Born in Fire

“I was not warning you on behalf of Mr. Durant. Something you might pass on.” William passed behind her and made his way to the door. “Ms. Somerset, please follow me.”

She eyed me like a cat would a wriggling fish: dinner that she planned to play with first. Thankfully, it kept her from noticing the dirty boots and socks in my hand. That was really the biggest deal, after all. I grabbed the neck of the wine bottle and hurried out after William.

“Please accept my apology,” William said as he led the way to a staircase in the rear of the house. “She is not used to the word no. Not in her human life, and not now. Mr. Durant is much too lenient with her. To her credit, she is good at ascertaining information for Mr. Durant.”

“I bet.”

“Have no fear. She will not kill you. The worst that could possibly happen is for her to happen upon you suddenly and taste the origin of that del—of your smell. You will be quite safe.”

“Our definitions of safe are…somewhat different.”

“Mr. Durant assured me that you are proficient in fighting.”

“Very.”

“Well, then. If she gravely offends you in that manner, kill her.”

He said it without emotion. If she crossed the line, he expected me to rectify the situation. I wondered if he lacked loyalty to her specifically, or if many vampires had no loyalty in general.

We passed by a few closed doors before stopping in front of one. He turned the handle, walked through, and stepped out of the way. “These are your rooms.”

“Rooms, plural?”

“Yes, of course.” He waited for me to enter and, once again, marvel, because I couldn’t get used to a house this nice. “There is a hidden passageway that will lead you to Mr. Durant’s quarters. He is currently with one of the humans, but afterward, he will be available should you need anything.”

“No thanks.”

“I apologize.” William crossed the room and slid his finger along the side of a picture frame before clicking a hidden button. The frame popped open like a door. “I didn’t mean to imply that he hoped you’d join him for feeding or intercourse. Those needs should be sated in a couple hours. No, use this passageway if something should happen, whatever it might be.” He paused before continuing. “He must realize the draw you have on us. You are very unique. I have never smelled anything quite like it. The curiosity, in this case, creates a powerful urge. Almost as alluring as if your blood were to taste as good as it smells.”

“You’re tap-dancing on the line, bro.” I put a hand to my stomach, trying unsuccessfully to deaden the growl.

“Of course. I apologize. I am not usually in the presence of humans who do not wish to…entertain our wishes.” He paused for a beat. Hoping I’d relent and stick out my neck, perhaps? “I will bring you something to eat. You have the wine bottle there, I see. I’ll bring you a glass. Would you like some water?”

I flushed a little at his mention of the bottle, but really, could he blame me? “Water would be fine, thank you.”

“Of course.” He exited the room with a slight bow.

I had no idea who would want to be an eternal butler, but I knew exactly why Darius would want one.

I pushed the picture frame closed, hoping Darius couldn’t get through the other side, and noticed clothes on the end of the bed. Leather pants, a red tank top, sexy underwear…clearly Darius had rifled through my pile of dirty clothing while I slept in his bed in the Dungeon and had his people pick me up some spares. It was hard to care, since the clean clothes were welcomed.

A few hours before dusk, I was lying on my bed, wide awake. I’d eaten two more plates of food, finished the bottle of wine, showered, and slipped into a food coma that did not last all day. Being that I’d also slept in the Dungeon, I could not make myself go back under.

I looked around the room for the millionth time. Despite all the finery, there was a complete lack of entertainment. No computer. No TV. Not even a book.

I debated wandering downstairs to find a library, of which I was certain there was one, but my gaze fell on the heavily curtained windows. Without another thought, I hopped up and got dressed. No sense wasting time waiting for Darius—I could get some information while he slept off his blood and/or sex coma.

The house was silent as I made my way down the stairs and then out the front door. Clouds rolled overhead, dark with warning. I walked briskly along the sidewalk, knowing I should take off my weapons, since it was daylight, but also that I had nowhere to put them. Speed was my friend, and it had the side benefit of getting me to my destination in no time. Once there, I loitered for a moment, looking around the corner of a building.

Loud jazz music blasted into the street. Pedestrians holding drinks or shopping bags meandered along, peering into the bars or talking to each other. As the bodies shifted and moved, I spied my favorite snitch leaning against the wall, sucking on a cigarette.

He kept randomly looking my way, probably waiting for someone. I circled around the block and walked toward him from the opposite direction. Hiding behind a wide man who bobbed and swayed like he was on a ship deck, I kept my head down and out of sight. At the last moment, I stepped out from behind the man, wrapped my arm around Red, put one hand to the side of his face, and applied my thumb to the hollow at the base of his jaw, just below his ear.

Applying pressure, I leaned in. “Let’s do this calm-like.”

His hands flew up, but he relaxed into the pain shortly thereafter. We’d been down this road before, after all. He knew that if he didn’t struggle, I wouldn’t hurt him.

“You’re choosing the wrong time for this,” he warned.

I always did, as far as he was concerned.

I marched him into the closest bar. He staggered, the difference in the light hard on his eyes. Mine adjusted immediately. I led him to the back and into a booth.

“Have you been drinking?” he asked as he fell onto the seat. He rubbed at the offending spot under his jaw.

“It’s been, like…a whole day since I finished the bottle. I hardly think that counts. Which reminds me, time for a top-up. Stay here.”

I got myself a beer from the bar, and one for him. I drained half of both of them. Props were good.

After setting his beer in front of him, I kept a handle on mine. “Got a question.”

“You always got a question.” He peered down at his bottle. “They’ll know you set that in front of me, Reagan. Everyone knows I don’t drink.”

“They’ll wonder if you started again, and have a moment of worry.” I had no idea who they were, but his expression darkened. “See how smart I am? Now, I’m looking for a really powerful mage.” I dug the casing out of my pocket and showed it to him. “Do you recognize this?”

“How would I recognize that? I don’t use those.”

I rolled my eyes. “Has anyone mentioned anything?”

“About a casing? No. About a mage? Yes. But it sounds like they’re in the same boat you are.” He looked at the bar door. He was definitely waiting for someone. Probably a shifter, but I was here on legit business, so it didn’t matter.

I had to keep reminding myself of that fact.

“What boat is that?” I asked, putting the casing back into my pocket.

“Not the booze cruise, at any rate. Your teeth are red.”

I leaned forward, losing patience.

He read the writing on the wall. “Okay, okay.” He put his hands on the table and glanced at the door again. “That guy you picked up the other night?” I nodded. “I asked around about him, out of curiosity. I wanted to know why the vampires were after him. That’s newsworthy, right?” He waited for my nod. “He was selling a sort of drug. It came in the form of blood.”

He stared at me, clearly waiting for a reaction.

“Go on,” I said.

His lips tightened. “We think it must have been vamp blood, and it certainly wasn’t taken with approval, because they ended up killing him.”

“Vamp blood? Maybe.” I wanted him to think I didn’t know the real source of the blood. “It’s pretty hard to trap a vampire. Maybe while he was sleeping, but it would take some extreme presence of mind to pull that off without getting killed before you reached the door.”