Authors: Melissa Schroeder
Nico made his way back to the room. They were going to have
to work with Hurst on his memory. He did not want him to remember what he went
through. The turning of a Made was not pleasant. Nico had never seen it, but he
had heard the description from others. It wasn’t easy for the human to change
his biological makeup into one of their kind. Being almost drained completely
of blood, then slowly coming back to life...it wasn’t something he wanted to
contemplate.
The door to the room opened before he reached it. Gray stuck
his head out. "He's back in bed again."
He slipped into the hall and motioned with his head for Nico
to follow him. He couldn't help but smile at Gray's behavior. Nico might be the
top of the pecking line within the Alliance, but his friend was a duke in
society. Some things one could not shake off.
He showed him into a parlor and shut the doors behind them.
"He still remembers nothing of the change."
Nico nodded. "And hopefully, he never will."
"But, he did remember what gaming hell he was in that
night."
"Hell? I thought he was at a whorehouse."
"He remembers playing cards with a strange man. Said he
had dark black hair, average height, and blue eyes."
Nico snorted. "That describes half of London."
"No. He said his eyes were a strange color...like
ours."
Nico's blood quickened. "Ah, he met up with one of us,
maybe the one who turned him or the one who is collecting them for someone
else. What else did he remember?"
"He played hazard for a while, then everything becomes
foggy."
"That is very good. What hell was it?"
"Devil's Temptation."
Nico rolled his eyes. "Humans."
"I am not so sure that it is a human who owns it. There
are a lot of rumors about the true owner."
"What kind of rumors?"
"Just the usual, about where the man obtained his
money, and no one knows his name. He calls himself 'Devil.'"
"As I said before, humans." He shook his head.
"I guess we need to make a trip there tonight."
"No, you can't."
"What do you mean?"
"First, you are too conspicuous. Everyone in our world
will recognize you and know that your father is more than likely hunting the
killer." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Besides that, you are
getting married tomorrow, Blackburn. I have a feeling your fiancé will not take
kindly to rumors of you at a hell the night before you marry.”
Nico rolled his shoulders, trying to ease his irritation.
"Bloody hell. Okay, so who should we send?"
"Malik said your cousin is in town. Everyone knows his
name, but they do not know him by sight. He would probably be very good to send
in."
He nodded. "I will have father discuss it with
him."
And at the moment, he felt so very tired. He had never been
one for daytime hours, but he could not remember getting this tired.
"I should return home to see if there are any more
sightings."
He turned to leave, but Gray stopped him.
"Are you forgetting something, Blackburn?"
He stopped with his hand on the knob. "I cannot think
what it is. We have someone looking out for attacks in most areas, even in
Scotland."
Gray shook his head and picked up a piece of paper.
"Your license for tomorrow. Oh, and I arranged to have the Bishop of
Canterbury do the ceremony."
He took the paper. "Of course. Thank you."
It wasn't until he made it to the street that the enormity
of how his life had changed hit him. He strode down the cobblestones, wanting a
good walk to clear his head. He had never thought to mate. For his kind, sex
and feeding were normal, and in their classes, it was not looked down upon for
a woman not to be a virgin. They understood the needs of everyone, including
Carriers.
He was amazed that Cordelia had made it this long without
losing hers. Her Carrier status must have been recognized by others. And she
had spent many years within the
ton
,
but apparently, she had been able to hide from them.
He’d been walking several blocks, thinking of their next
moves with the investigation, when he noticed a figure following him. The sun
was beginning to sink behind the buildings. The ominous feeling was one he knew
well. He increased his pace a bit and turned a corner. Then he flattened himself
against the wall of the building, waiting for whoever was following him. He saw
the faint shadow appear and readied himself for a fight. He pulled his knife
from his boot and stepped out. In the next instant, he felt the slam of a fist
and he fell back, landing against the cobblestones hard. His vision wavered
then slowly faded to black.
“Come on, Blackburn, open up those pretty blue eyes of
yours,” said someone with a thick Scottish brogue. His head was aching, his
body throbbing from what would surely be bruises up and down his back. Slowly,
he lifted his eyes. At first, everything looked blurry, as if he needed
spectacles, then his vision focused and he found his cousin leaning over him.
“Ah, there you go, sleeping beauty.”
“You bastard,” Nico said and smacked him upside the head.
“Dammit, Nico.” He lifted his massive hand to his ear and
winced, but he did back off so Nico could lift himself off the ground. “I can’t
believe you boxed my ear like when we were kids. Don’t you know how to fight
like a man?”
He ignored Saint’s diatribe because Nico refused to be drawn
into an argument with him. There was nothing he liked to do more than argue.
Well, other than shun most living beings. He was a big man, bigger than even
Nico, and a head taller than Malik. As with most Highlanders, he did a lot of
work outside, even if he was Laird of his clan. His bushy beard hid his face,
and the dark auburn hair was several inches beyond what was fashionable and
definitely in need of a comb. Nico understood why most people thought he was a
beast.
“What are you doing hitting me for no reason?” Nico asked.
“You had a knife.”
Nico rolled his eyes and felt the back of his head. It was
damp with a little blood, and he could already fill the beginning of a lump.
“Why were you following me?”
“I wasn’t following you. I was catching up to you. I went by
that duke’s house and you had already left. So I followed the path I assumed
you would take home. The fact that you were walking down the street daydreaming
about your wedding night is not my fault.” His frown turned blacker. “You
should be more careful, Nico.”
The fact that his cousin was correct did not mean he had to
agree with him.
“What did you need?” he asked as he started on his way and
his cousin fell into step.
“Your viscount was in a hell a few nights ago.”
“We know.”
“Well, why the bloody hell am I skulking around looking up
information? I told your father I didn’t want to come down here, and now you
have me running around for no good reason.”
Nico glanced at him. “We just found out. He remembered
playing cards with the owner.”
“He knows his name? No one seems to know.”
“No. He assumed he was the owner. He remembered calling him
Devil.”
His cousin snorted. “Humans.” He spat the word out as if it
were poison. Saint hated all of man and vampkind, but he definitely hated
humans more.
He nodded and then winced immediately. Pain filtered
throughout his head, and he felt the beginnings of a headache. “Indeed, but I
am wondering if this one is a Born. He mentioned he remembered his eyes being
our shade of blue. Not that humans don’t have them, but a little bit of a
coincidence, yes?”
“I agree. I am going to go back around tonight. The owner
was not out in the hell last night, but I think he was there.”
“Do you need backup?”
He snorted. “Really, Nico, you ask the silliest questions.”
They reached his townhouse, and he stopped to look at his
cousin. Just because he was big did not mean he could handle the Born who was
turning humans.
“You need to be careful, Saint. The Born we are dealing with
doesn’t give a wit about what he is doing. I cannot for the life of me
understand his actions. But, know this, the Born doing this is at a level of
depravity that neither of us will ever truly understand.”
Saint studied him for a moment. “I understand depravity.”
“Not this kind. Think of the kind of Born this has to be. He
thinks nothing of turning the men…he does not even try to help them. He
unleashes them on society, and I have a feeling he gets some kind of enjoyment
out of watching them fall into their Blood Lust. He is not to be taken
lightly.”
Saint nodded.
Nico drew in a deep breath then let it out. He could not let
this Born get to him. That is when he would make a mistake. “Why don’t you come
in for a bite to eat?”
He shook his head. “I need to feed before going back out
tonight.”
Nico smiled. “Might it be that you’re afraid of what my
mother will do to you when she finds out you knocked me out?”
His skin paled. “Of course not.”
Saint was only afraid of one thing. No beast or man could
make him quiver in fear like Adelaide Blackburn.
“You will be at the wedding.”
It was not a request, and from the look on his cousin’s
face, he knew it. “Your father already informed me that I needed to be there.”
“Good, we need a show of solidarity.”
Saint shrugged. “I’m off.”
And with that, he left. As Nico walked up the stairs to his
house, he thought of his cousin and his reasons for coming to London. Just the
idea that he had come to London was disturbing enough. He rarely left the small
village where he lived and avoided just about every person. While the
Blackburns might have avoided society, they did not avoid the regular
gatherings throughout the year for the Alliance. Saint and his family did.
Always.
He shut the door behind him and realized that his energy was
completely drained. No one was around save for a footman.
“Tell my father and mother that I am staying in this
evening.”
The young man nodded, and Nico decided that for once, he was
going to indulge in a long night of sleeping. Lord knew that he would need his
rest for the day ahead.
*
*
*
*
“Do you know anyone here?” Diana asked Cordelia as they
looked out over the ballroom. The wedding guests seemed to be enjoying the
festivities. Champagne was flowing and the food seemed to be never ending.
She glanced at her sister then at the milling crowd. “I know
you.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Cordelia thought she saw her
sister’s lips twitch. "What I meant is do you know any of these people,
other than the ones you have introduced me to?"
Cordelia shook her head. "No."
When she was a girl, she had spun dreams and fantasies about
what her wedding day would be. The dress Adelaide had ordered was a vision and
something any woman would want. Pale ivory, simple in its design, but it made
her feel beautiful. The silk clung to her body, and the shade was perfect for
her skin tone. Adelaide had known exactly what she was doing. Cordelia brushed
her hand against the fabric and delighted in its sleek feel. Any woman would be
thrilled to have a dress designed by Monique.
Something tickled the back of her throat again. That panic
had been plaguing her since she had found herself compromised.
She took a deep breath and looked up. Her sister was
correct. Cordelia barely knew a soul in the room. She had walked herself down
the aisle since there had been no one to give her away. The only family member
she had at her side barely knew her.
She was a stranger at her own wedding.
Tears burned the back of her eyes. For the first time in
years, she ached to have someone she could share things with. Her sister was
not someone Cordelia could tell her secrets to. Not anymore.
She blinked and brought herself back to the present. Her
sister was staring at her oddly, and she realized she had spent several minutes
standing there without saying anything.
"I know some of these people. Or I should say, I know
of them, who they are. They are a bit above my social circle. And, of course,
everyone knows Gray."
Cordelia glanced at Nico's friend who was surrounded by a
group of men. No matter where Gray went, there seemed to be people following
him. It was a bit embarrassing how many matchmaking mamas seemed to try to get
his attention.
“I met him the other night. He helped with our…situation. He
is the highest ranking member in the room. Although I sense that he defers to
Nico for some reason."
Her sister glanced at her, then back out at the people.
"I do not think you understand just how powerful your husband is."
"Of course I do. He controls a lot of the aristocracy because
his family has lent money to most of them. And many of them still owe
him."
Diana shook her head as her eyes grew shadowed. "It is
not only that. Do you see how these people react to him? He gave them less than
three day’s notice of the wedding, but here they are. And they come from
different factions within society."
"Most of them have a title in front of their
name."
The sharp look her sister gave her told Cordelia she heard
the irritation in her voice. "You have a title."
"A lot of good it did me."
"That's true," she conceded. "But never
forget that you have the blood of the Earls of Collingsworth flowing through
your veins."
She turned to face her sister. "Have you been
drinking?"
"Whatever do you mean by that?"
"If you want to pretend that I wasn't the bastard of
the family, that's okay, but do not ever throw me in with the rest of you. I
find it annoying."