Flesh And Blood: House of Comarre: Book Two (House of Comarre 2) (31 page)

The
farfalle
buzzed at him like a bee. It
was
a bee. He tried to lift a hand to swat the pest away. He couldn’t tell if he moved or not. He didn’t care. The voice left him alone, and he drifted back toward the childhood memories so distant he could scarce remember them until the laudanum had sharpened their edges.

Fingers pried his mouth open, and soft, cold flesh pressed his lips. Scented like flowers. Blood trickled onto his tongue, spilled down his throat. By instinct, he drank.

The memories began to fade as the laudanum and silver slowly lost their grip. The wrist vanished from his mouth. The voice came back.

‘Dominic, please wake up.’ Not a butterfly or a bee. A woman. Small hands, feminine but incomplete, held his face.

He knew that voice. The woman’s image drifted like smoke through his brain. Katsumi. He tried to open his eyes, but they rolled back in his head. He managed to lift a hand to her forearm. ‘Drugged,’ he whispered.

‘I know,’ she answered. ‘You reek of laudanum and silver.’ Alarm framed her words. ‘Who did this to you? The varcolai?’

Dominic stayed still. He would deal with Maddoc on his own terms. ‘Help.’

‘Of course, my lord.’ She scooped her arms around him and brought him to a sitting position.

His head lolled against her shoulder. With his face against her neck, he inhaled her jasmine-scented skin. The sweet aroma of blood danced below the perfume. ‘Feed me.’

‘Take whatever you need. I fed just before I saw you leave.’ She turned in toward him, more willing than he had memory of. ‘Forgive me for following you. I know I’m supposed to be confined, but I was concerned.’

If she’d followed him, she’d seen the varcolai. ‘Leave the cat to me.’ He mumbled the words against her flesh.

‘Of course.’

All he cared about was fresh blood to wash the poison from his system. He opened his mouth and bit down. Weakness made his bite unsure.

Katsumi cried out softly but held still. ‘Again, my lord,’ she told him. ‘Take the vein.’

So he did, managing to pierce her properly this time. Blood poured into his mouth. He suckled, feeling his strength return with every swallow.

Katsumi’s hands found his cheeks. ‘Enough, please. You weaken me.’

He released her, barely able to keep himself upright. Rubber muscles clung to lead bones. Movement was almost impossible. His head cleared quickly, but his body would take time. Days perhaps. He needed to be home. ‘Get me out of here.’

She pulled his arm around her neck and slid her own around his waist. With only slight effort, she got him to his feet. He shuffled forward, his weight on her. ‘Car?’

‘Yes, I have a car. No driver, though. I … I didn’t want to alert anyone to what I was doing.’

He nodded. No driver was good. He didn’t want anyone knowing what had happened. Weakness could mean death. With each faltering step, his anger increased toward the varcolai. ‘Why did you follow?’

‘You left with the varcolai. I know that history. I was worried. I see now I was right to think you were in some kind of trouble.’

‘Si,’
he muttered, wanting to waste no more effort on speaking.

They made it to the car without interruption, although
Dominic had partially expected to see Malkolm. Katsumi helped Dominic into the backseat. He lay down on the leather and, while imagining how he was going to kill Maddoc, passed out.

He woke up in his bed in his suite at the club. The clock showed nearly seven – a.m. or p.m., he didn’t know. He remembered Katsumi waking him to drink blood, and by the taste of it, it had been from his comarrés. She slept on the chaise near the fire. Judging by the effort it took to move his body, he was right to think it would take days for him to fully recover. He watched Katsumi for a moment. She seemed different somehow. Softer. A little worn around the edges. When he was well, he would reward her for saving his life.

She could have taken advantage of the situation. Could have killed him. Taken control of Seven for herself. But she hadn’t. It wasn’t proof of her desire to change, but it was worthy of reward. He would give her navitas. Having a noble vampire who was previously fringe on his side would strengthen his hold on Paradise City immeasurably. Especially if war broke out between varcolai and vampires once again, which it very well could when Dominic killed Maddoc. The varcolai might be on the outs with his pride, but Sinjin wouldn’t let such a thing go unanswered. Yes, another noble ally could make all the difference.

Provided Katsumi lived through the resiring.

Crouched in the crown of a palm on the property opposite Chrysabelle’s, Doc waited until the Mohawked brother had motored out of Chrysabelle’s neighborhood. He didn’t recognize the guy, but maybe Dominic had sent him over to keep an eye on Chrysabelle. The guy looked human, but he might be remnant.
Either way, the bike was tight. Someday, when this mess was done with, maybe he’d get a bike like that and take Fi for a ride. Anything was better than thinking about the danger he was about to put a friend in.

He hesitated. He should find somewhere else to go. But where? His pride wasn’t an option. Although maybe Sinjin would be willing to take him back once he realized what Doc had done to Dominic. But then maybe Dominic would expect that.

No, he needed a vampire-free zone, and Chrysabelle’s was the only place that fit that description. Reluctantly, he dropped out of the tree and jogged across the street.

Doc buzzed the intercom at the pedestrian gate leading into Chrysabelle’s estate. He gave the security cam a nod. The gate buzzed. Just like that he was in. One step closer to creating chaos. Resigned, he pushed through and headed for the house. What choice did he have? Fi needed him and Chrysabelle’s was the only vampire-safe place he could think of to hole up in.

Chrysabelle stood in the open doorway. Her gaze went to the messenger bag slung over his shoulder. ‘Hi. Mal need more blood?’

If only it were that simple. ‘No, uh, I was hoping you might let me crash here.’
Say no. You really don’t want me here.

She shrugged. ‘Sure. You and Mal aren’t fighting, are you?’

Relief and regret twisted his gut into a hard knot. ‘No. It’s a long story you’d be safer not knowing.’ That was the straight truth.

Her brows lifted slightly. ‘This have anything to do with Fi?’

‘Yes.’
Go ahead, ask more questions. Find a reason to turn me away.

She moved out of the doorway. ‘Come on. There’s plenty of space.’

‘Thanks. I probably won’t be here past Halloween.’ Or until Dominic found him. Doc walked into the foyer, admiring the house. If he had to hide out, at least he could do it in style. Yeah, because that justified putting a friend in a bad sitch. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen your joint in the daylight. Nice. Your mother didn’t spare the cash, huh?’

‘I guess not.’ She shook her head, her eyes filled with a faraway glimmer. ‘It’s a lot of house for one person and a semisolid wysper.’

‘Where is Velimai?’

‘She went into the city to run errands, get groceries.’ She smiled at him. ‘If I’d known you were coming, I would have had her stock up on fish.’

‘I won’t eat much. I—’ His stomach growled before he finished speaking. ‘I am a little hungry.’

She laughed and looped her arm through his. ‘I think there are leftovers from last night’s dinner. Let’s get you some. You know, it’ll be nice to have some company.’

Sure. Until Dominic showed up and she got caught in the middle of this mess. Maybe he should tell her. She’d want to help Fi, wouldn’t she? But he couldn’t bring himself to confess. Not yet. ‘If I can help out around here, I will.’ Not that he was good for much besides making things worse.

She led him into the kitchen and disconnected from him to reach for the fridge. ‘There is one thing you could do for me.’

Tell you the truth?
‘Sure. Name it.’

She took out a large pan of lasagna. Even cold, the aroma of meat filled the air. ‘I could use a sparring partner. I’m tired of training alone.’

‘I can do that.’ The way things were going, he could use the practice. As soon as Dominic recovered, he would come looking for Doc, ready to settle their score.

And the last time a handicapped shifter had bested a noble vampire was never.

‘I
wondered when you’d get here.’ Creek snapped the Harley’s kickstand into place and nodded at the tarnished green dragon perched on his loft railing. After watching the exchange between the vampire and the comarré on the balcony, Creek’s mood had turned foul. Not even a day’s worth of hunting had erased the image of Mal’s mouth on Chrysabelle’s. Creek had to pull it together fast. The sector chief didn’t need to know about that.

Argent blinked the inner membrane over his unnerving green eyes and shifted into his half-form. ‘Creek.’

‘Sector Chief.’ Despite the overwhelming urge to watch the varcolai’s every move, Creek walked out of Argent’s sight line and into the kitchen. He’d learned the hard way not to show fear in front of the dragon-shifter. He opened the fridge. ‘Beer?’

‘No.’ A soft
thunk
indicated Argent had returned to the first floor. ‘I’ve been waiting for you almost all day. Do you not come home at sunrise?’

‘Daylight is the safest time to look for nests.’ Or stand guard
over the comarré. Creek had stayed long after dawn had chased Mal away. He glanced over. Argent crouched beside the bike and stroked the transmission, one of the few chromed pieces on the custom V-Rod. The engine was blazing hot, but dragons had a weakness for shine and a high tolerance for heat.

‘True. How goes it?’

‘Not a social visit, then.’ Like Creek had thought for half a second that’s what this was about. ‘It goes fine.’

‘You have the ring?’

Creek wrenched the cap off the bottle and took a long swallow. ‘It’s not going that fine.’

Argent straightened and turned to face Creek. ‘The grand masters would like to know how things are proceeding. What should I tell them?’

He leaned against the workbench that served as his kitchen table. ‘That I’ve found the comarré. She was injured fighting some hellhounds, so things are going slow until she heals.’

The section chief nodded. ‘Has she mentioned the ring? Does she at least still have it? The grand masters are anxious to recover their property.’

‘I’m sure they are. Having such a valuable piece stolen from their archives must really bite the big one.’

Argent tensed. ‘Answer the question.’

‘She’s mentioned it. No idea if she knew her patron Algernon was a KM double agent or not. She doesn’t seem the type to have been working a scheme like that with him.’

‘Do you think she’ll give the ring back willingly, then?’

‘Can’t answer that. Remind me what the ring does again?’ Not that he’d even been told in the first place.

‘That information is need-to-know only.’

‘And I still don’t need to know.’ He chugged half the beer.

‘No, you do not. Just work your end with the comarré.’

‘Like I said, I’m only just getting to know her.’

Argent’s forked tongue flicked out. The mythical shifters had a hard time staying fully human. ‘She’s been here recently. You must be getting to know her well.’

‘Not yet, no.’ And certainly not as well as the vampire. But Creek was patient.

Argent’s narrow pupils latched onto him. ‘Then work harder.’

He gave a weak salute. ‘Aye, aye, Section Chief.’

‘Don’t blur the line between protector and friend, Creek.’

He took a pull from his beer and let it cool the temper heating his words. ‘Wouldn’t dream of it.’

Argent walked back to the V-Rod, strolled around to the other side, and squatted to better see the shiny bits on the engine. ‘Tatiana is here.’

‘So are her Nothos. That’s how the comarré was injured.’

Through spaces in the engine, Creek watched Argent trail his fingers over the chrome parts. ‘You must work harder. Samhain approaches. With their parties and their costumes, humans will unwittingly call up a myriad of creatures that will have to be dealt with. Having that power-hungry vampiress running loose will not help the situation.’