Cast in Blood (Morgan Blackstone Vampires Book 1) (28 page)

“Fine, as long as you don’t let me near any open drapes until after sunset,” she grumbled, managing to sound both wounded and sullen at the same time.

“As you command, my Lady.” Nicholas laughed and tilted his head toward her in a slight bow. As he’d hoped, Morgan chuckled, and shook her head, a smile lighting up her eyes. “Now, I believe the boyos want to have a chat with you.”

“Oh, that’s never a good thing.” Morgan leaned her head against Nicholas’s shoulder and wrapped her arm around him.

“Why don’t I go tell them that you’ll be down in half an hour?” he offered, before he kissed her hair. She met his eyes and nodded. “Good.” Nicholas stood and picked the empty mug up off the nightstand. As he walked out of the room, Nicholas glanced over his shoulder, and saw Morgan heading toward the walk–in closet.

Morgan walked into the study thirty minutes later, to find Marcus, Nicholas, Christophe and Charles all seated around the large table, listening as Joshua spoke. She smiled and crossed to the empty seat next to Nicholas.
 

“Morgan, I was just explaining about the Conclave of Sorcerers,” Joshua said, turning his chocolate eyes to her.

“I gathered that. I thought you’d managed to find Richard? Didn’t you bring him?”

“Well, that’s part of what I was explaining. They have a set way of dealing with people who come to their abilities late in life, through blood transfusion and other means.”

“You mean this has happened before?” Morgan asked, as Nicholas took her hand in his.

“Through blood transfusion, yes. But, there’s nothing about a vampire ingesting the blood of a sorcerer. According to the members, there’s something about it that usually causes a vampire’s system to reject it.”

“So what’s different here?” Nicholas asked.
 

“They don’t know,” Joshua answered, shaking his head.
 

“Do they have any theories?” Morgan asked, as a small tight knot of fear settled into the pit of her stomach.
 

“Several. You are talking about men and women who were once called alchemists here, they are, at heart, a curious bunch,” Joshua answered with a soft laugh.

“Lovely,” she sighed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“It’s a good–news, bad–news, situation. They are more open to assisting you now. Richard’s family is one of the oldest in the Conclave and that gives him some power.”

“That would be the good news,” she muttered. Before Joshua managed to respond, she continued, “I suppose that the bad is that they’re going to be rather interested in my progress.” She hated having people checking on her, and in her experience it was worse when they said it was ‘for her own good.’”

“Exactly, and in that vein, Richard wanted to know how you reacted to the brew. Charles and Christophe filled me in a little, but what they can’t tell me is how you are reacting to having to drink it.”

“You mean is it getting easier to stomach?” she asked, her brow furrowed just a little.

“Yes. That, and are you noticing that you can go longer before you need to drink it again?”

“I am having less trouble stomaching it. I’d say it’s like an acquired taste. And yes, I am noticing that I can go longer between taking it and when I feel the need again.”

“Good on both counts. At some point you should start trying to push yourself, if only to know how long you can go between needing to drink it,” Joshua suggested.
 

Morgan nodded.
He’s right, but I don’t want to take the risk until after this current situation is handled
.

“Do you have any idea how adding another vampire’s blood might alter the effects?” Nicholas asked.

“There’s a reason you’re asking. Why?” Joshua asked, turning to face him.

“When a new vampire is created, there’s a bond between the Newborn and their Sire,” Morgan answered, without taking a minute to think it through. She didn’t need time. This was information she’d learned at Julian’s hand when she was first made a vampire. “It’s a little like GPS, we can sense where our Blood Children are. If they are under a great deal of stress, the bond lets us sense their emotions. Initially the bond is very strong, and is used to help keep young vampires in check.” Joshua looked interested and somewhat confused, so she continued. “As time passes, the bond weakens but never really goes away. Like right now, if I focus, I can sense Julian to the west, and I sense confusion and betrayal.” Morgan frowned, lost in thought, focusing on her Sire trying to decipher his mood.

“Anyway,” Nicholas picked up where she’d left off, but his eyes were on Morgan, “if a vampire were to ingest enough of another’s blood…”

“Like Morgan may have to,” Joshua interjected.
 

“Yes. It’s possible that a second blood bond may form, in some ways stronger than the first, but in weaker in others. It can be very intrusive,” Nicholas finished explaining, even as he tried to keep the details vague, it was safer for Joshua that way.

“I’m not sure what will happen. If I may, I’d like to speak with Richard and perhaps a few other members of the conclave about it?”

“Please do, but we have to be careful,” Nicholas replied an implied warning in his tone.
 

“Of course, discretion is the name of the game.”

“I’d also like to know what might happen if I were to ingest Morgan’s blood,” Nicholas asked, surprising her, but she managed to keep it hidden. The side effect was that Morgan lost concentration and could no longer focus on trying to decipher Julian’s mood.

“From what Richard told me, Morgan’s blood shouldn’t carry the magic …” he paused and rubbed his temples. “That’s not right. The magic is still in her blood and always will be. It’s just assimilated and can no longer be passed along.”

“So why isn’t he here?” Morgan asked.

“Richard?” Joshua asked, she nodded and he continued. “He said if the brew was working I was supposed to give you this.” He reached below the table and rummaged around in his briefcase for a moment, before he sat up and set a small leather bound book in front of Morgan. She looked at it for a moment, before picking it up and turning it over in her hands. The cover was embossed with intricate Celtic knot work that created a tree of life in the center. “He said you are to follow the instructions in there. Do one lesson a day, every day, as close to the same time as possible. In one to three years he should come and seek you out.”

“If he does not?” Nicholas asked. Morgan knew, by the low growl in his tone, that his temper was riding a fine edge and could tip either way.

“The book teaches simple control. Without mastering it, Morgan cannot learn the most complex focus required for more intricate work.”

“So these lessons will keep the magic from running amuck, but not teach me much beyond that?” she muttered.
This wasn’t exactly what I’d been hoping for. Then again when is anything easy? You’d think after a little over seventeen centuries of life I would have gotten used to it. Nah, it still sucks. Of course all things considered, this isn’t a death sentence, that’s always a plus.

“Exactly.”

“And how is this Richard supposed to know how to find her?” Marcus asked, from the far end of the table.

“Usually I can get him to give me straight answers, but he wasn’t cooperating. He would only say that he’d know where and when to find her,” Joshua answered, with a shrug.

“So, the ones the teachers do not seek out? What happens to them?” Charles asked; his chocolate brown eyes filled with concern.

“I’m not going to lie. There’s a very small number among those, who were not initiated into the Conclave, who never mastered control and died, as a result. But that number is extremely low, so please don’t borrow trouble before you need to,” Joshua answered, as though he really didn’t want to talk about the possibility.
 

Not that I blame him, even though it’s my life and not his we’re talking about,
Morgan thought.

“There is one thing about this situation that doesn’t make sense to me,” Marcus interjected.

“Just one?” Nicholas chuckled.
 

“One that we haven’t discussed,” Marcus answered, with a sigh. “How was I able to hear Morgan the night she almost fried my psyche?”

“How do you mean fried your psyche?” Joshua asked, leaning toward Marcus.
 

“I was standing over a murder victim, using my senses to trace a scent, so my defenses were down. Next thing I know there’s a scream in my head that knocks me flat on my ass. It was Morgan.”

“That isn’t normal? I thought all vampires have some measure of psychic ability.”

“It generally requires some kind of strong blood tie. Something, which Morgan and Marcus do not share,” Christophe replied.
 

“And you think it may have something to do with the sorcerer’s blood?”

“It’s the only thing I can think of right now. I was hoping you might have some explanation.”

“I will need to speak with Richard about this as well.”

“Of course, thank you for all your help, professor,” Nicholas replied with a nod. “Arrangements have been made for you to return home, just say the word.”

“I actually have a little research I wanted to do on some of the folklore in the city before I leave,” he explained, as he pushed his chair away from the table.

“Certainly, Christophe would you mind making sure that Joshua has everything he needs while he’s here?” Morgan asked, meeting her Blood Son’s amethyst eyes.

“Of course
cherie,
” Christophe answered, and a few moments later he followed Joshua from the room.

“I think it’s time I returned to Los Angeles,” Morgan said after several minutes of silence. Nicholas started to speak,
 
but she held up her hand and continued. “It’s foolish to think that they’re still in New Orleans. We need to draw them out, on our terms.”

“Los Angeles isn’t exactly our turf, Morgan,” Nicholas growled, fighting to keep his temper in check.

“No, but The Dracul is, I don’t think they’re going to try anything here. Think about it Nicholas, if you were in their position, would you come after someone hiding in a well–guarded home like this?” she asked, meeting his steady gaze.
 

“You think I haven’t considered it? The truth is, no matter how well I plan, I can’t guarantee your safety, and that is unacceptable,” he answered, stroking her hair, his hand coming to rest behind her neck.

“We’ve made do with unacceptable before, we can do it again.”

“Don’t ask me to take this risk with your life on the line,” he whispered, closing his eyes and shaking his head.
 

He was shutting her out. As much as Morgan hated to, she had to press or she’d lose the argument. “It’s not as though I like this either, but there’s no alternative. Please, if anyone has a better idea, say something.” Morgan threw up her hands in frustration.

“We go to the Council with what we know,” Charles offered, shifting in his seat, as though uncomfortable with the looks he got from everyone at the table.

“If we go to the Council, it tips our hand, and it’s a weak one, a pair of tapes which show the attackers, but not clearly. Protocol demands that Lucian be shown the evidence. He will talk his way out of it, or just flat out go to ground, and we will never find him again,” Marcus countered.

“So, Nicholas executes him on the Lead Enforcer’s authority, and presents the evidence to the Council after the fact,” Christophe interjected, surprising Morgan.
 

I’ve always suspected that Christophe only knows enough Council Law to keep on the right side of it. I suppose being disfigured, entombed, or executed wouldn’t go over well with the ladies,
she thought.

“If we were talking about anyone other than a Council member and my Sire’s brother, I might survive that. However, the situation being what it is…” Nicholas let his voice trail off, knowing that he didn’t need to finish the thought.

“Unacceptable,” Morgan answered.

“We go to ground,” Marcus offered.

“We run and hide like dogs? We allow others to suffer the same tortures? I don’t think you can do that, any more than I,” Morgan replied.

“As much as I don’t want to admit it, Morgan’s right. There is no other way,” Nicholas sighed, and he started pacing the room. “We’ll return to Los Angeles. However, there will be changes made to the security at the house and club,” Nicholas countered, with a glance at Marcus who nodded.

“Changes?” Morgan asked, certain she wasn’t going to like them.

“I want to beef it up. Add more cameras and have Danny hire some new security personnel,” Nicholas answered.
 

Morgan knew he had a lot more than just a few minor changes planned. As she watched him pace, tension suffusing every inch of his frame, she could see how much agreeing to this was costing him. Part of her was appalled, and she had to take control or else she was going to end up being suffocated. They wanted to, for all intents and purposes, lock her in a tower and throw away the key, waiting for the dragon to attack.
I’m not the dainty damsel in distress. I’m the chick who knocks the damsel and her knight in shining armor out of the way, and guts the beast. I will not let them lock me away. I will get my life back, on my terms
. She drew in a breath to speak, but caught sight of Nicholas. His eyes were haunted. The messages he’d left flitted through her mind, each one a blow to her heart.