Much Ado About Vampires

I thought of the anguish, the endless well of torment, that bound him so tightly it would have driven anyone else stark raving mad, and said nothing.

“Are we all here? Excellent. I’ve taken rooms for the summoning,” Terrin said as he bustled out of the elevator of the hotel at which we’d arranged to meet. He shooed us toward it, glancing at his watch to add, “We have slightly less than twenty minutes, so we really should get started.”

“What exactly does a summoning consist of?” Pia asked as we all squished together in the elevator. “I’ve never seen a Tool being used before. Is there something we should do? Do I have to order Ulfur to do anything now that I’m officially his lich . . . er . . . mistress?”

“Yes. You should be running far, far away,” Kristoff muttered under his breath, shooting Alec a crabby look. Kristoff hadn’t taken very well to Alec’s plan to overthrow Bael. None of them had, really, although in the end, they all agreed that if Ulfur, Diamond, and I wanted to live any sort of normal lives, Bael had to go.

That didn’t mean that Kristoff hadn’t pulled Alec aside as soon as we got to the hotel, and had what appeared to be a heated discussion in German.

“Do you speak German?” I had asked Pia, watching the two of them as they stood in a corner of the hotel’s lobby, Alec standing with an implacable expression, while Kristoff, gesturing wildly, evidently vented his spleen.

“No. Which, I have to say, right now I’m really happy about, because I have a feeling Kristoff isn’t being very nice to Alec, and I really would hate to have to yell at him for that, since he was so sweet about paying for Ulfur.”

We watched for another minute, Ulfur joining us. “Are they angry at me?” he asked.

“No. Kristoff doesn’t seem to like Alec’s plan, and I don’t think Alec likes being yelled at.... Oh, now that was just uncalled for.” Kristoff had, with an angry word, turned away from Alec, who put out a hand to stop him. Kristoff shoved Alec back.

“Ouch,” Pia winced as Alec returned the favor, shoving Kristoff, who stumbled backward over an ottoman, smacking his head on a table. She sighed. “I suppose we should intervene. On the other hand, maybe they just need to work things out between themselves.”

“Probably.” Are you all right?

Yes.

His answer was as terse as his mood, so I didn’t push him, simply waited for Kristoff, who had leaped to his feet and was now yelling in Italian at Alec, to get done so we could continue on. By the time they had done so, and Ulfur inquired worriedly about the level of pain involved with being one of Bael’s little playthings, the two men had worked out most of their animosity without, thankfully, any blood having been drawn.

Terrin eyed Alec as we rode up in the elevator. “I spoke to the Sovereign on your behalf.”

“And?” Alec asked, one eyebrow rising in question.

Terrin sighed. “The Sovereign wishes it to be known that it does not involve itself in situations not of its making, or which lack a direct impact on its purview, which, despite your threat, this does not fall under.”

Alec swore under his breath. My stomach clenched with worry, causing Alec to pull me up next to him, his arm around me.

“That’s all it had to say? It doesn’t get involved in situations like ours?” I asked, alternately wanting to cry and to yell at the head of heaven that it had to help us because we were the good guys.

“No, that’s not all that was said. It made mention of a few other things, one in particular which I think you might find pertinent.” Terrin’s eyes twinkled with amusement.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“It was in the form of a personal addition to Alec.”

“And that would be?” Alec asked.

Terrin smiled. “Bring it on.”

Alec snorted in derision.

“Bring it on?” I asked, astonished.

“That’s what it said, yes.”

“Bring it on!” Fury roared through me at the words. “What the hell sort of thing is that to say? Bring it on? I don’t think I like this Sovereign at all. Just wait until we get Diamond out. We’ll see who’s got the attitude then!”

“Cora, I don’t think—” Pia started to say, but I interrupted her.

“Your precious Sovereign wants us to bring it on? Well, we’ll just do that!”

Terrin looked shocked as Alec pulled me tighter against him, saying in a weary voice, “Mi corazon—”

“I will not stand here and let some jerkwad flip us that kind of crap, Alec!”

“Jerkwad?” Terrin asked on a gasp.

“Oooh,” Pia said, her eyes big.

Alec’s eyebrows rose as he considered me. “I had no idea you were so aggressive.”

“I’m not aggressive, not overly so,” I said, pushing up my sleeves, just as if I were going to battle that moment. “But I don’t tolerate being pushed around by anyone, not you, not Bael, and not some half-assed leader of a group of pansy angels and cherubs and . . . and . . . and whatever else they have in this lame version of heaven!”

Terrin blinked.

“Why don’t you tell us what you really think, Cora?” Kristoff suggested with a hint of a smile.

Before I could do just that, we arrived at the floor where Terrin had taken a suite. I marched into the room feeling as if I were a dog with my hackles up, annoyed beyond anything that our sole hope for help had dismissed us without so much as batting a heavenly eyelash.

“Bring it on,” I growled to myself, and added a few more thoughts as Terrin arranged Ulfur and me on either side of him.

Beloved, muttering curses to yourself is not going to help our cause.

Perhaps not, but it sure makes me feel a whole lot better. Besides, our cause is lost at this point. At least it is until we show the Sovereign that we mean business.

Not lost, no. We have yet to hear what the Sovereign will do to help us, although if you continue invoking curses upon its head, you risk losing that help.

I stared at Alec as Terrin put one hand on my shoulder, and one on Ulfur’s, closing his eyes to chant softly to himself. Didn’t you hear Terrin? He said the Sovereign refused to help.

He stated the Sovereign’s policy toward mortal involvement, yes. He also mentioned that wasn’t all that was said. I imagine Terrin is waiting until your friend is safe before revealing what form the aid we seek will take.

I really hate it when you are smarter than me, I groused, giving him a quick glare that melted instantly at the burning heat shimmering in his forest green eyes.

I’m not smarter, love. I simply have more experience with Otherworld officials like this one. And if you keep looking at me like that, I will take you off to the nearest bed and ravish you exactly as you are imagining at this moment.

Oh, that would be lovely.... My attention, unfortunately, was demanded by Terrin at that moment, so it was with reluctance that I gave up imagining licking every inch of Alec’s body, and focused on the task at hand.

The summoning was much briefer than that conducted by the Guardian Noelle, presumably because Ulfur and I were there to give Terrin’s summons a bit of an oomph. Whatever the reason, no sooner had he spoken the few words of summoning than the air shimmered and gathered itself up into the form of a woman holding a bright pink marker in one hand, and who was saying over her shoulder, “Now, if you restructure the focus group to include participants who haven’t been strung up by their toes, you’d have a better idea of what torments really work, and what sort of a bias the group has.... Why, hello, Cora!”

Terrin’s shoulders sagged in relief as he released his hold on our shoulders. “Thank the stars. Welcome back, Diamond.”

“Terrin! It’s been forever since I’ve seen you. You look marvelous, as ever.” Diamond smiled happily at him, her smile growing when she spotted Alec. “Oh, and it’s that nice Dark One of yours, Cora. But I wish you hadn’t