The siblings she referenced would be other vampires who’d been made directly by Amund, then. Vampire families modeled themselves after the human families they’d once known—Amund, they considered to be their sire.
There was more significance to the statement she’d made, but I couldn’t figure out what she might be trying to get at—or if it was directed at somebody other than me. I had a feeling it might have been directed solely toward Anton.
He gave her a mocking bow before turning his attention to Elizabeth and her companion, still waiting by their car. “What about her…companions?” He deliberately hesitated before finishing the sentence, lingering so long it was clear he wanted to offer insult.
Elizabeth smiled and reached to stroke her upper lip—with her middle finger extended.
I smothered a smile. Barely.
Anton tensed.
“As they are clearly providing escort, her companions will wait here,” Maxine said in a sharp tone. “Unmolested.”
“Of course.” Anton gave a sly smile but continued to stare at Elizabeth, eyes glowing now.
She repeated the gesture she’d made, this time stroking her lower lip.
“Anton, we return to the house,” Maxine said.
He jerked around and began to walk, moving like he had a stick up his ass.
Maxine gave him a cool look before turning her attention to me. “Shall we go?”
Bryant stepped to my side and offered his arm.
“May I?”
The words hell, no sprang to my lips.
I swallowed them back.
Like the insult Anton had delivered me, I suspected if I was to make such a flat refusal, it would be considered…rude.
Being a guest should come with a rule book.
I didn’t much want to take his arm, but choosing to follow form, I gestured to my left side. “If it’s okay? I’m…cautious about having my strong hand impeded. It’s a quirk.”
“Of course.” He offered a courtly bow and immediately took up position on my left, leaving my weapon hand free.
“I don’t believe I’ve ever heard mention that you travel with wolves as companions, Ms. Colbana,” Maxine said, the question wrapped in a comment.
“I wouldn’t call them companions.” I had hoped she wouldn’t comment on it.
“Hmmm. Strange that your alpha allows it.”
I stopped in my tracks. “Damon isn’t my alpha—I’m no shifter.”
“I misspoke.” She moved to my other side, a careful distance between us, clearly aware of my…quirk. “Your lover, who happens to be the Alpha. Is that better?”
She shrugged, making the gesture look fluid and graceful in a way I never could. “I can’t imagine he is unaware, which means…he has no issues with it. This is curious. I rarely find things curious these days.”
“Find a hobby,” I suggested. “There are a lot of hobbies if you find yourself getting bored.”
She broke into a bright laugh. “Oh, darling girl.”
She said nothing else, just quickened her pace so that she was ahead of us once more.
I decided it wasn’t worth the effort to be insulted.
The rest of the walk to the house was made in silence. Once we were inside, another vampire awaited. He was dressed in servant black, his skin the kind of pale that told me he hadn’t seen the sun in a couple of decades.
That alone wasn’t what clued me into the fact that he was young.
His eyes bounced to my neck, then away, then returned, as if the lure of a beating pulse was more than he could handle.
I didn’t go for my blade, although I was tempted.
But when he took a step my way, I shifted slightly, putting more distance between him and me—and everybody else.
“May I take your coat?” His eyes skittered to my throat yet again.
“Lindsey,” Bryant said, his voice a quiet warning.
Lindsey, the younger vampire, flinched as if he’d been struck.
As he cowered away, Bryant turned to me. “Allow me?”
Still, I hesitated. “There are weapons in there. If you search it, you’ll find them. Take them away and I’m going to consider it another insult.”
“You’re a guest,” Bryant said simply.
Apparently, that seemed to explain everything for them.
Then Maxine said, “Your weapons do not concern us, Miss Colbana.”
I managed not to twitch at the insult. After all, why should they be concerned? I could take on one of the younger vampires, Bryant, maybe. But more than that? I was fucked.
If I ended up getting hurt—or worse—Damon would have my ass. I would have my ass.
With a game smile, I let Bryant take my coat and he, Anton and Lindsey disappeared down the hall. Maxine gestured for me to follow her, so as she set off down the hall, I fell in step next to her.
My palms were slick with sweat and I surreptitiously swiped them down the sides of my trousers, taking some reassurance in the weapons I still had on my person.
It took nearly ten minutes to reach our destination, a series of twists and turns, and I had no doubt the entire layout of the building was designed to befuddle the unwary. I could easily find my way back, but I wasn’t exactly unwary.
Maxine stepped to the side and gestured to the door.
“He wishes to speak to you and you alone,” she said, giving me a short nod.
“Great.” With a brilliant smile, I stepped closer to the door, but I didn’t do anything until I sensed she’d retreated. By that time, my smile, sarcastic as it had been, had faded and my palms were once more slick with sweat.
I wanted to get the hell out of there.
I wanted to run out of there, like the very devil chased me.
It wasn’t even entirely because of a run-in I’d had with a vampire that had ended with me being imprisoned. This was something…different and I couldn’t explain it.
I just had some sick fear that once I went inside, things were all going to go straight to hell.
Run…do it.
Instead, I knocked.
“Enter,” a low, lyrical voice called out.
Easing inside, I slid the door closed behind me, taking in the room in increments, allowing myself to adjust the soul-shuddering power that leaked off Amund.
He hadn’t been like this before. He was strong, yes. I’d felt it. But not like this. Before, it had been like waves crashing into a sandy beach before a thunderstorm. Now it was a typhoon… and the beach had been decimated.
My teeth ached from clenching down and I had to fight to unlock my jaw.
By the time I’d taken a few steps into the room, I’d managed to sweep my gaze across the half the room. Still no sign of him.
The couch near the fireplace, empty. The sitting area near the window, empty. The bed, empty—no, wait. Something skinny pushed up against the bedsheets. I jerked my eyes upward and found myself staring into the jewel-bright eyes that had scared the crap out of me the first time I’d met the centuries-old vampire.
But the eyes were the only thing I recognized.
Nothing else was the same.
“You look like shit.” The words blurted out of me before I could stop them.
Chapter Twelve
To my surprised, Amund laughed.
The voice was the same, too. Seductive and compelling, but when you’ve walked the globe for almost a millennia, I guess it’s easy to learn to hone all the weapons at your disposal.
“Yes, I’ve been telling my people just that…I look like shit. None of them seem to agree with me.” A smile stretched the papery-thin skin of his face, giving him an even more skeletal look. “But they don’t want to admit the inevitable. We despise change, vampires.”
“I…ah, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Even though it’s true?” His eyes fixed on my face, narrowed and piercing.
“True or not, that doesn’t mean I have to blurt it out.” I eased a little deeper into the room, taking in mo
re details.
His cheekbones were like razors, jutting against his skin, his once broad chest sunken and caved. His shoulders were still wide, but they seemed less so, stooped and bowed inward as though the weight of his own frame was dragging him down.
“You seemed surprised by my appearance,” he noted.
“Your appearance is rather surprising.” I didn’t know how else to respond.
“I imagine it is. I’m…wasting.”
Shaking my head, I told him, “I don’t think I’m familiar with that.”
“Few outside a vampire House would be. And it would be…considerate of you not to repeat it. In essence, I’m starving.” He shrugged, looking unperturbed by the words he’d just told me. “Shortly, I’ll have my people remove my head before my hunger overtakes the decision I made.”
At some point during the last few words, my jaw fell open and I couldn’t seem to make it close on its own. When he finally turned his eyes toward mine, I managed it, but a few seconds later, words came blurting out like dam breaking free.
“What do you mean—are you…this is on purpose? You’re going to have your people kill you?”
A few more nonsensical things popped out. I can’t remember them all.
But once I finally lapsed into silence, Amund waved a dismissive hand.
“You seem so disturbed by this.” Eyes closing, he allowed a heavy sigh to escape. “What do you think happens to the older ones, Kitasa? We either allow the younger generation to end it when we realize we’re nearing that point or we slip over into madness. I had to kill more than a few of my own when they chose madness. There are few who are my equal in power alive and I am…weary. I had a purpose and now it’s gone.”
“So when old vampires get tired, they just stop eating and it’s off with the head?” I couldn’t decide just what I felt inside just then—I didn’t know if it was apathy, horror…pity.
“Don’t look so surprised, Kit. You know how ennui is a problem for the old ones. With some of us, it’s more of a problem. A vampire who gets too…distanced from his human self, from his House…he turns to madness.” He cracked one eye open. “We don’t love as we once did. But we’re terribly arrogant creatures, possessive, prideful. There are things coming to pass that could make my House falter and I’m…I am weary. I don’t want the House I made to fall. Would you?”
I had no answer to that. I wasn’t even certain I understood. “Why did you bring me here?”
“I felt I owed you the…courtesy. You revealed Puck for what he was, revealed his deceit.” He sighed. “Were it not for you, he might have succeeded. As it is, damage has been done. There are other things at play and as I said, I am weary. Puck’s machinations gave others courage. Things are already in motion that may well change the face of our city. If I were anything close to the man I once was, I’d remain. I’d fight.”
He gave me a sardonic smile.
“I am not. However, there are those who can take up the fight.”
“So you called me up here to tell me that there is shit going on and you’re just checking out.”
“I do not want another war.” He sat up and I heard bones creak inside that thin sack of flesh that had become his body. He turned his head and met my gaze. “Nobody who lived through the last one should want another. I believed others would feel the same. I was wrong.”
He rose, offering a fatalistic shrug.
And I heard bones creak as he did so.
“I’m weary. I’m done with the ennui and look forward to rest…or hell…whatever awaits.”
He was serious. Mind spinning, I watched as he came over to sit next to me, each move careful and precise. He didn’t look weak, precisely. But it was obvious he no longer had the physical strength he’d once possessed.
“Will you tell me who or what these…other things at play are?” I asked. I had a bad feeling I knew, though.
Amund’s vivid blue eyes met mine. “You’re too smart to play the fool, Kit. We both know you already have that answer.”
The bottom of my stomach dropped out. “Malcolm.”
“He’s just the head of the beast. He doesn’t act alone. He only thinks he does.” Amund shrugged, eyes wandering off to stare sightlessly at the wall. “My house will not fall. I have a strong leadership who will take over after I am gone and I have taken measures to control the damage that will occur once I am no longer here. Some will slip, but the weakest of mine are already…dealt with.”
"There will be some chaos. There are other houses, though, who have no idea what is coming. Use this time to warn them.” His blue eyes met mine once more.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“You know how our bloodlines work, Kit. How the strong steady the weak, how the weak balance the strong.” His lids flickered, shielding his eyes. “There are no vampires under fifteen years left within my home. The older ones should be able to manage the rest. But there are other targets. Alert those you can trust. I will wait until tonight.”
“Wait…you mean that all this shit you’re telling me, you haven’t shared it with another vampire house? Why the hell not?” I demanded, coming off the couch to glare at him.
“I had no desire to offer warning to those who would be enemies to both of us. There’s a conspiracy afoot.” His eyes started to gleam and for one heart-pounding moment, that gaze dropped to my neck.
I wanted to run.
I didn’t dare.
A shuddering sigh slid from him and he waved a hand.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, feeling almost desperate. “What am I supposed to do?”
“All you can do is warn those who matter, those you believe can be of help.”
“Amund--”
“Go.” His eyes burned as he looked back at me. “I’ve said all I will. I’ll wait until night fall, but I cannot wait any longer.”
So that was it? Shaking my head, I backed away, my head spinning.
“I guess I should say thank you for the warning.”
He inclined his head. “Don’t bother. You’ll be cursing me and every other vampire soon enough. Make sure you collect that weapon from Maxine. You’ll appreciate it, far more than anybody else I’ve ever met.”
I bit back a pithy response—I doubted the words shove it up your ass would have much impact on a centuries-old creature who’d just announced he planned to die in the next few hours.
Instead, I just gave him a sharp nod and turned to go.
“Kitasa.”
I kept walking.
“Kit!”
I paused, looking back.
“There are those in the Assembly who are seeking to return things to what they once were,” he said, voice calm. “Those who do not wish to make nice with mortals…or those of…lesser blood. You would be wise to build more allegiances, and keep those you have.”
“You’re talking about Malcolm. You don’t have to be so vague.”
He arched a brow. “It would take more than one arrogant bastard to accomplish what he hopes to accomplish, Kit.” He paused to make sure I understood. “With me gone, it will leave a void in the Assembly. A strong vampire will be required to settle things and people already eye my House with distrust, thanks to the debacle with Puck.” Distaste clouded his gaze, for once. “There is only one other strong house that is equal to mine. They may make demands you will be unhappy to hear.”
A chill raced down my back.
One strong house.
“Do you understand?” he demanded.
“Yes.”
Now I really wanted to run. But I didn’t let myself.
Chapter Thirteen
I was still puzzling over the weapon Maxine had given me I sat with Chang, Dair and Damon…with a few exceptions, those I trusted most were in this room. I'd notify the others next.
I stroked a finger across one curved as I studied my new weapon.
Or weapons—they looked to be a matched set.
I’d almost think somebo
dy was trying to give me a pair of claws to match Damon’s, but that didn’t seem to be right. The music was wild and tribal primitive—beautiful. Almost every weapon I owned made beautiful music, but some were more…tame. Or perhaps civilized.
There was nothing civilized about the music coming from these. Stroking a finger up one claw, then down the next, I flexed my hand, then slid the right one on.
Awkward…
Chang, Damon and Alisdair were discussing what I’d told them and none of them looked happy.
Finally, Chang stepped away, leaving the two alphas alone as he came to sit in the chair across from me. “You’re certain of all of this?”
“As certain as I can be.” I closed my hand into as much of a fist as I could with the clawed glove, then relaxed it. “And he was…very convincing.”
“He doesn’t seem like the sort of man who would quit the fight and leave it to others to handle for him,” Chang said, disgust in his words. He shook his head and then held out a hand. “May I?”
I tugged the glove off and turned it over.
“These almost look like tekko-kagi.” He turned it over in his hand then tried it on, nodding with a faint smile as he flexed his fingers under the long curve of wood. The tips were hard, sharpened points—sharp enough to punch through something, especially if one was strong enough…and knew where to punch.
I knew any number of places that would shred like paper under a blow from these.
“Tekko-kagi?”
“Ninjas would have used them.” He tugged the glove off and returned it to me. “The style is…different. More European and the wood is Brazilian ebony, if I’m correct. But I’d be willing to bet they were modeled after the tekko-kagi.”
He cocked a brow as he rose. “I imagine you can figure out a way those might do harm…and wooden. Brazilian ebony, too. An ironwood—one of the hardest woods on the planet. A particularly useful weapon against a certain species.”
“Oh, I’ve imagined all sorts of ways to do harm,” I murmured.
“I’d be disappointed otherwise.” He nodded at me, then addressed the room in general. “I’ll get word to the Assembly. Maybe the vampires won’t listen, but if others do…? It would be of benefit.”
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