Summoning Shadows: A Rosso Lussuria Vampire Novel (16 page)

“Feigning ignorance does not become you, Augusten. You know as well as I what and who they are.”

I lowered my gaze when King Augusten stood before me.

“True, but why they are here, with you…” He waved a hand in the air. “That I do not know, Queen Renata.”

“Allow me to enlighten you,” Renata said. “We have been attacked by their kinsmen. The Great Sires standing before you are our allies.”

Augusten’s leather boots were still in my field of vision. He stayed silent for a long moment.

“Who is she?” he asked. “She does not appear to belong with your party, Renata. Your guardsman,” he said, gesturing idly toward Dominique, “your beauty and political brains,” he gestured toward Nirena, “and your cunning warrior,” he said, nodding at Vasco. Augusten reached out to touch me, placing his calloused fingers beneath my chin and lifting my face.

Iliaria’s tail slithered across the stone floor and I felt her agitation rise. She didn’t like Augusten touching me.

“What are you?” the king asked ponderously. His chocolate gaze searched my face. “A present, perhaps?”

“She is mine, Augusten. Epiphany is
my
Inamorata.”

“Ah,” he released me and I did not lower my gaze. “I had heard some years ago that you had taken a woman as your pet. This is her?”

“Yes.”

“Do you love her?” he asked and it seemed like a terribly odd question for one monarch to ask another.

“Yes.”

“And you,” Augusten moved toward Iliaria. If he was scared of her, he did not show it. “You were unhappy when I touched her. What is the girl to you, Great Siren?”

“She is my dragă.”

“She is your lover, too?”

“Yes.”

“I suspect if I touch her again you’ll rip my arm off and feed it to me, no?”

Iliaria wisely did not respond.

“What of you, girl? Do you speak?”

I kept Renata’s advice in mind and tried to speak with subtle confidence. “I speak, my lord, when I am spoken to.”

“Where ever did you find this one? You’ve the hint of an accent, girl. English?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Ah, and I’m guessing you’re far older than you seem. How old are you?”

“Two hundred, my lord.”

“She has a sweet tongue, Renata.”

“More than you will ever know, Augusten.”

King Augusten beamed at her in good humor. “Come,” he said, and the cloaked figures that had moved to stand against the wall moved to escort our party. “We shall discuss and dine. Let it never be said that the King of Bull Shoals lacks in hospitality toward a neighboring queen.”

The tension in the air seemed to slacken like a rope let loose as the king and his party led us to a room designated for the king’s private dining. When I moved to sit at the table, Augusten spoke to me. “Come here, girl.” He held a chair out from the table expectantly.

I cast a glance at Renata and she offered a slight nod.

Humor him, cara mia.

“Thank you, my lord.” I offered a brief curtsey and sat. The king took his seat at the head of the table while Renata took hers across from me.

Augusten clapped his hands together twice, and two cloaked figures moved from the line they had formed against the cavern wall and disappeared through an archway that led to another room. When they returned, two men and two women garbed in white linen robes followed subserviently behind them. Their white robes were sheer enough to leave little to the imagination. They were quite obviously nude.

“I believe our customs differ slightly,” Augusten said, sparing a glance at Renata. “The clan of Bull Shoals prefers the fruit straight from the tree.” He smiled as one of the women knelt before him. He swept aside her pale hair to expose her neck.

Augusten struck like a snake, and much to the woman’s credit, she made only a small sound of pain at the bite.

I silently reminded myself of the lesson I had learned with Justine.

A woman knelt before Renata, her brown hair spilling from the hood and covering her breasts. Renata grabbed the woman by the arm and pushed her onto the table. The woman’s hood fell back to reveal a face that was soft and doe-like. Renata jerked her head to the side, exposing her neck.

“Cara mia,” she said.

The rapid beat of her pulse sang to me and I followed its song. I bit the side of the woman’s neck, and when I bit her, Renata pushed up her gown and sank her teeth into the pulsing drum high up on the woman’s inner thigh.

I flushed with jealousy and the girl beneath me squirmed uncomfortably, drawing me back to myself. I still had not released the wound after biting and had only bitten down harder when the jealousy surged through me. I unsheathed my fangs from her skin and sealed my lips over the wound as her pulse pumped her blood eagerly into my mouth.

Renata held my gaze while we fed. I sensed more humans being ushered into the room, heard their gasps and startled cries when our party found a place to bite.

It is just food, cara mia.

I shut my eyes again and drank.

Renata drew back first, dabbing at the corners of her mouth with a square of crimson cloth.

I pulled myself away with an effort, swallowing and licking the blood that had dripped onto to my lower lip.

When the others were done, Augusten raised his hand and his cloaked guards led the light-headed humans back through the archway.

Augusten smiled at me when he asked, “Did you enjoy?”

I forced myself to return the smile as politely as I could. “Yes, my lord.”

He patted my hand on the table. “Good, that is very good. Queen Renata.” He turned his attention to her, but kept his hand unnervingly on mine. The urge to move my hand away from his was instinctive. I was wise enough not to move, however, for fear of insulting him. “We have matters to discuss. You mentioned a particular problem with their kinsmen?”

Iliaria and Anatharic, again, had not taken the seats offered to them. They remained standing. I felt Iliaria move up behind me. The weight of her hand rested on my shoulder. Wisely, Augusten took note of it, and removed his hand from mine.

I silently thanked Iliaria.

“Yes,” Renata said, her attention shifting from Iliaria to Augusten. “Some of the Dracule are rising against the vampires. They attacked our stores and tried to burn our crops.”

Augusten leaned back in his seat, appearing thoughtful. “And what do you want from me and mine, Renata?”

“To warn you. If you have not already been attacked by the Dracule, there is a chance that you may be.” She shook her head, waves glistening in the candlelight. “We have not yet figured out if they are targeting our clan alone or if this is a move against all of us, Augusten.”

For what seemed a long while, King Augusten did not say anything. He pushed his chair out and rose. “Come,” he said and the others at the table started to stand. “No,” he said, glancing at them. He looked at Renata and then me. “You.”

It was Vasco who protested. “We will not leave them alone.”

“Vasco,” Renata said, only his name. Vasco dropped back into his seat, obviously not thrilled with her command but obeying without quarrel.

Renata offered her arm to me and I took it while Augusten led us away from his dining hall.

“You truly believe the Dracule are gathering an army to attack our kind?” he asked Renata.

The hallway he led us through was dark and tunnel-like, lined with a few burning torches.

“An army?” Renata shrugged lightly. “I am not so certain they are gathering such strength in numbers, Augusten, but I do know they have made moves against us, and from what I have heard, they may move against neighboring clans.”

Augusten stopped at the end of the hall, bringing us to a halt behind him. “We have not been attacked, Queen Renata. Why should I show concern if we, the Bull Shoal, are left untouched?”

“How long do you suppose it will stay that way, my lord? Do you not believe us?” I asked. “The Dracule that have banded together do not despise merely our clan. Their leader despises all vampires. I would not think for a moment that when they are done with us, this war will dissipate. They will more than likely move to conquer another front.”

“And you know this how, little one? Perhaps it is only your clan that is in their line of sight and not ours. If we raise hand, then we will draw attention to ourselves. What you ask of me, you ask of my people.”

“Noble and wisely spoken, Augusten, but by not raising hand with us, you may harm your clan more. What then?”

Augusten placed the tips of his fingers against his temple as if we were giving him a headache. “I must think on this, Renata. I cannot be rash. Will you stay and pass the day here?”

“One night, Augusten.”

“I will consult my Elders and send word to the other nearby clans,” he said. “You will have my decision come next nightfall.”

Augusten clapped his hands together, and one of his hooded guards moved through the archway in front of us. His guardsmen knelt.

“Yes, my lord?”

“I will need ink and parchment,” he said.

“As you wish, my lord.”

His tall guardsmen disappeared.

“It is dangerous to send out riders, Augusten. We took a risk simply coming here.”

Augusten turned on his heel, expecting us to follow. “I do not have to send out riders, Queen Renata. You should know me better than that.”

Renata spoke to his back. “Then pray tell, how do you mean to contact the other clans?”

“I have my ways.”

Augusten pushed aside a large rock with ease, admitting us through another doorway.

The room we emerged into was lined with wooden shelves and rows of books. His guardsmen stood near a high-backed chair of brownish-red leather. Augusten sat, crossing his legs and taking the tablet and parchment from his guard.

He gestured toward the leather couch across from his chair. “Make yourselves comfortable.”

We did so as Augusten dipped a long quill in the inkwell his guard held and began to scribble a series of short notes, tearing the parchment and rolling it carefully.

When he was done, he dismissed his guard with a bow of his head. I caught a glimpse of the man’s face beneath the hood. He appeared young and boyish, with a wisp of blond hair that cast his blue eyes in shadow. He looked like a teenager.

The boy returned carrying a small gilded avian cage. Augusten opened the latch and retrieved a large-eared bat from inside. The bat clambered up Augusten’s sleeve, appearing docile but inquisitive.

“Would you like to hold him?” Augusten asked, catching my obvious interest in the little creature.

“May I?” I asked, feeling somewhat childishly excited at the prospect.

Augusten had me cup my hands together and placed the teacup sized creature with its crown-like ears into my palms. Its fur was creamy and soft and dusted with colors of coal and ash. The bat turned in my hand, its beady black eyes assessing me mildly.

“I always thought they were blind,” I murmured, feeling the bat watching me. “But you’re not, are you?” I asked it.

The bat chittered softly.

You’re seriously not thinking about keeping that creepy fuzzy thing as a pet, are ye?

So what if I am, Cuinn?

It’s a flying rodent
, he said.
Wouldn’t ye prefer…oh, I don’t know…a puppy or something?

The bat made a fuss, squeaking and chittering as if it’d heard Cuinn’s insult.

Actually, he’s not a rodent.

Augusten stroked a finger down the bat’s back when I handed it back to him, and when it quieted, he tied the little piece of rolled parchment comfortably around the bat’s neck, showing considerable gentleness with it. I sensed the bat quite liked Augusten.

Augusten raised the bat in his hands and I felt his shields part like a curtain. His power caressed my cheeks, tickling strands of my hair and sending them dancing.

The bat chittered again before flying away.

“Clever, Augusten,” Renata said. “You’ve used your power to bespell bats.” The corner of her delicious mouth twitched in bemusement.

Augusten retrieved another bat from the gilded enclosure. “A handful,” he said, “no more. It’s far more efficient than traveling.”

Augusten placed another of the bats in my hands. This time, he did not let me hold it long. He secured the parchment, and then took it, raising it to meet his eyes, calling his power, and sending it flying off with the others to fulfill its mission.

He sent five bats in all, each to carry their master’s messages to the nearby clans. He rose and handed the empty cage to his guard.

“Now, we shall wait and see,” he said. “My guards will escort you to your chambers. We will dine once more on the eve and I will give you my answer.”

Istania and another of his guard appeared in the doorway to escort us to our rooms for the night.

“My thanks, Augusten.”

He nodded at Renata, waving his hand. “It is nothing.”