Kiss of the Dragon (35 page)

There was nothing none of us could say, that would make a blind bit of difference. No argument we could offer up to change his mind. And although I could contact Arthur and have him and his team try to liberate the Keeper, even Nosferatins are no match against the full might of London’s ghouls.

We waited with bated breath. Then Sebastian turned to look at me. For a moment I had no idea why. He and I had sparred in the past, he'd been forced to come to my aid, but we'd never really hit it off. I'd tolerated his presence reluctantly, he'd done about as much to mine.

Then he surprised me by saying, "What would Marie want me to do?"

Huh. The big, powerful, cocky leader of the dragons wanted my opinion on his Nosferatin love-interest's reaction to this monumental, yet casual, alliance.

"Well," I said shrugging my shoulders a little, "knowing Marie, she'd want all the powerful players on her side." Scaredy cat that she is.

Sebastian smiled slowly, not hearing my last thought, but probably seeing it in my eyes. "You're right, lass. She'd want every friend she could have." And with that, he turned back to Michel and shook his hand.

Not a blood bound alliance, but one made between decent men.

"I have half a dozen within London city's limits. I'll have them dispatched to the ghouls forthwith."

Michel nodded and smiled back at him. "I thank you for your assistance and hope someday I can return the favour."

Sebastian stood then and flicked a glance back at me. "Your kindred has done enough to pay us tenfold." Me? How? When? "Honour her Light and we'll always be friends, Champion."

Oh. Now I get it. It is because of me that the
Iunctio
is changing, becoming Lighter, more accepting of other supernaturals than they have ever been. If I was a prideful person, I would have smiled broadly. As it was I felt better than I had in days and 'leaked' a little Light. Michel's eyes met mine and I read in them the pride I pretended not to feel.

The dragons left after that, but we weren't done yet. The Nemesis was still fuming, under Gregor's tender care. And the Diviner and Imposter looked like they were ready to pass out. The Imposter kept eyeing up the Nosferatins' necks on the side of the road, then when he realised what he was doing he'd jump a little and hunch back down in on himself.

I knew what needed to be done, but there was no way in hell I was strong enough to do it. They needed to be washed in my
Lux Lucis Tribuo
powers. I needed to take their Dark and hold it dear, while I washed them in my Light. Until then, we'd never be able to trust them. The desire to do right was there, but the Dark would make it damn near impossible for them to achieve it.

They were Councillors too, and I wasn't sure if me washing them in Light would be acceptable. I was a Councillor now, and therefore expected to act a certain way. One rule that stood out above all others, was we were not allowed to strike out at another Councillor or risk the Champion's wrath. Which brings us back to the present; Michel standing over the three Councillors who had joined Avery's side, and had come against the Champion of the
Iunctio
.

I knew what he had to do. I knew as the Champion, as a vampire - a predator at the top of the food chain - he had to act decisively and... brutally. But oh, how I did not want that for him. Michel
was Lighter than he had ever been and he wanted the
Iunctio
to be all Light too. This was his chance to start something new, how could he start it with such a Dark act, even if the act was expected of him and within the current rules?

These three Councillors had broken the
Iunctio
Council's charter, had gone against the leader of the
Iunctio
and killed many innocents in the process. Justice would say they deserved it. But justice didn't have to pick up the pieces afterwards.

Somehow I found myself at Michel's side, unsure how I got there. He glanced down at me, raised his eyebrows in question, clearly unable to read in my thoughts why I was there, when he was about to pass judgement so harshly. Hell, even I didn't know why I was there. I was exhausted, and nauseous, and dizzy as a spinning top. But here I was reaching out a hand towards the Diviner - a vampire I did not particularly like. And the Imposter - a vampire who worked in underhand ways. And the Nemesis - a vampire I truly despised, for good reason.

My Light left me, before I could think better of it, and I think before I realised I wasn't entirely in the driver's seat here. And slammed into all three. I wasn't touching them, but I had absolutely accepted them under my line, despite the fact they would not join it, but instead have their Dark balanced with my Light. I couldn't feel their Dark going into me, but I have been told it does and to those who know what to look for, they can see it streaming towards me. I can't feel it once it gets there, but somehow, as the
Lux Lucis Tribuo
I hold it dear. All the while giving them a chance to choose good over evil, right over wrong.

As soon as it was done I collapsed into Michel's arms. His alarm and distress at my weakened state causing his vampire-within to forge to the front. Magenta washed the street, as the sun threatened to breach the horizon and I slowly lost my grip on the here and now.

As the black spots became one continuous black wall before me, I heard Michel's roar of anger, mixed with a roar of despair. And I watched, in the failing light around me, as two of the three vampires I had just caressed with Light chose good. And one chose evil.

The choice is theirs, I just give it to them. And the Nemesis chose wrong.

I willed myself to react, but my limbs were leaden. I shouted at Michel in my head to defend us, but my mind was shutting down and no thoughts could breach the small gap that now yawned between us. I prepared for the Nemesis' strike, but it never came.

Maybe unconsciousness did first, but I could have sworn I saw Amisi and Yves jump before us. Flashes of their silver stakes catching the pre-dawn light.

I woke to filtering light through UV shutters, casting the room I was in, with a soft and hazy glow. I flicked my eyes around and recognised the location immediately. Michel's and my bedroom at the
Château
.
My eyelids closed in an attempt to block out the pain. Kathleen, Matthew and Christopher had been killed here.

It didn't work. Even with my eyes shut my chest ached.

Somehow Michel had got us back here from Paris. And as it was almost dawn when I passed out, we wouldn't have been able to travel this far. And it was daylight again now, which meant I had been out for over a full day and night. It also meant that the
Château
had either been secured, or Avery Rousseau was in charge and I was now in his care.

I heard voices from the attached sitting room putting my mind at ease. Michel never entertained people in our bedroom, that was our space. But on occasion he would need to be near me, when I was asleep, so he'd conduct business in the adjoining sitting room, if one was available. The door between these rooms was open slightly now. Even though he could read my thoughts and no doubt hear my increased heart rate upon waking, he still needed that open doorway between us.

It symbolised something, and made a small smile spread across my face, despite my heart feeing so very heavy. I sighed, trying to decide if I should just get up and go in there, but the thought of moving from our warm and snug bed didn't appeal. Besides, I knew the moment I moved I'd feel sick. I could sense the nausea in the background already, and I'd only turned my head so far.

So, I lay there and listened to the conversation on the other side of the half open door. Michel would have known I was awake, and most vampires, if paying attention to their surrounding and not the imposing figure of the Champion before them, would have sensed it too. But the conversation hadn't faltered in the slightest.

"The risk is great, Nero," Michel said. "The choice must be yours and yours alone."

The fact that it was Nero Michel was talking to, let me know that the
Iunctio
had probably been shifted to the
Château
. Nero could have simply returned to London after the battle, but to be here, meant scheming and battle preparations were in full swing. Avery had obviously gotten away. A small part of me, upon waking here, had hoped he'd been dealt with already. But nothing in my life was ever that straight forward.

"I understand the jeopardy, Michel. But I have reasons of my own to take the risk," Nero replied steadily.

"So be it," Michel said, the clink of ice in a glass letting me know one of them was drinking. At this early hour of the day you'd think it strange. But vampires live nocturnal lives, and the day may have only just begun outside, whereas it could be nearing its completion indoors.

"Will you take your kindred?" Michel asked.

"No, I ask for hospitality for Sophie, Champion. She is highly skilled, but still at great risk. Her twenty-fifth birthday is not for two months." Meaning Sophie had not yet come into her full Nosferatin joining powers, and wouldn't until the hour of her birth, on her twenty-fifth birthday. She'd already gained one talent, in the form of her Shadow/Light Walking, but without improved strength and speed, among other things, she could be easily harmed. I sympathised with Nero's reasoning, having had the exact same conversation with Michel in the past regarding me.

"Of course. She is welcome to stay here," Michel said. "But I am unsure if
Le Château
will be safe for long. If this works, Rousseau will bring down upon us
all
his wrath. And Sophie may well be stuck in the middle of it."

I heard a tortured sigh, which had to have been Nero's. "I have tried reasoning with her, but her allegiance to Lucinda is too great."

"I can understand the sentiment," Michel said on a chuckle. "Both the desire to be close to Lucinda and the defiance all Nosferatin seem to show their kindred."

Nero laughed then too. "Sophie isn't half as wilful as Lucinda," he said, making me frown and glare at the slightly open door. "But she is trying to model herself on the Prophesied, so there is hope." Nero didn't sound too hopeful.

"A word of advice, Nero," Michel said and I almost made myself get up and approach the door to hear better - and maybe give them an earful with my hands fisted on my hips while I did it. "Encourage her will. For nothing is more rewarding than a heated exchange with your kindred. The end result definitely outweighs any discomfort in getter there." I rolled my eyes at the ceiling.

"You weren't always as accepting of Lucinda's will," Nero said softly, pointing out a fact I was definitely considering right then.

"Ah, you are wrong, my friend. She has been the one in
complete
control since the moment she was born."

"You sensed her? When she was born?" Nero asked, a note of awe in his tone.

"I waited for her birth, knowing my life would truly not start until she arrived. When I first sensed her, I was brought to my knees. When I first laid eyes on her, I was prepared to lay down my life for one more look. When she came to my city, my heart beat for the very first time in centuries."

Slow tears tracked down my cheeks.
That's the nicest thing anyone has every said about me
, I whispered in Michel’s head.

Then why do you cry, ma belle?

I sucked in a hitched breath, but the tears didn't stop.

Because I love you so much
, I finally answered.

I could feel him shaking his head in bemusement, through the Bond.

"This bewilders you?" Nero asked, letting me know that Michel was actually shaking his head in reality, not just in his mind.

"
She
confounds me daily, but I would have it no other way."

"We are lucky men, Michel," Nero said after a lengthy pause.

"May the good fortune continue," Michel answered and I heard the clink of glass on glass as they toasted their successful joinings.

It was such a little thing, but it meant so much. My good friend and former trainer, someone I loved as a brother, respected with my whole heart, sharing a quiet moment with my kindred. If we weren't at war, I would have believed life was perfect. Nero had been lost to me, and now he was back. But not only that, he and Michel had found neutral ground on which to meet. They had never been friends, more like allies they did not completely trust. But from this small conversation I could see a friendship building. Hell, if Michel and Gregor could become such fast friends again after Gregor's and my dalliance, then Nero and Michel could too.

The shutters may have been down, blocking out the UV rays, but the sun shone brightly on my bed right then. My heart lighter than it had been in days. Nero had a kindred. Amisi and Gregor were ready to be joined.

And I was in love with the most amazing man I had ever met, who happened to be my kindred - my sacred match - too.

"The most amazing man you have ever met,
ma douce?
" Michel said from his vantage point by the opened doorway to the sitting room. He was leaning against the frame, legs crossed at his ankles and arms over his chest, casually watching me in bed. I hadn't even heard Nero leaving, too hung up in romantic thoughts.

"And he knows it," I replied with a smile.

He chuckled and pushed off from the door frame, gliding across the bedroom in that preternatural movement vampires can have.

"I would say,
you
are the most amazing woman I
have ever met," Michel said softly, lowering himself onto the edge of the bed beside me, his hip to my hip. "You do realise," he whispered, his hand reaching up to brush my hair from my face. He began twining a strand around one of his fingers. "That you are my most magnificent obsession."

Magnificent obsession
. I think I liked that. I certainly understood it. He was mine too.

"We are lost to each other, are we not?" Michel asked, his eyes roaming over my face.

"Personally," I said, licking my lips, "I hope I'm never found."

"Ditto," he murmured, his concentration fixed on my hair right then, or was it the side of my neck. I tilted my head slightly, in a casual move to lengthen the line of my neck, exposing my vein. And watched, mesmerized, as his fangs lengthened and his lips parted on a sigh.

Oh yeah. My neck.

Michel shook his head again, a smile widening across his handsome face.

"From the moment I first laid eyes on you, you have been a temptress."

"When did you first lay eyes on me?" I asked. Michel paled slightly, a look of chagrin crossing his features. "Michel?"

"You will think me an unconscionable letch. But it is not how it sounds."

"Tell me," I insisted, a small smile threatening to break free on my face. He looked so embarrassed, so I had an inkling of where this was going and couldn't help but laugh at his uncomfortable state.

"You were less than one," he finally admitted.

"One what?" I asked, not getting it.

"One year old,
ma douce,
" Michel confirmed.

Oh. Not quite where I had pictured this going. I'd kind of assumed he'd sought me out on the farm, seen me when I was a teenager or something. From his conversation with Nero, I gathered he'd been aware of me before I had been born. Maybe the Foreteller had shown him images of me from the future. But one year old? No, I hadn't expected that.

And then I started to place where I would have been at that age, and as it began to become clearer in my mind, I watched pain lance across Michel's face.

"I would have saved them too, if I could have," he said, his voice cracking slightly. "But the sun approached, and the car was rolling at such a speed, and your attackers were close behind. It was all I could do to get you free of the vehicle unharmed, whilst flashing alongside."

I breathed deeply for several moments, aware Michel was as tight as a coil at my side. He'd been the reason why I had escaped the car accident that took my biological parents' lives. Michel had come for me, when my father's brothers forced the car off the road in Arthur's Pass.

"How did you know to be there?" I asked eventually.

"The pull to you was undeniable. I used Ley Lines and watched it all unfold. I had no idea why I was there, until it all happened. I would have died trying to save you. I almost did. But nothing could have stopped me from attempting the rescue.
You were already mine
."

A while ago, hearing this may have fazed me. As it was, I felt a little numb because of how close it came to my parents having been saved. But, with everything I have seen and experienced, since finding out who I am, I know one thing for sure. Our destinies are mapped out for us, before we're even born. We take varying paths to get to them, we have choices of our own to make along the way. But Michel was destined to save me that day, as were my parents destined to die.

It still hurt. Hell, it added to the ache already festering in my heart from Kathleen, Matthew and Christopher’s recent deaths. But I understood fate now. And I
was
Michel's back then. As he was already mine.

"I don't remember it," I said on a breath of exhaled air.

"No," Michel agreed, his own breathing settling having realised I wasn't going to flip out. "But you looked at me, just before I passed out," - Oh goddess did hearing that make my heart leap - "as though you knew me. As though you
knew
you were mine too."

I smiled then, and started giggling.

"What is so funny?" Michel demanded, but a smile was twitching at the edges of his mouth too.

"I guess that's not the reaction you saw the day you appeared in my bank that first time?" Michel had suddenly appeared in my branch of the Bank of New Zealand, the first week I had
started my new job. I knew then I was different, even if I didn't know why, and I also knew he was going to be a big feature in my life. It took him two years to convince me after that fateful day. Two years of constantly chipping away at my shell.

Michel did laugh then. "No. You most definitely did not greet me with open arms. But I must say, you have been the most rewarding hunt of my very long life."

"Oh!" I said, attempting to sit up in the bed and glare at him, but was gently pushed down by a well placed hand on my chest instead. "I was your prey, was I?"

"Lucinda," Michel chided. "You were my prize, my treasure. You are the sum of all my wealth."

"And now that you have me?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and trying to appear put-out. Not easy when you're supine in bed.

"I intend to enjoy you for eternity,
ma belle
." He raised his eyebrows at me in question, daring me to say otherwise.

"Well," I said, picking at a non-existent loose thread on the coverlet, "don't think I won't make you work for it, or anything."

He threw his head back and laughed. A full body, deep from the stomach, laugh. Finally, after I had scowled at him for a good few moments, he got himself under control and leaned forward to kiss me lightly on the lips. He pulled back just enough to rest his forehead against mine.