SNAP: The World Unfolds (17 page)

This was getting more and more intricate. “Is that why the Baron and Jean-Louis were whispering together before dinner?”

“You are so contemporary American!” Pen just shook her head. “They were discussing a meeting they were going to this evening. Whispering together! You’re a naïf, my dear. I’m not sure if I can fathom why Jean-Louis is interested in you, but he seems to be and so it’s up to us to watch you.”

“Then why are you sending me away?” This history was giving me insights into the family but I was on a single track tonight. I heard from Carola and now from Pen that Jean-Louis was “interested” in me. If that was the case, why was he allowing me to get sent home like a misbehaved child?

“If you’re not here, we hope Jean-Louis will focus his attention on attracting young Huszars into the coup. And the second things is that we need you to go back to work. Part of the usurpation plan is to set up a new edition of SNAP somewhere in Middle Europe, spin it off as a subsidiary, and let the Huszars run it. It won’t be as lucrative but will give them a slight entree into what they see as a world of glamour.

“We need you in LA to help us set this up. You’ll have to find and hire regulars for production staff positions. Jean-Louis will pull together a team of vampires to train the Huszars in management—and get them to stop indiscriminate attacks. It takes a while to wean off of fresh blood to our diet.”

Pen looked at me. “I want you to know that I did not endorse this plan. I was overruled by Stefan and Jean-Louis. There’s been animosity between us and the Huszars for years and years. Stefan thinks that keeping them close...bringing them into our circle...will bridge some of the differences and cut down on the jealousy. And Jean-Louis thinks that by putting you in charge of getting this new SNAP product off the ground, you’ll be bound closer to us and we’ll be more likely to accept you.”

Now I wasn’t just prey to the Huszars, I was going to be their teacher. This was insane. How could I give in to this idiotic scheme? I closed my eyes and an image of Jean-Louis popped up. He was leaning over me before dinner, whispering how good I looked. His fine, dark hair was feathered over his ears, his face looked sculpted from marble and his dark eyes were flicking around the room.

My heart plummeted into my stomach. God, this man was stunning. Then his eyes met mine and, as he smiled at me, his glimmer increased until he was lit from within by gold. Of course I’d be part of his plan. Anything to stay close to him.

I shrugged and glanced at Pen who had a knowing smile. “I guess you know my answer is yes,” I sighed. “When do I leave?”

None of the Kandeskys ever knew exactly what happened to Felix Huszar.

Well, they knew he’d been shot at the edge of the forest. And the silver bullet looked like the same ammunition used by the Kandesky demons. A couple of them found the body and reported to Stefan, but by nightfall, when the Kandeskys went to investigate, the body was gone.

The Huszars tried to mount a campaign about the killing but the Kandeskys disavowed any involvement and Matthais wrested the leadership role of the Huszars away from Felix’ second in command.

Now that he held the power, and consolidated it by blaming the Kandeskys, or their demons, for Felix’ death, Matthais began reign of violence. Huszar vampires roamed out across the middle of Europe, hunting, always hunting, and covering their tracks. Their werewolves and feral pigs had constant and unlimited access to all of the land in the Neutrality. A Kandesky caught there was killed and his or her body deposited at the edge of their land.

Matthais took revenge for years of imagined slights by both vampire families. He hadn’t yet declared open warfare when the rest of the world did it for him. When Hiltler swallowed up Czechoslovakia, Austria and then Poland, Matthais sat up and took notice. Here was something he could use for more control. He enlisted dozens of the Huszars for hunting parties that trailed behind the German army as they overran miles of land. Now they didn’t have to cover their tracks by making their kills looks like accidents or murders. There were bodies everywhere; nobody knew or cared how they died. With a secured food supply, Matthais’ power seemed unlimited.

The Kandeskys still held out and, by the end of the regulars’ war, felt comfortable enough to go into the old Neutrality lands. They even felt comfortable enough that they sent a diplomatic envoy to Matthais.

Simon, Bela and Jean-Louis, along with four armed demons, headed out across what had been the Neutrality.

“
I don’t like this,” said Sandor, who headed up the demon squad. “I’m sensing something.”

“
Huzaers, their werewolves, the feral pigs, have had the run of this land for years,” Jean-Louis kept his vice calm. “I imagine you’re sensing a lot of presences.”

Simon spoke up. “Even a few years ago, before Matthais took over, they claimed a possible poacher was using this land. That was when Belon and I were caught in the illegal rigged net. Strangely, they may have been right. We just never believed them enough to investigate.”

“
I don’t think it’s a poacher,” Sandor closed his eyes and turned his head toward the sky, sensing. “It’s malevolent, cold and evil. And it knows we’re here.”

“
That’s no surprise, we sent word to Matthais that we were coming,” Jean-Louis began. He was interrupted by werewolves, a pack of them charging from the brush with wild bays and snarls. Three Huszar vampires, fangs shining in the moonlight and hissing with hatred, followed them.

Sandor and the demons fired off warning shots, which didn’t slow the charge, then took aim and killed one of the Huszar vampires. That slowed the other two just long enough for the Kandeskys to arm themselves. They whipped out silver knives and went after the wolves, who were circling and snarling, their eyes shining red.

“
I’m hit,” one of the demons shouted as a wolf ripped a gaping wound in his arm. His compatriot grabbed the wolf by the throat and threw it against a tree, where it sank down, taking on its human shape. Sandor whirled around and loosed four more shots, hitting one wolf and another vampire. This seemed to slow the attack. The remaining Huszar vampire and three wolves, now shape shifting into strong, heavy men, circled off and stood, watching.

“
We came as a diplomatic mission,” Jean-Louis shouted. “We were looking to work out a pact again and bring back the Neutrality.”

“
Not a chance,” the Huszar vampire sneered. “Matthais hates you. He won’t be satisfied until you’re under his power or dead.”

I didn’t get the Baron’s private plane. Since I was a regular, it didn’t matter if I flew commercial and during the day. The Baron and SNAP were sufficiently classy to book me on first class, though.

One of the demons would drive me to Budapest. I’d fly through Paris and stop in New York. The Baron wanted me to spend a few days in the New York office to meet some of the staff I’d only conferenced with. He wanted me to assess them for possible promotion and relocation to Poland or Ukraine, two of the posts in had in mind for the “little Huszar adventure”.

Jean-Louis came to say good-bye before dawn. He looked excited and his eyes glimmered with anticipation. I looked wrung out and so stressed I had pouches on top of purple circles under my eyes. Even a quick dose of make-up and concealer had little effect. I consoled myself that the trip from Paris would give me a chance to stretch out and sleep.

“I’m so happy that you had a chance to talk with Carola and Pen,” he reached for my hand. “Thank you for listening and agreeing to help us neutralize the Huszars.”

Then he stepped closer and ran his hand through my hair. “And thank you for being so lovely and so understanding. I didn’t think I’d ever find a combination of beauty and brains again. After Magda...”

“Carola told me about Magda last night. I’m so sorry.” I tried to contain the quaver in my voice. I didn’t want to hear about his old love and sure didn’t want any comparison. “I hope you’ll stay in touch and keep me in the loop about the, what did Pen call it last night? contretemps?”

“I will talk with you as often as I can.”

Sandor appeared then to give the driver last minute instructions in Hungarian. I was sure he was telling the demon not to stop for anything, keep all the doors locked and not to talk to me. When I looked at Jean-Louis, he grinned. “He’s only telling the driver to make sure he escorts you to the gate. Nothing sinister, I promise.”

As I walked down the steps of the castle to the car, the Baron joined Jean-Louis to send me off.

“Stay safe, my dear,” he said. “We’ll make sure we stay in touch.”

The heavy Mercedes pulled away and I watched Jean-Louis wave again then turn and head into the castle. Was this just one more of the dreams? Would I wake up suddenly in Paris or New York or my own bed in LA and discover that this was my own making? Even if it were real, would I ever see Jean-Louis again? He and the Baron were cavalier about their “little Huszar adventure,” but how dangerous was it really? The Kandesky family looked to be well-ordered and the demons were loyal. From what I’d seen so far, they’d had no trouble handling any of the Huszar’s attackers, but I was sure these had only been small sorties, early skirmishes to test the resolve and defenses of the Kandeskys. If they couldn’t pull together a coup, it might mean war, and that could get a lot of people—vampires, demons and others—hurt or dead.

The trip to Budapest in the daylight showed Hungary at its best. Rolling hills, cultivated fields, acres of grape vines interspersed with stands of forest. It looked peaceful and fertile and I could see why this land had been the crossroads of invasions over the centuries.

We made it to the airport with just enough time to check in. As instructed, the demon walked me to the gate and gave me a small head bow as I entered the jetway. The trip to Paris was short and when I changed planes for the New York leg I snuggled into a seat that almost became a bed. After breakfast, the attendant offered blankets and a sleep mask. I managed to sleep for a few hours and was met by a town car at Kennedy.

I must have been rummy because it wasn’t until the car pulled up to a building in the west sixties and the driver got out that I realized he was a demon, black suit and all.

“I’ve been instructed to escort you to the apartment and check it before I can let you in.” His voice was low in his throat. Not an order, not conversation, just a statement. So I stood in the hall with my luggage and let the demon look for demons, or whatever the Huszars may have sent to New York.

It checked out to his satisfaction and he led me inside, putting my luggage in a master bedroom. “We have a housekeeping service and I’ll wait until the maid gets here.” He took a straight chair into the foyer and sat.

After hours of travel I felt dirty and tired so I grabbed some underwear and headed for a shower. I came out, toweling my hair, and found a woman going through my luggage.

“I’m Elana, the housekeeper,” she introduced herself. She had a slight accent I pegged as Hungarian until she said, “The management at SNAP hired me to staff the apartment. I was just out marketing when I got a call you were arriving. Did you come from Bulgaria? That’s where I
‘
m from.”

“No, I’ve been in Hungary. I just came in from Budapest.”

Months ago when I‘d left LA—at least it
felt
like months—I’d packed a pair of jeans and a couple of tees. I ‘d only worn them on my stroll to the river and now it was good, and solid, and familiar to pull them on in New York.

I gave myself a few minutes to survey the apartment before I checked in with SNAP/NY. It was a twelve-room unit in prewar building with tall ceilings, three fireplaces, a balcony and a terrace. The dining room would seat twenty and the maid’s quarters were a suite with a sitting room.

“Does any one live here?” I asked Elena.

“Only me.” She was working in the kitchen and something smelled good. “The Baron is here sometimes, and we have other SNAP people come through, like you.”

Typical of the Baron to have a pied-a-terre of only a dozen rooms off Park Avenue in New York. I was learning fast that he and the Kandesky family didn’t stint themselves on any creature comforts. Of course, they’d had centuries to amass money and belongings and real estate and hadn’t ever had to worry about death duties. It was a lot easier to hang on to wealth that way.

One of the rooms was an office, already connected to the SNAP network. I logged on and got inundated by several hundred emails. I wasn’t going to read them all, so I deleted everything before today. If Jazz or somebody else hadn’t dealt with the problems, they’d get in touch with me eventually. I’d managed to skim most of them and reply to a few when Elena knocked softly on the door and announced dinner.

The food gave me enough of a boost that I was able to have conversations with the New York editors and set up meetings for the next day. I’d only been gone just under a week, and seen most of the SNAP shows, so I was current on the celeb news and gave myself permission to take a sleeping pill and be out for twelve hours.