by Nix, Imogene
“Yet, we have prevailed once more. Tomorrow we shall mourn them, but for now, we may celebrate our victory.” Her tone was sombre, and Hope felt the rippling emotions on the air.
“Cressida, what will happen to Estersham now?” Her voice was uncertain, but it was closure she sought on this front now.
“His remains have been transported to a location where they will be left for the sun to finish the job started so many years ago.” Hope nodded, understanding exactly what that meant. There would be no memorial for them to mourn his passing. He had cast away that right once he had turned rogue.
A quiet sob erupted from the back of the room, a rustle of movement, and she turned to watch another vampire kneel before a woman, and others hurried to attend to her also. Hope’s eyes burned at the sounds of sorrow but when she looked back, Cressida was watching them intently.
“Xavier, you and Hope will wish to return to your house, tonight. There is some nest cleaning to do, I fear.”
“Cressida… Before we retire, I just have one question.” Hope’s voice caught her attention, or at least the puzzled quality.
“Yes, my dear?”
“When Xavier was injured, you let him feed from me, knowing that I had that thing in my blood? Why?”
Hope watched in fascination as a crimson tide appeared on Xavier’s cheeks. Cressida chuckled quietly. “Yes, that’s a good question. Xavier knew about the anomaly in your blood. He also had it tested against his. Since you were already intimate, he was concerned about the ramifications. But there is one thing about blood sirens.”
Cressida leant forward conspiratorially and unconsciously Hope also leant forward. “They only have one perfectly matched partner. There is only one who is unaffected by their blood. That is how they know their perfect mate, it is said.”
Hope’s mouth formed an ‘O’ as she looked at him. He swallowed. Now she knew, and she felt her face forming a smile.
“Indeed.” He cleared his voice, changing the subject. “Together, Hope and I will look to the future and rebuild our nest.” He held her fingers tight, even as a yawn tried to break through. “But for now, Hope is tired and I must admit to being wishful of retiring too.”
Cressida chuckled. “Yes, Hope is just a baby and it is past her bedtime. Go.” Cressida waved her hands at them in dismissal. They left the room hand in hand as they walked, albeit unsteadily, towards the stairs.
* * * *
Xavier watched Hope’s face as they entered the hall. Lisi moved quickly towards them and dipped a small curtsey to Hope, who grinned and caught her in a hug. “It’s so good to be back.”
He looked around, spying David and his wife Alexa, waiting, and the guard waiting behind them. Their faces looked sour, but he knew not half as sour as they soon would be.
Javed followed behind giving directions for the baggage to be dealt with, looking at the bright flares of light. He strode forward to the waiting couple.
“David? Alexa? Please join us in the office.” He turned to watch Hope pull away from her friend and step forward, taking his side. He caught a flash of panic in Alexa’s eyes, realising Hope was no longer human. Finally, the worm turns. He smiled at the whimsy, even as he indicated for them to go before him.
“Master? I just have to…” Alexa’s words died away. He stopped her.
“No. Now.” There was no way he would put this off, giving her time to regroup or get away. She must be made to pay for her decisions and actions, he reminded himself. He nodded to the guards, knowing they would follow at a discreet distance in case she chose to run.
“She’ll run if we leave the option open.” Hope’s angry thoughts made him smile. She was ready also.
They entered the room. Two matching chairs now sat side by side. One for him and one for Hope. He watched David’s eyes widen at the tangible evidence of their union and waited. Hope took the position he indicated to her, not saying a word, just quirking a fine eyebrow and smiling.
He waited until they were settled. “Alexa. We have a problem. Why were you making a delivery to the medical centre last evening?”
Her eyes widened, and if he hadn’t been a vampire he may have been fooled, but the scent of fear filled the air. “I wasn’t… Who said that?” Instead Alexa feigned a startled expression, laying a hand on her flat stomach.
“We know. We saw you, Alexa. We also know about your parents, your background. Not the carefully crafted one that everyone seems to know.” He let the words settle, watching her in silence. She continued the ruse, though.
“It’s lies. Whoever has told you anything else is lying.” But her blue eyes hardened once more.
“Alexa Yvonne Dunlap. But that’s not really who you are, is it, Alexandra Maree Monson?” She made to stand, but Xavier was around the table, hovering above her. He could feel David’s confusion.
“Hope, your brother may need you.” He let the message float through the shared link, knowing she would understand soon.
“You were a child of the head of the rogue clan. Your father and mother were killed in their service. Estersham took you, educated you. Showed you how evil we were. Told you he was your benefactor and father. Didn’t he?”
Xavier reached for her. Alexa—no, Alexandra—rose, pushing him away with hard fingers, her nails long and sharp. He let her go. She wouldn’t leave the room, though, not with the guards outside the door. He had already given instructions to Javed for his men to be in position. She had nowhere to go now.
“You and your nests. They are an abomination.” Her tone now turned frigid. “They took the free will from those who would make their own decisions. He promised to turn me, once this was over. Make me one of them. One of his own. It was my birthright. All I had to do was pretend to love this helpless bastard. Marry him and become one of the nest.” She laughed, and it was a cold and angry sound. “But I had a plan, the one we had formulated together. Once I knew about Hope and passed my misinformation on, it was all too easy.” She stopped, realising finally, he was sure, there was no way she could escape the charges that would be laid against her.
Her eyes took on the look she had perfected for the family, and her face softened, but he wasn’t fooled. “But I can help you.” Her voice now turned crafty. It sickened him.
He knew there was more. To clean out the wound, you had to release the poison first. So he went to work. “You undermined Hope with her parents, feeding them false stories of her wild college antics.”
“My father told me to. He said it would make taking her easier.”
“Then what would happen?” His anger built, but he held it back. He needed a full confession from this woman, so that David could see, and maybe salvage something from the shipwreck of the nest.
“He would use her skills. Create others in his likeness. Set those free who had no wish to remain vampires. Then we would take the city. Start with that, and then the country. Removing the strictures that kept them bound for centuries to archaic ways.” She smiled, it was cold and brittle. Alexandra’s voice was totally devoid of warmth and he stopped the shiver that wanted to escape at the lack of penitence.
“And David?”
She shrugged nonchalantly, not even sparing him a glance. “He would be discarded when the time was right. Dealt with, as was appropriate at the time.” She turned to her husband, smiling that cold, heartless smile she excelled in. “And I’m not pregnant. It just got me what I wanted in the short term. I wouldn’t want a mewling brat by you anyway. Ruin my figure and future as a vampire? I don’t think so.”
“It’s too late, Alexa, for that future now, anyway. The authorities will be here for you within the hour.”
She laughed and Xavier knew the woman still thought no one would touch her because of her position in the nest. It was erroneous thinking, of course. “Only if they can find me.” She turned lightly, heading to the door, opening it to find the guards. “You bastard!” Xavier heard the hiss of her words.
“Take her away.”
Alexandra screeched while they grabbed her arms and manhandled her from the door. Once she was gone, Xavier turned back to those waiting in the room. Hope sat in silence, watching David.
David’s face was bone white and he breathed harshly as if he’d just run a marathon. For several moments he sat looking at them in silence. “She never loved me.” He muttered the words bitterly. “She was using me all this time.”
“No, I doubt she ever felt anything for you. She used you to further her own ends.” What else could he say, except to tell the truth? “She wanted a way into the nest, and you were the easiest option.”
“David. We only found this out last night.” Hope rose and moved around the table, squatting beside the chair and laying a hand on his arm. “Do you want…?” Xavier watched tiredly, while David pulled away from her soft touch. He felt Hope’s devastation at the movement.
“He’ll come round in time. He needs to work through the truths and she messed with his head so much. He’s confused and doesn’t know what to believe.” He sent the message, hoping she would understand. The glint of a tear sat on her lash, but she turned away from her brother.
“I just want to help him.” Her cry of despair cut him.
“I know.”
He moved towards her, laying a soft hand on her shoulder. “Come. David? Let us know what you wish to do. We will help any way we can.”
Hope rose in silence. “Wait.” Hope’s voice cut through the air. “Mother and Father?”
“They left the day you did. Went to the summer house.” David’s voice was quiet.
“Will Mother be all right?”
“Why wouldn’t she be, Hope?” David’s tired voice broke as he rose.
“She’s sick…”
“No. She’s not. She was using that to get you to do what she wanted.” Xavier felt the impact of the words on her, moving soundlessly to her and grabbing her hand as David left the room.
“She lied to me.” The words filled the air, and he wanted to take her pain away. She slumped miserably against him. “What about David?”
“All we can do now is be there for him. It will take time for him to heal. I hope in time, too, your parents understand, and are willing to make reparation. It’ll be tough.” She breathed raggedly, and while the knowledge of her pain hurt him too, he felt a determination to begin their life together on a happy note.
“Come. Let us go share the celebrations with our guards. I have given orders that the entire household join us in the ballroom.”
She smiled, watery and distressed though it was. She lifted her chin, and his chest filled once more with pride at this strong and generous woman who would be his life partner through the ages. “Yes, they are our household, aren’t they?”
He stopped her at the door, stole a quick kiss. “They are indeed. Just as you are mine. Forever.”
As they stepped through the door into the room, he knew it wouldn’t be easy. As Cressida had said, they had been victorious in this battle. The war remained to be won, but he was thankful, right now, it wasn’t his to fight.
* * * *
In a far corner of the room, watching the celebrations, the old woman smiled. The young girl whom she had watched over from childhood had grown. True, she had become a vampire, but she had also found her life mate.
Jemima’s job here was now complete, and the sense of satisfaction made her grin. This part of the renewal of life was complete. Xavier and Hope, together, would fulfil their part in future vampire lore.
Meanwhile her next charge was waiting for her assistance. The need was always there, for one with her skills and abilities. She grabbed a sherry from the tray moving past her, and took a gulp. Not bad, and she certainly hoped the household of her next charge had good taste in wine and food too.
It was time for her to move on, she reminded herself sternly, placing the glass on the table quietly, before looking around to ensure no one was paying her any attention.
Oblivious to all, she crept away, and no one noticed as the older woman walked down the long gravel driveway, and, with a shimmer of magic, became young once again.
Also available from Total-E-Bound Publishing:
Blame the Wine
Imogene Nix
Excerpt
Chapter One
The dusty, dingy little diner was full, even with the current state of cleanliness—or lack thereof. People from the surrounding offices didn’t care about anything except the incredible, well-prepared food at a reasonable cost. They flooded in, like waves to the shore. As one tide left, another swept in.
“Honestly, Simone. I’m going to try getting his attention one more time. If that doesn’t work, I’m out of there. I mean, how long can I keep trying?” Cara picked at the caramel tart she hadn’t been able to resist with the cheap metal fork, and flicked the blob of fresh cream that sat on top to the side.
“But you have said that tons of times. Besides, what are you going to do to get his attention? Hmm? Walk naked through the typing pool?” Simone bobbed the straw in her smoothie as she eyed her friend with a frown. “It’s been what? Eighteen months since you saw him, and you’ve mooned over him from a distance ever since you met him eighteen months ago. You need to move on, Cara. That is, unless you know something you haven’t shared?”
The query was arch. Cara shivered even as she shook her head. “No.”
Simone quirked an eyebrow, obviously unconvinced with her answer. Cara let out a deep sigh of frustration. “There’s a position…it’s only temporary, for a PA reporting directly to him.” She speared a forkful of tart, chewed quickly and swallowed, before continuing. “In his office, full-time for the period of the engagement. I saw the memo yesterday. I mean, I have the skills, right? I can type, answer phones, make coffee, file, greet people. What’s more, I can probably do it better than all those size eights in the typing pool that Ms Jackman seems to prefer.” She nodded thoughtfully. “All I have to do is get past the ogre in Human Resources.”
Simone stared at her, disbelief clear on her face. “Girl, I so remember that woman. If you think you can get past her, you’re doing better than I ever did. That’s why I left Veha Industries, remember? Maybe it’s time to haul out your resumé and consider some other options.” Simone shook her head and billows of crimson hair swirled through the still air.
Cara understood she only had her best interests at heart. But this time she knew the outcome would be different. Could feel it in the air.
“Cara, she’ll hang you out for breakfast before she offers you anything like a position in that office. Remember her mantra? Good looks and good work make for a positive workplace?”
Cara wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the truth in the statement, but as always she conceded that Simone didn’t sugar-coat anything. It was another great reason for their long-term friendship.
Cara nodded quickly. “Yeah, I know, but if I don’t try, then I won’t know how close I can get to him, right? And the only way to catch his attention is to get past the ogre and see him in person.” Cara quaked a little at the information she needed to share. The favour she needed to ask. “Anyway, I tidied up my resumé and dropped the application into a memo envelope yesterday, so it’s too late to back out now. I mean, fortune favours the brave. Doesn’t it? If I don’t snag an interview, I’m going to visit the career advisor across the street and register with them. I’ll look for temp work until something more long-term shows up. I can see what they have on offer and well…who knows? Maybe a job with the right boss is just waiting. But I’d rather this worked out, to be honest.” Her voice trailed off into a whisper. “I really wish he would notice me.”
Simone took a long slurp of her banana drink, and Cara noticed her questioning gaze even as she squirmed. Finally Simone must have realised the truth in her words and nodded. “It’s your funeral. So anyway, you had better show me this memo if you want me to be a referee for you. I’m guessing that’s what you need, right? I’ll have to know what I have to say about you befo
re they ring.”
Cara smiled. “Thanks, Simone. I knew I could count on you.” She slipped a piece of paper out of her handbag and handed it over. “Sorry it’s a bit creased. It was in the bottom of my bag, I stashed it so none of the others from the pool would see it. You know how that is.”
Simone snorted, accepting the crumpled pages, and nodded. “Yeah, I do. Eat or be eaten.”
Simone scanned the sheet while Cara fidgeted, picking at the tart she now regretted as she thought about him. Dillon Veha. The one man who filled her dreams each night. She’d tried everything else she knew to capture his attention, each action more unsuccessful than the last, including undoing buttons, personally delivering memos and the most desperate? Offering to deliver the memo to the gym locker room, knowing he was in there. Now, after eighteen months of listening to her aunt ask her when she was going to bring home a nice boy, and watching her sisters pop out perfect little babies, she conceded the time had come to move on. With or without Dillon Veha. If only she could move on with him. Therein lay the problem with her plan. She needed one last chance to make it work.
Cara twisted her fingers and waited quietly. She turned back to her friend, even as Simone started to mutter.
“Yeah, okay. You can do all these things easily. But you’re going to need a suit if they ring you for an interview. Something special and professional. Something to knock him dead.” Simone snapped her fingers, emphasising the point. “I have this cool little black number I bought ages ago, just before I lost all those pounds, so it doesn’t fit me anymore, but it’s just the right size for you. I reckon you’d look hot in it…in a professional kind of way, of course. Oh and I even have the right shoes and bag.” A grin spread over Simone’s face. Cara felt that slow increase in heart rate, thinking about the opportunity which might just present itself.
