by Колин Глисон
The hand holding the stake between them was smashed between their torsos; Beauregard’s hand slid up from the back of her neck, which was still freezing cold, and his fingers worked up into the base of her simple braid. Victoria was kissing him back, tasting the warmth and wetness, feeling the slide of lip to lip, the pull between them, the pressure of her mask’s edge cutting into her cheek. He moved, pulling slowly away, and suddenly she felt a scrape, a tingle over her lower lip, and then the warm iron of blood.
Beauregard had her head cupped in his hands, and he held her there, his mouth fixed on hers, the gentle sucking at her lower lip tugging through her body, spiraling down into her middle, curling warmly between her legs. She twisted her face, tearing away, bringing her stake hand up as he released her, stepping back.
His chest was moving up and down, and he looked at her, his fangs gleaming like blue-white daggers. “By Lucifer’s blood,” he murmured.
She would have lunged toward him, but he held up a hand. “I will give your message to Sebastian.” Then he eased into the shadows. She heard the last remnants of his voice as it faded: “It has been a pleasure, Victoria. I look forward to doing so again.”
She was alone.
Instead of turning her back on the place where Beauregard had disappeared, she edged along the plaster wall of the alley, back the way she’d come, keeping her attention behind and in front of her while she tried to pull her heartbeat back under control. Blood still dripped down her lip from the little nip he’d given her. If there were any other vampires nearby, they might sense the blood and come looking for its source.
She’d be ready.
She came to the end of the alley and saw, in the distance, the yellow glow of the moccoletti oozing onto the walls of the next block. The back of her neck was still cold, but not frigid, not as if a vampire were very close. But there were some in proximity, perhaps a few streets away. She wondered where Zavier was, if he’d found some undead. One thing was certain: She’d never find him again tonight. She was on the hunt on her own.
But as she moved away from the protective shadows of the alley, she realized someone was watching her. Slipping her hand into her deep pocket, she closed her fingers around the kadhara’s handle and walked briskly back toward the Corso. It must be near midnight, and with the new moon the Corso and its surrounding streets would soon be dark and full of drunken revelers.
Ripe for a vampire’s plunder.
The crazed noise of the festival seemed to have, if it was even possible, grown louder during Victoria’s absence from the candlelit streets. As she rejoined the crowd, she no longer needed the taper in her hand, for she was surrounded by soft light again, and then drawn into the flow of revelers and their shouts of “Senza moccolo!”
Wading through the crowd, Victoria felt isolated. She blew out her candle, and she alone was silent and watchful as the rest of Rome, or so it seemed, shouted and pushed about her. Positioned in the midst of the throngs, she stood apart, alert for danger or the emergence of malice on a night of festivity, alone in the knowledge that there was much more to their world than these others could comprehend, more than even the evil of their mortal counterparts.
A Venator—one who would never wholly be part of that world again.
The sudden deep tolling of bells from every church in the vicinity startled Victoria, for though the crowd was deafening, the funereal sound rose above the shouts. With the tolling of midnight, the street went from raucous and glowing to silent and dark in an instant.
The tapers were duffed with such immediacy it was as if a great wind had blown through the Corso and doused them all in one forceful breath. And with the light went the last bit of gaiety.
Suddenly the street was filled with silent people, leaving in quiet droves so that the avenue emptied more quickly than Victoria could have imagined. The Corso became ghostly. The back of her neck prickled with chill, and she heightened her attention, watching for the glow of red eyes, still trying to shake that feeling of being watched.
She walked along the street, her fingers around the handle of her dagger, still deep in her pocket. Then she remembered her mask and pulled it off. She needed it no longer. The festival had ended; now started the forty days of Lent. The days of dancing and revelry were over until Easter Sunday.
The raucous city had grown quiet, bereft of even the murmur of voices or the scuffle of footsteps. Here and there a pair or trio or small cluster of people walked quickly, as though hurrying to their homes now that the fun had ended.
A movement out of the corner of her eye was accompanied by a waft of cold over her neck. Slowing her walk, Victoria began to pick her way along the street, making herself an enticing target for the undead behind her. She felt rather than heard him move toward her, and deep in her pocket she changed from dagger to stake before turning to meet him.
Her. It was a woman with long dark hair and glowing red eyes, and she gave a surprised squeak just before she disintegrated into a cloud of ash. She must have been one of the young vampires Beauregard had disdained earlier.
Whom had she called master, Regalado or Beauregard?
South along Via del Corso, away from the piazza, Victoria walked purposefully, but in no great hurry. It was many hours yet until dawn, before she would return to the Consilium or home.
More than once she felt that sense of being watched, but her neck didn’t chill again, and she heard nothing. Smelled nothing. Fewer and fewer people were about, and she’d walked two blocks without hearing the sound of carriage wheels bumping over the street.
Soon she passed the slender bell tower of Santa Francesca Romana, and she approached the curved, jagged wall of the Colosseum. It loomed ahead, its countless arches deeply shadowed.
The world was silent. Even the last of the revelers had gone to their beds, ready to start the stark weeks of Lent. She was alone.
Then she felt someone behind her. Close behind her.
She pulled the dagger from her pocket, whirling around.
And though she hadn’t even raised her arm to strike, he caught her wrist with strong fingers and said, “Not quite the greeting I’d expected.”
Six
Wherein Victoria Encounters a Stubborn Chin
“Max?” Victoria’s free hand automatically grabbed his arm, jolting him toward her, as if to be certain it really was him. “It’s you!” Relief and a wave of gladness washed over her as she felt the solidness of him under her fingers. He was alive. He was back.
“Perhaps you were expecting Sebastian Vioget,” Max added, releasing her wrist and stepping away from what was as close to a welcoming embrace as she’d ever given him.
In truth, she had expected it to be Sebastian—now that she’d sent the message through Beauregard.
“Where have you been?” she asked, her heart still hammering from the surprise of his unexpected appearance. She looked up at him as if the answer would be in his countenance. And perhaps it was.
Even in the mediocre light from a smattering of stars and the occasional lantern on the street, she could see weariness there in his face, and a sort of hesitancy. His cheeks seemed more pronounced, his thick hair more out of place than usual, his sharp jawline set and harsh and with at least three days’ stubble. Max’s dark clothing, although never as perfectly stylish as Sebastian’s, was rumpled, and there was no sign of a mask, costume, or moccoletto anywhere on his person.
“It’s been almost four months, Max. Where have you been?”
“I’ve been in various places of no import.” He stood back from her, but could not seem to remove his attention from her face. “You don’t appear to have suffered any great mishap during my absence.”
Victoria realized how she must sound—needy and uncertain, and as though she and the Venators could not function without him. She straightened, becoming more aloof to match his style. “Have you been following me? Or perhaps you were looking for someone else tonight.”
Max’s handsome, angular countenance appeared even sharper t
han usual in the bluish glow of night. Because he was so tall, when he looked down his long, straight nose at her, his eyes were little more than dark hollows in the shadows of his face. “Following you? I’d have no reason to do such a thing.”
“You certainly weren’t lurking about in the shadows trying to protect me.”
He paused, then replied in an odd voice, “You’d lost your vis bulla.”
“So you were watching to make certain I was safe? How very nice of you, Max. But I don’t know what you thought…”
…you might do to protect me without your own vis bulla.
Victoria quickly changed the subject. “You’ve cut your hair.” The last time she’d seen him he’d worn his hair clubbed back in a brief stub. Now it was too short for that.
“I couldn’t be more gratified that you noticed.”
She ignored the comment and responded with one of her own. “Is Sarafina lurking in the shadows? Why not invite her to join us? I didn’t get to speak with her last night.”
“I’ve just arrived, so I haven’t any notion where Sara is, but undoubtedly you have some point to make by mentioning her. If so, then make it, Victoria. Unlike Vioget, I prefer to cut to the quick of the matter rather than banter around it like a May dance.”
“It sounds as if you’re bantering now,” she replied smartly. Then she thought better of continuing the game and said, “Your fiancée attempted to have me kidnapped last night. Do you have any idea why?”
He didn’t respond immediately; nor did he deny that Sara was his fiancée. Max just looked down at her, as though deep in thought. “What happened?” he asked at last.
“She lured Zavier and me from Carnivale up to the Regalado family plot in a graveyard, and four or five men tried to wrap me in a big canvas and spirit me away.”
“And fortunately Zavier came to your rescue.”
“And fortunately I was able to rescue myself and didn’t stake Zavier when he tried to get between me and a vampire,” Victoria replied, realizing Max was succeeding in annoying her already, and wondering why she continued to let him—and why he continued to try.
“Zavier came betwixt your stake and a vampire? Did he get the harsh side of your tongue for his troubles? At least you never need worry about that happening with Vioget.” Then he, too, appeared to ease. “No matter, I’m certain you instructed Zavier on the proper way to accompany you when on the hunt…but back to the important matter, which is: You saw Sara at that time? Has she turned?”
The question startled her, but after a moment Victoria wondered why it should. After all, Sara clearly enjoyed interacting with vampires, and her father, the Conte Regalado, had been the leader of the Tutela in Rome before he was turned into a vampire just before Akvan’s Obelisk had been destroyed. “I don’t believe so. Were you expecting her to? It would make for a considerably interesting marriage bed if she had.”
Max looked at her sharply, his mouth opening as if to say something just as cutting. Victoria cringed inside, knowing he would have every right to do so after she’d baited him. Instead he stated, “It’s obvious you’re wearing a vis.”
Her face blossomed warm and, even though she was certain he couldn’t tell in the low light, she looked away. She was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that his vis bulla, the one that had at one time pierced him in the intimate area of his areola, was now one with her flesh and dangled warmly in the curve of her belly. And she would swear the tiny silver cross suddenly felt warmer and heavier, shivering in her navel.
Would he be able to sense that she was wearing it? Since it was his?
“Yes. I’m wearing Aunt Eustacia’s,” she added.
At the casual mention of her great-aunt, a pall fell over the already awkward moment. Max turned toward the ragged Colosseum, which was only a few yards to her right, and she saw his shoulders lift as he took a long, deep breath.
“Kritanu? How is he?” he asked finally in a different voice. “The others?”
There were many other questions between the lines of those particular ones, and Victoria wanted to answer all of them—but couldn’t fully answer any of them. “He is philosophical and uncomplaining, as only Kritanu can be,” she replied, choosing the easy one. “He grieves, as do I—”
“And I.” The words were a challenge, as if to dare her to presume he didn’t.
“And the others. But she lived a long life, a dangerous one, in which she devoted more than sixty years to the Venators. We miss her—we all do—but…it’s past, Max.”
“Is it?” Now he looked at her fully. Still challenging. And he was right to be so.
Although she finally understood that he’d had to execute Aunt Eustacia, the fact remained that he had actually done it—and she’d witnessed it. There was no glossing over that in her memory.
Once again her gaze skittered away. Victoria was no shy rabbit, no cowering woman…yet the expression on his face made her want to alternately rage at him for his coldness and fold him in her arms to erase whatever it was that gave him the hard edge.
What an odd thing to think about Max, of all people.
She’d once accused him of being unfeeling, emotionless, of being envious of the loving relationship she’d found with Phillip. How ironic that now she was the one who felt cold and empty, while he seemed to be almost tentative, with the slightest hint of vulnerability.
But no, it was grief for the loss of Aunt Eustacia and guilt for the part he’d played in her death that made him seem less harsh. And he was asking her if she’d yet forgiven him for setting in motion the events that had resulted in that horrible ending.
She truly didn’t know if she had. She tried not to think about that night and the part he’d played in Aunt Eustacia’s death, the risks he’d taken, the danger they’d faced. The fact that there had been only a sliver of hope of destroying Akvan’s Obelisk, and that he’d risked everything to do it. And had succeeded.
But she still couldn’t answer him.
When she remained silent, he asked, “You have Eustacia’s vis bulla? How?”
“Sebastian sent it to me. I don’t know how he came to have it.”
He drew back, looking beyond her, toward the ruined amphitheater. “Very clever. I’m certain you thanked him appropriately, just as he no doubt intended.”
Victoria did not mistake his meaning, as Max himself no doubt intended. But she forbore to respond. Now that he was back, they had other important things to discuss. “Max,” she said. “Have you spoken to Wayren? Do you know about la Porta Alchemica?”
“No…I haven’t spoken to her since…since the night the obelisk was destroyed.” His demeanor changed. “What happened?”
She told him about the door, and the missing keys, taking several steps toward the Colosseum as she spoke.
“Eustacia’s armband that holds the key is missing,” he commented. It wasn’t a question, but more of a thoughtful statement. “And so you’re looking for the unreliable Sebastian in the hopes that he might know, since after all he somehow obtained her vis bulla.”
“You were there when I spoke to Beauregard, weren’t you?” she said, continuing to walk across the grass-filled cobblestone square that surrounded the large amphitheater. The ruined building loomed over her, its ragged outer wall cutting in a jagged diagonal to the ground.
“Spoke?” He didn’t appear to be surprised, and suddenly Victoria knew why. He’d been there. He’d seen Beauregard try to bite her. Seen them kissing.
“I knew someone was watching. So you needn’t even bother to ask me what he said.”
“I told you, Victoria…at first I didn’t know if you were wearing a vis bulla.” She paused for a moment to look at him, and he stopped next to her. “But what about you? You don’t have yours.”
He looked steadily at her. “You need not trouble yourself over it.”
She began walking briskly again, but with his long legs he easily kept pace, continuing to speak. “You’re looking to Sebastian for help, but there’s
something else afoot. Someone—Sarafina, perhaps, if you didn’t mistake her in the shadows—arranged for what amounted to an ambush. You were lured away and could easily have been outnumbered and killed.”
“I’m not foolish, Max. It was clear they wanted me alive. They must believe I know where the key is. No one raised a hand to injure me, and even the single vampire, who was nothing but a lure, simply ran away. Otherwise would it not have been easier to slay me—or attempt to—right there?”
“Wishing for death already, Victoria?”
They’d reached the Colosseum’s wall. Its three rows of arcades, circling the arena one atop another, rose like dozens of black eyes staring down on them. In the shadows Victoria could see that the walls were overgrown with foliage, sprouting tall plants and grasses along the top and from the sides. It gave the amphitheater a bushy, messy appearance.
“You’re the one who has a wish for death. I have too much left to do here.” She cast him a sidelong glance. He’d had no gratitude when she saved his life the night Aunt Eustacia died; he’d told her it would be easier not to live with the guilt—despite the fact that he’d done what he’d done for the good of their race. What he’d been ordered to do by Aunt Eustacia herself. That was the only reason Victoria couldn’t hate him—she knew he’d had no choice.
“I’m still living, am I not?” He looked at her as she gawked up at the wall. More than four months she’d been in Rome, and she’d not had the opportunity to visit the Colosseum until now. “Do you want to go inside? There will be no vampires there, for all that it’s been consecrated for nearly a century, but if you can step aside from your duty for a time, we can walk through.”
“Yes.”
She felt odd walking companionably with Max into the dark recess of one of the archways, instead of being on guard for a battle with undead. Inside the outer wall they were in a passageway that curved around the entire perimeter of the building, with more arches leading to the seats.
Victoria strolled along the dark passage, Max close enough to brush her sleeve. They were silent, and despite the openings on either side of them, the high ceiling loomed above in a vast cavern.
