Her tears fell. “Then we both will die.”
She saw his shock, as he pulled her against him, pressed her cheek against his shoulder and wrapped his arms around her.
Even though she was deeply afraid of what she had set in motion, she closed her eyes and took comfort from the embrace. At least he understood. At least she had someone to share her fear.
* * * * *
Chronometric Conservation Agency Headquarters, Villa Fontani, Rome, 2264 A.D.: Kieren seemed to be completely indifferent to the magnificent grounds and buildings of the new Agency headquarters. He didn’t look around as they were escorted through the classically elegant rooms by Mariana, into the suite of rooms that were the heart of operations.
There were a dozen people working at the stations that ranged around the perimeter, including Rob and Christian. Christian glanced up and nodded, while Rob actually smiled at them before returning to his work.
Kieren did turn his head as they cross the big room. He quartered it with his gaze, absorbing detail. “They’ve set it up well,” he announced, his tone one of a professional passing judgment.
“Glad you like it,” Cáel told him. “This is your new work space.”
“I haven’t agreed yet,” Kieren reminded him.
Cáel ignored that. Kieren was at the point of toppling. He just had to find the lever that would tip him into agreement. The man didn’t want to look like he was capitulating too easily, which was understandable. He had given his life and his loyalty to a corporation that dumped him unceremoniously the moment he was proved to be unlike most of them. Kieren wasn’t just going to roll over and join the Agency without serious assurance he would be fully accepted. He needed to know that the Agency was not in any way similar to the Universal Wardens. Cáel had laid the groundwork to demonstrate that. He just needed something to get the seeds he had planted back in Israel to germinate.
Rob rose from his chair and crossed over to where Kieren stood looking around. “I heard you left the Wardens.”
Kieren nodded shortly.
“You’re freelancing, then?” Rob asked.
“Something like that,” Kieren replied.
“That’s what I wanted to hear,” Rob replied. “Because I’ve got a problem with the security assignments. Can you take a look?”
Kieren hesitated and glanced at Cáel. He stepped forward. “We should speak with Nayara, first,” he suggested.
Rob raised his hand placatingly. “After would be just as good,” he said. “This stuff can drive a man ter drink. I’m better with my broadsword in my hand than telling others how and where to raise their blade.”
A ghost of a smile touched Keiren’s mouth and eyes. “I doubt that very much, sir. Ms. Ibarra has a knack for giving people work that matches their abilities.”
Rob grinned. “Then it’d be an ability I’ve yet to grow. Do come and show me what the hell I’ve snarled, please?”
“I will,” Kieren assured him and glanced at Cáel once more. “Should we go in, sir?”
Mariana, who stood patiently to one side, moved forward again. “This way,” she told them both and led them through another charming cavedium and into Nayara’s room.
Nayara rose from behind her desk. Cáel caught the change in her expression when she saw him. Surprise, then a softening of her features as delight rippled through her. Almost instantly, though, she reverted to full professional mode. The Chief Executive Officer was back in place. She moved over to the two of them and rested her hand briefly on Keiren’s shoulder. “I’m glad you decided to come, Kieren.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Kieren said.
“He says he’s only visiting,” Cáel warned her.
Nayara smiled at Kieren. “Then sit and visit,” she told him and waved toward the low chairs and table that sat in front of the big windows, to take in the enclosed rose garden beyond.
“You do steal the most magnificent views,” Cáel told her as they moved to the chairs. “Although the night side of Earth from orbit is very hard to compete with, this comes close.”
Kieren glanced at the roses and sat down, gazing at Nayara expectantly.
Nayara gave Cáel a small smile and went to sit down but he caught her arm and drew her to him.
Nayara gasped and her gaze flickered toward Kieren.
“He knows,” Cáel murmured and kissed her, sliding his hand up into her hair to hold her head steady.
Nayara melted against him, which had to be one of the best sensations in the universe, in Cáel’s opinion. He reluctantly halted the kiss and handed her into her chair. Nayara rewarded him with a smile and a murmured ‘thank you’.
Cáel sighed and sat in his own chair. He glanced at Kieren. The man had watched them kiss without discomfort and he looked at Cáel without embarrassment. Good. If there was one thing Cáel had learned about being intimate with the senior members of the agency, it was that personal and business matters were barely separated, if at all. They mixed their professional and private lives into a single organic soup, because for them, everything was personal. If Kieren had showed signs of uneasiness at a simple – or perhaps not so simple – kiss, then Cáel would have grounds for concern.
He reached out and picked up Nayara’s hand, feeling her slender fingers under his. “How is Ryan?” he asked.
Nayara’s face worked and for a moment, Cáel glimpsed her upset.
“What is it?” he demanded.
“I…” She let out a breath and glanced at Kieren, who instantly got to his feet. “I can wait outside for a few minutes,” he said.
“Stay, please,” Cáel told him. He looked at Nayara. “If Kieren is to do the work I want him to do, he must be privy to everything. Tell us. What has happened? Did Ryan sleep again?”
Her throat worked and her fingers clamped around his. “Yes,” she murmured.
Kieren sat down slowly.
“Like before?” Cáel asked.
She nodded. From the grip she had on his hand, Cáel suspected that had she been human, Nayara would have been shedding tears by now. But that was not a luxury vampires enjoyed. “He fell asleep two days ago. If the pattern holds, he should wake up, today.”
“He sleeps?” Kieren asked softly.
Cáel breathed past his own worry. “Fahmido believes it is a product of the weapon Gabriel used upon him.”
Kieren considered that. “Ryan was not…balanced, in Sweden. He uses the cane always, now?”
“He is trying to wean himself from it,” Nayara replied. “But when he gets tired…” She trailed off and bit her lip.
“Vampires getting tired,” Kieren murmured. He shook his head a little. “This weapon of Gabriel’s—to do such a thing to a vampire.... What would it do to humans?”
There was a touch of outrage in his voice.
“We already know what it will do,” Nayara told him.
Kieren sat back. “You know, but you will not share that knowledge.”
“Commit to the Agency, Kieren, and she will,” Cáel told him. “All we need to know is that your discretion is assured.”
“Not my loyalty?”
Nayara gave him a small smile. “I would hope that your loyalty isn’t for sale. But I would like to earn it, if you give me a chance.”
Kieren studied her for what felt like a very long moment. Then he nodded. “Very well, ma’am. I accept.”
Cáel let out his breath and leaned forward. “Let’s hammer out the details right now.”
Kieren gave another small smile. “Let’s,” he agreed. “One of the first things I’m going to need is men dedicated to defense and security. That will be their only function and they will all report directly and exclusively to me.”
“You want to rebuild the Wardens inside the Agency, Kieren?” Nayara asked softly.
Kieren snorted in derision.
“He wants to build an army, Nia,” Cáel amended.
Nayara looked startled, then thoughtful. She nodded. “We are at war, aren’t we?”
Cáel knew then that he’d found his lever: The vampires’ vulnerable, human side. Kieren had just seen it and now wanted to protect it.
He had capitulated.
Cáel leaned forward just as Kieren was. “I can help you find your army,” he said. “What else do you need?”
Kieren laid his hand flat on the table and looked at Nayara. “You might want to take notes.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Liping Village, East Yunnan Province, China, 2054 A.D.: Her tears had dried a long time ago, but Deonne continued to talk. It felt so good to be able to speak aloud all the worries and concerns and pathetic little fears and paranoia she had held inside for far too long.
Santiago sat unmoving in the big chair, his gaze never leaving her face, while she sat, lay or sprawled on the bed, as she told her story. He questioned her here and there but mostly, he stayed silent. Prompts weren’t necessary. Now she had breached the barrier of silence, it was all pouring out of her.
But finally, after what felt a very long time, she had nothing left to tell him, except the last.
“Your name,” Santiago said, his voice deep and rumbling from the dark corner where he sat. “Your real name. What is it?”
“Deonne,” she told him. “Deonne Rinaldi.”
“Thank you,” he replied. “And your lover’s name? It is not Edward, I know that.”
“It is, actually. That is his middle name. Justin Edward Kelly.”
He took that fact in like all the others; in silence and deep contemplation. “You love him very much?”
Deonne plucked at the wicking on the counterpane, shyness stealing her voice. “I…don’t know,” she replied truthfully. “I think I love him, but with Justin, it is complicated.”
“Yes, I imagine it is,” Santiago said dryly, standing up.
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing more than what you have told me,” he assured her. “That he is vampire and you are not, and that he must remain in your time while you are hiding here. That does not allow for a fruitful relationship, especially when one of you is human.”
“Why does being human make a difference?”
Santiago sat on the bed next to her. The mattress dipped under his weight. “Because you do not live very long,” he replied. It was a matter-of-fact observation. “Months, even weeks, apart is a much greater loss than it would be between two vampires.”
“You have had relationships with both?” Deonne asked curiously.
“I have not had a relationship with either for a very long time,” Santiago replied. He was studying her again.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Deonne demanded.
“Not for the reasons you are thinking of,” Santiago told her, with a smile. “I am fighting temptation in that regard. Your Justin is entitled to your attention, not me.”
But he was sitting very close, all the same. Deonne wanted to move away, across the bed, or onto the chair he had just vacated.
“You are the something new I have been searching for, Deonne,” he said quietly and she forgot about moving away. She looked at him, startled. “Me?”
He nodded. “I could go a millennium and not learn all there is to learn about you and your time. It is an almost overwhelming goad, to learn what you know.”
His gaze wouldn’t let her go. She was trapped, staring into his pitch black eyes with their thick lashes.
Deonne swallowed. “I won’t live a thousand years,” she pointed out, retreating to the banal.
“I would turn you,” he replied calmly, “So that you could live forever and the world would not lose the benefit of your presence.”
Her heart stuttered to a standstill and she pressed her hand against her chest. Such simple words, but they held such power.
Such temptation.
Her gaze fell to his lips, which were full and looked soft.
“Why is it I have the sensation that you want to kiss me?” Santiago asked, his voice very low.
Deonne tore her gaze away from his mouth and lifted it to his eyes.
Bad mistake.
* * * * *
Detroit-Rocktown Supercity, 2264 A.D.: They would have hurried along what remained of the cracked and blasted sidewalk, except that Ryan couldn’t hurry. He moved fast enough despite the cane, but speed was out of the question.
Cáel beat down the fear and despair that want to break from him every time he glanced at Ryan as he toiled forward.
Both Kieren and Brenden had failed to comment on Ryan’s progress or even look at him sideways, that Cáel had seen. They moved along as a group and both Kieren and Brenden had their hands held out at the peculiar, taut angle that told Cáel they had weapons stashed on them and were half-an-inch from reaching for them. They just needed cause.
Well, this was Detroit Supercity. It was the first time Cáel had ever dared step inside its borders and it was only something he risked because of the company he was in. Two vampires and one of the best the Wardens had ever produced gave a man a certain confidence.
He didn’t let it go to his head, though. Ten minutes on the ground, walking along these forgotten and desolate streets, was enough to explain at full volume the endless questions that were raised in the Assembly over what to do about the city.
It was a lawless zone. Police had long ago abandoned their attempts to maintain any sort of law and had withdrawn to guard the borders. Now the law was one simply of survival.
Because of the lack of monitoring, laws and authority, every criminal, psychopath and ID-less human ended up here. It was much worse than the fringes of Washington City, which were at least swept regularly for the worst offenders.
Brenden had warned them before they had climbed into Cáel’s rental that he couldn’t guarantee their safety if they chose to come. Given the depth of Brenden’s resources and abilities, the warning was dire, indeed.
“If your friend is living amongst…this,” Ryan said, shifting his cane to step over a man lying half-across the pavement, either asleep…or not. As per Brenden’s orders, no one stopped to check on him or slow their progress. “If he has been thriving among this, he has skills we could use.”
They moved down the street, which was becoming steadily more built up, the buildings whole and more-or-less livable. There were others out on the street, too. Nearly everyone looked dirty, badly dressed and suffering from some sort of infection or disease. They shuffled along with their heads down, coughing, spitting and breathing heavily.
“He’s not a friend,” Brenden growled.
“Acquaintance, then,” Ryan amended easily.
“This way,” Brenden said, turning down the side street and changing the subject at the same time.
The street was as narrow as an alley, with buildings rising up on both sides like canyon walls. There was no pavement to walk upon, just broken and pot-holed bitumen where vehicles with wheels had gashed two curving trenches over time. There was only room for one vehicle at a time.
“I don’t like this,” Ryan muttered, stepping carefully over a puddle, then pausing to negotiate a deep rut.
“Your friend keeps strange quarters,” Cáel agreed.
Brenden scowled.
“Acquaintance,” Cáel corrected himself.
“What better way to blend in?” Kieren said, his tone even and completely without judgment. “Living in luxury here would make one a very big target.”
“Blend in?” Ryan snorted. “What self-respecting vampire would allow himself to live like this when there are so many other possibilities?” He sniffed. “I smell alcohol and lots of it.”
Brenden pointed ahead. “He’ll be in there.”
“There” was a dark, recessed door, the only entrance in either building, anywhere along the length of the street. There was a light fixture mounted over the door, but it wasn’t switched on...or wa
sn’t working. The afternoon had turned cloudy and was threatening rain, the black clouds hunkering down low over the city, which made the street dim and the doorway even darker.
“Looks promising,” Ryan muttered as they got closer. He was the only one to make an observation. Everyone fell silent, the atmosphere evaporating conversation.
Brenden rapped sharply on the blank door and waited.
After a long moment, the door opened and a man in his sixties, with wrinkled cheeks and silvery growth around his chin peered out at them carefully. “Only humans allowed,” he growled.
Kieren stepped forward smoothly. “I’ll vouch for these two.”
The man studied Ryan, who was leaning heavily on the cane, more than he had all day. Then the gatekeeper looked up at Brenden, and scowled. “You can keep this one contained?”
“I’ll stay contained if you open the bloody door,” Brenden growled. “We’re here for Rhydder.”
“Cade Rhydder?” The man pushed the door further open. “Well, why didn’t you say that to start with? We’ve been waitin’ for you for over an hour.”
Brenden shrugged. “I stopped for reinforcements.” His glanced flickered toward Ryan and he gave a microscopic shrug. He was as baffled as the rest of them.
“Damned good idea,” the gatekeeper replied, stepping back and holding the door aside. “Although that one looks like he won’t be much help at all with that leg. Still he’s vampire, and there’s no telling with you folks. Come on, come on. Rhydder’s in the main parlor.”
They stepped in through the door, crowding together just inside the doorway, taking their bearings. Keiren’s arm, Cáel noticed, was resting against the side of his thigh, flat and taught. Ready for action in tight quarters. He quartered the room with his gaze, a sweeping assessment.
He nudged Brenden’s side and pointed with his left hand. Downwards.
They stood at the top of a set of basic, raw wooden stairs. Real wood, as far as Cáel could tell, but he hadn’t seen enough real wood furniture to know what the difference was. The landing was about six foot square, and a slender grab rail ran from the landing to the floor, twenty feet below. The side of the stairs jutting into the room below was open and unprotected. It was the crudest set of stairs Cáel had ever seen.
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