Page 19 of Twilight Destiny

Rosa went cold all over. Some people believed vampires were Undead. A necromancer and a hunter working together would be a lethal combination. If a necromancer could communicate with a vampire at rest, could he also render him helpless? Speak to his mind? Command him to walk out into the sunlight and destroy himself? Or do whatever else the necromancer desired?

Saintcrow nodded. “Rhinehart’s witch is capable of doing all of those things.”

“I don’t know what to say.” ‘I’m sorry’ hardly seem adequate.

Saintcrow blew out a sigh that seemed to come from the depths of his soul. “It’s not your fault. You had no way of knowing who he is. I’m just glad Kadie and the others are out of the country.”

“I can’t stay locked up in this house day and night,” Rosa said, frowning. “What should I do if I run into him again?”

“Try to act natural. Don’t go into town alone at night. Pretend you don’t know what I am. Don’t go anywhere alone with him. And if you feel threatened, send me a mental SOS.”

“He seemed so nice,” Rosa said. “So harmless.”

“Looks are often deceiving.”

“Tell me about it.” She tilted her head to the side. “Except in your case. No one would ever think you were harmless. Or weak. Or defenseless.”

“It’s a gift,” he said, with a grin. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Try to stay out of trouble until then.”

Rosa made a face at him, but it was too late. He was already gone.

Chapter Seven

“What the hell’s going on?” Kincaid asked, coming up beside Saintcrow. “I could feel your annoyance in the next town. Kind of ruined my appetite for the pretty little blonde in my arms.”

“Sorry.”

“So?”

“Our wanna-be vampire ran into Paul Rhinehart this afternoon.”

“Rhinehart! No shit! What’s he doing here?”

“What the hell do you think?”

“Right. Stupid question.” Kincaid frowned. “Rosa was with him today?”

“Yeah. I guess he asked her a lot of questions about the town. Who owns it. Stuff like that.”

“Well, damn.”

“She seemed to think she needed to date a ‘normal’ guy, which you definitely aren’t.”

Kincaid shot him a dirty look. “What are you going to do about Rhinehart?”

“I haven’t decided.”

“Is she going to see him again?”

“Only by accident. Like she said, she can’t stay inside indefinitely.”

“Yeah. But I can make sure she has better things to do than spend her time with a hunter.”

“I had a feeling you’d say that,” Saintcrow said with a grin.

“I care for her,” Kincaid said quietly.

“Tell me something I don’t know.”