CHAPTER THREE
“I’m your chauffeur for the night,” he said, stepping away from the Escalade. He matched the car, dressed in black jeans and a tight black shirt that outlined his wide shoulders and muscled arms.
Nathan was one of Liam’s men, and also the vampire who’d been responsible for my lessons over the past few weeks. He was the opposite of Sir Grumpy Pants in many ways. Blond and handsome, it was rarer to see him frowning than smiling. His lips always seemed to be tilted in a half-smile, as if in response to a joke only he knew.
He liked to push people’s buttons, but he was also a big kid in many ways, I’d discovered.
“I should have known he wouldn’t trust me to come on my own,” I said in a sour voice.
Nathan gave a charming shrug. “You can’t really blame him, given your track record. Besides, I’m not here at his behest.”
I gave him an interested look. “Oh?”
He gave my bike a significant glance. “I figured you would try to bike there, which meant you would never make it in time. Decided I’d save you the trouble and the inevitable ass chewing.”
“I could have made it,” I responded defensively. I could have too. As a former bike messenger for Hermes, I was used to such trips.
He scoffed. “Maybe, but then you would have been sweaty and out of sorts by the time you arrived. This puts you there ahead of schedule and in a presentable state.”
My frown deepened. “Do you know what this is for?”
He shrugged. “You’ll see when we get there.”
“Does that mean you know?” I asked, already considering ways I could get him to reveal his secrets.
His mouth curled in a secretive grin. “Oh no, little student. You won’t get that information so easily.”
I sighed and held up the cup with straw he’d handed me. “And this? Or are you keeping it a secret too?”
“It’s a blood smoothie,” he said smugly.
My face wrinkled with distaste as I looked at it.
“Don’t be proud,” he said when it looked like I’d try to hand it back. “You can use the nutrients. I know you’re not getting all you need because you won’t drink live blood. This’ll top you off.”
That might be, but the thought of sucking down the smoothie made me feel slightly nauseous. Lately, bagged blood made me feel sick to my stomach, and it could be difficult keeping it down. That hadn’t always been the case. At one point, I’d lived for it, craved it with the same passion I craved black raspberry ice cream.
Those days were long gone. Ever since Liam had given me some of his super-charged blood, it had gotten harder and harder to satisfy myself with the pale imitation I insisted on sticking to.
Nathan knew some of my troubles, but not all of them. I’d kept the particulars carefully hidden. It was harder to keep the weight loss from him, especially since he headed up my combat training. Who knew vampires could lose weight? I guess that’s what came of not getting enough blood for weeks on end.
Surprisingly my grip on the bloodlust had not faltered. Not even once. It was strange, but because of my control I decided the risk was worth it, until I could figure a way out of this that didn’t involve turning humans into slurpy straws.
Nathan believed my troubles stemmed from the taste of rot that seemed to permeate bagged blood. I needed to keep him thinking that, if I wanted to keep some control of my life and not lose the last pieces that made me feel human. Not drinking from humans might seem like a strange place to draw my line as a vampire, but emotions didn’t always make sense.
“If you have an episode, our fearless leader will make you drink from a live donor,” Nathan said. His expression turned sly. “That donor might even be himself.”
I gave him a dirty look. It was a reference to the few times Liam had fed me from his own wrist. His blood seemed to be catnip to my vampire, turning me into a brazen hussy who threw caution and good sense to the wind, becoming a hedonistic creature who couldn’t get enough of the grumpy vampire.
To say the weakness was embarrassing was putting it mildly.
In defiance, I lifted the straw to my mouth and took a sip, making a pleased expression at the taste.
“That’s good,” I told him, impressed.
“I know.” He gave me a wink. “It’s my own special recipe. All the nutrients and vitamins a growing baby vampire might need.”
I snorted, my laugh muffled.
“You can call me master any time you want,” he said, referencing an ongoing argument as he stepped to the back of the Escalade and opened the trunk.
He took the bike from me as I shot him an acerbic stare.
“I’m never going to call you that,” I told him.
“How about sensei then?”
“No.”
“I’m the teacher of all things mystical and vampire. I should get a cool name,” he complained, slamming the trunk shut.
“Not happening.”
I slid into the car and buckled my seatbelt, before chancing another sip of the smoothie. It tasted surprisingly like strawberries and chocolate. Decadent and refreshing all at the same time.
I’d have to ask him what was in it before the night was over. This just might be the answer to at least one of my problems.
“Did you know he was coming back?” I asked with studied nonchalance.
Nathan shot me a look out of the corner of his eye before pulling onto the road. “You mean why didn’t I give you a heads-up.”
I shrugged.
“He didn’t tell us of his arrival,” Nathan said. “Just showed up last night.”
“I hear you’ve been giving him reports of my progress,” I said.
His lips quirked up. “That is true.”
I made a harrumph.
“Come on, you didn’t really expect me to do anything else, did you?”
I suppose not. Liam was Nathan’s sire in truth, not to mention his boss. Nathan’s loyalties would always lie with him.
“There are things going on that you don’t understand,” Nathan said, his face turning serious.
“There are always things going on that I don’t understand.” I propped my chin on my hand and stared out the window.
“I’m just saying maybe you shouldn’t be so prickly about it.”
My head snapped toward him as I gave him a glare. “Prickly?”
“If the shoe fits.”
I grunted and went back to staring out the window. I wasn’t prickly. Okay, maybe a little.
“You’ve been a very grumpy porcupine since he left.”
I gave him a look. “Thanks, Dr. Phil. I really appreciate your armchair psychology.”
“You know I have a degree in psychology, right?” he asked.
It was just strange enough to be true. Vampires were long lived. It meant they had more than enough time to pursue anything that interested them. They had vampires who’d attended medical school, why not vampires who’d attended shrink school as well? If nothing else, having a better understanding of a human’s psychology would make them more effective hunters.
Nathan might seem easy-going, like a really energetic puppy at times, but he was every inch the vampire that Liam was. He might hide it behind a charming smile, but at his core he was a killer. We all were. It’s why I fought my instincts as hard as I did.
“You have hidden depths,” I told him seriously. I would do well to remember that.
“As do we all, baby vampire,” he said with a meaningful glance.
The drive passed in silence after that, the city sliding past the window. In the end, I was grateful Nathan had stopped to retrieve me. It would have taken me forever to bike this far north of the city, past the outer belt to one of the suburbs. The road curved and winded as the flatter part of the city was left behind in favor of the dips and bumps of small hills.
The houses got further and further apart until we mostly drove on tree-lined roads. We had to be up near Galena or Westerville. I didn’t know the area well enough to tell which it was.
I had only been here a few times since returning home, preferring to stick closer to the heart of Columbus. When you’re reliant on getting places through your own pedal power, it meant your travel radius was smaller than if you had a car.
Nathan turned down a small, easily overlooked road, one that didn’t see a lot of traffic. The street sign was barely visible, the overgrowth from trees mostly shielding it from view.
The tires of the Escalade crunched as he turned onto a gravel driveway lined with tall trees on either side. These weren’t the overgrown bushes we’d seen on the drive up. They were mature, standing tall as their limbs arched overhead, forming a canopy over the driveway.
“Woah,” I said, getting my first look at the house.
It looked like a turn of the century farmhouse, only about three times the size of most that I’d seen. It boasted a large wraparound porch and loomed over the surrounding grounds. Three stories tall, it had a dramatic roof and the large windows characteristic of that period.
I got out, stilling when I noticed a family of deer across a long stretch of grass from me. Their heads came up, ears alert, as we watched each other.
A rustle of branches distracted me, and I glanced over, my heart thumping as a large form stepped out of the shadows. His coat was silver in the moonlight, while antlers jutted from his head in a proud rack.
There was a crash as the other deer took off, dashing back into the woods surrounding the house.
I looked back at the stag, to find him gone as well. The place he’d stood empty as if he’d never been.
Nathan came around the car, his face questioning as he looked from me to the place I was staring.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
I finally shut the door I’d been holding open for the last few seconds. “There were deer staring at me.”
He rolled his eyes, some of tension in his body leaching away. “There are always deer around here.”
He could afford to be unworried about such things. I’d fended off twenty assassination attempts in the last three months—most of which came from unexpected quarters. It had made me a bit more paranoid than usual.
Deer might not seem suspicious, but I’d never seen a stag with a rack that impressive anywhere near humans. Maybe in some remote wilderness, but here? In Columbus? Not likely.
“Maybe,” I said, turning toward the house and following Nathan as he mounted the stairs.
There was a porch swing in one corner and a few rocking chairs. Pots of flowers were everywhere, their pretty colors obvious even in this dim light.
“What is this place?” I finally asked, curiosity getting the best of me.
“Liam’s house. He just bought it,” Nathan said over his shoulder.
Liam did? Why?
Nathan held the door for me, letting me precede him inside.
The interior matched the outside, charming and stately while still managing to seem warm and inviting. Once upon a time, this was the type of place I’d seen myself settling in long-term. Not a farmhouse exactly, but what this place represented. A home. Somewhere to come back to after a long day, where you could feel safe and warm because of the people who lived inside. A sanctuary against all the dark things in the world.
Eric stood to my right in the living room, his face impassive as he waited, his back straight and rigid.
I shouldn’t have been surprised to see him. He’d disappeared at the same time as Liam, and probably accompanied him on whatever super-secret mission the two had undertaken. It made sense now that Liam was back, Eric was too.
“Eric, I’m glad you’re back.” I meant it too.
The normally reserved enforcer had grown on me. A force in his own right, he tended to hang back in any situation, taking on the role of silent observer. It meant he saw more than most.
His dark eyes lightened with surprise and he inclined his head.
“I never did thank you for that tip.”
“I hope it helped,” he murmured.
“It did. Working at the Book Haven keeps Caroline occupied. I think she might like it better than working at the university, but she’ll never admit it,” I told him with a small smile.
“If only someone else would learn from her example,” Liam rumbled from behind me.
I turned and gave him a sardonic look. “And what exactly am I supposed to have learned?”
“That there can be a bright side if you simply quit being so stubborn,” he said.
That was true. Most things had a silver lining, even this. Being turned into a vampire against my will and then abandoned wasn’t in my plans, but it had worked out. Or at least, it had been heading that way until I lost the job with Hermes. Now I was struggling to find my feet again.
“I’d say Caroline’s situation is a bit different from mine,” I observed in a mild voice.
She’d found a balance with the pack and a job she found fulfilling. I was working at a gas station for minimum wage and still struggling to keep the vampires from trying to control every aspect of my existence.
“I’ve offered you a job. You’re the one who refuses to take it,” Liam returned, the slightest hint of frustration in his voice.
Yes, he had, hence his having to use the debt to force my presence tonight.
The problem was, I didn’t want to work for the vampires, not even Liam or any of his enforcers. The way I saw it they’d already wiggled their way further into my life than I liked.
It seemed every time I gave them a small window, they used it to force their way deeper in. The latest issue with my sire taking over as my landlord was just the beginning.
I was determined to stay in control of myself and my life. It’d be easier to give up and toe the line like a good little flunky, but the antisocial grump inside wouldn’t let me. I’d done that in the military, but it had felt like being rubbed by sandpaper the entire time. I had no intention of that being my eternity.
“How long before you tried to use that against me?” I asked. Because he would have. It seemed that was the modus operandi of vampires.
“Instead you’re here without the leverage you would have had if you’d simply been reasonable,” Liam observed. “Smart, Aileen.”
The words burned, especially since they were true. I should have considered all the angles before rejecting his original offer. My only defense is I hadn’t expected such an enthusiastic greeting from him. It upset my emotional balance, forcing me to react rather than plan, something I couldn’t afford with vampires.
He made a small sound, something close to a sigh. He seemed tired, his skin pale and drawn, circles around his eyes.
Now that the surprise of our first meeting was past, I realized he’d seemed just as exhausted last night.
I hesitated, wanting to ask what was wrong. I stopped myself. A true friend might have, but we weren’t that. His disappearance had made that clear.
Instead I looked around his house. “Nice place. What made you decide on it?”
There was a guarded expression on his face. “I’m looking to make a few changes in my life. I decided having a permanent base of operations here in Columbus was a good place to start.”
I frowned. “Sounds like you’re thinking of sticking around.”
I’d always kind of thought he was here short-term. The council, no doubt, had need of him all over the place. While this territory was an important hotspot with a new master, I was sure there were other places throughout the world that could use a badass enforcer keeping things in line.
He inclined his head, hands clasped behind his back as he stared at me, his thoughts veiled. “I’ve been assigned to this territory full-time.”
I moved around the room, looking at everything. For all that he was probably older than the country, it was surprisingly modern. It had an old-world charm but it had touches of today’s world as well.
I left the topic of his house and now extended residence in Columbus alone. I wasn’t ready to touch the implications of what either might mean.
“You have me here. What is so important that you were willing to use one of your nights and necessitate my missing work?”
He didn’t respond, his gaze flicking to Eric and Nathan in dismissal. The two excused themselves without a word, leaving the room and heading further into the house.
“That’s kind of a pointless gesture. They’ll hear every word we say even from the other side of the house,” I said.
Vampire hearing was far superior to that of a human. It still surprised me how the rooms at the mansion were as private as they were. The soundproofing in each apartment must be topnotch. It would have to be. You wouldn’t want to live right on top of each other for long if every statement or move you made could be overheard. Imagine, waking up in the middle of the day to hear the person in the room above you having a bit of private time in the shower.
“They won’t listen,” he decreed, his voice autocratic.
I scoffed. Sure, they wouldn’t. Curiosity was part of human nature, and vampires were no less prone to it.
He observed me with an impenetrable expression, my disbelief not phasing him.
“You’ve lost weight.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I lied. I didn’t like that he knew me well enough to be able to tell that at a glance when people I was around everyday hadn’t.
“I didn’t notice yesterday, but it’s obvious,” he continued, not paying attention to my denial.
I gritted my teeth and narrowed my eyes at him. “Is this why you called me here? To criticize my weight?”
“We’ll get to that. First, I’d like to know why you look like a stiff breeze could knock you down,” he said, not taking the bait.
“I’d prefer to get to it now.”
“Anticipation is its own reward,” he murmured, his eyes running over me critically. “When is the last time you ate?”
I gave him a smug smile. “On the way over.”
I didn’t even have to lie. The blood smoothie had gone down easily and I’d finished it before I realized it.
“You should not be so thin,” he said, still stuck on the subject.
I shook my head at him. “You’re not my father, my boyfriend, or even my friend. My health is no concern of yours.”
The skin of his face tightened and he gave me a look bordering on insulted. He seemed to withdraw, a mask settling into place. It was like a stranger stood in front of me—one who reminded me of the Liam from our first meeting. A cold bastard who thought nothing of breaking someone’s ribs simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I hadn’t realized how much he had softened with me—how much of himself he’d let show past the facade until he withdrew—the flash of vulnerability he’d shown me earlier, disappearing.
It made me second-guess my last words. Perhaps I’d been needlessly harsh. Liam had somehow made it past my walls and become a friend of sorts. Granted, it was the type of friend who needed to be held at arm’s length and watched at all times.
“Very well then. If that’s how you want things,” he said.
I should have been relieved we were back to business, but I wasn’t.
“I have need of your eyes,” he said brusquely.
By that I took it to mean he needed my ability to see magic with my left eye.
“I thought you wanted me to keep that little secret under wraps.” I stuffed my hands in my pocket and cocked a hip as I frowned at him.
It was a simple enough request. Surprisingly painless even.
The request eased some of my nerves. This, I understood. It was all the emotional crap that tripped me up.
“I do. That’s why I had you come here,” he replied.
I watched him with reservation. It still surprised me he’d told me to keep the fact I could see magic from Thomas, my sire and the master of the city. Also, Liam’s friend, a man he considered a brother since they were made by the same master.
“Alright, what do you want me to look at?” I asked.
Despite my earlier reservations, I was a little excited by this. I couldn’t help but wonder what was so important that he needed my eye. Perhaps it was an ancient artifact that had been cursed or an arcane object whose purpose he needed me to decipher. Either possibility was enough to spark my interest.
“Me, I need you to look at me.” His face was cold and remote, his gaze piercing as I frowned in surprise.
He didn’t look happy about admitting that, and the tight press of his lips warned me from asking questions—though I wanted to. Badly.
“Can you give me an idea of what I’m looking for?” I asked.
I needed somewhere to start. I was too new at this and didn’t have enough of a handle on it to know how to do what he wanted.
“If it’s there, you’ll know it when you see it,” he said.
Well, that wasn’t cryptic or anything. Typical vampire.
I shrugged. If that was how he wanted it, I wasn’t going to argue. I took a deep breath, centering myself.
I glanced away from Liam, turning my attention to the rest of the world. Sometimes, looking at a powerful source of magic right away disoriented me. It was kind of like looking right at the sun, blinding, with odd halo effects afterward. I’d found it was easier to start small and ease into looking at something powerful.
It was hard to describe to others exactly how I used the othersight. I’d tried before with Liam, once we’d figured out the mechanism. It wasn’t like a switch in my head that could be flicked on and off. It was more like I relaxed a muscle that I kept constantly flexed, allowing the magic in the world to filter into my senses.
I blinked as I looked around. The world was the same yet different. Everything was a touch out of focus, hazy and indistinct.
Certain cultures in the world believed all things contained a spirit or essence. Whether animate or inanimate, they had a spark, oftentimes so small as to be barely present. Looking at the world through my left eye, I could see why they might believe that.
Most items I viewed had a soft glow. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a spirit, but there was a speck of something. A presence, even if I got the sense the essence wasn’t entirely sentient.
An antique lamp in the corner was rimmed by such a glow, its light warm and comforting, as if the lamp sensed its purpose and was happy to fulfill it. The painting above the mantel displayed an essence considerably stronger than the lamp’s, and much darker, as if the painter had been in turmoil when he’d created the piece, or perhaps the painting had witnessed some horrible event that had steeped it in darkness.
Both thoughts might have been fanciful, but without someone available who understood this power and could explain it to me, I was left with instinct.
I turned to Liam, keeping my gaze to the right of him. I stared at a speck of space, not seeing it, as I let my peripheral vision get a sense of him. Slowly, I looked at him full on.
His power clung to him like finely honed armor. He shone brightly, a well of strength at his core surprising in its depth and intensity. He’d gotten considerably stronger since the last time I’d done this. Maybe not quite as strong as Thomas who was nearly blindingly bright, but close. This power was more controlled, answering eagerly to his call. A sleek jungle cat waiting to pounce, more interested in slipping in unseen and unchallenged rather than barging in like a battering ram.
As I scanned him, I got the briefest sense of wintry ice and biting wind. It should have stung my senses, repelled me. Instead it brushed along them with an almost physical sensation as it purred in contentment.
To my eye, he looked the same as always, only there was more of it. The power flickered around him, a small strand reaching out to where his mark tingled on my forearm, not quite touching before it dissolved.
I moved around him to make sure, scanning him twice in case I’d missed something the first time.
Nothing. No tell-tale signs of other magic, no shadows lurking within. There was zero indication as to why he’d felt the need for my presence.
“I don’t know what you thought I’d find but you look much the same as always,” I told him.
His shoulders relaxed and I thought I saw a faint flicker of relief, though his expression remained grave.
“I’ll need you to perform the same task with Eric,” he ordered.
I gave him a dour look but didn’t argue, waving my hand to indicate my consent. Might as well. It wasn’t like I had anywhere to be tonight.
Liam fell silent, his focus turning inward. Eric appeared in the entry to the room. He moved forward on quiet feet, his attention going to where Liam waited, hands clasped behind his back.
Liam looked at me with expectation, eyebrows raised, arrogance stamped on his face.
I didn’t bother arguing before focusing on Eric. I didn’t know the quiet enforcer’s power signature the way I did Liam’s, so I couldn’t say for sure, but to my inexperienced eye it looked no different than I’d expect.
Where Liam’s power felt like the coldest of nights during the deepest parts of winter, Eric’s was an electric blanket that crackled and rumbled, the distinct opposite of the way he presented himself to the world.
It made me wonder just what went on behind the quiet, imperturbable facade, and if beneath the surface there was a volcano of feeling and emotions just bubbling away.
I shook my head at Liam. If there was something there, I couldn’t see it.
Liam lifted his chin at Eric, dismissing him without a word spoken. Eric spun and walked out of the room without a backwards glance or even a question to ask why he’d been called in the first place.
I couldn’t help but be impressed. Most individuals wouldn’t have been able to suppress their curiosity or annoyance at being summoned and then dismissed without a word. Either Eric knew about my abilities despite Liam’s assurance to the contrary, or he trusted Liam on such a profound level that something like this didn’t bother him.
Liam’s expression grew contemplative as he considered what I’d told him.
I waited, tapping my finger on my thigh. Curiosity burned inside me as I wondered what exactly he thought I’d find. I held my questions back.
“Nathan will see you back to the city,” Liam said into the silence.
I started, my attention spinning back to him. What? This little jaunt had taken up all of twenty minutes of my time. That couldn’t be all he wanted.
“That’s it?” I asked, not believing him. “That’s what you wanted?”
“It is,” he said. He moved past me, his smell wrapping around me. “Now, don’t you wish you’d accepted the money for this request instead of having me force your compliance?”
I stiffened, my feet stuck in place, and fought to keep my expression emotionless as a cold feeling invaded. I wasn’t getting paid. That should have occurred to me. For some reason, it hadn’t.
That was just ducky. My chances of making rent were getting smaller and smaller. I might have to take the sphinx’s job after all.
His smile widened just a touch as if he could sense my thoughts.
I gave him a superior look as I sauntered past him. “I don’t know. Twenty minutes to knock a night’s debt off doesn’t seem like too bad a trade to me.”
I didn’t wait for his response, heading for the foyer. The loss of a night’s income burned, but redeeming one of the nights I owed for such a small price was almost worth it.
My victory was short-lived as my stomach clenched painfully. My steps hesitated as I fought the urge to double over. Pain and nausea swamped me.
Nathan’s concoction had lasted longer than the normal blood I drank, but not long enough. My body was getting ready to purge it from my system.
I gritted my teeth, touching the wall for balance. Not if I could help it.
I breathed slowly for several seconds, conscious of Liam at my back, watching, learning. If he’d been concerned before, I didn’t want to think how he would react if he knew how much trouble I’d been having keeping blood down. I could kiss any autonomy and my non-biting days goodbye.
He seemed to have appointed himself my keeper/guardian, and he took his duties very seriously.
“Something is wrong,” he said, coming around me and peering at my face.
I forced myself to straighten and gave him a cocky smile. Everything was fine and dandy. If I kept telling myself that, maybe one of these days my body would actually listen.
“Nothing wrong here. I just got myself a free night,” I said, moving around him.
Nathan was waiting for me in the foyer when I got there.
“Let’s go,” I said, moving past him.
His gaze lifted above my head.
“Aileen.” Liam’s voice held a note of warning.
My hand was already on the doorknob and turning it. I fought to keep from groaning even as my stomach cramped again. In retrospect, taunting him had probably not been my best idea. Had I let him have the last word, he might have never witnessed that moment of weakness in the hall.
The door creaked open as I turned and gave him an expectant look. His attention locked above my left shoulder as an emotion crossed his face that made the breath in me still. It was full of a naked yearning, the breadth and intensity of which was scorching.
I turned to see what had caught his attention outside and caught the briefest glimpse of white before it disappeared into the dark.
To Eric, he said, “Go.”
Eric moved past me, disappearing into the trees almost faster than I could see.
I turned back, a question on my lips. Liam’s closed off expression stopped me.
“See her home,” Liam ordered Nathan, his focus already returning to the trees.
It wasn’t lost on me something had just happened. He’d heard or seen something that had stopped him from saying whatever was in his mind.
This was Liam. Badass vampire. Dangerous enforcer. He could kill more easily than most people breathed. What had caused that reaction?
I didn’t bother asking, knowing he wouldn’t answer anyway. I stepped onto the porch, scanning the grounds and immediate woods one last time before heading to the Escalade.
For Liam to ask me to use my magic-seeing eye to scan him, it had to mean he was worried about interference of some sort. Either a curse laid on him or a mental suggestion perhaps?
What sort of creature would be able to do that to a vampire? That was the more important question.
And what was in the woods that could cause that look of naked hope?