The Immortal Compromise (The Mortal One Series Book 3) (8 page)

The van came to a stop and the door was opened abruptly. The tall man reached in and grabbed me by the wrist. I gave a kick at him but he only grabbed my wrist harder. “Move,” he said, pulling me out of the van with more force than necessary. Had he just asked me to follow him, I would have.

“Where are we?” I asked.

The shorter man stared at me and shook his head. I was brought around the back of a castle, but the details were limited because it so dark. A large door opened and the two men led me down a dimly lit hall. I tried to look at as many details as I could, but there were no lights on inside the castle. I peered further down the hall and saw no sign that there was even electricity in here. Great.

Another large door opened and all I saw were stairs. The shorter man held the door open while the taller man walked down the stairs with me. “Keep going,” he said, nudging me down the stairs. I was going slowly and it was because the stairwell was steep and narrow. Plus, I had no idea what was waiting down there for me. I swallowed over a huge lump. I was given another nudge and tripped over the last stair, landing on my knees that were already raw, thanks to the van.

The man, or vampire as I assumed, lit a torch on the wall. The torch sprung to life, lighting up the cellar that I was in. There was nothing in here, save for two stools. He took his time staring at me and I shrunk at his scrutiny. He made a guttural noise and then walked back up the stairs.

“Wait!” I yelled after him, realizing he was leaving me here alone. “What am I supposed to do down here?”

I knew he could hear me, but he kept walking up the stairs. The shorter man at the top of the stairs smiled and waved to me, and then shut the door. I could hear it being locked and then there was silence. I was alone in a cellar, with no clue as to why I was here or for how long. I’ve said it before and it’s time I say it again. Fucking vampire politics. It was the only reason I could be here right now.

Chapter 11

“I DON’T UNDERSTAND. If you would just let me call my sovereign,” I said for what seemed like the hundredth time.

“Shut up, mortal,” the tall man spat at me.

“Wenzel is on his way here,” the shorter man said to no one in particular.

The name sounded familiar, but the accent was thick. It sounded like the name of the Bavarian sovereign and that worried me. I didn’t want to meet him alone. Not without Nico or Olivier at my side. At this point, I would even accept having Gregorio at my side. Or Costin. Anyone, really, that knew me.

A tall man with broad, square shoulders came walking down the stairs. I saw him rather than heard him. Although his size was intimidating, he was able to walk without making a sound. His dark brown hair was cut short in a modern style. He walked the rest of the way down the stairs and came to stand in front of me.

“You are Dylan?” He asked.

I nodded.

He took a seat on the other stool that was in the room. He sat across from me, studying me for several moments before saying anything. “You are the pet of the Parisian sovereign?”

“I am.” There was more I could say, or ask, but had no idea what I was and wasn’t allowed to do right now.

“What is his name?”

I stared at him, wondering if he was unsure of the name or wanted me to confirm it for him. “Niccolò Marionelli.”

He nodded. “He has not been in the position long.”

“Correct,” I said, unsure of what else I should say to that.

“Do you know who had the position prior to him?” He asked.

“I knew of him,” I said, assuming that he was referring to Henri and not Costin, since Costin’s position of sovereign in Paris was temporary and short-lived.

“Henri was a close friend of mine.”

Oh shit. “I am sorry for your loss.” This could go in many ways and none of them seemed good, especially since I knew what became of Henri and how. My involvement was limited, but I was the pet of a sovereign and my death could be used to send a message. I braced for whatever could happen next.

“Niccolò has not contacted me since taking power,” he said to me casually and then stood up, turning so his back was to me.

I didn’t know what to say. Nico wasn’t planning on stepping into Germany. As far as I knew, he hadn’t met any of the neighboring sovereigns yet. That wasn’t something I was about to point out. I was being treated as the pet to the sovereign and not his wife and had to be very cautious not to overstep my bounds.

“Why is your sovereign not with you?”

“I came to Germany to visit a friend.”

“And your sovereign allowed you to come alone?” He sounded surprised by this.

I nodded. “He has met my friend in the past.”

“But he allows you to come alone? That is not a very strong sovereign. Does he not control his pets?” He asked the questions, but I didn’t think he expected an answer.

I still had no clue what I could and couldn’t say. Most of the vampire politics were handled without my input and out of ear shot. Nico and Olivier had been holding many conversations lately to ensure that they were doing what they could to secure power within France. As far as I knew, there were no plans to try and secure power outside of the country, but I wasn’t privy to any of that information.

“Nico, er, Niccolò is not just my sovereign,” I said quietly.

Wenzel turned to stare at me. He came close enough that I could see a scar on his face that led from his chin all the way to his left eyebrow. It had to have been given to him prior to turning, however many years ago that was. It made him look that much more aggressive, which explained a lot about how the people around him jumped whenever he said something.

“What do you mean by this?” He asked.

I swallowed. It was time to educate the sovereign on facts that I thought would have been known to anyone in power at this point. “He is my husband.”

He laughed. Just when I thought he was done laughing, he looked at me and laughed for a little while longer. Then he stopped. Suddenly. He stared at me and caught my chin with his hand, locking eyes with me.

“You are not lying,” he said.

I shook my head as best as I could with his hand still holding my chin. “No, sir.”

“Your sovereign married a mortal?”

I bristled at the way he referred to me as a mortal. “Yes.”

“When did this happen?” He asked. His question was presented in such a way that made it sound like someone should have checked with him before it happened.

“Last summer. Prior to him becoming sovereign,” I added.

He shook his head. “I can smell a lie. You are not lying to me.”

No shit
. I swallowed hard, realizing that I presented the last thought at the forefront of my mind. If he was listening to my thoughts, he said nothing. Looking over at him, I would be convinced that he didn’t hear my thoughts at all. Not willing to test it any further, I chose to keep my thoughts locked deep inside my head.

“Will I be released?” I asked it before thinking about it.

He stared at me for a moment in such a harsh way that I wished I could have taken it back. He did not answer me. Instead, he turned and walked back up the stairs, leaving me alone in the cellar once again.

What the fuck? I had no idea what just happened. He wanted to know more about me and my sovereign, but he didn’t provide any information as to why I was here or how long I would be here. There have been no threats on my life, so I was counting that as a win, but still wasn’t sure if it was time to celebrate yet.

***

I had no idea what time it was, but it had to be late. It was dark by the time we arrived and while I saw we were at a castle of some sort, the details were unknown, which was no help. There was a river in the background, but I didn’t know enough about German geography to know the city I was in. They hauled me into the cellar that I was in without explaining anything. I then sat alone for several hours before Wenzel graced me with his presence.

If it was as late as I thought, I wouldn’t be seeing any more vampires for a while because they would be down for the day. That could leave me very lonely and without any food for half a day. I had yet to see another mortal since my arrival.

I sat down on one of the stools and stared at the stone wall in front of me. Everything that happened played through my head again and again. Gregorio should have been able to get a hold of Nico and Olivier right away. If they drove, they would have to pull over to go down for the day because there was a large distance to cover. If they flew, they would be in Germany by now, but they probably had no idea where in the country I was.

“Can someone please tell me what is going on?” I yelled at the wooden door. The room that they put me in was dark and moist. It felt more like a cave than anything else. While they did not tie me down or chain me to the wall, I was a prisoner. I know because I had looked for an exit at least half a dozen times out of boredom. There was only one door where people came in and out and it was locked at all times. There were no windows and no other doors. The only way for me to get out was for someone to let me out.

At some point I fell asleep. When I woke, there were still no people around. There were no windows where I was, which made it harder to estimate time. It was morning, I think, based upon how my stomach growled.

I kicked at some of the dirt and pebbles at my feet. I walked around, looking to see if there was anything that would give me clues as to where I was.

I waited and waited. They would not allow me to call anyone. The only thing I could hope for was that Gregorio was able to get a hold of Nico and that he was on his way to come claim me and take me back to Paris. Jen was supposed to be flying in today. Gregorio had her flight itinerary, so I only hoped that he remembered to pick her up. It would be an awkward way for her to meet him, and I never thought of sending her a picture of him, so who knew what would happen. I forget that Gregorio can be intimidating with his tall stature and tattoos because he’s a friend.

A man came down at some point, looked at me, and then walked back up the stairs. I hadn’t had a chance to ask him about who he was or what I was doing down here. He was likely a messenger to simply tell someone else that I was still down here and alive.

That made me think more about how I slipped with a thought and Wenzel hadn’t even flinched. He could not read my thoughts. If he couldn’t read thoughts, he wasn’t of the Western European bloodline, though I was guessing. Everyone from that line could read my thoughts because I’d gotten into trouble with that little fact on more than one occasion.

If he wasn’t of the Western European bloodline, it only left four other choices. There was no way of knowing about any of them. Nico told me that the Arctic and Caribbean bloodlines were dangerous and that left me with an uneasy feeling. If Wenzel was one of those, I wanted out of here before I could learn more about what made those bloodlines so different.

I banged on the door until my fist started to bleed. The door was a thick wood that seemed to go on forever. At one point, I made the assumption that no one could even hear me because the wood seemed to be solid and impenetrable.

“What is it that you want?” It was the taller man who was responsible for putting me in here in the first place.

“You’re mortal?” I asked. It probably wasn’t the best question to lead with, but I had assumed he was a vampire.

“Yes.”

Ahh, one word answers. Gotta love those.

“What is your name?”

“Dempsey.”

I sighed out of frustration. “Can you tell me why I’m still in here and when they are going to let me out?”

“You’re full of questions today, aren’t you Dylan?”

My fists balled at my sides. “It’s a shame you’re not full of answers.”

His mouth turned up at the edges. It was more of a snarl than a smile. “Because my master wants you in here and you will get out when he decides to let you leave.”

“So you know no more than I do.” It was a statement.

He didn’t like that too much, because the door started to close.

“Wait, wait!” I called out.

“What?”

As he turned, I noticed that he had marks on the side of his neck. Bite marks. I cringed. Whenever I had been bit, the vampires licked over the wound so there was no mark left behind. Why did they not do this for him?

He saw me looking at them and put his hand on his neck. “It’s not like you have never had them.”

“Actually, I haven’t.”

“What do you mean?” He said, taking a step down the stairs, cautiously.

I shrugged. “I have been bitten, but they didn’t leave a mark like that.”

This seemed to have Dempsey intrigued. “With all of those teeth, they didn’t leave a mark?”

“They lick the wound and it closes,” I said, trying to figure out what he was talking about with all the teeth. It was usually the two fangs that pierced the skin, but I wasn’t going to get into it with him.

“Your vampires must be different from mine,” he mumbled as he walked up the stairs again.

“Can I have something to eat? It’s been a while.” I was hoping that since we bonded over something that he would be more inclined to help me. I was wrong.

“I am not your waiter,” he spat.

“I understand that. But I’m sure your master doesn’t want me to die in here without any food. That would not be very hospitable of him.”

That seemed to get him to stop. “Fine, I will have them send something down to you.” He closed the door in my face, leaving me to go sit back down on one of the stools.

A few minutes later, someone opened the door. I ran to see who it was. It was a different man, short, with beady black eyes. “Your lunch,” he said, handing me a tray.

“Great,” I said, taking it from him. “Wait,” I called before he could close the door.

He turned to look at me.

“Can I use the bathroom?”