To Walk the Night (21 page)
The closer we got to the doors, the more I relaxed, certain everything would work out as planned. At least this part of it anyway. Once we were in the presence of Count Tremaine and his vamps, I doubted things would go as Jonathan hoped. Vampires weren’t exactly the most predictable of creatures.
The wolf escorts stopped at the double doors, the rest of us falling in silently behind them. One of the wolves rapped three times on the heavy wood and then stepped back, his hands behind his back. The doors weren’t carved like the ones back at the Luna Cult Den, but they were still impressive. It would take a train to knock them down.
A soft voice called out for us to enter and the two wolves opened the way. It looked as though it took all their strength to budge the sturdy doors. Maybe not a train, then. More like a nuclear missile.
The music swelled as the doors opened and we were led into a well-decorated ballroom. Metal rings lined all the walls, sturdy-looking things that had the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. I knew what they were for. I had seen plenty of vampire ballrooms to know that the rings were where they kept captives, wolf and Pureblood alike.
A half-dozen wolves stood to either side of the door, and a handful of men and women who were clearly vampires of the House stood facing the doorway, making a sort of aisle that led to a thronelike chair sitting on a small dais at the far end of the room.
Seated on the chair was Count Tremaine himself. He was bare-chested beneath a leather jacket that fell all the way to his knees. It covered most of his black leather pants. He wore rings on nearly every finger and had about five or six necklaces dangling on his well-muscled chest. Knee-high boots decorated with buckles and zippers were propped up on the back of a kneeling nude woman who was chained to the throne like a dog. She was clearly a Pureblood. Dried tears marred her delicate features, but she took her role as the royal footstool with more dignity than I could have mustered.
I tore my eyes from the tableau in front of me and chose to examine the two men standing to either side of the throne. The first was tall, unassuming, and dressed in what could only be called a sort of casual formal attire. He had a smug grin on his face that reminded me of Gregory. His lips were stained red from a recent feeding. As far as I could tell, he was just another vamp of the House, though a high-standing one if his position at Tremaine’s side meant anything.
It was the other man who caused my breath to catch in my throat, my eyes to widen.
Standing on Count Tremaine’s left, his flat-eyed stare examining the group of Cultists ushered into the room, was Adrian Davis, Luna Cult defector.
24
I kept my head low even though I was still veiled by Jonathan’s glamour. I didn’t know how good Adrian’s eyes were. Could he pick me out just by my eyes? We hadn’t talked
that
long. Would he even think to look? He knew Jonathan could cast glamours, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch to think they had prepared against such a thing at the doors. Was I even safe now?
that
long. Would he even think to look? He knew Jonathan could cast glamours, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch to think they had prepared against such a thing at the doors. Was I even safe now?
“Welcome,” Count Tremaine said. He didn’t budge from where he sat. He looked down on us, his face full of disgust. It was clear he didn’t think too highly of the Luna Cult. “Hopefully you have come to a decision in regard to our proposition. I do hope it will be mutually agreeable to both our sides. I would hate to end our talks so ... suddenly.” He grinned, exposing perfectly white teeth.
Jonathan strode to the head of the group. “Where is he?” he demanded. “I will not discuss any treaty with you until I am sure Simon is okay.”
“Treaty?” Tremaine laughed. “Who said anything about a treaty? You will bow to me. You will call me Lord and Master, and you will do as I say when I say without question. You will have some freedoms, in that I will not force you away from your precious Den, but you are still mine. Treaty? No, you will be my servants just like every wolf of this House is mine to call.”
Jonathan’s jaw tightened, but he managed to keep from saying something that would damn us all. “Just let me see him,” he said, his voice as tight as his jaw.
Tremaine sighed and sat up, taking his feet from the back of the nude woman. She visibly relaxed but didn’t rise. By the way she moved, I guessed she had been doing this for years.
“Who are you to make any sort of demands?” Tremaine said. “I will not allow you to tell me what to do, even now. Do you agree to join with House Tremaine, to meld our might with your resources? That is all you need to say.”
The small gathering of vampires moved around us, clearing space as if they expected a fight to break out at any moment. With the way things were going, I wasn’t so sure it wouldn’t.
Nathan started to step forward, seemingly empowered by the movement of the vampires. Jonathan waved him back before he could do something that would set someone off. I wouldn’t put it past Nathan to initiate the fight before we were ready.
“I only want to see Simon to make sure his blood is not already tainted,” Jonathan said. “It is a mere request, one that should be easy for someone of honor to fulfill. I’m not asking you to set him free.”
I had to hand it to him, Jonathan had balls. Not many people would talk to the Count of even a Fledgling House like that, let alone the Count of a Minor House, albeit one of limited strength. Most Counts would kill him where he stood. Count Tremaine only smiled, though it was clearly forced.
“Let’s say I show him to you,” he said. “What will you do for me then?”
“If he is alive and untainted with vampire blood, I will do what I came here to do.”
“And that is?”
“I will do whatever it takes to make sure Simon and my Cultists leave here alive and in one piece. Our lives are more important than my dignity. I will bow to you if that is your desire. I will do whatever pleases you.”
“Even take the Oath?”
Jonathan hesitated only an instant before nodding. I heard the sharp intake of breath as if Nathan was about to object, but like a good dog, he held his tongue.
Tremaine leaned back on his throne and propped his feet up on the girl’s back again. He stroked his chin with one hand and drummed his fingers on the arm of his throne with the other. A smile slowly spread across his face.
I was itching to act. Diplomacy wasn’t my thing. Even though I knew Jonathan was holding face just long enough to get Simon into the room, I still hated the act. How long before Adrian noticed something was amiss? How long before the smell of blood roused suspicions? We were on borrowed time, and I knew if things didn’t hurry along, someone would either smell the blood or find the bodies I had left in my wake.
It would only take seconds. If I could just move closer to the throne, I could leap onto the dais and embed a knife in Tremaine’s throat before taking out Adrian. I was sure Jonathan and Nathan could handle their own long enough for me to take them out, as well as any vamps that got in my way. My hand moved involuntarily to the hilt of my sword. I had to clench my fist tight to keep from grabbing it.
As if sensing the movement, Adrian’s head perked up. He frowned and scanned the gathering of Cultists, me included. I dropped my eyes and looked hard at the back of Gregory’s knees. I felt Adrian’s gaze pass over me and glanced up just long enough to see his eyes fall on Gregory. The corner of his mouth twitched as if he were concealing a smile.
No one seemed to notice his sudden interest in us. Hell, I wasn’t even sure Jonathan had even noticed Adrian standing there. It was odd he hadn’t reacted to the presence of the traitor. Had he known Adrian would be here? If so, I really wished he would have told me. I’m not much of one for surprises, especially the bad kind.
“No,” Tremaine said at last. “I don’t think it would be in my best interest to bring the pup out in the open where anyone can see him. Things happen when all the cards are played. Think of him as my ace in the hole. If you do not swear the Oath, then he will be tainted and set free at the Den to kill everyone. If you bow now and pledge yourself to me, I will release him to you. This is not a debate. You will do as I say or die where you stand.”
Tension flowed around the room like a living thing. Even the Pureblood Cultists could feel it. They tensed and looked around as if expecting an attack from all sides at any moment. The wolves along the walls were dressed to shift, their clothes loose and disposable. At a single word, they could be on us in the blink of an eye.
Jonathan glanced back at me. His gaze lingered only a moment before shifting to the Cultists. I knew what that look meant, and I didn’t like it.
Wait
.
.
He turned back to Tremaine and raised his hands out in front of him, palms up. “You already checked us for weapons. You already scanned us for magic, for my glamours. What can it possibly hurt to let me see Simon? I only want assurance he is alive. In doing so, you will ease my fears, the fears of the rest of the Cult. The others will be more willing to join you if they know they can trust you.”
Tremaine closed his eyes and sighed. “I tire of this,” he said. “I want my dogs to be obedient. You might pose a problem down the road if I cannot break you of this most annoying habit.” He opened his eyes and laid a seething gaze on Jonathan. “But all dogs can be broken. I will give you your bone this time, but I will be taking it out of your hide later. There may be something you can do for me.”
Tremaine motioned toward the double doors. The vampire at his side leaped off the dais and stalked past us to the doors, grinning at us like we were sheep.
Shit. If they were holding Simon downstairs, then Mr. Vamp here was going to stumble right into the body I had left lying right in front of the damn door. I should have taken more time to hide the body, found another way to reach the group. I had been careless and my carelessness, might cost us the element of surprise.
I couldn’t let him find the dead man. Not yet. We still could get the jump on them. What did I care if the Denmaster was lost? As long as we killed Tremaine and the vamps in his House, I would call it a win.
I started to reach for my sword and gun, but Adrian’s voice rang out over the ballroom, stilling my hand.
“Wait,” he said, his voice slow and controlled. He took a step forward, a faint smile on his lips. He glanced back to Tremaine and said something only the Count could hear before stepping from the dais.
“Davin, wait,” Tremaine said, leaning forward. He drummed his fingers on his nude footstool’s back, giving the gathering of Cultists a withering look.
The vampire stopped at the double doors and turned to face the room. “Count?”
Adrian moved toward the Cultists. They stood clustered around me like meat waiting to be slaughtered. They were going to get in the way, I knew. These weren’t fighters.
He didn’t even give Jonathan a passing glance as he moved past him to where Gregory and Nathan stood. He sniffed around each of them, though he paid special attention to Nathan, who was growling deep in his throat.
“What’s the delay?” Jonathan asked, facing Tremaine. He sounded panicked. “I just want to see Simon, not have my people molested by this turncoat.”
Tremaine dug his fingernails into the nude woman’s back. She let out a small hiss of pain but didn’t recoil from his touch. “You can wait until we make sure everything is in order.”
I sucked in my breath as Adrian approached. His eyes scanned the gathering of Pureblood Cultists, lingering on me twice as his gaze swept over us. My hands were already halfway to my weapons, but I was hesitant to draw. If I were to reveal myself now, there was a good chance Adrian would use the Cultists as shields. The Purebloods would die before I could get a clear shot.
Son of a bitch. Why had Jonathan brought them along in the first place? He could have brought tougher looking Cultists, or more wolves, or something. Hell, did he even have to bring so many? They could do nothing but die.
Adrian shoved aside a pair of Purebloods who were making a valiant effort to keep him from working his way into our midst. They stood no chance against him. They staggered to the side and he stepped between them, taking a deep, long breath as he came to stand in front of me.
He closed his eyes for a heartbeat, took another breath, and let it out slow and controlled. He opened his eyes, stared directly into mine, and smiled.
“Hello,” he whispered.
My hands plunged into my coat just as he jumped back.
“They have a vampire with them,” he said almost casually. He grabbed a Pureblood Cultist and pulled her back with him as he retreated. She let out a cry and tried to fight him, but he was just too damn strong.
My weapons came out and I let the glamour shimmer and drop around me. No sense in keeping it up if I was already made. I wanted them to see their killer, not the bald facsimile Jonathan had created.
There was a heartbeat of silence. No one breathed, no one moved. Adrian stood facing me, his human hostage shielding him. He looked smug, safe.
He didn’t know how good a shot I really was.
The air tingled with adrenaline and excitement. I raised my gun and the barrel of my Glock was instantly trained on the center of Adrian’s forehead. All I needed was a single instant and I could drop him.
A smile curved my lips.
Now
this
was what I lived for.
this
was what I lived for.
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