Sunset: Pact Arcanum: Book One (34 page)

Jeremy swallowed. “I didn’t tell you about Lorcan.”

Nick regarded him soberly. “No, you didn’t. No one did.”

“Would you have wanted to know?”

Drumming his fingers on the table in front of him, Nick considered the question. “Yes, I suppose. It would have given us a chance to be up front with each other before Brion could use him as a weapon against me. Why do you ask?”

“I’m one of the most powerful telepaths in history,” Jeremy told him. “No one on Earth can hide anything from me if I go looking for answers. When I first came here, a year ago, I wasn’t the most ethical person in the world. All I cared about was you, and I was fairly rabid about protecting you. I regularly scanned the minds of everyone you came in contact with, looking for threats.” He met Nick’s shocked gaze. “I know better now. Since then, I’ve made more friends and come to respect the people they are. I honestly regret it, but I can’t forget the things I found out.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

Jeremy stared down at his hands. “Because truth is important to me. I asked you never to lie to me, but I never made you the same promise in return.”

Nick’s eyes narrowed. “Did you lie to me about something, Jer?”

“No, but I haven’t told you everything, and I let you go on believing a lie.”

Nick said nothing, just waited.

Jeremy sighed and finally met Nick’s gaze. “How do you feel about Rory?”

“He’s my best friend. I’m closest to Scott, but that friendship started under the influence of the Gift. Rory is the only important person in my life I consciously chose to get close to. Until I met you, that is.”

“Nick, I love you, but I’m worried maybe there’s someone out there who would be better for you than me.”

Nick flushed as he made the connection. “That’s ridiculous, Jer. Besides, Rory doesn’t feel that way about me.”

Jeremy swallowed his uncertainty.
This was the bargain. Magic requires sacrifice.
“Yes, he does.”

Shocked, Nick stared at him for a long moment and then growled. “Bullshit.” His eyes turned a menacing scarlet beneath his arched brows.

“I never touched his mind—I swear to God—but it was right there in the front of Takeshi’s thoughts whenever he saw the two of you together. I confirmed it with a deep read on Anaba. She had several conversations with Take urging him to dump Rory because of it.”

Nick’s eyes faded to blue as he sat numbly in his chair, staring at Jeremy.

“I’d understand if you don’t want to see me tonight after all.” Jeremy stood. “I’ll be at my apartment if you need me.”

C
HAPTER 26

Anchorpoint City, Grand Mesa, Colorado; One hour later

Rory was toweling off his hair when the door of his quarters chimed. “Nicholas Magister Luscian is requesting entry.”

Dropping the towel over a chair, he slipped a T-shirt on over his sweatpants and said, “Let him in.” Then he walked into the living room as Nick stepped inside. “Hey, Nick. What’s up?”

“I know you’re busy getting ready for your trip, but do you have a few minutes?”

Rory grinned. “For you, always.” He glanced at the clock over the fireplace. “I have to head up to the Citadel in about an hour, though, to meet the captain of the ship I’ll be traveling on.” He sat on the couch and motioned for Nick to sit across from him. “What’s on your mind?”

“Is Take here?”

“No, he went to Europe to inspect the Armistice Security garrison at Castle Night. He’s going to join me in San Francisco for dinner before my flight leaves in the morning.”

Nick laced his fingers together in front of him. “Rory, do you love me?”

Rory’s train of thought screeched to a halt. “What?”

“Do you
love me?” Nick asked again, intently.

Rory stared at him, feeling himself falling into those blue eyes with all their naked sincerity, just as he always did. His whole world collapsed in an instant. “Yes.”

Nick reached out for Rory’s hand. “Tell me what you mean. I need to know.”

“You already know,” he whispered, looking down at their clasped hands. “You know exactly what I mean.”

“I need to hear you say it.” Nick let go of Rory’s hands and turned the Nightwalker’s head to face him. “I want to understand.”

“You understand perfectly.” Rory reached up and trapped Nick’s hand against his cheek. “We’re a lot alike, you and I. We both fell in love with the man who completed us and the best friend who was always out of reach.”

Nick sighed heavily. “I never knew.”

“I didn’t want you to know,” Rory confessed. “I’m not mortal. I could hide what I was feeling from you, and I did. I never meant for you to find out, not for as long as Take was still alive.” As he spoke, Rory unshielded his emotions, allowing the Daywalker to read them.

“How long have you felt like this?”

“I was moving toward it since that first night when I decided to let you seduce me. I just didn’t let myself acknowledge what it meant. Not until you walked out on me, after the Burning.”

“Oh, Rory,” said Nick. “If I had known—”

“If you had known, we would never have stayed friends,” Rory said shrewdly. “You would have had your fun then tossed me aside, just like all of your other conquests.”

Nick winced and looked away. “You’re probably right.” He pulled his hands away and folded them in front of him. He stood and wandered around the apartment aimlessly, trying to order his thoughts, while Rory watched. “Rory,” he asked finally, gazing at a framed image of the two of them during the concert tour where they met, “if Luscian hadn’t turned me, and you hadn’t found your way to Take, what would have happened between us? I was a latent Sentinel and you’re a Nightwalker. We could never have been together.”

“I would have been your friend, Nicholas,” Rory said softly. “I would have been there for you every step of the way until the day you trusted me enough to let me turn you myself.”

Nick turned to face him, disbelieving. “You always swore you would never let yourself create a scion.”

Rory stood and walked to Nick’s side, looking at the photograph of the two of them together. “I would have made an exception.”

“I don’t want to cause you pain.” Nick took another deep breath. “Of all the people I care about, you’re the last person I would want to hurt.” He stroked Rory’s cheekbone. “Scott may be my sun, and Jeremy is the moon, but you are all the stars in my sky.”

Rory’s eyes shone with emotion. “Nick, I love you. I’m just sorry I was too much of a coward to tell you before.”

“How can you say that?” asked Nick. “I know you love Take.”

“I do, but he won’t live forever.”

“Is that what you want?” whispered Nick. “Forever? With me?”

“Maybe.” Rory smiled at him again. “Can you honestly tell me you’re certain we’ll never be together someday, Nicholas?”

Nick looked deeply into his friend’s eyes, allowing all of his emotions to become visible. “No.”

Rory leaned in closely. “That’s all I need.” Lifting Nick’s chin, he kissed him gently.

Nick returned the kiss, sliding his hands around Rory’s neck and pulling him closer. After a long moment, Rory pulled back.

“Will you do something for me, Nick?”

“Anything.”

“The double bridge,” Rory said firmly.

Nick’s jaw dropped, his expectations blown away in an instant. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. I want to know you the way Lorcan and Jeremy do.”

“Rory,” Nick said, swallowing in fear, “it may not work out the way you planned. Nothing is ever the same afterward.” He drew the Nightwalker to him, wrapping his arms around him. “Lorcan said never to try it with anyone you don’t truly love,” he whispered. “Because, when it’s over, you either walk away from them or never let them go. There’s nothing in between. We could lose each other. We might not even be friends on the other side.”

Rory leaned into him, inhaling his scent. “Please, Nick. Let me have this much.”

Nick pulled away slightly, his fangs extending. “Tell me you’re sure.”

“I’m sure,” Rory whispered.

Nick took a deep breath and kissed the other vampire gently, then tilted Rory’s head. The warmth of Rory’s skin thrilled Nick as he bit down directly into his jugular vein. As the bridge opened up between them, Rory felt Nick’s memories of their first meeting, before the Journeymen existed, when Nick’s old band opened for Rory’s band Nightfall. Then Rory bit down on Nick’s neck and fed until the blood magic expanded, binding their thoughts and dreams together.

Both vampires were submerged in the memories of their friendship—seeing it from both sides, tasting their feelings for each other as their relationship evolved. Nothing was hidden. Not Rory’s love for Take nor the regrets Nick felt over Scott and Lorcan. They both watched Rory’s long vigil over Nick’s heart and felt the pain of his endless wait for Nick to recognize his feelings. Nick withdrew from the bridge first, healing the wounds in Rory’s neck as he pulled away. When Rory followed suit, the two of them sat silently in each other’s arms.

“I love you,” whispered Rory, his eyes closed against his threatening tears.

Nick held him tight and said nothing.

Central Intelligence Agency, Langley, Virginia

Director Cochrane tapped the control tablet lying on the desk in front of him. A holographic map of the North America was projected in the air. “Have you been able to precisely locate any of the major cities?”

Kensington touched his fingers to a point in the southwestern United States. The outline of the state of Colorado lit up in red. “We’ve determined that Anchorpoint is somewhere in western Colorado, but we don’t have an exact location yet. Our agents have only been allowed inside using the Armistice teleport gateway system, rather than being given teleport coordinates for the city itself. We’re in the process of smuggling locator beacons into Anchorpoint and Icehaven piece by piece, just in case Armistice Security is able to detect the presence of foreign technology. We don’t know if they can, but we’re trying not to take anything for granted.

“Once the systems are complete and operational, we should be able to pinpoint the primary targets.” Kensington shrugged. “The Citadel and their off-world colonies will most likely remain out of our reach for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, we’re focusing on exploiting any vulnerabilities in the municipal defense systems. We’ll need to succeed at both elements if we ever want to have any viable capability to strike against them.”

The Director nodded. “Your program is my absolute highest priority, Kensington. Anything you need, I’ll see that you get it.”

“Yes, sir.” The agent hesitated. “Director, do we have a decision yet on whether the President will authorize an attack? From what I’ve been able to gather, our government officials are being fairly open to the possibility of collusion with the Triumvirate.”

“President Daniels is a smart man, Andrew. He plays his cards close to his vest. Until we have the ability to hurt them for real, we have to make sure the Triumvirate feels secure. We want to catch them off guard when we finally make our move. Don’t worry—when the time comes, he’ll do what needs to be done.” Director Cochrane smiled.

“Of course, sir. I should have realized. Nothing is ever what it seems in Washington.”

“The sooner we find a way to rid ourselves of these freakish monsters, the better for all our people.”

“I won’t let you down, sir.”

“I’m sure you won’t.”

“Thank you, sir,” the agent said, as he turned and left the office.

The Director watched him on the security monitors. “Don’t worry, Andrew,” he muttered. “When the time comes, you’ll get your chance—no matter what they decide in Washington.”

Anchorpoint City, Grand Mesa, Colorado

After the AI recognized him, Nick opened the door and stepped into Jeremy’s apartment. Reaching out with his senses, he found his boyfriend on the balcony. His vampire physiology impervious to the bitter chill of the mountain air, Nick stood next to Jeremy and contemplated the snow-capped white towers of the city. Snow blanketed every horizontal surface above the streets, which were kept clear by warming spells, and the sunset painted the lesser spires an eerie shade of orange.

Jeremy turned away from the view. “I wasn’t sure I’d see you tonight.” He was dressed in a heavy winter coat, and a mug of coffee warmed his hands against the cold.

Nick stood next to him, his gaze still on the spires of Anchorpoint. “Rory and I decided we’d wait to explore that part of our relationship.”

Jeremy’s brow wrinkled, and he sipped at his coffee. “You decided to wait.” He swirled the dark liquid in his mug. “Does that mean you plan to be with him someday?”

“I don’t know.” Nick turned to Jeremy. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Of course. What do you need?”

“Do a deep read on me. There’s something we need to talk about, but I can’t think of the right words to explain.”

Jeremy shrugged and set his mug down on the balcony rail. Fixing Nick with an intense stare, he reached out to touch his lover’s mind with a feather-light caress, sifting through his thoughts and memories.

After a few minutes, the telepath withdrew. “Oh. Oh, Nicholas.” Jeremy was at a loss for any other words.

Nick’s eyes were still fixed on the city. “Am I crazy?”

Jeremy’s hand was warm on Nick’s arm. “No, you’re just overwhelmed. You’ve been running from this for so long—it’s too vivid for you, confronting the feelings you’ve kept bottled up all this time. You’ve been half in love with Rory for years. Now you’re finally opening your heart to the possibility, the potential to care for him—and even for Lorcan, if you’re honest. Either way, you’re obviously confused about what you want from either of them.”

“I’m with you, not them, Jer.” Nick stepped closer and wrapped his arms around the Sentinel. “That’s all I want right now.”

Returning Nick’s embrace, Jeremy said, “And you have me, right now.” He kissed Nick’s cheek. “But I’m mortal. Whether or not my Gift is strong enough to stop me from being turned, there’s no one I would let try except you, and Daywalkers can’t make new scions. I won’t be with you forever—I know that, and Take knows that. We had a long talk about it. We both want you and Rory looked after when we’re gone. Knowing there’s a chance for the two of you, we can live our lives free of the guilt that you’ll both be alone someday. I think we both hope you and Rory will take care of each other when we’re gone,” Jeremy said sadly.