Hi,
Alexander's back again, only what's he planning to do? And: what was the secret he claimed to know? Find out in this one! :-)
Lara
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Chapter 7
Dark blue eyes, watching with the intensity of hot and cold feathers beating on bare skin. Goose bumps drifting over the back of my neck, appearing with the unexpectedness of a nervous tick.
"Really, little witch, after all that we shared, you will not give me a little honesty? I think I have made myself clear enough. I will, however, spell it out for you."
He started walking a slow circle around me, barely touching the outlines of my walls, long, controlled steps that made no sound.
"I told you once that you could not walk away from our bond. What I said back then, is still valid. You will-"
"Do nothing," I said. "I'm not your human servant. And I'm not your lover."
The last few words were out faster than I planned. In fact, I hadn't planned to say them at all, at least not at this point in time. I turned with him, watched his face, waiting for a reaction, something to happen.
Blue, unforgiving eyes. No reaction. Not even a blink.
"Ah, you believe I came here to rescue you and claim what is mine. You are mistaken, little witch. That is not why I am here." He laughed. "And I did not come here to drag you back to my bed, if that is what you believe." His eyes dropped, then went all the way back up to meet mine. "You are not worth it."
The words made something inside me implode.
"Well, there is the fact that you still owe me," he said. "After all, half of New York knows you as my human servant. But, little witch, and that is the odd thing, that is not the main reason why I came. Whoever first gets to you, will procure and learn whatever information you have. It is in my best interest to prevent either the Circle, or the Inri Brotherhood from getting their hands on it."
The words were cold, equal to the slow, annihilating lilt in his voice. It hurt, more than I liked to admit. I did a mental headshake. I couldn't lose it. Not here, not now.
I did what I always did, a familiar routine I had performed far too often to count. I fortified my heart, built that ring of steel around it like a metallic fortress. Became that me that didn't cry when she felt lonely. The Anna that could see past the death of her parents and move on. The Anna that wasn't hurt by anything or anyone. That part of me that was going to fight for survival, no matter what happened.
"It's pointless, Alexander. The Inri Brotherhood doesn't know anything about our master-human-servant-relationship."
I watched his face carefully. Nothing changed. Not an ounce of emotion, or reaction of a kind.
I was fishing for information, and he probably knew it. The real question I wanted answered was whether he knew about the secret Medici and Chris Hayes were protecting. Since Alexander knew about pretty much everything that went on in New York, I was fairly sure he did know and had for a while. Particularly if I was right about what happened the night Nathanial Norson died.
"We will have plenty of time to discuss it, little witch. You will come with me, without an ounce of protest. Once you are back in my lair again, you will learn the true meaning of loyalty, after giving me all the information you have on the Inri Brotherhood."
I bristled at the commanding tone in his voice. It left no room for argument, suffocating to the point of total annihilation.
"I owe you nothing. Not after what you did." I shook my head. "And I actually believed for a moment you weren't the criminal you are. You made use of the information on Nathanial Norson's murder case for your own purposes. You blackmailed the Circle!"
"Ah. You do know about that," he said slowly, smiling. "Using knowledge gained legally to my own advantage. Tell me, little witch, what is that compared to what the Circle did?"
"Using flashy words is not going to make it better. I know what you did and why. That's all there is to know," I said.
He stopped in front of me, a hair's breadth away from my walls. "Then let's talk about something that might be of interest to you. Three of my most trusted vampires have met true death."
He watched my face, gauging my reaction. "I see that this information is not new to you. Was it your precious leader of the Inri Brotherhood himself, little witch? Or did someone else do the killing for him?"
I looked away, ignored the core of his question. "Who was it? Who was killed, I mean."
Soft laughter that raised goose bumps on the back of my neck. "A spark of interest. Finally. How generous of you. Assuming you are not the one who did the killing. I am not too sure about that at this point in time."
My eyes snapped to his. Did he really think I did it?
His laughter died away. "Leo Goshanger and two of my own." His eyes bored into me, trying to peel apart skin and flesh to see the truth, see if I was lying. "Tell me who did it. You?"
"Of course it wasn't..." I shook my head, licked my lips. "That's not a question I can answer," I finally said, choosing my words carefully. What if I voiced my suspicion and confirmed that it could have been Medici, would Alexander assume I was involved in the murders too? If he hadn't already...
"You cannot. How funny." He looked at me for another long moment. "I do not believe you. How could you not know, when you are his new ally? Sleeping with the enemy. What a curious term that is, but it does apply to the situation," he said evenly. Something in his eyes flashed up. "How quickly you changed sides to save yourself. Do you not have a sense of honor?"
Sleeping with the enemy. I laughed. I wasn't even going to comment on that one.
"Funny you should be talking about honor," I said. "Weren't you the one who was perfectly okay with using sensitive information to his own advantage a few instants ago? Or does that only apply to people like you?"
He smiled. "Touchè, little witch. What else have you learned during your stay with Medici? Talk, now. Currently I am granting you the right to speak of your own will. That may change."
I took a deliberate step forwards, testing the grounds. "See, and that's exactly where you lose me Alexander, emphasis on lose. If there's one thing I learned in the last few weeks it's this: I won't be used. No more. Not by you, not by the Circle, not by anyone in this city. You want something from me, you ask. Don't even try to push me, or I'll-"
A popping noise, followed by another. Pockets of reality, tears in space and time opening and closing in quick-beat-succession.
Rogues.
A shaft of electricity, smashing into open space. The sizzling noise whizzed past me in the aftermath of the attack. I stared at the spot where Alexander was standing instants ago. Gone.
Looked up and around. The alley was a mess of dark magic and potency, but there was a pattern discernable. They were keeping Alexander away from me. I veered off to the right, lunging for the rogue witch with all I got. I opened my walls of air, pummeled into him, and put them back into place. And not instants too late.
Alexander crashed into them the moment they closed. Then another bolt of electricity, hitting way to close, and he blurred into vamp speed. Then the sound of boots pounding on asphalt, shouting, and dark magic crackling like a bloody fist hitting bones.
No time to wonder. Get yourself out.
I closed my eyes, gathered myself, breathing evenly in the mayhem and destruction around me. The world retreated, slid past me in a blur as I centered myself. Seconds ticked by, stretched closer to minutes. I squeezed my eyes shut, fisted my hands. The portal snapped open.
The last thing I saw before the netherdepths of the portal swallowed us was Alexander. A spark of emotion on his face. Rage.
* * *
I stared at the spot between Medici's shoulder blades, willing him to give me an answer. We were back in the tunnel system underneath the city, had melted into the shadow existence of New York's unwanted. If I hadn't seen the injuries on three of the rogues and the human-shaped white blanket they carried in, I might have believed our nightly trip to the warehouse never happened. There was no agitation or fear in the rogues' eyes when we returned to one of our hiding places. If I saw any emotion at all, it was a hint of excitement. A low, cooling spark of adrenaline.
Not so me. I was a mess. Running into the head vampire made me lose my nerves in the worst moment. If the rogues hadn't been there I would have... Yeah, what would I have done? I shoved the thought away, focusing on the here and now. I needed answers. Fast.
"I retrieved the null bombs for you. You owe me an answer," I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest.
"I heard you the first time, Anna Johnson. State your question." He said it without turning around.
State your question. I snorted. There were several questions burning in the front of my mind, all of them vital and important. I thought I made up my mind which one I was going to pick, which one needed answering the most. I asked an entirely different one.
"You said the Circle was looking for me, even before you forced me into that portal with you. I want to know why."
"You visited Chris Hayes a few weeks ago," he said. "You were on their radar before that, but I think that was when they started tracking you. Now as to the reasons why? You know as much as I that liaisons between witches and vampires, powerful vampires in particular, have always been prohibited by the Circle. They believed you might be more than Alexander's lover."
For a second I stared at him, unable and unwilling to respond. I gathered my wits, pulled them together and straightened my back. "Reasons. You said reasons. There's more than one."
"They had a second theory. They suspected you were working against the Circle. That you were in fact spying for me." He said it artlessly, without the rise of suspension I would have expected it had to go with it.
I snorted. "Some force. They couldn't be more off target if they tried."
"Are they, Anna Johnson?"
"I'm not Alexander's lover," I said testily.
"I wasn't talking about the head vampire," the Raven said.
"I wasn't spying for you either," I said flatly.
He turned around. "Maybe you were, without being aware of it."
I stared at him blankly. What the hell?
"I need all the information I can get from someone who is or was on the inside." He laughed. "Don't look at me like that. Quid pro quo. Give me what I want to know and I'll not only teach you how to use dark magic. I'll give you protection from the Circle and the head vamp. I will give you access to papers and books on Pentagrams only the highest ranking Circle members have access to."
I stilled, then forced myself to breathe. Act like I didn't want to know what kind of information he had been withholding so far. Did he really have valuable information on what I might be, or was in the middle of becoming? I steeled myself. If I telegraphed too much interest in the subject it would be just another weapon in his hands.
"Who says I need any of it?"
He laughed softly. "Whether you like it or not, Anna, you're one of us now. Unwanted and a criminal. Just like us," Medici said.
I bristled. "I'm not a criminal!"
He raised an eyebrow. "By whose standards? The Circle's? Or yours? Justice, just like the blind, absolute belief in facts, is a two-edged sword. It can change and vary from vantage point. Your magic is what it is, yes, but what's more, it is what you believe it is. The names and terms someone else, a governing body like the Circle, selects are nothing. The duplicitous world view they're trying to force on you is nothing."
He spread his hands. "Are they wrong or right? It's for you to decide. But never forget, that they're not yours." He laced his hands behind his back. "Stop thinking like a novice in the Circle's Academy and start thinking for yourself. If you want to survive in this city after what you did, you better follow my advice. In order for you not to become the hunted, Anna Johnson, you must become the hunter."
I stared at him for what might have amounted to a full minute. For once I wanted him to be less reasonable, to rave and rage like a mad dog shaking its head.
Maybe then the words coming out of his mouth wouldn't make that much sense. Maybe then I would simply shut my ears to them and believe what I was doing was the right thing without second-guessing myself.