Vampire Huntress - The Damned Part 16

"After so many years, might a lengthy discussion wait until near dawn?" he asked, breathing the question.

She smiled as his fangs crested and she stroked his dark, curly hair away from his face. "You came to me as Achilles," she murmured.

"You have caught the irony of this choice, yes?"

"It was very, very sweet of you to do that," she said in a soft, breathy whisper.

"You were always my weakness from the moment I laid eyes on you... you know that. Invincible to all but you."

She smiled and he traced her mouth with the trembling pa.s.s of his thumb."At least I can still make you smile, even if I can't bend your will to commit to me. I'll settle for that much right now." He studied her face, his thumb etching a distant memory into it. "When I look at you, I think of our son. How is he?"

"Well," she whispered, her gaze becoming pained. "Still resentful of his banishment sentence, but he seems resigned to serve it without incident."

The Chairman nodded. "He gets that from my side. The ability to endure until opportunity knocks. But I still think it was harsh to imprison a being with such potential and pa.s.sion for life into a realm practically devoid of sensory-"

"Cain killed his brother." She looked at him hard, stepped back from him, and wrapped her arms around her waist. "Don't ever forget that, Abel may have been Adam's progeny, but he was still my child... one who, like Cain, I loved with my complete heart and soul, Dante. Do not minimize what Cain did."

He neared her and delicately collected her into his arms and stroked her hair. "I'm sorry. I know you were always torn... This is why I didn't want to belabor a conversation laden with guilt and pain when there are so many other pleasurable things we could do tonight. Let me make it up to you now."

She shook her head no.

He sighed and loosened his hold on her. "Yes. I forgot. How is Adam? Still coruling the male Neteru round table with Ausar and wielding an iron fist, or has he mellowed, like me, with age?" Jealousy swept through him as he stared at Eve. "I'm surprised he was secure enough to even allow this visit. What has changed?"

"He doesn't know I'm here."

Her statement riddled him with desire adrenaline. "You came to me on your own, unsanctioned? Again... like old times?" He was barely breathing as he stared into her dark, exquisitely beautiful brown eyes. "I promise you," he whispered through fangs, "I've learned so much more over the centuries, your transgression will not be in vain."

"Aset sanctioned it. My queen sisters know I'm here, but what stays at our oval table remains between us."

Her admission stabbed him. For just a fleeting moment he thought that she'd finally come to resume what had been torn asunder.

There was no way for him to mask the disappointment. "Then I take it you are here on a mission, rather than for a tryst."

"Dante, please. This involves your realm as much as it does mine."

She had his attention. He wondered how much she truly knew of his Level-Six banishment.

"Lilith burned you," Eve said, placing her hand in the center of his chest. Then her hand went to his jaw as his once-brown eyes began to flicker red then black. "As long as you remained on your throne and the portals were closed, our respective sides kept a margin of order."

He captured her hand, kissed the back of it hard, and walked away. "That is what I always so loved about you, Eve. You were always the epitome of diplomacy. A gorgeous, fair, sensual diplomat that could always understand both sides of the equation and appreciate the delicate nature of things. But that b.i.t.c.h, Lilith-"

"I know," Eve said carefully. "However, our young Neterus were too emotionally traumatized to act quickly enough to behead her. It was their child. In Lilith's sloppy departure she left the gates opened from her previous scheme. Initially, the dark Realm's food sources, the d.a.m.ned, began to escape sporadically. Now all original demons from those realms are currently flooding topside, like lemmings fleeing from something chasing them underground. But no order has yet been given to commence outright war. I came to you to understand why you would destroy your own human soul supply, and would allow your own armies to be turned to ash, if-"

"It wasn't me," he said flatly. He kept his gaze on the ocean. "You might as well know that my throne has been turned to rubble for a.s.sisting Lilith. I cannot return subterranean, even if I wanted to. Father's orders." He looked at her hard. "We go back many years, and I trust that you and I have at least some honor between us. For helping the young one I lost all that I owned. This stays between us."

Eve nodded. "Fair exchange."

He nodded. "Then do not rob me of my dignity."

"I won't." Eve allowed her voice to drop to a sensual murmur. Dante didn't need to know that they were fully apprised of his reasons for helping the Neteru team. She moved in closer to him, baiting him with his oldest vice-herself.

"I always loved you," he said quietly.

"I know," she murmured. "I could also never get you out of my mind. It cost me a throne, too, Dante. Aset rules the Council of Queens, not me. That is why I had to inform her."

"They made a very poor choice, then," he whispered, stroking her cheek. "The first Neteru on the planet... soft, innocent, trusting, and beautiful beyond comprehension... one that trailed ripening like..." He closed his eyes briefly. "There's been no other made like you."

She covered his hand and allowed a well-timed sigh to escape her lips as an answer, and watched him swallow hard.

"There's been no other like you, ever, Dante," she whispered, her tone husky enough to lower his fangs to pa.s.sion length. She hadn't lied in any of her statements, therefore there was no way for him to detect fraud. She'd never forgotten him, or how he'd deceived her. There had been nothing like him ever created. It was all the truth.

"I was a virgin when we met," she added in a wistful tone. "Do you remember?"

"How could I forget?" he whispered, now embracing her fully and allowing his hands to trace her shoulders. "You still remember . . ;"

"Vividly," she said, nipping his neck and eliciting a gasp from him. "Where's your lair?"

"The Himalayas," he murmured, beginning to slip her gown off her shoulders. "We could go there tonight, if the Mediterranean doesn't please you."

She briefly captured his Adam's apple between her teeth, then released it, and spoke hotly against his skin. "Show me in my third eye, first. I need to be sure we won't be discovered or that Lilith won't intrude."

"You would allow me to lock with you?" he asked, his voice now gravelly as he began to move against her while nuzzling her hair.

"Only if you are honorable and do not attempt to harm me."

"I proved honorable when I a.s.sisted the current Neteru, did I not? Harming you, dear Eve, is the last thing on my mind. Believe me."

"I don't know," she said, pulling back a bit to string him along. She theatrically glanced at the sky and then back to him as though a lightning bolt might strike her. She used seconds to her advantage. Her hesitation made him pause and give her a bit of distance for her safety, not wanting anything to spoil the opportunity. But in the brief silence, she could feel his anxiety crest like his fangs.

Their side knew his actions had nothing to do with honor, but self-preservation, and a chance to keep what would have become his father's second heir from taking over the world so that he could. She was only here because Damali's call had registered on every ring of Heaven. The Neteru Council of Queens had dispatched her as the most efficient a.s.sailant to get critical information from the only source that had it.

"It was a very odd bargain," Eve finally said. "But you helped our Neteru and kept the Antichrist from the planet for a few more years. Thank-you." She glanced around nervously again. "Maybe if you let me know where to meet you, we can work something out."

He held her face with both hands and placed a kiss on the center of her forehead, making it burn. "Meet me there," he whispered, "and whatever they do to you for the offense will be worth it in the morning."

"It had better be," she chuckled. "Nzinga will cut my heart out, if you-know-who doesn't get to me first."

"Then tell Him to send you to me. s.h.i.+t... I'll resurrect you," he said, becoming bolder as his desire built.

"Can you do that without your throne, and the a.s.sistance of the fallen angel... since I'm already dead?" she asked as innocently as possible, already knowing the answer was no. "Because, then..." She allowed the possibility to hang between them.

The Chairman sighed, appraising her beauty and wis.h.i.+ng the tedious conversation could wait until another night.

"You are well aware that my father is insane and took issue with his wife's treachery... and my a.s.sisting your Neteru to injure her. Since the embryo went into the Light, Level Six cannot procreate. Vampiric turns are going to ash, until he is finished with his rage. I may have overstated my capacities at the moment, but for you, dear Eve, I would endure another thousand years of his wrath." He chuckled sadly. "If you visit me, and they find out, at least we'll be together in the realms, hmmm?"

"Oh, Dante," she whispered, her hand going to her mouth, avoiding the twisted offer and decisively changing the subject. "What does that mean for the vampire nations-and you?"

"Nothing," he said as calmly as possible, her concern for him a torch to his libido. "He simply replaced me with his other heir apparent. That's who flushed the pit in the midst of his young, blind fury."

Feeling suddenly trapped, the Chairman stepped away from Eve, walking back and forth as the gravity of the situation and the indignity of it accosted him. He began to talk with his hands as he sputtered in outrage. "Young, stupid, insolent b.a.s.t.a.r.d! He thought he could just step into a ruling-level throne and run six realms without grooming and experience!"

The more he paced, the more fury entered his system as Eve stared at him. "I would have shown him everything I knew...

brought him into his season with majesty in due time! But the sonofab.i.t.c.h pulled one of the most treacherous coups I have ever witnessed. Then, he threw it all away by flooding the realms instead of closing the breach and rebuilding layer by layer. His dark energy is scattered, affecting everything, bringing notice!" He parted his hair with his fingers and stared at Eve for answers.

"What is wrong with our children? What has become of our future? They don't take a stand. They waffle from the Light and into the darkness, and back. How can either side empire-build on sand?" He looked down at his Grecian sandal-clad feet and then bent to collect a fistful of the grainy beach, allowing it to filter away through his fingers.

She came to him and hugged him, and her compa.s.sion almost made him sob. "I don't know, Dante," she whispered. "I don't know. We have the same problem on our side."

"Things should be black or white, shouldn't they?"

He held her back to stare into her eyes.

She almost felt sorry for Dante as she watched him struggle with the way the world had changed since his time in it. It was so tempting to ask who this new heir was, and how to locate him, so that the young Neteru could slaughter him. But she didn't dare press for more information than she'd already gleaned through just the merest suggestion of an affair. Any more, and she would have to offer Dante a night-an unacceptable trade. So she gave him empathy instead.

"Things were indeed once black and white," she finally murmured, her tone wistful. "But your father's bargain created a gray zone..."

He came to her and leaned his head against her forehead. "My absolutely insane father..."

"Dante... listen to me," she said softly.

He kissed the top of her head, stopping her words. "I love the way you say my name, even under these circ.u.mstances... Say it again, on a deeper breath, and allow it to run all through me." He couldn't even bring himself to smile as her eyes searched his face. "I can't talk about this sordid s.h.i.+t in the realms anymore... Send me a pain block through your voice... my name lingering in your mouth as I capture it." He closed his eyes and attempted a mental siphon without her permission.

She chuckled. "The answer is no before you even ask. Do not go further into my mind for an immediate beachfront seduction."

He pretended to shudder just to keep her melodic laughter mingling with the pound of the surf. "Just another little mind lock, Eve, after all these years? They surely aren't still guarding you as though you were a teenager... You're a grown woman now, love...

They'll never know."

She laughed and pushed him away, seizing his mercurial transition into a good mood as an opportunity. "Who is the new threat?

I'd rather have you on your old throne, where order was maintained, than this new problem." She folded her arms over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "At least you and I understood each other. You were never rash and impetuous." She smiled and gave him a s.e.xy wink.

"Well, maybe just once."

"Ah... you do remember." He clucked his tongue and chuckled low in his throat as his hot gaze raked her. "Flattery will get you everywhere. But to extract that level of information, only a barter in Dananu would be acceptable."

"Propose your requirement," she whispered to him in Dananu.

Just allowing him to see that she remembered all he'd taught her at the base of the Tree of Knowledge compromised him fully, so a flat-out seduction attempt was more than fair, he reasoned. He filled his hands with her hair and took her mouth slowly.

"All night, once again... in a garden. Then we can discuss it."

He watched her study his face, then glance up at the stars as though seriously considering his offer. The seconds of hesitation that she drew out made him tremble. But suddenly every light that had been in the sky, save the moon, went out. She giggled and shook her head.

"No can do," she whispered seductively. "They'll do the Armageddon, first, before they cosign that."

He chuckled low in his throat and ran a sharp fang down her jugular. "I ought to bite you just for teasing me-just take the plunge out of spite."

"And torch on impact," she whispered. Running her hands over his broad shoulders. "I have very old silver in my veins that stirs hot when unwilling... Shall we be serious?"

"You're sure you're unwilling?" He nuzzled her hair. "Not even for old time's sake?"

"No," she cooed.

"Why are you so uncooperative, love?"

"It's my job," she said laughing low and s.e.xy.

"Then I guess the new kid on the block is going to have to work this out on her own," he said, kissing Eve's temple as he fought off a shudder when she stroked his neck. "This one is formidable. Might be her Achilles' heel," he added, teasing her to keep her smile radiant.

"I guess we'll just have to see," she whispered, closing the small s.p.a.ce between their bodies and allowing her hands to trail down his back. "Since you insist on being so stubborn."

"This is unfair, Eve." His eyes held a combination of amus.e.m.e.nt and anguish. "Your side is as ruthless as mine."

"How so?" She c.o.c.ked her head to the side, waiting.

His arms enfolded her again as he openly inhaled her scent. "You come to me trailing Neteru from the Garden, and tell me your husband doesn't know you're with me," he said, his breathing beginning to labor. "Fill my arms, allow me to sample your skin, your mouth, your voice... and your touch." He shook his head with his eyes closed. "Ruthless negotiation ploy and d.a.m.ned near effective," he whispered, brus.h.i.+ng her mouth. "They wait until a man is completely compromised to strike. Pit father against son, wait until that son is dethroned, and then put the woman of his dreams for millennia in his arms and ask him a question." He nicked her earlobe and let the drop of blood fall to her shoulder just to inhale it. "Then deny that poor b.a.s.t.a.r.d as he writhes while insisting that he give up information they want. Evil."

He chuckled as she smiled wider and touched the drop of blood to her lips to taunt him. "Eve, you are dangerously close to the edge of battle on this beach. I've been through a lot, lately, and am not quite as rational as you may believe." His voice dipped an octave. "Especially with you... I might attempt a violation to go out in a blaze."

"All right," she said with a sigh. "I'll stop, but I had to try."

"So did I," he said quietly in a defeated tone. "I thought everything in the universe was negotiable, love of my existence. Don't leave. I've no one to really talk to or rule... and have been alone for months."

She came to him and ran her fingers through his hair as she hugged him. "Sometimes there's room for negotiation."

This time when he shuddered, it was no act.

"Stop toying with me, Eve," he whispered. "There is no such thing as resistance around you. I have to go, if you're not willing.

Merely talking to you when I'm like this is worse than a battle in Dananu."

She sighed and allowed her hand to fall to his shoulder. "Then at least close the portals and help us hunt down Lilith."

"I cannot close off what her Level-Seven energy opened as long as she's alive. But hunting her down to adequately repay her larceny is on my agenda."

"Thank you," Eve whispered and took his mouth in a long, sensuous kiss. "You'll help us dethrone the new threat we're blind to, as well?"

"Oh, to be sure," he said, taking her mouth again. "I will bring you his head." He deepened the kiss until a groan fought inside his chest. "You can't see him? Interesting."

"No," she said on a breathy exhalation, practically swooning in his arms from the long kiss. "For some reason he's s.h.i.+elded to hunter councils. That is why we are so concerned." She closed her eyes. "d.a.m.n... you get me every time, Dante."

"You didn't do too bad extracting from me, either," he said, reveling in the skin covering her spine. "You have gotten older and so much stronger." He took her mouth hard, punis.h.i.+ng it, then attended to her throat, but didn't break the skin, just made her gasp. "You said you were concerned-how concerned-tell me now?" he asked in a hissing rush of air, pulling her against him hard.

His hands had begun to slowly dissolve her gown.She opened her eyes and gave him a glare through a soft laugh. "Not that concerned."

"Let's get back to the part about everything being negotiable."