Jeaniene Frost - At Grave’s End

“Why didn’t he fucking call me!”

It burst from my mouth amid my overflowing grati tude toward my uncle. Don didn’t like Bones, never had, and yet he’d saved his life. There was nothing I could do to ever repay him for that.

“For starters, he didn’t know the numbers of who to call, Kitten. Not like he knew their e-mail addresses, and you hadn’t been checking yours, because he did try that. Also, since I didn’t heal right away, he wasn’t sure if I’d recover at all. So Don didn’t want to give you false hope. Round an hour after I regenerated, Tate called Don asking for a prescription for you. Don gave me the location of the pharmacy. Once I got there, I followed Tate’s scent from the pharmacy back here.”

There was something in Bones’s voice that made me belatedly aware there was one person missing in this room. Even my mother lingered by the doorway, pretending not to care about the story as it unfolded.

“Where’s Tate? And why didn’t Don call him when he knew you were better? My uncleknew he was with me.”

Bones met my eyes. There was pity in his gaze-and resolve.

“Don didn’t ring Tate because I told him not to. After all, I didn’t want the person who tried to kill me discovering I was still alive.”

BONES’S WORDS SANK IN, MADE EVEN MORE ominous by the way Spade began to squirm in his chair. When I first saw Bones, he’d murmured something to Spade I didn’t catch. Then I’d been so overcome by Bones being alive, I wouldn’t have noticed a stampede of elephants, let alone the noise of a struggle…

“Where is Tate?”

Amazing how I could be overwhelmed with joy and yet also mad at the same time.

“He’s not dead,” Bones answered. “He’s locked up until he admits to his treachery, and then I shall kill him for it.”

“You think the train station was a setup?” It made sense. That oncoming train with its host of Master vampires and one very mean Egyptian queen was too convenient.

“Only those of us in this room knew of that plot, except of course Dave and Cooper, and it doesn’t add up that it would be one of them. Dave was mostly barricaded in a box with Juan, and Cooper has no cause to see me dead. Tate’s the only one who would risk everything to see me killed in such a manner that you weren’t injured as well. His love for you has driven him to this betrayal, and I want you to hear his admittance from his own lips. Then I’ll kill him quickly, for your sake.”

No. It’s not him.

Bones heard the denial in my mind and sighed. “I’m sorry, luv, I know you care for him-”

I slammed the shields in place that guarded my thoughts, not because of Bones, but for the reason that two other vampires in the room could hear them. There was no way I’d believe Tate would do such a thing. He might taunt Bones and be a dick sometimes, but he wouldn’t betray him to Patra. I just couldn’t believe that.

Which left someone else in the room as the real guilty party.

“Tate’s not going anywhere, right?”

My calm question caused Bones to gaze at me oddly.

“No.”

“Then let’s not deal with him right now. If Tate does admit to doing that, you won’t have to worry about killing him. I’ll do it myself.”

That much was true, except it didn’t apply in this case. If Tate ever did try to kill Bones, he’d challenge him to a fair fight. He’d lose, of course, but being underhanded just wasn’t his style.

“Mencheres,” I went on, “you said you’d heard of something similar happening to a vampire that happened to Bones? About the withering thing?”

Mencheres let his cool appraising eyes meet mine, and in that instant I knew two things. He saw through my apparent lack of distress over Tate, and he also didn’t believe it was him.

Weep.

The word flashed across my mind like it was spoken in my ear. Mencheres’s steel gaze didn’t waver, and I jerked back in shock even as I complied. It wasn’t hard. I still wasn’t all the way back in control of my emotions.

I let some tears fall, big fat drops of duplicity that rolled down my cheeks. Playing weak. Sometimes it was the best offense.

“My sire Tenoch had a similar gift,” Mencheres stated. “He could manipulate his body to appear withered in order to convince whoever was around that he was dead. You must have inherited more from me than I realized, Bones, when I shared my power with you. Tenoch took days to recover from its effects; you will be very lucky to have your strength back within a fortnight.”

Mencheres rose, all grace and leashed authority. “We will keep the traitor secure. You will need blood and sleep. We will keep the news that you’re alive undisclosed until you are completely healed. Please, take my chamber. It is soundproofed, so you will be less disturbed by the noises of the house.”

Bravo!I wanted to clap, but kept my compliment suppressed under a landslide of shields.You devious prick, I might start to like you.

To add to the camouflage, I sniffled. “Take me to bed, Bones. I’m very tired.”

He lifted himself and me up in the same fluid motion. “Mencheres, if you’ll direct me?”

Bones carried me out of the study. When we passed by my mother, who still lingered by the door, Bones stopped to give her an impudent smile.

“Thought you were finally rid of me, didn’t you?”

She opened her mouth, paused, and then shut it. Then she further surprised me by moving out of the way without having to be shoved aside. For her, that was the equivalent of a gushing welcome.

“Filthy animal,” she called out when we were almost out of sight.

He snorted in amusement, not slowing his steps. “Nice to see you again, too, Justina.”

Mencheres followed us into the large bedchamber with a vague comment about retrieving some of his things.

“Just need to get these items before I leave you to your slumber…” he said in a regular voice before shutting the door behind him.

“Bones, Cat is correct. It isn’t Tate.”

I was surprised Mencheres felt that way, too, but I didn’t question it. “He wouldn’t do this,” I agreed.

“Why not?” Bones snarled in low, heated disagreement. “It’s his only chance of ever having you. I know if I were Tate, I’d see me buried if I had to betray everyone around me to do it!”

“And you would regret it,” Mencheres said.

For a second, I saw pain flash on his face, and wondered if he was thinking of the murder he’d committed all those years ago.

“Killing your rival doesn’t guarantee happiness. Sometimes it ruins any chance you have of it instead. Memories of dead men hold far more power than the annoyances of living ones.”

I stared at Mencheres. His face was blank again, giving nothing away, but we all knew what he meant.

“If I had not shared power with you,” Mencheres went on, “you would have been killed on that train. You must trust me, because someone under this roof is counting on your jealousy to blind you.”

Bones paced in short strides. “That would mean one of the people I’ve loved as a brother has plotted against me. It’s only logical that it’s Tate.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

Bones was so surprised by that, he quit pacing.

I came to him, brushing my fingers across his cheekbones. “If you’re right,” I continued, “then the traitor is locked up and can do no more harm. I’ll be grieved that my friend did such a terrible thing, and I’ll kill him. But if you’re wrong…then you have a person here who’s desperate not to get caught. Reeling that you’re alive. Frantic over what you’ll do if you find out who they are. If you’re wrong, we’re all in a heap of shit. So what are you willing to bet that you’re right?”