by Casey Lane
Turning around, he surveyed his room in the Grumpy Bear Inn. Single bed, built for were proportions, stone walls, wooden floor, and a small table with an ewer and a bowl. His packs were sitting on the floor next to the bed, a tidy pile of leather. That was it. If he didn’t come back tonight, there wouldn’t be much that Milly, the innkeeper, would have to get rid of. Sebastian figured there should be something depressing about that, but he didn’t really care. The impact he left on the world wasn’t about objects, it was about the smiles and the laughter of pups whose lives he saved. Well, that’s what he hoped, anyway.
Descending the stairway into the main taproom, he breathed in deep. Wolf, bear and herbs. A hint of tobacco. That was it. Nice and clean: a little oasis in the stench of a big city. Only one other patron was in the large room, sitting in a huge brown leather armchair near an almost-dead fire. Her hair was a shock of white, with sections colored blue and green, and small bones and shells woven into the locks. It made him stop and stare, his eyes locked on the back of her head, skin prickling. Could it be?
No.
Not here. Not in a city the size of Skarva. That was asking to be murdered.
Later. He’d look into this later, because while he’d spent the last five decades of his life saving albino children, they weren’t exactly common. Born more to weres than humans or vampires, they were still few and far between. And that’s if he could get to the families before ‘pack justice’ was enacted. To find an adult albino in an inn in the middle of Skarva? Unlikely.
He’d kick himself if he didn’t learn for sure, but there wasn’t time to stop and introduce himself. He’d already cut it fine enough as it was.
He had a date to make.
Sebastian knocked on the huge metal doors at the entrance to the Ashes’ estate. The building rose three-stories in front of him, the dark stone cold and forbidding, but decorated with beautiful carvings. The long, snaking gravel drive wound away behind him, leading into a small city square, with two large gates barring the entrance from regular visitors. The crest on the metalwork had caught his interest – a sword surrounded by a laurel of thorny rose stems. He had wondered how ‘ashes’ could be represented stylistically, and he saw that the duke hadn’t even tried.
He raised his hand to knock again, but then one of the doors swung inward. A purple-eyed vamp wearing a butler’s uniform sneered down his nose at him. “Yes?”
“I am here to see His Grace.” The title tasted sour, but such was life. Sebastian hadn’t come from a fancy city, with aristos or the like. No, he’d come from a werewolf-run town that served no master aside from the alpha. But the world outside a wolf pack was quite different, so he’d learned, and aristos really hated it when you got their titles wrong.
As if they’d earned the respect. It was laughable; being born into something didn’t earn you squat. He’d been taught that the hard way.
The butler wasn’t moving.
“Did you need me to repeat that?” he asked, a slight growl layering his words.
More of the butler looking down his nose. “Do you have a card?”
“I have an invitation. Which I’m not too sure I should show you, considering it’s the duke’s personal correspondence.”
“Wait here, I shall check if you are expected.”
Sebastian stepped past the butler and into the entrance hall. He fought the urge to roll his eyes. As the servant walked up the main stairs, his back stiff, Sebastian headed over to a set of steel benches against the wall near the door. At least he didn’t have to worry about someone sneaking up on him from behind.
The foyer was easily half the size of the Grumpy Bear, with high vaulted ceilings and soaring walls. Considering the decorative nature of the outside of the building, the inside was austere. The floor was terrazzo, which had been sealed with a kind of glaze, but there was no carpet, no art on the walls. There were weapons, however. A sword here, an axe there, a dagger or ten all over the place. He wondered if each of the four main Skarvan estates reflected their namesakes. Ashes, Roses, Ravens and Stone. He had a feeling that last one might be the most boring, but what did he know about rocks?
The butler returned, his pace slow and even as he descended the stairs. “His Grace will see you.”
Sebastian stood. “Which way?”
“You will follow me.”
They started walking, at a pace only slightly faster than a snail’s. What was with the butler? Didn’t like weres? Maybe Sebastian’s lack of cravat was offensive. Who knew with leeches?
As they crawled up the stairs, he had the feeling that he was being watched, and not the side-eyed glances being given him by the servant. From the way his skin tingled, he had a feeling it was a certain were-vampire hybrid, but he couldn’t spot her anywhere, nor scent her. With her lack of body odor, the latter wasn’t a surprise.
Eventually they came to a stop outside a black metal door. The servant knocked twice, then pushed it open. “A Sebastian Talien is here to see you, Your Grace.”
As if the duke hadn’t known that.
Sebastian strode past the servant, straight up to the huge metal desk the duke was seated behind. It had a dent in the center of it, at the front, which was odd; everything else was so precise, even if the large room had little decoration, bar some weapons hanging on racks. One wall of the room, however, was totally dedicated to books, which made his hands itch. He loved to read, but rarely had the opportunity. Books were pricey, and he didn’t make much coin doing odd jobs here and there, between trying to locate and save at-risk pups.
“Sebastian Talien. You’re a hard man to find.” The duke stood and came around the front of the desk. His evening suit made Sebastian’s look like a cit’s work uniform, but that was the difference between having money and well, not having money.
The duke waved elegantly toward two chairs by a small metal table. A decanter of some dark-colored spirit and two glasses had been set on it.
Sebastian gave a short bow and then followed him to the chairs. “Your Grace, it is a pleasure to meet you.”
He was lying through his teeth, but manners were important. He didn’t really give two figs about meeting the duke, it was Aria he was keen to see again. He wasn’t really sure why the duke wished to see him, though, and that was what had made him agree to meet in the first place.
“I’m sure it is.” The duke’s face was utterly impassive as he took his seat. Sebastian wasn’t sure if there was a fine layer of sarcasm behind the words or not.
Parker Ash had an interesting reputation. Of the four founding members of Skarva, he was probably the most introverted, although the Duke of Stone was rumored to be a bit reclusive at times. Tatiana Romanov, the Duchess of Ravens, was reportedly the oldest of the four, and the most insane, while the Duchess of Roses was meant to be the most lavish. Having never met the other three, he couldn’t really say if they merited their reputations, but Ash certainly seemed reserved.
“So, I received your invitation.” Sebastian sat down opposite the duke. They were of a height, although the vampire was built on leaner lines. “You said I might be able to help you with a personal matter.”
“You’re blunt.”
Sebastian gave a half-shrug. “I find it keeps things interesting.” And brief.
Those deep purple eyes studied him for quite some time. “I have heard that you have been rather heavily involved in saving…disadvantaged children over the past few years.”
That had Sebastian sitting back in his chair. It wasn’t that he hid his hobby, but he didn’t exactly advertise it, either.
“I’d be keen to know what you’ve heard.” Sebastian hooked an ankle over his knee.
“You prefer bluntness, yes?” The duke reached over and poured two glasses of strong-smelling alcohol.
Gee, that would burn his nose right off if he got a whiff of that up close.
“Indeed.”
The duke took a small sip and then exhaled. “You track down and find albino children, or children
with physical deformities who might be viewed as distasteful by their parents or packs. You then extract the children, rehome them somewhere safe, and keep an eye on them afterward.”
That would be a fairly accurate summation of his activities. Sebastian tapped a finger against his raised knee. “But how does this relate to you?”
“Well, I’m not sure it will. First, you have to answer me this: were you involved in the murder of a young boy fifty years ago? He was albino. I believe he was in your former pack.”
Suspicions slammed together in Sebastian’s mind, and the blood drained from his face. Aria was half-vampire. Her brothers had also been half-vampire, but were albino, so they didn’t share her heterochromia. Aria – and maybe Xavier – had fled to the Duke of Ashes after they’d been attacked. Lyla had been an old wolf, and the duke was rumored to be an old vampire. And Aria had been very sure that she could get his invitation to the estate revoked.
Was Aria his daughter?
Was this some form of delayed revenge?
And Lyla’s last words…‘ashes to ashes’. He’d thought she’d been quoting the old human funeral saying, but maybe she’d been trying to tell him where her children had gone.
“I was away when the attack happened.” There, that’s what he’d told Aria.
“So I’ve heard.” The duke’s tone was so dry it made Sebastian thirsty. “But were you involved in it?”
Not that Aria would believe him, but what the heck. He may as well be honest with the duke. It might mean that he could leave the estate largely in one piece.
“No. They planned and…executed it when I was gone. I don’t know how Lyla knew of it, but she managed to get two of her three pups out, and fought to the bitter end.” He locked stares with the duke. “She took out more than half the pack. I’d never seen the like.”
The duke’s mouth tightened. “What of the boy?”
No emotional disturbance regarding Lyla’s actions, as far as Sebastian could see. Or regarding her death.
“Nick?” Sebastian shook his head. “She was cradling him when I found them, but he was already gone. I dug their graves myself.”
Chapter Seven
The Duke of Ashes’ eyes were haunted. “Was his death…bad?”
The question crystalized Sebastian’s theory that the vampire aristo was the triplet’s father. Or if not the duke, someone closely related to him. Why else would he care how the boy had died, especially since he hadn’t seemed too concerned about the pups’ mother? That disregard was unappealing. Just because she’d been a were that didn’t make her life any less valuable. She’d been the pups’ mother, for blood’s sake, and a good one at that. She’d sacrificed herself so that two of her children could live. What more could a parent do for her babes?
“Well?”
Sebastian refocused. He hadn’t answered the duke’s question. “It looked like a single knife wound to the heart.” He didn’t mention the dozens of other small cuts.
“So he wasn’t in a lot of pain.”
If he had been, Sebastian had the feeling Lyla would have killed the boy herself, to spare him any unnecessary suffering. While Sebastian’s heart broke at the thought, he approved of it. Why let someone linger in agony, when there was no hope for survival?
“No.”
“Praise the blood.” Ash shut his eyes for a moment.
Sebastian had never heard that saying before. Maybe it was old-fashioned, like the ashes thing. “The triplets, are they your children?”
The duke took another sip of alcohol, savoring the taste. “What triplets?”
Sebastian was no fool, and he didn’t enjoy being treated as one. To get called here, to then meet Aria, and have this roundabout conversation with the duke? Kind of made his patience a little short.
“The boy,” he said. “Nick. And his siblings, Aria and Xavier.” The vampire’s expression betrayed nothing, nor did he say anything in response, but Sebastian wasn’t having any of it. “I know you know Aria, because I saw her here last night.”
Ash put the glass down. “So you are aware of Aria’s…state.”
Sebastian fought the urge to fidget. He didn’t want to look intimidated by the aristo, because he wasn’t. “That she is the only vampire-were hybrid in the world? Sure.”
“What makes you think I’m her father?”
Because I’m not an idiot, he thought. The duke probably wouldn’t appreciate that answer.
“You asked about Nick’s death. Aria lives here.” When no comment came, Sebastian continued. “Lyla was a were, so the pups’ father must have been a vampire. And here you are, owner of this fine estate, where one of the pups happens to live. I can’t imagine too many vampires taking in a half-breed, or keeping it a secret. If I hadn’t known who Aria was, I would never have guessed she was a hybrid, and I certainly haven’t heard rumors of one in Skarva.”
And he’d been listening out for them. Oh, he’d heard that one of the Skarvan dukes or duchesses had a ‘special’ daughter, but she was supposedly more than two hundred years old. Too old to have been Aria, and so Sebastian hadn’t pursued that gossip any further.
Still the duke gave no response.
“So you’ve made every effort to keep her real identity a secret,” Sebastian went on. “Only someone who cares would do that. So I assume ‘father’. Could be an uncle. Could be another brother, for all I know. But you’re a relative of some kind.”
“I could just be a concerned patron,” Ash said.
Sebastian rolled his eyes. “And I am the Duke of Stone.”
Silence, then the aristo angled his head in acknowledgement. “If you were anyone else, I’d kill you for knowing about my daughter. There is a reason she wears that eyepatch.”
“I gathered as much. But I knew about them when they were pups.”
Another tilt of the head.
“Is she, or Xavier, the reason you asked me here? I know for a fact that she isn’t happy I’m around.”
“I hadn’t known about your…relationship with my children prior to asking you here. Or your shared history.” The duke leaned forward. “If I’d been aware of the association, I might have thought twice about extending the invitation. But Aria needs help, and she is not able to get it from me.”
Sebastian frowned. “Help?”
“Before I explain further, I just want to say this. If I find out that you ever had anything to do with my son’s death, I will kill you.” The duke sat back a little. “But you don’t smell of deception, so I am willing to believe you, for now.”
“You can smell lies?” Both of Sebastian’s eyebrows shot up. He’d never heard of such a thing before.
“It’s how I describe my ability. But only to a very rare few.” Ash leaned forward slightly. “You understand?”
Blab about it and die. Yeah, he got it. Suddenly, the large room was a little too tight for comfort. He was an alpha werewolf, sure, but this guy’s daughter was stronger than him, and Ashes was an old vampire. He had been growing more and more powerful over thousands of years. And the fact this guy could scent a falsehood? Bizarre, but Sebastian believed it.
“I understand.”
“I’m glad.”
Chapter Eight
What could they have been talking about that took so long?
Her father was meant to do the meet and greet, and then kick the were’s ass to the curb.
Ari paced the hallway outside her father’s study and glared at the well-dressed servants as they glided by. Normally, she made an effort to be friendly, but they were checking up on her, making sure she didn’t have her ear pressed to the door.
If they weren’t watching, she would totally be doing that.
The stone-walled space was rather oppressive, and the bare plaster walls boring, but that was her father: he was all about industry and practicality. Beauty without purpose was wasteful, he claimed. Ari liked pretty things. Sue her.
She wanted to rush over and slam the door open, demand to know what th
ey were discussing. Instead, her feet just kept on strolling up and down the hall.
The sounds from within the room suddenly became clearer – they were heading toward the door. She dashed to the T-intersection at the far end of the hall, and peered back around the corner as Sebastian opened the door. He said something to the duke, then headed towards the staircase, away from Aria.
He didn’t even glance over his shoulder. Or look for her in any way at all.
Wait. That shouldn’t matter. She didn’t want him looking for her, because that would imply she wanted to see him again. Which she didn’t.
As he disappeared down the hall, her eyes lingered over his broad-shouldered physique, dropping to his butt; the one that should have been kicked out of the estate. But man, he did have a very nice rear end.
What is wrong with you?
Hormones. Hormones was what was wrong with her. Even though she hated to admit it, there was something about black shiny hair, bronze skin and a shapely butt that was appealing to any woman.
There, you’re not being a traitor. You’re just admiring him the way anyone would admire art.
Yeah. Art. Right.
It turned out that lying to herself wasn’t one of her strong points.
The Grumpy Bear Inn.
What a name. She rarely ventured near this part of town, mostly because it was a market district and she kept her spying – uh, investigating – restricted to other vampires and wealthy cits. But she’d heard of the inn, and avoided it. Not having a scent tended to upset weres, and upset weres were dangerous.
Sebastian didn’t seem to mind.
Yeah, well, it was clear that he was lacking in the brains department.
Ari was here for a reason. Sebastian hadn’t even paused on his way out of the estate, just headed down the stairs, out the door, and into the dark streets. She had half been expecting him to sneak around the back, try to enter the estate on the sly. It’s what she would have done; but he hadn’t. And so she’d followed him.