Shadows of Fate (Shadow Born) (10 page)

He could not get Brenna out of his head. Under all that glamor he had seen her as she was: flawless skin, sunken eyes, blood straining in her veins. She had needed to recharge. At least, that had been his excuse. There was no altruism involved. He wanted her. Swamped with desire from the moment they met, he had needed release and had jumped at the chance.

It was madness.

The consequences could be dire if she were to taste him again. It might allow her to see past his glamour. His power, his very being, had been rebuilt through the powers he shared with his brothers. Even if she were to recognize some part of him, the majority would be unfamiliar. Still, it wasn’t worth the risk.

He watched his hot breath sit in the air. His task here had become too convoluted. He had found Brenna, but he was further from his goal now than when he had begun. He would help Brenna find this Kenaz killer and help Seraph with the Veil if need be, then he would take her with him. Back to face her fate.

He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing as he drew upon his power. It cloaked him, flowing through him until his physical form wavered in the twilight. With a push, he disappeared from the garden, reforming miles from the boarding house. Snow twirled around him as he moved through the knee-high drifts to the wooded area at the edge of the field. He stopped before the giant white aspen at the edge of the grove.

The tree was an anomaly. It towered above the others, three times wider than those around it. It had thrived around the magic Gray had placed inside.

Striking the heel of his hand against the bark, Gray whispered an incantation. The bark split open, revealing a hollow cavity. He slipped his hands inside and withdrew a wooden box. The cold seeped beneath his leather duster, cooling his simmering blood.

He took from the box a rose colored cylinder. Uncapping it, he drank its contents. The potion absorbed into his blood, granting him some relief. For a moment he dropped his glamour. He stared at his pale scarred forearms, thankful there was no mirror handy. What would Brenna think of him now? A broken form of the man he had been.

She might take him under her wing as she would a deformed puppy abandoned by its mother. Or maybe she would kill him, despite her claims of innocence. Who knew what the truth was? With a long suffering sigh, he wrapped his glamour around his body even stronger. Tears burned in his eyes.

But now was not the time to suffer self-pity.

His body was still weak. The potion could only sustain him so long. His head fell back against the tree as he cursed the fates. He had to cure his failing body once and for all. But only one thing could heal him.

Brenna’s blood.

Chapter Six

It was still snowing the next night when Gray turned the Taskforce vehicle onto the winding drive that led to Claudius’ estate. Brenna sat silent in the passenger seat, strangely subdued. Whether it was from fury or frustration remained to be seen.

Claudius had been less than accommodating when Gray had contacted him early in the evening. When it was clear he would not extend an invitation, Gray had been forced to strong-arm him, threatening an official visit from the IRT. The vampire would not be welcoming, much less forthcoming. Brenna’s presence would help, however. Enough that he would play nice at the very least. However, knowing Brenna’s tendency to use power over persuasion, it was anyone’s guess how the two would get on. No doubt they’d locked horns at some point in the past.

The wind pounded the vehicle, making it difficult to follow the curve of the road. Branches broke from the trees overhead, pelting the vehicle. Claudius’s rage had to be affecting the weather. Either that or they were traveling on the outskirts of a tornado.

“Did you have to make him mad?” Brenna glanced over from the passenger’s seat. “He’s hard enough to work with when he’s in a good mood.”

Gray shrugged, turning to avoid a fallen tree trunk. “He’s just trying to scare us off.”

“It’ll take more than a little wind,” she said.

The estate was deep in the crater of what had once been one of Colorado’s largest mountains. Four stories of rock and cement, the estate was hidden deep within the forest that had reclaimed this land after the Fall. Gray stopped the vehicle in front of the iron gates at the end of the private drive. Rolling down the window, he gestured to one of the guards.

The vampire moved forward. His dark suit shining in the moonlight. He straightened as he recognized Gray, then gestured to the two guards standing against the side of the gate.

“Master said he’ll come to you.” The vamp’s voice shook a little. At least he had the sense to be afraid, unlike his boss.

Gray held out his hand. “Give me your radio.”

The guard hesitated.

“Give me your radio. I’ll talk to Claudius myself,” he repeated. When the guard didn’t move, Gray curled his fingers and pulled the receiver from his belt. It jumped into Gray’s hand.

“Open the gate,” he said into the receiver.

The radio crackled. “Not until I know you aren’t a danger to my people.”

“We can easily become one if you don’t cooperate. You know why we’re here.”

For a moment the hiss of static fought with the hiss of the wintery wind.

“Do not assume you can threaten me in my home.”

There was a faint click as Claudius ended their communication.

Gray ignored the alarm on the guard’s face, probably afraid he’d have to fight them. Moments later, the iron gates opened. Gray ignored Brenna’s incredulous look and tossed the guard his radio back.

“So what’s next? A pissing contest?” She sank back in the seat. “I’m surprised he hasn’t thrown a whole tree at us.” Glancing out the side window at the mile of driveway they had yet to travel, she shrugged. “There’s still time.”

“I know how to handle Claudius,” said Gray.

A tree branch bigger than Brenna slammed into Gray’s side of the vehicle, pushing them off the road. Gray fought his way back onto the path.

“Obviously.”

She didn’t speak again until he pulled into the circular driveway before the house. It was an incredible eye sore. A strange mix between a monastery and a casino, it screamed opulence and excess of a sort only the rich back east could afford, while the rest of the state worried about things like water and power. Gray cringed at the garish blood red carpet that spilled from the entry-way like an open wound. Claudius took pride in what he was, celebrating his vampirism to excess.

Refusing to meet their eyes, shoulders slumped, the butler led them down the narrow corridor to the study. Gray stopped in the doorway, motioning Brenna ahead even as he chased away the sentry.

Claudius sat in front of a roaring fire on a cream colored Victorian chaise. He didn’t move as Gray stepped inside the room, locking the door behind him with a wave of his hand.

“Is it too much to ask that you not terrify my servants?” Claudius’ smooth voice wrapped around them.

Gray shrugged. “Cooperate and it won’t be necessary.”

Rising to his feet, Claudius tossed something in the fire. The flames whipped to a frenzy then settled. He turned, causing his black smoking jacket to flare around him. His eyes fixed on Brenna, a slow smile curled his lips.

“You should be glad I like you,” he said, walking around the chaise. His pale green eyes fixed on Gray as he waved to the two leather back chairs by a large tinted window. “Sit. I hate to lose my patience in front of a beautiful woman. Even ones who annoy me.”

Brenna chuckled. “You haven’t seen me
try
to annoy you.”

Claudius raised a brow. “I can only imagine. You live with my Mira. Like attracts like.”

Gray settled into one of the oversized chairs. Brenna moved to the fireplace and began to take off her coat. She clearly did not like Claudius, but Gray had never thought to ask why that was, aside from the obvious.

Eying Brenna with undisguised amusement, Claudius joined Gray in an adjacent chair. “You’re making new friends since the Underground. Not that I blame you, but you should be careful with that one.”

“No doubt.” Gray leaned against the hard chair, and cut to the chase. “Do you have Marissa?”

The black silk lounging pajamas Claudius wore should have looked ridiculous, but they somehow made him appear regal. “I was with her two nights ago. She was supposed to meet me here this evening, but never arrived. I imagine she had a better offer.”

Brenna stepped into her role, crossing the room like a succubus, her body painted into her black leather corset and pants. She leaned over Claudius, her breasts pressed forward, her ass raised. “What type of offer?” she asked, playing with a lock of her hair.

Gray knew her game, but it still took a while to get his focus back. Claudius however stayed lost in her wiles, his eyes glazed as she trailed a finger across his chest. Her power swept the room, strong and sexual. It focused on Claudius, but the backsplash spilled against Gray’s skin. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Had he really thought it was a good idea to bring her along?

“The witch,” Claudius stammered. “She was helping me. Nothing more. I did not desire her, if that is what you are asking.” His gaze hardened as he pulled himself free of Brenna’s magic. “You, however, I could use.” He reached out to squeeze her breast, but she slipped from his grasp. “A taste of your blood would satiate me for years.”

“Because I’m more powerful than you.” Brenna smiled wickedly. “You would do well to remember that. Were you helping her hunt the Kenaz murderer?”

Claudius’s eyes went dark. “No one else seemed interested in catching the bastard.” Rising, he moved to the Louis the XVI desk in the corner of the room. Drawing open the thin top drawer, he pulled out a piece of folded parchment. “This is the last thing Marissa gave me. She believed once it was translated it would lead us to the creature who killed my wife. I’ve been working on it ever since.”

Gray peered at the map. Although he recognized some of the symbols, it mainly looked like gibberish. “Can you read it?”

Brenna shook her head. “It’s a map of some kind, but the key is written in a type of cypher.”

“Marissa believed it had been made by the Brotherhood.” Claudius moved back to the fire. Taking a thin piece of finished wood from the mantel, he played it across his fingers. “And given our history it’s been in our best interest to stay informed of their secrets. But this still eludes me. One of the members had an interest in Marissa. She was going to exploit it.”

“And now she’s missing.”

Claudius drew a long breath. “For what it’s worth, I will help you find her. She’s a friend.” He released the breath. “I have few left now that my wife is gone.”

“I am sorry for your loss.” Gray moved closer to Brenna. He placed a hand on the small of her back, her skin warm beneath his touch, and began to guide her out the door.

She grabbed her coat as they left. “We will leave you to your solitude.” Claudius said nothing. He simply waved them off, as though he did not trust himself to say or do more.

Once they were safely inside their vehicle, driving through the now calm winter night, Gray spoke. “He’s unstable. His power was darting around the room like a fireworks display at the mention of his late wife.”

“I suppose that explains our abrupt departure.”

“If he lost it, I would have had to put him down.”

She glared at him. “Pull back your ego. This isn’t our home. Just because he’s not a Shadow Bearer, doesn’t mean he’s beneath you.

“Really? Because last I checked we were talking about a vampire. He’s an abomination.”

Brenna shook her head. “Things don’t work the same way here. There’s only two of us. We need Claudius. He’s not chattel. Besides, he just lost his mate. Have some compassion.” She paused, staring out into the night. “There is nothing worse than that.”

“You can’t expect me to believe you loved your husband. You were forced to marry him.” He knew he was goading her, but his desire for her answer pushed aside common sense.

Brenna’s hands tightened into fists, the knuckles white. The golden gaze that turned to him was filled with pain. “Don’t presume to know anything about me.”

He fought the urge to push her further. He had to make a decision regarding Brenna, and needed the truth to make it. Still, she was right. At this point he didn’t have the right to ask her such a personal question.

“I’m sorry. I overstepped my bounds.”

“It’s the second time,” she snapped. “Don’t do it again.”

They rode in silence as the moon gave into the dawn. He had made a mistake pressing her for an answer, but being around Brenna frustrated him to no end. When they were together, his purpose for being here faded, overwhelmed by his desire to drop his glamour and stake his claim. There was nothing he wanted more than to tell her the truth. But he couldn’t. Not yet.

“We’re missing something.” Her words pulled him from his stupor. “Marissa isn’t stupid. She wouldn’t intentionally put herself in danger.”

“She may be laying low. Waiting until it’s safe to return.”

“Could be.” She paused as he pulled the vehicle into the long drive that led to the house. “But my intuition is telling me something’s wrong. She would get a message to me. But maybe she can’t.”