“Why do they bother?” I asked, pausing to survey the throng near the door, posturing to one another as they entered the mansion.
“The normal reasons, chiefly influence with Guy. This one or that one is always trying to curry favor with him, not that it ever works. Our leader does have that one good attribute: incorruptibility by his peers.”
“Is that uncommon?”
Quentin nodded. “In Vampire Lords, it is.”
“Why would Guy care about money anyway?” I asked. “He has his own fortune.”
Quentin smiled nervously. “Hurry up, Devlin. We’re going to be late. We can continue this conversation inside.”
* * * *
I stood near him later that night, listening to Guy give a speech about how the political climate and the trouble with the werebats had both calmed now, another “reassurance” speech as I called them. As I listened with half an ear, my eyes wandered the crowd. They widened in surprised to see a human woman behind Guy, one I had never noticed before. She was beaming at him, enraptured, and on her neck, I noticed a silver choker.
“Who is that?” I asked, discreetly pointing.
“Evalynne,” Quentin answered, just as discreetly. “Guy’s Oathed One.”
“Oathed One? What is that?”
“Mistress,” he murmured back. “You could say The Mistress, as he has more than one. But he has an oath from her, so that makes her the most important one.”
I made my voice merely curious, quelling the urgency rising within me. “Explain.”
Quentin rolled his eyes at me. “How did you live even fifty years and not get an education in etiquette?” He cleared his throat. “Oathed Ones are beings that have promised themselves to a vampire forever. In return, they are given a collar, or choker, as some prefer to call it. They are kind of like a pet and lover rolled into one.”
Anna would not like being referred to this way, and part of me balked at even asking my next question. “Do they not have rights?”
“Sure, if the vampire agrees to give them rights when the oath is given. But Evalynne has no rights.” He sneered. “Her love blinded her.”
The band started then, and Guy began to dance with Evalynne. She seemed enraptured. To my surprise, he did, too.
“Then why’d she take it?” I whispered back. “He’s no prize, save for his being rich.”
“That might be enough,” Quentin said, grinning. “It is for many a woman these days. I’d wager that she’s treated well, Devlin, if you’re concerned. This wasn’t a case of a man wanting to own a plaything. It’s easy to see they oathed mostly because they loved each other. It was the safest way to keep any other vampire from ever bothering her.”
My heart stopped, I think. I definitely held my breath.
Quentin noticed and clutched my arm. “What is it?” he said quickly. “Do you scent werebat?”
“No,” I said, letting out my breath. “I was just thinking.”
“So you going to tell me who she is?” he said knowingly.
I turned to him with a growl, and before I knew it, I’d grabbed the front of his neck, and pushed him up against the wall. “What do you know?”
“Nothing!” he squeaked. “But you never lie with the women you feed on, though you clearly want to. And every evening when we meet, you are relaxed, so you’ve been with someone. It has to be a woman, one that means something to you.”
I released him. “Do not speak of this, Quentin, not if you value your life.”
“I do,” he said uneasily. “I’ll give you a raise, and never mention it again.”
I nodded, and turned away from him.
“Just so you know, there is a jeweler on Fairlane who makes chokers,” he said slowly, not meeting my eyes. “They take about a week to finish, at the earliest.”
“Thanks,” I said, pointedly not looking at him.
He changed the subject. “Do you want refreshment? There are women and men at the table in the back.”
“Not this early, we just—” I began.
Abruptly the glass windows shattered.
Chapter Six
Vampires screamed, and ducked for cover, running chaotically in every direction. Through the windows flew massive furry forms. They dove at the vampires, letting out unnatural cries that sounded like monstrous mice caught in traps. Vampires began dying, as their heads were ripped off their bodies or their hearts ripped out by hands that had black claws an inch long.
“Stop!” Guy called ineffectually from the floor. “Stop this! We are not to blame!”
“You are,” a hateful voice rasped. It belonged to a huge man, who for his size still managed to look graceful. He was rough featured, heavily muscled, and thoroughly pissed. “You are the reason we are hunted! You and your bloodsucking kind!”
“Please!” Guy said, still cowering. “Please don’t kill us!”
“Ten of yours for every one of mine that was killed,” the werebat leader said, bearing fangs at least double the length of my own. “We are only up to twenty-eight, Guy. But we’ll end this feud tonight!” He turned to his men. “Kill them, starting with the men. And keep count.”
If I was ever going to act, this was the time. I said a prayer for Anna, and then got to my feet, and started toward the werebat leader. “Like hell you will.”
He turned toward me, and then gave me a look of shock. “Quentin? Have you lasted thirty years as vampire only to somehow grow testicles at this late hour?”
I didn’t reply, but I shoved a few bats out of my way, shoved them hard enough to slam them into walls so their bones broke.
The werebat’s leader’s eyes narrowed. “You are not Quentin. You are much too strong.”
“No. I’m Devlin,” I said, baring my fangs. “And I’ve had enough of this bullshit. You know as well as I we were not to blame for the bloodshed.”
“You did nothing to avert it. Your kind is always happy to let the blame for vampire behavior fall on us. We are killed in your stead.”
“That may have been true in the past, but that changes tonight,” I hissed. “I give you my word.”
“What is it worth, the word of a vampire?” he laughed. “Even a powerful one such as you.”
“Leave tonight,” I said, as if he had no spoken. “Leave without any more killing, and consider us at a truce.”
He scowled at me. “My women and children are dead.”
“Whom do you really wish dead?” I thundered at him. “Those who killed your kind or those who did nothing to stop it?” My vote would be for both, but I hoped him to be less exacting.
“I want the vampire hunters killed,” he rasped. “Two escaped us, and are in hiding somewhere in the city. And I want the head of Guy.”
I looked at him, thinking that here was an ally that was worth having, if I could manage somehow to give him what he wanted and also finesse the vampires cowering at my feet enough not to be overthrown. “I can do the former,” I said. “It will be done within a night, at most. But the other I am not in a position to give you.”
The werebat gave me a look that said he was weighing and measuring me. “You have a day and a night,” he rasped finally. “If not, we will be back, and this time, we’ll come for your head, too.”
I nodded. He abruptly shifted to bat, and flew off, his minions after him.
There was a moment of silence. Then vampires were surrounding me, clapping me on the back, and cheering me.
“Shut up!” I shouted.
They cowered immediately.
“Everyone is to leave tonight,” I spat. “Go to the section of city you inhabit. Search for the vampire hunters. I will remain here until an hour before dusk. If you find them, do not attack; just come to me with the information. I’ll do the rest.”
“What is in it for us?” a woman vampire asked
“You don’t do it, and we’re dead,” someone shouted at her. “We’ll be hunted!”
“Moreover, I will kill you,” I said as evilly as I could.
“That is against the law,” Guy squeaked.
“Whose law?” I said, turning on him.
“Samuel’s,” he said, as if he were saying Satan’s name. “He rules Europe, all of it.”
So there were vampire rulers above city level. Something to shoot for. “He forbids a Ruler disciplining his subjects?”
There was shouting now, mostly by Guy. “You are not Master here, I am!”
It was time. I turned, and launched myself at him. I sank my fangs into his throat, and he screamed. His bodyguards beat at me, but I drank him down in long pulls, even as his bitter blood made me want to vomit.
Guy struggled a little, but gave up rather easily for one that had been leader. I heard his heart falter, and then stop beating. I dropped him, his skin pale and white. As I watched, his skin fell in a little, so it was almost sunken into his bones. But there was no turning to powder, or any of that.
So much for legends. Or perhaps he hadn’t been old enough.
“Master?” a hesitant voice said. I turned to see it was one of the females. She held a struggling and crying Evalynne.
“Yes?”
“As you’ve taken her Oathed One’s life, she by law now belongs to you,” the female said. “Do you wish her killed, or to keep her for your own?”
I looked at Evalynne crying there, her beautiful blue eyes awash in tears, and felt a diabolical urge to take her right there on the floor, in front of everyone, to drain her as they watched, as I spurted into her—!
“Lord?”
The sweetest thing of all was that no one would stop me. Quentin had said she had no rights. I could do whatever I wanted to her, anything, and no one would stop me...The rush those words caused was heady, and I reeled a little, taking a step toward the woman.
“Lord?”
I shook it off. What was wrong with me? What would Anna think?
“Lord?”
Forget it. You’re overwrought. Take a deep breath...
“Lord?”
“Take her to her chambers, and lock her in. I will be in shortly to see her.”
The woman nodded, and led Evalynne away. The other vampires stood there, still looking at me as if I were Alexander, or perhaps Genghis Khan.
“What are you waiting for?” I shouted at them. “Go and search!”
The vampires made a beeline for the exit, jostling each other. I might have thought it comical if it wasn’t so tiresome. Easily half would go home and hide, and not search at all. But the other half would, and it might be enough.
“Sir?”
I turned to see a medium-sized man regarding me. By his clothes he was a guard, and not to a pauper. He was not handsome, but not ugly either. The best word that described him was capable. He looked like he could do what was asked, no matter what that might be. I liked him on sight.
“Yes?”
“Do you wish me to show you to your home?”
“You are?”
“Levi. Levi Danforth.”
An Englishman? “That’s a name?”
“For Leviticus. My father was a pastor.”
“I see. And who are you?”
“You are standing near the remains of my master,” Levi said with a grumpy look. “I was his bodyguard.”
I raised my eyebrows slightly. “Not a very good one.”
“On the contrary, I could have killed you as you fed from him,” he snarled, bearing a mouthful of carnivorous teeth. “But you were right, something needed to be done. The bats do not distinguish vampires from those that work for them. I was not going to die having my head ripped off, not when some inaction on my part would avoid it.”
“What are you?”
“I’m a were, of course.”
His scent was rather strange. There was an animal scent, as the werebats had, but also something very different. “What kind?”
“Wolf,” he said proudly. “Born, not made.”
That must mean something among weres. Save that knowledge for later. “Do you know where the vampire hunters are hiding?”
“Of course,” he said, exasperated. “I have been telling Guy for a week to do just what Uther asked you for. I can take you there.”
“Are they armed? I admit I know nothing of vampire hunters.”
Levi rolled his eyes. “Armed with stakes and probably a crossbow. They will not be any match for you, Lord.”
“Take me there now,” I said, thinking of Anna, and hoping she would be all right alone tonight. “We must do this as quickly as we can.”
* * * *
Levi was right. The hunters were together, hiding in an abandoned house. I killed them quickly, draining them, as he watched my back. After, he shouldered their bodies and walked to Guy’s home, which was located in the forest of Fontainebleau. We luckily met no soldiers, but most of that was due to Levi’s knowledge of their movements. Some of that was also attributable to the Napoleonic wars being close to ending. But I didn’t know that then.
Before tonight, I had known where Guy’s home was located, though I’d never been there. The mansion was grand, everything that I’d wanted in a home: marble floors, a grand central staircase, tapestried walls, silk curtains, and a central first floor bedroom without any windows with an escape route leading to the cellar, where a tunnel led to two safe rooms.
“Nice,” I said appreciatively. “Where do you stay? Is there a guardhouse?”
“In the kitchen,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “Guy always wanted me close by, in case of attack. There is a pantry I’ve made my room.” He chuckled. “As you might guess, there wasn’t ever much food stored there.”
“It’s not a bad idea for you to remain close by,” I said, after a moment. “But I think you can have your own room. What is the nearest one to mine?”
“Evalynne’s.”
“Didn’t Guy sleep with her?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
Odd. I let it pass. “Well, that is your room now.” I had a sudden enterprising thought. “Do you want Evalynne to stay there, in that room?”
Levi looked dumbfounded, and then his eyes almost popped forth. “You would let me have her?” he got out, saliva almost dripping from his jaws in his desire.
“If you want her,” I said, thinking of how Anna would react if she found out I’d inherited a sort of wife. Not good was my guess. “You must agree to treat her well.”
“Of course,” Levi said eagerly. “I have no mate of my own. She has always been a good mistress to me, and a faithful Oathed One to Guy. I would be honored.”
“Let’s ask her then, shall we? Which door is it?”
“That one. The other you indicate is a simple closet.”
I went directly to the nearest door, and Levi unlocked it. Inside on her bed, curled despondently at its foot, still in tears and her party dress, was Evalynne.
She was breathtakingly beautiful. Her curves were lush, her breasts heavy and well- rounded. Her hair was long and blond, and her eyes were a dark blue, almost purple.
She got to her feet, when she saw it was Levi and I. “My Lord,” she whispered. “Please do not kill me. I will do whatever you wish.”
Part of me wanted to tell her not to worry, that she would be taken care of, because I had no wish to hurt women. But another part of me wanted her to submit to me completely, just as I’d wanted her to earlier tonight.
“Disrobe.”
Evalynne choked a little, but she let her dress fall to the ground. Under it, she was naked, and just as lovely as I thought she would be.
I almost grabbed hold of her myself. There was a moment when I knew it was too much, I was going to do it, and to hell with the consequences. But I remembered Anna, and instead turned to Levi. “She is yours.”
Levi went to her, and hugged her tightly, his swarthy form almost engulfing her tiny one. Her arms went around him hesitantly.
He took her face in his hands. “Do you want me, Eva?” he said seriousl
y. “Devlin has said you’re mine if I will it, but I don’t want you to think you don’t have a say in this. I’d be glad to call you my woman, if you’ll accept me in your bed.”
“Do I...would I have to be...wolf?”
“Not if you don’t want to be,” Levi said quickly. “But if you desire it, it can be done. And I’d abide by were-law, if you decided that you wanted to be.”
Why was he giving her that option? Something else to file away for later.
“I don’t know,” she said in a lost voice. “My world is shattered and I’m not sure of anything anymore, Levi. But I always trusted you to keep me safe. I’ll be with you until my heart clears enough to give you an answer.”
“That is acceptable for me,” Levi said happily. He gave her a chaste kiss. “Please wait for me here, Eva. I’ll be back before dawn.”
She nodded, and got beneath the sheets, as Levi followed me out. He locked the door behind me, handed me the key, and then blushed red.
Guy’s nightly routine to ensure Evalynne’s faithfulness. Rational, yet somehow also poignant.
I handed the key back to Levi. “This is yours, I believe.”
He smiled, and nodded. “Sorry. Old habit.”
“Can you take me to the bats?” I said, already weary.
“We do not have time, Lord. They are a few hours journey on foot and the sun will be up soon.”
I blinked my eyes, and resisted the urge to bare my fangs. “What about horses? Surely Guy had a carriage, or at least riding horses?”
Levi shook his head. “He was never without me, Lord, and horses do not like weres of any type, especially not predators. He never travelled anywhere he could not walk, the farthest being a half mile from his home.”
“You are saying that he never saw over 90% of his territory with his own eyes.”
Levi nodded. “If you count the surrounding countryside that is counted part of this department of France, yes.”
“Coward and idiot,” I said disgustedly. “Rent me a carriage, then.”
“I will not,” he said firmly. “You have just become my master, and I’ve already lost one tonight. I’ll not lose you, a much more talented one, to something as simple as sunlight. The werebats can wait. Go instead to your room, and let me guard you until tonight.”
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