They Come by Night (52 page)

“However, didn’t you hear Adam mention ‘our scientists’?”

“Yes?”

“They’ve been manipulating our genes for millennia. What you do with your education is your choice.”

“Decisions, decisions.”

“Tyrell!” Adam came out of the dining hall, and he looked steamed.

“Yes?”

“What’s going on?”

“Go ahead and tell him, Tyrell. As I said, I have no objection.”

“Thank you!”

He held out his arms. “May I?”

“Uh… okay.” I let him hug me, but I kept it short.

“You’re very lucky, nephew.” The rege touched his shoulder and returned to the dining hall, leaving me and Adam alone.

“Adam!” I threw myself into his arms. “It’s okay if I change my major!”

He closed his hands on my shoulders and put me away from him. “That’s all?”

“That’s part of it.” I bit my lip. Suppose Adam didn’t want this? “I thought if I became a geneticist, I could find a way to combine our semen, and we could have children.”

“We already have—You want a baby with me?”

“Yes, please.” I wasn’t going to tell him it was so he’d always have a part of me with him. Thinking about the time I would be gone was too morbid, especially since I wasn’t even nineteen yet.

I suddenly realized Adam hadn’t responded to that, and I felt cold.

“Don’t you… I thought you’d… I’m sorry, I assumed….”

“Don’t I call you
dragul meu
? I’d like nothing better.”

“But?”

“Excuse me?”

“There’s a ‘but’ there, I can hear it.”

“There is no ‘but.’”

“Are you sure?” I leaned back to look into his eyes. “Okay, you’re sure. I… uh… I asked the rege about it first, because I didn’t want you to be disappointed in case he said no. You… you would have been disappointed, wouldn’t you?”

He pulled me back against him, holding me tight. “More than I can say.”

Yeah, his dick was hard. Maybe we’d never be able to make love, but I knew beyond a doubt he loved me.

“Now, I have work to do, getting this imbroglio with the American resolved. Later, I’ll take you home.”

“Would it be all right if I explore the citadel in the meanwhile?”

“Of course. But since Raymond needs to remain here, I would appreciate it if you’d keep Áedán with you.”

“I thought he was looking for de Vivar.”

“He’ll resume that in a few hours. He came to the citadel to court a vampyr he’s interested in.”

The last thing I wanted to think about was the courting practices of vampyrs, especially considering Adam seemed to feel I needed a bodyguard here in the citadel. I swallowed. “Am I in danger?”

“I’d like to think not, but it’s been centuries since a sabor has been in the citadel, and they might get a little… overenthusiastic.”

“Okay. Where will I find him?”

“I’m right here.”

I jumped. “Geez, Áedán!”

“It’s good to see you again, Tyrell. My lord?”

“Stay with him, please?”

“As you wish.”

Adam squeezed my shoulder and returned to the dining hall.

“What did you want to see?” Áedán asked.

“Well, I’ve already seen the kitchen, the dining hall, Adam’s bedroom, and Daniel’s….” I waited a few seconds to see if he was going to challenge me about feeding Daniel, but when he didn’t, I continued. “…and the orchard. So anywhere else?”

“I have an idea. If you’ll come this way?” He led me to the other side of the citadel and opened a door with a flourish. “His Grace’s library.”

I entered and came to a standstill. This was another huge room. There were couches and love seats and numerous chairs, side tables to place books or drinks, and on the tables were about a half-dozen computers. Shelves lined the walls up to the ceiling. A staircase led to a walkway about twelve feet up. Ladders were placed at intervals on the walkway to give access to the higher shelves, which were stacked with so many books I couldn’t begin to count them all.

Áedán gave a sweeping gesture, and I began to explore the room. “Would you care for any refreshments?”

“No thanks, I’m good.” I started at the far wall, and Mina made herself comfortable under a chair.

“Good. Duke Adam would have my talisman if I offered you… wine.” He went to a shelf, took down a book, and brought it to me.

“Oh, ha-ha.” It was
Dracula
.

He put the book on a side table and ran his fingertips over the binding of a very old manuscript. “His Grace has an amazing selection.”

I climbed to the walkway and began strolling along it, examining the books. “You can say that again!” Some were in English, but most were in various European languages. One book stood out. On the cover was the scariest wolf I’d ever seen. “Áedán, does the rege have a French dictionary?”

He grinned. “You have to ask? What did you want it for?” I held up the book. “
The Beast of Gévaudan
?” He gestured for me to come down. “I read French.”

“You’ll read it to me? Cool!”

We sat on a love seat with Mina between us, and I listened as he translated the words, idly stroking her fur.

I was so fascinated I lost track of time.

I had started to ask if I could take this book home with me—there were translation programs on my laptop—when the door to the library swung open and Valeriu sauntered in. “There you are.”

I looked around.
Me?
“Uh… yes?”

Áedán closed the book, rose and bowed, and stood to the side. Valeriu ignored him.

“I want to talk to you.” He came to stand before me, the toes of his shoes touching my sock-covered toes.

Even that minor contact bothered me, but I couldn’t draw my feet out of the way.

Mina had no problem, though. She came to her feet, her muzzle drawn back to reveal teeth that suddenly looked deadly.

Valeriu laughed, until she lunged at him and latched on to his thigh. He tried to get free, and when he froze, I wondered if she’d let him feel those deadly teeth.

“Call your mongrel off, or I’ll snap her neck!” He looked to be in a rage. Well, she’d been pretty close to the family jewels.

“Mina!” I snapped my fingers and pointed to the end of the love seat. She let go of him, but her reluctance was obvious. Once she was out of his reach, I shot to my feet and shoved him away from both of us, ignoring the discomfort in my hands. “You even
look
like you’re gonna touch my dog, and I’ll douse you with holy water so fast you won’t know what hit you!”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Wouldn’t I?” I reached into my collar and pulled out the vial.

He shied back. “Do you know who I am?”

“You’re Adam’s son.”

He curled his lip. “I’m Maria-Luise’s son!”

“Like that’s supposed to mean anything to me?”

“You insult my mother!” He took a step toward me, and I held up the vial, ready to twist off the top.

“Are you out of your mind?” Áedán sounded furious, and Valeriu grinned smugly. I wasn’t going to put the vial away just yet. And then Áedán continued, “You threaten a sabor, and especially
this
one, who’s so highly regarded?”

Valeriu scowled, but the door to the library opened before he could say anything.

“Hey, here you are, cousin!” Ioan came in, followed by Daniel. “Oh, Valeriu. You’re here.” His enthusiasm fizzled.

Valeriu bared his fangs and stalked out of the room, muttering about half bloods and turned vampyrs.

How rude!

Ioan stared after him. “He dropped his fangs!”

“What’s wrong with that?” Daniel asked.

“That’s not done in polite company. It’s like… like walking around naked in front of girls!”

“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.”

“I’d rather it was you.” He smiled at Daniel from under his lashes.

“Jesus, I told you I’m not—” He shook his head. “Tyrell’s your cousin?”

“In a roundabout, honorary kind of way.”

“Did you know we’re first cousins, Daniel?”

“How the hell…?”

“My mother and your father are siblings.”

“This is too twisted.”

“I’m taking Daniel to visit the Romi,” Ioan said. “Come with us, Ty. The old Roma grandmother will tell our fortunes.”

“I really don’t think this is a good idea,” I muttered. If the fortune-teller was on the level, she’d break his heart by telling him he didn’t have a chance with Daniel. And if she was a fake, she’d break his heart by telling him he did.

“No, you’ll see! It will be amazing!”

“If you say so.” But I doubted it. “But what’s to tell?”

“Excuse me?”

I shrugged. “I know my future. I’ll feed drag—”

Áedán tilted his head and gave me a puzzled look, and I returned it blankly. Why had I started to say…? That was weird.

“Vampyrs,” I corrected, “and I’ll love Adam.” And I’d become a geneticist.

Daniel shook his head. “Ioan told me some of this, but how can you accept it so easily?”

I shrugged again. What choice did I have? Not that it mattered, as long as I had Adam. “Áedán, is it all right if I go?”

“Of course. I’m coming with you.”

“Okay.” I wasn’t going to argue with him. I stared down at the socks on my feet. Well, I’d already been out to the orchard in them. What was a visit to the Romi?

We left the library to find about two dozen vampyrs lingering in the hallway. Eyes were averted, throats cleared, and a path was made for us to pass through.

T
HE FULL moon had come up over the horizon. It balanced above the white-capped mountains that seemed to surround the citadel and illuminated the path to the Romi encampment.

I was disappointed. I’d kind of expected it would look like a movie from the 1930s, with caravans covered in ornate wooden carvings. Curtains would hang in the windows, and they’d be circled around numerous campfires. The horses that pulled them would be tethered on long ropes so they could graze.

Instead, there were motor homes—
motor homes
!—that could be hooked up to the pickup trucks parked to one side.

Milosh approached us. “M’lord. Welcome! Lord Ioan. Sirs.” He nodded toward Daniel and Áedán.

“I guess you weren’t expecting us to visit so soon.”

He grinned. “On the contrary. Dodona told us you would visit us this night.”

“Uh….” What was he talking about? “I hope you don’t mind? Ioan wanted to have his fortune read.”

“And Ty too!”

“Oh, no, that isn’t necessary.” I knew what my future held. Feeding vampyrs for the next couple of hundred years and maybe having a child or two or three with Adam.

“Of course. Dodona will be happy to read your palms….” He smiled at me. “Or the tea leaves.”

“I don’t like tea.”

“
Dodona
?” Ioan’s eyes were wide. “She’s the best in Romania! C’mon, Ty,” he wheedled. “Don’t be a spoilsport.”

“Okay. But I’m telling you… I
know
my future.”

“And I know mine.” He glanced after Daniel, who’d left us to walk around the pickups, studying them. “But it will be fun to hear what the Roma has to tell us.”

A male Roma joined Daniel, and Ioan frowned.

“Come this way.” Milosh didn’t seem surprised when Áedán fell into step on my other side. “Dodona will be pleased to meet you.”

The caravan Milosh led us to was older than the others, and I could see where it had been modified to accept a trailer hitch instead of the wooden tree horses would be harnessed to. I felt a spark of interest.

Milosh tapped on the double door, and the top half opened. “Good evening, Vadoma.” An old woman… a
really
old woman… looked down at us and smiled. In spite of this being the twenty-first century, her smile revealed a number of missing teeth.

Vadoma
? Hadn’t he said the fortune-teller’s name was
Dodona
? When I was with Adam, I could switch my body clock from diurnal to nocturnal easily, but had the past few nights thrown me off so much I hadn’t heard straight?

“Dodona has been waiting for you, young sir. Please enter.”

Fortunately, she hadn’t added, “freely and of your own will,” because if she had, I’d have booked!

“Thank you, Grandmother.” I gave a slight bow and she stared at me. Had I said something wrong? “Um…. Is it okay if Mina comes with us?”

She gave a gracious gesture and opened the lower half of the door. Mina bounded up the shallow wooden steps, and I climbed up after her.

“Dodona, they’re here.”

“Yes,
Nagyanya
.” The woman seated with her back to me had a long fall of ink-black hair that spilled down to curl around her hips. Golden hoops dangled from her earlobes, and the blouse she wore dipped low over a shoulder. A scarlet vest-type thing kept the blouse in place, and a skirt draped over her legs and puddled on the floor.

She turned to face us, and I bit back a gasp and glared at Ioan. “You could have told me,” I whispered.

He looked confused. “Told you what?”

Her eyes were milky white. From cataracts? Or had she been born without irises? Whatever the cause, she was blind.

“I….” There was nothing I could say, and there was no way I could touch her to offer any comfort.

“Welcome, Tyrell Small. I’m grateful for your kindness, but there’s no need for comfort. I’ve been blind since birth.” She smiled at me, and abruptly I was able to look past her sightless eyes.

Was that how it was for Ioan? It felt as if she
saw
me. But how did she know—

“You wish to know the future.” She leaned down and unerringly found Mina’s ears, ruffling them.

“No, that’s Ioan.”

She turned her head to my right, where he was standing, and held out her hand. He placed his hand palm up into her grasp. She ran her fingertips over his heart line and his lifeline, and he shivered. I knew how voluptuous that could feel from when Adam did that to me.

“You will find happiness, lordling.”

“I knew it!” He bounced on his toes and started to free his hand. “That’s all I wanted to know.”

She didn’t loosen her grip on him. “You will need to be patient.”

“I can be. I have all the time I need.”

She hadn’t said he’d find happiness with Daniel. Ioan had only heard what he wanted to hear.