Golden's Rule

by Billi Jean

  The young Lykae cleared his throat and nodded to her when she glanced over. “Alex lost many of his family in the Vampire Wars.”

  Ah, Vampire Wars. That explained…nothing. She’d not read the history of Immortals 101. She knew the Vampire Houses tended to stand alone, good, bad, and just indifferent to the world around them. The king, this Aidan she’d heard Torque talking to on his cell, he seemed to want to cleanse the reputation of his kind, but Torque had shared with her that the male had an uphill journey he didn’t envy. Too many immortals equated vampires with evil.

  “Ah, and…”

  “Yeah, he wasn’t at the meeting so Alrick couldn’t tell him who would be here.” Shrugging casually, the younger wolf didn’t seem affected by the vampires near him. In fact, he and Jaxon bumped knuckles. Brown eyes like honey held hers when he turned back to her. “I’m Markee, my uncle is—”

  “The king, Alrick the old and stodgy,” Tabithia offered.

  The young wolf barked a laugh, clearly amused, not offended by Tabithia. “He has gotten grumpier in his old age.”

  “Oh? I’ve heard he wears his age well. All millionaire-studly,” Hunter said.

  Markee tipped his head to the side, like a wolf, Beauty thought, observing something interesting but not sure what it was. “I’ve no idea what that means, but if you say so, buttercup.”

  Tabithia choked on a sip of water and Aeros laughed, even Hunter sported a huge smile at Markee.

  Jaxon snorted and rolled his eyes, “My man, just don’t. Please. Just don’t.”

  Markee grinned, revealing two sharp canines with his pearly whites.

  “Oh? I think he should.” Hunter gave Markee a coy, come-hither look that set the wolf into an almost panic. He backed up, eyes wide, and watched Hunter like she’d snapped him on the nose, not come on to him.

  Tabithia laughed so long she had to clutch her stomach.

  Holy hell. If this was how all immortals acted, she would need some espresso just to keep up with them. When Torque met her eyes, she gave him a no-nonsense look.

  “Getting a little lost in here, babe. Care to fill me in on what is going on?”

  “Sorry sweet, I should have warned you we’d have a full crew. Markee is young and harmless. Jaxon and Bryson not so much, but you know that. Alex is pissed about the vamps and well, Aeros is with his witch, Tabithia—”

  “Babe, I got that, just get the wolf in here!”

  “Damn, I like you when you’re all—”

  “Torque, please.”

  Torque’s response was a soft caress down her back and him steering Alex to the opposite side of the room from the vamps, a consoling hand on his shoulder.

  “Alex, we’re glad you could join us. What we discuss here needs to be presented to everyone, if not? I don’t think we have a chance of surviving this storm.”

  Alex’s brown eyebrows drew down and he stopped in his tracks. “Aye? Storm? Or just one more bloody battle with the—”

  “Death Stalkers. We all know your opinion on vamps, save it,” Jaxon said. “This is much bigger than that ancient battle. The club we destroyed was only one among many. How many we can’t say, and really, that more than anything else is the vital piece of information we need to work on. Let’s get on with this so we can move on.”

  Alex lifted a lip at Jaxon, then ignored him to turn to Torque. “I can’t promise the aid of my clan if vampires are involved.”

  Tabithia snorted and sat forward, nailing Alex with a narrow-eyed glare. “Look, Alex, you’ve already managed to piss me off once. You’re not doing any better now. So, here’s the deal. I have an appointment, and let me tell you”—pausing, Tabithia sized Alex up with a sniff—“I am so not wasting time on stupid. Cowboy up, then you can go back to offending everyone.”

  Alex muttered something about nasty witches under his breath.

  Whoa.

  ‘Shit, this drama sucks, sweet, but this is the immortal world.’

  Tabithia speared Torque with her wicked green eyes and leant forward, pale long-fingered hands firmly planted on the shiny surface of the table. “Note to self, Torque. I’m a witch. That means, I can sense when you mind speak, so chill the love talk and get this meeting started.”

  Oh. Shit.

  Beauty couldn’t help it. She laughed. Torque just looked so highly offended by the witch. She couldn’t help it. Covering her mouth, she shook her head, trying to ease the giggles, but Tabithia waggled her delicate eyebrows and rubbed her knuckles on her black T-Shirt after blowing on them. Aeros laughed, obviously enjoying Torque’s shock.

  “Ah, fuck, don’t even start.” Jaxon grumbled but chuckled. “Give the guy a break, will ya, witch? So far, we got jack. The almost DS, both the kid and his sister, are safe, the high and mighty Lord is still not talking, and so far we have no deets on the weird wolf monsters with tiger heads.”

  “Tiger heads?” Beauty exchanged a worried look with Torque.

  “Almost DS?” Aeros asked.

  “Let’s not forget the hunky human crew sneaking a peek at us with their cams,” Hunter added. “I’m placing bets they’re undercover agents, like SEALs, or Rangers. Maybe even some deep, anti-terrorist cell thinking we’re the new enemy.”

  Everyone looked at Hunter’s eager expression for what felt like minutes, before Torque stiffened and cursed.

  Alex sat down heavily, blowing out a breath and said, “Shit, this is not good.”

  “You have no idea how right you are, my man.” Two men she’d never seen before entered, the blond one pausing as his words caused a stir.

  Both looked at Torque and nodded formally before doing the same to her. She swallowed past a lump in her throat. More people? Gods, she’d not got used to the ones already here and she had no idea what these two were. Fay? Warlocks? Vampires? Something said no. They smelt slightly of heat, if heat was a smell. The darker one seemed a blank wall, high and impossible to penetrate, the blond just as hard, but instead of a wall, the impression was more a maze of twists and turns.

  “Demons. Blond is known as Agni, dark one is Torment.”

  “Torment?’”

  “Don’t even think about reading them.”

  Aloud, he said, “Beauty, this is General Tor’ Sing, and his comrade, Agni Fe Tarra.”

  “Uh, yeah, Agni will do, Torque, but thanks.” Snapping his gum, Agni speared her with an appraising look. “Beauty, huh?”

  Agni’s intelligent hazel eyes met and held hers, sizing her up, she thought before Torque shifted next to her and broke the spell. The demon looked like some ancient gladiator in jeans and button-down.

  All the immortals in the room were good looking, the women, the men, but most especially, Torque. He radiated power, something he might not be aware of, but she doubted because he used it oh so subtly when he spoke. Torque was hard, but he was hard because when he cared, he cared deeply. Everyone in this room was here because he not only trusted them, but because he was willing to fight for them. It was why he wanted them fighting with him. Or at least some of them. Hunter, she could see why he hesitated. Everyone else in the room was either mated, thus in his eyes, protected, or was a male and would handle himself. Yeah, her man was old-fashioned.

  “You good, sweetheart?”

  “Yeah, I love you, you know? Proud of you, babe.”

  Something like shock trickled through their bond before he squeezed her hand gently, warmth coming from him, and if she wasn’t mistaken, he sat straighter. Men were odd. Didn’t she show him how much he meant to her on a daily basis?

  “I’ve heard of you from Bryson, he says you kicked some ass the other day,” Agni went on, clearly unable to sense they mind spoke.

  “Uh, I wouldn’t exactly say that, but thanks,” Beauty said.

  Agni gave her a lopsided grin and nodded. His blond hair fell over his brow making him look like some bad boy before he shoved it back impatiently with a hand. Taking a seat by Tabithia, he winked at the witch, ignoring Aeros’ death stare with what had to
be familiarity. “Hey, Red Hot, how’s it going? Spartan, cool the jets, dude,” he said.

  Tabithia rolled her eyes. “Fire, you are really odd, you know that, of course.”

  Agni merely grinned and settled back in his seat like he owned the place.

  Aeros bristled.

  Everyone else was in conversation. Markee seemed to be settling the older wolf down, while Jaxon spoke to Hunter. Bryson’s expression ranged from concern to humour as he listened in on the two.

  She jerked her concentration back to Torment only to take in that he’d been speaking to Torque while she’d been examining everyone in the room. He nodded again to her when their eyes met. “Tor, is what I prefer.”

  “Okay. Tor.” If she met one more person…

  “That’s it. Only two more and they can’t make it. A Fay, Gregory, busy with his own family, and Alrick, but obviously, he sent Alex. You’re doing good, sweetheart.”

  “Good, now…can you get them to listen?”

  The laugh that filtered through their bond was all Torque. The brat.

  “All right. There’s rumour of a great many events, but let me clear the air. And after, you can go back to your own and let them know what you will.”

  Everyone nodded at that, a few murmured but most simply waited, eyes on Torque.

  Torque was used to this kind of thing, she realised. Battle plans and council meetings. Planning the safety of so many. Setting his own life aside for the battle with the enemy.

  “We broke in and destroyed a Death Stalker lair. The club was new, but we think the lair had been in London for years. Long enough that there were tunnels underneath the club, linking it to some of the oldest parts of central London.”

  Torque nodded to Bryson and the vampire took up the tale. “We followed several of the tunnels, some dead ends, others not so much. Some of those not so much opened up into other establishments. Good news? None like the cesspool Torque and Jaxon stumbled into. We found and cleaned that one, so there’s one less.”

  “Meaning?” Alex asked. His strong face was set in a scowl and unlike the others, he gave off nothing. Not like the demons, but more like there was nothing, no emotions to read. Odd. The other Lykae emitted a sense of curiosity focused on the team, otherwise his emotions were steady and clear.

  “The place was jack, that’s what.” Hunter rolled her eyes like Alex wasn’t catching on quick enough.

  “Meaning”—Torque took over—“the place had several levels, so the club wasn’t alone. There are more. You know we rescued a wolf, what you don’t know is some of the immortals, and humans, that were tested and experimented on, were changed into some kind of creature.”

  “The wolf-tiger-monster,” Tabithia said, earning a grin from Jaxon for that, but not everyone else at the table shared the humour.

  “How many?” Aeros asked.

  “We have no idea. The tapes we took go back a long way. Years. Possible two score of changes,” Hunter offered.

  The older Lykae focused on Torque with a scowl. “Two score? What the hell? Are you saying that over the past forty years you think they’ve turned immortals into some kind of beast if they wouldn’t take the vows?”

  “We don’t know that. The tapes are…disturbing. Some of the prisoners we got out, Hunter was one of them. We think a few humans escaped with another immortal, but we can’t be sure. But what is clear is that this affects all of us.” Torque took a big deep breath and went on to say, “This changes things. This is one of many lairs.”

  Someone whistled. Aeros shifted in his seat, pulling one of Tabithia’s delicate hands into his. Jaxon frowned over at Bryson, then shot an odd look at her before moving on to look over at Torque.

  “This would be why I need to see the tapes, do a bit of voodoo, you know?” Hunter said, drawing Beauty’s attention away from Jaxon’s odd behaviour.

  “How’s that?” Torque asked, intense and focused on the witch.

  “Oy, you don’t know? Seriously man, never loan her your cell,” Jaxon said. “Never.”

  Hunter smirked at Jaxon and turned to stare at Torque, clearly not intimidated by him. “I can follow the lines of power from one source to the next. That’s how we found out about the humans from the States watching the club in London.”

  “Humans watching the club? I thought there were humans at the club as prisoners?” Alex look more pissed about the humans than the vampires.

  “Do the humans pose a threat? I mean, really?” Bryson asked, clearly not in the least worried.

  “Nah, Hunter has them all under control,” Tabithia said. “Torque, Hunter can follow the trail of a computer to another, find the branching out from there, where they’ve sent feed, emails, files, all of it and cut the line, destroy the feed.”

  A stunned silence fell on everyone. Even the two vampires quietly regarded Hunter.

  The young Lykae was the first to break the silence. “That’s pretty radical shit.”

  Hunter winked. “Thanks, you’re pretty hot too.”

  “Wait, that might end the feed, files and shit, but what about the humans watching, seeing the feed?” Alex demanded.

  “And who are the humans?” Aeros rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. “Were they watching the club for some reason?”

  Agni laughed. “Dude, humans wouldn’t know what to do if they did discover more about us, true?”

  “Can Hunter check into what they were doing and why?” Torque demanded.

  Hunter nodded. “Yep, but I won’t know until I get the tapes and do some research. Day, two tops.”

  “Damn.” Agni whistled low. “I’d like in on the progress.”

  “Sure thing, cutie.”

  “Ah, geesh, don’t feed his ego.” Tabithia grumbled at Hunter, then focused on Torque and sighed. “Look I’ll work with Hunter on this, but what can you tell us on the abductions? Hunter says she has no memory of anyone, until the room below the club. If they have the skill to trap a witch and a Lykae, we have to think this is much bigger. The humans are a pain in the ass, but the DS are the focus, right?”

  Torque didn’t respond at first, and she knew he wanted more on the new human aspect to the case, but finally he nodded. “I agree. But I want in on what the story is behind the human element. The Death Stalkers have pushed hard to increase their numbers, if they’re using humans now as well, we need to be more on top of this. The club is just one location. We need to discover where the others are.”

  “How did you figure this out, mage?” Alex demanded. He made it sound like Torque had hidden details from him. Beauty bristled, but under the table, Torque gripped her hand warmly.

  “I didn’t. I guessed. Beauty is going to go get some answers. Is everyone up to speed on what went down, and ready to move forward?” Torque asked.

  “You mean the part where you got tossed on your ass, and passed out like a girl?” Agni asked.

  “Hey!” Three females shot Agni a death stare. Tabithia tossed her dagger up and down, and eyed him like she was deciding what body part to slice off.

  “Would that be before or after you were flat on your back in an alley, a knife to your…parts?” she asked.

  “Throat, Red Hot, throat.” Agni frowned over at her, his golden looks darkening in something that might be embarrassment.

  “Huh, I’ve heard men prize all those dangly parts more, but…” Tabithia trailed off and laughter spilled through the group. Beauty joined in after only a brief hesitation. She liked Tabithia, the woman had spunk.

  “All right. Now that we have that cleared up, we need to focus here. The facts are the evil is spreading,” Torque growled, clearly losing his patience.

  Torment nodded. “True. I can feel it. The pressure, as if the evil is pushing on us, demanding its place. I’ve seen it before. The balance needs to be met, good versus bad, all that. Soon there will be more fighting, more lost loved ones. “

  Torque seemed to agree. His face darkened, and he pulled her hand to his lap.

  Eyes glintin
g obsidian in the light, Tor met each of their gazes in turn. “If the Death Stalkers created a way to force a change, for human or for immortal, we must find and destroy them, before they destroy the balance.”

  “And the humans at the club, if they were aiding the Death Stalkers?” Aeros frowned, shifting his jet-black hair off his brow irritably. “Then what?”

  “The humans were not involved, merely used. They believed they were simply doing what they were told.” When everyone zeroed in on Beauty, she nearly swallowed her tongue, but pushed on. “They were fed misinformation, much like the spells used on the club, to hide the oddly normal décor? The mage or mages used the same.”

  “Or mages?” Jaxon murmured, unwrapping a piece of gum. He stared at her steadily but spilled a piece of gum to Agni when the demon hit the vampire’s stomach.

  “Yes, there had to have been more than one. This was a big operation. There was the attacker when Torque was hurt, then the one in the room with Sydney. Two.”

  “Damn. She’s right. Possibly more. Vampires for certain. Sydney was turned. The mage can’t do that.” Bryson said.

  “Really?”

  “Really, sweet. It takes a vampire.”

  “And to turn an immortal into a beast-wolf-tiger?”

  Torque jerked a little and frowned at her. “Is that the only way a vampire can be created? What about feeding an immortal vampire blood?”

  Both vampires exchanged a look, but shook their heads. “No, not a chance.”

  “No?” Torque didn’t look impressed.

  “Look, not a chance. The blood has to be from the source. From a vampire source. Not a bag.” Jaxon put a bit more emphasis on bag then she thought necessary and for some reason Torque gave him a hard stare too before turning back to the group.

  “Doesn’t matter. For now, all we can do is wait. Beauty will find out what she can, if we get a name, we get a name.”

  Torque couldn’t have surprised her more if he’d suddenly sprouted two heads. Suddenly her stomach flipped around. He was going to let her question the Dark Lord. Only now, she wasn’t so sure she was ready.