Braithwaite finally entered the conversation. “Unless, perhaps, the suspect has learned how to mask its scent from other preternaturals.”
Nix wished he’d kept his mouth shut. He was just making her mad. “I don’t see how. Besides, it isn’t likely.” At the questioning looks sent her way, she added, “It’s not their nature.”
“Not their nature?” Deoul drummed his fingers on the table. “The nature of demons is to be deceptive, devious, and untrustworthy,” he said as he ticked off the list on his fingers. “This, it would seem to me, would be exactly the sort of thing a demon would do.”
“There has been no evidence at either scene to support your supposition that demons are behind this.” It wasn’t a lie, not exactly. A scent at the scene that might have been demon wasn’t evidence. “Demons see no need to disguise themselves from anyone, let alone other prets. They don’t care what anyone thinks of them. They’re like the British Redcoats during the Revolutionary War, loud, proud, and obvious,” Nix defended. That at least got a snort of amusement from Caladh. She went on, “Why else haven’t they protested the fact that there’s no representation of their sect on the council?”
More skepticism from the council members. Braithwaite flashed his fangs as his lip lifted in a sneer. He leaned back in his chair, eyes hard and glittering.
Maintaining her composure by the thinnest of threads, she ground out, “What exactly is it that I’ve done, or not done, to earn your distrust?”
“You’re part demon, girl.” Deoul’s voice was as flinty and unforgiving as the expression on his face. “The only reason we appointed you as liaison to the human community was because of your ties to the preternatural community and your partial humanity. But I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time before the demon in you overrides your humanity and you go mad.” His voice lowered. “You can’t deny your heritage.”
Nix couldn’t deny that her mother was a succubus. She couldn’t deny that being part demon enhanced every violent tendency she tried to keep hidden. She couldn’t deny that sometimes she herself thought if she didn’t have sex she’d die, and while a focused tai chi workout wasn’t nearly the same as an intense round of sex, it was safer and it worked.
She could deny that she was merely the sum of her parts. “I’m more than my genetics.”
“It’s in your blood.” Deep in those pale elvish eyes lurked a hatred of her kind. Of her.
She swallowed. Her brow puckered. How had she not seen that before?
Blowing out a breath, she tried to calm her thudding heart. “I’ve been doing my job to the best of my abilities for two years now. I’m damn good, you know that.” She stared at Deoul, hoping her anger was still hidden, and resisted the urge to scratch that itch beneath her bangs. If he saw her rubbing over her hidden horn buds, he’d know for sure he was getting to her. “If there’s something I can do differently, anything I can do to convince you that I’m more than, better than, a demon, that my humanity is still very much in control…please, let me know.” God, she was buying into the entire bias against demons, that somehow she should be better than a demon. Before she could retract her last statement, the council president leaned forward and put one fingertip on the table.
Deoul narrowed his eyes. “Watch your tone, Ms. de la Fuente.”
Tobias took a step forward. “Her tone was quite respectful, Deoul, and she asked a valid question. An answer I’m interested in hearing, too.”
Nix tried to ignore the surprise that went through her at him standing up for her.
She was stunned when Victoria piped up as well. “As would I.”
Braithwaite shot to his feet, hands on hips, and glared at all three liaisons. “We’re not required to explain ourselves to any of you.” He pointed at them. “You work for us, not the other way around.”
“Of course we do,” Tobias replied, unfazed by the other vampire’s outburst. “But when I see a colleague of mine being treated with disrespect for no apparent reason, or strictly because of her bloodlines in which she had no choice, I have to wonder why. I also have to wonder how long it’ll be before I’m treated with the same discourtesy.” He folded his arms over his muscular chest.
Nix envied his ability to stay cool. Her emotions were pinging all over the place, partly because of the way the council had been acting toward her, but mostly because of Tobias and the confusing mix of feelings he wrought in her. The itching sensation on her forehead had increasingly become more and more uncomfortable and now bordered on pain. She had a feeling it wouldn’t take much more for her to pop her horn buds. While she knew she couldn’t overcome all of the people in the room, they were a hell of a lot stronger than she was, she could still do a lot of damage. Going demon not only gave her additional strength and agility, it also let loose an unholy rage that lurked deep within her like a hidden river of bubbling lava. Only the calming influence of her daily tai chi workout kept a lid on it. That and the fact that Tobias had been so willing to stand up to the council in her defense lent a level of shock that somewhat quelled the other emotions.
Tobias murmured, “I’m well aware of how other preternaturals look upon vampires. You call us akĥ khantu, carrion feeders. Partly because we can only take over a dying or recently deceased body, and partly because in order to make another vampire we must drain the person of almost all their blood.” He glanced at Nix, his gaze unreadable. “I would like to believe we’ve all grown beyond that attitude; that we look at people for their individual worth. It’s no less than I deserve. It’s no less than any of us deserve, including Nix.”
Nix released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. It was nice to have someone on her side in such an obvious way. She didn’t get that support often. She barely ever saw her mother and when she did it was like two strangers getting together. She’d never known her father, and her paternal grandmother had passed on almost ten years ago. Nix had gone to the streets, supporting herself by petty thievery and a few bigger jobs. She wanted to stay mad at Tobias, keep the hurt close to the surface, but right now she was just damn grateful for his support.
Deoul turned his glare solely on Nix. “She is a half-breed,” he spat. “An abomination.”
Here we go. More of the “purebreds are better” bull Deoul dished out as often as he could. Unable to help herself, Nix whispered, “I believe the politically correct term is hybrid.” Before Deoul could deliver what no doubt would have been a scathing response, she continued in a louder tone. “You knew when you hired me that I was part demon.” She glanced at the other two councilors and then back at Deoul. “I was told at the time that my hiring was a unanimous decision, so what’s changed?”
The elf’s chin lifted. “Some of us were lobbied quite extensively on your behalf. It by no means began as a unanimous decision.” He glanced at Caladh with a frown. The selkie must have been one of the members originally in favor of hiring her. Deoul went on, “While we understand you are also human, and it cannot be denied that you’ve done an acceptable job for us, it still remains that your humanity is twisted with that of demon. It is, without a doubt, only a matter of time before your inner demon comes out to play. Literally. And what then?”
What then indeed. Nix wanted to say that when she did start going demon, Deoul would be the first one on her list, but she restrained herself. “I disagree. I’m twenty-eight years old. If I was able to maintain control over my demon during puberty—a time during which many human parents believe their children are demons—and didn’t fall prey to madness in my early twenties, I’m confident I’ll be fine.” She made eye contact with Deoul, holding his gaze for several moments, then did the same with Caladh and Braithwaite. They could never know how many self-doubts she had about her ability to stay in control. The tai chi worked, but would it always? “I’m already five years, almost six, beyond the time when most other hybrids have lost the battle. Have I given you reason to believe I’m about to lose it? Or are you just speaking out of fear?”
All
three of them stiffened, as did Tobias and Victoria, and, as Nix’s heart rate tripled its beat, she thought she’d finally gone too far.
Braithwaite opened his mouth, probably ready to give her a scathing put down, but Caladh slammed his palm on the table. “Enough!” Looking at Braithwaite, he muttered, “Sit down.” When the vampire didn’t move, Caladh bared his teeth, showing a set of pearly whites that were starting to sharpen into neat points. “Sit. Down.”
A muscle twitched in Braithwaite’s pale jaw. He looked at Nix, his pupils dilated, swallowing up any trace of brown. Pressing his lips together, he sat, though Nix could tell it was done with reluctance. He glanced at Caladh, his expression a mixture of subservience and irritation. The selkie was a longtime member of the council, and a powerful man in his own right. It wasn’t smart to get on his bad side. When Caladh spoke, the younger councilors listened. Unless they were stupid, and Braithwaite was, if nothing else, not stupid.
“Thank you.” Caladh looked at Nix with sympathy in his eyes. “Nix, I realize you’re in a sometimes untenable position. Due to your work with us you’ve become something of a target among demonkind, yet you rarely receive any sort of acclaim.” He sent a pointed glance his colleagues’ way. “Let me say, for the record, that you do an admirable job under very difficult circumstances. I, for one, appreciate the fact that you’re on our team.”
Nix blinked. While it had been obvious to her that Caladh was the least judgmental of the three, it had seemed that he did, indeed, disapprove of her. But if he said he appreciated her, she’d take it, even if he was lying through those oh-so-white teeth. “Thank you, my lord Caladh.” See? She could be just as gracious as the next person.
A small smile curved one side of his mouth. “I think we can call this meeting adjourned, don’t you, Deoul? There’s nothing more to be discussed at this stage.” He winked at her and turned a solemn face toward the other members of the council. “As our human liaison has stated, it’s too early to tell.”
Deoul gave an abrupt nod. “I agree. I expect an update, in person, the second you have more information,” he stated, looking at Nix.
She nodded.
“We’re adjourned.” Deoul stood and walked away from the table, Caladh and Braithwaite following him.
As soon as the doors closed behind them, Nix turned to Tobias and Victoria with a sigh. “Thank you both for coming to my defense. I thought I was about to be put on a spit and roasted.”
“It could still happen,” Victoria said with a wink of her own. Her usually somber face lit with a rare smile. “Deoul, I’m told, has a fondness for rump roasts.” She glanced at Nix’s rear, then gave a small wave and walked out of the room.
That left Tobias. “I thought there for a while that you’d told them about the you-know-what at the scene.” Nix didn’t want to talk too loudly, because with a building full of shape-shifters, vampires, and other sundry preternaturals, she never knew who was listening.
His expression didn’t change from the polite, bland facade he’d presented to the council. “I told you I wouldn’t say anything. For now.” His gaze held hers. “But you’ll need to provide evidence to the contrary.”
Vampire pheromones wafted her way. She swayed, her body tightening with the beginnings of arousal. She drew in a shaky breath, slipping out her tongue to wet her dry lips. Staring at his mouth, she wanted to feel it against hers again. Against her breasts. Against her throat…
As soon as she realized her head was beginning to tilt to one side she drew herself up and glared at him with stiff outrage. “Caine! Keep your damned pheromones to yourself.”
He met her scowl. “Can I help it if I know you’re such a tasty morsel?” He fixed his eyes on her throat. His pupils dilated, and she caught a glimpse of fangs. Lust darkened his face. He always used to look at her like that, but five years ago the lust had been tempered with love. Or so she’d thought. Now, though, there were no tender emotions reflected in his eyes. Now it was only hunger. Physical and sexual.
She tightened her lips. Bastard. She wasn’t good enough or was too demon or something for him to love, but he was making it pretty obvious that he’d be willing to pierce her with fangs and cock again.
Nix fisted her hands and fought back anger at his callousness. He had never been so cold. He used to care about his sexual partner’s feelings, didn’t just use people for blood and sex. But now he seemed indifferent. To her, at least. She turned on her heel and strode away.
She didn’t know whether to be happy or sad when he didn’t come after her.
Chapter Four
Half an hour later Nix unlocked her front door and pushed her way past an excited, full-bladdered dog. One of her neighbors routinely took the mutt out for an afternoon walk around three p.m. and fed him, but it was now almost ten and she knew he needed to go again.
He circled around her feet, his shoulder butting her thighs, a woof of impatience leaving him when she dropped her shoulder bag on the floor. “I know, sweetie.” She ruffled the top of his head and toed off her boots. If they could have, her feet would have breathed a sigh of relief. “Just let me change shoes, all right?”
She headed into her bedroom, Rufus at her heels. As she went through the living room she noticed the book she’d been reading was on the floor. It didn’t look too worse for wear, but she could see it was a little mangled around the edges. “Have you been nibbling on my book?” she asked the dog. A stray that had started hanging around the apartment complex, he’d adopted her a couple of years ago. Every time he’d seen her he’d immediately rolled onto his back for his belly to be scratched. Nix had managed to ignore him the first few times, but the dog had been persistent.
Now he was her constant companion. She sat on the edge of her queen-size bed and shoved her feet into her old-fashioned sneakers, pulling the laces tight. “Don’t you know dogs don’t like demons?” she asked him for the umpteenth time. He gave her a doggy grin and wagged his tail.
She supposed it was the human in her that the dog was drawn to. Or, as she had long suspected, he was just a little on the nutty side.
As she was tying the shoestrings, Rufus yipped at her. She finished and stood. “All right, already.” She walked back to the entryway and grabbed his leash. He started prancing around, making it difficult to get the leash clipped to his collar. She finally did, though, got the door opened, and pulled it closed behind her as Rufus yanked her out onto the sidewalk. As soon as they were outside, he took off for the grassy area between the building and the parking lot, Nix jogging to keep up with him.
“You poor baby.”
Rufus sent her a look she could only interpret as gleeful canine relief and shortly began walking her the length of the parking lot, dodging around stately saguaros and clusters of purple-tinged prickly pear cacti. As the dog stopped and sniffed everything in sight, he ignored the sound of traffic from the street and the loud music coming from the apartment on the corner. Usually Nix had patience with him and let him do his doggy thing, but tonight…
Between seeing Tobias again and the nonsense the council had put her through, her inner demon was pretty ramped up. She needed to get back inside and calm it down with tai chi.
She got Rufus inside and gave him half a cup of dog food as a treat for not ruining the apartment in her absence—she wouldn’t count the gnawed-on book against him—then changed into a loose pair of cotton shorts and a tank top. Going back into the living room, she dimmed the lights and began her tai chi routine by raising her hands above her head on an inhale, and then bringing them down and in front of her while exhaling. One form flowed slowly into another, from Embrace the Tiger to Return to Mountain. Arms and legs worked in controlled harmony. Her breathing evened out, her soul centered and became calm.
Waving Hands in Clouds was followed by Golden Pheasant Stands on One Leg. She remembered when she first began doing tai chi and tried this move, she’d wobbled back and forth like a bobblehead. Now she was steadfast, her balance true. A few mor
e moves, a cross of her hands in front of her, a final exhale, and her routine was complete. She felt relaxed and in a much calmer frame of mind. She went through her nightly bedtime preparations, and, with her favorite penguin pajamas on, she turned off the light and climbed into bed. She heard the clatter of Rufus’s claws on the hardwood floor. They stopped and in the dark she could feel him staring at her. She gave him a firm no. He huffed a sigh and padded over to his thick dog bed. It was a routine he followed every night. Standing by her bed making doggy eyes at her, hoping to get to sleep up in the big bed with her. And every night she told him no. She had a hard enough time sleeping as it was. She wasn’t about to let him spread out and take up most of the room.
Nix bent one leg and stretched her arms out. The tai chi had done what it was supposed to, relax her body and calm her mind, but she could already feel her thoughts beginning to race, drawing her back to when she’d first seen Tobias again. It had been so long since they’d seen each other, but in those first few seconds it had been like no time at all had passed. It would have been the most natural thing in the world to walk right back into his arms.
She couldn’t stop her mind from taking her to a time when she and Tobias had been happy together. They’d gone out to celebrate her twenty-third birthday. A night out at one of Maldonado’s clubs, then home to bed. But not to sleep.
Nix shivered and rolled onto her side. The year that she and Tobias were together would be ingrained in her memory until the day she died, but that night…the details of that night were as fresh as if it were just yesterday. There’d been the slow walk across the bedroom floor, him guiding her backward as his mouth never left hers. When the mattress had hit the back of her thighs Tobias had steadied her.
Kiss of the Vampire Page 5