Angie looked away. She’d been fighting the urge ever since she woke, but now she raised a hand to examine the bandages on her chest with trembling fingertips.
“James,” she said quietly, “could you turn the lights up a little?”
He did as she asked and watched her lift the bed sheet. She knew Rimbeau had done a great deal of damage. The bandages made it impossible to tell how bad it was, but at least her breasts looked symmetrical and the same size as before. She had feared he might have torn chunks of flesh from them.
“Have you seen…can you tell me…”
“Angel.” He guided her hands away and lowered the sheet back into place.
She studied him, trying to guess the truth from what little his face revealed. What she saw didn’t seem to make any sense. Was it guilt? Surely not. Yet she was certain there was something he didn’t want to tell her. “Just say it. I’ll never look the same again, I understand that. You don’t need to break it to me gently. Not knowing is going to drive me crazy, so don’t make me take off these bandages to see for myself.”
“I won’t.” James hesitated. “I fear you will be angry with me. Please understand I have done what I believe is best.”
Tension crept into her body, and Angie’s eyes narrowed. “What have you done?”
He sat on the side of the bed again. “There is a new treatment, not yet approved by human agencies. It is still being tested. I was able to obtain some of this medication for you. There was only a limited supply, so the doctors used it sparingly on the wounds your body could not have healed on its own. The torn skin and muscle will knit quickly, Angel, and there should be no scars. The rest is up to nature and your strong constitution.”
He lowered his gaze, unable to meet hers, and Angie waited for the other shoe to drop. “The medication,” he said, “is derived from vampire blood.”
She stared and pulled her hand out of his so abruptly that it made her gasp in pain. “How could you?” she whispered. “You said you understood.”
“Hear me out,” he insisted.
“I trusted you!”
“Angel, listen to me. They have isolated certain healing agents and used them as the basis for this medication. It does not have the same effect as drinking our blood; it will not create any feelings or bonds. I swear this to you.”
“How can you be sure, if it’s still being tested?” Panic made her pulse skyrocket. “Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to love someone no matter how much they hurt you, because you have no choice? Have you ever hated yourself for feelings you can’t control? I can handle scars on my skin, James, I can survive being physically crippled, but the damage to my soul—”
“Please, calm yourself.” He used his most soothing tone. “Have I ever given you reason to doubt my judgment? I know you would have refused the treatment, and that would have been a mistake. Your fear is so powerful it blinds you.”
Tears spilled from the corners of her eyes. He leaned closer and tried to take her hand again, but she slapped his away. This was a nightmare. The medication might not have the effect of real vampire blood, but he couldn’t possibly be sure. He had gambled with her sanity.
Footsteps sounded down the hall. A nurse hurried into the room, took stock of the situation, and said, “Sir, I have to ask you to leave. You’re upsetting my patient.”
James started to argue, but Angie didn’t give him the chance. “Get out,” she said. “I can’t stand to look at you.”
“Angel…”
“Go!”
He went.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Convincing vampires to respect humans as equals is about as easy as teaching White Supremacists to respect black people and Jews. You can’t force someone to change their beliefs, so you have to start by making them change their behavior. That’s what laws are for. The rest will take longer.
—Vanessa Van Sickle, head of the Covenant Enforcement Team
Sarah Miller
Twelve Years Ago
As the Covenant Council held their meeting, Sarah, James, and Vanessa were taken to Ah-set’s suite. It was much larger than Sarah’s room and had neither bed nor coffin. Instead, there was a stone sarcophagus that might have come from ancient Egypt. How old was the creature that used it for her daily rest?
Guards kept watch over them while the sarcophagus was removed and beds brought in. The moment the door closed, Vanessa grabbed Sarah’s shoulders and shook her. “Why would you do such a thing? I didn’t save your life just so you could throw it away!”
“I’m not. You and your friends are the only vampires who ever tried to help us. I won’t let you die for that.”
“I don’t want this.” Vanessa spun away to pace back and forth. Her creator watched them without comment.
A smile dawned across Sarah’s face. “But
I
do. This is the second time in I don’t know how many years that I am able to do something I want. And the first time was because of you. I helped you kill that son of a bitch.” She shook her head in amazement. “I actually
want
something. Not just to stay alive or avoid pain. I want to do something, and I can. I will.”
Vanessa stopped and stared at her.
“It will not come to that.” James, still standing by the door, tapped until one of the guards opened it. “Bring food, please. Miss Miller needs to eat. Bring blood for us as well. I don’t know how long we’ll be kept waiting.”
The door closed, and he turned back to the two of them. His gaze fell on Sarah and stayed.
“Well, don’t just stand there, explain what you mean.” Vanessa glared.
One side of his mouth lifted a fraction. “What Miss Miller said about the human authorities is true, and the Covenant knows it. Our current agreement with human law enforcement is that if any human commits a crime against us, he or she will be turned over to them for justice, just as one of ours who commits a crime against a human will be given to us to punish. But if we turn Sarah over to the human authorities for the crime of killing one of us, it would mean exposing the atrocities committed by Antonio Romero and his kind. And that would surely start a war.”
“How does that stop them from killing her?”
“Tell me, have you ever seen such an execution as Romero described?”
Vanessa frowned. “No.”
“Before the Civil War, it was the punishment for slaves who turned against their vampire masters. They were property and had no rights. The entire plantation was forced to witness it, to terrify them into submission. If human neighbors learned of this they did not protest because they, too, killed slaves for attacking their owners. But slavery is illegal now, so the sentence would have to be carried out in secret.”
Like a teacher waiting for a student to grasp the lesson being taught, James watched while his child worked it out.
“If we did this and they found out,” she said slowly, “it would mean war. But if there aren’t any human witnesses, what would be the point?”
“Correct. The purpose was to strike such fear into the hearts of humans that they would not dare rebel, but how is this point made if it is done in secret? I don’t know what the Council will decide, but I do not think they will kill her.”
James Morgan considered Sarah once more, tilting his head a fraction. He crossed the few steps between them. Cold fingers touched her chin, traced the line of her jaw, and moved up to smooth her hair back. “I never thought I would see a human offer, of her own free will, to give her life for one of us.”
No one had touched her gently like this in years, not even Debra, who had been taking care of her. Sarah’s throat tightened. Was he doing it to manipulate her? But he had no need to do so. She’d already given him and Vanessa everything. For just a moment, something inside her awakened that she had thought was dead and buried. She didn’t realize she was crying until a tear tickled down her cheek. James touched the wet streak and stared at it, rubbing the moisture between his thumb and forefinger.
“I never thought I’d see a vampire willing to give her life for one of us,” she told him.
Sarah turned her head and brushed it against his hand. James’s lips parted. He hesitated before cupping his palm around her jaw, and for the first time looked as though he had no idea what to do.
There were no windows, so she wouldn’t have known how long they waited there if it weren’t for the vampires. Their daily sleep marked the passage of sunrise and sunset. Sarah wanted to sink back into the dull, emotionless state that had comforted her before the trial but couldn’t. When she tried to hide deep within herself, the dark pit of rage and hurt at the core of her being opened up, and she shied away. She needed to be alone and safe before facing the things trapped there.
Worst of all was the siren song of the vampire blood she’d been fed for so many years. She craved it. Hand in hand with her hatred for the vampires that had done this to her, she felt a sickening adoration. A part of her longed for them, even grieved their death. Would it ever go away? She asked James, and he lowered his eyes before shaking his head. It would fade over the years but never completely disappear. The need was part of her now, like an alcoholic’s thirst for one more drink. Without the protective blanket of catatonia, she realized, she was going through withdrawal.
With the blood, they had enslaved her emotionally as well as physically, and there was no way to escape those detested feelings. But she could damned well make sure it didn’t happen again. No matter how hard it was to resist, she vowed she’d never have another drop. She’d rather die.
Sarah kept the television on to distract herself, watching mostly news programs. For the last five years, she’d had no idea what was happening in the human world. There was a new president now. People made references to important events, and she had no clue as to what they were talking about, so Vanessa had to explain. James didn’t join the conversations, but every now and then Sarah caught him watching her.
About halfway into the fifth night, the summons came.
Guards led them to the auditorium, which was full to overflowing. Sarah, James, and Vanessa were taken to the stage, where they stood alone. James was inscrutable, as usual, but Vanessa and Sarah exchanged uneasy looks.
The small, Egyptian vampire came to stand next to them. She looked out over the gathering, then nodded to Lord Scott. He stood, and with him everyone in the front row rose as well, turning to face the rest of the audience.
“The Covenant Council has reached a decision,” the chairperson said. “We, the sovereigns of its nations, stand before you so you will know we are all in agreement on this.”
So these were the Monarchs, Lords, Rulers, and whatever else vampires might call their leaders. Sarah looked them over. She counted twenty-eight in all. One face that should have been there was conspicuously missing. Monarch Romero of the Texas Territory was nowhere to be seen.
They were an eclectic group. Some wore business suits, while others looked like they might have stepped out of a biker bar. She saw a designer evening gown, a jumble of multicolored rags topped off with dreadlocks stuffed into a rainbow-colored hat, a tuxedo with long tails, a beautiful gold and royal blue sari, and more. Some wore things reminiscent of ages gone by, such as a simple dress pinned at the shoulder, its folds held close to the body with a cord. One man wore tights and a leather jerkin like something she had seen at a Renaissance fair when she was a teenager. She spotted Sutherland in a western cut suit with a string tie, a Stetson in his hand.
The chairperson wore a plain silk sheath that skimmed over her slim body, its ivory color a contrast to her gold-brown skin. When she fell silent, she reminded Sarah of a beautiful piece of furniture, upholstered in fine fabric.
“First,” she said, “while Vanessa Van Sickle’s actions did lead to the death of Antonio Romero, the fact that this was achieved at the hands of a human whom he had abused overshadows the issue of political aggression. To punish Van Sickle would suggest this human did not have the right to fight for her freedom. Therefore, we find Vanessa Van Sickle not guilty of the charge of murder. She cannot, however, continue to act as a vigilante. Her energies and idealism will instead be used to form the Covenant’s Enforcement Committee.”
Sarah caught a startled gasp from Vanessa before the vampire got control of her features.
The chairperson’s tone dropped a note or two, and its quality hardened to steel. “Our race will not survive the evolution of humanity unless we can learn to coexist. The human race has developed to the point that it is a serious threat. We may still have the advantage for now, but if we do not curb our excesses, humans will turn their substantial resources toward the destruction of the predators among them, just as they did with the Nazis and the Japanese in World War II.
“As Miss Miller so rightly pointed out to the Tribunal, our arrogance has made us vulnerable. We have rested on our laurels while they have developed their science and technology, creating weapons that challenge even our formidable powers. What might they create if they unite against us? Even if we did win in an all-out war between our races, such a victory would gain us little, as we would have destroyed our own food source.
“Some say we should subjugate humanity, become herdsman just as they have with their sheep and cattle. But our ancestors tried this when humanity was far less powerful and found humans were not so easily controlled. Therefore, the Covenant created a code of law to this end—humans must be treated as our equals. We must submit ourselves to the laws they have made for themselves. To do otherwise is suicide.”
So there were some whose wisdom overrode their instincts. Was it in their individual natures, Sarah wondered, or did it come with age? What made these vampires different from the others?
“Unfortunately,” the chairperson continued, “we have failed to enforce these edicts. All we have done is driven the excesses underground instead of extinguishing them. The time has come to show our people we are serious. The Enforcement Committee will carry this out, but something more is required—a public demonstration of our resolve.”