Lover Avenged - Дж.Р.Уорд

J. R. WardLover Avenged

The seventh book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, 2009

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

With immense gratitude to the readers of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and a shout-out to the Cellies!

Thank you so very much: Steven Axelrod, Kara Cesare, Claire Zion, Kara Welsh, and Leslie Gelbman.

Thank you, Lu and Opal, as well as our Mods and all our Hall Monitors, for everything you do out of the goodness of your hearts!

As always with many thanks to my Executive Committee: Sue Grafton, Dr. Jessica Andersen, and Betsey Vaughan. And with much respect to the incomparable Suzanne Brockmann and the ever-fabulous Christine Feehan (and family).

To D.L.B.-to say I look up to you would be self-obvious but there you go. Love u xxx mummy

To N.T.M.-who is always right, and still manages to be loved by all of us.

To LeElla Scott-who owns it, baby, yeah, she so does.

To Kaylie-girl and her momma-cuz I love them so.

None of this would be possible without: my loving husband, who is my adviser and caretaker and visionary; my wonderful mother, who has given me so much love I couldnt possibly ever repay her; my family (both those of blood and those by adoption); and my dearest friends.

Oh, and with love to the better half of WriterDog, as always.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND PROPER NOUNS

ahstrux nohstrum (n.) Private guard with license to kill who is granted his or her position by the king.

ahvenge (v.) Act of mortal retribution, typically carried out by a male loved one.

Black Dagger Brotherhood (pr. n.) Highly trained vampire warriors who protect their species against the Lessening Society. As a result of selective breeding within the race, Brothers possess immense physical and mental strength, as well as rapid healing capabilities. They are not siblings, for the most part, and are inducted into the Brotherhood upon nomination by the Brothers. Aggressive, self-reliant, and secretive by nature, they exist apart from civilians, having little contact with members of the other classes except when they need to feed. They are the subjects of legend and the objects of reverence within the vampire world. They may be killed by only the most serious of wounds, e.g., a gunshot or stab to the heart, etc.

blood slave (n.) Male or female vampire who has been subjugated to serve the blood needs of another. The practice of keeping blood slaves has recently been outlawed.

chrih (n.) Symbol of honorable death in the Old Language.

the Chosen (n.) Female vampires who have been bred to serve the Scribe Virgin. They are considered members of the aristocracy, though they are spiritually rather than temporally focused. They have little or no interaction with males other than the Primale, but can be mated to Brothers at the Scribe Virgins direction to further propagate their class. Some have the ability to prognosticate. In the past, they were used to meet the blood needs of unmated members of the Brotherhood, and that practice has been reinstated by the Brothers.

cohntehst (n.) Conflict between two males competing for the right to be a females mate.

doggen (n.) Member of the servant class within the vampire world. Doggen have old, conservative traditions about service to their superiors and follow a formal code of dress and behavior. They are able to go out during the day, but they age relatively quickly. Life expectancy is approximately five hundred years.

Dhunhd (pr. n.) Hell.

ehros (n.) A Chosen trained in the matter of sexual arts.

exhile dhoble (n.) The evil or cursed twin, the one born second.

the Fade (pr. n.) Nontemporal realm where the dead reunite with their loved ones and pass eternity.

First Family (pr. n.) The king and queen of the vampires, and any children they may have.

ghardian (n.) Custodian of an individual. There are varying degrees of ghardians, with the most powerful being that of a sehcluded female.

glymera (n.) The social core of the aristocracy, roughly equivalent to Regency Englands ton.

granhmen (n.) Grandmother.

hellren (n.) Male vampire who has been mated to a female. Males may take more than one female as mate.

leahdyre (n.) A person of power and influence.

leelan (adj.) A term of endearment loosely translated as dearest one.

Lessening Society (pr. n.) Order of slayers convened by the Omega for the purpose of eradicating the vampire species.

lesser (n.) De-souled human who targets vampires for extermination as a member of the Lessening Society. Lessers must be stabbed through the chest in order to be killed; otherwise they are ageless. They do not eat or drink and are impotent. Over time, their hair, skin, and irises lose pigmentation until they are blond, blushless, and pale eyed. They smell like baby powder. Inducted into the society by the Omega, they retain a ceramic jar thereafter into which their heart was placed after it was removed.

lewlhen (n.) Gift.

lheage (n.) A term of respect used by a sexual submissive to refer to her dominant.

lys (n.) Torture tool used to remove the eyes.

mahmen (n.) Mother. Used both as an identifier and a term of affection.

mhis (n.) The masking of a given physical environment; the creation of a field of illusion.

nalla (n. f.) or nallum (n. m.) Beloved.

needing period (n.) Female vampires time of fertility, generally lasting for two days and accompanied by intense sexual cravings. Occurs approximately five years after a females transition and then once a decade thereafter. All males respond to some degree if they are around a female in her need. It can be a dangerous time, with conflicts and fights breaking out between competing males, particularly if the female is not mated.

newling (n.) A virgin.

the Omega (pr. n.) Malevolent, mystical figure who has targeted the vampires for extinction out of resentment directed toward the Scribe Virgin. Exists in a nontemporal realm and has extensive powers, though not the power of creation.

pherarsom (adj.) Term referring to the potency of a males sexual organs. Literal translation something close to worthy of entering a female.

princeps (n.) Highest level of the vampire aristocracy, second only to members of the First Family or the Scribe Virgins Chosen. Must be born to the title; it may not be conferred.

pyrocant (n.) Refers to a critical weakness in an individual. The weakness can be internal, such as an addiction, or external, such as a lover.

rahlman (n.) Savior.

rythe (n.) Ritual manner of assuaging honor granted by one who has offended another. If accepted, the offended chooses a weapon and strikes the offender, who presents him-or herself without defenses.

the Scribe Virgin (pr. n.) Mystical force who is counselor to the king as well as the keeper of vampire archives and the dispenser of privileges. Exists in a nontemporal realm and has extensive powers. Capable of a single act of creation, which she expended to bring the vampires into existence.

sehclusion (n.) Status conferred by the king upon a female of the aristocracy as a result of a petition by the females family. Places the female under the sole direction of her ghardian, typically the eldest male in her household. Her ghardian then has the legal right to determine all manner of her life, restricting at will any and all interactions she has with the world.

shellan (n.) Female vampire who has been mated to a male. Females generally do not take more than one mate due to the highly territorial nature of bonded males.

symphath (n.) Subspecies within the vampire race characterized by the ability and desire to manipulate emotions in others (for the purposes of an energy exchange), among other traits. Historically, they have been discriminated against and, during certain eras, hunted by vampires. They are near to extinction.

the Tomb (pr. n.) Sacred vault of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Used as a ceremonial site as well as a storage facility for the jars of lessers. Ceremonies performed there include inductions, funerals, and disciplinary actions against Brothers. No one may enter except for members of the Brotherhood, the Scribe Virgin, or candidates for induction.

trahyner (n.) Word used between males of mutual respect and affection. Translated loosely as beloved friend.

transition (n.) Critical moment in a vampires life when he or she transforms into an adult. Thereafter, they must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive and are unable to withstand sunlight. Occurs generally in the mid-twenties. Some vampires do not live through their transitions, males in particular. Prior to their transitions, vampires are physically weak, sexually unaware and unresponsive, and unable to dematerialize.

vampire (n.) Member of a species separate from that of Homo sapiens. Vampires must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive. Human blood will keep them alive, though the strength does not last long. Following their transitions, which occur in their mid-twenties, they are unable to go out into sunlight and must feed from the vein regularly. Vampires cannot convert humans through a bite or transfer of blood, though they are in rare cases able to breed with the other species. Vampires can dematerialize at will, though they must be able to calm themselves and concentrate to do so and may not carry anything heavy with them. They are able to strip the memories of humans, provided such memories are short term. Some vampires are able to read minds. Life expectancy is upward of a thousand years, or in some cases even longer.

wahlker (n.) An individual who has died and returned to the living from the Fade. They are accorded great respect and are revered for their travails.

whard (n.) Equivalent of a godfather or godmother to an individual.

ONE

The king must die.

Four single-syllable words. One by one they were nothing special. Put together? They called up all kinds of bad shit: Murder. Betrayal. Treason.

Death.

In the thick moments after they were spoken to him, Rehvenge kept quiet, letting the quartet hang in the stuffy air of the study, four points of a dark, evil compass he was intimately familiar with.

Have you any response? Montrag, son of Rehm, said.

Nope.

Montrag blinked and fiddled with the silk cravat at his neck. Like most members of the glymera, he had both velvet slippers firmly planted in the dry, rarified sand of his class. Which meant he was just plain precious, all the way around. In his smoking jacket and his natty pin-striped slacks andshit, were those actually spats?he was right out of the pages of Vanity Fair. Like, a hundred years ago. And in his myriad condescensions and his bright frickin ideas, he was Kissinger without a president when it came to politics: all analysis, no authority.

Which explained this meeting, didnt it.

Dont stop now, Rehv said. Youve already jumped off the building. The landing isnt getting any softer.

Montrag frowned. I fail to view this with your kind of levity.

Whos laughing.

A knock on the studys door brought Montrags head to the side, and he had a profile like an Irish setter: all nose. Come in.

The doggen who followed the command struggled under the weight of the silver service she carried. With an ebony tray the size of a porch in her hands, she humped the load across the room.

Until her head came up and she saw Rehv.

She froze like a snapshot.

We take our tea here. Montrag pointed to the low-slung table between the two silk sofas they were sitting on. Here.

The doggen didnt move, just stared at Rehvs face.

What is the matter? Montrag demanded as the teacups began to tremble, a chiming noise rising up from the tray. Place our tea here, now.

The doggen bowed her head, mumbled something, and came forward slowly, putting one foot in front of the other like she was approaching a coiled snake. She stayed as far away from Rehv as she could, and after she put the service down, her shaking hands were barely able to get the cups into the saucers.

When she went for the pot of tea, it was clear she was going to spill the shit all over the place.

Let me do it, Rehv said, reaching out.

As the doggen jerked away from him, her grip slipped off the pot handle and the tea went into free fall.

Rehv caught the blistering-hot silver in his palms.

What have you done! Montrag said, leaping off of his sofa.

The doggen cringed away, her hands going to her face. I am sorry, master. Verily, I am-

Oh, shut up, and get us some ice-

Its not her fault. Rehv calmly switched his hold to the handle and poured. And Im perfectly fine.

They both stared at him like they were waiting for him to hop up and shake his bumper to the tune of ow-ow-ow.

He put the silver pot down and looked into Montrags pale eyes. One lump. Or two?

May Imay I get you something for that burn?

He smiled, flashing his fangs at his host. Im perfectly fine.

Montrag seemed offended that he couldnt do anything, and turned his dissatisfaction on his servant. You are a total disgrace. Leave us.

Rehv glanced at the doggen. To him, her emotions were a three-dimensional grid of fear and shame and panic, the interlocking weave filling out the space around her as surely as her bones and muscles and skin did.

Be of ease, he thought at her. And know Ill make this right.

Surprise flared in her face, but the tension left her shoulders and she turned away, looking much calmer.

When she was gone, Montrag cleared his throat and sat back down. I dont think shes going to work out. Shes utterly incompetent.

Why dont we start with one lump. Rehv dropped a sugar cube into the tea. And see if you want another.

He held the cup out, but not too far out, so that Montrag was forced to get up again from his sofa and bend across the table.

Thank you.

Rehv didnt let go of the saucer as he pushed a change of thought into his hosts brain. I make females nervous. It wasnt her fault.

He released his hold abruptly and Montrag scrambled to keep hold of the Royal Doulton.

Oops. Dont spill. Rehv settled back onto his sofa. Shame to get a stain on this fine rug of yours. Aubusson, is it?

Ahyes. Montrag parked it again and frowned, like he had no idea why he felt differently about his maid. Eryes, it is. My father bought it many years ago. He had exquisite taste, didnt he? We built this room for it because it is so very large, and the color of the walls was chosen specifically to bring out the peach tones.

Montrag looked around the study and smiled to himself as he sipped, his pinkie out in the breeze like a flag.

Hows your tea?

Perfect, but wont you have some?

Not a tea drinker. Rehv waited until the cup was up to the males lips. So you were talking about murdering Wrath?

Montrag sputtered, Earl Grey dappling the front of his bloodred smoking jacket and hitting Daddys peachy-keen rug.

As the male batted at the stains with a limp hand, Rehv held out a napkin. Here, use this.

Montrag took the damask square, awkwardly patted at his chest, then swiped the rug with equal lack of effect. Clearly, he was the kind of male who made messes, not cleaned them up.

You were saying, Rehv murmured.

Montrag ditched the napkin on the tray and got to his feet, leaving his tea behind as he paced around. He stopped in front of a large mountain landscape and seemed to admire the dramatic scene with its spotlit colonial soldier praying to the heavens.

He spoke to the painting. You are aware that so many of our blooded brethren have been taken down in the raids by the lessers.

And here I thought Id been made leahdyre of the council just because of my sparkling personality.

Montrag glared over his shoulder, his chin cocked in classic aristocratic fashion. I lost my father and my mother and all of my first cousins. I buried each one of them. Think you that is a joy?

My apologies. Rehv put his right palm over his heart and bowed his head, even though he didnt give a shit. He was not going to be manipulated by the recitation of losses. Especially when the guys emotions were all about greed, not grief.

Montrag turned his back to the painting, his head taking the place of the mountain the colonial soldier was onso that it looked like the little man in the red uniform was trying to climb up his ear.

The glymera has sustained unparalleled losses from the raids. Not just lives, but property. Houses raided, antiques and art taken, bank accounts disappearing. And what has Wrath done? Nothing. Hes given no response to repeated inquiries about how those families residences were foundwhy the Brotherhood didnt stop the attackswhere all those assets went. There is no plan to make sure it never happens again. No assurance that, if what few remaining members of the aristocracy return to Caldwell proper, we are protected. Montrag really got on a roll, his voice rising and bouncing off the crown molding and gilded ceiling. Our race is dying out and we need real leadership. By law, though, if Wraths heart beats within his chest, he is king. Is the life of one worth the lives of many? Search your heart.

Oh, Rehv was looking into it, all right, black, evil muscle that it was. And then what.

We take control and do what is right. During his tenure, Wrath has restructured things Look at what has been done to the Chosen. They are now allowed to tally on this side-unheard of! And slavery is outlawed, along with sehclusion for females. Dearest Virgin Scribe, next thing you know therell be someone wearing a skirt in the Brotherhood. With us in charge, we can reverse what he has done and recast the laws properly to preserve the old ways. We can organize a new offensive against the Lessening Society. We can triumph.

Youre using a lot of wes here, and somehow I dont think thats exactly what you are thinking.

Well, of course there needs to be an individual who is first among equals. Montrag smoothed the lapels of his smoking jacket and angled his head and body as if he were posing for a bronze statue or maybe a dollar bill. A chosen male who is of stature and worth.

And in what manner is this paragon going to be picked?

Were going to move to a democracy. A long-overdue democracy that shall replace the unjust and unfair convention of monarchy

As a whole lot of blah-blah-blahing got its groove on, Rehv eased back, crossed his legs at the knees, and steepled his fingers. Sitting on Montrags fluffy sofa, the two halves him of warred, the vampire and the symphath clashing.

The only bene was that the internal shouting match droned out the sound of all that nasally I-know-everything.

The opportunity was obvious: Get rid of the king and seize control of the race.

The opportunity was unthinkable: Kill a fine male and a good leader anda friend of sorts.

and we would choose who leads us. Make him accountable to the council. Ensure that our concerns are responded to. Montrag returned to the couch hed been on, sitting down and getting comfortable as if he could hot-air it about the future for hours. The monarchy is not working and democracy is the only way-

Rehv cut in, Democracy typically means that everyone gets a vote. Just in case youre unfamiliar with the definition.

But we would. All of us who serve on the council would be on the electoral board. Everyone would be counted.

FYI, the term everyone encompasses a couple more folks over and above everyone like us.

Montrag shot over a load of oh-please-do-be-serious. Would you honestly trust the race to the lower classes?

Not up to me.

It could be. Montrag brought his teacup up to his mouth and looked over the brim with eyes that were sharp. It absolutely could be. You are our leahdyre.

Staring at the guy, Rehv saw the path as clearly as if it were paved and lit with halogen beams: If Wrath were killed, his royal line would end, because he had yet to sire young. Societies, particularly those at war as the vampires were, abhorred leadership vacuums, so a radical shift from monarchy to democracy wouldnt be as unthinkable as it would have in another, saner, safer time.

The glymera might be out of Caldwell and hiding in their safe houses throughout New England, but that bunch of effete motherfuckers had money and influence and had wanted to take over forever. With this particular plan, they could clothe their ambitions in the vestments of democracy and make like they were taking care of the little people.

Rehvs dark nature seethed, a jailed criminal impatient for probation: Bad acts and power plays were a constitutional compulsion for those of his fathers blood, and part of him wanted to create the voidand step into it.

He cut into Montrags self-important driveling. Spare me the propaganda. What exactly are you suggesting.

The male made elaborate work of putting down his teacup, as if he wanted to appear as if he were corralling his words. Whatever. Rehv was willing to bet the guy knew exactly what he was going to say. Something of this nature wasnt the kind of thing you just pulled out of your ass, and there were others in on it. Had to be.

As you well know, the council is to meet in a couple of days in Caldwell specifically for us to have an audience with the king. Wrath will arrive anda mortal event will occur.

He travels with the Brotherhood. Not exactly the kind of muscle you can easily work around.

Death wears many masks. And has many different stages on which to perform.

And my role is? Even though he knew.

Montrags pale eyes were like ice, luminescent and cold. I know what kind of male you are. So I know exactly what you are capable of.

This was not a surprise. Rehv had been a drug lord for the past twenty-five years, and though he hadnt announced his avocation to the aristocracy, vampires did hit his clubs regularly, and a number of them were in the ranks of his chemical customers.

No one but the Brothers knew about his symphath side-and he would have kept it from them if hed had the choice. For the past two decades hed been paying his blackmailer well to make sure the secret was his to keep.

That is why I come to you, Montrag said. You will know how to take care of this.

True enough.

As leahdyre of the council, you would be in a position of enormous power. Even if you are not elected as president, the council is going nowhere. And let me reassure you about the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I know your sister is mated to one of them. The Brothers will not be affected by this.

You dont think its going to piss them off? Wrath is not just their king. Hes their blood.

Protecting our race is their primary mandate. Whither we go they must follow. And you have to know that there are many who feel they have been doing a poor job of late. Methinks perhaps they require better leadership.

From you. Right. Of course.

That would be like an interior decorator trying to command a tank platoon: a shitload of noisy chirping until one of the soldiers offed the lightweight flash in the pan and churned over the body a couple of times.

Perfect plan there. Yup.

And yetwho said Montrag had to be the one elected? Accidents happened to both kings and aristocrats.

I must say unto you, Montrag continued, as my father always said unto me, timing is everything. We need to proceed with haste. May we rely on you, my friend?

Rehv got to his feet and towered over the other male. With a quick tug on his jacket cuffs, he straightened his Tom Ford, then reached for his cane. He felt nothing in his body, not his clothes or the weight shifting from his ass to his soles or the handle against the palm hed burned. The numbness was a side effect of the drug he used to keep his bad side from coming out in mixed company, the prison in which he jailed his sociopathic impulses.

All he needed to get back to basics was one missed dose, though. An hour later? The evil in him was alive and kicking and ready to play.

What say you? Montrag prompted.

Wasnt that the question.

Sometimes in life, from out of the myriad of prosaic decisions like what to eat and where to sleep and how to dress, a true crossroads is revealed. In these moments, when the fog of relative irrelevancy lifts and fate rolls out a demand for free will, there is only left or right-no option of four-by-fouring into the underbrush between two paths, no negotiating with the choice that has been presented.

You must answer the call and pick your way. And there is no reverse.

Of course, the problem was, navigating a moral landscape was something hed had to teach himself to do to fit in with the vampires. The lessons hed learned had stuck, although only to a point.

And his drugs only kind of, sort of worked.

Abruptly, Montrags pale face became cast in variations of pastel pink and the males dark hair went magenta and his smoking jacket became the color of ketchup. As a red wash tinted everything, Rehvs visual field flattened out so it was like a movie screen of the world.

Which perhaps explained why symphaths found it so easy to use people. With his dark side taking over, the universe had all the depth of a chessboard, and the people in it were pawns to his omniscient hand. Every one of them. Enemiesand friends.

Ill take care of it, Rehv announced. As you said, I know what to do.

Your word. Montrag put forward his smooth palm. Your word that this shall be carried out in secret and in silence.

Rehv let that hand hang in the breeze, but he smiled, once again revealing his fangs. Trust me.

TWO

As Wrath, son of Wrath, pounded down one of Caldwells urban alleys, he was bleeding in two places. There was a gash along his left shoulder, made by a serrated knife, and a hunk out of his thigh, thanks to the rusty corner of a Dumpster. The lesser up ahead, the one he was about to gut like a fish, had been responsible for neither: The assholes two pale-haired, girlie-smelling buddies had done the damage.

Right before theyd been reduced to a matched set of mulch bags three hundred yards and three minutes ago.

This bastard up ahead was the real target.

The slayer was hauling ass, but Wrath was faster-not just because his legs were longer, and despite the fact that he was leaking like a corroded cistern. There was no question the third would die.

It was an issue of will.

The lesser had chosen the wrong path tonight-although not in picking this particular alley. That had been the only right and just thing the undead had probably done for decades, because privacy was important for fighting. Last thing the Brothers or the Lessening Society needed was for human police to get involved in anything so much as a nose blow in this war.

No, the bastards Im-sorry-thats-not-the-correct-answer had happened when hed killed a male civilian about fifteen minutes ago. With a smile on his face. In front of Wrath.

The scent of fresh vampire blood had been how the king had first found the trio of slayers, catching them in the act as they tried to abduct one of his civilians. Theyd clearly known he was at least a member of the Brotherhood, because this lesser up ahead had killed the male so he and his squadron could be hands-free and fully focused for the fight.

The sad part was, Wraths arrival had spared his civilian a long, slow, tortured death in one of the Societys persuasion camps. But it still burned his ass to see a terrified innocent sliced open and dropped like an empty lunch box onto the icy, cracked pavement.

So this motherfucker up here was going down.

Eye-for-an-eye-and-then-some-style.

At the alleys dead end, the lesser did a pivot-and-prepare, spinning around, planting his feet, bringing up his knife. Wrath didnt slow. In midstride, he slipped free one of his hira shuriken and sent the weapon out with a flick of his hand, making a show of the throw.

Sometimes you wanted your opponent to know what was coming at him.

The lesser followed the choreography perfectly, shifting his balance, losing his fighting form. As Wrath closed the distance, he winged another throwing star and another, driving the lesser into a crouch.