Giver of Light (35 page)

I stomped my foot in frustration. A real tantrum throwing move, but I didn't really care, frustration didn't even cover where I was currently at. I let my senses roam and picked up the exact location of the rogue, down Queen Street, near the Town Hall, in the vicinity of the Aotea Square. The closer I got the more accurate I would become, but that was a fairly narrow area and for a vampire hunting another vampire, it might just be enough.

I turned to Marcus. “Aotea Square, one rogue about to eat an innocent. Take care of it and meet Matthias back outside the club when you're done.” It was the only solution possible. No one else could barter for the lives of the vampires held by Jonathan, but reluctantly, I had to admit, that someone else could take care of the rogue. It went against every natural instinct I had. The Nosferatin in me wailing a lament at my decision not to hunt. I forcefully pushed that part of me aside. I couldn't be everything to everyone at once. I just couldn't.

Marcus hadn't moved. “What are you waiting for? He's about to be dinner and I'm picking this rogue lacks table manners.” They all did, this one would be no different, so time was of the essence.

“I am not leaving you to face Jonathan on your own. The Master would not want this.”

Oh shit. Calling Michel the
Master
was pulling the big guns, but I had big guns too.

“One. I will not be on my own.” I pointed a finger at Samson and then at Matthias. “And two. Michel is out of the city, which means as his kindred Nosferatin I am in charge of the line. I say do this, this is my command, you will obey.” I followed it up with a little Light, a little Nosferatin mojo and watched the expression on his face change from grim determination and defiance, to simple acquiescence and acceptance of my demand. Gotta love vampires and their stupid rules. Not to mention supernatural mojo.

He nodded once and flashed away towards Queen Street, where Aotea Square was located. I didn't wait for the pull to disappear, I simply did not have time. I took a quick look at Matthias, who nodded and seeped into the shadows out of sight and then Samson and I walked the final few metres to
Sensations
and banged on the locked door.

Show time.

A quick feel with my senses let me know no other vampires were out and about nearby, but there were some thirty inside the bar. One in particular, sent a shiver down my spine and an uncontrolled roll of my stomach. I swallowed past the fear and nausea and straightened my shoulders and lifted my chin.

The door opened all of its own accord and Samson and I walked in. A swift glance about the main clubroom floor let me know Michel's vampires were all on the ground beside the bar, all ten, chained by silver. Doug looking a little worse for wear, but alive and also staring very angrily at me right now, no doubt of the same opinion as
M & M -
I shouldn't be here at all. The rest of Jonathan's men were not all in the same room. Some I sensed down in the cellar, Michel's vampires' accommodation wing and also towards Michel's chamber, in his office and down the hall. I sensed one or two in the garage, maybe waiting for our approach through there, but otherwise, there were still at least a dozen in this room alone. Too many to take on, even for me.

I couldn't see Jonathan, but I sure as hell could feel him.

Samson and I walked into the centre of the dance floor and stood still, waiting. I itched to palm some silver, the Svante sword feeling heavy at my back. I wanted to take heads and hearts and I wanted to do it now. From sheer force of will alone, I held off.

A whole minute passed and nobody said a thing, nor approached us, nor disarmed us either. The room was still, laced with a heavy dose of anticipation and if I wasn't mistaken, a little fear. I sniffed the air to home in on that fear and felt my lips curl when I realised it was Jonathan's men. They'd only ever been around me when I was drugged and even then I had escaped their master's clutches. Now, I was the big bad vampire hunter, the
Sanguis Vitam Cupitor
and all the rest. I was guessing, I was a baby vampire's nightmare, the sort of thing a master threatens their newly turned with if they misbehave. Don't drip blood when you feed or the
Prohibitum Bibere
will call you to them. Watch your manners or the
Lux Lucis Tribuo
will steal your Dark soul.

I started laughing, I couldn't help it.

“What is so amusing, sweetheart? I hardly think it the time to make a joke.”

I just laughed harder. Eventually, having to bend over and wrap an arm about my stomach, great big rib cracking guffaws making me have to wipe at my eyes and slap my thigh to try to get it under control. I could feel the uncertainty rise, not only from Jonathan's men, but also Michel's and Samson at my back.
It's all right boys and girls, I haven't totally gone bonkers yet. Just a brief side trip to the loony bin.
That's all. Nothing too drastic.

Finally, I got myself back under control and took a deep breath in and stood up straight. “Shit, that was cathartic!” I exclaimed to the room at large. Then looked Jonathan in the eyes for the very first time.

We just stared at each other for a while and I think he got it. I wasn't scared. I wasn't terrified of the man who had held me captive for a month. Who had drugged me and deceived me and attacked me. I was looking at him with a steely gaze. He was my prey, nothing more. He shifted a little uncomfortably, then tried to hide it with a straightening of his suit jacket and tie. At least he'd dressed for the occasion.

I smiled at his reaction.
You are so mine, meathead.

“You are late,” he said, voice even and well under control.

“And you're a sneaky, lying, good-for-nothing, bloodsucking bastard. We have to make do with what we got.”

“
You think this is all a game?” His
Sanguis Vitam
filled the room, making bottles behind the bar shatter and the lights sizzle above our heads in response. The buzzing of electricity, combining with the hum of power, coating everything in a hair raising fission of energy threatening to explode at any second.

I let him have his moment, it was all a show and hardly touched me at all, then I filled the room with my calming Light and simply washed his powers aside. As though they were nothing more than a pesky insect, flitting around my head and annoyingly buzzing in my ears.

“You want to play whose is bigger, I got all night, but I'm telling you here and now, I
will
win.” I probably said that a little bit more forcefully than I actually believed, but I didn't question my choice of words, I kind of felt a little removed from it all right now and was just along for the ride.

“
My, my, Lucinda. You have grown teeth since you left.” He flashed me a smile with a whole lot of fang. I didn't move an inch. “You know,” he went on conversationally. “It only makes me want to taste your blood again. It was tainted before, not at its best, but I am picking it would be
divine
now.”

I tried not shudder at his words, I knew what he was doing, trying to make me remember all the
good
times we had shared. I knew it was all a ploy, but tell that to my body. I couldn't help the wave of nausea that rolled through me, even as I battled to not let it show.

He spotted it though. He's a predator at the top of the food chain, he didn't miss a thing. It almost felt like my little act of nonchalance and bravado on entering the room had all been dashed to hell. I took a deep breath to settle my nerves and levelled my gaze at him.

He just smiled a knowing smile and didn't that make the anger come rushing back in. Every single friggin' vampire I had ever crossed, including Michel, had that same knowing smile, as though their centuries of living couldn't possibly be beaten by my mere 25 years on Earth. My anger helped centre me and I instinctively let my Light swell within, opening a connection to Nut and drawing on her ancient strength and knowledge. It momentarily surprised me, but then I felt her brush against my shields and wrap me up in her glow. I relaxed into the sensation and weight of all that time, that length of her existence and then let it flow out across the room and smash against Jonathan's internal walls.

“Do you still want a bite?” I asked a little breathlessly, watching the shock and indecision flood his features.

“What are you?” he asked in awe.

OK.
So
, not expecting that question. He knew damn well what I was, who I was, why I was even on this Earth. How could he not? Every vampire knew my destiny. They may not have approved of it, hell, a lot of them wanted to deny me it, but they all knew. Including him.

“I'm guessing that's a rhetorical question. You know damn well what I am.”

He pulled himself back together, brushing aside my answer with a flick of his hand and walked over to the bar, managing to find an unbroken bottle and glass and pouring himself a stiff drink. Very civilised, very normal. Huh.

“Would you like one?” he asked, offering me the glass.

I ignored his question. Alcohol wouldn't have been a good idea right now, my brain was already functioning on so many different levels it wasn't funny, throw alcohol into the mix and you'd have a cocktail of disastrous proportions. I could feel the pull down in Aotea Square, Marcus had still not taken out the rogue. I was constantly testing my connection to Michel and getting back zip for all the effort it took. And then there was my connection to Samson, my sense of all the vampires good and bad in the room and a slow realisation that I was feeling more.

My
Prohibitum Bibere
powers were humming in the background, as though they sensed an imminent threat and attack.
Please Nut, not now.

I rolled my shoulders to shift the feeling of dread, while Jonathan returned his attention to the drink in front of him.

“You and I have business to discuss, Lucinda. These vampires for your return to me. I gather, by your presence, that is an acceptable exchange.”

Not hardly. A stake through your rotten heart and the release of the vampires seemed far more appropriate, but beggars can't be choosers.

“You leave me little choice,” was all I actually said.

“Yes. That was the plan. Still, it is not a bad thing, is it? Being with me? I did take care of you.”

I was beginning to think Jonathan was mad. Stark raving, certifiable, loony bin, kind of mad. Did he really live in a dream world where he and I could be together, happily ever after? You had to wonder, he never gave up on the charade.

“At the risk of stating the obvious. You drugged me. You held me against my will. You attacked me. How is that taking care of me?”

“Lucinda,” he mock pleaded and then took a few steps toward me. I stiffened in response. “I had no choice. It was either that or let her kill you. I didn't want you to come to me against your will, that defeats the purpose of my revenge, I needed you to come willingly, before I crushed your soul. But my hands were tied.” I realised then just what Jonathan was playing at. This was where it all started, right here in
Sensations
, where I had turned him down and treated him with contempt. He was exacting his revenge for my spurning him. This was personal, but not intimate. This would hurt.

And then he said something, that considering everything else bizarre that had spilled from his mouth, took me utterly by surprise. “I saved you, sweetheart. You should be thankful for my help.”

“You are mad,” I said matter of factly. “Completely and utterly bonkers.”

He looked a little aggrieved then. “It is for your own good, my love. She is not to be taken lightly, her powers are phenomenal. You would not stand a chance and I cannot lose you now.” He placed his drink carefully on a table to the side and then reached in his pocket and withdrew a syringe. My heart did a flip-flop, my stomach wasn't nearly as delicate in its tumble and churn. I knew that syringe would hold the very same drug he had used on me before. I felt sweat break out all over me and a fine shiver start to invade my muscles, making me clench my fists in a pathetic attempt to still the shaking from consuming me.

If it wasn't for Samson's warm, soft hand touching my shoulder, I would have collapsed on the floor. I took a precious few seconds to draw on his strength, down the connection we shared and then did the only thing I could think of to stall for time. I started rambling.

“What about our deal? The vampires for me. Let them go first, Jonathan. Then I'll do whatever you want without a fight. That would be better, wouldn't it? No hassles, just you and me, the way you want it.”

He took another step closer, both Samson and I took one back. But a quick glance over my shoulder told me we only had another one, maybe two, of those retreating steps available to us, before we ended up in the clutches of Jonathan's men.

“They would continue to provide a threat until we leave. I will release them, sweetheart, you have my word. You did come when asked after all and I am a reasonable vampire. But, they won't be released until I can guarantee our safe exit.”

I scrambled my thoughts as quickly as I could, before Jonathan took that next step closer. This was simply a dance and sooner or later, I would run out of moves to use. But, I couldn't give in just yet. A few more minutes and Pete would be in place, but if those drugs were already on board, I would be as good as useless. Memories forgotten, lost in a sea of don't know.

“What about Michel and the others in America? You haven't told me what's happening there. If you want my full cooperation once we leave here, you have to promise they will be safe from harm.”

He laughed dangerously and cocked his head. “Sweetheart, you won't even remember your kindred when we leave here.” He lifted the syringe and wiggled it between his fingers in a blatant taunt. “Besides, I have plans for Michel, that do not include his release, nor his safety from harm.”

“What... what do you mean?” I wasn't thinking nearly as clearly as I should have been, the pressure of the moment, the threat of that horrid memory stealing drug, the pull and the buzz and the hum of whatever the hell my powers were numbly trying to tell me, were making me a jumbled bag of nerves. From standing my ground so solidly when we arrived, I was barely keeping my head above the water now.

Jonathan stepped closer, but Samson held me still. Obviously Jonathan's men had moved in from behind, we had no more room for retreat.

“Do you not remember, Lucinda? How sick you became without your kindred near? I will not make that mistake again. His nearness, when needed, will keep you healthy and that will keep you strong enough for my revenge.”

Oh. Not good. Not good at all.

“
You won't hold him. He's too powerful, he's surrounded by warriors who would die for their master before they let you capture him.” I couldn't believe that Jett or Erika would allow anything such as this horrible outcome to occur. They would simply throw themselves on silver stakes in a effort to let him escape. And unlike me, he would take it, their sacrifice for him. It's not that he's unfeeling, but he is Nosferatu. Survival at all costs.

Jonathan smiled, a sad smile. Why? I didn't really know, but I kind of got the impression, I wouldn't want to know either. Shame he didn't feel the same way as me.

“My darling, Lucinda. Do you think I haven't planned for all contingencies? Do you really think, the King of the American Families would not have an ace up his sleeve? Or more appropriately, a spy. This has not been a flight of fancy. This has been a passion of mine since the moment I met you on this very dance floor so long ago. Fitting, that it ends here. This is where it all began, after all.”