I did my best to splash water on it and try to help matters, but I finally let Nathaniel in to try to help me. He finally ended by braiding it close to my head with a promise to help me wash it out later. He had to braid his own hair, too. We’d both have to start over with our hair later, but there was no way I was getting back into the shower until I’d spoken with Jean-Claude. I needed to know who had rolled us, and why. Some older vampires will fuck with you just to fuck with you, but most of them have a purpose if they torment you; call it sadism with a reason. I needed to know that reason, and Jean-Claude needed to know there was still someone big and bad enough to roll me that thoroughly, because if they could do that without alerting him to it, then they were serious bad-asses. Every time we destroyed the great evil, another one seemed to rise up in its place like an evil version of “Nature abhors a vacuum.” It was almost like the Mother of All Darkness had kept the other bad vampires in line, and now that she was gone, they were trying their supervillain wings out. I was getting real tired of being the target du jour for them.

15

   “MA PETITE, I do not believe that it is an outside force that has cost you time.”

   “Then what was it?” I demanded, as I paced the room. We were back in his bedroom but had to sit in the chairs around the faux fireplace, because the bed where he usually liked to lounge had been reduced to nothing but the bed frame. The custom-made mattress and bed frame were ruined by the blood that Damian had shed. The cleanup crew that was made up of our own people wouldn’t guarantee that they could fix it. It would take weeks or even months to get a custom replacement.

   He glanced at Nathaniel, who had curled up in front of the electric fire wearing nothing but a pair of silky black shorts and the long braid of his hair.

   “Cats always find the warmest place in a room,” Jean-Claude said.

   “I wish you would let the electric fire run when we sleep in here,” Nathaniel said.

   “I cannot trust that it will not spark and catch fire while I am unable to save myself.”

   “Modern electricity is a lot safer than it used to be,” Nathaniel said.

   Jean-Claude nodded. “Logically, yes, but some worries are not about logic.”

   “We have another big bad vampire attacking us and you’re worried about being warm while we sleep. If I were any warmer sleeping between you and Micah, I’d melt.”

   “I’m usually on the end, so warmer would be good for me,” Nathaniel said.

   “How can you be so calm?” I asked him.

   He shrugged and stared at the flickering flames. “The ardeur was fed. We all feel better. Damian is even dead for the day. Nothing seems to be wrong; why aren’t you calmer?” He looked up at me as I paced.

   “Our pussycat is right about one thing, ma petite. There seems to be no harm done.”

   “This time, this time no harm is done, but one thing I’ve learned is that once one of these fuckers starts messing with us, they don’t stop until they get bored, or hurt us.”

   “Do you agree, pussycat, that whoever did this will not stop until they are bored or hurt us?”

   Nathaniel shook his head. “I don’t think they’ll get bored.”

   I looked from one to the other of them, because I realized I was missing something. “What does everyone else in this room know that I don’t?”

   They exchanged a look, and Jean-Claude gave a small wave of his hand toward the other man. “Do I have to?” Nathaniel asked.

   “Yes, mon minet, you do.”

   “What does Nathaniel have to do?” I asked.

   “Tell you the truth.”

   “About what?” I asked.

   Nathaniel hugged his knees to his chest and looked at the floor rather than at me. That was never good. “It wasn’t a vampire that mind-rolled you.”

   “Then what was it?”

   He glanced up. “Don’t be mad. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know I could.”

   “What are you talking about?” I asked.

   “You were conflicted about feeding on Damian for the ardeur. You were conflicted about the three of us being together like you always are.”

   “So?”

   “I’m not conflicted.”

   “I know that you’d love it if the three of us were a real threesome in a sexual way at least.”

   “I don’t understand why you don’t see Damian as yummier than you do.”

   “His conflicts and mine get in our way,” I said.

   “Mine don’t get in my way.”

   “You don’t have any conflicts about the three of us being closer,” I said.

   “Exactly.”

   I frowned at him.

   “You must be more forthright with ma petite, Nathaniel. You know this.”

   Nathaniel sighed. “The two of you were letting it all get away from us again, and I wanted it to work, so I made it work.”

   I frowned harder. “I don’t understand.”

   “It is not some outside force attacking us, ma petite, but those inside growing into their power.”

   “I still don’t understand.” And then suddenly I did understand, or thought I did. “Wait. You mean that Nathaniel mind-rolled me.”

   “I didn’t mean to do that part, but I wanted you and Damian to be with me, for us all to be together.”

   “What did you do?” I asked, coming to stand in front of him.

   He rounded his shoulders and hunched up. “You looming over me isn’t helping.”

   “You’re taller than I am.”

   “It is not about physical height, ma petite, and you know this.”

   “Fine,” I said, and backed up so I wasn’t looming. I stood there, arms crossed under my breasts, trying not to scowl at him and probably failing.

   “I wanted it to work between us.”

   “Wait. I remember you saying something: I want this, you said.”

   “Yes.”

   “Your eyes were glowing lavender, so it was your power, not some interloper’s, because then your eyes would have been the color of whoever was trying to take us over.”

   “Damian’s eyes glowed his color, and yours glowed to your power. It was all us, just us.”

   I shook my head. “So why don’t I remember?”

   “This was his first time being in charge of your metaphysical union, ma petite. I believe he used more power than was needed, but he did not realize that until you had no memory of it.”