by Julie Wetzel
“What happened to them?” Vicky asked fully enthralled by his story.
“As far as I knew, they left Japan and never came back.” Darien answered. “But I should have known something was up when Mano called me Aduro. Apparently one of the pair, Akihito Kusanagi, has made a place for himself as the head of the Hawaiian Council.”
“Is that bad?” Vicky asked trying to make connections that weren’t apparent to her.
“That depends.” Darien answered. “If Kusanagi sees me as the vampire hunter I once was, then he could see our unannounced arrival as a threat. Or he could simply be misinformed about the fact I changed my name. That’s not an uncommon occurrence.”
Her fingers played with his shirt as she considered what he’d said. “What does your heart tell you?” she asked, patting him on the chest.
A smile curled the corner of his mouth. “To proceed with caution. But, I’ve also found myself reevaluating every decision I make. After all, I do have a family to think about now.” He pulled her closer to him. “Have I told you how lovely you look tonight?”
Vicky smiled and slipped her arms up to his shoulders. “Not as of yet.”
“You look brilliant,” Darien said as he leaned forwards and kissed her before looking over her outfit. “I don’t remember this dress. Where did you get it?”
Shifting so the loose cotton would swing around her legs, she smiled at him. “Vanessa helped me pick it out.”
He reached up and laid his hand in the curve of her neck where the wide strap of the dress left her throat and shoulder exposed. “This is very nice.” He caressed her skin pushing her long curls back.
Vicky moaned as she rocked her head over giving him better access. His touch felt good on her skin.
“I especially love this.” His hand drifted down the silver chain and stopped just before he touched her cross. “You’re going to cause quite a stir at the luau tonight.”
Surprised, Vicky raised her hand up over the cross. “I forgot I had it on!”
Darien smiled. “I hadn’t.” The burn on his cheek had healed very nicely, but he had a few other spots where he’d bumped into it through the day. But that was a small price to pay for the pleasure they’d shared.
“Should I take it off?” Vicky asked, fingering the cross.
“No.” Darien answered, pulling her hand away from the necklace. “It looks beautiful on you. Besides, I have a feeling that tonight is going to be one big power play. And if I’m right, one small holy item will be the least insulting thing seen tonight.”
“Then maybe we should just go home.” Vicky said. If their presence was causing an issue, then she saw no reason to stay.
“It’s not that simple,” Darien explained. “If we left now, Kusanagi could view our visit as cruising for new territory and would have the right to challenge me. Then I would have to either kill him, or forfeit whatever prize he wanted. Since I would rather not do either, the best option is to go and prove to the Council that we really are here just for a vacation.” He drew in a long breath. “They will probably try to intimidate and insult us without stepping over the line to offensive.”
Confusion and worry creased Vicky’s brow. “Then what should we do?”
“Play nice,” Darien said as he pushed her back and stood up from the table. Turning around, he pulled one of the bottles of mead from the crate on the table. He turned back and showed it to her. “We go in bearing gifts, hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.”
Vicky took the bottle from him and scrutinized it. She could feel the power tingle through her hands. “Do you really want to give them this?”
Darien took the bottle back. “Not really, but I need a gift and didn’t bring anything else.” He set the mead back on the table and turned to take Vicky’s hands again. “Victoria,” he said before looking up into her eyes. “I’m sorry. We don’t have the time for me to explain the ins and outs of vampire etiquette. It’s a complicated mess filled with plot holes and pitfalls that leaves even my head spinning, and I’ve had nine hundred years to work on it.” He sighed heavily and looked down at their joined hands. “I’m a fool for thinking I could avoid this.”
“Darien,” Vicky said, squeezing his hands to get his attention.
He looked back up to her eyes.
“What do I need to know to get through tonight?” she asked, drawing him to the point.
“Right,” he said, mentally shaking himself. There were things Vicky needed to know before they left and Mano was waiting for them downstairs. “First, vampires are ranked by age and power levels. The older a vampire is or the more power they have, the more respect they demand. A vampire’s strength will increase with age, but not all old vampires are powerful.
“When a vampire can live on their own, they are considered Masters. Between four hundred and five hundred years old, they cross another threshold that makes them an Elder. Clara is an Elder and although Elliot is a little young still, I think he might be reaching that threshold in his power.”
“And you?” Vicky asked.
Darien chuckled. “Since I’m considerably older, I hold the rank of Ancient.”
“And you’re powerful?”
“I like to think I’m pretty powerful, but there’s been quite a bit over this last year that has made me question that.”
Vicky gave him an irritated look. Yes, there had been a lot of stuff happen in the last year, but he’d managed to pull through everything all right. “Darien,” she said in a warning tone, unhappy that he would belittle himself like that.
Darien snorted a soft laugh and smiled at her. “My power levels aren’t important,” he said turning the conversation back to where it needed to go. “Mano has already recognized me as an Ancient so the Council here will do the same. Elders are respected. Ancients are revered.”
This threw Vicky’s eyebrows up. “Revered!”
“Yes.” Darien nodded. “No one is sure exactly how many Ancient vampires there are. Most tend to hide, sending out envoys to do their bidding in the world. So when a known Ancient makes a move, the entire vampire world watches. I’d forgotten about that.”
“Okay,” Vicky said, trying to wrap her brain around this.
“Kusanagi will have no choice but to honor us. Etiquette demands it,” Darien explained. “But I showed him a disservice by not personally notifying him that we were coming. If he reads the signs right, he’ll have come to the conclusion that I had no intention of visiting with him.”
“But we didn’t.”
“True. But that was an error in judgement on my part.” Darien paused, thinking about his recent experiences with vampire Councils and how they had varied from other experiences he’d had. “It’s been so long since I’ve dealt with a Council outside of Brenton, I’d forgotten what they were like in other places.”
“What are they like?”
Darien’s eyes narrowed, showing his disdain for the ways of most of the vampire world. “Rigid.”
“Okay…” Vicky drew the word out as she took in Darien’s disgust.
“There is a protocol for everything. If you forget just one, things can get out of hand fast.” Darien sighed heavily, dreading having to face an unknown Council.
This sounded very serious to Vicky. “So what do I need to know?” she asked, getting him back on track.
“As Master of the Council, Kusanagi will be required to see to our comfort. Housing, refreshments, and entertainment. It’s also customary to honor a respected vampire with some kind of gift.” Darien paused to draw in a breath. “Because we already have a strike against us, we can’t refuse whatever he presents.”
Vicky’s brow furrowed. “But what if he presents something horrible?”
“Then we graciously accept it,” Darien answered. If Kusanagi was anything like what Elliot described, he fully expected the gift to be truly terrible. “Just follow my lead and everything should be fine.” Or at least, he prayed it would be fine.
“Okay.” Vicky s
aid, nodding. “Is there anything else?”
Darien thought over what he’d told her before answering. “Oh! As my chosen mate, my wife, you are protected. So, if you should accidently insult someone, they can’t take it out on you. If they try, I hold the right to punish them in any way I deem fit.”
Vicky stared at him with an open mouth.
“But if someone does take offense to what you do or say, they can come to me for recompense.”
Anger ran up her spine and she shut her mouth. “They won’t. I know how to behave in public.” It irritated her that he would even suggest that.
Feeling her anger, he pulled her into his arms. “I know you do.” He soothed her. “I’m just letting you know what could happen, not what will happen.”
His warmth and love washed over her. Slowly Vicky relaxed in his embrace. She wrapped her arms up around his back and leaned her cheek into him. “I’m sorry. I’m just…”
“I know,” Darien said, holding her. “And I’m sure this is not helping much.” He paused to give her time to calm down. “I’m sorry.”
After a moment longer, she backed out of his arms. She nodded that she was better again.
“There is one other thing.”
Vicky stood ready to listen to him.
“I don’t know how closely Kusanagi follows traditional Japanese customs, but I don’t want to offend him. So if he greets us with a bow, we bow back. From the waist, spine straight, at about a thirty degree angle. Anything less than that could be seen as insulting.”
“Bow,” she said, making a mental note of what he said.
“Bow,” Darien repeated. Reaching out, he ran his hands down both of her upper arms. “Then let me worry about everything else.”
Vicky snorted in amusement. “I think I can manage that.” She looked up at him. “So when do we leave?”
Darien leaned forwards and kissed her on the forehead. “Right now.” Releasing her, he turned around, grabbed the glass of mead from the table, and slammed back the rest of the drink. He shivered as the stuff hit the back of his throat and burned its way down. “Let’s get this over with,” he said, snagging the bottle he’d pulled out and turning back to Vicky.
Laughing, she stepped up to his side. “If you insist,” she teased.
Darien groaned and pulled her into motion. He wanted to do this about as much as he wanted to get staked, but he couldn’t see any way out of it. Squeezing Vicky to his side, he concentrated on putting on a happy face. Maybe things wouldn’t be as bad as he imagined.
***
The drive out to the Council’s compound was pleasant. The lights of the city were inspiring and Mano took the long way so they could take in the view of the ocean. With moonlight glittering across the ripples on its surface, it was breathtaking and peaceful. Vicky cuddled into Darien’s side, and for a while, they drank in the romantic view, undaunted by the visit to come.
“We’re here,” Mano announced as he turned off the main road and down a narrow drive.
Both Vicky and Darien watched as the dark, volcanic mountains gave way to manicured lawns. The lights from a cluster of buildings were visible through the cultivated trees. What they could see of the compound was very lovely indeed.
Mano pulled the car up to the largest of the buildings and stopped. Jumping out, he quickly opened Darien’s door so they could get out.
Darien unfolded himself from the back of the dark sedan and looked around. The buildings were very impressive. What he thought was one building was actually a bunch of small, connected houses. They were made of some light-colored wood with a darker wood accent. Darien was surprised to see that all the buildings had large windows, probably to let the soft breeze from the sea in, but all that open glass would make life hard for the vampires during the day. “This is very nice,” he said before turning to help Vicky from the car.
Vicky stood next to him and looked around at the impressive complex. “Wow,” she said at a loss for words. She clutched the wine bottle as if it could protect her from the intimidating place.
“Thank you,” Mano said, shutting the door behind them. “This way.” He led them straight to the main door in the center of the structure. Opening the double doors, he stepped back and held his hand out for them to pass. “Enter and be welcome.”
Vicky gasped as she walked into the room. The soft gurgle of running water met her ears while she gazed over the shallow pool sunk into the center of the room. Lily pads floated along the edges, softening the hard lines while a red bridge cut the pool in half. “Beautiful.” Darien’s soft touch on her lower back propelled her farther into the room. Moving her stalled feet, she got closer to the pool. Orange and white koi broke the water’s surface as they splashed away, frightened by the vibrations of her footsteps on the stone floor.
Darien looked around the serene room before leaning in next to Vicky’s ear. “Thirty degrees,” he whispered to her. From this first impression, he was sure that Kusanagi would hold to formal Japanese customs.
Vicky nodded, clutching the bottle of wine to her. The feel of the magic in it, tingling against her skin, was surprisingly comforting.
“This way,” Mano said as he moved around them and led the way around the edge of the pond.
Darien nodded and pressed his hand into Vicky’s back, guiding her into motion.
The heels of Vicky’s sandals clicked across the floor as they followed Mano around the pool. Flashes of color drew her eyes down to the gray stone making up the floor. Just along the wall was an irregular border of tile that undulated in and out like the edge of a pond. The brilliantly colored stones were set to resemble water. Bright flashes of orange and gold mimicked the koi in the pond just on the other side of the wide walkway. It was amazing.
As they reached the center of the room, Vicky studied the bridge. The wooden structure was painted a brilliant red and arched gracefully over the water, allowing one to cross from one side of the pool to the other. Two corridors stretched out from either side of the room. Peeking down the one on her side of the pond, Vicky saw that two steps led up from the stone to a highly polished wooden floor. The hall ran a few feet until it turned a corner leading off to the rest of the complex.
Turning her attention back to the front, Vicky called out to Mano. “How many people live here?” From her time spent with Clara’s Council, she assumed that the complex was a meeting place for the vampires of Hawaii.
“Only the seven masters on the Council live here full time. There is room for a lot more, but Master Kusanagi likes to keep his household small,” Mano answered as he glanced over her shoulder.
Darien cocked his head. “What about their menageries?” He thought back to their drive from Honolulu. There was quite a bit of countryside between them and the closest populated area. The stiffness in Mano’s back drove Darien’s eyebrow up, but the man relaxed before answering him.
“Only the masters live here. Their kisses are still in their respective cities across the islands.”
Darien’s brow furrowed in thought. “But how do the masters tend their young if they are here and their fledglings are elsewhere.”
“Master Kusanagi lets them go when necessary,” Mano said, ‘but their seconds take care of the daily needs of their people.”
“I see,” Darien said. It was a common practice for masters to choose a second to tend their kisses while they were away on business. He relied on Elliot’s help to keep his menagerie running smoothly, but something in Mano’s words bothered him. It was okay to leave fledglings with a second for a while, but they still needed the power of their master to survive. Prolonged separation could actually hurt the overall power and health of a kiss. Something about this whole situation didn’t sit right with Darien. He pondered over what he could remember of Kusanagi from his time in Japan. Unfortunately, it was not much, just a vague impression of a proud, yet worried, man.
The laid back beat of drums and strum of strings met Darien’s ears when Mano opened the door to the bac
k yard.
“After you,” Mano said as he bowed them through and into the backyard. Most of the compound’s building curved off to the right, but there was a line of torches that lit a path to the left.
With his hand on Vicky’s back, Darien followed the path towards the sounds of a subdued party. As they turned around a bend in the path, the gardens of the manor opened up on the edge of a beach. An iron basin filled with fire cast a golden glow over the white sands, and a scattering of tiki torches supplied pools of light outside the main ring. Darien glanced around at the people milling about. They gathered in small groups spread out around the edges of the light. The hushed tone of their revelry spoke of an uncomfortableness, but he wasn’t sure if it was due to his impending arrival or the Grand Master’s presence.
The ground shifted under his feet as the packed earth gave way to the soft sands of the beach. He paused as he took in his surroundings. The dark ocean at the far edge of the beach made a beautiful backdrop to the picturesque scene. There were blankets and pillows spread about for people to sit on. The soft rhythm of music came from a pair of men to his right. Both were dressed in cloth wraps with leis of leaves around their heads and wrists. To his left was a large section of wood decking laid out over the sand. The platform sat at the very edge of the beach, looking out over the gathered people. Kusanagi sat on the deck in a large wicker chair watching over the crowd, waiting.
As their eyes met, Kusanagi rose from his seat. He was taller than Darien remembered. Dressed in a white linen shirt and loose fitting pants, he had a very commanding presence. Clapping his hands together twice, he called out across the clearing. “Aloha, Master Darien!” With a hop in his step that confused Darien, he came down off the platform and headed straight for Darien and Vicky.
“Do we bow?” Vicky asked unsure what she should do.
“I don’t know,” Darien replied. He pinned a smile on his face and took a few steps forwards to meet the man.
