Stephen (4 page)

“
She wasn’t hurt like this yesterday. Or if she was, it hadn’t marred her skin yet. Who dared touch her?” No one answered him as he opened his wrist. “When she is fed, do you think she will need more care than that?”

“
You plan on leaving her here?” Vinnie was glad that Samuel had asked, because he was sure that he would have hit him first before asking. “Christ man, even if you do bring her back from death, staying here won’t do her a lick of good.”

“
I’m not leaving her. And thank you ever so much for thinking I’m that much of a cold bastard. I meant before I could move her from here, not leave her.” Stephen pressed his wrist to her mouth, and all of them watched as blood trailed down her mouth to her chin. “She’s not taking it in. What do I do?”

“
Tell her to drink. You can touch her mind now, I’m betting. With her out, she can’t hide from you.” Vinnie sat down across from Stephen and pinched the woman’s nose. “Tell her to drink. She will have to do something with not being able to breathe this way.”

Stephen commanded her to drink, but it didn’t really do much good. Her heart rate slowed even more until Vinnie was sure she was simply going to die to spite them all. When Yve landed on her forehead and then moved toward her ears, Vinnie was sure she was going to use her magic. But all she did was move her hair from her temple and show the scar to them all.

“
This is how she can use her mind like she does. I’ve heard that she was wounded when her mother passed. I do not know if it is true or not, but she has a great gift now that she did not have before.” Vinnie looked at Stephen when he ran his finger over the large scar. “You would do well to remember her upbringing, Master Silva. The lady has been through more than you in all your lifetimes. And has lost a great deal that she cannot ever forgive.”

When a small moan came from the woman who had lain so still, all of them watched as she swallowed twice before she moaned again. When her hand came out and curled around Stephen’s wrist, Vinnie got up to leave. They were going to be a couple even against Stephen’s wishes.

~~~

Stephen had brought her to his home by his own magic, and was glad now that he’d taken care to make sure that his house was always ready for guests…guests of any kind. He’d even had some of his subjects go back to her cave and gather what they could find and bring it back as well. There was no way she was going back there, even if she didn’t stay with him. When she was settled in one of the upper bedrooms, he went to the kitchen to talk to his butler, Kasen.

“
I don’t know what she will eat or when she’ll wake up, but could you please make sure there is something here for her when and if she wants it?” He nodded and Stephen had the uncontrollable urge to explain more. “I don’t want her here, and she won’t be staying once she is on the mend. But while here I’d like for her to get the best care. If you could make sure that she has everything she needs, then we can make sure she gets out of here quicker.”

“
Of course, my lord.” Kasen looked up the staircase and back at him before continuing. “The faeries have sent over a few of their kind to watch over her as well. Will I be…I will need to…sire, I’m not sure what to feed them.”

“
I think they’ll take care of that part.” He really didn’t know, but a faerie had come back with him when he’d brought Clar to his home. Leith was now a part of his home, or at least until Clar left. She would be her protector from now on. He told Kasen about the little person.

“
Will she…sire, I’m not sure what you want me to do with her. And the others. There are so many of them in the room with the young woman.” And there were too. Hundreds of them had come to see her and they were coming and going. So much that he’d left a window open in the bathroom for them to come and go as they pleased, sliding under the door to enter or leave the bedroom.

“
Just leave them alone and they’ll leave us alone. Once the girl is healed enough to leave, they’ll be gone.” Stephen started out of the room and turned back. “Kasen, what do you know of telepathy?”

“
Nothing much, sire. Shall I see what I can find out? Is the young woman…does she have this ability?” Stephen nodded. “I see. I will see what I can find for you and have it when you rise. Will you require anything else?”

“
No. I guess that’s it.” He started for the lower levels and turned instead to the stairs leading to where she was resting. He would check on her again before going down, he told himself. When he entered the room, several of the faeries flew to the ceiling, and he wanted to tell them to get out. But all he did was sit in the chair and look at Clar. One of the braver little ones landed on his knee.

“
We’re afraid of you, sire.” Stephen nodded. He was a vampire, after all, and faerie blood was like a drug to him. They were right to be afraid. “It is said that you have been cured of the need of us. Is that true?”

“
Yes. Ana, the one that works with Kaleb, took that away for me. She said so long as I was in one of the households of the other members of Samuel’s pride, I’d not have a need to drink from you. Before we arrived, I had Kaleb come and put the same spell on this house temporarily. When the woman here leaves, my house will return to a faerie-free home.” The little man nodded, then stepped up to the bed. “You guys, you know her then?”

“
Most of us do. Her mother we know a good deal better. There was a garden that she cared for not far from here. It has not been the same since the mother has gone from there, but we do the best we can. The man who lives in the house alone, he would destroy it if he could, but he cannot because of the fact that she put it in the will that way. She told us that it would be that way forever.”

Stephen knew that forever to a human was not the same as it would be to an immortal such as he was, and he thought the faerie was. When Stephen touched Clar’s hand, he could feel the chill of it and covered it with the heated blanket that he’d had put on the bed for her.

“
You know her name then?” The little faerie didn’t answer, and Stephen looked at him. “I don’t think I know yours either, as a matter of fact.”

“
I’m Daldon. My daughter, Ana, works for Sir Kaleb. My missus, she is the one who will watch over this young girl when she is better.” He looked up at him and frowned. “You do not wish to keep her as your mate even though she is yours? Surely that cannot be true.”

“
It is and no, I don’t. I don’t want a mate, nor do I know what to do with one. When she’s better, I’ll make sure she has all she needs to be safe, but I won’t keep her here.” Stephen didn’t like the way Daldon looked at him and changed the subject. “There is a man in the kitchen of this house; his name is Kasen. He works for me and he knows that if you or she needs anything, you’re to tell him and he’ll make sure you have it. I’ll be resting during the day. And then I have to go to the council and explain something to them.”

“
The one that my lady killed.” Stephen nodded. “He would have ended your life that day had she not taken the time to help you. It is so like her to do something like that. The other day when those men tried to take her body, she told everyone to leave so that we’d not get hurt. But they did not listen to her.”

“
Someone tried to rape her?” Daldon nodded and sat down on Clar’s belly. The wound was there, but he was so small that Stephen knew that she wasn’t feeling it, but it bothered him nonetheless.

“
They did. I think they hit her a great deal. I was not there, mind you, but heard about it. Several of the pixies were with her when it happened.” Daldon got up to move closer to her face and stared down at her as he continued. “There is none sweeter than this one, but no one is meaner when she needs to be.”

Stephen had a feeling he was right. He’d not seen either side of her as yet, but he’d bet everything he owned that she’d be a bitch when needed. Getting up, he moved to the door; his body was shutting down. Looking back at the little man, he tried to tell him what he felt.

“
She’s my mate. You understand that, correct?” Daldon smiled and nodded. “I’m not going to claim her. I have given her my blood so I will always have a connection to her, but I can’t have her in my life. It’s not…I’m much too old and set in my ways to change now. Neither of us will be happy if she tries to change me.”

“
You think it will be that easy, my lord?” Stephen didn’t answer, but apparently he wasn’t required to. “Things have a way of working out for the best. You say you are old and set in your ways, and that she will change you, correct? Perhaps she will simply like you for who you are.”

“
I don’t even like me for what I am.” With that he turned and left the room. There were things he had to get finished before he could rest, and one of them was to make sure his house was secure. He had no idea who was chasing Clar, if that was even her name, but he would make sure she was safe while in his house. And he had to find out who the men were that had tried to rape her. An hour later, Stephen was dragging himself to the lower levels to rest.

A sound woke him, and he laid there for several seconds before he opened his eyes. The room was still in semi-darkness, and the light that always burned was still on. But he could feel someone there…or maybe, something. Sitting up, he let a little of his beast go and spoke.

“
Whoever you are, it’s not just dangerous that you’re in my room uninvited, but it could be deadly as all hell for you to be. Show yourself.” No one answered, but he heard the flare of a match just before a bright light showed a person’s face.

“
You should know that finding you was harder than I thought it would be.” Stephen didn’t move when the woman blew out the match and the room darkened again. Using some of his considerable magic, he lit the room so that there were no shadows anywhere.

“
Who are you, and what the hell do you want?”
She wasn’t there
, was his first thought. Just a projection of herself, which meant that they had at one time exchanged blood. Otherwise, she’d never had been able to come to him.

“
I’m Velvet. Velvet December. It’s not my real name, of course. Don’t you just love that name? Back when you and I were lovers, it was just plain old Sally Shunt.” He still had no idea, but rose from his bed and reached for his robe. He was in the habit of sleeping in the nude, and felt uncomfortable with her in the room with him in such a state of undress. Her laughter made his skin crawl, and it triggered the necessary memory to tell him who she was.

“
You’re supposed to be dead. I made sure that you were brought before the committee back then, and they told me you were put to death.” She shrugged. “Well? Why are you here and not dust on someone’s shoes?”

“
I was sentenced, but not to death. I suppose they thought I’d eventually get dug up and the sun would take me, but that patch of earth was never good for anything once they put me there.” She moved about his room, looking at things but unable to touch them. “You did me a great injustice by turning me in, Stephen. I’m very upset with you. I’d like to know what you plan to do about making it up to me.”

“
I don’t give a shit what you are. And as far as making anything up to you? You can fuck off for all I care. I want you to get out of here and leave me to my life.” Her laughter again. It grated on his nerves like nails down a chalkboard. “Say what you want, then leave. Whatever you think you have to say to me is going to fall on deaf ears. I could care less about you.”

“
You did at one time.” He had too, he remembered, until she’d betrayed him and he’d cut her out of his life. And he remembered how extremely easy it had been too. But she spoke again before he could let that sour memory form. “You were going to live your days with me. You said you’d care for me and make sure that no harm came to me. Is turning me over to the Vampire Committee how you keep your promises?”

The Vampire Committee had been a long time ago, back when, as vampires, they were more in the shadows and darkness than they were now. Now, he was a productive part of society; back then he was simply a monster. Now the council was more forward thinking, a more human friendly group that not only consisted of vampires but a few other species as well. Before—a long time before—they had thought to change the bad and make them a better vampire. Stephen still didn’t agree with most of what they did these days, but he did like their way of thinking on some things.

“
And what of yours, Velvet? Did you ever think how your antics would fall to me? How your killing sprees would look to the council?” He snorted and sat down. “You told them that I was a part of your group, the leader of you all so that you’d only get a slap on the wrists while I was beheaded. What of your love then?”