Sex, Lies, and Vampires

so inhuman!'

'And yet, sister, you have no difficulty believing that I would,' Adrian said, his pale eyes light with a mocking glint.

'That's different,' she snapped, her nostrils flaring as she stopped in front of Adrian. 'You are the Betrayer. Such unthinkable actions are commonplace for you.'

'OK, time out!' I jumped up so unexpectedly, Melissande had to back up a couple of steps. 'First of all, Adrian is no longer the Betrayer. Second, you guys, all of you, seem to think that he took pleasure in the things he did!'

'Hasi, do not bother. It doesn't matter what they think—'

'It may not to you, but it does to me,' I said, my Irish temper flaring as I glared at everyone in the room. Even Belinda, the most innocent of all of them, couldn't meet my eyes. 'Adrian is cursed. Do you understand what that means? A demon lord, this Asmodeus that Saer intends to overthrow, has bound Adrian body and soul. He had no choice but to obey his master's bidding. No choice. Death isn't even an option, because as long as the curse binds him, Adrian cannot be killed.'

'He had a choice!' Melissande shrieked, surprising all of us with her sudden explosion. She pointed a shaking finger at Adrian. 'He offered himself in service to Asmodeus in exchange for dark powers.'

'Bullshit!' I bellowed, without a care that my language wasn't at all polite.

'Nell—'

'No,' I said, shrugging off the restraining hand Adrian had placed on my arm. He stood, obviously intending to stop me, but I had had enough. 'They don't understand, none of them do, and it's about time someone told them a thing or two.' I turned to Melissande, my arms crossed over my chest, my chin lifted so I could look her in the eye. 'Do you know why Adrian was cursed? He didn't have anything to do with it. Your father turned him over in exchange for sexual powers. When he was nothing more than a baby, your father took his son, flesh of his flesh, blood of his blood, and handed him over to a demon lord without so much as a backward glance. He was sold into bondage, Melissande, sold by the very man who should have been protecting him.'

Hasi—

Melissande stared at me, her face a picture of denial.

'No. I do not believe—it cannot be—he made the choice—'

'He was two years old! Tell me how he had a choice! Because of his father's betrayal, he has been made an outcast,' I yelled, swiping at the tears that suddenly seemed to appear out of nowhere. The mummies, evidently sensing my upset, started wailing in eerie, high-pitched voices. 'He has been hated and scorned and hunted because of acts he was forced to commit, acts he regretted with every beat of his heart, but did any of you take the time to ask why he did what he did? No, you just condemned and vilified and denounced him without ever bothering to find out why he was cursed. Your self-righteous purity makes me sick! Adrian has been alone for five centuries, tormented and tortured, without even one hand extended to him in friendship!'

The mummies, still obeying my command to sit, pawed at my legs in distress. I gently pushed them away sniffing back my tears, unashamed of my outburst but wishing I had conducted it with better control over myself.

Adrian pressed a warm kiss to the back of my neck.

Thank you, Hasi. No one has ever stood up for me before, especially not with such an eloquent tongue.

I accepted the handkerchief he held in front of me and angrily wiped my eyes, absently patting the mummies' heads to calm them down. They deserve it, I thought about the objects of my diatribe. They all deserve it.

Melissande had sunk into a chair by the time my tirade was finished, her hand held to her mouth as if to contain a scream.

Christian stood, looking awkward for a moment before he offered his hand to Adrian. 'I am ashamed that I did not question the origins of your role as Betrayer. It is a small payment, but I offer you my help now.'

A few more tears snaked down my face as Adrian gravely shook Christians hand, allowing himself to be pulled into a brief hug. Allie sniffled and reached for a napkin. Belinda smiled, saying nothing, but her eyes were filled with sadness. I realized then what my outburst had cost her. I had been so focused on making Melissande understand how evil Saer was, I'd given no mind to the pain the truth would cause Belinda. Whether or not she knew the depths he would go to, she was his Beloved. They had a bond which I knew went far beyond mere emotions.

'I'm so sorry, Belinda, I spoke without thinking.' I disengaged the mummies from my legs and leaned down to give her a penitent hug. 'That was cruel of me to speak about Saer in front of you, but you have to understand that part of Adrian's and my concern has been for you.'

She shook her head, giving us all a sad smile. 'You don't have to sugar-coat the truth for me. I knew when Saer returned a few days ago desperate to Join after years of refusing to do so that something was up. I'm not blind to his faults, you know. I've always known he was the ambitious sort, and knew that someday he would resort to using me to get what he wanted.'

'We'll protect you from him,' I said firmly, reaching for Adrian. His fingers were warm and solid as they held mine. 'We won't let him use you again.'

She nodded, her eyes full of tears. I turned away to give her a little privacy, returning to the love seat next to the mummies. They cooed with happiness, stroking my leg as they raised their eyeless faces in adoration.

'You really have to return them to their inanimate state,' Adrian said, his voice dry. 'In the very immediate future.'

I twirled the ring I still wore on my thumb. 'You're just jealous because they don't fawn all over you.'

'It is the power of the ring, Hasi, not your personal magnetism.'

I pinched his wrist in retribution. 'That's as good an opening as any, so I'll take it. With all due apologies to Belinda and Melissande, let's talk about what we're going to do with Saer. I assume that the ring wields enough power to do a number on him? Do we want to just hobble him, or… uh… fix him permanently?'

Christian, who had reseated himself, rubbed his chin as he glanced toward Melissande. She had remained in her chair, her face an expressionless mask, her gaze lowered to her hands. 'I suspect that any action less than a full defeat would only delay the inevitable.' He looked a question at Adrian.

To everyone's surprise (but mine), Adrian didn't jump in with an agreement. Instead he sat with his arm around me, his hand stroking my hair as he worked out what he wanted to say. I knew how loath he was to destroy his brother. Even though Saer and Melissande clearly felt no bonds of loyalty to him, he regarded his familial ties in a different light. 'Saer will use his army to destroy me. He cannot defeat Asmodeus with the ring in my possession, or that of my Beloved. Thus he will strike at me first. If we can weaken him sufficiently, he will be effectively destroyed without it being necessary to take his life and put Belinda at risk.'

Could she survive Saer's death? I asked. I know you claim you can't live without me, but is the same true for Beloveds? Will she go mad or fade away if he was to die?

An echo of sadness brushed my mind. A Dark One cannot survive the loss of his Beloved, but she can survive his.

I don't care what you say about other women, but I know for a fact that this Beloved couldn't.

He didn't answer that, although I knew he wanted to deny it.

'I have always felt it necessary to remain separated from Saer because of Damian,' Belinda said quietly, her voice clogged with unshed tears. Her eyes met mine, and an unspoken promise was asked and granted. 'But now Damian has another mother, so perhaps it would be best—'

'Right,' I interrupted rudely, holding up my hand to stop her from finishing her sentence. 'New house rule. No one gets to sacrifice themselves, OK? Not Adrian, not Belinda, no one. We can do this without anyone having to become a martyr.'

Allie smiled at me. 'At last, someone with common sense. I forgive you for trying to burn Christian in the sunlight.'

'Thank you,' I said. 'I nominate myself as leader of this shindig. Any objections?'

'Yes!' Adrian and Christian yelled together.