Kindred (13 page)

“
So, why are you disobeying him?”

He smiled at that. That evil smile he can do so well, the one he uses if you piss him off outside one of the clubs he's bouncing at. I'm sure it scares the pants off Norms, but I can take it.

“
I have different orders.”

OK, I'll bite. “What would they be?”

“
If I tell you, I'd have to kill you.” A twinkle in his eyes.

“
Sure, somehow I don't think the
Master
would appreciate that.” I'd call his bluff on that one.

He chuckled. “I'm your guard. I go where you go from now on.”

Oh no. That was not what I wanted to hear.
God damn Michel, I was not a child to be baby-sat!

Bruno must have sensed my anger, hell it couldn't have been hard, I was boiling in it. He stiffened slightly and said, “What did you expect, Luce? You are in danger and he can't watch you 24/7, he is the Master of the City.”

“
I don't expect him to
watch
me at all! I am not his property to take care of!” I was fair shouting by now, my fists in balls at my side, my heartbeat thumping a staccato rhythm in my chest.

He looked at me as if I was mad. It didn't help my temper one bit. “But you are
his,
Lucinda. He would not let you be harmed.” He said it as if it was special, a gift. I should be lucky to have the Master of Auckland City claiming me as his own. Yeah ri-ight.

All at once Bruno turned swiftly towards the house. “That will be all, Bruno.” He was gone, so quickly I didn't see him move. There one second, gone the next. Poof.

I could feel Michel standing right behind me. My back was stiff, shoulders rigid. My nails digging into the palms of my hands, drawing blood. Then a wave of peace washed against me, almost making me drop to my knees. I fought it, I really did. I so did
not
want him to be able to do this to me. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I don't know why I was crying. It could have been the anger, but part of me reluctantly acknowledged it was my disappointment. Disappointment at Michel using his powers on me again. I thought we had passed that.

All at once he was in front of me, brushing those tears away with his hand. It felt warm and soft and oh, I did not want him to stop.

“
Ma douce
, please do not cry.” His voice cracked ever so slightly, the French lilt unmistakable.

“
Why do you do this?” I looked at him, his eyes a deep blue and indigo swirl.

“
I cannot help it. You are in pain.”

“
I was angry, Michel. That's different. I should be
allowed
to be angry at you.”

“
Yes, you are right.” His hand was now holding the side of my neck, caressing it softly just below the ear. He brought his head down and kissed my forehead, lips lingering on my flesh. “I am so sorry, Lucinda. Truly I am.”

“
Then why do you do it?”

He sighed. “I am connected to you in a way I have never been to any other before. The pull is so strong, I cannot fight it.”

“
Cannot? Or will not?”

He smiled, a rueful smile. “You know me well, my dear.”

“
I am not yours, Michel.” No harm trying to reiterate the obvious.

“
Oh, but you are.”

“
No.”

The tears were still coming, why couldn't I stop them? I hate crying, it's all puffy eyes and snotty nose and completely and utterly unattractive. I do
not
cry in front of people. Ever. But for the life of me, I couldn't stop crying now. Because, I knew, I knew he was right. From the moment I first saw him in the bank that wet, cold, cloudy day. I knew he was mine too.

All of a sudden I realised his power was no longer there, it hadn't been for a while. Perhaps he'd even pulled it back as soon as I challenged him. All I knew was I felt bereft and then quickly the anger returned.

I took a step back and struggled to calm my breathing. Michel looked pained, as though he hated seeing me upset.
Well get used to it, buddy.

“
What are we going to do about Max?” Business as usual, see? I can be professional.

“
We strike before he has a chance to regroup.”

Now we were talking.

It was only later that I realised that he had won this round. He hadn't answered my question of why Max hadn't found us at this house.

It didn't go exactly to plan. Michel had located where Max had retreated to, but when some of his vamps did a reconnaissance trip, to scope the place out, he had fled. Less than 48 hours after the battle Max had vanished.

More and more of Michel's vamp underlings came and went, keeping him abreast of what was happening in the city and throughout the country. At least that was one thing Michel could say, even though he was Master of a two-bit city in the south pacific, far away from the big boys, he has actually got the whole country to himself. He doesn't have to share with another master controlled city.

You see, New Zealand's not that big. We've got about four million people, 30 million sheep and several hundred vamps. There's Taniwhas dotted here and there. Rick's Hapū aren't alone, but they don't mix well together. It's a natural instinct to fight. Top dog and all that. We've got an untold number of ghouls, but they stick to Auckland, they don't like open spaces for some reason, so travelling out of the city's a bit of a no-no for their kind.

Vamps can roam. There's a few down in Wellington and maybe even on the South Island, but they keep a very low profile. It's a lifestyle choice not to hunt in a city the size of Auckland or larger. They've basically shunned their natural instincts. Not impossible, but it takes control. You don't usually find a rampaging vamp anywhere other than Auckland here. The ones that choose to live elsewhere are pretty tame.

So, it didn't take long for Michel's men to scour the country and come up empty handed in their search for Max. He wasn't here, he'd left our shores to regroup. Just as Michel had feared.

We hadn't been quick enough.

Michel insisted that we stay at the holiday home while they searched. He had covered at the bank for me, having one of his vamps glaze my supervisor into believing I had a few days leave owing. I wasn't happy about that. I find glazing akin to assault. There's no defence of it, but I couldn't help thinking at least that was one thing I didn't have to worry about. Bad me. I couldn't stand the thought of losing my job though, it was my lifeline to reality. The only thing that kept me sane.

Rumours on the
Iunctio
were concerning. There were indications that Max was garnering support overseas. Some very strong and powerful vampires were rallying to his cause. He had them believing that I was
his
and that Michel had usurped his position with me. I don't know what was more frightening, the fact that they believed him so readily, believed that I could
want
to be with that man, or the fact that they were older Master Vampires. Either options scared me.

After three days of looking at the view from the windows of Michel's holiday home, I'd had enough. I had never been very good at sitting still and just relaxing. My vacations have always been back on the farm, helping Mum and Dad with the sheep, fixing fences, feeding lambs. I don't do reclining by the pool with a magazine.

Besides, even though I couldn't feel the pull of my hunter instincts, I knew that didn't mean that there weren't any wayward vamps out there taking advantage of my absence from the city. I was just too far removed from the source to feel it here.  The need to hunt was overwhelming.

Surprisingly, Michel did not fight me on it. We all returned to Auckland five days after the battle in Parnell. Nothing was said, but I didn't for a moment believe that Michel had lowered his guard and allowed me to walk away from him, back to my apartment and life, without leaving Bruno somewhere hidden in the shadows. I couldn't fight him on that one, but if Bruno stayed out of my way, then I'd stay quiet. For now.

Waiting on my doorstep was the familiar round of gifts. Flowers, cards, a basket with stuffed bunnies and chocolate cats. Must be a shape shifter joke. I couldn't face the entire Hapū's affections right now. I needed to get physical. So, after the usual rounds of catch up house keeping, I headed to the Gym.

Grabbing a backpack with my toiletries, change of clothes and my silver, I was set. After being taken at the bank in broad daylight, I wasn't risking it ever again. Silver would be with me 24/7 from now on, I'd learned my lesson. I headed toward the gym. If I was lucky, Rick would be there and spar with me for a bit.

Tony's Gym is in an old brick building, two stories high. Painted a lighter shade of grey with a red trim, it kind of looks like an old fire station from a distance. There's not much parking to speak of nearby, but I don't have a car anyway, so it doesn't bother me. Some of the other patrons grumble a bit about it though.

The kick boxing area is on the second floor, towards the back. Although an old building, it's all modern and refurbished inside. Air conditioning makes it pleasant in the heat of an Auckland summer. It wasn't hot out now, but not cold either. Usual Auckland temp.

I found Rick sparring with a client. I popped my gear away and donned my gloves. I watched their moves from the corner of my eye as I warmed up at one of the bags hanging a few feet away. It wasn't long before Rick had worn the poor guy out. He looked a newbie, all flailing arms and awkward kicks. Nothing landing where they should.

Finally, Rick let the guy go. I couldn't help smiling at the relief on the chap's face.

“
Hey, Luce! Didn't know you were back.”

I'd been in touch with Rick of course, told him where I was and not to worry. The Hapū had heard about the battle in Parnell. Every supernatural being had been aware of the power force unleashed that day. Hence the gifts waiting on my doorstep.

“
You up for a round, or did that guy wear you out?” I asked, a small smile playing on my lips. Shape shifters, never wear out.

“
Yeah right! Come on, let's see if you've gone soft on me.”

Rick's been my kick boxing teacher ever since I came to Auckland. All shape shifters tend to work in a physical role, or labour intensive environment. All that testosterone I suppose. He held back when we first met, but it didn't take him long to see I could keep up with the big boys. It was only when I'd passed all his “tests” in the ring, that he let me meet the Hapū. Even well behaved Taniwhas can be dangerous. He wanted to make sure I could fight if needed.

We quickly fell into an easy routine, in the quiet, yet echo sounding kick-boxing area of the Gym. I'd feint, he'd counter, until finally we started to connect. It felt good to land the first punch, followed swiftly by a semi-circular kick, but Rick was expecting it and jumped lithely out of the way. He rounded on me with an upper cut, but missed as I dodged and  came back with a back kick. Got him good with that one.

It went on like that for a few minutes and then I really found my pace. By the time we finished our fifth three minute round, he was puffing and had marks all over his upper and lower body. His short, usually spiky, light brown hair was limp against his head and his T-Shirt clung to his muscles like glue. I'd slayed him. He looked a little surprised.

“
What have you been eating, Luce? Man, you haven't fought like that before.” He rubbed his jaw where I had landed a really great flying-punch.

“
I just needed to let loose a bit. Sorry if I got carried away,” I offered as way of an explanation to his bemused and slightly shocked expression.

He looked at me a little strangely then and said, “I don't think that was it, Luce. You've never been that strong before. Honest, it's not my pride talking here, although that's taken a bit of a hit. Um, has something happened?”

When I looked at him with total confusion on my face, he went on. “You know, has Michel done something to you already?”

I felt my stomach drop. “He... he couldn't do anything without me knowing.” I wasn't sure of that, but I had been clinging to it throughout my entire stay in Taupo. I still wasn't sure what exactly Michel was capable of. He may have let me get closer than any other human around, but he still held a few things close to his chest. I didn't, for a moment, think he wasn't capable of a shit load more supernatural things than he had been letting on. Michel was a consummate actor, sometimes I thought he was just playing me. I really hoped he hadn't been the past five days.

Rick could see the look of distress on my face, so didn't push it. “Yeah, well, just a thought that's all. You were pretty strong.”

We got changed and had a coffee at the café downstairs. Neither of us mentioned it again, but it was festering in the back of my mind, my subconscious just wouldn't let it go. My life was changing all around me and I couldn't stop thinking Michel was to blame.

Rick brought me up-to-date with all the happenings with the Hapū. He turned a little red in the cheeks when he told me he and Celeste had had an official date. Surprisingly, I was happy for him. Not a hint of jealousy. Great!