Entwined With the Dark (16 page)

"Um, come in?" I quickly gathered as much foam as I could about myself, checking to make sure I wasn't flashing too much skin.

"It's just me, mistress," Nataliya said, as she crept in the room.

"Oh, hi!" I relaxed a little knowing it was her.

"Matthias is outside the bedroom door and can come if needed, but we thought it best if I stay near you. Do you want me in here, or back in the bedroom?"

Of course they were thinking of Lutin. He had a tendency to appear out of thin air. Twice he had caught me in our house at St. Helier's Bay. Sergei had not been able to get to me quickly enough to nullify the fairy's magic. I was sure he was determined to never let that happen again. I wasn't happy with either of Nataliya's suggestions, but with Michel unconscious, I couldn't stand the thought of even her being in his room when I was not there.

"Stay here and talk to me," I said, unwilling to give up my bath just yet. She sat herself down on the toilet seat.

"Did you Dream Walk to Avery?" she asked, picking up some of the smelly lotions Michel insisted I used.

"Yeah, it went as well as you'd expect."

"Hence Michel being out cold."

"Yeah. Avery just can't help himself."

"He can, he just doesn't want to." A good distinction I thought. We were both silent for a while.

"They know," I finally said quietly, breaking the comfortable silence in the room.

Nataliya's eyes shot up to mine, a fierceness stealing her features, making them hard. "We will not let the
Iunctio
harm you, mistress."

I smiled indulgently at her. "You intend to go up against the most powerful supernatural organisation in the world?"

"We would if you required it. Without a second thought."

I sighed. "Because you are my vampires. Part of my line."

"No!" She shook her head. "Because it would be the right thing to do. They have tread a Dark path for too long. Sergei and I are not the only ones to think this. Granted we are newly converted, thanks to your Light, but there are other vampires out there that believe they take it too far. Not all Nosferatu believe we must subjugate all other species. We
can
live in harmony, with humans, shape shifters and perhaps, even the Fey. But I reserve judgement on that."

I stared at her. Nataliya was not a big talker. She'd softened and relaxed a little with time in my presence, but she was a warrior first and foremost. Dedicated to protecting me. I hadn't once stopped to think she'd have political opinions such as this. Dangerous, traitorous opinions.

"We're being spied upon. You may need to be careful who you say this all to." She looked worried briefly at my words. "But I must say," I went on, "I am impressed with your views. I didn't realise there was a movement out there opposing the
Iunctio's
heavy handed ways."

"It's bigger than you think. We are not alone."

We both fell into a comfortable silence again. Like Samson before them, Sergei and Nataliya continued to surprise. My love for Samson, the first vampire I brought under the
Lux Lucis Tribuo
line, crept up on me. The more time I spent with him, the more he worked his way under my skin. Now, he was my family. A brother I dearly loved. For the first time since the
Tego Texi Tectum
siblings had joined my line, I realised they were heading that way too. Certainly not as affable as Samson, but in their own way, they were working their way under my skin.

I soaked for another half hour chatting to Nataliya about this and that. Then dried off before I wrinkled too much further. Nataliya gave me a brief moment of privacy to get dressed and then met me in the bedroom. I had no desire to leave Michel so we sat on the chaise by the window and played several games of chess. Nataliya slayed me. Unsurprisingly. I'd never been any good at the game. Michel had been trying to teach me, but both of them had been around a lot longer than me.

Finally, over an hour after I had phoned her, Amisi rang.

"What have you found out?" I asked her.

"It can't be fixed." That's one of things I liked about Amisi, she didn't beat about the bush.

"Crap," I muttered. "Has it happened before?"

"It took some investigating, but Awan and the the Nosferatins managed to come up with two examples in the past."

"Awan helped?" I interrupted her. The Master of Cairo City lending a hand to research a problem for me?

"Yes, I was surprised too, but apparently you've made a good impression on London's new Master and Awan knows him well."

I sputtered a sound out in shock. "I wouldn't have called my initial meeting a
good impression
. He hauled me by my hair and threw me in a cell."

Amisi burst out laughing at that. "You are a bit of handful at first. He probably just didn't understand the Kiwi accent."

"Oh, he understood," I muttered.

"So you were your usual charming self?"

"What the hell does that mean, Amisi?"

"Oh, nothing. Well, just that you can be a little scary. You know, until someone gets to know you better, that is."

"Did I scare you? The first time we met."

There was a pause. Then in a quiet voice, she said, "Well not as much as Charles, but you were impressive when you let your Light go." Charles was the vampire who'd kidnapped her, and I fried him with my Light when I came to rescue her from his clutches. I guess it would have been scary at the time.

I sighed. "I am a unique freak," I said softly and she laughed, relaxing at the other end of the line.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be more help, Luce. The examples of failed joinings that they uncovered merely said that they lost their powers, but still remained intact. For them it was of little consequence, neither pairing politically important. They just faded into the night."

"I guess I better go sharpen the Svante and expect a call from the Champion then." I knew I sounded a little defeated, but really I was being backed into a corner here and I had never liked experiencing that.

"Gregor said to tell you he has been recalled to the
Palais
. He thought it was usual business, but now he's not so sure, in light of what you've said."

"Oh God, it just keeps getting better."

"I really am sorry, Luce. I've asked Gregor if I can come too, he's reluctant to put me in harm's way, but I'll work on him."

"What about Wellington and any rogues that appear while you're gone?" I asked.

"I'm sure the city can survive a week or so with me gone, but I can always get Gigi to swing by for at least one night."

"She'd do that for you?" Now I was surprised.

"Samson would and seems to have a way with her, Goddess knows how."

Gigi was another of my responsibilities and the reason Samson was no longer by my side.

"Does Gregor know what she is?" I asked, concerned her secret was getting out.

"Not that I'm aware of." Another reason to admire Amisi. She knew when to keep her mouth shut. Gigi, being a Nothus, is exactly the sort of creature the Enforcer would be commanded to kill. I was sure he would find a way to avoid that if Amisi asked him to, but you never knew. Gregor had been the Enforcer for centuries, it wasn't something you simply woke up one day and no longer did.

I ran a hand over my face to clear my thoughts and let out a breath of air.

"OK, well I'd better go." Michel would be waking soon. "Thanks for everything, Amisi."

"Lucinda, you only need ask."

I missed Amisi, I longed for simpler times with her baking in our kitchen and watching cheesy vampire movies with her on the couch. But those times had never really been simple. Erika our friend had betrayed us, Nero had died defending me, and the Prophesy was up and in our lives.

"See ya!" she called breezily down the line and then she was gone.

I sat quietly for a moment and let my thoughts run free. Nataliya had picked up a book and been reading throughout my phone conversation, she lowered it now and watched me. After I'd repeated everything Amisi had told me to myself and concluded there was just nothing to be done, I raised my eyes to hers.

"I take it you heard all of that?"

She nodded. "What now, mistress?"

I looked over at Michel, suddenly wanting nothing more than to curl up and snuggle into his side. "I'll have to let Avery know, so he can prepare." I sighed. "Can you give me a few moments alone with Michel, he'll be waking soon anyway."

"Of course, mistress. I'll be right outside the door."

I smiled up at her as she stood and left the room, the door softly clicking shut behind her. Then I crawled onto the bed and wrapped Michel's heavy arm around my waist, pushing myself back against his stomach so we were spooning.

Not more than five minutes later he stirred.

"
Ma douce?
" A sigh, then, "You didn't leave me." Michel's arm tightened about my waist, his nose nuzzling into my hair at the base of my head. The reconnection with Avery may make me feel like coming home, but it was false, an illusion. Home, was in this man's arms.

"Of course not," I whispered, turning my head slightly towards him, his lips found my cheek and then my mouth, shifting us both slightly to deepen the kiss, before eventually pulling back to look me in the eye. There was a slight smattering of magenta in his, evidence of his arousal and his vampire-within's recent appearance.

"So," he said with a slight smile, "what have you uncovered while I was gone?"

It never failed to surprise me how Michel could switch off the ardour when more pressing matters were at hand. I guessed it was what made him such a formidable councilman. Politics, as he had said, was the nature of the game. And Michel was very good at playing it.

I pushed the momentary sexual frustration at his question aside and concentrated on the problem at hand, giving a detailed recap of Amisi's discoveries and where we currently stood. Which, was precisely the same place we were at when I left his dragon-within. I hadn't made any headway at all.

"Yes you have,
ma douce
," Michel said sitting up on the bed, looking every inch the master vampire in control. "You have eliminated a possible avenue, thereby allowing us to focus on other areas and not waste our time." He stood up and straightened his shirt, grabbing a tie that rested over the table lamp and slipping it around his neck. I watched as he deftly did it up, not needing a mirror to see his movements at all. Within seconds he was putting his Armani suit jacket on, slipping into his shoes and ready to face the onset of night.

I ran a hand over my face, aware that I was not nearly as presentable as him, despite having had a soak in the bath and a couple of hours of rest. Well, rest with gnawing issues on my mind. Still, Michel had a tendency to make me feel dishevelled. I just didn't have his presentation and style.

He turned and smiled at me; a sexy, promising smile. "I like you dishevelled," he said in a low voice. I just shook my head at him, but unable to hide my returning smile.

"I need to check in with Alain," Michel said, the master vampire returning in a flash. I was going to get a severe case of whiplash if his moods became any more mercurial. "I have him in France right now, keeping an eye on the Champion."

"Is that safe?" I asked, astonished Michel would go to such tactics to spy on the leader of the
Iunctio
.

"I should think not, but Alain knows what he is doing. He is the best at what he does." Which was to spy. Like Michel. Like the
Iunctio
spy that was watching my every move. What a devious world the
Iunctio
Council moved within.

"You should eat,
ma douce
," he said, running his eyes over the length of my body. "You have lost weight again. What has Kathleen been feeding you?"

I tried to not think about the delicious baking she had given me the night before, but I knew I had failed when magenta flashed in Michel's eyes.

"I see," he said and I sighed. Kathleen was about to get an earful and my diet was about to drastically change. Well, he was probably right. It wasn't as though I could blame my food choices on being pregnant. His face softened immediately. "Are you all right?" he asked, worry etched fine lines around his eyes. I nodded, unable to voice a thing.

Within a second he was before me, kneeling on the ground. "You'll crease your suit," I said haltingly as he pulled me close, so my legs were around his body as I sat on the edge of the bed.

"Fuck the suit," he replied, lifting a hand to cup my cheek as the other wrapped around my waist and held me tightly against his chest. "
Ma douce
," and there was just so much emotion expressed in those two words. "If I could give you a child, I would. Gladly. Happily. Frantically." He closed his eyes and leaned forward resting his head against my chest, above my breasts. We held on to each other for several minutes and it occurred to me, that we didn't
need
to talk at all. Enough had been said already, all we needed was the proximity to each other, to let it be known how much we cared. Communication wasn't all about talking ourselves to death, it was about letting the other person
know
.

Finally he pulled back and brushed a thumb across my cheek. There were no tears to wipe away, but the motion was soothing just the same.

"I will go make my calls. You go eat," he said softly.

I nodded and then he was gone, and Nataliya walked into the room. I freshened up quickly and made myself as presentable as I could for the night, then headed downstairs with my
Tego Texi Tectum
guard in tow. On the first floor I hesitated, a sudden thought entering my mind. I spun around and brushed past a confused Nataliya, entering Michel's impressive library.

The room took up most of this floor and consisted of one large area, completely bordered with row upon row of books, floor to ceiling. Comfortable armchairs were scattered about the place, with strategic tall lamps offering reading light. Michel had a library back in New Zealand, but it had been nothing compared to this. The smell of old parchment, leather and glue met my nose, mixed in with a little dust and something chemical, almost a kerosene type scent. Whatever it was made my nose twitch, Nataliya's expression mirroring mine.

"Chlorine dioxide," she said with distaste. "Someone's been preserving the books."

"Christopher," I offered absent-mindedly as I begun familiarising myself with the layout of the room.

Frustration began to wedge itself under my chest, the enormity of my impromptu task making itself known. Michel had every book written about the supernatural community and then some. It was impressive, but I would have settled for less of a mountain to climb. I sighed and looked at my watch. I needed to speed things up, I was certain I could find something that would help me understand what spell Michel was under. And I knew just how to make my job easier.

"Nataliya," I said over my shoulder, my eyes still scanning a shelf with various titles relating to charms and spells. "I need to find something about a
Celamentum Contractus
. Can you do a sweep of the library to see if something stands out?"

"A
Celamentum Contractus
?" she said, her voice sounding alarmed enough to make me turn to look at her. "Why would you need to know about that, mistress?"

I considered not telling her my suspicions, but it occurred to me that Nataliya might just know exactly what I needed. I gave her a brief run-down of my and Amisi's conclusions to Michel's current behaviour when away on missions or just returning from them. She looked contemplative for a moment and then nodded, as if to herself.

"You're in the wrong section, it is not a spell. It is a type of accord."

My stomach plummeted into my shoes. Accords were binding. Unbreakable. And to have entered one, Michel would have had to share blood. It's not the
ick
factor that appals me, it's the idea that blood is the most powerful bind that there is in our world. A vampire is turned using blood exchange. A master of a line uses a blood bond to tie their vampires to them. Accords use blood sharing to lock an agreement in stone. To break it is near impossible.

But not entirely impossible. I had broken blood bonds before. A small smattering of hope and excitement began to unfurl inside me. Was there a way to do this? Could my Light be the key?

Nataliya had started doing a preternatural perusal of the shelves, her speed making her appear nothing more than a hazy swath of colour. Mainly black - like most vampires Nataliya dressed for the night. No more than thirty seconds passed and she came to a halt on the opposite side of the room from where I stood. She reached up and pulled down an old, well worn, leather bond tome. Then turned and brought it over to an antique desk in the middle of the room. With a smattering of
Sanguis Vitam
she had the green glassed table lamp lit and was opening the book up to a certain page.

I came and peered over her shoulder, the title of the chapter was in Latin, a language I was most
definitely inept at. Not a promising start, but I still had faith.

I quickly scanned the passage until I found words that did mean something.
Celamentum Contractus.
"Can you translate this?" I asked Nataliya, pointing to the paragraph that looked likely to hold the answers I was searching for.

She squinted at the page, but I was sure it wasn't because her vision was impaired. Her next words confirmed as much. "My Latin is not so good." I sighed, deeply. One step forward, two steps back. I supposed I could use the internet to translate. There was bound to be a Latin to English dictionary on the web somewhere. But it was going to take precious time and as I felt so close to an answer, patience was not my current frame of mind. "But, Sergei is more proficient than me."

She pulled her phone from her pocket and in rapid vampire speed sent a text to her brother. The smile on my face at her last words was still in residence when he flashed into the room.

"Mistress, sister," he said in way of greeting. "How may I help?"

"Would you mind translating a passage from this book, please?" I asked, almost bouncing on the balls of my feet with excitement. For too long I had been suffering from Michel's lack of communication regarding his trips away. I
knew
he was suffering whilst on them and afterwards it took him time to compartmentalise or file what he had done or seen in his mind. I wanted desperately to help him. I had come so close to believing he was shutting me out due to other reasons, more personal and hurtful than the truth. I had almost allowed my belief that he simply wanted to protect me or shield me or even didn't love me enough to let me in, harm our relationship. No more. I would find an answer and I would help
him
.

Sergei leaned over the book and read for several seconds and then began to translate in his low, rough Russian accented voice. "The Concealment Contract is a blood binding agreement to ensure the participant's silence on a given topic. Both parties must share blood and recite the words of the agreement, binding their blood life power together to ensure their capitulation. One party will be the dominant contract holder, the other the subject of the contract's aim. A Concealment Contract is impossible to break, blood being the life force of our kind."

He stood up and looked at me, an expression of curiosity on his face. I didn't know what to say. Words to vampires mean more than they do to humans. This book was clearly a vampire book. They believed the
Celamentum Contractus
was unbreakable. But were they right? The blood bond between a master and his vampire is meant to be unbreakable too, but I had broken Sergei and Nataliya's with their former master, Viktor Davydov. Could I use my
Lux Lucis Tribuo
powers to break this bond too?

And then it hit me. No, I couldn't. My Light Giver powers were designed to balance out the Light and the Dark in a vampire. I couldn't see them warping into something that could simply break a contract. I sat down in defeat on a nearby chair and resigned myself to the fact that Michel would simply be unable to share with me his missions away.

Did it matter? I had decided it didn't last night. I had decided that as long as he came back to me unharmed it wasn't important. That as long as we
showed
each other how much we cared when we were together, that we didn't need to
talk
to communicate what we felt at all.

But there was a part of me that resented the Champion having any hold over Michel at all.
He
was
mine
. My vampire mate. My true kindred. She had no right and I couldn't see Michel having willingly gone into a contract such as this if he'd had a choice. So I was sure she had taken that choice away from him. Damn her. Damn her to hell.

I looked up at Sergei and nodded my thanks, then stood and headed towards the door. My stomach was rumbling, so food was going to have to take precedent over evil vampire leaders for now. I'd made it halfway across the room when Sergei spoke.

"A
Celamentum Contractus
is considered a Dark magic, mistress." I turned slowly to look at my vampire, amazed that he had said those exact words. Words which meant more to me than they should have.

"Dark magic, you say?" I answered and watched his lips quirk into a knowing smile.

He nodded slowly and bowed, hand fisted over chest. "Is this what you needed to know, mistress?"

Huh? How did
he
know that? I shook my head in bemusement and offered a smile in reply. Then headed out the door, questions and possible solutions swirling inside my mind.

Delicious smells were wafting from the kitchen, making me forget my current preoccupation and concentrate on the hollow in my belly for now. Despite it being late afternoon and the night about to begin - when I usually would be eating breakfast - Kathleen was cooking a roast. Lamb, by the smell of it, with rosemary and garlic and no doubt, copious amounts of vegetables on the side. My favourite and definitely an approved dietary choice of Michel's.