It was all just so… Brick.
Nick didn’t know if it was reassuring or disturbing that Brick had changed so little.
Clearly, he hadn’t managed to shake his preference for the theatrical.
“Come here, Naoko,” the vampire said.
His voice was stern, borderline cold.
Nick felt his jaw harden all over again.
He recognized that tone.
“I don’t have much time,” he began, gruff. “I just have a few questions. I wanted to ask you—”
“Come here, Naoko. Now.”
Nick paused only a fraction of a second that time.
Still clenching his jaw, he walked directly to the chair where Brick lounged, doing his best to mask the limp in his hurt leg. He reached within a few feet of the older vampire and stopped, looking at him.
“Really?” Brick stared up at him, his crystal eyes showing a faint bloom of scarlet now. “Really, Naoko? This is how you greet me?” At Nick’s silence, his frown deepened. “What have I done to you, precisely, to deserve this level of disrespect?”
Nick exhaled, not thinking about how it was a human mannerism as he answered.
“I really don’t have time for this, Brick,” he said. “If you don’t want to talk to me—”
“Oh, but I very much wish to talk to you, my darling boy,” Brick drawled, swinging his foot lightly from where his leg hung over the chair’s arm. “After you grant me the fucking respect I am owed… as your goddamned sire.”
The open threat in his voice made Nick flinch.
Nick measured the other’s face, and realized he wasn’t kidding.
He fully expected Nick to kiss the ring.
In fact, he might fucking hurt him if he didn’t.
Feeling his jaw harden for real, Nick sank smoothly down to one knee. He bowed his head, resting his hands on his raised thigh.
“I apologize,” he said, gruff. “I meant no disrespect.”
Brick didn’t answer at first.
Nick didn’t raise his head, but continued to stare at the floor.
It may have been a long time, but one never forgot the protocols. He hadn’t really expected to have to go back to Discipline 101, like he had those first few years after being turned. He probably should have expected it.
Thinking about it now, he should have expected nothing different, given who Brick was, and how he’d been when Nick last saw him.
“Can I ask my questions?” Nick said, still staring at the floor. “I do not wish to take up your valuable time.”
The silence stretched again.
Then Brick let out a low growl.
“My valuable time,” he said, his voice a cold-sounding muse. “An interesting attempt to sound polite, but one that, again, implies disrespect.”
Nick frowned. He shook his head. “No.”
“Are you human entirely now, my child? Your mannerisms certainly imply it.”
Nick’s jaw hardened enough to hurt.
Keeping his voice low, he shrugged. “It makes things easier. Less complicated.”
“Only if one fears them,” Brick said, his voice holding contempt. “Only if one chooses to grovel within their rules… to beg them for acceptance. Even for love.”
Nick didn’t answer.
When the silence stretched, he wondered if that was a mistake, too.
Clearly, Brick wanted something from him.
He wasn’t going to let Nick off the hook until he got it.
“What is it that you wish from me, father?” Nick said, his voice deliberately subdued. “What is it I can do for you?”
“You can suck my cock, for one,” Brick said, his voice cold. “You can let me feed off you, to show me you still are devoted to me, child… that you are not here for any reason that would ever harm me or mine, directly or not.”
Nick fought to keep the reaction off his face.
After a pause, where he still stared at the floor, he shook his head, once.
“I can’t do that,” he said, keeping his voice subdued with an effort. “I am sorry, father, but I cannot. I am with someone now. We are exclusive. I share blood with only them. I will not break that vow. I know my father would not ask me to.”
The silence grew leaden.
Nick waited through it, bracing himself.
Truthfully, he had no idea how Brick might react to that news.
He didn’t even like saying it; he didn’t like mentioning Wynter at all.
At the same time, he knew Brick was in no way trying to shock him by asking for a blowjob. He absolutely meant it, and he absolutely would have fed on Nick while he did it, and read him through the blood as much as Nick allowed.
It wasn’t like he’d never demanded it of Nick before.
So Nick just knelt there, waiting.
He didn’t fully realize how tense he was until Brick shifted in the chair above where he knelt. At the sudden creak of the vampire’s metallic-sheened pants, Nick flinched almost violently, nearly leaping to his feet.
He didn’t, though.
He didn’t even look up.
He forced himself to remain still, to keep his facial expression blank, his eyes on the Persian rug at the foot of Brick’s chair. He fought to maintain that exact position even as he continued to hear the vampire shift and move in the high-backed chair above.
He half-expected Brick to strike him, if only for the electrical charge he now felt in the air between them.
It wouldn’t be the first time that had happened, either.
The vampire didn’t hit him, though.
Instead, he resettled in his Alice in Wonderland-style chair.
“Go on, then,” Brick said, his voice back to cold, holding a faint edge of boredom. “Ask your questions, Naoko.”
Nick kept his eyes on the floor.
“There is a technology,” he said, cautious. “I am told it is new. Possibly for sale right now on the black market. I have reason to believe it’s either made of, or derived in some way from vampire venom. A human and a vampire seem to be in control of it, although that is unverified. It is possible they paid to have it developed, or perhaps stole it, then tried to sell it to other parties. That human is now dead—”
“Abe Silverton,” Brick said.
Nick flinched.
He frowned, still staring at the rug.
“Yes.” He fought with whether to look up, then decided against it, figuring it was better to err in the direction of submissive. “You know of this tech then, father? Would you mind telling me about it?”
There was a silence.
Then Brick chuckled, once more adjusting his body in the velvet-upholstered chair.
“So, as usual, the human authorities haven’t a clue what’s actually going on,” Brick mused. “Why should I be surprised?”
He fell silent, perhaps observing Nick for reaction.
The vampire’s voice grew more melodious then, filled with a mock regret.
“Ah, Naoko. Why do you waste your time, working for these blood-bags? You could actually be a part of history… rather than following along after events, cleaning up the detritus left behind by your betters, long after the significant moments have already passed.”
Nick frowned, trying to decide if he should speak.
Often, with Brick, it was better to just remain silent.
His sire had always been fond of talking.
Listening interested him less.
Even as he thought it, the older vampire sighed dramatically.
“If you are asking me if we are the current owners of this ‘technology,’ as you call it… the answer is no. We have no need to be involved in this, my son. This is human business. As I have always said, if the humans take it upon themselves to kill one another, it is often best to simply stand out of the way. Ironically, they are far better at this than we are… perhaps because they are not capable of the deep remorse and compassion we feel. They are simply not built that way. The poor dears can’t help it.
”
Nick didn’t move.
He didn’t change expression.
He fought past the last part of what Brick said.
He happened to know Brick wasn’t just trying to pull his chain with the racist comments. He meant them, likely every word, at least while he said them. Brick had about as much compassion for humanity as your average hawk did for the rabbit.
Moreover, Nick knew better than to argue with any of Brick’s affectations, or his bizarre attempts at philosophizing. Honestly, Nick didn’t know if Brick even had a cohesive ideology, or if he simply pulled things out of his ass whenever it suited his purposes.
Nick wasn’t sure it even mattered.
For this, and many other reasons, he ignored the editorializing and focused strictly on the first part of what his sire said.
“Do you know who the human parties are?” he ventured cautiously.
“You want to know who is setting off these bombs,” Brick said, matter-of-fact. “You came here, after ignoring me for years. Even after my most generous aid last month, even after my granting of permission for you to partake in the fights, using my name… you come here only now. Not to greet me. Not to ask how I am. Not to partake in a meal with me. Nor to share blood. Not for sex. Not for fucking anything relevant to our kind… but only to ply me for information. Information you would have, freely, Naoko, if you had not left me.”
His voice hardened, shifting to an open contempt.
“You come here for this. To ask me about human business. Business I have just told you does not concern me or my people. Business that is beneath us, as it should be beneath you. You are not only a vampire, Naoko… you are the son of a king.”
Nick felt his jaw harden.
He kept his voice low, deferential.
“I came for advice, father. For your vast expertise. For your help in a situation where I am unable to discern the truth on my own—”
“Bullshit.”
Nick glanced up, unthinking, and found the vampire smiling down at him, his glass-like eyes as hard and empty as ice.
Nick returned his gaze to the rug.
“…Pardon my language,” the vampire drawled. “But you always were velvet-tongued when you wanted something, Naoko. You’ve made me quite grumpy, though. You pretend subservience, but you forget… you are mine. You belong to me, Naoko. You know this, deep in your blood, yet you still harbor this conceit that you can lie to me. That you can play the part of dutiful son without meaning an iota of it, and I will not discern the difference.”
Nick shook his head. “No.”
“No?”
Nick’s jaw clenched. His mind turned over words.
“I may have erred,” he said after a beat. “…In coming when I have insufficient time to make this a more social call, in addition to requesting your aid. Since I did not have that time, I chose not to insult your intelligence by pretending a social motive when I desperately require your help, and have little time to obtain it. I am already late for a responsibility to my current role. I wished to speak with you first—”
“Your current role.” The lounging vampire let out a contemptuous sound. “As a Midnight? Lap dog to the humans?”
Nick felt his fingers tighten on his thigh, in spite of himself.
“Yes,” he said simply. “Although I have reason to believe my own life is at risk in this instance. It is possible I am being targeted by these humans. Or by someone involved.”
“Straven?” Brick said, his voice arch. “You think that human-grubbing addict is trying to kill you, Naoko?”
There was a silence.
Then Nick shrugged.
“I honestly don’t know. I just know this is bigger than I first thought. Bigger than my employers are perhaps capable of seeing clearly. I wished for some perspective from you. I hoped to glean—”
But Brick exhaled in impatience, cutting him off.
“I know what you wish to know, Naoko.”
There was a silence.
When that silence stretched, Nick frowned.
“You know. But you won’t tell me?”
Making another openly annoyed sound, Brick rose abruptly to his feet.
Keeping his head down, Nick followed his sire with his eyes, watching as he walked over to the credenza, grabbing a rocks glass from the top, and a handful of ice cubes from the brass and wood-paneled bucket sitting there.
Nick watched him splash vodka over that ice.
Brick walked his drink back to the chair, and draped himself over the high-backed furniture in a single, fluid move.
“Have you really grown so stupid, Naoko?” the vampire said. “Must I spell this out for you?”
Nick didn’t move.
He also didn’t speak.
Brick shook his head, combing his fingers through his long hair and shaking his mane-like locks before taking a longer drink of the vodka.
“What is it that our venom does?” Brick said, making his voice exaggeratedly patient, as though he were speaking to a small child. “To humans, Naoko. What is it that our venom does to humans?”
Nick frowned.
He didn’t bother to answer the question directly, though. He knew Brick well enough to know that even his theatrics wouldn’t be only that. Brick loved seeding information into the most superficial, the most trivial-seeming things he said and did.
His sire was a lot of things, but slow-witted wasn’t one of them.
“Humans want to use it to control other humans,” Nick said, his voice cautious.
Brick laughed. “That would be a lot of venom—”
“Assuming they used venom,” Nick said, frowning. “Versus simply finding the properties in our venom that did what they wanted, and then synthesizing those properties directly. They’d want control over the supply… and likely a more efficient means of delivery.”
There was a silence.
Then Brick chuckled.
“I am glad they have not dulled your wits entirely, my son,” Brick said.
“Who?” Nick said, forgetting the subservient note to his voice. “Who is the buyer, Brick?”
The vampire shook his rocks glass, swirling the clear liquid around the chunks of ice at the bottom of his glass.
Nick had looked up without realize he’d done it that time.
He found himself staring at the glass.
He also found himself thinking he understood.
“Russia,” he said. “Or someone in the Russian Protected Areas. Vampires, or—?”
“I already answered that question, Naoko,” Brick said, his voice containing a warning. “You know how I hate to repeat myself.”
Nick fell silent.
Thinking about that, about what the vampire was telling him, he frowned.
“So, someone in the human world is looking to consolidate power. They plan to use this… whatever it is… drug? Bio-weapon? Presumably to subdue the human population in some way. Obviously, this wouldn’t work on vampires—”
“Obviously,” Brick agreed, tilting his head back and sucking more vodka off the ice.
Nick checked the timepiece in his headset.
Forty-six minutes had passed since he’d last spoken to Wynter.
“Do they have it?” Nick said, blunt. “The Russians. The ones threatening Straven. Do they already have access to the tech?”
Brick was already clicking his tongue at him, shaking his head.
It wasn’t quite the sound seers used to make; it was more of the “tsk-tsk” sound Nick associated with humans.
It caused Nick to flinch anyway.
It also caused him a flush of paranoia as he wondered if Brick already knew more about Wynter than he’d wanted to contemplate.
“Ah, Naoko,” Brick said, sighing. “Think. Think, little brother.”
Nick glanced up at him, in spite of himself.
That time, Brick only smiled.
“No,” his sire said, still smiling down at him. “Of course they do not have it. Why would they
be blowing up pretty buildings, trying to obtain this thing, if they already possessed all of the information and materials they desired?”
Pausing, the dark-haired vampire sank deeper into his chair.
“You would do best to stay out of this, my Naoko, until they do obtain it.” Swirling the last of the vodka in his glass, Brick sighed again, his voice holding a mock regret. “I would hate to see you killed in the cross-fire, my son, all because you couldn’t simply leave human business to humans.”
Grunting, he added,
“I also do not have the time or the patience to be continually pulling your ass out of the fire, Naoko, if you insist on involving yourself in human stupidity.”
Nick didn’t answer.
“Was there anything else, brother?” Brick queried politely. “Have I exhausted my usefulness for you? Or was there something else you wished to ask me?”
Nick found himself biting back questions he did have.
Like just how closely his sire was watching him.
Like just how much Brick knew about the humans’ intended purpose for this so-called “tech” of Straven’s.
Like who developed that tech in the first place, and whether others had it.
“Had Silverton already sold it?” Nick said finally. “To whoever this ‘interested party’ is within the Russian Protected Area?”
When Brick didn’t answer immediately, Nick glanced up.
His sire frowned at him, swirling the last slivers of ice at the bottom of his glass.
“You are in over your head, little brother,” the vampire said, his voice suddenly serious. He spoke so quietly, his words were obviously meant for Nick alone. “Come back to us. Come back to us before it is too late, my love… before the humans begin exercising their destructive impulses all over again. You must know it is coming. You must see at least some of the signs, even surrounded by ignorant humans.”
Nick frowned back at him, holding his gaze.
Still, he could not miss the seriousness there, or the genuine warning he heard in his sire’s voice.
He sounded almost…
Concerned.
“Bring your mate with you,” Brick said, winking at him as he raised the glass, downing the last swallow of alcohol. “They are certainly welcome to join you here.”
The Prescient: A Science Fiction Vampire Detective Novel (Vampire Detective Midnight Book 3) Page 25