Claiming the Vampire (24 page)

She caught a glimpse of Kel and Mary, and Liz and Jack and the other Green Fae who’d been with them. Other people were there, too, but before she could identify them all Hawk was leading her away, towards her mother’s bathroom.

He sat her down on the velvet settee beside the tub. Then he tugged the soft tunic over her head, leaving her in her cotton bra. He cursed when the sleeve stuck to the blood on her shoulder.

“It’s not deep,” she told him as he went to the sink to hold a towel under the hot water.

He shot her a dark look. “I wish he was still alive, so I could kill him again.”

He knelt at her feet as he used the towel to sponge away the dried blood. Then he tossed the towel aside and pressed his mouth to the wound.

Sensation pulsed through her. With every sweep of his tongue, a dart of pleasure pierced her belly.

After a minute he pulled away, frowning as he studied her shoulder. Jessica looked down, too, and saw that the slice was clean and had begun to close, although the edges were still ragged.

“There’s nothing more I can do,” he muttered. “This needs stitches, or a healing spell.”

“Hawk. Kiss me.”

Now he turned his frown on her. “You’re injured. We have to—”

She slid off the settee so she was straddling his waist. Then she threw her good arm around his neck and pressed her lips to his.

He held out for half a second before he wrapped his arms around her and slid his tongue into her mouth. And for the next few minutes, the world fell away.

The sound of a throat clearing broke the spell, and Jessica looked up to see Yana standing in the doorway, a gray sweatshirt over one arm. “I thought you might need this,” she said drily.

Hawk rose to his feet. “She needs a healing spell, too.”

Yana nodded. She held up her hand and chanted, and after a minute Jessica felt her flesh begin to knit together.

When the spell was finished, Yana handed her the sweatshirt. Jessica pulled it on as she got to her feet.

“Thank you,” she said. “But, Yana—what are you doing here? And those Green Fae warriors—what are
they
doing here?” she turned to Hawk. “Why were they with you and Liz in the Dark Fae realm?”

It was Yana who answered the question. “Jack had a few words with them…and with me.”

Her head was spinning. “But…does that mean…you believed him? A vampire?”

Yana’s eyes glinted. “Do you think I care about the medium when the message is truth?”

“But you acted against the queen’s wishes. On the word of a vampire and a sixteenth-blood Fae.”

“Jack and Liz are as true as steel, and I would trust them with my life. As for Talia…” Yana shook her head. “I haven’t felt certain of her in some time. And when I saw her reaction when Celia first came to us, I knew something was very wrong. I just didn’t know what.”

“Where is my mother now?”

Yana nodded towards the door. “In there. Under guard. She’s being held on charges of treason.”

 Jessica felt the blood drain from her face. She moved towards the door but Hawk was there first, putting his hand on the knob and his arm around her waist.

“Please don’t stop me. I have to see her.”

“I’m not trying to stop you. I just want to go with you.”

She looked up at him, and then at Yana. “All right,” she said. Then she opened the door.

Her mother was on the opposite side of her bedroom, surrounded by Green Fae. Jessica crossed the space between them slowly, forcing herself not to look away when Talia saw her for the first time.

The first person to break the silence was Hawk.

 “Liz found out some things when she was in the Dark Fae realm. The attack Navril planned for the winter solstice—she never really called it off. Her plans to invade Earth were going forward, secretly. Only a few in Navril’s inner circle knew that. Kel didn’t. Your engagement with him was arranged to fool the Earth Fae into thinking that everything was all right. Into thinking that the ‘truce’ your mother and Navril agreed to is real.”

Talia’s eyes flashed to him. “If you speak one more word to my daughter you will die in such agony as none of your kind has ever imagined.”

Jessica continued to stare at her mother as Hawk put his hand on her shoulder. She knew something bad was coming.

“Your mother knew.”

Jessica breathed in through the sudden pain in her chest. “What do you mean?”

“Talia and Navril have been planning this for more than a year. In exchange for turning traitor to her own people, and betraying the humans she’s sworn to protect, Navril promised Talia that she could rule over the new ‘province’ of Earth.”

You can’t have both love and power. You must choose between them.

Jessica bit her lip until she tasted blood. Talia was breathing hard, and for the first time in Jessica’s life she looked hunted.

“You sold your soul for power,” Jessica said. “You sold
me
for power.”

“That’s a lie,” Talia hissed. “This creature didn’t tell you what Navril promised for you. You and Kel will be heirs to both our thrones. Do you understand? You will rule over a kingdom that spans two dimensions, with an army of demons to do your bidding. Navril has been training them for decades.”

“Torturing them for decades, you mean.”

Talia’s head whipped around to look at Kel, who had come up beside them.

“You’ll never go against your mother. You’re not such a fool.”

“I didn’t want to go against her,” Kel said. His voice was low, and Jessica heard self-loathing in it. “For years I’ve been fooling myself, thinking I could change her mind and her heart. And so I appeased her. I colluded with her in the torture and starvation that passes for ‘training’ among the demon races in my realm. I went along with all her plans, including my engagement to your daughter, even though I was in love with another woman.”

Talia focused on Mary for the first time. “You,” she said, her voice full of hate.

Mary trembled, and for a moment Jessica thought she was afraid.

But as soon as Mary spoke, Jessica knew the emotion she was feeling wasn’t fear.

It was anger.

“When you had Deirdre in custody, you found out what she was doing. That was the first time you made contact with Navril, wasn’t it?”

Talia said nothing. After a moment, Mary continued. “You could have stopped it. Instead, you told Navril you would turn a blind eye to the kidnapping and sale of vampires. And that was the beginning of your alliance with her—an alliance you kept secret from your own people.”

Talia looked at Jessica. “What did it matter if a few vampires were sold to the Dark Fae? They’re animals, and you know it. Worse than animals. You’ve killed vampires yourself.” She turned to Kel. “Your Highness, think of what you’re doing. This demon has bewitched you. Are you going to live in exile with her for the rest of your life?”

“I would have,” he said quietly. “But Mary and I are going back to my world.”

Jessica gasped. “Kel, you can’t do that. You’ll both be killed.”

“Even if you’re not, my sister will be,” Hawk said. “You can’t take her back there.”

Mary looked at her brother. “I want to go. We want to do what we should have done ten years ago. We’re going to join the rebel forces, and fight to overthrow Navril. We came here only to say goodbye, because we may never see you again.”

“But…if you really mean to go…why can’t we see you again? We can travel through the portal,” Jessica said. “Or you can travel here.”

“No,” Hawk said. “We can’t.”

“Why not?”

Liz had been kneeling down next to Celia, talking with her in a low voice. Now she stood up. “Because we’re closing the portals. All of them. There will be no more travel between our dimensions.”

Talia let out a scream. “Are you mad? You can’t do that! You’ll destroy our power forever. We’ll become no better than humans.”

“Apparently we’re
not
any better,” Liz said, looking at Talia with loathing in her eyes. “I think you’ve established that pretty effectively. But Celia’s uncovered a lot of information in the last two days, with some help from Hawk’s contact and some ancient texts we thought were lost. If the portals are closed, our powers won’t diminish—as long as we maintain the absinthe herbs.”

“And what about your beloved vampires? What will happen to them?”

Celia spoke for the first time. “Nothing. You were wrong about that, Talia—or else you were lying. You’re good at that. But I found out something about vampires in one of those old texts. Apparently, the Dark Fae realm is not the only source of demonic energy in the universe. There are others.”

Jessica could see by Talia’s expression that this news came as a surprise.

“Other sources? What are they?” she asked sharply.

Celia shook her head. “I don’t know. There’s a lot we don’t know about demons in this world, and about supernatural energy. But we do know one thing. Once this ritual is complete, the Dark Fae will never threaten us again.” She turned her back on Talia and looked at Kel and Mary. “It’s time,” she said.

Mary nodded, and then threw her arms around Hawk.

“Goodbye, big brother.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to lose you again,” he murmured, hugging her back. “I’ve only just found you.”

“You’re not losing me,” she said, pulling away and giving him a tremulous smile. “I’ll always be in your heart, as you will be in mine.”

She turned to Jessica, who held out her hand.

“No, no,” Mary said, shaking her head. “No hand shaking between sisters.” She hugged Jessica hard. “You saved my life, and you brought Kel and me together. I owe you more than I could ever repay. My brother is so lucky to have you.”

“I’m the lucky one.”

Then it was Kel’s turn. He shook Hawk’s hand, and Hawk spoke in a low voice. “Take care of my sister.”

Kel nodded. “I will.” Then he looked at Jessica. “I honor you beyond words,” he said. “If I hadn’t already given my heart when I met you, I…” There was a very faint growl from Hawk, and Kel glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “…would have suffered pangs of jealousy watching you with your true love. Goodbye, Jessica.”

“Goodbye, Kel. And good luck. I wish we could help you.”

“There are difficult times ahead for us, but we have each other. At last.”

He took Mary’s hand again, and the two of them went to stand before the mirror. Then they walked forward…and were gone.

“All right,” Celia said. “We’re ready to close it.” She looked at Yana, who stepped forward to speak to Talia.

“It’s time for you to choose. Will you accept exile to the Dark Fae realm, or will you stay on Earth and stand trial for your crimes?”

Talia’s face was livid. “There will be no trial. I am still your queen. I—”

Yana shook her head. “No, Talia. You’re not.” Her eyes went to the Green Fae guards who surrounded her. “No Fae will follow you now. Your reign is over.”

Then she turned to Jessica. “Your Highness,” she said, and dropped to one knee.

Instantly the other Green Fae did the same. “Your Highness,” they all said.

A cold hand squeezed Jessica’s heart. “Wait a minute. Wait. I can’t be queen. I hate politics. I hate court. I—”

“You’ll be the best queen our people have ever known,” Yana said. She rose to her feet and turned to Talia again. “It’s time. Decide.”

Talia looked at Jessica, and her eyes were pleading. “Don’t let this happen. Don’t do this to me. You’re my daughter, you know I would never do anything to hurt you.”

“And what about the human beings of Earth? The people we’re sworn to protect?”

Talia’s face twisted. “Yes, and they’re ever so worthy of our protection, aren’t they? These humans have perpetrated more violence and cruelty than any demons ever could. I was born more than a hundred years ago—I remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I remember Dachau and Bergen-Belsen. And you’re old enough to remember Darfur and Rwanda and the Twin Towers. Don’t you see? Don’t any of you see? They don’t deserve to be free—free to destroy.
We
should rule over this world, Jessica! You and I. With Navril’s help, we can wipe the slate clean on this miserable planet and start again. We can create a world worth protecting.”

“A world like the Dark Fae realm?” Hawk asked. “Where demons and dissenters are penned like cattle and forced to fight for the entertainment of the ruling class?”

“Don’t speak to me again, filth.”

“Don’t speak to
him
again. You’re not fit to wipe his boots.” Jessica turned to the guards. “Since my mother refuses to choose, we must choose for her. She will stand trial here, on Earth. Take her now to—”

Suddenly Celia gasped. “The Dark Fae have figured out what we’re doing. They’re trying to come through, to stop the ritual. I’ve got to complete it now!”

She knelt down by the bier again, chanting words in a language Jessica didn’t know. Evan crouched in front of her with a knife, watching the mirror.

And now they could all see. The mirror no longer reflected the room, but showed instead a chamber in Navril’s fortress. And coming towards them were Dark Fae warriors, every one holding a sword in one hand and a chain in the other—and on the end of the chains, a demon. Demons of every shape and variety but all feral.

“They can’t all come through at once. But you’ll have to hold them off for a few minutes,” Celia panted.

And then the first demon burst through, with a Dark Fae warrior right behind him.

Everyone leapt forward, weapons raised. And then, in the blink of an eye, Talia snatched a sword from the Green Fae behind her and launched herself at Jessica.

Yana saw what was happening and snatched up the sword that Jessica had dropped when she came through the portal. She threw it to Jessica, and Jessica just had time to catch it before her mother’s blade came crashing down on hers.

“I’ll see you dead before I let you destroy everything I’ve worked for.”

Jessica’s muscles strained as she held off her mother’s sword. This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t be fighting her own mother.

Fighting her own mother and losing.

The part of her that wouldn’t believe Talia could kill her was making her hold back. She was on the defensive, falling back step by step. Giving ground.