by Dee Carney
They’d run out of time anyway. Antaeus Stavrou had already found them.
* * *
Bast leaped from the bed, yanking Alice behind him. He met the executioner’s cold stare, almost daring the man to make one wrong step in Alice’s direction. He’d most likely die trying to defend her, but there was no way in hell that he’d allow the man to lay one tainted finger on his woman.
How the fuck did he find them so quickly? He asked the executioner, barely stifling a growl beneath every syllable.
Antaeus replied, “You were careless.”
He stepped inside the doorway and removed a broad brimmed, black hat. Equally dark shades went into the cap after he’d stepped into the shadow of the darkened room. Bast studied the large human standing outside the doorway, figuring there was probably at least another one of him guarding the only exit. Antaeus was smart enough to bring back up this time. While Alice could still stand hours in the sun, she would have been hindered by it. Smart executioner didn’t want to take the chance that the couple would make another escape attempt, because they would have. Now, they’d have to spend a little more time thinking about their next move.
Antaeus nodded at the door and the human leaned in, grabbed the knob and tried to leer at Alice. Bast took a single threatening step forward, letting the man see the do-not-fuck-with-what-is-mine in his eyes. The human’s lip crimped in arrogant defiance but he backed out, closing the door behind him.
Bast turned, grabbed the sheet from the bed and took his time draping it over Alice. “We’ll be fine,” he said softly. She looked up at him, hope and trust set into her features. She nodded, and he couldn’t stop himself from pressing a quick kiss on her lips. “Do you still want a shower?”
“But—” Her attention darted to Antaeus and back.
“He’s not taking us anywhere yet,” he replied a little louder. “The Council does not travel in daylight. Go on. I’ll be waiting for you.”
Bast waited until the bathroom door closed before going to the bed. He draped an old worn throw over his lap and stared down Antaeus as he sat across from him. “So, care to tell me how you found us?”
His mouth kicked up at the corners. “Why not? It doesn’t matter now.” With an exaggerated glance, he searched the room. “Where’s your cell phone?”
“My cell...oh, fuck me.” How could he have been so stupid and so careless? Sure, it’d been smart not to use his credit cards, easily traceable for the lowliest of hackers. Everyone knew cell phones came with a built-in tracking device, only deactivated by removing the phone’s battery. He’d been so concerned about Alice’s safety, about her health, the thought that he should toss the device hadn’t crossed his mind. Not once.
“I’ll admit that I thought you’d left it in some inconvenient place, using it as a red herring, but a single phone call verified the couple checking into the motel at such an odd hour. And when I came here about half an hour ago and caught wind of that scent...” He let out a low whistle of approval. “So tempting when they’re transitioning, aren’t they?”
Something deep in Bast twisted in understanding. Even now, he could smell Alice on the other side of the bathroom door. It was something all newly turned vampires underwent. A subtle shift in their anatomy that announced their newborn status. The sweet, beckoning fragrance of cinnamon designed to lure more mature vampires to them.
“Will you allow me to help her until we stand before the Council?”
Antaeus tilted his head in consideration. “If you’ll agree not to attempt to escape, I’ll allow it. You know I won’t kill her before she’s been tried. But you...I do not have to be so kind to you.”
He expected nothing less from the executioner. Bast replied, “Leave her alone, and I’ll go before the Council with you.”
This conversation eased his fear somewhat. If Antaeus forced Alice to undergo transition without assistance, or if he’d decided on helping her sexual needs himself, Bast didn’t think he’d have the strength to stop himself from attacking him outright. Alice was his mate in every way. Before, he thought he’d be willing to do just about anything for her. Now, he’d walk through flames knowing that death waited him on the other side, without so much as blinking.
“You realize that no matter what the Council decrees for you, it won’t end well for her?” Antaeus asked with a low voice.
Bast couldn’t bring himself to verbally respond. He nodded.
When the Council was faced with the evidence of a newly created vampire, one made without their sanction, she would be sentenced to death. Antaeus, or some other executioner, would be ordered to extinguish her life painlessly, but immediately after a decision had been made and she’d fully transitioned.
For that reason, Antaeus should have also made him promise not to attempt a break-out for Alice. Because he would get her away from this mess. That was a promise.
As if beckoned, she came out of the bathroom, a cloud of heat and steam surrounding her. The bite mark on her neck glowed brighter than the rest of her pink skin, and from the sight alone Bast could have taken her again if not for their audience. As it was, she moved timidly, not sparing a glance in Antaeus’s direction. Her attention went to the floor of the room, where her discarded clothing lay, a tale of their own. When she picked up something purple, Bast grunted out a noise. “Just the shirt. I need you to stay available to me, okay?” Her scrubbed flesh burned brighter as a blush spread across her cheeks and melted down her neck. He smiled, trying to lighten the somber atmosphere. “What? Don’t tell me that you don’t have a bit of exhibitionist in you.”
She returned a grudging smile. “You’re such a man. Sorry, but threesomes aren’t my thing.”
“That’s what you say now.”
Her eyes shot to Antaeus and back. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “You’ve had a threesome before?”
“I’m almost four hundred. There’s lots of things I’ve done before.” He waggled his eyebrows.
Alice slipped the shirt on, letting it fall over the towel wrapped around her frame. “I don’t think I even want to know. And now that you have me, I don’t care how old you get to be, I doubt there will be any more threesomes in your future. Feel me?”
Antaeus chuckled. “You two are well matched.”
Pride swelled in Bast. They were, weren’t they? God, how he wanted to spend more time with her. He wanted to show her many things. Take her places she’d only dreamed. To do that, surviving meant everything. For them both. Somehow, he’d have to find a way to convince the Council that he wasn’t a threat and neither was she. He’d give them his vast fortune if necessary. While most had been inherited, a lot had been earned. And if he’d done it once, he could do it again.
Alice grimaced, bending at the waist as if pain ricocheted through her. Bast lunged for her, holding her against him as another swell of heat rushed through her. The sweet cinnamon smell bloomed in the small room, announcing another trial of transition brightening into existence.
Over her head, he caught Antaeus’s attention. With his eyes, he motioned to the bathroom, and Antaeus gave a reluctant, but curt nod. Without waiting for another prompt of approval, Bast pressed his body against hers as they shuffled together toward the private space. She was trembling by the time he closed the door.
“I promise today’s the worst of it. Promise,” he reassured as his mouth skimmed across hers.
She gritted her teeth. “Can’t be worse than what you went through, right?” Beads of sweat popped u
p on her brow. “I can handle it. But how do we escape—”
“Uh-uh.” He wouldn’t tell her of his promise to Antaeus yet. “He can hear everything we say. Let’s get you better for now.” Hands on her waist, Bast lifted her onto the porcelain sink. His naked body stood nicely between her thighs. When his hand met the damp heat between her thighs, some of the fight drained from her eyes while she nodded her acquiescence. Bast watched the pleasure rise in her face as his fingers began to dance. There might not be many more moments like this for them, and by God he would enjoy every second of each one as they occurred.
In the down-times while they waited for evening to descend, Bast would call on his inner dragon. Learning it. Analyzing it. He needed this other side of himself to answer when beckoned or to leave at a moment’s notice. The way things were going, no one had to tell him that Alice’s life depended on it.
For now though, they would play.
Chapter Thirty
Alice held Sebastian’s hand tightly as they were escorted into the long, rectangular room. The heat hadn’t risen in hours, and truthfully, she didn’t know which was worse: that or the fact they hadn’t figured out how to get out of this mess. Anteaus and two big guys forced them to leave the motel after the sun had gone down. The drive across the city couldn’t have taken more than forty-five minutes. When the town car stopped in downtown, the locale and sleek look of the high-rise had been a mild surprise.
The men she’d been introduced to, the men who served beneath Sebastian’s leadership, all waited on either side of an anteroom. A few averted their eyes when they entered, as if it were too painful to watch the procession. Drew tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it seemed forced.
Now, as she stared down the large oak table surrounded on both sides by café au lait colored leather chairs, she could almost smell the opulence. Not a surprise at all.
There were seven people, both men and women, seated at the table. All of them had a clear glass of water before them; some had tea cups with saucers resting beneath. No folders or documents of any kind littered the tabletop. In fact, if she hadn’t known better, she might have thought she’d been invited to Sunday brunch somewhere nice and innocent. Instead, these were the people who would decide if she and Sebastian had broken enough rules to warrant their deaths.
An involuntary shudder rippled through Alice.
She searched the people again, trying to find some hint of emotion reflected on any of their faces. She lighted upon Councilman Renner, the vampire who’d been interested in having her map the Council’s history, but his lips were pressed firmly together. Something about his expression steeped in disapproval. He stared at her dispassionately, as if they’d never met before. She was an object of curiosity, not the woman he’d been willing to entrust with the Council’s secrets.
“Let’s get this over with, shall we?” A distinguished-looking gentleman, dark hair coiffed into perfection, rose. He walked to the end of the table where Alice and Sebastian stood. His nose tilted into the air. “I smell the newly transitioned.”
Despite the eloquence with which he spoke, there was disdain beneath his words. Alice slid her hand to Sebastian’s forearm and squeezed.
The man’s gaze skimmed over her and went to Sebastian. “Mr. Kent, you are accused of endangering the Council, dereliction of duty and of hiding your true self, an...abomination, within the vampire community. It seems you compound these offenses by adding the crime of creating a new vampire without the Council’s approval.”
“You forgot to mention that I told a human about vampires, Councilman Sage,” he responded dryly.
Sage ignored him. His tailored suit clung to him as he slid his hands behind his back. He was relaxed, despite his militant pose. “The punishments for these crimes are banishment, stripping of rank, the whim of the Council and death. In that order.”
The whim of the Council. What did that mean? Although it couldn’t be much worse than death.
“Then let me address the first two, Councilman. I think my response would satisfy any needs of the Council to mete out justice,” Sebastian said. His chin tilted into the air. “I have served the Council loyally for more than forty years. Not once did any member of the Council get hurt or injured in any way while I was on duty. No one ever questioned my loyalty. Up until recently, I would have lain my life on the line for the Council. Without hesitation. Without regret. No matter how often the Council challenged me and my decisions, I did what was required of me. I worked hard to prove again and again that I deserved my position. That I was worthy of the Council and community attention.” His gaze went around the room to each and every member. “It seems though that I may have misplaced my loyalty. At the Council’s first opportunity to denounce me, it did. And I am not blind or stupid enough to ignore it. Not when I have another to consider. So it is without regret that I announce my resignation from the Council guard.”
One of the men seated at the table lifted his hands above the table and began to clap. “Eloquent speech, Kent. It’s the least you could have done. But how dare you accuse the Council of turning its back on you? That simply isn’t possible. The Council does not issue loyalty. The Council demands it.”
“No!” Sebastian shouted. “The Council has to earn it. And that is your greatest flaw and most vulnerable weak point. You rule over hundreds of thousands of vampires, yet have never earned any of their loyalty. It is why you will fall.”
Alice watched the heated debate, immensely proud of Sebastian. It would have been easy to drop to his knees, crawl over to the men and women who held their lives in their hands and beg for forgiveness.
Another man shot to his feet. Hands pressed against the pristine table, he leaned forward, glaring at Sebastian. “How dare you—”
“How dare you,” Sebastian returned. “I gave you my life. And this is how you reward me.”
“Enough!” shouted Sage. He resumed a normal tone after clearing his throat. “We accept your resignation, despite the ridiculousness with which you reasoned yourself out of an enviable job serving us. However, that still leaves us with two very important matters. The first of which has been a very long time in coming.”
“The question of your birth has finally been answered. You were never explained, and we all witnessed the reason firsthand.” A blonde woman spoke in a low, soft voice. For some reason it drew Alice’s attention more than the people who’d been yelling had. “Do you deny that you are a dragon? A creature not seen by anyone for more than five hundred years. A creature that once systematically killed every human, vampire or whatever life stood between it and its wealth. A creature of war. A creature brought to extinction for very good reason.”
“I don’t deny it. I can’t. But I submit that I am as much vampire as you are. My heart has been with our community, despite its readiness to turn its back on me.”
“The ability to subsist on blood does not make you a vampire. You might be nothing more than a parasite. After what we saw, how do you expect us to call you vampire?”
Alice found her voice. “Because a parasite can’t make another parasite. But a vampire can.”
Gage’s dark eyes burned with malice. “You will have your own trial shortly. I suggest you stand quietly to the side until then.”
Motherfucker.
Alice took a step forward, eyes narrowed, readying herself to call down the wrath of someone who knew how to survive on the streets. Sebastian grabbed her hand, though. Squ
eezed.
She drew in a deep breath, almost laughing at her learned method for calming herself. Didn’t need to breathe anymore, but a measured inhale and exhale still did the trick. And as with everything else Sebastian had taught her, Alice gave him her trust. He would get them both out of this. She just had to give him the chance.
“I’ve spent almost my entire life questioning who I am. What I am,” Sebastian said after a pause. “With the help of my mate, I no longer question it. And right now, I refuse to let a bunch of men and women who don’t have my best interests at heart challenge me or us.”
“We don’t challenge it any longer, or do you deny that you shifted into a—” a derisive snort, “—dragon not two nights ago?”
“I don’t deny it,” he replied. She thought he sounded rather proud.
“So you are a dragon. And now you insult us by calling this woman your mate.” Sage sounded resigned. “After your envoy had been instructed to let you know that your immediate presence before us was required. Or had you not received the missive?”
“I had. And under other circumstances, I would have requested sanction to turn her before the deed was done. Your executioner knows well enough why I was delayed. Something—someone—more important than the Council needed me.” Sebastian squeezed Alice’s hand tighter during grumbled protests. “I also knew the Council that I’d served so faithfully and so well would not deny me this chance at happiness. That the Council wanted what’s best for the warriors who put the lives of Council members before their own.”
“You mean you presumed to know what was best for the Council.”
“Yes, I did. That’s been my job all this time. Doing what’s best for the Council by analyzing every situation the Council publicly faced. This was no different.”
“Then your arrogance will be the death of you. And your mate.” Sage turned his back on them and slowly strolled to the empty chair he’d previously occupied. Still staring at them, he sat down, his dark eyes full of judgment. “Regardless, it seems that we are agreed on one fact. You created another vampire without the Council’s approval. That, from the beginning, has been one of our primary laws. Having you break it willingly and willfully is most egregious. While every other thing about you, Sebastian Kent, could be overlooked by a merciful Council, that cannot.”