Dark Awakening

by Kendra Leigh Castle

Page 35

 

  Though she had a vague impression of others in the room, Lily’s attention was immediately caught by the two men on either side of Rogan, one immense in stature, with white hair pulled back in a short ponytail to reveal a beautifully sculpted face. Arresting, incredibly handsome, but cold. He looked like he might be a marble statue somehow come to life and escaped from a museum—and a little pissed off about having been kept still so long. The other vampire was his polar opposite, lean and dark, with café au lait skin, a swoop of ebony hair, and eyes that were dark-rimmed and liquidly beautiful despite their unnerving color.

  Both turned to look at Lily, their laughter stopping abruptly as she and Ty walked into the room. A quick look around revealed ugly wood paneling, as well as faded and tattered furnishings that looked as though they’d been picked up at a series of curbs and saved from the dump. Jaden, who had managed to fade almost completely into the shadows, was in the far corner. She tried to shoot him an encouraging smile—there was something about Jaden that told her he needed as much sweetness in his life as he could get—but he was thoroughly preoccupied staring at the other person who was trying to blend into the woodwork rather than join the fun.

  Lily’s eyes followed Jaden’s gaze, and she was surprised to see another woman seated casually in an overstuffed floral chair, as silent as the others were loud. Her hair was the color of rich chocolate woven with streaks of bright platinum, and a pair of bright golden eyes surveyed her shrewdly. She was much less drunk than the others, Lily saw, if at all. Apart from that, there was something different about her, something Lily couldn’t quite put her finger on. And her guarded, suspicious expression made her nervous.

  Not as much, however, as the man at the center of it all. Rogan, she saw immediately, was stone sober, his lengthened fangs exposing him as being hungry as hell. And his smile only made it look like he was getting ready to bite.

  “Tynan, there you are,” Rogan said, seeming incredibly pleased about something. “I had a feeling that time would make a liar out of you. Weren’t you only supposed to come crawling back to me if the world ended, hell froze over, and the four horsemen of the Apocalypse were at your heels?”

  Ty lifted one dark brow. “Haven’t you been outside tonight?”

  Rogan laughed, a deep and booming sound that Lily found surprisingly infectious. The vampire stood and strode to Ty, not seeming the least bit intimidated by the fact that he was nearly a foot shorter. He clasped hands with Ty and pounded him on the arm.

  “Still a smart-ass. Ah, well, I suppose it’s good to see you after all. Be better to see some of that Ptolemy money I’ve no doubt is lining your pockets. Lucky bastard. How are things in the land of the high and mighty?” He eyed Lily then, and she caught the calculating gleam in his pretty eyes. “Gentlemen, allow me to introduce my old friend Tynan MacGillivray, once of Edinburgh, late of the Ptolemy court. ” Then he winked at Lily. “And this would be his lovely sura, Lily. Times are good for the Cait of the Ptolemy if they’re going so far as to let their more favored pets keep suri. Especially ones like this. ” He slid smoothly from Ty’s grasp to take one of her hands in his and bowed to kiss it. His lips were cool against her skin.

  “I do favor redheads, I must admit. Reminds me of home. ”

  “And where is home?” Lily asked, trying very hard not to be charmed because Ty had warned her. “Ireland?” His accent was a dead giveaway, but she was curious about his origins. Ty wasn’t interested in giving her his own story, and Jaden barely talked anyway. And yet the history they must have each seen fascinated her.

  “Dublin born, my sweet lady,” Rogan replied with a devilish grin. “Though I was in Edinburgh for quite some time. Never picked up the accent, thank the gods for that. I could barely understand Tynan when he came to me. All that rolling the words together, and he spoke mainly Gaelic besides. Stupid and impractical, even at the time. But I suppose having a Highland heritage was something to cling to for his family. You’ve never seen anything more pathetic than the hovel they lived in, dirt poor and covered in filth. ”

  He started laughing, and Lily glanced at Ty. His expression was tight, grim. And yet Lily couldn’t help but hope Rogan would continue, only because this was the first she’d heard of Ty’s beginnings.

  Still, it was obvious that even now, it pained him.

  Rogan, who must have known exactly what sort of impact his loose words were having, continued gaily. “Remember when you went back, Tynan? The old witch who gave birth to you actually spat on the money you tried to give her! Superstitious old crone. Forked the evil eye and everything,” he crowed. “I always supposed they starved to death eventually, or disease got them. Which was it?”

  “Smallpox,” Ty said, so softly that he was barely audible.

  “Perfect,” Rogan said approvingly, making his way back to flop in his recliner and taking a swig from his bottle. “Good riddance to them. ”

  Lily didn’t know why she did it, but she slid closer to Ty and slipped her hand into his where the others couldn’t see, giving it a soft, reassuring squeeze. She could feel the pain radiating from him as though it were her own, and she hadn’t missed the sharpness of Rogan’s grin when he’d finished.

  Ty had been right. Beneath the charming veneer was a man to be dealt with cautiously. And he’d known right where to hit Ty. He’d been dirt poor and had lost his family to smallpox after they’d shunned him for becoming what he was. No wonder he was so cautious, even now. No wonder he clung to his position with Arsinöe so tightly. There was a measure of acceptance. And at least the Ptolemy needed him.

  Lily still thought his loyalty was misguided. But even Rogan’s small bit of information helped her understand it a little better.

  Ty leaned into her, just for a moment, taking comfort in her presence. He gave her hand an answering squeeze, and Lily’s heart gave a small leap. Then he skimmed his thumb down her sensitive palm before letting go, though he didn’t move away from her.

  “As much as I’d like to wander down memory lane with you, Rogan, my schedule is a little tight right now. You know we need to get out of town. Name your price, and I’ll meet it,” Ty said.

  Rogan’s brows shot up, his eyes rounding innocently. “Now, why would there be a price for an old friend?”

  “Because there always was before,” Ty said, though he didn’t sound particularly annoyed by the fact. “Just name it. I’d like to be on our way. It won’t be safe in Chicago for us any longer. ”

  The dark-haired vampire laughed. “I know the feeling, my friend. ”

  Rogan ignored him, and tilted his head to one side to regard Ty and Lily. “No,” he murmured thoughtfully. “No, it won’t be safe here. Nor for me, if they find you. Which they won’t. I’m good at what I do. ”

  “Aye, you always were,” Ty replied with a nod.

  “You are still working for the Ptolemy, yes?”

  “I’m still wearing their mark,” Ty replied, and Lily heard the edge in his voice.

  “Hmm,” Rogan said. “A little odd that you’d be running with Jaden, who’s a wanted man, and traveling so far from where Arsinöe’s settled her court. ”

  Ty’s eyes narrowed. “Your price, Rogan. You might as well just out with it instead of dancing around the matter. ”

  Rogan let out an irritated growl, baring sharp teeth. It was the first sign Lily had seen that the man had a temper to go with his sharp tongue.

  “Don’t talk to me like you’re my better, boy. I was there when you were crawling the streets half starved. I was the one who took you in until you’d learned our ways. I put clothes on your back and food in your belly. ”

  “For a price,” Ty said. “And it was one of yours who turned me. ”

  “Yes, I remember him. Oswalt. Worthless bastard. Lost his head back at the turn of the last century, if I remember rightly. Not surprised. Think it was one he sired who did him in. Wondered if it might have been you,
actually. ”

  “Oswalt is dead?” Ty asked, and Lily could see his surprise.

  Rogan seemed pleased that he’d managed to provide fresh gossip. He grinned, though there was no kindness in it. “Dead as dust. Guess it wasn’t you, eh? Maybe it was Damien. The two of you were thick as thieves, and as ruthless as they come once you got your heads on straight. Did the Cait Sith proud. ” Rogan turned his attention back to Lily. “Your man here was an excellent hunter even at the beginning. Some are just born with it. He was one. Once he got over all the pissing and moaning about his family, of course. He’ll have told you about how he came to be with the Ptolemy, I suppose. That’s illustrious enough to brag about. ”

  His eyes were full of challenge, and Lily shifted uncomfortably. God, she hoped this didn’t turn into another fight. Ty’s body was tense next to hers.

  “Um… not much, really,” she said, hoping it was enough to appease Rogan. “He doesn’t talk about himself much. He’s… modest. ”

  Ty’s exasperated glare was worse than Rogan’s fresh burst of laughter.

  “She’s lying. She knows nothing of you, nothing of any of this,” said the big white-haired man, looking bored as he sat stiffly beside the darkened fireplace. Rogan bared his teeth at him in a quick snap of temper. Lily and Ty both turned to look at him. She’d begun to wonder if the taciturn and imposing vampire was even capable of speech.

  “Quiet, Sammael. You’re going to upset our new guests,” Rogan snarled.

  The white-haired vampire seemed unperturbed. “My apologies. Habit. ”

  He looked Lily directly in the eye, and she felt a moment of disorientation. It was, she later thought, like peering for an instant into the vastness of the cosmos and realizing just how insignificant she was in the great scheme of things. The fog cleared quickly, though, and she saw that he was not remotely sorry.

  “You’ll have to excuse him. Sammael is Grigori, and they’re not exactly known for their manners,” Rogan said a little stiffly. Then his mouth lifted in a half smile. “At least, he was Grigori. We’re not quite sure whether they’ll want to keep him once they find him. They may just want to disembowel him. Taj and I have been taking bets. ”