Хлоя Нейл: Twice Bitten

I blew out a slow breath, something tightening in my stomach.

I didn’t know Ethan’s position on the Red Guard, but I had no doubt he would see my joining them as the betrayal of all betrayals. Serving as a Red Guard would pit me directly against Ethan, charging me, a Novitiate vampire, with watching and judging him. Ethan and I didn’t have an easy relationship; our interactions were an uncomfortable tug-of-war between our being confidants and colleagues. But this went far beyond our usual brand of mutual irritation.

In fact, it was exactly the kind of thing Ethan already feared I’d do—spy on the House. He may not have known about the RG invite, but he knew my grandfather, Chuck Merit, served as a supernatural liaison to the city of Chicago, and he knew my family—the Merits (yes, Merit is my last name)—was connected to Seth Tate, mayor of Chicago. Those ties were close enough to concern him. Involvement in something like this would be the icing on the conniption-fit cake.

And that begged an interesting question. “Why me?” I asked Noah. “I’m only two months old, and I’m not exactly warrior material.”

“You fit our profile,” he said. “You were made a vampire without consent; maybe because of that, you seem to have a different kind of relationship with your Master. You’re a child of wealth, but you’ve seen its abuses. As Sentinel, you’re becoming a soldier, but you’ve been a scholar. You’ve sworn your oaths to Ethan, but you’re skeptical enough not to blindly follow directions.”

It was a list of traits that probably made Ethan nervous on a daily basis. But Noah seemed convinced they were just the kind of things he was looking for.

“And what is it, exactly, that I’d be doing?”

“At this point, we’d like a latent player. You’d remain in Cadogan House, stand Sentinel, and stay in communication with your partner.”

I lifted my eyebrows. “My partner?”

“We work in pairs,” Noah said, then bobbed his head at something behind me. “Right on cue.”

I glanced back, just as the vampire reached us at the shoreline. He was well suited to spying; even with my improved hearing, I hadn’t heard him approach.

This vamp was tall and lean, with longish auburn hair that just reached his shoulders, blue eyes set beneath long brows, and a chiseled chin. He wore a shortsleeved shirt with a collar, the bottom tucked into his jeans. Tattoos ringed each bicep—a flying angel on one arm, a slinking devil on the other.

I wondered what he was conflicted about.

The newcomer nodded curtly at me, then looked at Noah.

“Merit, Sentinel, Cadogan House,” Noah said to him, then glanced at me. “Jonah, Guard Captain, Grey House.”

“Guard Captain?” I asked aloud, shocked to the core that the Captain of Scott Grey’s own House guards was also a member of the Red Guard. A vampire in a position of trust, whose purpose in the House was to guard the Master, to keep him safe, moonlighting for an organization with an inherent distrust of Masterdom?

I guessed it wasn’t the kind of thing Scott Grey would be thrilled to learn.

And seriously—was I channeling Ethan Sullivan or what?

“If you accept our offer,” Noah said, “Jonah will be your partner.”

I looked over at Jonah and found his gaze already on me, his brow furrowed. There was curiosity—but also disdain—in his eyes. He apparently wasn’t too impressed with what he’d seen so far of the Cadogan Sentinel.

But since I wasn’t interested in going to war with Ethan and thus had no plans to become Jonah’s partner, I managed not to care.

I shook my head at Noah. “It’s too much to ask.”

“I understand your reticence,” he said. “I know what it means to take the oaths to your House. I’ve taken them, too. But for better or worse, Celina’s been released. I’d lay short odds on our futures being decidedly more violent than our recent past.”

“Not great odds,” I solemnly agreed. We’d put an end to the killing spree of Celina Desaulniers, former Navarre House Master. We’d promised the city of Chicago that she was tucked away in a European dungeon, serving time for arranging those murders, but the GP had put Celina back into circulation. She no longer had control of Navarre House, and she blamed me for that inconvenience. She’d come back to Chicago annoyed about her incarceration and eager for a fight.

Noah smiled sadly, as if he understood the direction of my thoughts. “The sorcerers have already predicted that war will come,” he said. “We’re afraid that’s inevitable. Too many vampires have too much pent-up animosity toward humans to keep peace forever—and vice versa—and Celina has done a bang-up job of rousing them. She plays an unfortunately good martyr.”

“And that doesn’t even touch the shifter issue,” Jonah pointed out. “Shape-shifters and vampires have a long, bloody history, but that’s not stopping the Packs from heading to Chicago.” He glanced at me. “Word is, they’re meeting this week. That fit with what you’ve heard?”

I debated whether I should answer, thus giving away a precious bit of Cadogan House-gleaned information, but I opted to tell him. It’s not like the info would be kept under wraps for long. “Yes. We’ve heard they’ll be here within the week.”

“Reps of all four Packs in Chicago,” Noah muttered, eyes on the ground. “That’s like the Hatfields moving in with the McCoys. A centuries-old feud, and the warring parties camping out in the same city. It reeks of trouble.” He sighed. “Look, “I’m just asking you to consider it. The only thing we’d ask of you now is a commitment to remain in Cadogan House on standby until . . .”

Until, he’d said, as if he believed a coming conflict was inevitable.

“You’d remain latent until we can’t keep the peace any longer. At that point, you’d have to be prepared to join us full-time. You’d have to be prepared to leave the House.”

I’m sure there was shock in my expression. “You’d want me to leave Cadogan House without a Sentinel in the middle of a war?”

“Think a little more broadly,” Jonah put in. “You’d be offering your services, your skills, to all vampires, irrespective of their House affiliation. The RG would offer you a chance to stand for all vampires, not just Masters.”

Not for just Ethan, he meant. I’d no longer be Ethan’s Sentinel, his vampire. Instead, I’d be a vampire who stood apart from the Houses, from the Masters, from the Presidium, in order to keep the universe of vampires safe . . . and keep Celina and her rabble-rousers at bay.

I wasn’t sure what I thought about the request or the RG. “I need time to process this,” I told them.

Noah nodded. “This is a serious decision, and it deserves serious consideration. It’s about your willingness to step outside your House to ensure all vampires are well protected.”

“How can I reach you?” I asked, and wondered whether that question alone meant I’d crossed a line I wouldn’t be able to step back from.

“I’m in the phone book, listed as a security consultant. In the meantime, we haven’t spoken, and you’ve never met Jonah. Tell no one—friends, relatives, colleagues. But consider this, Merit: Who needs a Sentinel more? The vampires of Cadogan House, who have a corps of trained guards and a powerful Master at the helm . . . or the rest of us?”

With that, he and Jonah turned and walked away, fading into the darkness of the night.

CHAPTER TWO FIRE IN THE BLOOD One Week Later The intent, I think, was perfectly innocent. We’d been called together, the vampires of Cadogan House, for a demonstration of self-defense techniques. It wasn’t unusual that we were training—vampires were expected to be able to fend for themselves. After all, thousands of years of living beneath the human radar tended to make them a little paranoid. And Ethan and I were enjoying our own (also perfectly innocent) training sessions as I learned to wield my vampire strength.