As my feet plopped onto the coffee table once more, I spoke. “And now, back to business.”
“I’m sure you’ve noticed the mood here,” Kane began.
“Hard not to. The cause?” I inquired, my face impassive as I waited for the ax of Gisele to fall.
“Celeste’s punishment,” he said evenly, watching me like a hawk for a reaction, which was more substantial than either of us expected. A hard breath punched its way out of my lungs and my eyes went wide with astonishment, his answer so far off from what I was expecting that I had to go over it several times before I was even certain I heard him right.
“What?” I gasped, my body shooting forward in surprise. Kane was taken aback by my reaction, his brow furrowing in thought.
“What did you think I was going to say?”
“Later,” I replied, shaking my head. “What about Celeste’s punishment?” Figures. Here I was worried about one monster, and another one I thought I’d put to bed jumps up and takes a chunk out of my ass. This sort of thing was happening all too often.
“Azriel’s explanation wasn’t exactly detailed, or even lengthy for that matter. Half the Ekhaya thinks you did her just to make a point.”
“Aww fuck,” I ground out through clenched teeth. “That’s all I need. What did he say?”
“He said that Celeste deserved her punishment for her actions against you, but his voice was all fucked up, like he was reading off cue cards or something. It didn’t sit right with anyone, especially since you and Gisele split like you had the Crown Jewels. It looked like you whacked Celeste out of spite, forced Azriel to say she deserved it, and then jumped ship with Gisele because you didn’t want to deal with the backlash from the rest of the Ancients. The gossip queens around here figure that Gisele was the only Ancient who supported you, and her support means next to nothing because everyone knows she’s head over.”
“Ohh Christ,” I sighed grimly, my eyes closing. Why is it that everything seems to be worse than I expect? There are some nights when you should never get out of bed.
“It gets worse.” Why wasn’t I surprised? “Gisele shows up yesterday in a tizzy, acting like someone had worked her over with a hammer and pliers.” I flinched, and Kane noticed it but continued. “She didn’t acknowledge anyone, except for poor Teddy, who stood between her and a door and wasn’t quick enough getting out of her way. After caving in his skull, she storms through the Ekhaya and drags Octavian, Azriel and Maximilian into their chamber, and none of them come out until about five minutes before you got here. Some bad shit is brewing, and it’s freaking everybody the fuck out. They think a war is coming, which is probably why most of ‘em hightailed it outta here.”
I had a sharp, irrational urge to break Kane’s face just for delivering the news, but I put that aside because it made it hard to concentrate. And I had to concentrate. Problems with the Ancients could pretty much be counted on, but a problem with the entire Ekhaya was another matter.
Without drama or inflection, I told Kane everything, and although he didn’t blink once during the entire tale, I could feel the silent judgment in his eyes. Relaying the horrific event out loud made my actions seem so much worse, and though I couldn’t bring myself to use the word “rape,” there was no other word for what I had done, regardless of the role Gisele played in it by purposely igniting my BloodHunger.
When I finished, he let out a deep breath that I think he had been holding since I started. “Jesus,” he whispered as if the volume knob on his voice was weighted down by the enormity of the situation. I nodded solemnly in agreement. “Is there a war coming?” he asked a few moments later, hanging on my answer.
I thought for a while. “I don’t know,” I answered honestly at length, shaking my head and wondering the same thing myself. “I fuckin’ hope not; that’s the last thing anyone needs.”
“What’re you gonna do if it is?”
“Avoid it, whatever the cost; I can’t allow it to happen. A war with the Ancients will destroy the Ekhaya.” Not to mention all of the Ancients and probably a few other revenants who’d get caught in the crossfire. In terms of my earlier NTSB analogy, this entire situation was now like arriving at the crash site expecting a two-passenger Cessna and finding the wreckage of Air Force One scattered over Wall Street.
“Good,” Kane said with a nod. “So what are you going to do?”
“The only thing I can,” I replied cryptically, closing my eyes. Centering myself, I tapped into the Power Sound and extended my mental voice in all directions like radio waves, issuing a broadcast summons to all Ekhaya members and wording it in such a way that I was certain it wouldn’t be ignored or refused. It occurred to me that if the Ancients were planning a mutiny, they wouldn’t obey, but I really didn’t want them to show up yet anyway. I had to deal with the rest of the Ekhaya first.
That task complete, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed my house, the thundering of my heart all but drowning out the ringing. It went to voicemail on the fifth ring, and I disconnected the call and dialed again. This time, Alicia answered on the fourth ring, wide awake.
“Don’t talk, just listen,” I said immediately, interrupting her greeting with a tone that brooked no argument. Alicia went silent on the other end, waiting. “Get a pen and paper.” I heard her instantly rummaging through drawers, my mind screaming “Hurry up!”
“Ready,” she said after several agonizing moments. Her tone was sober, signaling her recognition of the seriousness of the situation she knew nothing about, but she had her wits about her. She probably thought my call had something to do with the premonition, and I wasn’t about to correct her. Aside from being reluctant to waste precious time on explanations that wouldn’t mean much, I didn’t think I could relay the utter importance of her obedience as effectively as those thoughts did. If the Ancients were planning a war, they would attempt to exploit any advantage they could find, and since my relationship with Alicia was the first thing that came to my mind, it would top theirs as well.
“Write down this number.” I gave her my cell number, repeating it twice and asking her to read it back to me. “Get out of my house immediately. Take a car from the garage and check into a hotel somewhere. Don’t use the same one you stayed in the other day. At sunset, call me back at that number. If I don’t answer the same way you did when I called you the last time, leave the hotel immediately, check into another, and repeat the drill. Understand?”
“Yes,” she answered calmly and quickly; she was apparently used to last-minute emergency instructions.
“Good,” I said, ready to end the call.
“Be safe, Jason,” she whispered before I disconnected. “I love you.” Her words were laced with a quiet desperation, as if they might be the last words she would ever say to me, and my heart broke. God help this world if that turned out to be true.
“I love you, too,” I responded in the same manner, terminating the call. To his credit, Kane said nothing about the conversation, and as I returned my cell phone to my pocket, the door to my chamber opened. Phobos stepped inside, concern and fear vying for control of her face as she approached the two of us. I grasped her extended hand in mine and addressed them both. “I don’t know what’s coming, but you’ll both need some help if things get out of hand.”
I extended my other hand to Kane, pleased when he took it without hesitation. I pulled him close, releasing Phobos’ hand and using my freed hand to grasp the back of his neck. “Drink,” I commanded softly, pulling his head down to my throat. His free hand grasped my shoulder and his teeth pierced my skin a moment later. As he began to drink, I sank my fangs into his less-resistant skin, completing the circle. I timed the length and power of my draughts with his, forming an efficient and speedy exchange of Blood. It was the quickest way I knew to transfer strength. Our hearts and breath synchronized, uniting toward the common goal as if they understood what I was trying to accomplish.
After only a few seconds, Kane began to falter under the rush of cons
uming my powerful Blood, but I held him fast, urging him with word and thought to keep going. His grip on my shoulder grew lighter and lighter until his hand slid off and fell to his side. He was on the brink of unconsciousness when, satisfied, I gently pulled away and lowered him to the love seat as his world continued to catapult around him.
I turned to Phobos, and the process began again. As she drank, our minds entwined as they had so many times in the past. After our last conversation, I never thought I would be able to share this with her again, and I treasured the gift. Being a few centuries older than Kane, and having performed The Exchange with me twice in the past, her tolerance was higher, but after a minute or so, she began to lose ground, too. Her Blood, exponentially more powerful than Kane’s, howled in my ears and rocked my world back and forth in a violent attempt to roll it, but I managed to dampen the effects. It was over too soon, and though I was reluctant to release her, I did.
When they were both on the love seat, breathing deeply and attempting to right their respective worlds, I gave them a few minutes to collect themselves before ushering them out of my chamber.
◆◆◆
I sat calmly in a chair at the far end of the Great Chamber, watching as the scattered trickle of revenants pouring into the chamber became a steady flood. There was a low murmur that grew as each new arrival entered, and I could feel the growing weight of each gaze as the room filled. Phobos sat to my right, Kane beside her, hands clasped for both support and anchorage against the sizzling arrow of power that still streaked through them both.
Stephen, the revenant recorder for Ekhaya gatherings, approached warily, as if I were a ray of sunlight that might reach out and reduce him to ash. Without preamble, he reported that all members of the Ekhaya were present except for, surprise surprise, the four remaining Ancients. I thanked him without facial expression and told him to take his seat, a task which he performed at a pace that would have put an Olympic track star to shame. When he was in place, I called for silence, and the murmur was extinguished so swiftly that I was certain I had their undivided attention.
“Thank you all for responding so quickly,” I said as I stood, all eyes in the room tracking my progress. “I summoned you here to discuss the growing belief among you that a war is coming, a war between me and the Ancients.” When I finished speaking, I could have sworn everyone present had stopped breathing, and it became so still in the chamber that it was like looking upon a legion of statues, so silent that I could have heard a speck of dust hit the earthen floor.
“Let me assure you that there will be no such war, now or ever.” The collective release of breath that followed sounded as if the planet itself had sprung a leak and was rapidly deflating. They all looked around to one another for confirmation, and the murmur began again. I let them have a minute or two to talk amongst themselves, and just as I was about to raise my hand to silence them again, I heard a female voice call out from the din.
“How can you make such an assurance, Jason? The Ancients could force your hand.” The murmur rose as the other revenants joined in with the speaker, and I heard Alicia’s name several times in the murmur.
I held up my hand, waiting for silence. When the murmur died down, I replied. “Susan, I’m not willing to wage a war with the Ancients, and no one is capable of forcing me to do anything against my will.” That might not have been true a day ago, but it was definitely true now.
“And if the Ancients are willing to wage a war with you? What will you do then?” came another voice.
“I might ask you the same question, Thomas. I might ask all of you,” I replied quickly, my hand in the air to stave off the murmurs as I gave them a few moments to think about their answers. “My answer is simple. The Ancients are not stupid. No matter how they feel about me, they know they can’t stand against me.”
“But how can you be sure of that?” Thomas interrupted, his anxiety level such that he forgot proper decorum. His anxiety was mirrored by every other face that stared back at me with barely contained panic and rapt attention.
“Because they didn’t stand against me when I killed Celeste.” A murmur swept the chamber at my blunt words, and I waited a few moments for it to die down before going on. “After my fight with Octavian, I gave the Ancients a choice: willingly submit to my rule or accept permanent exile from the Ekhaya or death.” The murmur was back, turning the Great Chamber into a raging hornets’ nest, and it took nearly a minute for everyone to heed my subsequent call for silence.
“Celeste made her choice, and her unfortunate punishment was carried out with the full support of the other Ancients.” It was obvious as the murmur became a dull roar that many of them did not believe that. Suddenly annoyed at their thick-headedness, I jumped to my feet, knocked over my chair with a swipe of my hand, and barked sharply over the roar, raising my voice to a level that had it echoing off wall, floor, and ceiling alike. “Why is that so fucking hard for you to believe?” Silence answered my outburst, and fear began to permeate the atmosphere. I took a long breath, calm again. “Is it because Celeste was one of them?” I continued, my voice back to normal. Absently, I reached down to retrieve the chair and put it back as it had been, still speaking. “Because half of them would rather side against me than with me, no matter what the issue? If you don’t believe me, you’re not thinking clearly. Had the Ancients refused to give their willing support of my rule and, subsequently my decision about Celeste, I would’ve killed every last one of them.” My abrupt words fell hard and detonated, their steady delivery leaving no doubt as to my sincerity.
“Then why the secret meeting?” a new voice cried out after a time. Jacqueline St. Germaine.
“And why aren’t they here now?” Michael McNulty.
“Both good questions,” I answered, “but neither has anything to do with Celeste. Their secret meeting, and their absence, is the result of a personal problem Gisele and I are having, a problem that’s as much my fault as hers, probably more.” I paused, watching the general reaction carefully to see if the Ekhaya knew the details of the Gisele Incident. It was quite clear that they knew something had happened, but the specifics hadn’t been revealed. Thank God for small wonders. “The details aren’t important, and I don’t know what they’ve decided or where they’ve gone, but I promise you all that, when they return, I’ll sort it all out. Without violence and without affecting your lives.”
“I second that,” Azriel called out as he strode through the doorway, his posture emanating power and control. I barely managed to stifle a stunned smile at his theatrical entrance. It was so like an Ancient to wait for maximum effect before doing anything. Just about every neck in the room cracked as hundreds of heads whipped around in concert, and the murmur rose to a dull roar as Azriel approached me, his face shuttered. I kept my expression neutral, but I can’t put into words how relieved I was by his return.
When he stood in front of me, he stunned everyone into rapt silence by kneeling before me with a quiet “Milord,” and I almost laughed despite the fact that a part of me wanted to puke. With this new crisis suddenly averted, my thoughts returned to the reason behind my visit. I was slightly annoyed by him hamming it up for everyone else, but I realized that by doing so, he effectively and immediately put an end to their doubts.
I acknowledged his greeting with a nod, and he rose to full height before me, a meek expression on his face. “I apologize for our abrupt departure. Though it was directly related to your arrival, I assure you that the effect it had was completely unintentional. We were thinking only of Gisele when we made our decision to leave with her,” Azriel whispered, no judgment in his eyes or his voice, but that was okay because I levied enough judgment for both of us, with plenty to spare.
His words tore open the wound in my heart, viscous Blood pouring from it like a ruptured fire hydrant. I was abruptly short of breath, and I had to concentrate just to force air into my lungs. I nodded because I couldn’t speak, and he turned to address the rest of the Ekhaya.
/> “I must apologize to all of you. Our swift departure, and the events preceding it, were not intended to cause alarm. Consumed by another matter, we lent no thought to appearances. This has nothing at all to do with Celeste.” He paused to let that settle.
“As you are no doubt aware, I am not a revenant given to an abundance of words, and the shock and grief of Celeste’s choice, and her punishment, further hindered me. I failed in my duty that night, to Jason and to all of you. With his permission, I will correct that failure now.” Azriel looked to me, the entire Ekhaya following suit, and I thought that I might need to sit down. Instead, I cleared my throat harshly so I wouldn’t sound like my mouth was full of marbles when I answered him.
“Please continue,” I said with a nod, a bad idea considering my head was spiraling like an improperly constructed paper airplane. At least my voice sounded like I had managed to avoid swallowing my tongue, though the growing lump in my throat hinted otherwise.
“Following his confrontation with Octavian, Jason proved to all of us that he was indeed the only revenant who could rule the Ekhaya, and save for Celeste, we willingly accepted his rule. She was resolute in her refusal and completely aware of the consequences of her decision. Jason offered her a choice, and I know that he truly desired for her to choose exile.” Azriel paused again, but this time, it was not for effect; her passing had affected him deeply.
“But she could not. She wasn’t willing to live with her convictions or our submission, and in the end, Jason was required to enforce his rule in a manner I’m certain he wishes never to repeat. I also wish the same.” Azriel paused to throw a quick glance at me, and the expression on my face assured him that he was right. “Should it ever become necessary, however, realize that he will do so with the full support of the Ancients, and I should hope, all of you as well. Jason understands the time we live in; he is a nimble student with an impossible wisdom for one so young, and that wisdom will only increase with time and experience. His rule will ensure the safety of the Ekhaya for a long time to come.”
Corrupting Alicia Page 22