Page 63 of Blood Descendants
The cop leaves Ares with his card and climbs into his cruiser, pulling away from the curb.
“What’s going on?” Ares asks, turning back to James.
“You don’t actually need to go in, but I needed to talk to you. One of the neighboring tenants is a Born,” James says, keeping his tone low so he’s not overheard. “The man is off his fucking rocker, but he’s pissed about the daylight coming in. When he realized what I am, he started going off about calling in the House of Marshals, saying he wanted to get Aleah Steele in here. I think he’s harmless, but I thought you should know.”
“Who the fuck is the House of Marshals? Or Allah Steele?” Ares questions, his brows furrowing.
James glances from Ares to me and then back to Ares, looking a little confused. “The House of Allaway?”
“You keep saying House like I should know what that means,” Ares says, his tone making his loss of patience obvious.
James arches a brow, his mouth a little slack. He looks atme again like he’s expecting one of us to laugh like this is some stupid joke we’re trying to make. “I… I’m sorry. Ares, how the fuck do you not know about the Houses? You… you know about Cyrus, though, right?”
Something sinks in my stomach. James seems truly shocked and honestly worried that Ares doesn’t know what he’s talking about. And I have to wonder, what parts of this vampire world is Ares unaware of?
“Not here,” Ares says, looking around at the hustle and bustle of the city. “Can you meet us back at the office?”
“Yeah,” James confirms, but there’s still a look of deep concern and surprise on his face. For now, he simply turns away and hails a taxi.
“You really have no idea what he’s talking about?” I question as we walk back toward the bike at a quick pace.
“No idea,” Ares says, his brow deeply furrowed. “House? Allaway, Aleah, Marshals? I have no idea what any of those words are supposed to mean.”
I consider for a few moments, but none of it means anything to me either. James isn’t really that old in terms of immortality. He’s only been Resurrected for nineteen years, so it’s not like he’s significantly older than Ares, the keeper of ancient knowledge.
Without another word, Ares climbs onto the bike. I secure my helmet and climb on behind him. Ares takes off, rocketing down the street. I tighten my grip around his waist, trusting his vampiric instincts because I would never get on this bike with any normal man driving through the city like this.
Only six minutes later, we pull into the underground parking at Ares’ building. I can tell Ares’ mind is completelypreoccupied when he says nothing as we walk into the building. He simply holds my hand tightly as we ride up the thirty-nine stories. He heads directly to his door when we get out on the right floor. Just as Ares is unlocking the door, the other elevator opens, and James steps out.
Once inside the office, Ares double checks that it’s empty. Considering it’s Saturday, it is. Ares nods James into his office. The three of us step inside, and as if just to be double sure no one is going to overhear this conversation, Ares closes the door.
“I’ve never heard any of these names before,” Ares says as he takes a seat at his desk. Considering the curtains are drawn in here, he removes his glasses, as does James. “Cyrus. Allaway. I’ve heard of the Steele family, but they’re all dead. What the fuck is going on, James?”
James steeples his fingers, staring at Ares over the top of them. He still looks wary over this whole situation. But his eyes turn to me, and he seems like he’s deeply contemplating something.
“Out with it, James,” Ares growls.
“I’m debating if it’s safe for Lana to hear all of this,” James blurts out, looking at me with concerned concentration. “Under normal circumstances, no way should she be privy to any of this. But since you two are engaged, and she’s going to potentially be the mother of Born children someday, I guess it’s going to have to happen at some point.”
Shit.
What the hell does James know that might put me in danger if I know it?
“Don’t worry about me,” I say, swallowing once. “I’m really not too concerned about safety, considering I have Aresaround. And it sounds like something I should probably be aware of. I’m in this now.”
James holds my gaze for a moment, and I look over to Ares. A look of pride and admiration shines in his eyes.
“You said you knew about the Steele family,” James says, looking back at Ares. “How much do you know about them?”
Ares leans back in his chair as if settling in for something big. “They were a huge family who ran the vampire population in New York. For a long time. Kept everyone in line. But one of the uncles went crazy and killed everyone. Why, I don’t know. But the Barons formed shortly after that, keeping things from getting out of hand.”
James nods, and then shakes his head. “Not all of the Steeles were killed. Aleah and Duncan Steele survived. They just joined the House of Marshals a few years ago. And the Barons have zero authority over New York in the worldwide view of vampires. The House of Marshals does.”
Ares narrows his eyes at James, and from the way his jaw tightens, he doesn’t like what James is saying.
James shifts in his seat, looking uncomfortable under Ares’ stare. “There are four Houses in the States. The House of Marshals is based in Boston. The House of Conrath is in Mississippi. The House of Valdez is in Las Vegas. And the House of Sidra in Washington State. Every one of them quarters up the states and rules over that region. Appointed by King Cyrus.”
Something flips in my stomach, and my blood goes cold.
