There was just the small problem of his treason against his new "Sire". Even in his mind he spat the word. Rage flared anew at Helene for putting him in the position of being beholden to the one man he hated most in the world. He"d hated Julius first because Simone had been in l.u.s.t with him, hated him because, right up until Julius killed her, she had still l.u.s.ted after him and would"ve forsaken all other lovers for Julius. Then Julius had been made a Master, the youngest ever, because he"d gained the power over Vampires from Simone. Even the Princeps themselves were scared of Julius. There was no single Vampire who could stand against him, no other Master who could take him without a vast army at his back. And then fate dealt Caspian the most vicious of blows. Gabrielle in Julius"s clutches, in l.u.s.t with him too. He wouldn"t allow it to happen again. He wouldn"t be usurped by Julius again. He would find a way to even the score.
But first he needed to know if it was safe to be seen at Court.
Julius ended the call, hoping Gabi would do as he"d suggested. She"d been livid, truly furious. He could hear it in her voice. Whoever was responsible for killing supernaturals in the City and attacking Alexander wasn"t going to escape her wrath for long. But even over the phone, he could tell she was tired; in fact, their telepathic bond had grown so strong that he could feel her weariness even though she was physically on the other side of the City. She needed rest, but telling her to rest would"ve just been counterproductive. He was learning more about her every day, but one of the things he"d learnt early on was that she hated doing what she was told. So instead he"d pointed out that Razor hadn"t been home for a decent meal in over twenty-four hours.
"Good ploy," Alexander noted, looking up from his computer tablet. "Do you think it"ll work?" His second in command was looking much like himself again. His skin was back to its usual pale pearlescence; his hair was cropped a little shorter than normal, but long enough that no one would know he"d been bald just a few hours ago.
Julius shrugged. "If no one disturbs her. If she allows herself to relax for just a few minutes, the exhaustion will win. I"m trusting the pets to do their part."
"As long as she doesn"t decide to take the dog for a run instead of curling up on the couch," Alexander muttered, standing and inspecting his hands once again. He"d done it a hundred times already.
Julius could understand why. He"d seen Alexander"s condition when Gabi climbed down into that accursed hole. He"d never seen a Vampire recover from that level of sun exposure. He"d been convinced that Alexander was already dead. And if Gabi hadn"t been there, his oldest, closest friend would"ve died the true death today. Nothing Julius could"ve done would"ve saved him. They both knew that.
Alexander drew an unnecessary breath and shook his head. "It"s incredible, isn"t it?"
Julius knew his friend wasn"t just speaking of the healing powers of her blood. Alexander was experiencing what he"d experienced the first time he"d taken blood from her.
He"d told Gabi that Alexander was fine and resting. In truth, Alexander was hyped, unable to sit still for more than a few seconds at a time.
"You told me it was like nothing you"d ever known or heard of, but this..." Alexander continued. "This is indescribable. No wonder others would kill for this. If any of them knew the true extent..." He drifted off. Alexander had been quietly protective of Gabi before, after they found out what she was, but he was going to be obsessive after this. He might act the devil-may-care male chauvinist, but he harboured a secret protective streak a mile wide. Gabi wasn"t going to understand; it was probably going to p.i.s.s her off. She felt she had more than enough men in her life trying to keep her from harm, though Kyle at least had other things to worry about, and his Wolf was more interested in keeping Trish safe than Gabi, but Julius more than made up for that lack.
"Do you think it"s made me stronger?" Alexander asked. "Vampire strong, I mean," he clarified, though Julius already knew what he was talking about.
"You know the answer to that," he told his friend. "You"re awake in the middle of the afternoon. You have to be at Master level for that."
Alexander paced the length of the room, a ball of nervous energy. Between him and Gabi, Julius was going to need a new carpet soon.
"I"ve always healed quickly, better than most Vampires. Do you think that will be my strength? Like your Vampire control?" He was excited, but anxious as well. And distracted, too distracted to notice that he was moving so fast that even Julius had to concentrate to see his movements. To other supernaturals he"d seem like a blur, to humans, probably invisible until he stopped moving.
"It"s hard to know for sure just yet," Julius admitted. "Don"t forget you also just had an intake of Magi blood. Very few Vampires ever get that honour, so it"s possible there"ll be side effects from Athena"s blood too. Any changes as a result of her blood may not be as long term as those that Gabrielle"s blood brings. Hopefully we"ll know the full repercussions in a couple of days."
Gabi hadn"t only saved his best friend, she"d also solved one of his most pressing personal worries. By fast-tracking Alexander"s power level to that of Master, she"d unintentionally taken a weight off his shoulders. He no longer had to fret over what would happen to his Clan if he wasn"t around to lead them.
"I"m tending towards thinking your speed of movement will be your strongest talent, but we have to keep any changes quiet, my friend," Julius warned, watching as the other Vampire finally stilled, thinking it through.
"Yes, you"re right," Alexander agreed after a few seconds. "It wouldn"t be good if others found out. Those who know she"s Dhampir will know what"s happened. She"ll be in more danger."
Julius nodded, glad Alexander understood. "It hasn"t been terribly difficult to hide the increase in my own power level. It"s been blown out of proportion by the gossips in the past already, so any unusual abilities I have don"t require explanation. But it"ll be more difficult for you. You"re going to have to be extremely vigilant. No one but those closest to us can know."
Alexander suddenly looked a little daunted. "I"m going to need your help."
"You know you have it," Julius a.s.sured him. "Now, we must decide who"s coming with us tonight to the meeting the Magi have called." Gabi hadn"t just called to tell him about identifying the Werewolf corpse, she also had news from the Magi High Council. "They"ve asked that we keep numbers to a minimum and only those we trust with our lives and the lives of the entire City. It sounds ominous."
CHAPTER 12.
The mood in the conference room was sombre to the point of bleakness. It was the largest gathering of different supernatural races that Gabi had ever seen: the SMV Council, the Magi High Council, all the current SMV hunters, Gabi, Julius and a small entourage of his most trusted guards and employees, including Patrick; extra representatives from the Shape-shifter Elders, who rarely met with anyone outside their race, and finally the Werewolf Alliance in its entirety, including Betas and Alpha females. Gabi had made an executive decision and invited Mac. Byron hadn"t contested, and Julius and Kyle had backed up her decision. So Mac was sitting in their little knot of representatives, outwardly cool and calm, but his accelerated heartbeat and the tension in his jaw gave away his uneasiness.
Large as it was, there wasn"t enough room at the conference table for everyone, so only those considered important enough had seats directly at the table, the rest were relegated to seats behind the VIPs, some even left standing. No one complained, though. Gabi, Julius and Alexander were the only ones from the Vampire contingent not relegated to the back. Kyle next to them was representing both the Hunters and the Werewolf Alliance. Athena and Irene, also representing more than one party, were seated between the SMV members and the Magi High Council. Athena looked drawn and tired, and not solely from being a blood donor earlier in the day.
Once people stopped filing through the doors, a pair of werewolf guards closed them and took up sentinel positions on either side. Silence descended as Irene stood and began an unintelligible chant. Gabi felt a slight pressure against her eardrums and then a light pop as the spell settled over the room, sealing the room from prying ears and eyes of the non-physical variety. Irene glanced down at the rest of the Magi Council, as though for strength, before beginning to speak.
"Ladies, gentlemen," she said, turning her gaze towards the rest of them. "You are all here under the gravest of circ.u.mstances. We have never called a meeting of this kind before, and that is both a wonderful and terrible thing. Wonderful in that we have such a strong alliance between all the races, human and other, something that would"ve been unheard of just a few decades ago. Terrible, because what we"ve called you all together for is the most serious threat we"ve faced in many centuries. The threat we"re here to discuss has the potential to not only affect the City, but every town and city across the planet."
She drew a breath, collecting herself. "Some of you already know that there is something here in the City that the Magi protect. To us it is known as the Source. It is the strongest pool of magical energy on Earth. It is the mainstay of power that feeds the Veil and keeps demons on their side of the Void. It goes without saying what would happen if control of this resource fell into the wrong hands. It has been the responsibility of the Magi High Council and the most senior of us in the City for over three hundred years. We"ve spent centuries protecting it, keeping its whereabouts carefully hidden. A task we had been successful at. Until today."
She closed her eyes, weariness etched in every line of her face. "Today its whereabouts was discovered by some of those we have been seeking to protect it from. Today the Maleficus Mariska called forth a demon known to us as a Seeker. Our combined forces dispatched this very demon in the early hours of the morning during the infiltration attempt at the City Cathedral; we sent it back to the Etherworld. We had no idea she would try again so soon." She shook her head sadly, self-recrimination clear in her expression. "Mariska"s second attempt was successful. The Seeker was sent on its mission and returned to its controller with the precise whereabouts of the Source."
Gabi felt dread, cold and dark, fill her chest. This was the mischief the Maleficus was up to while they were chasing their tails, trying to find Alexander. They weren"t just up s.h.i.t creek, they were up s.h.i.t river, and they didn"t even have a raft let alone a paddle.
"What Mariska has been able to achieve is not possible without a very specific kind of magic. Reports of bloodless non-human bodies turning up in the City have confirmed our worst fears. Mariska is using Blood Magic to magnify her powers. We suspect she has joined with a particularly dangerous group of Dark Magi led by two who call themselves the Elders and are individually known as Deimos and Phobos. No one knows their exact origins, when they were born, or how they came to their knowledge of the arcane, only that reports of their activities have been filed for more than a hundred years. They"ve been experimenting with Blood and other Dark Magic for decades, finding ways to extend their natural lives and magnify their arcane powers. Drinking the blood of Vampires and using the blood of Werewolves for Dark Rites has made them far more powerful than they have any right to be."
A slight buzz of low, excited voices travelled around the room. While Gabi and those who"d travelled to the Princeps Court had found out the truth of the Dark Magi"s use of Blood Magic, most others were still under the carefully propagated impression that Magi couldn"t partake of Vampire or Werewolf blood and live. The Magi present were all stony faced, obviously either having had that knowledge prior to tonight or having been recently informed.
Irene ignored the interruption. "The abilities of these particular Dark Magi are already quite formidable, but if they were to gain access to the Source itself, they would become unstoppable. They would have eternal life, unlimited power and unrestrained access to the demon world. The Dark Elders have been searching for the Source with increasing urgency over the last few years, so we a.s.sume their time is running out, that they"ve reached the end of their unnaturally long lives. They will do anything to seize control of the Source. Mariska has fallen into their hands at exactly the right time for them, the wrong time for us."
"Why have you had no warning of this? What are the Oracles doing?" one of the Werewolf Pack leaders demanded, a few others nodding their support of his question.
"Elder Deimos is incredibly adept at masking spells; we a.s.sume he"s been keeping their activities and intentions carefully hidden. The Oracles have known of a threat and had seen Mariska being approached by other Magi, but there was no indication of what her path would be, or even what they were offering her. They had no idea her newest union would be such a dark and powerful one. Either they have taught her to shield as well as they do, or the Dark Elders themselves are also in the City."
"What do you foresee as the worst-case scenario here, Irene?" Byron asked. "What do these Elders want?"
"They want to upset the balance of power. They want to be the ones in control. With infinite power at their fingertips, they will start by reinvigorating their own health and increasing their own personal abilities, and then they will start recruiting supernatural soldiers and bending humans to their will. If they have Mariska on their side, they will be able to bring in as many demons as they need to a.s.sume control of all the inhabitants of the City. We fear they"re not concerned with keeping a low profile, that they have no worries about human casualties or being uncovered as non-human. The power would enable them to control the mind of every person in the City. No one on Earth would be able to stand against them in a direct attack. Their next objective would be to execute every Castus Magus they could find, then start on other defenders of the City, like the SMV, the Werewolves, Julius"s Clan." She looked at each of them as she spoke. "Once they"d cowed the population here, we a.s.sume they would move onto other cities, spreading their malicious tentacles to as many places as possible. Their loyal followers will be rewarded with power beyond measure and anyone defying them will be annihilated."
There were a few seconds of shocked silence.
"So if these Dark Elders can use the power of the Source to do all of this, why can"t you use the power to stop them from getting to it in the first place? With all that power at your fingertips, why do you need us?" Another of the Werewolf Alphas spoke up.
Irene suddenly sat down in her seat. An abrupt, uncoordinated movement, like a marionette who"s child puppeteer had suddenly lost interest in the game. The other Magi looked at her in shock, and Athena began to stand, her hand stretched out in concern towards the older woman.
Then the doors to the conference room swung open as though blown by a strong gust of wind.
The Werewolf guards were thrown off balance, and one tumbled to the ground. The other stumbled back but managed to keep his feet under him. A person appeared in the open doorway, pausing to look at the two guards with disdain before striding nonchalantly into the room. The Werewolf and Vampire guards jumped to attention, ready to defend against an attack, but paused as one as they saw that the intruder was a blond, teenage boy dressed in jeans, thick-soled black boots, a ripped T-shirt and wearing dark sungla.s.ses.
"Benedict!" Gabi exclaimed, sitting forward in surprise as she heard Athena gasp from the other side of the table.
The boy gave her a mocking bow, straightening with a nonchalant grace. "Consort Gabrielle," he said in formal greeting. "I"m pleased to see you in good health."
The rest of the people in the room were frozen, unsure what was happening or who this person was. Before anyone could react, Benedict turned to face the Alpha who"d just asked why the Magi needed help from the rest of them.
"They need your help because they fear accessing the power of the Source," he told the burly man. "They don"t trust each other enough to allow one of them to fully utilise the power. I think they were the ones to originally coin that saying. You know the one: Absolute power corrupts absolutely." He made little air quotations and turned his voice raspy and ominous before chuckling darkly.
It was Julius who recovered his composure first. Standing, he turned to the Magi High Councillors. "Ladies, gentlemen." His eyes made a quick sweep around the room, encompa.s.sing everyone. "May I introduce Benedict. He is one of the members of the Princep Court, the ruling council of Vampires."
Gabi watched several of the Magi"s mouths actually fall open. She was forced to turn a snort of amus.e.m.e.nt into a cough, and garnered a mischievous grin from Benedict. Byron looked at Gabi, consternation in his expression, not sure how to proceed. At Gabi"s rea.s.suring nod, he subsided; the other Hunters followed his lead. The Werewolf Alphas looked to Kyle, who gave a barely perceptible shake of his head, and they too stayed in their seats, not fully relaxing, however. Athena was standing, her mouth also open, but not in shock or disbelief, more like she"d been about to say something and caught herself.
"What did you do to Irene?" she finally demanded, though that obviously wasn"t what she"d first wanted to say. The older Magus was slumped in her seat, looking pale and ill. And as confused as the rest of them.
"My apologies, Priestess," he said with a slightly contrite nod towards Irene. "I simply intended to break the protection spell. It"s possible I used more force than was necessary. I don"t often pit my skills against other Magi. I think I"ve forgotten how to be subtle." He smiled winningly at Irene, but Athena"s mouth was set in a thin, stern line. She wasn"t being taken in by his charm and wasn"t swallowing his line about accidental use of power.
"But...he said you"re a...Vampire," one of the other Magi Councillors stuttered, pointing at Julius but staring at Benedict. She was a matronly looking woman in demure clothing, but Gabi had heard she was as tough as demon hide and twice as unpleasant if you got on the wrong side of her.
"He is a Vampire," Athena spoke up, turning to address her peers, "but he is also a Magus. Turned in his teens, as you can see." She waved a hand in Benedict"s direction, not quite as collected as usual. "Which seems to have enabled him to survive the Turning, and with his powers intact. I met and worked with him on our trip to the Princep Court a few months ago," she said, a touch of defensiveness entering her tone as the other Magi turned their gazes on her. Gabi didn"t understand the mixture of censure, disappointment and disbelief on the faces of her peers.
"I could show you my fangs if that helps," Benedict drawled, jamming his hands in his back pockets and grinning with teenage arrogance as he blew and popped a small bubble with his chewing gum.
A hubbub of angry and anxious voices started up, but too many for anyone to be heard clearly. Gabi pushed her chair back and stood up next to Julius. She tried to speak and then shout over the hubbub, but her voice was drowned out. The gentle charge in the air that always hummed naturally around Julius suddenly flared to life like a sudden electric storm, crackling dangerously against her skin.
"Enough," he said, his voice barely more than a low growl.
Gabi pursed her lips, trying to hide her amus.e.m.e.nt as the entire room fell instantly silent. "Benedict, please don"t take this the wrong way," she said into the strained silence, addressing the c.o.c.ky Vampire, "but what the f.u.c.k are you doing here?"
"I"m here to help, of course." He smirked at her before shifting his gaze to find Athena. "Among other things." His face suddenly went predatory, his eyes hungry. An instant later his expression was back to careful, amused nonchalance, the glimpse so quick Gabi wondered if she"d imagined it. "A little birdie whispered that you"d attracted the eyes of the Elders. The Elders and I have a history. I"d prefer that they didn"t get their repugnant little tentacles into the flow of the Source either."
"But how do you even know of the Source?" Athena asked.
Gabi was more interested in how he knew about the Dark Elders and their predicament when the rest of them had only just found out, but she figured she"d be able to ask him that later, in private. It was unlikely he"d be staying anywhere but at Julius"s estate. That is if the Magi Council didn"t try to run him out of the City.
"There isn"t much magic in this world that I don"t know about." His eyes twinkled with challenge as he answered Athena. "I keep telling you that, but you just don"t seem to hear me."
"How exactly do you think you can help us?" one of the male Magi High Councillors asked, his att.i.tude a little on the snooty side for someone addressing a being centuries older than himself, but Gabi doubted the Magus could sense the Vampire"s age and power like she could. And she knew he was keeping his full power very tightly controlled. Once, when they"d first met, Benedict had allowed her to feel the full magnitude of his power. She"d almost collapsed under the weight of it. As powerful as Julius was, his power was still young and immature compared to Benedict"s. She was pretty confident that Benedict was the only Vampire in the world who could resist Julius"s commands.
"I can give you the insight you lack," Benedict told him in a flat voice. "Your Clairvoyants may not be able to penetrate their masking spells, but I can. And I can tell you that Deimos and Phobos," he sneered the names, "are not yet in the City, but their lapdogs are. They"re the ones shielding your Maleficus."
"Who do you mean?" Athena asked.
"Gemini, of course," Benedict told her almost pityingly.
Gabi flinched, the impact of the name making her spine go rigid.
"The other Princeps are under the impression that Gemini work for them, but in truth they"ve been the Dark Ones" underlings for several decades now. Adepts, to use the correct terminology. Learning all they can of the Dark Arts and Blood Magic. They"ve learnt much, but not quite enough to challenge their Elders yet, so for now they travel the world being the eyes, ears and hands of their masters."
"Gemini are here? In the City?" Gabi reiterated, not quite suppressing a shudder. If they were mere underlings of the Elders, the reality of the danger surrounding them had become crystal clear.
Benedict tilted his head in a semblance of a nod, but didn"t reply.
"Do you know what their next move is?" Julius asked. At least one of them had some wits about him.
"Now that they have the location of the Source, they"ll take a step back, taking time to put together a plan of action, hoping you haven"t noticed the intrusion," Benedict answered without hesitation. "It will be the calm before the storm. When they come back at you, it will be with everything and everyone they can bring together at one time. They know this is their one and only chance. They"re running out of time."
"Who else can they call together?" a Pack Leader asked. "What kind of an army can they bring against us?"
"There is an underground network of Dark Magi. Some of those will work with them, some won"t. They have Vampire and Werewolf slaves, and will expend the energy to enslave more now that they can virtually taste the power of the Source. And they have your Maleficus. With her they can bring over as many demons as they can control. I guess you can count yourself lucky that Dante is no longer walking the earth." He glanced towards Julius, his expression unreadable.
"But surely they couldn"t control more than one demon each," one of the other Magi spoke up from the shadows.
"That is only true if they stick to Castus Magic," Benedict said pityingly. "The Dark Ones are using Blood Magic, not only in their rites, but consuming it to magnify their own powers and extend their lives." When there were no gasps of shock and outrage, he raised an intrigued eyebrow.
"The Magi informed all of us of that little deception just a few minutes ago," Gabi filled him in.
His grin returned.
"How do you know so much about Blood Magic?" another of the Magi ventured, in a small but steady voice.
"Because," Benedict sighed, like a teacher who was tired of trying to explain a basic concept to a particularly ignorant student, "I have the blood of a Magi running through my veins. I am as powerful as a Magi who consumes Vampire blood all day, every day. My magical abilities have been feeding on Vampire blood for over nine hundred years." He only barely kept the smugness from his face as he paused to let the room digest that bombsh.e.l.l.
"What exactly are your abilities?" Irene had finally recovered enough to begin her own interrogation and, by the look on her face, was preparing to do just that.
"He"s an Enhancer," Athena said before Benedict could answer. She held her hand up when others made sounds of protest, cutting off any disagreement. "Trust me."
"Among other talents," he agreed with a cryptic smile.
"And those would be?" Irene asked.
"It would be quicker if I simply told you what I couldn"t do." Coming from anyone else, Gabi would"ve called his statement arrogance, but in Benedict"s case, he was merely voicing a fact. He"d told Athena about his power of Enhancement, but Gabi had glimpsed the full extent of his power the very first time they met, and she knew, without a doubt, that he was capable of far more than he let on. But then a tiny twitch of his left eye before he dropped his gaze to the floor for a moment made Gabi pause. She was almost certain the twitch was a tell of some kind. Not a lie, Irene would pick up on that, but...something. She stowed the thought for later consideration.
"So we are to believe that you"ve arrived to help us out of the goodness of your heart? Why should we trust you?" Irene asked. "What is to stop you claiming the Source for yourself once you find out where it is?"
"I already know where it is. I could feel its pull the moment I entered the City. And I"m here, in front of you, not claiming it for myself. You know the truth when you hear it, Priestess. I can see it," he said, his gaze boring into hers. "Can you see any deception in me? Have you sensed any evil intent in my words, any dishonesty?"
Irene paused. "No, I haven"t," she finally admitted. "But if you"re as powerful as you claim, you could be strong enough to blind me. We know nothing of you or your skills. You are one of a kind. We have no idea what you"re capable of."
Benedict suddenly and unexpectedly began to laugh out loud. "No, Lady Priestess, I"m not one of a kind. In fact, I"m not even the only Vampire Magus in this room." His darkly humorous gaze shifted to settle on Julius.
Gabi"s heart stuttered, raw intuition slamming into her hard enough to stun her. Her mouth popped open, but the rest of her body froze as she looked up at the man she loved, the man she thought she knew.
CHAPTER 13.
"What do you mean, Benedict?" Gabi heard Athena"s voice demand, but she couldn"t move, didn"t hear if Benedict responded. Then others were talking, but she couldn"t make out any of the individual words. Her mind was racing through all the moments she"d spent with Julius over the past months, picking out tiny details, small events, previously insignificant facts. It all fitted perfectly. How had she not made the connection before? Did he know? Had he been keeping it from her? There was an uncomfortable sensation in her chest, and she realised she needed to breathe. She concentrated and made her lungs work, air in, pause, air out. Repeat. Somehow she still wasn"t getting quite enough oxygen. The ring on her left hand felt like it was burning her. Then a soft growl in her ear.
"Lea." A pause, then again, more urgently. "Lea, breathe, slowly."
"Gabi, are you all right?" Kyle"s voice muttered in her other ear. "What"s Benedict talking about?"
With a huge effort Gabi subdued the storm in her mind. Avoiding Julius"s and Benedict"s eyes, she sought and found Byron"s gaze across the table. She stared pointedly at him, and he nodded, understanding.