Matters of the Blood (29 page)

We sat huddled together, clutching each other, rocking back and forth. I let some of my own tension go, my arms encircling him, holding on as he leaned into me. I closed my eyes and let my head drop to his shoulder, relaxing into his body. How ironic my life had become. The peace, the predictability, everything that I'd stayed in Rio Seco for, had been shattered, and the only safe haven seemed to be in the arms of a dead man. A dead man who still mourned for the atrocities he'd seen and himself committed. It was no wonder that he'd turned from the hunt.

[Back to Table of Contents]

We sat on the couch in the reception area, Adam silent next to me, Niko leaning against the far end, not yet completely healed, but nearly so. Andrea perched on the arm of the couch, watching all of us.

"I'm sorry.” Adam sounded hoarse, his voice rough and broken.

"No, Adam, don't,” I said. “There's nothing to be sorry about. You stopped it, didn't you?"

"Barely,” he whispered.

"Barely counts,” I answered. “You owe me no apologies, Adam Walker."

"I almost—"

"Again, you didn't.” I leaned into him and he automatically put his arm around me. “If you had, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Don't worry about it. Let's move on to another subject."

He smiled, a weak imitation of his usual seductive grin, but it would do for now. He'd had more than a mild scare. He'd lost control and I knew what that meant to someone like Adam. Control was everything. He was master vampire, king of the undead, or whatever passed for that around here, and had established a no hunt, no kill policy. I might not agree, but this was his playground, not mine, and I had to accept that. Obviously, from Niko's behavior, not everyone was as compliant. But if the vampire community worked anything like my clan, Adam's word was law, and I'd definitely gotten that feeling here tonight. Niko could argue and complain all he wanted, but Adam was in charge. I'd never known a preternatural clan or community that could operate any other way. Too many predators do not make for a good democracy. Hell, even the smaller covens had only one leader. I didn't have any clue as to how one became the vampire king, but I'd bet it was not an elected position. I was definitely going to ask for a primer at some point. After all of this was settled. Whatever that meant.

I figured I could at least ask the question that was poking around in my brain. Since I didn't believe in coincidence, this was as good a time as any to find out the connection.

"Is that how you know Boris Nagy? From before?"

Adam looked puzzled. “Boris? He works for me. Handles all our deliveries so we don't have to expose ourselves to the public."

"You don't know him from the war, then? From the camps? He knows what you are."

"I don't understand, Keira,” he said. “Boris would have been a young boy then. I only met him a few days ago. How could he know us?"

I searched his face, trying to determine if he were telling the truth. But all I saw there was confusion.

"Boris and his sister Greta were imprisoned in a death camp, Bergen-Belsen. He's been warning me about the Wild Moon since the deer were found. Earlier, when I stopped for gas, he gave me a silver cross for safety.” I spoke bluntly. The time for games was over.

A gasp from Andrea made me turn and look at her. She wasn't looking at me, though, but at Niko. The redhead remained silent, his face set in a neutral expression. The cuts on his face were gone. If I hadn't just seen him thrown up against a wall, I'd have never guessed.

"Did you know Boris Nagy, Niko?” I asked. Adam stared at me, then at Niko.

A shrug and a grunt were the only reply.

"Niko, answer Keira,” Adam commanded.

Andrea's eyes flicked over to me, resentment in her expression. Was she partnered with the other vampire? Is that why she was staring daggers at me?

Niko shrugged again. “I don't know,” he answered, his voice quiet. “A human of older years isn't the same as a child. I knew many people, many victims. It's possible. There were so many then."

No inflection, no emotion colored his answer. I couldn't tell what he was feeling. Maybe the absence of sentiment that comes from seeing too much death and evil up close, of having to forget. Adam had said that he and Niko had been companions, partners for a long time. They'd probably experienced the war together, too.

"Does Boris say he knows Niko?” Adam asked me.

"I don't know,” I said, not taking my eyes off the pair next to us. “Boris keeps trying to warn me about someone here he recognized from the camps. Someone who was talking to Marty."

"You think this person had something to do with your cousin's death?"

"Death?” The question came from Andrea.

"Yeah, as in drained of blood, fang marks on his neck. Left on his own embalming table like one of his own clients."

"I do not kill humans,” Niko said, staring steadily at me. “
We
do not kill humans. Not even when we feed from them."

I stared back at him, meeting his gaze. He didn't flinch or look away. How could I tell if he was telling the truth? He was a vampire of power, and could probably tell me bald-faced that he was directly descended from Vlad Tepes and I'd have to believe him. Of course, he might just be.

I scooted even closer to Adam. I wanted to sit nearer, to touch him, a little for reassurance, a little to re-establish the connection we'd had before. A small thrill of energy ran up my arm as I touched his hand. I glanced at his face, and he smiled, but the emotion didn't reach his eyes. Instead, a deep sadness welled up behind the clear sea-green, tingeing them with gray.

I started to say something to him, ask him what was wrong, but Andrea's voice broke in.

"Your cousin was the undertaker?” She sounded surprised.

"What do you know?” Adam fixed his gaze on Andrea.

She glanced at Niko, then looked back at Adam. I could have sworn I saw a flash of defiance instantly replaced by the same neutral look that she'd had earlier.

"I saw him,” she said. “He was here, talking to John."

"When?” I asked.

She shrugged. “A week, two weeks ago. Before the security gate began working. Before most of us were here. I'm not sure. Our nights tend to blend together."

I looked over at Adam, who shook his head in a small gesture. “John is our day manager and human,” he said. “He's been with us for more than twenty years, but he's only in his late forties."

I slumped in my seat. “So he couldn't be the one Boris was talking about. Too young and too human."

"Yes, John would be too young,” Adam said. “But not the rest of us.” He looked over at Niko and Andrea, his face set in grim lines. “I'll talk to John later, but there must be someone else here, someone who knew Boris, who conspired with the undertaker. We need to find out who was in residence when Marty came."

"I'm on it, Adam, but conspired how, and for what? What would we need from an undertaker?” Andrea spoke with distaste, as if the thought of a mortician was beneath her. Guess that crossed her off my list of potential Marty mates.

I answered what was probably a rhetorical question. “Coffins?” Three pairs of eyes turned and looked at me. I shrugged. “Well?"

I hadn't really meant it, but if there was one thing I knew about my cousin, he wouldn't have stopped at poaching animals.

Adam smiled and kissed my hair. “We don't buy retail, my sweet. Besides, I prefer a nice canopy bed with curtains and a Sealy Posturepedic. Infinitely more comfortable."

Niko and Andrea weren't quite smiling. I got the feeling I'd definitely committed a faux pas. Well, sue me. How the hell was I supposed to know?

"Fine, but my cousin was getting paid by someone here for something. Plus he was obviously someone's dinner, at least once. You people are the only vampires in the area, so, hello, get a clue? I don't give a crap about your politics or, sorry Adam, about whether or not someone's hunting your game and breaking laws, or even if Boris Nagy is just having hallucinations or there really is a former Nazi at the ranch. All I really want to know is if Marty was actually murdered by the Albrights or if he convinced some bloodsucker to drain him, planning to come back in three days."

I stood up, frustrated by all the talk. I'd been willing to listen, to find out the lay of the land, so to speak, but now that the cards were on the table, it was time for someone to shut up and start dealing.

"Nazi?” “She's right."

Adam and Niko spoke over each other. Adam looked at his wildlife manager and nodded. “You first. Why is Keira right?"

"I was coming to tell you,” he said to Adam, his voice quieter than before, the cocky attitude gone. “But the sheriff showed up just then."

"Tell me what?” The danger was back in Adam's voice.

"I found out the two humans, the Albrights, were collecting money from someone here at the ranch."

Carlton was right after all.

"How?"

Niko stood, shaking off Andrea's hand. “After we saw them the other evening, when Andrea dropped you off at the funeral home, I followed them to find out where they lived. This morning, I broke into their apartment just before dawn. No one was there, but I found a couple of envelopes with cash still stuffed inside. Our envelopes."

Adam rose and faced Niko. “What else did you find?"

The redhead shrugged. “A couple of hunting knives, some guns and too much beer. The knives had blood and hair on them, from deer. The place was a pigsty, spoiled food, pizza boxes, piles of filthy clothes reeking of animal and human blood."

"Human blood?” I asked, immediately thinking of Marty.

"No large amounts,” Niko answered. “Just spots, like if you cut yourself and wiped it off on your shirt."

"Oh.” I slumped back into the couch.

Adam perched on the arm of the couch, his hand stroking my hair. I was beginning to think this was a nervous habit of his, something tactile to do while his brain was ticking.

"Cash, in envelopes from the Wild Moon,” he said. “We know they were poaching. Could one of my guests be hunting?"

"Adam, that has to be it,” I said. “Hunt, feed, let the humans clean up after so you don't find out. Easy and safe and points the finger at the Albrights. Too damned easy if you ask me."

"She's got a point.” Niko leaned against the wall, now relaxed; his natural arrogance again evident. “In fact, it's not a bad idea, Adam,” he said. “Leaving out the cleanup part, anyway. It's not like hunting humans. We could set up regular hunts of the native fauna, leave the exotics alone. Hunt the weaker ones. Kind of a supernatural natural selection."

"No. We've barely begun to live without hunting. We can't go back now."

"We have to do something, Adam,” Niko argued. “You asked me to manage the stock, to take care of the animals. A good wildlife manager knows when it's time to cull. It's getting to that point. We've been building the herds since you bought this place. Between the rescued exotics and the local whitetails, the deer population is going to overtake the natural resources soon. Do you want idiots hunting them from deer blinds? Or would you rather let them starve to death?"

"How soon?"

"Months, maybe by early next year."

"Damn it, Niko, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because you weren't here,” Niko replied. “When you finally arrived, you were too damned busy working on your plan. You didn't want to talk about livestock."

"I don't want to now,” Adam said. “That can wait. Right now, it's important we find out if Keira's cousin was killed by one of us."

"But you will consider it?"

Adam looked at Niko in silence, his gaze steady, as if weighing the consequences of what he was going to say. The seconds stretched into a long minute, then he finally spoke.

"I'll consider it,” he said, quietly.

Niko nodded, acquiescing the point.

"Andrea, we need to make sure the ranch is secure. If the hunters are my guests, I need to know. If there's a rogue around, I need to know that as well. There could be someone here out to undermine my power base."

Andrea moved swiftly and was almost out the door before Adam stopped her.

"Wait, have one of Evan's people go out to the Bexar County morgue and find out if Keira's cousin was turned. If he was, he'll know what to do. Have Evan come see me. Niko, make sure the lab is secure. I'm taking Keira to my place. When you get back, Andrea, assign someone to watch the house. Until we find out what's going on, Keira may be in danger."

Andrea left without a sound, like a good little minion. Handy. Niko stood, much more slowly, and looked at both Adam and me, as if he wanted to say something, to make a parting remark. But instead, he said nothing, then turned and walked out the door.

Adam came back over to me, and kneeled down in front of the couch.

"Can they do that?"

"Do what?"

"Undermine your power base."

"Yes. Our culture is fairly Darwinian, my love. Survival of the fittest and all that. Another reason I moved out here. No other vampire enclaves for hundreds of miles. I thought we had this place to ourselves."

"You don't?"

"I don't know. If your cousin was killed as some sort of payback to me..."

"But he may not have been."

"Exactly, and we won't know until we can find the answers. That's why I asked Andrea to get one of Evan's crew to go to San Antonio and get your cousin."

"You just sent a barback to check out my cousin's body."

He laughed. “Not a barback. Evan's not just a bartender, either. Think of him as Andrea's counterpart. He takes care of the Inn while she handles the outside security."

"Has he been with you as long as the others?"

"Not quite. He came to me after the war, escaped from Germany, changed his name, his apparent nationality. A little rough around the edges, but good with security. Makes a mean margarita, too."

"So all those people in the bar, the blond brigade. Were they lackeys or guests?"

"If you're talking about who I think you are, they're employees. Evan's security staff. Although I think I like ‘blond brigade’ better."