“Wait here,” Andrew ordered Sara and ran after the Enforcer.
Sara and Falconer exchanged looks as the supernatural beings disappeared in a blur of motion. His father’s girlfriend gave him a wild grin. Falconer shrugged, and they followed Olympias and Andrew after the quarry.
Why aren’t I calling in the Special Forces? Falconer wondered as he ran. Somewhere along the line he’d totally shed the military skin he’d worn most of his life and slipped easily into the weird underground loony bin where he must have always belonged. He was a loon. Loons didn’t belong working for the government. Loons had to stick together. Besides, never mind that they were vampires, you couldn’t call in an air strike on your family. All he could do was help the vampires save the world from some guy with delusions of godhood, he guessed.
All was not yet lost. No matter how bad it seemed, there were contingencies, different ways to achieve his goals. Rose was too weak, and Sara proved useless. Grace was a selfish child, Angela a coward, and Douglas unbelievably easy to kill. If not for the weak tools at his disposal, Olympias would be in his power now, Bentencourt told himself as he moved cautiously down the steep slope.
He had to move carefully. He might be away from the killing field, but he certainly wasn’t out of danger. He feared falling or a sprained ankle almost more than he did the inevitable pursuit. He knew he could get away if—
If, if, if, there were many dangers yet facing him tonight, but he knew he had a chance. If Olympias killed Rose, then it was all over. If the psychic backlash from her death didn’t kill him it would certainly fry his brain. Olympias could hunt him down at her leisure, then, for he would be as helpless as she was during the daylight. Rose wasn’t dead yet, so he had hope that Olympias would be talked out of such a usefully ruthless act by Sara. He’d only stayed crouched next to the fence long enough to hear the beginning of the argument. With each passing second that brought him closer to the walking trails he grew more certain that Olympias had made the mistake of being merciful.
He would survive if he made it to somewhere populous and public. There was a chance she’d try to kill him in a crowd, but it would be more dangerous for her. Olympias had to protect the knowledge of the strigois’ existence at all cost. She was limited in what she could do among people.
He would survive if he had enough time. Come the dawn, the danger to him would be over, and the danger to Olympias would just be beginning. He knew where all the vampires lived. The nests were weakened. He could move through the daylight and dispose of all that remained at his leisure. He’d kill Olympias first. He should have done so already, but the plan to play kingmaker had seemed so much safer until he put it in action.
They were all too weak. That was why vampires did not rule the world: they were cowards, fools, and weaklings. Bentencourt knew he would do better next time. He’d hunt up one of Alec’s strig friends, convince the lawless vampire to turn him and protect him until he could function on his own. Chances were good that he could—
“Hi, there,” Olympias said behind him.
In front of him, two glittering points of fire coalesced into a pair of inhuman eyes.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Andrew Falconer spoke on Bentencourt’s left.
Fear and adrenaline spiked at the sights and sounds coming out of the dark. Bentencourt dashed to the right, but his foot caught in the undergrowth, and he went down. There was nowhere for him to run, but Bentencourt scuttled away on his back, using hands and feet to move down the steep hill. They let him move a short distance, savoring their love of the chase, no doubt. He wasn’t going to give up.
Then the glittering eyes loomed over him again, and he made out the huge head and sharp muzzle of the largest dog he’d ever seen.
Bentencourt threw up an arm to protect against the animal’s fangs, but it didn’t attack. Instead, Andrew grabbed the arm and dragged Bentencourt to his feet. Bentencourt looked at the vampires, expecting to see fangs and claws set to rip him apart. The pair hadn’t bothered to change. He was only a mortal after all.
“You’re nothing,” Andrew answered the thought.
“I nearly got you killed,” Bentencourt spat back. He wasn’t going down begging for his life. He turned to face Olympias. “I nearly had you in my power.”
“Nearly don’t count, hon,” she answered, and smiled that familiar, triumphant smile. “In this town winning is all that matters. I dreamed about you a few nights ago,” she added. “Well, not you.”
“I am Philip of Macedon!” Bentencourt proclaimed.
“No. You’re dog meat.” She looked at the huge hellhound. She said, “Bitch. Kill.”
Falconer arrived with Sara as the hellhound’s muscles bunched, and Bitch leapt. When he heard the sound of the dog’s fangs snapping shut in the man’s throat, Falconer very nearly threw up. Somehow, this killing affected him more than watching Olympias rip out vampire hearts.
“Fluffy?” he whispered and the memory of Olympias saying “She’s nice until I tell her not to be” floated through his mind. Now he knew what Olympias meant. Bentencourt died quickly, and Bitch licked blood off her muzzle and trotted back to Olympias. At least the hellhound didn’t seem to have any interest in eating her kill. Which was more than could be said for vampires.
“She prefers dry dog food,” Olympias answered Falconer’s thought. “Did that man taste nasty?” she asked the dog, bending down and rubbing Bitch’s head and ears. “You want a big treat and my best pair of shoes to chew when we get home? I think you deserve that. Stay,” she then told Bitch, and turned to Andrew. “Your turn.”
There was a blur of movement, and the next thing Falconer saw was his father pinned to a tree, with Olympias’s hand around the other vampire’s throat. Falconer took a step forward, and Sara rushed past him.
Olympias poked a finger against Andrew’s chest. “You took what’s mine,” she told him.
“I did not!” he shouted. “Not exactly,” he added, with a sudden calm Olympias found infuriating.
Sara tugged on her arm. “Let us explain. Please.”
Olympias glanced at Sara. The girl was crying, but her spirit shown with defiance.
Andrew managed to speak again before Olympias could smash his throat. “Maybe Sara belonged to you once, but barely. It had been years since you touched her. You can’t maintain a relationship without sharing blood—even with a slave. But if you shared blood, she wouldn’t be a slave, she would have been your companion. You didn’t want it, you never told her, but she deserved it. She gave you her loyalty—”
“I still do,” Sara rushed to put in. She still clung to Olympias’s arm. “You don’t need me the way Andrew does, but you do need me.”
“You need me too,” Andrew added.
Olympias didn’t know what they were talking about. She didn’t know why she was listening. It had been a hell of a night. She was exhausted, even with the fresh blood and sense of triumph coursing through her. It wasn’t that long until dawn, and all she wanted to do was take Mike home, have a fantastic bout of sex, then sleep like the dead while Sara—
“Who do you think’s going to clean up tonight’s mess?” Sara jumped into Olympias’s revelation. “You?” Sara laughed. There was only the slightest edge of hysteria in it.
“Let me go,” Andrew said, far too calmly for someone in his situation. The young vampire certainly had presence.
Olympias backed off. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t kill him anytime she wanted. It was disgusting the way Andrew and Sara rushed into each other’s arms. Olympias crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “Talk,” she told the happy couple. “Fast.”
“You could kill me,” Andrew admitted. “Though custom dictates that what I did was not a killing offense.” He held up a hand before Olympias could respond. “A fine would be more appropriate.”
“A fine?” And who was this kid to tell her what was lawful and appropriate?
Andrew nodded. He had his arm protectively around Sara’s shoulde
rs. “I should have asked to buy Sara from you first, but you know how irrational we can behave when the companion bond forms. Sara is my first companion. I reacted to the need before thinking through the consequences.”
Olympias considered telling Andrew that his nose was starting to grow, but said, “Go on.”
“If you kill me, you’ll lose Sara. You cannot afford to lose Sara. And I think you need me for several other reasons.” He glanced toward Mike. “Him, for one.”
“I wouldn’t take it kindly,” Falconer spoke up. “I don’t want to find out my father is alive—undead?—only to lose him before I find out whether or not I should drive a stake through his heart. Give us a chance to get to know each other. By the way, I feel like I’m marrying into the Addams family,” he added.
“Marrying?” Maybe it would be easier to kill all three of them and run away and hide somewhere. Olympias spared Mike Falconer a glare. “We’ll talk about us in a minute.” She turned her attention back to Andrew Falconer and Sara. “I know I need Sara,” she had to admit. “But what good will she do me as your companion?”
“I can still work for you,” Sara spoke up. “I love my job, Olympias.” She squeezed Andrew’s waist. “You’re overworked. You need help. Andrew’s a Nighthawk.”
“What?” Olympias shouted, and thought the word came out loud enough to be heard the length of the park.
“I didn’t know it until tonight,” Andrew went on in his infuriatingly calm way. “I had planned to offer my services to you in any way you wanted to use them. To purchase Sara’s companionship the way Jacob worked to acquire Rachel.”
“How—biblical,” Olympias replied.
Andrew shrugged. “I used to hang out in Miriam’s nest. Speaking of nests,” he went on. “You’ve acquired one tonight, you know. With Douglas gone and Angela not exactly trustworthy, the pair from Douglas’s nest need someone to take them in. Rose isn’t capable of running a nest right now.”
“I can arrange to send Rose out to Helene Bourbon’s in Oregon to recover,” Sara piped up, showing her usefulness.
“I don’t want a nest. I’ve got too much to—”
“That’s the point, isn’t it?” Andrew hurried to state his case. “Sara’s told me about how much you are personally responsible for, how much you have to delegate, how thin your resources are. If you keep doing things as you have been, others like Bentencourt are going to try to take advantage of the situation. Don’t send the local vampires away. Show me how to be a Hunter, train me as junior Enforcer. I know I’m not ready to make the change yet, but I can keep an eye on the locals. Sara, the other slaves, and the nestlings can serve as needed. And you and—” Andrew gave a not altogether approving glance between Olympias and Mike. “You and my son seem destined for a commitment. From your treatment of Sara, I guess you’ve tried not to take companions for a while. You know how that always turns out. You end up with the bond when you least expect it. Companion relationships work out best for the long term in a stable household.”
Maybe she would kill the self-righteous little fangboy. Kids on their first companion were always so know-it-all smug about relationships. She wanted to be around when Sara changed and went off to lead a life without him. How content with the status quo would he be then? Would he mouth platitudes about Laws and curses and all that goddess worshipping crap she was sworn to uphold?
“So you want to become an Enforcer?” she asked him, aware that this might be just the punishment Mr. Andrew Falconer the prim and proper deserved.
“If I’ve been granted immortality I want to do something worthwhile with it,” was his earnest answer.
The worshipful look on Sara’s face shining in the dappled moonlight almost made Olympias gag. Had she been that in love with Orpheus? Or Philip? She glanced at the reincarnation guy’s corpse. Had she really killed Philip for a second time? Was she destined to be haunted by him for eternity?
Nah.
“Besides, who cares?” Right now she was in love with Colonel Mike Falconer. Lovers came and went. The trick was to appreciate them while they were there. She’d only been trying to avoid that survival trick, maybe out of nostalgia. Live for the moment or go senile, that was the vampire creed. Maybe it should be a law.
“Fine,” she said to Sara and Andrew. “Do whatever you want. Get us a bigger house,” she ordered Sara. “Maybe we’ll all move into Rosie’s place. And get the park cleaned up before the mortal cops show up. And—get out of my sight.”
“You’re going to let us live?” Sara asked, while Andrew gave her a steady, grateful look.
“Go,” Olympias said. “Before I change my mind.”
Andrew picked up Bentencourt’s corpse and shepherded his companion back up the ravine. Olympias heard Sara talking to someone on her cell phone as they went.
Falconer said, “What about us?”
“Want to go home and have some nookie?”
“Yeah, if my ribs don’t give out,” he said.
“I’ll be careful.”
He put his big, warm hands on her shoulders, though he winced from the broken wrist when he did it. “But what about us?”
“Can the discussion wait until tomorrow night?”
“What about my people?”
“I owe them,” she answered. “They’ll be safe.”
“Define safe.”
“I don’t know!” She didn’t want to think anymore tonight. “You’ll resign your commission. People will forget that the Walker Project ever existed. Maybe we’ll introduce your loons to my two new nestlings—we’ll do something where nobody gets killed. But tomorrow.”
He gave her a long, hard look that reminded her annoyingly of his father. “Fair enough,” he agreed. “What about us?”
He put his arm around her and led her toward the exit to the park. She could have moved a lot faster without him being there, but she loved being surrounded by his very large presence. Tall as she was, his size made her feel safe and protected, emotionally at least. Bitch padded along beside them.
“What about us? After tonight? I don’t know,” Olympias admitted. “I’m not going to bite you until you ask me too. I like us the way we are for now.”
She sensed that he was not at all insecure about this, or in the least bit frightened. He was willing to play it as it came. “We could use some time alone to get to know each other. How about we get out of town for a while once things settle down?”
Olympias thought about this for a moment, then said. “Actually, I have been planning on being away for a few days with Bitch while the werewolves are in town.”
“Don’t you mean Timberwolves?”
“I’m not talking basketball, Mike. You ever been to Las Vegas?” she asked before she was called upon to explain about the controversy involving werewolves and hellhounds.
“Not for a long time,” he answered.
“I’ve never been there. Why don’t we take a long driving trip out there?” she suggested. “I’d like to see all the lights and fancy hotels along the strip.”
She’d especially like to know if there were any monsters roaming the streets of Las Vegas and find out what had happened to the city’s Enforcer. She’d probably get a report on the situation long before she and Mike arrived in town, but if she didn’t, she didn’t think Mike Falconer would object to a working vacation. He was an action kind of guy who’d been working at a desk too long. So was she.
And Bitch was just going to have to get used to sleeping on the floor.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
This is a work of fict
ion. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s Imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
The Penguin Putnam Inc. World Wide Web site address is
http://www.penguinputnam.com
Laws of the Blood 4: Deceptions: Deceptions Page 25
