The other vampires had gone and we were finally alone again. We’d resolved nothing but Patrick was encouraged by the meeting. I guess that was something.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “She’s pretty low level, power-wise. She was a maid, like a personal maid and no one’s had one of those since corsets went out of style. What would she do?” I wasn’t sure I was trying to talk him out of it but as I kept going and the thought of a maid waiting on me hand and foot gave me the creeps.
Everyone in our colony had a job. They either worked on their own or worked for Patrick or Dean in some capacity. You know the saying ‘Idle hands are the devil’s workshop’? Well, Patrick liked to say an idle vampire is a city’s destruction. Too much time on their hands and they tended to cause havoc. Patrick was also a firm believer that a vampire with a purpose was much more invested in their city.
“I have a shop she might be perfect for,” he said, standing and coming around the desk.
“Oh, I’d forgotten about that one.”
“Sweetheart,” Patrick chided. “You must pay attention to all our endeavors, no matter how small.” His exasperation was clear in his tone and in the slow shake of his head.
“Blah . . . blah . . . blah,” I replied. Patrick only grinned at me and kissed my cheek. “Let’s link Jade in, so she knows what’s going on.”
Patrick opened his laptop and linked it with the large TV on the wall.
Jade’s yawning face popped up on the screen and I laughed. “Good Morning, Sunshine,” I snickered. She, in turn, flipped me off. “We’re going to turn off the screen but leave the lap top up, so keep quiet. I want you to hear but not be seen. Not yet anyway.”
“Fine,” she snarled as she rubbed her eyes. “But you could just turn the sound off on your end, you know.”
“I like to torture you.” I smirked at her.
“Such an ass,” she hissed with a grin.
“Where’s Kurt?” Dean asked.
“Sleeping, cause . . .” She paused, squinting at the bottom of the computer screen. “It’s 3 a.m.” She pulled her thick dark chestnut hair up into a ponytail. “You know, I haven’t been up past midnight since you left. It’s been nice.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I rolled my eyes.
Outside the door, Garrett and Geneen were approaching the library. Her soft Scottish lilt grew closer and more pronounced.
“Here they come,” I said, “now shut it.”
“You’re such a bitch. It’s too early for this.” She yawned again.
I turned off the television and sat on the sofa where Pierre had vacated just a little while ago. Garrett led Geneen in the library and left, shutting the door behind him.
Stepping just inside the door, I noticed she seemed so small with her shoulders slumped and her head bowed. She twisted her fingers together in tight knots as the scent of her fear rippled on the HVAC-created breeze. Dean stood, back against the wall as if holding it up with his arms crossed over his thick, muscular chest. He watched Geneen with a bright Caribbean-blue gaze. At the moment, she was other and until she wasn’t, Dean didn’t trust.
“Your name is Geneen, is it not?” Patrick asked and she visibly shuttered under the power exuded in his voice. I had forgotten how much magic flowed through him and how it had affected me once. Now, it affected me in a completely different way. Well, let’s be honest, his power had hit in places that don’t normally see the light of day then too.
“A-Aye,” she stammered as her thick auburn hair fell into her face, hiding her expression.
“Dahlia tells me you were Raine’s handmaid, is that correct?”
“Aye,” she whispered again.
“Now that your master is gone, you find yourself a bit lost,” he said as he stood and circled the desk until he was standing before her. She tilted her gaze up warily as if she couldn’t make him out. “Would you like to remain lost? Or, would you like a home and an occupation again?”
“You dunna plan to kill me?”
“Christ-on-crutches,” I groaned underneath my breath.
“No, my dear,” Patrick said with a small grin in his voice that surprised me more than I could say. Maybe solidifying our bonds had lightened some of his load and if that was the case, I was both glad we’d finally done it and sorry we hadn’t done it sooner. “I’m offering you a home with us. You will have to take a blood oath but if you so choose, you will no longer have to concern yourself with the daunting task of finding where you belong.”
Geneen’s gaze snapped to me, then Dean, and finally to Patrick. Her mouth wide open. “But she’s The Blushing Death and you are The Betrayer,” she hissed.
“Is that what they’re calling him?” I asked, hiding a snort of laughter in my fist.
“I like it,” Dean growled.
“Neither of you is helping the situation,” Patrick chastised with a frustrated roll of his eyes. He turned his entire focus and power back on Geneen. She almost shrunk into nothing under the weight of his glare. “You have this one opportunity. If you say no, I will release you back into the night and you will fend for yourself. You will become prey for the others. If you agree, then you belong to me, and we will protect you.”
She stared up at him in trembling silence for the longest time and I fought not to snap at her. This had to be her choice or the binding wouldn’t hold and losing my temper wouldn’t help. I glanced from Geneen to Patrick and could feel his delight and anticipation. I couldn’t figure out why he wanted her so badly. She was so low level and no power to speak of. She might as well have been human.
‘You have delivered a gift, Sweetheart,’ drifted through my mind. ‘This one will have more information than she knows about Raine and the board.’
I nodded and breathed through my frustration until it wasn’t boiling over anymore. Waiting was never my strongest attribute. Go figure.
And almost as quick as her sharp panicked breathes, she nodded her assent.
“Then kneel Geneen and make your oath,” Patrick said as he brought his wrist up to his lips and bit down hard, opening a vein. Blood dripped down the side of his wrist and he lowered it to her.
“Your blood is my blood. With blood, I vow my loyalty to ya and my life and my soul ta your service. I vow that only death will break this bond between us. I am yours ta command.” She reached up and took his wrist in her grip, bringing the pooling blood and his skin to her lips. There was a pang of jealousy as another woman’s lips caressed him. It was ridiculous and I knew it. It didn’t, however, stop him from smirking at me with a smug glint in his eyes. And being the mature person that I am, I stuck my tongue out at him.
Geneen drank Patrick down, tentative at first and then she was lapping at his bared skin. With a jolt through her body, Geneen leaned back as if lightning had struck her. After a long moment, she sighed. A moan of unadulterated pleasure vibrated through her, making me a little uneasy as if I was watching something intimate.
“So much power,” she mumbled just before opening her eyes and staring up at him with wet, bloody tears running down her cheeks. “Yer heart is beating,” she whispered.
“That is one of the secrets you must now keep,” Patrick said, petting her cheek with a pleased grin lighting up his face. “Now, stand.” Turning her toward me, Patrick said, “Dahlia is my Warda and you will obey her as you do me. Dean is Gaoh. He is a true Gaoh.”
She nodded and smiled. “Aye, I can feel ‘im and her too. Who are ya?”
“We are now your family,” I said, getting to my feet. “Please, sit.”
Patrick returned to his chair behind the desk, rolling down the sleeve of his dress shirt and buttoning it at his wrist again as his wound closed. “Now, Geneen. Tell us about Raine’s colony. How many were there? Where are they now?”
“There were 35 spread out throughout Louisiana
,” she answered.
“So small,” I said, surprised.
“Small?” she chided back. “Raine’s was the largest colony in the south, I’ll have you know.” She met my gaze and then dropped it. Silent for a moment, she seemed to think about the exchange. “I apologize. I meant no disrespect. But why do ya think it small?”
“You are one of 211,” Patrick answered.
Granted that was a lot but that number covered a wide geographical area, including not only Columbus but Pittsburgh, Chicago, Nashville, and Marabelle’s territory in Nevada. We’d had to install local leaders to manage the day-to-day business in each of metropolitan areas. The local leaders answered to Patrick as his Generals. It was more manageable that way. But in the end, they all answered to Patrick.
“That many?” She gasped. “Raine used to complain about any more than 40. She’d say they were too hard to manage.” Geneen seemed to think better of her statement and tried to backtrack. “But ya seem ta be doin’ just fine.”
“Yes, we are doing very well. Now, where have her vampires gone? Who was next in line in Raine’s Cadre?” Patrick continued as if she hadn’t meandered into the weeds. He had more patience than I did. That was for damned sure.
She nodded as if determined and I just shook my head. Holding a straightforward conversation with this one was going to require a level of patience I didn’t possess. And she was going to be around for eternity, unless I killed her.
“Celeste was next,” she said, “and then Nathaniel, Sarah, and Danielle.”
“Where are they?” Dean growled, also getting frustrated with the continued weaving of Geneen’s attention span.
“Danielle was in the street tonight,” she whispered.
“And the others?” I asked.
“Sarah and Nathanial were at Raine’s home, trying to keep the colony together.”
“Well, they won’t be able to do that without a blood tie. Were either of them strong enough to call the others in?” Patrick’s nostrils flared and he rolled his eyes down at the computer screen which meant Jade was doing something to aggravate him on her end. Those two got on each other’s nerves like children.
“Nay, only Celeste woulda been powerful enough but I have’na seen her since that night.”
“Would one of those four have gone with Raine to retrieve the Chalice?” I asked.
“Oh, aye. But she dinna say who she was taking with her.”
“Well, there’s somewhere to start at least,” I said, glancing at Dean.
“Mmm.” He nodded.
“There in is the conundrum,” Patrick said, leaning back in his large leather chair. “The Chalice must be in the hands of one of them. But which one?”
“Mayhaps, but not Nathaniel,” Geneen offered.
“Why not?”
“Geneen informed us that the Chalice can only be handled by the ladies,” I said. “So, Nathanial is out.
“Really?” Patrick seemed intrigued as he glanced from me to Geneen. “Has anyone tested that theory?”
“Oh, aye. Raine did once and it wasn’t pretty. Poor Pascal.”
“What happened?”
“Melted,” Dean snorted.
“Excuse me?” Patrick asked.
“Evidently Pascal, that was his name, wasn’t it, Geneen?” I asked and she nodded. “Evidently, Pascal was very hard to get out of the carpets.”
“I had ta throw them out.”
With a wide-eyed blink and a deep breath, Patrick tented his fingers before his lips for a moment and then peered up at us. “Does this theory apply only to vampires or does it apply to all males?”
“After Pascal, none would touch it,” she said. “My mistress wouldna risk anyone else either.”
“The only decision she could make, I suppose,” Patrick added, almost to himself. “Thank you, Geneen. Booker,” he called, and without another word the vampire entered. “Geneen, this is Booker. He will take you back to Raine’s house and get your things. You’ll be staying here for the foreseeable future.”
Booker bowed. “Madam.” He held out his arm to her. She took it as if it was 1820 and he escorted her out. Booker closed the door behind them.
I walked over to the large television and clicked on the power again. “What do you think?” I asked everyone.
“Narrows it down,” Dean said.
“But what about Ev?”
“Well,” Kurt said from the screen, “Grimaldi sent us the information on the security system for the house. We found a pretty run-of-the-mill system which was too easy to hack into.”
“It wasn’t even a challenge,” Jade whined.
“Thanks for joining us,” I said, giving Kurt a hard time.
“Like I had a choice. She kept throwing things at me until I woke up,” he answered but the amusement in his voice was clear. He didn’t particularly mind.
“What aren’t you saying?” Dean asked.
“The system isn’t our problem.” Kurt answered his Alpha.
“So, what is?” I asked.
“The wards,” Jade answered.
“How do you know this? And are you sure?” Patrick’s tension mounted. Throwing Dean’s worry into the mix made the room stuffy and claustrophobic.
“Jade spotted the markings through the security cameras. They’re not very large but they’re placed throughout Konyam’s house which raised her hackles until she couldn’t let it go.”
I felt the tears burning at the back of my eyes and I staggered a bit on my feet. This couldn’t be. If it wasn’t one fucking thing, it was another. One more hurdle to overcome and I fought the sense of defeat from taking me under. With a deep breath, I slumped but caught myself on the edge of the desk as my knees turned to jelly. “Then . . . How can I . . .?” I couldn’t seem to finish a single question as the idea of losing Ev made my stomach tighten. I couldn’t lose him. The kid was like my shadow. I depended on him to be there. He depended on me to get him out of this mess. I couldn’t fail him like I’d failed so many.
“He’s okay,” Jade said, her voice soft and reassuring. “I’m looking at him now. They haven’t touched him.”
‘Do you know what the wards are protecting?” Patrick asked. “Is it merely for intruders or something more? With Baba Yaga in the mix, I want to have all the information we can before we make a move that we can’t undo.”
Jade rolled her eyes and spat, “This isn’t my first rodeo.”
“Don’t worry, Jade. That one was for me,” I said, crossing my arms and finding a little bit of strength in Jade’s confirmation that Ev was okay.
“Oh good,” Jade said, the harsh line of her mouth easing. “Anyway, I don’t know. The person I would’ve asked isn’t around anymore.”
“Oz,” I sighed.
I hadn’t liked Oz and she sure as hell didn’t like me but that didn’t mean she had deserved to die. Oz had been murdered with Brittany’s mother.
“Can you send me some pictures of the wards? I have someone I can ask.” I guess I was making a trip out to the bayou again and sooner than I’d thought.
Chapter 27
The vampire strode into Celeste’s private flat in the French Quarter, then loomed in the doorway like a ghost not yet ready to give up the haunt. His broad shoulders and long, lean torso took up most of the space in the doorway.
Celeste got to her feet quickly. Isidro didn’t make house calls without a reason.
“What are you doing, Celeste?” Isidro asked, his tone almost accusatory.
She circled the sofa, putting just a bit of distance between them. There were still a few hours before dawn and plenty of hotels to hide in. “I don’t know what you mean,” she answered flippantly.
“Don’t play coy, my dear. It doesn’t become you. Remember,” he add
ed, his malicious smirk twisting her stomach into knots as he closed the door behind him, securing the lock, “I know you . . .” He paused and then licked his upper lip. “Intimately.”
She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and released it. One week. It had been one week in the Maldives during WWII and he would never let her forget it. More importantly, he would never let her forget that he could tell Varick at his whim. She and Varick had each had lovers, but Isidro was different. Varick would kill her if he knew. He would . . . abandon her. It had been a lovely week with Isidro but not worth a lifetime of his gloating. Definitely not worth risking Varick. “Fine,” she snapped. “What do you want, Isidro?”
“Does he know?” he asked, skimming her body with his gaze. For a moment, she remembered what it was like to have his hands on her. “Does he know that he’s not the only one to have tasted you?”
She tried to block him out, to keep the fear from showing. Isidro played his games with the information he gleamed. Anything she could keep from him could only benefit her.
He clucked his tongue. “Of course he doesn’t. If he did . . .”
“Enough,” she snapped, tired of this game they played.
“Then why?” he asked simply.
“Did Raine’s death ruin your plans? Have your cogs stopped, Game Maker?”
“You know me,” he said with a quick smile and a nonchalant tone. “I always have another plan.” The smile disappeared from his eyes and he closed the distance between them, leaving the sofa as her only barrier. “Now, where’s the Chalice?”
“Even if I had it,” she said with a kitten-in-cream grin she knew lit up her eyes with mischief, “and I’m not saying that I do, what does it matter to you? You wouldn’t be able to take it from me.”
Isidro eyed her warily, narrowing his sharp gaze on her. She fought not to squirm. He tucked a piece of his dark chestnut hair behind his ear and then tapped his index finger on his bottom lip as if turning over a problem in his mind.
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