Harlequin Nocturne May 2016 Box Set (2 page)

“A threat?” he said, holding his arms out to his sides. “How?”

“Please, Daniel, go peacefully. You will not be harmed.”

“And if I refuse?” Daniel asked.

Moving almost more quickly than Daniel could detect, the two guards lunged at him. One of them caught his left arm. He swung around, defending himself without thought, and punched the guard in the face with his fist. The second guard grabbed his right arm and twisted it behind him.

Everything within him, all the instinctive desire to be free, urged him to keep fighting. Panic nearly overwhelmed him, but he pushed it down. He bore the pain silently and allowed the other guard to jerk his other arm behind him. Manacles locked around his wrists.

He gave Isis a long, cold look. “They were wrong about this place,” he said as the guards pulled him away. “And you're wrong about me.”

“Come quietly,” the Darketan guard said. “You don't have anything to be afraid of.”

“Wait,” Isis called after them as they turned for the archway. “I will accompany you.”

The two guards inclined their heads...deferring to Isis, Daniel thought, as if they were still in a traditional Citadel. Daniel knew that they, like him, were feeling that indefinable magnetism, whether she intended to use it on them or not.

Head down, Daniel slipped into his role as a downtrodden serf.

Letting all the resistance go out of his body, Daniel allowed the guards to escort him back down the left ramp. He was aware of Isis behind them, though her footsteps were almost inaudible to his sharp hearing. He still didn't understand how an Opir of her obvious stature would be employed in meeting and questioning outsiders, unless her work could be considered evidence of real equality in Tanis.

But he was still a prisoner, and he couldn't afford to remain one. Nor could he risk being ejected from the city without getting the answers he needed.

The ramp ended abruptly at ground level in the low town and led out onto a wide plaza open to the sky. Clearly designed to be as welcoming as possible, adorned with decorative murals, many benches and large planters filled with flowers, the plaza was deserted save for a few humans strolling along tiled water channels cut into the concrete. They smiled and bowed to Isis as she passed by, and some of the men stopped and stared as if they had never seen anything so beautiful. On every side stood recently built, multistory buildings; above, the stars were so numerous and bright that it felt more like twilight than full night. The partial dome at the other end of the city cast a deeper, almost sinister shadow.

They crossed the plaza toward a cluster of tall buildings. The guards headed for one of the larger structures and pushed Daniel through the door.

A large reception area was dominated by a desk attended by a human receptionist sorting through a stack of papers. She immediately rose to her feet and stood alert while another pair of uniformed Darketans materialized from a corridor behind the desk. Three pairs of eyes made note of Daniel and then focused on the woman behind him.

“Isis,” the receptionist said, her voice a little breathless, her smile very bright. “How may we serve you?”

“I will require a private room,” she said, sweeping past Daniel and the guards.

The receptionist's gaze fell on Daniel. “Will you require more guards?” she asked with a worried frown.

“I need none,” Isis said, glancing at Daniel with a slim, raised brow. “I do not think our friend will cause any trouble.”

“Yes, Isis.” The receptionist nodded to one of the guards behind her, who strode back into the corridor. A few moments later he returned and nodded to Isis.

“If you will come with me,” he said.

With Isis striding ahead of them, Daniel's guards led him past the desk and into the corridor. It was dim and plain, punctuated by a dozen identical doors. The escorting guard stopped at one of them, unlocked it and inclined his head to Isis.

“If you need assistance—” he began.

“I know what to do.”

The guard held the door open for her. The room was as featureless as the corridor, with gray walls, a single table and two chairs.

“Unbind him,” Isis said. Daniel's guards exchanged glances and unlocked the manacles. Putting on a mask of confusion and fear, Daniel shivered and rubbed his wrists.

“There is nothing to be afraid of,” Isis said, catching his gaze. She believed his panic was real. She took his arm, and he felt the power of her nature, magnified a hundred times—warm, soothing, almost magical. As the door closed behind them, she led him to one of the chairs at the single table.

“Please, sit,” she said.

Daniel took one of the chairs and watched Isis as she sat at the opposite side of the table.

“Now,” she said, “it will be easier for everyone if you cooperate. Nobody will hurt you, but we must know why you are here.”

And that, Daniel thought, was precisely what he couldn't tell her.

CHAPTER 2

D
aniel pitched his voice a little high to suggest nervousness and clasped his hands under the table. “I told you,” he said. “I came here for refuge.”

She smiled almost sadly, her teeth perfect and white. Once again Daniel felt the impact of her fascination, the seductive call of predator to prey, the effortless ability to bring “lesser” creatures under her control. Once again he shook it off.

“You came secretly, without declaring yourself,” she said. “Why would you take such an approach?”

Avoiding her gaze, he stared at the tabletop. “I had to be sure,” he said.

“Sure of what?”

“That the stories about Tanis being a refuge were true.”

Isis spread her own delicate hands on the table. “I can assure you that they are.” She spoke with sympathy, and Daniel was aware that his body was responding to her naturally seductive body and the warm scent of her skin. His mind was clear enough, but his heart was beating too fast, and another part of his anatomy was very much at attention.

“What are
you
afraid of?” he asked, bringing his body back under restraint.

It was the wrong thing to say—certainly nothing a wary and frightened former serf would have asked. Maintaining the balance was tricky at best.

He wasn't sure he could keep up the pretense.

She studied him, her dark eyes intent on his face. “I told you—we make certain that newcomers can live with our rules and will be comfortable beginning a new life here,” she said. “The same concerns apply for both humans and Opiri. But there are those who have come to observe our city in secret so that they can take reports back to their people.”

“You mean spies?” he asked in a much quieter voice, edged with alarm. “Why would anyone do that?”

“Some of them fear us, Daniel. We believe that the Enclaves and the Citadels throughout the west have learned what we have accomplished and may regard us as a threat to the separate worlds
they
have built, though those worlds are built upon hostility and a truce that might fail at any moment.”

Isis was right, Daniel thought. He remembered the mad Bloodlord in the northwest who had nearly started another war because he had stolen half-blood children and recruited rogue Freebloods—lordless Opiri—with the intent of attacking the Citadels and, eventually, the human Enclaves, as well. The Armistice had always balanced on the head of a pin, and a stiff wind could blow it off and plunge the world back into chaos.

“Do you think some Citadel or Enclave would attack you?” he asked.

“We do not know. But it is possible they may send agents to observe us, so you see that we must screen everyone who seeks sanctuary in Tanis. There can be no exceptions.”

So they must have screened Ares
, Daniel thought. “What do you want from me?” he asked with feigned anxiety.

Her expression turned grave. “At the causeway,” she said, “you said you escaped from Vikos.”

“Yes,” he said, after a calculated hesitation.

“That is at least a five-hundred-mile journey,” Isis said, “much of it through mountainous territory. You came so far alone?”

“Yes,” Daniel said, looking past her at the drab wall.

“And your supplies?”

“I left them behind when I came into the city.”

“Your clothes are not too worn. Did you steal them?”

Daniel didn't answer.

“You must have had help along the way.”

“There are...humans hiding everywhere,” he said. “Trying to survive and keep away from Opir hunters.”

“And none would come with you?”

Daniel shook his head. “They were afraid this was a trap.”

“But you were not?”

“In Vikos,” Daniel said, “there were rumors that humans here were more than—”

He broke off, but Isis completed the sentence for him. “Chattel?” she said, her lush mouth setting in a thin line.

“Yes.”

“And you chose to risk coming here, based only upon a rumor?”

Daniel swallowed, as if debating whether or not to continue. “It was a risk I was willing to take.” His jaw tightened. “But I will never let anyone take me prisoner again.”

“I understand,” Isis murmured.

Daniel imagined that he heard pity in her voice. He had never needed or accepted pity from any human or Nightsider, and he wanted none of hers.

“
Do
you think I am a spy?” he asked. “Who would I spy for? The Enclave that cast me out as a criminal and sent me into slavery? Vikos, where I was treated no better than an animal?”

“It seems unlikely,” she said soothingly.

“Very unlikely.” He laughed with half-feigned bitterness. “What do I have to do to prove myself?”

“We will keep you in a quiet room for a time, and others will speak to you. Once we are certain you are no threat, you will have the opportunity to—”

Daniel jumped out of his chair, nearly knocking it over. “You'll lock me up?”

“You will be comfortable. Nobody will—”

“No manacles,” he said, working his fists. It was barely an act.

She rose slowly. “We have no intention of binding you. That is not done here, except when it is absolutely necessary.” She moved toward him, her white-and-gold robes swirling around her feet. Before he could back away, she touched his hand, her fingers—warm and soft and gentle—stroking his arm. Her influence washed over and through him.

“You must understand that not all Opiri are like the ones you knew in Vikos,” she said. “I will prove it to you.” She released his hand. “Can you trust me?”

Daniel knew how easily she could make most humans accept anything she said, do anything she bid without the need for compulsion.

He let her believe she was succeeding.

“I trust you,” he said slowly.

“
I
am Opir,” she said.

He put the length of the room between them, keeping his gaze unfocused and his voice on the edge of panic. “You have...dark hair,” he stammered. “Your eyes...”

“Nevertheless,” she said, “I am what you humans call a Nightsider, and I would never do you harm.”

Don't overplay it
, Daniel told himself. “You tricked me,” he said, pressing himself against the wall.

“It is easier for new humans if one of their own kind introduces him or her to our world, but it is the work I have chosen, and my appearance makes it possible.” She removed the caps from her teeth. “You did not guess, Daniel?”

He dropped his eyes. “No, my lady.”

“I am only Isis here.” She searched his face. “You never suspected? You were not playing a game to deceive
me
?”

“How could I?” he whispered.

“Because I think you know that most Opiri never consider the possibility of being deceived by a human.” She paused, as if carefully choosing her words. “Even if you had attacked me when I found you, there would be no punishment. We understand a former serf's justifiable fear and anger.”

“We? Did you feel the same when
you
owned serfs?”

“I never kept any human in bondage, nor did I take part in the War.”

“But you hunted humans for blood.”

“I never killed,” she said. “But I saw much suffering. Six years ago I was among those who discovered this Citadel after it had fallen into chaos and savagery. I began to realize what life on our world could be.”

“And you changed it?”

“I can take little responsibility for what Tanis has become. All our citizens have shared in the work. We established new laws, expelled the worst of the Bloodlords and freed the serfs, giving them the choice of whether to remain under a new regime based on equality, or go their own way in freedom.”

“How many stayed?”

“Most chose to take a chance with us.”

“And the Opiri? Did they agree to abide by your new laws and give up their Households?”

“Those who did not were quickly removed from the city.”

“But you've still got former serfs living with their former masters.”

“We have many immigrants from other Citadels and Enclaves, people who have no experience of Tanis as it was.” Her eyes were bright and earnest. “There is safety here. Safety we must maintain.” She stroked his arm. “I see more than one man in you, Daniel. You are an enigma. I think you pretend to be a fearful and defiant serf now, but that is not what you were when we first met. Whatever the purpose of this act, it is unnecessary...unless, of course, you mean us ill. And I do not believe you do.”

If she had been any other woman, human or Opiri, Daniel would have interpreted her lingering touches as an invitation. But he already knew better, even if his body continued to react as if she might invite him to her bed as a willing partner.

Manipulation. Deception. She was as controlling as any Bloodmistress with dozens of serfs at her command.

Once again he shut down his body's response. “You will still hold me here,” he said, “whether you believe it or not.”

“I would understand your true nature, Daniel, and your reason for coming to Tanis.”

“I've given my reason.”

“Yet now you doubt that what you sought is real, simply because you were brought in for questioning.” She lifted his chin with her soft hand. “I do not expect you to understand this all at once. But if your hope brought you here, it will help you to see with new eyes, and leave behind your old habits of servitude. If you choose to stay.”

“When you haven't even decided whether or not to make me leave?”

Isis sighed and shook her head. “You are in need of fresh clothing, a good meal and rest. We shall discuss these matters in greater detail at another time.” She let her hand drift down his arm. “Let me show you to your quarters here at the Center. When you have been cleared, you will be given a tour of the city and time enough to see what we have to offer. Then you shall be granted a chance to apply for citizenship...if that is what you desire.”

He dropped the mask completely and straightened, glad to shed the false weight of fear and submission. “And what is the price?” he asked.

“As you must know,” she said, “every citizen is expected to do his or her part, human or Opiri.”

“Humans have to give blood,” he said.

“Willingly,” she said. “But you must have known that.” She tapped on the door, and the guards opened it.

“I will take Daniel myself,” she said.

The guards' faces tightened with worry, but they made no protest. Isis, Daniel thought, had them in the palm of her hand.

He followed her along the corridor to a door at the rear of the building. A second, smaller building stood on the other side of a narrow garden. Summer flowers nodded gently in the breeze left by Isis's passing as if they, too, offered obeisance.

“These are the visitor's quarters,” she said. “They are used only until the prospective citizen has been properly introduced to the city and is assigned a permanent residence. I hope you will find your room comfortable.”

The room she indicated was near the back of the building. She opened the locked door with a key hidden somewhere among her robes and invited him inside.

It was more or less what Daniel had expected: a bed, a small table, two chairs, a small chest with a lamp. An inner door led to a bathroom. There were no windows.

A thread of real panic worked its way through Daniel's gut. He hated small, windowless rooms. He hated being a prisoner. But he'd known it might come to this, and so he stepped inside.

“I will see that food and drink are brought immediately,” Isis said. “Clothes will come after I report the sizes you require.” She looked him up and down with a faint smile. “I think I have already made an accurate estimate.”

An intensely physical tension rose between them as Daniel realized that she had been as fully aware of his body as he had been of hers.

Her smile faltered, and he had the sense that she was startled by the change in the air, as if she had suddenly lost the use of a tool she had wielded with ease all her life.

What would she do, Daniel thought, if he let her see just how little under her influence he really was?

She must have seen something in his eyes that alarmed her, for she looked away and backed toward the door. “I will speak to you again soon,” she said. “Rest well, Daniel.”

In a moment she was gone, and the door lock engaged. Daniel sat down on the bed and stripped off his boots, dirty shirt and pants, trying to distract his thoughts from Isis and the sense of walls closing in around him. He stepped into the shower and imagined that the water was washing away the memories, but they were never far from his thoughts. Part of him still lived in that tiny, dirty cell Lord Palemon had kept him in when Daniel wasn't being used or punished for defiance. Even his good years with Ares and his time in Avalon and Delos hadn't erased that cell from his mind.

When he walked out of the bathroom, Isis was standing by the door. A tray of food and a pitcher of water lay on the table, but Daniel barely noticed them. Isis wet her lips and stared at him, and his body reacted exactly as it had before. This time there was no concealing it.

“I am flattered,” Isis said huskily.

“It's no less than you expect from any man who comes near you,” he said.

Her brows drew down. “You are discourteous, Daniel.”

“And you aren't used to discourtesy, are you? You don't have to order anyone to get what you want.”

Her dark eyes sparked with anger, bringing out the deep purple lurking within them, and Daniel laughed inwardly. She wasn't so different from the Opiri he'd known in Erebus, or even some of those he'd met outside in the colonies. She summoned respect, even if she didn't acknowledge it.

“You're a Bloodmistress,” Daniel said bluntly. “You were born to influence others.”