by Ts McKinney
I desperately wanted to believe him. “But you wanted to this morning, didn’t you?” I put my finger beneath his chin and lifted his face upward. “That’s why you ran? Because you wanted to feed from me but knew I’d never give you permission?”
He took a deep breath but didn’t break eye contact. “I was afraid I couldn’t control myself this morning. I didn’t even know what I was, what I was capable of. Now that some of my memories and strengths have returned, I feel more confident in my ability to…to…do what’s right. I want to please you, Poppet, and as far as any memory I have, I’ve never cared much about if anybody approved of my behavior or not.”
I growled…at myself because I knew I was about to make a decision that would infuriate Nic and could cost me my position as a Législateur. Not only did I believe Marchand, I wanted him for myself. I wanted him to be mine.
“Gaudet!” a deep voice unexpectedly thundered from my balcony. “Give me what belongs to me!”
Both Marchand and I jerked in the direction. Julian Montague stood right outside the broken window, a thunderous look on his face. As we both stared at the vampire intruder, Valen leapt gracefully onto the balcony and stood next to Julian. He pulled a white handkerchief from his suit pocket and began wiping what looked like blood from his fingers. He looked rather pleased with himself when he said to Julian, “Roman is taken care of, my beloved. He’ll no longer be a harm to anyone. Ever.” Julian’s eyes didn’t leave us, but he nodded a thanks to Valen.
When Valen turned in our direction, the expression on his face was much more pleasant than Julian’s. For someone who’d probably just ripped another magical creature to pieces, he looked quite content. He looked toward me and said, “Won’t you please invite us in?”
I smiled. “I wouldn’t hold my breath, Valen. Oh, wait…you don’t breathe. Never mind.”
“Let. Me. Have. My. Child.” Julian hissed, baring his fangs. His eyes burned red.
Marchand stood and placed his body between mine and the Montague vamps. He leaned back toward me and whispered, “Why aren’t they coming in after us?”
“Because we must be invited in, young one,” Julian explained.
Then, his pupils dilated, and I knew he was trying to use a vampire’s compulsion on me. “Invite us in, Législateur. We mean you no harm.”
I laughed out loud. “Sorry, Montague. I can’t be compelled. Go away. You don’t belong here or anywhere else in New Orleans.”
This time, he turned his attention to Marchand. “How about you, young one? Aren’t you interested in knowing where you came from? Your sire? What your true potential is? Why allow this witch to keep you hidden from your family? From the people you belong with?”
My thoughts raced back to when I’d asked him if he wanted to go with me or Dom and how tragically that had ended for me. Marchand whispered to me, “You didn’t have to invite me in.”
“Yes, I know,” I answered dryly. “Yet another reason why I didn’t believe you were a true vampire.”
Julian frowned. “He walks in the daylight and didn’t need an invitation into your home? What is this nonsense?”
“You’re both standing there in the daylight,” Marchand argued. “Why wouldn’t you believe I could do the same?”
“Because we are over seven centuries old, child. You,” he tilted his head in confusion, “aren’t old…I don’t think so, at least. Well, we know I haven’t sired a fledgling in centuries and yet, here we are. You, my child, most certainly belong to me. As I told you during our first encounter, your blood calls out to mine.”
I stepped forward and thrust Marchand behind me. “Like hell, it does!”
Julian laughed. “What, Législateur? You think he’s yours? Last time I checked, your kind hated vampires.” He smirked at Gabriel. “As a matter of fact, your family was behind the last coup to try and rid the Quarter of all vampires.”
I felt Marchand tense behind me. Fuck. Julian Montague and his big fucking mouth.
“You aren’t mistaken, but I believe you forgot to add that they were feeding on tourists and residents, and not just a simple snack to get by on. No, they were sucking them dry, leaving them for dead. It doesn’t look good for our city, Julian, not to mention the fact that you were murdering humans! Part of the responsibility of the Législateurs is to keep the human population safe.”
“Ah, and the other part is to keep the rest of us in line, correct? Your version of how we should all behave.”
“The Législateurs take the safety of all creatures under consideration,” I argued, albeit it seemed like a weak argument now that Julian’s words had been thrust in my face, and I was forced to look at the rules from the other side…from Marchand’s side.
Valen crossed his arms over his chest. “And what would your beloved Législateurs have you do to Julian’s fledgling? He’s already broken one of the rules, hasn’t he? Don’t they have laws against a vampire killing someone—even a warlock—in your city?
“If you know so much about the damn rules, how is it that you’re standing there gloating as you throw them back into my face, knowing that you just ended the existence of Roman Tolliver? What is it? You think you’re above the laws, Valen?”
He laughed. “As a matter of fact, yes, I do. I don’t live in New Orleans, nor do I follow your out-dated, one-sided Bible.” He spat the last word in disgust. “We’re here merely to retrieve what belongs to Julian and then we’ll happily be on our way.”
I mimicked Valen’s stance. “I can do this all day, vampire. This is my sanctuary and you’ll not enter.”
“What of the others that might want to harm a Montague fledgling? How will you keep them out, Législateur?” Julian asked. He took another step closer to the broken glass. “Because, my little witch, it wasn’t another vampire that entrapped my child and stole his memories. It was a warlock. They don’t need an invitation to enter your home. Let us at least help you keep him safe until all of this is settled.”
“His whereabouts are cloaked from witches or warlocks, Julian,” I snapped.
“No, he was cloaked.” He motioned to the broken glass with a wave of his hand. “When my child broke through your window, he cracked the cloaking spell. They’ll be coming for him, Gabriel. Allow me to protect my child.”
“Why does he keep calling me his child?” Marchand asked. “He doesn’t look a day older than me. He’s lying. He’s not my father.”
“A vampire calls a human he changes his child, or fledgling. You would refer to him as your sire.” My eyes slanted toward Julian before adding, “He is by no means, your biological parent.”
“Oh, okay.” He opened his mouth to ask another question, but before he could, he fell to the ground, writhing in pain. He screamed and clutched the sides of his face. “Gabriel! Help me!”
I dropped next to him and cradled him to my chest, immediately soothing his pain with my own magic. I’d barely had time to throw up a protective spell around us before my bedroom was flooded with members of the Gemini warlock coven, led by Cassius Heromine. Was this the third warlock who had cast the spells on Marchand? The ones he had told me about? He tried to blast through my magic but it held strong.
“Give me the vampire, Gabriel!” Cassius roared. “He’s broken the Législateurs rules and killed two of my warlocks. I demand the opportunity for revenge.” He blasted us with another useless wave of his magic.
“You brought the war to him, Cassius. You, Dominic, and Roman,” I accused. “Now you’ll have to live with the consequences.” Since Marchand was no longer in pain, I stood to face them, to put my body between them and my lover. “What kind of dark magic did you use on him? Give him his fucking memories back!” I roared.
Cassius merely laughed and then motioned to his coven. The next wave of magic came from all of them. My protective spell started to crack. Shards fell away with each blast of their dark magic. My power wouldn’t hold much longer against all of them, and I couldn’t allow Marchand to fall into their hands
—not again. I couldn’t believe what I was about to do, knew it might damn well be the end of me, but I turned toward the balcony and said, “You’re welcome to enter my home, Julian. Only Julian.” I didn’t plan on going down without a fight.
He stepped inside. “I’ll be all that’s needed,” he answered as a sinister smile spread across his face.
Just as my protection spell finally crumbled, Julian leapt into action—attacking the warlocks while their magic was still focused on me. With remarkable vampire speed, he pounced on them. I heard their wails and felt their magic bouncing around the room, trying to strike him. They weren’t fast enough. Not for a being as old as Julian Montague.
With Valen’s attention solely on his lover, I used the time to trap him in a spell of my own.
“Adiuro vos.” With those words, I tied his magic to my own, and with no warlocks or witches there to help him tear down my spell, he’d be at my mercy until I deemed otherwise or until I released him. I had no intention of hurting him—he was leverage.
The second he felt my magic bind him and his powers, he turned his attention toward me. His eyes glowed red with fury, but he nodded to me.
“Well played,” he mouthed, then hissed at me.
It had taken mere minutes for Julian to rip apart the warlock coven. No one, not even Cassius, remained alive. Blood splattered the walls, the ceilings, and my furniture. Fuck, there wasn’t a spot in the room that wasn’t painted in crimson. Julian, for his part, didn’t have a wrinkle in his expensive suit. He straightened his cuffs and sent me a deadly glare. “Now, Gabriel Gaudet, give me my child. There need not be any more bloodshed today, and I want no quarrel with the Gaudets” He stalked toward me. “We’ll take him and leave the Quarter forever.”
“Don’t let him take me,” Marchand whispered. “I don’t want to leave you.”
I look of genuine hurt flashed in Julian’s eyes but it was quickly squashed and replaced by sheer determination. He took another step closer.
Standing up, I said, “None of you will be going anywhere.”
“I’ve told you he’s mine and I intend to take him,” Julian snarled. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if you force me to.”
“First of all, my magic is as powerful as yours, Julian. Maybe even more so. Make no mistake. If they hadn’t stripped all the power out of the ether with so much dark magic in such an enclosed area, I would have killed them all myself. Secondly,” I said, tipping my head toward Valen. “I don’t want to hurt him, but I will if you force me to.”
Julian’s eyes went to Valen and then he roared in fury when he realized I’d bound his powers. He tried to get to him, but my spell was strong and blocked them from even touching. He swung around to face me, eyes red and drops of blood streaking down his face. “You will not harm him! So help me, I’ll destroy everything and everyone you care about in this world if you do.”
I sucked in a breath—this had to work. “As long as no harm comes to me or mine, and as long as you don’t try to remove Marchand from my protection, no harm will befall your beloved. It’s rather simple, don’t you think?” I took Marchand’s hand and gripped it in mine. “We both have someone we want to protect. Our negotiations should be quick and painless…for everyone. Valen’s life is magically connected to mine and Marchand’s continued wellbeing.”
Julian’s body trembled, revealing so much without him saying the first word. The ancient vampire wasn’t accustomed to being challenged. He also wasn’t willing to risk his lover’s life, not even for one of his fledglings.
His eyes bore into mine. “If you hurt Marchand…”
“You have my word that’s not going to happen. I would never hurt him.”
That seemed to appease him a bit. He glanced back at Valen. “Can you at least invite him in now? He’s harmless to you while trapped in your spell.”
“Of course.” I motioned for Valen to enter through the hole in the glass. “Welcome to my home, Valen.” As soon as he stepped inside, I used my magic to repair the glass and close the hole in my cloaking spell. “Reparare.”
“I…I must be able to touch him,” Julian hissed. “I can’t undo your stupid spell with my touch. Don’t take that away from me,” he pleaded.
Looking at me soulfully, Marchand said, “Please, Poppet. It’s clear how much they care for one another. I wouldn’t want anyone telling me I couldn’t touch you.”
“Dissuo.” A flick of my wrist allowed them to touch.
Once Julian was certain his lover was safe, he turned to me and promised, “I’ll kill you for that one day, Législateur.”
Marchand stepped forward, “No, father, you most certainly will not!”
*****
Marchand
My morning had gone colossally horrible. I’d learned I was a vampire. Killed Dominic. Nearly gotten Gabriel killed because he tried to protect me. Met my sire. Fought with my sire. Met my sire’s boyfriend. Fought with my sire’s boyfriend. Caused a coven of warlocks to be destroyed—quite an eventful day, all in all. Somebody was going to want retribution for that, I was certain.
It wasn’t all bad because my ass was still tender from the thorough fucking Gabriel had given me throughout the night. And, when everything was in perspective, that fucking made it all worthwhile—at least to me, it did. I wasn’t certain about anything else in the room.
While Julian and Valen had worked to dispose of all the warlock bodies, Gabriel had used his magic to make the bedroom sparkling clean. No one would ever know a bloodbath had taken place in there a mere hour earlier. With the busy work done, we were all now in the living room sitting on the two sofas that faced one another. Me and Gabriel on one. Julian and Valen on the other
We were all staring at one another. It was very uncomfortable. And boring.
“So, why did you come to New Orleans to look for me?” I asked Julian, breaking the tense, eerie silence. “I’ve been here for a year, but you haven’t been sniffing around before now. Why? Did you ignore your fatherly ribbons or were you just too busy to check up on me?” I’d heard Gabriel, Julian, and Valen refer to our connection as a ribbon that bound us together—an invisible ribbon.
“You haven’t been here a year, Darkness. I’d have known if you had been. I think that was all part of the lies Dominic was telling you.”
At my explanation, Valen’s hand immediately moved to rest on Julian’s knee. It hadn’t taken being around them long to know that Julian was the hot-head and Valen was the much more reasonable one. To be honest, I could have easily liked both men if I didn’t think they were out to take me away from Gabriel. Oh, and the fact that Julian had turned me into a vampire and left me alone and vulnerable.
“I think what Gaudet said is true. As for not coming for you…it’s hard to explain, young one,” Julian began. “I feel connections to all my children the second they are turned. It stays that way until they die. When one dies, I feel the ribbon snap and an emptiness consumes my soul. With you, though, it was different. I don’t recall creating you, which is, in my opinion, impossible. Nearly a century ago, your ribbon first wrapped around my heart and called out to me for help. You appeared from…well, nowhere. While I didn’t understand what was happening, I still knew that I had to find you, to protect you. The ribbon led me to New Orleans but no sooner than I entered the city, the ribbon faded and then disappeared.”
“Faded? I thought you said the ribbon snaps?”
“The ribbon snaps if the child dies. You simply faded away. I could no longer feel your presence as a way to find you. I still searched the city, turned things upside down and inside out.” His gaze landed on Gabriel and he added, “Pissed off some Législateurs. Finally, I was forced to leave. There were no more signs that you existed any longer.” He leaned back and put his arm around Valen’s shoulder. “Then, four days ago, the ribbon returned, even stronger than before. So, here I am, ready to collect my young one.”
Valen’s body language remained calm. Where Julian sent out waves of e
nergy, Valen released soothing feelings. I could well imagine that they’d make an awesome killing machine while working together.
“What do you know of your sire, Marchand?” Valen asked pleasantly. “Do you recall Julian turning you?”
“Nope. Nothing. Thanks to the warlocks, my memories are…sketchy at best, but I don’t even have hints of how I turned, where I’m from, or where I’ve been. More images are returning now that the three warlocks are dead. Maybe it’ll come to me?”
Julian turned his attention to Gabriel. “And why, pray tell, is a Gaudet involved? If I’m not mistaken, you were holding my child captive in your private suite.” His body shifted forward on the sofa. “And if I’m not mistaken, I smell your essence inside my child. Surely there’s a rule against fraternizing with…or fucking the enemy?”
I blushed and looked toward Gabriel. He wore a predatory smile as he gazed back at Julian. My blush deepened. I should probably argue, deny that there was anything between Gabriel and me—especially since it was probably a very one-sided relationship, but my mouth remained closed.
“I don’t kiss and tell, Julian. You should know this. However, I’d be glad to share if you’ll tell me all about yours and Valens’ love life.” His fingers wrapped around mine and I immediately felt better. “I’m involved here because the warlocks that entranced Marchand murdered a voodoo priestess and another warlock, leaving behind poppet dolls that, with the help of a detective in the local police department, I linked to Dominic’s store. When I went to the shop, I found this beauty, who admitted to making the poppets. Because of that, I brought him back with me.”
“How noble of you,” Julian spat.
“Trust me, Julian, Marchand being with me was much better than him being with Dominic. The warlock was abusive to him, lied about his history, guilted him into sex, and probably used his blood to concoct potions.”
“Then I’m sorry I didn’t get to kill him myself,” Julian snarled. “What’s this about using his blood for potions? Vampire blood certainly has its benefits and adds strengths to all sorts of spells, but they could have simply bought blood from a willing donor. Why his blood?”
