by Sophia North
Was she convinced? Hell no, but nor was she adverse to the idea. The feel of his hands on her body, his tongue...were certainly strong contenders in the 'Stay' column.
And there was also the undeniable truth that she'd already felt the stirrings of change in her life. Her time at Gould & Associates was at an end. InsideOut? She'd miss it, true. It was the one creation from her time as a psychoanalyst she was proud of - where she knew she'd actually helped the right people. But there were many ways to assist others and perhaps a spell with a vampyre may prove to be the biggest adventure of her life.
Simone drew in a deep breath. Decision time. "I am in...for now. But I agree, Dr. Simone Radcliffe must cease to exist."
Dante quelled his disappointment in her cold reply. He'd hoped for a more impassioned response over her decision to stay. Yet, as he was ultimately getting what he wanted, he hid his feelings from her.
"Then let's get Vlad back in here and work out the details." Dante picked up a small bell and rang it.
In a simmering streak, Vlad returned. "Shit, that was fast. Do I need to fetch some chains?"
"No Vladimir, I shall be staying of my own accord," Simone replied pointedly.
"Doc, no need to be all oedipal with me. I am much more useful to you as an ally, than a pissed-but-will-put-up-with-you kind of friend."
"Apologies, Viking. My mistake. How good are you at making a human disappear?"
"Top of my class. What do you have in mind, Doc? Freak accident ... mysterious disappearance..presumed dead - I handle the lot."
Simone laughed. Vlad did amuse her with his antics. "How about accidental overdose after a night of wild partying? I'd like to go out on a high note. My life was quite the opposite. I rarely went out socialising, let alone take part in wild nights of debauchery."
"I find that hard to believe with a Greco-Gaelic dragon as your best friend. But for Dante's sake, we'll pretend you lived in a nunnery until the two of you met."
Penny. She may prove to be an obstacle. "I must tell Penny what is going to happen. Otherwise, she will not rest until she knows the truth and will never accept the overdose story."
"Simone, darling. Convincing attractive women their best friend is living the happily ever after dream is my specialty. Leave the sweet Penelope to me. I'll take excellent care of her."
"You will not go within one square mile of her," Dante stated. "I do not want Simone's friend dragged into our world during this time of upheaval."
Seeing Simone's elation over his stance on her friend's involvement, matched by Vlad's dejection at being denied the chance to meet the object of his interest, he continued, "but you will not be making any more phone calls either, Simone. Alfred told me you were very vague with Penny the other night, but we all know the telephone network cannot be trusted."
Simone bristled at the notion she'd been spied on by Alfred in his raven form, but said nothing. She did not want to draw any more attention to her conversation with Penny than necessary - there were elements she preferred not to have to explain - and it mainly had to do with the meaning behind their Godolphin discussion.
"Very well, how then shall I communicate with her - carrier pigeon?"
Dante smirked at her cheek. "In a sense. You can write Penny a note and Alfred will see it is delivered. He can be trusted to be discreet."
Sensing the coming storm brewing between them, Vlad stood and turned up the collar of his long black leather coat. "Well, I can see my presence here is verging on the point of uselessness, so I shall get on with Simone's untimely demise. I'll make it memorable, Doc - whilst of course preserving a sliver of dignity for your good name. Those are always crowd-pleasers. I'll report back later."
And poof - he was gone.
Alone, Simone and Dante sat staring at one another, battle grounds drawn.
"Would you prefer to dictate what I can divulge or will Alfred censor?" she asked haughtily.
"Let's not shoot the messenger, hmm? Alfred does what is required to protect this house - unashamedly," Dante retorted. The raven in question joined in with a caw of support.
"Duly noted, Herr Polidori. Where might I find suitable writing materials?"
"My desk holds everything you require, princess."
Simone ignored his slight on her character by referring to her as essentially a spoiled child and went to the large walnut slab he called a mere desk. The ornate brass handles were cool to the touch and she needed to use both her hands to slide open the impressive center drawer. Laid out in graceful order were paper, envelopes and an impressive variety of pens.
Removing a thick, ivory sheet of paper, Simone placed it on the leather writing surface in front of her and removed the gold top of a Mont Blanc pen. With swift bold strokes she wrote to Penny of her impending 'death', assured her there was nothing to worry about - her demise was nothing more than a cover and she would be in touch. She ended the note with a cleverly worded departure:
Fear not, dear friend. My plans are flawless. Do not forget I am a Godolphin Girl and always prepared. Take care. I'll be in touch soon.
Finished, she placed it in an envelope lined with gold foil and was about to seal it when she noticed it lacked the usual strip of adhesive. "There is red wax and a brass seal on the right - along with a lighter," Dante remarked from his side of the room.
Pleased by his gesture of trust, she found the items he'd mentioned. Watching the flame heat the wax, she enjoyed seeing its ruby droplets fall onto the back of the envelope to form a small circular mound. Satisfied with its coverage, she removed the brass seal with an impressively entwined DSP engraved on its surface. "What does the 'S' stand for?" she asked, firmly pressing the seal into the wax.
"My middle name - Sebastian."
She traced the imprint. Or Simone, she silently mused. Shaking off her fanciful thought, she rose and returned to where Dante was sitting. "Here, ready for delivery. Penny's studio address is on it. She tends to work at night and I would be grateful if she received this sooner rather than later. I don't know how fast Vlad works but I don't want her unnecessarily upset if it can be avoided."
Dante took the note from her. "Alfred, would you ensure this is delivered to Penny - do not return until it is, understood?"
Alfred squawked, took flight and swept the note from Dante's fingers as he flew from the room.
"I'd say it is time to feed you properly. How does a grilled steak and Chianti sound?"
"Heavenly," Simone replied, suddenly feeling quite famished.
Half an hour later, she pushed back her plate and pronounced: "That was delicious. You really are a marvel in the kitchen."
"My true talents lie elsewhere, love," he replied seductively, refilling her wine glass.
Simone drank greedily, eying him over the rim. "Really? Sadly, I have only limited evidence to go by...but I will grant you, what I did enjoy ... was certainly promising."
"Steady, love. I have a few matters that I can no longer ignore and need to go out for a few hours."
"Excellent," she said drunkenly. "Where are we going? Wait ... am I dressed right? If not, my options are limited unless we can go to my flat first. Can we do that? Go to my flat? What will happen to all my ... stuff?"
"You need more rest Simone ..." Dante tried to cajole but she was having none of it.
"Rest? I've slept for hours...days even. In fact, I can't remember when I've slept so much. Why is that? Hold on, stop trying to distract me. You were about to take me to my flat so I can change and we can go out..."
In five ... four ... three ...
"Sleep, yes...I am tired. So tired." Simone's head dropped onto her outstretched arm.
"That's right, love. Sleep."
Chapter Twenty
THE CAGE OF the lift slid smoothly into place. Dante pressed the button to his desired floor and stood back as the mechanism creaked to life and began its slow ascent. Lost in thought, Dante leaned back onto the rich mahogany paneling of the lift's interior.
It hadn't bee
n easy for him to leave Simone. After slipping a powerful sedative into her wine at dinner, he'd tenderly laid her to rest in his generous king-size bed and went about his business.
He'd managed to cover a lot of ground. After arranging the packing and delivery of Simone's belongings to one of his secure facilities, he turned his attention to the task which mattered most...putting an end to the vampyre Samsun.
For hours he searched for any leads. But unfortunately, at dawn, he was forced to retreat.
Awake well before sunset, he'd spent many hours staring at his charming bedfellow. She looked incredible when she slept. Her beautiful heart-shaped face showed no signs of tension or worry, her gentle breathing evidence of a peaceful sleep. The effects of the sedative, along with her body's need to heal from his special kiss, kept her in a long deep slumber.
He knew she would be furious when she finally woke - it was the reason for his reluctance to leave. That and his fear she would try something foolish if left to her own devices for too long. But he needed Alfred to continue his search for Samsun - Dante would not rest easy until he knew the vamp was dead and no longer a threat to Simone. So he'd left her on her own and prayed his luck would hold and that she'd sleep for a few more hours.
The ding of the lift's arrival drew him back to the present. As he exited, Vlad's booming voice called out to him. "Brother, over here."
Flickering fluorescent lights made an already dingy space even more depressing. A former bomb shelter hastily converted during the Blitz from an ancient network of catacombs, the place was not the most welcoming environment.
"How many did you manage to gather?" Dante asked in a low voice, joining Vlad at the iron door where he waited.
"I've kept numbers low. Reckon it is better to be prudent and restrain the flow of information. And on that note, I'm happy to report I've brought in about a dozen good vamps with one particular bastard who's presence I know you will regret at some point in the near future."
A grin broke across Dante's face. "Thank fuck he's still alive. I was worried he would be stupid enough to try something on his own and get killed for the effort," Dante replied.
"Honestly, one would think I'm the fucker incapable of controlling my emotion when we all know that illustrious title belongs to you, mate," the object of their conversation commented as he emerged from the shadows.
"Darius, you bastard. Come here." Dante grasped the vamp in a warm hug of greeting.
"See. Fucking emotion all over the place," Darius joked, holding his arms out in mock surrender. "Get off - you're embarrassing yourself."
Dante released him and stood back. "Were you there the night Anton took Lowerton?"
"No, I was balls deep in a fine French blonde in Paris at the time. Otherwise, we wouldn't be in our current fucked position, now would we?"
Half a century their senior, Darius was the natural older brother of the pack. Unfortunately it contributed to his bouts of delusional alpha superiority. That and the fact he was also once their superior officer when Dante, Vlad and Anton had begun their Watcher service.
"More like you'd have found yer balls hanging from Anton's neck, if you were dumb enough to be taken, Captain Dickhead - or is it just Dick now you've gone civilian?,” Vlad entered the fray of insults. "Either way, I hear Anton's into that sort of thing lately and would no doubt relish getting his hands on yours after the beating you gave him back in '63."
Darius laughed loudly at the jibe. "The little shit thinks he's King of the Vampyres, does he? Poor fuck's lost his mind. We best correct his wayward thinking, wouldn't you agree?"
The trio entered the room to join their fellow rebels in arms. Long tables were fashioned into a large square, with chairs set evenly apart to accommodate the group and allow for easy discussion.
Dante spent a few minutes circulating and greeting those who'd arrived before taking a seat and calling the Meet to order. "I'd like to start by saying time is not a luxury we have at the moment. And every night that passes is another night of allowing Anton's tentacles to dig ever deeper into the heart of our world."
A murmur of agreement rippled around the table. Dante held up his hand to regain silence. "Vlad has been the lead thus far in our endeavours and in my opinion should remain in command of London operations - any objections?"
Their silence was taken as consent by Dante. "Vlad, bring us up to speed."
"Hive communications continue to move at good pace, we are getting regular updates on Lowerton refugee vamps sightings. Hendricks, you and Begsy are overseeing the retrieval missions - anything we need to know?"
"Nah, Vlad. The team's got everything in hand. We've established host families to help care for those who need the additional support," Hendricks reported. "Our biggest problem right now is accessing clean blood. Any news on that front?"
"Yes and it is good for once. Our friend at the Ophanim Order sent word fresh supplies will arrive tonight. With regular deliveries agreed to ensure we don't have any further interruptions. Darius, you take the lead in securing these shipments. We will need to vary routes and destinations daily to keep Anton's forces from interfering with logistics."
"For you, Goldilocks, consider it done," Darius graciously replied. "Dante, what the fuck are you doing in all this - writing ballads?"
"Not quite, Dickhead. Didn't you hear? I am the focus of our dear friend Anton's affections and as such have secured the golden ticket into his lair. I just need to figure out when its most advantageous to accept the invitation."
Darius leaned back in his chair. "Ah, I see. And here I thought you were in deep therapy with a pretty headshrinker Anton's got a thing for - but perhaps I am mistaken and he didn't ring a live radio talk show to declare his intentions for all of London to hear," he deftly returned.
The band of vampyres roared at Darius's well aimed barb.
"Enough," Vlad demanded. "I'll have no disrespectful banter about Simone - she's part of this fight and her contribution will not be made light of – understand?"
"Fuck, Goldilocks, can't a vamp have a little fun?"
Dante grimaced slightly over Vlad's defense. Darius had a mean streak in him and he wasn't adverse to exercising it when challenged. They could do without poking the bear.
"I thought the task of feeling Anton's camp out about arranging a chat could be assigned to our young friend, Peterson," Dante stated, looking to move the conversation away from his relationship with Simone.
Vlad sat back and smiled. "An excellent idea, a test of loyalty that costs us nothing and gains us a well needed update on their state of mind. It's been two nights since he's made the offer. And that Darius, is what Dante does - complexity distilled to its essence."
"If you find solace in such drivel, mate," Darius replied. "Who am I to naysay it?"
SIMONE RATTLED THROUGH the cupboards looking for a bottle of pain killers. Her head pounded and she was trapped in a house with supernatural beings who probably never had to deal with the annoyance of a headache.
"You've picked a hell of a time to go AWOL Dante Polidori," she cursed aloud. "And you took your little pet raven too!" The silence in reply to her passionate entreaty was engulfing.
Her mood matched the kitchen's interior design - black, liquid and volatile.
She'd known within minutes of waking her condition was not the work of Chianti alone - somehow the bastard had drugged her. Foggy minded, she'd crawled into the shower and stood there for what must have been at least an hour before she'd even started to feel slightly human again.
In the search for something to wear, her fury further magnified when she found her clothes neatly hung and folded in his walk-in closet. He'd gone to her flat without her and despite the care he'd shown in ensuring her things were delivered, the high-handedness of his actions far outweighed their thoughtfulness.
With her head cradled in her hands, Simone willed the pain away in a vain attempt to try and take control. But the boom, boom, boom of her temple drained the illusion away.
"Hellooo, Dante, are you in? My apologies on the intrusion but Alfred wasn't at his post and..."
The distant muffled voice of a man snapped Simone's head up. Another living being was in the house - her heart pounded at the thought. She scrambled from her crouched position and crept to the kitchen door to peer down the long hallway.
The figure of an older man, dressed in an overcoat, with an umbrella and wearing what appeared to be a tweed three-piece suit, wandered aimlessly around the main hall.
Curious looking fellow, Simone thought. Definitely unthreatening.
"Who are you?" she called out, maintaining her distance.
"Gracious child, you gave me a fright! A dangerous thing to do to a man of my age," the older gentleman gasped in surprise.
Simone did not back down. "Then a man your age should be more selective in the company he keeps and the potential consequences entering their homes uninvited may bring."
"One might say the same of you, if one was so inclined. Dante failed to mention he had a such an interesting guest."
He may be old, but the man wasn't a push-over.
"Did he even mention me at all, I wonder?" she replied cryptically. "Well, we could stand here and sling insults at one another or I could make us a pot of tea and attempt a more meaningful conversation. What say you...?"
"Horatio. And a cup of tea would be lovely."
"Ah, a name I know. I am Simone," she answered. "I'll join you in the library shortly."
A few minutes later Simone entered the library carrying an elegant tea set and found Horatio studying the books on one of the floor-to-ceiling shelves. She set the service down and arranged the cups. "Are you a milk in first sort?"
"Is there any other civilised way?" he answered pleasantly.
"I agree but occasionally one must make accommodations for the odd philistine."
The older gentleman laughed warmly. Upon closer inspection Simone realised he was not as old as he first appeared. She judged him to be somewhere in his late-fifties, perhaps even early-sixties. Wild tufts of blond hair spiked up haphazardly from his receding hairline, giving him a devil may care look and yet, his once clearly handsome face bore the story of a man who had seen much and managed somehow to weather the storm.
