Blood Wager (Blood Destiny #1)

by Connie Suttle

  The young vampire who'd been tapping at his computer now sat there, his fingers still, his mouth open in surprise. I think I'd just insulted the entire vampire race as a whole.

  Russell pulled me toward the tunnel that led into the cave at the old one's command. Russell never said I couldn't move, so I paced around a little inside the tunnel, my chains swaying and clanking while the vampires inside the cave had a confab. They were deciding to kill me. That was the only conclusion I could draw. Gavin? He was probably sharpening his claws.

  "Slow down, little Miss," Russell said. He hadn't used compulsion but I figured he was tired of hearing my chains rattling. I backed up to the tunnel wall and leaned against it, brushing yet another stray tear off my face. Russell didn't smell that old; his scent was close to that of the young one sitting next to the oldest one at the table. Both scents were different—I could pick them out of a room full of vampires, now, but their smell had the same quality or weight to it.

  Gavin's, on the other hand, was heavier than most inside the chamber. Only the Council members had a more exotic spice to theirs. I suppose they could all do that; tell from the scent the approximate age or who was older than whom. We were far enough into the tunnel, too, that I couldn't hear anything of the discussion. Probably just as well. I'm sure Gavin was laughing over how he'd duped me all that time. If my life hadn't been about to end, I might have considered sending him mindspeech just to tell him how despicable he was. I didn't think I had sufficient vocabulary to curse him or justify the contempt I felt for him.

  Robert was the one to come for us. I couldn't tell anything from his eyes; they were hooded and it was dark inside the tunnel, even for a vampire's sight. Robert walked in front of me, Russell behind as we reentered the Council Chamber. Gavin now stood slightly to the side so I could take my place amid Sergio and Edward's ashes. I wanted to laugh a bit hysterically over who would come to clean up their (and my) mess afterward.

  The old one looked at me for a moment. "Are there any further comments or questions before we pass judgment?" I was back to shivering at his words. There was nothing, now, to prolong my life or delay my execution. "In the matter of Lissa Beth Workman, what say you?"

  I had to bite my lower lip to keep it from trembling and I was desperate to keep the tears in my eyes from falling. I wondered how many prisoners, (who still had some of their mental capacity left, anyway) prostrated themselves before the Council at this point and begged for mercy. I decided to go out with as much dignity as I could. I kept telling myself, again and again, that it would be over quickly.

  "Guilty," came the first voice. I trembled but stood up straight.

  "Not guilty." It was the black Council member. I couldn't send a thank you from where I was headed, but I appreciated his vote all the same.

  "Not guilty."

  "Not guilty."

  "Guilty."

  The voices droned on until eight members had called out their votes; four guilty, four not guilty. One of the females had voted for me, one against. It came down to the old one's vote and since he was in charge, I no longer held any hope. Gavin was going to pull out those claws—I had no idea where they'd come from—and just slice my head from my shoulders.

  "Well, it is my vote that decides, is it?" The old one's features belied his scent, which was very, very old to me. "For the ones I vote with, I hold my own judgment in this and it is not your votes in this matter which sway me. For the ones I vote against, I instruct you from this point to withhold your opinions on the subject. I do not wish to hear any future discussion or denouncement. Let the records reflect that Wlodek, Head of the Vampire Council, votes not guilty."

  The tears fell then. I couldn't hold them back and I was sniffling like a baby. My sobs I was holding back, however. I didn't want anyone to have that vision of me in their minds. "Lissa Beth Workman, there are conditions that come with our granting of your life," Wlodek informed me after giving permission to move my hands and arms. "We must find a surrogate sire for you and I must take time to ponder the matter and make my offers to see if anyone is willing. You must follow his teachings and instructions, once that sire accepts responsibility for you. If you do not, you may well find yourself standing in this very same spot and the vote will not go kindly the next time. Do you understand this?"

  "Y-yes," I stuttered a little and nodded. I was still wiping tears away. Vampires must not have any emotions or the impenetrable mask must be part of what they learned early on. None of them had any expression showing.

  "I will leave my compulsion in place until your sire is found. I command you now not to attempt to escape and to follow the instructions of all other vampires that I send to you. Is that clear?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Very well. Radomir, please take her to the side. She will come home with me until a sire may be found. See to her needs." Wlodek waved a hand imperiously and another vampire, darkly handsome and tall (just like most of the rest of them), pulled me over to the side of the cave. There was still some Council business to tie up and Wlodek was instructing Charles, the younger one typing on the laptop, on what to include in the official record.

  Radomir produced a beautiful silk handkerchief from somewhere and handed it to me. I thought it a shame that I was going to wipe my tears with it. They're almost clear but not quite. I suppose you could call them a pale amber color, since they're made from serum, after all. I was going to stain that snowy whiteness. Gavin also moved away from the center of the chamber since his services hadn't been needed. I wondered how disappointed he was over that. He was standing at the back of the cave beside the entrance, almost at attention, staring over the heads of the Council members.

  It's strange, the feeling I had after they'd passed sentence. I felt numb. That's the best way I could describe it. Maybe later I'd jump up and down with joy, but it was something else I was going to have to deal with. There had been little joy in my life for a while and I wasn't sure I knew what to do with it. What I can tell you is this—after that night in the Council chamber, I could have picked out any member just by their scent, along with the scents of the Enforcers or whatever they were, standing around the perimeter. That was a strange feeling. Of course, I could do the same thing with any of the werewolves I knew. I'd know Winkler from a quarter of a mile away, if the wind were blowing in the proper direction.

  The meeting was over, finally, and members began filing out. The Enforcers split up, escorting Council members out of the cave two or three at a time. Russell and Radomir remained to protect Wlodek and Charles. The other one that remained was Gavin. Wlodek didn't have to say anything; Charles packed up his papers and things in a satchel along with his laptop which he handled with care, and then hefted the satchel over his shoulder. At some unspoken cue, Radomir motioned for me to follow him. Gavin went out first, Wlodek next, and then Charles and Russell. I walked between Russell and Radomir, who came out last of all.

  There was a limo waiting for Wlodek, and he was put in the car first. I was led to the other side and seated inside the spacious, black leather interior. Gavin had disappeared already; I didn't see him anywhere. Russell and Radomir rode in the back of the limo facing us and guarding Wlodek, I'm sure. As if he needed guarding from me. At that moment, I felt weak as a kitten, drained completely from my ordeal and still wearing my silver manacles.

  "We will remove those when we arrive at the manor," Wlodek said, nodding toward my chains. I wanted to huddle in my corner of the car and hug my arms around myself with my knees drawn up to my chin. That wasn't suitable behavior so I sat there, not saying anything. My hands were clasped in my lap and my eyes were on my athletic shoes, which still showed signs of ash from Sergio and Edward. Charles sat up front with the driver, and except for Wlodek's one sentence directed at me, nobody had spoken a word. I stared as we passed through tall, wrought iron gates before parking on a wide, circular drive somewhere in the English countryside. I would later learn it was in Kent, but I had no way of knowing where I was at that mome
nt. Charles was standing outside the limo, talking on a cell phone when Radomir opened my door to let me out. "Have her clothes sent over," Charles instructed someone before ending the call. The manor we'd parked near was three stories high and quite large. I tried not to gape as I was led up the front steps. The wide front door opened from the inside and the vampire who stood back to allow us entry was nearly seven feet tall with broad features and large hands. He nodded respectfully to Wlodek who walked in first.

  "Thank you, Rolfe," Wlodek announced, sweeping inside. At least Wlodek wasn't dressed in a cape and a red bow tie or anything. He had a dark pin-stripe suit on, with a very tasteful tie. The others were dressed similarly, I was only now noticing. I suppose if your life is hanging in the balance, what people are wearing sort of goes right past you.

  "Come on," Charles set his satchel inside the door and grabbed my arm, leading me through the entryway and then to the left and down a short hall until we made another left into the kitchen. The only appliance in that kitchen that didn't look more than a hundred years old was the refrigerator (or should I say bank of refrigerators), and freezers. They took up an entire wall, all in stainless steel, and Charles opened one of them to pull out a pint of blood. "You look like you could use this," he said. "Not that you're not pretty or anything," he held up a hand. "It's just that you look worn out. Drink as much as you can, it'll help."

  I was a little embarrassed to drink in front of him, but I did eventually bite off the little top and sip until I'd gotten about half of it down.

  "We were told you couldn't finish a whole one," Charles took the bag back. "I'll leave this here in case you get peckish again." He then produced a key from a pocket and unlocked my manacles, setting them on the counter nearby. I rubbed my wrists a little.

  In case I got peckish? Yes, I knew what the British meant when they said peckish. It meant a little hungry. "Do you mean I can walk through the house? I'm not going to be locked up?" My face must have indicated my shock because Charles came and hugged me, rocking me gently for a moment or two before pulling away a little.

  "You just can't try to escape," his eyes peered into mine. "And Wlodek will want to see you, sometime before dawn. He'll tell you that you can't attempt to hurt anyone in this house, but that's standard." He let me go. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so friendly. It's just what I am. They tell me you're from Oklahoma. Do they still have Indians there?" I stared, dumbfounded for a few seconds over Charles' question before I found my voice and my sense—enough to answer him, anyway.

  "Of course there are. In this day and age, you can look up just about anything on the internet, including what's going on in Oklahoma. I saw you tapping away on that computer. Don't tell me you haven't done some surfing."

  Charles' cell phone rang. He answered and I did my best not to listen in. "Your clothes are here," he said, leading me out of the kitchen. "Actually I do surf, whenever I have time," he said. "That's how I found out about you. Some kid who was buying drugs said he saw his dealer get bitten by a female vampire." Charles sounded a little guilty over that admission.

  "Oh lord," I sighed. "First crack out of the bag and I get caught."

  Charles grinned suddenly, transforming his face. Honestly, I was glad somebody was able to smile. Those other vampires were just too serious. Rolfe had my suitcase in the entryway when we walked in. "Where can I take this?" I asked, lifting my bag. I really wanted a shower; I just didn't know how to tell Charles that.

  "Come with me, I think there's a room on the second floor," Charles said as we walked down the hall until we came to a hidden set of stairs. These were much narrower than the grand staircase that split and went down each side of the huge entryway.

  "This set of steps is closer," Charles said as we walked up. We reached the second floor and came out a door at the top of the steps. The hall ran the length of the manor and was wide, with occasional mirrors and tables interspersed down its length. The dark blue carpet underfoot was so soft and deep I sank into it. At that point, I was hoping not to spread Edward and Sergio on Wlodek's rugs. I ventured to say that to Charles and he had to stop, he was laughing so hard. His cell phone rang and I could hear, as plain as day, Wlodek asking Charles what the unholy racket was.

  "Lissa's spreading Edward and Sergio on your carpets." Charles was still snickering. Wlodek's communication was cut off and I heard laughter from one floor above us.

  "He needed a good laugh," Charles said and led me forward a little farther. "You get this room," he said, opening a door to a suite.

  It was period and quite beautiful. The walls were a sky blue with white trim, but the bathroom and closet off to the side were very modern. Walking into the bathroom, I sat down on the tiled edge of the Garden tub and sighed.

  "Go ahead and clean up, I'll come back when Wlodek wants you," Charles said, closing the bathroom door behind him.

  I didn't take long to shower, although the huge tub looked like a good place to soak. I had no idea how long I'd be staying, so there might not be enough time. Cursing Gavin's packing skills later, I pulled out my blue top and black slacks. They'd been wadded up and tossed inside, along with half my other things. I had to settle for wearing jeans again with the plum top; it wasn't horribly wrinkled. I was hanging up some of my things, hoping the wrinkles would come out of them when Charles knocked. At least this time my hair was braided and looked nice. I'd caught my reflection in the bathroom mirror before I cleaned up and I'd looked like hell.

  "Well, this is an improvement," Charles said, looking me over. "Follow me. The boss is waiting." I thought it must be nice to be able to call Wlodek the boss. For me, he'd held my life in his hands. He could have just as easily crushed it out of existence with a flick of his fingers.

  "Sit down," Wlodek said as Charles ushered me inside his study. The man had money, that's all there was to it. I wasn't up on antique rugs or desks or furniture, for that matter, but everything in that room had a huge, invisible price tag. There was a wall of bookcases stuffed with books of all kinds and an authentic Monet hanging on the opposite wall. "A gift, from Russell," Wlodek caught me staring at the painting. "It belonged to his sire and when Xavier was killed, Russell gave the painting to me. I'd often admired it in Xavier's study. Russell is using the room for something else, now."

  "Do you want me to stay, Honored One?" Charles asked politely. I guess he didn't call him boss to his face.

  "You may stay, Charles. I will require your help with the transfers anyway." Charles sat down in the chair next to mine, pulling a pad of paper and a pen out of his suit coat pocket.

  "Ms. Workman, your official sire is deceased, now," Wlodek began. I knew that. I'd seen Gavin off him myself and the image was still burned in my brain. Nodding seemed to be a good idea so I did.

  "Sergio's sire is also deceased." Well, I hadn't thought of that possibility before. I nodded again. "Normally, if a vampire is brought up on charges and sentenced to death by the Council, their assets are liquidated and handed over to the Council unless they have legitimate issue."

  Oh, lord, legal terms. Sergio didn't have any legitimate children. I wasn't legitimate by any stretch of the imagination. Winkler said that the child had to be registered with the Council. I wasn't registered. I wondered if my surrogate sire would have to do that. "And I'm not legitimate." The words were flat.

  "That is no longer specifically true. When the Council decided to spare your life tonight, you gained a bit of legitimacy. Your new sire, whomever that may be, will then petition the Council on your behalf to get you fully registered. Mind you, do not step out of line or that will all be revoked in an instant."

  "Yes, sir."

  "And since your legitimacy and registration are now only a matter of time, Sergio's assets will pass to you. Your surrogate sire will advise you on its use and in what manner it may be invested."

  "Like a trust," I said. Hey, I used to work for a judge.

  "Exactly. When your five year period of learning is up, the funds will be your
s to control."

  "Funds?" I started to shiver.

  "You look frightened, Ms. Workman," Wlodek observed. Only because I was. Funds sounded like money. Lots of it. "Charles has pulled up the records on Sergio's holdings." Wlodek held a piece of paper in his hands. "They include a home in Spain, a building in London and cash, investments and other holdings in excess of four hundred million pounds."

  My fingers were twisting together in my lap. It was a good thing somebody else was going to be controlling all that for me. I had no idea what to do with it. None at all. I gulped a little. "I hope my sire doesn't mind working with that," I said. "I wouldn't know where to start."

  "That is what he will be there for, among a great number of other things." Wlodek almost smiled. "It is refreshing to hear your honesty. Charles will make the transfers when the time comes and I'm sure you will be provided with a monthly stipend of some sort. Also, an official identity will be established for you. The unfortunate part of that is you must leave the name Workman behind. You may keep Lissa if you want; it is a pretty name, but your last name will be tied too easily to your former existence so you must not use it again. Haddon is also no longer an option, since many people might recognize that as well."

  "Here." Charles rose and pulled a book off the shelf against the wall.

  "Baby names?" I couldn't believe it, Charles was handing me a book of baby names.

  "It's a legitimate source," he sniffed, pretending to be wounded. Flipping through the book, I looked at this name or that until I found something. It wasn't even in the female section, either. It was in the males and one of the meanings for the name in the book was rogue.

  "Huston," I said. "Is that all right?"

  "Sounds good," Charles was writing that down. "We can have an ID for you in a couple of days, along with a birth certificate and a passport."