Ancient Blood: A Novel of the Hegemony (The Order Saga Book 1) (23 page)

“Your Majesty,” she said with a sigh. “Though the difference in our ages might make it appear so to you, I assure you I was not born yesterday. I slipped the disc and copies of these screen shots under the Judicis’s door late last evening, along with a note explaining its origin and contents. I took the liberty of putting your name at the bottom. So, when the Judicis brings this issue up in council and asks you to confirm the authenticity of the note and the contents of the disc, you will explain how your laptop intercepted the transmission signal of the cameras while you were performing a routine security scan of your suite—yes, I’m aware how improbable that explanation is but time is short and I doubt any of the others will question it. You will then fully support removing Sebastian and maintaining Iago’s position as well as do anything in your power to secure my and Avery’s Release. In return, I’m sure the Judicis will look favorably on your request for a transfer to the North American Domain once Sebastian is executed or removed from his position.”

Damn!
I thought.
Now that’s a counter-offer!

Geoffrey just chuckled and slid the napkin out of his collar as if removing his gloves for a duel. “Well put but really, I’m quite aware you weren’t born yesterday. You were born May the seventh, Nineteen-Thirteen, in New Haven, Connecticut, to Professor Henry Ludlow of the Harvard Psychology department and Constance Benjamin Ludlow. One sister, Susan, born in Nineteen-Eleven and died in Nineteen-Sixty-Seven of breast cancer in Sacramento, California.”

He tossed the napkin onto the tray, where it settled over the tureen like a funeral shroud.

“A highly intelligent child, you achieved fluency in Latin, classical Greek, French, Italian and German by the time you achieved your academic scholarship to Harvard. Unwilling to remain under daddy’s shadow there, you transferred to Columbia as an undergraduate in Sociology and Social Psychology. Came to the attention of the War Department after authoring a couple of controversial and well-received journal pieces analyzing the Nazi’s intentions and social effect on the German people. Both parents killed in an automobile accident in Boston, Nineteen-Thirty-Eight, just a year shy of seeing their beloved daughter earn her Ph.D. So, into the war you go and by its end, you’ve met the dashing Mr. Blackwood who sweeps you out of human history and into The Game.”

Geoffrey swiveled side to side in his chair and cocked his head, smiling in a knowing way that made me want to bust his aristocratic nose. “Wasn’t at all as he’d promised, was it? Lots of causes and glorious experiments but they never lasted long enough to keep the harsh realities at bay. You put at least a few skeletons in the closet that I know of but I wonder how many more I could find if I looked. Does your man, Friday, here know about them yet or are you waiting to surprise him up the road? Shall I tell him for you? After all, Sebastian kept all his secrets from you and just look where it got him.”

I would not look over at Caroline to check her expression.

Would not let Geoffrey see how deeply he’d unsettled me.

“What Avery and I have discussed about ourselves has no bearing on this negotiation,” Caroline said with a tightness that told me he’d struck a nerve. “So, you’ll either stick to the matters at hand or we’re done here.”

“Then we’re done,” Geoffrey said with a shrug. “Fun and games aside, you still need me and I still don’t need you, so kindly save your ultimatums for the bedroom.”

This time I did glance over. Her face was white with fury. I think somebody like Julia or Draco would have gotten up and left, just out of spite. We couldn’t afford that much pride.

And I’d thought we were doing so well.

Caroline swallowed, regaining her composure. “Fine. If you know me so well, then you also know that my help will be invaluable for a smooth transition of power.”

“Useful perhaps; hardly invaluable.” He toyed with the spoon absently, his manicured nails gleaming like mirrors. “Still, it puts us in the proper direction. You both stay on in an advisory capacity when I move in or worst case, come on board with me in Britain in the extreme unlikelihood that I do not take over North America. Agreed?”

“Provided we haven’t received a better offer.”

He chuckled. “Still hoping for a position as Judicial Adjutors? Your funeral I suppose but who am I to stand in the way of blind ambition? Done.”

Caroline nodded. “If we remain here, I retain my full powers as Adjutor.”

“What powers?” He tossed the spoon into the bowl with a loud ring. “Did you really expect I’d believe this boy was born in captivity with Sebastian as loving grandparent? Ye gods, woman, your ascension to housekeeper’s the most power you’ve had in decades. You will be an advisor with no official authority whatsoever but once I’ve exhausted my initial needs, you might find yourself with a reasonable amount of freedom.”

Yeah, sure,
I thought.

“Advisor, then. But only if Avery is guaranteed the option of leaving if he wants.”

“What?” I blurted, turning to her. I cursed myself right after I did it but I couldn’t help it.

“She’s learning, that’s what.” For the first time, the Hegemon leaned forward with real interest. “She wants to think she’s showing you mercy by giving you a way out but what’s really happening is that she’s realized what a liability you are to her and she’s beginning the process of cutting you away.”

“That is not what I’m doing!” she shot back at him.

“Really? Perhaps it’s you who’s looking for a way out then. Evoking love in another can be a potent control method but it’s so taxing, isn’t it, Caroline? Having to feign interest and devotion night in and night out and sometimes, despite your best performance, the signs still show through. Even this callow young man here knows exactly what I mean. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at you.”

I looked at the god-awful beige carpet. I hated the idea that I was so transparent, that my feelings could be so inconsequential. I didn’t want to believe what he’d said about Caroline but some part of me already did. I’d never entirely trusted this miracle that had come into my life.

“Guard the love in your heart from any who seek to rob you of it,”
Iago had said, knowing Geoffrey would try something like this.

I looked at Caroline, nodded slightly.

“With all due respect, Your Majesty,” she said. “I think you’re possibly the last person in the world who should be giving lessons on love.”

“Touché,” he said. “Avery gets his freedom for the asking then, for whatever reason. In return, I get your solemn promise that the information you give me about the Domain will be complete and accurate, including any fruits of that secret research you’ve been conducting behind Sebastian’s back—didn’t think I knew about that, eh? Also, no planning or taking part in assassination plots against me for, say, three years?”

Caroline nodded.

Grinning, Geoffrey leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head, completing the image of the perfect yuppie bastard. “Excellent. There’s just one last detail then. I shall require each of you to grant me one undefined, personal favor of high value.”

Caroline stood. “No favors of any kind from us. Non-negotiable.”

“Then it seems we’re done.”

“I suppose we are,” she answered. “C’mon, Avery, there’s still time to try Jade Tiger.” I was stunned but got to my feet as she walked past me and headed for the door.

“Medium value?” he said as we got about halfway.

Caroline stopped and turned back and I tried not to smile. It was like that stupid ritual dance they always make you go through at the car dealership, trading prices back and forth when you both know pretty much where it’s gonna come out.

“Medium value and only from me. Avery owes you nothing,” she said.

Geoffrey hadn’t changed position but his eyes seemed to sharpen, if that were possible, as he studied Caroline. “You can’t win, Caroline. Not in the end. Not because you’re not clever, perceptive, or experienced enough and not because you haven’t got the determination to succeed or the strength of spirit to endure. No, you’ll never win for the simple reason that you cannot make yourself stop caring. Same as poor old Bishop here.”

His Dhampir continued to watch us over his glass of scotch as Geoffrey spoke. “The man despises me and would happily tear me limb from limb—a feeling with which I’m sure you can sympathize—and yet I can put my life in his hands day after day. Why? Because he can’t stop caring about things other than himself and his desires. For almost eight hundred years, he’s been privy to my every scheme, my every political secret and has had innumerable opportunities to use them toward my downfall. However, he gets to a certain point in his plans and finds, to his growing irritation, that I’ve tied my fate to that of a person, cause, nation, or institution that is close to his heart. All he has to do, you see, is stop caring and go forward and I’d be done. He doesn’t, because he can’t. Just like you. Cold as you might try to be, your nature will never allow you to see it through. Still, I think I will enjoy using you. Therefore, I’m going to agree to your terms, provided you can tell me the one thing I most want to hear.”

I felt a chill in my entire body and was sure Caroline did too.

“Come now, Caroline, you’ve thrown out so many reasons for me to help your cause and yet I have not heard the only one I need. Show me what you’ve learned and tell me why I need to help you.”

Caroline thought for a moment and met his eyes. “Because the Judicis is back in his peak form.”

His eyes slipped closed for a moment in something like ecstasy. “
Yeeessss
…” he sighed.

Then the eyes snapped open and he sat forward. “We have a deal, so you run along now and be sure to tell him. I’ll send Bishop down later with the tray.”

We turned and walked out, closing the door behind us. Caroline slumped against the wall, her whole body shaking. Trembling a little myself, I reached over and pulled her into an embrace. “We gotta stop meeting like this.”

She laughed, caught by surprise and rested her head on my shoulder. Though she’s usually excited by intellectual challenges and spirited debates, this was like surviving a knife fight.

“Caroline,” I said. “I—about what he said—”

“No,” she said, stepping back from me. “I don’t want to try to talk about any of that now. There are things I want to tell you about but this isn’t the time.” That look in her eyes—begging forgiveness in advance for something I wasn’t going to like—scared me more than anything Geoffrey had said. “When we have some idea of our future and the choices we have, then we’ll talk. That’s why I’m trying to keep you out of any long-term commitments, so that you have a way out when this is all over … if you want one.”

My heart raced. “I just want to be with you.”

“Later. Please,” she whispered, turning away.

“Okay,” I said, to keep the moment from stretching. I turned away and paced for the sake of doing something. “So, anyway, with the meeting, I guess we got Geoffrey on our side as far as the whole Iago thing, right?”

Caroline smoothed down her hair and sighed. “Unless he comes up with a better reason for screwing us over.”

“But, we have a deal! You mean all that crap back and forth was—”

“Another game? Yes, in a way. The important thing wasn’t the deal, it was how I negotiated it, how hard I fought and how much understanding I showed of the situation. What I needed to show him was that I’m someone worth taking seriously, that I have the potential to be a challenging opponent if given the chance. Most Vampyrs try to crush potential rivals as early as they can. Geoffrey breeds them.”

“Like that Bishop guy. Jesus, that’s fucked-up.”

“If it’s true,” she warned. “But, if Bishop approaches you anytime soon with a way of compromising Geoffrey or insuring his cooperation, it’s a trap.”

“Of course. Goddess forbid anybody should be what they seem around here. Okay then, if we all know the deal’s bogus, what about that favor he forced you into?”

“That’s one of the main reasons I went in there.”

“I give up,” I said.

“Now I have a tangible value to him.”

People trading rumors and innuendos like baseball cards, whoring themselves and their friends out for a little extra status and smiling as they circle each other, looking for a place to stick their knives.

It was like being back in high school.

“What about that thing about Jade Tiger then?”

She smiled in that way she does when she’s being clever. “I knew he’d call my bluff but it forced him to reveal that he does have some big scheme going against Jade Tiger and since he thinks I was just reciting information, he now thinks that Iago knows about it!”

“Speaking of Iago, is any of that stuff Geoffrey told us about him true?”

“The facts are probably true but it’s his interpretation you need to question.”

I was about to try for a kiss to end things on a positive note when something about all this snuck up into my mind and refused to be ignored any longer. I tried to push it away but at that moment of uncertainty, I needed to know if I was right or just starting to think like the rest of them. “So, uh, did you actually bring me in there to make you look stronger … or weaker?”

She glanced away surprised but I’d seen the answer in her eyes. “Yes,” she said. “I did manipulate you. I knew you weren’t practiced enough to keep Geoffrey from reading you, so I prompted you to show what I wanted him to see. It might make him underestimate us when it counts. I’m sorry, Avery, but he would have seen it if I’d told you the truth and you tried to fake it.”