The Amulet (28 page)

Jessie would like a change of clothes, Alyssa. I thought you would be better suited for the task than I, if you don't mind?

Of course. I'll take care of it.

Thank you.

He wanted to say more, but the words never came to his thoughts. He hoped she was happy. He wanted that for her. She had been forgiving, and even kind, for what he had done to her. It was more than he deserved. Now, he wondered if she would still be kind and forgiving without the power of her blood manipulating her feeling towards him. It was a thought he could not bear to contemplate. He had never forgiven Matthias for changing him, but she forgave so easily. It was worth admiring.

She had so much heart, even though it was no longer beating in her. He had let his own heart die long before Matthias had found him. In truth, he had been dead to the world already, so why should he blame Matthias for completing what he himself had started? It all seemed so petty now. In seven hundred years, he had not seen what Alyssa had seen in less than seven days. He felt like a fool for taking so long.

I forgive you, Matthias. I have held a grudge against you for what I am far too long.

He had to search hard for the very weak thread that tied him to the old vampire. It had not been used in hundreds of years, not since he had gone looking for him some five hundred years ago. He reached out across the ancient blood tie, back to Matthias. He knew the older vampire would hear him, somehow. He had perfected the art long ago and his tie to Nevar was much stronger, but when he saw the thin vapor forming before him, the shock showed visibly on his features.

"It truly has been a long time, Nicholas," he paused. "Oh, do forgive me. You go by Nevar these days, do you not? I must say I much prefer your given name, but I will not deny you your eccentricities."

"Yes, Nevar is the name I prefer, or Monsieur Guile, as I have kept my surname to honor my father." He cleared his throat impatiently, feeling slightly annoyed at having to explain to an unwelcome guest how to address him. "I did not expect you to pay a visit, Matthias. Common courtesy would ask for an invitation first, or have you forgotten your manners?"

"You wish to speak to me of propriety when you caused a riot the last time you were at my door?"

"That was long ago, Matthias, and even you must see the error in your ways then. What brings you across the world to my gate?"

Matthias gave him an incredulous look. "Why, you did, sir. First, you bite my daughter and change her into the incredible specimen she is now and now you reach out to me after five hundred years? This is cause for celebration, if I do say so."

"I did not reach out to you to get reacquainted!"

"Tsk tsk, Nevar. Calm your temper. It is not only for your sake that I invited myself. My daughters are here and there is much to discuss with them. They should hear it from me. I cannot keep watching them pass out in the floor over ill-timed news."

Nevar felt his temper rise further rather than being calmed. It was clear to him now why he had been at odds with his mentor for so many years. "How dare you..."

"How dare I what? I bore you no ill will when you came to me those 500 years ago seeking guidance. I welcomed you with open arms and I even understood, even then, why you did what you did. Those days are long gone and I am not the same man I was then any more than you are the same man I found on the streets of Paris."

Nevar tried to collect himself and regain composure. It was true that Matthias had always rubbed him the wrong way, but there was truth in his words and he was making an extraordinary effort to be a gracious host. "I will allow you to speak with them, Matthias. I imagine they will have quite a few words for you in any case." It gave him a measure of satisfaction to think of the tirade he was soon to be subjected to by his hybrid daughters.

"Thank you, Nevar. If I may soothe your wounded pride, your home is exquisite. It seems you brought a piece of Paris across the ocean with you. I almost believed it was Versailles when I arrived."

"It was an inspiration, yes, but with a few modern luxuries. I try to avoid the newer architecture as much as possible. The Old World style is much more sturdy and aesthetically pleasing."

"Very true. Where can we talk comfortably? I'm afraid we may have some length of topics to discuss."

"The library would be most suited to accommodate our growing number and there is comfortable seating available as well." As he directed Matthias through the manor towards the library, he reached out once more for Alyssa.

Yes, Nevar?

Your father is here and wishes to have a word with you and Jessie. When you both are ready, meet us in the library.

She did not answer, but she didn't need to either. Nevar felt her surprise and apprehension strongly. He had not been there with her at their first meeting and did not know how she had reacted to what surely came as surprising news to her at the time, but he knew that she was nervous about seeing the man she now knew as her father.

"While we wait for Alyssa and Jessie, allow me to offer you a bottle of my finest wine," Nevar offered.

"It has been ages since I have tasted a good wine. I will gladly accept. I hope you don't mind if I peruse your literature while I wait?"

"Be my guest, Matthias. I imagine I owe you at least that much." He left him in the library to browse while he headed towards the cellar.

"Matthias is here?" Xander was bristling. Even without fur, Alyssa could see it in his stance. The mood had been ruined between them when Nevar had asked her to bring Jessie some clothes, but when Xander learned that the man who held him captive was in the same house, it was all Alyssa could do to keep him from changing and tearing through the manor after her father.

"Xander," she tried, putting weight into her words the way Nevar had done, "don't lose control!"

She caught his shoulders and stood in front of him. She hadn't had time to dress herself yet, so she didn't feel very intimidating compared to his rippling muscles, but she felt his body relax under her touch. She felt his wolf itching to get out and saw he fierceness in his eyes.

"Jessie and I will handle him, but I need you to keep your composure. I might need your strength behind me." She had struck a chord with him. She saw the shift in his eyes from furious to protective.

He put his hands around her waist and bent down to kiss her with the wolf prowling just beneath the surface. "My strength will always be behind you," he whispered as he pulled away from her lips. "Though, if you ask me, you hardly need it. I do hope you put Matthias in his place, or if not you, surely your sister will."

"Oh, Jessie will have plenty to say, and she's growing more bold since she was bitten. Usually, I was the only one she was really stern with, but now, she's a firecracker waiting to explode. Which reminds me, I'd better get dressed and bring her some clothes. She should be finishing her shower soon."

It was easier, and less conspicuous, to travel by mist than to sneak through the manor naked and risk getting lost. It also saved her valuable time. She dressed quickly, though she wondered why she bothered at all. Too often it seemed she was threatening nice clothes to shredding either by transforming or fighting for her life with vindictive vampires.

But, since she couldn't very well have a civilized conversation naked, especially with her father, she chose simple cocktail dress and paired it with a khaki overcoat with elegant ruffles in the back and her black knee-high suede boots. For Jessie, she found an outfit that she had always admired. Her favorite copper sequined top with laces up the back, a black micro mini that would show off her beautiful legs, and a pair of strappy heels to compliment her ensemble.

Just as she was about to take the clothes up to her sister, she saw Snickers bound up onto the dresser with a plaintive call. "Oh, Snickers, where have you been hiding? I've missed you! You must be having the time of your life with so many places to explore here. I should take you out to the barn. Maybe there are some mice for you to hunt out there."

She meowed in return, arching her back as Alyssa pet her. Then, the cat looked at her with thin slits for pupils and the hair on her back stood on end. She tried to pet her again, but she hissed at her and swatted at her with claws extended. Something was wrong, she thought. She smelled different, wrong. And then, just like that, Snickers bolted away and disappeared around a corner.

She thought her behavior was odd, but being a feline, she was prone to fits of strangeness from time to time. She assumed it was the scent of the pelt she and Xander had slept on that had agitated her and pushed it from her mind.

She found the bathroom where Jessie had just gotten out of the shower and knocked on the door. "Jess? I've got some clothes for you."

"Just a moment, 'Lyss, let me grab a towel and I'll let you in!"

Alyssa stood patiently at the door, thinking of how she was going to explain Matthias to Jessie, but the door opened and she had come up with nothing.

"Come on in, 'Lyss," she invited.

"Here are the clothes I picked out for you."

"Oh, Alyssa! I couldn't possibly wear this! I've never worn anything so short in my life!"

"Jessie, look in the mirror! You've got the figure for it, and you always loved this outfit," she reminded her.

"It looks great on you, but I don't know about me," she replied. Alyssa watched her reaction as she glanced at the full-length mirror on the adjacent wall. Her eyes grew to about twice their normal size and her jaw dropped visibly. "Wow," was all she managed.

Alyssa laughed at her sister, who had always been quietly beautiful, but the wolf had made her stunning. "There are advantages to this life, Jess. Beauty and allure are among them, and for us, the promise of never growing old. It wasn't something I planned on, but I like to look at the bright side of things if I can."

"You could have told me I turned into a super model overnight before now! Geez 'Lyss, I'm beautiful!"

"You have always been beautiful, sis," she used the term affectionately. "The Were gene only enhanced what was already there, although, it did put some much needed curve on that skinny frame of yours." She winked at her to stave off the onslaught brewing in Jessie's eyes.

"I guess I did lose a little weight after the break-up," she admitted sadly.

"If I can be honest, I never liked him anyway. He was a jerk, Jess, and he certainly didn't deserve you!"

"I never did understand why you acted so weird around him. You always looked at him like he was spit in the punch bowl."

"Because he was, Jess. I never told you this, but before you were supposed to get married, I saw him trying to pick up some tramp after one of my auditions. The girl couldn't act her way into a soap opera, but James wasn't interested in her for her acting. All he saw was her obviously fake double D's that she hardly made an effort to cover up. When he tried to take her back into his office, I walked up and slugged him."

There were tears streaming down Jessie's cheeks, but also a look of pride about her. "His black eye, that was you? Wait, is that why we had to play cover-up with the tabloids when rumors about you getting into a fight were going around?"

"Yes to both, actually. I forgot about the reporters being there when I did it. I was pretty good at dodging the cameras, though. At least, they didn't get a good angle of my face, so it was all speculative. James knew I'd blow the whistle on him if he talked, so he kept his mouth shut. You gave me quite the lecture after that one, even though there wasn't any solid proof that I did it."

"Thank you, 'Lyss, and sorry about that. You should have told me sooner. Maybe I wouldn't have moped around as long as I did."

"You weren't ready to hear it. You needed time to get over the man you thought he was before hearing someone call him a pig, but he was a pig."

She managed a laugh and gave Alyssa a big hug. "Alright, I think I'll go get dressed now."

"Let me know when you're ready. We've got company waiting for us in the library."

"Who?"

She decided to come right out with it. "His name is Matthias, and he's our father."

"Our father? Are you sure?"

"Mostly sure, but you can ask him yourself once you're dressed."

"Do you really think this is appropriate attire for meeting him?"

Alyssa smiled and gestured to her own ensemble. "How often do you see me wearing sweatpants or T-shirts? Nevar doesn't have any women's clothes just lying around."

"Uh, models! You have some grudge against comfort," she scoffed. "Fine, get out so I can get dressed."

Alyssa obliged and excused herself, closing the door behind her. Xander was waiting in the hallway for her, nonchalantly leaning against the wall. "You look exquisite," he said to her.

"Why, thank you," she replied. "Has that silver tongue of yours ever gotten you into trouble?"

"Not yet, but it has gotten me out of a tight spot once or twice," he chuckled.

"That doesn't surprise me. Are you ready for this?" She saw the change in his demeanor immediately, which answered her question better than words ever could. "I was afraid of that," she sighed.

"Don't worry about me, 'Lyss. I'll behave, but if he steps out of line, I make no guarantees that the wolf will."