"But you were there last night," I pointed out.

"I did not visit the gardens. I stayed only in the hotel. My clan is strict, but we are allowed to make contact with an outsider once a day."

"Ah."

I took a deep breath, and while his attention was on the front gate, closed my eyes, opening myself up to the environment and all the possibilities that existed therein. Glorious color flooded my mind, the trees beyond the edge of the clearing clad in a million variations of green and brown, swaying in an intricate dance that I suddenly realized was a form of language. The trees bowed and scraped, almost as if they were talking to each other! Fascinating as that was, it wasn't what I had wanted to examine, so with real regret that I couldn't watch the trees, I pulled my mental vision back until Gytirgy filled my mind. He looked ... human.

"Damn."

"You said something?" he asked without turning to look at me.

"Nothing important." I examined him from the tips of his scuffed, worn boots to the top of his head. There was nothing about him that looked different from any other mortal man Fd used my super-Guardian vision on. So why was he immune to the charms of the amulet?

"Yes, I totally agree. You are quite right. Who is that in the car with Tiffany?"

"Rene. He's a friend of mine. He's also a taxi driver, and in case you were worried, he's not looking for a little action. She's perfectly safe with him."

He turned to look at me then. I blinked as my vision returned to normal. "I was not worried. It is clear he poses no threat."

"Ah. Good."

There didn't seem to be much else to say, so I told him again I'd be back to give him the amulet in a day or two, then headed off to the car, my mind a whirlwind of thoughts, none of which seemed to make any sense.

   Chapter 23

"What do you know about Venus amulets?" I asked Jim later, after we had checked on Nora. She was up, dressed, and breakfasting with Pal, who, I couldn't help but notice, was being very pleasant. Nora looked like she'd been to war; Gabriel's magic spit had worked wonders, but not enough to hide the fact that she'd been beaten. Her lip and eye weren't swollen any longer, and the cuts had healed to angry red stripes, but there was a bit of telltale bruising.

We left her after she swore she just wanted to rest. Pal vowed he would stay there to protect her, which I thought was a bit unnecessary since it was daylight and incubi sought lovers only in the dark of night, but Nora seemed pleased to have his company. She also looked as if she was recovering her usual cheerful spirits, which, in turn, made me feel better.

"They're amulets. Supposedly created in Venus's name. Supposed to make the wearer irresistible to men. Is that what you've got there?"

"Yup. Gyorgy says it contains both the third and the fifth pentacles of Venus."

Jim whistled. "No wonder guys have been falling all over you."

"Is it enough to summon incubi without my knowing?" I asked as we stepped off the elevator, heading for the side of the hotel where the dog park was located.

"Well, yeah! Unless you deliberately summoned those ones who showed up in your bed before you and Drake shacked up together."

"No, not that. Could it be powerful enough to bring forth incubi, but not to my bed? You know, kind of"— I made a vague gesture as we went out into the sunny morning—"free-range incubi."

Jim just stared at me.

"What?" I asked it.

"Free-range incubi?"

"Oh, don't be so pedantic. You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do, but it's only because I'm a superior sort of demon."

"Uh-huh. Answer my question, superior demon."

"I can't." Jim stopped to smell a beautiful bronze rose, its back leg lifting automatically.

"Use it and lose it," I warned. Jim huffed and marched over to a small shrub. "And I gave you a direct order, buster. You have to answer it."

"I can't. And by that I mean I cannot answer the question, not because I don't want to but because I don't know the answer. I don't know the extent of your powers, Aisling. For all I know you could be some sort of walking turbocharged Guardian who can pull beings in without a conscious thought. I'm only your servant. I have no way of knowing what you can and can't do until I see you do it."

"Oh," I said, kicking a tuft of grass as T strolled down the groomed lawn toward the trees where I'd been ambushed my first night in Budapest. "Poop."

"Thank you. I don't mind if I do."

I shook its leash at it. "No, you won't. I don't have a bag, and besides, you had a potty stop earlier. Come on. If you're done watering everything, I have places to go, ghosts to see."

"The nun ghosts? I thought you'd written them off." Jim shambled along behind me as I cut through the cool shade created by a crescent of trees, emerging on the other side to blink in the sunlight.

"I made a promise, and dammit, I always keep my promises. Most of the time. When I can. Which way is the convent?"

"North."

We walked through the gardens I'd seen only by moonlight, now filled with bike riders, picnickers and sunbathers, and children running after dogs, balls, Fris-bees, kites, and balloons. Jim stopped to beg for an ice cream cone, but I refused, mindful of the diet the vet had given me. T made a mental note to come back when I could admire the water lilies in the Japanese garden, the gorgeous roses in the rose garden, and the shady bowers of the English garden. By the time we reached the northeast side of the island where the Saint Margaret's Dominican nunnery lay in picturesque ruins, I was so relaxed and filled with the beauty of the island that I had almost forgotten what we were doing there.

Almost.

"Jim. Go stare at that couple."

Jim looked over to where a young man and woman were evidently checking each other's tonsils with a thoroughness that would do an ear, nose, and throat specialist proud. "Sure. Can I drool, too?"

"You always drool. Just go make them uncomfortable so they'll leave us alone here."

I looked around the stone ruins, finally finding a partially standing stone-and-mortar arch at the rear that looked like a good spot to commune with ghosts. The lovebirds toddled off after Jim sat unmoving, staring at them while long ropes of saliva dribbled from its flews.