Blood Legacy: The House of Alexander (8 page)

Ryan turned to her. “Yes, as far as I know. There is no one beyond his Memories, not even the One who Changed him.”

Susan was thoughtful. “And he has no Memories of his life before his Change?”

Ryan shook her head. “No. We have discussed this at length. He remembers only being the way that he is, at his current age. He remembers nothing before that and I have seen nothing in his mind to indicate otherwise.”

Susan watched the shadows play across Ryan’s face. “Then how is that the other Old Ones came to exist?”

“I am not completely sure,” Ryan said, “And it is my understanding that neither are they.”

Ryan realized this was an incomplete explanation.

“I believe most of the truly ancient of our Kind did not survive, but I am not sure why. It is almost as if a generation spontaneously appeared, then were destroyed, possibly through some type of internal warfare.” Ryan was thoughtful. “I believe Victor is the only one of his generation to survive.” Her eyes narrowed. “Although there might be one more.”

Susan glanced over at her. “What about the ones I’ve met? What about Marilyn?”

Ryan’s eyes grew distant as she evoked Marilyn’s Memories as if they were her own.

“I-,” Ryan stopped, “I mean she, has Memories of her mentor, but it is someone who no longer exists. I believe Marilyn, and Abigail as well, are close to my father in age, but are second or third, perhaps fourth generation.”

It was Susan’s turn to speculate. “I wonder if there was some large-scale event that triggered some sort of mass genetic mutation, some type of radiation poisoning or something. We’ve seen drastic mutations in Belarus since Chernobyl.”

“Of course,” Susan said, continuing her train of thought, “All of those mutations have been horrific.” She glanced over at Ryan again. “Yours have all been beneficial, almost by design.”

Ryan was quietly sarcastic. “Who knew that God was a vampire?”

Susan glanced down at her hands, smiling. “As you have so often reminded me, you are not a vampire.” She looked back up at Ryan, serious once more as she hesitantly approached the question she needed to ask.

“If Victor is the oldest of your Kind, then how do you know that you’re immortal? How do you know you’re not just extremely long-lived?”

Susan expected some resistance to the question, but Ryan surprised her.

“I have asked that question myself,” Ryan said. “And I don’t have an answer to it.” She reflected on the facts of the moment. “But I would think if my father were suffering from mere aging, his decline would be more gradual as opposed to the sudden, acute onset of his symptoms.”

The silence between the two was heavy, and it was Ryan who filled it with what they were both thinking. “Unless, of course,” she said quietly, “I have hastened my father’s death by injuring him so severely.”

Ryan’s face was expressionless, but Susan could see the muscles in her jaw tighten. She had the sudden impulse to reach out and hug the preternatural creature, and might have done so had Ryan not dramatically changed the subject.

“So,” she said calmly, turning to Susan, “Have you considered my father’s offer?”

Susan swallowed hard, unable to maintain eye contact. She cleared her throat a few times before she was able to croak out an answer.

“Yes.”

Ryan was amused. “Yes you have considered it? Or yes is your answer?”

Susan tried to maintain a semblance of composure. Victor had offered her the opportunity to become one of their Kind. It was an incredible gift, but one fraught with peril.

“Yes I have considered it. And although I don’t think now is an appropriate time, I think that I might be willing to undergo the…” Susan’s voice broke, “…the possibility sometime in the future.”

Ryan smiled a wicked smile, and Susan was reminded of what a complete predator she was.

“Excellent.”

Ryan sat in a chair next to Victor’s bedside. He was resting comfortably, nothing in his handsome visage indicating anything out of the ordinary. His eyes were closed, but Ryan knew he wasn’t sleeping. She took the opportunity to examine his features, the high cheekbones, the perfect mouth, the long, dark eyelashes resting against his smooth, unlined skin.

His eyes opened. “What?” he asked at her brash scrutiny.

Ryan smiled. “Just trying to see what Dr. Ryerson sees in you.”

Victor closed his eyes again. “Go look in the mirror.”

Ryan smiled further at the irony in his tone. She moved to his side, sitting on the edge of the bed. He again opened his eyes, and this time there was the subtle sensuality in his gaze that always existed between he and Ryan, the desire that Susan Ryerson found both fascinating and disturbing.

He took her hand, turning the wrist and examining the veins beneath the skin. His marked examination began to loosen the coiled spring that always lie tensed just beneath Ryan’s skin.

“Is there something I can get you?” Ryan asked mockingly.

“No,” Victor said as he brushed his lips across the veins. “But there is something you can give me.”

The razor-sharp teeth brushed the skin, splitting it and the vein beneath without effort. Ryan closed her eyes, but not in pain. Victor drew her blood into his body, taking the strength, power, and immense pleasure that came with it.

As always, Ryan was immediately connected to him both physically and mentally. She could feel his pain and see the looming darkness, but was comforted by his lack of fear. He seemed unconcerned with his fate and far more concerned with hers.

She began to feel the lethargy take hold, the wonderful lightness of being that came with being fully bled. It was a precarious state for most of their Kind. At this moment, it was no danger to her whatsoever.

Victor released her arm, sated. Ryan gazed down at him, fighting her predatory instincts.

“You know I will let you,” Victor said, gently taunting.

“And you know I want to,” Ryan said, “More than life itself.” She leaned back from him. “But not more than your life.”

Ryan grew somber. “The dark gift is all I can give you right now,” she said, “And my helplessness fills me with rage.”

Victor nodded, understanding the fire that flowed like molten lava through his child’s veins. It flowed through his as well.

“There is one more thing that you can do for me.”

Ryan glanced down at him, suspicious at his tone.

“You will receive a summons from the Grand Council, most likely within the next few days.”

Victor could feel Ryan’s formidable temper rising, and took her hand, forcing calm upon her.

“I know what they want of you.”

Ryan exploded. “I don’t care what they want of me. I only care what you want of me.”

Victor was patient. “Then you will obey their edict.”

Ryan started to argue, but Victor cut her short, placing a finger on her lips. “If you wish to do my will, then you will obey the edict of this council.”

Ryan’s jaw tightened, but Victor simply shook his head.

“I will say no more on this matter.”

CHAPTER 7

RYAN SAT BEFORE THE EMPTY TABLE in the great hall. “Sat” was probably too loose a description, for she sprawled in the lone seat that faced the raised dais that held the massive council table. The entire room, from its cathedral ceilings to its elaborate marble columns, was designed to emphasize the pre-eminence of the council seats and the lonely inferiority of the chair beneath them. It failed to affect the chair’s current occupant in any such way. Not that it would have under normal circumstances, but Ryan was currently oblivious to almost everything around her. Her thoughts were only of Victor, and of the current distance between them.

She became aware of the presence of the Others approaching her from the rear. She did not turn when they entered the room behind her, filing in to fill a semi-circle arrangement of seats surrounding her back.

These would be the twelve witnesses, Old Ones, but not as powerful as those who would sit as part of the Grand Council. Their duty was to bear witness to the proceedings.

Ryan extended her senses to assess them while blocking their probing. She was surprised to feel a familiar presence. She turned to the twelfth witness, seated to her right at the end of the semi-circle. It was Edward.

She glanced briefly around the room, then turned away disinterested.

The Others gazed at the golden-haired young woman seated in the center of the room. Most had never met her, although all had heard of this strange creature with the extraordinary past. They stared at her, as if trying to square the myth with the reality. It was difficult, because although the girl possessed a startling, androgynous beauty, it was difficult to gain much more from her than that. It was almost as if she shifted before them, ephemerally coming in and out of focus.

In a shocking breach of decorum, Ryan stood and walked over to Edward. All eyes followed the lithe figure.

“I would hardly consider you an impartial witness,” Ryan said dryly.

“I do not believe these will be impartial proceedings,” Edward said, just as dryly.

Ryan glanced at his robe, required garb of the council members. “I am not certain that red is your color,” she said with mock seriousness.

Edward glanced at Ryan’s black clothes, elegant and form-fitting, accentuating her athletic build. She wore a cloak on her shoulders that was more cape than coat. “I see that you have worn your favorite color,” he said, even more dryly than before.

“You didn’t think I would change for this, did you?”

Edward shook his head. “Of course not.”

In accordance with protocol, the twelve witnesses wore red, the members of the Grand Council wore ceremonial white, and the head of the Grand Council wore black. The fact that Ryan wore black as well sent a distinct message.

Ryan turned, sensing more familiar presences approaching. Powerful presences. Ryan nodded to Edward and returned to the center of the room. Edward was surprised to see her remain standing, but soon realized why.

Ryan bowed her head and closed her eyes, as if gathering strength. She opened her eyes, and with a flourish removed her cloak, swirling it about her. As the cloak came off, so did the perceptual veil with which she had surrounded herself.

Edward smiled. He could feel, if not hear, the intake of breath from those in the room. The female next to him took an instinctive step back and he graciously caught her elbow to keep her from tumbling over the chair behind her.

Ryan’s full presence was crushing, her charisma unmistakable, her influence overpowering. Even those witnesses who had predetermined their aversion to this One were suddenly and emphatically served notice: resistance was futile. And it certainly wouldn’t be as enjoyable as giving in to this creature.

Edward smiled again. He could sense that those approaching had received the message as well. Ryan set her coat down casually, as if the entire situation were of no matter. Normally those called before the Council were supposed to stand respectfully at their seat, and to sit once the Council was seated. In another complete breach of protocol, Ryan stepped forward up onto the dais and stood before the opening door.

One-by-one, the members of the Grand Council began to file into the room. Those bearing witness watched expectantly, curious as to how those of the Grand Council would view this breach of etiquette. It was not what they expected.

The first through the door, an exceedingly handsome and distinguished Asian man, stepped forward and stopped in front of Ryan. Clothed in the white robes of the Council, he gazed intently at the black garbed figure in front of him. The two stood eye-to-eye, expressionless. Then, in a gesture that completely surprised Edward, Ryan clasped her hands in front of her and bowed deeply from the waist. In a gesture that completely surprised everyone else in the room, Kusunoki clasped his hands and returned the gesture, bowing just as deeply. He stood for a moment longer, gazing at his former apprentice, then stepped to the right to stand before his seat.

Ryan turned her attention to the next One coming through the door. A gorgeous, earthy, immense woman entered the room, moving with the grace and dignity of a queen. She stopped before Ryan and an exotic sensuality filled the space between them, snaking out with tendrils that seemed to wrap around Ryan’s torso and pin her arms to her sides. The woman was overwhelming in every way, with ebony skin and startling green eyes that burned into Ryan. Ryan heard a deep, throaty voice in her head.