Forbidden Blood: A House of Comarré Novella (5 page)

Chapter Eight

L
ibertas
. The word erased the last whorls of pleasure from Dominic’s kiss and left fear in their wake. Marissa had thought about it, but thoughts and going forward were two very different things.

“What do you mean, die?” he asked.

“I don’t know how to make it any clearer. Either I kill Arnaud or he kills me. It’s a death match. The winner gets their freedom. Or a new comarré.” She shuddered. “There’s no way Arnaud would turn me down, either. He’d relish getting a new comarré and the chance he’d lose would never enter his mind.”

“You cannot fight him. I will not allow you to do that.”

She straightened. “You will not
allow
me? You don’t have that kind of say in my life.”

He held up a hand. “You’re right; I do not. I spoke out of turn, but it is insanity to think you could fight Arnaud and win.”

“Hah.” She glared at him. As much as she wanted to tell Dominic about her years of training in many different types of combat and her skills with daggers and swords, she didn’t. Those were comarré secrets. Revealing them could get her into deeper trouble. If only she could just run away with Dominic, but that would simply give her a life of fear. She needed a life of freedom.

“Why do you laugh? You think you have a chance against him?”

“I don’t think it. I know it. I just don’t know how much of a chance.”

Dominic leaned against the workbench and studied her. “You could beat him?”

“I could.” Maybe. “Or at least come close.”

“Close still means you would be dead.” He shook his head. “No, I do not want to be a part of this. Perhaps it is my own foolishness, but I find myself having…feelings for you. I am a passionate man, and I tend to give those passions free rein. What they want most is you. So you can understand why I do not wish you to go through this. Or anything that might harm you.”

Despite his declaration, her frustration built. “There is no other way for me to get free. No other way for us to be together.”

“We will find a place safe from Arnaud.”

“That place does not exist.” She got to her feet and paced toward the other end of the room, thinking. Books, bottles, and papers crammed every available space, making it hard to believe Dominic couldn’t find an answer among them somewhere. She shook her head. “I will have to go back to him. And you will have to find a way to change my blood.”

He was quiet for a while, letting her pace. At last he spoke. “I have another idea.”

She turned and looked at him. “I’m listening.”

“You say libertas is the only way you’ll feel safe leaving him?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think you could ever care for me? Not as a patron but as a man?”

Tiny sparks went off in her belly, the kind she’d never felt before. The kind that promised both pleasure and trouble. The kind that said her plan to use Dominic for her own end was quickly turning into something very different. “I have very little experience with this kind of thing, but I believe I have already begun to care for you.” There was no point in lying to him. They could both be dead in less than a month, depending on what Arnaud decided.

His eyes glimmered silver and his face relaxed with confidence. “Then what if I give you an advantage?”

“What kind of advantage?”

“What kind do you want? Strength? Speed? Agility?”

For the first time since they’d begun the discussion, her footing felt firm and even, not like she was struggling to climb an insurmountable cliff. “All of the above.”

Two nights later, she and Dominic were in his recreation hall, a space big enough to hold a variety of sports events normally reserved for outdoor arenas. He lounged in a chair at the edge of the floor while she faced off with a fringe vampire she assumed was one of his staff. Nero was a half meter taller and outweighed her by probably thirty kilos. Essentially, Nero was a beast. Dominic probably employed him as security.

“Ready, Nero?” Dominic’s voice echoed through the cavernous space. “Don’t hurt her.”

Nero grunted. Presumably that meant he understood.

She frowned at Dominic. “Does that mean you have no faith in your work?” He’d injected her with a large dose of a new serum. Something he named Bellona, after the Roman goddess of war.

“I have great faith in my serum. It’s your abilities,
cara mia
, I do not know enough about.”

“Prepare to learn, then.” She’d keep things simple but efficient while trying to hide her true skills enough that he wouldn’t suspect the comarré’s greater purpose.

“I am prepared.” Dominic gave her a wink. “Nero, down.”

The giant fringe went to his knees.

Marissa backed up a few steps, took a running start, and leaped over him. She landed lightly and looked back at Dominic. “That wasn’t a challenge.” She snapped her fingers. “Nero, stand up, please.”

He did as she asked. This time, she crouched and jumped from where she stood. She sailed over him, coming down a little bit harder. She gave Dominic a thumbs-up. “That was half me, half Bellona.”

Dominic just nodded. “What else can you do?”

She walked toward Nero, stopping in front of him. “Keep your body very stiff.”

He grunted.

She grabbed his upper arm and midthigh, barely getting a grip on the thick muscle, then bent and pressed him overhead. He went rigid so fast she knew he’d been shocked at her actions. She wobbled a little but held her ground.

Dominic’s brows lifted. “Strength is not an issue, then.”

She dropped Nero to his feet. He growled softly and looked at her as if seeing her for the first time.

Dominic stood but didn’t approach. “The two of you race to the end and back to this spot on my mark. Ready? Go!”

She took off, covering the distance faster than she’d ever gone. She dug her feet in as she approached the wall, skidded enough to turn, then headed back. She passed Nero on the way and reached the starting point a few seconds later.

Dominic walked toward her but held his hand out to Nero. “Stay.”

The giant lumbered to a stop several meters away.

“This is all very impressive, but you’re not challenging Arnaud to an evening of track and field. I still have no proof you can hold your own against him in a fight to the death.” His countenance darkened. “There is only one way I can agree to this.”

She planted her hands on her hips. “What’s that?”

He lowered his voice. “Kill Nero.”

“What? He’s a member of your staff.”

“He was found by a member of my staff. He’s a local thug, one of the fringe who’s come to Tesoro in hopes of working for a noble. Spent a good deal of time terrorizing the mortals who reside here.” Dominic shrugged. “No one’s going to miss him. He’s only here because he thinks I’m going to hire him permanently.”

“I don’t care who he is. I won’t do it.” Nero might not be the poster boy for vampire reformation, but it wasn’t enough reason for her to end his existence. She was not without rational thinking.

He leaned in. “If you can’t take a fringe down, how do you think you’ll be able to handle Arnaud with his age and abilities?”

“I have a
reason
to kill Arnaud.” That she would have no issue with.

“You have a reason to kill Nero, too. If you don’t, I won’t go through with this.”

She needed Dominic. Going up against Arnaud in libertas would undoubtedly leave her broken even if she did win. Without Dominic’s resources, what would she do? Where would she go, and how would she get there? She’d be banished from the Primoris Domus. Being turned out onto the streets of Corvinestri without the protection of her house would be a death sentence.

Dominic was her best, if not only, hope. She glanced at Nero. In all her training days, she’d never faced an opponent that large. All it really meant was that he’d make a louder noise when he hit the ground.

Dominic gently gripped her arm. “Listen to me. What you feel for Arnaud? The way you loathe him? Channel that toward Nero. There is power in emotion. Harness it, and he cannot beat you. Let it control you and you’ll be lost.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” She looked back at Nero. There was no point in hiding her abilities from Dominic. Not at this stage in the game.

“I won’t let him kill you.” He cupped her cheek. “And if you lose, we will just find another way to deal with Arnaud. Together.”

Together
. That was not a word she’d much used. Alone, yes. She took a second long look at Nero, then lifted her chin and faced Dominic. Compassion shone in his eyes like a promise. “Bring me a weapon.”

Chapter Nine

D
ominic waited until Marissa and Nero had taken ten paces back from the center of the boccie ball court. He hated to destroy the carefully cultivated sod there, but there was every chance he’d be leaving this estate in a few weeks and never looking back. Unblemished grass wouldn’t matter then.

He raised his hand, pride and fear warring in his chest. Marissa had chosen a long sword, a weapon he’d tried to dissuade her from, but she’d held firm. It was a smart choice, even if she didn’t know how to use it. A blade of that length would give her a little protection against Nero’s reach. He, on the other hand, had laughed and refused any kind of weapon, raising his cleaver-sized hands instead.

“There are no rules to this fight. Nero, to win, you must simply incapacitate Marissa. She needn’t be harmed. A cry of mercy on her behalf would be sufficient. A clean win will also earn you a job. You harm her and I’ll kill you myself. Understood?”

“
Si
,” he grunted.

“That doesn’t seem fair,” Marissa argued. She gave Nero a stare that would have been more at home on the face of a weathered soldier. “After all, I intend to kill him.”

Nero growled at her statement. Of course, this was news to him. Dominic wished Marissa hadn’t shared that bit. By doing so, she’d lost any advantage it had given her.

Dominic raised his hand. “
Prego
?”

Nero hunkered down, arms hanging loosely at his sides. “
Prego
,” he snarled.

Marissa’s posture changed very little, other than the subtle turning out of her front foot; then she, too, answered, “Ready.”

Dominic dropped his hand. “Begin.”

He watched it unfold as though time had slowed, but he knew it was only his heightened sight that made it possible to catch each detail of the action.

Marissa leaped, tucking her body into a ball as she went over Nero’s lunging form. She landed on his back, flattening him. He roared, but by the time he’d pushed to all fours, she spun around and planted her feet on his shoulder blades. The sword, already held high, came swishing down. A hard glint of silver preceded a brilliant, wet flash of red.

Followed by a cloud of ash.

Dominic’s mouth fell open.

She strode toward him, tiny whirls of gray spinning out behind her steps. She held the sword hilt out. He took it, still speechless.

She smiled. “How’s your faith in me now?”

“That wasn’t even a fight.”

“Did you want me to draw it out? You said kill him; you didn’t say make a show of it.”

He narrowed his eyes, too amazed to let her sauciness affect him. Much.
Mamma mia
, she was a curious creature. One he was coming to desire more than was prudent. Perhaps that explained the pride he felt in what she’d just done. “How do you know how to do this?”

“Never underestimate a comarré.” She brushed her hands off. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll take a bath before dinner.”

“How much of that was the Bellona and how much of that was you?”

She smiled. “Your eyes are so silver right now I can see myself reflected in them. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

Wicked, improper thoughts about her. “I am trying to understand you.” And what it would be like to wake up next to her, if he was honest.

“
Buona fortuna
.” Laughing softly, she leaned up, kissed his cheek, then walked out of the recreation hall.

Good luck might not be enough. He stared at the smattering of ash that had once been Nero. “What have I created?” He sank down into a chair. Maybe nothing. His serum may have made her faster and stronger, but it hadn’t taught her how to move or wield a sword.

Three things became very clear to him. One was that Marissa was a woman of many secrets. Two was that he was very glad he was not Arnaud. And three was that his desire for her showed no signs of diminishing.

He didn’t see her again until mealtime. When she entered the dining room in a simple flowing gown of white silk, her long blond hair pulled back and woven through with a few thin braids, it was difficult to accept that this was the same woman who’d dispatched Nero so effortlessly. He lost himself in her glow and the sugary perfume that surrounded her. “
Bella
. You look beautiful.”

Her smile was hesitant. “Does that mean my sword skills haven’t changed the way you feel about me?”

He laughed. “No, your skills have definitely changed the way I feel about you. All for the good, I promise. And I will be very careful not to upset you.”

She reached up to touch his face the way she’d done earlier. Her hands were so warm he pressed his cheek farther into her palm as she spoke. “You are the most interesting vampire I’ve ever met. Why are you so different from your brethren? You make me think dangerous thoughts about the future.”

“A future together would be dangerous, would it not?” The joy in her eyes died at his words and her hand slipped from his face, but he caught it and held it to his cheek. “To me, that makes it all the more interesting. I understand why so many of my kind call upon me to end their boredom. Life grows commonplace.” He turned and kissed her palm. “With you, life would never be commonplace.”

“So, you’re still willing to proceed?”

“With all my being.” He stared deeply into her eyes. “I feel like you have rescued me. For many years now, I have been a slave to the responsibilities of the nobility. My need to serve them and please them outweighed my true passion—the quest to discover new things, to expand my abilities, to conquer new difficulties. I no longer feel that way anymore. I feel…free.”

She shook her head, the smile still on her red lips. “Am I your new difficulty?”

He laughed and pulled out a chair for her. “Is that so terrible?”

“I’ve been called worse. And will be again after I ask Arnaud for libertas.”

Dominic rang the crystal bell beside his wineglass. A servant entered and put a rare steak and a steaming baked potato before Marissa. “Is that what you like to eat? I guess it’s what they prepare for Catarina. I must pay more attention.”

She dug into the steak. “The better a comarré eats, the better their blood tastes.” She took a bite and chewed.

“Speaking of comarré, what will become of Catarina if—when—we leave?”

Marissa swallowed and tipped her head. “The easiest thing would be for you to grant her freedom.” She took a sip of water. “Then she can live at the Secundis Domus and do whatever she likes. There she can choose whether to make herself available for another patron.”

“Very good. That is what I’ll do. I can have a message sent to the Secundis Domus tomorrow.”

“Not so fast. We’ll need her with us when we get to Arnaud’s.”

“Why? I’d prefer not to involve her in this.”

“In order for my request for libertas to be binding, it must be witnessed by another vampire—you—and another comarré—her. Otherwise, Arnaud can ignore the claim and we’ll be back where we started.”

“You think Catarina will do this for you?”

“In exchange for her freedom?” Marissa smiled. “I don’t think it will be an issue.” She went back to her food.

“After this is over and we are free to leave—or forced to leave, which might be more likely, as I am sure I will be made anathema—where would you like to go?”

She added butter to her potato. The pale yellow melted into the snowy white flesh as she thought. “Somewhere…fresh. A place where we can start over without prejudice. Maybe somewhere warm. I’m tired of Romanian winters. Do you have any ideas?”

He sat back and tapped his fingers on the table. “I will find somewhere perfect. Somewhere exactly as you wish.”

She ate a little more, both of them in silence until he broke it once again. “Are you afraid?”

Her face went solemn with thought as she swallowed. Then she nodded. “Yes. Everything changes the moment I utter that word. Everything.”

He nodded. “I’m glad you said that. I would be worried if you weren’t.” He twisted his wineglass, causing small ripples in the Brunello. “Few good things in life come easy.”

She set her fork down. “Are
you
afraid?”

“I am a noble vampire with more strength and power than most men ever dream of.” His eyes stayed on the wine. “Even my bones fear what is about to happen.”

“Then why do it? What do you have to gain?” Even as the words left her mouth, fear dulled her eyes.

He looked up and smiled, trying to reassure himself as much as her. “I have lived this life a very long time. It has been good to me. But Arnaud is about to change all that. I will either become his slave or suffer the consequences of refusing him.” He looked deeper into her eyes. “What do I have to gain by helping you? Freedom from Arnaud and a new life. A life with something this one has long been lacking—companionship.” He relaxed as the fear in her eyes faded. “We will go through this together.”

“To a point.”

His smile disappeared. “What do you mean?”

“I will tell Arnaud you had nothing to do with this. That I refused to allow you to touch me or alter my blood in any way despite your efforts. Then, if he kills me, you can go back to your life without incident.”