As Tohrment bowed low with his hand over his heart, it was clear that the son had all the manners his sire did not.
The master of the house returned the deference. Would you care for libations or gastronomic provision?
Darius shook his head and took a seat. As Tohrment came to stand behind him, he said,Thank you. But mayhap we could speak of what has happened within this manse.
Yes, yes, of course. What may I tell you?
All things. Tell us. . all things.
My daughter. . my light in the darkness. . The male took out a handkerchief. She was of worth and virtue. A more caring female you should never come across. .
Darius, aware that theyd already lost two evenings, allowed the father a certain time of remembrance before refocusing him. And that night, sir, that terrible night, he cut in when there was a pause. What happened here within this house?
The male nodded and dabbed at his eyes. She awoke from her slumbers feeling a certain disquiet and was advised to attend to her private quarters for her health. She was brought a meal at midnight and then another well before the dawns arrival. That was the last she was seen. Her evening quarters are upstairs, but she also has, along with the rest of the family, rooms underground. She often elected not to move down below with us for the day, however, and as we have access to her through inner hallways, we assumed she would be safe enough
The male choked up at this point. How I wish I had insisted.
Darius could very much understand the regret. We shall find your daughter. One way or the other, we shall find her. Would you permit us to go now unto her bedroom?
Please do. As the male nodded at his doggen, the butler came forward. Silas will be pleased to escort you. I shall. . prefer to wait here.
But of course.
When Darius stood up, the father reached forward and snagged his hand. A word, if I may? Between you and me.
Darius acquiesced, and after Tohrment and the doggen left, the master of the house collapsed back into his formal chair.
Verily. . my daughter was of worth. Of virtue. Untouched by. .
In the pause that stretched out, Darius knew what the male was concerned with: If they didnt get her back in that virginal condition, her honor, as well as the familys, was in jeopardy.
I cannot say this in front of my beloved shellan, the male continued. But our daughter. . If she has been defiled. . perhaps it would be better to leave. .
Dariuss eyes narrowed. You would prefer her not be found.
Tears sprang up in those pale eyes. I. . Abruptly, the male shook his head. No. . no. I want her back. No matter the outcome, no matter her condition. . of course I want my daughter.
Darius was not inclined to offer supportthat such a denial of his blooded child had even crossed the males mind was grotesque. I should like to go to her room now.
The master of the house snapped his fingers and the doggen stepped back into the archway of the study.
This way, sire, the butler said.
As he and his protégé were taken through the house, Darius scanned the reinforced windows and doors. There was steel everywhere, either separating the panes of glass or fortifying the stout oak panels. To get in without welcome would not be easy. . and he was willing to bet that every room on the second and third floors was similarly well-appointedas were the servants quarters.
He also measured every painting and rug and precious object as they ascended. This family was high up within the glymera, with coffers choked with coin and an enviable bloodline. Thus, the fact of their unmated daughter going missing affected more than just their heartstrings: She was a marketable asset. With this sort of background, a female of mate-able age was a thing of beauty. . and social and financial implication.
And that was not the full extent of it. As with all such valuations, the converse was true as well: To have such a daughter ruined, either in fact or by rumor, was a taint that would take generations to even dim. The master of this mansion no doubt loved his daughter honestly, but the weight of all this distorted the relationship.
Darius quite believed that in the males eyes it was better that she come home in a pine box as opposed to breathing, but defiled. The latter was a curse, the former a tragedy that would garner much sympathy.
Darius hated the glymera. He truly did.
Here are her private quarters, the doggen said, swinging open a door.
As Tohrment stepped inside the candlelit room, Darius asked, Have these been cleaned? Have they been tidied since she was herein?
Of course.
Leave us, please?
The doggen bowed deeply and disappeared.
Tohrment wandered around, looking at the silk draperies and the beautifully appointed sitting area. A lute was in one corner and a fine piece of needlework that was partially completed in another. Books by human authors were stacked neatly on shelves along with scrolls in the Old Language.
The first thing one noticed was that nothing was out of place. But whether that was a case of the staff or the circumstance of the disappearance, it was hard to know.
Touch nothing, yes? Darius said to the boy.
But of course.
Darius went into the lush bedroom. The draperies were made of thick, heavy tapestry such that the sunlight couldnt hope to penetrate and the bed was ringed with more of the same, great panels of cloth hanging from the canopy.
Over at the wardrobe, he pulled open the carved doors. Gorgeous gowns in sapphire and ruby and citrine and emerald hung together, full of beautiful potential. And a single empty hanger rested on a hook on the inside of the panels, as if she had taken the nights choice from its padded shoulders.
The dressing table had a hairbrush on it and various pots of unguents and scented oils and tinting powders. All of which were arranged in neat rows.
Darius pulled open a drawer. . and let out a soft curse. Jewelry cases. Flat leather jewelry cases. He picked one up, popped the golden clasp, and lifted the lid.
Diamonds gleamed in the candlelight.
As Darius returned the box to its comrades, Tohrment stopped in the doorway, his eyes focusing on the fine woven rug that was done in peaches, yellows, and reds.
The faint blush on the males face made Darius sad for some reason. Youve never been in a females boudoir then?
Tohrment got even redder. Ah. . no, sire.
Darius motioned with his hand. Well, this is business. Best to put aside any shyness.
Tohrment cleared his throat. Yes. Of course.
Darius went over to the two sets of French doors. Both opened onto a terrace and he went out with Tohrment right on his heels.
You can see through the distant trees, the boy murmured, walking to the balcony.
Indeed one could. Through the spindly arms of the leafless branches, the mansion on another property was visible. The great house was of comparable size and distinction, with fine metalwork on its turrets, and gracious grounds. . but as far as Darius was aware, it was not inhabited by vampires.
He turned away and walked the length of the terrace, inspecting all the windows and all the doors and all of the handles, hinges, and locks.
There had been no kind of break-in, and given how cold it was, she wouldnt have tallied with anything wide open to the elements.
Which meant she had either left of her own volition. . or let whoever had taken her in. Assuming the entrance had been gained up here.
He looked through the glass into her rooms, trying to imagine what had transpired.
To hell with the ingress, the exit was more the point, wasnt it. Highly unlikely the abductor would have dragged her out through the house: She must have been spirited away during darkness or else she would have been burned to ash and there were always people out and about during the night hours.
No, he thought. They had to have left from this suite of rooms.
Tohrment spoke up. Nothing is disturbed, inside or out. No scratches on the floors or marks on the wall, which means. .
She may well have let them in and not struggled oer much.
Darius went back inside and picked up the hairbrush. Fine strands of pale hair were caught in the stiff bristles. Not a surprise, as both of the parents were fair.
The question was, what caused a female of worth to bolt out of her familys house right before dawn, leaving nothing in her wake. . and taking nothing with her?
One answer came to mind: a male.
Fathers didnt necessarily know all of their daughters lives, did they.
Darius stared out into the night, tracing the grounds and the trees. . and the mansion next door. Threads. . there were threads to the mystery herein.
The answer he was searching for was here somewhere. He just had to stitch it all together.
Where to? Tohrment asked.
We shall confer with the servants. Privately.
For the most part, in houses such as this one, the doggen would never dream of speaking anything out of turn. But these were not normal circumstances and it was entirely possible that pity and compassion for the poor female would override the staff s reticence.
And sometimes the back of the house knew things the front did not.
Darius turned away and strode for the door. We shall become lost now.
Lost?
They stepped out together and Darius looked up and down the hallway. Indeed. Come this way.
He chose the left because, in the opposite direction, there was a set of double doors that led out onto another second-story terraceso it was obvious the staff stairwell wasnt down there. As they walked along, passing many well-appointed rooms, his heart ached such that his breath became tight. After two decades, his losses registered still, his fall from his station echoing as yet along the bones of his body. His mother he missed the most, twas true. And behind that pain was the demise of the civilized life he had once lived.
He did what he was trained and born to do for the race, and he fed certain. . indulgences, and he had earned a respect from his comrades at war. But there was no joy for him in this existence of his. No wonder. No captivation.
Had it all just been about pretty things to him? Was he that shallow? If he someday had a big, lovely house with countless rooms filled with fine things, would he be light of heart?
No, he thought. Not if there was no one under the lofty ceilings.
He missed people of like minds living together, a community held within stout walls, a group that was family both by blood and choice. Indeed, the Brotherhood did not live together, as it was viewed by Wrath the Fair as a risk to the raceif their position was compromised to the enemy in some way, all of them would be exposed.
Darius could understand the thinking, but he wasnt sure he agreed with it. If humans could live in fortified castles among their own battlefields, vampires could do the same.
Although the Lessening Society was a far more dangerous foe, to be accurate.
After going along the corridor for some time, they finally encountered what he had hoped to find: a flap panel to a back stairwell that was utterly unadorned.
Following the pine steps downward, they went into a small kitchen and their emergence stopped the meal that was in progress at the long oak table across the way. The assembled doggen dropped their mugs of ale and chunks of bread and shot to their feet.
Verily, resume your imbibing, Darius said, urging them with his hands to sit back down. We should wish to speak to the second-floor steward and the daughters personal maid.
All resumed their places along the benches save for two, a female with white hair, and a young male with a kind face.
If you could suggest a place of some privacy? Darius said to the steward.
We have a sitting room through there. He nodded toward a door by the hearth. You shall have what you seek therein.
Darius nodded and addressed the maid, who was pale and shaky, as if she were in trouble. You have done naught wrong, dear one. Come, this shall be quick and painless, I assure you.
Better to start with her. He wasnt sure whether she would make it through waiting for them to finish with the steward.
Tohrment opened the way and in the three of them went, to a parlor with as much character as a blank sheaf of parchment.
As was always true in big estates, the familys rooms were done up to luxurious effect. And the staffs were nothing but utility.
TWENTY-ONE
As Rehvs Bentley pulled off Route 149 North and eased onto a narrow dirt road, John leaned forward toward the windshield. The headlights hit bare tree trunks as the sedan snaked closer and closer to the river, the landscape overgrown and unwelcoming.
The small hunting cabin that was revealed was absolutely, positively nothing worth noticing. Small, dark, and unassuming, with a detached garage, it was rustic, but in perfect condition.
He had the car door open before the Bentley was in park and he was walking for the front entrance before Rehv was out from behind the wheel. The overriding sense of dread he got was actually a good sign. Hed felt the same thing up at the symphath camp and it made sense that she would protect her private quarters with a similar force field.
The sound of his boots was loud in his ears as he crossed the packed earth of the drive and then all went quiet as he hit the scruffy brown grass of the shallow lawn. He didnt knock, but reached for the knob and willed the lock free.
Except. . it didnt budge.
Youre not going to be able to get in there with your head. Rehv came up with a copper key, put the thing to use, and opened the way.
As the stout, solid door was pushed aside, John frowned into the darkness and cocked his head, expecting an alarm to go off.
She doesnt believe in them, Rehv said quietlybefore catching John as he went to rush in. On a louder note, the male called out, Xhex? Xhex? Put the gun downits me and John.
His voice didnt sound right somehow, John thought.
And there was no reply.
Rehv hit the lights and released Johns arm as they both went inside. The kitchen was nothing but a stretch of galley with the bare essentials: gas oven, older refrigerator, stainless-steel sink that was functional, not chic. But everything was spotless and there was no clutter at all. No mail, no magazines. No weapons left out.
Musty. The air was still and musty.
Across the way, there was a single large room with a bank of windows that faced the water. Furniture was minimal: nothing but two wicker chairs, a rattan couch, and a short table.
Rehv walked right through, heading for a single closed door to the right. Xhex?
Again with that voice. And then the male put his palm on the jamb and leaned in to the panels, closing his eyes.
On a shudder, Rehvs huge shoulders lowered.
She wasnt there.
John strode forward, and went for the handle, pushing his way into her bedroom. Empty. And so was the bathroom beyond.
Goddamn it. Rehv turned on his heel and strode off. When a door slammed on the river side of the cabin, John figured the guy had gone out onto the porch and was staring at the water.
John cursed in his head as he looked around. Everything was neat and tidy. Nothing out of place. No windows cracked for fresh air or doors that had been recently opened.
The fine dust on the knobs and the fastenings told him that.
She might have been here, but she was gone now. And if she had come, she hadnt stayed long or done much, because he could detect nothing of her scent.
He felt like hed lost her all over again.
Christ, hed thought that her being alive would be enough to carry him throughbut the idea she was somewhere on the planet and yet not with him was strangely crippling. Plus he felt blinded by the situation; he still didnt know the hows and whats and wheres of any of it.
Flat out sucked, to be honest.
Eventually, he went out to join Rehv on the little porch. Grabbing his pad, he scribbled quickly and prayed to hell the symphath could understand where he was coming from.
Rehv looked over his shoulder and read what John held up. After a moment, he said, Yeah. Sure. Ill just tell them she wasnt here and you came with me to go eat at iAms place. Itll buy you a good three, four hours of space minimum.
John put his palm over his pec and bowed deeply.
Just dont go out fighting. I dont need to know where youre going, thats your biz. But if you get yourself killed, I got ninety- nine problems and youre the biggest one of them. Rehv looked back out to the river. And dont worry about her. Shes done this once before. This is the second time shes been. . taken away like that.
Johns hand snatched out and grabbed hard onto the males forearm. Rehv didnt even flinch. . then again, there were rumors he couldnt feel anything because of what he did to control his symphath side.
Yup. This is number two. She and Murhder had been going together As Johns fangs made an appearance, Rehv smiled a little. Thats long passed. No need to worry there. But she ended up heading to the colony for family reasons. They played her, though, and wouldnt let her out. When Murhder went up to get her, the symphaths snatched him as well, and shit got critical. I had to make a bargain to get them both out, but her family sold her at the last second, right out from under my nose.
John swallowed hard and signed without thinking. To who?
Humans. She got herself free, though, just like she did this time. And then she went away for a while. Now Rehvs amethyst eyes flashed. Shed always been tough, but after whatever those humans did to her, she got hard.
When, John mouthed.
Some twenty years ago. Rehv resumed staring out at the water. FYI, she wasnt kidding in that message. Shes not going to appreciate anyone coming in and being her hero with Lash. Shes going to have to do that herself. You want to help the situation? Let her come to you when shes ready and stay out of her way.
Yeah, well, she probably wasnt going to be in a hurry to text his ass, John thought. And as for the Lash thing? He wasnt sure he could let that one go. Even for her.
To cut off his own thinking, John put out his palm. The two of them met chest-to-chest in a brief hug and then John dematerialized.
When he took form, he was back at the Xtreme Park, behind the shed, looking out over the empty ramps and bowls. The head drug pusher wasnt back. No skating, either. Both made sense. Raid the night before with a shitload of cops coming? To say nothing of the bullet shower?
Place was going to be a ghost town for a while.
John leaned against rough wood, his senses alert. He was aware of time passing, both because of the position of the moon pinwheeling in an arc overhead, and because his brain downshifted from manic spin to a more reasonable churn. Which still sucked but was easier to sit with.
She was out and he didnt even know what condition she was in. Was she hurt? Did she need to feed? Did
Right. Time to stop playing that loop.
And he probably should take off. Wrath had been pretty damned clear about that no-fighting-without-Qhuinn business and this would still be considered a hot spot for the enemy.
Abruptly, he realized where he had to go.
Pushing himself out of his lean, he paused and looked around with a frown. The sensation of being watched, of being followed, cloaked him once againjust like it had back at that tat shop.
Tonight, however, he just didnt have the energy to support a good dose of paranoia, so he simply dematerialized, figuring whoever or whatever it was would either track him again or hed lose them in the etherand he didnt care which it would be.
He was pretty fucking worn-out.
When he took form again, he was a mere handful of blocks from where hed done the number on that lesser the night before. From the inner pocket of his leather jacket, he took out a copper key that was just like the one Rehv had put to use on the hunting cabin.
Hed had the thing for about a month and a half. Xhex had given it to him the night he had told her she could trust him with her symphath secret, and like her cilices, he took it with him wherever he went.
Ducking under the stairs of a brownstone, he inserted the sliver of metal and opened the door. The lights in the basement hall were motion-activated and the stretch of whitewashed stone was instantly illuminated.
He was careful to lock up behind himself and then he went down to the only door.
She had given him sanctuary in this private place once before. Had granted him access to her basement room when he had needed to be alone. And when hed taken advantage of the hospitality, it had led to her taking his virginity.
Shed refused to kiss him, though.
The same key worked in the door to the bedroom, the locking mechanism shifting smoothly. As he swung the metal panels wide, the light came on and he stepped in
John died a little at what he saw on the bed: His heart and breath stopped, his brain waves ceased, his blood froze in his veins.
Xhexs bare-naked body was curled up on the sheets.
As the room was flooded with illumination, her hand tightened on the gun that lay flat on the mattress and was pointed at the door.
She didnt have the strength to lift either her head or the weapon, but he was highly confident she could pull that trigger.
Raising up his arms and showing his palms, he stepped to the side and kicked the door shut to protect her.
Her voice was barely a whisper. John. .
A single, bloodred tear pooled in the eye he could see and he watched it slowly ease over the bridge of her nose and drop onto the pillow.
Her hand retreated from the weapon and went to her face, moving inch by inch, as if it took all she had in her to draw it upward. She covered herself the only way she was able, her shield of palm and fingers hiding her tears from him.
She was marked all over with welts and bruises in various stages of healing and shed lost so much weight, her bones seemed about to break through her flesh. Her skin was gray instead of a healthy pink and her natural scent was nearly nonexistent.
She was dying.
The horror of it all weakened his knees to the point that he listed and had to catch himself back against the door.
But even as he wobbled, his mind kicked into gear. Doc Jane needed to come look at her and Xhex needed to feed.
They didnt have a lot of time left.
If she was going to live, he was going to have to take charge here.
John ripped off his leather jacket and yanked up his sleeve as he headed to her. The first thing he did was gently cover her nakedness by folding the top sheet across her. The second was shoving his cocked wrist right up to her mouth. . and waiting for her instincts to take over.
Her mind might not want him, but her body was not going to be able to resist what he had to offer.
Survival always won out over matters of the heart. He was living proof of it.
TWENTY-TWO
Xhex felt a soft brush across her shoulder and hip as John drew the sheet around her.
From behind the shelter of her hand, she inhaled and all she smelled was good, clean, healthy male. . and the scent stirred hunger deep in her gut, her appetite and needs waking from their slumber with a roar.
And that was before John put his wrist up so close she could kiss it.
Her symphath instincts snaked out and read his emotions.
Calm and purposeful. Utterly tight in the head and the heart: John was going to save her ass if it was the last thing he did.
John. . she whispered.
The problem with this situation. . well, one of them. . was that he wasnt alone in knowing how close to death she was.
Her anger at Lash had been a sustenance while shed been jailed and abused, and shed thought it would have kept her going outside as well. But the instant shed made that call to Rehv, all her energy had drained out of her and left her nothing but a heartbeat. And not much of one at that.
John moved his wrist even closer. . so that his skin brushed against her mouth.
Her fangs elongated in a sluggish push at the same time her heart hiccuped like it wasnt working right.
She had a choice in this quiet, charged moment: Take his vein and stick around. Deny him and die in front of him in the next hour or so. Because he was going nowhere.
Moving her hand from her face, she shifted her eyes to him. He was as beautiful as always, his face the kind of thing females dreamed of.
Lifting her palm, she reached up to him.
Surprise flared in his eyes and then he bent down so that her hand landed against his warm cheek. The effort of keeping her arm elevated proved to be too much, but as her fingers trembled, he put his own palm over hers, holding it in place.
His deep blue eyes were a kind of heaven, the color like that of a warm, darkening sky.
She had a decision to make here. Take his vein or. .
As she couldnt find the energy to finish the thought, she felt as though shed lost herself: going by the fact that she appeared to be conscious, she guessed she was aliveand yet she wasnt in her own skin. Her fight was long gone, the thing that had defined her most in the world having evaporated. Which made sense. She had no interest in living anymore and she couldnt fake that, not for him, not for herself.
Two trips around the prisoner park had taken her too far down.
So. . what to do, what to do.
She licked her dry lips. She hadnt been born on any terms she would have chosen or volunteered for, and her time of breathing and eating and fighting and fucking hadnt improved where shed started from. She could, however, leave on her termsand do so after she had put things right.
Yeah, that was the answer. Thanks to the last three and a half weeks, she had one hell of a bucket list. Granted, there was only a single entry on it, but sometimes that was enough to motivate you.
In a rush of resolve, her hard outer skin re-formed, the odd floaty feeling that had fogged her out dissipating and leaving a sharp awareness in its wake. Abruptly, she pulled her hand out from under Johns, and the withdrawal spiked a flare of pure, silvery fear on his emotional grid. But then she drew his wrist to her and bared her fangs.
His triumph was a heat wave.
At least until it became apparent that she didnt have the strength to break his skinher incisors did nothing but scratch his surface. John was on it, though. With a fast move, he punctured his own vein and brought the source of him to her lips.
The first taste was. . a transformation. His blood was so pure it blazed in her mouth and down her throat. . and the fire it ignited in her stomach tore throughout her body, thawing her, enlivening her. Saving her.
With greedy pulls, she took from him to revive herself, each swallow a life raft for her to crawl into, each draw a rope slung over the cliff of her demise, each pull on his vein the compass she needed to find the trail back home.
And he gave without expectation or hope or the stirrings of emotions.
Which even in her frenzy caused her pain. She had well and truly broken his heart: There was nothing left for him to anticipate with. But she had not broken himand didnt that make her respect the guy like nothing else could.
As she fed, time flowed as his blood did, into the infinite and into her.
When she finally had taken her fill, she released her seal on his skin and licked the wound closed.