"I know. I'm asking if you want it. If you do, I'd like to give it to you. As an early Christmas gift."
"I would be honored to accept," he smiled. "I have a spot for it in my drawing room."
"Let me ask Gavin if there's anything here he wants; I guess I'll have to call or email," I said, leafing through the photographs again. "Franklin, too."
"You know quite a bit about art," Merrill said.
"I have an MFA in fine art, you know. They don't hand those out unless you take a truckload of hours in art history."
"I see." Merrill's smile deepened.
"So, you can keep Baudelaire and Voltaire," I said. "I can talk art with anybody, including those vampires who painted on cave walls, I think."
Franklin had a hard time choosing between the Fragonard and the Boucher, so I asked Merrill to have both of them packed up and sent to him. Franklin tried to stop me, so I hugged him into submission. Who knew Franklin would want a painting of Louis XV's mistress?
"The prospective buyers for the villa are vampires and have offered a fair amount for the property," Merrill informed me later. "They understand that the art work will not be included and didn't expect it."
"They're not like Nyles Abernathy, with an ax to grind, are they?" I asked. I just wanted to make sure.
"No. I know these personally, and that will not be the case," Merrill hugged me lightly. "Actually, Henri and Gervais, the misters, wish to buy. The countryside is beautiful there."
"Then more power to them," I said.
* * *
"Honey, I just need to know if you want any of the paintings," I spoke with Gavin on the phone later. I'd left a voicemail earlier and he'd called me back.
"You don't miss me?"
"Of course I miss you. I don't miss your temper; you can leave that behind when you come home."
"Amusing," Gavin grumbled.
"I'm teasing you. I don't think a surgeon could separate you and your temper."
"Then I am pleased you realize that."
"Charles wants to see a movie and asked me to go along." I winced, expecting the jealous rage but it didn't come.
"Charles would be a good companion," Gavin acknowledged. "I trust you have only a platonic interest in him?"
"I think of Charles as a friend, nothing more," I said.
"He's not your type," Gavin said, right at the moment I said almost the same thing.
"We say jinx when people do that," I laughed.
Charles and I did go out in early November. We saw a romantic comedy (I guess some vampires actually enjoy those, he and I did). He had a place in London, although he stayed at Wlodek's most of the time. The best part about the outing was the fact that we had fun and it was nice. He knew not to get too friendly; I don't think many vampires would want to tangle with Gavin, after all. The trouble with having Charles as a friend was his job—Charles didn't have a lot of spare time.
"Have fun?" Merrill was reading a newspaper at the kitchen island when I got home. He likes to keep up with the stock reports and his subscriptions to business magazines alone were staggering.
"I did and we liked the movie," I said.
"I thought you might be interested in the fact that René de la Roque is moving to his London home," Merrill said, turning the page of his newspaper.
"No way," I said. "Please tell me he isn't coming because he found out I—you know."
"I think he's past that," Merrill said. "René has issued an invitation to visit with him after he arrives."
"And what will Gavin say?" I was trying to wiggle out of the whole thing.
"Why don't you call and ask?"
"I don't want to see René," I was whining and I knew it.
"Vampires tend to live a very long time," Merrill reminded me, lowering his newspaper. "It is never wise to offend any of them, as enmity can last as long as the vampire can."
"Now you tell me," I grumbled. "So, I'm supposed to go and make nice, even if he scares me?"
"Especially if he frightens you," Merrill said. "You should learn not to show any weakness."
"Yeah. I've seen the lack of expression," I muttered. Pulling out my cell phone, I dialed Gavin's number. He actually answered.
"First off, I miss you," I said. I didn't want to start the inquisition. "Second, Merrill tells me René is moving to his London home and expects us to visit. I don't want to see René but Merrill says we should go. He says it's about living a long time and not making enemies or something like that."
"Lissa, you must learn to slow down," Gavin sounded almost happy. "René will not harm you and he is quite charming as a host. Merrill is correct—you should go."
"Gavin, you are not helping," I said.
"Lissa, are we going to waste precious time arguing over this?"
"Gavin, I'd really like to make up my own mind once in a while," I was back to whining.
"I know, love. We will talk about this some other time. I must go." He hung up.
"Well, that was useless as phone calls go," I ended the call and stuffed the phone back in my purse.
"Lissa, be patient with us, please," Merrill pleaded. "I know you feel trapped and smothered, most of the time."
"I miss walking in daylight and not worrying that vampires are going to jump out of every closet and dark alley," I said, walking toward the stairs.
"Lissa, you are vampire, and generally we do not jump from closets," Merrill said softly at my back. I just hunched my shoulders and kept walking.
* * *
René de la Roque's home was not in London proper—it was outside London with stables, a gardener's cottage and various outbuildings. In other words, it was huge. There were even horses in the stables.
"I enjoy riding," René said as the human servant ushered us into a den of sorts. René didn't do anything in a small way, I discovered. We were introduced to other guests, one of whom I recognized from my thieving trip to France. Merrill suggested I wear something nice and mentioned the black dress he'd purchased for me in Paris. I wore it with a heavy wrap since it was low-cut, front and back. The servant took the wrap and my small purse and carried them away.
"You are stunning," René appraised my appearance with a smile. I had to smile back and thank him; that was the proper thing to do. He looked very nice himself; I could see a bit of family resemblance to Gavin in his eyes and the shape of his face. I could also tell by scent that they'd been sired by the same vampire. At least Rene' still had his hair; it was a thick, dark blond, whereas Gavin's was a very dark brown. Gavin's hair was still growing out at the moment.
René invited us to sit in a beautiful, museum quality receiving room, decorated in René's favorite Louis XIV period. This home was furnished much like his chateau in France and none of the furniture was something I'd want to flop down on to read a book. It all smelled old to me and a little horsey. Probably stuffed with horsehair, no doubt, although the chairs, sofas and settees were covered in silks and damasks. Instead of commenting on the scent of his furniture, I complimented René on his excellent taste. He flashed me a dazzling smile. Oh, he was handsome, all right, and he knew it, right down to his little pinky toes. His three other guests consisted of a vampire named Aubrey, along with two other vampires named Devlin and Jacques. Aubrey was the vampire I recognized from France—he was the one who'd gone inside the vault with René. I was going to do my best to stay away from him as well; René trusted Aubrey enough to show him what he'd stolen. Aubrey had been quite impressed with the tiaras.
I didn't know Devlin and Jacques. They both kissed my hand when I was introduced, and I wasn't sure I was comfortable with that. Merrill was as smooth as could be, talking about this or that with all of them while we were served glasses of wine by the human servants. René entertained us with stories about getting caught inside Louis XIV's court. He'd crashed a ball to dance with someone and ended up befriending the French king. René was funny, it was true, and doing his best to make sure I enjoyed myself. He had other things on the agenda, however. While I'd alre
ady discovered that René was fond of adventure and liked to steal the impossible at times, (the contents of his vault in France attested to that) he also liked to gamble and not in the traditional sense. He was a master strategist, carefully crafting a plot—just to take what he wanted or to steal something from someone else. I learned that night just how devious he could be to achieve his goals.
He invited Merrill to his bedroom to view a painting that, in his words, was not fit for delicate sensibilities (mine), but was attributed to one of the masters. I was left with Aubrey, Jacques and Devlin. Merrill had only been gone a short while when the trap was sprung. Aubrey moved from his seat across from mine and came to sit beside me. Quite close, in fact. He set his wineglass on the table in front of the small sofa where I sat and breathed a cool breath against my cheek.
"You will look fine on René's arm," he said. "And you must accept his offer over Gavin's, you know. René and the rest of us here know what you did."
He'd made me uncomfortable the moment he sat down and the way he leaned over me was frightening. My cell phone had been taken away inside my purse; I had no idea where it was at the moment. I couldn't send a hasty message to Merrill that way so I attempted mindspeech, begging Merrill to come. He didn't hear and Aubrey kept right on pushing against me, telling me I would regret it if I didn't accept René over Gavin and that Wlodek would be happy to make the exchange, one fiancé over another. "Come, now, you stole from René and you owe him. He is willing to forgive if you accept his offer."
"I'm sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about," I lied, doing my best not to make a face at his closeness. I did try to scoot away from him, but there wasn't much room between me and the delicately carved arm of the sofa.
"Yes you do. You took the tiaras; René knows of this. If you know what is good for you, you will do as I say." He was smiling at me but I'm sure my face must have registered my shock. My body began its inevitable shivering. Aubrey's fangs slipped out. "Perhaps I will taste you, just to make sure René is getting the best for his efforts."
That had me off the sofa in a flash and racing toward the door. Devlin and Jacques were prepared for such an attempt; both of them had their hands on me before I reached the exit. I fought with both of them, earning a slash across my cheek before pulling out my own claws. They turned me loose amid a little howling and I flew down the hallway, heading for the front door and freedom. Another two vampires had the front entrance blocked so I veered away from their grasp, running to the left. I wasn't familiar at all with René's home—I'd only seen the entrance and the hall leading to the sitting room. Blindly I ran through it now until I came to a formal dining room where a very long, heavily carved table took up a great deal of space. Ornate chairs were lined up along both sides of the dark wood behemoth. Situated in front of the table was a window, constructed of floor to ceiling glass panes. With five vampires almost on my heels, I did the only thing I knew to do, running headlong through the window and shattering it in my flight, tearing my skin with shards of glass as I leapt onto the lawn in front of René's home.
The ones following me were now shouting and still running after me, which frightened me more. I was gasping and sobbing as I ran, trying to concentrate on becoming mist while I raced over René's manicured lawns. I had no idea if misting would work; I was moving as swiftly as I could, frightened out of my wits as I ran. I don't know how far I ran or how fast I changed, but I did change. What I didn't count on, once I'd gone to mist and lifted off the ground, was the fact that it was my intention to escape. Merrill's compulsion kicked in while I was mist and my misty particles were suddenly on fire. Not merely the burning from flames but as if I'd been dipped in acid. I had no mouth to scream but I was screaming mentally as I plummeted to earth. I'd been flying high overhead to escape my pursuers before the agony overcame me. Still in the form of mist, I lay next to the ground, convulsing somehow; even I was aware of that. Somewhere, in some small part of my brain that seemed detached from the pain and horror, I knew that I was suffering. Blackness came after only a few minutes.
Chapter 6
"I will kill you, René, if we do not find her." Wlodek had come, along with Radomir and Ian, another of the Council's Enforcers, as soon as Merrill reported Lissa missing.
"It was meant to be a harmless prank," René growled, glaring at Aubrey. Wlodek stood inside René's entry while several others were outside, searching the grounds. "We had no idea she would try to run."
"Through a glass window, René? How badly did you frighten her?" Wlodek didn't expect an answer and received none.
* * *
"She is here," Griffin knelt down by the small patch of dead flowers at the edge of René's property. Lissa had gone as far as she could go before Merrill's compulsion activated, and she'd even traveled a bit beyond that. Merrill knelt down next to his friend. As mist, Lissa was still invisible to Merrill, but not to Griffin's powerfully sharp sight.
"Can you bring her out of this?" Merrill pleaded. Griffin had very strict rules to follow, the strictest of which was that of non-interference.
"I will bring her out, but you will have to take care of the situation past that point," Griffin said, holding his hand over Lissa's mist. A bit of light formed and Lissa's body slowly became solid.
"She's cut to ribbons," Merrill sighed, lifting her up. "Thank you," he nodded at Griffin, who disappeared.
"Mon Dieu," René swore when Merrill carried Lissa's unconscious body inside the house. Merrill was so angry he could have taken on every vampire inside the manor.
"As your punishment, René," Wlodek was looking at Lissa's body, which was bloody, sliced in many places from breaking through the window, "You are going to call your cousin immediately and explain what you did."
"No, Honored One, I beg you," René said, his voice barely a whisper. "He will kill me."
"I can't say that I'd stop him," Wlodek grumbled. "Very well, let us table this for a bit. Merrill, what must we do to take care of her?" He nodded toward Lissa.
"We should clean the wounds and assess the damage," Merrill said. "The rejuvenating sleep may take care of most of this, but if she wakes before dawn, she will be in terrible pain."
"I never meant for this to happen," René walked over to Merrill, reaching out a hand to touch Lissa's forehead. "I only meant to frighten her a little."
"Lissa is terrified of you," Merrill's fangs were slipping out, which happened only when he was as angry as he could possibly get. "I was hoping that by bringing her here, she would find her fears unfounded. And what do you do? She will never want to come within sight of you again."
* * *
I woke before dawn and my multitude of cuts and scratches were all an agony. "It will be fine, Lissa, once dawn comes," Merrill was leaning over me with Radomir standing at his shoulder. Under normal circumstances, I might have told Radomir it was nice to see him. These weren't normal circumstances. Tears must have fallen; Merrill wiped one away with his thumb. "René will not threaten you again," Merrill assured me.
"Dead?" I asked, unsure how I felt about that.
"No. Not yet anyway. If Gavin decides to kill him when he learns of this, I certainly won't try to stop him." My eyes closed and I didn't know another thing until nightfall.
René asked to see me before Merrill ushered me out of his home after nightfall, but I refused. I also told Merrill that Aubrey and the others were now on my shit list, only I didn't quite put it in those terms. He nodded and we walked out of the place. They'd have to drug me or place compulsion to get me to come within a mile of René's estate again. There were still a few scratches left over from my trip through the window and I had no desire to discuss what the compulsion not to escape had cost me. Neither Merrill nor I wanted to mention that.
Franklin was nearly beside himself when we got home and Lena looked like she'd been crying. "I'm all right," I said to both of them, giving them a hug. Merrill made me soak in the hot tub and we didn't have lessons for three days. Wlodek decided not
to tell Gavin what happened until he returned from assignment, which occurred a week after my injuries. Wlodek told the story, I suppose, after calling Gavin into his study. Gavin, as a result, was so angry when he arrived at the house that Merrill sent Franklin to his suite while he and I faced Gavin as he walked through the door.
My ribs may never be the same after being crushed against Gavin's body, which was trembling with rage. He glared over the top of my head at Merrill, who stood steady, the usual expression on his face.
"This happens and no one tells me?" Gavin almost shouted.
"Wlodek's instructions. I'm sure he's already informed you of that," Merrill said. I was glad Wlodek had given the order; I didn't want to be on the other end of the phone when Gavin exploded.
"Wlodek tells me I may not kill René," Gavin paced while still holding me in his arms. I wanted to ask him to put me down; my face was held against his chest and my body tight against his. "I tell her he is safe, charming, even, and he does this? He has much to answer for."
"Gavin please put me down." I couldn't stand it anymore—my cheek would more than likely have an imprint from the fabric of his suit.
"Lissa," he shifted me in his arms so he could look at my face, "tell me you are well. That he did no lasting harm."
"I'm still afraid of him, Gavin, but I was afraid of him before." I looked into Gavin's eyes. They were normally such a beautiful brown, but they were clouded with anger, now. Gavin carried me to the island, setting me down there. He stood between my knees, which hung over the edge, pulling me against him. Merrill left us at that point; I heard his footsteps as he walked away. Gavin started kissing me. And he didn't stop kissing me, even while he lifted my top over my head and clipped through my bra with partially formed claws. His teeth and eventually the tips of his fangs against my nipples were doing something to me. Yes, I was afraid. But that wasn't the only thing I was feeling at the moment. Gavin was giving me a different kind of fire; one that made me want to press myself against him. I was completely naked in his arms and he, still fully clothed, floated me through the manor, up the stairs and into my bedroom.
Blood Passage (Blood Destiny #2) Page 10