Under His Claw (2 page)

“Which vampire king is it? I am not even sure what city I am in.”

“His majesty’s name is Olvadi, though you are not to speak it. Address him as ‘your majesty’ or ‘your lordship’. You are in the shadow city of Arbor.”

She sighed. She was only two cities away from home. “When can I leave?”

The woman blinked. Her red and blue eyes were surprised. “You are not leaving. You have been traded to his lordship to save your ancestor’s life. You belong to the crown now, in whatever capacity he chooses to employ you.”

Zora shook her head. “It is impossible. I am a free human with my own life and a job and everything. I can’t be stuck here.”

She stood up, and the woman placed her hand on her shoulder and forced her back onto the settee.

“By the laws of the dayside government and the nightsiders, you can be used to pay for the debts of your family members. There is a little-known amendment that makes it so.”

Zora gritted her teeth. “I want to see it.”

A blur of motion heralded the king’s arrival.

“And so you shall. If your abilities are real and not the fevered imaginings of a young woman, you shall be given a place at my side and a revered post in my cabinet.”

Zora flinched as he removed his shirt, exposing burned-in crosses and scars left by consecrated silver. “What if it doesn’t work?”

He shrugged and sat on an ottoman near her. “Then, I will take the blood  promised by Alfonso. He is right; you are of his line.”

She flexed her hands nervously. “What now?”

He gave her a smile that showed a lot of teeth. “Now, you heal at least one of these marks, and if you are successful, I let you live. If not, Octavia is standing by.”

Zora looked at the ivory skin and the deep pitting of a holy-water wound. “I will need a knife and a towel, and some gauze and bandages for afterward.”

He chuckled. “For you or me?”

“The towel is for you.” She tried to stop her hands from shaking. “I will need everything else.”

He nodded slightly and one of the men disappeared, reappearing in a minute with all the items.

Zora was a little disturbed at how easily accessible the first-aid kit was, but she put it aside and laid everything else out next to her. “Did you see how this works?”

“I did. It seems fascinatingly implausible.”

She licked her lips and looked him in the eyes. “Did you see what happens if you drink from me?”

“If you can do what you promise, it will not be an issue. No one will drink from you under my protection.” His words hung in the air, and his inner circle seemed to absorb them.

“Do you want privacy for this? It will be painful. The same pain which caused the wound will be woken when I heal it.”

He looked around. “This is privacy. I am never without at least three guards.”

Zora lifted the knife and opened it, feeling everyone in the room tense. The blade clicked into position easily and it appeared wickedly sharp. She lifted her hand and pressed the blade to her skin until it parted. When blood flowed, she lifted the knife and scored her skin again. When her palm was filled, she looked toward her patient and pressed the blood to the ancient wound.

His muscles stiffened and he gritted his teeth as her blood bonded to his skin, crept under it and forced the damage up and out.

Zora kept her hand on him and she whispered, “The towel please, in my right hand.”

She dropped the knife and Octavia handed her the towel, a horrified expression on her face.

Zora blotted up the blood and the water which came out of his skin; she held on until she felt the whole flesh beneath her hand. With a gasp, she pulled away and wiped his chest, exposing the new, whole skin where the jagged pit had been.

Her hands shook as she worked to clean the cuts. She healed quickly, but having an open wound was never a good idea. The first-aid kit contained a series of wipes, and she used them to clean up.

Her patient was stroking his chest, marveling at the segment that was now unblemished. Vampires were vain, and the marks left by torture early in their nightlives were irritating in the extreme. Her peculiar ability to heal vampires had manifested when she was five, and it had disrupted her life from then on out.

Zora was wrapping her hand with gauze, fastening the pad down, when two large pale hands took over and the vampire king finished wrapping her wound. He made it snug but not tight, and she blinked in surprise at the scent coming off his hair. He smelled like open prairie, which was not a smell she associated with vampires.

When he taped it in place, he patted it lightly before turning the burning ruby gaze on her once again. “How long until you can do it again?”

“Once a day is best. Every two days is better. Smaller wounds can be healed at the same time, but only a wound the size of my hand can be healed at once if it is a deep wound.”

He cocked his head. “You claim to have healed dozens, but I have never heard of you before.”

She swallowed. “There is a reason for that. The clutch of nightsiders which kept me prisoner and had me heal them; my mother killed them all and burned their nest to the ground.”

He reached out and stroked her hair with his icy hand. “I can understand why. Such a treasure.”

She stared into his eyes and she knew without doubt he wasn’t going to let her out of his sight. Zora was now the healer to the vampire king of Arbor.

She wondered what the dental plan was like.

Four days later, she was standing beside the throne in a designer suit and heels with the bangles of ownership on her wrists. Her apartment had been cleared out and all of her information had been registered with the nightsider government. She was officially in the employ of the vampire king, and when it came to vampires,
employee
meant possession.

Three days had healed some of the more obvious marks on Olvadi. It had also been enough time to witness a portion of the full debauchery of the dark court.

Her days took on a pattern. She woke around two, got showered and dressed. Ate and, to her surprise, she was responsible for some of the communications of the vampire king. She was now one of an army of flunkies who had to make calls on behalf of Olvadi, invitations accepted and declined.

Speaking to other nightsiders at gatherings was odd. Like anyone else, she had seen shifters on the news and felt certain she had seen them on the street, but actually calling their prides, clans, covens, and coalitions was bizarre.

By the time the vampires rose, all the calls were made, the living ate again, brushed their teeth and attended the evening events in whatever capacity they were hired for. Zora wanted to make friends with some of the girls with a pulse, but they were hired as decorative food, and it felt like talking with a ham with good fashion sense.

Octavia was usually at her side, with Wilhelm and Michael nearby. Octavia had been granted a reconstruction on the second day. Zora hoped to work on her other breast at a later time. Two hundred years ago, many rural areas had not been so accepting of vampires and Octavia had met an inquisitor who didn’t like women. It was hard to see her new companion’s joy over regaining what should never have been taken.

After petitions, everyone changed and the true dark court took over. No government members, no outside humans, just the vampires and shifters enjoying an evening. Thankfully, the king only dragged her to it on her second night. Casual nudity was not something Zora was familiar with before that night, but she was definitely familiar with it after.

Tonight, she was standing behind Olvadi and trying not to watch the shifters in the crowd. A few of the bolder men had sniffed her and pronounced her
tasty.
It wasn’t a description she was comfortable with.

Zora fidgeted a little and Octavia gave her a stern look. Zora sighed and remained still with her hands folded in front of her.

The petitioner was asking for permission to marry, and the young man at his side looked pleased and nervous.

Olvadi leaned forward. “Come here, child.”

The young man quivered with eagerness but he obeyed, kneeling in front of the vampire king.

Zora tried not to roll her eyes.

“Do you have children, Antony?”

The young man whispered, “No.”

“Are you of age?”

The young man’s eyes flickered and even Zora could see the lie before it came out. “Yes.”

Olvadi leaned back with a sigh. “Petition denied until he is twenty years of age, Leonard. You know the rules. It may have been acceptable at the turn of the century, but now, you must wait for eighteen months before you can reapply.”

“But, your majesty, he is willing.” The older vampire whined.

Olvadi looked at the petitioner. “And we have a treatise. Eighteen months and if you turn him before then or take him to another kingdom, you both end as ashes. Am I clear?”

Antony pleaded, “But he won’t love me if I am older.”

Olvadi smiled, leaned forward and stroked the young man’s hair. “Then, it is not love but lust, and you can both find better partners for it.”

It was the last petition of the night and Zora sighed with relief. If she were lucky it would be another healing night.

The court was dismissed, the king and his attendants filed out. When Octavia took Zora to her room and pulled out a wrapped chiffon gown, Zora winced. “Please tell me I don’t have to watch the orgy again.”

“Olvadi wants you to take a lover. Since we cannot have you with a vampire, we need to select one of the shifters for you.”

Zora froze as Octavia undressed her. “You said what now?”

“A lover. You overreact and have no emotional outlet amongst our kind, so Olvadi wishes you to have one from the upper rankings of the shifters. He would offer you to the elves, but they are disturbing in the extreme. I am not sure you are up to the stresses of having an ancient being as a lover.”

“Stop saying lover.” She shivered in her new silk underwear and lifted her arms for Octavia to drop the dress over her head. Being dressed was something she had gotten used to over the last few days. Octavia could move more quickly than she could and when the zipper went up, she stepped back and circled Zora so quickly the skirts flared.

“Take a look.”

Zora looked in the mirror, and as she watched, Octavia braided her hair into a loose coronet and pulled tendrils out to cover her neck with light wisps of dark hair. It was more of a tease to the vampires than it was an actual covering. The gown was black at the hem rising to a green around her waist which brightened to emerald at her shoulders. It made the amber of her eyes brighten in intensity and her black hair gave her skin an ivory cast. She could pass for a vampire if no one watched her move.

Octavia disappeared and reappeared in a cutout evening gown a minute later.

“Why a lover?”

“Because you flinch at our touch. Now, shall we go?”

It wasn’t really a question, so Zora went.

Subtle music filled the air and dancers cavorted on wide tables. If not for the clothing, it could have been a scene out of ancient Rome.

Zora and Octavia followed Olvadi and the other two bodyguards to the head table. Zora sat on his right, Octavia on his left.

A tiny crystal glass full of blood donated by one of the employed humans was placed in front of Olvadi. He lifted it to his lips and inhaled briefly before drinking. Everyone relaxed and the music picked up in cadence and volume while food was provided for the vampires and the others in attendance.

Olvadi took Zora’s hand in his, and he spoke, “So, Zora. Which one would you like to have sex with?”

She blinked rapidly. “What?”

Even forewarned, she thought she had more time to think of a way to dissuade him.

“Warm bodies need contact to remain emotionally healthy, and since contact with vampires disturbs you, you will take one of the shifters here as your lover. They have all agreed to honor your choice.”

She blinked. “They have agreed?”

Olvadi waved his hand around the room.

Zora noted a lot of faces turned toward hers. “They have all been invited here because of their position and attractiveness. Octavia selected them all.”

“I don’t want to.”

His hand tightened into an icy cuff. “You will choose, or they will. If they have to fight for your attentions, I cannot guarantee your safety, and since I have guaranteed your safety, I am ordering you to choose one of these men and take him to your room tonight. I will know if you have not followed my orders. You will not like the result.”

She swallowed at the fire in his eyes. He had been almost fatherly toward her over the last few days but apparently it was over.

“Now?”

“Now. Octavia will help you make your choice. She will conduct the introductions.”

Zora swallowed and got to her feet.

Octavia mirrored her and came to her side. “Do not worry. It is a simple thing. In the morning, he will have gotten his way and you won’t have to worry.”

“Oh goody. Simply one night of humiliation.”

“No one you don’t want. Let me help you pick and you will not be disappointed.”

Octavia had seemed to have a slight big-sister streak when it came to Zora, or so it had appeared. It was going to be a trust issue, but at least she was confident none of the shifters would do permanent damage.

Octavia bypassed a few who had a predatory gleam in their eyes and introduced her to a wolf, a tiger and an eagle.

Albertus, the wolf, took her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “It is a delight to meet you. If I am chosen, I promise you a fascinating evening.”

She swallowed and smiled weakly. “A charming offer. I will consider it.”

Raynard, the eagle, gave her a sneering glance which had her stomach flipping with unease. He kissed her hand as well and looked her over. “Not as thin as I had hoped, but you will do.”

Zora jerked her hand back. “You won’t. Thank you for coming.”

He gripped her arm and pulled her toward him. “You misunderstand. I was invited to fuck you.”

Octavia struck him in the chest, and it sent him flying back into a crowd watching an orgy.