Bete Noire

by Christina Moore

  Tristan swayed, his eyes shutting. He felt instantly calmer and infinitely more tired. He was ready for bed now, in fact he could just stay here... No. He shook his head hard realizing the vampire had just commanded her to sleep. Damn vampire Jedi mind tricks. He looked up again to find the whole room calm.

  Julien, practically forgotten, was curled up asleep against the front of the far sofa—ancient or not, he couldn’t fight the power of his Master’s command. Nadine had crumbled into a lifeless lump on the floor, fast asleep. Katrina was still conscious, but she was silent, finally, and panting under Audric’s arm. She was young enough that she should have been passed out, counting little zombie sheep like Julien and Nadine. Tristan wondered what was so different—so wrong with Katrina that none of the rules seemed to apply.

  It was Balian, magically at Audric’s side again, that decided to answer. “Katrina is not who she appears to be. She is a vampire reborn.”

  Tristan gave a small start. Balian’s deep baritone reminded him of Malik’s voice. Not seeming to notice, or care, Ash slipped her arms around Tristan, hugging him tightly. Was she worried or was she trying to tell him something?

  “What do you mean a reborn vampire?” he asked.

  “That is none of your business, Uruwashi. Just be happy my lady love here did not take your life. It would be in her right do so.”

  Jerkoff, then why’d you mention it? “I’m sure,” he mumbled and looked to Audric. “If you don’t mind now, we’re leaving.”

  Audric nodded, frowning slightly. “I do hope so after the commotion you’ve caused here. Now go and do not return here again.”

  Didn’t have to frickn’ tell him twice. He wiggled out of Ash’s tight hold and slipped his free hand into hers. No second glances, no snarky rebuttals or childish gestures, he just led the way to freedom.

  “Oh, and Uruwashi...” Audric said just as they’d reached the doorway. Tristan stopped, tense and not liking the candor in the vampire’s tone. “Be sure to tell Yukihime that she is in my debt for this little appointment.”

  Tristan turned, giving him the look that statement deserved. He almost laughed, but then his eye was drawn to the dead bodies—Theron, at his hand, face blown to bits. And Shannon, at Ash’s hand, a big hole in his chest, heart nearly ripped out. Even knowing he was in plenty of wrong, he couldn’t help himself and said, “Tell her your fucking self. She’s not my Master.”

  Audric considered him through narrowed eyes for a moment and then grinned big, showing off his long fangs. “Adieu.”

  Desperate to get away from his new idea of hell, Tristan turned away, dragging Ash along with him. When they turned the corner, he whispered, “What exactly do air users summon?”

  She flicked pale eyes at him for a moment, but he saw the fear in them before she turned away. “A creature by the name of Raijū.”

  “Raijū?” he repeated. “Never heard of it.”

  Ash harrumphed. “And hope that you never meet the great wolf born from lighting. Most dangerous.”

  Tristan swallowed hard and released her hand so she wouldn’t feel the fear in him through their touch. As they practically ran through the stone corridors feebly lit by torch, his mind raced over everything. He didn’t know what happened behind that closed door all the time he was being molested by three vampires, but his bigger concern was about Katrina. She was obviously a vampire, but very different. He couldn’t say why, but she felt old, very old despite the obviousness of being a fledgling. Besides, she probably didn’t need the armor. Tristan groaned to himself, feeling again the pain in his right leg and knee from kicking into the armor. Yeah, that was stupid.

  “I think perhaps,” Ash said softly next to him, “kendo training is not good enough.”

  He gave her a quick look, confused at her statement, but kept their hurried pace.

  She smiled up to him and said, “I think I need to teach you some advanced martial arts... improve your kick.”

  He couldn’t help but grin. “No shit.”

  13: Drive

  BY the time they got to the car, the weight on Tristan’s conscious over killing those two fledglings was overwhelming. He didn’t have proof of any wrong doing on their part. He could only tell himself he was defending his life, but that wasn’t enough. Sure, he didn’t want to die, but he didn’t have any right to kill that man. He was pinned by Katrina, trapped and desperate, but he didn’t know if Theron was really trying to kill him or not. Wanting to bite was not the same as wanting to kill. He just wasn’t equipped to deal with something like this. Most people shouldn’t have to be.

  “Do not think for moment that any one of us is innocent,” Ash said, something sharp in her tone.

  He jerked around to look at her, brow furrowed. “What are you saying?”

  “I am saying,” she said with a deep scowl, “that you are a vampire hunter. You will kill. Deal with it.”

  “Hey now, that wasn’t hunting. That was just plain murder—whoa.” Ash stumbled, almost falling into him and he put his hands out to catch her. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, I am fine. It is a long ride back, let us get going before the hour is too late.”

  Fine, right. Her left hand was caked in drying blood up to her elbow, ruining her blouse. Shannon, being so young, his blood was nearly that of a human’s and wouldn’t flake away like an older vampire’s did. Nadine’s blood soaked through Tristan’s shirt making the cotton stick to him. He shivered, feeling suddenly cold, down to his soul. “What happened in there, Ash?” It was a general question, with any number of answers.

  “I am not entirely sure, to tell you the truth.”

  He eyed her from the corner of his vision. “Katrina?

  Ash stopped and looked up to him. “She was…” She shook her head, looking confused.

  “You felt it too, didn’t you? She looked like a fledgling, but she felt wrong... older. Much older.”

  “Yes. There is something different about her. Though, what that is, I do not know.”

  He nodded. “Good to know my instincts weren’t lying to me.”

  “You should trust them more, they are rather sharp,” she said. “Though…”

  “What?”

  “I could not read Audric’s mind, but I had heard something from Nadine before we left. She… she thought of a name.”

  “Whose?”

  Ash shook her head, looking confused and worried. “Guinevere.”

  “Guin—why?”

  “I cannot say, but I—” She shook her head and turned away. “I have a bad feeling.”

  “Oh great,” he grumbled.

  Ash was going to say something but a sudden and awkward trip distracted them both. Tristan caught her before she could fall to the ground. “What’s wrong?”

  She looked up, eyes pinched in pain. That’s when he noticed the dark stain spreading out from the hand she held over her stomach.

  “What did that asshole do to you?”

  Ash’s jaw tightened.

  “Ash,” he chided.

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing is never just nothing with you. Let me see.”

  Ash sighed and carefully unbuttoned the front of her shirt, exposing her chest, perfect and unblemished.

  “More,” he ordered dryly.

  She bit into her bottom lip and opened the last of the buttons. At first he saw nothing but the perfect smoothness of her creamy white skin, the swell of breasts. But lower, almost to her navel was where she’d been bleeding. Tristan lifted the cloth aside and let out a hiss through his teeth as he good a good look. The wound wasn’t deep, oozing blood and clear fluids, but he’d seen her cut before. The fact that it was still red and seeping meant it was more serious than a little cut.

  “What did this?” he asked, avoiding the temptation to touch it.

  “Hot iron.”

  He met her eyes and shook his head in question.

  She sighed softly and said, “Fire poker. Wounds branded take longer to heal. I am happ
y it just was not silver.”

  “Wait, what? Silver? Thought that was a werewolf thing.”

  “Ah, well, yes it is true the lycan are allergic to silver, but so are we vampire, just not as aggressively. In molten liquid form...” She shuddered. “It can cause extensive and permanent damage.”

  “Soooooo,” he drawled, blinking in shock, “werewolves are real too?” This was the first she’d ever mentioned them.

  “Once. They have been hunted out existence for nearly twenty years now. You can thank Desmond for that particular task in regards to Asia.”

  He was sure he didn’t care to thank Desmond for anything. Something in the wound on her side caught his attention and he leaned in, examining it up close. “What’s this?” There was a definite shape in the mess of red weeping skin, a triangle with a line dissecting the tip.

  She sighed again, jerking away from him to cover up. “The sign of wind.” When she looked up and met his questioning eyes, she added, “It is an alchemic symbol.”

  “Alchemy? Why are vampires using alchemy?”

  She shook her head at him, turning away. “They do not… But the pythia do.”

  “Oh well, that explains everything.”

  Ash stopped and turned to face him. “I wish I knew myself.”

  Tristan scowled. He was starting to think that every one of Ash’s key memories were taken by Yuki.

  “Yes,” she hissed. “I wonder that myself.”

  “What—I mean, why did Audric burn you? What’d you do wrong?”

  Ash’s eyes widened, her stance stiffening. He was right on mark. “I must take care of the jikininki.”

  “Dammit Ash!” Tristan rushed after her and grabbed her by the wrist. If she wanted to avoid him she could have made it so he’d never be able to catch her. Then again, she was at her limit. “Stop running away.”

  She gave him a look that was meant to be annoyed, but she only looked tired. “Dawn is a little more than two hours upon us. We need more than half that time to return to the hotel. I will not leave that creature to run free without a Master to control it. I raised that man from the earth and I will be the one to return him to such. Now, if you will excuse me…”

  Tristan bowed slightly, giving a flamboyant gesture to motion her to go about her own damn business. Because, apparently, it wasn’t any of his.

  “Tristan,” she sighed and went up to him. “I am… I am just trying to do right.”

  “By whom?”

  “The universe.”

  He laughed, taking that last step between them into her. “That’s a bit of a tall order, don’t you think?”

  She gave him a small half-smile. “Perhaps.”

  Everything in him in that moment screamed to grab her and kiss her, to hold her and cherish her. Let her know just how much he respected the person she was and fought to be, faults and all. “Go on, hurry up with your jikininki, I’ll wait in the car.”

  She looked stunned for only a moment and then gave him an appreciative nod. Her walk away from him into the woods surrounding the perimeter of the castle was slow and awkward, two words Tristan never thought he’d associate with her. He sighed to himself and slipped into the driver’s seat of the car to start it and warm himself up. Inside the castle hadn’t been that much warmer than outside. But the little scuffle left him sweating and sticky. Now he was just plain cold and tired. He let out a heavy sigh, resting back against the deep bucket seat.

  He couldn’t remember shutting his eyes but then he suddenly felt a presence next to him that he hadn’t heard coming. Tristan snapped awake and drew his gun, aiming it at the person sitting in the passenger seat next to him. Julien didn’t even bother to look surprised. The little boy only smiled broadly showing fangs that were more than a little intimidating for someone his size. Where they that big before?

  The boy plucked at the tip with one. “Used me glamour to make ‘em smaller.”

  Tristan furrowed his brow at the kid wondering why he’d do that.

  “You two put on a good show for the Master tonight. He’s more pleased than he lets on.”

  Tristan glanced around quickly, looking to see if Ash were around. The inside of the car windows were too foggy to tell. “We killed two of his scions. He made it clear he wanted me dead the moment we met. He threatened to unleash his summons on us.”

  “And you is not dead, is you? Master won’t say so ‘cause your kind killed his Master, but he really respects what you did back there. And those two, Theron and Shannon? They were nothing, would become nothing.”

  Certainly not now that he and Ash had killed them. “What do you want?”

  “To tell you where to find Lucien, of course.”

  “What? But Ash said—”

  “Sorry, gov, think she did a bit of lyin’ to you. Needed to get you out of there. Really, her admiration and overprotectiveness of you is rather sweet.”

  Tristan couldn’t help but let his anger show in his expression. He didn’t know why, but he believed the kid when he said Ash lied. He’d never caught her in an outright lie before, just her half-truth bullshit.

  “Oh, don’t be so rough on her. She’s not had an easy life. And worse more so now that she’s got you to watch after.”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  Julien looked at the gun still pointed squarely in his face and smiled big. “Right. Lucien then? You want to know where he’s at?”

  “And what’s it going to cost me?”

  The boy smiled big, showing off those long fangs again. He really was ancient indeed. And vanilla. He had no real powers, none that could move the earth or create hurricanes anyway. “Ash already made payment. Master couldn’t give her the info, look weak in front of the others. Which is why I’m here to give what she earned.”

  Tristan sat forward, threatening the boy vampire with the gun still. “What did she do?” He didn’t like hearing that there were other people in that room, doing god knew what. In fact, Tristan had too many ideas on the subject, understanding vampires enough.

  “Not me place to say. But I can say that you’ll find Lucien here.” The boy held out a bit of folded yellow paper, completely ignoring the gun as Tristan flinched, moving it closer to him. “Happy hunting, Uruwashi.” The boy climbed out of the car and stopped just outside, looking in. “If there are others of your kind still hiding about in the world, I hope they are as noble as you are, Tristan Blum.”

  The door shut, leaving Tristan sitting there in silent awe. Moments later there was a shadow of movement outside and Tristan trained the gun up again when the door opened.

  Ash bent down, blinking at him in surprise. “What are you doing?”

  He quickly tucked the gun away, palmed the scrap of paper from Julien. “Nothing. Let’s get out of here.”

  She climbed stiffly into the low car, fighting to not wince. In the end she lost out to the pain and flopped into the seat with groan. The movement sent a waft of scents over Tristan: blood, earth… jikininki. He couldn’t help but crinkle his nose up at the stink.

  Moving very slowly, carefully, Ash shifted in the seat to find a position that was comfortable, but none were to be had with the still open wound. She regretted defying Audric only for the pain he caused her. But the pain of betraying Tristan would have been far worse a burden to bear.

  “Tristan I—” She stopped, looking at him, forcing herself to meet his eyes.

  He stopped mid-motion, foot hovering over the gas. The expression on her face, the sorrow and despair in her eyes, she was in more than physical pain. He hated to see that look. He gave her a wry smile and reached out to take her hand. He smiled more fully when she didn’t pull away from him, even gave him a little squeeze in return.

  “Take a left at the end of the drive.”

  He nodded and pulled out, happy to leave the castle and its inhabitants behind. They spent the next ten minutes in silence, both too caught up in their thoughts to bother speaking them aloud until they could sort them out. Another ten
minutes later, Tristan hadn’t them sorted out any more than before, but he decided he had to tell Ash where Lucien was, the whole point to that mess back there.

  “Here,” he said sounding grumpy as he held his hand out to her, not bothering to look her way.

  She picked up the paper. “What’s this? Chateau de Lune Ardente.” She made a surprised noise, looking to Tristan. “Where did you come by this?”

  “Julien brought it to me,” he said plainly trying to keep the accusation out of his voice.

  “Tristan,” she sighed, lowering her hands into her lap. He refused to take his eyes from the road. “I… only said that—”

  “To protect me, I know. But you know, I can’t help but wonder what else you’ve lied to me about. All this time I was sure it was only these half-truths that you told—lying without actually lying. Maybe I was wrong about you.”

  “All right. You want to know a truth? A full truth in all its blunt form?”

  He shot her a glance, taking in her stiff posture and the fire burning in her eyes.

  “This entire night I have committed folly after folly. Our time on the plane left me wanting… you. Your scent filled me, consumed me so that it was all I could think of. When you slept, it was all I could do to keep from attacking you in such a prone position, keeping myself busy going through our supplies over and over again. And then, by the time we reached our room at the hotel, I could not contain my desire any longer and I attacked you. And by the Goddess it was wondrous.”

  Tristan smiled to himself. His sentiments exactly.

  “But it should not have happened. It was beyond careless of me to touch you like that. I could have infected you. And yes, I know you desire it, but I cannot. I just cannot kill you Tristan.” She sighed, slumping again. “And then to add my already embarrassing follies, I accidently raise a jikininki when all I meant to do was shudder the earth below our feet, or perhaps call upon all the living things in the soil to converge on that brat of a child vampire.

  “Then, I go too far and taste your blood… I wanted more.” She looked to him and he flinched when they met eyes. “I wanted to kill you.”