No Rest for the Wicked

42

"If Kaderin didn't send for me herself," Sebastian said at the entrance to Val Hall, "then I don't want to be here." Lightning clattered constantly. Smoke and fog inundated the grounds. The old manor was imposing, sepulchral.

"You aren't curious about what you've been called here for?" Nikolai asked. "Even Myst has no idea what this is about."

"All I know is, she didn't send for me." Sebastian scowled up at the ghostly specters guarding the house, and Nikolai slapped his back in sympathy.

"They will not hurt you unless you try to get in without payment or permission."

"I'm not concerned with them." At Nikolai's questioning look, Sebastian shrugged. "After the things I saw in the Hie?"

"That's right, Nïx's origami storyboard. I need to ask her about that."

Sebastian said, "I was just thinking that if this is where Kaderin calls home, she will not like the estate I just purchased."

"You gave Myst carte blanche to pick it out—a bold and reckless move, but one I feel will serve you well with your Bride."

"Kaderin asked for time." Even missing her as he did, he still felt her request was reasonable. He expected eternity with her. Two weeks was nothing. "I am intruding on her and her sisters."

Just as he was about to trace, Nikolai grabbed his arm. "How long will you wait?"

"Until she calls for me."

"I don't think it would help your cause if you shun an invitation to their coven. It's, uh, very rare." Nikolai held up a lock of red hair Myst had given him in advance. A wraith swooped down, and their way was cleared.

Reluctantly, he followed Nikolai. Inside, Sebastian heard her voice in a nearby room.

"Now, this spear is a weapon of apocalyptic power," Kaderin was explaining. "You must use it wisely, Dash. To abuse it will bring ruin to our people."

"Let me see that," Dasha said.

"No! Push the red button on the right," Kaderin said. "Your other right, Dash!"

Video games. He grinned, even as he was saddened. He missed her too much—his chest was besieged with a constant ache, and now he understood what it was.

When he and Nikolai stood at the door, Nikolai gave him an encouraging slap on the back that would have felled lesser men, then traced away.

Sebastian saw her shoulders stiffen. "Bastian?" she murmured. Lightning struck just outside.

Kaderin heard his voice, his sure footsteps. He's come for me.

Her mind seemed to go blank. The yearning she'd felt for so long turned to excitement, excitement to urgency.

She'd been waiting for the right time to tell her sisters she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. That time was now.

If she wasn't touching him in seconds, she'd go mad.

She scrambled to her feet. She knew her sisters were eyeing her strangely, knew that what she was feeling was undisguised. Right then, she didn't care. She turned and ran for him. Bastian! Standing at the door, so tall and proud.

When he saw her, his lips parted, then he absently palmed the center of his chest.

As she hadn't slowed, he opened his arms—she knew what this meant—but she didn't hesitate to run into them, leaping up and latching onto him. They would have gone reeling if he weren't so strong.

The Valkyrie who'd flown down the stairs at the marked lightning saw her. All around them, she heard gasps. One muttered, "She ran to his arms. I saw it."

"Bastian, I missed you!" Kaderin whispered.

"God, I missed you, too," he murmured, clutching her. She felt him stiffen, and knew Rika and Dasha had appeared behind her. He released her with obvious reluctance, but once on her feet, she only turned, keeping his front to her back.

Just when she thought there'd be a confrontation, Rika said, "Kader-ie, we have a thing we wish to tell thee—" She winced. "I mean you."

"What is it?" Kaderin asked, pulling Sebastian's arm around her. He tightened it immediately.

"We invited him," Dasha said.

Rika added, "And now we can see that it was a wise decision."

"What do you mean?" Kaderin asked, her voice unsteady.

Dasha answered, "You spent too many years blaming yourself for our deaths and too much time without happiness. It must stop. It is time for you to be content."

"You deserve it more than anyone," said shy Rika. She approached Kaderin and Sebastian and addressed him. "We hate that vampire for what he did to Kader-ie, and to us." She frowned at that, then said, "But you are not that vampire. If you love Kad—"

"I do," he quickly said.

She squeezed his arm.

Dasha muttered, "Then be wed with our blessings."

"Rika? Dash?" Kaderin said in a breathless voice. "Are you in earnest?"

"Kader-ie, you need him. Even if we didn't support this, you'd go to him eventually. We understand that."

Kaderin turned to him, gazing up and nibbling her bottom lip. "Yes, I would have."

"You would?" he rasped, his eyes so dark.

"Of course, Bastian." She glanced over her shoulder and said to her sisters, "Thank you. I-I don't know what to say."

"Begone," Dasha said with a scowl. "This does not mean we wish to see you two in the agonies of love, or biting, or whatever it shall be. Rika and I have video battles to master and a driving lesson with Regin and Nïx when they return with Sad Wiener gum from the pack-a-sack."

When Rika grinned and nodded, Kaderin stood on tiptoes to whisper at his ear, "Will you take me somewhere so I can kiss you?"

He shuddered as he traced.

"Where are we?" she asked, not wanting to take her eyes from him even to glance around.

"Our new estate," he said, studying her reaction, so clearly wanting her to like it. "Close to Val Hall," he added, leaning down to brush his lips over her ear, his breaths warm and already quickened with need.

She didn't have to see it to know she would like it. Sebastian was here, and that was all she needed to know. "Oh, Bastian," she sighed, eyelids fluttering closed as she ran her fingers through his thick hair, "I think it's the best house I've ever been in. I'm sure."

After making love in the living room, in the dining room, on the stairs, and over a bench on the stair landing, they'd finally made it to the bedroom. Just as they'd settled under the rich damask covers, a telephone rang from across the room. Sebastian tensed at the sound, and Kaderin peeked out, frowning. Who could have gotten the number already?

His low growl when she strode naked to the phone made getting out of the bed worth it.

When she answered, Emma said, "Kaderin, is that you?" Her voice was panicked. "Myst told me I could get you here. Have you guys seen Bowen?"

"Since when, sweet?"

"Since he went to some fire snake thingy in the Hie."

Oh, crap. Kaderin sidled back to the bed. "Bastian, after you and Bowen had your... disagreement, what exactly happened?" That whole time was a haze for Kaderin. Everything paled next to Sebastian's sacrifice for her and her family. And she didn't relish thinking about the fact that she'd... died, boiling in lava. Kaderin had contemplated cheerier scenarios.

"The Lykae vowed, convincingly, that he'd kill me and you after he hunted us to the ends of the earth," Sebastian answered. "And also that he would 'eat my goddamned heart.' " He shrugged. "I left him there in that cave—on the other side of the lava pit. I figured there would be a way out of the back."

Kaderin hesitated, then told Emma, "He could possibly still be trapped behind a pit of boiling lava, guarded by a fire serpent."

Emma cried, "For two weeks? Can you please go get him? He's my husband's cousin and best friend!"

"Are we using your tranq gun or ours?" Kaderin asked. "Emma, he'll be in a killing rage after losing his mate—again."

"I know, but I'm just worried he might... he might take the opportunity to... you know."

"Okay, okay," Kaderin said, then turned to Sebastian. "Can we go get Bowen sometime tonight? She's worried he'll dive in after the loss."

"Which would be tragic." When Emma heard him and screeched, he grudgingly said, "No, he won't do that. He'll need to kill me first. Trust me, I know this." He exhaled. "We'll get him." He seized Kaderin around her waist and dragged her back under the covers with him. "After."

"After," Kaderin agreed eagerly. She told Emma, "We'll retrieve him at sunset. If he's still there. I'll let you know." She hung up and absently laid the phone on the bedside table, but turned when she brushed paper.

"What is it?" he asked.

"A note." It was folded in three and had a crimson wax seal stamped with a flourishing R. "From Riora?"

He peered over Kaderin's shoulder as she opened the letter. "Do we really want to read this?"

She shrugged helplessly. They both read:

It is perfectly impossible for you two to be excessively ecstatic together.

Nor is it possible for both of you to have families made whole.

See you at the next Hie,

Riora, goddess of all and sundry soccer anthems

A key clanged out of the letter's bottom fold. Kaderin could hear his heart speed up when he recognized it.

Another chance at the past. For Sebastian.

"Will it"—his voice dropped lower—"could it work?"

She faced him and nodded. "Yes, I believe so. You fascinated Riora. She would want to reward you."

He swallowed. "I won't do this lightly. I must talk with Nikolai and Murdoch and, I hope, Conrad. We will decide together how and when this will occur and prepare for it."

As Kaderin gingerly set the key and note aside, he asked, "Would you be comfortable with this? With my family coming forward?"

"Like you were with mine? Of course! I'll support you in anything you want to do. And I daresay your sisters will be easier than Dash and Rika. They probably won't slay every toaster they encounter."

The corners of his lips curled. "This is too incredible. I can scarcely believe it."

"Just wait until you see them for the first time. It's a pretty big shock."

He raised his hand to cradle her face. "My sisters would like you."

She smiled back. "They will like me. And I them. Though I think you should marry me first. So we're respectable."

"I didn't believe this day could get better."

When he drew her under him, resting his hips between her thighs, she gazed into his gray eyes, the color of enduring summer storms. "I love you, Bastian."

"I'll never tire of hearing that." He nuzzled her ear and rasped against it, "Maybe one day you'll come to love me as much as I do you."

She frowned and pushed up on his shoulders so they were facing each other. "I happen to adore you, vampire." Her hands laced around his neck, and she twined her fingers in his hair. "No, I'm absolutely certain I love you more."

He grinned down at her, that half-grin that made her heart twist, then slowly rocked forward to fill her. "Tell yourself that, Valkyrie." He leaned down to catch her gasp with his lips. "As much as you like."

From the Book of Lore

The Lore

"... and those sentient creatures that are not human shall be united in one stratum, coexisting with, yet secret from, man's."

The Valkyrie

"When a maiden warrior screams for courage as she dies in battle, Wóden and Freya heed her call. The two gods give up lightning to strike her, rescuing her to their hall, and preserving her courage forever in the form of the maiden's immortal Valkyrie daughter."

· Take sustenance from the electrical energy of the earth, sharing it in one collective power, and give it back with their emotions in the form of lightning.

· Possess preternatural strength and speed.

· Without training, they can be mesmerized by shining objects and jewels.

· Also called Swan Maidens, Shield Maidens.

· Enemies of the Horde.

The Vampires

· Two warring factions, the Vampire Horde and the Forbearer Army.

· Each vampire seeks his Bride, his eternal wife, and walks as the living dead until he finds her.

· A Bride will render his body fully alive, giving him breath and making his heart beat, a process known as blooding.

· Tracing is teleporting, the vampires' means of travel. A vampire can only trace to destinations he's been to before.

The Horde

"In the first chaos of the Lore, a brotherhood of vampires dominated, by relying on their cold nature, worship of logic, and absence of mercy. They sprang from the harsh steppes of Dacia and migrated to Russia, though some say a secret enclave, the Daci, live in Dacia still."

· Distinguished by their red eyes, a side effect of drinking victims to death.

· Enemies of most factions in the Lore.

The Forbearers

"... his crown stolen, Kristoff, the rightful Horde king, stalked the battlefields of antiquity seeking the strongest, most valiant human warriors as they died, earning him the name of Grave-walker. He offered eternal life in exchange for eternal fealty to him and his growing army."

· An army of vampires consisting of turned humans, who do not drink blood directly from the flesh.

· Kristoff was raised as a human and then lived among them. He and his army know little of the Lore.

· Enemies of the Horde.

The Lykae Clan

"A proud, strapping warrior of the Keltoi People (or Hidden People, later known as Celts) was taken in his prime by a maddened wolf. The warrior rose from the dead, now an immortal, with the spirit of the beast latent within him. He displayed the wolf's traits: the need for touch, an intense loyalty to its kind, an animal craving for the delights of the flesh. Sometimes the beast rises... "

· Also called werewolves, war-wolds.

· Enemies of the Horde.

The Furiae

"If you do evil, beg for punishment—before they come... "

· Ruthless she-warriors bent on delivering justice to evil men when they escape it elsewhere.

· Led by Alecta the Unyielding One.

· Also called Furies, Erinyes.

The Berserkers

"A berserker's lonely life is filled with naught but battle rage and bloodlust... "

· A cadre of mortal warriors who swore allegiance to Wóden, known for their merciless brutality.

· One of the few human orders to be recognized and accepted by the Lore.

· Able to conjure the spirit of the bear, and channel its ferocity.

The Sirenae

"Near the sea's edge, beware the siren's song... "

· A female species of immortals, they can permanently mesmerize and enslave males who hear their singing.

· Derive power from the sea and can't be away from it for more than one cycle of the moon.

The Wraiths

"... their origin unknown, their presence chilling."

· Spectral, howling beings. Undefeatable and, for the most part, uncontrollable.

· Also called the Ancient Scourge.

The Demonarchies

"The demons are as varied as the bands of man... "

· A collection of demon dynasties.

· Some kingdoms ally with the Horde.

The House of Witches

"... immortal possessors of magickal talents, practitioners of good and evil."

· Mystical mercenaries who sell their spells.

The Kobolds

"When eyes are on them, winsome they seem. Eyes away, and you can't imagine what they become."

· Gnomelike creatures that dwell in mines. The name of the capricious and dangerous mined element cobalt is derived from this species.

The Ghouls

"Even immortals beware its bite... "

· Humans turned savage monsters, with glowing green skin, yellow eyes, and contagious bites and scratches.

· Their imperative is to increase their number by contagion.

· They're said to travel in troops.

The Turning

"Only through death can one become an 'other.' "

· Some beings, like the Lykae, vampires, and ghouls, can turn humans or even other Lore creatures into their kind through differing means, but the catalyst for change is always death, and success is not guaranteed.

The Talisman's Hie

"A treacherous and grueling scavenger hunt for magickal talismans, amulets, and other mystical riches over the entire world."

· Held every two hundred fifty years.

· Hosted by Riora, the goddess of impossibility.

· Won the last five times by the Valkyrie Kaderin the Cold Hearted.

The Accession

"And a time shall pass that all immortal beings in the Lore, from the strongest Valkyrie, vampire, and Lykae factions, to the phantoms, shifters, fairies, sirens... must fight and destroy each other."

· A kind of mystical checks-and-balances system for an ever-growing population of immortals.

· Occurs every five hundred years. Or right now...

Books by Kresley Cole

The Captain of All Pleasures

The Price of Pleasure

If You Dare

A Hunger Like No Other

Playing Easy to Get