Free In Memories We Fear by Barb Hendee Page B

said, moving more quickly to walk beside him. “Show me Neal Street.”
    His eyes cleared, and he pointed. “That way.”
    She followed him to a dark street, lit only by the shop windows, and she could see why he liked it here. A busy nightclub graced the entrance, but once they’d walked past, she spotted a more interesting array of choices, including a small store devoted to books on astrology and a tea shop where a lattice-styled window made up the entire front wall.
    “This used to be nothing but warehouses,” Philip said. “I hunted a good deal down here, and I can still remember when the change began.”
    Everything but the nightclub was closed at this hour, and Eleisha wondered how Philip was going to hunt down here now. There were no parking garages where he could lure someone into a car. The restrooms at the nightclub would be packed, so they were out of the question.
    Something seemed to catch his eye, and walking up to the front of the tea shop, he looked through the lattice window. She followed. Although the place was closed, the inside was well lit, and a large man stood working on a display near the back wall.
    Philip suddenly turned to Eleisha and grasped her wrist. He rarely touched her unless they were sleeping, so the action took her back slightly.
    “I don’t want to play any games tonight,” he said. “But I want you to stay with me . . . to stay inside my head while I’m feeding, as you did when you first taught me. I miss that.”
    She stared at him in the darkness. While she’d been training him how to alter a victim’s memory, she’d joined her thoughts to his in order to monitor him—and to take over in case he faltered or failed in the attempt. She always assumed he viewed the act as intrusive. But he missed it?
    “Okay,” she said uncertainly.
    “Now. Come inside my head now.”
    What was the matter with him? This was hardly like Philip. But she’d do anything he asked, anything to make him happy, and she reached out with her mind. Right away, she could feel him putting up a block against sharing any of his own memories. He just wanted her to see his immediate thoughts.
    He knocked on the window lightly.
    The man inside turned with an annoyed expression, waved Philip away, and mouthed the word “closed.”
    Let them in, Philip flashed into the man’s head. They will spend big and leave quickly .
    Eleisha was surprised by his precision and control. He planted the suggestion almost effortlessly. The shopkeeper walked to the door and opened it. Philip turned on his gift.
    “Thank you,” he said in his thick accent. “We hoped to buy some decent tea before going back to our hotel.”
    Eleisha had expected him to choose a large man tonight—as he wanted to take in as much blood as possible. But Philip’s gift worked differently on most men than it did on women. Men were sort of . . . awed by him, basking in his company as if his aura of attraction would rub off. But Eleisha could feel it sinking under her skin, making her see how perfect Philip was, how much she wanted to touch him. She shook her head hard, fighting to clear it. This was one of the reasons she’d begun hanging back when he hunted. His gift was too strong.
    “Come in,” the shopkeeper said, locking the door behind them. “I was just tidying up for tomorrow.”
    The walls inside were covered in shelves and cub-bies holding every kind of tea Eleisha could imagine. All around her stood little tables covered with a variety of pots, cups, and strainers. Philip walked straight to the back of the shop and around a dividing wall, out of sight of the window.
    “Do you keep the imported oolong back here?” he asked.
    The man had hardly noticed Eleisha; he was too focused on Philip. She kept her gift turned off, letting Philip completely run this show.
    Stay inside my head, he flashed to her.
    She didn’t understand why he wanted this, but she stayed inside his mind, still struggling to hold his gift at bay.
    The