Page 108 of Becoming D'Vaire
“What’s his problem?” Duff asked.
Delaney was relaxed enough that not even the Kellas cat shifter had much hope of annoying him. “The side effect of the magic in my blood is that it intoxicates my vampire.”
“I think it’s charming,” Idris said, always the supportive friend.
“I think it’s hilarious, sweetheart,” Mac countered. “We should record this and make him watch it when he’s not high on Del’s blood. Can you imagine his face?”
For some reason, that made Grigori laugh so hard he slapped his hand down on the table, which made everyone break out into chuckles.
“Is this as bad as it gets, or does he get worse if he drinks more?” Carter asked.
“He’ll get sillier, but he also gets sleepy when he has more blood,” Delaney replied.
“I need a drink,” Duff stated. “Del, come to the bar with me to get one. They’ll serve you right away because you’re a Volkov.”
“You can’t wait for the waitress?”
“This place has gotten really busy since we got here. She hasn’t come around in over thirty minutes,” Duff complained. “It’s right downstairs and across the room. Mac can see us from here. It won’t take long. Come on, we can get beers for everyone.”
Delaney let out a sigh, then stood up. “You guys want beers?”
“I’m not going to say no,” Idris responded.
Turning to Mac, Delaney said, “We’ll be right back.”
“No worries, Del. No one’s going to mess with one of the Volkovs. Let’s go.”
Duff walked away from the table, and Delaney followed in his wake. They wound down a circular staircase at the end of the balcony. It led them straight into the main area of Divine Ichor. There was a lot of skin and sexiness around him as he wound past couples and larger groups enjoying drinks as well as each other. Despite the crowded space, they were close to the bar within several minutes. They were nearly there when Duff bumped into a man and woman wrapped in each other’s arms.
The shifter didn’t break his stride to say he was sorry, which irritated Delaney. Since the bar was less than three feet away, he stopped next to the pair. “I’d like to apologize for my rude friend. He’s apparently missing the chip in his brain that keeps the rest of us from being jerks.”
“High Arcanist, we weren’t offended by your friend. We appreciate you taking the time to stop and speak to us to make sure we were not upset,” the male vampire said. Like all the other vampires Delaney knew, he was stunning—as was his companion.
“Welcome to the Vampyr Clutch, High Arcanist. We were so pleased to hear Lord Grigori met his mate. It’s such a boon to be able to boast of having a dark wizard amongst our people. I hope you don’t think me too forward, but I believe your collar is the most stunning I’ve ever seen,” the woman remarked.
Touched by the open friendliness and amazed that they weren’t put off by what he was, Delaney smiled. “Thank you very much. Lord Grigori did an excellent job of designing it. I’m glad you like it.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Delaney spotted Duff moving past the bar toward the back of the club and he mentally cursed. He was in no mood to deal with a troublemaker. Though he was enjoying his conversation, he was forced to excuse himself and give chase.
He called out Duff’s name but instead of stopping, the shifter picked up speed. More distance grew between them as Delaney deftly moved around the patrons while Duff didn’t care who he bumped into. He disappeared around a corner, and Delaney hoped to hell Mac understood he had no choice but to follow the shit.
Turning, he found himself in a hallway. Delaney was happy that in comparison to the rest of Divine Ichor it was illuminated fully, but he morphed right into pissed when he realized it was an exit. He shouted Duff’s name as the shifter headed for the door and shoved it open. A sense of dread washed over Delaney when he noticed two pairs of legs on either side. Someone had knocked out the security guards assigned to this entrance of the building. This time when he yelled out for Duff, there was panic in his voice. Delaney picked up speed, and that was when he sensed not only another wizard but someone who was resurrected—but this was no recognizable race.
As Delaney rushed out into the alleyway, a woman cursed as she tried to pin him in a magical bubble. Her power was nowhere at his level, so he shattered it without any trouble. Before he could retaliate, she shimmered from view. This time it was Duff who let out a stream of expletives. The second female, the one risen from the dead, charged toward Delaney. She was cloaked from head to ankles, but when a long wisp of red hair flew out of her hood, Delaney identified her with ease.
Seconds later, she was stopped dead in her tracks and wrapped in black chains, courtesy of Delaney. “Latarian, we’ve been looking for you,” he told her, then took one large step and reached back to punch Duff in the face hard enough to knock him onto the pavement. Delaney delighted in the thud his body made as it hit the ground and was immensely satisfied that either his fist or the fall shoved him into unconsciousness.
“Let me go,” Latarian demanded.
“Oh, yeah right,” Delaney retorted as he slid his phone out of his tight pants. He fired off a text to Mac so he would know where to find them. There was no worry about Latarian getting away; his magic could hold her until the end of time.
“You are dark just as I am, now that I have been resurrected. I could use your power. We could rule the world,” Latarian said to him.
“Barking up the wrong tree, lady. You hurt my family. I wouldn’t help you if you were the last fucking person on the planet,” Delaney drawled out as he waited. It didn’t take long for Mac and the others to find him. Grigori was leaning heavily against Carter and smiling like he didn’t have a care in the world. A group of vampires dressed in the security garb for the club were right behind him and went to check on their coworkers.
“Latarian,” Idris spat out when he got close. “It’s about damn time you tried to come for one of us. I knew you would. You’re not smart enough to know it’s time to move on. You were on a realm where no one could find you. Those elders made your life potentially endless, I can sense it. You could’ve lived there for eternity, but that wasn’t enough for you, was it?”
“Those elders. Disgraces, all of them. They were able to grant me immortality, but what about my grandfather? They ruined him. Made him a skeleton and gave neither of us power. We need power,” Latarian snarled back.
