
Now I frowned. “If she’s not dead, then where is she?”
Pamphrock exhaled heavily, then pulled a packet of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one up. I briefly wondered if smoking had adverse health effects for dhampirs.
“She’s cared for in a remote psychiatric facility, far away from any vampire populations,” he finally answered. “Felicity, Rebecca’s mother, was just like you, Tegan. She had the same unique blood, but she wasn’t as strong as you are. She was delicate, sensitive. Over the years, she became increasingly paranoid that she was going to be killed by vampires, or that I was going to kill her for the good of my organization. The paranoia soon turned to insanity.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but …” I trailed off, unsure about what I wanted to suggest.
“But what?” Pamphrock prompted.
“Is there a possibility that we could go to Felicity and take a sample of her blood for the spell?”
Pamphrock took a drag of his cigarette as he stared out at the city below. “For safety reasons, I’m the only one who knows the location of the facility where she’s being cared for. That means I would have to be the one to go to her, and at the moment, I cannot leave the city. My position is precarious enough as it is.”