Hope and Vengeance (Saa Thalarr, book 1): Saa Thalarr, book 1 (26 page)

The rogue answered with Italian profanity of his own. Gavin smiled grimly and switched to French.

* * *

We're breaking too many rules to mention
, I sent as we ran for the entrance to the meeting cave. Both vampires assigned to guard the entrance were dead—ash littered the inside of the cave as we raced through.

The tunnel was long and narrow, but somehow the rogues had managed not only to get through, they'd done so without alerting anyone inside the cave. When we reached the Council chamber, the battle had already become deadly.

* * *

Saxom cursed before destroying most of what was within reach. He'd loosed the rogues under Xenides' command, but worried that he hadn't prepared sufficient forces. How had he not seen that they'd use the Elemaiyan habit of hopping from one location to another?

Saxom snarled and tossed a bookshelf across the room as if it weighed nothing.

* * *

I'd never seen the Council fight before that night. Never suspected that they'd gained their positions because they deserved them. Flavio fought with an efficiency almost as frighteningly beautiful as Gavin or Merrill did. Wlodek was terrifying as he removed heads from rogues.

Will and Russell fought in tandem, but I'd seen them do that often. Dragon's blades flew as he waded through a knot of rogues. I misted between him and Kiarra, who both fought with blades. With claws flashing, we chased the last of the rogues, discovering that Merrill, Flavio and Wlodek had barricaded the exit from the cave, killing any rogue who thought to escape us.

The last one screamed when he died—Bearcat and Joey had taken him down together. Breathing hard, I nodded my admiration to both.

* * *

"I'd prefer to demand to know what is going on, but I see that I am outclassed," Wlodek admitted.

He and the others had taken their seats around the U-shaped table, a few looking worse for wear. Two seats were empty—Maurizio's ash littered the floor somewhere, and Saxom hadn't been there for the meeting since he'd gone rogue. He was behind this attack—I was confident in that assumption.

Lion, Kiarra and Dragon faced the Council, with Merrill, Joey, Bearcat and me backing them up. Wlodek's eyes settled on Merrill for a moment before sliding away—I wasn't surprised.

Merrill was Wlodek's child, but Merrill wasn't obligated to Wlodek. I wondered if he ever had been. Perhaps that King Vampire rumor hadn't been a rumor after all.

Too, Wlodek recognized what stood before him. He didn't bow, but didn't assert his authority or threaten. I'd never seen the Head of the Council so nonplussed before.

"The Seer has gone rogue. You know this already," Dragon said.

"What?" Montrose said.

"It's true. The Seer has gone rogue, and he has taken Xavier down with him," Wlodek admitted. "I hear he is in the U.S., but his exact location is unknown. This attack was at his behest, unless I am very wrong."

"You're not wrong," Dragon nodded. "It is our belief that he has allied with our enemy. We fought six rogue vampires before coming here. They are dead, now, but there may be more waiting for his command."

"And Xavier is one of them. I counted him as a friend," Wlodek muttered. He was angry, that was easy to see.

"Xavier is responsible for at least one human death in Corpus Christi," I said. "He and the Seer are allied with rogue werewolves, there."

"Does the Grand Master know of this?"

"He does," Lion said. "We have formed an alliance with the Corpus Christi Pack, and their Second is in continuous contact with the Grand Master."

"Include me in future correspondence, no matter what form," Wlodek directed his command to Merrill. "Choose the vampires you wish to return with you."

"Brock," Merrill said immediately. "Radomir. Will and Russell."

"Good. Go with Merrill. Report to me often," Wlodek commanded.

"What the hell is going on?" Russell breathed as he walked beside me toward the exit.

"Tell you later," I said.

* * *

"I told Wlodek that they were plotting something," Russell said. We'd gathered at Merrill's home in the countryside of Kent. I had no idea it was as close as it was to my ancestral home.

Lion, Dragon, Bearcat and Kiarra were having a meal; Joey, Merrill and I joined the vampires in drinking a bag of blood. There wasn't any need—yet—to let them know we'd changed.

The kitchen island held all of us while we talked; it was two hours before daylight, when Russell and the others would have to sleep for the day. "We've done some damage—likely it'll take time for them to regroup," Lion offered.

"We need some time to rest and prepare," Dragon agreed. He cut his eyes toward Kiarra as he spoke, but she sat beside me, huddled and silent on the barstool. Merrill was concerned, suddenly.

"Brock, take Russell, Will and Radomir to the basement and let them choose their quarters for the day," Merrill said. I blinked. It had come to me in an instant. Merrill was Brock's sire, too.

Brock led the others through a narrow door in the pantry nearby. When the door closed behind them, Merrill sighed. "It couldn't be helped, my darling," he spoke directly to Kiarra.

* * *

"Why are they calling him the Seer?" Kiarra's nervousness was plain to all of us. We wisely chose not to point it out.

"He seems to know things. Perhaps his alliance with the enemy might explain that," Merrill said.

"Griffin knew. He didn't tell me." Kiarra wasn't pleased about that.

"He wanted to keep it from you—felt you'd be upset if you knew," Lion attempted to smooth things over.

"I am upset. I'm more upset that I didn't know. Griffin's still trying to run things from Fourth."

This goes deeper than you know, vampire
, Dragon sent. I had no clue what he meant, or what Kiarra meant by fourth.

We are ranked
, Dragon explained.
Griffin is Fourth
.
Once, he was First
.

Ranked?

I am Second, Lion is Third
.

Kiarra?

First.

What the bloody hell? Is he trying to destroy her?

No. That is not his intent. He was demoted for a reason
.

I wasn't convinced.

Lion and I will explain later. I feel it may be best if she leaves the planet for a few days and comes to terms with this.

I'm going with her, then
, I fumed.

Lion and I may go as well. Pheligar can bend time to get us back if necessary. Daniel and Merrill will be our eyes and ears while we are gone
.
Merrill can see to transporting our vampire allies to Texas
, he added.
With Griffin's help
.
Griffin can contact us if necessary
.

When are we leaving?
I asked.

"Now," Pheligar appeared. He wasn't pleased, I could see that easily enough.
At least folding space is easier than hopping
, I flung out while being transported away from Earth.

* * *

"I don't want to talk about it."

Kiarra sat on a comfortable lounge chair on her wide deck, staring at the water below. Joey and Bearcat had chosen to stay with us, but they'd wisely offered Kiarra fruit and cheese for lunch before stealing back inside the house.

"You're brooding," I pointed out. "Let it go, sweetheart. Tell me what this is about. It'll help, I promise."

"It's too painful." Karzac appeared and took a chair next to mine. "We push, she retreats. Every time."

"Karzac," Kiarra sighed before closing her eyes and frowning.

"You cannot carry this forever. While none of us expected this, it was always possible. You must admit that."

"The odds were so small as to be nonexistent," she breathed.

"The trouble is that he managed to become immortal again," Lion said as he appeared and
Pulled
another chair in from somewhere. Settling his large frame on the seat, he breathed the air appreciatively. "Not nearly this warm at home," he added.

"Who managed to become immortal again?" I asked. Of all those present, I was the only one who didn't know.

"Saxom. Fucking Saxom. The-raping-bastard-who-should-be-a-rotting-putrid-corpse," Kiarra stood and cursed.

"Fuck you, Saxom," she shouted into the air. "I curse the day you were born and every breath you ever drew."

Now we're getting somewhere
, Lion sent.

"Fuck you, Saxom," I stood and shouted. "I curse the day you were made a vampire and I curse the one who made you, you oily, evil bastard."

"Fuck you, Saxom," Lion stood and roared. "I curse the day you were made a healer for the Saa Thalarr."

"Fuck you, Saxom," Karzac stood and shook a fist at the air. "I curse you for every bit of harm you ever brought to anyone. I curse you for the dead in your wake. But most of all, I curse you for your betrayal."

"Wait," I held out a hand. Now I was getting it.
Saxom was the one who raped Kiarra
. "I'll kill the bastard," I said and stalked into the house.

* * *

"Adam?" Kiarra set a cup of tea on the small table beside my chair. I sat on the deck again, after pacing in her library for hours. Lion and Karzac had gone earlier. Perhaps they'd talked with Kiarra after I left them on the deck, but I didn't want to pry. Every time Saxom's image swam into my mind, I seethed.

He deserved so much worse than death.

"I should be handing you tea," I sighed before turning to her. "This is nice." I fingered the turquoise blouse she wore—it brought out the color of her eyes.

"It's one of my favorites." She surprised me by sitting on my lap and wrapping her arms around my neck.

"This is nice, too," I settled her head against my shoulder and held her one-handed while I lifted the teacup in the other. "Good tea," I said after sipping it.

"Lion brought it. It's a special blend from his home world."

"I like him," I said. "Honest. Straightforward. Blunt, when necessary."

"He has a big heart," she agreed. "Everybody loves Lion. He was a warrior-priest on Pterak before he joined the Saa Thalarr. It was his duty to protect the innocent. He's still doing that."

"What about Dragon?"

"The Dragon Warlord of the Falchani," she snorted. "There are so many legends written about him, he's almost a god to those people."

"Nothing wrong with that," I leaned in to kiss her forehead.

Don't ask her about her past
, Bearcat warned as he and Joey walked out of the house and sat nearby.
She won't tell anybody. Dragon says wait for her to tell us
.

Then we'll wait
, I said. I didn't want to upset her any more than she already was, and for her to come to me and voluntarily sit on my lap? I wasn't about to destroy that. "What's for dinner?" I asked aloud.

"What do you want?" Bearcat asked.

"What I'd really like is to taste the food at my restaurants, but that's out of the question," I replied.

"Says who?" Kiarra sat up and blinked at me.

"We'd have to ask Pheligar, and there's no way I'm asking him just to go to a restaurant," I fumbled.

"I can bend time. I know we can go back about three years and be perfectly safe," she said. "What we can't do is risk running into Adam during that time. It's dangerous."

"What if I could tell you when I'd be out of town on assignment?" I said, unable to keep the hope from my voice.

"If you could be sure of that," she frowned.

"I can be sure. I have excellent recall."

"Do we need to make reservations?"

I snorted a laugh. "I own the damn thing," I said. "I'll fire them if they turn us away. Can we go early? There's something I'd like to show you."

"If you want," she said. "Joey, do you and Bearcat want to go?"

"Bear wants to take me to Tulgalan for dinner."

"Then go with Bear. We'll bend time for Earth three years ago. What should I wear?" she asked.

"I'll look through your closet," I grinned.

* * *

"I've never worn this. Wolf bought it for me, but," Kiarra frowned at her image in the mirror.

"It's lovely on you."

"I don't usually wear anything I can't run or fight in."

"I sincerely hope we do neither. This is dinner, sweetheart, not Armageddon." The navy silk cocktail dress fit her perfectly, with a low neckline and just the right amount of flare about the knees.

"In my line of work, you should always be prepared for Armageddon, even when invited to dinner."

"I've seen something close to Armageddon a time or two. Dinner was never included."

"Come on, you." She grabbed my arm and folded space.

* * *