They Come by Night (48 page)

A soft chuckle behind me made me start and almost fall off the stool, which would have been very uncool.

Mina wasn’t barking, so I figured I was safe, but I looked over my shoulder cautiously.

“Wouldn’t you rather have those cookies with milk?” The woman standing there was beautiful. She wore a sapphire-blue robe belted at the waist. It covered her from throat to hem and had long, flowing sleeves. Her blond hair was wound in intricate braids, and her blue eyes were bright with amusement.

Adam didn’t look feminine, and she didn’t look masculine, but the resemblance between them was easy to spot. She had to be related to him.

I scrambled off the stool and covered my mouth. Did I have chocolate all over my teeth? I ran my tongue over them, then picked up the knife I’d used to slice the roast chicken for Mina and held it angled so I could see my reflection.

No, they were okay. I put the knife down.

“Milk would be better,” I agreed, “but I’m lactose intolerant, and I don’t have the enzyme supplement with me. How do you do, ma’am? I’m Tyrell Small—Adam’s sabor.”

“I know. I saw you when Adam brought you here earlier. I’m Adam’s mother, the
Contessa di Sarcina
.”

A countess! I knew the rege was king, and yeah, Adam was a duke, but he was my vampyr and that didn’t make any difference. Somehow meeting an honest-to-God
countess
was even more impressive.

I cleared my throat. “There’s a strong resemblance.”

“Do you think so? I always thought he looked more like his father.”

“I don’t know about that. I haven’t seen his father, but I’ve seen you.”

She smiled at me. “Flavio will be sorry to have missed you. He’s at our estate in Sarcina.”

“I’d like to meet him sometime if that’s allowed.”

“Of course it is. He’d like that himself. Perhaps one day you’ll come visit us? I’m sure Adam would be more than happy to escort you. He’s spoken of you quite often.”

“He has?”

“Yes. I understand you’re continuing your education.”

“I am. I finished the first semester of the Mortuary Science course, and the summer session starts in a couple of weeks.”

“You wish to deal with dead bodies? There’s a certain… symmetry in that.”

I grinned at her. “Well, I haven’t actually embalmed anyone yet. That’s next spring. If I can’t stomach it….” I met her gaze. “All that money wasted.”

“Education is never wasted. You’ll do well. I have every confidence in you.” Her expression became thoughtful. “You’ve recently fed a vampyr.”

“How can you…?” I shook my head. “Never mind. I did. Ioan asked me to feed Daniel.”

She frowned. “Adam instructed everyone to leave you alone.”

“Ioan thought Daniel would hurt himself otherwise. It wasn’t a big deal.” Although why was I sticking up for Ioan? I’d only met him an hour ago. “But just so you know, I wasn’t in love with him.”

“I find that very unusual.”

“Everyone does.” I finished the juice and poured myself a third glass.

“How did you find Daniel?”

For a second I was tempted to say “across the hall and a few doors down,” but I wasn’t sure if it was proper to tease a countess. Plus I knew that wasn’t what she meant. “He’s depressed. Ioan said he was saborese and had been so drained the rege had to turn him. And Daniel said the rege has to keep feeding him.” I remembered Adam had done the same thing for Rául after he’d had to turn him, but it hadn’t sounded as if it had been a never-ending job. “I don’t understand that.”

“Neither do we. Xandru shouldn’t have to continue giving him blood.” She shook her head and sighed. “This is a sad situation. We care for our saborese, and Daniel Crist had every right to expect that. He should
not
have been attacked.”

“I hope I’ve helped him—”

“As do I.”

“—but I have to tell you, ma’am, if he’s not feeling better, I promised I’d… I’d end his misery.” I thought she’d object, and I was surprised when she didn’t.

“This situation has been going on too long. If feeding from you brings him no relief….” She sighed again. “Then yes, we will grant him oblivion.”

“Thank you.” Relieved I wouldn’t have to be the one to do it—at least I hoped I wouldn’t—I raised the goblet to my mouth. I was feeling less depleted, but I’d need at least another eight or sixteen ounces of juice. And maybe a couple more cookies.

“You shouldn’t be wandering around the citadel, Tyrell. No one here would be likely to harm you, but you’re… very tempting.”

I gasped, choked, swallowed the juice wrong, and it shot out of my nose. When I finally caught my breath again, I managed to say, “Tempting? Me?”

“
Băiat dulce
.”

“Huh? I mean, excuse me?”

“Sweet boy.” I could feel my cheeks heat up, and she smiled. “You see, it’s very unusual for a sabor to come to a vampyr’s abode, and for you to come to the citadel, where there are so many vampyrs who have never fed from a sabor of your caliber….”

The mental image of a never-ending line of vampyrs waiting to feed from me made my stomach twist. The goblet was empty, and I put it down.

“Ioan said Adam brought me here to protect me. Will I ever be able to go home?”

“Of course. Xandru and his enforcers will deal with the problem.”

I didn’t say it was taking them an awfully long time, but I thought it. I poured the last of the juice into the goblet. “Do you recycle?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“It’s not important. But I’ll replace this.” The goblet was halfway to my mouth when Mina gave a tentative bark. “What is it, pup?”

“Well, I was able to get the soil for Crist’s talisman. Hopefully he’ll survive long enough for it to be of some use.”

“Adam!” Adam was here! I wheeled around, feeling as if I were lit up from the inside out. I started toward him, about to throw myself into his arms, but then I stopped so abruptly I spilled juice all over me. The vampyr who’d entered the kitchen swung a small, slim cylinder back and forth, and he wasn’t my vampyr. “You’re not Adam!”

“No, this is my son, Stefan, Adam’s twin.”

“His older twin.” Stefan grinned, his teeth flashing white.

“He… he never told me.” I wouldn’t back away.

“Well, well, well. And who are you,
băiețelule
?”

“Stefan, this is Tyrell Small. And he’s hardly a little boy.”

“Ah. So you’re my brother’s sabor.”

“Yes,” I said shortly. I didn’t like him.

“How is it you can tell I’m not Adam? We look enough alike only our parents know which is which, and there are times when even Father has a hard time.”

I shrugged. “I could tell.” He might have Adam’s coloring and build, but he was nothing like him.

Both vampyrs looked surprised, but before they could say anything, a third vampyr strolled in. He resembled Adam also, although his hair was more an ash brown and his eyes were almost as black as the rege’s.

Jesus, what was going on?

“Grandmamma, you’d better go see Silvio. He’s like to have a fit of hysterics—the door to the blue chamber was open. Apparently the sabor isn’t where Father left him.”

“No, we’ve found him,” Adam’s brother said.

Grandmamma
?
Father
?

“Who are you?” I could barely get the question through stiff lips.

“Tyrell, this is Valeriu, Adam’s son.” The Countess’s smile was proud. “Valeriu, this is Tyrell Small.”

“So you’re my father’s sabor.”

“Yes, I am.” My thoughts ran in circles. Adam had a brother? Adam had a
son
?

Why hadn’t he told me about his family?

Valeriu took a step toward me, and I realized I’d better pay attention.

“What?”

He stared at my birthmark and licked his lips. “Mind if I have a sip?”

“Yes, I do mind.”

His jaw dropped. “You… you don’t love me?”

“No.”

“But—”

“There are no buts.” Adam had more or less told me I could love whoever I chose. I looked into his son’s black eyes. I didn’t choose him.

“Behave, Valeriu,” the countess admonished him, murmuring something about his mother spoiling him. “Tyrell can’t feed you… he’s already fed Daniel.”

“A turned vampyr,” he sniffed. “You shouldn’t have wasted yourself on him.”

“Bigoted asshole,” I muttered. I’d never encountered such bias among the vampyrs before.

Valeriu’s jaw dropped, Stefan turned away—but not before I saw the grin he was trying to hide—and the countess simply stared at me. I pretended I didn’t notice their reactions. It wasn’t as if I’d forgotten they had preternatural senses but… yeah, I had, and I could feel my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

“Sorry, ma’am.” I looked around the kitchen; I couldn’t leave it looking like this. It was bad enough they probably thought Adam had lost his mind in accepting me.

I got busy tidying the room—screwed the lid of the cookie jar back on, rinsed the empty juice bottle, and placed it in the sink beside the plate Mina had eaten from and the goblet I’d drunk from.

The vampyrs watched, seeming to be puzzled by my whirlwind of activity, but I wasn’t going to explain my actions.

Once I was done, I said, “I’m sorry, I need to change. Will it be all right if I use some of the clothes in the room I was given?”

“Of course,” the countess assured me. “It’s—Adam chose the room for you.”

“Just a second!” Stefan approached me, and I stiffened.

Mina came to stand beside me, and she looked like she meant business. Her ears were flattened, and her muzzle was curled back to reveal her teeth. This wasn’t her usual full-throated response to danger, but she clearly planned to put herself between me and whatever danger she perceived.

“Call your guardian off.” He looked amused. “I simply wanted to give you this. Since you’ll be passing Crist’s room, you can make sure he gets it.” He held out his palm, with the talisman lying across it. “He should have gotten this sooner.”

“Why didn’t he?”

“It was difficult finding the farm where he was born and raised. You may not be aware, but the soil from his birthplace—”

“I’m aware.” I ignored his obvious surprise and held out my own hand. “Drop it into my palm, and make sure you don’t touch me.”

He frowned, but I didn’t care if that ticked him off. He wasn’t my vampyr.

Once I had the cylinder, I closed my fingers around it.

“Make sure he gets this immediately. He’ll be vulnerable without it.”

Stefan takes his sweet time, and I have to bust chops?
“Right. Good night. Let’s go, Min.”

The three vampyrs exchanged glances I pretended again not to see, and my pup and I left the kitchen.

W
E
’
D REACHED the staircase and were about to start up when, “You there! You with the dog! Where do you think you’re going? You’re not supposed to be wandering around at this hour!”

I looked down at Mina and sighed. “I want to go home, pup.”

The man must have heard me, because he said in a kinder tone, “That’s understandable. However, you’ll remain here at the citadel. And you should have been instructed no pets were permitted to accompany you here.”

“Mina’s not a pet. She goes where I go.” The fussy little man looked like he might be someone’s butler, and I wondered if he was Silvio. “And right now, I’m going up to my room.”

“You should know you don’t belong there!”

“Yeah, I’m starting to realize that. As soon as I change out of these clothes, I’m leaving.”

“What are you talking about? You can’t leave! Apprentices are required to stay five years!”

“The thing is, I’m not an apprentice.”

“Of course you are! What other explanation can there be for your presence here?”

“You’d have to ask Adam about that. He brought me.”

“Adam? D-Duke Adam?”

“Yes.”

His complexion turned muddy. What was it about me? Everyone in this place seemed to lose color around me. “And… er… you are?”

“Sorry, I should have introduced myself. I’m Tyrell Small.”

He groaned and for a second looked like he was about to toss his cookies. “I beg your pardon, m’lord. I thought you were one of the apprentices. I’m Silvio, His Grace’s steward.”

“Well, as long as we’ve got that straightened out. And don’t call me m’lord. I’m not a lord.”

“No, m’lord. Of course not.” He cleared his throat. “Is there anything I can get for you?”

“Thanks, but I helped myself. I was about a pint low, and I had to refill. I owe you a bottle of cranberry juice. I don’t have any money on me right now.” And I would have laughed, considering the cash and the credit cards in my wallet. “But as soon as I can, I’ll replace it.”

“Not at all! I assure you that isn’t necessary, m’lord.”

“I had some cookies too. I hope that’s okay? Oh, and I gave Mina some of the chicken in the fridge.”

“Yes, yes, of course, m’lord. May I… may I ask the reason why you had to… er… refill?”

“Do you know Daniel? I fed him, and as I said, that left me a little depleted.”

“Oh, m’lord, have you any idea how long it’s been since that was done in His Grace’s home?” For a second I thought he was going to throw his arms around me, and I backed away fast. “I beg your pardon. It’s just I’m so thrilled this happened while I was steward!”

“Glad I could make your day. Well, I have to change my clothes. I spilled juice all over myself. Nothing got on the floor—”

“As if that would matter!” His words and expression were indulgent. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can get for you? Do for you?”

“No. But thank you. Come on, Min.”

The steward watched us climb the stairs. About halfway up I glanced over my shoulder, and he was still there,
beaming
as if I’d done something that was a great credit to him. I shook my head and resumed the climb.

D
ANIEL HAD been without his talisman for so long, he could probably go another half hour. At least I hoped so. I hated feeling sticky from the juice I’d spilled on myself.

I went back to my room and showered. That bathroom was amazing, and I wanted one just like it!

Suppose I knocked out a wall of my bungalow and enlarged my bathroom? With Dad’s help it shouldn’t take more than a few weeks, so I could get it done between vampyr visits. And while I was at it, I’d put in a rainforest shower head, radiant floor heating, and a heated towel bar.