Chameleon (Supernaturals) (39 page)

“I nominate the Chameleon,” a voice rang out from the table. It was Constance, and her face looked serene as ever as she stared up at the future me. “It is because of her that we still have a council at all.”

A chorus of approval rumbled through the council.

“I’ll second that,” said the lady vampire, who’s name I never learned. She had a lovely smile.

“I thank you for the honor you have bestowed upon me Councilor Vanderhousen,” the other me said to Constance with a formality the real me would be incapable of. “But I’m afraid I must respectfully decline. I am still new to the supernatural world. I am too unfamiliar with the laws and customs of our people yet to consider a position of leadership. Will you please allow me, though, to present another option? There is one among us who has grown up defending and protecting our people. One who was not only mentored, but also raised by the Supreme High Councilor, and one in whose veins runs the blood of the Creator. I believe the Seer would be a far superior leader than I could ever dream to be, what with my quick temper and rebellious nature.”

A few chuckles and laughs rang out in the room.

“I nominate the Seer to be our new Supreme High Councilor,” the other me said. “Will anyone second the motion?”

Five or six people volunteered a second to the motion at once and the future me smiled at the shocked future Gabriel. “Very well,” the future me said. “Shall we start the vote with the Ungifted One?”

The future me looked down at a girl who was sitting in the chair closest to her. The girl looked to be the same age as my future self and similar in appearance. We could almost be mistaken for identical twins except that I didn’t have a sister and she had shiny, stick-straight hair I would have killed for.

“Sure,” the girl said, smiling up at the future me as if they shared some sort of private joke. “I vote we change my name. Seriously, you couldn’t come up with anything better than Ungifted?”

“Not a chance, Gracie.” The future me laughed and then took on her formal stance again. “Grace St. Claire? What say you on the matter of the Seer being our new Supreme High Councilor?”

“Yes!” Grace said enthusiastically. “Yes, yes and of course, yes.”

I watched as the voting continued around the table. The decision was unanimous. The future me smiled proudly at her very humble partner. “Congratulations, Councilor,” she said and lifted herself onto her toes to kiss Gabriel on the cheek.

When I returned to the present, Gabriel was waving a hand in front of my face. “Danielle?”

I blinked a few times and shook myself from my daze. “Sorry. Did it work? Did you see anything?”

Gabriel frowned. “No. But you clearly did.”

“Clearly.”

“And?”

“Well, it looks like the name Chameleon is going to stick.” I thought of the girl in the conference room and smirked. “But it’s definitely not the worst nickname out there.”

Gabriel’s frown got even bigger. “Is that all?”

“What? Was my reaction not
interesting
enough for you this time? Were you hoping I’d see something that would make me want to jump your bones again like the last time?”

“Jump my bones?” Gabriel repeated. He was only confused by the expression though. He understood my meaning, and dropped his gaze.

“Oh my gosh, you were!” I shrieked.

“Danielle!” Gabriel gasped. “It is very late. You should really try to keep your voice down. I was only hoping you might share with me your vision. You have never actually explained to me what it is you see when you look into my future. I did not want you to…
jump my bones
.” He blushed again.

He was obviously telling the truth. He hadn’t meant it that way. But still, I couldn’t resist teasing him. “So, then, you don’t want me to make out with you right now?” I asked.

“Of course not!”

I raised an eyebrow at him and he realized what he just said. He looked horrified. “Not that I do not want to—of course I—I mean I did not—I—I was not—” He gave up trying to explain himself and said, “I do not even understand what you mean to make out!”

“Kiss you,” I offered. “A lot. For a long time. And probably without our shirts on so there would be lots of skin-to-skin contact.”

Gabriel was speechless. His mouth hung open in shock and his eyes bulged as he processed what I’d just suggested. Eventually he snapped his mouth shut and swallowed. Hard. He would never say it, but he definitely wanted to give it a try.

He wasn’t the only one.

In an instant the tension was thick enough to slice through. And then we were kissing. Then we were lying down and kissing. After five minutes Gabriel’s shirt was on the floor.

Then there was a loud clatter on the roof and the sound of something shattering, and Gabriel and I stopped kissing. “What was that?” I asked just as our bedroom door flew open.

“Dani! Are you okay?”

Russ saw me lying mostly beneath a shirtless Gabriel and shouted, “Oh, hell no!”

He yanked Gabriel to his feet and got in one good punch before my bedroom window exploded and someone pulled me from the bed.

Russ forgot about Gabriel, but as he lifted his hands a completely covered arm clamped around my chest and a gloved hand gripped my head. “Try it and I break her neck,” my captor warned.

Russ froze.

It took me a moment to catch up to the situation, but when I did I realized that five men, not including the one holding me hostage, all beautiful and pale like Duncan and barring razor sharp fangs, now stood between me and Russ, Gabriel and Alex.

And at the moment I had no magic.

I tried to free my hands so that I could at least match my captor’s vampire strength, but all of his skin was covered except for his face and I simply couldn’t reach that. The stranger recognized what I was trying to do and smiled. “I know your secret little girl. That’s why we made sure you were helpless before we attacked. You are most vulnerable as a seer.”

“What do you want?” Alex asked sharply.

One of the vampires pointed at Gabriel. “We are here for the Seer. We’d like the Chosen One too, but we are willing to kill her if you try to stop us.”

Russ grabbed Gabriel by the arm and thrust him forward. “He’s all yours. I’ll trade you for Dani right now, no tricks, no questions asked.”

“Shut up Russ!” I shouted. “You will not!”

“The hell I won’t Dani! I’m half tempted to kill him myself right now!”

“Russell,” Alex said calmly. He pulled Gabriel from Russ’s grip and stood protectively in front of him. “Who are you?” he asked the vampires. “How did you find us? And how the devil did you break through the wards on this house?”

“My dear Alexander,” sang a musical voice from the hallway. “Surely you don’t believe there is no magic as powerful as that of the Devereaux family.”

Alex spun around and in walked the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Alex’s face went visibly white at the sight of her. “Simone!” he gasped. “It can’t be. You’re—”

“Dead?” Simone laughed. “Yes, that rumor has served my purpose well these last couple of years.”

“I went to your funeral. Your sister had to shut down your company.”

Simone’s smile vanished, but even holding a vicious scowl she was still a goddess. “My sister did not shut the company down. The council did that. My magic was too powerful. My potions worked too well. So many supernaturals were staying young beyond their years. The council was afraid the humans would learn the truth of my cosmetics so they stopped my life’s work.”

“So you faked your death?”

Simone smiled again. “I joined the resistance, darling.”

“The resistance!” I gasped.

Simone turned her devastating smile on me. “Yes dear one. And we simply can’t have the Seer warning the council of our every move when the war starts. Of course, we’re hoping he might be persuaded to join us and help stop the council’s tyranny.”

Alex had to hold Gabriel back from jumping in Simone’s face. “The council is not tyrannical! I have seen the horrors you bring upon your own people! I will never help the resistance!”

“Nevertheless, you must still come with us.” Simone sighed, but then smiled. “Your lovely mate is not so blinded by the council as you, I think.” She crossed the room and brushed my hair from my face. “Such nice features,” she said absently. “With a little of my help you could be truly stunning.” Coming back to the topic at hand she said, “Surely you can understand the council’s misuse of power. You can appreciate the need to stop them. Were you not taken from your home by the council? Were you not tortured and forced into a union you didn’t want? Did they not keep you prisoner in order to use you for your power?”

She was so confident. She expected me to say yes. Instead I narrowed my eyes. “Isn’t that exactly what you’re planning to do too? Maybe you both need to be stopped.”

“I heard you were a bold little thing.” Simone flittered back to Russ’s dad with a wistful expression. “That would be Alexander’s influence no doubt.” She ran her hand across Alex’s chest. “So very few men grow more handsome with age, Alexander.”

I watched in shock as she pressed her lips to Alex’s.

“I told you she’s a slut,” Russ grumbled until his dad started to kiss her back. Then he looked like he might actually faint from disgust. “Dad! Put your tongue back in your own mouth before I puke!”

Alex pulled apart from Simone with a laugh. “Sorry, Russ.” He smiled again at Simone. “I’m just so stunned that she’s alive.”

Simone smiled at Alex again, completely unable to keep her hands off him. “Oh, how I’ve missed our time together Alexander. Join us. Join
me
. We were great together once. We could be great again.”

Alex smirked an identical smile to the one I saw so often on Russ’s face. “We’ve had this conversation before Simone.”

“That was a long time ago.”

“You know very well I have no interest in joining the resistance, as well as you know that I may be the only man on earth capable of resisting your charms. I’m sorry. As tempting as you are, I must act in the best interest of my family.”

“Of course, Alexander. I understand completely, though it breaks my heart.”

“And just so we’re clear, Dani is part of that family.”

“Naturally.”

“As is her mate now.”

“Oh, dear,” Simone said. “That does present a problem.” Simone stepped close to Alex again and ran her hand slowly down his chest. She brushed her lips against his and his eyes fluttered shut.

“Are you sure there is nothing I can do to persuade you, Alexander?”

Alex tried to resist her but then pulled her in for a big sweeping romantic kiss that raised visible goosebumps on Simone’s skin. She melted into his embrace as she said, “Ohhhhhhh, Alexander.”

“It really was good to see you again, Simone,” Alex said. “So I will give you one chance to leave peaceably.”

Simone looked sincerely hurt as she ripped herself away from him. “So be it,” she hissed.

Simone threw an invisible attack at Alex and then all hell broke loose.

Alex and Simone engaged in a violent wizard’s battle exploding things and throwing each other around the room, but I couldn’t worry about them at all because one of the vampires had grabbed up Gabriel, which left Russ trying to fight his way through four angry vampires in order to get to me.

The first thing Russ did was blow apart the dresser, which made no sense to me until the wood splinters went flying and the vampires ducked for cover. Even the one holding me loosened his grip enough so that I was able to free myself. “Like Buffy?” I called to Russ as he grabbed up a particularly sharp wood splinter.

“Exactly!” he shouted and then thrust the improv stake into the heart of the vampire he was wrestling with.

I scrambled for a wooden stake of my own but my former captor grabbed hold of me again and I was no match for his vampire strength. I squirmed and kicked but it did nothing to his steel body.

“Get them out!” Simone yelled, and the vampires holding Gabriel and me headed for the window.

I heard Russ shout my name, and looked up just in time to see a vampire take advantage of his distraction. My entire world came to a halt as the vampire grabbed the stake from Russ’s hand and ran it through Russ’s chest.

I screamed a blood-curdling shriek and as I yelled I felt the burn of magic rise to the surface of my skin and rush out of me in an explosion.

Everyone in the room was still aware of what was going on, but they were frozen where they stood. I could hear them yelling different things at me but I understood nothing. I only saw Russ. Using my magic, I pushed open the stiff arms holding me and ran across the room.

Half insane with rage and grief I pulled the stake from Russ’s chest and plunged it into the vampire who’d hurt him. Blood poured from the man and he screamed in agony, but he still remained standing exactly where I’d glued him.

I fell to the ground and pulled Russ into my arms. He coughed weakly, but it was enough. He was still alive. “Heal!” I screamed at him through my sobs. I pulled him against my chest and wished as hard as I could to heal him. I felt the magic leave me and felt the energy starting to drain from me, but I refused to give up. “Heal, damn it!”