Absolution: A Dominion Novel

by Lissa Kasey

  “I’m not really a friendship bracelet kind of guy,” I told him, but held out my hand. It was a thick leather cord with purple, blue, and green beads on it. They felt like glass, and when I slid my fingers over them, a sleepy sense of calm warmth eased through me.

  “I made them from your grave dirt,” Seiran said. “They should help keep your energy up when you’re out and about.” He laid back down and closed his eyes. “They don’t work at all for Gabe anymore. He won’t even wear them anyway.”

  This was all a big clusterfuck. I clipped the bracelet onto my right wrist. “Thanks, Ronnie.” The warmth of the bracelet rolled up my arm, and spread through my body slowly, uncomfortable at first in its intensity, but then it lapped away like waves on a beach, leaving behind a tingling of life I hadn’t realized I’d been lacking. “Wow. Maybe glass bead bracelets will become my new kink.”

  Seiran cracked the barest of smiles for me.

  “Sleep now,” I commanded. I tugged the blanket over him and turned off the light before grabbing the baby monitor and heading to the living room. If the babies stirred I’d probably hear them without the help of an electronic device since I could hear their little hearts beating in the next room. I could even tell when Sei finally drifted off to sleep by the sound of his breathing.

  Weird. I’d not been able to do that before. Gabe should have been here to explain it to me, which just pissed me off. What was wrong with him?

  Seiran was twenty-three. He was the Pillar of earth, researcher for the Magical Investigations department of the Dominion, the father of newborn twins, and Focus to one of the most powerful vampires alive. How the hell did Gabe think he could just walk away? I thought about Max Hart and how he hadn’t taken responsibility for Luca until Luca’s mother had dropped him on Max’s doorstep. Maybe it was a vampire thing. If so, it really sucked and I totally planned on giving the big guy a piece of my mind.

  I plugged in my phone so it would charge then pulled up the grocery ordering website that Sei always used. The cupboards were almost bare and the fridge had no food in it but was stocked with QuickLife. What the hell? The freezer was packed with frozen blood packs, all untouched but dated. I grabbed one and nuked it. Then opened the cupboard below the sink to find the recycle bin. Sure enough the blue bin was full of QuickLife bottles. How much of this stuff was Gabe drinking? He said we’d need two to three bottles a day. This was more like ten to fifteen. Crap. I needed to talk to him about that.

  At least Seiran had his password saved as well as his normal grocery list. I checked through it and added a few things for the babies before ordering a quick delivery. I began to pick up the apartment. Habit ingrained even after only living with them a few months. The babies slept pretty soundly, though I did hear them stir once or twice, which had Seiran tossing and turning. Mizuki opened his eyes to stare at me once when I’d entered the room to look at them. His blue eyes glowing in the dark.

  Yeah, that wasn’t normal. I put my finger to my lips and mimicked closing my eyes. Mizuki blinked twice, slower each time and fell back to sleep. Yeah, so not normal babies.

  Chapter 13

  My phone buzzed now that it had enough juice, telling me I had several text messages. A lot from Luca. A lot from Con, lots of short texts separated over a series of days and even weeks. They had both apparently been texting me the entire time I was in the ground. I sent Con a quick text letting him know I was back and at Gabe’s place. He responded immediately that he was upstairs and would be right down.

  Quietly. I wrote back. I’m babysitting the next generation of Pillars.

  All I got back was a thumbs up. The elevator dinged a few moments later. I was grateful the ding didn’t wake anyone. Con rushed into the condo looking like he’d just dragged himself out of bed. He smelled of warmth, sweat, and cotton. The tank top, pajama pants, and slippers attested to the fact that he’d been sleeping somewhere.

  He raced across the room and had his arms around me before I could think to react. His grip almost crushing. I didn’t realize he’d wrapped himself around me and buried my face in his neck before I smelled his blood, close to the skin. I wasn’t hungry, at least not unbearably so.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” I said to him, returning his embrace and patting his back, while breathing in the scent of him. He didn’t smell like the nectar that Luca did, but it was almost as good, this sense of peace and home. “I’m back, sort of don’t remember being gone long, but I’m back. The world has gone to shit while I was gone. Thought you were supposed to hold it together for me.” I half joked.

  Con pulled away enough to grip my face in his hands, staring intently into my eyes. “Don’t leave like that again.”

  “Wasn’t planning on doing it the first time,” I defended.

  Con growled a fiercely angry sound that tightened my balls and made me hard as a rock. Fuck.

  Then he kissed me.

  Not some brush of the lips or peck on the cheek, but a full devouring, suck on my tongue kiss. At first I was at a loss, trying to understand what was happening. My body reacting to him like we were attached to an electric circuit. I opened my mouth, taking his tongue, tasting his lips, swallowing his gasps as our hips moved together. Friction amazing after wanting it forever.

  His hold on my face just shy of pain, and so fucking good. I trembled, reaching a hand up to cup the back of his head and change the angle, pressing us both backward until he tripped onto the couch, dragging me on top of him. He let out a little oomph, but Con slid his hand down my back, to the top of my jeans and beneath the fabric to squeeze my ass. I didn’t like to bottom anymore, but if that’s what he needed I could make it work.

  I growled at him, nipping his jaw, while my hips ground against his. He stiffened, his passion fading away, and I thought for a minute, he’d come, but the scent of fear hit my nose. I froze.

  “Con?” I whispered, pulling away to look at him. His eyes were squeezed shut. “Con?”

  “Just need a minute,” he whispered.

  I scrambled off of him, realizing we both looked disheveled and I was supposed to be babysitting newborns. I listened for the twins, but heard only their steady breathing and heartbeats. Seiran too, still fast asleep. At least we hadn’t been too loud.

  Con didn’t move. At least not consciously. A fine tremor ran through him. Barely visible, but I was a vampire and little changes didn’t escape me. Had I done something?

  “Con?” I reached for him. He put a hand up to ward me off.

  “I thought I was ready,” he muttered, still not looking at me.

  “I would never push you…” It hadn’t even been me who’d started it. Con had always been on my do not touch list. Fuck. Back a few hours and already fucking things up. “I’m sorry.”

  “It wasn’t you,” Con said. He sat up, folding himself in half to bow over his knees. “Not really. I mean, I felt teeth on my jaw.”

  I hadn’t broken the skin. It wasn’t even a real bite. “Did I hurt you?”

  “No. No, just…I thought I was ready. It connected in my brain. You being a vampire, the teeth, the fear.” He shook his head. “I need to work on it more with my therapist.”

  I hadn’t known he’d been seeing one. “Okay.” My stomach ached with the idea that this could be the end for us. A beginning and an ending all at once. Fuck. “Con, I don’t want…”

  “We’re fine,” Con promised.

  But it didn’t feel like we were fine. It felt like we were breaking. “You’re my best friend, Con.”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Ditto, right?” He looked toward the elevator and I knew he wanted to escape.

  “It’s okay. You can go,” I told him. “Maybe we can talk when you’re more awake, eh? Not at o-dark-thirty or some shit.”

  Con nodded. He got up slowly, still not looking at me. “I’m sorry, Sam.”

  So was I. “We’re good,” I told him, putting more confidence in the words than I felt. “Once I’m done watching the rug rats we can play some games, yeah?”<
br />
  He smiled. “Yeah. Games would be good.” I let him leave and sat down on the couch staring at the small remains of the mess I had yet to clean up. Alone in the silence of night was always hard. I didn’t want to be alone. How weird was that? I had spent most of my life wishing people would just leave me the fuck alone, now it was the last thing I needed.

  I could crawl into bed with Seiran and he probably wouldn’t care, but I wasn’t tired, and didn’t want to chance waking him when he obviously needed the sleep. I picked up my phone and scrolled down to view the messages I hadn’t read, which was most of it.

  Luca’s first text right after I’d gone to ground made me pause. The answer began a long list of daily texts.

  Answer to your question: A vampire asked me to be your cibo. You seemed nice when we talked, a good match, and I agreed to meet you.

  You weren’t my first newbie vamp.

  I thought it would be okay, just like any other assignment.

  Then I saw you sitting there at the club and you just looked so lonely.

  I thought “that’s me.” Alone in the crowd. Invisible. Unlovable. Again, I thought we’d be a good match.

  You rejected me. I was hurt. Angry. Stupid. Followed you.

  Found you at the coffee shop, again alone and lost.

  You remind me of myself. The part of myself that I bury to stay safe.

  Not that it’s a bad thing…

  We fought and you were so hot even covered in my blood I wanted you to fuck me.

  You’ve got a mean right hook.

  But you ran from me.

  What did I do wrong?

  Seiran says I’m too pushy.

  But you’re a strong guy, you can handle pushy. I think you like pushy in some ways. I can be that if you need.

  I liked dancing with you. Kissing you.

  Sorry I went territorial on you. I should have known better. I’m working on it.

  My dad says Gabe isn’t training you very well.

  You shouldn’t have had to go to ground so soon.

  You should have been more prepared.

  Gabe is pissed that my dad won’t take his calls.

  Seiran is mad at me. He acts like he’s the ruler of your life. It drives me nuts because I know he’s just trying to protect you.

  That’s not his place though. I want it to be mine.

  Sigh.

  You’ve been asleep a long time.

  Things are bad topside. Folks are talking war.

  We’re pretty sure it’s the QuickLife.

  Something in the formula.

  Don’t drink the synthetic crap.

  When you’re back, pick me.

  I talk to you sometimes when I’m visiting, but I don’t know if you hear me.

  I miss our online chats and your sarcastic emails.

  The weather is warming up, you should wake up now.

  I lost a cage fight yesterday. My face hurts from the beating I took. My pride hurts more.

  Will you fight me again?

  The lost fight was less than a week ago, though he’d looked okay when he’d brought me home. Crap, he was sappy. Was it funny that even his random texts made something in my stomach clench? Damn Luca Depacio for getting in my head.

  I sent him a text.

  You still awake?

  It was almost one in the morning.

  Yes. An immediate reply.

  You’re kind of a text freak. Texting me the whole time I was to ground. Why not just keep a love diary or something?

  Jerk.

  Asshole.

  Your asshole if you want it.

  I laughed out loud and had to cover my mouth so I didn’t wake the babies or Seiran. Crap where had that come from? When was the last time I’d laughed? Grade school maybe? Fuck.

  Come over.

  Would Con get mad? Was I cheating on Con by seeing Luca if Con had never told me he wanted me before? Wait, he had, I just thought he was being nice. Fuck. I so didn’t need this insanity in my head. Going to ground should have fixed all my life troubles, right? I laughed again. Life. I was a vampire. I didn’t have a life.

  Seiran’s? My phone buzzed. Technically Seiran’s place was upstairs, where I was pretty sure Con was staying.

  Gabe’s. He’s not here. Seiran is asleep.

  Give me ten.

  Be careful. I sent him.

  I opened Seiran’s computer and began to surf through weeks of news stories about vampires gone wild. Not mild stuff like flashing tits or anything. No this was smashing windows and randomly feeding off people who passed them in the streets. Apparently everything began here. What an odd place for a vampire war. Why not California or New York?

  But then it did make sense. Gabe was here. So was Max. Apparently Galloway and now Tresler who had done several interviews for the press citing that he would tighten the reins on his people until they behaved. The four most powerful vampires in the world were all in one place, not a coincidence.

  Was Galloway right? Was Tresler trying to get Gabe out of the picture? And what about the QuickLife. Luca said not to drink it and Gabe was drinking it by the ton.

  I sipped at the reheated old blood. It didn’t taste any better than I remembered. And since my belly wasn’t whining that it was starving, I was okay with just sipping it. Why couldn’t the bloodlust have been this manageable before?

  I researched the internet about the rise in vampire attacks. The two that I’d been accused of were actually done by a Wisconsin man who’d crossed the border to try to hide his kills. He’d been caught by Mike—Gabe’s right-hand man—and publicly executed. I didn’t watch the fire knowing it would be something I’d never be able to erase from my head.

  There were hundreds of reports. Christ. What the hell was happening out there? More were popping up across the country, but most centered here. I dialed Mike just as the grocery order arrived. I directed them quietly to the kitchen and just to leave the bags and boxes there so I could go through them. The group of three humans were efficient, silent, and done before Mike picked up his phone.

  “Are you awake or did someone steal your phone?” he asked.

  “I’m awake. I think. The world has kind of gone crazy while I’ve been to ground.”

  “That happens a lot actually. I went to ground in the fifties. Woke up in the seventies. Longest nap I’d ever had, felt like the blink of an eye but the world had gone nuts. War and drugs and madness. The free sex part was the best part of it. Oh and weed. Weed is great.”

  I liked Mike. Probably should have talked to him before going to ground. “You slept over a decade then? And I thought two and a half months was bad.”

  “Nah. The older you get the longer you get between, but when it hits, it hits for a long time. Could be decades or even centuries before we wake up.”

  Hadn’t Galloway slept for several centuries? “So it will get longer?”

  “Not if you do it regularly enough. Most of us older vampires try to go to ground once a decade or so. Keeps us from getting overtired. Then it’s a week to a month on average. Back before the humans knew about us, we’d go to ground each night for protection, never had these long naps then. But that’s only been the last century. No idea why yours was so long since you’re still so new. You feeling better though? More in control?”

  “Yeah. Though everyone else seems to have lost control. And Gabe…”

  Mike was silent for a minute. The call box buzzed from upstairs. It was Luca. I unlocked the elevator to let him down. I had to ask before Luca was close enough to hear. “Does he need to go to ground?”

  Mike’s sigh was heavy. “He won’t. You know he won’t.”

  “Any idea how long it’s been for him?”

  “Too long. Centuries, I think. Before he met Seiran he was little more than a zombie, existing within the set rules. Lots of murmurs back then of him looking for an easy way to die. Then he met Seiran and he changed. I’d been watching him deteriorate for a while, and poof, like magic, he was the guy
I remember from the days we first met, happy and willing to live. When Sei buried him after that Roman thing, he should have left him until he was ready to dig himself out.”

  Fuck. That’s what worried me. “How are you holding up?”

  “I’m okay.”

  “Nothing like any of the other vamps are experiencing?”

  “No. No more crazy than usual.”

  A thought occurred to me. “Do you drink QuickLife?”

  “Nope. Wouldn’t touch that shit. I’ve a couple regulars that I circulate through not unlike a cibo, only not officially designated as them. It’s cheaper for me that way. Cibos aren’t cheap.”

  “Lovers rather than blood whores.”

  “Mundane, yes, but effective. You’re better off with the real thing if you can get it. I’ve been hearing rumors about the QuickLife being part of the problem. So steer clear.”