Authors: Lauren Dane
Now Rowan planned to lob another grenade Enyo’s way.
“Aside from that, I have another reason for assembling you all here. Yesterday, before you went to your daytime rest, you had some little red cloth bundles delivered to your rooms. I know some of you refused to use them, but I wanted to address their purpose. You’ve all been spoken to either by me or someone else, regarding the fact that nearly all the Vampires and humans who’ve attended this Joint Tribunal has had nightmares. So I asked around. I was told by many people who’d attended meetings for more than a few years that while there is always the basic level of infighting and fang measuring that happens every time we all get together, this particular meeting has been far more hostile and fraught than the others.”
“Just what is your point?” Enyo spoke and didn’t even manage to sound innocent.
“I’d be making it right now if you hadn’t interrupted me.”
“You’re insolent.”
“So? Be quiet.
My point
is that the common denominator when I spoke to people was nightmares. Vampires, who we know don’t dream in the common sense of the word, have been disturbed while resting. Tormented with horrifying images. Humans too. Disturbing your rest resulted in a bunch of attendees who are short-tempered, ill-rested and cranky. This, in turn, fed into the hostility displayed by Hunter and Vampire alike during the meeting.
“There are rules we’re all beholden to, and one of them is that no one is allowed to use magic to interfere with the meeting. This has happened.”
“Do you have proof?” Paola asked. Rowan wasn’t offended; she knew she’d have to prove such a claim. She couldn’t prove the who, but she definitely could prove what happened.
“I do have proof the nightmares were of magical origin. The bundles that were provided gave you relief, didn’t they?”
She looked around, registering all the nods.
“They would not have worked otherwise. Not on all of you. The bundles were anti-magical. So not like chamomile to drink in tea, but created to
counteract
magic work that would have dug into your subconscious and given you the bad dreams. Magic was used. And it was used to disrupt this meeting.”
Enyo sniffed like she was offended. “How do we know
you’re
not the problem? You claim it was your magic that solved the problem. Maybe it was your magic that created the problem.”
“Actually, it wasn’t my magic that solved the problem. I merely identified that a bunch of individual problems made up one large one, which leads anyone with half a brain to realize there was an effort from outside directed at the people involved in the meeting. That’s part of my job, so I simply pulled together all the data and clues and went from there.
“Personally? I have little to no magical talent and no motivation to mess up my first Joint Tribunal where I was proposing an amendment to the Treaty.” She shrugged. “This type of magic isn’t something I can do. And to be honest, if I could, I’d have used it for something awesome instead of lame like bad dreams.” Never hurt to poke at Enyo. Rowan couldn’t prove it was her, though she did have a number of circumstantial things pointing in her direction.
“Well, I don’t feel that we can rely on your word for this.”
Rowan laughed, she couldn’t help it. “Is that so?”
Warren shook his head. “I don’t care what Enyo wants. This is petty and stupid, and she’s not a member of the Joint Tribunal in any case. The point is, there was some sort of magical interference here and that’s a violation of the rules.”
“Do you have an idea as to who is behind it?” Paola asked.
“I do. But not enough proof at this point.”
“Then why bring it up?”
“Because this is an important issue. A deep breach of the rules of conduct for these meetings and everyone here should realize they’ve been tampered with. I don’t know about you, but that bothers me a great deal.”
“Who exactly do we owe our
thanks
to for counteracting this magic?” Enyo smirked.
“One of The First’s staff.”
“No offense meant, Tages, but how can we trust this paltry information she provides?”
“
Ovilius
will be fine from now on. The woman Rowan refers to has been in service to me since she was born. As were her father and mother and their parents and grandparents and so on. Her siblings are also in my service. She happens to have a powerful magical gift and uses it to protect members of my household. I never had reason to imagine she’d have to use those gifts in such a manner, but I have spoken with her myself and I’m satisfied with her veracity.”
There was no way even one as powerful as Enyo could argue with Theo, so she didn’t.
But that didn’t mean she was done, of course. “If you won’t say who did it, I fail to see why this is important to reveal to us in such a dramatic fashion.”
Rowan allowed one eyebrow to rise. “It’s quite possibly not the only way you fail. The rules have been breached. People have been tampered with, and they all have a right to know. I will continue to investigate this and report back what I find.
And
, to anticipate any accusations of impropriety, if the Nation wishes to have someone work with me that would be fine.”
Warren lifted a finger. “I’ll help.”
Thank goodness for that. She imagined Enyo volunteering and then having to pull some sort of
I’d rather it be a Scion
thing out of her hat.
“Before I leave we’ll connect on some details.”
Warren nodded. “Fine.”
“Cozy.” Enyo’s smile was brittle, and it pleased Rowan to see.
“That’s really it. I want to thank everyone for their hard work, regardless of your position on the amendment. Congratulations on a job well done in the face of many obstacles. If you have any questions or concerns, you know where to find me. Otherwise, I’ll be seeing most of you again in November in Paris for the next meeting.”
Chapter Nineteen
Clive gave her such a look, and she began to make her excuses to get out of there so she could rock his world. There were four hours until sunrise, which gave them plenty of time for multiple rounds.
But then she caught sight of Recht, who indicated he needed to speak with her.
“I’ll be in shortly,” she murmured to Clive, who gave her a raised brow.
“We have hours and hours, Hunter. Don’t let’s waste time, hm?”
Trying not to blush, she excused herself and headed in Recht’s direction.
“What are you up to, little goddess?”
“We voted the amendment in, I had a few clarifying questions for Dina, and then I informed everyone of the magical interference they’ve suffered this week.”
“Can you prove it’s Enyo?”
“How did you know I suspected her?”
He smiled at her. “Come take a walk with me.”
She took his arm and let him lead her from the main hall and up toward her rooms and Theo’s quarters.
“Come to my room, we can speak there without worry.”
“Is this your way of getting me into your room so you can make a pass, Recht?”
He laughed. “Sweetest, if I did try, you should believe that I’d leave you so sated you’d never look at your Scion again. However, you’re my family. Like a little sister, so it would be too uncomfortable to even contemplate such a thing.”
She went into his sitting room when he opened the door for her. He had a view of the mountains rising above the back of the Keep. “Sit, please.”
She did. Weapons of all sorts hung from his walls or snugged up in racks of all types. “This is pretty insanely impressive.” Rowan knew better than to wonder if he could use them all. She knew he could and most likely was a master of all.
“I serve him and should anything happen, I need all the tools possible to defend him.” Recht raised one shoulder as he settled in across from her. “You did well tonight.”
Pride warmed her. “Thank you. I messed up a few times. My back will take a while to truly heal, and my shoulder will be sore awhile.”
“You drop your arm sometimes right before you strike. You need to be aware of it. It’s lazy, and if she had been older she could have used it to really hurt you.”
“She was old enough.”
He snorted. “Rowan, Enyo will not quit until she destroys you. The amendment passed because of you and the way you never gave up. You bested her champion. One you goaded her into seconding for. The First is clearly on your side. The Scions like you better. You are a better Vampire than her own cadre are. You are smart and skillful, and you exposed her little magical trick.”
“Heard that, did you?”
“Benefit of saying nothing is that you hear everything. And I’m not the only one who heard her tone and defensiveness when she was not named as a suspect at all. She’s...she’s old. Older than any others you’d come up against, most likely.”
“I know that much. Though I don’t know a whole lot. What can you tell me?”
“Bits and pieces. You should know your father has been...prevented from speaking on her origins.”
“Yeah, I got that one today. Who was her maker?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never heard a single rumor, though certainly there’s speculation. In the beginning, in the years between your father’s birth and when Enyo first shows up in our history, there were several old ones. All of them were his children, those he’d made. They were strong. Ran together at times, though they scattered to the winds for most of the year. It must have been one of them. I know it’s not Flavius. But there was Larth, Ranazu and Alba. Each of the three was gone by the first or second century, current era.”
“But, of course, if Theo can’t speak to it, who’s left to do so if she won’t? They’re all dead now.”
Recht nodded. “Vampires like to create their own mythology. Many of us who were not born to Vampire parents took being made as a second chance. To rise from the ashes of our humanity and be something more.”
Yeah, yeah, she’d heard this speech a few times. And from one such as Recht she respected and understood it. But many others just used it as theater to seem more important than they actually were.
“I hate flying blind. I know she’s got some magical skills. I know there have been other Vampires who had magic in the past.”
“All of them were powerful. One of them nearly killed The First a thousand years ago.”
“Really? I’ve never heard this story. Tell me, please.”
“Vampires with magic usually were human before they were made. And the transformation does something to their power. Increases it. It’s why during the war with the Hunters, you had to bring in full-blooded sorcerers. Our magic users were too strong for anyone who merely dabbled. This witch felt spurned by The First, and she nearly killed him as they woke for the night. It was my father who saved him. My father who died.”
Rowan wanted to say something to make it better, but having lost parents, what could she say? There was nothing to make it better.
“I was twenty and in the army. The First came to me the following night and told me what had happened. My father had been made when I was twelve. He’d gone to serve The First here at the Keep, but my mother was the daughter of a noble in Italy. We stayed there where my grandfather raised me. My father visited and we came here from time to time. But back then it wasn’t so fast you see, to travel the way we do now.
“He came to me and told me my father had died a hero and asked if I wanted to be made. I said yes only if I could take my father’s place. I had no wife and children. My mother had died a year before. My lands are still in Sardinia, but I haven’t seen them since that day.
“He made me that night and brought me here. I’ve watched him, guarded him ever since. I’ve long distrusted Enyo. Part of me wondered if it wasn’t her connection to magic. Knowing it was one like her who’d killed my father. But she’s a schemer, and she’s long been discontented with her lot.”
“Do you think she wants to take Theo out, then? Topple him from the throne and ascend to lead the Nation?”
“He’s very well protected, as well as being far more powerful than she gives him credit for. That little show he gave earlier with Collette, that was for Enyo’s benefit too. He must keep her secret, but he is far more able than she thinks of keeping his place here. But you? Well, if he lost you, I don’t know what would happen.”
“So, it’s not just that she’s a bitch and hates me, she’d off me to mess with Theo’s head and take his seat.”
“He...he’s a flawed individual in many, many ways. He’s made mistakes. Hurt people he loved. But you are the embodiment of everything good in him. These years you’ve been gone, he’s known of your every move. Even as it pained him to see. He loves you in a way I’ve never seen in him with anyone or anything else. To see you walk into a room where he is, to see the two of you together, is to know his true vulnerability.”
“His love for me.”
Recht shook his head. “His love for you is strength. It keeps him grounded. To lose you would be to lose that anchor. It would be disastrous for us all. Enyo most of all. Because in the end, he would lose much more than his daughter. He would tear down the foundations of heaven to avenge you. No matter the cost.”
Rowan didn’t know what to say to that. Hell, she didn’t know how to begin to
feel
about it other than...touched. Touched that someone felt like that about her and that Recht would tell her.
Being Other was lonely, yes, but she wasn’t entirely alone.
“So we need to get to her. Figure her out and execute her so she can’t be a threat to me or to him or the Nation.”
“She’s backed into a corner. You just announced you were going to investigate the origin of this magic. She’ll come at you soon enough. Be careful, especially after you leave here. I’ll keep digging and let you know what I find out.”
She nodded. “Thank you. For all this.” He’d given her such a big piece of himself. His own story of origin and all the stuff about Theo too. “It matters a lot to know.”
“Your Scion descends from Alba’s line, by the way.”
“Ew, so we’re sort of related?”
Recht laughed. “Little goddess, your father is not blood-related to anyone alive anymore. As far as Scions go, yours is a good one. I approve. Mainly.”
“Mainly?”
“I wish that you could have a normal life with children and a husband. Far away from Vampires and witches and attempts on your life. You should not know what it is to have a dislocated shoulder or to have nearly died. You should not bear the scars on your back. Not from Collette or him. You will never have a normal life with Clive Stewart.”
She shook her head. “I’ll never have a normal life with anyone. If I have children, what could I teach them? How to execute a Vampire old enough to have danced at a coming-out ball in Regency England? I will
never
have normal. I’d end up killing a human man. I’d bring death to his door, and then what? At least Clive Stewart knows what to do if death shows up on his doorstep.”
“Like to like, eh?”
At her puzzled look he went on, “Despite my wanting a normal life for you, my belief that you deserve such a thing, I don’t think it’s your destiny. So, if you have to live a life filled with violence and danger, it’s good to be with someone who understands those things the way you do.”
She snickered. “He doesn’t like it that my job is killing Vampires.”
“Sometimes they need killing. Like some humans do.”
It was nice to be understood. Even if it was odd that a Vampire alive as long as the one across from her was the one doing the understanding.
“Go back to the party. Celebrate your hard work.” He stood and led her to the door.
“Thank you.” She kissed his neck and he did the same.
“Always, little goddess.”
* * *
Rowan really wanted a shower. She still had Vampire dust on her skin. Killing a Vampire was like spending the day at the beach. The grit it left on your skin irritated.
Showers were also a good way for a Vampire to warm up. And a nice way to get naked with Clive at the same time. She also loved the way he gave her a scalp massage when he washed her hair, so she’d propose that to him instead of running to her rooms to shower first.
She got downstairs and one of the staff stopped her with a note.
Orangerie.
C
She really did hope he had no plans to have sex out there. It was too cold for that, and she hadn’t been totally poking at him when she’d reminded him of her no-sex-outside policy.
Rowan skirted the crowd, not wanting to get sucked into yet another meeting when she just really wanted to be with Clive for a while and turn off the world.
She headed outside without a coat, grateful she still wore a sweater. Also grateful for the excuse of being cold to come back inside to her rooms or his, whichever. Inside was the goal.
Funny how used she was to being awake and around at three in the morning. The way the world seemed so quiet, but if you were near Vampires it never was. Three a.m. was when they started to head home. They wandered in the last bit of darkness, free for another few hours.
She was smiling as she hustled through the grounds. The sounds of the Keep faded as her breath misted around her face. She hugged her arms to herself, in a good mood even though she planned to poke Clive about meeting so far away from the warmth of the Keep.
The hair on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end, and she nearly passed out when Brigid filled her with no warning, right as she flew through the air and hit a tree trunk hard enough to make her see stars and knock the breath from her lungs.
Her back, where it had been ripped open by Collette earlier, began to bleed, the spice of it in the air as Rowan struggled to sit up and figure out what the hell was going on.
A scream rent the air as nails and teeth hurtled in Rowan’s direction again. Still stunned, she managed to move, but not enough to avoid the hit totally. She was pulled up by the back of her sweater and her hair and thrown against the side of the orangerie.
The glass was tempered so it didn’t break, but fine lines fissured the surface.
Her ears rang as she took a kick to her kidney.
Rowan didn’t have her blade, but she needed to get her wits and legs under her, or she would end up dead. This was all happening fast and furious.
She rolled away from another kick and up to her knees. With no small amount of pain, she got to her feet, rocking back to her heels.
The Goddess burned through her like wildfire as Enyo came into view. Brigid made a sound, a growl of sorts, and spoke in Greek. “You have made a grave error.”
“Who do you think you are?” Enyo screamed as she came at Rowan. This time she was able to dodge the blow and managed a cuff to Enyo’s temple, sending her back.
“I am Rowan Summerwaite. Vessel to the goddess Brigid. We went over this just a few hours ago. Did you hit your head or something? I should say something like, prepare to die! But I doubt you’ve even seen
The Princess Bride
, because clearly you lack taste.”
Enyo sneered. “It’ll be my pleasure to kill another one of her human meatbags.”
Goddess, that was it! Moibeal had been poisoned!
“Did you think I didn’t know? Poison is such a cowardly tool.” They circled each other, and even with Brigid’s help, Rowan was nearly outmatched by the ancient Vampire. She’d defeated old Vampires before, but never any as old as Enyo, and the difference was marked. Enyo’s speed was like nothing she’d ever seen other than Theo. Comparing the strength of even the rogue she’d killed in the desert a few months back was a joke.
This was an eons-old predator, and Rowan was weakened and without her blade.
There was nothing to be done. No whining about it. She had to win or she’d die out there alone, and the very idea that this fucking bitch would win was simply unacceptable.
Brigid burned brighter, giving Rowan strength.
“So, you poisoned one of my sisters a few millennia ago. My estimation of you just dropped. Not that it was very high to start with.”
Enyo hissed, striking out with her nails. Rowan caught her wrist and bent it hard, snapping the bones, getting in Enyo’s face as she grinned. Left-handed, she got a thumb into the Vampire’s eye and pressed hard.