A Cat's Chance in Hell (15 page)

Gabi frowned. “You sound like you have personal knowledge of him, like you know him well.”

“
I do,” he confessed bitterly. “I turned him. I am his Maker,” he bit off angrily, leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes.

She sat still in the ensuing silence; digesting the latest revelation. Then the common sense side of her kicked in. “So, what if you simply stood aside for this Dante? Let him take control of the City. You could go off and find another city to challenge for. Why are you so determined to fight him?”

Julius didn’t open his eyes when he replied. “Two reasons,” he said quietly. “Firstly, he will destroy life in the City as we know it. He sees humans as sheep or cattle, simply a food source. He doesn’t understand why we hide from them; he sees it as cowardly, to live as we do now. He wants to live in a world where he is openly the top of the food chain, and humans cower in his presence. He is humanity’s worst nightmare come to life; he is what humans make horror films about. Secondly, it wouldn’t matter what other city I took control of, he would want to take it from me. He is determined to destroy me, as he knows I am one of the few true threats to him, and he knows I will stand against him in his quest for a new order of Vampire Clans.”

He sat forward now, looking at her again, his sapphire eyes boring into hers. “You and the Malus Venatori have three options here. You can try to continue the fight on your own to the best of your abilities, you can flee the City and save those you love the most, or you can join forces with me and we can try to bring Dante down together.”

He stood up and walked around to stand in front of her. “This is what I need you to present to your Council. I will fight this war with or without you, but I know you have strengths that would be valuable to me. I think the best chance we have of bringing the City through this without major human casualties is to stand together.” He paused briefly. “If you choose to stand with me, and we defeat Dante, I will give the Malus Venatori my full support in the future. I will provide staff to assist you and information that will help you in your dealings with Rogues, and your protection of friends and relatives.”

Gabi stood as well, though he still towered over her, she needed to bring them back to some kind of level. She moved to place the chair between them; having him stand so close was playing havoc with her heartbeat, and she knew it had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the sudden surge of primal lust she was feeling as she watched him move. It had been a while since she found a man this sexually attractive, and she was almost angry with herself that she was having those feelings for the Vampire standing, looking pensively at her from the other side of the chair. She knew Vampires could have that effect on humans, it was one of the weapons at their disposal that helped them draw in prey, but she had always thought of herself as immune to that, as well as to their mind control. Maybe it was just a combination of her exhaustion and injuries that had her defences down. She fervently hoped so. She needed to get away from him before her body betrayed her feelings in a way that he could detect.

His eyes had taken on a speculative gleam, but he continued as though nothing had changed. “Is there anything else you need to know before you leave?” he asked, his voice, deep and sultry, seemed to vibrate through her body.

She deliberately took a deep breath, making a small groan when her ribs sent a sharp protest ripping through her side. Anything to curb her body’s current desires.

“
No,” she said through gritted teeth. “I think I have enough to take to the Council. I can’t tell you how long it will take them to reach a decision though. You’ll have to give me a way to contact you.”

She felt herself sway slightly and gripped the back of the chair. Julius’s face instantly took on an expression of concern.

“
Do you want some more painkillers? Or shall I get the doctor back to look at you again.” He started to move around the chair towards her, his hands ready, as though to catch her if she collapsed.

Gabi waved him away, and retreated from him again. “I’m fine. I just need some rest. I’ve had worse.”

Julius didn’t look convinced but backed off, giving her some space. “I will give you a number to call. You can leave a message for me. We can meet in a more neutral place to discuss the Council’s decision. Perhaps a club or restaurant. You are welcome to bring the Wolf if you like, but I would prefer to keep it to just the two of you at the meeting. You name the time and place.”

“
Can I trust you not to try anything stupid?” she asked bluntly. “Wolf and I will be armed, and we won’t take kindly to being disarmed by a Vampire.”

Julius sighed, “No, I won’t try to disarm you or the Wolf, none of my Clan will touch you, and I expect the same of you and yours.”

Gabi looked sceptical. “You don’t have any more Genevieves in your closet?”

Anger flashed across his face and his voice turned so deadly she had to suppress a shiver. “There will not be a repeat of that. I will make sure of it,” he ground out through suddenly extended fangs. Then he took a deep breath and calmed himself. “And speaking of weapons,” he moved back to his side of the desk in a single fluid motion, and opened a drawer. He pulled out Nex and two of her butterfly swords and laid them on the desk. “I believe these belong to you.”

Gabi’s eyes lit up at the sight of Nex. Gods alone knew how that sword kept finding its way back to her, but she was unbelievably glad to see it. Her hand itched to close around the solid comfort of the hilt, but she held her ground, waiting to see what Julius would do. He reached into another drawer and pulled out a piece of black satin, Gabi found herself wondering what kind of person kept pieces of black satin in their desk drawers. He spread the material on the desk and carefully laid the three swords on it and began wrapping them up.

“
This is a truly beautiful sword,” he commented as he carefully laid the cloth over Nex, “A one of kind, and obviously bonded strongly to you, it is a priceless piece of weaponry. There are not many bonded Krises in the world anymore; the two of you are a good match.” He finished binding the swords and looked up at her, “I hope I never come up on the wrong side of the two of you,” his expression turned musing, “but it would be an interesting fight.”

Then he sent out a short spike of power. Seconds later a Vampire knocked quietly on the door. “Come,” Julius called. Nathan, Liam’s brother, entered the room.

“
Sire,” he said deferentially, his head bowed. “What can I do for you?”

“
Gabrielle needs to get back to the City. She’ll tell you where to take her. I trust you will ensure she gets there safely.” The deadly tone in his voice left no doubt as to Nathan’s punishment should he fail again.

“
Of course, Sire,” he was practically grovelling now. “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to make up for our previous errors. I will not fail you again.”

Julius picked up the black bundle containing the swords. He held them out to Nathan. “These are to be returned to Gabrielle in the car. Bring a car around to the rear entrance; I will bring her down to you in a few minutes.” Nathan took the bundled swords carefully and bowed his way out of the office, disappearing on swift, silent feet.

Great, Gabi thought, a few more minutes to keep her treacherous body from betraying her. The damned Vampire exuded confidence like a pheromone. Maybe she could test the fractured collarbone this time.

Julius couldn’t help himself; that hint of sweet, musky arousal lacing the air earlier had called to him on a base level. It had been a long, long time since he had found a female this enticing, this exquisitely tempting. He knew he had to have her, even if it was just to end the itch he could feel building deep inside his body. It would be an interesting hunt. He knew he would have to be patient and cunning to seduce her, but it would be a delectable distraction from his current situation. The challenge was an even more formidable one, in that she seemed to sense when he used his power, so he was down to his own natural charms to win her, the victory would be all the sweeter that way, he smiled languidly.

“
So have you reconsidered my offer to exchange personal information,” he almost purred. It felt good to try out his rusty flirtation skills again; he’d never had much trouble attracting the opposite sex, even before he was turned, but it didn’t hurt to know how to best utilise the tools you had been given to work with. He was rewarded almost instantly with a return of the scent he had been hoping for. Rape was definitely not his thing; he would only pursue a willing victim. This little cat was about to be stalked by a much bigger predator. But the little cat still had claws and teeth, and he figured she wasn’t going down without one hell of a fight.

“
You’re not that interesting,” she declared airily, but he could see her left fist clenching like she was driving her fingernails into her palm, and she broke eye contact with him.

Julius’s smile turned predatory as he reached down into a desk drawer again and drew out another piece of black cloth. He knew she wasn’t going to like this one bit, on a number of levels, but he also knew he would get his way in the end.

“
I’m afraid I need to bind your eyes on your way out of here. Until I’m sure we have an agreement of some kind, I wouldn’t want you to be able to find your way back here and do away with all of us while we sleep. You understand I’m sure, just as you would not want us knowing where you or the Wolf sleeps.”

Gabi’s breath hitched in her throat at his statement, and Julius was perplexed by the jolt of fear he detected washing from her as he held up the blindfold, but as suddenly as it appeared, it vanished, and was replaced by a much more enticing fragrance, as though some other course of events had suddenly occurred to her. He filed the confusing snippet away in his mind, determined to discover its meaning eventually. He moved unhurriedly towards her again with the blindfold. She held out her hand imperiously as he closed the gap between them.

“
Give me the damn blindfold,” she groused, but as she said it he saw the realisation that there was no way she could tie it herself with one arm strapped in a sling.

He saw the weary capitulation in her eyes and wordlessly moved closer to blindfold her. He leant over her and tied the binding firmly, but gently behind her head; tilting her chin upwards and touching her face to pull the fabric into place over her eyes, careful to avoid the healing burn mark on her cheek. Then he casually brushed a small dusting of icing sugar from the corner of her luscious mouth, which was currently fixed in a stern, annoyed line.

She jumped back from him as though scalded, haughty disdain on her face. “If you’re quite finished,” she huffed, “I’d like to get home for some sleep.”

Julius held his tongue as he took her hand in his to lead her out of the office; she deliberately pulled out of his grasp and put her hand on his arm instead, muttering unintelligibly. Julius smiled enigmatically; the answer to his question drifting tantalisingly off her body. The poetic words ‘Will you walk into my parlour, said the spider to the fly’ flashed through his mind as he led her down the corridor to the waiting car, and his smile grew wolfish.

Chapter 8

The drive to the drop-off point was a largely silent one. Nathan asked her where she would like to be taken, and after about ten minutes of driving informed her that she could remove the blindfold
.
She did so immediately. She was being chauffeured in a BMW SUV, apparently being a Master Vampire was a lucrative business. Looking out the darkened windows of the large car, nothing appeared familiar at first, but then she started to pick out few recognisable landmarks and got her bearings. She pulled out her phone and called Kyle, telling him she would be at the pick-up point in a few minutes.

The quiet time in the car had given her a chance to digest what Julius had told her. She had sifted through all the information he had given her and tried to figure out how she was going to put the proposal forward to the Council. She knew there was going to be instant distrust of Julius and his motives. They were going to want some kind of proof that it wasn’t him summoning the demons himself, or that this wasn’t just a personal vendetta against a rival. Gabi thought the key to finding out the truth may well lie with what the Magi High Council could tell them about the Dark Mage, who Julius had claimed was working with Dante. Julius had only known her first name, Mariska, but that may be enough to obtain some information.

The Magi Council governed all Magi-born and was what Gabi considered a ‘busy-body’ organisation, they kept records of all Magi born, those they knew of anyway, and tended to keep tabs on those with pure Magi blood throughout their lives, whether they practiced the art or not. The High Council oversaw all the city and town based councils and kept a central records department in a highly secret location, protected by numerous spells and wards. They had been keeping information on Magi for over three hundred years; if information about this Mariska existed, they would have it. Now all Gabi needed to do was convince the high and mighty Athena to request the information. Maybe she should take Raz with to the meeting, she mused with a malicious grin.

Her musings came to a halt as they rounded a bend and came within sight of Kyle’s van parked outside their current gym. There were no other vehicles in the parking lot yet; it was still a couple of hours before opening time, so Nathan stopped the car a few metres away.

“
Miss Bradford,” he rumbled in a slightly lighter bass voice than his brother’s, turning in his seat to face her. “I would like to apologize again for the way things turned out tonight. You were never supposed to come to any harm, and I was taken completely by surprise by Genevieve’s attack.”