Waterlocked: An Elemental World Novella (13 page)

“
Madre
—Leonor... I can explain.” Guillermo forced out in a strangled voice.

“No, you cannot.” She lifted him higher. “I will extract every piece of information about these allies of yours. Then, my son, I will kill you.”

“You wouldn’t.” Guillermo’s voice came in a high desperate whine.

Leonor’s voice was tinged with sorrow. “You know I will.”

A crashing sound came from the hall, a shattering of glass, then suddenly, the room was filled with smoke.

“Tear gas!” Gemma yelled.

“Smoke grenades, too.” Terry snarled as the cloud filled the room. The gas did little to affect vampire breathing as they didn’t need oxygen, but it did cause the eyes to water and the scent was overwhelming to his sensitive nose. He heard Leonor hiss and drop Guillermo, but could see nothing as the grey smoke began to fill the room.

“Gemma?” he shouted.

“Luisa?” He heard her calling for the maid and bodyguard. “Luisa, where are you?”

A flurry of voices yelled in Spanish, some he recognized, some he did not. Terry’s only thought was for Gemma. Just as he was about to burst into a rage, he felt her grab his hand. The blood leapt in his veins as she pulled him closer.

“They’ve broken into the house,” she said. “I can’t see or hear—”

Just then, a frustrated scream rose from the clouded room and the sound of windows shattering broke through the confusion. Terry lunged toward the voice.

“Leonor!”

More glass shattered as vampires poured into the room. Terry recognized the small form of their housekeeper as she methodically went to each window, breaking it and clearing the room of smoke.

“Leonor?” Gemma shouted.

“I’m here.” Her voice was hoarse, but she was surrounded by four vampires dressed in dark grey suits. There was no Guillermo in sight. “Damn my arrogance. I should have brought my guard.”

“You had no way of knowing, my lady,” one murmured as he held out a handkerchief.

Terry looked back at Gemma, but his wife was already composing herself, dabbing at blood-tinged tears that stained her face and ordering Luisa to bring wine for their guests. Terry swiped at his face, brushing back the helping hands of their humans, who had come from the servants quarters upstairs.

Leonor coughed once more, then pushed away from her guards, stalking toward Terry. “What was that?”

“That was a very smart attack, Leonor. Whoever grabbed your child did not want him talking about what he knew.”

Gemma handed him a warm towel to wipe his face. “I heard no vampires approach. Did you?”

“No. All I felt was the normal human activity on the street.”

Leonor’s guard added, “And I sensed no danger from the boat until I heard you yell, my lady.”

“They used humans?” Leonor gaped. “Is it possible?”

“Smart, in a way,” Gemma said. “We usually don’t consider them as threats. And armed with the tear gas...”

“It was a well-planned attack.” Terry shrugged off the humans who were trying to be helpful and directed them to clean up the broken glass. “They didn’t try to attack any of us. They knew they’d lose. It was a grab. Surprise us. Throw the gas canisters. Grab Guillermo. He probably went willingly, thinking it was a rescue.”

Leonor’s face was grim. “I don’t imagine it was.”

“I agree,” Gemma said. “I very much doubt we will see your youngest again, Lea. I am so sorry.”

The flash of grief in her eyes was the only indication Terry saw of her loss. “He signed his own death warrant when he chose to work against me. I am only sorry I could not get more information from him. I am grateful for your loyalty, Gemma. And yours, Terrance. This will not be forgotten. Please excuse this horrid attack on your home. The repairs are my responsibility, of course.”

As Gemma and Leonor started on the polite noises of hostess and guest, Terry surveyed the room. The Spanish guards hovered around Gemma and their leader; Luisa directed the humans in the clean up of the glass and clearing the rooms. Fans were brought in, but quickly taken away when one of Leonor’s guards was revealed as a wind vampire.

Terry stood at the broken window, staring into the lights of the harbor that twinkled as live music drifted in from the bars and clubs in town. Just then, he saw a large yacht moving away from the dock, a lone figure standing on the deck, looking back at him.

“Gemma,” he called, and his mate rushed to his side.

“What is it, darling?”

He blinked, trying to see more of the boat, but the moon was only a sliver in the sky, and the pale grey silhouette was already obscured by the mist. “Not sure. Might be nothing. Is everyone well?”

“Other than annoyed, Leonor is fine. It was obviously not an attack, only an extraction. Guillermo was being watched.”

“Apparently. He won’t be alive for long.”

“No, I doubt he will.”

He felt her energy slide along his a moment before she knit their fingers together. “Are you sure you’re all right? What were you looking at?”

He shrugged. “Probably nothing.”

Gemma cocked an eyebrow. “Possibly something?”

He smiled. “We’ll see, won’t we?”

“Whatever it is, I doubt we’ll be bored.”

“With you?” Terry threw an arm around her shoulder. “I can’t even imagine.”

Epilogue

Gemma found him in the large workshop in the Temple. It used to contain his sire’s old holding cells and interrogation rooms, but Terry had turned it into storage and workspace, maintaining the old water channels that led to the river.

“Terry?”

She heard the rasping sound as she entered the stairwell. His amnis reached out, touching hers for a moment, before beckoning her farther underground. She followed the sound to see him working on the shell of his new sailboat. His shirt was stripped off and he wore only a pair of work pants as he methodically planed and sanded the wood at human speed.

Gemma could tell he was thinking. Though it didn’t tire him, the routine of physical exertion was one way Terry had always chosen to quiet his thoughts so he could make sense of the jumble of information his immortal brain processed. Some vampires played chess. Gemma still rode horses. Terry built boats.

He paused and glanced up, beckoning her over with a finger. In the background, she could hear the water lapping in the underground canal.

Terry didn’t say a word, just took her hand and ran her fingers along the board he’d been sanding at the workbench. His amnis wrapped up her arm as she touched the soft wood, a tingle spreading from her fingertips, up the inside of her wrist, and over her shoulder until Terry’s energy was followed by the soft feel of his lips on the inside of her elbow.

“What—”

“Shhh,” he whispered, then he was leaning into her neck, a hint of stubble scraping against her collarbone as he kissed her.

Since Spain, he had become even more expressive in his affection, knowing instinctually how much she craved it. It was far more than the physical relationship they had shared before. He had become as much a part of Gemma as her own limbs.

He held her there, one hand resting on her waist, the other holding her cheek gently as he leisurely enjoyed her mouth. After a few moments, he pulled away, smiling.

“Hello, luv.”

“Miss me?” He’d seen her at nightfall when he woke.

“Always.” Terry looked down. “Sorry. Got your dress a bit dusty.”

Gemma only shrugged and looked over at the new project. “It’s looking more like a boat every week.”

“That’s the goal now, isn’t it?” He grinned. “What are you busy with tonight?”

“I finished going over the inventory and expenditures for the shelters with Mina. She’s taken a liking to Bernard, by the way.”

Terry grunted when she mentioned his new human secretary. Gemma imagined he still missed Carl. It was taking a while to warm up to the new man, no matter how efficient he was.

“And I’ve cleared up the details on the trade meeting with Ernesto’s people.”

“Will Baojia be there?”

“I think he’s still in San Diego.”

Terry growled. He and Don Ernesto Alvarez had a good working relationship, but it had been tested by Ernesto’s treatment of his head of security, who Terry considered a friend. The immortal leader of Southern California could be a hard man, and one known to hold a grudge.

“Don’t let it become a wedge, darling. He’s an important ally.”

“I know that. But he’s being a fool over sentiment.”

According to rumor, Baojia had let a favored relative of Ernesto’s come to harm. Gemma knew it to be the father of Beatrice De Novo, Ernesto’s favorite granddaughter. Since then, the skilled water vampire had been exiled to minor assignments in San Diego and out of active participation in Ernesto’s business and political negotiations.

“What did you want to talk about?” Gemma asked. He’d sent a note with Roger for her to join him when he usually liked working alone.

“I’ve been thinking about Spain again.” He stepped back and picked up the wood plane, going to work on another plank that would form part of the bow. “Can’t seem to get it off my mind.”

“Neither can I,” she said with a satisfied smile.

He laughed. “Not the fun part, the other bit.”

“Oh?” She sat in a scarred chair next to the workbench and watched him get back to work.

“Leonor in Spain.” He ran the plane down the board with a level thrust.

“Who appears to be stabilizing her position since she rid herself of Guillermo.”

“Mmhmm. Murphy in Dublin.” He took another long swipe and a curl of wood fell to the floor.

“Also seems stabilized now, particularly with Carwyn and Brigid nearby.”

“Jean Desmarais in Marseilles. The Dutchmen your brother spoke about.” He planed the board again. “Me.”

She nodded, starting to see his train of thought. “All facing challenges or unforeseen threats in the last year or so.”

“Just when we start hearing more rumors about this bloody Elixir drug.”

“What are you thinking?”

He paused, hand resting on the board. “What do they all have in common, Gem?”

She blinked. It was so obvious. Why hadn’t she realized it before? “Shipping.”

Terry nodded. “Shipping.”

“All those being felt out by whoever was pulling Guillermo’s strings have strong shipping interests.” Of course! Gemma wanted to kick herself for not seeing it sooner.

“You always were a brilliant woman.”

“A bit slow on this one. Have you talked to my father?”

“Not yet. I want to meet with Ernesto first. All the major Atlantic shipping powers are being felt out for weaknesses. I’m curious about the Pacific. The Dutch still go back and forth; we might try a meeting with them if your brother could arrange something.”
 

“He will. If nothing else than to repay the favor for Rene. I haven’t heard anything from the Scandinavians, but then, they tend to be very close-lipped.”

“See if Jetta is amenable to a meeting. I believe she sired that bloke who attacked Brigid. You could feel out her position.”

“So whoever is behind the Elixir manufacturing is involved in shipping.”

Terry nodded. “Either involved or wants to be.” He swept the wood plane down the board once more before he paused. “Hundreds... thousands of years, luv. Some things don’t change much. You control the oceans...”

“You command trade. Especially in our world.”

“The richest immortals are still those who rule the seas, Gem. God knows that’s how we’ve made our fortune.”

She stood. “So, what do we do?”

Terry shrugged. “Keep an eye on the water and fortify our position. Keep in touch with allies like Alvarez and Murphy. That’s all we can do right now.” He set down the tool and walked toward her. “We’ll be fine. We just have to be careful. But you and I...” He put an arm around her waist and pulled her hard against him, swooping down to place a searing kiss on her mouth. “We’re a force to be reckoned with. I’m not worried about us.”

Gemma purred in pleasure, tucking her hands under his waistband and against the cool silk of his skin. “Did you really only ask me here to talk politics and strategy?”

“No.” Terry grinned and tossed her over his shoulder. “We’ve got a boat to christen, don’t we?”

THE END

An exclusive first look at the next novel in the Elemental World series…

BLOOD AND SAND

Summer 2013

San Francisco, 1884

Don Ernesto Alvarez strolled through the streets of Chinatown, his favorite daughter on his arm. The scent of human waste mingled with exotic spices and cooking fires. On the evening fog, he could smell the ocean and the scent of fish from the bay. The mist swirled around him, teasing his energy with its call. At his side, he felt his daughter’s blood pulse.

“What is it?”

Her fangs dropped. Paula was only twenty years immortal and often had a harder time controlling her cravings.

“Blood.” Her nose lifted in the air. “Fresh. There’s a fight somewhere.”

Ernesto gave her an indulgent smile. “Shall we? The opium was disappointing. We might as well see if there are other entertainments before we return to our lodging.”

Their safe quarters that night were with a trusted ally of Ernesto’s, Ekaterina Grigorieva, a water vampire who controlled much of the Pacific Northwest. While her headquarters had recently moved to the growing city of Seattle, Katya still chose to meet with allies in San Francisco. Ernesto had traveled up the coast of California with Paula looking for amusement in the lively city, along with a more favorable price on lumber for his ships.

Ernesto let Paula lead him down the alley, which smelled of fish and laundry soap, to see a surprisingly interesting sight.

It was a human, a Chinese man, which was not surprising as they were in the section of the city overwhelmed by the foreigners. What
was
surprising was the flurry of activity surrounding him. It looked like the human had been thrown out the back door of a gambling hall. He must have displeased the proprietor somehow. But instead of the beating that would have been common from the four other men who surrounded him, Ernesto watched on, intrigued, as the human held off his four attackers with swift punches that almost appeared to flow at immortal speed.