Kiziah’s head jerked up, her face flushing again, though her eyes widened with surprise and a measure of confusion. “You’re Domino’s…you’re going to be his kadine. I think it doesn’t get any more real than that.”
Dakotah’s heart raced at the words but she shrugged. “I don’t know what I am to him yet. I helped him out when he was in a jam and he almost killed me in return.”
“You’re not terrified of him, or of Fane,” Kiziah said and there was a wealth of curiosity in her voice.
“I’ve seen a lot scarier things.”
Kiziah’s mouth gaped slightly. She reached for a couple of plates, filling them both with bacon, eggs and toast before handing one of them to Dakotah. “I know it’s closer to dinnertime. I’m still adjusting to being up during the night and sleeping during the day.”
They moved to the kitchen table. Dakotah said, “So they sleep during the day?”
“If they stay in their human form.” Kiziah buttered her toast, hesitating. “They…evaporate…for lack of a better word in sunlight, though I guess Domino has a choice between changing into a wolf or turning into tiny particles.”
Dakotah stilled, surprised Kiziah knew Domino could shift his form, though she probably shouldn’t have been. “What about Fane?”
Kiziah shook her head. “Fane’s just Fane. Cable told me there are certain lines of vampires and dhampirs who have other shapes. You’re either born with the ability or you’re not.”
Dakotah remembered Fane’s words. She remembered the pull he had on her knives. She’d already guessed what Domino’s special ability was, but she wanted to hear it confirmed. “Fane’s talent is knives. Domino’s is hypnotism, isn’t it?”
Kiziah shuddered. “Oh yeah.”
“He’s done it to you?”
“The first time I encountered him. Then a second time, the night I met Fane.”
Dakotah picked up a piece of bacon. After she’d finally gained control of the wolf, she’d haunted libraries and bookstores, reading everything she could about the supernatural, though not believing most of it. “I thought dhampirs were supposed to be vampire hunters.”
“They can be. But mainly they’re soldiers for the vampire race until they go through The Transformation and become vampires themselves. Fane and Domino were both dhampir. Cable was—is—well, I’m not sure what his status is now. Before Fane made him a companion, Cable was a padrall, a member of an order that has served vampires since the very beginning. He was born into it.” Kiziah took a sip of coffee. “I guess it’s no surprise that if vampires and dhampirs and padralls exist then there are also secret societies like the Believers that try and kill them—or anyone associated with them.” She shuddered. “But you already know that. While I was visiting some of my friends at the campground, Cable and Fane were getting rid of the bodies of the two men who attacked you in the woods.”
Dakotah frowned as worry filled her. Even though she’d heard them use the word Believers, she’d thought they were ordinary scum trying to earn fast money by turning her over to Victor Hale. But if there were more of them… She clamped down on her fear before it could grow and paralyze her. “You’re sure they were members of some secret society?”
“Did they have elaborate crosses tattooed on their necks?”
Dakota nodded and remembered the other men she’d seen hanging around the carnival, not just in Ashberg but in the town before, Kenton, men who’d had the same tattoo.
“Fane says that the Believers in the United States favor the cross tattoos.” Kiziah smiled tentatively. “You don’t have to worry about them, at least for a while. Supposedly those are the last of them in the area.”
Dakotah shrugged. The last of the Believers maybe. But she had a feeling the place would soon be overrun with werewolves.
Her nostrils flared slightly, taking in Kiziah’s scent. Human and something else. Just as Cable’s was now. She had no way of knowing whether they were strong enough to survive a werewolf attack, and yet if her trail led to them, Victor Hale or his men wouldn’t think twice about killing them or trying to use them to find her.
“You should leave Ashberg and stay away from the carnival,” Dakotah said. “I’ve got enemies hunting me.”
Kiziah’s coffee cup wobbled slightly. “What kind of enemies?”
Dakotah hesitated, not used to sharing information about herself. But she didn’t know yet what she was going to do. Whether she was going to stay or go. If she left, she wanted a clear conscience, or as much of one as she could manage. “Werewolves.”
“They exist too?” Kiziah put the coffee cup down quickly, as though she was worried about dropping it, then laughed softly. “I shouldn’t be surprised. I guess I’ve still got a lot to get used to.” Heat rushed to her face. “Fane and Cable have been a big adjustment.”
Curiosity got the better of Dakotah. The need to understand her own situation along with the sense that Kiziah was willing to talk opened a door Dakotah rarely allowed herself to acknowledge, much less touch. Even before she’d killed Anthony Hale and started running, she’d learned the hard way not to ask others about their lives or to share the details of her own.
“Fane and Cable hung out at the carnival for a while,” Dakotah said. “I was surprised to see them with a woman.”
Kiziah’s color heightened. “I was a surprise to them too. Especially to Fane.” She met Dakotah’s eyes. “Has Madame Helki ever given you a reading?”
Dakotah grimaced and Kiziah laughed. “Did she predict Domino? I think she saw Cable and Fane in my cards. And the reading she did for Cable led him to me.”
“She’s a meddlesome old woman,” Dakotah said without heat, uncomfortable at how accurate the fortune-teller’s predictions had become.
Kiziah cocked her head and grinned. “So she gave you a reading?”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t want to talk about it.”
Dakotah couldn’t help but laugh. Kiziah reminded her of Sarael. Both of them openhearted, willing to talk or listen but also willing to back off.
She relented, touching the bite mark on her neck. “Yeah, I think it’s safe to say that Helki predicted Domino.”
“Well, good luck with him. I’m just glad I have Cable to help me with Fane. If you haven’t already guessed, vampires are hard-wired to…control their women. And it doesn’t help that they can read your thoughts, shuffle through your memories and freeze you in place with a command.” Kiziah laughed, flushing with color, before adding, “But there are compensations.”
Dakotah reached for her coffee cup as she tried to still the riot of emotion and thought swirling inside her. Her gut churned at the idea of Domino—or anyone—seeing her memories, seeing the things she’d had to do to survive. “Can you read Fane’s thoughts?”
“Yes. And Cable’s. We’re all connected now.” She hesitated then added, “It happens after the third exchange.”
Dakotah frowned, myth and reality at odds in her mind. Her senses told her Kiziah and Cable were still partially human while Fane and Domino weren’t human at all. “You’re not a vampire.”
“No. I’m different than I was. Fane’s blood changed me. But I’ll never be vampire. Neither will Cable. They can’t fully convert humans, though they can adapt us.” Kiziah grimaced. “And they can give us a major headache. At least that’s what a certain vampire who claims it’s Domino’s responsibility to tell you what you need to know is doing right now.”
“Fane’s wrong. I’m not Domino’s responsibility. He helped me out, I helped him out. We’re even and free to go our separate ways.”