Chapter 34
CHAPTER 34
“This is where you live?” Katie asked as she stepped out of the limo.
“Where we live,” Anton corrected.
Takashi was the last to step out of the vehicle. The driver closed the door for him and then went around to the driver’s seat. However, the limo didn’t pull away but continued to idle in the front circle driveway in front of the mansion.
For the first time, Takashi was able to admire the splendor of the large structure. He had seen vampires who lived in actual palaces, and Seamus’s grand building clearly aspired to that level of wealth. Light poured from large windows, highlighting details along window casings in the dark. Spotted here and there in the front gardens were more statues. Like the ones along the driveway, they depicted humans in a variety of states of ecstasy, all offering themselves up to be bitten in erogenous zones.
Katie stopped at the bottom of the steps leading up to the main door. “Hold on, do you mean ‘we’ as in I live here now, too?”
“That would be what I was implying,” Anton replied. “Is there a problem with that?”
The bond Takashi shared with her tightened. Then she shook her head.
“Remaining with us would be wise, especially until you learn to control your bloodlust,” Takashi said.
“Not only that,” Anton said as he headed up the stairs ahead of her. “You should see your suite! It has everything a blossoming young practitioner like yourself could possibly desire!”
“Are either of you hearing music?” Katie grabbed her skirt and lifted it just enough that the white material didn’t drag on the steps as she rushed after Anton. “I keep hearing these odd notes.”
“Are the melodies speaking any moods to you?” Takashi asked quietly. He was the last one up the stairs and into the mansion.
“Sort of. Oh! This must be how my mind’s interpreting my new psychic abilities! Neat!” Katie grinned. “I feel my magic like the way a breeze moves. These notes sound almost like wind chimes. I didn’t think they’d combine like that. But what are you so worried about?”
“Many things, none of which you should let disturb you,” Takashi said.
Anton had his arms spread wide as he twirled in the foyer to face them. “Welcome home, daughter!”
“It beats the dormitory at Versinal.” Katie’s eyes widened as she took in the painting of a vampire orgy on the foyer’s wall. “Though we certainly didn’t have anything like hanging up in the entrance. Hey, do I have to go back to school? I mean, it’s not going to work out, right? Because of the whole daylight thing?”
“You’ll be sluggish after dawn, and daylight would fry your pretty skin,” Anton replied. He held his hands out toward her, and she took them. He spun with her in another circle. “I’ll be a far better teacher than your former professors.”
“Will I be able to take the Circle tests?” Katie asked. She let go of Anton’s hands and continued making circles on her own. Graveyard dirt skittered off her long skirt as it flowed out around her. The tail end of her braid was undone, and her hair was beginning to loosen. “I don’t really care. It’s just a stupid title. Magus Coldwell made it sound so important, but really, it just gets you a discount in their stupid clubs and with their ‘approved’ component sellers. You have enough money that that doesn’t really matter, does it?” Katie stopped spinning, her equilibrium not compromised at all. “It doesn’t, right? Because I don’t have to worry about money anymore? That’s part of the package here, isn’t it? I’m your daughter, and you’re both insanely rich, and you’re going to teach me magic and how to be an amazing vampire, and I’ll become awesome .”
She was dazzling with vibrancy, not with mortal lust for life but a longing to plunge into the world full and new and complete in every way. Takashi slid his hands into his slacks’ pockets and continued to watch her dance. None of his previous sirelings had taken to their transition with such a zeal for the unknown. They’d been resigned or in love, never so brilliantly hopeful.
A brush of arctic cold swept into the foyer before Zack made his entrance. He had a book in hand. In the last few nights, he had begun sliding a disaffected attitude into place in order to hide his emotions. The effect wasn’t perfect—Takashi knew from the way he held his shoulders that he was tense—but he was more the vampiric for it.
“You are our treasure,” Anton promised gleefully. He kissed Katie’s cheek. “You will never have to worry about anything.”
“That’s a bit of a lie,” Zack declared.
Startled, Katie let out a soft short as she spun to face him. “Who are—wait, I know you. I’ve seen you on the Fang app. You’re the frigi?—”
“Katie, darling,” Anton said, overly sweet, “you needn’t bring up what that horrid pest said about your cousin.”
“Cousin?” Katie tilted her head.
“He is part of your new family.”
Zack started to draw in a breath to speak.
And Takashi saw the potential that he would spoil what was otherwise a wonderful moment. Strange, perhaps, but astonishing in the way it swelled in his heart. He stepped forward, drawing Katie’s attention, and continued on to stand by Zack, speaking as he went. “As far as blood is concerned, he is a cousin in that respect. My sire and his sire were created from the same demon long ago. The mansion actually belongs to Seamus, who is the beloved of your foster father, Anton. But even if we weren’t bound by blood, we could find our way to family with our hearts.”
“There’s also trauma-sharing,” Zack drawled. “After all, you were kidnapped and then murdered while I was murdered, then kidnapped.”
The hollowness in his words lacked the anger Takashi had expected, but their impact drained the joy from Katie’s face. Anton stilled, and his eyes hardened.
“Look, a car ride isn’t long enough to forget that, yeah, he —” Katie pointed at Anton. “—messed with my friends and I. But he also wasn’t wrong. I mean, I thought I was meeting my vampire boyfriend who wanted to turn my friends and I into his immortal brides, so I was prepared to become a vampire. My fathers still have a lot to make up for, but I’ve decided to give them a chance. Plus? I can do this.”
A twinge of electric shock went through Takashi for a fraction of an instant before a wind knocked Zack off his feet. The arcane blow was quick, but Zack caught himself before he fell on his face and stood.
“You’re still a caster,” Zack said as he regained his composure.
“I am,” Katie replied.
“Awesome.” Zack sounded completely unimpressed.
“ Zackery ,” Anton said with a snarl.
Zack flicked a flat glare in Anton’s direction and then stalked toward Katie. Anton stepped between them, putting his arm to block Zack from simply walking around him to get to her. The heat in Anton’s red-eyed glare would have melted a glacier in a tundra.
Just when Takashi thought Anton might set Zack on fire, Zack smiled broadly and laughed under his breath. “Okay. You pass.”
Anton blinked. “Excuse you?”
Zack’s smile turned smug, and he stepped back to Takashi’s side, putting an arm around his waist. “Everything’s a test, Anton. Katie is bound in blood and power to one of my beloveds, so yeah, I wanted to see if you actually give a shit about her.” Zack leaned so he was looking around Anton to more directly speak to Katie. “Your adopted father’s been in love with my sire for hundreds of years, and he was about to fry my ass if I did anything to you. Congratulations, your new vamp dad and adopted vamp dad really do care about you.”
This time when Katie’s eyes went wide, Takashi sensed her longing to belong settle deeper into her psyche. She took hold of Anton’s hand. “You’re really serious about calling me your daughter?”
“Of course,” Anton said as he turned to face her. He cupped her cheek gently. “I am sorry that I led you on otherwise. Teenage mortal girls seem more caught up in boys than anything else.”
“Boys are all right,” Katie said. She started to reach up to brush a tear from her eye, but Anton wiped it away for her. “I’m not sure how into them I really am.”
“They are good for eating, if nothing else, but you have eternity to become whoever you are truly meant to be, darling.” Anton pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Now, you must be getting hungry. You have a whole suite with some fresh clothes waiting for you. Zack, are you and Takashi joining us?”
Zack hugged Takashi, holding him close. “Seamus left some dinner behind.”
“Dinner! That gives me a brilliant idea.” Anton grinned. “We’ll see you two later. Come along, Katie. Wouldn’t want you to get lost in the house.”
After Katie and Anton were gone long enough that even their footfalls were bare whispers in the distance to Takashi’s hearing, he murmured in Zack’s ear, “What the hell was that?”
“That is what we call a double win,” Zack whispered. He nudged Takashi and then started walking down the first floor’s hallway.
“What were you double winning?” Takashi asked as he followed.
“Mm, Anton really does consider Katie his, which means he’s going to be extremely protective of her. Since she’s got a magical umbilical cord attached to you, I wanted to make sure of that,” Zack replied. “And added surprise upside, we will have the house to ourselves soon.”
“You are in a remarkably good mood.”
“Is that a bad thing?” Zack asked.
“No. Merely surprising, given how you were acting with Katie.”
Zack shrugged one shoulder. “I was practicing being an immortal badass. Now, as for why I’m in a good mood, Grimsby showed me this.”
With a dramatic flair, Zack pushed open a set of double doors and revealed a gleaming library. The east, west, and south walls were bookcases from end to end, while the bookcases on the northern wall were broken up by either a large window or a massive painting. The room didn’t smell floral or musty, but rather the heavy odor of countless paper pages and rich leather. In addition to the bookshelves along the walls, there were rows of them as well. Sporadically throughout the library were rolling ladders so that one could reach the upper shelves nearer to the room’s high ceiling.
“People in my family would sell their souls to have a night in this place,” Zack said. He carried on through the room. “I haven’t figured out the system, but what I have stumbled across are books on fey and shifters. This has to be one of the greatest collections of supernatural lore on the planet.”
“I can certainly understand your attraction to it.” Takashi drifted among the shelves. There were old tomes neatly sat beside much newer books. Every binding was pristine; every book appeared perfectly maintained, even though some of the older books should have seen different treatment in their upkeeping than standing on a shelf. Unless they’re treated with magic .
“You seem a little out of it,” Zack remarked.
“A rough night, in some ways,” Takashi replied. In the center of the room was a small seating area with lush leather chairs. On either side of that setup was a long, polished table with a wooden chair on each side. “I’ve been exploring the mansion in my free time. I hadn’t come across this.”
“That’s because this place is huge.” Zack plucked a book off a shelf, opened it a few pages, and then closed it and put it back. “More shifter lore. Did you find anything interesting in the rest of the house?”
A few nights ago, Takashi would have told him without hesitation, but that was before he knew that Seamus could read Zack’s mind. Was the danger less now that Zack knew of it? Or more? Was he able to keep dangerous thoughts away from Seamus? Or unable to stop himself from thinking them constantly?
He had Katie’s safety to consider as well. Anton might attempt to protect her, but as powerful as Anton was, he hadn’t raised a hand in defense when Seamus attacked him. I should get all of us out of here . Takashi put his hand on one of the polished tables. Wood this smooth was still a pleasure to touch, and the sensation grounded him.
No one ever advanced across any board without taking risks. He couldn’t keep this from him.
“A few things, actually,” Takashi said. “I’ve been meaning to share them with you, but we haven’t had time.”
Zack raised an eyebrow. “We go to bed together every night—er, every morning. Well, dawn. Whatever. We share a fricking bed.”
“And these are the sorts of things that would be hard to keep yourself from thinking about obsessively, especially when you have nothing else to preoccupy yourself before sleep.”
Abandoning the bookshelf he’d been investigating, Zack crossed the space to Takashi. “We’ve got the time now.”
“Almost.” Takashi glanced up at the ceiling. Katie’s suite wasn’t directly overhead, but it was close. “Once they leave for the night.”
“We don’t know how long Seamus will be gone,” Zack whispered.
“But you’ll be able to sense when he’s coming back to the mansion, and I will be able to tell when Katie is returning. Anton should be with her.”
“That is … that’ll work.” Zack leaned against the table. “But you won’t tell me anything?”
“I’d rather show you. Now, if you’ll excuse me a moment, I want to put this coat away and slip into something a little more comfortable.”
“I thought suits were your thing,” Zack replied.
“Not always.” Takashi started to head for the door.
“Hey.” Zack took hold of Takashi’s hand and lightly dragged him close again. He pressed a soft kiss to Takashi’s lips.
The casual confidence of the act, of a lover simply wanting to give him a parting kiss, was a novelty. Roger was always like that, full of touches and kisses and cuddles. Zack had always been more distant, but like so many things about him, that was changing.
“I can feel how much you want me,” Zack murmured, his voice dipping low and gaining its ethereal note.
Takashi nuzzled Zack’s nose with his own, then teased his jaw with a light nip. “Yes, but we can screw, or we can seek secrets.”
“Can’t we do both?” Zack whined.
“Not at the same time,” Takashi laughed. “I’ll be back.” He pressed another quick kiss to his lips and then left the library.
True to his word, Anton had settled Katie into a suite not far from Zack’s, and technically Takashi’s since his was across the hall. Takashi passed by her suite, noting the distance he was from her, and went into Zack’s.
Anton was sitting on the couch, one leg over another and a small box in his hand. He smiled broadly at Takashi, but there was a slight tension in the careful way he held himself. “Brought you what I promised.”
After shutting the door, Takashi joined Anton on the couch and took the box from him. “Thank you.”
“Do you think she’ll be long?” Anton said. “Women are notorious for taking forever to get ready, aren’t they? And now she’ll have to do it without a mirror. Hmph.”
“You could buy her a tablet, something with a screen and camera,” Takashi replied. “The newer cameras are capable of capturing our likeness.”
“I’m aware of that, Takashi,” Anton said shortly.
“My mistake.” Takashi shed his coat and laid it over the armrest. “Is there something bothering you?”
“What could possibly bother me on such a wonderful night?” Anton said smoothly.
Takashi relaxed against the couch. He sought Anton’s psychic impression but found a blank wall. If he couldn’t cheat his way to more information, perhaps he could poke some out of him. “You’re guarding your emotions extremely well for someone who acts like he has no care in the world.”
“I have cares.” Anton stood, and his platinum blond hair fell in a perfect curtain to obscure his features.
“I am certain you do.”
“I know what you’re attempting to do.”
“What would that be?” Takashi asked lightly.
Suddenly, Anton whirled toward him. He moved with a greater speed, but Takashi didn’t try to move. Instead, he let Anton grab him by the throat and push him back against the couch, his head at a painful angle. Anton’s red eyes flared brighter, and he snarled, baring his fangs, as he loomed over Takashi. He had one knee between Takashi’s legs, and he was dangerously close to grinding Takashi’s balls. His hair became a halo with a touch of light illuminating it.
He was stunning. And deadly.
“You should be terrified of me,” Anton growled.
“I am,” Takashi said.
“Doesn’t feel like it.” Anton tightened his grip on Takashi’s throat.
Air was needed for speaking. Takashi could only drag in enough for whispers. “Doesn’t seem as if nothing is bothering you either.”
“Why do you care?” Anton demanded. “You have no interest in being, as you said, the plaything while I wait for my lover to pay attention to me.”
“It is remarkable how little we comment upon as yours ,” Takashi replied. “The mansion, the collection, the coven—it’s all his .”
Anton squeezed tighter, and Takashi felt bones break. He would heal, but not while Anton had a hand on him like this. “I am not insignificant.”
“Never said you were,” Takashi managed with his last breath.
For a long, terrible moment, Anton continued to apply pressure, and Takashi thought he might lose his head. Then he huffed and walked away, heading for the door to the hallway. “You and Zack should stop attempting to point out my lover’s faults.”
“What faults?” Takashi dared to croak. “We have only spoken truths. Why is that so terrifying to an immortal as powerful as you?”
Anton paused, a fraction of a half step of a moment that would have been missed by mortals and by most supernaturals less keenly observant than Takashi, but the hesitation was there. The moment where the gears in Anton’s mind must have halted, reversed direction, before they ground back into forward motion and continued onward.
Anton opened the door.
“You know what a monster he is,” Takashi whispered gently. “We all do. But what would you be without him?”
With a cold glare over his shoulder, Anton declared, “I never want to know.”
Then he snapped the door shut behind him.
Takashi collapsed back against the couch and carefully probed his neck. The bones were healing; he would be fine in a matter of seconds, perhaps a minute. Maybe I rattled him enough to shake him loose from his agony . He doubted that hope, though. Love was the universe’s greatest creation, and too many lies donned a facsimile of its allure.