Burning Both Ends Read online

  Some of the stiffness left Andreas’s figure. “So you have, and I am glad to have you here.” He slapped Gabriel none too gently on the back. “How does Sebastian’s death affect your plans, Marta?” he asked too casually. “Do you still desire the crown?”

  Ari’s eyes flashed to Marta’s face, but the vampiress gave away nothing.

  “I wouldn’t turn it down. If you’re asking if I will challenge you for it, the answer is no. Not if you change things around here, and if you can successfully hold off other challengers. You have a legitimate claim to the crown, but I will not have another outsider come in and take it. They’re bound to come, you know. Toronto is a coveted prize, and the crown has not been available for dozens of decades.” She looked him up and down. “You have proven powerful, Andreas, but you are also inexperienced in running a large court, and your challengers will have Europe’s support.”

  “I appreciate your candor,” Andreas said, “and will keep your reservations in mind. There is much still to be done before matters are fully settled.”

  A clever woman, Ari thought, to admit her ambitions. According to Gabriel, Marta was over three hundred years old—older than Andreas. A formidable adversary if she changed her mind. She would bear watching.

  In the awkwardness that followed her declaration, Marta soon left them. Ari was tempted to follow her to see where she went and who she talked to. The vampiress had said she wouldn’t challenge Andreas, but she hadn’t said she would support him against other challenges. Ari thought it was a big omission and brought it up.

  “I think you’re worrying too much,” Gabriel said. “Marta will be fine. She’s the cautious type, and she doesn’t know you yet. She’ll be there when you need her.”

  Predictably, Andreas shrugged. “We will find out soon enough. I believe part of her assessment is accurate—one or more challenges are certain to come. I look forward to our people arriving from Riverdale. Even then, we will be greatly out-numbered, and it is too soon to rely on the promises of those we have just met.”

  “Agreed,” Ari said, feeling an instant sense of relief that he wouldn’t take anyone at face value. “Just because they didn’t like Sebastian doesn’t mean they’ll like us.” She turned to Gabriel. “Who are these dissenters she talked about? If it comes down to a fight, where will they stand?”

  “I can identify most of those Marta met with over the last six months,” Gabriel said, “but I’m not confident they’ll be of much use. As soon as I got here, it was obvious no one was willing to take the lead in standing up to Sebastian. They were too intimidated, and rightfully so, I might add. He was vindictive and had spies everywhere. We can’t forget those spies are still out there—somewhere—and the dissenters may still be afraid to act.” He spread his hands in a doubtful gesture. “I’m sorry, but I can’t predict what most of them will do.”

  “So be prepared for anything,” Ari said.

  “Exactly.”

  The conversation soon turned to room arrangements for the troops yet to arrive, and Ari lost interest. She watched the two men’s comfortable interaction. Gabriel’s presence was proving indispensable, both for his knowledge of Sebastian’s court and his long-standing loyalty to Andreas. She would be more confident of Andreas’s ultimate success, knowing Gabriel was at his side—if Gabriel’s friendship was genuine. People change.

  A wolf appeared at the door, motioning to Gabriel.

  While he was away, Ari voiced her concern. “You trust him, don’t you? Gabriel, I mean.”

  “I trust his allegiance to me. Why do you ask?” Andreas frowned. “Has he done or said something that makes you doubt him?”

  “No, but you questioned him about his reasons for coming to Toronto.”

  “Would you have done less?” When she shook her head, he echoed her earlier thoughts. “People can change over time. I had to be sure, but I was satisfied with his answer.”

  “It sounded OK to me, too, but you know him a lot better. I wanted to be sure I was reading him right. You’ll need his support in the coming weeks.”

  Andreas’s quick turn of the head indicated he’d sensed an unspoken meaning in her words, but before he could pursue it, Gabriel returned.

  “News travels fast,” the blond vampire said, dropping back into the cushioned chair.

  Andreas cocked his head. “A little more information would be helpful.”

  “Oh, sorry. I was thinking about our unexpected visitor. Never known this to happen since I’ve been here. The local Guardian has come calling. Says her name’s Zoe.” He turned to Ari. “She claims to know you.”

  “She does.” Ari popped to her feet, an instant smile on her face. “Where is she?” This was the best news she’d had in the last twenty-four hours. She hurried out of the lounge, crossed the audience chamber, and threw open the doors. “Zoe!”

  A slender, leggy woman with short brown curls waited rigidly in the hallway with a vampire standing on each side of her. Her pixy face lit at Ari’s greeting. Like Ari, Zoe was a mixed-species witch, but her family had bred with the elves rather than humans. The elf blood accounted for her nearly six-foot height. When Ari dismissed the vampire guards, Zoe relaxed, beamed from ear to ear, and enveloped Ari in a smothering hug.

  “I had to see for myself if it was true. Is Sebastian really dead? Let me look at you. Are you all right? How long are you staying? Who is this hunky new prince I’m hearing about?”

  “Whoa!” Ari said, laughing and trying to extricate herself. “In order, I think. Yes, Sebastian’s dead. I’m fine. Don’t know how long I’ll be here.” Ari dragged the other woman across the chamber toward the lounge, with Zoe twisting her head from side to side, gaping at the decor.

  “God, this is awful,” Zoe said, peering at one of the statues. “It looks like something out of an old Hollywood epic movie.”

  “Well, yeah,” Ari conceded. “Sebastian’s taste was really bad. But you’re going to like this.” She opened the lounge door. “Let me introduce you to the hunky prince, Andreas De Luca.”

  Ari grinned as Andreas glided forward. “This is my friend, Zoe Vesper, one of the—I believe it’s six—Toronto Guardians.” Blushing, Zoe nodded, confirming Ari’s count. “Zoe helped me when I came to Canada on the drug case.”

  “I remember. My pleasure.” Andreas bowed over Zoe’s hand, causing her to blush again. When they had murmured polite words, Ari introduced Gabriel. The guys were on their best behavior, quite charming, in fact, and Zoe’s expression proved she was suitably impressed.

  “How did you hear about this so quickly?” Ari asked when introductions and civilities were completed.

  “You, indirectly. You notified your magic council, your president talked with mine this afternoon, and it eventually trickled down to me. But everybody’s talking about it now. So here I am.”

  “I’m surprised you’re still up.” It was nearly 2:00 a.m. and most Guardians had a regular day schedule. “Didn’t you tell me you were normally getting up at dawn, which is only about four hours from now?”

  “You got me there,” Zoe admitted. “I am a bit of a sleepy head at this time of night, but this is big news and a friend called and woke me up. I got dressed and rushed over because I couldn’t wait to see you. And meet the new prince. Was that too pushy?”

  “Are you kidding? I’m glad to see you. So what do you think? Aren’t these guys a lot different than Sebastian?”

  “They are certainly nicer looking,” Zoe whispered behind her hand.

  Ari grinned. She’d have to remind Zoe about vampiric hearing. Due to Sebastian’s closed-door policies, the Toronto guardian wasn’t used to dealing with vampires. Ari glanced at the men to see their reaction. As expected, Andreas remained unruffled, but Gabriel was smiling broadly. Not a good sign from a man who’d already shown a tendency to be a Casanova. Zoe wouldn’t have a chance if he chose to turn on the charm.

  As the four settled down to talk, Ari and the vampires recounted for Zoe the wolf attack in Riverdale
that had brought them to Toronto and the details of Sebastian’s demise. Ari skipped over any mention of the telepathy, but Zoe drank in every word, appearing not to notice the omissions. When the two vampires grew restless with the approaching dawn, Zoe rose with obvious reluctance.

  “I should go. I’d love to chat later today. Andreas, I hope we meet again. Sebastian shunned the Magic Council. I’m hoping you will change that.”

  “Count on it. I meant it when I said it was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Vesper. Please give my regards to your president, and advise him I am eager to meet. Perhaps you could arrange a suitable time and place.”

  Zoe’s face lit. “I’ll do that. The sooner, the better.”

  Andreas bowed even more elegantly this time, and Zoe flashed an approving smile at Ari. He’d made another conquest. Not to be outdone, Gabriel kissed Zoe on both cheeks with a grand flourish, and the elf-witch left with a silly grin on her face. Ari and Zoe definitely needed to talk.

  “It’s hard to take in how fast things are changing. Until Arianna, I don’t think a Guardian had ever been inside these walls,” Gabriel said once the doors had closed behind Zoe. “Now we’ve had two in twenty-four hours.”

  “It is a change long overdue. Ms. Vesper and the Magic Council can be helpful to us.”

  “I don’t doubt that,” Gabriel said, smiling. “After all, I see how valuable Arianna is to you. In so many ways.”

  Andreas loudly cleared his throat.

  Gabriel turned an innocent face to him. “Yes? Were you going to say something?”

  Andreas’s lips twitched. “Get out of here before you get yourself in trouble, my obnoxious friend. Dawn will be here in a couple of hours, and I wish to spend time with Arianna. Alone.”

  “I’m going.” Gabriel gracefully eased from the chair. “I have an uncanny sense of knowing when I’m not wanted.” He exited the room with a breezy wave of the hand.

  Ari enjoyed their interplay. They reminded her of squabbling siblings, with Andreas in the role of the elder brother. “Is he ever serious?” she asked.

  “Occasionally, but not if he can help it.” Andreas took her hand, and turned her to face him, his smile fading. “Is something wrong? Earlier, you seemed troubled, cara mia. Is it something Gabriel said or did?”

  “No, nothing like that. My funky mood has nothing to do with him. I’m trying to absorb everything that’s happened to us.” She debated whether to bring up the one issue they hadn’t discussed—her impending return to Riverdale. The weariness in his eyes convinced her to wait for another day. If his responsibilities had kept him from realizing her departure was coming, that was a good thing. He didn’t need another distraction.

  She produced a coaxing smile. “Don’t pay any attention to my mood. It really is nothing. Come on.” She grabbed his arm and tugged. “Help me find the way to my room. It’s late, and as you said, dawn is coming soon.”

  He held back an instant, apparently not satisfied with her answer. When she tugged again, he gave her a lazy smile. “Finding a bedroom is the best idea I have heard all evening,” he murmured. “Dawn may have to wait.”

  Chapter Six

  The lycanthrope reinforcements arrived before Ari crawled out of bed the next morning. Lilith and Russell had taken charge, and most of the recruits were settled into temporary quarters.

  While looking for her morning coffee, the first new arrival she ran into was Mike, a werewolf friend from her stint a year ago with Daron’s security team. He gave her a shy grin—effusive for Mike. A big man, even in human form, in a prior life he had been special ops in the military and was not someone to be messed with. He was also an amateur chef. He’d found the kitchen occasionally used by Sebastian’s lycanthropes or for visitors and was cooking breakfast. The mouthwatering aroma led Ari straight to him. Sizzling bacon. Scrambled eggs. And, bless him, coffee. If any of the locals had been around when Mike arrived, they must have left when the Riverdale recruits started to wander in. He had drawn a noisy crowd, and the hungry group jostled for spots in line, clutching plates and forks.

  A delicately handsome werelion at the center of the commotion abandoned his place in line to give Ari an enthusiastic hug. Benny, another member of Daron’s security team, was a big flirt. In spite of that, he was also a favorite with Ari. The grin on his face and his excited chatter proved how exited he was to rejoin his former colleagues. The remainder of the crowd drooling over Mike’s feast were weretigers whose family had been in service with Andreas for two hundred years. Relieved to be surrounded by friends, Ari’s spirits lifted immediately.

  As soon as the initial greetings were over, everyone dug into the stacks of pancakes and platters of steak, eggs, bacon and potatoes Mike placed on the tables. Ari headed straight for the coffee pot. Except for clanging forks and smacking lips, the room was quiet for several minutes as the food steadily disappeared.

  Eventually, appetites were sated, and Benny demanded to be told the story of Sebastian’s defeat.

  “I can’t believe I missed the excitement,” he said. “I want to hear every word that was said, every detail.”

  “Every detail?” She sighed. “OK, I’ll try. Maybe Russell and Lilith can fill in anything I miss.”

  Ari repeated the story, some parts several times, as their questions brought new facts to mind. She described the awesome power in the room and Andreas’s athletic flip over the older vamp’s head. She described Andreas catching the knife and talked about the barrier dust, a weapon most of them had never seen. She downplayed the appearance of the fire spirits as just an anomaly of her witch fire. Gabriel or someone else might question it, but she wouldn’t encourage the speculation. For now, the questions began to wind down.

  “So does that really make Andreas the new prince?” Benny asked.

  “He has the best claim,” she said. “So far he has taken charge, and Sebastian’s vamps have accepted him.” She went on to talk about Gabriel, Marta, the potential challenges, and her concerns that they didn’t know the real loyalty of anyone. “Andreas thinks he can trust Gabriel. I just don’t know. On the other hand, for sure keep an eye on Marta. Oh, hell, keep an eye on everyone, and stay close to Andreas no matter what he says.”

  The kitchen door banged open and a female werewolf entered. The she-wolf stopped when she saw the assembled group, then headed straight to Ari.

  “There’s a call for you,” she said. “On the lounge phone.”

  Ari looked at her sharply, immediately wary of anything that separated her from her companions on this first morning inside Sebastian’s compound. The she-wolf was a stranger, and Ari didn’t know if there was anyone they could trust among the wolves. Sebastian’s pack of wolf assassins had set up two ambushes in Riverdale. The first had killed her mentor; the most recent had almost killed Ari. She wasn’t about to give their friends a third try.

  Still, a landline call wasn’t unusual. Cell phones were forbidden within the compound due to the threat of GPS tracking, and she had turned hers off last night. To reach her, anyone would have to call the main lines.

  “Who are you?” she asked. “And, who’s on the phone?”

  “I’m just the girlfriend of one of the vamps, and I didn’t ask who it was. Do I look like an answering service?” The wolf’s tone was indifferent rather than hostile.

  “No,” Ari said, rising from the table. “You look like one of Sebastian’s wolves, and I don’t trust any of you.”

  “Suit yourself. I don’t care. I’m just delivering a message.”

  “Then you shouldn’t mind waiting here until I get back. Mike, will you watch her?”

  “Sure, no problem.” The big werewolf waved his spatula in the air. “I’ll even feed her.” He pulled out a chair and motioned for her to sit. She sat.

  “Russell, Lilith, with me.” Just in case a surprise waited beyond the doors, Ari was taking backup.

  The only person they saw in the hallway was Marta’s consort, Percy. He passed them without speaking. Maybe Marta was
OK with the new establishment, but this guy seemed less accepting. Another person she needed to watch—in a place filled with potential enemies.

  When she entered the lounge, she found nothing except a phone with its hold light blinking. The precautions hadn’t been necessary. This time. Ari sighed. It was so hard to identify the enemy these days.

  She picked up the receiver. The familiar voice of Riverdale’s Magic Council president got her immediate attention, and he didn’t waste time on preliminaries.

  “Something has come up. I need you to return to Riverdale. We have a situation.”

  “What kind of situation? I thought we’d agreed I’d stay in Toronto for a while.”

  “I know, but this is urgent. Steffan is missing.”

  “Missing?” Her heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean by ‘missing?’”

  “Exactly that. He didn’t return from a run night before last. He separated from the pack to conduct what he described to them as private business and failed to rejoin them. Since he has a habit of hunting alone part of the night, they didn’t report his absence to the Council until late yesterday afternoon.”

  Two nights ago. The night they’d fought Sebastian. The night of the Hunter’s Moon. It was like a bad omen.

  “Are you sure he’s not sleeping it off somewhere?” It was a big night for the Otherworld. All the wolves would have been running, followed by feasting. A time of over-indulgence, especially for wolves, the werecreatures most susceptible to the moon’s persistent call. Ari understood the power of the moon. Not in the same way, but the magic of the moon goddess was at the root of all witchcraft.

  The President sighed, as if surprised by her question. “He missed a council meeting, Arianna.” The wizard’s answer was firm, chiding. “How often does that happen?”

  Ari understood. Never. Steffan was too conscientious. Although he wasn’t natural-born from wolf parents, he had accepted and even embraced his new condition after he was infected with lycanthropy. He’d quickly become a respected leader, headed the largest pack in Riverdale, and was the lycanthrope representative on the Magic Council. He honored his responsibilities.