Kindling Flames: Smoke Rising (The Ancient Fire Series Book 3) (4 page)

Vicky looked at him, slightly concerned. “I moved the meeting from Friday to Thursday to clear your schedule,” she said. “This is the last meeting before we leave to see Mr. Rodgers.”

Darien cocked his head, still confused. “Why?” He couldn’t figure out why Vicky would do such a thing.

“Umm… because you told me to,” Vicky said slowly. The look that crossed Darien’s face would have made her laugh if his lack of memory weren’t so disturbing. Usually, if he forgot something, the little information that Vicky had given him would have been enough for him to remember it.

“Umm…” Darien tried to figure out when he had told Vicky to clear his Friday. “Why?” he asked again.

Enlightenment dawned on Vicky, and she laughed. “You don’t remember the phone call from Clara on Monday night, do you?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Maybe?” Darien questioned as his forehead furrowed in thought.

Vicky cocked her hip and glared at him.

“No,” he admitted sheepishly.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, she rolled her eyes at her boss. “This is why you have a personal assistant. Clara called on Monday and said something about a Council meeting tonight. When you hung up, you asked me to clear your schedule for Friday.”

The epiphany struck Darien as he vaguely remembered Clara’s laughter on the phone. “Oh yeah!” he exclaimed. “That explains why the last two days have been busier than normal.”

Vicky let out a sigh and shook her head. “Read over your report,” she instructed her boss. Dropping her arms, she turned to leave. “Marcus will be here shortly.”

The engine of the black sports car fell silent as Darien parked it next to the fountain in the center of the circular drive. He had taken his Aston Martin DB9 to the meeting with Mr. Rodgers instead of the beautiful ‘66 Ford Mustang that Charlie had picked out. The caretaker of Darien’s cars agreed with the decision when Darien told him they would be heading out to visit the Council this evening. Charlie had been miffed when Darien had damaged the last classic car he had taken out there on some road trash. Roger, Clara’s mechanic, had done a good job of finding a radiator hose that would work on the Ford Torino, but it really wasn’t the right one. He had to jury-rig it in so that Darien wouldn’t have to call Charlie for a wreaker to pick them up.

Darien, Vicky, and Zak got out of the car and headed towards the steps that would take them inside.

Vicky looked up at the stone villa and sighed. The two-story mansion was a little out of place here in America. It would have been more at home in the English countryside. The last time Vicky had come out here had changed her life. This place was where she discovered that vampires weren’t just fodder for B-rated horror movies and bad romance novels. Vicky shivered as she remembered the feel of fangs on her neck, and she quickly pushed the memory away.

Darien wrapped his arm around her and squeezed gently as they climbed the steps to the door.

“Good evening, Master Darien,” Clara’s butler, Hank, said as he opened the door to let them in. Hank was the public face of Clara’s house and took care of dealing with the outside world. The older man looked the part dressed in a black tailcoat. He bowed to them as they passed. “The Council is already assembled.”

Zak barked at the man as he ran past in his Shih Tzu form.

“Thank you,” Darien said as they entered into the grand foyer. Due to the extra meetings and the early sunset, they had arrived well after dark. “See you later,” he said to Vicky as he kissed her on the cheek before she turned and headed to the doorway on the right. It would take her down to the area where Clara’s menagerie lived. Vicky had become good friends with them when they had come to stay with Darien.

Zak nuzzled her ankle before turning back to follow Darien to the Council room.

Darien took the ornate stairs at the far end of the room. When they split, he followed the left side up to where the Council was meeting. He let Zak in before stepping through the double doors leading to the meeting room of the Vampire Council. Eleven sets of eyes turned to look at him.

“Welcome, Master Darien,” Clara called to the new arrival.

Darien went to the chair left open for him.

Zak made the rounds, getting petting from each of the Council vampires before heading back over and jumping up in Darien’s chair. Darien wasn’t really part of the Council, but they always left a place open for him in case he changed his mind.

Pulling off his coat, Darien hung it from the back of his chair. “Please forgive me. I came over right after work.” He picked the dog up from his seat and sat down.

“It’s all right. We’ve just started.” Clara watched him settle the hyper little fay in his lap. “Mr. Bridges was just introducing himself to the Council.” Everyone turned their attention to the finely dressed man standing next to the oval table. “Please, go on,” Clara prompted him.

Christian tugged at his suit coat as Darien rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt.

Zak stared at Christian with beady, black eyes that just peeked out from his fur.

“As I was saying, I would like to petition the Council to join your fine city,” Christian continued.

“Why did you leave your previous residence?” Clara cocked her head and considered the man before her.

“I needed a change of pace.” Christian shrugged. “I had been in Clarksdale, Arizona, since the city’s founding in 1912. I thought it was time to find someplace new.”

“Why did you pick Brenton?” Lillian asked.

Christian looked around the room at the faces as he thought about the answer. “It seemed like a nice place to move to.” He shrugged again. “From what I have seen, there is a fairly low ratio of vampires to humans, the school systems are better than average, and the job market is fairly stable.”

Darien nodded his agreement to these things.

“A few of my menagerie have family here, so I came on their suggestion.”

“And how many would you be bringing with you?” Clara looked at the two unnamed vampires standing next to him.

“I only have two fledglings. Sara,” Christian held out his hand to the petite woman on his right, “and Aiden.” The man on Christian’s left bowed his head. The pair of fledglings had the same dark hair and amber eyes. They could have easily swapped places with each other.

Darien guessed they were twins.

“I also have twelve in my keeping.”

Clara nodded her head and looked around at the rest of the Council. “And where will you be staying?”

“Currently, I am renting a house on the north side of the city.” Christian added, “It’s a nice area, and I plan to stay there if you will allow it.”

Clara looked around at the rest of the group to see if anyone disagreed. Michael lived in the south. William, Victor, and Lillian had the west. Daniel and Rachael had the east. Darien lived in the center of town. The only one that may be inconvenienced by the new master’s choice would be Elliot. He had settled in the north, but he didn’t have any fledglings.

“Is that all right with you, Elliot?” Clara asked.

Elliot looked over the man, sizing him up. “As long as he follows the Council’s rules, I have no issues with it.”

“Very well.” Clara turned her attention back to Christian. “If you can abide by the rules of the Council, then you are welcome in our city.” She proceeded to rattle off the short list of rules that governed all vampires in Brenton. They were mainly common sense things that kept the vampires out of sight.

“No killing?” Christian cocked his head at this strange addition.

“No,” Clara said. “There is no need to kill when taking blood. It just leads to problems with the police, and I don’t want to have to deal with it. Will that be an issue for your kiss?” Clara cocked an eyebrow at him.

“No, it won’t.” Christian bowed his head to Clara. “Is there anything else that I need to know?”

“As a master, you will be required to join the Vampire Council.” Clara waved to the group gathered. “We meet once a month to talk about any complaints or problems. Occasionally, we’ll call a special meeting like this one to deal with issues that can’t wait until the normal meetings. Your attendance is required at all meetings, even if you feel they have nothing to do with you.”

“So, I will be meeting with you all once a month?” Christian looked over at Darien.

“Everyone except Master Darien; he doesn’t sit on the Council,” Clara clarified.

“I only come to the meetings when the matters affect me or those I represent.” Darien sat up in his chair, and Zak gurgled his displeasure at the movement.

“Who do you represent?” Christian asked.

Darien narrowed his eyes at the new master. “Everything else in the city.”

Zak barked his agreement, and the new vampires in the room eyed the little dog.

“Master Darien is a businessman and deals more with the human side of the city,” Clara explained. “He comes when things we do affect the world of the day.”

Christian turned his attention back to Clara.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are these terms acceptable to you?”

Christian tipped his head, accepting Clara’s conditions. “Yes.”

“Then let me welcome you to the Council. Please grab a chair and join us.” Clara pointed to the wall behind Christian and the chair waiting for him. “Sara and Aiden are welcome to head downstairs and meet the rest of my people. Just be aware that Miss Westernly is off limits.”

A hint of amusement curled the corner of Darien’s mouth as Zak growled a warning to the vampires.

The two young vampires bowed and left as Christian retrieved his chair.

***

“Was that really Master Darien?” Sara asked her brother as they left the Council chambers.

“The Council recognized him as such, so he must have been,” Aiden said back to her quietly.

“But he didn’t feel like any of the other masters in the room.” Sara looked back at the door. “He didn’t have the power level that I had expected from the stories I’ve heard. I mean, I could feel more power from the dog.”

“You’re right.” Aiden pulled his sister down the steps. “Did you hear his heartbeat?”

Sara nodded. “It was much too fast for a vampire.” She shuddered. “Even a really powerful one.”

“I heard Master Darien had a double that runs his company.” Aiden looked at his sister. “Do you think that was him?”

“It had to be,” Sara said as they reached the foot of the staircase. “Let’s wait and see what happens.”

Aiden agreed with his sister, and the two vampires headed off to the door leading to the living areas for Clara’s people.

***

“Are there any other matters that need attending to tonight?” Clara opened the floor for discussion.

Darien sat up. “Yes.”

Zak gurgled at him again.

“I would like to offer a proposal.”

Everyone turned to look at Darien.

Clara waved her hand over the table. “The floor is yours.”

Darien laced his fingers together and rested his hands on the table in front of him.

Zak poked his head up between the vampire’s arms.

“In light of the new peace between the wolves and the vampires, I would like to suggest that we open this year’s Halloween party to include everyone.”

Surprise filled the faces of the nine people at the table.

“Of course, I’ll make all the arrangements. The invitation will be open to everyone: vampire, wolf, fay, and human.”

“Where did this idea come from?” Clara asked.

Darien chuckled. “Rupert wants to hold a party on the same day as yours, and I thought it would be nice to bring them together.” He shrugged.

Zak barked his approval of the idea, making Clara smile.

“Have you spoken with Rupert about this?” she asked.

“Not yet.” Darien shook his head. “I wanted to get your opinion first.”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Rachael answered from her side of the table. “It would give the two groups more time to reconcile their differences in a neutral environment.”

“I agree.” Daniel nodded.

A few of the other masters nodded their heads, too.

“Very well,” Clara approved. “Go ahead and plan your party, Master Darien.”

Darien nodded again. “I’ll have the invitations sent out as soon as the arrangements are made.” He leaned back in his chair, content.

Zak circled in his lap and lay down to listen to the rest of the vampire’s meeting.

“Speaking of Halloween,” Clara said, taking control of the meeting again, “I know that Samhain is coming up, but that is no reason to get out of control again this year. I have already gotten reports from the Brenton PD’s First Precinct about a rash of attacks in the downtown area. All the victims claim someone grabbed them from behind, bit their neck, and left them bleeding on the sidewalk.” Her eyes roamed over the masters in the room, looking for any signs of guilt. “One was even bad enough to be taken to the hospital. This clearly screams vampire.”

Clara let out a long sigh and rubbed her forehead. “I know this is the only time of year we can go out as ourselves, but come on people, use some common sense. I don’t care who’s doing it, just stop. The cops aren’t as dumb as they used to be. Even if we
are
vampires, we still have DNA and fingerprints. They are starting to get serious about this business.” She took a deep breath to calm herself. “Just pass it on to the young.”

Darien leaned his head forwards and closed his eyes as he listened to her go on about what the fledglings should not be doing during the season. Wiggling his fingers into Zak’s fur, he listened to the rise and fall of Clara’s tone as he relaxed under the steady purr of the fay in his lap.