by Elle Jasper
My thoughts jumped to the dead man in the alley, the distorted way his lifeless body lay, the way his flesh had been ripped open, the blood, and Eligius didn’t let go of my arm. He held it, steady, his gaze not once leaving mine. My heart slammed into my rib cage, and my skin tingled where he touched. At once, the entire room didn’t exist; only us. He’d been the one to give me straight answers, so I asked one more straight question. “What are you?” I said, my voice strong but shaky. I kept my eyes boldly trained on his as I awaited an answer, and I vaguely noticed the flinch in his expression at the word what.
“We are vampiric, but not like them,” he said heatedly, under his breath, and it was the first time I realized the slightest trace of an accent was French. The muscles in his jaws tensed, and again my eyes were drawn to his full lips. “As my father said, we made a contract with your brethren. They have sustained our lives, and we have protected the city against rogue vampires.” With his head lowered, his eyes searched mine, and his voice lowered. “But the Arcoses have been freed, and now we have a major fucking problem, ma chère.”
“Son, that’s enough,” said Elise, her voice sweet and strong at the same time. A slight shift in the air brushed across my face and made me wince, and when I opened my eyes, Eligius was across the room, leaning against the wall as though he’d never moved.
I looked directly at Gilles. “How does any of this help my brother?” I asked, then sought out Preacher, who stood quietly against the door. “How?” Suddenly, the weight of what couldn’t possibly be happening hit me full force in the chest, and I sagged where I stood, unable to breathe. “Seth,” I choked my brother’s name out, and the lining in my throat burned.
Preacher was immediately at my side, and while he didn’t say anything, his reassuring hands on my shoulders put me at as much ease as I could be.
“Your brother is in the quickening,” said Gilles, and I didn’t miss the sympathetic note in his voice. “And it takes a moon’s full cycle for transformation to complete. We feel that he and his friends, because of their unintentional aid to the Arcoses, are safe for now. Had the brothers wanted to kill them, they indeed would be dead already, I assure you.”
It was too much, even for me, to take in. My mind reeled at everything I’d been told, at what I’d seen, and no matter how hard I tried, no matter what I knew of Preacher and his beliefs, I had a hell of a time believing I was standing in one of Savannah’s prominent historic buildings with a loving family claiming to be vampires descended from France and Romania; that there were two dangerous, bloodthirsty rogue vampires loose in the city; and that my baby brother was running with them.
That he was going to become one of them. My stomach felt sick.
Everything that had happened that night at Bonaventure washed over me in a heavy, suffocating wave: the uneasy feeling I’d gotten, the absence of cicadas, and Seth’s slow transformation from sweet, lovable brother to the cold, detached boy I barely recognized. Chaz had noticed it, too, and suddenly all of the symptoms made sense. Seth slept all the time, had hypersensitivity to light and no appetite. At first fevered, he’d grown . . . cooler. Not cold, but notably cooler in temperature. He’d almost attacked me. He’d thrown Chaz across the room. I closed my eyes tightly and tried to breathe. “Oh, God,” I muttered, a pain so fierce lodging deep in the pit of my stomach that it nearly made me double over. I wrapped my arms around my middle. “How can it be true?” I turned to Preacher. “How?”
“There are many things in this world of which most mortals haven’t a clue exist,” said Gilles, directly by my side now. “Until it’s too late, of course.”
I turned my gaze on him, unable to do little more than stare. I then took in the room, the Dupré family, my Gullah friends. My brain was in overload and could take not another second more. I turned to Preacher. “I’ve got to get out of here.” He simply kept his gaze trained on me, wordless.
“We thought it may be too much at once,” said Gilles, his hands folded behind his back. The weighty expression on his face didn’t sit so well with me. “But there’s one more thing you should know.”
I looked at him. “What’s that?”
“You’ve a rare blood type, Riley Poe. Only the second mortal I’ve ever encountered with it in my entire existence.”
“I’m O positive,” I replied. “That’s not rare.”
He inclined his head. “Have you given any thought as to why so many of your brethren are with us today?”
Glancing quickly around the room, I shrugged. “Not really.”
He placed a hand on my shoulder, and every single Gullah took a step forward. Gilles smiled. “They’re here to protect you, child. Your blood type is especially rare . . . to us.”
“Gilles, stop scaring the girl,” said Elise, suddenly by his side. She looked at me and spoke freely for the first time. “Your Preacher has masked your blood potency for years,” she said softly. “You’re in no real danger here, chère, and your fellows are here because they love and cherish you. They’re just being cautious, and it is that fierce loyalty which has kept our families and the contract bound for centuries. And it shall remain that way.”
Preacher put his hand against the small of my back. “Your tea dat you drink every mornin’? It keeps your blood masked.”
I looked at him with wide eyes. “You’ve been drugging me?”
The corner of his mouth lifted, ever so slightly, in a smile only I recognized. “For your own good,” he said gently. “We’ve known of your powerful blood since you was a baby, right. Now, listen to him,” he said, inclining his head to Gilles. “Dere’s somethin’ we have to do for now.”
I nodded and gave my full attention to Gilles. “I’m listening.” Although I had a difficult time realizing that I was like a filet mignon to these guys.
Gilles clasped his hands in front of him. “The Arcoses will not be stopped easily. They will be difficult to find—as will your brother and his friends. They hide during the daylight and move through shadows in the darkness.”
I hadn’t thought about that. No wonder Riggs was acting so ridiculous in the shop.
“And I feel they are on more than a hunt. Retaliation in the end, no doubt.” He turned to me and studied my face with intensity. “You see, Victorian and Valerian are youths—all of twenty-one and twenty-two years—although extremely cunning and deadly. Their appearances will fool you—never trust them. Their faces are beautiful and innocent; their souls are damned. We will do everything in our power to lure them out of hiding, and we’ll need your help.”
Again, I nodded, even though everything Gilles was saying felt as though he was saying it to someone else, not me. “What can I do?”
“They’re building an army,” Gilles said gravely. “From our city’s youth—your brother included. It’s what they’d intended a hundred and fifty years ago, and it’s why they were entombed. They will seek out their troops and victims from the darkest dregs of the city. Now, times are more dangerous, and this time they shall be destroyed.” He inclined his head. “You know the underground, oui?”
“Underground as in . . . what, exactly?” I asked, although I sort of guessed what he meant. I didn’t like it.
“Dark places, drugs,” Preacher clarified. “Dem dark dancin’ clubs you used to go to, and dos bad folk you hung out wit when you was a youngun.”
Inside, I cringed. I’d sworn—vowed—that I’d never go back to that life again. I’d put it behind me for good. But this was my brother being dragged into stuff way worse than I ever dreamed of doing. I looked Gilles Dupré in the eye. “I said I’ll do anything.”
Briefly, Gilles closed his eyes, and a slight smile tipped his mouth upward. “Bon. For now, we must watch, wait, and try to protect as many as possible. The city has grown—it won’t be as easy as it once was. And Eligius will remain by your side at all times.”
“Papa?”
“No,” I said at the same time Eligius argued. We glanced at each other; then I turned to Gill
es. “I appreciate your concern, really, but I don’t need anyone to protect me. Preacher lives right next door. I can take care of myself.”
With a quick glance at Preacher, who gave one single, short nod, Gilles, in a fraction of a second, grasped my forearms tightly and drew his head close. I blinked in surprise, and just that fast his face grew close and sickly distorted, his jaw unhinged, and every tooth in his mouth grew long, sharp, jagged, his eyes no longer blue but pure white, with only a pinpoint bloodred pupil. I literally shook where I stood, my breath jammed in my throat; I couldn’t breathe, move, or scream.
In the next blink, Gilles’ face returned to normal—what I perceived as normal, anyway. He was a handsome, distinguished older man. Regret now set firmly in his clear blue eyes. “I’m sorry, chère,” he said quietly. “But you do now see why you must allow Eligius’ aid?”
“Why not Phin or Luc?” Eligius questioned quietly. “I’m not a wise choice.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off of Gilles. Had what just happened truly happened? Was that what would become of Seth? I resisted the urge to reach up and touch his face.
“Oui,” Gilles said. “That is what would become of your brother. Worse, I’m afraid. He will have . . . no control. A newling, driven by desperate, painful hunger.”
I knew then that Gilles could read my thoughts, and I couldn’t be sure whether he read them at random, or just when he thought it was pertinent to the situation. That was yet another insane thing for my brain to try and wrangle. I chanced a look at him, and he gave a slight grin.
“And you,” Gilles said to Eligius, “are the choice I’ve made, mon fils. You are the strongest of us and can better protect her. She must carry on her proprietorship as usual, and begin to ease into a life underground. We cannot allow the Arcoses to suspect otherwise, oui?” Gilles turned his look to me. “You will be perfectly safe with Eligius. Just . . . make sure you drink your tea.” Jean-Luc, Séraphin—rather, Luc and Phin—and Josie chuckled.
After a quick glance at Eligius, I turned my question to Gilles. “Does he do what you just did?”
Gilles gave a nod. “Oui.”
A cynical laugh escaped me. “And you want him to stay in my house? With me? While I’m helpless and sleeping?”
Gilles didn’t answer.
I inclined my head. “Who is Eligius supposed to be protecting me from?”
Gilles’ stern, regretful expression made my heart drop to my stomach. “Your brother.”
“The Arcoses as well,” said Elise. “They’re lethal, darling. More than you can imagine. Because of their strigoi bloodline they can appear out of body. They can appear in your dreams, if they wished it. And your brother, while still in the quickening phase, has strong mortal tendencies which would lure him to what he’s most familiar with—you. Unfortunately, he also has vampiric tendencies, and those would indeed overpower his weak mortal desires, including his love for you.” Her look was one of pity. “He’d not be able to help himself.”
I felt sickened at the thought that my brother would hurt me, but I knew now that he would. He’d already tried. I had no choice but to trust the Duprés; Preacher did. And I fully trusted Preacher and his family with my and Seth’s lives.
Once more, Gilles clasped my hands between his. “Enough for one day, oui? I am positive Eligius can give you a Dupré family history and answer any questions you may have.” The smile that tipped his mouth was noticeable only by me, I was sure. “You’ll be spending a lot of time together, no doubt.” Then he cast a severe stare at Eligius. “She goes nowhere without you, oui?”
The muscles in Eligius’ jaws flinched. “Oui, Papa.”
“When you begin your searches underground, Séraphin, Jean-Luc, and Josephine will be there, as well.”
I shot a glance at Josie, who merely grinned devilishly. “But she’s only what? Sixteen?”
“Fifteen in mortal years,” Luc answered. Then he grinned wickedly and tossed his sister a glance. “She’s more lethal than Phin and me put together. She can handle herself.”
I blew out a slow breath. “Yeah, okay,” I muttered, then gave Preacher a glance. “So there’s nothing we can do to help Seth now? Tonight? I’m seriously supposed to just . . . carry on like none of this is happening?”
“No, girl,” Preacher said, and I could see in his dark eyes how much he hated saying those words to me. “For now you do nothing. He’s safe for da time being. We get dos wudus out da way, and den we git Seth to Da Island.” He put his arm around me. “Now, let’s go. We’ll make it right. I promise.” He looked at Gilles; they had a small conversation in French of which I recognized no words, they shook hands, and we left the House of Dupré.
“I really like your inks,” said Josie, suddenly right beside me. She studied my dragons, checked out my wing, and nodded approvingly. “Cool.” If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was any other ordinary, impressionable teenage girl.
I gave her a hesitant smile. “Thanks.”
“See ya around,” Josie said with a closed-mouth smile.
I gave a nod, and along with Preacher, the other Gullah, and Eligius, who now carried a canvas duffel bag thrown over one shoulder, we left Monterey Square.
The entire way back to Factor’s Walk, I was acutely aware of Eligius Dupré’s presence, even though he casually hung back about a half block. I would be a liar if I said I wasn’t affected by him; I had been since the moment I’d seen him watching me through Inksomnia’s window. Even now, when I think back on the incidents in which I saw him only in shadows, I was affected by him. And no matter how much I replayed the entire visit to the Dupré House in my head, I found myself even more stunned at what I’d witnessed than when I’d first seen and heard it. Gilles’ chilling, distorted features and deadly strength flashed across my mind, and I involuntarily shivered as a vision of those teeth ripping my throat out became all too vivid. Then I immediately tried to envision Eligius’ beautiful face doing the same thing. Don’t think for a second that I’m a fool—I knew full well he was just as dangerous, if not more so, than Gilles and the others, despite his boyish, charming looks. It was just . . . freaky to see in my head. And Seth—God, no way could I imagine it. I still couldn’t believe this was all real: quickening, strigoi , Romanian folklore, the Kindred. Was it actually happening? And despite Eligius being the most lethal, he also somehow possessed the most control. It didn’t make sense. None of it did, and the entire walk back I spent trying to rationalize everything that had just happened.
Beneath the lamp separating my shop from Da Plat Eye, Preacher stopped and grasped my hands. He was one of the few people who could do so without my reacting badly. “You did good back dere, girl. Only opened dat mouth a couple of times.” He sighed. “I know dis is a lot for you to take into your heart, but you got to do it. You got to do everything dey says to do.”
“What about him?” I said, inclining my head to Eligius, who stood a few feet behind us. “What am I supposed to do?” I’d already decided to sleep in my heavy wool scarf. Behind me, Eligius chuckled—at least I thought he did. I shot him a look over my shoulder, and he didn’t even appear to be paying us any attention.
“You do what dat boy says to do, Riley Poe. He will do you right. And his brodders will watch out for Nyxinnia.”
“What am I supposed to tell her?” I asked, and again, the deathly silence of the night stunned me.
“You tell her dat brodder of yours got into some bad magic, and de Gullah, dey gonna fix him up. Dat’s all you gotta say.” He glanced toward the darkened skies, then back at me. “It don’t feel right out here, Riley Poe. You git inside and stay. And you be nice to dat Dupré boy. I would not let him in your house if I thought he would do something bad. He won’t.”
Emotions washed over me, and I threw my arms around Preacher’s neck and hugged him tightly. “Is all this really happening?” I muttered against the collar of his shirt as I inhaled the odd, sweet mixture of Downy and hoodoo herbs. “Is it real? Is my baby
brother going to turn into one of them?” I fought a sob that stuck in my already burning throat. I didn’t cry often, but when I did, it was torrential—and no one ever knew it happened, because I did it in private. I felt a big one coming on now.
Preacher’s big hands patted my back. “Awe, baby, we gonna make things right after all, so dat doesn’t happen. You’ll see.”
I pulled back and breathed. “What about you and Estelle?”
Preacher chuckled. “Dat old crazy woman and me, we fine, Riley Poe. Handled things a lot worse dan vampires, dat’s right. But dos Duprés ain’t like dat, right?” He turned me toward my door and shoved gently. “Now, go git some rest. But come git your tea in de morning; don’t forget dat.”
“Don’t worry—I won’t.” I stood there beneath my door light and watched Preacher make his way to the back entrance of Da Plat Eye, step through the door, and close it behind him, leaving me alone with Eligius. I looked at him standing there, duffel slung over one shoulder, his dark hair carelessly falling over his eyes as he watched me from the shadows. It thrilled me and freaked me out at the same time. “Come on in,” I invited, then turned, stuck the key in the lock, and opened the door. The moment I hit the light switch, he was at my side, and despite being overwrought with sick worry over my brother, my skin heated at his closeness. I was immediately on the defensive. “Back off,” I said. I gave him a warning look and moved to the steps. He followed, closed the door, and locked it. And it was at that moment that Chaz came hauling ass into the foyer from the front of the shop, barking his head off, fur at his scruff standing on end.