by Cora Zane
“Unless you plan to tell someone, no one will ever know.” His eyes held a warning. “I can’t avoid the council. Eleni was on probation when she came to me—she still is. As my vampiress, the court will have no choice but to be lenient with her, lest they punish us both.” His eyes darkened. “I don’t anticipate them doing anything so foolish.”
He cranked the car then rolled down the window before shutting the door. “If the effects of her turning become… problematic, I will take her and leave France. As far as the council is concerned, I have taken Eleni as my blood mate and that is all they need to know.”
“I hope you are right, Julian.” Marguerite looked grim. “Really, I do.”
He would not argue the matter with her. He rolled up his window, and did a loop in the circle drive, making his way out onto the private road. As he pulled away from the house, Julian glanced in his rearview mirror, and saw Marguerite standing in the red glow of the tail lights, watching him leave. He had never seen her look so fragile and human.
Forty minutes later, Julian pulled up in front of l’hotel Pont du Clair, an exclusive bed and breakfast on the outskirts of Ville Cleménce. Julian knew the owners in passing. Charles and Solange were discreet, reliable hoteliers who had catered to vampire society for over thirty years. He was aware there were least two rooms in the converted farm house that could provide a sun-proof rest stop for traveling vampires.
He had called in advance and found out that there was indeed a Liev Sidorov registered.
Julian parked away from the attached restaurant and climbed out of the car. Inside, the hotel was as he remembered it—clean and simplistic, with romantic amber lighting and faux Persian carpets. Paintings commissioned by local artists decorated the walls.
A young woman with a thin face and piercing blue eyes stood behind the concierge desk when he entered. She called to him, but her voice reached him as if from afar. He had planned to show up at the vampire’s room unannounced, but one glance through open glass doors to the dining area on his left, and an onrush of anger surged through him. A vampire with reddish hair sat alone in a booth, with his hands around a china cup, idly glancing through a window overlooking the parking lot.
Eleni had described him perfectly, from his smug expression to the prominent, dimpled chin. There was no room for mistake. Julian gestured to the lady concierge that he had found his party then strode into the dining room, his hackles on the rise.
The vampire did a double take as he approached.
“Ah, Sévigné,” he said, and sat straighter, his eyes dancing with shrewd mirth. “I had a feeling you would come. I heard about the fire at your chateau, an awful tragedy.”
“Is it?” Julian made no pretense at civility. He hated the bastard on sight. “One would think you’d be relieved.”
He scoffed. “Why would you assume that?”
“Because Gisele Gaspar is dead.”
The vampire swallowed convulsively, yet his face remained impassive. It was a long minute before he spoke. “My condolences to her family.”
“I am her only family,” Julian said in a peevish tone. He leaned forward, and glared at the man with thinly veiled hatred. “She was not the only member of my household that has perished.”
For a brief second, light gleamed in the vampire’s eyes. His brow lifted. “Is that so?” He had the gall to look taken aback. “The fire—your protégé, Eleni—”
“I assure you my bloodmate is very much alive and well. I’m sure that’s what Zander Rubio wants to know, is it not?”
Sidorov’s cup rattled against the saucer as he put it down, his face ashen.
“Do you think I don’t know about your relationship with Gisele? I know you were seeing her before the fire. She had come to the mistaken belief that despite her familial line, she could be made immortal. I never told her any such lies, so I am left to wonder just who put that idea in her head.” His brows lifted in silent speculation. “I suppose you would know nothing about that?”
“I’m afraid not. I met your Eleni on one occasion. I have never met Ms. Gaspar.”
“That isn’t what my sources have explained to me. You were last seen with my servant at a bistro in the square. I have witnesses that can place you talking to her on the night of the festival.”
The vampire’s lips thinned. Oh, yes, he had Sidorov’s attention now. The pale blue eyes had taken on a hard gleam, they darted back and forth as the vampire studied Julian’s face.
“Gisele was vulnerable,” Julian said, his voice a moody rumble. “She had no ties to you. There is one true connection between my household and yours, and that’s between my bloodmate and her ex-Biter—your employer. I would imagine he is also your relative, hein?”
“You took an Acolyte with Biter’s Addiction, and you make her immortal? What does that say for your judgment? Such a transformation could awaken a dangerous blood lust in her. She could attack someone.”
“Marguerite was there for her turning.”
Tense silence drifted between them.
“You think you are so clever, turning her when she is on probation,” Sidorov snapped. “She is still a ward of the council.”
“You tell Zander Rubio he is no longer privy to the goings on in my house.” He stood up from the table and looked down his nose at Sidorov. “I plan to personally take my bloodmate’s case to the council. I am bonded to her, and any judgment laid against her must be made against me, also.”
Sidorov let out a husky laugh. “Good luck. Her sentence is directly tied in with Zander’s.”
“I’m sure the council will take that into consideration. I’m sure they’ll also be interested to know that Rubio sent one of his trusted men, one of his relatives, to France to gain access to a rival vampire’s servant then manipulated her to the point of misery and murder.”
Sidorov’s face went slack. His fangs gleamed. “You have no proof.”
Julian leaned down on the edge of the table and stared into the vampire’s eyes. “I could rip your heart out and send it back to Rubio in a box, and the council wouldn’t touch me with the proof I have against you.”
Sidorov braced his hands on the table top and glared at him in spite. “Eleni Audridov brought most of this on herself, by refusing to settle with Rubio. I wouldn’t be here if she weren’t so stubborn. The council took away his rights to hold a harem, and to take a bloodmate…at least, for the duration of Eleni’s lifetime. Do you see?”
“I see a motive for murder,” Julian grumbled. “And it sounds like Rubio still hasn’t accepted his responsibility in Eleni’s condition. She didn’t bite herself.”
The vampire scowled at him. “Regardless of your personal interpretation of the matter, it still stands that the council agreed to adjust their sentencing if a settlement could be reached between the affected parties. Your protégé never appeared at Rubio’s sentencing, and after his fate was decided, Dominic Lisandro, your protégé’s brother-in-law, lodged a restraining order against Rubio on her behalf. That is why I’m here. Not to try to persuade your house servant. This trouble could have been avoided if your protégé had agreed to negotiate the contract I offered her.”
“I would never allow my bloodmate, or any other member of my household, to sign a contract with another Biter, particularly one who is as repulsive and repugnant as your employer.” Julian slowly rose to his full height. “I’m of a good mind to dismiss you outright and lodge a grievance against both you and Rubio. However, if truly the council has agreed to settle Eleni and Rubio’s differences with conditions based on a contract, it’s worth consideration just to be rid of the lot of you.”
Sidorov took a deep breath and sat back in his chair. “I’m sure the two of you could come to some kind of agreement, regardless of your personal feelings for one another. Say the word, and I’ll have Rubio fax another contract to me. I can call him now.” He reached into the inner pocket of his dinner jacket and withdrew a cell phone.
“Do you honestly think I would let
Rubio call all the shots?” Julian asked him mildly. He reached into his pocket for his keys and began to walk away. At the doorway, he called back over his shoulder. “If he wishes to negotiate a settlement, he will have to meet me in Paris in three days. Whether he shows up or not, I’ll be taking my bloodmate before the council.”
Chapter Twenty
“Where have you been?” Marguerite scolded Julian through the door. She scraped the chain from the lock to let him in and opened the door, greeting him with an accusing look. Tired, he shuffled inside, and wiped his shoes on the mat by the door.
“It’s almost dawn. Couldn’t you have at least called so I wouldn’t worry?”
“There wasn’t time,” he insisted. “How’s Eleni? Any improvement?”
“Not yet.”
Julian slithered out of his sport coat, and hung it on a peg in the hallway. When he turned, he realized Marguerite stood in a night gown and bathrobe. She had her crossed her arms over her chest. Was it really that late?
“So, where did you go?” She sounded anything but pleased with him.
“I had business in the village,” he said while moving past her toward the kitchen. His body felt drained and his footsteps heavy. He needed to feed and to rest. Then there was the inevitable future he dreaded having to face. “As soon as Eleni awakens, I’m taking her with me to Paris.”
Marguerite stopped short and gaped at him in disbelief. “You can’t be serious. She is too weak. We still don’t know what her reaction to the transformation will be.”
“It can’t be helped,” he said as tapped a code into Marguerite’s special refrigerator before opening the door. He reached in and took out a bottle of bloodwine. “Eleni’s former Biter is on his way to Paris. I intend to be there when he arrives. If I don’t settle this now, he will never leave us alone. I don’t yet know the entire story, but his representative has been in Ville Cleménce for at least a month—the whole time, probably filling Gisele’s head full of all kinds of lies. I believe he is directly responsible for Gisele’s attack on Claudette and Eleni.”
“But what would make her do such a thing…slash poor Claudette’s throat. The woman was like a mother to her. You think maybe—?” Marguerite hesitated. “Is it possible Eleni’s ex-Biter promised Gisele immortality?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. Rubio once promised the same to Eleni, and we’re both aware of how that turned out.” He crossed the room with two glasses swiped from the dishwasher, and carried them along with the bottle to the dining room table and sat down in one of the chairs. Marguerite joined him. Elbow propped on the table, she rested her chin in her hand while he cracked open the bloodwine, pouring deeply into two glasses. Julian gulped down half the cup and leaning his head back, closed his eyes.
“I can imagine Rubio might’ve instructed his representative, cousin, whoever the hell he is, to promise Gisele the same.” He opened his eyes a fraction, swished the wine in his cup before lifting his head to take a drink. “I believe it’s possible he told Gisele that if she killed Eleni, it would benefit her in some way. Perhaps, she thought if Eleni was gone, I would take a romantic interest in her. I don’t like to think so, but there it is.”
That thought in particular disturbed him, but when he recalled the things Gisele had said to him in the bedroom the night of the fire, it seemed plausible. “It’s impossible to know for sure what lies he used to convince her to act,” he went on, “but I am nonetheless certain that he is the one who put her up to it.”
“Well, do you think the police will do anything? If the man leaves town—”
“I don’t believe he can,” Julian said. “He has been seen in public with Gisele. Eleni herself spotted them together. The story about the chateau is all over the news. If it is ever discovered that Gisele is Claudette’s murderer, and I believe they will know soon enough, the inspector will have questions for him. He can’t afford to run. It will make him look guilty of coercion, at the very least. And as a vampire, he definitely can’t afford to be caught in the public eye. He wouldn’t be able to spend hours at the police station.”
Marguerite rested a hand against her throat. “It certainly makes sense. But you truly think he told Gisele to kill Claudette and Eleni?”
“Perhaps not directly, but I think he influenced her in some way and encouraged it, yes.” He laid his hand on the rail and continued up the stairs. Marguerite followed him. “I’d advise you to keep a close eye on your protégés, just to be safe. Not that I doubt the trustworthiness of your protégés, but these men are predators. That much, I know.”
He refilled Marguerite’s drink then poured a fresh glass of bloodwine for himself. He sipped, then stood up from the table with stem held between his fingers and the bowl of the cup resting in his palm. “I’m going to bed.” He eyed the bottle sitting on the table. “You want more of this?”
She waved the bottle away. “No, no…it’s yours.”
Julian offered no argument. Exhaustion was settling in. He took the bottle of wine and his glass and started through the house to the stairs.
“What are you going to tell Eleni about Paris?” Marguerite called back over her shoulder as he reached the doorway.
He stopped beneath the archway. “You mean why we’re going? The chateau is gone; I must house her somewhere.” He sighed. “If she is not well enough to know the whole truth, that it’s my plan to address the council about Rubio and her probation, then I will tell her only that we must live in Paris for a little. If that is the case, I will go to the council by myself and make arrangements to clear her of her probation, and to arrange a settlement of guilt with her former Biter. I want him to have no further reason whatsoever to contact my bloodmate.”
“You must love her very much to do all this for her,” Marguerite whispered.
Julian turned to face her fully. “She is my other half. We are connected now. At the very least, I owe her my loyalty.”
“But it is more than that,” Marguerite said.
“It is.” Emotion surged up through him when confronted with the secrets of his heart. “I existed like a dead man until she came into my life. This much you know. But I have lived with a lot of guilt, believing that I am a monster for what has happened in the past. Eleni saw past that. How can I not love her when she has made me whole again?”
His mouth trembled, and he looked at his feet briefly as he struggled for composure. Tears stung his eyes and ached in throat. At least the admission no longer came at the price of his pride. He loved Eleni more than his own life.
Marguerite’s eyes were wet with unshed tears. She rose from the table and closed the distance between them, and wrapped him in her embrace. “Cousin, you were never a monster.”
“I was a monster full of bitterness and hatred,” he said against her hair. “Regrets and the past have ruled my life. For far too long”
She backed up, held him at arm’s length. “And now?”
“Eleni is my life, my reason for being,” he told her fiercely. “I will not let the council ruin her family name to preserve the reputation of a dishonorable vampire. She is a Sévigné now. My name will be her protection.”
Nodding, Marguerite let go and daubed at her eyes. “Should I call Eloise and tell her to prepare the townhouse for your arrival?”
“Thank you, petite chou, but I’ve already called her to let her know we would be coming. She sounded happy that we are coming. I’ve also sent Jean-Pierre notice to have the jet ready tomorrow at sunset. Of course, I will need someone to go with us to the airport. I don’t trust leaving my car at the runway.”
“I will go with you, of course.”
“You have always had the patience of a saint, Gita. I hope you will forgive me for my jealousy of your friendship with Eleni. In my heart, I know you would never betray me.” He studied her face. Where would he be without her assistance and wisdom? She was still a little girl in his eyes, even though she was well over three hundred years old. He lowered his head. “I’m sorry I ever d
oubted you.”
“That’s in the past. We won’t think about it anymore.” She reached up and brushed his hair back from his face, tucking a stray lock of hair behind his ear. “Take heart, cousin. We’ve made it through the darkest hour. This will all blow over soon. You wait and see.”
* * * * *
Eleni awoke with a faint buzzing feeling flowing through her veins, an electric feeling that traveled from head to toe, across her scalp, down her back and the soles of her feet. Lying in the strange bed, she glanced around the room, marveling at her ability to see in the near perfect darkness. The bedroom door was wide open, and a hint of greenish light fell across the floor near the doorway. Somehow, she was acutely aware it would soon be dawn.
Although she didn’t immediately understand how she was different, she felt it inside her. She knew she had changed.
The thirst for blood made her shaky. Her tongue kept touching the razor sharp tips of her fangs. Using what little strength she could muster, she pushed herself up and sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the pale-faced young woman sitting in a corner chair near the open door. Her eyes were wide and afraid. Eleni couldn’t help noticing she had a graceful neck, slender and white. Her hair was pulled back so tightly the color was indeterminable, possibly a light brown or a dark blonde shade. The style and the shadows made her pale face stand out—a perfect oval, with glittering dark eyes. To Eleni, she looked like a frightened ballerina.
She was clearly an Acolyte, her face and form could have been a portrait example of exquisite breeding. She also looked frail enough to break.
Eleni felt her mouth water, and without so much as a thought, her fangs elongated. She took a deep breath, and lowered her head.
“I want to see Julian.”
The Acolyte bolted from the chair and out the door. Her footfalls echoed and then Eleni heard the cushioning of creaky boards as the woman hurried down a flight of stairs. Then silence. The door quivered on the hinges, shaving down the pie-slice of light.
