Reckoning (5 page)

Grigori lifts his head, his index finger hovering over the trigger.
 
He glowers at Roseline as her hand twitches against Nicolae’s neck.
 
In half a second, she can tear his head from his shoulders or shove him out the third floor window.
 
Either way, Nicolae is completely at her mercy.

 
“That’s an order.”
 
Nicolae’s breathing grows heavier and louder as he stares the hunter down.
 
Grigori backs slowly and deliberately out of the room.
 
His men fall away, disappearing out of sight.
 
Grigori’s intense gaze flickers between Roseline and Nicolae before he leaves.

“Don’t forget to close the door behind you,” Roseline shouts.
 
Foul curses follow Grigori down the hall but the door remains wide open.

“Please,” Nicolae grunts, gasping for breath as he places a hand over her arm, “it doesn’t have to be like this anymore.
 
We both want the same thing.”

How could he possibly know what she wants?
 

“I’m listening,” she replies, releasing her grasp marginally.
 
She tips her head to the side and waits.

“Are you going to let me down?”

Pursing her lips, Roseline releases him.
 
Nicolae’s head slides down the panes of glass as his feet come to rest on the floor.
 
Rubbing his neck, Nicolae sinks back onto the end of the chaise.
 
He clears his throat and looks up at Roseline, who towers overhead.

“Go on then.
 
Tell me what I want.”
 
Roseline places her hands on her hips.
 
Her patience is quickly waning.

Resting his head against the wall, Nicolae's shoulders sag.
 
He rubs his throat, clearing it a couple times before speaking.
 
“I want to end the war between hunter and immortal.
 
This feud has gone on long enough.
 
I know now that there are good among your kind and it’s not right to hunt them down.”

Roseline fights to hide her surprise.
 
What is Nicolae playing at?
 
The war has existed for thousands of years, passed down from family to family.
 
It is the only way of life she has ever known.
 
Although she is uncertain of what event lead to the start of the war, she has felt its effects for over three hundred years.
 

Brother killing brother.
 
Mother turned against daughter. Vladimir’s rage drove him to ghastly measures as he began damning the families of hunters.
 
Loved ones became the enemy.
 
Whole generations were slain for the sake of vengeance.
 

Even then, Vladimir had thrown around life as if it were worthless.
 
Her brethren tossed before an ax for nothing more than sport.
 
The memories sicken Roseline.
 
Blood has rained down from both sides, and still the battle rages.
 
Man verses immortal.
 
Would it ever end?

“I’m listening.”
 
She lowers her head, allowing the planes of her face to soften slightly.
 

 
Nicolae takes a deep breath, rubbing his neck.
 
“Whether my men approve or not, by birthright, I am in charge.
 
My decisions become law.
 
If we form a deal together, they will obey it.”

Roseline snorts.
 
Could he truly be that naïve?
 
She shifts, releasing the tight hold on her arms.
 
The marks of her fingers linger on her pale skin.
 
“You are proposing a truce?”

 
“For now.
 
A temporary ceasefire until something more permanent can be put into place.
 
We can end the war, you and I.”

Her lips press flat as she begins to pace.
 
The candlelight flickers as she breathes past.
 
Shadows cling to the corners of the large room, taunting her.
 

“You hate my kind,” she hedges.

He clears his throat, taking a moment to think as he rubs the back of his head.
 
“It’s not easy for me to admit this, but I was wrong.
 
I spent my childhood hating you for something I know you didn’t do.
 
I can’t promise it will be smooth sailing but I’d like to try to set things right.”

Roseline stops mid-step.
 
“A hunter admitting he is wrong.
 
I never thought I’d live to see the day.”

He offers her a wry smile.
 
“We have our moments.”

The idea of peace is tantalizing, but impossible.
 
The wounds run too deep, the scars unable to heal.
 
“It’s a child’s dream, Nicolae.
 
There cannot be peace between us.”

He sits up, an intensity glowing in his eyes.
 
“I am not your enemy anymore.”

She weighs out his words, balancing them against his harebrained rescue in the dungeon.
 
He nearly gave his life for her, was that not proof enough?

“Perhaps not, but I am not like my brethren.
 
They will never accept peace with you.
 
Your family has broken too many blood-bonds among my kind.
 
That can never be forgiven.”
 

“I know,” he deflates, falling back.
 
His face pinches with concern, aged by exhaustion and the events of this night.
 
“Vladimir is creating an army of immortals.
 
Do you know why?”

Roseline’s steps falter as she whirls around, her boots slick on the waxed wood floor.
 
“Who told you that?”

“Sorin.
 
His informants have been tracking Vladimir’s progress for the past few years.
 
My uncle was training me to take over operations in America.
 
That is why I was the one sent to watch you.
 
He thought you were helping Vladimir.”

Running her hands over her face, Roseline fights to control her rising fear.
 
Why has she never heard of this?
 
If Sorin was able to discover Vladimir’s plan then that can mean only one thing: she was purposefully left out of the loop.
 

But why?
 
How long has Vladimir been hiding this from her?
 
A year?
 
Twenty?
 
A century?
 

Surely, she would have heard something by now.
 
A whisper.
 
A slip of speech.
 
Something.

And what if it is true?
 
Roseline shudders at the implications of a worldwide army.
 
The damage they could create on humanity alone would be catastrophic.
 
An entire race nearly wiped to extinction.
 
Surely, he would not be that foolish.

“I know nothing of this,” she whispers.

Nicolae’s brow pulls together.
 
He rubs his chin.
 
“I assumed as much when I was following you back in Chicago.”

She resumes pacing, stepping from wood to the looped beige carpet near the sitting area and back again.
 
“Vladimir needs blood to survive.
 
Immortals, who have grown drunk on human blood, will perish without it.
 
He can’t tip the balance.”

“But what if he does?” Nicolae presses.

Roseline blanches at the thought.
 
She spins on her heel to face him.
 
“We will all die.”

Weighted silence expands to fill the room.
 
The shadows seem to creep in from the walls, pressing from all sides.
 
Nicolae’s chest heaves as he sucks air into his tightening lungs.
 
“I need your help.”

Of that, she has no doubt, but can she risk Gabriel’s life on the chance that Nicolae is right?
 
No.
 
Gabriel needs her now.
 
He is all that matters.

“I’m sorry but I cannot help you.
 
I have my own war to wage.”
 
She says, dipping low to retrieve the contents of her bag.

Even though she will not join him in his quest, a tentative bond has been birthed.
 
Roseline tosses her bag onto the bed and crosses the room, offering her hand to help Nicolae to his feet.

He rises, releasing her hand to add cushion to his comfort zone as she steps back.
 
“Have you not realized yet that you are at the heart of all of this?”

A fluttering, like a host of angel’s wings, begins in her stomach.
 
“What do you mean?”

“Vladimir keeps you close, but out of the loop.
 
Fane has remained alive all this time, despite his obvious affections for you.
 
Gabriel is bonded to you and we still do not understand why.
 
The monks spared your life, when it would have been easier to kill you.
 
Are you connecting the dots?
 
Because I sure the heck am!”

She shakes her head, struggling to process it all.
 
Nicolae takes a hesitant step forward.
 
“No one agrees with me,” he whispers, darting a glance toward the empty hall, “but I think the connection between you and Gabriel means something.
 
Whatever he is…together, you are the key.”

Nicolae yelps as Roseline snatches his hand. Color escapes from her face as her lips peel back, eyes flaming.
 
“What do you know?”

“Not much,” he admits, grimacing at the pain radiating from his mangled fingers.
 
“Sorin never let me into the meetings, but I’ve eavesdropped from time to time.”

“He has been looking for Gabriel for many years.
 
From what I gather, so was Vladimir.”
 
He pauses, risking another glance at the empty doorway. “There is a prophecy-”

Roseline releases his hand.
 
He clutches it to his chest.
 
“The cross tattoo,” she whispers.

Although she and Gabriel had scoured the internet and ancient books, in search of the origin of his tattoo, they found nothing, but she would stake her life on the fact that the monks know exactly where that tattoo came from.

 
“Yes,” he nods enthusiastically, “when I told Sorin about Gabriel, he got very excited.
 
I didn’t think much of it at the time-”

Roseline catches on to the end of his thought.
 
“And now the monks have taken him.”

He nods. “Whatever Gabriel is, he is important, to a lot of people.”

“Vladimir was in the same room with him and didn’t even know it.”
 
She feels faint with relief, but another thought strikes her.
 
“I bet he will figure it out once he discovers Gabriel has been taken and I’m trailing after him.”

Her heart jumps into her throat.
 
“Oh, god.
 
I changed him, Nicolae.
 
Does that mean he is expendable now?”

 
“No, I don’t think so.
 
If he weren’t still valuable, the monks would’ve killed him in the dungeon.”

Hope flickers to life.
 
She might still have a chance to find him.
 
If he is still alive…