“Elizabeth, where did you see Tristan?”
“Outside the medication room. He said he was a friend and was looking for you.”
“Is that when he bit you?”
She laughed. “Bit me? Nobody bit me. A nice man just asked me to give you a message. I gave it to you, right?” She touched her forehead. “I can’t remember now. I feel a little light-headed.”
The color was coming back to her cheeks. Tobias moved the phone closer to her. “I need to go look for him. Rest here for a minute. If you start to feel worse, call for help.”
“Okay.” She shook her graying curls. “Probably low blood sugar. I just need to eat something. I’ll be fine.”
Tobias gave her a light squeeze on the shoulder, then headed for the medication room. There was no one there, but a note on the door read Parking garage. Sinatra Level. He tore the note from the door and crumpled it in his hand.
Furious, he grabbed his coat and took the elevator down to the main floor, wishing the security guard good night as he passed through the lobby. Across the street in the Huron Superior Parking Garage, he boarded the elevator and selected the Sinatra Level, level four. The only other person on the elevator with him got off at Tony Bennett, level two. When the doors opened again, Tristan was there waiting for him, leaning against a blue sedan.
“What do you want, Tristan?” Tobias asked. The vampire reminded him of a toad that had stretched itself into a man, his overlarge eyes giving him the look of a nocturnal animal.
Tristan smoothed back his oily dark hair. “So, you do know who I am. It seems that Sabrina didn’t quite uphold the level of confidentiality she says she did.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tobias said. “My nurse, Elizabeth, said a man named Tristan had a message for me. I followed you here.” He held up the crumpled note. “Now, what can I do for you? And what does this have to do with a nurse who used to work here?”
Tobias thought he’d done a good job playing it cool and covering for Sabrina, but Tristan didn’t seem to buy it. His dark eyes became even darker slits. “Either you are weak-minded or intentionally ignorant. I know you have a relationship with Sabrina. I’ve watched her enter your home and not come out for days.”
Tobias scowled.
“You didn’t think I knew? Oh, I had humans following you, Doctor. In the coffeehouse, the museum, the zoo. They lost the trail every now and then, but somehow I could always connect the dots back to you. You must be one hell of a human.”
“Go fuck yourself.” Tobias turned to leave.
“I wouldn’t do that. Not if you care about your patient.”
Tobias turned around slowly, grinding his teeth to keep from shifting. It wouldn’t do to reveal what he was to this scumbag. That would spell disaster for Sabrina. Tristan was holding up his phone, and even from a distance he knew who was featured on the screen. Katelyn.
“I’ve got two vamps and a human outside her house. All I have to do is say the word and she dies. Cute kid. It would be terrible if her young life should come to a tragic end, especially after the miracle you pulled off healing her.”
He suppressed a growl. “What do you want with me?”
“I want to save my coven from a terrible mistake, and I need you to come with me to do so.”
“And if I come, you won’t hurt the girl?”
“Swear on my life.”
“You’re a vampire. You’re already dead.”
Tristan opened the car door and retrieved a length of rope. “Allow me to bind your wrists and get into the car, and I’ll call off my crew.” He shook his phone. The live feed of Katelyn sleeping made Tobias feel ill.
He approached the vampire. If he played his cards right, he could save Katelyn and snap the vampire’s neck in the process. A partial shift. A short reach across the seats while he was driving. Tristan wouldn’t know what hit him. Tobias held out his wrists.
As soon as Tristan tightened the binding, Tobias realized he’d made a terrible mistake. His knees dipped and it felt like his blood was turning to concrete. Enchanted, he thought. Tristan must have the help of a witch!
“Interesting,” Tristan said, a broad, froggy smile stretching his lower face.
“Tell your people to leave my former patient alone,” Tobias said.
Tristan tapped the screen and raised the phone to his lips. Tobias heard ringing and then a click as someone answered.
“Kill her,” Tristan said.
“You bastard!” Tobias tried to kick Tristan but could barely raise his foot off the ground.
“Nighty night, Doc.” Tristan’s fist collided with his face. Tobias’s head slapped the concrete, and then there was darkness.
Chapter Thirty
For as long as she’d been a vampire, Sabrina had never seen the tunnels look more beautiful than they did tonight. The human floral designer had sworn he’d make the underground ballroom look like spring, and he’d succeeded. The tunnels had been decorated with thousands of flowering plants. Red tulips, petunias, and an array of greenery she couldn’t name lined every wall. Deep-red roses had been strung on plastic line and hung in swags across the ceiling. Lamia’s Star smelled of flowers and had been transformed from gray and brick to a cherry-red floral paradise.
If the tunnels weren’t enough of a departure from normalcy, the dress she was wearing certainly was. Blood-colored silk and organza wrapped high along the back of her neck and then plunged toward her waist, the bottom of a wide vee ending in the vicinity of her belly button. A full skirt with a train hid a pair of Jimmy Choos that were absolutely to die for. In white, it would have been a wedding dress fit for a queen. As it was, the color made her flesh appear alabaster and brought out the coppery tones in her hair. Along with a velvety red lip color, she’d become the queen of the undead, prepared to marry her coven.
Marriage was a good analogy. This was not a light commitment. Once a master, always a master.
She waited in the small antechamber off the side of the dais, her father by her side. A Forebear had been called in to perform the ceremony. All she knew about him was that his name was Aldrich and although he looked about fifty, he was over one thousand years old. Dressed in a kimono of red silk embroidered with a black pattern of falling leaves, he mounted the stage to the sound of a trio of violins, taking his place beside the throne, next to the gold-and-ruby tiara he would place upon her head at the end of the ceremony. The entire Lamia Coven had gathered to watch her coronation.
Her knees turned to water and she placed a hand on the wall to steady herself. Her father hooked his arm under her elbow.
“Nerves.” She pressed a hand to her stomach.
“Breathe, Sabrina.” He sent her a reassuring smile.
The tiara she was to be crowned with had been commissioned by her father and contained a twenty-five-carat pear-shaped ruby at the crown called the Tear of Hades. It was worth millions. Vampire legend said the stone was charged with the energy of the lord of the underworld himself.
“Your mother would have been so proud of you today.” His gray eyes twinkled and he laid a gentle kiss on her cheek.
“That means a lot to me.” She sent him a soft smile. “She’d be proud of you too.”
That made his eyes twinkle. “It’s time.”
She picked up the ceremonial dagger and nodded to her father. She was ready.
“Please present the candidate for coronation,” Aldrich said.
Her father guided her toward the dais. One step, then two. Her knees wobbled and she gripped her father’s arm for support. And then they were face-to-face with Aldrich in front of a sea of vampires. Her coven. Her people.
“For over three hundred years, the Lamia Coven of Chicago has maintained order by rule of blood. Who presents this child of the night as master?”
“I do,” her father said. He held his hand out over the jewel-encrusted chalice.
Sabrina sliced across his palm and watched his blood trickle into the vessel. “By th
e goddess, I accept the offering of your blood as a sign of my readiness to take your place as master of this coven.”
“Do you come before the goddess of your own free will to take on responsibility for this coven for as long as you are master?” Aldrich asked her.
“I so offer my blood as a sign of this covenant.” Sabrina sliced across her own palm and watched her blood mix with her father’s inside the gold chalice.
Aldrich lifted his own dagger and extended his hand above the goblet between them. “Then, as a representative of the Forebears, I bestow upon you—”
“Wait!”
Aldrich stopped before the blade pierced his skin. Sabrina turned to see Tristan shoving his way to the front of the ballroom, dragging two prisoners along with him. Both were bound and wearing dark hoods. He shoved them to their knees in front of the dais.
“Tristan? What is the meaning of this?” Her father’s voice was laden with menace. He wasn’t happy, and Sabrina watched his fingers bend into claws near his sides.
“I think the coven needs to know that the female they are about to make master fraternizes with shifters.”
Sabrina’s spine stiffened. She stared at the hooded figures. One wore street clothes, the other dress pants and a tie. It could be… Goddess, please don’t let it be.
Tristan pulled the hoods off the first man, and there was an intake of breath as the vampires around him got a good whiff. Even she could smell the werewolf. It was unmistakably the one who had stabbed her. But it was when Tristan pulled the second hood off that her fangs dropped and she released a chilling hiss. Tobias. He was on his knees, staring up at her. She caught herself on her father’s arm.
She knew instantly that the rope binding his wrists was enchanted. Madam Chloe had warned her that Tristan had asked for enchanted bindings. Tobias would be powerless to defend himself using any of his dragon abilities as long as the rope was touching his skin.
Sabrina’s trembling stopped and her bones turned to steel. Funny, it was hard to be brave for herself, but for Tobias?
“Why have you brought my coworker here?” she demanded, taking a step toward Tristan. There was no fear or embarrassment in her voice. Nor the guilt he was after. Just anger. She had to talk around her fangs as she pointed to Tobias and said, “This man is a well-known human physician. He is a healer. Return him topside at once.”
Tristan scoffed. “You’ve been misled, Princess. This man is a dragon.”
A collective gasp rose up from the coven.
Aldrich turned to her father, a scowl on his face. “Calvin, what is the meaning of this? Who is this vampire?”
“Tristan, return the doctor to his life or prepare to pay with yours,” her father said. “You are not welcome here.” With a wave of his hand, two members of her father’s security contingent surrounded Tristan, ready to escort him from the Star.
“Tell them.” Tristan slapped the back of the werewolf’s head.
“I-I saw him shift. He is a dragon.” A collective inhale rose up from the crowd, and the guards looked at each other and then at her father.
Sabrina cast a warning glare at the werewolf and noticed for the first time that he was in far worse shape than the day he’d stabbed her, his face beaten and bruised, an ugly scar that might have been a burn running the length of his neck. His cheeks were sunken like he’d been starved.
“Clearly you’ve been torturing this wolf. He’d say anything you wanted him to say,” Sabrina said.
“Such an odd story to tell, don’t you think, Princess?” Tristan grinned. “Why would I risk claiming something as crazy as a dragon among us if it weren’t true?”
“Dragons have been extinct for generations,” Aldrich said. “What proof do you have?”
“Taste his blood.” Tristan raised his chin and flashed his teeth. “I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
Her father turned his head in her direction and whispered in her ear in a voice so quiet it was barely more than a breath. “Do you know anything about this?”
In a soft whisper, she told him the truth. She had to. There was no other choice. If Tobias’s blood was spilled that day, it would be done only after the spilling of her own.
“He is my bonded mate. And he is what Tristan says.” Tears pricked her eyes, but she did not let them fall. She showed no weakness. To do so would be to hand her fate and Tobias’s over to Tristan.
As she met her father’s eyes, she saw no softness in his expression. He was as still and cold as marble. She hadn’t seen him look this regal since the day her mother was killed. So this was how she would die, at her father’s hand. He would kill her, then Tobias. She steeled herself and nodded to him, ready for whatever punishment he doled out.
He turned to Tristan. “Very well. I will taste the blood.”
Her father descended from the dais and approached Tobias. Sabrina’s heart pounded against her breastbone as her father rolled up her mate’s sleeve a notch. What was he doing? Toying with her? She’d told him the truth!
Sabrina met Tobias’s gaze. Whatever happened, she was in this with him. She tried to silently tell him so. The worst part was, she could feel what he was feeling. It wasn’t fear, although there was plenty of that coming off the werewolf. Her emotional radar was picking up nothing but love and acceptance from Tobias. He was resigned. That made her sadder than anything.
Calvin gripped Tobias’s forearm, digging his thumbnail into the skin above his bound wrists. Her love’s blood bubbled. Her father released him and brought the ruby-red bead to his lips, sucking it from the side of his thumb. He said nothing.
Sabrina held her breath when her father shifted to the left suddenly so that she could no longer see Tobias, nor could she make out her father’s face. He must know. He must taste how Tobias was different. Sabrina dug her nails into her palms. Why wasn’t he saying anything?
On his knees on the cold hard concrete that lined the tunnel, Tobias stared up at Sabrina’s father. He was a scary son of a bitch. His dark and hardened stare was unwavering. He was Scarface and Goodfellas all rolled into one, a killer in a custom Versace tuxedo.
“Do you love my daughter?” he whispered. Tobias could barely hear the question, wouldn’t have heard it if the man hadn’t brought his lips close to his ear.
“Yes. She is my mate,” he whispered back.
Calvin took a step back. The man’s gaze burrowed into him, seeming to weigh his soul. He glanced down at the wound he’d created. It was already healed. Tobias was sure then, that he knew. Humans did not heal that quickly, and if what Sabrina had said was true, there was no mistaking dragon blood. Tobias tried not to cringe under the weight of his stare.
Calvin grabbed his arm and licked along the place the wound once was. He was sealing it closed, Tobias thought, or pretending to anyway. The vampire tugged a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his hands as he turned back to Tristan and the wolf. Tristan was grinning, his expression smug and expectant.
“Claude and Jason, please escort Tristan and the werewolf to the dungeon. I will deal with them later.” Two of the biggest vampires Tobias had ever seen came forward and seized Tristan and the wolf, dragging them toward the exit.
“What? What is this?” Tristan yelled. “You can’t do this to me!” His protests faded as he was forced deeper into the bowels of the tunnels.
Sabrina’s eyes snapped to Tobias’s, the corner of her mouth twitching ever so subtly. Yeah, Tobias thought, Daddio just made a choice, and it looks like love won this round.
Calvin gripped the ropes binding Tobias’s wrists and tore them apart, freeing him. He offered his hand to help him to his feet. With a bow, the vampire said, “My apologies for the inconvenience, Doctor. Please stay and enjoy the coronation. One of us will help you home at its conclusion.”
“Thank you,” Tobias said. He brushed off the knees of his pants and folded his hands in front of his hips, suddenly more aware than ever that vampires surrounded him on all sides. The room made his skin it
ch.
Clearly, Calvin Bishop knew what he was. Why he’d spared his life was anyone’s guess and how long he’d maintain the ruse was also questionable. Leaving wasn’t an option. There were tunnels everywhere he looked, but he had no idea which led to the surface and which led deeper underground. And they were all packed with vampires. He tried to calm his racing heart and trust that Sabrina’s father legitimately wanted him to survive the day.
When his eyes met Sabrina’s again, hers were wide and wet. Her father returned to the dais, and she kissed him on the cheek.
The older man who was dressed like a priest said, “There are always dissenters. I hope you will make an example of him, Calvin. Shall we continue?”
A smattering of laughter came from the crowd as Sabrina and her father nodded in an exaggerated fashion.
“Please, Aldrich,” Calvin said.
Tobias watched as the one called Aldrich picked up the ceremonial dagger from the small altar and dragged it across his palm. Blood spilled into the chalice He raised it above his head.
“By the blood, it is done.” He took a sip, then handed it to Sabrina who also drank. Calvin was the last. He drained the cup dry.
Aldrich removed the crown from the red velvet pillow beside him and reached up to place it on Sabrina’s head. And that’s when the waterworks started. Tobias wiped under his eyes. He was so proud of her as she turned to welcome the applause of her coven. The crown suited her. Even though he’d thought she was giving up too much to become master, he saw now that this was her destiny. She was a queen, a goddess, born to rule. Praise the Mountain, he was thankful to see this, even if it was the last time he’d ever lay eyes on her.
When everyone stopped clapping, Sabrina spoke. “Thank you for being here today. I look forward to leading this coven in the years to come, to helping continue our peaceful coexistence with humans, and to creating a safe environment where vampires can thrive.”
Windy City Dragon Page 23