“Barbaric,” I grimaced. “This can’t be true. Why would I want to hurt the one I love, much less have a reminder of the pain to look at every day?”
“The scars represent pain, tremendous pain,” Quentin nodded. “But also sacrifice for the sake of love. There is nothing to stop you from using modern medicine to heal or dress her wounds after, Devlin. For God’s sake, this is not the Dark Ages.” He gave a bitter smile. “Didn’t you wonder why you saw so few oathed beings? It is not only the unfairness of the vows that makes humans leery. Most of the reason is the vampire lover being unwilling to hurt the one he cares for.”
“How can they ask anyone to do this to their lovers?” I said in disgust.
Quentin stopped and faced me, taking me by the shoulders. “It’s a warning,” he said softly.
“A warning to whom?”
“To you and your lover,” he replied evenly. “They ask you to take the very thing that makes you vampire and use it to hurt the one you love, to leave a reminder of the pain that you can both see every day, in the hope you don’t forget how easily you can damage your loved one, and how much you should cherish them in the time you have together.” He paused, and then continued in a whisper. “Because love between human and vampire is always mortal, and therefore ephemeral. Do you understand now?”
I nodded, suddenly queasy. “Have you ever done it?”
“Never.” He looked at me with respect, but also a little sadness. “Don’t worry. I think you will have less trouble than most would.”
My eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“You are old enough to be deft,” he said quickly. “And to have been with a virgin in your long life. Treat this the same way. Be quick and in control, and all will be well.”
I knew that was not what he’d meant. But I just nodded, and left him at his door.
* * * *
When I got home that night, tears again awaited me. Anna had heard of Marcus’s death in the paper that day, and she sobbed for hours. I was relieved, as it was laid out that he’d been robbed, and his clothing taken. In fact, the only reason he’d likely been identified was that the marriage contract had been found with him.
I’d hated to do that, to leave it there, scared some smart man would see that the name on it had been altered to read Arabella Perez. But I’d had to do something that ensured Marcus was found as I wanted him to be. Anna was not a simple woman. Marcus was a son of an important family, and they would look for him if he disappeared, starting with the woman he had gone to find. I wanted no more interruptions, no strangers appearing in our future to lead her to questions that I’d have to answer.
Marcus had been a good man, just a foolish one, to think I’d give up what was mine. I watched with one of Uther’s men the next evening, as a representative of Marcus’s father arrived at the morgue to take his body home for burial.
“Watch,” I said to him. “I must speak to him.”
“Are you crazy?” the werebat answered. “What if he recognizes you?”
I had shaved and cut my hair short, not to mention I was wearing my finest clothes. “He will not. I must make sure this is finished.”
The werebat grumbled, but said only to hurry.
I met the representative just as he was climbing back into his carriage.
“I heard in the paper what befell your young master,” I said cordially. “I hoped to be of service.”
The man regarded me tiredly, but there was hope in his eyes when they met mine. “How, my Lord? My master is dead.”
“By giving information,” I replied. “I overheard your master asking questions before he died. I wish to offer assurances that the woman he was seeking is dead, her lout of a lover with her.”
“Who are you?”
“Quentin Giere,” I said easily, tipping my hat. “I am an investor.”
“How do you know this?”
“I heard the descriptions that he gave. The man he spoke of was killed as a thief when he tried to rob me. As for the woman, I made inquiries this morning. She died a month back, from influenza.”
“That is a comfort,” the man said in relief, yet his eyes were now suspicious. “But why would you come here and tell me this? You did not know my master.”
I let sorrow etch my face. “Because I heard the reply of the man he questioned, the section of town where he sent your master. I knew it was the worst, and did not speak up to warn him, though I knew the informer’s reputation for being in league with robbers.” I paused for effect. “I feel tremendous guilt.”
The man’s eyes closed. When they opened, tears welled in them. “I thank you, Lord. That is a comfort to me, as Marcus was my cousin. He was my idol, what I aspired to be. When Anna left him, the family turned against her, telling him to pick another wife. Marcus refused. I alone agreed to help him in his pursuit.”
“You are to be commended,” I said comfortingly. “No friend could have done more.”
“I should have gone with him,” the man said. “He might be alive if I had. I feel guilt for my inaction as well.”
I clasped him on the shoulder. “Do not. If you had been there, you would now be dead, too. I’m positive of it.”
He nodded. “You’re likely right. Thank you, Sir.”
He got into the carriage, and it drove off. As it pulled out of sight, the werebat came up behind me.
“All finished, Lord?”
I nodded. “Come. I’ve a wedding to prepare for.”
As we walked back to my home, I reveled in my good luck. My risky endeavor had worked. Marcus’s death was chalked up to ill fortune: a foolish man whose love for a wayward wife-to-be brought him his doom. No one questioned it or came to our door in the days that followed, neither vampire nor human hunter. Times were different then: no one said an autopsy needed to be done, that he’d been dead long before being knifed. These were the good old days, where if you were a nobleman, or fuck it, just rich enough to bribe, and you said the sky was yellow, it was. When a man was found dead, his clothes gone, he was murdered in a robbery, and that was that.
Alas, those days are gone. Today it’s all DNA, and there must always be an investigation into a suspicious death. It’s a good thing I learned to be intelligent about murdering over the years.
Chapter Nine
That next evening was one of the best of my life. The ceremony was held in the mansion’s small chapel. Anna’s velvet dress was shining white, festooned with pearls, crystals, and lace. She was so happy in it she glowed, like a fairytale princess. As Uther and his people looked on from one side, and my kind glowered a little at them from the other, we gave our oaths to one another, Levi at my side as best man, Quentin as the Vampire Lord’s proxy to make it official.
As expected, Anna’s vows were to honor, obey, and love only me. I vowed to protect her and love her. But when I also promised to honor her as my only lover, there was a collective gasp from the vampire side so loud that Anna and I both turned to look.
“Silence!” Uther thundered.
At once, the vampires shut up, and looked at the ground.
I waited a moment, and then nodded for Quentin to proceed.
That night as we danced, Anna told me over and over that she loved me, that she was so happy, that this night was the best of her life. I replied that it was surely the best of mine, too.
Later, as we embraced, I told her what I’d learned with trepidation. “I have to mark your throat with my fangs,” I said gently. “On either side, Love. It will scar, and that is the sign of an oathed human.”
Anna went rigid beneath me. “Eva wears scars like those. I saw her tonight, dancing with Levi. I thought it had to do with him being werewolf.”
“She was oathed to Guy, my predecessor,” I said quickly. “Now she is with Levi, as Guy is dead. He is negotiating with a witch Uther knows to heal her marks.”
Anna gave me an uneasy look “Will it hurt?”
“Yes,” I said regretfully. “I’ll do it as fast as I
can. I’ve also procured some healing paste from that same witch to take the pain away. I’m sorry, but I must do this, Anna.”
She steeled herself. “Then get to it, Dev, and stop talking.”
I bit into her neck as deeply as I could, climaxing immediately the moment I tasted her sweet blood. Then I withdrew, kissing the seeping wound lightly as I pressed some of the paste to her neck.
Anna had gasped, but she was relaxing now, as the pain ebbed.
“Do the other side quickly,” she hissed out. “It’s like being bitten by a snake!”
I grimaced, and then bit into her again deeply. This time she shrieked loudly, and again, I kissed her, smoothing the balm onto the wounds. Anna was crying now, and I held her, telling her I was sorry for the pain, asking her to please forgive me.
“It’s a lot,” she said finally. “It’s a lot to be with you, Devlin.”
“I know,” I said in a low voice. “Are you sorry you left with me, and didn’t remain behind to marry Marcus?”
“Never,” she said, clasping me to her. “Never, Love.”
* * * *
A month passed, then two more, and then five more. Then it was Christmas, our first one together. Anna had made me a fine smoking jacket of wool and velvet. I had gotten her a small Persian kitten, with bright blue eyes, that she named L’Amour.
Everything was going well. My investments had indeed doubled. The werebats had become strong allies with the remaining vampires, business was going well, and no hunters had attacked anything but other humans in the past eight months. A few vampires and were-animals passing through had gotten a little rowdy, but the werebats had stopped that on my orders with only a little bloodshed. My new system of government was working. That left me plenty of time with Anna, perusing poetry, going to the theater, or just making love on our bearskin before a crackling fire. And I also spent time with Levi, learning the piano.
In all this bliss, something bad eventually had to happen, and finally something did. I got a letter from Samuel, delivered by some kind of werebird.
For the most part, he congratulated me on my taking the reins of power, and managing Fontainebleau. But the last sentence said he wanted to meet me, and would be arriving in my domain a few months time. Accompanying him would be Louis, Ruler of France.
Quentin hyperventilated when he read the letter, and Levi wasn’t much better, grabbing a bottle of wine and nursing it, while growling under his breath.
Uther alone seemed thoughtful and unafraid. “We must prepare,” he rasped. “We must get more power behind your seat, while not appearing as though we wish to take France for our own.”
“How?” Quentin squeaked. “Have you heard of Louis? They say he is descended from Bonaparte himself. You have it easy; you can just fly away. We’re going to be tortured alive, and then staked in the sunlight!”
“That is a lie about Bonaparte, or he would not be old enough to rule,” Uther said with a roll of his eyes. “This is a formal visit, not an interrogation, or an inquisition. Calm yourself, vampire.”
Quentin shot him a dirty look, but sat down.
“We need a demon,” Uther said finally. “A very well-known one.”
“Who do we know that knows demons?” Levi said. “I don’t know of any demons, or how to hire them. Don’t they want souls?”
“They want out of hell, or so it is said,” Uther replied. “Souls are just a bonus.”
Stupendous. “Where must I go to get one, Uther?”
“We’ll go to Rene,” Uther said, striding to the door. “That witch will know how to summon one, for the right price.”
* * * *
That next night, Uther took me to see Rene. By took, I mean he carried me.
It was something, to cling to him as he dove and flapped though the cloudy night sky in his bat form. It was very cold and wet. The heavy fog was hard to see through, even with my excellent night vision.
We finally arrived at a small cottage on the edge of what were Uther’s lands. Rene was there, waiting for us.
Strangely, she was in a long cape, which hid her face and form. And she did not speak to me, refusing me entrance to her cottage. Uther alone was allowed in. Yet she told Uther what he needed to know.
That night, at my home, I summoned my first demon. It was largely anticlimactic, mostly because instead of summoning one out of hell, I was merely using a crystal to contact one that was somehow already out. Quentin, Levi, and Uther were with me. Eva was with Anna and L’Amour in the nearby room, with the strongest guards watching their door.
Uther repeated some words, and the crystal became cloudy. “Speak, Devlin. I’ve made the connection.”
Before my offer was out of my mouth, the demon was standing before me, grinning a goofy smile with his many teeth. There was an unsettling feeling emanating from him that was making my hair want to stand on end.
“You’re it?” Uther said, looking him up and down.
“Yes,” the demon said, looking affronted. “My name is Darius. But you can call me Rip.”
“Like ‘tear’?” Quentin smirked.
“Like rip your head off,” the being said pleasantly.
Quentin grumbled, and looked away. Levi tried to hide a smirk.
“Rip,” Uther said formally. “Do you promise to serve Devlin, until your earthly form is destroyed, and never betray—”
“No need for all that, it’s implied,” Rip said, coming forward and bowing before me. Then he went to one knee. “I am yours to command, Master. Only give me a little of your blood to seal the pact.”
I cut my wrist with a dagger, and he drank a little, before the wound closed. He sat back, looking up at me in shock.
“You are old,” he whispered. “Over two hundred. And the power... it resides in your veins.”
“What power?” I said sharply.
“You have the power to make others of your kind,” he whispered.
“How do you know this?” I demanded.
“It’s in your blood,” he said, getting to his feet. “I can taste it, Master.”
“Say nothing of this,” Uther said, rubbing his eyes. “Or we’ll all be dead in a day and a night. Louis will never believe we don’t want to take his crown if he learns about this.”
“Agreed,” Rip said, nodding furiously. “I am just happy to have found work. Now what is my prime directive?”
“Guard Devlin, and his Oathed One, Annabelle,” Uther rasped. “Especially in the day, when I cannot be here myself. Kill anything that threatens his safety, and hers, even if it costs your existence.”
“Agreed,” Rip said. “With the understanding that if I’m sent to Hell in your service, Master, I’ll expect to be summoned out again at the earliest available opportunity.”
“Agreed,” I said. “Anna is in a nearby room. Get to work.”
Rip left, closing the door behind him.
“He is not as good as his brother Titus,” Uther intoned regretfully. “But he’ll have to do.”
“Why can we not get Titus?” Levi asked. “Is he too expensive?”
“Because he is currently Louis’s demon,” Uther said, as he poured himself a shot. “I just hope the idea of striking down his own brother will be enough to stay Titus’s hand, if it comes to that.”
“Why would it come to that?” Levi growled angrily. “You’ve been telling us that this is just a social visit—”
“Because it’s better to be ready than to be taken unawares,” Uther rasped. He turned and faced us. “And I know enough of Louis not to trust him.”
“Can we hire more of your men, until this threat passes?” Quentin interjected. “As second, I propose the idea of that, and for any additional weapons you can suggest.”
“I agree. I’ll speak to Rene again,” Uther said, nodding. “Levi, I suggest you train with our men. You’ll be a more effective fighting force if you work together.”
Levi nodded. “Of course. Have the day shift come see me. We’ll begin tomorrow morning.�
��
Uther looked at Quentin. “You should join the night shift, and also take training. Leave the accounting for now.”
Quentin made a sour face, but nodded. “I had training in my youth in sword fighting. I’ll be there at midnight at the latest. I’ll need to research what I can of old vampire customs first, to make sure we are not taken by surprise.”
“Yes,” I said nodding. “We must be prepared in every way, not just for fighting. This battle may be more of a dance of words and actions than combat.”
“Regardless, Devlin, you should join him training with the night shift,” Uther said, facing me. “It has been months since you held a sword.”
I nodded reluctantly. “Agreed. I also will be there.”
* * * *
Finally, in the first night of the New Year, Samuel and Louis arrived by separate carriage.
Samuel was as I’d expected: short, heavily muscled, very serious and formal. By his words and manners, it was easy to see he’d been well bred. It was also easy to see he was twice my age, at least.
A platoon of guards accompanied them on horseback, almost like cavalry. To Uther’s relief and mine, they were all left outside with the carriages when Samuel entered, Louis behind him.
The latter shook my hand. “Devlin, it is good to meet you,” he said pleasantly, his eyes twinkling. “I understand you have a Lady?”
“Anna,” I said, nodding and beckoning her forward. “Please say hello to our guest, Love.”
Anna curtsied, and then took up a position slightly behind me.
“May I taste her?” Louis said, giving me an evil smile. He was dark for a Frenchman, with black hair, and dark blue eyes. His bearing was also regal, and it was clear he’d come from aristocracy too. It was also clear he was as old as I was, if not older.
“We are oathed,” I said, smiling back, though I was sure my eyes had red glints in them. “So, regrettably, no.”
“I apologize,” Louis said smoothly. “I was not aware of that. Do you have another woman here I could taste?”
“Yes,” I said cordially. “I have hired one for the occasion. Quentin?”
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