Blade on the Hunt (2 page)

He’d been pouty. Had argued and got really mad. But in the end, Rowan had remained firm. There was no way she was going to lose him. She’d rather have him alive to be pissy than dead.

“Thank you, Dina. I’m going to speak with a few people, change my clothes and then head to him so give me about twenty minutes if you can.”

Dina wanted to hug her, Rowan could tell. But she nodded instead, patting Rowan’s shoulder and then headed off to deal with the food.

Nadir was waiting at the base of the stairs leading to Rowan’s rooms and Theo’s personal wing. Nadir was the official Voice of Theo’s personal security force, the Five. None spoke in public but Nadir.

She inclined her chin slightly—an indication of rank and respect—at Rowan’s approach. Rowan did the same.

“Recht is with him now,” Nadir began to report as they headed to the ready room the Five used as an operations center for the entire Keep. It was safer to speak there, warded against spying.

The long hallway had the sun shades up so the night sky, clear and full of stars, seemed to surround them. Rowan had loved this part of the Keep as a child. Had loved the onyx on the doorknobs, the veins of malachite in the floors. The antique furniture was lovely and intimate without being fussy. The art on the walls had changed since she was last there.

“Is that a Rothko?”

Nadir smiled. Or she thought about it and it might have shown for just a moment. But Rowan was sure of it just the same.

“It is. Do you like it? I see it more out here than I would in my rooms. It was a gift from a gentleman who seems to have more swagger than sense. But sometimes those are the ones I find hardest to resist.”

Oh she wanted to know more about that story, but it wasn’t the time, and given the long, handsome outline Clive made, leaning in the doorway of the ready room., Rowan wagered there was some sort of Scion business to attend to. She was happily busy which worked in her favor as she wanted absolutely no part of Nation shit. Hunter politics were bad enough. Rowan didn’t need to go borrowing trouble from the Vampire Nation.

When she halted at his side, Clive searched her features for a moment before speaking. Making sure she was all right. She was working on accepting it when he did stuff like that.

“Hunter.” He tipped his chin. “I’m going to talk with Warren and Paola. We’re all squarely in his service.” Clive’d just underlined his loyalty to The First, which she appreciated. He’d done it in the hearing of Nadir as well. Just knowing he was behind Theo made Rowan feel better, even when she knew crazy times were coming. “Come to me when you finish. We’ll both have a meal with him.”

Rowan shook her head, knowing that wasn’t possible. “He’s not going to tolerate sharing my attention with anyone else right now. I’ll come to you after.”

He wanted to argue. She saw it in the set of his mouth. Naturally he did because he was a master Vampire with a great deal of power and money and he was surrounded by
yes.
His staff. The Vampires in his territory—which, by the way was an entire continent. Vampires and humans alike took one look at that face, at the clothes, the cars, the way the man so obviously knew how to treat someone in the sack, and they fell over themselves.

Rowan was a whole lot of
no
in Clive Stewart’s life. He needed more
no
to combat his fussy, uptight control freakish nature. Normally it was amusing to see him struggle to accept that she’d just said no. But given the situation, she’d think it was amusing later.

In the end, he didn’t argue. Which was one of the reasons she usually found herself far more enamored of kissing him rather than staking him. “All right. If you need anything.”

If she needed anything he couldn’t help, but she had no doubt he’d die trying. Which was more than she ever thought she’d have.

“Thanks.”

He left after one quick look at her, and Rowan blew out a breath as she turned back to Nadir. “Okay so you share with me what you think I should know. This is urgent enough we’re just going to have to trust one another.”

“When it comes to him, to his best interests, I do trust you, Rowan.” A pause before Nadir continued. “As you know, we’ve been investigating who assisted Enyo after she left here.” The Five had been on the trail of Enyo, the badass bitch Vampire who ambushed Rowan nearly two months before.

Theo had come upon them near the end of the battle Rowan had been on the losing end of. She’d been barely alive and Theo had made the choice to save Rowan instead of continuing his pursuit of Enyo.

The depth of his rage that his rules—Vampire Nation rules—had been violated and the infraction had left his daughter clinging to life was bottomless. Rowan hated Enyo for her own reasons, but from what she’d witnessed and felt, Theo’s feelings must have been more like volcanic revenge filled hate. He’d banged her way back in the early days. Like of the world and stuff since they were both old as dirt. Enyo’d put a geas—a magical choke chain—on him so he couldn’t discuss details of her origins. But Rowan knew her foster father and
he
knew those details and would simply see that geas as a way to handle Enyo on his own before she got another crack at anyone under his protection.

“Last week we located some Blood Front Vampires who had helped Enyo the night she attacked you and escaped the Keep. When we showed up to handle our breach of security, several of them had left and though we vigorously interrogated those remaining, none seemed to know where the traitors had gone to.”

“Did you report this to him?” Rowan asked Nadir.

“Yes of course. You understand how our command works. And when I awoke the evening he eventually disappeared it was to find we had a few leads. I briefed him on that. We split up the leads but I’m guessing he decided to aid us.”

Goddess.

Nadir continued, “Once we knew he was gone for sure, we began to head to each location we had a lead on. There were two left so I’ve sent out operatives to each. I’m going to assume that’s where The First has been.”

“You’ll clean things up when you do figure it out?” Rowan asked.

Nadir only barely resisted rolling her eyes at Rowan’s question, which made Rowan feel better. At least Vampires being arrogant was normal. Normal was good.

“I apologize for my impertinence.” Rowan didn’t hide her smirk and Nadir gave her one right back. “I’m on my way to change and then go to him now.”

A quick touch at Rowan’s wrist to pause her exit. “You did well,” Nadir said quietly. “With him I mean. He might have been a lot worse off, and so all of us would have been too.”

It meant a great deal to hear that. But it wasn’t something Rowan could afford to dwell on for a while. She nodded, brisk. “I’ve instructed Dina to adjust the staffing. No humans here but for a well trained skeleton crew, only in the daytime and escorted home before twilight. I think the Vampires need to do the same, but that’s your stuff, not mine so I leave it to you.”

Nadir agreed. “We all feel this would be the safest option. Recht will accompany you when you leave in two days. I will remain here with the others and keep watch.”

They couldn’t stop Theo, not really. But every one of the Five had been with Theo for several centuries so they knew how to handle him best.

“He’s going to want to come. He’s made that clear over and over. He can’t.” Nadir meant Theo. She didn’t have to give all the reasons why. She and Rowan both knew them.

“No, he can’t. Not like this. I have enough to handle. I can’t keep tabs on him or prevent some sort of incident. And he’s absolutely veering into
I
do what I want because I’m old and super powerful
territory. I’m working on a way to bring it up and present it.” She’d been working on it for the last six weeks but finding him like this only underlined it. And made it a million times more difficult.

“You know him better than most anyone else,” Nadir said, letting the subject drop.

After receiving one last promise that she’d be informed of any new information, Rowan jogged back to her suite of rooms to change.

Chapter Two

Cataline, the main housekeeper and the overall manager of all household staff at the Keep, waited in Rowan’s rooms.

“I’ve come to help you dress.” At the Keep, Rowan found herself torn five different ways between who and what she was the years she lived within those stone walls and who she’d become after escaping. The girl she once was had been born to service. One in a very long and esteemed line that had served The First. And, she’d been special because he’d made her his. She’d been his daughter for all the good—and scarring—that came with it.

Many of the residents of the Keep still viewed her in that sense. The wardrobe full of gowns in expensive and sumptuous fabrics she’d never wear anywhere else was an exception she made. A thing she knew pleased not only those in the household, but her foster father as well.

As the dresses were complicated and tailored just for her, they required help getting in and out of. Rowan nodded. “Thank you.”

Cataline strode to the wardrobes Rowan hadn’t been using at all. “He purchased some new gowns for you while you were in Las Vegas.” She opened the doors with a flourish.

“Some?” Rowan blinked at the wardrobe, overflowing with beautiful dresses in blues, greens and other tones that worked well with her hair color.

“You know how he can get. He discovered the internet.”

So the oldest and probably one of the most powerful and dangerous creatures walking the planet stayed up late and bought shit he didn’t need from eBay just like everyone else.

She’d let that be funny after she brought him back from the edge of murderous insanity.

“I was only gone two weeks.”

“Time is different for him. He had trouble finding his way. Thinking of things to please you seemed to help.”

Rowan shucked her travel clothes—she and Clive had learned of Theo’s disappearance upon their arrival. They’d only been back an hour or so before the panicked screams had led them to the garden where they’d found Theo looking ready to go trick or treating.

Cataline held out the royal blue dress for Rowan to step into. While laces were done and hooks hooked, Rowan worked quickly to braid her hair and pin it at the base of her head as Theo preferred.

It would be easier to deal with him if she didn’t have to hear a thousand little complaints about stupid shit like her hair.

One last look in the mirror before heading to the door. She paused at the hall. “Thanks, Cataline.”

Cataline pressed a kiss on Rowan’s forehead and stepped away quickly, like she sensed Rowan might pop her one.

“Please go to your rooms for the rest of the night. I’ll seek you and Dina out after the sun rises.”

The firming of Cataline’s bottom lip told Rowan she didn’t think much of that request. “You’re going to need someone who knows what to do.”

“He’s fine for now. I promise we’ll talk after sunrise. I need to know everyone is out of the way. I won’t be able to really figure out what this problem looks like, much less think about a solution if I’m worrying about how I’d begin to get you all out of harm’s way should things go wrong.”

“We were here when you weren’t, Rowan.”

Rowan’s brows inched up before she could stop them. Did she detect some judgment there? After what happened to drive her away to start with?

The slap of it, the hurt wasn’t something she much liked. “Yes, well, if I hadn’t been here for him to drain and leave to die on the floor of his rooms, you might have been his victim. I’ll have you sent for when I finish.”

Rowan headed past.

“Wait.”

“I need to get to him. He’ll be done bathing by now.” And Rowan needed to get her head back on straight. All this memory bullshit was slowing her down. This was no time to lose it over being misunderstood.

“I didn’t mean to make light of what you experienced growing up here.” Cataline’s features were full of remorse.

A year before Rowan would have let the stabbing, snarling part of herself take over. Instead, Rowan let Her take over, filling Rowan’s body with gentle, warm waves. She held Cataline’s hands and looked into her eyes. It was there that Rowan was reminded that
everyone
had their own struggles. Easier to let yourself get harder to protect yourself, but at some point, it got difficult to connect with empathy. Empathy was the difference between you and the monsters you had to kill.

Cataline’s life had not been easy. Her choices had been few. Far less so than Rowan. But she loved Theo with a nearly religious zeal. She wanted to protect him and Rowan too. But she was scared. Like they all were. Like Rowan was.

“We’ll get through this.” Just four words, but they were enough to erase some of the lines on Cataline’s forehead.

“Go to him.”

Rowan turned on her heel, but let Her stay, needing that comfort herself as she headed to Theo.

* * *

Recht waited outside Theo’s doors. He gave her a look—assuring himself, Rowan wagered—that her appearance wasn’t going to upset an already unstable First.

Also, Rowan figured, he was making sure she was strong enough to deal with Theo in his current state.

If she wasn’t they were all fucked. No pressure.

There in the quiet of the antechamber to Theo’s suites, Recht spoke. “He’s just gotten out of the bath. Cook sent a tray. I took it in. She wasn’t pleased when I made her leave.”

Rowan shook her head. “We need to talk about that later. I’ll go to him now.”

“Don’t think this means I won’t make you work twice as hard on the practice floor later.”

“Never dream of it. Not like I believed you’d give up any excuse you can get to cause me pain.”

His usually serious features bloomed with handsome promise when he smiled like he did just then. He’d been her trainer for most of her life, ever since she could walk. When she got a work out from Recht she usually bled and left the space covered in bruises from being whacked with the practice swords.

She brushed hands down the front of her gown, smoothing the material and soothing herself in the bargain.

“Ready?”

Rowan nodded once and Recht opened the doors and she went inside.

His rooms were warmer than the hall she’d just been in. The drapes at all the windows had been drawn back and though it was cool outside, many of the doors leading to balconies and parapets had been opened.

The cart had been left in the small butler’s pantry, so Rowan wheeled it into the main room where Theo had just entered with Enzo at his side.

He’d cleaned up and changed into something less murdery. A lovely pair of soft pants that were clearly made just for him. Probably a hundred years ago. And a long-sleeved shirt. He wore his favorite, hand-sewn slippers and if his eyes hadn’t been port instead of their normal brown she might have thought him an eccentric professor who probably had loads of students with crushes on him.

The color meant he still struggled with his bloodlust so she knew to be extra careful.

“Come,” Theo said.

She’d already shown him her mark. Once was enough. Hopefully. Instead she took her place next to the cart and began to pour out his tea.

“You’re angry with me, Rowan.” Theo sat and took his cup and saucer with murmured thanks.

She was angry with just about everyone, nearly all the time. It was her basic setting. But this made her more protective than angry. More worried for him than afraid of him. As twisted as it was, she loved him.

She focused on his eyebrows for a moment and then continued to peek under lids and domes to see what Dina had sent up.

“I’m not angry with you. Did you do something I’ll be mad about?”

His smile sent a rush of emotion and memory through her and she shut it all away because the last thing she needed was to be soft or distracted by that impish thing he could do sometimes.

“Okay. Would you like to tell me what happened?” she asked.

“
I’d
like some of those dumplings.” He indicated the covered dishes on the cart.

How he could fit in a dumpling after he may have eaten a whole village of Vampires or humans was unclear. But maybe he didn’t eat a whole village. She hoped he hadn’t.

Not so much because she felt bad for whoever he’d um, eaten. Because if he had, that Vampire deserved it. Probably. And they would have been part of whatever happened to Rowan so she wasn’t losing any sleep over it.

But.

“Sometimes when you’re gone I forget you’ll be back.” His voice was sad and lost.

He didn’t need to go getting mired down in the past either. “I live in Las Vegas. I work in Las Vegas. I’d been gone from there six weeks so there were several messes to clean up. You know how Vampires get the minute anyone in charge’s back is turned.”

His grin was nearly boyish. “Did you rough up any of Clive’s people?”

“Why do you grin?”

He laughed then. “It amuses me to imagine him ruffled and agitated with you. Heaven knows you don’t care when the men in your life are vexed. I’m pleased you’re focused on him instead of me for a change.”

“To be completely honest, he’s quite capable of roughing his own people up when they step out of line. That classy exterior doesn’t fool anyone who’s seen him in action.” Rowan wasn’t too worried about Theo that she didn’t warm a little when she thought of how Clive looked when he got worked up.

She needed to stop that line of thought.

Rowan reached for her old friend sarcasm. “If Vampires kept their teeth where they belonged I could retire. Sit on a beach somewhere and have cocktails.”

“Petal, there are other creatures on this planet to make trouble who aren’t Vampires. And you would hate the sand after a few hours. Think about how many cheerful humans you’d have to deal with.”

She harrumphed but held her tongue. Rowan normally only made very careful jokes when he was in a good mood, she certainly wasn’t going to make things worse when he was so clearly on the edge of losing his shit. His little tee-hee jokes were fine, but they also showed some fraying at the edge of his control. He usually kept his delight that she tortured people to himself.

He sniffed, vexed as he’d claimed earlier. “You left. And then my Five found some information about a group of Vampires who’d helped Enyo that night. I lent my assistance. I’d hoped to have this finished by the time you’d returned.”

He paused to finish off a dumpling and she did the same and then had two more.

“I suppose you’re angry with me. But Enyo nearly killed my child. And then these Vampires, an established house in my Nation gave her succor? They gave her a place to hide from me. From my vengeance. From my discipline. Obviously that is not...acceptable. It won’t happen again. But I won’t apologize.”

Ha. Like she’d ever expect him to. Plus she didn’t feel bad that he killed someone who broke their laws and helped a murderer like Enyo. Lastly because he worded that last bit so carefully it wasn’t actually clear whether he was saying what he’d done was unacceptable or what they had done was. Theo was so sneaky.

And then she knew it was the latter when he kept talking. “I took care of some loose ends. As is my
right and responsibility.
I lead them.
I.
Do.
Do you see what happens when they’re not corrected regularly when they misbehave? I have to take stern measures.”

Having been on the receiving end of his
stern measures
more than once, Rowan was glad he never did to her whatever he did to those Vamps. “Can you share the details with me? Who? Where? Then I can work with Nadir to add it to the database we’ve built for our upcoming hunt.”

“I’ll tell you when I’m along, naturally. I can remember a great many things.”

Rowan avoided looking over at Enzo or letting her expression change in any way from her calm, slightly blank mask. He could he genuine, he could be testing her. Whatever was going on, she had to step carefully.

“I think perhaps it might be wise if you stay here. If you’re away, there are those who could use that to move on your position. This is the seat of your power. Your Vampires need to know you’re here and firmly in charge.”

He narrowed his gaze at her and deep inside she began to conjugate in French to keep her countenance free of any signs of agitation. Of course Brigid didn’t like that at all and the warmth of Her rush of power seeped into Rowan’s bones.

She didn’t push, but when you had a Goddess for a boss, you paid attention when She did something.

Theo made a sound, a near growl. Clearly he’d sensed Brigid’s magic. “She is so often inside you, Petal. Can I not be spared tonight?”

Brigid didn’t much like Theo and he didn’t much like her back. But not only was She part of Rowan, she
protected
Rowan. Seems like the two had radically different ideas of what protecting one’s charge meant and the Goddess disapproved of what the younger Rowan dealt with.

“I’m going to be arranging a meeting between all the parties with a stake in this hunt. Mainly the Nation and Hunter Corp.” Rowan hoped to interrupt what could be a twenty-minute long complaint session about the Goddess. She and Clive had been traveling since the day before and Rowan lacked the stamina to dance around to keep people from getting maimed.

Enzo handed her a brush. The walnut handle was warm in Rowan’s palm. Smooth from centuries of use, this had been the same brush Rowan’s father and her grandfather before that had used to brush Theo’s hair.

A brush she’d used from the age of three or so, when she began to attend him. “Would you like me to brush your hair now?”

“Do you think me so easily swayed?”

Goddess
,
if only.

“I can quite honestly say I do not think you easily swayed on any issue.”

His brows rose and then he smiled like a toddler who’d been caught sneaking a cookie.

“All right then.” She stood and held the brush aloft. “You know you can’t come. You’re going to extract something from me as a bargain to stay here so let’s get negotiating.”

Theo clapped his hands and moved so she could settle in behind him and begin long strokes through hair as pale as moonlight. Soft. The cool silk of it on her arms and hands as she brushed it was a good memory. Brushing his hair had soothed them both many, many times.