“He’s resting and healing. Very soon, he and I have things we must do,” Bellenos said. He’d come into the kitchen behind me without my sensing so much as a change in the air. He really enjoyed watching me jump. He laughed, which was weird, because he did it with his mouth wide as if he were panting. His laugh was more a breathy “heeheehee” than the human guffaw.

“He’s able to move?” I was delighted, but surprised.

“Yes,” Bellenos said. “Besides, he tells me you have vampires coming later, and he would need to be elsewhere, anyway.”

At least Bellenos didn’t chide me for expecting vampire guests, and he also didn’t ask me to cancel my plans to accommodate Dermot’s injury.

I’d considered calling Eric’s cell phone to postpone our powwow. But I thought that it was entirely possible that Hod and Kelvin were part and parcel of the same struggle, albeit a clumsy part.

“Wait here for a minute, please,” I said politely, and I went to talk to Dermot. He was propped up on the bed, and I spared a second to thank Amelia for making it before she left, though I needed to change the sheets, but I could do that at my leisure—okay, time to stop making housekeeping notes, since Dermot was looking all pale and brave. When I sat by him, he took me in a surprisingly strong embrace. I returned it with interest.

“I’m sorry this happened to you,” I said. I bypassed the whole warding issue. “Are you sure you want to go to Monroe? Will they really take care of you? I can cancel the thing for tonight. I’d be glad to nurse you.”

Dermot was silent for a moment. I could feel him breathing in my arms, and the smell of his skin surrounded me. Naturally he didn’t smell like Jason, though they could have been twins.

“Thanks for not ripping me a new one,” he said. “See, I’ve mastered modern human speech.” He managed a real smile. “I’ll see you later. Bellenos and I have an errand to complete.”

“You need to take it easy. You were hurt pretty bad. How are you feeling?”

“Better by the moment. Bellenos has shared his breath with me, and I’m excited about the hunt.”

Okay, I didn’t quite understand that, but if he was pleased, I was pleased. Before I could ask him questions, he said, “I failed you about the wards, and I didn’t stop the intruders. While I lay there, I feared they’d found you.”

“You shouldn’t have worried about me,” I said, and I was sincere, though I was sure grateful he had. “I hid over at Bill’s and they didn’t find me.”