A Cat's Chance in Hell

by Sharon Hannaford

  “That’s starting to sound like an attractive prospect,’ he retorted, but then caught himself, and took a calming breath. “The food and coffee have nothing added to them. I would offer to sample them myself, but as human drugs have no effect on us, it would prove nothing. Please trust me in this case, they are perfectly safe.”

  Gabi couldn’t possibly resist the smell a moment longer. She picked up the coffee, trying to hide the slight trembling of her hand, and took a long sip, closing her eyes and revelling in the sweet, aromatic taste as it washed down her throat, it was still hot and made exactly as she liked it. She set the cup aside and dug into the paper bag, pulling out a still-warm pastry. She tried to take small dainty bites while wanting to devour it in two mouthfuls. Byron didn’t have any sound theories on why she craved so much sugar, so the simplest answer was to indulge it as often as possible. Not even Kyle could keep up with her when it came to sweet treats. Julius leant back against the desk watching her in utter fascination; it had obviously been a while since he watched a human eat. Or at least she hoped that was what the fascination was about. Well, so far Vamp hospitality was better than she had expected. She brushed a few crumbs from her lips and washed the first pastry down with more coffee. Her hands were steady now, and the painkillers had kicked in, it was time to get this meeting under way.

  “Now perhaps you would like to explain what exactly I’m doing here,” she said, pulling a second Danish out of the bag.

  Julius took a deep breath and folded his arms. “I believe that you are aware of the increase in the number of Demons entering the City lately.”

  She looked up sharply at him. How much did he know about the Demons, and how much did he have to do with them? As far as everyone at SMV HQ knew there was no association between Demons and Vampires, but in truth, they didn’t know very much about Vampire society in general.

  “Yes, there has been an increase in Demon activity recently,” she said around a mouthful of pastry. “What do you have to do with it?”

  “I would like to say I have nothing to do with the increase,” Julius said tightly, “but I would be kidding myself if I did.”

  He pushed away from the desk and began pacing up and down the length of the room in front of the heavily stocked, floor-to-ceiling book case. He reminded her of a racehorse walking the ring before a race. He was trying to contain his movement, trying to rein himself in, but his desire to move, to let rip, was oozing through his tight self-control. “How much do you know about the way Vampire Clans are run, how our hierarchies work?”

  “To be honest, not much,” she replied. “My experience is that there are Vampires that try to blend in and feed themselves without resorting to terror and violence, and there are Vampires who revel in the horror of attacking and killing humans to feed. The former I ignore and the latter I kill. There aren’t too many hand guides out there explaining the intricacies of Vampire life,” she quipped.

  “I guess that is true. We are secretive by nature and by necessity. But I would have thought that the esteemed Societas Malus Venatori would have gathered more intelligence on the supernaturals that they hunt”.

  She raised a sceptical eyebrow. “Are you actually trying to tell me that you would prefer us to know more about you?” she asked dubiously.

  He sighed gustily. “No, that is not my preference, but it would take far less time to explain our situation now if you had some background information. What is currently happening in the city is intrinsically linked with the hierarchy within the Vampire Clans.”

  “You mean the increase in Demon activity has something to do with Vampire politics?” she asked, somewhat bewildered.

  “In a nutshell, yes,” he replied. “But it is also far more complex than that. I think a short history lesson in Vampire politics would help you understand my current position. Will you bear with me while I try to make this clear to you? You should also understand that this would be a large show of faith on my part, as we keep this kind of information secret in order to protect ourselves. There are those of my kind who would kill you simply for having the knowledge I am about to give you. You would need to accept that threat to your own safety, and to anyone else you impart this knowledge to in the future.”

  “You mean you’re not going to swear me to some kind of weird Vampire Code of Silence?”

  He looked at her with a “be serious” expression on his face. “No, there is no ‘Vampire Code of Silence’. If you agree to what I will be asking of you, you will need to impart this knowledge to some of those on your Council in order to gain their support. I just want to be sure you know the danger you are putting yourself, and others, in when you know this information.”

  Both her eyebrows rose in incredulity now. “Whoa there, let’s back up a few steps, I’m not sure I want to be the proverbial messenger who takes the bullet for your political agenda, Sire Jules.”

  He closed his eyes and shook his head in exasperation. “Will you just listen to me for a few minutes? Please. I’m not going to ask you to make any rash decisions now. I just want you to have all the information you need to make a rational choice. I don’t expect you to make that decision on your own. There is a war coming, and the Malus Venatori will need to choose a side if they want to keep down the number of human victims in that war!”

  She looked at him in silence for a few seconds. Then she sighed and nodded. “Alright, I’ll listen. I’ll even try to keep an open mind.” Then she added, “But you better rustle up some more coffee if you want me coherent.”

  A slight smile lifted one corner of his mouth as she felt a slight surge of power. “Your wish, my command” he said slightly sarcastically.

  Chapter 7

  Claudia had been dispatched for another round of coffee and pastries, and Julius had given Gabi back her mobile phone and left the office, giving her some privacy to call Kyle and reassure him that she was alright. Gabi guessed Julius would stay close enough to hear her side of the conversation. The phone had been turned off, so she assumed he knew that she could be tracked via her phone, and by giving it back to her he was either confident she would stop them from coming to get her, or he reckoned he had enough time to complete their meeting before the cavalry arrived.

  She stood up cautiously and stretched out stiff muscles in her legs while she made the call. It took several minutes of reassurance to get Kyle to calm down, and not to come searching for her with every member of the SMV he could contact. She didn’t bother telling him about her injuries, just that she’d been ambushed and darted with something to knock her out, and was about to engage in a meeting with the Master Vampire of the City. Finally, to give him something to do, she told him to arrange an urgent meeting of the High Council for the following morning. She assured him that Julius had guaranteed her safety and that she would be dropped off at a place of her choosing before sunrise. She would call him from there to collect her; she wasn’t letting Vampires anywhere near her house or Kyle’s. She didn’t use her emergency word, and she hoped he noticed in his anxious state. They had long ago decided on a word they could use in an emergency situation that would alert the other that they were speaking under duress. They had never had to use the ploy, but it was there, and she hoped Kyle got the message and didn’t try anything stupid.

  When she was finished the call she sank into one of the comfortable leather office chairs near Julius’s desk, choosing the one that allowed her a view of both the door and windows, and waited for Julius to return. She didn’t have to wait long, he arrived moments later with her second coffee and a bag of pastries, placing them on the desk in front of her, and retreating to his chair on the other side of the desk.

  “So,” he began, leaning back in his leather chair and looking at her speculatively, “how long do we have until they arrive to rescue you?” he asked, confirming her earlier suspicions.

  “What makes you think that I would need rescuing?” she challenged archly. “And in any case, I thought we were having a civil conversation, aft
er which I would be safely deposited back in the City. Are you implying I have something to worry about after all?” Her voice was calm and precise, but there was steel in the undertone.

  “No, not at all, I have guaranteed your safety; you will not be harmed while you’re here.” Julius reassured her, “but I would imagine that the Wolf was not too happy about our kidnapping you. If I were in his shoes I would probably be chafing to get you out of the clutches of a nest of Vampires, and would do it by any means necessary.”

  “Wolf may not always like my decisions, but he does respect them,” she said. “He’ll wait for my call.” She left it hanging there, not specifying when she was expected to call Kyle. Let him believe that the cavalry were just a moment away if she didn’t check in at the required time. Though oddly she felt she could trust Julius not to harm her tonight. If he had ulterior motives they did not seem to include torturing or killing her; so, for now at least, she would give him the benefit of the doubt. Nonetheless, she slipped her phone into her front pants pocket where she could reach it easily if she needed to; Julius wasn’t the only Vampire in the building after all. “Now, can we get to the point of this meeting,” she finished bluntly, pain and tiredness washing over her.

  “Yes,” he said, apparently satisfied that they would not be interrupted. “Firstly, would you be prepared to tell me what connection you have to the Council of the Malus Venatori?”

  “I am a Hunter,” she replied evenly. “The Council decide when a Rogue needs to be eliminated, and the details are passed to me or another Hunter.”

  “Yes, I guessed that much of the operation,” he said carefully, “but I’m also aware that there is a deeper connection between you and a member, or members, of the Council.”

  “I’m not discussing that with you,” she replied flatly, her expression clear that the topic was closed. Under no circumstances would she put Byron at risk, he was their most treasured and respected member and their most closely guarded secret. Only the Council, the Hunters and few of the office staff knew his true identity, and they were determined to keep it that way. Other members knew his first name, but they were unaware of his real identity, they knew him simply as a voice on the phone that gave them their assignments, or called them up for emergencies. They had no idea that he was a respected member of the City Council, a founding member of the SMV Council, a born Magus and Gabi’s second father. Gabi sat tensely waiting for the explosion from the Vampire sitting across from her, but to her surprise he simply nodded, a wry smile tweaking the corners of his mouth.

  “I guessed that would be your answer, but I had to try,” he said calmly.

  Gabi suddenly realised that he had probably read more than she wanted him to at her response to the question. She would have to be more careful how she answered his questions. She also found herself wondering how he was even aware of her relationship with Byron, and how he’d known where to find her and Kyle tonight? This was something else she’d have to discuss with the Council; it seemed they had a leak.

  “I need to tell you something of the Vampire histories in order to explain our current situation. I will try not to bore you with too many details, but please stop me if you feel I am giving too much or too little information,” he began, sitting forward and crossing his pale long-fingered hands on the desk. She nodded her assent and picked up the fresh coffee, settling into the big chair and tucking one leg up under her, getting as comfortable as she could while still tensed to react if another Genevieve barged through the door.

  As he started speaking, telling her the beginnings of Vampire culture as it existed today, how the Vampire cleansing in Eastern Europe in the early 18th century, the so called ‘Age of Enlightenment’, had decimated the strong Vampire presence that existed in the world at that time, she found herself studying him in minute detail. A small part of her concentration started trying to analyse his voice, his mannerisms, the way he spoke. She was trying to place him geographically as well as in a time period, intrigued with trying to work out where and when he’d been born. He appeared to be close to her age; her true age, of twenty-nine, maybe a little younger. He was well built and looked as though he’d had good nutrition growing up.

  She didn’t know much about Vampires, but she did know that their height and build was carried through the change, although deformities, physical abnormalities, excess fat, hair loss, wrinkles and skin damage were often repaired. Once a Vampire had changed they were stuck with their build and height; a short, skinny human became a short, skinny Vamp, and a large, muscular human became a well-built Vamp. She had never encountered an older Vamp with the muscle and bulk of Julius however, or for that matter, his power. Those born in the years before decent medical care, good nutrition, and gym membership were mostly on the short and skinny side, and appeared older than their human age. She had no idea of the exact correlation between power and age in a Vampire, but she did know that the younger ones had far less mental power than the older ones, and her internal ‘vamp-meter’ always gave her an idea of the supernatural capabilities of a Vamp. Julius was a very powerful Vampire, but why he was so tall and so muscular, was a mystery to her. The general consensus among the Hunters about Vamps was; ‘be careful of the little ones’. Julius was most definitely an exception to that rule.

  His accent was almost impossible for her to pinpoint exactly. He had a carefully neutral accent, probably English, but not one of the broader British accents. In fact, it reminded her of the accents of those from the British colonies; a clean upper-class accent without blatant inflection and slang, but also without the clipped, pompousness of royalty. She could imagine him speaking several languages without altering his basic accent at all. Perhaps that would explain his neutral accent; if he had been around for as long as she suspected, then he probably had learnt several languages and lived in several countries over the course of his lifetime.

  Then there was his name; she wondered if it was the name he had been given at birth or if he had assumed it somewhere along the line. It was obviously a popular name in ancient Rome, but she doubted he was actually that old, maybe it had made a comeback at some stage and become popular again sometime in more recent history. His build and colouring suggested an Anglo-Saxon bloodline in his background, but not knowing his exact age was making it almost impossible to be sure of anything about him.

  If he was aware of her scrutiny he pretended ignorance, continuing with his chronicle of Vampire history. He explained that the remnants of the Eastern European Vampires had scattered into the rest of the world, many to Western Europe and the British Isles, but some adventurous ones took on the ‘New World’. They concentrated on keeping a low profile and quickly dispensed with any Vampire who threatened to expose them again. For a while they had shunned the company of humans, only coming into contact with them to feed, but there were so few Vampires left that loneliness had eventually driven them to begin the dangerous process of ‘turning’ humans. Slowly Vampires began rebuilding their decimated numbers, creating families for themselves.

  The first ‘family’ of any note was one in Scotland in the mid eighteenth century. A female Vampire, named Ilyana, had fallen in love and turned a Scottish nobleman into a mate for herself, and between them converted most of his direct family into Vampires. Several other older Vamps had latched onto her idea and they in turn changed a number of other Scottish and English families. Ilyana became the ‘Matriarch” of the McCullum Clan, taking on her mate’s name, and this blueprint for a new type of Vampire Family had quickly spread throughout Britain and Europe. Vampires were now living a similar existence to their Eastern European heyday, but spread out in solid family groups, each ruled by a powerful Matriarch or Patriarch, known as a Master Vampire. The Master Vampire was expected to keep tight control over all members of the Clan, enforcing secrecy and curbing Vampire related deaths, ensuring humans didn’t learn of their existence. It was after a number of Clans had been formed all over Europe and Britain that they began forming mutually beneficial bo
nds with Werewolves and in some cases even Magi and Shapeshifters.

  “Of course over the past century the Clans had started to become more like business enterprises than true families,” he said, “businesses that employ the majority of the Vampires and many of the Weres in each city. Cities are regarded as territories, and generally only one major Clan lives and rules in each city. Positions of Master Vampire in the larger cities are highly prized, and only the strongest Master Vamps get to hold these positions. It has, in short, become a political game. He or she with the biggest influence and the strongest supporters wins. If a Master slips up there are numerous others waiting to take him down and replace him.”

  Now the story had begun to interest Gabi.

  “So you’re telling me you had to fight to be Master of the City?” she interrupted him for the first time.

  “Yes,” he replied solemnly, “in more ways than one.”

  “What do you mean?” she

  “Well, for the most part only the oldest, most powerful of us get to a point where we can challenge another Master for a prime position. If we are not considered powerful enough to maintain order in the Clan, other Masters will join forces to eliminate us as possible contenders. A Master first has to prove himself strong enough and ruthless enough to control a Clan, before he would be allowed to challenge.”

  “Let me guess,” she drawled, “you weren’t considered ‘old’ enough for the position.”

  Julius seemed startled that she’d reached the correct conclusion; she realised that most people would’ve automatically assumed he wasn’t powerful enough. She knew better; she could sense his power.

  “Yes, as a matter of fact I was considered too ‘young’ by Vampire standards,”

  “So, what are the Vampire standards for a Master Vampire?” she queried. “Is there a certain age, a kind of test, what exactly makes a Master a Master?” She’d decided to push him and see how far he would go divulging intimate details of Vampire Society. Any information she could gather was more than they had now, and she was sure that Byron would find it fascinating.