JAVIER

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JAVIER Page 3

by Miranda Jameson


  “Civilian…are you a warrior Javier? For a bunch of rank amateurs as you called them, they landed you like a fish.”

  Irritation shot through Javier as his head snapped round to glare at her, then he took another deep calming breath. She was right; she had only spoken the truth and she had no idea how very much that truth hurt his pride. How was he going to explain this to his fellow commanders? How was he going to explain himself to LaSalle, his Supreme Commander?

  They passed the remainder of the journey in grim silence; both of them lost in their own thoughts.

  CHAPTER 4

  As they were whisked smoothly skywards the three of them stood, overcome by that awkwardness that often came over strangers crowded too close together in an elevator. Cassia glanced up and noticed the camera; the security here was tight she thought, the entry into this elevator had been controlled by a retina scan. Expensive technology. Another indicator that she had collided with a world outside her usual experience. She leaned against the side; Flavia’s arm was linked lightly through Javier’s and his head was bent towards her as he reassured her quietly. He had taken care of her younger sister from the moment he had parked the car a short walk away and led them to this luxurious building. She had been left to trail along in their wake. Well, the minute he removed the electronic restraint round her neck she would be off and she would take Flavia with her.

  The door glided silently open and they stepped into a vast luxurious penthouse with walls of windows showcasing the distant London skyline and the Thames far below. Cassia strode straight over to all the glass, her eyes scanning the discreet sensors on the walls;

  “I assume there is an automatic shutter system? All this glass…not exactly Vamp friendly is it?”

  “Yes,” Javier replied, “Triggered by sophisticated sensors, you’ll see it in action in about an hour and a half.”

  He turned to Flavia, leading her to a large leather sofa;

  “You are safe here Flavia, this apartment belongs to a friend and colleague. It is completely secure. Would you like something to drink while I make some phone calls?”

  As Flavia asked for some tea Cassia raised her eyebrows and wondered if she had been included in the offer. She didn’t have to wait long as Javier gestured her over towards the gleaming granite and stainless steel open plan kitchen.

  “Could you please take over with the drinks? I believe there is food in the fridge, help yourself. I need to make some calls.”

  Cassia glared at him then rolled her eyes; how typical of a male to assume she knew her way around a kitchen. Then she shrugged; she was very thirsty and really quite hungry and it would only upset Flavia if she started a petty argument.

  “Would you like something?” she asked. Javier’s face blanched slightly and he shook his head;

  “No, thank you. I can still feel the effects of whatever drug they pumped into me.”

  He reached down and picked up the sword that lay on a coffee table and slid it carefully back into a beautifully decorated scabbard. Then he walked over to the panel by the elevator and entered a code on the keypad before locking another door and pocketing the key. Finally he stood in front of her with a slight smile on his face and put out a hand;

  “The exits are locked. I’ll have that set of picks please.”

  Cassia felt her heart thud and her cheeks flush; those golden brown eyes really were beautiful. He was beautiful. She cleared her throat. He probably did this to women all the time; had them falling over themselves in confusion with one look and that smile touching his sensitive mouth. Well, it wouldn’t work on her, she raised her chin defiantly;

  “They are mine. I’m not going anywhere. We’re tired and we can’t shift and it’s nearly dawn. Where would I go?”

  Javier’s smile disappeared and the light charming mask was replaced by something much colder and harder;

  “Nevertheless Miss Mathrafal, hand them over or I’ll take them. Those idiots may have had qualms about searching your person but I do not. Clever though, keeping them in your bra; it would not occur to most men to look there.”

  Cassia scowled as she fished out the set of picks and dropped them into his waiting palm;

  “You are not a gentleman Javier of Seville.”

  This time the smile he gave her was dazzling and her heart skipped several beats;

  “No, I never said I was. Now, look after your sister. I’ll be back when I’ve spoken to my people.” With that he went into one of the other rooms and shut the door behind him. Cassia stood for a minute, fingering the metal collar round her neck. Whoever he was, she was going to find out soon enough. She went over and hugged Flavia.

  “Come and talk to me sweetheart, there’s a big counter with stools. You can perch on there and keep me company.”

  She led her sister to the kitchen helping her to navigate the unfamiliar room. As Flavia settled on one of the high metal stools Cassia put the kettle on, opened the fridge and rummaged around. She cast a quick look at her younger sister and felt guilt flood through her. This was all her fault. It was her lifestyle that had led Flavia into danger; that had caused her to be imprisoned in that house for almost three weeks. Panic suddenly overtook her and she put down the cheese she had found and took Flavia’s hands in hers;

  “Flavia, did they hurt you? There’s nothing you can’t tell me you know.”

  The words of the Empath Javier had killed were haunting her. Had Flavia already suffered at the hands of those men? She was a Vampire, she was physically immensely strong but there had been at least three of them in that house and Empaths were capable of manipulating minds and emotions in ways that far outstripped anything her kind could do. It was what had made them feared for millennia.

  Flavia shook her head;

  “Cassia, whatever they were planning to do, they didn’t touch me. I suppose they knew they had to keep me safe till you did what they wanted. Who is Javier? Why do they want him?”

  That was the million dollar question. Cassia squeezed her sister’s hands and went back to preparing their food.

  “I don’t know but I think we’re about to find out. Now, I’ve found fresh bread from Poilane, fabulous cheese, olives and some really good red wine, shall we have that?”

  As she uncorked the wine and poured it out she kept up the cheerful, light hearted chatter as her eyes swivelled repeatedly to the door Javier had shut behind him. She had spent almost a century and a half doing what she did, never getting caught. Somehow she knew that her luck had finally run out.

  Fifteen minutes later Javier emerged. He had obviously freshened up with a quick shower; his hair was damp and he had changed into jeans and a plain T-shirt that showed off strong arms and golden skin. He carried a laptop under his arm. Cassia pushed a glass of wine and a plate of bread and cheese towards him as he pulled up a stool;

  “Here, you might feel better with something in your stomach. You were so violently sick I thought you were about to heave up your guts.”

  Flavia winced and Javier flashed Cassia a quizzical look;

  “Did you stick your fingers down my throat or did I dream that? I recall having a strange dream…”

  “You seemed to be struggling to wake up. You murmured something that sounded like the letter B. I, well…I thought it would be better not to leave you to them so, yes, I lifted you up and stuck my fingers down your throat to make you sick. It seemed the best course of action.”

  “Quick thinking, it was. I was dreaming about my daughter Beatriz, my Bee I call her. She was telling me I was in danger and I had to wake up. In my dream she was calling me repeatedly…” Javier tailed off, retreating into himself as he took a swallow of wine.

  So, he had a daughter. Funny, she didn’t think he was joined. She hadn’t detected the scent of another on him. Suddenly Cassia had a flash of intuition;

  “Who was Charlotte? You said “was” back there…”

  Javier avoided her eyes and sipped more wine. Cassia pushed the plate of food closer to him a
nd he looked down absently and picked up some bread before looking up. His face was completely shut down.

  “Charlotte was my bonded life consort for nine decades. Beatriz is our daughter, our only child. Charlotte was killed eight years ago. There wasn’t a body. I wonder how they knew that. They knew they could hook me…none of the others, just me. What a damned patsy.”

  He spoke very quietly and Flavia pulled her stool closer and took his hand. Cassia stood silent and appalled. To lose a bonded consort was agony, almost like death itself. Her mother had taken years to recover when her father had died; her heart and mind tormented and her body suffering as she was forced to go to a Donor for her blood needs.

  “I’m sorry to have brought all that back to you. If I had known…”

  Javier cut in; “You would still have done it to save your sister.”

  Cassia met his level stare steadily;

  “Yes, I would. But that does not stop me from being sorry.”

  Javier shook his head;

  “It was a long time ago.” He paused at the sound of the doorbell, “Ah, right on time.”

  As he walked over to the control panel and checked the image on the screen before buzzing their visitor into the elevator Cassia saw the gun stuck into his jeans at the back. He palmed it as the elevator door swished open then she saw him relax and put it back as a tall blonde Vampire dressed in black stepped into the room. Their visitor snapped to attention like a soldier and briefly touched his right fist to his heart;

  “Sir. They sent me straight from the Island, thought that would speed things up.”

  Javier nodded;

  “Stand easy. That was a good call Andreas. I’d like you to take the collars back with you and start tracing their origin. It should be easy, it’s highly restricted technology.” He looked over at Cassia and Flavia;

  “Ladies, come and sit over here. Andreas will unlock those restraints.”

  As Flavia’s collar was unlocked with a sharp click Cassia examined the Vampire Andreas for clues; she had no doubts now. These were warriors, soldiers. As she turned her head to the side while her own collar was unlocked she suddenly knew with complete certainty where these men had come from. She was in a world of trouble.

  She listened as Javier thanked Andreas and instructed him to return at sunset. The minute the elevator doors shut Javier slid open a section of the control panel, punched in a series of numbers rapidly then shut the panel and turned to face them.

  “I’ve just engaged the electronic net. No-one can shift in or out of this apartment. Please do not try, at the very least you will be seriously injured.”

  “They aren’t coming after us are they Javier?” Flavia asked anxiously;

  Cassia watched as Javier knelt in front of Flavia and took her hands;

  “No-one is coming after you. It’s just a precaution that’s all.” Then he lifted Flavia’s hands and kissed each one lightly before going into the kitchen and hunting about in a cupboard. Cassia fumed silently to herself. What he was actually doing was ensuring she couldn’t get out. Oh, he had been very charming to Flavia but the look he had cast in her direction as he stood up had been one of amused triumph. She jumped as a quiet whirring sound filled the apartment then saw that shutters had suddenly descended over the vast expanse of glass, protecting them from the rising sun.

  “Efficient isn’t it?” Javier’s voice was right by her side;

  “Sit still, I’m going to check out that injury on your head. It’s hidden by the colour of your hair but I can smell blood. No, don’t scoot away, keep still and bend your head forward.”

  Cassia forced herself to sit still as he leaned over her and parted through her hair with gentle fingers. She breathed in and felt a fluttering in the pit of her stomach; he smelled heavenly.

  “Hmm, yes, the skin has been broken and there is dried blood in your hair but it is already starting to heal. Quite a bump you have there. No headache? Eyesight okay?” he asked.

  Cassia pulled away, flustered; “I’m perfectly fine thank you.” then, as Flavia suddenly covered up a massive yawn she jumped to her feet;

  “Is there a spare bedroom? Flavia looks exhausted and I wouldn’t mind a quick shower to get that blood out.”

  Javier nodded, looking amused;

  “That door there. Rafe’s sister sometimes comes to stay so you may find something to sleep in. Cassia, come back here after your shower. We need to talk.”

  As Flavia yawned again and thanked him Cassia considered refusing. However, she still felt hugely guilty about her part in this whole charade and he hadn’t made a request; it had been an order.

  Javier stared after the sisters thoughtfully as he started up the laptop. They would have to go back to the Island with him; their lives could be in danger. Flavia would see the sense in it but Cassia, he took a deep breath and shook his head, she would not go quietly. Cassia of the bloodline of the Vampire Mathrafal; quickly he logged into one of the Council’s heavily encrypted files and input her name.

  There she was, Mathrafal – a bloodline embedded in Welsh history which would account for that faint lilt to her English. One sister…Flavia. Father dead, the records did not state how, mother still living. She was five decades younger than him, born in the peaceful, timeless Welsh mountains as Napoleon marched his doomed army to Waterloo. She was on the records because she had been a suspect in a number of clever, complex confidence tricks though nothing had ever been proved. However she had also been suspected of involvement in high value art thefts and deals in the Human world over the last century. This was far more worrying, bringing with it the ever present threat of exposure. She was on the watch list for this very reason.

  Had they picked her simply because, at a distance, she could be made to look enough like Charlotte to lure him to follow? It was sinister; someone knew his history, someone had been able to obtain a picture of his dead consort. That same someone had gone to a lot of trouble. Why? What did they want?

  The guestroom door opened and Javier found himself staring as Cassia padded barefooted into the kitchen and poured herself another glass of wine then topped his up and brought it over. Setting it down on the table between them she sat down, curling her long bare legs under her. The hair that had been scraped back and tightly tied to fit under the wig had been washed and lay damply in a black sheet over her shoulders to below her waist. She had wrapped herself in a midnight blue satin robe the same colour as her eyes and he was sure she had nothing on underneath. If it hadn’t been for the cold challenge and defiance in her eyes he would have sworn she was trying a little seduction in the hope of distracting him. Well, he was certainly distracted. He took a quick swallow of wine to combat the sudden dryness in his mouth and turned the laptop round to face her.

  “It seems you are a person of interest Cassia. Your name has flagged up on our system.”

  Cassia kept up the outward show of casual lack of concern but her heart was hammering. Her earlier guess had been correct, she thought, as she saw the emblem of the crossed swords that headed the page of script in the ancient language spoken by all Vampires and Empaths. They even had a photo of her.

  “You are a soldier on the Warrior’s Council.” she said quietly, holding her wine with both hands so he wouldn’t see the trembling.

  “Almost correct.” Javier’s eyes were narrowed as he examined her and she felt like an insect under a microscope. Of course, she thought, remembering the blonde warrior’s respectful deference earlier; those people would not have gone to so much trouble for a mere foot soldier.

  “I am a commander on the Warrior’s Council, one of the six reporting directly to the head of the Council and our Supreme Commander…”

  “The Comte de LaSalle.” Cassia finished, feeling the colour draining from her face.

  Oh God, if she had known she was tangling with the Warrior’s Council she would have found some way to wriggle out. Those guys policed the Vampire world, they led their armies, protected their society. The Comte de
LaSalle was a name known in every Vampire household. No wonder Javier of Seville wasn’t the push over she had thought he would be; he wasn’t some rich playboy. He was a commander on the Council and everyone knew that you didn’t get to that position unless you were an elite and highly experienced warrior.

  “What’s going to happen to me?” she asked.

  “You and Flavia are going back with me to our headquarters. Your lives may be in danger. You are going to help me get to the bottom of all this. Rafe has already got our people watching the house. Rafe Deverill is another commander on the Council by the way, this is his place. I’m not interested in your common thievery Cassia, I just need to know as much as possible about what happened.”

  “My thievery is anything but common.” Cassia shot back.

  “You are priceless!” Javier spluttered with laughter, “I’m not giving you a choice here. You have got mixed up in something extremely odd. How did you know your way around that house?”

  Cassia shuffled uncomfortably, “Five years ago I sort of liberated a Goya from that house. It belongs, or used to belong, to an Empath called Erebus.”

  “You stole a Goya from them?” Javier stared at her in astonishment, “What other art thefts are you responsible for…no, on second thoughts, don’t answer that, I don’t want to know. Let’s just stick with trying to find out why they wanted me. You can tell your story tomorrow back on the Island. Now, you had better get some sleep.”

  She was being dismissed. Well, things could have gone worse. Cassia wondered how she had got on their watch list; she was good, more than good and she was careful. No evidence had ever been traceable back to her but she had been involved in the darker side of the art world for a very long time. There were bound to be rumours, whispers.

  She looked up and flushed; Javier was observing her thoughtfully.

  “You will have to question Flavia won’t you?” Cassia asked abruptly,

  “She was in that house for a long time, she may have overheard things. Empaths and Humans never appreciate how very acute our hearing is. She’s completely innocent in all this Javier. She’s never been involved in anything I do; her work is completely legitimate. I want your word that she will not be treated like a criminal.”

 

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