Chapter 2
“Cicely? Are you
ready? It’s time.” Leo’s voice echoed up the stairs. My cousin’s
fiancé, and a day-runner for the vampires, he’d gotten home shortly
after our encounter with the goblin.
After a long shower
to wash away my aches and pains, I’d dressed in a cobalt sweater
and black jeans, making sure I was neat and tidy. Geoffrey and
Regina owned my services—quite literally—and they demanded that
their employees appear before them nicely dressed.
My wolf growled as I
ran my hand over the tattoo of the beautiful silverish beast that
spread across my body, over my stomach.
“Sshh . . . ” I
whispered. “Hush. I know, I know you’re out there hurting, but I
can’t do anything about it right now.”
The wolf growled
again and I pressed my lips tight, my heart sore. The memory of
Grieve’s face, of his hands on my body, his needle-sharp teeth
nipping at my skin, swept over me and I dashed my hand across my
eyes, careful not to mar the mascara and liner I’d put on. Grieve
was lost to the enemy. Myst had claimed him for her own. I was
determined to win him back, but in the depths of my heart I was
afraid that none of us would come out of this alive.
“Cicely! Get a move
on!”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m
coming.” I hurried into my favorite boots—a pair of Icon
Bombshells—and slung my purse over my shoulder. Polishing a smudge
off my left boot, I decided that I was as good as I was going to
get, especially after a tussle with a goblin and a Shadow
Hunter.
My hair hung free,
smooth and ink-black to my shoulders, and I pulled it back into a
sleek ponytail, then slipped on a pair of driving gloves and my
leather jacket. I slid my moonstone pendant over my neck and
secreted it beneath my sweater, then clattered down the
stairs.
“Let’s get this show
on the road,” I said.
Rhiannon was waiting,
freshly showered herself, in a pair of khakis she’d paired with a
plaid button-down shirt, and a camel wool coat.
My cousin was as
bright as I was dark. Heather, her mother, used to call us Amber
and Jet—fire and ice. Her hair was flame red, my own jet-black. We
were both twenty-six, both born on the summer solstice—she in the
waxing hours, me in the waning. I was short and sturdy, Rhiannon
tall and willowy. Opposites, yet we had referred to ourselves as
twins when we were little.
Leo looked snazzy as
usual. Geoffrey insisted he dress well for work, and most
day-runners had extensive—and expensive—wardrobes. Leo was lucky.
In his case, Geoffrey financed his expenses. Leo’s tawny hair was a
mass of curls barely skimming his neck and he towered over me, more
lean than gangly.
“Be careful,” Kaylin
said, looking up from his spot on the sofa, where he was reading
while petting a half dozen cats who sprawled around him, including
Bart, Leo’s Maine Coon familiar. “You go off half-cocked and try to
stake Lannan and you’ll be in a world of hurt.”
Lannan. My face flushed and I let out a low growl.
Lannan Altos was near the top of my wish-you-were-dead list, only slightly lower than
Myst. He was a vampire—one of the Vein Lords—and I was bound to him
by an ironclad contract. He’d mind-fucked me once already while
drinking the monthly blood tithe I owed him. Next time it would be
worse.
Lannan wants to break you, Ulean whispered on a
light current of air.
I know, trust me. I know. He can try all he likes, he
won’t do it.
Ulean brushed me with
her impatience. Don’t be too cocky. Lannan has
thousands of years of experience. He is a master of head games.
Just be careful.
I will. Have no fear. I’ve already made too many mistakes.
I’ll watch my back.
“Cicely? Promise us
you won’t go off on Lannan? We can’t afford to alienate him.”
Kaylin caught my gaze and would not let go.
“Because he’s helped
us so much already?” I shot him a nasty
look. “Lannan knew he was infecting me
and that I’d infect Grieve, and now look at the whole mess. The
Indigo Court is far more dangerous than they were, even if they can
no longer walk under the sun. They were bad enough before; now
they’re like a pack of rabid dogs. With nasty big teeth and
soul-sucking abilities.”
Geoffrey and Regina,
agents for the Crimson Queen—the queen of true vampires—had come up
with a hunkydory plan to stop the Vampiric Fae. Only it hadn’t
worked right. It prevented the Indigo Court Fae from walking abroad
during the day all right, but now light sent them into a feeding
frenzy—a rage from which they could not extricate themselves until
the darkness once again hit. I’d been the weapon, unknowingly
passing a plague to them when I’d kissed Grieve, thanks to Lannan’s
infecting me with his bite, and I’d never forgive them for
that.
“He was doing his
job,” Leo said, grimly. “Remember, when Regina and Geoffrey decide
something, everybody jumps. Even Lannan.”
“Right. Doing his
job, just like the SS during World War Two. Goddamn, I’d like to
dust that pervert. He hurt Grieve! And he . . .” I stopped, not
wanting to think about what he’d done to me. “You just know
Lannan’s going to sit there, looking so smug and
self-satisfied—”
At Kaylin’s raised
eyebrows, I stopped, catching my breath. My fury surprised even me.
I knew I wanted to dust Lannan, but I didn’t expect to be quite so
explosive about it. After a moment, I added, “Okay, okay. I
promise. I’ll keep my mouth shut. But I don’t have to like
it.”
The phone rang and
Rhiannon answered while we went on talking.
“Actually, I doubt
Lannan had much to do with producing the virus,” Leo said, sliding
on his gloves. “And he’s one of the true vampires—why would he care about Grieve? He cares about no one
except his sister and himself. Lannan’s not interested in politics,
and my bet is he’d rather ignore Myst and her Court. He’s too
self-centered to really give a fuck about whether the Shadow
Hunters take over the town, as long as they leave him and his
stable alone.”
That was the longest
speech I’d heard out of Leo and I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear
another. He seemed too willing to take Lannan’s side. But I had to
admit, he was probably right. Lannan wouldn’t have been the
engineer on this plan. He wasn’t that ambitious. It was probably
all Regina could do to force him to play his part in carrying it
out.
“If Myst gains
control of New Forest, his stable will end up as mangled as that
goblin did,” I muttered.
“Crap, that was
Anadey. There’s been another attack,” Rhiannon said as she replaced
the receiver on the cradle. She paled, shaking her
head.
“Another? Where?
Who?” The past five days had been hell. The attack on a movie
theater the other night pretty much outed the fact that a pack of
hunters was on the loose. The majority of people didn’t know
exactly who was behind the attacks, but
they knew that anybody was fair game and that people were
dying.
“Two. A mother and a
child. Eaten down to the bone. Cops found them two hours ago and
are circulating the rumor that there are wild dogs in the
area.”
“That makes
ten victims, including two children.” I
stopped, giving her a bewildered look. “Did you say wild dogs? They really expect people to believe
that?”
Kaylin bookmarked his
novel and put it on the table. He frowned. “It’s amazing what
people will accept when they don’t want to believe something
worse.”
“Oh, I don’t think
people are that dense. They know something’s out there. They also
must realize by now that the cops aren’t going to protect them. I
can understand why the magic-born aren’t all leaving—we’re
connected to this land by the energy. But why aren’t the yummanii
leaving?”
Yummanii was the term the magic-born used among
themselves for those born fully human. The yummanii possessed their
own kind of magic—not as obvious or flamboyant as the magic-born,
but a psychic energy . . . call it instinct, if you will, and the
power had grown more noticeable among the yummanii children of the
past few generations. Whether the yummanii realized they were
growing strong, we did not know. But it wasn’t our place to tell
them or we risked altering their natural evolution.
As for the yummanii,
they had always known about the magic-born, and they accepted us.
Just like they knew about the Weres and the vampires and
Fae.
“Perhaps they can’t
leave. It costs money to pull up stakes, to head out of town and
start a new life. And if you have a good job, or children, then
it’s that much harder. Unemployment is low here in New Forest
and—until Myst came—life was relatively safe. Geoffrey keeps a
watch on the vampires and doesn’t allow many rogues. All sound
reasons to stay put.” Kaylin shrugged. “It’s easier to take a few
precautions and hope for the best.”
I nodded. The
dreamwalker made a lot of sense.
“We need to get
moving. Geoffrey will have us by the neck if we’re late.” Leo
shuffled, glancing at the door as if it might burst open to reveal
the Regent.
I shook my head. “If
he’s so all fired up to talk to me, why the hell has he kept me
waiting this long?”
“Calm down, Cicely.”
Chatter’s voice whispered softly from behind me. I whirled to see
the Fae leaning against the arch leading into the dining room and
kitchen. “You cannot help Grieve if you lose the support of the
vampires. Myst cannot be defeated without them and you know
it.”
“I know. Trust me, I
know. I can’t get away from them no matter how much I might want
to. They own me for the rest of my life. How can I ever forget that?” With a snort, I added, “Let’s
get this show on the road.”
Leo, Rhiannon, and I
headed out, leaving Chatter and Kaylin to watch over the house. As
we stepped into the icy night, a lazy shower of snow drifted down.
Myst had brought with her a long winter to blanket the town, a cold
and chill premonition of what life under her rule would be
like.
The Queen of Winter,
a tainted Fae Queen whom the vampires had once tried to turn as if
she were human, Myst had risen from her deathbed before she could
die, fully alive and far more dangerous than the vampires ever
dreamed possible, and from her descended the Vampiric Fae. They
could breed, and they were ruthless killing machines who lived to
feed and spread across the land.
And now she had
traced down her maker and looked to wipe out Geoffrey and his
people. She aspired to take over the land, one town at a
time.
I climbed into the
driver’s seat of Favonis, my Pontiac GTO, and, making sure our
doors were locked, we headed over to Geoffrey’s to plan out a
war.
Geoffrey’s mansion
sat on two acres, and it was truly a manor, three stories high. Who
knew how far it extended underground? As it glittered white with
gold trim, a dizzying array of lights sparkled from inside the
building and armed guards—all vampires since we were into the
night—wandered the grounds.
Last time I’d been
here, I’d unwittingly signed away my freedom, but there was nothing
I could do about it, so I decided to let it go and move on. We
drove up to the valet, who took one look at Leo and nodded us
toward the entrance.
At the door, a tall,
broad-shouldered guard stopped us. Like all of the true vampires,
his eyes were jet-black, gleaming like obsidian with no patches of
white or other color marring their surface. That alone spooked me
about the Vein Lords: How could they see through those inky
orbs?
He searched all of
us, including Leo, and then opened the door. A maid—a bloodwhore by
the look of her outfit and the fact that she wasn’t a
vampire—motioned for us to follow her.
I’d thought we might
be heading into Geoffrey’s office, but instead she led us to a room
to the right of the grand staircase and opened the door, all
without a word. Peering in, I saw Geoffrey—he motioned for us to
enter, and the maid closed the door behind us.
A glance around the
room told me that the parlor was really a royal hall in disguise.
The room was geared for an audience, and the chair in which
Geoffrey sat might as well be a throne, with its crimson velvet and
placement.
The Vein Lord wasn’t
very tall, but the power he wielded hit me over the head like a
brick. He reeked of authority. He wore his long black hair smoothed
back in a French braid; a royal purple jacket with ruffled sleeves,
open to show his bare chest; and leather pants.
As he leaned back in
his chair, crossing his legs, a faint smile flickered across his
lips. One thing I had to say about Geoffrey: Of all the vampires
we’d met, he was the most polite and deliberate of action. Sure, he
could rip your head off in a second, but he’d think it through
first and say “Pardon me” afterward.
“Please, sit and be
comfortable.” He motioned to the semicircle of chairs, all facing
his own. “Welcome. Our other guests should be here
shortly.”
Now that I thought
about it, Geoffrey reminded me of a vampire version of Kaylin, only
more seductive and dangerous. According to history, he’d been some
sort of warlord during the Xiongnu period, in a region that would
later become Mongolia.
I nodded and slipped
into the seat opposite him. Leo and Rhiannon sat on my right. Just
then, the door opened again and Regina and Lannan Altos sauntered
in. Well, Lannan sauntered. Regina’s heels clipped on the hardwood
floor at a quick, steady pace. Twins and lovers, they were
dangerous and both of them were freakshows, though Regina had more
restraint than her brother. Regina was the Emissary to the Crimson
Court, and she was top dog around here.
I opened my mouth to
speak, but Geoffrey held up one hand and I quickly shut up. When
the Vein Lords order silence, obey.
“We are waiting on
Lainule; save your words for when she arrives.”
And so we sat in
silence for another moment until the door opened again and the
Queen of Summer came gliding in. Even in the dim light, her
brilliance shone against the others. Without thinking, I rose and
knelt before her.
Lainule smiled down
at me, then leaned down and cupped my chin in her hand. “Take your
seat, Cicely.”
I silently
obeyed.
Geoffrey cleared his
throat. “Welcome, Your Majesty. My home is graced by the presence
of the Queen of Rivers and Rushes—”
She waved his words
away. The three of us stared. Nobody ever cut off Geoffrey, unless it was Regina. Or the
Crimson Queen herself.
“Save your chatter,
Regent. We have no time for pleasantries, nor am I in the mood for
small talk.” She grew taller in her impatience. “Have you figured
out whether the Consortium knows what’s going on?”
He nodded. “I have,
Your Majesty. They know nothing, as far as we can tell. And my
sources are reliable.”
Considering his
words, she finally shrugged. “Very good. We must keep it that way. I cannot imagine what they
would do should they find out about the Shadow Hunters. Especially
considering what our plan unleashed.” Turning to me, she asked,
“Have you ever heard of the Consortium, Cicely?”
I blinked. “The
Consortium? Of course, hasn’t everybody?”
With a low chuckle,
Geoffrey leaned back in his chair and stared at me, those glowing
obsidian eyes following every movement I made. “Oh, Cicely, you can
be amusing.”
“Our Cicely is delightful, in so many ways.”
Lannan’s voice slid warm and rich over my name, making me shiver as
if he’d just stroked my body with those ice-cold hands of his.
“She’s also quite the vixen.”
He leaned back
against his seat, his legs outstretched and crossed at the ankles,
his hand lightly resting on his crotch. Another moment and he’d be
wanking off right there.
Regina laughed, rich
and throaty, but she gave me a speculative look, which I did not
return. Best not to let a vampire catch your gaze—especially one
who might consider you set to woo away her lover. Even when you’d
rather stake him.
Geoffrey gave Lannan
a long, slow shake of the head, then turned back to me, ignoring
him. “Not everyone has heard of the Consortium, and many who have
wisely stay a good distance from them.”
I pressed my lips
together and clenched my fists. I refused to allow Lannan to get a
rise out of me. I would not let him
goad me. After taking a long, deep breath and exhaling slowly, I
nodded. “The Consortium is a volatile and dangerous agency. I have
no interest in making their acquaintance.”
A worldwide
organization to oversee the magic-born, the Consortium pulled
strings behind the scenes and, together with the Vein Lords and the
top yummanii officials, were the real power running most of the
world. And as in most powerful organizations, corruption was rife,
with magic used to remove those who opposed them.
Geoffrey nodded.
“Lainule speaks wisely. If they find out about Myst, they may take
it upon themselves to fight her. As powerful as they are, they are
no match for the Queen of the Indigo Court. She is Vampiric Fae,
and as much as I am loath to admit it, we have no clue how far her
powers extend.”
“Nobody ever kept
track . . .” I shook my head. “What about their
history—The Rise of the Indigo
Court?”
He shrugged. “A
scratch on the surface. Add to that, the members of the Consortium
have an arrogance matching that of the Vein Lords. Only they would
not admit they need aid. So keep your mouth shut. This is the
reason I instructed the police to issue the statement about wild
dogs causing the current spate of attacks.” Geoffrey gave me a long
look, as if challenging me to argue his decision.
The Regent fascinated
me. He was terribly intelligent, and he ran things aboveboard, for
the most part. As we held each other’s gaze, it occurred to me that
all of this was his fault. He’d been the vampire who decided to try
to conquer the Unseelie Court by turning the dark Fae, so many eons
ago. But now, as I searched his face, I realized that playing the
blame game would be stupid. We had to deal with the
present.
Geoffrey’s lips
curled at the edges, and all of a sudden we were sitting together,
alone in a small room surrounded by mist. He leaned forward and
took my hands. “You are curious about me, Cicely. Know that I do
not share Lannan’s tastes for games of humiliation. If you should
ever want a sire, I would be more than willing to take you into the
fold, to turn you, to teach you our ways. My wife is a lovely woman
who does not object to sharing our bed with others.”
His hands were as
cold as Lannan’s had been, but his lips were full and promised the
sting of ecstasy. His tongue flickered out, for just a second, and
I wondered if it would be different, having someone drink from me
who wasn’t out to crush my spirit.
“Think about it,” he
said, and sat back, and suddenly we were in the parlor again, and
nothing had changed. No one seemed to notice what had gone on
between us but for Lannan, who slowly turned his head toward
Geoffrey, then toward me. An angry possessive look stole over his
face.
I quickly averted my
eyes, but I could feel the Vein Lord staring at me long after I
glanced away.
“We have been working
on an antidote,” Lainule said. “A way to shift the plague we sent
into the Shadow Hunters that will minimize their rage. We had no
idea that the light-rage would happen, and to be honest, we have no
idea what the counteragent will do to them. We might make things
worse. At least we have managed to keep them from wandering abroad
during the daylight but . . .”
“How do you intend to
get this ‘antidote’ to them? Will it be spread like the first
plague?” I asked, ignoring Lannan, who was still staring in my
direction. Let him look. We had another couple of weeks until my
next blood tithe and by then, who knew? I could be dead. So could
he—and that idea, I rather
liked.
She shook her head.
“First, we have more testing to do. Then we worry about spreading
it through the colony. That’s what they are, you know—a colony
that’s breeding and spreading. A swarm of destruction, a brilliant
and beautiful deadly disease. And we have to eradicate every member
we find. Myst and her people aren’t the only offshoots of the
Indigo Court—too many years have passed since the first infection for there not to be others.” She
looked pointedly at Geoffrey, who said nothing.
I delicately skirted
her allusion. No need to get in the middle of a war between vampire
and Fae. “What about Grieve?”
Her eyes were limpid,
pools of clear water in the middle of a desert. She shook her head.
“You cannot save your lover, Cicely. I know that you have been
together in more than one life. I know that you love him more than
you love anything or anyone else. And I know you are angry at us
for using you, but you must understand: You were the easiest weapon
we could employ to spread the infection through the
colony.”
Weapon. I was a weapon to her. Her calm, collected
words made me want to scream, but I knew that wouldn’t help matters
any. But I wasn’t going down without a fight.
“Grieve and I are
meant to be together, and there’s nothing on this earth that will
make me give him up unless he tells me to go. I can’t just leave
him in Myst’s arms. She’ll destroy everything that was ever good
about him.”
Leo cleared his
throat and tugged on my arm. “Cicely—”
“No!” I shook him
off. “I’m going to have my say.”
Lannan laughed in the
background, and I ignored him.
Lainule frowned.
“Leave her to speak. She may say what she likes to me without fear
of retribution, unlike with some of her
compatriots.” Here, she shot a quick, steely gaze at Lannan, who
winked at her.
I brushed Leo’s hand
away. “Oh, I will have my say, Your
Majesty. I respect you. I truly do, and I’m one of your people—at
least on my father’s side—so I will listen to you. But I won’t
necessarily obey you on this. Grieve is my soul mate. He’s a prince
in your realm. How can you just leave him in her web?”
Lainule stood and
faced me, taking me by the shoulders. Her smile was a fading
glimpse of summer. “Cicely, I’m telling you this one time and one
time only, and I expect you to obey: Walk away. Leave Grieve
behind. He was lost to us the day Myst drank from his throat and
turned him. The prince of my court is dead, and in his place, a
pale Shadow Hunter now follows the hem of Winter. There is no place
for him should he return to my realm. I would reject him.
Or kill him.”
And with that, she
turned away. Stunned, I could only stare at her back as she
motioned to Geoffrey. “Vampire, we must talk in private. We have
much to discuss.” Over her shoulder, she said, “Cicely, go home.
Work your magic and tend your business for the townsfolk. They need
the help. Do as Geoffrey and Regina command you, since you’ve seen
fit to indenture yourself to them. And leave Grieve in the dust. We
will conclude matters later.”
In silence, she
passed out of the room. Geoffrey motioned to his servant. “Ensure
that Her Majesty is comfortable and tell her I’ll be there
shortly.”
He turned to me.
“Lainule is right. You will only come to despair if you seek out
Grieve. Meanwhile, you will continue to report anything you notice.
Lannan will see you out. Good evening.” Opening the door, he
escorted Regina out.
I didn’t want them to
leave. Even with Leo and Rhiannon in the room, I didn’t feel safe
around Lannan. And I was right to be nervous. As soon as Geoffrey
and Regina disappeared down the hall, Lannan turned to
Leo.
“Cicely will meet you
in a few moments. Go and wait for her at the front door.” He waved
them off. Though I could see by their faces that they wanted to
protest, they were smart enough to keep quiet.
As they passed out of
the room, I closed my eyes, steeling myself. Knowing Lannan,
anything could be coming my way. He closed the door softly and
turned toward me. The golden man, Apollo incarnate, with shimmering
hair and obsidian eyes, and oh-so-breathtaking looks. But looks
were deceptive.
He circled
me.
I stood still,
silent. Stifle the feelings, turn on the
numbness, barricade the emotions. Let him do what he wants and then
get on with life.
He stopped by my
side. “Cicely?” He reached out and cupped my chin. His voice was so
soft I could barely catch what he was saying. “My lovely,
beautiful, breathing woman. Your face is so warm, so vibrant.
You’re blushing.” A smile, feral and predatory, crept into the
corners of his lips. He held my chin so I couldn’t look away and
leaned forward, mere inches from my lips.
I swallowed my fear,
forcing myself to remain steady. Lannan had the bite to back up his
actions, and he was all about humiliating others.
With breathless lips
close to mine, he slid his hand from my chin down my throat, his
fingers trailing around the side of my neck, making me shiver
despite myself.
“Cicely, listen to
me,” he whispered. “You do not belong to Geoffrey. You will
never belong to Geoffrey, even if I
have to kill you and turn you myself, so don’t bother considering
his offer. If I find out he’s touched you, I’ll drain you dry.
You’re my toy, and I don’t share my
favorites.”
I thought of
protesting but stopped. I’d seen this side of Lannan, and I knew
what he was capable of when he flew into a rage.
His lips almost on
mine, he said, “And Lainule is right. Forget your Fae Prince.
You’ve lost him. Join my stable. While Regina is my Queen, you will
be the first among my bloodwhores.”
“I am no bloodwhore.”
I didn’t try to break free—that would spur him on—but slowly, I
tried to ease my head away.
But Lannan had other
ideas. His arm was suddenly around my waist and his lips were on
mine. I could feel him rigid and hard against me. He slid his
tongue inside my mouth.
A warm sensation
began to rise through my body as the euphoria of his kiss filtered
through every cell. I realized that I had melted; I was pressing
against him, wet and warm and aching for release. Furious, I pulled
back, pushed his mouth away from mine.
Lannan arched his
eyebrows. Grabbing my wrist, he twisted until I was gritting my
teeth. “Don’t ever push me away again, girl. Not if you value what
life you have left.” Once again, he fastened his lips on mine and
ravished me with his tongue, his hands gripping my butt, wandering
over my body, stirring heat. I let out a moan, angry and fearful,
as my hunger for him grew.
As he broke away,
holding me by the back of the head, forcing me to look him in the
eye, my cheeks grew hot as I tried to stanch the tears aching to
flow.
“Damn you . . . damn
you. I hate you. I hate your touch and your icy hands. If I could,
I’d stake you right here.” I knew I was playing on dangerous
ground, but I couldn’t help it.
But Lannan merely
laughed. “I like it when you resist. I want you even more when you
try to squirm away. It thrills me to know you’ve creamed your
panties when you don’t want to come. Anticipation is so good for the soul. I promise you this, Cicely:
Next bloodletting, I’m going to fuck you so hard and long with my
fangs that you’ll beg for my cock. I’m going to have you down on
your knees begging me to ream your wet little pussy.”
And then, he shoved
me back. I stumbled against the sofa as he turned away. “You can go
now. Sleep well, and have sweet dreams, my pet.”
I ran out of the
house to find Rhia and Leo waiting for me. They took one look at my
face and led me back to the car where Leo climbed behind the wheel.
Rhia held me in the backseat as I cried all the way back
home.