Free Cloud City (Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles) by Jeanne Stein Page B

us?”
    Jonathan looks at the watch on his wrist as if seeing it for the first time. “Hmmm. Patek Philippe. At least Prendergast had good taste. It’s only eleven fifteen. She’ll be here.”
    “So what did you two decide? Will you go to New York or…?” I realize I don’t know where Leticia was when Sophie conjured here in Leadville. “Where were you last night, Leticia, before Sophie yanked you away.”
    Leticia laughs. “Good description of what happened. I was at my summer place in the Hamptons. In the middle of a party. I imagine they’re still talking about my disappearance. Luckily they know how mercurial I am. Probably thought I decided to jet off to my place in Paris or Lisbon.”
    “Nice life. I guess you were right when you told Jonathan money would be no object.”
    “I’ve invested wisely,” she says modestly.
    “Anyway, we’ll go to New York from here. Check out Prendergast’s offices and home. Jonathan did a little snooping on his computer last night. He has some interesting projects in the works. Might be fun to live his life for a little while.”
    Jonathan grins. “First, though, there’s a fiancé I have to dump.”
    “I offered to help with that,” Leticia says. “But he think it would be better if he handled it himself. I might be too—forceful.”
    If I have to spend any more time with these two lovebirds, I’m going to hurl. I start to rise, then remember something from yesterday. “I overheard Prendergast speaking to his assistant yesterday. Her name is Nancy if that’s any help.”
    “Yeah, I got that from office email,” Jonathan says. “There were some personnel records, too, so I’m not going in completely blind.”
    I watch Jonathan slipping into another person’s life as easily as he slipped into Prendergast’s Gucci loafers. “Don’t you feel guilty?” I ask.
    He lifts a shoulder in a half-shrug. “Prendergast is gone. He probably would have died soon anyway. His heart was bad. Mine is not. And don’t forget, none of this was my doing. Sophie orchestrated all of it. If anyone should feel guilty, I’d say it was Sophie.” 
    And me? I let it happen without interfering.
    A little voice sets my spidey sense to tingling. Vampire reminds me: It may not be over yet.
    Magic always exacts a price.
     

 
    CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
     
    “Do you think we should check on Sophie?” I ask when eleven thirty comes and goes and there’s still no sign of her.
    Jonathan extracts himself from the chair. He’s so tightly wedged in beside Leticia that I expect his rising to produce a giant sucking sound as he gets up. “I’ll go use the house phone,” he says. “See what’s keeping her.”
    Leticia and I wait in silence for his return. She has a wonderfully giddy expression on her face as she watches him cross the room. She’s in love.
    Bitch.
    No. That’s not fair. She’s been given a second chance and she’s not going to waste it. My skin prickles with envy.
    Jonathan rejoins us. “That’s odd,” he says. “There’s no answer.”
    But before we can comment, the elevator door opens.
    Sophie’s eyes scan the lobby. When she spots us, she starts over.
    Not the Sophie I left last night. Not the young, beautiful girl with shiny hair and sparkling eyes.
    My breath catches. I hear Jonathan and Leticia gasp, too.
    Only Sophie is smiling as if nothing is wrong. “It’s all right,” she says.
    But is it? This Sophie walks with a slight stoop, her face lined and wrinkled, her hair gone white. Even her eyes are changed. Not the color, they’re still deep blue. But yesterday Sophie’s eyes were hard and stormy with discontent. Today they twinkle with contentment.
    She exudes tranquility and the stillness of inner peace.
    Leticia jumps up and offers Sophie her chair. Sophie sinks into it with a sigh.
    “You look so troubled,” she says quietly. “Don’t be. I expected this might happen.”
    Jonathan crouches down and takes her hand. “But you didn’t look…” He