Moonlight Calls (Demon's Call Series Book 1) (35 page)

Ailis nodded in
agreement, glancing my way.  My eyes widened and I shook my head vehemently. 
“No fucking way.”

I was still
protesting twenty minutes later when Ailis finished her call to Argenou.  “It’s
all settled,” she said, ignoring me.  “We go to see him tomorrow.”

Christian placed
a large hand on my shoulder and I glanced up at him.  “I will go make
preparations,” he said shortly.  “I’ll call you later tonight.”

His accent had
intensified with the intense emotion.  He dropped a kiss on my head before
jogging off toward his car.  I looked away from his retreating figure with a cold
feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I had stumbled across his arsenal during a
visit to his house one night.  Opening the wrong door of his walk-in closet in
search of a shirt to sleep in, I had instead encountered a wall of guns and
other weaponry that would do a military installation justice.  I hadn’t asked
about it.  I just shut that door and opened the other, donning the oversized
shirt before slipping into bed.  I didn’t want to know about that aspect of his
life.

Bringing myself
back to the present, I closed my eyes in relief.  At least they wouldn’t
delay.  They would get to the little girl as soon as possible.  Ailis stood and
headed for her room to get ready.  I turned on my seat, intending to follow but
Dominic stopped me.

He squeezed my
hand again.  “You continue to amaze me, Mya,” he said softly.  “Humans are so
fragile; I sometimes forget that they can be so strong.”

I shook my head,
looking away from those sad crystalline eyes.  “I’m not strong,” I said
simply.  “I just do what I have to in order to survive.”

I looked at him
intently.  “Promise me you won’t let them leave me behind,” I pleaded.  “You
know they’ll say it’s too dangerous, but I couldn’t stand waiting here while
you all go off to save the day.”  I felt like a little girl begging for a
bedtime story.  I thought it odd that he was the one I would turn to for
camaraderie here.

Dominic laughed
softly.  “I’ll do my best,” he said.  “But you’ll owe me.  You know how
stubborn they are.”  I tried not to thrill at the soft glint in his eyes.

I gave him a
quelling frown.  “Just make sure they don’t leave me, okay?”

*****

I stifled a wave
of unease as I stepped out of Ailis’s shiny BMW.  Craning my head back
uncomfortably, I gazed up at the massive Victorian mansion that was the coven
house.  I adjusted my leather jacket with an agitated jerk and closed my eyes
as I took a deep, bracing breath for courage.  Turning my gaze to Ailis, I
smiled weakly.

“Let’s get this
over with,” I said irritably.

I was terrified
about this meeting.  Ailis and Dominic had told me the basics of the job that
Argenou wanted me to help with.  They just needed me to keep a lock on the
rouge’s location but apparently, Argenou still wanted to talk to me in person. 
The better to intimidate you, my dear.
  I had serious doubts that I
could even go through with it.  Working for a master vampire and known sneaky
slime was pushing it, even for my recently re-adjusted set of morals.  It just
put him one step closer to owning me.

Following Ailis,
I focused on the steady clicking of my boot heels.  I shivered, thinking the
sound was like a death march.  I bumped into Ailis when she came to an abrupt
halt before me on the steps.  Glancing up toward the massive door of wood and
wrought iron, I was surprised to see Dominic.  He was standing soberly in the
doorway, flanked by a pair of menacing, muscle bound giants.  He wore a
cream-colored suit and his fair hair rippled in the slight breeze.  He should
have looked angelic, but the dangerous glint in his blue eyes ruined the affect. 
It was the pair of goons with him, though, that made me shiver.  The air of
serial killer emanating from them made my skin prickle and it was all I could
do to keep myself from taking a step backward.

Dominic’s somber
expression never changed.  “My dear Ailis,” he said in a silky voice.  “It’s
good to see you again.”  He paused to examine me with distaste.  “And I assume
this is the sensitive?”

I let my breath
out slowly.  S o that was how it was going to be.  Obviously, he thought it
would be safer for all involved if he didn’t know me.  Fine.

 Ailis surprised
me to no end when she replied, “Yes, my lord,” bowing her head and placing her
right hand over her heart. 
My lord?

I sneered at
Dominic before addressing Ailis.  “Can we please go inside and get this over
with.  I don’t care for your taste in friends.”  Dominic arched an eyebrow as I
followed Ailis, brushing by him without acknowledging his presence.  See, I
could play the game too.

I paused in the
entryway to let my eyes adjust to the dim lighting.  The whole house was like
something out of a gothic movie set, with deep, rich wood and expensive
furniture everywhere.  Here and there, a vampire lounged in a languorous state,
no doubt glutted from the previous night’s feast.  I felt their eyes light on
me briefly in curiosity, but there was no other acknowledgement of my
presence.  I thanked God that it was still daylight, and their more dangerous
instincts were mostly submerged.  Ailis led me deeper into the house to a vast
library, Dominic and his goons just a step behind.

 As we entered
the library, Dominic paused to dismiss his creepy entourage and I felt some of
the tension leave my shoulders.  Having those two things behind me had just
been wrong.

I tensed again
almost at once when I noticed Argenou calmly awaiting us behind his massive
desk.  As before, he radiated icy beauty.  His graying blond hair was precisely
arranged and his expensive suit cut to perfection.  I noticed that his eyes
were dead, and I felt nauseous.  He gestured to a leather wing-backed chair
near his desk, but I shook my head.  No way was I getting comfortable. 
Besides, I enjoyed being able to look down at him.

“I appreciate
your help in this matter.”  Despite my hatred for him, Argenou’s voice went
right to my core.  It suddenly felt hard to breathe and I belatedly jerked my
eyes from his, cursing myself for my idiocy.  I had been here all of two
seconds and he had nearly put me under his sway.  My will returned at once and
I squared my shoulders.  My practice with Dominic was paying off, not that I
would let Argenou know.

“I haven’t
agreed to help you with anything yet,” I snapped as my head started to throb.

Ailis bowed to
Argenou and kissed his ring.  “Mya has agreed to hear your proposal, sir,
before she makes a decision.”

Argenou rose and
went to a small bar behind his desk.  “Would you care for a drink, Mya,” he
asked politely.  I snorted impatiently.  As if I was really going to drink with
him.

 Dominic
casually dropped into an armchair near where I was standing, with a predatory
smoothness.  I crossed my arms defensively and stood my ground, telling myself
that he was only moving closer to protect me.  It didn’t help.  I could see why
Argenou kept him around.  He had slipped into his role as right hand man to the
master vampire with the ease of putting on a glove.  It was beyond scary, and I
felt all the little hairs on my arms raise in response.

Ailis arched a
brow and took the chair I had refused as Argenou returned to his desk with a
tumbler of rose-colored liquid.  I spared a brief thought for what exactly
vampires drank to get wasted and the corner of my lips rose in a wry grimace. 
Argenou caught the expression and looked at me in confusion.  I rolled my eyes
and shrugged.  He paced to his chair and sat down slowly, watching me as if I
might start doing tricks at any moment.

“I take it my
Ailis has filled you in on the details of what I wish from you?”  He didn’t
know that I had already located the vampire.  This visit was merely a
formality.  I nodded curtly and he continued in that soft, creepy voice.  “This
matter needs to be dealt with immediately.  We cannot have this neophyte
drawing attention to our existence.”

I raised an
eyebrow at him sarcastically.  “And that is my problem how?”  I asked snidely.

Argenou rose
slowly, placing his hands on his massive desk to lean forward threateningly. 
“It is your problem my
dear,
” he said darkly, “because your people are
the ones who will suffer and die when we are revealed.  If it were made public
that we exist, then what need would we have to stay in the shadows?  Why would
we hide?  Our kind would fall on the humans like a plague.  You wouldn’t last a
year.  It is your people he is killing.”  He laughed shortly.  “You think I
care about a few snot-nosed human brats?  What I care about is the balance of
the world.  If we are allowed to roam freely the livestock will dwindle and our
kind will suffer.”

I clenched my
fists, struggling to control my anger.  People were just cattle to him. 
Livestock.  He wasn’t protecting humans he was preserving the food stores.

“Look, you
fucking bastard,” I began hotly.  I stopped abruptly when Dominic stood in a
fluid motion, blocking Argenou and ostensibly protecting him from my unstable
powers as he slipped an arm around my waist.

I stiffened in
surprise and he leaned in to whisper in my ear, radiating compulsion.  Argenou
would think I was being put under his sway.  Little did he know, it had no
effect on me.  At least not
much
effect.  My skin tingled pleasantly and
I leaned into Dominic when his warm breath tickled my ear.  Everything else
dropped out of focus and it was as if he and I were the only ones in the room,
though I knew he was only speaking for Argenou’s benefit.

“You would be
better off doing as the master asks of you Mya,” he breathed in that silken
voice, “unless you would rather take orders from me?”

He released me
suddenly, and I swayed where I stood.  I shook my head to clear it and let out
a shaky breath. 
Stop swearing at the boss.
  Point taken.

I blinked at
Argenou uncertainly, doing my best to appear as though I was just regaining
control of my will.  Not much of an act, truthfully.  I couldn’t help reacting
to Dominic, and he damn well knew it.

“I see we
agree,” Argenou said darkly.  “You will bring my child back to the fold.”  He
was so confident of himself.  I wanted to kick him someplace soft. 

My eyes
widened. 
His
child.  Argenou was the one who had turned the man against
his will.  And he wanted us to try to bring him back alive so Argenou could
continue to torment him by keeping him in the vampire world.  The bastard had
no morals.  No heart.  Just utter coldness.  I wondered if he possessed a soul
at all under that sucking blackness. 
Doubtful.

I strove for a
confidence that I didn’t feel.  The tension and the vampire hormones flowing
around the room were making my head spin.  Striking a nonchalant pose with one
hip cocked and my chin in the air, I tried to steady my voice.  “What’s in it
for me?”  I asked coldly.

Argenou dropped
into his chair as if he was relieved, knowing that I was going to do his dirty
little job for him, but I wasn’t fooled.  His dead eyes glinted with a hint of
silver.

“Your continued
life, for one,” he said in reprimand.  “I offer you the salvation of your
people and you ask for more?”  His voice was cold with disbelief.

“Since you are
the one who caused my people to be in danger in the first place and you are the
one asking
me
for a favor, yes I think I deserve some sort of payment.” 
My voice was starting to rise again, but it was just so hard to rein it in.

“I won’t give
you the
reward
you deserve,” Argenou said with a meaningful look at my
throat.  “That will have to wait.”  His voice radiated dark threat.

He removed his
eyes from my pulse, leaving me feeling cold.  “I will leave a check in Ailis’s
care to be delivered to you once the job is done.”  I nodded my head.  I didn’t
dare insult him by asking how much.  I had pushed it enough already.

I spun on a
heel, boldly showing my back to the master vampire as I strode out of the
room.  I descended the stairs all but running, the clatter of my boot heels
echoing across the wide courtyard. 
What had I just done?
  I was now
officially working for the devil.

Ailis caught up
with me as I reached the car.  Placing a hand on my shoulder, she spun me
around roughly to face her, her grip bruising.  “What the hell do you think you
are doing?  Speaking to the master with such disrespect will get you killed.” 
Her voice was overly loud in the empty courtyard.

I flushed in
anger.  I had just been thinking the same thing, actually, but hearing it
shouted at me in earshot of a couple dozen vampires was just too much.

“Fuck your
stupid vampire politics!”  I shouted, my face inches from hers.  “I am not one
of you.  I don’t have to live by your rules.”  I tried to turn away, but she
pinned me to the car in an instant.

Holding me
pinned with her body, she used one hand to turn my head away as she closed in
on my neck.  I brought a hand up with a vicious strike toward her temple, but
she blocked it with ease.  She hesitated by my ear long enough to whisper, “You
will live by our rules or you won’t live at all.”