«I'm still deciding,» Natalya said. «I haven't killed anyone today and I don't want to make that a habit. I have to stay in practice.»
«Well at least introduce yourself before you shoot me,» Jubal said, looking around the room, his eyebrow arching upward.
Natalya followed his gaze to all the scorch marks and blackened pieces of cardboard. «Natalya Shonski.» She slid the safety into place on the gun and waved them to chairs. «Thanks for coming, but I'm fine. I don't fall apart all that easy.» She was turning into a first-class liar. Her insides were raw with grief and there was hole burning its way through her throat. She managed a smile. «Vik tends to worry over the silliest things.»
Gabrielle looked around the room, trying to ignore the burn marks everywhere and focus on the brightly colored tapestries. «When we first came here, we stayed at this inn. Our
room had beautiful woven rugs, all in earth tones. This is very red.»
«Isn't it though? I wanted the television and the bathroom so I went with bright,» Natalya explained. «I really feel uncomfortable with putting the two of you out by making you stay with me.»
Jubal shrugged. «You're much easier than the kids. Sara has a million of them. They run me ragged. Okay, the question has to be asked. I'm sorry if this isn't considered polite, but what have you been doing in here?»
She tried to look innocent. «I have no idea what you're talking about.»
«It looks like you're the world's worst smoker, leaving old stogies burning while you fall asleep. Or, you're a closet pyromaniac and we'll have to be shot after all for discovering your secret. What gives?»
Natalya made a face. «I was working on a project, not smoking.» She shrugged when he kept looking at her. «I was experimenting. I don't have a flamethrower so I was making one. I needed to see how close I'd have to be to use it effectively.»
Jubal and Gabrielle exchanged a long stare. Gabrielle cleared her throat. «You were practicing in this room with a flamethrower?»
Natalya looked at all the blackened marks. «Well, yes. I was careful. I burned paper and old clothes and things. I kept water handy so if the fires were bigger than I expected, I could put them out immediately.»
«You were burning objects here in the room?» Jubal repeated.
Natalya scowled at him. «Don't be such a prig. I was experimenting. It's not like I was trying to set the building on fire. Do you think I can just go out and buy a flamethrower? They aren't that easy to come by.»
Jubal cleared his throat. «Why the obsession with a flamethrower?»
«Vik informed me I have to incinerate the heart of the vampire to kill it. I killed Freddie the vamp like twenty times, but he wouldn't die. He just kept getting back up again and again. It was downright annoying and a spooky and when I complained, Vik said I needed a flamethrower. Well…» She hedged. «He said I had to incinerate the heart and I can't just call down lightning or throw fireballs, so there you go.»
Jubal swept a hand through his hair, clearly agitated. «Let me get this straight. You've been inventing your own version of a flamethrower?»
«What the heck did you expect me to do? It isn't like I can go down to the local market and pick one up cheap. A can of hairspray and a lighter works, although I have to be way closer than I'd like. The good news is, it's easy to carry.»
«Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?» Jubal demanded.
«It was actually fun.»
Gabrielle burst out laughing at the expression on her brother's face. «Go, Natalya. You and my sister Joie will get along just fine.»
«Don't encourage her, Gabrielle,» Jubal chastised. «What does… er… Vik have to say about all this?»
Natalya's eyebrow shot up. «Vik doesn't say anything because it isn't his business how I choose to kill vamps.» She shrugged carelessly. «Whatever works. He has his methods of dealing with the undead and I have mine.»
«You don't think it's just a little bit weird that you're in your hotel room burning things up?» Jubal asked.
«The burning things up is a by-product of testing. I was testing out distances. And, by the way, you can't hold down the trigger because the flame comes back to the can and the can will blow up.»
«I'm surprised you didn't blow out a window.»
Natalya gave him a cool look. «I'm very good at what I do. I only blow up things I want to blow up.» She was becoming distracted again, unable to focus on the conversation. She turned away from her visitors, wanting to pull on her hair. Claws were dangerously close and she flexed her fingers several times to ease the aching.
The need to reach out and touch Vikirnoff's mind shook her with intensity. She could feel her heart pounding and sweat broke out on her body. He wasn't dead. He was asleep. Just asleep. And when he woke up she was going to make him dead. She wanted to strangle him slowly for putting her through hell.
«Do you blow things up often?»
«Jubal!» Gabrielle objected.
«I'm just curious. She's just like Joie. I swear, I'm always surrounded by females who think they can take on King Kong.»
A reluctant smile found it's way to Natalya's face. «I love that movie.»
«What were you watching?» He indicated the television set.
«I don't remember.» And she didn't. She loved the wonderful old television shows and B movies with their old-time special effects. It didn't matter what language they were in, they always provided entertainment, but now she couldn't remember a single thing she'd watched
all day. «But it wasn't King Kong.»
She couldn't make small talk with perfect strangers. She had learned how to appear friendly and never give anything of herself away, but somehow her life had changed. In any case, when she was so distraught, which was never, before Vikirnoff, the tigress roared for supremacy to protect her and that meant Jubal and Gabrielle Sanders might not be entirely safe.
Natalya felt empty without Vikirnoff. She twisted her fingers together and slid back down the wall to sit on the floor in the midst of her weapons. She wasn't afraid of the brother and sister; in such close quarters the tigress would make short work of them if the weapons proved useless, but she felt vulnerable. She'd never been so vulnerable and raw and exposed. Damn Vikirnoff and all Carpathian men!
«Natalya.» There was compassion in Gabrielle's gray eyes. «Raven Dubrinsky told me that one time years ago, Mikhail had to go to ground without her. He was wounded and she had not yet been converted. She said it was one of the most difficult periods of her life and she wanted me to tell you that if she could be with you right now, she would have come.»
«How bad are the prince's injuries?» Natalya asked, desperate to latch onto something that would keep her need of Vikirnoff at bay. If needing a man was a byproduct of being a lifemate to a Carpathian, she was more determined than ever to find a way to break the binding ritual. Not only did it suck, but it was humiliating to think she couldn't be without Vikirnoff for a couple of days. She'd been around the world several times by herself. Most of her life had been solitary. She did not need a man.
«His injuries were pretty bad. I didn't see him, but Raven was very upset. He was led into a trap,» Jubal said. «Both he and Falcon were attacked by several vampires in two separate instances. I think the vampires are trying to wear them down, to keep them injured and weaken them from blood loss rather than go in for the kill.»
«Vikirnoff thinks the vampires are gathering to kill the prince. Maxim, that's the master vampire, told Vik they would kill Mikhail and the entire race would be doomed.» Natalya drummed her fingers on the floor. «Is that true?»