Silent bite deadly night.., p.1
Silent Bite Deadly Night (Kindred, Book 14), page 1
SILENT BITE DEADLY NIGHT
Kindred Book Fourteen
NICOLA CLAIRE
Copyright © 2023, Nicola Claire
All Rights Reserved
© Cover Art by Cora Graphics
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organisations is entirely coincidental.
All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.
www.nicolaclairebooks.com
ISBN: 978-1-99-117224-2
CONTENTS
Foreword
1. Awakening Darkness
2. Sudden Exposure
3. Amidst The Turmoil
4. Unveiling the Truth
5. Clash of Titans
6. Uneasy Truce
7. Light Prevails
Review Request
Reading Order
Definitions
About the Author
Also By Nicola Claire
FOREWORD
Hello Kindred-ites!
There’s a slight change in the formatting of the books in this series. We’ve moved a few things from the front of the book to the back, so online store samples give you more of the meat of the story.
You’ll find the following in the backmatter now:
Kindred World Reading Order
Definitions
About The Author
Also By Nicola Claire
I hope this helps you navigate the book. I’ve got nothing for you on how to navigate the story. That one’s on the characters, and sometimes they don’t play ball. ;)
Good luck!
Nicola
DESCRIPTION
Ever wondered how the Norm War started? Now's your chance to find out. This Christmas Special Novella (approx. 23,000 words) from Michel's POV is set between DREAMING OF A BLOOD RED CHRISTMAS and DARKLIGHT. A sweet surprise full of a few Kindred secrets, wrapped up in a Michel package, just in time for Christmas.
"Lucinda smiles that soft smile of hers, the one that tells me she has a secret. I would die a thousand Final Deaths to know all of her secrets. I have caused a thousand more to keep them secret for her. I had not realised that love could be so beautifully brutal until I met Lucinda. I had not realised a vampyre could love to such a degree at all."
It's Christmas and something is troubling Michel Durand. His Kindred cannot feel it. His line of master vampires do not sense it. The Iunctio Council is blind to its draw. But Michel knows something dark and dangerous is approaching.
And then the Norms — the humans — start a war.
In this quick glimpse into the Kindred World, we see Michel as we've always loved him. Powerful. Sexy. Hungry. Masterful. Commanding. Alluring. And in love with the Kindred who stands at his side.
A short story to say thank you from the author of the Kindred Series. Enjoy! And thanks for loving Michel & Luce as much as I do.
For: The hardcore Kindred fans who never stopped wanting more.
Thank you.
The Prophecy
Dark and Light shall fight one night
As frost meets fire in their dark desires
When carolers sing for one and all.
Blood shall spill upon the gods' goodwill
As silent their bite and deadly the night
When white bleeds red for one and all.
Hark! The heralds sing the awakening
As a star shines bright on the holiest of nights
When Light prevails for one and all.
CHAPTER 1
AWAKENING DARKNESS
A wise vampyre once told me it is not the eye of the storm we should fear, but the utter lack of any storm at all on our horizon. A lesser man might have thought Neagoe Basarab spoke of the calm before a storm with that warning. But the Renaissance vampyre wielded words like swords, with ruthless and deadly precision; so I'd known better.
No, my old friend and mentor warned of the insidious nature of peace when he spoke those words. Not a hard-fought-for peace, mind you, but the kind of peace that crept up on a vampyre and then took them unawares.
We had been living in that kind of peace for almost two decades.
Outside my office, I can hear the twins playing a competitive video game in the lounge. At least, I can hear Éliane and the game's soundtrack playing. Lucien saves his words for when they might aid him. Nothing or no one can save him from his sister when she is like this, so he doesn't bother with words that often. Neagoe would have said that is the sign of an enlightened mind. Lucinda believes it is a sign of Éliane's intimidating nature.
Our daughter is not afraid of a fight, but that does not make her a bully. And especially not a bully toward her brother. Intimidating, though, she can be.
Even to the Champion of the Iunctio Council on occasion.
At almost sweet sixteen, I fear for the boys who show any hint of interest in her as they are twice damned. For one, I am a formidable hurdle to their goals. For another, Éliane will accept only perfection in a suitor. I sometimes wonder if she sees that perfection in Alain. I do hope not.
None, not even my very competent spymaster, would be good enough for my Ellie.
I shake my head and swipe the screen on my tablet to the next report; wondering why today of all days I have been reminded of Neagoe and diplomacy. I am not naturally a diplomatic vampyre. I am the Champion of the Iunctio, and even if one believes the supernatural council should be a diplomatic body, it cannot be denied that we are vampyre and diplomacy is rarely a consideration even when we are at peace.
Why now? Why do the memories haunt me now?
I sigh and close the report I am failing to read. Turning my chair, I face the night through my floor-to-ceiling office window. We're twenty-odd storeys up in the Plaza Hotel; the penthouse suite in fact. There are no apartments above ours. From here, I can see all of Vampire Central as it lays claim to Auckland City. The vampyres I protect prowl the night below my perch, the moon a gibbous source of white light to guide them.
It has been too long since I last saw the sun's golden rays.
Perhaps I am tired and that is why I am remembering thoughts better left to decay.
Perhaps I require sustenance, but I do not feel hungry. I feel…
Éliane lets out a cry of triumph, interrupting my Dark thoughts. She has clearly won the battle with her brother. I hear him quietly congratulate her. Such a steadfast boy. And then I hear his sister tell him how he could have fought better.
For Ellie, life is a game to be won and she sets out to win every encounter. She cannot fathom that anyone else would act or think differently than her. She is my pride and joy, although she does try my patience. But is that not a father's lot in life?
The soft sound of bare feet padding on the carpet reach me, and the scent of my Kindred and mate engulfs me. I am instantly awake — alive — and now the hunger surges. A vampyre without a mate is a sad creature. A vampyre without a Kindred…
There are no words.
Lucinda smiles that soft smile of hers, the one that tells me she has a secret. I would die a thousand Final Deaths to know all of her secrets. I have caused a thousand more to keep them secret for her. I had not realised that love could be so beautifully brutal until I met Lucinda. I had not realised a vampyre could love to such a degree at all.
"Whatcha doing?" she asks; her Kiwi accent a familiar balm to me.
"Trying and failing to read reports," I say, holding out my hand for her to come closer.
I crave her nearness. I crave her touch and scent. I crave her in ways I cannot show her until we are alone in our bedroom for the day.
I do not regret our children. How could I? But I do miss the spontaneity of our former years. Our time living in St Heliers. Away from all of this. Carefree. Uninhibited. Just us and our whims and desires in a home we strove to make our own; to leave our mark on it.
Such whimsical thoughts. Such uninvited fantasies. I am the Champion of the Iunctio. Duty must come first.
I pull my Kindred onto my lap and nuzzle her neck, despite the reprimand I have just administered myself. A few moments to commune with my mate can be forgiven, I think. Is it not best to be at my full strength for the upcoming council meeting?
"I can feel you," she says, her head tipped back as I lavish kisses along her collarbone.
"I should certainly hope so," I murmur against her pale skin.
"No, not that," she corrects, wriggling on my lap in ways that could get us both in trouble. "Your emotions. Something's bothering you."
I pull back and stare into hazel eyes that speak to my soul. I had not realised I was bothered by something. Everyday life can be bothersome. Wrangling a dozen councillors into something resembling a coherent and capable board is bothersome to some degree. Heading a line of powerful vampires, liaising with the Master of the City, dealing with humans who know nothing of our world, and raising two inquisitive and uniquely special children. All of it can be bothersome, but I had not realised that something amongst the list of daily responsibilities had become more bothersome than usual.
My eyes track to the tablet computer I had been using and the report I'd failed to complete.
"Yes," I say slowly. "Something is bothering me."< br />
"Wanna talk about it?" Lucinda asks.
"Not yet, ma douce. My thoughts have not coalesced sufficiently."
"Alrighty. Well, I've got a meeting with a new Nosferatin wanting to work in the city. Catch ya later for dinner?"
Hers and mine, and maybe if we are lucky, a moment of privacy to enjoy both.
"Certainly."
She kisses me. I kiss her back. For a moment, there is nothing in this world that can bother me. Nothing.
And then she is up and gone, a fresh wash of her delicious scent invading my senses, calming me.
My eyes land on the tablet computer again. Just what has subconsciously garnered my attention?
I reach for the pad just as Éliane knocks on the frame of my office's open door.
"Papa? Have you got a minute?"
"For you, ma petite belle, of course."
She rolls her eyes at the oft-used endearment. Éliane would prefer I call her a warrior, not a princess. She is both, of course, and moments to reflect on that dichotomy are becoming less and less frequent as she matures into the woman she will one day be.
Ellie skips into the room, bringing the song of youth along with her. Oh, to have such energy.
"I think it's time I started learning to defend myself properly," she says. "Me and Luc, of course. Both of us."
"Do you?"
"Yes. We're almost sixteen, and we should be able to take care of ourselves by now. It's time to have some self-defence lessons."
Does she think I am not aware of their lessons with her mother?
"What sort of self-defence would you like to learn?"
"How to defend against a vampire, of course. That's a given. Also, maybe, how to fight a little dirty."
"A little dirty? That is not appropriate for one of your stature."
"I disagree. I may be the Champion's daughter, but I am also half-Nosferatin. Vampires will wish to claim me."
Oh, how right she is, but not solely for the reasons she envisages.
"I see," I say, leaning back in my seat. "And who do you suggest should train you both?"
"Well, Alain is a good fighter."
And therein lies the rub.
"Alain is a busy vampyre."
"I know, but it would only be for an hour or so a night. Luc and I can then practice with each other."
"You know as well I that your brother's fighting style is not complementary to your own, Éliane."
She shrugs. "He needs to be able to defend himself against someone like me."
"Someone like you?"
She bites her lower lip. "Someone aggressive."
"You see yourself as aggressive?" She nods. I sigh. "Éliane," I say. "I am aware you know how to wield a Svante sword. I am also aware that you possess two silver stakes and, when not in our apartment, wear them constantly. Do you honestly believe your mother and I would not talk?"
"No, sir."
I wave my hand through the air to dismiss the overly respectful reply. My daughter knows how to de-escalate things. One might even call it a form of manipulation.
"I will have a word with Marcus and Matthias," I say. "Perhaps they know of someone who can broaden your fighting techniques." It is time, even if a part of me is lamenting the loss of my little prince and princess.
"Merci, Papa. Merci!" she says and rushes to my side to kiss my cheek. And then, much like her mother, she is gone again in a soft wash of her signature scent and the enthusiastic motions of the irrepressible youth that she still is.
I send a thought to Matthias to organise something constructive with Marcus for the twins. I shall endeavour to keep Alain and Ellie separate for as long as I can. Absence does make the heart grow fonder and there may be a time when that fondness is much-needed.
I turn my attention back to the report. It is from the Ambrosia's Guard. An observation that has, now that I think concertedly about it, been repeated a few times by other councillors' Guards recently. Humans — Norms — have vivid imaginations. It is difficult to keep abreast of all of their wild ideas. But we do watch out for the most fervent groupings of those ideas among them. When first I became a vampyre, it was witchcraft the Iunctio was concerned with. Not actual witches. We had a working relationship with them. But the humans who thought themselves witches.
Over the centuries there have been wars and uprisings, religions and cults, powerful and ruthless leaders, conquerors and opportunists, explorers and adventurers. Many have danced with mysticism, dabbled in the occult, and revered the mythical. Some have touched on our existence and felt around the edges of our world. But none have ever crossed into it.
When one such group rises, Darkness can often be felt. I would have expected Lucinda to have sensed such a rise in Darkness, however. So, I am not sure why my thoughts have alighted on such a notion. Why this report among all the reports I receive daily should make me think something is amiss with the Norms.
There is no one thing, just a general foreboding. I am not a fanciful vampyre. I am goal oriented. My life has been sworn to protect and maintain our world. Survive at all costs is as much a part of me as my love for the twins and their mother. To achieve that ideal, I have attained the highest position possible in our society and steadfastly work to ensure the supernatural is kept sacrosanct from Norms.
But this report has appeared across my desk in bold letters and flashing lights, consuming my thoughts and yet, it speaks of suspicion and not fact. A concern, not a grievance. It is puzzling.
I check the time. I must head to the council chambers to gauge the mood of the room before the meeting starts. Perhaps I can sound out the Ambrosia regarding his vampyre's report. Perhaps my fears shall be assuaged with the mundane monotony of the meeting of minds with nothing urgent or untoward to put forward.
It is wishful thinking and I am not given to that often either.
Six of the twelve councillors are already in attendance once I make the chamber itself. Lucinda is of course busy with Nosferatin-related issues, and Gregor is unable to attend due to his responsibilities in Wellington. The others will arrive in due course. I search the room, after offering greetings to those nearest me, and spot the Ambrosia. He does not seem surprised to see me approach.
"Good evening, Champion," the oldest vampyre I know greets.
"Good evening, Ambrosia," I reply. There is a sense of unease pervading the room, I realise. A combined feeling of disquiet. The Ambrosia's nearness helps calm me, making me aware of the agitation when I had not previously noticed it. Its absence is what makes it identifiable. Had I not approached the old vampyre, I may not have picked up the subtle sensations at all.
But now they stare me in the eyes.
"Interesting," I mutter.
"Yes, it is," the Ambrosia agrees companionably. "Has the Prophesied mentioned anything?"
Just as I had believed Lucinda would sense the Dark before I could, so does the Ambrosia.
"She is occupied with an influx of Nosferatin to the city. Perhaps it has distracted her."
"Or perhaps this is a different type of Darkness."
I cock my head and encourage further discussion with raised eyebrows.
"It is not of vampyre," he says.
My Kindred can sense the Dark in Nut's creatures. Occasionally, she can sense it in Norms. But that requires concerted effort, and I do believe Lucinda is preoccupied.
"Not of ghoul or shifter or fairy," I add, finishing the Ambrosia's thought.
