by Renea Mason
“You what?” I could feel how nervous he was.
“When I cross paths with a terrorist, a human trafficker, or some other undesirable human trash, I make them the guest of honor at the hunt. Vampires pay good money to indulge their instincts; I get to contribute to the greater good and can afford the lifestyle necessary to maintain my position between worlds. The council dares not challenge me, vampires line up for my services, and the human world reveres me for ridding them of filth.”
“So you’re judge, jury, and executioner?” I knew he could feel my uneasiness with the idea.
He sighed. “You’ve seen what I’m capable of, and that was just a taste. The thing I need you to understand is, if you’re waiting for an apology or remorse, I’m afraid I will disappoint. I do what is necessary to protect you. I always have. I always will, even if it means feeling the disgust I sense in you now. I can’t afford to allow your limited experience to influence what I know to be true. My business makes me powerful and that keeps you free. It’s really as simple as that. Without you, there would be nothing to protect. The power wouldn’t be necessary.”
Irritation bubbled inside me. He used me to justify his actions. I’d have no say, no influence over the things being done in my name. “What if I don’t want your protection?”
He let out a soft chuckle. “That’s not your choice. You can leave me, but I will never leave you. My protection is not something you can refuse.”
Colin clutched my hand. “It’s OK. Hopefully, we’ll get everything worked out with Allister; then Baron might not need to be as involved.” Colin covered for him, trying to defuse the tension he felt in me.
“I can’t wait for this to all be over.”
Baron swallowed the last of his drink.
Baron attempted to prep me for the meeting. Don’t argue. Show respect no matter how much I don’t want to. Do not let on how much Colin means to me. Don’t be offended by their condescension. Defer to him if uncertain. His voice was softer and slower than usual. “They’re pretentious and power-hungry. My betrayal isn’t the real reason they hate me, it’s more the fact that I don’t need them, but they do need me at times. It’s the only reason they’ve let me live.” He leaned his head against my shoulder.
“Are you OK?” I gently nudged his hand with my fingers.
He clutched my hand in his and nuzzled his face against my neck. “Yes, I’m fine.” He sighed. “We don’t really sleep, and even though I’m safe from the sun here, I am weaker during this time and your presence is…comforting. No greater luxury for someone like me. I hope that doesn’t change once Allister claims you.”
I glanced at Colin to gauge his reaction to Baron’s strange declaration, but he was sleeping with the side of his head resting against the window.
“I don’t understand. Isn’t there a process to this? Shouldn’t you know what will happen?”
Not sure if it was his weakened state, but the drowsy tone to his voice made him sound tipsy. “You would think, but you, my dear Lillie, are a most welcome surprise.” His lips pressed against my neck. “It shouldn’t be much longer now. Here…” He reached into his pocket. “I need you to wear this.” He placed a necklace with an opalescent stone in the center into the palm of my hand.
“What is it?”
He smiled. “Just a precaution.”
Wonderful. Another secret. I slipped the chain over my neck.
Baron timed everything perfectly. We arrived at the gates just before sundown. In the distance, a stately mansion—one that rivaled the Biltmore in both size and early twentieth-century aesthetics—was a silhouette against the horizon painted in various shades of pink.
The vampire straightened his spine and tugged at the cuffs of his jacket. The man who had cuddled me was gone. Beside me was the Lord of the Underworld. He turned to Colin. “This might be difficult because you’re about to be treated with less respect than a common house cat. You will need to keep your cool. Never walk beside or in front of Lillie. You are always to walk two paces behind. This will tell them that you are trained and loyal to me.”
Colin glared at Baron. “I’ll do this because it has to be done for Lillie, but don’t think for one minute that if you keep coming around after this I owe you anything.”
Baron chuckled. “Oh, Colin, I’d have it no other way. Remember, I’m the outcast here. It’s because I don’t require you to bow to me that they hate me.”
Colin raised an eyebrow. “Can’t we kill them?”
I stared at Colin, shocked by his request. “Colin? You are the least violent person I know.”
He flipped his long dark locks over his shoulder and shrugged. “That’s still true, but sometimes, the worst way is the only way.”
Baron’s grin widened. “I do love how you think, but I’m afraid that would be suicide. This snake has many heads and each time you cut one off, two grow in its place. The best we can hope for tonight is that they accept our proposal to free Allister and allow us to leave.”
Colin raised an eyebrow. “Exactly what is the percentage chance that’s the way things will play out?”
Baron tisked. “You know, Colin, it never hurts to be an optimist.”
The comment coaxed a chuckle from me since Colin was the biggest optimist around.
The car pulled up to the front of the building. As the guards opened our doors to exit, Colin quipped at Baron, “After eight hundred years, one would think you’d be tired of disappointment.”
Baron guided me from the car with his outstretched hand. “It’s only disappointing when I’m wrong. A state I rarely find myself in.”
Colin took his place behind me. “Maybe you’ve just been lucky?”
He quirked an eyebrow at Colin. “Well, since I firmly believe that luck is something we create and not a state thrust upon us, I’d say yes, I’ve been quite lucky.”
After passing through the large doors, we entered the atrium and from two paces behind, Colin whispered, trying to keep his voice from echoing in the cavernous space. “And tonight? Are you feeling lucky tonight?”
Without looking back, Baron breathed. “Not even a little.”
A young woman with a bobbed hairstyle and dressed in a short black dress entered the room. “Lord McCaffrey.” She bowed. “The council will receive you in the great hall. This way. Follow me.”
Nine men in suits sat at the far end of a large table. A fire in the hearth added a warm glow to the room decorated in red velvets, elaborate tapestries, dark wood, and iron.
I swallowed hard and tried to hide my fear. Everyone one of the men were capable of the things I had watched Baron do. With their speed, death could come in an instant.
The men rose from their seats as we entered the room. They all looked no older than Baron physically, but their power was evident in the way they stood straight and poised, their elegant dress, and in the way they scrutinized our entrance.
Baron approached the head of the table and gave a slight bow, “Your Excellency.”
“Baron McCaffrey, what a surprise it was to hear from you. When last we spoke, you had threatened to put a stake through my heart.” The man’s gravelly voice echoed through the room.
Baron failed at hiding his smirk. “Yes, I remember. That was right after you slaughtered the woman who was to become my mate. Isn’t that right, Victor? Funny, I thought that murdering a vampire mate was punishable by death. Perhaps I was wrong? But that was personal, Victor, and I’m here on business. We’ll settle our matters another time. I’m here representing my client with a situation only the council can help with and we’ve both learned business sometimes requires compromise.”
I fought to keep the indifferent expression plastered on my face. This man had killed Baron’s mate? I was a client?
Victor motioned for us to sit. “Indeed. Please sit and present your case.”
Colin and I took a seat across from Baron.
Baron tented his fingers on the surface of the dark wood and made his plea, “I’m
here to petition the council to release Allister Godfrey, on my client’s behalf.”
Victor laughed, while the other men remained quiet, their expressions stoic. “You always did have a sense of humor.”
Baron folded his hands on the table. “I’m serious.”
The man’s eyes narrowed. “Whatever for? So you can betray the council again? So the two of you can raise an illegal vampire army?”
Baron leaned forward. “You can’t betray something you don’t acknowledge. But no, I don’t want Allister for myself. She does.”
All of their dark eyes fixed on me. Suddenly, I wanted to be anywhere else.
Victor’s lecherous smirk sent a chill down my spine. “What do you plan to do with him, little one?” His finger reached out to touch my hand, but I recoiled before he could make contact.
Baron sat back and took a deep breath. “I plan to kill him for her.”
I had to swallow my gasp. What was he doing? This something he most certainly should have warned me about. The only feeling emanating from him was smugness. He had things under control even though I was spiraling. I prayed the council members could not sense my turmoil.
Colin squeezed my hand under the table.
Victor leaned forward. “Why go through all the trouble? We’re already starving him in our chambers. It might take a while, but eventually, he’ll die. Why bother? Why risk coming here?”
Baron crossed one leg over the other and rested his clasped hands on his knee. “I’ve already told you. I was hired to do so. I'm sure you’ve heard of the services I provide. Where else would a human go to find a vampire?”
Victor glared at Baron but then turned to me. “Why waste my time with you when I can ask her.” He stood and approached me and placed my head between his hands like I had watched Baron do. “Now, little one, tell me why you’re really here.”
Baron laughed. “Sit down, Victor. She is not going to tell you anything. Look at her neck.”
Victor’s fingers smoothed over the stone around my neck, allowing one finger to caress the skin above my breast.
It took all my might not to pull away. Sitting with these creatures gave me an appreciation for just how different Baron really was.
“It’s a barrier stone, Victor. Did you think I’d let my client walk in here and become your minion? My time spent with that coven of witches in Romania was well worth it. I wouldn’t try to remove it if I were you, curses can be bloody inconvenient. And before you think it, the Amulet wasn’t the only thing I brought home from those mountains. This mortal, Colin, joined my organization years ago. Your charms would be wasted on him as well.”
I wondered if there was any truth to Baron’s claim.
Victor’s fist slammed against the table. Several of the other men gasped. “You dare bring a witch into our halls?”
Baron chuckled. “I am without prejudice for any being, with the exception of selfish, power-hungry hypocrites. They get me every time, but then…nobody’s perfect.”
Victor drummed his fingers over the surface. “Business, you said… So what do I get in return?”
“A free hunt? Infused blood? It’s all the rage these days. A foothold in Argentina, I know how sore you were when you lost it to me.”
Victor licked his lips. “You know what I want.”
“And what’s that?” Baron’s placating tone was like nails on a chalkboard to these men.
“Why, the Vessel of course.” He leaned across the table in challenge.
Baron snorted. “Told you before. It’s all a myth. A wild goose chase this council and the sect sent me on to waste my time. To keep me busy while you plundered the underworld. To make sure I never rose in the council ranks. There is no Vessel.”
Victor smiled to himself and then stared at the table. “Argentina. I want it back. But you have to kill him here. I’m not releasing him.”
Baron leaned back and uncrossed his legs. “You can have Argentina, but that’s not going to work for me. I promised this lady revenge. Her entire family wants a piece of the action.”
“I’m not stupid. You kill him here or nothing.”
Baron pulled at the sleeve of his jacket. “She has to come with me. I’m doing this for her, after all.”
A wide wicked smile crossed Victor’s face. “Done. Justine…” He called over his shoulder. “Please, take Lord McCaffrey and this young woman to the chambers. They would like to meet with Allister Godfrey. But the young man must wait for them in the atrium.” Victor rose and walked to the far wall and opened a case. From it, he pulled a sharpened stake. He returned to the table and handed it to me. “Baron will show you what to do.”
The stammer in Baron’s voice concerned me. “I don’t know that I’m comfortable leaving my mortal in your care. What assurances do I have that he’ll be unharmed?”
Laughter erupted from Victor’s chest. “You don’t. You’ll have to take your chances.”
My fingers trembled as they gripped the wood. I wanted so badly to get some reassurance from Baron. That his plan was something different than what we’d just agreed to. The self-assurance I felt in him during his negotiation allowed me to trust he knew what he was doing, but it became exceedingly more difficult with every declaration that didn’t make sense.
Baron rose and waited for Colin and me to join him. Before assuming the standard walking formation, Baron whispered something in Colin’s ear.
Colin nodded and waited his turn to follow Baron out of the great hall.
Victor’s hand clutched my arm that held the stake. “Now remember, this is intended for Allister. Don’t get any ridiculous ideas.”
I couldn’t say anything. I simply glared at him.
Justine motioned to a sitting area in the center of the atrium. She addressed Baron, “Your pet can have a seat here.”
I wanted to hug Colin. Reassure him of the confidence I felt in Baron, but the warning echoed in my head. Don’t let them know what he means to you.
11
Betrayal
I followed at Baron’s side through the winding stone corridors to somewhere deep within the house underground. With a million questions running through my mind, I gripped the stake tighter in my hand. Minute splinters of wood threatened to pierce my skin.
Justine turned the key in a large ironbound door. “This is as far as I go.” She pulled out a keyring from her pocket, sorted through it until she found the key she was looking for and handed it to Baron. “He’s in chamber twelve.” She shot me a condemning stare. “I would tell you to make sure you lock the door once you’re done, so you seal him inside, but I don’t think that will really matter. Am I right?” She gave a quick nod toward the stake in my hand.
Baron simply said, “If you’ll excuse us, I’d like to make this quick. I have other business to attend to once I’ve satisfied my arrangement with the lady here.”
He stepped into the hall, and I followed. Behind us, Justine slammed the door, causing a thunderous echo to ripple through the corridor.
Baron’s mood had lightened since it was just the two of us again.
On barely a whisper I had to ask, “Are we really going to kill him?”
He cleared his throat. “No, but his death was something the council would agree with, and it had the added advantage of causing them to arm us. Besides, they don’t know that Allister started the bonding process with you. His life force is tied to you. You would keep him alive even in the most dire of circumstances. Truth is, even if I did stake him, it probably wouldn’t kill him. The only way for that to happen would be for you to either be dead when I staked him or you would have to land the killing blow.” He walked slowly but steadily, counting the doors that lined the sides of the hallway. “But the bigger concern is Colin. We need him here for the ritual. I was hoping we could complete it first, especially with the enemy so close, but we’re going to have to sneak Allister out, which is far more difficult and puts you at greater risk.”
“I at least I won’t have to get
it on in this creepy dungeon.”
“I’m sure you’d prefer that to what will happen if we fail our escape attempt.” He smoothed his fingers over the key.
I examined the stake in my hand. “You must trust me to let me continue carrying this.” I pricked my finger on a splintery edge. “You and I aren’t mated. And how do you know I won’t stake him?”
He stopped in front of the door, turned to look at me and caressed my cheek with his thumb. “Because that’s not who you are in either case.”
“Everyone is capable of becoming a monster.”
“Well, this monster can tell you that is something simply not possible where you’re concerned. You are the light to my darkness. I can no more make you what I am than you can make me what you want me to be. Some things just are.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Come on. We have to figure out how to get Allister out of here and reunited with you and Colin without getting killed, or worse.”
“Worse?” I blinked and tried to think of the possibilities.
“Trust me, love, once you’re dead, there’s still something to fear.” Baron slid the key into the lock. Flickering torches illuminated the small space. Inside the room was a stone sarcophagus, the lid at least a foot thick. Baron grasped the stone, heavier than any human could manage, and slid it sideways so Allister’s face and head were exposed.
