The bartender laughed. ‘Chickening out?’
‘No. Just making sure.’
‘Yeah, it’s fresh and it’s human. That’s why it’s $250 a pop.’ He squirted the liquid into a pilsner. It oozed down the glass thick and viscous, sending a bittersweet aroma into the air. Even here in the VIP lounge, heads turned. Several women and at least one man radiated hard lust in his direction. The scent of human desire was like dying roses, and right now, Puncture’s VIP lounge smelled like a funeral parlor. He hadn’t anticipated such a rapt audience, but the ache in his gut stuck up a big middle finger to caring what the humans around him thought. At least there weren’t any fringe vamps here tonight. Despite his status as an outcast anathema, the lesser-class vampires only saw him as nobility. He wasn’t in the mood to be sucked up to. Ever.
The bartender slid the glass his way. ‘There you go. Will that be cash?’
‘Start a tab.’
‘I don’t think so, buddy.’
Mal refocused his power. ‘I’ve already paid you.’
The man’s jaw loosened and the tension lines in his forehead disappeared. ‘You’ve already paid.’
‘That’s a good little human,’ Mal muttered. He grabbed the pilsner and walked toward an empty stretch of railing for a little privacy. The air behind him heated up. He glanced over his shoulder. A set of twins with blue-black hair, jet lips, and matching leather corsets stood waiting.
‘Hi,’ they said in unison.
Eat them. Drain them.
‘No.’ He filled his voice with power, hoping that would be enough.
They stepped forward. Behind them, the bartender watched with obvious interest.
Damn Sweets.
The blood warmed in his grasp, its tang filling his nose, but feeding would have to wait a moment longer. Using charm this time, he spoke. ‘I am not the one you seek. Pleasure awaits you elsewhere. Leave me now.’
They nodded sleepily and moved away.
The effort exhausted him. He was too weak to use so much power in such a short span of time. He gripped the railing, waiting for the dizziness in his head to abate. He stared into the crowd below. Scanned for Nyssa, but he knew better. She only left Sweets’ side when she had a delivery. The moving bodies blurred until they were an undulating mass, each one indistinguishable from the next until a muted flash of gold stopped his gaze. His entire being froze. Not here. Couldn’t be.
He blinked, then stared harder. The flickering glow remained. It reminded him of a dying firefly. Instinct kicked in. Sparks of need exploded in his gut. His gums ached, causing him to pop his jaw. The small hairs on the back of his neck lifted and the voices went oddly quiet, save an occasional whimper. His world converged down to the soft light emanating from the crowd near the downstairs bar.
He had to find the source, see if it really was what he thought. If it was, he had to get to it before anyone else did. The urge drove him inexplicably forward.
All traces of exhaustion disappeared. The glass in his hand fell to the floor, splattering blood that no longer called to him. He vaulted over the railing and dropped effortlessly to the dance floor below. The crush parted to let him through as he strode toward the gentle beacon.
She stood at the bar, her back to him. The generous fall of sunlight-blonde hair stopped him, but the fabled luminescence brought him back to reality. So beautiful this close. He rubbed at his aching jaw. You’ll scare her like this, you fool. You’re all fang and hunger. Show some respect.
He assumed his human face, then approached. ‘Looking for someone?’
She tensed, going statue still. Even with the heavy bass, he felt her heartbeat shoot up a notch. He moved closer and leaned forward to speak without human ears hearing. Bad move. Her scent plunged into him dagger sharp, its honeyed perfume nearly doubling him with hunger pains. The whimpering in his head increased. Catching himself, he staggered for the bar behind her and reached out for support.
His hand closed over her wrist. Her pulse thrummed beneath his fingertips. Welcoming heat blazed up his arm. A chorus of fearful voices sang out in his head. Get away, get away, get away …
She spun, eyes fear-wide, heart thudding. ‘You’re … ’ She hesitated then mouthed the words ‘not human.’
Beneath his grip, she trembled. He pulled his hand away and stared. Had he been wrong? No marks adorned her face or hands. Maybe … but no. She had the blonde hair, the glow, the carmine lips. She hid the marks somehow. He wasn’t wrong. He knew enough of the history, the lore, the traditions. Besides, he’d seen her kind before. Just the once, but it wasn’t something you ever forgot no matter how long you lived. Only one thing caused that glow.
She bent her head. ‘Master,’ she whispered.
‘Don’t. Don’t call me that. It’s not necessary.’ She thought him nobility? Why not assume he was fringe? Or worse, anathema? But she’d addressed him with the respect due her better. A noble with all rights and privileges. Which he wasn’t. And she’d surely guessed he was here to feed. Which he was.
She nodded. ‘As you wish, mast—’ Visibly flustered, she cut herself off. ‘As you wish.’
He gestured toward the exit. ‘Outside. You don’t belong here.’ Anyone could get to her here. Like Preacher. It wasn’t safe. How she’d ended up here, he couldn’t fathom. Finding a live rabbit in a den of lions would have been less surprising.
‘I’m sure my patron will be back in just a—’
‘We both know I’m the only real vampire here.’ For now. ‘Let’s go.’
Her gaze wandered to the surrounding crowd, then past him. She sucked her lower lip between her teeth and twisted her hands together. Hesitantly, she brushed past, painting a line of hunger across his chest with the curve of her shoulder. Get away, get away, get away …
She was not for him. He knew that, and not just because of the voices, but getting his body to agree was a different matter. Her scent numbed him like good whiskey. Made him feel needy. Reckless. Finding some shred of control, he shadowed her out of the club, away from the mob awaiting entrance, and herded her deep into the alley. He scanned in both directions. Nothing. They hadn’t been followed. He could get her somewhere safe. Not that he knew where that might be.
‘No one saw us leave.’
She backed away, hugging herself beneath her coat. Her chest rose and fell as though she’d run a marathon. Fear soured her sweet perfume. She had to be in some kind of trouble. Why else would she be here without an escort? Without her patron?
‘Trust me, we’re completely alone.’ He reached awkwardly to put his arm around her, the first attempt at comfort he’d made in years.
Quicker than a human eye could track, her arm snapped from under the coat, something dark and slim clutched in her hand. The side of her fist slammed into his chest. Whatever she held pierced him, missing his heart by inches. The voices shrieked, deafening him. Corrosive pain erupted where she made contact.
He froze, immobilized by hellfire scorching his insides. He fell to his knees and collapsed against the damp pavement. Foul water soaked his clothing as he lay there, her fading footfalls drowned out by the howling in his head.
Chapter Two
A few hours until sunset and Tatiana had yet to succumb to daysleep, but she would give in to its siren call upon completion of this last chore. Through the smoked, helioglazed glass of her Bentley, she watched her driver speak to the headmistress of the Primoris Domus, the house of the renegade comarré. Madame Rennata looked past the driver at the car, then nodded.
With gloved hands, Tatiana pulled the deep hood of her floor-length cape over her head and adjusted her dark sunglasses. Her driver extended a wide black umbrella before opening her door and escorting her to the portico. The strip of shade it offered was far too narrow for her comfort.
‘That will be all,’ Tatiana dismissed him.
She extended one hand and spoke in the most pleasant tone she could manage when dealing with lesser beings. ‘Madame Rennata, so good of you t
o take my call.’
Rennata eyed her warily and kept her own lace-gloved fingers wrapped securely around the crook of her ivory cane. ‘Rather an unusual visit, Mistress Tatiana. I do hope all is well with Damien.’
Tatiana dropped her hand to her side. ‘With whom?’
Rennata tilted her face to one side, causing the delicate gold signum curling across her brow and cheekbones to glint. ‘Damien? Your comar?’
‘Ah, yes. He’s fine. I’m not good with names.’ Not when it came to servants anyway.
‘What can I do for you, then?’
Tatiana glanced at the line of approaching sunlight. ‘Perhaps we could go inside?’
Rennata’s spine stiffened as rigidly as the elaborate coif confining her pale blonde hair. ‘You know our rules don’t allow for random visits. As you’ve already purchased your comar, you’ve no need to be here.’
Tatiana suppressed the desire to tear the woman’s throat from her neck. How dare this glorified whore tell a noble what she could and could not do? Tatiana chose her words carefully, steadying her voice to hide the distaste on her tongue. ‘This is an unusual situation.’
‘Indeed, it must be to bring you here.’
‘Please.’ Was there a more bitter word? How she longed for a draught of blood to rinse it from her mouth.
Rennata unpursed her lips. ‘You may enter the foyer and great hall, as those are common areas. You will not be invited farther.’
‘Of course.’ She followed the woman over the threshold, pulling off her shades and pushing back her hood. She’d not been here in many years, not since coming to purchase her own comar with Lord Ivan, but the aroma was the same. Dark, seductive, sweet … it sank into the vein like a velvet needle. Her mouth watered, and her head spun. She swallowed, blinked hard.
‘Does the light bother your eyes, mistress?’
‘No, I … yes, it is a little too bright.’
Rennata gestured and white-robed comarré dimmed the lamps in the great hall, then vanished. She moved toward a pair of tapestry chairs near a crackling fire. ‘Sit, won’t you?’
Tatiana took the chair farthest from the flames. Fire was not a vampire’s friend.
‘Now then. What brings you here?’
Right to it. Good enough. Tatiana had no desire for small talk either. ‘I’m looking for Algernon’s comarré.’
‘She’s not here. I imagine she’s with her patron.’
‘Ah, then you haven’t heard. Algernon’s dead and the girl is gone.’
To Rennata’s credit, her face showed no reaction, good or bad. ‘That is unfortunate, but technically she would be considered released.’
‘Technically, yes. But at the moment she’s considered the prime suspect in his murder.’
‘You think a comarré capable of such an act? We are hardly our patrons’ equals, mistress.’
‘Comarré are trained in swords, are they not?’
Rennata shrugged and a wisp of a smile played on her lips. ‘All for ceremony and show. Our skills lie in other, more delicate areas.’ She turned her face toward the hearth and the firelight brought her signum to life like bright, golden vines unfurling across her skin. ‘Was there blood on her sword?’
‘I don’t know.’ Damnation. She hadn’t asked the servants to check that. Tatiana leaned back and sighed. ‘I would like to see her room.’
‘That access is not mine to grant.’
‘I merely wish to see if I can cross the threshold. If so, I will not disturb anything within.’ This charade of politeness wearied her. For all her power, she was bound by an age-old pact with these creatures. Had the comarré forgotten they were, at heart, still kine? If not for the vampires, they would be ordinary mortals. Ripe for plucking, like the rest of the kine. If not for that ridiculous covenant.
‘You want to know if the girl lives.’
‘Yes.’
‘Let me confer with the others and I shall return with an answer.’ Rennata pushed to her feet, leaning heavily on her cane.
As soon as she left the room, Tatiana closed her eyes and concentrated, listening, sensing, trying to eavesdrop as best her abilities would allow. The house was strangely quiet. At any given time there might be several hundred comarré here, and yet she heard nothing. No voices, no movement, no breathing. Not even a heartbeat. Still, she could sense she was not alone. She opened her eyes and studied the room’s opulent appointments. Crystal and silk, gilding and exotic woods, rare paintings and priceless sculptures. Comarré were well compensated for their services, that much was plain. Granted, blood from this house had been proven to be the best of the best and so these comarré demanded the highest price of all, but still the grandness of it gnawed at her cold heart.
For the donation of blood, they lived like nobility. Was what beat in their veins that special? Unfortunately, it was. The purity was unmatched. The power it gave was remarkable. The taste – her cheeks ached – was richer than the finest wine, more succulent than any ordinary mortal could ever be. And merely owning a comarré indicated a vampire’s wealth and status. She eased her grip on the chair and tried to remain calm. She was almost done here. Then she could return home. To her own comar. What had Rennata called him? David? Daniel?
‘Mistress Tatiana, we will grant you access this once.’
She stood and nodded. ‘Very kind of you.’
Rennata’s eyes flashed. ‘If you would follow me.’
The halls they traveled were dim, the adjoining doors closed. Occasionally, Tatiana picked up what might have been a heartbeat or distant pulse, but for the most part silence shrouded the house.
At last, they stopped before a simply carved door, no different from the multitude of others they’d passed.
Rennata unlocked it with a long, ornate key, then stepped out of the way. Tatiana twisted the knob and pushed the door open. It swung slowly, revealing a narrow cell, austerely furnished. The crest of Algernon’s house hung over the bed and a pair of diamond-crusted slippers sat beneath it, the only two indicators that the occupant had some means. She looked at Rennata. ‘This is typical?’
‘Yes. While a comarré’s true home remains in their house of origin, most of their possessions are kept in the quarters provided by their patrons. Where they spend the most time.’
Tatiana turned back to the room. Only if the girl were dead would no invitation be necessary to enter her room. If the girl was alive, Tatiana would be knocked back. Entering would not be impossible, but the consequences would be horrific. Fatal, if endured long enough. She straightened, stepped forward, and crossed the threshold with ease.
Rennata swallowed and exhaled a shuddering breath.
An angry mix of satisfaction and disappointment welled inside Tatiana as she twisted to face the madam. ‘The girl is dead then.’
‘So it appears.’ Rennata rubbed a knuckle against the corner of her eye.
The need for sleep pulled at the edges of Tatiana’s consciousness. Time to wrap this up before she went comatose where she stood. ‘Does the girl have any living family?’
‘We are all her family. No comarré knows her birth parents.’
Tatiana’s brow wrinkled as she fought the creeping fog of daysleep. ‘I am certain there was someone. A sister … or an aunt, perhaps … ’
‘Every comar and comarré of her age is a sibling. Every older comarré her aunt, every older comar her uncle.’
Tatiana’s frustration grew. ‘There was one. No longer with you.’
‘Not that we remember.’
‘Ah, yes, I forgot you have your own sort of anathema. Those who leave are never spoken of again, isn’t that right?’ She waved her hand through the air. ‘Stricken from all records, that sort of thing? While I completely understand the need to remove the weaker members of your family, this is vital information. I’m sure the council will find a way to get it out of you.’
Rennata’s jaw tightened for a split second. ‘There was an aunt. All record of her has been destroyed.’
/> Tatiana couldn’t help but smile at how easy that had been. ‘Very well. Lead me out. I’m ready to go.’ She’d have to send word to the Nothos, redirect them to search for the ring. They might balk at being used as a lost-and-found service, but not for long if they valued their undead lives.
When they reached the great hall, Tatiana strode past Rennata, stopping only at the front door. She stabbed a warning finger toward the woman. ‘Don’t touch that room. The council will undoubtedly wish to inspect it as well. Her death doesn’t make her innocent, only dead.’
Rennata bowed her head. ‘Yes, mistress.’
Tatiana pulled up her hood and slid her sunglasses into place before charging out and slamming the door. She skidded to a halt on the shaded side of the portico. Her driver was already out and rushing toward her, umbrella at the ready to shield her from the sun’s killing rays.
‘Home, mistress?’ He lifted the broad stretch of silk above her as she stepped off the portico toward the car.
Secure in a wide circle of shadow, she nodded, too exhausted to say anything. Staying awake this long had been draining but very worthwhile. Her hand found the locket around her neck, her fingers smoothing across the single ruby on the locket’s front. The original was gone, this one the closest replica she’d been able to find.
Painful memories kept her focused. She kissed the locket and tucked it away. Things were going to be much easier once the ring was hers.
That fool girl. Rennata slumped onto one of the window-front settees, peering through the sheers until Tatiana’s car wheeled away from the house and down the tree-lined drive. Finally. She stood, shoved her cane into the umbrella stand, and strode back to the great room. She clapped her hands. A trio of comarré came forth out of the shadows.
‘Put a few of Chrysabelle’s oldest robes in the closet of that spare room, perhaps add a few insignificant personal items to the dresser drawers, a book, a drawing, that sort of thing. If the council comes, they will inspect more thoroughly. The crest and slippers alone will not convince them.’
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