Refuge (43 page)

“We play checkers,” I clarified, and
Nikolas’s gaze swung back to me. “One of these days I might
actually beat him.”

“Checkers. How quaint.” Celine slid into the
chair next to Nikolas wearing a sapphire blue dress so tight I was
surprised she could sit without splitting a seam. She leaned toward
him and gave a throaty laugh, her barely covered chest on display.
“Although, I can think of much more
entertaining
ways to spend an evening.”

Nikolas smiled, and I had a sudden desire to
kick him under the table. That, or remind him that I could zap
Mohiri, too. The only question was whether to do it to him or
Celine first. I would not forget how she had lied to me and tried
to manipulate me into breaking the bond with Nikolas.

“Ah, the beautiful Celine,” Desmund said,
earning a smile from her. “Did I ever tell you that you remind me
of a courtesan I knew once in King George’s court? She was stunning
to look upon and much sought after.”

Celine toyed with her hair. “You flatter me,
Desmund. Was she someone of noble birth?”

“No, but I believe she serviced a duke or
two.”

I choked on my water. Tristan reached over to
pat my back, while smiling graciously at the outraged woman.
“Celine, I have a Beaujolais that would go lovely with this meal.
If I remember correctly, you prefer French wines.”

She tossed her hair, only slightly mollified.
“That would be lovely, Tristan.”

Tristan called over a server and requested
the wine. While he waited, he stepped in to steer the conversation
to safer subjects. He talked about the teams he had sent to Las
Vegas after the young couple from town had returned home as
vampires. It might just be a coincidence that two local people
vacationing in Las Vegas had run into a vampire, but he was not
taking any chances. In addition to searching Nevada, he had posted
several people in town to keep an eye on things.

“You think they’re up to something?” I asked,
pleased that he was finally willing to discuss it in front of
me.

“Vampires are always up to something,”
Nikolas replied for him. “It’s our job to anticipate what they will
do next.”

I knew I was safe here, but a shiver passed
through me. I had learned firsthand how crafty and resourceful
vampires could be – and determined. Eli’s Master had enlisted the
help of a dying sheik and a Hale witch to get their hands on me.
Thank God the Master thought I was dead or who knew what he would
come up with next.

The wine arrived, and Tristan poured a glass
for Celine then asked me if I would like some. The memory of
hanging over Nikolas’s toilet made me almost gag at the thought of
drinking alcohol. “No thank you,” I managed to say. I avoided
looking at Nikolas, but out of the corner of my eye I saw his
knowing smirk.

While we were talking, everyone else took
their seats. Tristan gave the servers the signal to start serving
the meal; then he stood and addressed the room.

“My friends, it has been another great year
for us. We’ve had many successful missions and saved countless
lives. There is no greater reward for a warrior than to fulfill the
destiny we were created for.”

“We have a fine group of trainees who will
soon be warriors themselves, and I am proud of each and every one
of them.” He looked down at the people around our table and
continued. “I am especially blessed to be spending the first of
many Thanksgivings with my granddaughter.”

Warmth filled me at the emotion in Tristan’s
normally calm voice. He wasn’t the only one who had been blessed
this year. The last few months had been difficult and life-changing
for me, but I had gotten so much in return. I had a grandfather and
a cousin I hadn’t known existed a few months ago and new
friends.

And Nikolas.

I looked at him and found him watching me.
Our gazes met, and for a moment there was no one in the room but
the two of us. The gleam in his eyes told me I wasn’t the only one
remembering last night and all that had been said between us. It
wasn’t that long ago that I wished him out of my life, and now I
could not imagine my life without him in it.

A server placed a bowl of soup in front of
me, breaking the spell between me and Nikolas. Soon everyone at our
table, except me and Desmund, was talking about council business.
On my left, Desmund was quiet and I figured he found council talk
as boring as I did.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” I said to him. “I
wish Nate could have been here, too. I really wanted you to meet
him.”

He dabbed his mouth with his napkin. “He will
come as soon as he is well, correct?” I nodded, and he smiled.
“Then he and I will have plenty of time to get to know one
another.”

Dessert was being served when Ben came to
whisper something to Tristan. I could not make out what was said,
but Tristan wore a puzzled expression when he stood and excused
himself.

“The rest of the world doesn’t take a holiday
when we do,” Nikolas said when I looked at him. His easy manner
usually put my mind at rest, but it didn’t this time. A tiny knot
of anxiety formed in my stomach. Call it intuition or paranoia, or
just a history of bad things happening around me, but something did
not feel right.

I laid down my napkin and pushed back my
chair. “Excuse me.”

Nikolas, Desmund, and Chris stood at the same
time like perfect gentlemen. “Is everything all right?” Nikolas
asked.

“Yes. I just . . . I need to check on
something. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

“She’s fine, gentlemen,” Celine scoffed, put
out by the lack of attention being paid to her. “She doesn’t need
an escort to go to the ladies room.”

For once, I was glad for Celine’s presence.
“She’s right. Please, finish your dessert.”

The three men took their seats again. Nikolas
was the last to sit, and I saw the doubt in his eyes. I didn’t know
if it was the bond or our history together, but he was getting way
too good at reading me. Soon it would be impossible to keep
anything from him.

I exited the room and turned toward the main
hall. I didn’t know why, but something told me to go that way and
intuition was all I had right now. When I rounded the corner, I saw
the open front door and my steps picked up. I neared the door and
heard male voices outside, one of whom was Tristan. Wintry air hit
me when I reached the door, but that did not deter me. The same gut
feeling that had made me leave the table, told me I needed to go
out there and see who was on the other side of the door.

The cold sucked the air from my lungs when I
stepped outside, and I wrapped my arms around me for warmth. The
night was dark because the moon had not yet risen, but there was
enough light around the entrance to see Tristan standing at the
bottom of the steps with Ben, and they were alone and facing the
driveway as if they waited for someone. Maybe it was someone from
the council. It must be someone important to make Tristan leave
dinner and stand out in the cold to wait for them.

The sound of a vehicle reached me before I
saw headlights coming up the long driveway. Soon a white van with
the name of a Boise airport shuttle service on the side pulled up
and stopped a short distance from the steps. I watched as the
driver got out and slid open the back door on his side, which faced
away from us. There was a murmur of voices and creaking sounds and
finally the crunch of feet on snow as he shut the door and came
around the front of the van. He was alone and empty-handed, and I
stared at him in confusion. What was he doing? Who had he been
talking to?

Movement drew my attention from the driver,
and I let out a loud gasp at the man coming around the corner of
the van in a wheelchair.

“Nate!”

It all made sense now, why he hadn’t answered
his phone today; he had been flying out here to spend the holiday
with us. My heart threatened to explode from happiness.

A wide smile split Nate’s face, and he
stopped beside the driver. “I hope I’m not too late for
dinner.”

“You are just in time, my friend,” Tristan
said graciously. “Why did you not tell me you were coming? I would
have sent our plane for you.”

I laughed and flew down the stairs. Later, I
would scold Nate for travelling against the doctor’s orders. Right
now, all I wanted to do was hug him. Then he was going to get all
the turkey dinner he could eat followed by the biggest piece of
pumpkin pie he’d ever seen. I was going to feed him so well he
would never want to leave.

It hit me just as my feet touched the bottom
step, the sensation that someone had stabbed an icicle into my
chest. Gasping, I skidded to a stop beside Tristan and stared in
confusion at Nate, and then in dawning horror at the van driver who
had stepped behind Nate’s wheelchair.

Oh God no.

“Vampire!” I screamed.

Tristan grabbed my arm, and Ben drew his
sword. The driver’s eyes went wide and he whirled to look behind
him. Nate sat calmly in his chair.

The chair creaked as Nate leaned forward. I
watched mutely as he put one foot then the other on the ground. His
gaze met mine, and his mouth curved upwards in a smile that did not
quite reach his eyes.

“No,” I uttered, choking on the word.

He stood and my world crumbled around me.

“WHAT? NO HUG for your uncle?”

Pain obliterated the coldness in my chest,
closing my throat and making it impossible to speak.
This is not happening. This is a
horrible dream.

He took a step and threw his arms in the air.
“Look, I can walk again. Aren’t you happy for me?”

Tristan let go of my arm, and before I knew
what was happening, he and Ben had Nate restrained between them.
Nate did not struggle, but fangs grew from his mouth as he
continued to smile at me. “I have a message for you from the
Master. Eli was his favorite and he was very upset to lose him. The
Master thinks it’s only fair that, since you took one he loved, he
should take someone you love.”

Roaring filled my ears, and I staggered
backward. I did this. I’d brought these monsters into our lives.
I’d killed Eli, and now Nate had paid the price for it. Because of
my actions, the person who had always loved me, the one I should
have kept safe, was gone. Grief suffocated me and I gasped for
breath, even as I wished it would kill me so I didn’t have to live
with this pain.

My legs buckled and someone caught me from
behind. “I’m here
,
malyutka
,” Nikolas said against my hair. I stiffened and
tried to pull away from him. Nate was gone because of me; I did not
deserve to be held or comforted. Nikolas had warned me I was going
to get Nate or one of my friends killed if I wasn’t careful. How
could he stomach being near me, knowing what I’d done?

Instead of letting me go, he pulled me
closer, whispering words I couldn’t make out over the pounding of
blood in my ears. It was futile to struggle against him, so I
stopped and stood woodenly in his arms, waiting for what I knew was
to come.

“Nikolas, it’s good to see you again,” Nate
said jovially. Every word was a lash flaying open my soul. I felt
tears behind my eyes, but for some reason they did not come.

“I wish I could say the same,” Nikolas
replied evenly. “I’m sorry this happened to you, Nate.”

“Don’t be. I’ve never felt so whole or so
strong.”

Tristan motioned to someone, and Niall and
Seamus strode over to place restraints on Nate. “What . . . will
you do with him?” I asked when they started to lead him away.

Nate made a scoffing sound. “What do you
think they will do? You are vampire killers, after all.”

Tristan walked over to me, and the sympathy
in his eyes was almost too much to bear. “We will question him
about the Master.”

“And then?”

“He will die,” he said heavily. “I promise it
will be quick and . . . ”

I didn’t hear the rest. Black dots swam
before my eyes and sounds became muffled like I was under water. I
swayed in Nikolas’s arms. “Let’s get you inside,” he said
gently.

“No, I need . . . I need to be there.” No
matter what he was now, I couldn’t leave Nate to die among
strangers. He deserved better than that.”

Tristan rubbed his brow. “It won’t happen
today. It usually takes a few days to get them to talk. He won’t
hold out long without . . . sustenance.” New vampires need to feed
daily. Tristan was going to starve Nate until he gave up the
information they wanted.

The thought of Nate drinking blood horrified
me. But he had done it already, hadn’t he? Vampires don’t finish
the transition until they drink from a live human. Another life
lost because of me. When would it stop?

Not until the Master dies . . . or I do.

“You are turning blue from the cold, little
one,” said Desmund quietly, and I wondered vaguely how long he had
been there. “Let Nikolas take you inside, please.”

I nodded and let Nikolas turn me toward the
building. At the top of the steps, a crowd had gathered as almost
everyone from the dining hall spilled outside to see what was going
on. I refused to let Nikolas carry me, and I looked straight ahead,
trying not to see the looks of shock or pity on the faces I passed.
Inside the hall, I spotted Jordan, Olivia, and Michael standing
together. Olivia’s eyes brimmed with tears and, for once, Jordan
wasn’t wearing her cocky smile. Michael looked stricken, and I knew
he was remembering his lost family. I wished I could offer them
words of comfort, but my lips were as frozen as my heart.

Even Celine, who stood alone at the bottom of
the stairs, looked at me without her usual sneer
. Imagine that,
I thought
numbly.
She might
actually have a heart after all.
Not that it mattered, not
that anything mattered anymore.