I leaped over the couch and lunged for him, clawing him cleanly in the chest and snapping my fangs inches from his throat. He blocked me with a forearm and held my head away from him with his hand. I screamed as my fangs met nothing but air, and it was really pissing me off.Tony sent me flying backwards over the couch. He looked down at the claw marks on his chest. "I liked this shirt," his voice sounded incredulous.I picked up and threw the couch against a puke green loveseat. "I hate it!" I leaped at him again, but this time he caught both of my wrists and held me fast. "Kim!" he shouted.The crucifix slipped out during the struggle, and Tony grimaced with a growl and turned away. I kneed him in the balls, and though he doubled over, he still held on to my wrists.Gigi, the wench, sneaked over and ripped the crucifix from my neck.Stupid, stupid move.I twisted out of Tony's grip and leaped for Gigi's throat.Tony snatched and held the back of my neck, squeezing tender ski
I materialized in the lower level of the Council house where we usually held our meetings. It wasn't a formal meeting, so we didn't have the long table out. Everyone present was lounging on the modern furniture talking like old friends.Tony was conspicuously absent.I'm sure he had to change his shirt.Malarias, Alexis' replacement, stood alone by the fireplace with his old, stooped shoulders. He was at least a thousand years old and looked every bit of it. Someone had turned Malarias when he was eighty, and with his long white robe, he would have looked more at home in a monastery than a Vampire Council house. I didn't care for Malarias at all, because when Alexis had been trying to fight for my life, he was the one who resisted saving me.All eyes were on me when I approached."Where is Tony?" Cyrene asked me coolly. No one on the Council liked me. Cyrene thought I was too low class. Keada didn't like how I got on the Council. Frank wanted to have sex with me. Kaniji still bl
Then I knew she wasn't lying. Alexis had used his mind to bring me to climax. For me, though, he had made it most enjoyable."The last time that I tried to help 'myself,' Alexis pulled my tongue out of my mouth," Kaniji continued. "Of course, you know this because you were standing there watching him do it."My husband has been a very bad boy."Where is Alexis?" I asked. I had seen a different side of an evil man. I knew that there was more to him even if Kaniji didn't."He's been exiled," Kaniji said.I tried to hide my surprise. I didn't expect her to tell me anything. "What does that mean?""It means that he has to leave all he knows, his place on the Council, and … you."My breathing grew ragged. "Why is he being punished?"Kaniji smiled. "Now that's the million-dollar question.""A million dollars is nothing to us," I said. "What do you want in return for this information?""You have nothing that I want.""Not even Tony?"Her eyes flashed at me. "You would bargain away
I closed the coffin lid and then sat on it. "Where are we?" I asked."We're about an hour outside of Barcelona," Tyler said. "Karen went ahead to the villa to make sure the arrangements checked out."They all looked worn out, except for Julie, who watched me intently. "You really scared Karen," Tyler said. "She thought you'd rip her throat out when you awoke.""She said two days, I said one, and I'm where I need to be. She has nothing to worry about. Julie, shouldn't you be at home making sure nothing goes wrong while I'm away?""I'm where you need me to be," Julie said. "I think you need me to be here with you now." "Tyler? Why are you here?""Someone has to take care of you two during the day," she replied.I knew why Monica and Karen were here. I moved to the couch across from her. "Epic Cu. What can you tell me about the place?"Epic Cu was sometimes called the birthplace of modern torture. During the Spanish Inquisition, Epic Cu provided torture devices for the Vatican.
"Karen, you are a goddess!""I'm happy you like everything," she said. "This is the first time that I've had a chance to show you what I do well. Tyler is your muscle and Monica your secretary. Kat's been decorating the hell out of your house, and Mara is your attorney. But me? I've not had an opportunity to do anything for you.""Girl, what are you talking about? You are invaluable in the territory meetings. I rely on your advice. And you keep your head straight when it comes to watching out for the other ladies."She blushed through her ebony skin. "I'll leave you alone so that you can get cleaned up.""Karen. Thank you. I'm sorry I strong-armed you. It will never happen again. I don't want to be your Master. I want to be your friend. Will you do me a favor and never call me Master again?"She nodded and smiled. "That's not a hard promise to make. I'll gladly never refer to you as Master again." "Get some rest. I know you haven't slept since last night."When Karen left, I ra
"That's very kind of you." I wasn't shitting him. I would never invite anyone to join in on one of our meetings with its thinly veiled sense of superiority. "But as I said, I'm not quite sure how much free time I'll have.""Perhaps on a future trip to Spain. Now, to the reason for my visit." He seemed to be studying me. "Many visitors that are Neratomay come to this little town for one purpose and one purpose only. Epic Cu."Julie, who had been standing quietly a few feet from me tensed a bit. I knew it on a telepathic level but doubted if Marcelle or Paolo would have been able to tell.I tilted my head at him. "Oh. Do tell? Why would Neratomay want to visit Epic Cu? I thought it was a torture chamber?"Marcelle wasn't fooled, but he was polite enough to play along. "Epic Cu is a lot of different things including a place to take a sabbatical. You are correct. Epic Cu is a place to be tortured as well. But the latter seldom happens. Generally it's used for initiations.""Initiation
I blew out a long breath. Just as I had lowered my shields to Alexis, I closed off my link to Tony. Now was not the time to think about him. And I didn't want him knowing what I was doing. Let him wonder. As cold as that sounded, I didn't want to take a chance of him interfering.Julie, who had been to Spain many times, was driving. She had a nose for our location and used her Vampire senses to find it. We didn't worry about the police pulling us over thinking that a kid was driving. Any cop stupid enough to pull us over would get a hypnotic suggestion to make him think he was something ridiculous like a mime or an orangutan.The paved road turned to rocks then dirt. Before long there were only grass and weeds under our wheels. When we started coming up on trees, Julie pulled over. She stowed the keys in the glove compartment.When I got out of the car, I stretched and looked around. I didn't get a sense of anything. I don't know what Julie was picking up on, but my senses were dead
The stone felt strange under my shoes after running so far in the woods. I considered Marcelle's warning not to come here. I considered the warding spell that kept humans from getting close. No, we weren't wanted here, and because no one had leaped out at us with swords drawn didn't make it any different.Julie walked one step ahead. When she reached the landing that led to the door, she froze. "Kim, don't you feel that?"I shook my head. "No. I don't feel anything."Julie braced herself. "I can't go any closer to the door." I nodded. "Stay here then. I'll be careful." It was a heavy wooden door at least fifteen feet tall! Heavy iron hinges that probably weighed more than me were more utilitarian than ornate. I strolled carefully to the door, reached up, and grasped a large knocker.Zing! A shock of lightning threw me back three feet and I landed on my ass. Julie flashed beside me while I held my hand and stared at the door. "What happened?" Julie asked."Silver," I said.