Night's Templar: A Vampire Queen Novel (Vampire Queen Series Book 13) (5 page)

Daegan slipped back in and out, swift and flashing like a needle through fabric. Uthe didn’t think, just parried and responded with more elaborate footwork, faster jabs and arcs from his own blade. The flicker in Daegan’s eyes gave Uthe a quick jolt of reminder, but the reminder was too late. Daegan lifted his blade, a formal request for a pause, and stepped back. “My lord Uthe, I would ask a favor.”

Uthe put the tip of his blade to the ground, folding his fingers over the pommel. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine the weight of his mail, the ripple of the tunic over it as a desert breeze touched him. He jerked himself out of the memory, recognizing it for the danger it was. “Any favor within my power to grant you is yours, my lord.”

“Do not hold back. Show me your true skill set, so I don’t waste your time offering you guidance you don’t need.”

Uthe noted Gideon’s face remained impassive, but the servant’s midnight blue eyes had been tracking him as closely. While Gideon’s preferred fighting technique was blunt force, hammer against nail, rather than the elegant brutality of sword play, Uthe expected the servant was well-versed in reading an opponent. Humans had no chance against vampire speed or strength. They had to rely on surprise, strategy and calculation. Even if they had exceptional skills in that area, most human vampire hunters didn’t live long, because the odds were always stacked against them. Gideon had not only survived, he’d been more successful than any other vampire hunter they’d encountered.

As for Daegan, he’d read that slip in Uthe’s footwork for what it was. Any other time, Uthe wouldn’t have revealed too much, even to eyes and senses as sharp as Daegan’s. It wasn’t unusual for a vampire to be cagey about what fighting skills he had, so Uthe knew it was not a serious faux pas. Yet it was a disturbing indication about his state of mind tonight.

Daegan would allow him to gracefully decline the invitation, and Uthe should. Knowing the skill set of friend or foe in their world was a vital advantage, because one could easily cross the line from one to the other in a blink. The thought made Uthe inexplicably sad. He started to bow and offer a polite but firm dismissal.

Instead, an impulse surged up from his gut, so strong he couldn’t deny himself. He gave a short nod, and then he moved.

It was not hard to remember, not today. Today it was so clear. The blood and dirt as they engaged the raiders. The scent, the heat. The thin screams of the horses, since the cursed enemy would target them, knowing they were the most difficult weapon for a Templar to replace. Uthe spun, thrust, swung, crashed. His sword was a cutting tool, made for close quarter fighting, and the boon of such a superior opponent was he didn’t have to hold back. Daegan was still better at this, no chance of Uthe doing him real damage. Plus they were using metal blades. Unless he tried to sever Daegan’s head from his body, the assassin could come to no mortal harm.

Uthe’s muscles strained in fierce pleasure. His feet knew the steps, a dance he’d done over and over. Adrenaline rushed through him, the light of battle firing his blood, his gaze. It burned all the way to his roots. He felt like he was breathing after holding his breath for centuries.

He didn’t realize Daegan was calling his name, not until the vampire moved in aggressively. Using a move too fast for even Uthe to follow, the enforcer slipped under his guard and knocked the blade clattering from his hand, shoving him back with his other hand so Uthe had to plant his feet, regain his senses. 

Even the crickets had stopped singing. He realized he had a feral grin on his face, and his heart was roaring. Though Daegan’s eyes were sharp as twin knife points, his sensual lips curled. “You do me honor with your trust, my lord,” the vampire said. “I fear there is little I can teach you that wouldn’t threaten my job security.”

“Fucking Christ,” Gideon said before Uthe could respond. “Maybe you should tell Lyssa not to have Uthe sit so close when they’re disagreeing about Council policy.”

His blood was pounding in his ears, singing with savage pleasure. It propelled him toward Gideon, closed the ground between them. In a heartbeat, he had the male’s throat gripped in his hand and his body up against the courtyard wall, slamming him there so a plume of dust rose from the brick.

“She is Lady Lyssa to you, servant,” Uthe said. His fangs were bared, and he relished the slick, sharp curve of them against his bottom lip. “To insinuate I would ever raise a hand to her is an insult so deep I should take your head for it. After flaying the skin from your body. You will also not blaspheme the Lord’s name in my presence, nor interrupt when one vampire is speaking to another, unless you are invited to join the conversation.”

Gideon’s eyes flared to rage when Uthe laid hands on him. If Uthe had not moved so quickly to pin him, he was sure the former hunter would have resisted in some way, no matter that Uthe was in a position to beat him into a heap of bones and blood.

He had no plans to do violence to Gideon, and not just because Daegan was breathing down his neck, the long fingers curling over his shoulder in warning. It made Uthe think of Keldwyn’s touch. The two men had a similar way about them. He expected when Daegan put that hand on Gideon, his gut coiled and uncoiled the way Uthe’s did now, remembering Keldwyn’s demanding hold. Daegan’s sensual mouth, held firm and stern as he’d sparred, heralded all the dark pleasures he could inflict on his servant, ones that would make Gideon suffer and beg for more.

Need and desire rose inside his own breast in edgy conflict. It could slice him up like the edge of Daegan’s sword. The vision Uthe had of blood slipping from his body brought an agonizing relief so strong his mind countered the image with alarm, a reminder to draw back, rein in. Control himself. Be who he was expected to be.

Both the Rule and Bernard’s written endorsement of the Templars had emphasized the need for a tempered reaction to everything. Unlike other warriors, Templars did not charge into battle with battle cries. They engaged silently, never exulting in the death of the enemy but only in service to the Lord’s will. They did not raise voices, curse or speak in anger to one another, not without facing penance. While such enforced calm might seem restrictive, there was a level peace to it, a tranquility he knew well, even if it was eluding him at the moment.

Releasing Gideon, Uthe stepped back and away. He drew a deep breath, forcing the calm he didn’t feel into his voice. “I will do your servant no harm, Lord Daegan. Though I could certainly demand a punishment from my hands as a lesson in minding his tongue.”

He shifted his unblinking gaze to Daegan. “You value my counsel. I offer it now as repayment for your sparring instruction. The primary concern the Council has about formalizing more rights to our servants is that they will forget their place in our world, to the detriment of themselves and their vampires. If you want him to live long and well, and if he values you as you do him”—he let his gaze flick over Gideon’s tight expression—“teach him the rules before someone forces your hand in the manner you thought I was about to do. No policy the Council passes will punish a vampire’s justified reaction to your servant’s careless tongue. Do we have an understanding?”

Gideon had been a controversial decision as a human servant. But controversial didn’t mean wrong. He’d probably be surprised to know Uthe believed the former vampire hunter was a good match for Lord Daegan and Anwyn. His loyalty to his vampires, and the courage that backed up his great love for them both, compensated for his rough edges. Daegan and Anwyn merely needed to smooth some of those edges before they were forcibly sheared off.

“I understand, my lord.” Daegan dipped his head, though his eyes did not leave Uthe’s, nor did he withdraw his hand. “I will attend to it.” His gaze shifted to Gideon, and Uthe sensed the intent conversation there. A muscle flexed in Gideon’s jaw, threatening to crack bone. Uthe sheathed his blade and stepped back, allowing Daegan to release him.

“You wish to ask me or your Master for permission to say something, Gideon?” Uthe said.

If the human could have spit nails, he would have. The vampire hunter cared little for saving his own skin, but putting Daegan in an untenable position was a different matter, which was why Uthe had deliberately inserted that implication into the discussion. But as Gideon fought his natural aggression and consistent disrespect for authority, he looked toward his Master, and Uthe saw more than that at work.

Commanding submission from Gideon was a challenge, but it was a challenge that Daegan had well in hand. The slight altering of Gideon’s face told Uthe the truth of it. Whatever complicated makeup the alpha hunter had in him, something in the male recognized Daegan as his ruler on matters of justice and balance. Uthe had no doubt Gideon kept the relationship lively with challenges. Daegan and Gideon were yet another pairing that did not fit the traditional vampire-servant mold in the way that Uthe and Mariela did. While Daegan was not as open as Lord Mason was about his feelings for his servant, they were still nevertheless there.

Gideon inclined his head with grudging but genuine respect. “I didn’t mean any offense, Lord Uthe. Sometimes sparring like this, I forget we’re not just a group of guys training, if that makes sense.”

He wasn’t a pretty speech maker. Uthe understood that. As the moment passed, he was more concerned about his hot-blooded response to what he’d known all along Gideon hadn’t intended as a slight. But it had been so long since Uthe had unleashed himself like that. He’d wanted to act on the power boiling through his blood.

Why control your impulses at all? Your father knew how absurd that was, yet you resist it still…

He shut that sibilant voice down with a resounding clang. His fingers twitched on the sword hilt as he heard distant, mocking laughter. Daegan’s eyes flicked to the motion.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
A Templar was required to say sixty paternosters a day, thirty for the dead, thirty for the living. It wouldn’t hurt to do one now. He reached the end of it quickly enough, though the pause had drawn out long enough both men were staring at him, wondering what he was thinking, doing.

Steadying himself. Mission accomplished. He looked at Gideon.

“To the Templars, the use of archery or spears to take out an enemy was considered cowardly, in most circumstances. It seems foolish in retrospect, with all we’ve learned since about battle strategy and weaponry. It was also hypocritical,” he mused, “because our ultimate charge was to defend pilgrims, not to cling to pride in how we accomplished that.”

Daegan cocked his head. He was over seven hundred years old, so the turns and twists a vampire’s mind could take, even in a tense moment like this, were not unknown to him. Whereas Gideon looked as if he thought Uthe had wandered off topic like a doddering uncle. Uthe was not amused. His gaze sharpened on Gideon like Daegan’s katana.

“In your years as a vampire hunter, with your skills, you could have taken out more with a high powered cross bow at a distance, like a sniper.”

Gideon gave him a wary look. “Yeah, but a vampire’s reflexes and instincts are too sharp. They hear it coming and move, most the time.”

Uthe nodded. “That may be so. But I don’t think that was it. You needed the close kill. You are a knight at heart, Gideon, like your brother. A knight must straddle a fine line between honor and pride. You still have too much of the latter, and anger. A knight can easily become a brigand, if he does not learn self-discipline and humility to something far larger than himself. If you have no belief in such a thing, then the next best thing is realizing what you fight for and against, and how to reconcile the two.”

Uthe returned his attention to Daegan. “I know you will not be present for the activities involving the Fae Queen, due to the need to maintain as much anonymity as possible among our kind, but Anwyn has been invited to the soiree afterward, yes?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Your servant will not attend with her. Too much is at stake to risk him giving offense. He has a limited ability to behave properly around vampires, let alone Fae royalty.”

Regrettably, that would likely make it impossible for Anwyn to attend. Due to the volatile nature of her forced turning, the young woman was susceptible to seizures that Gideon’s proximity helped meliorate. It was another reason Uthe knew one or both of the men’s minds were always in contact with hers. However, a fledgling’s desire to attend a party wasn’t Uthe’s primary concern.

He glanced at Gideon. “Why are you looking at me, servant?” he snapped.

He was pushing, but he had cause. After three seconds too long, Gideon shifted his gaze to the far wall, but he didn’t lower it. Uthe didn’t expect miracles. Plus, he had no desire to break him—simply to temper the steel.

Daegan shot Gideon a look as the vampire hunter shifted. Uthe kept his eyes on Daegan’s face, and he saw what he intended to see. The vampire assassin understood Uthe’s intentions. Disappointing his Mistress was a lesson Gideon would not soon forget. Daegan inclined his head, conveying respect, though his own eyes never lowered. While the vampire was technically subject to the Council’s rule, Daegan was an authority unto himself, so there was no purpose to jerking that chain beyond necessity.

“My thanks for your guidance, my lord,” Daegan said evenly. “And for the workout.”

“The pleasure and benefit were mine. Thank you, Lord Daegan.”

Uthe left them without further comment, striding back toward his quarters. Gideon was all muscle and flashes of rebellious temper. Uthe suspected it was a pleasure to Daegan to take his body, hold his soul and heart in his hand. To possess, or be possessed that way... 

He turned his mind to related Council business, a way to ease himself out of hazardous waters. The debate over Lord Mason’s policy to formalize certain rights for servants had been ongoing for a month now. While Uthe still straddled the middle ground on it, Lord Belizar, the former head of the Council, headed up the stringent opposition. The Russian vampire was certain the universe of vampire kind would be destroyed if anything changed. Ever. Uthe allowed himself a smile. For all of Belizar’s flaws and his propensity for violence, Uthe had stood at Belizar’s side as his right hand for many years, and he knew the male’s strengths. Despite his stubbornness, it was good Lyssa had kept Belizar on the Council.