“Son of a bitch.”
Oh, they thought they were funny, but they would pay for their actions. In the end, it would be she who laughed last.
Sliding back into the shadows, she began planning her next move. First, she would need to find a new place to live, and then new guardians.
When she’d done all that, then she would finish this game between herself, Jolie Harcourte, and Death.
There could be only one winner, and it would be her.
* * * H a r c o u r t e * * *
Thursday Late Evening
Jacques sat in the chair in their quarters, watching over his mates. It gave him a few hours of quiet time to mull over all the loose ends. The main issue plaguing his mind was the woman who was wearing the amulet at the ball.
It had rattled Jolie.
So much so, that it had to mean something. Jacques didn't buy that coming back there wasn’t fate’s plan. The dreams, Vanth, and then that necklace had to be connected.
While Jolie was with death, he would do some research, starting with his most reliable source--his own family.
The Degaul clan had been a strong society long before he was even born. His father controlled it now, but he remembered hearing tales of his grandmother, and her skills as a primus. She had ruled with an iron fist in a time when men had been the figurehead.
In fact, a Degaul had been on the council for a very long time. That meant one thing--someone would know about the amulet and the woman wearing it.
Jacques dialed his sister, in hopes that he wouldn’t have to call his father. “Bonjour.”
“Jasmine, it’s your brother.”
“Jacques, did everything work out for Jolie?” she asked anxiously. “I’ve been nervous!”
“Yes, and no, Jasmine. We found Mathew, and also Margharite, but we were forced to kill Morden, and we barely escaped in one piece.”
“Mon Dieu! What can I do?” she asked. “Would you like me to call the council and report that wicked bitch?”
“No, Belladonna has signed her death warrant. Once I find her, she’d dead. I do have a few questions to ask you, and I was hoping you could help me with those.”
“Jacques, you know that you only have to ask. I’ll do anything to help you out. You’re both my family. I’m even quite attached to your human too.”
Jacques glanced over at the bed where they were resting. Flynn was holding Jolie as they both healed in the deep slumber. “He’s a little worse for the wear right now,” he replied, telling her everything.
“Oh, shit, Jacques!”
“Yes, I know.”
Jasmine said something to someone, her voice muffled behind her hand. “I’m sorry, but that was my mate. He sends his regards. He just returned home from a long day at work. They called him in early for some emergency.”
“I look forward to meeting him. Maybe we can as soon as Jolie and Flynn heal.”
“Perfect. Now, what did you need to ask me?”
“It’s about a vampyre on the council.”
“Okay, which one?”
Jacques began to describe the woman who Jolie had seen wearing her mother’s necklace.
“Oh, yes, that was Arian. She wears the amulet on special occasions. She is quite proud of it, why?”
Jacques gave his sister the short version of what had happened to Jolie, and how the amulet was taken from her after her imprisonment with Goethe.
“Mon Dieu! I remember father telling us about him as children.”
“Did he?” he asked, trying to think back to his youth. “I don’t seem to recall the stories.”
“Jacques, remember the scary story of Goethe the Grim? They were the ones where he would eat his enemies.”
Jacques froze in his seat. Until that moment, he only believed that they were stories that they told children to scare them into doing something. If you were bad, Goethe the Grim would take you away, lock you in a small room, and would eat parts of your flesh. He swallowed and looked over at his mate who had been forced to live through the real life Goethe.
“I remember him now.”
“Was he really a person?” she asked softly.
“Yes, and Jolie was forced to live through it for one hundred and fifty years.”
“Oh my God! How horrible for her!”
“Yes, it was, but please tell me about the amulet.”
“Sorry, yes, the amulet. Arian tells everyone that it’s an heirloom from her mate’s family.”
“Really?”
“Oui, I’ve seen him, and he’s older than you and I. He might even be older than Jolie and father.”
“What does he look like?” he asked curiously.
“I’ve only seen him from a distance. He was at the ball for a little while. I’m shocked that you didn’t see him. Although, he arrived after you, so that may explain it.”
Jacques was too self-absorbed at the ball. Jolie had been his only focus.
“Well, I can only tell you that he is fairly tall, built like yourself, and has black hair.”
“Thank you, Jasmine. I’ll talk to Jolie tomorrow and see if she’s up for a visit.”
“Kiss her for me, Jacques, and I love you.”
He hung up, making himself another notation on the list of things to do tomorrow evening. At the top of the list was to find out who was Arian’s mysterious mate.
His instinct was leading him down an odd path, and he knew it.
As Flynn always said--there are few, if no coincidences.
This one had to mean something.
* * * H a r c o u r t e * * *
Friday Early Afternoon
Before opening his eyes, Flynn did a mental check of his body. He didn’t feel too sore, and that was probably a good sign. Immediately, he could feel the chill of flesh pressed against his torso.
The scent called to him.
His Jolie.
Letting his gaze slide to the side, he took in the sexily tousled black hair and pale skin. Yeah, this was a damn good way to wake up.
Before he could push energy, and another part of him into her, someone cleared their throat.
“Hello, Flynn,” Jacques said, laughing. “Was it hard to wake?”
He snorted. Since teaching Jacques the fine art of innuendos, they’d been trying to outmatch each other for the last few weeks. It wasn’t easy when someone else was always in your head.
“Hard is the right word for what I’m feeling.”
Jacques grinned wickedly. “I’ve been there.”
“I guess you were playing guard dog while we rested,” he stated.
“Yes, I was.”
“You look pale. Do you need to feed?”
He shook his head. “No, I’ll stop and get some energy from one of the donors.”
“Are you going somewhere?”
“Yes.”
“Alone?” Flynn asked.
“Yes.”
“Care to elaborate before Jolie wakes? You know she’s not going to like that, and you’re going to get the lecture.”
He laughed “I need to take care of something this afternoon, and I was waiting for you to wake.”
“Uh, vague much?”
He told him all he knew about the amulet.
“Oh, wow. That’s going to be something. If you’re right, this could go either way.”
He was aware. “That’s why I have to get out of here before she wakes. Can you hold down the fort?”
Flynn glanced down at his stomach. He was completely healed with only a few pink scars remaining. “I wonder when I’ll turn into a bat.”
Jacques’s eyebrow winged up. “Uh, never, but if you do, we could make some serious money on those photos.”
Flynn shook his head. “You would go there with it.”
“It’s my job.”
The detective was having a difficult time concentrating. The second he woke, there was an overwhelming need to feed from one of them. Only, Jacques looked like hell, and Jolie was asleep. He didn't know wh
y, but feeding from the undead while they were with death was a big no-no. He found that funny since they were having one hell of a ménage à trois. He’d yet to ask why it was taboo, but he was building up to it.
Eventually…
“While I’m out, don’t forget to feed and eat some food--if you can stomach it.”
“Yeah, I will. Be safe, okay?”
The man grinned. “I will, my friend. Don’t worry.”
Jacques escaped to the closet to change his clothing. A minute later he exited, fresh and clean.
Brogan stared.
“One day, Flynn, I’ll teach you how,” he said, reading the man’s mind.
“You have a vampyre trick, don’t you?”
“Yes, and it’s a closely guarded secret.”
“I freaking knew it! No one looks that fresh and clean after the kind of night we had--ever!”
“You’re correct.”
“Come on! Tell me how you do it!”
Jacques just laughed as Chloe opened the door and stepped into the room. She smiled serenely at both men before depositing Flynn’s breakfast on the table.
“Jacques, do you need to feed?”
He was wary of touching her. “I’ve already called for Mina, but thank you,” he stated as he exited the room, contemplating the day’s events.
She turned to stare at Flynn. “How about you?”
Flynn shook his head, still lounging beside his mate. “No, I’m good. I’ll wait until Jolie is up. Then we’ll share blood.”
“Don’t be silly, Detective,” she stated, shaking her mop of bouncy blonde curls. “Give me your hand.”
He had no choice. If he ran from her screaming, he’d have to explain that he was scared of a tiny blonde woman--who, coincidentally, was one of Death’s reapers…
Holding out his hand, her fingers barely made contact when the dark energy snapped at him.
“Detective?” she asked, moving toward him.
Flynn automatically stepped back, putting space between them. “Chloe, what’s happening to you?” he asked softly. “You feel different today, and not in a good way.”
“Detective, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I feel so good. It’s like a piece of me has returned.” She reached for him again, and again he moved out of her reach.
“No, you’re not feeding me.”
As he tried to put space between them, he found himself trapped between a wall and someone he couldn’t trust. Her eyes gave her away.
Vanth was there.
“Detective, I have what you need. Let me give you my energy.”
Flynn had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Now, he’d backed himself into a corner. There was a tingle of awareness as he felt Jolie returning to life.
“Thank God,” he muttered.
Jolie knew something was wrong. She could taste the fear in the room, and it was scented with her mate’s pheromones.
“Vanth, what are you doing to Flynn?” She stood beside the bed, slipping into her silk robe.
The demoness slowly turned her head, glancing over at Jolie. Her flesh rippled as she stared at her, but Jolie didn’t flinch. Death lived within her too, so this little show didn’t frighten her.
“Nothing, Mistress. I’m only trying to feed Flynn, like Jacques instructed me to do. That’s all.” She walked toward Jolie and smiled serenely, almost innocently.
Brogan shook his head wildly, trying to signal to Jolie that something was very wrong.
She saw him and took a step back. “Flynn, what’s wrong?” she asked, but her eyes never left Vanth’s face, just in case she had to defend them.
Sadly, until she fed, she would be unable to defend them. Against a vampyre, she could fight, but against Vanth?
They would die.
Jolie felt the energy coming off Vanth, and there was something entirely different about her demeanor this rising.
“I didn’t call for Vanth, but here she is,” he said. “I was under the impression that if we didn't say her name, she couldn’t pop in for a visit.”
Yeah, that’s what she thought too.
Who changed this up mid-game?
“Vanth, who called you out this morning?” she asked.
“No one. I just felt like coming to the surface.”
Jolie had now maneuvered her way around Vanth, and had her body protectively between the demoness and her mate.
Immediately, he stepped against her, knowing what she was thinking. Their only hope would be for her to feed.
She reached for Flynn’s mind.
‘Stay behind me, and I’ll keep you safe. She may be turning on us.’
‘If we shoot her, will it kill her?’ he asked, thinking of how fast he could get to the gun beneath his pillow, and if he would have time to pull the trigger.
‘I don’t know. She isn’t human, she isn’t vampyre, and I’m not sure a demon will go down with a silver bullet.’
“It won’t kill me,” Vanth stated.
Jolie stared at her. “Out of my mind.”
“You’re being ridiculous, Jolie. I wouldn’t turn on anyone in this family,” stated Vanth, matter-of-factly as she tipped her head to the side.
Flynn tried not to react as another wave of death crept from her. It rushed across their flesh as if willing the darkness in both of them to the surface.
“How dare you creep into my mind? My thoughts are private and nothing for you to hear!”
Jolie’s long black hair whipped in an invisible breeze. “Vanth, I ask as your friend, the one who hid you for almost two hundred years from Belladonna, to tell me the truth.”
“DON’T SAY HER NAME!” Vanth bellowed, causing the room to shake. “You can’t say her name.” Her flesh rippled as if something lived just beneath, waiting to be set free.
“DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!” Jolie shouted back. “I’m the Mistress here--not you!” The furniture vibrated as both women stepped toward each other.
‘Flynn, if this gets bad, run. Go find Jacques.’
‘I won’t leave you.’
‘Just find Jacques. I can’t seem to reach him.’
‘He isn’t home.’
‘Just get ready to run!’
“Please tell me what’s going on!” Jolie demanded. Somehow, she had managed to maneuver them away from the demoness, giving Flynn cover if he had to escape.
“When Jacques killed one of the two who held my contract, he released some of their control back to Death. Now that I only answer to the other one, more of my power has returned.”
Jolie didn't look away from her. It wasn’t easy. Staring into the demoness’s eyes was hypnotic.
“That’s fine, Vanth, but why are you trying to frighten him?”
Vanth looked confused. “I’m not trying to harm Flynn.”
Jolie corrected her. “Master Flynn. He’s earned his title in our family.”
She paused before speaking. “I’m sorry.”
He wasn’t buying it. This was some scary shit.
“You should go, Vanth. Bring Chloe back and leave our quarters. Now.”
“But…”
She pointed at the door. Jolie wasn’t sure that the demon would listen. Now that she had more power, they could easily be crushed by her.
Yeah, this was bad.
“Leave. I don’t know if I can trust you with our family right now.”
“Should I be insulted by that, Jolie?”
The disrespect was blatant, and she needed to get control of the situation, and fast. Jolie released Flynn to approach the woman. She was done cowering in fear.
This was her duty, and she’d take her chances.
“No, but maybe I should be, Vanth. I took you into our home, we risked ourselves to keep you away from Belladonna, and now you play with my mate like he’s a mouse at the cat’s mercy?”
“DON’T SAY HER NAME!” Energy poured from Vanth, rolling through the room.
“AGAIN, LEARN YOUR MANNERS. DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!”
shouted Jolie in response, causing the furniture to begin rattling in the room. “How dare you? I’m the mistress here, not you!”
Both women moved toe to toe, with Jolie staring down into Vanth’s face. Suddenly, the demon changed shape, muscle stretching, bones and joints popping until she was taller. The insubordination on her face would have been funny had she not been able to kill them so easily.
“Jolie, don’t…”
It was time to end this standoff.
There was one sure way to do it.
Jolie called for Death, allowing it to float to the surface and take control. Vanth was powerful, but Death ruled them both. If she had to bow to the true mistress in the room, so would the demoness.
The darkness cloaked their chamber.
Flynn braced himself, finally getting to the gun from beneath his pillow. Immediately, he fought the icy claws of the tendrils to place his body against the back of his mate.
They’d stand together.
“You won’t threaten my family, Vanth. I demand Chloe return. If not, I’ll send you to Belladonna or Death. I won’t risk them for you.”
“You would turn on me for the rest?” She seemed shocked at the possibility.
Jolie’s eyes momentarily flickered up to the man beside her. “Yes.”
It said it all.
Chloe pulled back to the surface. The energy in the room stopped pulsing, and Vanth shimmered away, returning to her original height.
“Yes, Mistress.” The woman bowed her head in submission.
“Thank you, Chloe. Now, please send Mina or Margharite to me please. We need to feed.” Jolie’s hand sought Flynn’s, their fingers locking together. Where she expected him to be rattled by this display, he was holding up.
Jolie was proud of him.
Chloe’s eyes misted up as she moved toward the bedroom door, and when she was gone, Jolie went into Flynn’s arms.
“Holy shit! What the hell was that?” he asked, kissing the top of her head as he crushed her protectively to his body.
“Yes, my words exactly,” she replied. Jolie could feel the tension coming off her mate. “I have no idea what’s going on with her. All I know is that was ugly. I hope it’s not going to get worse until we solve the Belladonna issue.”
Dangerous Misery (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 3) Page 30