Page 24 of Bite of Passage
Serish twisted the handle.“He’s Skarde.”
“What does that mean?”She chased him into the hallway, but the mage was already gone.
ChapterNine
Rain peltedthe glass windows like a death toll while Skarde trudged to the opposite end of the castle.Down sixteen flights of stairs and through a maze of hallways, he slowly trekked.He dodged leaks with buckets beneath and made note of new drip rivulets on the floors.Thunder echoed through the drafty hallways.Stormy weather never used to bother him, but now his pocketbook bled every time the wind blew.The ancient stronghold’s previous owner too easily handed over ownership as payment for ridding the place of a demon-possessed priest, moving himself a few towns over into a newly constructed manor.
The dilapidated stone atrocity, a survivor of several wars, had grown on Skarde.It offered a level of security few other structures could with its maze of secret passages.All exits and entrances could be sealed closed to resist attack.It also projected the ambiance of wealth gone sour, which kept the freeloaders away.
A single lone figure stood in the reception hall, their back to him in front of the wide fireplace one of the domestics must’ve lit.Most people were dwarfed by the fireplace, but not this individual.The incongruity of this particular vampire guest in his dark battle leathers with his long, black hair neatly fastened at his neck surrounded by pink velvet sofas with spindly legs arranged in a rectangle in front of the fireplace was ludicrous.Most of the furnishings were courtesy of the previous owner.
“It’s cold in here.”The stark face that turned his way was utterly calm despite the hostile light in his dark gaze.Hints of the green irises from his youth remained, but no longer did they contain a shred of joy or the wicked humor Skarde remembered his brother used to have.“Upgrade this fucking place.You don’t live in the Dark Ages anymore.”
“Cade.Why are you here?”He watched the vampire’s hands.If Cade chose to attack, it’d be fast and with a knife.They’d always agreed when it came to their weapon of choice.
“The Directorate is displeased.”Cade scrutinized the tartan draped across Skarde’s body.Genuine emotion flickered before it disappeared.
Skarde shrugged.
“Not even going to ask why?”The dead calm affect Cade maintained was a façade.The Directorate’s punisher, with his neatly styled dark hair and smooth face marred by a white scar across his left cheek, was aggression personified.For a split second he wished Cade would do something spectacularly stupid.A fight might help him burn off some of the disappointment from the skirmish with the human male.
When it became obvious Cade wasn’t going to be the one to start an offensive, he waved his hands in a get-on-with-it gesture.
“You’re harboring a human.It’s coming with me.”
Easy breaths.Give away nothing.
“Do you mean the man I picked up for breakfast?I doubt you or any of the Directorate would want to sink your teeth into the scum.Those of us left to feed on bottom dwellers aren’t picky.”
Cade cursed softly and shook his head.
“Is this about the prophecy again?”He gauged the distance between them and the number of seconds it’d take Cade to reach him using normal vampire speed.
“When it comes tothe one, all of us want to be sureshe is handled before the prophecy becomes a problem.Before you are tempted.”
“I’ve never been tempted.”Liar.So much a liar.Gemma tempted him to the point that not touching her with his teeth, not drinking her blood, hurt.“There’s no lassie stashed away for a turning ritual later.”
Cade glowered.The punisher could perceive lies.It was his gift.“Don’t become something we have to resolve.”
“Duly noted.Are you done?”
Cade watched him in a disturbing way that was meant to intimidate.If he didn’t know Cade well, he might be persuaded to blather about the mindfuck that was Gemma.
After several more interminable seconds Cade finally said, “You’re not doing yourself any favors if you don’t come clean.”
“You’re a good little errand boy for the Directorate.Message delivered.Warning received.What you seek isn’t here.If it was a divination from the witch you keep imprisoned, then her timing is off.”He scowled.“Is there more?”
Cade flinched.
Not good.“Did Magdalene say something new about me?”
How he hated the blind witch and her eerily accurate visions.
The vampire fidgeted.Cade never fidgeted.Big screaminghell yeson the witch imparting a new foretelling.
“I can’t wait to hear the new way fate’s decided to fuck me over.”Is it not enough I rid the world of evil shits and refuse to turn humans?Am I not punished enough simply being alone?
Cade’s jaw tightened.
