The Fires of Tartarus

by Emma V. Leech

  Chapter 26

  It took all of my diplomatic skills to get Remé back in the house. It took blackmail and the threat of reprisals to make Inés apologise and play nicely.

  “Alright, luv?”

  I looked up to see Rodney watching me. I was still sitting in the study, my forehead resting on Corvus' desk. Everyone had left a good twenty minutes ago, but I couldn't summon the energy to move.

  “Oh, yeah,” I said, giving him a half-hearted smile. “Just got a bit of a headache after a morning spent with psychopathic witches. I didn't sleep very well either.”

  He snorted. “Well the bleedin' vamps will do that to yer. No chance of a decent night's kip. Not 'ad one meself since I was turned I reckon.”

  I laughed. “No, I don't suppose you have.”

  He propped himself on the corner of the desk, the chains on his belt chiming slightly as he moved. “Why not pop upstairs now, put yer feet up. You look done in. I'll bring up a cuppa a bit later if you like?”

  I nodded gratefully and yawned. “Thanks, Rodney. I'll do that.”

  He walked out, and I followed a few moments later and got to the bottom of the stairs before reality hit. I had too much to do to sleep. Cursing, I headed back to the study. I could just lie on my bed and read another few chapters of Bloodlines: The Great Families of the Vampire Empire if I could keep my eyes open. I reached over the desk to grab the massive tome and then cursed as it slipped from my grasp and fell with a crash behind the desk. Muttering and cursing, I got on my hands and knees and crawled under the desk and pulled the book towards me. I started to get up as voices approached, misjudged how far under I had crawled and banged my head on the desk. Sucking in a breath, I just sat quietly as the stars and the pain subsided and the voices became familiar.

  “What's this about, Kai?” Rodney asked, his voice perplexed. From my cramped position I could just see Kai, leading him by the hand into the room and shutting the door behind him. “I really should be ...”

  I groaned inwardly, realising I was trapped and cursed Rodney for being so bloody blind as he was pushed with surprising force up against the shut door and Kai moved in for the kill.

  I had to clap my hand over my mouth to stifle a burst of laughter at the pure shock in Rodney's eyes as Kai's lips pressed firmly against his. To his credit he didn't push Kai away or do anything that would crush him emotionally other than look rather startled and crimson with embarrassment. Kai stopped as he got no response and moved away a little. He didn't need Rodney to say anything to know he'd got it wrong.

  I held my breath and prayed they'd take their discussion elsewhere as I was stuck for the duration.

  My heart sank as I saw Kai's face fall, and he began to turn away, his humiliation only too obvious.

  “Hey,” Rodney said and grabbed his hand. “I reckon we need to talk, eh?”

  Yes but not here! I wailed inwardly to no avail. My neck was beginning to ache in the confined space, and I felt like a bloody pervert, but I could hardly come out now.

  Kai shook his head. “Nothing to say now is there,” he replied, sounding as though he was close to tears.

  Rodney sighed. “Milly's always tellin' me I can't see a thing 'till I'm bashed over the head wiv it. Guess she was right.”

  Kai stared at the floor, refusing to look at him, and my heart ached for him. I prayed Rodney would come up with something to say to stop him feeling so crushed, though I had no idea myself what that might be.

  “Thing is, Kai, I ... I like girls, not boys. Nothing personal but ...” He shrugged. “I've been in love wiv Amelia since ... Well probably since before you was born, truth be told. I never thought she'd look at me ... Vamps don't, you see. They think us ghouls are beneath 'em like. Took me forever 'till she even gave me the time of day.”

  Kai looked furious. “You are better than vampire!” he burst out, his indignation clear. “I would not need ...” I could see his frustration as he hunted for the word he needed. “Persuading!” he said with feeling. He looked at Rodney, his eyes over-bright. “I would be proud.”

  Rodney swallowed hard. “Aww, Kai.” He scratched the short hair at the side of his head and sighed. “Bleedin' 'ell.”

  Kai shook his head, his arms clutched around himself, the picture of misery. “Is alright, Rodney. I will go.”

  “No. No it ain't alright,” Rodney said, his voice rough. “I like you a lot, mate, jus' ... not like that. But I don't want you to be hurt - unhappy on my account.”

  Kai shrugged, such a hopeless gesture that I felt a lump in my throat. “Not your fault. Jéhenne tried to tell me.”

  “Jéhenne knew?” he said in surprise.

  Kai nodded and my heart sank as guilt flooded me. I should have found the time to talk to him. Shit. Why hadn't I made time?

  “I should go,” Kai said, his voice barely audible, and I knew he was crying.

  “Wait.” Rodney stopped him and Kai paused, looking up at him as a tear tracked down his cheek. “If things were different ... If I was different, I'd be proud too.”

  He leaned in and kissed Kai on the cheek, and I felt a wave of pride for him myself. Kai touched his fingers to his cheek and forced a smile. “Thank you.”

  He left the room and Rodney was alone. His shoulders slumped, and I could see the guilt in his eyes. “Shit,” he said with feeling before opening the door and leaving himself.

  Once I'd winkled myself out of my hidey hole I searched around for Kai but found no sign of him. I hoped he was just taking a bit of time to be alone. I hated the thought of him being so upset and didn't want him doing something daft and running away back to that dreadful hovel I'd found him in. After my second turn around the garden came up empty I gave up and grabbed a sandwich from the kitchen and then hauled my book upstairs. I sat on my bed, turned it to the page I'd marked, and promptly fell asleep.

  ***

  The sun was getting low in the sky when Kai came to find me. Rodney had obviously forgotten about waking me with a cup of tea, other things on his mind I guessed. There were black smudges under Kai's eyes and he'd clearly been crying. I didn't say anything, just gestured for him to come over and pulled him into a hug.

  “You were right,” he said, sounding so miserable that I almost felt angry with Rodney despite the fact it wasn't his fault. None of us could control who we fell in love with after all.

  “I'm so sorry, Kai.”

  He shrugged.

  I just held him for a little while as the sun got lower in the sky. The vampires would wake in an hour or so. “You know, I was going to let Corvus out tonight, so he can look around. Would you like to spend some time with him?”

  He looked up at me and smiled, though the sparkle had gone from his apple green eyes. “I would like this, yes.”

  “Well then, best go and get tidied up huh?”

  He sniffed and nodded and began to get up, pausing at the edge of the bed. “Jéhenne, can I borrow ...”

  “Yes!” I said with a laugh before he could finish. “Yes. Whatever it is, go for it.”

  He gave me a sheepish grin, and I got up to let him rummage in peace.

  I didn't really intend to but somehow I found myself standing outside Corvus' room. The guards let me in, and I entered, feeling like I was trespassing but quite unable to stop myself. I glanced at the sleeping figure on the bed but didn't trust myself to get any closer. I wondered what he'd done last night after I'd gone and looked around the room. I crossed to the desk that I'd given him and found it covered with papers. As I got closer my heart began to thud, my breathing getting faster as the papers came into focus.

  It was the same drawing, over and over. Sometimes just a sketch, but others in a fine, sure hand, every detail clearly wrought. I shifted the drawings one over another, finding the same symbol on every one, sometimes a dozen times on one sheet. I sat down in the chair as my knees threatened to give out on me and blinked back tears.

  It was a drawing of a snake coiled into a circle, the mouth open as it
devoured its own tail. An ouroboros. The symbol for eternity, creation out of death. The snake was eating itself but it didn't die. It went somewhere else, unseen, but it would return to begin the cycle all over again.

  It was the symbol that Corvus had dreamt of when we were first together, when he was still human, before he even knew I was a witch. It was why he'd had the snake bracelet made for me.

  I swallowed, hardly daring to breathe - to hope. I pushed the hair from my face, too hot as ever in the heat of his room. I glanced at the fire, the embers burning low, and noticed a crumpled piece of paper close to the edge of the ashes. I moved and knelt down to pick it up. It was screwed into a ball and had clearly been thrown into the fire as it was half burnt. It must have rolled back out onto the hearth and gone out before it had burned completely. With trembling fingers I carefully spread it out. It was another ouroboros, but this time there was an addition. There was the profile of a woman framed by the snake. It was me.

  I put my hand to my mouth to smother my gasp, and I didn't know whether to be happy or to despair. The idea that he was remembering was overwhelming, something tangible to hope for at last. The fact that the drawing had been viciously crossed through and thrown into the fire though ... That made me feel as though my heart had been tossed into the flames beside it.

  ***

  I returned to my room. I had wasted enough of the last day and night. I had work to do. I locked the pain away and the hope.

  Kai was gone, and I hoped he had cheered up a little, though I knew well enough the pain of a broken heart. I hoped for his sake it was just an infatuation and that it would pass quickly. I wouldn't wish that kind of pain on anyone.

  “Lucas,” I said quietly, little more than a whisper, but a bare second later I felt his presence, standing behind me.

  I turned around and smiled, genuinely pleased to see him. “Hi,” I said, feeling a little awkward, but the smile he returned was warm and seemed unchanged.

  “Hi.”

  I took a breath. Life must go on, right? “I need you to choose three of the strongest vampires for guard duty. I checked the boundaries yesterday and the wards are still strong. Corvus won't be able to leave the perimeter I've cast around the Château, but I need to know everyone is safe.” It was the same spell that Inés had once used to trap him in the silver mine, the irony of that fact wasn't lost on me.

  “You're going to let him out?” Lucas said, his tone careful, but I could sense he didn't like the idea.

  “We can't keep him locked up forever, Lucas. It isn't fair. How can we expect him to get used to us, to try and fit in if we don't allow him to try at least? But I won't take chances with anyone's safety. He's to be watched at all times and you call me if there is the slightest sign of trouble.”

  He nodded. “You're the boss.”

  “For better or for worse,” I quipped, trying for light-hearted, but I could see he didn't buy it.

  “You're not going to show him around then? See if he remembers anything?”

  I shook my head. “I have things to attend to.” I hoped he didn't hear the ache in my voice as I turned away, but his big hand grasped my shoulder and squeezed, just for a moment, and I knew he didn't miss anything. When I turned back he was gone.

  I retreated to Corvus' study. My study. I had to get used to that. I opened the huge book, fighting the urge to sneeze as dust filled the air, and I tried to focus. All I could see was the charred edges of that drawing. I tried again, trying to get my head around the structure of the last vampire families in the world, including our own, but the words swam in my head, and I gave up.

  Walking over to the corner of the room, I opened the glass-fronted doors of a small cabinet and pulled out one of the drawers inside to reveal a collection of jewellery. There was a beautiful necklace set with sapphires arranged to look like forget-me-nots, emerald earrings, diamond bracelets, and dozens of gold bangles, but I reached to the far corner where a small wooden box once sat. The box was no longer there, but the bracelet it had contained was.

  Each and every tiny scale was marked out in bronze, silver and gold and a pair of ruby eyes burned brightly, glinting at me. I searched for the little clasp that released the mouth and opened it, fitting it over my hand and pushing it up where it sat coiled around my arm. I took a breath, stroking the tiny scales of the snake with reverence, until I became aware of a presence behind me. I swung around, and he was there. Watching me.

  Chapter 27

  I pulled my sleeve down, covering the bracelet, somehow unwilling for him to see it. I wondered if he'd noticed, but he was looking around the room with curiosity in his eyes. I waved back the guards Lucas had chosen who had crowded into the room behind him, and they stepped outside and closed the door on us. A devouring silence seemed to swallow us up, leaving the empty space ringing between us.

  “Well I'm honoured,” I said once I'd recovered from the shock. “You've only been out for a few seconds and here you are.” I tried for a pleasant smile but my face felt too tense.

  He chuckled, looking at me, his gaze leisurely and as arrogant as ever. “Is it not natural for me to want to spend time with my ... Master? My creator?”

  I turned away and walked to the desk, leaning against it to hide the book open on my desk. The last thing I needed was him reading about how he had founded one of the biggest and most powerful families in the world.

  “I never said I created you,” I replied. There was little point in denying it. Powerful or not he would know I was ridiculously young compared to him. Not even twenty yet. It was strange to acknowledge that when I felt so very old. I was old. Older even than he was.

  He walked around me, and I forced myself to hold his eyes. I wondered what he saw. Did he still desire me as much as he always had? Did he long to touch me as badly as I wanted him to. I pulled my thoughts to halt but not before I'd seen the smile tug at his mouth. He knew. Knew how much I wanted him.

  He walked closer. Too close. “So how is it that you are my Master and not my creator? Where is my Master? Did you destroy him ... or her and take their place?” His words were mild, but I could hear the threat in them, the challenge that asked if I thought he could be quelled as easily.

  I was on dangerous ground here, and I looked back at him, silent, picking my words with care. “You are due to attend prayers shortly. Perhaps you'll find the answers to your questions there,” I said, my voice even.

  His eyebrows hit his hairline.

  “Prayers?” he repeated, clearly dumbfounded. He stared at me for a moment and then roared with laughter. I looked back at him, not sharing his amusement and his laughter subsided as he realised I wasn't joking.

  “What kind of family is this that still prays together to the gods?” The words were spoken with a sneer of derision, and I frowned. There had been no communal prayers for the family it was true. I didn't know if there ever had been, but Corvus had his own private space, an altar of sorts where he had offered to his gods.

  “Why does that seem so strange to you?” I asked. “You said you remember nothing. How do you know if this is unusual?”

  He paused, and I could see he was considering. “That is true,” he admitted. “I don't know but ... I feel it.” He frowned. “This is something new.” The words were said with certainty, and I felt a shiver of unease.

  I crossed my arms, watching with amusement as he mirrored my stance. I wondered if he knew he'd done it. “Nonetheless, you will attend and you will offer a blood sacrifice.”

  Now I'd really shocked him. I could feel the tension singing through him before he shut it away, his face impassive.

  “Sacrifice to who?” he demanded.

  “To Hekatê and ... Circe.”

  He snorted. “Witches.” The word was spoken with disgust. “I should have known you'd choose the sorceress goddesses.” He turned away from me and made a show of looking at the bookshelves. I prayed there was nothing there titled Albinus Family Tree or I was sunk. He knew his first name, I couldn
't know how long before he remembered the second if he hadn't already. I prayed he didn't make the connection with many of the crow symbols that were to be found around the Château. “And why should I give my precious blood to these goddesses?” he demanded. “Why them? After all,” he added, turning back to me, “I don't know when I'll be fed again. You seem reluctant to keep me in good health.” He smirked, and I remembered his hands all over the blonde and my temper rocketed.

  Flames burst at my wrists, and I clenched my fists, enjoying the look of alarm on his face. “Because if you don't my mother and I will consider it a great insult,” I said, failing to keep the fury from my voice.

  He frowned, not understanding the comment. “What has your mother ...?” He paused, and I saw the idea sink in. “Hekatê and ... Circe, the enchantress,” he repeated, his voice quiet, his eyes on mine. Wary. Considering.

  “Pleased to meet you,” I replied. It was my turn to smirk.

  He stood staring at me.

  “There's a temple outside, with a statue. You can go and stare at that if you like,” I snapped.

  He just carried on staring at me, and I started to feel a little unnerved as I had no idea what he was thinking. Suddenly he took a step and then paused as though unsure of himself. Whatever had stopped him, he got over and walked until he was standing in front of me. I couldn't tell if his hesitant approach was from fear or reverence or even disgust. His hand reached out and a fingertip touched my cheek, trailed down, following the line of my jaw, moving down my neck to hover over the place where my pulse leapt under the skin. The place where his teeth would sink into my flesh if I let him. I felt like my blood was moving towards him, throbbing and gathering in that heated pulse beneath my flesh.

  “You are somewhat warmer than marble,” he murmured. “And I doubt a statue would blush quite so beautifully,” he added, an audible growl to his voice.

  I swallowed. His eyes had bled to black, his fangs quite clearly visible. I knew he could hear my heart beating too fast, panicking like a rabbit in a trap, but there was little I could do about it.