Awakening the Fire (26 page)

Within minutes, Ari found herself doing the unthinkable—sitting in a pretty blue room, deep in the heart of the vampires’ court, sipping wine with the four most powerful vampires in the city. It was surreal, but apparently the games were over. Once they were settled, the prince got down to business.

“What have you been told of Frederick’s death?”

“Only that he was staked in his sleep.”

“That is true. His killer was not a vampire.”

Ari nodded. “Not directly, but someone betrayed him. An insider, probably another vampire.”

“Yes, I am afraid that may also be true,” Prince Daron conceded. “And there have been other disturbing incidents.”

“Besides the attempt on your life? What incidents?”

“My prince, I must protest.” Lucien’s mouth had puckered, as if he’d been sucking on something nasty, the moment Ari entered the room. He couldn’t contain his displeasure any longer. “The woman has no right to question you.” He directed his anger at Ari. “You’ll be told only what you need to know. Nothing more.”

Prince Daron raised a hand to stop the angry flow. “I understand your concerns, Lucien. We may be getting ahead of ourselves, but if we come to an agreement tonight, she will need to know these details. For now,” the prince turned to Ari, “it is enough to know I believe there will be another attempt on my life. And this unknown enemy has the ability to attack during the day. I trust you see the problem.”

“But don’t you have daylight guards? Someone to protect you while you can’t defend yourself?”

Daron’s look passed the question to Andreas.

“Of course we do,” Andreas said. “But since we cannot identify the enemy, we can trust no one on the current staff. As you correctly pointed out, an insider was involved. Someone revealed Frederick’s sleeping quarters to an enemy. Most of our day guards have been with us for years, but they are not vampires. I would trust them with my life. Not with the life of my prince.”

“So you suspect everyone. No prime suspect?” She continued to look at Andreas.

“That is correct. We have a traitor, but unfortunately, I do not know who.”

“So what’s all this got to do with me?” Ari asked, turning her head to address Prince Daron. She wasn’t sure where the conversation was headed.

“We will find those who betrayed us. Until we do, I need someone who can provide for my protection during the day. Take charge of the daylight guards and prevent the next attack. If the traitor is among the guards, I expect you to identify him.”

“I can’t take on a job like that,” Ari said. “The Guardianship is 24/7. And the vampires aren’t the only ones with problems.” Too restless to sit still, she got abruptly to her feet. The vampires, except the prince, reacted by springing between her and the prince. Lucien crouched, fangs showing; Carmella held a wicked-looking knife. Andreas had his arms out, blocking both sides.

Ari straightened from her own defensive reaction to them. Her witch blood raced. “Sorry about that. Really.” She showed them her hands, palms up. “I didn’t mean to alarm anyone. I think better on my feet. But look at us. If you needed proof your proposal wouldn’t work, here it is. How can I help you when we don’t trust each other?” Her explanation didn’t appear to make Lucien and Carmella much happier, but Carmella put the knife away.

Daron sighed heavily.

Andreas stepped into the breach. “We wouldn’t ask you to do this, except there is no one as qualified. You’re the Guardian, a neutral party with exceptional skills. Our court is requesting assistance from you and the Magic Council. That shows a certain level of trust. Can you afford not to listen?”

“Why didn’t you apply directly to the Council? Why come to me?”

“We chose to limit our public exposure in this matter. If we reach an agreement, Prince Daron will inform the Council President.”

She studied Andreas’s face, but his lean features and hooded eyes told so little. The vampires were still hiding something. She wanted to refuse—she had her own mission to find the wolves—but Andreas had played their ace in the hole. He’d asked for the Council’s help. What choice did he leave her? Hell, she could be such a sucker.

She looked at the city’s vampire leader. “You have my attention, your highness. Give it your best shot.”

Daron frowned, appealed to his lieutenant.

“I believe she wants you to make your proposal.”

“Ahh.” The prince’s mouth spread in a broad smile, revealing a flash of fangs. “Andreas tells me that money would not be sufficient, so I propose an exchange of services. You provide protection for the vampire compound from dawn to dusk. In return, the resources of this court and my first lieutenant will be at your disposal to assist with this problem of the wolves. I understand you already discussed some kind of joint working relationship.” Daron smiled again, and Ari wondered exactly what Andreas had said to him.

“I can relieve him of other responsibilities, when necessary,” Daron continued. “Increase his availability.” He waved a careless hand. “Of course, these arrangements will end as soon as the traitors are exposed.” He unfolded his large frame and stood. “Are those terms satisfactory, Ms. Calin?”

Unprecedented entry to the vampire court. Access to their resources. And the vampires would be indebted to the Council. More than satisfactory terms. But most important to Ari, Andreas would have to help her track the wolves.

She darted a glance at Andreas. She thought she’d seen a smile when Daron asked if the terms were satisfactory, but she asked anyway. “You comfortable with this?”

“My duties are whatever the prince says they are.”

That answer didn’t help much, but it raised another question. She turned to Daron. “How can you offer me one of your lieutenants right now? Don’t you need him here, protecting the court?”

Daron scowled and exchanged a look with Andreas.

“Fine,” she said in exasperation. “You’re still holding out, hiding something. It's your call. But in that case, I’m out of here.”

Andreas grabbed her arm before she got more than two steps. “I suggest we tell her the rest of it,” he said over his shoulder.

“Then do so.” The vampire prince dropped back into his chair.

Ari brushed Andreas’s hand away. “Well?”

“Solving one problem may solve both,” Andreas admitted. “The attacks on the court, the drug activities around town, all of it may be at Sebastian’s orders. The moment he met with you in Toronto, I feared his ambitions had caused him to look in our direction.”

“The drugs I get. But why attack your court? What does he gain?”

“I told you Daron and Sebastian were enemies.”

“You said they weren’t friendly,” she muttered. “That was the understatement of the day. If he’d go to this much trouble, this must be a feud of ginormous proportions.”

“I’m not sure what that means, but this is not a simple matter of bad blood between vampires.” Daron raised his voice in irritation. “Sebastian is after my court.”

Ari stared at him. “But he has Toronto. No offense, but why would he give up that for Riverdale?”

“Not instead of Toronto. He wants to add Riverdale to his control. Spread his influence and power,” Andreas said. “We suspect Sebastian is waging war, a challenge for the throne, without coming here or declaring himself. If he can set up a puppet leader, he would gain immense status, especially with those in Europe. And I think we can safely assume he has already selected the successor prince. Someone who will do as he dictates.”

“You’ve known this several days,” Ari said, her eyes filled with accusation. “When were you going to tell me?”

It was Daron who answered. “I asked him to wait.”

“Why? For how long? Until somebody else got killed?”

“Can the recriminations wait?” Andreas was getting angry. “You and I can discuss this later. Right now, we need to make decisions about moving forward.”

“Fine. I can hardly wait for our little talk.”

Daron looked at his lieutenant. The corners of the old vampire’s mouth quirked. “I am not sure I pay you enough.” He wiped the amusement from his face before he turned to Ari. “Does this mean you accept?”

Did it? In typical vampire fashion, both parts of this agreement benefited the vampires the most. But if they were right, someone in Riverdale had done terrible things in support of a madman’s ambitions. The deaths and violence needed a settling of scores. Ari wanted to be part of that. She’d felt the evil in Sebastian. If she had anything to say about it, that little toad would never control her town.

Ari lifted her chin and looked the vampire prince straight in the eye.

“Yeah, you have a deal.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Leaving the warehouse district, Ari and Andreas walked in the general direction of her apartment. She’d gotten over most of her snit, for the moment anyway.

“Are you really fine with being part of this deal?” she asked.

“I already promised to help you.”

“Yes, but offering and being ordered are different. What about the club?”

Andreas dismissed her concerns. “The club has an excellent staff. And Daron did not order this without my agreement. He isn’t the dictator you think, but we don’t have time to talk about the prince. Too many other things to explain before dawn arrives.”

Ari listened with rapt attention as Andreas revealed detail after detail about the secretive vampire court. He started with an overview of the current daylight guards: three werelions, a werewolf and a halfling demon. All five had worked with the vampires for years with no smudges on their loyalty. Ari perked up her ears when he said the halfling’s abilities included demon fire. She’d never met another being with fire ability, except Great-Gran. The demon part gave her a moment of hesitation—even a halfling could be evil—until she remembered she’d just agreed to protect a nest of vampires.

Without telling more than necessary, Andreas described the general layout of the compound. The security station inside the side door held a secret entrance to Prince Daron’s sleeping quarters. Beyond that hidden door was a complicated labyrinth of passageways.

“Without a map or detailed instructions, no one could locate the prince’s chambers. Not before they were discovered.”

“Then why do you need me?”

“We have a traitor. Someone may have revealed the path, drawn a map.”

Ari blinked. “But I thought the passage was secret. Who would know the way…other than you, Carmella and Lucien?”

Andreas shrugged. “Nest leaders, court personnel, guards, maybe a few tradesmen. Most of the chambers are only secret to the outside world. Not to vampires. Daron’s actual sleeping quarters are private but simple process of elimination could get you there if you already knew the layout. The entire complex is like a community center in some respects.”

“How many entrances? Rooms? Corridors?” Ari flung out her arms. “This must cover an entire city block. A rabbit warren.”

His lips twitched. “It is not as bad as that. There is only one way into the inner chambers. It is true,” he said in response to her sudden scowl. “Daron believes that one entrance is easier to defend. The court is heavily fortified at night. And if we are asleep,” he gave a rueful shrug, “what good is an escape route?”

“But that’s such a stupid idea!” She put up her hands at his sharp look. “Never mind. We’ll deal with it. But if one of the daylight guards is on the enemy payroll or someone else has talked, your only entrance and exit has been compromised.” She sighed. “Fine, I’ve got the basic set up. Tell me about the other incidents the prince mentioned.”

As Andreas talked, it didn’t take long for Ari to see some possible links between the court problems and the wolves. Daron’s attacker had been a deliveryman, a werewolf employed by the blood bank for less than three months. His background check turned out to be falsified, and they had no idea who he was. Six weeks before that Carmella had been ambushed by a vampire, another stranger to the Riverdale area. Three weeks later a wolf offered to pay, and pay well, for information on the vampire compound. The young vampire he attempted to bribe reported the incident, but by the time the wolf was located, he’d been shot to death. Again, he wasn’t a local. In typical vampire fashion, the body was hidden.

“If you had reported it, we might have run DNA or something,” she said as they crossed 10th Street and turned left onto a shaded boulevard.

“At the time, it seemed unimportant.”

Ari suddenly looked at him. “That’s what you were doing in Goshen Park when we first met. Following a suspicious wolf. As it turns out, you were right. I wonder if the kids interrupted a drug deal or a meeting with a local contact. Guess I should have killed Molyneux that night. You might have mentioned your earlier suspicions. You’ve kept a lot of secrets.”

“Private vampire business. Up to the moment Sebastian questioned you, we had no proof our affairs affected the larger community.”

Vampires business. As if that explained everything, she thought. To him it might. Vampire society had been closed to outsiders for centuries. But, dammit, if she had known from the beginning, it might have helped. She released a weary sigh. If their current arrangement was going to work, they’d have to get beyond the past.

“I’m curious, Andreas. You work with werecreatures, even a halfling demon. Why no witches or other conjurers before now?”

Andreas’s eyebrows shot up. “I am surprised you have to ask. Have you no knowledge of the long-standing conflicts between the O-Seven and the Witches League? Their struggle for domination in the Old Country?”

“I’ve never even heard of the O-Seven. But what’s some fight in Europe got to do with your court or what you do over here?”

“It was not just ‘some fight.’ The council of the seven original vampires—who are thousands of years old, by the way—and the witches’ covens nearly destroyed one another in 1329. In my country, no witch would consider aligning with a vampire. With your abilities, she would be more likely to try to burn us out.”

“That seems harsh.” Ari shrugged. She couldn’t remember Great-Gran mentioning a special problem with the vampires. Except for them being violent predators, of course. For the witches, the feud must have stopped at the ocean. For the vampires, not so much. “So these old vamps are still holding a grudge, huh? Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”