Light was beginning to pool on the landing near the window.
She wrenched herself out of his strong arms. The power of his blood was already fading. She could feel the effort it took.
“Slowly, Drucilla,” he told her as they got to their feet.
Suddenly, the staircase seemed to stretch upward indefinitely. Any part of it could fall out from under them.
“No,” she said. “Quickly, I think.”
He nodded and she took his hand.
She shot away from the spot where they stood, feeling fleet as a deer compared to her normal speed.
Then Viktor took off and she thought he would yank her arm off her shoulder.
She was fast, but he was so much faster.
The treads groaned and cracked, like an icy pond melting on a warm spring afternoon.
One moment Dru was running, the next her feet went out from under her.
She thought at first that she was falling again, but then she realized Viktor had taken her into his arms.
A second later, they were up the stairs and back in the hallway of the main wing of Hemlock House, standing just outside of his rooms.
He placed her down and they went into the room together.
Dawn was glowing through the sheet over his east-facing window.
“We can’t keep doing this,” Dru said softly. “Every time we’re together, you almost get toasted in the morning. I’ll be the death of you.”
“It’ll be worth it,” he said, giving her a roguish grin and throwing open the trunk.
It was hard to think of him shutting himself in. She wondered if he was teasing to distract her from the strangeness of it.
“Don’t do anything crazy, Drucilla,” he told her. “My blood protection will wear off in an hour or so. Keep yourself safe. I’ll see you at dusk.”
“Thank you, Viktor,” she told him, realizing that what she meant was I love you.
She turned on her heel and fled before she could hear his response.
After all, he couldn’t read her thoughts, but he could read her emotions.
And they were not subtle.
15
Dru was relieved to find Officer Wagner and tell him about Johnny Costello’s body in the tunnels beneath the ballroom.
Wagner asked for very specific info on where the body was, and she told him about the collapsing stairs in the abandoned wing, warning him that it could be a dangerous job.
Then Wagner barked at her to sit in a chair in the lobby by the fire and wait for him to come back so that he could take a statement.
Dru sat by the fire for what felt like a lifetime.
Edgar Allan Crow rested in his shoebox in her lap, while Dru re-read her grandmother’s journal pages to stay awake.
The morning light from the windows hurt her eyes. She could still feel Viktor’s energy dancing through her. He’d said it would fade within the hour, but she wondered if she would still feel a heightened connection with him when it did.
“Dru, are you okay?” Zander asked when he arrived to take over desk duties.
She looked up at him, squinting against the harsh sunlight.
“Yeah,” she said. “It was kind of a rough night.”
“Did you dye your hair?” he asked.
She shook her head. That was a weird question.
“Funny,” he said. “It seems brighter today.”
She glanced down at her hair. The red was definitely deeper and more pronounced. Was that another side effect of the blood Viktor had used to revitalize her?
“It’s probably just the light,” she offered weakly.
“Sure,” Zander said. “You can go to bed if you want. I’ll come get you when Officer Wagner is ready.”
“I’m good,” she said. “It can’t be much longer.”
As if on cue, the two policemen appeared atop the stairs, lugging a body bag, which meant that Wagner was probably done with the crime scene and ready for her.
Zander nodded and sat down in the chair opposite Dru.
Hazel and Honey were coming in from their early morning walk as the two cops got to the door with the body bag.
“Oh dear, what’s this?” Hazel asked.
“Will you please move out of the way?” Wagner said, in a grumpy way.
“My goodness,” Hazel said in a wounded tone, pulling her sister inside and closer to the window seat, out of the way of the police. “I much prefer that gentleman detective to this new one, don’t you, dear?” she asked Honey.
Honey nodded.
“What are you talking about?” Wagner demanded.
But Hazel and Honey Van Buren had already made a beeline for the cold breakfast Zander had set up in the dining room.
“What are they talking about?” Wagner asked Dru and Zander.
She shrugged, trying not to smile. Hugh Channing certainly had a way with people that Wagner lacked. Too bad he wasn’t a real detective.
“I’ll be right back to talk to you,” Wagner told her.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll be right here.”
She must have dozed off for a moment in the warmth of the fire, because she awoke to the sound of an excited conversation around the front desk.
Now that they had finally found the killer, Wagner must have released the shuttle bus.
Half the guests were gathered around the desk as Zander worked to check them out.
“But what was the outcome?” Jenna Wilder was asking.
“It sounds like they found the murderer’s body,” Zander said.
“Then who killed him?” Jenna asked.
“I think it was an accident,” Zander said with a shrug.
“You think?” Jenna asked. “Well, we can’t leave without finding out for sure.”
“I can,” Jeffrey said, handing Zander his credit card. “This has been fun and all, but we’ll check the papers. Take care of yourself, kid.”
“Thanks,” Zander replied as he gave them the final receipts.
The Wilders stumbled out with their suitcases.
“Wicked crow,” Angie muttered to Dru as she passed.
Dru didn’t bother to correct her. The teenager wouldn’t be able to hear her. She was wearing her ear buds as always, rocking out to who knows what.
Mayor Tuck and Melody Young were next.
Dru noticed that Melody looked a little downcast, as if maybe she would have liked to be snowed in with the mayor for just a little longer. She hoped they had a chance to continue their relationship when they got back to town. But life was complicated, especially in politics.
Dru’s thoughts drifted back to Viktor.
The whole lobby was sunny now, but the light no longer hurt her eyes. She glanced down, and her hair was its usual color again, brown with a russet tone.
Until this morning she hadn’t let herself look too far into the future with Viktor.
But it was hard not to recognize what different creatures they were when she had spent an hour or two enjoying a hollow echo of his powers.
Could there ever be an equal relationship between an immortal with superhuman powers and appetites, and a plain young woman who had most likely used up twenty-five percent of her limited time on the planet?
She would grow old and die, and Viktor would remain always the same. There would be other women, other adventures, whole lifetimes ahead of him.
The thought was like a poison, seeping through her heart.