“You’d dare to set that cat on me again?” he demanded, outraged. That did it, her fuse had been lit – and it was never a very long fuse.
“You dared to set your Vampires on me, and you heal a shitload quicker than I do, so I think I still owe you!” she responded angrily, through gritted teeth, trying to keep her voice down for Kyle’s sake.
Alexander watched the sparks fly for a moment then stood up to get in between them, still grinning. “She’s got you there, mate,” he told Julius in mock seriousness. “I should actually hold you down and let the cat get a bigger piece of you.”
He turned to Gabi. “You want me to hold him down? Or you do you want to do the holding and I’ll let the cat out?”
Gabi stomped over to her favourite overstuffed chair and plonked down, wincing in pain at the over-zealous move. She grumbled something that sounded like “Tempt me!” but the worst of the tension drained from the air.
Julius gave up glaring at Alex, and strode off to the kitchen, coming back with the open bottle of wine, a glass of water and a bottle of painkillers. He put them on the table within Gabi’s reach. She sat forward, quickly swallowing a couple of pills down with the water. Julius poured wine into his empty glass, and was about to take it from the table when Gabi reached out and snatched the glass from his fingertips. She took a deep swallow, and sat back sighing and then found Julius looking at her in utter consternation. She raised one eyebrow at him archly, mischief replacing anger in her emerald eyes.
“You know where the glasses are. Get yourself another one!”
When the Vampires left an hour later, Julius was still opposed to the SMV becoming involved in the war, but had accepted that their help and knowledge could an invaluable asset to him. Gabi had agreed to call them as soon as a time and place for the meeting with the Council had been arranged. After they’d gone, she secured the house, let Razor out of her room and took a long, hot shower. She checked on Kyle again, and set an alarm for two hours time; setting it far out of reach so she would be forced out of bed to turn it off, she knew her own tendency to slam the mute button and go straight back to sleep. Then she crawled into bed and embraced the temporary oblivion of sleep.
Chapter 12
The phone buzzed annoyingly. Gabi cracked one eye-lid and groaned; she felt like she hadn’t slept in a week. The morning sun was filtering through the cracks in her curtains, and she could hear Rose humming to herself somewhere in the house, that meant it was already after eight thirty. She could also hear the rush of water from the shower in the spare bathroom; Kyle must be up and about. Trust him to be awake and chipper after the night they just had. The buzzing sounded again. Sighing, Gabi picked it up to see who was calling. ‘Byron’ the caller ID flashed. She immediately hit the answer button.
“Hey,” she greeted him groggily.
“Morning Sunshine,” he teased her gently, “Rose will be in in a moment with coffee. I called her before I woke you. I hate waking you after the night you’ve had, but I knew you would want the news as soon as possible.”
Gabi sat up in bed, tumbling Razor off to one side and making him grumble at her before yawning hugely and beginning his morning grooming. Before she ask Byron what the news was, Rose tapped at the door and entered carrying a huge, steaming mug of coffee.
Gabi grinned at her gratefully. “Rose, you are an angel. Thanks,” she whispered, tucking the phone between her left shoulder and ear to take the giant mug with both hands and breathe in the heavenly scent of Ethiopian Special Blend.
Rose gave her a fond but slightly worried smile. “Breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes,” she said sternly, bustling out the room with Gabi’s laundry basket under one arm.
Gabi focused her attention back on what Byron was telling her as she sipped the hot coffee.
“The council has agreed to the meeting with Julius,” Byron said. “In fact we’re quite anxious to meet with him. The Mage High Council came back very promptly with some disturbing news about the dark mage, Mariska. They have been trying to track her down for some time now, and having spoken to the Mages who were present with you last night, they are extremely concerned about the alliances she has made in the Demon world. They are taking this every bit as seriously as Julius seems to be.” Byron paused to take a breath. “We are mobilising everyone, and calling in favours from other cities, we may need to fast track a couple of the Hunter trainees. I’ve convinced the rest that if we can have a strong Vampire Clan working with us as well, it may make all the difference to how quickly we can eradicate this threat.”
“And to how many casualties we’ll have,” Gabi noted quietly, a small shiver going through her, as she suddenly thought about Julius’s vision. She shook off the dark, disturbing thought and put down the mug to get out of bed and throw on a robe.
“Where and when?” she asked Byron. “I need to let Julius know.” She took down the details of the location for the meeting and said goodbye to Byron. Then she steeled herself for another long day, so much for Sunday being a day of rest.
Gabi dressed in comfy jeans and a rude t-shirt, pointedly ignoring the sling lying on her dresser, her collarbone was stiff and uncomfortable but not terribly painful today, then she headed for her office. She wanted to make the call to Julius before she went for breakfast, even though the delicious smell of fresh pancakes was an almost physical pull to the kitchen. She powered up her computer as she put the call through to Julius. Kyle appeared in the doorway wearing only a pair of jeans and looking sickeningly healthy. His damp, dark blond hair was standing in spiky disarray and there was no sign of the deep gash in his scalp. She waved him in and turned on the speakerphone just as Julius answered in his distinctive, velvet voice.
“Gabrielle?” His voice was almost a purr, but Gabi thought she could detect a faint trace of weariness in it. Did vampires get tired, she wondered idly?
“Morning Jules,” she drawled, only just suppressing a yawn. She could hear him snort softly.
“Is Kyle alright this morning?” he asked, surprising both her and Kyle.
She sighed. “Yes, he’s as healthy as a proverbial horse. He’s just walked into my office, so I can give you both the news and save repeating myself later.” Julius stayed silent, so she went on. “Byron called me this morning to say the meeting has been arranged.”
Kyle glared at her warningly when she used Byron’s name.
She waved him down. “They seem to have some information about the Dark Mage, which has made them sit up and take note. Byron has suggested we use the conference room at the Riverview Hotel. Do you know it?”
“The one owned by the Magi Council?”
“Yes. There are safety measures already in place there, and the staff are used to catering to non-humans and turning a blind eye and ear when they have to. Though we would understand if you feel uncomfortable with the venue, I’m sure something else could be arranged.” She didn’t want him backing out now.
“No, I think it would be appropriate for the Council to meet where they felt at ease. As long as I may bring a few of my own.”
“Yeah, I discussed that with Byron, he agreed it was only fair. How many would you like to bring?” She was a little hesitant; she remembered very clearly the looks of fear and anxiety his guard had elicited when they arrived at the station last night. Some of the Vampires were very imposing.
She could hear the slight smile in his voice when he replied. “I’ll try and keep it to a minimum. Alexander will insist on coming along, and I’m afraid he’s not the best company when he feels I may be in danger, as you noticed at dinner last night, but I will keep him under control. I will need to introduce the Council to Patrick, my daytime Chief of Security; he is a Werewolf and integral to my security force. And perhaps two of my personal guard; Nathan and Marcello would probably be best. They are a little less intimidating than some of the others, unless you have another suggestion?”
“No, I think that would be fine,” she said, fighting a grin as she thought of th
e suave Italian Vampire charming all the Magus women.
Nathan looked like the bodyguard he was, and she had no idea of what to expect from Patrick the Security Chief, but no-one would begrudge Julius a little protection in a hotel full of other supernaturals. Alex would be Alex no doubt; she remembered her last thought as she went to sleep earlier was wondering if the English Vampire had multiple-personality disorder, but in light of what Julius had just said perhaps it was just a defence mechanism. Regardless, if he chose to be charming tonight, the females in the meeting would stand no chance of resistance.
They agreed on a time an hour after sunset and ended the call. Gabi quickly perused her e-mail and then headed to the kitchen with Kyle and filled him in on what he he’d missed between mouthfuls of pancakes, fried bananas, bacon and syrup.
After breakfast, Kyle headed home and Gabi shooed Rose out the door before she could find a reason to stay longer. Rose came in on a Sunday so that she could take a weekday off to mind some of the grandkids, but Gabi never let her work the full day, only letting her come in to do the basics and cook breakfast, then chasing her home to spend some time with her husband. Once Rose left, Gabi went into the bathroom and had a good look at the wound on her shoulder. She decided it was sufficiently healed to pull out the stitches and set to work with a small pair of scissors and a pair of tweezers. She winced as the threads pulled free of her flesh, talking to Slinky to distract herself from the disturbing task, as many times as she did this, it always gave her the creeps. When the stitches were out, she covered the wound with a waterproof wound plaster; reluctantly admitting to herself that Julius’s pet doctor had done a good job with the stitching, though a scar was still inevitable. She picked up Slinky and let him wind himself around her neck as she went back to her office to catch up on admin and e-mails. She needed to try and clear her diary for at least the next week or two; she had a feeling that things in the City were about to get nasty fast.
When she heard Kyle’s van drive up late that afternoon, she was still yawning after catching a quick catnap. As he let himself in, she was settling Nex into the sheath down her back, a half-eaten chocolate croissant in one hand and cup of coffee on the counter next to her.
“Here, let me hold that for you,” Kyle said, grabbing the croissant as he passed her on his way to the coffee maker in the kitchen. He promptly stuffed the rest of the croissant into his mouth as he reached for a coffee mug. He ducked the apple she threw at his head and caught it as it ricocheted off the cupboard, biting into it as he poured coffee.
“Do you not have a kitchen in your own house?” she grumbled, looking for something else to throw at him.
“Of course I do, it just isn’t nearly as well stocked as yours.” He threw her his trademark impish grin. “Besides, I can smell the rest in the warmer, so you won’t go hungry.”
“I knew you were coming so I had no choice but to warm up extras,” she groused, elbowing him in the ribs with her good arm as she moved past him to pull the rest of the croissants out of the warmer. They quickly fuelled up on coffee and carbs as Gabi filled Razor and Slinky’s food bowls, and just after sunset they drove out in the Mustang.
It was after midnight when the Council session was finally called to a close. Gabi was ravenous, the lone lollipop she had found in her jacket pocket was doing little to ward off the feeling that her stomach was trying to digest itself. The members of the Council had seemed to drone on and on, and there was huge debate over every tiny detail that was brought up, Athena being her usual obnoxious self, but Julius had shown nothing but patient attentiveness throughout. She realised that it had probably explained the slightly deferential attitude the elders had shown him by the end. That, and his charismatic personality, she reluctantly admitted to herself. He really could be quite compelling when he turned on the charm. He was dressed in black pants, a midnight blue cashmere sweater and his black leather coat, his pale, iridescent skin in stark contrast to the deep colours.
The rest of his entourage were dressed almost completely in black and had been largely silent throughout the meeting. Marcello and Nathan had stood inhumanly still at positions either side and slightly behind Julius. Alexander and Patrick had taken seats either side of him, Alexander in his typical James Dean slouch, belying his absolute attention to every movement in the room, and Patrick obvious in his scrutiny of everyone and everything. Patrick had proved to be a tall, dark-haired, muscular man with short-cropped hair, a neatly trimmed moustache and goatee, and a posture that spoke of a military background. Alexander had again begun the meeting with a belligerent attitude, but had mellowed towards the end. He had even shown a degree of enthusiasm when discussing offensive tactics with Kyle and Douglas, who was present in the capacity of Senior Hunter.
Alistair and Patrick seemed to know each other, by reputation at least, and there appeared to be a mutual respect between them which was unusual in dominant Werewolves and said a great deal about their characters. Gabi had caught Patrick eyeballing Kyle a number of times during the course of the evening, but Kyle had refused to rise to the bait, pretending ignorance of Patrick’s attention. Kyle had long since gotten used to the odd attention he drew from the rest of the Werewolf fraternity.
Kyle and Gabi had been handed the positions of liaison between the Council and Julius’s Clan as they had already established a relationship with the Vampires, and Gabi had secretly both welcomed and dreaded the part she had been given, just as she was both attracted to and disturbed by being in Julius’s presence.
Gabi found herself feeling relieved that Julius had not brought up his vision of her death at the meeting, but slightly annoyed with Margaret for bringing up her previous encounter with the Wraith. Gabi sighed, she was being unfair, the elderly shape-shifter had no way of knowing that Julius had been kept in the dark about the blindness, it really wasn’t her fault. But the look that Julius had thrown her way at the time told Gabi she was going to be grilled about the incident as soon as they were alone.
Julius had been open and candid with the Council, answering questions unerringly, only pausing when anger overwhelmed him during their discussion of Danté and his motives. Athena had been openly antagonistic, trying repeatedly to trip him up by firing question after question at him until Irene had finally laid a reproving hand on her arm reminding Athena of her manners. Athena had then lapsed into a hostile silence, and Gabi found herself wondering what the witch was plotting. Irene’s acceptance of his answers without extensive cross-examination meant that she felt he was being honest with them, if anyone would know, she would, and she was like a pit-bull when it came to drawing out the truth from someone. Strangely, the topic of Julius’s insider knowledge of the SMV was not brought up, perhaps that was what Athena had been working up to. Gabi had vowed to get to the bottom of that mystery soon, but didn’t want to bring it up with Athena around to cause dissent in the ranks.
The information the Council had been given about Mariska was informative but not particularly useful. She was a powerful necromancer who had been orphaned at a young age and had been fostered by one of the Magi Elders. She had been a problem child, and as hard as they had tried to mould her to conform to the ethics of the Magi Council, she had always seemed to be on the edge of slipping to the dark side. It seemed all she needed was a tiny push in that direction and she had gone rushing off down the dark path.
They had lost track of her several months ago and hadn’t been able to find any trace of her since then. They had several tracking spells that hadn’t been tried as they were very difficult to perform, but with the current news, a decision had been made to find her no matter the cost. The only bit of good news was that she had not been taught the dark spells, so she would be muddling through things as best as she could on her own. She was also relatively young, by Magus standards, and wouldn’t have come into her full power yet. She was at the top of the Magus Council’s agenda along with trying to find a way to destroy the Wraith. Gabi was more than happy to be leaving that in their han
ds. The less she had to do with that thing the better. The Magus Council had agreed to share any relevant information or discoveries with the SMV Council immediately, and that info would then be passed on to Julius as a matter of urgency.
By the end, a precarious alliance had been forged. Many of the details of the alliance would be hammered out over the next few days, the two sides needing to find ways to merge their forces and best utilise their unique strengths. Julius had made it clear that his Werewolf contingent would follow directions from Gabi or Kyle if he ordered them to, but the Vampires would only take orders from him or Alexander as his second in command, it was one of the few points that he refused to elaborate and was unmoving on. The Council had respected his decision and had agreed to work around these issues. Phone numbers for Julius, Alexander and Patrick were to be included on the emergency call list for any Demon activity notifications from the SMV, and Julius would ensure that the Vampires either helped or stayed out of the way when it came to cleaning up and limiting media coverage. Everyone agreed Byron was the master of those situations.
As the meeting wrapped up, the Vampires were the first to exit the building, leaving as a unit in a silent, fluid wave. Gabi said a quick goodbye to Byron and the other Elders, promising to look after herself and then headed for the far exit. Kyle finished up his conversation with Alistair and Douglas and caught up with her just as she opened the door. The cool night air was crisp and refreshing. Gabi had always loved night time, and tonight was the perfect evening for a run in the forest. She sighed as she realised the pack of Vampires was standing at her car, no relaxing run in the forest for her.
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