The room was furnished casually, with leather couches and armchairs scattered about in an almost random pattern. Since only vampires lived here, the heavy furniture was moved about to suit whoever was using the room at any given time.
Taking Cyn with him, he made his way to a collection of several large armchairs positioned directly in front of the window, but facing inward. His security people spread throughout the room, with a couple stationed behind him, between his chair and the empty window. The windows were bulletproof, of course, and the possibility of an attack negligible within the compound, but it was a risk Juro would not be willing to take.
He sat down, nodding for Wei Chen and the others to sit with him. Duncan took up his usual station to his master’s left, while Cyn slouched on the wide arm of the chair to his right, leaning in to rest her arm on his near shoulder. She still wore her weapons, despite the fact they were now safely within not just the compound, but the building itself with its formidable security. She and Duncan had joined forces in urging him not to make this trip, saying it was too dangerous. What if it was a trap? What if the humans were killing his vampires one by one to lure in the biggest prize of all—not just a vampire, but a vampire lord? He forced back a growl at the memory of their arguments, all of which he’d rejected. He had to be here. These were his vampires who were dying.
“My lord.”
Raphael was jerked out of his thoughts by Wei Chen’s soft voice. He speared the nest leader with a fierce gaze. “I want details, Wei Chen. Everything you’ve discovered about these murders and who’s behind them.”
“Of course, my lord.” He gestured at a vampire sitting next to him. “Loren is our security—”
“I am aware of who Loren is,” Raphael interrupted coldly.
Wei Chen’s lips trembled slightly. “Forgive me, my lord. Would you prefer Loren to—”
“I don’t care who gives the report, as long as someone starts talking.”
The nest leader paled so badly that Raphael feared he would topple over where he sat. As a vampire, Wei Chen’s power was greater than any other vampire in the nest, although not nearly as strong as most of Raphael’s closest security staff. However, Wei Chen was not a fighter, which was why he lived here. The Seattle compound reflected its environs. This had never been a high risk area before the recent murders. The vampires here maintained a fairly low profile. They were mostly professionals, many of them computer experts of one sort or another—vampire geeks Cyn called them in private. Most worked exclusively via computer or phone, rarely if ever meeting in person with their clients and/or human counterparts. Wei Chen was a financial consultant, chosen to lead the compound because of his corporate mentality and a natural ability to manage others.
“Loren, perhaps you could give us the specific details of what has happened thus far,” Duncan, ever the diplomat, said, easing the tension which had been sucking the air out of the room.
Loren glanced at Duncan, then met Raphael’s gaze and gave a self-assured nod. He opened a folder on his lap and began speaking. “Sire, as you know there have been two previous attacks, three now, after this vicious assault on Jeremy’s mate. I think it probable that the target of this latest atrocity was, in fact, Jeremy himself, that—”
“It was.” They all looked up as Jeremy walked slowly into the room, his exhaustion obvious, but his face full of determination. “They tortured Mariane, trying to force her to reveal my location. She refused.”
“Jeremy,” Raphael acknowledged. “Your mate?”
“She is well, my lord, thanks to you. I bless whatever chance of fate brought you here this evening. A human doctor from your retinue is examining her—”
“Peter Saephan,” Raphael confirmed. “He is an excellent healer, and I have trusted him with the life of my own mate on more than one occasion.” He twisted his mouth in a wry smile, acknowledging to himself if to no one else, the reality that repeatedly drew Cyn into situations requiring Dr. Saephan’s skilled care.
“I will tell Mariane. Thank you, my lord.”
Raphael nodded a silent acknowledgment, but Jeremy lingered, his thin frame vibrating with the effort of maintaining his dignity in the face of tonight’s terrible trauma. He seemed to be warring with himself over some internal debate, until finally he approached Raphael and dropped to his knees.
“I was with her, my lord,” Jeremy whispered. “I was there.” His eyes, when they met Raphael’s, were full of guilt. “But I couldn’t reach her. I tried,” he said desperately, more to convince himself, Raphael thought, than anyone else.
Jeremy drew a deep breath and seemed to gather himself. His back stiffened and when he spoke next, his voice with firm with resolve, “I am not a soldier, my lord. I know this. But I wish to join you in bringing down these animals. The blood of my mate has earned me a place in the hunt.”
Raphael heard the unvoiced desperation in his plea. Jeremy’s blood had not been enough to save Mariane’s life. That it was Raphael’s blood which saved her lessened the pain of his failure, because Raphael was master to every vampire in this compound, his power so far beyond theirs that it transcended description. But still, his failure to save his mate himself would sting. He could, however, avenge this attack on her.
“Your assistance will be invaluable, Jeremy. You know the area and you know the people. And through you, your mate can tell us much about these creatures who dared attack her. On my word, Jeremy, they will pay the ultimate price.”
Jeremy’s head fell to his chest, his long, dark hair covering his face before he raised eyes now brimming with gratitude. “Thank you, Sire.”
Raphael studied his child carefully, noting the tension in his stiff gait as he climbed to his feet and took a chair nearby. He ached for Jeremy and would rather have spared him the retelling of the night’s awful events, but it was necessary. And far better that Jeremy tell him, than ask Mariane to relive it.
Loren moved to sit next to Jeremy and began a low-voiced conversation. Cyn took the opportunity to lean close to Raphael’s ear and whisper, “Will he know what happened?” Her question was voiced softly enough that, even in a room full of vampires, it was for him only.
Raphael responded in kind, saying, “Jeremy is young, but they’ve been mated a few years. His connection to her should be strong enough for him to have seen most of what happened. It will be enough.” He felt Cyn breathe out a sigh of relief next to him.
“Jeremy,” Raphael said more loudly.
The vampire immediately cut off whatever he’d been saying to Loren and faced Raphael.
“My mate, Cynthia, will begin the questioning. She is a trained and experienced investigator, quite skilled in these matters, especially when it comes to humans. Her insight will be particularly helpful.”
Cyn sat up straight, leaving a cool spot on his arm as she withdrew the warmth of her body. Raphael glanced up at her and caught a frown of concentration, followed by a gentle smile for Jeremy.
“I’ll start with some questions about the events of that afternoon,” she said. “It will be painful for you, and I’m sorry. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t absolutely necessary, please believe that. But every detail matters. You never know what might be the one thing that gives them away.”
Jeremy nodded, swallowing nervously.
Cyn leaned forward, her posture and gaze intent. “Okay, let’s start with the basics. Was Mariane home when these guys broke into the house?”
He shook his head, his gaze haunted. “She was out. Our house is very secure, but they smashed through the back door with an ax. They must have hidden their vehicles and waited for her to return. I knew when she arrived home, I felt her presence—she always enters through the front door—and then I felt her terror. They grabbed her before she even realized they were there.”
“Is Mariane normally awake during the day?” Cyn asked. “Forgive me if this is private, but . . . she doesn’t sleep with you?”
“Most days she does, yes. But on some days, she remains awake to run errands. She shops in Cooper’s Rest, which is the small town near here, and on rare occasions she drives down to the city below. She buys food for herself and does whatever else needs doing. There’s the mail to be picked up, of course. And sometimes . . . sometimes Mariane simply wants to enjoy the sunlight.”
Cyn nodded, and Raphael knew she would understand Mariane’s need for sunlight. It was the same reason Cyn kept her condo just down the beach from his estate. She didn’t live there anymore, but she still spent time there on occasion, sitting in the sunlight, walking along the water in the warm sand.
Cyn spoke again, drawing Raphael out of his reverie. “Does she follow a routine? Maybe certain days of the week, every other Monday or something?”
Jeremy frowned, concentrating. “Perhaps. Not specific days, but she does go into town at least twice a month. Usually in the morning. And when she comes home, she remains awake—cleaning, making phone calls, sometimes sitting on the porch if the weather is nice.”
“Who would know about this besides you?” Cyn asked. “Does she have any friends here? Maybe someone she meets for coffee? Does she go anyplace in particular?”
Raphael saw Jeremy’s brow lower in a troubled frown. He was a very young vampire and his relationship with Mariane even newer. The suggestion that she could be meeting anyone, possibly even another male, while Jeremy slept would rouse his possessive instincts. And unlike Raphael, who was old enough and powerful enough to sense whatever Cyn was doing at all times, Jeremy would not usually have a link strong enough to follow his mate through a normal, uneventful few hours. It was only the traumatic nature of the attack that had forced their link into full-blown awareness for the duration. That and the fact that, while Jeremy had probably been sleeping in a vault below ground, he would not have been far from where Mariane was being brutally assaulted.
“She goes to the post office,” Jeremy was repeating. “And the grocery store. I’ve never gone with her. I don’t generally go into town at all. My business is at home, mostly via computer or phone. The truth is, unless they’re Vampire, I very rarely meet anyone in person, not even my clients.”
