Flesh And Blood: House of Comarre: Book Two (House of Comarre 2) (28 page)

‘O
h, that’s it. Right there. Harder. Mmm-hmm, get in there.’ Tatiana purred into the massage table’s headrest. Octavian’s hands were miraculous gifts. And she deserved gifts. Especially after what she’d been through.

Holding the guises of the shifter and the fringe had spent her energy reserves and then some, leaving her drained. She’d barely had enough strength to avoid detection at the club when she’d realized the fringe’s body had been discovered. Changing back into the shifter’s form had almost caused her to black out, but surviving until sundown had become her singular focus.

Now, back in the safety of the estate Octavian had secured and with twelve comatose hours of daysleep behind her, the time had come to make new plans.

She could have killed Malkolm, but she needed him to get to the comarré. The ring was close. Tatiana could feel it as clearly as she could feel Octavian’s glorious fingers kneading the muscles along her spine, working their way down to her tailbone.

‘Delicious,’ she whispered. ‘Don’t stop.’

‘I won’t, my lady.’ His thumbs worked in slow circles, eliciting soft cries of pleasure from her.

A darker male scent invaded past the neroli oil Octavian used. She opened her eyes as a pair of masculine feet came into view. Nasir. ‘I thought I was the only one who got you to make those sounds.’

Like most men, Nasir was prone to childish bouts of jealousy. Not that Octavian’s hands on her naked body were any of his concern. She was an Elder. Her actions were not Nasir’s to judge. Nor would she indulge his emotions. Not now. ‘What news from the Nothos?’

‘No news. None have returned.’

‘Call them back, then.’ Why must she do everything? Could no one function without her step-by-step input? She closed her eyes, tired of looking at his hairy toes.

‘They have been called back. A day ago. None have returned.’

‘Call them again. Perhaps they’ve found good hunting and are too busy gorging themselves to pay attention.’

‘I
have
called them again. And again. Every hour on the hour for the past six. They are gone.’

Her entire platoon of Nothos? She wrapped the top sheet around her body and sat up. ‘That can’t be.’

‘It is.’

‘Bloody hell.’ Her fist slammed the massage table, causing it to creak. ‘
Bloody, bloody hell
. I need them. I was going to send them out on a new hunt.’ She’d brought back a piece of lining from Malkolm’s jacket so the Nothos could follow his scent and lead her to the comarré, who was surely with him. Now she was out of Nothos. Only one solution came to mind. ‘Take the plane, go back to Corvinestri, and get more. Your comarré will stay with me. I’ll wire money into your account, but so help me, if
you don’t come back, I will stake you to a solar panel and let the sun have its way with you.’

‘But I—’

‘Octavian, Nasir leaves immediately. You will drive him to the airport and inform the pilots of my orders.’

‘Yes, my lady.’ Her dutiful servant bowed.

Her less-than-dutiful companion did not. ‘Now see here, I have no intention—’

She narrowed her gaze at Nasir. ‘You will do as I tell you. I am your Elder. This situation is not open for discussion. Do you understand me?’

‘Yes.’ The word was forced out through clenched teeth and a jaw so tight Tatiana wondered if it gave him pain. She hoped it did. Ingrate.

Nasir stormed from the room, but Octavian had yet to leave. ‘Was I unclear in my directions?’

‘No, my lady, not at all. I was just wondering if there was anything else I could do for you since I’ll be out. Bring you some breakfast, perhaps?’

Octavian might be a bit of a suck-up, but sometimes more was more. ‘No, I’m fine. I have my comar.’ She hopped off the table and tucked the sheet more firmly around her. ‘Get him to the plane as quickly as you can, then hurry back. I have … plans.’

‘Very good, my lady.’ He bowed and scurried out to fulfill her orders.

Octavian was everything she’d ever wanted in a companion. Smart, passably handsome, biddable, willing – nay, eager – to do whatever she asked, regardless of how menial or gruesome a task. There was only one quality he lacked. She smiled and ran her tongue across her fangs. As soon as Nasir returned from Corvinestri and she no longer needed him, Tatiana would
remedy Octavian’s problem and finally give him the one thing he craved more than life itself.

Death. Eternal and unyielding. And along with it, all the power that accompanied the Tepes family name.

Dominic had gone down faster and with less fight than Doc had expected. Or maybe he’d misjudged the amount of colloidal silver and laudanum to use. Fi studied Dominic’s prone form like she’d never seen a vampire that close before. ‘Watch out, baby. Never know with vamps.’ Doc cringed. Of course Fi knew that. That’s how she’d ended up a ghost in the first place.

‘Did you kill him?’ Fi hovered over Dominic’s body, the worst of her loop behind her.

‘No.’ At least he hoped not. But wouldn’t Dominic have gone to ash if Doc had killed him? Doc poked at Dominic with his toe. The man was definitely out. Whether from the colloidal silver or the laudanum, Doc wasn’t sure, but the combination had done the job. Even if he had burned his fingers on a few stray drops of the silver.

Fi wavered, biting her lip. ‘What did you do to him, then?’

‘Knocked him out.’ Like a chump.

‘Why?’

Just like always, Fi was full of questions. ‘To get his blood, sweets. Need that to fix you.’

She smiled. ‘I can’t wait to be fixed.’ A second later, she clapped her hands over her mouth. When she took them away, she was frowning. ‘He’s going to be mad.’

‘That’s a sure thing.’ Doc hefted Dominic’s limp body into his arms and swung the vampire over his shoulder. Better to leave him in one of the small sun-proofed cabins than down here in the grungy, rat-infested hold. Dominic would be furious at what Doc
had done, but maybe a little consideration would keep Dominic from killing Doc the first chance he got. Or not. Whatever. It was worth a shot.

Fi quivered. ‘Not just mad. He might try to kill you.’

‘Not if I can help it.’ He gave her a quick, reassuring smile. ‘Don’t you worry about that. Now, I gotta go. Probably won’t be back for a little bit.’ He tipped his head against the vampire pitched over his shoulder.

She nodded. ‘Not until he leaves. I understand.’

‘Good girl. I don’t want you to worry. I might be gone, but you know it’s because I’m working on making things right for you, okay?’

‘I know. Okay. Be careful.’

You too
, he wanted to say, but what was the point? No matter how careful she was, she was still going to die every night until he got her free. So instead, he said a quick good-bye and left the light of his life alone in the dark with her demons.

After dumping Dominic in a cabin, Doc hustled out to the Glades. At this hour, Slim Jim, the good ole boy Doc rented air-boats from, was in bed. Most humans were. His shop was dark, locked up tight. Mindful of Slim Jim’s itchy trigger finger and bias against trespassers, Doc carefully slid some bills though the mail slot and unplugged one of the boats from its charger. In minutes he was skimming across the shallow water, headed for Aliza’s.

He shifted to his half-form, using his leopard-enhanced night vision to navigate and his heightened senses to keep tabs on the strange world unfolding around him.

From the narrow banks and grass thickets, animal eyes reflected the boat’s running lights. A large splash greeted him as he rounded an island of cypress thick with Spanish moss. Once,
he caught sight of a snake slithering through the water. Damn thing must have been as thick around as his thigh. Reminded him why he hated the Glades. After dark, the place was a nightmare, rife with things that would gobble down a house cat like it was a snack.

No wonder people dumped bodies out here.

A large winged shape passed through the moon’s light, casting Doc in shadow for a moment. He glanced up, but the thing was gone. Too big to be a bird. What else lived out here, he didn’t really want to know.

Aliza’s house rose off the horizon at last. Doc slowed as he approached, happy the lights were on. Waking the old witch would only add to an already crappy evening. And, in a second stroke of luck, Chewie’s spot on the dock was empty.

Doc idled the engine and went fully human. Classic rock and laughter spilled from the house. ‘Aliza!’ he yelled to be heard over the ruckus. He was about to yell again when the screen door opened onto the wraparound porch.

‘Well, look what the cat dragged in.’ Aliza saluted him with a bottle of vodka and laughed like she’d said something original. A few of her coven members drifted out behind her. Most of them looked as sloshed as she was.

‘I’m here to talk about what we discussed.’ He recognized one or two of the women standing behind her but none of the men. He wasn’t about to air personal business in front of strangers. Especially when it was the kind of business that could be used against him.

‘What we discussed?’ She took a swig from the bottle. ‘Your little undead dead friend?’ Her audience laughed.

‘Yes.’ Once again, a trip to Aliza’s was not turning out the way he wanted it to. Surprise.

She leaned on the railing, dangling the bottle over the water. ‘I already told you what I need to make that happen.’ She glanced back at her friends, then at him again. ‘Begging ain’t gonna help you.’ She snickered. ‘Purring might.’ Her friends broke out in laughter and she joined them, snorting at her own hilarity.

‘I’m not here to beg. I have what you want.’ He had both items she’d asked for, including the Medusa.

She spoke to her friends but loud enough for him to hear. ‘If I had a fiver for every man who told me that … ’ More laughter, but she suddenly turned to look at him with more sobriety than she’d showed since she stepped out onto the porch. ‘You have the blood?’

The word turned the assembled crowd’s laughter into murmurs and whispers.

‘Yes.’

‘Show me.’

Again, not how he wanted this to go down, but what he’d done wasn’t going to stay secret once Dominic woke up anyway. He reached into the interior pocket of his jacket, pulled out the vial, and held it up. Aliza handed off the vodka and adjusted one of the security floodlights anchored to the railing to shine on him directly. The blood glowed like expensive wine. Deathly quiet spread over the crowd.

Aliza, suddenly all business, gestured toward the dock. ‘Get up here.’

He moored the airboat, jumped off, and climbed the stairs to the door. Aliza had it open and waiting. The smell of booze, pot, and magic assaulted him as he walked in. Beer bottles and cups littered the flat surfaces. Someone had strung fairy lights around Evie’s statue, and a mostly eaten sheet cake sat on the counter
next to the sink. Black sugar roses trimmed what was left of it. ‘Am I interrupting something?’

Aliza shut the door behind him, her face somber. ‘Today is Evie’s birthday.’

He handed her the vial and a small packet of Medusa. ‘Well, this should mean she’ll be here in person next year.’

‘Yes.’ Aliza nodded, oddly quiet. ‘Stay here. I’ll be right back.’

As she left, her coven filtered through the kitchen getting drinks, cake, whatever excuse they could to check him out, all the while eyeing him like he might snap them up like field mice. Or turn into a unicorn. Varcolai and witches didn’t exactly run in the same circles, but they weren’t unknown to each other either. Or maybe they’d just never seen one who’d gotten blood out of a vampire and lived to tell the tale.

A few of them nodded in greeting. He just stared back from where he leaned against the wall. He wasn’t here to make friends.

Aliza returned, her face cranked into a scowl. She waggled the vial of blood at him. ‘This is no good.’ The few coven members left in the kitchen quickly disappeared.

He straightened. ‘Like hell it is. I took it out of Dominic myself.’

‘Oh, it’s that scum sucker’s blood all right, but it’s tainted. Laced with laudanum and silver.’

Frustration burned in his gut. ‘How the hell did you think I was going to get the blood out of him? I tried asking. Trust me. Didn’t work.’