It didn't surprise me a bit that Gavin was one of the five hundred. He was older than dirt, after all. And as Wlodek and Merrill were older than Gavin, they'd probably seen the Earth cool. "Does Wlodek have an official title?" I asked. "It's just so hard to say Head of the Council all the time."
"His Latin title is a little easier," Charles muttered. "Sanguis Rex." I hadn't been far off when I'd called him King of the Vampires. I knew what Rex meant.
"Blood King?" I made a guess. Charles nodded. "Geez Louise," I did a little muttering myself. "Does anybody call him that, nowadays?"
"Nope." Charles signaled for the waitress to bring our check. Well, I sure as hell wasn't about to call Wlodek that.
"Lissa, you should email me," Bryan coaxed as we said our goodbyes. I said I'd try before following Charles to his car.
"I wasn't getting you in trouble, was I, when I asked about Wlodek and the Aristocracy?" I watched Charles's face as he drove me home.
"No, Lissa," he turned and gave me a nice smile. "I was just happy to be able to give you information that sires normally pass on. Merrill would have told you, if you'd asked him."
"Sometimes I don't know what's acceptable to ask and what isn't," I said uncomfortably, gazing out the windshield again. Or windscreen, as Charles calls it. He was doing his usual—driving like a maniac. "Does the Aristocracy have special privileges, or anything?"
"You've already had first-hand experience with them," Charles snorted. "The annual meeting, where they put you on display like the prize heifer."
"I would have said ewe, but you're pretty much correct," my voice held a bit of sarcasm. That's how I'd ended up engaged to Gavin. There were others offering with Wlodek's blessing, and Gavin was the one who frightened me the least. That didn't mean he didn't frighten me. He did and still does, for the most part. I'd said that aloud, before I even realized it.
"Lissa, I know that," Charles reached over and patted my arm. "Although I don't think he'd intentionally hurt you."
Maybe someday, Charles and I would have a talk about trust; something Gavin was forced to earn slowly. He'd placed me under compulsion and dragged me in front of the Council in the beginning, so they could decide whether I lived or died. My turning had been the result of a wager, and my sire had never intended to take responsibility for me. Which meant I was rogue (according to the Council), right from the start. Gavin was sent to kill me and was subsequently ordered to stay awhile since I'd been working for William Winkler. Winkler was a werewolf security mogul, working at developing software that would recognize criminals. The vampires were terrified the software might be used to hunt them down, so Gavin was instructed to keep an eye on me and watch Winkler at the same time. Then, when Winkler made the public announcement that the software didn't work and secretly sold it to the NSA, Gavin snatched me up and hauled me off to the Council, expecting them to sentence me to death. Gavin would have performed the execution, too, if he'd been asked. It was lovely to think about, especially since I was engaged to him. I fingered his ring while these thoughts ran through my mind.
"Lissa, you can't think about that," Charles admonished. Everybody else was reading my thoughts today, why not Charles?
"Why isn't Merrill on the Council?" That was another question I wanted answered. I had my doubts that it would be.
"He has refused several times. Any time there's a vacancy, they ask him. He turns them down every time."
"Do you know why?"
"Nobody does." Charles turned off the highway; we'd be driving over narrower roads as we made our way to Merrill's manor. I always liked this part of the trip—Charles drove slower and I was able to see the fields and small villages. "Wlodek gets investment advice from him too, although I'm not supposed to know that," Charles grinned. "If Merrill tells you to invest in something, that information is pure gold. And since I handle most of Wlodek's financials, I call his brokers to set things up. Then I make the same investments myself. I'm in really good shape, now."
"Cool," I said.
"You'll be a member of the Aristocracy, too, when you marry Gavin." Charles had gone back to a previous subject. "None of the human companions are allowed membership—it's against vampire law. They're not allowed inside the Council Chambers, either. If a male or female companion is questioned, only three Council members need to be present and it's usually done at a neutral site."
"That's not scary for them, I'm sure." My words made Charles clear his throat. He wasn't a member of the Council but it was a good bet he'd be at any questioning in order to take notes.
"Human companions are placed under compulsion," Charles admitted. "And they're instructed to tell the truth and not be afraid."
I wasn't sure how I felt about that. "Why are they brought in?" I asked.
"Various reasons," he replied. "The worst ones are when their vampire has broken the law, or is suspected of breaking the law. The Enforcers go after the companion. They employ human investigators at times to capture the companion during the day. The human investigators turn those companions over to the Enforcers at night, just so testimony can be taken."
"So, even if the human loves the vampire and wouldn't normally testify against them, they have to?" I had mixed feelings over that information.
"Lissa, if there's nothing the vampire is guilty of, that comes out. The companion is released and sent back to their lover."
"What happens to the companion if the vampire is guilty?"
"The vampire is declared rogue and the companion is asked if they are involved with the crime or crimes, in any way. If they are, then they are executed, just as the vampire will be." Charles downshifted to turn a corner. He really liked driving his car, I could tell.
"So only vampires are allowed inside the Council Chambers?" It was a rhetorical question. At least I thought it was.
"There are other races," Charles said. If I'd been driving, that would have caused me to slam on the brakes. Charles was driving, however, so our trip was uninterrupted. My brain merely ceased to process information for a moment.
"What other races?" I asked breathlessly. "Werewolves?"
"Oh, a werewolf has never been inside the cave, either," Charles said. "I can't really talk about the others; some of them, it's impossible to talk about."
"Charles, I want to smack you for bringing this up," I said. "Now it'll bother me."
"What I can tell you is this—the last time someone of a different race was allowed inside the Council Chamber was four years ago." Charles smiled at the memory.
"Did they get out again? In one piece?" That worried me.
"Yeah," he replied. "They did."
* * *
"What did we buy for Franklin and Greg?" Merrill asked after Charles helped me unload everything and drove away.
"Look at this." I showed him the tablet, all the games I'd gotten, plus the recipe software. "I already had gift certificates to the bookstore, so they can buy what they want to read and I know that Greg and Franklin like to play scrabble," I showed Merrill the computer scrabble game. "And they talked about going to Las Vegas when I saw them in New York. They can use the video poker, blackjack and other stuff to sharpen their skills."
"This looks good," Merrill nodded at the pile of gifts.
"I'm going to leave it on the kitchen counter unless you want to do this some other way," I said.
"No, this is perfectly fine," Merrill smiled. "Your hair looks nice."
"Oh, thanks," I said, patting my hair a little. I'd nearly forgotten about the haircut.
* * *
"Keep both pairs," Greg was saying over Franklin's shoulder as I made my way into the kitchen the following evening. Both were leaning over the tablet. Well, somebody had downloaded a poker app, looked like.
"Little girl, I blame you for this," Franklin said, looking up at me and smiling.
"I'm innocent, as usual," I said, putting on my best, innocent-looking expression before getting a hug from him and Greg.
"Your hair looks good,"
Greg gave me a hug and a kiss.
"Yours, too," I patted his head. Thankfully, he hadn't lost anything to the chemo yet.
"Have you seen the news today?" Franklin hugged me hard before turning serious for a moment.
"No, honey." Bryan's remarks from the evening before came to mind and now I was worried, too.
"They're trashing all the flu vaccine and rushing to make more, but that could take four to six months," Greg said. "Merrill suggests we stay away from the general population during flu season since we may not be able to get vaccinated."
"I know that sounds confining, but it'll only be for a little while, I hope." I was wondering if Merrill told them the real reason the vaccine was being destroyed. "What are they saying caused all this?"
"Some sort of taint in the eggs used," Greg told me. "But Merrill gave us the real reason. He also told us who figured it out." Greg put his arm around me. "Lissa, while many people might die of the flu, many more might have died otherwise."
"It may turn out to be six of one, half a dozen of the other," I grumbled. "Either way, the bad guys win."
"Where do you think the bad guys are right now?" Franklin asked, pulling me away from Greg. I stood next to him; he was sitting on a barstool at the island. I put both arms around him and leaned my head on his shoulder.
"Honey, I don't know. And I have to tell you, I killed four misters while I was in the U.S. Somebody knew what to look for when they were turning vampires."
"That's what Wlodek and I both think," Merrill walked into the kitchen. "We just can't seem to put our finger on what that is."
"The other thing I wonder is if Saxom managed to turn any females," I added.
"That's a frightening thought," Merrill said. "I'm hoping it's unlikely, since they're so difficult to make."
"Our Lissa, one of the few, the proud, the boobed," Greg smiled.
"Like you don't have nipples?" I went after him.
"I don't have to wear a bra unless I want to," Greg huffed, hopping out of my way.
"Those are free range nipples, then," I said, trying to tickle him.
Merrill and Franklin were both laughing while I half-heartedly chased Greg around the kitchen. No way did I want to tire him out.
"Want something to eat?" I asked when things settled down.
"I want pancakes and bacon," Greg said, plopping down onto the barstool next to Frank.
"Coming right up," I said. Greg and Franklin got pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream, along with crispy bacon. While they ate, I went to send a few emails on my new computer.
Weldon, I wrote, how's the baby? I thanked him for getting Paul to help on the kidnapping case and told him I wouldn't mind meeting Paul someday, if the opportunity came along. The email to Thomas Williams was just a quick hello to him and his family, letting him know I was fine. As fine as I could be, anyway. At least I wasn't wallowing in self-pity now and my appetite was back. I have no idea what or how Griffin does what he does, but it works. I even sent an email to Winkler, asking how he was and how things were going. Kellee was five months pregnant now and had to be showing. It probably irked her, since she was pregnant with twins and might be huge before it was all over. When Winkler knocked somebody up, he was serious about it.
The last thing I did was call Gavin.
"Cara, are you feeling better?" I hadn't been doing very well when he left.
"I feel better," I said. "I'm still worried over what's going to happen to all those people, but there's really nothing I can do about it now. I did as much as I could do already."
"Those people would have died," Gavin agreed. "Now, there will be a shortage of vaccine and only the high-risk cases may get it, but it will be better than it might have been."
"I know." I sighed a little.
"Cara, if you will go down to the bedroom where my things are and look in the top dresser drawer, you will find the gift I purchased for you," Gavin went on. "I didn't give it to you before because you were not in the proper mood."
Proper mood was Gavin's tactful way of saying depressed funk, I guess. "I'll go down there now, while you're on the phone," I said, and trotted down the hall to the bedroom that Merrill had given him. Of course, he only used the closet and the chest now; he spent his days in my bed while he was here.
There was a small box inside the drawer, and I lifted it out. "Is it the little box?" I asked.
"Yes, cara. Open it." I opened it. Nestled on the satin was a beautiful sapphire ring. It wasn't huge and wasn't just for dinner parties or special occasions—this ring I could wear every day. It had small diamonds surrounding the oval sapphire. I pulled it out and slipped it on my right hand.
"I love it," I said. "I can wear this all the time and not just once in a while." I admired the ring for a moment.
"That is what I wanted when I purchased it," Gavin said. "Now, I have a question for you. I did not mention this earlier, since you were not in a good place."
"What is it, darlin'?" I asked.
"Did they mix up my money clip with someone else's, when you bought it? These are not my initials, although the clip is very nice."
I nearly slapped my forehead; I'd just handed the box over to him and hadn't explained anything. "Honey, that's your money clip," I said. "Those are the initials I asked the jewelry store to engrave. LLM, right?"
"That is what is engraved on it," Gavin acknowledged.
"It means Lissa Loves Me," I said. "In case you forget."
Gavin didn't say anything for a moment and I figured I'd offended him or done something truly dumb. Finally, he chuckled. "Cara, I would never have figured that out," he said. "But now, it will be a reminder."
"Do you like it, otherwise?" I asked.
"Very much. My old one was asking for retirement." We talked for a while longer, and he told me he loved me. I told him I loved him, too, and missed him. He likes to hear that, I think.
* * *
"I cannot have him killed—for obvious reasons," Wlodek paced behind his desk. Merrill sat in one of Wlodek's guest chairs. Wlodek's Monet was back on the wall after a lengthy and expensive repair job.
"He has done everything in his power, in an attempt to bring her back," Merrill said, holding Lissa's old iPhone in his hand. It contained voice mails and emails that Anthony Hancock had sent. Her old computer had also been in Merrill's possession and he'd destroyed the thing himself.
"Kenneth White has informed me that each of the six subjects was infected not only with her blood, but with the ash of two others. A dead vampire cannot perform a turn, as you know," Wlodek growled. "And a full turn is the only way to save any of them now. If it had only been Lissa's blood introduced into their systems, I might have looked into their backgrounds and made a decision on an individual basis, even if it is unorthodox. As it is, with another vampire's DNA in their systems, it is impossible. They are doomed. Lissa cannot successfully turn any of them."
"That's not the only reason Hancock wants her back," Merrill said. "He claims he loves her."
"We have enough trouble with her attempts to trust Gavin, after what they have been through. This is too much. I fear for her emotional stability."
"She is stronger than you think, in that respect. She became depressed when she discovered that six innocent men had been sentenced to death, using her blood as a weapon." Merrill watched his sire pace. Wlodek had no idea, when he turned Merrill, just what Merrill would wake as or that Merrill would never be susceptible to his or any other vampire's compulsion. A true Vampire King had that ability; along with the power to place or remove compulsion on any human or vampire, except a Queen. Wlodek had known, however, shortly after Merrill woke as vampire. Merrill had such a strong sense of right and wrong, along with the capacity to see justice done without letting his emotions play a part. A Queen was notoriously emotional. That was why they were good together, two halves of a whole, for the most part. In the history of the vampires upon the Earth, there had only been two pairings, a King and a Queen, living
at the same time.
"You're thinking of Sarita," Wlodek stopped pacing and faced his vampire child.
"Sarita loved you," Merrill said. "She was never mine, as you know."
"And you did not want her, as I recall. Nevertheless, you did work well together."
"We did work well together," Merrill agreed.
"And I did love her, just as she loved me," Wlodek sat down in his chair. "That did not prevent her from giving herself to the sun."
"She was three hundred years old," Merrill said. "Not old at all, for one of our kind."
"She always wanted children," Wlodek toyed with his gold pen. "She would never have taken a human child to turn it, but she watched so many children over the years, and I think that's what eventually destroyed her. Perhaps she was turned too young, Merrill. She was barely twenty-three when we found she wasn't susceptible to compulsion. It was either the turn or death for her."
"She lived for three hundred years," Merrill reiterated.
"Old and young, at one and the same time."
"As you say." Merrill inclined his head.
"I worry—not so much about Hancock, he is easily dealt with," Wlodek changed the subject. Sarita was a sore topic for him and he didn't speak of her often. Many times Wlodek wished he'd been the one to turn Sarita, instead of his eldest child. Things might have turned out differently if he had. "What I do worry about is the information I am receiving from my Enforcers and Assassins," Wlodek forced his thoughts away from his last lover. "Radomir questioned Liam before beheading him in Barcelona. Liam could not reveal the name of his sire, but he did tell Radomir that Xenides and others are actively searching for Lissa. Our suspicions are correct; he desires to use her as a weapon."
"If we had been given information by the Grand Master, Xenides might not be completely aware of her talents—and her weaknesses," Merrill agreed. "I understand that Weldon Harper allowed the young werewolf to travel with them in order to keep an eye on him and to follow his contacts, but I would have killed him immediately. This has placed Lissa in much danger. It is fortuitous that she managed to escape the one sent after her in New Mexico."
Blood Domination (Blood Destiny #4) Page 2