Hidden Trump (Bite Back 2) (43 page)

What would Top have done? Play the hand he was dealt.

I took a deep breath. “Okay. My apologies. I can’t say I won’t get it wrong again, but I’ll try not to.” I paused. “What’s my situation now?”

“Unchanged,” said Skylur. “This is not a prison, but you have to stay here while Basilikos remain in Denver, other than in exceptional circumstances.”

Everyone was calmer. I’d done what I could out there. Alex and the pack were at least aware of what was going on. Jen was staying anonymously in hotels with guards. Tullah was out of the way, and I suspected it would be an unwise Athanate that went up against Kaothos. With them off my mind temporarily, I could handle the Assembly.

“You need to understand.” Skylur leaned forward again, resting his elbows on his knees. “I cannot let you—”

One of his staff opened the door and said something. Some of the team outside looked pale with shock.

Skylur’s face went stiff, and he rose.

“Ten minutes, meeting room 6,” he said to Bian curtly and strode away without a glance.

I glared after him.

“Cut him some slack,” said Bian.

“I am.”

“Not enough, Amber.” She checked that the door was closed and bent close to me, making my heart stutter. “Listen, it’s not all your fault, but you don’t understand the position you put Skylur in.”

“Then explain it to me!”

“This is Basilikos’ perfect storm. If Matlal starts a war, Panethus and the independents would unite against Basilikos. But if Skylur were to start a war, not only would Panethus split, but the independents would stand aside, except the Midnight Empire.”

“Okay, I understand that. But Skylur isn’t—”

“Panethus need a strong leader,” Bian went on, talking over me. “They expect a strong leader. They think they know what your Blood will do. Some of them would have expected him,
required
him to go to war if you had been taken by Basilikos today, simply on the threat that might pose. And they would have split if he had not, in which case Basilikos would strike anyway. Think on that hanging over his head this last couple of days. Now you’re safe and he should move to the next concern—keeping Panethus together in the Assembly. And now…” she shook her head. “Well, have some appreciation for his position.”

One of her escort put her head around the door and spoke briefly in Athanate, while listening to something on an earplug. Bian went to the door and paused with it held shut. “This has been a frightening buildup to the Assembly, and you’ve had your part in that, Round-eye. Some of it’s your doing and some of it’s not. We may be on the brink of a war, which cannot be won, and will be a complete disaster for the whole Athanate. It’s a real worry that he hasn’t been talking to me, but…” she glanced at me over her shoulder, “I still trust him. He’s the only one who can get us through this.” She bowed her head and closed her eyes for a minute as if gathering her strength, then squared her shoulders and went out. I was alone again.

Damn. Some of it
was
my fault. Not the war, even though I might have been a trigger to start it. But I had caused problems when they should have been concentrated on the volatile situation. I’d been stupidly angry with Skylur, reacting rather than thinking things through. I wasn’t going to waste time second-guessing my decisions from today, but I did have to grant them they had reason to be unhappy with me. And I’d been rattled enough by what’d happened today I wasn’t thinking clearly. My mind skittered away from it all. Now, there was whatever had just happened in Haven that had shocked everyone, which no one wanted to explain to me.

I gave up guessing and took a shower, then collapsed on the bed, wrapped up in Pia’s bathrobe. I was too tired to deal with things like finding new clothes to wear. I made sure Tullah’s emergency cell was at the bedside, and everything else was off.

The next thing I knew, Pia was bending over me. I struggled to get up, but she pushed me back.

“Just rest, I’ll get the bedclothes straightened out.”

We tugged the sheets around until they covered me and then she left me to go take a shower. I drifted off again. A few minutes later and she slipped in beside me, warm and smelling of lavender soap. And buck naked.

I woke up in a hurry. I was Mistress of an Athanate House. I had duties. I swallowed nervously. Blood was out; Skylur’s ban was still in place. That left sex, I guessed. Crap. I surged up. I did not want—

Pia seemed to understand. She giggled. “Relax.”

She slipped out of bed and came back in what I guessed was David’s bathrobe.

We sat on the bed a little awkwardly.

“I’ve made progress on the charter you asked for,” she said. “But Skylur’s been keeping us very busy.”

“I’m looking forward to the charter. What have you guys—”

Pia held up a hand. “Mustn’t say,” she said. “Direct orders from Skylur. Talk to no one.”

“Did that mean me?”

She looked thoughtful. “Possibly not. I suppose we could assume—”

“No.” I stopped her and saw relief in her expression. “No. I’ve been too close to the edge with Skylur this week. I’m not going to push it.” I narrowed my eyes. How far did this House bond go? “Just for interest—”

“Yes, Mistress,” she murmured, lowering her eyes. “I would answer if you asked.”

I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t put her in that position. That would definitely be a misuse of my authority. The feeling of Athanate connections came back to me. Confusing, powerful. Even a little scary.

“I told you, Pia, it’s Amber. Definitely not Mistress,” I said, mock angry.

She smiled a little. “That’s in public.” She looked down again. “In private, I need the Mistress of my House. Calling you that helps me feel the connection with you.”

“What’s it like?” I asked, curious.

“The connection? A little of everything. My spouse, my boss, my priest, my team captain, my big sister, my friend.”

I chuckled uneasily. “Damn! I hope I can manage all that.”

“You will,” she said, and this time her smile was stronger.

“Can I ask about when you were House Altau?” I was worried that might be taboo for Athanate.

“Of course!”

“Was the connection like that with Skylur?”

She shook her head. “It was a very safe feeling, being part of Altau. And we’re affiliate, so I can sort of keep that.” She tilted her head. “But it was never so…” she frowned and shrugged, “companionable, I guess. Skylur was always too busy for me. Diana’s too scary and Bian’s too, well, Bian for me.” She paused.

“I’d never get to sit on the bed with Skylur and just talk about things.” I could feel her contentment, almost smugness. “And you’ve made me exotic and popular. Our marque is attractive. I can’t tell you what a boost that’s been. Even tucked away and working my butt off, I’ve never had so many proposals before.”

“As in you’re getting proposals for sharing blood?”

“They’re not allowed to have the real thing,” she looked shyly at me, “so they try for the next best. But Skylur says no Blood for the moment, and besides, I don’t want to dilute it in any way. I really want to be House Farrell, Mistress.”

My Athanate purred.

“And as for the other proposals,” she gave a contented little growl, “I have David. Or at least, I do when we have time. Been a bit busy this week.”

I laughed and leaned back against the headboard. This wasn’t so bad.

David stumbled in at that point, hollow-eyed with fatigue.

He came and sat on the edge of the bed and Pia twisted around and gave him a hug. He spared a smile for me.

“Done?” Pia asked.

“Yes, finally finished.”

“Go shower and come to bed,” said Pia, giving him a gentle shove in the right direction and watching him as he dragged himself into the bathroom, shedding clothes.

She was facing away from me and her beautiful hair cascaded down her back, black waves making a startling contrast with the white bathrobe.

I picked up a stray lock and let it run through my fingers like a piece of silky midnight.

Kath had always had beautiful hair too. We’d sat just like this countless times.

Pia sighed and stretched, shaking her head and making the whole dark waterfall shiver.

I combed it back with my fingers.

“That’s nice, Mistress,” she murmured. “Why so sad?”

I hesitated, then went on combing. “I was thinking of my sister, how we used to do this. Now she hates me.”

“We are sisters, now,” she whispered.

David’s shower stopped. It was very quiet.

“There were a lot of other roles for me,” I said.

“You’re doing well, believe me.”

She leaned back a little, so I could run my fingers the whole length of her hair. I could feel her willing my dark thoughts away. “You get ten Mistress points right now,” she said.

“For combing your hair?”

“With your fingers. In bed. And you only get one for the combing. The other nine are for enjoying it.” She sighed. “I can feel that. It feeds me and it feeds the bonds between us.”

“Oh.” That wasn’t so difficult, at least. “Good.”

David came to bed. At least he had a pair of boxers on.

My uncomfortable feeling returned, but in seconds they arranged themselves on either side of me like brackets. David was asleep as soon as he lay down, his face against my shoulder.

Pia switched the light off and settled down on her pillow. The earlier tension was back. It was wrong. I did have a duty and it was for nothing more than we’d felt while I combed her hair.

Moving tentatively, I reached out and pulled her closer. She wriggled up against me until her head rested on my pillow and she let a last small sigh escape.

I was tired. A profound sense of Athanate family stole over me. I would do everything to be worthy of the trust that they were placing in me. Some mysterious Athanate response kicked off in me and Pia breathed deeply and purred as she fell asleep. David shifted closer without waking.

Haven wasn’t home, by a long shot, but this was my Athanate family. I was putting out something soothing in my marque and they were unconsciously reacting in the same way. It felt like I was being stroked to sleep.

I slept very well. All the more shattering when I was woken early by Tullah’s call.

“Amber, Jen’s been kidnapped.”

Chapter 42

SATURDAY

“Exceptional circumstances, Bian,” I said on the cell, gunning the Ford out of the underground garage. “That’s what Skylur said.”

“You don’t even know where she is,” replied Bian. “And this is just one woman against the future of the Athanate. This Assembly—”

“This Assembly is a farce and you know it. Basilikos are already moving against us. They’re only interested in keeping the appearance of the Assembly going to weaken support for action in the Panethus party.” I took deep, calming breaths. “And for me, it’s not just one woman. It’s Jen…and she’s family. She’s kin.”

Bian was silent. I turned onto the driveway and headed for the gates. They were still closed and the guards were coming out now, weapons in hand. My heart thudded painfully in my chest. I had to get out, but I couldn’t fight these people. They were family too.

I could hear sounds in the background as someone asked Bian a question and she replied. They spoke in Athanate, so I didn’t know what had been said. It sounded angry.

“I understand, Amber,” Bian said to me and the gates started to open. I blinked, relief flooding through me. Bian’s voice sounded strained. “Good hunting. If you find her, call me, and I’ll push for help.”

“Thank you, Bian,” I whispered and ended the call. The guards moved aside and waved us through.

David’s hand came from the back seat and squeezed my shoulder. “We’ll find her,” he said.

David and Pia were dressed in black combats and carrying their P90s and Kevlar vests in a sports bag. The ugly little P90 machine gun was Altau’s standard issue and they’d be useful.

I was in yesterday’s damaged clothing, but I’d brought all my operational equipment from my Audi. I was as well armed as I could be, heading into the unknown. And if this wasn’t the most experienced team I could have as backup, it was still immensely comforting to have them there.

At Manassah, Tullah was standing outside and I skidded to a halt next to her.

“Stay in the car, guys,” I said to David and Pia. “I don’t want the police to see you in that gear.”

Tullah was white-faced and trembling, deeply shocked. I hugged her and coaxed her through what had happened.

When we had moved the office here, Tullah had linked the alarm system into her cell and it had sent her a message when it went off. She’d arrived first, followed by Victor’s quick response team and the police. She’d managed to get in and out before them.

“The patio doors were forced open.” She swallowed. “Reynolds…he’s dead, Amber. The other guard too. I think they were wounded first. Then…” she angrily wiped tears from her cheeks and looked away. “Then they were shot in the head as they lay there.”

After a moment she continued. “The guards fought back. I think Jen fired a shotgun. There were five other bodies in the house.” She took a breath. “No messages left.”

This was all my fault. I hadn’t found Hoben. I hadn’t warned Jen and Victor how serious the problem was.

“I need to know who did this,” I said and made to move past her.

She held me. “It wasn’t Athanate, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

I looked at her. “This is some Adept thing? You know this for sure?”

She nodded jerkily.

“Were?”

“No. They were human. A dozen of them, I’d guess.”

The only person it could be was Frank Hoben. But why Jen? It was me he was after. Unless he was using Jen to get to me. Why the hell had she come back here?

I had to put that aside. The police would take note of us if we hung around. Tullah had stopped me from making a big mistake walking in there. I could not have the police looking at my personal armory in the trunk, or asking me questions for hours.

“Tullah, you’ve done what you can, thanks. This is up to me now.”