Dark Queen (Jane Yellowrock #12)

Their arms dropped. Leo stepped back and away from Bruiser’s embrace. His black hair had come loose and fell around his face in dark wisps. He looked at me, his eyes more human than I had ever seen them, tears pooling in the Frenchy-black depths. “You will keep my George alive. You will protect my friend.”

“I so swear,” I said, knowing that if I got Bruiser killed, my own life was forfeit. Of course, if I got Bruiser killed I’d want to be dead anyway.

Leo said, “Bring me a cell phone and dial the Everhart-Truebloods. I will accept a verbal swearing for now should they decide to join Clan Yellowrock.” He held out a hand and a blood-servant placed a cell phone in it. It was on speaker and it was ringing.

“Hey, Unca Leo!” Angie said, delight and happiness in her greeting.

Leo’s brows, both of them this time, shot to the ceiling. Then his eyes went wide as shock morphed into something else. Something like wonder.

“This is Angelina. Mama!” she screamed. “It’s Unca Leo!”

I smothered a grin. Uncle Leo. Holy crap, that child was brilliant.

“Unca Weo!” Little Evan shouted in the background. “Unca Weo! Unca Weo!”

“Dear, Blessed Mother of God,” Leo whispered. He sounded horrified.

“This is Molly Everhart Trueblood,” Molly said, sounding wry. “I take it this is Leo Pellissier of New Orleans.”

After a pause that went on too long, Leo said, “It is.”

“Jane said we were being adopted into a vampire clan. Her clan. This call is about that?”

“Daddy! It’s Unca Leo! We’re being adopted by Aunt Jane!” Angie Baby shouted in the background.

I managed not to laugh at the expression on Leo’s face, but it was a near thing.

“Evan, this is Leo,” Molly said. “We need to swear to Jane.”

“I always swear when the head bloodsucker calls,” Big Evan said.

“Shush. Be nice.” We could hear feet stomping in the background, as of children jumping up and down. Together the older Truebloods said in unison, “We agree to adoption into Clan Yellowrock. We swear fealty with the use of magic, and loyalty and love from our hearts, our minds, and our spirits, to Jane Yellowrock. We will work to keep her and all her people safe.”

I jerked. That wasn’t what they were supposed to say. By this adoption, I was supposed to keep them safe. But the words were spoken. I said, “I pledge, undertake, and guarantee that I will keep you safe unto the giving of my life.”

Leo said softly, “Your vows are hereby recorded.”

“‘Bye, Unca Leo!” Angie Baby shouted. “Hey, my Edmund! I love you!”

Leo flinched again, as if something in her words told him things he hadn’t known. Leo ended the call and turned to Edmund, who stood just behind me, still as an undead statue. Something passed between them but was gone before I could understand it.

Gee said quietly, into the silence, “The Dark Queen has changed us. Has changed us all.”

“Thank you,” Leo said. “You are dismissed. I’ll be along in a bit. The werelions and black wereleopard are in the gym, sparring with my Mithrans. I needs must check in with them.” He slid his eyes to me. “I shall inform Kemnebi that you have claimed him for your clan.”

I made a sound of disgust. I’d asked that Kemmie be included so that I could keep an eye on him. Keep my enemies close, to use Leo’s wisdom.

Leo nodded to us and ducked out the back door of the Council Chambers. Sabina, her throat healed but marked with a thin red line, opened the first of a stack of papers. “Your signature, Master of Clan Yellowrock.”

“How many siggies?” I asked.

“Forty-seven,” Sabina said.

I huffed an irritated breath and took up the pen. Started signing. It took a while.

When I was done, I checked with Alex. His head was bent over his tablet. “Update on Dominique and the shielded witch?”

He shook his head, curls bouncing, and stood. “Male driver. Facial rec program in progress. Dominique in the passenger seat. Others in the car, faces unrecognizable. Wove through the streets and got on I-10, headed east. I’ll update when I find them again.”

“Good.”

“Plate issued to Mithran Council Chambers,” he said. “I’m running a search for anyone who might be missing. Someone let them into the chambers and into the library.” What he didn’t add was that it had to be someone from inside, likely a member of the security team. Crap.

Gee held out his arm the way a game show model would and I walked toward him, aware of the others behind me, following in a single line as we left the Mithran Council Chambers and headed down the hall toward the elevator, silent. I was deeply, profoundly aware of the people at my back. Of the names I had spoken when I created my clan. Of the weirdness of it all. I had walked out of the mountain woods when I was twelve years old, naked, scarred, scared, with no language, no social skills, a wildling, with nothing at all except a gold nugget clasped in my hand.

Now I had a clan of people who had sworn to me, people I needed to protect. And there would be more. Maybe lots more. A cold chill skittered down my spine at the thought of keeping them all safe and cared for. Gee stopped and asked Eli for his headset. I leaned my back against the wall so I could see up and down it, the cold chills growing worse. Eli leaned against the other side, pulling his brother to his left, into the safest place, though the Kid was tapping into his cell, head down, oblivious. Eli’s hands went to his weapons, his face taking on that still, expressionless mask of the warrior, watching me for clues that might explain my foreboding. I searched up and down, sniffing. I couldn’t see a reason for Eli’s disquiet, for my feeling that something wasn’t right. Trying to keep the scree of sound silent, I sucked the air in through my mouth and over my tongue but detected nothing out of the ordinary.

The elevator door opened and though it was going down before we could go up, we filed in. Gee said, “I have sent word to the people who were invited into Clan Yellowrock. We expect replies and vows soon.”

Or not. I heard the unspoken words. I knew most of my potential clan members wouldn’t be able to swear face-to-face due to distance and time constraints, but I figured most would become my people. Holy crap. My people. The biggest part of me wanted to go back to bed and pull the covers over my eyes. The smallest part told me to pull up my big-girl panties and act like a war woman. Not that war women traditionally wore panties.

The elevator door closed and dropped. Came to a stop. And began to open.

Screams clawed down the hallway, high-pitched squeals and low-voiced growling.

My hands shot out and rammed the doors open. I dashed into the hallway. Catching a glimpse of Eli and Gee pulling weapons, racing after me. The scent of the gym hallway was mold and old sweat and traces of old blood, some of it mine, shampoo and deodorant and locker rooms. I blew through the gym doors.

The stench of wrongness hit me just as Leo himself caught me around the waist. Time stuttered. Leo grabbed me again. Time stuttered. Leo grabbed me again. Leo, holding me. Together we fluttered in and out of time.

Time went flat and still. Returned to normal. My momentum nearly threw us both to the floor, but his vamp strength twisted us until we swung around one last time. He caught our balance and stopped us, like an ungainly dance move as my feet touched down. “My Jane?” Leo breathed. “What was that?”

“I don’t know. Magic?” I lied. But I did know. Time had done something funky. My head spiked with pain, so bad I wanted to close my eyes.

Larry, Leo’s personal manservant, looked at us oddly.

I stopped. Took my own weight and pushed away from Leo. Shifted to the side. Eli and the others stopped too, studying the room, securing weapons. I swept my eyes around the gym.

Three werecats were fighting vamps. A sparring match. Bodies were flying, falling, rolling, and leaping back to the bare-handed/bare-pawed/bare-clawed fight. I caught my breath, watching as they sparred.