Dominion (Book 1 of The Dominion Series) (19 page)

I get a text from Michel before sunset.

Eve,

I can't force you not to meet with Julien. To be honest, if I could compel you not to meet him, I would. I can only ask that you don't. I can say that he'll tell you things you may not want to hear. He and I – there's still an animosity between us because of our past history. But he's still a good man at heart so I can't tell you he's evil or out to hurt you. Neither of us would do that because of your mother.

So, meet with him or not, it's up to you. If you are going to be my Adept, it would be a show of faith if you didn't meet with him.

I'll leave it up to you.

Yours,

Michel

Yours, Michel…

I can't deny the appeal of that for me. I'm sorely tempted not to meet with Julien just to please him, but I feel I owe it to my mother to hear Julien out at least. See what he says. Michel's been quite reticent to speak about my mother. He's focused on his mission and everything seems to be subordinate to it.

In the end, I can't resist meeting Julien and sit in my favorite corner of the café and wait, my back to the window as I watch the door to see him.

He arrives, looking just as beautiful as always, with his long black trench and scarf. He takes off his coat and sits across from me. The waitress comes over right away and smiles at him like he's a rock star. He orders an espresso and turns his attention back to me.

"Lovely Eve," he says. "I can see why my brother wants you all to himself."

"You're very different from him," I say, ignoring the compliment. "You're even different from your manuscript."

He shrugs. "I wrote it a very long time ago. I was so serious back then. Eight hundred years has cured me of being all melancholic for what can't be, unlike Michel. I live in the moment now. It's a good way to be. Listen, Eve, Michel needs to lighten up. Maybe now that he's got you, he will, but I doubt it. He's a lost cause."

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, you know what I mean…" he grins suggestively. "You've seen him. You've
been
with him…" He gives that lopsided grin, which is entirely too suggestive. "The man's uptight. In need of some redemption. If he had you, I imagine he'd be very happy. Relaxed for once. I'm just surprised he found you so easily."

"I posted a message on a message board and he had a service –"

"Yes, that's what he told me, too. I think it's rather suspicious. I think he knew where you were all along."

The waitress brings Julien his espresso and he touches her hand as he thanks her, and she blushes. He likes the effect he has on women.

I frown and take a sip of my coffee. "What do you mean by that?"

He watches her as she goes behind the counter and then drags his attention back to me, shaking his head quickly.

"Just a little theory I'm working on. Check out his wallet," he says and sips his espresso.

"Why?"

"There's something you might like to see."

"Tell me!"

"Nope," he says. "If you want to know, you can check yourself. Better yet, ask him to show you. See if he'll tell you the truth."

"He said you'd say things I might not like to hear."

"I'm trying not to. You have to find some things out yourself. So," he says and leans even closer. "What do you think about my little brother?"

I shrug my shoulder. What can I say? That I want to fuck him more than anything?

"He's not really your little brother. You're twins."

"You're in lust," he says, smiling. "I can sense it."

I blush extremely hard at that.

"Oh, that blush gives you away. You
are
in lust. Just know this," he says and leans closer still. "My brother is fucked-up big time in the romance department."

"Because of Danielle?"

"
No
," Julien says, making a face. "Other than the fact he
killed
her, Danielle was good for him. Just like you'll be. No, I mean Marguerite," he says and takes a sip of his espresso. "She really did a number on him, weaseled out all his little psychological kinks and used them to torment him. Then he killed her within an hour of fucking her. Gotta have a bad effect on a man's soul – his more than others."

I just look at him, amazed. He's so different from Michel. Polar opposites.

"What about your soul?" I say. "You were also enslaved by her."

"My soul was already a lost cause," he says and grins at me. "I was already a killer and seasoned lothario when she killed me so I wasn't scarred by Marguerite the way Michel was. I was tough, kicked and beaten so much by my old bastard of a father that I could shut it off. Michel couldn't, despite the act. His heart was too tender. He was damaged."

I try to change the subject, a sense of disquiet settling over me from his words.

"Why did you leave the Church?"

He leans back. "I joined because he wanted to so I was never really committed to it. When I saw what was going on in political terms, I left. The whole Cathar bit did the trick."

"What about the Cathars? Why were they so dangerous? What's in the manuscript Michel didn't want me to read?"

"You have it," he says. "Read it and find out. Your mother seemed to think it was important, but I expect the really good stuff is in her files, not in my melodramatic story."

"Michel took out half the pages."

"You have her files. I'm sure it's in there because I told her the whole story."

I glance at my watch. "I have to go," I say. "I'm due at the SCU in fifteen."

"Can I give you a ride?"

I hesitate. "Sure," I say and smile. We finish our drinks and he leads the way out of the café, holding the door for me, then opening the door to his car.

As I get in and do up my seatbelt, I catch sight of a flash of grey in the alley beside the café as we drive off and turn around, thinking I saw a vampire, but there's nothing there. Must have been a reflection, or lights flashing. Then I wonder if Michel hasn't been hanging around listening in to my meeting with Julien. Surely he couldn't hear our conversation from outside the café…

"How good are a vampire's ears?"

He glances over at me. "What do you mean?"

Should I say something?

"I thought I saw a vampire in the alley beside the café. If it was Michel, could he hear our conversation from outside the café?"

Julien laughs. "I wouldn't put it past him to spy on us. He's probably really worried that I'll say something I shouldn't."

"Like what?"

"I can't say," he says. "Because I shouldn't."

"That's not fair," I say, angry that neither brother is willing to tell me everything. "If you know something I should know, tell me."

"Life's not fair, Eve. Anyway, I know a lot of things. How do I know what's important and what isn't unless I know you
much
better?"

He smiles over at me, wagging his eyebrows suggestively. When I frown, he laughs.

"Oh, Eve. Lighten up. I'm just having fun. If it was Michel in the alley, he could probably hear what we were talking about if he focused really hard. The older you get, the better you are able to focus your senses."

We drive through the city towards the Foster Building.

"What are you doing now?" I say, curious about his life.

"Oh, I've taken some time off and have been living at the monastery outside of the city. I worked for the US military for a couple of decades once I left England after the Second World War. Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, you name it. Did a lot of bad things, saw a lot of shit happen, and I figure I deserve a break. Maybe a bit of redemption myself."

"You fought in Afghanistan and Iraq?"

"Yep," he says, driving, one hand on the wheel. "Once a knight, always a knight, I guess. I was part of a clandestine team who did the really black ops. Black interrogations, renditions, assassinations. Us vampires make great warriors. Hard as fuck to kill."

"Where did you work most recently?"

"Basra, southern Iraq. That is, until my group of fellow warriors was taken out in an ambush, the whole lot of my men staked and decapitated, dumped in the Euphrates. After that, I basically came back and decided I'd drop out for a while. Went to live at the monastery."

Something about his story makes me frown. "They were decapitated?"

"Only way to kill a vampire permanently."

I turn to look at him and then I see it – a tattoo on his neck only visible because his scarf has fallen away. I feel a chill go through me. A Lorraine Cross.

"Tell me about your tattoo."

He turns to me and frowns.

"Oh, this?" he says and fixes his scarf. "It's the insignia of my unit. After the Knights Templar."

"Why them?"

He shrugs. "Just a group we admired."

I get the very strong impression he's not telling me everything. "Some of the bodies in the River Man case had that tattoo."

"Oh, really?" he says, his voice light. "Isn't that an interesting coincidence…"

"If you know something,
tell
me," I say quietly.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Eve." He turns and looks at me pointedly.

We arrive at the Foster Building and he stops the car and gets out, opens the door for me.

"Hey, listen, Eve," he says and stands close to me when I reach the stairs. "I know I give him a hard time, but Michel's really a good man. He hasn't been corrupted, despite everything. There's a part of him that's still pure, that still has hope, that still believes. Me?" he says and shakes his head, his hands in his pockets. "I'm jaded as hell. I wish I was like him, but I'm not. Physically, we're identical, but emotionally? We're opposites. He was always softer hearted. My father hated him because of it. Thought he was weak and tried to beat strength into him. It was up to me to protect him so I got hard, fast."

He says nothing for a moment, and I'm completely absorbed in what he's saying, thinking of this bond between these two brothers. He reaches his hand up to my face and strokes my cheek with the backs of his fingers, the way Michel has so many times and I feel a surge of warmth from him.

"You have to know I'd do anything for him.
Anything
. Even give you up. You can tell him that. Tell him to stop worrying."

Then he turns away and goes around to the car, opens the door and gets in. He drives off without another word, leaving me standing on the sidewalk.

CHAPTER TWELVE

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."

Lao Tzu

"I'm glad you're back," Ed says when I enter to the SCU. "I have a present for you." He hands me a box. Inside is a pair of thin leather gloves – exceptionally thin. So thin, I can pick up a dime off the counter. "They'll protect you from intrusions when you touch objects that might have been connected to a murder."

"Thanks," I say, slipping them off and putting them in my coat pocket.

"Most Adepts wear them. Once you start working, doing cases, you'll be more attuned to the traces left in crime scene evidence. Helps keep the crazy images and visions at bay."

I smile at Ed and take in a deep breath. Michel comes to my desk and examines the gloves.

"There's a development in Montana," Ed says. "A similar case. Same MO. Seems as if our killer's gone interstate in his killing spree. I want you both to come with me and investigate."

"You want us to go
where
?"

I can hear the frustration in Michel's voice and see it in the lines on his brow. He shakes his head.

"Montana," Ed says, as if he's unconcerned. "There's a similar murder. We need to investigate the connections."

"I don't like the idea of leaving Boston when Eve isn't fully trained," Michel says. "Not a good idea."

Another murder. I shrug, trying to appear calm at the prospect.

"Here," Ed says and places a paper bag on the desk in front of me. "We use the FBI for our cover. Your badge, your jacket and your permit to carry a weapon. You can go to weapons later and get yourself one. You won't have time to actually do your firearms training, so your magazine will be empty but we can't have a Special Agent walking around without a weapon on their person."

I take the badge out and hang it around my neck. I inspect the jacket. It's a blue windbreaker and has the letters FBI in yellow on the back and the insignia on the front. It feels like a costume rather than a uniform and I feel like an actor, not the real deal.

"Sounds interesting," I say, trying to feel confident in my abilities. Truly, I would have preferred to spend a few more days reading and just becoming familiar with SCU procedures but I understand they want to find the killer.

"Fill out the requisitions," Ed says to Michel, "and I'll sign them to approve your travel expenses."

I'm not really sure I want to go to Montana but it will be a chance for Michel and I to work together as a team. I get to do some real work, and so, I'll put extra food in my cat's dish and pack my bags once more.

I can tell Michel isn't happy but he shrugs and gives in. Later, when we're finished making arrangements, he pulls me over alone in the hallway.

"Eve, I don't like this. I don't like taking you out of town when you're not trained. You'll be a liability."

"That's nice to know."

"It's not your fault. I don't know why Ed's insisting, but we have orders from Headquarters.
Please
," he says, and tightens his grip on my arm. "If you're serious about being my Adept, this is the time to just obey me."

He's so serious, his face so dark, I nod my head.

"OK," I say and take his hand. "I
am
serious. I will."

He brushes my hair from my cheek.

"Too bad I didn't make this speech earlier and then maybe you wouldn't have met with my brother –
again
."