Blood Games

This was precisely what Ethan had been afraid of—that Nicole would confess this to me, tell me what he’d been and whom he’d been with, and I’d run screaming into the night. Perhaps she thought that if I ran, he’d be too distracted to carry on with the testing and he’d withdraw, giving her the victory. Or perhaps she was merely angry I’d ruined her plans tonight, and thought she’d get her revenge by ruining something of mine.

Her reasons didn’t really matter.

I thought of Ethan and our talk the night before, our interlude this evening, his wild eyes and chest-heaving recovery. I thought of his promises, of the eternity he’d already promised me, and the ring he’d hinted would someday make it official.

She was right: I didn’t want to know any more about his former lovers.

But Amit was also right: Ultimately, they didn’t matter. None of it mattered but me and Ethan. Ethan had told me what he’d needed to, and that was enough for me.

Still . . . “That’s really cruel of you to say.”

Nicole shrugged. “I suppose all’s fair in love and war.”

I moved toward her, putting mere inches between us, and let a predatory smile curve my lips. “Then any acts of mine are equally justified. And let me tell you this right now, Nicole: If you come for him, you come for me.”

Her nostrils flared as anger poured through her. “You wouldn’t dare harm me.”

I smiled, catlike. “I would dare many things, Nicole. I have faced down many kinds of monsters—human, vampire, demon, and much, much worse than you. If you make another move against him—if you do anything other than finish out this testing completely aboveboard—you’d better run, and you’d better run fast. Because there’s no place in this world you can hide that I won’t find you.”

There was a flare of anger in her eyes, but I matched it with magic of my own. I wasn’t afraid of her. There was nothing she could do to me, because I’d face death again before letting her harm him.

But she wasn’t done yet.

“Consider the possibility, Merit, that you and your House and its Master are better off in your own small kingdom.”

“Is that a threat?”

Something flashed in her eyes—deep and haunting and very, very old.

“You think winning is all he’ll need to do, child? That holding the throne shields him? You saw what they did to Darius. He won’t be invincible, or immune. He’ll be targeted. Let that comfort you in your bed tonight.”

We stared at each other until Ethan stepped back into the doorway, his cautious magic filling the room. “Ladies. Is there a problem?”

“No,” Nicole said, stepping back and brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. “We were quite finished.”

“Iain would like to speak with you before he leaves.”

She nodded, walked to the door with the bearing of a queen. I’d be damned if I’d ever bow down to her.

“Sentinel?”

I looked back at Ethan, found his forehead pinched in concern, shook my head. “Just clearing the air. She is a piece of work.”

He watched me for a moment, as if gauging what she might have told me, and my reaction to it.

I patted his chest. “We’re fine,” I assured him. “And I reiterate: Go kick her ass back to Georgia.”

So I could start to worry about what would happen if he actually won . . .

* * *

Ethan went upstairs to dress, to don more comfortable clothes for the challenge. I was heading to the Ops Room for our final check-in when my phone rang.

“It’s Catcher,” he said. “Just FYI, we talked to the manager at the Magic Shoppe, asked for records about the Fletcher tarot deck sale. They’re locked away, and he can’t get to them until tomorrow. They use a big document-storage facility, so you have to wait until they’re delivered.”

“Thanks for the update. I assume you’ve filled in the CPD?”

“I filled in Chuck, and he filled in the CPD.”

“Any sign of Mitzy Burrows?”

“Still nothing,” Catcher said. “They’re looking, and they’ve got eyes on the store. There are too many connections to ignore there. But they still don’t have anything that ties to employees other than Mitzy.”

“How’s Arthur doing?”

“Coping, I think. They’re going to release Brett’s body tomorrow, so the family can start to get some closure.”

“Good. That’s good.”

“Listen, I’ve heard through the grapevine that phys testing is today.”

“It is. At midnight.” I checked the hallway clock, found we were nearly there.

“How is he?”

“Managing. Amit’s here, and they had a good warm-up session. He’s as ready as he’s going to get.”

“You don’t sound confident.”

“I’m confident in him. I’m less than confident in the GP, or his competitor. She’s as conniving as they come. Malik’s the only witness we can have. Apparently the GP has very particular rules about the involvement of others during testing.”

Catcher’s chuckle sounded sneaky. “That tenet may apply to the House, but it doesn’t apply to me. If you can find out the location, we could roll the van to a spot nearby like we did with Darius, just in case.”

Relief swamped me, and I was damned glad Kowalcyzk had come to her senses and given them a van. “I love you guys.”

“Don’t get gushy. Just keep your head on straight. You and Ethan have friends and allies, Merit. And it’s times like this when we rally.”

That made me feel incrementally better. If I couldn’t be there, at least having the Ombuddies nearby would help. I decided not to tell Luc, or anyone else, about the idea. In case Lakshmi caught wind of the plan, plausible deniability seemed the best course of action.

“Hey, before you go, has Mallory found out anything else about the obelisk?”

“No, shit, but that reminds me.” I heard the sound of paper shuffling. “Chuck called, said you’d asked your father about some financial information.”

“I did. I was looking for the accounts into which the stolen money was transferred. They’re Swiss accounts, so I thought my dad could get there quicker, considering his connections. Why?”

“I guess your dad got an answer, asked your grandfather to pass it along.”

That hit me harder than it should have. I’d readily admit I didn’t take much time for my family, but my father couldn’t even deign to call or text me back? He had to work through my grandfather?

Nothing to do about it now, I told myself. Get the job done, and have a cathartic cry about family later. “What did you get?”

“I guess he was able to find a name for one of the accounts? The smaller one, he said. The registered beneficiary is Ronald Weatherby.”

We’d theorized the smaller account was for an accomplice, someone who got a piece of the larger seven-million-dollar take. But the name didn’t ring any bells. I guess it would have been too much to ask for the account to have been registered to Edmund, Danica, or Dierks in their own names.

“Listen,” Catcher said, “I’ve got to run. The nymphs are peddling Moroccan leftovers without a license, and I need to intervene there. Let me know about the phys testing.”

I promised I would, put the phone away, and walked back to Ethan’s office. He was back, this time in jeans and a smoky green T-shirt that intensified the color of his eyes. He sat with Amit and Malik in the conversation area, an open bottle of blood in his hands.

His eyes flashed with alarm when I walked in, but I settled him down with a hand. “It’s about Darius. The smaller Swiss account is registered to Ronald Weatherby. Does that ring any bells for anyone?”

Ethan considered, shook his head. “Not for me. Amit? Malik?”

Both of them shook their heads.

“Perhaps one of the GP members’ former names?” Amit asked.

I moved to Ethan’s computer, typed in a search. Unfortunately, Ronald Weatherby wasn’t an uncommon name. There was an actor, a pub owner, a man with a gardening show on a local television station, a member of Parliament, and two soccer players . . .

Wait. I stopped short, scrolled back through the results.

Mallory had said the obelisk had been magicked, in part, by someone who knew his or her way around flowers and herbs, including the sassafras powder.

The Ronald Weatherby with the gardening show lived in Henley-on-Thames. His photo showed a small, hobbitesque man with an impressive belly, crown of white curls, and four adorable Corgis. He owned and operated a small flower shop and traveled around the world to acquaint himself with plant varieties.

He also considered himself a top-notch herbalist.

Ethan walked toward me. “Have you got something, Sentinel?”

“Actually,” I said, smile dawning, “I think I have.” I swiveled the screen so he could see it. “Mallory did a forensic analysis of the obelisk, culled out all the spells and charms and whatnot that went into spelling it. There were herbs and magic in the mix from the US and the UK, but she couldn’t tell us any more. Turns out, there’s a Ronald Weatherby in England who’s an herbalist and fancies himself a ‘botanical traveler.’”

Ethan arched an eyebrow at the screen. “He doesn’t appear the type to manipulate a Master vampire and arrange an international theft.”

“No, he does not. But I’d bet he prepared that obelisk and got a nice little paycheck for his trouble. His name was on the smaller account.”

“The payoff,” Malik said.

“Exactly.”

Ethan’s eyes went hard. “Good work, Sentinel. Find Lakshmi. He’s in the UK, so we’ll set the GP’s dogs on his trail—and his vampiric employer’s.”

I nodded, switched places with Ethan, and left the office. I expected Lakshmi would be upstairs in the ballroom planning out her obstacle course, but when I rounded the stairs, I heard my name.

I glanced behind me, found Lakshmi in jeans, a leather jacket, and black boots, which she wore like a model. There was something in her eyes I didn’t like.

“Hey, Ethan’s looking for you.”

Her expression stayed flat. “We’re preparing to begin the test. I presume by now you’ve heard only the Masters and their Seconds will attend the physical testing alone?”

Shit, I thought, my first reaction being that she knew about our plan to spy on the proceedings and keep an eye on Ethan. I bluffed. “Yes. Ethan told us.”

“Well, that’s not entirely accurate. We’d actually like your assistance, as well.”

Before I could register relief, I felt a sudden sharp pain at my shoulder. For the second time in a matter of days, night came early.

Chapter Twenty-one

IRON MAN

My eyes opened again, and dark hair swam into focus. My head seemed to be spinning on my neck, or maybe that was just the room. “What did you do to me?”

“Apologies for the intrigue and nerve pinch,” Lakshmi said, standing in front of me. “That seemed the best way to transport you without incident.”

“Transport me? Where the hell am I?”

“The testing location. An unused warehouse complex on the south side of the city.”

Lakshmi stepped aside, let me get a look at my surroundings. I was in a room with brick walls and a worn wooden floor. I faced an open doorway, the door heavy and metal and set on giant brass hinges. I was in a simple wooden chair, my arms tied behind me. I pulled, moved forward to break free, but their hold was tight. The sensation made me panicky, but it also woke me from my stupor.

“What the hell is going on? Why am I here?”

“We find most vampires expect the physical testing will pit them, solo, against some obstacle. We find that’s not the best way to test a potential head of the GP. Their job, of course, is not to stand alone against enemies, but to lead their soldiers into battle. To strategize. To partner.”

I struggled against my bonds again. “Where is he?”

“Nearly here,” she said, without elaboration. “Your goal is to find him and escape before your time is up.”

My heart began to thud louder. “What time? How much time do we have?”

She pulled a long box from an interior jacket pocket, slid it open, and held out a very long pink-tipped match.

I pulled against the ropes, the chair bouncing beneath me. “You have got to be fucking kidding me. The floors are wooden. This place will go up like a tinderbox.”

She struck the match against the side of the box, and the flame bounced orange and blue at the tip. She watched it burn for a moment, then looked back at me.

“Becoming head of the Greenwich Presidium is the most important position a vampire can hold, Merit. He or she will control the fates of thousands of vampires. Must protect thousands of vampires, even at great personal cost. That is not a job to be undertaken lightly, or without a full understanding of the sacrifices. He has every opportunity to find you and get you out without danger. He must be strong, cunning, creative, all while fearing for your safety. That is no more than we ask of every GP leader every day.”

The match still in hand, she stepped outside before settling her gaze on me. “I wish you and Ethan luck, Merit, and hope to see you soon.”

It didn’t matter to me that her justifications were logical. I was scared—for me and him—and I was pissed. “You’re a psychopath!” I yelled out, pulling against the chair again. “The entire GP is made up of sadists!”