B007XKEWAE EBOK (18 page)

Fulton knelt beside the chest. It was locked but the key remained in the locking mechanism. Fulton looked around the room guiltily. He turned the key and lifted the lid open. He gasped and coughed involuntarily to clear his throat. But he let his eyes study the
contents and felt a glow of arousal spreading.

Inside the chest was a prodigious collection of, what were called in polite circles, marital aids. Big ones, little ones, bendable and rigid ones, there were even a couple of spiky looking things that Fulton couldn't really imagine would be any fun at all, he certainly wouldn’t have like to have them inserted into him.

He heard footsteps outside and shut the lid quickly. Wincing at the bang it made.

Francesca left Fulton alone in the bedroom after leaving him his gear. She had no doubt that Xavier had checked through his stuff. Now Francesca, in an almost transparent night-gown, dismissed the vampires she had had
making sure she and her new playmate would not be disturbed.

Even before they had made it all the way down the metal steps Xavier was there rushing up past them. Without acknowledging him as he ran up towards her, she turned and stepped back into her private chambers. Xavier followed her inside and into the room where she and Gabriella kept all their clothes and makeup.

Without turning to face him, Francesca dropped her night-gown and stepped into a pair of knickers.

"You conducted a search of his bike and his belongings." It wasn't a question. "What did you discover, if anything?"

Xavier shuffled his feet. "Everything seems clean."

She nodded as she slid into a shimmering dress. "Good."

Again he shuffled his feet. "I want you to let me talk to him for just a few moments. So that I can ascertain how clean he actually is."

"You
want
," she threw back at him. "You want what I tell you you want. And right now what you want is to keep out of our way. I don't want you to be anywhere near Fulton."

"But . . ."

Now she turned to face him. "You can leave now."

What in God's name had gotten into that woman? He was her lieutenant. Her advisor and bodyguard.

"You can leave now," Her eyes bored through him.

Xavier had seen that look before and he knew there was no use in trying to argue with it. So he turned without another word and went back outside. He stalked down the steps like an angry storm cloud and thundered across the floor of the main chamber.

Much of the nest had already assembled and set out on the hunt so it was reasonably empty. And those who were forced to remain behind noted his mood and kept well out of his path. The one vampire who was unlucky enough not to notice and who stumbled in Xavier's way was struck by a savage backhand and sent skidding across the deck.

"You look pissed." Gabriella melted out from the midst of the cowering crowd.

His first instinct was to turn on her and relieve some of his frustrations. But when he saw what she was wearing his mood changed. She wore the blouse and skirt he had commandeered for her yesterday.

He gave her a conciliatory smile. "I just got blocked from checking into the Mistress's new companion," he said. Gabriella's eyes flashed at the use of that particular term.

"She dismissed me without a second thought. Just like she did to you."

"I haven't been dismissed," she said too quickly.

Xavier held his hands up in surrender. "Whatever. I was just trying to say I know how you feel and I sympathise."

Gabriella turned away from him. "I don't need or want your sympathy."

"But you wanted and needed those clothes I got for you." Xavier said to her back. "Not to mention the other stuff I supplied so that you could come out here looking like your ravishing self instead of some two-bit tramp."

She turned around and returned to him. She took his arm and led him into one of the side corridors that made this place into such a warren or labyrinth.

"You did this for me?" she whispered.

He nodded.

"Why?" Gabriella asked him making no attempt to disguise her astonishment.

"We haven't always seen eye to eye." He paused. "All right, we've never seen eye to eye. And we, neither of us,
we . . . well we're usually a lot closer to being enemies than we are  friends."

Xavier was pacing back and forth in front of Gabriella as he spoke.

"But you shouldn't be treated like that. You've always displayed an admirable loyalty to Francesca." Xavier felt like he would choke on his own words. "You don't deserve to be treated like that. Definitely not so she can spend her time with some young upstart."

Gabriella nodded. "And neither do you. All the work you put into running the nest when we are away. Sometimes I think she treats us like we are children. You have been an admirable regent during the Mistress' absences but still she doesn't trust you judgement."

Xavier nodded along to her comments as well.

"But what she did to you was far worse than anything I have suffered," he said. "You spent the last two and a half centuries with her and she forced you to spend last night in that dump of a room.

"If she wasn't the Mistress . . ."

"She is," Gabriella said casting around. "And we should stop this talk lest we be overheard and our comments taken as treasonous."

"I fear that you are correct. That our words would be taken that way even though we are simply stating facts."

Gabriella looked in his eyes and Xavier thought he saw a slight change in how she looked at him now.

"I will see if I can't have a word in Francesca's ear tonight concerning her treatment of you," she said "If she does start to place her trust in you again,
where it belongs, she may realise who her loyal subjects are."

Xavier gave a wry smile. "We can only hope."

Gabriella took her leave of him then. She had only gone a couple of steps when he called out to her. "Be careful."

She turned to face him a last time.

"We don't know if this Fulton has any hidden agenda. Watch your back when he's around."

Gabriella gave him a genuine smile that carried right through her eyes. Then she continued on her way to find Francesca.

Xavier smiled and nodded to himself. Things were progressing perfectly.

Fulton dropped the lid closed with a bang and struggled to lock the chest before Francesca returned. He fumbled the key and dropped it on the carpeted floor. He had just picked it up when Francesca opened the door and walked in.

"You found my little toys," she said laughing.

"A lot of them are not what I would call little," Fulton replied.

Francesca laughed again. "I suppose not," she said. "Perhaps, if
you're a
very
good boy, I'll give you a demonstration. Or if you're a very
bad
boy I'll get Gabriella to join me and we'll both give you a demonstration, with heavy lashings of audience participation."

"Who's Gabriella?" Fulton asked locking the chest and getting to his feet.

"You met briefly yesterday. But you probably had other things on your mind," Francesca said with a wink and a smile.

Now that he was standing Francesca looked him up and down regarding him.

"Well
I
feel overdressed."

Fulton regarded her. In a sleek shimmering cobalt blue dress with matching high heeled shoes she did look a vision.

"I should have realised you wouldn't have any fancy clothes with you," She looked at him hopefully. "Do you?"

Fulton shook his head.

"Well that will have to be rectified, but not tonight. I was going to take you to one of my favourite hunting spots, but they have a dress code and you'll never get in looking like that."

Fulton looked apologetically down at the floor between his feet. "Sorry."

"Not to worry," she said. "We can slum it for a change."

"I thought that whole scene was just fantasy," Fulton said.

"Which 'whole scene'?" Francesca asked.

"You know. Well dressed vampires going out in their fancy clothes and mixing with humans. Particularly in the
olden days. Palace banquets and fraternising with nobles and the upper class, all that."

"Oh
that
scene," she said dismissively. "I was into that for a while but I gave up the need for royal companionship. Despite what they say about something in their blood making them superior it just isn't true. They taste no different to anyone else. No, I don't need that anymore but I do enjoy the finer things in life."

"You've forgotten how good a bit of rough can be."

"Hardly," Francesca grinned. "I can be as savage or as bestial in the kill or the sack as anyone. I just usually prefer a more subtle, mentally tortuous, approach to taking my prey. But like all of us when I make the kill I'm
all
animal."

Fulton swaggered towards her and was about to envelope her in his arms when a young looking vampire, probably a couple of years under eighteen when she was turned -though she could actually be any age-, entered from the door behind Francesca. She had quite short, bleached white hair and she wore a light blouse and a short skirt. Black, knee length boots completed her outfit. Fulton remembered her giving Francesca a more than platonic kiss yesterday.

Francesca either sensed the other vampire entering the room or noticed Fulton looking at her, either way she turned her back on him to greet the newcomer.

She stepped forwards and they embraced. Francesca leaned forwards to
whisper something to the vampire girl too quietly for him to catch.

"Fulton," Francesca said now facing him again. "This is Gabriella."

"Pleased to meet you," Fulton held out his hand to Gabriella.

She looked at it but didn't take it until Francesca bent down and whispered something else. Reluctantly Gabriella took his hand and gave it a quick shake.

"Well, now that's done and we're all friends I think it's time you and I went on a hunt." Francesca said to him.

"You've got to let me come this time," Gabriella begged. "I'll go mad cooped up in here again."

"You know how I feel about this," Francesca said. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

"This place is becoming my prison."

"Gabriella-"

"Look," Fulton interrupted. "This is not really any of my business, and you can tell me to piss off if you like, but I think you should let her tag along. I can see that this girl," Gabriella positively bristled when he called her that despite the fact that he was arguing in her favour, "she has a fiery spirit. You can't stifle it by keeping her locked away in here."

"I don't need you to fight my battles for me," Gabriella told him. "And don't call me girl, I'm over two hundred and fifty years old. You are the fucking child here."

"Sorry sweetheart." Gabriella gave him a look that left no doubt that she would like nothing better than for him to spontaneously combust right there.

"Okay," Fulton held his hands up in surrender. "You aren't my sweetheart. But you have shown that indomitable spirit that I was talking about."

"Very well," Francesca said at length. "All three of us will go out on the hunt together."

She turned to Fulton. "But from now on you keep your nose out. When I make a decision it's final, not an invitation for you to debate."

"Understood."

"And you," she said to Gabriella. "Stick close to me."

"Always," Gabriella said tenderly.

It occurred to Fulton that there was a time, not very long ago, when he would rather have died than take part in
something like this. Something within himself would have resisted this, would have fought against it. But now all he felt was a tiny niggle in the back of his mind. An insignificant little itch that this nights activities should scratch away.

He was out on the outskirts of a rundown housing estate near the edge of the Sheffield district, not too far from the industrial estate and the half converted steelworks where Francesca had established her nest.

Francesca and Gabriella were stalking the darkness with him. Francesca had changed out of her fancy clothes into a pair of black trousers, flat shoes and a thin blouse. She looked fantastic whatever she wore. Fulton had no doubt in his mind that she would still look great even if she was wearing
nothing more elaborate than a pile of dirty rags or an old and worn potato sack. The younger looking female vampire still wore the same skirt, blouse and boots she had earlier.

Gabriella was the one in the lead who had so far dictated the direction their hunt had taken. Francesca seemed happy to allow the other woman to lead in this respect and Fulton himself had no inclination to try and cause waves by attempting to assume control. He quickened his pace to catch up with Francesca. As he drew level with her he reached out and placed his hand on her behind. She swatted his arm away.