Page 18 of Cosmic Power

“Oh, I don’t know, I think he has quite a sexy voice. I could listen to him talk all day, preferably while whispering dirty, filthy things in my ear,” Margaret winked. She cupped his balls roughly and Void yelped.

“Margherita,” Luther chastised, rubbing his temples. “We don’t have time for this. Ogle the man on your own time—”

“—or not!” Void cut in.

“—and do what I say,” Luther finished, opening the front door and preparing to leave.

He froze, a chill running down his spine.

For the first time in over five centuries, nervousness flooded his body, unease creeping into his mind. He straightened his back and stood tall, not letting an ounce of discomfort breach the surface.

Always remain focused. Composed. Never show weakness.

“Luther.”

His voice was exactly how he remembered. Dark. Cold. Ruthless.

“Zvetari.”

* * *

“Areyou just going to stand there all night or are you going to let me in?” his maker asked, arching an eyebrow.

Luther cleared his throat and stepped back, calm and composed. “I wasn’t aware you were in town.”

“If you needed to be notified, you would have been.”

Zvetari breezed into the house, his footsteps as light as feathers on the hardwood floor. His onyx hair was short and slicked back, his square jaw tensed in frustration as his ruby eyes scanned their surroundings.

He was wearing his usual attire. Black pants and a black long sleeve shirt, each embroidered with his House symbol; a capital ‘Z’ that had a half circle coming off the end and finishing just above the letter, then a straight line running right down the middle in bright red stitching.

Two vampire guards stood behind him, his House symbol stitched onto the left side of their black shirts.

Luther trailed behind him as he made his way through the house and into the lounge room, his mind reeling.

What was his maker doing here? Why would he come to see him, especially after all this time? Their last encounter didn’t exactly end well.

For years, the only communication they had was via phone and now he was here? A visit from him could only mean one thing.

Trouble.

Zvetari glanced at the blood on the walls and the stains on the floor, his expression humored. He swiped a sharp black claw through the blood and brought it to his lips, tasting it. His eyebrows rose.

“One of yours?”

Clearing his throat, Luther replied “Yes.”

“What happened?”

“Just re-establishing order.”

Zvetari nodded and continued moving about the room with his hands behind his back, inspecting everything meticulously. “Order is important. Without order, there’s—”

“—chaos,” Luther finished, remembering Zvetari’s mantra as if he’d only heard it yesterday.

Zvetari smiled and pointed a finger. “Correct. And tell me, Luther, does your House have order? Because I’ve been told it’s chaotic.”

“By who? Leilani?”

---