Desire by Blood (27 page)

“What is your next move?” his partner asked. He hated the
man, hated that blasted Scottish accent that reminded him of his youth. But he
had no choice.

“I am not sure at the moment. We need the leaders of the
Alliance here.”

“There is talk of a meeting in a few weeks. They want to
remove the Blackburns from the quad council.”

He smiled. “How amusing. The one man who sees what is going
on and they want to get rid of him.”

“And once the council finally comes to London. The plan?”

He hadn’t told him much. The Scottish laird was helpful at
the moment, but soon he would have to take a stake to the bastard. Neal knew
the only reason he was there was to try and take over the council.

“Then we move the Mades in. With their allegiance to me, I
will be able to overthrow those old men on the quad.”

“And then we will have our seats.”

He said nothing.

“Pearson?”

“Yes, we will have our seats.”

But in truth, he wanted nothing to do with the Alliance. The
only plan he had was to destroy their council and watch Nico Blackburn suffer
for what he had done.

It would be the sweetest of victories.

Dinner had been uneventful, much to Cordelia’s surprise. She
had expected Gray and Saint to attend. The men had become permanent fixtures in
their house the last few weeks, as well as Lady Elizabeth, who had moved in
with them as planned. But when she found herself face to face with Hurst, she
could not hide her dismay. He looked changed. His eyes were now green and he
was thinner. She was embarrassed that she hesitated before taking his hand. His
looks were not the only thing different. His manner was more measured, quiet,
and reserved.

Now, two hours later, she found herself seated in her
mother-in-law’s parlor. Lady Elizabeth had gone to bed after dinner and the men
had left them to huddle together and make their plans.

"I hate that they will not include us, too,"
Adelaide said.

Cordelia glanced at her. She could tell by the way Adelaide
pursed her lips that she was irritated. She did not realize until that moment
that her mother-in-law understood they were being left out of the discussions.

"I know. They seem to think we are too stupid to know
what is going on."

"It isn't that, dear.”

“Indeed?”

She shook her head. “That is part of the problem. They do
not want us involved because they think we will be in danger. All men want to
protect, but vampires, they are worse. Much worse. And now that this threat is
growing, they will become unbearable."

“But there are things we could help with. Men are not
infallible.”

“Yes, but they do not know that.”

Cordelia shared a smile with her. “That is true. Still,
there are always rumors swirling about. Things we could find out for them.”

“Is that how you became a writer? Looking for the rumors?”

She shrugged. “Nothing I said wasn’t true.”

“I am not faulting you for surviving. A lesser woman would
have done something easier. For example, being a courtesan.”

“I do not think that would be easier than being a reporter.”

“Oh, but dear, it is. You don’t really have to work at that,
as long as you have the right partner. And if you will forgive me for being a
little insensitive, but with your mother’s reputation, there would be a great
many gentlemen in London who would be happy to take you up on any offer. No,
instead, you wanted to forge your own way. I have to admire that.”

She shouldn’t be surprised, but she was. Not by her
mother-in-law’s blunt comments or that she had understood Cordelia so well. But
she was a deeply private person.

She pushed her irritation aside. "I did want to ask
your help in something."

"Anything," she said, smiling.

"You offered to help to find out who my father
is."

"That is an excellent idea. There wouldn't have been
many Scottish noblemen around then, or any other time. Your mother did not go
to Scotland, did she?"

Cordelia shook her head. "I doubt it. I did not know
her, but then, she was one for society. I doubt she would have gone to Scotland
in the middle of winter, either."

Her mother-in-law nodded. "Of course. That makes sense.
I will have to ask around. That was a busy time for us."

"Oh?" Cordelia asked coyly. She was not trying to
pry, but Nico had done little to reveal his past to her. And his explosion this
afternoon highlighted that. He claimed to know little of her, but she knew less
of him, and he had been alive a lot longer than she had.

"Yes. Demetrius had just married Magdalen and we were
so busy."

"Demetrius, that was Nico’s brother? Older
brother?"

"Older. He was older than Nico by about fifty years. I
had difficulty giving birth again after Demetrius."

Cordelia nodded. "They were killed?"

Pain moved over Adelaide's expression, and Cordelia hated
asking her. She did not want to cause any discomfort to the woman who had
accepted her so readily.

She opened her mouth to change the subject, but Adelaide
stopped her.

"Yes. They were. They were bonded as most spouses are,
and she was killed. That caused Demetrius to die, but it was slow as he felt
her life force drained from her."

The idea of knowing your wife was dying, feeling every pain
she had as she died, was horrific. Cordelia blinked against tears.

Then she caught on to a term she had not heard.
"Bonded?"

From the expression on her mother-in-law's face, she had
just realized she said something wrong.

"Yes. After a time, you are bonded."

"After a time? Is there no ritual?"

She sighed. "Yes. The Made must offer his blood. Then,
your life forces are together for eternity and into the afterlife."

Cordelia let the information sink in. Nico had not bonded
with her. It made sense because they were not a love match. True, she highly
suspected that she was in love with the man. She would not have lost her temper
that afternoon if she wasn't. He had not told her, though. He probably didn’t
want to explain why he had not bonded with her.

“Cordelia, it is a very serious matter. No Born does it
lightly.”

“You do not have to make excuses for your son. I know we are
not a love match. What I hate is being in the dark about your world. He rarely
tells me anything. What little I find out is snippets. I have no problem with
not being bonded.” She blew out a breath. “That’s a lie. It bothers me a
little. What I hate is feeling as if I am a stranger. I have spent too much of
my life like that.”

“I will help you.”

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “I would
appreciate it. I just want to make sure I can find my place.”

“We will start tomorrow on finding out who your father is.
Your sister should have some kind of idea.”

Cordelia sighed again, now feeling as if she could sleep a
thousand years. She really hated dealing with Diana. She had stayed in London,
which was very uncommon for her sister.

“Yes. I guess I could invite her for tea tomorrow.”

Adelaide nodded. “That sounds wonderful. I think you better
go to bed. You do not look well.”

“Thank you. I think I will.”

She hesitated.

“Go on, Cordelia. I will tell Nico.”

Cordelia walked down the hall to her suite. Each step she
took made her even more tired. By the time she was in her room, Cordelia felt
ready to drop. With great effort, she undressed and then donned her nightdress.

Slipping into bed, she pushed away all thoughts of her new
life and drifted off to sleep.

*
 
*
 
*
 
*

“We are going to have to start patrolling more,” Gray said,
his voice ominous.

Nico nodded but his mind was on his wife. If Saint were to
be believed, he was about to be a father. Every time he had a stray thought, it
was about her or the baby they would share together.

"Nico, are you paying attention?" his father
asked.

Of course he wasn't. Again. He had been married just over a
month, and he didn't seem able to tear his thoughts away from the woman.

"I think we need to call on the Alliance for this,”
Nico said. “We need younger vampires out on the streets. If we don't have them,
we can't protect women."

"And we need to stop the number of Mades he is
producing," Gray added.

"I doubt it is just him," Saint said. "More
than likely he has one or more people helping him."

"Why? He is a pariah in our society. Who would help
him?" Gray asked.

"There is always unrest, those who would rather not
want the Alliance to have control of things. There are also a number of Mades
he could manipulate. That might be why we are finding the blood drained of the
men," Saint said.

Nico nodded. There was a slight knock at the door, then his
mother came in. Everyone rose around the table, but she waved them back down.

"No, dear, I came by to tell you Cordelia is not going
out tonight. She is too tired and really needs a good rest."

"Of course," he said.

"I take it you are going out tonight?" His mother
looked like she knew the answer.

He was, but now he didn't want to. It might be best to stay
in and rest himself. Next to his wife.

"I think I might stay in." Yes. That sounded like
a much better plan.

She gave him a knowing look and a kiss on the cheek.

"I am going to retire myself. I feel every one of my
seven hundred and fifty years tonight."

Then, she left them alone.

"I am going to contact father," Gray said. "I
think that he needs to rally some of the council members around this cause. If
not, we might find ourselves with a war on our hands."

Malik shook his head. "We already have a war on our
hands, Gray. Do you not see it?"

Gray sighed and nodded. “There are more than a few reports
of people disappearing, and I know for a fact that Viscount Emery had an
encounter with one the other night. The Made insinuated that there were a few
more running the streets.”

"Not just a few," Saint said. "I would say
that there is a chance he is reaching the hundreds now. He might have heard how
you saved Hurst and started doing the same to save his."

Malik shook his head. "And if he knows that, he will
have them under his thumb. He will have a bloody army of Mades ready to do his
bidding."

Malik knew exactly what he spoke of. He had witnessed it
twice, and Nico knew that his friend still had nightmares.

"Contact your father. I think we can drum up some more
support and make it impossible for the bastard to make his army stronger,"
Malik said.

He fell silent, and Gray was watching him. "What?"

"The thing that is bothering me is why? I can
understand why he would come after me, but what is his plan for the world of
the Borns? Neal is a Born. He wanted to be on that damned Quad so badly. He
doesn't need a massive army and he doesn't need to come after me. So, I am
confused."

“Who gives a damn?” Hurst asked, his voice quiet. He had
been silent for most of the time, watching the men as they discussed the
situation.

“What do you mean?”

“Why do we care why he is doing this?” Nico could hear the
aggravation in Hurst’s voice.

Nico understood Hurst’s irritation and the fear Nico knew
Hurst was trying to hide.

“We find out his reasons, we can possibly guess his next
move,” Nico said calmly.

Hurst lapsed into a brooding silence.

“I am going to go out tonight,” Saint said.

“Let me drop Hurst off at the house and I will go with you,”
Gray said.

“I want to go.” Hurst spoke quietly, never leaving his
chair.

They all turned back to Hurst.

“No, too dangerous,” Gray said. “You are newly turned, and
we do not know what will happen.”

“I want to go. I want to help find this bastard.”

Nico opened his mouth to disagree, but Malik said, “Let him
come.”

He studied his oldest friend, the one he was closer to than
even his own brother. Malik was the only one who knew what Hurst was truly
going through right now.

“You think he can handle it?” Nico asked.

Malik looked at him. “I can keep an eye on him. He might
remember something, help us in some way.”

Nico nodded. “Then it is settled. He will go with you.” He
looked at Hurst. “Be careful, because he might be a target. By now, Neal knows
Hurst survived. He will be worried about what Hurst remembers, and he might
want to kill him.”

Malik nodded. “Remember, old man, I can take care of it. I
will stake my life on it.”

“I am going tonight.” Nico should be there. He could not
allow his friends to go into such a dangerous situation without joining them.

“No.” Malik shook his head at his friend. “There are enough
of us. Cordelia already said she did not want to go out tonight. I will get
ready. I have stakes.”

Hurst’s face paled.

“Just as a precaution.” Nico smiled.

“I hope you know what you are doing, Nico. You are his
target.” Malik looked worried.

Nico stood from his chair and began pacing the room. “I do
not like hiding. It is beginning to make me feel unmanly.”

Saint rolled his eyes.

“Can we get on with it tonight?” Hurst asked.

“Indeed,” Saint said.

Malik took the others to outfit them with stakes as Nico
made his way to his bedroom. Of course, it was Cordelia’s, but she had not
realized he had moved into hers. He could not sleep anywhere else, nor did he
want to.

He knocked softly. There was no answer. He slipped through
the door, shutting it behind him. She was sleeping. The only light in her room
came from the moonlight peeking through the curtains. He moved towards the bed
and watched her. She was curled up on her side, her blonde curls feathered over
the pillows.