The Vampire's Seduction (37 page)

“A mushroom?” Olivia looked at me as if I’d turned psychotic.

“Kept me in the dark and fed me bullshit.” I laughed harshly. “That’s a joke, babe. Only it’s also the truth.” I took another long drink.

“Jack—” Olivia began, but I cut her off.

“Yeah, Reedrek can make me all that I can be, as that commercial says, a full-fledged vampire if I choose to follow him. Or I can save William and his merry band of race-car drivers, movie directors, and hell, ballerinas, cowboys, and rock stars for all I know, and risk getting killed by Reedrek and all his little helpers that I’ve only heard rumors about.

“So I find myself wondering, Hey, what’s so bad about Reedrek anyway?”

I thought about my human father. He’d never promised me a damn thing. Even though I earned my keep and more, to him I was a burden, another mouth to feed.

At least Reedrek made me feel . . . wanted.

Olivia was indignant. “He killed Alger!”

So what?
I wanted to ask. Both William and I had killed other vampires when they got out of hand. So Reedrek and Alger had some kind of dispute over feeding territory or whatever. What of it? Then I remembered what the other vamps had said about Reedrek’s supposed evil minions.

“What’s the deal about these dark sires?”

Olivia’s face clouded over and she looked away, unable to meet my gaze. “Jack, I promised William that I wouldn’t get into all that with you.”

“Typical.” I had always suspected William kept me in the dark to keep me in hand, but in the past few days I’d had it confirmed over and over. It made my fangs throb.

“You have to understand,” Olivia pleaded. “When you break a promise you’ve made to a master vampire, there are . . . dire consequences.”

Her words made my undead flesh tingle. Unbeknownst to her, I had almost made a promise to a master vampire myself—one a helluva lot more powerful than William. I could almost feel Reedrek’s darkness enveloping me, and . . . I liked it. Olivia’s voice sounded distant.

“Jack, you’re looking strange. Are—are you enthralled?”

I set the empty jar on the counter and massaged my temples. Was I enthralled? At this point I couldn’t say I cared. “They both tried to get in my brain,” I admitted. “I don’t know who’s in there. I don’t even know if I’m in there. I’m so . . . tired.”

“Did you agree to give him the voodoo blood or not? And if you did, did you mean it or were you just humoring him?”

As if I owed her answers. She had an agenda just like the rest of them. Maybe I needed to play it close to the vest, like everybody else around here. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Don’t play coy with me,” she said coldly. “Reedrek wouldn’t let us walk out of there without something in return. This is too big for you to handle. I think it’s time we called on Tobey, Iban, and Gerard for help.”

Everybody has their breaking point. Those words—coming from her—were mine.

I took a step toward her, grabbing the broom from where I kept it leaning against the wall between the sink and refrigerator. I brought the broom down onto the sink as hard as I could, breaking it. The brushy end went flying. Then I swung out with the handle, knocking over the floor lamp. The room plunged into darkness. “Play coy?” I exploded. I could hear her stumble over something as she backed away. “Play coy with you?” I repeated. “Who the hell are you to demand that I tell you my plans? If I remember right, you’re the chick who tried to seduce me so you could drain my strength, without telling me the consequences. You’re the one who left our protection to follow Reedrek on your own and got enthralled, which forced William to trade himself for you, and now he’s being tortured. You know a lot more than I do about what’s going on and yet even with William gone, you’ve only told me the bits you absolutely had to. And now, because I’m a little confused, you tell me
I can’t handle the situation
?” I swung the broom handle, whiffing at empty air, my eyes still becoming accustomed to the darkness. “Fuck you. As I see it, you’re part of the enemy.”

I heard Olivia gasp and smelled the stink of her fear. My vampire eyes had gradually begun enhancing the tiny speck of light coming underneath the door from the security light outside to the point where I could see Olivia cowering against the far wall. I was on her in a second, one hand pinning her neck to the wall, the other poised to drive the jagged wooden broom handle through her heart. I brought my face close to hers and extended my fangs. My eyes dilated fully, making the room swim with otherworldly light.

“Don’t you dare tell me not to play coy with you,” I said. “I’ll play with you however I like.” I pressed the point of my makeshift stake into the flesh just beneath her left breast as I tightened my grip on her neck.

“I’m not the enemy,” Olivia croaked. “Jack, Reedrek’s got you. At least part of you. I can see him in your eyes, the way you could see him in mine when we were shagging.”

She was right.

I dropped the broom handle and staggered to the nearby sofa. I could feel Reedrek inside and now it sickened me. And it scared the hell out of me.

Olivia followed and sat beside me. “Tell me what’s happening to you right now.”

Her kindness calmed me a little. I pointed to my forehead. “William . . . is telling me to block Reedrek’s thoughts and to hide my own thoughts from Reedrek.”

“Do you know how to do that? Protect your thoughts from your sire and anyone up past him in your bloodline?”

“Yeah, I think so. I’ve done it to William before. He never taught me, of course. I just figured it out for myself. I’m sure he sensed I could block him, but he never said anything. It’s all so confusing and it hurts my head.” I let my head loll onto the back of the sofa and closed my eyes.

“Do you think that Reedrek has been able to read anything from you so far?”

“What do you mean?”

“Can he tell there are other vampires here in Savannah?”

“I dunno. I don’t think so.”

“You need rest,” Olivia said soothingly. She laid her cool-as-death fingers against my temple and smoothed back my hair. “We can’t stay here. It’s too close to Reedrek. Let’s go back to William’s.”

“Okay,” I said. Getting far away from Reedrek—and William—was the best idea I’d heard all night. “And yeah, I’m going to bring that voodoo blood to Reedrek. To get William back.” Olivia seemed satisfied with that. She didn’t ask me again if I had decided to follow Reedrek, and I saw no need to bring the subject up.

Reyha met us at the door. “What’s that smell?” she said, bringing a hand up to cover her nose. “Not William—” she gasped, horrified. She stumbled back from me and buried her face against Deylaud’s chest, her mournful howl muffled by his shirt. Across the kitchen Melaphia dropped the telephone receiver and left it where it fell.

“No,” I said, almost too tired to explain. “I mean yes, and no. He’s burned but still alive.”

Deylaud ushered his sister into the other room as Melaphia bore down on me. “Where?” she asked, her mouth set in a grim line.

“Bonaventure—we just left there,” Olivia said. She went directly to the top story of the night, failing to mention our broken-broomstick slow dance at my place. “We couldn’t rescue him. But Jack has a plan. He made a deal to get William back. Tell her, Jack.”

I knew Melaphia wouldn’t like it. That blood was the most precious thing she had except for Renee. It was her ancestral gift. She knew something was up, because she gave me a look that burned my skin, making my dry eyes itch like I might go all girly-man. “I told Reedrek I’d give him that vial of old blood you hid on the altar if he’d bring William to the party tomorrow night.” I didn’t volunteer what Reedrek said he’d do for me.

“Lalee’s blood . . .”

“Look,” I said, too exasperated to feel guilty, “it was the only thing I could think of, all right?”

“No, it’s not all right. But I can see you’re past caring.”

That surprised me, and it hurt. I wanted to swear that I would have taken another way if there had been one. But bottom line, I knew Melaphia would do anything to get William back. And she knew I knew.

“Have you heard from the others?” Olivia asked.

Melaphia was still staring at me. It took her a few seconds to register Olivia’s question. “Yes, the phone has been busy all night. Iban is beginning to worry that things are worse than he thought. I promised them William would be in touch. And then there’s Lady Eleanor. She’s called at least five times.”

Then Melaphia immediately turned her full attention back on me. She was another one who could read minds, and she was even better at reading body language. I was almost too tired to care, but it was still all I could do to keep from squirming.

“There’s something else about this party deal that you’re not telling me.” She took a step closer. “Isn’t that right, Jack? I feel it in my blood.”

Melaphia’s inner sight never failed. She must have picked up the fact that I stood to gain something in the blood transaction.

Well, she could just live with whatever suspicions she had. I was through spilling my guts. That old voodoo blood might be running in my veins but it hadn’t made me any stronger or smarter. When it came down to give and take, I’d been taken.

A knock at the front door saved me from having to answer.

Both Rehya and Deylaud went for the door. Their otherworldly growls, even in human form, sent a creepy shiver down my back. I thought again that I wouldn’t want to be on their bad side.

With his hand on the doorknob, Deylaud paused and looked at Melaphia. “It’s a woman—mortal.”

“It’s almost sunrise. Who would be coming here this time of night?” Melaphia wondered aloud, but she nodded for Deylaud to open the door.

“Eleanor . . .” I said to the newcomer, surprised to see her. As far as I knew William had never brought her here. He always went to her house.

“Fire, fire, fire!” Reyha shouted. Everyone on our side of the threshold seemed to be waiting for me to do something.

Eleanor looked like she’d had one helluva night and would rather be anywhere but here. “I’m sorry to intrude—” she began, without stepping inside.

“Come in, child,” Melaphia said, drawing her through the door and past a menacing Deylaud. “What has happened?” It’s funny that she called Eleanor
child
considering that she was most likely the same age or even younger. Was that supposed to be a compliment? Reyha gave Eleanor one sniff then retreated, threw herself on the couch, and hid her face with a pillow. Then again, what did I know about how women thought?

Eleanor blinked and tears tumbled down her cheeks, but she dashed them away and straightened her spine. “I have to know if he’s all right.”

“Fire,” Reyha said again from underneath her pillow.

Melaphia kept her attention on Eleanor. “Tell me about the fire,” she said soothingly, before looking at me. “Jack, I think you should go get cleaned up. You look like a raggedy man. I’ll fix Lady Eleanor a cup of tea.”

I was grateful Melaphia didn’t mention what I smelled like. Olivia wasn’t much better off. I was glad for an excuse to get out of Melaphia’s sight. “Yeah, okay. I’ll be right back.” I nodded my head in the direction of the bathroom and Olivia followed.

“You’ll have to wait your turn,” I said to her as I twisted the knobs on the shower to hot.

“Don’t be silly,” she replied. “It’s not as if you haven’t seen me naked.”

I stopped in the process of pulling my shirt over my head and gave her my best evil eye. “Look, don’t get any ideas. I’m
not
in the mood.”

That brought a laugh out of her. “Hey, that’s my bloody line from now on. Sexing with you is off limits. It’s too hard on a girl.”

Great. Even in my grand opportunity to turn her down, she finds a way to get one over on me. I yanked my shirt over my head, dropped it, and then sat down on the closed commode to remove my boots. “Just stay away from me.”

“Can’t,” she said, levering off one of her boots, then the other. “You have part of me now. When you need me, I have to be there.”

I stood up again and, just for spite, unfastened my belt and jeans, pushing them down slowly to let her get a good look.

She took one—a good look that is, before meeting my eyes again. “Go ahead, get in. I’ll wash your back.”

And it was a damned good back wash, too. No sex, just a nice competent scrub—like she was my shower geisha or somethin’. She seemed to have forgotten all about my threat to broom her into the next dimension. It was a good thing, too, ’cause if she pulled any funny business like trying to bite me, I was just in the mood to bang her head off the tile. I guess I was growing into my legacy—William’s anger was legendary. And after all, I was his son. His heir. Reedrek’s offer floated through my thoughts. I needed more info.

“Tell me about the vamps where you come from,” I said as she scrubbed my shoulders.

“You mean in England or in the EU?”

Maybe this conversation was going to be too much for my overheated brain cells. “How many do you know personally?”

“Oh, in England . . . dozens, I suppose.” She moved the bath sponge to the small of my back. “I don’t necessarily like all of them though.”

“Now there’s a surprise.”

She turned me around to wash my chest. Her silver eyes met my own. “Some of them belong to Reedrek.”

Ah, there was my grandpappy again. Seemed like I couldn’t escape him, no matter what.

“Okay, how about the ones you do like?”

“Most of them are women.”

That got my attention. “How come the only ones William brings over here are male?”

“I’m not sure that’s true. Perhaps you just haven’t recognized the females. They have to be more secretive. Their lives depend on it.”

“Why, ’cause they’re weaker?”

“No, just the opposite—because they’re stronger.”

Rather than going into that whole Venus and Mars gobbledygook I stuck with “Why?”

“Because the way sex is supposed to work with vampires is akin to the mortal version. Sex between a mortal male and female is meant to be an exchange of power. The male shares his ability to begin new life, and the female nurtures and grows that life. Afterward, they are permanently connected through the child. When one calls on the other for help or protection they have a tendency to comply because they are bound by the fruit of their union.”