by L. J. Red
“Benedict,” Ben said, stretching out his hand.
“Drakon,” said the redhead, shaking it.
“Heron,” the scary one said, and instead of taking the hand, he offered a short bow that Ben, after a moment, returned.
They talked in low voices and Sparrow didn’t overhear much else. She lingered by the wall, afraid to step into the crowd amongst all the unfamiliar vampires. The people shifted around, inadvertently bringing them closer toward her, and Heron looked up and caught her eye. Sparrow felt a bolt of fear as he looked her up and down, his grin sharpening. He twisted away from the others and began stalking toward her. Sparrow held her breath. Maybe he wasn’t coming for her. She looked over her shoulder. Oh right. The wall. He was still coming. His dark eyes were pitiless. Fear flashed through her and she sent out a silent plea for something, someone, anyone to get her out of here. She didn’t want this strange vampire anywhere near her. Even across the room, he was terrifying enough.
He closed in on her, five paces, then three, then one. “Why hide at the back, little mouse?” Heron asked, his pale hand already moving toward her cheek. Sparrow tried to say something, tell him to go, her mouth opened, but no noise came out. His hand closer, almost touching and then he was abruptly thrown to the side as a dark shape slammed into his side. They hit the ground, moving so fast they were a single blurred mass, only resolving into two once they were on the ground. Heron flat on his back, and above him, Jacob.
Silence spread out like ripples across the crowd. Jacob planted himself between Sparrow and Heron, sending a glance behind to her, his icy eyes meeting hers. The fire within them took her breath away.
Heron flipped upright in one smooth jump. Sparrow bit her lip. He certainly didn’t look like he needed any self-defense classes, and she was surprised at the worry that ran down her spine. He’d better not try anything with Jacob, she thought, taking an unnoticed step toward them both.
Heron raised his hands, a quicksilver grin appearing on his face. “You ought to watch where you’re going,” he said, his voice a low singsong. “A less forgiving man might take that as an attack.” His eyes slid to Sparrow.
“Take your eyes off her,” Jacob said, his voice like crushed gravel.
Ben, who had been standing nearest to them both, took a half step forward. “I think you should leave,” he told Heron.
“You’re not my leader,” Heron said to Ben, turning on him.
“No, I’m not,” Ben said, “but if you stop trashing your own welcome party we’re going to be brothers in arms and I’m telling you, brother to brother, you need to take a moment.”
“I didn’t even touch her,” Heron said, his ever-present grin sharp.
Jacob’s low growl echoed through the room. “Walk away. Now.” His eyes never left Heron, his body stretched taut, ready. Fuck, he was ready to fight and Sparrow was sure this time he wouldn’t be pulling his punches. What made him so mad? Was it her? Had he truly just come to her rescue?
Heron finally leaned back. “Easy, easy, I’m going,” Heron said, taking a step away and catching Finlay’s eye as he turned.
“We talked about this. I thought I told you to play nice.”
Heron shrugged loosely. “I was the nicest. See?” He spread his long-fingered hand. “No blood.”
“And another one bites the dust.” Talon’s voice came suddenly from Sparrow’s right. She jerked her head to see him looking between her and Jacob with an amused light in his eyes. He caught her looking and smiled. For the first time, she didn’t find his smile quite as terrifying as usual. Compared to Heron’s unhinged grin, it was comfortingly familiar. Talon strode between them, gently shoving Jacob back toward Sparrow, and then laid his arm around Heron’s shoulders. Heron’s relaxed expression suddenly went taut as he noticed how close Talon’s razor fingernails were to his throat. “Heron,” he said, “It is Heron, isn’t it? Let me tell you about soulmates.” He used his grip to pull Heron back through the crowd.
Soulmates? Sparrow thought. What on earth was Talon talking about? Whatever. Didn’t matter. This was her chance to slip out. She had no desire to witness another vampire throwdown. Moving quickly, she slipped over to the nearest door. As she reached it, something made her look back over her shoulder. She caught a glimpse of Jacob’s expression, the weight of his eyes lingering in her mind as she walked away.
Chapter 17
Lucian stepped to the side to let Finlay join him as they exited the entrance hall and proceeded through the Sanctuary down toward the infirmary. Lucian had met Finlay a handful of times over the years. Lucian’s friendship with Aaron meant that of all the bloodlines he had visited in his precious few breaks between assignments, Clarity was the one Lucian had chosen the most. Aaron was the only living person who had known Lucian as a human. Both of them had grown up as Roman citizens and later soldiers of the Empire before ever becoming vampires and passing the centuries together.
Lucian had in fact been part of Bloodline Clarity, before the ruling vampires had made decision to create the Shadows and end the violent blood wars that raged across vampire society. A time that Lucian was afraid they were headed back toward if something wasn’t done soon. On that thought, he turned to Finlay. “Thank you for coming,” he said. Finn caught his eye and nodded seriously.
“I am only sorry we could not have come earlier.” His deceptively young face did not show the many centuries he had spent living as a vampire but, for a second, betrayed the worry he was carrying.
“Something kept you?” Lucian asked.
“Yes,” Finn sighed. “To be honest, it was partially this that I wish to speak with you about.” His shoulders slumped. “Normally I would have spoken to Aaron about it, not just because he’s the leader of our line, but because”—he glanced at Lucian—“well, you know, he always has good advice. He has a way of thinking about things that make your dilemma seem suddenly so clear and…”
“Easy to solve,” Lucian finished with a smile.
“Exactly.” Finn’s answering smile turned sad. “How bad is he?”
“He is stable,” Lucian said. “Dr. Patil, she is the human doctor who has been treating him, an expert in vampire biology. The only expert in fact. She’s been able to stabilize his condition and halt the progress of the poison from threatening his life further, but”—he sighed—“she has no idea if he will eventually wake.”
Finlay’s face tensed. It hadn’t been lost on Lucian that Finn had spoken about Aaron in the present tense. Clearly his second didn’t want to lose him. He strode forward resolutely, nothing but the tension around his eyes giving away how he felt. Lucian approved. It was a real blow to have Aaron missing from their ranks, but if Finlay wished to lead his Bloodline, he would need to show that kind of strength.
“What was it that you wish to ask him about,” Lucian said after a moment. “Perhaps I can help?”
Finn paused as they reached the stairs, his hand tightening on the rail. “You have your own troubles with Radiance,” he said after a moment. “I don’t want to distract you from that, and anyway, our problems are confined to the West Coast for now.”
Lucian frowned. Surely, he didn’t mean trouble from his own Bloodline. The recruit, Heron, had certainly made a splash in the entrance hall, but it wasn’t anything more than the usual vampire roughhousing that would break out when vampires from two different bloodlines were forced into one territory. Still, if there was some issue with the recruits Lucian needed to know about it.”
“Problems within your line?”
“No.” Finn caught Lucian’s expression. “You’re thinking of Heron.” He sighed. “The man is a good fighter and honorable; he just doesn’t know when to stop pushing,”
Lucian thought of Talon. “Ah, yes, I have experience with vampires like that.”
“I just think he needs a cause,” Finn said. “That was why I suggested petitioning to become one of the Shadows. Sometimes we can get so caught up in our vampire nature, the lust for blood, the nee
d for violence. It’s a matter of learning how to control those urges, use them for good rather than evil. Heron has that possibility for good within him. He just needs to learn how to channel his power.” He smirked. “Don’t get me wrong. The man is dangerous, but then isn’t that a requirement for the Shadows?”
Lucian laughed softly, gesturing for Finn to continue down the stairs. He understood what Finn meant about needing a cause. Talon had been much the same. For a long time, the Shadows had given him that purpose, and then, when he had begun to slip into wildness it had been his soulmate, Eden, who had brought him back from the brink. Perhaps what Heron needed was to become a Shadow and join their crusade against evil. As for the soulmate question, well, that was out of Lucian’s hands.
“There will be cause enough for him here. Even setting aside Roman, we had serious trouble with the hunters here in Chicago. Have you heard of HUNT?”
“The Human-Undead Neutralization Team, oh yes.” Finn’s expression darkened. “I heard they took some humans hostage and turned them?”
“Indeed,” Lucian said, “They are currently living with us here in the Sanctuary. They were turned by Roman and then given over to HUNT to be tortured so they could make their anti-vampire weaponry.”
“That’s sick,” Finn spat. “I wish I’d seen Roman for what he truly was at the Conclave. I could have dealt with him then.” For a moment, they were both silent, remembering the dead. Then Finn gave Lucian a sharp look. “That means there will be three different bloodlines staying here. Radiance, Clarity, and Shadow. An interesting recipe.”
“Quite.” Lucian smiled wryly. “Do you expect any of your people will make trouble?” Vampires were notoriously territorial, and fights could break out over any minor thing.
Finn was silent for a moment. “Only the one you’d expect. Heron is not the best at playing with others.”
Lucian nodded as he thought. “Then, with your permission, I would prefer if you were to step back from disentangling any such fights. I intend to turn two of our vampire guards, Benedict and Castor, to the Shadow within the next few days, and after that I should like to see how Benedict deals with such small matters of insubordination.”
“Why not deal with it yourself?”
“Because HUNT is leaving Chicago.”
Finn frowned, clearly not following.
“And I cannot,” Lucian added. “So, whoever takes them on,”
“Will have to lead their own team,” Finn finished, nodding. “Ah, I see. A test of this Benedict’s leadership abilities.”
“Exactly.”
“Very well. I have no issue stepping back and seeing how they manage. Are you intending to send Drakon with them?”
“Yes, if you recommend him for it.”
“I can recommend him with no reservation,” Finn said. “He has had his trials in the past.” He paused. “But that is not my story to tell. Either way, he has a much calmer head on his shoulders than Heron. I do not expect him to make trouble.”
“Good. Then, to go back to the initial topic, what was it that you wished to ask Aaron about?”
Finn looked frustrated. “It’s Fury and Mikhael.”
Lucian frowned, “Bloodline Fury in New Mexico?”
“Yes, though, they’ve been creeping closer and closer to our northern territories.” Finn flattened his lips into a line. “You know he and Roman were friends?”
Lucian’s eyes flashed. “No,” he growled, “I did not know that.”
“Yeah,” Finlay said grimly. “They kept the connection fairly quiet over the years, but it was obvious they had some kind of alliance at the Conclave. Alliances between the leaders of bloodlines isn’t unusual.” He gestured to Lucian. “Yourself and Aaron, for example, but I didn’t know until recently quite how deeply Mikhael and Roman are intertwined. We have been discovering some truly concerning reports about Bloodline Fury’s behavior, about the research they have been engaging in. Tricks to build their power. We thought it was made up at first. Sacrifices to forgotten gods, mystical bullshit, but we kept hearing reports about twisted bonds, stolen power, and we realized it was all too real,”
“Stolen power?” Lucian asked with a frown.
“You know how the leader of a bloodline can exert his influence on members of his bloodline to keep them from doing harm. Pull them back from the killing rage, or bloodlust?” Lucian nodded. “And the stronger the bloodline, the stronger the vampires within it and the stronger the leader himself.”
“Yes,” Lucian said. He knew this. It was part of the reason why he had always chosen his Shadows for strength, rather than flooding their numbers with weaker vampires. It made their entire Bloodline strong.
“Well, there are stories,” Finn said. “Rumors that such a bond can be twisted and used for the benefit of just one vampire. For the leader of the bloodline. The other vampires become like batteries. Merely repositories for power that he can give or take at will. It’s a complete perversion of what the bond should be about: the protection and leadership a bloodline should offer. I am afraid Mikhael has been looking deeply into this, and Roman along with him. I have brought some of the books and scrolls from our archive that shed light on the practices and rituals they might have engaged in. I had hoped to consult the files here at the Sanctuary as well. Radiance has been in Chicago so long they may have let something slip into the Sanctuary files. I fear we will need knowledge of how to combat them sooner rather than later.” He looked over at Lucian, eyes hollow. “It’s only a matter of time before the situation between my line and Fury spills into outright war now that the Circle is broken and our leader is in a coma.”
“We could always go and investigate Radiance territory,” Lucian said after a moment. “Roman, as far as we know, has gone to ground, but no one has heard from any of the other Radiance vampires in months. It is more than a little suspicious. At the very least it would not be wrong for us to check in on their territory, make sure Roman has not done something to the rest of his Bloodline.”
“After what I have seen Mikhael do to his Fury vampires, it would not surprise me if Roman has done the same. It may already be too late for Radiance, and you should be concerned about those you have in your Sanctuary with you.”
“They were turned against their will—”
Finn talked over him. “Yes, but that may not be all they were forced to do.” He shook his head. “I do not mean to worry you. Perhaps Roman has not gone so far.” He stopped speaking as they reached the end of the hallway and Dr. Patil stepped out, her white lab coat crisp and clean.
“Dr. Patil,” Lucian said, covering the unease Finn’s words had sparked in him, “this is Finlay, Aaron’s second.”
Dr. Patil led them into Aaron’s room. He was being kept in a side room with state-of-the-art equipment around his sleeping form. He looked peaceful, and Lucian was glad that at least he didn’t seem to be in any pain. “Any change?” he asked the doctor.
She didn’t answer him for a second, her gaze caught on Aaron’s face, and in that unguarded moment Lucian saw such a wealth of longing cross her expression that it left him breathless. He recognized that same longing. It was exactly what he felt when he looked at Dana. His soulmate. Could Dr. Patil and Aaron have had some kind of understanding?
She looked up. “No change,” she said, and her expression was smoothed clean again. Lucian glanced at Finn, but he had been looking down at his leader and had missed it entirely.
Aaron had been in Chicago for a few weeks before Lucian had arrived and Dr. Patil had been working with the vampires long before then. It was entirely possible they had met. Could it have been more than that? Could Aaron’s talk of soulmates when Lucian had arrived been about someone specific? Lucian had assumed his old friend had recognized Lucian’s love for Dana before he had even recognized it himself. But what if Aaron had been nursing his own love in his heart? Lucian looked down at his friend’s face. Wake up. You have to wake up. If Aaron had the chance at a bond like he had with Dana, t
hen he would do everything in his power to help him get it. It wasn’t right that Aaron, who had been there to talk sense into him when Lucian found his mate, should lose out on his own because of the machinations of an evil vampire.
“We will do everything we can to bring him back,” he swore, and he wasn’t sure if he was speaking to Finn, to himself, or the human doctor standing silently beside them.
Chapter 18
Sparrow stared at the grand sweep of the steps leading up to the courthouse. The Chicago night was punctuated by streetlights, the sky to the west stained with the fading rays of the sunset. The building was intimidating and she instinctively stepped a little closer to Dana, reassured by her presence and also by the silent presence of Jacob behind her. She didn’t even need to look to know he was there; she just knew it.
Yes, she really needed to get to the bottom of this weird awareness of him. Time to stop avoiding him and ask. She just had to work out how to phrase that question… So, you know how I was kidnapped and I have these weird nightmares and visions? Well, I started having dreams about you too and I’m getting these weird sense flashbacks where I imagine I know where you are and how you’re feeling all the time. That’s totally normal and not crazy, right?
Yeah. That was gonna go down just great. If great meant calling out for restraints and a straitjacket.
Brigit was standing at the top of the steps, and she gestured for them to follow her inside. Ms. Castillo’s office was on the top floor, so they headed directly for the lift. Sparrow trailed the two cops through the imposing building, trying not to let her nerves show. Dana had said it would be a quick meeting, and the HUNT lawyer with the creepy smile wasn’t going to be anywhere near them. Thank God. She’d had enough of his empty smile this past week. The only thing that had got her through the depositions had been the strange sense of strength she’d gotten from Jacob… and again with the crazy thoughts.
