“Thank you, Miss Kivsey, and I don't think going with you is necessary. Besides, I need to discuss this situation with Stephan.”
Nodding, Kivsey announced, “Then I'll return momentarily,” and turned to leave.
The moment the door was shut, Maddox gave Stephan her full attention, asking, “See how easy that was?”
“Yeah, it's easy to feel sorry for a rabid dog, but that doesn't mean I wanna keep it as a pet.”
She didn't look one bit offended by his insult, though she did shake her head. “Stop being such an ogre and kindly tell me where we are, and how you found me.”
If she wanted to get down to business, that was perfectly fine with him. “You're at a compound of The Bastion.”
“The Bastion?” she asked in surprise. “As in, the mortal arm of The Crucible?”
“Yeah. As for how I found you, I brought Lillian's brother here and interrogated him. He told us about you, said he helped Lillian seal you in the grave and that you'd have more information on where she was hiding.”
Though Maddox had been rather pleasant thus far, her expression notably darkened at the mention of a sibling. “Which brother?”
“Ignacio.”
The name earned a scoff. “Ignacio Ramirez?”
“You know him?”
“Not very well,” she started, “I've only met him twice, but I'm sure everything he told you was bullshit. He probably just planned on you killing me once you'd asked your questions.”
“I thought the same thing,” Stephan agreed. “He said you'd been entombed two years ago, and made it sound like you and Lillian were friends before you stumbled across information she didn't want you to have.”
Maddox released a low breath, but her countenance soon became curious. “If he told you I was buried two years ago, how did you learn the truth?”
“I double checked his information in our database and found out you'd disappeared in 1943.”
Stephan purposefully left Ardilon out of his explanation because dropping the Dead God's name tended to net him more negative results than anything. Some people closed up altogether, others gave a grim stare before walking away, and even more attacked him outright, proving his patron had amassed a number of enemies, either through direct action, or reputation alone.
So there was no telling how Maddox might react to hearing it, and she didn't need to know specifics anyway. Besides, the best idea was to keep things as simple as possible if only for the sake of his sanity.
“So a mortal Bastion agent who hates vampires freed me due to information retrieved from Ignacio Ramirez, and wants me to help him,” Maddox summarized aloud, then quietly thought it over. For a brief moment, he thought she looked a little sad before adding, “I can't say I expected such an outcome. Did Ignacio tell you where Lillian is?”
“He says he doesn't know.”
“Unsurprising. Is he here?”
“Yeah, confined downstairs.”
Slowly nodding with a much more calculating expression, Maddox then asked, “And do you have any plans for him?”
“Aside from killing him whenever I get the chance? No.”
“I might have to have a word with him myself, then,” she remarked ominously, then cast her gaze back at Stephan like she'd forgotten something important. “Oh, I mean, saying you don't mind. I wouldn't want you to think I might ally with him for some nefarious purpose.”
Her condescending tone didn't fall on deaf ears, and in an attempt to defend his behavior, Stephan returned, “I don't have a problem letting you talk to Ignacio. But can you blame me for being so damned suspicious of you? You probably don't like mortals very much either.”
“I'm not fond of all mortals, no, but I don't blindly hate or blame the entirety for the actions of a few, either. I've been hurt much worse by other vampires anyway, and now, you're making me pay for the same things they've done to me by treating me as if I'm just like them.”
Her final comment crushed whatever response Stephan could've made, and he suddenly felt like a hypocrite. Hadn't he reacted badly to her assumption that he was merely working with Lillian? Yet here he was, treating her as if she was Lillian.
No matter his opinion of vampires, that simply wasn't fair. Certainly, they'd hurt him, done irreparable damage in more ways than one, but that wasn't Maddox's fault. So even if he doubted her integrity, or didn't care to become lasting friends, the least he could do was give her the benefit of a doubt.
“Alright, point taken,” he started as sincerely as possible. “But I won't ever be fond of vampires, so if we work together, I'll probably piss you off without even thinking about it. Still, whether I was ordered to work with you or not, I … could use your help.”
He thought she might mock him, or just disagree. But to his surprise, Maddox smiled—and not one of those hollow, coy smirks. It was a sincere, even warmhearted expression.
For someone so used to coldness from vampires, the look was unsettling in a way, leaving Stephan with no idea how to react.
“What?” he asked uncertainly.
Shaking her head, Maddox took a step toward him and said, “I don't expect you to like me, Stephan, but we do have a common enemy. So if you can just keep in mind that there's an exception to every rule, I'll give this temporary arrangement a try at least. Besides, I need your help, too. So … ,” she held out her hand, “do we have a deal?”
He stared at her hand, surprised to find that it was easier to push his doubts aside rather than list all the ways she could be duping him. Perhaps he was just tired of subterfuge, and wanted a straightforward agreement for once, but whatever the reason, he reached for her hand without question.
“Deal.”
“Good,” she returned, seeming genuinely pleased by his acceptance, and if he thought it would be unpleasantly strange to work with a vampire, it was even stranger to have one smiling at him and being so polite. What the hell am I getting myself into?
As he wondered, the smile on Maddox's face strangely faded with a much more curious expression taking its place—and it was directed at him. But before he could ask over it, a knock came to the door, and Maddox pulled her hand from his, jerking her gaze toward it as if startled out of a stupor.
“Oh,” she breathed, “that must be Kivsey.”
At nearly the same time, Kivsey called from outside, “Room service!”
Maddox grinned in amusement and walked over to open the door, replying, “I hope you don't mind if I can't tip you.”
“Then you only get half,” Kivsey teased, handing over a case containing blood from their clinic. “I packed enough to hopefully last a few days.”
Transporting the item to the bed, Maddox thanked her wholeheartedly, opening the case to reveal the containers inside—and Stephan turned to leave. Reviving the vampire was no picnic for him, but she'd been an unknowing corpse, making it easier to handle.
Now, she was awake, and after being chained to a wall in a bleak prison chamber and drained regularly for days on end, he couldn't help his derision.
Kivsey stepped to the side to let him pass, but Maddox commented before he could reach the door, “I need to ask you both a question before you go, Stephan.”
Without looking back, he silently nodded for her to continue.
“Would either of you happen to know of a succubus by the name of Ineya?”
Stephan didn't have to consider it, shaking his head in the negative. He didn't know any succubi, nor had he ever heard the name.
“No,” Kivsey replied aloud. “Is she a friend?”
“Yes, someone I'd known for a century, and one of the few people I'd actually trust who's not likely to be dead or indisposed. In 1943, she owned a hotel in New York City, which may be a good place to start.”
“Alright,” Kivsey agreed. “We don't keep thorough records on immortals, but there's a chance she's buried in some documentation somewhere, so I'll start checking as soon as I can.”
“Thank you,” Maddox replied, then turned
her gaze on Stephan. “When can we talk to Ignacio?”
“Whenever you're … ,” he trailed as she lifted a container to open, his desire to leave growing too strong to ignore.
“I'll be outside. Just let me know when you're ready,” he finished in a rush, and shut the door harder than necessary during his exit.
Taking a deep breath in the corridor outside, Stephan swiped a hand over his face in an attempt to suppress his nausea. He'd witnessed vampires feeding since his own imprisonment, and his reaction to it wasn't as adverse as it'd once been. But standing around while one of them just casually sipped blood from a container like a person might drink coffee from a mug was galling.
Kivsey joined him in the hall only a moment later, shutting the door before she walked over and asked, “Everything okay?”
“Fucking dandy,” he muttered.
Knowing the reason for his aversion, she pointed out, “At least Maddox isn't a run-of-the-mill vampire. You could probably just ask her not to eat in front of you, and she'd agree to it.”
As much as Stephan hated to admit it, she was right. Maddox certainly wasn't what he'd expected. He just couldn't figure out if it was because she was the greatest actress the world had ever known, or the worst vampire.
But he didn't want to discuss his growing doubts over Maddox's capacity for malice, and changed the subject entirely. “You gonna go check on her friend?”
“Yeah, once I finish updating our database. Should take a few hours.”
“I might get started on it before you then, depending on how long our talk with Ignacio lasts.”
“Okay, tell me if you find anything, and … ”
When Kivsey trailed, Stephan looked up to spy a hesitant expression on her face before she added, “Just let me know if you need something, okay?”
Her request was pointed, prompting him to ask, “Like what?”
“I don't know, with the way you left the room, I just thought working with a vampire might end up setting you off.”
Hearing this, Stephan sighed. “I'll be fine, Kivsey. Stop worrying so damned much.”
“I can't help it. People here care about you, but you never rely on anyone.”
“That's because I'm fine, damn it. If I needed something, I'd ask for it.”
“Bullshit. You wouldn't ask for help if your balls were hanging by a thread and the nut fairy was your roommate,” she shot back, turning to head down the hall while adding, “but if you don't stop pushing people away, they're gonna end up staying away for good.”
Stephan stared behind her, then shook his head. Kivsey just listed the very reason he always remained so distant—it would be less painful for everyone in the long run, and he'd feel better knowing his death hadn't caused much grief.
As for Maddox, the only quirk of hers that might set him off were her eating habits, but if things with Lillian concluded quickly enough, that wouldn't matter.
And he could finally let everything go.
8
♦ ♦ ♦
Stephan was a suspicious, bitter, hateful man, and helping him find Lillian wasn't going to be a pleasant experience.
But he'd become Maddox's biggest reason for trying.
Of course, other factors weighed into her decision, such as getting an education in current technology. Who knew how much there was to learn, or how long it would take, questions that really made her wonder how some vampires who hibernated for centuries at a time actually handled the changes.
So temporarily staying with The Bastion was ideal. It would provide her with enough information to get a head start, and she'd be foolish not to take advantage of it.
But Stephan had unwittingly provided her with an altogether different opportunity—one she'd heard flowing through his veins.
In her time as a vampire, Maddox had met several humans whose blood called to her. It always made them seem familiar, a clear sign that the mortal possessed what vampires called a blood link.
No one knew if this was a mystical phenomenon, or if there was actually a physical reason that explained why the blood of some humans called to one vampire but not another, yet it didn't truly matter in the end. The blood link meant a mortal would be related in some fashion if turned, and just as Mathias had sensed a daughter in Maddox, she'd sensed a connection in Stephan.
Her need for blood left her senses too weak to pick up on it until getting close enough to offer a handshake, and to say it was surprising would've been an understatement. The same human who'd rescued her from an eternity of rotting away actually possessed a blood link? What were the odds?
For as strange as it seemed, the discovery had her highly curious about Stephan regardless of the way he viewed her kind. The link would make such prejudice easier to overlook as well—not that she'd be informing him about it when such a tie was usually the starting point in the decision to turn a mortal.
So if Stephan knew, he'd very likely assume she wanted to act on it, yet Maddox had never turned anyone, blood link or not. Despite the perks of being a vampire, it wasn't an easy life, and having such a connection didn't guarantee a human's ability to lead their existence.
So even if Maddox was inclined to entertain the notion of turning Stephan, she'd take plenty of time getting to know him first, which was the only way to discover what type of relationship the link would forge to begin with.
Otherwise, considering making a new vampire would be pointless.
As for working with Stephan, perhaps such a partnership wouldn't be completely horrible to endure. Regardless of his perspective, she had nothing to lose from trying, and the potential to gain from staying.
Ready to get started—and to finally sate her hunger entirely—Maddox downed a full canister of blood and returned it to the case. It took several moments, but with the extra nutrients beginning to course through her body, the urge to unleash her fangs and sink them into the nearest mortal finally eased.
Before joining Stephan outside, she stopped in the bathroom to make sure all signs of bloodlust were gone, and surely enough, the red glow of her eyes had vanished. In their place, two golden irises were peering out from beneath long lashes, and her continually drying hair was starting to tighten into untamed ringlets.
But most importantly, while gazing at her reflection, Maddox felt a pronounced thud in her chest—her heart's very first beat in seventy years, followed by another, and another. Warmth began spreading through her limbs with the rush of blood the steady rhythm sent, and her head fell back in enjoyment.
The sensation of actually being alive again was good enough to make her feel invincible.
Exiting the room moments later, Maddox found Stephan alone in the hall—and the blood link was much more pronounced now that she was at full strength. Focusing on it, she could hear it in each thump of his heart, and the flowing stream was tantalizing, even soothing.
But instead of commenting, she merely waved a hand, announcing, “I'm ready to go.”
Nodding silently, Stephan pushed himself away from the wall, giving her a discreet once over before leading the way, likely because her eyes were back to normal. If anything, this proved she was no longer weakened from hunger, and such knowledge would probably have him on his guard.
But Maddox decided not to reassure him. Winning favor with this mortal would have to be done through action, not verbal promises. So she searched for something else to talk about while falling into step with him.
Thankfully, there wasn't a huge lack of topics available, and while gazing at all of the doors evenly spaced apart along the corridor walls, she admitted, “I thought this was a motel.”
“No, just the underground residency of our compound.”
“Underground? No wonder my room doesn't have any windows. I mean, if it is my room.”
“No one else is living in it.”
“Living in it? People don't just use the rooms temporarily?”
“Some do, others stay,” he shrugged.
“Do many people live here?
”
As if the numerous questions were becoming tiresome, Stephan turned a sideways glance in her direction, then sighed before offering an answer. “This compound has a lot of facilities, so yeah, there's enough.”
Maddox nodded and, as they rounded a corner at the end of the hall, decided to ignore his irritation in favor of continuing her inquiry.
“And do all of the residencies have their own bathrooms?”
This time, he gave a clipped, “Yes.”
“Is the water usage limited?”
“No.”
Smirking, Maddox would've went on, but suddenly found herself highly distracted when a man who appeared to be talking to himself passed them in the hall. Yet, at the last minute, she realized he had a strange device in his ear, and didn't even realize she'd stopped to stare until Stephan took her arm to urge her on.
“He's on the phone,” the mortal explained.
“But … where's the cord?”
“It's wireless now. You'll get used to it.”
Finally prying her gaze away, she faced forward to see that they'd arrived at an elevator, and Stephan pressed the button to summon it. A moment later, the doors slid open to an empty cab, and inside, he pressed another button labeled 'B5'.
The portal then shut, and feeling the inertia as it began a downward descent, she asked, “There's no operator?”
“No.”
“Then are those numbers above the door reading the floors?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Vexed, Stephan retorted harshly, “I'm not an engineer, so I don't fucking know.”
Maddox hid her grin over his agitation, returning plainly, “I'm just curious.”
“No shit.”
“What happened to make you hate vampires so much?”
Immediately, Stephan became confused by the off-topic question. But Maddox meant it to be jarring, hoping to catch him off guard and get an actual answer. It was a long shot, and she wouldn't pry if he closed up, but she certainly wouldn't mind knowing.
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