Note: Please see Prologue for warning, copyright and disclaimer information.

Sharp Teeth

"Would you like to go with Jax and I?" Cormac asked after several minutes of silence. I heard him rise to his feet behind me. "I would like to drive past the address I found."

"If you'd like," I replied without turning.

"If you would like," he told me. "There are no boundaries here as there were in Berlin, other than those of language."

I was silent for a moment, then glanced at him over my shoulder. "How much of the conversation were you overlistening, Mac?" I asked softly.

"Enough."

That one word and his cold expression told me he'd heard it all. I nodded, then crossed the room to pick up the stake I'd thrown from where it had fallen on the floor. After I tucked it into its place at the small of my back, I turned to look at him, my face carefully blank.

"If you want me to go I'm game," I said softly.

"Would you like to go?" he asked.

"Yeah," I told him, glancing sadly around the familiar layout of the room, "I really don't want to sit here."

"I'm sure they have a pool," he suggested. "A hot tub, sauna, take advantage of the facilities."

I smiled grimly. "The problem with that type of thing is that bathing suits don't have any good hiding places, any more than the dress I wore last night."

"That's what beach towels are for."

"If you're in the middle of a pool, beach towels don't do much good," I replied.

"Despite the not breathing part, I don't know many Kindred who know how to swim."

I shrugged. "Well, a stake will kill more than a Kindred." Did he think I'd spent the last ten years in the society telling them 'Sorry, can't kill that bad guy, he's not a vampire'? I've killed every kind of preternatural thing at one time or another.

"Doggie paddle?" he asked as he walked into the bedroom his things had been put in. "There was one in the lobby."

"And I missed it?" I murmured to myself. "How did that happen?"

"You were distracted," he said as he came out with his biker style leather jacket in his hand.

"The point is I don't like to be too far away from stakes," I continued. "You probably remember that."

"They have a whirl pool, hot tub.…" he suggested.

"I'll just go with you," I said firmly, despite the feeling I got that he wanted me to stay at the hotel.

"As you wish."

I rolled my eyes at that, so wishing he would stop saying that. "You said there weren't the limits here that there were in Berlin. Does that mean with my accessories as well?"

"We are merely driving past an address or two," he reminded me.

"Is that a yes or a no?" I asked, shooting for a polite tone but not quite hitting it.

"Unless you're going to stake the upholstery in the car," he replied dryly. "We're not getting out of the car this time."

I was glad to hear it, but God only knew what else we might run across. "The crossbow's in the car, so okay."

"Shall we?" He walked toward the door and held it open for me.

"Sure."

We crossed the hall and Cormac knocked on Jax's door. He looked pretty comfortable when he answered the knock, but agreed to come with us.

While we were waiting for him, I took the opportunity to ask Cormac about something that had been bothering me. "You said earlier that you were unable to contact Dougal." I glanced at his face, but his expression gave nothing away. "What, did you lose his phone number?"

"No," he replied patiently. "The ritual." When he realized that I had no idea what he was talking about, he added, "That all Tremere are taught, that allows us to speak with our sire."

I nodded slowly as if I understood. "That must be in the handbook," I said wryly.

"It is the first ritual that all Tremere are taught," he told me.

"Not being Kindred I wouldn't know that," I reminded him.

"Now you know," he said with a small smile.

Back to being his usual annoying self. "Just curious."

"Anything else?" he asked as Jax joined us and we started down the hall.

"Like what?" I fell into step just behind his left shoulder. I'd done it so many times in the last few days it seemed natural to me now.

"Questions? Comments?"

"Not at the moment," I replied sarcastically, "but I'll be sure to let you know if I have any more."

"You do that."

For the second time that night I struck at him without thinking, although this time it was a lot less violent. My hand reached out to hit his shoulder, and he stumbled a little from the slap.

He glanced over his shoulder to look at me. "Thank you for not using the paddle."

I couldn't help it, I had to laugh. Jax even laughed with me, but Cormac just kept walking.

We went down to the car and Jax drove us past the address Cormac had gotten from the chantry in Berlin. It was in a commercial district, but the building had recently been abandoned. The Pinnacle was nearby, and the neighborhood seemed decent enough. A broken sign hung over the doorway that read, 'dy Imports, a Bruckman's Subsidiary.' Cormac seemed to find the building and the sign interesting, but told Jax to drive on.

"How late does the carnival stay open?" he asked Jax.

I closed my eyes, hoping he wouldn't want to go back to that place. I had to admit it had been interesting, but I didn't want anyone else inside my head tonight.

"Twenty-four hours," the ghoul replied.

"We won't need you anymore tonight," Cormac told him. "If you'd like to return to the carnival, feel free." Right at that moment, my stomach made a loud rumbling noise. He turned to look at me and added, "Unless Eliza would like some food."

"There's a McDonalds up there," Jax suggested. "Would you like me to stop?"

I looked out the window, refusing to meet Mac's probing gaze. "Fries would be good."

"Are you a vegetarian, ma'am?" Jax asked me.

"No," I told him, a little surprised at the question.

"Get her a Big Mac and a chocolate shake as well," Cormac instructed. When I shot him an indignant look, he said, "You need to eat. I promised someone."

"And she sounds too much like you half the time anyway," I muttered to myself as Jax pulled into the drive through.

While he was ordering, I asked for a cup of coffee, hoping it would be the normal McDonalds brew.

"Espresso?" Jax asked.

"No, God no," I said fiercely. "That was almost as bad as that stuff Cormac made last night. That was nasty."

Cormac handed me the meal and I started to eat it slowly, but soon realized just how hungry I was. When I saw he was watching me and the smug look on his face, I forced myself to slow down. By the time we reached the hotel, my food was long gone.

We returned to our suite and let Jax get back to his own. We didn't say much of anything to each other, and to avoid the uncomfortable silence I knew would happen I went into my bedroom to unpack. Between searching for Dougal's things and hunting the rogue caitiff, I figured we'd be in Paris at least a few nights.

There were doors to the balcony from my room, and I found myself standing in them more than once, staring out at the lights of Paris. Mentally I cursed Glenn for interrupting us earlier, cursed myself for calling him in the first place. I wasn't quite sure exactly what part of the conversation had pissed Mac off, but something had. The problem was I didn't know how to make things right with him.

I hadn't lied to Glenn; if it came down to it, I'd kill anyone I had to in order to ensure Corrine's safety. I'd lived too long protecting her to do anything else this late in the game. Wasn't the fact that I was going to kill Kate, my own mother, proof enough for him that I'd go to any lengths to keep our daughter safe? Well, I was doing it for another reason as well, so maybe that didn't count.

Of course, it could have been the mention of Bobby. I didn't know if Cormac remembered, but Bobby had been one of the most adamant in the group about killing Kindred, especially after one of them had murdered his brother Paul right before his eyes. Mac had been the only one able to calm him down afterward. Bobby's willingness to put Mac down simply told me that Bobby still remembered him with respect.

Or maybe it was Glenn's comment about me giving him another chance. I hoped that wasn't it. It had been a big joke between the three of us that someday I'd come to my senses and dump Mac to give Glenn a second chance. Mac had never taken it seriously, and I think that Glenn had always known there couldn't be anyone else but Mac for me.

About half an hour before sunrise, Cormac called out to me from the main room. "How's your room?"

It was a room, what was I supposed to say? "There's a bed."

"Are you going to sleep in it this time?"

"Yeah, I thought I might." I walked over to the dresser and fingered the lace doily laying on its surface.

"Imagine that," he drawled. "First time for everything."

"I've slept in a bed before," I told him coldly. Did he really think I was such a loser that I felt more comfortable on the floor?

"I don't remember."

"Nice to know there are some things you don't remember," I murmured to myself.

"I remember the blanket," he replied matter-of-factly, "the rug…."

After a quick glance to make sure he wasn't looking, I threw a stake at the wall near the door. It hit blunt end first as I'd intended and bounced off of the wall to the floor.

"Was that the prerequisite stake, luv?" Mac called out.

I couldn't believe the pain that shot through me at those words. "That was just something falling," I told him in a tight voice as I braced myself on the dresser. The prerequisite stake: that was a phrase I'd never thought I'd hear again.

"Ah, you're temper maybe?"

"Could be," I conceded. "Would you like me to join you and see if it will fall out there?"

"It is not necessary," he assured me.

"Isn't the sun up yet?" It had been a hard night for me, and he sure as hell wasn't making it any easier.

"Almost," he replied. "Goodnight."

I walked back out onto the balcony and stood silently facing the sunrise. Because of the many buildings, I couldn't see the sun come up, but I did watch the sky lighten until it was a bright blue. Finally I went back into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed to call down for room service. I wasn't really hungry, but I wanted something. Unfortunately the food I ordered didn't satisfy the craving.

After I'd eaten, I paced the sitting room for a little while, trying not to look at the vase full of daisies. What was I going to do about Mac? Hell, Glenn was right, I was back to calling him Mac, even if it was just in my head. It just seemed so natural I hadn't even thought about it. That didn't settle the question, though. Mac was pissed about something either Glenn or I had said on the phone, and the only way to find out what was to ask, something I wasn't sure I wanted to do.

I stood on the balcony for a while watching the city and thinking about everything I had learned about Kindred in the last few nights. None had acted remotely like Kate, although a few had been a little overbearing. While I knew they weren't human, they didn't seem so much like monsters to me anymore.

I knew that part of my attitude change was due to Mac. True, some things about him were different now, aside from the vampirism, but who was I to say that those changes wouldn't have happened if he hadn't been embraced? He was still kind, and gentle, and impatient at times, although he did his best to hide it. And a part of him had always been hard, now it just seemed like that harness took over more often than not.

Had I been wrong to kill vampires for so many years? Had I been wrong to hate them because of Kate and what a few others had done? How many had I killed that were innocent? Well, as innocent as a vampire could be, anyway. How many lives had I taken to avenge a man who hadn't wanted or even needed avenging?

I tried not to think of the other things I'd killed over the years for my contract. Granted, the Tremere didn't require me to kill werewolves or fairies or sorcerers, but the Society did, and to protect Corrine I had done it without hesitation, but certainly not without regrets.

It was a beautiful morning, but I watched the people on the street broodingly. I don't get to sit idle very often; I'm usually too busy killing things for that. It should have felt good to have the sun on my face, but I only felt sorry that Mac would never know that warmth again.

Eventually I realized how very tired I was. I went back into the bedroom and got undressed before crawling into bed. I was too tired to find something to sleep in but not too tired to put a stake under my pillow.

I was sitting with Cormac on the floor of the suite's main room, looking at him intently. I leaned in close to him until our faces were almost touching and put my hand on his cheek in a gentle caress.

"I haven't known peace for twenty years," I whispered softly, pleadingly. "You said it gave you peace, Mac. Show me peace."

He leaned forward slowly, just enough for our lips to meet, giving me time to pull away if that was what I wanted. It wasn't. I closed my eyes and he kissed me gently, at first. Then I moved a little closer and he deepened the kiss. He put his arm slowly around my waist and pulled me even closer to him. I went willingly and ended up sitting on his lap, my legs to one side and my arms around his shoulders.

After a few minutes, he pulled away and looked into my eyes. My breathing was fast, almost panting, and I could feel my heart pounding. His skin was cold, but for once it didn't bother me.

"Are you sure, Elizabeth?" he asked softly.

I jumped at his use of my full name. I hadn't heard it spoken aloud since the last night we'd had together. I close my eyes and remember the nights he'd whispered it into my ear with love. "I'm sure."

He gave me a quick kiss, then gently pulled one of my arms downward until he was holding my wrist. I watched him with wide eyes as he kissed the pulse point. My hand was trembling, but I was determined to go through with this. I had to find out what it had been like for him with Dougal.

He kissed my wrist, and I caught a glimpse of his fangs just before he sank them slowly into my flesh. I expected to feel only pain, but I gasped at the pleasure it gave me. I clutched at his back for a moment with my free hand, then dropped my head to his shoulder, struggling to understand just what he was doing to me.

He drank slowly, as if savoring the taste. The erotic sensations nearly overwhelmed me and without realizing it I nipped at his shoulder. I felt my body shudder all over, and I wanted that moment to last forever.

Too soon he pulled his teeth from my skin. His tongue felt like satin dragging across the wound and the punctures closed as if they'd never existed. I took a deep shuddering breath and raised my head to look at him. His eyes were dark with desire and I smiled. He released my wrist and tangled his hand in my hair, pulling me to him for a passionate kiss.

I could taste my blood in his mouth but it only aroused me more. I moved restlessly, and felt his warm hands on the bare skin of my back. It took a moment for to realize that my blood had given him heat; my life flowed inside of him.

His skin was so soft, and I couldn't touch enough of it. I pulled at his shirt until he stopped kissing me long enough to help me lift it over his head. His hands were warm on my waist, then they moved upward, bringing my shirt with them. The air was cool on my skin and his hands felt like they were on fire as he caressed me.

I moved closer to kiss him and the feel of his skin on my body was so wonderful. I wanted more of him, I had to have more. He shifted carefully to lay me down on the rug before the fire and I ran my hands along his back. The feel of his weight was familiar to me and I welcomed it just as I had welcomed it when he was human.

A part of me remembered that he was not the man I once knew, but didn't care anymore. I knew now that I loved him, had always loved him. Making love with him felt as natural to me at that moment as it that night had years ago just before the vamps had changed our lives.

"Eliza?"

The sound of Mac calling my name brought me closer to consciousness. I smiled, still lost in the wonderful dream I'd been having.

I opened my eyes and looked toward the sound of his voice. "Mac?" I felt warm all over and wondered what he was doing so far away from the bed.

"Are you awake?"

Was I? The desire I felt for him was too real to be a dream, but something wasn't quite right. "I think so," I told him softly.

"We must be going soon."

"Where?" Wasn't everything we needed right here in this room?

"To the chantry," he explained patiently.

Talk about bad timing. "Why?"

"They are awaiting us."

"Can't they wait?" I asked. I wanted nothing more than to be back in his arms. Anything else could wait or go to hell.

"We were supposed to go last night," he replied, his patience obviously at an end.

I rolled toward the door and he looked away. "Why are you in such a big rush?"

"It is important that we go." His voice seemed rather hard for what we'd just been doing. How could he turn himself off so quickly?

"So we go later," I suggested.

"Do you know where we are Eliza?" he asked suddenly.

"We're in a bedroom," I said, stating what I felt was the obvious. "And you're all the way across the room."

"Do you know what city we're in?"

What, did he think I was the one with amnesia now? "Paris."

"Do you remember why we are here?"

Dougal. Mac's memory. As if I could forget. "Yeah."

"That is why I'm going to the chantry."

"Back to that all work and no play thing," I said, my voice rough with disappointment.

"I don't recall ever having left it," he said as he turned to go.

I sat up and rubbed the last of the sleep from my eyes. I turned and rolled over onto my stomach to reach for the light on the bed stand.

"Are you coming or not?" he asked from the doorway.

"Give me a minute," I said louder. As I heard the door shut, I realized that the blanket had fallen to my waist, leaving me completely exposed. "Hell, he wasn't looking anyway," I told myself as I got out of bed. The cold air on my skin finally made me realize that what I'd thought was reality had only been a dream.

I cursed softly as it occurred to me what Mac most likely thought of me after my pitiful ramblings. Hell, he probably thought I was some kind of… something I definitely wasn't. I couldn't remember the last time I'd even thought about sex, let alone felt the passion I'd felt for him in my dream. Actually, now that I thought about it I could remember the last time I'd felt that way; it was that last night with Mac in Baltimore.

Thinking about that night brought the heat of the dream rushing back to me. I knew if I hadn't woken up, we would have made love in my dream. I wondered what would have happened if Mac had crossed the room tonight and joined me on the bed.

I stalked to the bathroom, angry with myself for allowing the easy life I'd lived the last few days let me wake so slowly, and with Mac for not coming to bed with me.

Now that the desire that had clogged my mind was clearing, I tried to think about the other part of the dream objectively. Would I really feel like that if Mac bit me, or was the passion I'd felt a product of my dreaming mind? If that was what people felt when vamps drank from them, no wonder the fiends had blood dolls lined up just waiting to be the main course.

I splashed water on my face to clear my head and wished for caffeine to wake up my mind. The thought of coffee made me realize I was hungry. It was the first time I'd actually wanted food in a week.

I stopped and looked at myself in the mirror, really looked. I'd lost weight since Mac had come back into my life, weight I couldn't really afford to lose. And despite the long hours of sleep I'd had today, I still looked worn. No wonder Mac hadn't wanted to join me. Who wanted to roll around with a damn scarecrow?

I got dressed and brushed my hair and teeth, then armed myself. When I joined Mac in the sitting room, he was on the phone. The daisies were still on the low table, and I looked at them for a long moment before walking to the balcony doors and looking out into the night.

"Are you ready?" Mac asked when he'd hung up the phone.

"Yes," I said, turning. He opened the door and as I crossed the room I asked, "Think we could stop for food?"

"If you'd like."

"Sure. Isn't there a McDonald's just down the road?"

"Yes," he replied. "They have espressos."

I suppressed a shudder. "No," I said firmly. "Coffee. Their coffee was good." I walked past him into the hall and waited whiled he knocked at Jax's room.

When the ghoul opened the door, Mac asked if he were ready. Within minutes we were on our way.

"We need to stop at McDonalds," Mac told Jax when we reached the car. "Eliza is hungry." He almost made it sound as if that had never happened before.

While we were waiting for our food, Jax asked where we were going.

"The Sorbone," Mac told him.

"Oh, we're visiting the chantry?" I'd forgotten that Jax had been to Paris before.

"Yes, the Napoleon lot. Ignatius will have someone waiting for us," Mac said.

"Very good." The ghoul turned to get our order and as he handed me my food, I smiled.

"Jax, maybe tomorrow morning we could hit this place up again," I suggested. "Maybe in time to get an egg McMuffin or something. You know, the whole breakfast thing."

"Or we could have it room serviced up," he replied.

"Hey, that's a plan." I took a sip of the coffee closed my eyes at the rich flavor on my tongue.

"Yeah," Jax agreed as he pulled the wrapper from his burger.

Mac made some kind of noise low in his throat. I smiled. "Want some coffee, Mac?" I asked as pleasantly as I could. I wondered if he'd eaten tonight, trying to avoid thinking about my dream.

"No, thank you," he replied firmly.

"Are you sure? It's good coffee. Much better than that shit you made in Berlin."

"The shit I made would do me more good than that," he said cryptically.

I shot him a puzzled look he didn't turn around to see it. I shrugged and began eating.

Jax drove through the busy traffic to the Sorbone, where he pulled into a large parking lot. On one side of the lot, a woman stood under a tree watching as Jax parked the car nearby.

"I wonder if that's the person who's supposed to meet us," he said softly. "She's a ghoul."

Mac shot Jax a questioning look. "I believe so, yes."

"Do you want me to go talk to her?" he asked as he turned off the car.

"Please."

While I watched Jax talking to the woman, I asked, "Do you have one of those handy dandy pocket translators like you had in Germany?"

"Not for French," he replied. "I haven't had occasion to pick one up."

"We're here," I pointed out as Jax approached the car. "I think it's the occasion."

Jax opened the car door for Cormac to get out. "The girl's name is Zoe," he said him as he shut the car door. "She's been sent to meet us and take us to the chantry."

"Very well," Mac said, looking in the woman's direction.

As soon as I realized that Jax was reaching for my door, I opened it. I wasn't a vamp, and I didn't want him to think he had to cater to me as if I were.

"She doesn't speak English," Jax said as we approached Zoe.

He introduced us to her, and as she shook Mac's hand I looked out over the grounds of the university, trying to stay alert for danger. When the woman said something in French, Jax told us that she wanted us to follow her.

She led us through footpaths of the university to an unremarkable building nearby. Inside we went into an elevator where she opened a panel and punched in a code on a keypad. When the elevator started going down, Zoe and Jax turned to face the back wall. After a moment, Mac and I did too.

The back of the elevator opened to reveal a stone corridor that looked very old, but very well taken care of. Tapestries lined the walls, and two ghouls stood at attention across from the elevator. Zoe talked to them for a moment, then led us around a corner and into a small waiting room. A couch and chair lined one wall, and a television and bookcase took up two others. Zoe spoke for a moment before she left us alone.

"We've been asked to wait in here," Jax told us, walking over to sit down in the chair. "Ignatius will be with us shortly."