"What harmed him?"
"Someone who is now very dead." Heat flashed across Cai's gaze.
Uthe took a sip of the coffee, finding it excellent. He declined when Cai offered cream or sugar. He wondered if Keldwyn found the sudden oasis of hospitality unexpected, but for Uthe it brought back good memories. The code of desert regions, where, as Cai had pointed out, company could be rare. Someone who didn't declare himself as an enemy was treated as a guest, as much for the news he brought as the companionship he provided. Plus, in this treacherous environment, a host might end up needing the same form of hospitality at some later date.
Cai looked toward Keldwyn. "Do you have a name, or should I just dub you Deathbringer, or some other moniker that goes with that forbidding expression?"
"My lord would be appropriate," Uthe interjected. Though Cai wasn't a fledgling, there was a restless, uncivilized character to him. The vampire demonstrated little understanding or regard for the dangers of offending higher ranking vampires or other powerful beings. "You've been here awhile, if you've been here since the Iraq War. What commends this isolation?"
"A lack of other vampires," Cai responded bluntly. "I'm no Trad, but I don't play well with others, nor do I care to learn. What's life without some risk? Still...I expect Rand might eventually enjoy a forest or two. We'll have to see if we end up back that way. Problem is there are overlords in more hospitable environments. No such oversight here." He glanced out of the cave. "Full moon tonight. If you wish to travel onward this evening you'll have good light for it, my lord."
When Uthe raised a brow at the title, Cai snorted. "It's obvious. You wouldn't know how to do commoner if your life depended on it." He dipped his head toward Kel. "He's another clue. His type doesn't waste time hanging with peasantry."
"You don't mince words, Mordecai."
"No point, really." Cai looked at the wolf. "Both of us came here to lick our wounds. He lost his pack, and I lost my family. And no, I don't care to talk about the hows or whys of that shit. But since I'm out here by my lonesome, it tends to consume my mind at times, so I can't stop myself from bringing it up. Self-flagellation and all that."
"I am sorry," Uthe said.
"It is what it is," Cai said shortly. "We love and we lose, because the gods are cruel. They like us to offer our hearts to one another, and then cut them out of our chests to show us how useless our love is before inevitable mortality, inevitable even for us. In the end, everything that matters is taken away." Cai made a dismissive gesture. "So, anyhow, I go where the majority of my food sources deserve to die and the loss of those lives won't be noticed, aka trigger the Council's worry meter about exposure to humans. We spare the shepherds, but everyone else... Well, let's just say the scavengers around here love us. Very few come out here except those up to no good, or up to something that they can't afford anyone else to see."
The charm had disappeared. Cai's cool tone and flat expression gave Uthe his true face. Unsmiling and savagely content to live in a place where he could kill his food, Cai was venting a rage that hadn't yet abated. Seeing the glowing eyes of the wolf, Uthe thought the two made a good match. Cai might be exceeding the Council's mandated human kill quota, but Uthe wasn't here to enforce Council policy. Plus, the vampire had a good grasp of the spirit of the policy, enough to avoid the wrong kind of human attention.
Cai took a swallow of coffee. "Since you don't fall into either category, I'm going to guess you're here for the sorceress. Which means you don't know."
"Know what?"
The younger vampire met his gaze. "She's dead."
Chapter Seven
It was like being punched in the chest. The ease of casual conversation disappeared in a blink. "What? How?"
"She was attacked while we were hunting, which we figured out too late was a distraction." The flash of anger in Cai's gaze told Uthe the truth, that Cai had been her ally. It saved the young vampire's life. "We would have helped her. She helped me fix Rand's leg."
She was in her eighties now, but she'd been descended from a line of strong, long-lived magic users. She could have prospered another twenty years before succumbing to Death's call. Uthe felt the loss of it, the waste. As well as anger that he hadn't been here to help protect her. She would have laughed at him, though, wouldn't she?
"I can destroy ten vampires without disturbing a hair on my head, my lord." She'd cackled, running a hand over her sparse, balding pate. "You run and play your vampire games. Leave me be. I can take care of myself."
"It happened a couple weeks ago. She was ready for it, though. She always seemed so ready for anything." Cai shook off the anger. "Soon as she died, I think it triggered some kind of protection spell on her place. Incinerated the bastards tossing the cave and blocked any more from going in. Been that way ever since. Neither Rand nor I can get in. That's why these guys following you have been lingering. They're trying to see if it will wear off in time. They sneak up there to test it every other day or so. We took out a couple of them who did it after nightfall, but they've gotten smarter since then and now they only check it out during daylight. At least we make them sweat in the sun."
"So why aren't you concerned about our motives?" Keldwyn asked. He had one foot propped on the edge of the rock, his arm loosely wrapped around his shin to hold it, while his other arm was braced on the rock. With his head cocked, the dim light gleamed off his dark eyes.
"Christ, you can see why people wander off to your world and never want to come back," Cai said. "A coating of sweat and sand on you is like powdered sugar on a donut. You're a walking hard-on."
"Cai," Uthe said sharply, snapping the vampire's gaze back to him. "He is a Fae Lord."
"I understand, but isn't he your servant, my lord? Why else would a vampire and Fae be traveling together?"
Keldwyn's lip curled, his gaze glittering like embers. The wolf responded in kind, but Uthe suspected his reaction was as much his displeasure with Cai's appraisal of Keldwyn as defense of his Master. He couldn't say it thrilled him that much either--though it was an apt description of the Fae Lord's appeal--but he focused on more important matters. Like interceding before Keldwyn downgraded his sentence on the vampire from rodent to cockroach. Keldwyn was motionless on his rock, a bad omen.
Uthe wondered if the Fae could actually transform someone into something else, or if that was just a euphemism for hacking the offender into pieces.
"An instant and sincere apology would be wise, Cai," Uthe advised.
The boy wasn't actually as dense as he seemed. Cai blanched at the overload of tension. "Christ. I mean...I'm sorry."
The wolf rose, stalked over to the other side of Cai and sat down. Since he didn't lie down, his position impeded Cai's view of Keldwyn. Cai rose to his feet and gave Keldwyn a half-bow, including Uthe in the gesture. "My apologies to you both. It never occurred to me..." He cleared his throat. "I'm not all that familiar with the Fae, to tell the truth. I meant no offense."
"Most who do offend do not intend it. They just don't know how to guard their tongue." Yet Keldwyn's negative energy dissipated enough that the wolf's ears pricked back up and the pressure around Uthe eased so he could pursue the information he needed.
"So back to Lord Keldwyn's question. Why are you not concerned about our motives for seeking the sorceress?" Uthe asked again.
Cai sat back down, eying Keldwyn. "She told me a week before she died that she'd figured out something important, and a high-born vampire would be coming to get the information, to use it for good. She told me that Rand and I should help you if we could, because what you're going to do will be vital for all of us."
Cai gestured with the coffee cup. "I pay attention to words like vital. You're lucky, because if she'd said you all were here to serve the will of the gods, I would have said bollocks to helping you. Never helping them again, not in this life nor the next, even if they spend it roasting my nuts over hellfire. Piss on them."
The wolf dipped his head, brushing his ruff against the
vampire's shoulder, before he took a light nip of his clothing. "Rand says I'm about to become morose, an odious trait for a campfire companion." He opened a flask, offered it to Uthe. "A touch of last night's meal with some chili pepper thrown in. It's good in the coffee."
Uthe refused politely. No vampire took blood from another without verifying the source.
"It's the hospitality law of the desert, my friend," the vampire said, serious now. "I intend you no harm, I swear it." He nodded to Keldwyn. "Plus, should I so much as stain your tunic, he's going to turn me into wolf food, so there's no point to me harming you, is there? Unless I have a death wish."
"You would wish for death before I was done with you," Keldwyn said passively.
"I've wished for death a long time," Cai said with disturbing cheerfulness. "Just can't seem to bring myself to it. That fucking sense of self-preservation, right? Makes you want to live through things no one should live through. I did mention the gods are bastards, right?"
Uthe's grip tightened on the cup. He had to remind himself to ease it before he crumpled the tin. Cai rose, tucking the blood flask back onto his belt.
"I'm going out to do nightly rounds. You're welcome to take your ease for a bit, my lords. My cave is well protected for such a rest. I'll be back in a while if you choose to stay for any length of time."
As he moved toward the cave mouth, Uthe caught his attention with a raised hand. "I don't expect the sorceress told you how I might get into her cave to find out what she left me?"
"No. I expect she thought you would know. I'll bring you back a piece of my hunt tonight if you want. Nothing so good as a juicy, blood-filled lung. It's like sponge cake. And you'll have one less enemy to face. Your hunch is right. This lot aren't your allies. Weirdly dressed, too."
"What do you mean?" Uthe asked.
"Like they're filming a movie about the Crusades. You'll see. Once you have what she left you, they'll close in and try to take it from you. I'll see what I can do about reducing the numbers this evening."
As Rand rose, Cai shook his head. "Not tonight. Your leg isn't up to this. We agreed. A few more nights."
Rand padded toward the cave opening, ignoring him. "Rand," Cai said sharply. "No."
Rand's response to that was to pin the ears fully back and give him a full set of teeth this time, an impressive reaction coupled with a hair-raising growl.
"He always makes me pull out the rolled up newspaper." Sighing in resignation, Cai moved to join the wolf at the cave mouth. "Fine."
What happened next was almost too fast for Uthe to follow, even with his vampire senses. When he reached the wolf's side, Cai began to move past him, then pivoted instead. He seized the wolf around the middle. The shifter was so large, it wasn't an easy feat. Though a vampire was stronger than a wolf shifter, the wolf was as large as one of Lyssa's Irish wolfhounds, with three times the massive bulk in shoulders and chest. Rand's head whipped around, his teeth coming close to taking a chunk out of Cai's shoulder, but by then Cai had a steel collar latched around his throat, attached to a chain embedded in the stone floor. The wolf snarled, lunged, and this time made contact, sinking his teeth into Cai's arm.
Keldwyn was on his feet, as was Uthe, but Cai, instead of yanking away, banded both arms around the wolf's neck, pressing against him so his captured and bleeding arm put a strain on the hinge of the wolf's jaw. When the wolf began to struggle, Cai made a shushing noise. "Going to stop being an asshole about this? I'm not going to lose you to a couple jerks getting lucky, just because you don't think I should hunt without you at my back."
His blood was dripping on the floor before the wolf subsided, though the one eye Uthe could see was fiery blue. Cai had cut off enough of his wind that, when the vampire released his grip, he had to ease the wolf to a reclining position on the floor. "There you go. You don't have to make this a fight every damn night, you know. And lick that shit up. Blood's all over our floor."
The wolf's expression said exactly what he could do with his suggestions. Cai turned to Uthe. "I trust the sorceress's opinion of you, my lord. She said you were a Templar Knight. One of the true ones, who never abandoned your oath."
Hearing it was humbling. The sorceress had always treated him like something that crawled over her threshold with six legs, though in time he'd learned that was what passed for affection from her. Rising, Uthe gave the vampire a half bow. "I was and am a Templar Knight. It is not something one leaves behind. Though I have not been able to observe all the tenets of our Rule, I have never stopped honoring them however I can."
"I can vouch for that," Keldwyn spoke, surprising him. The Fae's tone was neutral, though Uthe detected the sardonic edge. "He is tedious about it."
"All right, then." Cai's mouth curved. "This wolf is my family. He can do you serious harm if you get close to him, but since I expect you would still prevail, I need your word you'll watch over him and do him no harm."
"For your hospitality and coffee, it is a small thing to ask," Uthe agreed. "He will come to no harm from us, and we will protect him from any harm that comes this way."
Cai gave him a searching look. "I wouldn't leave him at all, except we did promise to help you, and cutting those numbers is a way to do that."
"Then I will go with you and help you hunt them."
"No thanks. Like most of us, I hunt better alone." He flashed fangs. "I'd also prefer not leaving him bound like that without someone to watch over him. He won't be any trouble to you. I have a way of letting him shift back to human for short periods, but the sorceress gave him something that's keeping him a wolf pretty much full time until he heals. Which means you don't have to worry he'll shift and use thumbs to get out of the collar. You can sleep. Though if he does, best plug your ears. He snores like a freight train."
The wolf snapped, growling menacingly once more. Cai ignored him, though Uthe detected some effort in the indifference. When he left the cave, the wolf lunged against the chain, letting out a short, piercing howl. Up until now, Uthe had detected human awareness in the wolf, but as his distress increased, the animal took over. Both eyes became gold, the blue disappearing.
"Here," Keldwyn said, in a commanding way that jerked the beast's attention to him. The Fae raised a hand. When the wolf's gaze followed the movement, his eyes glazed and his legs gave out beneath him, letting him sink to the floor. A moment later a rumbling snore filled the cave.
Keldwyn's magic always left a lingering heat and scent, like a blown out candle with a tart cranberry scent. Uthe resisted the urge to draw it deeply into his lungs. "He's protective of his vampire," he said.
"As are many servants, like your Mariela," Keldwyn noted. "He'll sleep until his Master's return. I am sorry about your sorceress. You were fond of her. It was in your face when he revealed her death so baldly."
Uthe grimaced. "She was the last of her line, unless she had time to train another. I have been in contact with the family as the magic was passed from woman to woman, all dedicated to this one task. She was the one to find the answer we sought. But beyond that...she was a unique soul."
"What was the task she solved?"
Uthe shook his head. "Not yet. Not until we're in her home." He glanced meaningfully toward the wolf. Even if the creature was unconscious, he was a fully marked servant and Cai could listen to their conversation through him. Understanding, Keldwyn nodded, though Uthe saw his frustration. Understandable, since Uthe didn't care for being outside an information loop either, but sometimes one had to be patient.
The bigger question was who were these men who sought what Uthe was after? Though even that question was less important than who was directing them. He'd know the answer when he confronted them. Like Cai, Uthe expected that to happen as soon as they approached their destination. While he appreciated Cai's help, it chafed to be here while another vampire handled the hunting. But he expected there would be plenty of bodies to go around before dawn came.
"He's a peculiar vampire," Keldwyn commented. "Do you have m
any like him that don't fall within the reach of an overlord?"
"A few, mostly in the mountain or desert regions like this. Lord Mason was outside the purview of the vampire world for the many years he spent in the Sahara, not that I think that would have made much difference to him. Especially with how powerful he is now. Our census of approximately five thousand vampires in the world assumes a certain percentage haven't been counted because they're loners, operating outside areas where we wouldn't cross paths with them. Like Cai, they also take precautions to ensure they are not noticed by humans, one of the biggest flags to put them on the Council's radar. As Cai said, he is not a Trad, but he exhibits some of their tendencies to protect his autonomy. We don't know how many Trads there are beyond those we've included in the five thousand, but their number unfortunately seems to be growing."
"You think the Council should be more concerned about them than they are," Keldwyn recalled the discussions. "Though some on the Council admire them, consider them purists."
"Because they've never met one," Uthe said flatly. "It makes it easy to romanticize them. We are much like animal predators in our instincts and impulses, my lord." He looked toward the wolf. "We have that in common with him. Yet we have a very distinctly humanoid trait. Our sadism. A Trad may consider himself a far more natural version of vampire, but their version is the monster depicted in human horror films. Conscienceless, driven by bloodlust and the pure pleasure of indulging it. The struggles of the victims only fuel the appetite."
Blood throbbed in his temples, his pulse beating strongly in his throat. Damnation, he'd left this behind. That this damn disease would bring all of it back so clearly, so painfully... Truth, there was a cruelty in the design of the world that could stir hopelessness about what lay beyond its making. He understood Cai's feelings on that all too well.
"It sounds as if you will not run out of stories to tell me on our trek. But why don't you take your ease before we proceed to the sorceress's home?" Keldwyn slid down to the ground so his back was against the rock. He stretched his legs out in front of him. "Put your head in my lap. There are no eyes watching us here, and now that we know for sure those eyes are our foes, I could give a fuck about their opinion on man-love."