by L.H. Cosway
“Segregation?” I asked, tensing. That word rarely had positive connotations.
“You’re familiar with the Hawthorn I presume?” Ethan went on. “The river that runs through Tribane, splitting it in half.”
“Yes.”
“The south side of the Hawthorn is vampire territory, while that which lies to the north belongs to the slayers, the dhampirs, and,” he glanced at Marcel with a wry expression, “the magical families.”
My mind was a labyrinth of shock, amazement, and confusion. There were magical families? That meant witches and warlocks, right?
“Okay, so why exactly do I need to know all this?”
“Because,” Ethan replied, “in a very short space of time you have caught the interest of two opposing parties and there has to be a reason for that. I don’t believe in coincidence, not this sort anyway.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t believe in vampires two days ago, but look at me now, all entangled in some sort of supernatural politics,” I joked. Nobody laughed. Wow, tough crowd.
“Even so, we must get to the bottom of this and come to an agreeable conclusion. Now, if I might explain,” he looked to Marcel seemingly for permission. Marcel gave a swift nod of his head. “Tegan, your new employer here, Mr Marcel Girard, proprietor of Indigo and a warlock of the Girard magical family, is loyal to the governor of North Tribane, Mr Siegfried Pamphrock. Pamphrock is a dhampir and leader of the DOH.” Ethan addressed Marcel again, a vaguely satisfied expression on his face. “Tegan came into contact with your Defenders of Humanity last night, Mr Girard. A terribly messy business.”
“Yes,” Marcel said. “A team was sent to clean up that very mess early this morning.”
“Good, good,” Ethan replied with frightening cheeriness. “Now, where was I? Oh yes, so, Mr Girard’s business partner here, Gabriel Forbes,” he pronounced the name slowly, “is a dhampir and a warlock, and therefore his loyalties lie, too, with Governor Pamphrock.”
Ethan gave him something of a weighted glance, while Gabriel frowned back at him. There had to be some sort of history there.
“Wait a minute,” I said, my brow furrowing in confusion. “You said that all dhampirs are enemies of vampires and live on the north side of the river, but isn’t Delilah a dhampir? And another thing, if dhampirs are the offspring of vampires, then why are they also your enemies?” I was proud of myself for picking up on the inconsistency.
“Delilah is an isolated case,” Ethan replied, taking a moment to glance at his half-sister with genuine affection. “Our father was a very powerful man when he was alive, and she was his only daughter. That made her special, so she was raised with vampires on vampire territory. Normally, dhampirs are rejected by our race because their blood isn’t pure. They’re raised by their human parent after they’re born, and in most cases, they’re taught by their human mother or father to despise vampires because their vampire parent rejected them. A lover scorned and all that. Once fully grown, a young dhampir is normally headhunted by the DOH and recruited into their organisation to kill vampires. It’s highly important for them to recruit dhampirs since it’s believed that they possess all of the strengths of a vampire with none of the weaknesses. For example, our sensitivity to sunlight is cancelled out in a dhampir by their human genes. Also, they only require a minuscule amount of blood to survive and can consume human food. The DOH was created by a dhampir, but it is largely made up of human slayers since dhampir births are few and far between.” Ethan stopped speaking, and the room fell into silence.
I glanced at Marcel and Gabriel, both of whom sat tensely in their seats. I couldn’t believe that Marcel was a warlock and Gabriel a dhampir warlock. Aside from their insistence about the spell cast on me, they just seemed so … normal.
The gap in conversation gave me a moment to clarify everything in my head.
“So, if this Pamphrock guy is the head of the DOH, then who is the leader of the vampires?” I asked.
“That would be Sir Howard Herrington. He would be akin to your city mayor. He governs over vampire territory, everything that lies to the south of the Hawthorn.”
“Sounds sufficiently important and terrifying,” I replied, unable to resist. When I was stressed, sarcasm just seemed to sputter out of me like a leaky pipe. Gabriel shot me a side glance, and I noticed his lips twitch ever so slightly in amusement. At least somebody found me funny. Ethan glowered at me, unimpressed.
“To get to the point,” Ethan went on. “The problem that arises here is quite the anomaly. In general, very few humans know of our existence. The exceptions lie mostly with those recruited into the DOH, or if they are a member of one of the twelve magical families. You, Tegan, are not a slayer nor a magic holder, and so, we must decide what to do about you. This gentleman here,” he gestured to the man beside Lucas, “is David Rollans. He’s one of our rare neutral vampires and is loyal to neither Pamphrock nor Herrington. Due to his position as neutral, David is to be our mediator here today. His presence is required for Marcel and Gabriel to come onto vampire territory. If he weren’t here, their crossing the river would be seen as an act of open aggression and would have to be dealt with accordingly. In the same way that the presence of the slayers who followed us last night was a hostile act. When an individual or a group of individuals from either side crosses the river, they are, in essence, declaring war.”
Jesus. That was … intense. I let the information sink in, finally understanding why Ethan acted so violently last night when he fought the slayers. I realised that my apartment was in vampire territory. Was that bad or good? I couldn’t decide.
A gentle knock sounded on the door, and a leggy blonde entered wearing a mini dress with red high heeled boots. I recognised her as one of the club’s bartenders. She carried in a tray of drinks and set them down on Ethan’s desk, slower than necessary, as if she were giving him time to admire her plentiful assets. A bolt of jealousy shot through me. It seemed I was possessive of Ethan. Go figure.
Ethan picked up one of the drinks and offered it to Marcel. He took it, but when Ethan offered one to Gabriel, he declined. Next, he offered one to me, and I took it gladly. I definitely needed a drink. It was some sort of whiskey cocktail, and it burned as it went down. The blonde sauntered out of the room, hips swaying from side to side.
“So, what now?” I asked, glancing around the room.
“If I might make a suggestion,” David Rollans spoke up, addressing Ethan. “There may be a way for the young lady to continue her friendship with you and remain in the employment of Mr Girard. It would be an unusual case since she is human,” he looked at me and smiled as one would at a child with ideas above their station. “But she could declare herself neutral, as myself and several others have done. Since she has connections to both sides of the river, it shows she’s not one hundred percent affiliated with either party. To give my own case as an example, I work as a mediator for all supernaturals, and I maintain an unbiased position.”
“How about I sever my connections with both sides? That way I can go back to my normal life and forget any of this ever happened.”
“I’m afraid that is not an option, Tegan. You already know too much, and we’re incapable of taking your memories from you. There isn’t any going back to your old life now,” Ethan said, almost consolingly.
I blew out a sharp breath. “Okay then, let’s say I try this whole neutrality thing. What would I have to do exactly?”
“You would present your case in front of both governors, declaring your position as neutral,” David explained. “Mr Cristescu and Mr Girard would have to accompany you to their respective superiors, stating your case as a human with special abilities, and that your relationship with both of them is one of importance.”
“But before we do any of that,” Marcel cut in, “we will first need to determine what exactly your special ability is, and there lies our conundrum.”
“Surely, you two can manage it,” Ethan interjected tauntingly. “Or are you not as skilled i
n magic as you would have us believe?”
Neither Marcel nor Gabriel rose to the taunt. “It should be a very simple procedure, except that the nature of the spell cast upon her is to conceal. It’s a big task to break through that kind of barrier,” Marcel replied.
As he spoke, my curiosity and excitement built. Now that I could plausibly believe that the spell was real, I was eager to discover more about it, especially since my connection to my mother had always felt so tenuous. I only had a handful of memories of her. I wanted to know more about her; if she was a witch in the same way Marcel and Gabriel were warlocks, and if it really was her who cast the spell.
I turned to Marcel. “What do you think the spell is concealing?”
“Truthfully, Tegan, I have no clue. But I do know that when a witch goes to the trouble of casting such a thick and impenetrable spell it is only for the most vital of reasons. That leads me to believe that whatever the caster had endeavoured to hide is something very valuable indeed.”
Valuable? Me? It seemed implausible. I’d always considered myself so, well, ordinary. It wasn’t that my self-esteem was low. It was just that I’d grown up working class in a sea of other working-class people, all of us struggling to make ends meet. I never once thought that I could have something special in me—something so special a witch would cast a spell to hide it.
“I wouldn’t be so eager to unravel the mystery, warlock,” Delilah warned, speaking up for the first time. “For all we know, the spell could be hiding something detrimental if unveiled. Perhaps the caster performed such a powerful spell so that whatever is hidden within Tegan will never be permitted to cause harm.”
“You think I could be some kind of Trojan horse?” I asked in alarm.
“What she’s saying,” Ethan put in, eyeing his sister a moment before levelling his gaze on me. “Is that you may very well be death wrapped in an undeniably tempting package.” There was a flare of heat in his gaze, and I looked away, flushed. Gabriel glanced between us, as though putting two and two together and not liking the conclusion.
“And what if it turns out I’m not anything quite as special as you all think?” Would they let me go back to my ordinary life or—
“You are special,” Delilah answered. “No average human can withstand our abilities as you can.”
“And,” Lucas put in, “no average human smells quite as appealing to us as you do.”
“Lucas,” Ethan warned.
“What? You know I’m right.”
“Well,” Marcel cleared his throat. “Are we all agreed? Gabriel and I will endeavour to unravel the spell, after which Tegan will declare her neutrality to the governors.”
“Yes, I’m in agreement,” Ethan replied before glancing at me expectantly. “Tegan?”
“Do I have another choice?”
“I wish I could offer you one.” His tone was apologetic.
“In that case, yes, I agree, too.”
With that, everyone started to leave. I made a move to follow Marcel and Gabriel, but Ethan stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. “How are you?” he asked softly.
I turned and looked up at him, getting a little lost in his concerned eyes. “I’m coping.”
“Have you eaten dinner yet? I could take you somewhere.”
“I’ve eaten, but thank you. That’s kind of you to offer.”
He held my gaze, the hand on my shoulder lowering and stroking down my arm. I suppressed a tremble at his touch. “How about another drink then?”
“Sure, I could go for another.”
He placed his hand on my lower back and ushered me out to the bar, where the blonde bartender from earlier stood wiping down the countertops. Ethan pulled out a stool for me to sit, and I didn’t fail to notice the catty look she shot me, followed by a sultry smile for him. Somebody had a thing for the boss.
She approached and threw down two napkins, “What can I get for you, Mr Cristescu?”
“Nothing for me,” Ethan answered. “Tegan?”
“I’ll take a gin and tonic,” I said with a confident smile. She cast me a vaguely irritated glance before turning to make my drink. I leaned close to Ethan. “I don’t think she likes me.”
He gave a soft chuckle. I always got a little kick out of making him laugh. The buzzer for the club door went off, and Lucas emerged from the back, shrugging into his jacket. “That’s for me. I’ll be back before opening time.”
“Where are you going?” Ethan questioned.
Lucas flashed a devilish grin. “I have a hot date.”
Something about the way he said it made me suspicious. “A date with who?”
He tapped the side of his nose. “Never you mind.”
I pursed my lips. “Amanda?”
He cast me a challenging look. “And if it is?”
I turned to Ethan. “You said it was bad to feed from the same human twice, didn’t you?”
“Hey,” Lucas protested. “Who says I’m going to feed? I drank more than enough last night. Is it so hard to believe that I enjoy her company?”
I narrowed my gaze. Ethan reached out and placed his hand over mine, the touch bringing my focus back to him. “He won’t feed on her.”
“Can I have your word on that?”
“You have my word.”
“Okay,” I whispered, still unable to deny the bad feeling that Lucas dating Amanda gave me. Being plunged into this vampire world was one thing, but bringing my friends along with me was another matter entirely.
10.
“You shouldn’t have let Lucas know you don’t want him to date your friend,” Ethan said.
We were alone aside from the bartender, whose hatred for me seemed to grow by the minute. I’d never been the recipient of so many dirty looks in my life. I eyed the drink she placed down in front of me, wondering if she’d secretly spat in it.
“Why not?”
“Because it will only make him more determined to do the opposite. Lucas is a good friend, but he’s terribly contrarian.”
“Can’t you tell him to leave her alone?”
“I’m not his father.”
“You’re old enough to be,” I grumbled under my breath, soliciting yet another soft laugh from him. I could get addicted to those laughs.
“Let’s make a toast,” he said.
“How can we make a toast if you’re not drinking anything?”
“Humour me.”
“Fine. What are we toasting?”
“You and I making each other’s lives infinitely more interesting.”
Well, I couldn’t argue with that. I certainly hadn’t been bored since I met him. I lifted my glass, clinking it to his imaginary one, and knocked mine back in a long gulp. I slammed the glass down, worry for Amanda still churning in my gut.
“What if he feeds from her again?” I whispered, unsure if the bartender was eavesdropping and wondering whether or not we could speak freely. Then again, the fact that she asked Ethan if he wanted something to drink led me to believe she didn’t know he was a vampire. My suspicion was confirmed when he leaned close and spoke very quietly.
“It’s unlikely he will. It’s highly frowned upon to feed from the same human twice without leaving at least several weeks in between. Problems sometimes arise when one of us gets a taste for the blood of a particular human, especially if there’s a romantic involvement. When that happens it’s difficult to resist feeding from the same person again and again.”
I blinked, not knowing what to say to that.
“And it works both ways,” Ethan went on. “Our bite is addictive to humans since it comes with its own unique high.”
“I wonder what that’s like,” I said absently, rolling my glass between my palms.
Ethan’s elbow knocked against mine. “I’d be happy to show you.”
“I’m sure you would,” I scoffed, ignoring the bolt of intrigue and arousal that shot through me. “Me and my delicious smelling blood. Hey, maybe I could bottle and sell it.”
“No. If anyone’s having a taste of you it’s me, and I don’t like to share.”
A warm, fluttery sensation took hold at his husky tone. “A little possessive, are we?”
His eyes blazed. “You have no idea.”
I looked away then, unable to handle his intensity. I wondered what sex with a two hundred-and-seventy-seven-year-old vampire would be like. An image entered my mind of me in my underwear sitting astride Ethan. He was topless, his dark blond hair hanging over his face. His hand brushed over my thigh and his lips pressed against my neck. Then his fangs extended and softly grazed my skin. Goosebumps rose, and I felt a shameful heat flood my core. I blinked, breaking myself from the strangely intense daydream. Then I glanced at Ethan, and he had the most curious look on his face. There was a knowing glint in his eyes.
Wait a second, had he freaking planted that image in my head?
“It seems I have one power that works on you,” he murmured huskily.
“How did you do that?” I demanded.
“It’s a skill of mine. I can make humans see images. Not many vampires can do it, only the older ones.”
“Well,” I huffed and folded my arms. “It’s not nice.”
His eyebrow arched. “It isn’t? I thought it was very nice.”
I shot him a scolding look. “Don’t do it again.”
“I shall endeavour not to,” he said, but he didn’t sound like he meant it. He sounded entirely too amused.
I picked up my drink and downed the rest of it. “Thanks for the drink, but I better be going.”
“May I have the pleasure of driving you home?”
“I’d prefer to walk,” I replied. “I need some time to think everything over.”
“Then I will walk with you.”
I eyed him firmly. “Thank you, but no.” I was finding I liked Ethan far too much, and I needed to put my foot on the brake. His ability to give me sexy daydreams aside, I still knew next to nothing about his world. Plus, developing feelings for someone so soon after Matthew probably wasn’t a wise idea.
