Night's Cold Kiss (32 page)

“Yes, a lot more, but I need someone I can trust. I’ve seen what you can do and what you’re capable of. Besides, now you’re no longer licensed with the Guild, it seems like such a waste of talent not to put it to use.”

“Oh!” She glanced over her shoulder—her father and Lisbet peered from inside the doorway to the kitchens, but when they saw her looking, they quickly ducked out of sight. “You heard about that did you?”

“You mean the fact that you jumped up in the middle of a Guild hearing and accused the High-Chancellor of covering up Lucian’s activities? Or the fact that you had your license revoked for punching out his bodyguards when you refused to leave.”

“I still can’t believe those bastards got away with it.” She looked up at him. “Has there been any sign of Dante?”

“No—if Lucian didn’t kill him then we’re pretty sure he died in the fire. Neither Christian nor I found him in any of the cells we cleared out. In all the confusion we may have missed some.”

Antoinette wasn’t so sure. She shivered, remembering the face by the ambulance.

“The Guild may think it’s gotten away with it, but why do you think I’m here? The Department can’t openly come out and accuse them, neither can CHaPR, but this way we can watch them by stealth. So what do you say? You interested or not?”

New York—and Christian. She glanced toward her father and Lisbet, who were spying again.

She shrugged. “Let me think it over and I’ll call you in a few days.”

“Don’t think too long—we have our first case and need you in New York before the week is out. I’ll explain more when you get there.” He pulled some papers from inside his jacket. “They’ve already approved your appointment, but
you’ll need to fill in this paperwork.” Then he reached into his pocket. “And here’s your ID.”

“How do you know I’ll take the job?” she asked.

He looked at her for a long time before speaking. “You need the hunt—it’s who you are.”

“Because I’m Aeternus now?”

“No, you were a hunter long before that.”

After he’d gone Papa approached her. “So…what did he want?”

“He offered me a job,” she said.

“Are you going to take it?” Lisbet asked, her face lighting up.

“Why?” Antoinette said, a little hurt “Do you want to get rid of me?”

Lisbet’s face fell. “No, that’s not what I meant.”

Grigore put a comforting hand on Lisbet’s shoulder. “You know that’s not it. You’re not happy here. We’ve both seen you pace the room during the day and the far-off look you get in your eye. You need to hunt, it’s who you are.”

“Funny—Oberon just said that very thing just a moment ago,” Antoinette said. “Have you two been talking?”

He smiled and reached out to cup her chin. “He rang and asked if I thought you’d be interested in a job. I told him he’d have to come here in person and ask you himself.”

She dropped her face to look at her feet. “I wanted to take care of you.”

“I don’t need taking care of.” His mouth thinned and brows creased. “Besides, Katerina and Lisbet already fuss like a pair of old mother hens as it is and I’m getting stronger every day. I’m teaching with Sergei and I thought I would take a trip to visit with your brother and his wife in London—maybe for the birth of my first grandchild.”

Then the weight lifted. She hadn’t realized she’d been carrying the burden until he took it away. They were right—she needed to hunt.

Antoinette hugged him close. “Thanks, Papa.”

Antoinette stood in front of Christian’s house, her stomach churned and her hands shook as she clutched Cerberus’s lead. She lifted her fist to the door and dropped it again.

Will he see me or will he send me away?

She raised her hand again, but before her knuckles made contact with the solid oak the door opened.

“Hello, miss,” Kavindish said in his usual stiff manner.

“Hi.” Antoinette peered over his shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of Christian, her breath gone.

Then he appeared behind the butler, his expression unreadable.

She breathed again. He’s home. “Do you think he’ll let me stay?” she asked Kavindish, but not taking her eyes off him.

Christian closed his eyes and turned away. Her heart fell.

“How is your family?” he asked after what seemed like an eternity.

“Healthy and happy,” she said. “With or without me.”

“And have you found out who you are yet?” She’d forgotten the effect his voice had on her.

“Not yet, I was hoping you could help me with that.”

Christian lifted his eyes to hers—speaking a thousand words with that one look. Then he stepped forward and gathered her in his arms, his lips meeting hers half a breath later.

After a moment Christian broke off and smiled. Antoinette laughed through her tears and glanced at Kavindish. For the first time since she’d known him his stoic expression split into a huge grin.

“I don’t think he’ll let you leave,” the butler said as he picked up her bags. “Welcome home, mistress. We’ve missed you.”

Abomination:
A child who is born to a woman embraced late in her pregnancy. Unlike a child born to Aeternus parents, who will awaken after twenty-five years, an abomination will awaken after its first year, appearing to age only one year for every fifteen that pass. Most do not reach the age of one.

Aeternus:
A race of vampiric people who must ingest human blood to live, although not the living dead of legend. They have created a symbiotic existence with the humans that feed them. Aeternus are either born of Aeternus parents or created when a human is embraced (see
embrace
below). Those born to Aeternus parents live as humans until their twenty-fifth year, when they may or may not awaken to become an Aeternus. Those who do not awaken are known as Latents.

Animalians:
Animalians are intrinsically part man and part animal, differing from Shape-shifters. There are three main genera in the family Animalians: The ursians—man-bears; the felian—man-cats; and the canians—man-canines. Each genus is made up of several subgenera; i.e., the felians include tiger, panther, lion, cougar, etc. There is much infighting between the genera. Humans cannot be turned into an Animalian—they must be born. But it is possible for a
human to mate with an Animalian whereby the child has a fifty-fifty chance of
awakening
to their Animalian heritage. It is the same between the genera—the child of two different genera will not know its genus until it
awakens.

Awaken:
A parahuman coming of age resulting in the activation of parahuman abilities. This occurs at different ages depending on the race.

Blood-sucker:
Term usually used for a dreniac, but can be used as an insult to an Aeternus.

Blood-thrall:
An extreme state of sexual arousal. In humans it’s brought on by a small amount of Aeternus blood entering the bloodstream either by direct entry through a vein or cut, or a few drops into an eye. Latents are more susceptible to its influence. If a human is in the throes of Blood-thrall the Aeternus responsible may also succumb to the effects. Once a certain point in the Aeternus’s arousal is reached, they must see it through to the conclusion.

Dark Sleep:
A long dreamless state that can last up to one hundred years. An Aeternus can slip into a dark sleep if feeding and resting cease for a period of more than a week. Only time and copious amounts of blood can wake the Dark Sleeper.

Death-high:
The state of intoxication a Necrodreniac enters when they have drained a human to the last drop.

Donor:
A human who voluntarily donates blood through a Donor Agency to feed the Aeternus. A blood donation can be collected and bottled, or a live donation can be given with the Aeternus feeding directly from a donor vein. Donors are regarded highly, unlike fang-whores who are indiscriminate and little more than prostitutes.

Dreniac:
See Necrodrenia.

Elder:
The oldest and wisest of the parahumans. The Aeternus Council of Elders makes decisions regarding the Aeternus within the edicts of CHaPR. Positions are honorary, as the council’s authority was superseded with the formation of the CHaPR. The majority of the Council of Elders now serve CHaPR.

Embrace:
To change a human into an Aeternus or Necrodreniac through the eternal-kiss. A dangerous process often resulting in the death of the recipient human, with only one in ten embraced humans achieving successful transition. A human embraced by a Necrodreniac will become a Necrodreniac, complete with an addiction to death-highs. It is rare for a Necrodreniacs to exert the self-control necessary to embrace humans. Humans who’ve survived the eternal-kiss are known as the embraced.

Eternal-kiss:
A mix of Aeternus or Necrodreniac blood and saliva transferred from the mouth of the embracer to the mouth of the embraced. For an Aeternus to administer the eternal-kiss, permission must be given by the recipient, unless it is a life and death situation. Necrodreniac’s usually don’t ask—they just take.

Fang-mistress:
A human kept in luxury by an Aeternus in return for exclusive feeding and often a sexual relationship.

Fang-virgin:
A human who has never allowed an Aeternus to feed from his or her vein.

Fang-whore:
A derogatory term for those who sell themselves indiscriminately to any Aeternus for blood, and usually sex, in exchange for money and/or blood for Spiking.

Glarachni:
An ancient race made up of several clans that crash landed on earth thousands of years earlier. They adapted to their new surrounds by transmuting their DNA and mingling it with elements from their new planet. Each clan transformed into a different parahuman race according to the areas they chose to live in. Aeternus’s closest ancient forbear.

Latent:
One born to parahuman parents who does not awaken in the designated year for their genus, instead continuing to live as a human. Latent blood can be passed through generations.

Mer-people:
A little-known race of parahumans who live beneath the sea. They have been known to mate with humans, however this is rare and the hybrid offspring seldom survive.

Necrodrenia:
A disease that develops when an Aeternus completely drains a human while feeding, resulting in a death-high. Addiction is certain and immediate. Death is the only cure. When an Aeternus is in the grip of Necrodrenia they are known as a Necrodreniac or dreniac.

Orb or Orbing:
A crystal orb used by a witch to capture images from a subject as they tell a story. Commonly used to reenact crime scenes, but because of the subjectivity of the witness or suspect, the evidence is not admissible in court. However, it can supply valuable insight into the crime which may give investigators leads to pursue.

Parahumans:
Alternate humans including the Aeternus, Animalians, Shape-shifters, magic-wielders and Mer-people. All begin life as human and change to parahuman in different ways depending on their genus and race.

Shape-shifter or Shifter:
Shape-shifters, or shifters as they are often referred to, have the ability to bend their form to
mimic other shapes through the use of magic. Once changed they retain their own consciousness; however, they can take on some of the characteristics of their changed form, such as flight when shifting into the form of a bird. Shifters do not become the animal they mimic unlike Animalians who are part human and part animal.

Spiking:
A human practice of mixing a couple of drops of Aeternus blood with a diluted Amphetamine mix then injected intravenously. This increases the effect of the narcotic and
spikes
an extreme sexual high. Highly addictive and illegal, users eventually destroy their body’s ability to produce white blood cells, resulting in death. A human that spikes is known as a spiker.

Thaumaturgist (magic-wielders):
Races that practice thaumaturgy to bend and use life and death energy, e.g., witches, druids, shamans, etc. Each race uses magic in a unique manner and for their own aims; for example, light witches who use life energy for the benefit of the others, and dark witches who use death energy for self-gain and chaos.

Thaumaturgy:
The art of invoking supernatural powers, i.e., magic, which is the created from life or death energy.

Troubles, The:
Europe in the early nineties saw unrest among the Aeternus community, which almost caused a split in CHaPR. Assassinations were rife and Necrodrenia was on the rise through deliberate infection, causing major friction with humans. These events seemed to cease after the death of Dante Rubins—who was much later named as the supposed instigator although there was never any proof. The reasons behind The Troubles were never identified and seemed to die with Dante.

Venator:
A type of bounty hunter who collects bounties for the capture or destruction of parahuman outlaws. Tradition
ally human, but in recent years, parahumans have joined the ranks. Each Venator must be trained, licensed and registered with the Guild before they are permitted to hunt. A Venator gains a license by attending The Guild Academy in their final year of training and passing a set of rigorous exams. Venators may specialize in various fields including Necrodreniac destruction, hunting of dark magic-wielders, or tracking down rogue Animalians.

Government and Organizations

Academy of Parahuman Studies:
A tertiary institution of parahuman studies for both humans and parahumans alike. All potential Venators must spend three years at the Academy learning their craft and preparing for the final exams—a set of grueling mental and physical tests to determine a candidate’s suitability to becoming a licensed Venator and what specialization they will undertake: Necrodreniacs, Rogue Animalians, or Dark Thaumaturgists. Other courses are offered such as parahuman law, corporate thaumaturgy, parahuman forensics to name a few.

Council for Human and Parahuman Relations (CHaPR):
A council similar to the United Nations consisting of parahuman and human ambassadorial representatives. The CHaPR passes the laws that govern human and parahuman coexistence. It is governed by the CHaPR Treaty that was established in 1887 after a bitter and bloody war between the Aeternus and an alliance of Animalians and humans. Since its inception, the majority of the other parahuman races have also signed The Treaty and are bound by the laws.

Department of Parahuman Security (the Department):
The umbrella department responsible for enforcing the laws handed down by CHaPR. The Department consists of many
divisions and branches. The following four divisions are only some of those that make up the Department.

• 1. Parahuman Intelligence Division (Intel):
  The Intelligence Division of the Department. This division gathers information on gangs and rogue parahuman groups, usually through the use of undercover agents.
  
• 2. Personal Security Branch:
  Personal security provides bodyguard detail to officials and VIP.
  
• 3. Necrodreniac Control Branch (NCB):
  Responsible for monitoring and setting Necrodreniac bounties.
  
• 4. Violent Crimes Unit (VCU):
  A team that investigates serious violent crimes usually committed by or against parahumans.
  

Guild:
An organization founded by humans as a part of the CHaPR Treaty and a form of protection against the parahumans. The Guild is responsible for Venator licensing. Once licensed, a portion of all Venators’ bounty earnings go to the Guild.

Petrescu School of Training:
One of the many small institutions that take young humans and train their mind, body, and soul through regular academic studies supplemented with strong martial arts regimes. This school has built a reputation for preparing its students for entrance. This is not a Venator training facility, but for those wishing to take up that line of work, they must compete for a place in the school.