A Hunt Among Vampires (The Angel Series) (28 page)

Scanning her personal memories first, he learns that Phedora has been unhappy for a while and started creating her own get of vampires more than thirty years ago without Christien’s permission. A quick count of the vampires informs him that she has sired over 30 vampires in thirty years. He takes a mental note to find all her vampires before moving on to Phedora’s memories of Lenair.

He grits his teeth in anger when he learns that Phedora has met with Lenair at Christien’s estate so Lenair no longer requires an invitation to enter the house. Taking a deep, unnecessary breath in attempt to control his fury, Kayle unveils Phedora’s treachery as he learns she has been feeding Lenair information on Christien’s get for years with the hope to gain Lenair’s favor. Recognizing the excitement in Lenair’s eyes as Phedora confesses Christien’s weaknesses and their get’s vulnerabilities, he instantly knows that Lenair has been planning to attack Christien for some time, not just recently.

Pushing further into Phedora’s mind, he realizes that Phedora has no idea that Lenair has been using Phedora for her gain over the years, never truly considering taking Phedora into her get. Piecing together as much information as he can from what Phedora has unknowingly witnessed or heard, he finally backs out of her subconscious, disconnecting their minds abruptly.

“You insolate child! Did you truly believe Lenair would let you rule in Christien’s stead? Most vampires do not share power or their domains. She would have killed you at her first opportunity. She used you! She used us all. She could not kill Hassan and Devan herself without heavy loss to her get. She knew Christien might be willing to kill Devan in order to get to Hassan. You have no idea what you have lost by betraying your own family. Why Dora? We loved and adored you. Christien would have done anything for you. If you told him how lonely you were, he would have allowed you to join his household as I have. What made you turn your back on your family?”

Kayle waits patiently while she struggles to keep the thoughts out of her mind. Finally, after exhaustion takes over, an image of Jess stabbing her floats through her mind.

“Jess? You betrayed our master because she bested you?” Kayle asks in disbelief, plucking the thought from her mind.

“No!” Phedora speaks. “I betrayed him because he took her to his bed. It should have been me he loves, not her!”

Kayle rakes her with an incredulous look. “You cannot be serious! You and Christien have never been lovers. I was also jealous at first of her capturing our master’s attention, but now that I know her, I realize she is an asset to our family, not a distraction. What a malicious and selfish thing you have done, nearly destroying our master and me in the process.”

“I love him!” Phedora shouts through tears.

Kayle rolls his eyes in disgust. “And now you will die for that love, Dora. As a final gesture of your loyalty to your master, do you have anything else he should know?”

Kayle presses deep into Phedora’s mind. He carefully goes over all the images Phedora has in her subconscious in regards to Lenair and all other contacts with other vampires. He pauses in his intrusion when a vision of an ancient-looking book inside Lenair’s home appears in his mind, but after a few moments, he continues with his scan. His scan takes several minutes because she is nearly as old as he is, but his mind is able to process everything quickly, disregarding unimportant information.

Phedora pants from the pain of his intrusion. “How can you penetrate my mind so easily? You should not have that kind of power. I am nearly as old as you are.”

Smiling wickedly, he moves closer to her face. Harshly grabbing her chin with his index finger and thumb, he forces her to meet his gaze. “I am more powerful than you imagine. Did you ever stop and wonder how we were able to defeat Hassan and Devan with relative ease?”

Phedora blinks in surprise as Kayle removes his sword. He pushes Jess’ image into her mind and describes what she is before arching his sword swiftly across her neck, successfully removing her head from her body.

Kayle and Luke watch Phedora’s body decay quickly and turn to ash. Still angry with Phedora, Kayle kicks the ashes around the dungeon while screaming before facing Luke.

“If you ever decide to betray our master, you should not expect such a quick death.” Kayle growls at Luke intensely, pointing his sword at him threateningly.

“Our master has scanned your mind and he believes in your loyalty. You have yet to convince me. Nevertheless, I must prepare you for what is to come. Our master requests that I accompany his mate home tomorrow at dusk. He requests that you complete transferring all of Devan’s assets to him as soon as possible.”

“He was summoned by the Vampire Council almost six weeks ago. They are requesting a meeting with him to discuss his status as a vampire. Hassan has requested that the Vampire Council intervene on his behalf, stating that Christien is a rogue vampire.”

Kayle watches Luke carefully, looking for any outward sign he agrees with that assessment.

“I have seen the destruction a rogue vampire leaves in their wake. Christien is not a rogue.” Luke says informatively.

Nodding in agreement, Kayle continues. “The Vampire Council will likely send for him tomorrow evening or soon after, now that they know Hassan is dead. Do not invite them into the house. Contact Christien immediately and have him deal with the Council on his own. Do not get involved. Do not mention or think about anything that has happened over the past few weeks that they may gather from your surface thoughts. There will be many changes happening with our get. It would be in your best interest that you do as we ask.”

“I understand.” A questioning look crosses Luke’s face, but he asks nothing.

Kayle unobtrusively scans Luke’s thoughts. Images of Christien appear in Luke’s mind. “If you have any questions about our master, now is the time to ask them.”

“Very well.” Luke sits up straighter in his chair. “Is it true that Christien is now
tête de ligne
of Hassan and Devan’s
lignes de sang
?”

“Christien was able to kill his own sire and mine relatively easy.” Luke states. “It should have been nearly impossible for him to defeat two
têtes de lignes de sang
as powerful as Hassan and Devan.”

“Some say it should have been impossible for him to defeat Hassan’s master vampires when he was a mere fledgling, but he managed that feat easily enough.” Kayle shrugs. “All that you need to know right now is that he is a good and fair master. His get serves him loyally by choice, not by force. He is unlike any other master I have ever met. That is another reason why Phedora’s betrayal comes as such a surprise to us both. Anyone who truly knows Christien knows that he is a relatively peaceful master. Although he is old, he does not act as most other older vampires do.”

“Even though Devan was not as cruel master as Hassan was, he was not a merciful sire. He was a harsh and ambitious ruler. What should I expect from my new master?” Luke asks curiously.

“Expect our master to do as he promises and protect his get with his life. He may seem gentle as a master, but do not mistake kindness as weakness. He can be ruthless, as you have already seen when it is necessary. The most important thing you need to know is loyalty is extremely crucial to everyone in our get. Anyone who is not loyal to our master and mistress should not expect a fate as simple as death.”

Luke exhales in relief and smiles.

“If you have no further questions, I must go tell Christien what I have learned from Phedora.” Kayle growls as Phedora’s betrayal returns fresh in his mind. “Do not fail our master, Luke. You do not want me to pay you a visit so soon after dealing with Dora.”

Leaving Luke sitting at the bar, Kayle glides through the house soundlessly to Christien’s bedroom, leaving Luke to think about his parting words.

Chapter 20

Nodding at the guards standing outside Christien’s bedroom, Kayle leans against the wall in the hallway with his arms crossed, waiting for Christien to come out of his bedroom. There is no doubt in Kayle’s mind that the guards have instructions to notify Christien if he showed up outside his bedroom door.

Only a few seconds pass before the bedroom door silently opens and Christien, wearing only silk pajama bottoms, joins him in the hallway.

Kayle feels Christien’s gentle inquiry against his mind and drops his mental barriers, allowing Christien to read from his mind all he learned from Phedora.

Christien manages to make it down the hallway before venting his frustration.

“How Kayle? How could she have done this to me? To us?” Christien paces in a tight circle in the dark family room. “Is life in y get so unsatisfying that one of my most trusted would seek another master known to be blood thirsty and heinous in her behavior as a master than to be part of my get?”

“There were obviously other things going on in Dora’s mind. I don’t think it was you as a master to whom she was rebelling. You are a great master to serve. Her treachery was directed at you personally, even though she failed to see the impact to our get.” Kayle replies strongly.

“Tell me about the book. Have you seen it before?” Christien asks Kayle curiously.

“No. It caught my attention because it looks very old. I was merely curious about its origin.”

“I agree. The book looks very old. I wonder from whom she obtained it. It looks nothing like any vampire book I have ever seen before.” Christien remarks with slight interest. “Although I have never seen that book before, the symbols on the front of the book seem familiar somehow.”

“Perhaps when we speak to Lenair, you can ask her about the book. If Phedora was able to view it on display, it must be in a centralized location and have little importance.”

“Regardless of my piqued interest about the book, we have other concerns to address right now.” Christien sighs. “If Phedora’s memories are true, it is very possible that Lenair may take the opportunity to attack me now when my get is being restructured and my attention is divided between my get and the Vampire Council. If Lenair does not require an invitation to enter my home, I want precautions setup now to secure the house. I want the security detail on Jessica doubled until I am confident my family is safe.”

Concerned for Jessica and their unborn child, Christien and Kayle return to Christien’s bedroom to check on her. Upon their approach, they look around in concern when they notice the guards stationed outside Christien’s bedroom are gone.

Immediately, Christien searches for his link to the guards and finds their links severed. Panicking, he opens his bedroom door to find the bedcovers mussed, but empty.

“Christien!” Kayle calls out to him worriedly.

After a brief, but thorough scan of the room, Christien knows that Jessica is not hiding. He notices one of his bedroom windows is open before he looks over at Kayle, now standing beside him.

Kayle shows Christien the handful of vampire ash in his hand before allowing it to fall to the tiled floor. Brushing the remaining ash on his jeans, he approaches the window, taking in his surroundings.

“The room is intact and I smell no blood. She didn’t fight so they must have rendered her unconscious before escaping through the window with her.” Kayle speculates as he sniffs the air. “I’ll ask Roman to put some wolves on her trail while we pay a visit to Lenair.”

“I’m going after Jessica.” Christien states vehemently while grabbing a pair of comfortable slacks from his closet, changing into them quickly. “You can go speak to Lenair.”

“Christien…” Kayle, recognizing his master’s distress, doesn’t try to reason with him. Instead, he decides to speak to Roman about trailing her scent while it is still fresh.

Christien is fully dressed and putting on shoes when Roman, plus two additional werewolves in wolf form, storm into the room. The large wolves immediately go to the bed, sniffing deeply while Roman approaches Christien.

“We will find her Christien. Despite our reservations, Jess is more than capable of defending herself. She’s going to be pissed as hell that someone managed to get a drop on her.” Roman chuckles lightly to ease Christien’s worry. “When she wakes up, I feel sorry for her captors.”

Christien watches the two wolves leave the bed and sniff around the room.

“These are the best trackers I have with me.” Roman explains, nodding at the wolves. “We are going to find out where she is and cut her loose. You should go with Kayle and handle your business. If I need your assistance, I will call. You should know by now that I don’t take risks when it comes to family. Jess is like my little sister. Let me find her while you go scare the shit out of Lenair.”

“It may be Lenair that has her.” Christien states while continuing to watch the wolves. “Or, it could be someone from Hassan’s get I missed, Devan’s get wanting to get even, or the Vampire Council…”

“Christien.” Roman interrupts him just as the wolves reach the window and make a noise. “We don’t have time for speculations. My wolves have all they need from the room and they are ready to go. The sooner we leave, the faster she’ll be back here.”