A Hunt Among Vampires (The Angel Series) (21 page)

Lenair removes the rubber stopper from the vile and gasps. The two vampires in the room move towards her and she stops them just by raising her hand. Her wide eyes meet Kayle’s and he smiles back at her. “Do you know what this is?”

“I am aware of the contents of the vile. My master is offering you one pint of that blood for Hassan’s location.” Kayle replies smugly, knowing she will confess what she knows.

Lenair empties the contents of the tube in her mouth and sighs. Her eyes flash silver for a moment before she regains control of her blood thirst. “I know where Hassan is hiding. Give me the blood and I will give you his location.” She demands.

“There is no question that you know where Hassan is. My master has requested that I retrieve the information first before allowing you possession of such a hard-won prize.” He deliberately lies to her.

“Why do you lie about this? How did Christien come into possession of such a reward?” She asks, giving Kayle her undivided attention.

Kayle smiles deviously at her. “I will not reveal my master’s secrets.”

She nods then asks, “Is your master positioning himself to become a
tête de ligne
?”

That is a loaded question and he must answer carefully. “He has no desire to obtain his own
ligne de sang
, but as Hassan’s oldest vampire, it may eventually come to pass if something were to happen to Hassan.” He answers as truthfully as possible.

“I sense no lies in what you say.” She comments. “If Christien does not seek his own
ligne de sang
, then why does he wish to eliminate his master?”

“What makes you think that I cannot just take it from you without giving you Hassan’s location?” Lenair’s eyes bleed to silver and she shifts her body towards him.

Kayle stares at her with a neutral expression. “Because… I will not allow you to.” His eyes turn to molten silver and he allows his power to wash over her.

She hesitates as his power surrounds her. “You are quite powerful for one of your age. Am I to believe that your master has obtained more than one bag of this precious blood?”

“My master may become a
tête de ligne
and would be a worthy ally if you choose to help him in his quest.” He avoids answering her question by offering her a powerful alliance.

She settles back into her chair and her eyes return to the cool blue of her natural color. When he sees that her eyes have returned to normal, he reins back his power allowing his eyes to return to their normal vibrant blue.

“What would your master have to offer as an ally?” Her voice and face are neutral, but her body language does not hide her excitement.

“My master can offer you power and strength. Hassan may have lost all of his powerful vampires, but my master has not. He does not have a large amount of vampires under his influence at this time, but most of the vampires he has sired are masters and are very loyal to him. He also has no real enemies except Hassan and has influence with multiple werewolf packs.” He watches the excitement reach her eyes before she quickly regains her neutral look.

“I will consider your master’s offer. Perhaps in a week or two, Christien and I can discuss an alliance and I will divulge Hassan’s location to him directly.”

“The Council will consider me a rogue if I participate in Hassan’s demise. Your master asks me to risk my reputation. For what? I will receive a few bags of sweet blood and a few extra vampires at my disposal?” She scoffs at him.

“He only desires Hassan’s location. He does not ask for your involvement, nor does he want it. His only desire is to put a stop to the mad man that has ruined so many lives. Hassan is not valuable to you. Why do you wish to give up all that you may gain by keeping his whereabouts hidden? You are well aware that Hassan would never show you the same loyalty if the situation were the other way around. If you are loyal to Hassan, then I will take my leave and not bother you any longer.” After Kayle finishes his final plea, he stands and turns towards the door. He stops moving when he hears her call out to him.

“Stop!” She gets up and stands in front of him. “I have the information your master desires.” She motions to one of the vampires at the door.

The vampire leaves the room and quickly returns to the room holding a thick manila envelope. He places the envelope in Kayle’s hands and returns to the door to stand guard.

“What is this?” Kayle asks curiously.

“All the information your master will need to get to Hassan. Leave my payment on the table and have your master contact me if he is successful.” She turns her back to him and returns to her chair. “If your master tries to fool me, I will foil his plans and confess to the Vampire Council myself that he has gone rogue.”

“I understand. My master will reestablish contact soon. You should understand that my master will not appreciate being betrayed.” He removes a bag of Jessica’s blood and places it in the center of the coffee table. “Thank you for your time.”

Kayle watches Lenair’s eyes shift to the blood, but she does not move to take it. He exits the mansion and drives back to Christien’s estate.

When Kayle arrives at the estate, he learns that Christien is already in bed. Reluctant to wake him, he searches the house until he finds Roman sitting at the bar drinking. He informs Roman on how the meetings went and shows him the sealed manila envelope Lenair gave him.

Roman runs silently through the house towards Christien’s bedroom. Kayle feels guilty for not waking his master himself, but not enough to subject himself to being close to Jessica and her unborn child. He recalls the overwhelming feeling of protectiveness he felt earlier in her presence and gives it a moment of thought.

How could I sense that she was with child when even the master was not aware? Why do I have this feeling of peace when I am around her now? Is it because she is the master’s mate, or could it mean something else?

Kayle’s thoughts are interrupted when Roman returns to the bar area minutes later with Christien in tow.

Christien speaks to Kayle telepathically.
“Why did you not wake me upon your return?”

Kayle tries blocking his thoughts as much as possible, but his master is too strong to keep out of his mind. Christien picks up the discomfort about Kayle being around Jessica and nods at Kayle in understanding.

Aloud, Christien says to him, “I did not realize how much discomfort you were experiencing,
mon ami
. I apologize and I will take care not to allow that to happen again.”

Inside, Lenair has provided them with Hassan’s location. In addition, Lenair has given them detailed information on Devan’s lair, where Hassan is hiding. The information includes security details and vampire strength. She also gives information on Devan and his security detail. Christien does not miss the not-so-subtle hint that Lenair would like him to eliminate Devan while going after Hassan.

As they are all browsing over the wealth of information, Christien asks Kayle, “Do you believe this information is accurate,
Mon ami
?”

Kayle takes one last look over all the paperwork spread out on the table before responding. “When I began the meeting with Lenair, I knew I would be able to influence her decision to give up Hassan. I am sure I could have negotiated with less and received the same results. I do not believe her loyalties lie with Hassan. I believe he coerced her into her allegiance with him. Since both Lenair and Devan both co-rule France, it would make sense that Hassan would need Lenair’s cooperation, even if his only ally was with Devan.”

“Then how do you think Lenair obtained such valuable information on Devan and his get? Why did she not use this information to eliminate Devan herself? Why would she give this information to you?” Roman asks, clearly bewildered as Kayle is.

They all silently nurse their drinks before Christien answers all of their unasked questions. “First, I would say I agree with your assessment Kayle. I also believe Lenair does have an ulterior motive by giving us this information. I believe Lenair has been planning an assault on Devan for some time. She has only required a reason to wage a war on Devan. Lenair has never enjoyed co-ruling France with Devan. When Hassan requested Devan’s help and forced Lenair to comply, she finally has an excuse to get rid of Devan. All the
lignes de sang
are aware of Hassan’s request to the Council by now. She would assume I would try to kill Hassan before the meeting with the Council in a few days. That is why she would have been willing to negotiate so easily. She and her vampires alone are not strong or powerful enough to take on Devan and his get without heavy losses, but if we were to go after Hassan and Devan interferes, we might be able to get close enough to kill him. If we do kill Devan, there will be nothing between her and my get from extending her rule over all of France. Either I stay in France and defend what I obtain from Devan or become her ally and allow her to rule France alone.”

They look at each other and Kayle finally asks the question he is sure his master will not like. “Why not allow her to rule France alone? You can use Phedora as a proxy for anything that may need your attention. Give Phedora enough power so she can handle any disputes with Devan’s get and we can rid ourselves of both of the evil creatures.”

“Why not take it a step further and take out Lenair too? While we are at it, we can clear out the Vampire Council and make our own laws!” Christien exclaims sarcastically and storms out of the room.

Roman speaks to Kayle quietly. “I guess he’s not an ambitious vampire just out for power and glory?”

“No he is not.” Kayle responds seriously. “He has never liked blood shed. He only does what is necessary; never more than what is required. He lost all passion for anything violent once he became a vampire. That is why he has such a small get. He is a very trustworthy and peaceful master. His gentle nature passes on to those he has directly sired. No other
lignes de sang
would be so reluctant in his position.” He confides in Roman.

“Do you think he should take advantage of what is being offered and eliminate them both?” Roman asks. “Do you think he is powerful enough?”

“It is not always about being powerful. Sometimes it is about planning and sheer will. When my master was still a fledgling, he was able to kill vampires that were much older. Some were even master vampires. Many say that he was only lucky to destroy them, but after several stronger masters were killed by Christien’s hand, they began to think differently.” Kayle tells him as he remembers the stories he has heard over the years.

“What is Christien’s beef against Hassan anyway? Aren’t most vampires very loyal to their sire?” Roman refills his drink and gives Kayle a questioning stare.

“I am not sure. He will not discuss it with anyone. Yes, in most cases, vampires tend to be very loyal to their sire. I am not certain how he managed to break Hassan’s bond so easily and quickly as a fledgling. If we knew why his hatred ran so deep, maybe we would be able to understand his reluctance to Lenair’s proposal.” Kayle accepts the drink Roman offers and sighs. “It is Christien’s decision on whether or not he chooses to accept Lenair’s plan.”

“Should he accept Lenair’s plans?” Roman asks.

“If the situation goes as they plan, he may not have a choice. Devan may force his hand.” Kayle concludes as he finishes his drink.

For another few hours, Kayle and Roman discuss different scenarios about how they would handle things with Hassan and Lenair’s proposal before Roman stumbles off to bed.

As Kayle sits alone in the dark, thinking about the child growing inside his master’s mate, another protective surge washes over him, just like before when she was not feeling well. Confusing and mixed emotions stir up more questions than answers. Unable to provide himself any answers, he retreats to his bed.

Chapter 17

I wake up the next morning and find Christien staring at me. “Were you watching me sleep again?”

It is my advantage that you are so beautiful that I cannot keep my eyes off of you.” He teases as he kisses my shoulder.

“You are such a flirt!” I push him away from me and roll out of bed. The moment my feet touch the ground, I am running to the bathroom with my hand over my mouth. When I return to the room, Christien has a glass of ginger ale waiting for me. He gives me the glass, kisses my cheek and agrees to meet me downstairs when I am ready.

By the time I dress and allow my nausea to subside, Kayle, Roman, Alex, Christien, Phedora and the kids are already done with breakfast and sitting in the family room. I know I won’t be able to keep anything down that I eat right now so I grab a glass of orange juice and join the group. When I sit down, Kayle is giving us all the details on how his meeting with Devan went yesterday. We listen to him as he continues with the meeting with Lenair. I was aware of the deal about Kayle negotiating with my blood so I wasn’t surprised when he mentions offering her a bag of blood in exchange for Hassan’s location. What I did not expect was Phedora not to be aware of what I am. When Kayle mentions Lenair’s agreement for a pint of blood, Phedora interrupts.