Part 8 (1/2)
”I thought you might be interested in the fact that Rene de la Roque is moving to his London home,” Merrill said, turning the page of his newspaper.
”No way,” I said. ”Please tell me he isn't coming because he found out I-you know.”
”I think he's past that,” Merrill said. ”Rene has issued an invitation to visit with him after he arrives.”
”And what will Gavin say?” I was trying to wiggle out of the whole thing.
”Why don't you call and ask?”
”I don't want to see Rene,” I was whining and I knew it.
”Vampires tend to live a very long time,” Merrill reminded me, lowering his newspaper. ”It is never wise to offend any of them, as enmity can last as long as the vampire can.”
”Now you tell me,” I grumbled. ”So, I'm supposed to go and make nice, even if he scares me?”
”Especially if he frightens you,” Merrill said. ”You should learn not to show any weakness.”
”Yeah. I've seen the lack of expression,” I muttered. Pulling out my cell phone, I dialed Gavin's number. He actually answered.
”First off, I miss you,” I said. I didn't want to start the inquisition. ”Second, Merrill tells me Rene is moving to his London home and expects us to visit. I don't want to see Rene but Merrill says we should go. He says it's about living a long time and not making enemies or something like that.”
”Lissa, you must learn to slow down,” Gavin sounded almost happy. ”Rene will not harm you and he is quite charming as a host. Merrill is correct-you should go.”
”Gavin, you are not helping,” I said.
”Lissa, are we going to waste precious time arguing over this?”
”Gavin, I'd really like to make up my own mind once in a while,” I was back to whining.
”I know, love. We will talk about this some other time. I must go.” He hung up.
”Well, that was useless as phone calls go,” I ended the call and stuffed the phone back in my purse.
”Lissa, be patient with us, please,” Merrill pleaded. ”I know you feel trapped and smothered, most of the time.”
”I miss walking in daylight and not worrying that vampires are going to jump out of every closet and dark alley,” I said, walking toward the stairs.
”Lissa, you are vampire, and generally we do not jump from closets,” Merrill said softly at my back. I just hunched my shoulders and kept walking.
Rene de la Roque's home was not in London proper-it was outside London with stables, a gardener's cottage and various outbuildings. In other words, it was huge. There were even horses in the stables.
”I enjoy riding,” Rene said as the human servant ushered us into a den of sorts. Rene didn't do anything in a small way, I discovered. We were introduced to other guests, one of whom I recognized from my thieving trip to France. Merrill suggested I wear something nice and mentioned the black dress he'd purchased for me in Paris. I wore it with a heavy wrap since it was low-cut, front and back. The servant took the wrap and my small purse and carried them away.
”You are stunning,” Rene appraised my appearance with a smile. I had to smile back and thank him; that was the proper thing to do. He looked very nice himself; I could see a bit of family resemblance to Gavin in his eyes and the shape of his face. I could also tell by scent that they'd been sired by the same vampire. At least Rene' still had his hair; it was a thick, dark blond, whereas Gavin's was a very dark brown. Gavin's hair was still growing out at the moment.
Rene invited us to sit in a beautiful, museum quality receiving room, decorated in Rene's favorite Louis XIV period. This home was furnished much like his chateau in France and none of the furniture was something I'd want to flop down on to read a book. It all smelled old to me and a little horsey. Probably stuffed with horsehair, no doubt, although the chairs, sofas and settees were covered in silks and damasks. Instead of commenting on the scent of his furniture, I complimented Rene on his excellent taste. He flashed me a dazzling smile. Oh, he was handsome, all right, and he knew it, right down to his little pinky toes. His three other guests consisted of a vampire named Aubrey, along with two other vampires named Devlin and Jacques. Aubrey was the vampire I recognized from France-he was the one who'd gone inside the vault with Rene. I was going to do my best to stay away from him as well; Rene trusted Aubrey enough to show him what he'd stolen. Aubrey had been quite impressed with the tiaras.
I didn't know Devlin and Jacques. They both kissed my hand when I was introduced, and I wasn't sure I was comfortable with that. Merrill was as smooth as could be, talking about this or that with all of them while we were served gla.s.ses of wine by the human servants. Rene entertained us with stories about getting caught inside Louis XIV's court. He'd crashed a ball to dance with someone and ended up befriending the French king. Rene was funny, it was true, and doing his best to make sure I enjoyed myself. He had other things on the agenda, however. While I'd already discovered that Rene was fond of adventure and liked to steal the impossible at times, (the contents of his vault in France attested to that) he also liked to gamble and not in the traditional sense. He was a master strategist, carefully crafting a plot-just to take what he wanted or to steal something from someone else. I learned that night just how devious he could be to achieve his goals.
He invited Merrill to his bedroom to view a painting that, in his words, was not fit for delicate sensibilities (mine), but was attributed to one of the masters. I was left with Aubrey, Jacques and Devlin. Merrill had only been gone a short while when the trap was sprung. Aubrey moved from his seat across from mine and came to sit beside me. Quite close, in fact. He set his winegla.s.s on the table in front of the small sofa where I sat and breathed a cool breath against my cheek.
”You will look fine on Rene's arm,” he said. ”And you must accept his offer over Gavin's, you know. Rene and the rest of us here know what you did.”
He'd made me uncomfortable the moment he sat down and the way he leaned over me was frightening. My cell phone had been taken away inside my purse; I had no idea where it was at the moment. I couldn't send a hasty message to Merrill that way so I attempted mindspeech, begging Merrill to come. He didn't hear and Aubrey kept right on pus.h.i.+ng against me, telling me I would regret it if I didn't accept Rene over Gavin and that Wlodek would be happy to make the exchange, one fiance over another. ”Come, now, you stole from Rene and you owe him. He is willing to forgive if you accept his offer.”
”I'm sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about,” I lied, doing my best not to make a face at his closeness. I did try to scoot away from him, but there wasn't much room between me and the delicately carved arm of the sofa.
”Yes you do. You took the tiaras; Rene knows of this. If you know what is good for you, you will do as I say.” He was smiling at me but I'm sure my face must have registered my shock. My body began its inevitable s.h.i.+vering. Aubrey's fangs slipped out. ”Perhaps I will taste you, just to make sure Rene is getting the best for his efforts.”
That had me off the sofa in a flash and racing toward the door. Devlin and Jacques were prepared for such an attempt; both of them had their hands on me before I reached the exit. I fought with both of them, earning a slash across my cheek before pulling out my own claws. They turned me loose amid a little howling and I flew down the hallway, heading for the front door and freedom. Another two vampires had the front entrance blocked so I veered away from their grasp, running to the left. I wasn't familiar at all with Rene's home-I'd only seen the entrance and the hall leading to the sitting room. Blindly I ran through it now until I came to a formal dining room where a very long, heavily carved table took up a great deal of s.p.a.ce. Ornate chairs were lined up along both sides of the dark wood behemoth. Situated in front of the table was a window, constructed of floor to ceiling gla.s.s panes. With five vampires almost on my heels, I did the only thing I knew to do, running headlong through the window and shattering it in my flight, tearing my skin with shards of gla.s.s as I leapt onto the lawn in front of Rene's home.
The ones following me were now shouting and still running after me, which frightened me more. I was gasping and sobbing as I ran, trying to concentrate on becoming mist while I raced over Rene's manicured lawns. I had no idea if misting would work; I was moving as swiftly as I could, frightened out of my wits as I ran. I don't know how far I ran or how fast I changed, but I did change. What I didn't count on, once I'd gone to mist and lifted off the ground, was the fact that it was my intention to escape. Merrill's compulsion kicked in while I was mist and my misty particles were suddenly on fire. Not merely the burning from flames but as if I'd been dipped in acid. I had no mouth to scream but I was screaming mentally as I plummeted to earth. I'd been flying high overhead to escape my pursuers before the agony overcame me. Still in the form of mist, I lay next to the ground, convulsing somehow; even I was aware of that. Somewhere, in some small part of my brain that seemed detached from the pain and horror, I knew that I was suffering. Blackness came after only a few minutes.
Chapter 6.
”I will kill you, Rene, if we do not find her.” Wlodek had come, along with Radomir and Ian, another of the Council's Enforcers, as soon as Merrill reported Lissa missing.
”It was meant to be a harmless prank,” Rene growled, glaring at Aubrey. Wlodek stood inside Rene's entry while several others were outside, searching the grounds. ”We had no idea she would try to run.”
”Through a gla.s.s window, Rene? How badly did you frighten her?” Wlodek didn't expect an answer and received none.
”She is here,” Griffin knelt down by the small patch of dead flowers at the edge of Rene's property. Lissa had gone as far as she could go before Merrill's compulsion activated, and she'd even traveled a bit beyond that. Merrill knelt down next to his friend. As mist, Lissa was still invisible to Merrill, but not to Griffin's powerfully sharp sight.
”Can you bring her out of this?” Merrill pleaded. Griffin had very strict rules to follow, the strictest of which was that of non-interference.
”I will bring her out, but you will have to take care of the situation past that point,” Griffin said, holding his hand over Lissa's mist. A bit of light formed and Lissa's body slowly became solid.
”She's cut to ribbons,” Merrill sighed, lifting her up. ”Thank you,” he nodded at Griffin, who disappeared.
”Mon Dieu,” Rene swore when Merrill carried Lissa's unconscious body inside the house. Merrill was so angry he could have taken on every vampire inside the manor.
”As your punishment, Rene,” Wlodek was looking at Lissa's body, which was b.l.o.o.d.y, sliced in many places from breaking through the window, ”You are going to call your cousin immediately and explain what you did.”
”No, Honored One, I beg you,” Rene said, his voice barely a whisper. ”He will kill me.”
”I can't say that I'd stop him,” Wlodek grumbled. ”Very well, let us table this for a bit. Merrill, what must we do to take care of her?” He nodded toward Lissa.
”We should clean the wounds and a.s.sess the damage,” Merrill said. ”The rejuvenating sleep may take care of most of this, but if she wakes before dawn, she will be in terrible pain.”
”I never meant for this to happen,” Rene walked over to Merrill, reaching out a hand to touch Lissa's forehead. ”I only meant to frighten her a little.”
”Lissa is terrified of you,” Merrill's fangs were slipping out, which happened only when he was as angry as he could possibly get. ”I was hoping that by bringing her here, she would find her fears unfounded. And what do you do? She will never want to come within sight of you again.”