Amun’s inner vampire circle was well contained with Light.
Letting out a small breath of air in preparation, I lifted my chin as the vampires opened the doors for us all to enter.
Amun Nadeem leant back against a white desk which stood on a white tiled floor, surrounded by white walls. A painting of Paris covered one wall; large, vibrant and full of life and light. It was the only colour to break up the monotony of decor. An homage to the Master of the City’s kindred.
My gaze was drawn to the picture, even when it should have been drawn to the vampire before me. I noted Amun's soft smile out of the corner of my eyes, the crinkles of dark skin around dark brown eyes. Dragging my attention off the exquisite piece of artwork, I took all of Amun Nadeem in.
Tall, well-built, dressed in white which offset the chocolate hue of his skin. Handsome like all vampires are handsome, but there was more. An inner peace and beauty that stole all breath. He held a hand out, and Sophie walked toward him. Fingers entwined, his eyes for a brief moment were all for his lover. His kindred Nosferatin. The source of his peace and his power.
Theirs was a strong kindred joining. It sang in my heart, made my body feel loose-limbed and carefree. My Light flared as if it could touch such magnificence, absorb their tranquillity, share in their laughter.
I smiled. Trustworthy or not, Amun and Sophie shared a love and connection as deep as my mother’s and father’s.
“Daughter of the Prophesied,” Amun said in a deep, rich voice with hints of the middle east. “You are welcome in our home and city.”
I bowed low, hand fisted over my chest and recited the words of respected vampire salutation. “Master of the City, greetings from the Iunctio. I am honoured to be in your presence and in your great city.”
As the daughter of the Champion, I could call on the Iunctio’s name at any time. As my father had agreed to my accompanying Hakan and aiding my brother, I had every right outside of familial ties to do so, as well. I just had to choose how and when to use the connection.
Now seemed like an excellent time to remind the man before me of my bonds to the vampire governing body. I needed his cooperation, cooperation I wasn't sure he’d want to provide. Any help I could get attaining it was welcomed.
London, unlike Istanbul, had an Iunctio presence.
Amun simply smiled. It was pleasant enough, but I wasn't fooled. Five hundred years as a Nosferatin. Twenty-five as a Master of a City. This man had knowledge and experience I would never comprehend.
“You are not joined,” he said, his eyes sweeping over my body in a purely perfunctory manner. “Yet you have matured.”
Alain bristled at my side. Alessandra remained statue still; whether her own doing or Amun’s, I couldn’t say. The Master of her Line was my Uncle Gregor, Master of Wellington City and the Enforcer for the Iunctio. She was a threat, as was Alain. But containing the Champion’s Second would not be an easy feat, even for this vampire.
He chose the lesser road and restrained Alessandra’s reactions instead.
But he could not restrain the Erbörü. Only the Iunctio could do that. As Master of London City, Amun could command respect of any supernatural within its borders. His law was their law, too. But he hadn’t contained Ediz.
Both Alain and the shifter stepped forward, bracketing me, supporting me, letting Amun Nadeem know I was neither undefended nor alone.
Tension increased. My Light and Sophie’s Light thrummed. A confrontation here would be disastrous.
“Does your father know?” Amun asked.
“He is aware.” To say anything else would indicate my father had lost a modicum of power. Even if just power over a wayward child.
Which meant my next request had to be delivered with care and precision.
“Where is your kindred betrothed?” Amun enquired, his eyes flicking to Alain pointedly.
He knew. I smiled; there was undoubtedly a flash of teeth in there. And then I said, “In Álfheimr.”
The doors to the room all slammed shut, the sound of them banging closed reverberating off the high walls. Vampires I hadn’t even sensed emerged from shadows I hadn’t even been aware of existing until that moment. Unfathomable power swept across the room and made Ediz and Alain fall to their knees with grimaces of pain and hisses of disquiet. Alessandra had already been on hers, and my Light protected me from the display of such unmitigated Sanguis Vitam power.
“You wish to use one of my portals,” the Master of London City said.
“I do,” I replied steadily. Mentioning the Iunctio again would not aid me now.
“This will require a boon.” Survive at all costs also had another meaning. Get ahead at all costs, as well.
“What do you require Master of the City?” I asked. An accord I could do, if I had to.
But he didn’t ask for an accord.
“It would be remiss of me to send you into such an unstable arena,” Amun said, apparently well aware of my expertise in fighting arenas back in Auckland. I guessed there wasn’t much this vampire wasn’t aware of. “Without the necessary protection of a joining.”
Oh, I did not like where this was going.
I waited. Amun waited. I gave him nothing.
He smiled. His hand slipped into his own kindred Nosferatin’s hand. The air was thick with my misgivings. My Sigillum roiled beneath my jacket with uncontrolled emotions; no doubt all manner of greens.
Amun’s steady gaze met mine.
“A joining,” he said. “I require you to join one of mine.”
8
Time To Dance
It made sense. And it didn’t. Joining with one of Amun’s vampires meant he tied himself irrevocably to my mother and father. Perhaps he doubted the strength of their alliance. But forcing me to join a vampire I was unfamiliar with went against the notion he was my mother’s friend and ally. Vampires tended to force their will on others. It was just how they were made. And powerful vampires were more megalomaniacal compared to most, so forcing something that left a bad taste in the mouth of even someone raised by a vampire was not out of the realms of possibility.
Amun Nadeem was a cauldron of Nosferatu traits.
The bottom line, though, was that he could glaze me. I wasn’t immune like my mother was. I was just well practised at not meeting a vampire’s eyes directly. Even when I stared them down in defiance and anger. Glazing me, however, would break any accord he had with my parents. It would also bring down the wrath of the Iunctio.
Forcing me to join, you could argue, would do the same. But forgiveness could be sought after committing the crime.
I was safe from glazing but not from joining one of his vampires.
My gaze flicked to Alain. He was fighting the compulsion to remain on his knees. A rage simmering in his cyan and turquoise eyes. Losing me to Hakan and been bad enough. Losing me to an unknown London vampire was strangely worse, I was thinking.
Or maybe it was the loss of my will that made him so riled.
It certainly angered me.
“I already have a betrothed kindred,” I replied, keeping my words level and devoid of emotion. I could do nothing for my Sigillum, but at least the worst of it was hidden from prying eyes.
“And yet he has abandoned you for Faerie,” Amun said, still smiling.
I wasn't sure if that smile was meant to be chilling or friendly. Considering the topic of conversation, I was leaning toward the former distinction.
I held my ground. “I already have a betrothed kindred.” The ribbons in my stomach unfurled in agreement, then tightened when Amun spoke again.
“We are at an impasse, then,” he said. “For I cannot condone your journey into such a turbulent environment. I…” He paused, weighing his words, a softer smile now gracing his lips. “I owe your mother my life.” He looked down at Sophie. “My kindred. I could not fail to protect her child even if I desired.”
“Do you desire to harm me, Amun?” I asked, dropping all titles in light of the despicable conversa
tion. He might still be the most powerful vampire in this city, but he was forcing his will on a very powerful Nosferatin.
I didn't have fangs, but I could bite.
“Not at all.” He sounded offended at the notion. “Lucinda is my friend. I had hoped I could befriend her daughter in kind.”
“Strange way to establish a friendship,” I replied.
“You are angry,” he surmised. Oh, you can tell, can you?
“I already have a betrothed kindred,” I said in reply. Sometimes repetition was your only course of action. But the ribbons inside me seemed to urge a different interpretation of what was transpiring.
No joining, no joining, no joining at all, they whispered inside my mind.
I stilled at the words. I’d heard the ribbons speak to me before, but lately, they’d been silent. Warning me of dangers I couldn’t perceive with their twirls and dips and twisted fingers of unease. As if I was a puppet on a string being directed by the ribbons inside.
But their words now were undeniable; not a figment of my imagination. They thrummed inside, matching the rhythm of the ribbons, twisting and turning in my mind.
I braced a hand on my stomach, the other wanting so very much to hold my head. I couldn’t tell which part of me needed steadying the most; head or stomach, stomach or head?
“Éliane,” Amun said, taking a step toward me. “Are you well?”
“Peachy,” I snarled and called on my Light.
Of course, that made Sophie call on hers, and within seconds the room was ablaze, the white so bright I had to shield my eyes. Needing an outlet to release my power without striking the Master Vampire of London City, I directed it toward Alain and Ediz. The snap and crack of Amun’s hold over my entourage were astounding.
Alessandra, miserable bitch, was still in stasis.
But Alain and Ediz leapt to their feet, both growling.
“Very interesting,” Amun said, a hint of amusement in his otherwise unaffected tone of voice. “And the Morel vampire? You do not wish to release her too?”
“I didn’t want to embarrass you completely,” I said with a forced smile.
Amun threw back his head and burst out laughing. Sophie surreptitiously pulled back her Light. I withdrew mine but kept it coiled tightly. Amun Nadeem was mercurial; I didn’t like the chances of all of my entourage escaping this encounter alive. Killing Alain or Alessandra was out for Amun. But killing Ediz?
I wouldn’t risk it.
Somehow the Erbörü had become mine.
“You are so like your mother,” Amun said on deep chuckles. “Impetuous and defiant. But oh, such a beautiful, intelligent mind.”
“You forgot ‘powerful,’” I added, meeting his eyes.
He stared back, well aware of what I was doing: Calling his bluff.
Come on, I dare you. Try it, Vampire.
“Alas, Nosferatin, your mother’s friendship means too much to me.”
I didn’t understand. If Amun valued their friendship so much, he should just help me, not fuck up my life.
A vampire stepped forward; no doubt told to by telepathic communication with his master. He was of medium height, broad-shouldered, and dark skinned. Thick, luxurious black hair hung down to his shoulders. His eyes were the deepest colour of chocolate. A depth to them that drew you in and made it difficult to get back out. He reeked of power, but Sanguis Vitam so precisely contained. My Light brushed his sides, finding an acceptable amount of Darkness.
Amun’s Second, at a guess.
“Ibrahim,” Amun said, indicating the vampire with a sweep of his long-fingered hand. “A worthy kindred vampire for the daughter of the Champion.”
I arched my brow, not giving Amun's vampire a second glance. It might have been rude, but Amun was bordering audacious territory already; I allowed myself a little diplomatic leeway.
“Do you not think the Champion should have something to say about this?” I enquired.
“Does the Champion know you wish to enter Álfheimr?”
There’s a time to lie and a time to be honest. This was definitely the time for a falsehood.
“Alain Dupont is my companion. What do you think?” OK, so maybe I chose to hedge.
Amun smiled. “I think you are smart and dangerous, Daughter of the Champion. I think you have been raised in the cutthroat arena of vampire politics. But I also think the blood of your mother runs through your veins.” He paused. Cocked his head, and said, “I call your bluff, Nosferatin.”
I couldn’t help but smile. Amun, for all his show of power and shocking demands, was entertaining. A true depiction of vampire cunning. I had to respect it. My father was the Champion after all. There isn’t a more cunning vampire than he on the planet.
In this realm, at any case. There was one who I thought might have an even more devious endgame currently in Álfheimr. And although we hadn’t talked about it, in my mind and heart, Hakan was my betrothed kindred vampire.
I would settle for nothing less.
Alain might be beside me, prepared to enter Faerie. Amun might hold all the power in this room and try to persuade me to join with his chosen vampire. But none of it mattered.
I had chosen.
And what had Hakan said to me? “I have two hearts. Two souls. And they have chosen.”
I rested my hands on my stakes prepared to do battle. Amun tensed, a fleeting, barely there look of surprise crossing his haughty features. And then he smiled slowly.
Time to dance.
I gathered my Light as Amun Nadeem gathered his Sanguis Vitam, and then a crack of sound and a flare of colours and the crisp, clean smell of ozone parted the air between us.
And Georgia Deverell stepped out of a portal to Álfheimr in the middle of the Master of London City’s innermost protected chamber.
9
Say What You Really Think, Nothus
“Did you honestly think I didn’t know what you were up to, El?” Georgia asked into the thick silence. “Or that Aliath wouldn’t figure it out once I turned up in Dökkálfa unannounced?”
I wasn’t sure what to think. The room was currently in stasis. Amun, Sophie, Alain, Alessandra and Ediz. All of them, including Amun’s vampires, were preternaturally still.
“Or that the breaking free of the Ljósálfar,” Georgia added, “wouldn’t cause the Dark King to increase the watch on his neighbour’s borders? That every entry and exit point into and out of Álfheimr wouldn’t be under guard?”
“He knows where they are,” I guessed.
“He knows when and where they entered.” Georgia sighed. “El,” she said, “the Ljósálfar Court has declared war on their cousins.”
And Hakan and Luc were within their borders.
“Will Aliath help?” I asked in an embarrassingly small voice.
“Ellie,” Georgia said softly. “He’s demanded you attend him.”
A summons by the Dark Fairy King was not something to covet. I glanced around the stunningly immobile room. Not even dust motes floated toward the floor but instead hung suspended like my heartbeat.
At least, this made a confrontation with Amun null and void. But I wasn’t entirely sure if I should be thankful for that. A confrontation with Aliath, King of Dökkálfa, was the trade off.
Lose-lose, of course.
“OK,” I said, straightening my shoulders. “But I want my entourage to accompany me.”
As the daughter of the Champion, I had a right to guards. At least, I had that right on Earth.
Georgia snorted. “You can have two.” Then she crossed her arms over her chest, cocked her hip, and waited for me to choose.
I should have discounted Ediz immediately. His interrupted hunt of Georgia could prove fatal. For him, I was guessing, not her. But, truth be told, I was more than just a little pissed off with my friend. Even in Faerie, she’d have her hands full with the Erbörü.
Alessandra was a big girl, more than a few centuries old and high up the Morel line. She could handle the aftermath of Amun.
No. Still not feeling guilty.
I smiled. Where’re fangs when you need them? And said, “Alain and Ediz.”
Georgia arched her brow, but immediately both Alain and Ediz were free. Ediz sucked in much-needed air. Alain just stared at the Nothus with death in his eyes.
Oh, goody. Now she had two to contend with.
Ediz spotted his nemesis in the next instant and leapt before I could open my mouth to yell at his pigheaded self. But the Erbörü merely bounced off an invisible Fey shield. Georgia crouched down slowly to stare the fallen shifter in the eye.
“Did the widdle shifter hurt something?” she said in exaggerated baby-talk. “Got a boo-boo has he?”
Ediz’s growl was a thing of beauty; resonant, chilling, fingernails down chalkboard kind of cringe worthy.
“Oh, don’t worry, shifter,” Georgia said in her typical deadpan voice. “You’ll have your chance to fight.”
Her eyes met mine; a message there. Ljósálfar was a battleground, then. The ribbons curled.
Georgia stood to her full height. “Come on, Nosferatin. Let’s not keep the King waiting.”
No, I thought grimly. Let’s not.
The entire nightclub was in stasis. When we hurried back to claim our weapons from the guards in the antechamber, nobody waiting for us was moving. A quick glance inside the club itself proved the Fey spell had encompassed the whole building.
I did not want to be Alessandra when Amun woke up.
We walked back to the portal to Dökkálfa, Ediz burning holes into the back of Georgia’s head. He tried swiping at her a couple of times, but only managed to singe his claws against that barrier. Whatever it was, it was unfathomably strong. I couldn’t see it. I couldn’t even sense it. When my Light brushed the edges, I felt only Dark.
Georgia is predominantly Dark. Despite being half Nosferatin and a wielder of Light. The Dark Shadow inside is too powerful an entity for Georgia to be anything but mostly Dark. The part of her that is Nosferatin must have to battle every single day to stay Light.
Blood Entwined (Blood Enchanted, Book 2): A Vampire Hunter Paranormal Romance Series Page 5