The Omega's call was a screaming demand now, that god-awful tickling a roar across Mr. X's flesh, but he wasn't answering. He was going to get himself killed tonight. But only in the right way.
Butch lifted his head from his latest victim's ash pile and began to retch in horrid, full-torso heaves. His body felt as it had back when he'd just woken up in the clinic however long ago. Contaminated. Stained. Dirty beyond bleaching.
God... what if he'd taken in too much? What if he'd reached the point of no return?
As he vomited, he felt, though did not see, V come over. Forcing his head up, Butch groaned, "Help me..."
"I'm going to, trahyner. Give me your hand." As Butch held his palm up in despair, Vishous whipped off his glove and grabbed on good and hard. V's energy, that beautiful, white light, poured down Butch's arm and ripped through him in a blast, cleansing, renewing.
United by their clasped hands, they became again the two halves, the light and the dark. The Destroyer and the Savior. A whole.
Butch took all V had to give. And when it was over, he didn't want to let go, afraid if the connection was broken the evil would somehow come back.
"You okay?" V said softly.
"I am now." God, his voice was hoarse as hell from the inhaling. Maybe also from the gratitude.
V gave a yank and Butch shot upright to his feet. As he let himself fall back against the alley's brick wall, he discovered the fighting was over.
"Nice work for a civilian," Rhage said.
Butch glanced to the left, thinking the brother was talking to him, but then he saw Rehvenge. The male was slowly bending over and picking up a sheath from the ground. With an elegant move, he took the red-bladed sword in his hand and slid it home to the pummel. Ah... that cane was also a weapon.
"Thanks," Rehv replied. Then his amethyst eyes shifted over to Butch.
As the two of them stared at each other, Butch realized they hadn't really met up since the night Marissa had fed.
"Hey, man," Butch said, putting his palm out.
Rehvenge walked over, leaning heavily on his cane. As the two of them shook, everyone took a deep breath.
"So, cop," Rehv said, "mind if I ask what you were doing to those slayers?"
A whimpering sound cut off any reply, causing them all to look at the Dumpster across the way.
"You can come out, boys," Rhage said. "Place is clear."
The hotshot blond pre-trans and his rented meat shuffled into the light. Both of them looked like they'd been put through a dishwasher: they were damp with sweat in spite of the cold, their hair and clothes all messed up.
Rehvenge's hard face registered surprise. "Lash, why aren't you in training now? Your father's going to have a shit fit that you were down here instead of - "
"He's taking a hiatus from classes," Rhage muttered dryly.
"To deal drugs," Butch added. "Check his pockets."
Rhage went in for some frisk action, and Lash was too shocked out to protest. The result was a wad of cash as big as the kid's head and a handful of little cellophane packets.
Rehv's eyes glowed with angry purple light. "Give that shit to me, Hollywood - the powder, not the green." When Rhage handed the stuff over, Rehv cracked one of the packets, licked his pinkie, and stuck it inside. After he put his finger on his tongue, he grimaced and spat. Then he jabbed his cane at the kid. "You're not welcome here anymore."
That little news flash seemed to shake Lash out of his stupor. "Why not? It's a free country."
"First of all, this is my house, that's why. Second, not that I need any other reason, the shit in those bags is contaminated and I'm willing to bet you're responsible for the rash of ODs we've had lately. So like I said, you're not welcome here anymore. I won't have punks like you spoiling my stream of commerce." Rehv stuffed the baggies in his coat pocket and glanced at Rhage. "What are you going to do with him?"
"Drive him home."
Rehv smiled coldly. "How convenient for us all."
Abruptly, Lash fell into whimper mode. "But we're not going to tell my father - "
"Everything," Rehvenge snapped. "Trust me, your daddy's going to know f**king everything."
Lash's knees wobbled. And then the BMOC passed out cold.
Marissa walked into the Princeps Council meeting, not caring that for once everyone looked at her.
Then again, they'd never seen her in pants or with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. So surprise, surprise.
She took a seat, opened up her brand-new briefcase, and started going through applications for residence monitors. Although... she wasn't really seeing anything. She was exhausted, not just from the work or the stress but because she really had to feed. Soon.
Oh, God. The idea of it made her sick with sadness, and she sank into thoughts of Butch. As she pictured him, that persistent, foggy echo in the back of her head returned. The thing was like a little bell chiming, reminding her of... what?
A hand landed on her shoulder. As she jumped, Rehv sat down next to her.
"Just me." His amethyst eyes passed over her face and her hair. "It's good to see you."
"You, too." She smiled a little, then glanced away, wondering whether she would have to go back to using his vein. Ah... hell. Of course she would.
"What's doing, tahlly? You okay?" he asked smoothly. The question was so casual, she got the eerie sense he knew exactly how upset she was and somehow knew the cause. He'd always read her so well for some reason.
As she opened her mouth, the council leahdyre's gavel pounded down at the other end of the glossy table. "I'd like to bring the meeting to order."
The voices in the library dried up fast, and Rehv leaned back in his chair, a bored expression suffusing his hard face. With elegant, powerful hands, he folded his sable coat around his legs, overlapping the thing as if the room were thirty below, not a balmy seventy.
Marissa shut her briefcase and settled in, realizing that she'd assumed a similar pose to his, just without all the fur. Good heavens, she thought. How times have changed. Once she'd been terrified of these vampires. Utterly intimidated. Now, as she looked around at the exquisitely gowned females and the formally dressed males, she was just... bored by it all. Tonight, the glymera and the Princeps Council seemed like nothing more than an antiquated social nightmare no longer relevant to her life. Thank God.
The leahdyre smiled and nodded to a doggen who stepped forward. In the servant's hands was a sheet of parchment stretched over an ebony board. Long streamers of silk ribbon hung from the document, the various colors reflecting each of the six originating families. Marissa's line was pale blue.
The leahdyre looked around the table, his eyes studiously skipping over Marissa. "Now that we have the full council here, I would like to entertain the first order of business, said business to concern the passage of the recommendation to the king on the matter of mandatory sehclusion for all unmated females. First, as per the rules of procedure, we will give leave for commentary from the nonvoting members herein this room."
There was quick assent from everyone... except for Rehvenge. Who was very clear about how he felt.
In the pause following his terse rejection of the motion, Marissa could feel Havers's stare on her. She kept her mouth shut.
"Well done, council," the leahdyre said. "I shall now call the roll of the six voting princeps." As each name was read, the corresponding princeps rose, gave the consent of his or her bloodline and affixed the seal of the family's ring upon the parchment. This happened without a glitch five times. And then the last name was spoken. "Havers, blooded son of Wallen, blooded grandson of..."
As her brother rose from his chair, Marissa rapped her knuckles sharply on the table. All eyes shot to her. "Wrong name."
The leahdyre's eyes went so wide she was quite sure he could see behind himself. And he was so aghast at her interruption, he was speechless as she smiled a little and glanced at Havers. "You may sit down, physician," she said.
"I beg your pardon," the leahdyre stammered.
Marissa got to her feet. "It's been so long since we've done one of these votes... not since Wrath's father died." She leaned forward on her hands as she pegged the leahdyre's face with a level stare. "And back then, centuries ago, my father lived and cast our family's vote. So obviously that is why you are confused."
The leahdyre looked at Havers in a panic. "Perhaps you will inform your sister she is out of order - "