FIFTEEN

YOU’RE AWAKE.”

My eyes blinked open to see Cannelle bending over me. She straightened and pointed to a nearby tray.

“Here. Food and an iron pill. You’ll need both. You only have a few hours until sundown.”

“What?”

That sat me all the way up. A cattle prod would’ve had the same effect. Even as her words registered, dizziness swept over me. Cannelle watched with no sympathy.

“He drank a lot from you,” she said, before muttering something under her breath in French.

Even though I still wasn’t proficient, I caught the words for “skinny” and “goat.”

“What’s up, Cannelle?” I asked, not in a good mood at all. “Don’t you know it’s rude to insult someone in a different language so they can’t answer back?”

She put the tray onto the bed, making the tea slosh with her lack of care. “I said I don’t know why he’d take so much nourishment from a scrawny little goat,” she summarized bluntly. “Now, I suggest you eat. Gregor won’t be pleased if you’re unable to do more than bleed underneath him.”

I blanched at this graphic analogy, seized with apprehension and clueless how to extricate myself. Gregor wasn’t the type to take an “I’ve changed my mind” lightly.

And so that left me with the other alternative: going through with it. Maybe it was the better option, my anxiety aside. Gregor wouldn’t get mad, I wouldn’t be sent away, and according to him, I’d have no pregnancy or disease worries. Yes, I would have preferred to wait longer, much longer, before taking such a step, but apparently, my time was up.

“Cannelle.” I lowered my voice, gesturing for her to come nearer. She did, her expression quizzical. “I was wondering if you could tell me, ah, what to expect.”

I had no one else to ask. What was I going to do, call my mother and ask that? Hardly. I’d never had girlfriends, and the things I’d overheard at school wouldn’t help now. Sure, I knew what went where. But details on sex with a vampire? Nope.

“What to expect?” she repeated. I gestured for her to keep her voice down, but she ignored that. “Expect to be fucked, you simple little twit!”

Even in my extreme embarrassment, I had a flash of insight. “Gregor told me you’ve been with him for sixty years. Says he gives you his blood to keep you young, but you’re hanging on for the big promotion, aren’t you? You want to be a vampire, and you hate me because you know if I asked him, he’d change me into one. And he hasn’t offered the same to you.”

Her sky blue eyes narrowed. She bent down with an ugly little smile on her lips.

“You know what you can expect, your first time?” Now her voice was soft. Almost inaudible. “A lot of pain. Bon appétit .”

She left. I stared at the tray of food without the slightest twinge of hunger before pushing it away.

The knock came two hours later. It wasn’t at my bedroom door, where I’d been watching the clock like an inmate awaiting sentencing. It was at the front door of the house.

Gregor opened it while I peeked downstairs. We didn’t get any visitors. The fact that no fewer than six people entered made me come all the way down the hall. They were talking in French at a speed that made it unintelligible for me.

“Merde !” Gregor swore, and then a string of other words followed that might also have been curses. “Tonight? If he thinks to steal her, he’s greatly underestimated me. Catherine. Come down at once!”

I did, wondering how much trouble I was in for eavesdropping. To my relief, Gregor didn’t seem to care that I’d been listening. He opened the closet and handed me a coat.

“Put this on. We’re leaving.”

“Now?” I asked. A part of me was singing at my unexpected respite. “What’s wrong?”

“I’ll tell you on the way,” he answered, taking my arm and almost yanking me out the door. “We don’t have time to delay.”

Two more vampires were waiting with the back open to a black Mercedes. We climbed inside and instantly sped off. The velocity threw me backward. I didn’t even have time to buckle my seat belt. Okay, so we were in a big hurry.

“What’s wrong?” I asked again.

Gregor stared at me for a long moment. That freaked me out. It looked like he was making up his mind about something.

“Catherine,” he said, “you have been discovered. Even as we speak, Bones’s allies are searching the city for you. If they find you, they will turn you into the monster I described.”

I was stricken. “Oh, please, don’t let them! I don’t want to be a killer. I don’t want to–to become some kind of whore.”

For a split second, I’d have almost sworn he looked triumphant. But then his forehead creased, and he shook his head.

“There is only one way to prevent this, ma chérie. You must bind yourself to me. It is the only thing that can’t be undone.”

“Sure, bind me.” Whatever that meant. “Bind the hell out of me, just don’t turn me over to those monsters!”

“Lucius, to the Ritz,” he barked. The car did a swerve that had my life flashing before my eyes, then it straightened. “Tell the others to assemble there as well. I’m not binding myself in the backseat of a stinking car.”

Then he turned to me. “Catherine, if you do this, you’ll be protected for all of your days. If you don’t, then I can’t save you or your family. So when the time comes, don’t hesitate.”

That sounded ominous. It occurred to me to have him specify what “binding” meant. “Er, what do I have to do?”

He took my hand, drawing his finger down my palm. “You cut yourself here,” he outlined simply, “then clasp my hand and declare yourself mine. I cut my hand and do the same.”

“That’s it?” I was afraid it might have entailed turning me into a vampire. “Jeez, give me a knife, let’s do it!”

He smiled and kept my hand in his. “There must be witnesses, and Lucius isn’t enough. Furthermore, this isn’t the proper place for our first union, and I’m not waiting to claim you once you’re mine.”

There was no translation needed for that statement. Well, considering the alternative, I’d pay this price.

“So this is like a vampire…engagement, if we’re saying we belong to each other?” I couldn’t look at him as I asked. Everything was moving so fast.

Gregor paused, seeming to choose his words. “There’s no such state among vampires. If you must have a human analogy, ‘twould be considered a marriage.”

Marriage? I had enough sense not to blurt, But I’m not old enough! We were talking about undead rules, not human ones.

“So it’s not like we sign papers or I change my name, right?” With a nervous laugh. “It’s just a vampire thing?”

Lucius glanced back at us. Gregor snapped something, and he averted his attention back to the road. Then Gregor smiled.

“Exactly. In your religion or customs, it has no meaning.”

“Oh.” Now I was just worried about getting away from the fiend chasing us and losing my virginity. “Okay, then.”

Two of Gregor’s people checked us in to the opulent hotel. Gregor was with six of the vampires who’d come in with us, and I was sent to browse the dress store nearby. Gregor was talking very low, and they stood close together. With all the background noise, I couldn’t hear a word.

I fingered the dress in front of me. It was peacock blue and silky, with etched beading down the side of it. Next to me, a young blonde was also looking at dresses, only she was much more enthusiastic. She knocked a few off their perch as she held one and another up before discarding the selected pieces.

“Whenever you’re in a hurry, you can’t find a thing to wear,” she remarked in English.

I glanced around. “Are you talking to me?”

She laughed. “Of course. I don’t speak French, and I heard that guy you were with tell you to stay put in English. I’m American, too. Been in France long?”

She seemed harmless, but I knew Gregor wouldn’t want me chatting with a stranger. I was supposed to keep a low profile.

“Not long,” I answered, pretending to examine a dress across the other aisle.

She followed me. “Hey, is this orange hideous with my complexion?”

I studied the dress. “Yes,” I said truthfully.

“That’s what I thought!” She swung an accusing glance at the sales assistant. “The French hate Americans. She’d tell me to wear a garbage bag and charge me a grand for it.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Gregor walking toward me. He didn’t look happy. “, I gotta go. My fiancé’s coming. We’re ah, late for our rehearsal dinner.”

She gaped. “You’re getting married? You look so young!”

I started moving toward him, sputtering, “Oil of Olay. It’s like the fountain of youth.”

“Come along, Catherine,” Gregor directed me with an impatient wave of his hand, giving the girl an annoyed scowl.

I hurried after him, hearing her mutter, “Friggin’ rude French,” as we headed to the elevators with our guard.

Our room was on the top floor. As soon as we entered it, the guards drew all the drapes, cutting off the amazing view of the Paris skyline. Through the open door across from us, I saw the bedroom and shivered. End of the line, my mind mocked me.

“Give me the knife,” Gregor ordered, not wasting any time.

A small silver blade, etched with some sort of design along the handle, was passed to him. Gregor sliced into his palm without hesitation and held up his hand.

“By my blood, she is my wife. Catherine.” He gave me the blade. “Do as I did. Repeat my words.”

For a second, I hesitated. Seven sets of eyes were trained on me. Gregor’s mouth tightened ominously. I gave myself a mental shake and cut the inside of my palm, before he exploded.

“By my blood, I am his wife,” I parroted, relieved and frightened when Gregor’s face relaxed. He clasped my hand, and the tingle when his blood met my wound startled me.

The six men let out a loud cheer. They hugged Gregor and kissed his cheeks before repeating the same gesture with me. He was smiling also, his hand still wrapped around mine, the beginnings of emerald pinpointing in his eyes.

“Enough, mes amis, ” he cut them off. “Etienne, Marcel, Lucius, spread the news of our binding. François and Tomas, watch the lobby for activity. Bernard, you stay on this floor.”

With that, they left. Gregor turned to me. I started to back away.

“M‑my hand,” I stammered. “I should bandage it–”

“No need,” he interrupted. “Tis healed, Catherine, and you are not stalling me.”

The hungry way he spoke froze me. So did him kicking off his shoes and removing his shirt. Gregor never stopped coming toward me, even as he stepped out of his pants, and they dropped to the floor, leaving him naked.

Gregor was big and muscled all the way down to his feet. He was also completely erect, and the sight of that would have staggered me if he hadn’t grabbed me. He picked me up, striding into the bedroom and trapping me under his body on the bed.

I tried to wiggle back, but he stopped me. “Don’t squirm so, chérie ,” he chided, unfastening the buttons on my dress. “You know you are mine now, why are you resisting?”

“Couldn’t we, ah, wait a little bit?”

“Wait?” he repeated, like he’d never heard the word before. “You think to deny me my wedding night?”

He looked like he’d get mad any second. “I’m really nervous,” I admitted.

His hand stroked down my side while one thigh rested over my legs. His body seemed to dwarf mine. God, he was so big.

“It’s natural to be nervous your first time, ma femme. Just relax.”

With his strength, it was not like I had a choice. I nodded, closed my eyes, and tried to make myself relax. Gregor kissed me again, undoing more buttons on my dress. Soon I felt him tugging it down until it was off completely.

“Beautiful,” he whispered, tracing a hand up my stomach to cup my breast. I trembled, never feeling more vulnerable.

Gregor suddenly snarled a curse and leapt to his feet. I blinked before rolling away with a yelp. Coming through the open bedroom door were two men. One had power radiating off him so profusely, it seemed like it was choking me.

“You foolish child,” said the tall, foreign‑looking one.

For a moment, I thought he was speaking to me. But he stared at Gregor like I wasn’t even in the room.

“Mencheres.” Gregor’s voice was defiant. “You’re too late.”

The vampire shook his head even as I scrambled to cover myself. “Gregor, you’ve interfered where you shouldn’t.”

“You do it all the time,” Gregor barked.

“I use my visions to stop death, not to try and gain more power. You knew this was wrong, else you wouldn’t have taken such pains to conceal it.”

“You want her for the same reason I do, but she’s mine now. I’ve bound myself to her.” Gregor snatched me from my huddled position and shoved me forward. “Look at the blood staining her hand. Her throat also bears my mark.”

The other vampire went into the bathroom and came out holding a robe. He handed it to me with his first words since entering the bedroom.

“Here, put this on.”

Still in my bra and underwear, I was glad to have something to cover me, but Gregor flung the robe to the other side of the room. “She’ll stay as she is to face the man who would sacrifice her to his murdering, whoring whelp!”

I’d guessed they were associates of the vampire hunting me, but having it confirmed made me feel worse.

“Don’t do it,” I said fervently. “I want to be with Gregor. Why can’t you just leave us alone!”

I clutched Gregor’s arm, staring at the two stony faces in front of us. Gregor gave them a triumphant look.

“From her own lips, she denounces your intentions. She’s my wife now, and there isn’t a thing you can do to change–”

I was thrown backward from the blast of power, landing on the bed. For a stunned minute, I thought it had been aimed at me. Then the sight of Gregor locked in some invisible struggle revealed who it was directed at. His arms moved with unnatural heaviness, like a slow‑motion movie. Finally, he was frozen.

“What have you done to him?” I whispered in horror.

Mencheres had one hand out to Gregor. I couldn’t see the tunnel of energy unleashing from it, but I could feel it. It was like raw lightning. Gregor could barely even talk.

“You will be punished for your interference,” Mencheres said. “She will be returned to her home. You’ve failed, Gregor. She was never meant to be yours.”

“That’s a load of, of bullshit,” I swore. “I’m not going to be turned into some homicidal slut, and if I ever meet that murderer, Bones, I’ll kill him–or myself. I’d rather be dead than be a toy to some bloodsucking psychotic!”

With sudden inspiration, I sprinted into the other room. Both men watched me almost curiously. That changed when I grabbed the small silver knife Gregor had used earlier and held it to my throat.

“If one of you moves, I’ll open my jugular,” I vowed.

They exchanged a glance between the two of them. I dug the knife ominously into my neck. I wasn’t bluffing. He’ll kill your family, so you will have no one but him to protect you, Gregor had said about this Bones. Not if I could help it.

And then my arm felt like it was blasted with liquid nitrogen. So did my legs and other arm. The only things I could still control were my neck, head, and torso. That left me pretty much a stump. I could breathe. I could talk. Nothing else.

Mencheres walked toward me, and I spat at him, unable to do more in defense. He took the knife from my paralyzed grip.

“You see?” he said to Gregor. “You can take her from her home, poison her head with lies, convince her you are her savior, try to control her completely…and yet she is still the same inside. What did she do when threatened? She got a knife. It’s my proof, Gregor. Yours is as empty as your intentions.”

“I hate you,” I spat. “You might take me home, but I know the truth. My mother knows. We’ll run away from you and Bones.”

Mencheres’s face was thoughtful. “I believe you.”

“You…can’t…”

Gregor forced the words out. Mencheres gave him an inquiring look and flicked his finger. It was like someone switched Gregor’s vocal cords back on.

“You can’t manipulate her mind,” he announced, the words rushing out with savage triumph. “I’ve tried, but her bloodline makes it impossible. She won’t forget me, no matter what.”

Manipulate my mind? Gregor tried to do that?

Mencheres made a sound that was almost a tssk. “Just because you don’t know how to do something doesn’t mean it can’t be done.”

He turned away from Gregor, another twitch of his fingers cutting off Gregor’s shout of rage in midhowl. Then Mencheres considered me next, like I was a project that needed finishing.

“Get away from me,” I hissed.

Those charcoal eyes stared into mine. For a moment, I thought I saw compassion. Then he came forward.

I was terrified. What was he going to do to me? Was he going to take me to the vampire who’d end up killing my family? Would they kill Gregor, too? Was there anything I could do to stop this?

I stared at Gregor, speaking my last words before those cool hands wrapped around my forehead.

“If I get away, I’ll come back to you. If you get away, promise me you’ll come back to me, too.”

Then I felt and saw nothing at all.

Date: 2015-02-28; view: 463