“Priority. If you mean that is the first thing we must do, I think you mistake things.” Gunnar slapped the makeshift stake against his palm. “Jeremiah and I think the first thing we do is to make sure you are safe. Are we agreed?” He looked at Jerry.
“Aye.” Jerry wore his fighting face and I could see he was itching to pull out a knife. “Why is it I have never met your husband before this? Have you kept him away from your family in Scotland deliberately? Will I see his cruelty to you when I finally meet him face to face?”
“Jeremiah, stop it. Fredrick is a busy man. A successful man. I didn’t keep him away on purpose. He had his reasons for not coming with me when I visited.” Gretchen wiped away her tears. “You are making too much of this.”
“I don’t think so. I begin to think you need your family to help you get away from this abusive bastard.” Jerry did have a knife out. I should have known. “Say the word and you will never have to see him again.”
“Great. Now we have two ancient warriors on our hands. Jerry, stop this. You two aren’t killing anyone. Can’t you see how you’re distressing Gretchen? Get in the car, all of you.” I herded them toward the SUV. To my surprise Gunnar let me have the stake without an argument. I think Jerry must have sent him a mental message warning him off a struggle with me. “I’ll put this in the back where it will be handy if you need it, Gunnar.”
“You will let me have it if I ask?” He wasn’t happy.
“I promise that if the situation calls for it, I will place it in your hands myself.” I made sure that was worded carefully and he seemed to accept that.
“We are going to your house, Gretchen.” Jerry made that an order. “Will Fredrick be there?”
“I think so. He said he had work to do today and he does it from home on his computer.” Gretchen started the car. “Seatbelts, everyone.” She reached over and gestured until Gunnar handed her the end of his and she inserted it into the lock. “It’s for your safety, Gunnar.”
“Ha! You seem to have no care for your own, älskling.”
“I am not your sweetheart.” She sniffled and pulled a tissue out of the side pocket of her door. “All of you need to calm down. Fredrick is not a bad man. I swear it.”
“We shall see.” Jerry stretched forward and touched her hair which she’d pulled back into a ponytail tonight. “I am a good judge of character. If this man doesn’t convince me that he means you well, he won’t live to see another night.”
“Stop it!” Gretchen blew her nose. “Gloriana, help me.”
“I’m with the guys on this, Gretchen. You don’t deserve to be mistreated. If he’s an abusive bastard, at the very least I’ll help you pack a bag.” I rubbed Jerry’s knee. “Now let’s go. Gentlemen, remember that Gretchen can leave him. He doesn’t have to die tonight.”
“We’ll see.” Jerry and Gunnar exchanged a look.
“Yes, we will.” I sighed. This was going to be a long night.
Gretchen lived in a castle. That was my first impression. My second was that she and Fredrick had excellent security. She punched in a code at the fancy iron gate with spikes at the top and even talked to a guard on an intercom. Pretty extreme considering she was the mistress of the household. Even more extreme, the guard quizzed her about her “guests.” He could see she wasn’t alone because of the cameras beside the driveway scanning the car.
“Rolf, let me in. I am bringing my cousin, his wife and their friend to meet Fredrick. Is your master at home?”
“Certainly, Madame. I’ll open the entrance at once. Would you mind giving me your guests’ names?” The man behind the voice still hadn’t swung open the massive iron gates.
“I would mind very much. Now, Rolf. Or I shall tell your master that you have overstepped your authority.” She rattled off some angry Swedish and the groaning sound announced movement in front of us. Gretchen gripped the steering wheel. “Sorry about that. Fredrick has become paranoid lately. He has obviously tightened security.”
“It’s a good idea for vampires to be well protected.” Jerry was studying our surroundings and nodded approvingly. “I’m impressed.”
“I don’t like the way he made you tell him twice, min älskling. Where is his respect?” Gunnar laid his hand over hers.
“Let go of me. Cameras are recording your every move.” Gretchen jerked her hand away. “And Fredrick is certainly seeing this.”
“What do you mean? Cameras?” Gunnar looked around as we sped down a brick driveway that wound through snow-covered trees. “Is that a new kind of weapon? Is this an ambush?”
“No, no.” Gretchen shook her head. “I wish we’d never come. I don’t suppose you will just wait in the car, Gunnar.”
“Wait? Like some scared liten pojek?” Gunnar glanced back at Jerry. “You ask too much.”
“He’s coming in with us, Gretchen.” Jerry nodded to Gunnar. “The Viking is right. He’s no little boy to be told to wait in the car.”
“Oh, so that’s what he said.” I was sorry to see we’d arrived in front of a massive front door. Yes, the stone castle guess had been right on the money. It was surrounded by forest and had a kind of creepy vibe with turrets on the corners and stained glass windows. I had a feeling though that it was beautiful inside. Gretchen wouldn’t live in anything less than the best if her high-end wardrobe was anything to go by.
She turned off the car engine and unbuckled her seatbelt. “All right. We’re here. Now please promise me you’ll let me do the talking. I don’t want anyone hurt.”
“Nay, I cannot promise that. You were already hurt.” Gunnar stroked a finger down her cheek. “The pultron will pay.”
“Pultron?” I was ready to get this over with. Or not. I don’t suppose I could wait in the car.
“He called Fredrick a coward. Any man who beats his wife is one in my book too.” Jerry opened his car door. “Gunnar’s right. Come on, Gretchen, introduce us to your husband. I want to see this man for myself and decide how this should play out.” He reached my side of the car and helped me out. “Gunnar, we’re not rushing in with stakes in our hands. Did you notice the security force here? We will be outnumbered.”
“As if I care about that.” Gunnar hadn’t figured out how to open the car door yet. When it finally yielded to him he shouted in relief. “I have defeated five times my number in battle. But I had my sword then. Are you sure you won’t give me at least one of your knives, Jeremiah?” He strode around the car just as Gretchen slammed her own car door.
“No, he will not.” She spun, her face pale, when the front door to the house opened and a man stepped out. “Fredrick, I have brought my family to meet you.”
“So I see.” The tall slim man had an elegant look to him as he walked down the freshly swept stone steps. His black wool suit was tailored to perfection so that it showed off broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He had a blue silk tie knotted at the neck of his crisp white shirt. Of course the blue matched eyes that were studying us with a keen intelligence that I found unsettling. His blond hair was worn long but tied at the back of his neck with a leather thong. He was strikingly handsome in the cold, formal way of an ancient vampire. He would have looked at home in a Renaissance doublet, tights and thigh high boots. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d been turned vampire back then.
I shivered as he bowed over my hand. Of course he had impeccable manners, approaching the lady in the group first.
“You must be Gloriana, Jeremiah’s new bride. How lovely you are.” His cold lips brushed my knuckles.
“Why thank you, Fredrick.” I smiled, determined to show off my own manners. “Of course this is Jeremiah, though he’s going by Jeremy Blade at the hotel. It is his name this century.” I held up Jerry’s right hand since he had grabbed my left as soon as Fredrick had come out of the house.
“Fredrick.” Jerry finally released me to shake the other vampire’s hand. Good manners demanded it and it would help him look into Fredrick’s mind too. “I’m sorry for the surprise visit b
ut Gretchen gave me cause for concern tonight and I wanted to meet you in person.”
“Concern?” Fredrick’s gaze turned to Gunnar who had stayed surprisingly silent while he hovered near Gretchen. “It is I who am concerned. You arrive in my country and suddenly my wife comes home smelling of sex with an ancient vampire.” His nostrils flared. “It was not you so it must be this creature.”
“Creature?” Gunnar roared the word. “And what is it I smell? Is it a sniveling coward who tries to make himself feel more like a man by taking out his anger on a woman?”
“Watch your tongue!” Fredrick stepped up to Gunnar, his fangs down, his eyes blazing. “You fucked my wife. Are you surprised that I would not like it? Can’t you find a woman of your own?” He wheeled on Jerry. “But, no, I suppose not. You had her cousin pimp for you. Do you blame me for treating a whore like a whore?”
“You will die for that.” Gunnar snarled and threw himself at Fredrick. The last sounds we heard before everything went dark were the clicks of a dozen rifles being cocked.
Chapter Five
It was dark and I realized I had a wool blanket over my head. Why? I was lying on a cold stone floor. I shook off the cover and sat up to look around. Iron bars. Like in a cell. Fredrick’s castle. Holy hell, I was in a dungeon.
“Jerry?” I had to find him. “Jerry!” What had happened to us? I rubbed my eyes, feeling like maybe I would throw up if I moved too fast. I finally heard a moan from across the way. I crawled to the door and used the bars to pull myself to my feet. Swaying there for a moment, I peered into the gloom. My cell wasn’t the only one. Dim lights hung from the ceiling in a hallway between my cell and another row of them. I could see a lump of clothing stirring in the cell across from me.
“Jerry!” I inhaled. Was it him? I couldn’t tell and didn’t that freak me out? All I could smell was mold and my own fear. It was as if my vampire senses had deserted me. Impossible. Surely I could shift into something small enough to squeeze through these bars and get out of here. I concentrated. I hate mice but it was the logical choice. Nothing happened. My grip tightened on the steel and I shook the bars. They didn’t give an inch.
“Jerry!”
“He won’t wake up for a while.” Fredrick strolled into view in front of me. He was flanked by two men who were obviously bodyguards. “Gloriana, what are you?”
“Huh?” Brilliant comeback, Glory. I held onto the bars to keep from sliding to the floor. Whatever he’d done to me had left me weak. He’d taken my coat, probably Jerry and Gunnar’s too. No wonder I couldn’t stop shivering.
“I’m a weapons manufacturer. Quite a good one.” Fredrick smiled. “My latest invention worked just as I expected on your husband and that Viking you brought along with you. But you didn’t even blink when I used it on you. So I had to resort to old school techniques.”
“Old school?” I rubbed my sore arm. “Drugs, you mean. You freaking drugged me. Is that any way to treat family?”
He laughed, his teeth gleaming in the light. “Family? The Campbells claim that faithless whore Gretchen but they are not related to me, thank God.” He glanced behind him when Jerry made a sound that must have been a curse. When Fredrick turned back he examined me with narrowed eyes. “I will ask you again, Gloriana, and I expect an answer this time. What the hell are you? I have tested my new weapon on dozens of ordinary vampires and shape-shifters. It always works flawlessly.” He leaned closer. “Why didn’t it work on you?”
“How the hell would I know? You ever try it on a woman before? Everyone knows that the human race would have died out millennia ago if left up to men. You’d never suffer through pushing out a baby.” I pulled back before he could touch me. The effort made me wobble and I fell onto a narrow cot pushed against one wall. “We are far superior to men.”
He laughed and the men with him laughed too. Big joke. “Get serious. Of course I’ve tried it on other women. Hit my own wife with it just last night when she came home smelling like sex with another man.” He snarled, his fangs down, and the guards gave him plenty of space. “The faithless bitch fell down unconscious just like your husband and her lover did as soon as I turned the Eliminator on her.” He gathered himself, obviously determined not to lose control in front of a mere woman. Then he patted what looked like a space age weapon. He wore it strapped across his chest. “The Eliminator. That’s what I call my special weapon. Like I said, you are the only vampire that’s been immune to its power.”
“Lucky me. Now what are you going to do to us?” I was glad to see that he was the only one wearing an “Eliminator.” Poor Gretchen. Her own husband had knocked her out with that thing? We had to get her away from him.
“Well, that depends on you.” He gestured and one of his men pulled out a sharp and lethal looking knife. “Cooperate or it would be my pleasure to spoil your honeymoon by slicing off your husband’s cock.”
“God! No!” I leaped off the bed, suddenly finding my strength. “Tell me what you want.”
“I already did. What are you, Gloriana? How is it that my perfectly good weapon won’t work on you?” Fredrick took the knife. “Open the Scot’s cell.”
“All right.” I was back to holding onto the bars again. “So maybe I am a little different from what you call your ‘ordinary’ vampire. Just leave Jerry alone. Swear it.”
“Tell me first. Then we’ll see what I do or don’t do.” Fredrick gestured. “Bring him out.”
“Stop! It’s a weird story.” I could feel my senses start to sharpen. His drug really was wearing off and that made me hope I could save Jerry. “You may not believe me.”
“Try me.” Fredrick was nobody’s fool. Not only wouldn’t he look me in the eyes but he wore tinted glasses.
I knew about special lenses and just bet these were the kind that kept him from being mesmerized by “ordinary” vampires. Unfortunately, they would also protect him from my mesmerizing power. I grabbed the blanket and threw it around my shoulders to hide my shivers. It was freezing in this damned dungeon.
“Go ahead, Gloriana. Tell me your story.” Fredrick nodded and his goons dragged Jerry out of his cell. He came alive, struggling to get away, but he lost the battle as they knocked him to the floor and held him down with boots on his back.
“My parents are gods from Olympus. I’m a demi-goddess. I suppose that’s what made it harder to control me. Your weapon obviously wasn’t strong enough to do the job.” I couldn’t breathe, terrified that Fredrick would laugh off the truth and start fileting my husband for fun. He toyed with the knife as if he was thinking about it.
“Olympus. Really? Does that mean you have special powers?” Fredrick smirked, as if this was a big joke.
“Uh, not here on Earth. Only on Olympus.” As if I’d admit to this yahoo what I was capable of when I hadn’t been drugged. I’d already tried to shift, teleport, do something, but whatever Fredrick had injected me with had short circuited my abilities. Thank God I could at least make up a story. “Here I thought I was just like you. Don’t know why I didn’t respond to whatever it was you shot at us.” I rubbed my sore arm. “What was that Eliminator thing? What does it do?”
“My very special weapon is powerful.” Fredrick cut Jerry’s shirt down the front until the point of his blade stopped against Jerry’s zipper. My husband’s eyes were wild and I could see he was afraid to move. “You are trying my patience with your silly story. Tell me the truth, Gloriana.”
“I told you. On Olympus I can freeze people. Like statues. So they can’t move. Really. And I can dematerialize. You know. Disappear so that I’m here one second and over there the next. Trust me, if my powers were working I’d be gone already and you wouldn’t have seen me leave.”
“Really? You can do that?” Fredrick flicked the knife and the button at Jerry’s waistband flew across stone floor. “Have you seen your wife do those things, Campbell?”
Jerry stood still as one of the statues I’d made many times. His eyes were full of hatred as he glared at
Fredrick. “Yes, in Olympus. I was there with her. She’s really a goddess. Her mother is Hebe, daughter of Zeus, and her father is the god of war, Mars. You don’t want her to call on them or you’ll be in a world of hurt. I suffered at their hands and it was hell.”
“Zeus? The god of war?” Fredrick laughed like he was going to bust a gut, the knife quivering in his hand until I was sure he’d castrate Jerry, maybe by accident. Finally Fredrick cursed and stepped away when Jerry went for a head butt. “Put him back in his cell.” He paced the corridor while the two men wrestled Jerry back inside and locked the door. “What do you take me for? A gullible fool?” Fredrick kicked the cell door when Jerry made a grab for his ankle. “I should have already killed you.”
“No!” I leaned against the bars, desperately trying to send Jerry mental messages. Could he even hear them? I wanted him to calm down. To bide his time. I felt stronger and was sure I could shift once we were left alone.
“You’re disposable, Campbell. It’s your wife who interests me.” Fredrick turned his back on Jerry.
“Touch her and die, asshole.” Jerry was livid.
“Empty threats.” Fredrick looked me over. “Now, Gloriana, suppose I believe this nonsense. Why haven’t you already called these illustrious parents for help? Olympus must be reached by something more interesting than a mere cell phone. I took yours, of course. Do you communicate mind to mind perhaps?” His grin was pure mockery. “I know if I were locked in a dungeon and had powerful people like that on my side, I’d be screaming for their aid.”
“Oh, I’m sure you would be crying for your mommy.” Jerry gripped the iron bars. His payment for that remark was a hard hit on his knuckles by one of the guards with what looked like a nightstick.
I gasped but tried to keep my cool. I stared at Fredrick, caught his gaze, and tried to mesmerize him anyway. No luck. Those damned glasses worked. “First, I haven’t given up trying to get myself out of this mess.” I sat on the cot. “Second, my parents love me but they’re a lot of trouble. I don’t want to owe them a favor. Payback’s a bitch on Olympus.”
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