From the Shadows (A Shadow Chronicles Novel) (28 page)

“I’m good,” I said somewhat stiffly. “Saphrona’s out in the barn right now, would you like me to give her a message?”

“Yes. Please ask my daughter if she has any idea why Vienna Silk would send a cashier’s check made out to someone by the name of Horace Covington to my office. It’s a very large sum, and the courier could not tell me who this Mr. Covington is.”

My eyes widened reflexively in surprise, not only that Vienna Silk had sent the check Lochlan had demanded, but that she had done it as quickly as she had.

“Um, actually I can answer that question for you,” I told him. “Lochlan demanded that check as recompense on behalf of my bondmate, whose property was destroyed by one of Ms. Silk’s minions.”

“My son did that? How very interesting,”
Diarmid mused. “Is your mate that young man who accompanied us to Ireland a few weeks ago?”

“No, that was Jake Anderson, one of my
packmates,” I replied, refusing to volunteer any information about Race.

Diarmid
chuckled, as though he knew I was holding back. “I see. In that case, if your mate would care to come pick up the check, he may do so at any time today. You’re welcome to come with him, in fact—I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing your lovely face again,” he said smoothly.

“Won’t you have retired for the day?” I had to ask.

The vampire laughed again. “Young lady, for a beautiful woman I would stay up for days.”

If he thought I was going to reply to the double entendre, he was sadly mistaken. In the short time I’d known him, I’d not once allowed this man to bait me and I wasn’t about to start now.

“Is there anything else, Mr. Mackenna? Any message you’d like me to pass along to Saphrona?” I said then, eager to get off the phone.

“Yes. Give
Mida my love, would you please?”

I bit back a scoff.
“Certainly. Goodbye, Mr. Mackenna.”

I heard
Diarmid’s irritating chuckle again. “Thank you, Juliette. Goodbye.”

As I was hanging up the phone a moment later I allowed myself to shudder. Maybe it was prejudice born of Saphrona’s loathing of her father, or perhaps it was my own deep-seeded hatred of vampires, but even when he was being perfectly polite, as he’d been just now,
Diarmid Mackenna made my skin crawl. I shuddered one more time and headed back outside.

Saphrona met me at the open door of the barn. “Who was it?” she asked.

I gave her a sour look and said sardonically, “Your daddy sends his love.”

She raised an eyebrow. “And that’s it?”

“Actually, no. The check that Lochlan demanded from Vienna Silk for the damages Merrick did to Race’s belongings arrived this morning. He was calling to ask if you knew why she’d send it, so I explained the matter. He told me we were welcome to go and get it,” I replied.

Saphrona shook her head. “That bitch is playing games, Juliette. You and Race had better be careful.”

“Why do we need to be careful?” Race asked, coming out of the barn with Mark.

I repeated the byplay of the phone call with father, though I refrained from mentioning the part where he’d said he wouldn’t mind seeing me again. Race appeared as surprised as I had been that Vienna had complied with
Lochlan’s demand so expeditiously.

“Lochlan did say that she would send it just to buy some time,” he mused when I’d finished. Looking at Saphrona he asked, “What do you think she’s up to?”

“With that woman, it’s really anybody’s guess,” Saphrona replied. “She’s been at war with my father for years, stealing his clients, his offspring, the loyalty of those who work for him.”

“I didn’t know offspring could switch loyalties,” I observed.

“Yeah,” Mark said with a nod. “Lochlan told us that a vampire’s loyalty to his maker couldn’t be easily cast aside.”

Saphrona nodded as well. “And it can’t,” she said, “though the bond can be broken if the sire releases the offspring or if the offspring renounces the sire as their maker.”

Mark frowned. “If it’s that easy, why doesn’t Lochlan leave your dad?”

“Because it’s a lot more complicated than it sounds, honey. The link between a vampire and his offspring is incredibly strong—they’re bound to each other by blood and magic, and that’s a combination that’s almost impossible to crack. A vampire can’t just say to their sire ‘I renounce you as my maker’ if the words don’t have conviction behind them. Circumstances would have to be extreme for it to work. When Lochlan said that the bond is not easily cast aside, he meant it. It’s far easier for a vampire to release offspring than for offspring to renounce a maker, because the bond originates with the sire.”

“So how could Vienna have stolen any away from your dad?” Race asked.

Saphrona shrugged.
“Any number of ways. Her usual tactics include lies and other forms of deception, but she’s not above paying out huge sums of money. Greed can be a powerful motivator. My father sired one offspring between Lochlan and I, and when Diarmid left Vienna for my mother, she convinced him to go with her. Supposedly he was as much her son as Diarmid’s and she wasn’t about to lose them both.”

Race glanced at me, then back at Saphrona. “Him?” he queried. “What was this guy’s name?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. “Diarmid never told me and although Lochlan told me what happened, he was forbidden to tell me the offspring’s name because Diarmid had disavowed him for his lack of loyalty. Evangeline wouldn’t have told me if I’d ever cared to ask her purely out of spite. Even when I was living that life I was careful to stay away from Vienna, because she’s dangerous. So there’s been no way for me to ask Vienna myself. I’ve always figured that if there was ever a question I didn’t want to know the answer to, that would certainly fit the bill.”

***

About half an hour later, Mark drove Race and I over to my parents’ house so I could pick up my car, a comfy little four-door Jeep Liberty. After programming the address for the Mackenna Corporation’s corporate headquarters into the GPS my father had insisted I install, we headed for Columbus.

Race was silent for a long moment as I drove, and though his thoughts were screaming by one after another in my head, I did my best to ignore them, choosing instead to concentrate on the road in front of me. But one repetitive thought kept flashing across my mind, to the point where I had to say something.

“Why do you keep thinking about Merrick?” I asked.

“Merrick,” Race began, “has been Vienna’s right hand man for as long as I can remember—certainly a lot longer than I’ve known them. More than once he referred to her as his mother, and I assumed it was because she’d turned him.”

“Maybe she did,” I suggested.

“And maybe he’s the guy she stole from Saphrona’s dad.”

I shrugged. “So what if he is? Does it make a difference?”

Race looked at me and then shook his head with a laugh. “Nah, I suppose not. I’d hate that
cockmunching bastard no matter which bloodsucker created him.”

***

After spending a little more than an hour on the road, I pulled up in front of the Mackenna Corporation. As I got out from behind the wheel I craned my neck to follow the glass-and-steel edifice up its 30-story height.

“Never thought I’d have to set eyes on this place,” I mused.

Race snorted as he got out and dropped change into the parking meter. “Never thought I’d be accepting a ten-thousand dollar check from a vampire,” he retorted.

“Consider it severance pay, pretty boy,” I suggested as I round
ed the end of my car.

Race took my hand after shoving his wallet back into his pocket and led me toward the building. Inside we went straight toward the reception desk, where a red-haired woman in a brown pinstriped suit looked up at us questioningly through thick, wire-framed glasses.

“Welcome to the Mackenna Corporation, how may I help you?” she asked politely.

“Race Covington and Juliette Singleton to see Mr.
Mackenna,” Race replied.

The receptionist glanced at her computer, striking a few keys and then said, “I’m afraid you’re not listed as one of Mr. Mackenna’s appointments. Would you care to schedule one for another day?”

Stepping closer to the chest-high desk, I said, “I spoke with Diarmid Mackenna myself this morning, at which time he told me we were welcome to come by. Perhaps you ought check with his executive assistant.”

Not surprisingly, the woman looked a little miffed that I’d suggested it, but she nonetheless picked up her phone and punched in an extension number. After a moment she gave her name as Janice to whomever she’d called and said, “There’s a Juliette Singleton and a Race Covington to see Mr.
Mackenna, but they don’t have an appointment. The young lady claims she spoke to Mr. Mackenna this morn— Oh, yes, of course. Thank you.”

Hanging up, she offered us a smile that was probably meant to appear apologetic. “One of Mr. Mackenna’s
admins will be with you shortly to take you to his office. If you’ll have a seat, it won’t be but a moment.”

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I nodded as Race thanked her, and we walked across the lobby to sit on one of the plush leather couches.

“How many bloodsuckers do you think work here?” Race muttered so that only I could hear him, as there were two other people waiting to be seen by someone.

“Probably not many,” I replied softly. “I mean, most vamps are
nocturnivores, as you so aptly described them the other night. Frankly I was surprised Diarmid was even in, as Saphrona says he’s never been inclined to be a pretender.”

Race snorted. “Leech probably has a bedroom attached to his office,” he remarked sardonically.

We had been waiting only about five minutes or so when I heard an elevator ding, and a woman in a sharp black pencil skirt and tailored black jacket came clacking across the tiled floor in four-inch stilettos. Her blonde hair was drawn back into a high bun on the back of her head and her make-up was carefully applied to enhance her beauty. I had the sneaking suspicion that if she wasn’t banging the boss already she was hoping to be very soon.

“Hello, I’m Andrea, Mr. Mackenna’s senior administrative assistant,” she said smoothly, extending her hand toward me.

I stood and shook her hand firmly. “I’m Juliette Singleton. This is my friend Race Covington.”

Andrea shook Race’s hand,
then looked back at me. “I am so sorry to keep you waiting. I was certain that my office had communicated to Reception that you were expected. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to Mr. Mackenna’s office now.”

Andrea led us to what I quickly learned was the executive elevator, as she had to key in a code to access it. Inside she entered another code into the keypad, closing the doors so the lift could ascend. I was not in the least surprised that we were headed for the top floor. When we exited a few minutes later, she nodded to another receptionist and said to her, “Please inform Mr.
Mackenna that his guests have arrived.”

The older woman nodded and picked up her phone, speaking quietly into it as we passed. Andrea led us through an outer office with a large desk and well-appointed visiting area, the couches similar to the ones down in the lobby, and then stepped up to a set of carved wooden doors that smelled of cedar. Knocking three times, she opened one of the doors and walked inside.

“Mr. Mackenna, this is Juliette Singleton—” she started to introduce us, but the vampire behind a desk that I immediately judged to be a custom (and no doubt outrageously expensive) piece of wood furniture with brass detailing cut her off with a sharp wave of his hand.

“I’m well aware of who she is, thank you, Andrea. Would the two of you care for any refreshment?”
Diarmid Mackenna said smoothly.

Clearing my throat I said, “I’m fine, thank you.”

Race’s response was a somewhat terse, “No. I don’t imagine we’ll be staying long.”

Diarmid
raised an eyebrow, his expression faintly amused as he flicked his hand at Andrea, who turned smartly on her toothpick-thin heels and marched out, shutting the door quietly behind her.

“Do sit down, won’t you? Certainly you can spare me a few minutes of polite conversation,” our host said when she’d gone.

Race looked at me and I nodded. We moved to sit in the visitor’s chairs across from Diarmid’s desk, Race sitting stiffly as he said, “No offense, but what could we possibly have to converse about?”

“You must be Race Covington,”
Diarmid said with a bemused smile. “Just as surly as your ilk are wont to be, I see.”

“
Diarmid, just because you invited us here does not give you
carte blanche
to be rude,” I said, fighting back a smile when Race’s voice came into my head, saying,
This guy is a dick
. “We’re already aware you have little respect for shapeshifters and only tolerate our presence in your life because you have no choice. I’m also certain that you know the feeling to be mutual.”

Laughing,
Diarmid sat forward in his chair, drawing an envelope to him as he said, “While I’ll not deny that yours is an exceptionally accurate assessment, Miss Singleton, I must admit that you are in the dangerous position of changing my mind. Or perhaps I simply admire your bluntness.”