Hope and Vengeance: Saa Thalarr, book 1

by Connie Suttle

  * * *

  Saxom cursed before destroying most of what was within reach. He'd loosed the rogues under Xenides' command, but worried that he hadn't prepared sufficient forces. How had he not seen that they'd use the Elemaiyan habit of hopping from one location to another?

  Saxom snarled and tossed a bookshelf across the room as if it weighed nothing.

  * * *

  I'd never seen the Council fight before that night. Never suspected that they'd gained their positions because they deserved them. Flavio fought with an efficiency almost as frighteningly beautiful as Gavin or Merrill did. Wlodek was terrifying as he removed heads from rogues.

  Will and Russell fought in tandem, but I'd seen them do that often. Dragon's blades flew as he waded through a knot of rogues. I misted between him and Kiarra, who both fought with blades. With claws flashing, we chased the last of the rogues, discovering that Merrill, Flavio and Wlodek had barricaded the exit from the cave, killing any rogue who thought to escape us.

  The last one screamed when he died—Bearcat and Joey had taken him down together. Breathing hard, I nodded my admiration to both.

  * * *

  "I'd prefer to demand to know what is going on, but I see that I am outclassed," Wlodek admitted.

  He and the others had taken their seats around the U-shaped table, a few looking worse for wear. Two seats were empty—Maurizio's ash littered the floor somewhere, and Saxom hadn't been there for the meeting since he'd gone rogue. He was behind this attack—I was confident in that assumption.

  Lion, Kiarra and Dragon faced the Council, with Merrill, Joey, Bearcat and me backing them up. Wlodek's eyes settled on Merrill for a moment before sliding away—I wasn't surprised.

  Merrill was Wlodek's child, but Merrill wasn't obligated to Wlodek. I wondered if he ever had been. Perhaps that King Vampire rumor hadn't been a rumor after all.

  Too, Wlodek recognized what stood before him. He didn't bow, but didn't assert his authority or threaten. I'd never seen the Head of the Council so nonplussed before.

  "The Seer has gone rogue. You know this already," Dragon said.

  "What?" Montrose said.

  "It's true. The Seer has gone rogue, and he has taken Xavier down with him," Wlodek admitted. "I hear he is in the U.S., but his exact location is unknown. This attack was at his behest, unless I am very wrong."

  "You're not wrong," Dragon nodded. "It is our belief that he has allied with our enemy. We fought six rogue vampires before coming here. They are dead, now, but there may be more waiting for his command."

  "And Xavier is one of them. I counted him as a friend," Wlodek muttered. He was angry, that was easy to see.

  "Xavier is responsible for at least one human death in Corpus Christi," I said. "He and the Seer are allied with rogue werewolves, there."

  "Does the Grand Master know of this?"

  "He does," Lion said. "We have formed an alliance with the Corpus Christi Pack, and their Second is in continuous contact with the Grand Master."

  "Include me in future correspondence, no matter what form," Wlodek directed his command to Merrill. "Choose the vampires you wish to return with you."

  "Brock," Merrill said immediately. "Radomir. Will and Russell."

  "Good. Go with Merrill. Report to me often," Wlodek commanded.

  "What the hell is going on?" Russell breathed as he walked beside me toward the exit.

  "Tell you later," I said.

  * * *

  "I told Wlodek that they were plotting something," Russell said. We'd gathered at Merrill's home in the countryside of Kent. I had no idea it was as close as it was to my ancestral home.

  Lion, Dragon, Bearcat and Kiarra were having a meal; Joey, Merrill and I joined the vampires in drinking a bag of blood. There wasn't any need—yet—to let them know we'd changed.

  The kitchen island held all of us while we talked; it was two hours before daylight, when Russell and the others would have to sleep for the day. "We've done some damage—likely it'll take time for them to regroup," Lion offered.

  "We need some time to rest and prepare," Dragon agreed. He cut his eyes toward Kiarra as he spoke, but she sat beside me, huddled and silent on the barstool. Merrill was concerned, suddenly.

  "Brock, take Russell, Will and Radomir to the basement and let them choose their quarters for the day," Merrill said. I blinked. It had come to me in an instant. Merrill was Brock's sire, too.

  Brock led the others through a narrow door in the pantry nearby. When the door closed behind them, Merrill sighed. "It couldn't be helped, my darling," he spoke directly to Kiarra.

  * * *

  "Why are they calling him the Seer?" Kiarra's nervousness was plain to all of us. We wisely chose not to point it out.

  "He seems to know things. Perhaps his alliance with the enemy might explain that," Merrill said.

  "Griffin knew. He didn't tell me." Kiarra wasn't pleased about that.

  "He wanted to keep it from you—felt you'd be upset if you knew," Lion attempted to smooth things over.

  "I am upset. I'm more upset that I didn't know. Griffin's still trying to run things from Fourth."

  This goes deeper than you know, vampire, Dragon sent. I had no clue what he meant, or what Kiarra meant by fourth.

  We are ranked, Dragon explained. Griffin is Fourth. Once, he was First.

  Ranked?

  I am Second, Lion is Third.

  Kiarra?

  First.

  What the bloody hell? Is he trying to destroy her?

  No. That is not his intent. He was demoted for a reason.

  I wasn't convinced.

  Lion and I will explain later. I feel it may be best if she leaves the planet for a few days and comes to terms with this.

  I'm going with her, then, I fumed.

  Lion and I may go as well. Pheligar can bend time to get us back if necessary. Daniel and Merrill will be our eyes and ears while we are gone. Merrill can see to transporting our vampire allies to Texas, he added. With Griffin's help. Griffin can contact us if necessary.

  When are we leaving? I asked.

  "Now," Pheligar appeared. He wasn't pleased, I could see that easily enough. At least folding space is easier than hopping, I flung out while being transported away from Earth.

  * * *

  "I don't want to talk about it."

  Kiarra sat on a comfortable lounge chair on her wide deck, staring at the water below. Joey and Bearcat had chosen to stay with us, but they'd wisely offered Kiarra fruit and cheese for lunch before stealing back inside the house.

  "You're brooding," I pointed out. "Let it go, sweetheart. Tell me what this is about. It'll help, I promise."

  "It's too painful." Karzac appeared and took a chair next to mine. "We push, she retreats. Every time."

  "Karzac," Kiarra sighed before closing her eyes and frowning.

  "You cannot carry this forever. While none of us expected this, it was always possible. You must admit that."

  "The odds were so small as to be nonexistent," she breathed.

  "The trouble is that he managed to become immortal again," Lion said as he appeared and Pulled another chair in from somewhere. Settling his large frame on the seat, he breathed the air appreciatively. "Not nearly this warm at home," he added.

  "Who managed to become immortal again?" I asked. Of all those present, I was the only one who didn't know.

  "Saxom. Fucking Saxom. The-raping-bastard-who-should-be-a-rotting-putrid-corpse," Kiarra stood and cursed.

  "Fuck you, Saxom," she shouted into the air. "I curse the day you were born and every breath you ever drew."

  Now we're getting somewhere, Lion sent.

  "Fuck you, Saxom," I stood and shouted. "I curse the day you were made a vampire and I curse the one who made you, you oily, evil bastard."

  "Fuck you, Saxom," Lion stood and roared. "I curse the day you were made a healer for the Saa Thalarr."

  "Fuck you, Saxom," Karzac stood and shook a fist at the air. "I curse you for eve
ry bit of harm you ever brought to anyone. I curse you for the dead in your wake. But most of all, I curse you for your betrayal."

  "Wait," I held out a hand. Now I was getting it. Saxom was the one who raped Kiarra. "I'll kill the bastard," I said and stalked into the house.

  * * *

  "Adam?" Kiarra set a cup of tea on the small table beside my chair. I sat on the deck again, after pacing in her library for hours. Lion and Karzac had gone earlier. Perhaps they'd talked with Kiarra after I left them on the deck, but I didn't want to pry. Every time Saxom's image swam into my mind, I seethed.

  He deserved so much worse than death.

  "I should be handing you tea," I sighed before turning to her. "This is nice." I fingered the turquoise blouse she wore—it brought out the color of her eyes.

  "It's one of my favorites." She surprised me by sitting on my lap and wrapping her arms around my neck.

  "This is nice, too," I settled her head against my shoulder and held her one-handed while I lifted the teacup in the other. "Good tea," I said after sipping it.

  "Lion brought it. It's a special blend from his home world."

  "I like him," I said. "Honest. Straightforward. Blunt, when necessary."

  "He has a big heart," she agreed. "Everybody loves Lion. He was a warrior-priest on Pterak before he joined the Saa Thalarr. It was his duty to protect the innocent. He's still doing that."

  "What about Dragon?"

  "The Dragon Warlord of the Falchani," she snorted. "There are so many legends written about him, he's almost a god to those people."

  "Nothing wrong with that," I leaned in to kiss her forehead.

  Don't ask her about her past, Bearcat warned as he and Joey walked out of the house and sat nearby. She won't tell anybody. Dragon says wait for her to tell us.

  Then we'll wait, I said. I didn't want to upset her any more than she already was, and for her to come to me and voluntarily sit on my lap? I wasn't about to destroy that. "What's for dinner?" I asked aloud.

  "What do you want?" Bearcat asked.

  "What I'd really like is to taste the food at my restaurants, but that's out of the question," I replied.

  "Says who?" Kiarra sat up and blinked at me.

  "We'd have to ask Pheligar, and there's no way I'm asking him just to go to a restaurant," I fumbled.

  "I can bend time. I know we can go back about three years and be perfectly safe," she said. "What we can't do is risk running into Adam during that time. It's dangerous."

  "What if I could tell you when I'd be out of town on assignment?" I said, unable to keep the hope from my voice.

  "If you could be sure of that," she frowned.

  "I can be sure. I have excellent recall."

  "Do we need to make reservations?"

  I snorted a laugh. "I own the damn thing," I said. "I'll fire them if they turn us away. Can we go early? There's something I'd like to show you."

  "If you want," she said. "Joey, do you and Bearcat want to go?"

  "Bear wants to take me to Tulgalan for dinner."

  "Then go with Bear. We'll bend time for Earth three years ago. What should I wear?" she asked.

  "I'll look through your closet," I grinned.

  * * *

  "I've never worn this. Wolf bought it for me, but," Kiarra frowned at her image in the mirror.

  "It's lovely on you."

  "I don't usually wear anything I can't run or fight in."

  "I sincerely hope we do neither. This is dinner, sweetheart, not Armageddon." The navy silk cocktail dress fit her perfectly, with a low neckline and just the right amount of flare about the knees.

  "In my line of work, you should always be prepared for Armageddon, even when invited to dinner."

  "I've seen something close to Armageddon a time or two. Dinner was never included."

  "Come on, you." She grabbed my arm and folded space.

  * * *

  "I'm surprised you knew where to take us," I smiled down at Kiarra.

  "I found where you live by Looking," she wrinkled her nose at me. "If you want to go somewhere else, you'll have to drive us."

  "The Jaguar or the Mercedes?"

  "I've never ridden in a Jaguar."

  "Then the Jag it is. But first, you have to see my apartment."

  "Don't forget this is three years ago—it's just daylight," she reminded me as I took her arm and led her across the street to the building I owned in London. The top floor contained my living quarters. The underground portion housed my vehicles. Three floors in between, I used for storage. One tends to collect things if one lives centuries, after all.

  "No elevator?" Kiarra blinked curiously at me as I unlocked the door leading to the stairs.

  "I can hear a human bumbling up the steps long before they arrive at my door," I pointed out. "It's free security."

  "In addition to the paid security?" she asked dryly as I tapped a code into a keypad beside the door.

  "It's never wise to invest your safety solely on electronic gadgetry."

  "True."

  She followed me up four flights of steps to my top-floor apartment, breathing a contented sigh when I led her through the door.

  "You like?" I asked.

  "I love."

  "Come now, you were expecting a bachelor pad, minus pizza boxes, weren't you?"

  "Well," she shrugged.

  The furniture was expensive, contemporary and comfortable. The rugs on the wood floors were hand-made Persians. I'd consulted with a decorator for furniture, pillows and artwork, but the final decisions had been mine.

  "It's like walking into an oasis after the desert of your stairwell," she shook her head in disbelief.

  "Do you think I want to invite thieves in during prolonged assignments?" I asked.

  "I keep forgetting you can't set up shields," she said. "Sorry. Wasn't thinking."

  "Come with me," I motioned for her to follow. "I want to show you something."

  "Adam, I've already seen John Thomas."

  "Not John Thomas, although he is asking to see you," I replied. Without another word, I strode toward my bedroom and the closet beyond.

  "Your closet? Sweetie, you have more clothes than I do," she said, staring at rows of suits, shirts, ties and shoes, segregated by colors and hanging in the room I'd converted into a walk-in. "This feels nice," she touched the sleeve of an Italian silk shirt, custom-made to fit.

  "I've had plenty of time to collect clothing," I pointed out.

  "Really?" The word was dry and filled with humor.

  "I didn't bring you here to show you my clothes, as much as I like them," I said. "I brought you here to show you this."

  There is an island in the center of my closet, filled with drawers and storage space. A delicately carved wooden box takes up part of that storage. "This is what I wanted you to see," I said, lifting the box from its cubbyhole.

  "This is beautiful," she breathed, touching the hand-carved wings of dragonflies and lilies. I'd had it made nearly a century earlier, for a very specific purpose.

  "Yes, the box is lovely," I agreed. "But I want you to see what's inside it."

  Setting the box on top of the island, I lifted the lid. Lined with silk, the box held rows and rows of jewelry. All kinds of jewelry. Sparkling gemstones of all colors adorned necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings.

  "I don't understand." She blinked at me in puzzlement.

  "You know I saw you decades ago."

  "You said that, yes."

  "I've been buying jewelry every year since then, on that anniversary. For you. All of that will be yours, if you'll marry me."

  Chapter 14

  "Adam, I," she whispered. "You can't have. This is too much."

  "This," I pulled a small box from its nest in a corner, "is what I'm asking you to wear tonight." Lifting the lid of the tiny box, I revealed the first thing I'd bought for her. A huge diamond, flanked by sapphires. "If you wear this, it means yes," I said.

  "I'm afraid to touch it," she
said.

  "What are you afraid of?"

  "That this is a dream, and I'll wake up."

  "Here." I pulled the ring from its bed of satin and held it up, my fingers shaking slightly. "Give me your hand."

  With only a moment's hesitation, she held out her left hand. I slipped the ring on her finger. It was a bit loose, but not enough that she'd lose the ring.

  "I can adjust it with power," she sighed, staring at the ring on her finger for a moment. "It's beautiful, Adam."

  "Then tell me you love me, and say yes."

  "I love you, and my answer is yes."

  * * *

  "Right this way, Mr. Chessman." Employees were falling over themselves to get us to a table and seated comfortably. I wanted to smile. I didn't. They didn't see me often—they generally dealt with my business manager during the day. He always said the chef at this restaurant was exceptional. He would be put to the test tonight.

  "Adam, there's a vegetarian version of a cottage pie on the menu," Kiarra breathed.

  "That's," I frowned, prepared to complain to the chef about so common an item being offered.

  "It's wonderful. I want that," she shut her menu with a happy sigh.

  "Then you'll have as much as you want." I went back to studying the menu. "I believe I'll have the Beef Wellington."

  "Lion and Dragon love that," she said.

  "Wine?"

  "You choose."

  "All right." The wine steward barely blinked when I ordered the most expensive red they had—the Domaine Faiveley Musigny Grand Cru.

  Remember—it doesn't take much to get me drunk, she informed me in mindspeech.

  I seem to recall that, yes, I replied. In fact, I'm counting on it.

  Please don't carry me out of here, she countered.

  I'll take your elbow like a gentleman. I can't say I'll continue that ruse once I get you into my bed.

  You're quite the rake.

  I've had nearly a century to imagine what things I wanted to do with you, and how I wanted to do them. Most of them involve sex, I'm afraid.

  You're living your dreams?

  Oh, the reality is so much better than the dream. Dreams are cold. Reality is warm, my heart.

  I will admit that sex is much better than I imagined.