by Kate Wendley
“I’m not accusing you of lying, but they want to confirm it.”
He rolled his eyes and looked away. “Very well.” He turned his attention back to Anthony then. “And what then? You know this won’t go down so easily.”
Anthony carefully said, “It goes down however it goes down, but you’re family and that means we protect you.”
Isaiah tartly snapped, “I heard you had a mutiny on your hands recently.”
Anthony narrowed his eyes at him. “Your point?”
He opened his hands in a questioning shrug. “I’m here, son. Let me help you.”
“With what?”
“With anything. I don’t need to be Master, but give me something to do. Please.”
He blurted out, “Don’t ever touch Kaia again.”
Isaiah looked surprised. “You mean the human?”
“I mean my fiancé.”
His eyes went even wider.
“She’ll be my vampire bride and you will never harm her again.”
“When will you turn her?”
Anthony tried to control his anger. “A month from now. Or maybe two. We’re going to wait for the bruises around her neck and arms to heal as well as give her time to say goodbye to her human life.”
Isaiah sat up straight and stiff. “I’ve already apologized for my actions, but you should know I was also quite crazed by the time I arrived at the club. You should be glad I’ve never beckoned you before. It’s a maddening experience. A constant craving to do something against your will that eats away at your insides until you can’t think straight. And after discreetly traveling through a ridiculous number of territories without being found out, we got stuck in Kingman, AZ with thralls everywhere. When I finally arrived here, you were nowhere in sight, and my Maker’s beckoning continued to make me insane as he insisted on not showing himself. The next thing I knew, your human lover was grabbing my arm, and I snapped.”
Anthony’s anger cooled slightly.
Isaiah awkwardly said, “I hope you’ll someday forgive me.”
Anthony sighed and looked around the room for a time, then back to his father. “I should’ve greeted you when you arrived… but I was upset with you.”
“I didn’t contact you over the years because I was trying to give you space. I was overbearing before and I didn’t want you to think I didn’t trust you on your own with the family.”
Anthony reluctantly smiled, then put his hand out. “Truce.”
Isaiah smirked and shook his hand. “Truce. And congratulations. I’m glad to hear I didn’t ruin things between you and your lover.”
Anthony stared at him a moment, then reluctantly told him about Dag giving her his blood to heal her bites. “I didn’t know it would make her his thrall. I thought there was much more to it than that.”
Isaiah sighed. “How bad is it? How is she around him?”
“She’s only bespelled when he’s very near. After realizing what happened, I ordered him to stay far away from her. He leaves immediately after he wakes and feeds each night. She doesn’t know, and neither does anyone else.”
“Do you trust him to continue to obey?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’ll help you keep an eye on her, just in case.”
Anthony felt like a heavy burden had finally been taken off his shoulders. He’d forgotten how much easier it was to talk to his father about certain things, even compared to Zach and Sebastian, because his father naturally understood what it meant to be vampire. Zach and Sebastian never would.
“Thank you father. It’s… good to have you back.”
**
While they waited outside for Ethan’s family to come over, Anthony’s gaze kept wandering to the greenway beyond the basketball court. He hadn’t been back here since the night he’d somehow healed himself by absorbing energy from the earth, and he didn’t even remember doing it. That had been the night of the attempt on his life by a handful of his vampires. Luckily for him, while he’d been focusing on healing himself after giving most of his life energy to the two wolves who’d been shot, his power that he normally kept tightly controlled was floating free and wild all around him. No one could even get close to him that night.
Of course Sebastian, Zach and Torin hadn’t known that right away when they valiantly came to his aid and tried to keep him safe. And even though Dag had said there were many vampires in the family who supported Anthony, he hadn’t heard of a one of them trying to defend his life. The most his allegedly loyal vampires had done was just not join the mutiny attempt. He supposed that was something at least. He didn’t really expect anyone who had to answer to him, no questions asked, to freely defend him, but it still put a sour taste in his mouth.
More disturbing, though, was the feeling he’d had since that night. He was changing, he could feel it, but it was subtle and he couldn’t put his finger on exactly how he felt different, just that he did. He’d obviously gained the power to speak to someone in their mind from the Vampire Mother, as well as the power to get into Kaia’s dreams, but he felt like he had that under control. Something else was still happening inside him.
He looked to his father again. As much as he didn’t want him to think he didn’t have a good grasp on things, it would also be nice to have another helping hand around here. He trusted his father with the family, even if his methods were sometimes quite different than Anthony’s, so he told him about the wolves embezzling money, and he told him who the vampires were that had tried to kill him. He even told him about the wolves that had been shot and the ones he’d saved from death.
But he didn’t tell him how he’d healed himself afterwards, not that even he understood it, or about the Vampire Mother that had visited him a month before that. As much as he wanted to trust his father, he’d been gone too long, and Anthony still questioned his judgement when it came to who he chose as friends. That was an age old issue between them, though, making it seem like his father hadn’t changed that much after all.
**
“You’re not facing him without me.” Harmony put her hands on her hips as she stubbornly scolded him.
Ethan frowned, his body so tense he was practically shaking. Harmony stepped closer, and he immediately looked away. When she put her hands on his shoulders, he at least didn’t pull out of her reach, but he still wouldn’t look her in the eye.
He reached up and toyed with a strand of her hair. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Why would I get hurt?”
Nothing but silence.
“You guys are just asking questions tonight, right?” She impatiently eyed him. “Right?”
“Stay here.”
“No.”
He gave her an intense look. “Yes.”
“No.”
He took a deep breath, then cupped her cheeks in his hands and kissed her. When he pulled back, he said with a frown, “Wear all your weapons.”
She sighed. “Of course I will, but Ethan honey… I’m not her.”
The lines on his face hardened into something close to real anger before he nodded and turned away.
**
Harmony was just sure she needed to be here with Ethan tonight, but now that they were actually at Anthony’s, standing outside staring at him and his father, she was tense and crazily paranoid, and she wasn’t sure why. The feel of Ethan’s anxiety as she stood with her arm looped through his didn’t help matters, but the feel of her dagger in the easy to reach hidden pocket along her thigh did.
Something about Isaiah gave her the bone deep creeps. Last night she wasn’t sure what the tingle up the back of her spine had been telling her. Tonight she knew it was him.
She imagined him charging her, grabbing her… staking her. Nothing was in his hands, though, so she had no idea why she’d think that. Maybe the stories about Sonya’s murder were freaking her out on a level she didn’t understand. She wasn’t any good at understanding psychobabble about her subconscious being able to tell her stuff, so she
was going to chalk this fear up to healthy paranoia. Standing in front of someone who’d once purposely killed a person should freak anyone out, right? Just because she was vampire and had seen some royally bad stuff in her life didn’t mean it should be normal. She didn’t want that kind of thing to be normal.
And Anthony was just as scary to look at and be around as he ever was, but now that she thought about it, he didn’t give her the creeps like his dad did. He just seemed… powerful. Not psycho.
Neither of them looked particularly nervous as Ethan’s vampires filled in behind her. Anthony sat in the middle of a picnic table as they all faced each other on the basketball court. Isaiah stood regal and composed a few feet beside his son. They both had long, dark hair, but Isaiah wore his tied back in a low hanging tail while Anthony’s was free and slightly turning in the cool night breeze.
She could feel Anthony’s attention heavy on her, and everyone else, even though he kept his eyes firmly fixed on Ethan. In fact, nothing moved on him besides his hair and his occasionally blinking eyes. Isaiah was more humanlike with his slight movements from random fidgeting. He looked less like the scary mannequin Anthony did, yet he disturbed her more.
Even more confusing was the fact that she felt like a traitor standing by Ethan’s side tonight. She didn’t really have a reason to feel that way except that Anthony had never been anything but respectful to her. Well, except for the accidental slip of his power last night. Still, even if he did scare her, she felt like she was spitting in his face with her presence here.
She tensed when he finally said, “Good evening Ethan.”
Ethan’s hand shook as he harshly gripped her arm. He’d been glaring at Isaiah, but somehow tore his venomous gaze away. With a clenched jaw he said, “Anthony.”
Ethan’s family of vampires all stood beside and behind her, except for George and Christopher who were on Ethan’s other side. Anthony had a group of vampires behind him and his father as well, ten plus themselves, the same number as Ethan. She knew Anthony had way more vampires than this, which helped calm her down to realize he must be trying to keep things equal between them.
Ethan snapped, “We’re here to ask your father questions about his time as a vampire hunter. Does he agree to answer?”
Anthony solemnly said, “He agrees.” A worried frown briefly appeared on his face but was quickly gone.
Harmony gave Ethan’s arm a squeeze because she knew this was incredibly hard for him. She just hoped it was only emotionally hard, not hard in that he was considering killing Isaiah or Anthony again tonight. Though she wondered how choked up she’d actually be if something happened to Isaiah…
“How many vampires did you kill as a human?” There was strength in Ethan’s voice even though his hand still shook.
Isaiah turned his nose up and tersely said, “I only killed one myself. I’ve seen others kill a vampire or two though.”
Harmony hadn’t paid attention to the similarities in Anthony and his father’s voices last night, but tonight she could hear it. They had the same pitch and tone, but it wasn’t identical, and Isaiah spoke in a much more haughty way.
A woman in Ethan’s family shouted, “Liar! You killed Emanuel!”
She raced towards Isaiah, but was soon screaming and running away as fast as she could, blood pouring down her face. Harmony hadn’t seen anything happen except that Anthony was now standing beside his father. Anthony’s eyes glowed and his long hair flew all around as he stood with his hand on Isaiah’s shoulder.
His hair calmed and he looked humorless when he said, “We’re starting with facts this evening. Ethan? Was my father lying? You would know better than anyone.”
Ethan hissed in anger at both of them. Harmony jerked in surprise at his quick, intense reaction, but she kept a tight hold on him.
Ethan finally snarled, “He’s telling the truth.”
Harmony could’ve screamed when Isaiah stupidly looked down his nose at them again. Was he trying to get killed tonight?
George bellowed as he stabbed angrily at the air in Isaiah’s direction. “More. We want more. Dates. Locations. Who you saw killed.”
Isaiah scornfully said, “How would I know who the vampires were? I was human at the time for Pete’s sake.”
Ethan grabbed George’s shoulder before he rushed Isaiah.
Anthony said in a warning tone at the same time, “Father.”
Isaiah scoffed and rolled his eyes, then straightened his spine and looked at no one in particular. “Fine. What do you want to know?”
**
Ethan stood back and let George and the others interrogate Isaiah while being thankful Harmony was here. She discreetly held him tight while he fought the uncontrollable shaking in his hands. Her presence helped remind him that even though this man had done a terrible thing, Ethan now wanted more than just blind revenge after years of feeling tortured and alone. Now he wanted love in his life again. He wanted Harmony.
But her being here also made him anxious and worried. For the life of him he couldn’t stop thinking about Isaiah racing over and staking her through the heart, and the scenario wouldn’t stop running through his mind.
When Isaiah had the nerve to say that vampire hunting had been a sport to many of his friends back then, that some took it seriously but some just saw it as a reason to get together and tell stories while going on a merry chase, he nearly lost it. Almost before Isaiah had finished saying that last bit, Anthony raced in front of his father again and said in frustration over his shoulder, “Father, please!”
Isaiah stepped out from behind Anthony and snapped, “What? They wanted to know the truth and that’s the truth. I’m not saying it was right and I’m not saying it was wrong.” Isaiah gave Ethan and his family all a harsh look. “I’m sorry about what I did to your wife, Ethan, but don’t try to pretend that every vampire then, or now, is so noble. There was a reason vampire hunting sprang up as a pastime in the first place.”
Ethan felt George’s instant rage and was struggling to use his power to keep him from rushing the bastard. “George, calm down. He’s right, even if he is being a horse’s ass.”
“Let go of me, dammit! I’m tired of listening to this poppycock.”
Ethan gladly released him as he continued to fight his shakes and anxious thoughts. George threw his hands up in exasperation and turned on his heel and left. He cussed and snapped at no one and everyone as he stomped back to the parking garage.
Ethan looked flatly at his family. “Are we good here?”
That maybe hadn’t been the best question to ask, but he was sick of listening to Isaiah talk about the old days just as much as George was. As infuriating as the man was, though, Ethan wasn’t sure he was ready to kill him, and he didn’t want to think about the reasons for that. He was Isaiah’s Maker, though, so that left him with the issue of what to do with the bastard.
Ethan turned back to Anthony and the small group of his vampires he had here tonight, then looked pointedly at Isaiah. “Stay away from me and my family.”
All scorn was gone from Isaiah’s expression when he solemnly nodded once. And just when Ethan thought the murderer was going to try to stare him down and play some kind of dominance game with him, he looked away.
For a brief, very brief moment, Ethan had the crazy idea to kill Isaiah just for the hell of it, and if Anthony didn’t like it, he’d kill Anthony, too. He quickly dismissed the thought when Harmony caught his attention by giving him another squeeze. He now realized that she’d been keeping him sane this whole time.
Ethan curled his lip at the lot of them, then turned into Harmony’s welcoming arms. “Let’s go.”
**
Harmony was glad to finally be tearing Ethan away from this madness after almost an hour of questioning. She did her best to keep Ethan calm, but he trembled the entire time they were there. That worried her, but then again, he’d just faced down the man from a three hundred year old horrific nightmare for the second time in only three night
s. And even though she’d never had anything to do with Isaiah before now, she was just as glad to get away from him.
“How about that drive? We’ll head north for a while in my Porsche and maybe I’ll let you drive back.”
“What?”
“Come on, let’s get out of here. I’m itching to take my girl out again. It’s been too long.”
Ethan didn’t look like he was in the mood for some fun, but she was tense, too, from all this life and death stuff lately, and needed a release.
He reluctantly smiled at her anxiousness. “All right. Let’s go.”
**
Harmony slid into her baby. It felt like forever ago since she’d last been enveloped in the snug bucket seat. She started the engine and smiled at the obnoxiously loud motor that sounded more like a household blender than the fine piece of machinery it was.
She reached for the custom made gear shifter that was smooth and perfectly fitted for her hand, then caught Ethan looking at her with a half smirk on his face.
“What?”
He shook his head. “Nothing, nothing.” He gestured for her to drive, go, or do something, so she put her baby in gear and carefully pulled out of her spot, then almost as carefully turned down the parking ramp.
Ethan seemed surprised at her lead foot when they made it out of the garage and onto the road. She really opened her up once she was outside the I-285 perimeter that surrounded the Atlanta metro area. She took the 19 north and Ethan laughed out loud when she floored it. She liked to see him smile like that and hoped the drive was distracting him from whatever was making him shake so bad tonight.
“Shit!” A deer bound across the highway in front of them and nearly clipped her front end. She slowed down and paid more attention to the woods on either side of them.
Ethan was mostly silent after that, but she didn’t feel the tense, angry vibe from him anymore. Not like when they were at Anthony’s. She took it slow and easy as they passed through some small towns, everything engulfed in thicker and thicker trees as they continued north.
Ethan started directing her after a time, guiding her westerly onto narrow, unpaved roads. She followed his directions, though she hoped he realized her car wasn’t made for off road driving.