by Karen Lynch
“Okay. Um, what should I call you?”
“We don’t use most of the familial terms humans do, so you can call me Tristan.”
“Not Lord?”
His smile grew. “That is my formal title, but everyone here calls me by my first name.”
I returned his smile, feeling a little more at ease. “I have to tell you it feels very weird to have a grandfather who looks a few years older than me.”
Tristan chuckled. “I can imagine.” He settled back against the couch. “Why don’t you tell me about yourself, if you want to, that is?”
I started with my early childhood. Tristan’s smile faded when I spoke of Madeline leaving us when I was two, but it returned when I described my dad and recounted the many ways he had made my life so full and happy. I told him about my dad’s love of books and his penchant for creating games to encourage my interest in reading and music and poetry.
When I talked about losing my dad, Tristan waited quietly while I struggled to get through it. I told him about my life in New Hastings with Nate and my friends – human and nonhuman. I made sure he understood that my life there had not been an unhappy one and that it had taken a Master to drive me from my home.
Tristan began to talk about himself then, and I was shocked to learn he was born in sixteen eighty-four. He told me about growing up in England with his parents and older sister, Beatrice, training to be a warrior and then travelling around Europe and living at various strongholds. I discovered that he had been to almost every corner of the earth, he was the youngest member to ever join the Council at the ripe old age of thirty, and he spoke fourteen different languages, including a few words of Troll. He met my grandmother, Josephine, in Paris in eighteen sixty-one, and she moved back to America with him.
When I asked him where Josephine was, he grew quiet before he told me she was killed during a raid on a vampire nest in southern California in nineteen thirteen. Their scouts had misjudged the size of the nest, and when Josephine’s team of six went in, they were overwhelmed and only one of them made it out.
“It was a very dark time for me, and I might have done something reckless and gotten myself killed if it were not for Madeline. She was only ten, and I could not leave her without a parent. Nikolas took a team and wiped out the nest. He avenged Josephine for me because I could not leave my daughter, and he brought her body home to us.”
“People here talk about Nikolas like he is some kind of superhero, but they seem almost scared of him, too.”
“But you are not?”
I couldn’t deny how good a warrior Nikolas was, having seen him in action more than once. “He is pretty good, but don’t tell him I said that because he’s arrogant enough already. He’s way too bossy, but there’s nothing scary about him.”
“Our young people grow up hearing stories about Nikolas’s missions and his fighting skills, so it’s natural they look up to him. He is a fierce warrior, and there are few who could stand up to him when he sets his mind on something.”
“No kidding. Been there, got the T-shirt.”
Tristan laughed heartily. “In the short time I’ve known you I can already see why you were such a challenge for him. You seem to have a very strong sense of self and a quick mind. And you are not easily intimidated.”
“I guess I had to grow up fast.” I didn’t tell him I struggled every day to figure out who I was and it wasn’t getting any easier. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yes.”
“I know you guys are looking for the Master, but every time I ask someone about it they tell me not to worry. Will you tell me what you’ve found so far?”
He gave me an indulgent smile. “You don’t need to worry about him anymore.”
“See, you’re doing it, too.” I threw up my hands in frustration. “I’m not a five-year-old, and I didn’t move here to be coddled and kept in the dark about things that affect me.”
Tristan was taken aback by my outburst, and silence stretched between us. “You’re right. I’m sorry,” he said at last. “We are naturally protective of our young people, and we don’t include them in such things until they become warriors. It is a dangerous world, especially for our kind.”
I watched his gaze move to the portrait of the beautiful blond girl with the dainty, heart-shaped face and angelic smile. Pain flicked across his face, long enough for me to realize who she was. Nikolas had once mentioned Madeline’s aunt who was killed by vampires a long time ago, and there was no mistaking the resemblance between Tristan and the girl in the painting.
“Just because I want to know what is going on it doesn’t mean I will go out looking for trouble. Trust me; I plan to stay as far away from that vampire as I can.”
He came out of his reverie. “We cleaned out three nests in Nevada and two in California that we suspect belonged to him, but so far we have found no clues to his identity or his whereabouts.”
“I guess he wouldn’t be a Master if he was easy to find, would he?”
“I have hunted six Masters during my life, and this one is the most evasive by far. We did not even know of his existence until you told Nikolas about him.”
“Six Masters? Did you get them all?”
“Yes, and we will get this one, too,” he replied with conviction. “I just don’t know how long it will take. Today’s technology makes it easier to follow leads, but it also makes it easier for someone to disappear if they are good enough.”
The phone on his desk rang, interrupting us. When I glanced at my watch I was surprised to see that nearly two hours had passed. Tristan stood, wearing an expression of regret. “That would be my reminder that I have a Council call in five minutes. I hate to cut our time short.”
“I understand. We can talk again some other time.”
“I’d like that very much.”
We were walking to the door when my eyes lit on his large bookcase, reminding me of the strange man in the library. “Two nights ago, I went into a small library on the second floor of the east wing and I met a man who was upset about me being there. He didn’t look like a warrior. I mean, there was something different about him. I think he was sick.”
“Did he frighten you?” He didn’t ask what the man looked like, so he obviously knew who I was talking about.
“No, he was pretty agitated though. There was one point where I thought he was going to freak out, but he was mostly rude.”
He looked amused. “His name is Desmund, and he lives in that wing. He has been suffering from illness for a long time, so you’ll have to excuse his bad behavior.”
“Oh, I should have known. I heard there was a sick warrior living in the wing, but I assumed he was on the first floor.” I felt terrible. I’d upset a sick man who probably needed peace and quiet so he could recover. No wonder he’d been so irritable.
Tristan’s chuckle took me off guard. “Desmund has been closed off up there for too long, and it will do him some good to be around other people.” He opened the door for me. “Desmund’s had a very long and interesting life, and he was a different person before he became ill. I think you will like him when you get to know him.”
“Maybe I will.”
“Feel free to use that library whenever you wish. He can be difficult at times, but don’t let him drive you away. I think you will be good for him.”
I made a face. “Great, just what I needed, another difficult warrior.”
Chapter 4
“DO YOU KNOW what this is about?” I asked Olivia, walking beside her around the back of the main building. When we’d arrived at the training wing a few minutes ago, we found a notice telling all trainees to head to the arena. I’d never seen anything here resembling an arena, and I was starting to wonder if this was some kind of joke on the new girl.
Olivia pointed to the left of the menagerie at a square stone building about as big as a small church, with a domed roof like the one on the menagerie. Tall thin windows covered by iron bars shaped like leafy vines lined the side f
acing us, and I could see an arched doorway framed with the same decoration. Standing in front of the building were the other trainees, Sahir, and the woman who had come into the training room with Tristan several days ago. Everyone but me seemed to know her, and it was obvious from the infatuated stares from the boys that she was very popular among them.
“Who is that?” I asked Olivia, who made a face.
“That’s Celine. She lives in Italy, but she comes here three or four times a year. God, I hope she’s not training us.”
We reached the group before I could ask her what she meant. Celine stopped talking to the assembled trainees when we arrived, and I was taken aback when her frosty green gaze settled on me. “Now that everyone has decided to show up, we’ll get started, shall we?” Her attention shifted back to the others. “Today we are going to add a little practical training, so I hope you studied hard in school.”
An excited murmur rippled through the other trainees, and Sahir stepped forward, his dark eyes sparkling. “Before your imaginations run away with you, you are not going to be facing a vampire or anything that dangerous.”
Celine walked to a cloth-covered cage I had not noticed. “We are going to start you on something less life-threatening.” She pulled the cloth back to reveal a brown rat-like creature the size of a pug with large curved incisors and clawed feet huddled inside the cage. Unlike a rat, it had a short stump of a tail and yellow eyes.
“This is a bazerat, for those of you who are not familiar with them,” Sahir said. “They are found mostly in the Amazon where they live off snakes and birds. They have been known to attack humans if provoked. They are sometimes bred in captivity, and they can be quite dangerous in the wrong hands. One bazerat is not much to look at, a couple of them are a nuisance, but a pack of them is like a school of piranha when they pick up the scent of blood. I have seen a pack of thirty or so bazerats kill and consume a twenty-five foot anaconda in less than an hour.”
Celine smiled as her eyes moved over our group. “Fortunately for you, you will not have to face a whole pack today. You each have to face only a pair of bazerats, a task I’m sure most of you will have no trouble completing.” I couldn’t help but notice that she was looking at me when she said the last part and her smile had become more of a sneer.
“Oooh, someone doesn’t like you,” whispered Jordan close to my ear. I started to ask her what she meant, but Celine spoke again.
“Here is how we’ll do this. One by one you will enter the arena where we will release two bazerats. Your task is to neutralize them. Before you go in, select your weapon of choice from the pile by the door, but remember bazerats are fast, so choose wisely.”
The group of trainees surged forward to find weapons, and I was left standing alone in front of Celine. “You want us to kill them?” I looked from Celine to Sahir, and they both nodded. “Why?”
“Why?” Celine repeated as if she couldn’t understand the question. “Because they are vermin and they would not hesitate to kill you.”
“But they only kill when they are hunting for food or when they feel threatened, right? They are no danger to anyone now.” I pointed at the bazerat in the cage. “That creature is terrified of us.”
Celine arched a perfect eyebrow. “Would you rather we had you face the entire pack to make it feel more dangerous to you? This is how we train. Think of it as a sport.”
My nostrils flared, and I shook my head. “I don’t kill for sport.”
The other trainees had joined us again, holding their weapons, and they quieted when they heard my declaration.
Celine’s lip curled. “How do you expect to be a warrior if you can’t kill? Do you think vampires will cut you a break because you won’t kill them?”
“I have no problem killing in self-defense. I’ve already killed two vampires.” I ignored the whispers around me. “But these creatures are not vampires. They’re not even malicious.”
“You’ll change your tune when you face a couple of them with no bars between you. In fact . . . ” She put a manicured finger to her chin. “Why don’t you go first?”
“Fine by me.” I saw a flicker of surprise in her eyes. Did she expect me to refuse, to run away? I started for the door of the building, but stopped when someone grabbed my arm.
Terrence pushed a knife into my hand. “Don’t be stupid,” he said when I tried to refuse it. “You don’t have to use it if you don’t need to, but don’t go in there without some protection.”
Nodding, I gave him a small smile and took the knife, immediately noticing that it felt different in my hand than the one Nikolas had given me. This one was larger and heavier, and the blade had a jagged edge instead of a smooth one. I held it flat against my thigh as I pulled the door open and stepped inside.
The door shut behind me with a loud click, and I found myself in a short hallway that opened into a large room. It was much darker inside the building and the only light came from the windows, but it was enough for me to make out the bleacher-style seats on three sides of the room and the polished wooden floor beneath my feet. The floor in the middle of the room was roughly thirty feet long and wide, and in the very center sat two empty crates.
“Great,” I muttered, scanning the room for the bazerats. It was difficult to see anything in the deep shadows beneath the seats, so I stood still listening for movement. All I could hear was my own breathing. There was a shuffling sound as something moved beneath the seats to my left. I looked that way, but it was impossible to distinguish between shadows and the dark shapes of the bazerats.
From the other side of the room came the scratch of claws on wood, and I caught a glimpse of two glowing yellow eyes beneath a seat. How the hell did he get over there so fast?
I jumped when I heard a sound on my right again, and I whipped my head around in time to see a second pair of eyes peering out of the shadows. The hair stood up on the back of my neck as my heart sped up.
I clenched the knife in my fist, glad now that I had taken it from Terrence, and walked slowly toward the center of the room where the crates sat. There was nothing to be afraid of. If they attacked, there were only two of them and I had a very sharp blade. I would just rather not kill something if I could avoid it.
Hell, maybe I wouldn’t even need to use the knife. I’d used my power to calm a crazed werewolf and two hellhounds, so surely it would work on these little creatures. I hoped so, because if I had to rely on my fighting skills, I might as well serve myself up to them on a platter.
That’s not true, a little voice inside me argued. You fought off a crocotta and killed Eli. You are not weak or helpless.
I stood up straighter. For some reason, Celine didn’t like me, and she was out there waiting for me to fail. But I wasn’t weak, and I certainly wasn’t a coward. She wanted these things neutralized, and that is exactly what she was going to get.
“All right, guys, I really don’t want to hurt you and I know you’d probably rather be in home in the jungle, but none of us can change that right now. So what do you say we make a truce so we can all get out of here?”
The bazerat to my left gave a low hiss that did not sound friendly.
“Okay, so no truce. Suit yourself.” I walked slowly toward the hissing as I released my power into the air around me. When I was three feet from the seats, I stopped. My plan, if it worked, was to draw the creature to me. It was certainly preferable to going under those seats after it.
A loud thumping made me jump, and my heart leapt in my throat before I realized it was someone banging on the door.
“Are you taking a nap in there or what?” Celine called, and I could hear the laugher in her voice. “If you need some help, just let us know.”
“No thanks. I’m doing great,” I called back, wishing it was true. I peered under the seats and thought I saw a patch of darkness that might be the bazerat, but I couldn’t be sure. I bet the others will have no problem seeing in here. Callum kept telling me that my vision and hearing would be enhanced
if I learned to use my Mori’s power.
“Hey there, little guy. Why don’t you stop all that noise and come out here so we can become friends?” I sent a wave of power toward the spot where I believed the creature was. “I know you’re scared of people after they put you in a cage and I don’t blame you for being upset, but I won’t hurt you.” If you don’t hurt me.
Something shuffled under the seats, and I was about to smile when I realized that instead of approaching me, the bazerat was moving away from me. I frowned. When had a creature ever run from my power? I didn’t know anything about bazerats except for what Celine had told us, but they looked like large rodents and I knew for sure that my power worked on rats.
I moved forward until my hand was touching the seats. Then I bent and strained to see through the darkness. It looked like I was going to have to go in after it. Wonderful. No so long ago, I had stood up to my chest in freezing sea water facing a pack of possessed wharf rats. I’d rather go back and do that all over again than go under these seats. If I could get close enough to touch the bazerat, I should be able to calm him – if he didn’t try to eat me first. I just hoped the other one kept his distance until I worked my magic on his brother.
The world sounded hollow under the seats, and every move I made seemed to resonate in my ears, though I was going as quietly as possible. It wasn’t as dark as I thought now that I was down here and my eyes were getting used to the gloom. Light from the windows made its way between the seats to create lighter patches, and I tried to stick to them as much as possible. Unfortunately, the bazerat kept away from them, which meant I was going to have to leave them as well.
All right, where the heck are you? I stopped and listened, but the room was silent. Taking two more steps, I stopped again and stared ahead of me at the dark shape huddled a few feet away. It wasn’t running away so at least that was something. Now if it would only stay still . . .