Jane and Byron knelt behind the peony bushes at the south end of Walter’s yard. Very old and very large, the bushes sported huge pink and white flowers, and their dark green leaves provided excellent screening from the house. The only drawback was the bees, which buzzed sleepily around the flowers like tiny astronauts exploring new worlds. Jane eyed them warily as she peered through the bushes.
“Tell me again why we can’t just go invisible,” she said. When Byron had suggested the mission to her earlier that day she’d assumed they would make use of their ability to disappear. He, however, had insisted on maintaining corporeality.
“It’s difficult to use two abilities at once,” he said. “For instance, invisibility and glamoring. You end up making both weaker. You can do it, but it takes practice.”
“But you’ve had a great deal of practice,” Jane reminded him.
“Not with this particular ability,” said Byron. “I’ve done it, but not often.”
Their conversation was cut short by the opening of the back door. Miriam appeared on the porch, and a moment later Lilith descended the short flight of stairs into the back garden. She ran using her peculiar three-legged hop into the grass, where she began sniffing around.
“This is a terrible idea,” Jane whispered. “Miriam is watching. There’s no way we’ll be able to get the dog.”
“Just be quiet,” said Byron. “And have the bag ready.”
Jane was holding a pet carrier of the kind used to take cats or small dogs on airplanes. Entrance was through a rectangular opening on the top, and mesh panels on all four sides let in air. The bag was unzipped and waiting.
Lilith had moved farther away from the porch. Miriam watched her as she explored the garden. “Go pee, sweetie,” she called out to the Chihuahua.
Lilith ignored her, smelling a clump of lavender and moving on. She spied a butterfly and barked at it, sending it fluttering away. Lilith chased it as it came toward the peonies.
“Just a little more,” Byron said softly.
“Lilith!” Miriam called. “Not too far!”
“Shut up, old woman,” Byron hissed.
Lilith was only a few feet away now. The butterfly had flown off, but the little dog had found something new to investigate. She’s a nosy thing, Jane thought. No wonder Miriam uses her as a spy.
Miriam’s voice rang out again. “I’m going to get my hat,” she shouted. “You stay right here.”
“Now’s our chance,” said Byron. “Ready?”
Jane nodded. As the back door shut Byron reached through the bushes and grabbed Lilith. The dog gave a sharp yip and tried to bite his hand, but Byron held tightly as he pulled her through the leaves and dropped her into the open bag. Jane zipped it shut as Lilith snapped at her fingers.
“Go!” Byron said.
They dashed out of the garden and made their way around the side of the house. Byron’s car was parked on the street parallel to Walter’s, and they had to cut through a neighboring yard to reach it.
Jane jumped into the front seat just as Miriam’s voice rang out. “Lilith! Lilith!” she cried. “Come here!”
In the bag Lilith growled. Byron started the car, drowning her out, and drove off with a whoop of triumph. “We got her!” he said.
“But what are we going to do with her?” asked Jane.
“I told you, we’re going to interrogate her,” Byron replied.
“I thought you were being metaphorical,” Jane said. “You’re serious?”
“Of course,” said Byron. “I told you, we can communicate with animals. What did you think I was doing back there?”
“Sitting behind a bush,” Jane said.
“I was using my ability to call the dog,” Byron said. “Honestly, do you ever listen to me? When I said I was going to use an ability, which one did you think I meant?”
“It’s just that I didn’t hear you,” Jane explained.
“That’s because it’s all done in here,” said Byron, tapping his head. “You don’t actually speak to them. Well, you can, but why bother when you can do it psychically?”
“So what has Lilith told you?” Jane asked.
“Nothing yet,” said Byron. “I used a very gentle call to get her to come to us. I haven’t actually spoken with her yet.”
“Miriam is going to be frantic,” Jane said. “I feel bad for Walter. She’ll probably make him drive all over town looking for the dog.”
“That’s not our problem,” Byron said. “We just need to find out what she knows.”
Because they suspected that Miriam and Beverly might be watching their houses, and because they didn’t want to cast suspicion on Lucy or the twins by involving them in the dognapping, Jane and Byron had rented a room at a motel outside of town. They went there now, parking the car behind the main building and walking quickly to room 119. Lilith had stopped growling and was now resting quietly in the carrier.
Once inside, Jane set the carrier on the room’s lone queen-size bed as Byron drew the curtains closed. He then turned on the overhead light, casting a yellow glow over the walls, which were painted a sickly coral color. It also did no favors for the faded brown carpet, although for some reason it improved the painting affixed to the wall over the bed—a poorly done scene of what Jane imagined was supposed to be a Mexican village market.
“Let her out,” Byron told Jane, with a wave at the pet carrier.
Jane glanced at the carrier. “Are you sure?”
Byron nodded.
Jane approached the bed and reached for the zipper on the top of the carrier. Lilith remained quiet. Cautiously, Jane unzipped one side, then an end, and then the remaining side. As soon as the carrier was open Lilith sprang out with a loud growl, landing on the hideous pink-and-brown-striped bedspread. Her three legs acting as a tripod, she glared at Byron and Jane, her teeth bared and her small ears sticking up. Jane backed away, but Byron calmly sat in one of the room’s two tattered armchairs.
“Now then,” he said. “Let’s give this a try. Jane, you should be able to listen in.”
“Me?” said Jane. “I can’t communicate with animals.”
“I believe you can,” Byron replied. “Tom and Jasper tell me they sometimes get flashes of it from you.”
“Tom and Jasper?” said Jane, shocked. “My cat and my dog talk to you about me?”
“Don’t worry,” Byron said. “They haven’t said anything unpleasant. To the contrary, they’re both fond of you. Although Tom would like you to know that he doesn’t appreciate being called Mr. Fuzzybum. Just so you know.”
Jane wanted to find out what else they’d said about her, but Byron was focused on Lilith, so instead she asked, “What do I do?”
“It’s similar to when you go invisible,” said Byron. “Empty your mind and focus on Lilith. Let her thoughts enter your mind.”
“That’s a little vague,” Jane said, taking a seat in the other chair and keeping her eyes on Lilith, who was looking from Jane to Byron as if deciding which would be easiest to take down.
“It’s one of those things that can’t really be explained,” said Byron. “It either happens or it doesn’t. It helps if you make eye contact with the animal.”
Jane tried. She looked into Lilith’s eyes and tried to empty her mind. At first all she heard was the little dog’s growl. But after a minute or two she thought she understood some words. She concentrated harder and the words came again.
“Oh my,” Jane said. “That wasn’t very nice.”
“So you heard that,” said Byron. “She has a filthy mouth for such a cute dog. Were you able to hear what I asked her?”
Jane shook her head.
“Try again,” Byron said.
Jane took a deep breath and once again focused on Lilith’s eyes. For a few seconds she heard what sounded like static. Then Byron’s voice cut through.
“Who is Miriam Ellenberg?” he asked.
“You know who she is,” said a high, thin voice that could only be Lilith’s.
“What is Miriam Ellenberg?” asked Byron.
“Why should I tell you anything?” Lilith replied.
“Because if you don’t I’m going to put you back in that carrier and toss it into the river,” Byron told the little dog.
Jane was horrified. He wouldn’t do that, she thought.
“Good to know,” said Lilith. “Thank you, Jane.”
“You’re wel—” Jane began.
“Jane!” Byron’s voice was sharp. “A little discretion, if you please!”
“Sorry,” Jane said aloud.
“Don’t speak!” said Byron. “Just think. Only don’t think about anything you don’t want overheard.”
Immediately Jane began thinking about exactly those things.
“Ted and Ned?” Lilith said.
“Stop thinking!” Byron commanded. “Or focus on something to mask your thoughts. A poem or song, anything to occupy your mind.”
“She really isn’t very good at this, is she?” Lilith remarked.
Jane thought quickly, searching her mind for something to distract her from thinking about things she shouldn’t. She suddenly could remember not a single nursery rhyme or song, and although she searched and searched for a poem with which to occupy herself, the only lines she could recall came from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, which she’d learned as a child. It will have to do, she told herself, and began to recite them in her head.
She found to her dismay that she could remember no more. She said the lines again, hoping that would jar her memory, but it did not. Worse, it made her think of her siblings, with whom she had learned the verses and performed them for their parents, eliciting much laughter with their attempts at Middle English.
Don’t think about them, she thought even as she failed in this. Her own name—her real name—was threatening to reveal itself, and this she could not allow. If Lilith discovered her identity, then surely Miriam would, and no good could come of that.
Name the monarchs. The suggestion came to her as if Cassie herself had spoken the words. It was a challenge their father had set for them, listing all the rulers of England in chronological order. Jane and Cassie had often used the game as a way to make themselves fall asleep. Now Jane used it to keep her true thoughts hidden from Lilith.
Egbert, she began, surprised at how quickly it came to her. Ethelwulf. Aethelbald. Ethelbert. Ethelred. Her memory faltered here, but after a few moments she recalled the next ruler. Alfred the Great. Edward the Elder. Athelstan. Edmund. Eadred. Eadwig. Edgar. Edward the Martyr. Another Ethelred, this one the Unready. Edmund Ironside. Canute.
“Jane!”
Byron’s voice made her start, and she looked over at him.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Not thinking,” said Jane.
“You’re also not listening,” Byron said. “You were just supposed to distract yourself long enough to focus on what we’re doing.”
“Oh,” Jane said. “Sorry. Um, what are we doing?”
“Asking questions,” said Byron.
“Right,” Jane said. She straightened herself in her chair and once more looked at Lilith. The little dog was now lying down, her one front leg stretched out in front of her. She was no longer growling. “What are we talking about?”
“You were trying not to think about being Jane Austen,” Lilith said. “So much for that.”
“Damn it!” Jane said, hitting the arm of her chair with a fist.
“Nothing to be done about it now,” said Byron. “Anyway, Lilith has given me some very interesting information.”
“Such as?” Jane asked. She was very annoyed at having given herself away, and only half cared about what Byron was saying.
“As I suspected, Miriam is a hunter,” he said.
“She was recruited in 1962 by a college professor,” said Lilith. “She was studying ancient history and showed particular interest in the Sumerian legends of the undead. Gradually her mentor introduced her to the truth about vampires, and eventually she trained with six others, including Lee Harvey Oswald.”
“Oswald?” Jane said. “The man who assassinated John F. Kennedy?”
“Yes,” said Lilith.
“Are you saying Kennedy was a vampire?”
“And people thought his being Catholic was a problem,” Byron remarked.
“Oswald thought he was,” Lilith said. “Miriam didn’t. Anyway, that’s not important.”
“So how did you get involved with her?” Jane asked.
“The story she told you is true,” said Lilith. “She found me in Jerusalem. Actually, she rescued me from a vampire who had decided I would make a nice dinner. That’s where my leg went.”
Jane felt instant sympathy for the little dog and reached out to pet her. Lilith snarled and jumped back. “Don’t touch me, fang face!” she said.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Jane said.
“Right,” said Lilith. “You just like to stuff little dogs in boxes.”
“We had to talk to you,” Byron said. “Would you have come if we’d asked?”
Lilith eyed him suspiciously. “That depends,” she said. “What do you have?”
“What do you mean, what do I have?” Byron asked.
“Just because I don’t like your kind doesn’t mean I can’t be bought,” said Lilith. “I’m a mercenary. I go where the money is.”
“What about your allegiance to the Ellenberg woman?” said Byron. “You’d betray her?”
“I’ve already repaid her a dozen times,” Lilith said. “I’ve helped her find and stake vamps all over the country. I don’t owe her anything.”
“Then why stay with her?” Jane asked.
“The food’s good,” said Lilith. “And I like to travel.”
Byron chuckled. “I like this one,” he said to Jane. To Lilith he said, “What’s your price?”
Lilith blinked and licked her paw. “Like I said, what have you got?”
Byron smiled. “How about bacon?” he said.
Lilith looked up. “I’m listening,” she said.
“I imagine Miriam never gives you bacon,” said Byron. “You know, what with keeping kosher and all. Am I right?”
“You’re not wrong,” Lilith told him.
Byron nodded. “Then how about this. For every piece of solid information you give us about what Miriam and her defanged stooge are up to, we’ll give you a quarter pound of premium hickory-smoked bacon.”
Lilith licked her chops, and Jane sensed her thoughts humming busily. She’s thinking about it, Jane told herself.
“Half a pound,” Lilith said. “And you cook it for me.”
“Naturally,” said Byron. “Then we have a deal?”
“I’m still her dog,” Lilith said. “Well, as much as I’m anyone’s. So don’t think I’m on your side. You’re buying information, that’s it.”
“That’s all we want,” said Byron.
“Then we have a deal,” Lilith told him.
Byron grinned. “Excellent,” he said.
Lilith stood up and shook herself. “Now get me out of here,” she said. “Miriam’s probably freaking out.”
Jane got up and went to the carrier.
“Uh-uh,” Lilith said. “This time you carry me.”
“May I pick you up?” Jane asked.
Lilith nodded. Jane scooped the dog up and held her to her chest. Lilith turned her head and looked up. “Jane Austen,” she said as Jane walked to the door. “If Miriam knew this, she’d stake you on the spot. She hates your books.”
“What about you?” Jane asked. “Do you like them?”
Lilith cocked her head. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “Who ever heard of a dog that could read?”