FIVE

FOUR

SHADOWS CHASED ME in my dreams that day. Creatures of all shapes and sizes, their bodies morphing from one form to another as easily as if they were changing clothes.

One had the head of an elephant and the body of an octopus. Others were a cross between a cat and a bat. Some monsters had forms I couldn"t even begin to describe. Still others were a mishmash of many species both supernatural and mundane. The only thing they had in common were the half-filled holes where I could see black veins trying to knit themselves together. At their hearts were small twinkling lights that flashed at me as if to say hello.

It felt like I"d been running forever when I realized their pursuit had a goal. They were herding me.

I stopped and faced them, unsurprised in that way of dreams when they stopped too.

They shuffled with unease; the weight of their eyes heavy on me.

"What do you want?" I asked.

Any answer was overridden by distant thuds that gradually grew louder.

In my bed, I lifted my head up to stare blurry eyed at the door. Someone was knocking.

I groaned, rolling onto my stomach and burying my head beneath my pillow to drown out the persistent annoyance.

Within moments I sunk back into slumber. This time I was the one chasing, only my quarry was gone. I ran through shadowy mists searching and searching.

I thought one of the shadow monsters was finally within my grasp when a grip on my shoulder shook me loose of the dream for a second time.

"Go way," I mumbled, batting at the hands.

The person grabbed me again, this time lifting me half up before dropping me onto my bed.

With an angry snarl, I finally cracked my eyes open to find Connor looming over me. I glanced beyond him to my windows covered with blackout curtains.

The sun was still up. No wonder it felt like I was fighting through a cottony cloud of blankets.

I attempted to roll over again, mumbling. "Too early. Come back when the sun"s down."

Connor forestalled the movement, poking me in the forehead. "I"m afraid that"s not possible."

I lifted a hand in an aborted attempt to fend him off, not bothering to open my eyes as I did so. "Course it is. Walk to the door and wait until there is no more fiery ball of awful in the sky."

My hand collapsed, hitting me on the face on its way down. Moving it proved too much of an effort, so I left it where it was.

Tomorrow—or rather later today, he and I were going to have a talk about boundaries and when to wake me up versus let me sleep.

"Thomas is here."

A wary alertness stole through my limbs even as I resisted opening my eyes. Maybe this was a dream. If I pretended it wasn"t happening, it would go away.

The air stirred as Connor leaned over me. "Did you hear me?"

"No, you"re a figment of my dream. Go away, dream. Never come back."

There was a soft snort of surprised amusement before Connor nudged me again, his finger poking harder than last time. I played possum even as the pressure grew to pain.

"Ow." I slapped Connor"s hand away. "What is wrong with you?"

"Thomas is here."

"Tell him to go away."

I was too tired for this, exhaustion making my thoughts heavy and slow. No good would come of me trying to deal with Thomas when I was in this state. He needed a fully aware Aileen who could think quick on her feet. Not one who was a sleep-deprived zombie.

"Can"t."

I frowned at Connor. "Yes, you can."

Stubbornness was written on his face. If I didn"t know better, I"d say he was as apprehensive as me at the thought of Thomas showing up here so unexpectedly.

"You"re his eldest. You should get the task of dealing with him." Pleased with my delegation I collapsed back onto the bed, curling around my pillow.

The floorboards creaked seconds before a tapping started on the side of my head.

My eyes opened as I glared at my covers. "How long are you planning to do that?"

"Until you get up and deal with this."

I batted his hand away and faced him, leveling my best glare on him, the one that used to make privates think twice about testing my patience. It had no discernible effect on Connor.

"Why me?"

"This is your house," Connor informed me.

"You"re older."

One could say he had more experience with our sire—and arguably more patience. Really, he was the best option for the job.

"And you"re younger." He bent an inquiring look on me. "Shall we play this game some more or would you like to get the door?"

"Don"t bother," Thomas said from the threshold of my room. "I got bored with waiting and let myself in."

Connor and I froze, looking at each other with wide eyes.

A silent conversation flew back and forth between Connor and me, blame flying at the speed of light.

Me: How could you not have heard him let himself in?

Connor: He"s a scary SOB.

Me: You"re a badass vampire. You should have stopped him.

Connor: Ribbit. Twerking daffodils.

Or something to that effect. Much of his side of the conversation kept getting lost in translation.

Me: You"re so fired when this is over.

Connor"s lips twitched. Maybe he hadn"t caught the last part of our exchange.

Connor"s expression smoothed into an emotionless mask as he straightened, his attention focusing on Thomas where he leaned against my door frame.

Thomas"s expression said he was less than amused.

That was good. I wasn't either.

"How did you get in?" I asked, not bothering to get up.

When one barges into someone else"s bedroom, they could take what they got—which in this case was me lying in bed.

"My dear, I"m your landlord. I have a key." He dangled the key in question in front of him.

I eyed it even as I promised myself I"d do something about that at the first opportunity.

"You realize landlords have to submit written notice before visiting an apartment," I said. "They can"t barge in unannounced whenever they feel like it."

Already my patience was fraying, and we"d only been in the same room for minutes. No matter how many times I told myself I was turning over a new leaf when it came to him, I found myself reverting to our old roles. Every interaction between us started off at an eight on the irritation scale, and each minute we spent together made that rating climb.

Thomas flapped a hand at me. "Human laws."

Which evidently didn"t apply to him. One of the main reasons we butted heads.

It didn"t help that he was right. Even if I managed to file a complaint, he"d simply compel the authorities into forgetting it.

"Get dressed. I"ll be in the living room." He disappeared before I could argue.

I collapsed onto the bed, staring up at my ceiling. How had my life come to this?

Maybe Inara was right. The vampires in my life were multiplying.

"He has that effect on me too," Connor said soothingly.

I rolled my eyes to him and stared. He was the one to blame for this. Thomas would never have shown up here if it wasn"t for him.

Seeming to read my mood, Connor moved to the door. "I"ll let you dress."

"How kind of you," I drawled.

I lay there for several moments after my door closed behind him, pressing my palms against my eyelids and fighting for the calm, rational Aileen I knew I could be.

Thomas was like a bad rash that wouldn"t go away. If I wanted to get out of this without regrets, I would have to use skill and the proper application of leverage.

That meant not allowing my emotions to run away with me.

"Calm. You got this," I told myself.

Don"t let him get under your skin—and at least try to resist the urge to kill him.

Three deep breaths later, I rallied the effort needed to rise and get dressed, throwing on a simple pair of jeans and a light sweater in a nod toward the cold weather.

Seconds later, I opened the door only to find Connor"s back blocking me.

"What are you doing?" I asked as he shifted to let me out.

"Waiting for you."

The question of why hovered on my lips until I remembered there were more important things to consider—like my sire wandering around my living room, his gaze curious as he studied my belongings.

Connor followed as I entered the main living area of the apartment, stopping beside the kitchen island to watch Thomas study my things.

My home wasn"t fancy, but it was mine. Ninety percent of the furniture was second hand, gifts from friends and family or items I"d picked up at thrift stores or online. Despite that, it was cozy and comfortable. The fuzzy throw on the back of the couch invited you to sit and read awhile. Bright photographs I"d taken from the places I"d been when I was still human, coupled with the few pieces of artwork I"d picked up at local festivals, decorated the walls.

Thomas with his effortless elegance was out of place here.

I tried to look at the room through his eyes, but found I couldn"t. I was proud of the home I"d created. Even the beautifully furnished room he"d given me in the Gargoyle couldn"t have tempted me to leave it. This place was mine. Each belonging something I"d chosen for myself.

The only exception was the bathroom attached to the room he"d given me. I"d trade my current bathroom for that one in a heartbeat. That thing was next level awesome.

Thomas continued to peruse my belongings, despite being perfectly aware of my presence. He planned to make me wait. That came as no real surprise. Everything was a mind game with vampires.

I leaned against the counter, folding my arms and studying Thomas.

My sire was unexpectedly charismatic. Not handsome in the same way Liam was, but he had something about him that drew the eye. His strong jaw always contained a hint of stubble and his eyes were a piercing gray. Today, his hair had been slicked back away from his face, exposing his refined features.

He lingered in front of a photo of a castle framed by a calm sea, the clouds turbulent above it. It was a moody piece that had taken well over a dozen photos to properly capture. It was a favorite—one of the reasons it was in the living room as opposed to the bedroom.

Not looking away from the photo, Thomas asked, "Would you like to tell me why you spent several hours in a police station two nights ago?"

I stilled, not moving or blinking as the words repeated themselves in my brain.

Right now, my sire appeared calm and reasonable, but I knew better.

Power filled the room, and at its center was Thomas. It was a storm that threatened to break. When it did, it would sweep away all that stood before its fury.

Finally, he looked at me, his gaze piercing. He was a predator debating the merits of ripping out my throat.

The worse part was that as my sire he"d be within his right.

It was hard to build a relationship with someone when you knew you"d always be on two very different playing fields.

The threat was a reminder of my place on the food chain—near the bottom, only a rung or two above a human.

I swallowed my fear as I glanced at Connor. "You told him."

Connor didn"t answer, his body still and silent as if he"d been replaced by a statue while I wasn"t looking. It was like someone had freeze framed him between one inhalation and the next, leaving behind a pretty picture—emotionless and blank.

"Don"t blame him for your faults. It was your responsibility to inform me," Thomas said.

I ignored my sire, not taking my eyes off Connor.

The feeling I was fighting to suppress was new and unwelcome. Betrayal—and oddly enough, hurt. I hadn"t realized Connor held that power over me.

"You"re fired," I said in a flat voice.

His gaze swung toward me as Thomas looked on with faint interest.

"You should know—Thomas is very good at making you think something that isn"t true," Connor advised, fixing Thomas with another unfriendly stare. "I didn"t tell him about your adventure."

Cold amusement touched Thomas"s features. "You should have."

"It was handled," Connor said with no emotion. "Showing up here to damage my relationship with my sister isn"t likely to make me feel any more charitable toward you. This is the type of behavior that drove me away."

"It wasn't handled," Thomas corrected. "I had to clean up your mess. You missed two humans. They could have become a problem later on if they hadn't been dealt with."

I stiffened. "And how did you deal with them?"

Please don't say you killed them.

Thomas didn't look away from Connor. "Get whatever you're thinking out of your mind. I'm not a monster. I compelled those with any memory of you to forget you were ever there." As if an afterthought, he tacked on, "You may thank me at any time."

I grimaced, wanting to do the exact opposite. But, as much as I hated using compulsion on humans, Thomas had effectively handled what could have turned into a disaster.

"Thank you," I forced out.

Not that it mattered, since neither of them looked away from the other, their postures rigid. I glanced between the two, hoping their showdown didn"t end up damaging any more of my belongings.

After a beat, Thomas relaxed, his shoulders loosening.

I raised an eyebrow. I was surprised. I"d really thought there"d be a lot more back and forth. Maybe a few threats. Definitely some raised voices.

There was none of that.

I"d have to take notes from Connor to see how he did it. I could use some tips for the next time Thomas started in on his interference.

Thomas finally moved away from the photo he"d been studying, taking a spot in the center of the room.

"You can"t blame me for taking such drastic action. Until now, I wasn"t aware you had any sort of relationship with my youngest." The glance he sent me was cool. "She has shown an unrivaled stubbornness when it comes to the rest of our kind."

I smirked at him. Glad I wasn"t the only one who found our standoffs a pain in the ass.

"What are you doing here this early, anyway?" Thomas asked Connor. "The enforcer"s said you didn"t come home last night."

I went still, all former levity disappearing as Thomas went directly for the one topic of conversation I preferred to avoid.

"I live here now," Connor said.

I made a sound of dismay, fighting the urge to bury my face in my palms as Thomas stared at his oldest for several long seconds.

"He doesn"t live here," I said, jumping in for damage control.

Thomas"s attention swung to me, a frozen expression that was hard to categorize on his face

"He doesn"t," I promised.

Connor"s forehead wrinkled in confusion. "I do. You let me stay here last night. Don"t you remember?"

He reached for my forehead as if to check my temperature. "You haven"t had blood yet this evening. We should remedy that."

I batted his hand away. "That was for a night, not forever. I didn"t want him driving back to the Gargoyle in daylight."

"Ah," Connor said as understanding dawned. "This is what Lowen warned me of. Your contrariness."

A sound very like the hiss of a tea kettle left me.

The last thing I wanted was for Thomas to think I was trying to get in the way of him rebuilding a relationship with Connor. I liked my neck without puncture holes and Connor was a touchy subject that I didn"t quite understand.

Connor reached for me again, undeterred as he gently pushed away my flailing arm so he could hold his wrist to my forehead. His eyebrows pulled down as he took my temperature.

Vampires ran cold so I wasn"t entirely sure what he thought he would feel.

"Stop that." I knocked Connor"s hand away from my forehead. "What is wrong with you?"

Thomas considered us. "He lives with you?"

"No," I said at the same time Connor said, "Yes."

Connor frowned at me. "You hired me last night."

"Yeah, and I"m rethinking that today," I snapped, shaking my head. "I hired you to work, not live with me."

Connor"s head tilted. "There is a difference?"

Some of his confidence faded as uncertainty replaced it.

I didn"t know how to respond to that. There was a difference, a big one, but perhaps he didn"t know that. He"d been out of the loop for a while. Things had likely been done differently when he was still a human man.

I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "Yeah, there is, but don"t worry about it. I"ll explain later."

Something in me wouldn"t let me be as prickly or mean as I wanted. It"d be like kicking a puppy—if that puppy could also rip out your throat.

"Are you sure about this?" Thomas asked, his attention locked on Connor.

Connor hesitated, glancing at me once more before nodding. "I feel this is the best path to repairing that which is broken. She needs me, and I need to not be so close for now."

A thousand thoughts moved across Thomas"s face. Hope. Vulnerability. Resolve. They faded to be replaced by understanding. "Then I accept your terms."

Oh no, that didn"t sound good.

"What do you accept?" I demanded.

Thomas smiled at me, his delight making my stomach sink.

I hated when he got that look on his face. It meant that whatever scheme he was cooking up, I wasn"t going to like it.

"The establishment of your house, my dear," he purred.

"Connor, what is he talking about?" I asked, patting Connor"s arm as Thomas, done with the conversation, buttoned his jacket and prepared to take his leave.

Connor watched Thomas with the same level of unease as me.

"It"s quite obvious." Thomas smiled like a cat that had gotten into the canary"s cage and eaten it.

"Explain anyways," I said through gritted teeth.

Thomas moved to the door, a jaunty bounce in his step.

Dread grabbed hold. Thomas was never jaunty, and he was rarely happy.

"It is an old tradition," Connor finally said, his jaw tightening. "Though rarely used now. To exist, a house simply needs two vampires and the acceptance of a master."

Thomas aimed a toothy smile at the two of us. "An acceptance you now have. Congratulations my children. I"m so proud of you."

I was shaking my head before he even opened the door. Not that he was paying attention, he disappeared almost as quietly as he"d come. On any other, I would have said he was fleeing before we could retaliate, but this was Thomas—master of the city. I doubted he knew the meaning of retreat.

"What just happened?" I finally came unstuck, crossing to the door with some half thought out plan of forcing Thomas to take back his proclamation.

From below a car engine started.

"Our sire outmaneuvered us," Connor said with weary resignation.

"How? How did he outmaneuver us?" I had an inkling, but I wanted to hear it from him.

"I told you nothing good ever came of letting vampires into your life," Inara said, popping out of one of my kitchen cabinets.

They were mostly empty since I didn"t need food to survive. Vaguely, I got sidetracked wondering about the cabinet"s contents. Then, what Inara said, finally registered.

"You"re the one who told him he could stay." I pointed at the six-foot inconvenience who was the source of this mess.

Connor crossed his arms, looking between the two of us.

Inara tossed her head, her attention on Connor.

"Are you ignoring me?" I asked.

Inara didn"t respond to my question in favor of staring Connor down. "We"re not leaving. We were here first."

She was definitely ignoring me. Unbelievable.

"That is acceptable as long as you do not try your tricks on me," Connor responded.

I raised my eyes to the ceiling, asking what I"d done to deserve this. It was bad enough when I had the two pixies deciding things without consulting me, now there was a vampire doing it as well.

Where had I gone wrong?

Inara sneered at Connor. "As if you have anything we want."

"Mark me, Fae, you will not like what I do if you cross me on this," he warned.

I"d finally had enough of being talked over like I wasn"t even there.

"This is still my house. I decide who stays and who goes," I snarled.

Both of them gazed at me with blank looks. They turned back to each other.

"She"s so cute when she gets defensive," Inara said.

"This is the contrariness your consort warned me about, yes?"

"I"m not contrary," I shouted.

Inara flew closer. "And yet, in all the time we"ve stayed here, you"ve done little in terms of actually trying to evict us. Face it, there"s some part of you that appreciates our presence. Same with the vampire. If not, you would have told him to get out last night."

I stared at her with something approaching dismay. I had tried to evict her and Lowen. Many times.

Although, if I"m being entirely honest, not in recent memory.

Okay, now that I thought about it, there was a grain of truth in what she said. At least in regards to her and Lowen. Connor was a different thing entirely.

I"d grown accustomed to the pixies" presence. It was nice coming home to them. They made the early morning hours a little less lonely.

Of course, if she and Lowen kept pushing me on matters I didn"t want to be pushed on, I would rethink that stance. I was sure a pet, maybe a cat, could fulfill the same role while causing me less headaches.

A thought occurred to me. "Wait, how can Thomas allow me a house? Doesn"t my deal with the sorcerer preclude me from being forced into such things."

A few years ago, I"d been foolhardy enough to make a bargain with a sorcerer and then purposely failed to uphold my part. Now I owed the sorcerer a hundred years of service.

In retrospect, it had been a dumb move. In my defense, I"d been desperate not to let the vampires sink their claws into me.

When vampires made other little vampires, they assumed the responsibility for the newly turned. For one hundred years, the sire controlled every aspect of their progeny"s life. In return, the sire was tasked with the responsibility of teaching the new vampire the ropes.

In my infinite wisdom, I"d decided that having my every action controlled for a century wasn"t for me. Hence, the sorcerer"s mark I carried on my forearm.

It protected me in some ways, but it also left me out in the cold when it came to vampire society. Not one of the clans, but still a vampire.

Everyone knew if you attacked a vampire who had a clan, you were also taking on that clan.

Without one, I was fair game. The rest of the spook world saw me as weak. If I had no one, there was no one to avenge my death. Hence the many assassination attempts I"d survived. So far, most of those who"d come after me were small fry—easily defeated.

With recent events, I had to wonder if that had changed. If the Scattered were after me because of something another vampire had done, I was more than screwed. I was likely a dead vampire walking.

"Didn"t Thomas tell you that he couldn"t compel you to join a clan, but that you could join one of your own volition," Inara said. "Perhaps your hiring Connor and letting him stay was enough of an opening for him to authorize your House."

That was an awful small opening.

"It's not be an entirely bad idea. With you in a house, others will be less likely to attack." Inara pointed at Connor. "Especially if he"s part of your House."

He frowned at her.

Seeing my confusion, Inara rolled her eyes. "I did a little digging on your vampire brother. Before he got caught in Niamh's web, he was considered as deadly as Liam. Even the Fae have a name for him after all these centuries. The pale reaper."

I considered Connor, unable to help my curiosity over how he'd managed to get a name like that.

His expression gave nothing away.

As much as I hated to admit that anything Thomas did might benefit me, Inara was right. Having Connor affiliated with me in an official capacity would keep some of the riff raff off my back.

"I need to think about this," I said.

Inara snorted. "It sounds like it doesn"t matter what you think. It"s a done deal. Right, vampire?"

Connor dipped his chin. "If the master of the city has decreed it, we will not be able to undo the house"s formation."

That wasn"t what I wanted to hear.

Connor hesitated. "What is this deal with the sorcerer? Why would you think it would keep you from a house?"

Inara laughed. "He doesn"t know of your stupidity. This should be good."

I sent her a flat look that said shut up.

"Go ahead, show him." Inara tilted her head at Connor.

"Show me what?" Connor asked.

As if sensing it was the topic of conversation, my mark pulsed once.

"Her sorcerer"s mark." Inara"s lips twisted in disgust.

Not that I could fault her for that outlook. The mark had been a source of trouble from the start. It hadn"t been nearly as helpful as I"d hoped.

Connor looked at me with shock. "You made a deal with a sorcerer? Those never end well."

He wasn"t telling me anything I hadn"t guessed.

"So far, he"s left me alone."

At least for the most part. There had been one issue where he"d forced me to pluck out my own eye, but I liked to think we"d moved past that.

"Let me see it," Connor ordered, holding out his hand.

I narrowed my eyes at that imperious hand, the desire to be stubborn simply because I could, warring with the knowledge that Connor could help. He had a range of experience that I did not.

That didn"t make being told what to do any easier. It was akin to having a sandblaster aimed at my back—uncomfortable and liable to impart a desire for someone else"s blood.

"Say please," I ordered.

Connor started to speak, but closed his mouth and studied me.

I knew my expression was guarded. Inara watched carefully from the sidelines.

This was a test. For us to work together with any level of success, he had to know how far he could push before I shoved back.

The future of our relationship depended entirely on the next words out of his mouth.

In this, he proved wiser than our sire. Whether it was because of his history of having his own choices taken away one too many times, he didn"t reach for my arm.

Instead, he looked at me with infinite patience. "Please let me see. I can"t help if I don"t know what I"m dealing with."

When I still didn"t move, his expression fell. "If I make you uncomfortable, I can go."

With only a small grumble, I pushed up my sleeve and offered him my forearm.

Trust had to start somewhere. Connor had yet to do anything to truly deserve my suspicion.

His smile was grateful as he bent over the mark on my forearm. Two of them to be exact.

To a human, they would look like a series of tattoos. The predominant image was an oak tree, its branches heavy with leaves, the roots extending to the inner crook of my arm. From behind the tree, a stylized lion glared, threads of metallic purple woven into his mane and face.

Connor took my wrist, tilting my arm so he could get a better look.

"There are three marks," Connor observed, not looking up.

"What?" Inara demanded before I could.

Confused and more than a little worried, I watched as Connor traced the tree and then the lion. Last he touched a pair of black birds perched in the canopy of the tree that I"d missed until now.

"That"s new," I said.

Inara landed on my wrist, her eyes narrowed as she glared down at the birds like they"d somehow managed to steal a kill from her.

"Son of a troll"s turd, I can"t believe this," she swore.

Neither could I.

She darted to my shoulder, grabbing my ear and twisting. "Where did you get this?"

I snarled. "I don"t know any more about this than you."

I hadn"t even known there was a third mark until Connor pointed it out.

Expertly, Inara avoided my swipe, darting in for another attack. "How the hell did you get another one of those?"

I leaned away from the annoying pixie. "Do you really think I"d let anyone else put another mark on me?"

I already had too many of them. No way would I chance another one.

"I don"t even know how I got it," I yelled.

Inara stopped attacking me, hovering in midair, her face flushed and her hair disheveled as she panted. "How long have you had it?"

All eyes found me as I paused, considering.

That was a good question. I really wished I had an answer.

Inara gaped at me. "How can you not know?"

"It"s not like I spend my time staring at them."

"It is older than the rest," Connor said looking up from where he was still bent over my wrist.

That silenced the both of us.

"That"s not possible," I finally said. "I would have known if I"d had a pair of birds on me for that long."

Inara flew in a tight circle mumbling to herself.

I ignored her as Connor straightened, a thoughtful look on his face.

"You should also know the sorcerer"s mark seems to be unraveling which should be impossible." He blinked at me. "I find all this quite interesting."

"Son of a bitch," I whispered.

There went my evening—and possibly my next hundred years.