Cheating Death (Wraith's Rebellion Book 2) Read online

  Sasha was very much the grateful damsel-in-distress. Vampire sex, you know?

  Wait, but you were in the box.

  I was, and yet I wasn’t at the same time. Sasha has seen me naked, Helen. Did that never occur to you? She knows my body as intimately as I do, she’s had to stitch and patch me together often enough.

  I had gained Lu’s ability to walk, which I knew I could do, but I can’t go where I can’t see. And I had seen the Council Chambers as they put me into the box, but I didn’t know what was going on outside of my prison cell.

  Sasha tends to tell it that Wraith saved the Council. That was the start of the warming. Death had gone rabid over me, and Wraith stepped in when he realized that Death had gone mad with power.

  Obviously, that’s not the case. I don’t recall most of what happened. In fact, I thought it was a starvation dream, having Sasha under me. I had to piece things together, though once she started talking about the sex, it came back quickly.

  In a very awkward sort of way.

  So, the Council let me out of the box, which as you know, I was put into for the whole baby incident.

  I personally love the information dump, but when you tell stories, it’s better.

  Suck it, how about that? There are fifteen hundred years of politics you need to know stepping into the Council Chambers. This is not a story where I sparkle, or werewolves fight with vampires. They can’t be summed up simply with ‘obey’ or ‘they are the Council’ especially not when it involves me.

  They started off thinking of Wraith as an expendable body. I made myself useful to them by accident, both as Quin and as Wraith. Both parts of me want to see them burn in a hellish agony for what they did to me.

  Though it comes and goes, and until last night I had somewhat put it behind me.

  My anger makes me more powerful, makes me ignore the pain and work through. It’s that way with most people, but anger also makes you stupid.

  So, what about the good that the Council has done you?

  Well, upon discovering me, they took me from Lu, sort of. You’re supposed to return the Progeny, not keep it like a lap dog. They fined him, shook a finger, and said all sorts of things, and he shouted all sorts back.

  When I let slip something of my childhood, Lucrecia went a funny sort of colour. I told her one thing. She filled in the rest based on who was involved. Me, and Lu.

  Or, really, Lu and a child.

  She went to the Council and demanded stock access. Of course, I already had stock, most do before they go to the Council, but it’s the protection you go and register them for.

  The Council didn’t even argue. They wouldn’t give me stock as a starter or even booster, and they did add a few rules. Such as they can audit my stock at any time and make certain I’m not doing something wrong, but others had to do a great deal more.

  When I said that I had free reign, I meant it. Weapons of the Council are typically kept close and on a leash. I was not. I could leave Council lands and come back as much as I wanted. While with me, Sasha had access to lands which were typically closed to other vampires.

  I was their golden child.

  What exactly is your power, if they just let you come and go whenever you pleased?

  I can kill people. With my mind.

  I... I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic. Seems a stupid power for a vampire to have.

  I can kill people with my hands, strike fear into the hearts of mortals and know how to clean up a mess and go undetected. I’m an assassin who was trained and paid for by someone else and then gift wrapped for them.

  They could have taken ultimate control of me, and may have if anyone else had been Elder Council when I was found. Lucrecia set the mood, and the rest of the Council went with it. Before they realized there might be a choice, there was too much tradition and pomp around me for them to take advantage. Too many previous Council Members who, after my resistance, came forward during their meeting about me to support my freedom and denounce those who would use and abuse me.

  They had a big meeting over you?

  They were worried I had broken the leash. Oh, they’ll do a meeting for me, but not for Death.

  Jerks.

  In my case, the Council Member who denied payment was found at fault. Really before the meeting convened. We only really have our word. If you tell someone you will pay them and then don’t? That’s a problem.

  The Council of the present has brought us into the light of mortal eyes. They have protected our interests and placed Lu on house arrest while stopping his powers. They played with all sorts of things until they found the right way.

  And right before he’s to be removed from the Council, the Elder is killed? If it were a matter of revenge, Lu would have waited until the Elder was a normal vampire again. Or taken out his base. Tanked his investments. Not… killed the man.

  As far as I know, there were no connections between the Elder and Lu. None, there was no reason for it. He didn’t know where the staff was or anything of value.

  Except obviously he doesn’t need the staff and knows it. So, what’s the point of irritating the Council?

  When hearing the words ‘Vampire Council,’ one thinks certain things. Words and images come to mind. Those same words come to mind when thinking of immortals. Things like stone, caves, mountains even.

  We as mortals tend to liken immortality with the things which would survive throughout the ages.

  What you don’t think of is a little brick building on the same street as the café, right downtown and in the midst of it all, that looks like it has been around for about a hundred years. You don’t expect to be greeted by a happy mortal in a sundress. Or shown into the living room where you could sit and look out the windows to watch mortals walking by.

  The sun was almost set when we arrived at the building. Quin drove us, donning those large sunglasses into his car, then between the car and the building.

  I assumed there was special tinting on the windows, one which made convening at all hours of the day less painful.

  The furniture was modern and comfortable. Quin motioned me to the lone armchair in the corner of the room. From there, I watched the street, amazed at how often I had passed the building and never thought twice about the occupants.

  What one does expect when talking about the Vampire Council is the fingerprinting done upon entry. The statement of who I was and what my job was, what I was doing there.

  You expected the decanter of blood on the coffee table, instead of water, and the fine crystal glasses to drink out of. The vase of white roses with the single blood red rose in the middle of it, even that was expected.

  There were rugs on the floor and nondescript prints on the wall of…

  “That’s not the real Mona Lisa, right?” I asked, because of who I was dealing with.

  “Sure.”

  “It was stolen and then returned magically.”

  “We let them believe they had recovered it.”

  “But it was tested.”

  “Uh, yeah, it was.”

  “Quin. Did you steal the Mona Lisa, forge a duplicate, and then have them hang the forgery in France by bribing the curators?”

  “I didn’t, Lucrecia did when I bitched about it,” he said idly as he scratched the side of his face. “You people just can’t be trusted with nice things.”

  “But the Mona Lisa?”

  “It’s pretty.”

  “It’s pretty?” I demanded. “You stole the Mona-fuckin’-Lisa and hung it on a wall in a random building in my city, and all you can say about it is that it’s pretty?”

  “Well, I really think it’s a derivative of his earlier work and is reminiscent of the narcissistic culture of the day, the brush strokes are not his best work, and his time was wasted on portraits. He should have been inventing.”

  “That’s what everyone says about everything to sound fancy,” I grumbled, turning back to the window.

  As I turned back, the dark-skinned vam
pire from the night before walked casually by. She was dressed in one of those woollen types of winter coats, the ones that were popular decades ago and were coming back into style, with the big buttons down the front. Her hair was pulled up and out of her face, hands in her pockets and little white earbuds in her ear and trailing down into her coat.

  She looked like a mortal out for an evening stroll.

  One who had the look of someone who would strangle the next person to run into her.

  “That would be Amma,” Quin said. “I’ll save you an internet search. She is the creator god of certain peoples. Also known as Amman, and various others of that sort. She has ruled in Africa, India, and even served Odin for a bit.”

  “She’s the one from last night.”

  “The Middle Council serves at the Chambers. She was bound here until tonight when the Second Younger becomes the middle.”

  “Who’s the new middle then?”

  Quin pointed out the window. “The redhead there. Balor goes by James now. You might recognize his name, Gaelic leader of the gods. He ruled that land for centuries, first vampire in. Everyone else had to submit to him. And not just because he was first. He has his way of bending others to his will. He has made seven children. Three remain alive.”

  “That’s four.”

  “Four?” Quin asked. “Oh, right, the Elder is dead, plus Margaret. The new Elder is Bob.”

  “Bob?” I asked. “Goddess of creation, king of the gods, a mad scientist, and Bob?”

  Quin smiled and sat in the chair nearest me. “I like Bob, he’s funny.”

  I heard the front door open and tried to relax. As I sat there in the lengthened silence, a thought occurred to me.

  “Did they say this was about last night?”

  “They called me,” he murmured. “If you’re wondering, yes, it probably means they have summoned me as a weapon. They’ve also called in Devils. I don’t blame them for taking no chances.”

  “So, you’re going to leave me alone again.”

  “I could just wait for it to pass.”

  “No, I meant, why can’t I come with you?”

  “Absolutely not, I forbid it. Helen, the things I’ll have to do? They turn the stomachs of vampires. There’s a reason I am a weapon of the Council and not lumped into the Devils, who are also weapons but used as a group. You are not witnessing what I do, not tonight or any other night.”

  Amma walked into the room without her coat. Underneath she had been wearing a golden coloured blouse and light grey pants. She entered barefoot, not even socks.

  The attendant had asked us to leave our shoes by the door, but I hadn’t thought twice about it. It was Canada, I had been raised not wearing shoes inside a house.

  Amma poured some blood into a glass, then sat on a couch against the wall.

  “Last night you were late, yet today you show up on time,” she said quietly. “That too has been noted.”

  “She means I seem more eager tonight,” Quin said to me.

  “She sounds kind of bitchy for someone who needs you to kill and torture a bunch of people because she can’t bring herself to do it.”

  “Helen,” Quin said as Amma focused entirely on me.

  I held my ground. Vampires were just so used to mortals quivering in the background.

  “You’re using him only to throw him to the side again, don’t sit there like I’m the one in the wrong.”

  “My goodness, Margaret, what in the Lord’s name did you do?” A quiet male voice asked.

  Margaret and who I could only assume was Bob entered. Bob was a middle-aged man with a receding hairline. He was a little rounder than most of the vampires I had seen. It was a little off-putting, yet for a moment I thought perhaps he was a mortal.

  “What?” Margaret asked as Balor slipped in behind them. “I chose a bookish librarian type with a little fire who turned out to be a descendant. She was not lippy like this during initial interviews.”

  “She met Lu,” Quin said.

  “You’re not supposed to take mortals home to daddy, Quintillus. It’s bad for morale. Did you tell her about him too?”

  “Yes.”

  “Before or after meeting him?”

  “Before.”

  “Quintillus!” four voices snapped.

  Balor sat beside Amma, looking thoroughly annoyed.

  “Your instructions were clear,” he said in a heavy accent. It might have been Irish, I’m not certain. “Not to scare the mortals. Not to share the darkness we carry. You’re supposed to tell them about your life, not carry on your revenge plot.”

  “Naw,” I said almost in a baby voice. “Are you afraid of what mortals will say about daddy?”

  “You’ve no idea what you are talking about.”

  “I think it’s you who doesn’t know or chooses to ignore. If you wanted to keep Quin quiet, you should have gifted him back to Lu the way you chained Wraith to Death. Sacrifice an innocent to keep your secrets rather than making yourselves uncomfortable.”

  “Has she been behaving oddly today?” Margaret asked. “She seems flush.”

  “Mortals act differently when faced with death,” Amma said.

  “Especially when faced with your Death,” I muttered.

  “Of course, you told her all about him too,” Margaret muttered. “Quin, sweetie, sometimes you need to shut up.”

  “Look, I asked for an audience about Lu and these murders. It is time sensitive. He broke the box; his powers are coming back. His guard is dead.”

  “Lu will disappear, he does it sometimes.”

  “While killing a vampire in the process?” Quin asked. “That sounds like the type of thing that not even you can keep under wraps. We have to act, and act now.”

  “We summoned you, we did not accept your audience,” Margaret said.

  She turned to Bob. The older man reached into his pocket and fumbled for a moment before he produced a small stone. He tossed the stone towards Quin, who caught it out of the air and looked at it.

  Something came over him. I wasn’t certain how to describe it, but it was as if all hope and life just drained right out of him. He went deathly still, just staring at the stone as everyone else watched him.

  “You are the only one who still has contact. Send the summons.”

  “Death was selected for Council?” I demanded.

  “Wraith,” Quin managed to get out.

  “Oh, well, then Lucrecia must be just walking up th—” as I tried to finish my smart-assed sentence, I turned towards the window and motioned.

  Catching sight of Lucrecia crossing the road towards the building.

  “Oh. My. God. You are all just a bunch of overdramatic characters,” I muttered, turning back to the others.

  “Did she just do what I think she did?” Margaret asked.

  There was a knock on the front door as Balor arched an eyebrow.

  “It would appear so,” he murmured.

  No, I did not have magical powers. I think.

  I hope not.

  If I did, I knew in that moment that it wouldn’t end well for me. If I was really lucky, my neck would be snapped and that was it. If my luck went the way it normally did, it just would not end well. Especially given the conversations we had had over the previous night.

  “Oh, come on, like you didn’t read bad books growing up where conveniently everything happened just so? Quin, quit the Council and everything to do with them. That’s how you kill the bad guy, literature says so.”

  “This isn’t the time for jokes,” he said desperately.

  Lucrecia walked into the room, still in the process of removing her leather gloves. Her brown eyes flowed over everyone else in the room, then settled on me.

  “You’re the bitch that Sasha told be about.”

  “I’m the what?” I demanded.

  Lucrecia frowned, then turned to the Council. “I hate this language. Can we please outlaw it? German was so much better. Until Lu had to ruin it for us.”


  “Chick may be the word you are looking for,” Quin said as he played with the stone in his hands. “It’s too late. He doesn’t need the staff. She’s, well, odd.”

  “Yes, it seems several interviewers are predicting our behaviour based on bad literature, right down to arrival times. Not our fault we work like well-oiled machines. However,” Lucrecia turned her focus on me. “Sasha says this one is pointing things out about the old man. That maybe we should listen to her.”

  “Like you will. Classic plot device is none of you listens and little old me has to save everyone after I’ve been cast out and ignored, to prove how stupid you all are.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” Lucrecia said. “Word has reached the ears of mortals, this fact that vampires are dying. This is not a good thing. Listen to this mortal. And consider the fact that Lu has been able to stay a step ahead of us for some time. It is possible that he saw a pattern in our behaviour that his books reflect.”

  “You mean to say that he expects us to ignore what she is saying?” Amma asked.

  “No,” Balor said. “I suspect he believes we will ignore the girl entirely. She is, after all, just an interviewer. Even if we want to sink our teeth and other parts into her, she is a flash in the pan. I think he expects us to ignore Quin.”

  “Who looks like you just gifted him to Lu, whatever did you tell the poor boy?” Lucrecia asked.

  “Wraith has been called to serve,” I said.

  “Why ever would that effect Quin?”

  “I’m not being paid enough for this,” I said in response.

  “What do you want in payment, then?” Lucrecia asked.

  “Turn me.”

  “Ballsy woman, aren’t you?”

  “She doesn’t expect you to agree to it,” Bob said. “She doesn’t expect that any of us would agree to her terms because she doesn’t want us to.”

  Five vampires suddenly focused on my boobs. No, my heart?

  I forgot about the tablet.

  “This is the property of, well, not you. Any attempt to take a tablet will be seen as assaulting an interviewer. If you wish for me to shut it off, I will.”