Sunset (Pact Arcanum)

by Arshad Ahsanuddin

“Huntmaster, may I speak?” Lorcan’s tone was deferential.

  “You may speak, Magister Diluthical, if you have anything relevant to say to this matter,” Aleksei conceded.

  “Magister Tervilant,” Lorcan addressed Alejandro, “do you remember the last time we met in person, when we both held Praetor rank?”

  Alejandro frowned. “I have performed no diplomatic duties that required negotiation with House Diluthical.”

  “I was not Praetor Diluthical at the time, my Lord. I served Prince Nicholas as Praetor Luscian for two weeks after he first declared himself.”

  Alejandro turned white.

  “So you do remember, my Lord,” Lorcan said with a grin. “There was a point in our negotiations when I asked you whether you wished to present formal notice to the Magister Luscian of your claim on his lands in order to legalize House Tervilant’s occupation of France. You declined. In fact, you laughed in my face. You told me House Luscian had become a footnote in history, unworthy of any effort to appease.”

  “It seems you have personally engineered the decapitation of your house, Prince Alejandro,” Nick said. “Congratulations on your elevation to mastery. Now, if you have nothing further to offer, are you ready to hear my terms?”

  “What terms?” Alejandro focused on Nick with suspicion.

  “House Tervilant may remain as tenants on my land, as long as you recognize my authority over that territory. As tribute, your people will allow into my lands all Nightwalkers and Sentinels who desire asylum with House Luscian, and you will defend their persons and their honor from all threats until you deliver them into the custody of the Armistice Security garrison at Castle Night.”

  Alejandro scowled. “You wish us to offer sanctuary to deserters? What possible reason would we have to help you recruit traitors into the service of the Triumvirate?”

  “Those are my terms, Magister Tervilant. Take them or leave them.” Nick let his voice deepen as his fangs extended fully. “But if you refuse, I will expect you to be out of my lands within three days. After that, I shall begin cleansing my cities of those who remain.”

  “Ridiculous!” Alejandro threw up his hands. “Why don’t you ask us to sign your stinking Armistice Declaration itself, if you are going to make impossible demands?”

  “All in good time, Magister. This treaty will remain in force for five years. At the end of that time, we will renegotiate the terms of the agreement, and I may impose additional conditions.”

  “House Tervilant will never agree to be your lackeys, Daywalker!” Alejandro seethed. “We would rather die.”

  Nick shrugged nonchalantly. “Then you will die. It makes no difference. Unless I have your agreement, in three days all of your people who chose to remain in my territory will be exterminated. You are the Magister Tervilant. Their honor is your honor to defend. Is your pride greater than your honor?” Nick turned away from him. “You have three days. I await your final answer.”

  “Is there anything else, Magister Luscian?” the Huntmaster said with heavy sarcasm.

  “Just this, Huntmaster.” Nick stepped away from the lectern to stand directly in front of Aleksei. “I am the last scion of the Eldest House. My existence is Luscian’s final legacy to you. If I must cast down the civilization the Children of Darkness have built to achieve my ends, I will do so without hesitation. It would be wise not to underestimate me again.” Turning his back on the leader of the Court of Shadows, Nick walked calmly out of the Council Chamber, Lorcan marching a step behind him.

  CHAPTER 32

  House Diluthical Stronghold, Binn Mhadagáin, Belfast, Northern Ireland; One hour later

  “Do you think they bought it, Ruarc?”

  Standing beside Nick, Lorcan gazed over the roof of his fortress at the stars. “It’s hard to say. No one is going to share information with me, given my ties to you. We’ll know more in three days.” He sighed. “You might as well relax for a while. I can show you to the guest quarters if you want to rest, unless you’d prefer to head back to Jeremy.”

  Nick shook his head. “I wouldn’t know what to say to Jer after these last couple of days. He’s come so far from the person he was when we met, and now I’m turning into the same kind of manipulative psychopath Medusa was. How am I any different?”

  Lorcan stepped closer and casually draped an arm over Nick’s shoulders. “Does it really matter? So, you and Jeremy’s former mistress have a few things in common; that doesn’t mean you’re anything alike. You’re you, Nicholas. That’s all that matters to any of us, Jeremy included.”

  Nick sighed and laid his head tiredly on Lorcan’s shoulder. Closing his eyes, he slipped his left arm around Lorcan’s waist. Lorcan froze, startled by the unexpected gesture of familiarity, and then inhaled the scent of his former lover, finding nothing there other than friendship. Regardless, he tentatively reached up to run his fingers gently through Nick’s hair, the way he used to. Nick didn’t protest. Opening his senses fully, Lorcan recorded the sensation of Nick’s weight on his body, the stirring of his quiet breath, the touch of his arm. He didn’t know how long he stood there, glorying in his love’s nearness, just out of reach.

  The door to the roof opened, and Siobhan, Lorcan’s second-in-command, walked onto the observation deck with a scroll in her hand. She started to speak, then saw Nick and Lorcan standing intimately, arm in arm. Closing her mouth, she turned to the four guards at the door. “Leave us,” she commanded silently over the bloodline. “Wait inside the door until you are called back to this level.”

  The guard commander bowed slightly. “Your will, Primogenitor,” he responded as he led his officers off the roof.

  Siobhan knelt on the stone floor and sent her words to Lorcan through the bloodline. “My Lord, my life is yours; I am your blade to wield.”

  “I accept your honor, Primogenitor, to defend as if it were my own.” Lorcan did not turn around and his inner voice was resigned. “Go ahead and get it off your chest, Siobhan. You won’t be happy until you do.”

  Siobhan stood and watched them, both vampire lords ignoring her presence. Finally, she spoke to Lorcan again through the bloodline. “Master, it has been a year since he stood by and allowed the Triumvirate to drive you from his side. Are you still in love with him, despite the fact he is already mated?”

  Lorcan sighed. He liked Siobhan. She had initially been quite hostile when he named her Primogenitor Diluthical, unwilling to bend her knee to a vampire a quarter of her age. However, she was quick to appreciate his skillful political maneuvering in the wake of the failed attempt to assassinate Nick. She had become one of his strongest supporters from the remains of Brion’s upper echelon, at least for the moment. Lorcan wasn’t about to let his guard down with her, though. No alliance lasts forever among the Children of Darkness. “Yes, Siobhan, I still love him, more than anything.”

  “You can never be together, my Lord. Not unless you can convince him to dispose of his Leshir. Do you think that will happen?”

  Lorcan took a deep breath, again finding no evidence of desire in Nick’s scent. “No, Siobhan. He will never let go of Jeremy for my sake.”

  She walked forward to stand beside him, on the opposite side to Nick. “So, you choose to be the Selaya to their union.”

  Lorcan closed his eyes. “Yes, I suppose I do.”

  “Does he know that?”

  “Yes,” he whispered silently. “Why did you come up here, Siobhan?” he asked out loud, unable to keep the edge of irritability out of his tone.

  She handed him the scroll. Unwilling to let go of Nick, Lorcan unrolled it with his left hand, read the short message, and smiled. Then he turned to place a feather-light kiss on Nick’s forehead. Immediately, he shook the Daywalker roughly to cover it. “Wake up, Nick,” he said loudly. “There’s news.”

  Nick shifted in his arms, and then opened his eyes and lifted his head “What happened?” he asked.

  Lorcan handed him the scroll. Nick took it, shaking his head at the terse wording, an
d then blinked and read it again. He stared at Lorcan as the other vampire stepped away from him. “It can’t be this easy.”

  “I’m sure it’s a gambit of some kind, but for the moment, you’ve won. Go home, Nick, and let them know what you did to protect them. I’m sure your brother is waiting to see you again, not to mention Jeremy.”

  Nick nodded, looking down again at House Tervilant’s acceptance of his terms. “You’re right. I should get back.” He drew his former lover into a hug. “Thank you for being here through all of this, Ruarc. It means a lot to me.”

  “Well, I must get back to my duties.” Siobhan smiled at Nick. “Goodnight, Magister.” She turned to Lorcan and her smile grew predatory. “Goodnight, Selaya.” Then she laughed and strode to the door.

  Nick frowned at Lorcan. “Selaya? That’s Arcolin for ‘silent tracker.’ New nickname?”

  “It’s just an expression.” Lorcan blushed furiously, all the while inundating Siobhan with curses over the bloodline. “Sort of a term of endearment.”

  Nick glanced at the door Siobhan had exited through. “Um, are the two of you involved?”

  Lorcan’s eyes bulged. “Me and Siobhan? I would sooner bed a jaguar. No, she’s an ally, that’s all. She thinks men play too many games, so she delights in playing tricks on us. It’s nothing.”

  Nick shrugged. “I should get back to Anchorpoint. I want to see how Toby’s settling in, and I need to give the Triumvirate an update on the situation in France. We need to be prepared if we get any new recruits coming through the Castle Night garrison.” He looked back at Lorcan. “Thanks for your help, Ruarc. I mean it.”

  “I am Primogenitor Luscian, Master,” Lorcan said quietly. “Just doing my job.”

  Nick looked at him sadly for a moment before he teleported away.

  “Take care, Love,” Lorcan said to the empty air.

  Armistice Security Training Center, Anchorpoint City, Grand Mesa, Colorado; Three hours later

  Nick sat in the center of the visitor’s room and rubbed his hands nervously on his pants. He could feel Ana and Scott conferring silently over a temporary link, but he didn’t eavesdrop. Jeremy watched him with a blank expression, and Toby simply sat in his chair behind the sparkling force field, cradling his head in his hands.

  Finally, Nick couldn’t stand it any longer. “Guys, say something.” He said into the silence.

  Scott sighed. “You did what you thought you had to, Nick.”

  “Your tactics were a little extreme,” Ana added, “but you accomplished what you set out to do.”

  “You were protecting your family.” Jeremy glanced at Scott and Ana. “I think we can all get behind that.”

  Scott patted Nick’s shoulder and the Daywalker slumped, relieved, under his touch. “Wow, you were really worried, weren’t you?” asked Scott.

  “I’ve done a lot of horrible things in my time, Scotty, but nothing like this. I wasn’t sure you’d want to stick with me afterward.”

  Ana snorted. “We’re not quite that fickle. You don’t have to sugarcoat who you are for us.”

  “Toby?” Nick turned to his brother.

  Raising his head, Toby stared at Nick through the lazily swirling lights of the containment field between them. His nerves were still shot, but he had calmed down after his initial violent reaction to Nick’s presence. The anger and disappointment on his face had nothing to do with the Gift. “Guys,” he said, his voice constricted as he got to his feet, “can you excuse us? I need to talk to my brother alone.”

  “Toby—” Jeremy’s tone carried a hint of warning.

  “Alone, Jer.”

  The three other Sentinels glanced at each other and quietly filed out of the room.

  Nick swallowed, reading the fury in his brother’s emotions. “Toby, I had to—”

  “I don’t give a damn about that!” Toby cut him off. Picking up his chair, he hurled it at his brother.

  Nick ducked as the chair bounced off the security field between them.

  His fists clenched at his sides, Toby yelled at his brother. “So you killed a city full of Nightwalkers. Big deal! You could have wiped out the entire country and I wouldn’t care. Good riddance!”

  Nick stepped forward, laying his palm against the force field. Reacting to the pressure, the swirling lights of the shimmering barrier clustered around his fingertips, surrounding his hand with a glowing aura. “That’s the Gift talking, Toby. Not you.”

  Toby sighed as he placed his hand against Nick’s, on his side of the barrier. “Big brother,” he whispered, “I would never have turned my back on you. You should have known that by now. But that’s not what’s pissing me off.”

  “What then?” Nick frowned.

  “An old drinking buddy of yours came to see me yesterday afternoon. Said his name was Rafael.”

  Nick blinked. “Raf came here? During the day?”

  Toby nodded. “He was worried about you. He thought I was the person with the best chance to use his information successfully.”

  “What information?” Nick looked confused.

  “He could smell it on you, Nick,” Toby said angrily. “He said you probably used magic to scrub it out of your system, but he knew your scent well enough to pick up on the residual traces.”

  Nick collapsed into his chair. “Oh, God. Toby, I—”

  “Don’t deny it, Nick. Just talk to me.” Toby righted his chair and sat, leaning forward close to the barrier. “When did you start using again?”

  Nick closed his eyes, blocking out his brother’s focused stare. “A few months ago, my time. I found it on a smuggler in Paris while I was laying down the containment circle.”

  “God, Nick, how could you be so stupid?” Toby fumed. He reached into his Gift for the knowledge of magic that was his birthright. “You tied your life into a blood circle, and then cast it while you were high? Are you suicidal, or what?”

  Nick hung his head. “No. I had to rest between casting the components of the circle to regenerate my blood volume. That’s when I used it. Then I scrubbed it out of my bloodstream when I went back to casting the circle, so it wouldn’t interfere with the magic.”

  “Why, Nick? You were so proud of getting clean. Why go back to it?”

  Nick sighed and opened his eyes. “I was alone, Toby,” he said, sounding tired. “Completely on my own for the first time in years. And I was working step-by-step to commit murder on a scale I could barely contemplate.”

  “You didn’t have to be alone.” Toby argued. “Hell, I would have helped you cast the spell myself if it would have kept you from falling back into this place.”

  They sat in silence for several minutes. “Who else knows?” Nick finally asked.

  “Just you, me, Rafael, and Lorcan.” Toby watched as Nick’s head snapped up at the last name. “He called me over the AI link you gave him while you were making your report to the Triumvirate. He said pretty much the same thing as Rafael. Apparently, he cast a spell on you while you weren’t looking, so if any of the Court picked up on it they would think the scent was coming from him, rather than from you. He didn’t want them to think you were weak.”

  Nick slumped down farther in his seat. “Thank you, Ruarc,” he said softly.

  Toby folded his arms across his chest. “What are you going to do now?”

  Nick looked up into his brother’s clear blue eyes, so much like his own. “I beat it once. I can do it again.” He licked his lips. “Will you help me, Tobias?”

  “Whatever you need.” Toby’s voice held no judgment or absolution, only commitment as he stepped onto his first battlefield as a Sentinel. “My eyes are open, and I am not afraid.”

  * * *

  Nick closed the door of his apartment and sealed it behind him. Stepping into the living room, he saw Jeremy flipping through the pages of an electronic book on a virtual screen floating in front of him. He did not acknowledge Nick’s presence.

  “What you reading?” Nick looked over Jeremy’s shoulder.


  Jeremy’s eyes remained fixed on the screen. “Nightwalker epic romances from the beginning of the Second Age. Translated, of course,” he said. “My Arcolin is fairly mediocre, even with what I learned from the Gift. I’ve been kind of getting into it for a few months, just out of curiosity. I’m surprised there’s such a strong tradition in that genre of vampire literature. I guess immortality isn’t any help in trying to figure this stuff out.”

  Reaching down Nick began to gently massage his lover’s shoulders. “Are you angry that I went to see Lorcan?”

  “No.” Jeremy finally turned to look up at Nick. “Just sit down and talk to me.” He picked up the remote and clicked off the screen.

  “What do you want to talk about?” Nick walked around the couch and sat in a chair opposite.

  “What happened in Alexandria?”

  “I told them that if they came after me, I’d tell everyone exactly how to wipe them out.” He shrugged. “They’ve backed down for the moment, but I’m sure they’ll find another avenue of attack.”

  Jeremy nodded and his eyes narrowed. “Were you bluffing?”

  “I don’t bluff, Jeremy. You know that.”

  “I do know. So, for the time being, you’ve managed to pull their fangs. How do you think they’ll counterattack?”

  Nick shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. They’ll probably go after me indirectly. The Huntmaster acknowledged my actions were legal by Court protocol. If history is anything to go by, they’ll try to undermine me politically somehow. Find some excuse to brand me dishonorable.”

  Jeremy sniffed. “They won’t have to look far. You challenged them with your former lover at your side.”

  Nick stared at his lover silently for a long moment. “I needed his help, Jer. He’s been part of the Court for more than a year now. I haven’t stood in the Council Chamber in person since before Los Angeles. I needed his insight into their thought processes to make sure my speech hit all the right buttons and I didn’t fall into any obvious pitfalls.”

  “So you used your influence to force him to roll over on your enemies,” Jeremy said in a quiet voice. “Just like Brion.”