That, coupled with the stupidity of Peter’s actions, only reinforced my assumptions about him being newly turned.
Royce’s gaze shifted to meet mine, and for just a second I thought I felt the same type of pull and compulsion to come to him that Peter had vainly and oh-so-obviously tried to use on me. I turned my gaze away with more effort than such a simple act should have taken.
“Thanks for getting rid of him.”
He nodded and then turned his attention to my doorway. His thin lips quirked upward in a smirk as he ran a fingertip along the frame, sending luminous ripples through the otherwise invisible shield that kept out all things Other aside from those I personally keyed to it. A tendril of whitish smoke curled from his fingertip as it reddened, much like Peter’s hands had. “This is new.”
“Yeah, well, some creatures of the night can’t take a hint,” I said, moving to take his wrist below the cuff of his elegantly tailored suit jacket and pull him past the barrier.
Though he looked surprised at the touch, he didn’t resist. The barrier clung to him like Saran Wrap, more grudging than it had been for Chaz the first time I tried this, not wanting to let the vampire pass. Guess it was smarter than I was, trying to keep the dangerous stuff out instead of inviting it in for a little chat.
Once he was past it and the tug of resistance faded, I immediately let him go, shut the door, and backed away to put some much-needed space between us. “You’ve got good timing. Want to tell me what that was all about?”
“That vampire you just met is the progeny of Max Carlyle. I assume he told you why he was here.”
“Yes, but that’s not what I meant. What’s the big idea, calling me property?”
His smile could have melted the coldest of hearts. “Simply that. You and I are contractually bound rather than by blood or bond, but the old ways still apply. Long before these courts and contracts came about, any vampire binding a human was considered to have staked a claim that other vampires had to respect. It’s simply not done to harm or feed upon a human claimed by another vampire without his permission. You would not take your neighbor’s dog or housecat and do harm to it. You might play with it, but you certainly wouldn’t kill it or take it from its owner without permission. Do you see?”
I’m pretty sure my face must have registered some incredulity. He was comparing human servants to the family dog? He sighed at my speechless reaction and continued.
“I’m not saying that it is right or fair for humans to be considered this way. It is simply how it has always been done. To be bound to one of us is also considered an honor. It means that person has the benefit of the protection of the one who chose them and that they are being considered as a candidate for being turned. Since we are bound by the contract, you are ‘taken territory,’ so to speak. It puts you off limits as food or sport by anyone else since you are, by our laws, my property.” He paused thoughtfully before giving voice to a little laugh, amused by his own thoughts. “Though in this case I suppose ownership goes both ways, considering those little changes you made to the contract. An interesting and novel concept, though I don’t see how you might take any advantage of it.”
Great. Just great. Shaking my head, I stalked to the couch and sat down, folding my arms over my knees as I leaned forward to watch him. “Okay, you know, I’m not going to debate the morality of the subject with you, but I want to make one thing crystal clear. We have a working relationship. I will never be bound to you or anyone else by anything more than paper. Understand?”
He regarded me thoughtfully for a time, head tilted slightly to one side. That look from those black eyes was intense enough that I wondered if he now saw me for who I really was; not just another threat or conquest. He nodded and approached, settling himself with that enviable, centuries-practiced grace on the other side of the couch. “I understand.”
Somewhat mollified, I eased back into the couch cushions. He was a lot of things, but not a liar. Since he seemed to respect my stance on the matter, I trusted him to play nice for the time being. “Good. So what can you tell me about Max Carlyle? Any idea why he sent a flunky out to play fetch?”
“He considers you responsible for the death of one of his latest creations. Through your actions, he also holds me accountable.”
I stared blankly. Royce gestured at the gun I’d almost forgotten lying on the table. “Surely you remember Anastasia Alderov?”
“What?” Confusion assailed me. “You mean he made her a vampire? How could he hold me responsible for that when you were the one who threw her to the Weres? Completely aside from being batshit crazy, she betrayed him when she hooked up with David Borowsky. That’s not my fault!”
He smiled thinly, though there was no humor there. “Yes, he made her a vampire. He may not know about her treachery. His information about what happened that night was probably limited to what was in the papers or on the Internet. Perhaps the police report. You should know that we are not allies by any stretch of the imagination. Since I was the only other vampire present and I can almost guarantee that no Were who was there that night would have divulged what happened, he couldn’t possibly get a firsthand report. He probably assumed from the data at hand that you were the one who killed her. Particularly as it is public knowledge now that you are bound to me, and some of the pictures in the news showed you garbed as a hunter. He would have recognized the belt you were wearing at the time for what it was and thought you were fighting her under my orders. Also, as I said, I’m not entirely sure that he understands that Anastasia betrayed him. Even if he did know, I can tell you that he’d take any excuse to undermine my authority and reputation.”
“Peachy keen. So why did he send rocks-for-brains to drag me off? I thought you said when a vampire claims a person, they’re under their protection and others have to lay off?”
“Precisely so. The exception to this rule is when violence is committed between one vampire and another, whether or not it was justified. Since he thinks that you or I killed Anastasia, he wants recompense for the grievance and sees doing harm to you as that recompense. However, he went far out of line by trying to take you. You see, he has no solid proof that either of us were responsible for the loss of his progeny. All he can be sure of is that we were involved somehow. Due to that, he probably thought to take you so that he could use you as leverage in negotiations to get me to give him something he wants.”
I rolled my eyes. “Sure, that makes all kinds of sense. Vampire politics are ridiculous, you know that?”
He laughed and leaned back in the couch. One hand brushed those shoulder-length raven tendrils out of his eyes so he could regard me fully, resting his other elbow against the back of the couch and knuckles under his jaw as humor sparkled in his eyes. He looked like he was posing for a photo shoot. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was being flirtatious. “I can see where others might think so. We tend to stick to our ways since that’s what has worked to keep the majority of us alive for so long.”
I pursed my lips in thought, wondering why he was being so accommodating and what was in it for him. He was being far too casual and nice to me tonight. What did he expect to get from me?
“Are you the exception to the rule then?” I asked, hoping this was a safe topic. “You’re the one who decided it was such a great idea to follow in Rohrik Donovan’s footsteps and get people to see the warm, fuzzy-bunny side of vampires after all.”
I’d always been curious why Royce had been the one to reveal the existence of vampires to the world. Rohrik Donovan, the leader of New York City’s largest pack of werewolves, had
