Serafina and the Silent Vampire

CHAPTER Thirteen


Blair wasn’t entirely surprised when he sensed the two people entering Sera’s flat through the office door. It was as good an excuse as any other to break off his frustrating telepathic conversation with his annoying “brother” Sebastian.

“I have to go,” he told him.

“Well, enjoy the mass slaughter.” Even telepathically, Sebastian could drawl in a way that made Blair want to smack him one. “Call me if you need a hand.”

“I won’t.” Ending the connection, Blair stood up to face his visitors.

It was the young man—Jack—who entered first, one hand in his pocket like a gangster letting everyone know he was armed. Close on his heels came Jilly, and, judging by the frown between her aggressively glaring eyes, her mood hadn’t softened any since the morning.

Blair stood perfectly still and inclined his head in polite greeting. Jilly ignored him, although Jack’s brows shot together in surprise. As if thrown, he nodded curtly.

“We want you to know that Sera is important to us,” he said sternly. “And we won’t allow you to cause her any harm. We’re watching, and believe me, there will be consequences.”

The girl nudged him with what looked like annoyance, and he added hastily, “Severe consequences.”

“We’ll stab you through the heart and cut your f*cking head off,” Jilly explained.

Blair bowed ironically.

“Okay,” Jack said, as if that settled the matter. “Are you really on our side? Against Smith’s vampires?”

Again, Blair inclined his head. He left it to them to work out how ironic or not that was.

“I wish you could talk,” Jilly muttered.

“Oh, I doubt you do,” Blair thought as he met her gaze. Anger—semi-permanent anger—emanated from her in waves. Right now, much of it was of the mother-hen variety. She was genuinely scared for Sera, and Blair could sense the powerful ties that bound the two women. They’d stood together, looking after each other, since childhood, and behind her focus on himself, Blair picked up a load of images that explained it.

It was a bond from which the young man, Jack, was excluded. Jilly resented him as an interloper and yet valued his alliance now. And interestingly, her mother-hen blanket of angry protection extended over him too.

Blair felt her sudden blast of fear. She dragged her gaze free, gasping. “Are you reading my mind, you bastard?”

Blair didn’t move. She and Jack exchanged surreptitious glances. Perhaps even the human read the desperation in Jilly’s eyes, for he spoke with a stern dignity that wasn’t entirely laughable.

“Just so long as you know. She’s not alone. And we won’t stand by if you so much as look as if you’re going to hurt her.”

They glared at him some more as if they expected him to argue the point. Blair thought of advancing on them, just for purposes of entertainment, but scaring Sera’s friends was not really part of his plan at this stage, so he simply stood still and gazed from one face to the other until Jilly swung around and walked out of the room. Jack followed with a curt nod.

The trouble with humans was, they came with a lot of other humans by way of baggage. Which was one reason relationships with them rarely worked. A vampire needed solitude, freedom. The idea of being hemmed in not just by a lover’s expectations but by the expectations of all her family and friends was, frankly, appalling.

And yet she still intrigued him. He was impatient for her to come back. There were more things he wanted to do to her delectable body. And she smelled so good…

He was growing hard just thinking about her. He began to pace the room once more, feeling like a large, restless animal in a cage that was too small. He wanted blood, and he wanted Sera. He could do something about the former, at least, if he could just find a safe way out of here.

****

It was heading toward eight by the time Sera pushed open the door of Serafina’s, but Jilly, Jack, and Elspeth were all still there.

“I thought you’d have gone home,” she said in surprise. “You didn’t need to wait for me.”

Jilly gave her a significant look and jerked her head at the ceiling. The meaning was clear. They weren’t leaving the place while Blair was in residence upstairs. Sera, who’d had to force herself not to go to the flat first, could have told them he wasn’t there anymore, anyway. Or at least she could sense no more than an echo.

“How did it go with Melanie?” Jack asked. “Did you learn anything?”

“Not really. She knows who Smith is, and she seemed to think it might be possible he was controlling the vampires through magic. But she’s going to do research of her own and get back to us. She seemed hopeful. Anything happening here?”

“A couple of new clients,” Elspeth said. “I’ve booked initial appointments. And Dianne Thomson invited you to her dinner party and wants you to conduct a séance afterward.”

Dianne Thomson was a local celebrity and news reader. She paid good money. “We’ll do it,” Sera said.

“Oh, and that policeman was back looking for you. PC McGowan.”

Sera frowned. “What did he want?”

“He didn’t say. Actually, he looked relieved when I said you were out of town for the day.”

“I’m sure he’ll catch up with me eventually. Nothing else? Good, let’s all go home. I’ll lock up.”

She shooed them all toward the door, pretending to be oblivious to Jilly’s frowns and Jack’s hisses, although in the end, they only gave in when Elspeth had left, and Sera said, “He’s gone, okay?”

“Gone where?” Jack demanded.

“He can’t have,” Jilly said. “It’s not dark yet.”

Sera shrugged. “I’m sure he has ways of getting around.

Jilly gave her a skeptical glance. “What, through ancient sewer systems?”

“For all I know, yes. Though he seems more a smoking-blanket type to me. Shove off, and I’ll see you both in the morning.” She was about to close the door on their reluctantly retreating backs when she remembered. “Jilly?”

Jilly glanced back.

“Thanks for breakfast.”

Jilly smiled sourly. “I’d like to say you’re welcome, but actually, it wasn’t me.”

Blair? Sera thought, stunned as she finally let the door shut. Blair made me breakfast? It almost made up for him not being there now.

She spent five minutes pottering around the office, signing a couple of checks Elspeth had left out for her and taking a note of the new clients for research purposes. What she really wanted to do was go up to the flat and soak in the bath for an hour. After which she’d make herself sexy and beautiful, just in case Blair came back.

“Sad old bat,” she told herself crossly. But the bath still sounded appealing. She grabbed her jacket and bag off the desk just as the outer door opened.

“Sorry, we’re closed for the day,” she said politely but firmly as she turned to face the man in the doorway.

Nicholas Smith stepped inside and closed the door. “It isn’t a professional call.”

Sera listened to the beat of her own heart. Every sense was on high alert as she scanned for any sign of vampire presence. But, of course, as Jilly had pointed out, it was too early for vampires.

“Don’t be alarmed,” Smith said. “I’m quite alone.” And strangely enough, she felt no sense of threat from him; she never had. Blair had said he was hypnotizing or mind controlling her in some way, and he was probably right. She had to be on her guard every instant, be aware of herself as well as of everything around her.

“What can I do for you?” she asked, trying to sound as neutral as possible.

“May we talk?”

“Sure.” She leaned her hip against the desk behind her but didn’t invite him to sit.

He didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he looked around the office, glancing through the open door into the inner office as he remarked, “Nice premises. I’ve been making enquiries about you, Sera—may I call you Sera?”

“Sure,” she said again. She smiled. “Nick.”

“I see. We’ve both been researching. I find you interesting on many levels, but since we barely know each other, I’d like to concentrate on the business angle.” He grinned openly. “My dear girl, you have a fine scam going here, with just enough genuine stuff in the mix to promote your reputation above the norm. Congratulations.”

“Thank you. I think.”

“Oh yes, it is a compliment. Which is why I’ve come to talk to you today. You don’t object to making a little money, do you, Sera?”

“Who does?”

“Exactly. I don’t know how much you’ve worked out for yourself, but you should be aware I am in the process of acquiring a little money myself.” He smiled. “But why be modest? I’m in the process of acquiring a huge amount of money. A lifetime’s inexhaustible supply, in fact.”

Steeling herself, she gazed directly and deeply into Smith’s eyes. “Wouldn’t that get boring for a man like you?” she asked lightly.

“Oh no. A redistribution of so much wealth must change society and government, and I plan to have rather more influence on those things than I do now. That too comes with wealth and could never be boring.”

“Let’s be clear here, Nick,” she said carefully. “Are you planning on governing vampires or humans? And if the latter, do you really imagine there will be many humans left to govern while your vampires are running riot through the country?”

“The balance will be altered,” he confessed. “But I don’t foresee the extinction of humanity or anything like it.”

“Don’t you?” she said, fascinated in spite of herself.

“The killings are accidental,” he said sadly. “They’ll learn in time. They do understand they’re not meant to kill unless I say.”

Thoughtfully, Sera swung her foot, brushing it against the leg of the desk. “Aren’t you at all afraid they’ll turn on you? You must know they’re not famed for obedience or disciplined living.”

His lips twitched with genuine amusement. “No, I’m not afraid. I’m in control, you see.”

“But for how much longer?” It was a shot in the dark, but she pushed it home anyway. “Isn’t there some limit to numbers or distances you can influence?”

He didn’t quite like that. She could sense that much. In fact, without touching him, she was pretty sure he planned to lie. Then he said reluctantly, “There may be a limit. If so, it won’t matter. I still have the nucleus of my own vampires to protect me.”

She held his gaze. “And who will protect everyone else?”

“That isn’t our problem.”

“Our?” she pounced. “Whose is ‘our’?”

“Yours and mine,” he said steadily. “That’s my offer, Sera. I’ll cut you in.”

She stared at him. He lifted his hand, offering it to her. She didn’t know if she was meant to shake on the deal or confirm the truth of his offer through touch. Did he really know that much about her? She reached out and grasped not his fingers but his wrist.

“I’ll cut you in,” he repeated.

It was no lie. He meant it. But her head felt suddenly heavy. She was getting lost in his eyes. Until she worked out what was happening and threw him out.

“Just testing,” he said, unabashed as she let his hand drop back to his side. “I didn’t think I could influence you, and I can’t. But my offer stands.”

“Why?” she demanded. “You’ve got it made, apparently. What good could I do you?” Enlightenment dawned, and she laughed. “You think I’ll bring Blair. You want Blair on your side because he can kill your vampires as easily as you or I breathe.”

“I’d welcome Blair,” he admitted. “He has power and influence among the older vampires. His compliance, or at least nonaggression, would be a distinct advantage. And I certainly can’t compel him.”

“Well, neither can I,” Sera said dryly.

“I think you underestimate yourself. You were the deciding factor last night. But in any case, Blair is purely secondary, a fringe benefit, if you like, to my offer.”

“Why?” she asked again. And this time let him come up with his own answers.

He said, “I find I want you to be safe. If you’re with me, I can keep you safe.”

She blinked. “Why?” she asked for the third time. “What the hell’s so special about me? You obviously don’t give a shite about all those other people you’re feeding to your tame vampires.”

“You know,” Smith said.

“No, I f*cking don’t.”

“Sera, you’re my daughter.”

Once, long ago, when she’d been very young, she’d lain awake at night imagining scenarios like this, when some kind, handsome man radiating security and happiness would come and claim her as his daughter. She’d dreamed of his sweeping her away from the institutionalized dullness of the home and from the hidden dislikes and cruelties of various foster homes. He’d even looked a little like Nicholas Smith. That was dreams for you.

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not.”

“You are. I found your birth certificate.” He shoved some document in front of her eyes. The letters danced illegibly. She snatched it from him, blinking until she could take in the words. Serafina MacBride. Her date of birth. Mother: Rebecca Frances MacBride.

Rebecca.

She swallowed and dropped the paper on the desk. “Father conveniently blank. Insert as required. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Why would I make it up?”

It was a good question, but she was in no mood to play. “Because you’re insane? How should I know?”

He leaned forward, all but peering at her. “You’ve never seen that before, have you? You didn’t even know her name.”

“Why should I? I’ve never needed it.”

“Weren’t you the least bit curious?”

“Why? The only thing they ever told me about her was that she was dead.”

“But you can talk to the dead.”

She didn’t mean to laugh, but it escaped anyway, short and strident and derisive. “Only those I don’t—” She broke off and straightened, brushing past him, but he wouldn’t make it easy for her.

“Only those you don’t love?”

Not Mattie. Not George. And certainly not her mother.

“I have no interest in my ancestry,” she said coldly. “I’ve made my own life.”

“Then choose to throw in your lot with me. Please, Sera. We have a lot to catch up on.”

Somewhere, she registered the genuine pleading in his voice, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t nearly enough.

“Oh, you’re right there. Two children’s homes and five sets of crappy awful foster parents. So great catching up with you, Dad. Run along and play with your vampires.”

There was silence. Then he said uncertainly, “They can’t all have been crappy awful.”

“No,” she admitted. “I just didn’t like most of them, and the feeling was pretty much mutual. And of course, there was Mattie and George. They were great. But Mattie went and died, and they wouldn’t let me stay with George anymore because he was a lone male.” She wouldn’t, couldn’t, go into what this separation had done to the already devastated George, but she couldn’t prevent the images flashing into her mind of his slow deterioration, so obvious to her every time she ran away to him. And yet they wouldn’t let her look after him, comfort him.

She kept the cynical twist to her lips and moved on. “So they gave me into the care of some other bastard who hit me and then charged me with assault. Happy days. So yes, thanks for bringing up the family connections, Nick, but frankly, I’d be more inclined to ally with Jack the f*cking Ripper than my old dad.”

It was more than she’d meant to say and far more than she usually let slip, but somehow, she felt bloody good spitting out the venom.

“You hate me for not being there,” he said. “It wasn’t my fault, Sera. Rebecca dumped me, said she didn’t want me to have anything to do with the baby.”

“Not surprised,” said Sera nastily.

He sighed. “Look. I know I should have taken my responsibilities a bit more seriously. I was young. But we can start afresh now. I knew as soon as I saw you at my door that night. You must have felt it too. I recognized you, wanted to look after you. It’s not too late for me to be a father to you.”

She almost laughed again. Instead, she turned and looked him in the eye. “My father’s dead,” she said deliberately. George, her only true father, had died years ago. She’d never had the courage to find out if his spirit would talk to her.

“Then come for the money,” Nicholas Smith said softly. “Come for the fun of it. I suppose I can’t expect you to feel the family connection overnight.”

“Oh, I feel it,” she murmured.

Slowly, he stretched out his hand to her. “Do we have a deal, Sera?”

She looked at his well-manicured fingers, his shapely, cared-for hand. She wanted to kick it upward, make him hit his own face. “I’m not always honest,” she confessed. “I’ve scammed people, taken money under false pretenses. But even I have standards. And trust me, Nick, you fall considerably below them.”

His hand fell slowly to his side. “I’m sorry you feel like that.”

“Funnily enough, so am I.”

“You’re angry. You’ll change your mind later, I know, but for now… I need you to be safe, Sera.”

She curled her lip, ready to retort, but her skin prickled, and she realized too late that it had been doing so for some time. There were vampires close by, and they weren’t Blair or Phil. A glance at the window showed her the light was fading. Thick cloud, an impending downpour had further darkened the sky. Even as she looked, a shadow, two well-wrapped-up shadows, jostled the glass door of Serafina’s, and two vampires came in. Ella and Jason.

Sera bolted back to the desk that held her jacket and the sharpened wooden stake, but Smith was before her. As the vampires advanced, Smith held the stake in his hand. “Come, come,” he chided. “You can’t kill your client’s son, anyway.”

“I can if it would save my client himself from the trouble,” she retorted. Jason looked at her without emotion and kept coming. She kicked out, and he dodged without difficulty. Ella moved closer.

“They won’t hurt you,” Nicholas Smith assured her. “We’re just going to take you back to my house.”

“No point,” said the voice she hadn’t expected. “I’d only come and take her out again.”

Blair stood framed in the inner office doorway as if he’d just come from the flat. And yet she hadn’t sensed him there. It didn’t matter. The balance of power changed immediately. That was in Smith’s venomous glare, as well as in the sudden halting of the vampires. They might be in thrall to Smith, but they recognized a threat when they smelled one.

As Blair strolled into the outer office, Smith seemed to issue some silent command, for the vampires began to move again, blocking off the way between Smith, Sera, and the shop door on one side and Blair on the other.

Smith grabbed her wrist, “Run,” he commanded. She tried to shake him off but found herself being dragged inexorably toward the door. She kicked him in the kneecap, then brought her own knee up to connect with his groin. She missed only because he dropped her hand and leapt backward.

“Sera,” he pleaded.

“F*ck off.”

Her crude command seemed to be all Blair needed. He leapt so fast she didn’t see him move. But Jason and Ella were flung to either side of the office, and he reached for Smith.

Smith cringed as if he knew he was dead. His mouth opened, presumably to try to talk Blair out of it, but Blair didn’t wait. He lunged for Smith—and staggered backward as if he’d encountered a brick wall.

He looked briefly stunned. So did Smith until Blair tried again from either side and still seemed unable to cross some invisible line around him. Then Smith began to smile.

“I didn’t think it would work on you,” he confessed. “I am truly invincible. You people should really consider your options more carefully. So long, Sera. You know where I am when you change your mind.”

Jason and Ella picked themselves up and moved after him, giving the baffled Blair a wide berth. Ella was jerking her head, as if there was a crick in her neck

“He’s used a protective spell,” Sera blurted as the door closed on them. “To make sure his own guys don’t turn on him.”

Blair dragged his gaze from the window to Sera. “Well, that’s a pity. I’d just decided the best way out of this mess was to kill Smith. You‘ll have to do it now.”

“I can’t kill the bastard,” she said bitterly. “He’s my father.” Her breath caught. “Or at least, he says he is.” Hope sparked, faint but definite. “He couldn’t have known how that would alienate me,” she murmured, “and he was hoping to get to you through me.” Eagerly now, she crossed the room for her bag and found her phone, swiftly scrolling down for Melanie’s number.

“Mel, it’s me again. Listen, was my mother’s name Rebecca?”

A brief silence, then, “Yes. Rebecca Frances MacBride. I thought you knew.”

“I never asked. A child’s mother doesn’t have a name, does she? Another question, Mel. You know you said you didn’t know who my father was because my mother never told you?”

“Yes.” Mel sounded wary.

“Was that because she didn’t need to tell you? Did you already have a good idea?”

Another pause. Then: “I might have guessed. I never knew for certain.”

“Please tell me it wasn’t Nicholas Smith.”

In the silence, Sera closed her eyes, let the pain batter her.

“I’m sorry,” Mel said, barely audible. “I never liked him. I didn’t want it to be him. And I didn’t want him to influence you or—”

“Good-bye, Mel.” She broke the connection and threw the phone on the desk. “Seems there are some things even your best friends can’t tell you.”

****

Blair felt emasculated in some bizarre way. It had been a long time since he’d come up against any being stronger than him on any suit, and although he could see the funny side of it, being unable to so much as slap a puny and frightened human male was galling in the extreme. His damsel in distress however, seemed curiously unaware of her knight’s failure. In fact, she seemed to be lost in her own suddenly unpleasant world.

After locking the front door of the shop, she marched through the inner office to the open door of her flat. “Lock it, will you?” she threw over her shoulder. Blair followed and locked the door behind him.

From the top of the stairs, Sera turned and frowned down on him. “You were here all the time? Since I arrived this evening?”

Blair nodded. He wanted to impress her by leaping up the stairs faster than she could see and be sitting on the sofa waiting for her. It might give one of them a kick, but right now, he doubted it would be Sera. She radiated distress like a warning beacon.

“But I didn’t sense you. All I could feel was the echo left by the fact that you’d been here.”

“I was hiding,” Blair told her, coming to stand on the top step beside her. His body stirred at her nearness. There was an instant when he knew she felt it too, when her pupils dilated and he smelled the sudden musky heat of her arousal. But she brushed past him as if irritated by her own reaction.

“Hiding from me?” she demanded.

“No. From Smith’s vampires. From Smith himself, if he can sense me as you can. I don’t want you caught in the crossfire when they try to kill me.”

She scanned his eyes for a moment, then walked into the kitchen, throwing over her shoulder, “You really think they would?”

“Kill me? Sure, if they could. If I don’t join them.”

“Do you suppose Smith will let them kill me? If I don’t join him.”

“No,” Blair said truthfully. “I don’t think he’ll let them. But he knows it’s a risk. Which means his spell only protects himself. How the hell do I break that?”

Distractedly, Sera opened the fridge, rummaged briefly, and closed it again, only to begin the same process with various cupboards. “Why is there no food in the bloody house?” she exclaimed, slamming the final door.

“Because you ate it all for breakfast.”

For a moment, her eyes lightened, softened. “You made me breakfast,” she observed.

“I had an ulterior motive. I need you to replace the blood I took from you as quickly as possible.” He took a step closer, touched the fine, blue vein in her neck with the tips of two fingers. “So I can take some more.”

He felt her moist heat as lust surged in her. “This is perverse,” she said shakily. “Did you hypnotize me to make me like it?”

At least she wasn’t denying that she had liked it.

“No,” he said, caressing her throat. “Most people like it. If it’s done properly.”

For no obvious reason, the soft tenderness in her eyes vanished. “Most people,” she repeated dully and slid away from his questing fingers. “Just another bite. Just another willing blood source.”

“And a damned good f*ck.”

Her smile was bitter. “Is that meant to lift my spirits?”

“I don’t know. It certainly lifted mine. What’s the matter, Sera? I was enough for you last night.”

She spun away from him but not before he saw her eyes closing. “More than enough for me. Too much.”

He followed her and put his arms around her. Ignoring her halfhearted push to free herself, he drew her back against his body and listened with pleasure to the drumming of her heart. She radiated some deep desperation that would make for intensely passionate sex. The jumble of her need and lust washed over him, urging him on. He buried his mouth in her hair, inhaled her scent, listened to the pumping of her blood.

The vampire in him was already tearing her clothes off and pinning her to the wall. And yet he said, “There’s no food in the house. Let me take you out for dinner.”

He had his reward in the stunned pleasure of her mind and expression. She turned in his arms, half smiling. “You don’t eat.”

“No. But it’s damned sexy watching you eat.”

“You’re weird, Blair.”

He drew back his lip to reveal his fangs and she let out a shivery little laugh before slipping from his arms.