Immortality Stolen (The Mortal One Series Book 2)

by Shannon Bell

  “You want a glass?”

  “Sure,” I called out. I changed into a pair of capris and a t-shirt. The heeled boots got kicked into the closet and I opted for bare feet, trying to let them breathe for a little while.

  Antonio had set a glass of red wine next to his own on the coffee table. I curled up on the couch next to him, my feet tucked under me. With the glass of wine to my lips, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The smell of the tannins calmed my senses.

  “You have great taste in wine,” Antonio said.

  “Thanks, I’m learning.” I set the wine on the table and turned my attention to Antonio. His olive complexion was the epitome of Italian breeding and I envied it. My own skin paled against his, quite literally. Now that we were getting into the fall months, there was even less opportunity to work on my tan than usual.

  “What do you want to know?” He eyed me, waiting for the questions to begin. Damn, he knew me all too well.

  “Tell me more about these zombies.”

  He let out a yawn and leaned back into the over-sized pillows of the couch. “Not much to tell. Depending on the power of the necromancer, you probably wouldn’t even know they were dead. They can look just like you and I, especially if they haven’t been dead long.”

  “Ugh, really?” There was no way to disguise the disgust in my voice. Vampires were always fascinating to me. Zombies were something I always tried to avoid in my fiction and my movies.

  “I’ve never seen them firsthand but my research has told me enough about them. Costin has encountered them once or twice but he doesn’t say much. Like I said, it all depends on the necromancer.”

  I didn’t like the idea that zombies were responsible for Henri’s death. I really didn’t like the fact that they could look human because that made it harder to figure out who was behind the whole thing. Whoever this necromancer was had to be working with Olivier and that spelled trouble. And yet again, I found myself waiting for Nico and Costin so I could get some answers.

  “I wouldn’t worry.”

  “I’m not worried.”

  “Dylan,” Antonio said. “I know the look you get on your face. You’re worried about Nico and about your own safety. It’s okay to admit it, especially to me.”

  He was right. I could talk to him about anything – and I had on more than one occasion. He probably knew more about me than anyone because we had one major thing in common. We were both mortals in a world filled with immortals.

  It was almost dawn when Nico and Costin came in.

  “Definitely zombies,” Costin confirmed.

  “And?” I asked, eager to learn about what they had discovered in Paris.

  “And we must use the back room until tonight,” Nico said, kissing me on the forehead and quickly retreating with Costin into the spare bedroom.

  “I hate when they do that shit,” I said, looking at Antonio with my hand on my hip.

  He busted out laughing. “They’ve done that to me more times than I can count. I’ve gotten used to it.”

  I shook my head. “This whole daylight thing is a real inconvenience sometimes.” I was pissed. We’d waited all evening to find out what was going on. They finally get here and they have to go into the dark room because of the approaching sunrise.

  “It’s 5 in the morning and I have to work tonight,” I announced to Antonio. “You’re welcome to crash on the couch.”

  “Thanks.”

  I walked into my bedroom, closed the door, and quickly fell asleep amidst a dozen pillows.

  ***

  “You can’t go to work tonight. We have things we need to discuss,” Costin stated.

  I looked over at Nico and back to Costin. “Sorry, but Matt’s out of town and I’m playing manager.

  “And if I forbid it?”

  My eyes narrowed on him. While I knew as Nico’s sovereign that he could forbid me to do something, he had yet to pull that kind of rank with me. I might have been the pet of one of his vampire’s but I was also given a little more freedom because of the relationship Nico and I had.

  “Are you?”

  Costin stared at me for a moment and then backed down. “You will come right here after work?”

  I nodded.

  “Fine.”

  “Come,” Nico tucked my arm under his and we left the apartment. We walked to a nearby trattoria to get a bite to eat before I had to go in and open the bar.

  As we walked over to the other side of South Centro, Nico slowed down.

  “It’s getting complicated in Paris,” he said.

  “What’s going on?”

  He slid his hand through his hair. “It’s like nothing Costin or I have ever seen. There are several zombies walking around at night that don’t seem to be controlled by anyone. They are in constant search of something, though we’re not sure what that something is.”

  “Have you tried talking to them?”

  Nico shook his head. “They are mute.”

  “Oh.” I hated being ignorant about these things. It wasn’t something that Antonio offered up when we talked about zombies. He didn’t seem to know a whole lot about them, so I had dropped the subject all too easily.

  “Olivier knew when we arrived in the city. He allowed us to question some of the vampires that were willing to talk to us. Once we started asking about the zombies, however, he asked us to leave.”

  “Does that confirm that he’s working with them?”

  “We think so.”

  I let out a sigh. “Why did you leave so willingly?”

  Nico bristled and dropped my arm. “Do you think we should fight him? Give him a reason to come after you again?”

  “I…I…,” I stammered, trying to figure out what I should say to make it better. He was right, damn it. Fighting Olivier would only make things worse, but it didn’t seem right. Somehow he was able to work with a necromancer, use zombies to kill Henri, become a sovereign and do it all without any consequences. The whole situation seemed messed up, yet it was the only way for us to proceed. At least for now.

  Nico pulled me into an embrace. He held me without saying anything, his arms nearly crushing me. “Shhh,” he breathed into my hair.

  Tears were welling up before I could control them. If Nico and Costin didn’t have to worry about my safety, they would be able to deal with Olivier more effectively. I was their weakness, though neither one ever said as much. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be, Dylan. Never be sorry.” He released his hold on me as we walked into the trattoria.

  I ordered a quick bite to eat off the menu. After having my fill, I headed to Yankee Bar and Nico headed off to talk with Costin and some of the other vampires of the Toscana region.

  Chapter 3

  “DO YOU NEED any help?” Giancarlo was leaning against the back entrance, waiting for me.

  I smiled and knew how hard it was for him to understand why Matt chose me to play manager for the night. I didn’t want to make enemies of one of my few mortal friends in Italy so I nodded. “Sure, that would be great.”

  He instantly perked up. That was a relief because I thought things were going to get awkward between us once he found out that I would be the manager for the night. I unlocked the doors and Giancarlo went in first to turn on all of the lights.

  We split off to do our separate tasks. I went into the office to count the safe and he went to the bar. Periodically, I would ask where something was, even though I knew just to make him feel needed. He came in wearing a grin each time I would call. Whether he caught on or not, he wouldn’t say.

  As the staff trickled in, they all tested me in one way or another. Some of the servers were out of uniform, so I asked them to change. One of the hostesses called out sick by telling one of the other hostesses to tell me. I called her, told her that if she didn’t come in she was fired and watched her walk in the door fifteen minutes later.

  There were a lot of “well Matt says” and “Matt lets me” throughout the night. I ignored them and luc
kily, Giancarlo backed up all of my decisions. He was a good friend and I needed him tonight because it was harder than I thought it was going to be. Managing was the easy part. Opening and closing was simple. Counting money and running reports was simple. The hard part was earning the respect of the staff because I was supposed to be “one of them” and it wasn’t something I had considered when Matt had asked.

  Once Matt came back, I was hoping that it would be easy to go back to being one of them. Giancarlo would be fine with me but the others may not. I could only hope that it would be okay. The lights were out. The safe was locked. The mental checklist was slowly ticked off.

  “That’s it,” I said to Giancarlo. He grabbed his bag and we walked out together. I locked the door and stuffed the keys into my messenger bag.

  As I turned the corner from the bar, Nico was resting his back against the brick wall. An escort, perfect.

  “Don’t be a smartass. You know I do it to protect you.”

  I kissed him on the cheek. “I know.”

  Nico held an envelope out to me. “This came for you, so we need you to get back to the apartment with us quickly.”

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t know. That’s why we wanted to make sure you got home as quickly as possible.”

  “You didn’t open it?”

  Nico looked hurt. “You thought I would open your mail?”

  “No, but…” I didn’t know what to say. If it was important and they thought it was Olivier-related, I expected them to open it.

  Nico shook his head. “We do respect your privacy, you know.”

  “Of course.” I fell into stride with him as we walked to my apartment.

  “There is a lot going on right now. We don’t know why Olivier would let us question vampires only to kick us out as soon as we asked about zombies. It is as if he did it simply to toy with us. The letter that we have for you was delivered earlier by a courier. When we questioned the courier, all he could say is that it was from Paris and he was supposed to ensure that you were the one to read it.”

  “Oh.”

  “Oh? That’s what you have to say? Honestly, Dylan, you surprise me.”

  I laughed. “What do you want from me? Can I read it now or do I have to wait until I’m standing in front of everyone?” I looked over at Nico. “See, so why get worked up about what’s inside until I can actually read it.”

  We walked up the stairs to the apartment and Costin stood when we walked inside.

  “You have the letter?” Costin greeted me.

  “Hello Costin, nice to see you, too. Yes, I have the letter. Come in, make yourself at home,” I said. He already had, of course, but I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t point it out.

  Antonio sat on the couch with a glass of wine in his hand. I stared a little closer and noticed it was the Chianti that I had just gotten from the vineyard in Toscana. Greedy bastard couldn’t wait for me. Now was probably not the time to call him out on it.

  “Please, Dylan.” Costin made the request as reserved as he could.

  “Of course,” I said, ripping open the envelope. I crossed the room as I read it, first to myself and then out loud to the group. As they suspected, it was from Olivier. What it contained was a shock to everyone, especially me.

  Dylan,

  I hope this letter finds you well. Your Nico and his sovereign came to visit me in Paris the other day and as you know, they were unable to stay as long as perhaps they would have liked. There are things that are going on in Paris that I believe will be revealed in due time. What I am asking is for you to accompany me for two days in my city so that I can explain some things to you and make my case.

  This is a request for you to visit Paris without Nico. To put this a little clearer, I want you to come alone. I have arranged for you to stay at the same hotel that you were in the last time you were in the City. I hear that the cookies are fresh-baked.

  Please come to see me as it will save me the trouble of having to come to you again. I expect to see you this Friday.

  Warmest regards,

  Olivier

  A meeting with Olivier. Holy shit.

  “I’m going.” What came out of my mouth was a statement, not a question.

  “The hell you are,” Nico said. “There’s no way you are going to Paris alone to visit with him. What does he mean that he will explain things to you?”

  “That’s why I need to go. One of us needs to be able to communicate with him.”

  “No,” Nico said again. He didn’t say anything else and that pissed me off more. He said it defiantly as though his word was the final word.

  “Aren’t you a little bit curious as to what he has to say?”

  “Of course I am. That’s why I will go with you. If you think for one damn second I am going to let you go see him alone, you are out of your mind.”

  I shook my head. “He won’t talk to me if you are there and he will know that you have arrived in the city just like he knew when you and Costin went.”

  Costin walked to stand between the two of us. “She has a point. Someone needs to find out what his plan is and if she is the one he will talk to, then she is the one that goes.”

  “What?” Nico and I said at the same time – and for two very different reasons. I couldn’t believe Costin was agreeing and Nico was shocked that it would be permitted.

  Nico stalked back and forth with his fingers in his hair for a few moments. “Can we send someone with her?”

  “I could go with her,” Antonio interjected.

  Costin thought about it for a moment. “While you are human like her, it is not appropriate. He clearly said that she should come alone. I do not think it is his intention to hurt her. He knows that it would be war if he did.”

  I nodded. “I’m not a big fan of his, but if it means we can find out about the zombies and what his involvement is, I think it needs to happen. It is only for two days, so I will be home by Sunday.”

  If I was being honest with myself, I wanted to go to see what zombies looked like. The movies and the TV shows could have it all wrong. My own perversion over paranormal creatures was winning out and it was too easy to agree to this.

  Nico was pissed but there was nothing I could do right now. When I placed my hand on his shoulder, he bristled. The fact that I volunteered probably made it worse. Once Costin and Antonio left, I knew I would hear all about it.

  To ensure the boys didn’t leave anytime soon, I walked over to Antonio and stood in front of him with the bottle of wine. “You son of a bitch! I give you wine whenever you are here and you go into my collection to pick out whatever the hell you want without asking?”

  He laughed and took another sip. He stopped laughing when my glare was lowered. “Oh, you’re serious?”

  “As a heart attack.”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was being saved for a special occasion.”

  I let out a sigh.

  “There’s still some in the bottle.” He got up and went into the kitchen to get a glass. Smart man. After pouring a large glass, he handed it to me. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks. And I fully expect you to buy me a new bottle.”

  Before he could argue, Costin looked over at Antonio. “I would do what she says.”

  “I will buy you a new bottle tomorrow,” Antonio said.

  “Great.”

  ***

  “So I will take the train to the Republique Station, go across the street to check in at the hotel and then wait for him to contact me.”

  “And if he doesn’t contact you?” Nico quizzed me.

  “Then I will take a walk around the front entrance of the hotel until he spots me.”

  Nico let out a deep breath. He was under direct orders of his sovereign to let me go, but anyone could see that it was eating him up inside.

  “I will be fine. At least I am familiar with that area of Paris. If he wanted me to feel out of sorts, he would have put me up at a different hotel. This is his way of bein
g hospitable.”

  “I wish I could believe that.”

  Nico loaded my luggage into the back of a black BMW parked in front of the apartment. He gave me a passionate kiss that was cut short by an uncomfortable cough from Costin. Nico gave me a pained look and shrugged. I muffled a laugh and climbed into the front seat.

  “Be safe,” Costin said. He handed me a cell phone since he had confiscated mine. “This is for you to keep in contact with us.” He emphasized “us.” “If you need anything, call one of us – our numbers are programmed in there. Do not use the phone to call anyone else or I will know.”

  “Got it,” I said. The phone went into my messenger bag.

  Nico got in the driver’s seat, waved to Costin, and we were off. The car ride to the train station was relatively quiet. We passed the cathedrals and he expertly weaved in and out of all the scooters on the road. Just before we got there, he finally turned to me. “I need you to promise me you are going to come back to me.”

  “Nico, what? Of course.”

  “I’m not kidding, Dylan. I need to know that you are going to come back to me. Don’t do anything foolish in Paris and don’t stay longer than the two days, no matter what.”

  “I promise.” It made me smile a little knowing that he was that worried about me. Of course he should be, but when it comes out of his mouth, it always gives me the warm fuzzies.

  Was I nervous? Of course I was. The last time Olivier was in my life, he had his arms wrapped around me and was trying to mark me. He never really apologized for that, but I was pretty sure Costin was right – I don’t think his intention is to hurt me during this visit.

  Nico pulled up front. “Here we are.”

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay.”

  “You don’t have to do this.”

  “Yes, I do. And we both know it.”

  “Damn it, come here.” Nico held me tight. Neither of us cared that the gear shift was sandwiched between us. He held tighter and I was convinced for a minute that he wasn’t going to let me get on the train.