45. Ari
Ari
Ahead appears around the door. It belongs to one of Andrei’s minions, a vampire I’ve known since I was a child running around Hele House. He refuses to make eye contact with me. He looks nervous and it instantly puts me on edge.
“We have him, Sir.” There’s an odd inference on the word “him”.
“You found Brody?” I ask, my heart instantly jumping into my throat.
No one answers me.
“Where is he? Have you hurt him?”
But again I’m met with a wall of silence.
“He’s just outside, Sir,” the minion says.
“Excellent,” Andrei says and stands up. He addresses Benedict. “Well then, perhaps we should bring him in.”
Benedict nods and a hideous smile snakes across his face.
“You know,” this time Andrei directs this at me. “I don’t know how you ever thought you could hide him. Never has one with so much promise, so much potential, made such a spectacularly poor run of decisions.” He shakes his head at me as if I’m an utter fool.
But it isn’t Brody who’s led into the room.
“Good evening, Ms Haywood,” he says, voice gravelly. “Long time no see.”
Victor makes the whole room seem smaller and less significant as he towers over Andrei and Benedict.
At six foot eight, he’s tall even by demon standards, and that’s without including his horns.
His broad shoulders and muscular frame are further accentuated by the black leather vest and trousers he’s sporting, his long dark hair creeps down his back and looks more than a little in need of a wash and detangle, his silver eyes flash in the gloom of the room.
He has completed his ensemble with a mace hanging loosely from one giant hand.
He looks like he’s on his way to Comicon to talk about the latest dark romantasy book starring him and a small blond waif-like girl who just “gets him”.
“Good evening, Victor,” Andrei says and steps forward to shake his hand. “Such a pleasure to see you again and I’m so glad you were able to make this meeting.”
The words are superfluous, Victor did not come here voluntarily. He was summoned in the way only demons can be; with the promise of a deal he couldn’t possibly refuse.
Andrei smiles and then turns to face me. “I understand you and Victor are already acquainted.”
I nod, even though it wasn’t a question. It appears Andrei has done his homework diligently. Extremely diligently. How the actual fuck does he know about the deal I made with Victor? Has he really been watching me that closely all these years?
Now, when I say deal, technically it was a loan.
And yes, I am fully aware that the last person you should take a loan from is a fucking demon.
But I was desperate. And I thought I had a fool proof plan to repay the money I borrowed, a guaranteed investment which would solve all my financial problems in a single moment.
How wrong I was. And now I have six months to repay the debt.
Or Victor will collect what I promised him.
Andrei directs his attention back to me.
“You know Arianna, your grandmother would have been horrified at the very idea of you making deals. Such a terrible mess you’ve made.
And you really do need someone to keep you in line.
To make sure you do the right thing going forward.
No more fuck ups and disasters to sully the family name. ”
He walks over to the side table in the corner.
Sitting on a long silver tray is a crystal decanter of amber liquid and four matching glasses.
He takes his time as he pours a measure into three of the glasses and then hands one to Victor, one to Benedict and takes a sip from the third. He doesn’t offer me one.
“So, Arianna, what are we to do with you? How to we quell your errant ways.”
“I’m an adult,” I tell him. “I don’t need looking after.”
“Except you do.” He motions to Victor. “Case in point right here. No, I think you need someone to take charge of your life.” He grins at Benedict and slaps him on the shoulder as he walks back to the seat behind his desk.
“I’m not going to marry him,” I say through gritted teeth. Even though of course I will if it’s the only way to save Brody.
Andrei gives me a benevolent smile, the kind you might give to an unruly child.
“Umm…” Victor says, hefting the mace slightly. “I don’t want to be rude, but I’m kind of busy. Quotas to fill and all that.” He looks apologetic. He probably doesn’t want to be here in this room any more than I do.
“Right. Yes, of course,” Andrei says. “So, Victor. I want to make you an offer. I would like to buy Arianna’s debt.” He offers up his lupine smile and then flashes me a look. One that says check mate.
“For what terms?” Victor asks.
“Sanctuary.”
Oh fuck. There is no way Victor will turn down the opportunity to avoid the rest of his eternity in the depths of hell, even if he would be trading that for a thousand lifetimes with a prick like Andrei.
“Deal.”
They shake hands and then Victor vanishes into thin air.
“Right then,” Andrei says and claps his hands together. “Now that’s all sort—”
But he’s interrupted by a loud banging on the door to the office. “We found him,” bellows a voice from the hallway. “Little human shit thought he could hide in the walls like a rat.”
“Let him go and I’ll marry Benedict.” I say it quickly, the words spilling out before I can really think of the magnitude of what I’m offering. I may as well be trading my life for Brody’s. It might be the only right thing I’ve done in ages.
Andrei stares at me, his mouth hanging open a little. “Well, well, well. So you do have feelings for the human after all. Now I really am glad your grandmother isn’t here to bear witness. Her granddaughter and a lowly human.”
“It’s what you want though, isn’t it? Me and Benedict? A perfect vampire marriage and some perfect vampire babies? I’ll do it. But only if you let him go without hurting him.”
“You know bribery is no basis for a vampire match. You cannot be coerced into a marriage contract.”
“You’ve coerced Clara.” I counter. But I know it’s a fallacious argument. I won’t bore you with the ins and outs of vampire law, but the only legal marriages are by mutual consent. It’s just a shame that a guardian can provide that consent.
“I am her father.” He says it as a statement of fact and I’m once again reminded that misogyny is very much alive and well amongst the undead.
“So you would use the demon deal to make me your…” I grope for the right word.
“Ward.” He enunciates the word carefully. “Your deal with Victor was for your freedom. Same same.”
“And then…” but I trail off.
“Then I can give your consent for the marriage. Now, Benedict. What are we thinking, a spring wedding?”
“As soon as possible,” he replies but his eyes are on me.
“Excellent. No time like the present. Eternity waits for no vampire and all that.” Both of them laugh as if this is one of the funniest jokes anyone has ever said. My insides curdle.
There’s another banging on the door and a head pops round. “Sir, what shall we do with the human? The guests in the hall are getting restless.”
Andrei strides over to him. “Tell them they will get their hunt. But they must wait just a tiny bit longer. Make sure the staff serve a round of Sanguis, the really good one from the cellar to whet everyone’s appetite.”
“No!” I scream.
Andrei crosses the distance to my side in a split second and slaps me hard across the face. “Will you be quiet, woman.”
I stagger backwards, falling onto the sofa next to Benedict, my hand cradling my cheek and my eyes smarting. “What the—”
“You really are going to have your work cut out for you, Benedict,” Andrei says with an air of sympathy. “Your future wife is practically feral.”
“I can tame her,” Benedict says.
“Indeed. Now then, Arianna. I know you think you love this foolish human boy. And I think perhaps it would be too cruel of me to stack the deck too far in the favour of my guests. So, as a courtesy to you, or perhaps we should call it a wedding gift,” he waggles his eyebrows, “I will offer you a trade. A chance to give him a head start.” He looks at his watch.
“What do you think? Five minutes?” He shakes his head.
“No, that’s not enough. Let’s give him ten. ”
I do the maths. A ten minute head start might just be enough. If he can get to the car. “But I have nothing to trade,” I say and my heart breaks in two. I’ve never seen a vampire tear a human apart, but I’ve read enough to know the true horror of what my kind is capable of.
“Of course you do.” Andrei rubs his hands together in glee. “You see, Arianna, this is all just a game. And games are meant to be fun. So I will give him ten minutes.” There’s that lupine smile again. “But only if you agree to hurt him first.”
“No.”
“Oh, come now. I don’t mean physically.” He rolls his eyes a little.
“Don’t be so…” he gropes for the right word.
“Pedestrian. Yes, I think that’s a very good description of you.
Pedestrian. Anyway,” he flaps a hand dismissively.
“You are going to hurt him. I’m going to sit here and watch you smash his little fragile heart to smithereens. ”
“I don’t understand.”
“Of course you do. Use that pretty little head of yours. That human worm is madly, deeply in love with you.” There’s such disdain in his voice, dripping poison with every syllable. “And so you are going to destroy him. Right here in front of us. What fun.”