Prime Vampires - I Hunger For You Part 11

Laurent focused his attention on the truly dangerous one in the room. He made himself look at Justinian, and smile. And rise slowly to his feet.

Justinian let him do these things without striking him again. "Well?" he demanded. "Why did you desert the pack two nights ago?

Why have you come back? Why were you skulking around my lair?" He sent a hard look to his beta Prime. "Did he betray us to the Clans? Have they hunted us to this lair?"

"No, Justinian," Belisarius answered promptly. "We made a careful search of the area. There are guards on watch." He gestured toward Laurent. "He is the only-"

"Do you want me to answer your questions or not?" Laurent interrupted, annoyed at having lost Justinian's attention. The night wasn't getting any younger.

And why were Tribe Manticore too d.a.m.ned old-fas.h.i.+oned to use the drugs that gave the Clans and Families the advantage of living twenty-four/seven, instead of creeping around in the dark like a bunch of movie vampires? Oh yeah, the Clan wouldn't let them.

He pushed that frustrating question out of the way, and went on. "I didn't desert the fight in the garage, I escaped a Clan attack- just like your boys did. The point of the exercise is to keep the Clans off our a.s.ses. When your loyal minions ran back here- where the Clan might have been able to follow-I went looking for information. That was why you brought me in on this operation, right? To find the woman without the Clans getting wind of a tribe in their territory?"

"Not that you've managed to keep our presence secret," Belisarius accused.

"The Clans have no right to dictate where and what we hunt," Justinian proclaimed angrily. Then he shrugged, acknowledging the reality of the situation. "Yet they do. I didn't come to Los Angeles to start a war, but to get what is mine back."

"Hold that thought," Laurent said. "Because I think that's a strategy that might come in handy."

Justinian gave him a fiercely stern look. "Go on."

"I wasn't skulking around," Laurent went on. "I returned only after I had something useful to offer you, and was I scouting out the property to make sure neither Clan nor human hunter had found the lair when your boys jumped me."

"Hunters!" Justinian shouted. He spat on his fancy carpet. Then he swore in a harsh and ancient language. "How I loathe those murdering, thieving mortal pests. At least fighting vampire-to-vampire has some honor in it, some challenge. But being forced to fight mortals-" His lips drew back in a vicious, fanged snarl.

"It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it," Laurent muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing. Can I go on now?"

"You may." Justinian regally granted his permission.

"I keep a low profile in this town," Laurent said, "but I'm the most well-informed vampire in Los Angeles. I've spent the last couple of nights finding out what the Clan wants with the woman, and with us, now that they know I'm not the only Manticore in town." "How dare you call yourself Manticore?" Belisarius demanded.

His comment was followed by angry snarls from others in the pack, but Justinian held up a silencing hand.

"And what did you find out, might-be Manticore?"

"Wannabe," someone muttered.

Laurent reined in his Prime reaction to start a brawl. He was already restraining the urge to taunt them that it had taken three of them to subdue him when he'd actually beentrying to get inside.

"What I found out is that the Garrison woman had been the plaything of a Reynard Prime, but he'd moved on before we found her. His interest was in her hot little body and a psychic edge she brought to the s.e.x."

"Sounds like you're going to enjoy more than just torturing her," Belisarius said to Justinian.

The pack leader nodded before looking back at Laurent. "You're saying this Clan maggot had no idea who she is?" Justinian demanded suspiciously.

Laurent nodded. "For him she was a bed toy he met during some heroic rescue, I hear. I don't think they talked much."

"Why talk to a woman? And a mortal at that," Belisarius spoke up.

The other lesser Primes laughed. Laurent and Justinian ignored this byplay.

"Then why was the Clan male there when I sent you for the woman?"

"A blood call, is my guess. I think he drank a little too deep, and the craving hadn't worn off yet. He was tryingnot to return to her, in typically n.o.ble Clan fas.h.i.+on. So he was hanging around moping, and got in my way instead." Laurent snorted in disgust.

"He a.s.sumed I wanted her for myself because he'd had her first, which was better than guessing the truth. But now all the Clan allies have closed ranks to protect the woman. They've taken her to the s.h.a.gal citadel."

Justinian hissed, and looked around at his small Manticore pack. "How am I to get my prey out of such a guarded place?" He glared at Laurent. "How areyou ?"

"I have more news, before I get to that."

"More? Worse, you mean."

"Another complication, at least. It seems that the Clans are on one of their n.o.ble quests to root evil out of the world. They're looking for some mortal bad guy who calls himself the Patron. Sounds sort of like a Tribe t.i.tle, doesn't it?"

"The Patron, eh?" Justinian chuckled. "Do they know about Garrison?"

"Not yet. We have the advantage there, and I think we're going to have to use it. You see, the Clans are planning on turning the information about our being in town over to the vampire hunters."

Justinian drew himself up in outrage. "They'd deal with humans against their own kind?"

Yeah, well, boss, the times they are a changin'."My sources tell me that old Tony Crowe had an appointment to talk to the hunter leader yesterday, but events at the s.h.a.gal place prevented him from keeping it," Laurent said.

"What events?" "I haven't a clue, but every Clan member in town is gathered there. And some flew in from Idaho. I'm guessing your prey is involved. No doubt Tony plans to reschedule the meeting. That'll leave the woman with the Clans, and the hunters on our tails.

We need to act fast."

"What would you have us do?" Belisarius demanded. "Raid the Citadel? Battle the humans? Run?"

Running would have been Laurent's first choice, except for the promised payday. He kept his attention on Justinian. "I do have a suggestion."

It involved using brains rather than fangs, so there was no guarantee this lot would go along. But the only one who had to was the pack leader. The others would obey without question. Such blind obedience had never made much sense to Laurent. Right now, he wondered why he was tempted to reclaim any place in the Tribe. Maybe when this was over, and he was rich, he'd reevaluate his social ambitions.

Justinian considered him in silence, and tension grew in the room. The other Primes were not at all happy that the pack leader had brought Laurent into their midst. They itched for any excuse to fall on him and tear him to pieces. If Justinian repudiated him now, there was going to be a lot of bloodshed here tonight-though Laurent was the only one who wasn't certain most of the blood was going to be his. He felt mental probes from the others, telepathic taunts and threats, and ignored them. It was the silent, unmoving Justinian he concentrated on.

After a long time, just when Laurent could feel the boys getting ready to pounce, Justinian finally spoke.

"All right: what do you suggest I do?"

"As you desire." Mia paced back and forth in the bedroom, muttering furiously as she walked. "What did he mean,as you desire ?

Who the h.e.l.l is that woman? What does she mean by bonding ceremony? Who is she to give orders? Since when does Colin Foxe take orders from anybody?"

"He takes orders from his matri," Domini answered.

Mia spun around on the deep plush carpet to face the vampire woman. Domini was seated on one of the chairs near the bookcase, her legs drawn up, looking calm and ever so slightly amused. She'd accompanied Mia back to the bedroom- apparently to wait with her while some sort of wedding ceremony was being cobbled together.

"I've been through this," Domini had said when they'd come in. "I can help."

Mia had ignored the offer in favor of angry pacing. She'd been so intent on fuming that she'd forgotten Domini's presence until now.

"And onlyhis matri, at that," Domini went on. "Colin's a stubborn one. That's one of the reasons Serisa sent for Anjelica. She knew he's in too crazy a state right now to answer to anyone but the head of his clan. When a matri gives an order, Primes obey.

They're matriarchal, and the only thing that keeps those big, bad boys in line is a strict code of honor and respect for women."

She grinned conspiratorially at Mia. "And we women must only use our powers for good."

Mia digested what Domini told her, and ventured, "So Anjelica rules the-Primes-of Colin's clan."

Domini nodded. "That would be Clan Reynard. Serisa is head of Clan s.h.a.gal. Clans contain houses, and each house is headed by a daughter, aunt, sister, or female cousin of the matri. So a Prime, say my Alec, would introduce himself as Alexander Reynard, House Anjelica, Clan Reynard. It's complicated, like any culture. It has a certain old-fas.h.i.+oned charm, but somebody really ought to write a manual for new vampire inductees."

"Joss Whedon, maybe," Mia suggested. Domini laughed, then grew serious. "Advice: no pop culture vampire jokes around the older generations. They rarely get it, and if they do get it, they think it's disrespectful."

Mia filed this tidbit away. At least someone was finally telling her something about vampires, even if it was a vampire. "Okay.

How do I tell the older generations from the younger, when they're all immortal?"

"Hardly immortal, just long-lived, and that's a good question. You justknow after a while. It's not polite to ask a vampire's age, but speech patterns and personal style give clues. When I first met my grandmother, she was wearing a lace bustier instead of a leather one, and that's how I could tell the difference, even though she looked about twenty-five."

"I don't plan to be around long enough to tell."

Domini's expression was sympathetic, but slightly impatient. "Get over it, Mia," she advised. "Bonding is always meant to be.

n.o.body asks for it. You belong in Colin's world now."

"You mean I belongto Colin." Fury bubbled in Mia. "Maybe you don't see anything wrong with a mortal being some sort of blood slave to a vampire, but the mortal isn't happy about it."

"Blood slave?" Domini asked. "That's a Tribe term. How do you know about the Tribes?"

"My family are vampire hunters," Mia blurted out, and lifted her head proudly. "The Garrisons." If they could have their clans and houses and whatnot, she had an ancient ancestry, as well. "I'm from an old line of vampire hunters."

"Really? Me, too."

"I thought you were a vampire."

"My grandmother's a vampire, but my...Wait a minute, does Colin know about your affiliation? You haven't killed any-"

"No. No one in my family's hunted in generations. I only vaguely knew that vampires existed, before the blond one attacked me."

Domini twined a strand of long, dark hair around her finger and looked thoughtful for a moment. "This should be between you and Colin, and you'd better tell him soon."

"Why? Will the shock be too much for him? He's already ashamed enough to be involved with a mortal."

Domini shook her head. "It's hard on both of you that the matris decided to make your situation so public, but they were worried that he'd broken some very strict laws about bonding. They felt it was necessary to confront him like that, since he's young, stubborn, and more head-strong than most Primes."

"Oh, that's a joy to hear."

"If they'd thought for a moment that he'd forced you-"

"He didn't."

"See, you care for him. Or you wouldn't be so quick to defend him."

"He doesn't wantme. And I don't want him...to be a vampire." Mia sighed dramatically. "But I suppose it's too late, on all counts."

"That's the spirit," Domini said with false cheer. Growing serious, she added, "Remember that he belongs toyou, too. Don't let him get away with any s.h.i.+t."

Mia couldn't help but smile. "You sound like my friend Courtney. Oh, my G.o.d! Courtney!" Domini jumped up from the chair. "What's wrong?"

"Courtney's going to kill me!"

Domini's hands landed on her shoulders. "Where? How?"

Mia realized that the woman was taking her literally. "Sorry. I-Courtney's my best friend. We've known each other forever, and we promised to be each other's maid of honor. And I don't want to marry Colin, I mean, not like-But since I have to, well, I just can't get married without Courtney being there! I mean, I don't want to have a wedding ceremony without having any say in the arrangements. Which sounds totally hysterical," she added.

"Yeah."

Mia felt unaccustomed tears well up. Not only was it impossible to contact her best friend, but it certainly wouldn't be right to bring Courtney into a lair of vampires. And it hurt terribly to be cut off from her friend. From her family. She had no friends here, no one she could really believe and trust. Not even Colin, who so clearly didn't want a human mate.

"So much for my special day," she murmured, and turned away from the other woman.

She took a deep breath. Domini was right: she needed to get over it, get on with it, and figure what to do with what she had to work with. Maybe she could come up with some way of escaping during this blood bond ceremony, or at the reception.

Mia began to laugh as she wondered what sort of wedding reception vampires held. Domini looked at her, but there was a knock on the door before she could say anything.

The door opened, and Alec stepped inside. "We have a new wrinkle in the situation. The ceremony might be a little later than we planned." He gave Mia an uncomfortable glance.

"What did Colin do?" she asked.

"He just smashed Tony over the head and fled the Citadel. It looks like we're going to have a search party instead of a bachelor party."

Chapter Fourteen.

Mia was aware that someone spoke to her, that someone touched her shoulder, but it didn't matter. There was a landscape painting on one wall of the bedroom. It looked like maybe it was a view of the Italian countryside, a warm, sunny place far, far from here. Mia stared at it and wished herself away.

"Anywhere but here," she murmured He didn't want anything to do with her. He'd abandoned her. Left her in a den of vampires. Even if he was a vampire too, at least he was her- "Mia. Mia, focus."