Page 81 of Hupotasso
“You know him well,” I snort. “He asked me if I knew where you were.”
“Prick,” she growls.
“Don’t worry, I told him I’d burn in Hell before I told a pig like him a single thing. Now that I know how truly evil he is I wish I’d punched him in the balls for you too.”
“I’d have paid to see that,” she laughs.
“Can you imagine Showman’s apoplectic fit if I’d done something like that?” I giggle. “Or Caroline’s? Christ, she might have actually fanged me.”
“I doubt she would have lasted long if she’d disciplined you,” Yin murmurs, “your vampire husband seems to have cornered the market on that.”
I blush at her reference to Falcon spanking me.
“You know the Japanese Samurai have an answer for monsters like him,” she smiles, trying to lighten the mood. “We believe the only solution for violent people are good people more skilled in violence. You just happen to have one of those on your side. Believe me, Falcon will regret beating you.”
“I know he will,” I mutter, “but what he did to me was nothing compared to what I suffered at the hands of his brother. Falcon never raped me, he only ever spanked me if I pushed him too far. He never tortured me. Only one vampire did that.”
“And we still don’t know why,” Yin says now as she picks up my bag and leads me to my bedroom on the first floor, “but we need to figure this out if we’re to defeat him — we’re smart, I know we’ll find the solution. We just need to think it through and unravel the knot one strand at a time.”
I nod and survey the room she’s led me to.
“Oh, Yin, it’s beautiful. The views across the forest through these huge windows, the open fireplace. I love it.”
“We’ll be safe here,” she nods. “And as you requested, you were blindfolded for the entire trip pretty much, so you don’t know exactly where we are. No one does.”
I nod. I’d asked her to hide the whereabouts of her cabin from me, because if Viper catches me and takes control of my mind again he might make me tell him where I was hiding during my pregnancy. I don’t want that information in my brain. It’s bad enough that I know the mountain region we’re in.
“Have a spa,” Yin says now, coming to stand beside me to look at the view, “then meet me in the lounge. I need to know every single thing you know about vampires, and then some.”
62
All around me the court is bustling with pomp and bullshit, just as it has for centuries.
I’ve attended, as ordered, but notwhenordered.
Several months have passed since the written edict was passed on by Spider. Several months in which I’ve been busy officially mourning, secretly looking for my wife, and covertly leading a team to hunt The Free Men responsible for my mother’s death.
When Jag suggested there might be a link between her demise and The Free Men who’d helped Angie escape I’d refused to believe it at first. But when Mother’s body disappeared from the morgue the same day as one of her specialists it was clear they were trying to cover their tracks. It didn’t take much touncover the fact they’d deliberately switched her drugs. A cold, determined rage had settled over me from the moment the truth was outed. Not only that they’d killed her, but that they woulddaretake her body. And once again, I suspected Spider was also involved. It was too much of a coincidence that he should send Tatyana to kill Mother and that The Free Men would finish the job.
Whether Angie knew of The Free Men’s plan to murder my mother is something Jag and I are following up, but neither of us believes this to be the case. I hope to fuck it isn’t so, but I’ll find out soon enough. If she’s being sheltered by them then my search for them will lead me to her.
So far, we’ve kept it out of the media that there was anything untoward about Mother’s death, although The Families are aware of the circumstances. As to the fact her body doesn’t lie in its coffin, only Jag and I are privy to that information. The fewer people who know the details the easier it will be for us to track the culprits. Neither of us trusts that The Families wouldn’t go into overdrive hunting The Free Men if they learned of this and beat us to the punch, which would be a problem because we also need to question them about the whereabouts of my wife. And no one but us two, Viper, and Wolf, who has for all intents and purposes returned to his own estate, knows she’s on the run.
Jag believes we may never recover my mother’s body, but it’s only a matter of time until we find Angie. We don’t think she’s aware of just how dangerous The Free Men are or what they’d done to my mother. I don’t believe she knows our vampire baby is in danger if she stays with them. The Angie I know would never put anyone’s life at risk, let alone her infant’s. But if she doesn’t fully know what they’re capable of, it’s imperative I find her, and fast. Jag also thinks that when the baby’s born thehupotasso from my bite will kick in and I’ll know where to locate her. We’re not sure if this is the case, though. We haven’t found any literature to support the idea that the bite would work if the human was pregnant when bitten.
I still feel sick to the stomach when I think how I’ve treated her. I’d do anything to take it back. All I know now is that my stupidity drove her away and that she’s alone out there somewhere carrying my child, my heir.
“No, Your Majesty,” I answer the queen’s question quietly where we stand surrounded by her companions, “Angie was very keen to come and is terribly disappointed she can’t attend court, but she’s unwell. This is her first pregnancy and I believe that’s always the hardest.”
The queen laughs.
“Young women these days. When I was pregnant I undertook all my royal duties and oversaw a kingdom. Today a little morning sickness sends them to their beds.”
“Yes,” I smile, looking her in the eyes with, I hope, what passes for sincerity.
“Still, it’s apparent you’re caring for her well if you’ve risked my wrath to allow her to stay home.”
“Indeed, Your Majesty.”
