Christian’s expression darkened further. “That hood mage will still be dealt with.” The seeing eye popped out of existence.
I turned and ran, racing the rising sun.
Chapter 13
I sat on a hard chair staring at a white wall, waiting for a knock on the door.
I’d just returned to the Colescu apartments after spending the day and fully half the night in one of my secret hideaways. I expected a summons, and I knew I should be preparing myself for what was coming. What was I going to say to Mortissa, and would she accept my answers?
What I saw on that white wall I stared so hard at was the expression on Lionel’s face after he’d said, “It’s over.” He’d had to put aside his reaction to finding out what I was until after the battle, and in that moment, he’d had every right to rage at me. Instead, he’d shown a coldness and an absence of emotion that was worse than screaming. “It’s over,” he’d said, meaning more than just the demon’s curse.
The door opened, and Sistine walked in. Not even a knock. “Yes, what is it?” I asked.
“This way,” Sistine said.
I hesitated. The moment of judgment had arrived, and I was walking into it weak and uncertain. Reflessa had been banished, but only by the slaughter of an old woman. I hadn’t been able to defeat any of its arguments, most of which had originated in my own heart.
“Don’t dawdle,” Sistine said.
I surged to my feet, knocking my chair back and, in the same movement, I spun and crashed a roundhouse kick into Sistine’s face. She keeled over, and I followed her down, planting my knee against her throat. “Remember your place,” I said with a voice like granite.
Sistine twisted her head to the side and spat out blood. Then she laughed. “We’ll see,” she said. “Mortissa is ready for you. She even prepared a surprise.”
“Mortissa and I go back centuries.” I leaned down hard on the other woman’s throat. “We’ll work out what we need to. And from now on, you’ll jump when I say move, and you’ll lick my boots when I say kneel. Are we clear?”
Sistine laugh turned into a cough under pressure from my knee. “We’ll see. We’ll see,” she spluttered.
I left Sistine on the floor and strode out of the room. I’d make her choke on her laughter later, but she had done me a favor. A single moment of action provided an answer that hours of reflection hadn’t. My joy at seeing Sistine laid low before me had been undeniable. The old me was back, and it felt good.
Perhaps I had reason to be grateful to Reflessa as well. Lionel had said, “the reflections tell the truth, you are the liar,” or something similar. It was time to stop lying to myself. Lionel’s intervention meant I still hadn’t killed in over a year, but continuing that path wasn’t a real option. Nor was leaving my family and becoming a vulnerable lone vampire, or begging to be admitted to the Huntley family. I hadn’t come this far to subject myself to the whims of uppity young vampires like Sistine or Kingston.
I had to accept what I was and convince Mortissa that the previous year of weakness had been an aberration. I pushing through the double doors and into the throne room.
Mortissa sat waiting on her throne. “Where’s Sistine?”
“On her back, recovering from a kick to the head and a knee to the throat.”
Mortissa laughed. “I can’t say she didn’t have it coming.”
A fawn stood on either side of Mortissa, wearing matching white shirts and navy sports jackets. “Leave us,” I told them.
They both looked at Mortissa, who gave them a nod, then they fled, closing the doors behind them.
A draft carried a distant moan across the room. A fawn somewhere was being tended to by a vampire; I couldn’t tell if the moan was due to pleasure or pain.
Where Gaston had died, a large splotch of blood still stained the white carpet. I walked across to stand in the center of the stain. “You haven’t had it cleaned yet.”
“I decided to wait until the whole situation was cleaned up.”
“Val is dead,” I said.
“So I heard. Sliced through the neck. She and her daughter’s body were discovered in our mausoleum.”
I noticed that Mortissa’s sword leaned against the side of her throne. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen it. “Do you expect to need that tonight?” Mortissa sword was a huge two-handed broadsword that she could wield like a rapier.
“I notice you are also armed.” Mortissa nodded at the heaviness in the left side of my leather jacket.
I had replaced my torn and battered jacket from the night before with a similar one. “I wasn’t thinking,” I said. “I can leave the jacket outside.”
Mortissa’s smile was all sharp sweetness. “Not at all. We trust each other, so hidden swords mean little. Isn’t that right, little dove?” She rose from her seat on the throne and moved toward the semi-circle of plush seating. She chose a chaise longue and beckoned me. I sat on an armchair opposite her.
“No, come closer.” Mortissa patted a space beside her, and I shifted across to where she indicated. When she reached for me, I jerked back.
“I’ve been thinking,” Mortissa said, “that I should never have gotten that throne. It separated me too much from the rest of my family.” She held out her hand again, and this time, I leaned my head into her palm. “This is what we have missed in recent times. The closeness we used to share.” She pulled me against her.
I felt awkward, my body stiff and tilted at an angle with Mortissa holding my head against her shoulder. “You didn’t warn me when you sent me after her the old woman. I didn’t know to expect a grief-crazed necromancer.”
“There was good reason,” Mortissa said. “Opportunity is rising, but to seize it, I first have to purge all weakness from the family.”
“I’m not weak.” I tried to lift my head to face Mortissa, but she held me pressed against her. Her fingers briefly tightened around my throat, and I stiffened, but the fingers left my neck as fast as they’d arrived.
“It’s not just you, it’s everyone that’s getting weak. Aberrations like the Huntleys have been allowed to occur. A family that makes a mockery of being a vampire, a family that should have been wiped out long ago, but, for some unknown reason, is under the protection of the Koloffs.”
I nodded, saying nothing.
“I have been watching, and I understand why. The humans grow ever more clever at deception. Through stories, they have constructed a moral code that they want people to believe in, a warm fiction that people can wrap themselves up in to make themselves feel good while insulating themselves from cruel reality. At the same time, businessmen plunder the planet, politicians divert wealth into the pockets of billionaires, and soldiers use ever more powerful weapons to kill and maim.”
I swallowed. The memory of the imprint of her fingers still burned the skin around my throat.
“As a race, humans are as vicious and heartless as Vlad himself; they are often just unwilling to get their hands dirty. They squeal monster at the very thought us, but in truth, what has a vampire ever done to compare to any number of atrocities committed by humans? Don’t fall for their lies.”
“What do you want from me?” I asked.
“Join me in my quest to reach higher, little dove.” She ran her fingers through my hair.
“I don’t understand.” Despite everything, I was beginning to feel comfortable with her closeness. Her smell was familiar, her voice comforting, her movements gentle.
“The Colescus have done well, but we have coasted for too long. I want more for us. I want us be the leading vampire family in Philadelphia, perhaps in the whole country. Imagine that, the Colescus, one of the only female-only families, becoming famous throughout the great US of A. Doesn’t that make your blood shiver with anticipation?”
“How?” The Koloffs and Scarpas had been in the city for much longer, and both families were much larger than ours.
“As you’ve recently discovered, I have begun to experiment with necroma
ncy and mage magic using human vessels such as Val and Connie.” Mortissa’s fingers streamed down through my hair. “Despite Val’s competence with hood magic, her efforts to train others has gone badly, and the overall task has been fruitless, mainly because mage magic is relatively impotent. Mage families usually rely on their positions of power, rather than real power. Their soldiers carry machine guns along with their pendants, and they are quicker to use the guns. The magic itself is feeble.”
I heard a moan again, only this time I realized it came from somewhere close. My head stirred. “What was that?”
“Nothing to worry about.” Mortissa’s hand continued to brush through my hair. “Necromancy was even more ineffectual. Demons would rarely hear a call, and when they did they, were often unwilling or unable to affect our world. That’s until recently. Something has changed drastically. I’m not sure what, but few know of it, and even fewer have the will and ability to take advantage. The loss of Connie and Val was unfortunate, but real power requires sacrifice. We just need to work with Grimstar and others to take advantage.”
“How was Gaston involved?” I asked. That was a part of the mystery I hadn’t yet figured out.
“Connie was a great lay, but also a scheming little bitch. The great thing about manipulators is that they are so easy to get them to do what you want. Especially the stupid ones—you just have to get them to think they are one manipulating you. Connie was sleeping with Gaston, and getting him to spy on me, little knowing I was only telling him what I wanted her to know. Once she died, though, it was time to deal with Gaston’s treachery.”
“You asked Connie to summon the demon that killed her?”
“I didn’t have to force Connie—she craved the power herself, but Val was always going to blame me once it went wrong. Did you see what the demon did, though? The innards gone, skeleton and all, her skin unbroken. If an idiot like Connie can get a demon to affect the world that much, imagine what is possible when we learn to harness the power.”
The moan came louder, and I raised myself away from Mortissa and scanned the whole room. “Where’s it coming from?” A memory clicked in my mind, something I hadn’t registered at the time. Sistine had said that Mortissa had a surprise for me.
Mortissa shrugged. “I guess it’s time.” She stood and crossed the room. “You didn’t know my throne has a hidden chamber underneath it, did you?” She used her toe to lift a small latch low to the floor, then stepped back as a board swung open, and a man’s body spilled out.
It was Lionel.
Chapter 14
I sprang to my feet and rushed across to him. I turned him around so he was on his back. His head flopped to the side. Bare-chested, and with a bloody wound on the left side of his neck, he was barely conscious, his life force depleted.
“I can understand why you like him. His blood is rather delicious,” Mortissa said.
“What’s he doing here?” I shouted.
“I think you know.”
I looked up and saw the terrible truth in her eyes. “No. I already proved myself to you. Val is dead.”
“You must do this, Alessandra. You know it yourself. This is the opportunity you have been waiting for. Weakness has leaked into your life, softening your nature. It’s time to redeem yourself, to be reborn into your true self.” She clenched one hand into a fist. “And together we’ll be able to forge an alliance of strength, go forward and take whatever we want from the world.”
I looked down at Lionel, watching as his glazed eyes focused. I saw a spark of recognition, and he smiled.
“Don’t smile,” I whispered. “I’m not here to save you.” The opposite.
He opened his mouth and coughed. Blood bubbled between his lips. “Come closer,” he whispered.
I leaned down toward him. The smell of his blood was strong, but beneath it was his own scent, warm and earthy.
“I’m sorry I reacted so badly before,” he said. “I understand why you had to lie to me.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I whispered. My gums tingled, but I didn’t let myself transform. Not yet.
“I did. I fell in love with you. Then I let the discovery of one small aspect of you color everything I felt.”
“You didn’t fall in love. We only just met. We barely know each other.” And being a vampire wasn’t a small aspect.
“Maybe you are right. Maybe I’m not in love. But I’ve never felt anything like this before. So I want to take the leap of believing it’s real, believing it’s love.” He reached up and briefly gripped my wrist. “Take a leap with me.”
“I don’t love you.”
“Before love, you have to lower your defenses. And before that, you have to believe in yourself. Take that leap, at least.”
The lack of blood had gone to his head. “You realize you aren’t getting out of here.”
He closed his eyes and swallowed. “Not all deaths are the same. When I thought we were going to die under the building, I was glad I was with someone, with you. And if I die now, I want it to be with love in my heart.”
“That’s stupid,” I said.
“What’s he saying?” Mortissa sat on her throne with her sword lying across her knees, her fingertips brushing along the surface of the blade.
“He’s saying he loves me,” I told her.
“An extra special treat for you, then, little dove. Draining the life force of someone who loves you tastes extra sweet.”
Mortissa would kill both of us if I didn’t kill him. Even if I hadn’t already made the decision to return to my previous life by giving up the folly of shedding my vampire skin, I would be left with no choice. Either both of us died or just him.
“You had me wrong,” I whispered to Lionel. “I was lying to you. Lying to myself as well, in believing I could change and be someone I’m not."
“You are a good person, Essa. Take the leap and believe that.”
The words warmed my heart, but I crushed the feeling within myself. “You are delusional. Essa isn’t even my name.”
In response, he gave me a warm smile.
Damn him. “Get angry at me,” I hissed. “I wormed my way into your trust. I lied about my nature. I’m about to murder you, drain your blood, drain your very life until you are nothing more than a husk. I deserve rage and revulsion. Not that weak half smile.”
“I understand what you have to do and why,” he said. “I’m ready.”
“Why the delay, little dove?” Mortissa asked. “You have no doubts, I hope.”
I leaned closer. It was painful seeing his battered face with an expression full of kindness, so I turned away, concentrating on his neck. A crusted red smudge pulled my mouth downward. The smell of his blood grew stronger, and bloodlust took me. My fangs sprouted, and the skin of my face tightened.
I wanted to have him so much, take every part of him. It had been so long. I knew how wonderful he would taste.
A single gulp, and I would never doubt my true nature again. Mortissa was right that I needed to test myself. By proving myself, I would be reforged into a stronger metal.
Lionel had even given me permission; he understood what I was, he knew what I had to do. “I’m sorry,” I breathed.
“I forgive you,” he whispered back.
My lips touched the skin of his neck. The taste of blood exploded inside me, and I moaned. I opened my mouth, preparing to bite down, the tips of my fangs touching his skin.
This was it. There would be no stopping once I started. I would drink until the whole of Lionel’s life force was part of me, until I had killed him and purged myself of all weakness. All I needed was the tiniest more pressure to penetrate the skin.
Instead, I pulled away. The smell of blood was still in my nostrils, but I didn’t let it cloud my mind. I ran my fingertips along Lionel’s cheek, and I remembered being clasped against him in the rubble of Val’s basement, breathing in the same scent, each of us feeling the body heat of the other. When we’d been separated, my arm had felt
strange for no longer being curled around his back.
My fangs retracted, and the tightness left my face as the bloodlust evaporated. We smiled at each other and a warmth filled me. I leaned down and kissed him, a pure kiss, lips on lips. It tasted sweet. Not the same sweet taste of blood, but something better, more wholesome.
“That’s disappointing,” Mortissa said, picking up her broadsword and standing. “At least it’s better to know.”
I stood in front of Lionel.
“After everything we’ve been through, all these years, you’ve chosen a pathetic bloodbag over me.”
“Yes.” I drew my katana.
Mortissa smiled. “So what now? You are going to try to kill me? Really, dear? You know you aren’t my equal.”
I charged forward and swung at her left side, a testing blow, aiming to feel her out.
I didn’t expect my sword to sink home, but it did. Mortissa didn’t even try to block or dodge, simply answering my attack with one of her own. She used the brief split second when my blade was caught inside her flesh to swing her broadsword viciously at my left side.
I screamed and backed away, clutching at the wound.
“I’m sorry, did you want to dance, little dove?” Mortissa chuckled. “All I have for you today is butchery. She dashed forward, hacking at me with long, heavy strokes. I blocked each attack, but with Mortissa’s full strength behind each blow, my elbows bent a little more each time. I couldn’t match Mortissa’s strength even at my peak, and with blood leaking from the heavy wound in my side, I wasn’t close to that. And with Mortissa happy to absorb my blows just to get her own strike home, I didn’t dare counterattack.
Mortissa drove me back until I could retreat no further. I ducked a high blow, and Mortissa’s broadsword clanged against the wall. I spun, then dashed to the other end of the room.
Mortissa turned. “I often allow myself to be injured.” Blood leaked from the gash in her side, but it barely affected her movements. “Just to know that I rule over my body. Pain is just a trick of the mind. Regular injuries also ensure that my healing powers are perfect.”
The Demon Mirror (Dragongods Saga, #0) Page 10
