by Nicky Graves
“Like Juliette.”
He gave a nod and then pulled out a worn book. He sat down on the couch, and I found myself sitting next to him.
“I can use my own mind to sit where I want,” I said.
“Apologies. Force of habit.”
“Have you found anything helpful for the claim?”
“Not yet. The problem is that claims are not easily broken without one of you dying. The stronger the couple, the stronger the bond. With the life stones inside of you, you bring the claim to another level. It would take someone immensely strong to intervene.”
“Like you?”
“You do not want me to intervene, but yes.”
“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I want you to intervene?”
Isn’t that why we’re here?
“If I were to force the break, then we would be bound together.”
“Oh. So, if anyone broke it, I’d still be stuck in a claim. Just not with Vance. Isn’t there another solution?”
“Well, you can make the best of the claim. But there might be another option. I just have to find it.”
“Can I help?”
He gave a nod. “Tell me about yourself.”
“There’s not much to tell.”
He arched a disapproving brow.
I tried to think what information would be helpful for the claim, but nothing stood out. So much had happened in a short time that I was a bit lost when it came to the topic of me.
“Start at the point when you became a reaper,” he said.
I filled him in on what had happened after I woke up in the ambulance. As he listened, he flipped through the pages of the book and then tossed the book onto a side table. With a lazy wave of his hand, two books floated from the shelf to him. I tried not to be impressed, but it was hard not to be.
“Continue,” he said when I stopped talking to watch him.
He performed acts of true magic, and he didn’t even think anything of it. Maybe he was used to it, but I wasn’t.
“How did you learn to do that?” I asked.
“Boredom,” he said. “Years and years of boredom. Which is the only reason I agreed to see you. You sparked my curiosity, and that doesn’t happen often.”
“I’ve heard of immortals losing their minds after thousands of years.”
“Some lose their minds after a few hundred years.”
“Is it because of boredom?”
He shrugged. “Sometimes. Sometimes it’s the endless loss.” He tossed another book to the side. “What are you afraid to lose?”
“I guess my family and friends.”
He gave a nod. “I can’t remember mine.”
“Not at all?”
He gave another shrug. “Every once in a great while I might smell or see something that triggers a memory, but it’s vague. Almost like a shadowy figure in the setting sun. We didn’t have pictures back then. There was nothing to hold onto to remember.”
Note to self: Take a lot of pictures and videos.
Michaelo turned to me, and I felt him inside my head again. It was as if a bug had burrowed into my brain, creeping around and touching on memories. After a moment, he let go and started perusing his books again.
“Stop doing that,” I said, rubbing my forehead to help get rid of the crawly bug sensation.
“Tell me about Lucifer,” Michaelo said. “I see him in your mind.”
“Why do you care about Lucifer?”
“Because there’s something in your mind. It’s guarded.”
I didn’t think I could guard anything in my mind. And when it came to Lucifer, I didn’t think memories of him warranted guarding.
“He can shape shift,” I said. “He has no remorse for his actions. And he sided with Azrael.”
“Did you think that Lucifer was going to side with you instead?” he asked with a smile on his lips. Michaelo didn’t bother waiting for an answer as he continued. “Interesting. So, the lord of the underworld and the lord of death have joined forces . . . against you?”
His stare was intense, as if he was trying to dissect me with his vision alone.
“They’ve never joined forces in the past,” he continued. “Why against you?”
I shook my head. I had no idea. Yes, I was the supposed heir, but that didn’t mean I was a threat. As it was, I could barely function as a reaper, and I had no idea Lucifer had even duped me until he spelled it out for me. The only person I was a danger to was myself and anyone who hung around me—certainly not Azrael or Lucifer.
“Do you have the mark?” he asked.
“Azrael asked me the same thing. I have no marks.”
“Have you checked?”
“Yes. I’ve seen myself a thousand times in the mirror, and I’ve never seen any marks.”
He stared at me again as if not believing me. But I wasn’t going to strip to prove it to him, and he didn’t seem to want to force it.
“You can bond with the life stones,” he muttered to himself as he turned back to his book collection. “Azrael and Lucifer are somehow intimidated by you.”
“They are not intimidated by me.”
He glanced at me. “They must be. Otherwise, they wouldn’t go to the effort of trying to get rid of you.” He stood and returned to the books. “Which could only mean . . .” He selected a weathered book. The binding was flaking off of it. I tried to see the title, but the cover was too worn to read. He gently set it on his desk and opened it.
I walked over to the opposite side of the desk and looked down to find it wasn’t in English. It looked to be written in symbols.
“What book is that?” I asked.
“The Book of Life.”
I studied it with more interest. “As in the life stones?”
“As in the original giver of life. Life itself.”
“Life wrote the book?”
He looked up from the book with an annoyed expression. The kind of look that Boomer gave me when I asked too many questions.
“Life did not write a book. But an ancient scholar did. This is his research. Limited as it may be, it might have a few answers. More often than not, however, these books create more questions than they answer.”
“That’s exactly what I don’t need,” I said. “I have too many questions as it is.”
“Then you are looking for the wrong answer.”
“At this point, I’m looking for any answer.”
“Patience.”
With a sigh, I returned to the couch to wait.
While I wanted answers, what if Michaelo steered me wrong like Lucifer had?
“Summon Vance,” Michaelo said while still looking at the book.
“Are you talking to me?” I asked.
“Who else would I be talking to?”
“Someone who knows how to summon people.”
“You’re bonded to each other. You can summon him.”
“How?”
He gave an impatient sigh. He really did remind me of Boomer. Except Michaelo was smarter and scarier . . . and he knew how to match his clothes.
“Close your eyes,” he instructed.
Warily, I closed them.
“Now think of Vance and only Vance. Do you feel his presence?”
“I feel annoyed.”
“That might be his presence doing that to you. Now, tell him to come to you.”
“Vance, return to the library.”
“With authority in your voice.”
“Vance, return to the library. Now.” I opened my eyes. “Better?”
“That should do it,” Michaelo said, returning his attention to the book. “We’ll know in a minute or two. If your bond is strong, he won’t be able to deny the summons.”
“That’s handy.” Although I really didn’t have a reason to call on Vance often, so it wasn’t much of a perk.
Vance tossed open the door a moment later looking as though he had been through a tornado. His hair was tousled, his shirt was wrinkly and misbuttoned, and he
was missing his pants.
It didn’t take me long to figure out why he was such a mess. Telltale red lipstick smudges dotted his neck, jawline, and mouth.
“Really?” I asked, annoyed. “You couldn’t go an hour without jumping into bed with someone?”
Whatever irked expression he had, dissolved. “I had nothing to do with this. She jumped on me.” With his sleeve, he tried to wipe away the lipstick remnants.
“And I’m sure you did your best to get away,” I said, wondering why I wasn’t drawn to Vance as he kissed the other woman. He always appeared if anyone got too close to me. But why didn’t I get shifted over to him?
Vance frowned and then ran his fingers through his hair. “It happened rather quickly. And it’s not like you care.”
“The claim you made doesn’t make this situation any easier.” I tried not to let the jealousy show, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. I wanted to find the vampire who dared touch Vance and drive a stake through her heart.
“Sorry,” he said.
Did Vance just apologize? Had he ever apologized in the past? I didn’t think so, but between Michaelo’s brain probing and my fury at Vance, my head was all muddled.
“But it’s not like I was the only one,” Vance said. “The other woman took Lawson into another room.”
Great. This just kept getting worse.
“Raven can deal with Lawson,” I said, trying to control the spiraling fury. “But you and I are stuck together until you get the claim sorted out.”
He glared at me, and I returned it.
I was so focused on trying not to throttle Vance that I hadn’t noticed Michaelo walk over to me. He put his arm around my shoulder, hugging me to his side. It didn’t feel like a predatory or perverted type of hold, but it was enough to make Vance’s attention snap to Michaelo. Eyes that were once a shade of brown, glittered red.
Michaelo let go. “You both are worse off than I thought,” he said. “From what I know, there are only three ways to deal with this.”
Three ways were better than death do us part. Vance and I looked hopefully at him.
“Obviously, there is the option of death,” Michaelo said, returning to his seat behind the desk.
“And the second?” Vance asked.
“Someone stronger than you could try to claim Riley,” he said to Vance. “She would still be claimed, but you would be free.”
“Who would be strong enough to do that?” he asked, to which I then kicked him in the shin. “Ow! I’m just curious. You don’t have to get feral. You might actually like the other vampire better.”
“It would be me,” Michaelo said. “And I don’t think any of us want that scenario.”
While I agreed with Michaelo’s sentiment, I was beginning to feel like the stale donut no one wanted.
“And the third?” I asked with hope.
“You become strong enough to break the claim,” Michaelo said.
“I can do that?” I asked.
“From what I’ve read, if you are able to bond with the life stones, then you are already strong. Each stone grants a portion of Life’s strength. Perhaps if you bonded with more, you could break the claim yourself.”
“And this second option, where you take her off my hands—”
I kicked Vance again.
He bent over and hobbled to the chair in pain. It made me feel a fraction better.
“The good thing is that I planned to find the remaining stones,” I said. “The problem is that it’s nearly impossible to find them. Three have been located, but the remaining four are lost.”
“And you’re worried about Basole the Black,” Michaelo said as he read my mind.
“Azrael has the black stone, which makes him a thousand times scarier than he already was.”
“The black stone will give him an edge,” Michaelo agreed.
It’s something I knew, but having it confirmed by Michaelo hammered another nail in my coffin.
“It’s still important to find the stones if you want to break the claim,” he said. “And I can research to see if I can find the location of a stone.”
Michaelo headed to a shelf and pulled another book down. This one was more ancient and worn than the last one. Which meant whatever information he found in it was going to be old.
As he walked back to the desk with it, I sat down on the couch to wait.
Vance plopped down on the couch, kicked his legs up over the arm, and laid his head on my lap to stare up at me.
“What’s going on?” I asked, staring at Vance, who still had a glittery red tint to his eyes.
“Nothing.”
“Why are you laying on me?”
“I’m tired.”
Vance alternated between hot and cold with me. As soon as I figured out how to react to him, he switched gears.
A headache was already brewing from Michaelo’s mind probing. I didn’t need Vance adding to it. I stood and moved over to a chair, dropping Vance’s head unceremoniously onto the cushion I abandoned.
“Harsh,” he said.
I sighed and looked at Michaelo. “Is there any book I can look through to help?”
“Unless you can read ancient languages, no. I suggest you both retire for the night.” He stood and gave a soft clap. The door opened and another lingerie-clad vampire walked in. Just how many lingerie-wearing women were in this castle? “Take them to their rooms for the night. And bring me tonight’s selection.”
The woman gave a bow and then looked expectantly at Vance and me.
Tonight’s selection? I had a feeling that “selection” had to do with more blood, and it was something I definitely wasn’t going to ask about. I just wanted to lock myself in a room and try to pretend I wasn’t in a vampire’s lair.
7
Vance hopped up off the couch and followed the woman out the library door. Warily, I trailed behind. We walked to a grand staircase with a blood-red carpet runner.
“In case of spills?” I asked Vance.
“I’ve seen many kitchens decorated in cows, chickens, and cupcakes,” he said. “What’s wrong with red carpet? It’s tasteful.”
“Or a little too on the nose,” I said, wondering when vamprella was going to turn her fangs on me.
On the second landing, she told us to wait. She proceeded to knock on a door. A woman opened the door. It wasn’t the uniformed lingerie she was wearing that surprised me. It was the fact that she had a tan.
“He wants you,” the vampire said to the woman.
The woman hurried past us and down the stairs. I glanced at Vance, whose gaze hungrily tracked her.
We were then shown to a room down the hall. She opened it and looked at me. “You are in here.”
“Thank you,” I said, peeking in to make sure there were no other vampires in residence.
Vance shoved past me. “This will do,” he said as he hopped onto the queen bed.
I glanced back at the vampire. “Where do I sleep?” I asked.
“Here,” she said.
“With Vance?”
She raised a brow. “He is your claimed.”
“We are not claimed in that way,” I said.
“Riley, just get in here,” Vance said on a sigh. “I don’t want to bunk with you either, but it’s for your protection.”
“Why? I have Treble if I need him.” Although, he’d been rather lazy lately. Not much set him off like it used to. I wondered if that was Wiltone’s effect on him. But even Wiltone was quiet tonight. I could barely get a reading from either of them.
Vance drew himself off the bed and walked back to the door to pull me inside. He gave a wink to the vampire and shut the door.
“Stop arguing for a few hours,” he said to me. “This place is swarming with vampires. I can smell them everywhere. You’re safer with me.”
He walked back to the bed and fell in.
“How did that woman have a tan?” I asked. “Every vampire I’ve seen so far is pale.”
“She�
��s not a vampire.”
“She’s a mortal human?” I asked.
He gave a nod.
“She’s Michaelo’s selection?”
When Vance grinned, I hurried to the door. No one was going to die while I was here.
Vance was at the door before I could open it. “Where are you going?”
“To stop Michaelo from killing her.”
“If he was going to kill her, she’d be dead by now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you see her marks?”
“What marks?”
“The ones along her neck and arm.”
“All I could see was that she was tan. She looked out of place.”
“Because she is. But she can leave if she wants.”
“She can?” I asked, unbelieving.
“Yes. She’s a blood slave. It’s an old term, but she’s allowed to leave whenever she wants.”
I frowned. “Walk me through this, because I don’t understand.”
“Some of the wealthier vampires keep blood slaves in their residence. It allows them fresh blood whenever they desire. They don’t kill the blood slaves. They drink just enough to satiate themselves, and then the blood slave is allowed to take time off and heal themselves until the next time they are summoned.”
“If she’s allowed to leave, why doesn’t she?”
Vance gave a shrug. “She gets to live rent-free. All the food and clothes she wants. Some actually get off on it.”
I frowned again. I didn’t understand why anyone would want the life of being a walking blood supply.
“I guess it’s better than killing,” I said. “But it creeps me out.”
“Don’t knock it until you try it.”
“Try being someone’s blood slave?” I eyed him to see if he was teasing. “Have you never met me before?”
He grinned. “Some find it a rush. They get addicted to it.”
“Well, not me. And, besides, you said my blood smells.”
“It does. But I also told you it’s something I could get used to. Like an exotic meal.”
We stared at each other. I broke the gaze first.
“Stick to your side of the bed,” I said. “Either Wiltone will make us do something we’d regret, or Treble will go Godzilla on you. I never know what to expect with those two.”