“I know why you’ve come here,” it informed him blandly, and its weight shifted as its coils moved. Its tongue brushed Allambee’s chin with an almost curious air.
“You don’t sound happy to see me,” Allambee observed dryly. Granted, it was still going better than the last time they met, to say the least.
“Perhaps not,” it agreed quietly, “though not because of you. Merely because of the reason you’re here.”
“The shield really means that much to you?” Allambee wondered, because he knew the answer was yes, but not quite why. The others hadn’t really bothered to ask, as far as he was aware.
The serpent hissed out a quiet laugh. “Is that so strange?” it wondered mildly. “It is my purpose for existing. I consider it mine, for it is all that I have. To see it reduced to so much mortal metal?” It tutted disapprovingly. “It breaks my heart.”
Allambee supposed he could see where it was coming from, though it was a mindset he personally hoped he would never be able to fully understand. He didn’t want to find himself in that position. “So if you know why I’m here, you probably already have a rough idea of what I’m going to say,” he reasoned.
“A rough idea,” the serpent agreed quietly. “Are you going to spin me a sob story to go along with it? I’m sure you could, if you really wished to.”
“Don’t really see much of a point to it,” Allambee replied, shrugging as best as he could from his current position. “You’re more likely to care about what’s already happened and what’s been done to you than you are to care about my personal plight. And from the sounds of it, you’re already mighty unhappy with the Metatron.”
“An astute observation,” it returned dryly. “Your observational skills surely know no limits.”
Without thinking, Allambee lifted a hand and blindly flicked the snake’s nose. Its head lifted away from the shield and Allambee’s chest, and the silence after that seemed distinctly stunned.
“Are you going to help or not?” Allambee asked, not giving it a chance to gather its bearings again. “You know why I’m here; I’m not going to spin you a sob story that won’t have any purpose. You know what I’m asking about. I just need an answer.”
It sighed out a slow, hissing breath, and once again, lowered its head to the shield once more. “I will help,” it agreed. “The Scale of Eden cannot be restored if the Metatron is gone—none of the Pieces of Eden can be—but I will consider it worthy recompense.”
Allambee wasn’t going to argue with that logic. “I’m glad to hear it. And you’ll—”
“Yes, I will help you get the Metatron out of Heaven for a short while,” it interrupted. “When the time comes, my aid will be there. Now, if I’m not mistaken, that makes five out of five, does it not?”
“That it does,” he agreed, and his thoughts drifted to the other Vampire Lords for a moment.
Just like that, all he felt on his chest was the minimal weight of the shield, and all he felt beneath him was the fabric of the bedspread and the mattress beneath it.
For a few moments, he didn’t move. He didn’t even bother to open his eyes. He just stayed right where he was and let his thoughts wander.
That was five out of five trial keepers, and the Metatron was out of worthy archangels. They were going to have to confront him soon, before he pulled out yet another drastic measure. It was not a particularly cheering thought, but on the other hand, Allambee couldn’t say he wouldn’t be glad for the entire debacle with the angels to be done and over with.
That was a thought for another time, though. Trying to plan out what he would do after the mess was over with before cleanup had even begun sounded like a sure fire way to jinx everything, and if they failed, it certainly wasn’t going to be because of him.
Finally, his eyes opened and he sat up. He looked down at the shield, its silver bright and gleaming, despite the massive dent that had been left in it. He traced the tips of his fingers over the dent before he slowly set the shield aside, leaning it against the bedside table once again.
With another stretch, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and got up. He needed to tell the other Lords that he had succeeded in gaining his trial keeper’s favor (well, in a manner of speaking, but he would take what he could get), and they all needed to decide on what the next move would be and when they would make it.
It was going to be a long conversation.
*
Siobhan’s head hurt. It was nothing new. It was nothing out of the ordinary by then. She had sort of adjusted to it. She had adapted. Her head hurt, but she could still grin and laugh and kiss Jack and climb on Gabriel’s shoulder like he was a bizarrely tolerant jungle gym. Her head was killing her, but she could pretend she was fine. She had to, honestly. She couldn’t let the others worry more than they already were.
It was Anael who kept giving her meaningful looks, like she knew something but felt no need to actually say what it was she knew. Siobhan mustered up a beaming grin for her and very deliberately didn’t mention it, and Anael never brought it up.
She supposed the angels had a decent understanding of privacy, at least. She didn’t need to worry about Anael mentioning it to any of the others, though she wasn’t sure if that was out of respect for what Siobhan wanted or because Anael simply didn’t care. She could read Gabriel well enough, but Anael and Samael were still enigmas more often than not.
Ah, well. She would learn how to understand them eventually, once her head stopped hurting and Anael stopped giving her that look. Because, really, that look was not productive, and it was mostly just making Siobhan tense.
Maybe Anael thought it was a game.
“Why are you doing it?” Anael’s voice seemed to come from out of nowhere, and Siobhan nearly jumped out of her skin.
“Doing what?” she asked, turning to face her. The yard was quiet other than the two of them.
“Helping with this.” Anael gestured loosely to her head, presumably to indicate the signal. “It’s hurting you, and you don’t know us,” she pointed out. “So why are you helping?”
Siobhan shrugged stiffly. “It seems like the right thing to do,” she replied. “If I don’t, then killing the angels being controlled is the only option. At least this way, there’s another option. Less people dead is good, right?”
Anael nodded slowly in understanding. “Even at your own expense, though?” she wondered quietly.
“That’s a temporary thing,” Siobhan argued. “Eventually, the Metatron will be gone, this will be done with, and I’ll be fine. Temporary discomfort seems like a really silly thing to complain about, considering that.” She cocked her head to one side. “Why do you care, anyway? You barely even know me.”
“No, I don’t,” Anael acknowledged easily. “But you still helped me. You’ve helped my family. Even parts of my family that have wronged you and yours. That gives me reason to care, does it not?”
“I guess,” Siobhan acknowledged slowly. “You’re welcome, then.”
Anael huffed out a quiet laugh. “Thank you. And do try to take care of yourself.” With that final pearl of advice, she was gone as quickly as she had arrived.
*
Siobhan learned that Raphael had woken up when she looked out the window and saw him and Gabriel clashing through the sky above the manor. Neither of them seemed to be in any great distress, and they weren’t getting anywhere near the actual manor or anything they might accidentally destroy, so she was willing enough to believe that they were just having a… friendly-ish sparring session, but even so, she felt herself drawn to the balcony to watch them, as if there might actually be anything she could do if they started getting a bit too rough or if they forgot where they were for a moment.
Jack, Anael, and Samael were already there, staring skywards with interest.
“No one invited me?” Siobhan pouted, folding her arms over her chest. “Rude. That’s rude.”
Jack wound an arm around her waist and reeled her in to kiss the side of her
head in a slightly distracted manner.
“We didn’t actually know they were planning on this,” he replied, looking skywards once again. “I don’t think any of us even planned on watching. We just sort of… drifted out here, one by one.”
“Any idea what they’re up to?” Siobhan asked, sighing out a breath. “I mean, it doesn’t look like they’re planning on trying to murder each other,” and Gabriel still seemed fairly calm when she prodded at the bond with him, “but I’m not exactly an expert.”
“I think they are just settling an old score,” Anael replied, and her wings tensed and partially spread as Gabriel threw Raphael like a softball. Raphael tumbled end over end through the air before he righted himself once again, his wings flaring out behind him before he launched himself at Gabriel once again.
“They do have a bit of baggage,” Siobhan agreed. As it was, she wasn’t entirely comfortable with Raphael’s presence either. He didn’t seem to actively want to do anything that would put anyone in danger, but that didn’t change the fact that she had very clear memories of Raphael very nearly killing Gabriel while he tried to protect Jack and Siobhan. He hadn’t even argued with Michael. Michael said ‘we need to kill one of our brothers,’ and Raphael said ‘okay.’
Alright, so it had probably been a bit more complicated than that, but that was how it looked from Siobhan’s perspective.
So if they wanted to… establish dominance or whatever it was they were up to, she wasn’t going to argue about it. Besides, it was sort of satisfying to watch. Even when both of them were vampires and technically on even footing, Gabriel was still the faster of the two.
“As long as they don’t plan on murdering each other or throwing each other through any of the walls,” she sighed, leaning into Jack’s side as she watched.
“I don’t think they would want to listen to Alistair’s complaining if they did that,” Jack assured her.
It was a good point. The manor was probably safe.
*
Siobhan was in the yard playing fetch with Barton—a rather extreme game of fetch, considering just how far she could throw things if she was really trying—when Raphael found her. She heard him land behind her, and when she turned to look at him, she bristled slightly. As Barton returned to her side, he dropped his toy, noted the current atmosphere, and sat down at Siobhan’s side. He tipped his head up to nose at her hand. Distractedly, she scratched the top of his head.
Raphael held his hands up in a pacifying motion. “I’m here to talk,” he assured her, his voice low. “That’s all.”
“I don’t think we have much to talk about,” Siobhan returned. “We can’t exactly throw each other through the air to work things out, so I’m pretty content with just keeping to myself instead.”
“I have no complaints with that,” Raphael assured her, his hands still raised, as if she was going to assume he was armed the instant he dropped them. “I wanted to say thank you. That’s all.”
“For what?” Siobhan asked slowly, her voice low with suspicion. Barton whined and butted his head against her hip.
Slowly, Raphael let his hands fall to his sides. “Gabriel explained the signal to me, and that you’re the one who disrupted it. So I just… wanted to say thank you,” he repeated. “That’s all, I promise.”
“Then… I guess you’re welcome,” Siobhan returned. She hadn’t done it for him. Not really. She had done it because it needed to be done, and if it could be done with less death, then that seemed like the ideal route to take. But it wasn’t as if she had been doing him a favor or anything like that.
With that said, Raphael began to back away. Before he could make it more than a few steps, Siobhan blurted out, “I have a question.”
“…Okay.” Raphael sounded wary as he agreed to it.
“Which side are you actually on?” she wondered, and despite the way it sounded, it was not a truly malicious question. “You didn’t care about killing any of us before, but now you’re willing to stand by while the Lords kill the Metatron. Why the change of heart?”
He wasn’t actually looking at her anymore, silver eyes directed off into the woods instead. “There’s a lot you’re willing to do to make things go back to normal, if you aren’t actually sure who’s in the right,” he offered.
“And are you sure now?” she asked sharply. Barton whuffed out a quiet breath and butted his head against her leg again.
“Not entirely,” Raphael answered simply. “But I’m sure the Metatron doesn’t actually care about any of us, so letting him use me as a puppet would be little more than extended self-sacrifice.”
Siobhan was fairly sure that was as good as she was going to get. She supposed she could accept it.
“Fine.”
With a brief nod, Raphael spread his wings and took off, returning to the manor.
CHAPTER NINE
Siobhan’s phone was ringing. It only ever seemed to happen when she was trying to sleep. She ignored it, and soon enough, it stopped ringing. With a sigh of relief, she tried to melt into her pillow again.
Her phone started ringing a second time.
With a loud, outraged groan, she snatched it off of the bedside table and answered it with a grumbling, “Whaaaaaaat?”
“If you slept at a set time, we could just avoid calling then,” Sinead informed her primly, “but seeing as that’s not the case, you’ll just have to get used to being woken up when we want to talk to you.”
“What do you waaaaaant?” Siobhan whined, her voice muffled as she tried to bury her face in her pillow once again, even with the phone still pressed to her ear.
“Sean and I just want to meet up with you again,” Sinead explained. “You can bring Jack.” There was a pause. “And we can apologize for calling him an enabling monster.”
“You mean you can apologize for calling him an enabling monster,” Siobhan mumbled pointedly.
Taking on a diplomatic tone, Sinead replied, “Let’s not start pointing fingers.”
Siobhan scoffed. “Yeah, alright. I’m not doing anything tonight. Not that I’m aware of, anyway. What do you want to do?”
“Hiking?” Sinead suggested. “You do generally prefer being outside, and dragging you into town and making you try to hide everything on a whim sounds unfair.”
Well, hiding everything didn’t actually entail that much, but Siobhan supposed it was the thought that counted. “You sure you’ll be alright? No allergies? No chance of getting sick?”
“I’m as healthy as a horse,” Sinead informed her matter-of-factly. There was a beat that was slightly expectant on Siobhan’s end, before Sinead sighed and added, “Alright, so it’s a horse that just got over colic, but it’s on the mend. Shut up.”
“I didn’t say anything,” Siobhan replied, beatific and placid. “But if you’re sure you’ll be alright, then hiking sounds fine. The grounds around the manor are certainly expansive enough. Gabe might tag along, though. I don’t know. He gets curious about people.”
“That’s fine,” Sinead hurried to assure her. “So it’s alright?”
“Yeah, it’s fine,” Siobhan sighed, words slightly garbled as she yawned.
“Great!” Sinead all but squealed in reply, and Siobhan jerked the phone away from her ear. “We’ll see you tonight!”
Siobhan hummed an agreement and ended the call, before she dropped the phone onto her pillow, bashed the pillow with a fist several times, and went back to sleep.
She woke up again five minutes later when Barton bounded into the room, hopped onto the bed, and dropped half a squirrel on her, demanding she praise him for the acquisition. After a reluctant pat on the head, she left him to finish his squirrel in peace and sulked all the way into the shower.
Jack could wash the sheets.
*
Siobhan got a brief phone call that night informing her that Sean and Sinead were about twenty minutes away. After that, she toted Jack and a very well-fed Barton out the door to wait outside for them. Because bringing
them into the manor seemed like a needlessly complicated idea and she didn’t want to deal with that.
When Sean’s car pulled up, Sinead flung herself out of it and then launched herself at Siobhan, arms wrapping around her neck. Sinead dangled there as if she didn’t weigh anything at all. Siobhan pat her on the head and pried her arms free to put her back down.
From there, Sinead slunk over to Jack, her hands linked together in front of herself as she picked at a cuticle. “Sooo,” she began slowly, rocking back and forth on her heels. “I’m really sorry about calling you an enabler and everything else I said last time.”
“To be fair,” Jack reasoned dryly, “I didn’t actually expect you to believe anything Siobhan said.”
The Vampire's Bond Trilogy: The Complete Vampire Romance Series Page 46