Drawn to the Vampire (Blood and Absinthe, Book 4) (2 page)

Celia added, “The team brought a spellcaster with them, too—someone who knows about portal magic. He couldn’t sense anything in the area. The portal may no longer exist, or it may be inaccessible to us. Either way, we can’t reach the underworld from there.”

Kit’s fists were clenched so tight she could feel her nails cutting into her palms. “There must be someone who knows something. You said no Fae or human has gone there, but—”

“No living Fae or human. But if you believe the legends, there were visits in the ancient past.”

“What legends?”

“Orpheus. Odysseus. Aeneas.”

“You can’t mean…you don’t think those stories are
real
?”

Hawk shrugged. “Maybe not all of them. But until this happened, we didn’t think the underworld was real, either. We thought the Dark Fae realm was the only other dimension connected to Earth. And most humans still don’t believe that Fae are real, or vampires, or—”

“I get it,” Kit said gruffly. “But those myths—Orpheus and the rest of them—are all thousands of years old. Don’t we have any information that’s more up-to-date? Someone must know something that—what?” she asked sharply, seeing the glances that passed between Hawk and the other two. “What is it? You have to tell me.”

Hawk’s dark brows drew together. “There is a story of someone who’s traveled to the underworld more recently. Someone…” he paused.

“Someone we could talk to? Someone living?”

“Well…not exactly living. The best information we’ve been able to glean tells us that the underworld is the dwelling place of powerful beings—Hades and Persephone, to be specific—but that it’s also an afterlife. A land of the dead. Not for humans, as the ancient Greeks and Romans believed—at least not in the normal course of events—but for demons. It’s not a realm hospitable to humans or Fae. In fact, it’s said that no one living can travel to the underworld unless they’re cast there by a demon or guided there by someone dead.”

“Someone
dead
?”

Hawk nodded. “A ghost, or…”

The answer dawned on her. “Or a vampire. Is that it? You’ve heard of a vampire who’s traveled to the underworld?”

“Yes. Of course it may be just a story…that’s what I had always believed…but then again, it may be simple fact. If so—”

“Then he could help us,” Kit finished eagerly. “Couldn’t he?”

Hawk shook his head slowly. “If the circumstances were different, maybe. But as it is…”

“What? What are the circumstances?”

“The vampire in question isn’t one of our allies.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Jessica said. “I contacted the Welsh Fae, and they won’t help us contact Luke Cadris under any circumstances. They said—”

“The vampire lives in Wales?”

Jessica nodded. “Yes. He—”

Kit turned to Hawk. “That’s where you’re from. Right?”

“Yes, but—”

“So you talk to him. He’s not an ally of the Fae, but he’s a vampire and he’s Welsh.”

Hawk’s mouth twisted into a half smile. “You think that should be enough?” He shook his head. “Unfortunately, Luke and I have had dealings before, and they weren’t exactly amicable.”

Kit frowned. “Meaning what?”

“Meaning that several years ago, someone wanted to hire me to kill him. I refused the job, but Luke learned, or guessed, that I had been approached after someone else failed to carry out the hit. Luke sent that other assassin to me, along with the vampire who’d hired him.”

“Sent them?”

“In several pieces.”

Kit swallowed. “Ah.”

“He also sent a note, telling me he appreciated the instinct for self-preservation that had prompted me to turn down this particular job, and that he hoped the instinct would continue to serve me well. He also mentioned that if he ever found me within ten miles of Snowdon University, he would assume that the instinct had deserted me.”

“Snowdon University?”

“It’s a small school on the northwest coast of Wales. Luke is a professor there.”

“A
professor
?”

“Yes. He lives as a human, and has done for some time. His ‘father’ was also a professor at Snowdon, as was his ‘grandfather’.”

“All three were the same person?”

“That’s right.”

This was the world she wanted nothing to do with. The world of magic and immortality and supernatural mystery. She felt a sudden longing for one of the familiar classrooms at MIT, and the joy of working at a math problem that would have one answer, clear and unambiguous, beautiful in its logic and rationality.

But Peter was trapped in that other world, the world of the paranormal—and it was looking like she’d have to venture into that world herself if she wanted to save him. And that, in turn, meant she needed all the information she could get.

“Why did someone want this vampire killed? And why did you turn down the job?”

“All the supernatural races in Great Britain—Fae, vampires, shifters, witches—have had their concerns or suspicions about Snowdon University over the years. It’s a legitimate institution of higher learning, home to several thousand human students and many human professors, but the Vice-Chancellor, Merton Ambrose, is a shadowy figure at best. It was he who brought Luke Cadris to Snowdon many years ago, but Luke probably isn’t the only non-human there. There has always been a tremendous amount of magical energy around Snowdon, and that makes other supernaturals nervous.”

“What are they afraid of?”

Hawk shrugged. “They don’t know where the power comes from, and they don’t know what its purpose is. They don’t know the Vice-Chancellor’s intentions, or Luke’s. Neither of them is part of any traditional alliance, and no one is quite sure whether the Vice-Chancellor is a shifter, a rogue Fae, or merely a human with magical power.”

“But he and the vampire have never caused any kind of trouble?”

“Not that we know of. And over the decades, as they’ve continued to live quietly, some of the concern about them has faded. The belief is that if the Vice-Chancellor or Luke were planning some kind of power play or attack, they would have shown some signs of it by now. And that,” he added, “is the answer to your second question.”

“Why you turned down the job?”

“Yes. I don’t believe in pre-emptive strikes, and that was the only reason given me for taking out Luke Cadris. Not for anything he had done, but for what he might do. And that wasn’t good enough for me.”

Kit mulled this over. “What did the Welsh Fae say when you contacted them?” she asked Jessica. “What do they think about Luke, and about Snowdon? And why wouldn’t they help you?”

“The Fae have a policy of neutrality when it comes to other supernaturals, unless we know them to be a true threat to the human race. They won’t do anything that might compromise that neutrality.”

“That’s why the Fae left Evan alone all those years,” Celia put in. “They kept an eye on his club, but they didn’t consider him a threat. There’s blood-drinking at Blood and Whiskey, but it’s all consensual, and the humans who go there don’t realize that the vampires are, well, actual vampires.”

At the mention of blood-drinking, Kit had to look away for a moment. She was afraid her sudden disgust would show in her eyes.

Celia let a vampire drink her blood. Maybe she even liked it. And Queen Jessica… she let Hawk…

Kit repressed that line of thought with all the mental discipline she’d cultivated as a student of science. She had no time for personal feelings right now. She had to put them aside for Peter’s sake.

After a moment she was able to look up again.

“So the Welsh Fae won’t help.”

Jessica shook her head. “No. And as for sneaking into Snowdon—that would be impossible. There are ancient and powerful wards around that place. No vampire, Fae, shifter, or magician would stand a chance of getting in undetected. For all practical purposes, anyone who dwells within Snowdon’s walls is untouchable.”

Kit felt a surge of panic and forced herself to ignore it. She needed to rely on her reason and logic, to work this problem like a computer programming puzzle.

“Okay, so we can’t sneak in. Luke doesn’t know or trust any of our allies, so we can’t use a go-between. But you said Snowdon’s a real university, right? It’s not a fortress. What’s to prevent someone…someone like me…from just going up to the gate and asking to see Professor Cadris?”

Jessica and Hawk looked at each other, and Celia’s forehead wrinkled as she considered it. “You could do that, I suppose. But they’ll know you’re Fae. They may think you’re a threat. The protections around Snowdon include the ability to detect supernatural power.”

“If that’s the case, I’ve got nothing to worry about. I don’t
have
any supernatural power. They might think you were a threat—you’re a spellcaster. And Jessica’s a warrior. But I don’t have any special abilities. I have Fae blood, but I don’t have super strength and I can’t do magic.”

“You’re still Fae,” Jessica said.

Kit shrugged. “If they turn me away, I’ll have to think of something else. But unless you’ve got another plan, I’m going to Wales to talk to Luke Cadris.”

Jessica shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

It was the first time Kit had heard Jessica sound like her idea of a queen—abrupt and autocratic. Kit started to snap back at her, but she took a deep breath instead. Fighting with Jessica wouldn’t help her brother.

“Why not?” she asked calmly.

“You don’t have any experience with this kind of thing. And Luke has a reputation for…” Jessica paused.

“For what? You said the Fae don’t believe him to be a threat.”

“That’s true, as far as it goes. To the best of our knowledge he hasn’t killed a human in well over a hundred years. The reputation I’m speaking of regards his…amorous activities.”

“Amorous?”

“Luke Cadris is known as a seducer. He doesn’t kill but he doesn’t live solely on animal blood, either. He still drinks from humans…from women, specifically.”

Once again Kit had to fight back a surge of nausea. “Well, that’s what vampires do, isn’t it? Telling me vampires like blood is like saying cats like mice. Isn’t that just their nature? No offense,” she added, with a belated glance at Hawk.

He looked more amused than offended. “None taken,” he murmured.

“It’s not just blood,” Jessica said. “Or sex, either. Apparently Luke is very…appealing to women. They fall in love with him. To the point of obsession, sometimes. Not the female students at Snowdon—he never gets involved with them—but women in the local towns, and as far south as Cardiff. There are tales of women pining for him after he’s moved on…and he always moves on. In some cases, so the legends say, they die of broken hearts. Although there’s never been any confirmation of that,” she added. “Those stories are probably exaggerated, to add to his mystique.”

Kit felt a quick rush of relief. “That’s what you’re worried about? You’re afraid Luke Cadris is going to seduce me, or something?” She shook her head. “Believe me when I tell you that won’t be a problem. I’m not attracted to vampires on any level. My heart, my virtue, and my jugular vein are all safe.”

She was being flip, but even as she said the words, a sudden idea took root in her mind. A way to convince Luke Cadris to help her…assuming she could get in to see him.

It wasn’t an idea to share with present company, however. She was pretty sure they wouldn’t approve.

Kit glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece before rising to her feet. “Let’s cut this short, okay? I appreciate your concern, but I’m going to Wales. First, though, I need to return my roommate’s car and pick up my passport. Celia, if you’ll follow me in your car, you can drive me to the airport. That’ll give you a chance to tell me everything you know about Luke Cadris and the journey he supposedly made to the underworld.”

Jessica started to protest, but Hawk laid a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s no good,
cariad
,” the vampire said softly. “I’ve been around Fae women long enough to recognize the look in Kit’s eyes. No matter what you say, she’s going.”

Jessica looked ready to argue, but after a moment she sighed. “All right,” she said, sounding resigned. “But Kit, I want you to know that we’ll be doing everything we can on our end, too. Liz Marlowe and Jack Morgan are in Peru right now, trying to find out anything they can. Celia and Hawk will continue their research, and if my position as queen can leverage any help for us, I’ll use it.”

“Thank you, Jessica. I appreciate that.”

She shook hands with the queen, hesitated a moment, and then extended her hand towards Hawk.

“Thank you for your help,” she said a little stiffly. She felt badly for some of the things she’d said about vampires…especially since Hawk had come to her defense, recognizing her determination to do whatever it took to help her brother.

She shared a Fae heritage with Celia and Jessica, but the vampire was the one who’d understood her.

“You’re welcome,” he said, shaking her hand. “Good luck in Wales, Kit.”

“Thanks. But I don’t believe in luck.”

Once again, Hawk’s mouth twisted up in a half smile. “Now might be a good time to start.”

Chapter Two

Snowdon University was more than a hundred years old. The stone and slate of its buildings were as timeless as the hills they came from, the sea that crashed against the cliffs, and the gray skies that so often prevailed on the northwest coast of Wales.

Given its relative isolation, Snowdon should have had a difficult time attracting the fine scholars who filled its dormitories and lecture halls. And yet every year the school turned away almost as many applicants as did Oxford or Cambridge.

Those who knew Snowdon well attributed its success to one man: Merton Ambrose, the Vice-Chancellor. Among his other accomplishments, he had attracted a dynamic group of professors to his university, many of them young as well as brilliant. Some were known for being “edgy” or “unconventional” if not downright odd, their reputations rivaling those of the famously eccentric Oxford dons of the Victorian era.

One chilly December evening, the most popular of Snowdon’s professors was sitting in an arm chair by the fire in the Senior Common Room. When he let out a low growl, the only other person in the room looked up from his newspaper and frowned.