She leaned in, darting out her brand new pink tongue to kiss him. It tasted like his blood, a reminder of the fundamental difference between them. A reminder of her power over him.
“Uta, stop.”
She did, eyes glazed. “Please, Bel. I don’t want to stop.” His fierce, ancient vampire pouted like a spoiled child.
He liked the sound of that please, and he couldn’t help it—he chuckled. “Are you healed?”
“Yes.”
“Show me.”
She stuck out her tongue again, like a child on the playground.
Oh God, he wanted that up and down his shaft. “But first, your hand. Show me what’s in your hand.”
Her eyes darted from her fist to her hand and back.
“Show me.”
She obeyed, and the two inch tip of her tongue, already shriveled past recognition, was revealed on her palm.
He gritted his teeth. “If you ever hurt yourself like that in front of me again, I’ll kill you.” He had been powerless over his instinct to help her, and shite—her bite. She’d taken away all his control.
She hid her fist behind his back. “Please kiss me.”
“No. I’m like a fucking puppet—your blood is pulling all my strings. I don’t want you.”
She jerked back as if he’d slapped her and rose to her feet effortlessly. “Fine. But you do realize you’ve made things much worse?”
“What do you mean?”
“You are the only scientific expert on vampire blood in the whole world, yet you did not anticipate shoving your arm in my mouth would strengthen our bond? I believe in English you call that irony, yes?”
As she crossed the hall to the dining room, emotions collided inside him like two storm fronts. He couldn’t separate her burning sense of rejection from his humiliating lust. Not just flashes of her thoughts and feelings, but her whole damn consciousness had taken up residence alongside his.
Fuck.
Maybe he could create a pill to cure him of their bond. An Uta pill made of her blood that would take the edge off his hunger for her. If he were really generous, he might make her a Bel pill too. Yeah, right. This bond was just like the wasting disease and it came down to the same damn osjećaj—some ephemeral sentiment he had no idea how to capture in his lab.
She opened the door to the dining room, and the occupants gasped in chorus. She did look like she’d just barely escaped a serial killer.
“Listen, you herd of impotent goats, I say we adjourn. We can finalize our plans in the morning. Tonight, we play cards.”
Loki huffed like a tiny drama queen whose authority had been usurped. “Uta—”
But Andre cut him off. “I second her proposal. We need a respite, and playing cards is the custom at my home. If you prefer to abstain in favor of other ways to rest your ever-waking minds, I will not take offense. However, Loki, I recall you have a fondness for cards.”
“Indeed I do. It is also my habit in the night hours.”
“I also believe you have an outstanding debt to me from Uta’s last card party. A herd of prize Norwegian sheep, was it?”
“Andre, I really don’t recall.”
Resting against the wall, Bel’s head hurt. He’d heard enough about livestock from these crusty old vampires to last a lifetime.
“This is no time for a card party,” Sadavir said. “We’re in the middle of a crisis.”
Uta glared at him. “That is when you most need a party, you fool.”
Bel couldn’t disagree with her, even if he wanted nothing to do with her ever again.
He needed a glass of water, and then two of bourbon. Hopefully that would be enough to drown Uta’s feelings, and some of his own.
“Eight o’clock,” Andre said. “We’ll play in the parlor next door.”
Bel had no intention of partying. Or rather, he had every intention of enjoying a party in his room, alone with a bottle of bourbon—just as sweet as a woman, but the burn only lasted while it was in your mouth.
Chapter 22
AS THE JUSTICIA AND HOUSEHOLDERS filed from the dining room, someone tugged at Lucas’s sleeve.
“I have to show you something. You too, Andre.” Leo held up his laptop like a will-work-for-food sign.
Lucas and Andre crowded around Leo where he opened the computer and displayed a series of emails. “These were nearly impossible to find. They’re from an alias I’ve traced to Ethan, and they confirm that he did hire people to attack the first Hunter cells.”
“Loki,” Andre said, raising his voice slightly. “You need to see this.”
Loki stood at the other end of the table, talking to Sadavir. He came over directly, as did the other vampire. Lucas would have preferred the Hunter-hater stay away, but no luck.
Leo pointed at the screen. “I’ve found message boards where a vampire takes credit for the first attacks and reveals the secrets of Hunter blood, that it promises sun tolerance. But it’s really Ethan and I can prove it.”
“Bennett attacked his own people to incite violence against Hunters?” Sadavir asked. “That’s a level of evil I wouldn’t have expected, even from a Hunter.”
“Ethan’s not loyal to Hunters,” Lucas replied. “He’s only loyal to himself. This whole war is about his ego, a bullshit cause for him to garner power.”
“Am I hearing a proposal in here somewhere?” Loki asked. The little guy was shrewd and he appeared interested, but that could just have been the perpetually high arch of his eyebrows.
Lucas looked to Andre, who’d already made it clear he thought this plan was pure fantasy. Still, he nodded, granting permission for Lucas to share it.
“I want to take down the Hunters from the inside.” Lucas waited for the rebuttal. None came.
Loki must have been desperate.
“There’s a bottom up and a top down approach.” Lucas gestured with one hand high and one low. “We disseminate news of Ethan’s betrayal, undermine his leadership. At the same time, we enlist vampires to kidnap but not harm Hunters. They feed from and essentially woo the Hunters. Subject them to that notorious vampire brainwashing, which turns out simply to be kindness, respect, and pleasure.”
Loki’s mouth hung open.
Okay, Lucas’s plan was far out, but had they really never thought of sleeping with the enemy? In thousands of years?
“Preposterous,” Sadavir finally spoke. “You heard Uta. Hunters can’t be trusted. We must kill them before they destroy us all. When the last Hunter is dead, we can return to our homelands to heal and rebuild.”
“Will the last Hunter be my friend Lucas, here?” Andre sidestepped closer, positioning himself between Lucas and the bully. “Because when you talk about exterminating them, you’re talking like a Hunter.”
Warm fuzzy feelings suffused Lucas. Andre had never called him a friend before, and he got a little taste of that famous fatherly affection. A guy could get used to that.
“Indeed,” Loki said. “Wasn’t it your wise countryman who said, ‘Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man’?”
“Don’t quote that twit Gandhi to me. My whole household went on the salt march with him. I nearly starved.”
“Yes, poor Sadavir. I’m sure in the entire country of India, you were unable to find a soul to feed you.” Loki wore an impossibly bland expression, which made his sarcasm all the more amusing, at least to Lucas.
Sadavir seemed immune and simply crossed his arms. “Nevertheless, we’re not mankind. The greatest force at our disposal is our great strength.”
“See—” Lucas shook his head “—I beg to disagree. I’ve been living here for almost two months, and I’m pretty sure your greatest strength is that your bite feels like ecstasy, Viagra, and the best sex of your life every time.”
Andre laughed.
As an afterthought, Lucas added, “And that you’re mostly good.”
Loki lifted his eyeb
rows into an even pointier arch than usual. “Lucas, I’m intrigued. How would you go about it?”
“I’d use Derek Williams. He’s been captive here for a month, and I’ve tried to woo him to the vampire side.”
“And?”
“Uta fed from him when she was here last month, and it was eye opening for him. Currently, he’s neutral at best. But I think this news about Ethan will tip him over. And then if one of you vampires bites him, he’ll understand the big picture better.”
“A Hunter, to feed from?” Sadavir asked, with glaring interest in the advantageous prospect.
“To sip from, not to kill,” Andre qualified.
“No offense, Sadavir,” Lucas said. “But I think maybe your Xhosan colleague would better suit Derek’s taste. And we do care if it he likes being bitten.”
“Oh yes, Nceba would be perfect.” Loki clapped his small hands together, then his face fell into sadness. “I fear she is wasting quickly. Perhaps his blood will help her.”
“If we can convince Derek to switch sides, he can present himself as a challenger to Ethan’s leadership. To lead the Hunters from hate to a new future.” God, he sounded like a ridiculous Pollyanna. But again, no one refuted him. Perhaps they were all fools in hope together.
“I want to meet Derek,” Loki announced. “I’ll go get Nceba and you can take us both to him.”
In that freaky-fast vampire way, Nceba and Loki were back at Lucas’s side in a matter of seconds. The small group formed a procession, parading through the cellar to Derek’s cell.
Lucas knocked before he unlocked the closet door.
The prisoner sat reading a novel on his bed, which occupied most of the cramped but hospitable room where Lucas himself had spent a few nights the month prior.
Derek sat up, clearly puzzled by the unexpected visitors.
Laptop in hand, Leo approached him. “I have proof that Ethan sacrificed two cells of Hunters, then impersonated vampires to encourage them to do the same.”
Derek didn’t speak, just took the computer from Leo. He read for a while, the light changing on his face as he opened and closed computer windows. Finally, he simply said, “Damn.”
Lucas stepped directly in front of the Hunter. “Derek, we need you to help us take him down.”
“No. I just want to be done with this. I want to walk away. Marasović, trust me that I’m done Hunting and let me go.”
“Derek, this is Loki Falk, chief of the vampire council,” Andre said.
“Chief?” Derek frowned.
“Yes, I am quite possibly the oldest living creature,” Loki said, straightening his spine. “And this is Nceba Mandla.”
Derek frowned at her. “What do you want?”
“Mr. Williams, Lucas tells me that your time here has persuaded you that we are not the incarnation of evil the Hunters believe us to be. Is that true?”
“Yes. It seems that, like humans, you must be judged individually.”
“Very true. And what do you believe is the cause of your people’s mandate to exterminate us?”
“Lucas says it’s something in the past. That once Hunters and vampires lived together, until there was a war.”
“That’s right. And now there is another war. Leo, please show Mr. Williams the photos of the Hunter cells that have been attacked.”
Leo brought up the images one by one. Indonesia, Mumbai, South Africa, Santiago, British Columbia. Derek reacted just the way someone who wasn’t a sociopath named Ethan Bennett would—frozen in horror, shock on his face.
Lucas sat down next to the Hunter. “Ethan wanted this. He made this happen to foment rage against the vampires and consolidate his power.”
Derek turned, meeting Lucas’s gaze without any suspicion on his face.
Lucas turned up his palm. “We need you to help us bring him down. We need you to step up as an informed leader, proposing reconciliation.”
“They’d crucify me.”
“Not if you can prove their leader is a traitor.”
“They’ll never believe it. They’ll say the evidence is fabricated.”
“That’s probably true,” Loki said. “So, your options are to stay locked in this cell until the five-thousand-year war ends, or take a risk and try to save some lives—vampire, Hunter, human civilians.”
Derek’s eyes ping-ponged between Lucas and Loki, until Nceba stepped forward, capturing his attention.
“Mr. Williams, today I heard a story about a time when our people lived together in harmony. My sire hinted of this time to me, although I did not understand until today. I believe there may be a special affinity between Hunters and vampires that your ancestors drove a wedge into five thousand years ago. What if we could heal that wedge?”
Derek was mesmerized by her—hell, so was Lucas. Her gentle tone, warm and logical, could probably coax either of them into anything.
“How?” Derek whispered the word.
“Let me feed from you, and perhaps we can find out.”
Damn. Lucas flushed, and his collar grew tight. Was he anticipating Derek’s pleasure, or did he actually have one straight bone in his body after all?
“Okay,” Derek said. “But everyone leaves. No, wait. Lucas, you stay.”
Surprised, Lucas studied the Hunter. Derek blinked rapidly and rings of sweat appeared at the underarms of his shirt. He was scared shitless, and Lucas couldn’t blame him. Uta had fed from Derek once, a month back. The guy knew exactly how he was about to lose control to his enemy. Was he afraid she would drink him dry?
Sure, no skin off Lucas’s back to referee. He nodded, and the others filed out of the room.
Derek perched on the bed cross-legged. “Tell me what to do.”
“It will relax you most to lay down. Yes, like that. Now, turn on your side facing away from the wall.”
Gracefully, the small woman climbed onto the bed and lay alongside Derek’s body. She was petite, but both men knew she was also deadly powerful. “Ready?” she asked.
When Derek nodded, her fangs were in his neck before he could change his mind. All the air escaped from his body in one long exhalation as he relaxed into Nceba. Lucas’s muscles relaxed sympathetically as he imagined Derek’s bliss. This ancient bond, this symbiosis between Hunters and vampires, it was incredible—some mysterious, holy shit. It gave Lucas a purpose Hunting never had.
The thing between him and Pedro was good—they’d have been good if they were two normal guys. But the bond between them was way beyond normal. It mattered, the same way as that first love between the vampire and the Hunter mattered so long ago. Hell, maybe they had a destiny to bring their kinds together again. But if he became a vampire—
“Mmghhh.” Nceba made an animal sound very like a contended lioness.
The door opened quietly and Loki slipped in. “Oh my.”
Neither Derek nor Nceba seemed to notice. She stroked along his spine with a slow motion. Derek threw his leg over hers, pulling her closer and rubbing against her. Okay, thrusting was probably a more accurate word. Derek was clearly at the height of his skin sensitivity. In a moment, he would be craving a kiss, or something to suck on.
Loki opened the door again and motioned for someone to enter. “I see I’m just in time.”
It was Nceba’s householder, the one she had seemed so close to during the Justicia meeting. For a moment, the sweet-faced and curvy woman just stared at the two on the bed. Then she smiled and climbed behind Derek. She angled up on her elbow and bent forward to kiss him as soon as his tongue appeared on his lips.
Deep in the back of the Hunter’s throat, the sound of pure pleasure formed, but it was swallowed by the woman who kissed him.
“Lucas, I think Derek wouldn’t mind if we gave him some privacy,” Loki said.
They left together. Andre and Leo stood outside the room—an awkward pair.
“So…” Leo began, rocking on the balls of his feet. But he must have been trying to fill the silence because he didn’t continue.
/> Minutes passed. The vampires were probably eavesdropping, but Lucas had nothing to occupy him and his eyelids drooped.
The now-familiar pain, which began days—or was it weeks—ago started up in his side, jerking him awake. Like a blade between his two lowest ribs, the damned stitch kept him winded and nauseous. It was probably a symptom of stress and that he wasn’t taking good care of himself, and maybe of something more worrying, but he’d be damned if he had time to think about that at the moment.
He forced his attention from it to study the winery’s vast workspace. Five enormous stainless steel vats lined the south and west walls and reached up to the high ceiling. A roller door for deliveries spanned half the east wall. Various pieces of machinery pressed against the fourth wall, flanking Derek’s makeshift cell, and Lucas occupied himself with trying to guess their functions. That cylindrical thing had to be a press, and the long stainless steel trough would empty into a de-stemmer. Next to an industrial sink, coiled hoses hung in orderly rows. Was that how they got the wine out of the vats? His research into the Marasović family had turned Lucas into a wine connoisseur, but Pedro was the real expert, a first class vintner.
Finally, Loki spoke. “Lucas, I do like this plan. I will ask every member of the Justicia to reach out to the vampires they trust most. We will organize the friendly raids as soon as—”
The door to Derek’s cell opened. Nceba appeared with Derek in hand, her eyes glinting gold. On closer inspection, they were simply chocolate-colored, but the glimmer had drawn his attention to the fact that she looked fifteen years younger than she had when she went into the closet.
“Friends, Derek is returning to our room with us. We will give him the right to roam freely at Kaštel as a token of our trust in him. He will decide tomorrow if he is willing to lead a coup against your brother.”
Lucas turned, curious to see how Andre would react to her giving orders. The old guy was pretty much a sucker for bossy chicks.
“Of course,” he replied. “Derek, you are my guest.” Only those who knew him well would have caught the faintest hint of sarcasm. Apparently Loki was among those who did, because he smiled, then hid it quickly by pressing his lips together.
Blood Reunited Page 14
