• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

“I do not dwell upon the past,” Jean-Claude said.

“He is ashamed of us,” Balthasar said, rubbing his face against Willie’s. He planted a soft kiss against Willie’s temple.

“No,” the Traveler said. “He fears us.”

“What do you want of me, Traveler? Why has the council invaded my lands and taken my people hostage?”

Willie’s body pushed away from Balthasar to stand just in front of the taller man. Willie normally looked smaller than he was, sort of hunched and rabbity, but now he looked slim and certain of himself. The Traveler had given Willie the grace and assurance he never had on his own.

“You slew the Earthmover but did not come to take his council seat. There is no other way to rise to the council except through the death of another. We have a vacancy that only you can fill, Jean-Claude.”

“I do not want it, nor am I powerful enough to keep it.”

“If not powerful enough, then how did you slay Oliver? He was a frightening force of nature.” The Traveler walked towards us with Balthasar in his wake. “How did you slay him?”

Jean-Claude didn’t back up this time. His hand tightened on mine, but he stood his ground. “He agreed not to call the earth against me.”

The vampire and his servant circled us like sharks. One circling left, the other right, so it was hard to keep an eye on both of them.

“Why would he limit his powers?”

“He had gone rogue, Traveler. Oliver wished to bring back the days when vampires were illegal. An earthquake might have destroyed the city, but it would not have been blamed on a vampire. He wanted to possess my vampires and cause a blood bath that would bring us back to being hunted. Oliver feared we would destroy all the humans eventually, and thus ourselves. He thought we were too dangerous to be allowed legal rights and freedom.”

“We received your report,” the Traveler said. He stopped by me. Balthasar stopped on the other side, closest to Jean-Claude. They were mirroring each other. I wasn’t sure if it was the vampire controlling his servant or just centuries of practice. “I knew Oliver’s ideas.”

I drew back against Jean-Claude. “Is it just vamps or can he take over humans, too?”

“You are safe from his intrusion, ma petite.”

“Great,” I said.

I stared at the Traveler, and it was frightening how easily I was beginning to think of this body as the Traveler and not Willie. “Why didn’t you stop Oliver, then?” I asked.

The Traveler sidled closer and closer until only the barest inch kept us from touching. “He was council. Council cannot fight to the death among ourselves. And nothing short of true death would have stopped him.”

“You let him come here, knowing what he planned to do,” I said.

“We knew he had left the country but not where he fled to or what his plans were.” The Traveler raised a hand towards my face. Balthasar did the same on his side for Jean-Claude. Willie’s small hand hovered near my face.

“You had declared him rogue,” Jean-Claude said. “Any vampire that found him could slay him without violating our laws. That is what rogue means.”

The Traveler traced the barest of touches down my face. A trembling, tentative touch. “So you thought we would not come to your door because you had saved us the trouble of hunting him down ourselves.”

“Oui.”

Balthasar had stopped caressing Jean-Claude’s face. He came to stand by his master. He watched the smaller man slide his hand along my face. Balthasar seemed puzzled, surprised. Something was happening, and I didn’t know what it was.

The Traveler cupped my chin in his hand. He turned my face to him. He slid his hand over my jaw, behind my neck, to run fingers in my hair.

I pulled away from him. “I thought you didn’t like girls.”

“I don’t.” He stood there, staring at me. “Your power is amazing.” His hand lashed out too quick to see, too quick to react. He had a handful of my hair, and his eyes, Willie’s eyes, met mine. I was shielding myself this time, prepared, but my heart still fell to my feet. I waited for that cold blackness to pull me under. Nothing happened.