***
House Muerte owns a renovated hotel where the most powerful of them reside. There is no easy way to get in and out without the chance of being caught, especially at night. I’m stealthy and basically built to be a weapon, but even I couldn’t win against so many vampires. Let alone any other supernatural beings that might be within the walls. As I stare at the entrance, I realize that the best way of learning more about this new blood source is just to walk in like I am looking for a fix.
The first two floors of the hotel are the only places non-house members are allowed. It is basically a blood den. If they are loaning this new blood source out, she’ll be accessible, although she’ll still have some sort of overwatch to ensure she remains under their control. I look presentable enough not to have to go home and change. I guess I’m doing this now. No time like the present and all of that BS.
Dropping down into the alley, I straighten my clothes and walk up to the entry. I flash my fangs at the guy guarding the door, and he lets me in. I might not be a vampire, but fangs always get me a pass. Unlike a vampire, my fangs aren’t for blood, just purely part of my defensive capabilities. They are great intimidation tools. The receiving room is packed. I must have hit a busy night, or maybe word of new blood got out, and everyone wants a taste.
“Good evening. What can I help you find?”
I turn to look at the owner of the voice. Tall, blonde, and legs that go on for days. I can see why she’s a frontwoman. If I didn’t know she was deadly, I can see how a person could be tempted. I wonder how many humans she’s snared.
“Rumor has it you’ve got new blood.”
“That may or may not be true. Two hundred might make it true.”
I hand over the money, and she points to a room with two guards standing by the door. “You’ve got 20 minutes, no more. They’ll come in and drag you out if they have to.”
Weaving my way through the throng of vampires and their blood donors, I try to prepare myself for what I’m going to find.
“Twenty minutes,” the guard reminds me as he opens the door.
What I see when I walk in makes my blood run cold. Sylvia is laying on a bed in her underclothing. Bite marks cover her inner elbows, thighs, and neck. The bastards didn’t even try to heal the bites, and they just closed them up enough to keep her from bleeding out. Taking hold of her hand I shake her gently to see if she will respond.
“No more, please. No more,” she whispers. Tears start sliding down her face and into her hair.
“Sylvia, it’s Chi. How did you get here?”
Her eyes finally open. “Chi?”
“Yes. How did you get here?”
“I don’t remember. One minute I was out for a walk, the next I was here, and they were…”
She had to have been bespelled. I’d deal with that later. The more pressing matter was how to get her out. There was no way I could get her past the guards, let alone the rest of the horde in the other room.
“Sylvia, you’ve got to try to transport yourself out. Use your powers.”
“You think I haven’t tried that! I can’t make it work. I don’t know what’s wrong.”
“I can’t get you out of here. There are too many people here, and we’d never make it. You’ve got to keep trying. I’ll go see what else we can work out. They can’t just take you; you’ve got a house mark. You should be off-limits unless negotiations have been made, and there is no way Xen would ever agree to this.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Xenobia
After Chi broke the news to us, I alternated between anger at him for leaving Sylvia to that hell, and anger at myself for allowing her to leave the house in the first place. And then, of course, there was the increasing level of anger at the situation in general. The selfish part of me really wants my quiet life back. I’d never regret what I did to save Maggie and the other women, but I would give almost anything not to have all of this responsibility.
There was a heated discussion about how to get Sylvia back. We’d decided to use the diplomatic approach first, which is why I find myself dressed in a ridiculously revealing dress and heels that make me feel like I’m walking on stilts. I hope I don’t break my neck. Having powers doesn’t mean having grace. Why the fuck can’t I wear jeans again? Oh right, formal display of power. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this kind of crap.
Chi, Onyx, Matt, Kelly, Mercy, and I arrive at the hotel that serves as the headquarters for House Muerte. Onyx gave us a brief idea of what to expect but, I’m still unnerved by the whole situation. We’re going into this situation outnumbered, and we’re on their turf, even I know that’s not wise. Still, there wasn’t time to figure out any other way. I don’t want to leave Sylvia here any longer than I have to.
A tall blonde woman leads us to a large room I assume used to be some kind of ballroom. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t the smoking hot, very human-looking man sitting in a leather wingback chair holding a leash attached to a collar around Sylvia’s neck. Anger surges through me, and I feel Onyx take my arm.
“Control it,” he whispers through my mind, “this is a power play to throw us off our guard. We can’t afford to show all our cards.”
I know he’s right, but all I want to do right now is strangle the bastard who is using Sylvia as a pawn. Why is someone so evil blessed with such good looks? It isn’t fair. Instead of tearing his head off his shoulders and pulling his spine out, I reinforce the neutral look on my face. Onyx releases my arm and steps forward.
“Master Kage, may I present Mistress Xenobia of House Valdis.”
“I’ve heard rumors of a new House. It seems they were true,” Kage states as he yanks on Sylvia’s leash, making her stagger forward. “I’ve also been informed that this one is yours.”
“She is,” Onyx answers.
“Perhaps we can come to an arrangement.”
“She’s not up for negotiation. We understand how there might have been some confusion as to her status since we are a newly formed House. We are willing to overlook this misstep upon her return to use with no further harm to her.”
I inwardly cringe at Onyx’s words. I hated to let this motherfucker get away with what he did, but for now, we had to. Later though, later, I was going to figure out a way to end him. Violence isn’t my go-to response, but I might make an exception in this case.
Trying to read Kage’s expression wasn’t easy. Of course, he’s had god knows how long to perfect his poker face. How old is he anyway? I’d probably never know, and that really isn’t important right now anyway. Using what we do have as an advantage, I send my power into Kage to try and get a read. Even that doesn’t give me much, he clearly has control over his emotions, at least at this moment. I wonder when he had his last fix of Fae blood.
Apparently Kage had been silent longer than Onyx liked because he spoke again. “As a long-standing House leader, you know it is against the rules to take someone who bears a House mark without prior negotiation. And Sylvia very clearly has the mark of House Valdis.” Onyx pulled the left side of his shirt down to show his mark as further proof. If I hadn’t been paying attention I would have missed the split second of surprise that crossed Kage’s face. Onyx has been an outlier for so long it had to be unexpected that he would finally align himself with someone. At least I know it’s possible to shake Kage up a little.
The rest of us has been silent up until this point, allowing Onyx to deal with it since he had the most experience with Kage. I didn’t want any of us to use our powers if we didn’t have to, no sense in giving away anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary.
At this point, Kage was backed into a corner. If he broke the rules, it would have repercussions on his House. If he gave Sylvia back, he loses a blood source. Either way, this was a turning point. He was going to try to take us out for sure now. Probably not at this moment, but it definitely sped up the timeline. The reality of this hit me hard. I’m a leader now, and I can’t hide behind wishf
ul thinking anymore.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Sylvia
I had no idea what was happening as the guards had held me down and put a collar around my neck. The metal felt hot against my skin, and I hoped it wasn’t truly burning me. The blonde woman I’d seen briefly when I first arrived attached a leash to the collar and led me to another, larger room. I was grateful there weren’t many other people around to see this humiliation. At least I had clothes on now, what little they covered.
The man I’d learned was in charge of this hell, Kage, held his hand out from where he sat and the blonde handed me over. He waved his hand at her in dismissal and she moved off to a corner, ready to assist again if needed. It was a bit pathetic if you asked me. But I’m the one who is being used as a blood whore, so do I really have any right to judge? He yanked me down onto his lap and bit into my inner elbow. I winced in pain and fought the urge to jerk away, which would only do me more damage. I’d learned that the hard way. I don’t know which was worse, the pain of being bitten without the mind-haze that some of them use, or having the haze and not being able to control my own body. I’m pretty sure all of it is designed to torture me, regardless.
When he finished, he shoved my arm away and leaned his head back. I could feel his body’s response to my blood. So Far, he hadn’t tried to have sex with me, and I hoped it stayed that way. Even though sex is my business, it was on my terms now, and I wanted to keep it that way. Kage ground himself against me and then seemed to catch himself.
“Audrey!” he barked.
The blonde, whose name I’ve now learned is Audrey, moved out of the corner she had been standing in and approached the chair.
“Desk,” Kage commanded as he pushed me off of him and pulled my leash. I tried to keep my balance at the sudden movement as he kept walking forward.
Audrey leaned over the desk, dress around her waist. I so did not want to see this. I dug my heels into the floor trying to get away from what was happening, but Kage pulled me closer to him.
“It’s her or you, so I suggest you take the small favor and stop fighting me.”
He used her hard and fast then sent her out of the room without so much as a word. His needs taken care of, Kage moved us back to the chair. In spite of her part in my imprisonment, I felt bad for Audrey. No one deserved such treatment.
After that little show, I was as confused as ever. I still had no idea what was going on. All of the other times Kage had bitten me we’d been in the other room I’d been kept in and he left right afterward. I never got to leave the room so being moved was a drastic change. Something was off.
***
When Xenobia walked in with an entourage, I thought I would pass out with relief. I held it together though. Onyx was doing the talking, so I assumed there was some kind of formal process that I wasn’t aware of, probably best I keep my mouth shut and not risk making things worse.
When it wasn’t clear if Kage was going to let me go I started to panic. I know Xen won’t leave me here, but we can’t fight our way out with so few people. I don’t know what the plan is, so I have no idea how to help. I can feel my heart speed up, but I feel something else too. It feels familiar but strange. One second I’m standing by Kage, the next I’m in the foyer of our home. Freaking figures that my power decides to work now.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
Xenobia
This is not good, not good at all. I mean, I’m glad Sylvia’s powers got her out of here, but now we have to deal with the exposure. We don’t owe Kage an explanation, it’s internal House business, but I’m sure he’s going to want answers. I have no idea how Onyx is going to spin this.
“Well, that was certainly unexpected. Not much surprises me anymore. Congratulations.” Kage approaches Onyx. “I think I’m beginning to understand why you chose to align yourself with her. So. Tell me, what other surprises do you have?”
Onyx stands his ground. “Our resources are not your concern. We have what we came for so we will take our leave.” Kage allows us to leave without incident, but I know he won’t let it stand. His curiosity and his addiction won’t let him. If there is power, he wants to possess it.
Once we are sure that Sylvia is home and resting, the stress of the day catches up with me. I don’t need a lot of sleep usually, but right now I feel exhausted. My bed feels so good after sleeping on the couch in my office for so long. I figure I have some time to myself so I close my eyes. I’ll rest for a few minutes before I have to deal with reality again.
***
I’m somewhere between waking and sleeping as my body tries to turn in the bed but is stopped short by another body. What the hell! I jerk fully awake and sit up. The motion must have jarred Matthew enough to wake him because he opens one eye to look at me.
“On a scale from one to ten, how pissed off are you at me right now?”
I sit there for a minute and try to figure out exactly what I’m feeling. I should be pissed because he knows how I feel about sleeping in the same bed that he shares with Onyx, but I’m actually okay. I think the events with Sylvia and Kage have taken too much energy for me to feel much of anything. Suddenly who I’m sleeping next to doesn’t seem all that important.
“I’m okay, Matthew. We’ve got bigger things to worry about right now. Just don’t push me for more.”
“I’ll take a win where I can get one.” He squeezes my hand gently before turning over and going back to sleep.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
Xenobia
I’ve been working with Sylvia for several weeks trying to get her to accept her power. We have another meditation session today. It seems to be helping her work through the trauma of being held by Kage. My hope is that the more she connects to her inner self, the more centered she becomes, the more in tune she will be with the feeling and energy of her power. She will see that it is not something to be afraid of.
Sylvia is already in meditation when I get to the studio space. Usually I guide her through it, but it seems she wants to be on her own. That’s a step in the right direction. She’s ready to put in the effort rather than just doing it because she thinks I expect it. Sylvia has always been the most timid of us. I know once she gets a handle on her power, she will gain a ton of self-confidence.
Since it appears that Sylvia has everything under control, I head to my office to catch up on the mundane tasks that keep our business running. In other words, mountains of paperwork. Yes, even with all of the shit hitting the fan, there is still paperwork to do. Somehow, I think even if there was an apocalypse someone would be behind a desk doing paperwork. It was looking like a quiet afternoon, which I’d take over dealing with Kage any day. But, about thirty minutes into my work, my calm day turned interesting.
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
Sylvia
I did a lot of thinking and a lot of self-reflection after my ordeal with Kage. I still have nightmares sometimes, but I decided that it was time I stop being scared and start getting my shit together. I could have saved myself if I hadn’t been so hesitant about using my power. Instead, I ended up putting other people in danger when they had to come and rescue me.
Xen has dedicated herself to helping me learn to connect with my power. Today I decided to let her off the hook and take my future into my own hands. I’m used to being guided through meditation, but I’ve been doing this for a few weeks now so I think I’ve got the basic idea of how things should go.
I light some incense. I don’t really need it, but it helps trigger my brain to shift gears from busy to quiet. Sitting on my zafu cushion, I start counting my breaths to help my mind focus. When I feel a bit more centered, I reach for the sensation I’ve come to associate with my power. I am much better at tapping into the way it feels now. It is beginning to feel familiar and comfortable.
I begin to increase the intensity of the feeling like Xenobia has walked me through in previous sessions. My whole body feels like it is vibrating as the power becomes more and more consuming. Just when
it borders on pain, a sudden feeling of weightlessness comes over me, then I hear myself shriek because I’m unexpectedly drenched in water. My eyes fly open, and I wish I had kept them closed because I find myself sitting on the floor of a shower and staring up at Matt’s naked body.
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
Xenobia
I’m struck speechless when my office door opens, and I’m met with a soaking wet Sylvia and Matt wearing nothing but a towel.
“Oh my god, Xen, I made my powers work! Obviously,” she said pointing at Matthew, “I still need to hone it, but I did it!”
“Yeah, there I am minding my own business taking a shower, and she just popped in,” Matthew explains with a chuckle.
Sylvia’s face turns an interesting shade of pink as she looks down at the floor. I’m not sure I’m thrilled she was so close to him while he was naked, but I don’t want to examine it right now. My feelings about Matthew are complicated and not something I like to dwell on even though I probably should at some point. I’m so hot and cold with him. I’m surprised he doesn’t have whiplash from the back and forth. Instead of going down that rabbit hole, I address the success Sylvia has had with her powers.
“I knew you could do it! I’m so excited for you. How are you feeling, energy-wise?”
“I feel pretty good. It didn’t seem to drain me or anything. Of course, I wasn’t really focusing it, it just kind of happened spontaneously. We’ll have to see what effect it has when I put more direction to it.”
“Are you up for trying again right now?”
“Yeah, let me go up and put on some dry clothes and we’ll test it out.”
Matt and Sylvia left as I prepared myself for an evening of training.
The Rise of House Valdis Page 13