Blood Bond asc-9

by Jeanne C. Stein

  Vlad rests his chin in his hands. Because I cannot answer you. It is unclear.

  Unclear? In all your years on this earth, you have never known a vampire who transmuted and continued in his host as an immortal?

  No. Vlad’s clipped answer is followed by a brief pause, during which he climbs from his crouched position and stretches his arms over his head. When he feels my mind probing for more, he continues.

  Vampires who transmute do it because they are escaping—someone. In every case of which I am aware, the someone they are escaping eventually catches up to them. It may seem a good choice at the time, but inevitably it leads to permanent death.

  For the vampire, surely. But what about the host?

  I do not know the shifter Steffan chose as his host. If he was a willing participant in the plan, he accepted the risk.

  And if he was not a willing participant?

  In the dark, I see Vlad shrug. It makes no difference, does it? The only way we can be sure Steffan is gone is to destroy the host and its parasite.

  CHAPTER 25

  I FINALLY DRIFT OFF, UNEASY THOUGHTS OF WHAT LIES ahead for us transforming themselves into uneasy dreams in which Avery and Steffan lie in wait. I had reason to want Avery dead. I can’t even remember what Steffan’s host looks like. I had only one brief glimpse of the five shifters standing together when we walked into Steffan’s party. Their attention had been on Frey.

  Frey.

  I absently run my hand along his sleek neck. If Steffan’s shifter goes after him, I will gladly end both their lives. We have a wedding—

  I bolt upright. We’ve been gone almost eight hours. What are my parents going to think when they wake up and find us gone?

  Shit. I look at my watch. It’s close to five. If Steffan and Archambault are traveling by car it will be another four hours at least before they get here. Frey and I have an appointment this afternoon with the officiates of our wedding ceremony.

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  This is not supposed to be happening.

  Frey and I are supposed to be at home with our families.

  What was I thinking agreeing to come with Vlad?

  As if speaking his name in my head is an invitation, here he is.

  I’m sorry I have usurped time with your family. I promise we will end this thing as quickly as possible and I will get you and Frey back to your family.

  In a few hours, they will miss us. We don’t even know if Steffan is on his way here. I can’t believe I let myself get dragged into this.

  Did you have a choice? Vlad’s tone is shock with a touch of annoyance. Weren’t you the one who first uttered the eloquent words I quoted today about protecting humanity?

  I close my eyes, breathe in and out. Yes. Damn it. And thanks to Chael, here I am.

  Chael.

  Do you have a cell phone with you? I ask Vlad.

  He digs one out of a pocket.

  I don’t suppose you have Chael’s number?

  No. But I have the next best thing. He punches some numbers into his phone. There is just a moment’s hesitation before he is speaking rapid-fire French to whoever answered on the other end. He holds the phone away from his ear. Shall I have Chael tell your parents that you took a romantic last-minute road trip to Paris? We’ll say you’ll be home by early afternoon.

  Can we be home by early afternoon?

  I will see to it.

  Miserably, I nod.

  Vlad finishes his call. My assistant, he explains. He will take care of everything.

  I mumble a thank-you, but it’s without heart. What if something happened to my mother last night? I’m miles away with no way to get back until we’ve taken care of—

  Frey suddenly comes awake with a growl. At the same time, Vlad jumps to my side. An outside light has come on over the front door. We steal across the yard to get a better look.

  A cab is pulling up to the curb in front of Archambault’s house. The door opens and the shifter steps out.

  Vlad shakes his head. Of course. He must have flown to the party from Paris. The car was to take him back to the airport.

  A thrill of relief washes over me—small and maybe inconsequential. But at least our wait is over.

  Vlad cuts my optimism short. Archambault pays the driver and is turning toward the house when he suddenly stops. He is still shrouded in shadow from the trees lining his street, but this is the first chance I’ve had to really look at him.

  Bear is an appropriate totem for the huge hulk of a man dressed in a tux that had to have been customized to accommodate his six-foot-six, three-hundred-pound frame. His complexion is coarse, features blunted, lips drawn and thin. He is breathing through his mouth, teeth bared, as if his flat nose is merely a placeholder on his face and has no useful purpose. Suddenly, he raises that nose, sniffing the air, adding to the illusion that we are watching an animal.

  Does he sense Frey, the panther, hiding in his garden?

  I reach down to touch Frey, an unconscious gesture to reassure myself that he is here, beside me. The panther is crouched and growling so softly, no human ear would pick it up.

  I look to Vlad. What now?

  Maybe he’ll make it easy for us, Vlad says. Come through the back into the garden.

  But Archambault doesn’t accommodate us. After a long moment, he continues up the front walk to his door. From our viewpoint, we hear but cannot see a female greeting him and the closing of the door as they go inside.

  Shit.

  Could you tell if it was Steffan? I ask Vlad.

  He shakes his head.

  What now? Impatience sharpens my tone. Maybe I should walk right up to his door and see if he recognizes me. Steffan would. I doubt Archambault could. We were never introduced. At least we’d know for sure if we were on the right track.

  Frey suddenly tenses beside me. No longer growling softly, he rumbles a warning as the back door is flung open. I reach down to steady him, eyes on the rectangle of light spilling into the yard.

  No longer wearing his tux jacket, Archambault steps into the garden. “Is that you, Anna Strong?” he asks in a voice instantly recognizable. “I should have known with your experience, you might suspect I’d have an escape plan.”

  I motion for Frey and Vlad to stay hidden and step forward to the center of the garden.

  “You and Avery have a lot in common, Steffan.” I smile. “How did you know I was here?”

  He touches the tip of his nose. “Funny thing. As a vampire, I had many heightened sensibilities. I never appreciated that of smell. Seems it’s one of the few I have left now in this form. Your perfume in the car the other day, and tonight, it is memorable.”

  He is holding a wineglass and he takes a sip. “Why have you come here? I have been effectively neutralized, have I not? I will spend eternity in the cumbersome body of this ignorant shifter.” He gestures toward the house behind him. “Hardly the domicile of a king.”

  “Ah, but you have plans, don’t you? Like Avery, you would never be content to remain an ignorant shifter.”

  “Perhaps.” Another sip of wine, a slow smile. “But that is not your concern. You are here for a short while and then you will return to America. Don’t let me interrupt those plans. It would not be in your, or your fiancé’s, best interest.”

  He gestures toward the corner where Frey and Vlad wait. “You know, I could have taken your pet. That would have been interesting, would it not? And not without it’s pleasurable aspects. But I have no desire to be consort to the Chosen One.”

  “A wise choice, Steffan. Though a shortsighted one. I have no reason now to delay ending your existence.”

  He smiles. “Think carefully before taking action, Anna. After all, one funeral in a family is hard enough. It would devastate your father should he lose a daughter as well as a wife.”

  I don’t sense Frey approach until he attacks. Like a specter, he rushes by on silent paws and launches himself at Archambault, fangs bared. Archambault retreats back, Frey claw
ing his way up his torso to snap at his neck.

  “Frey, no.”

  But my words are lost in the thunder of his growls. Frey has tasted blood and he continues to rake at Archambault.

  Instinctively, the shifter under attack loses control. Clothes shred as bone and sinew transform themselves into fur and muscle. Archambault’s face contorts, snout forming with teeth as sharp and fearsome as Frey’s. His head on a stout neck transforms into the round-eared mask of a polar bear and when he shakes Frey off with a huge paw, the panther is flung to the far wall.

  Terror clutches at my heart as Frey lies still among the newly turned earth of a flower bed. Behind me, the bear roars, but my eyes remain fixed to Frey’s still form. At last, he stirs. And when he looks up at me, I know. It’s time.

  CHAPTER 26

  THE VAMPIRE UNLEASHES HERSELF WITH A SNARL. Vlad is instantly beside me. Take care of Frey, I tell him.

  He doesn’t argue or question. He moves away. When he is at Frey’s side, I turn to the bear.

  There is enough of Anna’s consciousness left to make vampire wonder if it is Steffan or Archambault in control. No matter.

  Vampire circles the beast. He watches her, wary. He makes no move to attack as if uncertain what type of animal he faces. That is fine with me. I, vampire, will choose the attack before he can make up his mind.

  I glance to Frey. The other vampire has opened a wrist and is holding it to the cat’s mouth. His own eyes are slit, too, like the cat’s, like mine. Good. His blood will heal the panther.

  A low rumbling sound from behind me. Bear is sounding a warning.

  I turn. He has pulled himself to his full height, towering over me. He is snarling, showing his teeth. He waves paws with claws half a foot long in my face.

  A plan forms. I need bear on the ground if I am to get to what I need. I reach up, grab one of the paws and, stepping back, twist until I hear the shoulder pop and the paw go limp. Bear screams and rakes at me with his good paw, but he does not fall.

  I circle behind him. He stays with me. His useless paw hangs limp at his side, but the good one continues to stretch toward me, thrashing the air with those razor-sharp claws. One swipe connects, a blaze of red-hot pain sears my chest. Blood begins to seep through the rip in my shirt.

  Blood.

  My blood.

  It awakens the lust. With a roar, I rush forward, catching the bear around his middle and throwing him to the ground.

  I jump back, out of his reach. He squirms on the ground, gathering himself to stand. Before he can get legs under him, I am behind him. I bury my face in the thick fur, shielding it from the paw raking at me. I work my arms around his neck until my forearm is under his snout. I squeeze.

  Bear bucks and twists. He slams me against the ground. He rears and kicks. I hold on—exerting more and more pressure until his attempts to shake me off weaken. Then, when I know the time is right, I shift my weight, grab his head with both hands. And wrench.

  A sound, like the popping of dry wood. One ragged breath.

  Stillness.

  I back away. The bloodlust is unsatisfied. I kneel to open a vein, curious what the blood of bear will taste like.

  “Anna!”

  Vlad’s voice from the corner of the garden. I look up. A woman has come into the garden. She is holding a shotgun and its barrel is pointed at my chest.

  I see her finger tighten on the trigger, feel a draft of air as something rushes past me.

  Frey. He knocks her to the ground, the gun spinning from her grasp as it discharges into the yard.

  I beat him to his prey before he can seize her throat with snapping jaws. Lock his eyes with my own.

  “She is human. Wait.”

  He backs away, staying close, growling.

  The human Anna surfaces enough to form coherent words. “Who are you to Archambault?”

  Her eyes are huge, reflecting horror and fear. She sobs. “I am his wife. Why did you attack him?”

  I turn back, close my eyes, allow vampire to withdraw so it is a completely human visage she faces now. “Do you know King Steffan?”

  “The vampire who rules his kind?” Sorrow retreats as another emotion surfaces. “Did he send you here to kill my husband?” Her fists clench in anger.

  “No. Steffan was sentenced to death tonight. He escaped—by using your husband’s body. This you see on the ground is no longer Archambault, your husband, but Steffan.”

  Even as I say the words, I think of Sandra. She was still in her own body, but bit by bit, Avery was taking control. Archambault was not a were. Would he have had a chance to fight Steffan’s control?

  From the corner of the yard: We could not risk it. Vlad’s words are hard as flint. He has read my thoughts, felt my conflict. You know that.

  I draw in a breath, hold out a hand to the woman. “I am sorry for your loss.”

  She ignores my hand. In the darkness of the yard, I see her expression toughen. She is not a young woman, forty or so, but her face reflects a life well lived. In other circumstances I imagine those eyes might sparkle, those lips smile more than frown.

  Now she fixes me a glare of undisguised fury. “His friends will want revenge against the vampires,” she says. “Steffan has unleashed the fury.”

  For the first time, Vlad steps up to join us. My breath catches. When the shotgun discharged, it struck him squarely in the chest

  His shirt is shredded, his chest pockmarked with dozens of seeping wounds.

  The woman recoils when she sees him. A glint of recognition sparks, and her shoulders lose some of their rigidity. She knows who he is.

  Vlad fixes her with a look of hardened steel. “You do not wish to make enemies of the vampires,” he says. “History has proven that to be an unwise choice.”

  CHAPTER 27

  FOR A MOMENT, NO ONE SPEAKS. ARCHAMBAULT’S widow wants to fight for her husband’s right to vengeance. But it’s clear she recognizes Vlad and it’s not only the vampire’s legend she’s aware of but the man’s as well.

  Vlad makes the first move. “You have a right to be compensated for your loss. I will see to it. But as for revenge, it comes at a steep price. Know that Steffan, a vampire, has lost his life as well as your husband. Try to be content with the knowledge that the scales have been balanced.”

  Tears are rolling down the woman’s face. She looks down at her husband’s body. It has morphed back to its human form.

  “Do you wish us to help prepare him for burial?” Vlad’s voice now is soft, conciliatory.

  She shakes her head but does not meet his eyes. “I will take care of it. I need to go inside to call his friends. I would like you to be gone when I return.”

  She reaches down to touch Archambault’s cheek, then disappears back into the house.

  Frey turns then to look at me.

  I touch his flanks. “I’m all right,” I say.

  He rubs his head against the open wound on my chest. It’s already starting to mend and once he’s satisfied I am telling the truth, he goes to Vlad’s side.

  I follow. Once the woman is out of sight, Vlad sinks to the ground and closes his eyes. I’ve had my own experience with gunshots and they hurt like hell.

  I kneel beside him and tear the shirt away. As I watch, buckshot works its way to the surface of his skin, falls away, and each lesion mends until by the time Vlad’s eyes have reopened, his chest is fully healed.

  He sits up.

  Frey purrs and head butts him, making Vlad send me an eyebrow-arched look of surprise.

  “I think he’s glad you’re all right.”

  Vlad climbs to his feet. “I think we’d better get out of here. Someone is bound to have heard that shot.”

  I glance toward the house. “Do you think she’s accepted what you said about the scales being balanced?”

  Vlad shrugs. “I’ll make sure she’s well taken care of. We’ll keep an eye on her. It’s all we can do. We spared her life—you spared her life. Let’s hope she appreciates th
at.”

  We leave the garden, gather on the sidewalk in front of the house. Anxiety over being gone so long rears its head. “How are we going to get back to Lorgue?” I ask.

  Vlad fishes in the pocket of his sweatpants for his cell. “Lucky for us, she aimed high,” he says, pulling it free. He dials, has a brief conversation once more in French, disconnects.

  “There is a small municipal airport not far from here,” he says. “There will be a helicopter and pilot waiting to fly us to Ampus. From there it’s just a twenty-minute drive to Lorgues.”

  I glance down at my torn and bloody shirt and then to Vlad’s. “Hope your pilot doesn’t ask too many questions,” I mutter.

  “He’ll be too curious about the panther traveling with us to ask about our clothes.” He peers skyward. “Come on. We can make it before daybreak if we hurry.”

  * * *

  WE MAKE IT TO STEFFAN’S HOUSE AS VLAD PREDICTED, an hour or so before sunrise. It seems strange to be back in the place our adventure began, a house now cold, dark and deserted. I wonder how long the guests stayed after the demise of their host but from the number of glasses and empty wine bottles strewn about, it appears the guests stayed until the liquor ran out.

  Vampires are nothing if not resilient.

  Vlad and I tramp our way upstairs while Frey retreats to the spot behind the bar where he left his clothes. I take a quick shower, washing away flakes of dried blood. There is not a hint of the bear’s claw mark, not even a bruise or reddened skin.

  Vampires are nothing if not tough-skinned.

  I leave my torn clothes in a pile on the bathroom floor and slip once more into the dress Steffan chose for me. I finger-comb my wet hair, knowing there is little else I can do. If my parents see me in this disheveled state, I can only hope they attribute it to a fast ride in a convertible.

  Vlad is dressed in his evening wear when I return to the bedroom. And perched on the end of the bed Frey waits, too, once again in his handsome human form. He rises when I come in and we embrace.

  “Quite a party, huh?” he breathes in my ear.