by Lisa Emme
I shrugged. I certainly hoped so. I was being a whiner because it involved having to see Salvador - I was still working through my ‘daddy issues’. Isaac’s plan was sound and it had the added benefit of eliminating a growing threat to my safety, the second bird in this case.
Ever since I broadcast my capabilities as a necromancer, there had been a faction of vampires afraid of my powers that wanted me eliminated. Although they didn’t come right out and say it to Salvador’s face, not wanting to antagonize the Magister nor brave enough to defy him, they were quietly amassing a strong following that believed the only good necromancer was a dead necromancer. One particular vampire, a Vlad name Petyr, was the driving force behind the whole ‘kill the witch’ movement. If everything went according to plan, Petyr wouldn’t be a problem after tonight.
The plan hinged on Hilde, who had left for Dante’s earlier in the evening. She was probably already quietly insinuating herself among Petyr’s group. The idea was that she would help to fan the flames, hopefully inciting Petyr enough that he would make a move on me tonight. Okay, so maybe it seemed a little crazy; "let’s use Harry as vampire bait" didn’t sound all that safe. But, like Isaac said, I could handle myself and the real goal was to set up the opportunity for Hilde to come to my aid, thus earning a boon from Salvador. We were going to use Salvador’s penchant for doing things ‘old school’ to our advantage. I just hoped the whole thing didn’t turn out like the parley where I ended up kidnapped by a lunatic, another one of those long stories I keep talking about.
The real problem I had with the plan was that it also required me to ask a boon of Salvador, or at least go through the pretence of wanting to ask. Since I had rid Salvador of the Navarre problem and had yet to receive any sort of reward, Isaac thought it was completely acceptable that I should ask for a favour from Salvador. As far as I was concerned, if I was lucky, Petyr would try to kill me before I had to ask anything of Salvador. Yeah, I know, major daddy issues.
I was just stepping out of Isaac’s Escalade when I felt a familiar tingling sensation. I looked around and I have to admit, my breath caught in my throat at the sight of Nash walking up to me dressed in motorcycle leathers. Be still my beating heart, that man was sex on a stick. I wanted to lick him from head to toe and back again. His gaze heated in response to mine.
“Cian,” I said breathlessly, swallowing back a heavy dose of lust.
“Harry,” he frowned at me. “What the hell are you doing here?” And wham! Just like that, Nash the alpha pain in the ass was back - more effective than a cold shower.
“I have business with Salvador.” I crossed my arms and glowered at him. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have a murderer to catch?”
Nash, ignoring my standoffish manner, stepped up close, pushing me back against the vehicle with just the proximity of his body. He took a deep breath, pulling in my heated scent which seemed to calm him and excite him all at once. He narrowed his eyes looking slightly over my right shoulder. I could see the instant the katana snapped into view for him and he gave a little satisfied nod. Damn, another one now immune to the spell. I was seriously going to have to think about recasting it with something a little stronger.
“I also have business with Salvador.” He tilted his head to look at me. “What are you here about? Have there been more ghosts?”
“No, nothing like that. I would have called you if I had information about the murders.”
Nash leaned in further, pushing my arms down and away from my chest with his hand. He put a hand against the Escalade right beside my head, caging me in against the vehicle. His hand left my wrists and found my waist giving it a squeeze as he leaned in closer, his lips against my ear.
“I can’t wait for our third date,” he growled. “Do you have a three date rule?” His eyes flashed with a mix of humour and lust.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” I snorted, giving him a little push. “Now if you will excuse me, I have business to attend to.” I ducked under his arm and began walking towards Dante’s where Isaac was waiting, in his usual unobtrusive way.
“No problem,” Nash said, an edge creeping into his voice. “I’ll go with you.”
I flashed a panicked look at Isaac, but his indifferent shrug was no help at all. With a frown, I turned back to Nash as he came up behind me, putting a finger on his chest to stop him. “Listen Nash, some things might go down in there that you aren’t going to like, but I want you to just trust me and stand down.” I gave his chest another little poke. “Can you do that?”
Nash grabbed my finger, bringing it to his lips. His tongue darted out to circle the tip of it and I felt a flush race through my body. I cleared my throat and tried to wipe the lust filled thoughts from my mind. Nash smiled wickedly. He knew what effect he was having on me. I yanked my hand from his.
“I mean it, Nash. Don’t interfere.”
Nash huffed out an exasperated breath. “I can’t make promises when I don’t know what you have planned.” He raised a questioning eyebrow.
I chewed my lip for a moment and then shook my head. “I don’t have time to go into the details. Just trust me.” I turned away and then turned back. “And if you can’t trust me, then trust that Isaac would never let anything happen to me.” I spun on my heel and hustled into Dante’s, taking the steps down to the basement where Salvador would be holding his weekly audience. I could hear Nash sputtering a protest behind me, but I blocked it out, hurrying forward.
The audience room was about half full. I guess there wasn’t anything gawk-worthy on the agenda or else everyone was off scurrying around getting ready for the Mariposa’s visit. Because I was coming as a petitioner, I had to enter through the big, main double doors. This meant I would almost have to walk the entire length of the room to get to the dais where Salvador sat like some sort of despotic king. Somewhere along the route, I would hopefully be attacked by a goaded Petyr. Wow, my life had really taken a turn for the weird.
I waited just inside the doors while Salvador finished up with the current petitioner. His eyes flicked to mine, his eyebrows rising in surprise. I was dressed to kill, or at least fight, in a kickass halter neck jumpsuit. Made from a black, textured jersey, it clung to my curves, the plunging neckline so daring, I had taped it in place with body tape. There would be no ‘wardrobe malfunctions’ on my watch. I had been wearing a short, black, swingy trench over top, but I had left it in one of the side rooms before entering the audience chamber. As I scanned the crowd I spotted Nash off to the side looking ready to blow a gasket. I was pretty sure he would have tossed me over his shoulder and dragged me home, if he had seen what I was wearing when we were outside. I looked pretty hot, if I do say so myself. The jumpsuit made my legs seem to go on forever and there was enough skin showing, especially on my bare back, to get all the little vamps a-tittering. Nash took a step in my direction, but Isaac was suddenly there, whispering in his ear and holding him back with a hand on his chest. He started to scowl and threw me a ‘you are in so much trouble look’. What else was new when it came to Nash? I gave him a playful little shrug and a finger wave which only darkened his scowl. I swear I could almost hear him growling at me in my head. I pulled my gaze away. I was letting him distract me and I needed to focus.
The crowd closest to me began to grow restless as they became aware of who was standing in the doorway. The news of my arrival flowed out like a wave from where I stood. I could see it happening as they began to turn their attention to me. I continued to scan the crowd looking for Hilde, but I couldn’t spot her anywhere. Salvador finished up with his current petitioner and waved him off impatiently. I felt the full force of his gaze fall on me.
“My dear…Harry,” he beckoned me forward with his hand. “Do come closer. Always a pleasure to see you.” He sat back, relaxed in his chair, his elbows on the armrests, his fingers steepled together in front of his c
hin.
I slowly strode across the space, my senses on high, alert for any sudden movements. When I came to stand about ten feet from the dais, I stopped and looked up at Salvador. My brain was in overdrive. I had really expected Petyr to strike by now. Where was he? Maybe Hilde wasn’t able to rile him up enough.
“Good evening, Magister,” I said, trying to quiet my churning thoughts.
“So formal, Harry.” Salvador smiled a cold, calculated smile. He knew I was up to something.
I tipped my head in acknowledgment. “I’ve come to –”
“THE WITCH MUST DIE!”
The voice came from behind me and to the right. I spun to face my attacker, my hands flying up to the hilt of my katana. Hilde was still nowhere in sight as I slid my blade out of the sheath, chopping down, knocking away the upward thrust of the blade gripped in the hands of my attacker. I had a split second to register that it wasn’t in fact Petyr that was attacking, before he recovered from my parry to thrust at me again. I easily blocked his blade, the sound of metal on metal ringing through the now silent chamber. We traded several more blows, each easily blocking the other’s attack. The guy was okay, but I was holding back.
“Harry, quit toying with him and just end it.” Isaac’s voice in my head had the long-suffering tone of that of a teacher to a particularly dense pupil.
“I’m not toying with him. I’m just trying to stop him from killing me.”
“Then kill him and get it over with,” Isaac replied impatiently.
I grunted and brought my blade up almost too late, deflecting the vampire’s latest attack just in time. My conversation with Isaac was distracting me. I quickly shifted my stance, swinging my blade down, thrusting under his guard to score him across the stomach; first blood to me. Although it was a slugglish ooze, vampires do bleed.
The vampire’s eyes flashed, a look of rage passing over his features. His fangs descended and he snarled at me, tossing his blade to the floor. He charged me like a wild animal, any semblance of humanity gone. At the last second he lunged at me and I ducked under his attack, swinging my blade down to effectively hamstring him. He fell to one knee, slightly turned away from me. I didn’t hesitate. I brought my blade across in a sweeping blow, taking his head off at the neck. I stood for a moment, frozen, watching as the vampire’s headless body toppled to the floor.
“Get down!” A voice echoed through the chamber and I saw a flash of black as a body hurled itself in front of me. Hilde fell back, a knife buried to the hilt in her chest. My eyes widened in surprise as they met Petyr’s from across the room. He turned as if to flee only to crash into Isaac who grabbed his head and with a sickening twist and crunch, tore it from Petyr’s shoulders. Isaac casually tossed the head next to the first attacker’s.
I rushed to Hilde who lay still on the floor, a slow, thick trickle of blood oozing from her wound. I didn’t think it would be enough to kill her. I looked up and found Nash in the crowd. His eyes were furious. I deliberately slowed my heart rate and tried to send him a feeling of calm as an apology. His eyes narrowed and he took a deep breath. I turned to look at Salvador.
“You’ve got to help her,” I said to him.
Salvador, who at some point had come to stand at the edge of the dais, shrugged. “Do I know you?” he looked at Hilde who struggled to sit up in my arms.
“Magister…I am Hilde. From the…Magyar tribe of…Vérbulcsú.” Hilde struggled to talk. She was breathless and wheezing. The knife must have punctured her lung.
“Ah, yes. My little foreign exchange student.” Salvador tipped his head, his face pensive. “You were to arrive tomorrow, were you not?”
Hilde smiled. “Lucky I was put…on an earlier…flight.”
“Can we sort this out later? She needs help.” I scowled at Salvador.
“Ah, Harry, your impatience is always so charming. So human.” He turned his gaze to meet mine. “First, we must complete the formalities.” He gestured and two of his security vamps came through the crowd and grabbed Hilde from my arms, hauling her to her feet.
“Wait! Careful. You’re going to hurt her.” I gave the closest vamp a swat on his arm.
“Our new friend Hilde must swear her allegiance. She cannot remain here unbound.” For a split second I saw fear in Hilde’s eyes. She was afraid to be bound to Salvador.
“Wait! Wait.” I said again, putting out a hand in a stopping motion. “Hilde is mine.” I turned to meet Salvador’s calculating gaze head on. “She saved my life. She’s mine.”
Salvador narrowed his eyes in thought, his fingers grasping his chin. He tapped his index finger against his lips. “I have a client waiting for her arrival,” he said casually. “If she enters your service, I will have to find another.”
I made a point of looking at Hilde, as if seeing her for the first time. Even dressed as she was in formal Goth wear, she looked very young. I narrowed my eyes, scowling. I didn’t need to fake being angry about what I thought of Salvador’s client. “Then some old pervert with pedophilic tendencies will just have to wank off to kiddie porn a bit longer.”
Salvador’s hearty laugh echoed through the hall. “Oh Harry, you are always so entertaining.” He waved his hand in dismissal. “Very well. Take her. She’s yours.”
I turned to face Hilde to prevent Salvador from seeing my triumphant smile. Unfortunately, the smile was quickly dashed from my face with Salvador’s next words.
“And Harry, you will bind her now, in front of those gathered.” Gone was jovial, scary Salvador. This was just plain scary Salvador in front of me now.
I swallowed. “But…” Salvador gave me a wide eyed, expectant look. “Yes, Magister.” I bit my lip, unsure what I was supposed to do. Thankfully, Isaac was suddenly at my side. The two vamps that had been holding Hilde stepped away and she started to fall as Isaac grabbed her arm. Nash appeared on her other side, frowning, clasping her arm. His eyes met mine, full of questions. I gave a little shake of my head and mouthed the word ‘later’.
I looked at Isaac for guidance. The only thing I could think of was the Knight’s oath from the movie Kingdom of Heaven and for some reason I didn’t think asking Hilde to “be brave and upright that God may love her” was what Salvador was looking for.
Hilde looked at me with a small contented smile. She grasped the hilt of the knife and tugged it out of her chest with a quiet groan.
“Omigod! What did you do that for?” I held up my hands to ward off the small spurt of blood that came from her wound.
“Mistress, use the knife. It already has my blood on it to mingle with yours.” She held the knife out to me hilt first. My hand lifted automatically to grasp it.
Isaac nodded. “That’s right Harry, take the knife and make a small cut on your wrist. You will need to feed her, like you did for me.” He gestured for me to go ahead. I was extremely conscious of the crowd drawing closer to get a better look. I glanced over my shoulder at Salvador. He smirked and gave a little nod as if to say, “you asked for it, now live with it”.
I slid the knife across side of my left wrist. A thin, red line appeared and the blood began to seep out and down my arm.
“Now say the words Harry,” Isaac coaxed.
“What words? I don’t know what to say.” I looked at him in confusion.
“Just think about your intentions for Hilde and what the bond should accomplish.” Isaac looked at me patiently. The blood had begun to drip from my arm to the floor. The crowd grew restless. It was probably not a good idea to prolong things more than I had to.
I chewed my lip in thought for a moment then said,
“Hilde, I bind you to my house.
On pain of death be true.
Defend me and mine until death,
in good faith and without deceit.”
I held my wrist to Hilde and she latched onto it hungrily, her tongue darti
ng out to lick where the blood had run down my arm. Nash growled, but held still. After a minute, I put my hand on her chest beside her wound to push her gently away.
“You’re mine,” I said, giving a push with my power. “You will allow no harm to come to me. Now be whole.” My hand tingled and there was a small flash of light. The crowd murmured loudly. I pulled my hand back as if I had received an electric shock. Hilde wiped the blood from her mouth, a look of surprise on her face. She put her hand to her chest and smiled. The knife wound was healed. Wow! That was new. I didn’t know I could do that.
I risked a look at Salvador. His face was a cold mask, but his eyebrows gave away his surprise. “Enough! We are done here.” He clapped his hands and the crowd began to disperse.
I turned, hoping to blend in and make my way to the door just as Nash’s hand clamped on my arm. “You and I are going to have words,” he hissed at me, tugging me along.
“Not you, Harry.” Salvador’s voice was sharp. “Oh, and Detective Nash, I do believe we also have some business to discuss.” He turned and headed towards the private elevator that would take him upstairs to the club above, not waiting to see if we followed.
“Here, Harry,” Isaac said, handing me a handkerchief. Yeah, that’s how he rolled, old school. “Will you allow me to…” He gestured to my wrist. I nodded and held it out to him, earning another growl from Nash.
“Would you rather I drip blood everywhere in a club full of vampires?” I looked at him expectantly.
Nash clenched his jaw and turned away. Isaac grasped my wrist and laved it with his tongue. It instantly healed. If only we could bottle the wonder that was vampire spit. We’d make a fortune.
“Thanks, Isaac,” I said, mopping off my arm the best I could before cleaning off my katana. I held out his now bloodied handkerchief and gave him a sheepish grin. I didn’t have anywhere to put it.
“You’re most welcome Harry,” he said, taking the cloth and stuffing it into his pocket. “And thank you.” He put an arm around Hilde’s shoulders.
