by Misty Evans
His lips pinched. “We both know you lack interpersonal skills and common sense. Perhaps tonight, you’ll school yourself in both.”
Ouch. “I have interpersonal skills. They may not be polished like yours, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have any. In fact, I’ve made quite a good impression on my new friend over there.”
We both glanced at Dru who was watching me closely. One edge of his mouth tipped up.
“I can see that,” Damon replied, tone dry as vamp dust. “But the real test is yet to come in the form of Alexandru’s sire.”
“I was thinking about that. What if I stake Vlad instead? Wouldn’t that solve a lot of our problems?”
Damon closed his eyes for a long moment, digging for patience. When he reopened them, his eyes were hard and flat. “This is no joking matter, Kali.”
Who was joking? “Did Rafael, Juliana or Vlad mention their black sheep?”
Damon shook his head. “They haven’t seen Toel since our meeting at the Institute. They wouldn’t admit it, but they’re worried he’s gone rogue.”
Rogue vampire. My favorite.
A loud chiming echoed through the room, signifying midnight was upon us. Vamps scurried into rows, some vying with others for a better view. Damon gave me a small push in the center of my back toward the dais and resumed his seat.
Okay, I told myself, swallowing hard as I headed for the chair waiting for me. The clock gong echoed loudly in my head. Let the nightmare begin.
Dru gave me another one of those pulse-tripping grins and I forced myself to smile back. Behind Damon, Cole was watching me and he nodded ever so slightly to let me know he wouldn’t let anything happen to me or the Council. Maddy smiled wide and gave me a thumbs-up.
Lifting my eyes to the elongated windows on the second story, I prayed that Rad and his Noct friends came to my rescue and the same time I prayed they’d steer clear of tonight’s doings.
Because even if they crashed the party before I took my vows, I would defend the Undead to the bitter end.
Chapter Forty-seven
One of the Disney theme parks had lost a pirate.
Vlad, the Prince of the Undead, was over six feet tall with a strange looking bulbous stomach. Long, thin hair hung in ringlets around his face and a moustache sat under his thin, fleshless nose. Skinny arms and legs gave him a definite cartoon character appearance.
He wore clothing that emphasized his odd body shape—flashy gold and black duds with white socks up to his knees and black pointed shoes. Around his neck, a large gold cross. I didn’t think it was possible for a vampire to be unattractive, but the head of the vamps was ugly even in demon terms.
Serendipitously, I glanced at Dru. While his father stood in the doorway, pausing for everyone to get a good look at him, all I could wonder was how Vlad had sired such a beautiful son.
Dru rose to his feet as did the rest of the crowd. I followed suit. As Vlad strolled down the aisle, passing his vamp minions with his nose in the air, they went to their knees like they’d done for me. Toel’s crew of followers knelt as well, but when they rose again, daggers shot from their eyes, all aimed at me.
Aw, wasn’t that sweet.
I shot a few back for good measure.
Vlad stopped and chatted a moment with Damon, then walked across the aisle to acknowledge Juliana and Rafael. It all reminded me of the President making a showing before a State of the Union address. Handshaking, back slapping, and preening for the home audience.
After the final exchange with his regional managers, Vlad faced us. Dru went down on one knee, and taking my cue from him, I did the same. Maybe it was the dress or maybe the rebel in me, but I went down slowly. The dais marble floor was hard and cold under my knees.
Pressure filled my head. Very nice, Kali.
Since Damon had a backside view, I wasn’t sure if he was referring to my supplicant position or my ass. Better not to ask.
Vlad took his seat. Dru rose, helped me to my feet. Then he took my hand and turned me toward his father. “My sire,” he said, his voice again carrying throughout the room and bouncing off the stones. “I present the queen-elect for the Central United States of America.”
I met Vlad the Impaler’s eyes and a cold chill rushed down my spine. This vampire had tortured thousands of humans, created a whole race of blood-sucking Undead. Everything in me wanted to remove him from the Earth. Send him straight to hell where he belonged.
Easy, demon.
It was rare Damon purposely reminded me of what I was. In this case, his warning did two things. Reinforced I was a demon, and as such, was the highest predator on the food chain in this room. And two, I was his enforcer, subject to his and the Council’s decisions.
In other words, he put me in my place with one word.
So while I could exterminate the big bad vamp, I would do so at great cost, jeopardizing the Council’s safety and my own demon life.
I bowed my head slightly at Vlad but refused to break eye contact.
He wasn’t called the Prince of the Undead for nothing. Tainted magic filled the air and sucked my breath away. A creepy-crawly sensation ran over the back of my neck and a sharp pain burst inside both ears.
I flinched, but still refused to break eye contact. Instead I touched my fingers and thumbs together and raised my protective shield, bouncing Vlad’s tainted magic back at him.
The vamps in the room felt it and a quiet gasp broke the silence. He didn’t react except for the thin line of his lips firming.
I expected Damon to yell in my head. Instead he said, careful. Don’t give away too much.
Damon didn’t want Vlad to know just how powerful I was. Interesting.
I stepped forward and gave the Prince a confident smile. “Kali Sweet at your service.”
“Kali Sweet, queen-elect.” Vlad’s Romanian accent was heavy and thick. “You are pledged to the Undead of this region to be their queen. To honor, protect and lead them in accord with my wishes. Do you accept this role with gravity and the respect due it?”
Merde. I opened my mouth, nothing came out. Damon’s voice prompted me. I do.
What was this a marriage ceremony? “I’ll do my best,” I answered honestly.
Vlad stared his dead-eyed stare. Guess my best wasn’t good enough.
So I lied. “Yes.”
“Kali Sweet, queen-elect, do you accept your Undead brothers and sisters with open arms?”
Open arms and a sharp stake. “I do.”
“Do you submit your will to mine?”
Hell no. Again, my lips parted to answer but the word I needed to say wouldn’t come out.
Please, Kali. Do this for me.
‘Please’ from Damon was another unusual event. I rubbed my temple, took a deep breath and considered all he had done for me through the years. I would never submit my will to Vlad but I owed Damon.
It took every bit of willpower to open my mouth, but I did it, looking Vlad squarely in the eye and leaving no doubt I was doing this for the Bridge Council. “Yes.”
For a second, all was silent. Vlad studied me, looking for deceit in my face, my tone, anything. Again, I maintained eye contact, knowing I dared not look away and give him an excuse to doubt me. We held each other’s gazes, me attempting to look honest. Apparently it worked.
He gave a miniscule nod to Dru.
Dru’s hand grabbed my arm, turned me toward the audience. “My brothers and sisters, I present the queen of the Central United States of America.”
Reserved applause filled the room. They were no happier to put me in this position than I was to find myself there. However, a pang of compassion gave me pause. Maddy and Dru had opened my eyes to the fact there were a few decent vamps around. Maybe more than a few. There were Undead servants and blood slaves who hadn’t asked to be turned, had had their human lives taken away from them. Perhaps in my new role as queen, I could ferret out the truly bad vamps and help the not-so-bad ones.
I gave the group a nod, acknowledging them and the ap
plause escalated a fraction. I bowed my head and smiled to myself. I would make this work. For them. For the Council. For me.
But when I looked up again at my new Undead brothers and sisters, I froze.
At the back of the room, standing in the doorway looking every bit the California surfer dude, was Toel Chase.
Chapter Forty-eight
He paid me a mock salute.
“How did he get in here?” I murmured to Dru.
The answer came when the two guards who’d flanked the outside door walked in behind Toel and stopped on either side of him, standing behind his lean body.
So much for security.
Toel wore a tux sans tie. Also without proper shoes. Ragged flip-flops adorned his feet and smacked irreverently as he took a few steps forward. Without a word, he made eye contact with the three stooges in the back and they fell in behind the guards.
At the same time, I sensed movement to my left. Cole, disregarding Vlad and skirting the empty chairs Dru and I had sat in, slid up behind me. His chest was close enough to my back, I felt the heat coming off him. His magic tingled against mine.
Dru also shifted closer, his body in front of me but off to the side. Not crowding me, but guarding me none the less. That he would do such a thing—make it clear to Toel and the others in the room that he stood with me—gave me pause. He hadn’t made any vow to me and yet he was willing to take on the West Coast King to defend me. That one action moved him into the potential friend category.
Toel sauntered down the center of the room, more and more Undead falling in behind him. Didn’t surprise me. He was a vampire, already a regional manager, and had made it clear to the general vamp population he didn’t want me leading them anymore than they did. Rallying the troops was strategic to making a strong showing in front of the Prince.
Vlad’s voice boomed out behind me, making me start as it filled the room. Dru may not have favored his father in the looks department—lucky for him—but the commanding voice was a dead ringer. “Toel,” he said, clear reprehension in his tone. “You’re late.”
He sounded like a father who was aggravated his kid was late to dinner. Not exactly the reaction I was expecting.
Toel shrugged, gave me the stink eye. “Speed bump slowed me down, dude.”
Great. We were back to surf talk and bad acting.
Maddy maneuvered through the crowd behind Toel, edging closer and giving me a wink over his left shoulder. What was she up to?
Cole’s breath warmed my ear. “Vamp or not, the guy’s a douchebag.”
I seconded that. “I thought your men were going to arrest him if he showed,” I whispered to Dru.
He was gritting his jaw so hard, muscles jumped. “Seems that didn’t happen.”
Sounds of movement came from Vlad’s direction. He appeared on Dru’s right, walked past the three of us and down the stairs, meeting Toel at the halfway point. Again, not the reaction I was expecting. The Prince meeting a renegade manager on the floor instead of making him bow at his feet? And why wasn’t he demanding the house guards take him into custody?
Did vamps take other vamps into custody?
“What’s he doing?” I wondered out loud.
“Your stake.” Dru shifted to his left, moving closer to me. “The one I took from you? Get it out of my pants.”
For a second, I didn’t understand what that had to do with Vlad and Toel. Then I did. Sort of. The details weren’t clear, but the hum of magic coming off Dru’s body, as well as the tight jaw, told me enough. Fighting was an option on the night’s menu.
I slipped my fingers underneath his shirttail, fingertips skimming his naked back as I searched for the short stake he’d secured in the waist of his pants. He tensed ever so slightly at my touch and our magics collided in a hot spark. I nearly jumped from the collision of magical electrons. For all his bluff and talk, he could back it up with the goods. He was as magically skilled as his father.
All eyes were on Vlad and Toel. Still it wouldn’t do for anyone to notice I was arming myself. I eased the stake out and covertly snugged it inside the gathered tulle on the front of my dress. I also let the handle of my whip slid into my hand. Volante hummed with anticipation, knowing she was going to spill blood. And soon.
Vlad towered over his manager as he reached out and took Toel by the shoulders. He seemed oblivious to the group behind him, oblivious to any of the rest of us. “Toel, my son. It’s good to see you.”
The whole room sucked in a noisy breath as if surprised.
I was a bit surprised myself. “My son?” I hissed in Dru’s ear. “Tell me he means that in the sire to underling manner.”
“Afraid not.” Dru’s mouth firmed before he spit out the next words. “Toel is my half-brother. My half-brother and black sheep of the family whom my father never recognized until recently when he gave him the Western Region. Vlad was making the official announcement that Toel is his son tonight.”
My eyes rolled back so far in my head, I nearly fell over. The CW didn’t have the market on vamp family dramas.
There were so many ways this meeting was about to go wrong, I clenched my whip handle harder. “Is there an egress from this room other than those main doors?”
“Northeast corner. Servant entrance hidden in the wall. Takes you to the kitchen.”
Damon. I replayed the words in my head. Did you get that?
Pressure tightened the skin at my temples. Leaving at this juncture would be rude.
That’s what he was worried about? Being rude? It could also save your Archdemon ass. Now go.
Not yet.
For fuck’s sake. I reached back and touched Cole. A simple gesture between warriors. “If things go bad, get them out of here for me.”
Neither of us knew what exactly was going to happen, but we knew it wasn’t going to be a pleasant walk around Lake Michigan. He released a tight sigh, torn between me and them.
“Please,” I said softly. “They’re more important.”
Knowing I was right, he said nothing and returned my touch with his own, giving my hand a firm squeeze.
Vlad embraced Toel. Over his father’s shoulder, Toel smirked at me. Normally, I would have raised my middle finger, but it was better to play him, so I smiled back like I was enjoying the show.
The light in his eyes changed, going from muted and disinterested to too bright, too focused.
What the hell was he up to?
Toel wanted power, lots of it, and at that moment, he held the ultimate vampire power in a close embrace. My breath caught as his audacious plan unfolded in my brain. According to Dru, this was his coming out party so to speak. Toel planned to come out in a big, big way.
He who held Vlad, or Vlad’s position, held the Undead world.
And I’d thought Nudra was an ambitious prick.
“He’s not after me,” I said, as much to myself as to Cole and Dru. “He’s after the Prince.”
Dru shot me a weird look, but I saw the idea didn’t exactly shock him. He ground his teeth together once more and reached for his sword.
I’d learned long ago to keep track of my enemy’s hands. Their faces wouldn’t kill you. It was the hands and the weapons they held, that would do that. As Vlad leaned back, putting space between his and Toel’s bodies, both of Toel’s hands disappeared from my sight.
“Separate them,” I told Dru. “Now.”
Vlad raised his voice to the murmuring crowd, turned Toel to face them. “Here is my son, Toel Chase, who has honored my name in the Western Region of the United States and who will secure the foothold vampires have established in the Northern Hemisphere.”
Applause rang out, much heartier than the applause for me. Some vamps whistled and hooted. Others looked confused.
I was in the confused camp.
With cat-like precision, Dru moved to a position near his father’s right shoulder. As Vlad moved Toel in an arc, showing him off to the room full of vamps, Dru leaned in and said something in Vlad’s ear
.
The Prince of the Undead slowly raised his eyes to me. They were as black as Toel’s tux and filled with hatred. How dare I try to ruin his party.
Damon, I questioned my boss, should I intercede if Toel tries to take Vlad out?
I waited for the pressure. Waited for the answer. It took so long in coming, I nearly looked over my shoulder to see if Damon and the others had left as I’d requested.
Toel faced me, making his circuit under his father’s guiding hands, his superior look taunting. He thought himself untouchable. Above not only me, but the room of vampires as well.
One of his hands disappeared into his jacket.
Damon!
His voice finally appeared in my head. Think before you act. We don’t know what Toel is planning.
Thinking took too long. Either I acted now while I had a clear shot or my chance was over.
Volante slid off my arm to coil on the floor. I flicked my gaze to Dru. His hand was on his sword’s handle and he gave me the briefest nod as if he understood my conundrum and was giving me his permission.
The demon in me prepared to strike. Then the weirdest thing happened…
I hesitated.
There were too many politics at play here. What if Dru was the one manipulating me? While I’d put him in my potential friend column, I hardly knew him or his underlying family issues. The political issues were all mixed in there as well. He’d known Vlad was going to publically acknowledge Toel. He didn’t like Toel. My feelings for the dude aside, I didn’t want to be played into taking out Toel in order to assure Dru’s standing if it initiated a war or plunked me face first in the hot seat.
Toel drew a stake from his jacket. Vlad couldn’t see it since Toel was facing away from him. Only twenty-four hours ago, I’d believed Vlad could eat Toel for lunch if Toel so much as stepped on the Prince’s big toe. Now that wasn’t the case. While Vlad had no qualms about eating his young, he wasn’t prepared for Toel to attempt such an outright defiant gesture as patricide.
This, however, was Toel. Two-faced, underhanded, and lousy at pool.
And I was no coward when it came to the hot seat.