Immortal Confessions (12 page)

He turned toward me, and then gave me a look
of shock. “Quentin? Have you lasted thirty years as vampire only to
somehow grow testicles at this late hour?”

I didn’t reply, but I shoved a few bats out
of my way, shoved them hard enough to slam them into walls so their
bones broke.

The werebat’s leader’s eyes narrowed. “You
are not Quentin. You are much too strong.”

“No. I’m Devlin,” I said, baring my fangs.
“And I’ve had enough of this bullshit. You know as well as I we
were not to blame for the bloodshed.”

“You did nothing to avert it. Your kind is
always happy to let the blame for vampire behavior fall on us. We
are killed in your stead.”

“That may have been true in the past, but
that changes tonight,” I hissed. “I give you my word.”

“What is it worth, the word of a vampire?” he
laughed. “Even a powerful one such as you.”

“Leave tonight,” I said, as if he had no
spoken. “Leave without any more killing, and consider us at a
truce.”

He scowled at me. “My women and children are
dead.”

“Whom do you really wish dead?” I thundered
at him. “Those who killed your kind or those who did nothing to
stop it?” My vote would be for both, but I hoped him to be less
exacting.

“I want the vampire hunters killed,” he
rasped. “Two escaped us, and are in hiding somewhere in the city.
And I want the head of Guy.”

I looked at him, thinking that here was an
ally that was worth having, if I could manage somehow to give him
what he wanted and also finesse the vampires cowering at my feet
enough not to be overthrown. “I can do the former,” I said. “It
will be done within a night, at most. But the other I am not in a
position to give you.”

The werebat gave me a look that said he was
weighing and measuring me. “You have a day and a night,” he rasped
finally. “If not, we will be back, and this time, we’ll come for
your head, too.”

I nodded. He abruptly shifted to bat, and
flew off, his minions after him.

There was a moment of silence. Then vampires
were surrounding me, clapping me on the back, and cheering me.

“Shut up!” I shouted.

They cowered immediately.

“Everyone is to leave tonight,” I spat. “Go
to the section of city you inhabit. Search for the vampire hunters.
I will remain here until an hour before dusk. If you find them, do
not attack; just come to me with the information. I’ll do the
rest.”

“What is in it for us?” a woman vampire
asked

“You don’t do it, and we’re dead,” someone
shouted at her. “We’ll be hunted!”

“Moreover, I will kill you,” I said as evilly
as I could.

There was a collective gasp.

“That is against the law,” Guy squeaked.

“Whose law?” I said, turning on him.

“Samuel’s,” he said, as if he were saying
Satan’s name. “He rules Europe, all of it.”

So there were vampire rulers above city
level. Something to shoot for. “He forbids a Ruler disciplining his
subjects?”

There was shouting now, mostly by Guy. “You
are not Master here, I am!”

It was time. I turned, and launched myself at
him. I sank my fangs into his throat, and he screamed. His
bodyguards beat at me, but I drank him down in long pulls, even as
his bitter blood made me want to vomit.

Guy struggled a little, but gave up rather
easily for one that had been leader. I heard his heart falter, and
then stop beating. I dropped him, his skin pale and white. As I
watched, his skin fell in a little, so it was almost sunken into
his bones. But there was no turning to powder, or any of that.

So much for legends. Or perhaps he hadn’t
been old enough.

“Master?” a hesitant voice said. I turned to
see it was one of the females. She held a struggling and crying
Evalynne.

“Yes?”

“As you’ve taken her Oathed One’s life, she
by law now belongs to you,” the female said. “Do you wish her
killed, or to keep her for your own?”

I looked at Evalynne crying there, her
beautiful blue eyes awash in tears, and felt a diabolical urge to
take her right there on the floor, in front of everyone, to drain
her as they watched, as I spurted into her—!

“Lord?”

The sweetest thing of all was that no one
would stop me. Quentin had said she had no rights. I could do
whatever I wanted to her, anything, and no one would stop me...The
rush those words caused was heady, and I reeled a little, taking a
step toward the woman.

“Lord?”

I shook it off. What was wrong with me? What
would Anna think?

“Lord?”

Forget it. You’re overwrought. Take a deep
breath...

“Lord?”

“Take her to her chambers, and lock her in. I
will be in shortly to see her.”

The woman nodded, and led Evalynne away. The
other vampires stood there, still looking at me as if I were
Alexander, or perhaps Genghis Khan.

“What are you waiting for?” I shouted at
them. “Go and search!”

The vampires made a beeline for the exit,
jostling each other. I might have thought it comical if it wasn’t
so tiresome. Easily half would go home and hide, and not search at
all. But the other half would, and it might be enough.

“Sir?”

I turned to see a medium-sized man regarding
me. By his clothes he was a guard, and not to a pauper. He was not
handsome, but not ugly either. The best word that described him was
capable. He looked like he could do what was asked, no matter what
that might be. I liked him on sight.

“Yes?”

“Do you wish me to show you to your
home?”

“You are?”

“Levi. Levi Danforth.”

An Englishman? “That’s a name?”

“For Leviticus. My father was a pastor.”

“I see. And who are you?”

“You are standing near the remains of my
master,” Levi said with a grumpy look. “I was his bodyguard.”

I raised my eyebrows slightly. “Not a very
good one.”

“On the contrary, I could have killed you as
you fed from him,” he snarled, bearing a mouthful of carnivorous
teeth. “But you were right, something needed to be done. The bats
do not distinguish vampires from those that work for them. I was
not going to die having my head ripped off, not when some inaction
on my part would avoid it.”

“What are you?”

“I’m a were, of course.”

His scent was rather strange. There was an
animal scent, as the werebats had, but also something very
different. “What kind?”

“Wolf,” he said proudly. “Born, not
made.”

That must mean something among weres. Save
that knowledge for later. “Do you know where the vampire hunters
are hiding?”

“Of course,” he said, exasperated. “I have
been telling Guy for a week to do just what Uther asked you for. I
can take you there.”

“Are they armed? I admit I know nothing of
vampire hunters.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “Armed with stakes and
probably a crossbow. They will not be any match for you, Lord.”

“Take me there now,” I said, thinking of
Anna, and hoping she would be all right alone tonight. “We must do
this as quickly as we can.”

* * * *

Levi was right. The hunters were together,
hiding in an abandoned house. I killed them quickly, draining them,
as he watched my back. After, he shouldered their bodies and walked
to Guy’s home, which was located in the forest of Fontainebleau. We
luckily met no soldiers, but most of that was due to Levi’s
knowledge of their movements. Some of that was also attributable to
the Napoleonic wars being close to ending. But I didn’t know that
then.

Before tonight, I had known where Guy’s home
was located, though I’d never been there. The mansion was grand,
everything that I’d wanted in a home: marble floors, a grand
central staircase, tapestried walls, silk curtains, and a central
first floor bedroom without any windows with an escape route
leading to the cellar, where a tunnel led to two safe rooms.

“Nice,” I said appreciatively. “Where do you
stay? Is there a guardhouse?”

“In the kitchen,” he said with a roll of his
eyes. “Guy always wanted me close by, in case of attack. There is a
pantry I’ve made my room.” He chuckled. “As you might guess, there
wasn’t ever much food stored there.”

“It’s not a bad idea for you to remain close
by,” I said, after a moment. “But I think you can have your own
room. What is the nearest one to mine?”

“Evalynne’s.”

“Didn’t Guy sleep with her?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

Odd. I let it pass. “Well, that is your room
now.” I had a sudden enterprising thought. “Do you want Evalynne to
stay there, in that room?”

Levi looked dumbfounded, and then his eyes
almost popped forth. “You would let me have her?” he got out,
saliva almost dripping from his jaws in his desire.

“If you want her,” I said, thinking of how
Anna would react if she found out I’d inherited a sort of wife. Not
good was my guess. “You must agree to treat her well.”

“Of course,” Levi said eagerly. “I have no
mate of my own. She has always been a good mistress to me, and a
faithful Oathed One to Guy. I would be honored.”

“Let’s ask her then, shall we? Which door is
it?”

“That one. The other you indicate is a simple
closet.”

I went directly to the nearest door, and Levi
unlocked it. Inside on her bed, curled despondently at its foot,
still in tears and her party dress, was Evalynne.

She was breathtakingly beautiful. Her curves
were lush, her breasts heavy and well- rounded. Her hair was long
and blond, and her eyes were a dark blue, almost purple.

She got to her feet, when she saw it was Levi
and I. “My Lord,” she whispered. “Please do not kill me. I will do
whatever you wish.”

Part of me wanted to tell her not to worry,
that she would be taken care of, because I had no wish to hurt
women. But another part of me wanted her to submit to me
completely, just as I’d wanted her to earlier tonight.

“Disrobe.”

Evalynne choked a little, but she let her
dress fall to the ground. Under it, she was naked, and just as
lovely as I thought she would be.

I almost grabbed hold of her myself. There
was a moment when I knew it was too much, I was going to do it, and
to hell with the consequences. But I remembered Anna, and instead
turned to Levi. “She is yours.”

Levi went to her, and hugged her tightly, his
swarthy form almost engulfing her tiny one. Her arms went around
him hesitantly.

He took her face in his hands. “Do you want
me, Eva?” he said seriously. “Devlin has said you’re mine if I will
it, but I don’t want you to think you don’t have a say in this. I’d
be glad to call you my woman, if you’ll accept me in your bed.”

“Do I...would I have to be...wolf?”

“Not if you don’t want to be,” Levi said
quickly. “But if you desire it, it can be done. And I’d abide by
were-law, if you decided that you wanted to be.”

Why was he giving her that option? Something
else to file away for later.

“I don’t know,” she said in a lost voice. “My
world is shattered and I’m not sure of anything anymore, Levi. But
I always trusted you to keep me safe. I’ll be with you until my
heart clears enough to give you an answer.”

“That is acceptable for me,” Levi said
happily. He gave her a chaste kiss. “Please wait for me here, Eva.
I’ll be back before dawn.”

She nodded, and got beneath the sheets, as
Levi followed me out. He locked the door behind me, handed me the
key, and then blushed red.

Guy’s nightly routine to ensure Evalynne’s
faithfulness. Rational, yet somehow also poignant.

I handed the key back to Levi. “This is
yours, I believe.”

He smiled, and nodded. “Sorry. Old
habit.”

“Can you take me to the bats?” I said,
already weary.

“We do not have time, Lord. They are a few
hours journey on foot and the sun will be up soon.”

I blinked my eyes, and resisted the urge to
bare my fangs. “What about horses? Surely Guy had a carriage, or at
least riding horses?”

Levi shook his head. “He was never without
me, Lord, and horses do not like weres of any type, especially not
predators. He never travelled anywhere he could not walk, the
farthest being a half mile from his home.”

“You are saying that he never saw over 90% of
his territory with his own eyes.”

Levi nodded. “If you count the surrounding
countryside that is counted part of this department of France,
yes.”

“Coward and idiot,” I said disgustedly. “Rent
me a carriage, then.”

“I will not,” he said firmly. “You have just
become my master, and I’ve already lost one tonight. I’ll not lose
you, a much more talented one, to something as simple as sunlight.
The werebats can wait. Go instead to your room, and let me guard
you until tonight.”

“No, I must go to my own home,” I said
tiredly. “But do something for me.”

“You have only to ask, Lord.”

He was like a faithful dog. No wonder Guy had
had him sleep in the kitchen. “Take this,” I said, handing him
Eva’s collar. It had fallen off her after I’d killed Guy, and I’d
pocketed it. “Have the jeweler make another one, of gold.”

“I’ll need some of your blood,” Levi said,
taking it. “The craftsman will need it for the magic that resides
in the metal, giving the choker its power.”

“Explain.”

“Only you can take it off your Oathed One and
no other vampire or creature can remove it. The choker is a
difficult thing to create. It takes a metalworker who knows serious
magic. Do not worry, I know of one, Lord. I’ll see to it
tonight.”

I took out my knife, and made a deep cut,
squeezing a few drops of blood into the small shot glass Levi
procured. “Is that enough?”

“Yes. May I ask who you intend to oath?”

“No, you may not,” I said sternly. “I will be
back with her tomorrow night. You can meet her then. Are there any
other men of Guy’s?”