Chapter 29

"It was you!" Sarah accused Susie, a smile breaking out on her face.

"I just had a quick peek at what you were seeing," Susie admitted guiltlessly.

"But what about Daybreak?" Sarah demanded. "Did they break in? What about Tom?"

"Tom?" Blade frowned, looking sour.

"Roseclear has him!" Sarah said, becoming frantic as she remembered. "She could be drinking him right now!"

"Daybreak did break in," Susie assured Sarah finally. "But it was a diversion. Me, Blade and Angelo found our way down to the dungeons, using a double agent who was familiar with the layout of this place. I'm sure Daybreak has everyone of its own people out."

"Not Tom," Sarah said firmly. "We found him injured a few miles away, with a dead werewolf."

"A dead werewolf," Susie said slowly. "What type of dead werewolf? Colour?" her voice rose slightly, "was there anything distinctive about the dead werewolf, Sarah? Are you sure it was dead?"

Oh Goddess, Sarah thought, horrified. Tom? "Definitely dead," she told Susie, a quaver in her voice at how stupid she may have been... "But Tom's human!" she blurted. "Hunter doesn't like humans! Tom can't be working for him!"

"Maybe it's not Hunter that Tom is working for," Blade said harshly. "And maybe it's not us that he's after."

"Tell me everything about him!" Susie demanded and Sarah rushed to dredge up her memory. "He said he lives...lived with two vampires. One of them was killed by Hunter. He joined Daybreak with his other vampire roommate."

"Are you sure he said that his roommate was a vampire?" Susie asked sharply. Sarah nodded. "Ian. Simon looked after him after he was turned by an...insane uncle of Simon's."

"Sounds to me like Ian didn't want to be turned," Blade said softly. "What did he do when he was turned into a vampire?"

"And when did Tom meet him?" Susie said just as quietly. "And why?"

"He said Simon told him about the Nightworld when Ian had starved himself nearly to death," Sarah told them, thinking hard. "But what if he already knew about the Nightworld before?"

"And what if Simon's something to do with someone Tom hated?" Susie asked softly, eyes distant. "Did he actually say that Simon was alive?"

"That he'd joined Daybreak with Simon," Sarah confirmed, shaking her head. "And that Simon was in this place. He knew you, Susie. Knew of you, anyway."

"I don't flaunt my magic," Susie said thoughtfully.

"Sure doesn't look like that," Blade said dryly, recalling the fight upstairs when Susie had bashed a pair of vampires against the wall just by looking at them.

"Only when I'm peeved," Susie told him clearly, eyes glinting with malice and meaning. Blade got the hint and shut up sharply.

"I think we ought to go and check on dear Roseclear," Susie said finally, lightly.

"Have you people finished interrogating Sarah?" Kierlan asked sweetly from behind them.

"Yes," Susie said in exasperation. "Go on, do the stuff from the romantic movies that are utterly fake then. I know you've been longing to for ages."

Kierlan grinned and embraced Sarah tightly. "I could have killed you when you sneaked into my dreams!" he declared at her, eyes dark with anger. She smiled at him, too glad to see him to be mad at him yet.

"And going off with that insane cousin of mine wasn't exactly Albert-Einstein thinking," Susie muttered.

"Hey!" Kierlan protested. "This is my moment, remember!" With that, he kissed Sarah hard on the lips.