Bitten by Darkness (20 page)

Sienna
turned back to her computer.

“Have fun
with your bloodsucker later,” Bill said, still leaning over the divider.

Sienna
scowled at him, struggling to keep herself from punching him in his stupid
face. Clearly he was involved. He laughed and walked away. What the hell had
she gotten herself into?

Two and a
half hours later she sat in a limo with Jasper, looking out the window as the
day turned into night. Jasper ran a hand down her arm and she threw him a soft
glance. He'd surprised her with the car, but she had to admit, it was a lot
nicer going into Manhattan when someone else was doing the driving.

“We're
almost there,” he murmured, kissing her palm.

Her hand
tingled. “I'm nervous.
And kind of irritated that we can’t
get naked back here because my mother managed to get herself kidnapped.
Talk about ruining the mood.”

“Don't be
nervous.” He smiled into her skin. “And I’ll buy you a limo so we can do
whatever you want in the back seat when this is all over.”

She
sighed. “We don't really know what we're getting into.”

He sat
up, eyes gleaming as the last rays of the sun dissipated. “I know that
Alucard
keeps to the old ways. He'll have a court filled
with slaves and revenants he can order around at will. He'll be dressed to
intimidate. He'll have his sons at his side.”

“Oh, that
sounds just lovely. We'll waltz in there and retrieve my mother, piece of
cake.” She shifted against the leather seats, wondering how she could feel so
restless in such a comfortable vehicle.

“He'll
have her close by, especially if she's in thrall as I suspect.” Jasper rubbed
his thumb over her wrist.

“How do
we get her back?”

Jasper
looked out the window. “We bargain for her.”

Sienna
frowned.
“With what?
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but that
creature doesn't seem to be lacking in money.”

Jasper
shook his head. “Not money.”

Sienna
watched him for a moment, waiting for him to elaborate. They were heading down
the ramp in Union City, minutes from entering the Lincoln Tunnel. The city
sparkled on her left, the sky streaked with pink near the horizon. A few planes
glittered like stars overhead.

“Jasper?
What will we have to do?” She smoothed her skirt down, wishing she'd worn
pants.

“Technically,
no one on the Blood Council can take another citizen captive without their
will.
Especially not a relative of another Councilor.
I hold the rank of count on
Dekcol
. I’m a member of
their Council. They will have to give her to us.” He let go of her wrist and
tugged his silver cashmere sweater down over the expensive wool of his slacks.

“Technically,
we’re not on
Dekcol
,” she pointed out.

He
shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I won’t let him play with my mate’s family this
way.”

Sienna
admired him for a moment. He’d managed to subdue the aura of danger he seemed
to carry with him everywhere, but not entirely. He looked like a wealthy
businessman, but he still held himself in a way that made her think of a
carnivorous beast out for blood.

“My
mother isn't a citizen of
Dekcol
. After all, she's a
number of generations removed from being your niece,” Sienna said, wondering
how this was going to work. “And why would
Alucard
even bother keeping the old rules?”

Jasper
lifted a hand and stroked her cheek, his thumb moving over her lips. She
shivered, yearning for him, but he dropped his arm before she could kiss him.

“You
misunderstand. She isn't related to me through my brother. She's related to me
through you.”

“That …
doesn't make any sense. We’re not married.” Sienna felt a headache coming on.

“You are
my mate. If it is a true mating, it can be proven and they will have to release
your mother, according to the ancient laws.” Jasper held her gaze as their car
went through the tunnel. Only the lights high on the tile walls flashing in his
eyes broke the darkness.

“I don't
understand.” She reached over, put a hand to his knee. His muscles were tense.

“
Alucard
must obey the laws, or all of his thralls will be
fair game. His sons, his mate, everything will be open for grabs by the others
on the Council. I sent a data burst to
Dekcol
outlining our complaint.” Jasper sat back and ran a hand through his hair. “I
never wanted you to bear the brunt of this, Sienna.”

Sienna
looked at the way he shifted his weight and felt a hint of foreboding. “What
aren't you telling me? There’s more, isn’t there.”
Shit, I knew this was too good to be true
, she thought.
He hid things from you before, too
, a
tiny voice in her head reminded her. She ignored it, not wanting to give up on
the first man she thought she could truly love.
And it’s not like I have much choice now, anyway. We shared blood.

He
sighed, looking away. “I've been working on a way to sabotage the blood market.
I've developed
nanites
that I plan to release into
the black market blood supply. They're meant to go active all at once, causing
irreparable cellular damage to all of those who have taken the blood into their
system. I can activate them from here.”

Sienna's
gut clenched when he still wouldn't meet her gaze. “That sounds great. I'm
totally okay with all of the vampires who eat humans dying. What else?” She
didn't know when she'd grown so aware of his moods, but she knew there was
more.

He
clenched his hands into fists briefly and then let them relax. “There is only
one way to prove a mating once it's contested.” He looked at her, face grim.
“And believe me,
Alucard
will contest it. It isn't
often done, because most don't care one way or the other, but for me to mate
with a human? That is the ultimate abomination. And there is something Sara did
not tell you about her visit to
Dekcol
. And something
she didn’t tell me.”

Sienna
closed her fingers around his arms, leaning forward. “Tell me. It can't be
impossible or you wouldn't have brought me here.”

His face
shifted into what looked like an apology. “We must bring each other to climax
in front of witnesses.”

“Witnesses.
Climax.”
Sienna wasn't certain she'd heard him
correctly. “What does that mean, exactly?”

He took a
deep breath. “
Alucard
will accuse me of lying. He may
request as many witnesses as he wishes. They will watch us. If the
majority are
satisfied that we are mated, he will release
your mother. The proof lies in the ability to orgasm while bleeding each other.
Only true mates have the capacity to do that. Usually taking blood is nothing
more pleasurable than drinking a glass of water. It is for nourishment and
power. The bite itself is unremarkable, for both parties.”

Sienna
blinked. “So, you're saying—”

Jasper
cut her off. “Yes. We have to make love in front of his entire court.”

An hour
later, she and Jasper stood in front of the building where he claimed
Alucard
had his “court.” Even in her head she had to use
quotes around the term—the idea of a creature holding court in twenty-first
century America, in the heart of mid-town Manhattan seemed absurd to her. “What
floor is he on?”

Jasper
held open the brass framed glass door for her.
“Probably the
top floor.
The fiftieth.”

She
walked into a marble-floored entrance. The guard at the desk looked them over
indifferently. “I would have thought he'd set up house in a much more
fashionable spot, like Riverside Drive or something.”

Jasper
shrugged minutely. “He is more interested in staying undetected by human
authorities than in flaunting himself, which is to our advantage.”

Sienna
nodded at the guard as he ushered her past. “We don't have to call up or
anything?”

“No.”
Jasper didn't elaborate as he punched the button for the elevator. No one else
was waiting, odd for a building right in the heart of the city.

“He owns
the building,” Jasper said, obviously noticing her confused look.

“Ah.”

They
waited for the elevator. Sienna tried not to think about how hot Jasper looked
in his soft, muscle-hugging sweater. She tried even harder to not think about
what they might be required to do to save her mother. When the door opened, he
ushered her in. The mirror paneling on the wall showed herself: a tall woman
dressed in a sleek skirt.
The red blouse
is a nice touch
, she thought, eyeing the way it tucked underneath her
breasts. She'd let her long blonde hair hang loose and it slid over her
shoulders as she moved her head. She looked okay. And for once the man she was
with was actually bigger than her.

“You're
beautiful, Sienna.” Jasper lifted a few strands of her hair and kissed them.

She smiled
at him, trying to calm her nerves. “I hope she's okay.”

“We’ll do
what we can to get her back,” he murmured, leaning down to kiss her neck.

Sienna
watched in the mirror as his lips touched her skin,
then
gasped at the sensation of heat that curled through her. “What about the
nanites
?”

He
paused,
then
bared his teeth. His incisors pricked her
skin delicately and she shuddered. “I will give them up if I must to save your
mother.”

Sienna
shook her head. “No.” She slid a hand into his hair and made a fist, bringing
his face up. His eyes glittered in the mirror. “No. Say nothing.”

The
elevator stopped and he pulled away. She let him go, hoping that her arousal
wasn't terribly obvious. As soon as the doors opened, she knew she wasn't that
lucky. There was no hall, no foyer, no welcoming
receptionists
desk. Instead, the floor was a vast, open space, intersected by steel pillars,
some sheathed in plaster, some
bare
. The floor was
marble and the walls were nothing but windows. The skyline of the city was
visible from every direction. They stepped out together and the elevator closed
behind them. About twenty people stood silently watching them as they walked
forward. As soon as they reached the middle of the room, they stepped aside,
forming an open pathway leading to a single chair, elaborately carved from some
sort of wood.
Alucard
sat in it like a king with
Sienna's mother on the floor at his feet. She looked undamaged physically, but
Sienna felt her spine tighten when she saw the vacant look in her eyes.

“Count
Librae
, what a pleasant surprise.”
Alucard
stood up slowly, gracefully.

Sienna
had never hated anyone so much in her life.

“Count
Alucard
. You have something that belongs to my mate.”
Jasper strode forward, Sienna at his side, trying not to think about the monsters
now at their back. She couldn't tell which of them might be vampires, which
might be revenants, and which might be slaves. They held themselves absolutely
still. Sienna's skin crawled.
So creepy
, she thought, suppressing a
shiver.

Jasper
stopped directly in front of
Alucard
. “If you give
her back, I will let your sons live,” he stated baldly, nodding suggestively
toward the two younger men who'd stayed at
Alucard's
back.

Sienna
choked back a gasp. He hadn't told her he was going to open the 'negotiations'
like that. She looked at
Alucard's
sons. They bore a
slight resemblance to the older man, but lacked the spark of dissipation so
evident on his face. Her mother stared blankly forward, not even recognizing
her. Sienna suppressed the urge to go to her. Jasper had told her to stay
close. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut.

Alucard
laughed shortly. “You have no bargaining rights here,
Librae
.”

“On the
contrary, I have every right. I am a member of the Blood Council. I am a
citizen in good standing of
Kroy
City,
Dekcol
. Ms. Lange is part of my family.”

He lifted
a strand of hair off Sienna's shoulder, the proprietary gesture more than
evident to everyone, if the looks on
Alucard's
sons
were anything to go by.

“Oh
please. You don't honor your contracts. You fled the planet.”
Alucard
shook his head, as if sad. “It is a pity to witness
a family as great as yours fall to this extent.”

“I signed
no contract,
Alucard
. Your persistence in claiming I
did shows a decided lack of intelligence, not to mention a poor grasp on
reality. Perhaps you should retire and allow one of your sons to take over?
Having difficulty functioning in one's old age isn't unexpected.” Jasper's tone
was heavy with pity, flavored with a slight edge of contempt.