Midnights emissary, p.32
Midnight's Emissary, page 32
He waved a hand for me to continue.
I bit back my retort at his imperiousness. Something along the lines of telling him to go shove it.
Instead I said, “You’re not to harm or allow any other vampire to harm anyone they consider a family or friend.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Family, yes. Friend is too vague a term. Connor could claim any passing acquaintance as a friend if it suited him.”
“You’ll just have to run that risk,” I said through gritted teeth.
He considered me for a moment, his gaze weighing. Judging.
I lifted an eyebrow.
“So long as the ‘friend’ has not posed a direct threat against me or mine.”
Fair enough. I doubted Caroline or any of my other friends were likely to challenge this guy anytime soon.
My family and friends were safe. For now.
I hesitated before my next statement. This was the one that could be the deal breaker.
“You will not claim this person or try to force them into one of your clans.”
Outrage showed on his face and Stephen started laughing.
“I cannot do that,” he said. “Connor asks too much.”
“Up to you. You’re the one who lost track of a vampire you made. They’re a little touchy about it and not sure they want anything to do with you. I’m sure ol’ Stevie will be pleased with your choice.”
“I can make you tell me,” he warned.
I gave him a humorless smile. “Not before Stevie takes the crown.”
I let him see I meant it. Every person has a breaking point. I was no different, but I could guarantee he wouldn’t break me and get at my secrets until he’d lost his shot at victory.
He looked at Aidan, asking a question with his eyes. Aidan shook his head.
“Her defenses are too strong. It would take too long.”
I allowed myself a small smirk, knowing Thomas had asked him to use his telepathy to gain the vampire’s name.
Stephen gave a pointy toothed grin, sure of his victory. Vampires, from what I’d discovered, were more possessive of the vampires they made than some sports parents were of a child destined for the professional leagues.
“I can’t give up my claim. Invalidating the relationship would make me ineligible for the position of master of the Midwest.”
Damn. I hadn’t accounted for that possibility.
Now I had to ask myself how far I was willing to take this. How much I was willing to sacrifice to make sure the one responsible for what happened to Caroline wasn’t in a position of power.
Everything. I was willing to sacrifice everything.
“You swear not to give any orders or place any responsibilities on this person. In fact, you promise not to have any contact with them.”
He gave me a narrow-eyed glance. “No, I won’t promise that. Connor will give me a chance to repair our relationship, and in exchange I will promise not to make any demands until then. That’s the best I can offer.”
Not what I’d wanted, but better than I’d hoped.
I turned to the three counselors. “I assume you have a way to prove the bond.”
Sophia gestured to a table that I hadn’t noticed before. It held a bowl with a sharp knife laid across it.
“This is ridiculous,” Stephen sputtered, seeing his victory going down the drain. “If he had a child, he would have produced him sooner. This is just so he can buy time in a desperate attempt to turn things in his favor.”
I ignored him and stepped closer, Thomas shadowing me.
“What needs to be done?” I asked.
Thomas picked up a knife, drawing it across his skin and allowing a few drops of blood to fall into the bowl. His wound healed before he could get more than a couple drops out. He made another cut forcing the blood to drip into the bowl. Enough so there was a thin sheet of red on the bottom. I was impressed in spite of myself. He healed almost instantaneously. Almost faster than he could bleed. Much different than mine.
“The child’s blood will combine with mine. If this person was made from me, we’ll know it.”
I sighed. Of course it would involve blood. I should have expected it. We were vampires after all.
“You’ll call this person,” Thomas said. It wasn’t a question. He fully expected my compliance.
I took the knife from him and slicing a cut, allowed my blood to dribble into the bowl. “No need.”
Chapter Nineteen
Thomas’s jaw dropped and he stared at me in shock. Jabari and Liam didn’t look surprised, though the shock on the other’s faces were worth it. I’d remember this later and have a good laugh.
For now, I stared at the blood in the bowl waiting for something to happen.
For a long minute, so long that I was a little worried that I’d been mistaken, that maybe Thomas wasn’t the vampire I remembered from the night of my transition, nothing happened.
My left eye with its weird ability saw it first. It was subtle, just a wisp of smoke curling out of the bowl. Then it was like it caught fire, rose gold and a cerulean blue twining together as it consumed the blood and spread from the bowl to the table. I stepped back as the two colors flickered merrily together, each mirroring the others movements in flickering shades.
He was right. There was no explanation needed. That reaction said it all.
“That work?” I asked Jabari.
He nodded. “Indeed.”
“This is impossible,” Steven said, staring at where the blood still burned with our powers.
“How is it impossible?” I asked. “Isn’t turning humans into vampires what you guys do?”
“He shouldn’t have been able to turn you. There must be a trick somewhere.”
“Every vampire has to get it right sometime.”
“No, you’re lying. You did something or the results are false.”
“Are you questioning our honor?” Sophia’s voice dropped to a dangerous tone.
A smart man would have changed lanes. Backpedaled and assured her he wasn’t.
“There is no way she is his child,” he yelled, pointing at me. “It’s impossible.”
The fire was still going strong.
“Looks like you’re wrong.”
He stared at the table as if he was trying to figure the trick out. The best part was that there was no trick. Thomas really had turned me into a vampire. How? I had no idea, but I’d choose vampirehood over death any day.
“The test shows she is his child. He is now master of the Midwest,” Tse said, a deep pleasure in his voice.
Steven’s eyes turned black. I stepped back, remembering the demon. His fangs dropped. They were different than other vampires. Instead of one set of teeth there were two on the upper row and another set of fangs on the bottom.
His hiss raised the hair on my arms. Spittle flew as the humanity drained out of his face leaving something straight out of a nightmare.
He leapt. I drew my gun and aimed in one smooth movement, pulling the trigger, once, twice.
This time my bullets had little effect, only causing him to slow before rushing me again. I leapt back, firing again, emptying the chamber in a blink of the eye. Thomas flew past me, tackling and raking claws across Stephen’s face.
Liam caught the back of my shirt and dragged me out of the way of the battle. Placing one hand on mine, he forced me to lower the gun.
“It would be best to let Thomas handle this from here on out.”
“It will be a good first act to his rule,” Jabari said from beside me.
I jumped, not having noticed him move.
The two vampires flowed back and forth, their movements a blur. To my left eye, their powers met and clashed, the waves forcing the crowd back, leaving a circle of emptiness around them.
Thomas’s power flared and suddenly he was holding Stephen by the throat.
Stephen batted at him, his power striking Thomas like a snake and leaving wounds on his arms and chest. Thomas didn’t notice, bringing him close and ripping Stephen’s throat out with his fangs.
“Your Change of Command Ceremony is a lot more violent than I’m used to,” I told Liam.
Thomas didn’t drink any of the blood draining out of Stephen, which for a vampire who held blood as the source of life was unusual. I could only assume it had something to do with the demon taint that was even now trying to breach Thomas’s defenses.
Stephen still had some fight in him, digging his claws into Thomas’s side. Thomas shook him like a rag doll and laughed. He changed his grip, grabbing Stephen’s neck in two hands and wrenching hard until his head separated from the body.
“It could have been worse,” Liam said. “He could have ripped every limb from his body before taking his head.”
Thomas wasn’t done. He tossed the head aside and sank his hand into the chest cavity before yanking out a heart that he crushed into a bloody pulp.
He held the mess above his head and roared, turning to observe the crowd. They roared back, approving of the bloody display.
I stepped back as Liam advanced on Thomas. The two clasped each other in a hug before pounding the other on the back. I took another step back. Jabari noticed, giving me a half smile before turning back to focus on Thomas.
It was easy to slip into the crowd and make my way to the front door.
Once there I realized I had no bike, no car and no way to get back home.
Damn it, I was going to have to walk. Again. I was still weak from the wound Elinor had given me. I did not look forward to this.
I started for home, but only made it a few blocks before I stopped.
“You knew, didn’t you?”
Liam stepped out of the shadows, appearing beside me. “I suspected.”
“How?”
“I knew Thomas was still trying for a way around the curse two years ago. He was in the area where you were turned. It was simple to put it together from there.”
I should have known he wasn’t going to let the question of my maker go. I hadn’t expected him to track the man down quite so easily.
“So this was all a setup.”
He watched me, his eyes intense.
“Why didn’t you just bring me to his attention at the beginning? Why go through all this? Put me on the trail of the descendants and the witch?”
His subterfuge made me feel like a trained monkey, compelled to dance at his whim.
“We both know if I’d forced you into revealing yourself you would have gone to ridiculous lengths to try to escape us. The simplest solution was for you to choose this path.”
And because I’d chosen it, there wouldn’t be any easy exit ramps. There would be no one to blame but myself. I’d have to accept things.
“I didn’t expect you to negotiate for as much freedom as you did.”
No, he probably hadn’t.
“You manipulated me into the course you wanted.”
He shrugged. “So I did.”
“And you think that I’m going to dance to your tune now.”
“Not at all.” He gave me a smile full of sin and dark things. “I’m looking forward to our next battle.”
Somehow, I thought he saw these little battles of the wit in a different light than I did. Where I saw it as a vital piece of my survival, he saw it as a game to be a won. A challenge to be overcome.
“Game on.” I stalked off, anger providing fuel. At least for the first couple of miles. By the fourth mile my emotions had settled, leaving one thing clear. I’d have to steer clear of Liam in the future. That sleek and dangerous packaging hid a lethal wit inside. He was too sneaky and manipulative to play with.
* * *
Brax didn’t answer any of my calls that night. Or the next. By the third night, I decided I wasn’t waiting around for news any longer. I grabbed my bike and headed for Lou’s Bar.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t there. Sondra and Clay weren’t there either and none of the other wolves would tell me any news of Caroline.
I stopped at the bar, figuring the bartender might be able to get a message to Brax. It was a different man than the last time. He was big and rough, looking like a biker after a five day ride. Tired and grumpy.
“He doesn’t want to speak to you.” The man set hands the size of dinner plates on the bar, the threat clear. “You’re to forget about your friend and mind your own business.”
I felt several wolves close in at my back. Their presence a looming danger.
I sighed. I’d been afraid of this, which is why I’d come prepared.
I looked down, seeing the smirk he shot at those over my head out of the corner of my eye. Yeah, the big bad wolf just made the vampire back down.
I whipped out a hand, grabbed him behind the neck and slammed his face into the bar, drawing a gun and pressing it against his forehead. As a human, I would have never had the strength. Even a week ago, I would have struggled. Liam’s blood had supercharged a few things.
He chuckled, the wolves behind me cackling. “Stupid bitch. Guns won’t do shit to us.”
I smiled. It must have conveyed the depth of my rage because he flinched, ever so slightly.
“They do when they’re filled with silver nitrate. My own special recipe.” It had to be because you couldn’t buy bullets containing silver nitrate anywhere. I’d checked. “I’ve already seen what it can do to a vampire. It worked beautifully, by the way. But I haven’t had the chance to test it on a werewolf.”
The laughter disappeared and the air shifted to a wary hostility. They’d been playing games before, thinking I wasn’t a threat. Now they weren’t sure how much danger I presented.
I tightened my grip on the bartender. “Shall we test it on you?”
He jerked and I kept him down on the bar through sheer force of will. He was strong, but I was motivated. And pissed. Very, very pissed.
“I want you to pass a message to Brax. He’s to call me by sunrise with news of Caroline. If he doesn’t, I’m going to call my demolition buddies from the Army and tell them we have a few places to level.”
“Bullshit, no soldier is going to put their neck on the line because some skirt tells them to.”
I dug my nails in his neck, not particularly liking the term skirt. It was so fifties of him.
“He will, given the fact I saved his best friend’s life, and his, if we want to get technical about it. He owes me one and his friend will go along with it because he’s just a little bit north of crazy town.” I bent down to say into his ear. “Make no mistake, if your alpha doesn’t call me, I will burn down every building your pack owns. You don’t believe me, watch me.”
I flung him into the wall and raced past the wolves, digging for every ounce of the speed Liam’s blood had given me. The sound of broken glass followed me from the bar. I didn’t stop running until I was several blocks away and sure the wolves hadn’t followed me.
I headed home and trudged up my stairs, carrying the bike. Setting it on the landing, I felt for my keys. My phone rang.
I snapped it up and hit answer without looking.
“Brax.”
“Aileen.”
“I want to see Caroline.”
“That’s not possible.”
I punched the wall next to my door, not caring about the dent I left in the plaster.
“Make it possible.”
“You don’t understand what you’re asking.”
“I’m sick of you people using that as an excuse. You either let me see her, or I burn your world down.”
“You don’t want to threaten me, little vampire.”
That’s exactly what I wanted to do.
“It’s not a threat.”
It wasn’t.
“Your presence could do more harm than good at this stage. Her transition won’t be complete until the next full moon when she turns. She’s at a very precarious time. It could still go either way. I will not chance your presence tipping the balance in the opposite direction.”
“That’s not good enough.”
He sounded like a cult leader wanting more time with his disciple so he could continue brainwashing her.
“Her mind is unstable right now. Worse than usual with an attack victim. Probably due to the demon. Frankly, she doesn’t want to see you.”
“Bullshit.”
His voice had a thread of sympathy as he said, “She’s angry right now. Rightfully so. Her entire life has been upended and the person she thought she knew is part of this entire world she never knew about. She knows you lied to her about what you are. It’s easier to focus on her anger at you than to focus on the fact that in a few weeks’ time she’s going to go through the shift.”
Silence filled the phone as I stared at my door. I stepped forward and leaned my head against the wood as I fought not to cry. Vampires threatening to burn other people’s businesses and homes down did not cry.
“You’re a problem she does not need.”
His words jabbed at me, opening wounds I’d rather not think about.
“Is the sorcerer still there?” I asked, my voice thick with emotion.
He paused. “We had to remove him when it became clear his presence was making her upset.”
His hesitation made me wonder what he wasn’t saying.
“I can’t just leave her there.”
He sighed. “You don’t have a choice, not if you want her to have the best chance of surviving this. I can have Sondra give you regular reports.”
“Sondra.” Her name was an ugly curse on my lips. She was the reason Caroline was becoming a wolf.
“It’s not her fault. She was under Elinor and the demon’s control. If she hadn’t bitten your friend, Caroline probably wouldn’t have survived. Humans typically break easily when a demon is present. Their minds can’t handle the strain.”
He wasn’t going to convince me that this was the best thing for Caroline.
“Send someone else. I don’t want to see Sondra.”
He murmured an agreement.
“You have until the full moon, Brax. Then I’m coming for her.”
He didn’t respond before hanging up.
I punched the wall again and then kicked it for good measure. My rage nowhere close to exhausted I took a deep breath and let myself into my apartment, setting my bike next to the door before heading for the couch.
