Ganriel

by D. B. Reynolds

  Raphael heard the words “cursed” and “thousands” and felt his anger growing. “He was trapped in stone?”

  “Yes. How did you know?”

  “There are others,” he growled, then turned and caught Cyn’s gaze.

  Her eyes went wide in turn. “You think—?”

  “You know anyone else who’s chasing down warriors who’ve been recently freed from stone prisons?”

  “But by all accounts, he loves those guys. He wouldn’t do—”

  “He does what serves him.” He snapped the words at her. He hated when she defended that fucking sorcerer. “I told you about the war between vampires and sorcerers, and their attempts to cure us. Katsaros probably didn’t anticipate this.” He nodded his head to indicate the feeding vampire. “But then, he’s known for doing things just because he can, without thinking of the consequences.” He turned back and stroked a gentle hand over Gabriel’s bent head. The vampire was still drinking, but less ravenously. If he’d been any other vampire, any ordinary vampire, Raphael would have made him stop and turned him over to Juro. But this vampire had been abused in a way that was beyond the pale. He needed Raphael for far more than blood alone.

  “Who are you talking about?” Hana demanded. “We just came in from Tokyo tonight. There’s been no one—”

  “It happened long before you were born, child,” Raphael said softly, his attention on the injured vamp. “Before he was ever cursed into that statue. Who was it that lifted the curse? You?”

  “Yes. Our estate was attacked, my grandfather”—her voice broke—“I wanted to stay and fight, but Grandfather insisted I go to Gabriel instead. It’s complicated, but he gave me the words to say, and we made our escape.”

  “And what made you leave Japan?”

  “Grandfather was convinced his enemies were after me. Gabriel agreed. But then he got so sick, and he wouldn’t—” She wiped her eyes. “We needed to leave the country, and I knew you could help him.”

  “You understand,” Raphael said, lifting his gaze to meet hers. “He’s mine now.”

  “What?”

  “Gabriel is a vampire. Vampires are not meant to exist in a vacuum. They need their fellow vampires, but even more, they need a connection to a vampire lord. My power frees him to live, rather than simply remaining alive.”

  “A vampire lord like you, you mean,” she said suspiciously, clearly not trusting his motives.

  “You think I mean to hurt him, to enslave him? Look around you. I rule thousands of vampires. I have no need to force one more, and I countenance no slavery of any kind in my territory. If you were anyone else, I’d kill you for daring to suggest it.” He felt Gabriel stir beneath his hand and stroked the vamp’s head. “I won’t harm her, Gabriel. You’re both safe here.”

  “Is he okay?” Hana asked.

  “He will be. He must care about you a great deal to have reacted the way he did.”

  She blushed. “He’s . . . he considers himself my guardian.”

  Raphael almost smiled. It was obvious that her feelings for Gabriel went well beyond what one would feel for a devoted bodyguard, just as Gabriel’s feelings toward her went well beyond those of a guardian. But that truth wasn’t his to reveal.

  “He’ll be remaining here for the near future. You’re welcome to stay with him.”

  “What if he doesn’t want—?”

  “He’s not a prisoner, any more than he is a slave.” He forced him­self to speak gently, for Gabriel’s sake. But he was getting tired of this woman questioning his motives. He was about to say something more, when Gabriel lifted his head and stared up at Raphael, red tears running down his face.

  “My lord,” he whispered, relief and gratitude warring for domi­nance in his voice. “My lord . . .” He bent his head, his shoulders shaking with emotion.

  Raphael wrapped his arms about him and murmured words of reassurance in Russian. He doubted this ancient vampire understood the language, but it was the one he always used to express his deepest emotions, the one he’d learned in the womb.

  “Gabriel,” he said finally, brushing damp hair from the vamp’s face. “My name is Raphael. Do you know what I am?”

  Gabriel nodded. “Vampire lord,” he whispered. “My lord.” And again, there was such relief on his face as he said the words.

  “I am that, but only if you wish,” Raphael said. “The decision is yours, no one else’s.”

  The vamp nodded. “I understand, my lord. It is my wish.”

  Raphael smiled. “Hana doubts me.”

  Gabriel lifted his head, his gaze searching. “Hana.”

  “Gabriel!” She rushed forward. Juro would have stopped her, but Raphael nodded to indicate it was all right. Going to her knees next to them, she touched the vampire’s face as if afraid to hurt him, tears once more filling her eyes. “Are you okay?”

  “I am now, älskling.”

  Raphael’s eyebrows shot up at the endearment. He wasn’t anywhere near fluent in Swedish, but he knew enough. It somewhat confirmed his assessment of Gabriel’s feelings toward her, but it also hinted at the vamp’s origins from all those thousands of years ago.

  She leaned closer to Gabriel and whispered, “Is this place safe for you?” She cast what she probably thought was a surreptitious glance at Raphael, and he heard Cyn snicker behind him. She’d caught it, too.

  “Himura-san trusted Lord Raphael,” Gabriel said gently. “I trust him, too.”

  Hana nodded and glanced up at Raphael. “Then we’ll stay,” she informed him. As if there’d ever been a doubt. He didn’t give much of a fuck if she stayed or not, but Gabriel was his, and he needed his lord right now. He’d be staying whether she wanted to or not.

  “Come on,” Cyn said, stepping forward and offering the woman a hand. “I’ll set you up in one of the guest rooms.”

  “I want to share with Gabriel.”

  “Impossible,” Raphael snarled, his patience finally exhausted.

  “Have you ever slept with a vampire before?” Cyn asked quietly, crouching next to Hana. “Ever spent the day with them while they slept? Really slept?”

  Hana blinked in confusion. “But Gabriel doesn’t—”

  “He does now. Why do you think he’s so damn sick?” Raphael demanded. “The curse lifted whatever spell was cast on him and left nothing to replace it. He’s probably been growing weaker every day since.”

  She nodded. “He has, but I didn’t know . . . I didn’t understand, or I would have—”

  “Of course, you would have,” Cyn assured her. “How could you have known? It was thousands of years ago. Even Gabriel probably doesn’t remember everything that was done to him.”

  “He told me some, but you’re right. I think there was more to it than what he remembered. He trusted”—

  Raphael’s gaze shot to her face, wanting to hear her confirmation of the name he already knew.

  —“the sorcerer who cast the spell. He calls him Nico, but his name was—”

  “Nicodemus,” Raphael growled.

  “You know him?” she asked in surprise.

  “Oh, yes. I know him. And now that Gabriel is here with me, where he belongs, I have a feeling Nico will be paying us all a visit very soon.”

  “Raphael.” Cyn’s warning was soft and worried.

  “Don’t worry, my Cyn. We’ll all be very civilized. Won’t we, Gabriel?”

  The vamp grinned, drunk on the power of a vampire lord’s blood. “Yes, my lord.”

  HANA FOLLOWED THE woman out of Raphael’s office. She’d introduced herself as Raphael’s mate, which as far as Hana could tell was like a wife. There was more to it, obviously. Raphael clearly had a huge amount of power. It pulsed around him like a giant heartbeat, so strong that even her poorly developed magical senses had detecte
d it. For the first time, she regretted not making more of an effort to strengthen and train her magic. Grandfather had never encouraged it, and she’d always gotten the impression that he shared her opinion about her odd talent, that it was as much a curse as a gift. But now, she wished she’d done more. She wanted to understand what was happening to Gabriel. She needed to understand the parameters of this new world they’d both been thrust into. Gabriel, as a vampire, was patently a creature of magic, and now her magic abilities had become a danger to them both.

  “You’ll be perfectly safe here,” Cynthia Leighton said, as she led the way into a large bedroom. She walked over to the window and opened the heavy drapes to reveal a floor-to-ceiling window with a spectacular moonlit view of the ocean. “You can open this sliding door if you want. It won’t affect house security. But, I warn you, Malibu’s cold and damp this time of year.”

  Hana dumped her suitcase on the bed. She’d only brought the one, small case, since most of what she owned had been left behind on the estate, and she hadn’t had time to buy much in the way of replacements. Mostly the case held their documents and a whole lot of cash.

  “It’s all lovely,” she said and meant it. The room was beautifully decorated and had a en suite bathroom. It also had a king-sized bed. Too bad she wouldn’t be sharing it with Gabriel. “Can I ask you a question, Cynthia?”

  “Of course,” the woman said, smiling. “And it’s Cyn.”

  “Cyn. And I’m Hana Himura. I don’t know if you caught my name back there.”

  “Why don’t we sit over here?” Cyn led the way to a pair of wingback chairs to one side of the big window. “So, what’s the question?” she asked, once they were seated.

  Hana winced inwardly. She didn’t want to sound stupid, but there were things she needed to know. She knew her own upbringing had been somewhat sheltered, for all she’d been taught to exist in a world where her grandfather’s enemies (and her grandfather, too) were deadly and dangerous. She knew weapons and tactics, and she would kill to defend the people she cared about. Cyn appeared to be close to her own age, but she seemed much more worldly. And for all her beauty, she moved like a warrior. Hana hadn’t missed the weapon tucked against Cyn’s back, either. This was a woman who’d probably seen even more action than Hana, and who knew a hell of a lot more about vampires.

  “What did you mean back there, when you asked if I knew about how vampires sleep?” Hana asked.

  “Ah, that,” Cyn said, smiling as she relaxed into the big chair. “Well, according to Raphael, when your Gabriel’s curse was lifted, some quirk of magic also nullified the spell Nick cast on him, lo those many years ago, thus restoring his true vampire nature.”

  “You call him Nick? Do you know him, too?”

  “For a few years now,” she agreed. “He and Raphael don’t like each other much.”

  “I gathered. Gabriel told me that Nico saved him all those years ago. But after what happened tonight, he might feel differently,” she admitted. “He’s definitely been getting weaker and weaker since his curse was lifted.”

  “You offered him your blood and he refused?”

  She nodded. “He drank from one of the guys who attacked us before we left Japan, so I’ve seen his fangs, and I know he drinks blood. His statue had fangs, too, so it wasn’t exactly a surprise. But he wouldn’t drink from me.” She shrugged her confusion.

  “Okay, here’s the thing. When a vampire drinks from a human, his bite releases a chemical euphoric that’s like an instant orgasm. I mean an instant, fabulous orgasm. Male, female, it doesn’t matter. I assume it’s an evolutionary adaptation to make them better predators. They don’t have to entice their blood donors, because the euphoric makes humans want to donate. If you and Gabriel aren’t intimate yet . . .” Her voice trailed off in question.

  “No.” Hana blushed. “I’m not sure he feels that way about me.”

  Cyn winked. “You silly kids. Maybe he’s not sure you feel that way. That would explain his reluctance to take your blood. As for the other, when a vampire sleeps, he’s out. I mean, unconscious, dead-to-the-world, out. The house could collapse around them, and they’d never notice. Which is why Raphael wants Gabriel somewhere he knows is safe for vampires. My honey can be arrogant as hell sometimes, but he’s earned it. He cares about his people, and they love him for it. I love him mostly for other stuff, but that’s beside the point,” she added, grinning. “The point is that unless you’ve slept with a vamp during daylight before, it can be frightening. And Raphael’s not going to lock you away in the very secure quarters where his vampires sleep, only to have you freak out and endanger everyone there.” She held up a hand to forestall Hana’s objection. “I know, maybe you’re not the type to get hysterical, but Raphael doesn’t know that. He doesn’t know you, and until he does, he won’t trust you with his vampires. Including Gabriel, by the way.”

  Hana swallowed her protest. “I can understand that. You’re right, I didn’t know about the rest of it. I’ve never actually met a vampire before. Not that I know of, anyway. How did you . . . ? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

  “I don’t mind. I’d hazard there are a lot more vampires in California than there are in all of Japan. That’s partly because it’s Raphael’s ter­ritory, and he has a good reputation. But also because it’s a big state with lots of space to spread out. Vamps are aggressive by nature. Too many of them in one place causes problems. It’s one of the reasons there probably aren’t many of them in Japan. They don’t like islands much.

  “Anyway, I started out as a cop with the LAPD—” She laughed at the look on Hana’s face. “I know, I don’t exactly look the part. But I used to. Sort of. It wasn’t a good fit, but I met my first vampire there. I did him a favor, and when I switched to private investigations, he spread the word. I became every vamp’s favorite PI, which taught me a lot about them. Long story short . . . a few years ago, Raphael needed a PI, I was hired, and the rest is history.”

  “Wow. I had no idea when we left Japan that the day would end like this.”

  “You must be tired. It’s a long flight, even without the weird time-zone crap.”

  Hana breathed deeply. “Yeah, Gabriel slept on the plane. Sort of. I managed an hour or two, but I was too wired. I figured I’d sleep at the hotel once we got here. But then Gabriel was so sick, I knew I needed help.”

  “You did the right thing. Gabriel needed Raphael in a way we humans can’t fully appreciate. He might not have survived if you’d delayed any longer.”

  Hana’s heart clenched at the idea of there being no more Gabriel in the world.

  “Sleep,” Cyn advised her, standing. “I’m not much of a morning person, but I’ll be around later in the day tomorrow. And there are human guards on the estate all day long. Ask any of them where the kitchen is if you’re hungry. There’s always food. Anything else for now?”

  “I hate to ask, but . . . I need to do some shopping. Will the guards know—?”

  “Oh, girl, you’ve come to the right place. I love shopping. We’ll go tomorrow. Give me your cell.” She pulled her own out of a back pocket.

  “I’m still on a burner,” Hana said and read off the number.

  “I’ll buzz you when I wake up. Figure early afternoon. We’ll be back before the vamps wake, though.” Cyn grinned. “Raphael gets testy otherwise.”

  “That’s great. Not the testy part, but the shopping. Thank you,” Hana said, walking with her to the door. “I know Raphael’s only doing it for Gabriel and my grandfather, not me. But I do appreciate it.”

  Cyn laughed. “You haven’t seen nothin’ yet. Wait until Nick shows up. It’s going to be duck and cover for the rest of us when those two go at it.”

  And with that enigmatic observation, she was gone, heading down the hallway with the confident stride of a warrior who’d seen battle and come out on top. Hana step
ped back into the room and closed the door, with a shake of her head. All of this was like some fantastic tale. The windswept estate on the Malibu cliffs, the beautiful heroine and her deadly but gorgeous hero. And, yes, Raphael was gorgeous. She hadn’t been so overwhelmed that she’d missed that. A little broody, though. And definitely unfriendly, although maybe that was just for her.

  She flicked the knob lock on the door, for all the good it would do, then walked to bathroom, stripping her clothes as she went. She wanted a shower but was too tired. She settled for washing her face and arms and brushing her teeth. Pulling on her only clean T-shirt and panties, she climbed into the bed, half-convinced she’d never be able to fall asleep.

  Three minutes later, she was out.

  RAPHAEL HAD CHANGED out of his bloody clothes and was back in his office by the time Cyn returned from getting the woman settled. Himura Kyou’s granddaughter. Strange how the longer you lived, the more life seemed to circle back around. Himura had been barely twenty years old and a loyal soldier in his father’s criminal enterprise when Raphael had first met him. Not in Japan, but here in California, where they’d come to cement a business arrangement. Juro and Ken’ichi had served as translators, although they’d used telepathy so that the Himuras wouldn’t realize. It wasn’t the father who’d become a trusted business colleague, however, but rather Kyou. Raphael was far older than either of them, but vampirism was an odd thing. You were both old and young at the same time.

  He looked up when Cyn walked back into the office, raising only his eyes. She smiled and closed the door behind her, then strolled over, shoved his chair back, and sat on his lap. He automatically closed his arms to balance her, but also because he loved holding her.

  “Miss me?” she asked, kissing his jaw and then sliding her soft lips over his mouth. He tightened his hold on her and took over the kiss, deepening it until her heart was pounding and she was making those hungry little sounds that he loved. He released her mouth with a final swipe of his tongue and brushed a last kiss over her lips.