Tempt Me When the Sun Goes Down (9 page)

“Oh, what you must think…” she gasped, and I actually started to feel sorry for her until she tucked herself into his chest and started to sniffle.  “Can you ever forgive me for keeping it from you?” she asked, her voice throbbing with emotion.  He wasn’t buying that, was he?  The whole thing reeked of soap opera acting at its worst, horribly over the top from the way she clung to his shirt to the way she batted her shiny blue eyes up at him.

“It’s fine, Carys.  I get that you did what you thought you had to do,” Bishop said quietly, and I couldn’t tell if he was taken in by the show or not. 

“Anyway…”  I tried to move us past that awkward part of the conversation.  “We’ve been talking to some people Rob knows, they’re out there trying to get a line on breaking the curse once and for all.”

“It can’t be done,” Carys insisted emphatically.  “Believe me, I’ve exhausted all options.  The only way to stave off the effects is to harden your heart against your man.  It’s the only way to save him.”

“Not if I have something to say about it.  I’m going to beat the curse.”

“How do you intend to do this?” she challenged, forgetting to cling to Bishop as she gave me her full attention, eyes narrowing as if I’d said the dumbest thing ever. “You can’t fight a curse.”

“Not with that attitude, you can’t, no,” I tossed back at her.  Had I said she was everything I’d wanted to be?  Strike that and reverse it.  What good was being poised and cultured if she was a great big coward and a fake to boot?  No wonder she used compulsion to keep a man.  I’d only known her for five minutes and I couldn’t wait to get away from her. 
Saucer of milk for Anja
, my little voice snorted. 
Meow
.  “One way or another, I won’t let this thing get the best of us.”

“That’s my…” Bishop changed what he’d been about to say at the last moment.  “That’s the spirit,” he finished, but the warm look in his eyes told me what he’d wanted me to know.

My eyes flicked to Rob, but I couldn’t tell what he thought about any of it.  In fact, he looked almost bored with the conversation, his eyes wandering to follow a waitress passing by.  I took a guess that he was more interested in what she carried in her veins than on the tray, but I couldn’t say it for sure. 

I ignored Carys’ dramatics, turning to Bishop.  “Actually, do you know where we can find Jakob?  He might have some useful facts about how the curse itself was cast.”

“He went back to the hotel when Carys wanted to see this place.  I guess he feels the same way you do about it, Anja.  He doesn’t think it’s very sportsmanlike,” Bishop grinned and it was all I could do to keep from kissing him at the news.

“Jakob’s here in town?  That’s perfect!”  Maybe we could get what we needed that night after all?  “Where are you staying?”

“The Savoy,” Bishop replied, lowering his voice.  “We’ll all go back together.”

“But I’m not ready to go back to the hotel yet,” Carys pouted.  “We only just got here.  I want to sample some of the wares.” 

“You know you don’t need to feed yet.”

Her pout only grew more pronounced, her voice dripping with pitiful injury.  “You promised, Ulrik.  You promised to show me the delights of the modern world.”

“I don’t think I put it quite that way,” he frowned, and I decided it’d be easier to manage it without them.

“It’s fine, I’m sure I can find him on my own.  You two don’t have to cut your night short on our account.”   

“No, I think you’re on the right track.  I’d like to hear what Jakob has to say.  Or, you know… be there, in case you need me.”  His expression told me he remembered our last conversation about Jakob.  It was either grill him or kill him as far as I was concerned.   

Carys’ pout turned into an out and out frown, but instead of forcing the issue, she changed tacks.  “I suppose I’d better come along then,” she sniffed.  “Jakob’s never been able to deny me anything.  If there are answers to be had, I’ll be the one to get them out of him.”

And now Carys was tagging along, yay!  “How thoughtful of you,” I smiled thinly.  “We’re pretty much ready to go.  Right, Rob?”

He hadn’t said one word since we’d started talking, and he didn’t break that spell now, offering a single nod. 

“Well then… we’ve got the most wondrous motorcoach,” Carys bubbled enthusiastically.  “You must all come for a ride in it!”

“Yes, you must,” Bishop chuckled indulgently, and I bit back a smile. 

“That’s okay.  We’ve got out own spiffy car waiting for us and I’d hate to ditch Lee.”

“Who’s Lee?” she asked. 

“I guess you could call him one of my bodyguards, he’s a werewolf,” I replied and she turned up her nose with a delicate sniff.

“Oh, a nobody.”

“So we’ll meet you at the Savoy then, huh?” I managed to get out without reaching for a hank of her perfect, golden hair.

“See you there,” Bishop agreed. 

Lord, beer me strength.

Rob found his voice once we stepped over the lobby threshold.  “I reckon I should wait down here for you to have your palaver with Jakob.”

I stopped short, not sure where this was coming from.  He had the most to lose out of everyone present, I would’ve thought he’d be the first in line to interrogate Jakob.  “But… we’re talking about the curse.  It sort of concerns you, don’t you think?”

“It concerns me a bit too much,” he replied, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other.  “I don’t know how much good I’ll be to you if I can’t keep myself from slitting his fucking throat, I come within twenty feet of Jakob.”

That’s when I noticed his hands were fisted so tightly, I could see the veins bulging on the backs of his arms.  I pulled him aside with Lee, not wanting to broadcast our business to Carys and her brand of false charm.  “Hey, it’s okay to be pissed at Jakob, but we have to leave all that anger and emotion at the door.  The important thing is finding a way to break the curse.”

Rob hung his head in shame.  “That’s just it, I can’t leave anything at the door right now.  My control is for shit.  Best you go talk to him on your own before I muck things up.”

“What if I don’t ask the right questions?”  I wasn’t sure what level of detail his cousin might need to know about.  What if I missed an important element?

“I trust you.”

There was another concern that leapt to mind though, what with all the humans milling about in the lobby, despite the late hour. “I’m not so sure I should be leaving you down here on your own.”  He could make all the promises he wanted, but like he’d said, his control was out of whack.

“I’ll stay with him,” Lee volunteered, and I shot him a grateful smile. 

“You will?  Thanks.”  I felt bad for dragging him all over town and pretty much relegating him to the car, but he seemed to think it was par for the course. 

“Sure,” he grinned.  “I’ll get us settled right over there with a cup of coffee.  You take all the time you need, darlin’,” he winked.   

“All set?” Bishop asked when I joined him and Carys by the elevators. 

“Yep, Rob’s going to wait down here with Lee while we go up.”

“Everything okay?”

“Let’s just say that Rob’s not Jakob’s biggest fan right now,” I said with a pointed look, glad to see Bishop took my meaning.

“Ah.  Should we wait down here with him then?”

“But I don’t want to wait in the lobby,” Carys frowned at his offer and I swear, all I heard was
but I want an oompa loompa now!
  Veruca Salt couldn’t have whined any better. 

“Stay down here with me and I’ll buy you something pretty,” Bishop replied, and I couldn’t tell if he was trying to
handle
her, or if he was honestly trained to respond that way when she fixed those doe eyes at him. 

“Lee’s going to sit with him, he should be fine,” I put out there, letting Bishop off the hook if he didn’t want to sit around and babysit Rob.  “But you guys don’t have to come up if you don’t want to either.  I wouldn’t mind getting a few words in with Jakob by myself.”

The thought of pretty baubles fled as Carys turned an unflattering shade of green.  “I’ll be the one to speak to Jakob.  If there’s anything to be found out about the curse, I’ll be the one to do it.”

“Right then, after you,” I gestured politely to the elevator, stifling the urge to jam my boot into her hiney once her back was turned. 

“Did you have a nice time out,
älskling
?” Jakob called out as soon as Bishop unlocked the door.  I won’t lie, it hit me harder than I’d thought it would to hear him call her
älskling
.  It made my tone sharper than I’d intended as I called out my answer.

“Yeah, it was shiny,” I snarked, enjoying the surprise that came over his face as I stepped into view.  “Imagine my surprise, running into my new sister.  Thanks for the heads up, by the way, guys.”  That one was aimed at Jakob and Bishop both.  I didn’t rate a simple text that they’d found Carys?

“Anja,” Jakob beamed, not bothered in the least by my tone.  “Ah, to see the two of you together does my heart good.”

I couldn’t for the life of me guess why, but I hoped like heck it didn’t mean he wanted us to spend any quality time together in the future.  From the look on Carys’ face, I could see she shared my opinion of the idea and for once, we were in perfect agreement. 

It took everything I had inside me to keep from railing at him about the curse when he stood there with that stupid grin, like he’d done something to be proud of.  The colossal size of his ego… he honestly didn’t give a damn what he’d done to Rob and Bishop or Carys and me, in his eyes it was one big happy family reunion.  I had to bite back the urge to scream –
how could you do this to me?

“Why didn’t you tell me I had a sister?”  Carys’ tone was lightly chastising as she insinuated herself onto his lap like a kitten demanding a pet.  “My poor darling, forced to create a substitute when you thought I was dead.”

“A thousand apologies, my angel.  I was so overjoyed to find you, I neglected to mention it.  But of course, no one could ever replace you,” he cooed, kissing her temple as she shot me a triumphant smirk.

So, I was cause for apologies, was I?  It was getting harder and harder to keep that rage in check, but then I felt Bishop’s hand on the small of my back.  He gave me a wink so brief I almost thought I’d imagined it, but his thumb stroked a slow circle over my back before he stepped away to stand by Carys.   

I cleared my throat, rapidly growing tired of the way everyone fawned over my
sister
.  “Ah, family reunions aside, I came to talk to you about breaking this curse,” I said as diplomatically as I could manage.

Jakob sobered, looking uncomfortable –
good
.  “I know of no way to break the curse.”

Typical
.  “Can you point me in the direction of someone who could?”

“The gypsy witch I engaged is long gone from this world.”

Then she definitely was a gypsy.  I filed that away for later, but I’d been hoping for more.  One thing didn’t add up though.  “But… who cursed me then?  You barely turned me a year ago.”

Jakob’s face fell.  “I missed your birthday.”

I ignored that sentiment, snapping my fingers to get his attention when he stared off into space.  “Jakob… please try to focus.  Who cursed me?”

“It was done centuries ago, I told you,” he shrugged. 

“Then there’s only one curse, not a separate one for each of your progeny?”

“No, only the one curse.”  He almost sounded sorry about it, but he didn’t offer an apology.  Carys took the opportunity to try and get in good with him though. 

“It’s alright,
minn hjärta,
” she purred.  “We all do atrocious things in the name of love.”

“No, we really don’t,” I frowned.  Maybe that was the life they’d lived together, but I wanted no part of it.  All I wanted was… My eyes lit upon Bishop, who was watching me rather than the spectacle Carys put on for Jakob. 
God, if only I knew
.  “Look, anything you can tell me about the curse, anything at all.  What did the witch use in the spell?”

“I hardly remember,” Jakob shrugged. 

“Was it on the full moon?  Did she ask for a piece of your hair or some of your blood to tie it to you?  Anything at all.”  I was grasping at straws, but what else could I do?  Jakob seemed genuinely at a loss. 

“She asked no token of me, though I did share my blood as part of the sacrament.”  That sounded familiar.  “It’s tied to the rings you wear and the compulsion I set when I made you.  It can’t be undone as far as I know.”

Which meant he’d made the conscious choice to bind me to that curse when he turned me, not been stuck with a decision made centuries ago.  I closed my eyes until I could look at him without picturing myself going for his jugular. 

“And if I remove the ring?”

“You won’t be able to, because of the compulsion.”

“Then take the compulsion off,” I demanded.  “You’ve done it before.”

“I can’t, it’s part of the curse built into the ring.” 

“I’m thinking a sharp knife and a hammer could take care of that for me.  I could get used to wearing gloves.” Maybe I could even get a cybernetic finger with all of those ill gotten gains I’d inherited. 

“It cannot be done,” Jakob insisted. 

“You can’t, or you won’t?”

“It’s the same thing,” he scowled.

“No, it isn’t.”

“You’ve no right to question anything he does,” Carys interrupted with a haughty tilt of her head.  “We live at his pleasure alone.”

“No, we
died
at his pleasure,” I retorted.  “This part I’m taking for my own.”

“Be at peace, Anja.  What’s done is done.  There’s no sense in raking up the past.” Jakob’s tone was mild but I did my best to wrangle my anger under control.  The last thing I wanted him to do was compel me to calm down.  The anger was mine and I had every right to feel it.  I owed it to Rob not to let him sweep it all under the table. 

As usual, Jakob lived in his own world, free from the consequences of his actions.  But I intended to make him pay, one way or another.  As my eyes lit upon the desk behind him, I saw my chance.

“You’re right,” I agreed, letting my shoulders droop in submission.  “What’s done is done.” 

“All is forgiven, petal,” Jakob smiled, holding his arm out to me and it took all my strength not to launch myself at his face. 
He
was forgiving
me
?  With a gentle shove, he set Carys to pout on her own two feet, calling me forward with a wiggle of his fingers.  Pasting on my most insipid expression, I went to him, perching on his knee as I threw my arms around his shoulders.  The
hmmph
of frustration from Carys was just gravy as I wrapped my fingers around the pencil lying on the desk behind him. 

I could see Bishop’s face out of the corner of my eye, and I knew he’d seen what I intended.  Holding my breath to see if he said anything, I let out a sigh of relief when Bishop gathered Carys by the elbow, hustling her over to the bar to pour her a drink. 

It was now or never. 

If Jakob couldn’t be bothered to help us any more than he had, then I had to do something to keep him from ever ruining someone’s life like this again.  It was a public service, really.  The
Ellri’s
time had passed.  No one should wield as much power as they did, not even if they were completely selfless. 

I knew the pencil wouldn’t kill him, it wouldn’t kill a regular vampire.  But I was counting on it sending him into a torpor if I could manage the angle right and pierce his heart.  From Bishop’s sanctioning my actions, I had to think he had access to other weapons to finish the job off. 

“There now,
älskling
.  Isn’t this better?” Jakob crooned into my hair and I shifted my hold on him, pressing closer to change my position to a more advantageous angle.  I had to count on Bishop keeping Carys busy, or it’d be over before it began. 

You can do this, Anja… it’s for the best.
  My little voice cheered me on, but still, my hand didn’t move, clenching the pencil so tightly, I was afraid it’d snap.  Maybe I didn’t even have to kill him?  All we’d have to do was drain him so he was too weak to pull the pencil free and then tuck him out of the way somewhere.  That sat better with me than coldblooded murder, and I shifted my hold on the pencil, about to make my move – when Nelleke strolled in. 
Frak!

Our eyes locked, and I knew she knew exactly what I had in mind, even while Jakob murmured endearments into my hair, blissfully unaware of the danger he was in.  I froze, expecting her to denounce me, or alert him to the threat at least, but she went very still, studying me carefully.  I dropped the pencil, glad the carpet muffled the sound as it rolled under the desk.   

In that instant, Nell stepped forward, her expression resolute.  “There is something I must say…”

Frakety frak!!!
  “She’s your daughter!” I blurted out, desperate to deflect whatever she’d been about to reveal. 

Jakob leaned back to look at me and then Nell.  “Whose daughter?” he asked in confusion even as her eyes flew wide in alarm and dismay, but it was too late to take it back now.

“Yours.  You’re her biological father.  She’s your daughter.”

“I have no natural born children.”

“Yes, you do.  Remember that whole thing with Maeja and why you were too chicken to go get the Spear of Odin yourself?  She’s Maeja’s daughter and you’re her father.”

Jakob stared at Nell, and I took the opportunity to scramble off of his lap and onto the other side of the room, in case she felt like retaliation for my outing her to Jakob. 

“What are these lies you’re spreading?” Carys scowled, looking not at all pleased with this new development.  Poor thing, she was rapidly descending the ranks of being Jakob’s favorite. 

“It’s not a lie,” I retorted, not bothering to hide my dislike for her in that instant.  “She’s definitely Jakob’s daughter.  She’s over a couple hundred years old and she’s not a vampire.”