Chapter 12
AS WE ENTERED the bedroom, Aegis gently kicked the door shut with his foot. He carried me over to the bed, depositing me gently on the comforter and then, using his phone, switched on the stereo. A blast of music filled the room and we were surrounded by the siren songs of Shriekback and the Kills. We both liked edgy music, and sex made it even better.
I looked up at him, my blood boiling through my veins. His scent, his eyes, the feel of his hands, the silhouette of his broad chest, the low throbbing of his voice—everything about him made me hungry for his touch. I had never found a man so compelling. Not even Tom, I thought, then brushed the thought away. Why compare? Finally, with Tom, it felt like the past was the past and the present was the present, and I could focus on my relationship now without dragging him into it.
Aegis stepped back, his entire focus centered on my face as he slowly unbuckled his belt. He was wearing black jeans that cupped his ass, and a low V-neck sweater that was a brilliant cobalt blue. He was a gorgeous man, as beautiful as the god to whom he had been bound. And knowing he was a demigod, that his father was Hermes, made me wonder just how brilliant and beautiful the gods really were.
I slipped off the bed, lowering myself to my knees in front of him. “Let me do that,” I said in a husky voice, my breath heavy in my chest. I pushed his hands away and began to slowly lower his zipper, inch by inch by inch. He let out a faint moan, dropping his head back as his cock sprang to attention. I took him in my hands, pressing my lips to the tip of his shaft. He pressed forward, gently, as I tightened my lips around him. By now I was used to the chill of his skin, and sometimes when we used flavored lubricant as a toy, it was a lot like sucking on a Popsicle. Only so much sexier.
“You give great head,” he said in a throaty voice. “Don’t stop, please don’t stop.”
“I have no intention of stopping,” I said, running my tongue up and down his length. His pre-cum was salty, even though he produced no actual semen. “You taste good.”
He reached down, gently holding me by the sides of my head as he thrust harder. I began to work him faster as he slid between my lips, forcing them apart with his girth.
“Babe, would you mind tit-fucking me?” His voice was ragged now.
I knelt back, then made my way up on the bed, pulling my shirt off as I sat down. I reached back and unhooked my bra, tossing it to the side as my boobs bounced gently. He stepped toward me as I leaned forward holding my breasts together, rubbing the nipples as I formed a channel around his cock. Placing his hands on my shoulders, he began to thrust up and down as I tightened my breasts around him. I glanced down, staring at the head of his cock as it rose and fell between my breasts, licking my lips as I anticipated that lovely shaft driving itself inside me.
“I’m going to come, babe,” Aegis said with a grunt.
I leaned back, spreading my arms as he aimed his cock at my breasts, coming hard. With most men, I wasn’t particularly fond of the cum shower, but with Aegis it was different. I loved giving him pleasure, just like he loved giving me pleasure. I slowly rubbed my breasts, spreading his essence over me.
“You drive me crazy, woman,” he said, stripping off his shirt and his pants. He had to stop to take his boots off first, giving me time to undress. I had barely wiggled out of my panties when he landed on the bed next to me, hard again, and grabbed me by the waist. He laid me back, whispering, “I want to eat you out. I want to taste you. I love your smell, I love your taste. I love everything about you.”
I bent my knees, spreading my legs. Aegis slid between them, spreading my lips wide as he leaned in and began swirling his tongue against my sex. He knew how to make that tongue work, how to exert just the right pressure to drive me out of my mind. I moaned as the sex haze washed over me. All I could think about was his tongue on my clit, and how I didn’t want him to stop, how I could barely breathe. As I shifted, he pressed harder and I gave in, coming so hard that I let out a peal of laughter, throwing my head back as I reveled in the release.
Aegis joined me, barking out a low throaty laugh, and he crawled up, his eyes focused on my face. He cupped my breasts and squeezed, hard, and I let out another cry. Pain mingled with pleasure, and I growled, so hungry for him that I caught hold of his waist and pulled him down beside me. I rolled him over and straddled him, sliding down on his cock, relief spreading through me as the length of his shaft penetrated deep.
“Now I get to ride you,” I said, leaning forward. “Buck up, cowboy.”
He held my waist and rose to meet my downward thrust. As he sped up—vampires had amazing speed and stamina—I raised one hand over my head in a fist and let out a loud cheer.
“Yes, that’s my stallion!” I laughed again, grinding against him. “Fuck me, bloodsucker.”
“You want fucked? I’ll give it to you good, witch.”
His eyes gleaming, he rolled me over and drove deep inside me as I wrapped my legs around him. And then one of my favorite songs came on—“Sour Cherry” by the Kills—and I lost what little reserve I had left. I began to stutter, and then let out a shriek as I came again, harder than before. Aegis continued to drive as I spiraled over the crevice, falling into an orgasm so hard it gave me a cramp in my side. Before I could ask him to pause so I could ease the spasm, he groaned again, leaning his head back as he came once more, shuddering into my arms.
As the music continued to blare, we held each other, riding the waves of our passion, creating a private little bubble in a world that was too fraught with danger.
SURPRISINGLY, WE HEADED out the door only ten minutes later than we should have. A quick shower together left us fresh and clean, and I was happy to find I could walk down the stairs by myself without getting too dizzy. But the memory of what I was facing swept over me. For a little while I had been able to forget, but now that it was dark outside and anything could be lurking in the shadows, a sudden shaft of fear struck me.
“I’ll be right back.” I ran back upstairs.
In the back of my closet was a small chest. I opened it and stared at the silver spike that lay there, gleaming softly in the light. I slowly withdrew it and the matching sheaths, one of which held my dagger. I strapped them on, one to each thigh. As I slid the dagger and the spike into place, it felt like a shadow from the past washed across me and I realized that—no matter what happened from now on—I had to let the part of myself that had been Mad Maudlin back in.
As I returned downstairs, Aegis took a quick look at my legs, and then into my face. He stood there, unafraid, and opened his arms as I snuggled deep into his embrace, cautious not to touch him with the silver. His jeans would protect him, to a degree, but I didn’t want to hurt him at all.
“I have some things to tell you, on the ride over.”
“I figured as much,” he said with a whisper. “Let’s go. And if she bitches, then she can come outside to talk to us by the car.”
ON THE DRIVE to Essie’s, I took a deep breath and told Aegis about Fata’s return. He listened in silence, until I came to the part where she had freaked out about me loving a vampire.
“She tries to stake me and she’s got a fight on her hands,” he said. He meant it. Aegis could bluster like any man, but there was an edge that came into his voice when he was serious. “I won’t have her browbeating you, either.”
“Be cautious, love,” I said. I hated to admit it, but Fata scared the hell out of me. “She’s part water elemental and, as such, has incredible strength and power. But she came to deliver a message to me. I have to be grateful for that. And that leads us to my second piece of news for the day. And why I broke out my stake and dagger. The vampire running around killing people? I know who it is.”
Aegis glanced at me, then back at the road. “Who?”
“Apparently the Arcānus Nocturni has decided I’m too much of a threat. They woke up Dracula and sent him after me.”
Aegis screeched to the side of the road, parking abruptly on the shoulder. “You’re fucking with me, right? Fucking Transylvania Dracula?” But by the shaking of his voice, it was obvious he knew I wasn’t joking.
“That would be the one.” I shook my head. “I talked to Auntie Tautau. Sandy and I went over there after Fata decided to go sightseeing. We can’t ask her to leave until it’s time, and we won’t know when that is until it happens. As for Dracula, I’m going to have to walk softly on this one. If I take him down, I’ll be killing a cultural icon, and that’s never a good thing.”
Aegis was silent for a moment. The only sound in the car was the sound of my breath. Finally, he said, “This is one of those damned if you do, damned if you don’t situations. If the Arcānus Nocturni went to the trouble of waking him up, then you’re on their radar in a really bad way. They mean business. I can guarantee you, we can’t possibly take on the entire organization. Their members are spread worldwide, hidden right out in the open. These are vampires whose lineages extend thousands of years, even before I was turned.”
My breath felt caught in my throat. I stared through the window into the darkness.
“You’re just a ray of sunshine, aren’t you?”
Aegis was right. The Arcānus Nocturni were scattered worldwide, and they were all but invincible. With the power their members had, and with no clue of how many of them existed, our best chances were to try to fly under the radar. But now, I was on their shit list.
He said nothing for a moment, then reached for my hand.
“Maddy, I’ll stand beside you. Hell, I’ll stand in front of you if you want. But we can’t just go on hope that this will blow over. We have no choice but to destroy Dracula. And yet, if you do, well…as you said, you’ll be destroying a cultural icon. One of the fathers to the vampire race. Destroying Lucifer—”
“Please, call him Luke.”
I didn’t even want to think about Lucifer. A messenger for the gods, he had gone too far out among the stars and returned with vampirism. The illness had fallen on him while he was deep in space and he carried it back. And the goddess Nyx had forced him out of the sky, throwing him down to earth much like Apollo had tossed Aegis out after turning him into one of the Fallen.
Luke had been there when we had destroyed the village in Romania. He escaped, and had tracked me down, out for revenge. But Aegis and I had prevailed, and he was dead, a pile of dust that scattered to the winds. Of course the Arcānus Nocturni wasn’t going to forgive that. He had been one of their greatest members. And I was responsible for his death.
“Whether we call him Luke or Lucifer or Lucian, the fact remains that by destroying him, both you and I cemented our places on their hit list. We had best get over to Essie’s and tell her the news.” He started the car again, shaking his head. “I suppose we owe Fata Morgana a debt of gratitude for letting you know. But it feels like we’re sandwiched between her and Dracula, and I’m not sure which one I’m most afraid of.”
“On that matter, I totally agree with you.” And still, I felt like a traitor for saying so.
AS WE EASED into Essie’s driveway, I wondered how she would take to me being armed. When I stepped out of the car, I heard a gasp from the shadows.
“Are you crazy?”
I recognized that voice. “Hey, Ruby.”
Ruby had helped Essie kidnap me at one point, and we had developed an uneasy regard for one another. I had the feeling that Ruby could easily turn out to be like Aegis—a vampire with a conscience. But as long as she lived in Essie’s nest, that wasn’t likely to happen.
I knew she felt the silver. “I’m armed because I need to be armed,” I told her. “Essie will understand when I tell her what happened. But I need to go in feeling protected. I give you my word of honor I won’t hurt anybody in there who doesn’t try to hurt me. Witches’ oath.” I held my left palm upright and tapped it with my other hand. A universal symbol among witches and those who knew them that we had given our oath.
“All right, but I don’t guarantee she’s not gonna bite my head off. After she bites yours off.” Ruby slipped out of the shadows into the floodlight that spread across the driveway. As usual, she was dressed in jeans and a turtleneck. She was tall and slim, and must have been in her thirties when she was turned. Her long hair was the color of burnished copper and she had pulled it back into a braid. Her pale skin and eyes seemed almost translucent in the brilliant floodlight.
“Well, come on. Let’s get this over with.”
I found it oddly comforting that she walked in front of me, seemingly unafraid. I honestly didn’t want her to fear me—at least not as long as she was on my side. If Fata could see me now, she would probably turn in disgust and run back to the waves on which she had come.
Aegis wrapped his arm through mine, tugging me closer to him. The brooding look on his face told me he was worried.
As we entered Essie’s house, I blinked. She had redecorated since the last time I was here. It had been a goth fantasy house, but now the walls were painted a pale blue, and the furniture had been changed out to New England cottage-by-the-sea. I forced myself to keep a straight face. The thought of the Vampire Queen of the Pacific Northwest living in a New England Cape Cod–style cottage seemed awfully strange.
Ruby led us into the parlor, motioning for us to sit on the navy and white print sofa. She vanished out the door after telling us to stay put, and a couple moments later, Essie entered, sans her usual guards.
“Ruby tells me that you’re wearing some very interesting weaponry.” Essie gave me a long look, her gaze fluttering to my thighs. “I see she wasn’t exaggerating.”
“You’ll understand when I tell you why we’re here. I don’t feel safe without my weapons right now.”
“Do you mean in my house in particular?”
Oh great. I had just insulted her.
“No, Essie. I do not mean just in your house. I told you on the phone that I know who the vampire is who’s been murdering people. Do you know the name Fata Morgana?”
Her eyes widened. A crimson ring formed around her irises. “Are you talking about the Fata you use to run with? I know of her. I know all about your connections with her, because I’ve looked into your background.”
“Right. I’m not surprised. So, today Fata rolled back into town. In fact, she’s here in the village now, so tell your nest to be careful. She’s not exactly running reasonable at this point. But she brought me a message, and I’ve verified it with Auntie Tautau.”
“And what was that message?” Essie held my gaze and I shivered. While she couldn’t charm me—witches couldn’t be charmed by a vampire’s hypnotic gaze—her very stature demanded respect and attention.
“The Arcānus Nocturni woke up Dracula. They’ve sent him after me and he’s here on the island, now.”
Essie let out a hiss. This was the first time I had ever seen true fear in her eyes. Oh, I had seen her cunning, and wary, and I had witnessed her nervousness around a member of the Arcānus Nocturni, but I had never seen Essie Vanderbilt truly afraid.
“Dracuul? They woke up Dracula? The fools.”
“What I don’t understand, though, is since he’s after me and he’s been on the island for a while, why hasn’t he tried to kill me already? If he’s as powerful as I think, why hasn’t he attacked yet?” I had been toying with the question since Fata first told us, but it only fully formed in my mind within the past hour.
Essie hesitated. She glanced at Aegis, who gave her a nod.
“Why do you think Dracula has survived so long, when so many people have hunted for him? He’s one of the oldest vampires, and he’s made so many enemies over the years that you would think someone would have managed to take him down by now. He’s the most famous vampire in the world. So answer me this, how do you think he’s survived?”
I was smart enough to realize that she was offering me an answer with her question. She was also giving me the chance to figure it out for myself. At times, Essie liked to play teacher.
I thought about it for a moment, mulling over the possibilities in my mind. I had long been a fan of the Evil Overlords List, a fun little list I had found on the Internet about how to be an effective evil overlord. The basic concept came down to: Don’t give your enemies a chance. At first opportunity, take them down. But was that always the right choice?
“I assume that the Arcānus Nocturni gave him as much information on me as they have, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he knows everything he wants to know. He could be studying me. It would make sense. Study your enemy, find out all you can about them before you go in. Especially when they’re living with another ancient vampire, one who may not be as old as yourself, but who could still be extremely dangerous?”
Essie smiled. “You do not disappoint me, Maddy. Yes, Dracula has always taken his time. Stoker’s book was on point, and more of a biography than most people realize. He had a friend whom Jonathan Harker is modeled after. Dracula is crafty and cunning, and he plans ahead. Dracula’s also been asleep for at least a hundred years, so he’s going to want to know what kind of world he’s dealing with. And my guess is that he’s not at full strength yet.” Here, she paused.
“You might as well tell her, or I will,” Aegis said.
“I thought you might have already done so.”
“I would have, except I just found out about this on the way over.” Aegis leaned back in his chair. “Essie, I know you don’t care for me because I refused to join your nest. I have nothing against you, and I hope you won’t hold anything against me. But you should know, anything that might affect Maddy’s health or safety is my concern. I’ll give her any secret, any information that I need to in order to ensure her safety. And that’s just something you have to accept.”
Essie’s eyes narrowed. After a moment, she gave a little shrug as though she didn’t care. I had a feeling that wasn’t her true feeling, but she didn’t want to press it.
“I can understand why you would do so. At least Maddy seems to have a discreet tongue.” She turned back to me. “When a vampire has been asleep for a very long time—figure fifty or sixty years, or more—they tend to be weak when they awake. Their strength returns a little with each kill, or feeding if you like. It can take up to two weeks to a month before they reach full power again, depending on how long they slept and how weak they were when they went to sleep.”
I frowned. “Don’t all vampires wake every sunset? I thought you wake when the sun disappears, and sleep when it rises. Except, of course, for the Arcānus Nocturni.”
Essie held up one hand. “One moment,” she said, rising and moving to the door. She peeked outside to make sure no one was around, then quietly closed it and locked it and returned to the table.
“What I am about to tell you is information you’d best keep to yourself. I realized that Aegis could have told you, but since I am here now and party to this, it means that I could be in grave danger should anyone find out that I’ve opened my mouth on the subject.”
She leaned across the table and took my hand, turning it over so that it was palm up. I tried not to pull away from her. With her other hand, she motioned toward my leg.
“Your dagger, if you will. I am going to require a blood oath that you keep this silent and to yourself. No telling Delia, no telling Cassandra or anyone else. Will you abide by the pact?”
“If Aegis would tell me without forcing me to make that pact, should I give you my oath? It doesn’t really make sense now, does it?”
Essie squeezed my hand hard enough to hurt. “Oh, Aegis would tell you what I am about to, but I have information that even he does not. Remember, I run in a circle that Aegis has never entered. The nobility of the vampire nation doesn’t let in the riffraff.” With those words, she glanced at Aegis.
If her insult bothered him, he chose to ignore it.
“Do you think I should?” I glanced at him. “Whatever you say, I’ll trust you.”
Aegis gave Essie a sarcastic smile. “Oh, I’m sure she has the dirt on other people within the nobility. All the royals are corrupt that way. Go ahead.” There was a gleam in his eyes that told me he was up to something.
I turned back to Essie and nodded. “Very well, I’ll seal it with my blood. But you don’t get to drink it. No, you get to prick your own finger and blend it with mine. And not on my cut directly. I don’t want any of your blood absorbing into me. We squeeze out at a few drops into a bowl and when they mingle, then my promise mingles with yours. We can seal on a handshake if you like, but those are my terms.”
Essie looked disappointed, but she agreed. I pulled out my dagger and pricked my finger with it. The blade was extremely sharp, and all it took was a little flick and the cut was done.
Essie grimaced as she held out a finger and I realized how much she trusted me at this point. Here I was, holding a silver dagger in her parlor, without any guards around, and she was trusting me not to stab her in the heart. Feeling like I had just forged another inroad, I made certain to keep the cut on her finger light and quick. She let out a hiss as the silver touched her skin and smoked, but it was over and done within a matter of a few seconds.
We squeezed drops of our blood into a trinket dish on her table. Ironically, it was in the shape of a heart. And then, after wiping my hand with a towel, I offered her a handshake and she took it.
“I swear on my blood, I will not reveal to anyone what you tell me here about Dracula.”
“And I swear to give you the information that I know.” Her expression was a mixture of mingled relief and fear.
“All right, dish it out.”
Essie’s eyes glimmered. I had the feeling she was enjoying this, in a perverse way.
“Very few people know this. I only found out through a…shall we say…clandestine friendship. Dracula takes far longer than other ancient vampires to heal. He may be one of the Arcānus Nocturni, but before he went into hibernation, he was wounded, severely. His heart was nicked by silver, though not pierced through. The wound wasn’t enough to shatter him into dust, but it was enough to permanently scar him.”
“Can he walk in the sunlight?”
“Yes, but if he doesn’t feed on a regular basis, he quickly loses strength. And here’s something that not even the Arcānus Nocturni know. Don’t ask me how I found out, because I will not tell you. I have my ways.”
Aegis and I shared a look. Essie was one hell of a detective.
“Dracula has developed a disease that affects a very small percentage of vampires. Think of it as an autoimmune disorder. Dracula is allergic to witches’ blood. He knows he can’t kill you. He doesn’t dare feed on you—or any other witch. That alone would kill him. So he must find another way if he’s going to kill you. And that’s why he’s being extremely cautious. He must know about your past. And given you aren’t just a vampire hunter, but a witch, you loom as a larger threat in his mind than you would to most vampires.”
“You say the Arcānus Nocturni doesn’t know about this illness?”
“You think they’d send him out after you if they did? I’m not even sure if they know about the close call he had. And he can’t afford for them to know about his weaknesses. They’d quietly stake him as a liability.”
I nodded. “So they think they’ve sicced an ancient terror on me, but in reality, he’s vulnerable.”
“Vulnerable, yes, but don’t underestimate how crafty he is.”
So Dracula was allergic to witches’ blood. It wasn’t exactly as though we could use it as a weapon, and I didn’t envision myself offering up my throat trying to entice him into feeding off me just so he would die. But I was thinking linearly. There had to be an answer here.
“Is he just allergic to drinking my blood? To ingesting it?”
Essie’s expression darkened. “In for a penny… No, you see, there’s the rub. If you get enough of your blood on his flesh, it will burn him. Remember, I only know this because I did some extremely in-depth research at one time, and I know vampires who aren’t very happy with the Arcānus Nocturni. This isn’t something vampires would make public knowledge, even among their own kind. We aren’t always the most trustworthy bunch.”
As I mulled over the thought, Essie returned to the door and unlocked it, opened it, and called for tea. I looked at Aegis, but he shook his head and held his finger to his lips. I wasn’t sure what he was planning, but I had the feeling that he had just managed to pull the wool over Essie’s eyes. And I wanted to know how.