Triquetra

by Marguerite Labbe

  “That seems to be the sum of it. I’ll make the conversation short and to the point,” he replied. “I won’t keep you waiting long.”

  “Oh no, just wait a damned minute. I’m going with ya.” I grabbed my sweater off the floor and tugged it back on, then tried to make my cowlicks lie down.

  “No.”

  Fury erupted. He was so damned unyielding. I straightened, my hands knotting into fists. “Ya can’t just order me like I’m yer kid.” I stomped toward the door, shooting him one last dark look over my shoulder. I guess all his talk about equals was bullshit.

  “Jacob, listen to me.” Kristair caught my arm and I spun to face him, jerking free from his grip.

  Ah, damn. He looked so torn, the plea clear in his dark brown eyes. I was such a sucker for eyes like that and despite how I tried to hold onto it, my indignation started to fade.

  “I don’t want them to think they can use you as leverage for my cooperation.” Kristair paused. “If you can promise me that you won’t go off half-cocked and show your belligerence at the slightest hint of a threat toward me, then I won’t stop you from coming.”

  He couldn’t be serious. “That’s not fair,” I protested. “You think I’m gonna keep my mouth shut if they try anything? Come on; I can help you.” Though how escaped me. Those guys were vampires like him, and they had a freaking agenda. I wanted to be there for him and it fucking sucked to be helpless.

  “You will only hinder me by being there,” he said, his voice gentle though it did nothing to ease the sharp sting his words caused. “I won’t be able to concentrate on the task at hand if I am worried for your safety and trying to anticipate what my hotheaded young lover might do.”

  Damn him. Damn myself. I hated knowing I couldn’t help him, that I was a liability. Kristair placed his hand over the tattoos on my chest and his heart throbbed to life within me. “Don’t think you are useless to me by staying behind, mo chroí,” he said.

  “Damn you, Kristair.” I could hear the sound of defeat in my voice and it grated. I tightened my jaw, and then nodded. He won this battle. I kissed him hard and then stepped back, though everything in me rebelled against my surrender. “Fine, go ahead. Enjoy yourself,” I snapped.

  “Hardly. I’d much rather be in here with you, finishing what we started.” Kristair sent me a mental image of the two of us naked and entwined on the chair. Then a strange expression crossed his face. Before I could question it his mind seized my own with a firmer touch than he’d ever used on me before and I gasped from the power of it.

  “If you want to watch over me then keep your mind open and you’ll see everything that I see, hear whatever I hear.”

  Somehow he merged our minds together and I reeled, stumbling back from the sudden deluge of double sensations bombarding me from all sides. I could see Kristair and at the same time I could see him watching me. I whimpered, hearing the sound from two sets of ears, and the room spun. Then Kristair’s arms were around me and he eased me back onto the chair. “Close your eyes, mo chroí, and it will be easier.”

  I obeyed, squeezing my eyes shut tight, and curled up into a ball. It was easier now that I wasn’t seeing double and the other sensory input seemed a bit more bearable. It was no less terrifying, though, and I struggled not only with the new sensations, but also with how easy it was for Kristair to overwhelm me. I was completely vulnerable, with no way of fighting back.

  “Hear me.” Kristair wrapped his arms around me, soothing murmurs blanketing out the overload. As the bizarre double sensations faded I got a sense of just how precious I was to him, how he needed to care for me and cherish me. My chest ached. I wish he understood I only wanted to do the same in return.

  “Jesus… just lock me up in a fun house next time. Make sure to warn a guy when you’re going to do some freaky shit like that,” I tried to joke as my muscles began to relax.

  When Kristair smiled and I knew he was doing so without opening my eyes, I realized how divorced my mind was from my own body. Instinctively, I reached out for it and then jerked back, with a strangled cry, as the whirlwind of sensory information threatened to overwhelm me again.

  Kristair pressed his lips to my temple. “It will be okay.”

  Chapter 11

  I WAITED until Jacob had become more accustomed to his presence inside my body and then opened the door into my office. My unwanted guests were lingering in the hallway, whispering. My senses sharpened and waited, curious to hear what they would say. There were two of them, a man and woman, and the argument was heated.

  “He is not going to acknowledge us, even if he is here. We’re wasting our time,” the woman said.

  “I am not going back and telling Montrose that we waited less than an hour and gave up.” The doorknob jiggled.

  “You don’t think they’ll try to break in, do you?” Jacob asked, indignant at the idea.

  “No, that would be extremely foolish on their part. And until now they’ve played their hand with care.”

  The furious whispers continued though they said nothing of any interest to me. I opened the door and met the surprised looks of the strange couple in the hallway. “So kind of you to wait, even though I never invited you in the first place.”

  I appraised them with cold, calculating consideration. The boy looked to be no older than fifteen or so, though as with any other vampire appearances were a lie. His face was pockmarked with old acne scars and his jeans and T-shirt were worn and dirty. Despite his resemblance to a street urchin he possessed the eyes of a predator, with none of the disingenuousness of youth.

  She, on the other hand, was as elegant as he was ratty. She stood beside the boy, with her impeccably manicured hand holding onto his arm. Her thick auburn hair was caught up in a simple knot at the nape of her neck, and she wore an unadorned pinstripe pantsuit. Though her gaze flickered over me when I opened the door, the majority of her attention was on the boy.

  “They give me the fucking creeps,” Jacob muttered.

  If they were offended by my delay or cool greeting it showed on neither of their faces. My body blocked the doorway and they glanced at each other wordlessly before the young woman released the boy’s arm and stepped behind him, just to the side. “Forgive our intrusion, Ancient One.” He took a step forward, his eyes intent. “I’m Dominic; this is Claudia.” The woman glanced toward me and nodded her head. “We wish to plead our case to you. May we come in?”

  I hesitated. I could leave them out in the hallway and make it plain that I’m not interested, or I could hear them out this one time and not give them any fodder for future harassment. Not that I really thought it would stop. The extra privacy my office offered decided it for me and I opened the door for them, stepping aside so they could precede me. “Welcome.”

  I waited until Dominic had removed his jacket and seated himself. Claudia chose to remain standing behind him, her hand on the back of his chair. She did not want to be here, either out of fear or because she thought it was a waste of time I wasn’t sure, but her rigid stance spoke of her displeasure and her concentration remained more on her companion than me. Interesting.

  I crossed to my desk and sat down. “I already know what the Syndicate is about. While I applaud your efforts to survive and grow, I believe I have already made it clear that I’m not interested in a partnership.”

  “Perhaps you’re not looking at the larger picture.” Dominic shoved a shock of dirty-blond hair out of his eyes, his expression earnest. “Our relationship will be symbiotic, an exchange of gifts and knowledge. We have much that we can offer each other. Surely you, with all of your wisdom, can see that.”

  I leaned back in my chair templing my fingers together, not bothering to hide my disdain for his flattery. “Let’s be honest. I know how the Syndicate operates and I fail to see what I have to gain by chaining myself to an organization that will use me for its own purposes and who will not let me go once I agree. I won’t make myself a prisoner, even for a gilded cage such as the one you’r
e offering.”

  “We’ve amassed quite a bit of information, though we are in our infancy compared to you, and we are more than willing to share.” Dominic paused, tilting his head. “Tell me, Ancient One, are you troubled by voices in your mind? I know your time must be approaching.”

  Jacob bristled, ready to leap to my defense, thinking the boy was questioning my sanity. “Don’t,” I warned and with a grumble he subsided.

  Dominic’s barb struck a chord. The voices were merely another symptom of my degeneration, though whether it was a form of madness or something else I had no idea. “I know of what you speak, Dominic, and I’m not burdened with the curse that others before me have written about. The only voice I hear is the one I choose to.” I gave Jacob a mental caress.

  Jacob was suspicious, afraid I was hiding something. He started poking around in my mind, searching for an indication of another presence besides him. I was both curious and afraid of what he would find. His perspective on the problem might be enlightening, but he discovered nothing, and his frustration and discontent were distracting as he continued to rifle through my thoughts.

  “Will you cease?” I snapped, irritable and tense.

  I focused my attention back on Dominic. “Does your fount of knowledge answer the mystery of the other ancients’ disappearances?” I allowed mild curiosity to show.

  Dominic appraised me as the silence stretched out between us. Was there a chance the Syndicate did have information to offer? The possibility forced me to reconsider my options. Finally, Dominic replied, “Since we’re being honest with each other, I would have to say not entirely, but we have made great strides. Your assistance would be invaluable.”

  I didn’t respond, weighing their words for the truth and waiting to see if my silence would prompt them to reveal more clues than they intended. I suspected their true agenda was to use me as a means to an unknown end.

  “Why don’t you read their minds like you did me?” Jacob asked.

  “It took many months to set up that rapport with you. It is possible to do it without the groundwork, but it is an invasion and they would know it immediately. Then they would block me, which is far easier, and it would come down to whose will is stronger.”

  “I think you would win, hands down.”

  A faint smiled crossed my lips. “That may be so, but they’ve done nothing yet to deserve to have their psyches ripped apart.”

  Jacob quieted and returned to analyzing every word they said, every small gesture. Despite the genuine note of respect in Dominic’s manner, I couldn’t help my innate distrust of them. The instinct was bone deep, a suspicion almost bordering on paranoia. The vampire was studying me as if I were a curiosity he wished to dissect and that attitude was setting Jacob off. He was muttering imprecations in my mind, eager to strike out at them until they went away.

  “Ancient One, you have never sired another.” Dominic sat forward in his seat. “Surely you don’t wish for all of your secrets to disappear with you. You can leave a legacy with us.”

  Claudia’s gaze shifted from the boy to me, her eyes intent in a fanatical manner, which caused further concern. It was the first time she had shown a reaction. Her hand brushed the boy’s shoulder in silent communication. Initially, I had determined that Dominic was the dangerous one, but I found myself reversing my opinion.

  “Your real motives are showing.” I chuckled and embarrassment flickered in Dominic’s eyes. “The Syndicate is more interested in bleeding me dry than helping me stave off eventual madness. I’ve shared my knowledge with the few who have earned it. They can have my so-called legacy, such as it is.”

  Dominic started to speak again, but I cut him off with a wave of my hand. “Just say I was to agree to your proposal. Would you allow me to stay where I am and give you what information I deem is necessary or would you wish for me to relocate?”

  “Kristair,” Jacob interrupted, his tone warning as he called my attention again to Claudia. Her nostrils had flared, her lips pressed together, and her hand had tightened on Dominic’s shoulder. Which part of my suggestion did she not like?

  “Thank you, mo chroí.”

  Dominic hesitated and I could taste his uneasiness in the air. “The Syndicate will extend an invitation for you to come stay with us at our headquarters in Rome.”

  “I have no wish to go to Rome. It was a cesspool when I first visited and it remains so now.” My eyes narrowed as my voice took on a chill note. “I wish to be left in peace, a request you have pointedly ignored. There is nothing you can offer me in return that would make me interested in disrupting my life. I may not have much time left, as you have made so charmingly clear, and if that’s the case, I wish to spend my last days in the manner of my own choosing.”

  “Is that the answer you wish for me to take back to my superiors, Ancient One?” Dominic said, with stiff formality, his features pinched in disapproval.

  I gave him a sardonic smile. “It is. This is the Syndicate’s chance to prove they mean what they say. If you are merely worried that my gifts will be lost then rest assured they are safe with others. If you insist on trying to force the point, I am giving you this warning now. I’ve been patient so far, but if you persist on harassing me, I won’t remain so. I can do more harm to you than you can do to me, so I suggest you heed my words and know I mean them with absolute sincerity.”

  Jacob tensed, expecting them to attack, but Dominic merely rose and shrugged into his patched and worn leather jacket. “What are they up to?”

  “I do not know. I think for the moment, they will let it go until either they’ve assessed how dangerous I am or I start to show signs that I’m losing my grip on reality. Then they’ll act.”

  “That keeps being mentioned; you aren’t crazy.” Jacob burrowed closer and I realized his new distress stemmed from the implication that it was an imminent possibility and he was waiting for me to deny it. I pressed phantom lips to his temple, but didn’t reply. It was another one of those topics that would have to wait until later.

  I skirted around my desk, moving past the couple to open the door. They had given in too easily, even though I knew it wasn’t at an end. Still, I expected more from this visit. Jacob’s uneasiness grew, either because of my own state of mind or because he sensed something I didn’t. As Dominic and Claudia approached I went still, all of my muscles tensed and coiled.

  Dominic paused in the doorway and met my eyes. “Ancient One, I regret—”

  I had a brief flash of warning before the attack, some primal instinct that took in Claudia’s stance. Maybe it was the way her weight shifted before she struck in a blur of motion. At her vicious snarl, I shoved Jacob out of my mind, returning him to his body. My chest exploded in pain as she drove a stiletto right where my heart should have been. I glanced down at the growing stain of blood soaking my shirt.

  Jacob’s cry of anguish rang in my mind. I sensed his mad scramble for the door and I reached out with my thoughts, pushing aside his will, grasping control of his body and stopping him where he stood. He fought against me with savage ferocity, trying to wrench his mind free.

  Claudia struggled with Dominic, who was trying to hold her back from attacking me again, both unaware I was not locked in the stasis they thought I should be in. I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. I had not been entirely certain the ritual would work this way. It certainly wasn’t a theory I had been eager to test.

  Dominic and Claudia turned toward me at the sound, shock and terror on their faces as I drew the stiletto out. “Oh fuck,” Dominic said, his voice faint.

  Absolute cold fury consumed me as Claudia broke away from Dominic’s grasp. She attacked again, her hands curved into talons, a fanatical gleam in her eyes. Much to my surprise, the vampire woman seemed more intent on my destruction than in subduing me for transport back to Rome.

  I snarled as her talons raked my ribs, tearing deep into my flesh, leaving ragged fiery wounds down to the bone. I turned and threw her from me and she crumpled as sh
e slammed against the concrete wall. Jacob still struggled against my compulsion and it would only be a matter of time before he came bursting through that door. I didn’t dare use a stronger grip that could injure him, and that sense of urgency drove me onward. I couldn’t comprehend the reason for the attack. This seemed to counter what the Syndicate wanted. Under other circumstances I would have subdued her and asked questions, but I wasn’t going to take any chances with Jacob in the next room. There were other ways of finding out the answers I wanted.

  Dominic tried to get between Claudia and me, attempting to intercede. I shoved him out of the way and stalked toward my assailant, who was jumping back to her feet.

  She rushed at me with no reason in her eyes, not even attempting to defend herself she was so focused on hurting me. I grabbed her by her throat, pushing Jacob’s presence completely from my mind, and squeezed, feeling the bones and cartilage cracking underneath my fingers. Her blue-green eyes bulged as she clawed at my hands, her struggles becoming more desperate. I swung us around to gather momentum, and then slammed her headfirst into the wall, watching as her pretty features dissolved into blood and bone.

  Seething, I focused my gaze on Dominic, letting Claudia fall to the floor. It would take her some time to recover without feeding. He raised frightened eyes up to mine and held up his hand in a desperate gesture, taking a step backward.

  “What did you hope to accomplish by this?” I snarled, closing in on him as he stumbled back. The entire situation made no sense. The attack had been unplanned on Dominic’s side, unless he was a very good actor. Had Claudia intended to turn on him as well?

  “Ancient One, I swear to you, I knew nothing!”

  My bloodlust started to calm, though it did nothing to ease my towering fury. I had not wanted these two to come, and the very idea of Jacob being exposed to this savage side of me made me deadly cold inside. There was no way I would be able to hide the carnage from him.