The vampire didn’t give Nate time to take in their surroundings, he simply hurried him along the corridor to the area above the stage. There was space here for a sofa. The vampire nudged Nate toward it, but while they’d been moving, Nate had time to come up with an attack. He held his ground, using his physical proximity deliberately as he leaned over Ben.
The vampire growled, turning to meet him. He initiated the kiss, but Nate did his best to wrest control of it. He gripped the vampire by his shoulder, holding him in close as he battled.
As Nate had hoped, the vampire responded wholeheartedly. He pushed Nate backward onto the sofa, planting himself on top of him. His fingers tangled in the hair at the base of Nate’s skull, squeezing a warning.
This shouldn’t be this hot. Nate’s thoughts were a confused whirl among a series of impressions. A fang pressed against his lip, and Nate felt an immediate surge rock his body. His hips jerked up against Ben, and he gripped the arm of the sofa, trying to prevent himself from arching into Ben’s body. This is too much—
He’d been trying to distract the vampire, but it was he who’d been caught. Nate broke the kiss. He gasped for air, hoping desperately that the oxygen would do something for the fire that was raging through him.
The vampire’s arm tightened on his shoulder and then relaxed. “Nice work, Nate.”
Thank god. “Ben. You’re—”
“Not thinking like a vampire.” Ben breathed out. “You’ve got this down to a fine art.” After a moment he stood, turning aside from Nate as he tugged his jacket and sleeves back into order.
Nate got to his feet and followed suit. “My pleasure.” He wondered if Ben knew how far he’d come to losing control himself. The jacket was long enough to hide his erection. As if he hadn’t already felt it.
Ben placed a hand on his hip, letting his fingers ghost up beneath the suit jacket. “I gathered.” He licked his lips. “I’m reminded that I owe you a date night.”
When had sardonic become so sexy? Nate shifted. “There are many nights.”
“Indeed.” Ben’s smile was pointed. “And tonight is one of them.”
Nate was conscious that his heart was beating faster. “Once we find Aki and Hunter.”
Ben squeezed his hand. “Agreed.” He leaned over the railing, looking down at the floor below.
In the short time they’d been occupied, the floor had filled with even more elegantly dressed people. No man wore anything less than a full suit, replete with vest. A few had shown up with canes and tail coats. The women vied in elaborate gowns with intricate hairstyles.
“That’s Family Quinctia,” Ben said, nodding toward a middle-aged man with a rakish air, accompanied by three men and a woman in matching suits. “Led by Allard who was—or tries to pretend he was—a courtier during the reign of Louis XIV.”
Nate frowned over the bannister. “He’d be old then?”
“One of our—I mean, ARX’s main rivals. He’s one of the consuls—it’s a mostly honorary title. There’s two, and for a year they share responsibility for calling the meetings.” Ben nodded to a lady with dark hair left to fall sleekly around her neck. “She’s the other—Genevieve. She’s the oldest vampire present. With Saltaire absent, she is probably the biggest threat to other vampires. Notice how everyone gives her a wide berth.”
There was a conspicuous amount of space left for the woman and her companions. The lady who had flirted with Nate dropped her an exaggerated curtsey, and waited to be acknowledged before joining her train of followers.
“They’re forming groups?” Nate looked around. “Where is Family Saltaire?”
“Family Postumia.” Ben leaned on the railing. “Saltaire despises the acquisitive nature of his fellow vampires. He has always refused to arrive with a contingent. Hunter will be here alone.”
Nate looked down at the groups. “Won’t that look odd?”
“Yes.” Ben hesitated. “Saltaire’s power is resented by his fellow vampires, and they know that ARX has lost standing with the mayor following the necromancer’s attacks. There’s a good chance that things might get messy. Hunter should never have involved Aki with this.”
“You think there’ll be a fight?” Nate looked again at the elegant outfits on the floor below.
“It’s always possible. With vampires, civilized is only ever a veneer.”
Nate looked down at the floor. It was hard to imagine the people below in the same category as the revenants he’d narrowly escaped on New Camden’s streets, but Ben’s voice held a certainty that couldn’t be refuted. “Look. That’s the waiter that served me earlier. Where is he going?”
The man had set his tray down on the end of the punch table and walked rapidly toward the staircase at the other end of the ballroom. He climbed it, bringing himself to the end of the long corridor that linked the platform where Ben and Nate were to a matching platform at the other end of the gallery.
As they watched, the waiter approached a large painting. He looked around, noticed that Ben and Nate were watching, and came to an abrupt halt. He stared at the painting, before moving his attention slowly to the next painting.
“Very odd.” Ben put his arm through Nate’s, and they started walking slowly toward the other end of the room. “If you intend to study a painting, you don’t approach it at a run.”
“And you don’t study paintings at all while on a job,” Nate agreed. “Very unprofessional.”
Ben paused and they pretended to study the painting before them.
“He keeps glancing our way,” Nate reported, watching the man’s reflection in the polished glass of the painting frame. “Doesn’t seem happy that we’re here.”
“It occurs to me that if Hunter is here, he’s probably posted people to keep an eye out for us. You asking for vegan blood probably got his attention. He’s trying to report.”
“He’s given up.” The waiter had cast a look back at the painting and then marched quickly toward the stairs. He strode toward a staff-only door. “Should we follow?”
Ben shook his head. “I’ve got a feeling about this gallery. Let’s take a closer look at that painting he was in such a hurry to reach.”
It was a landscape, showing a ruined castle set among a steep, rocky outcrop. A range of mountains rose up in the background like a jagged dagger. It was painted in the muted tones of centuries past, but the strokes had a frenzied note to them that kept it vivid long after it was first committed to canvas.
“It’s pretty striking.” Nate tilted his head as he considered it. “Gives you a really strong feeling.” It was hard to pinpoint that feeling exactly. The ruin was desolate, but there was something in the castle’s grim determination to cling to its exposed position that made it feel triumphant. “Where do you think it is?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say the Carpathian Mountains.” Ben studied the painting with a rueful air. “Hunter grew up there.”
Nate gave the painting a startled glance. “You think—”
“This is no coincidence. Is anyone watching?”
Nate looked over his shoulder, standing so that he screened Ben from anyone watching. “No.”
Ben pushed the painting aside. “There’s a door here.” He met Nate’s eyes. “I’ve got no idea what’s on the other side of this.”
“I’m going with you.”
Ben’s mouth curved. Nate felt a rush of pride—that smile is because of me—and Ben nodded. “Be quick.” He opened the door. Nate, his heart beating fast, stepped after him, pulling the door shut behind them.
NATE’S IMMEDIATE IMPRESSION was of a modern studio apartment, furnished with castoffs from the rooms they’d passed through. He looked over Ben’s shoulder, scanning the apartment, and his eyes came to rest on a figure on a chair in front of them.
“Hunter.” Ben spoke before Nate could, his tone crisp.
Hunter looked up. He was in the act of pouring a glass of wine, but although he affected surprise, the stream of wine never so much as wobbled. “B
en. And Nathan too.” He sat up, holding the glass out to the figure seated in the armchair immediately before the door. “This is a pleasant surprise.”
Ben stepped aside, and Nate got a clear view of the person in the chair. “Aki!”
Aki turned around to scowl at him. “Yeah. Very pleasant.”
Nate hurried to his side. “Are you okay?”
Aki shifted, careful of the wine glass he held. “Totally fine. Hunter’s been the perfect gentleman,” he said, adding in an undertone pitched for Nate only, “unfortunately.”
“I have found Akihiro a very interesting companion.”
Nate shot Hunter a sharp look. Was there emphasis laid on that interesting? “You—”
Hunter placed his own glass on the table and stood, acting as though Nate hadn’t spoken. “We were just about to share a glass of Loire Valley chenin blanc. You are most welcome to join us.” He stood, taking two more wine glasses from a cabinet beside the kitchenette.
“You know we must decline.” Ben stayed where he was. “It’s no good pretending this is a social call, Hunter. You didn’t invite Aki for the pleasure of his company, just as we’re not here to catch up on old times.”
“Hey—” Aki started to protest, but Nate nudged him.
“Not the time.”
Hunter glanced over his shoulder at Ben. “I can’t be forgiven for wanting to spend time with my brother—a brother I haven’t seen or heard from in over a month?”
Ben pressed his mouth together thinly. “We are no longer members of the same family. Saltaire took care of that when he turned me out.”
“Our relationship means so little to you that you discard it so easily?” Hunter put down the wine glasses and turned to Ben. “I am hurt.” His eyes glittered, and his tone of voice was mournful. Nate, who still remembered how it felt to realize that Hunter had no qualms about ripping his throat out, had a moment of hesitation.
“That’s really cold,” Aki said vehemently. “Just to drop someone like that—he thought you were dead!”
Nate put a hand on Aki’s shoulder, squeezing it in warning. “You don’t have the full story.”
“Am I to be blamed for Saltaire’s actions?” Hunter continued, keeping his eyes fixed on Ben. He spoke as if they were alone in the room. His muted manner gave a quiet dignity to his words. “You know how closely we are tied and that it is not always possible for me to resist him.”
Ben raised an eyebrow. “Saltaire did not tell you to kidnap Aki.”
“You seem to have a false idea of the situation. This arrangement was at his suggestion.” Hunter inclined his head toward Aki.
“You didn’t!” But as Nate met Aki’s smirk, he knew that no compulsion had been necessary.
“All my idea,” he said. “And you have to admit, it worked perfectly.” He motioned to the room. “Here you are, exactly as Hunter wanted, and here I am, having enjoyed a day and night of Hunter’s…excellent hospitality.” He cast a meaningful look at Hunter that the vampire ignored.
“How did you know we’d find you?” Nate asked.
“You’re more resourceful than you think,” Aki said. “I knew you’d come up with something.”
“You couldn’t have just told us where you were? I was so worried!”
“Would you have rushed to my rescue if you thought I was enjoying myself?” Aki shook his head. “No. It had to be this way—and I have to say, I think I did a really good job of coming up with this plan.”
Nate wrapped his arm around Aki’s neck. “You’re so lucky Denise didn’t call Department Seven in—”
Aki thumped his arm. “Let go! This is twenty-year-old wine! If you make me spill it—”
“You took a big risk yourself,” Ben told Hunter. “If Gunn got wind of this, he’d have made all the ground he could out of it.”
“I can handle Gunn.” Hunter dismissed Gunn with a shrug. “Besides, it is worth it—to see for myself that you are all right.” He smiled. “It is very good to see you, Ben.”
Nate looked up in alarm. He knew firsthand just how effective Hunter’s charm could be.
But to his astonishment, Hunter didn’t seem to have turned on his considerable charisma. There was a bittersweet note to his smile, and he made no attempt to join Ben at the door.
Ben’s mouth twisted sardonically. “And the fact that you’ve got me here for the first senate meeting since the necromancer attacks is pure coincidence?”
“It is a fortunate coincidence,” Hunter allowed. “I would be glad of your presence…but I would be foolish to assume that having distanced yourself from your family, you would join me in a public appearance.”
“You are right.”
“Oh, come on!” Aki said, almost spilling the wine as he put his glass down. “You were a vampire for ages, you know how important it is to make a strong impression! And it’s not Hunter’s fault that you almost got killed.”
Ben raised an eyebrow. “You’ve evidently found a lot to discuss.”
Aki drew himself up. “I find vampire politics fascinating. It’s like the West Wing, only sexier.”
“And more people get killed,” Nate added.
Aki shot him a look. “I think you’re both being really close-minded. ARX works really hard to protect the people of New Camden.” He jabbed Nate in the chest with his finger. “As you pointed out when you were making a case for dating Ben.”
“It’s not that I don’t appreciate the situation,” Ben said stiffly. “But I’ve got an unparalleled chance to live my life on my own terms, free of Saltaire’s influence. I have to go for it.”
Hunter drew a sharp breath. For the first moment, his control wavered. “This is your influence.” He shot Nate a look so venomous Nate blanched. “How else could my brother, who felt so strongly about his duty to the living that he spent every moment of his un-life preparing himself to better protect the innocent, desert his beliefs so completely—”
“You’re making a big mistake, Hunter.” Ben approached him.
Nate took a deep breath. “You really think we should?”
Ben nodded. “He is my brother,” he said simply. “We may not always agree, but I have been unfair by avoiding him.” He took Hunter’s hand, wrapping it around his wrist. “I know I can trust him with my secret.”
Hunter waited, clearly expecting Ben to speak. He frowned as Ben remained silent, then his eyes widened, his gaze dropping to Ben’s wrist. “But this—”
“I have a pulse,” Ben said. “Sunlight does not burn me. I’m—”
“Alive.” Hunter made no move to let go of Ben’s hand. “But this is impossible!”
Ben spoke quickly. “No one is really sure how it happened, except that it was the result of Peter’s spell. He wanted to combine the power of a necromancer with that of a vampire, so he transferred my vampiric abilities to himself—”
“And you gained his humanity.” Hunter still hadn’t moved. “I see.”
Ben squared his shoulders, raising his face to Hunter’s. “I know this is hard to take. You must be upset—”
“Why upset? Do you think I would begrudge you this happiness?” Hunter squeezed Ben’s hand. “I am astonished. And in a moment, I will be glad. I knew you were never happy as a vampire.” He let go of Ben’s hand, stepping toward the bottle of wine. “We must toast your good news.”
“You really mean that?” Ben followed him to the counter.
Hunter looked up with a smile, but his expression softened as he looked at Ben. “Did you really think I would hold your good fortune against you?”
“It’s what every vampire wants,” Ben said simply. “And you’ve been a vampire much longer than I was. It’s not fair.”
Hunter laughed. “Nothing in life or death is fair. I learned that long ago—and I learned that it is no good expecting all things to be equal. Enjoy your life, Ben, and do not imagine that I am anything but pleased for you.”
After a moment, Ben nodded. “Thank you, Hunter.” He bowed his head. “
I owe you an apology. I should have listened to Nate when he said my brother would be glad for me.”
Hunter’s eyes flashed over Nate in surprise. His ample mouth curved. “Nathan is somewhat of an expert on brothers, I fancy. I met yours.”
“He told me,” Nathan said with a feeling of resignation. He could feel the look that Aki was giving him.
“A very unusual man.” Hunter hesitated. “Individual.”
“Yeah.” In another moment, he was going to be apologizing to Hunter.
“Nate’s family have been very kind to me.” Ben’s tone was firm. He took the wine glass Hunter handed him.
Hunter raised an eyebrow but poured a second glass, handing it to Nate. “I am glad to hear it.” He raised his glass, looking to see that Aki had some wine remaining. “Let us toast to your incredible good fortune, and to fam—” He broke off as the door swung open.
The waiter from earlier stepped into the room. He shot Nate and Ben a harassed look and stood at attention.
“As you can see, my guests have found me,” Hunter said with a wave. “Or is this the other matter?”
“The councilor has arrived,” the waiter said stiffly. “He’s brought an escort.”
“You explained that it is our rule that we provide the escorts for our guests?”
“He insists.”
“What a tiresome man Wisner is.” Hunter put down his glass.
“Wisner?” Nate echoed with a sense of dismay. He saw Ben tense.
Hunter was already turning toward the door. “I have to go. We will celebrate your news another time, Ben.”
Ben tilted his head. “You’re making arrangements for Wisner’s escort?”
Hunter smirked at him. “It is customary for the owner of an establishment to provide for the safety of his guests.”
“You own Club Royal?” Nate couldn’t help his surprise.
“It is my little secret,” Hunter said, tugging his jacket straight with an air of complacency. “I hope you don’t mind keeping it. I fear my fellow vampires would not enjoy themselves as much if they knew it was my hospitality they were partaking of.” He gave Ben a conspiratorial look. “Did it never occur to you to wonder why the Club was so well suited to our purposes?”
Life After Humanity Page 19
