by Jessica Sims
“I imagine there’s a key somewhere,” I began, then fell silent at the sound of a pair of feet thumping down the stairs.
In the corner of the shop, a woman appeared, slightly older than me, her figure thicker. Her hair was wild, and she wore a bathrobe, and it was clear we’d woken her from her sleep. She said something in Italian and looked at me, then at Rand. Her words took on a higher-pitched tone, and I heard the word polizia.
Oh God. “Rand, we have to go now.”
“We’re not leaving,” he told me. Instead, he pointed at the case and spoke to the lady in Italian. Her voice went up a hysterical note again. Rand flung himself away from the case and began to stalk toward her.
Oh no, no, no. I watched in horror as Rand grabbed her and, as if things were moving in slow motion, pulled her against him to drink from her throat. This was like a bad movie. Her limbs twitched, then she gave a soft, breathless moan that made my body respond despite myself. I hugged my arms to my body, watching in horror as he drank from her. When she went limp, he set her gently to the ground.
This was all wrong. So, so wrong. I couldn’t do this.
He straightened and wiped his mouth with one sleeve. He glanced back at me and flicked his eyebrows, as if pleased with how things were going. “Come and open this case for me, Lindsey.”
Just like that? As if I was nothing to him but another tool? Another person to be used? Resentment and fear bubbled inside me. Because I was helpless to disobey Rand’s commands, I moved to the shopkeeper, searched her pockets for keys, and opened the case. The glass doors swung to the side and Rand stepped in, admiring the selection before him.
I automatically moved to the entrance of the shop, leaving the keys on the counter. I couldn’t stop shivering. I looked over at Rand, but he was touching the hilt of one sword, brows drawn in a thoughtful expression.
It would be so easy to get away, if only he’d let me. Tentatively, I took a step outside to see if I could.
I could.
I looked back at Rand, heart hammering. He remained with his back turned to me, studying the swords intently. I realized his last command to me had been for me to unlock the case. Now that that was done, he was no longer controlling me. I took a few more quiet steps out the door, checked to see if he was paying attention, and bolted.
I ran, my lungs hammering, as if the hounds of hell were at my feet. I didn’t know where I was running, the only thing I knew was away. Away from Rand. Away from the vampire who used and controlled and scared me. I didn’t want to be a puppet. I flung myself down one side street and then another, trying to make my path as hard to follow as possible. As I ran, I looked for a taxi. All I needed was one to stop and I could get away. Then I’d be free once more. Rand couldn’t bother me again because I’d go back to Venice right away, and Rand wouldn’t be able to enter the apartment without my permission. I just needed one smooth getaway. Right into someone’s home, maybe, because I could enter and Rand could not. I spotted a hotel down the street and sprinted, my purse slamming against my hip. That was almost like a home, right? That would work, and I wouldn’t invite Rand in, because—
A hard arm grabbed me by the waist and spun me around, knocking me off my feet.
I screamed.
A cool hand clamped over my mouth, and I felt the scrape of fangs against my throat. “Shhh, Lindsey,” Rand said, even as he pulled me into the shadows of a nearby building. “Not so loud. I thought you did not wish to attract attention?”
Yeah, but that was before the vampire went all crazy on me. Now I just wanted to get away from him. My heart pounded like a frightened rabbit’s, and I didn’t respond. Instead, I struggled in his iron grip, trying futilely to get away.
“Why are you running from me?” Rand asked. He was plainly puzzled by my behavior. “What is wrong?”
I shoved against his grip again, hating how strong he was. “You! You’re what’s wrong!”
“What did I do?”
“How can you not know?” I pushed at his chest, hating how he felt like stone against me. He wouldn’t let go of me; he just held tighter. “You’re on a rampage,” I hissed at him. “First the guard at the cemetery, now the lady at the store? Who next? Are you going to drain half the city of blood and leave a path of destruction in your wake?”
“Does it matter?” he asked coldly.
“It matters to me,” I said, slamming a hand against his chest. To my horror, I felt angry, frustrated tears coming to my eyes. “It matters to me because I’m frightened and you won’t listen to reason. Because you’re breaking the law and using people like they’re nothing to you. You’re using me. I’m not a meal. I’m not a tool. I’m supposed to be your fucking friend!” And damn it, I’d just cussed at the man, but he deserved it. I hammered a fist on his chest again, knowing it wouldn’t get him to release me, knowing it wouldn’t hurt, but not caring. “We’re supposed to be a team, and you’re running around trying to get us both killed.”
Rand stared at me, those incredibly blue eyes blazing with a mixture of emotions.
A sob caught in my throat. “I know you don’t want to be in this world, but I freaking care what happens to me and you, you know. You can’t keep doing this. I’m not someone to be used and discarded like trash.”
The steely arm around my waist softened. “You’re frightened.”
“Of course I’m frightened,” I said, a hiccup in my throat. “You’re controlling me just like you’re controlling everyone else. Why wouldn’t I be terrified of you? It’s clear I’m nothing to you but another . . . thing . . . you can just use to get your way.”
Was this how Gemma felt when I got all controlling on her? Guilt shot through me. I really needed to be a better friend, didn’t I?
“That is not true, Lindsey. You are not nothing to me,” Rand said in a soft voice. His hand cupped my chin.
I pulled away violently, averting my gaze. “No! I don’t want you to hypnotize me again!”
“Shhh,” he soothed. “I won’t. I promise. You have my vow as one of the Dragon’s Claws.” When I still wouldn’t turn to look at him, he added, “I swear on the bones of my brothers William and Frederic.”
I paused. That didn’t seem like something he would throw out there unless he meant it, given the events of tonight. Reluctantly, I looked up at him, meeting his gaze.
“I am sorry, Lindsey,” Rand said, voice soft. His fingers caressed my cheek. “I have made you afraid of me, and that wasn’t my intent. This is . . . difficult for me. I have been ‘using people,’ as you say, for over two hundred years. It will be hard for me to change.”
“Well, try,” I said, hurt. “I’ve upended my entire life to help you out, and all I’m getting out of this is scared.” And probably my face tacked on to a Most Wanted poster.
Rand’s expression became sad. “I’m scared, too. Nothing is as I thought it would be. I cannot even look back on my past fondly, because now I see enemies in every corner. All I know is that I must somehow fix things.”
“This isn’t the way to do it,” I said softly. “This is just going to make things worse in the long run. I promise that.”
“Then help me, Lindsey, please. I need you. You are the only person I can trust.”
I stared up at him, uncertain. “You have to promise to never do the mind control thing again. You can’t use me if we’re going to be partners. Because I should be with Gemma, helping her clean out the apartment. I should be working. I should be making money, not here in Rome, breaking and entering.”
“I know,” he said softly. “All these things, I know. And yet you are here with me. I am grateful, even if I don’t show it properly.”
“If we’re going to do this, we’re going to be equals,” I told him. “Equals in everything. If one of us doesn’t like a decision, we get a say in things. Understand? No more of this running off and doing what you want despite what I say. If we disagree, we talk it out.”
“Equals,” he agreed, then tilted his head, asses
sing me. “This will be a big change for me. I have never considered a woman an equal before.”
I patted his chest. “We’re both going to ignore that you said that.”
He laughed. “I like it! It is a refreshing change.” He took my hand in his and released me from his embrace. “If ever there was a woman to equal a man, it is you, Lindsey.”
I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not, but I’d take it. “Women have been men’s equals for a while now, so get used to it.”
“I shall.”
I gestured at myself. “I’m serious. Equal in everything. You and me.” I pointed at him. “Swear it.”
He cocked a brow at me. “Shall I give you the kiss of fealty?”
“I think your lips have been enough places tonight,” I said primly.
Rand laughed. “I see you blush, Lindsey. If it is but a simple kiss between equals, why does it embarrass you?”
Was he goading me? Jerk. What was worse was the fact that I was going to fall for it. I thought about offering a handshake, but if it didn’t mean anything to him, what was the point? “Fine, then, a kiss of fealty and we’ll regroup and figure out a new plan. Deal?”
“Very well,” Rand said. He pulled me against him once more. “I am sorry I have frightened you, Lindsey. It was not my intent. I have not been myself tonight. Forgive me?”
“For now,” I said softly. “But we can’t let it happen again.”
“I will be more careful,” he told me. “I will think before I act, and I will consult you. You are my guide in this strange land, and I should trust you.”
“You should,” I agreed.
“Shall we kiss to seal our bargain?”
“It feels like I just agreed to kiss the devil,” I muttered, but I tilted my head back.
The look Rand gave me was surprisingly intense just before he brushed his lips against mine. And the kiss? It was anything but chaste. His mouth was warm against mine, which should have been a danger signal, but it was drowned out by the fact that his lips caressed my own, and his tongue flicked against mine in a quiet invitation. It was supposed to be a short, quick, businesslike kiss, but as his mouth moved over mine and I melted against him, I realized there was nothing fealty-like in this at all.
And God help me, I wasn’t sure I cared.
Nine
Rand and I sat at a dark booth in a small restaurant. There were drunks at the bar, but it was late at night and our choices for dining weren’t plentiful. I spun my fork into my pasta noodles, stifling a yawn. “So let’s go over our plan of attack one more time, okay?” After a moment, I added, “And when I say plan of attack, I mean it in the most figurative sense of the word.”
Rand just stared at me over his coffee. “I understand nothing of what you just said.”
“It’s because I’m tired,” I told him. “I’m not choosing my words carefully.” If I had been, I sure wouldn’t have picked attack around a vampire with control issues.
But it was extra late, heading toward dawn. My entire body was dragging with the need for sleep. Rand was super-antsy, so after we’d checked into a hotel room, I’d suggested heading down to the bar-slash-restaurant to get some late-night food. It kept me from thinking about the fact that I was going to have to share a room with him. My credit card wasn’t unlimited, and I hadn’t planned on this being a multiple-night thing, which it now was.
Nor had I planned on Rand going on a blood-sucking rampage through Rome at the deaths of his friends and making me afraid of him. These sorts of things tended to make a girl think twice.
So here we were, Rand drinking coffee he couldn’t stand, and me eating noodles I didn’t want, all because neither of us wished to retire just yet.
Rand wasn’t in a talkative mood, though. I supposed that was understandable, given all we’d gone through tonight. He toyed with the ceramic mug, not drinking.
So I did my best to keep conversation flowing. “Tomorrow,” I told him, “will be a better day. We’ll get our feet underneath us. First things first, though. We need to get you some normal clothes. Some good shoes, some underwear, maybe a nice jacket or something. We’ll get stuff that will hide your weapons, since you insist on carrying them around.”
Rand and I had argued again once we’d gotten to the hotel. He’d wanted to keep a sword strapped to his side at all times, and I’d tried to point out various laws that wouldn’t allow something like that. We’d eventually compromised, and Rand was now wearing matching daggers under his tunic and one slipped into a boot. While he didn’t stand out as much as he had with a sword, I’d still be happier if he was dressed like a normal guy so he wouldn’t call as much attention to himself.
“Once we get some clothing, we should probably return to Venice and regroup with Gemma. We can get you settled in the apartment while we figure out the next course of action. I mean, it’s not the most spacious place, but I’m sure we can set up a room for you.”
He looked at me thoughtfully over his coffee. “I’m not returning to Venice.”
I frowned as I chewed my fettuccine. What had happened to the “let’s work on a plan together” part of being partners? Once I swallowed, I asked, “So where do you want to go, then?”
He closed his eyes and turned his head, as if sensing something. Then he looked back to me. “I still feel Guy. He is alive somewhere. North, perhaps. Austria? Brittany? Perhaps Prussia. I must find him. I must find out the truth of what has happened. Of why I was targeted, and why both Frederic and William were killed on the same day. Why he is the only one of the Claws that survives. Only then can I settle in and claim a new life for myself. And if Guy does not have answers, I must find the Dragon himself.”
“Why not head straight to the source?” I asked. I suppressed a shiver, remembering the warning scroll Gemma had read. The Dragon was the big vampire hub, it seemed. “The Dragon is the one with all the answers. Maybe we should just go after him.” At the cold look Rand gave me, I added, “What? Is that bad?”
Why were so many unpleasant things pointing back to the Dragon? None of this could be coincidence.
“The Dragon is not a man one wishes to know.” He shook his head. “I would avoid bringing you to him. Your blood is a sweet taste, and if he decided he wanted you, there would be nothing I could do to keep you safe.”
I pushed the food around on my plate, not hungry anymore. Great. Now I was in danger simply because I tasted yummy. I needed details. “So . . . why don’t you tell me about this Dragon guy? How did you meet him? Did you ask to be a vampire?”
He looked at me as if I were insane. “Ask to be upyri? One might as well ask to be damned to hell.”
I blinked. “That seems harsh.”
“It is not the life one would choose. And no, I did not choose it.” His mouth curled a bit at the edges, as if amused by the thought. “Do you see anything admirable in my form, then, Lindsey? Something that one would admire and wish to become?”
“Well.” I hesitated. “You’re strong. You can charm people with a look. And apparently you’re immortal. Some people would really like those powers.”
“Some would,” he agreed, looking thoughtful. “Some would also point out that I am bound by more laws than ever before. I cannot enter a place without being invited. I cannot see the sunlight ever again. I cannot cross hallowed ground. I cannot pass running water. I can be taken out by a tiny stick of wood in the heart.”
“Hey now,” I said, pointing my fork at him. “I’d like to point out that I can also be taken out by a stick of wood in the heart. That’s not exclusive to vampires.”
He chuckled. “I think you like to put me in my place.”
Maybe I did. “All I’m saying is that there are some bum raps out there, and while yours isn’t the best, you have to agree that it does have some perks.”
Rand was silent for a long moment, staring at his cup of coffee for so long that I wondered if I’d somehow angered him again. I began to poke at my food, when he finally spoke once
more. “I was born a bastard, you know. My mother was the daughter of a blacksmith and my father was a marcher lord. She died in childbirth, and I was left with a grandfather who did not want to claim me and a father who was amused by me but wanted nothing to do with me. He had three other legitimate sons, you see. A bastard is only useful to shine their boots and feed the horses. In other words, I was just like any other servant to him.” He shrugged. “I think the other servants did not get kicked nearly as often as I did. The lady of the castle did not like me much.”
I put down my fork, feeling uncomfortable again. Just when I thought Rand’s story couldn’t get any sadder, he put a new spin on things for me.
“When I got older, I grew tired of it. I didn’t like being treated as if I didn’t matter. As if I were filth because my mother had been a blacksmith’s daughter instead of a highborn lady. One of my brothers, you see, looked just like me, except he had bad teeth. I think his mother hated me especially because I had good teeth and Sigmund did not.” He grinned, giving me a flash of those pearly white fangs. “The older I got, the worse things became, until one day I was caught speaking with a maid that one of my brothers had his eye on. They cracked three of my ribs and blackened both of my eyes and I could not fight back, because they were the lord’s legitimate sons.”
“That’s horrible.”
“Mmm.” Rand traced a finger around the lip of his coffee cup. “They were not kind men, my brothers. The local priest patched me up and said last rites on me in case I should die of a pierced lung during the night. It was a good thing that he did, because as I lay in his care, I met a traveling knight.”
“The Dragon?”
He shook his head. “The Dragon comes much later in this tale. This knight was leaving to join the Lionheart’s Crusade, you see. It was a quest to retake the Holy Land from the infidels that had infested it. A mission from God. And I was so desperate for a new life and a chance to be seen as anything other than a bastard boy that I immediately volunteered my services. I left without telling a soul, even though I should have sought my lord’s permission first. No one truly cared what a bastard did, after all.” His lip curled slightly. “No one came after me.”