Kindred (Kindred, Book 1) (50 page)

Nero briefed us on what they had uncovered today as we drove through Cairo's streets heading towards her city centre. Everywhere I looked out of the windows I could see Date Palms swaying in the evening breeze, nothing like our quasi-palm trees back home, the Nikau Palm, these were the real deal. I was also surprised to see so much sand, a reminder of how close the desert was, but interspersed with that sand was a lushness, beautiful greens, like an oasis, right on the side of the road as we zipped past.

The buildings became more impressive as we headed away from the airport, sand coloured, thick set structures, with arched windows and faux balconies, the sidewalks crowded with colourful swaths of cloth. I had expected to see only light coloured clothing, tans and whites, similar to what I had seen Nero in before, but the colour was cheerful and vibrant, quite different from my imaginings. They turned the mono-toned buildings into a backdrop fit for an opera, the coloured clothing making the people stand out in stark relief. There was, of course, a lot of people in whites and pale colours, but they simply blended into the crowd, lost in a kaleidoscope of colours.

Market stalls swam past us as we slowed to negotiate traffic and pedestrians. I glimpsed even more colourful table cloths with bright blue and green and red Hookahs for sale. Followed on with tea houses, street side seating overflowing with faces, some drinking coffee, others just laughing and talking and more still smoking their Hookahs. It occurred to me, that most of those I witnessed were male, but I didn't have time to consider this further as we had arrived at Nafrini's new residence.

Even I felt the wards as we passed under a heavy archway into a cobbled courtyard within. I could see figures surrounding the area, some half hidden in the shadows by the columns supporting more arches, some up higher on balconies and even more at the entrance securing the door behind us. All reeking
Sanguis Vitam
. Nafrini hadn't taken as large a hit to her entourage as I had expected.

All around the courtyard were windows and doors decorated in ornate carved wooden designs. Beautiful intricate arches, with circles set in relief inside, they looked like a stencil, so pretty and perfect, lay them down on a sheet of paper and trace a pattern through the holes. They were stunning and so unlike anything I had ever seen before in my life.

The door to the limousine was opened and we all stepped out into the heat of night again. Michel took my hand as soon as I exited behind him, it wasn't an unusual gesture, but I had the feeling it was premeditated, for Nero's benefit. Nero didn't show any signs of noticing and simply led the way into the building itself.

We were greeted by further vampires and in amongst them a large number of humans, all moving around doing their own thing. The sense of community I felt from them was astounding. Vampires were talking to humans with respect and vice versa. There was no overt use of powers here, just one being talking or interacting with another. A part of me realised the rest of the world could gain a lot from what Nafrini and Nero had achieved here.

The inside of the building was as beautiful as the out, lovely furnishings, similar in design to those I had seen in the Dream Walk. Bright colours and rich tapestries, ornate furniture and comfortable covers, pillows upon pillows and a slightly fruity smell in the air. Cinnamon mixed with apple, I think. There was a lot of marble and wood and smooth white sandblasted walls, all of which lent itself to the plush furnishings gracefully, interspersed here and there with delicate statues on high plinths.

Despite having to move so quickly, Nafrini had somehow secured a palace for her people in just under 24 hours since I had last been with them. Influential, she clearly was.

Finally we entered a smaller room, decorated much the same as elsewhere, cushions on the floor to the side, a desk with comfortable chairs surrounding it, bookcases behind filled to the brim with brightly coloured leather bindings. Standing at the far end of the room was an elegant, beautifully clothed woman, she was perhaps almost six feet tall, with fine features on her deeply tanned face, high cheek bones and delicate long fingers in her hands. She had long black hair down past her waist, loose and shiny and shimmering in the candle light of the room. She was dressed in the most beautiful shade of purple, amethyst mixed with pomegranate, long sheaths of fabric, folding over themselves and draped perfectly over her shoulders, showing just the barest hint of smooth skin beneath.

Her eyes were alight with colour, deep amber laced with cocoa and a hint of copper flecks. They were heavily made up, with shades of copper and cinnamon elongating the roundness of their shape. She looked stunning, there were no two ways about it, she was a queen.

As soon as she spotted Michel, her face broke into the most hypnotic smile, there was no power there, just sheer natural brilliance, lighting up her face and eyes even further, she glided towards us with her hand extended. Michel took a step away from me and bent at the waist in a bow similar to Nero's, all grace and practised movements, he took her hand in his. Bent his head and placed a lingering kiss on her smooth skin.

Part of me wondered if his actions were in response to Nero's at the airport, giving as good as he got, but all hopes of that were dashed when Nafrini spoke in a low and sultry voice thick with eastern African accent, against his ear, loud enough for everyone to hear.

“It has been a long time, my love, you should not hide yourself away so. You have been missed.”

What the...?
They knew each other?
For some reason I hadn't seen this coming. Despite knowing how old Michel is and how old Nafrini is and how vampires didn't just stay in one place, but moved around the globe. Despite knowing Michel would have a history I wasn't privy to, that he'd had a life before even coming to New Zealand, before me. I had never once stopped to think he would know Nafrini. Stupid. Stupid. Me.

And then came the anger. Why had Michel chosen not to mention this? Once again he had omitted something that might just have prepared me for this moment. Was it intentional? Did he hope to get a response from me? To what avail? I realised I'd just been standing there staring at the exchange between them, stock still, like a statue, my hands fisted at my sides. Michel would have felt the emotions rolling over me, Nafrini would have sensed my hitched breath, my increased heart rate and Nero, well Nero was just watching me with steady eyes. No sympathy, no sadness for the position I now found myself in, just a steady gaze of interest. Did
everyone
want to see me throw a fit?

Well, they obviously don't know Kiwi girls then. We're hard and tough and have a bloody great sense of pride. There was no way I was letting them see me crumble. I don't know what protocol called for in situations such as these. Do you wait to be introduced? Curtsey? Grovel at her feet? I really didn't care, so I took a step forward and put on my most dazzling smile, stuck my hand out and said, “Hi, Nafrini. I'm Luce. It's a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nero smile, just a brief touch to his lips. Nafrini removed her hand from Michel's and turned her gaze on me. I'm not sure I was receiving exactly the same startling amber and cocoa look as Michel had, this time they seemed a little daunting, a little scary around the edges, rather than beautiful, but she smiled and shook my hand anyway. Whew!

When she had removed her hand from mine here eyes lingered in a appraising slide over my body, without looking away she said, “She is intriguing, Michel. I understand now why you chose New Zealand. Why you sacrificed your lifestyle in Paris. I had always wondered what would cause you to give up such a position.”

Michel stiffened slightly next to me, it wasn't anything overtly obvious, just a slight twitch to his arms. I don't think Nafrini would have noticed, but I'm getting good at sensing these little pauses in his shields, these moments that he simply can no longer hide from me. He didn't like where this conversation was heading, there was something here he didn't want me to know. I didn't turn to look at him, just kept my pleasant face and steady gaze on the Amazon woman to my front, but in my mind I sent out the thought,
Paris?

He ignored me, I hadn't expected him to answer, but I knew he had heard me. This was something we would have to cover later. Instead he decided to take control of the conversation himself, a typical Michel tactic.

“You have found yourself a lovely home, Nafrini, at such short notice, it is commendable.”

She laughed openly at that, acknowledging his rebuff. Her laugh was musical, like the tinkle of a wind chime, it didn't sound right with her low and sultry voice, but somehow it still suited her. I wondered if it was practised.

“I have friends in the President's Cabinet, this home is on loan, a small unused section of the Heliopolis Palace. We have of course, made improvements.” She was referring to the wards, they weren't normal, I just wondered what she had done to create such protection, how much of Nero's power was she using?

“
Now come and sit down, friends, we have much to discuss.” Nafrini indicated an area to the side with low cushions, she sat herself down in a fluid motion, all grace and sleek movements, settling into the cushions like the queen that she is. Nero was next and looked just as graceful, well practised at slipping onto the floor with style. Michel didn't falter, but followed suit, equally as elegant, ending up looking stunning against the backdrop of the colourful cushions. That just left me. I haven't sat on the floor on cushions since I was at Kindergarten, my style hasn't improved much since then. I just thanked my lucky stars I wasn't wearing a short skirt after all.

Nero produced a map of Cairo. Heliopolis was actually a suburb, just east of the city centre where they had been when I Dream Walked to them last night. This was not a usual area for vampires, they tend to entrench themselves in the middle of a place, so they hoped  that it would be overlooked, but with the level of wards on the place, any stray vampire would have difficulty breaching the security as well. Of course, the level of power needed to maintain that protection could also attract unwanted interest. It was a catch 22. They had hedged their bets with the location, but solidified with wards. I hoped it paid off.

The
Cadre
had ensconced themselves near the city centre, a  suburb called Coptic Cairo, part of Old Cairo itself and Nero had managed to do a quick reconnaissance of the building and sketched up what he had found out. There were some 80 of the vampires left and he proceeded to show us where they were located around the complex, including where he thought Amisi was being held. The plan was to head out immediately, leaving a small contingent of Nafrini's vampires to guard the rest of the Nosferatin community. We made quick plans of attack and our intended approach to the
Cadre's
stronghold and then rose to head to the vehicles that had been assembled in the courtyard.

Nero pulled me aside while Nafrini and Michel were discussing further features of the plan. “There is time for you to meet the others, if we hurry. It will only be a short visit, but I thought you would like the opportunity to meet some of your kind.”

Somehow Nero always knew what to say to me, what was important and what was not. Not that I'm saying rescuing the stolen Nosferatin and destroying the
Cadre
were not important, it's just the thought of more of my kind being so close by, so near and if things did go against us tonight, I would not have had the chance to see them, to greet them, to be with them. This was a piece of me that I had felt missing since learning of my kind, where I came from, who we are. It felt like a huge hole in the centre of my chest, gaping and gnawing at my insides. I managed to cover it with my feelings for Michel, dim it slightly with my contact with Nero, but never really fill it, it was always still there.

I forced myself not to let it show, but I wasn't fooling him. He gently brushed my cheek and nodded to Nafrini, having obviously sent a silent communication to his kindred and led me by the hand from the room. I'm not sure if Michel noticed, or if he was too busy with his
old friend
, but he didn't stop me, he didn't come after me, he didn't even send me a thought.

We ran down a corridor, then another and another, somehow ending up well inside the building, away from the courtyard and the cars, somewhere to the rear and off to the right hand side. We burst through double doors into a light and airy room, the smell of fruit in the air, from the Hookahs in use to one side. All the eyes of the people gathered there turned to look at us as we entered.

Men were off to one side, smoking the Hookahs, the women and children on the other, talking and laughing and preening their young. They looked happy and content, however there was an undercurrent of anxiety, hidden behind the friendly faces that greeted me. I had seen it when we banged through the door. Once they spotted Nero and his hand in mine, his face smiling, they had relaxed only then.

“
This is my Kiwi. I have told you of her, family. She has come to help.” He turned to me then with the most gorgeous smile painted on his face, the full lips curved deliciously, his eyes shining brightly, cinnamon and coffee swirling in their midsts. You could not have been affected by Nero's smile. Besides, I've always loved coffee.

The people began to gather, to hug me, kiss my cheeks, to hold my hands and in the case of the children, to pull on my pants and shirt. It was a little overwhelming. They were speaking mainly in Arabic, a beautifully musical sound, words I couldn't understand, a lot of Ls. But some of them were speaking English and I heard the odd word or two, “Prophesy”, “She lives”, “Seeker”. It didn't make sense and I was about to ask Nero what they were saying when we felt a large shift in the tiled floor and heard a rumble come towards us from the front of the palace like an earthquake rolling out from its source.