Once Lost Lords (Royal Scales, Book 1) (25 page)

A few minutes later and I was out of the new housing project. It was
difficult not feel like a fish on land as I gulped for air. My body
had worked up a bit of a sweat. Pausing for breath, I slumped against
a wall and tried to figure out what to do next. Kahina and her rain
of gunfire was a lot further away now.

“Well, Jay, you don’t disappoint.” A voice came
from down the way. My refuge was useless already.

“Crummy.” The redhead was hard to make out in the
darkness. There was no doubt as to who else it would be.

“I’ll let you go, Jay, but you need to find me Arnold. Do
you understand?” He didn’t have his surfer accent and
that was strange. “I don’t care about you, Julianne, or
Kahina, I don’t even care about the elf, bring me Arnold.”

“Why is he so important?” Arnold was the son of a rich
family, but this was ridiculous. I started walking towards Daniel.

“Listen, I’m your friend right?” He asked.

“I’m not sure about that,” I responded. Today had
put the topic of our friendship into a ‘maybe’ category.

“Trust me, we’re friends, otherwise you would never have
gotten out. I need you, as my friend, to find me Arnold Regious.”
Daniel was trying hard to stay calm. I could see the shift in his
face, he wanted to yell at me like he yelled at his men.

He knew better. Now that I wasn’t chained to a chair.

“He’s the key to all of this, he’s the heir,”
He said.

“The heir to what?” There was more to this than a lump of
money. Another guard appeared behind Daniel, this one resembling all
the other ones I had seen.

“Sir, you need to test him.” The new guard stepped close.
His voice was deep and loud. The very sound of it made me skin itch
as it rippled through the area.

“I have tested him, it came back normal,” Daniel stated
firmly.

“You heard the…” The nameless guard started to say
something.

“Quiet,” Daniel said. I almost raised an eyebrow at
Daniel but, something told me not to. Now wasn’t the place or
time.

“Are you sure, sir?”

“I’m sure. There are none left, and this man is a
vampirism survivor, now tell the others to pull back.” Daniel
was defending me from something.

“Sir.” The guard nodded and drew back a ways. I watched
the other armed man back up to leave. He was whispering something
into a microphone on his shoulder.

“What was that about, Daniel? What is this all about?”
Someone needed to give me some damned answers. Why did some random
guard think I needed to be tested? For what?

Daniel had an object in his hands and he pressed it. His facial
complexion changed for a moment.

“Man, do you know how many bullets I’m trying to dodge in
letting you go like this? I can’t tell you much, but there’s
a lot to this.” His surfer accent was back and it sounded
frustrated. “Find me Arnold and I’ll tell you what I
can.”

Daniel tossed a second item to me. I caught it out of reflex and
rolled my fingers around a small pouch made of velvet. I looked down
at it and back up. Daniel was already halfway around the corner. His
angry, tanned face from earlier put back in place.

“Hey!” I shouted at him.

“Open the package, Jay.” He waved at me over a shoulder.
In his hands, he held a green glowing disk. Daniel slapped it against
a wall and it illuminated the area.

Then he rounded the corner. I started after him. The green disk
blinked once and let out a sharp noise. Alarm bells went off in my
head and I back peddled quickly. Ten steps later there was a click.

An explosion threw me into the packed earth. I clinched both arms in
front of me and tried to twist in order to land on my side. It didn’t
prevent the impact from rattling me. My ears rang as I scrambled to
look where Daniel had been. There was no sign of the agent.

That one explosion hadn’t been alone. Back in the housing
project there was an entire series of them. A crimson glow
illuminated the night sky, making the raging fire impossible to miss.
I hoped everyone else had escaped by now

“Jay, we’ve got to go.” Kahina was beside me. Her
face was dirty and smudged. She either ran out of people to shoot or
had been closer than I thought. I mumbled something back to her then
gradually stood up. Daniel’s package was in my hands as I
stumbled away.

“The others made it out,” Kahina said. “And we
should be safe. Daniel’s men pulled out after that last
explosion.”

“We should still…”

“Yes. We’ve got a few minutes before the police get here.
Human law enforcement will be harder to deal with than Daniel’s
men.” She was tugging at my arm. I lost focus for a second
distracted by her arms. They were thin but well-toned. “We’ll
leave here, and tomorrow night we can find your elf.”

“Who?” I blanked.

“I swear you’re dense sometimes.” She gave a
short-tempered response. “The elf.”

“Evan?”

“Yes, Julianne said his old location might be the safest place
right now.” She shook her head. “Though we should have
left him behind.”

“Why didn’t you?” I asked. Kahina kept pulling us
forward. She hooked one arm into mine and we walked down the street
like any normal couple in the world. In the middle of the night with
burning buildings behind us. It made perfect sense. I was tired and
perplexed.

“You were listening to Daniel, he doesn’t want the slant
ear,” Kahina said.

“He wants Arnold Regious.”

“Why would he care about Arnold?” She asked. It almost
felt like we were on a date of some sort. Only this one involved
escaping a hostage situation.

“The elf and he were friends,” I responded. My free hand
was still running across the outside of Daniel’s velvet
container. The fabric felt like one of Julianne’s hunting
pouches.

“Somehow I doubt it’s that simple.” She sounded,
happy? I looked over at her for a second then back to the pouch.
Tonight wasn’t a night to quibble about our past. Not after
that. If I did get into an argument with her it would make things
worse.

“Nothing ever is.” Only this time I wasn’t talking
about Evan or Arnold. I was talking about us. Whatever we were, or
weren’t. Even now I could see Kahina’s eyes drifting to
the wound on my face. The one I had picked up after slamming into the
ground from the explosion.

My mind thought about her anyway. Her obsession with my blood was
enough on its own. No one dated a vampire and skirted the topic. How
had she managed to have enough control to drag me home after the
fight with the wolf? My pants practically soaked in blood from all
the damage. Maybe she hadn’t had control. Maybe that’s
why I had nightmares then.

“What is it about me, Kahina?” I asked quietly as we
turned down another street. She didn’t respond right away, to
the question or anything else. Finally, Kahina uttered something.

“It’s almost dawn, I need to get home,” She said.

“That’s not an answer.”

“I’m on a schedule, Jay. Maybe tomorrow night I’ll
have the luxury of answering, provided you stick around.” Her
statement was a painful reminder that most of the avoidance had been
on my end. Starting with me leaving four years ago.

“Let’s get you home then.” I agreed. She would be
much safer at home versus being comatose here on the street.

Maybe we could sort something out if I crashed at her place for the
day. Kahina still had her cell phone for some reason. A quick phone
call and an awkward twenty-minute walk was all it took for a ride to
show up. I sat on the other side of the car and tried not to feel
sick at the passing scenery.

An eyeblink later and we were at her house. A flurry of activity
greeted us at the door. Well-dressed people all wearing the same
style of clothing were at the forefront. Behind them seemed to be
businessmen of some kind. They held papers and chatted away about
things that required her attention.

The ones all wearing the same outfits seemed to be servants. They
provided a change of clothes. She picked out a nightgown from a row
of clothes that a pale young girl had draped across her arms. Then
there was a slimy voice that I recognized as her second. The same
irritating man who answered the phone last night. It belonged to a
snobby looking man in a white suit though there were dashes of purple
in various places.

“My Lady, we were worried when you didn’t check in.”
The second said.

“We had a small run in with a sector agent,” Kahina said.

“Oh goodness, shall I check with our contacts?” The
snobby male said. I mean who says goodness anymore?

“Yes, find out if this was a legitimate operation or not, we’ll
act accordingly from there,” She answered. Her eyes were busy
looking over the latest pile of papers to be put into her hands.

“And your guest?” The man asked.

“An old friend, he will be staying the day with us I believe.”
She didn’t look up at me. Her hands flipped through papers and
nodded. Seconds later she had a pen out and was signing away.

For my part, I felt overwhelmed by everything. This wasn’t the
Kahina I had known, not this house, not this sort of business mogul
she had become. Some of the items in this house that I saw on display
were making me drool. Maybe she wouldn’t mind if I added one to
my collection.

The male second, a partial vampire judging by his mannerisms and
speed, was standing next to me. I stepped away slightly and tried not
to punch him in the face. Tonight had set me on edge.

“Sir?” He seemed to take in the dirty condition of my
clothes as an indication of my character. There was distaste to the
way his nose lifted.

I glazed over for a moment until I heard a pen slap against the
clipboard Kahina held.

“Sir, will you be staying the day?” The second asked.

“Sure.” I gave him my most infuriating grin.

Maybe Kahina would let me stab her second in the heart while he was
comatose during the day. Maybe I could bind some crosses into his
room and leave them there. I really, really didn’t like how he
was in my personal space.

“I’ll ensure someone is available for you, and perhaps
some other minor alterations as well.” The man said.

“That sounds like an excellent idea. Make sure you behave.”
I wasn’t sure which one of us Kahina was talking to. She padded
softly off down the hallway. Another servant motioned to me. We went
in a completely different direction.

Walking down the hallway was a daunting experience. There were more
doors in this place than one might expect. Some went to bathrooms and
bedrooms along with servants quarters. Some doors went to kitchens
and tiny laundry rooms.

“How big is this place?” I asked.

“Big, sir.” The person escorting me was the same person
that had held the nightgowns for Kahina. I saw her lift one finger
and brush at a table top in the hallway. It took me a moment to
realize she was checking for dust as we traveled.

“This is a lot different than what I remember,” I
remember Kahina had owned a condo in a high-rise downtown. Not a
mansion. Her servants seemed mostly human, though, they needed to be.
Being a vampire came with too many downsides for any of them to
survive making a living as a maid or butler.

“The home has been in her family for generations.” My
escort seemed distracted. She didn’t look at me, only at our
surroundings.

“What?” My brow scrunched up.

“Lady Rhodes’ father passed on a few years ago. The home
was left to her.” The next few tables didn’t seem to meet
her expectations. There was a look of vague annoyance on her face.
“There are no other heirs and the Lady is dedicated to her
family’s legacy.”

“Dedicated? Like turning vamp?” I asked.

“Indeed.”

Was that the reason she had made the change? The desire to keep her
family name strong was a good reason. It was far less shallow than
wanting to stay young and strong forever. We stopped at a single door
near the end of the hallway.

“This is the eastern guest room, the view is lovely in the
morning.” She walked into the room and checked the pillows
before nodding. “I would suggest enjoying the dawn then pulling
the curtain closed. The drapes are heavy enough to block out the
sunlight completely.”

“Thank you,” I said. This was beyond my depth.

“Not a problem. I’ll be up with a light breakfast for you
if you wish.” The maid somehow managed to turn her question
into a passive statement.

“Uhhh….sure,” I answered. The maid nodded and
walked off.

This room was larger than my entire house. Kahina was turning into a
big name vampire. I shouldn’t be surprised. I had seen this
house in my visions when first looking Kahina up. Even at night it
had seemed grand, from both the outside and brief snips of the
inside. Seeing it in person was no less intimidating.

The light breakfast came in while I was trying to conquer the top of
the room. My bulky form was balanced carefully on the sturdiest chair
I could find with a hand reached out towards the ceiling. She didn’t
even bat an eyelash and set food onto the table. Moments later she
was back out the door.

I rocked the chair backwards and walked over to the small platter. It
had a slice of toast along with half a peeled orange. Spices were
mixed into the eggs and built a wonderful aroma. That meal was my
only company as I watched the sunrise and tried not to think of
Kahina.

Eventually, the muggy heat from midday stirred me. Only the thick
curtains kept light from shining in. I woke up and slowly made it to
the window, peeking outside. It was far too bright. A minute passed
while I stood there blinking with only half my brain working.

This room was unknown and clearly not secured. Someone had come in
during my rest and left a change of clothes on a chair facing the
bed. My back itched, the thought of some stranger sneaking by while I
lay passed out didn't sit well with me. Vampires had it rough. My
discomfort didn’t stop me from putting on fresh clothes. The
shirt fit well and the pants didn’t constrict my waist.