Rage, disappointment and humiliation were slowly
mingling with the misery giving her strength to move. Pushing herself away from
the table she walked numbly out of the kitchen, straightening her clothes and
hair as she went.
Cassia moved like an automaton, trudging up the stairs
and along the corridor back to her room. If she was quick she could get
straight into the shower and avoid awkward searching questions from Flavia. Her
sister had an uncanny knack for gauging people’s feelings in an odd Empath like
way. She was dimly aware that she passed someone, that someone had spoken her
name but she carried on silently; if she stopped, she was lost.
Javier let go of the counter and lurching across the
room almost collapsed onto a chair, burying his face in his hands. Cassia; she
was his, only his, he knew it, how could that be? He’d known it in his blood
from the minute he’d watched her gazing up at that Chagall in the hall; her
expression rapt and defenceless. Just now, the craving had hit him so hot and
so hard he would have taken her right here, against that table and then he
would have taken her blood at that sweet spot on her neck. Claimed her as his
alone.
He had never expected to feel this again. Different
from the first time; sharper, hungrier, more desperate. This couldn’t happen,
could it? You couldn’t love someone straight away; it wasn’t possible, was it?
Anyway, he couldn’t love her, he loved Charlotte.
What the hell had he done? He thought about the shock
and pain in Cassia’s face. She’d never forgive him, never. He didn’t blame her.
Hauling himself to his feet he picked up the metal box
housing the daggers. He needed to return it to the vault. As he headed back
across the hall towards the underground corridor he knew he was lying to
himself. The body couldn’t lie, blood couldn’t lie. This was the most primal
instinct of his kind. No, he wouldn’t betray Charlotte, he’d fight it. Why
Cassia? Why not all those other infinitely less troublesome women he had met
and bedded in the last few years? Cassia wasn’t even anything like Charlotte.
“Javier! Javier stop…” Hera called from the staircase,
hurrying down to intercept him as he crossed the hall.
Javier groaned inwardly. Of all the people to run into
when you were desperately trying to hang onto your composure; she was the worst.
He turned slowly, trying to keep his expression blank.
“Hera. You are down early querida. What’s going on?”
She moved closer; her turquoise eyes searching his
face;
“Good question Javier, I just passed Cassia in the
corridor. She looked like a ghost and as for her emotions…”
“Did she speak to you?”
Hera looked distressed;
“No, I doubt she even saw me. Her emotions surrounded
her like a black cloud. Hurt, misery, anger…Javier, what’s happened?”
She stepped forward and put her hand on his arm then
gasped and snatched it back as if she had been burnt. Javier turned away,
unable to bear the dawning comprehension and compassion in her eyes. Powerful
Empaths like her were able to sense all your emotions with one touch if they
wanted to.
“Nothing. I don’t want to talk about it Hera. Speak to
her though, she could do with your help.”
“I’m your friend Javier. I’ll be here if you need me.”
Hera called after him.
Javier ignored her and headed down to the vault to
secure the daggers. Then he went to the gym, changed into his kit and spent the
next hour and a half pounding the treadmill then whacking the hell out of the
punch bag until his muscles protested and sweat dripped off him. He stayed down
in the gym to shave then stood with his eyes shut under the shower for twenty
minutes before changing into clean clothes from his locker and heading back up
into the chateau. He needed to apologize to Bee; he had promised to have
breakfast with her and look at her latest drawings.
Madame Lemond supplied him with a substantial sandwich
after scolding him gently for missing breakfast. As he wandered into the hall
sandwich in hand, Gabriel emerged from the underground corridor and gave him an
exasperated look;
“Damn it Javier, there you are. I have been looking
all over for you. Where’s your phone? Chronus is back, did you forget we were
supposed to be meeting half an hour ago?”
Dios, he had completely forgotten. His mobile still
sat on his bedside table along with his watch and LaSalle’s pet hate was to be
kept waiting. This night just kept getting worse, Javier thought bitterly. He
followed Gabriel into the study; he’d go in search of Bee as soon as the
meeting was over.
Things continued their downward spiral. As he entered
the room he saw that Cassia was in there as well. She glanced at him
dismissively then continued the conversation she had been having with Rafe.
Chronus lounged in an armchair sipping coffee and talking to LaSalle who was
drumming the fingers of one hand impatiently on his desk. As soon as he saw
Javier he jumped to his feet;
“Fuck, Javier! Where the hell have you been? We have
all been twiddling our thumbs here for the last half hour and your beautiful
little Beatriz is worried because you didn’t show up for breakfast and she
doesn’t know where you are.”
Javier muttered his apologies and helped himself to
coffee as LaSalle glowered at him. It was hitting below the belt for LaSalle to
use his daughter against him. Actually, he thought as he sipped his coffee; he
was the one being unfair. LaSalle had a soft spot for his little Bee as did his
son, Phillipe.
“Javier, are you alright? Do you need to visit the
Donor?” LaSalle asked sharply with genuine concern.
Javier forced himself into alertness; if he carried on
like this LaSalle would be having a private word with him and suggesting a
holiday.
“Sorry, absolutely fine. Didn’t get much sleep, this
slayer business was on my mind. I cannot seem to find any logic in what’s
happened so far…”
His eyes slid to where Cassia sat dressed all in
black, one foot tapping impatiently in its biker boot. Yes, he needed blood
alright, his body was screaming for it. Just not the Donor’s.
“Chronus…what have you found out? There is something,
you look concerned.” Gabriel said.
Chronus brushed an imaginary speck off his already
impeccable suit. It looked like a Tom Ford this time thought Javier; he was
obviously branching out from his usual Italian designers.
“The house we raided belongs, as Cassia said, to an
Empath called Erebus. There are four brothers in the House of Erebus. This
particular Erebus was calling himself Iason but is in fact an Elder called
Draco Erebus.”
Javier felt a frisson of shock as there was a chorus
of exclamations and curses from LaSalle, Gabriel and Rafe.
“I thought that bastard was dead.” LaSalle said; “The
story given out by your lot in Venice was that he had been tried and executed.”
“Not my lot LaSalle; four decades before I took over
the office. There were at least five interim heads in that time; none of them
was quite right for the post. Anyway, not executed but discreetly retired.
Allowed to live as long as he never set foot in the public arena again. Exiled
to England; a country he always hated. You have no idea how deeply this
information was buried; it took Aries Achilles’ personal intervention to unlock
the records. Even I didn’t have high enough clearance for god’s sake.” Chronus
looked seriously rattled.
“But how could that have been allowed to happen?”
asked Javier;
“He obviously had powerful ammunition. Dirty little
secrets people did not want revealed. It is the only answer.” Chronus’s tone
was bitter.
“Sorry, excuse the interruption but who is this Draco
Erebus and why are you all so shocked that he wasn’t executed? What did he do?”
Cassia was leaning forward in her chair as she looked round at the men in the
room.
Javier met her eyes as she turned to him. He would be
the one to tell her;
“Draco Erebus was head of Intelligence for the Empath
High Council during the great conflict and in the three decades following. He
made that office feared by Empaths and Vampires alike. Even Humans did not
escape his reach. His name became a by-word for torture, death, terror and
disappearance. Even their High Councillor at the time did not dare depose him.”
Cassia’s eyes widened as the colour drained from her
face;
“So he would have been responsible for what was done
to my father?”
“I am afraid so Cassia. Your father and hundreds like
him. I am sorry.” Chronus said gently.
“But… I was in his house. I stole his damned Goya.
Flavia was a prisoner there for weeks. And all the time it was the man who
destroyed my father, destroyed our family. If I had only known…” Her voice
tailed off as she stared unseeing at Chronus, hands clasped tightly together.
She looked so lost that Javier ached to take her in
his arms and soothe the hurt. Instead it was Rafe who leaned over and patted
her arm;
“Don’t think about it Cassia. What could you have
done?”
“I don’t know Rafe. Ripped him to pieces? Snapped his
neck? Torn out his throat with my fangs? I’ve imagined doing all those things
to him from the day my poor father came home.” Cassia’s voice reverberated
harshly through the room as she hugged herself.
“Mademoiselle Cassia, do you wish to withdraw from
this business? It would be perfectly understandable given the painful memories
that are being stirred up.” LaSalle asked.
Javier knew what her answer would be even before
Cassia sat up straight, her eyes fierce and determined;
“No. No LaSalle. I’ll see this through to the end,
whatever it takes.”
LaSalle smiled approvingly; “Bien. I thought so.
Chronus, what else?”
“Draco Erebus has a son, Dion. A bit of a
disappointment by all accounts. It is unusual for an Alpha Empath to sire a
Beta but it did not end there.”
“Sorry, Alpha Empath…?” Javier asked;
Chronus laughed dryly;
“Oh, it is not very politically correct nowadays but
for millennia we Empaths have classified ourselves according to the level of
our powers. The most powerful are Alphas, all the rest are Betas. Historically,
Alphas have always sat at the top of the feeding chain. There was a great deal
of snobbery involved. There used to be a handful of rare Super-Alphas. Empaths
with magical powers. Now there is only one left…your Hera, Gabriel.”
“Just when I thought I knew everything there was to
know about you Empaths…” LaSalle said, “Did you know about this Gabriel? Yes, I
see that you did, thanks for sharing. Chronus, what else disappointed Draco
about his son apart from his lower level of power?”
“Drugs, prostitution, racketeering, trafficking, I
could go on.” Javier said suddenly;
“Dion Erebus, now it comes to me. My team and I broke
up his operation amongst the Vampire community in this country about a decade
ago. He was heading a pretty nasty gang based in Marseilles. It ended in a
bloodbath. I lost two warriors and he lost his whole gang and millions of Euros
worth of business. The bastard put a bullet through my shoulder. I wonder if he
still holds a grudge.”
“So this may be less to do with slayers and magical
daggers and more to do with common crime.” Rafe mused.
“Harry Marshal said this biker gang had been involved
in petty crime. I think Dion’s agenda differs from our Knights of the Obsidian
Dagger.” Javier said.
“Yes, do you remember Javier? They emerged after the
gang leader’s grandfather died. What if the grandfather…no, it would be great
grandfather perhaps…what if he really was one of the slayers? One of the
slayers you thought you’d finished off a century ago. How else did they get
that document? How else did they get that dagger? Perhaps this has always been
about simple mundane old revenge. This Dion, not terribly bright Chronus? Being
a Beta?” Cassia asked
Chronus laughed; “Lot of theories there Cassia.
Intelligence has nothing to do with being Beta or Alpha. It is simply about
empathic powers. That’s why Aries is discouraging use of the term…it has always
been quite unfair. Dion however is more muscle than brain. His being a Beta is
no connection. Anyway, Dion has a house in Surrey currently locked up while he
spends a week in Venice. A week with his mistress as it happens.”
“And does this mistress work on Isola di Sospiri
Chronus?” Gabriel asked quietly, referring to the island in Venice where the
Empaths had their headquarters.
“Yes, how did you guess? She has clearance for access
to our restricted stores. She took those electronic collars. I have not
arrested her yet. I thought it was better if she occupied Dion while we…”
“Broke into his house and gave it a thoroughly good
search.” finished Cassia with a grin.
“I think I am going to recruit her.” breathed Gabriel.
“Do we need Cassia? She has already been put at risk.”
Javier said.
“Dion has some heavy duty security systems Javier,”
Chronus replied as Cassia twisted in her seat and glared at Javier, “We could
blast our way in but I don’t want him to know we have searched. Cassia has
certain skills that would be most useful.”