Shadow's Light

by Nicola Claire

  Samson shook his head and then frowned at me. “I was just wondering,” I added, trying to think who Samson had in bed. He had said he was sleeping in, but to a vampire, seven in the morning was when they would hit the sack, not be getting out of it. So, I was picking his bedmate had been human.

  I smiled wickedly at him, but didn't ask the question I was dying to know. Who was she? He'd said no one else was here, so she had left before we arrived. He'd tell me if he wanted me to know. Samson cocked his head in puzzlement at my smile, but if he understood at all what I was thinking, he chose to not show it.

  “All right then,” I said, waving a hand at Aliath. “This is Aliath, Grey Lord of the Dökkálfa Court.” He hadn't told me he was Sofiq's son, so I wasn't giving him a title he may not own. Just because he looked like her, didn't mean he was. I had only assumed it so, but I was still pretty convinced anyway.

  He bowed low to the vampires in the room, then returned to his statue-like stance.

  “He's glamoured, but he doesn't look much different from now, just a little more bright.” I added for good measure, wanting to see if any of the vampires had been able to pick up on the cloak. They all seemed surprised, so my hunt for a fey glamour detection tool was still incomplete. At least with Sergei and Nataliya here, Aliath's fey magic was null.

  The Russian siblings were called Tego Texi Tectum, which means to cover, protect and shield. Basically, they were fey magic inhibitors. With them around, the fairies had no influence over any of us. I wasn't sure if Aliath new this, but he hadn't been chiming - a sure indication of using fey magic - and as far as I knew he hadn't once tried to influence me since we arrived, so maybe he wouldn't know until he tried.

  I had already begun to relax, more than I had managed at all over the past two months with the Russians at my side. I reached out instinctively and took both of their hands in mine to reassure myself they were actually there. I had not wanted to become complacent and lower my guard with them at my side before, but so much had happened. So much awful, hideous stuff. I couldn't help the relief I felt with their presence at my side. I couldn't help letting it settle my nerves.

  Aliath must have noticed, his head cocked slightly to the side in that unusual bird-like motion the Dökkálfa had. His brows came together as he studied me intently.

  “You said Michel lives, mistress. What did you mean?” Samson asked, bringing my attention back to him and away from the staring fairy.

  I gave them all a run-down on the Charm affecting Michel and how he had been taken from this realm to the Dökkálfa Court. I brushed over my time in South America and barely mentioned my capture at Lutin's hands. Samson though, read through the ruse. The understanding palpable in his eyes. I told them of the deal we had struck with Queen Sofiq and why Aliath was at my side. In less than ten minutes I had succinctly retold what had essentially felt like a lifetime of hurt.

  It surprised me how easy it was to talk of the past few months without feeling. As though I hadn't been intimately involved. As though a part of my very heart and soul hadn't been broken beyond repair. It was all just words. How easily they fell from the tongue without taste.

  By the time I had finished however, I was exhausted. Months of fitful, brief sleep and extended periods of heightened danger and tumultuous emotions had taken their toll. Nataliya excused herself and went to the kitchen. I could hear the coffee machine being prepped and the sound of pots and pans being moved about. No doubt she had picked up on my frail state and was preparing some Borscht or Ukha. Either would be welcome. I hadn't eaten for ages and I knew I needed some warmth.

  Samson fished his cellphone out of his pocket and started to dial a number, he glanced over at Matthias and with a brief exchange of looks, Matthias started doing the same. I sat back and watched as the news of Michel's survival was retold to those who needed to know. I wondered if either had checked the Iunctio's network, to see if news had appeared there. I'm sure it would have been the first place they had gone to, but announcing his survival, when he may not want it known, was probably what kept them in the room with us and not mentally miles away in vampire cyberspace.

  I heard Jett's excited tones down Matthias's line as the burly bodyguard relayed the news that I was back and Michel was alive. The same response met Samson's call, this time Alain, head of Michel's European spy network and one of the most powerful vampires I had met under his line. Alain was French and a level one Sanguis Vitam master. But despite his power level, his loyalty to Michel was rock solid. I could hear Alain trying to control himself down the line. I was betting he was using a bit of that powerful Sanguis Vitam of his to stop from crying out loud.

  I pulled my cellphone out and looked at it as the conversations continued from the others. Questions and demands for further information ringing in the air. I had my own people to tell. I had no idea what my parents had been told about my absence, but I'd wait to contact them. Instead a far closer confidante needed an update. I sucked in a deep breath and dialled Amisi's cell.

  Gregor answered, which momentarily surprised me, but then the phone number I was calling from would have been unfamiliar and knowing Gregor he would have insisted he take the call. The fact that he was with Amisi when the sun had risen and the night long gone, did seem intriguing. Also, the fact that she had let him answer the phone was a puzzle too. Amisi was nothing if not independent.

  “Yes?” came Gregor's voice down the line.

  “Hey, it's me,” I said, unable to think of anything more original to say.

  “Little Hunter?” he asked, sucking in a breath. Then recovering himself, he asked, “Back from the shadows I see.” I cringed at his terminology, he was angry. I wondered why.

  “Ah, yeah. I'm at home in Auckland.”

  “When did you arrive?” he asked, his voice neutral. Just why was he so pissed off?

  “About half an hour ago.”

  “I see,” he said, still neutral. “And are you staying or just visiting for a while? Does Jett know you are in his territory?”

  OK, so that was uncalled for. Jett's territory? Sure he was the new Master of the City, but I was still its Nosferatin. And then it hit me. Amisi had been covering for me here in Auckland while I was gone. That meant she was away from Wellington on a regular basis. Away from Gregor. And because Auckland had a new Master, Gregor couldn't accompany her into Jett's territory as it would be considered a challenge while the new Master was setting up shop. Eventually Gregor would be able to come if invited, but for now, he was banned or faced starting a turf war.

  I sighed and ran a hand through my short hair, which made me sigh again at the reminder of its abused length.

  “I don't know how long I am back for, Gregor, things are complicated.” I opted for a simple statement of fact. There was no point getting into a defensive argument with him. When Gregor was in a mood like this, no one won.

  “As per usual, the world revolves around you, Lucinda.” I cringed again. “Have you any idea how worried Amisi has been? How worried we all have been? Life may have stopped for you, Hunter, but for the rest of us we have had to pick up the pieces you left behind.”

  “Don't hold back, Gregor. Just say what you really mean.” I may not have wanted an argument, but I wasn't sitting back and being chewed alive by an irate, over protective Master of the City.

  I expected a curt answer, but the sound of someone snatching the phone from Gregor muffled what he was about to say. Amisi's voice came down the line instead.

  “Lucinda? Are you all right? Why is Gregor yelling at you?”

  I heard Gregor in the background saying something about her dripping water all over the Persian carpet. She'd obviously been in the shower and just come out to Gregor's and my heated conversation on her phone. But what really shocked me, was that she didn't have a Persian carpet in her apartment. So...?

  “Amisi,” I said and then burst into tears.

  Amisi is like a sister to me. We don't share blood, but the Nosferatin blood that runs in my v
eins is also in hers. She is full of Light and love and the most beautiful soul I have ever encountered. She lived with me for a while, when she first came to New Zealand from her home in Egypt. And we both shared a love for Nero, our trainer. We both grieved him too. Amisi was also an Empath, she could feel emotions from those around her. By the sound of her soft crying on the other end of the phone, I was picking she could also feel them down the line too.

  “Oh, Luce,” she said between quiet hiccups, “you poor, poor girl.” Amisi is younger than me by five years, but she has always been the oldest soul in our relationship. Wise beyond her years. “Tell me everything.” Then adding, “Gregor will listen in, but not say a word.” I knew then she was giving him one of her Amisi threatening stares. If I knew Gregor, he was just basking in it.

  Once again I gave a run-down of the past two months, but with Amisi it was impossible to brush over Lutin's involvement without any emotion at all. When I spoke of Michel being alive, I heard Gregor swearing in the background and Amisi's soft intake of breath. For a long while neither of us spoke as the knowledge that Michel hadn't died sunk in.

  “Did you join with him again?” she asked eventually, breaking the silence both on the phone and in lounge where I sat.

  I shook my head and then realised she couldn't see me and added aloud, “No, we didn't want to be stranded in Álfheimr if the Iunctio used my power to close the portals.” Aliath began a soft chiming in the corner. I gathered from the fierce, threatening look on his handsome face, he didn't want me to divulge too much information. I glared back at him and turned away. Marcus, none too surreptitiously, positioned himself at my back. Between me and the fairy for protection.

  “OK. So you need to find him. Gregor's already making a few calls to the Iunctio...”

  “What?” I demanded. “They mustn't be told!”

  “It's all right, he's talking to the Ambrosia, he can be trusted at this point. The Ambrosia is on our side, Luce, he's been trying to help us locate you for some time.”

  I liked the Ambrosia, he is the oldest vampire I have ever met and the kindest. So full of Light, he barely had any Dark. Unusual for a Nosferatu, but also highly unusual for a member of the Iunctio's Council. Still, I didn't trust him, purely because he was an Iunctio member. How could any of them be trusted at all?

  “I don't know, Amisi, just make sure Gregor is careful what he relays.”

  “Don't worry, he's an expert at this,” she replied, a note of pride entering her voice. “I'll call you back when I know more. I'm so glad you're OK.” She rang off quietly after that.

  A knock sounded at the front door then and we all jumped. Matthias stood and strolled over to an ornate cabinet in the corner, opening the doors to reveal a security monitor. He brought up an image of the front porch.

  Jett stood heavily clothed, hunched up against the camera lens, sheltering from the weak sunlight filtering through the low lying clouds in the sky. A Range Rover stood in the driveway, no other guards anywhere to be seen. Jett was quite capable of taking care of himself, even in the light of day.

  Matthias pushed a button and unlocked the front door. Jett didn't waste time entering. Although vampires could venture out in the day if strong enough, it was still uncomfortable to say the least. He wasn't waiting around for the burn to start, that was for sure. A couple of seconds later the second door was closed and Jett Vardi, the new Master of Auckland City, strode into the lounge.

  He was a big man with a full mane of curly black hair hanging past his shoulders and dark, dark eyes. With a well built physique and strong handsome features. The only thing marring his perfection was a decidedly crooked nose. He took up all the free space in the room, leaving only a small amount for the rest of us. His eyes roamed over the scene; from the vampires all standing to attention, to the fairy scowling in the background, to me.

  I stood up and bowed low, hand fisted above my heart.

  “Master of the City, my apologies for arriving unannounced,” I said, while still bowed low.

  In a heartbeat he was across the floor of the lounge and bringing me up to stand straight with gently placed hands on my upper arms.

  “Don't be bloody ridiculous, Luce.” He wrapped me in a bear hug. “Welcome home!”

  I felt my bones crack slightly from the effort Jett put into the hug. Jett had always been so proper in the past, it took me by surprise. But, I wasn't complaining. He may have been Michel's second by default - not turned by Michel though, absorbed into the line at one stage instead - but he was still family. And he had proven his loyalty time and again.

  “So,” he said, eyeing Aliath, then returning his gaze to me. “Michel is alive.”

  For Jett, that was probably the main issue. His Master, the vampire he had inherited the title of Master of Auckland City from, was alive. This was going to be tricky. Not that I thought Jett was the kind to push Michel out, but he'd had time to fill Michel's boots. He had taken over the reins and now was firmly in the driving seat of the Durand family line. Michel being back would affect him, no matter how happy he was to hear the news. I had no idea what the political ramifications were going to be, but the personal ones were already quite complicated.

  “Yes,” I answered him and sat back down on the sofa. “Except we don't know where he has returned to in this realm. I ended up in Rio with Aliath,” I waved toward the fairy, “a Dökkálfa Grey Lord as escort. But, I have no idea where he has gone. I can only assume he is here as Queen Sofiq made an accord with us to that effect. I can't believe she would lie or break it.”

  “She would not,” Aliath added from the corner. Still not moving or touching a thing. “He will be wherever my Aunt has chosen for him to be.”

  Ah, well at least I now knew he was Sofiq's nephew, but his tone, when he said Aunt, made me wonder just how close the two of them were. I was sure he had gritted his teeth. Still, he could have mentioned the bit about Michel definitely being somewhere on Earth earlier.

  “Good to know,” I said without looking at him. I so hated fairies, being civil was taking its toll.

  Jett's eyes sparkled at my retort. I think he knew me pretty well by now to know I had little time for the Grey Lord at my back.

  I retold the past two months to Jett. I was getting pretty good at only mentioning the pertinent information and leaving out the crud. I was even able to explain the kvángask without too much of a hang up. It was getting to the point where I felt it had all happened to someone else. I was a little removed from the mess my life had become.

  Nataliya came in with a Borscht soup and flat bread and insisted Jett give me space to eat. He didn't argue, moving aside so I could eat where I was sitting without being crowded. Instead he went over to the fairy. Being the Master of the City he had more power than any other vampire in the room to call upon if needed. Whether he was afraid of Aliath, I couldn't tell, but he was the first of the vampires to approach him.

  “So, Grey Lord, you visit our realm for the first time. How find you it?” he asked, his voice guarded, but sure.

  I hadn't thought about the fact that it would probably be Aliath's first visit to the mortal realm. He was still probably centuries old, but for millennia the Dökkálfa had been held prisoner by the Ljósálfar and for most of that time the portals had been closed. I was betting Aliath was born into captivity, never having had the chance to explore like Lutin had. No wonder he was so reticent to touch a thing. It all would have looked lethal from his naïve eyes.

  “It is intriguing, vampire,” Aliath replied neutrally.

  “Wait until you see down-town Auckland on a Friday night, that'll blow your fairy mind.” I think Jett was teasing him, but his tone turned serious when he spoke again. “What plans have you here in my city?”

  I could feel Aliath's gaze on my back. It didn't help that every time he looked at me Marcus tensed, ready to break his neck. Or at least try. Very protective were my personal guards. They'd lost me once, I was betting they weren't planning on letting me out of th
eir sight again any time soon.

  “I am hoping my time here will be limited and that the mœðr...” “Nosferatin!” I chimed in. “...will obtain what my Queen desires. The consequences for failing would be harsh.”

  “We'll have none of your threats here, Grey Lord,” Jett admonished. “What is it that you are hoping Lucinda will obtain for you?”

  I didn't let Aliath reply, he'd only get on Jett's nerves. Like he did mine. “I'm bait for catching Lutin. Sooner or later he'll turn up trying to claim his elska and then the Dökkálfa can take him as hostage in their war.” The sooner the better, but I wasn't sure how to advance that desire.

  “How do you want to play it, Luce?” Jett asked, walking back over to stand in front of me. “We are at your command.”

  I looked up at him, a spoonful of delicious beetroot soup halfway to my lips. “What do you mean you are at my command?”

  “As Michel's kindred Nosferatin, you have claim to his line. Command us how you wish and we will obey.”

  “But you're in charge of the line,” I protested, soup on spoon still hanging in mid-air.

  “I have been caretaker, yes, but I have yet to take any of his vampires into my own line.” He shrugged then. “It just felt a bit too soon.”

  I let the spoon clatter back down into the near empty bowl and Nataliya came and swiped the tray away before I dropped the whole thing to the ground. Jett hadn't taken over Michel's vampires? But, he'd been caring for them. I couldn't begin to unravel how I felt about that. The fact that no one had just simply picked up their lives and carried on as though Michel's 'death' was just a blip in the road was astounding. Beautiful. Absolutely heart warming. It was a testament to how they all felt about him as their Master. It warmed my heart.

  But, Jett had forgotten one important factor.

  I cleared my throat. “But, I'm no longer joined to him. I'm not his kindred Nosferatin anymore.”