"Stay as you are. Stupid, foolish man. " Her tone was scathing as he listened to her move in his direction. "Don't speak until I give you permission or I swear I'll break your neck. I'm out of patience with all of you. " In the corner of his eye, he saw her kneel at Melinda's side. She took the girl's lifeless hand and studied the nails, her own perfectly manicured woman's cuticles catching the dim sconce light as she passed her fingertips over the flowers preferred by the fancy of a child. He didn't know what he'd do if Lyssa did in fact choose to drink from Melinda, but instead she feathered a hand over the girl's forehead, closed her eyes. Wiped the spittle from the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief she had in the pocket of her slacks. "Do you know John 14:27?" Of all the things he'd expected her say, that wasn't one of them. When Jacob shook his head, she spoke the words soft ly. " `Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. ' " She raised her gaze, looked at him then. "There are several trans- lations of the Bible in my library, as you well know. Take her deep into the forest preserve and bury her. Say that over her grave and whatever else you think she'll need for peace, though I think release from Carnal's ser vice satisfies that adequately on its own. " He struggled to get his mind around what she was saying. "But . . . Her family?" "She has no family. Carnal likely bought her from them. There's an underground market for the young for vampires. Somehow, at some point, a favor was done, so there was a binding on a firstborn. It's an old vampire tradition to secure loyalty. Feudal. Taking a firstborn into service, utilizing the trade skills and resources of the family. " "No one will look for her. " Jacob made it a flat statement, know- ing better than to offer it as a question. His lady couldn't give him an answer he'd want to hear. Humans were expendable in the vampire world. Hadn't Debra as much as suggested it? Hadn't his brother left him a note hammering it home this morning? She will never view you as an equal. Even his lady had emphasized it in myriad ways.
She'd just commanded him to bury a young woman like a stray cat they'd found on the side of the road. An act of compassion for certain, but all they would do. A human servant could be buried in an unmarked grave, the death challenged only if the Master or Mis- tress was offended by it. "The grave does not need to be unmarked, Jacob. Mark it any way you wish. " She picked up his thought, of course. At this moment, he could almost hate her. "In your world, I have no value except as your slave. Your prop- erty. " As she studied him in her dispassionate way, he couldn't help but notice she kept her hand on the girl's cheek, stroking her temple. Perhaps Melinda's mother had done that. Imagined her daughter growing up to be married, a mother, someone with a successful ca- reer. Someone who won awards or traveled to amazing places. "Yes, Jacob, " Lyssa said at last. "And that truth just saved your life. "
Chapter Nine
He did what she instructed. Using a Coleman lantern to give him light, he dug the grave. He worked fast, using the exertion to help him block out the horror of what he was doing until he was just mindlessly slashing at the earth. Plunge, step on the edge of the shovel, lift, heave. Sweat poured off him. Perhaps there were tears there, too, for his nose was running when he was done and there was a tremor in his hands. He used the ladder he'd brought to get himself out, then took Melinda down into the grave. As he started shoveling dirt, he had to close his eyes. "Go and be at peace, lass, " he said hoarsely to the weight of the darkness. "Don't stay here and look at this. Just go. " Because of the thought, in the end he didn't mark the grave. He didn't want the girl's spirit to come back and visit, seek any attach- ment to the place. She was much better off wherever she'd gone. When he was done, the forest was quiet. He had a cowardly de- sire to avoid his lady's company tonight. Go out and get stupen- dously drunk. Instead, when he got back to the house, he cleaned up and took a shower, letting the hot water run over him though he knew nothing would clean this away. Donning jeans and T-shirt, he headed for the study. She was there as he suspected. Reading, her head bowed over the large book in her lap.
Bran lay on her feet. The fire was going. As he stepped in, she didn't lift her head. "Did you know what he was about to do?" Jacob asked. If the wrong answer came from her mouth, he would have to walk away. Rejoin his brother and let the same bitter rage deaden his soul so it wouldn't ache like this anymore. Maybe Gideon had it right. Closing her eyes, she laid her head back on the chair, the flicker- ing shadows from the fire guarding her expression. Her face, while sad and tired, was heartbreakingly beautiful as always. It made something twist in his gut. He didn't know if he wanted to throw up or fall to his knees and put his head in her lap. "My world is a horrible and yet beautiful place, Jacob. Vampires are as deeply complex and unpredictable as humans. Carnal, how- ever, is simply a monster. A monster of his own creation. " "But he suggested . . . It was a courtship act?" Jacob didn't bother to hide his disbelief. Her lip curled distastefully. "Yes. As a vampire hunter and even under Thomas's tutelage, you weren't exposed to courtship strate- gies. Proving you can outmaneuver your object of interest is a way of gaining favor. I want you to burn that rug, " she said, raising her head and opening her eyes. "I don't want his blood from that cup in my house. " "So to court you I would have to become a cross between Ma- chiavelli and a serial killer. " "You don't court me, Jacob. " She sat up, her expression becoming closed to him again. "You serve me. But you matter to me, if that gives you any comfort. " "Were you part of making those laws? The specific ones that ap- ply to tonight?" The one that allows the murder of an underage girl to go unpunished? Lyssa cocked her head. "Yes and no. You're familiar with the fact the original draft of the Declaration of Independence included lan- guage to abolish slavery?" He blinked at the topic shift, but inclined his head. "They had to remove it, else they would have lost the support of the southern states, and the whole concept of an independent coun- try would have been lost to noble principle.
Everything is timing. Getting vampires to agree to ritualized behavior, which would mini- mize body count, had to be propped on the foundation of their supe- riority. Even then, we still had to endure the territory wars to get everyone under the umbrella of the Council. And there remain many like Carnal who've not gained enough power to satisfy them. They must be watched. It will always be a problem. " When her visage darkened, he realized he'd unwittingly reminded her that she could not help the Council do that for much longer. "My lady--" Her gaze snapped back to him. "Which comes back to another issue. Carnal could have killed you easily tonight. " "If my aim had been better--" "If you had killed him, what then?" She rose, tossing the book on the side table with a flat slap of noise. Bran rose and resettled several feet away, his eyes shifting between them. "Do you know what's done to a servant who kills a vampire?" "What the hell did you want me to do?" He pressed forward, al- most nose to nose with her. "Let you drink it?" "You have a mind link, Jacob. Why didn't you use it? No, be si- lent. " She flung up her hands in irritation. "You'd only tell me the same lie you're telling yourself. It was just male ego. You wanted to call him out publicly, rather than letting me know so I could have dealt with it another way. " "So you're saying I killed her. I'm responsible for her death. " His jaw was so rigid with anger he had trouble making his mouth move to say the hateful words. Lyssa shrugged. "She wouldn't have lived long in his ser vice. His servants never do. " "So that's a yes. " "I'm saying that you are my servant. Pride is not a luxury you have. Ego has no place in your ser vice to me. If the moment calls for pride, it will be at my behest, not yours. " She moved away abruptly, leaving her light scent teasing his senses and the slender nape of her neck begging for a stranglehold.