Blood Inheritance (The Lazarus Hunter Series Book 1)

by Cas Martin

  'I'm about to go in. Is everything set up and okay there?'

  'Yes.'

  'Good.'

  'I'm not sure how long it will be but I want to get it over and done with as fast as I possibly can.'

  'We'll be here waiting.'

  'I know.'

  'Are you sure you can go through with this? You know that once you start there'll be no turning back. It's not too late to change your mind now, but it will be soon.'

  'I's not even like we have a plan B to fall back on. No, we're going to have to do this.'

  'Then do it Monica. Do it with the conviction that it will all be over if you pull it off.'

  'I'm not sure this will ever be over.'

  'I know. But for tonight, we can pretend. Good luck.'

  'Thanks. See you soon.' Monica ended the call and took another deep breath. She hoped that they would indeed see each other soon. Or even again. This was going to be one hell of an evening either way.

  And at least one person was going to be dead by the end of it.

  As she walked into the main room, a hush descended that no one made any attempt to hide. The rumour that there had been an attempt on her life had spread thick and fast. Even if she wasn't the most popular leader, even if she was still too new to command much loyalty, an attack on the head of the family was an attack on the family itself. Everyone in the room was feeling more vulnerable now than they had done since her predecessor had been killed. It was an unpleasant emotion to be the focus of, and what she was about to do was actually worse than anything they could even imagine.

  Monica's pace quickened against her will, and she was glad that she had chosen boots for fighting rather than boots for fashion. If she had chosen the latter, the room would have been filled with the echo of her heels in the silence. Instead she crossed quickly and silently, and made her way into the inner sanctuary.

  The meeting was well underway and she had a feeling they had been talking about her when she walked through the door. She scanned the room, making eye contact with everyone, not seeming to single anyone out in particular, but relieved to see Ivan was there. So was Elverez, a feeling that gave her some comfort, even if she had no intention of drawing him any further into her web of lies and deceit. When their eyes met his expression changed only slightly.

  'Monica,' one of the elders stood and acknowledged her. 'We didn't think you would be joining us tonight.'

  'I take it you heard about the attempt on my life two evenings ago?'

  'Well, yes, but we had nothing more than supposition and hearsay. We would not take any further action until we heard it from you. As we knew the attack was not fatal, we knew it was not our place to decide what to do to avenge you, without speaking to you first.'

  'Of course, and that was the correct thing to do.' She knew what he really meant was that they hadn't cared to.

  'I would imagine,' began Ivan in a slow drawl, 'that we are in the unfortunate position of not knowing who was involved in the attack, otherwise we would seek retribution. After all, an attack on you is an attack on all of us.'

  'It is indeed.' Monica forced herself not to grit her teeth.

  'It does seem to be a strange coincidence that these horrible events have come upon us at the same time Miss Hastings has arrived from England.'

  'A strange coincidence indeed.' Monica paused and tried to convince herself of what she was about to say. If she pulled it off she was going to deserve a statue to put on her mantelpiece when all of this was over. 'The good news is that I have conclusive evidence of who is responsible.'

  'Really?' Ivan sat more upright in his chair, reaching forward and taking a cigarette from the packet in front of him.

  'Oh yes,' said Monica brightly.

  'And, pray tell, how do you know this?'

  'Because my enemies came to me today.'

  'What?' Ivan's hand paused, the unlit cigarette hovering in front of his lips.

  'You seem unconvinced?' Monica gave him the chance to say something – anything – that would save himself. This was the moment when he could change the entire course they had plotted between them. The question hung in the air between them.

  'Not at all unconvinced,' Ivan covered, though there was an unusual hesitation in his voice. 'It just seems a brave thing to do, a foolish thing in fact.'

  'That was my initial thought.'

  'And what has changed your mind?'

  'The way it was approached. This enemy, my enemy — our enemy — came to me with an invitation.'

  'An invitation?' Ivan questioned. Monica could see him thinking, turning the new information over in his head. If what she was saying was true, then his new ally had sold him up the river. He checked his watch. Did he have somewhere else to be tonight? She filed the thought away for future reference and continued.

  'Yes. A political confrontation. I have been invited to honour my position and our family, to assert my belief that I am prepared to die to protect what I have been chosen for.'

  'What?' laughed Ivan.

  'Ah, a duel.' Elverez chose that moment to join the conversation. He seemed to be holding back a smile of admiration. She wasn't sure if this was what he had had in mind when he'd suggested Ivan's murder, but she guessed he approved of the idea. If she lived then she would have to tell him Elizabeth was the genius behind it all.

  'Yes, I believe so.'

  'A duel?' snorted Ivan. 'You are showing your inexperience Monica. Everyone knows that you do not have to accept a duel. No one has accepted one for centuries. It is far too dangerous to risk the whole of the family on one fight. It's just not the done thing.'

  'Don't patronise me Ivan. I know the rules. I know that I don't have to accept. I am telling you all this because I have chosen to accept.'

  'You cannot possibly make such a big decision about the whole of the family without consulting the elders first.' Ivan waved his hand dismissively, comfortable once more.

  'Actually,' Elverez piped up again, 'that is exactly the case.'

  'Keep out of this Elverez,' snapped Ivan.

  'I'm sorry, I'm merely stating the facts. I may not be an elder, nor would I claim to be, and I know my place. But I am one of the oldest people here. In fact, I may be the only person in this room ever to witness a duel take place. Many, many years ago of course, but the etiquette of these matters does not change.'

  'Go on,' prompted another elder from the back of the room, curiosity getting the better of him. He leaned forward in his seat as all eyes turned to Elverez.

  'Well, the challenge is issued to Monica, and Monica alone. She is the one who has to defend the honour with the risk of her own life. So it is entirely up to her to make the decision as she sees fit. It cannot be up to a Council of Elders to make the decision. It will always lie solely with the head of the family.'

  There was a pause, and Ivan finally lit his cigarette. Monica could see in his eyes that he had relaxed. He had no faith in her winning. Not even if everything she was saying turned out to be true. Of course he didn't, thought Monica. He knew who she would be up against if this was actually real.

  'Of course,' continued Elverez, 'there is the other burden that the leader of the family must undertake as part of this. It is a difficult choice, one that must be made, with a heavy heart.'

  'What's that Elverez?' asked Monica, nervous in case there was something he knew that she didn't. A technicality that had been buried in history and that was going to destroy the plan at the eleventh hour and get them all killed.

  'The horrible burden of having to choose a second of course. The person you take with you to the fight.'

  'She'll choose Dennis,' dismissed Ivan, glee in his eyes. Two for the price of one.

  'Oh no,' Monica smiled back at him. 'Dennis is a good friend. A loyal friend. But he is still a lowly vampire in this family. He is not an elder and he does not have power, age or experience to carry with him.'

  'There is nothing in the rules that says it has to be an elder,' said Ivan.

>   'No, but it does carry a certain amount of gravitas if it is, don't you think?'

  'I suppose.' Ivan was starting to look uncomfortable again.

  'I've been thinking long and hard about this since I decided to accept. I need someone who is loyal to the family. I need someone who has strength and experience. And most importantly, I need someone who will strike fear into the hearts of my enemies, so they know they have made a mistake in questioning us.' Monica paused, wondering if she was laying it on a bit thick. Ah well, too late now. 'That is why I have decided to give the honour of being my second to you, Ivan.'

  The whole room fell into a hushed silence. Monica saw Elverez smile. The choice was a shock to everyone, but especially to Ivan himself. No one was under any illusion about his dislike for Monica. Most of them would say to themselves, even if they would not admit it to anyone else, that they would not trust him to guard her back at the best of times, let alone the most critical. Everyone held their breath as they waited for him to speak.

  'Monica, I couldn't possibly…'

  'Don't sell yourself short Ivan. You are the most qualified person for the position. I am sure everyone in this room would agree that you always have the family at the heart of everything you do. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that this was the highest honour I could bestow on anyone. And I am bestowing it on you.'

  'I am honoured, truly…' he began and trailed off. There was no way of backing out of this without looking as though he was not prepared to honour the head of his family, or the family itself. She had backed him into a corner.

  'But I am afraid you are going to have to accept my apologies, Ivan,' Monica continued, knowing that this was going to be the part where it was going to get really tricky.

  'Why?' he asked suspiciously.

  'I have accepted the duel on the grounds that it does not hang over our heads indefinitely. I have faith in myself, my family and my second. I do not fear anyone. I am more than ready to face the challenge, especially in the light of recent attempts on my life. In order to do so, I have insisted that we fight tonight.'

  'You can't do that!'

  'Why Ivan? Don't you believe in us? Don't you think we can win this? I'm prepared to believe that we can.'

  'No it's not that. It's just that I have, um plans…' he trailed off too late, realising how bad that sounded. The others turned to him. His words made him sound like a coward, which was something that no one in any family looked kindly upon. For an elder to be a coward was unthinkable. Monica sensed the atmosphere in the room begin to change.

  'Washing your hair?' she quipped, knowing she had him on the back foot. Her confidence finally returned, especially when she heard a few sniggers from the back.

  'No, but.'

  'I'm prepared to die for us all,' said Monica quietly. 'Are you?'

  'Um, yes?'

  'In that case, you've got ten minutes. Then we're leaving.'

  53

  As Ivan followed a few paces behind Monica into the main room, word was once again spreading like wildfire. People already knew something serious had happened. Whispers and turned heads made him feel uncomfortable.

  Ivan did not know what was going on, but he was determined to give her a grilling as soon as they were alone. He had no intention of getting caught up in a tiny battle that she had dreamt up, when he was too busy focusing on the war. A war that was going to escalate very quickly when he did not turn up to personally oversee the transfer of the journals. It was going to take a lot of grovelling to make up for this error, and right now he wasn't feeling confident he'd be able to convince Marcus. Damn Monica and her continually getting in the way of everything he was trying to do. He followed her to her car, the low anger simmering away in his chest, biting his tongue as he climbed in.

  He waited until she began to pull away before speaking. 'What the hell are you playing at Monica?'

  'I'm not sure I understand what you mean.'

  'Yes you do. Why am I sitting here?'

  'Did you miss all of the conversation in there Ivan? You're my second, and we're going to go and have a little bit of a fight now.'

  'I see right through you.'

  'How so?'

  'I know that the people who tried to kill you two nights ago have not come to you with these so-called demands. They are not stupid enough to do that.'

  'And tell me then Ivan, how you know so much?'

  'Nice try.' If she thought she could bait him with such a poorly laid trap then this was going to be easier than he'd expected. 'Common sense. I'm just thinking how I would do things if I was the one who wanted to kill you.'

  'Really? Because let's be honest here Ivan, now that it's just you and me, whatever you've been thinking hasn't actually been working now, has it?'

  'Well well, the gloves are off.'

  'They may as well be.'

  'You think you are so clever Monica. Taking me away somewhere to kill me were you? Even with the protection you are afforded as the head of our family, I am stronger than you. I always have been. You're just some jumped up little half-breed who got lucky somehow. I will tear your neck out.'

  'Pleasant.'

  'Just honest. But you know the real reason why I will win this?'

  'Do tell.'

  'Because I know how to think through a plan. You, on the other hand, do not.'

  With lightening speed Ivan reached into his jacket and pulled out a knife, sliding it in the direction of her throat. They were doing thirty miles an hour, and even Ivan wasn't stupid enough to plunge the knife straight in. 'Now, you little fool, slow down and pull over somewhere discrete so I can kill you properly.'

  'Ivan…'

  She had not expected him to do this. Not yet. She had been willing to play dirty to lure him out, but not dirty enough to compete with him. Foolish girl.

  There was a click from the back seat, and he felt the cool of steel on his neck.

  'Put the knife down Ivan, before I blow your fucking brains out,' said Dennis from behind them.

  54

  Monica felt, rather than saw, Ivan stiffen next to her. There was a long silence while they processed what the hell was going on. Monica felt the moment when Ivan removed the knife from her throat. He must know Dennis was being completely serious. She couldn't recall a time when she had been more surprised or relieved to see him.

  Of course, she was also kicking herself. How could she have been so stupid as to think that Ivan would choose this point to start playing by the rules? It didn't make sense that he would change the way he operated now. He had far too much to lose to go quietly. Worse than that, he had rumbled her full intent much earlier than she'd hoped he would.

  'Dennis,' she growled, 'what the hell are you doing here?'

  'Saving your ass by the looks of things.'

  'You know what I mean. How did you know that I was going to be here? How did you know what was happening? I didn't see you in the club.'

  'That's because I wasn't in the club. I was out here waiting for you. Why didn't you tell me what you were planning Monica?'

  'Because I didn't want to get you caught up in all this, you idiot.'

  'What? You didn't think that I would take that risk for you?'

  'You shouldn't have to take that risk for me Dennis.'

  'I know that I shouldn't have to, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't be willing to. I thought you knew me better than that Monica.'

  'I still didn't want you to have to.'

  'I'm one hundred per cent loyal to you. I really am. Not just to you as a leader, or as your assistant, but I'd like to think that after everything we have been through then it would be okay to be loyal to you as your friend.'

  'Isn't this all very touching,' said Ivan.

  'Ivan.' Dennis snarled and, for the first time Monica could remember, his fangs released in anger. She glanced in the rear view mirror and was slightly terrified by what she saw. 'The only reason I haven't killed you already is because I don't want to ruin Monica's u
pholstery. Give me one more comment like that and I won't think twice before pulling this trigger. You may have convinced yourself that you're invincible, but the reality is you're nothing. You're weak and you've been hiding behind your alliances for a long time. I know the same rules don't apply to us as they do to the outside world, but you were happy to send a bunch of men to beat up one woman, and in my book, that makes you the worst kind of coward.'

  'And you think that holding a gun to the back of a man's head is noble? Isn't shooting someone in the back considered to be the most cowardly way to win a fight?'

  'I agree, which is such a shame for you. But don't think that argument means anything to me. If I've got to kill you then I will and to be honest, I don't think I'll feel that bad about it.'

  'Dennis,' Monica chanced another glance up in the mirror. 'So, we've established that you're here for all the right reasons, but that still doesn't explain to me how you knew to be here in the first place.'

  'Elizabeth called me.'

  'I should have realised.' Damn that woman, always knowing better. They'd discussed this and she'd been firm on the point.

  'Don't get it into your head that she went behind your back. The plan changed. You were locked away with the Council of Elders. She knew she couldn't take the risk of tipping someone off, so she did the next best thing instead and called me.'

  'What's going on? Why did the plan have to change?'

  'They are moving the journals tonight. They got impatient because you seemed very difficult to get rid of, so they changed the timetable. Elizabeth knew this might be her one chance to get the journals back. Isn't that right Ivan? You were supposed to get your dirty little hands on them tonight and now you won't be able to.'

  'So that's what he meant when he said he had plans.' Monica realised.

  'Yes, he had a nasty little scheme that he was about to put into place.'

  'You're both fools.' Ivan made no attempt to hide his anger. All the cards were laid out on the table, and there was no point in pretending any more. 'You both think that you understand everything. That you know what's going on. Monica, you were never meant to be the leader of this family. We are the greatest and strongest of them all, and there is a reason for that. Now your foul blood has come in to sully the thing that was once pure.'