Eric looked past his father at the Grand Dame. “You’re not going to die.”
“Eric,” Hargittai began, but his son gave him a hard look.
“I can’t be cruel,” he said softly. “She needs to know.”
Eric walked to the Grand Dame and knelt before her. They stared into each other’s eyes. Keeli held her breath. She felt Michael draw near; he touched the back of her neck.
The Grand Dame said, “So. You are free now.”
“Yes,” said Eric. “And I forgive you.”
The Grand Dame raised one fine eyebrow. “That is big of you.”
“Don’t,” he said. “Don’t try to belittle what I’m giving you. You saved my life. You raised me. You gave me books and music. You gave me the tools I needed to resist the commands of the men you sold me to. For that, I will always be grateful.”
“I made you kill,” said the Grand Dame. “Surely you cannot forgive me for that.”
“I forgive you,” said Eric. But his gentle voice turned cold, soft. “I forgive you, so I can forget you. You have no power now. You are worth nothing. Old wolf, old heart. Your only legacy will be a sour taste in the mouths of those who once loved you.”
“I thought you were not going to be cruel,” said the Grand Dame, and Keeli sensed—for the first time—a sliver of real pain. Heartache in the old woman.
“The truth is cruel.” Eric glanced at Keeli. “You taught her that, didn’t you?”
The old woman’s breath caught. Keeli did not give her a chance to respond—she could not bear to hear what her grandmother would say. It was already difficult enough.
“I am exiling you,” Keeli said, gripping her teacup so hard her knuckles turned white. “You will leave this room. You will leave this city. And you will never come back.”
Horrible to say, perhaps even more terrible to hear. It took the Grand Dame a moment to find her voice, to control herself enough to speak with dignity. “You said you needed my help.”
“Nothing that cannot be done remotely.” Keeli struggled to maintain her cool. “I and a few others will know where you are. You’ll have a phone. Some money. You won’t go hungry.”
“And if I do not cooperate?”
“I will come for you,” Hargittai said, and there was no mistaking what he would do. The Grand Dame stared at him.
“I think I would rather die than leave this city,” she said.
“That is certainly an option,” Hargittai agreed. “You betrayed us all, May. Perhaps my son can forgive you, but I cannot. All those years, defending you …” He shook his head. “You disgust me.”
The Grand Dame blinked, speechless. She turned away from Hargittai, and the helplessness in her eyes—the shock—was unbearable.
Keeli felt she was ripping her own heart out—like she was the betrayer. In a sense, she was—but that was just something she would have to live with if she wanted to keep the clans safe. Her grandmother could not be allowed to stay. Keeli did not trust her. Her voice was still too powerful, the backlash of her crimes too great. An alliance with the vampires might be achieved with the Grand Dame’s presence, but it would not last. A clean start was needed. A new beginning.
It is justice, she thought. Merciful justice, if only she knew what the others wanted.
“The car is ready,” Hargittai said to Keeli. “We can take her now.”
The Grand Dame did not need Keeli to tell her; she rose from the chair, still dignified and elegant, her despair becoming anger. She turned that wrathful gaze on Keeli, and then it was as though all her strength and vibrancy transformed into something more than a bitter heart.
“I will not worry about you,” she said quietly. “Not one bit. You’ve learned your lessons very well indeed.”
“Granny May—”
“No,” she said. “Don’t. Maybe I deserve this. Maybe I deluded myself. I just … did not want to hear it from you.”
There was a knock on the door. Eric answered it. Celestine stood there, Frederick at her side. The cold hard features of her face softened when she looked at her son—a remarkable transformation. Keeli still couldn’t believe that such a hateful person could ever love—and not just love, but love outside her kind.
Why couldn’t you do the same? Keeli wanted to ask her grandmother. Why did it have to come to this?
“Are you ready?” Celestine asked, and it seemed like a question more for her son than Keeli.
“Are you coming with us?” Eric asked.
“Oh, yes.” Celestine smiled, cold, at the old Grand Dame. “I would not miss this trip for all the world.”
Keeli did not envy her grandmother, but she thought it was appropriate: Forced to sit in a car with the family she had destroyed. They would be driving quite a distance. Keeli wondered who would get the backseat with her grandmother.
Frederick looked at everyone in the room with varying expressions of unhappiness and confusion. Keeli hoped he stayed confused. It was all right for him to know her grandmother was going away—just not the reasons why. If the vampires ever found out she had ordered the murders, that Eric was the murderer …
Secrets. I suppose this is my first lesson in them.
“Good-bye,” Keeli said to her grandmother.
Her grandmother said nothing; she turned and walked from the room. Hargittai looked at Keeli, hesitating. Keeli shook her head. No, nothing he could say would make this better. Nothing in the world could do that. She would be living with this day for the rest of her life.
Michael touched her hand. “I am here,” he breathed, in a voice only she could hear. She nodded, swallowing hard.
Eric and Hargittai followed the Grand Dame from the room, Celestine between them. Frederick stayed.
The door closed. For a moment Keeli was a little girl again, sitting in her grandmother’s lap, rocking and rocking, being held in the safety of strong warm arms.
Never again. Never again.
Frederick stirred, breaking the spell of memory. Keeli wondered how long she had been standing there, staring at the door.
“I do not know what just happened,” Frederick said imperiously. “But I can tell you right now that I do not care for your attitude. I can’t imagine we’ll get much accomplished.”
Keeli crossed her arms. She was not in the mood to be insulted.
“What do the vampires want from us?”
“Tunnels,” he said.
“Why do they want the tunnels?”
His eyes narrowed. “We want them in case we need sanctuary against the humans.”
“And will this be sanctuary for all the vampires? Every single one of you in the city?”
“If need be.”
“Then I’m going to need some things in return, Frederick. If the vampires won’t give them to me, we don’t need to talk again. These are nonnegotiable conditions.”
“I thought you said the negotiations were just beginning.”
“I did. This is the beginning. This is also the end.”
Frederick’s mouth tightened. “What do you want?”
“One hundred million dollars. In addition to that fee, the vampires must also pay for complete renovations of the entire underground.”
“That is outrageous.”
“That is the deal. If you think about it, I’m sure you’ll agree that it makes sense. The tunnels are not currently prepared to withstand an attack from human forces. If you want to use them, you will have to fix them—and fix them well.”
Frederick gritted his teeth. “What else?”
“Real estate,” Keeli said. She knew she was pushing the limits of Frederick’s patience, but she was the Grand Dame Alpha now, and if she were going to screw the pooch, she might as well go all the way.
“Real estate,” he echoed.
“I want Michael’s neighborhood,” Keeli said, and was pleased to see Michael blink, surprised. “The entire neighborhood. All the buildings. Everything. Free and legal and clear.”
“He lives in a trash hea
p,” Frederick said.
“But it’ll be our trash heap,” Keeli said. “That’s what I want in return for access to the underground.”
“The former Grand Dame refused us full access.”
Yes. The former Grand Dame had also been playing games.
“If you agree to my terms, you can have full access—but you’ll also take responsibility for the behavior of your vampires. If anyone breaks our laws—if even one fang scrapes the body of a werewolf or human—there will be no mercy. None. I will not tolerate fighting between our two peoples. I will not tolerate violence. I will not tolerate name-calling or patronizing behavior.”
“You do not tolerate much at all.”
Keeli smiled. “You need us more than we need you, Frederick. What’s it going to be?”
“I cannot give you an answer now. I need to consult with Fleur and the other leaders.”
Keeli pointed at the phone. “Consult. Michael and I will wait over here for their answer.”
Frederick had the intelligence not to ask her if she was really serious; he picked up a phone and moved to a corner of the room. Keeli and Michael sat on the floor in front of the fire. She leaned against his shoulder. She needed to be near him. Her heart still hurt.
“I called Jenkins,” he said. “He gives his best to the new Grand Dame.”
“I bet. Did he have any news?”
“Nothing. I told him not to expect any more bodies. He told me not to say another word. He didn’t want to hear it.”
“See no evil, hear no evil. I like him.”
“He’s a good man. A good friend. He said his superiors closed the case completely. There’s no more talk about roundups.” Michael wound his fingers around Keeli’s hand. “There’s something else.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Marcus contacted me. He found Emily’s attacker. He’s holding him for me at the bar.”
“Shit.”
“I told Jas.”
“Fuck.”
“I am sorry,” Michael whispered. “But I made a promise.”
“Yeah, I know. I want to be there, Michael.”
He kissed her hand. Behind them, Frederick hung up the phone.
“I need two hours,” he said, and his patronizing attitude was gone. “Dumont is consulting with the others.”
“Fine.” Keeli stood. “That’ll give us time to take care of some business.”
The vampire’s name was Kenneth. Michael did not bring him to the underground. He brought Kenneth to an abandoned building where Emily and Jas waited with Keeli. Michael knew they had the right vampire, because when Emily saw his face, she turned away, shaking. Jas shook, too. His scar stood out in sharp relief against his red face. He looked ready to kill.
“Emily,” Michael said. “Are you ready?”
She straightened slowly. Turned around and took off her hat. Michael felt Kenneth go very still under his hand. Kenneth had a gag in his mouth. He was handcuffed to the stairs so he could not fly away. He made a small sound in his throat. At first Michael thought it was laughter, but then he looked into the vampire’s eyes, and realized it was a whimper.
Emily took a deep breath. She looked into Kenneth’s face, and her gaze was determined, cool.
“I brought tools,” Michael said, gesturing at the bag of sharp things on the floor. “I even have his dagger if you prefer the original.” He felt Keeli give him a sharp look.
“Yes,” said Emily. “Please.”
Michael gave her the silver dagger. She fingered the crucifix-shaped hilt, and pressed it between her breasts as though in prayer. Jas watched her, distraught.
“She is going to hurt you now, Kenneth,” Michael told the vampire, in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. “She is going to cut your face.”
Emily’s steps faltered.
“She is going to slip your knife under your thick blond hair. She is going to cut just so and pull off your scalp. She is going to cut you slow.”
Emily stopped walking. Started moving again.
“She is going to make you scream.”
Emily stood in front of Kenneth.
“Do you remember me?” she asked softly. Kenneth nodded. Michael did not see remorse in his eyes, but he did see fear. Emily saw it, too. She took a deep breath. She touched Kenneth’s face and pressed the dagger against his cheek. Pushed in. Kenneth closed his eyes and whimpered. Blood trickled from the cut. Michael watched Emily’s face. Behind her, Keeli and Jas stood breathless.
Emily looked at Michael. Her eyes were stricken.
“I don’t want this,” she said. “I don’t want to be like him.”
“That’s good,” Michael said. “No one wants you to be like him, either.”
He held out his hand and Emily gave him the knife. She walked back to Jas and Keeli. Jas gave Michael a look that was a mixture of gratitude and respect, and then he gathered up his wife and escorted her away.
Keeli met his gaze. She nodded, solemn, and then followed her friends out of the building.
She knows me and still she loves me. Michael did not understand such a blessing, only that it was the rarest of miracles, sweet and good.
Michael turned back to Kenneth. He tapped the vampire’s dagger against his thigh. And then proceeded to tell Kenneth exactly why the Assembly had ordered his execution.
Keeli waited for Michael on the fire escape outside his apartment, drinking in the scent of roses. The sun was setting; she glimpsed gold, the shadowed blush of purple. It was very pretty. She imagined herself standing here every night—imagined, too, other wolves, on other fire escapes, watching shadows gather. It was a good feeling.
Michael drifted down from the sky. He wrapped his arms around her.
“Emily does not have to worry anymore,” he said quietly.
“That’s good,” she said. “With this new money we’re getting from the vampires, we’ll be able to afford to pay for her reconstructive surgery.”
“They agreed to the terms?” He sounded amused; perhaps a little surprised.
“All of them. Either I’m really good, or they’re really desperate.”
“Both, I suspect. Do the Alphas know?”
“Yup. Dumont and the other vampire leaders will be coming to the underground tomorrow to sign the papers.”
“So. We have an alliance.”
“We do.” She turned to look at him. “There’s still going to be trouble, you know. Wolves and vampires aren’t going to get along just because of a piece of paper. And then there’s Eric to think of. What he is, everything he’s gone through. What he could become.”
“Hargittai will take care of him. Celestine, as well. I hope.”
“I hope,” Keeli muttered darkly. “I hope my grandmother keeps her nose clean. I hope I can learn to lead as well as she did.”
“Better,” Michael said. “Aim better.”
“Yeah.” She studied his face, the pale line of his perfect jaw. “And then there’s us. It’s not going to be easy.”
“I know.” He ruffled her hair, smiling. “But I love you despite all your trouble.”
“I’ll die before you do,” she said. Michael’s smile faded.
“I have considered that, Keeli. It does not make me love you any less.”
She nodded, still dissatisfied, but unable to explain why. Michael caught her chin. “Do you remember Grindla, what she did to you?”
Keeli flushed. “She kissed me.”
“Demons give strange gifts, and there was power when she touched you. I should ask her what her intentions were.” She scowled, and he laughed, low. “I mean, it’s possible we might be together longer than you think.”
“Huh.” She scratched her chin. “That could be a long time. You’re still young by vampire standards, right?”
“I suppose,” he said.
“Then what should we do with all that time?”
Michael’s lips twitched. He patted her backside.
“You must be the horniest man I have ever met
.”
He laughed outright. “That is something I have never been called.”
“Horny? What a shock. Bet you had the women crawling all over you.” She stopped. “Never mind. I really don’t want to know.”
“That’s probably for the best,” he said, which instantly piqued Keeli’s curiosity. She kept her mouth shut, though. Some things were better left unsaid.
Some things, but not all.
“I love you,” she said.
Michael bent close, pale and cool and lean. He smelled like freedom, and when he kissed her, Keeli imagined she could fly.
“Let’s find a cloud,” she said.
And they did.
About the Author
MARJORIE M. LIU is an attorney and the New York Times bestselling author of paranormal romances and urban fantasy. In the world of comic books, she is also the writer of NYX: No Way Home, Black Widow, X-23, and Dark Wolverine (with Daniel Way, for Marvel). She lives in the American Midwest and Beijing, China. For more information, please visit her website at www.marjoriemliu.com.
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Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A TASTE OF CRIMSON.
Copyright © 2005 by Marjorie M. Liu.
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