Night Myst (32 page)

Rhiannon paled. “I didn’t even think of that. But wouldn’t I know?”

“I didn’t.” My childhood had been a freak show of abnormality, so I’d always attributed feeling out of place to the environment I’d grown up in, rather than blood. After all, I wasn’t fully human—I was a born witch—and had never felt “the odd one out” due to my magic.

“Should we tell Anadey about this? She might be able to shine some light on our heritage.” The look in her eyes told me she was hopeful of finding out more about her past, too. Heather wasn’t likely to tell her anything, now. Heather was lost to us.

I considered the idea. Anadey was the closest thing to an advisor we had. She was Marta’s daughter, though not to the core, and she’d known our mothers before we were born. For a brief moment, I wondered if we could trust her, but tossed that worry out the window. We were long past the trust/don’t trust stage. We’d passed it the moment we told her about Grieve and the Indigo Court.

“Yeah. I think so. It’s Sunday, nobody here works today, do they?”

“About that . . .” Leo shifted uncomfortably. “I woke up to an e-mail that one of my tasks today is to chauffer you in for your first blood offering. Lannan wants to see you at seven tonight.”

“Crap, I’d almost forgotten about that. I guess I wanted to forget.”

Leo winced. “I feel trapped in the middle. I have the option to leave my contract without retaliation. I’m thinking of giving up my job as a day runner. Especially now that you’re working for the vampires, Cicely. I have a feeling you’re going to have it harder than any of us, and I don’t want to be put in a position to make it worse. I’m afraid that might happen.”

I glanced up at him. I hadn’t thought about that before. What if they ordered Leo to do something to me—or with me—that neither of us wanted? He’d have no choice but to obey if he was still contracted by them.

Don’t let him.
Ulean’s voice was urgent, prodding.
You’ll need him there. I promise you that.

That took care of that.

“Ulean just told me to tell you: Keep the job for now. I won’t say that I trust them, but they aren’t stupid. I doubt if they’ll put our friendship in jeopardy, considering they believe I’m the key to their upcoming war.”

“No, they aren’t stupid. I suppose you’re right,” he said.

“So tell me, what happened at Anadey’s? Did she start your training?” I wanted to forget about vampires and Vampiric Fae for the moment and concentrate on the living.

Rhiannon smiled, her face lighting up. “Yes, and it’s not as difficult as I feared it would be. I already know quite a bit—I’ve learned a lot over the years from helping Heather with her spells and wortcunning. I have a lot of practice to do, but Anadey taught me one valuable lesson last night—how to pull back the fire when it starts getting out of control. It was far easier than I thought.”

She looked so proud of herself that I jumped up and gave her a hug. At least we had solved one of our problems.

“What do we do today?”

“I thought about going out to find Peyton again, but we barely escaped the first time. I think we should spend the day working on protective charms.”

“Are you going to talk to Grieve?” Kaylin gave me a long look.

I bit my lip. “How can I? I’m giving blood to Lannan tonight. Grieve would sense something’s up and he’d try to stop me. I need to file a report with Lannan, but I can do that via e-mail. I’ll have to tell them about Heather, of course. But I think first I want to take a walk. I won’t go in the wood, but I want to find the owl again. See if I can get some answers. Why don’t the rest of you start on the charms? I’ll be in to help in a little while.”

I finished my breakfast and, grabbing my jacket, headed out to the backyard. The oak towered over me and I gazed up through the branches, amazed I’d been able to climb so high the night before. I slowly began to make my way up the lower limbs, cautiously watching my step, and was about halfway up when I heard a quiet susurration, a whispered
Hello
. Looking around for the owl, I realized there was no one—be it humanoid or winged creature—around.

The tree? But then, Ulean had brought me messages off the slipstream from plants before. The land was far more alive and vibrant than most people thought her. I leaned my head against the gnarled bark and sank into the energy of the ancient wood. Old, well past old, far older than I was.

I saw the coming of the new people to this land
.

Well over six hundred years old, then. As I snuggled against the tree, letting the trunk shield me from the wind and the chill, I began to doze, sliding easily away from my conscious mind.

It’s true then—what happened last night? I was an owl . . . I flew.
And a stream of images from the night before blanketed my mind, taking me back, sinking me deep into the freedom the skies had showered upon me. I murmured gently, almost asleep in the cradle of the tree, feeling protected and cared for.

And then, my eyes fluttered and I woke to full consciousness, freezing again as I realized it was time to get down, out of the tree.

Ulean rode my shoulder.
The tree, he is old and wise, but not so old as me. But you can trust him. Trees are like that—once they choose a side, they seldom switch.

As I joined the others in making protection charms, I sorted through the herbs and crystals carefully, but my thoughts were a million miles away, soaring in the dark sky.

At seven on the dot, I was standing outside of Lannan’s office in Vecktor Hall, at the New Forest Conservatory. Leo stood beside me, the limo we’d arrived in waiting in the street in front of the building. Nervous, wondering how this was going to work, I raised my hand and hesitantly knocked.

“Enter.” The word echoed through the hall as the door slid silently open. I glanced inside to see Lannan sitting behind his desk.

Altos’s office was as oddly contradictory as was he. The furniture was old, heavy, dark, and handcrafted, but electronics filled the shelves, and just like at Marta’s, there was a minimalist feel to the décor once you moved beyond the basic furnishings. But the atmosphere reminded me of peaches left on the vine just a little too long.

The suite was done in burgundy and black, with a large divan against one wall. A tapestry hung on the wall and, as I looked closer, I realized it was a picture of a woman being fucked by a large wolf, while a man stood by, masturbating. I shuddered, averting my eyes. A second wall was covered with books, and a desk, ornate and hand-carved from ebony, sat near the books. A door led into another room.

I glanced around for anybody else, but we were alone. Leo stood outside. Lannan glanced at him briefly and waved him off.

“Come back in an hour. We should be done then.”

Leo looked like he wanted to do anything but leave me there, but he walked away, his eyes flashing fury. I sucked in a deep breath, stepped over the threshold, and waited for Lannan to speak.

“I see you chose to dress for comfort.”
A statement.
“Next time, wear something sexy.”
A demand.

Great. He wanted the full show. He was a master gamesman, that much I could already tell. But I’d play along. I knew how to pick and choose my battles.

“Yes, sir.” My voice sounded like a mouse’s squeak in a giant auditorium. I forced myself to stand still in front of his desk. Make him initiate the first move.

Lannan looked up at me, his dark eyes glittering. If there had been some spark of light in them, some semblance of humanity, I might have been able to keep it together. But those abysmal orbs sucked me in and I found myself starting to shake. He was a
vampire
, a Vein Lord, and he was going to be drinking from my body tonight.

He slid from behind the desk and silently crossed the room. “What brings you to this fear? The thought of offering me blood?” His voice was soft, so soft I could barely catch it, and he leaned in, nuzzling my neck. “You are a lovely thing, and your scent fills the room. You know vampires have a sense of smell, even though we don’t need to breathe?”

As he lingered by my shoulder, my heart skidded to the side. I already had come to loathe the man, yet his very proximity was like an aphrodisiac and even though my mind and heart resisted, my body was responding to whatever pheromones he was putting out.

“Oh, Cicely, not all payment has to hurt. Mine usually does, but keep in mind that I can—and shall—make it a pleasure for you. Blood offerings aren’t always torture.” He lifted my chin with his hands. “Don’t worry, in less than ninety minutes, you’ll be safe at home, with your friends.”

But the look on his face told me I’d never be the same.

Lannan let go and walked over to a small stereo system in an entertainment center and flipped on the music. Sinuous strains wove out, coiling around me, followed by a throbbing beat. He poured a glass of wine and handed it to me. I stared into the liquid, wondering if it was safe.

“I have no need to drug you. I could mesmerize you and take anything I wanted . . . if I
chose
to.”

I froze, the drink halfway to my lips.
Ice,
I thought.
The ice maiden. Stay still, remain in stasis, freeze-frame, do not respond. Let him do what he will and then walk away like it never happened.

“You understand that I drink from you as my right according to contract. You offer yourself to me.” His voice was soft. Too soft.

I said nothing.

“Say it. Tell me that you have chosen this. I want to hear it from your lips, from your curving, sensuous, ever so life-quickening lips.”

Again, silence. I stared at the stereo, willing myself to dissolve into the music. Become the chords, become the melody . . . float away on the breeze with the notes as they passed. Ephemeral.

“Cicely. I command you.” And his voice was so strong I couldn’t disobey.

I turned to stare at him. “I give my blood to you, I’ve chosen to do this. I signed the contract. Now do what you will.”

His dark eyes flared and he let out a small grunt as he began to circle me. I stood at attention, unresponsive, not turning to follow. I managed to keep it together till he stopped in back of me and leaned in close. Then the panic started.

“I can make this ecstasy, or incredibly painful. Which do you think I should choose?” he whispered.

“That is up to you, sir.” Struggling to keep my voice even, I began to breathe in shallow bursts. I’d rather have it hurt, to remind me of what he was.

“You must have some idea of what runs through my mind.” He pressed his lips against my ear, as his hand began sliding down my right arm, his fingers icy cold against my skin. “What do you think I want to do to you? Tell me.”