"So that's what happens," I said, mulling it over for a bit. Then his previous statement hit me. "I'm one of sixteen? How many males are there?"
"A little over two hundred thousand. We had three times that number, fifty years ago."
"What happened?" While two hundred thousand vampires sounds like a lot, if you spread them out across the earth, it's not that many.
"Technology and better weapons happened to accelerate the war between vampires and werewolves. Now do you understand just what it was you did for both races when you preserved the Grand Master's life? He was the first Grand Master willing to make the compromises necessary. His death would have destroyed all of us, I think."
"Were you depressed when you first were turned?" I asked, going off subject for a moment.
"A little. But I was dying in battle, and my sire found me as I was slipping away. I wasn't all that upset, and I have enjoyed my life. Now, Lissa, let's talk about you. And what you can do that is so unique that you are an anomaly—an impossibility, as it were."
"It's not just because I got turned by two morons?"
"Wlodek told me you called them that." Merrill's mouth quirked into half a smile. "He found it humorous, but it is never wise to say something out of turn to the Head of the Council. He has a temper, little one, and you do not wish to see it aimed at you. Every one of those Council members knew how rare you were and still four of them called for your death. To me, that is unacceptable. You are capable of mindspeech, Lissa. At this time, there are only three known male vampires with that talent."
"I met Robert," I said.
"His twin brother, Albert, also has the gift," Merrill informed me. "They are both Enforcers but their gift is short-range only. The other one with the talent is Radomir. He has only experienced it sporadically, however, so it is not labeled as one of his gifts."
"I liked him," I said.
"Radomir is an Enforcer and Wlodek's child. Anything you tell Radomir you tell Wlodek," Merrill said. "The other talent that you have is misting. You are what we call a mister, Lissa. You can turn your body to mist, along with anything you are wearing at the moment. Wlodek was shocked when your chains turned along with everything else. He will be experimenting with his Enforcers to see if they can do the same thing."
"The Enforcers can mist, too?"
"No. Only two now hold that talent. It is as rare as mindspeech and according to the records, never has misting and mindspeech appeared in the same vampire. And most certainly never in a female. You are rare and precious, Lissa. That does not mean that Wlodek will allow you to get away with anything, so do not attempt it. He has warned you that if you appear in front of the Council once more, it most likely will be for the death sentence to be passed."
"Yeah. He said that already." I was twining my fingers together, my eyes on my lap.
"Little one, you did not ask to be placed in this position. You were rogue through no fault of your own, but the laws are in place for a reason. The vampire race is hidden from humans because they fear us and for good reason. We are stronger and we drink from them. The first Vampire Law is never kill your donor. I'm sure you've already guessed that one yourself. And with your fangs, it would be difficult for you to kill them with the bite. You could easily kill them in other ways, however, from exerting your strength to placing a compulsion for them to drive off a cliff."
"Geez, that's awful," I said.
"Not every vampire agrees. Some revel in the kill or the struggle and do not place proper compulsion on their donors. We do not have as much difficulty with this now as we once did." Merrill grimaced a little. He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers.
"So, some vampires still kill the ones they take from?"
"They are not allowed by law. That does not mean they don't achieve it from time to time. Most vampires feed themselves from the blood banks now. The Council keeps records of those who order blood and those who do not, as well as those who only order sporadically. They also watch to see if humans come up missing regularly where vampires keep residences or even nearby. If suspicions are raised, Enforcers are dispatched to investigate."
"The Council has a tough job."
"Yes. With that power comes a heavy price. You have seen the Council's justice. They do not hesitate and every living vampire knows this."
"So in your opinion, vampires are alive and not the undead? Because I have to tell you, that term has always bothered me. Undead to me means the opposite of dead, which by definition means alive, at least in some way."
"Vampires are alive in their own way," Merrill said. "Their hearts do not beat but they do breathe while awake, which causes some sort of metabolism. It's just that our bodies process things differently. We consume blood and it feeds us. If we did not metabolize it in some way we wouldn't have to consume more every day."
"That makes sense," I agreed.
"Good. Do you have any questions for me tonight? I have business to attend to this evening. We will continue tomorrow night. On Wednesday, I will be away for two days but back on Friday."
"Nothing for tonight. I'll think about it all and if I have questions, I'll let you know."
Merrill smiled at me. "You are something of a miracle, Lissa. I am glad to have this opportunity to teach you."
I left his study and went to Franklin. "Do you think he'll mind if I walk outside?" I asked. I hadn't been able to roof-sit in a while.
"Just don't go far. I'm sure he's already told you not to escape." Franklin smiled at me.
"He did tell me that," I nodded. "I just want to sit on the roof for a while."
"You know, if you were human I would be shouting the house down for Merrill to come and stop you," Franklin's eyes sparkled when he laughed. "But since you are what you are, don't damage the roof tiles."
It was my turn to laugh, then. "I haven't damaged any so far. That I know of, anyway," I said and went to find the door.
Merrill and I talked again Tuesday night and just as he said, he was gone Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday evening after I showered and fed, I went downstairs to see if Franklin needed help in the kitchen or anything else. He and Lena were already eating but he pointed to a small box on the corner of the island that had a note attached.
"That came for you today," Franklin said. I went over to look at it; the note had only my first name written on it. I opened the box first and inside was a beautiful gold bracelet made of links that looked like tiny hibiscus flowers. A small diamond winked at the center of each flower.
"That's really pretty," Lena said, looking over my shoulder. The envelope and note card were a cream color and expensive, I could tell. Who would be sending me gifts? I wondered as I opened the note.
"Lissa, I wanted you to have this. I miss you.
Gavin."
"You like this?" I held the bracelet out to Lena. "It's yours." I dropped it into her palm and tore the note into pieces, tossing the paper bits into the wastebasket on my way out of the kitchen. I was fuming when I went to the roof that night and I didn't come down until nearly dawn.
* * *
"She gave the bracelet to Lena and tore up the note. I rescued the pieces and taped them together so you could take a look," Franklin passed the note over to Merrill.
"Ask Lena to bring the bracelet to me. I'll get her a replacement," Merrill murmured as he read the note. "This is the one who brought her in," Merrill tapped the note with a finger. "I'll do a little research."
Merrill placed the gold bracelet in his desk drawer and gave Lena money to buy something as a replacement. She was happy with the exchange and Merrill placed compulsion for her to forget about the first one.
* * *
"The second Vampire Rule is protect the race. Obviously, it is tied to the first rule. We generally reveal ourselves by drinking from humans and or killing them in the process," Merrill told me Friday night. "If a human sees what we are, a compulsion must be placed so that they forget."
"Has there ever been a human that we
couldn't place compulsion on?" I asked.
"Ah, there's the question, right there," Merrill sounded proud of me for some reason. "Do you know what makes a true vampire Queen? She is not susceptible to any vampire's compulsion, even the strongest ones. She can be either a danger or a blessing. A danger if she decides to break the laws and go rogue, because she must be tracked and destroyed. A blessing if she is the one to uphold the laws, since none can make her deviate from them."
"Are there any Queens alive?"
"None. The last one walked into the sun more than four hundred years ago," Merrill said and shook his head sadly. "Her name was Sarita."
"So, do you know when they're human that they'll be a Queen?"
"At times. If we drink from them and the subsequent compulsion has no effect, there are steps we must take. We are forced to take them with us and detain them until the strongest compulsion may be tried. Failing that, there are only two choices left—attempt to turn her or kill her. This must be done in order to protect the race." Merrill was watching me closely.
"Well, that sucks," I said. "I don't suppose you let the woman decide?"
"No, little one. We do not."
"Crap."
"That is why we should not feed from donors unless we are forced to do so."
"That schmuck, Gavin, let me go on out and feed from the population while he more than likely had a fridge full of blood," I flung out a hand in disgust. "It's like he was just waiting for me to do something to hang myself."
"The fact that you existed without your sire's supervision would have been enough to hang you, little Lissa. If other issues hadn't cropped up, you would be very dead right now."
"Yeah, rub that in a little more," I grumbled.
"On a brighter note, I have petitioned the Council to complete your registration. The paperwork has been submitted. I also have," Merrill pulled open a drawer at the side of his desk, "These." He handed a large envelope over to me. Inside were new U.S. and British driver's licenses, a birth certificate and a passport.
"Wow. Charles wasn't kidding," I breathed, examining my new identification.
"He wants you to purchase a cell phone so you can speak to him from time to time. He also asked if he could take you to see a film sometime soon."
"Gee, dad, can I borrow the car?" I grinned and waved my new licenses.
"Only when I am sure you are capable of driving on the proper side of the road."
"Bummer," I said. Merrill smiled.
* * *
"I don't believe she wishes to see you," Merrill leveled his gaze at Gavin. "She attempted to give away the bracelet and ripped up the note. I now have both in my possession."
"Fuck," Gavin paced and cursed a little. He and Merrill were both inside Wlodek's study. Wlodek had arranged the meeting with Lissa's surrogate at Gavin's request. Gavin had no idea the surrogate would be Merrill. Legends surrounded Merrill and his abilities, and none knew his age or the extent of his strength, although many guessed that it might eclipse Wlodek's.
"I believe you may have been too heavy handed with your compulsion," Merrill went on, ignoring Gavin's outburst. "She is new and fragile. More than likely you placed one so heavy it caused physical pain, not to mention the emotional side of it. You betrayed and humiliated her, Assassin. What do you expect?"
"How was I to know she would live over this?" Gavin was still pacing. "I was ordered to eliminate her. And I would have. That does not mean it wouldn't have killed me to do it."
"Ah," Merrill said. "Well. Perhaps someday, you will learn that love means protecting what you love. I am done, here," Merrill nodded to Wlodek and left the study. Wlodek displayed no emotion as he watched him go.
"He didn't say you couldn't keep trying," Wlodek said after Merrill was out of hearing. Gavin stared at the Head of the Vampire Council.
* * *
Anthony Hancock reviewed the results from the first test of the department's new software. The terrorist had been apprehended in Barcelona, just before he'd boarded a plane for Madrid. The software was a work of genius; it not only had feature recognition but mannerisms as well and that was how they'd made the collar—the terrorist had been heavily disguised. Tony wished he could thank Lissa for this as she'd given his card to William Winkler and suggested he offer the program exclusively to the NSA. It had been worth the exorbitant price tag since they were the only buyer. Winkler could have made a hundred times more money selling it on the open market, but he'd had too many attempts on his life. This option had worked out better for both sides. Tony had very fond memories of Lissa and wondered if he'd ever see her again.
* * *
"The third Vampire Law is this: A vampire may not contact his former family or friends." Merrill toyed with a letter opener at his desk. I wondered if this were boring to him. "Former is the key word, here," Merrill went on. "The vampire race is your new family and friends."
"What about Franklin and Lena?" I asked. I sat on my usual wingback chair inside Merrill's study. It was my classroom, now.
"Franklin is as much my child as any of my others," Merrill informed me. "He was an orphan, a runaway on the streets of New York when I found him and took him in more than fifty years ago. I taught him to read and sent him to school with the help of a housekeeper."
"He loves you," I said. Merrill had sounded a little defensive there for a moment. I didn’t want to upset him.
"I know," Merrill sighed.
"And I know not to drink from him or Lena," I said. "Not that I would, anyway, but because I would never mistreat someone I cared for. And in my book, that constitutes mistreatment."
"Are you sure you're a vampire?" Merrill asked, lifting an eyebrow slightly.
"If I'm not, then I've been drinking blood for nothing and went through that whole we're going to decide if you live or die crap for nothing, too. Not to mention nearly frying in the sun. That was almost as bad as the werewolf bites."
"I've never been bitten by a werewolf," Merrill said.
"Lucky you," I told him, my words bitter. "Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if there weren't so many bites, but I was pretty much covered. Those claws would have come in handy I think, if I'd had them."
"You haven't gotten your claws?" Merrill was up and standing for some reason.
"No. Is that a bad thing?"
"You fought werewolves without claws?"
"Yeah."
"Stand." I stood. "Force out your claws, Lissa." We were doing the compulsion thing again. Somehow, slowly, long claws emerged from my fingers. They were around a foot in length and smaller than Gavin's, but then his hands were huge.
"There we are," Merrill breathed as he came around the desk. Careful not to touch the claws themselves, he lifted one of my hands in his, examining my newly formed talons. "They look almost delicate," he said, turning my hand to look at the underside. Gavin's claws had been nearly black while mine were pale, almost the color of my normal fingernails.
"I need a manicure," I was having trouble talking around my fangs, they'd come out with the claws.
"Retract you claws and fangs, Lissa," Merrill said and they disappeared. "Now, go to mist for me." I went to mist. Merrill timed it. "Four minutes thirty-two seconds," he said. "Now turn back." He timed that, too. "Four minutes forty-six seconds," he said. "Very good. The others take at least five minutes."
"I'm not as big as they are."
"True." Merrill patted my shoulder and went back to his chair.
* * *
"Here, let me mash the potatoes," I told Franklin while he worked on the pot roast for his and Lena's dinner. I made the mashed potatoes, putting in butter and half-and-half like I always did. "I hope you don't have cholesterol problems," I said as I put them in a bowl on the island.
"Isn't that what medication is for?" Franklin laughed.
"Franklin, don't kid about things like that, my husband had heart problems. I let him cheat now and then but all the time is a bad thing."
"I don't cheat often," he was
still smiling.
"Where is your husband now?" Lena asked.
"Dead," I said. "I'm a widow."
"Lissa has had a difficult life, although she looks so young," Merrill came into the kitchen. "Lissa, Wlodek wants to see you a little later. Why don't you go change and I'll drive you over."
"Did I do something wrong?" I was suddenly terrified.
"No, sweetheart, you didn't do anything," Merrill had his arms around me quickly. He let me go after only a few seconds and sent me off to my bedroom. I didn't know what to wear at first, but eventually decided on slacks and a V-neck sweater. Even summer in England can be on the cool side and it was raining out that night. I pulled my hair back in a French braid and put low heels on so my pants wouldn't drag the floor.
"That looks nice," Lena complimented me when I returned to the kitchen twenty minutes later.
"Thanks."
"These mashed potatoes are wonderful," Franklin was having more.
"Hey, now," I pointed a finger at him.
"You can't make them again for two months," Franklin grinned. I went to hug him. Merrill came in a few minutes later, car keys in hand. I hadn't even been into the garage yet and there were parts of the house I hadn't explored. I did find the indoor pool and hot tub but I didn't have a swimsuit and there was no way I was going in naked.
Merrill had a Maybach. I couldn't believe it. Well I could, but it was amazing. He also had a Rolls, a Bentley, a Range Rover and a Cadillac. Go figure. No wonder he wouldn't let me drive. I wondered if Charles were going to be there as we climbed into the car. I wouldn't mind saying hello. I really didn't want to date him seriously, but he would be a good friend, I thought. And since there was a dearth of female vampires, what else was I supposed to do?
Rolfe let us in the door of Wlodek's mansion before we had a chance to knock. They were expecting us after all, and any vampire would have heard the Range Rover crunching over the gravel drive. Charles met us in the entryway, giving me a sly wink before he led us up the stairs to Wlodek's office. I almost hissed when we arrived; Gavin was standing beside Wlodek's desk. Merrill noticed my flinch when I saw Gavin.
Blood Wager (Blood Destiny #1) Page 24
