Bete Noire

by Christina Moore

  “No.”

  “No?” he repeated with a high lilt, head tilted in wonderment.

  Ash stood with a stiffness that Tristan recognized as anger and he straightened as she marched up to him, unsure what he did wrong now. But when she took position next to him and slipped her fingers with his, he relaxed. She lifted their joined hands as if she were offering him to the ancient vampire. “We killed Malik of Earth, my Master and maker, together.”

  The fingers on Tristan’s right hand twitched. She’d purposefully took his left so that his dominate hand was free to use the gun. The tension in the room was enough to crush his head and he ached to pull his weapon if only to feel it heavy in his hand. He was becoming too dependent on the thing, but for good reason. By the look in the Master of the House’s eyes, he needed to be.

  Audric’s attention narrowed on the pair even as he frowned. “In old vampire law, even conspiring to harm one’s Master was an offense worthy of losing one’s head.” He paused, letting the silence hang for a moment. “But in these ungodly times it has come to pass as a rite of passage, something to be proud of. It disgusts me, you younglings…” He made an offended noise before settling back with a sigh. “Tell me of Lucien’s crimes.”

  Ash took in a breath. “Numerous. Overlooking his past, his most recent include mass murder.”

  Audric harrumphed. “And why should the deaths of a few primates concern me?”

  Tristan’s brow twitched. It took everything in him not to blurt out something inappropriate.

  “No,” Ash said sharply. “Not just humans… vampires too. More than three dozen of the fledglings Yukihime had given refuge to.”

  To this Audric visibly bristled. Tristan made a rude noise under his breath. Figured, the guy didn’t give a shit about humans being killed. But change to the tune to others of his kind, a race of murderers, well then it was a big fucking deal. Audric’s silver eyes darted to him, brow tightening in annoyance.

  Audric motioned to the woman and she gasped, realizing her Master was looking at her. She stumbled to her feet, nearly tripping over herself as she grabbed something from the far side of the sofa off the floor and took it to Audric. He dropped the packet of newspapers into his lap as the woman darted back to her place, trying to act invisible again.

  “While I don’t agree with killing a vampire simply for being born of the wrong House, I do not agree with Lucien’s rampant killing. He has been far too brash and in too many newspapers for my liking…” He fell into thought for a moment, a finger tapping the foreign newspapers in his lap. “While you will not find him here, I do know where he currently resides.” Shifting the newspaper bundle aside, he stood in a fluid, catlike movement and stalked slowly to the pair, eyes cold and dangerous as they fixed on Ash. “However, two problems keep me from giving this information freely.”

  Tristan and Ash both tensed. Should have known things wouldn’t be so easy, not when a vampire was involved.

  Audric took another step. “One, I owe my lost friend and dear ally, Guinevere, for past indiscretions. However, I can look past that indignity knowing Lucien has been gravely misbehaving. It is problem number two that would put more shame on my conscious if—I will not give up another of my kind…” Audric’s silver eyes went to Tristan, death and anger a palatable emotion in them. “To his kind.”

  “Now, you look here, pal,” Tristan started, unable to contain himself.

  Long saber-toothed fangs flashed yellow in the reflected light of the torches when Audric screamed, “I was not speaking to you!” and flung a hand out in front of him as if he were sweeping a bug away from his face.

  A gust of air, sharp and hot, bit into Tristan’s left cheek. He gasped, taking a step back and touched fingers to his cheek, coming away with blood. His mouth opened in shock as he realized the Master vampire just cut him without even touching him.

  Master of Air indeed.

  Tristan pulled his gun and was lifting it towards the man who’d just cut him when an ice-cold steel grip encircled his wrist. He jerked against the hold, ready for a fight before he realized who it was.

  “Ash? What—” he started to ask but she lowered his hand to her face, shut her eyes and inhaled deeply. Tristan’s mouth was suddenly dry, unable to find the words he wanted to speak.

  She took the gun from him and held his hand out in front of them as she walked them to Audric. She lifted his hand to the startled vampire as if in offering. “Master Audric… do you smell that? You know exactly what this blood speaks of, do you not?”

  The Master let out a soft breath and rolled his eyes up from Tristan’s hand. “I do,” he whispered, brows high. “Death.”

  “Oui,” she answered and continued in French. “This man here is the one the pythia speak of. He is the harbinger of death.”

  “You mean destruction,” Master Audric answered in a hushed voice, eyes fixed again on the red streaking Tristan’s tanned flesh.

  “Oui,” she said sharply so that Audric looked at her again. “He is a good man and not to be taken lightly. He is the only one capable of killing a fire user. He only ever kills to protect his kind. A just and righteous cause.”

  Audric’s nose scrunched up in disgust. “His kind? You mean the Uruwashi.” His accent grew thicker with his mother tongue the more aggravated he got.

  “No. Mortals, humanity.”

  “Humans. Mere shadows of creatures greater than them.”

  Ash’s brows rose high. “Humans existed before the shinwa, before the dragons and mermaids, before the pythia and earth magic. They may be weaker than us, but they are still the keepers of lands we call home. We owe them our respect.”

  Audric’s chuckle turned into a full laugh. But he wasn’t mocking her as so much impressed with her philosophy. “Malik often complained of your way of thinking. I don’t see why, I find it refreshing.”

  Feeling victory on the horizon, Ash pressed on, speaking in soft but clearly pronounced French. “Whatever this man is, he will be the savior of our kind. Of all shinwa, and humanity. That deserves him a level of respect.”

  “Ah… yes. This one isn’t exactly Uruwashi, is he?”

  Ash’s jaw hardened. He knew more than was good for Tristan.

  Audric laughed, tossing back his head in a melodramatic display, making Tristan flinch. “You truly are refreshing, Asta of Earth. I’m glad we met. But I will not give up Lucien, I will pull the reins on him myself and choose whether to keep him or kill him.”

  Ash smirked darkly, not bothering to hide her contempt as she lifted Tristan’s hand to her face. He gasped when she stuck her tongue out and pressed the tip to his palm where the blood had pooled. She made sure the Master vampire was paying attention, eyes fixed with his, as she slowly dragged her tongue up the length of Tristan’s finger until finally closing her lips around it.

  Tristan couldn’t help but moan as she sucked his finger in, letting her lips slip down to the base between her fangs. That little gesture alone was more arousing than anything Ash’d ever done with him and that was including the night’s events.

  It was dangerous, putting herself in such a compromising position. All she had to do was allow herself to knick that fragile appendage and then her saliva would mix with his blood and he would die. Whether he survived his first death was up to karma.

  Someone whimpered and after a moment, Tristan realized it was him. Audric echoed with a small wanting moan and bit into his lower lip, pushing the point of a fang into the supple skin until a small spot of blood showed.

  Ash just stared defiantly up into the eyes of the Master vampire who had driven her to act without thinking. In all the time she’d spent with Tristan, she had been so careful to avoid even tasting his blood. Just the scent alone was enough to set her desire afire. And now, so weak in mind and body, she’d plunged headfirst into a situation so far out of hand she wasn’t sure how to get out of it alone. She had heard the Uruwashi tasted better than even the fae, the best of bloods to be had, but this, she w
as not prepared for this. In all of her time as a vampire never had she experienced anything like the blood sparking along her taste buds, lighting up each one so that she was nearly trembling with desire.

  She just might kill him, right now, right here, just to gorge in this bliss for a short time.

  And then, as fast as her senses took it all it, reveled in it, coveted that blood, there was that abrupt aftertaste. The shock of it was enough to make her jerk and she had to force herself to not bite down as her tongue tried to keep his blood from sliding down the back of her throat. Under the strong flavor of what she only assumed was the Uruwashi in him, there was something sour and spoiled. He tasted of death.

  It was always their understanding that because of Tristan’s strong European features, he was only half Uruwashi. So what exactly was his other half, that dead tasting part, if not human? A few thoughts crossed Ash’s mind, none of which made any sense to her. One thing was for sure though, that despite the bad aftertaste of his blood, all she wanted was to finish what they’d started in the hotel, his weight pressed down on top of her, his scent and heat filling her, his body in hers... and his blood. She would bite him. Damn the consequences, she was so very tired of saying no. After the initial shock of tasting death in his blood, she realized she wanted more. She would finally bite him and sate both of their desires to the last.

  Tristan had a surge of bad vibes and jerked away from Ash, only just managing to keep himself from being nicked as he ripped his finger from her mouth. They were both panting, staring at each other in shock. All along he was convinced he wanted to be bitten and made a true Uruwashi, but seeing the hunger, the dark desire in her eyes frightened him. It was more than her lust for his blood and flesh that ruled her. He knew she wanted to do what the vampire did. She wanted more than a taste. She wanted to kill him.

  Audric pulled a handkerchief from his rear pocket and pressed it to his lip where he’d bitten himself. In a raspy voice, he said in English, “You have a lot of faith in a monster.” He wound the delicate silk handkerchief around his fingers, alabaster skin glowing bright against the vibrant red.

  Feeling righteous, knowing she was swaying the man, Ash lifted her chin to answer in a breathy whisper, “We are all monsters.” She really was at her limit and starting to understand the lunacy that took so many others of her kind. Why had she gone so long denying her hunger? To deny the hunger was true weakness.

  Audric made a surprised noise and leaned towards her. “Those others haven’t even a spark of your strength.”

  Not understanding what was happening, Tristan backed up slowly. Ash still had his gun. He had a knife hidden on him, but the gun was his pacifier, his safety net, without it he felt naked. He felt… human.

  Audric’s attention snapped around to Tristan and he smiled. “Yes, that may be true enough.” He suddenly laughed, making Tristan flinch back and took the few steps between them to close their distance. Looking rightfully panicked, Tristan put his hands up, ready for a fight. Audric smirked and stopped less than a foot away from him. “You may have redeeming qualities yet.”

  Tristan was fully aware of the wall very close to his back. He had nowhere to go and they both knew it. He swallowed past the dry lump in his throat, eyes darting to Ash as if to ask for help, something he hated but was man enough to know when he was backed against a wall. Um, literally.

  “Master,” she said in a soft wispy voice.

  He laughed, turning to Ash. “Please, Audric. I will not say it again.” He marched past her, swaying his slender hips in a bouncy gate. “Come with me.”

  Ash obeyed without hesitation. Tristan however didn’t move from his spot. “What? Why?”

  Audric twisted at the waist to look back at him as he slipped out of his open shirt. “I do not mean you… however I can find time for you later, I suppose...”

  Tristan turned his nose up at the smug vampire. He chose to ignore the implication of being in the vamp’s bed and moved right to the part that really bothered him. “She doesn’t go without me.”

  “The way I see it, she is your keeper…”

  “We’re equal partners.” Even as he said it, he knew it wasn’t his true feelings. Trouble was, the others knew too. Even Julien, nearly forgotten across the room, giggled at the lies Tristan told himself.

  “I will speak with her alone and there is nothing you can do to change that fact.”

  “No fucking way.”

  Audric laughed, sending the first hint of lust across the room in a hot wave of tingling desire. Everyone, even Ash, responded to that salacious lark. “Charming.”

  Ash sighed. “It will be fine, Tristan.”

  “No. No way.” He pointed at Audric, now naked from the waist up. For a small man, he was rather fit and trim. Completely smooth and hairless. Tristan wondered just how young the man was when he was killed, he didn’t look too far out of his teens. “I don’t trust ole long tooth there.”

  “You are right to not trust him, but this is his home and we are imposing upon him for information he would rather not give. My going with him might change his mind.”

  His jaw tightened. “Don’t fucking like it.

  Ash sighed and crossed the space to him. She was careful not to touch him, it was already a feat nearly impossible to keep from tearing into his flesh right there. “I know,” she said softly. “But trust me.”

  Tristan glanced at the older grinning vampire. “Just be careful.”

  She nodded and held out the gun she took from him. “Behave yourself….”

  When he went to take the weapon back, he purposefully brushed her hand. She jerked back so fast she nearly fell over. Eyes wide, panting with the sudden rush of fear, she could only shake her head in apology and turned away quickly, going to the slatted door. Audric, waiting patiently and smiling a little too devious for Tristan’s liking opened the door for her, shot Tristan one last stupid grin and disappeared into the room, shutting the door behind them.

  Almost immediately a woman appeared right before the pair. She was small and had a sweet face, but Ash could hear the rough thoughts she was thinking. She was fae and rather ill-tempered if the tantrum going on in her head was any indication. Ash couldn’t blame her, forced to live the life of slave, knowing what that was like herself. “Master?” the fae woman questioned respectfully despite the rude thoughts behind her words.

  “Call the other’s back.”

  “Master?” she questioned defiantly. “What about the fire user? I thought he was under your—”

  “I said, call them back! And if you question me one more time I will give you to elves of Revin and see how old feelings fare!”

  The woman gasped and ran back the way she came to disappear behind a hidden door.

  With Audric’s invitation to come in, Ash moved deeper into the room and noticed that it wasn’t small at all as it made an L-shape, following the outline of the room next to it. When she rounded the corner she stopped, making a small surprised noise. There was a fireplace here as well, much like the other room, and she realized that they shared the same space. It was the same fire. Since this part of the room was darker, she never noticed that the fireplace back was open. Set before that grand fire was a bed of even more grandiose proportions. It was a typical vampire bed—made for many bodies, of which there were two already, dozing lightly as they waited for their Master’s word.

  Ash turned abruptly, feeling the Master at her back and his intentions. He only smiled at her and went to sit in one of the ornate wing-back chairs close to the door in a pool of yellow light. “Please,” he said, motioning to the seat next to his.

  Ash swallowed down a breath of nervousness and obeyed his wishes, sitting stiffly in the surprisingly comfortable traditional chair. Between them stood a small dark wood table with a decanter of red liquid and two finely cut crystal glasses.

  “A drink, perhaps?” he asked in French, a much more accommodating language for him.

  Ash gave a nearly indiscernible nod.
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  “Yes,” he said, pouring their drinks. “I would think you would be rather parched after raising the dead. And your aura… you have not fed on a human in many months. I find that as queer as your relationship with that monster in the other room.”

  “He is no monster,” she snapped before she could stop herself. Tristan really was a bad influence on her, driving her to curse and act impulsively.

  “Hmmm,” the Master hummed as he handed her the glass of wine and blood—the wine, of course, to mask the flavor of deteriorating blood cells. “That is not all his influence will cause for you, I am afraid.”

  “I do not understand.”

  “While I can see the novelty to keeping him around, he is still an Uruwashi. He lives to kill our kind. One day he will attempt on your life, of that I have no doubt.”

  “This is absurd,” she spit out as she shot to her feet. “We do not have time for this. Tell us what you want so that we can stop wasting time and get on with our task.”

  “Do you always include Tristan in your tasks? We this, us that. I find your speech patterns very interesting…” The Master sat back in his seat, crossed an ankle over his knee, and crooked a curious eyebrow at her. “Sit. Please.”

  She screwed up her expression fighting hard to keep her anger hidden, a feat not normally difficult, but in her current state… She sighed to herself, decorum would have to be put aside for the remainder of her time here, she hadn’t the energy for it.

  “Your mind is completely open to me. I do not need to read your blood to know your deepest thoughts, they flow off you like a current of smoke and seep into me.”

  “Then you know how strong my bond is with that man out there, the monster.”

  Audric was nodding slowly, considering her. “You should have brought your fae with you.”

  She couldn’t hide her vexation. For one, he was right.