by Alicia Ryan
Ash walked faster. “I don’t know why I’m even letting you come along,” he said. “Don’t get in the way.”
“Right,” Luc said, his drawl dragging the one syllable word out into three. “You know,” he called out, “you may think I’m not as good as you, but your precious Delilah seemed to like my warm body just fine.”
Ash spun around. “What?” His hand wrapped around Luc’s throat, lifting him off the ground. “Don’t you even think of it, you—”
Luc couldn’t seem to stop himself. “I don’t have to think of it,” he squeaked out. “I just have to remember it.”
To Luc’s surprise, Ash’s fury faltered.
“It’s not possible,” he declared.
Luc raised one eyebrow at him. “Anything’s possible, old man. Care for a few pointers?”
“But how?” Ash’s other hand clenched into a fist at his side.
“Turn me loose,” Luc demanded.
Ash took a step back and reluctantly let go of Luc’s throat.
Luc swallowed and moved his jaw from side to side to get the feeling back. Once he did, he looked back up at Ash and took pity on his confusion. “Think about it, man,” he said. “What kind of woman arouses real lust instead of bloodlust in vampires? You must have felt it yourself at some point. Or are you too old even for that?”
Comprehension dawned in Ash’s eyes. “Ariana is a breeder?” he asked, seeming to test the words.
“That’s right,” Luc confirmed.
“And you and she...?”
Luc couldn’t stop a huge, stupid grin. “Oh, yeah,” he said.
Ash turned and resumed his march toward the door.
“That’s it?” Luc queried.
“It changes nothing,” Ash responded, his face a grim mask. “Come on,” he intoned. “We have to finish our business here before sunrise.”
Luc debated going for another dig, but the fun seemed to have gone out of it. “So, do you have a plan,” he asked, changing the subject, “or are we just going to walk in the front door?”
“Yes,” Ash answered.
“Yes?” Luc echoed. “Yes, what?”
Ash turned through the large pair of stone pillars and began striding across the courtyard. Crested double oak doors appeared up ahead.
“Front door it is,” Luc said to no one in particular as he fell in step behind Ash. “I’m not sure that’s the best...” He stopped talking because Ash was already opening one of the heavy doors.
Luc came to stand behind him and peered over his shoulder. The place was about as he remembered, except tonight it was lit completely by candles.
Lining the floor on each side of the marble foyer, they guided entrants deeper into the mansion toward the evening’s promised delights. Gilded mirrors at the end of the passage reflected the light, making the room seem bigger than Luc remembered. A row of Corinthian columns adorned each wall, and between each of those, a young woman, each more beautiful than the last, hung mounted on a rack.
Six on each side, the racks were alternately gold or silver. At the top of each, two spikes poked through the wrists of the victim to hold her in place. The rest of the rack was adjusted so the girl could reach the footrest or a little seat. They weren’t supposed to exert themselves. These beauties had been the first course, and all of them now hovered near death.
Ash ignored them, making for the end of the hall. Luc stayed just a step behind. Their scent affected him, made him want to feed properly, with abandon.
“Don’t even think about it,” Ash growled.
“What’s the difference?” Luc asked. “It’s not like they’re going to get better and walk out of here.” He kept walking anyway.
The entryway opened onto a larger room. Here some vampires still lingered. The young men always lasted longer.
A few young vampires were clamped onto one particularly hardy fellow in the corner. One sucked from his wrist, one from his neck and a third from the large vein in his inner thigh. He couldn’t have much blood left. Still, his eyes implored Luc and Ash for help.
They kept walking, crossing the room and rounding a corner into a long hallway. Luc knew the sets of double doors along the opposite wall all led into the main dining room.
In there, the residents of Council House and all the vampires who were anybody would be gathered at long tables in front of the finest silver and china, all quite civilized. Then a selection of bloody delicacies would issue forth.
The main course was the same every year. A scouting party would have gone out a few nights ago to find several dozen diabetic humans. A cell on one of the floors below the house held them until tonight, when the designated preparer drained them of their already sweet blood and mixed it with wine, warm honey, and fragrant or narcotic herbs.
Luc could hear the metallic scrape of flatware on china. That explained why the halls were empty. The feast had already begun.
He wondered if Keller was in there, but considered it doubtful. Resisting the sultry, metallic scent would provide him a rare opportunity for self denial.
Ash continued down the hall toward the elevator bay, and Luc followed in his steps.
A tiny bell sounded as the elevator car arrived. Luc and Ash both stepped inside.
CHAPTER 51
It was almost time for the main course. The residents of Council House and a few esteemed guests sat and stood in various states of readiness around long tables.
Each vampire in attendance was clothed in rich, shimmering finery. Some opted for modern dress. Others wore the formal attire of their most beloved era. Toria stood alone, leaning against the wall and watching as the guests engaged each other in more or less interested conversation.
To the average eye, it might have appeared as any formal dinner party, but to Toria’s other senses, it was a barely caged bacchanal. In each of them, underneath their pretty faces and polite facades, beat a drumbeat of bloodlust that grew steadier, louder, and faster with each passing moment.
There was a noticeable lull in the symphony of voices as the room’s thirteen glass chandeliers began to move into place. Six hung above each long row of tables, with one in the center for the Elders’ table. Like glass spiders, the chandeliers silently lowered themselves until they were about six feet off the ground.
Each fixture was a delicate marriage of long, curving glass tubes, dangling crystal ornaments and real candles. The crystals were just for decoration. The glass tubes and candles had real purpose.
The spiced blood that was to be the main course was poured into a heated vat in the upstairs prep room, and from there began an inexorable course down into the chandeliers, slowly filling each tube as it coursed toward their outer openings. The addition of the honey to the blood slowed its course, so you could watch its progress with perfect anticipation, and the lit candles heated it from beneath just before it made the final plunge into waiting glasses or open mouths.
Toria wanted to take her place at the center table with the other Elders. She wanted to forget all about Ash, but a black purpose had taken root in her. His love she could do without; she’d done without it for a thousand years. His trust, in spite of all their differences, she’d always had. Until now. Until her. Somehow Delilah had managed to undo in a matter of days the relationship she’d built with Ash over millennia.
She looked once more at the glimmering feast, and then backed out through the dining room doors and into the hall. Giving herself a shake, she took the main staircase up to her own room where she discarded her serpentine silver gown.
Black designer jeans, boots, a silver tank top, and a vintage black leather biker’s jacket would be more fitting for the night she had planned. She caressed the smooth leather of her favorite jacket, loving its heavy feel against her skin. She didn’t need it, of course. She had her rage to keep her warm.
Her reflection looked back at her from a long mirror. What did Ash see in that woman? The thought made her clench her hands into fists against the old leather. Knowing Ash loved
something in that woman made the darkness inside her unfurl its wings.
She would see what it was, she thought, the thing that Ash loved. If it was inside that human woman, she would find it, she would touch it, and she would kill it.
She left the bedroom and followed the hallway back to the main staircase. At the second floor, she gave in to temptation and stuck her head into the prep room.
It was empty. All the work for this night was done, and most of the blood was already winding its way into the chandeliers. Only a small amount remained in the vats.
Toria grabbed a clear plastic measuring cup from a shelf near the door and headed for one of the four large open cylinders on the floor. The dark red liquid bubbled as she dipped her cup in. She raised the warm concoction to her lips and let the fragrant syrup course down her throat.
It had a pleasant burn to it this year. She wiped her mouth with her hand and rose from her crouch, tossing the cup into a large sink on her way out.
CHAPTER 52
They found Keller in his room sitting on his bed. A single lamp burned on the desk, serving little purpose but to cast the rest of the room in shadow.
The former monk was wearing a coarse brown robe over a pair of old blue jeans. He sat very still, hands folded in his lap, but Luc had the impression he was waiting for something. Or someone.
Whatever he was expecting, it certainly wasn’t them, Luc thought. When they entered, Keller looked from Luc to Ash and back again.
“What are you doing here?” he barked.
Ash looked at Luc, offering him the first crack.
Luc turned to Keller. “Why don’t you start by explaining why you seem to think I should be elsewhere?” he said. “We know you’re involved in the disappearances and that you sent someone to grab me. So just tell us where the missing vampires are.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but you’re not welcome here.” Keller turned to Ash. “I’m expecting someone, and he won’t be happy to see you. You should go down and join the others.”
Ash’s eyes narrowed.
“We didn’t come here for advice,” Luc replied. “Just answer the question.”
Keller smiled and closed his eyes. An invisible blow sent Luc crashing into the closed door. He landed on his feet, but couldn’t help being stunned.
“What the hell?” he queried, looking blankly at Ash.
Ash never took his eyes off Keller. “It seems someone has been teaching our old monk new tricks,” he said.
“My faith has been rewarded with knowledge,” Keller explained, “and my actions will be rewarded with redemption.”
“What actions?” Ash asked, his voice gritty with suspicion. “Breaking and entering?”
Keller smiled softly at them, his green eyes eerily alight. “Restoring God’s natural order.”
Luc looked up from dusting himself off. “Maybe you could translate that into not-crazy for us?”
Keller’s smile faltered, and for a moment he glared at Luc. “You should not be here.”
“What do you mean?” Ash asked. “Who told you they were taking Luc?”
Keller looked confused. “No one. He was banished from Council House.”
Luc looked at Ash and wiggled one index finger next to his temple while nodding in Keller’s direction. Again, Luc went sailing back into the wall for no apparent reason. He looked up in time to see Ash suppress a grin.
“Will you please make him stop doing that?” Luc complained.
“Oh, all right,” Ash said.
Suddenly Keller was hanging in mid-air, arms and legs flailing in every direction. “I apologize for Luc’s rude behavior,” Ash said, “but we did come here for answers. If you don’t start talking in more than riddles and nonsense, I’ll embed parts of you in every wall of this room.”
Luc raised his brows, thinking he might actually like to see that.
Keller struggled against the invisible grip holding him in the air. Fear showed on his soft features, but it was belied by his strident tone.
“You spewed forth all the horrors of our race,” he said to Ash. “You turned us into the demon spawn of she who was cursed by God. I’ll not answer to you for what I’ve done, when I’ve only attempted to undo your accursed bargain.”
Ash sent Keller clattering into the far wall just as Keller had done to Luc a moment ago. Before he could rise, Ash was standing over him. He hauled Keller up over his head as if he were a rag doll, and Keller gave a high-pitched yelp.
“That’s just the smallest fraction of what I can do,” Ash said through gritted teeth. “I didn’t come here to kill you, but I will, and slowly, if you don’t tell me what I need to know. Now, where is James? And what were you doing at Hemogen?”
Keller didn’t speak, and Ash looked down at his dangling feet. The edge of Keller’s robe burst into flames. Keller began to scream. Ash again threw him into the corner of the room. A tower of books toppled over. Keller scrambled out from under it, tore off his flaming robe, and started batting it against the floor.
“I don’t know where James is,” he gasped, “but I’m sure he’s fine.”
Ash’s eyes flew to the dusty laptop that had been at the bottom of the teetering stack of books. “Keller,” he began slowly, waiting for the monk to finish extinguishing his burning robe, “who have you given your password to?”
Keller looked confused for a moment, and then his expression cleared. “My computer password? Just Memnon.”
Ash’s jaw dropped open. “Memnon?” he repeated.
Keller nodded.
“Who’s Memnon?” Luc asked.
“He is the second oldest vampire in the world,” Keller replied.
Ash nodded. “He was the first one I ever turned,” he confirmed, “but he was buried in the eruption of Vesuvius a thousand years ago.”
“So how did he get here?” Luc asked.
“An archeological dig,” Keller explained. “Almost a year ago. They freed him.”
Ash turned again to Keller. “Are you telling me he’s alive and in New York?” Disbelief still lingered in Ash’s eyes, but his jaw was set firm.
“Yes,” Keller answered. “He is here for the Feast. Not to partake, of course.” He hurried to explain. “He was allowed to take the rites and join the brotherhood of my old monastery at Clonfert.”
Ash’s brows shot up. “Is that so?” he queried. “And who told you this?”
“He did. He has become highly regarded amongst the brethren. He has even promised to get me reinstated there.”
Ash sighed. “In return for what, exactly?”
Keller hesitated. “In return for delivering the cure the brothers developed to all of Council House.”
Luc’s stomach sank into his shoes. He saw Ash’s face fall and knew they’d had the same thought.
“Cure?” Ash asked.
“That’s right,” Keller said, his green eyes brightening with his growing enthusiasm. “They found a way—using the notes I borrowed from your company, I believe—to return us all to our original human state.”
Ash stood silent for a moment, but Luc didn’t miss the brief look of hope that had flared across his face.
“Oh, good grief!” Luc said, throwing his hands in the air. “This is ridiculous.” He marched closer to Keller and poked him in the chest. “What gives you, you babbling fruitcake, the right to decide for us that we should all be human again?”
Keller looked as if he didn’t understand the question.
“Never mind that,” Ash dismissed. “Do you know what Memnon has been doing with the vampires he’s taken?”
“He needed them for testing,” Keller replied. “He’s only recently perfected the chemistry.”
“And have you actually seen this cure work?”
Keller’s brow furrowed. “Well, no, but Memnon has, and some of the other monks as well.”
The noise from the party down below suddenly grew much louder.
“I’ll go check it out,” Luc o
ffered, already making for the door of Keller’s small room. “You stay here with the crazy man.”
“Wait,” Ash called out. “You should stay here with Keller. You are banned from Council property, remember?”
“How could I forget?” Luc sniped, turning around. He grabbed the little chair from under the desk and spun it around to face Keller. “And just what am I supposed to do if he hurls me into another wall?” he asked.
“He won’t,” Ash replied. “I can control him that much from downstairs.”
“Must be nice,” Luc muttered to Ash’s retreating back.
***
Ash left Luc to the interrogation and went out into the hall, heading for the main staircase instead of back toward the elevator. He wanted to be able to see what he was walking into.
Just as he got to the top of the stairs, he became aware that he wasn’t alone. One foot hung suspended for a moment in mid-air before he turned cautiously on his other heel.
A figure stood in the dimly lit corner, and Ash could have sworn it hadn’t been there just a moment ago.
“Memnon?” he asked.
Only silence greeted him.
The stranger stepped forward and Ash felt his jaw drop.
“Nancy!” he exclaimed.
CHAPTER 53
Luc waited for the door to close and then turned to Keller. “So, how’s it supposed to work?” he asked. “This cure you think you have?”
Keller shook his head. “I don’t know how it works, only that it does. Memnon and the other monks developed the actual serum. I was just the deliverer.”
“Was?” Luc echoed. “You mean you’ve already done it?”
“Yes, it has already begun.”
Luc flew out of the tiny chair, sending it crashing against the desk, and pulled a short knife from his boot. It wasn’t much to look at, but its silver-coated tip would get the job done. He was about to threaten Keller with it, when a piece of paper on the desk caught his eye.
It hadn’t been visible before, and Luc stared at it for a minute, frozen, then slowly lowered the knife and pulled the single sheet farther out from under the newspaper that covered it. His mother’s name was what had caught his eye, but there were even more worrisome details written there.
