Ten, page 46
Paige leaned back in her chair and crossed her bound arms as best she could. She stared through her messed-up tangle of curls and waited for the smug vampire to continue.
“It’s quite simple, really. I needed the Lung Clan as allies; and the Lung want their hard-earned werewolves back. Now, I was happy enough to let Lorcan have his fun and destabilize the Lung for a while, but eventually it had to end. Unfortunately, I think it ended in bloodshed, and now Lord Lung’s sister is missing.”
“So, we are your werewolves,” Paige growled.
“Indeed, and you are going to help us round up the others,”
Merlin said. “But unfortunately, it’s not enough for us to just ship you all off to Hong Kong at this point. We need to heal the divide and remove the unnatural fear that my kind has of yours. I mean, you saw the panic that just one weakened werewolf caused. Imagine if it had been you out on the floor. I’m certain we would still be cleaning up pieces.”
“You set up Morgan,” Paige growled. “Why?”
“He was the weakest we could find, and his addictions made him easy enough to control. I must say, though, it took my daughter nearly a week to seduce him, even after you broke his heart—”
“What!” Paige snapped.
“Are we starting to feel uncivilized?”
Paige slumped in her chair and shook her head.
“Good,” Merlin continued. “We needed to show vampires that werewolves could be controlled, all while demonstrating how effective they can truly be. In fact, I’m quite sure that all the other clans will soon want the service and protection of trained dogs.”
Paige bit her lip and sat on her hands. Merlin smiled joyfully as she squirmed.
“Now, from what I understand, you are one of the alphas. It is very important that we break you first. I’m sure you see the reasonableness of this. If we control you, and we control the purple-haired one, I’m fairly certain that everyone will fall in line. I wasn’t expecting your meteoric rise among the ranks, but it really works to my advantage, so thank you, thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome,” she growled slowly.
“I also have the very real problem that my grandson is probably plotting against both me and my dear sweet daughter.”
“Poor you,” Paige grumbled. “Maybe you shouldn’t have tortured and killed so many people.”
“It brought my son back to life. Honestly, the lives of a few animals were nothing in the equation. I was actually impressed that it took so few, but once I had the Lung antivirals, it was really quite trivial. A few thousand years of waiting, ended with enzymes,” he sighed. “Mordred was much simpler to save. I assume that you did know that you’ve been sleeping with the traitor.”
“So, you saved Arthur, and moved him into a new body, right?”
she asked.
“Precisely. Of course, I could only save pieces, and it took ages to reconstitute him, but, overall, I’m quite happy with the results. The hardest part was actually getting a human genome with enough similar traits to Arthur’s old body—”
“King Arthur was Japanese?” Paige asked. “How did I miss that?”
“I can totally see what Mordred sees in you,” Merlin said blandly.
“It’s funny how people instantly gravitate to superficial physical characteristics. What I really needed was a singularly damaged and determined individual. I needed intelligence, and I needed someone with the inability to make antibodies to kill the infant vampire while he
was slowly incubating in his spinal column. That and green eyes. For some reason, infection is always more successful in those with the green-eyed gene.”
“Are you done telling me your evil plan? I don’t know what else to say,” Paige muttered.
“I wouldn’t necessarily call it evil to save your son’s life,” Merlin sighed. “But that’s not my plan for you, Miss DeMarco. You have a pivotal role to play in the months to come, both for the Lung Clan and to keep my own family in order.”
“And if I refuse to be a part of your plan?” she dared to ask.
“It’s simple enough. I kill your mother, your father, your little half-sister, and I torture your mates until they go mad. If you still don’t agree, I kill you and start working on the spare who is blissfully wandering around the upstairs castle. Why are you smiling?”
“It’s just, you’re so honest. It’s kind of refreshing after everything that I’ve been through,” Paige sighed. “Tell me, did you arrange for Irvine to attack me?”
Merlin half nodded, half shrugged. “I didn’t have to really arrange much. Some things really do just work out for the best. Of course, Mordred losing his temper means that the Lung want his humiliation to be epic. Arthur also has an opinion on the matter, so I really want to indulge him as well after all this time,” he said. “Oh, and Mordred broke my only living daughter’s heart, so I’m going to enjoy this.”
Georgia sat at Mr. Lambley’s bedside just staring at her hands.
Across the room both Minerva and Steve grumbled, as they had to endure nurses and IVs. Mr. Lambley blinked occasionally and seemed intent on studying a water stain on the ceiling.
“Does that look like a lion to you?” Steve asked.
“A tiger,” Georgia said softly.
She picked at the fresh tape on her back. The nurse shot her a glare. Georgia sat on her hands and sighed.
“So, what exactly did I miss?” Steve asked.
“Merlin turned our servant into King Arthur,” Minerva said flatly. “I must say, I didn’t see that one coming.”
“There was a werewolf, and it attacked Mr. Lambley,” Georgia added. “The vampire who took over Ren ended up being. . . yeah, I can’t even say it.”
“Schatzi, are you all right?” Minerva asked. “Did you see—?”
“It was all a dream, wasn’t it? That thing couldn’t be real,”
Geoffrey said. “Can’t be real. . .”
“I heard that it was all special effects makeup,” one of the nurses said as she checked on Mr. Lambley’s wounds. “You just rest, my lord.”
Georgia wandered over to Minerva’s bedside. The blonde bombshell had an angry spider web of red lines across her neck.
The other nurse peeked under the gauze.
“You’re lucky that you got the splinters out so quickly, my lady,”
the nurse noted. Georgia smiled a little but said nothing.
Once they were alone, Georgia kneeled next to the recovering vampire. Minerva rolled her eyes.
“If you’re expecting a thank you, be warned that I will live far longer than you ever will, Berliner,” Minerva sighed.
“That thing was real, wasn’t it?” Georgia asked softly.
“Of course, it was real,” Minerva hissed.
“Why did it attack Mr. Lambley?” Georgia asked. “It could have attacked anyone in the whole damn room, but he went straight for him; and you look like you know why.”
“Berliner, sometimes you are too damn smart for your own good.
It will get you killed one day.”
The door to the infirmary swung open. Georgia narrowed her eyes at the tall mixed-race man with the blond buzz cut and bulging muscles. He pointed at Georgia.
“His Highness would like to see you, Miss Sutherland,” Ivan said.
“What, he’s no longer Ren to you?” she asked.
“Ren is dead. I’ve made my peace with that fact. I suggest that you do too, for your own sake,” Ivan said as he led her out of the room.
Once they were alone she hissed, “He was your son.”
“Misha was my son, Miss Sutherland,” he said as he yanked her arm. “Ren got what he deserved.”
She bit her lip and followed in silence. He dragged her down a few flights of stairs and into a study with an ornately-carved desk.
Georgia bristled as she saw Merlin sitting in the chair with an incredibly self-righteous look on his face.
“I thought I was here to see Arthur,” she said.
Merlin pointed to the other door in the room. “He’s in conference right now with some of the other house lords. It’s a funny little business with him having to prove that he’s the real Arthur and all that,” the vampire said. “Thank you, Ivan. As always, your help has been indispensable. Can you go check on the insurance policy upstairs?”
“But of course, Lord Merlin,” Ivan said. He gave Georgia a strange look before slamming the door.
“Is he really King Arthur?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“How long?” she choked out.
“Well he was king almost two thousand years ago—”
“No, I mean how long was Ren. . . infected?”
“For over fifteen years, but it wasn’t until last year when the infestation really came to life. I think it may have had something to do with his feelings for you. Hormones do go haywire when emotions run high,” Merlin said. “Fortunately, you behaved exactly as expected and gave him the elixir from Dr. Pang when he needed it the most.”
“You couldn’t possibly know that I’d do that,” she snapped.
“You’re just spouting a bunch of smug vampire bullshit because it worked out in the end. Well I, for one, don’t buy it.”
Merlin’s supremely smug smile actually faded a little. He started rubbing his chin as he studied the disheveled, furious woman lounging in his visitor’s chair. He leaned forwards and rested his head on his folded hands.
“You really can’t be swayed, can you?” he asked.
“You killed my boyfriend. What can you possibly say to me that will change my mind that you aren’t a complete and total asshole?”
“Well, when you put it that way, what chance does a man have?”
a British accent asked as the door opened. “Merlin, have you talked the poor girl’s ear off yet?”
Georgia looked away from the familiar face with a strange voice.
Arthur slipped around the desk so that he could kneel in front of her.
She turned her gaze to the door.
“I think they want to see you now on that other business matter, Merlin,” he said. “Miss Sutherland, if I could please have just a moment of your time.”
“I really don’t know what to say to you, Your Highness,” Georgia said as she started studying the ceiling.
Merlin eased out of his chair and let out a long, low whistle. “I’m sorry, my son, but I don’t think you are winning this battle,” he muttered before heading into the conference chambers.
“Why don’t you start by calling me by my name? It’s Arthur.”
She started picking at her nail polish. The vampire sighed.
“Can you not even bear to look at me?” he asked. “I can remember a time when all you ever wanted was me—”
“I wanted Ren!” she snapped. “Not some vampire who took over his corpse.”
She gasped as he grabbed her hand and pressed it against his chest. Her eyes widened as she felt the thump, thump, thump of a heart and warm skin.
“As you can feel, I am still very much alive,” Arthur said. “The process didn’t go entirely as expected, you see.”
“You’re still alive,” she said as she reluctantly looked at his face.
“Is Ren still—?”
“It’s complicated,” Arthur said. “Ideally we should be together at this point, for lack of a better word, but I’m afraid my human host is remarkably stubborn.”
“You mean he’s fighting you,” Georgia said as her heart started to flutter again. “He’s still in there and probably driving you crazy, and you don’t know what to do, do you?”
“I know that there is only one person on this planet who can possibly convince him to let me in,” Arthur said as he raised her trembling hand to his lips. She jerked away violently.
“Why on earth would I ever convince him to let a vampire take him over? He’d rather die than be part of you,” Georgia snapped.
“Oh, we will both die if we can’t come to an understanding, Miss Sutherland,” Arthur said. “But if you can find it in your heart to help us, you, and your love can be together, forever.”
“You’re lying,” she said.
“All I’m asking is that you give me a chance to show you that my intentions are pure,” he said. “It’s not my fault that I was born into this particular body, but now that we are stuck together, I just want a chance, not only for myself, but for this man who I can feel loved you more than anything—”
“Please, just stop talking,” Georgia said as she tried to slip away.
“Do you have any idea what it’s like to wake up after thousands of years?” he asked. “I was cold, and alone, and the only tiny light I ever had in that darkness was the memory of someone that I loved more than life itself.”
“Stop, please,” Georgia pleaded.
“The memory I had— she was so beautiful, so perfect. I never thought I’d ever see her again, but when I first saw your face, it was as if a light shone upon me for the very first time. Once I saw you, it was like I had only been asleep for a night, and you were right back at my side—”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You’re just like her. Your hair, your face, your body—”
“You’re confused—”
“I’ve never been so clear in my entire life, Miss Sutherland. I know, down to my very bones, that this body agrees with me. Miss Sutherland, you are the one I’ve chosen to be my wife.”
“Oh, hell, no,” Georgia said as she fumbled for the door. She had made it almost to the stairs when she heard the words that made her stop cold.
“Mada ikite iru,” Arthur whispered in Ren’s flat American voice.
The vampire blinked a few times and shook his head. He reached out his hand and pleaded, “I’m begging you, Miss Sutherland. Can you just give me a chance?”
Georgia gulped and gave the tiniest of nods. Arthur dropped to one knee immediately, but she waved frantically before he could reach into his pocket.
“Please, I just need time,” she said hoarsely. “But I promise, I’ll give you a fair chance. I may not be a vampire, but I keep my promises too.”
The vampire broke into a huge grin. Georgia had to stare in wonder at the sheer power of the emotion on Ren’s old face. He gave her a polite bow once he hopped back to his feet.
“Well, at the very least, I’d like to invite you to stay a little longer in my castle,” he said extending his hand. “As a guest for a very special event.”
“Oh, really?” she asked suspiciously.
“Well, I think it’s time that my house is put back in order, and there are few society announcements that I think you will take a very special interest in,” he said. “You may no longer be a servant of my son, but that also means that you are perfectly free to be courted by anyone including myself.”
Georgia looked down at her tattered, filthy dress and the streaky, caked-on makeup on her arms and chest. “Um, maybe I should get cleaned up before the vampire festivities?” she asked.
“But of course,” he said. “I’ll send for you as soon as it’s time.
You’ve made me the happiest vampire alive, you know.”
Georgia could only choke out a quick, “I’m not making any promises about that,” before she turned and ran for the stairs.
“You can’t ask me to make a promise like that,” Lorcan snapped as he slammed his fist on the conference room table. “These are people, not animals.”
Paige sat quietly in her corner under the watchful gaze of Merlin and Bam-Yin. Mina sat next to her father, wringing her hands as she glared at her husband.
“Would you rather that the bloodshed continues?” she asked softly. “We have been fighting the Lung for centuries—”
“And you, of all people, Mina, would think that selling human beings into slavery is a preferable option?” Lorcan growled.
“I don’t know if that creature qualifies as a person,” the sheriff said. The Jaeger nodded from his chair at her side. “All werewolves are to be executed upon sight. The fact that we are even having this discussion is a mockery of Cesare traditions,” she said as she pointed one of her spindly fingers at Merlin. “You should have the Azarola and Jiangshi in this discussion as well, if you are really trying to change the tradition.”
“Lord Jiangshi and Lady Azarola have already submitted their requests in writing, including ones to not be stuck in a room with a murderous kin-killing bastard,” Merlin said. “Now I realize that this could apply to multiple men in this room, but I’m assuming for the time being that they meant Lord Lung.”
“It’s so nice to make such a strong impression,” Bam-Yin said as he kicked up his sandals on the empty chair next to him.
“Very well, but what is she doing here, Merlin?” the sheriff asked as she pointed to Paige.
Merlin nodded to her. Paige took a deep breath and stretched out her hands. As her claws popped out, the sheriff’s eyes turned frighteningly cold.
“Intressant,” the Jaeger muttered.
“Perhaps there is another way we can show that these creatures can be tamed,” Merlin offered. Everyone turned as the conference room door swung open. Arthur smiled apologetically as he took his seat near Merlin and Mina. His smile changed into a cold grin as he looked at Lorcan sitting alone in his section of the table.
“Did I miss the good part?” Arthur asked.
“I’m still not ready to accept you, stillborn,” the sheriff said as she sneered at the interloper. “You have offered little proof that you are really Arthur Pendragon—”
“What, other than being at your orgy in Pompeii?” he asked. “You know the one with all the horses and Demetrius Aurelius the three-legged wonder—”
“Enough!” the sheriff barked. Arthur sauntered over and whispered into her ear.
Paige could just pick up, “Don’t try me, Livia, or there will be worse secrets spilled tonight.”
The sheriff stiffened in her seat. “You certainly have Arthur’s arrogance. I’ll give you that,” she said. “Go on, Merlin. What is your plan for this thing and her kind?”
Paige glared at the old woman. Arthur gave Paige a little wink.
